#but like no i was just a jealous teenager and wanted my pals to hang out with me more than others LMAO | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

namjoon-koya · 3 years

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Hey there, I just LOVE your work with avengers x daughter!reader so I had a request for you...I'm sorry if it's too much..

Could you write an imagine where the reader is the daughter of Stephen Strange. She never went to school but learnt magic with her dad and became an avenger. She was best friends with Peter and was also secretly crushing on him, and was always open to her dad about this but she couldn't tell Peter because he was always telling her stuff about MJ so her dad encourages her into confessing to Peter and she actually ends up with him?

(A/N: dude I haven’t done a marvel request in a while 🥺 but this request is really cute so I’ll do it!!)

Warning: maybe just the reader feeling insecure, but that’s about it.

Being the daughter of a sorcerer was pretty amazing if you do say so yourself, it’s not everyday where a teenager learns magic and uses it against criminals. It also wasn’t everyday where a teenager would join the avengers along side with their father, Steven Strange was your father it was always the both of you, but he would always be busy with being a doctor and everything UNTIL he got into a car accident and was put in the hospital. He wasn’t the same after that.. the car accident messed up his hands badly and his career just vanished before his eyes, until he went on a trip to the Himalayas and found his purpose again. He came back home only to show you what he learned there and told you everything about what happened, after that he moved you into the house where he was trained since now he was the new master for the sorcerers there.

You stopped going to school, but that didn’t mean you’d stop getting an education your father was smart so he taught you eveything he knew. He even taught you magic it amazed him how quickly you learned even Wong was impressed “She might become the new master in the future.” He would always say to Strange which made him proud he knew you’d be amazing if you did. After teaching you everything he knew about magic he decided to introduce you to the avengers, EVERYONE was shocked that he even had a daughter “so why didn’t we know about her?” Tony asked “it wasn’t necessary for you guys to know especially since she didn’t know any magic like I did.” He simply responded.

Everyone become like a close family to you, Steve taught you about his era and even how to draw which was amazing since his drawings looked very realistic. Natasha was like a mother to you, she’d given you so much advise and even how to fight (but you never liked fighting against her since she’d always win.) Thor was like a fun uncle you two broke so many rules and he’d even challenge you to see who could eat the most PopTarts (yeah you’re losing this one too.) Bucky was a bit harder to get close to, he wasn’t sure of himself or anyone else besides Steve, Steve didn’t tell you everything about his past only that Bucky endured a lot of painful things which made him not able to trust people quickly. He slowly did start trusting you afterwards when you talked to him more and showed him the magic your father taught you.

Then there was Peter Parker who was around your age, the both of you became friends quickly when Tony introduced him to you. The both of you shared the same interests in things and whenever Peter was having trouble you’d be the person he would always text or call. It was only a few months later did you realize your feelings for him, but unfortunately Peter always talked about a girl in his class named MJ. At first you tried not showing your feelings about it, but everytime he mentioned her name you couldn’t help; but just roll your eyes. It was obvious he liked her if he mentioned her all the time, you started spending less time with him always saying “I need to go study more spells.” Or “Sorry I’m spending time with my dad.” When really you were sulking around the avengers tower.

You were sitting near Bucky as you had a notebook in your lap as you drew a sketch of him, he never really cared if you drew him he was always happy to see the results when you were done. This time though something was off you were glaring down at the paper and you were pressing your pencil so hard onto the sheet of paper “Y/N is something wrong?” He asked you finally looked away from the sketch and looked at him “n-no! What why would you say that?” You ask nervously. “Well.. you seem to be really.. rough with the paper and I could hear you often mumble some words.” Shit why did you always forget he was a super soldier and he could hear things so easily?! “Have you ever.. liked someone?” You asked brining the notebook a bit higher to your face so Bucky wouldn’t see you blushing “Y/N why are you asking me this? Seriously what’s going on?” He asked.

“Finnne! You can’t tell anyone! S-So.. I’ve been liking Peter for a while and-“ Bucky quickly interrupts you “the spider..kid?” He asked. You sighed “Yes Bucky the Spider-Kid anyways.. I’ve been liking him for a while, but I think he likes someone else.” You frown sadly “he’s always mentioning their name when they have absolutely nothing to do with our conversation so I’ve-“ suddenly you hear someone come into the room you quickly shut your mouth and pull the notebook up to your face again. “and here I thought I was alone in the avengers tower.” You heard Loki say as he sat next to you.

“We were having a conversation.” Bucky said to him while crossing his arms “oh? Do enlighten me about this conversation.” Loki said sarcastically.

Bucky then starts arguing against Loki as Loki only argues against him, you let out a sigh before getting up from the couch and leaving to your room. Once you get to your room you set your notebook down before throwing yourself onto your bed and whine into your pillow, it was so frustrating. You wanted to tell Peter how you felt, but he already liked someone and you were scared that you’d ruin the friendship between the both of you. You got up from your bed and you summoned a portal to where your father was, you stepped inside the portal as you did it closed right behind you.

“Dad?” You called out to him as you did so suddenly you saw your father’s red cape quickly rush to you before wrapping itself around you, you giggled “I missed you too pal.” You saw your father walk down the stairs “Y/N? What are you doing here?” He asked as his cape returned back to him. “I just.. wanted to see you it’s been 2 days since I’ve last seen you.” Your father smiled at you gently “I know and I’m sorry.. I’ve been busy with the other sorcerers and helping them master magic.” You nodded “it’s okay.. I actually wanted to talk to you about something.” You said before going over to sit down, your father followed behind you as he sat down across from you.

Two cups of tea summoned before you both “thank you.” You said taking a sip “You’re welcome now what’s wrong Y/N?” Your father asked. You let out a sigh “you know Peter Parker right?” He nodded “that spider-kid right?” You rolled your eyes “Yes.. well we’ve been best friends for a long time and you know we get along pretty well and I’d say we have similar taste in things and well.. I-I’m in love with him, but I don’t think he likes me.” Your father didn’t interrupt you as he carefully listened to every word you said “he keeps mentioning someone else and I can’t help, but get jealous y’know? I try not to because I don’t want to ruin our friendship, but.. I just really care about him and I want to tell him; but I’m afraid..” you said lowering your gaze down to the ground.

“Afraid? Afraid of what sweetie?” Your father asked “of getting rejected.. or him wanting to stop being friends with me..” you said bringing your knees close to your chest your father quickly gets up and wraps his arms around you “Y/N.. it’s okay to be afraid, but I think you should tell him.”

“But what if he doesn’t like me?” You asked.

“Sometimes not everyone we love will be in our future Y/N, but if you don’t tell him how will you know if he does or doesn’t love you?” He was right, even if Peter didn’t like you like that at least you would know.. “Thank you dad.. I’m going to tell him then.” You said getting up from your chair you summoned a portal to your room before you leave you quickly jump into his arms and give him a hug “thank you dad for the advice.” You say to him he hugs you back gently stroking your hair “of course Y/N I’ll be at the avengers tower soon.” He said letting you go. You nodded before stepping inside the portal and close it, you send Peter a message asking him to come to your room once he was done with school for the day.

While you waited you felt yourself getting nauseous as seconds and minutes passed by what if he wasn’t coming? What if he stopped being friends with you because you didn’t hang out with him anymore? Suddenly you heard your door click open you looked up and saw Peter his faced was flushed as he was breathing heavily “I-I got your text what’s up?” He asked He came running to you? Why would he even do that? You didn’t know what to say you only grabbed your pillow and held it against your face don’t cry, don’t cry! You kept shouting to yourself “p-please turn around Peter.” You mumbled against your pillow. Peter gave you a questionable look before turning around, you slowly pulled the pillow away from your face.

“A-And don’t interrupt me.. please?” You saw him nod “I’ve.. liked you for a long time Peter-“ you saw him tense up “I know it’s awkward, but I need to tell you that I really love you Peter you’ve become such a good friend to me especially when I didn’t have anyone around who was my age, you’ve shown me how to be happy and how to have a fun time-“ your lips trembled “a-and if you don’t like me back that’s okay! I just wanted to let you know because it’s been building up inside of me for a few weeks so-“ before you could finish Peter quickly turned around and pulled you in closer to him before planting his lips onto yours. You gasped against his lips you didn’t expect him to kiss you like that.. and what about MJ? you melted into his kiss his lips were so soft against yours it all felt like a dream..

You both pulled away from each other “P-Peter I thought-“

“Sorry Y/N I’m not really good with my words o-or even showing signs that I like someone.” He said holding you against his chest.

“So.. you liked me all this time? What about MJ?” You asked.

“MJ? She’s just a friend Y/N.. don’t tell me you were jealous.” You pouted as he said that you gently slap his chest “oh hush! Don’t ruin the moment..” you said to him. He laughed while planting a soft kiss on top of your head, you felt your heart flutter “so.. does that mean we’re dating now?” You asked him “if you want to then yes.” Peter said you bury your face into his chest “of course I do dummy I wouldn’t have poured out my feelings like that if I didn’t.”

Bonus!

“See? I told you they’d end up together Rogers.” Tony said to Steve who only scoffed “I thought you were protective of Y/N Tony.” Steve commented back “I am, but Parker is a good kid so I know he’ll treat her right.” While they both bickered Bucky turned his attention to Strange “what about you? How do you feel?” He asked him “I’m happy for her she deserves happiness, but I won’t hesitate to send Peter off to another dimension if he breaks Y/N’s heart.” He said glaring at the TV. Bucky chuckled “I think we’re all on the same page as you.”

#avengers x reader #avengers x y/n #avengers x you #doctor strange x you #doctor strange x reader #doctor strange x daughter!reader #peter parker x reader #peter parker x y/n #peter parker x you #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker fluff #avengers fluff #avengers fanfic #avengers fanfiction #peter parker oneshot #avengers one shot #doctor strange one shot #avengers x teen!reader #avengers x teen

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serenade-meow · 4 years

Text

Paul/Jane excerpts (within the context of Beatles’ details)

MEETING THE BEATLES:

On 18 April 1963 Jane did a photographic assignment for Radio Times at a concert called ‘Swinging Sounds ’63’ at the Albert Hall... When the Beatles came on stage she screamed. Jane met all four Beatles backstage – apparently all four were very impressed by her – especially George, it was alleged later – but she got on better with Paul. They were seen in public together for the first time shortly afterwards and from then on Paul was continually asked whether he was going to marry Jane. Paul even made fun of this in ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ when answered ‘No, we’re just good friends’ even before the question was asked.

— Richard Porter, Guide to the Beatles London

They invited her back to their hotel, the Royal Court in Sloane Square, before moving on to the Kings Road apartment of Chris Hutchins, a journalist.

The others left Paul alone in the bedroom with Jane, after a lot of winking. They set the evening talking about gravy and what was their favourite meal. ‘I realized this was the girl for me. I hadn't tried to grab her or make her. I told her, “It appears you're a nice girl.”’

‘They couldn’t believe I was a virgin,’ says Jane.

— Hunter Davies, The Beatles

[John’s masturbation comment]

Previously John, Paul, George, and Ringo had hoped to end their evening at the Ad Lib club, a celebrity hangout that had lately become a favorite late-night stop. But as the throngs of girls outside continued to wail, they realized they had better stay out of sight. [Chris] Hutchins invited the entire group back to his apartment King’s Road in Chelsea, so off they went, with two girls in tow…

Whether it was her cool confidence or her posh accent, something about Jane goaded John to direct his caustic eyes in her direction.

“Well. Let’s all play a question-and-answer-game!” He announced a bit too cheerily. Then he turned to Jane. “So tell us, luv, how do girls play with themselves?”

Silence. Jane’s eyes widened. Paul, sitting close to her on the floor, put his hand in the air, as if he could wave John’s words back into his mouth. “John! John!” he yelped. “Stop it. You can’t do that.”

John just smiled, peering intently through his glasses. “No, you can tell us. Come on. We all want to know, come on.”

Paul, looking aghast, shook his head vehemently. “John. For christsakes, John.”

By now Jane was climbing to her feet, muttering icily that it had grown quite late, clearly it was time to go. Paul stood, too, glaring at John while he helped Jane into her coat, saying he’d see her into a cab. The pair of them walked outside quickly, the door clicking behind them. It was late by then, already after midnight, and the dark London air was thick with fog.

The cultured, self-possessed Jane Asher may have intimidated John Lennon, but she was exactly what Paul had been looking for. When Hutchins looked out the window, he saw the Beatle holding the actress’s arm, walking into the midst. “And he never came back,” Hutchins says. “I just saw both of them disappearing down King’s Road.”

— Peter Ames Carlin, Paul McCartney: A Life

RELATIONSHIP:

[Paul on status]

Living in the Asher house gave me the base and the freedom and the independence. That, alongside all the other things, because I wasn't married to Jane. I was pretty free. I remember John very much envying me. He said, 'Well, if you go out with another girl, what does Jane think?' and I said, 'Well, I don't care what she thinks, we're not married. We've got a perfectly sensible relationship.' He was well jealous of that, because at this time he couldn't do that, he was married with Cynthia and with a lot of energy bursting to get out. He'd tried to give Cynthia the traditional thing, but you kind of knew he couldn't. There were cracks appearing but he could only paste them over by staying at home and getting very wrecked.

— Paul McCartney, Many Years from Now

[Jane’s concerns]

That’s typical Paul (wanting me to stay inside the George V Hotel with the band instead of going out by myself to see Paris). It’s just so silly of me to stay at the hotel. It’s just that he’s so insecure. For instance, he keeps saying he’s not interested in the future, but he must be because he says it so often. The trouble is, he wants the fans’ adulation and mine too. He’s so selfish, it’s his biggest fault. He can’t see that my feelings for him are real and that the fans’ are fantasy. Of course, it’s the trouble with all boys. When I first met the Beatles, I liked them all. Then, when I found out that I liked Paul more, the others became angry with me.

— Michael Braun, Love Me Do! The Beatles Progress

[Image wise, George didn’t stay angry with Jane, there’s several cute candid photos of them looking rather peaceful.]

[London Life]

The socially omnivorous Beatle profited from his Asher connection when the world wasn’t watching, too. For now Paul had entree into the cloistered world of old money… So many secret rituals to learn, so many hands to shake and stories to hear. “It was stuff happening that I’d only ever read of in books,” Paul said. “An overhang from Britain’s genteel past.”

John, stuck out in his golf-course home with his wife and a toddler son whose emotional needs he could never quite fathom, envied his partner’s more fast-paced urban life. Though the three suburban Beatles and their wives weren’t exactly stranger to the London nightlife, Jane clearly set a very different standard. “Jane was a teenaged film star so she was part of the glitterati of London before the Beatles even appeared,” NEMS employee and Beatle wingman Tony Bramwell recalls...

If the other Beatle couples bumped into Paul and Jane in London on a night off, Bramwell continues, it was usually a night club such as the Ad Lib or the Scotch of St. James. “Paul and Jane would be there, probably with some strange people. So you’d have a drink, and that’d be it. They’d be off.”

— Peter Ames Carlin, Paul McCartney: A Life

[The Turtles run into Paul, John, Jane, and Ringo]

Inside the speakeasy, all the girls looked like Twiggy, the iconic pixie-haired waif model whose London fashion had taken the world by storm. We must have walked past fifteen look-alike on our way to our next destination and we actually heard the Beatles before we saw them. It was like being in A Hard Day’s Night.

“Aw, come on John. Leave the candles alone. You’re gonna start a bloody fire in here.”

“I can’t see anything down here, Paul. It’s as dark as a hooker’s heart.”

And then, a female voice.

“Please, Paul. Don’t humor him anymore. This is getting ridiculous. I’m going to leave.”

Graham led us around the corner, where the Fab Four were hanging with their dates at a private table in the back of the room. Well, actually it was the Fab Three — George Harrison was not in attendance. The deal was, Lennon was actually under the table taking Polaroid pictures up the skirts of his female companions while Paul lent a hand. Ringo laughed at everything, and Paul’s then girlfriend, Jane Asher, was doing her best to drag him out of there. Dressed in Carnaby Street’s finest, the Beatles were dimly lit, and a halo of light illuminating their mop-top hairdos added just the right ambience to make this already bizarre scene more surreal.

Paul was ducking under the table himself now, helping his business partner illuminate the proceeding with his disposable lighter, and Jane was searching the booth for her coat as we approached them, with Graham in the lead.

“I’ll be leaving now, Paul,” Jane said through clenched teeth as she pushed her way out of the booth and stood there, staring him down.

“Hi, Jane.” Graham was friendly but she didn’t even acknowledge his presence.

“I’m going home, Paul. And I don’t mean your home.” She made her way toward the exit as we walked up in a pack. Jim Tucker actually grabbed her army to stop her en route.

“Hey, Miss Asher. Hi. My name is Jim Tucker and I worked with your brother.” He extended his hand, only to have her push him away.

“Piss off, wanker!” Jane just blew him off and brushed past us on her way out of the club. Jim stood there examining his hand for a long moment.

“Hey, guys,” Graham greeted as Paul frantically scrambled to his feet.

“Jane! Jane! Aw, come on, baby. We’re just having a little fun.” Jane kept walking.

— Howard Kaylan, Jeff Tamarkin, Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa etc.

[Vacationing and songwriting — Yesterday]

McCartney played it so often on the set of The Beatles’ first movie, Help!, that director Richard Lester once threatened that he’d throw the piano off the set if McCartney didn’t complete it. Lennon tried to help his pal with the song, but this was entirely a McCartney joint. Lennon's only contribution was the suggestion that the song title just be one word, but beyond that, he was just about useless.

After months of struggling with the creative process, the lyrics suddenly came to McCartney in a very unlikely (and very inconvenient) place: driving down the winding hills of Portugal, where he was on vacation with Jane.

“It was a long hot, dusty drive,” McCartney told Miles. “Jane was sleeping but I couldn’t, and when I’m sitting that long in a car I either manage to get to sleep or my brain starts going. I remember mulling over the tune ‘Yesterday,’ and suddenly getting these little one-word openings to the verse.”

McCartney and Asher were going to stay as guests in the vacation villa owned by his friend Bruce Welch, who was also a musician. When they made it to the villa, McCartney rang up Welch and asked him if he had a guitar. Luckily, there was an acoustic guitar in the house, which made the arduous songwriting process just a bit easier. It took two more weeks to nail the lyrics… and then there was more waiting to do.

— Jordan Zakarin, “Paul McCartney Came up With the Melody to One of the Beatles' Biggest Hits in His Sleep.”

[Thoughts on marriage]

“I enjoy acting. I didn’t want to give that up.”

“I know now I was just being silly,” says Paul. “It was a game, trying to beat you down.” At various times, one of them wanted to get married but the other didn’t. Jane says it was usually something happening with the Beatles, just when it looked all settled, which made her change her mind. Paul says it was her acting, although he agreed when the big tour of America came up that she had to go on that.

“When I came back after five month [tour], Paul had changed so much. He was on LSD, which I hadn’t shared. I was jealous of all the spiritual experiences he’d had with John. There were fifteen people dropping in all day long. The house had changed and was full of stuff I didn’t know about.”

His life is much quieter and more ordered now, since Jane returned. Paul, unlike the others, is very communicative about himself. He does talk everything over with Jane. She knows what he’s thinking.

“Another problem,” says Paul, “was that my whole existence for so long centered round a bachelor life. I didn’t treat women as most people do. I’ve always had a lot around, even when I’ve had a steady girl. My life generally has always been very lax, and not normal.

“I knew it was selfish. It caused a few rows. Jane left me once and went off to Bristol to act. I said okay, then leave; I’ll find someone else. It was shattering to be without her.” This was when he wrote “I’m Looking Through You.” Jane has inspired several of his more beautiful songs, such as “And I Love Her.”

— Hunter Davies, The Beatles.

[Chasing after Jane in Bristol] [Writing Eleanor Rigby] [Busy]

The other three Beatles had already moved out into the London suburbs, with lush gardens and rolling lawns, while Paul was in the heart of London in an old period house. When I complimented him on the house, and admired his possessions, he said: ‘People think we are not conceited — but we are’.

I then got him to explain where the words of Eleanor Rigby had come from… The name which first came into his head was a woman called Daisy Hawkins, ‘picking up rice in a church where a wedding had been’. He had no idea where that line had come from. In Bristol, where he had been visiting Jane Asher who was acting there, he was walking round and saw the name Rigby on a shop, and thought that would be a better name.

— Hunter Davies for the Daily Mail

[Magical Mystery Tour]

By 1967, McCartney was making experimental films, and he traveled everywhere with his video camera. While filming Jane Asher at Denver’s Civic Center Park, he was struck by an idea. It combined the randomness of his amateur films with the stories of the Merry Pranksters that he heard during his time in San Francisco and the mystery charabanc tours that took vacationers from Liverpool to Blackpool on a bus filled with beer and accordion players. Maybe the Beatles could create and film a mystery tour of their own.

— Scott Freiman, “Magical Mystery Tour: Some “Mysteries””

[India]

Brian Epstein’s death was a heavy blow to Jane. She, too, found comfort in the Maharishi: She went with Paul to Rishikesh and felt the experience to have been rewarding. With LSD banished, their understanding returned. Paul, at long last, made ready to commit himself. They announced their engagement at a McCartney family party on Christmas Day, 1967.

— Philip Norman, Shout!

[India]

When they got engaged on Christmas Day 1967, all these problems were in the past. Maharishi for a long time was the only little point of difference, although it was all amicable. Jane didn’t fall for him when the others did. She said that she and Paul together reach a spiritual state on their own. Paul wasn’t as committed as George and John, but still felt there was something there which would help him, which might answer his questions.

The questions he’s referring to are about the purpose of life, not about the Beatles. Paul has some well-worked-out views about the Beatles, their changes, and the future.

— Hunter Davies, The Beatles

BREAKING UP:

[John starts bringing Yoko to studio — meets Jane?] [Paul reacting]

Fully aware of the enormity, John implied it was just a one-off visit, because Yoko had been depressed and needed cheering up. ‘I had no idea what he’d told the others,’ she would remember. ‘I couldn’t understand why they kept asking me if I was feeling better.’ It being unthinkable for Lennon to enjoy a privilege that McCartney didn’t, Jane Asher soon afterwards found herself invited to her first Beatles recording session in five years with Paul. As his relationship with Jane began to peter out, he took to bringing along Francie Schwartz, the New Yorker working in Apple’s press office who’d recently caught his eye.

On 17 July, John once again showed off Yoko–now no longer dressed in shapeless black but tailored white–at the London premiere of��Yellow Submarine. That evening, very noticeably, Paul had no Jane doing her usual royal duty beside him.

Three days later, on the BBC’s Dee Time program, she told host Simon Dee she was no longer engaged to Paul and that their five-year relationship was over. ‘I haven’t broken it off but it’s broken off, finished,’ she said. ‘I know it sounds corny, but we still see each other and love each other… but it hasn’t worked out. Perhaps we’ll be childhood sweethearts and meet again and get married when we’re about 70.’

— Paul McCartney: The Life by Philip Norman

JOHN: So it was always the family thing, you see. If Jane [Asher] was to have a career, then that’s not going to be a cozy family, is it? All the other girls were just groupies mainly. And with Linda not only did he have a ready-made family, but she knows what he wants, obviously, and has given it to him. The complete family life. He’s in Scotland. He told me he doesn’t like English cities anymore. So that’s how it is.

MCCABE: So you think with Linda he’s found what he wanted?

JOHN: I guess so. I guess so. I just don’t understand… I never knew what he wanted in a woman because I never knew what I wanted. I knew I wanted something intelligent or something arty, whatever it was. But you don’t really know what you want until you find it. So anyway, I was very surprised with Linda. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d married Jane Asher, because it had been going on for a long time and they went through a whole ordinary love scene. But with Linda it was just like, boom! She was in and that was the end of it.

— John Lennon, interview w/ Peter McCabe and Robert Schonfeld. (September, 1971)

“I've always felt wary including Jane in the Beatles’ history. She’s never gone into print about our relationship, whilst everyone on earth has sold their story. So I'd feel weird being the one to kiss and tell.”

— Paul McCartney, Anthology

I've never particularly liked the idea of looking back; I'd rather look forward.”

— Jane Asher

#Jane asher #Paul mccartney #John lennon #quotes #I'm just a jealous guy #alternate universe where George one-ups Paul and dates Jane #it'd be short-lived tho #Jane and John disliking each other mood #mclennon

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tinalbion · 4 years

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Hi Tina, thank you for giving the Djinn a go. How about headcanons for a shy, introverted s/i who unknowingly frees the Djinn from the fire opal and is being pursued by him in his Nathaniel Demerest form at their workplace, being all charming and charismatic, but there is this nasty guy at the s/i's workplace who is jealous and wants s/i for himself, so the Djinn reveals his true form to said nasty guy, scaring the living crap out of him and the Djinn declares that s/i is his and his alone.

Of course, Ruth! I always loved the Wishmaster movies (specifically with Andrew Divoff, he’s just a great actor, man), so I figured I’d give the Djinn a test run since I see pretty much nothing for him on here. I even watched the first two to make sure I’d get into the mindset! <3 I do see the charm Nathaniel gives off, oh boy, that man is so desirable. Please let me know how I did!

That stone, that odd stone.

It was so beautiful and it had to have been worth a fortune, but somehow it ended up in your possession and you were entirely unsure what to do with something of this caliber. You would have to find out a general idea of what it actually was and even possibly enlist someone to help you out, there was no way you’d be able to take care of something like this on your own, so you would get to work. Tomorrow, there would always be tomorrow. Your mind was hazy as you fought off the urge to sleep, but something about the fire opal called out to you, even in your sleep.

Tossing and turning all night was something you didn’t do too often, but tonight, it was inevitable. A deep voice called out to you while warmth from your fingertips began to spread throughout your body until the voice became too unbearable and you awoke in a sweat.

It had only gotten worse from there when you had decided to inspect it further without the proper tools, but your curiosity had gotten the better of you and you had peered through the jewel, catching glimpses of odd visions as you did so, causing you to gasp and look around the room in fear. Every day you had it in your apartment, you felt that it wouldn’t ever leave you alone and you needed to get rid of it. Thankfully you had worked alongside a very knowledgable and kind coworker who was also a part-time assistant curator. She would happily take the piece and have her manager inspect it, you would be sure to pay them well if she agreed to deliver it.

After a few days, your coworker happily took the jewel and passed it on with every intention of returning it once their boss had looked it over. It had been about a week until it appeared on the news: “mysterious death at the local museum”. You felt extreme discomfort and didn’t know how to handle the news, so you had shoved yourself into work, but it had been difficult to focus with so many disturbing visions and echoing voices, calling out to you to ‘fulfill the prophecy’.

You barely slept.

As time passed and the mysterious disappearance of the jewel still plagued you, one fine morning, you had been greeted to the sight of a new coworker in the office. Naturally, he was intimidating and rather charming to all of the other women in the office, but something about him called to you more than you cared to admit, though before you could continue your thoughts, your worst nightmare walked up to you.

“Hey Y/N, lookin’ beautiful as always,” Paul, your overly-flirty coworker greeted.

You barely paid any mind to him since all he did was force himself onto you, always flirting and practically begging you to go out with him. You had been one of the very few people in the office he hadn’t slept with yet, and you’d just be another notch in his bedpost.

“Hi, Paul,” you greeted absentmindedly, your attention focused on the new guy.

Paul followed your gaze and scoffed. “Won’t last long, guy like him isn’t worth a damn thing. Besides, who needs him when you got someone like me?”

The comment made you gag but you managed to keep your composure as you continued to fill out the paperwork you needed. “Yeah, sure,” you managed meekly. Your eyes flickered back up to the stranger, and to your surprise, his gaze was already on you.

Shivers ran through your spine as your eyes connected and it was a feeling that was difficult to describe. It felt wrong, it felt unnatural, but overall and most importantly, it felt delicious. He was at your desk before you could even brace yourself, Paul had backed off due to just how intimidating his aura felt, though Paul would never admit it. The handsome stranger looked down at you with a chilling grin, his large hand held out for you, his fingers splayed.

“A pleasure, I’m Nathaniel Demerest, but you can call me Nathaniel.”

You gripped his hand and shook it a bit too eagerly, but your smile was tough to hide. “Hey, I’m Y/N, a pleasure to meet you, too. You’re first day, yeah?”

Nathaniel chuckled as he withdrew his hand from yours after a moment of lingering. “That easy to tell?”

“Oh well, I would have noticed you around…” you trailed off and looked into his beautiful blue eyes as you were swept away in them. You laughed nervously at your teenager-like behavior and looked away from him, your cheeks reddening. “Either way, welcome to the job.”

Nathaniel smirked and stared at you for a moment more, knowing that you were the waker of the fire opal, you were the one who would wish his kind into existence. But for now, he sensed your growing unease as Paul made his way back to your desk. His hearing permitted him to listen in on the conversation.

“Come on, why won’t you just lay off the new guy and come over to my place for dinner?” Again, Paul was overstepping.

“I already told you, Paul, I’m not interested and I have a prior engagement,” you growled. Normally your anger was able to be kept in check, but Paul was relentless and it was eating away at you, and today was no exception, especially when you had wanted nothing more than to speak more to the new guy.

You peeked up from your paperwork again and saw his intense eyes on you again, his gaze never faltering as you tried your best to keep your own on him. All you could do was offer him a soft smile and look down back at the stack of papers that you so desperately tried to focus on. Paul was across the way and chatting to someone else about something unimportant, his heart never really into the actual conversation with people, he would always put on a facade for everyone to view and take at face value. You knew better, you knew Paul for the disgusting piece of flaming hot garbage he was. What you weren’t aware of was that Nathaniel had his attention set on Paul as well, so once Paul decided to excuse himself from the office for his lunch, Nathaniel followed closely behind without a word. You watched as the two left after one another, your body easing from the tensity of the room as it faded once Paul left. You let out a sigh and leaned back in your chair, hoping that Paul would be out of the breakroom by the time you got there, so you would take it as slow as you could to make.your way there.

When you finally did arrive to the breakroom, your eyes directed to the floor, you could feel Paul still sitting there, waiting for you.

"Ahh there she is, was hoping we could sit together for lunch," he smiled up at you and it made your stomach twist.

"No thanks," you replied without hesitation as you grabbed your food from the fridge and turned away to walk back out, but his hand was quickly on your wrist.

"You know, this whole playing-hard-to-get-thing is getting a little tiresome, just give me the date already, Y/N, please?" He wouldn't let go of your wrist as he spoke, his words had a new edge to them and you were honestly feeling a bit nervous.

Nathaniel was still hanging around the doorway, his curiosity of you only made him want to stick around, but hearing the shit spewing from Paul's mouth was offensive and he would have no part in it. He stepped in and immediately snatched his hand from your wrist and pulled you to stand behind him, away from the danger he sensed in this man.

"The hell are you doing, man? Not making a good first impression on me, pal," Paul spat as he quickly stood his ground, his glare focused now on the only threat standing between himself and you.

You wanted to run and get away from whatever that was going to happen, but if the new guy was going to show Paul a thing or two, maybe it would be worth sticking around for.

"You're making the young lady extremely uncomfortable, I figured I should step in before you do something you regret," Nathaniel replied coolly, his deep voice sending chills throughout you, “plus Y/N isn't an object, Paul." Nathaniel spat his name like it was venom on his tongue.

Paul sneered up at Nathaniel and was ready to throw a punch at him, but the shift in the entire room changed on a dime. Once Paul threw the first hit Nathaniel caught it easily enough on his own, but both you and Paul hadn't noticed that the glamor was gone and standing before you both was someone that radiated so much power that it scared you. Your eyes looked up to see a creature there instead of the new guy, his hand still wrapped tightly around Paul’s fist. The man’s tough-guy demeanor had vanished and now he was absolutely terrified of the creature standing before him, but not you. You stood there in slight fear, but the absolute power that enveloped your mind and body was pulling you toward him, and now you knew where the voice had been coming from, the sheer energy already swaying you toward him.

“What the hell, man?!” Paul cried out.

“Do you wish for Y/N to accompany you on a date? Because I can make that happen,” the Djinn sneered, “it could definitely be your death date if you’d like,” he teased.

Paul cried out in fear as he tried to yank his hand back, the power of the creature too strong for him to just simply break out of, so the man sunk to his knees and his eyes began to water. “Puh-lease! I’ll do whatever you want, please! Let me go!”

The Djinn looked over at you with an odd expression, his eyes still reflecting those of Nathaniel’s, which eased your discomfort in a way. “I will only allow it if Y/N wishes it,” he replied as his gaze was still fixated on you. You shifted and looked down at Paul, who also had been staring at you. His life was in your hands and you weren’t sure what to do in this situation, only that you wished deeply that you could take the step needed and silence the jerk.

“I wish that he’d leave me alone,” you said harshly and crossed your arms, your glare now looking up at the creature. “You’re not gonna kill him, are you?”

The Djinn chuckled darkly and looked at you with such adoration in his eyes, it pained him to lie to you, but you would appreciate it at some point or another. “No, no, my sweet angel,” he said smoothly, “only you will get your wish, though I feel you want to wish for more.”

“Let me go! I’ll leave her alone, I swear!” Paul begged again.

The Djinn was growing weary with him, but for now, he’d send the man halfway across the globe as his beloved wished, allowing her to be left alone and be around Nathaniel a lot more without interruption. The Djinn leaned in close to the stuttering man and smiled wickedly, his eyes bore into his own.

“You are quite a lucky man that Y/N is a kind individual, though if I ever see you around here or near her again, I will not hesitate to gut you where you stand if she wishes it. Have a good trip.”

Lights in the room flashed and Paul was suddenly gone, only leaving Nathaniel back in his human guise and you standing close beside him. Your eyes were wide as you looked up at him, but he only smiled and took your hand in his, placing your knuckles against his lips.

“As you wished, he is unharmed but will no longer be bothering you again, Y/N, you have my word.”

You looked around the room and everything seemed to be back to normal, you hiding your smile as you turned away. “And what are we gonna tell the boss?”

Nathaniel shrugged as he stood tall before you, his smile growing. “Tell him Paul resigned.”

#tinalbion writings #slashers x reader #slashers imagines #slashers headcanons #wishmaster #wishmaster movie #the djinn x reader #the djinn imagine #the djinn headcanons #slasher requests #wishmaster 1997 #nathaniel demerest #andrew divoff

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lightsandlostbells · 4 years

Text

wtFOCK season 3, episode 4 reaction

Kiss kiss fall in love? More like kiss kiss stay away from me.

I have to warn you. This is the episode where I lost it. I had to go back and edit so much unhappy capslock out of my notes.

Episode 4

Clip 1 - Het drama again

Zoë shows Milan a video of the shooting prank. Milan asks about romance on the trip, Robbe says there were too many people and too little privacy.

Senne and Zoë have tension because Zoë is pissed that Senne was partying? And that he was posting pictures of parties on IG when she wasn’t there? I mean … look, I’m never a William fan, but this seems like Zoë’s problem. If you can’t trust him to behave when you’re gone, you SHOULDN’T BE WITH HIM. And if you feel like you can trust him, this dude going to bars or whatever shouldn’t bother you. At least it seems to be portrayed as Zoë’s issues. Milan mentions that she’s jealous. He seems to like Senne, and I do find that dynamic cute so far.

I do appreciate that the Noorhelm drama this time is boring and not like “Senne was mad about how Zoë handled her sexual assault” levels of offensive.

That being said ... Robbe’s story. Where.

If you’ve been telling a very tight story so far, where Robbe’s personal journey has been steadily progressing clip by clip, then a clip like this wouldn’t be that bad. We absolutely have not been watching a tight story. Even with the next clip of Robbe doing some introspection, I’m like ... can we not make every scene count toward his story when there’s so much catching up to do? Ten seconds of Robbe looking vaguely troubled out of a two-minute clip that’s mainly about Zoë and Senne’s relationship does not count. A better writer would find some way to make Zoë/Senne parallel to Robbe/Sander, like how Noora talking about William and “if he loves you, he’ll choose you” in the first clip of episode 4 is relevant to Isak sitting there texting Even and Even choosing his plans with Sonja over Isak.

Clip 2 - Milan and Robbe talk gaydar

Robbe checking out Sander on Britt’s IG … finally, some cyberstalking. Did he take a screenshot of a pic of Sander? Lol.

Milan sits down and asks Robbe his opinion of a guy on Grindr, sexy or not? Robbe is lukewarm, giving neutral answers, Milan says he’s allowed to have an opinion on whether a guy is hot or not.

It feels SO WEIRD to have this clip so late, and I’m trying to like … recalibrate my brain so it’s not just because it’s later than usual. I don’t inherently hate if a remake changes up the order of clips. But the problem is that we’re now FOUR episodes in and it feels like Robbe’s sexuality crisis has just begun, I guess? Or rather, efficient storytelling would start out with this clear view of what Robbe’s issues are, rather than muddling into it a few episodes in.

Milan’s all, this guy says he’s not gay, but he likes to blow guys. This turns into a conversation about Milan’s gaydar and how to know if a guy is gay. In the original scene, the purpose of this conversation with Isak and Eskild was there as a way of Isak figuring out if Even was gay. That ... does not really fit this version, because this clip is so late in the season. Isak was getting Eskild’s wisdom right after meeting Even, when he had nothing but a BJ reference to go on. But Sander eyefucking Robbe while kissing Britt and leaning in to kiss Robbe should be pretty big clues to Robbe that Sander likes men, no? And that he likes Robbe specifically. Yeah, Robbe might be doubtful because Sander is still with Britt, but nothing new has happened since the almost kiss to make Robbe doubt! It would make way more sense if they’d adapted the opening clip of OG season 4, with Even texting Isak that he had plans with Sonja, into the clip prior to this one. If Robbe had texted Sander an invitation to hang out, or even just a “hey, what’s up?” and Sander wrote back “plans with Britt” then it would be an understandable transition for Robbe to have some doubt about Sander’s sexuality in this clip, like hey, maybe he’s not actually into me, after all.

The scene might make sense if you think about Robbe listening and applying Milan’s words to himself. Thinking about how there’s “something trapped in them that desperately wants to come out.” Wondering if it’s obvious to other people that Robbe is gay. It still doesn’t quite work and I actually doubt that was their intention (I think it was all about how to detect if Sander is into guys) but I am searching for any scraps of Robbe introspection, so.

OK, at least they had Robbe immediately look up Grindr (I laughed that he searched “grinder”). Good! Sexuality conflict! Why is it so late! Although it was probably more about trying to find Sander rather than a personal move on Robbe’s part.

This is a very gay song, btw (I Like Boys by Todrick Hall).

Clip 3 - Robbe and Yasmina talk het drama

Aaron talks to Robbe about sitting close to his teacher to see her boobs and the teacher saying she knows why he’s sitting there. I highly suspect this is just a dream Aaron had, unless the teacher said it in a pissed off way. Throw his ass in the back row, big-breasted teacher!

Robbe meets up with Yasmina. Yasmina wants to know the dirt from the seaside, Robbe fills her in. Soooo are they good friends, or what? He tells her about Aaron and Amber and they laugh and stuff. I mean it’s cute and all but like … where is this coming from? Did they become great friends in the S2 that I didn’t watch?

And that’s the whole clip … again, I ask what was the point?

To establish that Robbe and Yasmina are friends? Way to undermine the development and importance of that relationship by basically cutting through the buildup and hard work to the payoff. Sana and Isak meant more to people BECAUSE they started off prickly and grew to like each other and respect each other via their actions and words, right? That their conversations were more interesting because of their opposing views and resulting friction? That the friction was extremely relevant to the religion discussion?

Was the point to talk about Aaron/Amber and how Amber supposedly isn’t interested? We don’t need Yasmina’s commentary on that at all since we could see how Amber herself reacted to Aaron. Like if Yasmina was all, yeah, Amber couldn’t stop talking about Aaron, she says she doesn’t like him but I think she does, then I guess I could see the relevance of this conversation since it’s “new” information ... but it’s just the same shit we already know. And again: why spend so much time on a SIDE HET ROMANCE during a gay character’s season? Two of out three clips in this episode so far have been about side het romances!

This clip was just not needed at all except to set up Robbe and Yasmina so the impending religion conversation feels mildly less like two characters who have barely spoken on screen suddenly have an intense and somewhat personal talk. Something they could have done in earlier episodes instead of the other repetitive, unnecessary clips they’ve done this season.

Clip 4 - Dance chicks

At Noor’s dance performance, Robbe’s pals are drooling over the performers (and honestly being rather inappropriate and distracting). At least they got Robbe’s lack of interest right. Even though they have established this FIFTEEN THOUSAND TIMES with the lack of interest in Noor, like this clip almost doesn’t feel necessary at this point! If they’d had it earlier in the season, sure, but now it feels redundant. Like we really super mega get it by now that Robbe’s not into the girls.

The instructor thanks the performers at the end and Robbe says that he was “so gay.” Hey, except you know what? THERE IS NO BUILDUP TO THIS MOMENT. ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NONE. Except for the homophobic jokes from his friends in the previous seasons, but there’s nothing I can recall in this season. But more importantly, Isak’s similar comment was prompted by him taking the gay test in a preceding clip. Taking a quiz about generalizations of gay people, rooted in homophobia! Which Isak applies to the dance teacher! In order to distance himself from being gay! WE GOT NONE OF THAT HERE. For fuck’s sake.

There is no setup or reason why Robbe goes from being somewhat neutral about gay people with Milan asking him about the Grindr dude two clips ago - where Robbe is just kinda like, yeah OK, whatever, you think everyone’s gay, Milan (but he’s not overly grossed out or homophobic) - to this moment where he’s making a derogatory comment about a person he perceives as flamboyantly gay. This scene just happens because it did in OG. And the thing is, obviously you can attribute Robbe’s reasoning here to internalized homophobia. We know internalized homophobia exists and why he has it. But this is a scripted narrative, and any scripted narrative needs to have things happen for a reason rather than just because.

I remember complaining that Skam Italia had a bizarre take on this scene. But that’s nothing compared to the laziness on display here.

Jens is like WTF at Robbe’s “so gay” comment, it’s clear he’s not feeling it. I do like that Robbe gets defensive when Jens scoffs at him. They ask Robbe why he’s such a downer lately and if it’s because of his dad, or because of the Vlogs. Robbe blames the vlogs and yells and walks off, they’re confused.

Lol I just realized that I don’t think there was any followup to the prank from the seaside trip that had Robbe all pissed off. Nothing to show that the boys reconciled or that Robbe didn’t get over it right away.

I have a big problem with the way the boy squad is characterized so far, and it might be because they come across as more self-absorbed than other boy squads, as well as having a more superficial bond. I feel like so far they’re a rather cynical take on teenage boyhood. Again, not expecting them to be perfect or to be overly mature, but this show has to do a lot of work to make me believe they have the empathy or maturity to deal with Robbe’s situation kindly. (EDIT from the future: lol)

Clip 5 - Robbe and Yasmina talk religion

Oh shit, somehow I didn’t connect that dots that Aaron mentioning the teacher’s boobs would lead to THE boob teacher making an appearance! Unless there are multiple teachers with notable breasts at this school.

Another scene of Robbe not interested in breasts ... I mean, not to sound like a broken record, but this would have been good about three episodes ago.

The teacher is talking about religion and Darwininsm and creationism, which prompts Robbe to complain about how people still have religious beliefs in 2019.

Heavy fucking sigh. Have we gotten ANY religious moments from Robbe’s mom this season? Or from anyone else? Do the writers realize that Isak grilling Sana about religion was prompted by his OWN MOTHER’S religious beliefs and his fear of her judgment of his sexuality? No? Not surprised.

For real, Robbe just complains about religion out of nowhere … and like, obviously religious homophobia isn’t a rare thing, it exists. But it has not been established why Robbe in particular cares about the effects of religious homophobia, compared to say, the casual homophobia of his friends, or gay stereotypes, or gay bashing … we don’t know why religious homophobia has PERSONAL relevance in Robbe’s life. And yes, this is a concern for every gay person! But from a STORYTELLING perspective, there should be some focus as to what Robbe’s main fears are about being gay. Lack of acceptance from his peers? His family? Religion? Violence? Homophobic slurs?

I would say based on previous seasons, the most compelling basis for Robbe’s internalized homophobia would be the homophobic attitudes of his friend group. A revised take on the dance chicks scene might have been done with this in mind, but it wasn’t, and so it’s all just very muddled.

Anyway, Robbe goes on this tangent and asks Yasmina why she believes in God. The teacher voices what I thought and is like, why the fuck are you talking in class?

Again, there is NO BUILDUP to the involvement of religion at all. They have this shoehorned in friendship, I guess so he can ask her. He does bring up homosexuality at least, and how religion is so black and white.

Yasmina asks him what he believes. ONE THING they got right: they had Robbe challenge Yasmina on an intellectual level, and so Yasmina challenges him on an intellectual level right back. Because a lot of their dialogue is lifted right from OG, that’s why it works. LMAOOOO. Yasmina points out that homosexuality is an evolutionary “dead end” so therefore it can’t be genetic, so what is it? A disorder? A choice? I will also give some credit for her invoking the most anxiety-causing options to get under Robbe’s skin.

But the tone of their friendship does come across very different, because in the previous scene they seemed like good chums who had a rapport, and here it’s like Robbe lashed out at her for no reason, even less than Isak did with Sana, because Robbe just decided to torch his friendship with Yasmina out of the blue. I guess the answer is that Robbe is cranky so he decided to grill Yasmina over religion, but again, the fucking question is: why was he cranky? Two clips before this one they were on warm, friendly terms. In the last clip, he lashed out at his male friends, but that has nothing to do with religion. What the writers are asking us to do is basically just imagine all the stuff that’s happening in Robbe’s brain instead of doing their jobs and showing it to us. You don’t have to spoon feed us but you don’t also get to stick a few peas on a plate and wonder why we’re going hungry.

(REALLY. IT WAS NOT PROMPTED BY ANYTHING, NOT A TEXT FROM HIS MOM. WHICH IS WHY ISAK WAS UPSET AND LAUNCHED HIS INTERROGATION AT SANA.)

(CAUSE AND EFFECT, MOTHERFUCKER)

Clip 6 - Bowie playlist

Robbe is doing homework when Sander sends him a Bowie playlist. Robbe listens to Space Oddity and has a brief Moment. It’s very nice but wow, wouldn’t it be even better if Robbe fell for Sander listening to that? Say, in the last episode? Before they almost kissed? And before Robbe was suddenly declaring himself a Bowie expert to Noor?

Sander calls him, I like Robbe fixing his hair before he answers. It’s a video chat, gotta look his best! They have an actual conversation about Bowie and they flirt. Sander invites Robbe to the cafe later and Robbe is happy except then Britt is in the background and apparently she’s going with them, so it’s not a date after all, oh no. Robbe’s actor is good at subtly conveying his disappointment here.

Robbe hangs up and sticks his head against the bed (lol) and then goes back to Grindr. He immediately gets messages for horny sex and then gets rid of Grindr.

At first I was like, yay, this clip had a clear point and a sense of cause-and-effect, but now I’m like ... ehhhhh. Because the purpose of Robbe checking out Grindr is either A) so he can look for Sander or B) so he can check it out as a general way of exploring his sexuality (or both). The suggestion is that it has a lot to do with the former, because it was part of Milan’s advice as to how to find out if someone’s gay. But it’s a little weird here, because Robbe just saw that Britt was coming along to the cafe, so he should be discouraged about Sander. I mean, I think it’s still possible that he’s trying to figure out if Sander likes him because he’s getting mixed signals between the playlist and Britt, but it’s just a little off. And as for option B, I’m not sure why now of all times is the best time for that, like if you think about it, the sting of getting his hopes dashed should be the predominant emotion here, would he go straight to Grindr just to be like hmmm, maybe I’m into dudes?

And it bugs me because there is a super easy fix to this clip! Just have Sander send the Bowie playlist, Robbe listens to it, and as he’s daydreaming and smiling a bit, he gets out his phone and checks out Grindr, ready to search for Sander. But there are too many sex messages so he’s just like WTF and gets rid of it. Then Sander calls and they have this conversation that ends in Robbe being reminded that Britt is still in the picture. (Or he doesn’t need to get the sexy messages at all, I mean they’re kind of funny but I’m not sure they’re plot-necessary here.)

Noor texts him that they’ll meet up later. It’s not 100% clear but it sounds like she knew about meeting up with Sander and Britt, so that means Britt probably told her previously. Which is a little bit of different context from OG, because I was under the impression that Even asked Isak to hang out with them hoping that they’d be alone, and then somehow Sonja found out and made it into a group thing with Emma, making Even grumpy. With this it seems like it was planned as a group thing from the beginning, Britt knows they’re meeting up later.

Or wait, when Sander says he’ll give Robbe advice at the cafe later, does that mean Robbe already knows they’re meeting up? That would make sense because it’s what happened in OG (Even invited Isak in an earlier clip and then Isak found out Emma and Sonja were coming in a later one). They’re incorporating all kinds of OG elements in this episode so I wouldn’t be surprised. But I assumed that this was the invite because we didn’t see Sander talk to Robbe earlier this week? Shouldn’t we have seen that clip since it’s the first time they’ve interacted since they almost kissed? I checked the texts for this episode and I don’t see anything like Sander inviting Robbe, either? Did I just miss something? What is going on?

Clip 7 - Robbe is late to meet Noor

Later that day …. Robbe rides a bike. Very fast. The music is dramatic! This would not be out of place for an O Helga Natt scene

And yet it’s not OHN, it’s Noor? Noor seems annoyed. Because Robbe is late. OH NO THE TENSION WHATEVER WILL WE DO. WE CARE A TON ABOUT ROBBE AND NOOR.

Noor is super pissed at him and starts screaming and shoving at him. What the actual fuck? She complains that she thought he was dead or something and is mad he didn’t even send a message. She says fuck you and walks off. Robbe follows her on the bike.

I don’t know how popular this opinion is, but Noor did not come across as great here, like when I watched it I was baffled at her response. I say this as someone who is chronically early and also gets annoyed at lateness. She has every right to be annoyed that Robbe is late and that he didn’t message her to tell her he’d be late, and I get that there’s supposedly more to her reaction than just this one incident. But the screaming and especially the shoving at him is just WTF.

Also, she told him to meet him at 19:00, and the beginning of the clip is at 19:21 (I see what you did there) and Robbe arrives like a minute or two later. So he’s 20 minutes late, which is certainly annoying, especially because it’s dark and chilly outside, but IMO not a cause for “I thought you were dead or in an accident!” and the OTT reaction.

Clip 8 - Robbe and Noor fight

Sander and Britt are in the cafe, Robbe and Noor argue outside about him giving her mixed signals. Has ... he ...?

OK, I’d say I half-see her case, and I half-don’t. If Noor can somehow sense Robbe’s disinterest during their makeouts or lovey-dovey moments or w/e, then I can buy that. I think there are slight moments where he doesn’t seem into it. But Robbe has put so much more genuine effort into their relationship than Isak did. He hasn’t even turned Noor down for sex, really, they’ve just gotten interrupted every time, or she’s thrown up. He didn’t want to go to her dance performance except then he told her he would go approximately thirty seconds later. He went to her dance performance. He went to the seaside with her and kissed her and slept in the same bed with her. This is the first time he’s actually fucked up with her.

Noor sounds ridiculous right now. “Do you still love me?” Uhhhh what??? You’ve been dating for less than a month, really? Did he tell her he loved her at any point? I’m serious, is there some material I missed? Some nuance in the language that didn’t completely translate?

I get it, I’m watching insecure overdramatic teenagers! I’m just wondering if I’m supposed to be on Noor’s side here. They could have portrayed this less OTT and more fitting to Robbe’s actual offenses.

Anyway Robbe and Noor have a screaming fight in the street and he says he can’t breathe anymore because of her. I can buy that even if it’s dramatic because he’s feeling trapped by her due to his sexuality. She walks off, Sander and Britt come outside. Britt goes after Noor and hugs her, Sander sings Space Oddity to signify the crash and burn of Robbe/Noor. He has on a Pink Floyd shirt so at least his musical taste is more varied than Bowie.

Clip 9 - Robbe and Sander by themselves

Robbe and Sander drink alone at the bar, they don’t think the girls are coming back. Sander texts Britt and then tells Robbe they’re going to do something else. He shows him Britt’s text saying that Noor needs some time alone. I mean. this drastically changes the context of them going off together … it’s not because they want to be together, necessarily (although they do) but it’s by default now.

So they leave.

Yeah, I do not love what they did with this scene. It’s short and to the point but I want to point out a few things.

First, because again, there’s no need to break up most of these clips into such short, choppy scenes just because 15 or 20 minutes have passed in-universe. It might be exciting if you happen to be watching and following at the exact time these are being posted, but it also messed with the flow of the scenes and the build of emotions. Imagine if we cut off after Isak and Even left Emma and Sonja and then 10 minutes later we got them riding around on a bike. We’d missed that beautiful transition from the silent, empty room to Isak on the bike and then Head Over Heels kicking in. That’s one of my favorite moments in season 3 and it’s because of that transition. It’s because I was sitting there watching this uncomfortable scene and wishing Isak and Even could be alone and then they got to be alone and my stomach swooped! If you break up moments like those, there’s just not as much build. (Or imagine - horror of horrors - an O Helga Natt where Isak gets the text from Even and it cuts off after he runs out of the church and then resumes when he arrives at the school, so we don’t see his journey. You lose so much.)

Second, there is a curious lack of romantic/sexual tension in this scene. It’s there on Sander’s end, I think, or at least you can read it there due to his focus on Robbe and even some of his body language. Robbe, on the other hand, seems more upset that his girlfriend who he doesn’t even feel genuine attraction to has walked out on him rather than the fact that he is sitting next to the boy he’s crushing on, alone together, right before they share their first kiss later that evening. And it just makes me want to know why.

I don’t blame Robbe’s actor at all, because it’s the director’s job to tell him how to play the scene. But I rewatched this scene trying to be generous, and there is not a single shred of attraction or tension from Robbe toward Sander. He checks the cafe door when it opens, he asks Sander to text Britt, and when Sander suggests they leave, Robbe’s first instinct is to ask what if Noor comes back. He sits there moping into his beer the whole time. He doesn’t sneak looks at Sander. He doesn’t try to talk to Sander about anything except Noor and Britt. No banter, no discussion that’s focused on them, Robbe-and-Sander, you know, the main couple of this season (supposedly). It doesn’t even feel like he’s consciously trying not to look or interact with Sander because of the romantic tension. No, it genuinely feels like Robbe’s #1 thought right now is Noor. Does that make sense to you? It makes sense for him to be a little out of sorts due to the fight, but does it make sense that Robbe seems to have no perceptible reaction to being alone with the guy he likes? Does it make sense that they didn’t take this chance to throw in some romantic and sexual tension in order to pave the way for the kiss that is going to happen very shortly? Gotta say that I think this scene exemplifies my earlier complaints about how Noor was so prevalent early in the season and how Robbe/Noor was built up. Because once again, Robbe/Noor has taken precedence over the undeveloped Robbe/Sander pairing.

Finally, as I said above, the situation makes it so that Robbe and Sander are on their own by default, not by choice. Combined with the bizarre lack of tension, that makes this scene fall totally flat. There’s no sense that these two really really want to be alone together. There’s no joy in them running off together. Robbe actually seems reluctant to go off with Sander. And not even because he’s fearful of what might happen, ooooo things might get a little gayer than I can handle right now, but like he’d rather sit here and drink and think about his girlfriend.

It’s like they were concerned that Isak and Even were too mean to Emma and Sonja so they decided Robbe and Sander would only be alone because it was the girls’ decision to leave them, not the other way around. We even get that text from Britt so we know that Noor totes isn’t coming back and it’s OK for them to leave. I have no idea what their actual motivation was to construct the scenario this way, though. I would love to know. (The answer would probably annoy me so I’m better off not knowing.)

It’s little stuff like this that makes me want to sit down the writers/directors/whoever’s behind wtFOCK and have them watch scenes from Skam S3 and write an essay on the construction and execution of clips. Do some homework about timing, tension, narrative structure, and everything else that makes S3 work.

Clip 10 - Smooch time

It’s 21:21 so you know what’s happening. Also, bullshit! Why is this happening so fast. You haven’t earned this!!!!

Sander buys them booze. The Sander actor is very good, honestly. I like his screen presence. It is a testament to his abilities that this relationship is working for me at all, because it sure ain’t the writing. (Robbe’s actor is doing well, too, but the writing is dragging him down since he’s present for all this nonsense.)

This scene of Sander and Robbe drinking and riding bikes is genuinely good on its own and they have strong chemistry when they’re allowed to show it. They have easy banter and interaction, there’s a callback to the booking.com reference from when they met. Really, this part makes me sad, because I can see the potential here! If the writing was GOOD, if the story had a legit direction, if it was just better storytelling all around … this season could have been wonderful, they had the right guys to do Isak and Even’s story justice. Instead it’s like this one terrific moment in a sea of wtFOCK.

If they go in the pool I will roll my eyes. C’mon, guys, you DO NOT HAVE THE SYMBOLISM to do this scene. It had a meaning in Skam, in most of the remakes it’s just an arbitrary location.

Yep, it’s a pool.

Sander takes off all his clothes so he jumps in bare-assed, and Robbe laughs. Sander yells at Robbe to get in the pool so Robbe does a fucking striptease while Sander watches, more or less, and he’s about to get in the pool in his underwear, but Sander is like “all the way or no way” so Robbe takes off his underwear after a brief moment of hesitation and jumps in. So they’re naked in the pool. Cool cool cool.

Seeeeee, on the one hand this COULD be a moment of liberation, I could see it, taking off the clothes and jumping in as a representation of abandoning the stale hetero life or w/e. But I don’t think wtFOCK has built anything resembling a clear arc for Robbe, to the point where this act means anything, really. (Can you imagine Isak doing this in episode 4? I don’t know if it fits his character at that point, but I could at least be like, OK, this is part of his ~rebirth and I think we’ve built him up enough that this moment of liberation feels like a culmination of something.) I’m also not totally sold on the way they presented this, like we’ve got a closeted gay kid alone with his crush and the crush takes his all his clothes off and then Robbe takes all his clothes off with only the barest reluctance (but he’s not like … distressed or worried, just kinda like “aw, man!”) For some closeted gay kids? Sure, guess I could see it! But in the context of “this kid is struggling with his sexuality and he’s alone with the boy he likes and he’s supposed to be going through Some Shit”? Why doesn’t this have a bigger reaction in Robbe? Since they are drunk and not necessarily overthinking things in the moment, however, I will let this slide. Cynically I think this is mostly about trying to make wtFOCK Sexxxxy. I’m not a prude and I don’t have an objection in theory to a teenage couple skinny dipping together, but wtFOCK has a trend of taking a thing that happened in OG and going “How can we do this but more?” and these remakes know Evak is the big sell in fandom, so. They’re making it spicier. (EDIT from the future: Jumping ahead to later content on wtFOCK ... they very much are trying to make it Sexxxxy.)

Also, these guys just haven’t had a lot of buildup yet! And I can see like … rewriting this scene so the first kiss isn’t necessarily some epic release of a simmering tension and growing love, but more of a tentative, pivotal moment with a gay kid kissing a boy for the first time, and having the relationship grow from there. But wtFOCK isn’t doing that, it’s trying to do the Evak thing with the epic romance, and they haven’t earned it.

They go underwater for the breath-holding contest, Sander tries to kiss Robbe (Robbe’s eyes are pointedly closed so this feels like some unnecessary POV breakage) and Robbe shoves him back. He’s still in a good mood, though. They go back underwater and Robbe kisses Sander. Yay, I guess.

Lol, I don’t actually want to sound like a bitter asshole. The song choice is lovely! The cinematography is pretty good! And like I said, they have nice chemistry. It’s just that the storytelling has been so messy up to this point that I can’t get too invested. The very first clip I saw in real time for Skam season 3 was the pool scene - I had just discovered the show a few days prior, and I kept watching the clips on repeat. I could not get enough of this story. I really really needed those guys to kiss. Yeah, I recognize that at the time the story was brand new and this wasn’t the fourth iteration of the same pool scene and the sixth first kiss for this couple, and you really can’t recreate that feeling of not knowing what comes next in a remake like this. Still, I think that if the writing had just been better, I could have been happy and invested in this moment.

I also think that the pool scene in particularly has a tendency to get written in kind of a rote way in the remakes. Some of them have put their own spin on it - I had plenty of criticisms of Skam France’s S3 but I did enjoy their first kiss and I praised that they made up their own symbolism - but some of them have gotten so close to the original, the exact same banter, the interruption at the end, and it doesn’t feel natural for those versions of the characters. I’m not sure if the remake showrunners think that the original scene is something the fans want to see or if they’re being lazy or if they think the OG is just that good (which it is, lol). I don’t think any remake has been that faithful with their O Helga Natt clips, by comparison.

Anyway they get caught, yadda yadda.

Clip 11 - Morning after the pool smooch

Robbe gets up and sees Zoë looking at Senne, seemingly hungover, on the couch. She makes coffee to spite him since the coffeemaker is loud.

Zoë asks Robbe about last night and says Noor was at the door. Robbe doesn’t tell her what really happened. Apparently Noor looked like she felt bad. I don’t think I can handle more Robbe/Noor, guys. I appreciate that OG didn’t drag out Isak’s thing with Emma once he kissed Even, but I’m not confident this won’t happen here.

Zoë asks if he’s all right. Man, the most effective relationship this season is probably Zoë and Robbe? Which is fine! But like … boy squad ain’t great, Sander and Robbe aren’t well developed, they fucked up Yasmina and Robbe already, Milan and Robbe are way behind schedule…

What if the reveal were that Sander were in Robbe’s bed?

It’s not. Instead, Sander texts him as a cover of Space Oddity plays. Robbe has angst and blocks Sander on WhatsApp. Ohhhh my. Another thing I appreciated about OG? That Isak was all in after he kissed Even, and that the angst came from different places besides the typical gay coming out storyline of “kissed a boy, regretted it, went back in the closet temporarily.” Not that it’s unrealistic, just that it’s done so much.

I think we’re supposed to take away that Zoë saying Noor was there looking sad made Robbe reconsider what happened with Sander? Or just general internalized homophobia. I don’t think the latter is totally out of Robbe’s characterization based on what we’ve seen so far, although I wish there was clearer writing so it felt more like “Robbe has internalized homophobia that made him block Sander” and less like “????? internalized homophobia I guess.” Again, I’ll letting this slide because I can also rationalize it as him being a little drunk last night, and now that he’s sober he regrets his choice, even if I don’t think this is a great choice at this stage in the season.

Clip 12 - The heaviest of sighs

The subs helpfully gave a trigger warning for homophobic slurs so I knew this was going to be “good.”

Robbe is listening to music as he goes home. Sander comes up to him, smiling, wanting to know why Robbe blocked him. Robbe says to leave him alone, that Sander got him drunk and took advantage of him.

L M A O welp, this would soooo kill this ship for me if I were invested.

FIND SOMEONE ELSE, SANDER, YOU DESERVE BETTER

Oh, so Robbe also shoved him and called him a dirty f****t! What a great romance!

No, really - this is the EXACT THING I was so glad that Evak DID NOT DO. I’m not saying their romance has to be free of flaws, that there can never be fuckups, that Isak can’t ever hurt Even and vice versa. But this is such a common and ugly trope in gay media.

Robbe goes inside and slams his door, Milan asks what’s wrong, Robbe tells him to leave him alone. We get Milan’s POV and not Robbe’s at the end.

Anyway lmao. wtFOCK indeed.

Did you enjoy the cuddle scene in Skam, where a same-sex couple got to be tender and sweet and open with each other for almost seven minutes? A clip that felt refreshing and even revolutionary for its normalization of gay intimacy? Hahahaha, fuck you.

Okay, seriously though. It’s not a problem that we didn’t have the cuddle scene immediately after the pool scene. It’s not a problem that they want to change up this storyline and make it their own - though again I would ask the creative powers at wtFOCK why they’re making these particular choices. It’s not a problem if Robbe and Sander’s relationship has some extra bumps along the way to their happy ending.

WHAT EVEN PROMPTED THIS CHANGE IN ROBBE, like I get the answer is “internalized homophobia” but Robbe was BUCK NAKED WITH SANDER IN THE POOL so like. Can we please get SOME context for why he suddenly had a freakout? Can we please get some narrative structure with cause and effect? Can we get a fucking reason that Robbe went from 0 to 100? Because if it was just the blocking Sander on WhatsApp, that’s one thing, but accusing him of sexual assault and calling him slurs is so vastly beyond that. If we’re supposed to take away that Robbe feels bad about Noor, that still doesn’t explain the ugliness of his reaction, rather than just telling Sander that he has a girlfriend and it was a mistake or whatever.

I’m going to add that I understand that Robbe went through some additional homophobic shit from his friends in previous seasons - I remember Moyo saying crappy things to him in S1, and I watched a S2 scene where the same thing happens. So I can understand if Robbe’s internalized homophobia is very strong. But they’ve also cut out so much stuff in this season that added to Isak’s internalized homophobia (no mom’s religion making him anxious, no gay test, no gay generalizations from Emma...) If they want to rely on internalized homophobia from previous seasons, then we really need a reminder in this season, such as his friends making homophobic jokes, which I do not recall hearing so far. And they need to show what happened between the kiss to provoke such a homophobic reaction.

After Sander said that thing about not knowing if anyone would ever love him … why did they do this? I love me some pain in storytelling but this isn’t just angst, this is needlessly cruel.

There is, believe it or not, a middle ground between “conflictless fluff” and “cruel homophobia and assault allegations” where you can have some tension, even have Robbe have a freakout, without bringing in this kind of material. Robbe could have told Sander to stay away without accusing him of assault or calling him slurs. He could have said he wasn’t gay or that it was a mistake or even “I was drunk” without following it up with “and you took advantage of me.” All of these options might have stung for Sander and for any viewers who were hoping for morning-after cuddles, but they also create conflict without pushing it over the edge into OTT cruelty.

HOW I WOULD REWRITE THIS EPISODE:

Ahahahaha

So far this season is like a disconnected set of scenes from Skam S3 with bonus filler scenes and unnecessary clips about non-Robbe things. It’s getting hard to think about rewrites because the point, if you will, so often so unclear. It’s also hard because this episode squeezed in so many OG scenes that were missing from earlier in the season that it’s like, well, shouldn’t we have had this a few episodes ago? Should we just leave them out now?

Okay. Start by getting rid of the first clip in this episode that’s mostly about Zoë/Senne, bump up the Milan clip. We start with Robbe looking at pics of Sander on IG, Milan comes in and asks if there was any romance on the trip, then they get into the Grindr talk, etc. The Grindr talk makes more sense before Robbe almost kisses Sander, but like. We can’t do anything about that now. What might be better is if the whole “how do you know if a guy is gay?” thing takes a swerve into not just Robbe trying to figure out Sander, but to something uncomfortably close to Robbe’s own behavior (like IDK, referencing body language and how a guy will lean in closer, like Robbe did with Sander) and then Robbe gets cranky because he’s worried he’s too obviously gay to other people. After Milan leaves, he starts looking up stuff like “how to act straight” or “how not to seem gay” or whatever. That leads us into the next clip...

... the dance chicks scene. Now we’ve seen plenty of Robbe being disinterested in girls already, so this time we’re going to show him trying to be interested in girls instead. Like he’s watching his friends’ annoying horny reactions and he’s clearly trying to imitate them and join in, but we can see that he’s awkward and not totally feeling it. But he’s trying. Then after the performance, Robbe makes the comment about the dance instructor being so gay.

There is a problem, IMO, in that Robbe’s friend group has been shown to be more homophobic than the average boy squad (as seen in S1 and S2). And frankly I don’t really believe yet Jens is the type to shut down a homophobic comment. Like in S2 Moyo and Robbe straight up start calling each other f*gs and Jens is like chill, no one here is a f*g, but if there were, you should date each other. That’s his idea of intervention. So I’m not sure how to handle that.

I don’t love this idea, because I hate what they’re done with Moyo in particular, making him pointedly more homophobic (to be discussed in a future reaction) but Moyo and Aaron could perhaps laugh at Robbe’s comment and start riffing off it, while Robbe is sitting there pretending to laugh but looking increasingly uncomfortable, and Jens notices something is off with Robbe, and he tells the guys to knock it off, the guy is gay, so what? Big deal. Then aside from the other guys, he asks Robbe if something is wrong, and Robbe snaps at him or attributes it to family problems again.

I was going to also say that the setting for this clip doesn’t really allow for Sander to swoop in, like Even did to return the snapback, but actually maybe it could? Noor could have invited Britt and Sander to watch the show, right? So maybe when Robbe makes this gay joke and his friends are laughing, Sander comes up while Britt is talking to Noor and is like, hey guys, what’s up? Robbe’s friends are just like, oh nothing, did you see how gay that guy was? Then Sander is like, sorry, what’s the problem with being gay? He tells them off a little. Meanwhile Robbe is standing there awkward as fuck, not looking Sander in the eyes, while Sander is looking at him for backup, but Robbe just makes an excuse to bolt. Maybe he walks past Noor without saying anything, so she looks confused.

Now onto Robbe and Yasmina. Man, I truly hate saying this. But: If you are not going to incorporate other religious themes into this season, then you don’t need to redo the Isak-Sana friendship. Again! I don’t like suggesting this! But what actually is Robbe and Yasmina’s relationship bringing to this season when it’s portrayed like this?

They left out the weed blackmail, which is really just a plot device in OG, but it’s a plot device that sets up Sana and Isak’s thread. It also gets Isak to kosegruppa to meet Even, something which is irrelevant here.

Sana’s main tie to S3 is Isak’s mom. Isak’s mom is religious, that makes him anxious, and it’s a hurdle to coming out to her. Robbe’s mom is not religious, Robbe’s internalized homophobia doesn’t seem to have anything to do with religion specifically other than this one scene with him and Yasmina. It’s just a disconnected tangent. What’s more, what is Yasmina’s eventual advice going to do for him? Sana’s advice led Isak to come out to his mom.

I really like Yasmina. If there’s another way that her presence is relevant to the themes of this season, by all means let’s find it and include her. As it is, either make it that Robbe’s mom is religious and include the Robbe-Yasmina subplot, or don’t and leave it out.

I would love to see in-depth and meaningful friendships develop among all the characters in the Skam squads, just because I love all those kids. Jonas and Vilde? Even and girl Chris? Eva and Mahdi? I don’t care how random, let’s have them all! But there is a finite amount of time per season, and we can’t extend time for all possible relationships - just the ones that are most relevant to the story we are trying to tell.

I mentioned above a fix for the Bowie playlist clip that makes it have a little more sense to me. If you include Sander in the dance chicks clip like I said, you could have Robbe thinking about Sander again and wondering if he’s into men since he called out the boys’ homophobia. That’s how he ends up on Grindr. Then Sander sends him the Bowie playlist, Robbe listens, Sander calls and they talk, Robbe apologizes for bolting out of there the other day. Sander invites him to the cafe later, Robbe’s all :D until he realizes Britt is there and is coming too, then he’s :(

He’s late to meet Noor and Noor is upset, but not like ... screaming and shoving at him. She’s more snippy and passive-aggressive, she walks off. She says she’s upset because he ditched the dance performance without talking to her, and then he’s late to meet her, it seems like he just doesn’t care that much. They have a fight but it’s like a normal fight and not The End of the World. Just tone down Noor’s OTT anger and make it more natural.

I don’t have a preference in this version whether Noor and Britt leave the cafe and Sander and Robbe know they’re not coming back, or whether Noor and Britt just go to get some air and cry it out and Sander is like fuck it, let’s leave. The important thing for me is that Robbe sits there with Sander, painfully aware that they’re alone, and there’s lots of tension and awkwardness and his brain is clearly hyper-focused on the proximity of Sander’s knee to his own. They banter and flirt and then when Sander suggests they leave, Robbe acts like he wants to go.

Don’t do a pool scene for the first kiss. Give a shit, make it your own. Except IMO they have done so little to establish this relationship in terms of larger themes or symbolism that they have nothing to choose from.

Man, what if THIS episode was about going to the seaside, after they had been talking for several episodes, and they kissed in the sea when they were alone? That would be at least somewhat plausible? A take on the pool scene/underwater kiss that wasn’t the exact same.

You could do something related to graffiti, perhaps? Instead of breaking into a pool, they break into the tagging place or wherever. Or something else related to Sander’s artwork, because I know that this comes up in their version of O Helga Natt.

I’m not wild about adding this blip in Robbe and Sander’s relationship after the kiss, because of how much ground we need to cover the rest of the season (it messes with the pacing yet again) and also just because I like that Skam didn’t do this expected route. However, if they wanted to make Robbe try to shut out Sander again: the strongest case for his internalized homophobia seems to be his friends. So have him meet up with them again the day after kissing Sander. His friends bring up Sander and how weird he was at the dance performance about the gay instructor, like it’s just a joke! He took their comments way too seriously! Is Sander gay or something? And maybe Robbe tries to defend Sander - no, he’s a cool guy, really - and then his friends are like, pffft, what, do you have a crush on him? Robbe denies and everybody chills out, but Robbe seems troubled. Maybe this is when Jens finally gets a fucking clue and realizes something’s up with Robbe, and in the future there’s a scene where he shuts down gay jokes. For now, though, we do see how Robbe would feel compelled to go back in the closet. Sander texts him and Robbe blocks him.

Now we come to the worst part. So. Take out Robbe calling Sander a sexual predator and a homophobic slur and pushing him, that’s for sure. If he must reject Sander, do it in another way. “I’m not gay.” “I was drunk.” “It was a mistake.” “I have a girlfriend.” It’s not actually hard to do this clip without adding this ugly taint to their relationship.

Since I’m trying to think of rewrites without just copying Skam, here is a radical change on how to include a post-kiss freakout from Robbe earlier on so the pacing isn’t as odd. In previous recaps, I suggested Sander should be introduced earlier as a mysterious stranger that Robbe is trying to find. Well, maybe we can rework that. Robbe and the mysterious stranger share a kiss in episode 1. They’re hiding from the police or security or something after getting busted at a party or while tagging or w/e, and they’re both a little drunk and high on adrenaline, they’re smiling and laughing because they actually got away, and it just ... happens. The mysterious stranger can initiate it, but Robbe tentatively reciprocates before running away. Robbe freaks out and it’s after this that he starts heavily pursuing Noor. Because, you see, he’s not gay, he was just drunk, and it was all that other guy’s fault. But at least he doesn’t have to see that random guy again, right? No one will ever know. Just like no one will ever know if late at night when he can’t sleep, he does a Google search to see if he’s gay if he liked kissing a boy or if he can’t get it up with his girlfriend. Or if he goes on Grindr to see if he can find the mystery dude. It’s a bust and Robbe gives up and settles into dating Noor. Except in episode 2, OH SHIT, he’s introduced to Sander again via Noor, and it’s awkward and fuck, Sander has a girlfriend. Well, that’s good, right? Totally not a bummer. Anyway, Robbe tries to avoid Sander or tiptoe around him but they end up spending time together because they’re stuck at the seaside under the same roof. Maybe they directly address the issue by Robbe saying he’s not gay and Sander being like “me neither” (which technically is not a lie, lmao) and brushing it off as a mistake, or maybe they both pretend that it never happened. Maybe Robbe is more aggressive about it at first and Sander is like, whoa dude, chill out, I’m not going to tell anyone. Still, they get to know each other, there’s heaps of sexual/romantic tension, and in episode 4 (or 5 or whenever) they kiss again and it’s Epic.

This arc is definitely not the same as Isak’s or Evak’s and I absolutely won’t claim that it’s in the same league as what Julie Andem did, but I can see a narrative arc like this making some sense. Better than trying to do Isak’s arc half-assed.

It occurs to me just like … how little we know about any of these characters in terms of subtext or something? No hints about Sander’s background, really? Let’s get some clues in there.

I think something I miss about Skam was how kind it was. How all the characters were at heart, good people capable of the most generous love and empathy. And maybe we’ll get there with these characters in the end, but overall, so many of these people just don’t feel like that! There’s so much more ugliness and cruelty involved in this story, and it doesn’t feel like it’s done with good intentions, like to show the audience how to handle these situations and to heal.

There’s this weird attitude of defense where cruelty, tragedy, and negative events are defended in the name of realism and there’s a backlash to the backlash, acting like the critics just want fluffy plotless hand-holding and cuddling, a conflict-free season, or a story where no one makes mistakes. And it’s like people forget that in Skam season 3, the story was FULL of angst! We know Evak get their happy ending but like … from episode 1 all through O Helga Natt, the story is packed with conflict. People hurt each other. Even in episode 10, not everything is perfect. It is very possible to do angst and conflict without this ugliness. Like … I have to assume people weren’t here for episodes 5 and 6 of Skam S3, or for the hotel scene, or episode 9 up to OHN, because I can assure you, there was no lack of angst. There was just a lack of shock value gratuitousness.

As always, let me know if I missed something due to cultural or linguistic context.

#wtfock reactions

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anthonyed · 4 years

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Okay first of all I fucking loved the stuckony ticket you wrote! Could you do number eight form the list with the same pairing? But only if you want!

Thank you! Could I ever resist my ot3? (the answer is no) I got carried away with this. It's Part 2 of this. Full story on Ao3

prompt: “Everyone knows the 90s were the epitome of high fashion.”

-//-

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re jealous.” Bucky says casually one afternoon. A pint of ice cream in his hold and he’s shovelling it into his mouth while the summer sun burns his back.

Steve chokes on a sip of ice lemonade from where he lays; a little more shadowy ground than that of Bucky’s. His Irish complexion doesn’t tan, it burns.

“I’m not jealous of you and Tony.” he jumps to defend, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Scandalised to even be accused such.

Bucky breaks into a slow victorious grin, the spoon dangling from between his teeth and he says, “I didn’t say what you were jealous of.”

If not the sun, Steve burns from humiliation. “I’m not,” he insists like a child accused of stealing from a cookie jar.

Bucky hums, scooping another spoonful into his mouth and he looks away thoughtfully. Steve follows his gaze, sees where it lands and he shakes his head, immediately looking away.

It’s Tony, lounging on a float with his shades on and a glass of bright orange something in one hand. He’s got a pair of shorts on and nothing else. A thousand times better than Bucky’s swimming trunk. Which is stupid short and incredibly tight.

It’s so out there, that even Steve cannot help but catch himself looking. Just like now.

“Like what you see?” Bucky’s voice snaps him out of it and colors tomato red up his cheeks.

“It’s awful,” He grumbles petulantly, rubbing both hands down his face. Maybe he should just call it day and hide in his room. One humiliation after another is bad for the soul.

“You don’t have to hide what you like, Stevie.” Bucky says softly.

Steve drops his hands and glares at him. He’s no longer shovelling ice cream into his mouth. In fact, he looks genuine from where’s sat, regarding Steve with curious eyes.

“I hear it’s okay for fellas to like fellas these days.” There’s a clear intent in his statement. Just, what it is, Steve has a little trouble pointing it out.

“I - yeah,” he confirms.

Bucky nods, the corner of his mouth lifting a little and he’s looking down at the pint of ice cream on his lap when he speaks, but his words hit bull’s eye with daggers straight at Steve’s weakest point. “Remember, my first kiss?”

Steve inhales sharply, his throat going dry and his insides clamp. He manages a shaky nod, couldn’t avoid looking at Bucky even if he wants to run a mile away from him. If there was one thing Steve was hoping would stay out of Bucky’s memory permanently, for his own selfish purpose. It was that.

17 or 28, give or take seven decades in between, Steve is never going to be ready to acknowledge that particular event. It wasn’t that he hated it. Instead, it was quite the opposite. But the memory is tainted with sins and illicitness. Illegality and crippling fear and back then, it was traumatising.

Even if today, he knows, logically, that it’s normal.

“Did you like it?” Bucky asks quietly and Steve feels his skin tingles.

He cannot recall it, his mind refuses to. Secretly allowing a vivid recollection of it only in the darkness, when the rest of the world has gone to sleep and Steve is on the brink of his orgasm; close to breaking, consciousness shot to death and only his subconscious ruled.

“Bucky,” Steve warns roughly.

But Bucky keeps talking like he didn’t hear Steve. Like he’s remembering it for himself, by himself.

“Cause I did.” He smiles a little, twirling the spoon inside the pint. “I do,” he corrects softly. Then he tilts his head a little, frowns at his hand and he wonders aloud, “I didn’t force you did I?”

“No,” Steve rushes to negate. Always. Looking out to not make Bucky feel bad. Always ready to protect. “It was mutual.” He adds, biting his lip after in regret. There wasn’t a need to say that.

Bucky looks up then, bright eyes glinting, and he looks equal part mischievous and reckless when he shares, “I remember loving you. Like a fella supposed to love a dame, yeah?” It’s rhetorical and Steve’s shot dead in cognition, but he nods jerkily anyway.

“Would you have stepped out with me if I asked you then?” Bucky cocks his head curiously, “Scratch that,” he waves, “Would you step you with me now?”

“Bucky,” Steve breathes painfully. He looks at his first love, his pal and his buddy, and he looks at his other love, the one who he dared to in this century; bore a crush so warm and secure in the core of his heart, he wasn’t ready to speak out, but he was ready to accept.

“Bucky,” he says seriously, “I think Tony likes you.”

“I know,” Bucky nods slowly, “I like him too.”

Steve blinks. “No,” he says, “I don’t think you understand. Tony likes you, like that.”

At that, he receives a flat stare, “I know that, Stevie. I like him too.” Bucky enunciates pointedly.

Now, Steve’s just confused. “And you’re asking me out?”

Bucky rolls his eyes like he’s stupid. “Yes, I’m asking you out. I asked him out too. He said yes by the way. He’s just not sure if you like him like that.”

“What?” Steve turns to the pool where Tony’s steadily floating, not a single care in the world. It’s absurd. He cannot believe what Bucky’s saying. “Of course I like him. I just,” he stops, shaking his head firmly, “I would not come in between you and him like that.

“Oh please,” Bucky laughs, “By all mean, please do come in between us like that.”

When Steve gawks, Bucky’s glee mutes.

“Stevie, doll-face,” he calls, and Steve looks from Tony to him. “Did you seriously live three years in this century without knowing what polyamory is? Do I have to educate you about everything?”

There’s a teasing tone to his question. A sly smirk which Steve scowls at long and hard before begrudgingly admitting, “What’s that.”

One short but compact lecture about polyamory later, Bucky sits on Steve’s bed and insists that in order to impress Tony, Steve has to start including 90s fashion into his daily style.

Steve balks. “I am not. Doing that.”

“Then you’re gonna have a tough chance wooing him. Especially me looking so dapper over here.” Bucky shrugs, pulling at a lone thread hanging off of his sleeve ends. It’s another obnoxious pattern; horizontal green and black stripes with baggy jeans he wears so low even if it’s secured by a red belt with its end poking out of the loops.

There is no way Bucky seriously believes he’s dapper. “You said he likes me already.”

“I said he didn’t know if you like him like that. Not that he likes you.”

Steve stops in the middle of folding back all his clothes Bucky had strewn out over the mattress. Bucky grins. “Chill,” he says, abusing the term he’d learnt from Parker and his teenage gang. “I’m messing with ya. If he didn’t like you, he wouldn’t have said yes to the date.”

Something still feels wrong. Steve doesn’t like not knowing Tony’s opinion from his own mouth. “Are you sure?” He collapses on the bed. Tossing a crumpled shirt aside, he scrubs his face. “I don’t know if -,”

“Miss Fri?” Bucky sing songs. Steve startles, reaching over to smack Bucky’s mouth shut but the jerk ducks, cackling as he asks for Tony.

“Bucky!” Steve hisses, face increasingly heating up, palms clammy. He lunges for him but gets himself in a headlock with Bucky’s thighs around his neck.

Sooner than expected, Tony’s voice booming through the speaker and Steve’s palming his face, mortified.

“I hear I’ve been summoned by the coldest Winter?”

Bucky snorts, “Not funny. I have Stevie here tryna pull out our date. Tell him he’s wanted.”

Tony doesn’t even pause a beat, “Stevie, you’re wanted.” He repeats robotically.

“Tell him you like my 90s look.” Bucky bugs, and Tony, so obediently, like he’d never been with Steve, tells Steve just that. “I keep telling you Cap. Everyone knows the 90s were the epitome of high fashion.”

Bucky digs a toe under Steve’s arm, “Now you believe me?” Then he goes back to Tony, “Tony, tell him he needs to wear like me to impress you.”

This time there’s a long beat of silence. Bucky’s grip around Steve’s neck loosens. Steve cranes his neck to look at him. Bucky shrugs. “Tony?”

There’s a sigh. Then, “James, you know I don’t care how you dress or look right?” Tony asks seriously.

Bucky rolls his eyes. Letting Steve go, he flips onto his stomach and flings an arm over Steve’s shoulder when Steve settles by his side. “Of course I know that. I just think it’d be cool to prank Stevie,” he knuckles Steve’s head pointedly, “And now you went and ruined it.”

Tony’s chuckle filters through the speaker. A little shaky and nervous. Steve perks up at that.

“Is that right, Steve?” Tony asks, addressing him directly. Steve ducks away from Bucky’s arm, blood pooling at his cheeks and he turns his face away.

“He’s blushing,” Bucky supplies dryly.

“Will you stop?” Steve hisses at him, aiming a kick and this time it meets the target, sending Bucky down the bed with a loud thump.

“Is Buck -,” Steve starts and stops. He thinks hard and starts over, ignoring Bucky’s pained groans. Drama queen.

“Do you really want to date Buck and me?” he asks Tony.

“Yeah,” is the raspy reply. “Unless you don’t -,”

“I do.” Steve interjects. “I. I really do.”

Tony chuckles again, this time still low but none of that shaky nervousness and Steve smiles at that, dopey.

“Jesus Christ,” Bucky grunts, pushing himself up on the bed with an exaggerated effort. “Did you know he just pushed me off the bed?” He complains to Tony.

Steve rolls his eyes and kicks him again. Bucky goes down with another thump. “Again!” Bucky yells. “He did it again!”

Tony laughs, “Well they do say two is better than one.”

"Not when my ass is sore, sugar."

Steve shrugs, "I don't about that..." he trails off.

Both Bucky and Tony gasps out aloud.

#stuckony #winterironshield #stevebuckytony #steve x bucky x tony #mine

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mrs-evadne-cake · 4 years

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Hey!! I love your fic. I was just wondering - and yes, i know it's unrealistic - if in an ideal, paradise world Stranger Things decided to go the stoncy route, how would you want them do do it? If you were in the writers' room how would you develop it in a convincing way that fits with the rest of the show? (I'm genuinely curious since you wrote them so well in IASL)

First, thank you so much!

I mean, first and foremost I always want it to be a little bit of a mess since we’re dealing with a time and place where the word "polyamory" was not in circulation and there was no real poly community or overall awareness of polyamory as a way to be. They might be aware of free love in the ‘60s and the concept of swingers but mostly as far as they’re concerned they’re out here in ‘86 Indiana inventing the concept of a triad and it’s hard enough learning normal relationship skills as a teenager without adding unlearning socialized ideas about exclusivity and jealousy on top of that.

So let these idiots fuck it up a bunch, is what I’m saying. Bring on the return of Nancy ‘Say the Meanest Possible Thing to My Boyfriend(s)’ Wheeler.

How would I make it fit the show...man this would be easier if these three had shared a scene together for more than two minutes since S1. This is probably going to get long so more after the cut!

The show loves to trot out ‘shared trauma’ so in this perfect world they actually remember that it applies to Steve, too. So he’s dating around town but it’s not working out with anyone since it gets really, really awkward trying to explain to the girls he sleeps with why he shouts the name of an ice-cream shop during his nightmares without mentioning Russian spies ‘cause yeah, retail is hell but it’s a little excessive.

With Jonathan gone Nancy starts hanging around with Steve more often because she too remembers that he exists and went through all the same shit with them and that he ramming-speeded a Cadillac Eldorado into Billy Hargrove’s face to save her life, and her entire over-14 support system is gone. Steve thinks its a little unfair (and Robin thinks its a lot unfair) but he still cares about her so he goes along with it and Nancy is sort of surprised by how different he is from S1/Early S2 Steve.

Robin is like ‘Oh so you can lie on truth serum ‘cause you’re definitely still in love with her.’ which Steve vehemently denies. He’s just a good friend, buddy, pal. No romantic feelings at all.

Jonathan is in Arizona or Illinois or friggin’ Derry, Maine knowing Joyce’s luck obviously very much missing Nancy. They talk on the phone and Nancy mentions that she’s been hanging out with Steve- now this could go either way the ‘Jonathan Byers is An Angel’ route where he’s okay with it right off the bat or the ‘Jonathan Byers remembers how he and Nancy got together the first time and tries to be okay with it because he is above petty normal people things like still being jealous of the ex-high school jock but can’t let it go and the two of them get into a fight. (where Nancy probably says the meanest possible thing to her boyfriend’ route. Obviously I choose the second one.

We get a scene of Jonathan getting worked up talking about it to Will who is like :/ bro, you are mentioning Steve A LOT in this conversation, aren’t you pissed at Nancy? And Jonathan is taken aback because yeah, he is sort of obsessing about Steve.

Nancy also mentions the fight to Steve because Nancy is bad at this whole ‘don’t put your ex in awkward situations regarding your current relationship’ thing. Steve feels bad.

But before it gets resolved plot stuff kicks off and Joyce and Murray are off to ...sigh...fight evil Russians and free Hopper from a Soviet gulag. Jonathan and Will and El end up back in town however they do and we all wonder why they moved in the first place.

Jonathan, Nancy and Steve end up teamed up FINALLY (In this world Robin ends up on Team El, Max, and Kali because fuck everyone who hates her, Kali is here too and Max deserves her best friend, a big sister, and a tiny super-powered vigilante punk-rock aunt after what they did to her last season. They all kick Brenner’s ass like the last scene in Death Proof, the end) And at some point the boys end up separated from Nancy and try to make awkward conversation and Steve tries to assure him that he’s sorry and he would never get between him and Nancy and once he gets started apologizing he just sort of keeps going- for all of High school, and if he ever ate his bagels in a really weird way, and for the fight and blaming him and Joyce for Will and calling him queer and the two have a real adult conversation where they bury the hatchet and move past high school.

And because I love the fanfic classics, that’s when a monster tries to eat them and Nancy saves them (bonus points if she uses the bat) and afterward they’re just like, ‘Fuck this town, why do we do this EVERY YEAR’ “I MOVED.’but they obviously realize that they make a really good team and actually enjoy each other’s company. The rest of their plot line has them growing increasingly comfortable with each other as they investigate whatever Nancy has dragged them along to investigate. Jonathan says he was wrong to be jealous and Nancy says of course he was because she’s always right because this is still Nancy motherfucking Wheeler and she will never not be that bitch.

Monster stuff. The teams all come together. Hopper is back and the evil Russians defeated, yay. Robin is glad Steve is not dead and vice versa and Steve is like where did you pick up the hot punk-rock chick and did you get her number? And Robin is like long story and yes, why is Jonathan Byers looking at you with heart eyes? Which is information that overloads Steve’s brain and he’s almost glad when the series climax where they all fight a giant monster or a hole in the universe happens right then.

No one dies, or fake dies, or maybe dies or maybe ends up in a Soviet gulag again.

Post- Climax wrap up where we actually see what everyone is doing that night directly after saving the world instead of flashing forward to months later and missing loads and loads of important character moments. After we’ go through everyone else Your Love By The Outfield starts playing because it’s 1986 now and I can FINALLY use it since it was released in ‘85. Steve goes home to (everyone say it with me) an empty house and he seems to debate with himself a little before calling Robin with a question. Nancy and Jonathan are together wherever the Byers’ and Hop are staying when the doorbell rings and it’s Steve who obviously immediately regrets this decision the minute they answer but they bring him inside and the music becomes diegetic as Jonathan puts on the record and closes the bedroom door behind them.

So apparently even in my perfect world where I’m in charge it sort of ends up mostly ramping up to stoncy than pure stoncy over one season. I’m pretty firmly of the opinion that the three of them just messing around in increasingly inclusive ways comes way before any actual poly negotiation or reflection or discussion on their respective sexuality and you can’t show that on PG-13 Netflix so we’re just crashing to black and credits.

Thanks for the ask anon- sorry to make you wait, I knew this was going to be a monster of a post. And the fact that I just spent like, a hour and a half writing this has made me realize I might be in the mood to *actually* write again, so thanks!

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transboygenius · 4 years

Text

Season 4 promo

After overcoming some abuse, anxiety, and depression issues, I FINALLY have it finished.

Three months ago, a huge ceremony took place for the graduation of Lindbergh's fifth grade students. All children were dressed in caps and gowns, receiving their diploma one by one. Cindy earned an academic award along with her diploma. Fortunately, for Jimmy, he earned quite some more, which made him fall over with all that weight. Cindy looked over to him in envy, while Nick helped him pick up some of those awards. Miss Fowl was crying tears of freedom, for she was finally free from Sheen's shenanigans. While the ceremony was still going on, Jimmy gave an inspirational speech about what he learned. Not just about geometry, history, or science, but socialization, and how it changed him. He even gave a sincere shoutout to Nick.

Cindy watched in all bitterness. She was upset. Was it because Jimmy managed to outdo her achievements? Yes. Was it because she still misses him in her life? Also yes. She still loves him, but she is also jealous of him. Why can't she just be one of those? Despite that her and Jimmy vowed to each other that they would be friends instead, she could never move on from him. Ever since him and Nick escaped fron the medieval century, he has redeemed himself from his arrogant and egotistic ways, putting friendship before science. Cindy doesn't get it. She has tried for months to bring him into common sense, even tried beating it out of him, and he does it for some kid he used to have minimal interactions with.

Not only that, but they also became really close friends after that time warp trip. Something about their relationship really made Cindy feel envious. They're always happy with each other, as well as supportive. Even when they find something either of them disagree on, they still search for a way to cooperate. Also, the way Jimmy's always bedazzled by Nick brings her with a lot of questions. Why doesn't he ever look at me like that? Compared to his friendship with Carl and Sheen, he definitely had some "weird" subtext going on with Nick. Cindy lost two goals in this year. While in her gloomy state, her mother began to comfort her. Or at least that's what she thought.

"Oh, don't let the agony of defeat weigh you down, Cynthia! This is only the beginning! That big headed whippy dip may have won the battle, but I guarantee you will win the war! We'll just have to try HARDER this time! I'll help you, and make sure you stay on track!" "Gee. Thanks, Mom. I really appreciate that." "Anything to bring the Vortex image up!"

...........................

It was another fun summer vacation for children, especially for Jimmy and his gang, along with Nick. Sometimes they would go off into far adventures. Sometimes Jimmy would give a new experiment to present. Sometimes they would do normal summer activities such as going to the beach, or Retroland. Or sometimes they would lie around at home all day like couch potatoes. Nick has never had such a productive summer before! He was so happy, he even did his chores whenever he was told to. Well, occasionally. While everyone was making the most of their vacation, Cindy would continue researching and studying until her brain melts.

Most of Nick's summer days were spent with Jimmy, because of course. He spent some time with Libby, since they surprisingly had a lot in common. He at least put his best to hang out with Carl. Even though Nick doesn't consider Sheen much as a friend, Sheen can't help but get a little clingy over a new amigop. Just for Jimmy, he tolerated all of his actions, even when he starts to infodump about how much he knows about Ultralord. When Nick feels he isn't doing a good job being pal-friendly to Jimmy's two comrades, he cooks them up lunch, takes special recipe requests, and gave free cooking lessons. He'd cook for Libby too, only to test out new vegetarian recipes. The only member of the squad Nick interacted with the least would be Cindy.

After three months of summer, it eventually went down to a bummer. When the first back-to-school commercial airs, every child is met with horror. Speaking of which, on the third of August, it was time to face a new beginning. Goodbye Elementary School, and hello to Middle School. Nick was gazing into the mirror, grooming his curtain cut with care. Although he's not popular anymore, keeping his own hair perfect has become a habbit to him. He also decided to try a new casual, comfortable wardrobe: white long sleeved shirt, blue t-shirt over it, teared loose jeans, and purple converse. The ring around his neck never left him. After he finished admiring his own reflection, he took his backpack and ran towards the door.

"Nick, would you like me to drive you there?" Shouted his mom from another room. "It's cool, Mom! I'll just take my scooter!" Replied Nick. "Well, you better not be late on your first day! Love you, honey!" “Love you too, Mom."

.....................

So on the scooter ride to school, he met with a few friends on the way. Libby and Cindy took the bus, but he only waved to Libby. Sheen was passing by in his dad's car, constantly trying to get Nick's attention while Nick did his best to ignore him. Then came Bolbi on a unicyc- Wait a minute, he's not a friend. Lastly, up in the sky, there was Jimmy in his hovercar, greeting Nick from above. Then there was Carl in the backseat, catching the breeze in his face, then a splattered bug. All of the squad met at the front entrance of Gelaway's Middle School. Even though summer was over, some were eagar to move to a new school level where they'll no longer be regarded as little kids.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh... Can't believe we're in middle school now! The place where practices to being a teenager begins! Pretty soon we'll be driving in our parents' cars, and attending R-rated movies!" Cooed Libby. "I can't wait to wear body jewelry!" Said Carl. "Sooooooooo, looks like this is a new stage in our growing life. It feels like only yesterday we were doing show 'n tell, and macaroni art. Now there's... ...here. Wow." Spoke Nick.

Jimmy gave his tall buddy a light nudge on the shoulder, then grinned at him.

"Shall we... ...go inside now?" Asked Jimmy. “YES, LET'S GO INSIDE NOW! I've been surrounded by babies for too long! PEAK OF ADULTHOOD, HERE I COME!" Shouted Sheen, then dashed on ahead.

The rest of the gang followed behind. When they made it inside, it felt like opening a door to a whole new world. The inside was full of older and maturer kids, all in a different multicultural range. Most of them were just fooling around on their phones. Libby had her eyes on a couple of teens playing music and then dancing to it. Sheen had his eyes on a couple of dudes having a casual conversation about science fiction. Carl had his eyes on... ...a Llama Lovers club? Nick had his eyes on something that made him wanna act fast. He quickly hid behind a really tall, blocky kid while the gang continued to chat amongst themselves.

A trio walked down the hall, in an intimating fashion. The lead of the trio was a blonde boy who wore fingerless gloves, a snapback, baggy pants, sneakers, and a t-shirt that had a ravenous spike collared bulldog on it. Not to mention he had a (fake) tattoo on his left arm that read "Beast." He appeared to look the most intimating, and seemed to be at Nick's height. The kid on his left was a lanky boy, who wore a red and yellow tank top, with matching shorts, plain white sneakers, and his hair was braided. He was the tallest, and looked like a friendly kid at heart. The last one was a short redhead with a fringe hairstyle. He wore a blue sweatshirt, long jeans, and a pair of crocs. The boy was the shortest of the bunch, but still a little taller than Jimmy, and he looked like he was trying way too hard to be intimating.

The three happened to be approaching the gang, and then the short one tripped.

"AARON!" Shouted the blonde lead. “Uh, uh- Sorry, chief!" The redhead soon got back up to his feet.

The front blonde kid then snapped his fingers to get everyone's attention. As he did, he gazed down upon Jimmy.

"Well, looks like we have some new fish in this joint! Hey squirt, you must be Neutron!" “Uhhhh... The pleasure is-" “I'm not done talking yet, nerd! *AHEM*"

The blonde grabbed Jimmy by his hair, and lifted him up to make direct eye contact.

"You and I will be getting to know each other very well."

He then released and just dropped Jimmy, leaving his soft served ice cream hair now out of shape. The gang just stood in silence as they waited for this blonde kid to say something else.

"What? I'm done talking!" Said the blonde. “Who are you jerks, anyways?" Asked Cindy. "Ah, I'm glad you asked, doll! They call me 'Tony!' You BETTER remember that! You are prohibited to call me anything else besides 'Tony!' Understand, huh?" "Chief?" Asked the short redhead. "YOU WERE EVEN LISTENING- Oh. Whaddya want, Aaron?” “I thought you were done talking.” “UGHHHH-“ “And don’t we get an introduction?" "*Sigh* And this is my crew, Mike and Aaron. Call them anything you want, I'm sure they don't mind." "I'm Mike, btw." The tall kid declared. "Coooool! A real school gang! Do you guys have a super cool gang name??" Asked Sheen. “Of course we do, needle-neck! Otherwise we wouldn't be a gang! It may sound simple, but it still manages to strike fear into the weaks' hearts. We call ourselves: Tony Mike n Aaron!" "Oh. Well, it sure is easy to remember." "Dang straight! And you better not forget! As for you, nerd. I'll be seeing you around soon."

With business now done, Tony turned the opposite direction and walked away. Mike fixed Jimmy's hair before catching up with Tony. Aaron just continued to stare at the squad aggressively, trying not to give away a blink. Eventually, he had to stop when Tony called him up. As soon as they were gone, Nick came out of hiding, and got back in place like he never left. And it's a good thing the gang hasn't noticed, otherwise he'd make himself look like a wuss. He was in no mood to deal with those three right now.

"Uhhhh, Jimmy. Shouldn't we be collecting our schedules?" Nick tried to change the subject. "Huh? Oh YEAH! C'mon, team! We don't wanna make a bad impression by being tardy on our first day!"

.........................

Homeroom was with English class. The teacher was a man who looked like he hasn't gotten enough sleep, and talked in a stoic monotone voice. His expression was blank.

"Welcome, class. My name is Mr. Nite. Here we will be learning the art of literature English and how it will build up your doctoral level. Also for other stuff that's very important in the future, bluhblubbluhbluh. Now, can each student stand up from their desk one at a time, and present themselves to me?" “Salutations! My name is Cynthia Vort-" "That will do for now. Thank you all for giving me the chance to know each and every one of you. Now, to start the day, please turn to page 13 in the textbook in front of you. We will be going through Sonata For Harp And Bicycle. When you are finished, there are questions you shall answer at the end of the story. You are also proposed to write a five paragraph summary for Sonata For Harp And Bicycle. We will be reviewing the story tomorrow, write an essay report on the author's background, taking notes on what you learned, and then comes the big test on Friday. Begin now."

Mr. Nite slumped his head down on his desk to take a nap. All the students hesitated for a moment, before opening their textbooks. First day of middle school, and already their week is busy. Well, first day of school is not supposed to be a party. Carl and Sheen went through at least one page. They both started to get a migraine from all the big fancy vocabulary they're never used to, not even when hanging around with Jimmy for years.

.............................

The other classes were just as bizarre and stressful. In music class, the teacher was a grown man with a purple dyed mohawk, visor sunglasses, and other stereotypical attire from the 1980s, also talking in outdated slang. His name was Mr. Beatz. He played his guitar, loud enough to sting the students' ears, and break windows. Libby seemed to be the only one taking a liking to him. They're first assignment was to recreate they're own cover of Do Re Me. He didn't feel like starting with something simple, since "That's so early 2000s."

In home economics class, the teacher was a plain lady who wore chef attire. She also appeared to act like two characters in one. One minute, she's a sweet housewife gently instructing the basics to culinary skills, then the next she turns into a strict food teacher with the cooking arts of a five-star chef, also bearing a British accent. Her name was Mrs. Rosemerry. Their first assignment was to fix up something without a recipe. Lucky for Nick, he could easily survive.

In P.E. class, their coach was some buff, toned women. Right before anyone could introduce themselves, she blew on her whistle and started the first assignment: Run fifty laps around the field. Anyone who gives up, or pukes, has to do a hundred pushups. Her name was Ms. Barbell, by the way.

............................

Everyone became quite exhausted from this long first day. They didn't expect middle school to be quite a challenge. Then again, nobody said growing up was easy. To add insult to injury, all of them had homework. Homework on the first day. Feels like being punished for no reason. Thank goodness lunch has arrived. The squad took their trays and waited in line to be served. Nick, however, brought his own lunch, but he made sure to reserve a table for his friends. Then, Carl and Sheen came in contact with the lunch lady. She looked nothing like a stereotypical lunch lady. In fact, this dollface sweetheart looked like someone who walked out of their dreams. The two boys couldn't help but gaze upon her remarkable beauty. They eventually snapped out of it when she scooped some unidentified glop onto their trays. She was attractive, but not her cooking.

The squad all sat at the table Nick held for them. None of them ate. They just stared at the mystery glop on their trays. Carl gave a taste. It was so revolting, even he couldn't work it down. Libby felt there was meat products cooked into the stuff, so she refused to touch it. Nick, about the only kid at the table who packed something edible, looked at the poor, hungry boy genius. Caring for his best friend, he offered him half of his lunch on a napkin. Then, he started getting hungry stares from Carl and Sheen. He knew that giving Jimmy some of his own lunch would give them the wrong idea that he's just giving out free eats, but he would never let the little guy starve like that. They were drooling down on the table, begging Nick with big, gapping eyes.

"Please, Nick. I gotta keep my blood sugar up." Whined Sheen. "(You say that like it's a bad thing)"

Nick wasn't feeling any sorry for them, but the only way they'd leave him alone is that he gives them what they want. So, he put out his lunchbox and told them to take a little. The two boys helped themselves, feasting greedily like a bunch of animals. After they were done, they wiped off their faces clean with napkins, then slid the lunchbox back to Nick. There was nothing left for him but an empty milk bottle, which had a big mark bitten out of it.

"Thank you very much! Now how am I gonna keep my blood sugar up?" Said frustrated Nick. "Hey, lighten your mood, gang! Sure, the classes are pushy, the teachers are looney, and the food here stinks! Quite literally, too. But, at least there's some good to come out of this!" Exclaimed Sheen. "Like WHAT?” "Recess! GERONIMO!"

Sheen flew towards the door that's suppose to lead to the playground. He crashed with a loud thud, then Jimmy came up to point out the the print on the door says “Pull.” Unfortunately, all he found were students lounging outside; Enjoying their packed lunches, gossiping with each other, reading, or being on their phones and tablets.

"Whoops! This isn't the playground!"

All the outside students overheard Sheen's statement. Some got up from their sitting positions to give him a taste of reality.

"Sounds like you're new around here." "Sorry, we don't have any of that 'little kid' stuff anymore." "No teeter-totter, no slides, no monkey bars, *Sighs* no swings." "Welcome to phase one of growing up. ...sir."

Now this has gone too far. First all this work, no edible nourishment, and now they can't have the one escapism that helped them pull through elementary school.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The others then met with Sheen outside, surprised themselves to find no recess playground. Just big kids doing "big kid" things. Sheen crawled on his knees and begged to Jimmy.

"Jimmy, could you invent something that would shrink down ages? The peak of adulthood is scary!" "C'mon now, Sheen. An age reversal process isn't gonna fix anything."

Nick then separated the Ultralord fanboy from his short friend, giving him some comfort.

"Don't worry about that, little bud. Sure, this first year has gone through a rocky start, and it'll probably get much worse in the future, but... ...with all our effort, we'll make it through together." "Thanks, Nick. Although, that doesn't seem to make me feel any better." "Oh, buck up, will ya?"

Nick then pulled Jimmy close to him as they decided to find some spot to longue outside, which made Jimmy just blush a bit. And from his tall friend's cheesy motivational speech, he wonders what he's implying when he mentioned "we'll" and "together." Together as in the whole squad as a group, or together as just him and Nick as a pair. Cindy, following behind, watched with indifference on Jimmy and Nick's closeness.

#Jimmy Neutron #Boy Genius #Nick Dean #Sheen Estevez #Carl Wheezer #Libby Folfax #Cindy Vortex #fanfic #Season 4 #I’m sooooooooo sorry for the wait!

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gettin-bi-bi-bi · 4 years

Note

1) My best friend is quite popular in school. He’s gay and is super public about it and knows practically every lgbtq person(theres a ton) in our school and is also active in clubs so knows a good amount of people in general. He’s kinda like the therapist gay to every closeted person in our school lmao. I consider him my closest friend but I’m not very popular & know much fewer people and part of me gets a bit jealous over how many people he knows even tho that’s not fair to him.

2) I’m not as outgoing and I prefer few, close friends rather than a lot(nothing bad about it), but I also get a bit jealous of him easily. He always has something going on that’s hard to hang. I ask a week in advance and he’s busy. I feel like Im making a doctors appointment to hang out. He’s helped me with my sexuality and it made me feel good, but then I remember that’s he’s helped lots of people and I kinda feel a bit bummed by that. Tho I feel bad for thinking that.

3) I used to hang out with him with a group and it was much easier but that group split up so now trying to hang out as just him and I requires planning way in advance. This is cheesy but I’ve always been the type of person who is drawn towards the idea of having a best friend where you two tell each other everything. And we’re super close and talk everyday and he’s told me how important I am to him, but I don’t know how to fix my jealousy when I competing against everyone else to hang out.

I get where you’re coming from but as a 30 year-old women I fear I gotta tell you that’s how friendships are going to be when you are an adult. It doesn’t mean your friends don’t like you but sometimes life gets in the way. My best friend and I used to see each other pretty much every day during our teenage years (we were in the same class in high school). That’s not possible anymore. I moved to the opposite side of town (and Berlin is fucking large, my pal!) and she has a completely different work schedule than I do. Add that to both of us having other friends, relationships and responsibilities literally means we have to schedule weeks ahead to be able to meet. We’re lucky when we see each other twice a month. We’re still frequently in contact and talk/text at least every other day. But it’s impossible to expect either of us to be available for actually meeting more often. We can’t. But that doesn’t mean our friendships is worth any less.

You say you are talking to your friend everyday. That’s more than most people can say about their friends. And I get that you wish to meet him more often. To a certain extend that’s a desire you can voice. Tell him “hey, I wish we could hang out more often” and maybe he can find some more time for you. But if he can’t that doesn’t mean he’s any less of a close friend to you or that he likes you any less. People have other responsibilities and other people they care about and that’s something you have to accept and not fall for the trap of thinking this takes anything away from you. If a friend of yours doesn’t have time to meet you when you want to means you gotta find different ways to entertain yourself and it means finding different times to see that friend or at least communicate with them.

On top of all of that you’re saying you’re kinda jealous of this guy’s popularity. What is it really that you’re jealous of? That other people spend time with him? That he has more friends (= more social capital)? That people seem to like him a lot and you want people to like you, too? To tackle that jealousy you’re feeling you really need to find the root of it. That’s when you can ask yourself “what can I do/change to feel better about myself?” and ultimately that’ll help both you and your relationships with other people.

Maddie

#Anonymous

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dnawield--a · 4 years

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@xj-nine said: ♡?

PRE-ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP || OPEN;;

OUR MUSES MET : as children | as teenagers | as adults | just recently

SO! I’d like to first explain that I don’t exactly know what determined by fate means in this case! I’m gonna go off that it’s “let shit run wild and see where it goes!” kinda thing! But hey! Two crime fighting teen heroes? Both fight aliens (one maybe more so than the other since he’s MOSTLY designated to alien and alien-related crimes)? I feel like at the very least, they’re AWARE of each other’s existence.

I can sorta see one of those rivalry friendships? Maybe more one-sided ‘cause Ben doesn’t REALLY do the rival thing? I think what I’m maybe trying to get across is I love the idea of like MOST super or non-super heroes (especially the teen ones like him) MEETING this famous super hero, HAVING to work with him ONCE, and going, “How??? HOW is he NOT dead and WHY is he trusted to do anything???” Especially considering the whole ‘dirt eating’ thing, so REALLY, who is letting this boy just go around with a VERY DANGEROUS weapon attached to his wrist?? WHO???? I WANT NUMBERS!!!!

BUT! Also, Ben just thinks robots are neat, so he’d also just be like, “So like, you in theory, have guns for bones right? ‘Cause that’s pretty cool,” like it’s DUMB but he doesn’t think she’s freaky by any means, genuinely is curious, he’s just BAD at social cues and understanding how to phrase his questions.

What I think I’m trying to say is that what if they already had to do a mission together, so they’re acquainted, and it’s more one-sided on Jenny finding him obnoxious (which is the general consensus with Ben) and Ben just thinks she’s Neat and probably wants to hang out more, but he’s chaotic so expect him to do dumb shit.

#asks. \ ʙʟᴀʜ ʙʟᴀʜ ʙʟᴀʜ #xj-nine #prompt answers tag.#// ben vc: i just think she's Neat- even if she thinks eating dirt is bad :(

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marvelmando · 5 years

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tempest [p.parker x o.c.] - three

notes: it seems like you guys are starting to like the story! i admit, the beginning is pretty slow and the plotline is obviously predictable, but i really enjoy writing this nonetheless. that being said, i’m starting a taglist, so if you’d like to be added, reply or send me a message/ask!

***re-uploading bc i fucked it up

contains: canon-typical violence, some swearing

pairing: peter parker + fem! o.c.

word count: 3.3k

previous chapter next chapter tempest masterlist

MARIN WAS STILL UNFAMILIAR WITH CITY LIFE, BUT SHE KNEW ENOUGH TO BE SURPRISED THAT MAY OWNED A CAR. It was a dinky old sedan, with a distinctly boxy shape and a stale smell to the interior, but it had a working engine and four wheels, and got the three teenagers to the party with (little to) no problem.

“A house party in the suburbs!” May said excitedly as they approached the designated address. Marin marveled at the architecture of Liz’s house; very slick and modern looking, with lines of cars parked on either side of the road for at least four doors down on both ends. Bodies swarmed in and out of the house, reminding Marin of a beehive. “Oh, I remember these. I’m kind of jealous!”

“It’ll be a night to remember,” Ned leaned forward in his seat swooning very obviously at May.

The two laughed, and May shifted in her seat to face Ned better. “Ned, some hats wear men, but you wear that hat.”

Marin had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but Ned seemed to appreciate the compliment on his fedora. He smiled widely, “Yeah, it gives me confidence!”

Marin looked at Peter in the passenger seat in front of her. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the house since they’d pulled up, and she could feel the tension rolling off of him in waves. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he muttered anxiously, “This is a mistake,” his voice high-pitched and slightly panicky. “Hey, let’s just go home.” He told May.

“Oh, Peter,” she tried to comfort him. “I know; I know it’s really hard, trying to fit in with all the changes your body’s going through…” Peter had nodded along until he cringed at the suddenly awkward turn. Marin held back a snicker. “It’s flowering now.”

“Uh-huh,” Peter nodded sarcastically, chuckling out a pressed laugh.

May turned in her seat again to face Marin and Ned. “He’s so stressed out, lately!” She whispered to them, as if Peter couldn’t hear her.

Marin opened her mouth to defend Peter, but Ned interrupted her. “What helps with stress, is going to a party—we should go to the party.”

Probably fed up with his friend and aunt’s antics, Peter relented. “Yeah, let’s do this.” He hurried to unbuckle his seatbelt and scrambled out of the car. “I’m gonna go, I’m gonna go,” he chanted to himself.

“Thanks for the ride, May!” Marin chirped as she shut the door behind her. May smiled back in response.

“Peter!” May called from inside the car before he could close the door. “Have fun, okay? And don’t leave Marin by herself, okay? You and Ned are the only people she knows. Make sure to look after her.”

Peter nodded, looking quickly at Marin, who smiled at May’s concern. “I will.”

“Bye, May!” Ned waved goodbye as she drove away.

The three walked up the path to the house’s main entrance. “Dude, you have the suit, right?” Ned asked. Peter said nothing, only pulling up one of his flannel’s sleeves to reveal the red fabric of his suit. “This is gonna change our lives!”

Marin stayed silent next to Peter. She had no experience in the ways of public high school, but she knew that being an outcast was universal. From what she’d gathered about Peter’s personality and his descriptions on how his classmates treated him, Marin recognized the signs of unpopularity in him fairly easily. What she didn’t understand, was Ned’s desire to change it. Marin also didn’t understand how Peter’s powers and his connection to Spider-Man would prove anything to his peers, but she chalked it up to being a public-school thing. She’d get the hang of it, soon.

Entering the front door of Liz’s house brought an onslaught of new sounds, sights, and especially strong smells, and Marin fought the urge to either gag or cover her ears. The rooms she could see were packed with sweaty, hormone-raging bodies that moved way too close together to be comfortable, yet everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves. Marin gawked at the sight.

Somewhere in the room came a deep voice announcing “DJ Flash!” that caught Marin’s attention. A boy—short and dark-skinned stood behind what Marin assumed to be a DJ booth, working the electronics. Huh, she thought, so that’s Flash. She was expecting someone more… intimidating.

“Okay,” Ned corralled Peter and Marin’s attentions with the beginnings of his action plan. “We’re gonna have Spider-Man swing in, say you guys are tight, and then I get a fist bump or one of those half bro-hugs, and Marin gets—”

“Can’t believe you guys are at this lame party.” Said a new voice; a girl, looking extremely bored while spreading jam on a piece of toast. Ned looked at her funny.

“But you’re here, too.”

The girl narrowed her eyes conspiratorially. “Am I?” She bit into her bread, the toast crunching as she walked away.

Marin looked at Peter, confused. Opening her mouth to ask who the hell that was, Peter was distracted by a feminine voice calling out, “Oh my gosh!”

Marin huffed, watching as Peter’s eyes widened dramatically. “Hey guys,” a girl approached them. “Cool hat, Ned.”

The girl was beautiful—darkened skin like Lucy’s, and with legs for days. Even in casual wear, Marin felt underdressed compared to this goddess of a girl.

“Hi, Liz!” Ned prompted, nudging Peter.

“Hi Liz,” Peter squeaked, causing Marin to glance at him curiously.

Marin remembered Peter telling her earlier that day, after he came home from school, that Liz, the hostess, allegedly had a crush on Spider-Man. And based on the way his eyes softened and his jaw went slack, it would appear that Spider-Man had a crush on her, too. Marin’s eyes narrowed at the new development. Liz suddenly noticed the third party, and addressed her, “I’m sorry, have we met? I’m Liz.”

Taking her outstretched hand to shake, she responded kindly, “I’m Marin. Lovely home!” She winced at the way her voice broke, in an attempt to sound charming.

“Oh, thanks!” Liz smiled. Luckily, to save her from any further embarrassment, the sound of glass breaking caught Liz’s attention. “Oh, I… my parents will kill me if anything’s broken, I gotta—”

“Yeah,” Peter’s voice cracked again.

“It was nice meeting you, Marin!”

“You too,”

“Bye!” Ned waved.

Once alone again, Ned turned to Peter. “Dude, what are you doing? She’s here; Spider it up!”

Peter choked. “No, no, no—I can’t… I cannot do this. Spider-Man is not a party trick, okay? Look, I’m just gonna… be myself.” Peter resolved with a shrug, glancing at Marin for support. She shrugged back.

Ned sighed. “Peter, no one wants that.”

Peter looked offended. “Dude,” he started to walk away and into the crowd, looking hurt.

He stopped in his tracks when an amplified voice called out, “Penis Parker, what’s up?!” Flash played a weird honking sound over the system. “Yo, where’s your pal Spider-Man? Let me guess—in Canada with your imaginary girlfriend?” Marin had no idea what Canada had to do with any of this but she kept silent. She glared at the short DJ as he played the strange sounds again and everyone in the crowd laughed along. “That’s not Spider-Man, that’s just Ned in a red shirt!” It seemed as though he didn’t notice Marin standing next to them.

Peter walked off with a newly determined slope to his brow, leaving Marin and Ned to endure the riled-up crowd while he changed out of his civilian clothes.

Ned suddenly hurried off to follow him—probably to be his lookout—leaving Marin lingering behind. She floated to a relatively empty corner of the room, wrapping her arms around herself.

“How do you know those losers?” A voice startled Marin, and she turned to see that it was that weird bread girl from earlier.

“Peter and Ned?” She asked, unsure. When the girl nodded, Marin said, “I work with Peter at the Stark internship.”

“So that’s actually real? The internship?” Marin nodded. “Huh, I thought he was lying. I’m Michelle, by the way. Michelle Jones.”

“Marin Frost,” she returned, looking carefully at Michelle. She seemed nice enough, but like Peter, she seemed like an outcast. Marin decided that she liked her.

The party was growing increasingly stuffy, and several minutes had passed with no sign of Spider-Man, so Marin excused herself to get some air. She found her way to the front door and took a couple steps out. As she breathed in the cool air, a flash of movement caught her eye, and she looked up to see Spider-Man swinging across the street—in the opposite direction.

“Peter!” She whispered-yelled, but he didn’t seem to hear her. He disappeared behind a neighboring house, so Marin dashed off to follow him. Luckily, the space between the houses wasn’t fenced, so Marin made it to the other side easily. Climbing through a tall row of hedges, Marin saw Spider-Man sprinting across the open golf turf.

“Spider-Man!” She tried again but tripped over a golf ball. Peter had gained some distance as she scrambled to her feet when suddenly, the sprinklers went off.

He audibly grouched to himself, but Marin was grateful for the boost the water gave her as it soaked into her exposed skin. She eventually caught up to Peter, just in time to hear an explosion and see a burst of neon blue light in the near distance.

“Peter!” She pounced on his back, causing him to fall, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Peter rolled on top of her, pulling her arms and pinning them above her head.

“What the hell, Marin!” His voice was shrill but hushed. “What are you doing?!”

“What are you doing?” She countered, wrestling against his grip. He released her but instantly moved to jump onto what looked like a concrete bridge. Marin clambered off of the dirt and back on her feet. “You were supposed to—!”

“Shh!” He hissed at her, crawling along the concrete so he could hang upside down and watch what was going down on the other side. Huffing in frustration, Marin sneaked below him, making sure to stay out of sight.

Three men huddled around a parked van—a weapons deal, Marin assumed—one man reached into the back of the opened trunk. Once he pulled back, Marin got a clear shot of the contents: it was piled to the windows with all sorts of different weaponry, looking very similar to the designs of the weapons from the robbery two nights ago.

“Okay, I got, uh, black hole grenades, Chitauri railguns…” Marin could hear one of the dealers list off.

Chitauri? Images of the battle of New York flashed across her mind as she remembered the newscasters narrate the fight scenes.

Above her, Peter whispered, “Oh, this must be where the ATM robbers got their stuff.”

Marin narrowed her eyes. If these kinds of weapons were being integrated with alien technology, their capabilities would be completely unknown, and the capacity for damage unprecedented. If they fell into the wrong hands—even worse than petty thieves and criminals—who knew what this could mean for the country’s safety.

A loud yodeling ringtone pierced the air, yanking Marin out of her ruminations and alerting their presence to the criminals.

One of the dealers accused the buyer of setting them up and aimed a weapon at him. Without hesitation, Peter hopped down from the bridge, and Marin darted out from behind the bridge. “Hey, don’t shoot!” He yelled.

“C’mon, if you’re gonna shoot at someone, shoot at me!” Marin hurried in front of Spider-Man, throwing her arms up in an attempt to look surrendered. As much as she knew that Peter might be able to recover from a gunshot, he should have remembered that Marin could stop a bullet even before it could hit him.

“Alright,” the dealer shrugged, and as soon as the gun pointed at her, a spark of panic shot through Marin as she realized that she didn’t have her water bottle with her, and therefore had no way to stop the bullet. But Spider-Man was already ahead of her, as he shot out a web and disarmed the dealer before he could pull the trigger. Peter dodged around Marin, charging at the dealers. Suddenly, one of the men reached out of the van with a large weapon in his hand, using it to punch Spider-Man and send him reeling back as electricity crackled around the outline of his body.

“Spider-Man!” Marin shouted, sprinting toward him. The criminals jumped in the van, and as it was pulling away, Peter attached a web to the door of the vehicle, yanking him along. “Oh, come on, man!” She yelled after him, exasperated.

The van sped off, dragging Spider-Man behind. It turned a corner onto a neighboring street and rammed Peter into a trash can. Marin could tell that the boost from the sprinklers was beginning to wear off, and the distance between her and the van grew exponentially. In the distance, Marin noticed a bright magenta light glowing from inside the van, exploding and knocking off one of the doors Peter had a web attached to.

After a minute of chasing them, Marin saw the light grow brighter again, this time hitting Peter and ripping his grip from the web he’d just reattached. Within seconds, the weapon had recharged, and as the van hit a bump in the road, the weapon misfired and blew a hole in the side of the van. The weapon then tumbled out of the dealer’s hands and out of the back of the van, rolling out of sight.

The van dragged Peter into the side of a parked car, a line of trash cans, and a brick mailbox before finally dislodging him from the van. Marin caught up after a couple of seconds, panting.

“Follow my lead; I’m gonna take a shortcut!” Peter shouted to her before quickly taking off to leap over a tall metal gate.

“Oh hell, Parker!” Marin griped, and made to follow once again. This was beginning to become a running theme with them. It should’ve been harder to keep up since she couldn’t see where he was going, but the crashes and shouts from both Peter and the inhabitants of the neighborhood sounded off one-by-one like a trail of audible breadcrumbs.

Marin dodged pedestrians and oncoming cars as she raced through the streets, following mostly by sidewalk and occasionally cutting perpendicularly between houses when it was necessary. She growled in frustration, however, when she realized that Peter was beginning to sound farther and farther away. But then a distant shriek about three blocks down made her pick up her pace again.

As she reached an open road, Marin saw the mutilated van speed down the pavement four blocks ahead of her. Glancing up at the rooftops, Marin watched Spider-Man leap determinedly towards the van, only to be snatched in midair by what looked to be metal talons.

“No!” Marin cried out in horror, as the metal-winged man flew straight upward with Peter’s leg firmly in its grasp.

Marin dashed off, trying to get directly underneath the flying man. Looking up at the darkened night sky, she could only see the bright red of Peter’s suit as he flailed in his captive’s grip and distant pinpoints of a glowing neon green from above him.

Suddenly, a white parachute erupted from the back of Spider-Man’s suit, and Peter was ripped from the man’s grasp. Marin skidded to a stop as she approached the edge of a lake, watching as Peter fell through the air, entangling himself in the parachute as he plummeted towards the earth. Marin threw her arms out, reaching up with the lake water to catch him.

Her arms felt heavy with the force needed to control so much water at once—it flooded her senses, the power much denser than she was normally used to. It seemed to work in at least cushioning the blow, but Marin still flinched as Peter hit the water with a great clap. The sudden impact knocked the water out of Marin’s control, forcing her to her knees.

Not even bothering to stand and instead shutting her eyes to focus her control, Marin raised her trembling arms frantically as she searched the lake for Peter’s body. Just as she’d found him, a splash caught her attention. She automatically sensed a new presence in the water, this one larger and not as warm. Before she could grab onto it, a figure rocketed out of the lake, carrying Peter’s limp body.

As they flew over her head, she recognized the familiar red and gold titanium alloy suit. She dipped her hands into the lake, siphoning off some energy to replace the amount she’d lost, and raced off.

It took her nearly fifteen minutes to track them down to a nearby playground. Peter sat glumly on top of a jungle gym.

“You know, it’s never too early to start thinking about college. I got some pull at MIT.” Iron Man was saying, his suit hovering over the mulch.

“No, I don’t need to go to col—”

“End call.”

“Mr. Stark—!” Peter protested.

“Mr. Stark is no longer connected.” The suit announced in a feminine voice before flying off.

“That’s awesome,” Peter muttered sarcastically, wringing his mask and hopping off of the climbing structure.

“Pete!” Marin called out to him, hurrying over and helping him steady on his feet. Peter grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Oh, thank god you’re okay,” he sounded genuinely concerned, causing Marin’s heart to stutter. “I wasn’t sure if they’d gotten to you too, and—”

“No—I’m all right, Peter.” She flexed her hand on his corded shoulder. “Why are you so hot?” Her eyes widened, a blush crawling up her neck as she hurried to correct herself. “I mean—like, like temperature-wise, not—not hot like—”

Peter breathed out a laugh. “Apparently Mr. Stark added in some suit-warmers.”

“How did he even find us, anyway?”

Peter shrugged. “Trackers.”

Marin raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Though his suit was warming up, it still felt damp under her hand. “Y’know, I could just…” With the hand pressed to the top of his shoulder, Marin reached with her mind and pulled at all of the water still soaking his suit and hair. After a minute of concentration, Marin peeled back her hand, and with it came a stream of lake water. She flicked the water to the ground as Peter patted down his now completely dried suit and hair with an impressed look etched into his features.

“Sick,” he exhaled.

As they were making their way back to Liz’s house, Marin fiddled with Peter’s water-logged phone. Just as she’d finished drawing out all of the water, Peter—now masked again—pointed to something, and jogged over to get a better look.

“Look—this must’ve fallen out of those guys’ van earlier,” he turned the device over with his fingertips.

Marin crouched down next to him, intrigued by the purplish glow emanating from what looked like the device’s energy core. “Whoa,”

Suddenly, Peter’s phone—still in Marin’s hands—buzzed and sounded the yodeling ringtone. It was Ned. Seeing that Peter was still observing the device, Marin accepted the call and held the phone up to her ear.

“Hey, Ned,” she said.

“Marin? Is Peter with you?” Ned shouted over the ruckus in the background. “Where the hell are you guys?!”

“Oh, well I, um…” Marin glanced down at Peter. She didn’t realize that by telling Ned where she was, and what she was doing (chasing bad guys with Spider-Man), she’d now have to tell him about her powers. “It’s hard to explain, but—”

Peter reached for the phone, so Marin handed it to him. “Hey, man. We’re on our way back now, just—”

Marin heard chanting on the other line. She could barely make out the words “penis!” and “Parker!”.

Peter sighed next to her. “We’ll see you tomorrow, then.” He pocketed his phone, and carefully picked up the alien device.

Even with the mask on, Marin could see the stubborn determination set on Peter’s face.

taglist:

@dark-night-sky-99 @pushmeinablackhole

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ettadunham · 5 years

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A Buffy rewatch 3x05 Homecoming

aka nobody wins

Welcome to this dailyish text post series where I will rewatch an episode of Buffy and rant about it in 10-3k words. What you can expect: long run-on sentences and disjointed observations, often focused on one tiny detail about the episode. What you shouldn’t be expecting: actual reviews that make sense.

And in today’s episode, Faith asked Buffy out to be her date at the dance, and she said yes! But then Buffy ended up going with Cordelia, because everybody’s doing this dating thing wrong anyway.

I mean, let’s take a tally here. Buffy’s going out with Scott, but she sneaks out to meet Angel. To whom she’s talking about Scott. And then Scott dumps her.

But that’s okay because Faith asks her to be her date. (She’s being so faux-casual about it too… Oh, Faith.) Except the gang interferes for Buffy and Cordelia to go together and work out their differences. A suddenly dateless Faith then masterfully sabotages Scott and his new date to get back at him for hurting her girl.

Oh yeah. And the Willow/Xander disaster ride has left the station. Which I guess will be my main subject for today, because I love a good trainwreck.

Homecoming is one of those episodes though that has a lot of good stuff going for it, so one should at the very least acknowledge that before attempting some very specific character deep dive.

Buffy has one of her greatest speeches here for instance.

Buffy: I just thought... Homecoming Queen. I could pick up a yearbook someday and say, I was there. I went to high school, I had friends, and... for one moment, I got to live in the world. And there'd be proof. Proof that I was chosen for something other than this. Besides... I look cute in a tiara.

It’s a great storyline for Buffy, about her trying to reclaim her place in the world as a young high school teenage girl, rather than someone burdened with all these adult conflicts and responsibilities.

But what I also like in this scene is Cordelia. You would normally expect her to cut the tension with a snide candid remark, but she remains silent during Buffy’s speech. She even seems understanding and empathetic listening to her! That’s growth.

Before that though, there’s also this weird thing happening earlier as they’re competing with each other for the title. Cordy remarks that a Homecoming queen should be someone who’s part of the school and has friends. And I was like…

Cordelia, your friends are Buffy’s friends. And in season 1 you complained about how none of your pals from before were actual friends you could connect with. That’s sort of why you started hanging around the Scooby gang in the first place.

I guess maybe Cordelia meant having general connections at the school as well, which she probably still has, despite falling out with her clique earlier… But then again, she lost the vote, so who knows.

The weird thing though is that as it turns out she was right about her having the friends, as the gang ends up helping her instead of Buffy with her campaign. But that’s entirely on Xander and Willow, and Buffy needs about 2 seconds to break Willow to help her out too.

And yes, finally, it’s time to talk Willow and Xander.

I’ll admit, I’m obviously coming into this episode with thoughts and feelings on these characters that reach far beyond the current point in the show. I also sat down already thinking about what I was about to see, so I somewhat predetermined what my read was going to be on it.

I will say though, that the whole HORMONES take does seem a lot more valid after rewatching the episode now. There’s definitely this pattern of them trying to fight the ~~~attraction~~~, and then feeling super guilty about it whenever they ~~~give in~~~.

But saying that it’s just “hormones” and them doing “young stupid shit” is also a boring take. What them being teenagers in this situation essentially means is that they don’t really have the ability yet to self-reflect and try and figure out what they’re acting on. They’re too busy feeling guilty, and guilt and introspection are definitely not interchangeable.

So I’ll do the analyzing for them. You’re welcome.

I used to think of cheating as the ultimate show of a lack of respect for one’s partner. Which it is. But it‘s often also a reflection of how the person doing the cheating currently feels about themselves and the relationship they’re in.

And yes, there’s also the question of who they’re cheating with and how they feel about them. Which I will get into.

I feel like it is noteworthy to point out too that once Willow and Xander get caught, they’ll never again pursue any sort of romantic relationship with each other. We also won’t see them cheat on any of their future partners… but they will manage to self-sabotage their relationships in other ways, proving that they still have plenty of issues to work through.

And some of their baggage can actually be followed back to the same root: wanting to be loved. But how that manifests for each of them is significantly different.

For Willow, being loved means being special to someone. Being the first choice, the person who they’d never abandon. She clings to that feeling and to the people she experiences that with. And we’ll see just how bad that can get, especially once you put power into that mix… but safe to say, that that’s why she held that torch for Xander for so long.

Xander and Willow grew up together, and they’ve been essentially the most important people in each others life since childhood. It’s possible to read then Willow’s crush on Xander as a desire to make sure that that bond would never break, and that she wouldn’t end up being Xander’s second choice. Or worse, someone he would leave behind.

Anyone who knows me even a tiny bit should already be aware of this, but for the record, I’m not saying with this that romantic love is more important than friendship. But I definitely feel like in Willow’s mind and subconscious these things might get conflated.

I imagine then that for Willow, the feeling of Xander finally reciprocating all these confusing emotions is pretty intoxicating. She knows that there’s something wrong with this picture, that Xander’s still in a relationship, and that she’s with someone else who sees her as special and wonderful… But she’s also not putting any effort into figuring out those emotions beyond her guilt. As a result, she has trouble putting a stop to what’s happening, because she doesn’t have a full understanding of herself and what she’s feeling.

And that’s very much Xander’s issue as well. But he’s approaching it from a different perspective.

Xander’s coming from a pretty bad home situation. It’s largely only hinted at during the show, so we can mostly guess at the nature of abuse he grew up with, but it’s pretty obvious that he didn’t receive a lot of love from his family. He learned to cope through sarcasm and desperately trying to be noticed by someone.

The problem is that while Xander wants to be loved, he also hasn’t really experienced what that feels like growing up. So he doesn’t really know what he’s looking for, and instead ends up constantly chasing after something new and unattainable.

The tragedy of course is that he’ll never actually be able to find that missing piece of himself. He’ll never feel the security that comes from growing up being surrounded by unconditional love. He can only learn to accept the people he surrounds himself with as his new family, and share the kind of love he wishes to have always had with them.

In this moment however, much like Willow, he falls into the trap of conflating the nature of his feelings. He’s always loved Willow, she was one of the few positive influences in his early life. But the idea of her as a romantic interest just wasn’t alluring to him, because she was already there. All he had to do was reach out - which is why he never did.

But as soon as Willow became unavailable, Xander’s interest became more and more apparent. He was visibly jealous of Oz, and in the end of s2, he seems to come to a realization of just how important Willow is to him. (A moment which will then be reflected back seasons later where Xander’s “I love you” will bring Willow back from the brink once again, this time completely free from any romantic connotations.)

For me, the fact though that neither of these characters will make any effort to try and figure out if they could be in a relationship together past this little affair they got going on, is what confirms that they’re not really acting on a romantic interest. They love each other, deeply, but mostly, they’re just conflicted about their lives, and about where they and the relationships they’re in are going.

There are definitely reasons one can list on why they’d be self-sabotaging their relationships too. For Xander, I already detailed his chasing the unattainable to find what’s missing from his life mentality, which means that he might be trying to get out of this relationship on a subconscious level. And with Willow, we can easily retrofit her sexuality into this discussion. Especially since it appears that she and Oz were approaching a level of physical intimacy that could’ve given her a lot of anxiety she wasn’t ready to deal with.

Out of the two, Xander will also be the one who won’t make much of an effort to win Cordy back. And sure, Oz might hold less of a grudge too, but there’s still a very clear distinction in how Willow and Xander will be handling the fallout. But as discussed earlier, it’s also very much in character for Willow to cling to these relationships, so this should come as no surprise.

But I might just be forgetting some details about this storyline. We’ll find out soon enough, I guess.

Like I said, I love a good trainwreck.

#buffy rewatch 2k19 #btvs talk #btvs

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sexdateblog-blog · 5 years

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Sex Date

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Top Adult Dating Sites Should You Join One?

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mostlysignssomeportents · 5 years

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#10yrsago A journey through my junk: happy Down the Rabbit Hole day!

As previously mentioned, today is "Down the Rabbit Hole" day, when bloggers are encouraged to post in a different style from their accustomed one. I don't think I can manage a whole day of that, but I'm willing to kick in one post, anyway.

I don't normally write much about my personal life here, partly because I'm pretty jealous of my privacy and partly because it's just not the kind of thing we do here (but that's the point of Rabbit Hole day, of course!).

Last November, Alice and I had our big, grand wedding in Toronto, and invited all my friends. Now, I haven't lived in Toronto for nearly ten years, but for most of that time, I've had a storage locker there, filled with the memories of the three decades I spent in the town of my birth before I left, first for California, then for the UK, then for California, then for the UK again. I've delved into the locker on three occasions, attempting to figure out what I had in it and what I was going to do with it all. The first time, I confronted the incredible, jammed-together mountain of junk and boxes, opened a few, and gave up (it didn't help that the rest of my family had filled all the remaining spaces with their unloved junk). The second time, I showed up with more resolve: I was going to sort through everygoddamnedthing and figure out what I was shipping to London, what I was giving away, what was headed for the dumpster and what needed to be shredded.

That was last spring, when we went back to Toronto with the baby for her first visit to meet her Canadian family, over Passover week. I spent a dusty afternoon, opening boxes, looking through them, sorting them into piles and putting them back together. It was an incredibly emotional experience. The boxes hadn't been packed very intelligently: years before, I'd come back to the warehouse loft I'd shared with my ex, and stuck all the junk I thought I couldn't part with in boxes. It was miserable. The stuff was filthy, and there was so much emotion in this stuff, which felt more like the wreckage of a past life than the memories thereof, that I just lost the capacity to be careful and discriminating, and by the end of it, I had some 80 boxes of random and assorted crapola that disappeared into the locker for most of a decade before I saw it again.

There were enormous piles of books, of course. I'd worked in libraries and bookstores from the age of 12 to the age of 23, and I'd amassed some 10,000 of the little wooden bastards. I had previously believed that these books were my identity, that you could know a man by the books he kept, that I'd be able to read their spines and find in them a palimpsest of all the people I'd been on the way to becoming the person I was. But once I'd been separated from them, I discovered that I barely missed them. Now and again, I'd need to reference something in one of them and I'd find it on Amazon, usually for less than a buck. The books went to my brother's school, where they've been integrated into the school library. Books should be read, not stored, and there's plenty there to make normal kids into happy mutants.

There were boxes of cassettes and VHS cassettes, including a trove of fantastic mixtapes that I'd exchanged with friends and as a courtship ritual over the years. Ten years before, I'd been unable to part with them. Now, it was easy: off to the thriftstore with them. I can download that stuff whenever I need it.

There were boxes of t-shirts, and these, weirdly enough, were harder to get rid of. I find myself sentimentally attached to a shocking quantity of tees. The Rocky Horror tee I wore every Friday for years to the Roxy theater in Toronto. The shirt from Grindstone Island is part of a small trove of memorabilia I have from the place (including a hammered-together chest made from old fruit boxes, and a complete run of WHOLE EARTH CATALOGs) that, to this day, is the place that I think of when I want to imagine perfect peace and happiness. Sometimes, I wonder if my life peaked at 17, there on a 12-acre island in the middle of Big Rideau Lake, listening to the loons and swinging in the hammock on Moonwatcher's Point, smoking hand-rolled cigarettes and talking all night long.

There was some art, and a few wardrobe pieces from my teens and twenties, including my beat up old punk leather jacked, covered in chains, worn to shreds, with stencils on the back. Maybe Poesy will wear it someday. Angry leather jackets never really go out of style.

There were my files -- all my juvenilia, the stories I wrote in elementary school and high school (including Tommy the Toenail Tarantula, with some damned good illustrations by Toby Muller -- where are you these days, Toby?). A truly fantastic quantity of photocopied material about Disney World. A thick folder of anti-fascist material from the John Brown/Anti-KKK League in San Francisco, whom I used to send away to for stickers, fliers and other material. And correspondence -- all the letters and postcards, the lovenotes and snapshots.

The snapshots deserve their own paragraph. One thing I realized: I dressed a lot better in my teens than in my twenties. Partly that was the fact that teenagers can get away with some pretty daring fashion. Partly it was that I spent my twenties trying to figure out what someone who had suddenly found himself working real jobs for real money wore (I went from working for tiny wages in a bookstore to doing Internet work that paid as much as my parents earned pretty much overnight, somewhere around 1993). Partly it was that I gained a ton of weight when I was about 23, and kept it on until I was about 32 and I discovered Atkins.

Another thing I realized: the girls I dated in my teens were knockouts, absolutely out of my league. And not just me, either. When I look at the photos of all my pals in their couples, the teenaged boys look lumpy or gangly, unfinished, with bad facial hair (shocking realization du jour: I look terrible with giant sideburns). The girls, by contrast, look pretty much fantastic. They're put together, confident, striking. All the couples look like beauty and the beast.

What else was there? A complete set of original Star Trek action figures and an Enterprise playset with the cool-ass transporter/spinner thing. The original, absolutely fabulous Haunted Mansion board game. A pretty good selection of Disney-attraction-themed boardgames and tin lunchboxes.

Tax docs. Bags of receipts. An entire carton of dead SCSI drives that had to be sent for secure disposal.

The next time I saw my stuff was a few days before I got married in Toronto. I had movers from Hudson Movers meet me at the locker. They were fabulous -- took the charity shop donations, the school donations, the art supplies I sent to Klockwerks, and all the stuff to ship to London away. They packed the shipment, filled in the customs forms, and put it all on the proverbial slow boat.

Two weeks ago, the boxes showed up at my office here in London, and I had a much longer pass through the stuff. By this point, it had been whittled down to six boxes. The books went onto the shelves, the t-shirts went into the storage closet, and a trove of my chewed kids' books and stuffed animals went back to the flat for my daughter.

The locker in Toronto is gone (well, technically, it's still there and filled with my family's junk, but that's their problem, not mine) and the goods are sorted and put away. Funnily enough, even after three or four passes through a "do I want this?" filter, I still had three boxes of garbage and donations out of the eight boxes that sailed the sea to London.

It's liberating. I feel lighter. For years, it felt like there was a weak and persistent nagging gravity tugging at me from Toronto, a needling, wheedling kvetch from all those unregarded possessions that I had responsibility for but no use for.

There's still a locker in LA -- well, in the desert outside of LA, it's one of those outfits that forklifts a storage box onto your lawn a week before you move; fill it up and call them and they forklift it back to some remote location with zero humidity until you request it again. I only have a dim recollection of what's in there, but I'm pretty sure it's almost all framed pictures that we had no room to hang in London but couldn't bear to part with. That and a couple of really good office chairs and a Danish dining room table that Mr Jalopy rescued from the garbage and refinished. Someday, if we move back to the States, we'll have instant decor. In the meantime, there's some of that nagging gravity being exerted by the box in the desert, too.

https://boingboing.net/2009/01/27/a-journey-through-my.html

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uas-fics · 6 years

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Control, Chapter 3

Chapter 2 - Chapter 4

Read on ao3

Craig blinked as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight. The first time in four days he'd seen the sun, and he already regretted it. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he wandered along the stone path towards the small pond behind the base.

The base was originally a mansion owned by Tupperware's family. It had been transformed into the Superhero base it was now during the Hero Civil War, when Freedom Pals first formed and needed a place to set up. After nearly seven years, the mansion had grown even bigger, adding more rooms for new heroes and the WAS agents, training areas, and test labs for the Gadgeteer class heroes to try out their inventions. It was impressive really what a gaggle of determined teenagers could do, when given the funds.

Craig paused to look over the pond. It was small, with some sort of water plant covering the surface all around the edges. A statue of a lion sat stoically in the middle. Water poured from its open mouth. A smile crept onto Craig's face as he recalled a memory from the Civil War. It had been right after Freedom Pals made their debut on the hero scene. In an act of pure petty response, the heroes from Coon and Friends broken in and glued a dildo onto the lion and leaving a nasty note to their former teammates.

He remembered how they were nearly caught by their heroic rivals and had to make a beeline for the trees before, tripping and pushing each other in their escape. Looking back, he guessed he should be thankful that Freedom Pals didn't press charges against them for vandalism.

Craig made a note to himself to ask if any one from the C&F side had any pictures of the prank as he stepped up to the bench alongside the pond.

Kenny reclined on the bench, his hood pulled over his eyes. He bobbed his head, mumbling to himself a song Craig didn't know. Craig watched a moment before tapping Kenny on the knee. Kenny pulled his hood back. A wide smile spread on his face. He swung his legs down and patted the seat next to him.

Craig took it, stretching his legs out. His feet almost touched the water. Not that that surprised him. Long legs were a family trait. He had them. His sister had them. His father had them. If he ever had a biological child, that poor kid would probably have to suffer with them, too. The only advantage he ever found was that it made his lap bigger with plenty of room for Stripe or Tweek--or better yet, both.

Kenny tapped his fingers against the bench a moment, watching the breeze push against surface of the pond. He then leaned towards Craig, staring at his face.

Craig twisted his head and met his eyes. "What?"

"Just staring." He grinned.

"You're a freak," Craig pushed his face away, "seriously a freak."

"Says the man who gets his power from love and a space rat." Kenny laughed. "At least my curse comes from something that sounds cool."

"There is nothing cooler than being granted super-strength, love powers by a space guinea pig." Craig countered. "Nothing. seriously nine-year-old me nearly shit his pants when Stripe told him he was getting super powers."

Kenny raised an eyebrow. "Given that nine year old me was still trying to figure out why God hated him so much, I guess you're right about that. Guinea pig love powers are cooler." Kenny leaned back, staring up at the clouds, before he continued. "So, Stripe can talk? I can't say I've ever heard him make more than those little pip-squeak noises. Does he only talk to you or can only you understand him?"

Craig smiled at the change to one of his favorite subjects. "Only I can understand him, but he doesn't talk to me anymore, not like he did when I was little."

"What changed? Did you stop believing in magic, Craig?" Kenny teased.

"I've never really believed in magic." Craig stated. "But to answer your question, talking to me tired him out a lot. I think he only did it because I was just a kid, ya know? It made this whole superpower thing easier to understand."

"So he doesn't talk to you anymore?" Kenny frowned. "That sucks, dude."

Craig shook his head. His bangs brushed his eyes. "No, no, he does; it's just not like how we used to talk. It's more..." He screwed up his face in thought. "It's a feeling. When I touch him, I can just tell what he wants anymore. We're that close." He hooked his pointer fingers together with a proud smile.

Kenny hummed, tapping his fingers against his stomach. After a moment, he said, "You know, for a long time, I was really jealous of your powers."

This time, it was Craig's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Seriously?" He asked.

Kenny nodded. "Uh-huh. I first heard of Super Craig on the news one day. 'Another Super Powered Child fighting crime in the streets: is this new child a friend or foe?' it said. I missed the bus just so I could watch that report." He spread out his hands in front of him. "I watched everyday for news on you. I thought being super strong was way more useful than fucked up immortality that no one even remembered. Especially when at the time, the only other kid heroes around were the Coon and Mint Berry Crunch."

He laughed. "I was really hoping that you and me could team up actually. Since Mint Berry avoided me, and the Coon's always been an asshole, you were my best option."

"Huh." Craig turned towards the pond. "If we're speaking honestly, I was scared of you."

Kenny nearly jumped off the bench in surprise. "What? Legit?"

"Dude, even before the police acknowledged you existed, there were playground rumors that you made a deal with the devil and ripped a man's spine from his back to suck out the spinal cord. The whole cowl and brooding didn't help either." Craig explained. "I kind of tried to be a day-time hero for a few months just to avoid meeting you. I bet Mint Berry did the same thing."

Kenny shook his head. An amused smile on his lips. "Let's be honest, tabloids still print those same rumors about me even now." He let out a low whistle. "Wow, though, the great and powerful Super Craig was scared of a scrawny ass, poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks."

"A scrawny ass, poor kid who beat the living daylights out of a super villain on live television." Craig shook his head. "A super villain that even had Captain Hindsight beaten! That just cemented Mysterion as utterly terrifying."

Craig remembered that program clear as day. A villain had hijacked the TV station and broadcasted his evil plan to destroy City Hall across the city. Craig was in school at the time. and everyone crowded around the TV in the corner of the classroom. Even the teacher had abandoned learning to watch.

The villain had Captain Hindsight tied up and was about to kill the veteran hero in front of everyone, when a blur of purple dove in and just started whaling on the villain until he passed out, bloody and broken.

The first time the public had ever seen Mysterion in full was the moment when he ran across the studio to untie Captain Hindsight. Craig remembered being in awestruck terror that someone his own age could actually do something like that. That someone smaller than he was could come so close to actually taking someone else's life.

Kenny's cheeks colored. "I was an impulsive kid going through a lot of shit! He needed help, and I had skipped school that day! Anyone would have done the same in that situation!"

"I'm not blaming you for it or saying you did anything wrong." Craig gently punched Kenny's shoulder. "I mean, when I was an impulsive teenager, I threw my little sister's boyfriend's car into a lake."

Kenny snickered. "Wow, really? Did he deserve it or were you being petty?"

"He was nearly twenty and my sister was fourteen. I was being a good brother." Craig snorted. "Jackass lost a lot of appeal when he couldn't drive anymore." Craig paused then asked, "You said yesterday you had a sister, right? What's she like?"

"Oh, Karen?" Kenny patted his pockets for his phone. "She's the best. So sweet and caring." He turned on his phone and proudly presented his lock screen. A young woman and another man flanked Kenny, who stood proudly between them, arms around their shoulders. "That's my little sister, Karen, and my big brother, Kevin. He's not as sweet. He's kind of an asshole, actually, but I love him anyway."

"Your parents realize the alphabet had twenty-three other letters in it? They didn't have to have all your names start with 'K'." Craig teased.

Kenny rolled his eyes. "Fuck off." He powered down his phone and shoved it back in his pocket. "At least they put more creativity into the names they chose than a certain superhero I could name."

"Bite me."

"Only if you want me to."

Kenny and Craig spent the afternoon exchanging jabs and stories until the sun began to sink down in the sky. Craig rolled his shoulders before standing. His joints popped when he stretched out.

"It's getting late. I need to get back to Stripe." He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, I have patrol tonight." Kenny hopped to his feet. "Gotta go lurk around, make devil deals, suck some spines, ya know, the normal." He elbowed Craig in the side with a snicker.

Craig turned to head back towards the base when he paused. He took a breath before turning. With squared shoulders, he looked down into Kenny's eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said.

Kenny furrowed his brow. "For what?"

Craig shrugged. "Being so quick to judge you as a kid. I think, if we had met before C&F, we would have been good friends. You're not nearly as much of an emo weirdo as I thought you were."

Kenny's eyes widen. He blinked a few times before a smile spread across his face. "Well, we can still start now, right? Once Tweek is back, and, well, everything is normal, maybe we could hang out again? All three of us if you want."

Craig smiled back, though not as wide. "Yeah, I think that'd be cool."

When Craig returned to his room, he was meant with a sobering reality.

Stripe was gone.

He wasn't in his travel cage, or wandering around the room. He was gone.

Craig rubbed his forehead as he used the bed to haul himself to his feet. He knew from experience that Stripe liked to play hide and seek, but now was not the time!

"Are you looking for your pet?" A voice said behind him. Craig turned as Doctor Daniels walked in. She clicked her pen before scribbling something on her clipboard.

"Where is he?"

Doctor Daniel pointed her pen over her shoulder. "I had him taken back to your own room. Unlike our local vet, ToolShed, I don't care for animals in my offices." Doctor Daniels sent him a sympathetic smile. "If you want, you can go spend the night in your room. I don't really have any reason to keep you here anymore. You're perfectly healthy, Super Craig."

Craig bit back the snarky remark that pressed against his teeth. There was no need to be rude. Doctor Daniels was trying to be nice--also anything he'd say would eventually get back to Tupperware, and he'd get an earful for it. That was not something he particularly wanted to deal with.

Instead, Craig nodded his thanks. He gathered up his papers into a tidy stack and stuck them back in a file folder. He glanced around once, making sure he hadn't left anything else.

"Um, thanks, for making sure I don't die and shit." He told the doctor. She chortled and patted his arm before shooing him out of the room.

Craig let out a sigh as he grabbed for the doorknob to his room. After being stuck in that hospital room, the cozy familiarity of his own was a welcomed change. He tossed his file folder to the desk near his dresser, nearly knocking over one of his models. He set his hand on the incomplete spaceship.

Tweek and he had been working on this model on and off in their free time whenever it was one of their turns to guard the base. He rubbed his thumb over the nose of the ship before swallowing hard.

He hadn't actually cried over all this, over the break up, over Tweek, none of it. No way he was going to cry when anyone from Doctor Daniels to Clyde could walk in on him in the medical ward. Maybe he could finally let a few tears slip now that he was alone.

Craig slid his fingers down the ship before ghosting them across the table to the dresser. Beside the dresser on a low, long table was Stripe's cage. At their house, Craig and Tweek had Frankensteined two multi tiered enclosures together for Stripe to run around and play in. Unfortunately, no matter how much Craig tried, Doctor Timothy refused to let him remodel his own room to make a new enclosure for Stripe here. So his wonderful, sweet pet was left with a basic cage when he deserved so much more.

Maybe Craig could ask Kenny about an inter-dimensional pocket room. If Kenny as Mysterion could ghost through dimensions to move around, would it be too much of a stretch to make a pocket one just for the best pet in the universe?

Filing the thought away for later, Craig reached into the cage. Stripe wasn't out in the open, but Craig knew his Stripe well enough to know that he liked to sleep under the fake mossy log in the corner.

"Stripe, I'm here." Craig carefully picked up the log as he spoke. He furrowed his brow. Save for the indent in the shredded paper from Stripe digging to make himself a comfortable nest, there was no indication of the guinea pig.

"Stripe, this isn't funny. I don't want to play hide and seek right now." Craig frowned, placing the log back and going to check under the plastic castle instead. "Where are you?" A jolt of worry rushed through his chest. What if someone took him? He already lost Tweek; He couldn't handle losing Stripe, too.

A low, amused chuckle echoed around the room.

"I guess we'll keep playing a little later." A familiar voice said. "Huh, Stripe?"

Craig spun around with his heart blaring in his ears. That voice. That voice sounded just like Tweek's. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be--

Tweek leaned against the door to the bathroom with Stripe held in his arms. He ran his fingers through the rodents fur with a lazy smile.

Tweek was different. His messy hair had been dyed black, and a scar curved through the side of his mouth, but at that moment Craig could care less. He couldn't even see any of the injuries from the fights he'd been in with the other heroes. Shaking, Craig stole a step forward.

"Tweek?" He whispered. "Oh, God, Tweek, it's you. You're ok. Your hair looks weird, but you're ok."

Tweek walked towards the bed and sat. He situated Stripe in his lap then pat the seat beside him. Wasting not a second, Craig took the seat. He placed his hands on Tweek's forearms and squeezed.

He was real. Tweek was here. Tweek was sane. Tweek wasn't hurt. A weight lifted off of Craig's shoulders and he slumped forward, resting his head on his boyfriend's shoulders.

"I was so worried, babe." He mumbled. A few of the tears he'd held back started to prick his eyes. Tweek carded his fingers through Craig's hair with a hum before sliding his hands down his jaw to his chin and making him look up.

Tweek smiled softly before he raised Craig's face and pressed a kiss to his lips. It had more force behind it than Craig was use to getting, but he didn't care. He pressed his palm against the back of Tweek's hand and kissed back. His lips felt electric, as they always did when Tweek pulled away. Whether that was a side effect of Tweek's powers or not, Craig was never sure.

Tweek rubbed his lips together then popped them. "Well, you're better at that than him. I'm not surprised." Tweek leaned back, scratching Stripe between the ears.

"Better than..." Craig shook his head. It didn't matter. "Tweek, what's going on? Honey, please, tell me what's wrong. I know someone's controlling you. Tell me who, so we can kick their ass."

Tweek eyed him a moment before a wide smile carved his face. Suddenly, it wasn't just the black hair that was different. He snorted a laugh before picking up Stripe. He pressed their noses together.

"Oh, Craig, Craig, Craig. He's not as clever as mine. At least he's just as cute. Right, Stripe?" Tweek kissed the guinea's nose. "I bet he could figure it all out if he wasn't missing such a fundamental piece of information." He straighten his arms out, holding Stripe aloft. "He doesn't know I'm not his Tweek, does he? Isn't that cute?" Tweek lowered Stripe back down, holding him to his chest.

Tweek peeked at Craig through his lashes with a sly smile. Craig searched his face. This was Tweek, no doubt. Same round face, same button nose, same two toned eyes, same messy hair, same pudgy stomach, but this was also not Tweek. The way he held himself was too calm. He didn't twitch and his tone was too smooth, now that Craig thought about it.

"Who are you?" Craig demanded in a low growl. It took a lot of effort to keep his gaze fixed on the Not Tweek and not dart down to Stripe.

"I'm Tweek, Tweek Tweak. I'm your boyfriend." He leaned forward, trying to rest his head against Craig, but Craig pushed him away. The Not Tweek pouted a moment then heaved a sigh. "That is true, Craig. I'm not lying. I really am Tweek Tweak--I'm just not your Tweek Tweak."

"The fuck does that mean? And gimme back Stripe."

Not Tweek pursed his lips but slowly handed the guinea pig back. Craig held Stripe protectively against his chest. Stripe squeaked up at him. Craig could feel Stripe telling him to calm down the moment he touched his body. Craig took a breath, focusing a moment on what Stripe was trying to communicate: This imposter Tweek isn't a threat, his intentions aren't to hurt Craig, and Craig needed to try and keep calm.

"You kiss better than him, but you really aren't as sharp." Not Tweek chuckled. "I'm from a different universe, dingus. You know about those, don't you?"

Unfortunately, yes, he did. Craig was well-versed in the fact that there were different universe other than his own. They were all annoying and overly confusing.

He groaned. "Goddammit. I fucking hate those."

Not Tweek rested his elbow on his shin then his chin in his palm. "I do too. They're the worst. My Craig likes them, though. Something about seeing all the “what if's” gives him a comfort." Not Tweek's lazy smile slipped into a frown. "That's probably why he chose to pull this stupid stunt with your Tweek."

Craig glared. "What 'stupid stunt'? What did he do to Tweek? Why? And how do I fix it? Tell me or I swear I'll--"

Not Tweek placed a finger against Craig's lips. "Threatening a super villain won't get you far, you know. We're too use to it."

Craig rolled his eyes and pushed Not Tweek's hand away. A super villain alternate universe. Of, fucking, course that's what it would be. Just of-fucking-course. Couldn't be the Easy to Talk Out of Scheme universe or the One Punch Fixes universe. Mother fuck.

Leaning back on his hands, Not Tweek said, "Anyway, to answer your first question, that stupid stunt is my Craig's way of punishing himself. He wants me to break up with him after something he did."

"That doesn't make any fucking sense."

"It makes perfect sense," Not Tweek quipped. "Craig is scared to own up to his mistake, so he's trying to worm out of it like a coward instead of moving on like an adult." He fell back to his back and dropped his hands over his stomach. "When I heard he came here, I figured this universe's Craig would need a little...help getting everything back to normal. So I hijacked a dimension hopping gun and used a tome of teleportation to get in your room." He flashed a grin. His teeth were too white, and it made Craig uncomfortable.

Pushing the feeling away, he held Not Tweek's gaze. Not Tweek frowned before glancing away. He stared at Craig's hand setting on the bed before making a move for it.

Craig pulled away quickly. "Stop that."

"We're boyfriends. Boyfriends hold hands." Not Tweek replied, trying again with the same result.

"We are not. You aren't my Tweek. You don't get the honor of holding my hand." Craig clenched his hands into fists. "You haven't answered my other question. What did your Craig do to my Tweek?"

Not Tweek laced his own hands together. "We call it the 'Control Gun' back home. It's not really a gun, but we still call it that anyway. It fires these little darts. If the darts land right at the base of the spine, then the sap that was hit is nearly completely under the person with the gun's control. It's super illegal and even us villains made a pact not to use it on each other."

Craig frowned. "How do I undo it. Just pry the dart out?"

"Well, you could but you might paralyze him from the neck down." Not Tweek shrugged. "Best way is to destroy the gun itself--which Craig has with him. It's a powerful weapon, but it only works within a relatively small radius."

"So, we find this Not Craig, kick his ass, take the gun, break it into a million and three pieces, and Tweek is back to normal?"

Not Tweek nodded. "In not as many words, yes."

Craig shut his eyes. He felt Stripe press against his hand. Worry clawed at his stomach. If Not Craig was a super villain, then who knows what sort of horrible things he's doing to Tweek. Craig clenched his eyes shut tighter, pushing the horrific images that came to the forefront of his mind away. Tweek was going to be ok. Craig was going to find hi. They might both have to take a break from heroism for a few months, but it would all end up ok.

Craig peaked open his eyes. Holding Stripe in one arm, he stood. Not Tweek watched him as he pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?" Not Tweek demanded.

"Getting help." Craig deadpanned. "We need more heroes to get this done."

"No!" Not Tweek jumped to his feet. "I can barely stand my own super villain union. No way in hell could I work with them when they're all a bunch of goodie-two-shoes." His face twisted into a cringe. "If you're even half the man my Craig is, we can do this together, just you and me."

Craig fixed a stare on Not Tweek then turned back to his phone.

"I don't know how your union does it, but mine helps each other out. Right now my friends are searching for a way to help Tweek." He began to type. "If you want my help, you get their help too. Package deal. Take it or leave it."

Not Tweek glared, but he wavered after a moment and looked down. Craig felt a sense of pride well up in his chest for a moment. His Tweek could hold his glare for so much longer. Sometimes, it was even Craig who looked away first.

As he finished his group text to his fellow heroes and friends, Craig added another note to his ever growing list to tell Tweek what a badass he thought he was when this was all over.

At nine like clockwork, Craig heard a knock at his door. He set the piece of the model he had been painting aside, dropped the paintbrush in the cup of water, and stood up from his desk. He glanced over at Not Tweek as he lay on the bed, Stripe resting on his chest.

"Ready?" He asked. Not Tweek groaned in reply and did not sit up. Craig ignored his response and went to the door. He opened it just enough to peek out. Tupperware, Mosquito, and Fastpass stood outside the door. They all wore expressions with varying degrees of worry.

"You texted? Said it was an emergency. A secret emergency." Tupperware frowned.

"And said to bring snacks." Mosquito cut in, holding up a plastic sack. Craig reached out, careful not to open the door too wide, and took the sack. Recently, Mosquito had started to keep the best snacks in his own room. Apparently Bebe had gotten on to him at his house for his snacking habit, so he began storing them in at the base. Craig had to wonder where he wpuld hide them next when Bebe inevitably found out.

Craig took a prepackaged cinnamon roll from the sack. He turned a little and tossed the cinnamon roll. It landed on the best next to Not Tweek. If he did not have Stripe on his stomach, Craig would have aimed for his face instead, but the risk of hitting his pet was too high. Not Tweek took the cinnamon roll and raised his lip in disgust.

Of course, Not Tweek wouldn't like cinnamon like his Tweek did. Rolling his eyes, Craig turned back to his friends.

"W-W-What was that for?" Fastpass raised an eyebrow.

"I'll explain in a second." Craig poked his shoulders out the door and looked around. "Is Mysterion here? I text him too."

Tupperware held up a finger. The front of his helmet flashed with screens and data. He scanned it, eyes moving faster than any normal human, before the screens disappeared. He shrugged.

"He's in the base. On the way now, I bet."

"The fact you're hooked up to the base's security system really bugs me," Mosquito muttered.

Fastpass elbowed him in the side. "What? Does he have blackmail on you?"

Mosquito shouted, "No!" at the same time as Tupperware stated, "Yes."

As Fastpass laughed, Mosquito shot Tupperware a dirty look, which Tupperware replied with a smirk. Craig opened his mouth to cut in when someone else beat him to the punch.

"Who doesn't have blackmail against you?" Mysterion chuckled as he stepped out of the shadows. "Mosquito, I think we all have a picture of your dick from at least one occasion or another."

Mosquito's entire face was red now. Craig kept quiet. He couldn't defend Mosquito about that, even if he wanted to. On one of his old cellphones, he did in fact have a picture of Mosquito's dick with a shitty Snapchat filter on it. Mosquito claimed the picture was an accident, that it was meant for someone else, but Craig always doubted that a little.

Mosquito buried his face in his hands with a groan. "Fuck you all." He peeked through his fingers to Craig. "Craig, just tell us why you called us here. Make them change the damned subject."

"Oh, right." Craig nodded. "It's Tweek. I know what's wrong and how to fix it."

"What?!" All four of the other heroes blurted out. Craig stepped inside and ushered them in. He gestured to Not Tweek on his bed. Four mouths all opened, but Craig hurriedly answered their questions with a quick, three word reply: "Alternate Universe Fuckery."

Not Tweek pushed himself up, the cinnamon roll hung from his teeth. He finished the bite he had before setting the pastry aside.

"For the love of whatever god you believe in, please tell me there is something that isn't sickeningly sweet in there." He pointed to the sack. "I hate sweet things."

Craig searched the bag as he spoke. "Yeah, yeah, on it. Anyway, that's Not Tweek. He's a Tweek from an alternate, alignment-swap universe or whatever. He's a villain, but he's going to help us since it's all his Craig's fault this is happening." Craig pulled a jerky stick from the sack and threw it at Not Tweek. Without having to worry about Stripe, Craig gladly hit Not Tweek in the chest with just enough force to push him back a little.

"’Alignment Swap?’" Tupperware repeated, critically. "So, we're all villains in that universe? Not just, uh, Not Tweek."

"Don't call me that!" Not Tweek spat. "Super Tweek is my villain name. Use that if you have to call me anything."

Craig pulled a pack of Gushers from the sack. "That's too confusing. Not Tweek works because you're not our Tweek. Our Tweek is Tweek. If we were in your world, then you'd be Tweek, but we're not, so shut up and just roll with it."

Not Tweek snorted. He took a bite of the jerky stick before he spoke. "Fine, whatever. Well, to answer your question, from what I've gathered yes. Your whole 'Freedom Pals' deal is just a law abiding, justice-sick version of my Evil League."

"E-Ev-Evil League?" Fastpass titled his head. He rested his weight onto one crutch, eyeing Not Tweek skeptically.

"We named it when we were kids, Freedom Pal." Not Tweek sneered.

Fastpass narrowed his eyes, clearly debating if he wanted to take a jab back at Not Tweek or let it slide. After a few beats of thought, he made his decision and let the naming matter drop. Instead he grabbed for the snack sack. Craig let him rummage around as Mysterion marched closer to Not Tweek.

"How do we know we can even trust you? This could all be a trick." Mysterion crossed his arms.

Craig handed the sack to FastPass. He walked over and plucked Stripe up from Not Tweek's lap. He held the guinea pig out, Stripe's furry nose nearly touching Mysterion's.

"Stripe trusts him. I can feel it. Stripe has never been wrong about people." Craig stated flatly. Mysterion crossed his eyes to look at the guinea pig. Stripe twitched his nose and made a small sound. Mysterion took a step back. He scanned Craig's face then pulled his cloak around himself.

Mosquito pushed between the two, then took Stripe from Craig. "He's right, actually! Stripe is like a furry goodness detector! The only girl he ever like that I dated was Agent B, and we're still going strong." He pressed Stripe against him, making a few small, unconscious buzzing noises. "Bzzz. Besides, I trust Super Craig, and if Super Craig trusts Stripe, and Stripe trusts inky Tweek, then so do I!"

Not Tweek cocked an eyebrow when he called him 'inky Tweek' but didn't comment on it. Instead he said, "Do you want to keep the dimensional gun I used to get here as collateral, hero? I can go get it right now. I've already made up my mind that I'm not leaving here without my Craig."

Mysterion glanced between Not Tweek, Stripe, and Craig. He huffed. "Fuck. Fine. I guess that would do."

Not Tweek rolled his eyes, muttering something unflattering about heroes, then waved his hand towards the bathroom. "It's in there. Go fetch, if you want it."

"I will when this is over."

Mysterion still looked skeptical, as did Tupperware, but Fastpass relaxed a little at the explanation. Craig smiled internally at that. He knew Tupperware understood his connection with Stripe was deep, even if the cyborg hero didn't fully believe in Stripe's fantastic origins.

"I don't like this." Mysterion muttered, returning over to Tupperware and Fastpass. He made a motion for the snack sack, and Fastpass passed it off.

"Trust Stripe, Mysterion." Craig stated, sitting on the bed with Stripe in his lap. He tossed a couple Gushers in his mouth.

"As much as I'd like to talk about Stripe, I think we h-have a more pressing matter," Fastpass reminded, eyes fixing on Not Tweek. "Tweek, our Tweek, what happened to him? Where is he? How do we all help?"

Not Tweek tore a part of his jerky stick apart then tossed it in his mouth. He held up a finger as he chewed. He swallowed loudly before speaking. "Never said I know where he is. Figure that out yourselves. As for your other question, well, to put it simply, your Tweek is being controlled by my Craig to get back at me for personal reasons I won't be sharing."

Mosquito narrowed his eyes. "The fuck? Just to get revenge on you, Not Craig comes here to fuck with us? Why?"

Not Tweek shrugged, peeling back more of the wrapper of his beef stick. "Super villain? Stirring the pot like this is what we live for--some more than others." A scowl ghosted across his face for a moment before his aloof expression returned.

"But that's so petty!" Mosquito shook his head. "And overly complicated."

"Hey," Not Tweek pointed the half eaten beef stick at Mosquito, "Wonder Craig is the cute one, not the smart one." A pause then Not Tweek continued, "Actually, he is smart, really smart. He's not a strategists. His plans are always over the top. It's adorable watching him plan things. He makes models with cardboard and everything." He chuckled into his hand. A sound that made Craig cringe. There was an almost condescending tone to the laugh. He couldn't tell if the condescension stemmed from how Not Craig was currently acting out or if it was there all the time.

Tupperware took a step. "How is our Tweek being controlled? Explain."

Not Tweek reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He flicked it at Tupperware, who snatched it mid air.

As Tupperware unfolded the paper, Not Tweek explained. "That's how it works, as well I as I know."

Tupperware furrowed his brow. "Is this it? It doesn't make sense. This thing shouldn't work."

"What more do you expect? I'm an elementalist, not a gadgeteer. Be lucky I know that much." Not Tweek pulled the last of the beef stick from the wrapper. "There are some other technical components. Figure them out yourselves."

Craig rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter how it works. What matters is its limitations. Tell em, Not Tweek."

Not Tweek crumbled up the wrapper and made a shot towards the waste basket by the desk. It didn't even make it half way there before falling to the ground. He rolled his eyes at it, but made no move to grab it.

"The Control Gun is pretty useful, but it's not strong. The range is only three hundred feet or so, and it only can control someone for about a hour and a half before it runs out of battery power. The only way to break control is to use the controller. Either break it or input a certain code."

Tupperware looked up from the paper. "According to this, there is a dart placed at the base of the spinal cord. We couldn't just remove it?"

Craig shook his head. "Apparently it's too big of a risk. It could hurt Tweek."

"More than exploding right next to him?" Mosquito asked, only to receive a jab in the ribs from Fastpass.

"Last time someone tried to pry one of the darts out, the lady's heart gave out, and she kicked the bucket." Not Tweek quipped. "Ruined Human Kite's jewelry heist, too. Poor sap." He did not sound at all sympathetic.

Mysterion rubbed his chin in thought. "Right before Tweek disappears, every time he lets lose a torrent of rain and weather, making him impossible to get close to or follow. Given that, and that Tweek is a bitch to keep down--um, no offense, Super Craig--"

"None taken. It's true."

"--then I bet Not Craig is doing that to keep Tweek too tired to try and escape once the controller wears off."

Not Tweek clapped sarcastically. "Wow, figure that out yourself? Congrats, you've just passed mind controlling a superhero 101."

"Hey, what's your fucking deal?" Mysterion snapped.

Not Tweek held up his hands in surrender. "Nothing, nothing. Just continue on your little thought tangent."

Mysterion glared but didn't reply to him. Instead he took a breath before continuing, "So, he would have to be keeping Tweek somewhere where he could easily get him to and from his targets."

Fastpass' eye light up when he figured out where Mysterion was going. "So we look at the attacks, where they all start and end, and we can find a radius to start looking!"

"Bingo." Mysterion nodded. "Tup, can you plot that?"

"Already on it."

A map of the city appeared on Tupperware's helmet. Red dots and circles appearing around the map. Fastpass stood and stepped closer, into Tupperware's space, trying to get a better look at the map. Mosquito mimicked him. Even Mysterion stood on his toes to look over the other heroes at the map.

Not Tweek snorted a laugh and shook his head. Craig raised an eyebrow at him.

"What? Never seen friends working together before?"

"No, I just can't imagine my own teammates stepping up this far to help me," Not Tweek crossed his arms. "Unless they were all in danger somehow, too. Not that I can say much, I wouldn't help most of them for nothing either. They're all assholes."

Before Craig could reply, the sound of someone hitting the floor caught his attention.

"Space, give me space!" Tupperware had his arms held in front of him.

Mosquito blinked up from the carpet. His wings fluttered once. "Rude, but fair." He said.

Fastpass chuckled, and Mysterion took a pack of peanut butter crackers from the sack. He tossed the sack onto the bed as Tupperware helped Mosquito to his feet.

"Sorry."

"'It’s 'k." Mosquito smiled.

"Alright." Tupperware held out his hand and a projection of the city appeared on the floor. A wide circle glowed in an area of downtown.

Craig leaned forward, careful of Stripe. "That's the radius? It's nearly half the city!"

"Bzzt! He's right! It barely narrows anything down!" Mosquito whined.

"Guess it was too much to ask for us to p-p-pinpoint Tweek’s location that fast." Fastpass sighed as he circled the map. Mysterion took a few steps then crouched. Not Tweek sat up straighter, trying to get a better look at the radius as well.

"Craig likes to play it safe." Not Tweek muttered, more to himself than to anyone in the room. "He'd be somewhere without many witness, that no one would care if he loitered around."

Mysterion turned to reach for something in one of the pouches at his back. He pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it. Carefully reading over it, he looked back to the map, then at the paper again. In one quick motion, he bounce to his feet and handed the paper to Tupperware.

"Can you highlight this address?" He asked.

Tupperware furrowed his brow, but nodded. A small green dot appeared just to the left of the circle, barely a street away.

"What is that, Mysterion?" Fastpass asked.

"I think it's our location." Mysterion's eyes gleamed. "I've noticed some strange activities and movements among some of the gangs in the city. They're not fighting as much, and I've seen members of one gang in another's area. It's too odd, so I had a friend of mine investigate and see what he could dig up. He gave me that address as somehow important--though he wasn't sure how."

Mysterion must have been talking about Christophe, Craig realized. He pushed himself up, cradling Stripe in one arm, and stepped closer. The green dot was right over a large, abandon storage facility, in the middle of the rough side of the city.

"Isn't that an old Chaos base?" Craig muttered.

"But Professor Chaos is retired. He's on the straight and narrow." Fastpass frowned. "Why would he want to risk prison to help?"

"He wouldn't." Mysterion stated. "I know for a fact he's staying on the up-and-up. Not Craig's just using the base. The storage units are just repurposed shipping containers. They're massive, and Chaos connected most of them with pathways. Perfect for sneaking around and hiding people."

"Why would all those gang members be there, then?" Mosquito asked. "Wouldn't that be too much of a risk to have people know?"

Not Tweek shook his head. "It would be more of a risk for Craig to have no clue what was going on around the city's underworld. Knowing him, and believe me I do, he's probably threatening everyone into working for him." He smiled fondly. "Craig tried the same thing when he was thirteen. It must be going better this time around without Timmy stealing the idea for himself."

"So you th-think he's probably there?" Fastpass asked.

Not Tweek nodded. "Definitely."

Tupperware zoomed in on the storage facility. It lay on a large, square plot of land with it's units laid out like a grid.

Mosquito rubbed his chin. "Think if we waited at the sides until after Tweek's done attacking the city and heading back, we could corner him and Not Craig?"

Tupperware made yellow dots appear around the perimeter with one dot on two sides and two dots on the others. He hummed to himself in thought. "If we put the teams of two at the front and back entrances, we could actually make this work."

The smile on Tupperware’s face soon spread to Mosquito, then Fastpass. Even Mysterion lips twisted upwards a fraction. Not Tweek just shrugged and nodded in agreement.

This could actually work. It really, really could! Tweek could be saved as soon as tomorrow. Craig could punch his doppelganger’s teeth out before dinner time.

Stripe squirmed in Craig's arm, and the brutalist realized he was starting to squeeze his pet. He soften his grip and gave Stripe an apologetic pet.

Don't worry, Tweek. I'm coming.

I doubt anyone remembers, knows, or saw it, but I made a post on my personal blog a while back that the black haired Tweek from the scouts episode being the mirror, evil Tweek. Guess I finally found a reason to implement it huh?

Also sorry for the late post! ;; moving sucks

#south park #sp creek #multi chapter #control

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