#i DID know about the 'whatever happened to the man of tomorrow?' comic from that OSP Superman video

[megamindsupremacy]

To explain Superman's fate in the AU: I really really like the unpublished Golden Age story K Metal from Krypton. Written before kryptonite was introduced, the plot would have been a chunk of Krypton flew over Metropolis as a comet, granting all the humans Kryptonian powers, while ridding Superman of his. Clark would ultimately have to reveal his identity to Lois to deal with the situation. The ramifications of changing the Lois/Clark dynamic to her being upset he kept it secret but being who took care of things when the comet flew by, at this early a stage, would have been amazing but I digress.

Since the AU is supposed to give pre-Crisis vibes, Superman's fate will be a little similar to Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?. His identity was made public, and his body was almost stolen by the Ultra-Humanite, but to prevent that, he allowed Lex Luthor to inject his body with K-Metal. Following this, he takes on the new identity of Jordan Eliot, allowing the world to believe Superman had perished.

Eventually, though, Jordan Eliot discovers that, although he no longer has powers, his Kryptonian organs allow him to focus the radiation of the K-Metal, and grant powers to people around him (controlling which powers he gives, as well). I like the idea of drifter Jordan Eliot making people hero for a day.

Oh, I love this idea! I'm always interested in seeing how people think Superman will end, be that death or retirement or a nebulous third comic-book explanation. The idea that even though Superman is dead he's still making other people heroes in his own way is just wonderful. I always love people leaning into the inspiration/hope part of Superman, the "you inspired me to be a good person/to be a hero" so him literally, physically turning people into heroes for a day is a great continuation of that concept.

[canirove]

In The Name of Love | Chapter 7

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Masterlist

"Ferran, is this allowed?"

"Not really" he shrugs. "But you aren't the first girl we are sneaking into the hotel, and won't be the last" he smirks.

"What if they see us?"

"I'll deal with that, don't worry."

"And what if he doesn't want to see me?"

"He will, Val. For the past month he's been looking like shit again, like when they made him play every game under the sun. But you should have seen his face on the bus on our way to the stadium. His smile. That was my Pepi."

"You need to stop calling him that, he doesn't like it."

"I know" Ferran winks. "And this is his room."

"How did you manage to get the key?"

"I can be very charming" he smiles.

"That charm didn't work on Luis Enrique's daughter, did it?" I chuckle.

"I had not missed your witty comments, Val. Anyway, go make yourself comfortable, he'll be here any moment now. And try to fix things before fucking. Or first fuck and then talk. I don't know, whatever works for you."

"Thank you, Ferran" I say, rolling my eyes. 

"My pleasure" he replies, taking my hand and kissing it like he always does before saying goodbye. "See you around, Val."

"Bye" I say, walking into the room. 

Just like his own back home, it is an organized mess. There are shoes on the floor, a towel thrown on a chair, a phone charger hanging from the bed's headboard… And a book on the bedside table. "Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban." 

"You've kept reading" I smile, touching its cover. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"You spend hours traveling and in hotel rooms. Why don't you pick up a book instead of playing FIFA all the damn time?" 

"Because reading is boring."

"Not if you find a genre you enjoy. For example, what movies do you like watching?"

"Anything Marvel" Pedri says, his eyes fixed on the tv.

"Those are comics, you could read them."

"But if I've already watched the movies, what's the point?" 

"Sometimes, if not always, the books are better than the movies."

"Sure. And 5-0. That will be happening in real life very soon" he smirks.

"Militao and Alaba won't allow it" I reply, sticking out my tongue. "But that's not what we were talking about. What other movies do you like?"

"I don't know… Harry Potter?" he shrugs.

"Have you read the books?"

"They are for kids."

"Said the old man" I laugh.

"You know what I mean" he says, trying to tickle me. 

"Pedri, don't" I warn him, moving away from him. "But you've given me an idea."

"Tickling contest followed by sex?"

"No." 

"Then I'm not interested."

"We are gonna have our own movie and book club."

"What?"

"You'll read a book, then we'll watch the movie together, and then we'll discuss which one is better."

"You won't be reading with me?"

"If I have time, I will. I promise."

"Ok…"

"Do we have a deal, then?" I say, offering him my hand.

"We do" he replies, taking it and using it to pull me against him. 

"Pedri!" I laugh while he moves me until I am straddling him.

"Can we now have my tickling contest followed by sex?" he smirks. 

"We can skip the tickling" I say, wrapping my arms around his neck. "But tomorrow we are going to a bookshop and buying you the first Harry Potter book."

"Fine" he sighs. "Can I kiss you now?"

"You can… Pedri Potter" I laugh.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Val?"

"Oh, shit" I say, coming back from my memory, the book falling from my hands. 

"What are you doing here? Who let you in?"

"Ferran" I say, standing up and leaving the book on the small table.

"Ferran, of course" he scoffs. "Was this his idea?"

"Kind of. I didn't want to sneak in, but I needed to talk with you, so" I shrug.

"Talk about what?"

"Us. Me. I want to explain everything to you."

"We can't talk while you are wearing that."

"What?"

"My shirt. I can't focus knowing that my name is on your back."

"Oh, sorry" I say, playing with the hem of the shirt. "I thought you would like it, but I can put on a jacket or something if it bothers you."

"It doesn't bother me, Val. Well, it does, but not in the way you are thinking."

"What?" I ask again, looking at him. 

"It bothers me because you don't know how many times I've pictured you wearing it. How many times I've imagined us fucking while you only have my shirt on. And now here you are" he says, slowly walking towards me. "In my mind you are always wearing the Barça one, but oh well."

"That will never happen" I reply, my voice shaking a bit. 

"I know" he says, getting closer. He's looking at me as if I was his prey, as if any moment now he will jump at me and devour me. And it is turning me on. Big time. 

"Then…" 

"Then we are gonna have to do something about this" he says, now just one step away from me. 

"About what?"

"Me wanting to fuck you."

"Aren't you still mad at me?"

"I am. I'm mad. Disappointed. Sad. Confused. And fucking hard, Val. I want to bend you down on that bed and make you scream of pleasure while I see my name on your back."

"Then do it" I hear myself saying.

"But you came here to talk."

"We can talk later." 

"You'll be too exhausted to talk after I'm done with you."

"Nothing like trying" I say, closing almost all the space between us, my heart feeling like it is about to explode inside my chest.

"Are you sure?" Pedri asks, arching one of those perfect eyebrows of his.

"I am. Are you sure you can do everything you are bragging about?" I tease him, moving until our noses are almost touching. "You kids like talking and then…"

"As if I had ever disappointed you" he laughs. "That was your ex, not me."

"There always is a first time for everything."

"Not with me, and not today. Definitely not today" he says before kissing me.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Morning" I yawn.

"Good morning" Pedri smiles.

"Have I ever told you that I love your smile?"

"You've said that you like it, but I think this is the first time you've said that you love it." 

"Well, I do. I love… fuck" I complain when I move. 

"Sore, uh?"

"Yes."

"I warned you."

"Shut… ouch!" I say when I try to hit him. 

"Do you need me to carry you to the bathroom or something?" he says with a teasing smile.

"I can do it myself, thank you" I reply, slowly moving to face him while trying really hard to not complain again.

"Are you sure you don't need my help?"

"I'm fine, Pedri. I've been this sore before."

"With whom?" he laughs. "I'm sure your ex never did what I can. Or made you feel the way I do."

"He didn't, no. But last year Emma convinced me to go to one of the classes she takes at the gym, and for the next four days I felt like this."

"So you are just out of practice, uh?" he smirks.

"I am, yes. A month of doing nothing, and look at me. I'm getting old" I sigh.

"You aren't old, Val" Pedri laughs. "And I can help with your fitness. Because I'm a professional athlete and all that."

"Of course" I laugh. "Anyway… Is it ok if we have that chat now?"

"Sure" he smiles.

"Ok" I say, taking a deep breath. "I've rehearsed this many times in my head, so let's hope I remember everything."

"There is no rush, take your time" he says, caressing my cheek.

"I have time, my plane doesn't leave until late in the afternoon. But yours?"

"That doesn't matter now, Val. Talk."

"Yes, ok. So, umm… I guess I should start from the beginning, right?"

"For example" he chuckles.

"So… Marc and I have basically known each other our whole lives. We went to the same school, same high school, same university… And I think I always had a crush on him. Like, I can't remember a moment before we started dating where I didn't think he was… perfect. He comes from a really good family, very posh to be honest. And he is charming, intelligent, super nice with everyone, handsome… The man every mother would like for their kid. And when we both were 15, he asked me out. We were in the same group of friends with Silvia and Isabel too, and half the girls in our high school were in love with him. But he chose me. The girl who didn't drink or partied, the one who knew Real Madrid's starting eleven by heart instead of how to do her makeup, the one who didn't dress fancy, the one who wasn't considered one of the hot girls but neither an ugly one. I was just… there. And he saw me."

"Because you have something, Val, I already told you. I still don't know what it is, but… It is there."

"Yeah, well, thank you" I smile, feeling my cheeks getting warm. "Anyway, after he asked me out we started dating, and that made many girls jealous, Isabel the first of them all. Looking at it now I can see that she bullied me for years, but back then I didn't understand what she truly meant with her comments."

"And Marc didn't do anything?"

"No, he didn't. I think he didn't notice either. Or that's what I want to believe" I shrug. "When we went to uni, Isabel was sent abroad, and during those years without her, everything was perfect. I had met new friends, I was loving what I was studying, and Marc and I were better than ever. But then we both finished our degrees, and everything changed." 

"Isabel came back?" 

"Among other things, yes. Even though we had just moved in together, I felt like our relationship wasn't going anywhere. Silvia had just met Pau for example, and I kept looking at them or some of our other friends and then at us, and something was missing. And then I found myself jobless. Marc had been offered a position on the bank where he had done his internship the moment it was over while I had nothing. I didn't know what to do, if I should keep studying or what. I even started having doubts about teaching, wondering if I had wasted my time and money on a career that I didn't truly like, on something that I wasn't made for. And seeing him thriving while I had all that in my head, wasn't helping our relationship."

"Did you ever tell him?"

"I tried, but he always was so busy…"

"And he didn't notice something was off with you?" Pedri asks, putting a lock of hair behind my ear.

"Never."

"What a shitty boyfriend, then."

"Yeah" I chuckle. "Thankfully everything started to change when I met Emma. Silvia had booked us a pottering lesson and she was there all alone, so we asked her to join us and we instantly connected. Back then she was working at an academy teaching extracurricular lessons with kids of different ages and that they were looking for people to cover for someone who had just retired. She asked me if I was interested, I said yes, and I suddenly found myself with a job and feeling alive again. It was as if all my doubts and fears had disappeared, as if I was me again. The only thing stopping me from moving on and enjoying myself again, was Marc."

"So you broke up with him."

"I did."

"How did he take it?"

"Really good. He said that we had made it to a point where we were more like flatmates sharing the same bed than boyfriend and girlfriend."

"But he never bothered to talk about it with you. He sounds like a bit of a coward, doesn't he?"

"He is, yes. After we broke up I moved in with Silvia, but I still wasn't feeling completely like myself. And then, the night at the opera happened."

"The night… I'm lost" Pedri says.

"Remember when I told you about the engagement party, that it was themed as a night at the opera?"

"Oh, yes."

"Well, six months after Marc and I broke up, he and Isabel were going on a date to the opera and sharing their first kiss." 

"Six months?" 

"Yep."

"He didn't waste his time, did he?"

"And neither did Isabel. The moment she found out we had broken up she was all over him. This was her chance and she wasn't gonna let it pass."

"And she didn't" he laughs.

"She did not, no. I was so angry when I found out. The person I had shared my life with for a decade was now dating the woman who had bullied me for years. And according to most of our friends, I didn't have the right to feel like that because I had been the one who had broken up with him."

"What?"

"Yeah" I sigh. "Anyway, a couple of years passed, I got used to them, dated some guys here and there and started to work at my current school, but I still couldn't let go of that anger, I couldn't close that chapter of my life. Then they announced their engagement, and I met you."

"And I made you forget."

"Exactly" I say, moving closer and caressing his cheek. "You were exactly what I needed to finally leave them in the past, to move on, to fully enjoy this new life I had started after breaking up with Marc. You made me forget about them and my anger, but also made me stop thinking that I was a failure because I had wasted the best years of my life with a man who didn't deserve me or because I wasn't getting married and having kids like everyone else. You were the key that closed that door, but also the one who allowed me to completely open the one of my new life. The life I wanted, one that was mine and no one else's."

"Then why didn't you tell me about Marc? Why didn't you tell me all this?"

"Because I was afraid, Pedri. Afraid of losing you because you are still young and knowing all this about me could scare you and make you run away. Afraid of opening up to someone again after everything I went through. Afraid because maybe telling you could open that door again and make me realize that I had been lying to myself, that he isn't in the past."

"And is he?" he says, wiping away a tear.

"He is. He definitely is, now I know it, 100%."

"Good. Because Val…" Pedri says, cupping my face and making me look him in the eyes. "I have feelings for you. I'm not sure about what they are exactly, at least not yet. I have never felt like this with any other girl I've been with, you know? But I do know that I want to be with you. And I want you to be able to trust me, to open up to me, to tell me everything and anything that worries you. I'm here for you, Valeria. I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank you" I smile between sobs. "But I like it better when you call me Val."

"What?"

"Marc always called me Valeria. Always. And I found it so annoying… Not even my mum calls me like that, only when she's angry with me."

"Ok" he laughs. "Then I will only call you Valeria when I'm angry with you."

"And during sex."

"What?" Pedri laughs again. "Is that some kink or something?"

"When you moan my name it turns me on" I smirk.

"Interesting" he smiles.

"Are we ok, then? Have we made up?"

"We have." 

"Thank God" I sigh.

"That much did you miss me?" 

"I did, yes. You can ask Silvia and Emma if you don't believe me. And before you say it… I missed everything about you. Not just the physical part."

"One would start to think that you've caught feelings, Miss Val" he says with a teasing smile.

"And one may not be wrong. But step by step, ok?"

"Step by step" he says before kissing me.

[theycallme-thejackal]

One MidgeLenny x TSwift Fic Per Day

104. So It Goes...

The moment she spots him in the audience, everyone disappears, and suddenly she’s playing to an audience of one.

He’s back.

Whatever it was that took him out to California has clearly been resolved, and now he’s sitting in the audience at one of her shows, looking a little less thin and a lot happier. The laughter of the rest of the room finds her ears, but it’s his sharp, stupid ha! that rings the loudest.

She finds herself enjoying it more, too. She feels lighter, more spontaneous, and it’s one of the best shows she’s performed in months.

She wraps up to raucous applause, and she makes a beeline for his table, finding him smirking up at her from behind his hand. She reaches out and pinches his arm.

“Ow,” Lenny deadpans.

“Had to be certain you’re not a mirage,” she explains with a smile. He chuckles and drops his hand, really smiling at her now. “You’re back,” she says.

He nods once. “I’m back,” he confirms.

“Okay, now that we’ve made polite small talk, what did you think of my act?”

He laughs again. “Should’ve seen that coming.”

“Yes, you should have,” she agrees, taking the seat beside him. He looks at her silently, and she lifts a brow. “So? How was I?”

He leans a little closer to her, resting an arm on the table. “How about I tell you over lunch tomorrow?”

Midge’s brows lift in surprise. “Lunch? What happened to creatures of the night?” She asks, imitating his Dracula voice. “By the way, you do know comics aren’t vampires, right?”

“That explains why I’m still hungry,” he quips with a little snap.

She grins, laughing quietly. “Lunch, huh?” She asks.

“Lunch,” he confirms. “I’d say dinner, but there’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Oh?” She asks, surprised again. “Why didn’t you just bring them tonight?”

He chuckles. “She had another engagement. See, your show directly conflicted with her bedtime,” he explains.

Her jaw goes slack at that. “You...you want me to meet your daughter?”

He nods in confirmation. “Midge, we’ve been dancing around this thing for...well basically the entire time we’ve known each other, and I don’t want it to be casual anymore.”

Midge smiles shyly, dipping her head before looking up at him from beneath her lashes. “You don’t?”

He shakes his head. “I went out to California to get clean,” he explains. “So I could have Kitty full time and...be the kind of man you deserve.”

She slides her hand to his on the table, threading their fingers together. “You already were,” she whispers. He grins softly, and she adds, “But I’m still very proud of you."

“Thank you,” he breathes. “Look, I know we’re in public, but - ” He leans in closer, and she can smell his aftershave mixed with the scotch he’s been drinking when he murmurs, “I’d really like to kiss you right now.”

“Did they outlaw kissing in public? How did I miss that?” She manages to quietly joke.

He grins, and she cups his cheek in her hand as they close the distance between their lips.

[moonjxsung]

upon learning the term bedrotting i feel like 80% of my life has been just that. so i completely get it, i bedrot unless i absolutely need to go out (✨depression✨)

fr perv hanji brings out my past wattpad dramatic af 1D fic self. i love him, he also lives in my head rent free because the perv ji character just fits him soooo well. and that thing your ex did was super hanji coded too if he’s feeling especially confident. manifesting perv hanji everyday✨

choi minho, the man that you are. he’s also my baby, so pretty so hot and so nice😭 the greenest green flag to ever exist. i saw an article the other day bc someone accused him of being a bully in HS (and first off like wtf that man is like 30+yrs old, why you bringing up his hs life at this age). the thing is that his former classmates were like “wtf hell no, bro is obsessed with a soccer team that hasn’t one in 20 yrs, you really think he’s a bully?” 😭😂😂😂 they said that he used to get snsd autographs for his teachers and friends. literally an angel baby. also, ur minho dream, care to elaborate??👀

and frrrrr what’s up with these exes here? are you guys okay? i thankfully don’t think i ever had a situation like that with anyone, ex or not, and if i did, i def repressed it. but i always remember this situation a friend of mine was in. so she was my bestie for like all of high school (she dumped me for the church💔 my religious trauma fr) and she was in a band and one of her mates introduced her to this other guy who played guitar (conveniently, he was also really really good friends with my current bf at that time). anyways we were like 17 (my bf and i) and she was a year younger so 16. and we were just finishing our list of college applications, they saw each other randomly bc he auditioned for a band that she was in and he started texting her a lot and offering to take her to band practice (thankfully her parents were like overprotective so it never happened). mind you, he was born in 95 and she was 00. so if we were in like grade 11 or 12 he was like well into uni. so, she tells me that she’s going to this uni like three hours away from where i was going. and i’m like all happy and supportive and whatever and she’s just like “oh and _______ told me that he studies like 15minutes away from my campus so he said that i could go to his apartment and we could read comics” and i was just like 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩and i told her that that was absolutely insane and reading comics def didn’t mean reading comics. so she got kinda mad and we stopped talking about him. and like a year later (she ended up not going to that uni), i stayed at her house once and she told me that he turned out to be a super sketchy guy. and she’s always been this really really physically beautiful person like main visual fr, but soooo naive, and shit like this happed so frequently. she once told me that in middle school, she was kinda dating a guy from 12th grade so she was like 13 and he was like 17-18🚩🚩🚩 so yeah, men suck. i’m thankful to have never experienced something like that or anything but im sure that my rbf and the paranoia and resistance my parents inflicted on me in terms of men helped.

so yeah, if there’s anything that the minors that sneak into ur blog should know is: that older guy that’s talking to you is 100% an absolute creep, pls stop talking to him🙏🏻

anyways bb, i hope you have soooo much fun watching the ateez coachella streaming!!! i will be with u @ heart bc im def watching it here, last week’s was really freaking awesome.

-🐈‍⬛

WE LOVE BEDROTTINGGGG my plans for tomorrow are just to bedrot bc this week was tiring as hell and my sister’s getting sick so I have preemptively planned to stay in and sleep as much as I physically can in between writing. I am so excited ‼️‼️

PLEASE something about perv Hanji just gets me GOING my ex is fucking trash but he did the most pervy shit sometimes and I just imagine it as Hanji au now to repress the bad memories 😭 I remember we were sexting @ thanksgiving dinner one year while he was literally sitting next to his entire family and he left the table to send me videos of him taking care of himself in the backseat of his car like if that’s not SO Hanji 😭😭😭😭 PLEASE. I would melt

THE MINHO THING PWLWAASSKKEKE I SAW THAT TOO AND I WAS LAUGHING SOOO HARD CHOI MINHO IS THE GREENEST FLAG EVERRRRR NO WAY YALL WANT TO PRETEND HE WAS A BULLY 😭😭 also my dream was v short lived BUT I dreamt that he had to go to work in my place for some reason and run some of my meetings for me and so we met up so he could give me business updates and we were just sitting so close to each other and laughing and getting zero work done LMFAO I remember thing “oh my god I have to fuck this man” PLSLSLWLEKEKSMJS HE’S SO FINE……….

Oh my god that story about your friend is insane 😭 that sucks that she ended up dropping you for the church (she’s missing out on the best friendship frfr) but I hope she’s gotten a little smarter about avoiding weird guys and sorta understanding the implications of what they say :/ my sister used to work at the movies when she was like 16 and one of her coworkers was this 25 year old weirdo who snapchatted her once inviting her to “watch marvel movies together” and we were instantly like OHHHH THAT’S NOT…….

Sagely words of advice from all of us here on stayblr stay away from older men w creep vibes AND don’t pursue anything with anyone who clearly isn’t over their ex 😀😀😀😀😀😀

ALSO BBY I JUST FINISHED COACHELLA STREAMING AAAAHQHWJSMSKS THEY SOMEHOW DID EVEN BETTER THAN LAST WEEK)????? HOWWW IS THAT POSSIBLE…, ALSO “GOLDEN HOUR” NEW COMEBACK IN SUMMER????? IM SO HYPED I LOVE ATEEZ SO MUCH FUCKKKK 😭😭😭🫶🫶🫶‼️‼️

I love you baby I hope you had the bestttt day !!!!!! 💓💖💘💗

[cactuscomicsco]

so I really didn't mean to just make 4 episodes and dip for like 3 months. I legit have 2 scripts written and a half dozen comics / graphic novels in the queue. it was going to happen. but then I got a little overloaded with work and decided to take a 2-3 week break to prerecord some episodes.

during that break, something ridiculous happened.

I accidentally purchased the entire contents of a comic book store???

I'm going to discuss this in more detail on the podcast itself (because it deserves a whole ass or multiple whole ass episodes), but here are the basics...

my friendly local comic book store went out of business VERY suddenly. I'm talking it was open and operating as per usual and then one day they were like "we're closing down, everything needs to be gone immediately. big sales starting tomorrow."

which, you know, sucks.

I had just gotten back into comics and had been going to this store for a few months.

every week. every wednesday. for months.

I was becoming a part of the local community. learning about comics. spending too much money on them. the usual.

it was awesome.

so to have this happen so abruptly was jarring. I spoke with the owner and main employee who I'd gotten to know, and there is a bigger story here (which we're saving for the pod, sorry folks), but essentially they announced it Tuesday evening and needed to be out by end of day Friday.

at first I was just like "aw man, what a bummer." but then my traitorous brain had an idea.

~ you are a vendor at a store. yoooou could buy some comics. yooooooou could sell them. youuuuuuu. ~

me.

I had some cash in my savings. not enough, I thought, to buy them out. but I could get some cheap inventory. woo deals! and whatever.

so on Wednesday I go talk to the owner in person.

yes, he will sell me some comics for cheap. yes he will also sell me some of the custom built shelves for said comics. but it needed to be done IMMEDIATELY.

ok I can get some movers I say. they will get the shelves for me.

they need to do it tomorrow he says. "we'll see if the doors are even open tomorrow or if the pm changes the locks." he shrugs. I am concerned. but I move forward anyway.

movers come and get the shelves (thank fuck the locks weren't changed? and thank fuck for last minute movers omg). they are brought to my house and put in my garage. I go back to the flcs after work and pack up boxes of comics. customers continue to shuffle in and buy comics too. yay deals and whatever.

customers are sad about the closing. I am sad. we do not understand. (dear reader, I later understood, but in that moment none of us knew what the fuck was happening.)

I have the shelves. I have some books (not a lot though, and those shelves are BIG). I am now concerned about two things. number 1, will the other local stores come and swipe all the inventory out from under my nose leaving me with very large shelves and not enough inventory? and number two, how much is this going to cost me?

you see in all of the hubbub we had not agreed on a price for the comics. I paid for the shelves and for a few initial comics. I had not paid for the rest. we weren't sure how much would be left over. it's hard determine price ahead of time. so many comics, you see, and how do we count them all? (answer: we don't.)

and there were many, reader. many.

now I had known for a while that the owner wanted to sell the store. he had a very high asking price. very very very high. I could not afford the whole fucking store at his price. or even half of his price. or even a quarter of his price. or even an eighth of his price. maaaaaaaybe I could do 1/10th?

so how in the fuck was I going to afford the rest of the inventory? well I assumed I wouldn't and I wasn't.

and you know what they say about assuming.

...something about becoming donkeys? I digress.

so Wednesday I bought some comics. Thursday I got the shelves and some more comics. here comes Friday. there are still many many comics. the other stores did come buy stuff, but there was still so much left over.

HOW MUCH WILL THIS COST ME DAMMIT.

...

...

turns out, not a whole lot.

the owner was like "fuck it" and sold me everything for very cheap. he kept saying "I was just going to donate it anyway" – which maybe you shouldn't say to the person you want to pay you for the stuff? but ok?

not only did I get comics, I got 4 cardboard cutouts of superheroes, a small handful of toys, some framed artwork, folding tables, a spinny old school rack, paper bags, a price gun, a sandwich board, and other random shit.

because it needed to be OUT.

ASAmotherfuckingP.

it was exhausting. I moved so many heavy boxes filled with books. I brought them to my house. I didn't know what to do. I was expecting a handful of comics.

I got the whole damn store.

at first, you know, like an idiot, I estimated that I got 3 (maybe 4?) thousand comics. and 3k comics is no joke.

after going through them and preparing them for my store, we reevaluated. we think there are actually about 10,000 comics and a couple hundred books.

I didn't even pay 1/10th of the store's asking price.

this post is long, and there is more to the story. like how we dealt with the inventory (yes we, I got some help thank fuck), the random stuff we found in the comics, what all actually happened with the closing, etc. but I'll leave you with this.

you are me. you just spent a significant but not devastating amount of money on 10k comics and some VERY large shelves. it is all in your garage. it got there in a matter of 40-60 hours. you can no longer park your car in your garage. all of the comics need to be priced, and most need new bags and boards. due to the speed in which we had to move, the comics were not boxed up in order. they are not organized anymore. this is a massive undertaking. the project of all projects.

you stand in the garage wondering what just happened. what did you do. why did you do this. how is this your life now. there are so many boxes. this is so much work. but you're way to deep in it now. there is no return.

reader. dearest reader. in this situation, if you are me, what would you have done?

genuinely I am curious. plz let me know.

and thanks for reading.

(this is actually real and not a short story. I have thousands of comic books that I didn't originally intend to buy. I accidentally bought a comic book store. what have I done. the floor is comics.)

[hwanchaesong]

hi! can you do boy with luv yunho?

a/n: heyy~ sorry it took a while for me to post but here you go! 💚

👤: ATEEZ Jeong Yunho

📼: Boy With Luv - BTS

genre & warnings: fluff, cursing, artist!yunho

word count: 1k

for anyone who wants to, don't be shy and send me asks based on Prompts Request Song Version. Thank you so much!

Yunho laid down on his bed, letting his body relax after a long, tiring day of managing the museum where his exhibit will take place tomorrow.

He closed eyes, enjoying the peace and quiet before he felt something sharp poke at his neck. Grumbling, his hands went towards the item in question, pulling it out under his pillow.

It was a photo of you and him under the cherry blossoms, holding up a peace sign and bright smiles adorning your faces.

Yunho's eyes soften at the picture, it was a memory that he'll forever hold in his heart.

He sat up and fished for his phone, putting the photo down on his night stand and quickly dialling your number.

"Hello?" your sweet voice rings through his speakers and he wished at that moment for you to be by his side instead, directly communicating with you instead of using a gadget.

"Hi, Y/N, am I disturbing you?"

"No, well, if it's you that's disturbing me then I don't mind."

He giggled at your pick-up line, heart fluttering at your words.

"Okay, missy, I just want to ask if you're busy tomorrow?"

You hummed on the other line, acting like you're thinking when in reality, you already have an answer.

"Never busy for you."

Yunho laughed out loud at that, this is one of the reasons why he loves you so much.

From the moment he met you, you already became his star that turned his ordinary life into an extraordinary one.

You became his life, leading to him wanting to know more about you.

What do you like? How about your dislikes?

He observes everything about you, from the way you talk or walk, your adorable habits like poking your tongue out to the side when you're concentrating.

"You're so flirty," Yunho commented, your sniggers vibrating on his ears, "I have an exhibit tomorrow, I hope that you can come."

There goes his nerves, he knows that you'll never miss an event that is important to him, but tomorrow is a special day.

"I wouldn't skip it for the world!" he heard you sigh a bit, you seem tired, "Are you okay? Had a rough day?"

You smiled, looking at your computer screen before answering him, "Just peachy, all is well though. Thank you for asking."

It was silent for a minute, oddly enough, it was comforting. The effect that you have for each other is truly devastating, if you two are heroes of a comic book, your mere heart eyes and flowing love are enough to keep the peace on earth.

Yunho cleared his throat, "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"You bet you will."

The phone call ended, leaving Yunho with a light mind. He'll definitely have to get his self ready for d-day.

The next morning, you entered the museum at exactly 9:45, following Yunho's instructions through his text.

"Huh?" you were astonished when you saw that the place is almost empty, except for the few workers inside.

You approached a tall man who was standing right by the entrance, "Um, excuse me?"

He jolted out of his trance, "Oh gosh, you startled me!"

You bowed and apologized, asking him for the whereabouts of the star of the exhibition.

A look of realization dawned on him, "Are you perhaps Ms. Y/N?"

You nodded your head at his question, grimacing when he let out a loud shriek.

"Fuck! He's gonna kill me!"

You poked the man's shoulder, cautiously asking him if he's okay.

"Ah," he gulped, trying to fix the messed up situation, "yeah, yes. I am perfectly fine."

He looks from his side, to his back, at your back. Okay, this is getting suspicious.

"Is there something that I have to know?" you put your hands on your waist, getting annoyed at whatever is happening.

"Y/N!"

A familiar voice called out to you, turning around to face the person, "Yunho!"

"Sorry, did you wait for too long?"

He smiled at you, and that was enough to melt the irritation that you were feeling earlier.

"No, it's fine." you waved his worried expression off, getting all chill when he surprised you by holding your hand.

"Perfect, I have something to show you."

You barely noticed the way the lanky man that you were conversing a while ago did a salute to your friend.

"Where are you taking me? And where are the other visitors?" you asked, not exactly complaining but you're also curious to where he's dragging you to.

He looked back at you, a sinister glint in his eye, "You'll see."

The wink he gave you was cheesy as fuck, still, you'll forgive him for being cringey.

He brought you to a large, marbled room.

The interior is gorgeous, cerulean hues covering the area, and in the middle, a humongous piece of artwork lies, covered with a black cloth.

Yunho walked towards the setting, "Close your eyes."

One swoop, he instructed you to open your eyes again and revealed the masterpiece that he worked so hard for the past few months.

You were in awe.

A painting of a goddess and a male angel was depicted in the canvas, splattered pastel colors in the background.

The masculine figure is kneeling down, holding the gorgeous female's hand.

What does this mean?

"I used to think that I am superior to others," you craned your neck to face him, shock visible on your features, "then I met you."

"Yunho, what-"

Your sentence was cut off when he knelt down, the same exact position like the one in the painting.

"You changed me and now I vowed to myself, with the wings that you gave me, I shall wait for you, take care of you, and love you unconditionally."

He enveloped your hands on his own, warmth seeping within your skin as tears sprung up from your eyes.

You were speechless, he's really confessing to you right now, like a dream come true.

"I was in love and you turned me into a boy with love. Will you be my muse and be with me through everything?"

[wonderlandleighleigh]

“Listen to me, you’re safe “

She does a set at the Troubadour, and she's about to head towards Lenny who's hanging out at the bar, presumably waiting for her (and if he wants to be just friends he needs to stop getting her fucking hopes up for more), but she's distracted by the two men sitting right up front.

"Frank. Nicky. What-"

"You were great, Midge," Frank tells her, getting to his feet along with his friend. "Just fantastic."

"Sensational," Nicky agrees, wrapping an arm around her.

She swallows a little and tries to dislodge, but his arm gets a little tighter.

"We need to have a quick word with you outside, though," Nicky tells her. "Won't take very long."

"Outside?" Midge asks warily. "Can't we talk here? At the bar, I have drink tickets, I can-"

"That's real nice of you, Midge, but we gotta talk outside."

And so they do, because they're two very enormous, imposing men, and she tries to catch Lenny's eye, but he's talking to the bartender, and Midge...

Winds up in the alley behind the club.

"Guys, whatever is going on-"

"Here's the problem, Midge," Frank tells her. "Susie owes us, and she keeps putting it off."

"Kicking the can down the road, as it were," Nicky adds.

"And we need to send her a message that we're serious this time," Frank explains.

Midge swallows hard, trying to back away, but just bumps into Nicky.

"It's nothing personal, you understand," Nicky says. "It's just business."

Frank nods in agreement. "Exactly. So when you wake up, we want you to let Susie know. She owes us. We're serious. You got it?"

Midge looks from one man to the other. "When I wake-"

Nicky grabs her and slams her head against the brick wall of the club, and the world goes dark.

*****

He's pretty sure she went to the bathroom.

That's got to be it, right? He looked away for a second and Midge was gone, and he figures - he figures she just needed to take a piss, and she'll be back.

But fifteen minutes go by, and no Midge.

And Lenny gets a bad feeling. He turns to the bartender. "Hey - did you see the comic leave?"

The bartender nods. "Yeah, two big guys escorted her out. Looked like she knew 'em, but she didn't look too happy to see 'em."

That bad feeling gets worse.

He pays for his drink and heads out of the club, looking around. No sign of Midge. That bad feeling only grows as he glances back towards the alley, but his feet carry him there anyways.

And there she is, crumpled on the ground, and his feet carry him faster.

"Midge? Midge." On his knees, gathering her in his arms. "Midge. Midge, can you hear me?"

The wound on her head doesn't look bad enough to do permanent damage, but it's not good either. Her dazed eyes start to blink open, and she starts to struggle, squeaking out a protest.

"Midge- Midge!" He takes her shoulders. "Midge, listen - you're safe. It's okay. It's okay."

She starts breathing hard, sitting up as best she can and looking around, before her eyes settle on him. "L-Lenny?"

"What happened?" he asks.

She looks around again as he helps her to her feet, practically holding her up. She's obviously dizzy. "Susie's friends...they came to my show, and they...they wanted me to give her a message."

"Friends? What friends?"

"Her mob friends," Midge explains.

"Fuck," he mutters. "Okay. Come on. You're coming home with me."

"I didn' get paid..." she mutters, still obviously dazed. "An' my family..."

"I'll let everyone know you're safe," he promises. "And we can come back tomorrow for your pay."

Soon, they're in a cab, headed for his place, and it's strange how the tables have turned.

Kind of. When she found him on Eighth Street, he'd been high and it was entirely his fault. Finding Midge beat up in an alley is hardly her own doing.

"I warned Susie," Midge mutters as her head rests on his shoulder. "Warned her..."

He takes a breath and wonders if she felt this amount of worry when she was hauling him into her apartment.

*****

He helps her out of her dress and corset and into one of his shirts. He figures she might as well be as comfortable as she can be, and he lets her do most of the work, not really looking, and only aiding her when she seems to need it.

He tucks her up in bed, and cleans off the wound before fetching some ice from his icebox, dumping it into a towel and coming back to her to settle it against the ugly bruise on her forehead.

"You're always so nice to me," she says, seeming more like herself. Less out of it.

"We're friends," he reminds her.

Midge nods. "Friends. Right."

He knows she wants more. Hell, he does too. He's just not certain he can give it to her. Or anyone really, but especially her.

"How are you feeling?" Lenny asks.

"Better," she admits. "The headache is gonna hang around, though." She sighs. "You could have just taken me home."

"Your parents would have lost their shit," Lenny mutters as he adjusts the ice. "Made it worse."

Midge nods, grinning a little. "I love them, but yes they would have."

He shouldn't be thinking about what it would be like to hear that word directed at him. He is anyways.

Lenny brushes her hair from her face carefully. "Who am I calling first? Your parents, or Susie?"

"I can call," she says, taking the ice from him and starting to get up.

"Nope," he says, stopping her gently. "You stay here. You rest."

Midge gazes at him for a moment and then nods, before leaning in and kissing his cheek. "Thank you, Lenny."

He's a weak man, Lenny Bruce is, and before she can pull away, he turns his head and kisses her softly, his hand resting on her bare arm, his thumb stroking her skin.

Her free hand comes up, cupping his jaw as she returns the kiss, and when it ends, she blows out a breath, her eyes still closed. "Friends, huh?"

"Friends...possibly with certain...privileges," he tries.

"Funny man," she tells him, settling back against his pillows and replacing the ice. "I don't want this only some of the time."

He nods, thinking that over. "Let me go make those calls."

[forrestfanfics]

So This is Love || Age of Ultron 10: “Dear Sister”

“So This is Love” Masterlist

Previous Chapter  ||   Next Chapter  

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

I kept my eyes down, examining the white and black suit that wrapped around my body perfectly. The outline of the clothes I wore underneath was practically invisible. But I could still feel how uncomfortable the loose pyjamas were. My dad was right about avoiding baggy clothes.

My first real mission and I felt completely uncomfortable.

There wasn't enough time to make a new suit, so my dad tossed me the prototype and prayed nothing could pierce my gravity bubbles. If they were gravity bubbles.

"No way, we all get through this." I turned my attention away from my suit and to my dad. "If even one tin soldier is left standing, we've lost. There's gonna be blood on the floor."

"I got no plans tomorrow night," Steve commented.

"I got first crack at the big guy. Iron Man's the one he's waiting for."

Just then, the vision guy walked past behind my dad. "That's true. He hates you the most."

I snicker at that.

Both Banner and Steve shift their heads towards me and then to my dad, who sighed.

"As much as I hate to do it, we need all the help we can get. If she ends up either getting hurt or getting in the way, I want the nearest Avenger plucking her off the battlefield."

"Don't worry. We won't let anything happen to Y/N," Steve stood up and held his fist out to me, waiting with a small smile.

I bumped my gloved fist against his. He chuckled and brought his hand up to ruffle my hair before he walked away.

"Good luck out there, kid. We don't want to lose you." Banner patted my shoulder twice as he followed after Steve.

"Y/N, I want you to listen very carefully," my dad spoke once the two were out of range.

"Whatever happens out there, I'm asking... No, I'm telling you to be careful. And put those powers to good use. Bubble yourself when necessary. No speaking around civilians, as we haven't quite figured out your voice masking. And lastly. For the love of all good things, do not make me worry by doing something stupid, you understand?"

I frowned but nodded anyway. "Dad. If anything happens to me, it's not your fault. It's mine for being so pushy. I don't know why I was suddenly so stubborn and... Antsy... Angsty? Anst...sy...? Whatever. I think it's because I was given an opportunity to break free from my endless routine. And I did everything in my power to push through... So y'know..." I give an awkward shrug. "I'm sorry."

The heavy sigh from my dad amped up my anxiety as I stood so small before him.

I squeezed my eyes shut, ready for whatever was coming.

But instead of the usual reprimanding, I was met with a hug.

"I hope this marks the end of our fights. I don't want a venom-laced argument every time we disagree on something."

I nodded in agreement. "Truce?"

"Truce."

●    ◉    ◎    ◈    ◎    ◉    ●

"Hey, Dad. Guess who I am," I said, standing on the edge of the building I was situated on, allowing the wind to blow against my hair.

I spotted the Iron Man suit flying in the distance, glancing my way for a brief moment.

I heard my earpiece beep once before a heavy sigh came up through my earpiece.

"Batman," I clarified, making my voice deeper.

"I'm confiscating your comic books when we get back."

I laughed. "Why? What's wrong with Batman?"

"He's not even a real superhero. He's just a billionaire in a suit," my dad argued.

"WOAHOHO! Sounds very familiar," I countered.

"This is different. This is real life. We'll come back to this conversation when they finally make a consistent franchise."

I huffed. "You know what?"

"What?"

"I think you're jealous that Batman sounds way cooler than Iron Man," I said smugly.

"Y/N, weren't you given a task? Get back to work. And remember: no talking."

Another beep sounded off, and I could no longer hear my dad.

I shook my head and brought up the pair of binoculars Steve gave me to scan the crowd for any obvious men made of metal.

"I dunno. Seems clear to me." Realising I had been given the red herring of all tasks to keep me off their asses.

I clicked my tongue as I lowered the binoculars, kicking a loose piece of rubble off the roof.

Where it landed was a mystery, but just as it disappeared, I noticed movement by the river.

Lifting my binoculars back up, a mini Ultron could be seen climbing up a rock.

Then more came, bursting out of the ground, jumping in from above, coming from all directions.

"Shit, shit! Guys? Incoming from literary everywhere!" I spoke into my earpiece before ditching the binoculars and jumping off the roof and into the crowd.

"Roger."

Panic arose from the civilians, causing them to scramble, breaking away from their path.

"This is it, Y/N. The first of many battles." I said giddily, bubbling a bot and shooting it into space. I quickly remembered what my dad said about keeping my mouth shut and held back a squeal, continuing my strategy of bubbling and launching the bots away.

My excitement was very clear with each bot that I disposed of. Not par for the course given the circumstances.

The screams coming from the bridge gave me the impression that our evacuation plan had been compromised.

A loud crash came from the street ahead of me, and I watched in awe as Pietro took out several bots all in one go.

"Whoa," I mumbled to myself.

The distraction served as an opportunity for one of the bots to tackle me from behind, trapping me in a chokehold and lifting me from the ground.

"F-Fuck!" I gasped, clawing the metal hand around my neck. "Hello, dear sister." Ultron's voice came from the robot, sending a chill up my spine. "You were adopted, you over-grown tin can!" I spat through chokes.

"As much as I enjoy this little sibling rivalry of ours, I'm afraid... There can be only one." I saw the bot's hand in the corner of my eye, ready to blast me out of existence.

I quickly outstretched my hand towards it. But instead of a bubble, the fabric around my forearm ripped into shreds as a purple claw-like blade came slicing through the bot's arm.

I was dropped, and the bot looked down at its elbow where the blade went through.

I took the chance to bubble it with my right —non-blade— hand and launched it into the sky with the rest.

I looked down at my arm, heavily panting at the sight of the purple mass starting from my elbow.

"What The FUUUUUUUCK!" I screamed in horror as it slowly morphed into the shape of my arm, purple hue fading into my normal skin colour.

"Neoma? Y/N, what's wrong?"

I couldn't even focus on the voice coming from my earpiece as I examined my arm from all angles, still feeling a bit of the blade's shape around it, much like a phantom blade.

I have officially come to the conclusion that I was definitely not an ordinary kid.

"Y/N, speak to me. Is everything alright?"

Before I could even respond, the ground shook vigorously beneath me.

I held my arms out to regain my balance as buildings in the distance began to sink.

I hurriedly rushed towards them, only to come to a full stop by a cliff.

That's when I realised. The buildings weren't sinking.

Part of Sokovia was rising.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

[thatgirlsstory]

It’s fuck boy story time Tumblr.. read till the end, I need advice

At 12:05 am, I’m sitting at the bar with my friend Emily and my work email goes off. Stressing out, I get up and go outside to deal with this work fire. A cute boy is sitting on the patio enjoying a cigarette, he’s 6’4, blue eyes with long brown hair tucked behind his ears with 1 strand dangling in his face. He sensed my stress and asked if I would like one. I smiled, accepted and thanked him. There’s something so sexual about a boy lighting a cigarette for you… 15 minutes later, when I finished my email, I walked back inside and found the cute boy sitting next to the chair where I was sitting, his name is RJ btw. After some witty banter, i introduced RJ to my friend Emily and he introduced me to his friend Paul. The 4 of us had a great evening, the conversation was flowing and the shots were pouring.

There was clearly some sexual tension between me and RJ, but like always, I was playing hard to get. After what is about to happen next, I’ve been finding myself over analyzing that evening. Was he really into me? Maybe I was being too flirty. But no…. Regardless of how drunk I was, I was SURE he was more into me than I was into him. HE asked for my number HE asked for my ig, asked ME on a date, asked if he could walk ME to my car….

Anyways, moving on. It was past last call and the bartender turned on the lights. We made our way outside and shared a cigarette before going our separate ways. Emily opened her big mouth and it slipped out that I was driving. Don’t get me wrong, I never drink and drive, in fact I hate when people do it. But this was a spur of the moment drunk and I just couldn’t leave my car in a public parking lot down town toronto, overnight… regardless, not an excuse I know.. RJ looked at me and refused to let me drive. After going back and forth about wether or not I should drive, we landed on me driving but RJ had to walk us to the car and I had to call him when I got home. And if I didn’t call him, he would call Emily to make sure I was okay. He got Emily’s number, he already had my number and Instagram from earlier on in the night. We get to my car, Emily hops in and I go in to give RJ a hug. He grabs me by the hips and kisses me. Soft, romantic, passionate but not raunchy… we said our goodbyes, I hop in the car and like classic girls, Emily and i scream OMG THAT WAS SO CUTE!!!!

Ready for it? Buckle up!

Once I make it home, safe. I text RJ and let him know, we go back and forth over text a few times, saying how lovely it was to meet me and to chat tomorrow about setting up a date for next week. I had butterflies. Moments later Emily texts me a screenshot or her conversation with RJ. He texted her once I said I was home, and proceeded to tell Emily how hot she was and how he wanted to rip her clothes off. Emily, trying to be nice, she kindly turns him down, followed by a few “lols”. At this point he’s basically begging her to come over at 4 in the morning…. That’s when she sent me the screenshot. I go to RJ, as we’re still texting and say…. Um yeah maybe don’t ask me on a date and then slide into my friends DM’s? I was trying to be casual, after all we did JUST meet. But I felt rejected. The audacity of this man. Like you were hitting on me all night in front of Emily and his friend. It was clear Emily was trying to wing man me. We were best friends, and he knew that. Did he honestly think I wasn’t going to find out? That’s comical. He apologizes profusely and said, we were calling him hot and it went to his head. I told him, she was trying to wing man. She wanted him for me not for her… whatever. He said he felt awful and totally read to signals wrong blah blah blah. I went to bed

The next day, I wake up to a text from RJ apologizing again. I laughed it off and said, yeah it’s okay, that just means you’ll have to work even harder. Throwing in some flirty banter. We spend the day going back and forth, getting to know each other. I thought he was super sweet and I totally forgave him for the night before and I blamed it on the alcohol.

The NEXT day (aka 2 days later) I pick Emily up and we head to a coffee shop to do a fun work from home day together. I update her on RJ and she goes… yah I need to talk to you about that…. Sitting in my passenger seat, Emily proceeds to tell me how the day after and even that morning, RJ was still texting her saying how much he liked her and wanted to fuck her…. I was trying so hard to hold back my tears. I felt absolutely rejected. But not only was he saying all this to my friend but he was saying things to her he never even said to me. With her he was all raunchy and talking about sex, with me he was a gentleman and polite and wanted to take me on dates and said I was special…. This was all too much. Emily left him on read but I still felt absolutely awful.

After our work from home day together and I drop Emily off at home. I get a text from RJ, in which I left on read. I hated him

4:48- How’s your Friday goin??

4:49- You look really cute in Emily’s Ig story :)

5:15- Can you send me your work schedule for next week again pleaseee?

At this point, I had to say something, maybe I was too soft and polite. Tumblr… You tell me…

ME- 6:04- Thank you! So I’m pretty upset, obviously you must know Emily showed me your guys convo. I don’t blame you, she’s a total babe, and I’m sure her being married and untouchable probably makes her even more desirable, I get it. Shooting your shot when you’re drunk, I can just laugh it off. I’m not the jealous type, I’m pretty chill but still saying those things to Em, today and yesterday really hurt my feelings. I actually liked you, I thought you were a pretty rad guy and I was looking forward to getting to know you. But I’m not one to compete for men, even though she wouldn’t cheat on her husband, I somehow still feel like I’m competing. I’m 30, I’m not going to put myself in a position where I’m going to be upset over a man this early in the game. I think I’ll just bow out and let you try to shoot your shot with Emily or whoever.

HIM- 6:05- Nooo no please don’t do that. I am not going to go after Emily, it was just silly flirting and it was immature. There’s obviously no chance for a future there, it was dumb. I genuinely apologize, but I promise there is no competition. I’m not going to chase after her, it was dumb. Will you give me a chance??

6:06- Please? I liked meeting you and am very intrigued by you - I was being an idiot

6:10- I was acting like the exact thing I hate. I understand if you don’t want to see me again, I am really sorry though. I hope you’ll let me try to make it up to you though

As a hopeless romantic- We some how ended the conversation with me saying I would give him another chance but my guard is up and this must be one hell of a date for me to forget what happened… we briefly texted over the weekend while he was away with him family. A day next week for our “date” has not been locked in but he said he has plans for our date already in mind. I haven’t heard from him since mid day yesterday… which is fine, he was away with his family after all… but why am I constantly checking my phone to see if he texted me? Why am I thinking about him? Why did I give him another chance? Would he even follow through with this date, will I even hear from him again? This is all so fucked up. And it’s fucking with my mind…

TUMBLR I NEED YOUR HELP! Please reblog, the more advice and help I can get the better! Thank you 🥹

-t

[inktastic69]

[When Fairy’s Meet Toons] (Fairy Tail X Animaniacs)

Chapter 4: The Dark Side of a Toon: Code Z7M3

Everyone else rushes to Yakkos's aid as Natsu and Wendy prepare to square off against Taz.

Natsu: "You smell that too right Wendy?"

Wendy: "Yeah, something is wrong here, he seems to be under some sort of spell that makes him act this crazy."

Wendy: "He's not himself right now."

Natsu: "Not to mention how bruised and beaten up this thing is. I mean just look at that burn mark on his right eye."

Wendy: "Poor thing, if I can somehow get him to relax and loosen up a bit maybe I'll be able to cure him."

Carla: "Are you crazy Wendy?!?!"

Carla: "No I forbid you from getting anywhere near that thing!!!"

Happy: "I have to agree with Carla on this one. I mean just look at what he did to Yakko. If he did that much damage to him and he's a toon what makes you think you'll survive a direct hit?

Natsu: "What did you do to him huh?!?"

Natsu: "You brainwashed him or something?"

Aku: "We did more than just brainwash him, we injected a serum that amped his power up to its absolute max!!!"

Aku: "In other words, he works for us now whether he likes it or not, and if he needs any reminders I'll gladly add more scars to his body."

Yakko: "Taz what did they do to you?"

Lucy: "Yakko are you ok?"

Yakko: "I don't know this is the first time this has ever happened to me."

Yakko: "I never get injured, let alone to this caliber."

Yakko: "One thing I know though is that that's not Taz, at least not the Taz that I know."

Yakko: "He can be hard to talk to sometimes because he can't talk much but I know he's not himself right now."

Lucy: "Don't worry we'll find a way to bring him back but for now I need you to rest up. Your injury looks like it's getting worse and it's starting to swell up."

Yakko: "Awww man and just tomorrow we're going to a press conference about our new season that's coming out this November which will begin streaming exclusively on Hulu."

Dot: "Wow shameless plug much. "

Yakko: "Don't look at me, I didn't write the script."

Yakko: "Am I right Wakko?"

Yakko turns to Wakko only to find him in his absolute angriest state he's ever been. He turns his hands into a fist and starts walking towards Aku.

Yakko: "Wakko wait!!!"

Wakko: "You hurt my big brother....."

Wakko: "You made him bleed......."

Wakko: "Now I will make you bleed."

Aku: "Is that supposed to scare me?"

Aku: "Bring it on your oversized Rat!!!"

Wakko pulls out his signature weapon, a nice comically large hammer, and rushes towards Aku. Aku turns a bat, then a scorpion, and finally a spider before Wakko could successfully land a hit on Aku.

Dot: "Wakko we need to go now!!!"

Wakko: "Not until he pays for hurting Yakko."

Wakko: "And for hurting Taz."

Wakko rushes back in as Natsu and Wendy shift their focus to Aku and Ozai.

Lucy: "Natsu what are you doing?"

Natsu: "Didn't you hear him?"

Natsu: "We ain't leaving until they're 6 feet under."

Natsu: "Which means I'm all fired up now!!!"

Lucy: "But Natsu....."

Erza: "It seems our strategy has changed immensely but I think we can still save their friend Taz and retreat safely."

Gray: "How do you plan to do that?"

Ezra: "If we can somehow knock some sense into him and calm him down maybe Wendy can heal whatever is taking over his mind right now like she said earlier."

Gray: "That's great and all but how do you suggest we calm him down without being shredded into tiny pieces?"

Ezra: "Maybe trying to remind him of his memories with you guys will get him to start fighting this thing that is controlling him and allowing him to think more clearly."

Julia: "Sounds like it could work but do you want to confront him again Yakko?"

Yakko: "I......."

Dot: "Don't worry Yakko I got this."

Yakko: "Dot...."

Yakko: "No...."

Yakko: "Let me......"

Dot: "I'm sorry Yakko but you are in no condition to go and confront him now."

Dot: "I've never seen you so shocked and scared before."

Dot: "I can tell by the look in your eyes whether you like to admit it or not."

Dot: "We're not in our world anymore......"

Dot: "We're not invincible anymore and that's something I thought I'd never say."

Dot: "Whatever they gave Taz made it so that his base attacks would otherwise just completely miss or would ultimately do nothing to severely harm us. Can now actually make us feel "real pain"."

Wakko: "Which is why I'm done playing nice..."

Wakko: "It's time for the big guns."

Natsu: "I'm ready when you are. "

Natsu: "You all are officially members of Fairy Tail."

Natsu: "And nobody messes with our guildmates and

gets away with it."

Wakko: "I have no idea what that means but when we're done with them, I say we celebrate with an all-you-can-eat buffet."

Wakko: "You do have something like that in your world right?"

Natsu: "I'll let Mira know to cook you and pals whatever you want afterward but for now let's take these guys down because all this foodstuff is getting me real hungry now."

Wakko: "Alright let's gooooo!!!!"

Wakko starts pulling many objects and weapons out of his bag from laters to hammers, a car, and even a whole rocket to try and finish them once and for all. Aku twists and turns as he avoids most of the Wakko's attacks while Natsu tries his hardest to somehow beat Ozai which just reverses his fire attacks back at him with ease.

Natsu: "All these fire attacks and none of them are landing."

Natsu: "This guy is the real deal."

Happy: "I think we should let someone else tag in because none of you seem to be able to deal significant damage to one another."

Natsu: "Yeah your right I can't eat my fire when he reflects it at me."

Natsu: "Only when he uses his own which I think he's finally caught on to since he's playing more defensively now."

Erza: "Natsu look out!!!!"

Natsu: "Huh?"

Aku: "Say your prayers, you pathetic wizard!!!"

Aku uses his eye beam attack which was just a few feet away from hitting Natsu and Happy when Wakko steps in and eats Akus's attack.

Wakko: *Burp*

Wakko: "Now I got a fire in my belly."

Aku: "What?!?!?"

Aku: "Impossible?!?!"

Wendy: "Woah"

Happy: "And I thought Natsu had the biggest stomach."

Wakko: "How do you even eat this stuff???"

Wakko: "And that's coming from someone who practically eats everything."

Natsu: "Woah, that was awesome."

Natsu: "And to answer your question not all fires taste the same, although I've tasted some pretty disgusting fires in my day too for the most part it's pretty good."

Ozai: "It seems these toons are full of surprises."

Ozai: "I haven't seen anything like that yet."

Aku: "They can eat a whole mountain for all I care but they can't leave here with their lives."

Ozai: "Don't get ahead of yourself Aku."

Ozai: "Don't you see?"

Ozai: "We were finally able to do some serious damage to these toons thanks to Grimson's serum."

Ozai: "Code Z7M3 is now our top priority."

Ozai: "We can't gain their powers yet but in the meantime, this is better than nothing, and with an army of these creatures by our side no one will be able to stand a chance against us."

Aku: "Sorry Ozai but I'm not going anywhere without making sure these insects are dead."

As their fight rages on Lucy and the rest are trying to figure out a way to control and calm down Taz.

Wendy: "If only he stopped moving around so much I can use my sky dragon cure on him."

Gray: "If you wanted him to stay in place you should have just asked."

Gray: "ICE MAKE EXCALIBUR!!!!"

Gray's attack misses Taz and realizes that it's going to be a lot harder to do. Gray keeps up the pressure on Taz but he eventually stops and tries to figure out another plan of attack.

Gray: "He's too quick on his feet so I say we even up the playing field."

Gray: "ICE MAKE FLOOR!!!"

Taz is sent slipping and sliding all over the place and is unable to get up properly which only enrages him even more.

Gray: "Juvia, use your water dome on him now!!!"

Juvia: "On it."

Juvia: "WATER DOME!!!"

Taz is now trapped inside a watery prison unable to move which grants Wendy the perfect time to strike.

Gray: "Quick Wendy now your chance!!!"

Wendy: "Right."

Ozai: "Not so fast, little one."

He conjures up a big firewall that melted all of Gray's ice and is now heading towards Wendy.

Natsu: "Oh no you don't."

Natsu starts eating up the firewall but Ozai doesn't stop sending fire his way so Natsu is now stuck eating as much fire as he possibly can while Wendy does her spell.

Wendy: "Thanks Natsu."

Wendy: "Alright then hopes this works."

Wendy: "SKY DRAGON CURE ROAR!!!!"

It's a direct hit as Aku was too busy fighting Lucy and Erza who decided to go and back him up for him to do anything about it.

Carla: "Did you think it worked?"

Happy: "I don't know but if Natsu eats more of that fire he's going to blow!!!"

Carla quickly carries Wendy to safety as Happy flies Natsu out of there as well.

Happy: "Wow I've never seen you eat that much fire all at once before you must be stuffed."

Natsu: "What do you mean?"

Natsu: "That was nothing I could have stayed there the whole day *Burp*."

Happy: "You know somehow that doesn't surprise me."

Natsu: "Hey Happy tell Wendy, Carla, Gray, and Juvia to go and check up on their friend over there and see if he's ok ."

Happy: "AYE SIR!!!"

Happy: "But are you sure you're going to be okay?"

Natsu: "Of course, I will. I just need to buy us some time and make sure he's alright."

Happy: "Aye! Just call me if you need me."

Happy drops off Natsu nearby Ozai as he gets ready to square up with him for another round as Happy goes off and tells them what Natsu told him.

Happy: "So what do you think?"

Happy: "Did it work?"

Wendy: "I'm not sure after getting closer to him he hasn't moved at all."

Gray: "I'm sure he's fine, maybe he just needs time to take a breather."

Carla: "Look he's starting to move."

Taz starts to twitch a little and eventually opens his eyes only for him to wake up in pain and disarray.

Taz: "Rahhh!!/$/"

Gray: "Hey man what's your deal?"

Dot: "Looks like whatever you did to try to cure him only aggravated him more."

Wendy: "So I just made it worse."

Dot: "On the contrary, it looks like he's trying to fight off the remaining virus that's still inside him."

Wendy: "So all I have to do is heal him again to completely remove the virus from him?"

Dot: "Looks like it but we got to hurry because this virus will continue to affect and gain control over him if we don't cure him fully."

Happy: "Wow, how did you figure all that out?"

Dot: "Our ghostly captive overhear told us everything we needed to know."

Vlad: "This creature wouldn't shut up and stop asking such stupid questions."

Yakko: "All I said was if water is wet or not and the man just lost it."

Aku: "How pathetic."

Aku: "Getting outsmarted by one of these creatures is honestly just pitiful."

Aku strikes down Erza and Lucy despite their best efforts. He swiftly dodged and counter-attack them despite being outnumbered he shows off his strength

and battle skills to them by keeping up with all of them while still overpowering them.

Ozai: "Looks like your allies are finally falling."

Natsu: "You think we'll just let you walk out of this alive."

Natsu: "After we're done curing their friend Taz over there we're going to wipe the floor with you guys."

Ozai: "Oh really then explain why you and your friends are about to die."

Natsu looks above him to see a huge ship unload a huge cargo crate and out cones a giant large mammal with two sharp teeth infused with a reached order that has thick fur, horns sticking out of his head, and is the size of a mountain charging towards them.

Authors Notes:

These Fairy's and toons just can't catch a break, can they? I think I blended the comedy and action as well as the more tense moments accurately enough so it comes off as a well-thought-out chapter than a mixed bag of ideas clashing together. At least that was the goal for this chapter. As these villains seem to throw every last thing in there arsenal to try to defeat our heroes they must act quickly if they don't all want to get trampled by this large beast. As always let me know what I can do to improve and if you enjoyed this story thus far consider following this page and giving this story alike by starring it. Thanks for reading the past chapter and until next time.

[generic-lab-assistant]

Here it is, the man, the myth, the Floridian

I wrote this all at work so sorry if its all summed up terribly i havent written fiction in a long ass time & i mainly write with bullet points & shitty scripts, i was planning to try and make a comic of him so maybe one day thatll happen, plus i might fuck around & make a comic where he enters the carnival and stuff, who knows- anyway since i wrote this at work and have god awful memory, go easy on me

Ralph is sitting in front of his camcorder (or whatever you used to record videos in 1980), after showing off his guns and acting like he knew how to load them, he quickly ran through his Epic Carter Removal Plan.

“Now, ya see, I have this timed bomb- once I press the special button on it then I got ‘round, eh, 15 minutes I think, to jump an’ tackle that sonuva bitch! Then, I’ll just hold him real tight and the bomb’ll go off! I’ll blow that corpse-raisin’ bastard to hell where ‘e belongs and save the damn country- plus, the world!!”

He pauses, then takes in a realization but smiles.

“Course I’ll ‘ave to die too, but itll be known that what i did was good when they get the news from ma’ dad. Ha- he’s gonna be so pumped to know that his son succeeded at somethin’!”

“Now, tomorrow is my big day, so to whoever ends up watchin’ this tape after I go blam, make sure nobody after Carter knocks down any satellites or raises any zombies. Good luck to me.”

He grins and shuts off the recorder.

*The Next Day, Nov 20. 1980: about 12:30 in the afternoon*

A small crowd gathers in Florida, Jimmy Carter is by a podium giving a speech. As he ends and is walking among the crowd (ala George Wallace, what up Bremer), Ralph presses the button on his bomb and begins to weave through the people and towards Carter. Once hes only a few feet away, he looks on with an anime-like sense of determination and sprints the rest of the few feet to Carter- leaping through the air and tackling the president to the concrete- yelling ‘IVE GOT YOU YA SONUVA BITCH!!’- as people yell and scream and two policemen rush to grab Ralph off of him.

As they grab him, his thoughts run theough him in a panic:

“Why’d the bomb not go off?? Why the hell didn’t it go off??!!”

As he is dragged away he yells at the officers- “Goddammit Im rigged to explode! Let me go! Let me the hell go!! Im bout ta blow the fuck up if ya dont let me go dammit!!”

He continues to panic and attempt to get out of the policemens grips, when his bomb timer beeps. With a sharp yell of ‘DAMN YOU ALL-‘ only slightly cut off at the end as the explosive goes off and Ralph & the policemen explode. Blood & bits of gore and miscellaneous bits & pieces rain from the sky and hit those in crowd, several people who were the closest retain a few minor injuries after the incident, but those harmed the most are the two (now dead) pigs, and Ralph, who is almost unrecognizeable as he is now in very many various bloody parts.

His parts are picked up and disposed of after a quick autopsy in a cheap wooden box, not even a coffin. His only relative is his father, who could care less about proper burial. He is only left with a headstone in a Floridian cemetary: ‘Ralph Hewitt Myers

Oct 8. 1949-

Nov. 20. 1980’

[teratron]

Transformers: Last Bot Standing #1 Review

By Nick Roche (Writer/Artist) and E.J. Su (Artist).

-----

IDW's 15 year plus tenure on the Transformer's license is coming to an end and with it they've decided to put a cap on it with what looks to tell a hypothetical "last story" for the Transformers franchise.

I've actually been meaning to do a big retrospective series one day of going through IDW's original TF continuity that ran from 2005 to 2019. But figured given the circumstances to do my first TF review of looking at what will be the last IDW Transformer story.

The premise of the series is a fairly familiar one as it's become something of a common one over the past few years; a hypothetical last story centered around an aged and grizzled version of a character we think of as younger. The "Unforgiven plot" as I call it, Roche even draws on this in his notes by using Eastwood as the visual basis for Rodimus' elderly looking face. Comic fans will recognize it in the form of stuff like Old Man Logan (and the film), Dark Knight Returns, and even Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow? to a certain extant. IDW even has another series like this out at the moment for the TMNT franchise, The Last Ronin.

Now where this first takes us is to the town of Fembrance, an Old West-style town on a far-flung planet that looks to be on the verge of an industrial revolution. It's where we meet what looks like we'll be one of our main characters, Shib Walkis; a young and determined owner of a delivery business, who finds herself looking down what seems to be the coming technological change that might drive her out of business.

Shib and the town of Fembrance find their worlds changed however when a lone and worn-down robot stumbles upon their town...and only to be brutally killed by the revealed Rodimus, who spent most of the issue disguised as a Shib's family wagon. Exposed, Rodimus wanders off into the desert warning them not follow him.

This was a pretty decent setup issue with a nice twist at the end. It's a fairly obvious theme but I like the setup of one of our main characters being someone who doesn't like the upcoming technological change being revealed, and presumbably paired off with a robot from a near dead species far more advanced then anyone could conceive. Good "End of an Era/Dawn of a New Age" setup.

The first issue also provides some good questions at the end that gives a reader a reason to check out the next issue; who was this Visitor? why did Rodimus kill him at first sight? why and how long as Rodimus been on this planet? Did Shib know about her family wagon being a robot in disguise?

E.J. Su was the artist on the first IDW Transformers series, Infiltration, so it's unsurprising but fitting the last TF series put out by IDW has him on it also. Su's probably either my favorite, or second favorite TF artist, so I was all the happy to see him come back to the franchise beyond just his (amazing I would add) covers for IDW's hardcover collections. Art's very simplistic for most of the issue but the detailing the robots is where the art shines, it's hard to make immortal robots look old but the weathering and chips all over Rodimus and Visitor in this issue do a good job on conveying the idea.

[westofwonder]

DC Comics Sept. 2023 Solicitations initial thoughts

Okay, wanted to do one of these again - y’know - for fun.

I’m excited for the Batman & Robin book mostly because I want there to be a Batman & Robin book! Di Meo on art is the clincher. Williamson keeps attaching himself to good artists. It’ll look good to say the least.

Birds of Prey is going to be an uphill situation; if it tries to be “funny” I’m gonna have to cut it loose earlier. But I want a book with Dinah and I want a book with Barda. I like Cass. Thought Zealot was gonna be my hard sell. The Harley of it all isn’t easy, but I’d be lying if I didn’t see how that would work. I wouldn’t do it, but then I’m not a professional writer. Hopeful.

I have to finish BB: Graduation Day to even consider the BB ongoing. I’m at a wishy-washy opinion. Jaime being a college kid makes me feel so old.

Nothing wrong with the ideas of the new Flash ongoing, but Spurrier hasn’t really sold me on previous stuff he’s done. Deodato on art is intriguing to say the least. Might trade-wait at the very least. It’ll depend dot dot dot.

I haven’t been enjoying the back ups to GL, so GL: War Journal is a pass.

I’m dropping Catwoman after Knight Terrors; I’m not really interested in Gotham War.

Why is there a Penguin ongoing? #Rhetorical

Whatever keeps happening in the Brave and the Bold title I am not a fan of it. Would be fun if this book took a direction out of World’s Finest book. More books should be like World’s Finest.* *Subject to change.

Are people sleeping on TEC? I don’t know - one person I know says it’s really good and that’s it. Most Bat-readers are not talking about it. Could just be me.

Stuff keeps happening in the Nightwing book I see.

The Harley solicitations are still doing that, huh? SKIP!

Ivy has Rogues now?

Had anyone else been given the Wonder Woman title, I most likely have been on board. King is a lazy, overrated writer. That is all. I should be for finally having a writer focus more on the lasso and less of turning Wondy into “Warrior Woman,” but still: KING! Pass!

.The Power Girl ongoing is happening? I thought that was a joke! No thank you!

Fire and Ice miniseries will be fun.

Hoping the Sinestro stuff ramps up in GL.

Shazam still looks fun. Haha, “Grexit”

Titans still feels like Taylor at his worst. No thank you!

Cyborg is still an “of 6″ miniseries so I think I’ll ride that wave out.

Melnikov better just be a guest artist! No offense!

Action still seems fine - so that’s good.

Parallax Hal! EEEEEEE! Did GA switch to ongoing?

I think Hawkgirl will be fun and fine. No big worries there. Would love a Hawkman book though again that doesn’t get lanced by a stupid event.

Has anybody been paying close attention to the Man of Tomorrow? Do people remember the Robins book?

Steelworks still sounds good.

Never been a modern Doom Patrol fan - sorry.

Already have a Perez Wondy #1 Facsimile edition, DC!

The Donna focus Tales of Titans issue has me curious - TO SAY THE LEAST.

I don’t have room for more black label books!

Don’t read Fables; don’t read White Knight

And not collected edition for Wondy except Evolution. Oh well

Stuff will get added, stay on the list, dropped from the list, and ignored completely. Not a bad September tbh.

Could be fun. It’ll be fun to see which books don’t feel at all changed after Knight Terrors - but I feel like completely stopping the line for two months is for that purpose and that purpose alone. It’s like that sometimes.

[deliriumthoughts]

Here's to inspiration, and literature.

If I had the chance to go back in time, I would go back to when I first started reading. I’d look at myself from a distance where it would be enough for me to look at myself and, in a way, telepathically tell ‘past me’ that this was going to be BIG. And it isn’t just the act of reading, it’s the storytelling that comes with it. The ability to listen and learn, see colors, and let alone imagine the construction of the things I find intriguing.

Growing up with people who don’t find reading as interesting as I do, wasn’t a challenge until I noticed our differences (yup I figured my interests on my own). Things were tough because I grew up searching, and discovering creativity alone. There’s something exceptional about finding yourself; and yet it takes a lifetime to get that set straight in the head.

Here’s to my devotion to stories. Stories that I want to have a deep connection with as I turn the pages over and over until one finds themselves going just a little insane.

Now, what I meant to write about was comics, graphic novels, whatever seems fit. I still can’t find myself shouting until the entire world knows (that I deliberately want them to know) that I love stories. Yes. I do. Many inspirations have come across my experience as a frequent comic reader (yeah I’m a visual learner).

A couple of years back (and I don’t exactly remember how and when) I decided to explore the vast world of “indie” comics. I’m going to be honest I was bored of reading the same boring genre I was enthused with at the time. Why not try a teeny bit of change right? Wouldn’t hurt anybody (oh but it did hurt me because you’re damn right I did pick the right- and painful- books to read.)

So, there was Image and Vertigo (and the power of online comics and downloadable pdfs). And this was the perfect year for me to continuously read like there’s no tomorrow. And there you have it, another obsession and recurring lack of sleep.

Vertigo had a huge impact on a lot of readers. You had the coolest, remarkable, passionate writers making themselves a name solely from the help of Karen Berger and whatever she decided on creating with Vertigo comics. Sometimes I wish I could have at least been born during that era, when iconic comic book titles were being published and during that same era, making history.

Vertigo is pretty old but it also isn’t? in a way. Well, Vertigo was rebranded in 2019 (only God knows how much I miss seeing that title on comic book covers). Once I had purchased all Y The Last Man books just because I was afraid the next ones on the shelves would be “DC Black Label” instead of Vertigo. I had to get the Vertigo prints, duh.

As for my ultimate personal favorite, one of Vertigo’s critically acclaimed (and oldest), The Sandman, will always have a special place in my heart. I’m not too young and definitely not too old, but reading Sleep of the Just, the first issue of The Sandman was not a concern to me at all and after a couple of issues, I was completely hooked. Like I said I was already mature enough to read anything… mature. The universe had sent The Sandman to me at the perfect time in my life (maybe). I had recognized Neil Gaiman’s work for pretty much half of my lifetime, and reading his magnum opus was undoubtedly the best thing that had ever happened to me in a really long time. Years.

Sure, there’s joy in reading but Vertigo changed the trajectory of my life. I mean it. And especially when you read something that doesn’t have an adaptation. You start to wonder whether that stuff’s going to get way cooler in the future once they start making tv adaptations or something. And yet here I am years later, waiting for my beloved component of literature in the history of however thousands of years old literature is, come to live action. You’re probably thinking, “come on I bet you’ve just found out about this. You’re excited about this?”, *Clears throat* I’ve been longing for this since they announced the live action series had been in progress in 2019. I was there when they gave us a first look at the set. I was there when they announced the casting, and I’m still here impatiently waiting every day for interviews, photos, and magazine articles regarding The Sandman. Just like every other real and true Sandman fan is around the globe. What’s not to love about Neil Gaiman’s work. And hello? The entirety of it is about some emo immortal god with immense relationship problems and the fact that his character develops to finding a better part of himself. It’s the change. Plus, who isn’t obsessed and able to completely relate to sibling rivalry coming from a dysfunctional family. Yeah, that’s pretty much a teeny bit of The Sandman. There’s so much more and I’ll remain obsessed with the graphic novels every time I read them. Suspense, twists, pain, fantasy, fiction, everything! Dark fantasy has always stuck with me from the beginning. I’ll always be grateful for the things I enjoy, especially ones that give me hope and reassurance. This is only a part of my story. I can’t just spill all of the tea right now, that’s insane. *walks away*

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Please don’t feel pressured to do this if you’re busy, but I had an idea based on a current WIP I’m working on: A child coming up to Jameson while he’s out in public and asking about his scars and how he got them.

"What happened?"

Mint bursts in his mouth, on his tongue, like subtle toothpaste. It's a voice he doesn't know.

Jameson blinks and opens his eyes, looking up at a small, round, chubby face and huge brown eyes staring down at him where he lays on his back on a picnic blanket at the park.

"Uh-... What?" Jameson's voice comes out even rougher than usual, he'd been nearly asleep. He has to clear his throat before he speaks again. "What'd... What happened about what?"

The little girl or boy or whatever - the kid, Jameson isn't great at knowing what kids are who, they all just look like unfinished people to him - backs up when he pushes himself up to his elbows. They're holding a frisbee, clutched in both hands. It's comically big, blue, and has the words BUILD A BETTER TOMORROW - TODAY in white.

"You got all cut," The kid says, and Jameson feels his heart drop somewhere near the base of his spine as they raise a hand and trace a finger from the corner of their own mouth up nearly to their eye. An echo of the mark that Jameson still sees every time he looks in the mirror. The kid then taps their own eyebrow - and Jameson knows he means another scar, where there's a bald spot in his brow that won't ever grow back.

"Sure did," Jameson replies, and manages to get up to fully sitting now. His knees protest when he crosses his legs, but they still move, so it's a good day, he thinks. His crutches are nearby if he needs them.

"How?" The kid tips their head to one side. "How did you get cut?"

His heart beats a little too fast and his eyes scan the park, not quite in a panic, not yet. And he can't be mad at a little kid for being curious, can he? He shouldn't be mad. Kids are just kids. At least kids ask and don't just... assume.

"Uh." Jameson looks away, now, searching for a sign of Allyn on their way back from the bathroom. He doesn't see them, but he's not worried. He's not. "A... A man held me down and-... and used a sharp knife."

"What about your hands? How did those get cutted up?" The child points and Jameson shifts, pulling the long sleeves down on his shirt until the cuffs nearly cover his knuckles. He feels the burn of a blush in his cheeks but ignores it, glaring down at the cheery plaid of the picnic blanket instead.

"Same concept," Jameson answers, scratching at a spot on his jeans, belatedly realizing it's a stain, not something stuck there. "But with rope. Different guys, though."

The child nods, solemnly. "Tricky people," They intone, with the air of an expert in these things.

Jameson blinks. He blinks again. "I-... What?"

"Tricky people," The child repeats. They say the words as though this is a knowledge everyone has, and they're not sure why he's asking. "Who cutted you. It was tricky people."

"I-I guess... what the f-... heck are tricky people?"

"Grown-ups mostly. Do you not know about tricky people? My mommy and my school tolded me."

"Oh, uh, no. I-I don't... go to school." Jesus he's no good with kids. And his scars all burn like they're brand new under the casual, almost uncaring gaze of the little child with the Frisbee still clutched tightly. "Uh, where are your parents-"

"A tricky person," The child interrupts, clearly eager to share this valuable information and delighted that they know something an adult doesn't, "is like if a grown up says to help look for their lost puppy or if they are lost can you help or if they say I have a bicycle do you want a bicycle or-"

"I get it, I get it. That's like..." Something surfaces, faintly, in the back of Jameson's memories. "Like stranger danger, yeah?"

The little kid wrinkles their nose. "Tricky people are tricky. Like if a grown up says to keep a secret, that is being tricky. They have candy sometimes, my mommy said. Or nacho chips with cheese which are my favorite, and they are nice but not really for real nice. Tricky people are playing pretend nice, and then they are mean."

Jameson swallows. He thinks of a woman offering to buy him dinner, waking up on a tarp, a knife dragged down the side of his face. He thinks about Brute offering him a place to sleep. He thinks about Robert, friendly and chatty, the door to his truck swinging open, offering a wayward hitchhiker a ride before slamming his head into the passenger side window and duct-taping him to the seat.

"Sounds about right," Jameson says, finally. "Tricky people, yeah. They're fake-nice til they get you alone."

The child gives another solemn nod. "Yes. Tricky people cutted you."

"Yeah. They... Tricky people sure did."

A man comes racing up, and Jameson goes tense, every muscle suddenly twisting and firing painful messages right up the nerves of his spine. One hand goes for a crutch, fingers closing with difficulty, ready to get to his feet.

But the man isn't looking at him. "Theo! Theo, God, you can't just wander off like that! Your mom and I have been looking everywhere for you!"

"I followed the Frisbee, Daddy," The child says, looking baffled at their father's wide-eyed worry. "And then I seed a man."

"Yeah, I, I see that, okay come on, buddy, let's go tell Mom you're safe." The man scoops the child into his arms, the blue Frisbee dropping forgotten to the grass as the kid's arms go around their father's neck. "So sorry, I'm so sorry if Theo was bugging you."

"No, he was fine," Jameson says, but the man is already walking away. He hadn't waited for a reply.

The child looks back from over his shoulder. "Daddy, the Frisbee! The Frisbee dropped!"

"Whatever, I have like twelve of those from work by now. We need to get to your mom before she calls the cops, she was so scared, something could have happened to you, buddy-"

Jameson looks down at the Frisbee, thinking at first that he can give it to Allyn or something. It's fallen onto the grass facing underside-up. Imprinted into the very center is a familiar logo.

WRU.

Jameson's head snaps back up and he stares wide-eyed at the man's retreating back until they go behind a small copse of trees and are gone.

When Allyn plops down on the blanket beside him, he nearly jumps out of his skin, turning to stare at them with a cry caught in his throat.

They lick at the ice cream cone in their head and offer it to him. When he shakes his head, they frown, coppery-red eyebrows furrowing over their gray eyes. "What's wrong?" They ask in their rain shower voice.

"Uh-... N, nothing. Maybe we should go."

"Why? The day is so pretty-"

"I feel kind of sick," Jameson says, and that's not a lie. Just not the whole truth. "Can we go back to Nat's? I need to lay down."

"Sure." Allyn leans over, lays their hand over his. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. Just. I need-... I need to be somewhere else."

Somewhere where there isn't a man who could be a handler just behind the trees.

[cloudybarnes]

the reveal

Pairing: peter parker x bestfriend!reader

Summary: after years of being friends, y/n wants to tell peter just how she feels. the night she decides to tell him, she walks in on him in his spider-man suit and suddenly second guesses if it’s the right time

Word Count: 2.7k+

Warnings: one curse word 

A/N: added in some platonic interactions with ned and y/n cause why not :)

Masterlist

✰  ✰  ✰ 

“I think I just failed our math test.” You huffed as you dropped your lunch tray onto the table. 

Peter and Ned left an open spot between them for you to squeeze into. 

“Honestly, I don’t see how you could have failed this test, (Y/N).” Peter chuckled.

“Yeah,” Ned agreed, “if you think you failed this test, then I don’t even want to know what I got.”

That made you laugh. “Okay, maybe not failed, but definitely not my best. I feel like I know what we’re learning, but it’s hard to do on paper, you know?”

Peter nodded his head. 

“Whatever,” you chuckled, “let’s talk about something else. What are we doing after school?”

Peter whipped his head to you, “we had after school plans?”

“Well not exactly, but it’s Friday so I thought we could do something fun.”

Ned agreed, “Yeah, plus we haven’t all hung out in a while.”

Peter sighed, “Guys, I have that Stark thing tonight remember? I can’t just abandon my internship.”

You pout and poke Peter’s arm, “but all you ever do now is go to your internship. It’s like Ned and I don’t even see you anymore, Pete.”

“She’s right. You were so busy last weekend, (Y/N) and I had to go to the opening of her sister’s dance recital all by ourselves.”

“I mean, I understand why he didn’t want to go to that one. It was a nightmare.” You chuckled. 

Peter sighed, “Listen, I’m really sorry I’ve missed a lot. I’ll make it up to you guys, I promise.”

“So... tonight?” You asked hopefully. “I swear, we will make it worth the time of the all mighty Peter Parker.” You teased as you bumped your shoulder with Peter’s.

He nervously chuckled, “Y-yeah! Okay, um, yeah, tonight.”

You giggled, noticing a new warmth to his cheeks. “So, what time do you get done?”

“Get done?” He repeated.

“You know, your internship.” Ned reminded him.

Peter gasped, “Oh, right! Right, my internship. Um, actually it might be late, are you sure you want to do it tonight?”

You shrugged, “It’s the weekend, I’m sure my parents won’t mind. Please Peter, we haven’t hung out in forever! The internship is eating up your social life!” You chuckled.

Ned gasped, “oh my god, we should totally have a sleepover at Peter’s tonight! I can bring some comics and movies for us.”

You cheered, “Yes! That would be so fun!” You noticed Peter looked a little awkward from the conversation. “Unless, you just don’t want to hang out, which is totally okay! Ned and I could always ju-”

“No!” Peter yelled.

He looked around the cafeteria, embarrassed. He cleared his throat. “I-I mean, no, I do want to hang out with you guys tonight. I think I should be getting back around ten, so you guys can come to my place.”

Ned gasped, “Peter, you work that late and you’re not even getting paid?”

He chuckled nervously, “well, yeah. I just really like working for Mr. Stark, so I don’t mind it.” Peter wiggled around awkwardly, almost like he didn’t know what to do with himself.

Peter’s hand rested on his leg, and you placed yours on top of his. He looked up at you, eyes wide and lips slightly parted. 

You gave his hand a squeeze. “Peter, you’re my best friend. I can see how you’re acting right now. If you don’t want to hang out tonight, that’s totally understandable. We get how important this is to you, and we wouldn’t want to get in the way of your opportunity.”

Peter’s face softened into one with a smile. He squeezed your hand back, “thanks (Y/N), that means a lot. I do want to hang out with you guys, though. We’re going to have a sleepover at my place tonight, and it’ll be fun. I promise.”

Peter cleared his throat, and stood up. “I’ll be right back, I’m just going to use the bathroom real quick.”

Once Peter left, Ned started to chuckle. 

You turned to him and smiled, “what’s so funny?”

“What’s funny is how obvious it is that you have a thing for Peter.”

You giggled, “come on Ned, no I don’t.”

Ned shook his head and grinned at you, “I know you do; I just know these things. The way the two of you look at each other is like you’re in some rom com.”

You groan, “okay fine, I do like Peter. And I’m only telling you this because your my best friend, not because I want you to tell him!”

Ned scoffed, “please, of course I’m not going to tell Peter. You should be the one to do it.”

You smiled and lightly pushed his shoulder with your own. “Thanks, Ned. Also, don’t make anything awkward now that you know, okay? Peter will definitely know something is up.”

Ned made an ‘x’ over his chest. “Cross my heart!”

You look away from Ned just in time to see Peter walking back into the cafeteria. He takes his seat next to you and gives you a smile.

“Oh Peter!” Ned said, “I forgot that I have plans tonight already. My mom wanted me to try out this new yoga video with her. She thinks it’ll be a nice way to relax and release tension.”

“Oh, that’s okay.” Peter nodded, “we can always hang out some other time.”

“Oh!” Ned gasped, “Well, (Y/N)’s still free tonight. The two of you can have that sleepover still. I’ll lend you my comics.”

“Yeah! That-that sounds cool.” Peter looked at you and smiled, “I’m down if you are.”

You grinned, “Totally! I’ll never turn down the chance to hang out with you.”

Peter blushed at that. 

You smiled at Ned, “Sorry you can’t come! We’ll miss you tonight.” You winked.

Ned chuckled a little, “It’s okay, there’s always next time.”

The bell that signaled lunch was over rang. The three of you stood up.

“Okay, well I’ll talk to you guys later!” You smiled. “See you tonight, Peter.”

He shyly smiled, “yeah, see you tonight.”

✰  ✰  ✰

“I think I’m going to do it tonight.”

School had finished without any excitement other than yours for tonight. You had already eaten dinner, and as the time drew closer to ten, you grew anxious.

You were dramatically sprawled out on your bed, with your phone on FaceTime with Ned. 

His eyes got wide, “Oh. My. God. You’re crazy.”

You quickly sat up, worried now. “Is that actually crazy? Cause I don’t have to; I mean, it might make things weird.”

Ned chuckled. “No, I meant like, crazy as in you’re a bad-ass. I think tonight is the perfect opportunity to tell Peter you like him; and I’m not just saying that because I gave up spending time with you guys so this could happen.”

You rolled your eyes and stood up, walking over to your closet. “I think I’m just going to wear some sweatpants and a comfy top since it’s supposed to be a sleepover. Or do you think I should wear something nicer since I’m going to be telling him I like him?”

Ned shakes his head. “Definitely the sweatpants. If he doesn’t like you in your comfy look, he doesn’t deserve you in your dazzling look.”

You giggled, “you’re right, thanks Ned.”

“I’m here to help. Let me know how things go between you two. I think things will work out like you want.”

You smiled, “I’ll call you tomorrow! Bye, Ned.”

“See ya.”

You hung up the phone, and put your comfortable clothes on. Your bag was already packed with your overnight gear all ready to go.

You picked it up, and slung the bag over your shoulder.

“Mom, dad! I’m headed out to Peter’s now, love you!”

You parents said their goodbye’s, and you were on your way to Peter’s.

The trip was very short; Peter and you lived only a short distance from one another.

Once you were at his front door, you knocked and were greeted by his Aunt May.

“(Y/N)! Oh my gosh, it’s been too long since you’ve been over!” She grinned, pulling you into a tight hug.

Since you and Peter were always so close, May thought of you as a daughter.

“Hi May! It’s great to see you again. Is Peter back from his internship yet? I know I’m a few minutes early.”

She ushered you inside and shut the door. “No, I don’t think Peter’s back yet. I just got out of the shower so he may have snuck in while I was in there. You can wait in his room if you’d like, Peter won’t mind.”

You smiled, “Okay, thank you May.”

You started to walk down the hall into Peter’s room before May stopped you.”Oh, and (Y/N)?”

You turned around, “yeah?”

May softly smiled at you, “don’t be nervous, dear. I’m sure things will work out.”

You lightly laughed, “how did you know?”

She just shrugged with a playful smile.

You grinned, “I’ll try my best, May. Wish me luck!”

You turned back, and headed for Peter’s room.

In your mind, you were trying to plan out exactly what you were going to say to him, and when. You were thinking about waiting a little bit before dumping all of your emotions onto him. Or you’d do it as soon as you saw him just to get it off your chest once and for all.

As you pushed Peter’s bedroom door open, you saw something you never thought you’d witness. Peter was standing, back towards you in the Spider-Man suit. 

When he heard his door creak open, Peter rapidly spun around. His eyes were wide, and his mouth agape. He looked scared and extremely caught off guard that you had just seen him in his outfit.

“Oh, my god.” Is all you could manage.

You stared at Peter with the widest eyes he’d ever seen. Your mouth gobbled open and shut like a fish out of water; you couldn’t find any words to say to him.

He rushed over and pulled you into his room, frantically shutting the door behind you.

“(Y/N)! I didn’t expect you to be here so early.” Peter’s heart was racing. “It’s not what it looks like, I promise.”

You lightly shook your head, “I think it’s exactly what it looks like.” 

You walked around him in a circle like a vulture stalking its prey. “You’re Spider-Man, aren’t you?”

Peter’s mouth opened, then shut as soon as it did, trying to come up with a response to you. When he couldn’t think of anything, he sighed. “Yeah, I’m Spider-Man.”

You gasped. Peter honestly could have told you he was just playing dress up as Spider-Man and you would have believed him, but here he is admitting to being the superhero that had been around the city.

“That is so crazy, Peter!” You grinned. “Oh, my god, I’m friends with Spider-Man!” 

Your face fell, “oh, my god, I’m friends with Spider-Man.” Oh, no. Why did Peter have to reveal himself as Spider-Man tonight of all nights! 

You were freaking out, now. You didn’t want Peter to think you only liked him now that you knew he was Spider-Man! You wanted him to know you liked him for himself, as Peter.

“(Y/N)? Are you alright? I know this can be a lot to take in, but I need you to listen to me.” His eyes were desperate as he tried to talk to you.

You nodded your head and gave him your full attention. “Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry, this just caught me off guard is all.”

He nodded his head, and placed a hand on your shoulder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to tell anyone, especially not like this.”

“So I’m the only one that knows?”

“Well, Mr. Stark knows cause he’s the one that gave me this upgraded suit, but yeah. You’re the only other one.”

“Oh, man. This is crazy.”

“You can’t tell anyone, (Y/N), please. If people find out, things will change for me, and I like my life how it is. I didn’t want to tell anyone because the more people that know, the more people there are that could be in danger.”

You nodded your head, and smiled at him, “Don’t worry, Pete, your secret is safe with me.”

Peter let out a relieved sigh, “I knew I could trust you. Sorry you had to find out this way, though.”

Peter presses a button on his chest that released his suit, leaving him in only his boxers.

You face heated up as you scanned you eyes over his toned chest. “Oh my god.” You quickly spun around to not face him once you realized what you were doing.”

Peter’s cheeks were hot as well. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking when I did that.”

You heard some shuffling around as Peter got changed. 

“You can turn around now.”

You do, and see that Peter is in sweatpants and a sweatshirt with his suit hung up in his closet.

He sat on his bed, and motioned you to sit as well.

You do so, and play with your fingers a little bit, now uncertain if it’s a good time to tell him how you feel. 

“Hey,” Peter said as he grabbed you hand, stopping your nervous fiddling, “talk to me. I don’t know what’s going on in your head, and it’s freaking me out a little.” He nervously chuckled.

You gently smiled and started to mess with his fingers. “I think it’s really cool what you’re doing for the city. I think you’re really brave for all of this.”

Peter smiled at you, “yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m just worried that you could get hurt from this. You know I care about you, right?” You nervously added.

Peter nodded his head with a smile, “I know you care. I promise, I’m being careful out there, don’t worry.”

You lightly smiled, and looked down at your interlocked fingers.

“So, Ned told me something earlier.”

Your head quickly perked up at that. “Oh, did he?”

Peter rubbed the back of his neck, “yeah, he told me to make sure you tell me the thing you were going to tell me.” He sounded confused. “I don’t really know what he means by that, but he wanted me to make sure you don’t chicken out of it.”

You sighed. “Well, I was going to tell you something, but I don’t know if it’s the right time because of your whole... reveal.” 

“Oh, well I’ll still care about what you have to say. Just because you know I’m Spider-Man, doesn’t mean I’m not still Peter.”

You looked up at him and smiled. “Yeah, you’re still Peter.”

He chuckled, and you took in a breath, trying to calm yourself down.

“Well, I’ve been wanting to tell you this for a while now, and I didn’t really know when a good time would be since you’re always at your internship or we’re hanging out with Ned as well. Not that I don’t like hanging out with Ned! I do, it’s just-”

Peter cut off your rambling by grabbing your face and pressing his lips to yours. You were stunned, to say the least. Peter’s lips were soft and gentle against yours. He made no move to escalate things; it was like all he wanted to do was feel your lips against his.

You finally kissed him back, and brought one of your hands to the side of his face. You rubbed your thumb along his cheek as you kissed, loving the feeling of being so close to him.

When you couldn’t take anymore, you pulled back and took a breath of air. 

Looking at Peter like this was something you had only dreamed of. His lips were red and puffy from your kiss, and his eyes gleamed with excitement. You could only imagine how you looked.

“Was that what you were trying to tell me?” He cheekily remarked.

You giggled, “that was exactly what I was trying to tell you.” 

“Good,” he grinned, “because I really like you, (Y/N), I have for a while now.”

You let out a chuckle, “it’s a good thing I’ve liked you for some time as well.”

Peter bit his lip to try to stop himself from smiling so much. He grabbed your hand and laced your fingers together.

“So, does that mean you’d want to go out with me sometime?” Peter asked, hopefully.

You pretended to think for a minute, then giggled. “Yeah, I’d love to go out with you sometime, but right now I just want to spend our night together like we planned.”

You leaned in closer to Peter, gently pulling him in by the collar of his shirt. 

“I like the sound of that.” Peter gently said, right before you placed your lips on his. 

You have so much to tell Ned tomorrow.