#the answer to all of those is probably yes because I'm insane BYE

[crescentfool]

I noticed you're a Ryomina!!! How did you get into it? And do you have any good fanfics/doujinshi you can advice me to read? ANYTHING on Ryomina actually? I'm dying for anything about them!!! Thanks!!

yes!!! it's me!!! i'm ryomina fan (one of many)!!! thank you for visiting my askbox, i'll do my best to answer all of the questions because it always makes me happy to see that ryomina sparks joy for people! :D

...this got really long because i like linking to things, so i'm putting it under a read more (IM VERY NORMAL ABOUT THEM)

how did i get into it? i got into persona 3 around august 2021 through the movies- at the time my only experience with the persona series was with P5R / P5S / P5D. p3 was the one that interested me the most (i thought minato was very pretty + i caught wind that the themes of the game were very resonant with people). i picked the movies over the game because i'm a guy who plays games at a snails pace, haha.

admittedly, i did latch onto ryomina because of the scenes in the third and fourth movie (i have mentioned in the tags of this art i drew how much i felt like i was exploding and blasting off to the moon watching it).

but what really dug me into the ryomina hole (and what has kept me there) was thinking about how much ryoji encapsulates the themes of p3- and how interconnected his fate is with minato. i wrote some musings about their dynamic here, if you're interested!

tl;dr: what if we were both boys and we were mirror images of each other and i inherited your kindness and looks but god doomed our narrative even though we're soulmates

on ryomina fanworks recommendations:

regarding fics: i'm going to assume that you've probably read the fics that have the highest kudo ratings on them, so i won't really be listing those.

a personal favorite fic that i always hold close to my heart is Eurydice's Vow by crescentmoontea, which explores the idea of ryomina in p5r's third semester. this was the first fic i read about ryomina and it made me tear up lots...

i also think a lot about I Alone Await You by Nail_gun, literally scrumptious writing that captures the ryomina dynamic so so well. actually check out Nail_gun's other ryomina fics while you're at it too!

other fun fic i'm fond of: can't get my mind out of those memories (what were they?) by foxmulder_whereartthou. ryoji being homeless lives rent free in my head and it's all because of this fic. there's a bunch of other fun ryominas from the same author too (i still need to read them)

BkZa555 also has some fun AU scenarios if you're into that too, notably with Zagreus (P5-Setting, Ryoji focus) and The Definition of Insanity (TIME LOOP fuckery!), but they're currently ongoing.

these were some ones that came to my mind first- as i have the strongest recollection reading them. admittedly i haven't really been reading fic this year, so i don't have many recommendations from fic that came out this year. but if you're so inclined to let ryomina consume your soul, i definitely recommend giving the newer works in the ryomina tag a look-see and see if it strikes your fancy!

as a side note, i do have a few ryomina fics that i've bookmarked on my ao3 here, though i have to say that i'm not sure how well they hold up in terms of like... what i would seek out of a fic these days. but they made past me happy so i bookmarked them, LOL. it's kind of outdated (my collection of fic recs has my old username *disintegrates*).

regarding doujinshi: i have not read all the ryomina doujinshi available, but as a starting point, please take a look at this list from pandora-scans from livejournal!

notably, this is where you can find the strawberry-chan say good bye doujin- which features a small and cute comic from shuji sogabe (the p3/p4 manga artist), as well as other artists. the existence of this doujinshi is the funniest thing to me because it's like "HEY if you're wondering what the volume 8 cover is really gay it's because sogabe contributed to a ryomina doujin." this fact makes my head spin (positive). it explains a lot about the manga.

regarding persona side material:

i know you didn't ask for these but i thought that i mine as well list these too, since i feel that the side materials have some fun expansions on ryoji and minato's interactions. i haven't... watched/read all of these but, hey, i like to share these things!

for comic anthologies for the persona series (some of which have ryoji!). if you're interested in reading them, here's a scanlation index from maboroshi-no on tumblr. i don't think this is a comprehensive list, but i think it will be a great starting point!

for some translations of the persona 3 drama cds, check out imaginary-numbers on dreamwidth! ryoji and minato interactions can specifically be found in the persona 3 character drama cd vol. 1, and for the audio + english subs, you can watch this video on youtube:

and ohh the musical. ryoji singing and dancing gives me so much joy. i haven't watched the musical in it's entirety (only fragments), but here are some links that may be of interest to you:

Ao no Kakusei (The Blue Awakening), Sakuya version - playlist for the first p3 musical, translated by Phoenix Maiika.

Ao no Kakusei (The Blue Awakening), Kotone version - playlist for the femc version!! also translated by Phoenix Maiika on YouTube.

Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade (English Subtitles) - playlist by rumio!

P3 Weird Musical DVD & Soundtrack Booklet Scans by rumio_k - twitter thread that links to these funsies, if you don't have twitter, here's the publicly shared drive link.

god. these sure are a lot of links, huh? i hope you enjoy them- pick and choose whatever sounds most appealing! (if this overwhelmed you im sorry GKLHLDH i just like being very comprehensive in my answers about things so i got carried away).

and as a reminder, you (and anyone else reading) are always welcome to browse my tags/archive and reblog things from there anytime! i have... nearly 300 ryomina posts which, while mostly consists of art, has a few fics, meta, hcs, gifs, memes, and whatnot scattered about.

or browse the minato and ryoji tags too! there's.. nearly 1k minato. and 500 ish ryoji. and they're going to keep on growing because i can't stop being obsessed with archiving these things. god help me i am so deep in this hole called ryomina hell and now you're here too. welcome aboard!

there's always going to be a lot of fun ways to enjoy rotating ryomina around in one's brain, i think- they're a pairing with such fun symbolic imagery that is So Deep (to me) but ALSO they're immensely hilarious and weird guys (affectionate). so i love to share these things in hopes that it gives you joy too! they are the most couple ever (to me) (i'm biased)

thank you again for the ask! i hope it can satiate your need for more ryomina, and be a nice aide in exploring the p3 fanspace :)

[commanderbuffy]

KRIS Kris (I know I already screamed at you about this but I'm not done processing) not only was that maybe the worst time (for Jade) for Kit to have called Canyon Maze but also IMAGINE Jade is literally just beginning to think maybe she can go after what she wants maybe there is something else in Kit's eyes aside from her own delusion talking MAYBE THEY COULD BE MORE THAN JUST OBLIVIOUS SILLY GOOOSES!!

You don't even have to imagine cause you KNOW all of this already but dang my heart. Jade sweety oh no self preservation is about to kick in ten fold. If this is what happens when she lets herself be free and ignore the rules and actually try and be with Kit how she wants though with zero communication still it's gonna be a complete 180 she's gonna stick to the fake dating rules so strictly, she's gonna feel so guilty the HORROR on her face she's not going to touch Kit unless she absolutely has to. She just wants to show she cares because Kit loves those small acts of love and caring and Jade's going to feel so horrible and probably angry with herself 😭😭😭

AND THEY HAVE THE WILDWOOD MEETING and didn't one of your ask answers mention Jade fucking up or doing something bad or something I'm spiralling over here. It's Kris' world we're all just living in it hands down all the applause to you I- I still just don't have all the words I need to express what a rollercoaster this has been.

Anyway I'm fine I'm calm totally not over here going totally insane about this since last night or anything nope.

JAY!!!

Jade quite literally was thinking they were going to coast into being real girlfriends without even necessarily talking about it (which, come on silly goose). You're 10000% spot on that her instinct is going to be self-preservation. in every sense of the word. that heart that she was opening up? closed for business. BYE.

And the first time they'll see each other again after canyon maze is in the waiting room as they wait to attend their meeting with the producers.

Can confirm: Jade will fuck up in one way or another

ahh yes, your messages today have TOTALLY been calm.

[myalchod]

Weird Writer Questions - 5 and 16 and… all of them?

Aw man, I'm so tempted to answer all of them 😂 I answered a few over here already, but as for the rest ... let's see ...

5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true? Not that I can think of ... although, come to think of it, I'm currently petrified about posting anything that's a WIP with the intention of posting chapters incrementally because I left a fully-framed one abandoned in my last fandom and I'm convinced it'll end up the same way. (I'm almost 10k into a Silrah WIP, which considering my longest work to date was 30k is a lot, and yet it hides in GoogleDocs ...)

16. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark? On a temporary basis I've used all sorts of wild things because it's literally what's on hand. My normal bookmarks are pretty pedestrian. (This is more of a reader ask, isn't it? 🤣)

Additional answers behind the cut because ... well:

1. What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting? So it's not the font that's notable, it's probably the size. I work in GoogleDocs on my phone, and I'm normally using 8pt Arial. (And yes, that's tiny. And yes, I'm probably a bit insane.) I tend to do my final editing pass in Times or another serif font because it's easier to find the italics for coding, but that's about it.

2. If you had to give up your keyboard and write your stories exclusively by hand, could you do it? If you already write everything by hand, a) are you a wizard and b) pen or pencil? I enjoy writing longhand, though I like the conversion from paper to digital as part of the editing process. Some of how I write -- when I shuffle things around, for example -- would be impossible on paper, though. I'll take a hybrid. (Standard gear: Clairefontaine pocket notebook, Platinum EF fountain pen, various inks.)

6. What is your darkest fear about writing? That nobody likes my stuff because I am a walking bundle of anxiety. Also, not finishing, sob.

7. What is your deepest joy about writing? I really love those moments when you're deep enough into a character's head that you write something down and then end up blinking at the page going, "oh. OH. I never thought about that but it makes perfect sense." (Also, getting a sentence just right, especially if someone swears at me about it later.)

8. If you had to write an entire story without either action or dialogue, which would you choose and how would it go? Okay wait. Is this action as in "action movies" action or as in any sort of movement? Because if the former: BYE ACTION. If the latter, dialogue is getting yeeted SO FAST.

9. Do you believe in ghosts? This isn’t about writing I just wanna know 😂 The house my unbrothers grew up in was haunted and had serious horror-movie-type dolls at the top of the stairs. I'm pretty sure I never had a choice in believeing.

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you? Flippant answer: I'm haunted by the ghosts of all the fics I never finished, and they're obnoxious bastards.

11. Do you believe in the old advice to “kill your darlings?” Are you a ruthless darling assassin? What happens to the darlings you murder? Do you have a darling graveyard? Do you grieve? ... does it count if I bring them back? Asking for pretty much every damned ship I've ever had because damn you, canon. (No. I do not murder my darlings. Canon does it, and then I have to fix it. 😭)

Oh man I want to answer so many more of these, except I promised myself I'd write tonight so I'm mostly stopping here ... except for one because I am a goddamned sucker for poetry. (Please feel free to drop more in my inbox if you want though, especially if I didn't hit a specific one you wanted. I will take just about any excuse to babble, hi. 😂)

40. Please share a poem with me, I need it. George Seferis is my current obsession; here's a short one:

Three red pigeons in the light inscribing our fate in the light with colours and gestures of people we once loved

[paper-mirio]

Your Heart on Your Sleeve & A Knife in Your Back

Shindou Yo x Reader

Words: 7,229

Summary: When the two of you were young, you made a promise to each other that the two of you would be the greatest hero duo the world had ever seen. You would be the Pro Heroes Heat Wave and Grand, the best partners in the industry! And you weren’t going to let something as simple as going to different hero schools get in the way of your promise to your best friend. Before one can become a Pro Hero, however, they must receive their Provisional License. And really, since you’re so eager to talk to him about your classmates, can you blame him for using that information to his advantage? The answer, of course, is yes.

A/N: This was written as a Secret Santa present for a friend! It’s sort of a Christmas fic but since I don’t think I mentioned Christmas anywhere take it as a late generic holiday fic! Enjoy!

“I got in!” you shouted into the phone, prompting your dad to shout for you to lower your voice from downstairs. You called out an apology, gently setting down the hologram disc that came with your acceptance letter. The video had been paused near the end, and the smile on All Might’s frozen face paled in comparison to the beaming grin etched onto yours.

Instead of the excited encouragement you expected in response, you were met with silence. You waited, before hesitantly asking, “Shindou? You there?”

“...Yeah. Um, you got in where, exactly?” Shindou asked.

“Oh, yeah. I got into UA! They said I'm in class 1-A!” you exclaimed. You giggled excitedly, doing a small little dance. If Shindou were in the room with you he'd no doubt comment about how silly you looked, but you wouldn't care a bit. This was everything you dreamed of, and you felt like you were on top of the world right now.

“That's great, Y/N,” Shindou said, very clearly not as excited as you were. “So I guess that means you're not coming to Ketsubutsu, huh?”

You let out a sigh. “Yeah, guess not. I mean, I really would love to go to school with you, but Ketsubutsu is so far, and—“

“UA is your dream school, I get it! You don't have to make any excuses; if I were in your situation I'd choose UA too,” Shindou laughed. “Just don't get it in your head that this makes you better than me, alright? I may not be your senpai anymore, but I still have a year of experience on you.”

“If you say so,” you giggled. “Just get ready, I'll catch up with you before you know it. We gotta be on the same level when we team up, you know?”

Shindou chuckled. “True, true. I'll put in a good word for you with Yoroi Musha then. We’ll be able to get used to working together if he extends an internship offer to you.”

“Pfft, you won't need to! He'll be so blown away when he sees me at the Sports Festival this year, he’ll be begging to have me join,” you claim. Sure, you may have been exaggerating a bit there. After all, having the Number 8 Pro Hero as a mentor would be a very big deal. But you were confident in your skills, and Shindou made it sound so wonderful whenever he told you of his experiences working with the hero. You remember celebrating the night Shindou told you he'd been offered an internship at his agency, and you were still proud of him. He wasn't at the agency anymore, but was extended an offer to return once he'd gotten his provisional license.

“There you go again,” Shindou jokingly chided. “And they wonder why I worry about their ego...”

“Oh, because you're one to talk, right?” you joked back. You heard your dad call for you, and stopped laughing to let out a sigh. “Listen, I gotta go. I’ll call back soon, alright?”

“Yeah, talk to you later then. Bye.”

“Bye!” you said, quickly hanging up. You pocketed your phone and moved to exit your room when you caught sight of your acceptance letter. You squealed in excitement. You were gonna be a hero!

You entered Shindou’s apartment, giving a brief bow to Shindou’s mother on your way in. “Thank you for having me over on such short notice!” you thanked her.

She waved it off with a smile. “It's no problem, Y/N,” she said. “You're always welcome here! Besides, after what your class just went through we would've invited you over anyway!” Her eyes narrowed mischievously, and she leaned in and lowered her voice before continuing, “I know he's bad at showing how he really feels, but Yo’s been worried sick ever since the news broke. So I'm sure he'll be more than happy to see you here.”

You flushed at this, nodding in response and laughing nervously. “Haha, well, I guess I'll go see him now then!” You waved goodbye before rushing off in the direction of Shindou’s room. Once outside, you knocked a few times before placing your hand on the doorknob. “Shindou? It's me, Y/N. Can I come in?” you asked. You were met with complete silence. Your furrowed your eyebrows. “Shindou?” You placed your ear to the door, trying to listen for any movement on the other side. Nothing. Concern bubbled within you, and worst-case scenarios ran through your mind. Was your school the only one targeted today? Maybe someone had attacked Shindou without his family noticing. Trying not to panic, you called him once more. When no response came, you announced, “I’m coming in,” before twisting the doorknob and opening the door.

Quickly surveying the room for anything wrong, you sighed in relief at the sight of Shindou asleep in his bed, headphones covering his ears. Once the concern left you, you rolled your eyes in amusement. “Worried sick, huh?” you muttered, shaking your head and making your way over to stand at the side of his bed. Without warning, you flopped onto the bed next to him, throwing your weight into your fall. The mattress springs squeaked in resistance and Shindou was sent a few inches into the air, startling him awake. He ripped his headphones off and raised his hands into fists, seemingly ready for a fight before his eyes landed on you, casually lying in his bed with a devious smirk on your face.

His wide eyes blinked in confusion, and he reached up to rub at them before asking, “Y/N?”

You finally laughed at the confused look on his face. “Hey, Shindou. How was school today?”

At the mention of school, he was wide awake. The look on his face turned serious, and he gave you a slight glare. “I should be the one asking you that! A villain attack?!” He looked you up and down, concern etched into his features. “Are you hurt?”

Your smile turned soft, and you placed your hands on his shoulders. “Look, I’m fine! See? Not a scratch on me!” Except for the one on my back, you thought, but he didn't need to know about that. “As if I’d let some lowlife villain get the best of me!” you scoffed. “Besides, they really didn't know what they were doing with the whole attack. They basically made it easier for us all to fight back.”

Shindou raised an eyebrow, intrigued, yet still concerned. “They did? How?”

You giggled, finding humor in the convenience of the situation. “Okay, I probably shouldn't be laughing because I got really lucky they messed up the way they did, but it's just so perfect! We were at a training facility specifically for rescue training, so there were different zones for different types of disasters. And when the villains first showed up, they had their warper villain separate us into the different zones so they could pick us off individually, and—“

“So they were trying to kill you guys?!” Shindou asked, alarmed.

You sighed, frustrated at the interruption. “Yeah, they were. Anyway,” you continued, ignoring the growing concern in Shindou’s face, “we were all sent to the different disaster zones randomly. And, get this,” you giggled, pausing for dramatic effect, “they sent me to the fire zone.”

Shindou blinked, processing your statement before a bemused grin formed. “They didn't!”

“They did!” you cackled. The two of you laughed together for a few moments, with you hugging your sides. You wiped a tear from your eye, proceeding with your explanation of the day’s events. “Yeah, Ojiro and I took care of those assholes in no time.”

“Ojiro?” Shindou asked.

“Oh yeah, I haven't told you about any of my classmates yet. Ojiro’s got this really cool tail Quirk, and he's insane at martial arts!” You mimed some of the moves you’d seen your classmate perform earlier in the day, a large grin on your face. “With me practically giving them heatstroke and him kicking them into the concrete, they hardly stood a chance against us!” You smiled and leaned back in the bed, hands behind your head as you smiled at the ceiling. “I wasn't the only one who got a convenient placement, either. One of my classmates, Tsuyu, has a frog mutation Quirk. One of the many, many things she can do with her Quirk is swim fast.”

“Oh, let me guess,” Shindou cut in. “Flood zone?”

“Close,” you responded. “Shipwreck.”

Shindou snapped his fingers, muttering, “Damn.” He turned to face you, a small smile on his face. “You really did get lucky today, huh? You're sure you're alright?”

You nodded, returning his smile. “I promise, I'm perfectly fine. Other than this one kid with a really self-destructive Quirk and two of our teachers, nobody got seriously hurt. And those three are gonna be just fine, last I heard.” You let out a dreamy sigh. “Aside from, you know, the threat of death and all, it was cool seeing everyone’s Quirks in action. My classmates are all really cool.”

If you hadn't been staring at the ceiling, you might've noticed a certain glint in Shindou’s eyes. Having known him all your life, you would've immediately recognized the look as one he gets when scheming to himself. However, as you were looking away, he was met with no confrontation as a sly grin formed on his face. “Yeah,” he said. “They do sound pretty cool. Why don't you tell me more about them?”

You laid face down in your bed, unable to face the shame of meeting your friend’s gaze. Such a defeat had been humiliating, broadcast for the whole nation to see your failure. I can never go outside again, you thought. My entire career, down the drain. It was fun while it lasted. You'd survived an attack by villains, but this? This was your downfall.

“Y/N,” groaned Shindou, tired of your dramatics. “You got third place. That's good. What are you so embarrassed about?”

You lifted your head off your pillow to sent him a scathing glare. He rolled his eyes, not at all intimidated. “It wasn't good enough! I only got to the tournament round because Ojiro dropped out, and then I couldn't even last a minute against Todoroki! Me! Losing to the kid with the ice quirk!” You flopped your head back down, heaving another loud sigh into the pillow. “Who’d want to take me on as an intern after that mess I made out there...?” Your voice, muffled by the pillow, barely reached Shindou.

“Well, Yoroi Musha, for one,” Shindou muttered, rolling his eyes before letting out a laugh at the way your head jerked up in surprise.

“Wait, for real?!”

Shindou nodded. “You haven't gotten the offers yet, but he said he was impressed by your performance and thinks you'd be a good fit at the agency. Because, you know, you got third place and did a really good job, Y/N.” He watched as you processed those, waiting for the excited laughter that normally came when you received good news. This was a big deal, after all, and a great opportunity for your career. The laughter never came, however, as he saw you blink in confusion, your eyebrows furrowing. He sighed, realizing the issue. You still weren't satisfied with your performance, and you didn't understand why a high-ranking hero was impressed. Shaking his head, he moved to sit next to you on your bed, forcing you to roll into your back to make room for him. Lightly nudging your shoulder, he got your attention, asking, “Look, let's talk about what happened today. Maybe it'll get you to understand how well you actually did. Forget the second round and start with the first tournament match. Who were you up against?”

You sighed, grabbing your pillow and covering your face with it. “You watched the whole thing, you already know—“

“We’re talking each other through it,” he cut you off, ripping your pillow away. “Now, who did you fight?”

You let out a frustrated groan. “Fine. Kaminari Denki. My classmate.”

Shindou nodded. “Quirk?”

“Electricity.”

“And how did you beat him?”

“Kept my distance, since he’s better at short-range combat. Used my Quirk to make the air around us hotter, exhausting him faster and increasing the air’s resistance to electric current, making his attacks slower. I just waited for him to short out at that point,” you recited. You sighed once you finished. “Okay yeah, I did okay in that fight, but what about—?”

“Patience,” Shindou gently said, ruffling your hair as he cut you off yet again. Ignoring your pointed glare and avoiding your hand swatting his away, he nodded. “Next round. Who’d you fight?”

“Iida Tenya. Engine Quirk. I caused his engines to overheat,” you said, covering the questions you knew he'd ask before he got to them. “Harder to target him because he moved too fast, and he nearly got me out of the ring at one point.”

Shindou nodded. “Good, good.” He smiled down at me. “Now, the last round.”

You sighed, turning on your side away from him as your face flushed in embarrassment. “Do we really need to go over this one? It was embarrassing enough living through it.”

Shindou gripped your shoulder, rolling you back and laughing when he saw the pout on your face. “Yes, we do. It's important to understand your failures and learn from them. Can't be a good hero if you don't do that.”

You folded your arms over your chest. “...Fine. Todoroki Shouto. Half-hot, half-cold. I've only ever seen him use his fire against Midoriya, though.” You paused, frown deepening on your face.

Shindou poked your cheek at the corner of your frown, a smirk on his face. “Go on,” he teased.

“When the round started he sent ice to capture me like he did for everyone else. I used my Quirk to melt the ice, but I didn't evaporate it because the steam would have blocked my vision.”

“So the water was still on the floor of the ring?” Shindou asked.

“Yeah. I tried to get closer to him, since he seems like he prefers long-range attacks. Plus if he used his fire, I could've turned that against him. He didn't. And he kept avoiding me while I tried to close the distance until we basically circled the stage.”

“And,” Shindou added, “while this was happening you weren't focused on where you were standing.”

You shook your head. “Nope, just focused on getting closer to him.”

“So when you circled the stage—“

“I ended up back where I started,” you ground out between clenched teeth, “right where the puddle was from the ice I melted.”

“And the puddle?”

“Frozen over.”

“So,” Shindou continued, covering his mouth to try and stifle a laugh. “When you stepped on the ice?”

You sighed, sending him a pointed glare at his poor attempt to hide his laughter. “I fell on my ass, and Todoroki knocked me off the stage with more ice.”

Shindou snorted at the memory. He took in a breath, trying not to laugh too much when you were still embarrassed over the whole situation. “Now, if you had to do something different during that fight, what would you have done?”

You thought for a moment, your eyebrows furrowed in concentration. “Well,” you started, “I’d definitely get rid of that puddle, for one.” You continued to think, nodding to yourself. “I could try to do what Midoriya did and wait for him to overuse his ice, instead of chasing him around like I did. He'd either wear himself out from the cold or he'd use his fire, which I could turn against him.” You smiled, proud of yourself for your plan, before the smile dropped and you slammed your face into the pillow again. “Ugh, why didn't I just do that?!”

Shindou rubbed your back soothingly, a slight smirk on his face. “It's alright Y/N,” he said. “Now you know better, and you can probably beat him next time you go against him.”

You lifted your head, and his smirk vanished and was replaced with a smile. You sent him a soft smile, saying, “Thank you, Shindou. This was actually helpful. Think we can do this more often?”

He reached up to ruffle your hair, briefly blocking your view of his face as the smirk returned. “Of course! If you ever wanna go over a training exercise or something else you guys did in class, feel free to reach out.”

You sat up fully and leaned over to pull Shindou into a hug. You buried your face into his shoulder. Shindou blinked in surprise, his smirk dropping, but immediately returned the hug. For a brief moment, he felt a twinge of guilt, and considered telling you his real intentions. He shook his head, dismissing the thought and pulling you closer. They’ll understand eventually, he reasoned to himself.

Over the next couple of months, you'd taken Shindou up on his offer multiple times. After eventful Heroics classes, sparring sessions, or days where you just trained your Quirk, you'd call Shindou or visit his place to talk yourself through the experience. You'd go over the matches you'd win, detailing what strategies you'd used so you could understand which worked and which didn't. You extensively covered the matches you'd lost, analyzing together what your opponents did that got the best of you. Shindou would occasionally interject with his own ideas of how you could have utilized your Quirk, but for the most part he guided you to talk on your own.

When the time came to do your internship, you'd decided to join Yoroi Musha, who—just as Shindou had told you—extended you an offer to join him at his agency. Unfortunately, Shindou’s internship would occur in a different week, so the two of you did not get the chance to work together. Regardless, he continued to encourage you via text when you were free. Your regular analysis was put on a temporary halt, as you were getting plenty of feedback on your performance from your new mentor. Shindou, interestingly enough, did not reach out and offer to begin the conversation as much during this week, even though he was normally very enthusiastic in doing so. You shrugged this off, not seeing this as very unusual. After all, end of term exams had been approaching, and he was probably busy studying. This was a relatively new arrangement, after all.

When your end of term exams passed, however, his enthusiasm returned full force. He insisted you analyze the practical portion of the exam with very close attention to detail.

“After all,” he suggested, “it's not every day you get to fight against a Pro Hero.”

Finding no fault in his logic, you agreed. Interestingly enough, the direction he took when guiding your analysis wasn't what you expected. Rather than focus on the strategies you used against Midnight, Shindou had you focus on how well you worked with your teammate, and how you utilized both of your Quirks to your advantage. It all made sense why, however, after hearing him explain that in the field you'd likely find yourself having to improvise with a partner you haven't worked with before.

“But aren't we going to be partners?” you interjected, eyebrow raised as you teased him.

“Yeah, of course,” he nonchalantly responded. “But there might be times when we get separated for whatever reasons. You gotta learn to work with other people, you know?”

And after detailing how you were able to work together with Sero to win the match, that was the last analysis discussion the two of you would have. You told him about how your class would be going on a forest lodge trip during the summer, so you wouldn't be able to visit until you got back. He pouted when you told him, making you promise you'd visit as soon as you got back.

You giggled, pulling him in for a hug. “Of course!” You leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek, laughing as he blushed. “I know you'll get lonely without me, so I promise not to leave you alone for too long!” Shindou shook his head, muttering under his breath about you being embarrassing, but returned the hug. So you left, with the promise of a swift return and the sharing of any cool stories that happened over the summer.

And then the training camp was attacked. And your classmate was kidnapped. And you, without hesitation, joined your classmates in the rescue attempt. And though your rescue was successful, and you escaped without serious injury, and the villain that leveled the ward, leaving little behind was defeated—

It was all too much. You needed to get away, even if only briefly.

While the teachers made their rounds informing parents of the new dorms on campus, you made your way to Shindou’s apartment. Giving his mother the usual polite greeting, you were startled at her suddenly pulling you into a hug.

“We were so happy,” she said, voice wavering as she held back tears, “to hear that you were safe, Y/N.” She pulled away and wiped at her eyes, a soft smile on her face. “Yo is in his room. I know you came here to see him and not deal with me crying, so go on ahead.” She shooed you off in the direction of Shindou’s room, so you left her alone. You made your way to his room to see the door cracked open. You were about to announce your presence and walk in, when you heard another voice in the room.

“Wow, you got all that from one person?” The voice was male and was clearly coming from a phone speaker. You stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt his phone call, so you stood outside the door and waited for his to finish.

“Yeah, I have a friend in class 1-A over there, and they’ve told me a bunch about their classmates and their Quirks,” you heard Shindou say. “Strengths, weaknesses, fighting styles. All of it.”

“Wow! For real?” exclaimed the voice on the other end. “Are they trying to set up their class to fail or something?”

Shindou laughed in response. “Nah, I don't think they know that the license exam is a competition yet. We've been having these conversations so they can ‘improve their strategy’ when fighting. Which, to be fair,” he said, oh so casually like he wasn't breaking your trust and heart with every word, “we technically are. That's just...not the whole reason, is all.”

A moment of silence from the person on the other end, and you swear you could heart your heart pounding in your ears as the weight of how you'd been betrayed settled on you. The license exam? That’s why he'd been helping you? While you thought you were bonding with someone you'd known your whole life, he was gathering info to use against your class in an exam. To become a hero.

“...Huh. Your friend sounds kinda gullible,” the person on the other end, who you could only guess was one of Shindou’s classmates, finally responded. You scoffed quietly, shaking your head. Gullible. Because it was so wrong to trust that kind of info with someone you shared everything with? With someone who promised you to always be at your side and support you?

At Shindou’s laugh and the response of, “Maybe,” you'd decided you'd heard enough. You stood in front of the door, taking in a deep breath. You wiped at the tears in your eyes, swallowed down the burning pain in your throat, and hesitantly knocked at the door. Silence on the other side. “...Hey, I'll call you back later, okay?” you heard Shindou say into the phone. He must have turned off the speaker, as you heard no response before footsteps made their way to the door, which slowly opened to reveal Shindou on the other side.

Once he saw you, his eyes widened and he immediately pulled you into a tight hug. “Y/N,” he muttered, bringing his hand up to rest on the back of your head. “You’re okay...” Feeling the burning pain in your throat return, you resisted the urge to shove him away and yell at him over everything you'd overheard. Instead, you hesitantly raised your arms and returned the hug, embracing the warm feeling and trying to gain some sense of comfort in it. You didn't find much.

He eventually pulled away, frowning down at you as he placed his hands on your shoulders. “We were already worried enough when we heard your camp got attacked, but you had to go off and pull some stupid stunt that nearly got yourself killed again?” At your confused look, Shindou’s gaze narrowed on you. “Your dad called my mom. We know about how you and some classmates of yours rescued that Bakugou kid.” He let out a shaky sigh, his grip on your shoulders tightening. He closed his eyes tightly. “Just...don't do something that reckless again.” His eyes opened, and he gave you a small smile. “I can't be part of the best hero duo if my partner goes and gets themself killed, right?”

Still hurt over both his betrayal and how he had the nerve to act concerned about you after just bragging about how he tricked you, it took a bit of effort to put on a convincing smile. You knew, with how long the two of you had known each other, that it wouldn't be enough to convince him, so you pulled him into another hug so he wouldn't have to see it. “I’m fine. I promise I won't do anything like that again. You don't need to worry...”

He pulled away, giving a quick ruffle to your hair before he reached down to grab a bag on the floor, slinging it over his shoulder. “Good. Listen, as much as I’d love to stay, you kinda caught me at a bad time. I have to get back to the agency—my internship actually starts today!” He leaned forward to press a kiss to your forehead, and you did your best not to let the fluttering feeling in your chest make you forget what he did to you. “I’ll see ya soon, Y/N!” He waved and jogged over to leave his apartment after saying goodbye to his mother.

You let out a shaky breath once he was gone, the tension of holding in your emotion almost overwhelming. You wanted nothing more at that moment than to go home and have a nice cry session in your room, curtains drawn, with your favorite music playing at full volume. Before you could make your way to the exit, however, you were stopped by a call from Shindou’s mother.

“Oh wait, Y/N, before you go!” She stood in front of you, a DVD case in her hand. “I just found out the other day that Yo never let you see what happened in his school’s Sports Festival!”

Your eyes zeroed in on the blank DVD case, wide in surprise. “Huh. He never even told me that they had one....” Which, now that you thought about it, seemed silly. Every school had a Sports Festival. Especially every hero school. And while most weren't broadcasted, like UA’s and Shiketsu’s were, they would certainly record events for parents to view, right?

Shindou’s mother rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “Honestly, I can't imagine why not. He did excellently this year! Sure, there were a few moments he was embarrassed about, but we all watched your performance!” She handed you the DVD case. “Here, we had a spare copy, so I think you should have this one. Enjoy!” She hugged you before sending you on your way, making sure to call out a “Stay safe!” before you closed the door.

Standing outside the apartment, you stared down at the DVD case in your hands. On the disc, you'd be able to watch Shindou and his classmates’ Quirks in action. See how they fight, how they strategize, how they act. Every bit of information Shindou coerced from you, you would be able to watch. And his mother had handed it over with a smile on her face.

A grin developed, and you snickered to yourself. This? This would even the odds. You pulled out your phone, pressing on Midoriya’s contact before typing out a text. ‘Hey, you like analyzing Quirks, right? I have something you might be interested in watching...’

A manic grin was on your face as you dodged a ball thrown by a Ketsubutsu student. Your plan was working perfectly. Your classmates had been thoroughly informed of the Quirks and fighting styles of Ketsubutsu’s class 2-2. While you'd all been caught slightly off guard at how most of the examinees immediately targeted your class, you very quickly recovered and fought back.

You had to suppress a cackle when you saw Tokoyami strike at Nakagame, who quickly collapsed her torso into herself using her Quirk to dodge, only to be struck by Ojiro while her vision was obscured. Midoriya was spot on with his analysis, and your classmates had clearly paid close attention. For every strike they made, your class countered with peak efficiency. Even as Shindou’s Quirk scattered the class, they had prepared beforehand for this scenario and were not too shaken by the attack.

You hit the third target on a Ketsubutsu student, laughing all the while. “One down, one to go!” you cheered, quickly scanning the area to see if any other examinees were nearby. Upon spotting a familiar mess of brown hair out of the corner of your eye, you quickly spun to face Shindou, who was looking at you from a distance away. You got in a stance, ready to fight against him if he attacked. Shindou’s eyes narrowed, glancing between you and his classmate who you'd just defeated. His mouth settled into a frown, and he turned and ran to another area of the stadium.

You'd wanted to smirk at him, taunt him for being outsmarted by your class, but you instead found yourself mirroring his expression and his silence. You'd gotten him back after he tricked you; you should have been happy, right? Proud of yourself? Despite reasoning this to yourself, however, a growing weight filled the void your pride left.

You shook your head, breaking yourself from your thoughts. You didn't have time to think about how seeing Shindou had made you feel. You had one more student to eliminate. You could focus on him later.

Your name was there. On the list, plain as day for all to read. You'd gotten your license, and all your hard work, all the late-night analysis with Midoriya, all the heartache you'd felt over Shindou’s betrayal was worth it.

Your eyes drifted slightly, and you spotted “Shindou Yo” somewhere else on the list. You supposed all of Shindou’s preparation paid off for him, too.

After obtaining your license, you followed the rest of your class to the bus to return to the dorms. Before boarding, you caught sight of Shindou again. He was speaking to Nakagame, you noticed you and gave an awkward smile and wave. Shindou turned to see who she was waving at, and his eyes widened when he saw you. You two stared each other down for a brief moment, before you broke the tension by turning to board the bus.

The weight in your chest felt heavier now.

The weight of the many presents you carried in your arms was only slightly heavier than the dread settling in your gut. Unwilling to admit to the tensions between you and Shindou, you couldn't come up with a plausible excuse to break the tradition your families had held for many years. Based on the warm greeting Shindou’s parents gave you when they finally answered the door, you assumed that Shindou hadn't told his parents either. You stepped inside and let the warm air rush over you, bringing feeling back into your numb fingertips and increasing the unnerving feeling in you.

“Shindou, don't be rude! Help Y/N out with those presents! Poor thing looks like they’re about to drop them,” Shindou’s mom scolded him, drawing your attention to where he'd been standing in the far corner of the room, partially obscured by the Christmas tree. You saw his mouth settle into a firm line; not quite a frown, but definitely showing discomfort. He pushed off the wall he'd been leaning against and made his way over to you. As he held out his hands to you, you stared at him dumbfoundedly. Here he was, standing in front of you after months of not speaking to each other, and he doesn't even say hello.

You were broken out of your thoughts by him clearing his throat. “You gonna hand them over, or...?” he trailed off, raising an eyebrow. You startled a bit, nearly dropping a present or two with how quickly you shoved the pile into his arms. As you saw him struggle to keep the pile balanced, you flushed in embarrassment and walked away, moving over to where your parents were engaged in a jovial conversation with Shindou’s.

Shindou’s mom saw you and smiled, holding out two steaming mugs of hot chocolate to you. “Just in time! I made these just the way you two like them. Oh, careful!” she warned, handing them over to you. “They're still pretty hot. Well, not that that would be an issue for you, but still...Anyway, why don't the two of you catch up on your own? We haven't seen you in a while, so I'm sure you have a lot to talk about!”

The cheer in her smile was something you couldn't help but smile and nod in return at, taking the mugs from her with a soft “Thanks,” and making your way over to the couch by the tree, where Shindou was sitting.

His eyes followed you the whole way over, not looking away as you approached. You, on the other hand, struggled to meet his eyes as you handed his mug to him. He accepted it, giving you a small nod before taking a sip. You stood where you were, bringing the cup to your lips to take a sip when you noticed his raised eyebrow. You returned it, asking, “What?” He tilted his head to the side, gesturing to the empty seat on the couch next to him. You blinked. An “oh” left your lips, and you slowly moved to sit in the small space next to him on the couch.

As you settled into your spot, you tried leaving a small amount of space between you two, though your knee still brushed against his. You spared a glance over at Shindou, only to see him staring intently at the mug in his hands. A small sigh left your lips, and you raised your mug to take a sip. The scalding feeling on your tongue, while not capable of actually hurting you, was a comfortable distraction from the awkward situation you found yourself in. For a few moments, the two of you sat in silence, with the only sounds heard being the distant chatter of your parents and the low hum of the heater. It was awkward, yes, but neither of you had mentioned the obvious source of tension yet. Maybe, you thought, today wouldn't be too unbearable.

“So, Y/N...” Shindou began, breaking the silence and shattering all your hopes of the evening being salvaged. “I think we both know exactly how my classmates got their info on yours...”

You snorted, lifting the mug to your lips. “Yeah, I know.” You took a long sip, hoping the burning feeling traveling down your throat might push down the angry words that wanted to come out. “Something about a ‘gullible friend in 1-A who doesn't realize this is all a competition’, right?” It didn't help much.

For a moment you thought you saw him cringe, and you heard a mutter along the lines of “...didn’t think you’d hear that...” before seeing him shake his head. “Anyway, I wanted to know how your class seemed so ready for the exam. You all were so coordinated with your attacks, like you knew our Quirks and strategies beforehand.”

You hummed, before raising an eyebrow and shooting him a smirk. “You know, I don't really think I owe you an explanation after what you did.”

Shindou visibly deflated, letting out a sigh and nodding. “Yeah, that's fair.”

You nodded with him. “But!” you began, a grin forming when you saw him perk up. “You probably know better than anyone how much I love bragging whenever I beat you at your own game.” Shindou pulled a face somewhere between a grimace and a smile, seemingly happy he'd get his answer yet embarrassed at the reminder of how thoroughly his plan failed. “Remember that day I dropped by after the Kamino Ward attack, and you headed off to your internship?” At his nod, your grin turned devious. “Well, your mother oh so graciously offered to let me watch the footage from your school’s Sports Festival this year. She gave me a spare DVD.”

His eyes widened comically, glancing over to where his parents were, causing you to cackle. “Seriously?” he asked. “That's all it took? We couldn't even get that much info from your Sports Festival, that's why we came up with that whole scheme in the first place!”

You nodded. “True, but I guess you all don't have a strategist like Midoriya in your class.”

Shindou raised an eyebrow. “The bone-breaking kid?”

You waved a hand. “He doesn't do that anymore. At least, not that often...but that's beside the point. I texted him about the DVD, let him borrow it, and he came up with plans to counter your classmates in the exam.”

Shindou blinked, processing your words. “Wow,” he started. He blinked a few more times before taking a sip from his mug. “That was pretty smart, I guess. He even planned for Makabe and Tokegi’s joint attack, and they've been working on that since the first year!”

You gave a confused hum, not quite sure who he was referring to before it hit you. “Oh! The ones with the boomerang and hardening Quirks, right?” At his nod, you grinned at the opportunity to ramble about strategy. “Well, the boomerang Quirk is kinda similar to Snipe-sensei’s, and we’ve had experience dodging his Quirk before. Also, while the hardening Quirk isn't exactly like my classmate Kirishima’s, it seemed like the hardness was similar enough. And since Ashido accidentally burned Kirishima once in a training accident even though he was using his Quirk, we figured if her acid was corrosive enough it could get past your classmate’s Quirk easily enough.” You paused your take a breath, devious grin widening further. “You all didn't take the corrosiveness into account because she kept it pretty low for the Sports Festival, and when you fished information from me about her I didn't know how corrosive it could be. We were pretty lucky on that part, but I still think we could've done just as well even if you had known.”

Shindou nodded. “You're right, then. You really did beat me at my own game.” He smiled at you and lightly nudged you with his elbow. “Not bad, Y/N.”

You smiled back, before the burning feeling in your chest returned with full force. Your smile dropped, and you turned away from him again. “Yeah, well, me outsmarting you after you tricked me doesn't exactly mean what you did was okay.” You clenched the mug tightly in your grip, bringing it close to your chest. The hot chocolate had gone cold during your conversation, and you stared down into it while trying to ignore the stinging tears in your eyes. “You said we’d be heroes together. Partners. What kind of hero sabotages their partner?”

Shindou’s eyes widened, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled for what to say. “Y/N, I didn't...I mean, I wasn't trying to—“ he stammered, before you cut him off.

“But you did,” you cut him off. The mug trembled in your hands as you accidentally used your quirk, and steam began rising from it again. “You took my trust and used it against me and my classmates. And for what? There were so many other schools there you could've gone after. Hell, we could've teamed up and gone after them together! But it was more convenient to just use me, I guess.”

Shindou’s frown deepened. He reached out and placed his hand on your shoulder, only to quickly retract with a hiss at the heat you were giving off. Startled, you quickly stopped using your Quirk and gave him an apologetic frown. “Sorry,” you muttered. You sighed deeply, leaning your head back against the couch. “I guess I'm no better, huh? Your parents were being nice and I took advantage of that...”

Silence hung in the air. Both of your parents had left the room a while ago, and the droning of the heater settled into the background unnoticed. Shindou’s hand found its way to your shoulder again, more hesitant this time. When you didn't respond or shrug him off, he slowly pulled you closer to him, hand moving to your head and gently resting it on his shoulder. You frowned, feeling the tears well up in your eyes again, but didn't resist.

“I'm sorry,” Shindou said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. You snuggled closer to him in response, staying quiet. He lightly ran his fingers through your hair. When he was sure you weren't going to say anything in response, he continued, “Not that it means much to say this now, but congratulations on getting your license.” You snorted at the statement, many months too late. He lightly chuckled, saying, “Yeah, I know. But even though we haven't exactly been working together, it's been nice having you at the agency. Nakagame won't shut up about her ‘cute new sidekick’, even though we’re all sidekicks.”

You snickered. “Looks like I'm stealing your friend. Maybe she'll be my hero partner when we graduate...”

Shindou rolled his eyes. “If anything, she's trying to steal you from me. Not like that’s gonna happen. You're my partner, got that?”

You lifted your head slightly from his shoulder, raising an eyebrow at him. “Oh, am I now?”

Shindou nodded. “I promised you, didn't I? I know I've been a major idiot lately,” he started, ignoring your muttered comment of “Yeah, no kidding...” and continuing, “but if the two of us work together we’re gonna top the charts in no time.”

You smiled at him, leaning back on his shoulder. “Well, I'm looking forward to that!” You closed your eyes and let out a breath, feeling the tension wash away from you. Shindou’s head tilted, resting atop yours. Things weren't perfect, and you would probably need to have a more in-depth conversation later, but for now, things were better.

“Oh, Shindou?”

“Hm?”

“I gotta say, your performance at the Sports Festival could've been better. We have a lot of work to do if we're gonna top the charts.”

“...Shut up...”

[haddonfieldproject]

<<PREVIOUS⏺<<CONTENTS>>

CHAPTER TWO: ALL SAINTS DAY

1.2.1 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29th, 6:04pm PT‬

Woodsboro, California

‪

“Okay, let's see what we have here,” Ophelia Tate said, pulling a plastic clipboard from the little cubby beside the door and looking at the chart that was affixed to it. She skimmed over it and then looked up at her young patient. On the hospital bed, sitting atop the clean white paper, was a short and skinny little brunette girl, with big square glasses and a red beanie cap that made her look a lot like Velma from Scooby Doo. Just under the cap on her left eyebrow she was holding an ice pack, wrapped in a towel soaked in blood.

“It says here you fell and hit your head on a water heater?” Ophelia asked her, pulling the little rolling stool out from under the cabinets on the far side of the room and seating herself upon it.

“Yeah,” the girl sighed, showing a row of silver braces. “I know...I'm such a klutz”.

Ophelia looked again at the clipboard. “Yasmin? Did I say it right.” Ophelia made sure she pronounced the “Y” like a “J”, the girl did look Hispanic.

Yasmin smiled, “First one today.”

Ophelia tossed the clipboard on the bed next to her patient and pulled some latex gloves out of her smock. “Excellent. Let's have a look!”

The young girl withdrew the towel containing the ice pack and a spurt of blood shot out passed Ophelia's face, sprinkling the tile behind her.

“Whoa!” Ophelia gasped and reached over and grabbed the girl's hand with the towel in hers and pressed it back onto her eye. “Let's keep that on there shall we!”

Yasmin swooned.

“Breathe,” Ophelia said looking at her. “You look pale...are you gonna pass out?”

“I don't know,” Yasmin stuttered, “Maybe.”

“Well don't,” Ophelia smiled, “It's my last night of work here in this place and I don't want to be spending it picking you back up off the floor.”

Yasmin smiled. “I'm okay...I think.”

“I'll get you a cup of water and Jennifer, our nurse, is gonna come in here and butterfly that. Then we'll wait and see if it can close a little bit. Then we'll decide it we have to use stitches or glue.”

“Oh please glue! I don't want stitches.” Yasmin cried.

Ophelia grabbed the clipboard and began writing. “Well, I'll tell you this,” she said while she scrawled, “Glue is much easier, but it doesn't heal as well. Sometimes...a lot of times...the scar ends up jagged where the glue held better in some parts than others.” She looked up, “And where it is on your eyebrow...it might make your eyebrow look crooked. If you let us stitch it, it can heal up in a few months and you'll probably not even be able to tell it was ever there.”

Yasmin's shoulders dropped. “Then stitches.”

Ophelia folded the clipboard in her arms, hugging it to her chest. “Are you sure?”

“Hell yeah,” Yasmin exclaimed, “I have senior pictures next year. A crooked eyebrow on a guy is cute...a crooked eyebrow on a girl is the difference between a rich husband who takes you on a honeymoon to Barbados, and Joe MBA who takes you to Miami.”

Ophelia frowned, “I like Miami.”

Yasmin gave her a look and they both laughed.

“My question is how the hell you smacked your head on the water-heater?” Ophelia asked.

Yasmin rolled her eyes, “On Wednesday nights I ride the school-bus to my church for youth group after school. We basically just hang out and play games down in the church basement and...well, this guy Juan Menendez..we were...I don't know...chasing each other or something and I tripped over the leg of the ping-pong table and fell...right in to the water heater.”

Ophelia grimaced, “Ouch...right in front of him?”

Yasmin grimaced back, “Yeah....I know...so embarrassing”

“What did Juan do?” Ophelia asked.

Yasmin smiled and closed her eyes dreamily. “He got me this towel...and this ice...and he picked me up off the floor and put me on the ping pong table.”

“Is he the cute guy in the waiting room with the blue shirt and white shorts and the gold necklace?” Ophelia asked.

“No way, he's here?!” Yasmin dropped the rag, sending another spurt of blood that just missed Ophelia's smock.

“Whoa! Keep that on there,” Ophelia said laughing. “I'll go tell Jennifer you want the stitches.”

“Aren't you going to do it? I like you,” Yasmin said pleadingly.

“Sorry kid. My time at Woodsboro Family Medical Center has come to an end. Actually ten minutes ago. I'm transferring to a new hospital in Illinois and I got to get out of here and get on the road.”

“Illinois? What's in Illinois?” Yasmin grimaced again.

Ophelia plopped the clipboard back in it's spot. “Lots of corn I hear.” She snapped off her gloves and stomped the pedal on the stainless steel trashcan by the door and dropped them in.

She headed down the hall and turned to the left toward the break room. The annex area there was empty, which was odd because usually there was at least one nurse at the nurses station. She had her purse in her locker to get and she knew she had at least one frozen meal in the staff room freezer to throw away. She hated when people left their food behind and she didn't want to be one of those people. To her surprise, there wasn't anything in the staff room freezer, so she shrugged, pulled her purse out of her locker and turned to walk out the door, feeling strange that there was no one around to say bye to or have wish her luck. Just then, Dr. Holmes, a young Chinese girl who had been Dr. Yang a month ago before she married a nice plastic surgeon from Cloverdale, popped into the door, making Ophelia jump.

“Oh...sorry Dr. Tate,” she said.

“Jesus Yang you scared the shit out of me,” Ophelia still hadn't gotten used to calling her Homes. Usually Holmes corrected her...and everyone else who made the mistake, but this time she didn't.

“Dr. Shaw wants to see you in the conference room, he has some forms you need to sign before you leave.”

Ophelia groaned, “Really?! I have to get out on the road.”

Holmes shrugged.

Ophelia followed the young Dr. Holmes out of the break-room, passed a pair of restrooms and a supply closet to the conference room. The door was shut, which was odd, and even odder was the fact that Dr. Homes stepped out of the way to allow Ophelia to open the door. Ophelia frowned and pushed the handle.

“SURPRISE!!!”

The room was full of doctors and nurses, as well as balloons and streamers. On the giant mahogany conference table was a large cake, upon which was written: GOOD LUCK DR. TATE! There were also various fruit and vegetable trays and a pitcher of what looked like pink lemonade. Her husband stood there too in one of his ridiculous sweater vests that Ophelia had asked him over and over again not to wear, smiling at her from ear to ear. In the corner, sprawled out on a couple of chairs was their son Damon, but he was wrapped up in his smartphone and didn't look up. In front of him was the small TV on which there was a baseball game.

“Oh my gosh,” Ophelia put her hands to her cheeks, “You really got me..I never expected this.”

Dr. Shaw was an older gentlemen, and he was standing next to Ophelia's husband Jack. He came around the table and embraced her, kissing her cheek, “Well you should have my dear. You've been part of the team for so long, you don't think we would send you away without some kind of celebration?”

Ophelia's husband Jack approached her next and and leaned in to kiss her. Ophelia turned her head and offered him her cheek. “Surprise,” he said quietly.

“You know I hate surprises,” she said under her breath through her teeth.

“Smile and fake it,” he answered.

“That's what I'm doing,” she replied, “I thought we had to get on the road.”

“I budgeted time for this,” he answered.

Dr. Holmes/Yang came up next and hugged her. “I was convincing?” She asked.

“Yes,” Ophelia smiled, “You were very convincing.”

Ophelia's best workmate Tonya, a big beautiful black woman in pink scrubs came up next. She squealed like a middle school girl at a slumber party and hugged Ophelia's neck. “Oooooohhh gurl...I am gonna miss yooooouuu!”

Ophelia laughed and said, “I know girl...I came out of 7 and looked at the nurses station and was like, 'Where the hell is everybody?'.”

“That should have been your first clue,” said Dr. Thomas. He was a tall, sexy, black doctor who had only been working at Woodsboro Family Medical long enough to make Jack Tate insanely jealous. The young doctor stuck out his very large hand, Ophelia took it.

“Where are you going exactly?” He asked.

“I have position waiting for me as the Chief of Medicine for a small town hospital in Illinois.” Ophelia replied, moving around the table and grabbing one of the small plates on the table. She held it up to Tonya. It read: HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Tonya waved her hand and laughed, “They was the only ones we had gurl!”

Ophelia smiled and grabbed the cake cutter, carving a wedge in between the last T and the E in her last name on the face of the cake.

“Really,” Thomas said, “I grew up in Springfield, what part of Illinois?”

“It's called Haddonfield,” Ophelia said plopping the cake on her plate.

“Never heard of it,” Thomas said.

“Where is the damn remote for this TV, we need the sound on.” Dr. Shaw grumbled.

“It's right here,” Damon held it up without looking up from his phone.

“Un-mute it son,” his father said.

“Isn't this Game Six?” Thomas asked.

“Yeah,” Shaw said, “It's been a hell of a series...as a doctor I've been very thankful for my DVR.”

They all laughed.

🎃

1.2.2 PRESENTLY—SATURDAY NOVEMBER 1st 2:04 AM

Interstate 70 near Booneville, Missouri

‪

Ophelia sat up straight in her seat and looked out of the windshield. She couldn't see anything but rain. She looked over at Jack who was sitting straight up in his seat also, squinting hard, his head leaning so far over the steering wheel as he drove that his forehead was mere centimeters away from the glass.

Ophelia stretched, “Where the hell are we now?” She asked.

“Somewhere in the middle of Missouri,” he said, not taking his eyes off the road.

“God it's raining hard,” she exclaimed. She pulled her phone out from the center console and disconnected the charger cord. She looked at the time. “When are we supposed to be there.”

“I expected to be close by now,” he said, “but with this damn storm, I can't go anymore than 40. It will be closer to sunrise now.”

“How long has it been storming?” Ophelia asked, pulling up her weather app.

“Since we got into Oklahoma,” he said.

Her radar was completely red, and there was scrolling banner on the top of the screen. “Says this area is under a tornado watch,” she said.

“This is the worst storm I've ever seen,” Jack grouched.

“You've lived in California your whole life,” Ophelia laughed and opened up her social media page. There were no notifications, everyone she knew was either at work or asleep right now. She looked at the dashboard. “I can't believe this old piece of junk made it!” She said.

“This baby will never die!” Jack exclaimed, for the first time taking his eyes off the road and smiling at his wife.

“Not if we keep dumping all of our money into it,” Ophelia rolled her eyes. “I'm going to miss my Mazda,” she pouted.

“I told you,” Jack replied, “As soon as we get our feet wet in Haddonfield, we'll buy you a new car.”

“I think you should trade this in,” Ophelia grumbled, putting down her phone, “You're not going to need a car sitting at home writing a book.”

“Never!” Jack said smiling, holding up a clenched fist.

Ophelia looked in the backseat. Damon was sleeping, his bluetooth earbuds still in his ears.

Jack saw that she was looking at him and looked at her. “What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Ophelia waved, “watch the road.”

She looked at their son a little longer and then finally turned back around and closed her eyes. “I just hope we're doing the right thing.” She said quietly.

“Of course we are,” he said, “trust me, this is going to be a great plan.”

“Yeah yeah,” Ophelia yawned, “You have a plan for everything.”

Jack ignored her snide comment, “I'm thinking about stopping off at a truck stop to take showers before we get in to the town. The sun will probably be up by the time we get there if this rain holds up and we might be able to check out the hospital. Then we can just sleep the rest of the day before we unpack everything on Sunday.”

Ophelia nodded, “If it's all part of the plan...” she said sarcastically.

“Oh shit!” Jack breathed as the car hit a puddle and hydroplaned for a second or two.

“Please don't kill us,” Ophelia said quietly, without opening her eyes. It was better that way.

NEXT>>

[bartsugsy]

i'm not trying to be fun sponge but its just weird for me when people try to attribute words and feelings to a character when that's not the case. from reading some posts you'd think that was a scene where aaron was worried about robert but it wasn't. it was a scene where he was justifiably annoyed about robert basically ruining people's livelihoods and scheming when they'd just had an argument two days ago where he'd asked robert to stop said scheming

fair play anon, this legit made me go back and rewatch the scene lmao

OK U KNOW WHAT,

ETA OK I STARTED OFF THIS POST DISAGREEING WITH YOU AND THEN I KEPT WRITING WITH IT AND FRANKLY U HAVE CONVINCED ME, SO I AGREE WITH YOU, TY ANON, UR THE REAL ONE

LET’S KEEP THE REST OF THE POST IN HERE ANYWAY BC OOH META 

LET’S DO THIS, I’LL GIVE U MY EXTENDED THOUGHTS ON THE SCENE and if we still don’t agree by the end, that’s cool, but i rewatched and i still feel the same way about it (and i kind of love the scene even more honestly, it was great, there’s lots to it that one can meta and those are my favourite kinds of scenes) ETA I DO NOT FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT IT, I WAS WRONG

so we start the (robron part of the) scene out by aaron just

the second robert walks into the house, dramatically throwing away surrogacy forms lmao

robert obviously immediately spots him and is like why are you throwing all of the surrogacy stuff away? and he sounds sad and concerned

aaron, having thrown that shit in the bin, responds with a still dramatic because what’s the point? we could never afford it and now we never will be able to

rob admits that he messed up, but says it isn’t over and that he can still make it happen. he says he can find another way

aaron is meanwhile legit rolling his eyes and generally looking tired. he answers with another scam?

and rob is obviously like yes if that’s what it takes, yeah. 

AND THEN

DUMBASS MISTAKE, BUT EXPLAINS SO MUCH

ROBERT IS LIKE i could see how much you wanted it, so i was willing to take a few risks. aaron, i did this for you, you have to see that

AND UH

AARON =/= NOT HAPPY

he says don’t try to blame me for this mess. i warned you it wouldn’t end well.

WHICH OK

LO INTERJECTION

AARON, AS WE REMEMBER, LOOKED A BIT LIKE HE WAS MID-BREAKDOWN WHEN HE WAS CAMPAIGNING FOR SURROGACY

BUT ROBERT LEGIT DID NOT AGREE UNTIL HE’D SPENT TIME WITH NICOLA AND JIMMY’S KIDS AND WAS LIKE hmmm ok i need 50

and so maybe robert did do it for aaron, but it wasn’t just for aaron. it was for their family and for both of them, just in a very robert-like way (i.e. the quickest but also by far riskiest way)

but also robert is trying to??? sweet talk aaron round maybe??? in a stupid ass way though, lol 

or he’s just being a dumbass, one or the other

and aaron is immediately mad at this because HE DID IN FACT TELL ROBERT NOT TO DO THE ILLEGAL THING UNTIL ROBERT SWEET TALKED HIM ROUND AND GAVE HIM VETO POWER

AND THEN AARON IS ALL LIKE

AND JIMMY’S A MATE. YOU AND NICOLA PROBABLY RUINED HIM

AND AGAIN, EXCUSE THE META, BUT PLS POINT ME TO ANY MOMENT WHERE AARON HAS EVER CARED ABOUT JIMMY MORE THAN ROBERT BEFORE. he’s just mad and spewing shit at robert, literally. he’s just accusing robert of being a terrible person and a bad friend bc that’s all aaron has got here and he’s MAD

rob is like i never meant for that to happen and aaron is like *pew pew parting shot* yes well u never do, do you robert. so long as you win that’s all that matters *pew pew anOTHER PARTING SHOT* and yeah u know what i did want a kid. i did. but not like this. it’s too big a price to pay. and no, i’m not talking about the money. *fucki MIC DROP bye*

and then rob looks guilty as hell and the scene ends.

SO ANYWAY MORE META HELLO

AARON IS LEGIT JUST SAYING SHIT AT ROBERT. HE’S JUST FIRING OFF SHIT AND SEEING WHAT WILL STICK. LIKE, AARON HAS NEVER CARED ABOUT JIMMY’S FEELINGS BEFORE, SO IT’S SENSIBLE TO INFER THAT IT’S PROBABLY NOT ABOUT THAT

BUT THEN WE GET TO THE END OF THE SCENE AND AARON SAYS THAT HE DOESN’T WANT A KID “LIKE THIS” BECAUSE “IT’S TOO BIG A PRICE TO PAY”

AND HONESTLY LIKE

LOL OK I JUST CHANGED MY MIND ENTIRELY AND I FEEL LIKE I’VE HAD A REVELATION BUT THE REVELATION IS IN FACT JUST AGREEING WITH YOUR ASK slfkkldo classic lo, what a donut

OK MIGHT AS WELL FINISH THIS

OK SO THE QUESTION BECOMES WHAT IS THE ‘IT’ THAT IS TOO BIG A PRICE TO PAY

not to be dramatiq, but honestly from what aaron’s saying, the ‘it’ is robert’s fuckin soul lmao. it’s robert not ruining people’s lives, as u say, and not being terrible. aaron doesn’t want this experience of them having a child together to also be tainted by robert... uh.... not being.... great.... (touchy subject, moving on, might explain why he’s particularly mad/suddenly v reluctant to procreate with his husband though) (what if they spoke about it) (would anyone else be highkey down for that, or just me?)

ANYWAY, aaron’s mad because robert fucked up people’s lives and got caught. he was, it should be noted, a lot less bothered about fucking up graham’s life, even in this scene. i think there’s still just... some anger at robert getting caught and being in a shitty situation in general. he specifically says it’s not about the money. he’s not actually mad about the money. it’s about robert getting them into this situation, about people they (and robert specifically) supposedly care about getting caught in the crossfire, particularly after robert fucked over vic to get to billy literally just a few days back (as u said) 

and aaron at the moment, bc he’s dramatic and kind of insane, but also probably bc he knows his husband, can’t see a way out of this that doesn’t involve robert potentially sinking further down that rabbit hole of ‘bad’, which aaron absolutely doesn’t want - he’s ok with robert doing shitty stuff up until a point (providing he’s careful) and we know this, but he actively doesn’t want robert.... i guess, throwing people he supposedly cares about under the bus for his own gains again? because that’s understandably like a step back for rob, in the soul and morality department

even though frankly, we all know robert would throw every single person under the bus for aaron at any given opportunity and that will never change

it’s probs for the best that aaron is someone who is going to call rob out on that shit and try to stop him from fucking up his life, though. aaron cares about robert’s terrible little soul. 

SO ANYWAY, AARON IS CONCERNED AND LASHING OUT AT ROBERT BC OF IT AND THIS SCENE GOT MORE PERFECT WITH MORE REWATCHES AND EXTRA META AND NOW I LOVE IT AND IM SORRY THIS POST IS LONG AND EXTRA AND ALSO IM SORRY FOR CONTRADICTING YOU EARLIER, WHEN I’M NOW P SURE YOU’RE CORRECT this has been a real journey for me 

[toasteaa]

Yearly reminder that jets are sexy as FUCK and if I don't imagine my faves (or my ocs) as pilots once a month I start going a little insane.