#some thoughts he’s had (such as having kids) were hard topics given his social status before the war

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

🎵 Hope in Work and Joy in Leisure

4. "Because cynical advertising yuppies erected a *deconstructed* version of it."

THE DESERTER - "That's right. Some *advertising* cockroaches erected a cynical, *deconstruction* of it. We tore it down with honest working class plastic explosives -- and there it is again..." He shakes his head in disgust.

"Art is a bourgeois establishment. It's an affront to humanity. Every gallery should be bulldozed and the artists should all be given 30 years of hard labour in Yekokataa."

REACTION SPEED [Easy: Success] - Wait, the bullet hole in Filippe's heart! The statue had been shot -- that was him!

VISUAL CALCULUS [Medium: Success] - It had to be, he's already proven capable of taking a far more complicated shot from here.

"It was you. You shot the statue -- there was a bullet hole in his heart..."

"That's it for the statue then. Tell me, Mr. Dros…"

THE DESERTER - "I did." He nods. "A needless, sentimental gesture. I should have spared the bullet for a deformed monster of liberal capitalism. Shameful really..."

+5 XP

KIM KITSURAGI - "Yes. Shameful." The lieutenant takes a quick note. "So many others to *punish* over the years -- isn't that right, detective?" He turns to you.

2. "That's it for the statue then. Tell me, Mr. Dros…"

THE DESERTER - "The fat Union-man let them put it there. Corrupt as he is. Probably got a fat check for it too, shared with *the law*..."

AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] - Accusations of corruption. Push them aside with a sharp change of topic, officer! Put the heat on *him*.

REACTION SPEED [Medium: Success] - Hmm... he keeps having *opinions* about the Union's leadership.

3. "You mentioned the Union is social-democratic -- and Mr. Claire a farce of a social-democrat."

THE DESERTER - "Another hideous disappointment..." He pokes at the ash: "Unions are the *real* enemy; the true enemy of the proletariat, placating the masses."

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - Disappointment -- so personal. He displays a familiarity with the Union's top brass.

"Who's a disappointment -- Evrart Claire?"

"Got it."

THE DESERTER - "That deformed toad? I wouldn't expect him to wipe his own ass. I mean the *brains* of the operation. The smart one."

REACTION SPEED [Medium: Success] - Edgar!

"You mean Edgar, Evrart's brother?"

"Doesn't Evrart run the Union?"

THE DESERTER - The old man chortles with a nod. "He talks a big game about *uprising* and *social base* -- they must have sent the smart one to some University in Le Jardin where it's 'alienation' this and 'hegemony' that..."

SUGGESTION [Medium: Success] - He's been sweet-talked by this Edgar. They must've met in person for such animosity to have developed.

"We're not the first people you've met from the city, are we?"

"Okay, got it."

THE DESERTER - "You can't live alone..." He's stopped poking at the ash now, just shakes his head.

KIM KITSURAGI - "The Claires wouldn't miss a man hidden in their own back yard -- not all this time. Nothing happens in Martinaise without them knowing."

LOGIC [Easy: Success] - Of course. Maybe the Claires asked him to...

SUGGESTION [Medium: Success] - Don't go straight for the kill, exhaust everything else first, soften him up...

"Have you approached them?"

"Mr. Dros, did you kill the Krenel mercenary for the Claires? To incite a riot?" (Proceed.)

THE DESERTER - "I haven't approached anyone! I've hid. It was Edgar who came to me."

KIM KITSURAGI - "How did he know you were here?"

THE DESERTER - "He didn't just stumble in like an oaf," he nods to you. "He figured it out. Some kids told him about a monster on the island. I told you, he has brains." He points to the path leading to the tower.

"Stepped right off the boat and walked down where you came. I even kept the door open for him -- thought he was a man of the left. Wouldn't rat me out."

He shrugs. "I was right about one of those things."

"Have you approached them?"

"When was this?"

"What did you talk about?"

"Mr. Dros, did you kill the Krenel mercenary for the Claires? To incite a riot?" (Proceed.)

THE DESERTER - "Twenty years ago. Neither of them could *walk* now, could they? They were less fat then."

LOGIC [Easy: Success] - That's around the time the Claires came to power.

3. "What did you talk about?"

THE DESERTER - "Edgar did the talking. Paid his *respects*, like I were a fossil in a uniform. Offered platitudes about *the struggle*, flaunted his pink degree. Even quoted Mazov."

"Never trust a social democrat who quotes Mazov..." he suddenly remembers: "Oh, and charity too. They love their charity -- offered me blankets and social housing. I still have the gas cooker he brought."

4. "And he let you be here?"

THE DESERTER - "*Let* me be here?" He looks around. "The ZoC is an unlawful successor of the Commune of Revachol. We took this fortification from the loyalists. Even the Claires understand this..."

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - They let him be here. 'Understanding' was a courtesy -- but why such a courtesy?

5. "Mr. Dros, did you kill the Krenel mercenary for the Claires? To incite a riot?" (Proceed.)

THE DESERTER - "You know why I killed that fucker, droite..." He shakes his head. "As to Edgar, I'm not doing anything for that swine again."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Again? What have you done for Edgar before?"

THE DESERTER - "Tried teaching him some Mazovian socio-economics. They didn't stick. We parted ways." He coughs.

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - Okay, he didn't do the hanged man for them. But he's insinuating something.

DRAMA [Challenging: Success] - There is more here, you can feel it. He was not outright lying but almost...

4. [Logic - Legendary 14] What was the deal between him and Edgar?

+2 He shot the statue. +2 Talked to Evrart about previous forewoman.

LOGIC [Legendary: Success] - The connection comes to you, like a splash of cold water. Dark, cold water...

"Twenty years ago, when you met Edgar. The Claires didn't run the Union yet, did they?"

THE DESERTER - "Heh..." A sputter from the old man.

LOGIC - He acknowledges it. Here we go, a twist, behind the dark bend...

"Who *did*?"

THE DESERTER - "That bourgeois cow... Tiphaine Holly was her name." He narrows his eyes. "Licked the rich man's hand every time he came to town. Never seen a labour leader so hot on mutual cooperation..."

"And money -- she liked that too. That Holly was a real bridge-builder and a deal-maker..." His eyes glisten suddenly, with hatred.

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - Bordering on sentimentality, it drips out of him. Tempered by something familiar to you. A familiar rage.

"She was also a woman, wasn't she? Like that Klaasje..."

"And then she just... disappeared."

THE DESERTER - "She was. And she was real soft on those money-men. Had a Barbara Muskova bag over her shoulder that she liked to bring to work..."

"And then she just... disappeared."

THE DESERTER - "Called in they say -- on the eve of battle. Ran away. Vanished like a piss-stain..." He squints and smiles at the black logs.

LOGIC - No. That's not quite it, is it?

KIM KITSURAGI - "Did she?" The lieutenant feels it too, in his black gaze. "They say her *daughter* called in, not her personally. But that wasn't really her daughter, was it?"

THE DESERTER - "No, I guess it was not..." You could swear you see the embers glow again, under his eyes on the dust.

"Edgar had someone make the call -- why is that, Mr. Dros?"

THE DESERTER - "She couldn't make the call herself."

LOGIC - Here it is. The bend in the river...

"Why?"

THE DESERTER - "Because she was dead."

"How come?"

Say nothing.

THE DESERTER - "The cow caught a bullet in her right lung, fell into the canal grasping her tit and drowned. Or bled -- hard to say. It was a sloppy job. And a moving target."

"She was going home, waddling. Dressed in yellow. Drunk like she often was. The ruins were black around her and she had a yellow leather bag under her arm. She tried to cross the canal."

"Heading home to Grand Couron or Betancourt... Some place like that. Where they build those new batiments for the people who flourish in the hell around her. And the ruins..."

"You killed her?"

"You shot her."

"It was you." (Make a motion, like shooting a rifle.)

THE DESERTER - "*Someone* shot her," he shrugs. His eyes grow cold suddenly. "Or maybe the cow just fell. My memory is full of holes. All I know is..."

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - Another, big spike of rage. Different from the one he has for her...

THE DESERTER - "Nothing changed. Not in the *material base*, not in the *hegemony*, there was no uprising. Just words... The Union fizzled, sogged. Nothing came of it. Nothing."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Edgar didn't keep his part of the deal."

THE DESERTER - "Heh..." A sputter again, nothing more.

KIM KITSURAGI - "If you were to testify to this -- give the RCM something on Edgar -- you could walk." The lieutenant says in a voice even calmer, as if it were nothing at all.

"We would strike everything you've done and process you as a POW. You were in a war. You were on assignment. We could even extradite you to the Samaran People's Republic."

+1 Reputation

THE DESERTER - "A degenerate workers' state? Goat shit? No, thank you. I'm Revacholian," he spits. "My days are short. I will rot away here -- in a Moralintern cell. I will not testify to anything." He coughs.

SUGGESTION [Formdiable: Success] - C'mon. Just a little. You're buddies.

"You can tell a comrade. It won't be *that* usable."

"But you did *do* it."

"Okay then. That's that." (Point to your head.) "But I know."

THE DESERTER - "I haven't lived and fought for forty years to end up as a collaborationist. I've heard it -- on Channel 8, 40AM and Le Canal du Crime...""

"Everyone is a blobber in this world. Everyone betrays everyone. They're all already locked up -- for betrayal. The best ones, the ones with heart, were slaughtered, trampled..." He looks to the city.

Secret task complete: What happened to the previous forewoman?

+30 XP

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - The same old freezing hatred.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - There is *plenty* here to work with once he's in custody -- and the lieutenant knows it. He gives you a little nod to proceed.

4. "By the 'cock parading in his colourful uniform,' you mean *René*?"

THE DESERTER - "Every *fucking* morning, for thirty-four years..." He grinds his teeth in rage. "Throwing that ball. One ball against the other... I've always loathed that game. That is *not* a working class game. I don't care what they say on Radio June."

"Royalist ghouls play it like it was *life itself*! Click-clack," he makes the sound of balls connecting, "across the water each day. And that uniform, like a parrot's plumage! I won't even mention that he's a traitor to his *race*. A pétanque maniac *race traitor*."

Just nod.

"Now I don't know about..."

"Whoa-whoa. Let's back off before you get too agitated."

THE DESERTER - "I remember him..." He points to his black eye. "I remember him from *La Noce* -- not him personally, his make and model. There were tens of thousands of them. I thought we took them all out before the liberals came to their rescue. We missed one..."

"*That* one." With his shaky finger he points to the city, toward the crater near the plaza where a lonely pine tree stands.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Challenging: Success] - There doesn't seem to be a single person under the pine today. Not even Gaston, alone.

"There's no one there..."

Just nod.

THE DESERTER - "Fat and plump, like a pheasant..." He does not hear you. "Just *begging* to be popped off." A grin stretches across his face and he says very softly: "Please, Mr. Dros. Shoot me."

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - He whispers with such predatory hunger it borders on *longing*.

"You'd like to kill him?"

"Let's definitely back off now. Calm down."

THE DESERTER - "Not yet. I like to *look* at him strut around, place the cross-hair on his medals." The smile lingers. "Right on his face, and just... fiddle the trigger. *Think* about it. Let the bon-bon melt in my mouth..."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Save the treat for later?" the lieutenant asks cheerfully.

THE DESERTER - "He *is* a juicy bon-bon, that one. A real treat. For the black day -- the blackest. When I put that gun in my own mouth. I think: no, don't waste it. Put this lead in that cock René. For the boys he killed -- and then I look at him throw those balls and I suddenly feel..." He lets out a wistful sigh.

"Better. I even hid one bullet so I'd always have one. For him..." The lines on his face straighten as he looks inland. "Haven't seen him around lately, strutting around... must be down with arthritis. I hope it hurts like hell. I hope he sweats blood."

SUGGESTION [Easy: Success] - Hearing it may destabilize him -- you sure you've gotten everything from him?

Everything we can. You may have noticed that in his rant earlier, Iosef also mentioned the ravers, Joyce, and Measurehead. However, we didn't pass the right checks to follow him up on that. Still...

"René is dead. He died of old age, a couple of days ago."

"Bad arthritis, yes. He's not playing this week." (Lie.)

"Anyway. Tell me something else, Mr. Dros..."

THE DESERTER - "Heh, yes, of course..." He mutters to himself. "Must be passing a kidney stone. I hope it's excruciating. At least it keeps him from throwing his balls..."

+5 XP

EMPATHY [Trivial: Success] - He seems relieved. Could he have been worried for him?

SUGGESTION [Easy: Success] - He reminds him of himself. The same hatred. The same... you try to think of another thing -- but no, it's just the hatred.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - They are veterans of the same war. Somewhere west, in Coal City his enemy is lying in a dark room, on a metal slider. In L'Ossuaire Municipal, like he will too. Soon. Half of the war between these men is over.

With an agitated gait Satellite-Officer Jean-Heron Vicquemare paces the jetty, 22 kilometres East -- in Martinaise: "What could he *possibly* be doing there for so long," he says.

"Policework?" Patrol Officer Judit Minot replies, with a tinge of hope in her voice. A tinge of warmth too, against the cold air rising from the water…

I mostly just wanted to show you that diatribe. I do feel we owe him the truth.

4. "You know, about that René…"

THE DESERTER - "Yes, where is he?" he tenses up. "I hope he doesn't have *debilitating* arthritis. Or kidney stones. He can still come out to play with balls and get shot in the head, right?"

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - Oh my, god, he's even *worried* for him.

"René is dead. He died of old age, a couple of days ago."

THE DESERTER - "No..."

"Yes."

"Just kidding..."

THE DESERTER - "I waited too long…" The old communard looks at you, his blackberry eyes shaking -- in disbelief. "I waited too long and now he's dead."

KIM KITSURAGI - "I'm sorry, Mr. Dros," the lieutenant says, softly. "I understand you knew him for a long time."

THE DESERTER - "They're all dead now." He just shakes his head. "Fuck it..."

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - If he really wanted to kill him so bad, he would have done. There must have been a thousand *black days* on these islands, his health ailing.

"You had a thousand chances to kill him."

"You cared about him?"

"I'm sorry."

"Are you okay Mr. Dros? To go on?"

THE DESERTER - "And I blew them all. What does it matter now? He's gone. Ancient dust."

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - He reminded him of himself. The same hatred. The same... You try to think of something else, but no, it's just hatred.

2. "You cared about him?"

THE DESERTER - "All human beings care about each other." A little flash of anger. "I cared for... seeing his head explode. And now... god damn this world."

3. "I'm sorry."

THE DESERTER - "Fuck you..." the old communard says -- staring at the ground -- seemingly to the island you're on.

4. "Are you okay Mr. Dros? To go on?"

THE DESERTER - "You think I haven't seen people die? It's all I've seen them do. Fuck and die -- all the other plans we had. To love. To colonize the pale. It's all fucked..."

+5 XP

VOLITION [Easy: Success] - He's not okay. This is just another black day, in a row of black days -- something *strange* is keeping him together, making him endure...

4. "I'm glad we talked about this. Now..."

THE DESERTER - "Glad we talked about *what*?" Another erratic gesture. He's trembling...

Let's finish this update here.

[latuuart]

okay, this is a uncomfortable question so you can feel free to jot answer, but do you think that maybe endv 'forced' I don't want to use the other word rei to give birth to natsuo or shouto? because I think that the story implies this a lot with the flashbacks in the hospital, more with shouto birth than natsuo but since we don't see rei interacting a lot with natsuo when he was a kid, and is common for women that were 'forced' to have kids to don't feel comfortable around them, I think that maybe this could be the case, idk thinking about this just makes rei situation in the family even more heartbreaking

Hi, Anon. Thank you for giving me a chance to talk about this topic. Yes, this is gonna be a bit uncomfortable to talk about, I’ll just try to explain this the best I can. The rest is under a cut for the length and cw.

CW implication of marital rape

First of all, let me remind us all that it was never a marriage out of love. It was a mere quirk marriage, no more no less. Enji pursued Himura’s daughter for her quirk. That’s all. He wanted her quirk, and we all know the reason behind that is because he wanted to create custom children who will surpass All Might. That’s the whole purpose of their marriage. And Rei knew, more than anyone, it was her sole role in that marriage: to give this man a child who will be able to surpass All Might. It was a duty of her. That is very sad (okay I’m about to cry as writing this).

So, was it a forced marriage? It’s complicated. It’s not like Enji forced Himura family to give their daughter to him by strength, but we knew from Touya’s dialogue later that there was, high likely, money (beside social status of course) playing behind it. Something like that is a common occurance in a marriage where one of the party has so much higher status than the other party. Gathering information from everyone’s dialogue, we can conclude that: Himura family was on the edge of their glory, they needed money and for their family’s status to rise again, then they had this number two hero came and pursued their daughter, would be a stupid person to reject this opportune offer so if we imagine what their family would think at that time.

How about Rei’s feeling on the marriage? It was never about herself nor for herself. It was for her family’s sake as she said, a choice made on her own as she claimed, but also with limited options. I think we all understand what situation she was in. It was a situation where you just couldn’t help but to be resigned to it. And Rei made it so positive; “I had hoped, if nothing else, that I would keep smiling...” A pure and naturally kind woman.

Even without love, it wasn’t an abusive marriage at start. There were times where Enji and Rei had decent interactions. But, it still wasn’t a healthy marriage since the start, because they married for this taboo (also highly risky and dangerous for the child’s health) goal: creating a child who will be able to surpass All Might (Enji’s idea).

Touya and Fuyumi, we could say they were born from both the parents’ agreement. But, for Natsuo and Shouto, they were not same cases. As this picture below shows, Rei was actually showing disagreement towards Enji’s idea to have more children after Fuyumi.

Because Rei knew; the only reason for that was to show Touya that he couldn’t surpass All Might. It was very cruel to break his heart that way. Then, what happened? Did he “force” (yes, same with you, I prefer to just use this word either) her?

I don’t know. And I think we don’t know, too, because there was no continuation after that conversation that could give us enlightment and clarity whether then Enji forced her to do “that” or not. But, we know for sure this is Rei’s last expression towards Enji’s persistency to have more kids.

And sure this isn’t an expression of consent. And I actually doubt Hori would be allowed to give more clarity about “that matter” than what he has given us in a PG-13 shonen manga. So, I think all those implications should be enough to tell us that Rei didn’t consent to Natsuo’s and Shouto’s birth. That is the purpose of that page after all, to tell us that:

It was Enji’s idea to create more children because he thought that way he could make Touya give up on trying to surpass All Might (while actually, deeply, Touya just wanted to please him and to have his own father “see” him again, so that he could acknowledge him and have moments with him again, and didn’t neglect him anymore, and so that Touya could have a reason to exist—so he thought—back) and Enji needed a child who will be able to surpass All Might nonetheless.

Rei didn’t agree with Enji’s idea at all.

The next page we still have Rei holding a new baby, Natsuo. So, it tells us that whether Rei agreed or not, it didn’t matter. Anything Enji desired would still happen nonetheless.

In addition, Rei’s expression after having Natsuo, she didn’t look quite as happy as before. Even though it’s not like she had a happy, dreams-come-true marriage since the beginning, but, at that time, she looked particularly tired. I doubt it was just because Hori wanted to show us that the process of giving birth is exhausting and life-threatening, which it is, but I’m sure there was another reason Hori decided to show Rei that way, because aside from tired, she also looked so resigned, and her gaze started to feel empty. I think of course she was happy with her newborn (with Natsuo, I’m sure she loves him), because it wasn’t about the child but more of about the process, the reason behind having the child.

And after Shouto’s birth, it was even clearer that she looked really, really exhausted, but also so relieved, as it finally would stop, because I doubt Enji would stop if Shouto were to born “not perfect”.

I will just leave it this way. I’ll let everyone have their own conclusion after reading what I’ve written in this meta, because I’m sure this is such a complicated situation to talk about. And it’s not like this is a completely rare situation to find. I think once in our life we’ve encountered a woman in Rei’s type of marriage, and it’s hard to say they were “forced” if the women themselves think “they are okay with it”, right? —would be the most common argument. I’ll just say, your assumption towards this matter, I’m on the same page with you, Anon. I honestly do feel the same way.

But, let me just correct this one thing: I don’t think Rei was uncomfortable with Natsuo regardless of anything happening behind his birth, at least at the beginning. I think Rei was interacting enough with Natsuo, as much as her interacting with Fuyumi and as best as a mother with four children to take care at the same time could. Actually, it was shown whenever Rei went, Fuyumi and Natsuo were following her like little ducks XD It was really cute!

However, when Natsuo growing up (before Rei was sent to the hospital), Rei indeed started to feel fear towards him. But, it was because of some physical similarities between him and Enji. Although the fear could also be more than just about having similar appearance with Enji (it could also because of seeing Enji’s appearance inducing unpleasant memories on her, as being reminded of him, she could also be reminded of his “actions” towards her), I think, as Hori has explained before (even though the timeline was kinda wrong since Enji had already gotten worse even before Touya’s “death”), it was more because of Enji’s worsened behavior rather than anything that happening behind Natsuo‘s birth (even though there was still a room for accumulated trauma to have a role there!).

[princesssarisa]

“Beauty and the Beast”: Belle’s beautiful discontentment (warning: long)

In my Feminist Defense of the Animated Belle, I addressed most of the issues I’ve heard people complain about regarding Belle’s character. But there was one I didn’t touch on, because it has very little to do with gender roles: the common complaint that Belle is a “snob.” I’d like to discuss that topic now. I’d also like to use it as a springboard to discuss a valuable aspect of Belle’s character that sets her apart both from certain Disney princesses who came before her and from depictions of Beauty in other Beauty and the Beast retellings: her willingness to own her discontentment.

I do understand the “snob” accusations. After all, Belle’s neighbors are poor peasants working hard to eke out a living. It’s only natural that they have little time for books or dreams of adventure and think Belle’s passion for those things is impractical. It’s reasonable to sympathize with their perspective more than the movie seems to want us to. It’s fair to argue that the movie has a (probably unintentional) classist undertone by portraying the villagers as small-minded and bigoted and by having Belle only find a kindred spirit in a prince, albeit an enchanted outcast prince, and find her ultimate happiness by leaving the town in favor of a royal castle. I’m grateful that other BatB retellings exist (e.g. Megan Kearney’s webcomic, or Robin McKinley’s Rose Daughter) that portray Beauty’s peasant world in a more positive light, depict the historic cruelty of royal court life in the Beast/Prince’s backstory, and have him leave the castle in the end to become a peasant rather than Beauty becoming a princess.

But none of the above is any reason to criticize Belle.

I don’t think she looks down on her neighbors. She most certainly doesn’t shun them, as some critics claim she does. Just look at her meeting with the baker during the opening song: she tries to have a friendly conversation with him and tell him about the wonderful story she’s read, only for him to rudely brush her aside with “That’s nice... Marie! The baguettes!” I don’t interpret her subsequent shrug and eye-roll as showing disdain for his “low-class” disinterest in books – just as “Oh well, as usual, no one shares my interest.”

Nor do I buy the claim that she shows disdain for the “I need six eggs!” woman (and by extension for all struggling mothers) when she rides past her. It’s true that she does seem to be smiling, which might imply amused contempt, but she might also just be enjoying her ride on the wagon while at the same time wistfully yearning for a new life, with her expression having nothing to do with the woman. I don’t know what the animators meant to convey. And even if that overwhelmed mother does represent the life Belle doesn’t want for herself, and if Belle sings “There must be more than this provincial life!” in response to seeing her, what’s wrong with that? I don’t think it’s an insult to women who choose to have big families. Even a woman who chooses to have five kids shouldn’t be expected to wrangle them all by herself while also doing her grocery shopping, with no help from her husband or from anyone else. That’s the kind of unpaid labor women have too often been forced into and it’s not “insulting other women” for Belle to yearn for something different.

Belle has the right to be bored by her small town life and want something more. She’s not some rich girl looking down on the poor peasants; she’s a poor peasant too. A person trapped in a dull, stifling lower-class existence has every right to long for a different life. Would we accuse Cinderella of being a “snob” and “ignoring the value of domestic work” because she dreams of escaping from her enslavement by her stepfamily? Of course Belle’s life in the village is more comfortable than that, but it’s still reasonable that she should want to break free from its limits.

“But Belle is clearly richer and more privileged than her neighbors!” some critics argue again and again. “Most peasants in those days were illiterate, so the fact that Belle can read shows she’s had a higher-class education, and in the stage musical, Maurice tells her she’s ‘class’ while their neighbors are ‘the common herd’!” I don’t buy that argument. I’ve never bought it. Not one bit. The movie’s setting isn’t the real late 18th/early 19th century France – it’s the Disney version of it. The village has a bookshop in the animated version and a church library and schoolhouse in the live-action remake. There’s no indication whatsoever that Belle's neighbors can’t read. (Gaston holding her book askance as he looks for pictures in it and Le Fou’s inability to spell Gaston’s name don’t count; the first is a “parental bonus” gag implying that Gaston is looking for a centerfold, while the second is a “Le Fou is stupid” gag. Gaston quotes Shakespeare in “The Mob Song,” so he’s clearly had some education.) Belle just stands out because she has a passion for books, instead of only reading now and then during breaks from “more important” things, and because she would rather read than engage in smalltalk about practical everyday matters. Belle is shown borrowing her books, not buying them, which I presume implies she can’t afford to buy them, and Maurice builds his invention out of ordinary household items (e.g. a wood stove, an axe, a teapot), so he presumably hasn’t spent much money on it either. Nor are they any better dressed than their neighbors, nor does their house look any fancier. They certainly don’t seem richer than Gaston, who apparently owns the village tavern and can afford to arrange a wedding party on short notice and bribe Monsieur d’Arque with a bag of gold to help him blackmail Belle. As for Maurice’s remarks in the stage version, they’re clearly about her personality, not about social class.

Belle also has the right to be an individualist and a misfit. That’s part of the whole point of her storyline. It seems to me that critics who complain that she “looks down on normalcy” are doing the same thing the villagers do, which is supposed to be wrong: saying “It’s a pity and a sin she doesn’t quite fit in.”

It’s no surprise that people should complain about Belle’s complaining, though. Traditional fairy-tale heroines aren’t supposed to complain. As much as we can joke about the cliché that the “I want more” heroine became during the Disney Renaissance, we shouldn’t forget how innovative that kind of heroine was in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Just think back to Snow White: at the beginning she’s dressed in rags and forced to work as a scullery maid by her stepmother, but we find her smiling and cheerfully humming as she scrubs the castle steps. Then there’s Cinderella: a bit more complex and openly discontented than Snow White, but in general she still goes cheerfully about her chores. The heroine who lives in unhappy circumstances but “bears it cheerfully and without complaint” is a mainstay of classic, old-fashioned fairy-tales (and other stories too). The early versions of Beauty and the Beast are no exception. After Beauty’s family falls into poverty, we’re told that her sisters constantly wail and cry over their lost wealth and status, but Beauty swallows her grief, resolves to be cheerful, patiently shoulders all the household chores, and devotes her days to consoling her father and siblings. For this she’s held up as a role model, in contrast to her complaining sisters, who despise her and insult her for it, but whom she always loves and forgives.

Of course there’s value in that kind of character. Resilience in the face of adversity and finding happiness where others find none is a strength in its own right. But it can be overdone. The more that women, poor people and outcasts are encouraged to be cheerful, patient and uncomplaining, the more they’re expected to “stay in their place.” Any righteous desire or demand for a better life or better treatment is labeled “rude,” whiny,” “petulant” and “selfish.” It doesn’t always cross that line, but it can.

Linda Woolverton, the head screenwriter of Disney’s BatB, knew that she wanted Belle to be different both from the traditional Beauty and from the likes of Snow White and Cinderella. So did lyricist Howard Ashman, whose experience as a gay man did much to influence the outcast heroes and heroines of the three Disney movies he wrote for. As noted in this Time Magazine article, they resolved to create a heroine for “the next century,” who wasn’t “based on being kind and taking the hits but smiling all the way through it.”

They definitely succeeded.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s wonderful that Belle owns her discontentment. It’s beautiful that she doesn’t try to fit in or put on a patient, cheerful mask, but unabashedly yearns to escape from her dull, small-minded village and find adventure in the great wide somewhere. It’s wonderful that she has no patience for Gaston’s rudeness and arrogance and that she loathes the thought of having to give up her reading and intellect in favor of a mundane marriage and raising a gaggle of children. It all leads beautifully into her friendship and romance arc with the Beast, where she refuses to tolerate his bullying, refuses to let him control her even though he’s the master of the castle, only forgives him when he earns her forgiveness, and inspires him to change for the better. The happy ending comes about precisely because Belle was willing to be discontented and shamelessly wanted more than she was given at first. This makes her almost the opposite of the original tale’s Beauty, whose story was written as an allegory for arranged marriage and whose purpose was in part to convince girls to submit to unwanted circumstances for their families’ sake. I love that instead, Belle refuses to submit to what she doesn’t want, and her refusal becomes the catalyst for all the positive growth and transformation in the story.

Let’s hear it for heroines who want more!

[starryknight09]

Unforeseen dangers ch 10

Summary:  As Peter recovers from his capture by Ross, a photo of him with Tony and the Avengers leaks and is splashed all across the media. Luckily, no one can figure out who he is and everyone thinks the buzz will die down. However, the public’s interest has been ignited. While Tony worries it’s only a matter of time before Peter’s identity is exposed, Peter isn’t as concerned. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen anyway?

Read on AO3.

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“How did they figure it out?” Tony growled as soon as he walked into the conference room.  He’d tampered his anger down for Peter’s sake, but now that Peter was safe upstairs, he felt it was fine to finally let it out.

Everyone made faces at each other around the table but no one answered his question.  So, it was going to be like that.

“Well?” He asked, this time aiming his question at Pepper.  She wouldn’t be afraid to tell him the hard stuff.

Pepper sighed but met his eyes unflinchingly.  “You’re not going to like it.”

“I already don’t like it.” He snapped and sat down heavily in the empty chair at the head of the table, Pepper to his immediate right.  Just like old times.

“Somehow they got ahold of the name change paperwork.”

“What?”

“I told you you wouldn’t like it.” Pepper pursed her lips.  “It gets worse.  They dug deeper and found the adoption paperwork as well.”  

“So there’s no way we can deny this.” Tony rubbed a hand roughly over his forehead and eyes.

“No.”

“So what do we do now?  Besides figuring out who leaked this and suing the hell out of them.”

“Naturally.” Pepper agreed.  “That’s already being looked into as we speak.”

“Good.”

“But as to how we deal with this…” She sighed.  “I’m open to ideas.”

“You’re kidding.”

Pepper stared him down.  She obviously wasn’t kidding.

“We don’t have anything set up for this?  No contingency plan?  Nothing?  It’s not like we haven’t been flirting with this exact disaster for the past two months.” He looked at all his employees lined up on either side of the table.  “What do I pay you people for?”

“To be fair, you didn’t want a contingency plan.” Pepper said, tone sharp without raising her voice.

“I never said that.”

“Yes you did.  When the first photo leaked I gave you options for how to deal with this and you wanted to deny it, and then later when I wanted to talk to you about putting together a contingency plan just in case, you told me ‘you didn’t want to think about it and you’d figure it out if something happened.’  Is that ringing any bells?”

“You don’t have to air quote me.” He complained as Pepper’s hands fell from doing just that back to their loose clasp on the table.  He actually did remember that conversation now.  It’d been about a week after the first photo leak.  He’d been in a terrible mood and Pepper had wanted to talk about coming up with a plan for what to do if one of his worst case scenarios happened, if Peter’s identity leaked, and he, well, he hadn’t wanted to think about it at the time.  He’d wanted to stick his head in the sand and hope for the best instead.  Not one of his better decisions, clearly.

Pepper raised an eyebrow at him.

“And you listened to me?” He asked as he threw his hands up and practically jumped out of his chair.  “You never listen to me.  This is the one time you decide not to go behind my back and come up with something on your own anyway?”

Pepper glared at him.

“What?  You know it’s true.  You do do that!” He held a finger up in defense.

Melanie, his head of PR, sitting to his left, cleared her throat.  “I think maybe we’re getting a little off topic here Mr. Stark.”

“Yes.  Yes we are.” He broke away from Pepper’s death glare and rubbed at his eyes again before turning to her, “Melody, tell me what you’re thinking.”

“Melanie.” She corrected automatically without surprise or displeasure, more than used to his antics by now.  

“Yeah yeah.” He nodded and waved his hand in a circle as an indication for her to start talking.

“We need to make a statement.”

“Yes, obviously.”

Melanie gave him a look that was such a mirror image of Pepper’s that he felt dizzy for a second.

“What I mean is, what do you suggest we say?” He tried to be civil and looked over to Pepper for her approval, but she still had her stony business face in place.

“We confirm that you adopted Peter this summer.  We should give them a little bit about his background, how you got to know each other, the circumstances that led to his adoption—”

“Do they really need to know all that?  I don’t really want to splash my kid’s life across the tabloids.”

“That’s what I’m trying to keep from happening Mr. Stark.” Melanie said in a carefully controlled tone.  “If we give them nothing then it’ll only be worse.  They’ll be relentless digging for more information on him.”

“They’re going to do that anyway.”  God, they were.  His poor kid’s life was going to get turned inside out.

“Yes, but this way we can control it.  We set the context.  We give them enough information to satiate their curiosity but not so much that they know everything about Peter.”

He hated the idea of giving the vultures anything.

“Melanie’s right Tony.  This is how we need to do this.” Pepper agreed.

“Fine.” He held his palms up in defeat.  He knew they were right, but he still didn’t like it.

“I would also suggest that we release a few handpicked photos of the two of you together.” A brunette to the left of Melanie piped in.  Tony would’ve admired her courage if her suggestion hadn’t set his temper alight.

“No.  Absolutely not.” He wanted to yell, but he grit out the refusal at a low level volume instead.

More hesitant glances amongst his employees around the table ensued.

“You should listen to her.” Natasha spoke up.

“Oh I’m sorry I thought you were here to listen, not offer up advice on how to deal with my kid and my company.” He sniped, annoyed that she was taking their side.

Nat met his anger coolly.  “If you don’t, they’ll keep doing what they’ve been doing these past couple months.  Photos of the two of you together and photos of just him now that they know he’s your son.  If you don’t give them something they’re going to hound both of you until they get it, and you know it.”

He hated that she was right.

“Dammit.” He swore and stood, knocking his desk chair over in the process.  Pepper didn’t so much as flinch.  Tony grit his teeth as he turned his back on the table and took a couple steps toward the wall, where he stood facing it while he closed his eyes and took a few calming breaths.

He hated this situation with a burning anger he hadn’t felt in a long time, like a smoldering flame deep inside his belly growing white hot as more oxygen was added to it.  He’d never wanted this for Peter.  He loved him.  He was his son but somehow he’d foolishly thought he’d be able to keep him separate from all the evil and burdens that came with that.  He had to accept that it was impossible now.  And he needed to stay strong and collected for Peter even if on the inside he was having a breakdown.

“I’m sorry.” He said, the words coming out strong even though he felt anything but strong at the moment.

He took another deep breath and turned back around, moving to calmly set his chair upright again before standing at his spot at the head of the table.  A few of the newer employees looked a little shellshocked but he ignored it.  “Fine.” He leaned forward, his hands splaying out in front of him on the table.  “I’ll make a statement and release a few pictures.  What else?”

“At the end of your statement, you should be sure to ask for privacy.” Joe, the wizened white-haired head of his legal team, suggested, not cowed at all by his minor outburst.  He’d been on staff since pre-Ironman times.  

“Of course.”

“It’s too bad you don’t still live in California.” Joe added.  “Because of Peter’s status as a minor, it would give him some protections.  California passed a law in 2013 that makes it illegal to intentionally harass children of celebrities, such as for the purpose of taking photos.”

“And that’s only a law in California?” He frowned.

“As of now.” Joe nodded.  “But if you want, I could write up a proposal for the governor to pass a similar law here.  It’s a long shot but it wouldn’t hurt, especially if you don’t want to move.”

“We’re not moving to California.”

Joe shrugged.

“But yes, do that.” A law like that sure would’ve been helpful when he’d been a child.

“Of course, sir.”

“Tony,” Cap spoke up from his seat at the opposite end of the table, “have you given any thought to taking Peter up to the compound instead of staying here?  At least until things calm down?”

Tony blinked.  He hadn’t.

“I mean,” Steve continued when his suggestion wasn’t met with an immediate refusal, “it’s not like he’s not going to school tomorrow, right?”

He hadn’t thought that far ahead either.

“Right.” He said with uncharacteristic hesitance.

“That’s a good idea.” Natasha agreed.  “We can do the press conference here and then go to the compound.  It’ll give everyone a little more room to breathe.”

He nodded absently.  Sure.  So apparently now he was taking his kid out of school and high tailing it to the compound.  Peter wasn’t going to like that.  He let out another heavy sigh and sat back down in his chair like a puppet with its strings cut.

“How long do you think this media frenzy is going to take to die down?” He asked, aiming his question at Melanie.  Maybe they could wait out the worst of it at the compound.

“Hard to say.” She hedged.

“Best guess.”

“Months.” She deadpanned.

“Jesus.” He ran a hand through his hair.  Definitely too long to wait it out.

“It may be even longer than that.  Peter’s currently trending on every social media platform out there.” A younger guy with blonde hair dressed in a hipster suit added.  Tony didn’t recognize him but figured he must be one of their social media guys.  “The numbers I’m looking at are almost unprecedented.”

“Wonderful.”

“I recommend not letting him post anything until we have a chance to advise him.” The guy added.  “I see he’s currently active on Instagram and Twitter.”

“Sure.  I’ll take your word for it.” Tony huffed.  He didn’t know what kind of social media presence Peter had.  He’d never really needed to worry about it before.

Melanie cleared her throat and piped in, “I’d also like a chance to advise Peter on some things.  And give him a short debrief on all of this.”

“I’ll be doing that.” He countered.

“Um,” Melanie glanced over at Pepper for some help, “I really think I should at least have a sit down with him.

“Tony.” Pepper prompted, throwing her support behind Melanie.

“Fine.” He shook his head.  “But I talk to him first.”

“Of course Mr. Stark.”

“When Melanie’s done, can I schedule sit down with him as well Mr. Stark?” The blonde guy asked.

He turned to Pepper for help, trying not to feel like his own SI team was competing for his kid’s time like the media vultures out there.

“Of course Alex.” Pepper answered for him.  “How about I put together some sort of schedule for Peter so we don’t all completely overwhelm him?”

Heads nodded all around the table.

“And I think we can all agree none of this has to happen today.  We can at least give him a little time to let it all sink in first.” Pepper added.

Everyone nodded again.

“I’d like a few minutes with him Ms. Potts.”

“Me too.”

Tony rubbed his eyes again, feeling a splitting headache coming on.  Just great.  A migraine was exactly what he needed right now.

“I’d also like to reach out to a few of the more reputable media sources and set up some interviews.” Paul spoke up and then clarified, “For you.  Not Peter.  Obviously.”  Paul was one of the longer standing workers on his PR team who dealt with managing relations between himself and various media sources, which was the reason Tony knew him by name.  They’d had some good times in the past, particularly behind the scenes on Letterman back in the nineties.

“Is that really something we need to do right now?  It can’t wait until tomorrow, or hell, next week?” He snapped, quickly losing his patience with the entire situation.

“No.  It can wait.” Paul gave him an easy going shrug as if he hadn’t just gotten his head bitten off in front of everyone.

“Sorry.” His headache was rapidly ratcheting up in intensity.  “I know we’re at defcom one right now, but can we just deal with only the things that are of immediate importance today?  We have the rest of the week to sort everything else out.”  He dug through his suit pockets and found the tinted sunglasses he’d put on Peter earlier.  Now he slid them over his own eyes.  They weren’t quite dark enough to help with the light sensitivity, but they took the edge off.

“Mr. Stark’s right.” Pepper supported him.  Thank god.  “We’ll draft a statement for the press and we’ll make sure Peter doesn’t post anything on social media until he talks to Melanie and Alex.  Besides that, what else can’t wait and needs to be dealt with right now?”

“Security.” His new head of security, Hans something or other, said.  

Tony just stared at him for a couple long seconds, the statement not computing.

“For the kid.” Hans added as if sensing his confusion.

Tony’s brow’s furrowed briefly before he realized it was a completely legitimate concern.  Shit.  No one knew Peter was Spiderman besides the Avengers and his two nerdy school friends.  Of course Peter would need his own security detail, just like Tony had when he was a kid.

“Yeah.” He gave his head a little shake as if clearing the fog.  “Of course.”

“I’ll put together a proposal for his personal security.” Hans continued.  “And I’ll speak to his school about what security measures we can take there.”

Tony pulled his glasses off and tossed them onto the table before putting his face in his hands, elbows resting on the table in front of him.

“Yep.” He agreed, not sounding happy at all.  “Mmhm.”

“We’ll also need to put together different protocols for when he’s ready to go back in public, and I’d like to have some time to discuss certain scenarios with him.” Hans continued.

“Tony.” Pepper prompted when he said nothing.

“I’m listening.” He said into his palms.

“I also think it’d be prudent for me to spend some time with him one on one to teach him some basic hand to hand combat moves.”

“I can do that.” Natasha spoke up.

Hans inclined his head toward her in respect.  “Then I’ll leave that to you.”

“Great.” Tony dropped his hands down swiftly and squinted as he looked around the table.  “Anything else?”

Everyone glanced around at each other but no one spoke.

“No?  Can we be adjourned then?” Tony asked, turning toward Pepper.

“Let’s take a short break everyone.  We’ll reconvene in ten minutes.”

It took everything in him not to legitimately whine to her that he wanted to be done.

Everyone gathered up their things and brusquely left at the dismissal.

“You guys can go.” Tony dismissed his Avengers team, who’d stayed behind.

“You sure?” Steve asked.

“Yeah.  You need to go let everyone else know about the compound plan, so if any of them want to join they can get busy packing.  I know how much luggage Sam travels with.”  He tried to joke but it came out sounding flat even to him.

Steve gave him a small smile as he and Natasha both stood and left.  Once the door had shut behind them, he turned to Pepper and suggested, “You don’t really need me for the rest of this, do you?”

Pepper raised her eyebrows at him.

“Come on Pep.  We both know you can deal with all the nitty gritty details on your own.  Draft up a statement.  I’ll read it.  And then we can talk about everything else tomorrow at the compound.” He rubbed at his temples and saw her eyes soften.

“Fine,” she agreed, “but only because I can tell you’re getting a migraine.”

“You know me so well.” He gave her a weak half smile.

Pepper checked her watch. “The press conference starts in an hour.  Why don’t you lie down until then?  And take some Excedrin.”

He hummed in agreement.  That sounded like a great idea but it warred with his guilt about leaving Peter alone.  He should really get back to his kid.

“Peter can wait.” Pepper continued as if she’d read his mind.  “He’ll be fine.  You need to take care of yourself too.  Besides, this way you’ll look better for the cameras.”

“Hey!  I always look great for the cameras.”

“I can give you several examples of when you did not.” Pepper smirked and gave a small shake of her head.

“Name one.” He challenged.

“Ibiza 1999.”

“Ooo ouch.  Going for blood.  To be fair, I was up for almost 72 hours at that point.  And I didn’t know that one girl’s ex-fiance was the captain of that yacht.”

“Mmhmm.”

“Fine.  I’m going to go lay down for one hour.” He held up a finger.

“Forty five minutes.” Pepper corrected.

“Ok fine.  Forty five minutes then.  FRI?”

“Alarm set Boss.”

He started walking out of the conference room.

“And take that Excedrin.”

“Yeah yeah.”

“I mean it Tony.”

“I will.” He said as the door shut behind him, and surprisingly, he actually meant it.

*******************************

A constant obnoxious low volume beeping, slowly increasing in volume every few seconds, woke him up.

He groaned.  The pounding that’d taken up residence behind his eyes still hadn’t abated, but it wasn’t any worse than when he’d laid down so maybe the Excedrin had actually helped somewhat.

“Boss, you have thirteen minutes to get dressed and downstairs for the press conference.”

He groaned again and buried his face in his pillow.

“Boss.” FRIDAY prompted again.

“I heard you the first time.” He rasped into his pillow.  “And they’ll wait.  It’s my press conference, isn’t it?”

He didn’t know how FRIDAY’s silence could sound so disapproving.

After a few long breaths he finally managed to push himself up.  He just needed to get this over with.  Like ripping off a bandaid.  He made his way to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on his face.  It helped the headache for the brief second it was in contact with his face but then all the relief faded as quickly as the water washed away.  Once he toweled off, he examined his reflection.  At least he didn’t look half as terrible as he felt.  The slight squint between his eyes gave away his discomfort, but that could be cured with a well chosen pair of sunglasses.  He fixed his hair so it looked like its classic well manicured bedhead instead of his actual bedhead.  That helped.  Now all he needed was a good suit and he’d be presentable enough that not even Pepper could complain.

“You have five minutes.” FRIDAY reminded him as he walked to the closet.

“Yeah well tell them I’m going to be a little late.” He grumbled as he rifled through his clothes.  “Knowing me it shouldn’t come as too much of a shock.”

“Very well.”

He donned a crisp white shirt and burgundy tie under a dark navy vest and suit and topped the look off with a pair of oversized sunglasses with black frames and blue shaded lenses.  They were just borderline too dark for inside wear but they helped his headache so he refused to care.

“Ms. Potts would like to know when to expect you.” FRIDAY said.

“Tell her I’m on my way down right now.” He said, doing one last check in the mirror to make sure he looked put together.  Usually he wouldn’t care so much, but he recognized the importance of this moment.  This was how he was going to look when he told the world he had a son.  This look would probably be memorialized on the internet and across all the newspapers of the world tomorrow.  And not only that, but he knew his appearance for this moment would reflect on Peter, so he wanted to be at his best.  Migraine be damned.  He’d done press conferences in way worse shape than he was in now.  Although this one was probably one of his most personally important.  He gave his tie one last adjustment before he decided he was good.

Walking past the kitchen, he practically tripped when the smell of fresh coffee emanating from the pot stopped him in his tracks.  His Rolex said he was already five minutes late.  Whatever.  What was another five?  Besides, he was fairly certain that Pepper had been the one to brew it for him while he’d slept.  That was something thoughtful she used to do when she knew he had a migraine.

“FRIDAY tell Pep thanks for the coffee.” He said as he poured it into a thermos.

“She says you can thank her by getting your ass downstairs.  And that’s a direct quote Boss.”

“Obviously.” A corner of his mouth turned up in fond amusement.  “Tell her, I’m coming dear.”

He pressed the lid on and took a sip.  Perfect.  Brewed just how he liked it, and hopefully the caffeine would help with his headache.

The elevator doors closed behind him and it dropped like a stone.

“Whoa FRIDAY.  Slow it down a little.”

“Sorry Boss.” FRIDAY responded and the elevator slowed the velocity of its descent.  “Ms. Potts requested I expedite your arrival in every way possible.”

“Yeah well I’m guessing she doesn’t want me to lose my lunch all over my suit in the process because that’d definitely defeat the purpose.” He grumbled and took another drink of coffee, hoping it’d help calm the background nausea that had suddenly flared up.

“Would you like me to contact Dr. Banner?” FRIDAY offered.

“No.  Just…shhh.” He winced and rubbed at his temples before closing his eyes and resting his head against the wall, letting himself have a vulnerable moment while he was still alone.

“Arriving.” FRIDAY announced a handful of seconds later, although at a much softer volume than before.

He straightened up and put on his public eye mask as the doors opened and he walked out, taking an immediate left down the hallway that would lead to the auditorium they used for almost all their SI press conferences.  He ducked into a side door right before the double doors at the end of the hallway.

“Is it actually impossible for you to be on time for something?” Pepper asked as soon as the door closed behind him.  Her tone held no bite, so he knew she wasn’t actually mad.

“Maybe.”

She rolled her eyes, arms crossed in front of her chest as she looked him up and down.  “You look hungover.” She decided.

“What?  No I don’t.”

She peered closer at him.  “I can barely even see your eyes.  At least take the glasses off.”

“Well since it feels like a miniature miner is going to town with an icepick in my head right now I’m going to have to pass on that.”

Pepper sighed but the lines of her face softened.  “Do you need me to reschedule?”

He took another long drag of coffee, half of it gone already.  “No.  We both know I need to do this today.”

She nodded but still looked unsure.

“Don’t worry.  I’ve done these things in way worse shape than this.  I think I might’ve even done one or two while I was actually asleep.”

That got a true smile out of her.  “Oh, I know.”

“So this’ll be a piece of cake.” He said even though he knew the opposite was true.

“If you say so…”

“I do.  So where’s this statement I’m reading?”

“Here.” Pepper handed him a piece of paper with the words typed out on it.  Any other day he would’ve made some quip about how they were using paper when they were the most technologically innovative company in the world, but he just didn’t have the energy for it today.

He skimmed it over quickly and set it down on a table nearby.  “Can I have a pen?”

“Oh no no.  You’re not changing anything.” Pepper shook her head adamantly.

“Just a few things.” He held a hand out while re-reading the paper in front of him.

“No.”

He looked up at her.  “Pep I promise it’ll be fine.  Just give me a pen.  If it makes you feel better you can read it before I go out there.”

She pursed her lips and let out a long sigh but acquiesced and handed him her Mont Blanc pen.  “Fine.”

He quickly reworded a few phrases, cut a sentence out here and there and then added another few sentences.  Once he finished, he re-read it a couple times before handing it over to Pepper along with her pen.  “Here.”

The noise of the auditorium could be heard through the closed door at the other side of the room.  It was the door that would lead him directly into a narrow hallway behind the podium from where he’d make his entrance.  He took another long drink of coffee as he waited for Pepper to read over his changes.

“Ok.” She said when she’d finished.

“Just ok?” He prompted with a teasing grin.

“It’s good.  We should be fine as long as you actually stick to the script for once.”

“You know I’m allergic.” He smirked.

“Believe me, I know.” She smiled in amusement.

“But this time, for you, I promise I will try to stick to the cards.”

“Good.” She gave him a nod and handed the paper back.

He took it, folded it, and tucked it into his suit pocket.  She was right.  He almost never stuck strictly to the cards, his announcement as Ironman a prime example, but actually only one of many.  He had no intention of veering off script this time, though.  Not with something this important.  Not when it impacted his kid.

They walked toward the door of the auditorium together and paused before it.  He turned toward Pepper and she gave him another quick once over, reaching out to fix a few errant hairs and straighten his tie ever so slightly before brushing down his shoulders, a well choreographed dance they’d perfected after so many years together.

“Ready?” She asked.

“As I’ll ever be.” He smiled but he knew she could see through it, that he was nervous and trying to hide it.

“Tony.” She said gently.  “It’ll be fine.”

“Of course it will.” He agreed boldly.  It had to be.  Before either of them could say anything else, he yanked open the door and stepped out.

[pinkhairedlily]

Great Expectations

Chapter 4 of The Spring He Came Back | 4 of 12

Hinamori found herself spacing out in the middle of chores for about a month now. She would be cooking miso soup, and her mind would trail to their conversation on the hill. She would halt in front of the daffodil meadow on the way back from the market and reminisce in the midst of stalks yet to flower, counting down to the third month. She also stopped going to the library because of a growing resentment. If she didn’t bring Hitsugaya there, he wouldn’t have found the book, and he wouldn’t have left. She wondered if she had the right to feel this way, to feel like she lost a friend or a family.

The money from Hitsugaya’s generous allowance came in every end of the month through an academy representative. Baba’s refusals fell on deaf ears, but Hinamori knew she was grateful for the financial support.

True to his promise, Hitsugaya sneaked out of the academy on his third month and met Hinamori on the meadow. He saw her black tendrils flowing with the yellow petals. “Oy, Hinamori.” For a time, it would seem that the gears were running in normal shifts.

This went on for the next three years. Hinamori was given glimpses of his newfound life – of an increasing circle of friends that consisted of a noisy Rangiku, stubborn Rukia, and glutton on steroids Renji. For every encounter, their childhood memories and laidback banter on the yellow field were being replaced by tales of his experiments and model construction with Dr. Kuchiki, the culture shock to the life of the brightest, and the cutthroat competition in academia. For every encounter, he seemed more and more different, but he never let these get the best of him. After all, his silver hair was still shaped like a broomstick, and he still challenged her to watermelon eating contests.

Their meetings stopped when he had to participate in an overseas internship in Karakura. Monthly letters replaced his physical presence until there were none. Exasperated because of her growing loneliness, Baba assured her it was the natural course of things.

“As we grow older Momo, we form a lot of bonds. Some becomes the foundation of our nature and identity while others are circles at certain phases of our lives.” Baba gave her a cup of black tea with a dash of honey, her favorite brew. “There comes a point we grow out of those circles and seek the next set of bonds. The rarest of all, those bonds that accompany you forever.”

“I thought we were his family, Baba.” There was a burning feeling behind Hinamori’s eyes, and she felt a headache forming.

Baba stared at her wistfully and tucked a loose tendril behind her grandchild’s ear. “If you’re so adamant to keep those bonds, why won’t you walk beside him?”

Hinamori shook her head vehemently and slapped her palms on the table. “Baba! I will never leave you. Please stop saying that!” Some of her black tea spilled. “Besides, the academy is invitation-only, remember?”

“Momo my dearest and only, I’m almost 70. I’ve lived a good, full life so far, and I want you to live like that as well. I don’t want you shackled by your past or be burdened by taking care of me. The world is bigger than this town,” Baba chuckled to herself as she took a sip of her tea. “Besides, I have reliable neighbors who will take care of me. We have a telephone now so we can always communicate. Wondrous technology. Oh but you have to teach me.”

“Baba, stop it. The academy is not accepting low-tier students like me.”

“Oh Momo. Just throw it out there and the world will right itself.”

Baba’s wisdom never failed. When Hinamori became 15 years old, the academy opened its gates to the common folk. The complaints about accessibility and inequality probably got to the administration. Investments in the town kept pouring in, demand for residential space was increasing, the clamor to enter the academy regardless of social status eventually gained traction. While the invitation and referral arrangements still existed, the opportunities leveled through general admissions. Well, not quite. The examinations were grueling, and the interviews were tricky to answer. They asked outright for research proposals and the field of specialization one was interested in. On top of her head, Hinamori stated her concentration on terrestrial ecology. Actually, she just wanted to create perennial daffodils so their meadow would be yellow all year round, no matter the season.

Hinamori passed the screening. General admission passers were granted wider freedom but lesser privilege. They were not restricted to stay in the dorms and had normal class schedules that didn’t involve laboratory and experiments on weekends. On the downside, they were provided lesser amount of allowance (good for family of three) which Hinamori was still thankful for. They weren’t also allowed to venture into the buildings of the core members. From her initial grant, she bought a bicycle to make her trips faster and quicker across opposite end of the town. It was an unstable feeling, landing on shifting grounds, but soon enough, she found her balance.

I’m in. I’m inside the academy’s gates. It was an exhilarating feeling of great expectations and humble beginnings.

Only 100 students were admitted in the winter. Amid the flurry of post-inauguration activities, Hinamori saw the familiar silver hair sticking out like sore thumb in the middle of the crowd.

He’s not supposed to be here. He was accompanied by three people trailing behind at a safe distance. She presumed they were the three Rs – Rangiku, Rukia, Renji. On Hitsugaya’s arms was a bouquet. “Oy, Momo.”

Her cheeks were flushed red. She wished she wore her hair loose instead of a bun because it had started to snow. “Broomstick Shirou-chan.” Was he taller when she last saw him? Silly, he was gone for two years.

“I just got back from my internship in time for your inauguration.” He handed her the bouquet of bright yellow daffodils, fully blooming in winter. “Congratulations.”

“Oh, I’m still taller than you,” Hinamori blurted out. “Oops. It was supposed to be a personal observation.”

“You know what, give me back the bouquet.”

“But it’s true! You probably still have the same height!”

“Momo, give me the bouquet back.”

“Won’t.” They both laughed it off, unaware of stealing glances from his company.

“Oooh is she the one you’re always writing letters to, Hitsugaya?” the blond-haired girl asked. “How sweet! Childhood sweethearts!”

“Shut up, Rangiku!”

“Oh no, we’re truly not-“ Hinamori started, but she was immediately cut off.

“Childhood sweethearts?!” the red-haired one yelled. “You mean to tell me this was fate? Wow, I’m so jealous.”

“I’m literally right here, Abarai.” The black-haired kid who was almost the same height as Hitsugaya was probably the least intense of the group. “I’m Kuchiki Rukia, by the way.”

Well, her surname certainly is, Hinamori thought. “I’m Hinamori Momo, Shirou-chan’s childhood friend.”

“Shirou-chan?!” They collectively egged him on, laughing at his clear embarrassment.

“Momo, stop using that nickname!”

Hinamori inhaled the clear scent of pine and camphor trees, reminding her of Baba cozy with her stacked fireplace and of stored jams in their pantry. She can’t wait to tell her Hitsugaya’s back. With the mended symbol of their bond on the crook of her arm, she entered the new phase of her life. Shifting grounds and great expectations.

-------

“Please greet Dr. Sousuke Aizen. He’s one of the foremost molecular biologists outside of Soul, and we are privileged to have him teach here. He will be your professor for biology. Keep in mind that you are arranged by your specialization, and he will be your mentor until you graduate in the academy,” Dr. Unohana, the academy director, announced to a class of fifteen.

Hinamori already outlined ten distinct thesis proposals in her first week. She made headstart on her readings too, already halfway on their given references for the year. If she was going to reunite fully with her friend, she needed to be a core member, and she will work hard for it.

Then, the name finally registered in her mind. Sousuke Aizen. The author of the most recent book she borrowed from the library which was also her inspiration for her thesis topics. She was engrossed with his theories, his writing style, and argumentations that she borrowed all his related books. If she was a radiologist, he was her Marie Curie. Sousuke Aizen was her teacher.

He had a magnetic presence, demanding all eyes on him. It was difficult not to notice him with his broad figure and soft tussle of dark brown hair. If eyes could smile, then he had those, albeit hidden behind square-shaped spectacles. His authoritative stance and the emanating kind disposition were confusing and difficult to compromise.

What an interesting person. Hinamori thought herself perceptive of people’s personalities based on her first impressions with them. That wasn’t successful with Hitsugaya though.

“So, should we start, or would you like me to immediately dismiss?”

It also perked up her interest that he was comfortable enough to teach without a lesson plan in hand or books. He would just talk conversationally with his students and still cover a multitude of topics. He wasn’t the stiff professor that Dr. Kuchiki was. Her classmates would seek him out after classes, asking him to join their group dinners. When she attended once, he noticed she wasn’t talking.

“Hinamori, are you still uncomfortable with your new learning setting?” Dr. Aizen asked. He gestured to refill her now empty teacup, and she obliged him with a nod. “I’ve heard you mostly got your knowledge from reading. Impressive.”

She blushed at the compliment. “I try to do my best, Dr. Aizen.”

He placed his cheek on his hand and stared at her. “You know, I also came from a rural area. Made it hard for me to mingle with the central town brats.”

Brats. She laughed at this sudden connection. “I’m also trying on that area, Sir. I made friends, but they’re on the other side of building.” Was it safe to share that?

“Oh, you have friends from the core Soul group? Fascinating. That means you’re really interesting Hinamori.” He smiled at her, tapping the empty tea pot. “You can talk to me anytime. My office is open for any concerns, academic or otherwise. I want you to know I can be on your friend list.”

The fact that he related to her situation made her happy. A renowned professor with the same roots as her still managed to get to the top. She felt seen. By the end of the semester, Hinamori volunteered to be his research assistant.

NEXT CHAPTER | 5 OF 12 | WANTING VALIDATIONS

[zims-left-shoe]

Agent Mothman (Dib x Male Reader)

Like most of my other fics, characters are aged up to high school. Plus, a friendly reminder that my request box is open!!

The silence was overwhelming. The pressure of everyone's collective held breath was almost palpable, your chest reactively tightening for no good reason. As you looked around you, eyes were wide, jaws were set and clenched in preparation to cringe. The only two who stuck out from the crowd were Zim and Dib, when did they not? Zim looked lost in thought, mind seemingly several thousand galaxies away, hands folded together neatly in front of his face, his chin resting on them. Dib, on the other hand, appeared to be over the whole ordeal. His posture was slouched as he stared ahead at the board through half-lidded eyes. As the quiet persisted, an anxious energy settled over your classmates (besides the two previously mentioned, of course). Eyes twitched, fingernails scraped the tables, feet began to tap restlessly on the floor.

"Y/n." The teacher finally spoke, bringing the whole class to sigh in relief, the building pressure suddenly released all at once. Many students leaned back in their chairs, high fiving each other. "Y/n, you will be partnered with Dib." You shrugged your shoulders as many looked to you in pity, some even whispering their sympathies. You had never aligned yourself with any group in particular throughout your school year. Granted, you were only a few months in, but you had switched schools so much you had learned to play the field. You avoided Dib considering his stigma, enabling you to be tolerated by the majority, however you were never mean to him. In fact, you rather liked him. You only chose to silently observe him rather than act upon your curiosity. 

"But wait, who's going to be paired with Zim?" You heard a student groan, everyone's breath being held once more. You let your gaze drift over to your partner. He seemed relieved, a slight smile settling on his lips. This was probably the best case scenario for everyone. No one else had to work with Dib, and you were the only one who never picked on him for being just a bit different. 

Once your teacher had finished reading names, you were all asked to sit with your partners. Without an ounce of reluctance, you sauntered over to Dib's otherwise empty table, taking one of the many available seats surrounding him. You needed to figure out a plan quickly, considering you only had one night to do the project. The project wasn't super taxing, in fact it seemed almost like busy work that would promote socialization at the same time, but it wasn't like your time frame was ideal. 

"Dib, right?" You held up your hand in a slight wave. "I don't think I've officially introduced myself. I'm Y/n."

"I know. The new kid who has no real friends yet is somehow still deemed acceptable by the popular kids? An anomaly for sure." Red painted his face, his eyes widening as he realized how his words may have came off as. "Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound rude. Or creepy. You know what? I'll just stop talking." An awkward chuckle escaped your lips as his eyes fell to his sneakers. After a slight pause, Dib spoke again, his tone much more reserved than before. "I can just do the whole project and you can put your name on it if you want. It's not that hard." He was giving you an out, not wanting to piss you off. Reaching an arm out, you slugged his shoulder lightly.

"Nah, come on. I don't roll that way. Besides, I want to hang out with you a little."

"You...want to hang out...with me?" Dib pointed a finger to himself, eyes wide behind his large glasses. An incredulous expression was etched into every single feature of his face, as if he couldn't believe those words left your mouth. 

"Yeah." After that syllable, the bell rang, dismissing you from school. You stood up, gathering your things. "Anyway, I'll be at your place after dinner. Just text me your address or whatever." You quickly scribbled your digits down on a scrap piece of paper that was laying around, passing it to him. "See ya!" You dashed away, sneaking one last glance back to see Dib still sitting in his chair, as still as a statue, not believing that this was even happening. 

Your stomach felt as if it was full of butterflies, and you couldn't shake the grin that had spread across your face as you began your walk home. 

God...he was even cuter than I thought... You were embarrassed by your own thoughts, pinching yourself on the arm. Truth was, you may or may not have been stalking him a little. He lived in your neighborhood, and you just couldn't help it. You had always been a hopeless romantic of sorts, and all it took was one look at him in class giving a presentation on the gremlin in his backyard and you were in love. You didn't even need his address, you knew where he lived, but you didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable, so you asked for it anyway. Plus, it was a way to sneak him your number. And it wasn't as if you were actively trying to find out where he lived. It was pretty much impossible to ignore him and Zim screaming at each other as they ran back and forth between their houses all day. 

"This is going to be a long night." You sighed out, foot striking out to kick a rock, the satisfying skittering sounds it made calming your nerves a small amount. 

-

You drew in a deep breath as you brought your fist to the door, rapping on it a few times. Rocking back on your heels, you clutched your notebook and other supplies tightly to your chest, internally cringing at yourself. Everyone at school thought you were incredibly cool, but on the inside, you were just a lovesick gay who was overflowing with big dumb energy. The door swung open, bringing you to jump and be pulled from your motivational speech that was being given inside your head. 

"Come on in. I'm surprised you showed up." Dib stepped aside to let you in, gesturing past the living room to the kitchen where a purple-haired girl sat at a table, picking at the remaining food on her plate. A floating monitor hovered near the table as well. "We're just finishing dinner, but you can follow me if you want." Nodding, you padded behind the social outcast wordlessly, taking a seat next to him at the table. "Gaz, this is Y/n, my partner for my project. Y/n, this is my sister Gaz."

"Hey." You waved to the girl. Her expression remained squinty as she continued to pick at her food, eyes dancing between her plate and a Game Slave which was charging on the counter. 

"Whatever." She grumbled, never even directly acknowledging your existence once. You began to wonder if Dib was actually the most normal out of his entire family, which was saying something. Dib awkwardly cleared his throat as he pointed to the floating monitor, which displayed a man in a lab coat and goggles furiously working on something. 

"Oh, and this is my dad. He's at work right now, like usual. When he can't be with us for dinner, he either videocalls us from his lab or plays a pre-recorded video reminding us of chores and dinner instructions." Despite how sad the things he had just said sounded, not an ounce of bitterness was up for display on his face. Instead, his eyes shone with pride, happy to have a dad who was making a difference in the world, even if he could never really be a conventional father. "Anyway, just let me clean up and then we can get to work." Dib stood up, bringing his own plate over to the sink and running it under water, placing it in in its respective place in the dishwasher afterwards. Waving for you to follow him, he led you down the hall to a room that was clearly his. The door was covered in posters and stickers of aliens and other supernatural creatures, a good sized "Keep Out" sign the centerpiece. You wondered what would be inside, becoming excited. You figured you were the first person besides his own family to be seeing his room. He twisted the knob, casually pushing the door open, allowing you to step inside. 

"Wow..." You trailed off as you glanced around. There was so much to look at. Your eyes darted from one thing to the next, barely able to take it all in. There were several computer monitors surrounding a desk that was littered in papers and catalogues for supernatural hunting items, a few prototypes of possibly his dad's inventions scattered there as well. His room was lined with posters of aliens and other entities, an important looking briefcase thrown haphazardly onto his bed. The one thing that held your gaze the longest was a ginormous cork board. Several photos, drawings, diagrams, and hurried scribbles of notes were tacked up there, filling it to the max. Each paper was connected with color coded strings, things circled in colored pen seemingly at random, although you knew better. It was the definition of organized chaos. In large, bold, red letters, one word was scrawled on a paper at the top of the board: ZIM.

"I'm sorry, I tried to clean it as best I could. It's still kind of a mess." Dib hurriedly stacked papers together on his desk, trying to make it look presentable. 

"It's fine, don't worry about it. You should see my room. Half of my shit isn't even out of boxes yet, and we moved in months ago." You laughed, sitting down on his floor. "So, alien invasion, huh? Isn't Zim that kid with the skin condition?" You asked, gesturing to his cork board. His shoulders tensed as he unplugged his computer and brought it down to the ground, taking a seat beside you.

"Could we just get to work? Please?" He seemed to want to sweep that subject under the rug, and you decided that you would let him.

"Okay...so anyway, this research poster. You got a topic in mind?" Your prompt drew him out of his unsociable shell, albeit hesitantly. 

"Personally, I was thinking Area 51, but if you wanted to do something else..." He genuinely appeared to not want to upset you, despite usually not caring about how he came off to others. 

"That sounds great, Dib. Interesting too. You think they're really hiding aliens there?" Laying down on your stomach, you rested your face in the palms of your hands, gearing up for a long talk. A smile crept onto your face as immediately his eyes lit up.

"I'm glad you asked."

-

"I think we have the essentials. Now we just need to get them onto the poster, which is probably the most time consuming part." Dib stretched his arms towards the ceiling while you yawned and cracked your back. You didn't know how long you had been sitting on the floor for, but a glance to the clock by his bed told you it was 8:01 pm. The two of you had spent the last couple of hours researching, organizing notes, and mainly just talking about yourselves. You had no idea why everyone constantly was ragging on him. You found him to be incredibly interesting and entertaining, hanging onto every single word he spoke. You weren't really sure if you believed in all of these supernatural creatures, but you also didn't think that they couldn't exist. 

"I think so too. You ready to start on the poster now?" Reaching out, you gathered the posterboard and construction paper Dib had brought in from his garage together.

"Yeah, in a minute. I have to use the bathroom and then see what Gaz is up to, I'll be back in a few." You hummed a response, Dib standing up and exiting, closing the door softly behind him. Deciding to take a closer look at the Zim conspiracy board, you pushed yourself to your feet, leaning close to try and decipher the grainy images. One in particular caught your eye. It wasn't in color, and everything seemed fairly blurry. Zim, or what was supposedly Zim, was hunched over something that looked to be a robot. Except, as you looked even closer, Zim seemed to have these buggish eyes and long, skinny antennae in place of his hair. Rubbing your eyes, you flopped down onto Dib's bed.

"God, I must be seeing things." You had managed to convince yourself that you had been staring at computer screens and papers for far too long, and that your eyes were playing tricks on you, showing you what Dib wanted you to see. Closing your eyes for a minute, the rise and fall of your chest turned slow and steady, and you could feel your grip on reality loosening. 

A ringtone of sorts snapped you back from your almost-doze, and at first you thought it was your phone, but after waking up a bit more, you realized it was coming from one of Dib's monitors. It appeared he was getting a call. The monitor showed nothing besides a logo of some sort of eye, as well as an option to accept the call or decline. Filled with curiosity, your feet took you to his desk where his monitor sat. You barely felt in control of your body as your finger swiped at the screen in the direction to accept the call.

"Agent Mothman-" The voice coming through the monitor was distorted, but you got the impression that it was on purpose. The image displayed was a dark silhouette of what seemed to be a man. "You're not Mothman."

"You mean that cryptid from West Virginia? No. I'm not." You took a seat in Dib's desk chair, which was very comfy. You assumed he spent a lot of time in it when he wasn't hanging out with Zim. 

"Who are you and what do you know?" The voice was menacing, and you vaguely wondered if Dib was involved in something more serious than you thought. Quirking an eyebrow, you tried to not let any miniscule amount of fear you were feeling show.

"I'm, we'll just say Agent, uh...Nessie." Feeling uncreative, your mind drifted to the Loch Ness Monster. 

"You're not Nessie either." 

"You got one of those too? Ugh, fine. What about Agent Chupacabra?"

"Well, no, but...you're not any agent we know of."

"But I could be! Agent Chupacabra reporting for duty!" You brought your hand up to your head stiffly in a mock salute.

"But you're not a member of the Swollen Eyeball! What are you doing on Mothman's computer?" 

"The Swollen what now?" You were smiling stupidly, only because you couldn't really grasp what the current situation was. 

"Hey, sorry, Gaz decided to hound me over drinking the last soda, so I took a little longer than I thought-" Dib opened the door to reveal you sitting in his desk chair, trying to look all spooky for the guy in the monitor. You thought he'd laugh at your stupidity, but he was not in the least bit amused. "OH MY GOD AGENT DARK BOOTY!" Slamming his room door, he darted over to where you were sitting, almost tripping and falling on his face. He made a strangled noise as he noticed the disappointed expression that rested on the silhouette's face.

"Who is your little friend, Agent Mothman?" The distorted voice was cold, and you could feel Dib almost shrink next to you.

"Listen, I can explain-"

"I thought we stressed secrecy, and the fact that you are not allowed to have outsiders sit in on our important meetings."

"Meeting?" All of a sudden, several of the other monitors sparked to life, various other silhouettes coming into view. Just in one glance, you could see that Dib wanted nothing more than to fade away into a cloud of space dust in that moment. You stayed silent, knowing that Dib was in some serious trouble because of you.

"We had a meeting at 8:30 pm sharp, Mothman. You knew this. And you had a friend over?" Dib's face, already pale, turned even more so. Any lighter, and you thought for sure he'd become a ghost on the spot. 

"I am so sorry, I had a school project, and he's my partner, I lost track of time." He looked absolutely helpless, and without a word, you stood up and gathered the poster supplies. Snapping back to his senses, he turned to you and began shoving you out of his room and herding you to the front door.

"Dib, I-"

"You really need to go!" There were no other words said between the two of you as he quite literally slammed the door in your face. A sigh slipped past your lips as you clutched your project items in your arms, dragging your feet across the pavement on your walk home. You lazily stumbled through your front door, mumbling a greeting to your parent(s) as you headed to your room, gearing yourself up to finish the project before morning. 

-

"Thank you to Y/n and Dib for their, erm, informative...presentation on Area 51. That was your last one, so enjoy your last five or so minutes of class." Your teacher went back to their desk as you and Dib retreated to your own table. You hadn't talked much since the incident last night, and quite frankly, you were tired from spending hours of your night creating the visual portion of your project. Dib's lips were tightly pressed together in a thin line, and you guessed there was something he wanted to get off his chest. 

"Look, Dib. If there's something you want to say to me, just do it. I'm sorry for answering your call, that was not a good move on my part, and I also apologize for getting you in trouble with your, uh...society." Running a hand through his dark hair, Dib shook his head.

"No, that was my bad. I forgot I had a meeting. I'm also really sorry for kicking you out and then forcing you to finish the project on your own." Your expression softened, unable to resist forgiving him.

"Yeah, that was kind of a dick move." You elbowed him jokingly, hoping he would loosen up now that bygones were bygones.

"No, seriously. How can I make it up to you?" He looked as if he wouldn't be taking no for an answer. He had gotten a taste of what having someone who genuinely enjoyed being around him was like, and he wasn't willing to let that go. A sly grin tugged at your lips, and almost immediately an idea came to mind.

"Consider yourself forgiven if you take me ghost hunting, or whatever it is you do." His shoulders tensed, but relaxed when he realized you weren't making fun of him. 

"Well, you're in luck. I just received a case file investigation last night on a bigfoot lead. I'll pick you up at eight, if that works?" His words were cautious, almost as if he still believed you were phishing.

"It's a date!" You cheered happily, already excited about getting to spend more time with him. A faint blush dusted his cheeks at your wordage.

"Of-Of course." He stammered out, grateful for the bell that rang not even a second after. 

"See you tonight, Dib!" You waved as you made your way home, wanting eight to come as fast as possible.

"He knows the project is over, right?" Torque Smacky raised an eyebrow, questioning Dib and wondering why someone as cool as you would be hanging around with a guy like Dib by choice. 

-

The doorbell rang, and you sprang up from where you sat on the couch, overjoyed to head out. Practically throwing open the door revealed Dib in all of his trench coat glory, albeit a bit nervous looking and sweaty. 

"Alright Mr. Mothman, where are we going?" You grabbed onto his arm, eventually linking it with your own. He cringed at the nickname, but resisted nothing else. 

"To the park. Apparently, some woman saw bigfoot there the other night. Also, fun fact, I saw bigfoot in my garage one time. He was using the belt sander." Your eyes widened, and you immediately realized why everyone called him crazy. You took it upon yourself to believe him. He obviously believed in himself, so why shouldn't you?

"Interesting. You see any other spooks in your time here?" He shrugged as you walked.

"I mean, I think a few ghosts and, well, aliens of course, but we've been over that. Also, I have vague memories of being abducted by aliens as a kid. I think they were trying to experiment on me to create some sort of genius super baby or something." You couldn't help the laughter that tumbled from your mouth. It wasn't necessarily laughing at him, more so that you weren't sure how else to respond. You didn't want to put him down, but at the same time, his story was very out there. And although you weren't 100% on board with the whole supernatural thing, you believed in him and his words. If that was his truth, you would stand by it. "You ever see anything supernatural?" You pointed a finger to yourself, as if to ask, 'me?'. 

"Well, I mean...I did live in West Virginia for a while when I was younger...a lot younger. And then we moved around a lot." Your eyes instinctively narrowed as you tried to recall those times with you and your neighborhood friends. "And, you know, Mothman was like the local legend. He's basically a celebrity down there."

"No way! Did you actually, like, see him?" If you didn't already have it, you sure had his full attention now. 

"No. I believed in him for a while, but we never saw him, and as I got older and distanced myself from there, I just kind of figured it was bullshit. My friends and I, we would go out at night trying to hunt for him with flashlights and stuff. Sometimes we'd bring lamps onto the porch and plug them in, building little 'Welcome, Mothman' forts to sleep in." You chuckled, remembering how much you had believed in all the spookies and specters as a child. 

"That's adorable." Dib's lips were parted in a smile as he continued to lead you deeper into the park. You weren't sure when you had actually gotten there, but you weren't really paying much attention.

"Well, maybe we could do that together some time. I know Mothman isn't really big in this part of the country, but who knows. Maybe he'll come." Softly bumping Dib in the side, you were pleased to see his smile only grow. 

"I'd like that." The nice moment was interrupted by rustling of the trees, and Dib turned on his flashlight, pointing it to the treetops. "There!"

"I thought bigfoot was more on the ground!" You called as you raced after him. You both came to a grinding halt, your feet skidding in the grass to try and avoid ramming straight into Dib's back. The boy you were with aggressively pointed his flashlight into the tree, resulting in a loud hiss from whatever was up there. "Maybe it's just a cat, Dib!" You tried to pull him away, not really liking how riled up he was at the moment.

"Zim! What are you doing here?! What evil things are you planning?" 

"Zim?" You looked upwards, following the beam of the flashlight. Sure enough, there was a green body hunched in a tree branch, a robot of some sort next to him. 

"None of your business, Dib-stink!" Zim spat, turning to face your friend. It was then you got a good look at his face. It wasn't the slightly abnormal one you were used to seeing every day. His eyes were red and buglike, sleek, black antennae sprouting from his head. 

"Holy shit, Dib. You're not crazy." You flicked your flashlight on as well, aiming it at who you thought was your classmate. "He really is an alien!" A strangled cry came from the alien sitting atop the tree branch.

"GIR! Do something!"

"Yes, master!" The once cheerful-looking robot suddenly turned much more serious, dropping down from the branch to where the two of you were standing. You yelped, unsure of what this thing was capable of.

"Relax, his robot is pretty much usele-" Dib began, but his sentence came to an abrupt end when several missals and other weapons emerged from his head. 

"How do you like GIR's new adjustments, Dib? I finally got his behavioral chip fixed to where he's responsive, but not too serious." Zim smirked, and with the point of one of his clawed fingers, his robot was on the two of you. 

Simultaneously, both of you let out a scream, reaching desperately for each other's hands as you ran for your lives back to Dib's place. Your feet pounded the pavement, lungs feeling as if someone was raking knives down your throat and organs, yet despite all that, you both refused to look back. Only when you were on his porch did you feel comfortable sneaking a glace behind you, only to find an empty street lit up by streetlights. Breathing heavily, the two of you leaned on each other for support. Dib looked very worse for wear. He didn't seem to be too athletically inclined. 

"I think...we lost him..." You spoke between gasps for air, grinning all the while. He nodded vigorously, still wheezing. After the two of you had regained your breath, you both managed to catch each other's gaze. You felt every portion of your brain that was in charge of thinking shut down as you leaned in closer to him. You were barely even aware of what you were doing as you pressed your lips to his. His eyes looked as if they were about to burst from his skull, but after a moment, they eased shut as he relaxed into the kiss. You pulled away, feeling heat rush to your cheeks, almost as if your face was on fire. Your stomach was tied in too many knots to even look at Dib, but if you had, you would have seen that he wasn't fairing much better. In fact, he was probably in worse condition. "Thanks for the night of fun, Agent Mothman."

"Uh-huh." He mumbled out, and his brain looked miles away. You decided just to go home before you did or said anything else that could be classified as stupid. As you power-walked away, Dib's hand found its way to his lips, where the feeling and warmth of your own still lingered.

[iridescentides]

hi again dia! happy first day of december ❤️💚 i wanted to ask you what, in your opinion, are the 5 most underrated dcoms? i remember you saying before that you've watched all of them so i'd love to hear your opinions 😊 - 🎅🎁🎄

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH secret santa you are so good! asking me all the best questions 💜

okay so i literally had to make a list of all the dcoms i consider underrated and then narrow down a top 5. theres lots of dcoms that i love, but that i think got the right amount of attention and care (like lemonade mouth and the teen beach movies, for example), so this list just focuses on ones that deserved more hype for their quality level.

5. The Cheetah Girls: One World (2008)

okay so even as i type this i feel like a hypocrite. i have only watched this movie one time. BUT i can acknowledge that its one of the most criminally underrated dcoms ever, tons of people didnt watch it simply because raven wasnt in it. thats why i avoided it as a child, and i didnt get around to watching it until i did my big dcom binge in 2016. and it was so good. theres a really long post floating somewhere around tumblr full of specifics on why its actually the best cheetah girls movie (my favorite is the second one purely out of nostalgia), so to paraphrase some points from that post:

its a solid example of cultural appreciation, rather than appropriation, as the girls go and learn about bollywood and indian culture together

the indian characters arent treated like props or unimportant sides, they get their own agency and storylines that are important

the songs are good!!!

basically this movie was overlooked and slept on even though in terms of role modeling and social value, and just like the first two cheetah girls movies it was important and impactful.

4. Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure (2011)

okay so as someone whos very neutral and occasionally negative-leaning towards the hsm franchise (mostly bc its overhyped and not really representative of all dcoms), i was pleasantly surprised by sharpays fabulous adventure. this is another one that i know lots of people skipped right over and dont hold with as much esteem as the main hsm franchise, and that doesnt sit right with me.

i do not agree with the “uwu sharpay was the real victim in hsm” arguments bc in their efforts to look galaxy brained the people who say that overlook the fact that she was a rich white woman who used her power and status to exercise control over opportunities that should have been fairly and freely available for all; they were not “making a mockery of her theater” in the first movie, they were literally just kids who wanted to try out a new school activity that everyone was supposed to be allowed to participate in; and despite allegedly learning her lesson and singing we’re all in this together with everyone at the end of the first movie, she literally showed no growth in the second movie as she fostered an openly hostile environment and favored troy so heavily that it literally cost him his friends, all as part of yet another jealous plan to take things away from people who already have less than her. she was NOT the victim in the main franchise, and she did not seem to exhibit any growth or introspection either.

and that!!! is why sharpays fabulous adventure was so important. in focusing on sharpay as the main character, they finally had to make her likeable. they did this by showing actual real growth and putting her outside of her sphere of influence and control. we saw true vulnerability from her, instead of the basic ass “mean girl is sad bc shes actually just super insecure” trope (cough cough radio rebel), and this opened us up to finally learn about and care about her character. throughout the movie we see her learn, from her love interests example, how to care for others and be considerate. she faces actual adversity and works through it, asking herself what she truly wants and what shes capable of. and in the end, when she finally has her big moment, we’re happy for her bc she worked hard to get there. she becomes a star through her own merit and determination, rather than through money and connections. this movie is not perfect by any means, but it is severely underrated for the amount of substance it adds to sharpays character.

3. The Swap (2016)

okay i know im gonna get shit for this but thats why its on this list!!! just like sharpays fabulous adventure, its not perfect and definitely misses the mark sometimes, but it deserves more attention and love for all the things it did get right!

the swap follows two kids who accidentally switch bodies because of their emotional attachment to their dead/absent parents’ phones. and while i normally HATE the tv/movie trope of a dead parent being the only thing that builds quick sympathy for a young character, they definitely expanded well enough to where we could root for these kids even without the tragedy aspect. we see them go through their daily struggles and get a feel for their motivations as characters pretty well. as a body switching movie, we expect it to be all goofy and wacky and lighthearted, but it moves beyond that in unexpected ways.

the reason the swap is on this list is for its surprisingly thoughtful commentary on gender roles. its by no means a feminist masterpiece, and its not going to radicalize kids who watch it, but it conveys a subtle, heartfelt message that deserves more appreciation. the characters struggle with the concept of gender in a very accurate way for their age, making off-base comments and feeling trapped by the weight of expectations they cant quite put their finger on. we watch them feel both at odds with and relieved by the gender roles they are expected and allowed to perform in each others bodies, and one of the most interesting parts of the movie to me is their interactions with the other kids around them. as a result of their feeling out of place in each others environments, the kids inadvertently change each others friendships for the better by introducing new communication styles and brave authenticity. 

the value of this movie is the subtle, but genuine way it shows the characters growing through being given the space to act in conflicting ways to their expected norms. ellie realizes that relationships dont have to be complex, confusing, and painful, and that its okay to not live up to appearances and images. jack learns that emotional expression is good, healthy, and especially essential to the grieving process. one of the most powerful scenes in the movie comes at the end where, after ellie confronts jacks dad in his body, jack returns as himself to a very heartfelt apology from his father for being too hard on him; the explicit message (”boys can cry”) is paired with an open expression of love and appreciation for his kids that he didnt feel comfortable displaying until his son set an example through honest communication. this is such an empowering scene and overall an empowering movie for kids who may feel stuck in their expected roles, as it sets a positive example for having the courage to break the restrictive societal mold. for its overall message of the importance of introspection and emotional intelligence, the swap is extremely underrated.

2. Freaky Friday (2018)

this is my favorite dcom, and probably my favorite movie at this point. ive always assigned a lot of personal value to this movie (and i love every freaky friday in general), for the message of selfless familial love and understanding. i know i can get carried away talking about this topic; i got an anon ask MONTHS ago asking me about the freaky friday movies and i wrote a super super long detailed response that i never posted bc i didnt quite finish talking about the 2018 movie. and thats bc on a personal level, i cant adequately convey all the love i have for this movie. so i will try to keep this short.

first lets state the obvious: the reason people dont like this movie is bc its not the lindsay lohan version. and i get that, to an extent, bc i also love the 2003 version and its one of my ultimate comfort movies, and grew up watching it and ive seen it a billion times. i even watched it a couple days ago. but the nostalgia goggles that people have on from the early 2000s severely clouds their judgement of the wonderful 2018 remake.

yes, the 2018 version is dorky, overly simplistic plot wise, a bit stiff at times, and super cheesy like any dcom. the writing isnt 100% all the time. the narrative takes a couple confusing turns. the song biology probably shouldnt have been included. i understand this. but at the heart of it all, this movies value is love. and its edge over all the other freaky friday movies is the songs.

on a personal level, the movie speaks heavily to me. i cried very early into my first viewing of the movie bc i got to see dara renee, a dark-skinned, non-skinny actress, playing the mean popular girl on disney channel. that has never happened before. growing up, i saw the sharpays and all the other super thin white women get to be the “popular” girls on tv, and ultimately they were taken down in the end for being mean, but that doesnt change the fact that they were given power and status in the first place for being conventionally beautiful. so, watching dara renee strut around confidently and sing about being the queen bee at this high school got to me immediately. and in general, the supporting cast members of color really mean a lot to me in this movie. we get to see adam, an asian male love interest for the main character. we have a second interracial relationship in the movie with katherines marriage to mike. ellies best friend karl is hispanic. and we see these characters have depth and plot significance, we see them show love, care, and passion for the things they value. the brown faces in this movie are comforting to me personally. additionally, the loving, blended family dynamic is important to me as someone in a close-knit, affectionate step-family.

but on a more general level, this movie is underrated for its skillful musical storytelling and the way it conveys all kinds of love and appreciation. in true freaky friday fashion, we watch ellie and katherine stumble and misstep in their attempts to act like each other. its goofy and fun. but through it all, the music always captures the characters’ intimate thoughts and feelings. the opening song gives us a meaningful view into ellie and katherines relationship and the fundamental misunderstandings that play a role in straining their connection. ellie sings about how she thinks her mom wants her to be perfect, and her katherine sings about all the wonderful traits she sees in her daughter and how she wants her to be more open and self assured. this is meaningful bc even as theyre mad at each other, the love comes through. the songs continue to bring on the emotional weight of the story, as ellie sings to her little brother about her feelings of hurt and abandonment in her fathers absence. the song “go” and its accompanying hunt scene always make me cry bc of the childlike wonder and sense of adventure that it brings. for the kids, its a coming of age, introspective song. for katherine who gets to participate in ellies body, its a reminder of youth and the rich, full life her daughter has ahead of her. she is overcome with excitement, both from getting to be a teenager again for a day, and from the realization that her daughter has a support network and passions that are all her own. today and ev’ry day, the second to last song, is the culmination of the lessons learned throughout the movie, a mother and daughters tearful commitment to each other to love, protect, and understand one another. the line “if today is every day, i will hold you and protect you, i wont let this thing affect you” gets to me every time. even when things are hard and dont go according to plan, they still agree, in this moment, to be there for each other. and thats what all freaky friday stories are ultimately about.

freaky friday 2018 is a beautiful, inclusive, subversive display of familial love, sacrifice, and selflessness, and it is underrated and overlooked because of its more popular predecessor.

1. Let It Shine (2012)

this is another one of my favorite dcoms and movies in the whole world. unlike the other movies on this list, it is not the viewers themselves that contribute to the underrated-ness of this movie. disney severely under-promoted and under-hyped this movie in comparison to its other big musical franchises, and i will give you five guesses as to why, but youll only need one!

let it shine is the most beautifully, unapologetically black dcom in the whole collection. (i would put jump in! at a notable second in this category, but that one wasnt underrated). this movie was clearly crafted with care and consideration. little black kids got to see an entire dcom cast that represented them. the vernacular used in the script is still tailored mostly to white-favoring audiences, but with some relevant slang thrown in there. in short, the writers got away with the most blackness they were allowed to inject into a disney channel project.

the story centers on rap music and its underground community in atlanta, georgia. it portrays misconceptions surrounding rap, using a church setting as a catalyst for a very real debate surrounding a generational, mutlicultural conflict. this was not a “safe” movie for disney, given its emphasis on religious clashes with contemporary values. it lightly touches on issues of image policing within the black community (cyrus’s father talking about how “our boys” are running around with sagging pants and “our girls” are straying away from god), which is a very real and pressing problem for black kids who feel the pressure (from all sides) of representing their whole race with their actions. its a fun, adorable story about being yourself and staying true to your art, but also a skillful representation of struggles unique to black and brown kids and children from religious backgrounds.

on top of crafting a fun, wholesome, thoughtful narrative and likeable protagonists, let it shine brought us what is in my opinion the BEST dcom soundtrack of all time. every single song is a bop. theyre fast, fun, and lyrically engaging. “me and you” is my favorite disney channel song of all time due to its narrative significance; i will never forget my first time watching the movie and seeing that big reveal unfold onstage, as a conversation and a plot summary all wrapped into a song. the amount of thought and care that went into the music of this movie should have been rewarded with a level of attention on par with that of other musical dcoms.

if disney channel had simply cared about let it shine more, it couldve spanned franchises and sold songs the way that other musical dcoms have drawn in success. i would have loved for a sequel that explored and fleshed out cyrus’s neighborhood a little bit more, and maybe dipped into that underground scene they caught a glimpse of. i wanted a follow up on the changed church community once cyrus’s father started supporting his sons vision. i want so much more for these characters and this world than disney gave them in just one movie.

for its bold, unabashed representation of blackness and religion, subtle, nuanced presentation of race-specific issues, strong, likeable characters, and complex, thoughtful songs, let it shine is the most underrated dcom.

and because i made a full list before i started writing this post, here are some honorable mentions:

going to the mat (2004)

gotta kick it up! (2002)

tru confessions (2002)

dont look under the bed (1999)

invisible sister (2015)

[strangenewfriends]

During a pivotal year of his solo career, Harry Styles has notched another monumental achievement: his first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

As “Watermelon Sugar,” the standout track from Styles’ sophomore solo LP Fine Line, lifts 7-1 on this week’s Hot 100 tally, Styles tops the chart for the first time, after previously reaching a No. 2 peak as a member of One Direction. After starting his solo career with his classic rock influences on his sleeve, Styles has become a fixture at pop radio in 2020, with both “Watermelon Sugar” and “Adore You” becoming ubiquitous top 10 hits this year.

How shocking is the ascent of “Watermelon Sugar”? And what could the song mean for Styles’ future at the Grammy Awards? Billboard staffers answer these questions and more below.

1. On a scale of 1-10, how surprised are you that “Watermelon Sugar” is the song to finally give Harry Styles his first Hot 100 chart-topper?

Andrew Unterberger: Three months ago, it would've been a 10 for sure. Types of songs that don't usually go to No. 1 in 2020: fourth official singles, songs that have already dropped off the Hot 100 for multiple months after debuting, rock (or at least rock-based pop) songs. "Watermelon Sugar" was each of 'em, and even as recently as last week, I'd have been, like, an 8 about it going all the way to No. 1 -- even with a viral video, good audio-only streaming numbers and huge radio support, it seemed to have hit a ceiling outside the top 5. But a concentrated fan campaign and some good chart timing have put it over the top, and maybe I shouldn't be so surprised by that in 2020 after all.

Jason Lipshutz: I’d give it a 7 -- not because of any deficiency or quirk with the song, but because of its circuitous route to the top of the Hot 100 chart. Styles performed “Watermelon Sugar” for the first time on Saturday Night Live on Nov. 16, 2019, and released music videos for three other Fine Line songs before finally returning to it in May. That’s an incredibly slow burn -- to provide some context, “Watermelon Sugar” was released the same weekend as the ill-fated Charlie’s Angels reboot! -- and an unlikely path to pop ubiquity, to say the least.

Joe Lynch: I guess 9? It's super catchy and easy to get into, but it's just not the vibe of most 2019-2020 Hot 100 toppers – although given that Taylor Swift's "Cardigan" cozied up to the top slot last week, perhaps we're at a point in the pandemic where people are specifically turning to something that's a far cry from the top 40 norm for a break in monotony.

Lyndsey Havens: I'd say a 6. Three years ago (and still today) I thought that "Sign of the Times" could have and should have topped the chart, and then I thought that "Adore You" might finally do the trick. But people do say "third time's the charm" for a reason, and it makes sense that, after two strong top 10 singles, the continual growth of Fine Line well into 2020 and the strong promotional push, that this summer-ready, breezy pop-rock track has claimed the chart's top spot.

Stephen Daw: I'm clocking in at a solid 5 — it's surprising (to me, at least) that it took Harry Styles this long to log his first No. 1, but as soon as I heard "Watermelon Sugar," I was confident that, if a song off of Fine Line was going to reach the top of the Hot 100, it would be this one.

2. The success of Styles’ second album, Fine Line, has been one of the biggest stories in mainstream pop this year -- the album is still in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart eight months after its release. Why do you think Styles’ sophomore solo LP has resonated so well this year?

Andrew Unterberger: I wish I knew -- as do record company folks around the world, I imagine. It's a very good album and Harry is an extremely likeable star, but nothing about an album that feels largely like a tribute to '70s pop-rock and post-peak Paul McCartney would've struck me as an album to take him to that next level of stardom. He's just a star -- one with a big-enough gravitational pull to bend the mainstream to him -- and I won't underestimate him so easily again.

Jason Lipshutz: In 2020, artists like Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez and 5 Seconds of Summer have all released top-notch pop full-lengths... but I have returned to Fine Line more than any of them. Part of that has to do with its sense of uplift and enthusiasm during a particularly trying year -- shout-out to “Treat People With Kindness” for snapping me out of some grade-A funks -- but Fine Line’s songs are stronger than those of Styles’ self-titled debut, the pacing is immaculate, the hits are far more effective and Styles is more comfortable in his own, ‘70s-pop-channeling skin. Fine Line is part throwback, part comfort food, part magnetic artistic presence, and remains an excellent front-to-back listen.

Joe Lynch: I think he's in a great spot in his career: not only has his 1D fan base embraced his maturing sound (which, to be fair, isn't a tough sell – this is very accessible pop-rock), but his gender-bending, classic rock-worshiping fashionista persona has expanded his listenership beyond the realm of card-carrying Directioners. Plus, it's an album that's crafted to last: this is meticulous studio pop that mostly eschews the tiresome trends and tricks most producers feel obligated to slap on a recording to make it feel “contemporary.” Fine Line occupies its own lane instead of competing against two-or-three new sound-alike albums a month.

Lyndsey Havens: Harry is the "perfect" pop star: his One Direction past earned him a built-in (and very dedicated) fan base, he’s mysterious enough but generous with his content, queen Stevie Nicks has become his number one fan, and, of course, he delivered an album filled with fantastic pop-rock hits and ballads. When Harry Styles arrived, fans had to adjust to Styles' sonic pivot. But by the time he delivered Fine Line, both Styles and his fans had matured -- and those pop-rock roots he planted years prior were in bloom. There was no adjustment period, and in my opinion, that allowed Fine Line to be immediately and repeatedly consumed.

Stephen Daw: There's a lot to be said for Harry's massive, mobilized fan base, and for his status as a burgeoning pop auteur in the modern era. But I think both of those facts only help uplift the fact that Fine Line is simply a great album. The songs aren't pigeonholed into one specific sound, yet they retain this classic, pop-rock finish to them that passes the minivan test; there's something for parents and kids in all of these songs.

3. Styles’ other Fine Line hit, “Adore You,” peaked at No. 6 earlier this year, and comes in at No. 12 this week. Are you a “Watermelon Sugar” person or an “Adore You” person?

Andrew Unterberger: I think "Adore You" is the better song, but I'm glad that "Watermelon Sugar" was the song to get him to No. 1. "Adore You" was the dead-center top 40 single -- and even "Falling" could've caught some post-"Someone You Loved" radio spillover -- but "Watermelon Sugar" is just pure Harry. He couldn't have asked for a better, more validating single to affirm his superstardom.

Jason Lipshutz: Hard to pick one, but give me “Watermelon Sugar” for the higher sing-along quality. Watching Styles perform Fine Line in its entirety at the Forum in Los Angeles last December included an arena of fans shouting “Watermelon sugar, HIGH!” -- and this was before the song was a chart-conquering hit. I suspect “Watermelon Sugar” is going to be a euphoric live staple in the coming years, which gives it the edge for me.

Joe Lynch: Definitely "Watermelon Sugar,“ a perfect, laid-back summer jam that gently uplifts without ever demanding attention. "Adore You" is solid but tailored for a specific topic, whereas "Watermelon Sugar" is the kind of softly buoyant treat that floats well in a variety of contexts.

Lyndsey Havens: I find it interesting that the two songs off Fine Line to stick around the chart's upper echelon are a bit similar-sounding. One of my favorite things about Styles is the risks he'll take, best evidenced by his debut solo single "Sign of the Times,” but also by Fine Line tracks like "Lights Up," "Falling" and "To Be So Lonely." But that's exactly what makes me a Harry Styles fan -- he's no one trick pony (insert joke about him heading in more than one direction), and while "Adore You" and "Watermelon Sugar" may not showcase his range, they've both become Styles standards for me. But to finally answer the question, I have to go with "Adore You" for the lyrics alone. I mean.... how can you compete, or argue, when he pleads like that?

Stephen Daw: They're both excellent songs, but if I had to pick, I'm partial to "Adore You." Sonically, the groovy bass line and stylized guitar riffs hit me right where I live. Lyrically, I respond a lot more to the "strawberry lipstick state of mind" than I do to something that "tastes like strawberries on a summer evening." But they both have strawberries in there, so it's a win either way!

4. Styles is now the second member of One Direction to score a solo No. 1, following Zayn with “Pillowtalk.” If you had to choose one of the other members -- Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson -- to someday score a No. 1 single, who would you put your money on?

Andrew Unterberger: Can't say the prospects for any of them reaching the Hot 100's peak are looking particularly robust right now, but if I had to choose one, I guess I'd say Liam. He has connections throughout the pop world that could result in him finding his way onto the right collab -- with buddy Post Malone, perhaps -- to find his way back to the top. Rooting for Louis, though! Go Louis!

Jason Lipshutz: I’m going to zag a little and go with Liam Payne, who scored an unexpected top 10 hit with the Quavo team-up “Strip That Down” and has been trying to recapture that magic in the years since. Payne’s solo debut didn’t offer any other standout singles, but he’s proven capable of headlining a rhythmic pop single that sticks around at radio, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he does so again over the next few years.

Joe Lynch: That's a tough question, because I could see Liam or Louis hopping on a track as a featured artist that goes all the way to the top. But if we're talking primary credited artist, it's gotta be Niall Horan, who has demonstrated probably the most solid catalog and sonic cohesion thus far of those three. Not saying it seems likely, but then again, when Fine Line dropped, who thought "Watermelon Sugar" would sweeten up the top spot on the Hot 100?

Lyndsey Havens: Justice for Niall's "No Judgement"! I played that song a lot when it first came out. But I actually think it's a smarter financial move to bet on Liam Payne, considering his strategy of collaboration. He's worked with Zedd, Quavo and Alesso, among others, and I wouldn't be all that surprised if in another year or so he lands on a track -- or a remix -- that shoots to No. 1 for the star power alone.

Stephen Daw: While Liam is the only other member to get one of his songs into the Top 10 of the Hot 100, I'm putting my chips down on Niall. Heartbreak Weather turned out to be a pretty fun record, and I remain convinced that "Black and White" is going to have a second life (much like "Watermelon Sugar”)!

5. Finish this sentence: at next year’s Grammy Awards, Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” will __________.

Andrew Unterberger: ...be shut out. It may score Harry his first nomination or two -- either solo or with 1D -- but considering how the Recording Academy has given him the cold shoulder so far, and seeing how overlooked he was even among this year's VMAs nods, I don’t know if I see him taking home his first Gramophone for it. (Uh-oh, looks like I'm easily underestimating him again -- never mind, I say the song sweeps.)

Jason Lipshutz: ...be nominated for record of the year, and Fine Line will be nominated for album of the year, and justice will have finally been served to Styles, who has yet to garner a single nomination over the course of his career. Will either win? It’s too early to say, but I like Fine Line’s chances at this point.

Joe Lynch: ...sow seeds of discontent; the Grammys will continue to ignore Harry Styles, and the fans will unleash their exasperation on Twitter with the machine gun-rapidity of a cartoon character spitting out watermelon seeds.

Stephen Daw: ...probably get nominated for record of the year. It would be worthy of a spot in the song of the year and best pop solo performance categories as well, but something tells me that if one of his songs were to be nominated for those categories, "Adore You" stands a better chance. While it would be great to see Harry win, if he were nominated in this category, he'd likely be going up against the likes of Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd and/or Megan Thee Stallion, and I just don't think he'd be able to clinch the ROTY win with that kind of competition.

Lyndsey Havens: ...still taste like strawberries on a summer evenin’.

[bigskydreaming]

So I’ve been going through all my old Scrivener files and rounding up all the various fics and updates I’m planning on queuing up to post during the month/however-the-fuck-long I’m bedridden after surgery in a couple weeks. Which includes Teen Wolf as well as Batfics, FYI. 

Anyway, came across this old WIP that I never ended up posting because I ultimately thought it felt too similar to both Where Wild Things Are and Lightning Crashes, just in different ways....not enough that any of them were derivative of each other, but enough that I wasn’t super inspired to continue writing it because the vibe I was going for with it, I was already getting from writing those other two fics.

But I still liked it and think there was some good stuff there, so what the hell. Here’s an opening from a never-planning-on-finishing-it Scallison AU, where things diverged from canon right after the Hale fire six years pre-pilot, and there was a different-from-canon McCall pack at war/trying to survive Peter’s pack in its attempts to stamp theirs out. 

The Scallison part starts out in the vein of the ABC show Revenge, where Scott’s initially just trying to keep an eye on the hunters in town/figure out where the Argents land in all of this, but then, y’know. The feelings happen.

Anyway, it was chock full of my favorite TW writing tropes - runaway/long lost Scott, pack politics, side characters turned main characters, scheming, double-dealing, Scott Is A Goddamn Genius and No I Do Not Accept Constructive Criticism On This Matter For It Is Wrong....you know, my usuals.

I did have a pretty extensive outline/summary for the rest of the fic and my plans for it, that I can post if there’s any interest in reading that and seeing where this was going. *Shrugs* Just let me know.

WHAT THE FIRES LEFT BEHIND

Scott McCall came home on a Tuesday.

For Allison, that didn’t mean much at first.  Her only context for the mass text was the bemused quirking of Lydia’s lips and a rather underwhelming ‘Huh.’ Then a shrug and a flick of her hair, and her best friend by default returned to ruffling through the Macy’s clearance rack with a vengeance.

“Awful. Grotesque. Needs to be set ablaze, immediately - ”

Allison nodded to herself and bore continued witness to Lydia’s evisceration of every hack designer of every fashion atrocity present, though sadly, the novelty of that had long since worn off. It was 7 pm on a school night. They’d been scouring the mall for something to meet Lydia’s approval for three hours already, and Allison did have trigonometry homework she could be torturing herself with instead, so….

Tough call. Hard choices had to be made. Allison steeled herself for battle and called Lydia Martin on her bullshit.

“Why are we here again? You hate Macy’s, and you absolutely despise clearance items.”

“I know that, and you know that.” Lydia emerged from a forest of polyester blouses wearing a look of disdain that had a ph level that would put any acid in the school’s chem lab to shame. “But I’m trying to see if I can find something here to start a trend with anyway.  Call it…a social experiment.”

“Hmm.” Allison nodded again thoughtfully. Briefly, she considered mercy. But she had just wasted three hours of her life. And mercy wasn’t really the Argent family way. 

She pulled the trigger. “You sure its not called Daddy cut your spending limit?”

Her melodrama-prone friend threw her hands up as if to express the whole world had gone mad and nothing made any sense. “It’s like he’s not even trying to buy my affection anymore!”

Allison coughed into her hand to smother a giggle. Being able to so easily rile up her friend when all others’ attempts dashed themselves harmlessly upon Her Majesty’s porcelain mask of perfection? Still her favorite sport next to archery. But certain social norms must be respected. One didn’t openly mock a friend in such obvious distress. She quickly changed the subject. For Lydia’s sake, really.

“So who’s Scott McCall?”

Lydia paused midway through working herself up to a truly tickets and popcorn-worthy rant, thrown by the sudden segue. “What?”

Allison waved her phone, flashing the mass text Danny had sent out to pretty much everyone in the Beacon County zip code.

“Scott McCall’s back. He just walked into the Sheriff’s Station. Stiles saw him himself,” she read out loud. “Who’s Scott McCall?”

“Oh. That.” Lydia tore her horrified gaze away from a leopard print mini-skirt and shrugged. “He’s this guy from our class who disappeared seven years ago. You know that Dunbar kid’s stepmom, Melissa? It’s her son.”

“Wait, seriously? And he’s our age? How have I never heard about this before?”

“I don’t know, Allison,” Lydia rolled her eyes. “Maybe because normal people don’t talk about things that depress them? It was a long time ago anyway.”

“I can tell it had a real effect on you,” Allison said, with just a touch of acid herself.

“I’m in the midst of a personal financial crisis currently. I’ll care when its over. Besides, its not like anyone has any details yet. Pointless gossip is for the peasants.”

“So what happened anyway?” Allison asked. Lydia shot her a look and she smiled innocently. “What? I’m comfortable with my peasant status. And I’ve lived here almost two years now and never heard a word about this. How can I not be curious?”

“Well this was an utter waste of time,” Lydia said under her breath as she gingerly replaced a sequin-studded monstrosity back on the rack, seemingly preoccupied once more. Or possibly just flat-out ignoring her. 

The menace of the malls then raised her eyes to the ceiling as if despairing at the world at large, heaved a sigh that was practically a soliloquy unto itself, and ran her fingers through her hair in some kind of ritual of self-composure. 

Once she’d observed the proper formalities for conceding her quest was officially a failure - at least, Allison was pretty sure that’s what she was doing, though she’d rather not commit to that, given that some of the intricacies of her friend’s habits still eluded her grasp - Lydia finally slung her purse over her shoulder and set off towards the exit with an imperious wave of her head. 

It was only when her brisk walk stalled out while waiting for the garage elevator that Her Highness deigned to address the lowly commoner’s curiosity. 

Allison just sighed internally. She’d long since made her peace with her friend’s little power games. They were entertaining as often as they were exasperating, so it was sort of a pick your battles type situation, and Allison preferred to err on the side of not waking the beast beneath Lydia’s deceptively dainty exterior.

“You know about the Hale fire, right?” Lydia asked.

Allison nodded. It wasn’t an everyday topic of conversation by any means, but it had come up at least once or twice since her family moved to Beacon Hills two years prior. Talk of the tragedy had even made an appearance in her own home, in a couple of muffled shouting matches between her parents that she’d only caught bits and pieces of.

“Yeah, my Aunt Kate actually lived around here back then. That was the fire that killed that whole family, right?”

“Right. So it was pretty much right around that same time. Scott went missing just a few days after. A lot of people even wondered if there might have been a connection, there were rumors the fire was arson, I don’t know. It was a whole thing, and we were only ten at the time, you know? Anyway, Scott’s dad was this hotshot FBI agent. There were search parties for like two months, but they never found a body or anything. Most people eventually figured it probably had something to do with one of his dad’s cases.”

“And now he’s back,” Allison prodded when Lydia lapsed into silence. The smaller girl just chewed on her lower lip, staring at the wall of the garage almost pensively.

“And now he’s back,” she echoed with a distracted nod of her head.

“That’s....interesting,” Allison offered tentatively. She wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the mood that had fallen over her friend, like a spell had settled upon her the moment she’d actually stopped and reflected on her memories of the events in question. 

It seemed somewhat conspicuous to her that Lydia made no mention of who Scott was beyond just the victim of some strange small-town mystery, and so she was uncertain just how cautiously she needed to tread here. Had they been childhood friends? Mere acquaintances? Something else, likely as baffling and unexpected as most things about Lydia Martin tended to be?

But the born and raised Beacon Hills native just shrugged one shoulder listlessly and twirled a strand of strawberry-blond hair around a finger.

“It’s something,” she said at last. The elevator arrived at their level with an almost cheerful-sounding ding that was at odds with the somber mood they stood draped in. Lydia shook herself, a full body kind of motion not unlike a dog drying itself off.

“Are you coming?” She tossed over her shoulder at Allison, sounding almost exasperated, as though she hadn’t been the one just standing there staring at the wall for a good ten seconds after the elevator doors had slid open.

Allison sighed and shook her head, but she held back any retort and instead simply followed her friend down into the lower levels of the garage. Now was not the time to pursue...whatever that whole thing had been, just now. 

Lydia Martin had just unwillingly displayed an emotional reaction in front of another person. It was too dangerous to prod for further weak spots in her armor without letting at least a day or two pass first.

The self-styled Queen of Beacon Hills had relieved commoners of their heads for lesser offenses than that.

[tycoons-official]

Tycoons Off Duty (2017)

Run time: 6-10 minutes

Genre: Reality Show

Status: Ongoing

• 'Tycoons Off Duty' is a video clip series that is uploaded to Tycoons' official YouTube channel, showing their daily lives behind the scenes through raw, minimally edited footage either recorded in third person view or 'vlog style' as Tycoons wanted the viewers to feel like they are a further part of their life. The first vlog was released on the 25th of January, well over 3 weeks after promotions for 'Tycoons The Album' and 'MAFIA' are done.

• These clips show their slow/lazy everyday routines that mostly include watching television on the sofa, playing games and eating snacks together, or occasionally they'd go out to buy groceries, run errands here and there and maybe even greet fans on the side. Most of the time the siblings are even shown bickering, having silly fights and taking care of each other like how normal siblings do, and many people find these antics to be endearing, funny and —for the most part— relatable.

Cooking with Carmen (2017)

Run time: 15-18 minutes

Genre: Cooking Show

Status: Ongoing

• 'Cooking with Carmen' is a video series that stars Carmen cooking dishes and baking desserts of all sorts, whilst also showing off her culinary skills and using them to boost Tycoons' popularity. The series was created upon the fall season when Tyke has to go away to do his annual military service after doing his initial one.

• Carmen isn't as flashy with her 'acrobatics' around the kitchen as other chefs are, but she makes up for it in food presentation, flavor and aesthetic. The company's team also decided to occasionally allow a bit of ASMR to the videos before cueing back in with some soft accompanying music.

• Capos enjoy this series as it shows a different side of Carmen they'd never thought they'd see, being such a bold, sexy, stoic character on stage, and they found it fascinating and endearing. They seem to be highly interested in how Carmen could've become a chef instead of an idol by how talented she is (or, how talented she's made to seem) and made fanfictional 'alternate universes' or 'AU's where Tycoons are running a family-owned cafe with Carmen was the head chef and Tyke was the Barista. Tycoons themselves enjoy reading these fanfiction stories and get shocked or rather amused by how accurate or inaccurate the way their Capos interpret their personalities without even meeting them.

A Talk with Tyke (2017)

Run time: 15-18 minutes

Genre: Talk Show

Status: On Hold

• 'A Talk with Tyke' is a show that stars Tyke as the main host. It is predominantly a talking show that discusses upon several random topics ranging from school bullying to internet dating to socks, accompanied by funny animations and picture scenery inserts that filled the empty space of green screen behind Tyke, that would sometimes cut into view as he made mistakes while talking or if he's laughing too hard and needed a break or if he said something too funny that even the staff had to laugh. The show is often seen as a 'sibling series' to 'Cooking with Carmen' where his sister is mainly starred, and Capos seem to really like the coincidences.

• The show covers on a certain topic, as mentioned before, and at first Tyke starts talking a little more seriously about it but until the half end of the video is when he starts making jokes as funny edited scenes cut in from everywhere else. There have been recent collaborations with Tyke's own sister and other Tycoons Carmen, Stray Kids' Changbin and Woojin, TWICE's Momo and Chaeyoung, and Park Jimin of former group AOA.

• Capos that were also fans of a show called RuPaul's Drag Race often compare this show to one called 'UNHhhh' that features two of it's former contestants for it's comedic use of flashy edited pictures and sound effects, floating words and funny topics. They've dubbed it the 'Korean UNHhhh minus the drag', though again, this is debatable.

Tycoons' Secret Wish (2018)

Run time: 30-45 minutes

Genre: Reality Show

Status: Ongoing

• 'Tycoons' Secret Wish' is a show that stars both members of Tycoons and is about the idols meeting certain fans who have been struggling with familial, social, monetary or internal battles and had friends and/or family members secretly sent ask letters to JYP Entertainment's main building with the special secret wish code, also known as, 'I call upon the Godfather' as well as a proper reason as to why they wanted their friend/family member to join the show and have their idols see them in order to be accepted by the show. The show is meant to promote the idea that idols can help those struggling hard by listening to their concerns and offering moral support from said idols' experience. Being that Tycoons have witnessed and experienced unfair deaths, inequality and a deteriorating hope during their childhood, they are considered well versed in this moral giving concept.

• The series would always start with Tycoons leaving the JYP building and telling the viewers about who their visitee is, what their background is like, whom sent in the ask letter, and why they would need to send in the letter. Then the duo will get in their transport car with one of their managers and go to the location of the visitee and meet them by surprise which comes into the idea of a 'secret wish.'

• Capos enjoy the series and is dubbed by Vogue as one of the best foreign television series to ever grace the TV screens all over the world, however, this is of course debatable. Unfortunately this show was published a couple months before Tyke has to leave for his annual military service after serving his initial one, and had to stay on hold for a couple of weeks so Tyke can come back and rest, and also regrow his hair back.

Tycoons Off Duty

• In a scene from episode 15 of season 1 [by far the most controversial and popular episode to this date] the episode starts off with Carmen greeting the camera with a croaky morning voice ["Good morning Capos, and everyone who's watching this, Tyke's asleep, and I'm Carmen, and together we are Tycoons"] before momentarily setting it down on the kitchen counter, taking what looked to be medicine pills from the kitchen cabinet above her before bringing them, paired with a glass of water, back into the bedroom where Tyke was still sleeping peacefully on their queen-sized bed that they were sharing for the time being. She sets the medicine on the bedside table and proceeds to wake him up, with much convincing and bribing with candies, Tyke soon wakes up and takes the pills that Carmen just took out.

• People of course speculated what those pills could be and on one of their Vlives held not long after this episode aired, Carmen explains to some questioning fans that Tyke does suffer from an illness that needed medication and specified on it being depression. She clarified that she was giving him prescribed medicine given and approved by his psychiatrist and their agency. She even mentions earlier in the Vlive that she already asked permission to their manager about 'breaking the news' to the Capos. [By that she meant telling them about Tyke's depression]

• This ruffled some Korean Capos the wrong way and they began spreading rumors and derogatory comments about Tyke on his and his sister's social media, saying that they should just stop being idols if they had such severe mental problems or if they're just trying to use the illness as a marketing ploy to catch the attention of the public. However the international Capos praised Carmen for being transparent about Tyke's mental illness and Tyke himself for being able to carry out the duties of an idol whilst harboring a mental illness which they presume from other idols' lives and troubles to be extremely demanding physically and mentally.

• By breaking the flawless, perfect image that idols are supposed to uphold, Tycoons both knew that they were going to have to dip into hot waters and apologize whilst also defending themselves by saying that they hope that the media will understand and never forget that music is how Tycoons themselves cope with their internal troubles, and hoped that this terrible and toxic the privilege that fans feel over their idols' personal lives and information will never happen to them or anyone else.

Tycoons' Secret Wish

• In a scene from episode 10 of season 1, Tyke is seen asking his present manager at the time Hyejeong a request to the bathroom while a female fan came into the shot and head locked him, before dragging him towards a room, whilst Hyejeong fought and tried to free the poor idol in the girl's grasp. Carmen darted out of the visitee's room and threw a strong punch at the fan before they were separated by Tycoons' security sent to prevent mobs [or flying sasaengs] and keep the idols safe. The fan seemed to be crazed with awestruckness and love for Tyke as she was giggling and sending kisses towards his direction as he laid on the floor, still shocked and trying to process everything that had just happened.

• Apparently, the fan that had done this to Tyke was a sasaeng and Capos managed to find pictures of the girl at fan signs, concerts, airport arrivals and many more locations, and the visitee felt embarrassed to say that said fan was one of her kpop crazed cousins that originally introduced the visitee to kpop and Tycoons. The girl didn't end up apologizing in her apology nots even though she did say that she regret what she did but hoped to let Tyke notice her next time. [Edit: He didn't SKSKSK]

[noxus-the-venomous-blog]

Part 2.02 KICK THE WORLD FACE

"YOU MOCK MY LAIR?!" Noxus grabbed the man by the collar. "You dare come into my place of dwelling with lll words?!"

"We're really doing this?" Big problem asked with a sigh as he watched his smaller friend building up steam to torment the man in his clutches.

"I will reach inside of your meager brain."

"Yeah now I know we're definitely doing this." BP sat down, awaiting a long monologue.

"And when I'm finish twisting and turning every spark in your meager mentality…"

"Oh come on this is often the funnest part of the day!" Tranquill said to big problem, poking him in his gorilla like shoulders.

"...and when all that's left of your brain is the shallow pleadings of a child's mind you will kiss my boot and beg for me to end your life."

"Dude I'm not even the one who gets to keep the rent money I just collect it. The management decides the when the inspection happens! They only pay me like 50 bucks a month," the young man grumbled, held tight in the rubber fists of Noxious.

“Is it worth your life?” “Fine dude we can do the inspection next week. You need to be on medication bruv,” he remarked as noxious loosened his grip on him.

“The whole world needs to be on medication…” Noxious said slowly as the man walked away. He then turned around to face his audience who was already snickering at him “That was Jeff, the supers assistant. Good kid. So let's get down to business”

“To COMPLETE! The PUN!” Tranquill shouted, smiling widely. Her joke found no success however, in a crowd where one was too old for reference and the other was too uncultured.

“Is this really the place to talk… Private? Like that dude weird girl across the road has been sitting there filming you for the past twenty minutes.” BP pointed across to the set of parallel storage containers on the other side of the lot.

“That's um…. That's my PR TEAM! FOR FILMING PROPAGANDA!”

“YO BIG GUY TAKE OFF YO PANTS!” the woman yelled.

Big Problem shot her a puzzled look. “Lets go to my place Nox. This place smells like raccoons and sadness.”

“You have a place?” Tranquill asked as she grabbed her coat.

“Yeah of course. Do you guys think i only exist in the world to help ya then when i'm done i teleport to another dimension and sit around waiting for you to need help again??” “That would be very useful” Noxious replied.

“SHAZAM!” Tranquill added.

“Well that's not my power. Although i met a guy like that, nice dude, gay as a rainbow on a unicorns butt, now can we go to my place?”

“That's homophobic” Tranquill accused.

“Im quoting the guy, besides i'm a villain, social standards are the laws i’m LEAST worried about breaking.”

“We shall ride to your lair and resume our business there,” decided Noxious, “Um…. we need a ride though.”

“Heh… I'll bring the truck around but you’re going to be a little cramped.”

The truck putted down an empty highway, bellowing black smoke out from its aged, rusted exhaust. It slipped and stumbled in momentum each time Big Problem had to jam the clutch down and shift. The old metal shifter smacking into Noxious’ leg every time the lowest or highest gear was used. Tranquil, leaned in on Noxious’ shoulders affectionately, squishing him closer to BP who already took up most of the truck.

“Ok so we can start talking now. I need to know how seriously you two take this. How focused are you?”

“I take it very seriously,” Tranquill said.

“Well now you do,” Noxious contradicted.

“Well ok sure for the first few months i was pretty sure we were larping but im totally caught up now. I share his passions for this world and this work. I agree with every word of his personal diary.”

BP raised an eyebrow. “You guys share your diaries?”

“Define shaRE-” Noxious was cut off as first gear needed to be used again.

“What you two need is money.”

“We’re not greedy though,” Tranquil rolled down the window slightly, noticing her boyfriend sweating a bit due to his awkward seat status.

“OF COURSE YOU’RE NOT! You’re poor. Greed is a rich man's game. Look you don't have to have a mansion in the hills, but no one accomplishes change in the world without money. I know a guy who works for a place. That's not me being coy that's literally how you refer to his business. Anyway, he can really make the difference for you guys. How do you currently wash your money?”

Noxious spoke up before Tranquill could make a joke, “we basically don't. But we don’t make enough to require it. We have been seeking out some form of fence for jewelry or other valuable things that are easy to sell.”

“That’s adorable. Yeah just sign up at the evil guildhall and they introduce you to ye olde jewelry fence. Look little guy...”

“I AM AVERAGE SIZE!!!”

“That's why you’re sitting in the middle then?” BP says as he rams the shifter into Nox’s leg and slows at a stop sign “Anyway, hear me out. You don't just run around town looking for random junk worth money, you’re a villain not a crackhead. You need to talk to the right people, the ones i'm going to introduce you to, and find out what they would want. Sometimes it’s an object, sometimes it’s a service. Sometimes it might be something right up your alley like gassing someone or making menacing threats.”

Tranquill chimed in, “this is what we need, he makes so many menacing threats for free currently.”

“Exactly. Now if ya find a bar of gold on the ground, or happen upon a car made of diamonds, then sure you bet your ass you take it and just give it to the guy and he’ll give you credit. But nothing compares to what you can make by finding them just what they need at a given time… Ok we’re here.”

The truck pulls up to an old iron security gate. Before them is a long driveway, weaving through clusters of lavish landscaping. He presses a button on the worn out sun visor then shuts it as the fabric nearly tears. The gate in front of them opens and he begins driving through.

“Wait… When… What…” Noxious stuttered, “ARE WE ROBBING SOMEONE RIGHT NOW?!”

“Yeah cause if we were, im wanting you to just scream about it,“ BP joked, “no this is my house, and it's nice to know you seeing it makes you want to rob it. Guess i'm doing a good job with it. Were gonna pull around back, wait, how the hell would i have a gate opener for a place i'm robbing?”

“I don't know…. Stole it ahead of time? Hacked it?” noxious knew he was digging his own grave deeper.

They pulled around to the back of the quite sizable home and into a ramp leading to a parking garage, one story below ground. This presented a stark contrast to the lush gardens they had recently passed. This basement was empty and plain, with a sofa on one wall crowded around a large tv, and a bed across the way on the adjacent wall. BP slowly pulled into a parking spot next to a luxurious looking car.

“See look at this place we have WAY more privacy to talk here. The whole place is sound proof. I'll have Alfred order a pizza and we can start talking about real business.”

“No you have to explain first,” Noxious insisted.

“Explain what?”

“EVERYTHING!”

BP leaned back on the broken tailgate of the truck “Uhhh… So in the beginning there was nothing, then BAM than mars and stars and cows and shit.”

“How about first WHO’S ALFRED?”

“The butler.”

“You have a butler named Alfred?” Tranquill giggled.

“Yeah i thought it would be funny.”

“What would be?” Noxious asked, getting dizzy at all he's had to take in.

“To name my butler Alfred.”

“WAIT YOU NAMED A BUTLER?” Tranquill protested in sheer confusion.

“You guys have a hard time staying on topic.” BP guided them over to the rather homely couch and they each took a seat. “So missy. I'm gonna ask you again. How serious are you about being a criminal.”

The tone of the room became more serious all of a sudden.

“I would follow him wherever he goes. Seriously. Even into the bathroom.”

“She’s like a cat,” added Noxious.

BP interrupted them. “You need to quit your job.”

 Tranq looked at the ground for a moment. “But… My debts. I worked hard to get a job in my field.”

“And you'll never be worse off for it, you'll take those skills with you into whatever you do but do you really wanna be working an office job when the cops show up? You guys have to start living this, it ain't the kinda lifestyle someone does on the weekends. You gotta be done with the nine to five, done with the rented storage shack and done with the BS small time jobs. I want you guys to move your lair in here, i want you guys to start taking jobs with me and get yourselves a proper home. I want you guys to win on this and i'll help but if it's not what you want, what you truly desire, then you gotta walk away before someone gets hurt.”

“This is…. A lot.”

Noxious stepped forward. “My burden of fixing this world is not something i want dragged into.”

BP stood up to outmatch noxious in height if not determination. “You’re not going to get what you want without help.”

A moment went by. The two of them stood in a quiet stillness like an old western movie. The energy seemed aggressive but it felt more compassionate than that. Noxious knew that in this moment BP was not questioning his motive, but instead he's being forced to question it himself.

“I want to quit my job,” Tranquil broke the silence, “I want out of that stupid storage container. I want the neighbor girl to stop whistling when i wash the van. I WANT TO GET RID OF THE VAN! I HATE THE STUPID VAN!”

“I HATE THE VAN TOO!” Noxious matched her energy “I HATE THE STUPID SHIFTER KNOB! It has no button and my thumb sits on the side of it funny.”

“I hate my job. I hate my debt. “

“Even if the button didn't function, it should still be there.”

“I hate all of my co workers. All of them. There's not one redeemable thought made in that building all day. I hate work i hate school and i hate everyone. That’s why i'm here. I want to wreck this world not just live in it.”

“THIS IS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT! LET'S KICK THE WORLD IN THE FACE!” BP grabbed a beer.

Noxious moved his hand in a ‘kinda’ gesture. “I'm more on the fixing it side… With gas.”

“YEAH let's tear down society!!!” Tranquill exclaimed.

“I'm like… Chaotic good if anything.”

“LET'S KICK LIFE IN THE BABY MAKER AND MAKE OUR OWN WAY!!!”

Noxious looked at both of them. “Screw it, burn the world down” he said as he reached down for a beer for him and Tranquill. They all clanked cans, BP and Tranq opened and chugged their beers. Noxious paused for a moment, then opened his beer, pulled up his mask and met their pace.

-----------------------supersecretspecialdeletedpatreonexclusivelike&subscribeOVENDING

“He was choking me man. He threatened me!”

“Who?”

“The little gas mask guy. The one from space 25.”

“Oh him. Leave em alone he just talks that way.”

“BUT HE THREATENED TO GAS ME!!”

“Out of everyone in this whole park he's the only one who visits my mom. No clue how they met but she loves the little guy. He's got a big heart. Since he's been around her depression is unnoticeable. She's baking more, laughing more. Seeing her happy and tasting her food again has lifted my spirits too. Leave him be, he makes people happy.”

[marvelouss-marvel]

Fourth Times a Charm?

Word Count: 3.8k

Pairing: Michael B. Jordan x OC!Black!Reader (featuring three of OC’s ex boyfriends)

Summary: Reader hasn’t had the best experience when it comes to guys. So, she vows to not be with anybody for as long as she lives. However, Michael stumbles into the picture and she finds it hard to stay away from him when he’s head over heels for her and proves that he is nothing like her past relationships.

A/N: This took me about a month to write because it was a bit difficult for me to relive these experiences. All three tales of the OC during their teenage years are based on my personal tales with guys. The only false part of this fic is when Michael comes in. And, based on the summary, I might do a part two. This fic will remind you guys that there is always hope for you, no matter what you experience.

Masterlist  

AGE 13

The first time Victoria had her heart broken was in eighth grade. His name was Armand and he wasn’t the cool kid he put out to be. In fact, the majority of the Eastside Middle School despised him because of his cocky attitude and irritating methods of fitting in.

 Victoria, on the other hand, was completely different. Sure, she disliked Armand like everyone else but she was willing to give him a chance that school year. One day, he came in to social studies with watery eyes and a stuffy nose, defining his poor physical health at the moment. By the time the last bell rung, he was exiting the school with a smile on his face because a certain girl had given him her number as a way to communicate when he would feel better.

 And so began the relationship of Victoria and Armand.

 The two would spend hours on the phone discussing childish topics such as their favorite show on Disney Channel to who liked who at Eastside. It also got to a point where Victoria’s nosy family had short conversations with Armand on what his intentions were with her and each member would hand back the phone, wearing a smirk as they exited the room because for once, Victoria was happy.

 School was even better. Armand would wrap his arm around Victoria’s shoulders to claim what was rightfully his and she would peck him on the cheek for the girls who watched with envy. He often passed her folded pieces of notebook paper entailing how pretty she looked that day or roasting the teacher just to get a giggle out of her. To top it all off, friends of Victoria and Armand supported the relationship nonetheless, for they felt that Victoria could change his arrogant behavior.

But like any other couple, they faced their problems.

The relationship did have its moments where sexual tension escalated for Armand and actions were paused by Victoria. She’d been raised in a family where everyone believed sex only took place during marriage and at an age this young, she was questioning right from wrong. The positive side won and the furthest she would ever go with Armand was making out with him, excluding so-called hickies. Of course, Armand didn’t like this idea.

By their third month of dating, Victoria’s strong liking for Armand had diminished. She noticed that he never attended her soccer games like he claimed he would. He stood her up at one of the monthly school dances and lied to her about why he couldn’t attend the roller skating field trip with her and the rest of their classmates. Lastly, Victoria often found herself standing in front of the mirror, glaring at the baby fat Armand pointed out to her one day as she sat and ate her usual meal for lunch: peanut butter and jelly sandwich with Cheetos and a Capri Sun.

Having enough of this, she ended things with Armand through text. Some would call her coldhearted for doing so but she had been trying to reach him all day. The original plan was to meet up and explain that the both of them weren’t ready for the relationship Armand longed for and that maybe they could continue being friends. That went out of the window when Armand sent back a single, “I’m busy right now” text and Victoria was furious. The only option left was to text him.

You might be wondering how Victoria was the broken hearted one but there’s more.

Not even a day after she ended things with Armand, he was already with someone else by the name of Rebecca. She was your typical popular girl who looked down on people like Victoria and supposedly from Victoria’s friends, Rebecca had made subtle passes at Armand during his relationship with Victoria. And Armand did the same.

She came home from school in tears, ran up to her bedroom and slammed the door closed. Her mom poked her head into the cold, dim room that belonged Victoria, heart shattering at the sight of her child in distress.

 “He told me that he’s with her because she would do anything he asked. I wasn’t comfortable with all of that sex stuff so that’s why I broke up with him.” Victoria hiccupped. “I thought he would be understanding! Not throw it back in my face that I needed to be like her!”

Her mom sat in silence, rubbing Victoria’s back in comfort as she listened to her rant. Once she calmed down, she finally spoke. “Armand isn’t understanding because no one is there to guide him on how to treat a girl. Still, his excuse is bad but just know that it’s not the end of the world Sweetie. Maybe this was God’s way of showing you to not go after guys like Armand. There are better boys out there.” she explained. “Besides, you are too young to be serious with dating. You’re only just entering your young adult life.”

Victoria knew she was right. For there were more boys to enter her life and she shouldn’t be stressing over a douche like Armand.

AGE 16

The second guy to shatter Victoria’s heart was Nickolas. Their relationship was… hard to describe. No one knew exactly what they were but that the two harbored a huge crush for one another.

It all began when Elaine, Nick’s twin and Victoria’s best friend, set her brother and Victoria up on a double date to the school carnival. While she and her girlfriend rode in one cart to the top of the Ferris Wheel, Victoria and Nick sat in another cart with awkwardness hovering above them. It was when Victoria mentioned how pretty the lights looked from up above did the strange silence disappear. Turns out, Nick liked the lights too and they discussed how at peace they felt up in the air and away from the life below them.

But Victoria didn’t know if they were talking or not. By their third double date with Elaine and her girlfriend, Victoria believed she had to ask him the dreadful question people seemed to avoid: what were they?

“I like what we have right now.” Nick answered with his arms embracing Victoria as she laid on him and his fingers maneuvered the game controller in his hands.

“Hm.” Victoria responded.

“What?”

“Nothing. I guess I like this too.” she said, nuzzling her face into his chest. It didn’t really answer her question but she went along with it. She confirmed in her head that because she and Nick were so socially awkward, they must have been talking but didn’t flat out say it.

That day happened to be a warning sign however. The red flags were waving wildly but Victoria was too oblivious to decipher their meaning.

In the year and a half she spent “talking” to Nick, he had fucked up at least three times. The first being that he refused to attend their junior prom because his guy friends weren’t going and that left Victoria to attend the dance with a good guy friend of hers. The second time, he ditched her at the homecoming dance their senior year to be with said guy friends and saw nothing wrong with pushing his date aside. The third time took place on Valentine’s Day where Elaine passed the message on to Victoria about her twin not planning on asking her to be his girlfriend anytime soon. This especially made Victoria question everything about her and Nick but like always, she wanted to see things for herself.

Senior prom was where everything came to an end. After a full night of Nick showing he wasn’t up to slow dancing and ignoring her to chit chat with the popular kids they were seated with, Victoria questioned the post high school life to see if there was still hope for a relationship.

“Of course we’ll still talk after high school!” he chuckled. “We’ll still be friends!”

Friends. That’s all Victoria was to him. Had he forgotten their first date? Why did he throw so many adoring compliments her way when she looked her best? What did they title the year and a half they spent hugging one another and pushing others away who threatened to sabotage their status?

She wanted to say more but remembered that she was cold because she had given her shawl to a friend who desperately needed to cover the protruding breasts a chaperone tended to keep his eyes on throughout the night. So, she hugged him goodbye for the evening, knowing in reality that this would probably be the last hug she shared with Nick. After his response, she refused to show him anymore affection.

The following week, Victoria would learn that Nick had started talking to somebody else when she needed support from a friend during her orchestra concert. She would later learn on Instagram that Nick and the girl confirmed their relationship. She would later learn that Nick wasn’t a true “friend” because he had never been honest with his feelings for her.

AGE 18

The last guy to screw things up was Miles Donahue, the pretty face at Lincoln High School. Three years ago, Miles and Victoria were the definition of a couple that talked. Or, they were supposed to be the definition but because Miles hung out with the wrong crowd and Victoria was going down a positive path to graduate high school, things ended abruptly.

To this day, the story is still unclear on how their past ceased. All Victoria remembers is her asking Miles to see a movie, which caused her to be left on read. Miles remembers a time where he sent a text asking Victoria if she could meet him by the bleachers during a baseball game. There were more texts sent afterwards but neither can recall where things went wrong. Instead of feeling anger, the two laughed about this as they strolled down the chilly streets of downtown Minot.

It’s been a couple of weeks after graduation and Miles wanted to reveal his feelings for Victoria before he left for college. Even before she met up with the star quarterback, Victoria had a feeling he wanted to discuss their past. After all, he spent the majority of their high school career ignoring her until senior year where he began dropping subtle hints that he wanted something.

She had been correct but still asked, “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

“I heard from your friends that a guy like me could ruin you. Plus, I thought you and Nick had thing going on?”

Victoria scoffed. “What Nick and I had wasn’t even a ‘thing’. The douche ended up catching feelings for other people but didn’t have the nerve to tell me.”

Miles winced at her choice of her words. Not once did he expect Lincoln High’s former Angel to say such things about someone. He always thought that pretty little head of hers was filled with butterflies and flowers, not moths and venus flytraps.

They continued on with their walk to nowhere in particular, words falling from their lips that should’ve come out a while ago. By the time they reached a church on the corner, their fingers were intertwined because enough had been said and Victoria wanted to finally be with the guy she was once crushing on.

They spent the last two weeks for Miles doing things any other couple would do; see the latest movies, take walks in parks, hang out at each others house, and run last minute errands together. Talk of a long distance relationship was discussed and Victoria believed that things would work out.

Like always for her, shit had to hit the fan.

The day Miles left, all of his friends came to bid him goodbye at the airport. Including his ex that supposedly “didn’t trust him”. He held on tightly to Victoria the longest though out of everyone, claiming he would miss her a lot.

Not even a week later, Miles was suggesting they be friends through text messages. Both had recently gotten out of relationships, even though what Nick and Victoria had wasn’t even considered dating. At first, Victoria could see Miles point and went along with his idea of just being friends. She believed they would eventually come back to being a couple, another thing Miles filled her head with.

None of that happened. For Miles was posting videos of him making out with different girls each night on social media, forgetting that Victoria could see all of this. She felt lead on and removed him from every social media account she had created.

The worst part? Miles never contacted her either.

PRESENT DAY, AGE 29

No one expected innocent Victoria to wind up at a place like the Bronzed Tankard, a well known bar in upstate New York. The principal announced at graduation that the pretty girl would be attending college to become a journalist and while that statement rang true to this day, it didn’t include her weekend visits to the bar.

She was a journalist but also a bartender who needed money for rent like every other adult living in an apartment. Sure, there was her roommate Janessa who helped out also but living in New York was like living in a mansion in Hollywood. So, together the girls worked at the Bronzed Tankard to pay for the rent.

While Janessa sorted out family problems with another co-worker in the kitchen, Victoria took over with serving the drinks to customers. It was going on 8:30 in the evening and the place was packed during this shift, like always. But with two years of working experience at Bronzed Tankard, Victoria could tackle huge crowds like a bartender at a club. She moved swiftly behind the bar, not once breaking a sweat as customers watched her in awe.

“Here you go, Finn.” she smiled at one of the regulars. “Are you sure you’re okay with doing this? The price will be mighty high.”

The man dismissed her with a playful wave. “Of course.” He turned around to face the packed bar and raised his arms above his head, shouting, “Drinks on me tonight everybody!” People cheered merrily at the wealthy man's declaration, Victoria joining in with them. She didn’t drink but the least she could do was encourage the man to keep his promise to everybody.

Two unfamiliar faces appeared from within the crowd, the atmosphere surrounding Victoria slightly shifting. One guy held a look of distress while the other, more than likely his best friend, seemed calm and collected. They approached the bar quietly, both not saying a word.

Since no one else seemed up for another drink, she pulled out a hand towel to wipe away the random wet spots all over the elongated counter. However, she still listened in on the new conversation before her.

“I don’t understand man. I thought that she was the one.” the saddened one expressed in a tone that told others he wanted to cry.

“We all think that, Ray. We all think that that one great person we meet will complete us. But you gotta look at it this way: if one door closes, another opens.”

The guy who went by Ray nodded along with his friend. “I guess so. It’s just… what went wrong? What did I do?”

“Nothing and you should never question that. Whether you hurt Janet or not, she shouldn’t have gone out and cheated on you. You know what they say, two wrongs don’t make a right. If you did hurt her, then cheating on you shouldn’t have been an answer. If you didn’t, cheating still shouldn’t have been the answer to solving whatever problem she had with you.”

“It’s the guy that bothers me the most. Looks like a freaking Brian White but darker.”

“Kofi Siriboe.”

“Nah, Brian White. You know, the dude from Stomp the Yard? Had that cameo in Daddy’s Little Girls? Come on man, you’re an actor.”

“I know I’m an actor and I also know my actors. You said he looks like Brian White but darker. Kofi Siriboe is like Brian White but the darker version.”

“No he’s not. Where the hell do you see that?”

“Everywhere! You don’t see it in the jaw line and the eyebrow shape? If you lighten him up a bit, he’ll look like Brian.”

“Drinks gentlemen?” Victoria intervened with two cloudy glasses in her hands. She placed them in front of the new customers and folded her arms across her chest. “I couldn’t help but listen to your predicament. Once I knew what was up, I knew that a drink was needed.” Which was true; the first sentence in the conversation is what had her pause her cleaning and do the mixing of ingredients for a calssic gin fizz.

Ray nodded in an appreciative manner as he took a glass. “Thank you.”

“No problem. A heartbreak like yours calls for a little kick to get your mind off the pain for a bit.” She still held the other glass and nodded to Ray’s friend. “Drink?”

“Oh, no thanks. But thank you anyways.” he waved her off with a smile.

“Pardon me for saying this but I’m assuming you went through this type of heartbreak?” Ray sipped, eyes shifting up at Victoria.

She shook her head. “Nope. But I wish I had thought of that solution at some point. Besides, I don’t drink.” Both men raised their eyebrows at her as if to question whether she was being honest. “I know it might sound like a little white lie, but it’s true. I tried drinking once and I’ve hated it since then.”

“Then why’re you here?” Ray asked.

“Somebody’s gotta pay the bills right? This place pays well, especially the tips.” Victoria smirked.

With his hand holding the glass still, Ray managed to point one finger at her with a smirk. “I like you. Would you mind setting me up with someone for the evening?”

“Only if you promise me that I don’t have to keep making gin fizzes all day tomorrow.”

“Deal.”

Victoria placed her hands on the counter and stretched her neck to look behind Ray and his friend. Her eyes moved about the room for any female in particular that she knew would need a quick round of bedroom fun.

Her eyes landed on a black woman with locs pulled away from her face up into a bun. “You see that lady over there in the orange and white striped shirt?” Ray rotated around in his seat to see where she was directing him. “She’s pretty cool and she’s been looking for a one night stand since last month. I promised to keep an eye out for her and you seem perfect.”

Ray nodded along with her words. “Thanks.” 

“No problem. Now, go get em’ tiger!” She reached across the counter to pat him on the shoulder before he departed.

Once he disappeared into the crowd, Victoria turned back around to finish her chores. But this didn’t stop Ray’s friend from starting a conversation with her. “Hey, thanks for that.”

“Ah, it was nothing.” Victoria shrugged, placing the drinks back in their rightful spots.

“Nothing? You just set my boy up for a one night stand! That’s something I can’t do.”

“Can’t do? I promise you, I’ve seen many movies where the guy friend is successful enough to help his friend get laid for the night. How did you fail in this department?”

“I’ve lost my touch.” he admitted with a laugh and Victoria joining in. “I’m Michael, by the way.” He held out his hand for Victoria to take, which she happily did.

“Victoria.” She pulled away to finish wiping up the counters with her hand towel. “So, you must be new to this part of New York?”

“Nah, I’ve visited this part a few times while working. Ryan lives close by and suggested we come here tonight for him to talk things out. I’m glad he chose this place because a club is the last thing he needs.”

“I’ll agree with you on that.”

“How’d you know about the gin fizz though?”

“I’m not a bartender for nothing right? Obviously, I went to bartending school and they gave us some tips on the appropriate drinks to sell to customers.”

“Didn’t think things worked out for bartenders like that. I thought it was just the drinks you serve and that’s it.”

Victoria shrugged. “Well, all alcoholic beverages are different. But each one seems to have a purpose for being sold. Most drinks for heartbreak tend to be some sort of shot…”

Michael wasn’t even listening anymore. He watched her lips move as she explained the purposes of types of alcoholic beverages. His eyes caught the twitch in her lips as she tried holding back a smile for something she sounded passionate about. He thought it was cute.

“... and then there’s freaking liquor. Personally, I believe that’s for any wound. Whether it be physical or emotional. When you watch movies, the character has to be mad at the world when they pull out a thing of liq--”

“I’m sorry but when are you free?” Michael interrupted.

Victoria’s mouth was agape. “Excuse me?”

“When are you free? I know that right now you’re working, but I want to sit down and talk about this stuff with you.”

“It’s just alcohol.” she said, the statement sounding more like a question.

“It is. But, you seem intelligent when it comes to alcohol.” Michael shrugged.

“That’s not a legit reason for wanting to talk to me. It sounds ridiculous.”

“You right, you right.” Michael chuckled. “But, I want to thank you for what you’ve done tonight.” He swiveled in his seat to spot Ray and the girl hitting things off. “Ray’s like another brother of mine and when he told me about his ex, I didn’t really know what to do to cheer him up. Except talk to him but I think I would’ve made things worse at some point.”

Victoria studied Michael’s face. She could see that he cared deeply for his best friend and it warmed her heart to know all guys weren’t like Michael out there. Guys like him just wanted those close to him to be okay and not run around doing Lord knows what to hurt themselves and others.

“Um… okay.” she finally answered. Michael turned back to face her. “I’m supposed to be free right now but with the others in the back, I’m taking up their shift. Mind if I check my schedule?”

“Sure.” He reached into the side of his jeans to pull out his iPhone. “What’s your number?”

Victoria smirked before she gave him her digits. “I hope you’re not putting my number in there just to not call. I’d be wasting my time talking to you then.

“No need to worry about me Princess. I always keep my promises.” he genuinely smiled.

Tagging: @yourwonderbelle @90sinspiredgirl @artistic22dragon @mala-firebringer @teddyiam​ 

If you would like to be tagged in more of my works, comment below!

[oscar-isaacs-number-one-bitch]

“The Hate U Give” Movie Review

“I was nine years old the first time I got the talk.” One might think this is about the usual talk on sexuality parents give to their kids at the onset of puberty, but one would be wrong; this isn’t that kind of talk. This talk is of a different, far harsher sort; a father is teaching his kids how to behave when a cop pulls them over so that they don’t get arrested, or worse, shot and killed. This is life for Starr Carter.

So begins The Hate U Give, a young adult drama directed by George Tillman, Jr., most well-known for  producing the Barbershop franchise (and directing some episodes of Luke Cage and This Is Us). It stars Amandla Stenberg, Russell Hornsby, Regina Hall, Anthony Mackie, Common, Issa Rae, and K.J. Apa. Adapted for the screen by Audrey Wells (who sadly passed away from cancer just a couple of weeks ago) from the best-selling novel of the same name by Angie Thomas, the story concerns main character black high school student Starr’s struggle against a racist and corrupted system that put her and her family in harm’s way after she sees her childhood friend Khalil get shot by a white police officer for no reason.

Starr is from Garden Heights, a predominantly black community her father grew up in where she knows just about everybody’s name. But not every day is beautiful in this neighborhood, and when an officer pulls Khalil over for no reason, he is shot and killed after reaching for his hairbrush. Being the only witness to the murder, Starr is called on to testify in front of a grand jury – but she isn’t sure she can. If she testifies, certain people that seek to maintain the status quo she could disrupt will know it was her who spoke up, or “snitched,” and could come after her and her family. But if she doesn’t, is she really being a true friend to Khalil? Does she have an inherent duty to further the cause of justice or is ultimately staying alive and keeping her family safe more important than taking that chance?

Truth be told, until I had seen the trailer in theaters for the first time back in early August, I had no idea this movie was even coming, much less how impactful it could be. Watching that trailer for the first time blew me away as I had no idea that the story was going there in the opening seconds. Not having read the book either, I wasn’t sure just what to expect when it came to how deeply this movie would delve into racism, police brutality, gentrification, drug funneling, etc. And while there certainly are spots in which the film could have been improved or delved deeper into certain socio-political issues concerning black communities surrounded by the white and privileged, this movie still covers an impressive amount of ground concerning all of those topics, buoyed by fantastic performances by all involved to create one of the best films of the year.

This film is bound to impact all who see it in one way or another, but one of the primary ways in which the movie’s voice finds the audience is by forcing them to view the atrocities presented therein through the eyes of children. It’s easy enough to look away when things like racism and police brutality affect the average adult who believes that the world is far more complicated than we would like it to be, but to force the audience to see these situations through the eyes of children places a fresh perspective on these things that too rarely gets brought up even by those that seek to further the cause of justice; as Starr puts it to her uncle (Common) at one point in the film, “it doesn’t seem that complicated.” And the truth is, it’s really not, certainly not when view through the eyes of the young people who are affected by this every single day. No parent should ever have to have that talk with their child, and yet, many parent of color give that talk to their children, just as they were given it by their parents.

One of the many methods by which George Tillman, Jr shows the audience how uncomplicated it is that what happened was not only wrong, but inherently racist, by a conversation that happens between Starr and her uncle. I won’t spoil the contents of the conversation here, but suffice it to say, if you are a person of color, you may have had or may have to have this conversation with one or more of your white friends or colleagues at some point. It’s an immensely powerful conversation that shuts down an age-old argument against the racism in shooting an unarmed black person because the officer “thought they were holding a weapon.” What’s more, she has other conversations with the white people around her about the importance of seeing color and the heinousness of co-opting a social justice movement like Black Lives Matter for personal gain. And this isn’t the only ground this movie covers. In addition to these more socio-political topics, The Hate U Give also addresses things most young adult stories do, like searching for your sense of self and finding your identity.

In order to have these points come across in the best possible way, you need an ensemble of insanely talented actors, and The Hate U Give has one fully prepared to embrace its story, particularly in the cases of star Amandla Stenberg and supporting actor Russell Hornsby. Stenberg crushes it as Starr, a fully realized character with a wide range of emotions that Stenberg uses to their full effect, forcing the audience to experience horror, joy, pain, relief, fear, and abhorrence through her eyes. It’s a sincerely star-making turn (no, there’s no pun here), and I am very much looking forward to whatever she does next. But perhaps the greatest performance in the movie belongs to none other than Russell Hornsby. Without doubt, his character is the most nuanced and masterfully acted character in the entire movie. There’s a speech he gives his children approximately 3/4ths of the way through the second act as they’re standing outside their house on the grass that literally left me in chills; that’s definitely the speech they would use for his Oscar reel, and you’ll know it when you see it. But these two also aren’t the only great performances in the film. Common and Regina Hall are also reliably great as always, Anthony Mackie reminds everyone he’s a legitimate force of nature outside of his Falcon costume, and it’s nice to see that there’s more to K.J. Apa than just dark Archie Andrews.

I do have a couple minor issues with the film though. Even though it certainly covers a lot of ground in terms of the struggle against a racist and thus unjust system, there are so many moving parts to that system that don’t get the time devoted to them that they probably should. It’s sort of a catch 22: if you don’t spend enough time on just one or two issues, you don’t get to really explore all the nuances that go into those issues, but there’s a lot more ground to cover that needs to be addressed as well, which is hard to do in just over 2 hours. But while this is a notable detriment to the more analytical viewers like myself, it does little (if anything) to diminish the power the film retains despite it, thus rendering it relatively inconsequential.

My only real “problem” with the movie is its ending; while I’m certainly no cheerleader for every movie involving racism or the black struggle to have an unhappy or complicated ending rather than a happy one, the ending to this one felt a little tidy. This isn’t to say that the ending doesn’t fit narratively, but it does seem to lay some of the blame for the racism that affects black communities on the communities themselves for not “stepping up” and “doing their duty” against each other. I won’t spoil how this comes about, but I will say it’s fairly late into Starr’s narration regarding the film’s title. It’s almost as though the thematics changed as if to say that the real issues present in these communities are only present because of some form of in-fighting or false loyalties to each other, which I won’t say doesn’t happen, but ignores that police brutality and racism frequently occurs in black communities that have none of these problems as well. Again, I haven’t read the book personally, and as an average white man I am far from the leading authority on matters like this (in fact if you’re a person of color who’s seen this film, I’d be more than happy to hear your perspective on it), but that’s just how I saw it personally.

In the end, The Hate U Give is an immensely powerful, poignant, and inspiring film about the struggles of black communities, police brutality and racism, gentrification, the strength to find yourself and your voice, the whole nine yards. It’s chock full of great performances, especially from star Amandla Stenberg and Russell Hornsby, and is bound to impact all who see it some way. This is a film that should be taught in schools across the country. This is a film that should be seen by everyone, if only to start a cultural conversation sorely needed today. And it just so happens to be one of the best films of the year.

I’m giving “The Hate U Give” a 9.6/10

[your-hero-imagines]

can I request headcanons for the 1A kids helping out at a soup kitchen or a shelter or something similar? it's such a pure way to help people and very fitting for heroes in training I think!

Since Aizawa thought that some students *cough* Bakugou *cough* needed to humble themselves, he suggested it might be a good idea to make them work in a Soup Kitchen for a whole week, to learn some gratitude and humanity.

Please ignore all the logic gaps I shamefully have to admit I’ve never worked at a soup kitchen before. :/

Iida:

- Is probably the most motivated of them all, obviously.

- Will use his speed to go grocery shopping. He doesn’t need to since they have food donations at the location, but he wants to contribute something. Uses his own money.

- The fate of some of the people in need really touches him, and he admires and respects everyone working here in their free time.

- Will probably work here again later on, or at least donate tons of money when he’s a pro hero.

Momo:

- Will use her quirk to make new kitchen equipment for the cooks.

- Isn’t really used to this kind of cooking. At home she gets much more fine and delicate food, and never has to cook for herself. Doesn’t know any simple recipes because she never intended to make food with her quirk anyway since it’s kinda weird.

- Knows the Soup Kitchen because she forced her rich parents to donate money here ever since she was a kid and realized some kids at school have a way harder time than she herself has.

Todoroki:

- His ice has many uses, from being used in drinks to keep some indigrents fresh. Even manages to make Slush Ice for the kids.

- The smile a little girl gives him when she thanks him makes his heart melt. It reminds him so much of his sister.

- Feels bad for it but actually admires some of the families there. They may not have much, but they’re holding together and are very affectionate with each other. Unlike his own.

Bakugo:

- Is skilled in basically anything, from slicing indigrents to seasoning it and so on. Everyone always asks for his help and opinion.

- To be honest, his mother told him to fuck off and cook his own meals pretty early in his life. Doesn’t understand why some of the other students can’t take care of themselves. “How petty”.

- Acts like he doesn’t give a shit about all the compliments he receives by his classmates and the guests but he’ll still think about it way later.

- Gives the smaller, weaker children and woman bigger portions and anyone who calls him out gets to feel his rage.

Koda:

- Is a vegetarian for obvious reasons. Freaks out every time he even sees people handling with meat. How could they even?!

- So he tries to stay away from the kitchen and help in the dining room, or cleans up the dishes.

- He comes a bit after the cooking is done because he doesn’t like such an intense smell of meat, but stays longer to clean up.

Uraraka:

- Helps making chests and other heavy things lighter for transport, using her quirk.

- Can’t cook for god’s sake, but helps with decorating the food on the plates with much love.

- Her parents once had to go to a Soup Kitchen, too, when the times were really hard. So it’s not easy to bear with the sight for her, but that’s only more reason to give it her best!

- Knows many locations persons with financial problems can get help at, and is glad to inform people.

Mineta:

- Tries to hit on every female person, may it be another voluntee or a guest.

- Isn’t that much of a help in the beginning because he’s busy creeping around and trying to get under the skirts of the girls.

- Probably only will be portioning the soup on the plates, but isn’t allowed to talk to any of the guests. Constant supervision.

- The others will try to keep him from sneaking outside so he won’t bother the guests.

Sato:

- Oh my god this boy is a master chief. Everything he cooks is delicious so he’ll do the main work.

- Also makes some extra sweets for the children.

- Actually donates his food very often. Bakes tons of cakes for a hospiece once a month and so on.

- Insists on helping the others to carry heavy stuff but they want him to stay in the kitchen and keep up his good work.

Tokoyami:

- Can literally do twice the work since Dark Shadow helps him. Will probably be cutting indigrents or carrying plates to the guests.

- Is the perfect guy to reach for high places like shelves with his quirk.

- Dark Shadow is really struggling against it because it’s constantly depressed that it itself isn’t able to eat or taste.

- But the children there will love his birdy face and also Dark Shadow so they both cooperate in presenting small tricks to make the children laugh.

Tsuyu:

- Her tongue can reach for stuff throughout the whole room. It’s good because sometimes people cannot walk because the kitchen is so small and crowded.

- Is really talented with cooking and also dealing with children since she had to provide for her smaller siblings the whole time.

- Will still prefer making kid’s meals and bringing it to them herself, since she’s so invested in caring for them and assuring they are fine.

- Gets easily flustered whenever someone tells her what a great job she’s doing.

Mina:

- Is really good at knowing human nature. She can tell anyone what task they should be doing considering their abilities and preferences.

- Will split the teams so everyone works with people they like and are well to cooperate with.

- Has so many positive vibes and is so happy this whole time so no one really feels like they’re working.

- She herself doesn’t even do much of the work she’s just cheering at everyone to do their best until Aizawa scolds her. No one was mad at her to be the motivational support tho.

Jiro:

- She’ll be playing some nice music so it’ll feel like fun whenever she’s around.

- Can cut with her sharp earlobes but it always gets messy.

- Will be asking the guests for music suggestions and ends up making the best mood! Feels like a party started! The long-time volunteers said the people there never smiled so much in an eternity!

- Forgets her shyness every time one of the guests needs anything.

Kaminari:

- At first he’s so disinterested and tries to call in sick. His classmates will drag him out of the bed and get him there. But as soon as he sees the grateful faces of the guests it totally touches his heart.

- Helps some people charge their phones because most of them possess elder models but rarely get the chance to charge it.

- Will also do waitress work but is very sloppy and often stumbles.

- Will get many compliments by elder ladies what a sweet guy he is and that he should meet their granddaughters.

Kirishima:

- Is all fired up about it just like always. This little sunshine.

- Tells anyone about how helping people in need is ‘manly’. To him, it doesn’t matter if it’s a great fight or just a small deed. Doesn’t care about the recognition either.

- Sadly isn’t much of a help because he doesn’t know how to cook very well, and is clumsy when it comes to holding more than one plate. But he always does his best. He gives it 200% even if it’s small tasks he’s only given because he cannot fuck them up.

Ojiro:

- His cooking is pretty decent. Above average at least. So he helps in the kitchen under the command of Sato.

- Tells everyone how amazing they are and what wonderful work they are doing.

- Is really humble about every thank you he receives from the people. Has had some nice conversations and even made some new friends. He doesn’t really care about social status as long as the person is friendly.

- Afterwards he’ll come and help there at least once a week.

Shoji:

- Is very quiet most of the time and just does his work.

- But to make the children crack a smile, even he gets out of his shell. Will make them climb on his arms and stuff.

- Lowkey gets very emotional about those poor people and thinks of it all day. Will need to get cheered up later.

- When he’s a pro hero he’ll have his own foundation to make charity work. This topic never left his mind after he worked there.

Aoyama:

- My boy is really enjoying himself there. He’s good at preparing food and teaching anyone who doesn’t know how to do it right.

- Finally gets some recognition by his classmates and is integrated in the team.

- Will make many stupid jokes no one except himself finds funny but he just wants to lighten up the mood.

- Once tried to roast something using his laser but it didn’t end well. Will have to write an essay about fire safety over the weekend.

Hagakure:

- Is totally hyped but doesn’t really know what to do. Is in desperate need of leadership.

- Will do whatever task you give her and does her best. Get’s distracted very easily tho.

- Spends most of the time adoring the children and complimenting every guest about anything that comes to her mind.

- She’s overlooked very easily so she would get stumbled over in the kitchen. Will help with giving out food in the end. Talks to anyone coming to her to get a plate for several minutes. Wants to get to know anyone.

Sero:

- Is pretty stoic about the work but isn’t that invested into helping at first. Wants to fight or train or do action stuff.

- Until a woman he brings some food to tells him he reminds her of her son who’s his age and she tells him a really heartbreaking story.

- He’ll then proceed to follow that woman around and listen to her stories. Many things about that made him think about topics he wasn’t even aware until now.

- In the end, he even gifts her a keychain as a lucky charm.

Midoriya:

- Gets constant anxiety because he’s afraid his work is not good enough for those people. Really doesn’t wanna let their hopes down, and has way too high expectations into himself.

- Isn’t much of a cook, so he mainly runs around, carries some plates, chests and bottles and just listens to anyone who’s asking for his help.

- Constantly gets lost because he’s so invested in talking to the people and their backstories. His fellow classmates need to keep him from trying to help every single one of them.

- At the end of the day determined to find a way to help those people. Realizes there are so many different ways of needing help and helping and he wants to know more about it. The world is so big but he sees is as an opportunity!

______

They’ll end up raising money for that and many other social service procivers once a month, through plays they present and spending the entry fee, or selling selfmade waffles, and so on.

Every month something different is at place, and they choose together as a class what they’ll do next!

[moonbelt]

»whiplash | 02

↳ fake dating au | college au

⇢ pairing: chanyeol | reader

⇢ genre: soft angst + fluff + sexual themes

⇢ word count: 6.061

⇢ description: as an aspiring big-shot photographer in a slump, you’re looking for something that inspires you and unfortunately — or maybe not — it comes in the form of a guy named Chanyeol.

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

A lot could change in forty minutes.

Well, considering this is a party, and the whole point of it is to change your status from sober to drunk, you guess there's nothing particularly spectacular about that.

In the span of forty minutes, you've been introduced to the entirety of Chanyeol's friend group. Which, safe to say, is a lot. It wasn't hard for you to believe that he was friends with almost everyone in attendance. People either gave him a nod of acknowledgment or struck an immediate conversation once they saw him. As you'd expected, you and Chanyeol were complete opposites on the spectrum of college socialization. You, who slinked through parties with the only purpose of getting drunk and going home afterward which contrasted deeply against Chanyeol, who came to these parties for social interaction.

Currently, you're standing at the corner of the living room watching a group of people play Truth or Dare and wondering just how many more drinks the ringleader is going to consume before he passes out. You can swear that college kids shouldn't be this immature but you guess fun comes in different forms for different people.

Now, had this been ninth or hell even tenth grade, you would've jumped at the opportunity to join in. But as you watch them dare each other to do the most ridiculous things known to man, you shake your head. The ringleader, a junior by the name of Jongdae, keeps daring people to do shit they most definitely wouldn't dare to do sober but when he's challenged to do the same, he takes a shot instead. Absentmindedly, you wonder why the other players aren't calling him out on it but quickly decide that it's none of your business.

You tip your cup back and drain the last bit of alcohol from it. You're certainly not drunk enough to participate in that game. And even though your brain is telling you how stupid Truth or Dare is as a whole, your body is sparking for a different answer. It wants to play at least one round. It's not like anything bad can happen. Unless they dare you to strip — you are not drunk enough for that.

"So, how long have you and Chanyeol been a thing?"

The question breaks through your train of thought. The question also comes when Chanyeol has been successfully dragged away from your side, courtesy of Baekhyun, to do a round of beer pong. The question itself though comes from Jongin.

True to Chanyeol's words, Jongin is more of an observer than a participator. When Yixing was asking you questions about what you were studying and why you were studying it and all that jazz about college, Jongin had peered up at you from his red solo cup — curious but not curious enough to ask anything himself. You'd wondered why he wasn't bursting to ask you questions because the way you saw it, you were a stranger. It's only natural that someone would want to learn more about the person weaving its way into their friend group. Now you got your answer, he probably didn't care about what you studied or what you like or don't like.

In fact, you doubted Jongin cared about you at all. He cared more about you not fucking up with Chanyeol's head or heart. Apparently, Mai — Chanyeol's ex, wasn't as much as a saint that Chanyeol had made her seem to be. You didn't try to delve deep into the topic because it was obvious that the boys didn't want to talk about it, something in the way Baekhyun shifted the conversation to something completely different like something burned his ass. And Yixing's subtle shake of his head, like he didn't want to bring out the past to light.

Yixing, being Mai's best friend, you'd thought would stand up for her in her absence but instead, he'd raised his beer can to his lips and downed everything in one go. Nevertheless, all that did was solidify in your mind that whatever had happened between Mai and Chanyeol had been bad. Bad enough for Chanyeol to result to fake dating. Bad enough for you to be here, put under the scrutinizing gaze of one of his best friends.

You manage to not stutter out your reply, as you attempt to put on an air of indifference. "Almost a month now," you raise your empty cup back to your lips, lying through your teeth.

Jongin doesn't seem to be buying it, crooking an eyebrow at you. Incredulous. "Really? I didn't think Chanyeol was capable of hiding a relationship for that long. I mean, you're dating the guy so you should know. When he's in love, he makes sure everyone around him knows it too."

You lick your lips, wondering for the nth time that night why you have to be the one fighting this war.

"Yeah, I know that," you send him a nervous smile that he does not return. "We're still in the beginning stages, I wouldn't call us in love. At least not yet."

Jongin stares at you for what feels like hours but you know it to be a few seconds at most. He runs his hand through his light-brown hair, fluffing it a bit. Crushing his empty can, he sighs out in relief. "Thank God, you're smart. I thought you were going to fight me on it: tell me you and he have a connection."

He says the word 'connection' with so much venom, your skin sizzles a little. 

You raise your eyebrow at that, dropping your cup from your lips. "What's that supposed to mean?" It's not like you believe explicitly in love but you still find yourself wary and uneasy about what he's said. 

You wonder if this is how your friends feel whenever you bash on love.

"Oh nothing in particular," he flashes you a dazzling smile that given a normal circumstance you would've melted under. "Forget I even said anything."

"Can't-do. I'm curious now. What would you have said if I told you I was in love with Chanyeol. Not that it's any of your business anyway, but still."

Jongin flicks his eyes away from you to the group in front of the two of you. He chews on his lower lip for a few moments before he finally says:

"For one thing, I don't want Chanyeol to get his heart broken for the second time in four months."

You know that's roughly the amount of time it has been since Mai and Chanyeol called it quits, blame Baekhyun's huge mouth. You don't know why they broke up, not really, but from your perspective, Chanyeol doesn't seem that affected by the change. But in Jongin's words, you think maybe there's the possibility that you are wrong.

"I won't break Chanyeol's heart."

He turns his attention back to you and gives you a once-over. Not in a condescending manner, rather there's a sort of pity in his gaze.

"You don't really control that ___. You're not in charge of his heart and I hardly have a say in anything that happens between the two of you. But... can you please promise me one thing?"

You don't want to promise him anything. Not because you hate him or anything of that sort, but rather because you know the true nature of you and Chanyeol's relationship. Technically, there should be no heart to break. It's shouldn't even be on the table. However, you find yourself nodding your head, urging him on.

He turns his gaze from you and focuses it on the medium sized chandelier that lights up the living room, taking a deep breath. "If you ever do break up with him, do it bluntly. Don't string him along with hints or whatever. Just straight up tell him."

He looks back at you then and once your eyes connect, you see it. There's no 'if' you break up. It's more of a when. When you break up with Chanyeol. Like he expects the worst from you. There's a small, minuscule part of you that wants to challenge what he's saying. You're not the worst of the worst. You're not Mai. You're not some tornado that wants to pass by but wreak havoc as it does so.

Still, you nod your head. Because it's not like you can argue against what he's saying. You'd rather not make the situation worse.

"Okay then," he pushes himself off the wall as he gives you a small smile. "Nice talking to you ___."

"You too," you say. "You're a good friend by the way, but you should have more faith in Chanyeol. He can make his own decisions and he can fight his own battles. Besides getting your heart broken is only a process of... life."

"I guess," he tilts his head to the side. "But wouldn't I be a bad friend if I allowed him to jump headfirst into something that would end up in tears?"

You're not sure what you're about to say but Jongin doesn't give you the chance to reply anyway. Instead, he slips away from your side, leaving you to ponder on his words. You obviously know the complications that arise from fake dating. You've watched the movies, you've read the books, you have the most basic common sense.

Exhibit A): you fall in love with the other. Exhibit B): the other doesn't fall in love with you. Exhibit C): none of you fall in love and life moves on, as it always does. To be clear, you're hoping for the third option.

Falling in love is not what you want. Love is... complicated and messy. You love your friends, you love your parents (although the love for your mother has since been redacted), you love photography. You love the feeling you get from cementing something in time. Pictures that can't be erased simply or as quickly as you see love to be. Love is something that quickly comes and goes. Like the wind, it rarely stays in one place for long. And you don't want to be the one left behind.

You place your empty cup on a nearby table before you drag your phone out of your back pocket and open the Camera app. Focusing on the group making a ruckus because Yixing — who is stupidly intoxicated — is refusing to give some girl a lap dance. The look on his face is one of absolute disgust. Okay maybe not disgust, more like his face is flushing a deep red and he's stumbling over his words incoherently.

You laugh to yourself, raising your phone up and focusing it on them. You take a picture of the scene. To you, love isn't something concrete. Not like the photos you take, never like the photos you take. It's something that flows and runs with the tides and just has to run its course but once it's done, that's that.

You're about to take another shot when something else finds its way into your camera's view. It's Chanyeol. His face eating your camera's focus and you almost throw your phone away in surprise. By a miracle, you don't. Instead, you struggle with turning off your phone and sliding it back into your pocket.

"God, Chanyeol. Stop doing that," you slap his shoulders away lightly.

He rolls his eyes as a response but he raises his hands in surrender. "Sweetheart, I'm wounded," he pouts. "I thought you'd appreciate my good looks. Especially since you don't seem to be having fun at this party."

"What makes you think that?" You furrow your eyebrows. "Pretty sure this is how I am at every party."

Chanyeol's eyes widen as he closes the distance between the two of you. "Are you even drunk? Who leaves a party sober?"

"The designated driver?" You offer an answer with a meek shrug.

He rolls his eyes. "I'm the designated driver. And no, before you ask, I am not drunk."

You cross your hands over your chest, squinting your eyes up at him. "You literally just got back from playing beer pong. Pretty sure the point of that is to get drunk, no?"

"I drank water. It's Baek's party, I'm allowed to break rules. Friendship card."

Shaking your head, you try not to laugh at the triumphant look on his face. Like he's won this pseudo-argument. 

"Pretty sure that's not a thing but okay. Anyways, I am getting drunk... slowly." You make a point by jabbing your finger into his chest in a manner, that you hope is considered playful.

Chanyeol nods his head slightly, not quite believing you but is willing to let the conversation drop. Opting to focus his eyes on your finger that unexpectedly is still positioned on his chest. You think maybe you're drunker than you thought. Lightheadedly, you like the feeling of his heartbeat under your touch. It feels concrete. You don't know how long the two of you stand like that, you don't register it until Chanyeol raises his own fingers and clasps them around yours softly.

"Can I ask you something?" He says, beats later when you've already felt his heart pick up the pace.

"Sure."

"Can I kiss you?"

Your eyes widen against your own accord. They widen so much you're sure someone might think you've seen a ghost. You won't lie to yourself, you do feel attracted to him, but that in no way equates to you actually acting on said attraction. Chanyeol must sense that you're one step away from walking a hundred feet away from him because he adds:

"If you don't want to, that's okay. I just really want to kiss you right now."

From the corner of your eye, you see Baekhyun staring intently at the two of you and for some reason, you're sure somewhere in the crowd, Jongin is as well. You're not so sure about Yixing, he seemed pretty occupied with the Truth or Dare game. But you know, in the long run, one of them — probably Baekhyun — would tell him about the things he missed seeing with his own eyes.

"Why would you want to kiss me?" The contract doesn't say anything about physical actions. But it doesn't say anything against it either. Chanyeol had said you would have to act like an actual couple. Couples kiss all the time, couples do a whole lot of things that aren't restricted to kissing. Involuntarily, you take a deep breath.

Chanyeol chuckles a little, the corners of his lips turning up. "I don't think I have a good enough reason. I just really want to."

I just really want to.

The phrase applies to you as well. You want to. Oh, how you want to. Love and lust and attraction are not the same. Their cousins of one another but definitely not interchangeable, you reason to yourself. It seems to be the only plausible explanation for why you push yourself up on your tippy-toes, [even though you've always thought yourself to be reasonably tall, Chanyeol dwarfs you] and press your lips on his.

By the time your lips connect with his, you can swear that his heartbeat has sped up faster than humanly possible. His lips though, are softer than you imagined. For a second or maybe two, you’re not counting, he's stunned by your actions; like maybe he hadn't expected you to do go through with it. You tense up. To be honest, you don't know why yourself. But when he takes control of the kiss, moving his lips passionately against yours, you relax, realizing that it doesn't matter. What's done is done and that's that.

He uses his free hand to wrap around the nape of your neck, pressing you deeper into him. Closing your eyes, you find that all the sounds around you are being drowned out by the loud thumping of your heart, but you're acutely aware that your body is heating up. Taking your hand out of his grasp, you weave it around his shoulders. Suddenly, you want to wrap your legs around him and let him do whatever. He could ask you anything in this state and right now, you doubt you'd fight any of his propositions.

Chanyeol leans into you, consequently pushing you up the wall. Your shirt rides up and the cool air of the room brushes against your skin and you shiver. Either he attributes this act to your response to his kiss or he finds you simply amusing because he smiles into your mouth. You knew it. He was the type. Breaking away, you refuse to open your eyes as you catch your breath. Fuck, you know better than this. But your mind and your body clearly want two different things.

"I saw you talking to Jongin," Chanyeol says after minutes of you refusing to open your eyes. You can't tell for sure but there's a challenging tone in his voice. "I hope he didn't pester you."

You shake your head, adamant. "He's worried about you."

"Let me guess, he doesn't want you to break my heart because he thinks Mai did a number on me."

Peeling your eyes open you look at him. His hair his poof-y, like a dog, a cute dog. His lips are swollen and his eyes are gazing at you intently, his body posture placid.

"Didn't she?"

Something flickers in his eyes — resentment? You don't know because he quickly masks it up with a smile that feels forced. Your eyes twitch at that.

"Does it matter? I'm over her."

Are you? You're not exactly sure what you're expecting. Maybe he'll break in tears and confirm your deepest fear and acknowledgment: that love ultimately sucks. Your hands are still loosely wrapped around his neck but it feels oddly wrong for you to continue what was happening less than five minutes ago. For reasons you don't know, you feel as if something is about to happen. Or rather, you want something to happen. 

And that something that you're not expecting comes in the form of Yixing's best friend, Chanyeol's ex, the woman of many names — Mai.

She comes in with a cold breeze that you don't feel. You're too lost in Chanyeol's eyes and feeling of his fingers on your neck, absentmindedly tapping a beat you don't recognize. She comes in with a smile that you realize later on to be one of her charms. Once she walks in, you can feel the clockwork attention of everyone — non-intoxicated — fixate on you and Chanyeol and frankly, you're ready to run.

Chanyeol catches her gaze before you do. His whole body freezing up to your touch, his lips parting as he stares at her. Her. If you think in terms of artistic inspiration, she seems to be his muse. The look in his eyes, it's not one of someone that's gotten "over her." No. It reminds you of your father. Your broken father, that waits day-in-day-out for your mother. A woman that would never come back. It's the look of someone that is completely and utterly wrapped around someone else's finger. But the more you stare at him, the more you see that lingering resentment. It's sharp and daunting, begging to be seen.

You twist your body away from his and try to take a look at the person that's now heaving Yixing up. Yixing smiles blindly at his friend, throwing his arms around her. She laughs and God, you think, she's fucking pretty.

She catches your gaze and you do your best to not cower away. She's the one that Chanyeol doesn't want to date anymore. You might be doing this fake dating thing for your own reasons but you have a lot of pride. You promised to be the best girlfriend he's ever had. And goddamit, you will.

As guarded as you are, you know that you'd rather fake being in love than lose to her. Even though this isn't a battle you should be fighting and you're not so sure if you can win the war. Not when Chanyeol is looking at her like she's the best thing since sliced bread.

"Zing," she giggles — actually giggles she does. "I can't lift you by myself."

Yixing is on the verge of being passed out. You wonder why he drank so much, you kind of wanted to get to know him more. He seemed to have a lot on his mind though. Everyone fights their own battles, you figure.

Mai looks up and you watch as her eyes flicker from Baekhyun, who successfully turns his attention back to the girl he's trying to get with before they then fix on Chanyeol for the second time this night. You can tell it's a ploy, in fact, you're sure anyone with eyes can tell. But Chanyeol is blind. So fucking blind that he unhooks his hands from your body, releasing you. You shouldn't feel like you've been discarded, but you do.

"I'll help," he offers, moving from your side and quickly saddling up to her.

Of course, he'll help. Kind Chanyeol. Chanyeol that doesn't want to acknowledge the fault in anyone. Your subconscious is telling you with neon signs that there's technically nothing wrong with Chanyeol helping the poor girl out. It's humane. But the feeling in your gut is telling you otherwise.

You watch numbly as he and Mai position Yixing half-on-half on their shoulders and haul him to, you assume, her car. Once they're gone through the front door, everything seems to click back into place. The Truth or Dare group has called it quits, optioning to go outside to the back and get body slammed by the party goers that have created a dance floor there. A few eyes linger on you, the fake girlfriend of a boy that just went outside with his real ex-girlfriend. But they don't know that. So all they see is a girlfriend being left for an ex-girlfriend and they all seem to pity you. You don’t deserve the pity party though because you know it’s not you they’re sad for, its the girlfriend. Which technically, you are not.

You diffuse the thoughts away. Stop being silly, you think to yourself. It's Chanyeol. He's a nice guy, you know this. Hours ago you called this his greatest trait. Now, you wonder how you could've thought such a thing. Being nice can get you hurt, being nice could be the bane of your existence. But you keep your thoughts to yourself. Instead, you head over to the kitchen and jack open the cooler with more force than necessary.

You shouldn't be this affected by the actions taking place. Rationally, you and Chanyeol aren't close enough for that. But still, he's the closest thing you have to a friend apart from Sehun and WooJin. You've known those two since middle school, it's a different kind of friendship. You understand Jongin's point of view better now. You want to preserve whatever this is with Chanyeol. Fake girlfriend or not. He's a nice guy, you desperately reason. He doesn't deserve to be strung along by his ex, although this is all speculation on your part. 

You wonder if Mai usually randomly shows up to a party uninvited. Maybe someone had called her? Yixing? Chanyeol did say that whatever Yixing knew, Mai knew soon enough. Maybe she was jealous? You scoff.

Cracking open a bottle, you take a long gulp. On good days, you pace yourself. Nothing worse than getting ridiculously drunk and losing your senses all at once. But you say screw it. It's not like you're the designated driver. As you pull the mouth of the bottle from your lips, you realize that you're once again left alone at the party.

A lot could change in an hour and twenty minutes. 

A whole fucking lot. 

You drag your phone from your back pocket and check the time. Twelve forty-three A.M. You wonder if Chanyeol's ready to leave. Then you wonder how long it can possibly take for someone to safely put someone else in a car. It shouldn't take this long, you don't think.

Maybe they were struggling with hauling him in the backseat? Maybe they need help? Chanyeol looks pretty strong, with his biceps that you've definitely not torched into your brain. Maybe his physique was just for show and in reality, he's weak? Maybe — oh, fuck it. You're tired of trying to rationalize your next course of action. So, gingerly you place the bottle of alcohol on a kitchen counter before you make your way out of the house. Trying your best to avoid stepping into other people's paths.

Once your outside, you take calming breaths you didn't know you needed. You want out of this party. Every time you hang out with Chanyeol, for some inane reason, you always seem to have your principles questioned. Your character isn't one that's usually this feeble, you like to believe, it's just something you're having a hard time coming to terms with. Maybe Chanyeol really is a goblin, better to believe in a magical being than something else.

You trudge around the perimeter, looking for them. They couldn't have gone that far but it takes you an extra four minutes or so before you find them. Well, it's only Chanyeol and Mai. There's a car too, so you presume Yixing to be inside. Probably wondering why his best friend isn't driving him back home. You walk until your close enough to hear what they're saying, not that it's hard they're practically whisper-yelling before you halt your steps.

"This isn't about what you want Mai! You can't just not want me and then all of a sudden turnaround and say you do." Chanyeol's voice is strained and even though you can't clearly see his face, you can imagine the pain in his eyes.

Her laughter is throatily sensual and in another world, you'd think it to be sexy but now, it makes you cringe in your soul.

"I never didn't want you, Yeol. You're the one that decided to break up with me for something so petty, to be honest—"

"Petty?" Chanyeol drops the whisper, incredulous. "You cheated. That's not a petty reason—"

Mai cuts him off, they seem to do that more often than not. "Exactly my point. I asked, no, I told you I wanted a break for a while."

"A-are you serious right now? All you did was cancel on all my dates for weeks and say you were sick. You told me you didn't want to see me for a while. We never took a break."

Mai leans on her car door, thoroughly unimpressed by Chanyeol's words. You have this sudden urge to run up and deck her. Punch her so hard that she flies across the street and smacks her body into a pole, you refrain though. Not because you want to, it's more because you want Chanyeol and her to scream whatever this is out.

"Oh, Chanyeol. I'm sorry if you think I—"

"I fucking trusted you." He sounds defeated. "You gave me no reason as to why you cheated on me with that dude. Fuck, I gave you all of me. Everything. Why wasn't that enough?"

You answer this question in your head — Love rarely is enough. Sometimes the Universe has to really want two people to be together for it to work. Although your answer doesn't ease the twitching of your hand or the pumping of your heart, you're revved up and ready to fire one at her.

You had given her the benefit of the doubt; maybe she and Chanyeol had just fallen out of love but no. Oh shit, their relationship really was like your parents in more ways than one. Woman cheater and a man who's still hopelessly holding out hope. A tale you're so tired of seeing.

"Your new girlfriend," she attempts to change the topic and you can see the twitch of Chanyeol's eye. "She's cuter than me, I'm surprised."

Don't hate her, you repeat to yourself. Hold out hope. No one can be so irredeemable a person. You never understood why someone would cheat, it wasn't something that made sense to you. Boys cheat, girls cheat. Why? You can't fathom. Do they even need a reason to cheat? Are they just bad people that found themselves in a relationship? But that's why hookups exist. It takes the cheating part out of relationships. You can't possibly have your cake and eat it.

"___ is also way better person than you. Honorable, trustworthy. Not a pest."

Mai laughs, you find that unbelievable. "Why didn't you tell your mom why you broke up with me? She keeps calling me asking me to forgive you."

You find that Mai has a very short attention span. One second she's discussing you and the next she's talking about someone's mother.

"You know what? Forget it. Doesn't matter anyway," she pushes herself off her car and moves closer to him. "I still love you, Yeol, and I miss you. Whatever is going on with ___ or whoever, it wouldn't be the same as 'us.' You and I, were meant to be."

In a blur of seconds, Mai reaches up and kisses his cheek and soon after she's jogging to the driver seat of her sleek navy blue car and just like that she's off, barely giving Chanyeol or you sufficient time to register her words. You're not even sure of what to do. Do you try and tell Chanyeol that the words that woman said are all lies? He dated her for five years. He should know her well enough to know she's pulling lies out of her ass.

You and I were meant to be.

She came prepared to pull Chanyeol down her hell. She knows that Chanyeol is a romantic, believes in all the tales and riddles written in the sky. You'd told Jongin that Chanyeol could fight his battles and that he should trust him more. Chanyeol isn't stupid. You bet he knows that Mai doesn't really want him. Not in the way he wants or wanted her. 

You're brought out of your inner monologue by the sounds of gut-wrenching sobs. Such loud cries that it feels like the whole street is wailing. You whip your head up and see Chanyeol crouched down, tears unrelenting as they stream down his face. You were right. He's definitely not over her. For a moment, you watch him. You can tell that he really did love her, or at least he loved the her he thought she was.

Cautiously, you make your way up to him and crouch down to his level. He looks so small, the big giant you know him to be is gone. You wonder just how much power you can have over someone to reduce them to this state.

"Channie?" You try not to startle him. "It's me, ___."

He doesn't look up but he bites his lower lip in an attempt to stop sobbing, opting instead to sniffle and clutch his hand to his chest. Chanyeol the nice guy, Chanyeol the nice guy is in pain because he gave his heart to someone that didn't need it.

"What happened? Tell me." You heard most of the gist but you want to hear it from him. You want him to affirm what he knows. You want him to come to terms with the fact that Mai and he are a done deal. 

He shakes his head, turning his face opposite from your general direction. "It's fine. I'm fine."

"Oh, Chanyeol," you scoot closer to him, taking his shaking hand in yours. "That's not what I'm asking."

The two of you stay like that. Occasionally, a loud sound escapes his lips and it feels like he's about to start the journey of crying again but after a while, it dies out to irregular sniffling. And then before you can calculate the consequences, you engulf him in your arms. It's a struggle but you deem it worth it when you finally feel him calm down. It takes more minutes before he wraps his arms around you as well and you feel whole.

"I'm fine, really. I guess I'm just realizing how little I meant to her. She doesn't miss me. She misses the acts of being in a relationship, I think. I could be a stick and she'd claim to love me just because I gave her affection."

You nod your head in agreement. "Sometimes the people we love just don't love us back."

This time Chanyeol doesn't make an effort to fight your statement. He doesn't say "I loved her." He doesn't try to justify her actions. This time there's none of that. Just silence as he accepts the fact.

He pulls away from your arms first and rises to his full height before he offers his arm to you. You take it, and he effortlessly drags you up.

"I hate that you just saw me cry. Embarrassing."

You shrug your shoulders. "It's okay to cry about things, Channie. Life is shit, we're allowed to cry about it."

"I know," he breathes out. "I just... it's so stupid. I've known it since forever."

"It's not stupid." You let go of his hand, reluctantly and run them through your hair. "Remember what you said sweetheart," you finally make a gibe out of it and he finally cracks a smile.

"What did I say?"

"That I should let you know if I got uncomfortable. It seems that tonight it applies to you."

He uses a hand to wipe the traces of tears off his face. He must have forgotten what he said before the two of you walked into the party. The two of you are a team. For the next three weeks, you were going to be here just as you think he would be. Chanyeol is your... friend. And friends stick with each other. Regardless if you had a hot make-out session minutes ago. Simpler times. You can feel your body heat up by the mere reminder of it, so you shake your head to dispel the thoughts.

"Thank you," Chanyeol says with sincerity. "Really."

A lot could change in an hour and fifty minutes.

It seems that no matter how hard you try, you and Chanyeol just keep getting closer. You've seen him break down in tears and if anything you feel empathetic for him. Unlike you, his love doesn't drag him down. Unlike you, he's not running away from everything that could be. You didn't think anything about getting into this relationship with him, other than the fact that you got a model. Now, you think maybe you're getting more than you bargained for. Love is complicated and messy and it's something you don't want to associate with. But for a split second, you wonder what it'd be like to experience love with Chanyeol.

Not that boy from high school that broke your heart, not your mother that broke both you and your fathers. Both cheaters. Both the same as Mai. All of them without a concrete reason for doing what they did. They don't need one anyway, it's not like you can excuse a cheater. Frankly, you're quite obsessed with the concept of concrete. Concrete friendships, concrete photos, concrete life. You want things stable. If things are stable, then nothing can move it. Not the change of the tides, not the blowing winds. Stable is good. Stable connects you down to earth. Stable keeps you grounded.

But Chanyeol isn't the boy from your high school. He’s free but not reckless, he knows his limits. He knows what is true and what is false, he knows not to hold out hope for things that are a dead-end. His heart is kind and longs for the type of love that can last till kingdom come. But he's not stupid to believe any love that comes his way. He's definitely not your mother. And most importantly, you're certain he's not the same as Mai. Still, even with all these blazing facts, you’re adamant about not trusting this feeling, the feeling that maybe if it's Chanyeol it'll be okay. If it's him, then love doesn't need to be strange and ridiculously complicated. 

With him, you think, it'll just be.

⇢ masterlist

©️ 2017 kai, moonbelt [aka high-on-food]

[itsomgitsgreenblogging]

Break My Heart: Chapter 2 (A Solangelo Fanfiction)

Consider this Hour 1 of the “Three Days”: In which Will and Nico are both awkward, but I love that about them. And neither of them know how to interact, like at all. But somehow I find that to be ceaselessly charming. And they are both gigantic nerds. Enjoy!

Read it all on AO3

Read Chapter 1

Preview: 

Will wasn’t sure what exactly he was expecting when Nico di Angelo showed up in the infirmary. Maybe a procession of evil and dark spirits, maybe his Stygian Iron blade glinting and ready for battle, maybe a foreboding scowl. But instead Will got none of those things. Instead he got a kid who looked seriously uncomfortable in his own skin, who was swimming in pair of ratty grey sweat pants and a black tee shirt both two sizes too big for him, and Chiron looking back at Will and down at Nico with an expression that read something like: Now, you know what you’ve done is wrong, apologize to him young man or don’t be expecting to see much of your phone over this weekend because you are grounded.

Will wasn’t sure what exactly he was expecting when Nico di Angelo showed up in the infirmary. Maybe a procession of evil and dark spirits, maybe his Stygian Iron blade glinting and ready for battle, maybe a foreboding scowl. But instead Will got none of those things. Instead he got a kid who looked seriously uncomfortable in his own skin, who was swimming in pair of ratty grey sweat pants and a black tee shirt both two sizes too big for him, and Chiron looking back at Will and down at Nico with an expression that read something like: Now, you know what you’ve done is wrong, apologize to him young man or don’t be expecting to see much of your phone over this weekend because you are grounded.

“I’m…sorry I didn’t come here sooner,” Nico said, sounding out the words like they were hard to say. Chiron’s brows shot up and Nico continued to choke through his words. “I forgot. I did. Things were happening, and…yeah.”

“See, was that so hard?” Chiron asked him sincerely, and by the pained look on Nico’s face and the fact that Nico was a son of Hades, Will guess it actually was difficult for him to force out even a sincerely meant but unenthusiastically given apology. But instead of saying what Will suspected, Nico just swallowed and shrugged, and Chiron put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. “Good, Will, I leave Mr. di Angelo in your capable hands.”

On that note, Chiron left Nico behind (promising Nico in a low hushed voice that he would check back in later to make sure he had stayed put). Nico seemed like he didn’t know what to do with his hands…or his whole self, and continued to stand looking around the infirmary with thinly veiled disinterest. Will had a strange feeling settling in his stomach, but he swallowed it down and in spite of himself waved for Nico to follow him. Will picked a mostly secluded section, hoping the privacy would be better suited for him. Nico sat down on an empty bed without a fight as Will grabbed his medical supplies. When Will looked up after he brought a table over, Nico was looking at Will and his various scalpels and scissors with something akin to morbid fascination.

“Do you have any relevant medical history that I should know about before we get started here?” Will asked as he arranged his medical kit.

“I…I was slashed?” Nico stated but it sounded more like a question. Will looked up, expecting Nico to have a wry smile or a glint in his eyes, but instead he was met with straightforward confusion. Laughter attempted to bubble up and Will unsuccessfully attempted to squash it.

“What I meant by medical history was do you have any preexisting conditions or allergies I should know about, but yes, knowing you’ve been beaten up five ways to Sunday is also useful,” Will said unable to help his grin which wormed its way onto his face. Will wasn’t sure what he expected Nico to do, but it wasn’t having Nico lay back against the pillows, and stare up at the ceiling as a long-suffering look claimed his features.

“Why do I even bother to live when I am so socially inept,” Nico asked no one in particular, and Will finally couldn’t help it as he finally burst out into hearty laughter.

“Hey, it’s alright. We all mess up sometimes,” Will encouraged him as he pulled on his latex gloves. “Where were you, as you delicately put it, slashed?”

Nico motioned to his shoulder, which on closer inspection of the movement did appear relatively stiff. After Will directed Nico to remove his shirt to show the claw marks and he did so without any complaint except an annoyed expression. Will felt like his eyes were about to pop out of his head when he saw what he was dealing with. Nico had obviously been given hasty first aid, and it was also obvious because of the puffy irritated skin that it hadn’t been cared for properly. Will quickly palpated the skin, wincing as he saw the discharge and felt the swollen lymph nodes closest to the gashes.

“You have an infection,” Will told him as he sighed. “It doesn’t look too serious, thankfully. I’m going to have to undo the stitches, and I’ll give you some topical nectar and re-stich the deepest one with a drain so we can get some of that fluid out.”

“Can’t you just…heal it with your magic?” Nico asked him curiously, regarding his wound with a curious detachment. It somewhat startled Will—how strangely calm he was about having such a terrible wound and infection. That was a bad sign, Will thought. Will would need to have people paying close attention to his condition if he couldn’t trust Nico to honestly report on how he was feeling.

(You could totally pay extra attention to him, a part of him told him. After all, something this guy does is going to make you like him.)

(Shut up, said the other part of him. That’s like the worst thing I could do right now. No.)

“I could, however…how do I explain it?” Will said thoughtfully as he pulled out his flask of nectar. “Have you ever been really sick? And had a really bad fever?”

“Well yeah, sure.”

“It makes you feel kind of awful right? It breaks eventually, and then you are okay, but it really tires you out. Imagine my healing is like a fever. It heals, but it tires you out because it makes your body work and tires me out for kick starting that work. It’s better for everyone if I work in short bursts over time, and it is good to let your body heal at its own pace,” Will explained as he began to snip open the sutures.

“That actually makes sense,” Nico said thoughtfully, his eyebrows drawn together in thought.

“Chiron always told me that all power comes with a price, it’s about paying it smartly,” Will told him as he continued to work cleaning out the infection in one of the smaller cuts and suturing it close. “Little pinch here—we have time to get you fixed, don’t worry. But if you have anything important to tell me, or things you are worried about, now’s as good a time as any.”

“Well I—“

Nico stopped himself, blinked, and then scowled. If he had been about ten pounds heavier, had some tint to his skin, and not looked like he was about to fall asleep, it would have been a lot more terrifying than it was. And if it was up to Will he would be all of those things, sooner rather than later. (For purely medical purposes because Will wasn’t thinking about any dumb dream that literally meant nothing.)

“I almost said something unnecessary,” Nico said, sounding legitimately peeved. “How are you making me talk? Is it some Apollo-kid thing I don’t know about?”

“Bedside manner?” Will offered.

“Bedside what now?”

“Don’t worry about it. This healing thing can only work if you are honest though, and I promise, whatever it is you are worried about won’t be told to anyone, I promise,” Will told him, but Nico’s expression was closed off as if his mental business hours were between nine and five and Will had just walked in at 4:59. Will decided then and there that he liked his head attached to his body and figured it would be best not to push it, but he would work on this. Definitely.

Will finished opening the last and biggest cut, and flushing out the wound with nectar. Will noted the subtle signs of healing, before he placed a tube and re-stitched the wound and applied topical antibiotic. He got rid of his latex gloves and tossed them in the bin in one shot. Nico looked at his new addition with another oddly disconnected expression, and now that Will was thinking about it he didn’t think he had seen Nico flinch the entire time he had been weaving in the stiches. Will made sure to file that other useful observation away for use at another time.  

“That’s going to stay in for a bit so don’t mess with it,” Will informed him, “hopefully it will keep it from getting infected by letting the fluid drain out. Now, you tell me. Ambrosia, nectar, what?”

“Do you have any unicorn draught? That stuff works better,” Nico muttered and Will handed him a bottle which he downed before making a face, before Will helped Nico back into his shirt.

“Have you been doing any…uh…” Will articulated his point with his hand movement and Nico just sighed.

“Using my powers? And melt myself into a puddle? No, I don’t think so. Contrary to popular belief, I’m not that dumb,” Nico noted with a self-depreciating chuckle.

“So, will you let me touch your hands? I want to get a more accurate status report on those creepy crawlies in your veins and see what we can do about them,” Will said as he held his hands out, palm up like a peace offering to him. Nico observed him for a moment with a kind of incredulous somewhere-between-a-squint-a-glare-or-a-scowl that was beginning to be familiar to him, as if Will had just began speaking to him in Swahili and tap dancing on the floor. But slowly and cautiously, Nico relinquished one of his hands to Will’s touch with the amount of enthusiasm Will would have expected if he was reaching out to pet a starved hellhound. (And it definitely didn’t bother Will, why should it.)

Unfortunately, his dream rushed back to him as the sensation of Nico’s fingers curled with his own did strange things to his stomach. Will looked down and almost expected his fingernails to be painted and to look up and find himself by the docks. But neither of those things were true, and he bit them back as a whole other wave of sensation nearly knocked him back. There it was again, the concerning, dark, writhing darkness that swirled in Nico’s body, so tangible that Will almost thought he could draw his hand away and pull back shadows like cobwebs. And Will felt the problem immediately; the darkness was almost like a thick dark tar, congealing and clogging and dragging and pushing at the limits of Nico’s body dangerously. It wasn’t quite at the level it had been when they had come in contact during the battle, when Nico could have turned sideways and almost disappeared, but it certainly wasn’t much better. On top of that, Nico was a mess physically. Will could feel many old wounds, his head ached under the weight of all of the unchecked concussions Nico had obviously fell victim to, the broken bones that hadn’t mended well, and how severely underweight and under-nourished he was.

Will opened his eyes, and met Nico’s gaze (which was neutral, Will guessed Nico had one heck of a poker face). Will released his hand slowly.

“The most pressing issue is the darkness you are bubbling over with like an unwatched tea kettle on a stove. I can’t imagine what I’m feeling is good or comfortable for you. Have you had issues like this before? And how did you deal with it?”

Nico’s blank expression made Will sigh.

“Okay, so you never dealt with it. What did you do?” Will rephrased as he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stifle his exasperation.

“It has never been this bad,” Nico said defensively, and when that obviously didn’t make Will feel better he slumped down. “Usually it goes away with time and rest…and when I was with Hedge and Reyna and almost when into a shadow coma they gave me this mud treatment. It worked as well as anything I had tried.”

“Okay, well, when I can catch Coach Hedge I’ll ask about the magic mud. Do you think I could try doing a little healing magic and invocation? I want to see how the shadow-gunk reacts,” Will said and Nico sighed before offering up his hand again with just about as much enthusiasm as last time. Will gripped his forearm and concentrated as he began to sing from a very familiar hymn:  

“Beyond the darkness, starry-eyed, profound, the table roots, deep-fixed by thee, are found.

The world's wide bounds, all-flourishing, are thine, thyself of all the source and end divine.

'Tis thine all nature's music to inspire with various-sounding, harmonious lyre,

now the last string thou tunest to sweet accord,

divinely warbling, now the highest chord.

The immortal golden lyre, now touched by thee,

responsive yields a Dorian melody.

All nature's tribes to thee their difference owe,

and changing seasons from thy music flow.

Hence, mixed by thee in equal parts, advance summer and winter in alternate dance; this claims the highest, that the lowest string,

the Dorian measure tunes the lovely spring.

Hence, by mankind Pan royal, two-horned named, shrill winds emitting through the syrinx famed.

Since to thy care the figured seal's consigned,

which stamps the world with forms of every kind.

Hear me, blest power, and in these rites rejoice, and save thy mystics with a suppliant voice."        

In response to his hymn, the familiar tide of his power was drawn carefully from his veins as Will attempted to follow its natural ebb and flow as to not overwork himself. In his mind, he worked to direct the golden wellspring that overflowed within him to flow through Nico, and the moment it began to soak in Will felt the shadows that crawled and pulsed within Nico calm. As if Nico’s powers were saltwater and Will was an intruding stream, his magic could not penetrate to root out the infection of the darkness, only calm it with the help of the sunlight and skin across the surface. For now, an oddly confident part of Will told him. For now.

Will pulled away, shaking out his hands. Nico was staring at him intensely and it was unnerving, so unnerving that Will had to look away first.

 “How did that feel?” Will asked him somewhat nervously.

“…weird. Warm. What did you do?” Nico asked him in return brusquely, his face an unreadable mask.

“I couldn’t heal it, so I tried to bring down the swelling,” Will translated for him. “We’ll see how successful I am in a few hours. For now I’m going to recommend keeping the drapes pulled open on the window to get sunlight and the use of sunlamps, since the darkness in you seems to react to that. I’m also going to get you on fluids and oral antibiotics I think, and build a meal plan for you. I think attacking this like it’s a regular infection might work, by giving your body the ability to fight back and regulate it by bolstering it and strengthening it and giving you time to rest. Hopefully we’ll be able to fix this with little unnecessary intervention.”

“And you got that all from just holding my hand a bit?” Nico asked incredulously.

“Of course not, I’ve also got skillz,” Will said with a wink and it was Nico’s turn to roll his eyes. Will immediately internally chastised himself. Why, oh why did he do that, Will immediately thought as he mentally cringed. This was exactly what he was not supposed to be doing. He needed to stay more professional.

“I’ve never heard that hymn before,” Nico noted, clearing his throat. His voice had an oddly dark and rasping quality to it, as if carrying on this conversation was a strain.

“It’s an Orphic hymn.”

“What’s the difference?” Nico asked curiously. Will blinked, his composure again crumpling.

“I forgot you haven’t taken any Ancient Greek classes with Chiron,” Will said as he cleared his own throat, that strange feeling inside of him tickling at the back of his throat. “Homeric Hymns are the ones you’ve heard before, and we use hymns to help concentrate our powers—“

“I heard you can do healing without them. I’ve also heard from my time at Camp Jupiter that it’s really difficult to do that,” Nico interrupted and Will couldn’t help but feel himself blush at the compliment. Nico, seemingly realized what he had done, awkwardly looked away.

“I can, but, it’s easier to focus my power when I do. Anyways, Homeric Hymns are the ones written by Homer, obviously. Orphic Hymns are written by Orpheus.”

“You mean Orpheus the son of Zeus?”

“Yes, but he was a great musician and a great composer of hymns. My dad gave him his lyre. Anyways, I like the Orphic Hymns because I’m not much of a singer. It’s easier for me to hold a beat and a tune with rhyming,” Will explained as he rocked back on his chair thoughtfully.

“Your voice is fine.”

“Wow, thank you for that glowing review of my singing prowess,” Will said sarcastically. Nico flushed in embarrassment (his version of flushing, which was adding maybe a degree or two of color to his face in splotches) before scoffing and turning over on his uninjured side so Will couldn’t exactly see his face.

“I…I might have difficulty resting. I don’t really sleep. Or eat,” Nico stated but it sounded apologetic. At least somewhat.

“Thank you for telling me that,” Will told him sincerely. “We’ll go slow with the eating. And we’ve got sleeping medication I can give you.”  

“…it’s really bad,” Nico said quietly. “I know it. I’m not dumb. I don’t…do you think I’ll ever be back to how I was before?”

“I don’t know,” Will answered honestly. “I’ve seen some power burn out before, I’ve suffered from it too. But your magic is different and the case is really severe. But I promise, I’ll try my best to help—”

“I’m tired from all this talking. I’m going to rest,” Nico said shortly and curtly, still not moving his head to look at him. Will gently grasped a spare blanket from another bed and placed it besides Nico, noting how small he still looked. He didn’t dare to try to drape it over him, Will got the feeling that Nico wouldn’t have accepted that lightly. Will then opened the window that was opposite of Nico’s drapes, to allow the sunlight to splash against his shirt.

“I’ll be back to check in on you soon and put in that IV,” Will told him, not expecting or receiving an acknowledgement.

Phoebe saw him walking away and gave him a look (as did her healers), and he saw his siblings Kayla, Austin, and their younger brother Antonio congregated by the desk looking down at Nico as if he were a time-bomb.

“I’ve given first aid to the most pressing injuries. He’s going to need fluids and antibiotics, but give him about 45 minutes to decompress. He’s got tons of darkness in his system, like, on a scale of one to ten he’s about a Mordor. Antonio, if you could, could you grab Violet and run over to Hedge’s and Mellie’s and ask about some magical muck that Nico said he used to de-Dark-Side him before—“

“You just don’t want to deal with any babies,” Antonio teased him, dark eyes winking with mischief.

“Or I’m giving Hedge the chance to bop you in the head for hitting on his wife,” Will teased as he ruffled Antonio’s dark hair. He stuck his tongue out, before leaving the infirmary. “Kayla, I know you’ll be the one doing rounds on that part of the infirmary. Please, if you feel like you need help, come get me okay?”

“di Angelo can barely walk straight, I think I’ll be fine,” Kayla scoffed before Austin needled her with his elbow.

“Yeah sure, let’s see how sticking a needle in him works for you,” Austin told her and she just bumped her hip against his, knocking Austin slightly off balance (and he of course recovered with a spin and a bow before they both walked off to attend their other duties).

Will nearly collapsed back in his own seat, a sudden wave of exhaustion hitting him. He rubbed at his temples, annoyed at himself. Will had almost let a dumb dream get in the way of something important. Just like the gods, Will thought exasperated, giving him a prophecy that he couldn’t do anything about but would only cause him issues. What would or would not happen between him and Nico needed to be a nonissue, especially when Nico was receiving care in his infirmary.

“Pull yourself together,” Will warned himself, giving his cheeks a resolute pat.

“Do you need a break or could you see more patients? Elise wanted your opinion, since she isn’t as familiar with nectar and ambrosia healing, and wanted to know if she should administer that or do a full healing,” Phoebe said as she tapped against the desk.

“And you couldn’t advise her?” Will asked curiously, and saw a strangely familiar grin on her face. One that he most certainly shared.

“Well, let’s just say I am also curious about how you Greeks do things and I don’t like being left in the dark,” Phoebe noted. “It would be a good learning experience for me.”

“You know, we both get that curiosity from the same place. If I do this, will you tell me more detail about the unicorn draught uses?” Will dared her, and Phoebe just nodded in return.

Will got the feeling that maybe there was something there that they could work on.