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lutiaslayton · 3 months

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Hi! I really love your timeline analyses and have been thinking about them a lot as I try to write my own Layton longfic. (I hope you don't mind me referencing your timeline and puzzle research for it ^^;) It's very well done! I have a hard time figuring out so many details at once like that, so it's been a huge help.

...I don't want to be annoying or overly nitpicky when I point this out, but I just thought I'd mention something.

We know that Dropstone was founded on August 12th (by the JP version) and Layton travels there on its 50th anniversary (also August 12th). In your deduced timeline you have that arrival date down as Wednesday the 12th, 1963. The year with a Wednesday on an August 12th is actually 1964. In 1963, the 12th falls on a Monday.

I don't know if the day being a Wednesday specifically matters at all, or if Layton's days of the week aren't in sync with ours, but from what I understand, your timeline might be 1 year behind. (Or that date was meant to be Monday the 12th...?)

I figured with SLS (one of my favorite fics ever, by the way!) being in 1953, a detail like this could be important to you, but you can totally ignore this ask if I'm wrong! I just wanted to let you know just in case.

Hi! The fact that you picked up on this is a true testament to your dedication and rigorous work, congratulations!!

I haven't touched this timeline in a long while for a number of reasons (far too many other projects + "um actually I think there might be multiple timelines and you can't put every single game/novel/manga/movie/other in the same chronology but it becomes soooooo much more interesting if you start placing them in multiple ones, also puzzle theory makes that not only plausible but also quite probable"), so sadly I have forgotten most of the details of how past me from over a year ago reached the conclusions that she did. From what I remember, however, the quick answer to your question is simple: yes, the days of the week in the Laytonverse are out of sync with ours.

(I kinda like how I take it as a bigger reminder that the Laytonverse really is disconnected from our world's History in a number of ways, from the mention in the novels of kings and queens that do not exist IRL to the simple logical fact that there is no way History happened the same way when mechas are a thing, the Azran happened, Targent happened, and also puzzles break the laws of physics daily. But that's just personal preference.)

I think what started it was the fact that London Holiday takes place on a Sunday and that I could not find any way to make the whole "a few days ago" for both Curious Village and Diabolical Box work alongside the "They arrive in Dropstone on August 12th." I won't redo the math right now because schedule and to-do list and other stuff (+ I trust you more to check it since your brain cogs are already warm and revving in the middle of it, so you would be more efficient at figuring it out as well as more critical than present me), but if memory serves, this was the best I could manage at the time, and I never went back later to recheck the math. I really just stopped at "Yes, there is a desync, so what? That's not supposed to be the real world anyway. Also huge kudos to whoever notices."

---

My mind is set on the fact that the Layton timeline places the original trilogy on the year 1963 because of the promotional UF artwork implying that UF would take place during the winter between 1963 and 1964, but that part is personal preference since I know (and stated on the timeline web page iirc) that in-universe, this date does not appear in the game. I know other people use for example the "Year 1960" unused artwork which had been datamined from Curious Village. I also know that the World of PL interview just says "There is no official date, it's inspired from the 1960s but we are never going to give a date because we don't want to." I also also know that some others, who consider the PLvsAA crossover canon, take the Ace Attorney timeline and thus completely yeet the "1960s" part into oblivion.

So the choice is ultimately up to personal preference, and you're free to choose a different one! The only reason I put 1963 in the timeline instead of "Year YYYY ; Year YYYY - 50 ; Year YYYY + 1" and such is for obvious readability reasons... and because past me had not thought that perhaps there could be a Javascript way to say "hey put here the year you'd like the original trilogy to take place in," have the user click on a button, and make the whole page do the calculations and display the new dates according to the user's chosen year of reference. darn it now I'm going to be nagging myself into implementing that but it would also be so tedious.

---

Anyway TL;DR yes I was aware of this, and past me either forgot to mention it or thought "Eh it's not like anybody will notice/care" hahaha. Rather insensitive from past me admittedly, I do now wonder why I didn't add that as a small paragraph in the preliminary notes... Most likely reason is that the thought just didn't cross my mind at the time.

Good luck on your own longfic, don't hesitate to send me the link (no promises on reading it the day it comes out because there are SO many fics already on my to-read list, but nnngnfhghh I wish I could read other people's works as well as continue working on SLS), and thank you for your ask! Even though I was personally aware of it, you can absolutely feel proud of having picked up on it, and don't hesitate to come back to me (and make me sweat cold bullets) if you figure out a way to make "1963" + "London Holiday on a Sunday" + "No week day desyncs with the real world" work. Thanks to you, other people can now be made aware of this detail which I had apparently forgotten to explain explicitly!

Lastly, I don't remember whether I mentioned it here or not because it's still far from done and isn't going to be truly useful before a LONG while, but just in case what little info is on there could still be useful to you or someone else in any way: among many other things, I'm working on a Lore Map. Imagine having the ENTIRETY of EVERY SINGLE CANON FACT we have been given, in a single web page, with a whole list of tags so you can filter only the trivia that is relevant to your fanfic research <3

---

(Now this paragraph is completely unrelated to your ask, I'm going to leave this here for a different person (or not? would be good luck if you're the same anon): I am so sorry to the anon who asked me if I considered the LMJ ARG event canon or not, I uhhhhh... got carried away and I don't think the answer will be posted anytime soon, because for the sake of answering it in an exhaustive way I wanted to re-read the entirety of what has been preserved of it + add every bit of trivia I could find to the Lore Map mentioned earlier. And I'm juggling between many other projects too so progress is very slow. TL;DR version of my personal opinion so far: as for everything else it is up to personal preference, but I could theoretically see at least parts of it being canon. The trickiest part I found by reading just the introduction of the ARG is the fact that Kat would apparently make livestreams. Which implies the existence of the internet or a similar technology, the existence of streaming platforms, and the fact that she would have a decent-ish enough following for her random viewers from all around the world to want to help her. And if we go with the hypothesis that there could be multiple timelines, I could see that happen in an Ace Attorney-based timeline such as the one in which the PLvsAA crossover is canon, for example! I don't know enough about AA to be able to speak about it with confidence, but I think that 20+ years after the original AA trilogy, internet technology is indeed quite advanced enough for this to be possible? anyway. Just thought I'd give you a first short answer so you don't have to keep holding your breath and/or think I completely forgot about you. I'm sorry :'D)

#lutiasreplies #lutiasgithub #pl theory board

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ramblingdisaster73 · 1 year

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Another thing that bothers me about people wanting Carlos to get angry at TK about Iris is when they say they want TK to feel guilty when Carlos disappears. Like after people were fine with TK not getting upset with Carlos after finding out about the secret marriage (which isn't bad, i also don't like to see them fighting) suddenly a good part of the fandom wants Carlos mad at TK and him feeling bad for doing nothing wrong.

Yeah, I don’t get that part either. I also do not think that he did anything wrong with going to see Iris. Nothing TK has done thus far should lead to that reaction from Carlos, especially considering Carlos himself is the reason TK is in this situation at all.

If we only consider canon (Just what we see – not what Tim/Ronen/Rafa or what we want to interpret from the scenes, but what they literally show us):

*TK took finding out that Carlos was secretly married and had been for the entirety of their relationship (I am only talking legal marriage, as I totally get the in name only thing) with a hell of a lot more grace and understanding than any person I have ever met.

*TK had tears in his eyes, he admitted to Carlos that he didn’t know if he was pissed, but was confused. He then pushed aside any feelings/thoughts he may have had when Carlos started beating himself up – for being a bad friend. (I know a lot of people like to infer that he was including to TK for the hiding being married while planning a wedding thing – but on the show he specifically says “friend”) to comfort the man – we literally watched him put himself to the side and prioritize Carlos’ emotions. – HUGE GROWTH

*Next we see TK on his 4th shirt change, wanting to impress his fiancé’s best friend/wife. He answers her questions, he keeps himself in check (with a few assists from Carlos, a grounding presence for him) – right up until he sees that she is going to leave and even then – he still acts with A LOT MORE restraint that I could imagine possessing – especially with how well they are showing us he is doing with this rather large secret being kept – regardless of the reasons. – MORE GROWTH

*He goes to the shelter (I can’t remember if it is an actual shelter or something else) to talk to her, he keeps himself in check (this time without having Carlos there to ground him). He hasn’t lashed out one single time through out this entire situation, but he does ask questions. He tries to understand. He fights for his relationship instead of running. MORE GROWTH

*He goes home, sits with his thoughts, with what Iris said to him. He knows that Carlos said that she doesn’t mean anything malicious, but that she is blunt. She just managed to say the thing that would really trigger his insecurities. Still, that man vocalized what was going on. He asked the questions that were causing him issues, he listened when Carlos answered him, trusted that answer. MORE GROWTH

These are all things that we saw – what the show actually showed us. We can & do infer that several conversations were had between the bunk scene & the last loft scene – but, we weren’t actually shown them. The personal growth of TK Strand has been at the forefront of the first 2 episodes of season 4.

I am not sure how much of the fandom that wants Carlos to lash out and get pissed at TK for going to talk to Iris are the content creators that thrive on the angst (I can totally get behind this thought process because I know that it will give me soooooo much inspiration for fics over the next couple of weeks) and how many are the ones that just hate TK and want to see him hurt – physically or emotionally – they don’t care (these are the ones I will never understand).

A reason that I have for not really wanting Carlos to lash out or get angry with TK is that there will be no resolution to it – we will just be expected to forget about it when he goes missing later. Just like we have to infer that they had talks about the fact that Carlos lied for years to TK, we will have to infer that he apologized for blaming TK. There would be no point, no growth – just unnecessary drama.

-Going back to 2x12 after the firehouse scene – the next time we see them together TK literally says “About that other blowup at the firehouse” with Carlos telling him that “We agreed, no one needs to apologize”. We at least got confirmation that a conversation was had – with this whole storyline of Carlos & Iris married – any conversations are only based on what we know of the characters and how we think they would act.

I want growth from both of them, not just TK, (I, personally, find it hard to see Carlos finally coming clean to TK as growth – his feet were held to the wedding fire and he didn’t have much of a choice – clearly, his choice was avoidance). I have hope that is what we will get at the end of this arc. More growth for Carlos in addition to the tremendous amount of growth we have seen from TK and for Tarlos as a couple. We know they love each other, we know loving couples have arguments. But they also have resolution – and that is what I am worried would be missing if they have Carlos blame/lash out at TK for Iris, especially since TK wouldn’t even have felt like he needed to ask her if Carlos hadn’t only decided to be honest with him because TK’s ‘dream’ venue was suddenly open in 8 weeks.

I am going into the next 2 episodes with the mindset that Rafa & Ronen are going to kill us, that I will probably write until my dogs figure out how to steal my laptop, and hope that we will get a hell of a lot of growth our of this whole 4-episode arc.

#anon ask #911 lone star spoilers #911 lone star season 4 #911 lone star speculation #tk strand

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lovecolibri · 1 year

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SaL anon here friend and I'm glad I got my rage ask out yesterday because there is soooooo much good OG stuff to talk about!! Never thought these are things i'd get to say but Buck getting lightninged and Eddie screaming his name as he climbs up the fucking ladder to save him feels like fucking Christmas (bonus if he does it over Bobby's orders)!! We are gonna live on Monday, i can feel it. I scheduled my check-up that day so I have an excuse to be useless, no idea what I'll come up with for

Tuesday yet. And apparently I'll need a plan for the next week too since we're then getting coma!Buck imagining he was never a firefighter!! So here's some hopes/speculation on how this plays out. I definitely feel like we're going to get an appropriately traumatized Eddie in the first of these episodes (especially if he has to tell Chris), but maybe not as much in the 2nd (though if they don't take this chance to finally work in a Eddie and Maddie talk I'll riot) since it's KR, who the aftermath of Eddie's shooting was a perfect time for BT to get together (meaning I'm keeping my Buddie expectations tempered). But that doesn't mean there aren't other things I hope for. First, we can FINALLY get Maddie out of dispatch and interacting with the firefam. Even better if the Buckley parents are there and everyone just glares at them. As for the coma dream itself, i'd love it if this became a chance to refocus on Buck and Bobby's relationship. Hear me out, Buck might change his dream career but he can't change his childhood or how his parents act. So i'd love to see moments of Buck's dad being proud or giving advice in his dream it it comes out wrong, or goes against the things Bobby would say and Buck pauses and feels it's off somehow. Hell i'd love for the dream to have weird funhouse mirrors of everyone (like Maddie has a not-Chim husband who everyone says is funny but Buck just doesn't get why) but i'd really love to take the comparison between Bobby and Buck's dad specifically. And if this isn't what finally gives us some realization for Buck about happiness, and what that really means to HIM, I'll declare the writers and KR incompetent because the setup is RIGHT THERE. I won't speculate about how this could tie into that other thing, we are taking the next two episodes as a win!! Plus we have some new SaL songs coming and I can't wait to see if we can use them so good luck to us surviving!

Me, seeing your ask pop up and getting ready to indulge in some good old fashioned 911 feels:

Like, what is even happening right now?! We are getting fed?! So well?! I don't even know what to do with all the excitement! I am going to be distracted Monday but I know I'm gonna be absolutely USELESS on Tuesday. If I was working at home at least I could pretend I was getting work done and not on my phone all day. No such luck anymore! 😭 At least my data will be back and I won't be yelling "let me iiiiiiiin" to my phone screen as ever screen takes 10 minutes to load.

So I'm also trying (and failing, badly) to manage my expectations re: Buddie because we KNOW KR hates those on-screen interactions and conversations and the 2 that came out of the shooting were not her idea to include. And honestly we have been begging for a Maddie/Eddie conversation since s2! It's tiiiime! If not now, then when?! I'm ready for it!! I'm also ready to see the firefam at Buck's bedside FINALLY which we haven't gotten since Bobby in s1 and even that had really weird "are they gonna put Bobby and Abby together?!" vibes. Still eternally baffled at what TF Carla was doing there to talk to Maddie instead of literally anyone else in the firefam who just rescued Buck. ANYWAY. Moving on.

I am DYYYYYYING for some Buck/Bobby father/son goodness and this whole situation better fucking deliver. That dynamic has always been one of my favorites and I HATE that s5 told us Buck called Bobby to watch Eddie but didn't SHOW us a single instance of Buck and Bobby talking about what was going on with Eddie. Jail. So I'm also hoping for some Bobby stuff around this whole situation and if it can contrast Buck's own parents? Even better. And I know we're all talking about Bobby but whooo boy do I want to see a reaction from Athena too. GOD if we get coma dream mixed with present day and get to see each of the firefam talking to Buck at some point?! Hearing them all call him "Buckaroo"?! I'm going to eat DRYWALL.

I'm resolutely NOT thinking about that other storyline because that does not spark joy, but I'm VERY interested to see what Buck learns about his life and the secret to happiness through all this. As for songs, I'm begging for "In Another Life" to give us the Learning Curve discussion of our dreams because it's RIGHT THERE. And as low as I'm trying to keep expectations, they cannot have Eddie screaming for Buck and putting himself in danger to rescue Buck and NOT give everyone ideas so.....*manifesting 6b 3rd party confession*

Cheers my friend, we are not ready for this!!

#my sweet nonnie friends #sleeping at last anon #911 #911 spoilers #buddie #evan buckley #bobby nash #firefam #this is a buckley parents hate space #just give me ALL of the good firefam scenes!!#i have missed seeing our team be the family they are and the talks they used to have #i am READY for the show to course correct after 6a #i'm managing my expectations for the season as a whole #but i do think we are going to get at least a few REALLY special episodes here at the start #3 more days!!!#*aggressively chews glass*

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spitdrunken · 2 years

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oh you do creepypasta? hell yes. mind dropping some creepy fluffy smut with one of ur fave killers just to show off lol?

this was the first fandom i ever read and wrote for, back when i was literally like 11 years old TT it’s been so long... seeing creepypasta x reader posts on tumblr still getting a huge amount of notes feels a little jarring though HAHA i have no idea anymore if there’s a popular fanon for them soooooo doing my own thing <3

notes: eyeless jack x reader, terratophilia, mentions of organs, consensual and fluffy-ish but STRANGE sex lol

You'll never get used to how his mask works. Or... His face? You guess it'd be the latter. One day, you’ll have to ask.

No mask could crack and mould together like his face does. Jack hovers above you, face splitting open and revealing an emptiness akin to a gaping maw. Thick strands of black goo ooze from the opening, never dripping done onto your skin. From the depths, a tongue emerges. It's thick and long, ending in a tapered point. He lets it fall out of his mouth and slap against your chest with a disgustingly loud wet noise, spit splashing up against your chin.

"God, Jack- You know I hate it when you do that!" You say, without much of a real bite.

A deep, choppy noise rises from the depths of his chest.

"It's... Funny..." It'd taken you a while to understand his words perfectly, but you're now proficient in it. Jack breathes out every single one of his words, taken a slight pause between each of them. In contrast with his large body, his voice is never more than a whisper.

"I'm sure it is." As soon as you finish your sentence, his tongue finally slithers into your mouth and sinks in until you're completely full. The tip traces symbols on your palate, and it has you squirming and laughing uncontrollably.

The rest of his body, as humanoid as it seems, is all an illusion. Not just the fact that his limbs are too long, or his skin being the wrong colour. Even the 'clothes' he's wearing are part of his body. The seams of his hoodie pocket squirm until another tendril slips out, larger and thicker and oozing a black liquid. (As far as you know, it's not dangerous to your body... You've ingested far too much at this point, without any consequences.) It's similar to his tongue, albeit a bit less dexterous.

His hands, clawed and gray, find their way to your stomach. He'd never pierce the skin, never allow himself to lose full control. You'd never ask him to hurt you either, knowing if he got a taste of your blood, he might consume you until there's nothing left. The most he'll do, is this. Instead of squeezing your chest, he massages your stomach, enjoying feeling your guts twitch and move underneath his grip. With every movement, what you've taken to calling his dick, crawls up further.

When it finally sinks inside you, he traces a heart on the top of your mouth. An anatomically correct one.

#creepypasta #creepypasta x reader #eyeless jack #eyeless jack x reader #cha.ej #cw.monster

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the-desert-beast · 3 months

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red apple, tomato, lemon, avocado, potato for maelgwyn!

HI CHAR tyy for the ask :D !!

🍎 [RED APPLE] Who does your OC value above all else?

for my beloved gwynnie, its his spouse/life long partner. he would legit do anything for that one single person he loves. he would go full "ruthless devotion to the point of destruction" mode if most of them didnt like. point out that he can Relax A Little DJHFASHIU so instead its usually just regular sexy possesiveness/protective of his one and only uwu

trahearne finds it mildly annoying, lyssie thinks its endearing (idr/havent chatted abt this with del or ludwig abt how quinn or connie would feel uwu)

🍅 [TOMATO] How misunderstood is your OC? In-universe or IRL.

in universe theres a LOT of opinions on gwynnie (mostly the desert beast.) joko's fanatics despise him (he has aided sunspears & refugees and openly despises joko and his forces.) hes spent 2 decades of his life as a bounty hunter and has previously taken blood money soooooo. he might have his own ethics code & moral compass but that doesnt mean it at all aligns with that many people let alone the law. There is very much heated in-universe debate had about him and his presence

🍋 [LEMON] What is their kryptonite/ultimate weakness?

OUUH. hard to say hard to pick.

emotionally? betrayal. being betrayed by one of the VERY few people he GENUINELY trusted?? yeah. yeah.

combat wise? also betrayal but hes not very good at countering magic & long-ranged attacks. one of the few ways to force him on the defensive but its hard to keep up. (you have to worry about his companions Paola & Glenn having his back.)

🥑 [AVACADO] What will they never back down about, even if it makes them seem bad?

Honestly. His life style. He would argue from hell and back that he did what he had to do and that he had no other choice. He will double and triple down that everything he's ever done was at least a little necessary. (To avoid having to face that he might be wrong.)

🥔 [POTATO] What do they have that others see as a flaw, but they don't care about?

MMMMMMM i'll say his scars! :D he has a LOT of battle scars and he genuinely just doesnt even pay them any mind. its something that happened he doesnt really care about the scar or the memory theyre all just things that have occurred. (this MIGHT be some form of dissociation cause he has a bad habit of stirring up fights when hes in a really bad mental health state just to get a high off of the adrenaline. theres no way he doesnt have some scars BECAUSE of those weeks.)

There's also his anti-social tendencies which are very much based off of my own autism. someone might think he should try to be kinder or emote more etc but he Will Not. and. Doesnt give a shit you think that AFHIUASH he will continue to be the sort of autism he is.

[Ask Game Link]

#TYY FOR THE ASK CHAR <33 #oc: maelgwyn (he/any)#my ocs #askgameanswers

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zumpietoo · 2 years

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No, Jughead has....Vermin’s been depicted as frequently petty and possessive. However, I do agree that the show doesn’t do friendships well, but that’s ever. And is because it doesn’t write people well....given how every character except Jug, Tabs and Pop is a complete asshole.

That said, Vermin doesn’t have feelings per se, she hates being single. AND this is being done for no deeper reason than to set up the BAV triangle.

It was 7 years and, yeah, there should “emotional drama”, but there won’t be. Not sure why the GG fails to grasp this.

Jug’s also never been permitted to express his anger towards Slizzy....y’all think he needs to apologize to her and when he did (meanie VM) he was depicted as evvolll, when he was 10000000% right.

B&V have never been friends/ They never will be. Suck it

Yes an entire voicemail (OML, you seriously think that equals even 1/100000 of what Slizzy and Douchie did to HIM???) to paint him as the bad guy, moron....plus you guys are happy about this because you think it equals Barfie ending (somehow, cuz if Vermin wants Douchie, OFC she’ll get him.....and then, OFC, free Slizzy = Jizzy reconciliation, even tho we’ve already seen that wasn’t the case).

And again, I hate Douchie, too.....buuuuuuttttt.....

A) I just don’t think they can bother themselves. They know what he is.

B) VD are currently split because VERMIN chose that (and it was actually the right move). Repeatedly. And not because of Barfie cheating 8 years ago.

C) Soooo much moar fault lies with Slizzy, especially for Jughead and she’s done soooooo much moar wrong to him:

She has initiated every kiss/cheating with Douchie, not the other way around

She lied way longer and only told the truth when she knew the gig was up

She made no effort to make it up to anybody. Granted he did so in the shittiest ways imaginable, but Douchie kinda did

She proceeded to abandon Jughead, go to Yale in HIS slot, dangle him around to feel better about herself for years, treated him as completely non-human, stood him up repeatedly, etc.

And don’t even get me started on season five further

All these things being precisely why I hate the character and view her as an asshole now....yet I certainly don’t see any of YOU assholes acknowledging this (or, LBR, the show).

Actually, you’re misplaced again....Douchie owes Jug far less than Slizzy does....and, again, you ignore that. Why isn’t it time for HER to pay up?

Addition, you pretentious twat....but....

You literally just confirmed....what Vermin hates is being alone.

You’ll get none of that for Jizzy.....cause not happening again. Plus what happened to all YOUR insider info, Snorty? Why wouldn’t we see those feelings for Jabi then, right on schedule? Just as we actually did in 6x05, when Slizzy was merely his last ditch choice, he was fine with the wedding and immediately picked Tabs at the end....

Also, per KokeJ? None of your wishes will be happening. Plus Slizzy got worse and it became ever obvious Cole had to have split screen reinstituted.....

And they didn’t, different narrative, you won’t be getting it.

And they did a slowburn already: Jabi

And it remains hilarious how you keep insisting it’s totes gonna happen.....when you keep being wrong!

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dourpeep · 3 years

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Omfg I hate burning my tongue. I made some cookies recently, and got impatient… I’m sure you know what happens next

BRO THAT ALBEDO FANART HNNNNNNNNGH honestly, soft dudes with a more alternative/grunge-y style are honestly my weakness (despite wearing very bright and cute clothes—think decora kei but not as hardcore). But dammit tattoo artist!Bedo brainrot

Just, you go to his shop, wanting to just inform yourself and so on, but you leave with an entire tat on your ankle because the artist’s lil sis told you that “big bro makes reaaaaaally pretty pictures! And he’s so nice, you will love him!” And oh boy, we’re you enamored, and not only with the quick sketch he presented you when you told him what you had in mind.

You needed a mini job anyways, and ask whether you can help out around the shop since 1. The atmosphere is nice and the place is close to yours and 2. Hello? Cute ass colleague? However, your small aesthetic crush morphed into full on pining after seeing Albedo being so soft around his sis, and creating beautiful designs inspired by every customers liking 24/7.

Nonetheless, you were getting confused by him. Was he into you, or why did he buy you a coffee when you came in that morning, with the sweetest note attached to it? Why did he go out of his way to quell all your curiosities (big brain = hot)? Why does he gaze at you with those soft teal orbs, when you haven’t been close for this long yet?

His acquaintances muse that he’s generally a clueless guy when it comes to relationships, whether they are platonic or romantic, and he does tend to give off wrong signals because of that. So far, he rejected everyone who came at him with a gentle smile, apologizing for his tactlessness.

And yet, you could feel that there’s more to it in your case… but you didn’t wanna stick your head in the clouds and get the wrong idea. However, Klee is right there to tell you just how much he’s been talking about you! She ends up asking him whether you can go home with them, because she really wants you to bake for her (one of the single skills that Albedo was not blessed with), and there, as you three stand in the kitchen….

“I’ve never heard big bro talk so much about anyone before… I’m glad big bro likes you soooo much! I really want a big sis!”

Hehe, this is so cute, fuck. I want a bf now :(((

I agree anon, I too long for a significant other-

Kinda.

I think it'd be nice to have someone to cuddle and smooch, though.

And I agree--I'm so weak for soft dudes with grungy vibes Xiao. Like...seeming tough?? Being tough?? But also having a gentle and sweet personality? Please, sign me up.

I personally dress in comfy sweaters + skirts or grunge (but pretty loosely so). There's no in-between.

Wait also might I have a cookie?

I love the idea of Klee basically just hanging out at the shop too hahaha, leave it to Albedo to have both a very steady hand and be responsible enough to take care of an active little girl while working. Props to him, that's for sure. It'd also be cute if the customers can have her pick their tattoo-

Dodoco would unintentionally become a 'thing' at the shop.

That being said, Albedo as your boss (but, as always, please just call him Albedo. You're around the same age anyway and this is a small family-owned place, after all)? He'd be attentive and rather sweet.

Considering that he already does hold a soft spot towards people and their little habits, the seemingly small moments of joy that spark and the smiles that refuse to leave his customer's faces when they see the nearly finished product--it's not entirely surprising. It's hard to miss the smile on his own face.

Albedo would often give you longer breaks, too. While the tattoo parlor is popular, the foot traffic is low, so there's only ever a customer or two getting worked on at a time along with a few curious peeks now and then.

Not to mention, the artist is also quite the skilled chef. The breakfast sandwich he brought in for breakfast? He made himself.

Of course the coffee he bought on his way in.

Because he usually goes right to sketching and prepping the workspace, he'll always leave the tasty morsels and coffee (or whatever beverage you prefer, to your specifications) right on the counter in the front so you can see it when you walk in for the day.

And as always, there's his name signed with his signature 'solar isotoma' (it's what he calls it, at least) detailing that he took care of breakfast for you and that he hopes you enjoy the simple meal he's prepped this time around.

Things go pretty well for the first few weeks of working!

Lots of satisfied customers, playing with Klee in the shop's downtime, conversing with Albedo, or just sitting in silence. You've noticed that he asks quite a bit about your likes and dislikes. Though...you just assume it's because he's not the best conversationalist.

After all, while he's incredibly attractive and his charm is undeniable, the man struggles to strike conversations with his clients and opts for encouraging them to take the reins.

Not to mention the cute blush on his cheeks and gently worded declinations he's had to do often--

You wonder if he's already seeing someone.

Honestly, standing in the kitchen in his apartment should've made you realize how dense you are yourself.

Especially when Albedo is right besides you, elbows nearly touching as you walk through the steps of making a cake with him. His hands are covered in various amounts of flour and batter after a little mishap and Klee is eagerly peeking over the countertop.

Though he's dressed down in a plain tee and sweatpants, his hair down and much longer than you expected, you can still sense the way he's so very concentrated on the task at hand. Like he doesn't want to mess it up. It's cute.

When the cake is finally in the oven, Klee speaks up with her face and hands pressed against the viewing window.

"Big brother likes you soooooo much!"

And suddenly, when your eyes meet wide teal ones, it clicks.

His sweet notes and breakfast on him, the several careful sketches of you placed alongside the ones he does of his clients, how he often invites you over to his apartment over the weekends and after work.

Albedo finds himself shyly looking away for the first time.

When the cake is done, the three of you have indulged in the deliciously sweet snack, you help him clean up while Klee goes off to watch a show on the tv.

He's hesitant, visibly so.

"Would you..." Shutting off the water, he pats his wet hands on the front of his shirt. Under the bright florescent of the overhead lights, his eyes seem to shine. "Perhaps like to join me tomorrow on a date?"

#anon asks #modern au #tattoo artist albedo #albedo #albedo simping #genshin impact albedo #genshin impact #genshin impact drabbles #genshin impact headcanons #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact x reader #albedo x reader #klee

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amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines · 3 years

Text

Reggie//i can't let you go now that i got it

Request: your last reggie mantle imagine was soooooo cute it was.... BIG FAV i'm still grinning! could you please do one where reader and reggie have been best friends their whole lives? she's super protective and sweet to him and like? she's been in love for years but has been hiding it well?? she gets him to come away with her to college because 'screw this town' and they live together? but eventually she starts going on dates and it makes him realize he's in love with her too?? mutual love confession

hey! so before you go any further trigger warning mentions of abuse, specifically around reggie and his dad. it’s not in detail but it is mentioned a few times so don’t read if that upsets you. the last thing i want you to be is sad. i hope you all have a good day anyway, whether you’re reading this or not! (title is from Børns ‘electric love’)

- For 18 years

- Reggie Mantle has been the only constant in your life

- Even when you were babies he was there

- Your mom’s sat beside each other in baby class, cooing and awing over each other’s kids

- All while 6 month old you stole 6 month old Reggie’s toy

- And then he cried so hard he vomited on not only himself but you as well

- Which then made you cry even louder

- And then your mom’s were asked to leave

- So instead

- It became a weekly thing for your mom to take you to The Mantle’s

- While her and Mrs Mantle gossiped and drank tea

- You and Reggie would hit each other with various stuffed toys.

- As you got older

- The weekly visits turned into daily ones

- Especially when you moved three houses away from him

- You and Reggie started to see each other more than your own parents did

- Your mom still went over once a week

- But when she arrived you were always usually there

- Either stood in the kitchen getting a snack

- Or lying on Reggie’s bed watching an awful movie he just ‘had to show you’

- They usually involved a hybrid of two animals

- Sometimes mythical, sometimes not

- But in all of them they were usually taking over the world

- They also always had the same four actors in

- But despite how much you protested

- ‘reggie? are you being serious? we watched this one last time.’

- ‘no, we watched molemaid last time. this is medusamaid. they’re completely different’

- ‘oh, sorry. my mistake’

- You actually secretly loved them

- Because they made him happy

- You would watch in awe as he laughed at stupid jokes

- And how his eyes would always light up at a particularly gruesome part, no matter how badly CGI’d it was

- You also listened to the countless of theories as to how ‘hurrik9’ is clearly the prequel to ‘hellhounds’ because ‘they’ve got the same main character! it doesn’t matter if they’re not played by the same person. y/n, they’ve got the same name.’

- You also listened to him complain about the inconsistencies between ‘werewombats 1’ and ‘werewombats 2’

- ‘no matter how much the director stands by the decision to make them turn on each other, despite the first film clearly stating that that’s the last thing they’d do.’

- But the thing you loved the most about it

- Was that he was only ever this way with you

- You’d been sworn to secrecy when you walked in on him watching ‘dinocano vs uniquake’

- And you promised never to tell anyone about his secret passion

- Or the fact that he had a stack of notebooks filled with plots and mini scripts for his own films.

- Reggie may have gotten popular

- But to you, he’s still the same Reggie you’ve always known.

- Whose scared of clowns but won’t admit it

- And cried when watching Edward Scissorhands but if anybody asks it was you

- And who hates hot chocolate, but its the only thing he’ll drink when he’s sick

- He also only eats pink marshmallows in months ending in R

- And white ones every other month

- But in December he has both...because its Christmas.

- Yeah, you and Reggie are best friends

- Always have been, always will

- But it doesn’t stop you from wanting more.

- It doesn’t stop the longing looks when you think no one is watching

- Or the lingering touches whenever he hugs you

- It doesn’t stop your heartbeat picking up whenever he walks into a room

- Or how you forget how to breathe whenever he looks at you

- You look forward to everyday, even if you have a pop quiz or homework you only remembered the night before

- Because he’s going to be there to make you smile

- Even if he isn’t doing it on purpose

- You look forward to the countless of texts he sends

- No matter how weird or ridiculous

- Like when he text you at half three in the morning to ask if birds were real because somebody told him they weren’t.

- You then got a text straight afterwards telling you that it would be great idea for a plot

- And you still answer every single one

- No matter how stupid they are

- It’s really a wonder how you get any sleep with your phone being on loud all the time

- But it’s worth it

- Especially when you get texts like

- ‘he’s done it again’

- Reggie’s relationship with his father complicated to say the least

- You remember when you were younger they used to be best friends

- Reggie idolized him

- And you’d have conversations in Reggie’s tree house, about how much he wanted to be just like his dad when he grew up

- But when he did grow up

- And started to develop a personality that didn’t just revolve around football

- Reggie no longer wanted to be just like his dad

- He wanted to be the furthest thing from him

- The first time it happened

- Reggie tried his hardest to hide it from you

- And for the first time in 8 years

- You went two days without seeing each other

- On the third day though

- You’d had enough

- So you went round to see him

- But when you asked his mom if he was in

- She lied and told you he had just gone out

- Even though you could clearly see him trying and failing to hide on the stairs

- So you did what any normal friend would do

- You climbed through his bedroom window

- With about as much grace and steal as you could muster

- Which surprisingly, wasn’t a lot

- And you gave him the fright of his life

- ‘what the hell are you doing here?’

- ‘you’re avoiding me’

- ‘i’m not. i’ve just been...busy’

- ‘doing what? fighting?’

- ‘what?’

- ‘your eye’

- ‘oh yeah...that’

- That was when you knew something was wrong

- You’ve known Reggie your entire laugh

- And you know the three things he’ll always boast about

- Girls, football and fighting

- ‘what happened?’

- When he told you

- You couldn’t believe what he was saying

- You wanted to find Marty Mantle and give him a black eye...see how he likes it

- But Reggie begged you not to do or say anything

- ‘it’ll only make it worse’

- ‘but its wrong. he should be locked up’

- ‘who’s going to believe me?’

- ‘me’

- ‘see...it was only one time anyway’

- So you agreed, reluctantly

- And you so wanted to believe it

- But then a few weeks later he turned up to school with a bust lip

- A month after that another bruise around his eye that he tried to hide behind sunglasses

- And by the time graduation rolled around

- Both of you had lost count of the sunglasses and excuses

- For three years he’d been trapped in a house with a father who thought hitting was the same as love

- And a mother who pretended it didn’t happen

- But now college was round the corner and that meant a chance for both of you

- Or at least thats what you thought

- ‘you didn’t get in?’

- ‘i didn’t get in.’

- ‘to any of them?’

- ‘nope’

- ‘reggi-’

- ‘it’s fine. my dad has always wanted me to work for him. i guess this will make him happy. even if i am the cleaner’

- ‘reg-’

- ‘please go’

- That summer was the longest one of your life

- It was even longer that the time Reggie had to get his appendix out and so you couldn’t hang out for a 3 weeks.

- For two and a half months

- You heard nothing from Reggie

- You text, called, DM’d and even E-mailed

- But you got nothing

- You went round at all times of the day to try and talk to him

- And every time Mrs Mantle answered and told you he was either out or busy

- Doing homework was her favourite excuse

- And Reggie has only ever done homework when you were doing the majority of it

- You even tried climbing in through his window again

- But he locked it

- So you watched every morning as he dragged himself into his dad’s car

- Wearing a stiff suit and a miserable expression

- No matter how hard you tried to get to him before the left

- How fast you ran or how early you got to his house

- They were always long gone before you managed to get anywhere close to him

- You missed the midnight texts about nothing

- You missed his stupid jokes

- You missed watching an entire room light up whenever he walked in

- You missed the way he made you feel, even if he was unaware of it

- You even missed watching his god-awful movies

- You just missed him

- And when he missed your leaving party

- That was the final straw

- At 7am the next morning

- You shoved the last of your boxes in the back of your car

- Said goodbye to your parents

- And drove away

- Three houses down the street

- Making sure your parents had gone back inside before stopping

- You sat outside for a few minutes

- Trying to think of what to do or say

- You knew his mom would answer the door

- And that you’d get the same excuses

- You also knew from the past few experiences that his window would still be locked

- So you threw rocks at his bedroom window in the hopes that when he’d check to see what it was, he’d leave it unlocked

- And he did!

- You watched from behind a bush as he hung his head out the window to look around

- His brow furrowed and hair messy

- Clearly he’d just woke up

- You couldn’t help the smile twitching at your lips

- You’d missed that face

- Climbing the window was a lot harder than it used to be

- Mr Mantle had taken the ladders away

- Another reason as to why he sucked

- But you managed eventually

- And you almost died only twice

- Which is good

- It’s better than three

- You landed on the carpet with a loud thud that made him jump half way across the room

- ‘y/n. what the hell are you doing here?’

- ‘it’s moving day. and i must say i’m very disappointed at the lack of preparation on your part. have you even started packing yet?’

- ‘it’s not funny y/n’

- ‘i know. do you see me laughing?’

- ‘i’m being serious y/n. just leave’

- ‘no’

- ‘what?’

- ‘the last time you told me to leave, i listened and i didn’t see you for two months, so no’

- ‘what about college’

- ‘what about it?’

- ‘it starts in three days’

- ‘i know. and if we stand here any longer we’re going to miss it. so get packed and lets go. it’s a nine hour drive and i’m not doing all of that alone’

- ‘you know i can’t go’

- ‘says who?’

- ‘my dad, every single college i applied for and me’

- ‘listen to me reggie. you are my best friend, you have been since we were babies. there’s not a part of my life you haven’t been in. do you really think that would stop at college?’

- ‘we didn’t spend the summer together’

- ‘and it was the worst summer of my life’

- ‘same...but that might have been because i was spending 12 hours a day in an office’

- ‘rude. but i’ll take it!’

- ‘i did miss you though. it was weird not seeing your face everyday’

- That makes your cheeks heat up and you have to force the flutter in your chest to go away

- ‘it always cheers me up’

- There it goes again and you want to claw at your chest until it’s no longer there

- Hope is a terrible thing to have when you’ve been in love with your best friend for your entire life

- ‘you always cheer me up’

- Oh dear...

- ‘i love you...a-as a friend. this summer has been the longest and most depressing for both of us. i don’t want to live the rest of my life like that. i need you reggie. so please pack your bags, say screw you to your dad and to this town and lets go’

- ‘what about money? where am i going to live?’

- ‘we’ll figure that out on the way there. just hurry up’

- And he did

- You and Reggie threw the majority of his belongings into any bag you could find

- He took all the money he’d been saving out of the poorly disguised fake plant

- And wrote a nice little note for his parents

- You also may have added a few choice words to it

- But what Reggie doesn’t know won’t hurt him

- And the two of you climbed into your car and never looked back

- The 9 hour car ride was the most fun you’ve ever had

- It was like you were trying to fit the entire summer you’d lost into those few hours

- It was filled with off key singing

- And stories of your summer

- His favourite being about Archie being tricked into going skinny dipping by himself

- You laughed loudly like nothing had happened

- And cried silently because everything had

- Thankfully when you arrived on campus, it was already night

- So you managed to sneak Reggie into your room

- And when you nervously told your roommate

- She just grinned at you

- ‘it’s fine, my boyfriend will probably be staying over a lot too’

- ‘oh, he’s not my boyfriend’

- ‘we’re not together’

- ‘...okay’

- She said with a knowing smile and you and Reggie shared a look

- And a year filled with adventures started

- Reggie got a job as a bartender with a little help from Veronica

- And you started your classes

- But nothing is ever easy

- At least not when it involves you or Reggie

- It turns out hiding a whole human is a lot more difficult that you anticipated.

- It involves Reggie squeezing into your closet

- And a whole team of people to get him to and from the showers

- But it was also difficult for another reason

- Because it was easy to hide your feelings from him when you lived in separate house

- But now you’re sharing a room

- And a bed

- And every time he would wrap his arms around you

- And pull in for a half asleep cuddle

- You’d forget how to breathe

- You’ve never been more excited to wake up

- Because he’d be all messy hair and parted lips with just a little bit of drool coming out of them that it would be cute instead of gross

- And when he said good morning in the same deep, tired voice

- You wanted to live in that feeling forever

- But then 2nd year rolled around and everything changed

- It all started when you moved into your own apartment

- You knew you had to but there was a part of you that hoped you could keep everything the same

- You found a tiny, two bedroom flat that you could both just about afford

- Reggie was so happy to have his own room

- ‘i won’t have to sleep next to you and your freezing cold feet anymore’

- ‘i’ll just sneak into your bed when your fast asleep and put them on you then instead’

- ‘i thought we were supposed to be friends’

- It took a few weeks to get used to an empty bed

- But eventually you started to sleep properly

- And it was quite nice to have your own space again

- It meant you could study without having to listen to ‘nighthawk nightmare’

- Honestly, you don’t really know what the plot of that one is

- But you’ve still seen it 7 times

- You may be in love with him but it doesn’t mean he can’t be annoying sometimes

- And you were happy with going back to admiring from afar

- Your heart can’t get broken that way

- In fact a small part of you thought he felt the same way

- That one glimmer of hope you felt a year ago

- Came back all of sudden

- And soon

- You became aware of the lingering touches

- And the gifts he’d buy you just because

- He also asked what you wanted to watch for your movie night

- And he’s never, ever done that unless you were sad or sick

- And even then, when you broke your arm a few years ago, he chose the film

- The way he looked at you suddenly felt different

- You would feel him staring, but when you would check he would always be scrolling through his phone

- And you’re sure the was a little bit of flirtiness in his tone whenever he spoke to you

- But just because you think you can’t be burnt if you stand far enough away from the fire

- Doesn’t mean that the sparks can’t jump out and get you anyway

- Because all of sudden Reggie started bringing girls home

- And every time you saw a t-shirt that wasn’t yours on the sofa

- Or a pair of shoes discarded by the door

- You felt yourself die a little

- After a few weeks of this

- Something in you snapped

- You’d spent the majority of your life pining after some boy who saw you as nothing more than a friend

- And sometimes a small part of you thought as just an escape route

- So you moped for a few weeks before deciding it was finally time to move on

- Reggie would only ever see you as a friend

- And that’s fine

- The only way to move on, is to move on.

- So you waited for the right guy to move on with

- And there were a few

- But none of them were right

- Until you met Daniel

- Sweet Daniel with curly brown hair and dimples

- Who studied history

- And spent his days sitting in the coffee shop on campus

- For a few weeks the two of you spent your short interactions stealing glances and exchanging shy smiles

- That evolved to small talk with flirty undertones

- Until finally he asked you out

- And you said yes

- And you kept saying yes to each date afterwards

- They were fun too

- He’d take you to museum's and on picnics and at night he’d pick you up and you’d go star gazing

- He would make you laugh when he’d tell you a joke

- And make you blush when he’s whisper in your ear while staring up at the sky

- But he wasn’t him

- And that killed you

- It doesn’t matter how many time he takes you to watch some unknown indie film thats supposed to be the greatest thing ever made

- It has nothing on standing outside the only cinema in town that’s showing ‘sharkcano vs tigerana’ in the freezing cold with Reggie wearing an absolutely ridiculous costumes that Reggie threw together last minute and somehow roped you into wearing too.

- But what hurt even more was watching how Reggie acted around you when you and Daniel started dating

- He looked hurt whenever he saw the two of you together

- And you would watch him roll his eyes whenever you mentioned him

- Until eventually he would just avoid you all together

- Do you know how hard it is to avoid someone when you’re living in the same 2 bedroom flat that barely gives two foot to yourself?

- It’s hard

- But Reggie finds a way

- Eventually you’re more roommates than friends

- And you really don’t know how much more you can take

- You feel like you’re about to break

- And Daniel can see that too

- So on Friday night he invites you to go drinking with him and his friends instead of staying in and moping

- ‘bye, i’m going out’

- ‘wait’

- The speed of which he runs from his room and into the living room where your stood, startles you to say the least

- ‘what?’

- ‘don’t go out with him.’

- ‘why not? what ever george has told you about is a lie. george does that. he once told a bunch of people that you streaked in an old people’s home and almost killed his grandmother’

- ‘because he isn’t me’

- You’ve dreamt of those words

- Built them up in your head for years

- But in all of your daydreams, there’s never been a scenario like this one

- Not one where you’re about to leave to go on a date with another guy

- ‘reggie? what are you talking about?’

- You need to make sure he’s saying what you think he’s saying

- Because you can feel yourself hoping again

- And you know if he doesn’t mean what you want him to

- You don’t think you’ll be able to recover

- ‘i love you y/n. you’re my best friend, you always have been, you always will be and i love you.’

- ‘reg-’

- ‘please tell me you feel the same way’

- ‘i-’

- In your head you had a full oscar worthy speech planned out just in case this ever happened

- But now you’re here in the moment.

- You have no idea what to say

- ‘it doesn’t matter. just leave’

- ‘no’

- ‘what?’

- ‘do you really think i’m going to walk away from you after that? when have i ever walked away from you?’

- ‘i-no’

- ‘i love you too by the way. if you care’

- ‘shut up...wait really?’

- ‘yes i do. i’ve loved you for as long as i can remember so are you going to just stand there or are you going to kiss me?’

- ‘i’m definitely going to kiss you’

- ‘good’

- And he does

- He’s standing in front of you before you can catch your breath

- His hands reach up to cup your cheeks

- His lips part as he stares down at you

- And you’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he’s looking at you

- Like you’re everything good and light in the universe

- And like he’s also been waiting just as long for this moment

- Maybe he has

- Maybe he’s been waiting all his life for this

- He just didn’t know

- You feel whatever breath you had left leave your lungs

- His lips are soft against yours, but he gets his point across

- And you’ve never been happier

- All the heartache and tears

- The laughter and stupid jokes

- The 3am texts

- The constant worrying

- The early mornings and late nights

- The damage to limbs from trying to fit in tiny closets

- And the scrapes on your ankles and bruising on your legs from crawling through his bedroom window

- They’re all worth it

- ‘are you still going on your date?’

- ‘what do you think?’

- ‘good. because they’ve just released werewombats 3’

#reggie mantle #reggie mantle imagine #reggie mantle x reader #reggie mantle x you #reggie mantle x y/n #reggie #reggie imagine #reggie x reader #riverdale #riverdale imagine

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ambivalent-anarchy · 3 years

Text

You've Got Moves (Part 2)

Masterlist

Part 1

Gender: Female

Pairing: Peter Parker x reader

Warning: None

A/N: Better late than never, right?😂😂 (wow 2 fics in one week that's crazyyy) Also I put one of my favorite comedy tiktoks in the dialogue soooooo oops? Also Harry and Ned are wingmen who share one brain cell and I like it that way

I might make one more part to this but idk

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

It took 7 months for Peter to ask you out.

It took the time for MJ and Asher to become a couple, homecoming to go by, MJ and Asher to break up, winter formal, midterm exams, MJ and Asher to get back together, and Christmas to go before Peter Parker gathered the guts to even consider thinking about asking you out.

Scared wasn't even the word for it.

Harry Osborn, the new transfer student, laughed at how nervous Peter was at lunch. "Asking girls out is easy, Peter. I do it all the time!"

"You say it like it's the simplest thing on earth," Peter dreaded, to which Harry shrugged.

"Because it is! You just ask. How is it that I've only been at this school for 2 months and I've had more chicks than both you and Ned combined?"

"Hooking up is not a hobby of mine. That's why," Peter retorted with a pitifully unintimidating glare.

Harry shrugged with his shit-eating grin. "It's not my fault the girls and gays can't resist these lips."

Ned chimed in as he threw a french fry into his mouth. "Peter, this isn't like Liz last year. You and [Y/N] are already really close, dude. I'm sure you can just ask her. Who knows? She might say yes!"

"But what if she says no?," Peter groaned. "Then I'll just be one of those people she avoids and barely talks to out of awkwardness." He shifted in his seat nervously. "I don't want that."

"But if you don't say anything then you'll always regret it," Ned pointed out.

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. "Peter, pull out your phone."

Peter raised his eyebrows in confusion, but followed Harry's instructions.

"Go to her in messages and say 'hey let's get dinner'." He smiled. "See? Simple."

Peter opened your messages in his phone and stared at your profile picture.

'You can do this, Peter. You can do this.'

He bit his lip. "Okay but should I say, 'let's get dinner' or 'do you want to get dinner'?" Seeing Harry's impatient face, he explained himself. "I just feel like those two sentences have completely different vibes, y'know?"

Harry glared at him. "Are you really about to have us telling you what to tell your crush like a bunch of girls?"

Peter didn't know how to answer that question seriously. "Uh...yes?"

Harry pondered the question for a small bit before simply shrugging and answering. "Hmm, go with 'let's get dinner', so you'll sound all confident and assertive."

"Okay."

Before Peter could press send without thinking twice, Ned stopped him. "Well, actually now you sound a little aggressive, man."

"Really?," Peter asked with a wince, immediately erasing the message.

"Yeah, I mean the last thing you wanna be like is the guy that's all like 'let's get dinner' like you're some kind of caveman."

Peter groaned. "Oh no, definitely not."

Ned ate another fry. "You want to ask her to dinner, not tell her to dinner."

"I'll go with 'do you want to get dinner' then," Peter said with a nod.

That one didn't sit well with Harry. "No Pete. Cuz now you sound like a pussy."

Peter slammed his phone onto the lunch table. "This stuff is tough!"

Ned turned towards Harry. "No but listen. The last thing Peter wants to do is come off as the overly masculine type that's all like 'let's get dinner cuz I'm the breadwinner, bitch', y'know?"

Harry shook his head. "Yeah but women also love assertiveness. You have to know what you want."

Peter stared at the table, desperately wanting the conversation to be over. Why would he even go to these two for relationship advice? Harry was the king of hookups and Ned's relationships never lasted longer than a few weeks. What was he thinking? For a guy with a 4.5 GPA, he sure did feel stupid.

"I got it!," Ned exclaimed. "Okay. Text her this. 'Dinner would be something that I would enjoy taking you on, but only if YOU were also interested in attending the meal'." He held his hands up for praise.

Harry nodded. "Mhm. Perfect balance. And the more words the better."

Peter just stared back at them, wondering where he'd gone wrong in life. "...no.... I'm not gonna send her that."

Harry shrugged. "Welp,' he sighed. "I guess some people just don't want to be helped."

So close to slamming his head into the table in front of him, Peter felt a tsunami of relief hit when he saw Asher walk into the cafeteria.

Asher was your best friend. If anyone knew the proper way you'd want to be asked out, it'd be him.

The second Asher noticed Peter looking at him, he made his way over. "Hey Peter. What's up?," he asked as he found an empty seat.

Harry spoke up before Peter had the chance. "Hey Ash. Pick one. 'Let's get dinner' or 'do you want to get dinner'."

Asher thought for a second. "Depends on the girl," he said before taking a bite into his apple. "-but 'do you want to get dinner' is nicer. Why?"

Harry slammed his fist on the table. "Damn it!"

"Yes!," Ned cheered.

Asher looked around the table. "Okay, by why?"

Harry and Ned went quiet and looked to Peter, who was staring anywhere to avoid eye contact. He began to mumble pitifully."I....I-i wanna.. I wanna-"

Harry and Ned spoke up, already tired of the conversation not getting anywhere. "He wants to ask-"

"-I wanna ask [Y/N] out!," he blurted, feeling his cheeks start to burn when Asher's smirk turned into a wide grin.

"Well it's about time!," he exclaimed. "She's been crazy about you since you met."

"Really? She has?," Peter asked. That wasn't even in the realm of possibility in his mind.

Asher nodded. "She's always going off to me about how-" he mocked your higher pitched voice. "I've been dropping him hints since, like, foreverrrr!"

"Seriously?! She has?"

Ned laughed. "Well Peter. She has been calling you cute since the day she met you..."

"But I just always thought it was the friendly kind of cute, y'know?," he rambled. "Not the boyfriend type cute!"

"How many girls are out here calling you cute for you to make that assumption, dude?," Harry asked.

Asher sighed. "So this is what it's like to have low confidence." He shook his head and gave Peter a disappointed look. "I can't say I like witnessing this, Pete."

"Just-" Peter groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. "Just tell me what will work, okay? I need to ask her out perfectly."

Asher tilted his head in confusion. "She's a simple girl. You just have to straight up ask her out. What's the confusion there?"

"That's what I said!," Harry yelled.

"You know he's got to make it difficult for himself for no reason," Ned pointed out.

"Okay can we all talk about how terrible I am at this after you help me?," Peter begged.

"...yeah."

"Sure."

"Ugh, fine."

Peter sighed. "Alright. So?"

"What are you going for?," Asher asked. "Like a gift or something?"

"I just want whatever's the absolute best way to ask her out."

Asher pinched the bridge of his nose. If he was gonna set you up with your crush, he wanted it to happen right.

"Okay," he said, staring Peter in the eyes with a new sort of intensity. "Think about your best moments with her. Now pick something special from all those moments and voila! You'll have it!"

Peter nodded and stared at the ground as he thought for a while about everything he'd done with you since the beginning of school. You were truly the most extraordinary, most confident girl he'd ever met.

Every time he'd thought you couldn't get more perfect, you'd just show him another side of you that was better than the rest. He always stayed endlessly impressed and most of all, he felt as if he didn't have to try too hard with you. He could be himself and mess up as many times as he could manage and you still stuck around, showing him that there needn't be any worries.

And your style? Fuck, you could make anything work for him. You were the only one who could get him out of his comfort zone and in front of a camera, for something as frivolous as a TikTok. But he'd always do it, and even find the fun in it, because it made you happy.

"Remember how we freaked out that first time when she called you cute, Pete?," Ned said. "She said that you were cute and that you only had to put it use!"

Harry laughed. "This girl is literally giving you the instructions, Peter. Take them."

"Hmm." Peter looked up with a smile and snapped his fingers. "I got it."

You tossed popcorn into your mouth and snuggled yourself further into the blanket. "Ash, how can you even say that? 'It' is a horror movie!"

"Yeah, technically," he retorted. "But there's literally not a single part of the movie that's scary. It's more of a drama than anything else."

"You realize the clown phobia rate skyrocketed when the movie came out right?"

Asher scoffed. "Uh, your point? It's not my fault some pussies couldn't sit through it. Still a drama. The story definitely played with your emotions more than your fears."

"Whateverrrr," you laughed. "I can't deal with you."

"Pennywise literally got up and did this," he said before breaking out into Pennywise's dance. He laughed as he kicked his legs out. "What kind of horror movie has this crap in it?" He stopped when he felt the full force of you throwing a pillow on his face. "Ugh!"

"Sit down and get under the covers, idiot," you hissed. "I wanna keep watching these HORROR films."

"Whateverrrr," he drawled out, mocking you. He sighed and plopped down next to you, grabbing a handful of popcorn after.

When school was getting suffocating, marathoning horror movies with Asher were a must. He had an endless repertoire and all the time in the world for his best friend.

Halfway through 'It: Chapter 2' though, the movie was the least of your focus and instead was TikTok.

What could you say? The app was addictive.

It was a big, entertaining, completely useless collage of everything every no-name had to offer, from stupid debates to cringey POV's to fun dance routines.

You tried to hook every friend you could on it. Asher, of course, already knew about it since it first came out and he, of course, had thousands of followers because most of what he posted was random thirsts traps whenever he was feeling hot, which was always. And thirsts traps are always in high demand for the people on TikTok.

You tried to hook MJ on it, but she'd already decided that she didn't like it before even giving it a chance. Even the messy, political side didn't reel her in.

Of course then there was Peter, who didn't know was TikTok even was before he met you. You made it your sole mission to get him hooked, but you'd since given up on that. It was a lost cause. The only time he probably ever saw TikTok nowadays was when he was doing dances with you before gym started. He let you put the app on his phone but he never used it. You wouldn't even put it past him to have deleted it, but it was whatever. TikTok had started his friendship with you, so needless to say, it'd done an amazing job in your life.

Plus your followers were always asking about him. All of the "omg couple goalssss" and "you guys look so cute together" served as massive confidence boosters. A girl can dream, right?

You shifted over a bit when you felt Ash getting closer and closer to you.

When he moved over again, you scooted away, only for him to get closer again. "Ash, what is your deal?"

"Easy there," he chuckled, backing up a little. "I'm looking at the phone, not you."

"You've been all up in my phone all day, what's up?"

"I can't tell you," he shrugged, a sly smirk stretching across his face. "But," he pointed to your tiny screen. "Some idiot is taking wayyyy too long to shoot his shot."

"Shoot his shot?" You gasped. "Who?"

"I'm not at liberty to say," he said with a smirk.

"Nooooo," you whined. "If someone has a crush on me you gotta spill! C'mon, please?"

He laughed and repeated himself. "I'm sorry, but I am not at liberty to say!"

"Bullshit! Who is it? C'mon! C'monnnnnn!"

He shrugged and this time you knew that he was dead set on not giving up the mystery guy.

"Ugh," you pouted. "Fine. Let's just finish the stupid movie."

"Kids next door, battle stations!!!!"

And now it was sometime after midnight. The popcorn was all gone. The movie was done and now you were watching old cartoons so that the horror movie wouldn't be the last thing on your mind before bed.

Looking over, you saw that Asher didn't need any cartoons like you did. He was already passed out, snoring as loud as ever.

Grumbling in boredom, you stared at the wall, trying to connect the tiny dots in the designs. It was like something was officially keeping you from being able to fall asleep.

*Ding!*

At the sound of your phone receiving a text, you sat up curiously. Who was texting you at this hour?

You smiled when you saw that it was Peter.

Pete: hey y/n

You were about to send him a quick,"why are you up this late" text, but he kept typing.

Pete: pls dont judge me too hard for this

With that completely vague warning, you furrowed your eyebrows, concerned.

Y/n: whats up r u okay

He sent you a link next, which confused you, but not as much as when you actually pressed it.

It led you to TikTok, and the video was waiting to be pressed to start. Peter was standing in the middle of the screen with one of his typical corny sweatshirts on. The caption at the top read: "For [Y/N] Only". Smiling already, you quickly pressed play.

You slapped your hand over your mouth. "Oh my God."

"So he finally got the guts, huh?," Asher mumbled, having woken up from the loud music on your phone but was still half-asleep.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I wake you?," you asked. You turned down your phone.

"Don't worry about me, you just got a boyfriend," he chuckled, moving to lay down so he could get to sleep again. "Text him back for god's sake."

~~~

Y/n: its been almost a whole year and youre still so cute when you make those

Pete: haha thanks

Pete: uh

Pete: i really like you y/n

Pete: do u think you'd wanna go out with me or get dinner sometime?

~~~

"He asked me out," you gasped. "Ash, he asked me out!"

Asher rolled over and groaned. "I thought that was already established? Jesus, you two couldn't possibly be moving any slower."

You rolled your eyes. "Fuck you."

"Nah, you're with Peter now," he laughed. "You're gonna have to fuck him instead!" That comment earned him another pillow to the face.

You looked back at the messages and sent a tiny cute one. You smirked at the new idea of what was about to happen and turned it off before going to sleep.

~~~

Y/n: kiss me at school tomorrow and find out

~~~

Didn't do a third edit cuz I got lazy but I'm pretty happy with the turnout anyway. Thanks for reading!

Tagging: @allegra-writes, @allegra-soleil, @yumings, @hey-its-grey, @spideyyeet, @sunkissedspidey, @tommyunderoos, @chaoticpete, @snarky--starky, @sovereignparker, @thesherlockianavenger, @bubblebucky, @kelieah, @eridanuswave, @ithoughtthiswastwitterbutfr, @kidney9-9, @gwenvrse

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evilwerewolves2 · 3 years

Text

Child’s play Ch.3

~War~

Active war zones had been safer than the red district this past week. The Jade dragons had been non-stop attacking the territory lately. Most people including you thought it was to get back at the Ruby's for the attack on Ushijima's father. Only two had known exactly why the Jade's wouldn't stop. Those two being Ushijima himself and Tendou.

Tendou knew what he had said a week prior would start shit with Ushijima but he didn't think he'd start so soon after the death of his father. But Tendou knew Ushijima was notorious for pushing himself too far. Tendou hadn't made the order for Ushijima's father but it was now his cross to bear because he took you with him.

That was what the fight was about. Ushijima knew eventually his father would either die or get taken out. He had made peace with it but taking you. Oh that was the single biggest mistake Tendou had ever made.

Ushijima knew he must have had a plan when he took you. He had to. Nobody would just make such a stupid decision. To take someone who he had planned on making his. Tendou knew that so why would he take you and then jab at him with his comment.

Ushijima had attacked every single enforcer household he could think of. Where the fuck were you. There's no way Tendou would be stupid enough to take you to the main house. If you saw anything he'd have to kill you. If Tendou killed you he would wipe his entire bloodline off the face of the earth. He had to stay calm. He needed to find you quickly. He should have done this sooner and Tendou has been expecting it.

~The Call~

You saw a call pop up on Ten's phone with the I.D. 'Farmer's boy' you knew this had to be Ushijima. You also knew that Ten was in a meeting and he had specifically said

"Do NOT answer the phone should a 'Farmer's boy' call kay?"

You watched the call ring through and a text pop up

"You better answer me coward"

He kept calling over and over and by the time Tendou was out of the meeting 'Farmer's boy' had called thirty six times and in between each was a more threatening text. As ten walked into the room he noticed you staring down at the phone as the caller I.D. popped up once again Tendou picked it up and answered.

"Y'ello?" ~Tendou

"THIRTY SEVEN FUCKING CALLS AND THEN YOU PICK UP BITCH" ~Ushijima

"Someone's angy" ~Tendou

"I swear to fucking god TENDOU" ~Ushijima

"Yeeesssss Iji? What can I do ya' for?" ~Tendou

"DON'T CALL ME THAT ONLY Y/N GETS TO CALL ME THAT" ~Ushijima

"Ohhh kayyyy so why'd ya' call? Miss me Ushiwaka?" ~Tendou

"Oh I think you know pretty damn well Tendou." ~Ushijima

"Enlighten me" ~Tendou

"I'm going to curb stomp your ass." ~Ushijima

"Where's Y/N. This all ends if you bring her back to me right now Tendou. We can't go back to normal but we can all still be friends."

"I don't know if she wants that Ushijima" ~Tendou

"And why is that." ~Ushijima

"You freaked her out pretty bad dude she was crying on the ground when I found her" ~Tendou

"Excuse me. Whether or not she wants to she still owes me a debt she either comes back or I'm going to take her from you" ~Ushijima

"*chuckles* you can certainly try" ~Tendou

"Are we going to do this" ~Ushijima

"I guess soooooo" ~Tendou

"TEN-"~Ushijima

~The Talk~

Tendou hung up on Ushijima. You only heard his side of the conversation but Tendou seemed pretty pissed. He thinks he fucking owns Y/N because of a debt she hadn't willingly taken part in FUCK that. Tendou was starting to think that his plan wasn't worth it. As he looked at you, your eyes met his, looking hopefully at him he knew you were depending on him. Ushijima wasn't often wrong but the way your eyes caught his always threw him off. You had such innocent eyes. How did someone like you get in between a war. Caught in the crossfire, Tendou was determined to make sure you weren't going to be a casualty. He refused to even let you get close to being a casualty; he would rather give his life than to watch the life drain from your innocent eyes.

"Hate to say this but you never should've come back you're in a lot of trouble now Y/N" ~Tendou

"I..I know I'm a lot of trouble. I'm sorry but I missed you. Both of you" ~Y/N

Tendou let out a defeated sigh.

"That's not what I said and you know it. You're in danger right now Y/N, and it's my fault but I'm glad I ran into you the other night. It helped me take my mind off of some things. And just so you know, I didn't put out the order for Iji's dad. " ~Tendou

"I know he probably thinks I did but I could never. I would never willingly divide us"

"Iji loves you a lot. Borderline obsessive over you. So when you came back you could say his inner yandere awakened *chuckles*"

"He'll never believe I didn't put out the order and honestly the other night I don't know what I was thinking I fucked up bad" ~Tendou

"What do you mean" ~Y/N

"I took you. I in essence took the yanderes beloved and I just threw away my lifeline that he gave me" ~Tendou

"Why didn't you take it?!" ~Y/N

"Y/N he's bartering with your life. If I just gave you to him sure all my problems would go away but I couldn't sleep at night knowing that you're gonna be stuck for life. If you run away again there's no telling what he'll do and honestly Y/N if you hadn't run into me he'd probably be punishing you right about now" ~Tendou

"W..What?" ~Y/N

"You really have no clue huh?" ~Tendou

"He'd keep you tied up probably and if not he'd keep you stuck in one house at the very least. While you were gone the mafia life caught up with him a little bit. I don't know what happened but I do know that he always talked about you being his. When I asked him what he'd do if you were with someone else he always responded the same way"

"I'd end them and then pretend to mourn with her until she was ready to date again and then make her mine." ~Ushijima

"But what if she doesn't want to be with you?" ~Tendou

"I won't give her a choice. She will be mine Tendou" ~Ushijima

"I HATE that 'I wOn'T gIvE hEr A cHoIcE' fuck that you have a right to choose it's your fucking life." ~Tendou

You'd never seen Tendou so worked up. It confused you, a lot. He threw away his lifeline because he wanted you to have a choice in your own life. You hugged Tendou so tight and he was so confused for a minute but when you didn't let go he realized you wanted a hug back. He hugged you back with tears in his eyes.

"I missed you" ~Tendou

~Give Her A Choice~

She doesn't want to come back?! Really after all he's done for you and you don't want to come back because he choked you?!! Some women like that! Fuck it, i guess he'll have it take you by force. He called Tendou one more time but his call went straight to voicemail. His voice message before the beep had changed though.

"Give her a choice Ushijima or she'll never love you the way you want her to."

Give her a choice? Why? He'll take care of you. He wants you to be his so why would he jeopardize that by letting you choose. You'd learn to love him if you didn't already. Right? The last part of Tendou's voice message continued to echo through his head. 'she'll never love you the way you want her to.' you wouldn't love him the way he wanted you to? If he didn't let you choose? He couldn't understand so he asked one of his underlings.

"Saeko would you love a man the same if you were forced into it rather than naturally falling for him?" ~Ushijima

"Hell no! I'd probably resent him and take every chance I could to escape that psychopath!" ~Saeko

Well that definitely wasn't what he wanted to hear but he knew she was being honest at least.

"I have to give her a choice and I have to be content if I've already fucked it up huh?"

He thought to himself.

"I love her and I don't want her to resent me but I want her to be my wife and the mother to my children. So if she doesn't love me I don't know what to do"

You noticed over the next few days that the advances that the Jades had been taking were slowly but surely receding. Ushijima was retreating? Tendou turned his phone back on and listened to the voicemail Ushijima had left.

"I'll give her a choice, Tendou. This isn't easy for me. But I want her to love me and not hate me. I wont do anything if she returns to her house but I want to see her so I can apologize."

#haikyu x reader #haikyuu mafia #haikyuu!!#ushijima x y/n #ushijima x reader #mafia ushijima x reader #mafia au

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ionlyspeakinmyheroacademia · 4 years

Text

Under the Fluorescent Lights

masterlist

Pairing: Shouto Todoroki x fem!reader

Word Count: 3k+

Type: Oneshot!

Summary: You and Shouto are both harboring unspeaken feelings for each other, and the school dance may be your last chance to tell each other

Warnings: none, just pure, tooth-rotting fluff :)

Author’s Note: This was really fun to write, I hope you all like it, stay tuned for more lovelies! (story under the cut!)

𐇵𐇵𐇵

You had never been in love before, or at least you didn’t think you had. Up until this point in your life, you had had crushes, and flings, but you had never been in love.

That was, until you met Shouto Todoroki. You befriended the bi-haired boy, his cold, closed-off demeanor drew you in, even if he didn’t necessarily want you there. After a few months of going to UA together, he finally accepted that you weren’t going anywhere, and you became real friends.

When he finally opened up to you, and showed you who he really was, you were amazed. He wasn’t the cold, arrogant boy most people saw, he was kind, and funny, and sweet. And slowly, without meaning to, you fell for him. Hard.

It was nearing the end of your third year at UA, and you still hadn’t got the chance to tell him how you really felt. You were terrified that he would reject you, like he’d rejected so many others in your time of being friends with him, that he wouldn’t want you the way you wanted him. These fears filled you up, ate at you from the inside, preventing you from voicing your feelings.

But it was fine. Shouto seemed content on staying friends anyway.

“Y/N!” you heard from behind you, and you turned to see you best friend Mina, bounding down the hall towards you, her eyes lit up with excitement.

“Hey Mina,” you said as she crashed into you, nearly knocking you both to the ground.

“Gosh, be careful clumsy!” you scolded, but you don’t really mean it, you were grinning the whole time.

“Anywho, so guess what!” she said, bouncing around excitedly.

“What?” you asked, trying to focus on her face as it bobbed up and down.

“Soooooo, since this is our last month at UA, they’re having this dance for the third years, and…. I think you should ask Todoroki!”

“Mina!” you protested, looking around quickly, making sure no one was around to hear. “Could you be any louder?!”

She laughed, and leaned over to ruffle your hair affectionately. You pushed her off, and complained about your now messed up hair.

“I think you should finally just tell him, Y/N. It’s been long enough now, even if he doesn’t return your feelings, which he totally will, by the way, wouldn’t it be better if he knew?”

“No, Mina. I’m not jeopardizing my friendship with Shouto just so he can know what I feel.”

“Whatever you say….” Mina said, shrugging, and then she threw her arm around your shoulder, and the two of you walked down the hall towards the dorms. “You will come though, right?”

“Yeah, probably, we can go together, like the single pringles we are,” you laughed, and bumped your hip against hers, and the two of you headed down the hall, laughing as you went.

𐇵𐇵𐇵

Shouto didn’t usually let people know how he felt.

But then he met you, and you changed his life for the better. At first, he was wary of you, you were so bright, so full of energy, and you shone brighter than the sun. He was nervous to open up to you, because everyone in his life had betrayed his trust at one time or another. But you were there, you were always there, even if he wanted to be alone, you were there to calm him down, to listen to his anxieties, his insecurities, his feelings. And slowly, over time, he fell in love with you, as much as that scared him.

In the beginning, he wasn’t sure what the feeling was. It filled him up, a warmth spreading through him, one that wasn’t caused from his quirk. His cheeks would flush slightly whenever he saw you, and he would only have eyes for you whenever you were in the same room as him. If you noticed, you never said anything, and he was too worried to ever really tell you what he felt.

So naturally, he just bit back his feelings, and kept them inside. It was the only thing he knew. All his life, he’d seen what love did to people, it tore them apart, it made them crazy. Shouto never had a good example of love in his life, considering his parents weren’t in love, and his bastard of a father, who beat Shouto’s mother, siblings, and Shouto himself constantly, definitely wasn’t. And honestly? He was afraid that one day he would turn into his father. It was his greatest fear, and the only person who knew was you.

Because he trusted you, more than he trusted anyone.

“Todoroki? Are you even listening?” Midoriya asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

“Huh?” Shouto said, shaking out of his thoughts. Midoriya shook his head and looked back at his textbook.

“We have finals in a week, Todoroki! You really need to pay attention!” Midoriya scolded, and Shouto grimaced, looking back at his notes.

“I’m sorry, Midoriya, I was lost in thought.”

“Todoroki, forgive me for being so intrusive, but you should just tell her.”

If Shouto had been drinking, he would have spit it right out. “What?” he exclaimed, and swiveled his head to look at Midoriya, his cheeks flushed.

“You know, your crush on Y/N?” Midioriya prompted, bumping Shouto’s arm with his shoulder, chuckling at the dumbstruck look on his friend’s face. “What? Did you think I didn’t know? You’re not as subtle as you think you are.”

“Well, you tend to be more observant than most people,” Shouto grumbled, and Midoriya shrugged, smiling. “Do you think…. Does she know?” Shouto asked, avoiding Midoriya’s eyes and doodling on the side of his paper to distract from the pounding in his chest.

“Eh, I doubt it, she doesn’t really seem like she does, she’s kind of oblivious,” Midoriya laughed, and Shouto opened his mouth to interject before Midoriya cut him off again. “I’m just kidding, Todoroki, calm down. But really, you should let her know how you feel. Do you really want to graduate without telling her? You two have been dancing around each other for the past three years, Todoroki, and I’m sure she’s waiting for you to make the first move.”

“If she even likes me back,” Shouto said, and turned back to his notes, trying to ignore the feelings threatening to spill over. Go away, he thought to himself, I’m not ready yet.

Midoriya didn’t answer, instead went back to talking about what he figured would be on the finals, and different techniques for their final practical exams. Shouto tried to listen, but his mind kept wandering back to you. How your soft, beautiful hair frames your face, how your eyes shine like a million stars when you look at him, how you make his heart beat faster than Iida’s Recipro Burst whenever you’re in the room. He lets his head fill with thoughts of you, your smile whenever you see him, your hair after you’ve just woken up after falling asleep during a movie night in the common area, sticking up all over the place, and he remembered tufts of it tickling his face as he carried you up to your room that night.

Shouto smiles down at the paper in front of him, and he wishes he had the courage to tell you what he really felt for you, wishes he could explain what you do to him, and lets his mind go back to thoughts of you, not even hearing Midoriya as he continues to talk about school.

𐇵𐇵𐇵

The lights in Gym Gamma were dimmed, and you stood next to the refreshment table underneath streamers and balloons that looked extremely half-assed. You wondered to yourself if Aizawa had done them, and a smile came to your face as you watched your friends dance. Kirishima was trying (and failing) to pull a reluctant Bakugou onto the dance floor with him. The drink in your hand was cold, the condensation on the side of the cup making your hand slick. You resisted the urge to wipe it on your dress, and took a sip, the cold drink calming you a bit. Smiling, you look out at your friends breaking it down on the dance floor, watching as they twirled and shimmied across the concrete.

Mina, all done up in a beautiful purple dress that hugged her curves perfectly, was dancing wildly in the center of the room, dragging a very stressed Jirou with her. You giggle at their expressions, Mina’s excited and full of life, Jirou’s conveying the silent message that she wanted to die. Mina had tried to get you to dance with her, but you had never been much of a dancer, and your friend knew better than to push.

So here you sat, a drink in your hand as you watched your classmates having fun while you tried to avoid social interaction. You weren’t quite sure what was wrong with you tonight. Normally you would be in the middle of all the action, a smile on your face. But tonight, it was different. Maybe it was the fact that you were graduating in a week, and you might not see these people who had become your best friends anytime soon. Or maybe it was because Shouto had been talking to Yaomomo for the last five minutes, even though you were over here alone. You knew it was silly to be jealous, he wasn’t yours. But you couldn’t help it, the envy ate at your heart, giving you a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Sighing, you tugged on the hem of your dress, the periwinkle fabric bunching up on your thigh. You had tried to look nice tonight, wearing the dress that you knew was Shouto’s favorite color, pinning your hair up away from your eyes, and you had even let Mina do your makeup. You had told yourself you were dressing up for you, but deep down you knew that wasn’t the case. What you really wanted was a reaction out of Shouto, you wanted his heterochromatic eyes to light up when he saw you, you wanted his cheeks to flush at the sight of you, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen.

Because he was still talking to Yaomomo, listening as she talked animatedly, her eyes bright under the overhead lights. Your stomach churned as he smiled at her, the same smile he gave you, and you felt the urge to run away, to leave. So you set your cup down on the table, and you did. You felt stupid, weak. He wasn’t your boyfriend, why wouldn’t he talk to Yaomomo? Even if he was your boyfriend, he would be allowed to talk to her, but it wouldn’t bother you as much, because if you were together, you would be standing next to him, holding his hand or smiling as his arm rested around your shoulders.

You pushed the door to the cool March air, stepping out into the night, the flickering fluorescent light above you mocking you. A tear slipped down your cheek, caressing the side of your face, leaving a warm track. You felt pitiful. Here you were, crying over a boy you were too much of a coward to tell how you felt.

You looked up at the sky, cursing the lights of the city from preventing you from seeing the stars. The stars were one of the things you missed most from back home. When you were a little girl, you would climb up onto the roof, and let yourself get lost in the story the constellations told until you were calm. You wished you were home right now, sitting at the table with your mom and your little Maeko, your sweet baby sister. It wasn’t very often that you really wanted to go home, but when you were nervous or sad, you always missed the open fields that spread out by your mother’s house, the wildflowers blowing everytime the wind blew.

You tried to calm yourself with memories of your home, trying to push Shouto out of your brain. You had almost successfully pushed the thoughts of him away when you heard the familiar rumble of his deep voice from beside you.

“Y/N?”

𐇵𐇵𐇵

Shouto had been talking to Yaomomo when he realized you were missing. He scanned the room for you, and felt his heart sink when he didn’t see you.

“Yaoyorozu,” he said, cutting her off as she started another tangent about the agency she was going to. “Would you excuse me for a moment?”

“Oh,” she replied, her face falling a bit, but quickly covered with a smile. “Sure, okay!”

“Thank you,” he said, and smiled at her before walking over to the refreshments table, where your abandoned drink sat, condensation slowly sliding down the side. Shouto saw your shoes sitting next to the table, and he smiled. You always seemed to prefer going around barefoot.

He looked around, and the backdoor caught his eyes, and he knew that was probably where you went. He knew you liked to feel the breeze on your face, that it always calmed you down. He pushed the door open, and turned, looking back and forth for you, before heading to the side of the building, where he saw you standing under a very old and flickering fluorescent light, your face turned towards the sky as tears leaked down your cheeks.

“Y/N?” he said lightly, and nearly lost his footing when you looked over at him. You looked breathtaking, and he realizes this is the first time he’s really seen you all night. Your hair is pinned up elegantly, away from your face, so he can see your beautiful tear-filled eyes. The periwinkle dress you’re wearing hugs you in all the right places, and falls just above your knee, and he lets his eyes wash over you. God, she looks so beautiful in periwinkle, he thought. “Are you okay?”

“Not really,” you reply, and you look back to the sky, the cool breeze ruffling your hair.

He takes you in, the way your shoulders are hunched, how your brow is slightly furrowed, and your mouth is set in a small pout. I wish I knew how to tell her what I feel… he thought, and he let his head fill with memories of the two of you sitting in the kitchen after hours, sneaking cookies and drinking tea. He remembers when the two of you sat out in the rain, your quirk keeping them waterproof as you talked, completely uninterrupted, just spilling your thoughts. He thought about your hugs, you know he can’t resist your hugs, they're so warm, and he melts into them every time, wrapping his arms around you. You are his home, his safe place to go when he’s scared, when he needs a friend, when he needs to talk.

The memories flooding his mind cause the feelings to spill over, and the emotions he’s tried so hard to suppress start to push their way out. The feeling rushes over him in waves, and Shouto finally admits what he’s been trying to hide for so long.

He loves you.

“Y/N, I have something I need to tell you,” he says, his sudden realization giving him a burst of confidence. You turn to look at him, your eyes sad.

“Can I say something first?” you ask, and he nods. “Why didn’t you come over and talk to me?”

He’s taken aback a bit by your question, it’s definitely not what he expected you to say, but he hurries to answer it. “Well, I wanted to, but Yaoyorozu wouldn’t stop talking about her agency, and I couldn’t escape,” he laughs lightly, noting how you perk up when he says this, some of the sadness leaving your eyes. “Can I tell you something now?”

“Sure,” you reply, a smile tugging at the corner of your lips.

He takes a deep breath, and looks you directly in your eyes, the fluorescent light casting an odd glow on the two of you. “I think I’m in love with you,” he breathes, just loud enough for you to hear, and he shifts his gaze downward when he hears your sharp intake of breath. He’s afraid to look at you, he’s worried he’ll see the rejection he’s so afraid of in your eyes. Slowly, you make your way over to him, and you tilt his chin up lightly with your finger so his eyes meet yours. He prepares himself for the worst, but then he sees your face.

You’re smiling, and Shouto feels a stirring in his chest when he sees how bright your eyes are, shining with happiness. “What a coincidence, Sho’. I think I’m in love with you too,” you whisper, and he can’t take it anymore. He crashes his mouth against yours, and you kiss him back with just as much fervor, your fingers bury themselves in his hair, pulling him down against you. His hand finds the small of your back, and he pulls you as close as you possibly could be to him, holding you there, and cherishing this moment.

The two of you break apart, and smile at each other. Shouto tries to commit this moment to memory, your eyes bright, your lips slightly puffy from kissing him, your fingers still wound in his hair. The flickering of the fluorescent light casts shadows on your face, but they don't hide your breathtaking grin.

“You don’t know how long I’ve waited for you to do that,” you say softly, your hand moving to brush the hair out of his eyes.

He turns his face, and kisses the inside of your palm. “I’m sorry I was a coward,” he replies, and you both laugh, and he wraps his arms around your shoulders, pulling you into a hug. When the two of you pull apart, and he takes your hand, silently promising to never let you go again, he vows to never let you slip away from him.

The two of you walk, hand in hand, big goofy smiles on your faces, into the gym, where your friends await you with a thousand questions. But neither of you mind, because all the both of you really wanted was to be together, and both of you wishes finally came true, under the broken fluorescent light behind Gym Gamma.

#todoroki shouto #todoroki shoto x reader #todoroki x reader #bnha fanfic #bnha #bnha x reader #bnha x you #my hero academia #my hero academia fanfic #under the fluorescent lights #ionlyspeakinmyheroacademia #fluffy #fluff #tooth rotting todoroki fluff #best friend mina #best friend midoriya #mha oneshot #bnha oneshots

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teakmiddleton · 3 years

Text

discord thread with @rebeccakoval

Some of the people whose names were on the letters weren't familiar to Teak, so it took a little doing to hunt out who they were. Fortunately in that respect, the current confuddle and confusion on dear old Mystery-Ass Island worked to his advantage; people were too busy trying to deal with dark and snow and their own securing shelter and warmth and food, that they didn't have the bandwidth to be suspicious when he asked them questions.

And that was how he managed to find out who Rebecca was, and that she lived in some cave. Teak was surprised people chose to live in caves, and when he caught sight of Rebecca, he said as much: "Aren't there bats in there? Aren't you like, grossed out by the guana? Iguana? Wait, what's it called, the special name for bat poop? Isn't it highly toxic to breathe in the spores? I'm Teak, by the way. We haven't met."

He announced this last part with assuredness and a bright grin, certain he was correct. Well, certain enough.

Becca had seen him somewhat in the distance, climbing over the rockier terrain of the Western Cove, stealing glances here and there as she tried to collect her limited laundry pile into a net to drag down to the river for cleaning. Rebecca stood, frowning slightly when the stranger walked to the mouth of the cave, chatting like they were thick as thieves.

She really had to start thinking about making a door for more privacy.

Becca blinked, she didn’t know the answer to what bat poop was officially called. It never seemed that important, but now her focus was back on the cave walls which were cool and clean from what she could see. And maybe if she had been given just a moment of warning she would have been ruffled at the inference her living quarters might be inherently dirty – but Rebecca was taken so off guard by the company and rapid fire observation the most she could do was gape and stare.

“Well…I know an iguana is a lizard. So it’s not that.” She offered quietly, pursing her lips to ask the man just how they knew one another when he clarified that too. They really were strangers. Well, that made Becca feel a little better. “I didn’t think so. I’m Rebecca. Can I help you with something?”

"Right! Iguana lizard. They don't get along with bats, I don't think. But I could be wrong. And this island is weird anyhow so who knows what laws of the animal kingdom got messed up here." Teak shook his head direly at the thought. "Oh, but wait -- you grew up here, right? You were born here or something? Rebecca?"

He shook his head at her inquiry about if she could help him with anything, saying, "Actually, it's sorta the other way around. I, potentially, might be helping you with something. Not to do with your bat poop." Teak looked apologetic. "Sorry, didn't mean to get your hopes up in that respect, but if you choose a cave I figure you're down with bat business."

He gave a thoughtful nod, then shook himself back into the topic at hand. "But! What I'm here for is something else. I think I have something that's meant for you. Did you go out to the yacht that was here?"

“I did.” Becca confirmed, giving a slight nod for further emphasis. Well, even if they technically never met, it was obvious Teak had gone out of his way for something. She couldn’t exactly imagine lizards and bats interacting all that much, but he made a good point – given how weird the rest of the island was, who really knew for sure?

She scoffed, placing a hand on her hip as he brought up the bat poop again. Although he clearly had other things to get to, she couldn’t let the mention slide so easily. “I don’t need help with that. The cave is clean, was uninhabited practically till I walked up.” Her brow furrowed, puzzled when the yacht was brought into conversation. Becca glanced behind herself over to her makeshift mattress, above she’d manage to scavenge a nail, and the locket hung there.

“Yeah I swam out. There was something else, that you got saddled with? How weird. Well, the whole thing was weird, no surprise there or anything…” She trailed off before looking on expectantly at Teak, “Can I have it?”

"You found a clean, uninhabited cave?" Teak regarded Becca for a few long moments. "You sure that's what happened? You just happened to luckily find yourself a clean cave with nobody already living in it for you to have it all to yourself?" He snorted. "Ohhhhhh-kay. I believe you. I'm sure you didn't get somebody to throw out whoever was currently living in that cave so you could move in."

It wasn't really of much importance to Teak except that he kept it in mind for the future: Becca living alone in her apparently vermin-free cave, ripe for the eviction. It didn't matter at the moment.

"Why don't we trade?" Teak said. "Whatever it is you found on the yacht for whatever I found for you on the yacht." He'd noticed the way she glanced into her cave and added, "Don't try to tell me you didn't find anything on the boat. We all did."

“I didn’t need anybody to throw the previous inhabitant out.” Becca scoffed. If Teak wanted to be haughty about it, she could easily follow. “If you really want to know, I killed and buried them back out in the jungle.” A pretty bold face lie, but Rebecca’s expression remained placid and unbothered none the less. Maybe Teak would believe her, and maybe he wouldn’t, and even if he ran to tell, what did it really matter?

She laughed at his suggestion of a trade, picking up one of her torn garments and attempting to mend it with one of the less perfected, handmade bamboo needles she had managed to barter off one of the other islanders. “Sure, I found something, but it’s not for trade. Especially if you aren’t even going to tell me what you have of mine in the first place. Is that how you usually trade for things? I can’t imagine it works very well.”

Becca's claim to have murdered somebody and disposed of the corpse was entertaining, at least, so Teak just laughed and snapped and pointed at her with a wink. "Good one," he said cheerfully. "As if somebody like you is capable of murder. Or burying somebody. I mean unless you're an earthbender? In which case you probably could bury somebody without too much fuss."

She started to return to some task and Teak stepped closer, peering curiously at Becca's sewing venture. "Are you mending clothes? Maybe I could get you to do that for me. Hire you, I suppose. Unless that's what you do for the island, like your ... job, or whatever. How some people have jobs. Like all those stuck-up humps at the farm." Teak rolled his eyes at the thought. Not a single person on that farm (so far as he knew) was bearable.

He patted the pocket where he was keeping the letters. "I've got a few words for you from your dear old dad," Teak announced. "But then it doesn't sound like he really knew you, so I dunno how much dear is involved in it." He bobbed his chin. "Interested?"

Becca shrugged, “Whatever you think then.” She squinted fumbling with the needle and fabric for a moment before tightening one of the stitches. When she glanced up, she hadn’t expected Teak to be closer and blinked in surprise. “Ah no…I don’t do it for the island. I think it’s a bit too haphazard for that.” She held out the clothing so Teak could see the imperfection. “Don’t know if you want that but it works for me.” She cleared her throat, smirking at the corner of her mouth, “What would you barter?”

Rebecca stopped for a moment, finding something to tie her hair up with, “Well, I have another confession – I work on the farm occasionally. Don’t know if I’ve ever been called a stuck-up hump before.” She snorted at the slight insult, not taking it seriously for herself or anyone else who spent time there. Teak could have his opinions, the farm was making the roughness of the island just a bit more bearable at the very least.

She was disappointed to hear what Teak had for her in his pocket. It was like a punch to the gut, Becca sat with the feeling for a moment and then shook her head, “No, actually. Thank you.” She didn’t need some apology, excuse ridden letter. Or anything sappy or anything…mean. She didn’t need anything from the person that had simply dumped her at the jungle’s (and eventually Libby’s) mercy. He had a choice, and he made it. What good would any revisiting do now? “I don’t want anything from him.” Becca’s shoulders heaved with a heavy sigh she made, “So keep it, use it as kindling. I don’t care.”

"It's not like people here can go to a real tailor and get real alterations done so I suppose that's the best available," Teak said, looking at Rebecca's work with a critical eye. "They seem big on mending here. You'd think by now somebody would've invented cloth. Seems like a prett-tty big thing to work on instead of some of the people doing useless things." Teak didn't actually have anybody in mind but he was certain if given a moment he'd be able to list some of those things; he just didn't care at the moment.

He rocked back on his heels, saying "ohhh" when Becca said she was one of the farm workers. "You don't find them all stuck-up? Madi and Emre are soooooo full of themselves. Madi thinks if you don't work on the farm then you're not doing anything at all for people on the island. And Emre's just a dickhead."

When he told Becca what it was he had for her, the disappointment was palpable, and Teak felt himself responding in kind. She just said no, she didn't want it, she didn't care, and he rubbed a hand across his chest as he considered this reply. "Alright," Teak said eventually. If she didn't care, she didn't care, and that was pretty much his entire purpose in talking to her. "See you around."

Becca shrugged, “I mean, you can work on inventing a clever way to manufacture cloth on the island if you think it’d be more successful.” Maybe one day they’d get to that point, but keeping people fed and covered with what they did have was just a tad more important. It sounded like Teak didn’t have much to do though so maybe he’d be inspired.

Her lips thinned in growing irritation as he continued on about how stuck up and annoying Emre and Madi were. It seemed unwarranted, and Becca had hardly welcomed the criticism. “I suppose it takes one dickhead to know another.”

She watched Teak silently take in her refusal of the letter he’d found. Becca wasn’t entirely sure what he had wanted or had been expecting for the personal piece of paper, but he clearly hadn’t gotten a reaction he’d been waiting for. No trades, no tears, Becca’s lip curled into a faint sneer as the realization of Teak’s personal gain angle came clear to her. She gave a slight wave in dismissal, “Bye then.”

#with: becca #p: yacht missives #stranded event 5

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thebibliomancer · 3 years

Text

Essential Avengers: Avengers #230: THE LAST FAREWELL!

April, 1983

“Yellowjacket no more!”

Aw, dang! Hank got raptured!

Captain America, Thor, and Hawkeye is a weird collection of characters to be staring forlornly at the empty Yellowjacket uniform.

Thor hasn’t really expressed much about the Yellowjacket situation in comparison. You think they could squeeze Wasp into the shot. Just her ex-husband is all. She’s just the team leader is all.

Put Wasp on the cover, you cowards.

So last times on Avengers: Hank Pym got himself kicked out of the Avengers and out of his marriage and pretty much deserved it. He was tricked into committing treason by his arch-nemesis Egghead and sent to jail. He sat in jail for, like, a really long time. The wheels really spun on the arc.

He was kicked out of the Avengers/walked before he could be kicked out in #213. He was arrested at the end of issue #217. His trial was in issue #228.

He was kidnapped from his trial by the Masters of Evil. Then in #229, he turned the tables on them all in quite a satisfying manner and slugged Egghead in the egg head.

Then Hawkeye manslaughtered him. He’s dead.

Hawkeye arrowed the science gun to stop Egghead from shooting Hank in the back and then the science gun backfired and microwaved that egg.

This makes Hank’s victory a little bittersweet for him.

Hank Pym: “I defeated the Masters of Evil single-handed... but more than anything, I wanted to bring Egghead to justice. He was a thorn in my side for so many years. I was never able to defeat him for long, not when I was Ant-Man... and not even after I became Giant-Man! He bedeviled me in every identity I assumed. He did me the greatest wrong when I was Yellowjacket. I’d already ruined my Avengers career, when he tricked me into committing a federal crime!”

Hawkeye too is set to thinking by what happened. Maybe humming a bit of Bohemian Rhapsody to himself too.

Hawkeye: “This is unreal! I’ve never killed a man before! I never planned on anything like this happening! Yeah, but I can’t feel sorry for Egghead! If anyone deserved this, he did! My brother Barney bought the farm, stopping Egghead from killing the Avengers. And if I hadn’t acted when I did, Hank Pym would be dead! If I had to do it again... I would!”

Hawkeye: ‘Eh, fuck ‘em!’

hah.

But Hank laments that with Egghead dead, so goes his chance of proving his innocence by turning him over to the law.

Hank Pym: “Egghead was always getting away from me, Hawkeye. It’s almost as if he’s pulled the ultimate escape!”

Fun fact: There doesn’t seem to be an Ultimate Egghead! Why would there need to be? Even more than in the 616, Ultimate Hank Pym is by far his own worst enemy.

Hawkeye basically tells Hank to buck up and that there’s basically incriminating evidence lying all over the place.

He doesn’t say it but even Egghead’s dead deceased corpse is kind of like evidence. Evidence that he wasn’t dead until recently.

Captain Marvel shows up because someone finally came looking for Hawkeye.

Hank is surprised, much like others have been that this is Captain Marvel. He knew the old guy, the super saiyan. And I guess he didn’t hear there was a new one.

Hawkeye: “We’ve had a few changes since you went in the slammer, Hank. C.M. is an Avenger in training.”

Huh. Captain Marvel doesn’t even react to the dead body. Then again, there’s a lot of bodies lying all around the place.

And while Hawkeye is introducing the new Captain Marvel to Hank, one of those bodies stirs.

Moonstone has regained consciousness and assesses the situation. She could blast Hank, Captain Marvel, and Hawkeye with her coherent light pew pew but that’d just weaken her.

Like in the previous issue, Moonstone is one of the few supervillains who knows when to fold ‘em.

So she decides to skeedaddle while the getting is good but whoops.

Getting wasn’t good.

The rest of the Avengers have shown up and cornered her while she was pondering.

So Moonstone decides ‘eh fuck it’ and promises to spill all the beans if it gets her a lighter sentence.

So days later, the mostly off-screen trial of Hank Pym finally ends.

A loooot of new evidence suddenly popping up led the prosecution to withdraw all charges.

The lead prosecution witness, Trish Starr, suddenly reversing her testimony after putting on Tony Stark’s magical mental-scan helmet kind of tanked the case, really.

Wait, they really did just admit the use of the helmet in the trial when its new, unsubstantiated technology whose inventor disappeared?

Damn, I knew the Marvel legal system was wild (considering comic books as legal documents as explored in Dan Slott’s run on the character) but still!

Although it makes sense. Egghead got Trish to incriminate Hank by using the bionic arm to alter her memories. The helmet Tony invented undoes that kind of alteration. This connects the dots quite reasonably. Glad Stern was paying attention when preparing to finish this arc.

Moonstone and Beetle confirming that Egghead was using Hank as a tool also helps.

In fact, not only did the prosecution drop all their charges, the judge also dismissed all the charges. Which feels redundant? I dunno much about law, really. Just the She-Hulk version of law. Which, again, uses comic books as legal documents.

Apparently happening at around the same time, Hawkeye also had his day in court.

Literally a day.

It wasn’t a trial, just a hearing to investigate whether he was guilty of wrong-doing in the death of Egghead.

Newsman with a newsplan: “Though he was threatened with contempt-of-court charges a number of times -- Hawkeye was found innocent of any wrong-doing in the death of Dr. Elihas Starr -- the self-styled Egghead.”

Yeah, I bet Hawkeye was threatened with contempt-of-court a bunch. And I bet you anything that at least one of the times he rejoined with “No, you’re out of order! This whole damn courtroom is out of order!”

And then the judge probably just sighed.

I mean, look at that unbelievable Hawkeye in the bottom left panel.

Anyway, I think Stern must have felt a little pent up having to start his Avengers run finishing off someone else’s story, especially having to devote a recap issue to it since the plot had been interspersed with fill-ins.

Because in the middle of concluding this arc, he throws in two plot beats that I have to assume are to set up stuff of his own.

A day after the trial, the Beetle is being escorted to a cell in a Western Pennsylvanian federal maximum security prison when he bumps into another prisoner.

What neither the Beetle or the guard notices is that the bump to “Sam Smithers” has peeled off some skin on his arm and revealed THAT HE IS ACTUALLY MADE OF WOOD!

Suspect possibly a living puppet.

And elsewhere but samewhen, IN SPACE, specifically on Saturn’s moon Titan, Thanos’ brother Eros is basically complaining about being bored.

When Captain Mar-vell died of having a lot of cancer, he asked Eros to look after Mar-vell’s... uh... -google- robot girlfriend?? Elysius.

Eventual mom to Genis and Phyla-Vells.

Soooooo, Eros has done as Mar-vell’s deathbed wish was and spent an agonizing several consecutive months hanging out in Titan’s beautiful inside forests and just having a real hard time caring about one thing for such a long period of time.

I’m not even being unfair to him.

Eros: “This is the first time in ages that I’ve spent so many consecutive months on Titan! I have ever been a wanderer! I’ve sought out adventure across the wide cosmos. Frankly, I have known romance on more worlds than most sentient beings could imagine. That’s part of the problem. Our friendship has been wonderful, but I’m having a hard time adjusting to it. My previous relationships have all been of a fleeting nature.”

‘Look its not you, its me’ except for attempting to dump someone as a friend, instead of romantically.

Not dump, even. He just kind of wants to ditch her and is asking in a roundabout way if she’s emotionally stable enough to ditch.

She goes, yeah sure, go off and have fun. And maybe she’s getting tired of his company too.

Elysius: “Look... you’ve been a great comfort to me these last few months, but now I need to be alone for a while with my thoughts.”

Geez, how clingy has he been this whole time while desperately wanting to be anywhere else?

Anyway, since she’s fine with him fucking off, he does fuck off. Right to the Hall of Science.

Where Eros’ dad is like ‘oh ffs’ when Eros tells him that he needs to use the LIVING COMPUTER Isaac to look up planets with the highest adventure potential.

Mentor of Titan is a man deeply disappointed in both of his sons for very different reasons.

Anyway, would you really be surprised if I told you that Earth was in the Top 3 planets in known space for adventure?

You wouldn’t, right?

Meanwhile, back at the plot, Hank Pym is on a boat with Trish Starr.

She wants to apologize for that time she incriminated him but Hank isn’t going to blame her for being as much a pawn in Egghead’s scheme as he was.

Trish: “Yes, uncle was like that all of his life. I think he really enjoyed using people.”

And she remembers the first time they met in Marvel Feature #5, where Egghead tried to drain her mind to power his machines. Because. Batteries hadn’t been invented? Because he’s just not happy unless he’s screwing over someone else?

Second one sounds likeliest.

She also remembers the time he car bombed her car but siphoned out most of the gas first.

Trish: “He didn’t want to kill me... only maim me. Nice guy, my uncle.”

Yeah. Its stories like that why its only Trish and Hank also Fred Sloan on a boat at Egghead’s funeral. Yeah, by the way, this is basically Egghead’s funeral.

Fred is only here for Trish.

Hank reacts to Fred so I wondered if he’s important in some way or if Hank recognized him but I checked the wiki and his main importance seems to be... this issue? So I don’t know why Hank reacts to the guy.

So Fred is just here for Trish. Trish is here out of duty, since she was Egghead’s only known family. And Hank is also only here out of duty but more archnemesis ‘can’t believe that asshole is dead and I don’t even get to feel good about it’ duty. I assume.

Hank even gets the honor (?) of laying Egghead to rest. By dumping his ashes into New York harbor.

Mostly because it doesn’t seem like Trish wants to?

So Hank quotes some Mark Twain and dumps the ashes.

Hank Pym: “‘Death... the only immortal who treats us all alike, whose pity and whose peace and whose refuge are for all -- the soiled and the pure, the rich and the poor, the loved and the unloved.’ Farewell, Egghead.”

Trish: “It’s awful to say this -- but I can’t find it in myself to be sorry. I think I’m glad he’s dead.”

And that’s Egghead’s legacy. Mourned by no one. And his death is only not cheered because the only people that cared feel shitty about feeling glad he’s dead.

ANYWAY, there’s some other loose ends to tie up.

So Hank takes a taxi to the Avengers Mansion and I guess finally explicitly explains why the mansion has seemed to change positions over time?

Hank Pym: “I never thought I’d be coming here again. The place has certainly changed since the day Jan and I met here with Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk to draft the Avengers charter and by-laws. And I still recall the time Iron Man and Thor moved the mansion back from the street to give us more privacy. What a project that was!”

Sounds like a heck of a noodle incident, Hank.

... Why just Thor and Iron Man? Did they... did they literally just shove the mansion back from the street? ... There’s... basements and caves under there. How does that work? That seems like a massive architectural project.

Hank, pls, I need to know more details. You can’t just drop that information and casually stroll away. HANK!

Captain Marvel meets Hank at the door and escorts him inside, captain marveling at how calm Hank is despite everything he’s been through.

Hank shows up to the Avengers meeting and-

Oh god, She-Hulk looks like she wants to punch the suppressed emotions right out of Jan. She-Hulk, pls.

So, Wasp is super formal, calling Hank Dr. Pym and telling him that they want to use the mento-scan helmet to see if he was under outside influence when he did all the very bad things he did.

All of the Avengers are harboring their own concerns.

She-Hulk: “I’ve read legal briefs that were more informal! She’s cool on the surface, but inside -- ! Jannie, why are you doing this to yourself?!”

Are you guys already at the cute nickname stage of your friendship or is that just the way She-Hulk be?

Cap is worried that this is rough on Jan but that she’s doing what she needs to do as the Avengers chairwoman. But he’s more worried about the absence of Iron Man who is still missing and who ignored three calls to assemble.

Thor is just internally like ‘just do the helmet, my dude.’

Hawkeye is literally biting his lip at the tension.

Hawkeye: “Jan divorced Hank after his last breakdown. If we find out that he wasn’t to blame, what’s it gonna do to the both of ‘em? I hate this! That stupid court hearing was a breeze in comparison.”

Huh, Hawkeye has a point. Even if outside influence is proven, its not as straightforward as Jan and Hank instantly getting back together, no harm no foul. There was harm. And the problems with their relationship were deeper than one incident. But it would also create this possible expectation that they should get back together because the specific incident wasn’t Hank’s fault.

And Captain Marvel is still looking at this from an outsiders’ perspective.

Captain Marvel: “They’re really hurting over this... all of them! They all care so very, very much. If I ever become a fully active Avenger, I pray that I can live up to their example.”

So Hank very calmly agrees to use the helmet. But...

Hank Pym: “Sorry... no outside influences. It would have changed a lot of things if there had been, wouldn’t it? But no, I made my own mistakes... and I have to live with them.”

Thiiiiis was the best decision for the story arc. It may seem, in retrospect, the worst decision in the long run, but I can respect the story for standing by what it has done and standing by the growth Hank has had as a result of everything that happened.

I think a lot of more modern marvel comics have gone a little wild with letting the heroes do all kinds of dubious things and also die because it can be easily undone. It was a Skrull, they were being mind-controlled, it was an AU Nazi version of them created by a cosmic cube child. Or by giving the hero some big redemptive moment like Iron Man wiping his mind to make up for doing Civil War. Or Iron Man dying to make up for Civil War 2. You can explore whatever scenarios you want without worrying about dealing with the consequences long-term.

But in this era of Marvel, they were concerned with the long-term. Not to say that there weren’t cop-outs back in this day too. But since books were expected to keep going indefinitely instead of being cancelled and relaunched, there’s less of a sense of ‘this thing is only here to play with for a little while.’ If you wrote a thing, another writer was expected to follow up on it.

And I miss that a little.

So not giving a cop-out bullshit thing that undoes Hank’s actions was bad in the long run for his image as a character. But that’s a long way from now problem, exacerbated by writers like Chuck Austin and Mark Millar who wanted to wallow in it.

For an arc where Hank fell from grace and proved himself again, taking ownership of what a garbage fire his life can be was necessary.

One among many reasons I probably won’t like the Crossing when I get to it, haha.

With Hank’s actions proven as being Hank’s actions, Hank says there’s one more loose end that he wants to help tie off.

He wants to participate as witness when the Avengers hold a court of inquiry for Hawkeye killing Egghead.

This comes as an absolute surprise to Hawkeye, who I guess never read the bylaws. Which honestly, is very in-character for him.

But it being brought up, he insists that all he has to do is enter the findings of the state judge and be done with it.

Hank insists he participate though.

Hank Pym: “Hawkeye is faced with charges because he acted in my defense. It’s only right that I act in his.”

So, the Avengers go to the first floor library, which is apparently the court of inquiry room. I feel like we’re suddenly getting a lot of details about the layout of the Avengers Mansion in recent issues.

So Wasp convenes the court all formal style, so formal style that Hawkeye thinks that stickler Cap(tain America) couldn’t have done a better job. The purpose of the court of inquiry is to determine the validity of the charge of “unreasonable use of deadly force” and determine what if any proper disciplinary action should be taken.

I think Hawkeye is annoyed at having to go through with this (read the bylaws, my dude) because when Wasp asks if he has anything to add to his claim of innocence of the charge, he says he already gave the court copies of the court transcript that cleared him of the same charge, but also decides to speechify a little, because he wasn’t accused of contempt of court enough today.

Hawkeye: “I have already given the chair copies of the transcript of a hearing of the state courts... a hearing which found me not guilty of the same charge. And I have something else to say as well!”

“I don’t deny that my actions caused the death of Egghead. But in no way did I use undue force! I found Hank Pym in mortal danger, and I used the necessary means to save him... period. After all, we are supposed to be the Avengers, right?”

Luckily for Hawkeye, the Avengers are more willing to put up with him than a state court so Jan just goes ‘ok, noted.’

Captain Marvel also has a minor change of heart on Hawkeye. I don’t think we’ve gotten her in-depth feelings on him before (although he did get pissy about her joining the team, we didn’t see her response to that) but she’s impressed because she thought he had more wind than conviction but is seeing that isn’t so. And she’s also impressed by Serious Mode Jan who she thought was kind of flighty.

Captain Monica Marvel seeing all kinds of new sides of the Avengers lately.

Also, this isn’t important and you won’t be able to see what I mean unless I included more caps than I wanted to, but in the panel establishing the court of inquiry, Monica is just standing off to the side. But in the next panel she appears in, she’s moved over to sit on a couch instead.

I think its a framing thing but its still kind of funny to imagine her going ‘wait why am I standing up’ and heading for the comfy couch.

With Hawkeye’s statement given, Wasp invites Hank Pym to speak his piece.

And Hank gets up and gives an entirely unnecessary but probably appreciated defense of Hawkeye.

Hank Pym: “Ladies and gentlemen... I have not always been on the friendliest of terms with Hawkeye. Point of fact, we nearly came to blows a number of times... back in the days when I was an Avenger. But in all the time I’ve known him, Hawkeye has never used undue force.”

“I realize that this inquiry is little more than a formality. I have no doubt that you will find in his behalf. He did, as he said, act only in my defense. Unlike my own recent case before you, there is not the slightest hint of misconduct or negligence. The only thing Hawkeye is guilty of is being a good Avenger.”

“When I last spoke before this body, at my court-martial, I was not in a rational state of mind. I was unfit to be an Avenger. You wisely expelled me. I never expected to speak before you again. And now, I can think of no finer final statement than this... It has been my sincere honor to have known Hawkeye’s fellowship... as it has to have known yours.”

Okay. So. Half a defense of Hawkeye. And half... just a general good-bye and a demonstration that he actually does know how to deliver a defense at a court-martial. Cool.

I imagine if he had a mic, he would have dropped it.

Probably not, actually. Hank isn’t that exact blend of cool and inconsiderate for a mic drop.

Jarvis intercepts Hank on his way out and asks that he come with him to the second floor study. Jarvis has taken the liberty of gathering up the personal items Hank just kind of left in the mansion and packing them for him.

One suitcase has a bunch of Hank’s clothes that he had stashed in the mansion over the years. Including some wacky ties for wacky tie Fridays and a shirt that Hank had just plumb lost.

The other suitcase is a spare Yellowjacket outfit. In case Hank ever needs it.

Then Hank and Jarvis shake hands, Hank thanking Jarvis for everything that he’s done for him and the Avengers. He asks Jarvis to take care of himself because he knows he doesn’t have to ask him to take care of the Avengers.

This is a very touching scene. Its so touching that Jarvis excuses himself to go get misty eyed.

This is a Jarvis appreciation blog because I appreciate Jarvis as well.

Then, as Hank heads back down the staircase, he is intercepted by Thor, Captain America, and Hawkeye.

Yeah, the court of inquiry resolved off-screen because of how forgone a conclusion it was.

The three Avengers basically fall all over themselves to pat Hank on the back. Hank actually looks somewhat panicked by the positive affirmation.

That’s some mixture of funny and sad that I can’t identify.

Hawkeye tells Hank how much he appreciated his unnecessary defense. Thor clasps Hank’s shoulder and tells him he’s a class act, but in Thor-y words. And Cap extends an offer for whatever the Avengers can do to help Hank get back on his feet.

Hank thanks him for the offer but he’s already received an offer from a small research foundation in the Midwest.

Seems like getting exonerated of a treason charge is the best resume of all. That and Hank’s actual impressive resume.

But Cap has some stuff to work out re: Hank because he starts off on the stuff he put on the back burner back in that Ghost Rider issue.

Cap(tain America): “Hank... I know Iron Man would agree, if he were here, that we’re all sorry about the way things worked out. We should have realized the pressures you’d been under, prior to your breakdown. I was group leader at the time! I should have -- !”

Hank Pym: “Hold it right there, Cap! What I did, I did to myself! If I could have admitted that my problems existed... If I’d been willing to open up to you folks... Well, ‘if’ can be a big word sometimes. The fact of the matter is, I screwed up. And you did the only thing you could do! I don’t blame any of you.”

Hank has boarded the personal responsibility train and goddammit he’s riding it to the end of the line!

Good for him. Good clarity for the arc to have in its last issue.

But having started to slightly shout at the Avengers that he’s taking responsibility dammit! (he looks a bit pissed when he’s responding to Cap) Hank awkwardly excuses himself.

Cap tries to stop Hank from leaving because he has reached the bargaining stage of grief, I guess.

Cap: “Hank, wait! It doesn’t have to end like this! We could make a special amendment to the by-laws! We could reinstate you as an Avenger! You could be a special reservist -- !”

Hank: “Thanks, Cap. But no thanks. Trying to play super hero was the biggest mistake I ever made with my life! I was only fooling myself in ever thinking otherwise. But if you ever really think you might need a Yellowjacket again some day...”

He hands Cap the Yellowjacket suitcase.

Hank: “... Here! All you need is a good man and what’s in this case!”

I would hope, anyway. It’s going to be awkward if he opens it up later and its full of wacky ties.

The funny thing, although not really funny ha ha, is that Yellowjacket is the one codename of Hank’s that never really catches on outside of him.

You have multiple Ant-Men, a couple Goliaths, at least one other Giant-Man. There was a second Yellowjacket, eventually. But she didn’t make a big splash.

Despite Hank’s attempt here to pass the torch, Yellowjacket is a codename that remains inextricably tied to him. Which might be the problem. If there were another, more successful or at least more endearing Yellowjacket, Hank’s infamy in the role would not stand out so much.

Alas.

She-Hulk and Captain Marvel try next to intercept Hank. They don’t know him very well but they wanted to say their goodbyes too, despite not really knowing him that well.

Its the thought that definitely counts, probably.

But Hawkeye has some social awareness for a change and draws their attention to Wasp who is hanging back, but who clearly wants to talk to Hank.

So the rest of the Avengers quickly vacate to let Hank and Jan finally have closure. Or re-closure. “I want a divorce and to never see you again” is a kind of closure.

The situation has changed, however.

They both try to apologize to each other and then laugh at the awkwardness.

Hank: “Janet van Dyne, you are one in a million! After all that I put you through, you want to tell me that you’re sorry?”

Wasp: “I think we both made some mistakes along the way, but there were some good times... weren’t there?”

Hank: “Yes. But you can’t base a marriage on just a few good times. I fell for the young lady who reminded me of my first wife... and you thought you’d found the strong, silent hero. But I was never that strong, Jan. You know that now.”

Wasp: “Uh-huh.”

Damn, his prison time really did bring Hank a lot of clarity. That or the pile of therapists Tony kept throwing at him.

Hank also kind of talks over Jan here. Or at least steers the conversation. I don’t know what Jan would have said because Hank tells her that they both have other lives to lead and tells her to take care of herself.

Maybe its for the best, if, like Cap, she was going to try to shoulder all the blame for Hank’s bad decisions.

Hank walks out the door and finds Trish and Fred from the boat waiting to give him a ride to the airport. And then he is gone.

Like in the final image of the COURT-MARTIAL issue, Jan watches at the window.

“The last time Henry Pym left these walls, Janet felt like crying... but couldn’t find any tears. Today, at last, she has found the tears... for her former husband... for her team... for herself. Today, there is pain and remorse and release. There will be time enough for joy and hope tomorrow.”

Emotional catharsis can be like that.

In that the book kept going ‘Jan is really holding her emotions in and that’s probably not overall great for her’ its good that she can let it out now.

Kind of laughing at Captain Marvel and She-Hulk who only recently just met Jan being the ones going there there while the men she has known for years are just awkwardly standing in the background.

And that’s the fall and rise of Hank Pym. Apparently collected in trade as The Trial of Yellowjacket, which is a decent enough name too.

Overall, a good arc. That is kind of hampered by the need for filler and a writer change near the end. But honestly, Stern catches the ball and runs with it. He concludes the arc just as good as Shooter would’ve.

This arc is all kinds of iconic for Hank, although, unfortunately, most people are only aware of the beginning and maybe have a hazy understanding of what the ending does.

Although. This is a really good send-off for Hank. A really, really good send-off that would have worked best if he did like he said and quit superheroing forever.

That’s not to be, obviously, not in a perpetual narrative machine like Marvel. But it feels like it could have been and maybe should have been the last word on his character.

I enjoy Hank in Busiek’s Avengers and in Avengers Academy. And also, conceptually, Hank telling Reed “it’s on, bitch.” I very don’t enjoy Ultimate Hank Pym. So its a balancing act. The perfect exit for the character vs but I like some stuff when they brought him back.

Anyway.

After this, Stern gets to move on to his own material. Which he already planted the seeds for in this issue.

That’s a pun.

Follow @essential-avengers because of my bad puns. Also like and reblog, if you like to reblog.

#Avengers #Egghead #Masters of Evil #Hank Pym #Hawkeye #the Wasp #Captain America #Thor #She Hulk #Captain Marvel #Monica Rambeau #i did a lot of quoting because the comic has some good quotables here #essential avengers #essential marvel liveblogging

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