#this is finished already; i'll be updating every sunday!
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hello folks! I hope that January has treated you all well and that the beginning of 2024 has been kind to you so far. welcome to the second public update for larkin's monthly development of 2024!
Personally, January seemed to fly by for me, and while it did provide a lot of time for work, it also posed some challenges and taught me a few things. The first of which, is the fact that the new Larkin is a //big// undertaking, bigger than I think even I realized when I first set out on this journey. While turning Larkin into an RPG, with dice rolls, stat checks and the like is a decision that I'm still very happy with and proud of my progress on--it's going slower than I'd necessarily like. To illustrate this to you, the prologue of Larkin currently sits at about 55k words, while the original twine prologue was at just about 21k words in it's complete scope. The big difference there being, in those original 21k words I managed to get the plot moving and the Preacher and Wyatt on their way to Nevada, but in the time that I've been working on the RPG version of Larkin, I've only just about gotten finished with the first major encounter. It's slow going, and I'm working really hard to ramp up the production speed--adjusting my schedule to wake up at 5:00 am to work for a few hours before work and school, and then coming home and working on larkin until about 1:30 am (as much I hate this fact, I //do// in fact need //some// sleep.) Even with all of my free time dedicated to work on Larkin or catching those few precious hours of sleep, I'm still not entirely happy with the speed at which I'm working on it--and I'm still experimenting to try and figure out what works best that helps me produce quality work with a quick turn-around.
That being said, one of my new systems I've implemented to try and alleviate my production stress is that I've started dropping two updates to the game every week. The first update comes on Thursdays and is called what I've dubbed a 'Bulk' Update, it essentially builds on the choices/routes that have already been presented to the player, giving you room to explore your environment/develop your character compared to the Sunday 'Streamline' Update, that furthers along the plot of the story. Later tonight I'll be posting an update roadmap for the month of February on Patreon.
Other brief updates about the progress of the game. For one, I've been working with two artists—one who is producing some art that'll be used as future patreon physical rewards and another who's putting together portraits of all the game's main characters that I am. Sickeningly excited about, considering that this artist is my current favorite working artist of all time. In total there's going to be sixteen character portraits that you'll be able to unlock throughout the course of the game, with slight variations depending on our relationship with that character. Other than that, me and my assistant Phillip are in the process of really trying to build a bigger social media presence for Larkin, so we'll be launching twitter/threads/bluesky/instagram and editing the tiktok pages for Larkin, that I'll drop in a card later tonight as well. I’ve also introduced another patreon tier of $1 for those of you who are wanting more consistent updates on the game development on Patreon!
STATS:
PROLOGUE WORDCOUNT: 55, 750 words
ROUTE TRACKER: 1.5/11
PROLOGUE WORDCOUNT GOAL: 150k
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Sub!Peter B. Parker/Dom!Male!Spider!Reader
Hdhdjd
Warnings because I always forget them: uhhh scent thing? scent kink???, getting caught, PANCAKES, porn, simple dick sucking
I tried to make the scent thing less weird but I think I failed with the wording I'll be honest
Before Mayday of course
Okay for my update schedule I'm going to try and get something out every/every other Sunday and maybe sooner if I feel like it
I'm easing myself into using the word dick and penis more can you tell? I damn well hope you can cause I go through hell trying to do it
I hate the word suckle
This is less mean!dom!reader then I usually do but it'll have to work because I'm on a time crunch here
Summary: would you like some plot with your porn???? yes? too damn bad
Your house was surprisingly quiet and desolate tonight as you flip the pancakes you were making for dinner. Nobody ever said a Spider had to have a good eating schedule to be a hero, you know.
The last pancake got shoved onto the plate, and you wooped in hurray. Hunger was one of your biggest weaknesses during missions (and everyday life).
"Peter!" You called.
Your fruitcake boyfriend, Peter B. Parker, was also a Spider working for Miguel. He had recently got home from a particularly hard mission, so the pancakes were mostly for him.
No call back or footsteps came from your shared room. You wait a second, a minute, ten minutes, still nothing came.
But then you hear a slight squeaking from something against the wall. Your eyebrows crease in confusion as you walk slowly towards the room, preparing for a fight.
You slammed open the door to a quite erotic scene. Peter had a pair of your boxers from the dirty clothes basket you both shared held up to his face. His hand that wasn't holding them was stroking his dick furiously.
You lean against the door frame and watched for a second, contemplating whether to continue the moment or ruin it once you make yourself known.
"Peter." It was almost like a command.
Your voice was lustful and your eyes glazed over with the thoughts that consumed you like a body of water you were sinking in.
His eyes shot open and he lowered the hand covering his face with the boxers to his lap. His expression was surprised and shocked.
"M/N, I thought you were making pancakes." He muttered.
You chuckled a little. "I was until I heard our ridiculously loud bed creaking and then walked in to this."
His face was completely beet red at this point, and his hand had let go of his painfully erect 'problem' he was dealing with.
"The pancakes are done then?" He scratched the back of his neck nervously.
You nod. "But I'm going to finish what you started before you eat them."
His face looks bewildered and slightly betrayed. You guess he feels this way because your letting the pancakes get slightly colder than normal.
Once he talks, your thoughts are confirmed. "M/N, the pancakes will get cold!"
Without a word, you crawl quickly onto the bed and capture his red and puffy lips into a ferocious kiss that took all the breath away from you.
It feels like you pulled away all too soon to kiss down his jaw, neck, and finally arrive at his collarbones where he was the most sensitive.
Peter groans a little when you start to suckle on one of his sweet spots you had hit not even two nights before.
He tries to snake his hand through your entangled bodies to touch himself, but you bat his hand away quickly.
"No, I'm going to do it." You declared darkly.
He furrowed his eyebrows in testy defiance but ended up not acting on it. His arm went to hold onto your shoulders while you straddled him lightly.
Leaning down silently, your lips wrapped around the tip of his weeping cock. Peter's groans filled the air that was heavy with the scent of erotica.
His legs were shaking violently and squeezing around your head while you lick a stripe up the vein of his dick.
"Oh shit, M/N!" He sucked in a breath quickly. "I'm gonna cum."
"Already?" You half-heartedly complained.
He whined as you came off with a 'pop' sound. Leaning on your elbows, you look up at him through your lashes in thought.
"Should I let you cum yet, Peter?" You tilted your head in faked innocence.
He blinked in confusion and then rolled his eyes affectionately because he knew what you wanted from him.
Peter sighed and closed his eyes. "Yes, please."
Grinning evilly, you lowered yourself back onto him, immediately setting a fast pace to get him to achieve his orgasm.
He screamed, probably loud enough for the neighbors to complain about, and white ropes of cum shot out of his tip and into your eagerly waiting mouth.
His breaths were labored with the strain of staying up even if he was leaning on the headboard. Peter looked at you in contemplation.
You stood up slowly with a mischievous grin present on your face.
"Where are you going?" He questioned.
"I don't know about you, Pete, but I'm going to eat some of the cold pancakes I made."
With that, you walked away from Peter briskly, leaving him to wallow in his post-orgasm clarity.
#male reader#fanfiction#across the spiderverse#into the spider verse#peter b parker#peter b parker x male reader#peter b parker x reader#peter b parker x y/n#peter b parker x you#spiderman#spiderverse#smut
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I don't think I've posted any updates about chapter 5 for a while. I think it's time to post an update about chapter 5.
To keep things consistent, and you all up to date, I might start posting little progress updates every Sunday, compiling everything we've done so far in terms of the chapter's progression in said week.
First things first, I will be honest, we did take a break after the posting of chapter 4 trial until Oct 17th (this month) when I suddenly gained the motivational burst to start working on it again.
But by terms of working, actually I mean planning out the trial. What this DOESN'T mean: we did not what was going happen in the trial, who was going to die, etc. (all deaths were planned in advance jsyk) What this DOES mean: my dumbass didn't bother making the big detailed plan for chapter 5 at the same time we planned out the other chapters because we had already began posting the fic, and we assumed we would get around to planning it before we got onto writing chapter 5. And while I did get around to chapter 5's daily life and investigation, the trial hadn't been touched yet.
I knew the flow of the trial, and the key moments, but just not the details like oh where should I put a non-stop debate or the scrum debate or when should this evidence get used etc. That's basically what my trial plans are for.
So, where exactly am I in the trial plan so far? Well, quite far in. I'm hoping to get it finished in the next week or so, and right after that is when we'll begin the proper writing and art. I'll also be closing the FTE vote once I finish the planning.
How long will chapter 5 take to produce from this point? No clue. My best estimate is a few months at best, 5 months maximum? If we're very energised, much less. If motivation gets tricky, then maybe a bit more.
I appreciate everyone's patience, and I promise I will be answering all the asks still in the inbox too in due time! Thanks ❤️
#i'm a very smart person that makes very smart decisions /s#also chapter 5 is just. long so can you blame me#well yes you can because i was the one to make it long#but shhhhh the more the merrier#dr69 was a cupcake dr96 is a 50 layer monster cake#ch5 progress update#( <- new tag)
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Writing/Art Update 2.20.2024
Well, I had another very solid week. I hesitate to call it good, because I didn't actually enjoy it very much, but I did grind out 8,642 words last week. I finished Chapter 8 and made a solid dent in Chapter 9a. Basically, I just tried to write at least a thousand words a day, which I accomplished almost every day. Yesterday, I only did 800, but I did 2000 on Sunday, plus the 800 was the ending scene for the chapter, so I deserve a little grace there. And it was a three-day weekend for my kids!
I am at the stage of the fanfic where most of the ambiguity is gone--I know what scenes are left and I just gotta write them. It doesn't matter if I want to or not, the fanfic isn't going to be done until I write them, so I just do it. I always worry that writing in this mindset is going to produce bad, unlovable writing--like, if I don't love writing this, how is anyone going to love reading it? Historically, though, that doesn't bear out--big chunks of Call Me Back and What We Do with Our Hearts were written in this exact fugue state, and I often end up loving them after the fact, and they still contain parts that are really funny or insightful or heartfelt or whatever. I literally do not know how this is possible, it just is. Also, like: there is going to be editing. It is truly astonishing how hard it is to slap anything at all down on a page and then how easy it is to shape it up into something good later on. It is a lot like throwing flat colors down on a piece of art and then adding a little texture and shading later.
The other thing I don't like about writing in this mode is that it makes me actually insane, which I don't like. I just roll word counts and percentages around in my head 24 hours a day and I'm not really able to relax and do things that are not grinding away at my writing. I can do it for short periods of time, but I think I have too much of this story left to tough it through, plus, like, what's the point? This is the thing I allegedly do for fun, and even though I really really really want to be finished, I feel like I should actually try to enjoy the process a little, at least.
So anyway! My first goal for this week is to be less insane about my fanfic. My second goal is to finish Chapter 9a (I think I have about 3-4k to go). My third goal is to edit Chapters 7 and 8 and send them to the beta.
After that, I'll just have 9b (of which I've already written about 4k) and the epilogue to do. After that, of course, there's still more editing, a beta pass for chapters 8->the end, and then I may try to read the whole thing through again from the beginning. So, 3 weeks, maybe, give or take a little?
In the interest of trying to have a little fun, I think I'm gonna try to post some previews for the next couple weeks? In the past, people have enjoyed previews. Today's is a little long, but it's the opening to the whole thing. It's below a cut for those who'd rather wait until the whole thing comes out.
“I don’t know if they’re trying to capitalize on Boy’s Day, or what,” Rukia said, idly inching her hand toward the plate of hot, steaming gyoza sitting on the countertop next to Renji’s stove, “but they’re having some sort of Seafood Festival out in East Sixth.”
A dish towel appeared out of nowhere, the tip whipping painfully against Rukia’s hand.
“Ow!” Rukia howled.
“They’re hot! It’ll hurt worse if you jam one of those in your mouth whole like I know you were gonna,” Renji replied, stuffing the dish towel back into his obi, and juggling the pan of gyoza he was currently frying. “What about a Seafood Festival? Why the Hell is the East Sixth having a Seafood Festival?”
“It’s being put on by the Train Museum, I hear,” Rukia continued grumpily, rubbing at her hand. “I guess they’re hauling a bunch of spring fish up from the Shiranui Sea at the other end of the line. It only takes a few hours to get out to Six. There’s probably carts making the run that we could take, but I would honestly just flash-step, at least on the way out. I want to eat my own body weight in katsuo. Possibly your body weight in katsuo.”
“Mmm,” Renji replied noncommittally, dumping the rest of his gyoza onto the plate and turning off the stovetop.
“I was thinking of asking Hisagi if he wanted us to take some pictures and do a little write-up for the Bulletin,” Rukia went on. “Get us a little walking-around money.” Not that Rukia lacked for pocket money, but it was a little more expensive than their usual weekend activities, and Renji got a little cagey when she tried to treat him to things.
“That’s a bad idea.”
“Why? We had fun the last time we played reporter!”
“Grab the bowl of sauce, would you?” Renji gestured with his chin as he picked up the plate of dumplings and the teapot to carry them to the table. “Don’t you remember when they built that damn train line? Took ‘em over over thirty years, and there were three to four articles every single Bulletin about the delays, the graft, the politics, the environmental impact, whatever. People got so mad about the idea of a train inside the Seireitei that it doesn’t even go anywhere useful. I didn’t even know they used it for anything aside from twee holidays for bored nobles.”
“I heard a story from my friend, Lady Akizuki, that the old head of the Seshimo clan actually lives on the train! He hasn’t set foot outside it in fifteen years!”
Renji cocked an eyebrow at her. He looked like he desperately wanted to hear about the Train Noble, but also did not want to be a guy who cared about Train Nobles. “Anyway, don’t mention the train to Hisagi unless you got six or seven hours to kill. Preferably when I’m not there.”
Rukia picked up the big, fragrant bowl of ginger dipping sauce with both hands. “It was just an idea. So what do you think? Do you want to go?”
“When is it again?” Renji asked, frowning.
“It’s running for all of May, but the weather has been so nice lately, I thought maybe we could go next weekend,” Rukia suggested.
Renji was quiet for a moment, but Rukia figured that maybe he was just focused on serving her dumplings, which was, in her opinion, very important.
“Ru,” he finally said slowly, as he poured her a cup of tea. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Is it that you want to go to the Seafood Festival with me?”
Renji took a big breath through his nose and let it out again. “If things work out, I’d love to go later in the month. Next weekend’s not gonna work, though.”
“Oh.” Rukia frowned. “That’s fine. That’s no big deal.” She looked down lovingly at her gyoza and then up at Renji hopefully. “Itadakimasu?” she asked hopefully.
Renji blinked. “Huh? Oh, yeah, please help yourself. That… that wasn’t the thing I had to say.”
“Well, spit it out, already,” Rukia groused, her mouth already crammed with gyoza. “Why are you being weird?”
Renji still hadn’t touched his own food. He had circled his right wrist with the thumb and middle finger of his left hand and was rotating it back and forth. He used to make that gesture a lot when he was young, and Rukia realized that she hadn’t seen him do it in years.
“I’m having some surgery,” Renji finally said.
Rukia froze. After a long moment, she slowly finished chewing her dumpling and swallowed it. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”
“I’m getting my arm fixed.”
Rukia watched him rub his wrist for another few seconds. “Did it not heal correctly after the, um, accident?” “The accident” was when Byakuya had stabbed him through the forearm during a demonstration fight the week prior. Everyone was being very polite about it.
“Wellll…” Renji drew out. “I mean, no, that healed up fine. Very clean cut, Senbonzakura, as always. But, uh, while I was at the Fourth, the topic of my burnt-out kidou ducts came up. Captain Unohana thinks she can fix ‘em. And I’ve decided to, um, let her try.”
“Oh,” said Rukia. Her chest was filling up with a lot of strange feelings. “Oh.”
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actium update sunday
yeah it's been a hot minute since I did this!! Actium has currently released 112 pages (not including covers and other illustrations), which mostly shows poor pacing and a lack of experience on my end lol, but is also an accomplishment! i am almost done with chap 3, i just have one more update to release for that... which is unfortunately in the sketching phase still. whoops.
speaking of massive page counts being a symptom of poor planning lol, i am currently rewriting a lot of the future chapters i have planned, with special attention to chap 4. chap 4 introduces the main conflict that every character going forward will be competing for, and so i need to make sure it's solid, that i have no possible questions or vagueness about it. other than that, i'm rescripting a lot of things, cutting down on page counts and learning to use my panels more effectively. this is something that i will continue to get better and better at the more i do it, so i'm okay with the fact that it will probably change in the future as well.
to be completely honest, i was really throwing myself into a wall trying to rewrite, just getting stuck because i was so attached to certain sequences and ideas. i've finally gotten over that, and a part of that was changing the way i thought about actium's story structure! actium was always going to have three acts, but my problem was that i was looking at them as three acts of one "book," so to speak, and thus the structure wasn't really working. actium is big, it has a lot of ground to cover (a lot that i should cut probably lol), and thus the 3 act structure was leaving me treading water in some places... so i just changed it from 3 "acts" to three "books"! Thinking of actium as a trilogy honestly helped me slot a lot of my puzzle pieces into place? no idea why, but it's given me a clearer idea of that i want to accomplish going forward. it will all be released under one account and such, i'm not splitting it up other than mentally.
actium was always going to be an amateur passion project, something i love and embrace. it will show my flaws as a writer and artist (to an almost unbearable degree lol), but the only way for me to ever do or get better at anything is to dive in head first. I've learned a lot already from these 112 pages, and I know that it will just continue to get better and better as I go on. but, of course, making sure that my foundation is solid and fixing up my outline now will really help with that.
in terms of uploading, it will happen when it happens lol. im job hunting for a second job unfortunately rn, so my time will just be what it is. i might start uploading just the lined uncolored pages on patreon when i finish them, or i'll just put all my pages on patreon until i have enough of a chapter's backlog to start releasing them publicly. in terms of the website, it is still down, i just need to dedicate the time to rebuilding it off of wix, and i've been more focused on creating the actual pages to learn neocities or wherever i'm gonna host it. it's all very messy lol
as always tysm to everyone who reads it!! you all mean the world to me <3 i 'm spending the entirety of my day today (fingers crossed) on writing and editing, so I hope to have this phase wrapped up soon!
#ramblings#actium update sunday#now if you see me on here or discord i need you to put a hit out on me
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Sunday's Eye Motif!!! (Also a thorn pattern???)
hey buddy. what the fuck does all this mean?
i've really been enjoying the penacony update lately, but one thing that really sets the questline apart from the previous three main storylines, is the buildup of mystery! one of the ways i feel that hoyo has done this most effectively is thru their character design, which is just as scrumptious as always. sunday in particular stands out to me, though. it seems he has an eye motif throughout his suit. part of me thinks this is a callback to his seraphim-inspired look, but i didn't pick up on any of the same obvious motifs in robin's design. i do wonder what this motif could allude to. perhaps the constant, watchful eye of the family breathing down his back? some sort of higher power above the family? i wish it would get acknowledged already so i'd have some answers!!!
also the thorn going down the front and wrapping around the cuffs?? i have few ideas as to what that could symbolize. since this is hoyo, it feels like every little design detail just has to have meaning, so i'll be a bit bummed if it doesn't
i've not finished the quests yet, though... so pls no spoilers
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fic rec friday(ish)
Well, it’s Saturday. But have some recs!
This week’s theme: Rec a “gateway” fic - a fic that you read and it was so good it lead you to read multiple works by the same writer.
The rules: Tag a fic and explain why it was a gateway fic / what you liked about it. Then tag some people to see what everyone else is reading. Spread the love! Lola will do the round up on Sunday again, so if you’re still recc-ing on Saturday, no pressure. Please tag @welcometololaland or #ficrecfriday so she can compile the masterlist!
(A couple things, just in general: first, I am still very new to reading in this fandom, so I’m still standing in many of these gateways. Second, I am a kudos-and-comment reader, so if you don’t see my name in your serotonin section, please assume that I haven’t yet read your fic / update (but will soon, because I am slowly but surely consuming all the things).)
Thanks to @welcometololaland, @rmd-writes, @thisbuildinghasfeelings, and my beloved @ambiguouspenny for the tags!
to which there is no reply by stormss (@reyesstrand)
We've been blessed with so many post-finale/honeymoon takes, but this is one of the two that haunts me. It's quiet and moody and beautifully introspective, as Carlos comes to grips with the end of escapism and reality starts creeping in again. There's this distinct sense of before and after, especially as he reflects on the things he would've brought back to the real world with him, if his life still made sense, and there's so much insight here, in the objects he chooses for his parents, in the way he thinks of his father, in the way he sees TK. And I felt so at home reading this, not just because it's such a well-drawn story (though it is), but because of the way, every few paragraphs, there'd be a line phrased precisely the way I would have, and I'd get the strangest sense I was reading the best work I'd ever done that I'd somehow forgotten I'd written. I can't wait to read everything Maddie's done, including the handful of fics in another fandom we share.
living at the centre of a wound still fresh by LolaLand (@welcometololaland)
And here's the other! I am utterly infatuated with this fic — the way it's written, the way it's paced, and the way Lola lets Carlos plain not be okay. It's such a starkly beautiful story about grief and the way it ebbs and flows like the tide, the way it can pull you under or see you safely back to shore and you never know which wave you're riding. Lovelier still, somehow, is her TK, and all the things he does to help Carlos stay afloat. This one is still in progress (and I have a date this weekend with the last couple chapters), but it's the reason why Lola's Seven Ways (Back to You) series is next up on my Marked for Later list.
Fire Island by @carlos-in-glasses
I was remiss in not reccing this last week, for the "fics that start with the first letter of your username" theme — it certainly deserved a spot. This was not only the first fic I read of theirs, it's one of the first fics I read in the fandom. And it's such a rich, bittersweet story, one of those quietly beautiful pieces that lovingly punches you in the gut. The OCs are so well-realized, and the boys' love is so warm and lived-in that it feels like a lifeline, like a thread of hope to hold on to as we hear these tragically beautiful stories of boys past. This is the whole reason I got so excited for the swimfic, which is posting now.
You Keep Coming Back With A Bird In Your Teeth by vaguenotion
I can't even. I got so wrapped up in reading this that I started work two hours late. Writing a rec for this apparently isn't going to be any better than my feeble attempt at feedback, so I'll just say this: the prose is gorgeous, the character voices are unreal (fueled by a truly next-level TK POV), and it surprises me with every word. It's not even finished and it's already one of my very favorite things in this fandom, and everyone should read it. It's the author's first Tarlos fic, but they've got a fan in me for life.
I’m late, so I’m pretty sure everyone’s been tagged. But just in case, @hoko-onchi-writes, you’re up!
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somebody's probably already asked this but is the comic on hiatus?
Vvvvvaguely. I haven't been updating mainly because season 2b episodes completely rock my shit every time a new one is released. Also general trouble with motivation. That's on me though – I'll just say that updates are less "on Sundays" now and just generally "the Sundays on the weeks I manage to finish an update".
#ask#not comic#You were the first one to ask this actually!#mandatory apology to yall#new episode is released and I have to make sure everything I wrote already still fits
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Midoriya-sensei AU
Chapter 12: Sports Day
I've decided I'm going to officially change updates to the 15th of every month, because I just don't have to time to post twice a month considering the chapters seem to be getting longer (who's fault could that be? ^^') and I don't want to disappoint
Also, I made a POLL regarding a minor side plot, so let me know if you're interested or not!
Part 11 | Ao3 | Part 13
[Sunday 8th October]
Me [1812]: I'm sorry im watching ths news and.erm did you jut use YOUR FIRE???
Me [1813]: Thats so amazing you look great I'm so proud of you!
Me [1814]: I will be screaming to you about this next time I see you but for now I'll just scream over text
Me [1814]: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1833]: 🔥
***
Izuku, understandably, felt extra excited when he walked into work Monday morning. It had been over a week and not only had Shoto taken what he’d said to heart, but he’d actually started training his fire!
Initially, Izuku had been concerned—Shoto’s replies had been slow and abrupt since their hangout, and Fuyumi had even noticed that he’d been staying back at the agency later than usual—but after his friend’s shift yesterday evening, a phone call had quickly put those worries to rest. It turned out that Shoto had simply spent the past week training his left side; he’d even called for private coaching from Eraserhead and Endeavour, the latter of which was surprising but logical.
‘He’s not a complete bastard wank anymore, and what good is my father if I can’t take advantage of his knowledge?’ He could practically hear the shrug in Shoto’s voice. ‘He was pretty helpful, and Eraser was his usual brutal self. I learnt a lot.’
‘I’m really glad!’ Izuku’s cheeks hurt from smiling. ‘So you’re feeling more confident?’
‘The past week’s been hell, and I still have a lot of catching up to do, but yeah.’ A pause. ‘I feel confident to begin using my… my fire, in the field.’
Izuku honestly couldn’t wait to see Shoto’s growth. He was already so proud of his friend, and he knew his family would be too, especially Rei. It was a huge step—he was going to need to compile a new notebook dedicated solely to Shoto's left side.
He was still grinning about it, even as he walked across the field, setting up the obstacle course for the students.
Part of Izuku was also thankful for the timing, as Shoto's news was what was currently suppressing the anxiety bubbling in his stomach. After all, today was sports day, and while the event was typically one of his favourites in the academic calendar, they were also using it to implement their last minute plan to help Hiru.
They couldn't afford for anything to go wrong.
‘Hey.’ Fuyumi walked over, smiling gently. She’d already finished helping one of the other teachers set up the beanbag toss. ‘How’re you doing?’
‘Ask me again in approximately eight hours.’ He chuckled humorlessly as he lined up the tunnels, before positioning the skipping ropes on the other side. 'I'll be honest, I'm feeling a nervous poop coming.'
'You sound like Natsuo.' She snorted, immediately reaching down to help him with the equipment.
‘I’ll take that as a complement.’ He stuck his tongue out in response. ‘Thanks.’
His lower body grumbled with discomfort and he pulled a face. ‘Once this is finished, I’ll pop over. Just the sacks left after this.’
‘Don’t worry about it, I’ll finish off here.’ Despite her kindness, there was an assertive air to her voice which told Izuku that she wasn’t accepting no for an answer.
That was fine with him.
‘Really? Thank you! You’re the best honestly!’ He immediately dropped everything and ran to the building. Once inside, he beelined for the staff toilets. ‘Thank fuck…’
Once he was finished, Izuku checked his phone to find that it was only a few minutes before the first bell. Luckily, his classroom wasn’t too far. Anxiety still lingered in his body—he suspected it would for the duration of the school day—but it wasn’t overwhelming; he still smiled brightly as he greeted his students and took the register, before leading them to the assembly hall. They had all come to school in their PE kits, so it was rather amusing to see them wearing their usual school shoes instead of their trainers, due to being inside.
Izuku then took his place next to Fuyumi, like clockwork, and the two of them watched the other students filter in.
‘Did you get sorted okay?’
‘Yeah, all good.’ She shrugged. ‘Did you have a good poop?’
‘Y’know, I’m still not sure… but I certainly needed it.’ He answered shamelessly. There wasn’t really a filter between them at this point—they’d seen their students do more horrifying things over the years.
The Head soon began with the usual topics—reminding the faculty about the HQA information session that was coming up in a few weeks—before he eventually brought up the giant elephant in the room.
‘I can practically hear you all vibrating with excitement, even without my quirk, so no point delaying. As you’re aware, today is sports day!' He paused while the students cheered. 'This year, however, we’ve put a special twist on it…’
Usually, grades were kept separate—the two classes competing against each other—but this time, there would be four distinct teams: Lemillion, consisting of classes 2B, 3A and 4B; Dynamite, including classes 2A, 3B and 4B; Shoto, of which Fuyumi’s class, 1B, was a part of, as well as 5B and 6A; and All Might, encompassing the final three classes—Izuku had been fierce in his demand to be put on the latter team. So, while each grade would still go around each activity together as a whole, the allotted points they’d accumulate went to their designated teams.
That meant that Hiru and his antagonists had to rely on each other to win, and the prize was a trophy for each winning class.
The formal reason behind the team set-up was to encourage the different grades to support each other and build a rapport. Hopefully, it might also allow certain individuals to reflect on their differences.
Hopefully.
‘Now that you all have your teams, it’s time for the schedule.’ The Head brought up the next powerpoint side, showing a table. ‘Some of you will notice that your homeroom teacher is running an activity. That is why each grade will walk around together. So, for example, grade one will follow Todoroki-sensei, while Midoriya-sensei runs the obstacle course. Make sense?'
A sea of heads immediately bobbed up and down.
The Head smiled. 'Great! Now, your teacher will also have a copy of the schedule, so there's no need to memorise it…'
There were a few more minutes of technicalities—a few kids clearly becoming impatient—before everyone was finally released. While Fuyumi gathered their students together, Izuku quickly made his way back out to the field, along with a few other teachers. Some parents were already congregating around the activities, eager to support their kids. He smiled in greeting and exchanged pleasantries with a few, but otherwise remained silent as he waited.
He rocked back and forth on his feet, imagining all the different outcomes of the day. Hiru was the fastest runner in his grade—probably the older ones too—due to his quirk. That was why they’d deliberately scheduled the whole school for the relay race at the end of the day. That way, they could set it up so each team could cheer each other on for the final event.
His thoughts were interrupted before he could truly get lost in them, as a flock of children suddenly swarmed the field.
There were five other events, not including the obstacle course and relay. Tug of war was fairly self-explanatory, as was dance; along with the bean bag toss—throw as many beanbags into your team’s basket as possible before the time runs out—and the cavalry battle. Admittedly though, the latter wouldn’t be as impressive as UA’s infamous cavalry battle due to the lack of quirk usage.
The event that was often the most confusing for foreign students was oodama, but that was just because of the name, which was just “giant ball”. Essentially, each team had to carry a giant inflatable ball together to the goal point; if they dropped it, they’d have to start again. Izuku really hoped Hiru had brought along his personalised cover for his quills, otherwise they might have some issues with that one.
‘Namaste, Midoriya-sensei!’
He smiled as the sixth graders surrounded him, all bowing simultaneously. They were the year below his previous homeroom class—when he’d had India for global month—so naturally, they’d all joined in during the legendary “Namaste phase” and made sure not to let it die out entirely.
Indulging them, he put his palms together and bowed.
‘Namaste, bachche! How're you all doing?'
He snorted when they immediately began speaking over each other—clearly excited—and waited until they’d all calmed down before taking them through the usual rules. There would be six races, with roughly ten students per race. Then, the winner of each race would enter the final, and points would be assigned based on their placement.
It wasn’t too difficult considering the sixth graders had already done the course before—with just a few minor changes—but once they’d moved on, his next group was the first graders.
‘Hey, Sensei!’ His students greeted excitedly. ‘We just did our dance routine!’
‘Did you?’ He gasped. ‘How did it go?’
‘It went really well!’ Hana jumped up and down. ‘Our parents all watched as well, which was super fun! Okaasan took pictures!’
‘We didn’t win though.’ Haku pouted, crossing his arms as class B joined them.
‘It was really close!’ Fuyumi tried to placate. ‘You were all really good! Like professional dancers!’
‘Like Pinky?’ Izuku offered, knowing his students would appreciate the comparison. When Fuyumi quickly agreed, they brightened up significantly, and he explained the rules.
It ended up being a close one, but after the first set of races, the finalists were decided: four from class B and two from A. Luckily though, Hiru and Touta managed to bag the top two spots, bringing the scores to a tie as they went off to the next activity. Izuku waved farewell as he quickly prepared everything for the second graders.
By the time lunch came around and the scores were tallied, team All Might were in joint second with Dynamight, while team Shoto was in the lead. It was pretty close, which was to be expected—especially to build suspense and competition—but it still made Izuku nervous.
His leg was twitching.
'Stop overthinking.' Fuyumi nudged him from where they were sitting: a picnic bench in the playground, as the children played around them. 'We've set everything in motion, it's up to the kids now.'
'I know.' He sighed, exasperated. 'But I'm a worrier!'
'And I'm not?' She scoffed with a laugh. 'Come on. There's nothing else you can do for now.'
'Only because I haven't thought of something yet.' He argued weakly.
Maybe there was some way he could figure out a plan to have the different grades work together, or set up an ethical way to jeopardise-
‘Nope. Not going there.' Fuyumi interjected, before slurping up more noodles. He must've been staring at his bento for too long and mumbling out loud. 'Tell you what, I'll change the subject. How was your weekend?’
Not even subtle… but Izuku chose to take the bait. Worrying made his stomach hurt.
‘Pretty uneventful…’ He shrugged, using his chopsticks to move his food around. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't quite keep the smile from his face as his mind recalled a certain hero. ‘Y’know, other than the obvious. You?’
‘Yeah, I was pretty much the same.’ She laughed halfheartedly. 'You really must be nervous for Hiru, considering you haven't even brought up Shoto until now, and that was with some prompting.'
'I've just not had the time to properly gush about it.' He placed a hand over his chest, then eyed his friend cautiously. 'Plus, I wanted to check first: how're you feeling about it?'
She flashed him a grateful smile, then shook her head affectionately.
'It's… I'm feeling hopeful, I think.' She pursed her lips, pondering. ‘It was just… surprising, to say the least. As you know, we were all concerned about him the past week, but then, before he went to work yesterday, he told us to keep an eye on the news and promised that it was nothing bad…' Her tone turned sarcastic. 'That didn't worry us at all.’
‘Of course.’
‘So we kept the tv on during dinner, then all of a sudden, okaasan called my name, and I rushed in, and on the screen was Shoto using his fire to catch a villain, like some kind of fever dream!’
She hesitated then; Izuku tilted his head to the side.
‘Was that good or bad?’
‘Oh, definitely good!’ She was quick to clarify, then looked down at her noodles in thought. ‘We just… never expected it. Shoto had always been so against using it in combat. Something must’ve happened.’
She paused and slowly looked up to meet Izuku’s eyes. ‘Hang on.’
He chuckled nervously.
Her eyes narrowed. ‘You never said what your argument was about when you hung out at the house, just that you disagreed on something. Come on, spill.’
As she looked at him expectantly, Izuku tapped his index fingers together and bounced his legs under the table.
‘He kinda… told me about why he didn’t use his fire, so I kinda… to sum it up, basically called him immature and explained why he was being dumb.’
‘Izuku!’
‘I know, it was stupid, I don’t know what I was doing. I guess I was just…’ He faltered. His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it. 'I was just…'
‘Being your usual self.’ Fuyumi eventually finished for him, causing him to look at her quizzically. ‘He’s needed telling for years, but he’s stubborn and all of us were afraid of the consequences. Our family’s been through so much, we didn’t want to risk breaking it again.’
She sighed. ‘After everything that happened, I think he’d resigned himself to not using his left side… because otherwise he’d have to admit to not “giving it his all” against Touya. He didn't "try hard enough" to save him, if that makes sense?’
‘I didn’t think about that.’ Izuku murmured, guilt immediately washing over him as he slapped his forehead. ‘Of course he feels responsible for what happened, and I was so insensitive.’
He groaned, twitching as he recalled the argument. He made several more little noises of annoyance and shook his head. Fuck, it’s a wonder he doesn’t hate me…
Fuyumi regarded him carefully, chewing the inside of her cheek. She was used to his stimming by now, so didn't mention it, which he was thankful for.
‘I don’t know what you said specifically.’ She began slowly. ‘But whatever it was… it worked, so don’t beat yourself up too much like I know you’re currently doing.’
‘You know me too well.’ Izuku snorted. 'Gahhh, I just… he looked so sad and angry.'
‘He’s been sad and angry for a while, but he used to be worse.’ She conceded, but her tone wasn't accusatory. ‘Therapy has done most of the work to get him where he is today, but he’s always been so adamant about his fire… until now. You don’t need to feel bad for telling him what he needed to hear, promise.’
Izuku tightened his lips and searched her expression.
‘Are you really sure?’
She snorted.
‘If Shoto hated you, you’d know it by now.’ She told him simply. ‘Has he messaged you today?’
Izuku paused.
‘Well, yeah... He wanted to wish me luck.’
‘See?’
‘All right, all right, fine.’ Izuku smiled despite himself, as he took his phone out of his pocket. ‘It was really thoughtful-’
He paused when he realised Shoto had actually messaged him a few minutes ago.
‘Yeah, he fretted over the wording for ten minutes this morning.’ Fuyumi divulged—Izuku doubted her brother wanted him to know that little bit of information—before taking a sip from her drink. ‘So you’ve got nothing to worry about… and I know that smile, you’re looking at his messages, aren’t you?’
‘Hush.’ He stuck his tongue out, but before he could unlock his phone, one of his students suddenly appeared at his side. ‘Oh, hello, Nagisa-chan.’
‘Hi.’ She swung her arms out. ‘What happens when you die?’
Fuyumi choked on her drink, while Izuku just took a moment to process the question.
‘Erm… me specifically, or just people?’ Despite asking for clarification, the answer would remain the same: he didn’t have a clue.
‘Well, is it different for you?’ She tilted her head to the side.
Point taken.
‘I’ll be honest, Nagisa-chan, I’m not sure.’ He admitted. ‘That’s the thing about dying… you can’t really come back and let everyone know what happens.’
‘What about people who die and then they come back to life with the electric oven gloves.’
Izuku’s left eye twitched.
‘You mean a defibrillator?’ He asked, slowly.
‘I like my name better.’
‘Yeah, me too.’ Fuyumi chipped in.
Izuku hoped the name comment would distract her from the question, but alas, Nagisa continued to stare at him expectantly.
‘Er… well, I guess if they’re brought back to life, they couldn’t have been truly dead?’
‘Even Jesus?’
‘Do you… believe in Jesus?’
‘Not really.’ She sighed, looking over at where some students were playing hopscotch. ‘So what DOES happen when you die?’
Izuku bit his lip to prevent any muttering—he could go to various lengths about different religions and their beliefs, along with potential theories—but figured no one would appreciate that.
‘What do you think happens?’ He asked instead.
‘Hmmm.’ She placed a contemplative hand on her chin. ‘Probably… if you’re a good person, you turn into a dog or maybe a butterfly, but if you’re bad, you turn into… a wasp.’
‘A wasp?’
‘Yeah. No one likes wasps.’
‘What about good people who don’t like dogs?’ Fuyumi asked.
‘I guess… then maybe you turn into your favourite animal if you’re good.’ She twirled some of her hair around her finger. ‘And if you’re bad, you turn into something you don’t like.’
‘I can get behind that.’ Izuku agreed, then finally asked what had been on his mind since the start of the interaction. ‘What made you ask the question?’
‘My goldfish died last night.’ Nagisa pouted. ‘Okaasan flushed Floella down the toilet.’
‘That’s sad.’ Izuku frowned.
‘Yes, very.’ She put the hair she was playing with in her mouth and started chewing. ‘Anyway, see you later, sensei.’
Before he could say anything else, she sprinted off to join those playing hopscotch.
‘That was lovely.’ Fuyumi commented, as the two of them watched her go.
‘I think I have whiplash.’ Izuku deadpanned, before finally looking at his phone.
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1239]: Hope it’s going well
Me [1250]: So far so good! How’s work?
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1251]: On my lunch now, so can’t complain
‘Mei-chan, don’t you dare put that worm in your mouth!’ Fuyumi suddenly shouted, before bolting off towards the aforementioned student. ‘It’s every other day with this girl.’
Izuku snorted, then scanned the playground. The rest of the children seemed to be enjoying themselves, whilst most parents chatted with each other around the many picnic benches; some families stayed together, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Me [1253]: Same… 7 more minutes left tho
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1254]: That’s rough buddy
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1254]: What time do you get off?
Izuku furrowed his eyebrows.
‘Have you finished your lunch?’ Fuyumi was suddenly at his side, a little out of breath. When he nodded, she scooped up his container. ‘No problem, I’ll pop these back in the staffroom while you chat up my brother.’
‘I am not-’ He faltered when she quickly sped away out of earshot, then grumbled as he turned back to his phone. ‘I wish.’
Me [1255]: The school day finishes at 3 15 but I won’t be leaving till half past. Why?
He tapped the edge of his phone as he waited for a reply, periodically monitoring the students.
Shoto-kun 🙏 [1257]: Just wondering for when Fuyumi comes home
Izuku tried not to feel disappointed with the answer.
Me [1258]: Fair enough. Anyway, I gotta start rounding up the kids. Speak to you soon!
He quickly put his phone in his pocket and got to his feet.
Once everyone was organised and lunch was officially over, Izuku left the first graders with Fuyumi and jogged back over to the obstacle course, anticipating the fourth graders. In truth, he handled them relatively easily. They were especially boisterous, but the rowdiness didn't manifest into disobedience, and the parents watching from the sidelines cheered them on in good sport.
It wasn't until they left and grade five appeared that Izuku felt anxiety return. He tried not to let it show as he explained the rules to the students, who seemed particularly riled up, as teams All Might and Shoto were currently tying for first place.
'Ugh, I hope those annoying first graders don't ruin it for us!' One rolled his eyes, while his friend groaned with frustration.
'I bet they do! They're so useless!' Hiru hadn't provided him with names, but Izuku knew enough to suspect who the bullies were. 'Especially that mutant porcupine-'
'Have you got something you want to share with everyone?' Izuku interrupted, stern. When the rest of the grade turned to share at the duo, embarrassment flooded their cheeks and they shook their heads. Izuku tried not to pay attention to the way some parents turned to whisper to one another and even point at him. 'Well then, I hope you were discussing the rules, because it’s time to split into teams.'
His smile returned as he continued on with the event. However, his eyes did occasionally scan certain individuals for longer than he usually would.
'Is that him?' He'd hear some of the adults whisper. 'The Quirkless one?'
He'd heard similar questions and hushed comments throughout the day—not all malicious, mainly curious—but right now, Izuku was struggling to ignore them. Maybe it was because there were parents among them who were overtly and dangerously quirkist. Realistically, he knew that he was safe and that he was doing his job to the best of his ability, but he still felt like he was under the spotlight; if he fucked anything up in front of them, then he was setting a bad example for his fellow HQ community.
Luckily, whispers aside, the remaining forty five minutes passed without any incidents, and Izuku exhaled with relief once he was left to pack everything away while the students and parents made their way to the athletics track. It was only a brief interlude—it was easier putting everything away compared to setting it all up this morning—but he welcomed it all the same. It gave him a chance to briefly recharge and gather his bearings.
Once everything was sorted, he—along with a few other teachers who had also been on clean-up duty—jogged over to join the rest of the school. It was loud, many voices cheering and whooping. From the look and sound of it, the third graders were competing, which meant that there were only two more races left.
He hadn't missed the final then.
Izuku spotted the first graders sitting together with Fuyumi, and smiled as he strode over
'How's it going?' He nudged her gently and joined her on the grass, leaning back on his ankles. He tried not to alert the students of his presence so they could enjoy the race. 'Miss anything?'
'Your initial predictions were right, as usual.' She crossed her arms and nodded towards the blackboard by the finish line. 'If team Lemillion win, which looks like it's about to happen, then no matter how team Dynamight do in the grade two race, they still won't be higher than third. That puts our kids competing for the overall first place in the final round.'
'Seriously?' His eyes widened. 'I never expected it to go that smoothly, especially considering I don't know the other grades as well as ours.'
'Yeah, but I distinctly remember walking into your classroom after school to snap you out of your three hour strategizing session because housekeeping was about to kick you out.' Fuyumi shrugged. 'Once you get fixated on something, that's it, so I was pretty confident with what you'd come up with... even if it requires me having to console my poor students after their inevitable defeat.'
'Look, it's not my fault the fastest first grader is in my class.' Izuku grinned when Fuyumi mock sneered at him. 'I just hope it's worth it.'
His friend hummed, but didn't comment further, as the race came to an end. As expected, team Lemillion won—which meant both teams were out of the running for first—but that didn't prevent the second graders from giving it their absolute all in their race for third place. While that was going on though, Izuku tapped his class's four candidates on the shoulder.
'Hey, sensei!' Hana and Tomoyo both exclaimed, while Hiru waved.
'Are you here to escort us to the start line?' Touta asked, straight to the point.
'You bet I am!' He smiled, gesturing for them to get up. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Fuyumi do the same with her students. 'Are you ready?'
'Yes!' They jumped up.
'Do your best!' Haku called out, prompting the rest of the class to shout their good luck.
'I believe in you!' Nozomi pumped her fist. 'Show them what you're made of, Hiru!'
'Gotta go fast!' The aforementioned giggled, as they made their way around the course.
Instead of the typical 400m relay, they had painted a track half the size; therefore, to run a full lap, each student participating would run 50m. It was the ideal size, as it meant everyone had enough space to spectate, including the parents.
By the time they made it to the starting line, the penultimate race concluded, as teams Dynamight and Lemillion shouted accordingly—the cheers outweighing the groans of the losing team. Izuku wasn't quite sure who had won, until he heard Tomoyo inform Touta that Lemiilion had made a last minute comeback and had beat Dynamight by one point.
'Alright, everyone!' The Head announced through a loudspeaker; Izuku winced at the volume. 'Has everyone enjoyed today?' He paused as the field filled with whoops and excited "yeah"s, before continuing. 'It's time for our final race of the day and the battle for first place! Show some support for the first graders!'
Amongst the noise, the students got into position and the first runners were given their baton.
'I was telling the others about how you can start running before your partner gets to you.' Touta informed Izuku. 'That way, there's no stopping, which could slow the race down, but I also told them not to start running too early. Don't worry, we practised yesterday during playtime!'
'Is that so?' Izuku nodded in understanding. 'How did that go?'
'Very well! I'm confident we'll win!' Touta nodded firmly, before getting on the ground into the proper position, unlike the other student, who was just standing normally and side-eyeing him.
Izuku quickly stepped to the side and gave a thumbs up. Anticipation set in as the Head counted them down, and suddenly they were running. Touta—ever idolising Ingenium—had an intense look of concentration as he hand chopped with each stride; somehow not losing the baton.
True to his word, Tomoyo started running as he came closer—not too fast and with her arm stuck out ready—and the transition was fairly smooth. Despite Touta's start, the race was still neck and neck; the class B girl running against Tomoyo was very fast—Izuku could feel Fuyumi’s smirk from here—so they quickly took the lead. His heart almost burst as Tomoyo’s face went red in her attempt to frantically catch up, but it was no use.
It wasn’t over yet though. Once the baton went to Hana, they were able to make back some of the gap. By this point, everyone was cheering and shouting—Izuku included, whilst trying not to let the desperation show in his voice—hoping for victory. Hana did well to pick up their pace, and once Hiru started running, nothing could stop him; he easily overtook his opponent and sprinted towards the finish line. His quills shook where his sports shirt had been modified, his nose bounced with each step, but his face was determined, focusing only on one goal.
Izuku looked around him, searching everyone else’s expressions. Most were watching with amazement, others with delight, whilst those on team Shoto were clutching their heads in anguish. When his eyes scanned over the fifth graders from earlier, he was glad to see them staring at Hiru with wide eyes; their mouths agape with shock. That was progress, at least, and when Hiru crossed the finish line—an easy victory—they punched their fists in the air and cheered with everyone else.
Izuku let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and turned back to Hiru—who was being crowded by the rest of class A—and joined them in their congratulations, making sure to commend the other runners as well. The background noise all mingled into one, so once he'd said his piece, Izuku made his way back to Fuyumi, a smile on his face…
Until he passed the adults.
'To let a mutant participate in this event is ridiculous.' He overheard one of the parents complain. 'They clearly have an unfair advantage.'
‘Exactly! That’s what I’ve been saying for the past three years!’ Another chimed in. 'They should have their own category or something, especially when the normal kids aren't allowed to use their quirks.'
Izuku's jaw tightened and he turned.
'Excuse my intrusion.' His heart pounded against his chest. What was he doing? 'But I hardly think a children's sports day warrants any extra categories based purely on physical attributes—we don’t split the beanbag toss up depending on height, after all. Plus, one member of class B's relay team also had a heteromorph quirk, so I don't think there was any "unfair" advantage.'
'Of course you would think that.' The first parent rolled her eyes. 'Everyone has an advantage over someone quirkless, so it's all the same to you.'
Wow, no hesitation there.
That stung, but Izuku wasn't about to submit.
'I have a joint-honours degree in both teaching and quirk studies, with a postgraduate specialisation in the development of quirks.' He replied, easily. 'So I don't think you can just write me off as not knowing what I'm talking about simply because I'm quirkless, which is a prejudiced argument if I've ever heard one.'
'Well if you're so smart, then you should know about how these genetic mutations are illnesses-'
'Illnesses?' He couldn't help but scoff. 'Do you believe everything Speak Out tell you? Do you know the studies they cite are super dodgy and often anecdotal?'
'That's because the scientists doing peer reviews are politically motivated.'
'No, it's because the studies' methods are shi- rubbish, and the word "illness" is thrown around too liberally.' Izuku remained steadfast. Luckily, they hadn't attracted a crowd yet, but he could tell some of the other parents were looking at them. 'Anyone with critical thinking knows that.'
'Are you saying I have no critical thinking?'
'Well, if the shoe f-'
'Midoriya-sensei.' Fuyumi suddenly appeared at his side, her smile placating. 'Why don't you let me take over? Kimura-san and Shimizu-san’s children are in my class. I'll meet you in the staffroom.'
She looked at him deliberately, but Izuku didn't retreat straight away. He held her gaze for a few seconds first, clearly not happy about the situation.
'Alright.'
Casting the parents one final glance, he took his leave. As he made his way through the crowd though, he clenched his fists tightly and bit the inside of his cheek to prevent any angry muttering.
It's always one step forward, two fucking steps back.
***
'So, you told me to ask again in eight hours.' Fuyumi said as they walked out of the school building. 'How're you doing?'
Izuku sighed, kicking a small stone.
'At least the kids are acting in a friendly way.' He tried to focus on the positives. 'Those fifth graders even called Hiru cool.'
'Yes… But that's not what's on your mind.' Fuyumi stated pointedly. 'It's that conversation with the parents that would’ve escalated if I hadn’t intervened.'
Izuku chuckled humorlessly, still staring at the ground.
'You got me.' He conceded, spreading his palms in surrender. 'It was just so frustrating.'
'I know.' Fuyumi waved at the school caretaker over by the bins, prompting Izuku to also wave politely. 'I wasn't able to talk much sense into them after you left, I'll be honest, but I pointed them to the information session we'll be hosting—they said they'll be there.'
'Yay.'
'You stop that now.' She swatted him without any real malice. 'You were the one who…'
Izuku turned to look at her when she trailed off, only to find her staring at the school gate, mouth agape. Confused, he followed her gaze and baulked when he saw red and white hair.
'Shoto-kun?'
The aforementioned was leant against the wall, still in his hero costume, and scrolling through his phone. When he noticed them approaching, however, he pocketed the device and nodded in greeting.
'What a lovely surprise.' Fuyumi sounded almost amused. 'What brings you to this side of the world?'
'Midoriya told me what time you'd both be finishing, so I thought I'd walk home with you.' Shoto answered easily, like this was perfectly normal behaviour. 'I figured if he was going to scream at me, may as well do it in front of an audience.'
'Scream?' Izuku took a moment to process what he meant. 'Ooooh, the texts. I said I'd scream at him next time I saw him because he used his fire… Good screaming.'
'I was beginning to worry.' Fuyumi snorted. 'Good idea. Izuku could definitely do to let off some steam with a distraction.'
Shoto's expression immediately shifted into concern.
'That bad?'
Izuku sighed.
'I'll tell you about it later, but for now…' He paused for dramatic effect. 'Tell me everything about your fire!'
By the time they parted ways—the Todorokis turning left at the crossroads and Izuku going straight on—he couldn't deny he was definitely in a better mood than he had been an hour ago.
#midoriya sensei au#tododeku#todoroki shoto#midoriya izuku#todoizu#todomido#dekutodo#izushou#teacher au#teacher midoriya izuku#teacher todoroki fuyumi#quirkless midoriya izuku#quirkless discrimination#todoroki fuyumi#platonic fuyumizu
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MOONDAY UPDATE, FEB 6th 2023
happy moonday! feels like forever has gone by with the amount of stuff that already happened in january, which was way too much for just one month.
my nibling was born, so obviously, time has been spent visiting them and my sis, i managed to crack three (3!!!!) teeth all at once so that was a fun weekend or emergency dentist and a bunch of money down the drain (i'm never eating toffee again), i started teaching a pottery class and most recently my mom visiting.
but enough of that and let's get into what i actually managed to get done this past month!
what i did
i really got into the swing of rewriting the prologue. there's still a bit left to get through, but i'm hoping to keep up the momentum on it and maybe even get it done this week. for the most part, it's just editing the old stuff, but i'm just about to get into adding a little more about the heist so it actually feels like mc and Rainn are going in with a plan and haven't just been sitting on their asses for the past month.
worked on a map of Amelare, which i cannot seem to feel pleased about no matter how many times i restart it. but each time i do, i feel like i'm getting a little closer to what i'm actually imagining for the city, both pre-storm and a decade later (where chapter one will start).
character portraits for the in-game art. i had a big brain moment about the in-game art that i'm so pleased with and so excited to be able to show off when the next update of the game comes around. the character/relationship codex won't be available in-game until chapter one, though, so i'm definitely going to give you a snek pek before you'd have access to the art in-game!
and you might've already seen the border brushes i've been working on, which will both be featured in the character portraits as well as the rest of the in-game art, and man, i cannot tell you how meditative it's been to make those!
goals for next month
finish the rewrite of the available prologue
finish at least two character portraits (likely Rainn and Silas, as they're the first two main characters to appear in-game)
finish the map of Amelare (hopefully 🙃)
hopefully, i'll be able to keep up the momentum i have now, and get all of this done (though i still need to remember i have an additional workload now on sundays with my pottery class, which eats up a couple of hours on one of my two free days every week).
that's all for this month's update, take care, and i'll see you the first monday of march!
- spacedfoxes
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I think I'll finish the main story update on Friday; I've spent a few hours on it between other obligations and as it stands, I'm a little over halfway done.
My schedule for tomorrow is crammed too, but I might get an hour or so of gameplay in. Everyone's been fun so far! A completely arbitrary favoritism tier list of the Penacony characters (STC):
Acheron—the red text? HI3 Mei references? And her overall aesthetic design... she ate up so well. I want her viscerally, carnally, and every way I can have her.
Sunday—his in-game CN voice caught me off guard more than I'd like to admit. I've heard his voice from the 1.6 trailer, but hearing it in game felt more off-putting. He's short? And the same height as Stelle? The way he stands is a kind of... if I speak, I'm in trouble.
Firefly—I will cry.
Misha—his eyes look like keyholes and the doors of the Reviere Hotel. From what I've gotten up to, he definitely seems to have a deeper connection to the overall plot. And his animations are cute!
Aventurine—he's... also shorter than I expected. It makes the scene with Dr. Ratio a little funny, actually. His eyes look cool, and I'm interested in knowing more about his past before the IPC! As expected, business major vibes, though he lays it on a little too thick to not be intentional. I didn't expected the comments from Dr. Ratio and Sparkle... at least in Dr. Ratio's case, I expected better, but he's already proven to be quite prejudiced in his approach to education.
Sam—haven't met him yet, but I quite like the Stellaron Hunters, and he's one of them, too!
Sparkle—she's funny. I like that. I don't know how much I trust her on Masked Fools lore yet, but I'll take any Aha lore regardless of the facts. She's also antagonistic towards Aventurine, but he did stalk her for 45 system minutes, so I can understand being a bit put off by that (those comments were rather over the top, though...).
Robin—she's pretty and definitely some percentage of lesbian. Her dress is so nice! I love her design. Though for someone who's whole thing is being in the limelight, we don't really get to see much of that (yet?).
Black Swan—Garden of Recollection lore has me on an email list. Unfortunately, I don't dig her design that much.
Gallagher—not my type, haven't seen enough to move him up the ranks.
For Duke Inferno and the rest of the Annihilation Gang—I still don't think they're showing up.
#honkai: star rail#hsr#ringing forward#penacony#nothing here counts as a direct spoiler#or at least. not a major one?
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It has been a while since I've posted on Tumblr hasn't It? I am the type of person that doesn't like talking about myself. But I feel as if I owe it to you all to give a bit of crumbs about what is going on as of late.
So for the past couple months I've been "struggling" with unemployment. 🙄 honestly I shouldn't even say struggling. When I left my last job a few months ago I swore to myself that I would never enter the BPO sector ever again. It's too much for me. But I understand, leave your problems/introverted personality at the door and be more professional. They all said but it just wasn't for me. Long story short ever since I made that promise to myself I've been home everyday just doing what I love. (Writing)
Two weeks ago I think.... an extended family member of mine mentioned an opening at her company. (Which is not BPO related! 😌) i just knew I had to jump on that opportunity. Let's be honest here, I am the type that gets anxious when there's no money in my pocket. 😅. And this is a new year... I have much that I want to accomplish.
Anyways my first interview was actually Sunday. And I passed that with flying colours. 🤧. The next phase of my interview will be a test which I've been studying for. Studying is basically what I do every single day. I get up at 5 in the morning and I study until 5 in the evening. I am a mediocre person that tends to give up sometimes lol. I wash my face with tears because most times I just feel like I'm wasting my time on something that I'll never be able to achieve. (🙄) This takes me back to highschool days. And I'll just stop there haha. But I am confident that I'll pass this exam with flying colours, get my employee ID badge and work my honest daypay. So that is what I've been doing.
I've neglected my babies but I feel like it will be worth it in the end. The update might be slow but it'll get there. So forgive me!
Though you guys don't have to worry.... I've already said it more than once and I'll say it again, I do plan to finish this IF of mine. I'll get back to writing Friday after I've completed my test. Time away from my IF has given me time to think about the true direction of my story. I might do some big changes to chapter1. Add a bit more dialogue and characters? But I must ask.
I was rolling over backstories for how Ada and the MC met. Let me create a poll cause I've always wanted to create one! *excited* 🤣
😅 and lastly for the ask in my ask box... I'll most certainly answer some of those this weekend. As always I do hope you're all staying safe during this time. Have a pleasant day one and all and I'll be seeing you all this weekend! 😋 later!
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Happy Sunday!
I’m updating my comphet haunted house fic daily (I called it The Same Old Story) and if everything goes well, it’ll be finished by next Sunday. I wasn’t sure what to share, so instead of sentences I’m gonna cheat and share a peek behind my process. When others share these types of posts, I find them very helpful, so... hopefully this will help someone!
My thing with this fic was “I’ve written enough scenes to want to finish it” (I had 34 different docs, some with only have a couple of sentences written, because I like to write things as soon as they come to me without worrying what I'll do with it, and if I put it all out of order in the same doc it’s going to be so messy I’m never going to open that thing) and also “I don’t want to spend too much time on this and overthink it,” because then I wouldn’t write it at all.
This was my solution (more under the cut)
I used this instead of a refular outline – I figured it was the best way to quickly organize 34 dang docs without losing it. I know some use handmade cards for the same purpose, but for me it’s better to do things digitally, especially if I want to shift around bullet points (If I did this with handmade cards, I’d use a pencil and eraser, not a pen, or I would use sticky notes on a bigger surface so I can easily shift them around). Having everything where I can easily see it helps with “looking at the big picture” in terms of how it all comes together, and it’s super helpful with the time-loop and the repetition. It helps when I’m writing chapters out of order so I'm not getting lost: like if I finish chapter 9 and chapter 4 is only half-way done, I know that because I marked chapter 9 with a green circle here, and 4 with a yellow circle. (A necessary system for me because if I relay on my memory I’m just going to get lost)
It also helps with writing faster, because I’ve already thought about everything I wanted to happen while I was completing the squares. So I’d just look at this while writing whatever I haven’t written yet, and I write it just as it comes to me without caring much about mistakes or wording or the like. I might even write it as [this thing happens here and this character says this] and quickly move on, because it’s faster and so much easier to come back later to re-write.
In terms of re-writing, I was like “this is an experiment, I don’t care if it’s good, I care if it’s done,” which takes off a lot of self-imposed pressure. When I wrote love song for a vampire I agonized over every damn word and that’s simply no way to live. Here, I didn’t let myself spend too much time on re-writing, wondering whether something could be phrased better or just done better. There’s always room for improvement etc etc but I limited this to “the idea is out and readable.” I read a chapter again when I’m about to publish, I quickly check if I want to make minor changes and then I let it go.
In short: this is great for experimenting while keeping it manageable, for maybe speeding up and/or organizing the writing process if you need a lot of order to make an idea work, and if for some reason you need to easily see the general plot/outlines of all your chapters at the same time (this sounds very specific haha) (it might also be useful to quickly refresh an author's mind with long fics or fics that are being worked on over the period of months/years) (i didn't use word to make this but you could totally make it in word with the table tool)
tagging @ionlydrinkhotwater @hushed-chorus @basiltonbutliketheherb @johnwgrey @erzbethluna @raenestee @carryonsimoncarryonbaz @chen-chen-chen-again-chen @bookish-bogwitch @ivelovedhimthroughworse @artsyunderstudy @whogaveyoupermission and whoever wants to join!
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Weekly Writing and Reading Update
Hello, the start of the Long Dark is upon me, which means I just want to sleep and read and then sleep some more in my dark little apartment. I'm not unhappy, just...restful. Which is great, but also I need to go grocery shopping and just, ew. Work was also exhausting this past week, so I am hoping the coming week is better, and I will feel like getting up and about a bit next weekend. (Also I'm getting a tattoo done next Sunday, so that'll be cool to look forward to!)
All of which is to say that in all ways but physical I am a small piece of moss on the forest floor, and I'm not mad about it.
Writing
Honestly I did nothing this week. It feels like overkill to say I burned out, but I simply...did not want to write, so I didn't. My mojo is starting to creep back, but it was awfully nice to just read the New Yorker of a morning.
That said, I finally posted the first chapter of Yet Another New AU, and I'm really pleased with this ranging story. I think I'll post updates once a week or two; I want to take my time writing this, and it's been nice feeling like I have time to proofread and rewrite as I go; I already had to start over once because I accidentally made Dily unlikeable, lol.
Anyway, here it is:
Beginnings
Reading
I finished When the Angels Left the Old Country after @lesbrarian recommended it and it might be my favorite book I've read this year? Top five, certainly -- it's tense and beautiful and funny and full of love and very Jewish, and it just filled me with joy to read, even the sad parts. The comparisons to Good Omens are unavoidable, but really I find it a very different story in a lot of ways, although certainly with connections. I adored it, and it's one of those books I can't wait to re-read. Also every time I think about the angel too much I want to cry, but in a good way.
I also -- finally, after many breaks -- finished The Path the Power, the first volume of Caro's LBJ biography. Oh my god, this book. THIS BOOK. The next time I do this I'm going to update every week on what I learned that week because there is just so much in this tome. I want to visit the Pedernales, but not in summer. The description of grass-growing was riveting. The descriptions of the lives of the farmwives before electrification was riveting (and horrific). The play-by-play for elections in the forties literally kept me up past my bedtime. And I have not even touched on Pappy O'Daniel (a real person!! who was apparently toned down CONSIDERABLY for O Brother Where Art Thou) or Lady Bird or how Caro more than once makes sure to mention that Johnson had a dumptruck ass.
Anyway, Lyndon was a vote-buying absolute fucking weirdo from birth and his mother was just as weird and his father was fascinating and I'm a little in love with Sam Rayburn. Do not let either the Old White Man History or the fact that this book is a fucking doorstop stop you, this is a masterpiece and I see why it won a Pulitzer. (whoops, looks like it was another volume that won the Pulitzer) I cannot wait to read the other volumes, which I estimate will take me about a year per book, but worth it!
#weekly update#also I somehow have not read The Power Broker#which is funny because I loathe Robert Moses with all my being#guess I'm just a Caro stan
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Tales of Duskenwood Update 1
Alright people, let's do this one last time. I'm Eli, and I'm the creator of a webcomic called Tales of Duskenwood. Never heard of it? It's because it doesn't exist yet! And I'm working hard to change that.
No, I most certainly did NOT copy and paste that from my last post.
Anyway, I have some good news in the form of a release schedule! I haven't actually made a formal calendar yet, but I'll give you the rundown. Every Sunday before Halloween I'll share an update like the one you're reading right now. This means that October 22 and October 29 are ToD update days, so mark em' on your calendar if you give a crap about this comic!
And then on Spooky Day itself the first chapter will release, if all goes according to plan.
So! There's your calendar, and now for general story updates. It's only been a week or two, and I already have the majority of the story and lore finished up. The first chapter is being storyboarded right now! Hooray!
That's pretty much it; thanks for checking this out. Reblog this if you want to support me! See you in the next one, friends.
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Hey D, how are you? ✨🎥 here! It seems that I come here every 6 months 😅
Mini update of my life: went to a Little Big concert in Poland and had a great time, got a bonus raise for every film fund I got (it’s pretty impossible to get them all due to the insane competition but at least we get one or two every year), still haven’t found a nice apartment (renters are insane and ask for stupidly high prices for tiny places with kitchens from 30 years ago 💀💀💀), did a super intensive course on production and that sucked the life put of me in November (it was Thursdays to Sundays so I had 3 weeks of no free days!), and my team changed a bit, we let go of one of the additions because he couldn’t perform well on the basic tasks and hired full time a girl that worked with us before as an intern (she’s good so far)
As for the projects that I’m working on, SLOW finally released in Spain this weekend and is gonna release this year in a lot of countries (US, UK and Ireland, Indonesia, Poland…). We also have two films scheduled to start shooting by March, another on April-May and possibly a fourth one in summer. So yeah, a pretty hectic year this 2024.
How are you? Anything interesting in your life? In kpop? In theater?
hello my friend!!!!!!! has it really been six months wtf time is FLYING....... don't worry about it tho i've been busy you've been busy, adulthood is meeting your friends every few months anyways
WOW that sounds crazy....but also exciting!! would love to hear about how the course on production went! very excited to hear that slow is gonna be released soon, usually stuff gets released in canada at the same time as the us so i'll keep an eye out.
idk if that much interesting has happened....we had a crazy busy christmas at the shop; i ended up singlehandedly doing an order of eighteen 2.5' custom evergreen + eucalyptus wreaths.........in a week..................do not recommend. i'm not doing any theatre but i did FINALLY see hadestown a few months ago! fantastic spectacular groundbreaking etc etc. oh and i recently got a commission to paint a mural! had the prelim meeting this morning, i haven't painted something big since my first year of grad school when i was doing life sized cave paintings so i'm excited! my therapist has been slowly coaxing me back into doing art and i'm being very slow about it, but at least it's progress!
tbh i have not kept up with that much kpop..........i'm in the process of finishing my end of year posts still but this year was so meh that the motivation is not there (plus working full time again).........there were some really really good cbs but most of everything was so mediocre. i am hoping praying pleading that companies start getting their act together for 2024 and there's been some promising stuff already, but. it's only january 😔
#im glad your work is going well!! even if it is busy#answers#text#✨🎥 anon#i saw your other message its coming up in a sec
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