#mama didn’t raise no half-way type of gal

[aceforwhatevenisthis]

being a native spanish speaker who only engages with spanish in her hometown is so funny to me cuz like

do i know any real grammar rules? nope

do i know how to use tildes? absolutely not

did i ever have any formal spanish classes? eh

do i know-? no

“but how do you know spanish then” i dunno man, it’s a feeling and the words just come out and somehow they make enough sense

[dotuindex]

Merla HCs for the soul

General Culture HCs ⭐ Her home planet is called Orulla ⭐ Ever seen that part where Zarkon says “no one knows where she’s from”? That’s because her and her people are from a place akin to VLD’s quantum abyss in terms of how the place functions. Trying to get in is a death wish so the place has yet to be discovered. ⭐ Her race is all one sex, and their secondary sex characteristics are more inline with that of a human female ⭐ But if you went there you might not notice bc gender expression is all over the place ⭐ Gendered pronouns are a wild concept to her bc “why is the gender of the person in question at all relevant, that’s like having a different pronoun for each hair color” ⭐ They do, however, use different pronouns depending on what they’re talking about. They have pronouns used for people, a word similar to “it” for inanimate objects, and another pronoun used for animals. ⭐ Like in Spanish, their language has formal and informal versions of the word “you” ⭐ The only reason they design their armor to overly highlight their bodies is because they realized it freaks other people out to fight an “all female” army and they get embarrassed as fuck when they get their asses beat by a bunch of ladies ⭐ Way more lax about nudity than a lot of other planets. The idea of modesty is more applied to one’s behavior, like their humility, rather than their clothes. ⭐ The most popular colors/materials for clothing is dark green and purple, red, silver, and gold. ⭐ Most of her people have darker hair, ranging from a black or purple color through magenta and dark pink to red. Eyes are typically the same color as the hair, and skin ranges from gray to a desaturated dark blue color. Most have a gray-blue complexion ⭐ Popular makeup trends are lipstick a similar shade to the skin, but darker or more vibrant, and killer eyeliner. ⭐ Her species is actually incapable of blushing, but after discovering it in other species they found it absolutely adorable and now blush is a popular makeup product. ⭐ Body mods are also very much A Thing in her culture. Piercings, tattoos, scarification, tongue splitting, all sorts of things, and they’re very popular. It’s sort of a right of passage, if an unofficial one. Once someone becomes an adult it’s sort of expected to get something done. ⭐ On that note, getting body mods are also seen as highly inappropriate if the individual who has them isn’t an adult. Something as simple as piercing your ears is jaw dropping to them if you’re a kid. ⭐ On her home planet, people aren’t considered adults until age 20 ⭐ Her people’s life expectancy is around 100-110 ⭐ Her people are also known for doing some funky fun hair stuff. Lots of elaborate braids, curling, and such. Shaving down parts of the head and even the whole head used to be really popular, and is now making a comeback in their mainstream culture. Shaving the entire head is seen as a sign of rebellion or mourning, depending on the context. ⭐ Animal motifs are The Thing in their fashion, particularly birds atm, as they are associated with power and royalty thanks to Merla’s affinity for them. So feathers, things shaped like wings, things with wing patterns on them, etc, are in. ⭐ The average adult of their species is about 6′1.5

Merla HCs ⭐ Age 23 at debut ⭐ 6′0 ⭐ Call her vulture ugly and she will fight you ⭐ Her bird is named Onyx ⭐ She raised that bird from the minute he hatched ⭐ Her telepathic abilities only extend to making people want to do things and getting a vague idea of what someone is thinking about at any given moment. She can’t truly force someone to do something and if she uses too much power she gets migraines. ⭐ She gets along better with animals than with people ⭐ Big Lesbian ⭐ Kala from Voltron Force is her older sister but Merla thinks she died a long time ago ⭐ Merla also has a sister 8 years younger than her named Dyla ⭐ Merla herself actually has a rare pigmentation issue. Her whole color palette is much paler than normal. She’s like an albino of her species in a way. ⭐ Merla has multiple piercings, including several in either ear, a septum piercing, and snake bites. She used to have a tongue piercing but then she got her tongue split and it’s kinda hard to have both ⭐ As for tattoos, she also has more than one, but some are more important than others. On her chest she has vulture wings around an “angel eater,” a flower that, in her culture, means “don’t get too cocky, ya lil shit, you’re still mortal.” On the inside of her right bicep she has an old proverb, “the river goes, and with it the stones.” It means that, yeah, people can make you promises, but ultimately as life goes on things could change and the only person you can really count on is yourself. ⭐ Heart breaker. She doesn’t like getting into actual relationships, she finds them... messy. So when she finds someone she actually likes she dips. And as a Queen needing to one day provide an heir, this is troublesome. ⭐ Merla had a good relationship with one mother and a bad relationship with the other. One, Arella, was a kind hearted woman, who died due to complications having her 3rd child. Merla calls her “mother.” Her other parent was a cold woman who was only interested in herself. Merla simply refers to her as “that woman” or by her first name, Zenaran. ⭐ Dyla was born prematurely, but even if she was carried to term she still would have been a sickly child. To this day she is a very delicate girl, who Merla will protect at all costs. She stands at 5′5, four inches shorter than what’s average for her age. ⭐ Merla herself had complications relating to her birth, but Dyla got everything she had, then some, and dialed up. ⭐ Unlike Dyla and Merla, Kala had no issues in regards to her health and birth. Not only that, but she hardly resembles her other two sisters. This has led to rumors that perhaps the three sisters don’t all share the same two parents, but that Kala is actually a half sibling to Dyla and Merla. ⭐ For several reasons, Merla refuses to acknowledge these rumors and has made no effort to look into them. ⭐ Dyla has not left the safety of their home palace in many years, and hasn’t been off-planet since her toddler years. ⭐ Kala and Merla were close. Kala expected the very best of her little sister, and always pushed her to succeed. ⭐ Mama Arella was a usually kind woman who lacked a backbone, but it’s rumored that she slept around outside her marriage and Merla, despite not really wanting to think about it, also has suspicions in regards to her mother’s faithfulness. ⭐ Arella was monochromatic, having black hair and grey skin. She looked like an old school cartoon character come to life. ⭐ Zenaran, much like her wife, wasn’t very faithful. However, she didn’t bother to hide it. As the one of royal blood, she was the one of higher status and could pretty much get away with whatever she wanted. Plus being an execution happy tyrant also helped. ⭐ Zenaran had long, dark red hair and blue-grey skin. ⭐ Kala is 2 years older than Merla and bore a striking resemblance to Zenaran, with dark red hair and blue-grey skin. ⭐ Dyla, age 15, is a bright and kind girl, despite her rough start to life. She has white hair and dark grey skin. ⭐ Dyla and Merla have an odd relationship. Merla is, on one hand, very much devoted to her little sister, but on the other, dismissive of the younger girl’s thoughts and wishes. She sees Dyla as fragile and incapable of taking care of herself, thus needing constant supervision and someone to make decisions for her. Dyla, though she understands where her sister is coming from, grows increasingly frustrated. ⭐ There is only one person alive who knows the origin of Merla’s powers, and it’s the woman who Arella had an affair with. ⭐ Dyla also has powers like Merla’s, but aside from the Muses teaching her how to rein them in, she doesn’t really know how to use them.

Muses HCs ⭐ The Muses of Norn weren’t kidnapped, they came with Merla willingly ⭐ She sought them out in hopes of learning to control her telepathy ⭐ Now it’s just. Merla and her squad of pretty girls. Sappho and her gal pals. ⭐ The Muses of Norn are named Thetis, Sura, Ceralean, Penelope, Era, Josephine, and Melody. ⭐ Thetis is 22 and the leader of the muses. She stands at 5′5 with blue hair and eyes, and a light brown complexion. She is associated with leadership and honorable conduct. ⭐ Sura is Thetis’s younger sister, age 21. She has redish-pink hair and blue eyes and is 5′6. Her complexion, like her sister’s, is light brown but dotted with freckles. She’s the muscle in their team. She is associated with sportsmanship, combat, and strength. ⭐ Ceralean, age 21, functions as second in command. She’s the analytical type. She’s ghostly pale, with dark blue eyes and hair, standing at 5′4. She is associated with academia. ⭐ Penelope is the oldest at 25 and is the mother hen of the team. Blonde, brown eyes, stands at 5′11, and has a lightly tanned complexion. She is associated with domestically, crops, and the changing of seasons. ⭐ Era, age 23. She has red-brown hair, dark pink eyes, dark brown skin, and stands at 5′7. She is associated with liberation, freewill, and is considered the protector of young women. ⭐ Josephine is the youngest at 17. She’s a little bratty, but they love her anyway. She has black hair, brown eyes, light brown skin, and stands at 5′2. She is associated with childhood, rebirth, joy, and is considered the protector of children. ⭐ Melody, age 19, is the quiet, soft one. Stands at 5′5 with blonde hair and green eyes, and a fair complexion. She is associated with the fine arts and humility. ⭐ Note that they haven’t aged since the became muses, so they’re all technically much older than their physical age. ⭐ The Muses were once mortal women, who ascended to a sort of deity-type status. ⭐ Although the Muses cannot age or die of old age, they can still be killed. ⭐ Thetis, Sura, and Ceralean have a strong, familial type bond, despite the fact that the 3rd isn’t actually blood related to the first two. Sura and Ceralean butt heads often, and Thetis has to play mediator. ⭐ Sura and Era tend to be a bit more loose canon than the other muses. They get into all kinds of trouble together. ⭐ Ceralean is rather protective of Melody and in turn, Melody has a bit of a crush on her.

[xxplinkxx]

Taiyuu spar: Moya vs Yuu

Taiyuu- @taiyuu-high-oct Nanako Yuu- @artibun Kemuri Moya- me   There was huffing, the cold but airy dust had now paved away. Slowly revealing the result. A man loomed over someone else, bamboo-like stick in hand. His brows were furrowed, but not in a bad way. Instead, it was the worrying kind that was on his expression. The middle of the arena was frozen, as the air chilled to such an extent you could see your breath pretty clearly as you exhaled. In the long, but thin chilling silence that followed after Senshi Yasashii and Hiyasu Shimokizu’s fight, a loud, but distant clapping can be heard. It came from one of the two taiyuu teachers who had watched and spectated this fight.

 “Ooho man!~ What~ a~ fight!! You both did very well, no matter who came out triumphant!” Exclaimed the 1-A teacher, the hero Aurora, was ecstatic with how this spar had been, watching it was like you were on a roller coaster! It was said the same with the other battles so far. As they had both been unexpected. These students were full of surprises! Though her student had lost, the many paths paved for potential, and growth was there. She gave a bitter smile as Shimokizu had lost the round, despite the powerful quirk usage.

 Another voice joined in, coming from the 7ft tall hero, Wolfsboon. The 1-B teacher of taiyuu, the enemy of 1-A’s teacher. Crossing his arms, he talked. “Hmph. Honestly, 1-B gained a winning victory, was both unexpected and quite up to par.” Solemnly stated the monotone but serious Wolfsboon. During the spar, he was surprised again and again. He had seen quite the potential out of the quirkless student, Yasashii, in this match. “It seems the principle found quite the unexpected but skillful student. Weak in natural power, but does make up for it in skill. How prosperous.” He commented with a small smile as Yasashii helped Shimozuki up from her icy collapsed position. Both shook hands, bowing to each other, making small talk, and going their separate ways. The duo exited the boxy but greyed arena.

 During that fight, both enemy and frenemy students had cheered the two on. Making critique comments on the two sparrers. Also throwing insults and comments at one another in the spectating border. Especially 1-B’ exemplary student: Ozen Fujinuma and 1-A’ boisterous student: Takakutou Shakou. The two had clashed head-to-head on a one on one battle of words! Yo mama jokes and nasty insults that brought up the weaknesses of some students when they each had their spar. But for now, it was a tie. For now…

 As the two went opposite ways their classmates both congratulated and commented on the fight. Some were good, some were critiques on the fight. One student, Tokachi Ameko, had gotten the task of bringing Shimozuki to the nurse’s office. Senshi had volunteered to help as he was responsible for the gal’ over usage of her quirk. Making her body’s temperature drop. She was chilled, freezing, almost cold to the touch. But, both students of opposite classes did agree the whole thing was unexpected, the hype during the battle was like a rollercoaster ride. Though loud clap was heard as it quieted down the chatter. “M’kay! Now remember kiddos, this is a spar. We’re not here to kill each other! But do keep up the spunk you little rascals!” Aurora stated happily and loudly. Though the spars are coming to an end, the two teachers now know what’s needed to be done!

 Help identify and point out the student’ weaknesses, have them come up with ways to get rid of those weaknesses. They would exert the growth and development of these guys, making them fine heros. “Hmm~ now this is quite the revelation! Next up is: Moya Kemuri and Nanako Yuu.” Exclaimed the feisty Aurora. Meanwhile, Wolfsboon furrowed and twitched a brow, giving a frown. Moya, that cloud kid who always slept in class. It didn’t bother him much, except for the fact the kid was tired all the time that it was unpleasant. He’s spotted moya sleeping outside, always on a cloud, every damn time. I mean if he was that tired then why bother coming to class? Though teaching was unpleasant, at least stay up for it if you were to waste his time. He gave a silent huff as he folded his arms once again, dipping his head backward, facing the clear blue sky. “Let's see if the sleeping kid has the potential per the same as the others” he stated in a serious but quiet tone.

 Meanwhile, in the 1-B spectator area, was Moya Kemuri himself. And boy, was his expression stressed! Anxiety was lingering in his eyes as he was daunting over the fact he might disappoint his classmates! I mean c’ mon-! This was his first fight after all! And on the first day of school as well? It made his pull at his bushy ponytail.. he could feel his anxiety in the pit of the stomach. During Senshi and Shimozuki’s spar, Moya was quiet and didn’t join the others in talking much. But his eyes were sparkling, a starry gaze as how cool Senshi was when they fought to win. Gakusa’ was second because of that unexpected encyclopedia. He did, however, worry for Shimozuki because man- she looked like she would die from making the air too cold. Her skin turning pale with bits of ice stuck onto it, small shivers worsened the more she fought with her quirk.

 Now his name being called made him jolt, flinch even. As his thought process snapped. Eyes were on him now- and damn sure he isn’t ready for them to be. As chatter from earlier quieted down. The clouds on his head were turning into a mixed gradient of dark gray black and light blue. He had always worn a cloth masked over his mouth and nose. Not because he has something to hide oh no- mainly because his stress makes him hyperventilate. Others beforehand had commented on the hyperventilation as ‘rude’ ‘weird’ and a ‘what’s your deal?’ for a variety of reasons. Others had just shifted away from him and gave him looks. So to hide it, he covers it up. Everything went better after that, so now he’ll just cover it up. He stepped onto the arena, stairs were there to get up on it. Think of it as a wrestling arena type of thing. He looked around, still worrisome, as his opponent, Nanako, had climbed up on stage.

 He raised an eyebrow at the gold-colored wings. Oh, those were quite pretty! Though it seems Yuu was making a firm and determined facial expression. A stubborn one looking ready to fight like it’s her last breath. However, Moya just wore a shocked and distressed expression. He did not want this fight to go on- so he furrowed his brows. He set his sights on being determined to end this the moment the fight started. M’kay! Now as always start the battle on the count of three!~” shouted the ecstatic aurora. “1!~” Moya was readying himself, calming his nerves as his clouds had turned a shade of yellow-orange.

 The 1-B students were packed with tension. Not many of them even knew Moya pretty well, better yet know who he even is. So all they can do is, see who’s going to win. Of course, throw insults at the enemy class during this fight. “2!~” Nanako still had that determined expression, as she stared down her tall opponent, moya. A slick drop of sweat dripped down from her right cheek. As she too, was readying herself for this fight and ongoing tension. “3~ -!!!”Aurora didn’t even get to finish the sentence as Moya had already initiated this fight. He had made a quick but airy stance as he clenched the air around his hand. Making the veins of his open hand pop out if you look closely and arch his fingers. Two thick greyed but dulled and charred clouds came from his arm. They were jolting and packed with bold yellow electricity! Flickering here and there you can barely see it as you blink. As it was summoned from Moya's forearm, it connected with h. Resulting in it going straight for Nanako’s neck. As it was about to close in on Nanako's face, she jumped. Her reflexes getting the better of her as she bolted up and off the ground. She only moved by instinct, seeing the cloud at the last minute. Her face was pale. 'I didn't even see that!' she thought, panic binding her facial expression as her brows furrowed. Currently, she was but a few feet up into the air. And it was quite true, the fast and furious cloud was all but a deep black blur to the spectators.  The spectating students let out gasps, some cooed in amazement, some thought it was quite the surprise.

 As she flew Nanako was thinking of a plan, anything. Should she retaliate and edge on Moya in fighting more? No no. He's a fellow student of Taiyuu,... and she'd probably have a guilty conscience of doing it to this guy. So she decided on dodging. Up until she can find the right time to strike. So in the midst of it, she was chased around by the two clouds of bolted lightning. Making her lose stamina, so after ten minutes of this awful chase, she stopped. Flying up at the fastest, remaining speed she could muster. The clouds followed of course, but Nanako did a short spin- stopping her flight and letting herself drop. Having a leg positioned to the ground, as she fell through the two clouds. Both dissipitated, mainly because they kept on going upward, Moya didn't react in time to stop and move them. But as she fell Moya clicked his tongue, snapping his fingers and muttering a 'sorry.' As the seemingly-dissipated clouds reconnected with each other. Their splotches of fluffs going back to form, smashing against each other from behind Nanako. The Nanako who was trying to stop her gravitating fall... Utterly striking one of the wings, the top half at least. Yuu then let out a quick but loud shriek. as she stopped her movements and grabbed the cut wing. She felt like she had been struck by a large pin of lightning! So she stopped all movement focusing on the wing.

 This resulted in Nanako falling to the ground before she fell she was near Kemori and upon falling she managed to grip her body's direction. Which was, afoot to kick moya in the face with. I mean her body was going haywire- in the air at least. She tried to flap and move it but without the other end, she moved in a diagonal direction. Because you know what? She didn't want to go down without a fight.  So she's decided to kick moya in the face and, he was in a daze from exhaustion. So when he saw her foot inches from his face he just stood there in motion, letting himself roll back and crash. And this made Nanako go "Eh!?" Comments of how this was ...an odd thing to happen. With the 2B Ozen commenting on how slow the guy's reaction was. Sure he's got a good amount of power, but it drains his energy and hinders his reaction. A thing hero's needed. Another thing that the cloud kid needed to work on, it was troublesome. Even Wolfhard was stunned...

 But as Moya laid there another odd thing happened. The ground reverberated, as moya's seemingly unconscious body started to hyperventilate. He was shivering- his whole body was. As his pupils were going up and down, in and out. He was blinking in and out of consciousness. Eyes were white, he started breathing more rapidly convulsing even, as the clouds on his head disappeared. a flashback appeared. This made Nanako panic even more- oh god- she didn't think this guy would have such spasms after getting kicked in the face.

 Smiling faces. the two older brothers and his twin, Kanato. But Kanato looked like Lin- It went black. It was like watching a movie- a dream of some sort. As he turned to his left. Confused and wide-eyed, he saw the twins as children. He was standing in front of a short but white-greyed playground brick wall. Plants behind him and such as he was battered and bruised. moya squinted as he was making a worrisome face. He couldn't see this scene very well- it was blurry. He pondered and wore a nervous smile. As he started running he slowly came to a stop. His whole expression dropped, he looked like he was seeing something unbelievable. Younge Moya was- suffocating three others. It was a flashback on the entrance exam- but a continuation of it. It was where the young moya was wearing a darkened expression as it looked down on the three who were starting to choke and gag. Suffocation at its finest as there was a ring or large clouds around them. Parents trying to break in, the children clawing the clouds to get out. With a young Lin, collapsed on the ground behind the younger moya. A bright red handprint and some dirt on the kid. It seems the younger moya had seen his twin gets hurt.

 But now the kids in those kids' faces were turning purple. A wave of panic hit as he ran over to the kids wide-eyed. Moya was all shakey, anxiety was found on his expression as he entered the scene. touching the clouds as one obeyed and vanished. The kid collapsed completely, passing out. But as he was reaching for the other cloud, the small Moya had appeared in front of his face. Everything had gone black, the younger version had an explicted face that was covered in a seemingly black bundle of doodles. It tilted its head at him. Moya was going to question the smaller one when all of a sudden he was tackled by hands? He panicked more as he was being dragged, halfway as he grabbed ahold of the floor. Positioning himself as he leaned forward, an arm down and hand near it. Grabbing the floor. Everything had turned dark, the younger moya slowly turning his attention to the older, present one. The younger one leaned in but...present Moya couldn't see the exact facial expression from the mouth. He did freeze in place. Moya made a desperate face and frown, as the younger one cracked a devilish and sinister smile behind that bundle. He stopped, his desperate expression worsening to fear as childish laughter chimed in. The younger one stopped. Approaching and setting a foot onto Moya's forehead, swiftly pushed Moya into the hole as everything blackened. He felt fear, a terrible one. As he started to go deeper and deeper...thoughts, words, phrases, from Lin came in. A desperate attempt at hope? Maybe. He didn't know as he kept falling and falling, deeper and deeper into the hole.

 Nanako had backed away since the more or so subconscious moya started hyperventilating more, along with the fact the ground was shaking. She then winced in pain, clicking her tongue and biting her lip. One of her wings were cut and damaged! Making her remember those terrible, terrible flashbacks on when her wings were cut and ripped off as she blacked in and out. She bent over as she stood and gripped her head. Man these, hurt, painful too. Her being held harshly and restrained- to tear off the dazzling golden wings.  She subconsciously backed away, an eyebrowed raised and she held her arm out to act as a shield if anything fatal happened. She was in a defensive stance, but moya then stopped convulsing. She still gripped her head but hesitantly lowered her arms to a slight degree. She was starting to worry about the man, maybe she should see if he's ok... I mean this was a spar, and because of the guy's reaction, she thought she broke something...Nanako was going to check up on the cloud kid, she even started to hesitantly approach him. ..But all of a sudden clouds of all kinds filled the arena. Surrounding the butterfly-quirk user as clouds of lightning, gas, acid rain, storm, etc filled up and kept on filling up. Some merged when they touched, but the result was quite a large multicolored and sickly looking cloud.

 Taking up space as much as the arena itself. "What the-!!" Nanako yelled before they all attacked at the same time. Students in the spectating ring braced themselves for the impact, but then a loud voice cut in. Making everyone stop, even the cloud itself. "Nanako Yuu is immobilized! The winner is Kemuri Moya!!" Aurora stated as she cut the eery silence. The cloud stopped, and as it stopped it started to evaporate. At the end of the dust-like evaporation, Moya was there. Standing in the same spot he was kicked into and convulsed in.  It put Nanako in a daze, furrowing her eyebrows, before snapping out of the minute-long daze she panicked while giving a smile that seemed to be confused as what had just happened. What caused Moya to stand back up though? Her martial arts skills surely hit him, he even fell at the kick she gave when she couldn't keep herself in the air.

 "Wh- what-... Is there something wrong?? Did I do something wrong??" Stated the still full of spirit and confused, Nanako. A drop of sweat was located on her right cheek. She had been trying to push the idea of the pain coming from the half ripped wing.

 "No No. there is nothing wrong. It's just that with your wings being cut, and Kemuri' clouds surrounding you, both equal to being immobilized." Wolfhard stepped in and talked in a stern voice as he approached the two. He wore a frown. His eyes were arched and narrowing at Nanako. Her the top left wing was completely torn off, a messy rip though... He then turned at the conscious but confused moya.  "...Kemuri. Go take Nanako to the infirmary to see the nurse." He stated clearly, though passing by the furrowed and concerned moya. He stated something else, quietly and with a low growl. "Take better care of your control. Otherwise, we'd have to restrain and treat you as a villain. You did in fact, almost kill a fellow student with that mystery power box of a quirk." He stated quietly, whereas only moya could hear. There was a disappointment and a serious but angry tone to his voice. Moya could hear it, as he too- was disappointed in himself.  It seems all those clouds had merged collectively, forming a hideous black bolted cloud, but stopped once Moya woke up from Aurora announcing him the winner.

 He bit his tongue as he looked down. "...Yes sir." He replied sadness was in his tone as he looked over at Nanako. She was in confusion, as she tempted to make her way to the nurse's office herself. Stumbling in the process, before moya summoned a cloud under her to catch the fall. Seems that the damage from the wing was recuperating to her head. Making her feel lightheaded, looks like she pushed off the pain. Making Moya concerned, but didn't say anything as the two made their way to the nurses' office.

[anagentinwriting]

To Catch a Thief - Part 6

Summary: Being an FBI field agent was your dream job but having been stuck behind a desk for most of your career you’ve almost given up. Fortunately, a series of robberies with minimal evidence forces you to assist a team in the field to help solve the case. But when the only thing left behind is a series of song lyrics, will you be able to find the perp? Or will the number of obstacles and lack of evidence keep you from solving the case?

Pairing: Peter Quill x Reader

Word Count: 4302

Warnings: Swearing

To Catch a Thief Masterlist / Main Masterlist

After seeing Peter in the red jacket, you went straight to the office to check his name in the database. Sure enough, Peter Jason Quill had a record including petty theft, fraud, and public intoxication. He even spent a few months in jail.

You ran another search to check for any notes left behind by Star-Lord. To your surprise, a few pages showed up and you clicked on the first case. It involved a convenience store robbery about 17 years ago, but the theft left behind a written note wedged between two boxes of candy bars. You opened the image attached to the file and inside was an IOU:

Bread

½ gal milk

peanut butter

candy bar

IOU $3.85

  -Sorry Star-Lord

Going back, you clicked on a few more realizing all the notes were from small retail stores 13 to 17 years ago. The IOU’s listed the stolen items with a signed apology from Star-Lord. All the stores dropped charges when they received money from Star-Lord along with a written thank you for keeping him fed. Forensics ran tests on the envelopes and notes, but no DNA was found.

Why would Star-Lord be stealing food and leaving behind IOU's? Isn’t the whole point of stealing not to get caught? If Peter was this Star-Lord it might’ve been the same time his mom got diagnosed with cancer. Did her treatments force her to stop working, leaving Peter/Star-Lord to fend for himself?

You scanned over the last page showing his most recent crimes. The last crime documented occurred a few years ago involving Halfworld Research and Sweet Dreams Cosmetics; this was the case Luis mentioned. Star-Lord exposed and shut down these companies for their involvement in illegal animal testing and animal cruelty.

Somehow, he got a hold of documents and recordings showing the mistreatment and the insane experiments happening to these animals.  It was graphic to look at the screenshots from the footage. One image had a raccoon with his back shaved and some sort of mechanism attached to his back. How could someone do this to a living thing? These companies also deceived their donors by putting on the front about how they were against animal testing. Luis was right, this was a complicated case, but the only connection this case had to Star-Lord was the note he sent both companies:

You know what you did A-holes.

    -Sorry Not Sorry, Star-Lord (SL)

“Whatcha doing?” Gamora asked, making you jump in your chair. She rested her chin on your shoulder staring at the computer screen. “Did you figure out what SL stands for?”

“Yes, I think I did,” you replied, staring at the signed note.

Oh, Mama I can hear you a-crying', you're so scared and all alone

Hangman is comin' down from the gallows and I don't have very long.

- Sorry SL

“Isn’t this renegade by Styx?” Kraglin asked you.

“It is. Gold star, Kraglin. Gold star.” You flashed him a warm smile giving him a high-five.

“Does this mean SL has mommy issues?”

“Or his mom could be in trouble?” You chewed on your bottom lip glancing over the written note. “SL steals for a reason, so if his mom is in trouble, he might be committing these robberies to keep her safe.”

“Hmm...” Kraglin nodded, squinting his eyes as he tried to put something together. “This doesn’t explain why he’s committing these crimes? What’s his motive? Why would his mother need protection?”

“My theory is someone put a price on his head. He’s not only running from the police but someone else like the hangman in the song. SL has to do what they say or they’ll kill him or his mother. He doesn’t want that to happen so he follows orders. His mother may be the only family he has left and he doesn’t want to lose her,” you said, pressing your lips into a tight line.

“Makes sense,” Kraglin agreed, following along as you continued.

“When he sings to his mother in the song it’s in a softer tone compared to the rest of the song. It’s almost like he’s apologizing to her. It’s like he knows his end is coming, but he isn’t afraid of his impending doom anymore.”

“He wants us to feel sorry for him, but not feel sorry for him?”

“I think it’s more like feel sorry for his mother like she’s innocent in all this.”

“He’s a criminal, YN. His mother raised a criminal. I don’t see how she would be innocent.”

“I just have this gut feeling she’s innocent,” you added as the door to the conference room flies open and in walks a bright-eyed Gamora.

“The lyrics aren’t the only thing we have this time.  We got a picture of a plate fleeing the scene. This could be our guy,” Gamora announced, kicking the door shut behind her.

Gamora pulls out the photo from her file.  The license plate reads PZM-569.  This was Peter’s car. This further proves the red jacket he was wearing links him to footage from the cameras, and his nickname Star-Lord connects him to SL signed at the bottom of the written notes.

Peter’s stealing the Infinity Stones necklaces, but why? Are him and his mom in that much trouble they have to commit these robberies? Were they in debt from Meredith’s medical bills? Was it about the money or was it something more? You were suspicious of Peter but you would’ve never pegged him for a thief.

“The car is a blue Ford Mustang II King Cobra with orange stripes.  It's registered to one Peter Jason Quill. The son of J’son and Meredith Quill.”

“That’s interesting because J’son Quill was the infamous Ego,” Kraglin informed, nodding his head at the random fact he blurted out.

“Wait, what? Is that true?”  Gamora inquired, raising a brow.

“Yeah, how could you possibly know that?” You stared at him stunned. If this was true, why weren’t you able to make this connection sooner? You lived right next door to Ego’s son.

“It was in my file I wrote up the other day. Did you two not read it?”

“Kraglin, you sourced it all from Wikipedia.”

“Your point is…” He gave a half shrug, holding his hands out in front of him like he didn’t know what he did wrong.

“Sometimes that site isn’t totally reliable.”

“But it’s true. I checked the database and public records to make sure.  J’son Quill and Meredith Quill are the parents of Peter Jason Quill.  Ego and J’son Quill are the same person. It was never disclosed to the public, but every crime with Ego’s River Lily trademark traced him back to J’son Quill after he was murdered. His fingerprints closed 53 unsolved cases.”

“Seriously,” you exclaimed. Holy crap! Ego was Peter’s dad. Peter was Ego’s son. This makes perfect sense why he was so close to his mother, and why he hated talking about his dad. Ego was with The Collectors crew, did that mean Peter was a part of it now?

“Nice work, Kraglin,” Gamora praised him with a pat on the back.  “That’s even better news because YN may have linked Peter Quill to SL!”

Gamora requested Peter Quill and his employer, Drax, to be brought in for questioning. Before they arrived, you briefed Gamora and Kraglin in on how you knew Peter. Starting with him being your neighbor before he turned into a close friend.

You stood on the other side of the mirror watching Peter twiddle his thumbs. He seemed calm showing no signs of distress at all. Does he know what he’s about to be accused of? You still couldn’t believe it, but the evidence pointed to him. He was behind this, but you wanted to believe he wasn’t. Fuck, why didn’t you put it together sooner? He matched the description, his nickname was similar, had the same taste in music, and he owns the red jacket.  Why didn’t you see it? You lost your trance when Gamora walked in.

“Are you doing okay? I mean, finding out one of your friends is involved in this must be hard to process,” Gamora speculated, squeezing your shoulder.

“Sure, I’m pissed off, but there isn’t anything I can do.” You shrugged. “He made his bed and now he has to lie in it.”

“Did he seem like the type of guy that would do something like this?"

“Honestly…..no. He’s a good, caring guy, and has grown to be one of my best friends. I mean, once you get past his ego and dirty gentleman like personality.”

“Is this the nameless boyfriend? The one you won’t tell us about because if you ask me it sounds like you have feelings for Quill.”

“WHAT? NO,” you scoffed, turning to her in shock. Yes, you may have developed some romantic feelings towards him, but you weren’t going to admit it to anyone now.

“Look, it’s okay, I’m not going to judge you for it.  You didn’t know what was happening, and clearly, he knew what he was doing. Besides, you said he’s a good guy and from what you’re building about SL’s profile, he’s been through hell and back. Do you think he will talk to us?”

“He loves to talk,” you breathed, earning a soft chuckle out of Gamora.

“You’re going to question Drax, then you can watch me interrogate your friend.  It’s good for him to squirm for a little while longer,” she smirked.

You entered the interrogation room to find a big muscular man sitting there staring at the two way mirror almost like he knew someone was on the other side. He had tattoos covering both his arms and looked pretty intimidating, but you’ve dealt with worse before.

“Good morning, Drax. I’m Agent LN. May I call you Drax?” you asked, sitting down across from him.

“Yes, I don’t know what else you would call me.”

“Right,” you cleared your throat, “do you know why you’re here?”

“Shouldn’t you know, you’re the ones who brought me here?” He asked, folding his arms across his chest.

“I do. It’s just routine questioning to see if you had a clue to why.” He glared at you not saying a word, so you continued. “How do you know Peter Quill?”

“Quill. He works for me. He’s a friend, but I like to call him family….sometimes.”

“You must know him pretty well then. Can you tell me anything else about him?” You knew a lot about Peter, but you wanted to see what others thought of him. Did they see him as a good guy like you did? Or did he come off different to other people?

“Quill mixes a mean drink, which keeps the customers happy. He’s a quick problem solver, which is nice to have on the job.  He’s a smart imbecile,” Drax stated with confidence. “Quill’s protective of his friends and those he considers family. He has been speaking highly about his female neighbor and believes he has a chance with her.” Drax let out a booming laughed as he shook his head. “But he has no chance with her.”

“Is that so?” You smirked, glancing back at the window with wide eyes. You shouldn’t continue this interview alone especially if he knew who you were. This could compromise everything.

“Can they see me through the mirror?” Drax pointed to the glass behind you, and you nodded. “What if I sit really still can they still see me?”

“Yessss,” you dragged out, narrowing your eyes at him. Drax comes off all brooding and serious, but underneath he seemed childish and lighthearted.

“Dammit,” He grumbled, folding his hands together on the table in front of him.

“Can you tell me anything about his female neighbor?”

“No. I stop listening and think about something else when he speaks of her. He needs to be with a woman that is pathetic like him. This woman is not.”

“At least Quill has you to keeping an eye on him.”

“He is hard to spot in a crowd sometimes, and I don’t follow him home. But, when he is at work my eyes are on him,” he nodded, forcing a smirk to your lips. Quill had some interesting friends, but behind Drax’s hard demeanor he was a big softy.

“Has Peter gone anywhere recently for work? Like to a conference?”

“Yes. He went to a mixology conference in Miami. I stayed home to care for my wife and daughter.”

“Of course. Do you remember what the conference was called?”

“Tales from the Galaxy,” he answered, waving his hands in front of him like a rainbow. You write down the name so you can look into it later.

“Thank you. I have a few more questions before you can leave.” Gamora told you to treat Drax like a suspect, but your gut was telling you he was innocent. Nothing he said made him come off guilty. He was an everyday working class man providing for his family. Simple, but your gut wasn’t enough to prove his innocence, you needed his alibi or his confession. “Drax, where were you last night?”

“Working, but then I went home to read my daughter a bedtime story before I went back to work till closing.”

“Do you have anyone who could verify this?”

“Yes. My employees. My wife. My daughter. Why do you need to know this information?”

“We have suspicions you may have involvement in a heist that happened last night, but since you have witnesses it’s likely your name will be cleared.” He gave you a stern nod. “Have you ever heard of the Infinity Stone necklaces?”

“Yes, Quill told me about them,” he blurted out without missing a beat.

“Really?” Your mouth dropped open at his confession.

“I mean no, I don’t know what those necklaces are, what a mystery this is?”

“But you just said you knew what they were,” you questioned as your face scrunched up.

“No need to get personal,” he huffed out, folding his arms back across his chest.

“I’m sorry.” You flipped through your notepad before closing it. He wasn’t going to tell you anything else, so might as well end it here. “I have everything I need right now but thank you for your time. You’re good to go.”

“This way,” Drax pointed to the only door in the room and you nodded with a kind smile.  He pushed the chair back as it skidded loudly across the floor and left the room. And he’s the dude who runs the most successful bar in the city. Interesting.

You returned to the other interrogation room and watched Gamora take a seat across from Peter. She introduced herself before setting up the camera beside her. Peter seemed confident and at ease showing no sign of any discomfort.

“State your name for the camera please,” She instructed, pointing to the camera lens.

“Peter Jason Quill. I enjoy listening to music, hot women, and watching Footloose, the greatest movie in history,” he grinned, shooting a wink at the camera. You rolled your eyes at him from behind the glass.

“That’s not necessary but we do need you to clear up a few things for us. Starting with what you were doing last night?”

“Last night, let’s see.” He scrunched his eyebrows together trying to think it over. “I was having dinner with a friend but ended up leaving early when my mom called with an emergency.  She needed a refill on her meds, so I had to go to the pharmacy for her,” Peter stated with a slight shrug.

“Did you get a receipt?”

“You bet, one second.” He held up his finger pulling out his wallet and handing it to her. She glanced it over before slipping it into the file on the table. It must’ve been timestamped for last night because she didn’t say anything else about it.

“Answer me this, if you had to go to the pharmacy for your mother. Then, why was your car spotted fleeing a scene of a crime last night?”

“Beats me, I needed to get the meds to my mom. She needs to take them at a certain time otherwise it could mess with her other meds and make her feel worse. She has cancer.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He nodded as she pulls out four pictures of the Infinity Stone necklaces from the file and slides them over to him. “Quill, do you know what these are?”

He sat up in his chair, leaning over to look at the photos one by one. “Hmmm.….the president's rubies?”

“No, these are four of the six rarest necklaces in the world from the Infinity Stone Collection. Each is worth more than $300 million dollars but as a set of six the price skyrockets.”

‎Peter whistled, “Wow, that’s a huffy price tag. I can't afford them if you're selling them.”

“I’m not selling them. Someone stole them,” Gamora growled through clenched teeth, pointing at the photos. “All four of these.”

“Oh, and you think I had something to do with this?” Peter asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

“I do.”

From the tension in Gamora’s back, she was getting annoyed with Peter. His answers were vague and it wasn’t getting her anywhere. Peter did this to you sometimes and it frustrated you, too.  He would only share the tip of the iceberg of information, but never what was hiding beneath the surface. You always read the situation before going any further with him. If he seemed content and calm you would continue to pester him until he broke.  If the situation felt uncomfortable you would stop and change the subject.  Right now, at this moment, he seemed almost too prepared to talk.

“Hate to break it to you, agent, but this wasn't me.” He twirled his fingers around the photos before pushing them in Gamora’s direction.

“Is that so?” She asked with pursed lips.

“Yes, what would I do with these necklaces? Wear them? They would look pretty ridiculous on me,” Peter chuckled, shaking his head.

Gamora starts to question him about his whereabouts when the other robberies happened. She started with the Las Vegas robbery, followed by the Norway heist, and ended with the break-in at Strange’s residence.

“What a weird coincidence? I was in Vegas at the time, but it was for a bachelor party. Check with my buddies, they’ll tell you I was with them the whole time.

“Ah...that week, I went to Florida for the Tales from the Galaxy mixology conference. You can ask my boss or look on their website or ask the other attendees they will prove my attendance.

“I had a lady friend over and we were participating in extracurricular activities, if you know what I mean,” he winked, flashing his signature smirk.“If you don’t believe me, ask my neighbor. She was banging on my door telling us to shut up because she could hear us through her walls.”

“I find it a little weird you remember the exact date you got laid. It’s almost like you were looking for an alibi,” Gamora scoffed, crossing her arms as she leaned back into her chair.

“I only remember because it’s the last time I brought a girl back to my place. Lately, I have been busy hanging out with my neighbor. She’s a lot of fun.” A grin graced his lips as he glanced at you through the two-way mirror before returning his eyes back on Gamora. Did he know you were behind the glass or was he just assuming you were?

“Who is this neighbor of yours? I may need to contact her to verify your alibi. Or if I could get the unlucky woman’s name who spent the evening with you.”

“I don’t remember the woman’s name per say--” Peter scratched his head with a tight smile“--but my neighbor is YN LN.  She works in the FBI, too, you might know her.”

“There’s a bunch of us. I don’t know every agent in the city,” she replied, writing down your name for show.

“Shame, she’s a pretty awesome woman,” he smirked at the tabletop, forcing a tingling feeling in the pit of your stomach.

“Seems like you might have a thing for this--” Gamora peeked at her notepad “--YN? Is she the reason you haven’t brought any woman home recently?” Gamora eyed him as he ran a hand through his hair, showing his first sign of distress.

“Too personal, Gamora. Get back to the real issues,” you said to yourself in the empty viewing room. You harbored a  small crush for him, but you’ll get over it at some point. You enjoyed his friendship too much and wouldn’t want to ruin it with your unspoken feelings given the current circumstances.

“That seems like a personal question don’t you think? Is it even relevant?” Peter questioned, sitting up in his chair and scratching the top of his head.

“I have to protect my fellow agents from a possible criminal,” she smirked, cocking her head to the side.

“Good thing I am no criminal.”

“Your record says otherwise.” She opened another file in front of her and slid it over to him.

He flipped through the file, rubbing the scruff on his chin. “Most of this was when I was in my rebellious years. I grew out of it. Got a mentor and went straight.” He shut the file and pushed it back to her.

“Hmm, okay.” Gamora remained silence for a couple minutes watching him crack under the pressure. “Your father was the infamous Ego, correct?”

“Yeah, so what? It’s not like he cared about me, I barely even liked the guy.”

“But, he did teach you a few things, am I right?”

His eyes shot to her before reverting back his hands resting on top of the table. He hunched his shoulders before nodding his head.  “Yes, a few, but like I said I don’t do that anymore.”

“Do the letters SL mean anything to you?”

“SL? No, why would they?”

“What about Star-Leader, Space-Legend, Sun-Lens, or Star-Lord?”

Peter’s eyes flickered to the window for a brief second after hearing the last name. The look on his face told you everything; he felt betrayed. You could see it in his eyes, even though it only lasted for a second. Did he figure it out? Did he know you were on the case?

“What? No! This is ridiculous,” he chuckled with his confidence slowly deteriorating. “What type of interrogation is this?”

“A pretty normal one compared to others I’ve been in.” Peter leaned in his chair crossing his arms in a defensive manner. “You see SL, whoever he is, calls himself a legendary outlaw. Every robbery he commits he leaves behind a note, and we suspect he used to go by the name Star-Lord. We came across this name when we discovered written IOU’s to convenience stores he stole from as well as a couple companies he exposed a few years ago.  On one of the notes, both names were written, so it was an easy connection to make. The only thing we don't have are photos of the assailant."

“Wow...this guy must be pret-tay good,” Peter replied, dragging out his words.

“Some would say so, I think he gets lucky, but his luck will run out.  And when it does, we will be there to catch him.  But, we can protect him if he decides to come clean, and  tell us what is going on and who else is behind this?”

“I will be sure to let him know if I ever run into the guy.”

“I want to cover all our bases, so would you be open to doing a polygraph test or are we going to need a warrant?” Gamora waited for him to answer and once Peter looked up all the worry in his eyes was gone.

“Not at all. I have nothing to hide,” he smirked, putting his hands behind his head and his feet on top of the table.

Gamora asked you to look into each of his alibis while Mantis gave Peter the polygraph test. You started with the first necklace and discovered he was in Vegas but he never left the group according to his friends. You knew he couldn’t have stolen the second necklace, because well you were there and heard everything.  When SL stole the Space Stone, he was in Florida at the conference. There was photo evidence of him every day on their website and his passport never left Florida until the day he came back to New York. Then you got to the latest theft, and like the others, Peter told the truth. He went to the pharmacy, which happened to be close to the museum, and the security camera was timestamped at the same time the necklace was stolen.  All his alibis were rock solid.

Results from the polygraph test came in and he passed. He was telling the truth. Mantis was one of the best forensic polygraphers in the country, and she would’ve known if he was lying if not mentally then by sheer body language.

You didn’t understand. Peter fit SL’s description perfectly.  He’s athletic, strong, and fit the age bracket. He can pick a lock like it’s his job, and bullshit his way out of anything in a moments notice. Peter’s music tastes were similar to SL’s, and he was even singing some of the songs left behind at the heists.  He even owns the same red jacket from the camera footage. Peter had to be the guy, even the nickname Meredith gave him connected him to SL.  His alibis were rocked solid, but what if they were staged to appear that way?

A/N: Thanks for reading :)

[toonstarterz]

BECAUSE I’M NOT POPULAR, I’LL READ WATAMOTE: CHAPTER #137

Once upon a time, there was a girl. An unpopular girl. That nobody knew, nobody cared. She strived to be popular. To have dozens of friends and live the life of a socially fulfilled high school girl. After much time and effort, she had finally succeeded in her goal. She got friends. She got popular. She became normal.

But it wasn’t everything she hoped it would be.

And so Golden Week came around. She made plans with her new friends. And the popular girl can’t help but wonder...

“Is this really what I want?”

Chapter 137: Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Prepare for Golden Week 

Okada: “Is my forehead that big?”

Katou: I wonder if Kuroki-san is doing anything after this...?

Tomoko: “Man, I’m tired.” 

Komiyama: [ Exactly what it says. ]

Y'all know the drill by now. Tomoko expects the least, ends up getting the most.

Katou is honestly a very difficult character to get right in this kind of manga. For a series as excruciatingly real as this, a beautiful, popular girl like Katou could easily come off as “unrealistic” or an “otaku’s fantasy” with the way she reaches out to Tomoko. But Nico Tanigawa manages to keep Katou within the realm of believability, and I think it’s because she treats everyone with motherly kindness. It’s her natural instinct, so it doesn’t seem forced in the slightest.

Yeah, buzz off, Kiyota! You’ve already exceeded this manga’s male quota for the next ten chapters.

It sure is swell that Tomoko’s friendship with Yuri has grown enough that even people outside of the loop can see how joined-at-the-hip they’ve become.

I’m getting flashbacks of the KBBQ dinner right now. Someone invites Tomoko, she invites Yuri, Yuri gives a double negative response, etc. What gal pals.

Again, more KBBQ flashbacks, only with a twist. At the party, Yuri took the affected role, stating that her decision to go would be based on whether Tomoko would. But now, the roles have switched with Yuri suggesting that Tomoko wouldn’t go if she wasn’t there with her. I don’t like where this is going...

Mako is totally the type to keep track of how she divides the time between her friends, always balancing a bail with a hangout. Such are the difficulties of being the “nucleus” friend.

For better or worse, Yuri‘s been taking Mako’s “rejections” in stride lately. Better, because that means she’s no longer unhealthily dependent on her best friend. Worse, because that could means she projected her attachment issues onto Tomoko and Yoshida. Have her insecurities been dissolved, or have they just been spread wider across their little quartet?

Mako and Yoshida talking when the others aren’t around is total friendship-baiting and I’m behind it 100%.

The ultimate tug-of-war between a mom who knows their daughter’s faults and a daughter who’s too stubborn to heed her mother’s concerns. 

Sorry, Yuri dear, but at that, I’mma callin’ shenanigans. 

It should be fairly obvious by now that Yuri is becoming dangerously co-dependent on her relationship with Tomoko. It’s not so much that Tomoko needs Yuri with her, but that Yuri needs to feel that she’s invaluable to Tomoko so that she herself can be validated. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy that can only get worse since Tomoko and Yuri are going in opposite directions, with the former becoming more self-assured, and the latter becoming more reliant. 

Katou rolling her sleeves up inexplicably raises her “mom” appeal three-fold.

For those who don’t know, this the same joke that happened when Tomoko peeked at Ucchi during the sports festival. Only eating rice is suggestive of just having done something exhausting, usually perverted in nature. Oh, that Nemo.

Still, it’s telling that Nemo actually made that joke and got shot down by Tomoko right in front of the others. Their bantering is usually kept just between them, but doing it within earshot could lead to some pretty tense situations if the others jump in.

That’s quite the unique face Yuri’s making. Not exactly anger or resentment, but there’s something negative about her expression. My best guess is exasperation, but low-key, as only Yuri could. And I hate to say it, but it’s pretty hypocritical of Yuri to get all bent out of shape about Katou’s smothering, when she herself came just to “support” Tomoko.

This might seem innocuous at first, it really speaks to Yuri’s non-indulgent behavior when receiving attention from others, as is very common of introverts. Just like how Tomoko chose something moderate when Okada treated her.

The whole exchange here is incredibly awkward, but it comes off more sincerely than it is cringeworthy. The kind of awkward that makes you facepalm is the result of knowing that the whole thing could’ve been avoided, or at least done better. Okada’s apology and Yuri’s dismissive forgiveness really couldn’t be handled differently, so while there’s this unspoken barrier between them, we can get behind it because you can tell Okada and Yuri are doing their best to clear the air.

Food porn.

Is it embarrassing? Yes. Is Tomoko going to do anything about it? Nah, she’s going to milk Katou’s motherliness for all she’s worth.

And let’s be real-Can you really blame her?

This whole “normie” business didn’t make a whole lotta sense to me when I first read it, but by comparing it to another label used in the West, I was able to make a connection.

Back in the day, the word “nerd” was a derogatory term, used to insult people who were into comics, video games, anime, etc. But by the turn of the last decade or so, this idea of a nerd became antiquated when people realized that the things that nerds were once ridiculed for were actually entertaining in their own right. The standard of being a nerd dropped to the point where mildly enjoying pop culture was enough to make you a nerd. And thus, when everyone became a nerd, nobody was. And the nerd became an identity that only the most hardcore of nerds could adopt.

I never realized until now just how much social stock Tomoko has put into having a boyfriend. You’d think that after her perceptions of the “normies” evolved, she’d understand that having a boyfriend or having a romantic relationship, in general, isn’t as valuable as society makes it out to be.

Now the whole “hanging out at the cafe” thing being normie...maybe.

Quickly researches the reputation of Aoyama Academy.

Oh. So like, Stanford or Princeton. Dream on, Tomoko.

Dat tiny smile on Yuri is too precious.

One thing that I’ve always wanted to see more of is Tomoko’s sense of humor at work. She doesn’t do it often, but the few times when she casually jokes around are met with positive reception, most notably with Yuri. While the readers are more used to Tomoko’s raunchy, crude humor, Tomoko can also play up the “I’m an idiot”-type humor. And it works especially with Yuri and Nemo, who can tell when she’s half-bullshitting them. 

A rare moment of genuine playfulness between Tomoko and Nemo.

Of course, because Tomoko actually is an idiot at times, it can be hard to tell when she being actually stupid, or being fake-stupid for the laughs.

Mama Katou doesn’t know this yet, so naturally, she has to protect her daughter from the mean bullies. Her dialogue here could easily come off as confrontational if it were spoken by anyone else, but as we’ve seen before, Katou is more of the “quiet rage” kind of girl.

Yeah, I saw the video of Cristiano Ronaldo defending the Japanese boy from the audience. Referential humor tends to be hit-or-miss, depending on whether the joke is sustainable without it. In this case, it’s the kind that can be lost in a few years time. So despite being a piece of common entertainment knowledge in Japan, once in while for the series is just enough to keep it fresh. 

I must admit, I used to think that Katou was a replacement character for Imae after she left. But now that we’ve had time to get to know her, I see that that’s not really the case at all.

Sure, Katou is caring and sweet like Imae, but what sets Katou apart from her besides her “mommy-ness” is her naivety. Katou has all the tenderness and effort of a guardian, but she lacks the sensibility...somewhat. But that bit of cluelessness is essential to rounding out her character, enough so that even this stylish riajuu can play the outcast in times like this.

Damn, girl. It’s one thing to view Tomoko as a good person. It’s another thing to see her as some societal paragon. Now I’m kind of hoping she doesn’t get corrupted by the Tomoko virus.  

Even though this is being played for laughs, it does key into an actual strength of Tomoko’s that none of the others have. That being, her extreme candidness. Tomoko, frankly, sucks at pretending to be someone she isn’t, but is incredibly impressionable when she's her unrestrained self. Yes, there’s a time and place for that kind of thing, but sometimes, an incestual eroge is exactly what you need to get your point across.

Precious Lil’ Bean and Jealous Lil’ Bean. Take your pick. 

Yeah, yeah, Nemo getting in Tomoko’s face is nothing new. However, what is new is how Nemo dishes it out and how Tomoko takes it. Nemo usually glowers over the girl as if to assert dominance, but she’ll occasionally crouch down, like a cheetah ready to pounce. Tomoko always cowers a bit during Nemo’s provocations, shrinking down with caution. But here, Tomoko doesn’t waver. She stays upright, even looking down at Nemo for once despite being obviously flustered. Stand your ground, Tomoko. Stand. Your. Ground.

Low-key bitching followed by buddy-buddy invitation equals the politics of friendships.

Sweetie, the girl can’t even bother to use your own name. What do you think?

Normally, I’m not fond of this kind of storytelling where the author tacks on additional, never-before-seen events to a previously seen memory just to add plot tension. The only reason I let this slide is because, as is soon revealed, this memory is more for Yuri’s characterization than for story direction. Plus, it’s interesting to compare how close they are now as opposed to back then. You win this time, Nico Tanigawa.

Taking the easy route even in college, eh, Tomoko? I expect nothing less from you.

Taking the easy route even in college, eh, Yuri? I also expect nothing less from you.

Lazy Sisters Unite!

Promised, my ass.

You’re killing me, Yuri, making me call shenanigans on you twice in one chapter. But yes, twisting your friend’s words into a promise just to suit your needs, and then playing the victim card when said friend doesn’t keep their “promise” is a serious friendship offense. As much as we will all want to Yuri have beautiful, lovely friendships with these girls, it suddenly makes a whole lot of sense why Yuri didn’t have these friendships in the first place. My emotional spectrum is out of whack right now, unable to determine whether Yuri’s behavior is a regression in character or a reconstruction of one.

Bless Mako and her patience.

Oh god, Nemo’s Yandere Stare is spreading.

Hmm, the extra text on Yuri’s date is ripe for some overanalyzing. My first instinct is to say that writing more of a description is indicative of Tomoko actually caring more about spending time with Yuri than she does with Nemo and Katou. But then again, it could just very well be that Tomoko didn’t want to be redundant and write the same thing over three times. 

Whatever the reason, at least she managed to write out Yuri’s last name. I might have died if she just drew a face with pigtails. 

This has always been one Tomoko’s key developments, realizing that being a normie or popular doesn’t give you a pass in life. Everyone has their own shit to deal with no matter how (un)popular you are, and now that Tomoko has gotten a taste of that, the next step for Tomoko’s personal journey could be one of self-actualization: 

Stay where you are and possibly lose your roots, or go back to where you came from and potentially lose what you gained?

Exact-a-mundo. A lot of people have criticized this manga for turning Tomoko into a normie and betraying who she was. But in my opinion, Tomoko is not a normie. Such a self-deprecating label is more defined by one’s personality rather than their social network. Tomoko knows a lot of normies, but until she stylizes up her hair, disregards her hobbies and pulls a Nemo, she’ll always be our lovable mojyo.

On a final note, it’s easy to see Tomoko as the dense protagonist of harem manga right now, and yet, these punchlines regarding her “pursuits” seem to be much more effective if you look at Tomoko’s “harem” as just platonic and devoid of romantic subtext (whether or not it’s actually doing that is another story). Perhaps it’s because while Tomoko is oblivious to everyone’s jealousy, she actually has a great deal of agency that is not often seen in harem protags. The girls are so responsive to Tomoko’s actions, and thus, the emotional core of the Tomoko’s harem actually carries some well-earned weight. 

Can we have more manga with a strong, platonic harem, please?

[sebastainstantrash]

Kiss me (1940s!BuckyxReader)

Kiss me. (1940s!BuckyxReader)

Word Count: 1,609.

Date written: 3/4/17

Warnings: Death, Angst (sorry), Fluff towards the end.

A/N: I found this in my drafts and decided to finish it. Sorry its angsty-ish. I hope you like it! Remember, requests are open! Also, i’m really sorry if this is inaccurate to the 40s. I do not have a beta reader so ignore my mistakes please! 

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Reader’s POV

The dead of summer was not (Y/N)’s favorite time of the year. It was way too hot to be out in the Brooklyn weather in long, hot pants and dark colored jackets and ties. Not to mention the tall boots she was forced to walk around in for the large part of the day.

She sighed as she entered the metal barn, the smell of horse finding her nose immediately. She dumped the scoops of cheap feed into each stall and leaned against the wall watching them all eat happily. She was startled out of her dazed state at the sound of footsteps.

“Mrs Rogers, i wasn’t expecting you this morning!” (Y/N) said, surprised at the presence of the barn’s owner. Sarah was also one of her best friend’s mother, but (Y/N) was raised to always be proper when she was working in the presence of her superior.

“Just a bit stressed dear, came to clear this old head of mine.” Steve’s mother said sweetly, gesturing to her head full of now graying blonde hair. Her kind demeanor always made (Y/N) feel welcome and warm.

“It is quite a calming place, isn’t it?” she said, staring around the barn. It was obviously taken as a rhetorical question, as the older woman didn’t reply and headed towards the green pastures of the 30 acre farm.

(Y/N) started her work quickly after the encounter, taking horses to a small fenced pen and cleaning each stall with ease. After doing this since she was a small 10 year old, things were completed quickly and with eloquence. She wiped the beading sweat from her brow, her white button up shirt become increasingly hot with the labor.

“Looks like you’re  working hard, (Y/N).” Her closest friend Bucky stated, causing her to jump and cover her racing heart with her hand. Her other best friend, and Mrs Rogers’ son stood behind him, watching the interaction with a smirk.

“James Buchanan Barnes!” She scolded. “You scared me half to death!” (Y/N) all but shouted, glaring at the two of them, who both grinned innocently. “And if you must know, yes i am working hard.” She said, picking up the fallen pitchfork.

“Sorry doll, didn’t mean to startle you so badly. Just wanted to see if you needed any help around here.” Bucky said in the tone, the word doll making her swoon. She would never admit it, but she had the largest crush on the boy, who was only a year older than her at 17.

“I was actually just finishing up in here, trying to get a ride in before the heat gets to be to much.” (Y/N) stated, sweeping the last of the sawdust back into the stall and placing the broom in the now full bucket.

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Bucky’s POV

Watching her ride that horse was his favorite thing, or watching her in general really. She focused on every little thing she did, putting her hardest into it. He liked that more than he cared to admit. He also liked seeing the blush creep to her cheeks when he called her doll.

Bucky loved (Y/N), and as much as he hated to admit it, it was not a ‘friendly’ love.  He’d been in a trance since they met, and he was positive she didn’t like him back. He’d never given her much of a reason to, always flirting with other girls around her, teasing and taunting her. When he really thought about it, there was not one reason why anyone in their right mind would continue this type of friendship. But she did.

He watched her carefully as she navigated the horse through the old wooden jumps. Pushing herself off of its back every time it leaped over the colorful poles. (Y/N) slowed the horse to a walk, patting its neck and letting it know what a good job he had done.

“Well, what do you think?” (Y/N) asked, eyes wide, hoping she had impressed him.

“That looked really good, (Y/N), you are always improving.” Steve provided, after a long silence. She mumbled a quiet “thanks” before leaving the ring.

“Really Buck?” Steve asked shaking his head,  more than angry at his best friend for disappointing the girl.

“I’m sorry! I just get so jumbled when I’m around her. I don’t get it, it’s so simple with other gals” Bucky replied in a defensive tone. He had meant to clap for her, and tell her she had done amazing. But that’s not how it worked out, and now (Y/N) was in the downward spiral of a non-mutual crush, or so she thought.

(Y/N) had avoided Bucky for the past week, making up mediocre excuses as to why she couldn’t hang out and picking up more work hours at the barn. She was trying so hard to push the crush to the side, constantly telling herself; “It’s not going to happen,” and “he doesn’t care for you that way.” The only time the poor girl could escape the want for Bucky to fall in love with her was when she was taking care of her sickly mother. (y/m/n) had spent the last three weeks insisting that nothing was wrong, or that it was just the common cold. (Y/N) knew otherwise, and kept the illness her mother had to herself, even lying about it to Steve and Buck. She knew her mom needed a doctor, but there was no way (Y/N)  could afford to fund the treatment, even with her long work hours. The toll of that knowledge left her wallowing in self doubt and guilt. Influenza was a cold, terrible thing, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

After a long day at the stables, (Y/N) walked, more like dragged, herself through the kitchen and into the single bedroom of their apartment, where she had left her mother. She called out “(Y/M/N)” and got no reply. She must be sleeping. Her heart pounded in her chest as she approached the door, before pushing it open gently. She stood there for a moment, and slowly walked in, finding her mom laying there. ‘Sleeping, She’s fine, You’re taking fine care of her Y/N.’ She called (Y/M/N) again, trying to wake her up, but again no reply followed. In a burst of adrenaline, she moved from the doorway to the bed in an instant and shook her mom, finding the skin cold beneath her fingertips.

“Oh god, no, Ma wake up!” She all but screamed, her voice cracking. She sat there begging for what seemed like hours, it was five minutes at most. A neighbor alerted by the scream burst through the door of their apartment and gently pulled her away from the body of her mother. ‘Mama please wake up’ was all she could think about as the neighbor led her out the door. “You’re gonna walk right down the road to the general store and ask them to use the phone, say you’re mama is real bad and we need the phone immediately.”

She did as she was told, standing up without a word and walking down several flights of stairs to get to level ground. It was as if she was in a trance, a nightmare, she continuously played the last five minutes in her head as she walked towards the store. She opened the door, the bell ringing, and asked the clerk to use the phone, reciting the lines her neighbor had told her like a robot. This isn’t happening.

As much as she wanted to have ran to that store, begged for the phone, she knew it was pointless, her mama was gone, and even the best doctors in the country couldn’t fix that.

After the paramedics had come and removed the body, giving their condolences on the way out, (Y/N) just cried, her body heaving as she laid on the couch curled in on herself. She remained in that position until the early morning hours, when she had finally cried herself out and fallen asleep.

The next morning, she woke to someone pounding on the door and calling her name. She stood up and moved towards the door, catching her appearance in the mirror. Red nose and puffy eyes. (Y/N) sighed, and opened the door, finding the blue eyed boy she loved so much staring back at her. She thought she had cried herself dry, but as soon as she saw Bucky (Y/N) was in his arms sobbing. He held her tightly to his chest, murmuring comforts and condolences.

“What can i do to make you happy again?” he asked, tears pooling in his eyes. Her mother had taken him in when he ran away from home for a weekend, always fussing over him and giving him the few extra dollars he had to buy a candy bar at the corner store. He didn’t even know she was sick, yet here he is, holding his best friend while she cries her eyes out over the loss of her mother.

She didn’t know how to reply to that. Nothing, don’t be selfish y/n. She really just wanted to ask him to stay, that was enough. But I am selfish.

“Kiss me.” Was all (y/n) said, and he was happy to oblige.