People of the nerd site, I require immediate assistance.
So a friend of mine is having their birthday party on the 26th, and I have next to no idea what to get them. This would be significantly easier if I hadn’t forgotten/procrastinated figuring out what to get them.
They really like Splatoon, but I’m also pretty damn sure that everyone else in the friend-group is going to get them only Splatoon stuff, and I am also lowkey poor at the current moment.
I know they also like: Yaoi, fnaf(I think), deltarune, TADC, Hatsune Miku(i think? Maybe? Idk.)
The running ideas are; draw their OC’s (maybe as splatoon creatures), make them a paper mache thing(idk what though). And that’s about it, I am not very good at gift ideas and especially not quick ones.
Me, age 11: Man, I hope I'm gay, because the idea of marrying a man is horrible but the idea of marrying a woman makes me actually want to get married one day. Too bad I'm probably actually just a straight girl who wants attention. 😔
Me, age 15: Man, I wish I was nonbinary. All the nonbinary people I meet are just the coolest people in the world who I want to be just like, and the idea of people not being able to tell if I was a boy or a girl when they look at me delights me so much. Too bad I'm probably actually just a cis girl who wants attention. 😔
Danny Fenton sends Superman a fan email in which he asks for advice. In it he says he is also a non-human hero (he is vague because being a ghost is illegal) Danny mentions that he is being raised by humans. His parents don't know about his activities or species and hate his kind.
Danny was mostly looking for advice on how to make people stop being scared of his non-human characteristics. But Clark really sees himself in this teenager's email. He knows he was lucky to get parents who loved him even as an alien, but he also recalls being young and scared that would change.
So they start regularly exchanging emails, and Superman becomes a kind of mentor even if Danny refuses to tell him anything about his identity.
Clark was embarrassed to admit it, but the first thing he did every morning was usually to check the inbox of his official Superman email. He tried not to check it too often, but in the morning, reading those emails reminded him why he did what he did. Why it was so important to keep treating each civilian with such compassion, and not allow himself to become preoccupied with other things while he worked.
There were at least half a dozen emails every morning, more after major events, and he read them all. Occasionally, one stood out.
To Superman,
I wanted to tell you that I really admire you for what you do. I'm fifteen now and you've been a pillar of safety for as long as I can remember, and I can't imagine how much dedication it takes day-to-day, especially for as long as you've been a hero. I hear stories all the time about how considerate you are, and how understanding, and how unconditional your compassion is. It's something I try to keep in mind.
You haven't saved me. Not personally, I mean, and that's not why I decided to email you. I actually wanted to ask you for some advice, if that's okay.
See, I'm not human. I'm not going to tell you what I am, but it's really obvious whenever I'm using my abilities, although I can hide it the rest of the time. (My parents are human and even they don't know. They don't like my kind.) I started doing hero work about... eight months ago now. But the people in my city are scared of me, because of what I am. And I wondered if you had any advice about that. Everyone knows what you are, and how powerful you are, but no one is afraid of you. Well... no one reasonable is afraid of you.
I'd really appreciate any suggestions you might have for me, but either way, thank you for everything that you do.
From Danny
Clark set his chin on his hands and considered the email for a while. It wasn't unheard of for young heroes to email him for advice - all of the Justice League founders got them sometimes except, amusingly, Batman, the only one with significant experience teaching new heroes. But it was rarer for those heroes to identify themselves as nonhuman.
His parents must have found him and taken him in without knowing what he was. For those same folks to be anti-alien... Clark's heart ached for the young hero, growing up without the kind of support Clark had gotten. It was admirable of him to stick to it despite an apparently chilly reception.
He set his hands on the keyboard and started to reply.
---
Danny was shocked to receive an actual reply from Superman just the morning after he sent his email. He hadn't expected a reply at all, really - surely Superman had better things to do than read emails from random civilians? But he'd been awake long past his bedtime, kept up by the aching burn on his back from Valerie, and sent it in a fit of self-pity.
And Superman had replied.
To Danny,
The more time passes, the more often I hear from kids and even young adults that I've been making them feel safe for as long as they've been alive. That is worth more to me than you could imagine, and it makes every day of hard work worthwhile. Given what you've told me already, I think you're doing an excellent job of keeping those values in mind.
Believe it or not, my reception was rather lukewarm at first as well, for much the same reason. Batman and my media contact, Lois Lane, helped me straighten the issue out over the first few years. (Yes, I'm sorry to say, it may take years for you to be fully accepted.)
Here are some suggestions:
Try to stick around for at least a little while after each incident you help with. Let people talk to you. Let them see you outside of fights or feats of strength. You are not a combat machine.
Don't be too secretive about yourself. You implied that you have a secret identity, but there are still things generic enough for you to share without giving yourself away. Work with those.
Don't hide what you are, and don't lie about the traits that you have from it. I know it might seem like a simple short-term solution, but it won't help you in the long run. It will just make people suspicious.
Let people know at least part of your motive for helping people. My planet was destroyed, and I want to protect this one. The same goes for Martian Manhunter. Starfire fled her planet and has found this one to be much kinder. Be as open as you can.
Keep yourself safe. Don't be open about your weaknesses, no matter what people say to you. Don't linger too long around people who openly hate you. Don't allow yourself to be a target for hatred.
I hope you find these ideas helpful. And feel free to contact me for further advice anytime you want. I check my email every morning and I'm always happy to help a budding hero.
From Superman
Danny muffled a delighted squeal into his arm. Sam and Tucker weren't going to believe this!
---
It soon became apparent that Danny was either mostly or completely without an adult support system, because he quickly took to emailing Clark every day, usually in the early evening or late at night. Clark continued to read them in the morning and reply to them as thoughtfully as he could, and Danny soon grew to be a constant presence in his inbox. Which also meant...
"You're worrying about Danny again," Lois pointed out over breakfast.
"I wouldn't worry about Danny if he didn't say such worrying things," Clark muttered, rubbing his hand over his face.
Because over the last year, that trend had quickly become apparent. Whatever Danny was, their reception was more hostile than any other Clark had encountered on Earth, matching more to some of the blood feuds he'd heard of on other planets. Every few emails, he slipped in the most concerning little nuggets, seemingly without noticing.
One day my parents are going to invent a shield that actually locks me out of the house and I'll really be in trouble.
I keep trying to do what you said and stick around to talk, but it never lasts for long before the hunters show up and start shooting at me, which makes things kind of awkward.
I don't know what I would have done if defeating that tyrant guy hadn't brought my city back to Earth.
I wish there was some way I could convince the hunters that I'm just trying to help.
And now, most recently:
It's illegal to be what I am now. I'm getting kind of scared.
"I think I'm going to call out of work today," Clark said at last, still staring down at his computer. "I need to do some research."
What was Danny that he had apparently just been declared illegal?
Sans isn't afraid to use his environment to his advantage--even when that environment sort of doesn't exist. But how long will Gaster put up with being chewed by the scenery...?
Due to irl activities, I'll be taking a little break from posting updates--check back on May 29th for the next installment!
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