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oneatlatime · 2 months

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Hiii!!! I’ve been binging through your blog for the past few weeks and I noticed how you talk about how Kataang(Katara x Aang) is portrayed in the show. Honestly yeah, I will admit I didn’t like it at first but now I just don’t really care for it. But I’d be interested hearing an in-depth opinion on the ship(unless you already did and I just never noticed or forgot 😭).

Another question, do you think you’re going to read the comics that came out the series? If you’re asking my opinion I’d say they’re a uuuh 7-8 out of 10 IG?

I do have thoughts on Kataang which I haven't shared yet. Part of me thinks I should wait to answer your ask until I've finished the series; it's obvious to me that these two are being set up to be the big finale couple, which means if I talk about them now I'm probably missing the pieces I need to have a full, well-rounded opinion. But you know what? I feel like talking about them now. So here goes.

Short answer: It peeves me that Aang comes from a culture that seemingly doesn't even have parents, yet he still manages to date his mother.

Long answer: they're both way too young. I'm a huge fan of letting the kids be kids for as long as possible. Especially with these kids, who have been prevented from being kids by the war. As Katara points out in the opening scene of the very first episode, she's been the mother since her own died (or at least she feels like she has had to be the mother). Call me crazy, but I'd rather Katara spend a few years after the war doing dumb childish stuff to recapture that lost childhood than jump straight into a relationship. Isn't the safety and space to do dumb childish stuff one of the things those who are trying to end the war are fighting for? Shouldn't she get to enjoy that? And Aang is just way too young no matter what way you look at it. He's 12 right? I think that would make him a grade 6 student. Back in my day (yells at cloud) Grade 6 students collected yugioh cards and feuded over who had the snazzier lunch box. I could picture a 12 year old having a crush on a slightly older girl that goes to the same school, but it would be short lived and unactionable. I guess Katara would be around 14? So, a grade 8 student. A grade 8 girl would not date a grade 6 boy. It would just never happen.

They've both got bigger fish to fry. Aang is the last Air Nomad AND the current Avatar. When he fully takes on both of those positions, what time will he have for a girlfriend? Katara is the only Southern Waterbender. Whether or not she wants the responsibility, it will be her duty to single-handedly reconstruct a huge portion of her nation's culture from the ground up once she returns south. Does she have the time to ping pong around the globe mothering her boyfriend as he rides giant animals or does Avatar stuff? Say she wants to: what will her family and the rest of her tribe think of the only person who can access such a huge part of their culture riding off into the sunset?

Their current relationship dynamic is still too mother/son. This is more obvious in season 1 than in season 2 (maybe that's growth?) but you can't depict a male/female pair as pieta and then expect me to ship. I think this could change somewhat, but I've already been disappointed in that. I thought that once Katara had mastered waterbending and therefore felt she had something other than mothering to contribute to the group, she would back off with the mothering. And she did, a little, but not enough for my tastes. Maybe as Aang fully steps into the Avatar role and the last Air Nomad role (sidenote: no idea what the latter would look like) he'll move on to a more equal relationship with Katara.

I think Katara is meant for better things than rebirthing a nation. Bending seems to be at least somewhat genetic. So if Aang wants Airbending in any form to survive after his death, he's going to need a billion kids. While I could definitely see Katara wanting children, I don't see her as the barefoot pregnant type.

I'm not convinced that Aang has a clear picture of Katara. She has flaws, which is good! Does Aang see them?

I get the feeling that, while they are helping each others' skills grow as they travel the globe, they are also preventing each others' personalities from growing. As long as Aang is around, Katara has someone to mother. As long as Katara is around, Aang has someone who prevents him from feeling the full weight of his responsibilities. Again, this is worse in season 1, but how often did Katara deny that Aang was to blame for something that was at least somewhat his fault? Aang will never become a fully rounded person until he can look at his flaws and mistakes dead on and say "my bad" without a Katara in the background going "no you're perfect!" Katara deserves to find out what kind of person she is outside of a nurturing role. Quick thought experiment: what if you pair Katara with someone who needs no nurturing, or better yet, nurtures her? And what if you pair Aang with someone as bluntly truthful as Toph? Katara and Aang might find both of those situations uncomfortable at first, but I think it would contribute to their growth.

Aang having a crush on an oblivious Katara would be a great single season arc. I think it would fit both of their characters well, and I think Aang growing past latching on to the first person he saw after the iceberg would be a good way to show that he's rooting himself in his time-displaced present, and fully committing to ending the war. And don't get me wrong, I love Aang and Katara both as a fighting team and as friends.

These kids are all fighting a war, and all kids. I don't mind the supporting characters having romances, because it's not like Sokka or Suki can end the war, no matter how hard they try/might want to. But I'm a big believer in doing one thing at a time, and I think if you're the only person in the whole world who can end a war, then ending the war should take precedence over dating. I'm aware that that's an unrealistic expectation and out of step with the show's theme of balance. In the real world, birth rates skyrocket during war time because people live for the moment and grab happiness (read boinking) wherever they see it. But both these kids are pre-boinking age so I'm going to be a cranky old fart about it.

Being the wife of the Avatar is a position that will often come with being relegated to second place, especially with the amount of work that undoing a century of war will take. Although she works well in a team, Katara is a naturally dominant personality. Katara did enough of putting herself in second place before the series started. I think Katara could very easily fall into the pattern of subjugating her own needs and desires and putting her husband's first, but I don't want that to happen. And one way to prevent that from happening is to prevent her from dating the single most politically important person in the universe. (To be clear, Aang would never deliberately squish a wife like that, I just think the workload of being Avatar and last air nomad would cause that to happen)

A lot of my objections to this pairing are very adult objections. I don't know what I would have thought about this pairing when I was the age of the show's target audience. It undoubtedly would have bothered me less, although I probably would have been put off by how twee it is. As an adult, all I can see are babies playing house.

As for the comics, I hadn't made any concrete plans to read them. I don't know where I'd get access to them. I'm not sure how canonical they are. I guess I should probably decide whether or not I want to read them after I've finished the whole series. I've been told that my girl Jin appears in one of them, so I definitely have some interest. I have also had the Avatar Kyoshi novels strenuously recommended to me. But so much of Avatar's charm, to me, is in the medium. And while comics are closer to animation than books are, they're still static. Avatar does movement so well.

#ask #this got way too long #short short answer: they're too young #not much incompatible about their personalities #plenty incompatible about their responsibilities

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amazingmsme · 7 months

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A Gift, No Strings Attached

AN: Tickletober is finally upon us! I'm so excited for this, I can't wait to see what everyone makes! Hope you all enjoy day 1: anticipation with Miguel & Peter B! Everyone seems to think a certain spiderman needs to be introduced to a certain belt, as seen in episode 17.

Miguel was a skeptical person on the best of days, so when Peter B. waltzed into his office declaring he had "got him something," he was rightfully wary. Peter hopped up on the platform as it lowered, seemingly too impatient to wait for it to lower fully.

"MJ and I went to the mall yesterday, and when I saw this I just knew it had your name all over it," he rambled before Miguel could question him. He had a small shopping back hanging off his arm and Miguel resigned himself with a sigh.

"Oh yeah? What is it?" he asked, deciding to play along.

"It's a utility belt!" Peter exclaimed, feeling only a little disappointed when he didn't share his enthusiasm. He just stared at him, a single brow raised.

"Y-you know, for tools and stuff! Thought you'd appreciate something useful," he felt the need to explain himself, growing more nervous by the second. Maybe Miguel saw through the act, or maybe he hated belts, or maybe-

"Wow, uh, thanks. This'll actually come in handy," he said, accepting the offered gift. Or maybe he wouldn't suspect a thing.

Peter hadn't expected this to be so easy.

While he really had gone to the mall with MJ, that wasn't where he got the belt. He had been watching tv with Mayday when the villain escaped from his frozen prison, now capturing his attention as well as his daughter's. He was sure that SpongeBob and Patrick would be in deep for letting the worst villain escape, chuckling when they resorted to "rehabilitating" him instead. His interest was piqued when they activated the character's iconic belt, sending him into a fit of ticklish laughter.

"Heh, Miguel could use a belt like that, huh Mayday?" he cooed before gasping at the revelation he just made. He set her in her baby jumper in front of the screen, leaving her to bounce and giggle to her heart's content. He left the door to his office open so he could still keep an eye on her as he began to draft the blueprints for Miguel's "gift."

A week later, it was finished. And of course he had to run a few tests, curtesy of his loving and very patient wife. Though when she found out who it was for, she didn't really mind testing it out, especially seeing as she always got her revenge.

Peter wanted nothing more than to activate the belt right then and there, but in a monumental show of self restraint, he held back. If he did this now, then only he would get to see the outcome, and this was too good to keep for himself. Unfortunately, he would have to be patient. Wait it out for the perfect moment to present itself.

Honestly, Peter didn't expect anyone else to know what it was supposed to be. Clearly, his universe wasn't the only one with SpongeBob.

"Gonna go out on a limb an' say he has no idea what that belt really is. Right?" Hobie questioned from behind. Peter jumped, not because he didn't know he was there, (spidey senses and all) but because of what he had said.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about!" he bluffed, but crumbled when Hobie leveled him with a knowing look, cocking an eyebrow in mild amusement. "Okay yes, it is what you think it is, and hell no he doesn't know, are you crazy? You think I'd be standing here talking about it if he did?"

Hobie shook his head with a slight chuckle. "I doubt you'd even be breathin' mate," he teased, playfully smacking him on the back. Peter let out a slightly nervous laugh.

"Heh, yeah me either. He'd probably superglue the damn thing to my suit if he knew," he joked.

"Yeah well, keep me posted. I wanna know the second you plan on using it," he said, saluting him as he left the room.

Hobie made sure to spread the word to his friends, swearing them all to secrecy in the hopes that they could be lucky enough to witness Miguel's giggly downfall.

Too bad Miles was out sick and didn't get the memo.

He was back at the Spider-Society, catching up with his friends in the cafeteria when Miguel spotted them and decided to check in.

"Miles, glad to see you back," he greeted with a nod. "How're you feeling?"

"Oh, hey! I'm glad to be back sir," he replied, still unable to shake the urge to keep things formal between them. "B-but I'm feeling good! Much better now," he assured. He looked down at the burger in his hands, ready to take a bite when a new accessory caught his eye. He froze just as he brought it to his mouth.

"I've told you, just Miguel is fine," he assured, a soft smile gracing his features. He noticed Miles's gaping mouth and wide eyes, looking him over with a puzzled expression. "You uh, you sure you're okay?" he asked just to double check.

Miles shook himself out of it and nodded. "Yup! Never better!" Gwen shot him a look from across the table, undoubtedly wondering what had him acting so weird. She followed his line of sight and things suddenly fell into place. She locked eyes with Hobie, sharing a subtle nod as Miles continued on, "But is that a new belt? I don't think I've seen you wear it before..."

"Oh yeah, Peter gave it to me. Said he wanted to give me something useful for once," he explained, and it all suddenly clicked for Miles. "It's a nice change of pace from all the useless knickknacks. Don't get me wrong, they're fine in small doses but he seriously overestimates how much free space I have," he said, but Miles wasn't paying attention. "To be honest, I'm just glad he picked something that matches my suit."

"Heh, yeah. 'Cause that's the worst that could happen- ow." Miles wasn't sure who kicked him, but judging by all of their looks, he was clearly out of the loop on something.

"Riiiight," Miguel said, noticing how weird they were all of a sudden. "Well, you know where to find me," he said and walked off. Miles waited until he was out of the cafeteria to speak because you could never be too careful where Miguel's concerned.

"So were you guys just not gonna tell me Miguel got a tickle belt?" he blurted out as soon as he deemed safe.

"We were going to! We just... forgot," Pavitr said, a shy smirk tugging at his lips.

Miles scoffed, "You don't just forget something like that!"

"I was gonna tell you as soon as I saw you, but then we were on a mission and it really wasn't a good time, and I did forget to tell you. Sorry about that," Gwen explained.

"Nah it's cool. I just can't believe he's still wearing it," he said in awe.

"Oh he doesn't know," Gwen said, causing Miles to whip around to look at her.

"What?"

"Peter hasn't used it yet. Figured he was waitin' on you or somethin'," Hobie said, dipping a fry in ketchup.

"Wait so you guys haven't said anything to try and warn him?" he asked, a little shocked. He was met with a chorus of no's and furious head shakes.

"And ruin the fun? As if!" Pavitr exclaimed, appalled that Miles would even suggest such a thing.

"Look, Miguel is the fiercest, most stoic spider in all of HQ, and he's chewed my ass out more times than I can count. I can't wait to see what happens when he's trying to choke back laughter and you sure as hell aren't gonna ruin it for me, got it?" Hobie said, pointing a threatening finger in his face. Miles nodded.

"I won't! I won't!" he promised, hands held up in surrender.

"Good. 'Cause I honestly don't know why you'd wanna help the bastard," he teased, grabbing him in a headlock and giving him a noogie. Miles laughed, shoving him off and punching his arm.

After lunch, Miles immediately set out to find Peter. It didn't take long until he bumped into him.

"Miguel is gonna kill you," he said in way of a greeting. Peter spun around in a panic

"What? I didn't even do anything!" he froze upon seeing Miles and relaxed. "Oh, I'm guessing you saw the belt," he said nonchalantly.

"Uh, yeah! Are you crazy? I was serious, he's gonna kill you!"

Peter waved him off. "I appreciate the concern, but I'll be fine. Worst that'll happen, he'll tickle the shit outta me. But I'll avoid it as long as I can. Trust me, I've weighed my options and it's worth it to see the look in his face," he rambled, falling into step with Miles. He shook his head in amusement.

"You won't be acting so cool when he gets after you," he gave a playful warning.

Peter laughed nervously. "Hey, why do you think I haven't tested it out yet?" He smiled to himself, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Honestly, you all act like I don't already know I'm a dead man walking."

"So... why'd you do it?" Miles asked, genuinely curious. Peter shrugged.

"Eh, it was kinda a spur of the moment type thing. If I remember correctly, he kinda snapped at me for wasting his time, and I was a little ticked off, I'll be honest. Got the idea while watching tv with Mayday when I got home."

"SpongeBob?"

"Yeah."

"Nice."

"I guess I just thought he could use one, y'know?"

"Oh, you're absolutely right with that one," Miles agreed with a chuckle. "So, when do you think you'll try it out?" he asked eagerly.

"Well, I've kinda been waiting for him to piss me off again. I think that's when I'd get the most satisfaction," he decided.

All in all, it didn't take long for the man to get on his nerves. Ha, and Miguel said that he was the annoying one.

He was in one of the many break areas, letting Mayday crawl around with Pav, Miles, Gwen and Hobie. She really liked getting to see them, and they loved playing with her, so it was a win win. It gave Peter a chance to let his guard down, thankful for the extra sets of eyes watching over his daughter. It also gave him the chance to get a plethora of new adorable videos of the light of his life.

Miguel however, thought it fit to hunt him down and interrupt his break. (Yes, he knew it was going on three hours, but Miguel was trying to get him to file paperwork! He couldn't let that happen!)

"Peter, there you are." His voice alone made Peter groan. "Where the hell have you been? You went on lunch hours ago, you said you'd do that paperwork."

"Actually, I never said I'd do it. You told me to do it," he corrected. Miguel rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, it's the same thing." Peter muttered under his breath something along the lines of "no it's not." Miguel cocked his head to look at him, "What was that?"

"Oh nothing," Peter said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out an innocuous remote. He started fiddling with it, and the teens started whispering amongst themselves. Nothing super obvious, they didn't want to give themselves away.

"Just drop her off at the daycare when you're ready, you work better when you're not attached at the hip," Miguel said sternly before turning to walk away. Peter scoffed at the notion, clicking a button and cranking a dial. He stopped in his tracks, squirming where he stood and rubbing his waist in confusion. Peter smirked and turned it up, causing Miguel to double over and bark out a laugh.

He turned around, fighting off giggles as he leaned on the wall for support. He glared them all down, though the wide smile and deep chuckles that slipped out really diminished the effect. "W-whahat the hehehell is going ohohon? Ihihi know you guys hahave something to do with it," he accused through grit teeth, unable to contain his giggles as he twisted back and forth, knees buckling as he wrapped his arms around his waist, allowing himself to laugh freely.

This was what they'd all been waiting for. Phones were taking videos and snapping pictures all while Miguel cursed and writhed on the floor, tugging at his suit and the belt, unable to get it off. The wait had well been worth it. Even better, the only one to suffer any subsequent consequences was Peter.

#tickletober #tickletober 2023 #tickletober day 1 #miguel o'hara #peter b parker #hobie brown #miles morales #gwen stacy #pavitr prabhakar #spiderman across the spiderverse #spiderman atsv #across the spiderverse #spiderman atsv fic #spiderman atsv tickle fic #ticklish!miguel

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priincebutt · 2 months

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woof. Hello to everyone and welcome to another episode of, Nico hasn't written much of anything this week! However what I DID do was binge watch a lot of season 6 of Love is Blind, and I wrote a tiny lil snip of a potential Love is Blind AU, so that's what you're getting tonight bc it's all I got! There's a little more to Chopped AU, but nothing really worth sharing, so I'm going this route. Let me know if it's something you'd be interested in reading a full on fic about, because I'm a sucker for a good reality dating show au. Thank you forever and always to @hgejfmw-hgejhsf , @itsmaybitheway , @indestructibleheart , @piratefalls , @junebugclaremontdiaz , @getmehighonmagic , @onthewaytosomewhere , @sunnysideprince , @sparklepocalypse , @anincompletelist , @firenati0n , @firstprinces and @heybuddy-drabbles for the tags as always!

“Hello?” Henry stops mid-pillow fluff as a voice fills the pod. He's bent over, ass out, in his black jeans and white t-shirt, and he doesn't know what to say. Megan isn't due into this pod for another fifteen minutes and he was just putting the finishing touches on decor and getting everything camera-ready -- no one is supposed to be talking at him. “Uhhm, hi?” He quips back, assuming the man will know by the fact that he's also a man that something is wrong here. “Oh.” The disembodied voice only seems mildly surprised, and Henry straightens up, hands on his hips and lips quirked into an entertained smile as he looks up at the speaker the voice is coming from. “I thought this was one of those heteronormative shows, but they did know I'm bi so… makes sense? I guess? Shit sorry I'm rambling. I'm Alex. Who are you?”

Open tag open tag!! The only people I don't think I've seen anything out of how I'd normally tag is @duchessdepolignaca03 and @forever-fixating !! No pressure anywhere, and if you wanna post tag me in it so I can read all the wonderful things yall are working on!!!

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not-poignant · 5 months

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Hi Pia

I'm so sorry you've been experiencing difficulties recently. I'm sending all my love and light your way and hope you start to feel a little less shitty soon.

P.s - Do you mind sharing your tiktok so we can follow you there too? Or is it a private acc?

Lots of love to you <3

It's not private! It's just not updated very often. Overall I'm more active on Instagram. But neither are private. The Tiktok is very art-focused so it might not be what you're looking for. But it's also pretty harmless overall.

And thank you anon <3

The last few days I had to stop writing and like...quickly redo my schedule for December and cut it back a little, which always makes me sad, but I'm trying to conserve my mental health as well as my physical. I realised I met all the criteria for a pretty serious depressive episode late last week (I have, alongside severe PTSD, Major Depressive Disorder, which is the one that will kill me if I don't keep an eye on it -> though I'm happy to report I'm not like in a very like 'I don't want to live' space right now, I can just tell I'm feeling / experiencing a lot of the red flags that go in that direction), and if I don't act now, that tends to lead to pretty bad places.

So I've redone the schedule for December and that will come out likely on Friday or Saturday. And then I'll only be posting during January for half of the month, and not the whole month, and taking off two weeks re: posting. Hopefully these are the sorts of things which will head off me needing to go into hiatus because I desperately don't want to do that <3

I can already tell I'm doing a little better after being a lot firmer with some boundaries, and also just...with myself re: taking more time off. I wish I didn't feel so guilty about it? But that's not anyone's fault here, that's shit to work on with my therapist/s, lol.

Today I spent around 3 hours researching a response to an ask (whoops), and then realised - not through any one person's actions but a bunch at once - that I need to kind of stop engaging with facecast stuff (nothing wrong with facecasting, the problem is wholly on me there and I wish I'd seen that sooner and saved people some pain and saved me from some rudeness).

I put away the shopping (we have a really good grocery delivery system here which is great for my disabilities etc.), and had some raspberries, and put on the Christmas tree lights.

I was so tired at lunch that I could only manage a bowl of cereal (and couldn't eat breakfast. I think my therapist would be like 'why are you putting three hours of research into responding to something instead of focusing on eating food' but well, whoops? Lol. To be fair I thought it would be way easier to answer, but Tumblr's search function is SO broken).

I fed my wonderful cat, Maybe, and got some sleep in the afternoon and then did some writing (1,200 words) on Palmarosa. It's like 7.00pm right now, and I'm going to put up some chapter commentaries on Patreon and Ream.

Tonight I might do some watercolour art, and I'm hoping to finish Palmarosa tomorrow.

December is actually a hard time of year for me anyway. It's the month that has the most chronological / time-based triggers, and my therapists know this and I'm hearing a lot of 'how are you in the lead up to December' which is about to become 'how are you coping with December.'

I'm grateful for small pleasures. Like my dahlias are looking pretty awesome right now. Here's some photos of this week (some art I'm working on, Maybe being cute, or screm, dahlia, Christmas set up, T-Rex ornament, Santa Platypus ornament):

#asks and answers #personal #lots of love to you too anon i hope you like the photos #that pride blanket was crocheted by my mum #i never have a themed christmas it's just #20 years of collected decorations salfjkas

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dckweed · 1 year

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hello my loves! been awhile! anyway ive been going through it recently and idk why but i don't think ive ever seen a fic like this before for this fandom so, i thought i'd write myself a little comfort fic and show it to yall.

summary: Jake comes home to find you in a bout of depression, distraught, he calls the only person he can think of.

warnings: mentions of depression, mentions of death as well as mentions of suicide attempt. please do not read any farther if this topic bothers you.

"HOW DO I MAKE IT BETTER?" jake seresin

You and Jake and been together for long enough that he knew everything about you. He knew your favorite color, your taste in clothes, he knew your favorite movies and shows right down to your favorite episodes and everything else in between that he could possibly know about you, including your medical history. Jake knew that you suffered from major depressive disorder, had even seen you through a few minor episodes, he even knew which anti depressants you took and took the liberty of picking them up from the pharmacy on more than one occasion.

The only thing Jake didn't know about you, was just how bad these episodes could get, how dark they could truly, truly go, or what a bad one could look like and he was greatful for that, but unfortunate for him, he was about to find out first hand.

He had known that something was going on. You had been acting differently than normal the past week, talking quietly, your voice it's normal upbeat undertone to it. When you moved, your movements where slow, as if you had no energy. Jake had seen you like that before but those episodes had passes after a day or so. This was different. You didn't look like you were even in your own body this time. Jake didn't like that.

On the sixth day of you like this, Jake had come home early from work, worried when you hadn't opened any or his texts or answered the twelve times he had called.

It was early afternoon still and when he walked through the front door of the house you shared the only to be heard was that of nails clacking against the wood floors as your small terrier, Tug, ran up to him.

"Hey bud, what's wrong?" He asks, setting his keys down on the side table. Tug generally greeted him with a happy bark and a few twirls before jumping up, trying to get some affection. Today the little guy was tugging on the bottoms of Jake's khakis with an impatient whine, as if trying to tell him something. "Where's your mama?" He asks, peaking around the corner into the living room. The curtains were drawn still and the television was off, even though you usually watched Dr. Phil at this hour.

Tug gives a distressed yip and takes off towards the bedroom side of the house. Jake tales notice of everything as moves. The kitchen was empty, no coffee mug in the sink or dishwasher running. Your writing room door was open, desk lamp off and work computer closed. Jake knew you had editors waiting for you to mail them copies of your newest manuscript, you'd been working hard to finish it and he knew you weren't one to miss valuable work time unless it was dire.

Your guys' bedroom door was open, the room dark and curtains drawn tight. Everything in the house was exactly as he'd left it this morning when he had left for work..including you. "Honey," He says as he walks into the room, keeping his voice soft. You were in the exact spot he had left you in this morning, comforter pulled so far up it nearly covered your head. Your eyes were open, but you hadn't moved. "Are you okay?" Tug had curled up right next to you.

Jake kicked off his work shoes, not even bothering to untie them before climbing up in front of you, a hand brushing on your face as he lays his head on the pillow in front of you. "Hm?" He hums at you.

You don't make a sound. You don't even move.

You state straight through him as if he's not even there, your eyes empty.

He realizes you don't have a fever. "Honey, talk to me.." He sees your eyes tear up and he realizes what's going on. Quickly he changes sides, climbing over you and shimmying under the covers and wrapping his arms around you. "I'm here now baby, I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you today.." He kisses the back of your head. The badges in his khaki over shirt poke against his chest uncomfortably but he doesn't dare move to take it off, afraid you'll disappear if he does.

He lay with you like this for what seemed like hours, his head touching yours and both arms wrapped tightly around you, holding you against him, grounding you to him.

After a while he knows you've fallen asleep, your breathing slower. Gently, he unwraps his arms from around your body and pulls his trapped arm from under you before swiftly rolling off the edge and landing on his feet. He unbutton his khaki shirt as he heads for the door, shrugging it off of his shoulders. He clicks his tongue ay Tug and motions for the door, the dog follows, well trained by the two of you.

Jake lays his shirt over the back of the couch on his way to the kitchen, unlocking the back door. Tug sprints out before its even fully opened and he realizes the poor guy hasn't been outside all day. He sighs, leaving the door open before bringing his phone out of his pocket. He dreaded calling your mother for help with this, he knew how worried she got, but he knew that there was only one other person he could call, and he almost dreaded that even more but he knew it was his best option since your mom was on vacation out of the country.

He clicks the call button.

He answers on the first ring. "Hello? Hangman?"

"..Rooster, I need your help."

Jake was thankful that he didn't ask too many questions because truthfully, he didn't know how to answer them. Bradley must've heard the desperation in his voice because he didn't try to make any back handed comments and told him he was on the way.

Rooster only lived two streets over from your guys' house, Jake knew that he would walk through the front door in a matter of minuets, but even so, it was long enough for his mind to wander off to a conversation he had had with your mother not too long after the two of you had gotten serious.

It was a family barbecue, your older brother was grilling meats while you chased his two boys around the yard you had grown up in. Jake sat on the deck talking happily with your mother under the shade of an umbrella poking through the top of the glass outdoor dining table they were sat at. They both watched you, adoring your happy shouts as you played with your nephews. Jake had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, a burning question he had had for months. One that you had answered, but had given him a lie. He knew it was the only lie you had ever told him, even still, to this day and he figured that maybe you would tell him eventually, but he also worried that you wouldn't. Who better to ask than your mother?

"Ma'am, may I ask you a question?" He had asked, the Texan manners coming out of him. Your mother turns to look at him and he takes that as a confirmation to do so. "The scars on the insides of her thighs..how did she get them?" Jake had first noticed them when you had worn shorts on one of first dates, and the again the first time he had gone down on you. He noticed how deep they were, and when he asked you about them, you had lied and told him that you had been in a dirt biking accident as a child. You wouldn't meet his eyes, that was how he knew it was a lie. "I don't mean to pry, I just know that she didn't want to tell me is all..and I have a hard time believing it was from a dirt bike.."

Your mom hesitates for a moment and looks back out to the yard. Jake wonders if he's crossed the line and opens his mouth to apologize when she speaks. "She wasn't always this happy." She says, turning to face him fully. "She's always struggled with it, even as a young child, but her episodes were never too horrible, easy enough to navigate and help her..except for one." She looks at him, an unreadable expression on her face. "She was seventeen, she had been bad for so long that year, the worst she had ever been and then all of a sudden she was okay, it had passed..or we thought it did it anyway. The worst was yet to come, and it came hard." She glances to her son, flinching as she remembers. "A couple of weeks after we thought it had passed, me ans Noah came home from the grocery store and found her unconsciously in the kitchen in a massive pool of blood." Your mothers voice cracks and her eyes turn glassy as she tells the story of the worst day of her life.

Jake doesn't know what to say, has barely processed the information himself. He wants to cry at the idea of seeing his girl like that. "She had taken a serrated knife and had cut herself so deep that she had to have surgery to repair each side."

Jake swallows hard. "No wonder she didn't want to tell me.." He felt bad for asking now, as if he was invading something private.

Your mother looks at him, a smile tugging at her lips. "She's better now..she still has her moments but ever since she met you, Jake, she's changed in the best way..so, thank you.." She pats his knee under the table and he looks back out towards you.

Jake's eyes caught on the knife block on the counter and immediate he picks it up and sets it high above the kitchen counters where he knew you wouldn't be able to reach if heaven forbid you got the idea to do something like that again. He didn't know what he would do if that situation would ever arise, and he certainly didn't want to ever find out.

A couple moments later the front door opens and Jake's head turns towards the noise. "Hangman?" He could hear the concern in Rooster's voice as he made his way through the house. Tug hears his voice and barks, running up the back deck and into the house to greet him. "Why's it so quiet in here?"

He finds Jake in the kitchen and immediately he tells him what's going on, rambling about the knives and moving them higher as he tries not to cry in front of his friend.

"I already told Mav I wouldn't be in tomorrow," he says, running a hand through his hair. "I can't leave her alone like this..but I don't know what to do either..Bradley, how do I make it better?"

Bradley purses his lips, stepping out of the kitchen and towards the bedroom. He had spent enough drunkem nights here to know where everything was. "Stay here for a minuet."

He finds you exactly where Jake had said you'd be, on your side with the comforter pulled up to your chin. You were awake, your eyes stating at nothing, their usual spark of life non-existent. He had to look away for a moment, he had seen his mother like this more than enough times, thr sight was all too familiar. Finally he sits down on Jake's side of the bed, reaching hus hand out to brush some hair from your face. "Hey kiddo," He says gently. "I know it's feeling rough right now, but you need to get up..Jake says you haven't moved all day..Im sure that bladder is pretty full, huh?" He sees your mouth start to quiver and it breaks his entire heart to see you like this, especially when you were generally everyone's ray of sunshine, hell the group had even given you an honorary call sign of 'Sunshine', this was a totally new side of you for Rooster. "Hey, hey, font cry in me sunshine, no tears okay? You're gonna be just fine, this one will pass just like all the others, right?" You give a meek nod, the tears in your eyes welling anyway.

Bradley scoots closer to you, sitting against the headboard, a hand in your head as you scoot closer to him too. He takes a shakey breath. "Sunshine, are..are you feeling like you want to..to harm yourself?" He hated having to ask that question to his mother, and he hates it even more when it was his friends girlfriend. He feels you shake your head and feels relieved. That was never an easy thing to deal with. "Okay, good..you got to get up out of this bed or it's only going to get worse, alright? Why don't I go get us all some food and Jake can come help you get cleaned up, wake yourself up a bit okay?"

"..okay.." It was muffled but it was audible and it was all he needed to get up and head to the living room, where Jake is sitting with his head in his hands.

Jake stands as soon as he hears him, his eyes are rimmed red and Roosger feels absolutely horrible for him. "She's gonna be okay man, you just have to be there for her, help her because she doesn't know how to help herself right now..my mom would get the same way, it wasn't easy.." Jake nods and Rooster claps him on the shoulder. "Alright, I told her I'd go get us all food while you help her clean up..whatever her favorite movie is, we'll turn it on..get some serotonin going.."

Jake nods. "Okay..Okay..thank you, Rooster." He says, giving his friend a hug.

"Hangman? I walked here." Jake tosses him his truck keys. "Thanks."

He's gone for about an hour, long enough for Jake to help you out of bed and into the bath he had drawn for you. The entire time he helps you wash, he notices the tears streaming from your face, the silent unshed emotions that he could probably never fathom. He helps you brush your hair out, kissing your head the entire time before helping you out.

He leaves you to get dressed on your own, giving you a minuet toyourself. He had already slipped on some sweatpants and a clean t-shirt, and by the time he wandered back to the living room to flick through your favorite movies, Rooster was walking through the door. "She's getting dressed.." Jake says, getting up from the couch to help plate the takeout that he had gotten, all of your favorites.

Just as they're about to finish and take the food back to the living room, he feels your arms wrap around him and your face press into his back. You let go quickly and move on to Bradley, squeezing him as tightly as you could. "Thank you." You whisper, looking at both of them when you pull away.

#hangman top gun #top gun maverick imagine #top gun imagine #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick #top gun jake #top gun rooster #jake seresin fluff #jake seresin fanfiction #rooster #bradley bradshaw #top gun bradley bradshaw

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thefrogdalorian · 4 months

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It's New Year's Eve and I just wanted to share some mushy thoughts about life and Mando and Din and how this year has been overall for me!!

If you don't want to read below the cut I just wanted to wish you a Happy New Year!! I hope you have a wonderful time, whatever you do to celebrate. I'm currently on a trip so I may not be terribly active, but if you're struggling and the emotions of the day are a little too much, please do message me. I've been there plenty of times. You're not alone. NYE should really be about looking to the future rather than dwelling on the past, but I know how easy it is to get caught up in that depressive loop of thinking.

But if you do want to keep reading, then strap in for some Oversharing Online and gushing about how much Mando means to me:

I first started watching Mando during the pandemic in 2020, I think the first episode released like 2 days after the UK went into lockdown or something. 2020 was an awful year for me, as I'm sure it was for so many of you. A lot of things happened to me that I'm still trying to process but I hope to start therapy in the new year and go some way to addressing it.

Anyway, The Mandalorian came to me at a time I dearly needed it. It was welcome relief from The Horrors I was experiencing. I was hooked pretty much straight away, who was this mysterious man? What were his intentions? Was he good or bad? OH WOW THAT WALK. THAT VOICE!!! I loved it, but it wasn't until The Believer that everything changed for me. It went from enjoyment to full-blown obsession. I couldn't wait until Season 3 aired, and I think the expectations I had built up in my head could never have lived up to the reality of what I felt upon watching it for the first time. I was pretty disappointed most weeks, but I feel so differently now.

This year has been pretty strange for me. I had some amazing highs (like being able to go to Star Wars Celebration where I got to see so many amazing Din and Mandalorian cosplays which was an INSANE experience and I still kind of haven't properly processed yet??) and also some difficult lows.

In June I finally got my autism diagnosis, something I'd been essentially waiting for for EIGHT YEARS. It was a huge shock but also not shocking at all. As in, I knew I was autistic since being a teenager but I was absolutely not expecting to be told right there and then at my assessment. So when the psychologist looked me in the eye and told me that I was autistic it was somewhat of a gut punch. Processing it was extremely difficult but during that time I found myself drawn back to Mando and particularly to season 3. I rewatched it again and again fell in love with a season that I'd probably felt on the whole underwhelmed with at the time, until the last two episodes, which I loved instantly.

When rewatching it, I noticed things that I'd missed before, which led me to become kind of obsessed with the idea of Din and Bo together. I know not everyone enjoys that but that truly is what I love about media, that we can all watch a similar thing and interpret it differently! I don't think I'm any more correct about the way I view certain interactions than anyone else. Shipping should just be a little fun, not ruin your mental health or dictate how you treat strangers on the internet. And it especially should not lead to any real world harassment of creators and actors.

So in September an idea formed and between then and November a 182,000 word fic landed in my lap. That's the best way I can describe writing it for me, I was so fixated on finishing it and the plot just kept coming the more I wrote. It is by FAR the longest thing I've ever written and probably ever will write, but the routine of writing it and publishing it helped claw me out of a spiral I was in after my diagnosis.

And it was publishing it on AO3 that gave me the confidence to rejoin a fandom space again. It was a big step for me to put myself out there but I'm so glad that I did because that's what led me here, to discover this wonderful community who adore Din and The Mandalorian just as much as I do. I'm so happy that I finally found my way here. It was way less intimidating than I ever thought it would be!

I know that I haven't been here for the longest time, I wish I just got over my nervousness and made a tumblr earlier in the year so I could have joined in with the hype before season 3. But also considering how poorly received the season was overall, maybe it was for the best that I wasn't here.

Despite my relative newness here, I just wanted to say how welcomed I've felt and that is a truly lovely feeling. Thank you so much to everyone who has interacted with any of my posts and especially my writing in any way, big or small. It means a lot to me! I cannot wait to be around for all the buildup to Season 4, honestly. I know it seems so far but after midnight we can say it's (probably) only NEXT YEAR!

I have no idea what 2024 has in store for me. That doesn't scare me, in fact I'm quite excited about not knowing what will happen. I

Of course, I have some goals I'd like to achieve for myself but whatever happens, I know that Mando will be there to endlessly rewatch and whatever comes my way, I'll always have Din Djarin. He's the only man to ever exist! That gorgeous tin can who instantly soothes me every time I get to watch his silly little exploits with his silly little son. Where would we be without him, eh?

Anyway, whatever you're doing tonight to celebrate and even if you aren't, I wish you all the best. Stay safe, enjoy yourself and I'm sending you lots of love and light for the year. May 2024 be a healthy, happy prosperous year for you and your loved ones.

See you in 2024!

Love,

Spud 🥔🐸

#text post #a little oversharing on the internet as a treat #actually autistic #i basically just love din and all of you here THANKS for welcoming me to a space where i can just rant a lot and you all support me djdjdj #just autism things #i wrote this before i went away lol #but i still feel every word!!#almost midnight for me 🥺🥺🥺

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the-platelet-queen · 3 months

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20 Questions Writer Tag

Thanks for the tag @justafunctionalmess ❤️

I have two AO3 accounts so I'll be taking from both of them.

How many works do you have on AO3? 32 works, not counting two abandoned works that are not associated with me anymore.

What is your total AO3 word count? 76,137 words

What fandoms do you write for? Oof, so many it's such a long list. As for the ones I've posted: Psych, Bones, The X-Files, New Girl, Victorious, Monk, That 70s Show, Supergirl, Schitt's Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Shadowhunter Chronicles, and two others I'm not gonna mention because they're cringe. I write for at least double what I listed.

What are your top five fics by kudos? Daddy with 343 kudos (Supergirl; I hate it's my most popular fic, purely because of the title), Walter and Nancy with 239 kudos (Victorious), Sparks Fly with 207 kudos (Supergirl), Sleepover with 143 kudos (Schitt's Creek), and Superstar with 127 kudos (Supergirl again).

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try to! I get email notifications of comments, so I really see them on there, absolutely cherish them, then forget to reply on AO3. Sometimes I go on to reply to some in batches. I never know what to say in reply, but I'm so grateful to everyone that comments!

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? The fic with the angstiest ending was Jericho (The X-Files). I've posted like two angsty fics total, and I don't usually write angst.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? All of my fics end happy so this one was really hard. I guess I'd have to say Cold Blooded Killer because it's not a traditionally happy fic until the end :)

Do you get hate on your fic? Very very rarely, yes. It's only happened three times. The first time I was so upset about it. The second and third times I'm pretty sure it was the same person (guest account commented) so I just deleted it.

Do you write smut? Yes, but I don't post it. I don't write it very often either, very rare.

Do you write crossovers? Nope, not my cup of tea. I don't read them either.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Probably not. At least not that I'm aware of...

Have you ever had a fic translated? No, but I have had someone record an audio of a fic I wrote. Hands down the coolest experience I've had with my writing so far!!

Have you ever co-written a fic? In a way, yes? If writing letters as characters back and forth with my sister counts.

What's your all-time favorite ship? I don't really have a favorite, BUT I guess I choose Mulder and Scully. Because of how they grew old together (I only watched the monster of the week episodes in the revival, but they were so cute together <3)

What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? My Bones high school AU. I've gotten so far on it, but the path ahead is longer. Also, the Boneheads podcast needs to come out so I can rewatch Bones and start writing it again.

What are your writing strengths? Dialogue, probably. I love character interactions, that's what I live for in writing (and also why I write fic). I want to see characters interacting, not necessarily a cool plot, which is why I emulate that in my own writing.

What are your writing weaknesses? Prose. I just don't like writing it (or reading it for the most part).

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I don't know enough about any language to confidently write dialogue for it in my fics. I'd probably get one of my friends who's more fluent in other languages to help me.

First fandom you wrote for? I'm absolutely devastated to share that my first fanfic was for Martha Speaks. I was in second grade and PBS Kids was holding a contest for written stories. Mine ended up over the word limit so I never sent it in.

Favorite fic you've ever written? All of them. Even if the writing isn't as good, it was something I was so proud of at the time, and I can feel that when I read it.

Hmmmm, I'm tagging @bianxiousandcute, @sprqpointintern @that70sshowgoldencouple @thatseventiesbitch @tht70sblog

#the-platelet-queen #writing #tagged #tag game #this was such a walk down memory lane!!#for my that 70s show mutuals. this is alinelovelace lol

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lurkingteapot · 9 months

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bad buddy fandom getting-to-know-you meme!

tagged by @mahuhumaling and @galauvant, meme created by @fiercynn

note: i consider "fanworks" to pretty much everything people create related to a fandom, including but not limited to meta/analysis/discussion, gifs, fanvids/edits/fancams, filk, fanart, fanfic, fan food, fan crafts, etc. please include this note with the meme unless you have a different definition!

name and whatever you want to share about yourself I'm tpt! 30s, queer, brainweird, language nerd, been reading BL and slash and other queer lit since before the turn of the millennium and probably (hopefully) never gonna stop.

when did you watch bad buddy/join the fandom? I watched the first episode the day after it aired. Went in knowing nothing about it except the English title, which I thought was thoroughly unappealing, and the promo image. Came out of ep 1 convinced Paa was the only person with any sense on the entire show, but sufficiently intrigued (ointment sharing! Line ID shenanigans!) to keep watching. So I watched as it aired from ep 2, and when the bus stop scene rolled around, I blocked the airing time slot out in my calendar so I could watch live (which didn't work out for ALL eps, but … close enough). I did find a regular group to squee with after ep 5, but didn't really interact with fandom beyond that little bit of squeeing with friends and looking at fan art until after ep 9, I think. This was the first Thai BL show I watched week to week, and that also made it special to me.

favorite ship(s) Pat/Pran.

favorite character(s) Used to be Pran no contest, but Pat worked his way into my heart in the later episodes. couldn't choose now. they're all favourites.

favorite episode(s) I really love episodes 3-5 and 10/11. but honestly I love the show as a whole, and the episodes in the context they exist in. Except for the gun subplot.

favorite scene(s) the opening sequence of ep 2! also episode 3 bus stop scene (and Pat's way of accomodating Pran in it), ep 4 sleepover scene, ep 5 Pat's realisation/the fight, ep 6 gate convo scene, ep 8 fight/apology scene, ep 9 hand-holding scene, ep 10 Our Song teaser scene and confrontation scenes, ep 11 affirmation/we got to go back scene and wishful thinking sequence, ep 12 bar scene.

one thing you would change about the show if you could I'd adjust the pacing of ep 12 so the fake-out is a smaller part of the whole thing proportionally.

what are your some of your favorite fanworks made by other people? It's really hard to pick. I love SO MANY. Even just the authors whose fic I list here have written more than one of my faves each. but let's see:

fic (missing scene): keeps me warm by unsungyellowraincoat (@isaksbestpillow). direct ep 8 aftermath exploration that made me ache.

fic (canon divergence): fight or flight (worth the wait) by jabber_moose (@galauvant). Ep 2 canon divergence wherein Pran is discovered under Pat's bed.

fic (AU): Pinocchio by aworkingprinter (@miscellar). In which Pran has an obvious, unsuppressable tell when he lies.

fan animation: international love song by @architectxengineer

fan art: this pic by @ thatgothsamurai was one of the first things I saw in this fandom in the way of art and it's stuck with me

(if you create fanworks) what are your favorite fanworks that you’ve made?

fic: the only truth that sticks (<5k, G) is my take on Pran's mother's backstory, told as vignettes from her school years. There's a lot I'd do differently if I wrote it now – not give her a nickname, for one – but it's nevertheless my baby; when I started it, I hadn't finished and posted any fic in over 20 years.

I had a collection of random language- and storytelling related observations about the show on twitter that I should probably copy over somewhere else at some point for preservation purposes.

there's an epic canon divergence that lives only in my friend's and my DMs and a back-up doc that I'm starting to think will never take full shape, but I love it anyway. There's also an escalating intimacy thing set vaguely pre-canon plus ep 7 to time skip that I've not added to in a year and probably won't finish, either, but again: love what I've got there.

a song that makes you think of bbs (the ones in the show don’t count lol) If it's a bittersweet love song I'm PatPraning it. But specifically: Tilly Birds' เพื่อนเล่น ไม่เล่นเพื่อน (Just Being Friendly) and pretty much the entire tracklist from the ON Thailand fanmeet, especially แดงกับเขียว (Red and Green) by TaitosmitH, แน่ใจไหม (Are You Sure) by Nont Tanont, อย่าใกล้กันเลย (We shouldn't be close) in Aof Pongsak's version, and ดวงเดือน (Moon) by Joey Phuwasit.

idk anything else you want us to know? I love this show. I love the hopeful ending. I love all the recurring characters (yes, that includes Wai and the parents), with all their flaws. I love how gently P'Aof tells this story – the way he approaches entrenched BL clichés, picks them up, examines them, and puts them back down: does it have to go this way? not for us, not for this story, let's look at how else this could go. He said he wanted to make a typical, an ordinary BL, and he did, and he didn't.

I love that I met so many nice people through our mutual love of this show. I love that we're still on the rooftop nearly two years later.

I love that there's so many sides of this fandom – analytical, transformative, curative, and everything in between.

I have completely lost track of who has and hasn't done this yet, but IF you see this and think, hey, this seems fun! and decide to do it, please tag?

#bad buddy fandom meme #meme #get to know meme #my nonsense #bad buddy series

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amourarmor · 10 months

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Went off in the Official Discord with a theory regarding Norrix and the mystery lady that showed up at the end of Ep. 95 (The most recent public episode as of when I'm posting this) and thought I'd share it here

Given that I'm only reading the public episode, this theory could of course be disproven as soon as next week so y'all are more than welcome to take it with a grain of salt ✌️

Did my best to remove the Discord formatting, but may have missed some.

Obviously the lady knows Norrix and he recognizes her, so she definitely has some connection to his past that's been established. My suspicion is that she either was a servant at his masters estate or was among those intended to be used as resources for necromancy

Because that's what I think the murderer accusation comes from, from Norrix being a necromancer. And while I don't think he'd choose necromancy of his own accord, given his certainty that Lucia would hate him, hate Modeus if she knew the truth, given his reaction to having blood on his hands, given his nightmares and everything; that doesn't mean he hasn't before

"Will you be useful, or shall I make use of you?"

Such a cruel cruel line that's obviously left a scar in his psyche and gives a look into his living situation with his master. It's odd looking back that as soon as his mother passed away, was he only then taken under their wing and trained, and that he hasn't indicated what his training was like to Lucia, beyond the difference in age when starting

I suspect a large part of that to him is because his master was an active necromancer, who took advantage of his mother, and him, and who knows how many others, and by the time he understood the full gravity of everything that was happening he had nowhere else to go to, because even if he escaped, they could easily have pinned some of the things they made him do for him as his own actions and have him hunted down, and if he tried to resist, hed just get thrown in with the rest of the "resources"

I think in the end going to Reimund wasn't something he expected to survive, let alone be given a job, a place to live and be able to continue practicing magic. I think it was the last ditch effort of someone who had been abused to take down their abuser with them, in a way that wouldn't make a martyr out of them.

But he still holds all that guilt over everything he did, and believes deep down that he was wholly responsible for his actions and inactions.

Going a bit deeping into theory now but, I think he felt like in some way he needs to make it up to the people that were hurt and used and took it upon himself to finish his masters last project so that their souls, their energy weren't taken in vain.

Modeus.

Ofc I could be wrong and Modeus was his project from the beginning, but I feel like the idea of a construct made to kill, being adjusted into something, into someone who protects (or is a defense given the convo in ep 44) fits the idea of someone who needed protection once before.

Though, none of this matters to the lady standing before them now. All he is to her is someone who partook in necromancy, is complicit in the deaths of who knows how many people and has gotten away with it scott free and hands clean.

And that's the best case scenario, worst case, That Is his master and she wants revenge for him taking her down. and going on with his life and career.

Either way, things ain't looking pretty for Norrix

#suitor armor #SuAr Theory #SuAr Norrix #Personal Post #((i didn't edit any spelling so if theres any feel free to let me know tyvm))#((also the modeus bits are def the stuff im shakiest on))#((but i feel comfortable with the rest))#((just since it's not confirmed it still falls into theory territory))

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queen-of-writing-bad-things · 3 months

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Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 1

Episode 4: The Secret Gets Out

~Henry's house~

"Here I come."

"No, you don't." Henry and Charlotte were sat on the couch, competitively playing a videogame.

"I'm gonna get ya!" Henry taunted his friend, as Jasper burst in through the door, interrupting the gameplay.

"Hey, guys." The curly-haired boy greeted them, dumping his back and showing them his phone.

"You gotta check this out."

"Quiet!"

"We're playing a game!" The two teens on the sofa were too preoccupied to look at whatever Jasper thought was important. Still, he pressed on.

"No problem, I'll take over your screen." He smirked, flicking the news video on his phone to the T.V, much to the annoyance of Charlotte and Henry. The news showed a live report on Captain Man, who was being interviewed by a pretty reporter.

"Just watch the video." He insisted.

"What video?" Henry complained.

"It's called 'Captain Man's big fail.'" Charlotte liked the sound of the dramatic headline and told him to play it. Henry, however, freaked out, not wanting to accidentally say something about Kid Danger in front of them.

"Uh, hey, look. My belly button." He said, trying to distract them, but it only made them look at him in confusion.

"Play the video," Charlotte instructed Jasper, who did as he was told.

"We're live in downtown Swellview, where the Phone Shark has struck again. This time, the Phone Shark bit through a dozen of people's cell phones, then fled the scene, once again escaping capture from Captain Man." The reporter described what had happened to the camera, whilst the superhero next to her shuffled awkwardly on his feet. By the guilty look on his face, Henry knew he hated that he'd been beaten again.

"Captain Man, isn't it true that the Phone Shark has been attacking people's phones for over a year now?" The woman continued, passing the mic to Ray so he could splutter out an excuse.

"Uh, yes, that is true." He replied simply.

"So, why don't you catch him?" The reporter didn't understand how hard catching slippery criminals was.

"Well, Kid Danger and I have been trying." Ray tried to tell her, but his excuses weren't working. Henry rubbed his eyes in panic and gave his friends the side-eye when he heard his alias being mentioned.

"Doesn't that bug you?" Henry knew it really bugged Ray. In the couple weeks, he'd been working with him, he'd heard him complaining to (y/n) several times about how he just couldn't catch him.

"Yes." Ray answered with gritted teeth. Jasper paused the video, and Charlotte expressed her sympathy for the poor man on the T.V.

"Aw, I feel bad for Captain Man." She said with a sad face.

"It's not Captain Man's fault, he needs a better sidekick." Jasper shared, not knowing about Henry's secret identity. His best friend looked at him in irritation as he sipped his drink.

"One more time?" He said, frowning.

"Just saying, I'd be way better at catching bad guys than Kid Danger." Jasper bragged, but Henry wasn't impressed.

"You couldn't catch butt warts." Henry scoffed back.

"Oh, yes he could. Remember fifth grade?" Charlotte reminded him.

"That was a rash! Big difference." The boy on her right defended himself as Henry stood up.

"Whatever, I think Kid Danger does a great job." Henry piped up, not letting his name get dragged through the mud.

"Why are you getting all mad?" Charlotte looked over at him, confused as to why Henry was suddenly in such a bad mood.

"Because Jasper's being unfair. And I think it's unfair to criticise that-- that Kid Danger guy, when he's probably doing the best he can" He retorted, trying to seem less bothered than he was.

"And people should be fair, y'know? I'm pro-fair." He finished, sitting back down and not meeting their eyes. Suddenly, Piper burst in through the door, shouting at Jasper.

"What?"

"Get up." She ordered him.

"Why should I?" The teen replied, not wanting to be bossed about.

"'Cause, you're gonna carry me to my friend Marla's house." She told him like she was royalty or something.

"I"m not going to carry you. I ain't no horse." Jasper sassed her. Big mistake.

"Fine, then I'll just upload the video so the whole world can see it." For a 9-year-old girl, Piper knew how to blackmail people to get what she wanted.

Video of what?" Charlotte asked. Piper then proceeded to show them all a video of Jasper wearing a wig and sitting in his room, singing along to the Cup Song from Pitch Perfect, only he was really bad at it. His friends laughed as they watched him fail.

"Stop it, turn it off. Turn it off!" He pleaded, feeling very embarrassed.

"Where'd you get that wig?" Charlotte giggled, thinking he looked ridiculous.

"You don't need to know." Jasper pointed his PearPad at her sternly. Piper revealed that she had obtained the video when she snooped around his ThumbDrive.

"Oooo, you're so bad." The red-faced boy sneered. Henry scolded his sister, not wanting the entire world to see the video. Piper agreed that she wouldn't, but only if she could use Jasper as transportation.

"Okay, fine. Get on my back." Jasper submitted, not wanting to be humiliated. Piper stepped up and leapt onto him, smiling because she had gotten her own way.

"If he goes too slow, just kick him in the side." Charlotte joked, which made Jasper turn around and glare. However, Piper didn't want to stop so she hit him sharply on the hip, making him waddle out of the door.

Henry and Charlotte were laughing together at the sight, when Henry's watch began to beep, notifying him that there was an emergency and Ray needed him. Charlotte looked down at the device, feeling suspicious.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask, why does your new watch beep like that?" Charlotte mentioned.

"Uh, It just means they need me at work. Bye! " 'Okay, that's a sensible answer.' Henry thought to himself as he got up and sprinted out of the door, leaving a confused and mistrustful Charlotte with her arms folded on the couch.

"There is something up with that boy."

~The Man Cave~

"What's the emergency?" Henry briskly came out of the elevator, seeing (y/n) at the computer. Ray was next to her, leaning one hand on the back of her chair.

"There's a fire at the syrup factory, all that sugar is just burning up." She reported, pressing the controls and reading from the screen.

"Any people in the building?" Ray said in his hero's voice, which made goosebumps cover her body.

"Yeah, I'm getting reports of up to 10 people still trapped in there. You guys better hurry."

"Oh man, we need to go." Henry prompted, thinking about all the civilians in danger.

"There are firefighters on scene, they can give you equipment if you need it." She turned around in the chair, her face and voice demonstrating her professionalism.

"Right." The sidekick's face paled a bit, but he took his gum tube from his pocket, copying Ray.

"Things are about to get hot." Ray said coolly.

"ETA is 20 minutes, and don't take the main road. There's been an car crash, with delays of up to half an hour." She advised as they chewed and blew their bubbles. Once in their uniform, Ray gave Henry a fist bump and (y/n) waved them goodbye.

"Have fun!" Ray smiled at her, feeling thankful that he had her to help him out, as Henry sent them up the tube.

~Later that night, Henry's bedroom~

Henry climbed through his window, feeling exhausted from his night out with Ray. He was going down the steps, glad to see his bed, but then the lights were switched on, revealing that Charlotte was in his room. He fell down the stairs, landing on his butt and looking at Charlotte with a petrified face.

"You're home late." She smirked at her friend.

"What are you... How did you get in my house? Why are you here?" He asked her, his heart slowly calming down.

"'Cause I'm suspicious." The dark-haired girl said to him. Her suspicion had reached its peak.

"Of what?" Henry said looking away.

"Why did you climb in your window?" She stepped forward, squinting her eyes and analysing Henry's every move.

"Uh-- Because the front door was locked and I forgot my key." He lied.

"You know your parents always leave a spare key under the mat." Charlotte saw straight through the lie and called him out on it with her logic.

"I like your shirt," Henry said, wanting to move off the topic.

"Where have you been?" She quizzed him.

"Working. You know, just working." He replied, which technically wasn't a lie. He had been working, just not where she thought.

"Really? 'Cause I called Junk-N-Stuff. Nobody answered." Charlotte interrogated, wanting the truth.

"Okay. You wanna know where I've been?" Henry started as his anxiety levels through the roof.

"Yeah."

"You want the truth?" He went on.

"Yeah." She reiterated.

"I'm a jazz musician." Henry lied, trying to keep his oath to Ray.

"I don't tell a lot of people, but secretly, I play jazz and the only time the jazz clubs are open is late at night, so that's where I was, at a jazz club-- blowing jazz... on my horn." He continued the lie, hoping that if it was more elaborate, she would buy it. She didn't say anything at first, she just stepped forward and sniffed his hair.

"Why'd you sniff my hair?" He asked.

"I heard on the news tonight that Captain Man and Kid Danger put out a fire at a syrup factory." Charlotte told him about what he had just returned from.

"Did they?" He said, feigning ignorance.

"Yeah. And your hair smells like syrup." Charlotte knew she had him foiled.

"It does. I wonder why." Henry replied, checking his hair.

"Maybe because you're Kid Danger." 'Oh my god.' thought Henry. He started to scoff and laugh at Charlotte, but the look in her eyes told him that she definitely knew.

"Ha! I wish! I mean, that'd be nice. And I guess you must be Beyoncé." He chuckled and panicked.

"Henry." She pressed, looking at him intently, making him sigh and not believe what he was about to do.

"Okay. This is really big what I'm about to tell you." He started off seriously.

"What? That you're Kid Danger?" She teased.

"SHUT UP!" Henry shrieked at her, not wanting his parents or worse, Piper, to hear. He ran to the door and opened it to check if anyone was listening in the corridor. He slammed it shut and locked it, returning to his friend.

"I'm Kid Danger," He revealed in a hushed tone.

"I know. I figured that out." She'd always been a smart girl, but this was her biggest mental achievement.

"Just promise me you'll never tell anyone." He was desperate to keep his identity a secret.

"I promise," Charlotte swore, but Henry grabbed her by the shoulders, so she could really look at her desperate face.

"No, no, you don't understand. I took an oath that I'd never tell anyone that I'm Captain Man's sidekick." He had never been more serious.

"I swear, I'm never gonna tell." She insisted.

"Thanks." Henry breathed out a relieved sigh and dropped his hands from her shoulders.

"Can I tell Jasper?" She asked, not believing she was in on such a big secret.

"NO!" He shouted, Jasper wouldn't be able to keep the secret to save his life.

~The next day, in the Man Cave~

Watching the news from earlier, Ray and (y/n) were shovelling Chinese takeout into their mouths. She was perched on his knee and leaning back into his chest as she focused on what the reporter was saying.

"We're live in downtown Swellview, where Phone Shark has--" Ray rewound the clip, back to when the news reporter pointed out how he was still unable to capture the villain. The elevator doors opened, and Henry walked out of them, after getting up from the drop. He cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Ray? (y/n)?" He started in a small voice. They turned around, noodles hanging from Ray's face, as they smiled and greeted him. Ray put his carton on the control panel, as (y/n) stood up from his lap since they weren't alone anymore. She moved to the side, still picking through her food carton.

"Henry, I didn't know you were working today." Ray looked at him in surprise.

"He didn't butt beep you, did he?" (y/n) joked with a mouthful of stir-fry.

"No, uh, can I talk to you two about something?" Henry said, walking to where they were.

"Uhhhh, babies come from the baby store." Ray stuttered out, not wanting to go into 'that' subject with a teenager.

"Shut up, doofus." (y/n) chucked a piece of carrot at him.

"It's not about that." He replied, much to the relief of Ray.

"What's up Hen?" (y/n) asked, digging in her carton again.

"You guys know my friend, Charlotte?" Henry began.

"Yeah."

"The not-bucket friend." They both said, not concentrating on Henry's nervous body language.

"Yeah, well, she's like really smart. And-- uh, she.. uh.. kinda figured out that.." He didn't know how to say it.

"Figured out what?" Ray still wasn't picking up on his nerves.

"That--um... I"m Kid Danger." He chuckled, bracing himself for their reaction. Ray turned around and looked at him with a stunned face and (y/n) stopped mid-chew, feeling the gravity of the situation hit her. She looked to Ray and hoped he would keep a level head.

"Isn't that kooky?" Henry tried to make light of the situation, but his jokes fell flat.

"Yeah. What'd you tell her?" Ray said, hoping that Henry had been smart.

"That I am... Kid Danger." Henry swallowed, as the young woman in front of him choked on her food. She knew he was in deep shit.

"Ohhhh... interesting." Ray let out a squeal as he took in the information and Henry nodded with him.

"You're not mad, right?" Henry asked, confused as to why Ray looked happy, but (y/n) knew that he was actually livid by the sight of his tense shoulders.

"Mad? No.? Ray smiled sourly and shrugged the sentence off.

"Cool." For a moment, Henry thought everything was okay.

"You're fired." Ray's smile dropped and he let all his friendly feelings melt away. He stood up and walked to the middle of the Man Cave.

"What? Fired?" Henry felt his heart drop.

"Raymond!" (y/n) knew he was mad, but couldn't believe that her friend could be so cruel.

"You can leave your watch on the table there." His voice was monotone, and he was ignoring the wide-eyed glare the girl across the room was giving him. She moved towards him, hoping she could get him to calm down and change his mind.

"Ray, please think about what you are doing." She hissed at him from his side, as he mindlessly fiddled with some machinery.

"I swear, I didn't wanna tell her! She figured it out." Henry pleaded, desperately wanting to keep his job.

"Henry! You took an oath!" Ray looked at him sadly, upset that his sidekick had broken his promise.

"I know, but..." Henry whimpered.

"You promised me you wouldn't tell anyone and I trusted you to keep that promise." The superhero said, walking down the steps, (y/n) still following, but now, tears were welling up in her eyes. Henry had grown on her, and it didn't seem fair to fire him after one mistake.

"When trust is broken, it can never be fixed." Ray looked down at his shoes.

"Yes, it can. He's your sidekick." (y/n) put her hand on his bicep, hoping to get through to him, but he just shook her off. He grabbed a fortune cookie from one of the boxes of Chinese takeout and gave it to Henry.

"Open this cookie and read the fortune." He instructed. Henry opened the packaging and cracked the cookie so he could read the paper.

"'When trust is broken, it can never be fixed' He read aloud, wondering how what Ray said and the fortune could be the same.

"Let's not argue with the Chinese." He whispered huskily. Her emotions getting the better of her, (y/n) snatched the paper from Henry's hand and tore it in half. She threw it to the ground and turned to Ray, tears now rolling down her face.

"I can't believe you, you're being ridiculous." She seethed, but Ray just brushed her comment away and walked off towards the sprocket.

"Goodbye Henry."

With a broken heart, Henry glumly took off his watch and put it on the table. Turning around, his face matched (y/n)'s. She wrapped the poor kid in a hug, as he tried not to cry.

"I'm so sorry Henry." She whispered into his hair. Henry pulled back with a bittersweet smile.

"Not your fault." was all he said, before walking to the elevator and leaving the building.

~(y/n)'s PoV~

As soon as Henry left, I marched through the sprocket, down the corridor and into Ray's room, where I knew he would have retreated to. He was sat on the bed with his head in his hands.

"I've seen you do some dumb shit, but this is dumbest. What the hell were you thinking!?" I shouted at him, my voice breaking as I started to cry again. Ray didn't move, so I carried on.

"You wanted a sidekick and you got one. A damn good sidekick and a sweet kid, who didn't deserve what you just put him through." This time, he looked up and his eyes were red too. Seeing he was upset, I took a deep breath and sat down next to him, but I didn't touch him, I just waited to see what he had to say.

"I know, he's a great kid and an even better sidekick. But he told his friend about Kid Danger, he broke the oath!" Ray's eyes stayed on my hands, which were wringing together in my lap. I processed what he said, knowing that now I had scolded him, I need to be more gentle.

"Yeah, he screwed up, but it was just one kid, you could've handled the situation better." I leaned into his side and hugged his arm, knowing it would make him feel a little better. His left arm crossed his chest and came to rest on where my hands joined on his arm. I smiled from the contact, the tears on my face drying. My head slowly dropped so it was on his shoulder, and he then rested his on mine.

"What's done is done." He muttered hoarsely. I sniffed, thinking I'd never be able to joke around or watch stupid cat videos with Henry.

"I suppose." I didn't know what else to say, so we just sat there in silence for a few moments.

"Sorry I made you cry." He mumbled into my hair, and I felt my heart flutter.

"S'okay. I'm sorry for yelling." I murmured back, glad we wouldn't carry our problems through the day. He untangled his arm from mine and wrapped it around me in a side hug. As my arms went around his waist, he pressed a kiss to my hairline, so I buried my face into his shoulder, meaning he wouldn't see my blushing.

I inhaled the scent of his cologne and felt so relaxed, I just wanted the moment to last forever.

~Back at Henry's House~

Henry had never felt so depressed. From his place on the floor, he popped the cap on the large bottle of chocolate sauce and let it drizzle into his mouth.

"And Captain Man fired you?" Charlotte asked him, pacing up and down his room.

"Mm-hmm." The sad boy just mumbled as he let the sweet sauce trickle down his throat.

"But-- But it's not your fault I figured out you're Kid Danger." She said, feeling guilty.

"Doesn't matter. I broke my oath." Henry said dejectedly, not caring about anything or anyone.

"Well, you gotta fix this." Charlotte tried to perk him up, hating to see how sad Henry was.

"How?" He asked, not seeing any hope.

"I don't know! But you're not gonna find the answer at the bottom of a bottle of chocolate." She chided, confiscating the bottle and throwing it onto the bed. However, to her dismay, Henry pulled a spare from behind his back.

"I won't know if I don't look." He said, smearing chocolate around his face, as he poured more of the sauce into his mouth.

"Jasper was right." Words that rarely left Henry's mouth.

"About what?" Charlotte looked down at him.

"I was a lame Kid Danger. I couldn't even help Captain Man catch the stupid Phone Shark." He sniffed, still wallowing in self-pity.

"I feel awful." The girl said from her place on the ottoman at the foot of his bed.

"It's cool. Still got ma jazz." Henry grabbed the sunglasses next to him and put them on so Charlotte wouldn't see his teary eyes. He grabbed his remote for the hi-fi and turned it to a jazz station.

"I got my ticket for the long way round, two bottles of chocolate for the way." He started to sing with the music.

"And I can't believe I got fired today." He looked so depressed, his voice deepening at the end of the line.

"But I did and it's kind of all your fault." He was too upset to care about Charlotte's feelings, as she bowed her head.

~Later that night~

Sprawled out of the couch, Henry was just scrolling through his phone, listening to Piper and Jasper argue, when a call from Charlotte came through.

"Hey, Char, what's up?" He addressed her.

"Henry. Come to Swellview Park right now." Charlotte whispered down the line, as she crouched down behind a bush in the park.

"No. I'm not in the mood for trees." Henry whined at her.

"Did I ask you what you're in the mood for?" She hissed back with gritted teeth.

"No."

"Come to Swellview Park right now." She repeated, needing him to get there urgently.

~Swellview Park~

After dealing with Piper and Jasper, Henry made it to the park and he saw Charlotte crouched down behind a bench. She was spying on a wedding with a pair of binoculars.

"What's going on?" He asked her, only to be yanked down.

"Check out that guy standing by the groom." She said, giving Henry the binoculars. He peered through them and saw one of the groomsmen smiling with a set of sharp, metal teeth.

"The guy with the crazy teeth?" He asked Charlotte.

"Yeah, he's the Phone Shark." She revealed, shocking Henry.

"Whoa yeah, that does look like him." He commented as he squinted to get a better look at him.

"It is him. Now, do Captain Man a favour and go catch the Phone Shark... Kid Danger." Charlotte encouraged, knowing he was more than capable of taking the villain on. Thanking his lucky stars that he forgot to give it back, Henry pulled out his tube of special gum.

He popped a gumball and ran to a secluded corner where he could transform safely, much to Charlotte's amazement.

"Whoa, how does that whole costume fit inside one little gumball? She asked, but that was a question Henry would have to ask (y/n) if he ever saw her again.

"Just--Just wait there, all right?" He said, sprinting around the other side of the wedding tent. He watched as the couple were taking the vows, before walking a few steps down the aisle and interrupting the ceremony.

"Hey, congratulations." Many shocked whispers and comments were heard around him, as no one expected the intrusion.

"Young man, this wedding isn't over." The officiator said to him, as the bride frowned.

"I know, I just wanted to show that hairless guy my brand new phone... that's never been bitten." He said, whipping out the new PearPhone (y/n) had given him a couple of weeks earlier.

"Come on, yeah, you know you want to bite it." He taunted the Phone Shark, waving his device around to tempt him. He even sniffed it, which seemed to really entice the weird criminal.

"Gotta love that new phone smell!!" He teased, the villain chattering his teeth.

"Yeah, yeah, come on!" All Charlotte could do was watch.

"Give it to me!" The Phone Shark yelled as Henry threw it into the air.

"Catch it!" As the man looked up at the phone, Henry used the distraction to jump on his back, starting a brawl in the aisle.

"Give me the Phone!" He shouted again, as people cleared the area, realising who the evil man was. Henry was spinning around on his back, making him accidentally kick the bride in the face, sending her to the floor.

Falling to the floor with the Phone Shark, the guests tried to help him, which gave him a minute to get back on his feet. The criminal threw the guests off him, snarling and roaring at them all with his razor-sharp teeth.

"Hey! Hey! Come on! Come on, Phone Shark!" Henry showed him the phone again so he could get him away from the guests. The criminal was so desperate to sink his teeth into the phone, he charged at Henry, who at the last minute ducked out of harm's way. The man's momentum sent him hurtling into a table of gifts, rendering him unconscious and Henry victorious. The crowd applauded his brave actions and he smiled at Charlotte, who was clapping along.

~The Man Cave~

"Kid Danger, how were you able to locate and finally apprehend the Phone Shark?" The onscreen reporter asked Henry. (y/n) and Ray were both so absorbed into what Henry was saying on the computer.

"Well, I'd love to take all the credit, but it was really my boss, Captain Man, who made it all happen." He smiled, knowing the public would be praising Ray again.

"Interesting. Can you tell us more?" The woman asked.

"No." Henry answered curtly, not knowing what other details he could share. (y/n) paused the video there, knowing Ray had seen enough to be impressed with Henry. He was wearing his Captain Man suit, as Henry had brought Charlotte back with him, but he kept his focus on the teen.

"You gave me all the credit." Ray said, flabbergasted.

"Well, everyone's been giving you a hard time about not catching the Phone Shark, I figured I'd help you out." He said solemnly to the man, which made (y/n) give him a warm smile.

"Told you he was a good kid." She bent down and whispered in Ray's ear and a smile grew on his face, both from her comment and how close her lips were to his ear.

"Uh, excuse me?" Charlotte called from her seat near the elevator. She hated to break up the sweet moment, but she was bored of waiting.

"I'm the one who found the Phone Shark." She bragged with a smirk.

"It's true she did." Henry told them both. Ray let out a long groan and threw his head back into (y/n)'s stomach.

"Ughhhhh, Charlotte, Charlotte, what are we going to do with you?" He said as he stood up and the three walked to the young girl.

"Uh, I think it's pretty obvious," Charlotte responded, standing up too.

"What's that?" Ray didn't understand what she meant.

"Give her a job here, you idiot." (y/n) said, smacking his arm from how dense he was sometimes.

"We need another smart person around here. I can't do everything, I'm one, very tired girl." She continued, smiling at Charlotte.

"I'm (y/n), by the way, nice to meet you." She added in and leaned over to shake Charlotte's hand, which made Ray roll his eyes.

"Nice to meet you too. Are you his assistant?" She smiled and pointed at Captain Man.

"I prefer the term 'helper'. 'Assistant' makes him think I have to do everything for him." She joked and the two laughed, knowing that if Ray gave her a job, they'd become firm friends.

"Ok, no more laughing. First, I want to know how you found the Phone Shark." Ray said, still not fully trusting Charlotte.

"Well, I figured no guy with normal teeth can bite through a phone, right?" She started off, and (y/n) tilted her head as she listened.

"'K." Ray said, feeling dumb since he hadn't been the one to work it out.

"So I started calling every dentist in Swellview until I found one who told me he had a patient who asked a whole mouthful of titanium teeth." She explained like it was obvious.

"We should've called some dentists." Ray said to Henry, slapping his hands together.

"Totally should've." Henry agreed, also feeling stupid.

"You guys had one year, she had one day." (y/n) whispered in their ears, smiling at how smart the teen girl was.

"Then I hacked into the dentist's computer files, got the guy's name and searched him online." Charlotte said sweetly and simply.

"OH, we should've gone online." Ray looked to Henry again.

"What is wrong with us?" Henry couldn't believe how blind they'd been. (y/n) rolled her eyes, these two were meant to be superheroes, but one girl managed to outsmart them.

"Oh, and his last update said, "Off to my brother's wedding in Swellview Park, hope they serve phones for dessert, LOL.'" She read out, confirming how intelligent she was.

"And then she called me." Henry said to Ray.

"She's good." The superhero said to his best friend.

"Yeah, she is." She replied, looking back at him.

She could really help us out around here." Henry piped up looking at him hopefully and nudging his side.

"Us?" Ray took a moment to think about Henry's words and the events of earlier that day flooded back into his mind. (y/n) placed a hand on his arm to remind him that she was still next to him and she wasn't going to take his crap.

"Oh, right. You fired me." Henry's eyes dropped to the floor.

"Well, you broke the oath." Ray's voice was wobbly from emotion, so he turned his back on everyone.

"And he caught the Phone Shark." (y/n) wouldn't let him make the same mistake of letting Henry go again.

"Come on, you big doof. Hire him back." She smiled up at him, using her best grin to win him over.

"Alright, you're re-hired." he said to Henry, not being able to say no to (y/n)'s face as it stared up at him. Henry jumped up and down in happiness and ran to give (y/n) a hug to say thanks for her help in persuading Ray. Letting her go, he then jumped into Ray's arms, glad to be his sidekick again and by his smile, Ray was happy too.

"Ahem, ahem, cough, cough, cough." Charlotte cleared her throat, reminding them that she was still there.

"Oh right, and what are you gonna do about Charlotte?" He asked the pair. Ray clutched his forehead and groaned, looking to (y/n) about the decision.

"She knows he's Kid Danger." The woman mentioned.

"She knows who I am, and she knows where the Man Cave is 'cause you brought her down here." Ray listed everything off looking at Henry.

"So, what does that mean?" She asked tentatively.

"That we either have to kill you, erase your brain or give you a job." (y/n) said, which Ray nodded along with.

"I vote job." Charlotte said, not liking the other options.

"We can really erase her brain?" Henry wondered, which caused his friend to whip around at him in offence.

"All right, she can have a job here." Ray conceded. (y/n) went to put her arms around him, but he carried on speaking.

"IF! She can pass the pickle test." (y/n) stopped mid-movement and looked at Ray in confusion. Not even she knew what a pickle test was.

As per Ray's instructions, (y/n) had set up a table with a pickle hanging in a jar, which was now being tightly screwed shut by Bork, a giant man who worked for Ray.

"Thanks, Bork. Now, grunt and exit." Ray said, making the man retreat to one of the back rooms.

"Charlotte, you must now prove you're smart enough to work for Captain Man." Ray explained, which made (y/n) furrow her eyebrows. 'I never had to pass a stupid pickle test.' She thought.

"Uh, I found the Phone Shark." She pointed out, believing that was enough to prove her intelligence.

"Well, anyone could do that." Ray retorted immaturely.

"You couldn't." (y/n) smirked at him, sticking up for Charlotte. He didn't like it when she sassed back.

"Okay, let's not go there." Henry quickly interrupted their banter.

"Now... to prove your worthiness, you must get that pickle out of that jar that Bork just power-screwed shut." Charlotte inspected the jar, quickly formulating a method.

"How much time does she have?" Henry asked Ray, who took out his timer.

"Exactly five minut---" Ray was disrupted by the young girl smashing the jar against the table. Her ingenuity meant that the pickle was free.

"Here's your pickle." She said, which (y/n) accepted happily. She knew she'd figure it out, the test wasn't that hard.

"That was Bork's favourite jar." Ray said gravely, impressed that Charlotte had figured it out so quickly.

"Wait, wait, does that mean Charlotte's hired?" Henry asked (y/n), an enormous grin erupting on her face.

"Yeah, it does!" She exclaimed excitedly, as Henry lept over to Charlotte and gave her a celebratory high five.

"Wait, you wanna see something cool?" Henry said to Charlotte.

"Yeah!" They ran over to the tube area together.

"Hug me." Henry told her, which grossed her out a bit.

"Just trust me." He said, so she wrapped her arms around him. Henry slapped his belt buckle and the tube came down, shocking the girl.

"Up the tube!" They shot upwards, causing Charlotte to scream all the way to the top.

Meanwhile, Ray was still sat at the supercomputer. After watching the two kids leave the Man Cave, she went over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind.

"Thank you for that. You did a good thing." She murmured to him gently, leaning down to press a kiss to his cheek. Ray felt like his heart was going to explode, as she removed herself from him and walked up to the sprocket, going to her room.

He raised his gloved hand to his cheek, stroking where her lips had briefly been only seconds before. As he sat there in shock, he knew that if she asked him to, he'd do anything for her.

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