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miyagihawk · 3 years

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it's not an ask, but i don't know if i can send it on your chat, so... i saw your post about a song and a character from cobra kai and automatically thought of sk8r boi (avril lavigne) and robby 😩😩😩 have a nice day and don't forget to drink water 💞

THANK U FOR THE REQUEST i love this song sm

sk8r boi | robby keene x reader

warnings: swearing, some catcalling

summary: he was a skater boy! she said see you later boy! he wasn’t good enough for her! (hehe)

“Come on Riley, Mom wants us home by 6 and we still have to get stuff from the store,” you crossed your arms, annoyed at your brother. He ignored you, dipping down, wheels first, into the concrete bowl.

You shifted on your feet, feeling uncomfortable standing at the skate park with your ballet attire still on. You’ve just come back from rehearsal, and you had to pick up Riley because Mom was working a late shift.

“Shit Riley, I didn’t know your sister was hot. Qué pasa ballerina?” one of his friends winked at you, making you roll your eyes in disgust.

“Hey, do a little twirl for us princess,” another boy whistled and you glared at the group.

Pigs. Boys are pigs.

“Riley, let’s go,” you said firmly, turning away and heading to your car, leaving him with no choice but to follow if he didn’t want to walk home.

Your brother’s friend group of skaters hollered and whooped as Riley caught up to you, and you had to focus on your breathing to calm your anger. You hate being made fun of, but you reminded yourself that they were just a bunch of stupid, hormonal, punks.

“Your friends are assholes,” you commented, and your brother only nodded in agreement.

“Hey,” a voice called from behind you, but you kept walking, assuming that it was just another guy trying to poke fun at you.

“Hey, wait,” the person said again, this time grabbing your arm to stop you.

You turned around quickly, pulling away from their grip. “What?” you snapped, meeting a pair of calm green eyes.

It was one of Riley’s friends, the one with long hair. You don’t remember him saying anything to you earlier; he seemed to be quiet.

“I just wanted to say sorry. About them. They don’t know how to talk to girls, I promise they’re not that bad,” he said, holding his skateboard at his side. His genuineness surprised you.

“So you do?”

He gave you a confused look, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Know how to talk to girls,” you clarified and he chuckled.

“I know a thing or two. I’m Robby,” the boy stuck out his hand for you to take.

“Wow you’re good,” you joked. “I’m Y/N,” you took his rough hand in your soft one.

After that day at the skatepark, you couldn’t stop thinking about Robby.

You don’t know what it was about him. Maybe it was his glittery eyes. Or his pretty hair. Or the way he smiled with his whole face. Or maybe it was how he talked in a way that told you he was smarter than most people.

Maybe it was all of those things that made you daydream like a schoolgirl with a crush. And all you wanted to do was see him again.

“Jenny doesn’t even deserve the variation, I mean we all saw what happened last time. She almost fell off stage! Anyone but her should have it,” your friend Abby ranted, sipping on her milkshake.

It was after rehearsal and your friend group decided to go to a diner to get food.

“It’s clearly favoritism. She could do the whole routine wrong and Ms. Adams would still choose her. I think Jenny’s parents are definitely bribing her,” your other friend Vanessa added to the gossip.

The whole time, you were half listening to the conversation and half thinking about a certain skater boy. You couldn’t even control it; your thoughts always somehow drifted to him.

“Oh my god. Skaters,” Abby whispered, making you snap out of your daydream. You looked up to see a pack of boys coming into the restaurant, holding their boards at their hips.

Among them was your little brother and your heart raced as you recognized all of them.

It was like your overflow of thoughts about him had somehow materialized right in front of you. Robby.

Your hands started to sweat and you contemplated if you should hide or say hello, or just act like you didn’t see him.

You decided to go for the latter, and you slumped down in your seat to make yourself less noticeable.

“God, look at them. Skater boys are the scum of the earth,” Abby uttered, making a face of distaste.

“I would never date one. Even that’s below me,” Vanessa scoffed in reply.

You felt your cheeks heat up at their remarks, now feeling ashamed for your growing feelings for the very thing they were so disgusted at.

“Same,” you replied, despite feeling conflict in your heart. You looked over Vanessa’s shoulder to see him laughing with his group, and his happiness made your heart warm.

Before you could look away, his eyes met yours. You cursed internally at your ruined plans of trying to ignore him, but the damage was done. You shot him a small smile and a nod before returning your gaze back to your friends.

It took everything in you to not look at him again, especially with the feeling of his stare on you.

“Holy shit. One of them’s coming over,” Abby said in a hushed tone, your stomach dropping at her words.

You looked up to see Robby heading over to your table as you panicked on the inside.

“Hey Y/N,” he said as he approached, and you looked back at his table to see his friends watching.

“Robby! Hi!” you greeted nervously. “Uh, these are my friends. Abby and Vanessa. Girls, this is Robby,” you introduced them.

“Nice to meet you,” he nodded at them, and they waved. Their smiles were definitely fake, and you could tell how hard they were judging the boy in front of you.

“So, um, do you guys come here a lot?” you tried to make conversation, but the air was too awkward to be saved.

“Not really, our usual place was closed so we came here,” Robby explained, glaring at his friends who were starting to boisterously taunt. “I should go. Sorry about them. Again. Just wanted to say hey.”

“All good,” you laughed. “See you.”

As he walked back to his table your friends turned to you, mouths agape.

“You know him?! What was that?” Abby inquired, giving you a look of disbelief.

“He’s... he’s just my brother’s friend,” you shrugged, trying to play it off.

“Just your brother’s friend. He totally had heart eyes for you Y/N!” Vanessa nudged your side, making you shake your head in denial.

You rolled your eyes, but what she said gave you butterflies. “No way, I’ve only met him once.”

“Whatever, just don’t fall into the trap. You’re too good for a skater. They’re scum, remember?” Abby said, as she chewed obnoxiously on a fry. You found yourself suddenly annoyed at her.

“Yeah, of course. I would never,” you contradicted your feelings.

They were probably right. You don’t even know Robby, and you were from completely different worlds.

You told yourself that you would push away your growing feelings for Robby. But you couldn’t help but be excited when you have to pick up Riley from the skatepark. You couldn’t help asking your brother maybe too many questions about him, and you couldn’t help looking out for him every time you would go to the diner with your girls.

He would always talk to you, making you giddy for the rest of the day. You found yourself wanting to see him more and more.

“So how long have you been skating?” you asked the boy beside you.

You were waiting for Riley to finish so you could go home, but you let him take his time.

“I started when I was 11, but it’s been on and off,” Robby replied. “Have you ever skated?”

You laughed at the thought of yourself on a board. “Never. It looks cool though,” you watched as your brother skated off some stairs.

“I think you’d be good at it. I mean ballet and skating are pretty much the same thing,” he grinned at you, making you blush and look away from him.

“Ballet and skating couldn’t be more different,” you disagreed.

Robby shrugged. “Wrong. Both are centered around balance. Skating, if you think about it, is choreography. Sure we’re not as graceful, but it’s not as different as you think.”

You smiled to yourself at his wiseness. “I guess you’re right.”

There’s a moment of silence between you two as you both sat at the edge of the bowl.

“So when are we starting?” he spoke, making you tilt your head in confusion.

“Starting what?”

“I’m teaching you how to skate,” he answered nonchalantly, as if he wasn’t giving you a choice.

“What? I-I can’t skate,” you stammered. The thought of you embarrassing yourself in front of him made you want to puke.

“Which is why I’m teaching you. Come on, I promise I won’t let you hurt your pretty little ballerina face,” Robby smiled.

Your head suddenly felt dizzy at his small remark. Pretty. “I don’t know Robby...”

“Tomorrow. At 5. I’ll even take you to that diner you like after. It’s a date,” he said surely, making your cheeks warm up again.

A date? Your heart fluttered at the thought of him wanting to hang out with you. Alone. On a freaking date.

“Okay, fine,” you bit your lip, trying to hold back a huge smile. “But only because of the promise of food.”

“I hate you,” Robby huffed as he watched you effortlessly roll past him on his skateboard.

“I can’t believe you compared this to ballet, this is so easy,” you jeered, laughing at his defeated look.

“Oh calm down Ms. Black Swan, you haven’t learned any tricks yet,” he stood up, walking over to you. “I’m going to teach you an ollie.”

He grabbed the board and stood on it, leaning down on the edge with one foot so that the board was wheels up on the other side. “Just do that.”

Robby handed you the skateboard, and you copied everything he did. Except you lost your balance and the wheels slipped from underneath you. You grabbed onto his shoulders as a reflex.

Your breath hitched as Robby’s placed his hands on your hips to steady you, and your faces were inches away. He was so close that you could feel his breath and see the pattern of his eyes.

“Not so easy, is it now?” he said softly, still holding onto you. The air was now filled with a thick tension and you felt woozy from being so close to him.

“I... I guess not,” you fumbled over your words, feeling incredibly nervous looking into his eyes.

None of you were pulling away, and you weren’t sure if you should be the first to do so.

“Can I kiss you?” Robby whispered, making you breathless. You were sure that he could hear your heartbeat, because it felt like it was consuming you.

You only nodded, feeling speechless, and he leaned in to press your lips together.

It was everything you’ve ever dreamed of. And you dreamed about it a lot.

“You’re so much different from your friends. How come?” You chewed on a fry, questioning the boy sitting in the diner booth in front of you.

Robby tapped his lip in thought. “I don’t know. Maybe I just balance out the group. You’re different from your friends too. I mean I’ve only met them once, but I don’t think they like me,” he replied, and you cringed at the memory of your friends being so judgmental.

“That makes sense. And sorry about them. They can be... mean,” you apologized on their behalf, almost in the same way that Robby would for his friends.

“Speak of the devil,” Robby looked behind you, making your eyes widen. You turned around and there they were. Abby and Vanessa. You didn’t even care that they were hanging out with you; you were worried that they would see you with Robby.

You slumped down in your seat like you did when you were trying to hide from Robby before. “We should go now, right? It’s getting pretty late.”

Robby gave you a weird look, “Um... sure.”

“Y/N?” a dreaded voice called your name before you could make your escape.

You faced your two best friends. “Hey guys,” you said sheepishly as they walked up to your table.

“What are you doing with him? Oh my god, are you two on a date?” Abby gasped.

Vanessa joined in, “You said you’d never date someone like him. Oh come on Y/N, you know he’s not good enough for you. What happened to boys like him are below us?”

Robby’s face flashed with pain, but you were so selfish that you didn’t even notice.

“No- I- We’re just friends, I swear it’s not a date. I would never-” you stuttered, trying to save yourself, and you didn’t even think of Robby’s feelings at all. In the moment you only cared about your reputation and what your friends thought of you.

The boy you liked so much got up from the booth, throwing a wad of cash on the table. You felt your heart break as he walked away without a word and clenched fists.

You got up to follow him, but your friends pulled you back. “Just let him go Y/N. He’ll just break your heart,” Abby said coldly.

You ripped your arm away from their grip, running through the diner to catch up to Robby.

“Robby! Please, stop, I’m sorry,” you called after him, trying to keep up with how fast he was walking.

He ignored you the first time, increasing his pace.

“Please, Robby, can we just talk about it? I’m stupid, okay? Don’t go,” you pleaded, and he finally stopped in his tracks.

You’ve never seen his face like that, a mixture of anger and pain. The fact that it was directed towards you made you want to just melt away.

“You want to talk? Am I even good enough to talk to you? I’m sorry, should I be on my knees right now your majesty?” he said angrily, and you felt like crying.

You shook your head, “No, no Robby I swear I don’t think of you that way. I said things that I don’t mean and I’m so sorry. I- I just... my friends were saying all this shit about-”

“Just- just stop. You’re saying different things to different people, and I’m just supposed to trust you? And what, was I just going to be a secret? Look, I have to go,” he turned around to keep walking but you took his hand.

“I was going to tell them Robby, I like you so much and please, I’ll fix it. I’ll talk to them and-”

He cut your frantic rambling off again, “Y/N... I like you too alright? And I get it. I get wanting to fit in with your friends, even if you don’t agree with them. I learned from it myself. I just need time to think about all of it.” He sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

You nodded in understanding, but your heart was hurting. “I’m sorry,” you said one last time before he took off on his skateboard.

a/n: why was that sm longer than i planned... also sorry for any mistakes im too lazy to edit. there probably won’t be a part 2 because the song doesn’t have a happy ending lol hope u enjoyed!!!!

#cobra kai #cobra kai imagine #cobra kai x reader #cobrakai #robbykeene #Robby cobra kai #Robby Keene x reader #Robby Keene imagine #Robby Keene

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amazingphilza · 3 years

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snapchat :: c!tommy x reader

fluff / angst , platonic , gender neutral ! first request whoop whoop :D [check pinned for more info on requests]

synopsis: ‘what’s so bad about adding every person on snapchat?’ tommy thought. unknowingly, with all the other people he begins talking to during exile, one ends up being you; tubbo’s younger sibling. that is until you both visit tommy in logstedshire.

cw: i purposely misspell a few words for the texting part, i hope it’s still readable for y’all! and i haven’t actually used snapchat in years so let’s pretend i know what i’m doing :)

tommy smiled at his brand new phone

first thing he does? install snapchat and reddit

if he couldn’t talk to his best friends face to face anymore, at least he had people online to talk to, right?

tommy hoped from all his possessions dream would destroy, he could at least keep a phone

without much thought, tommy opened snapchat and began adding every account and messaging them the same obnoxious message

BE MY FRIEND . MESSAGE BACK NOW.

most people chose ignore tommy, not having a clue why he was messaging them

but as for you, when you had the notification that someone added you on snapchat and started aggressively messaging you, it made you curious

you read their user

“wife haver”?? huh???

instead of immediately blocking the person, you replied back

what?

not even less than a second later you get a reply back

OH MY GOD FINALLY SOMEONE

IM DYING

without context, you were more than confused

genuinely dying is very alarming but you shouldn’t text a random stranger your last words

huh?

THE GREEN BASTARD TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME

YOURE ALL I HAVE LEFT

plwase helo

Help

where did tou go

Ohm hgod

hHello?

NOOOO NOT YOU TOO

PLEASR

you laughed at the person’s desperation and ignored the messages

if the stranger wasn’t going introduce themselves, you wouldn’t either

however, after a while you realized you had over 100 snapchat notifications within an hour of trying to ignore the person

however it was just jumbled up words and useless spam, nothing important

as if the stranger would said anything important to your concern anyway

do you ever shut up??

fuck you

a normal person wouldve taken offense by these messages but you found them quite amusing

it wasn’t like you had anything else better to do

and this acceptance was the start of your odd friendship with the stranger

you were still on edge because you had no idea who they were and their intentions but the anonymity was mutual nonetheless

if the desperate spamming “wife haver” isn’t going to formally tell you who they actually were, you weren’t going to risk exposing yourself first

but in the past few weeks, you and the person had normal conversations apart from the first day they messaged you

well as normal as you could’ve expected from someone named “wife haver”

they were the first to send an actual snap as well

that was when you found out the “wife haver” was an obnoxious boy that looked around your age, maybe a slightly older

he had sent you a photo of him holding a thumbs up and trying to smile when he was clearly upset

just got all my stuff exploded again, feeling good

you noticed his messy blonde hair and tattered clothes

what the hell happened to this guy?

part of you was confused, and the other was concerned

u good bro??

well

i don’t have anymore tools and materials if that’s anything

so no

this is shit

lmao it was probably deserved

FUCK YOU!!!!!

im kidding that’s sad

but like do u actually need stuff?

you contemplated sending your next message and thought of the consequences

but in the end, you were probably better off than him so if he did try to do something suspicious, you could easily just leave with your trident or defend yourself

i can bring some things over if you’d like

please oh my god it’s so boring here

where the hell do you even live???

it finally hit that you would be visiting this mysterious person

you never really had much to do during the day and he had nothing against your enchanted netherite armor when compared to his worn-out clothes

you were surprised that he was quick to be comfortable with you visiting him so continued to message the boy

if you live nearby i can just stop over and bring some spare diamond tools and armor if you’d like or smth

DIAMOND !,?’/:@!?:/-',(

ya sure lol

WTF

GOOD SHIT LAD! THANKS

WHEN DO U WANT TO VISIT???

his shock and excitement made you smile

maybe this wasn’t a bad idea

before replying, you quickly ran to your storage room you gather your spare items

instead of normally texting, you decided to take a picture of all the enchanted tools and armor and send back a snap

i’m down for tomorrow, turn on your snapmaps so i can come by ;D

he quickly replied back with handfuls of ‘holy shits’ and ‘YEAHS’

you couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear which caught the attention of your older brother who had just walked in to get blocks from the wall of chests

“ew why are you smiling at your phone like that?”

“oh shut up, tubbo”

“it’s weird”

you roll your eyes at him in a playful matter

“whatever! i’m gonna be out tomorrow to visit a friend, okay?”

“you have friends? wow, sounds like a first”

“you’re such a dick!!” you yell at him whilst trying to hold in your laughter

“oh yeah? go on, tell me about this friend of yours then. meeting strangers online, hm?”

“if you’re so concerned, you can come with if you’re not busy with whatever a president does. i promise they’re not some weirdo like you”

tubbo’s tone was sarcastic but he agreed then left you to your own thoughts

you were excited for tomorrow that you were restless in your bed when nighttime had came

somehow you managed to fall asleep from tiredness in the middle of the night

soon enough it was morning

before doing anything, you checked your phone and went through all your notifications

you then checked snapchat, browsing snapmaps and realized how far you had to travel

despite the long travel, you brought yourself up from your bed and gathered all the items you were going to bring

you stuffed a full set of enchanted diamond armor, tools, and over a stack of golden carrots all in your inventory

after finishing all your preparations, you searched for your older brother

with just a loud yell of his name he appeared almost instantly

“you ready to go, tubbo?”

“yep! you know where you’re going right?”

you scoffed at the question

“of course!”

and with that, the two of you traveled on foot until you reached the ocean

you had brought 2 boats with you knowing that you couldn’t imagine being in the same boat as your brother; it would’ve ended up in endless bickering

after a while of being at sea, tubbo started to become impatient

“what the hell! how far does this person live, y/n??”

“i dunno!”

you knew the general direction you were supposed to be going to after studying your snapmaps all morning but you couldn’t check how much farther it would take to get there; there was obviously no signal in the middle of the ocean

it felt like forever before you saw land in the horizon

suddenly you regained all the energy you have lost from rowing

“there!! that place with the white tent, i can barely see it”

“finally”

with the burst of energy, you got to land in no time

the moment you got off your boat, the blonde spotted the two of you and ran in your direction

once appearing nearly feet apart, he stared at your brother who also had the shocked expression

“TOMMY?”

“TUBBO?”

your brother had more of a confused expression whilst the other boy seemed a bit mad

maybe he was always mad considering the endless conversations you had with him ranting about some ‘green bastard’

but tubbo quickly got defensive, stepping in front of you

you didn’t understand how they knew each other beforehand, but at the same time you never caught up with tubbo’s friends either

you needed answers

“what’s going on?”

“y/n! you were messaging tommy this whole time? why didn’t you tell me?”

tubbo was clearly frustrated and a feeling of guilt washed over you

it didn’t click that you never exchanged names and admitting it did not seem believable

tubbo was in complete shock, trying to process everything that was happening

“WHAT?! AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TALKING?”

you mumbled out your words

“a few weeks, i can’t remember”

“uh, yeah sorry” tommy had confirmed your statements. “i didn’t even know you had a sibling, tubbo! i actually didn’t know their name until now as well..”

“HUH??”

“but if i knew i was messaging a tub-ling, i wouldn’t have in the first place!”

“what the fuck tommy!!!”

“no, but how do you even know each other?” you had interrupt the two

tubbo had chosen his words carefully

“we’re... friends”

tommy had seemed upset at this

“tubbo....”

“no, don’t talk to me, tommy. you were exiled for a reason. y/n? give him the stuff you wanted to him and let’s go, this was a waste of time”

you were saddened but obliged, you didn’t want to anger your brother even more

“fuck you, tubbo! can’t believe this was how you visit me for the first time, i don’t even want your pity shit”

before you could react, tubbo led you to the back of his boat

he got in the front and quickly rowed away from the land you barely stayed on, leaving your boat behind on the shores

you looked back at tommy who already had left back to his tent

the boat ride was silent and full of sorrow until you arrived back at l’manburg

once you got home you immediately opened snapchat to message tommy

hey tommy i’m really sorry about today. i had no idea,,,

you thought he would’ve ignored your message but instead replied right after

but your heart sank at reading the message

it’s fine

i think it’s best we stop talking y/n

you didn’t want to lose a friend so quickly but after all the tension from today, you didn’t know how to come back from it

so instead of arguing you agreed, even if it wasn’t honest

yeah, me too

and that was the last message you sent to tommy

even though the whole situation was confusing from the start, it didn’t mean you didn’t enjoy the random conversations you had

the bizarre encounter was unforgettable

it made you even sadder when you realized the first time you two used each other’s names through text would also be the last

a/n: ngl, i didn’t think i would finish this on a kinda angsty ending but here we are! and grrr it’s 4am and i just wanted to finish this,, let’s hope there aren’t that many grammar mistakes LMAO anyway i hope y’all enjoyed <3

#tommyinnit x reader #tommyinnit x y/n #tommyinnit x you #tommyinnit imagine #tommyinnit fanfic #mcyt x you #mcyt x y/n #mcyt x reader #mcyt fanfic #mcyt imagine

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makeste · 4 years

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BnHA Chapter 287: Family Reunion

Previously on BnHA: The Tomura For One VS Deku And Pals clusterfuck reached new levels of clustfuckery as AFO possessed Tomura’s body and stabbed Kacchan and Endeavor. Shouto was all “good thing I leveled up offscreen so as to be able to fly around whilst carrying 400lbs worth of people”, and did just that and it was like, damn, son. Meanwhile Deku’s rage went Mach 100, and he kicked Tomura’s ass for almost two whole seconds, but in the process he apparently forgot that IF TOMURA TOUCHES HIM THAT IS VERY BAD, and so he stupidly let Tomura touch him and Tomura was all “GAME, SET.” Fortunately for Deku, his quirk plays by its own rules, and so the chapter ended with us cutting to the METAPHYSICAL OFA/AFO PARANORMAL DREAMSCAPE OF MYSTICAL BULLSHIT, where AFO!Vestige was all “lol Tomura y u mad”, and Nana!Vestige was all “SUP DEKU, YOU’RE JUST IN TIME, LOOKS LIKE IT’S ASSKICKING O’CLOCK.” I’m paraphrasing a bit, but that’s more or less the gist of it.

Today on BnHA: AFO is all “well if it isn’t Tomura’s grandmother who I murdered that one time”, and Deku is all “?”, and AFO is all “fucking vestiges, man, wild”, and Deku is all “??”, and AFO is all “ANYWAYS GETTIM TOMURA”, and OFA is all “NOT SO FAST”, and Deku is all “???”, and really, same. AFO then goes off on some wild tangent about how Deku is unworthy because he couldn’t protect everyone and needed help from OFA and got mad about his friends being stabbed, which is such a cold take it gave me hypothermia, but it ends up not mattering since Deku and Tomura both wake up seconds later with OFA still in the possession of its rightful owner, HOW ABOUT THAT. The chapter ends with the LoV approaching on Gigantomachia’s back with Dabi practically salivating at the mouth, and Toga trying to reignite an old fandom blood feud. Toga why would you do this to me. Toga.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS

[CROWD LOSING THEIR MINDS] FINALLY THE NANA HAS COME BACK TO BNHA!! IF YA SMELLLLL WHAT THE NANA IS COOKIN!!!!! [RINGSIDE BELL CHIMING WILDLY] [LOUD AIRHORN NOISES]

“chapter 287: mistake” omg. yeah I’ll say you made a mistake, AFO. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THESE FLEETING LAST MOMENTS OF YOUR SHITTY EVIL LIFE

(ETA: so in all seriousness this must be referring to AFO’s belief that All Might/OFA made a mistake in choosing Deku, right? “I can’t believe you went and chose this shounen manga protagonist as your champion, what were you thinking.” I’ll just put this out there: however many comic books AFO read as a child, it clearly was not enough.)

wow Deku how slow are you

yes you’re inside OFA you dimbulb, did you think your clothes suddenly vanished out of the blue and the ghost of Nana just randomly appeared in the real world by some freak coincidence?? can you believe this kid. breaks his arms a measly 10-15 times in a row and all of a sudden he can’t think straight, get it together Deku

but also brb having a moment at the fact that his thoughts immediately run back to Kacchan, even with all of this nonsense going on and Nana about to lay the beatdown on AFO’s potato-lookin’ ass. forget that noise, all he wants to know is whether or not Kacchan is all right. fuckin’ geez. AM I OVERREACTING HERE A BIT. probably

(ETA: ALSO!! the way he just trails off!! “Kacchan is...” and then he can’t bring himself to complete the thought. oh my god my heart.)

HOLY SHIT

okay,

damn but this man sure knows how to ruffle my feathers. as eminently detestable as ever!!

could it be any clearer here that AFO is not on Tomura’s side?? for a moment I thought he had actually grabbed him by the back of the head in order to get him to look. but nope, he’s just resting his pointing hand on top of his head instead while he’s all “HEY TOMURA LOL IT’S THE GHOST OF YOUR DEAD PATHETIC GRANDMA”

for those keeping track at home, this would be the first time that Deku has heard this information -- that Tomura is Nana’s grandson -- and possibly the first time Vestige!Nana has heard it as well. Nana died when Kotarou was still a child, so for all we know the Vestige!Nana didn’t even know she had a grandson, lol. TODAY ON “MAKESTE RANTS AT LENGTH ABOUT THINGS THAT WILL PROBABLY BE ADDRESSED WITHIN THE NEXT THREE PANELS”, anyway moving on

lmao for the record I fucking LOLed at this giant question mark immediately bubbling up over Deku’s head

no idea what AFO is about to ramble on about now, haven’t read that far yet. but let the record show that Deku’s immediate reaction to hearing “BTW NANA IS YOUR ARCHNEMESIS’S GRANDMA LULZ” is everything I could have hoped for

(ETA: fandom nailed the shit out of this one with the confused Mr. Krabs meme lmao.)

okay so now AFO is monologuing at length about how he would sometimes have “riveting dreams” about the previous owners of all the quirks he stole. but once he gave the quirks away they stopped bothering him?? holy moly let me just take all the notes

okay so he’s saying that Vestiges are created whenever someone has their quirk stolen by AFO. but if they then disappear when he gives the quirks away, does that also mean that whoever receives the quirks also gets the original owner’s Vestige bundled in every time?? that would be wild okay hold up let me read the rest of this

so he’s saying that the Vestiges are actually the “consciousnesses” of the original quirk owners, which have become embedded in their dna or something. SOUNDS INCREDIBLY DUBIOUS TO ME LOL but on the other hand this is a world where children can be born with airplane heads, so my disbelief can hardly afford to pick and choose what it’s gonna be suspended at! anyways though, how does he know he’s the only one who was able to converse with them? did you conduct detailed six-month follow-up interviews with everyone you gave quirks to or what

and if it really is the case that this ability was formerly exclusive to him, isn’t that more evidence than ever that OFA and AFO are actually THE EXACT SAME QUIRK oh whoops am I getting ahead of myself again, sorry

MEANWHILE TOMURA IS ALL, “GRANDMA?”

“WHY AM I HERE, WELL LET ME TELL YOU A STORY, GRANDSON. YOU SEE THAT MAN GROWING OUT OF YOUR RIBCAGE THERE? WELL IT’S JUST THE FUNNIEST THING, ACTUALLY”

WAIT SO IS HE SAYING THEY’RE SOULS OR NOT??

this makes it sound like they won’t ever get to rest, which sure sounds like a soul thing to me. well whatever, soul, consciousness, I guess it’s just semantics at the end of the day

anyways though, so this asshole is finally done talking (I’m sure that won’t last), so now we can finally have the heartwarming reunion we’ve all been waiting for

sigh

-- actually, no, not “sigh”!! you know what!! because Tomura says “whatever the reason”, but that’s only because he doesn’t actually have a fucking clue about the reason. like, I don’t know if the knowledge that AFO killed Nana would be enough to give him pause, but if he knew the whole story and knew that AFO was behind not only Nana’s death, but the rest of his family’s deaths as well... now that would be a whole different thing

anyway. but at least it’s becoming clearer now why AFO spent all that time raising Tomura up as his heir and brainwashing him even though he seems to have been planning this body takeover the whole time. it’s all because he loves making people miserable! yaaaaay

btw HAS NANA HAD THE EXACT SAME MOLE ON HER CHIN AS TOMURA THIS ENTIRE TIME WTF. am I just the least observant person who ever lived lmao

lol wtf

ground: [randomly starts exploding]

Deku: “ONE FOR ALL IS BEING ERODED!!!” LOL IS THAT WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE, OKAY THEN. I’ll take your word for it

y’all I cannot fucking get over this “AFO growing out of Tomura’s hip socket like a fucked-up ventriloquist dummy” shit though

you do realize that absolutely no one can take you seriously right now, right?? it’s important to me that you know this

WHAT’S THIS NOW

seems like SOMEONE has had it up to here with a certain SOMEONE ELSE’S bullshit lmaooo bye Felicia

I SAID GOOD DAY!!

you guys why is he not dying!!

-- OH DAMN

love how Deku is just lying there like “YOU KNOW THOSE DAYS WHERE YOU’RE LIKE, THIS MIGHT AS WELL HAPPEN.” poor Deku

(ETA: where in god’s name is OFA Prime standing. why are my thoughts fully consumed by this lmao.)

are Nana and OFA Prime even doing anything?? why are they sticking their arms out like that. wait hold up is this all a big metaphor for the back-and-forth going on between Tomura trying to steal OFA and OFA being all “actually no you can’t, please enter your password and click on all the boxes with bicycles in them to prove you’re a human first”?

OH SNAP OFA PRIME SAID NO THANKS

“SORRY BRO WE’VE ALREADY MADE OURSELVES AT HOME HERE”

I have only just noticed that metaphysical!Deku has the same scars as actual!Deku. and yet his arms are not currently broken! that doesn’t really seem consistent to me but whatever!! maybe he saved right before the boss battle, that would be smart of him

anyway, that’s great and all that OFA Prime is here helping out, but I really wanted to see Nana fight AFO in a one on one though so I’m a bit disappointed. also why is it only the two of them?? where are Banjou and the others. of all the times to be sleeping on the job

FOR FUCK’S SAKE, THIS MAN

WOULD YOU STOP. WOULD YOU JUST QUIT IT ALREADY

oh shit hold up

doesn’t this confirm that the reason he wanted to transfer his power to Tomura is because he believed it would make him strong enough to finally take OFA because of Quirk Singularity? jesus christ. and here he was so sure of himself. but it turns out he doesn’t actually know shit! you can’t just fucking take OFA like that ya dingdong that’s not how it works

(ETA: SO, A THOUGHT -- is there any sort of subtle hinting here in the way that he words this? “if your strength is combined with mine”, as opposed to “if my strength is combined with yours”? no idea if the admittedly-so-small-as-to-be-almost-inconsequential distinction between those two sentences exists in the original Japanese or not, but I find it very interesting that the English wording implies that he’s the one adding Tomura’s strength to his own, rather than vice versa.)

now he’s insulting Deku!!

excuse me sir WHO ASKED YOU anyway. and never mind that being consumed by an, AND I QUOTE, “unquenchable” rage is your protege’s whole THING, and that he also needed your help to avoid being burned to a crisp a short while ago. where do you get off I swear

(ETA: also just want to point out that in the panel before this one he says that he’s been “watching through Tomura”, which pretty much confirms that his consciousness or whatever is alive inside of him all the time. Tomura is definitely not getting rid of this guy any time soon.)

WOW

first he calls Kacchan useless, then he calls Deku a simpleton, and don’t even get me started with Nana. just, you guys. this man is just... a very, very rude man

NOW OFA IS ALL “THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT MAKES HIM SUCH A GOOD PROTAGNIST YOU BUTTMUNCH” AND OMG PREACH

“DESPITE HIS COMMON SENSE” sdfkllk my man he already has one brother roasting him, take it easy guy

AHH WHAT

IS THIS BACK IN THE REAL WORLD

YEP

hahaha nice try Tomura

so Deku’s all “I didn’t lose my power! BUT” and I assume the “but” is the part where his arms are still broken and shit, and meanwhile Tomura’s body is almost healed up now finally

they’re both wiped out and now AFO is again petitioning Tomura to let him take over goddammit

“you won’t lose your mind” yep, he sure won’t! scout’s honor!! pinky swear!!

meanwhile Deku is getting fucking desperate flkjl;k my baby. and Machia is going to show up any second now too, probably. what else can fucking go wrong at this point

oh shit I shouldn’t have asked

get ready to rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrruuuumble, probably

OH MY GOD

WELL AT LEAST SOMEONE HERE IS HAVING A GOOD TIME. jesus

so as soon as he heard Endeavor was there he got all, “TIME FOR THE BIG REVEAL”, is that right? WELL JOKE’S ON YOU TOUYA, YOUR DAD DOESN’T SEEM ALL THAT CONSCIOUS AT THE MOMENT, SO THAT’S GOING TO DRAIN A LOT OF THE TENSION FROM THE SCENE WHEN YOU GO ALL REVERSE DARTH VADER ON HIM AND HE’S ALL “ZZZZZZZZ”

meanwhile Toga is having unsettlingly quiet angst

jesus christ Toga this is all we need right now

“WAS JIN-KUN NOT A PERSON” sdkfjlk Horikoshi I swear. please have mercy on this fandom. this is the debate that refuses to die!!

but seriously ffs, the issue isn’t that Jin deserved to die, it’s that the countless people whom Jin would have either directly or indirectly killed didn’t deserve to die either. people don’t only become people when you attach names and faces to them! we all loved Jin because we’d gotten to know him, but that doesn’t mean his life was inherently worth more than the lives of all the people he would have killed. sometimes there’s just no good answer

like, it’s just crazy to me that because the heroes are all “we want to protect everyone!” but then aren’t always able to do so because that’s literally impossible, whereas the villains are all “we don’t care about anyone other than the select few people that we actually like!”, the villains somehow wind up getting the better PR. it just so happens that it’s infinitely easier to be loyal to the interests of a few people as opposed to ALL THE PEOPLE. like, no shit, it’s easier to stick to your moral code when you barely have a moral code. and so the villains can kill thousands and no one bats an eye, but if a hero fails to save even one person they’re hypocritical moral failures. like what the hell

BUT ANYWAY, sorry to go off on a tangent there lol, it’s not really a big deal. I’m just preemptively trying to stave off more discourse about it lol but who am I even kidding

anyways lol, but of course they won’t kill you unless they have no choice, Toga. but when it comes to catch-22 situations, it’s a bit much to infer that the heroes don’t consider the villains people just because they opt for the choice that spares more innocent lives. I sure as hell don’t want my babies out here killing people, but to say that they can’t no matter what or else they’re no different from the villains is just...

anyway so the chapter has now just ENDED, just like that!! on a shot of Ochako’s face!

I SENSE ANOTHER THROWDOWN COMING. and it had better not be a total letdown like the last one! NANA BARELY DID ANYTHING HORIKOSHI, WHAT THE FUCK. I started out with such high hopes lol

but I will settle for Toga VS Ochako, and Deku VS Tomura: The Sequel: Shouto’s Revenge! SPEAKING OF HEROES WHO HAVE NO QUALMS ABOUT MURDERING PEOPLE lmao

#bnha 287 #shigaraki tomura #all for one #shimura nana #midoriya izuku #one for all #lil bro when are you gonna get yourself a proper name so I can tag you #himiko toga #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #ofa the first

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aalissy · 3 years

Text

Anime

Day 6 is finisheedddd!! Yayaya!! I wasn’t sure where this was going but I hope you like the fluff anywho! Also, this chapter is dedicated to my bestest friend for introducing me to Princess Tutu hehe. Lemme know what you think <3

AO3

Marinette slid into her desk chair nervously. She stared down at her phone as she waited for the telltale ringing to begin. Somehow, Adrien had let slip to Alya that he was absolutely obsessed with anime. This had led to her best friend mentioning how much Marinette herself loved anime and the next thing she knew, she and Adrien were going to call and watch together since he wasn’t sure if he would be allowed to leave his house. Blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face, she leaned her arm on her desk, still staring intently at her phone screen.

Maybe he’s going to back out. Yeah, that’s probably right. After all, would Adrien really want to watch anime with her? Alya must have gotten it wrong, Marinette nodded to herself. The idea was so laughable that she wanted to shake herself for ever thinking it was real in the first place.

Feeling the previous nervous jitters slowly disappear, she breathed out a sigh of relief. With a small grin, she went to scroll through social media for a little bit so she could have a small break before doing homework. Just when she clicked on an app, however, her phone immediately started blaring.

Letting out a loud shriek, Marinette instantly pressed the hang-up button, throwing her phone back onto her desk. Immediately, she realized her mistake, her eyes widening as she scrambled to pick it back up. With a quiet whimper, she saw that she had one missed call... from Adrien! Burying her head in her hands, she began to mentally scold herself.

Great, now I’m never going to get another chance to watch anime with Adrien! What’s wrong with me?! Why did I end the call like that? Alya’s going to think I’m insane, Marinette whimpered in her thoughts.

Slowly lifting her head up from her hands, she shot another last, longing glance at her cellphone. Much to her surprise, however, the device started to ring once again. Fumbling for it, Marinette practically fell out of her chair as she rushed to answer.

“H-hello,” she spoke breathlessly, running a hand through her hair.

“Marinette, are you okay?” Adrien’s voice came over the phone and she felt her heart skip a beat when she heard him say her name, “Was this a bad time?”

She waved her hand in the air, laughing rather giddily, “No, no, no. I’m fine. You’re perfect. I-I mean this is perfect! W-why would you think this would be a bad time?”

Slapping a palm to her forehead, Marinette groaned to herself quietly. How could she still be stuttering like this around Adrien? She had sworn to herself that it’d be different after New York but she just couldn’t quite erase her crush on him. He was just too amazing!

Even while ranting about Adrien, she still heard his quiet chuckle on the phone, “No reason. You just sounded out of breath and I couldn’t reach you the first time. I thought you had forgotten about our little phone call.”

“Pfft, me! Never!” Marinette giggled back, “Alright, so maybe I had, but I’m here now.”

That didn’t sound too forced, right? It made it seem like she hadn’t been staring at her phone screen for ages, waiting for him to call at least. Breathing out a quiet breath of relief, she opened up her desktop browser. Shifting her phone up to her ear, Marinette began to log into her accounts.

“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” Adrien said and she could practically envision the bright smile on his face, “What did you want to watch?”

“Hmm,” she hummed, not having thought about it, “I don’t know. What do you usually watch?”

Marinette could practically hear Adrien shrug over the phone as the two sat in silence for a little bit. He cleared his throat before speaking up again, “I usually watch superhero shows with a little romance in them. Like Sailor Moon and the new Miraculous anime that came out.”

A light blush brushed across her cheeks as she thought about Adrien watching an anime dedicated to her before she snapped back into the conversation. Now was not the time to fangirl! She was on the phone with him, the least she could do was stay invested in their conversation.

Nibbling on her lip, Marinette thought back to some of the animes that she had watched in the past. Tapping a finger to her chin, she hummed thoughtfully, “Well, we could watch an anime that I watched a lot of when I was younger. I-I mean if you haven’t watched it yet or want to, of course? Um, it’s called Princess Tutu, it’s kind of like Sailor Moon.”

“That sounds interesting! I haven’t seen it yet.” Adrien chirped cheerfully over the phone, “I’ll let you know when I’m ready to watch.”

An excited smile spread across Marinette’s face as she loaded up the episode on her computer. This had been one of her favorite animes when she was younger so the thought of watching it with Adrien was amazing. For the first time that day though, she wished that he was next to her so she could witness his reactions. Shifting her phone away from her ear to lie it flat on the desk.

Turning on the speaker, she listened to Adrien type quietly before his voice sounded over the phone, “Got it!”

“Great! 3, 2, 1, play!” Marinette said before booting up the first episode at the same time as him.

Watching The Duck and the Prince brought back a lot of memories for her and listening to Adrien’s reactions made it all the better. It felt like they were connecting as they both laughed and giggled over the same things. When she had first mentioned it, she had been nervous that he wouldn’t like it. However, knowing that he was enjoying it just as much as her made her grateful that Alya had set up this impromptu meeting.

By the end of the episodes, Marinette listened to some of his theories about the later chapters. Her heart fluttered lightly when he suggested that they watch the next episode and she happily agreed. Turning on the next episode, both she and Adrien began to hum lightly to the theme song.

Adrien likes something I picked! I’m so happy, Marinette squealed to herself. Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn’t be a one-time thing and they could do this more often. Perhaps, if she was bold enough she could even get him to come over and watch them with her.

As the two finished the episode, she heard Adrien’s voice come over through the speaker, “Wow, this is a really great show, Marinette! I want to watch more with you, but I’m afraid that it’s time for me to start my piano lessons. Do you think I might be able to come over and watch more with you later this week, though?”

“That’d be perfect, Adrien! A-as long as you don’t have anything else to do and you’re allowed to, of course.”

“I’m sure I can convince my father to let me come over if I mention we have a project together,” he said rather mischievously, “Does sometime this weekend work for you?”

Marinette nodded hastily before realizing that he couldn’t see her, “Yes! I’m free this weekend!”

“Great! I’ll see you then. Bye, Marinette. Thanks for introducing me to a new anime.”

She could practically hear his grin over the phone as a lovestruck smile spread across her face, “Bye, Adrien. See you soon.”

After hearing the familiar click of the phone call ending, Marinette whooped loudly. She had practically secured another date with Adrien! Opening her phone back up, she dialed Alya to squeal about her recent phone call with him. She absolutely couldn’t wait to gush about this with her best friend!

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #mlb #ml #fic #fanfic #adrinetteapril2021 #adrienetteapril2021 #adrinette #adrienette

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real-fanta-sea · 3 years

Note

Still taking kiss requests? 11 trikey would be cool with an od scare

wow it’s been a month? oops... anyway! Here comes your fic!

"mmmm hello handsome!!"

Usually, when the trailer door was kicked open, and Trevor stomped in, it wasn't at 2 in the afternoon, and Michael didn't stand by the sink in an embarrassingly pink apron, washing dishes. And it also didn't involve two giant plastic bags being tossed towards the kitchen while Trevor snickered and clapped his hands.

"oh my, how did you know I love it when you dress up like a french maid Mikey?"

Michael somehow found it incredibly hard to come up with a coherent answer, because T danced trough the room to slap his ass, snake his arms around him and lay a loud kiss on his neck. Instead of words, he just stabbed him with his signature 'I'll kill you' glare and fidgeted a little to shake Trevor off. It was hot inside the trailer already, and M didn't need another guy sweating into his tank top. To his surprise, the pressure T put on his back was gone in an instant, and when he turned around to find out why, he saw Trevor sitting on the table, drinking beer and checking him out with a predatory grin.

"Trevor I told you not to do that. People might see."

"Isn't it cute how afraid you are to be seen when the whole town hears you moan at night?"

Michael frowned and turned around to fish another dirty plate from the sink and scoff in disgust. When did he sign up to be a housewife? Behind his back, Trevor let out a mighty burp and threw the empty bottle across the whole room right to the open mouth of their new trash bin. When it broke with a satisfying crunch, he cheered and whooped like a teenager with his arms flying all around. It occurred to Michael he was, in fact, the only adult in the house capable of being a caretaker.

"What are you so happy about?"

Trevor opened up another beer and snickered.

"You won't believe it, Mikey. I was on the business trip as usual,"

"Uhuh..." Michael rinsed a plate, turned around and while drying it with a cloth, tuned out the sound and just watched Trevor spill beer while flapping his arms around and overact facial expressions as if he was a kid in a drama class.

"...and when I caressed him gently with my fists a couple of times, he agreed to give me a couple of packs for free!"

Still rubbing the plate, Michael just raised one curious eyebrow "Did you kill him?"

Trevor shifted and pointed the bottle to him so fast a couple of drops splashed out "What kind of animal do you take me for? Of course, I didn't kill him, but I sure took his marshmallows!"

"Wait a second, so those... things are full of marshmallows? What the fuck are we going to do with 100 bags of that crap???"

Trevor tapped his head with his index finger to articulate how stupid Michael just sounded to him. "What else do you want to do with food than eat it, Mikey?"

Michael just shot one dead glare to him and shook his head slowly.

"But I like how you're thinking; we could masturbate with them!"

"Trevor, that's disgusting..."

"Noooo try it! They are incredibly soft!"

"Stop it."

"And so runny when you heat them up! And if you are a good boy, I'd fill them with a very special cream for you..."

"T..."

"Michael, I love you, but you are one big fucking buzzkill, you know that?" Trevor slid down the table, finished the bottle and put it back into the crate. Stretching like a cat, he crossed the space between them and casually leaned against the counter next to Michael and tugged him into a half hug, leaving hand lower on his hip than Michael would have liked. He tried his best to look mad and sulking, glaring up into Trevor's grinning face.

"Aww look at those pretty lips pouting! Why don't we put them into good use..." Trevor leaned closer, and Michael slightly shivered when he felt T's hot breath full of beer and Redwoods on his lips. "...and have a challenge!"

"What?" Michael was utterly baffled. He was so damn ready for a forbidden daytime kiss, but all he could do at the moment was blink a couple of times and see Trevor pull away and laugh.

"Challenge, cupcake! To see how many of these bad boys you can fit into that pretty cockpit of yours."

"Trevor, you know I hate it when you call any part of my body a cockpit!"

"But you are not against stuffing it with marshmallows, are you?"

Michael threw the cloth he was holding to the full sink and immediately regretted the splash because the water would get behind the counter and he simply hated fixing that shit. He turned his frowned gaze to Trevor, who watched him with raised eyebrows and waited for round two of winding him up. There was no use going against Trevor who was determined to annoy him till M would give in. He might as well get it over with sooner than later.

"You know what? Fine. Let's fucking do this." Michael pointed an accusing finger and pushed it as close to Trevor's face as he could to see him cross-eyed and grin wider. "But just because you have a killer whale mouth doesn't mean you'll win!"

Michael stomped to the couch, threw his apron over the closest armrest and continued to the bathroom at the same pace, because why not taking advantage and getting his storage empty before the game begins? Judging by the sounds coming from the kitchen, Trevor decided to do the same, but in the sink right next to the washed dishes. Fucking A.

A lot of rustling and swearing later, Michael decided it was safe to return from his porcelain throne and fall back on the couch, scrutinizing Trevor's grin with suspicion and still wiping water off his hands. Trevor returned his gaze with lively flames in eyes and patted the open bag sitting on his lap.

"Ok Mikey, you start."

Michael's unimpressed gaze did not affect Trevor, determined to see his cheeks stuffed. Without a word, Michael reached into the open bag, snatched one marshmallow from the top and put it in his mouth. He almost let his angry act slip when he saw pink tip of Trevor's tongue wet his lips and then lick around the white foam as it disappeared in his mouth. Alright, he can do better than his boyfriend, can't he? The second marshmallow stuck to the inside of his cheek. And then third, fourth, fifth, tenth...

"yoo cunt fat in any mour, Miki? Yoo r a pushi!"

Michael felt a few drops of sweat roll down his temple - and instinctively frowned and balled his hands in fists. He knew he must have looked ridiculous with all the white foam sticking out his mouth, but for love of God, Michael couldn't let Trevor win, not with that smug expression he sported and with the bag almost empty, which meant just a couple of candies away from victory.

"jooosh ya waat, ya kanaaanian fek"

Fuck, his jaw hurt so fucking bad from keeping it forcibly open. It was precisely that kind of pain that woke him up in the night covered in a cold sweat after his brain gave him a dream about blowing a huge cock. Unpleasant and persistent. Michael exhaled through his nose, and while keeping eye contact with grinning Trevor, he slowly craned one hand into the almost empty bag.

Oh fuck!

Nothing could prepare Michael for the feeling of the soft, hot skin under his fingers and the impossibly wide shit-eating grin Trevor put on. It wasn't like Michael wouldn't expect T to cheat, or come up with a different kind of prank. Still, this oddly familiar thing hardening under his fingers literally took his breath away - and Michael shot up from the couch, wheezing, progressively getting more and more red as he stumbled against scarce furniture.

"Bwahahahaha, you should have seen your face, Mikey - I've never seen you more wide-eyed than now! One would think you're used to the feeling of my dick in your hand by now, baby, but thank you!"

Trevor let the rest of the laugh resonate and mix with the wheezing and choking.

"Mike? You can stop, I got it, you hate it... are you ok?"

In answer, Michael's eyes bulged out, and his face tinted blue.

"That's not funny, sugar..."

Trevor's face grew the most serious Michael had ever seen it when he quickly rounded him, hugged him from behind and pushed against Michael's ribs a couple of times with force M was sure was enough to finish him. Instead of crushing into his ribcage, the last blow loosened something within, and he just watched the cursed candy fly through the thick air and roll under the couch in a ball of saliva and dirt.

For a second, Michael could barely do anything else but take deep breaths and hang onto Trevor's arms that held him steady cautiously. However, he never was a man to put rage off, and with one quick movement, he turned around and slapped Trevor across his frightened face.

"YOU FUCKING PRICK, WHY DID YOU DO THAT!!!"

"Mikey, it was just a prank, I didn't want to kill you!"

"REALLY? REALLY? YOU'VE WANTED TO KILL ME SINCE THE FIRST TIME YOU SAW ME YOU ANIMAL!"

Not even the visible hurt and a couple of tears on Trevor's face didn't stop him from going on with his rant. He paced towards the door as fast as possible and turned around to point a finger to T one more time.

"This is the last time I put up with your shenanigans, Trevor. I'm done with you; we're over, you hear me? OVER!"

"Michael! Wait!"

"FUCK YOU!"

Michael stomped out of the trailer and right into the unforgiving Sandy Shores sun, swiftly passing a bunch of half-dissolved marshmallows, and turned around in the middle of the road to gaze back at Trevor one last time.

"MIKEY!"

"TOO LATE, T! DO YOU THINK I'LL WAIT HERE FOR ANOTHER MURDER ATTEMPT? THAT I'LL KEEP SCRUBBING YOUR DIRTY DISHES AND WASHING YOUR DISGUSTING CLOTHES WHILE WAITING FOR YET ANOTHER KNIFE IN BETWEEN MY RIBS? NO! SO LONG, LOVE, AND FU..."

Whatever it was Michael wanted to say, it was completely drowned in the sound of screeching brakes and sighs of metal being deformed in an impact. Before the world switched off and he slowly slipped into comforting darkness, Michael heard a blood-chilling cry and the same voice calling his name, a voice he painfully needed to hear and hold onto like a lifeline.

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

Rhythmic Beeping. So loud. Droplets of fluid. Impossibly loud. And why is this light so damn white?

Michael had to blink a couple of times before his eyes decided to focus and adjust to the brightness in the room. He had no idea what the hell has happened to him, every part of his body switched on to let him know he was in a fucking lot of pain that was somehow numbed by whatever they put into the fluid dropping steadily into his IV. As a result, every muscle in his body vibrated in a very uncomfortable, subtle way, and it occurred to him it felt like that one time when they lived above a night club - a constant, low and very intruse mumble.

Moving his head around was near impossible - there was something around his neck, keeping it still. With a minor spike of anxiety, he decided to check whether his toes and fingers even respond. Good, he could feel the sheets rubbing against his moving feet, gentle creases in the bedsheet under one of his hands and... someone else's fingers under the other?

The hand twitched as if in sleep, and tightened its grip on his own. Somewhere near his bed, a familiar sleepy grunt echoed, and Michael's memory filled his vision with many pictures of lazy mornings in a small trailer bed, where the same sensation mixed with dust dancing in scarce sunrays and unexplainable peace.

"Michael..."

"T... Trevor..."

A rustle later, Michael could finally see the familiar face hover over him and block out most of the light. He looked 30 years older than he did last time Michael saw him, with his eyes red and weighted with huge dark bags. His hair was greasy again, and his stubble coloured salt and pepper from worry. Suddenly, Michael's eyes closed under the rediscovered sensation of Trevor's palm gently caressing his cheek.

"Mikey? Are you awake?"

Michael opened his eyes again to look into Trevor's, and tears he saw gathering in them were breaking his heart.

"Trevor..."

The sudden extra weight on Michael's body as Trevor jumped onto the bed and straddled him made him wince in pain.

"Oh my God, I was so afraid you'd..."

Trevor bit his lip and tried to stop the tears by taking a shaky breath. Then, as gentle as he could ever be, he leaned in and took Michael's head in both hands, and brushed his thumbs over his cheeks in tiny circles - a movement which Michael found oddly satisfying. Just as he closed his eyes and eased into the feeling again, familiar lips gently touched his forehead and stayed for longer than ever as if Trevor tried to channel everything he wasn't able to say trough the kiss.

"I almost lost you, Mikey..."

Trevor could not hold his tears in anymore, and just let them fall down onto Michael's face as he gently pressed his forehead against the very place his lips left a moment before.

"Please don't leave me, I can't... I can't live without you!"

"I'm so sorry I hurt you, love, can you forgive me?"

Michael wasn't sure Trevor heard or understood what he said - instead of answering, Trevor just collapsed sideways and squeezed him tight, sobbing into the white sheets. With all the strength left within him, Michael pulled him into a soft hug, and let his hand resting on Trevor's shoulder.

"T?"

"M?"

"Look, I... I'm sorry it had to end this way... I overreacted and got you worried sick, that's the last thing I'd ever want."

"No, I admit, it was stupid to put my dick in the bag. I apologize, Mikey... Are you still leaving me, though?"

Michael's grip on him tightened, seeking the heat and well-known frame against him.

"... No. I said stupid things in the heat of the moment, and now I regret I did. I don't want to hurt you."

"Are you coming back home with me?"

"I am, baby - as soon as I can. I love you, T, and I'm too tired to fight it..."

Trevor's head slowly rose from this shoulder, and he could see both surprise and relief on his face. He would give anything to keep that childlike expression on for longer. His own mouth curved into a slight, but warm smile.

"Let's seal the deal with the kiss, shall we?"

Trevor slowly climbed back upon him, and this time, Michael could feel a familiar kick of lust under his belly as T's ass grazed over the sensitive area. Trevor has never been this gentle with him before, and when he closed his eyes as their lips met, all he could think of was the first time he saw him standing by a lone plane and the way it felt to fall in love at first sight with him.

"Mmmm.... Mikey, careful with that, one more poke on my ass and I'll have to ride you right here."

"Shut up,"

There was no malice in Michael's voice for just a joy of having the old horny Trevor back along with the over-the-edge suggestive banter. The grin over the flushed face above him told him Trevor was more than glad he was back to his old self too.

"And put those pretty lips to work, sugar!"

T just snickered, planted the last brief kiss on his lips and disappeared under the whirlwind of sheets.

#GTA V #Trikey #fanfiction #michael de santa #trevor phillips

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matchasprouts · 3 years

Text

Listen Closer - Chapter 5

[ can't stop won't stop. when will Lawrence not get cockblocked by Nar <///3 ]

First || Next || Previous || Last

Luckily for all of them, Garrett did finish that furnace before the day was over. He managed to check the trigger on the fire right before passing out face down on his bed. He told them they’d just move it to the house in the morning.

It wasn’t morning when they moved it, but it got moved out of his room at the very least before he was running out to get to his real job. He was definitely going to be late, but at least he wouldn’t have to deal with that giant machine in his living space anymore. Mark and Amanda could figure out how to get it to the house themselves.

“You’re late,” one of his coworkers teased as he clocked in and he just rolled his eyes. “And you look like shit. How do you live like this?” they continued, receiving a short glare from Garrett.

He didn’t necessarily hate his coworkers, but he wasn’t friends with them either. “Easily,” he replied shortly, leaving no more room for conversation as he clipped his nametag on his shirt and got to work.

Normally he wasn’t so short with them, but he was tired and wanted to get on with the day so he could help with the final preparations for the game.

The day went by quickly, especially because Nar remembered he had his phone number and would occasionally send him pictures of Amanda working, or a joking picture of Hoffman’s ass. He even received a picture of Lawrence ranting about something, probably a bad hospital show. Stuff like that always got him through the day.

“Is that your new boyfriend?” The coworker from earlier, Nadia, asked when they got a glimpse of one of the Hoffman ass pics. They backed off at the look Garrett gave them.

“No.” That was where he left it, putting his phone in his pocket and getting back to work. He was very lucky that Nadia didn’t get the chance to see him turn bright red at the mere idea of Hoffman being his boyfriend.

It was around 5pm when Garrett finally got off, practically running out of the bookstore and heading directly for his car. He was kind of aware of Nadia trying to talk to him as he sped out of the door, but didn’t care enough to stay put.

He was partly rushing so much because he needed to help finish the trap, but mostly because right before his shift ended, he’d gotten a text from Nar:

‘help gordon is trying to walk and idk what to do, he’s just hobbling around with his lil prosthetic help-’

He TOLD Gordon to wait until he could help him, and now he was speeding toward the base, two miles away from being pulled over for how fast he was driving. Plus there was the fact that the other two apprentices weren’t supposed to know about him, according to John, and the picture attached to the text showed him one of the main work rooms.

Fucking idiot, Gordon was supposed to be smart and here he was, being the dumbest bitch in the Jigsaw house, stepping way too close to getting killed.

---

… Apparently the other apprentices weren’t home.

Amanda was already at the Nerve Gas House to help with finishing touches, and Hoffman was at the precinct to “help” with the newest Jigsaw case, meaning Gordon was not in danger of being killed.

Garrett still scolded him.

“I can’t believe you!” He hissed as Gordon leaned into his side, trapped by the arm across his back and the hand placed on his midriff. “I told you! I told you not to try to move around without my help! You know Nar can’t support your weight!!”

Gordon just chuckled at him, the gravelly sound just pissing him off more rather than flustering him like usual.

“Lawrence!! This isn’t a joke!!! I’m genuinely worried about your dumb ass!!!!” Garrett continued, his voice slightly more high pitched in annoyance. Gordon just laughed at him again, making him huff as he practically dragged the doctor back to his room.

It was when he was finally sat down that Gordon said something. “I know you’re worried, but I wasn’t going to call you out of work just so I can walk around.”

“Wh- That’s what I expected you to do!!” Garrett countered, almost offended at the idea that Gordon thought his job was more important than him. “You literally can’t walk without help, and you’ve been bedridden for months! You don’t even have a cane yet!”

Gordon was just watching him at this point as he continued to list off reasons he should have been called, a small smile on his face at how animated Garrett got when he was passionate about something.

“... Why are you staring at me like that?” Garrett asked once he noticed Gordon’s gaze, his hands frozen midair in one of his wild gestures.

“You called me Lawrence.” Garrett’s eyes widened, he hadn’t even noticed. “And I like listening to your voice. I know you’re busy, but I wish you would visit more often, even if it was just to talk.”

Bro stop you’re scaring the hoes with attachment issues who are afraid of relationships (Garrett).

“Wh- I don’t-” Garrett’s stammering was cut off by Gordon’s lip suddenly connecting with his, and he mentally cursed himself for almost immediately melting into it.

The kiss didn’t last long because Gordon had stood up to reach Garrett, and he pulled back to sit back down on the bed, but that didn’t last long either.

As if he’d been waiting for it his whole life, Garrett practically lunged at the doctor, pulling him into another, slightly more desperate kiss. His hands were gripping Gordon’s shirt hard enough that it would definitely be forever wrinkled like that, and he was pretty much in the other man’s lap.

He was worried he was coming off too strong for all of two seconds, the concern dissipating when Gordon’s hands found his hips, holding him there in a tight grip.

Garrett had just begun to thread his fingers through Gordon’s hair- two seconds away from pulling at it- when there was a knock on the door.

Both of them jumped, Garrett shooting back like he’d been shocked. “I forgot we weren’t alone,” he whispered to Gordon, gaining a soft laugh from the doctor. Both of them took a moment to put themselves back together (when had Gordon started unbuttoning Garrett’s shirt?) before answering the door.

Nar glanced between the two of them, seemingly surprised that they looked like they had when they went in- luckily, the room was dark enough to conceal their flushed faces and Garrett’s very red lips.

“You done yelling at him?” he asked Garrett, who nodded in reply. “Good. John wants you at the Nerve Gas House, he wants you to set up the razor box.” Right. Garrett had forgotten about that.

He took one last glance at Gordon before sighing. “I’m so sick of that box,” he muttered, though he accepted his fate and headed out in far less of a frenzy than before. To be completely honest, he didn’t want to leave. He wanted to finish what he started with Gordon. But… the others needed his help, and he needed to give it.

That didn’t mean he didn’t spend the whole drive there thinking about the feeling of Gordon’s lips on his, and what else he could do to the good doctor the next time they were alone.

---

“Does that look good?” Garrett asked Hoffman once the razor box was attached to the ceiling, taking a few steps back to stand next to the detective.

He’d been having trouble with getting the box to hang evenly, which was a struggle he was no stranger to, so he’d brought Hoffman in to take a look at it.

The detective tilted his head slightly to the side as he inspected it, before letting out a soft hum. “You finally got it,” he confirmed, straightening back up. He didn’t flinch when Garrett let out a triumphant whoop, which was proof that one could get used to him quickly.

“You’re a godsend,” Garrett told him, slapping him on the shoulder before leaving the room, running down the hall to tell John and Amanda the good news. He could hear Hoffman following him, but absolutely did not slow down.

He skidded into the main room where John and Amanda were going over the plan for the thousandth time, almost tripping over his own foot and sending himself crashing into the ground. His only saving grace was Hoffman grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him back onto his feet.

John and Amanda stared at him like he was crazy for all of two seconds, before completely ignoring the fact that he almost just curbstomped himself into the floor. “I finally got the razor box straight,” Garrett spoke up, also acting as if he did not almost just die. “All my traps are good to go. Now, I desperately need sleep, so I’m gonna go home and take a two hour nap.”

He wasn’t. He was going to go back to his apartment and frantically draw up plans until he passed out from sleep deprivation at 2am. That was his permanent Jigsaw trap, one he could never escape from.

Wow. That was the most emo thought he’d had since middle school.

“Anyway. Good-bye.” With that, he turned on his heel and walked out of the house, but not after patting Hoffman- who had still been awkwardly standing behind him- on the chest, slipping a piece of paper into the front pocket of his shirt.

What was on it, you ask? A gay little doodle of Hoffman setting up the door gun. Why did he give it to him? He doesn’t know how to flirt. This is the best he’s got.

He went straight ‘home’ after that, a little annoyed he couldn’t go back to the base but also knowing that his neighbours were weirdly nosy and would “get concerned” if he didn’t show up to his apartment regularly.

Plus, his couch there was a really comfortable bed.

#story tag: listen closer #self ship fic #self shipping #self insert #scrap.writing #scrap.ships #romantic: ⛓🕵️‍♂️#s/i: garrett whitlock #mark hoffman #romantic: 🦿🩺#(poly) romantic: ⛓🩺#lawrence gordon #chapter 5

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a-blue-secret · 3 years

Text

CHAPTER XIX

BACK TO MASTERLIST

Chapter XVIII | Chapter XIX | Chapter XX

GENRES: royal au; fantasy au; magic au; friends-to-enemies-to-lovers; king!beomgyu, vizier!taehyun

PAIRING: taegyu

WARNINGS: none!

WORD COUNT: 6k+

AN: Well, I decided that I've given you guys enough angst to make you hate me, so this is a chapter full of fluff to compensate! Also, this chapter starts around the time that Beomgyu came back to Aruyeo and ranted to Yeonjun about how he'd yelled at Taehyun. Just wanted to clear that up :)

SUMMARY: Best friends turned enemies, Kang Taehyun has managed to trick Choi Beomgyu into his service, and to rule for a year and a day, until his youngest brother would be old enough to take the throne. Choi Beomgyu has no intention of being obedient however, and tries to thwart Taehyun’s orders at every turn. With a growing amount of distrust and lies within the court, will Taehyun manage to keep the kingdom of Gojongja from falling apart?

Yeonjun walked through the hallways, humming to himself. He had just talked to Beomgyu out in the Palace fields, and felt pretty smug about how the conversation had went. He'd managed to convince Beomgyu to apologise to Taehyun after he had yelled at the vizier, for which Beomgyu felt curiously guilty about. He knew that it wasn't just Beomgyu's gentle heart which meant he wanted to apologise, but rather it was because of much deeper feelings. Yeonjun smiled to himself, stopping in front of his door.

He threw the door dramatically and entered his room, grinning. Hueningkai looked up from under the bed.

“Oh? Why are you so happy?”

Yeonjun regarded Hueningkai from under the bed. “Right, I think that when I enter I’m gonna knock five times before I open the door so you know it’s me.”

“Good,” Hueningkai said in relief, crawling out. “It’s so hard to keep diving under there.” He walked back to his desk. “So why are you smiling so much?”

Yeonjun, still grinning, went to sit in his armchair. “I may have single handedly gotten Taehyun and Beomgyu together.”

Now. Maybe we should pause here for a teensy second.

If you thought that Yeonjun hadn’t shipped Beomgyu and Taehyun from day one, then you are terribly wrong because, well, Yeonjun had shipped them from day one. That very first day, when he’d talked to them both in the King’s Corner, he’d taken note of their bickering dynamic and sized them up immediately. ‘Interesting… These two are definitely in love,’ had been his very first thought. So even if Beomgyu and Taehyun hadn’t known they loved each other, Yeonjun definitely saw it, and backed it wholeheartedly. He’d noticed the way Beomgyu always started talking about Taehyun with a distinct faraway look in his eyes, and how Taehyun cared so much about the wellbeing of Beomgyu (even though he probably didn’t realise himself how much he worried about the other) and how he talked about Beomgyu literally all the time.

Needless to say, Yeonjun noticed it all, and had been secretly shipping them ever since.

“No way,” Hueningkai said, open-mouthed.

“Yes way,” Yeonjun said proudly, crossing his legs. “I convinced Beomgyu to go apologise, and I have no doubt that they’ll end up talking about everything between them, including the romantic tension.” He shook his head amusedly. “Wow, sometimes I surprise myself with my own intelligence.”

Hueningkai twisted his lips sceptically. “Do you even know where Taehyun is?”

“Probably in the gyms. Like he usually is when he’s stressed. I think he’s in there right now.”

“Ah, okay,” Hueningkai nodded. “Oh wow. But… are you sure that they’re, you know… in love? Because Taehyun was homophobic, wasn’t he?”

“I bet that’s just his built-in reaction to homosexuality. I’m sure that he reacted so severely to Beomgyu coming out because he realised he also had feelings for him,” Yeonjun said, waving his hand nonchalantly. He gave a laugh. “Plus, it’s obvious as hell,” Yeonjun said, grinning. “Taehyun’s ears always go bright red when he talks about Beomgyu, but I don’t even think he knows it. And Beomgyu… he talks about Taehyun in such an endeared way that it’s impossible not to notice how in love he is.”

“If you say so,” Hueningkai said, smiling.

Yeonjun beamed back, before gasping. “Also, I saw this really cute Lord today! He’s so tall… and has dimples!”

Hueningkai laughed at how Yeonjun was obviously fawning over this cute Lord. “What’s his name?”

“Soobin,” Yeonjun sighed dreamily. “Even his name sounds cute…”

“Be careful,” Hueningkai warned. “You know who else is famous for having dimples.”

Yeonjun blinked, before swatting Hueningkai’s words away. “We’ve been over this before, Hyuka. It’s just a myth, okay? He doesn’t exist. Besides, I always learnt that he has freckles too.”

Hueningkai frowned. “No he doesn’t,” he said. “His skin is meant to be milky white and clear, with only a mole under his right eye.”

Yeonjun blinked. “Huh? No, the myths say that he has tanned skin, which is why his blue eyes stand out.”

Hueningkai tilted his head. “Doesn’t he have yellow eyes?”

Yeonjun stared, confused, before shaking his head. “You’re making me confused! Anyway, the myths aren’t factual, which we’ve just established. Don’t worry, I’m sure Soobin’s good. He doesn’t have yellow eyes or blue eyes or a mole under his eye. He just has really warm brown eyes and normal skin.”

Hueningkai smiled. “Only joking. I’m sure this Soobin guy is really cute or whatever.”

“He’s super cute!” Yeonjun said excitedly. “I mean it, he really is!”

Hueningkai laughed. “Alright, alright. Back to the Taehyun and Beomgyu thing, though. Will it work?”

“Oh, sure, sure! I’m sure it will. Trust me. We won’t have any sort of problem at all.”

Yeonjun beamed at Hueningkai, and he couldn’t help but smile. The younger turned back to his work, the smile still on his face. He hadn’t seen Yeonjun look so happy in ages. It was nice.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

“We have a problem!” Yeonjun said, bursting into the room.

“Seriously??” Hueningkai exclaimed, looking up from where he’d hastily scrambled under the bed. “What did you say you were going to do about knocking?”

“Whoops. But anyway, we have a problem!” Yeonjun sat down on the bed and began talking to Hueningkai urgently. “Taehyun changed his schedule! He’s now going to the gyms during the day, instead of at night. What if Beomgyu doesn’t catch him?”

“Is that it?” Hueningkai scoffed, heaving himself out from under the bed and coming to sit beside Yeonjun. “Beomgyu isn’t stupid. I’m sure he’ll figure out in a couple of days. Plus, you could just tell him yourself instead of just watching and waiting for him to figure it out.”

“Yeah, but that will seem pushy,” Yeonjun sighed.

Hueningkai side-eyed him. “Why do you want them to ‘get together’ so badly, anyway?”

“Beomgyu reminds me of us,” Yeonjun explained. “No– he reminds me of you. Bright-eyed, bubbly, excitable, and kind hearted.” He ruffled Hueningkai’s hair affectionately. “I’ve always wanted the best for you, haven’t I? I feel like, by helping Beomgyu be happy, I get to do all the things I failed to do for you.”

Hueningkai tilted his head. “But I am happy?”

“Not in that way. Happy and free. You and I…” He gave another sigh. “We’re bound to a cause. We can’t be free. I’m really sorry about that, Hyuka,” Yeonjun said. “We should have just run away from Aruyeo. We shouldn’t have become spies.”

“It’s alright,” Hueningkai said, resting his head on Yeonjun’s shoulder. “It was my idea anyway, wasn’t it? It’s alright. I wanted to be a spy.”

Yeonjun gave a sad smile, resting his head on top of Hueningkai’s. “But still, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Hueningkai insisted. “It’s fine.” He wrapped his arms around Yeonjun’s middle, patting his stomach. “I love you, big bro.”

Yeonjun put his arms around Hueningkai’s shoulders, hugging him. “Love you too, little bro.”

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Hueningkai lifted his head. He could hear Yeonjun’s hurried footsteps approaching the door. Any moment now, he’d throw open the door with some ‘important’ announcement.

Three, two, one…

There were five, quick knocks and Yeonjun burst in, looking triumphant.

“I have an important announcement! He found him! Beomgyu found Taehyun!”

Hueningkai smiled. He knew Yeonjun well.

“That’s good, right?”

“Yep! Quick, get your crystal gazing ball! We need to see what they’re doing!!”

Hueningkai raised an eyebrow amusedly. “Aren’t you the person who said it was immoral to spy on them?”

Yeonjun flapped his arms around, waving away Hueningkai’s words. “What I said before was irrelevant! I want to make sure they’re okay! Come on, come on!”

“Alright, alright! Just calm down, okay? Don’t break it. I’ve only just made this one.” Hueningkai handed his gazing ball to Yeonjun, who immediately grabbed it.

“Do you have a strand of Taehyun’s hair?” Yeonjun asked. He suddenly went over to the bed, rummaging through the sheets. With a triumphant ‘Ha!’ he brandished a strand of hair. “It’s still left over from when he was staying in our room. Go on, do your magic thing!”

Hueningkai rolled his eyes affectionately at Yeonjun’s excited manner, and infused the hair strand into the ball, handing it back to the elder.

As an image began to slowly appear inside the ball’s surface, Yeonjun sat down on the bed more comfortably. “Is there a way to get sound on this thing?”

Hueningkai looked back from his desk. “No,” he said. “It’s a gazing ball. Not a speaker.”

Yeonjun pouted. “Fine.” He gasped. “Oh look, Beomgyu’s come in!”

Perhaps it was a little creepy that Yeonjun was intently watching his friends through a crystal gazing ball, as if he was watching a drama or something. But hey, Yeonjun was curious by nature, which was one of the reasons he was such a good spy. He didn’t rest until he’d found out his answer. Plus, he had good intentions. Hueningkai knew that, which was why he wasn’t objecting to Yeonjun spying on Beomgyu and Taehyun.

But still, he had his limits.

“No! Taehyun, what are you doing?? Don’t wave your sword at Beomgyu! No no no, it’s all going wrong!” Yeonjun gasped, watching the crystal ball.

Hueningkai, recording some chemicals into his notebook, frowned. He looked up at Yeonjun, who was absorbed in what Beomgyu and Taehyun were doing. Yeonju had his fingernails in his mouth, biting them nervously. When he gave a dramatic gasp, shaking the ball in desperation, Hueningkai stood up and confiscated the gazing ball.

“Wait, give it back! No, what are you doing?”

Wordlessly, Hueningkai went to his desk and smashed the ball with a hammer. Yeonjun gaped as the glass shards rolled off the table, onto the floor.

“Now I don’t know what’s going to happen next!” Yeonjun complained.

“Then why don’t you go down and see for yourself?” Hueningkai said. When Yeonjun hesitated, he began to scold him, brandishing his hammer at him. “You’re treating them like they’re some sort of theatre show,” he berated. “They’re real people, you know. Treat them with some respect, will you?”

At Yeonjun’s guilty face, he sighed. “I know you mean well, Yeonjun,” he said. “But like you said. It’s immoral. They’re our friends, and it’s not good to spy on your friends. Besides, don’t you have a meeting with Taehyun and Beomgyu tomorrow? You can ask them then.”

Remembering that, Yeonjun perked up. “Oh yeah, you’re right! It’s technically just a meeting with Taehyun, but if things have gone well between them, Beomgyu might tag along.”

“Well then, you can ask them then, right?” Hueningkai said.

“Fine,” Yeonjun sighed, flopping back down onto the bed. “I’ll ask them tomorrow.”

.・゜-: ✧ :-

The next morning, Taehyun awoke with a sleepy yawn, stretching. For some reason, he felt ridiculously happy, but he just wasn’t sure why.

As he was opening the curtains, he gave a yelp, remembering what had happened the day before. Immediately, his ears began to warm and a flush creeped up his face. Flustered, he placed his hands over his cheeks, trying to prevent them becoming any pinker.

“I kissed Beomgyu…” he whispered. “Beomgyu loves me??” He gave a very un-Taehyun-like squeak, covering his face with his hands.

If someone had told him three months ago that his first kiss would be with his childhood best friend-turned-enemy, he would have scoffed in their face. He and Beomgyu had been enemies for well over three years. But somehow, it felt strangely right that his first kiss would be with Beomgyu, and not anyone else.

Suddenly, Taehyun paused in his thoughts, peeking from behind his hands.

“Wait…” he said softly. “So… I like Beomgyu too?” He frowned. “I do?” He thought back, thinking of all the times he’d accidentally zoned out because he’d been admiring Beomgyu’s beauty for too long, or the times he’d been worried sick about Beomgyu because of the other constantly getting into dangerous situations, or even the times when they were little, when they were just Beomie and Tyun, just the two of them against the whole world.

His face softened, and he realised: yes, he really did love Beomgyu. He really, really did.

But then he frowned. This was all so sudden for him, though… what if he made things awkward?

Just at that moment, someone knocked softly on his door, and Beomgyu’s bright face peered inside. When he saw Taehyun, his face brightened further and he skipped happily into the room. He looked so young and bubbly that it was like seeing the Beomgyu from five years ago, when they were still in court together, by each other’s side. A fond smile tugged at the corners of his lips. Beomgyu was practically glowing. Is that what love did to you? Actually, no, he corrected himself. That's what a love requited does to you.

Beomgyu bounced up to Taehyun, very obviously vibrating with happiness. He tilted his head to the side, like an inquisitive puppy.

“How are you? Are you okay? How is my Taehyunnie feeling today?”

Taehyun’s ears flushed at the nickname. “Uh–”

“Are you happy? Tired? Stressed? Content? Sad? Because if it’s sad then I’m gonna be sad too because I don’t want you to be sad.”

“Well–”

Beomgyu began to bounce around, too joyful to stay still. “If you’re happy then it’s alright. I want you to be happy! Although, while I don’t want you to be sad, if you’re sad then that’s alright too, because I’ll do my best to make you happy again!"

"Beomg–"

"Did you know that I'm an expert at making people happy? Father said that when I walk into a room, the mood immediately brightens. I am that good at making people happy! So don't worry, because if you become sad then I'll be there to comfort you, every time. I promise! Because that’s what I’m going to do from now on, because I lo–”

“Beomgyu, Beomgyu,” Taehyun interrupted, walking over to the excited boy to hold his hands. “My Beomie,” he added, earning a bright beam from Beomgyu. “I love you, I really do. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure that I love you.”

Beomgyu slowly stopped vibrating, calming down enough to understand what Taehyun was saying. “I think I sense a but…?”

“But I’m still kind of awkward about it,” Taehyun finished. “I mean, I only knew that I loved you yesterday! I was only able to put a name to this feeling less than a day ago, and I’m still getting used to the fact that I am, in fact, hopelessly in love with you, when I had originally thought that I completely hated you. I do love you, I really do,” he said, holding Beomgyu’s hands tight. “But can we just… take it a little slower? If that’s okay.”

Beomgyu’s bright, intense gaze softened, and he smiled gently. “Of course,” he said. “Of course, yeah, I’ll be more than happy to. When it comes to you, I’ll be willing to do anything.”

Taehyun relaxed, smiling. “Thank you,” he said. “I just… this is all really new to me, and I don’t want to potentially panic and push you away again. I want to take it slow, so that I don’t make that mistake again.”

“I understand,” Beomgyu said, nodding. He tilted his head, a teasing sparkle in his eye. “Does that mean I ought to court you? Would you like that?”

Taehyun blinked, ears going pink at what Beomgyu was insinuating. “What– ? No no, Beomgyu no that’s okay, we’re not going to get married yet–”

Beomgyu didn’t seem to hear him, releasing one of Taehyun’s hands. He gestured with his free hand grandly, as he spoke. “No need to be so flustered, my love. I will make sure that I will romance you in the gentlest, softest, most eloquent way known to man.” He bowed low, still holding onto one of Taehyun’s hands. Taehyun stuttered, feeling a little flustered by how fast Beomgyu had changed his demeanor.

"You are a masterpiece, with striking eyes and even more striking words, and I shall prove to you that I am worthy of any affection that you are able to spare towards me, for I shall love you in ways you will have never experienced before."

Taehyun was full-on stammering now, staring intensely at Beomgyu, who looked positively regal in the morning light. With every word that Beomgyu uttered, his heart kept constantly hiccuping, in awe of how beautiful he looked. It didn't help his heart that Beomgyu was also wearing his royal suit for once (he'd always insisted it was too grand for everyday occasions), and he looked even more handsome than usual.

“However long it takes, I shall wait for you,” Beomgyu declared. “I shall wait, and continue to love you, until you come to me with your hand outstretched, reaching out for me and letting me love you because I will,” he said, eyes shining, “I will love you, just like I do right now, and as I will continue to do, even into the next lifetime.”

His ears were burning, but he was unable to take his eyes off Beomgyu. Silver tongue, honestly… Taehyun knew Beomgyu was intelligent, and had a way with words, but hearing such beautiful, heartfelt sentences had him melting into a puddle of affection right there in his room. Trust Beomgyu to use his silver tongue to charm Taehyun until he was rendered speechless. But something in his heart told him that Beomgyu meant every word, and that thought only made his ears even warmer.

Beomgyu bowed again, eyes sparkling as if he knew exactly what he was doing to Taehyun, and he loved it. “You and I now have to part ways, but I shall be sure to see you in a few hours, to discuss strategy in our Discussion and Tactics room.” He pressed a feather-light kiss onto Taehyun’s knuckles, before straightening, a playful gleam in his eye. “Until we meet again, my love.” Beomgyu leaned forward until his lips brushed Taehyun’s ear, voice low and silky smooth. “I will love you slowly and everlastingly, in every way possible. I will love you for forever and a day, so take all the time you need.”

And then, with a smirk and a flippant wink, Beomgyu had disappeared from Taehyun’s room. The only evidence that he had been present at all was the lingering scent of his delicate perfume, hanging over Taehyun like a lace veil. The vizier himself was still standing in the middle of the room, ears still tingling from Beomgyu’s velvet-soft words. And then, with a small whine, he covered his face with his hands, cheeks dusted pink.

Beomgyu was going to be the death of him.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Taehyun peered into the Discussion and Tactics room, before quickly retreating his head.

Beomgyu was already inside, tapping his quill mindlessly against the wooden table as he waited for the vizier to arrive.

Said vizier, however, was not ready to arrive just yet. He was still rather flustered from Beomgyu’s words just an hour ago, and wasn’t sure he’d be able to look the other in the eye without tripping over his words. He took a deep breath, patting at his ears to try and cool their burning. Maybe he could slip away, pretend he forgot… Beomgyu wouldn’t know, would he?

“If you’re going to pretend you forgot, it won’t work,” Beomgyu’s voice suddenly called out, making Taehyun jump. “You never forget meetings.”

Taehyun bit his lip, and meekly poked his head around the door. “How did you know I was here?”

At Taehyun’s voice, Beomgyu jumped, staring at him. His face melted into a smile, and he got up to open the door further. “I didn’t,” he beamed, holding the door wide for Taehyun to enter. “I’ve just been saying stuff aloud at random intervals in case you happened to be there. I guess this time it worked.”

Taehyun stared at him, speechless. “Wow… you really are amazing…”

Beomgyu grinned wider. “I know.” The mischievous glint appeared in his eye again, and Taehyun’s ears immediately began to warm, as if anticipating what was going to happen next.

“My love, come! Take a seat right here.” Beomgyu pulled out a chair, gesturing for Taehyun to sit. “There! The sun hits you in just the right way–” he made a rectangle with his hands, and squinted through them, looking at Taehyun as if he were in a picture frame, “–there. You look positively radiant, my dear.”

Taehyun placed his hands over his ears, embarrassed. Beomgyu took a seat opposite Taehyun, staring at him lovingly. Trying to ignore the other, Taehyun reached into his case and brought out the documents that were needed for the meeting.

“You truly are beautiful,” Beomgyu said in a dream-like tone. “I suppose I have to work incredibly hard to prove I am worthy of such a beautiful person like you.”

Taehyun coughed, ears reddening. He awkwardly shuffled the parchments together, not looking up at Beomgyu.

Beomgyu simply laughed, stroking the other’s hair. “You’re so adorable when you’re flustered.”

He didn’t say anything, and ducked his head. It was embarrassing, how awkward Beomgyu’s compliments made him, and yet… he quite liked it. It made him feel like he was loved.

And so, he looked up at Beomgyu, who was still staring at him with a lovestruck expression on his face. With a small smile, he took hold of one of Beomgyu’s hands which were resting on the table and lightly brushed his lips against it.

“You are adorable all the time, my love,” he said, smile growing wider when Beomgyu’s ears began to flush.

But the elder recovered quickly, taking hold of Taehyun’s hand and kissing the fingertips. “Keep saying things like that, and I’ll only fall harder for you,” he murmured softly, sending tingles down Taehyun’s spine.

“That’s good,” he said. “I want you to love me and no one else.”

Beomgyu gave a small smile, flipping Taehyun’s hand over to press a kiss on his palm. “Luckily for you I have my eyes on you and you alone.”

Taehyun flushed, unable to respond.

It was almost laughable, really, how tongue-tied Beomgyu made him. When it came to Beomgyu, he became a blushing, shy mess who could barely respond to the other’s obvious flirtings in any sort of eloquent manner. His heart started doing all sorts of strange acrobatics, and his ears would not stop turning pink. It didn’t help that everything about Beomgyu was so incredibly captivating that he had trouble focusing on any sort of conversation.

“–into the room?”

And that was an example of Taehyun zoning out, too busy staring at Beomgyu’s sparkling eyes. He couldn’t help it, though: the sun had come out from behind a cloud, bathing Beomgyu in its golden glow, and his eyes glittered a pale copper in the bright light. It was a mesmerising difference from their usual dark chocolate brown, and Taehyun had been too busy admiring their unusualness that he’d unintentionally zoned out.

Oh, look. He’d just done it again.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

Beomgyu smiled. “I was just detailing the ways in which we could passionately kiss, and described how awkward it would be if Yeonjun happened to suddenly walk into the room.”

Taehyun flushed again, frowning at Beomgyu. “Don’t lie, that’s not what you were saying.”

Beomgyu laughed – his bright, tinkling, genuine laugh, which made Taehyun smile too. “You’re right, you’re right. I was talking about how warm it’s getting in here, and if we should open the windows to let more air into the room.”

“Oh, true,” Taehyun said, leaning back. “Is it just me, or is it hot in here?”

Without missing a beat, Beomgyu stared at him dead in the eyes and said, “It’s you.”

Though it took a while for him to process the meaning behind Beomgyu’s words, once he’d realised what he meant, Taehyun gave a groan, covering his face with his hands. “Stop, you’re making me embarrassed.”

Beomgyu just gave a small laugh, stroking Taehyun’s hair gently. “You really are adorable.”

Taehyun gave another groan, ducking under the table to hide his blush. Beomgyu laughed again.

It was funny, to him. Taehyun: the prim, stern, curt Taehyun, who looked as if he was carved out of cold marble, became such a small, adorable, flustered person around him. He’d never have known how soft and cute Taehyun actually was if the two of them hadn’t been best friends since they could barely walk. But Beomgyu had been best friends with Taehyun for practically the whole of his life, and he knew all of this about Taehyun, and it made him smile seeing this gentle side of Taehyun again.

But he really hadn’t anticipated how flustered Taehyun would get at his flirtings. That was something he hadn’t seen coming.

And honestly? He loved it.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

The next half an hour progressed in much the same way, with Beomgyu shamelessly flirting with Taehyun and Taehyun sometimes shyly flirting back. Their compliments towards each other became even more old-fashioned and ridiculous, with the both of them ending up as pink-cheeked, laughing messes.

Beomgyu was holding Taehyun’s hand in his own, trying to read his palm when in reality, he kept on tickling Taehyun by tracing the skin so gently it was like a feather across his hand.

“Stop, stop!” Taehyun laughed, trying to pull his hand away.

“No, stay!” Beomgyu said, laughing himself. “And this line here–�� he traced the crease incredibly delicately, Taehyun shrinking away from the ticklish touch– “means that you’ll be loved by me for a very long time! Gosh, it says…” he hummed thoughtfully, staring intently at Taehyun’s hand. “five hundred years! Well, I say that’s enough for five lifetimes, don’t you think?”

He continued to tickle Taehyun’s palm as well as the back of his hand, until the other was laughing too hard to form any coherent sentences.

“Okay, okay, stop,” Taehyun said, still giggling slightly. He held Beomgyu’s hand in his own, preventing the other from tickling him again. He interlaced their fingers, elbows on the table, and Beomgyu stared at their interlocked fingers in awe.

“Your hands are so pretty,” he said softly. He looked up at Taehyun, quirking a grin. “I guess everything about you is pretty, isn’t it?”

Taehyun flushed, smiling so wide that his dimple was on full display. “I’m too shy for this… stop!” he laughed as Beomgyu pinched his cheek affectionately.

“I’ve missed out on complimenting you for several years, so now that I have you, I’m not going to stop!” He bopped Taehyun’s nose gently. “I’m afraid you’ll have to get used to it, my love.” He gave a gentle smile, before going back to admiring Taehyun’s fingers. “But just look at these fingernails,” Beomgyu exclaimed, taking hold of Taehyun’s hand to examine his fingers. “They’re just so perfectly shaped! And…” he gave a gasp, running a finger along the back of his hand. He looked up at Taehyun, before hesitantly rolling up the sleeves of Taehyun’s uniform. His eyes widened, and he looked back at Taehyun again. “For such a delicate person, your veins look deadly.”

Taehyun gave a grin. “It’s what happens when you exercise a lot.”

Beomgyu rolled down Taehyun’s sleeve, smoothing the cuff down nicely. “Well, I’m not going to complain. It’s kinda hot.” Taehyun flushed again, but Beomgyu was already moving on, looking a little flustered himself. “But your fingers are so pretty. They’re so long and delicate and thin.” He kissed each of the tips several times, and Taehyun laughed at the ticklish sensation.

Beomgyu looked up at Taehyun, smiling brightly. He gazed at the other, admiring how beautiful happiness looked on him. Taehyun’s eyes crinkled adorably, and his dimple became incredibly prominent. He was just… beautiful.

He tilted his head, still holding onto Taehyun’s hand. “Can I kiss you?”

Taehyun blinked, hesitating. “Uh… I don’t… It’s a little…”

Beomgyu just nodded understandingly. “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s a little uncomfortable, right? That’s fine. Here, I’ll give you this instead.”

He flipped over Taehyun’s hand so that his palm was facing upwards, and pressed a soft kiss into the middle of his hand. And then, gently, he pushed Taehyun’s hand upwards so that the palm touched Taehyun’s lips. An indirect kiss.

Taehyun’s eyes widened with understanding. He gazed at Beomgyu, eyes sparkling. “Why do you always come up with the most adorable things?”

Beomgyu stared back at Taehyun with equally loving eyes. “It’s because I’m doing them for the most adorable person.”

Taehyun reached for Beomgyu’s hand and, unfurling his fingers, pressed his own kiss into Beomgyu’s palm and pressed it against Beomgyu’s lips. They both giggled, and Beomgyu gave yet another kiss onto Taehyun’s palm, touching it against Taehyun’s lips.

The two of them stayed there in the Discussion and Tactics room, exchanging palm kisses and giggling like two highschool lovers, when the door creaked open, and Yeonjun poked his head around the door. He took one look at the scene in front of him, before letting out a loud whoop, startling Taehyun and Beomgyu.

“I knew it! I knew it! Oh wow, I’m a total genius!” he crowed triumphantly, his head still only half through the door.

“Uh, Yeonjun?” Beomgyu said hesitantly.

Yeonjun ducked his head apologetically. “Will you excuse me for just a moment?” He closed the door and stepped out into the hallway. Outside, they heard him make lots of noise, and distinct, heavy footsteps as if someone was jumping up and down. Taehyun thought he might know why Yeonjun was acting that way, and he smiled amusedly. He’d had no idea that Yeonjun had been thinking about that.

Eventually, Yeonjun opened the door again, grinning so hard that his eyes almost completely disappeared.

Beomgyu looked at Taehyun, confused, to find the other laughing at how obviously elated Yeonjun was. Slightly bemused, he found himself laughing as well, because Taehyun was being adorable and really, Yeonjun’s behaviour was quite humorous too.

“So I’m guessing you two made up?” Yeonjun asked, still grinning widely.

“Yep,” Beomgyu grinned, adjusting his grip on Taehyun’s hand, which he was still holding. Yeonjun noticed the action, and wriggled his eyebrows.

“Oh, did you guys do more than make up?” he asked, though it was clear he already knew the answer.

Taehyun coughed, slightly embarrassed. “Yeah…” he said.

Yeonjun grinned impossibly wider, practically exuding happiness and triumph. “Oh wow,” he said. “Wow. I’m really, really happy for the both of you. Wow. Oh wow. Just… wow.” He kept on grinning for several more moments, before quickly shaking himself. “Uh, anyway. So, finalising the members of the council, huh?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Taehyun disentangled his hand from Beomgyu’s grip, reaching for the papers he’d put on the table. Beomgyu let out a small whine when Taehyun moved away, trying to reach for his hand again, but Taehyun playfully glared at him. “No,” he said. “We have work to do.”

Beomgyu pouted, seemingly not caring about Yeonjun’s presence. “So I can’t hold your hand?” he asked sadly. Yeonjun smiled as Taehyun began to gently berate Beomgyu, with the other still pouting adorably. He knew Taehyun had it in him to be gentle and soft and adorable, and it really was cute to see. Sure, he felt like the biggest third wheel ever, but the fact that he could even be a third wheel was amazing, given the fact he was sitting with two people who had supposedly hated each other for years. And honestly? Since they were people who he liked and appreciated, he really didn’t mind third wheeling. He watched the two of them bicker, smile still bright on his face.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Yeonjun tapped his fingers against the table, cheek propped up against his palm.

Remember when he said he didn’t mind being the third wheel? Well, forget that. It was so annoying.

When Beomgyu had pouted and sulked after Taehyun let go of his hand, the vizier, feeling sorry for him, eventually gave in and let Beomgyu hold his hand. So the two of them were holding hands across the table, while Taehyun tried his best to concentrate on the work, but it was obvious he was struggling. Beomgyu kept rubbing his thumb over the back of Taehyun’s hand, or adjusting their grip so their fingers interlaced, before adjusting it again so they were just holding hands. Taehyun kept getting distracted by Beomgyu constantly fidgeting, and stopped practically every other minute to berate him about one thing or another.

“So as I was saying, this needs to be narrowed down to twelve– wait Beomgyu, stop, that tickles! Stop, or I’ll let go of your hand,” Taehyun said warningly. Beomgyu pouted, but ceased his playful antics. “Pay attention, okay? This is your council, so you need to focus.”

Beomgyu wilted under Taehyun’s glare, before peeking up at the vizier with big, puppy-like eyes. “Do you still love me?”

“Wha– of course I do, you idiot. Would I be holding your hand right now if I didn’t?”

“Oh yeah! Then, to prove it, give me a kiss!”

Taehyun’s ears flushed, and he glanced at Yeonjun, who pretended to be spacing out so that it wouldn’t be awkward. Taehyun turned back to Beomgyu, who playfully had his lips pouted and eyes closed, as if expecting the kiss. He rolled his eyes, and brushed his lips against the knuckles of Beomgyu’s hand in his.

“There,” he said. “Now focus.”

Beomgyu opened his eyes, but before he could protest, Taehyun was already snapping his fingers in front of Yeonjun’s face.

“You need to focus too. Okay so look here, I’ve gotten it down to fifty, but I need your knowledge and experiences with Lords to be able to narrow it down to the final twelve.”

Yeonjun sighed internally, pulling the papers towards him. This was actually the fifth time Taehyun had repeated that to him, and by now he’d given up on telling this to the vizier. He was too distracted by how clingy Beomgyu was being, anyway. There was no point. And so, he looked at the documents yet again, resigning himself to another three hours of third-wheeling.

Yeonjun came back to his room, knocking on the door a weary five times, before collapsing through the doorway. Hueningkai looked up from his book as Yeonjun entered, and his face brightened in anticipation.

“So?” he asked eagerly.

Yeonjun staggered over to the bed (not forgetting to close the door behind him) and face-planted onto its silk surface.

“I’ve gotten them together,” he groaned, voice muffled by the fabric, “but at what cost?”

Hueningkai laughed delightedly. “Let me guess, they were being really affectionate?”

“You can’t even comprehend their clinginess,” Yeonjun lamented, still face-down on the bed. “They were literally holding hands throughout the entire meeting, Hueningkai,” he said, turning himself over with great difficulty so that he was staring up at the ceiling. “And the flirting! They were literally flirting when I came in! At first I was so happy because they’d finally gotten together, you know? But they’re just…” He sighed dramatically. “They’re too much! I can’t handle it!”

Hueningkai laughed again, clearly enjoying Yeonjun’s pain. “Oh, you’ll be fine,” he said. “They’re only just starting out! Give it a few weeks, and they’ll be bickering like normal again.”

Yeonjun sat up, and the grin on his face was brighter than ever. “But still, I am really glad they managed to sort out everything that was there between them. I feel like there was a lot of unresolved stuff, and it’s good that they managed to talk it all out.”

Hueningkai nodded. “So are you happy?”

Yeonjun beamed. “Yep!”

The younger laughed. “Alright. That’s good.”

He turned back to his book, a smile on his face. Yeonjun lay down on the bed again, grinning up at the ceiling.

Yeonjun was happy that Taehyun and Beomgyu were happy. Hueningkai was happy that Yeonjun was happy. And just like that, everyone was happy.

All of their lives had had their ups and downs, and those past few months had been stressful for them all. But that one moment, that feeling of happiness, made all those struggles worthwhile, if they could all lead up to that single second of bliss.

#court of lies #taegyu #txt taegyu #txt taehyun #taehyun #txt beomgyu #beomgyu #txt #txt fluff #txt angst #txt fanfic #txt imagine #txt imagines #tomorrow x together #tomorrow by together

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bookworm-2692 · 3 years

Note

For the ZE Ask Game: 1b, 1e, 2a, 3d, 5e, 5f and 5n!

Thank you for sending the asks! I love talking about Zero Escape so thank you for enabling me :D

Questions from here

1b: Favourite character design?

Okay, you know how hard it is for me to pick favourite characters because they’re all wonderful and that’s why you went with this question haha. Hmm. There are so many good designs (especially with the colour coding!!!). I prefer the designs in the first two games, since they’re really bright and colourful, and the third game is darker and dingier. I like that each character has a main colour that stands out and doesn’t really belong to anyone else (except for Dio and K who both have the red and gold aesthetics, but that’s valid because red and gold is a brilliant aesthetic). I think in 999, my favourite is actually Junpei’s - I love the blue colour of his vest, and the blue vest and red shirt just. Work super well together. It’s a fashion disaster but it’s also an aesthetic I vibe with so. (also love the red blue colour coding with Junpei specifically so). In VLR, much as I loathe him, I really like Dio’s design. The top hat and the braids and the red and gold work really well together and it’s fun. Dio is super frustrating though, but his design slaps!

1e: Favourite scene?

Oooo tricky. There’s so many good moments. I think I have to go with the classic though - the moment in 999 True End where Junpei gets the safe end code, and the narration goes “How did Junpei know? He knew because I knew”. It’s so chilling and also so satisfying to see everything suddenly click. I love it, and I love watching people experiencing that for the first time. It’s like. The best part of the game, I reckon.

2a: Least favourite character?

Okay I’m trying to not immediately say Delta but like.... Delta. I think he had a super interesting concept, but the way it was executed made it so much worse. I hated that they just.... hid him from view so then the twist was that this character you didn’t even know existed was Zero? It just felt cheap. Also ~complex motives~ got really annoying - I would have much preferred it if he had said “yeah I’m only doing this to ensure my birth (and the birth of my sister). soz lmao”. Because that motive feels more real? Rather than just adding a whole random “religious fanatic” in a vague sort of way. I do like the concept of him and Phi being twins and being separated in such a way that they’re very different ages now, but again the execution of Sigma and Diana’s romance was like. Not done well.

So yeah, Delta is my least favourite because he doesn’t significantly effect the plot, barely exists, and when he is present his motives don’t make sense and his abilities are not foreshadowed at all (morphogenetic fields in 999 were good, the entire game was spent explaining the concept. Mind Hack? Right outta left field and also if we’re trying to make it work based on how morphogenetic field theory was explained in 999, the “reading minds” part of it is “extremely strong receiver”, and the “forcing people to do actions” part of it is “extremely strong transmitter”, so he should have one of the abilities but not both. And if he is a really strong transmitter.... he’s gotta mime out the action in order to write it into the fields to encourage others to follow! And I reckon natural transmitters, who are worse at receiving, are naturally slightly resistant to this, natural receivers are more vulnerable to this, and normal people somewhere in between. But yes, if Delta is gonna Mind Hacc Eric, then we should see him in the corner miming holding a gun, pointing, and firing!! Bleugh!

Wow that turned into a bit of a rant. Whoops?

3d: Rank the endings

I have been given the choice to either rank the true ends across the three games, or all the endings within a particular game. I am so bad at choices ugh.

Anyway, the true ends:

999 - it really tied everything together and explained everything. The sequence in the incinerator, seeing 12 year old Akane and 21 year old Junpei talking to each other, Junpei saving young Akane, Clover’s absolute joy at finding out Light is alive, the “he knew because I knew” thing that I mentioned above, just everything. It was a self contained story, so everything was addressed and it was good.

VLR - this is more second by default, since I love 999′s true end and hate ZTD’s true end. But overall, this is fairly solid, and I like the concept of them doing this in 2074 to change an outcome in 2028, but it loses points because it relies on ZTD to “complete” it

ZTD - I hate this true end. The game has very enjoyable moments, but unfortunately the true end amounts to “oh let’s just... SHIFT to a timeline where we all survive” and that’s it? Which just feels sort of pointless tbh. And is so unsatisfactory

Within 999, I feel all six five endings are extremely solid, and all have a part to play an a story to tell. Knife End may be the most unsatisfactory, but it’s still okay. True, Safe, and Sub Ends are the ends with credits, and they’re all full of great dialogue and story. Axe End is also great, and I love the way you get to see the other side of Clover (and I really like the art of Clover holding an axe, I actually drew it on Saturday (when I started writing these answers, but it’s Wednesday now because I’ve been busy) for a friend’s birthday, which is technically my first ZE fanart and I’ll post it here at. Some point. Knife end is a bit quick, but honestly that’s okay? Especially when considering how many bad ends the other two games have that aren’t even named. Coffin End was my first end, and I wasn’t expecting the “to be continued” so I basically just collapsed and lay face down on the ground for a fair bit, but again given how many plot locks the other games have, coffin end is chill. So 999 has the most solid endings overall.

Within VLR, there are nine named endings, one for each character, and 13 ish unnamed bad ends. The unnamed bad ends are all like.... basically as soon as you make the decision you die or whatever, they don’t continue onwards like they do for Axe End etc in 999. I like that the named endings are designed for you to learn about each character, even though some of them are kinda weak. Like Quark’s ending, we didn’t really learn about him, and most of what we learnt about him was from Tenmyouji’s ending. I agree with what you said, Finch, about how it would have been nice to get some more Quark content/bonding/something, after he wakes up. Clover’s ending was also pretty disappointing, since she vaguely alluded to 999 and then everyone killed themselves. But there were some really good ones, like Luna’s and K’s and Dio’s (very fun that Phi was about to smash his head with a rock even if betraying Luna to get to that point is painful). Actually I really like the whole murder mystery aspect of everything behind the Magenta door.

Within ZTD, I do appreciate that the endings all served their purposes, but I disliked the way there were sometimes multiple endings in the same timeline, while other timelines... had none. It just was a bit all over the shop. Most of the endings were informative for the characters, but the true end sucks.

5e: Rant about something you liked from the games

I adore all the red/blue symbolism in the games, especially in 999. The way every time the morphogenetic field is described, the transmitters are red people and the receivers are blue people. And then when you learn who the espers are, you can see how the colours align. Clover is a transmitter, and her colour scheme is a lot of dark pink, close to red, while Light, a receiver, has lots of blue in his design. Junpei and Akane can both transmit and receive (with each other), and this is shown by Junpei wearing both red and blue, and Akane wearing purple, a mix of red and blue. It’s really neat. Also, Junpei is new to the morphogenetic fields, so his blue and red is still separate, but Akane is so entwined within them, and uses them so easily, that her blue and red have mixed to become purple.

In VLR, Clover is still pink, and Junpei still has blue (even though he’s lost the red, but that could show he’s lost connection to Akane and now has no one to transmit to, although I think it’s hilarious if he was still unintentionally transmitting to Akane over the years, and that’s how she kept tabs on him and found him again for VLR.

In ZTD, Diana is red and Sigma is blue. I actually headcanon Diana as a receiver and Sigma as a transmitter (as in, he transmitted his memories to himself across timelines rather than a natural receiver ability), so I like that in ZTD they have opposite colours/each other’s colours. Phi is blue in both games and still a receiver imo.

So the colour symbolism is obviously strongest in 999, but I really like it.

5f: Rant about something you disliked from the games

In VLR, Clover says that stronger espers absorb the powers of weaker espers, and that’s why she can’t contact her brother. I hate this “fact” actually, because it directly contradicts the way the morphogenetic fields work in 999 and ZTD, and also in VLR itself. In 999, we have nine sets of esper siblings during the First Nonary Game, and since they all survived, we know that their esper powers must have worked correctly.... which means we can’t have had one Super Esper absorbing all the powers. The true end of ZTD has the powers of all the espers working together to create a resonant effect so that even Eric and Mira, non espers, can SHIFT. I also dislike SHIFTing (a rant for another day), but the idea of multiple espers in a vicinity resonating/boosting everyone’s powers makes way more sense than.... one person absorbing everyone else’s powers.

And even within VLR.... Tenmyouji does the ally/betray swapsies thing with Sigma and Phi, which means he is also remembering another timeline.... which means his powers are still working and not being absorbed by Phi and Sigma. Also.... both Phi and Sigma are using their powers and SHIFTing everywhere. Why doesn’t one of them absorb the other’s powers? Also also, we learn in the True End that Akane was in K’s armour the entire time during the timeline where Sigma and Phi most use their powers for all the bomb passwords and locations etc. You cannot try to tell me that Akane isn’t the strongest esper, ever. She simply is. If absorbing was true, then we would literally never see anyone else use their powers, because Akane is always there (FNG, 999, VLR, ZTD) and would have to be doing all the absorbing. Gah.

So I reckon, even though Clover said that, that she was simply wrong. That was the current theory SOIS had, but.... they don’t have to be right.

In any case, there are other reasons why Clover might not have been able to contact Light in VLR. The first is simply that he is dead. Another is the idea that minds linked by the morphogenetic fields have a sort of... shape. That fits perfectly with those they are esper partners with. And as the espers grow, so do their mind shapes. Clover was frozen on the 22nd of December 2028, and awoke on the 25th of January 2074. Her mind shape was not able to evolve and grow, so it is preserved. Light however has been living those 45 years, which means that’s been a lot of time for his mind shape to grow and change. Clover can’t find Light’s mind in the morphogenetic field, since it no longer looks the same, and their shapes no longer fit together. This is my personal headcanon, and it means that when Clover finds him, their minds can get used to each other again and their shapes can align, and they can be linked again.

5n: Do you have any fanart/fanfic/fangame recommendations?

Boy, do I ever? The First Nonary Game by @airdeari . What it says on the tin, folks! Airdeari has named all nine pairs of siblings, and created unique sibling relationships and unique experiences with the morphogenetic field for all of them, and woven a beautiful story together, and it’s just wonderful. It’s my favourite fic ever, to the point where I literally bound it and it now exists as a physical book in my life. Like, I cannot recommend this fic enough, it is the best.

AO3 Summary: A tale of nine children aboard a sinking ship, and the unbelievable story of how they survived.

#zero escape #999 spoilers #vlr spoilers #ztd spoilers

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jooniperhun · 4 years

Text

The End of the Rainbow | ot7 (1)

pairing: tall!black!reader x bts, poc!reader x bts, woc!reader x bts, black!reader x bts

genre: fluff, strangers to friends to (maybe) lovers [later], romance [later], comedy, misunderstandings [later], (slight) angst [later], smut (maybe??) [later], idol!au

rating: PG-14

wc: 2.3k

warnings: swearing

notes: the boys won’t make an appearance until chapter 2 but there is some foreshadowing in there (hint hint); pretend that corona never happened; most of the geographical locations/distances will either be made up or not named because I’ve never been to Korea lol whoops; this reads more like a reader-insert sorry that’s my default writing setting; and the boys’ backstories and such won’t be all that accurate because I’m the author and I say so teehee :)

“Text like this is spoken in Korean.”

“Text like this is spoken in English.”

summary: Your current job as a travelling housesitter has taken you to many places, some strange and many wonderful. When the acquisition of a new client takes you to Korea for three months, you wonder if your self-esteem can survive being around so many other-worldly looking people. Also, not to be paranoid or anything, but maybeperhaps you’re being stalked by the same seven strangers? They’re pretty loud and always surrounded by a tonne of people, so you write it off the first few times.

But this shit is getting excessive, chile. And annoying…

Rhetorical question, but what lies at the end of a rainbow? You hope that it’s a pot of gold, but with the way that your luck has soured, it might just be seven short(er than you), rowdy leprechauns ready to flip your world sideways…

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Usually, when it came to social outings, ___ would go out of her way to make sure that she looked her best. Her wild mane would be tamed, her makeup would be carefully, painstakingly applied, and her clothes wouldn’t hold a single wrinkle. This, however, isn’t ‘usually’— this is an airport, and ___ currently couldn’t find it within herself to give a single, flying fuck about her appearance after the flight that she had just had.

That isn’t to say that it was terrible— she was flying first class, for Christ’s sake! Not to mention that she didn’t have to spend a single dime on it (excluding the multiple new outfits and lashes that she purchased for herself because if she was anything, it was slightly vain). But a roughly 18 hour flight, combined with slight motion sickness? It doesn’t matter how comfortably she had dressed, or how attentive the flight attendants were, or how delicious the food was— ___ walked off of the landing strip probably looking exactly as she felt (read: terrible).

Luckily, the good thing about airports was that she wasn’t the only one. No one paid her any mind, too worried about themselves and finding their respective luggages and families to be giving some rando more than a passing glance.

She was officially in Seoul, South Korea, and she couldn’t read a damn thing.

Okay— slight exaggeration. Most of the signs had English (and Spanish, and Chinese, and Japanese) translations beneath the larger blocks of Korean, but her damn near-blind ass missed that the first time around.

The airport looked as airports tended to look— large, modern, and clean. There was a beautiful netting of glass in the ceiling that let gentle rays of sunlight in. The walls were similarly comprised of the netting design and slanted outwards, away from all of the passengers. Statues and abstract constructions divided the masses. People from all walks of life milled around, looking for their luggage or anxiously waiting for their plane to arrive.

Incheon International Airport, Terminal One, Flight DL27. ___ reminded herself over and over of the number of where she would go for Baggage Claim, scanning the area and mumbling slightly to herself. She adjusted her dark shades and hefted her purse (her only carry-on) higher onto her shoulders, following the crush of fellow passengers into the depths of the fragile looking place.

There were a lot of people walking around with black facemasks and shades on, so she was glad that she wasn’t the only shady-looking sista walking around. Inwardly snorting at her own pun, ___ nearly walked past her destination.

It was honestly this part of each trip that gave her the most anxiety— that is, waiting for her suitcase to come around on the conveyor belt.

She had heard and read multiple horror stories about too many passengers never recovering their luggage. Either stolen, lost, or dropped from the airplane itself— if it could go wrong, it went wrong. But it’s not like hers’ is particularly interesting to look at. It was a simple, standard black. Only a red, knotted ribbon tied around the handle marked it as her own.

Ten minutes of fretful bag checking later, ___ finally found it. She gave a silent sigh of relief and turned towards the exit. Then, her anxiety flared right back up when she realized that she would have to hail a taxi to get to her destination.

Honestly, her people-meter was getting a little bit too full for her to actually be initiating direct human interaction right now.

But she would persevere! Even if her persistence could use a bit of work, she’s faked confidence enough times to make it.

Getting a taxi to stop for her was like pulling teeth. By the time that she had stuffed her menial baggage into the trunk and clambered into the front seat, her temper had risen a few notches. She’s had a long two days. The flight wasn’t kind on her stomach or her sleep schedule— not to mention the fact that she felt disgusting. A shower sounded so nice right now… She didn’t want to be on the streets any longer than she had to be, dammit!

Donning her ‘Customer Service’ voice (as she liked to call it), she politely rattled off her destination to the driver in Korean. He was on the younger side for the profession (at least, from what she’s seen), with neatly laid dark hair and slightly tanned skin. His dark eyes constantly shifted from the road to her when they were stopped for traffic, but he luckily seemed to sense her mood as he did not say anything more than the polite initial greeting.

All in all, it was a 30 minute drive filled with determinedly unawkward silence. ___ sent a quick text to her employer to inform them that she would be at the house in a bit, then sent another to her mother to let her know that she touched down safely. Almost immediately, her phone began to buzz.

Rolling her eyes, ___ answered. “Good morning to you too, Ma.” She said as her full lips tilted up in amusement. Upon hearing the English, the driver sent another glance in her direction.

“Hey, baby! It’s night time for us right now (we just got finished eating dinner). How was your flight?” Her mother’s voice gave a slightly tinny echo as she spoke, and the sound of shifting fabric clued ___ in to the fact that she, indeed, was probably on the toilet.

“Tiring. I forgot to buy Dramamine, so it was a fun time for me.” She switched hands with her phone so that she could look out of her window more comfortably. Little snatches of the city flashed by before they turned into a slightly more residential area. The houses here were large and gated, yet closely located. “How is everyone doing? No-one dead yet, right?”

Her mother snorted. “Yet is correct. Turns out, ya’ sister got herself a lil boyfriend—” ___ had to stifle her laugh before she gave herself away, “— and ya’ daddy wasn’t too happy when he found out. Her fast ass is sitting in her room right now, phone taken and everything. Woulda’ gotten an ass whoopin if we found anything triflin’ in it, but she’s clean.” Yeah, only because of her advice. No sending nudes back and forth, no secret folders dedicated to trifling shit, and no conversations going further than normal teen-girl gossip. Those were her three cardinal rules to sneaking around with a boy, and it seems that her little sister had done well to heed them.

“And the lil’ boy? Anyone we know?” ___ asked, playing along. If her parents found out she already knew about him, her ass would be grass, too.

“Yes!” Ma exclaimed frustratedly. The driver jumped at the sudden loud sound in the otherwise silent car. “That nigga, Devin. Lives a block down from us? You know the one.” She gave the appropriate gasp at the news while rolling her eyes. Devin was a sweet boy who had a good future ahead of himself. There was no goddamn way she would waste her painstakingly gathered advice on someone who wasn’t good for her sister.

“Dam— I mean, wow. You think you know the people you live around...” She caught herself quickly before she cursed. Even halfway across the world, her fear of her ma’s wrath was still very, very healthy.

“I heard that, but I’ll let it slide this time.” Her mother’s tone was amused despite her previous outrage.

“Anyways, as I was saying… I don’t see anything wrong with Devin. He was a nice boy, last time I talked to him.” From the cover of her shades, ___ watched the driver watch her from the corner of his eye. The car began to slow.

“Tell that to ya’ daddy. He—” Ma began to rant as ___ pulled the phone away from her ear.

“How much do I owe you?” She asked quietly, hands dropping to rummage through her purse for her wallet as she cradled the phone between her ear and her shoulder. “—Alright, Ma. Imma have to call you back. We just pulled up to the house and I gotta get situated.”

Handing the driver the appropriate amount of Won, they both left the car to remove her luggage from his trunk. “Okay, sweetie. Love you! Call me again when you get settled in.” Her mother echoed as she mouthed a quick ‘Thank you,’ with a shallow bow.

“Gotcha. Love you, too! Bye.” She hung up and grabbed the handle of her suitcase, making it extend before dragging it behind her towards the house that they had stopped in front of.

She couldn’t really see anything past the high, brick walls and iron gate. Spotting an intercom, she quickly checked her reflection in her phone’s camera before she could press the button to call her employer.

Removing her silk head-scarf, she found that her high puff had held up reliably under it. She quickly stuffed it into her purse and pulled out her glasses case to place her shades in. Shoving that back in, too, she smoothed out her black jeans and checked for stains on her yellow top. It was only after assuring that her face was, indeed, clean that she rang the buzzer.

A red light blinked on before a voice answered. So there was a security camera for surveillance? Good. “Good morning! You must be ___, right?” Her voice was smooth and low, like velvet. It hinted towards an older age, especially when compared to the commonly high pitched tones of the youth.

“Yes, good morning.” ____ stepped back slightly to bow. The gate unlocked with a soft click, and she made her way up the driveway. She could only see one car at the moment, but from the size of the house— no, mansion—, she was sure that a lot more were probably in the garages (yes, plural).

The mansion was a modern white with a lot of windows to let in natural light. The lawn was cleanly cut and the rich, emerald grass shined with small droplets of morning dew. There was actually a surprising amount of yard space, which was ideal for pets and children. The only thing that she would be needing to worry about this trip was a dog and some plants, though.

Little solar-powered lights lined the walkway that ___ walked down. They looked nothing like the one-dollar versions from the Dollar Store, and definitely cost a lot more, too. She climbed a few stone steps to reach the porch. On either side of a dark-wooded door, two gold vases stood guard. They were almost as tall as her and intricately carved with little, delicate flowers. The welcome mat that she stood upon was a sensible dark brown and had a looping Welcome swirled across the front in white.

She rang the doorbell and patiently waited.

A few moments passed before the door sprung open. The lady that answered was small and adorable in her old age. Her dark hair was sprinkled with white streaks, and her large, dark eyes were creased with laugh lines. The same lines were also wrinkled around her mouth, but they did not take away from the traditional beauty that she still held. Her cheeks were rounded and scattered with pink, and her skin was the color of milk. She was dressed in a fashionable black pantsuit and wore black pumps that boosted her height.

“Good morning!” ___ bowed lowly with a sweet smile. Her eyes, large and slightly too round to truly be almond shaped, disappeared into crescents. With her face transformed so cutely by just a single smile, one would find it hard to believe that ___ had a mean, mean resting bitch face that, when combined with her not inconsiderable height, gave her a naturally intimidating demeanor.

Endeared, the woman bowed back. “Please, come in.” She invited, stepping aside and letting ___ and her suitcase drag in.

***

She was still getting situated in the guest room when the door slowly creaked open.

Though she couldn’t see anything from where she was seated on the bed, the tell-tale pattern of claws clicking against the hardwood floor cued her in to who was entering— Mickey, a cute, little Shih-Tzu breed with floppy ears and a brown and white coloring. Despite the fact that he was male, Mickey had two tiny, powder-blue bows woven around his ears. His matching sweater creased slightly as he padded towards her.

“Hi, sweetie!” ___ cooed, reaching down to give him a gentle pat on the head, “Are you looking for some company now that Grandma isn’t in?”

Mickey had been (surprisingly) very calm upon his introduction towards ___. He barely reacted (outside of a few weak wags of his fluffy tail) to her squealings of how cute he was. Perhaps it was behavior that he was used to.

He settled down onto the carpet next to her bed, the ideal spot for her to reach down and pet him if she wanted to. It was a good move on his part, because that was exactly what she wanted to do.

___ was a huge dog lover— in fact, she just loved cute, fluffy animals in general. Cats, llamas, sheep— you name it. She tolerated reptiles, and if she had to handle insects, it was usually with gloves and a healthy bit of distance.

The moral of the story is that she adored fur-babies, and until Mickey’s owner came to pick him up or his Grandma came back home, Mickey was her dog.

a/n: Thank you all for reading the first chapter! I really hope you liked it. The fun stuff starts next chapter, so please stay tuned! I have so much planned *evil laughter*

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peppersonironi · 4 years

Text

For @duketectivecomics‘s Duke Week Day Five: Leadership (A day late, I know, but I had wifi trouble)

Summary: Nightwing offers Signal a chance to lead a small group for a mission. Duke is wary, but accepts the challenge. He proves to be a rather great leader.

Notes: Takes place after Season Two of Young Justice, and ignores Season Three (I still haven’t seen it, unfortunately).

“So will you do it?” Duke looked over at Dick, who had decided to brave the day as Nightwing in order to ask a favor.

“I’m not sure, Nightwing, That’s your team, and I’m perfectly happy taking care of Gotham.”

Dick pouted and dramatically flung himself over the nearest gargoyle. “You sure? I could really use the help. Don't you want to lend aid to your poor, poor brother?”

“You are literally a billionaire.”

“Ha ha, Signal. You know what I mean.”

Duke sighed and joined Dick beside the gargoyle. “Yeah, I do. Are you sure you need me? Why not Tim? Steph? Heck, even Damian would love the chance to boos those guys around.”

Dick sighed. “I told you, The mission occurs at the same time as one on the opposite side of the world, which I already have Tim scheduled for. Steph is woking a case in Hong Kong with Cass. And Frankly, I doubt the Team would appreciate Damian's … style of leadership. This one is smaller, and less of a priority. I have some of the newbies and more older members on it, but none of them have experience with leading stealth missions.”

“So give one of them the experience!” Duke was getting a bit exasperated. Why did Dick think it would be a good idea to handle a mission on a covert team he'd never even met before?

“It's not that simple.” Dick frowned. “This mission is time sensitive, and delicate. It really does need someone with experience leading it, but all my best people are elsewhere.”

Duke tilted his head, considering. “Why me?”

Dick laughed. “Why NOT you? Seriously, Signal. You handled a whole group of Robins, by yourself. No Batman. You proved yourself, and you've earned respect. I trust you with this.”

Duke considered, thinking through everything Dick had said. “Alright,” He sighed, “What's the mission?”

*****

“Team, I'd like you to meet Signal. He'll be joining you on the mission, as well as over seeing things.” Nightwing stood at the front of the group of heroes, turning to where Duke had just come in from the zeta tubes.

Duke walked forward, surveying the group. “ 'Sup?” He asked, unsure of what else to say.

“Signal, meet Beast Boy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Blue Beatle.”

Duke nodded and extended his hand, “Nice to meet you.”

“I've been waiting to meet you for so long, dude!” Kid Flash said, racing forward to shake Duke's hand. “I've heard all about you, but the dates on when you actively joined the guys in Gotham were murky, and since I couldn't ask Nightwing or Robin – wait, does that mean Tim's no longer Robin? Why didn't he say anything? Unless the history books got it wrong, in which case woah, sorry I said anything – anyway it was a bit of a tricky situation. Of course, I probably could have looked it up on the internet, but that feels like cheating y'know?”

Duke blinked several times. “Um, thanks, I guess? I didn't really think anyone bothered with me.”

“Are you kidding?!” Kid Flash was literally bouncing at this point. “You're one of the coolest bats! You patrol during the day, for one thing, plus your costume is pretty crash. Not to mention you're literally the only meta human Batman has ever let stay in Gotham! Although Black Bat might be one, no one was ever really clear on that.”

“You're a meta human?!” Beast Boy asked, shoving Kid Flash to the side. “Seriously? And you work with Batman?! How does that work?”

Duke laughed. “Yes, I am a meta. No, Black Bat isn't. She's just awesome. And I was Batman's protege before I gained my powers. When we found out, we kinda just rolled with it.”

“Translation,” Nightwing added, “He grumbled a bit before deciding that the rule only really covers Green Lantern.”

“Didn't it always though?” Duke asked his brother.

Nightwing laughed. “Probably. He never seemed to keen on Superman either, to be honest.”

Duke frowned. “Wait, then why did he stop by for tea last week?”

“Wait, he did?! Why wasn't I invited?!”

Duke shook his head and tsked. “Downside to no longer living at the house dude, that's all I'm saying.”

The Team was looking back and forth at the exchange. “Wait,” Blue Beatle said, holding up his hands. “Superman comes over for tea, at Batman's house, which you live in, but Nightwing doesn't anymore?”

“Yup,” Both of the bats said.

Blue Beatle blinked, then nodded. “Alright then.”

“What are your powers,” Wonder girl asked.

“Light stuff, basically,” Duke said. “I can see in several different light spectrums, lets me do a bunch of stuff, like limited x-ray vision. I can also 'replay' what happens in rooms, due to the light residue. I can also see a few seconds into the future.”

Everyone blinked at him.

“Not to mention you can control shadows!” Nightwing added helpfully.

Duke cringed. “Yeah, but that's new. I'm not really familiar with it.”

Everyone stared, except Kid Flash, who just continued bouncing.

“Alright,” Nightwing said after a moment, “Let's get on with the briefing.”

*****

The mission was simple: Infiltrate a high rise owned by Lex Luther in San Francisco, and retrieve information that was being stored on a hard drive. Said drive was only going to be present in the tower for twelve hours, nine of which Lex was also present. Hence the need for a small team, and the precise timing.

The infiltration was scheduled at 1400 hours, after Lex had left for lunch, and before the buyer of the information had arrived. Duke had been given the plans of the building, and multiple suggested strategies. One of these strategies was modified by Duke, and was what led Beast Boy (who insisted Duke call him Garth) turning into a fly in order to get through the vents.

“Are you sure I can't go for something more fun?” Garth asked on the way to San Francisco, “Like a snake? Maybe even a monkey!”

“No,” Duke had said, “A fly is the best option, it's the least likely to set off motion sensors.” At the disappointed face, however, Duke conceded, “You can be a monkey when you open the side entrance.” Garth had whooped in triumph, and Duke had to crack a smile.

Once Beast Boy had managed to get into the building, he made his way to the main security center and dismantled whatever detection systems Lex had in place, allowing Kid Flash (Bart, Duke learned) and Signal himself to make their entrance. The trio made their way to Lex's office, only needing to take out a single guard, and retrieve the hard drive from one of Lex's many (There were like thirty, sheesh) safes in the room. The cracking of said safe took longer than initially planned, but Duke managed to hack the system in time for the guard change. Boy was he glad Tim taught him how to hack.

With the target in hand, they made their way out to the back alley, where Blue Beatle (Jaime, he said his name was) and Wonder Girl (Cassie) were keeping watch. They were almost caught at one point, but Duke saw the guards coming and quickly shoved his teammates into a closet, along with himself. In the end, two guards who were lagging behind on their shift change intercepted them, but Blue Beetle knocked one out, and Wonder Girl got the other.

“Took you long enough,” Cassie said with a grin when she saw the trio returning.

Duke grinned right back at her. “You have any trouble?”

“If these two count as trouble,” She replied, kicking one of the goons.

“Sounds crash!” Kid Flash replied. “How about we get out of here before something blows up?”

Duke frowned. “Why would anything blow up?”

Everyone turned and gave him a look. “You'd be surprised,” Blue Beetle said.

“Better not jinx it, then.” Duke spook, and the team made their escape.

*****

“ - Complete insubordination! Do you know what you did?!”

Duke paused at the doors, looking in on the meeting room where he and the others were supposed to go for their debriefing. Turns out, the other part of the Team was already there, and being chewed out by Batman himself.

“This was supposed to be a covert mission, and you go and get the entire building blown up!” Huh, they weren't kidding about explosions, Duke thought. “You clearly disobeyed the mission parameters, opting instead to joyride with the robots you were sent to destroy! Do you know how many lives you put in danger?!”

“It wasn't our fault!” Tim Drake, better known as Red Robin (Though Duke thought Bart mention that he still went as Robin here? Boy, Damian was gonna be pissed!) told Batman. “The robots got activated remotely, and dragged us along. In the end, they self destructed!”

Batman sighed, and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “I let Kaldur go one one vacation …”

“You can at least acknowledge we got the job done.” Tim said, and Bruce sighed once more. He looked so tired, and Duke could barely hold in a grin. From the scared faces of everyone else in the room, Duke gathered that no one else found it quite so funny.

“Yes, you got it done,” Batman conceded, “But your methods are far from acceptable! All of you need to reevaluate how you-”

“It's almost kinda funny when I'm not the one being chewed out!” Duke turned to find Jaime and Garth standing in the door beside him, the latter of whom had spoken.

“Oh it's definitely funny,” Duke replied. “I've had front row seats to these types of things since I joined the bats. I”m almost never the one in trouble. Surprised it's Tim, though. Usually Nightwing.”

Both of their eyes widened. “Nightwing is the one in trouble?”

“Yup. We – the other bats and I – have a running bet on how long the rants last. B's best record is two hours, fifty minutes, thirty-seven seconds. It was right after Nightwing spray painted the bat-suit glittery pink, though I'm pretty sure Spoiler helped.”

Jaime opened and closed his mouth for a few moments. “Wow.”

Just then, Bart and Cassie showed up. “Are we late for the debriefing?” The latter asked.

Duke shrugged and pointed into the room, where Batman had moved onto a rant about aerial combat and unneeded fuel. “Nope, There's is running late.”

The group turned and went back to viewing the scene before them. After another fifteen minutes, Batman said. “I have another team coming in soon for debriefing, so let's hope that they were at least partially competent.”

Duke thought that would be as good a place as any to make an entrance, so he brought his fist to his mouth and coughed a bit.

Everyone turned slowly to find the grinning group standing at the doorway.

“Signal,” Batman said, and Duke knew he was relieved, “Did you just get back?”

“We've been standing here for twenty minutes, B. Seriously, your lecturing skills have not gone unpracticed.”

Batman sighed, putting his fingers on the bridge of his nose, not a sight unfamiliar to Duke, but from the gaping mouths, Duke was pretty sure no one else thought anything about the exchange was normal. “Please tell me your mission went well?”

“Without a hitch,” Duke replied grinning. “We got in and out easily. Had a tad of trouble with hacking the safe, but we got it open.” Duke turned to Tim, “Thanks for those lessons last week, they really paid off.”

Tim grinned “Welcome. Wanna continue when we get home?”

Duke nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Were there any complications?” Batman growled.

“We took out three guards quietly, and avoided two more that I saw coming right before they turned a corner, but other than that, no.”

Batman glared suspiciously down at Duke, who only smiled. “Any explosions?”

Duke frowned. “What is it with this team and explosions?” Batman glared some more, “Calm down B, no explosions. Everything was quiet.”

Batman nodded. “Good job, Signal. You dropped off the target with Nightwing, I assume?” At Duke's nod, he continued, “You get head back to Gotham, then. Finish your report in the cave, and finish up your patrol if you want. I'll make a note on the file if we ever need you again.” He paused, and looked critically at Duke. “Would you?”

Duke looked back at Garth, Jaime, Bart, and Cassie, who were all nodding their heads furiously. “Sure,” Duke said, “Why not?”

#dukeweek2020 #duke thomas #the signal #Young Justice #Nightwing #Beast Boy #Kid Flash #Wonder Girl #blue beatle #leadership

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okaybutlikeimagine · 5 years

Note

Jim and el going to go see billy play basketball at school and billy being so surprised cause no one has ever gone to go see him play

♥ I. LOVE. THIS. SO. MUCH. ♥

Ohmydear okay okay so i’m imagining Billy like, basically never talking about games. He’ll say he’ll be back late some nights and when Hop asks he’ll just cite: “Basketball.”

And that’s it. Just says it casually and nonchalantly and then leaves w/ his duffel.

And Hop was totally in some kind of sport in high school. Like football or something. He knows they have games and stuff it's just… Billy never mentions them and Hop doesn't really wanna step on toes or anything. He's still learning and he doesn't wanna suffocate the boy.

Except….

One week Billy seems extra tired and stressed and bratty. He's rushing out of the house after grabbing an apple and Hop calls after him: "where's the fire, kid?"

Billy takes the apple out of his mouth.

"I've got extra practice all this week. There’s a major game this Friday and coach said there might be a scout and….. Yeah." Billy shrugs and runs out the door.

But Billy keeps talking about this game. Comes home tired as all hell and flops on the couch and rants for a good half hour about it. About how the coach has been pushing them so hard and it’s such a major game and he keeps telling them the team can’t screw it up. Or in the morning he’ll shovel cereal into his face and speak w/ his mouth full about how they need to destroy this team on Friday bc they’re their biggest rivals and “What’s gonna happen if this scout notices me? I kinda hope he notices me. Should I hope he notices me?”

And so it takes Hop until about Wednesday morning before he decides they need to go. Billy has never told him when games were but he won’t stop talking about this one, won’t stop freaking out about it, won’t stop getting genuinely excited about it, hopping around after he comes home from practice one day pretending like he’s still playing basketball and then riling himself up.

So when Billy leaves the cabin for school on Wednesday, Hop turns to El and says: “Do you want to go to the basketball game this Friday?”

El tilts her head.

“What basketball game?”

“Billy’s.”

“They let us go?!” She asks, eyes wide with excitement.

“Yeah, we should go support him.”

She nods her head excitedly.

And so when Billy is out late for practices, Hop comes home w/ a posterboard and some paint and they sit at the table and paint a little sign for Billy (they have to wait till he gets home and passes out to go digging through his gym bag to figure out what number he is).

And so when Billy sends them both a farewell before heading off to the game, Hop and El wait a few minutes before Hop breaks out the face paint, paints little whiskers on El’s cheeks, lets El paint little paw prints on his own, and then grab their poster and jump into the car and head out for the gym.

And when they get there, a little early to find a seat, they recognize a couple of familiar faces scanning the bleachers.

“I cannot believe you dragged me out to a basketball game.” Robin’s voice drawls, arms crossed but slight fear in her eyes bc wow too many people.

“C’mon, Billy’s been talking about it all week I had to come, he never talks about games. And I couldn’t go alone. Plus you guys are totally friends, whether you admit it or not.” Steve responds, busy searching for a seat.

“I tolerate him for you.”

“You guys gang up on me all the time!”

“I mean, sure, we bond over messing with you, but-” Robin turns her head, irritated with all of these faces looking at her when she sees: “Is that El? Hey!”

And El runs up to Robin to say hi to her and Steve, Hopper walking up behind her and they all 4 find a seat together and if you don’t think they leave a trail of slightly confused and gossipy whispers behind them then you are greatly mistaken bc basically the whole gym has broken out into ‘Hey, isn’t that Chief Hopper? What’s he doing here?’ ‘I think he’s Hargrove’s foster dad or something.’ ‘I heard he’s actually Billy’s biological dad and Hop finally got custody back.’ ‘Is that THE Steve Harrington? What’s he doing w/ Band Geek Buckley?’ ‘They worked at that ice cream shop before the mall exploded. Now they’re at Family Video.’ ‘Wow, he’s really hit bottom if he’s coming back to school to watch a basketball game w/ the Chief of Police. How fucking weird.’

But the little group of 4 doesn’t (really) notice bc they’re chatting away about how Billy has been so excited and nervous about this game and how there’s a scout here and “D’ya think he might get a scholarship for basketball, Hop?”

And ohmydearmeDUDES imagine they announce the team all excitedly w/ lots of grandeur and lights and the boys running out of a big paper tiger head or something and Billy gets the loudest applause of all bc of fucking course he does, people both love and hate him but he’s the best player on the team and you just… you HAVE to clap for Billy Hargrove. And so Billy isn’t surprised at the cheers he’s getting, it’s the biggest game of the year and everyone is here, except none of his friends ever show up. It’s not Jonathan’s or Nancy’s or Robin’s scene, Carol and Tommy have stopped coming since Tommy got kicked off the team at the beginning of the year, and Billy doesn’t really talk to anyone else. He doesn’t bring up his games to anyone, either, bc he doesn’t wanna sound like he’s needy or something.

So he’s not expecting to see anyone he cares about in the stands. He’s just letting his heart flutter wildly with his nerves as he riles up the crowd and pumps his fists and puts on a show like he’s not scared as all hell for this game when…

When...

When he sees a sign that says: Go Billy! on it w/ little paw prints and his number in the corner.

No one makes signs specifically for him that don’t also include some sort of lewd remark.

So he shifts his eyes down and sees-

Oh my god no way they came.

It’s El, smiling the biggest, brightest, widest smile, little blue whiskers on her face, eyes crinkling up. Next to her is Hop, clapping happily with his eyes so full of pride Billy’s gonna drown. To the other side of El is Robin, clapping a little slower with a smirk that says You better be real damn grateful i’m subjecting myself to this for you.

And then Steve, cheering and whooping and clapping and smiling and he sends Billy a little wink and Billy is melting he’s absolutely falling through the earth bc what the fuck they actually came I didn’t think they would actually come.

His crazy, cocky facade falls and he starts running up to where they’re sitting, a couple rows back from the front, fully ready to tackle them in hugs or something, ask what they’re doing here and why they came and just ohmygod I’m so glad they came I can’t believe they’re here-

When his teammate grabs a hold of the back of his jersey and pulls him back towards the court with a “Where you going, Hargrove? The game’s this way!”

And so Billy shoots the boy an irritated look before looking back towards his family they’re my family my family is here with a wave and a genuine smile and all of the warmth boiling in his heart.

And Billy does GREAT. They destroy the other team and Billy as always is the one they praise the most and everyone is crowding around him and rushing out onto the court to congratulate him but he pushes himself out of the crowd and doesn’t pay attention to anyone because his family is here and El is standing there waving with her sign and asks: “Did you do it?”

Bc she’s still confused on how basketball works (Hop tried to explain the rules to her while Steve tried to explain the rules to Robin and they were both very lost, though El was a lot more interested than Robin was) and Billy scoops down to hug her and say: “Yeah, we did alright.”

And they all laugh and Billy ignores everyone but his family as he goes to grab his bag and they head out, Billy telling them he has to go back to the locker room with his team to get the after game notes from his coach “-but after that we should like… get ice cream or something.”

Hop nods. “Sounds like a plan.”

And so after the coach tells them good job and gives them their final notes on the game, Billy takes a super quick shower and runs back outside and sees Steve standing there, hands in his pockets, leaning against the side of the gym.

Billy smiles wide.

“Congrats out there, Tiger. You really did take my throne, didn’t you?”

“C’mon, I had it before you left.” Billy shoves Steve’s shoulder and they walk.

“You… you did real good out there. Think the scout noticed you?”

Billy shrugs. “I dunno, the coach hasn’t said anything about it yet. He just told us to celebrate this weekend.”

Steve nods, about to say something else when Billy shoves him behind another building where the lights are out and kisses him silly against the wall, the faint sound of the still cheering and chanting team somewhere behind them, the drumline doing cadences into the night as Billy kisses Steve like he’s starved. Always kisses Steve like he’s starved.

“Thanks for coming, Princess.” Billy whispers against Steve’s throat once they’ve pulled away.

“I know it meant a lot to you. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

And so they meet up with everyone at their respective cars and head out for ice cream together and Hopper says “You did great, son.” over his own cup of ice cream and Billy is trying so hard to stay cool but let me tell you, the boy is beaming over this praise and love and he’s answering all of El’s questions about basketball and he’s helping Robin pick on Steve and it’s heaven.

And now can we all just IMAGINE El saying Max should come along to the next game. And then the next game Max brings Lucas, who brings Dustin who brings Mike who brings Will. And then the NEXT game where Will is like: “You’re his friend too! I know you don’t like sports games but Robin comes so you can come too.” to Jonathan who comes along w/ Nancy and then Hop brings Joyce and Billy has a whole damn SECTION just for his family and friends who are all cheering him on in their own ways and they ALWAYS go out for pizza or ice cream afterwards (Mike and Dustin will say they tag along just for the food after the game and Billy will flick their ears when they say it)

And it’s just so NICE. and LOVELY. And BILLY HAS A FAMILY WHO LOVES HIM AND SUPPORTS HIM AUGH.

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thebibliomancer · 3 years

Text

Essential Avengers: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #10-12

February, 1985

DEATH TO THE BEYONDER!

Wow, Doom has been beaten to hell in this story, huh?

Couldn’t have happened to a nicer etc etc.

Anyway, lets get to it.

Last times in Secret Wars: Some amazingly powerful being from Beyond the universe called the Beyonder kidnaps a bunch of heroes, villains, shades thereof, and chunks of random planets to put on a big toy commercial where action figures can bonk off each other.

The X-Men ditched the other heroes to team up with Magneto to do their own thing, as they’re wont to do. But still largely helped the other heroes fight the villains. And didn’t even do villain shit even though Magneto advocated for it.

There have been a bunch of fights back and forth between the groups but most recently, Captain America’s group of heroes stormed Doombase and took down the villain group then had to rush to back up the X-Men in dealing with Galactus who wants to eat the planet, as he is wont to do.

Doom busted out of the cell the heroes stuck him in to pull off his master plan with the help of solid sound man Klaw while Reed Richards had a crisis of weird conscience as he became convinced that maybe Galactus should eat the planet. But he eventually helped the other heroes drive Galactus off-planet where the hat horned purple planet eater started to eat his own spaceship, with Doom planning to steal that tasty snack.

And that brings us to now.

Where things are getting super freaky.

Reed Richards’ skeleton viscerally upsets me.

But as Galactus’ ship turns from Mobius ship to energy cloud, the cloud gets ripped away from Galactus and streams towards Doombase.

Captain America sends Captain Marvel to Doombase to check if Doom is behind this Total Doom Move and she zips over to determine, yup, Doom is pulling a total Doom right now.

He’s got himself strapped to a thing under a bunch of Klaw lenses injecting PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER right into his itty bitty body.

Captain Marvel is going to zip back over to let Captain America and Mr. Fantastic know whats going on but Professor X chimes in her brain that he’ll save them some time by setting up a psychic conference call between her and Reed.

Meanwhile, Doctor Doom finishes consuming the aggregate energy of a spaceship the size of a solar system and trips out a little on omnipotence.

Doom: “By the dark gods! My least whim alters the world around me! Such is the power coursing within me that stone and steel are wisps of nothing which bend and transform in slavish obedience to my merest stray thought!”

Just say no to phenomenal cosmic power.

Also, some omniscience, which lets him see his own brains and into the souls of the people in Doombase.

Annnd. He spots Captain Marvel. Womp womp.

When the psychic connection between her and Xavier is suddenly cut off, the heroes pile into the X-Men’s wrecked ship to fly to Doombase and save Captain Marvel.

Hm. They’ve really been back and forth. They were all just at Doombase and then they came here and now they’re going back to Doombase.

Since the ship is wrecked, Magneto just propels it with MASTERY OF MAGNET and Cap(tain America) praises him for living up to his hype.

Which sets Magneto off on a rant.

Magneto: “I gather, Captain America, that you would have preferred that I fail! Or... was that remark, perhaps, intended to be a ‘well done’ for which I should humble thank you.”

Captain America: “At ease, mister!”

Magneto: “Allies should be ‘at ease’ with one another! What troubles you? Is it my awesome power? Are you jealous? Afraid? Or is it merely because I am a mutant that you are not ‘at ease’?”

Captain America: “Now that you mention it, the fact that you tried to kill all of us here several times as part of various evil schemes for world conquest is pretty hard to forget entirely!”

This sort of feels like Magneto is antsy because he hasn’t been villaining as much as he likes. Or like him going ‘today I shall cause problems on purpose.’

But, whoops, Cap says that he doesn’t have a problem with the X-Men which sets off Wolverine on a rant about how Captain America doesn’t do enough for mutants.

Geez, its like the time he unmasked a governmental conspiracy by Richard Nixon to use a mutant powered UFO to take over America doesn’t even count.

Wolverine accuses Cap of not laying off Magneto even though he’s been helpful. I’ll note that all Cap did was tell Magneto good job which Magneto decided was a slight.

Meanwhile, over at Doombase where Doom likes to Doom, Doom is pondering what to do now.

He is now powerful enough to wipe out everyone on Battleworld with a wave of his hand and easily win this Secret Wars. But he’s already so powerful, what could he possible ask the Beyonder for?

Doom: “Are those dust-mote heroes truly my enemies? Or... is there now but one foe in all existence worthy of Doom? The Beyonder himself!”

Mostly because he exists and is more powerful than Doom and that simply cannot do.

Like, Doom notes that he already has all the power he could ever want but there’s someone over outside the universe who has more power so Doom wants it. Even though the power he do have is messing him up.

Truly Doom in a nutshell.

Hm. Is it odd that everyone just decides that the Beyonder is male based on nothing? He does decide to be male when he manifests on Earth in Secret Wars 2 but there’s no basis for the assumption here.

But we have toys to sell so Doom upgrades his armor.

This was another request from Mattel, for Doom (and Iron Man, hence the upgrade he gets from Mr. Fantastic) to be given high-tech costumes.

I personally think they just didn’t want to make capes. Notably, there was never a Thor toy.

In-universe, the new armor is a secret weapon to use against the Beyonder, based on Galactus’ machine and the data Doom got scanning the Beyonder in issue 1.

The heroes but into Doombase to find no one to fight. All the villains are still locked up and Doom is nowhere to be seen. They find Captain Marvel, frozen in light form like a hologram.

Then a massive KRAKABOOOM! shakes the fortress as DOOM goes to confront the Beyonder.

The Beyonder: “Stop! You cannot approach me!”

Doom: “Then approach me, coward -- on your knees, if you have knees! Come! Cringe before your master! Grovel before Doom!”

The conflict starts to shake Doombase apart and a big ol rock falls on Reed’s lower torso and knocks the wind out of him.

The monitors in Doombase also shows that the destruction is worldwide, causing devastation to Zsaji’s village, and doing her an injury.

I assume Denver is also affected. I really want that miniseries focusing on Denverians during Secret Wars.

Colossus tries to tell Johnny that Zsaji has been hurt but Johnny’s attentions are elsewhere.

Human Torch: “I -- I’ve got no time for a chippie now! Reed’s hurt! I’ll send her a card later!”

Geez, Johnny.

Anyway, the fight between DOOM and the Beyonder is so so devastating that its threatening to snuff out the sun.

Which, if nothing else, is impressively bonkers.

But wherever Doom falters, the Beyonder doubles his assault.

Turns out that absorbing the energy of a spaceship the size of a solar system doesn’t make you a match for a guy that can casually wipe out a galaxy.

Doom: “Th-thus -- ? Thus falls Doom? No! No! What is pain to one such as I? I -- I will shut it out. Other men fall prey to the very spectre of death... when her cold embrace seems imminent... they simply swoon into her arms! But I... I am Doom! I -- I deny you, death! Victor von Doom must not die!”

He says this after his leg falls off. For the sake of context.

The world-shaking pauses and an image of Doom appears before the assembled heroes. Trying to come off as confident but blatantly holding his hat.

Doom: “Greetings! I am Doctor Doom! ... Though I am far more than the being you once knew! Indeed, I have transcended mortality -- and yet, I am your champion -- fighting for your sakes! I am about to crush the Beyonder!”

“The Beyonder, in his cosmic arrogance abducted us all and brought us here to do battle for his amusement! ‘Slay your enemies...!’ He said -- but in truth, he is the real enemy!”

“While he can reach us, our universe is not safe from his manipulations! He must be utterly defeated and sealed away beyond the portal before -- or destroyed! In the name of all who exist in our universe, I, Doom, have dared to attack the Beyonder!”

“The battle has gone well. Even now, the Beyonder cringes in terror, marshalling his failing strength against my final assault! Hence, this lull in the strife -- which has allowed me to appear to you and offer you the chance to share in my glorious conquest. Lend me your power! Hasten his certain defeat! Come! Who will join me against our common foe? You have but to touch my hand! Who shall be first?”

“To him, after our victory, I shall grant power beyond measure -- with which to further his noble purposes, of course! You know I speak the truth! You feel it, do you not?”

I mean, Doom has a point. The Beyonder IS the real enemy. If the heroes refuse to kill anyone, the Beyonder is never going to let them go home. Unless this is a secret test of character but nothing I’ve seen would lead me in that direction.

It’s just. Its Doom. Who would trust him with EVEN MORE PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER?

Magneto immediately steps forward to offer his power to Doom’s service (womp womp) but he meets Xavier’s gaze and hesitates.

Long enough for several Avengers to tackle him away from Doom.

Proving his claim that the fight is definitely in the bag, Doom can’t maintain his GoFundMe hologram and fades away.

Hawkeye, one of the Avengers that tackled Magneto, starts yelling at the X-Men about the company they keep and what it will take for them to realize Magneto is a dick.

But Captain America interrupts Clint. He says that everyone was tempted by what Doom was offering and goes so far as to speculate that Doom was applying some sort of mind control to them and that Magneto just got the biggest dose.

This is all pretty unsubstantiated but he also does point out that Magneto hesitated to grab Doom’s hand and dammit that counts for something.

Meanwhile, Doom is having a bad time.

Trying to crowdfund a Beyonder defeat having not met its goal by the deadline, Doom is at the mercy of the Beyonder.

But the Beyonder is a curious cuss.

I mean, obviously. Why put on a Secret War unless you’re bored and curious.

The Beyonder starts prying into Doom’s brain and forces Doom to remember his ENTIRE BACKSTORY so he can watch.

You probably know it. Roma youth. His mom killed for witchcraft and her soul trapped by Mephisto. Doom studies magic and science to try to contact her. Makes a hellevator device that blows up in his face.

The Beyonder pries into Doom’s desires for: power over the destinies of other men, for freedom for his mom’s spirit, and for his putting on the piping hot mask face to be restored.

All these desires fascinate the Beyonder and he takes his dissection of the Beyonder to an unfortunately literal level and starts flaying Doom to peep his organs.

Meanwhile, the biggest shock yet hits Battleworld and Doombase starts shaking apart.

Captain America goes to free the villains trapped in their cells and finds Wolverine there who agrees that they shouldn’t leave the villains to die in cages, no matter what they’ve done. Magneto is also helping evacuate the captured villains from the medical wing.

Wolverine: “Don’t take this wrong... But you’re a better man than I gave you credit for! I’m an attacker an’ you’re a defender -- but we’re both soldiers! I’m beginnin’ to think you got room in your high-falutin’ ideals for all people... don’tcha -- ? Even if they’re mutants!”

Captain America: “Some of my best friends are people!”

Hah!

Anyway, RIP Doombase. You had a name and that’s more than I can say of the initial hero base or Magneto’s U-fort.

The shaking stops and a glowing orb of light floats down from space in front of the collected heroes.

Oh my god! The rest of the characters are 4-inch figures but Doom is rocking 24 inches and full articulation!

The heroes prepare to fight the Giant-Sized Doctor Doom but Doom bwoop bwoop bwoops back down to their scale and explains that absorbing the Beyonder caused him to be big because of reasons but he’s got a better handle on it now.

Its not shown on panel but remember Doom had his secret anti-Beyonder weapon hidden inside his armor and the Beyonder got real close when he was dissecting Doom. Which Doom regained consciousness during. So that’s how he did it.

Doom: “First, know you these things... The Beyonder no longer exists... and Doom has been reborn! Thus, have two evils come to an end! There is no enemy left to fight! THE WAR IS OVER!”

Caption: “Nonetheless, we strongly suggest that you read the next issue of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars on sale in thirty days!!”

Hah.

March, 1985

... AND DUST TO DUST!

I’ll give Marvel Super Heroes TM Secret Wars TM #11 this. It promises and teases THE FACE OF DOOM right on the cover and dammit, it delivers.

Gaze upon his generic attractiveness. He looks like Peter Parker having a wild eyebrow day.

I suppose the real surprise is that he fixed up his scarred face, which puts him two checkmarks into his three greatest desires.

He’s the supreme being in the universe and he’s got a face to match.

In a very reassuring manner, Doom tells the assembled heroes that he could destroy them all with a thought and then doesn’t bother destroying them.

Over in the distance, the freed villains see Doom talking with the heroes and Absorbing Man decides that Doom is selling out to the heroes. The other villains get their dander up at this and debate going over and kicking Doom’s ass.

Volcana: “I don’t know what to think, Owie! Doom is the one who made me into Volcana which is wonderful -- but, gee, he does seem to be double-crossing us!”

Molecule Man: “And I had such faith in him! I believe in him! I -- I’m furious!”

Volcana: “Now, Owie, remember your analyst said it wasn’t good to get overwrought!”

Molecule Man: “I don’t care what she said! I’m going to kill that lying, two-faced, rotten fink! Do you hear me, Doom? The Molecule Man is going to kill you!”

Then Molecule Man flips up several billion tons of the planet’s crust so he can have a conversation with Doom.

Doom just shows Molecule Man the foundations of eternity, the secrets of the universe, how all things work so that Molecule Man can realize that he is the second mightiest in the universe, after Doom.

Doom: “Think! Every molecule, every iota of matter in the cosmos answers to our whim! And all the forces which govern substance bend to your will -- for matter and energy are one and the same! The only limits on your power are those which you have imposed upon yourself, subconsciously because of self-doubt... self-hate... fear! Open your mind to the majesty of your power, Owen Reece! Accept your destiny... and fear no more!”

Molecule Man: “I -- I can control organic molecules! I can do... anything!”

Well.

This bodes something.

Doom then takes off and an amazed Molecule Man declares that he’s now the leader of the villain group. And considering he can peel the planet’s crust in a fit of pique, nobody really wants to say nay.

Molecule Man apparently didn’t want to hurt anyone so when he peeled up the crust, it somehow didn’t hurt any of the heroes. Just relocated them very insistently. Although if they stayed put they’d suffocate from the thin atmosphere.

They return to Doombase, which is somehow still standing. But aside from recapping the series, they really don’t know what to do until Doom makes himself known again.

The villains retreat to the suburb of Denver, Colorado and to the apartment belonging to Marsha Rosenberg (Volcana).

They decide that they don’t actually care about the Secret Wars anymore and just want to go home. And Molecule Man, being a good leader, decides to make this happen for everyone.

Man. I hope none of Denver’s population went wandering outside suburb limits before Molecule Man domed the suburb and chucked it into space.

The heroes spot it happening on their instruments (and because a chunk of planet being ejected into space causes a rumble) but there’s nothing they can really do about it. So Cap suggests everyone sleep on it.

Colossus can’t sleep because he keeps thinking about how deeply he is in love with Zsaji. So he ditches to zip to her village on an air jetski.

Missing a blob of light enter the Doombase and possess the Hulk.

Possessed Hulk lumbers around the base like a sleepwalker, being found by Spider-Woman who can’t sleep for worrying about her hometown of Denver.

She tries to stop Hulk with her psychic webs but he busts through and shoves her to the ground. The weird light blob goes from Hulk to Spider-Woman.

Hulk goes back to sleep and possessed Spider-Woman creeps into Doom’s lab and the discarded head of Klaw.

But there’s a flash of light and soon a confused Spider-Woman is telling the other heroes that Doom showed up, reassembled Klaw, unfroze Captain Marvel, oh and engraved an invitation to the heroes to meet him tomorrow at his sweet new tower.

Klaw: “I told you once -- ! I am my wildest dream! Dream! Eem, eem, eem...”

Doom: “I shall miss dreaming...”

He tells Klaw that he does not need sleep anymore and doesn’t dare sleep anymore because of the power contained in him.

Meanwhile, Colossus arrives at Zsaji’s hut while she’s sleeping and invites himself inside. Its creepy or romantic, shrug. She wakes up, he gives her flowers, and confesses he loves her.

Not really understanding the words but getting the gist, Zsaji seems into it.

I guess she gave up on Johnny. Or her people are polygamous.

Later, Wolverine and Nightcrawler gossip about Colossus’ love life. Neither very sympathetic about Colossus cheating on Kitty Pryde.

You’d think they’d also be unsympathetic about the age gap but eh.

Wolverine is also convinced that Colossus isn’t even REALLY in love with Zsaji, that its just a side-effect of her healing power. PLUS, she’s an alien so who knows what love means to her.

Hm. This really does look like a job for Cipher.

The non-Colossus heroes all go to meet Doom at THE TOWER OF DOOM, where Doom is quick to reiterate that they have nothing to worry about with Doom now possessing phenomenal cosmic power.

Doom: “Much has changed, Captain America! Much indeed! For, when I usurped the Beyonder’s power, slaying him -- in a way, Doom died as well! Now, I am all-powerful! I have nothing to prove to lesser creatures -- and none are my equal! I am complete... serene in my omnipotence! The dark, seething desires which once drove and shaped Doom are no more! Nothing in this universe -- nothing of which you can conceive, no matter how cosmic in scope -- could possible merit my attention! For as Eternity is to you... I am to Eternity! I have transcended all concerns of this plane of existence -- and, yet... we have unfinished business! Loose ends, if you will, left over from my mortal life! I cannot undo all of the evil works of my life without unraveling a great deal of the fabric of reality, causing enormous upheavals in the time/space continuum -- ! I can, though, easily set right some of the crimes of these few days past...”

Its good to see that Doom didn’t let becoming the unchallenged supreme being of the universe change him, at least in regards to words words words.

Anyway, he reintegrates Kang and sends the very confused future man home to the future.

He tells the heroes that Galactus has already been found and aided by his herald, Nova.

Which just leaves the wrong that Doom has done the heroes. He offers them a boon to atone for the suffering they’ve endured at his hands.

The heroes debate what to ask for. Spider-Man suggests that Doom can send them home only for Reed, perhaps peevishly, to remark that he can get them home. Nightcrawler suggests that Doom could find Lockheed, who was part of the intro cast but went missing near the beginning. But Captain America tells Doom that they want nothing from him.

Doom: “Very well! Our dealings are ended! Forever! Leave, now as you entered! Soon I shall ascend to higher planes! Until then -- and mark this -- I will not suffer any disturbance! Go... and do not seek to enter my presence again, for I will utterly destroy any who dare!”

Wow.

His magnanimity sure is short-lived.

The heroes do leave but outside Cap(tain America. Captain Marvel hasn’t had a line since she was unfrozen, I think) does a headcount and Spider-Woman is missing.

Despite the risk of Doom making good on his word to kill anyone that disturbs him, Cap won’t leave a comrade behind and reenters THE TOWER OF DOOM.

Cap stumbles onto Doom chilling with his shirt, mask, and boots off and luckily Doom is either in a good mood or hasn’t counted Captain America as leaving yet.

Captain America tells Doom that Spider-Woman is missing so Doom sends Klaw to go find her.

Klaw goes looking for Spider-Woman but runs into one of her webs. The missing, possessed hero grabs Klaw and transfers the blob of light to him.

Back at Doom having dressed up, maybe feeling awkward about being casual in front of anyone who isn’t Klaw, Doom reveals to Captain America that his mom’s spirit is being held captive by Mephisto and that Doom plans to free her.

Doom: “Is that little enough to ask? Little enough self-solicitude -- ? To free my mother’s soul from endless torment at the hands of an extra-dimensional demon! After that... it is as I said -- no affair of men -- or demons -- could possibly gain my notice!”

Cap comments that Doom is looking pretty human but Doom says its for everyone else’s protection that he keeps the power contained, lest he accidentally wipe out solar systems and galaxies.

Doom: “While I linger on this plane, I am like a giant on a world of ants! Every slight movement I make can seal the destinies of millions! I... do not wish to destroy anyone!”

Klaw returns and tells Cap where to find Spider-Woman so Cap goes off to retrieve her.

The heroes all take off back to Doombase and Cap asks Professor X to summon Colossus because there’s a decision to be made that everyone has to be present for.

Which leads to this delightful scene of Professor X interrupting Colossus as he’s making out with Zsaji.

Despite Colossus telling Xavier to buzz off, Xavier insists that Colossus return and alas duty before booty. Or something.

When Colossus arrives, the heroes all assemble in a conference room that Cap managed to find in Doombase.

Wasp doesn’t see the problem with Doom wanting to rescue his mother and Cap agrees that its a very humane and human thing to want and that in other circumstances Cap would have volunteered to help him.

But its the human that bothers Cap.

It gets back to Jim Shooter’s themes from his non-consecutive Avengers runs. Graviton, Nefaria, Korvac, Molecule Man, and Moondragon.

Godlike power in the hands of the all too human.

Captain America: “Doom claims he’s transcended all human desire! What if he hasn’t? We’ve seen the power of the Beyonder -- Doom’s power -- in action before! It is such power that even now, nothing in the universe can take place without his consent! That kind of authority rightfully belongs to... no man! No matter how enlightened or benevolent he’s become, freedom to do what Doom allows is not freedom!”

Cap is edging very close to ‘attack and dethrone god’ and I don’t know if he means to.

But as Cap points out, the first thing Doom did with his new power was to repair his face. Awfully human-like vanity.

Mr. Reed Fantastic concedes what Cap is getting at and agrees they need to force Doom to give up his power. And where Reed goes, so goes the rest of the Fantastic Three.

Which doesn’t tell you whether its a good idea or not considering they were both behind ‘let Galactus eat us all’ when Reed suggested it.

But the Avengers, the spiders, the Hulk, and the X-Men all agree as well.

Colossus is the last person to speak up and he suggests that if they attack Doom unprompted, maybe they’re the dicks. Doom may never harm them, may do what he’s said he’ll do and ascend to a higher plane of existence and contemplate gluons or whatever.

Captain America: “You may be right, son! I’m not dead certain about any of this! That’s why it must be a unanimous vote... or we do nothing! Don’t think you must agree! The choice is yours... Keep in mind, by the way, that if we do decide to confront Doom, it’s possible that we might be annihilated on the spot by a bolt from the blue!”

Wow, Cap isn’t just telling Colossus he can vote how he likes and not feel he must go with the majority. He’s also giving good reasons NOT to vote with the majority.

That Cap. He loves democracy so much.

Colossus struggles because he’s just found love and happiness and he never got to finish making out. And he’s being asked to possibly throw that all away unnecessarily!

Cap still won’t press Colossus one way or another so Colossus has to speak from the heart.

Colossus: “Forgive me, Zsaji... I say yes... We fight!”

He chose........... poorly?

Wonder what the last issue will be about now that half the cast is dead. Ignoring that we see several of these people alive in an issue set after this but published before.

Ignoring that. I wonder what the last issue will be about.

Good thing we don’t have to wait.

April, 1985

“...NOTHING TO FEAR...”

Okay, see, this is just making me wonder harder.

Hm. I also wonder if this is the first big moment where Captain America’s America Shield gets broken for dramatic effect. I know it happens again in Infinity Gauntlet but that’s some years away.

Anyway, yeah. The twenty-one hero characters and Magneto (twenty-one feels like A LOT, geez) have been totally killed forever and they will certainly stay dead.

To Zsaji’s alarm, since in a bit of establishing relative positions, she can see Doombase from the mountain near her village that Galactus set up his planet-eating equipment on.

Over at THE TOWER OF DOOM, Doom contains the power again.

Klaw: “Seal up the power -- god’s might in a can! Thus, Doom is just another man! But why?”

Doom: “Lest in a careless moment, a casual flick of my little figner might blacken a star system, or wipe out an intergalactic civilization. Lest, like Vishnu. ‘I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.’ This universe is too fragile!”

Klaw: “Such power! Such weight upon your shoulders! Poor Doom!”

Klaw questions whether the heroes are REALLY dead but Doom insists on it.

Meanwhile, Denver floating through space towards Earth.

I wanted to question... like... how much oxygen or food a Denver chunk could contain but Molecule Man laughs at logistics. He can just turn space dust into whatever he needs.

Man, Molecule Man would be great to have on a generation ship.

The villains are still chilling out in Volcana’s apartment, instead of taking over the largest building or whatever. Nice thing about Molecule Man being boss is that he doesn’t really approve of all of that.

Enchantress locks herself in the bathroom because dammit, sometimes you just need alone time to consult with a water elemental for some juicy exposition.

Because its issue 12 and we don’t know anything about the Beyonder really and Doom has already eaten him up so its now or never.

Honestly, time should have been budgeted for it earlier but what can you do.

The water elemental knows some things by gossiping with other spirits asks as price for her exposition that Enchantress “grant me power to walk through fields of flowers as mortals do” but Enchantress just threatens her into it.

She’s not a great boss.

Water Elemental: “In his realm, the Beyonder was everything and everything was him... and he was content! But by chance, an event in our universe opened a pinhole into his beyond-realm -- and through the pinhole he glimpsed the Earth! For the first time in his existence he became curious! So, he began to observe! For years, he watched the Earth! One thing confounded him above all else -- this incompleteness beings of our universe seemed to have -- this thing called... desire!”

So the Beyonder chose subjects of power, presence and palpable desire. The three P’s. And then he either raptured or lured into his game. The Beyonder sorted them according to the nature of their desires, which is why Magneto ended up with the heroes. Because his desire for mutantkind is like the altruistic desires of the heroes. Vs the personal desires of the villain group.

The Water Elemental recaps the war, including an image of Enchantress getting punched by She-Hulk, probably to piss her off. Yadda yadda, Doom played the larger game while everyone was doing punches and managed to usurp the Beyonder.

Water Elemental: “May I go down the drain now, please?”

Except no. Enchantress is still a bad boss and demands that the elemental use her rapport with the water on Battleworld to tell Enchantress whats going on now.

The elemental says she doesn’t have the power to do that so Enchantress dunks the elemental and boils some power into her.

Enchantress sees images of the heroes being effortlessly slaughtered, Klaw waiting on Doom as he relaxes, and Doom planning to invade Mephisto’s realm.

The last question Enchantress asks the rather haggard looking elemental is whether the Beyonder is truly dead.

Water Elemental: “N-no... he is close by Doom. But too weak to act... He is hiding where Doom would never suspect, awaiting an opportunity... a moment of vulnerability.”

Humorously, during this scene, the Absorbing Man starts banging on the bathroom door and asking Enchantress if she fell in.

In the living room, the Lizard is getting antsy about being cooped up.

Lizard: “RRAWRR! Out! Lizard wantss out of thiss humanss’ nesst! Musst be in sswamp! Lizard hates humanss!”

The Wrecking Crew just want to kill Lizard to spare the hassle but Volcana sticks up for him because its in her nature to take care of things. And in the same way he demonstrated with Wasp, Lizard folds into surly obedience as soon as someone is firm but nice with him.

Lizard isn’t the only one that’s antsy, as Dock Ock starts complaining and smashing the walls about how unlikely it is that they’ll ever reach home.

Doctorpus Octopus: “Don’t you fools realize the odds against us ever reaching Earth? An ant dropped in the middle of the Sahara would stand a better chance of getting to Hawaii!”

Molecule Man wanders in and tries to calm down the doctorpus while Enchantress lures Volcana away from the crowd.

Enchantress has decided that its time for Volcana to repay her debt for portaling her over to Molecule Man’s side after he was Wolverine’d. And the blank check cost she’s decided on is for Volcana to help Enchantress return to Asgard immediately to warn her people about the danger that Beyonder Doom poses.

And Volcana can help by ‘donating’ her life-force to power the teleport. And by donate, of course, she means, mystically contractually obligated.

Elsewhere, Molecule Man shows Doc Ock that he’s restored the stars in the galaxy that the Beyonder wiped out and that he’s been learning to do spacewarps too. And that’s how they’ll get home.

Doc Ock has some doubts so Molecule Man wraps him up in a nice, weighted blanket of asphalt and plans to turn him over to the authorities when they get back because he’s beginning to suspect that this supervillain may in fact may not be emotionally healthy.

Molecule Man realizes that Volcana isn’t around and Lizard who saw Enchantress pied piper her away leads MM to interrupt the Enchantress before she can finish draining Volcana or making fat jokes.

She makes a lot of fat jokes. Ffs Amora.

Enchantress teleport flees back to Battleworld but Lizard jumps after her and gets caught up in it.

He scratches her face so she throws him off a cliff.

And since mystically speaking, the Lizard counts as a “lower creature” Enchantress can just rip away his life-force and use it to fix her face and power an uncertain teleport to Asgard.

RIP the Lizard. Although I’m pretty sure you bounce back from this.

Meanwhile, in THE TOWER OF DOOM, Doom is napping while Klaw creeps on him creepily but Doom wakes up and yells at Klaw for letting him sleep.

Why, who knows what his subconscious would do with the Beyonder’s power in his dreams!

Klaw suggests hey maybe Doom would accidentally revive the heroes. Or maybe he already did? Hm?? In fact, Klaw has a theory and he’s going to use his sound hologram powers to put on a little demonstration for Doom.

He posits that Zsaji saw the destruction Doom wrought on Doombase (which we do know that she did do). She finds the... uh chunks that remain of the heroes and uses her healing powers to put them in stasis where cellular life still lingers. But she finds Colossus less damaged than the rest because he instinctively shifted to his armored form at the last instant. Surely his armored skin is better armor than, say, the Thing’s rock skin or Iron Man’s armor.

The story Klaw is telling works better this way so surely it is so.

Zsaji manages to bring Colossus wholly back to life, at the cost of her own.

A grief-stricken Colossus shoves Reed Richards into a healing tank (his elastic body also less damaged than the rest because sure, Reed Richards is more durable than the Hulk, we can just say anything).

So Reed is restored and he uses the technology of Doombase to invent a mass healing device and restores the rest of the heroes.

Klaw: “And they’re on their way here right now! The end... maybe!”

Doom: “Absurd! That couldn’t happen! The odds are impossible!”

Klaw: “Perhaps... but maybe you sort of... helped things along... Maybe you secretly subconsciously wanted them to survive... to rise from the ashes and live again!”

Doom: “You speak madness, Klaw!”

Klaw doubts though because Doom didn’t completely atomize the heroes and suggests turning on his god-mode and verifying that the heroes are really dead.

But now Doom is worried that having heard Klaw spell out a possible way for the heroes to be alive, his slightest doubt might make it so.

(I mean, I’m pretty sure that the light blob that’s possessing Klaw is the Beyonder who is gaslighting Doom for Reasons.)

Doom: “This is madness! I must drive these thoughts, these doubts, from my mind! They are dead! Dead! Dead! And yet... How many times in the past have I thought that Reed Richards was dead? And, if there were one man who might overcome the odds... is it not Captain America? No... no! THEY ARE DEAD!”

Klaw: “Then, again...”

Doom lets the Beyonder power well up but he can’t control it and it starts blasting Battleworld to shit and nearly destroyed all of reality. Doom can’t get his mind ordered and calm.

Klaw offers to destroy the heroes for Doom so Doom grants him “an infinitesimal micro-fraction” of his power, “enough to blacken ten thousand suns.”

GEEZ. I know that the Beyonder was established as being the strongest being in the universe, having come from a universe where all was the Beyonder. But that’s still very alarming.

The heroes rush in because after being murdered in an instant once already, subtlety is out the window.

Klaw intercepts them with a summoned army of monsters and also Ultron. Yes, Ultron is back, back again. Tell a friend. Tell them OH MY GOD RUN.

Then there’s a big two-page spread of everyone attacking everyone because that’s the kind of story this is.

Rad.

The Thing reverts back to meat man Ben Grimm but manages to will power the rocks back on and decides now he can control the changes and starts crying because this is everything he’s ever wanted.

Hulk goes punchies on Ultron but the robot does a plot injury to Hulk’s leg and for an encore makes Iron Man, Wolverine, and Spider-Woman look stupid before just falling apart.

Thanks to Wasp shrinking down, flying in one of the Hulk punch dents and just yanking wires. Yay, Wasp did a thing!

Also, she beat Ultron. She deserves to. Shame that not more can be made of it as a beat, what with everything going on.

Captain America manages to slip past all the monsters and jump kick his way past Klaw, although Klaw threw that little encounter.

Cap reaches where Doom is once again chilling, although this time with his clothes on.

Doom brags that there’s nothing that the heroes can do to harm him in any way, after all, what is a man to one who is omnipotent?

Captain America: “I wouldn’t be too sure about that! After all... you conquered the Beyonder! And why would you have gone through the trouble of killing us in the first place, unless... you were afraid!”

Doom doesn’t like having holes poked in his arguments so he kamehamehas Cap into ashes.

But Cap respawns out of sheer ‘I can do this all day’ness and charges at Doom to be blasted and respawned again.

Okay, so its Klaw who keeps respawning Cap, while letting Doom think its his own stolen power running out of control that keeps doing it.

And having Cap keep popping back into existence and trying to hit him in the face with a metal disc makes Doom lose his every last shit.

The power starts to overtake him and threaten the universe so Cap offers his hand, to serve as an anchor to reality for Doom.

Oh, hey. Just like Cap offered Doom his hand in the first issue but Doom turned it down because he hates pity.

But now, with omnipotence raging out of control, Doom reaches to accept Cap’s hand.

Thems some nice bookends.

Except the feeble remnant of the Beyonder that’s been body hopping bursts out of Klaw and reclaims his power from Doom.

Unpossessed Klaw: “Doom! Doom! Forgive me, Doom! The Beyonder, he took over my body -- ! He used my guile, my wits, my cunning to engineer this! I set you up for this! Doom -- ! I’m so sorry!”

The Beyonder reverts Doom’s armor (and face) back to how it was and then ejects him from the plot. Klaw jumping in to be with his master.

Actually, the Beyonder nopes out of the plot as well. Just kinda abandons this grand experiment into the concept of desire.

And to be fair, half the competitors fucked off. The other half refused to actually kill. And one of the competitors jumped off the board game to steal the Beyonder’s wallet.

At that point, escaping before you have to answer any questions is the right move.

With the fight over, there’s just a whole bunch of wrap-up.

Colossus has a funeral for Zsaji and buries her on the hill overlooking Doombase because fuck those villagers, she probably didn’t have any friends or loved ones who should have a say in this.

While RICHARDSS goes to work on a way home, Spider-Man swings around Doombase for a snack of alien eggplant. Then finds everyone else in the costume making machine room where Professor X has.

Uh.

Made some fashion choices.

Won’t anybody stop him?

Anyway, he intends to keep undermining Storm when they get back to Earth. What a guy.

Spider-Man also learns that none of their costumes respond to thought like his new black costume does and wonders what’s different about his.

Hulk’s leg was busted up by being Ultron’d and his gamma levels have risen so much that they’d short out the healing pods. So Reed makes Hulk a techno crutch and leg brace to help him get around until his natural healing factor takes care of things.

He’s not very pleased at the situation though and snaps at Hawkeye, leading Hawkeye to a thought that hits a lot different post Civil War II.

Hawkeye: “Whoa! Has he ever changed in the last few days! I think he’s losing it -- becoming totally savage and out of control again! Man, I hope I’m wrong! Maybe I’d better make myself a few more arrows -- some real heavy-duty ones -- just in case!”

Curt Connors wanders in and tells a story about waking up in a crater a few miles from the fortress. He says that he’s sure this time the lizard-persona is totally gone forever for reals.

Nightcrawler says its good that Connors found them before they departed so he wouldn’t get left behind, then mentions that Lockheed the dragon would return.

And boom! Lockheed the dragon returns with a lady dragon!

He’s been getting laid this whole time, the little scamp! I assume! Either way, he has contributed absolutely nothing to anything that happened.

Reed decides that Lockheed and Connors showing up isn’t just a coincidence, that the Beyonder left some trace energy behind when he quit the plot. And that the energy is causing a wish fulfillment phenomenon (which sorta makes sense if you think of it like the promise Beyonder promised to fulfill the winners’ desires?)

Mr. Fantastic: “I believe that this... ‘wish fulfillment’ phenomenon we’ve been experiencing is an after-effect of the battle against Doom! The planet itself seems to have been charged with residual energy whichs seems to respond to strong desire, or force of will!”

Cap(tain America) immediately takes off to where he’s keeping all the fragments of his broken shield that he’s been able to find and wishes REALLY hard for it to be fixed.

“It was the product of a freak metallurgical accident -- a metallic disk of unknown composition, and unique properties -- utterly impervious to any force or instrument which humans comprehend. But now it lies before him like a wounded friend... How many times has it saved his life? And now... it’s usefl life is at an end, for no fire could melt it, no furnace could reforge it. It is forever broken... unless by force of will... or sheer desire... He can accomplish the impossible!”

Hey, how about that!

I mean, you could have wished Bucky back to life but on the other hand, it’s a real sweet shield. I get it.

Although, in terms of the pre-post Secret Wars issue teasing what could happen in it (Hulk with a leg brace, She-Hulk with the FF, Spider-Man’s new costume), I really think that Steve should have returned from Battleworld with the broken shield.

Almost everything that’s gonna be brought back from Secret Wars is going to have to be abandoned or turn out to be evil.

It’s going to turn out (years later, mind) that Steve fixed his shield bad with his FORCE OF WILL and that for some reason, imperfections in the shield threaten to destroy ALL VIBRANIUM.

And that’s a decent story, probably.

Just saying, you could have Cap return with a broken shield and get that ‘how did that happen’ hype. Its a really intriguing idea. Although, I’d bet that breaking Cap’s shield was only thought up after the pre-post Secret Wars issues had already been done so it had to be introduced and rectified in Secret Wars itself.

Some other things that didn’t last long from Secret Wars: we already know the black goo costume didn’t even last through Secret Wars. The modifications Reed made to the Iron Man armor stop working when Rhodey returns to Earth, then they evolve into the evil Carnivor and fights Quasar in Quasar. Hulk ditches his leg brace two issues after his return to Earth. Connors turns himself back into the Lizard to save his family a couple years after Secret Wars. And so on.

So the time comes to return everyone back to Earth with the device Reed made. It teleports them in small groups up to the ring-shaped construct that got them to Battleworld where it will teleport them to Earth.

Reed beams up the unaffiliated group first of Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Curt Connors, Hulk, and Magneto who decided he’s too cool to hang with the X-Men on the ride home.

Next, the X-Men. Although they have to talk Colossus into coming home instead of being sad on a hill forever by convincing him that he’d be wasting the life Zsaji gave him if he didn’t come home.

Colossus letting Xavier talk him into sticking with the X-Men over greater and greater personal losses eventually becomes a sore point.

Lockheed’s girlfriend flies into the teleport as Reed initializes it, causing a dramatic energy fluctuation that Reed hopes won’t cause any problems on Earth.

It does.

Puff the tiny dragon becomes Puff the enormous dragon, and menaced Japan in her quest to mate with Lockeed. The X-Men had to fight her and Lockheed eventually rejected the now much bigger dragon causing her to explode.

Although she came back to life at some point and she and Lockheed did get back together.

X-Men is a weird book.

The Avengers are up next but She-Hulk tells them that she’s joining the Fantastic Four. Now this happened because Byrne made grabby hands at her and Stern didn’t say no but its not really satisfactorily built-up in this story.

Ben and She-Hulk don’t share many moments to establish that they have a good friendship that he could ask her to take his place on the team. In fact, the last time I know of them teaming up, she was a huge sex pest to him. So it makes it even more baffling.

But it happened in the pre-post issue so its gotta happen.

And Ben asks Jen (maybe the similar names is why he asks her? They can get away with only changing a single letter on his locker) because he’s going to stay behind on Battleworld because he can control his powers here.

He’s not planning on being here forever and Reed can leave the gizmo so Ben can return whenever he wants.

What makes this stupid is that like almost everything involving Ben, Reed knows a lot more about what’s going on and just doesn’t say anything. He starts to but doesn’t insist when Ben tells him not to try to change his mind.

The thing about the Thing is that Ben should always have been able to Rock On or Rock Off as he pleased but there’s a psychological block preventing it.

Ben would lose this control before leaving Battleworld and he quits the FF when he learns that Reed knew that it was a psychological issue.

Mr. Fantastic: “If only I could tell him what I suspect about his transformations -- but it’s the kind of thing that might shatter a man... even a strong man like Ben! No, better to say nothing... and hope he slowly discovers the truth for himself... Or hides from it forever!”“

Geez.

You’re so bad at people.

Anyway. Yeah. Needed some more build-up. Maybe centered around the transformation. Jen could sympathize. She used to have trouble controlling her hulk outs before she just decided to be She-Hulk all the time.

Anyway, this big ridiculous thing (the last issue was 43 PAGES LONG) ends with Ben being thoughtful on a rock.

And that brings us back to Avengers #243.

I guess he’s not alone because Zsaji’s village is still here, maybe? Is nobody going to send them home??

Follow @essential-avengers because FINALLY I can get back to just focusing on the Avengers. Phew. Please like and reblog. This took so much effort.

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someoneiwasnt · 3 years

Text

whoops guess it’s a vent post at almost 2am

i know a few of my mutuals are still awake but arhjkg. no one has to read this

i hate that my insecurities are so logical. i don’t hate myself just to hate myself - i got over that years ago. no, everything bad i think about myself comes from evidence. i think i’m good at stuff until it’s proved again and again that i’m not. i figure it was just bad luck, it wasn’t the right fit, it’ll be better next time, it’ll be better next time, it’ll be better next time— but then i start to run out of next times. and i’ve learned to recognize when it doesn’t make sense to treat yourself differently from other people, i know how to tell when i’m just being overly critical because it’s me, but the thing is it’s not just me. and it’s not like people say bad things about me either; it's just that i can tell i’m nothing special. i’m no one’s best friend, most of the time people don’t text or talk to me first, and when they do, i always struggle to keep a conversation going. i put a lot of effort into theatre and even though my teachers say i’m good, i never get any big or even medium roles. i know it’s not an attitude or professionalism problem, but it’d almost be better if it was. because maybe if i didn’t work so hard at setting myself apart from others by being so easy to work with, i wouldn’t win enough to keep hoping. if i could just move on from dreams i know are unrealistic, that’d be better, but instead i keep trying to get people to like me the best that i can, and it works, and i think that’ll be enough but it’s not. cause i’m still not anything special. and here we are back at friendships again. no one hates me, no one dislikes me even, i’m just nothing special. i’m someone that you might miss when i’m gone but you wouldn't really notice when i’m there. the one thing i do still have going for me is academics, but i’ve started to hate that so what’s even the point? i don’t think i could handle finishing high school like this and going straight to college to do the same thing. but i still put in all this effort to take hard classes and get all a’s and blah blah blah cause that’s the only thing i can still really be proud of. except most of the time i can’t, because i know i’m not working as hard as people think i am. this rant really has gone all over the place and i haven’t even gotten to my original point yet, wow. which is: i try to think good things about myself and act like i believe them, and at the same time i have these thoughts, some are mean and i say that’s not how i feel now, that’s just left over from how i used to feel, and some are cold and logical and oh, i just want to know what’s good about me, i just want to know what people hate about me, not in a bad way though, it won’t affect me, i’m not doing this for validation of anything, i’m fine, i don’t really hate myself, i like myself! i think i’m great! but i don’t, and at some point i have to admit that. admit that these aren’t just leftover thoughts from things that happened a year ago but how i still feel now. admit that saying good things about myself but always expecting other people to think bad things does actually mean i’m insecure. admit that i’ve mostly failed at getting better, and despite the few significant changes, i’m almost in the same place i was last year and i don’t know how to get out. and i’m happy a lot, but it’s almost always about fictional stuff, or things no one irl can know about (like this account), or mostly just unrealistic dreams. i have hope for my future, but when i really think about it, i can’t see any of the things i want to do actually happening. i don’t know how to get there; i don’t know how to even start.

gosh, i’m tired. sorry if you read all that. even if you did, there’s no need to respond (though i don’t mind ppl liking/commenting/reblogging/whatever if you wanted to for some reason), i just wanted to get that out somewhere that wasn’t just my head or my personal documents that are guaranteed no one will ever see.

...thanks for reading?? fjsfs how do i even end something like this. rant over 😌💖

#kal rambles #vent #if you see this i hope you have a good night/day #hmmm might regret posting this but oh well

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calypsoff · 3 years

Text

Fifteen. Part 4

Making my way back down the stairs, I thought I would leave Chris to it, at times I feel like Chris gets all nervous that I am watching him do things but he seems so excited about the bedroom with that damn fire on, so I left him to it and have come downstairs. I can sit with the family for a while, if he is awake then I will be riding him, but I want him to settle in “here is us thinking you wasn’t going to come down” I laughed pulling the chair out “why is that?” Raising my eyebrow “mhmmm you know why, but is he actually going to bed?” Sitting down smiling, I am smiling because my man is funny in his own way “he is and he had the fire on” the gasps around the table made me laugh “I said the same thing, he is special. To my heart” my brothers look shocked, I don’t blame them because I was too “he’s a different breed, but I want to get to know him” Rorrey leaned over “you do!? You’ve never said that to any of my other boyfriends?” He really hasn’t “I’ve never heard my sister say she wants him to be her husband, I have heard you say love. I see how happy you are, I want to just chill with him without you staring at me, yes I asked about his jail thing but that’s just a talk. But I will” that is different for him “does he know what you got him? For tomorrow” shaking my head “he’s going to be shocked, I said there is something happening. Part one of your birthday but that is all he knows” Noella got up from the chair “baby your bump is so cute!” I spat, I stretched out “let me touch my baby” I reached over “thank you” I touched her bump “I can’t wait for my baby to arrive” I grinned, Noella knows this is my child when it arrives “tell your husband that I will go with him for that walk” she’s right, I need to tell him that “husband?” I giggled like a fool “girl, you are too in love” she walked off.

I laughed shaking my head, my family know how I am feeling because of how much I have been speaking on Chris, I do love him “lift your glass up, come on!” Leandra spat, picking up my wine glass up “this is to Robyn being a homeowner, to being in love, for us being together right now. I love y’all niggas” we clinked glasses “to y’all keeping me sane, I love you all” drinking from the glass “I see big things to come, I can’t believe that your album will be out soon, the tour? Chile, you excited?” I pulled a face “I am but, I am going to be busy, so I want you all to look after my baby, please. Like I want to know my family are there for him because I see him being around for a long time. I mean come on, I have never forgotten him since. So please, all of you here. Please help me with him, please be there for him and please keep him entertained and just get to know him, he is a really nice guy but I need you all to just be nice” I feel like I have been ranting on so much “calm down Robyn, dang. We get it, you about to whoop our asses if we don’t” Rorrey said and he isn’t wrong, I will literally not forgive any of them “you ever think he may just want to be with you for fame? Just a question before you bite” taking a drink before I answered “right, so the way I know Chris is that he is hard headed, if he doesn’t want to do something he won’t. For him to come to New York that time was a lot for him, he has really changed since being locked up because the Chris I met, he was so fun loving and full of life and you know what, I have been seeing this a little. It’s coming out of him but it did change him, he was very doom and gloom but he wouldn’t go through the heartache, trust me. You may see it, we may go back and forth with things” I know my family worries.

I am a little tipsy, I say tipsy, but I am giddy “goodnight baby” Mel kissed my cheek, I cooed out “goodnight, I hope he is awake. I want some dick” Mel and I cackled together “bitch, go away” pushing open my bedroom door laughing, the lights are low, and that fire is on, I swear this nigga is about to annoy me. Closing the door behind me, I sighed out heavily seeing Chris wrapped up in the covers, he is asleep of course “of course he is” I said to myself, let me turn that fire off. I wanted sex but I will let him have that for tonight, it is the first day. Poking my lips out, he is so adorable. He has literally folded his clothes and placed them neatly on the couch I have in the bedroom, I expected him to be a mess, but he isn’t “my baby” I poked my lips out, walking around the bed. Grabbing the remote and turning off the fire, I need to text Chris because I may not be awake and he will, Noella said she will go for the walk with him so that will be nice. I want to wake him, but I can’t, just the peacefulness, he is at peace and so am I. Leaning down, pressing a kiss to his forehead, he was actually tired, I didn’t expect it. I thought he was joking but he is in a deep sleep, not even a flinch when I touched him, I am glad he is here.

I slept like a baby, I woke up just in time to see the sunrise over Hollywood, I got to see it on the balcony. It was amazing, a blunt and that, it was the best. I am so happy, Robyn’ bed felt amazing and then Robyn was snuggling me. I am happy, I don’t want to admit it because I get scared shit will go sideways for me but I am awake early, I came downstairs and poured myself some cereal and now I am ringing Barry, he just text me so I thought I would call him and get it over with “my nigga, you died on us in the group chat” placing the bowl on the table “yo, it’s crazy. I been busy with the in laws, and yeah. Barry, Robyn’ home is amazing, I promise you. I just watched the sunrise over Hollywood, and I feel really happy. I feel relieved I think” nodding my head, I am relieved “they treating you well over there? I said it to TJ, I was like I know Robyn spoiling our boy. Did her parents like you?” I don’t even know how to work the TV on this thing so I will leave it alone “good, her mother asked me a few things, but I told her everything, I said I have a record and I just let it out. Her brothers are cool, they are very nice to me. I am happy, this is really going to be my year, I feel it” Barry cheered “yes!” he spat “I think it’s good to leave your ego at home, it’s good to let go” I feel good within myself “I am glad to hear it, I will tell TJ how you are. He was asking and I said he will call me back when he can. I am happy to hear the family is treating you well, oh and you may or may not want to know but Seiko told TJ to fuck off and she will keep the child” of course she did “you know what, shit doesn’t bother me but tell TJ to just get some sort of custody and don’t play her game. Get a lawyer involved, I am at peace in my life, if I wasn’t then I would be reckless, I would be acting out, but I am happy. I got Robyn and I am in love bro” I grinned “I can tell, so you not angry at him? All forgiven” sitting back on the couch, I jumped seeing this lady, but I think she is the chef, I think so but she waved at me and I waved back, didn’t see her come “I am not, I don’t care for her, but I think he should do it properly. She plays too many games, just tell him he needs to keep her away from me and get a lawyer, get some rights” that is the best way forward with that bitch.

Nobody is awake so I will harass the chef, she seems nice “would you like something to eat?” she asked straight away, that was sweet of her “no thank you, I had cereal. What is your name?” I never asked “Debbie, and you are Chris. Nice to meet you” she seems super busy “likewise, are you always around?” she laughed, I mean was it funny “I am with Rihanna all day every day, I go wherever she goes. I am preparing breakfast for the family” letting out an oh “that is dope, you need help?” I asked “awww no, this is my job. You can take seat if you like?” nodding my head, making my way over to the bar stool “what is it like to be hanging with famous people? Do you think wow?” she is a good person to ask “sometimes, but you get used to it. Hollywood can be a hard place, it can suck you in but if you remain humble and have a good circle, that will never happen. Rihanna is the best; she is a friend to me. She never treats me like a worker but it’s my job to cook for her, but she lets me be comfortable here” nodding my head “morning!” looking over at Noella “hey” I smiled “morning girl, you all ready?” Debbie said “yes, and ready for our walk. I am going to have something small to eat and we can go” she seems in a good mood.

The sun is really blazing down on me, looking up squinting my eyes “let’s go, I really want a Slurpee, I am craving one. I don’t care if it’s early but there is a seven eleven, I would say close but it’s a walk. You are paying though” I chuckled “wow, I didn’t expect me to be paying but thank you. For coming with me, it’s crazy how much greenery is around this home, lot of privacy” placing my hands behind my back as we walked the long drive, there is a long ass drive down to get to Robyn’ place “yes she wanted that, I think the first thing she thought of was privacy. Funny though because Robyn is fine with living hotel to hotel so when she said she is buying this home, mind you it cost twelve million we was shocked, then she called us over to meet you and see the home” I sniggered “man” I laughed to myself “I think it’s my fault, so I kept teasing Robyn. Well not teasing but I kept saying you have no home, where do you want me to stay? Why do you want me to come so that may have been the reason why, my bad” I am an ass at times “don’t be, I think she needed a base. She needs a home; she works so hard. At times I am telling to calm down, but she doesn’t. If you can help her with calming down, then good. I always knew she was destined to be something” nodding my head in agreement “I did too, she loved singing. I would always be her backing singer, I mean that is between me and Robyn, but it was all jokes, but we would be just chilling and singing. Mariah Carey of course” I am such a nerd “when Robyn would call she would say she met a boy, but are you ok with going public?” I blew out air “if I wasn’t serious with Robyn I wouldn’t do it, I know shit will be wild, so you know I am real as fuck. I don’t want any of you to think I am with her for money, it was never that, I know Robyn. Robyn is the woman I can openly say I love but, I need to get used to Rihanna, niggas lusting over her” putting my head down “and they do that, a lot” Noella spat, she isn’t holding back, she knows how these niggas are.

Walking out of seven eleven, I did pay for her Slurpee, I ain’t like that “thank you” she spat as I left the store, looking up with my slurpee in hand. Noella held her slurpee up to her phone poking her lips out “she made a nigga pay” I said in the camera walking by her, she giggled. Turning to her “Robyn won’t be happy you are posting that?” Noella shrugged “I am cropping you out of it” she winked “they won’t know but thank you. For paying anyways, long walk huh? You think we can make it walking back?” I sighed out “uhhh I don’t think so” that was a long walk here “so you going to book a uber?” I chuckled “me!? Again, I swear you costing me” grabbing my phone from my pocket as I turned around walking off slowly, Robyn has text me back. I sent her a morning text because I wouldn’t be there, tapping on her message as I walked off slowly.

Robyn: I love YOU so so so much! You made my morning with that

I grinned tapping on my Uber app “woah!” Noella said behind me, looking behind me “your tee dropped out of your back pocket” letting out on oh “thank you ma’am” taking my tee from her, placing my shoulder, I am tired after the walk and hot too. Drinking from the Slurpee walking slowly “excuse me” looking up from my phone, oh Cali girls are built different “do you know how to get to the boulevard?” she is asking me, her friends are giggling so this is a ploy. Moving the Slurpee back “no ma’am, I am not from around here” she looked me up and down “oh, I can see. You sound very country?” I laughed “Virginia” I answered “I know you birds know where you going? The hell you speaking to him for?” Noella came up from behind me, stepping to the side “oh you got a pregnant girl, oh yeah I am going” Noella side eyed them “move then” she kissed her teeth “them birds know where, they are trying it, anyways. Book this Uber, I am tired” nodding my head, Noella told then. She ran off, but Cali girls are built nice I would say so myself.

I fell onto the couch “you tired!? You asked for a morning walk and now you tired” I groaned out as I laid out, I am tired “I didn’t expect it to be that long, for a pregnant lady you are healthy” she really “well now I have a new baby daddy” I laughed at what happened outside the store, hilarious they though that “no hug, or hi!?” looking at Robyn “I am tired” I grumbled, Robyn pushed my legs down “get up, come” she waved me over “why?” I pulled a face holding my hands up, Robyn leaned down connecting her hands in mine “because I want to show you something, come” she pecked my lips “for me” I sighed out “fine, can you massage my feet” Robyn cackled “you wish, with your sweaty ass feet, come. I am waiting in the dining room” I guess I better get up “if she comes back here she going to grab your ear and drag you up” Noella has got a point, getting up from the couch. Pulling my top down as it rode up “let me see what she wants to show you, we do things as a family now” rubbing my eye as I dragged my feet walking towards the dining room “even sexy time?” I questioned “nigga please” I chuckled, my eyes is so itchy right now “annoying” I mumbled to myself, walking into the dining room “what’s up babe?” I stopped seeing everyone here “uh, did I do something?” this is awkward “son son is waiting for you, go and sit there. It’s waiting” Robyn pointed out “uh, why is everyone here?” I feel nervous now “and recording?” I pointed at Mel “nigga will you hurry up, please” Robyn stomped over to me “you are so hard headed” she grabbed my arm and pulled me along “did I do something?” I am concerned that I did.

I feel nervous now “has Robyn told y’all about this bear?” this is so cringey, she is out here telling everyone this “you gave my baby a bear of your hoodie” ok she has really told her mother this, looking up at Robyn “what is this?” I pointed “son, son has come bringing you a gift in the envelope he is holding” my cheeks are flushed, looking up at Tina as she took a picture of me “you look so scared” she is right I am “are these deeds?” grabbing the black envelope, I sighed out not knowing what to really expect “remember when I spoke to you last night, that this is part of your birthday? Well here you are, just look” Robyn placed her hand on my back, nodding my head as I ripped open the envelope “I am scared, y’all scaring me not going to lie” looking into the envelope “is these tickets? Is it for the tour” pulling them out both out, she is giving me tickets to her tour now. Squinting my eyes reading it “LA Lakers and New York Knicks” scanning the ticket “courtside!?” I shouted looking up at Robyn “happy early birthday?” she said, I gasped “no way” I shot up, she has got me courtside to the Lakers game “you being real?” I said, she nodded her head. Looking down at the ticket’s “man” placing the tickets on the table turning around “oh man” placing my hands over my face, I am in shock. Placing my hand over my chest as I turned to her “I know you love Lakers” I am in shock “you got a nigga speechless, Lakers? Courtside!?” my mind is blown “I love you so much!” I spat, walking to her as I hugged her “thank you!” I spat, I feel emotional “I am having to hold back tears, nobody has done this for me” kissing her shoulder, moving back from the hug “you and sis about to be public at the Lakers game!” Rorrey spat, I am shook. He dapped me, looking at the tickets on the table “fuck! I am really going to see the Lakers play!?” I spat; I am in shock. I wasn’t expecting that at all, she got me good “man, you got me good. I don’t deserve this, we going tonight?” I can’t believe it; I am shook.

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