#guys i know so much nerd stuff but none of the stuff they’re asking YOU DONT UNDERSTAND

[renegadeontherunn]

guys the problem with um, actually is that all the medias/questions are all about OLD PEOPLE MEDIAS

[spenglersweetheart]

Could I have…could i perhaps have Peter Venkman genuinely falling in love. Like reader becomes a ghost buster and doesn’t meet Venkman until their first bust. They’re strong and sharp minded, and when Peter flirts they always have a witty comeback.

Ray and Egon notice this and take this opportunity to test the mood slime.

Long story short reader and Venkman are locked in a room together “for science” in reality Egon and Ray just want the awkward flirting over with.

oooh a peter venkman one !! i've never written for him so my portrayal may be a bit wonky but i hope you enjoy it!

─────────────── ✦ ───────────────

For Science

Peter Venkman x Reader

WARNINGS : none!

─────────────── ✦ ───────────────

YOU HADN'T MET PETER UNTIL YOUR FIRST BUST with the boys. For some reason, Peter immediately took interest in you (but this is normal for someone like Peter). But you didn't mind his flirtatious antics like any other woman did. Actually, you were quick-witted, and sometimes even threw in a flirtatious remark back. This quickly began to be a normal thing between the two of you.

Winston was the first to get tired of it. You were a great worker and Peter was ... kind of a slacker. But when he did work, he worked pretty hard. His work dwindled whenever there was a pretty person around. Down the line, Egon became tired of it, and later, so did Ray.

But Ray suddenly got an idea. He told Egon and Winston about it, and they were on board. The only people who didn't know about it were you and Peter.

You were about to leave to grab something from the next laboratory when you noticed that the door was locked. For some reason, you jiggle the doorknob, thinking that it was just stuck.

"Uh, I think it's locked, sweetheart," Peter said.

You turned around to look at him. "Well, I know that now, hot stuff."

Egon, Ray, and Winston were all outside. The slime being with them. It was close enough to the door so that it could register their interactions. Egon pretty much scrunched his nose up when the flirting already started.

You called inside of the room. "Okay, guys, haha, very funny. Let us out!"

"I don't think they're gonna let us out. They're too busy with their mood slime," Peter said with a chuckle, "They're busy being science nerds."

"Hey! I like those science nerds," you chuckled.

"I'm a science nerd, do you like me?" He asked.

You playfully nudge his arm, a smirk crawling onto your lips. "Especially you."

The other three outside looked at the slime that was currently in the jar. It was bubbling. Egon has looked at Ray. "It's reacting negatively."

Winston scoffed, an amused smile on his lips. "Not surprised," he said.

The two trapped in the other room didn't even know they were conducting an experiment with the mood slime with them. To Peter, that wouldn't be much of a shock. You on the other hand, knowing that you were a little bit newer, you would be.

Peter leaned forward. "Well, if you like me so much," he starts, he's looking you up and down, "How about we. . ."

"Lemme guess, a date?" You respond, "Friday, eight o'clock sharp."

A smirk crawls onto his face. "You read my mind. Are you a psychic?"

"Mm, no," you answered, "Well, maybe. I can read your mind, hot stuff."

"You know I love someone who can read my mind," Peter said back.

The slime had almost boiled over. Ray finally unlocks the door, walking into the room as he pretty much ruins the moment. Egon and Winston are walking behind him. He waves his hands in the air.

"Alright, that's enough!" Ray called, "I can't take it anymore."

This made both you and Peter laugh. "What? Can't handle it?" You ask.

"It's gross, yes," Egon replies bluntly, "But, you managed to negatively charge the slime. Congratulations."

Peter looked at you. "Did you know about this?"

You shook your head. "Nope. I didn't know anything. Did you?"

"No," he answered, "But, we're actually on for the date night."

A chuckle escaped your lips, before reaching up to give a kiss on his cheek. "Of course, sweetheart.

[writermai05]

Arsonist's Lullabye

Chapter 5: Life’s distractions 

Summary: The gang gets together to watch Toph's power disc game!

Pairing: Zuko x fem! reader (Live Action or Animated) 

A/N: Not gonna lie, I only skimmed over this to review. We die like men. Anyways, I wonder what will happen next! (Not actually though, as I already have it planned out LOL) As always feel free to leave comments or constructive feedback, as it helps me grow. 

Word Count: 1,692

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender, I am merely a nerd who hyperfixates a lot. Lots of divergence from the canon story lol. 

Warnings !: None I think. 

The excitement in the atmosphere sent a buzz down your spine. 

The bus to the power disc arena was pretty short, 10 minutes at the most. Katara had insisted on doing your makeup for the festivities. Aang and Sokka had gotten custom varsity jackets with Toph’s jersey number, 1. You remembered the day at lunch, a mere matter of days ago, in which Sokka had tried guessing Toph’s number, without any success. 

“It’s 1! Man, you suck at guessing.” Toph exclaimed. 

“What!? That’s not reserved for like, the captain of the team, or whatever?”

“No, Sokka. Jersey numbers are so that the announcers can know who’s playing. They’re not based on who’s the best. I chose my own number.”

“So why did you pick one?” Aang asked. 

Toph shrugged, lifting her chin. “Because I’m the best, obviously.” 

You and Katara had packed bags full, just in case anything happened. You didn’t really need half of the things, (in what world would you need sunscreen in fall?), but you never were the type to come unprepared, even for fun school events like this one. You chose a spot under the shaded area of the bleachers, saving seats for the others who would join shortly. Sokka said that Suki and a couple of her friends would be joining them after the band and color guard performed, and Aang had mentioned something in passing about another one of his friends sitting with the group as well. 

You sat on the end, bag saving a little extra space, Aang and Katara on your left. Sokka sat in the row below, legs on the metal seats as well. You basked in the warmth while you could, as the cool autumn air was sure to take over eventually. The band was warming up on the other side of the arena, and if you looked closely enough, you could see Suki in the Kyoshi warrior garb. 

“When is your friend coming, Aang?” you had asked inquisitively. 

The look on Aang’s face was almost unreadable. He looked apprehensive, maybe a little bashful?

“He’s almost here…” Weird, vague, answer. But hey, who were you to judge?

“Alright…Well, I wanted to get some snacks. Anyone want to come?”

Katara shot up, placing her bag down. “I’ll go! We need to get the good stuff, because Sokka always insists on getting cotton candy, and I would much rather get some seaweed cookies.” 

“Cotton candy is good!” You grimaced at the thought. Wind and some overpriced sugar on a stick was not a great pairing. 

“I’m gonna have to agree with Katara on this one.” 

“Y/n, You always agree with Katara-”

“As she should!” Katara responded, taking your arm in hers, and dragging you down the stairs of the bleachers to the food stalls. 

The pair of you giggled as you waited for your food. There was something about Katara that had such a magnetic pull. Like as if she herself was a force of nature, and not in a water bending master kind of way. Katara’s kindness was like the gentle spray of salt water, refreshing, and uplifting to the one’s around her. With the dichotomy of this passionate, sassy, woman, combined with the kind and motherly girl, you had become quite fond of her in the short amount of time. 

Grabbing your seaweed cookies, you made your way back to your spot, but not before Katara halted in her tracks. 

“What is he doing here?” She had asked, but not before storming off, straight where you guys sat. It took you a second to see what she had seen. Squinting in the direction of your spots, you saw Aang, Sokka, and a familiar boy with jet black hair, in a black bomber jacket, red sweater, and black jeans. Zuko.

~

Zuko called it. This was indeed a bad idea. 

“What are you doing here?” Sokka had asked, standing up straight.

“Sokka it’s okay-”

“No Aang! It’s not okay. Why are you here?”

“Sokka, I invited him here!” 

“You what?” Sokka cried out. 

Zuko turned to face Aang. “You didn’t tell anyone I’d be coming?” He asked, exasperated. 

Zuko felt a hand grab his shoulder, turning his body away from the other boys. 

“Why are you talking to us?” asked Katara. 

“I Invited him!” 

“Why??” She seethed. 

In the distance, he watched as Y/n ran, seemingly carrying a bag of what he assumed were snacks. 

“Maybe I should just go-”

“Yes!” “No!” Aang and Katara exclaimed at the same time. 

Y/n finally made it back to the bleachers. Out of breath, and still holding the snacks. 

“Hey guys! Maybe we should work this out a little quieter, preferably before the band plays.” She huffed out. Zuko almost smiled at the sight of her, all red in the face. 

Katara puffed out a breath of annoyance, taking her seat beside Aang once again. Sokka followed suit, sitting down and turning his body to face them. Y/n handed the cookies off to Aang, sitting down. Like she had done before in class, Y/n moved her bag away from next to her, instead placing it on the ground in front of her, patting the now empty spot and signaling for him to take a seat next to her.  Zuko breathed in, in an attempt to calm himself down. 

“I know I was a dick in the past. And I know saying sorry won’t fix it all. But, I wanted to let you all know how sorry I am…start somewhere small.” He looked down, rubbing his rough hands together anxiously. 

The silence was palpable. 

“He already apologized to me. I invited him so that we could hopefully move past everything.” Aang said. 

Sokka sighed. “Look, if Aang is cool with you, then I guess it’s fine. That doesn’t mean I’m going to just, like you right away.”

“I understand.” 

Katara stayed silent, staring at Zuko with a cold gaze. She turned away, facing the field. 

“The band is about to perform.” She muttered. 

Immediately, all attention was off of Zuko and onto the field. The music of the band blasting through the air. The way that the color guard spun and threw their fans was hypnotizing. Zuko’s mind was elsewhere, drifting away. The far away look in his eyes coming back as he dissociated. Before he knew it the band was done, and the crowd was cheering, roaring in approval of their show.

Suddenly Zuko felt the warmth of someone’s touch in his left hand. He looked down as you squeezed his hand, a silent questioning of “Are you okay?” Your eyes were locked on the retreating members of the university band. He squeezed back twice. “I’m okay.” He had meant in reply. While he kept his gaze downcast, you looked out of the corner of your eye to check on him. The scars on his hand that you had felt before were like sunshine warming your palms with its embrace. You let go shortly after, not in any rush. 

As the band and color guard members came into the stands you spotted Suki, still in uniform, but all makeup wiped off. Behind her stood a shorter girl with long hair put up in a braided ponytail, and a girl who was not in uniform with jet black hair in space buns, and a normal black sweater and jeans

“Suki! That was amazing!” You called out to her. Sokka immediately jumped up from his seat, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend in a giddy, almost childlike way. He littered her face with many pecks, making Suki smile. She gently grabbed his face, kissing his cheek. 

“Thank you, Y/n. These are my friends, Ty Lee and Mai. Ty Lee and I are both in the colorguard but Mai plays clarinet in the marching band.” 

Zuko’s reverie came to an end at the familiar names. He looked up to face the two girls in which he once knew. 

“Zuko? Is that you?” Ty Lee asked, eyes widening in excitement. Mai simply raised her eyebrows. 

The gang turned to look at the three of them.

This was going to be a long game. 

~

It was kind of funny how you all know nothing about sports. Especially power disc, as nobody was aware of the fact that only two people at a time would be playing. As you all waited for Toph’s turn to play, the gang took turns asking questions and genuinely getting 

“So how do you guys know each other?” Suki asked curiously.

“We all grew up in Imperial City. Mai’s father and Zuko’s father worked together, and I went to school with Mai and Zuko’s sister.” Ty Lee responded. 

Zuko perked up when he heard the name of his little sister. 

“How is Azula?” He asked. 

Azula? As in Azula from your sociology lectures Azula? Maybe it was just a coincidence. 

“Yeah..She’s-”

“We haven’t spoken to her since senior year.” Mai interrupted. 

“Oh. Why?’ Zuko asked. He was confused, considering the three of them were attached at the hip when he was still living in the fire nation. 

“Well, you know, she can be a little abrasive-”

“She was being a bad friend. Constantly berating Ty Lee, and I had enough of her stuck-up bullshit.”

Okay, so perhaps it was indeed the Azula from your class. But why would Zuko not know details about his own sister? Why wouldn’t he know that they literally go to the same university?

“Next up on the field we have player number 1, Toph Beifong from the University of Ba Sing Se!” 

“Wait, everyone Shut up! It’s Toph’s turn to play now!” Katara exclaimed. Everyone quickly hushed up, waiting excitedly for Toph to come out. 

Although they were excited to watch Toph play, questions filled you and Zuko’s heads. Where is Azula? Is she okay now? If Zuko Mai, and Ty Lee grew up together then do they know what happened to him? Why did he move away? How did he get that damn scar?

As Toph absolutely dominated her opponent in the round of power disc, You and Zuko were left with more questions unanswered. 

[opossumloverr]

Hello hello! Sorry for being really specific here, but can I request the ROTTMNT turtles with a axolotl reader, and they have a long tail (I love tails, I’m sorry-), and they’re like smaller than Mikey, but can pack a punch? Sorry again if this is too specific, lol, you can just do the axolotl part if this is too much. Remember to drink water and take care of yourself! Thank you!

✪TURTLE BROS X AXOLOTL READER ✪

Summary:

The turtle bros with a Axolotl reader that may look small, but can absolutely kick ass

Warning(s):

None!

A/N:

Tysm for requesting this, I love axolotls, also TY FOR SO MUCH LOVE ON MY OTHER POST like what?? Anyways here we go (gender-neutral reader)

《RAPH》

He thinks you're really cool

He likes that you don't let your size get the best of you

And to be honest half of the time your here he's looking at your tail swinging back and forth

Sometimes you catch him staring...

"Yeah and so after that-" you paused to glance over at raph, who's apparently to busy looking at your tail to focus on the totally important conversation you guys were having, you gave him a quick little slap with your tail to his cheek that woke him up from his trance.

"HUH! Wha?" He looked around the room all confused, but you just continued talking.

He was surprised when you completely OBLITERATED those origami ninjas when you decided to come along on one of their missions

He thought you were gonna get hurt so he was trying to stay close to you, but when you handled them (like a boss) he was like 'damn okay I see you'

You guys definitely have each others backs

《LEO》

This man will tease you non-stop about your height

Like he will baby you, calling you a kid and stuff

He'll only stop when you knock some sense into him

And your tail...

You bet on your LIFE that he's grabbing it

Tries to be sneaky about it

You were sitting on a chair scrolling through social media, waiting for Leo to come back because he said and I quote 'I have to walk my fish' you didn't mind cause, well, it's Leo, but you suddenly feel someone trying to creep up on you, you waited for the right moment to, jump up out of your chair and kick them in the back, only to find Leo on the floor instead, "What the hell man? what are you doing?" You ask.

"Nothin'.."

Just let him give your tail a few strokes please he can't move on without knowing how it feels

《DONNIE》

Fascinated, to say the least

Like who wouldn't be, look at that lengthy tail.

He would measure it, take notes, ask questions, man's is IMMERSED

And to top all of that off, your strong? Holy moly

When you guys are fighting, he will be focusing on your moves, and how you add your tail into your attacks

He's so impressed that he gets hit by his own weapon.

"Nice momentum [Name]!" Donnie grunted.

"Thanks Don-tron, WAIT OH MY GOSH LOOK OUT" you say as you watched him get hit by his own bo staff.

Asks you to stay still sometimes so he can watch your tail move on its own

It may be a little annoying but he's having fun, in his own way.

(Nerd)

《MIKEY》

Mikey is also fascinated, he thinks you and your tail is cute

He's not the shortest anymore yayy

I'm just saying that he would doodle and draw on your tail

If you let him of course

OMG JUST IMAGINE...

"Are you done yet Mikey?" You questioned, wanting to get up and stretch.

"Just adding some finishing details and...done!" You got up to go look in a mirror and see your tail covered in flowers, smiley faces, and vines, and you noticed the little 'Mikey wuz here ;P' on your tail.

He likes that you can fight for yourself

I can imagine him watching you practice your punches and kicks.

I love Mikey so much guys

Thank you for requesting this! I feel like I messed up Donnies part a bit though, have a great day/night!

[staygoldwriting]

Cousin Buckley: Part 3

Summary: You’re Robin’s cousin, and you’ve stolen the hearts of Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson 🖤💜

Part 1 Part 2

Warnings: none, just fluff!

Word count: 1201

A/N: I am having so much fun writing these, you guys! Thank you so much for all of the love, support, comments, reblogs, notes, follows, everything! It means so much, and I can’t wait to continue on with this series 🤗 I’m currently navigating the taglist, so I apologize for any problems!

“Welcome to Family Video!”

Robin opened the doors dramatically as you three stepped in. The previous workers wordlessly exited, thankful their shifts were over. 

“Don’t get your hopes up, Buckley,” said one worker, a tall thin boy with a zombie-like look, “we had like, two customers all day.”

“I know, Martin, I know,” she said energetically. “But I always make it work, don’t I?”

“You do,” Martin replied flatly. “That’s why I never do my shifts with you. I need to spend my misery in peace.”

“Alright, Martin, that’s enough for today,” Steve smiled, ushering him out then turning to you. “Want a tour?”

You nodded excitedly as he placed his arm gently around your shoulder.

“So, we’ve got the main desk here, as you can see,” he gestured with his other arm. “To the left are kids movies, romances, comedies, then adventure and fantasy stuff. To the right is the more intense stuff, like horror and thrillers and big action movies, like the Terminator.” 

“Smart divisions,” you said. “Was that your idea?”

“He wishes,” Robin snorted from the counter, then looked at Steve, panicking a bit. “He did organize the snacks though!” She quickly pointed at the display of snacks below the counter and you smiled. 

“You guys need Nerds,” you remarked. 

“I’ll make a note of it,” Steve smiled. “Okay, I’ll leave you to browse. Robin and I thought it would be fun to have a movie marathon night, so you’ve got your pick! Choose like three or four, but my only request is that one of them is Real Genius. I’ve been wanting to watch it for a while, but I haven’t had the time.”

“Same here!” you replied, smiling brightly. “I’ll grab that one for sure, and I also want to look for The Last Starfighter. I hear it’s really good.”

“Grab Sixteen Candles! Or Nightmare on Elm Street!” Robin called out.

“That’s quite the range,” you chuckled. “I’ll grab both.”

“Everything except Elm Street should be to your left,” Steve said. “Call out if you need anything, okay?”

“Okay, thanks Steve,” you smiled. 

He moved his arm away and jumped over the counter, joining Robin. As you started your browsing, you looked back at the counter to see Steve glancing up at you. As you caught his eye, he blushed, looking down and smiling widely. Robin smirked a bit, then shook her head. 

After looking around for a while, you found all of the movies and brought them up to the counter. Martin was right; not many people had stopped in to pick up a video, but you guessed it made sense for a Tuesday afternoon. 

“Okay, I found everything we need for tonight,” you told Steve, handing him the movies. “How much is it?”

“Oh, you’re not paying,” Steve said with a chuckle.

“I have to, I’m a customer!” you gasped, then leaned closer, making Steve lean too. “I can’t steal.”

“I know,” Steve mimicked your tone. “What I mean is that I will rent them.”

“Oh,” you said. “Are you sure?” you looked at him hesitantly.

“Positive. You’re a guest and besides, I have an employee discount,” he winked, then took the movies to the register. 

“Ready to play?” Robin asked, holding the cards. You nodded and went over to join her.

“I thought I’d relieve you of Steve duty,” she smirked, shuffling the cards.

“I don’t mind,” you smiled, glancing over at Steve, who was helping a customer.

“Listen, I know you’re a lot nicer than I am, but I know for sure that Steve can get annoying. Eddie, too. So just let me know if you need a break.”

“I promise I’ll let you know, but I’ve honestly been enjoying them. They’re cute,” you smiled a bit brighter.

“Cute as in a puppy who’s lost and following you around or cute like you’d want to date one of them?”

“I don’t know,” you blushed. “I mean, neither of them are bad-looking, but I wasn’t really thinking about them that way. Why?”

Robin shrugged. “Just wondering. They’re good guys, you know, just in case you’re looking…”

“Oh, Robin, I just got here!” you laughed. “Besides, I barely know them.”

“But do you want to know them?”

“I think you want me to know them,” you chuckled. “Rob, do you know something I don’t?”

“Not if you look hard enough,” she smirked, then dealt the cards.

~~~

You all arrived back at Robin’s house, and as you were getting out, Eddie drove up in his van. He leapt out with a few grocery bags and pizza boxes in his hands. When he noticed you three, he smiled widely and held them up.

“Sustenance!” he shouted, making everyone laugh.

You helped Eddie place all the food out in the kitchen as Robin grabbed cups. Steve prepared the living room, grabbing some blankets and pillows and placing the movies on the entertainment center. He then came in to grab some food. You decided to skip using plates and just share the pizza boxes, but you put some chips into bowls and got some sodas. You all gathered into the living room and squished on to the couch. Eddie was on your left, Robin on your right, and Steve was next to her. 

“Okay,” Eddie said as he opened the box. “We’ve got pepperoni in this top one. I think cheese is below, and then there’s a veggie one underneath. Who wants what?”

“Veggie please,” Robin called, and you passed it to her.

“Cheese,” Steve said.

“I like pepperoni,” you smiled.

“Me too, we can share,” Eddie smiled back, placing the box between you two. 

“I’m going to put the first movie in,” Steve said, getting up. “Any votes?”

“Real Genius!” Robin yelled, and you and Eddie nodded in agreement.

“So,” Eddie turned to you. “How’s your first day back in Hawkins been?”

“It’s been great!” you smiled. “I can’t believe I’ve only been here since today though, it’s been a busy day. A good kind of busy, though.”

“Don’t feel pressure to stay up for all of these, Y/N,” Robin said. “I forgot you just got here.”

“Thanks, Rob! If I fall asleep, no one draw on me, please,” you chuckled.

~~~

You successfully made it through Real Genius, laughing non-stop with everyone else. You went for Sixteen Candles next. You eventually got cold, so you used one of the blankets Steve brought out. You looked hesitantly at Eddie.

“Hey, um, do you mind if I lean on you please?” you asked, blushing. You were so tired, you could barely keep yourself propped up.

“Oh, no, I don’t mind, go ahead!” Eddie fumbled with his words a bit as he smiled, holding his arm out for you. You carefully scooted to his side, and once settled, he placed his arm on your back. The warmth felt comforting.

“If you get cold, feel free to steal some blanket,” you said, extending it to him. He accepted and laid it across his lap.

“Thanks, Y/N.” His smile made his eyes gleam. 

Resting on Eddie made you feel so relaxed. Feeling his slow breathing slowed yours down too, and you felt yourself drift softly to sleep in his arms.

To be continued…

Taglist: @joequinn94 @simonsbluee @lagataprrr @holeformunson @efvyqrs @fieldofsecretss @phantomxoxo @fanficfanatic204 @steves-robin @toomanybandstocare @aeumi @jmj-1312 @theravenclawlover @onlyangel-444 @lou-la-lou @spideyycents @homiesexual-or-homosexual @justacaliforniandreamer @hawkins-hs @dumplinshee @ashdoctor @spaceygirly1 @hollandcomics @igotbasicdrag @underthebatcape​ @kaitcreatesart​ @evqans​ @whyislife954 

[schrijverr]

A Terrible Summer?

Robin’s perspective on Steve during their time working together at Scoops Ahoy as she figures out that Steve isn’t really like the King Steve she saw in high school.

On AO3.

Ships: none

Warnings: referenced period typical homophobia

King Steve Dethroned: Jonathan's POV, Robin's POV & Eddie's POV

~~~~~~~~~~

Robin can’t believe her bad luck when she walks into Scoops Ahoy on only to come face to face with the one and only Steve Harrington. The great King Steve dressed in the same stupid sailor uniform as she is wearing, greeting her and awkwardly introducing himself as if she doesn’t know who the fuck he is.

This is going to be a terrible summer, she decides.

Curtly she replies: “Robin. Robin Buckley,” not wanting to interact with King Steve more than she has to.

“Cool,” he says. “I, uhm- I’m new, but they told me you’d show me the ropes and all the rules and stuff. Company policy.”

Great, she thinks, remembering all the stupid guys in band, who wanted her to ‘show me something,’ which always ended awkwardly. Fuck, if Steve Harrington tries to flirt with me just because I’m here and a girl, he’s getting punched.

Luckily, Steve seems to pick up on her vibe, because she just walks him through the rules Scoops Ahoy has for its employees. Then he keeps his distance from her as they scoop ice cream in silence for the rest of the day.

And for the few days of working together that is enough. They clock in, sling ice cream and don’t say much except to customers, then clock out.

As the senior worker of the two (albeit by a week or so), Robin delights in giving Steve the tasks she hates. She makes him carry the heavy ice cream, clean the counters and scoopers, as she takes her breaks at inopportune moments.

Steve never complains, something she hadn’t expected, but ignores. He’s thick, she tells herself, he probably hasn’t even noticed. Besides, why should I care? Let him be the lowest on the ladder for once.

Then she meets his kids.

It’s hard to describe what happened as anything else. They are working alongside each other in silence when a group of kids enter. Robin hates having to serve young teens, who think they’re so cool for being allowed in the mall by themselves. So, she is more than happy to dump the kids on Steve.

However, before she can call to Steve that she’s taking a break and he should attend to the customers, he’s at the register, leaning over and smiling. Robin’s eyebrows creep up, she’s only seen him lean for hot girls, but his smile is different. It’s softer somehow. Curiously, Robin stays.

Leading the group is a girl with bright red hair, she’s holding hands with a black boy, but dressed in a way that screams she’s too cool for him. Not to mention the two other brown haired boys with her, who are both dressed like nerds. Robin should know, she is one herself.

“You look stupid,” the girl greets Steve and Robin is ready to jump in, despite hating it, when Steve will inevitably snap back.

Only to be surprised as Steve snorts at the comment, rolling his eyes as he says: “Yeah, yeah, I know. Laugh it up.”

Apparently taking the permission seriously, the four kids start to laugh at Steve, who just takes it like he has taken Robin’s bullshit so far. Like he doesn’t mind that four middle schoolers are currently laughing at him. Like he isn’t King Steve.

Once Steve has deemed it long enough, he makes a hand movement that gets the kids to quit, though they all still have matching grins on their faces. Steve puts a hand on his hip, waving his scooper in the other and asks: “Alright, little shits, what do you want?”

And Robin suddenly realizes that Steve must know these kids. There is no other explanation for how comfortably he is with them laughing at him or how fond he sounds when he calls them ‘little shits,’ which has been the only in character thing he has done these days next to the flirting. And even that falls flat. He is horrible at flirting and the only bullying remark he has made is that too fond ‘little shits.’

So, she watches in surprise as Steve indulges the kids in way too many free samples (even if it is company policy both Steve and Robin try to cut off customers, hoping they’ll listen) and talking to the kids.

He seems to have very little clue what they are talking about, but nods along as he scoops them ice cream. The scoops are bigger than normal and Steve puts his own cash in the register instead of ringing them up.

The kids thank him with big smiles that Robin unintentionally mirrors alongside Steve, before skipping out of the store with a goodbye.

Steve keeps the smile for the rest of the day and Robin is just mystified by this person. Because this person looks like Steve Harrington, the King of Hawkins High, but he’s also dressed in the dorky sailor outfit with a stupid hat. He has been sucking at flirting and now he’s happier and smiling softly all because a group of kids came in, insulted him, laughed at him, then made him pay for their ice cream.

It just doesn’t make sense at all.

Robin hates that it doesn’t make sense, because her brain can whir fast enough for it to make sense, but that makes even less sense. Because if it made sense, then Steve would have to be an alright guy and that was stupid. Robin has seen him strutting around Hawkins High for too many years to believe that, all the girls trailing after him without him taking notice.

So, it doesn’t make sense. Steve doesn’t make sense. And Robin decides she hates him for it, right until they’re closing up and find the same group of kids still hanging around.

Immediately Steve frowns, looking concerned as he asks: “What are you all still doing here? Are you guys alright?”

“We’re fine, mom,” the girl from before rolls her eyes. “We just missed the last bus.”

“For the last time, I’m not your mom,” Steve complains, like it’s a common argument he’s had with the middle schoolers. “But I can drop you guys off no problems. Do your parents know that you’re okay and getting home late?” Kind of making his earlier argument that he isn’t their mom invalid in Robin’s opinion.

“We are having a sleep over at Will’s,” one of the brown haired boys informs Steve.

“And did you guys call, Ms. Byers?” Steve asks them, looking a bit stern, almost scolding.

The other boy speaks up, his voice is a little more timid, as he looks up from under the bangs of his bowl cut. “We did,” he says. “But she’s at work, so we mentioned that we got ice cream at your new job and she figured you would take us. Is that okay?”

Steve’s face has soften even more as the kid talked, while Robin wonders why the hell Joyce Byers, mother of Jonathan, whose camera Steve had broken and who has stolen Steve’s girlfriend in turn, would assume King Steve would bring her kid and his friends home.

Yet, as he has done all day, Steve surprises her by ruffling the kid’s hair in a brotherly manner, as he says: “Of course that’s okay. As long as she knows where you are, you know how important that is to her.”

“I know,” the boy confirms, and Robin suddenly recognizes him as the boy who went missing, Will Byers. Which honestly makes the trust his mom has in Steve even stranger.

Apparently satisfied that the kids were okay and their parents informed, Steve claps his hands gesturing for the kids to start walking. “Lets get out of here.”

He says it in such a tone that all instinctively listen to him, including Robin, something she hates and she wonders why she is even here. Why she stopped to listen. She tries to convince herself it was to step in should Steve turn into a massive dick, but part of her is willing to acknowledge that she is just curious about this strange Steve.

As they walk, the kids regale their adventures in the mall with dramatic voices, like it’s the most interesting thing ever. Robin has checked out of the conversation quickly, but Steve seems fully invested in the kids’ tales.

Once outside, Robin shivers, cursing herself for not putting on a jacket when she got on her bike that morning. She’s already halfway to her bike (she hasn’t bothered greeting Steve or waving goodbye since the first day), when she hears his voice call out: “Robin.”

She turns around, eyebrow raised and confused look, as she asks: “What?” Steve hasn’t bothered talking to her either, so why start now?

“Don’t you have a jacket?” he asks, giving her the same concerned look he had given the kids earlier and Robin wonders when this became a thing Steve does.

“Uhm, no,” she answers when the silence drags on. “Forgot it this morning.”

“It’s freezing! You can’t bike home without a jacket,” Steve says, like it personally offends him that she plans to get home. “You’ll catch a cold.”

“I’ll be fine,” she rolls her eyes.

“No,” Steve tells her and she feels her eyebrows raise. Steve seems to realize what he has just said, because he quickly amends: “I mean, uhm, you’re probably fine, but where would I be without my scooping buddy? I can drive you home.”

He says that like Robin hasn’t been a total dick to him. ‘Scooping buddy,’ what a dork. But then again, he is offering to drive her home. Her. She doesn’t know what to do with that. On one hand, a ride sounds nice, but on the other hand it’s Steve.

In the end she settles on the neutral: “You already have four children with you. And what are you gonna do about my bike?”

Steve looks at the children as if he’s calculating how much of a problem they are, before saying: “It will be fine. They can squeeze back there. Besides, I have had a bike rack in my trunk ever since Henderson kept calling me to pick him up when it rained.”

This whole night has already been fucking confusing, but Robin is nothing if not too curious for her own good. And she desperately wants to know how Steve is in the car with the group of kids, so she nods: “Sure. But I don’t live close to the Byers.”

“That’s fine,” Steve tells her. “I’ve become quite the chauffeur.” Then he turns to the kids. “Go, you dickheads, whoever gets there first is shotgun from Robin’s house.”

Immediately the kids take off, while Robin goes to grab her bike. She has goosebumps and is close to shivering. Screw interesting, she thinks, Steve is right about catching a cold, I don’t want to be biking right now.

When she gets to the car, Steve is installing a bike rack smiling at her and taking her bike as he tells her to go warm up in the car.

Awkwardly she sits shotgun, glad Steve ensured she wouldn't be stuck between the kids, who have indeed squeezed in the backseat, the red head in the lap of the boy, whose hand she was holding earlier. And the four of them are arguing about who got there first, the black boy claiming that using your skateboard was cheating, while the girl insisted that it counted.

Robin is relieved when Steve gets in the car and says: “Max is the winner, Lucas. Rules never stated means.”

“You just like Max best,” the sharper brown haired boy says, awkwardly crossing his arms in the cramped space.

“No, I like her music taste best,” Steve shrugs. “Now stop complaining and buckle up, I’m not driving until you twerps are at least making an attempt to be safe. Ms. Byers will have my head.”

The kids all roll their eyes, but comply, but Steve isn’t starting the car and it takes Robin a second to realize that is because he’s look at her expectantly. Hastily and a bit amused, she buckles her belt as Steve pulls out the parking lot.

He turns on the radio and tells her to pick a station and give him her address. The same boy from before complains: “But that’s nowhere near Will’s house.”

“Mike, please shut up or you’re walking from her place,” Steve tells him, the threat sounds empty, but the boy, Mike, shuts up anyway. Like a tired parent Steve goes: “Thank you,” when he does and Robin has to fight the urge to laugh.

The drive is comfortable, as far as Robin is able to feel comfortable in King Steve’s expensive car, that is. In the backseat the kids start arguing about what Robin thinks is DnD, which Steve shuts down with: “Oi, don’t get worked up about that nerd shit in my car,” which should sound rude, but it just makes all the kids turn against Steve, who tunes them out effortlessly.

It all feels domestic and Robin wonders how often Steve must give these kids rides for all of them to be this comfortable. The softer side making him way more likable than Robin ever though Steve Harrington would be.

The thought that this is a move he pulls to get into panties suddenly crosses her mind as she remember whose car she’s in. So, she ducks into herself, crossing her arms and willing herself to be home soon.

Steve easily navigates to her house, gets her bike down from the rack on the back and softly bids her a goodnight, not hanging around to get something out of her, like she had feared in the car. He doesn’t even seem occupied with her, already turned back to the car as he yells at Max to be careful with his tape as she replaces it with her own. Robin wonders if the girl had it with her or if it was in Steve’s car for this reason.

Before she can think about it, she hurries into her home, as if the distance will make all the thoughts and experiences disappear.

She promised herself after Mrs. Click’s class that she wouldn't obsess over Steve fucking Harrington again. She promised.

But she can’t help it.

The next day she studies Steve closely, like a frog in biology class. He holds himself confidently, but not with arrogance like he’d done before. He flirts with ladies, but he’s really bad at it, tragically so, like he hopes it’ll fail, but it will ruin his reputation if he doesn’t. And he’s not an asshole at all, like King Steve never existed.

He helps all customers with perfectly customer service, looking only mildly annoyed when people yell at him for things beyond his control. He’s especially attentive to kids, Robin now notices. He smiles at them and is more patient than Robin could ever be. If she were to guess, kids are his favorite customers. Robin gladly lets him take them.

She also realizes that while she has been nothing but rude to him, he has been nothing but nice back to her, taking her anger at him in stride.

It’s all confusing. She remembers him pushing over Tommy H., who is his friend (though she hasn’t seen the two together since Steve came to school with that giant bruise in Junior year), because he joked that Steve was a scard-y cat for not handing in unfinished homework. If he is willing to do that to a friend for something so minor, why hasn’t he snapped at Robin, very much not a friend, for doing much worse?

However, thinking back on her obsession with him (which was kinda creepy in hindsight, but her Steve knowledge comes in handy this time), she remembers him being a douche. But it was mostly ignoring people and standing behind them as they called names, laughing along.

Yeah, Steve used to be a dick, like many kids, but not a horrible person and he definitely isn’t anymore. But Robin is.

So, she watches Steve again. He’s serving, who she has dubbed, his kids again as they complain about not being able to see the movie they want. They’ve been coming by every day since Steve has given them a ride two days ago and he’s in a better mood whenever they’ve dropped by. He’s probably relieved about the bouts of peace from me, Robin thinks guiltily.

She’s nicer to Steve for the rest of the day and tries not to think of his surprised look when she offered to help clean up, before the suspected rush.

But she waits with speaking up until they’re closing together, then she says: “Hey, Steve, I- uhm, I wanted to say sorry for, you know, being a bit of a dick to you.”

He looks even more surprised at that, but recovers quickly to reply: “Oh, no, it’s okay, I get it. I was a dick in high school. Sorry, by the way, if I ever did anything to you. It’s fine to be angry with me, really.”

Okay, so Steve knows he used to be a dick. Steve apologized. Steve is trying to be a better person. It has truly been a few days of revelations.

“That was unexpected,” her mouth says, before her brain can agree on the course of action, setting off in a ramble to course correct. “Not that that’s a bad thing or anything. Personal growth is good and I appreciate you apologizing. Even if you don’t have to apologize, you never did anything to me specifically, you just had shitty friends, because when I think about it, you haven’t hung with them in forever and I should have realized you weren’t ‘King Steve’ and all that when you took me being a dick in stride, because lets be honest, I was a huge dick.”

When she’s done she has to catch her breath, finally looking at Steve, expecting to him thinking she’s the most annoying person ever.

Instead, he’s smiling softly. In an equally soft tone, he says: “Thank you, I’m glad you don’t think I’m that guy anymore. And you really don’t have to apologize again.”

“Still sorry,” Robin says, quickly adding, “and sorry for the word vomit.”

“It’s okay,” Steve smiles. “That’s the most relaxed I’ve seen you all week. Kind of reminds me of Henderson. He’s off at summer camp, some smart nerd stuff that I can’t understand. He has this massive ego, but he honestly earned it. Not important right now. What I’m trying to say is that it’s fine. You can ramble away. I like it better than the silence.”

For a second Robin suspiciously thinks he’s flirting with her, however, he compared her with Henderson, whoever that is, and it didn’t sound like a flirt. She has heard his flirting voice. It’s also the first time anyone has been nice about her rambling, so she just smiles.

With the understanding, the air around them feels less tense and they say goodbye like normal people for a change.

The next day, Robin comes in, deciding that if she’s giving Steve a chance and Steve is giving her a chance after her dick period, then he’s getting all of her.

So, she starts rambling about her horrid morning and how she nearly ran late as they set up. Then she moves on to talking about a book she has read. Throughout it all Steve nods along, smiling. He doesn’t look like he’s following it all, but he seems happy enough to listen.

When he fails at flirting again, she snorts and comments: “I thought you were supposed to be smooth, Harrington.”

He sighs and shrugs, grimacing: “I know. I swear, even since my dad figured out I was too stupid to get into college, it’s like my whole life has turned against me. Can’t even get laid in this stupid sailor outfit.”

“You couldn't get into college?” Robin asks, before she can stop herself, wanting to smack herself immediately. Way to go, Buckley, saying something stupid right after you apologized.

But Steve doesn’t get mad, he just laughs a sad laugh that makes it all much worse, before he shrugs: “I know. Not really date material, so shitty flirting it is. Honestly, at this point I’m beyond saving, I think.”

At the end of his sentence, his voice picks up into something more dramatic, making Robin laugh as she choked out: “God, you’re such a dingus.”

“…Dingus?” Steve repeats, barely keeping a confused yet amused smile, looking more cheered up than before.

“Yeah, Steve. Dingus, you are one,” Robin replies, but she can’t help but notice how funny Steve thought the playful insult was. Thus, she christens him dingus in her head.

After that time seems to fly. Slinging ice cream with Steve is fun and she gets to know Steve’s kids a bit better, though Steve always takes their orders or sneaks them into the movies. He acts annoyed about it, but Robin knows better.

All in all, working at Scoops Ahoy could have been much worse, Robin has decided by the time a kid walks in saying, “Hi,” as if he means anything to Robin.

“Hi?” she greets back.

“I’m Dustin,” the kid introduces himself expectantly, like Robin is going to magically know him now.

Unamused, she replies: “I’m Robin.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” the kid says, before asking: “Is he here?” in a tone that indicates he thinks she knows who he’s talking about.

“Is who here?” Robin asks, getting an inkling she knows who this child is here for.

Her suspicions are confirmed when Steve flies out of the break room, practically cheering: “Henderson! Henderson! He’s back!”

“I’m back,” Dustin, or Henderson (the name indeed familiar), confirms, before forcing Robin to watch the dorkiest greeting she has ever seen and she never expected on Steve, even while knowing about his dork side already. Even with the other kids, whom he babysits and mothers, he tries to keep an air of coolness about him, but not for Dustin apparently.

After that, her life goes down the drain so very fast. Well, not necessary down the drain, it just mostly devolves into chaos.

She cracks a Russian secret code, because she’s bored, goes to spy on said Russians, who have apparently infiltrated Hawkins, before bribing a ten-year-old with ice cream and getting stuck in an elevator to hell. This is her life now apparently.

However, the whole experience is teaching her so much more about Steve. About why he is the way he is. About why he decided to be better. To do better.

Because monster are real. There is an alternate hell dimension and Steve has been caught up in it for a long time already. And Steve is also a dingus, who doesn’t think before he acts and apparently his first instinct is to throw himself into danger, to save the others. Especially the kids.

But not just the kids, Robin finds as they’re captured together and despite her usual motormouth, Steve manages to be more annoying. Annoying enough to be dragged off first, coming back beaten so badly that Robin is convinced she’s tied to a corpse for a few moments.

And when they’re drugged and Steve is spilling things she knows he doesn’t want to, he keeps talking, because talking makes him the target.

After they get saved by Dustin and Erica, Robin has to admit it’s all a bit of blur until they’re sitting on the bathroom floor. The drugs are still in their system, making them a bit looser lipped, but she feels more in control.

She wonders if Steve feels in control of what he’s saying as he confesses to her. Then she immediately wonders if he has been nice to her only because he likes her. She knows that a few days ago, she might have, but she knows Steve better now.

It’s hard not to know stuff about someone after you’ve been tied to a chair and tortured together for a few hours and a part of her tells her that if Steve is willing to get beat up for her, maybe he’s willing to be her friend after fully knowing her. I mean, liking girls can’t be too crazy after invading Russians and other dimensions, right? But it’s just always a risk.

If she does fess up, she is going to break his heart and she hates that. He’s her best friend (and isn’t that just something, Robin the lesbian best friends with King Steve). But he isn’t like that, he’s sweet and caring and like so many times before Robin wishes she could be normal, wishes she could like Steve.

“Robin? Robin,” comes his concerned voice from the other stall as he knocks on the divider between them. When she stays quiet, he asks: “Robin did you just OD in there?” his own confession forgotten for worry, which only makes her heart ache more.

“No, I am… still alive,” she replies wanting to soothe that worry despite all that’s going on inside her head.

She sighs, before hearing movement and then Steve is sliding under the stalls over the dirty bathroom floor to check in on her. The action shouldn’t choke her up like it does, so she plays it off by saying: “This floor is disgusting.”

“Well, I’ve already got a bunch of blood and puke on my shirt, so…” he shrugs trailing off, before taking a breath and looking down. He seems uncertain, a bit shy and she can’t help but think the expression looks wrong on his face, but also like it’s been there too much, simmering right below the surface.

“What do you think?” he asks.

“About?” she replies, hoping that playing oblivious will make the whole thing disappear.

“This girl,” Steve tells her and Robin knows this is a conversation they’re going to have.

She just has to decide whether she tells Steve the truth or just tries to let him down gently, especially once her second deflection when Steve asks about the guy doesn’t work. Because she tells him he’s not thinking straight and he replies: “Really? ‘Cause I think he’s thinking a lot more clearly than usual.”

And in that moment Robin decides Steve needs the truth. She has seen enough to trust him, to give him a chance and she hears in his tone that if she rejects him, he’ll close up. She doesn’t want this Steve to close up. This Steve, who has been kind to her, protected her and the kids, who has thrown himself in danger without question and who is looking at her right now with such a vulnerable look on his face.

She selfishly wants this Steve to stay and be her friend, so she replies: “He's not. Look, he doesn't even know this girl. And if he did know her, like- like really know her, I don't think he'd even want to be her friend.”

“No, that's not true. No way is that true,” Steve immediately denies and her heart swells a bit at how fast Steve is assuring her. How offended he looks at the implication he might not like her.

Fuck, if only he knew.

And he’s going to know, because Robin braves on: “It's shocked me to my core, but I like you. I really like you. But I'm not like your other friends. And I'm not like Nancy Wheeler.”

Robin thinks she put enough emphasis on it to make it clear, but Steve has always been a bit slower on the uptake, so he just says: “Robin, that's exactly why I like you.”

“Do you remember what I said about Click's class? About me being jealous and, like, obsessed?” she asks, having to make it more clear. “Yeah, it isn’t because I had a crush on you. It’s because she wouldn't stop staring at you.”

There she said it, it’s out in the open. But Steve looks even more confused as he asks: “Mrs. Click?” and Robin isn’t sure if she wants to hit him or smile.

“Tammy Thompson,” she corrects softly, deciding to go for it, because if she keeps it in, it’s going to eat her up. “I wanted her to look at me, but she couldn't pull her eyes away from you and your stupid hair. And I didn't understand, because you would get bagel crumbs all over the floor. And you asked dumb questions. And you were a douchebag. And- And you didn't even like her and I would go home and just scream into my pillow.”

He looks hurt about the douchebag comment, but then just frowns as he says: “But Tammy Thompson is a girl.”

“Steve,” she says softly, hoping that it will click without her having to spell it out.

“Yeah,” he half smiles before his face falls and she has front row tickets to him figuring it out. His eyes widening as he goes: “Oh.”

“Oh,” she confirms.

“Holy shit,” he breathes more to himself as he falls quiet.

With beating heart Robin waits. At this point she isn’t sure what she’s waiting on, likely slurs and fists, but that’s usually immediate. She doesn’t know what to do with this silence. She has always been horrible at silences, Steve knows that, so why isn’t he saying something?

Unable to stand it any longer, she repeats his earlier question: “Did you OD over there?”

“No, I just- uh, just thinking,” he says and if it were any other day she would jokingly tell him not to hurt himself, but it isn’t any other day, so she just softly nods: “Okay.”

Then Steve starts speaking again and it takes Robin a moment to catch up to what he’s saying, because it’s nothing like she expected.

“I mean, yeah. Tammy Thompson, you know, she's cute and all, but, I mean, she's a total dud,” he shrugs, like telling her her lesbian crush is a dud is the normal response to someone telling you they’re gay in Bumfuck, Indiana.

“She’s not,” Robin defends anyway, because she likes Tammy Thompson and Steve’s reaction is miles better than she could have hoped for.

Even if he vehemently argues: “Yes, she is. She wants to be, like, a singer. She wants to move to, like, Nashville and shit.”

Robing pouts, “She has dreams!” but she can feel a smile starting.

“She can’t even hold a tune. She’s practically tone-deaf. Have you heard her? Like all the time,” he says, before doing the most horrid impression, telling Robin her crush sounds like a muppet giving birth.

But none of it matters, because Steve is here and they’re laughing. She has come out for the first time in her life and it was to King Steve of all people and he hasn’t called her slur and hasn’t tried to convince her she hasn’t found the right man yet, he just processed it for a second and then went right back to being her friend.

Later he assures her that he hasn’t been nice to her all this time because he likes her and Robin doesn't know how he knew of that fear. Then he assures her that he doesn’t like her. Well, he does, but not like that. Dustin just got to him, made him think he was striking out, because he actually liked Robin. Which he didn’t. Well, not like that.

And Robin will laugh at Steve rambling like he’s her, before calling him a dingus and telling him to help her look for a job for them, because she’s not going through all the work to find herself a new schmuck.

However, now they’re just laughing on that bathroom floor and life is good again for those few seconds before Dustin and Erica burst in and drag them into danger once more.

So, in a few days, she has cracked a Russian secret code, gotten trapped in a secret Russian base, gotten captured, been tortured and drugged, came out, crashed a car and fought a giant flesh monster with fireworks.

All she wants to do now is go home and collapse in her mother’s arms. However she’s been taken by men in suits alongside the others, who look as shell shocked as she is. Scared, she grabs onto Steve’s hand, the only familiar comfort in the situation.

Steve smiles at her reassuringly and squeezes her hand. He leans in and whispers: “It’s fine. This always happens. The government wants to make sure we don’t blab. We’re going to be taken to a room, they’re going to ask you a bunch of stuff and all you have to do is talk. You’re good at that, Robs, you’ll be fine.”

She smiles at him and asks: “And then I get to go home?”

“After they’ve given you the official story you have to stick to and you’ve signed the NDAs, yeah, you can go home,” he assures her.

“How many times have you done this already,” she asks softly.

“Two times,” he answers.

“Wow.”

“I know, full of mysteries that’s me,” he grins, the conspiratorially he whispers: “I’m just glad my thick brain remembers the cover stories.”

That makes her giggle, though she’s sure to say: “With the amount of hits you take, I’m amazed you can still be charming. I’m glad you’re okay, Stevie.”

“Me too, Robs,” he smiles and she swears there is a bit of moisture in there, as if he’s that touched by her words.

True to Steve’s words, the next few hours go exactly as he predicted and before she knows it, she’s leaning on Steve’s shoulder in the back of a government car as they drive to her house. His presence is reassuring and she feels settled for the first time in a long time.

Sure, she will have to learn and deal with what she knows, but Steve is there every second of the way. He drives to her house when she calls, holds her if she needs it, jokes and distracts her if that what she wants. He listens like no one has done before.

All in all, Steve Harrington is her best friend. When she was obsessed with him in Mrs. Click’s class she never would have guessed that she would befriend King Steve. Though, she knows now that King Steve never really existed and she has never been more relieved to know her dingus, Stevie.

So, Robin can’t believe her luck when she walks into Family Video, coming face to face with the one and only Steve Harrington. Her favorite dork dressed in the same stupid vest as her, greeting her happily and holding up a movie as he wiggles her brows and tells her it has boobies.

Yeah, Senior year is going to be great, she decides.

~~

A/N:

As a lesbian, it’s hard not to be suspicious of men being nice to you, idk

[therealvinelle]

I've always wondered this, but what do you think the Cullen's political viewpoints would be, given their individual backgrounds? if vampires don't change after they turn, then surely they would all be extremely racist (especially Jasper). would this not come up at some point? they aren't like the Volturi because the Volturi are too old to care, but the Cullens are young enough that they have been brought up with opinions on stuff like sexism, racism, homophobia and the like.

Oh fuck.

You get an early answer because otherwise I'll just chicken out and delete this one, pretend I never saw it.

UMMM.

Since I'm guessing you meant American political viewpoints, we need a disclaimer. I am not American, and not too knowledgeable about your politics. Not just in the sense that I don't follow the day-to-day drama, but as I am not an American citizen there are several things I don't know, can't know because I've never lived in your country and therefore can't know what the effects of living in a country ruled by American policies is like. What I do know is based off of the news in the foreign section, social media (by which I mean tumblr posts), and Trevor Noah's Daily Show.

I am an outsider looking in.

Which is really rather appropriate, since the Cullens are too.

The Cullens go to high school and college, Carlisle works, they pay taxes, they own real estate, and submerge themselves in American culture. Esme, Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, and Bella are young enough that this is in many ways their world, and apart from timeouts they've more or less spent their entire lives, human and vampire, integrated into American society.

Not fully integrated, mind you, they do what they need to to fit in and get to school or, in Carlisle’s case, to work. They go no further. No extra-curriculars for the kids, no book clubs for Esme, no game nights for Carlisle. They walk parallel to humans, not among us.

In addition to this they're obscenely rich, which puts them another thousand miles from the experiences of your average American. They won't deal with the health system, which means healthcare is a non-issue, they're not going to need welfare or other social programs, unemployment is another non-issue. Name your issue, and the Cullens don't have personal stake in it. Even the climate crisis won't be a problem for them the way it will for us.

What I'm trying to say is, American political issues are a concept to them, not a lived reality. Just like they are for me. So hey, you made a great choice of blog to ask.

I'll also add here that you say the Volturi are too old to care, and I agree- from an ancient's point of view, racism is a matter of "which ethnicity are we hating today?", and it all looks rather arbitrary after a while. Same with every other issue - after a while it all just blends together into "what are the humans fighting over today? Which Christian denomination is the correct one? Huh. Good for them, I guess."

I can't put it any better than this post did, really. The Volturi are real people, humans are nerds and tumblr having Loki discourse. Aro thinks it's delightful and knows entirely too much about Watergate (and let's be real, Loki discourse as well), but the point I wanted to get at is that politics really don't matter to vampires.

And I don't think they matter to the Cullens either.

So, moving on to the next point while regretting I didn't put headlines in this post, I'll just state that I don't think vampires' minds are frozen. Their brains are unable to develop further, and they can never forget anything, but... well, this isn't the post for that, but in order for this to be true of vampires they would barely be sentient. They would not be able to process new impressions, to learn new things, nor to have an independent thought process. Yes, we see vampires in-universe (namely, Edward, who romanticizes himself and vampires) believe they're frozen and can never change, but there is no indication that this is a widespread belief, or even true. Quite the contrary - Carlisle went from a preacher's son who wanted to burn all the demons to living in Demon Capital for decades and then becoming a doctor and making a whole family of demons. Clearly, the guy has had a change in attitude over the years. Jasper, in his years as a newborn army general, slowly grew disenchanted with his life and developed depression. James initially meant to kill Victoria and hunted her across the earth, then became fascinated and changed his mind about it.

Had these people been incapable of change, Carlisle would still be hating demons, Jasper would be in Maria's army, and James would still be hunting Victoria.

It goes to follow, then, that they are able to adapt to new things.

The question is, would they?

Here I finally answer your question.

So, we have these people who don't really have any kind of stake in politics, who keep up to date all the same (or are forcibly kept up to date because high school) and are generally opinionated people.

Where do they then fall, politically?

(And this is where you might want to stop reading, anon, because I'm about to eviscerate these people.)

Alice votes for whoever's gonna win. She also makes a fortune off of betting each election. Trump's 1 to 10 victory in 2016 was a great day to be Alice. MAGA!

The actual policies involved are completely irrelevant, she does this because it's fun. Election means she gets to throw parties. Color coded parties for the Republican and Democratic primaries, and US-themed parties for Election Night! (Foreigner moment right here: I at first wrote "Election wake" before realizing that's not what y'all murricans call it.)

Alice loves politics. Doesn't know the issues, but she sure loves politics.

Bella votes Democrat. She actually knows about the issues, and cares about them. This girl is a Democrat through and through.

Carlisle doesn't vote. I can't imagine it feels right. Outside of faked papers he's not a US citizen, this is meddling in human affairs that he knows don't concern him.

More, this guy has never lived in a democracy.

In life, Carlisle lived under an absolute monarchy that, upon civil war, became an absolute theocracy. From there he learned that vampires live under a total dictatorship.

For the first 150 years of his life, democracy was that funky thing the Athenians did in history books thousands of years ago, no more relevant to him than the Ancient Egyptian monarchy is to me. Then the Americans, and later other European countries started doing this.

Good for them.

There's this mistake often made by those who view history from a... for lack of a better term, a solipsistic standpoint. A belief that the present day is the culmination of all of history. “My society is the best society, the most reasonable society; all the others had it backwards. Thank god we’re living in this enlightened age!”

The faith in our current system of government is one such belief. We (pardon me if this doesn’t apply to everybody reading this post) have grown up in democracies, being told this is the ultimate form of rule, and perhaps that is true - but remember the kings who have told their subjects they had were divine and the best possible ruler based on that. Remember also that most modern democracies haven’t actually been democracies for very long at all, America is the longest standing at some 230 years (not long at all in the grand scope of things) and they have a fracturing two-party system to show for it.

Every society, ever, has been told they’re the greatest, and their system of government the most just. Democracy is only the latest hit.

This is relevant to Carlisle because he’s immortal and decidedly not modern. Democracy has not been installed in him the way it was the rest of the Cullens, Jasper included. To him- well, it’s just not his world. He has no stakes in our human politics, and as he is older than every current democracy and has seen quite a few of them fall, he’s not going to internalize the democratic form of rule the way a modern human has.

I think the concept of voting is foreign to him.

It requires a level of participation in human society that he’s simply not at. He does the bare minimum to appear human so he do the work he loves, but nothing more, and I find that telling.

As it is I think he'd be iffy about his family doing it. He won’t stop them, but in voting they’re... well it’s kind of cheating. They’re not really citizens, none of this will affect them, and by voting they’re drowning out the votes of real human voters. He does not approve.

Edward votes Democrat. He's... well he’s the kind of guy who will oil a girl’s bedroom window so he can more easily watch her sleep without being discovered, justifying it to himself as being okay because if she were to tell him to get lost he’d stop immediately. Same guy is so sure that he’d leave and never return again if she wanted him to, except this is the man who returned to Forks to hang around his singer, knowing there was a significant chance he might kill her. To say nothing of his Madonna/Whore complex, or of the fact that he tried to pimp out his wife twice, and was willing to forcibly abort her child.

This guy is very much in love with chivalry, with being an enlightened and feminist man who supports and respects women, while not understanding the entire point of feminism, which is female liberation.

He votes Democrat because he’s such an enlightened feminist who cares about women’s rights.

Emmett doesn’t care to vote, but if he has to he votes Republican. The guy is from the 1930′s, and has major would-be-the-uncle-who-cracks-racist-jokes-if-he-was-older vibes.

Esme doesn’t vote, that would require getting out of the house.

More, I just... can’t see it. I can’t see her being one to read up on politics and The Issues, period, but if she has to then I doubt she’d be able to decide.

Jasper doesn’t vote. Alice can have her fun, he does not care.

There’s also the whole can of worms regarding the last time he went to bat for American politics.

I imagine he stays out of this.

Renesmée doesn't vote. She has no stock in the human affairs. Who would she vote for, on what grounds? When Bella tries to pull her to the urns, she points out that she's three years old.

Rosalie, guys, I’m sorry, but that girl is definitely gonna vote Republican. Perhaps not right now as it’s become the Trump party of insanity, but the Mitt Romney type of Republicans? Oh yes.

And for the record, yes I imagine she does vote. To step back from politics would be another way she was relinquishing her humanity, and that’s not allowed to happen. So, yes, she goes to the urns, less for the sake of the politics involved and more because like this, she’s still a part of society in some way.

Now, onto why I think she’s Republican, I think it’s both fiscal and social.

This girl was the daughter of a banker who somehow profited off of the Depression, and who then became part of a family with no material needs that would soon become billionaires thanks to Alice. Poverty to Rosalie is a non-issue, as it is I imagine she views it as a much lesser issue than what she’s had to deal with. The humans can pull themselves up by their bootstraps, Rosalie’s infertility is forever.

Rosalie’s empathy is strongest when she’s able to project onto others, and she won’t be able to project onto the less fortunate at all.

Then there’s the fact that the Republican party is all about traditional family values, and pro-life.

Rosalie, a woman from the 1930′s who idolizes her human life and who‘d love nothing more than to get to live out this fantasy, is down for that. And as of Breaking Dawn she’s vocally pro-life, so there’s that.

This all being said I don’t think Rosalie cares to sit down and fully understand these politics she’s voting for, the possible impact they’ll have- that’s not important. What’s important is what voting does for her.

TL;DR: I bet anon regrets asking.

[ptergwen]

only you and me

w/c: 6.7k

warnings: angst, mentions of weed, and some swearing

summary: whenever peter tries to tell you how he feels, harry gets in the way

a/n: ahhhh hi my loves! my mini writing break is over :,) life has been just a mess for me and i’ve been way more critical than usual about my work but i’m doing a little better and ready to get back into everything! this helped me a lot so i’m excited to share it with y’all <3 it’s also my first time writing harry osborn so lmk how i did lmaooofwfjj but yeah pls enjoy

-

“dude, she’s right there! just tell her!” ned whisper yells to peter, elbowing him for emphasis. they’re hidden behind a wall to watch you at your locker. you’re grabbing books while betty rants to you and mj rolls her eyes. “not now. she looks... busy,” peter gulps, gaze trailing down your body. he always finds excuses to put off telling you how he feels.

or rather, excuses find him. something comes up every time he gets the courage to do it. he has no idea why he’s so scared because he’s pretty sure you like him back. pretty sure. there are a few reasons why you might not. also, plenty why you might. you stay up late texting most nights, and you’ve even flirted a couple of times. it never fails to make peter blush. he trips over his words whenever he tries to flirt back.

he’s had feelings for you since the first time you two hung out alone. none of your other friends could make it, but you happily took him up on his offer to come over. you grinned through his whole apartment tour, asked about may and what she does. when peter showed you his room, you even complimented his movie posters, much to his surprise.

“really? you don’t think they’re, like, dorky?”

“no, peter. your interests aren’t dorky. everyone likes what they like.”

and, he liked you. he knew it from that point on. you’d know it too if the universe wouldn’t keep stopping him from saying that.

“she’s so...” peter pauses for a second. him and ned watch you pull betty in by her shoulders as if you’re going to kiss her. she dodges you, mj pushing her back, all three of you giggling about it before you grab betty’s hands and give her words of encouragement. “cool,” peter finishes, turning back to ned. “i mean, how she puts herself out there like that.”

“what’s stopping you from doing the same thing?” ned points out with a knowing smile that peter returns. you make it look so easy. whenever you’re comfortable around people, you can let go of any doubts you have. you stop worrying about what they might think and instead do what you want. it’s inspiring to peter, and heart warming getting to be one of the people you’re fully you with.

he wishes he could apply your wisdom himself.

peter shakes his head, staring down at the floor. “oh, you know. anxiety, fear of rejection. that fun stuff.” “so, yourself,” ned concludes, clapping peter’s backpack so hard it makes him stumble forward. betty and mj wave goodbye to you before heading to their first class. you’re still getting your things together at your locker. this is peter’s moment.

“come on, dude! y/n’s not busy anymore. you got this.” ned keeps his hand on peter’s back, adding on, “it’s been a year already.” “half a year,” peter corrects him in a mumble. he’s liked you for a really long time. “ok, i’m going. wish me luck.” he takes a deep breath and focuses in on you. “aw, dude. you don’t need it.” ned gives him one last pat on the back. “good luck, though.” “thanks, man. see you in trig.”

right as peter starts heading over, harry comes up behind you and covers your eyes. you squeal, jumping up and turning to him, laughing as you playfully hit at his chest. he brings you into a hug where your face is buried in his sweater and probably inhaling his super strong, super expensive cologne.

that’s what’s stopping peter, harry freaking osborn. his own friend.

peter quickly loses the tiny bit of confidence ned gave him. he figures it might be better to hold off on his confession and get an early start to class. unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen. harry has already spotted him and calls him over.

“hey, pete! come give us some love, eh?” harry beams, an arm slung around your shoulders and you smiling up at him. you direct your smile to peter when he slumps his way to your locker. his lips pull into a barely noticeable frown. you notice. “there’s my guy. why so down, sunshine?” harry offers his fist for a fist bump. peter gives it to him, eyes staying on you.

harry osborn. where to begin with such a specimen? he’s the perfect combination of everything you’d want in a guy. he gets good grades, he’s a star player on on the basketball team, nice to everyone and makes you laugh, popular yet fits right into your small group.

he was friends with you before the popular thing. what kicked it off was him making varsity basketball while only being a sophomore. yep, he’s unreal. since then, he’s been balancing his cool life and also hanging with “the nerds,” as he likes to call you. he got his own feelings for you along the way. peter can tell.

he’ll give you rides home, compliment how you look, basically act like your boyfriend without really being it. it absolutely infuriates peter because he doesn’t compare to harry in the slightest. if he were you and had the choice between himself or harry, he would pick harry.

it’s been a factor in why he hasn’t come clean about how he feels yet. he’s not trying to create a love triangle that he doesn’t stand a chance surviving in.

“for real, peter. you good?” you ask him, eyebrows knitted together in concern. “fine,” peter lies and musters up a smile. “i’m just tired. didn’t sleep too good last night.” you’re only more concerned now. this has been happening to him a lot lately. you search for his eyes. “again?”

“aw, man. you need something for it?” harry punches peter’s shoulder and lowers his voice. “i know this kid who-“ “harry, stop.” your words are serious, tone lighthearted. you throw your head back on his arm. “do you really know a kid?” “i’m not telling you,” he says in an overly happy voice, you humming the same way. peter feels like he’s third wheeling.

“i was telling pete.” harry looks at him expectantly, peter’s mouth dropping open while he thinks of what to say. harry likes to mess around. this is a different level, though. “no thanks. i- i shouldn’t. i’m-“ “relax, i don’t know a kid,” harry chuckles and points at peter. “your face right now.” it’s completely flushed. you knock into harry’s side.

“ok, well literally no one laughed. you’re scaring him,” you tell harry sternly. peter tugs tight on one of his backpack straps. he doesn’t feel like he’s third wheeling you two now. he feels like your kid. he’ll never let ned mettle in his love life ever again if this is where it gets him. “he knows i’m kidding, y/n/n. right?” harry checks with peter. you make a face at him that says you aren’t convinced.

he switches his arm from you to peter, drawing him into his side. “look, pete. i’m sorry. the only kid i know who’s selling is chocolates for his band trip.” you’re satisfied with that, grinning at both of them. peter forces a laugh and nods. “no worries, man. i gotta get to class.” “good boy,” harry lets him go. “bye, pete. we’ll see you at lunch,” you remind him. he gives you a tight lipped smile. “see you, y/n/n.”

you and harry continue practically spooning each other as soon as peter is out of sight.

what the hell is going on?

peter is back to being grumpy, plopping down in his seat next to ned. their teacher has the lesson plan pulled up on the smart board. ned looks from it to peter, almost jumping in his seat. “oh, you’re back already? how’d it go?” “it didn’t go,” peter huffs, copying down the aim. he’s only doing it so he doesn’t have to look ned in the eyes while telling him he bailed. again.

“you didn’t do it?” ned repeats, peter writing something about pi and a unit circle in his notebook. he bites the inside of his cheek. “you have to do it at some point,” ned sighs out and picks up his pencil. even he’s getting tired of this, and ned never gets tired of a good friends to lovers moment. “i think she likes harry,” peter says under his breath. “huh?” ned gasps.

peter doesn’t feel like explaining the extremely awkward moment he just finished living. although, it wouldn’t hurt to get a second opinion. “y/n. he came over, and they kept hugging and whatever.” “they always do that,” ned almost scoffs, their trigonometry teacher moving to stand in front of the class. “yeah, but he had his arm around her the whole time we-“

the bell rings and cuts their conversation short. peter struggles to label the unit circle they learn about when his mind is filled to its capacity with images of you and harry all over each other. it’s not daydreaming. this is a nightmare. maybe, he actually will be having sleep problems.

peter’s morning is relatively decent after that. he gets to do an experiment with mj in chemistry, and she lets him take the lead for once. spanish is easy, health is okay, then he has a free period, then it’s lunch. things can only go downhill from here.

he thinks about hiding in the library until it’s over, but it’s the thought of harry eating your face that gets him to drag himself to the cafeteria.

flash is at the head of your table talking to harry when peter gets there. great, now he can’t eat his soggy chicken fingers in peace. “sounds dope. let’s go on the-“ flash stops saying what he was saying and nods at peter. “penis parker, you’re late.” peter takes his seat on your left, harry on your right. you glance over at him to make sure he’s okay. he acts like he doesn’t care, peeling open his milk carton.

“just text me later, man. get outta here,” harry dismisses flash, the two of them doing a bro handshake before he leaves. he’s well aware of his and peter’s history. he keeps them separate for the obvious reasons. peter appreciates it because saying no to flash is nearly impossible. he shouldn’t be so mad at harry, should he? he’s a good friend.

harry’s arm snakes around your waist and brings you closer to him. never mind.

“who’s up for sushi later?” he asks the table, everyone agreeing and saying how awesome that sounds. everyone except peter. you tap his shoulder with a small smile. “what about you, peter? you coming?” he realizes you’re all waiting for him to respond and puts down his milk. “uh, i can’t. homework,” he lamely answers.

“dude, we have homework, too. just do it a little later,” ned suggests, betty laying her head on his shoulder. you share a look with her, your eyes wide and a grin on your lips. that must have been what you were talking about this morning. she asked for boy advice. ned advice. why can’t this crap work out for peter?

“i really can’t. sorry, guys,” peter half heartedly apologizes.

he misses the disappointment that crosses your features because he’s pouting at his lunch again.

“homework, huh?” mj tests him, squinting as she takes a sip of apple juice. harry nudges peter’s side with two fingers. “you still mad about the sleeping thing?” “sleeping thing? what sleeping thing?” betty wonders while ned rests his head against hers. a quiet laugh slips out of you as you lean in to tell her.

“peter said he couldn’t sleep last night, so harry offered him...” you mime rolling a joint. “i said no,” peter clarifies, rolling his eyes at the inevitable teasing he’s about to get. none of you have even smoked besides harry. you’re being annoying about it. “of course you did,” mj sighs and kicks her feet up on the table. “unrelated to what y/n just said... harry, i have insomnia.”

everyone bursts into laughter at that, betty shoving her side and you pulling harry by his torso as he pretends to go into his backpack. peter wants nothing to do with any of this. he usually enjoys joking around with the group, even if it’s at his expense because it’s from a place of love.

today feels like you’re straight up making fun of him. harry might as well invite flash to join in.

“alright, alright, alright. enough of the weed talk,” harry decides, you removing your arms from him and grabbing your coffee. “you’re such a bad influence.” your voice drips with sarcasm. you bend the straw and take a sip while scooting closer to peter. “you really can’t come later? i feel like i’ve barely seen you today.” that’s on harry. “i wish i could, y/n/n,” peter exhales. “i’ll text you later, okay?”

you don’t get to answer because mj tugs on your arm, distracting you from peter. she explains how she has to do an art project on what it means to be a woman and needs help brainstorming ideas. you’re full of them, offering up an interesting perspective for her to use. peter smiles to himself as he listens in. you find a new way to impress him every day.

he should tell you that.

“hey, y/n?” “listen to her! you’re seriously my idol,” betty gushes, so loudly you don’t hear peter. not a single thing has gone in his favor at this table. he gives up.

peter locks himself in his room when he gets home from his overall terrible day. he does homework like he said he would, only taking a break for dinner, giving one word replies to may’s questions about school. he’d much rather be having sushi with you. he would’ve gone if the others didn’t.

after dinner, it’s back to grumbling and scribbling down answers. there’s a knock at peter’s door around ten o’clock, which he assumes is may saying goodnight. “i’ll be done in a few minutes, may! love you.” “it’s y/n,” you reply, the smile clear in your voice. his eyes go comically wide. that’s the last thing he expected to hear. “oh. uh, come in.”

you’re holding a small takeout bag, shutting the door behind you and walking over to his desk. you meet his twinkling eyes in the dim light that hits off his walls. from his open window, you faintly hear cars as they rush by and honk their horns in the distance, accompanied by a fresh breeze. it’s cozy, safe. it’s peter.

“hey. what’re you doing here?” peter questions, leaving his pencil in his binder and shutting it. you shake around the plastic bag. “i saved you a roll.” he bites back a smile, getting up from his chair. “may let me in. she was really chill about it,” you continue and hold out the sushi for him. “it’s a california roll. i wasn’t sure what you wanted, and everyone likes those.”

peter lets his smile spread out and takes the bag from you. “thanks, y/n/n. i was honestly hoping one of you would have leftovers.” you laugh softly, peter setting the bag down on his desk. he scratches the back of his neck. “did you guys have fun?” “yeah. i missed you, though.” you clasp your hands behind your back. “everyone did.”

“i feel bad i didn’t go. just... things felt off today,” peter admits the real reason he stayed home, you letting out a breath. “it was harry, wasn’t it? god, he was being so weird.” your arms drop back to your sides. “there’s a difference between playing around and actually upsetting people.” by people, you mean peter. no one else seemed too bothered by him. “i’m sorry, peter. i tried to make him stop.”

“no, you don’t have to apologize,” peter assures you sweetly, grabbing one of your hands. “it’s not your fault, okay? he probably didn’t realize what he was doing. the jokes landed.” he’s referring to ned, mj, and betty finding harry’s comments hilarious. you lace your fingers with peter’s and frown. “this isn’t like him. maybe he’s stressed about a game.” your gaze drifts off to the side, what you see getting you to perk up.

“is that new?” you ask peter, leading him by his hand over to a poster he put up recently. it’s for 13 going on 30. you showed it to him a couple of weeks ago, and he clearly liked it a lot. any movie that makes it to peter’s wall is a special one. “mhm. i got it literally right after you went home the night we watched,” he chuckles and looks over at you while you study the poster.

you turn to face peter again, keeping your hand tight in his. “were you gonna tell me something earlier? at lunch?” he’s confused for a second, then he remembers your ideas for mj’s art project. the fact that you cared enough to bring it up after all these hours makes his stomach do summersaults in the best way. he shrugs and gives you a smile.

“the stuff you were saying about femininity and how there are so many ways to define it,” peter starts, you grinning back at him, at how he took an interest in what you were saying. “you’re so smart, y/n. you make me wanna be better.” a light pink dusts his cheeks. “peter, you’re a feminist?” you coo, joking but genuinely wondering at the same time. he squeezes your hand. “duh.”

“i thought so,” you nod, taking in the rest of what he said. “you think i’m smart? i trust you because you’re way smarter.” peter pffts in response. “i’m only good at, like, physics. you’re good at things that really matter. smart in that way.” you’re feeling your own face get hot. you swing yours and peter’s hands back and forth. “why are you the nicest person ever?”

the answer to that, may, peeks her head into the room. “hey, kids. it’s getting late.” she notices your intertwined hands and shoots peter a smirk. “i thought you were a cool aunt,” he teases, you sadly letting go of him. “she is. thanks for having me over so late,” you tell may on your way to the door. “oh, stop it. you can come over any time.” she puts a hand on your arm. “thank you so much,” you murmur back.

you walk backwards to the doorway, may leaving you two to say your goodbyes. “wanna hang out only you and me? on friday maybe?” that should make up for everything earlier. “yeah, of course. friday is perfect,” peter agrees and bounces on his feet as excitement takes over him. “thanks again for the sushi.”

“no problem. goodnight.” it’s taking every last bit of power in you to not freak out. “night. text me when you get home.” he presses his tongue into his cheek. you slowly pull the door shut. “ok, i will. bye!” it closes, leaving peter skipping across his room to his bed on one side and you doing a little happy dance on the other.

the next day at school, everything is back to normal. honestly, better than normal. your hangout with peter is tomorrow, and he’s planning on telling he likes you then. he already talked it over with ned. he’s relieved it’s finally happening, especially since him and betty have their own thing. she’ll be taking up most of his free time from here.

your group is spending lunch outside today, lounging across a picnic table, surrounded by trees and the shining sun in a bright blue sky. mj sits on the table and has her feet on the bench, which would usually bug peter to no end. he doesn’t mind this time because it takes up enough room that harry has to sit with ned and betty instead of you. you lean into peter’s side and stab a piece of lettuce from your salad.

“it’s so nice out,” betty sighs, ripping off half her cookie and giving it to ned. “we should ditch.” “oh my god, you sound like harry,” you groan between bites of salad. peter lets out a breathy laugh, you looping your arm through his. he grins down at where you’re linked. harry crosses his own arms over his chest. “she wishes.” betty only nods because her mouth is full of m&m’s.

“nah, seriously. i’d take us out somewhere, but i have practice after school.” he speaks quieter than he normally does, less confident. your theory about him having basketball drama was right. “what did we tell you? talk about the sports shit with your sports friends,” mj complains, sitting back on her hands. she glances at harry over her shoulder and catches ned mouthing you can’t say that.

sitting criss cross, she spins around to face harry, unenthusiastically saying, “what i meant was, you sound upset. what’s wrong?” harry gets into it right away, like he’s been waiting for someone to ask. “coach says there might be a scout at the next game. it’s a really good opportunity even though i don’t have to worry about... college yet.” the word makes him cringe.

“oh, damn. that’s a big deal. scary,” mj snorts, turning back to you and peter. her behavior makes ned internally face palm. “that’s awesome, dude. you’re gonna play amazing like always.” he gives harry a high five, who smiles nervously in response. he’s never nervous. “thanks, bro. you guys wanna come and watch?” he’s never invited you to one of his games before either.

this isn’t a group of friends that likes to spend their weekends in bleachers while angry teens shout around them.

“definitely. we’ll be there to support you, harry,” betty answers for everyone, ned pecking her cheek in satisfaction. mj cusses to herself before replying. “if i absolutely must, sure.” only you and peter haven’t said anything yet. he’s been chewing his lower lip, and you your salad. harry looks between you two hopefully. it’s more so at you, which peter doesn’t like.

“y/n? pete? it would help a lot, i’m serious.” he taps his fingers on the table until one of you speaks up. you’re the one who does. “i’ll go. this is pretty huge, right? congrats.” you reach across the table and squeeze his shoulder while simultaneously tightening your arm around peter’s. he takes that as a cue. “i’ll go, too. happy for you, man.”

though peter isn’t currently in the best place with harry, he should show his support by showing up. it can’t be too bad since the rest of you will be there.

a loud, long chuckle leaves harry as he hops up from his bench and comes to yours and peter’s. he bends over and wraps both of you in a hug from behind at the same time. his arms are around each of your shoulders, holding you so close his cheeks are squished against either of your heads. you giggle at that, peter finding himself laughing along and reaching back to ruffle harry’s hair.

staying mad at him is one of the world’s greatest challenges.

“you’re saints, both of you. my angels.” he kisses the back of your head, then lays one right on peter’s cheek, leaving him blushing red and grinning. “what about the rest of us? i never go to shit like this,” mj huffs and seems genuinely offended. harry wiggles his eyebrows. “you want a kiss?” his offer gets her flustered, which she can’t manage to hide. that’s a first.

“shut up. i’m just saying... never mind.” mj glares at you and peter, ned and betty making kissing noises behind her. “someone change the subject.” peter steps in. “when’s the game, harry?” he asks, harry snapping and waving his finger. “tomorrow! cancel your plans, kiddos.” “like we had any,” betty retorts.

some of you did. that was going to be peter’s hangout with you.

ned smiles sympathetically at peter before betty is getting his attention. you‘re unfazed and rambling to harry how proud you are of him.

did last night mean nothing? was it an empty gesture? were you only doing it out of guilt? peter must have read your visit wrong. he’s been wrong the whole time he’s liked you. you don’t like him back, you pity him. harry is who you’re really interested in.

may always says he should trust his instincts.

peter pulls his arm from yours suddenly, swinging his backpack onto his shoulders. you’re taken back because it’s so out of no where. you stop talking to harry so you can figure out his deal. “where are you going?” “bell’s gonna ring,” peter mumbles and picks up his lunch tray. he heads to the garbage can without another word or goodbye to anyone.

“i’m gonna go check on him,” you tell harry, already getting up from the bench. “you do that,” he acknowledges and calls mj’s name again.

peter tosses his mostly untouched food in the trash, seeing you make your way over from the corner of his eye. he tries to speed walk inside so he doesn’t have to talk to you. you’re too quick, cornering him between the door and brick wall.

“we still have ten minutes,” you state, worry flashing across your face. he’s avoiding you. well, attempting to. “what’s wrong?” peter gulps before saying anything. “my next class is on the other side of the-“ “no,” you cut him off. “what’s really wrong?”

he doesn’t feel like having this discussion. it’s bad enough he came to the realization his feelings are one sided. must he break that down for you so soon?

you toy with your sleeve while you speak because peter doesn’t. “i thought you and harry were fine again. i mean, he kissed you.” peter clenches his jaw so hard he can imagine the sound of it cracking. “it’s not about harry.” “what, then? what the fuck happened?” your sleeves are now balled in your fists. you hate it when peter does this angsty routine.

he keeps his voice low and calm so he doesn’t come off as jealous or hurt. he’s both of those things. “the game is tomorrow. friday. when we were supposed to hang out.” you meet peter’s eyes with nothing but remorse in yours. “i... i forgot,” is all you have to say.

you feel awful. he’s had a tough couple of days, and you fell through on your promise to cheer him up.

“clearly,” peter remarks, voice sharp. the way you’re looking at him makes him think he won’t like what’s coming. “peter, we have to go,” you almost whine. “i’m really sorry, i am, but this is a big night for harry. he needs us there.” peter stays silent. you’re twisting the knife deeper into him with every word. “i wouldn’t be cancelling if this wasn’t important.”

now you’re cancelling?

you reach for peter’s hand, but he shoves it into his pocket. that stings for you and him. “please, peter. we’ll hang out at the game, i swear.” this is the last chance you’ve got, so you pile it on. “harry won’t even be there, technically. he’ll... he’ll be on the court.” peter hadn’t thought about that. he lets himself unclench, starting to see the appeal. you add one more thing to lighten the mood and persuade him.

“i’ll buy you popcorn, all you can eat.” it’s that easy. cracking a smile, peter accepts. he’ll deal with his unresolved, unreciprocated feelings after he stuffs his face, courtesy of you. “you better. i’m gonna need it for this long ass game.” your face lights up, grabbing his wrist in both hands.

“so, you’ll come?” “i’ll be there,” he confirms. you throw your arms around his neck. he laughs into the hug and holds you by your middle. “i promise this’ll be the first and last game we ever go to,” you say and mean it. harry is lucky you’re even suffering through this a first time. “thank god,” peter exhales, resting his chin on your head.

that interaction leaves peter confused as hell. you’re crushing his mind and soul one minute, then hugging him the next. you were making him feel so special lasts night, and treating harry the same way today. it’s so jumbled that he isn’t sure if he’s in the friend zone or something more zone.

there are a ton of mixed signals coming his way, and he sucks at reading people as is.

he can’t take another second of this. he’d rather you come out and say you like harry already because it’s torture. knowing you don’t want him in that way would at least eliminate the possibility of anything happening between you two, and allow him to stop driving himself insane.

he’d be able to stop taking it out on harry, too.

the hold you have on peter, that you’re oblivious to, rules his every thought and decision. he’s constantly analyzing what you say to him, debating whether or not your affection is simply platonic. it’s been half a year of this madness, the night of harry’s game blurring every line so much more.

your group arrives a bit early to find seats and hype harry up before he plays. peter gets there after all of you because he’s not exactly in a rush to watch sweaty guys be aggressive. there’s only one upside, which is spending the night with you... and everyone else.

he steps into the gym that’s filling up fast with family members, friends, and the college scout harry was talking about. midtown has a different feeling to it at night. the smell of pencils is oddly stronger, and it’s a lot less intimidating.

cheerleaders are huddled in a circle while the team supervisor has them run their chants. the “leading official,” who peter thought was called a referee, takes his place off to the side. coaches give their players last minute instructions, players fool around with each other, a lot is going on.

peter scans the room for you, and grins a toothy grin when you catch his eyes. you’re sitting by yourself in one of the middle bleachers, only a bag of skinny pop in your lap. you return the smile once you spot him and wave him over.

“i don’t know why, but i thought they’d have an actual concession stand,” you explain the lack of fresh, buttery popcorn as peter takes a seat next to you. he catches the prepackaged bag you toss him. “it’s just a snack table.” “works either way,” peter hums and pokes the bag. “i’m not sure skinny pop is all i can eat, though.” “it’s good!” you defend the snack you chose for him.

“i’m kidding! you’re right, it’s kind of addicting.” he puts it by his feet for now and gives you a half smile. “you’re welcome,” you deadpan in a playful tone. “thanks.” he narrows his eyes. “where’s everyone else?” “right,” you twist around and gesture to the bleacher above you. mj is gloomily seated near the back. ned and betty are a few behind you.

“i told them to find their own seats so we can sit together, alone.” you look over at peter and move ever so slightly closer. “welcome to our friday hangout. just the two of us.” “aw, you didn’t have to do that,” peter laughs out, his knee bumping yours. “but, i’m happy you did.” he goes to put an arm around you, then harry comes racing up the stairs.

just the two of you didn’t last so long.

“y/n, i’m freaking out,” harry announces, zooming through your row to get over to you. he stops once he’s standing in front of peter and shakes him by his shoulder. “hey, pete. you made it.” “yup,” peter replies, pressing his lips together. you wince at his reaction, then quirk an eyebrow at harry. “you’re freaking out? why?”

harry sits down between you and peter, blissfully unaware of the moment he interrupted.

“i found the scout. he’s fucking terrifying as fuck. this super ripped guy, looks like he’d rather be anywhere else,” he talks quietly, like the man will hear him. “he’s not the only one,” peter says to himself, kicking around his bag of popcorn to pass time. you ignore him and grimace.

“shit. wait, how do you know it’s him? did they tell you?” you’re not sure how these things go. harry casually shrugs a shoulder. “dude has a clipboard. seems legit to me.” he gives you a cocky smile. “he’s also in the row before mj. that’s how i noticed. um...” his back now facing peter, he whispers something in your ear that makes you giggle.

peter’s face scrunches up as the spark of anger the past few days have lit reignites itself.

when harry pulls away, you motion for him to come closer with your index finger, cupping your hand around his ear and speaking into it.

nope, no more. peter is entirely about to explode. you cancelled your plans so you can force him to watch basketball, you sweet talk him so he’ll let it go, and you’re running right back to harry after all of that? what the hell does that mean?

peter stands up from his seat. “y/n, we need to talk,” he demands, you moving away from harry to respond. “ok, gimme a minute. we’re-“ “no, we need to talk now.” you don’t have time to refute because he’s taking your arm and dragging you away. harry squints at you in utter confusion.

“um, have a good game! we’ll talk later,” you call back to him, walking with peter even though you have no idea what his issue is and aren’t a fan of how he’s acting.

he releases you once you’re in the hallway. you make a point of harshly yanking your arm back, a scowl painting your lips. “jesus, peter. i was having a conversation.” “do you like harry?” peter blurts out. you’re so shocked at his abruptness that you don’t give him much to work with, only, “what?” “do you like harry?” he asks you again, this time less accusing and more curious.

“do i like...” you’re too aware of the seemingly hundreds of people surrounding you to answer comfortably. “can we talk about this somewhere else?” “sure,” peter nods, letting you lead the way since he did to get out here. you two go down the hall and choose the first room you see, which happens to be the custodian’s closet. it’s thankfully unlocked.

things were tense between you and peter on the way over, and it’s physically mirrored when you step into the room, air thick and smelling of lemon cleaning supplies. you tug on the string hanging down to turn on the light. it casts a faded glow, leaving you in mostly darkness. you sort of like it. this feels more intimate, which is fitting for what you’re both about to say.

neither one of you knows where to begin. peter’s question is ringing in the back of your mind, and you could touch on that, but there’s more to it than a simple yes or no. you don’t have to worry about it because peter gets his words out first.

“i think harry likes you, and i think you like him back,” peter restarts, already sounding deflated by what he came up with. “he doesn’t, and i don’t.” you take a step towards him. “he likes mj.” it’s peter’s turn to be shocked. the hint of a smile sets on your lips. “that’s what we were talking about. harry asked if he should take her to dinner after the game, and i said yes.”

this is going better than he expected.

“mj is the one who likes him, not me,” you reiterate and watch some life enter peter again, a tiny bit. he’s coming around, and he wants to believe you. his trust issues don’t. “but, you’re so... touchy with each other. the hugging the other day?” he mentions. you tilt your head to the side in amusement. “friends can’t hug?”

to be fair, you hugged peter yesterday. that’s a point rightfully shut down.

“he calls you pretty,” peter tries, raising both eyebrows. you have to laugh at this one. “you call may pretty.”

obviously, peter’s analysis skills could use some serious improvements. it sounds like he had the right idea, wrong person. your relationship with harry is platonic. hell, he’s crushing on a whole different person. this actually opens up the possibility of you liking peter in the romantic way, of him being in the something more zone. he had it backwards.

in case peter isn’t convinced yet, and because you really want to, you use one more trick to prove to him you don’t like harry.

“do me and harry do this?” your lips speak for you, colliding with peter’s unexpectedly yet easily. he feels like he’s floating, like he’s in some sort of magical wonderland until it hits him that this is real, and he should probably kiss you back. he does so softly and tangles his fingers in your locks. his hand supports the back of your head as the kiss goes on.

you push forward so your bodies are almost fused together, the closest you can be while you hold his jaw. peter breaks the kiss for a short breather, going back in without more than a moment passing. this one is feverish, his free arm looping around your lower back, hand resting on the small of it. you let out a giggle against his swollen lips and stroke your thumb over his jawline.

he’s been waiting to do this for the longest time, but he doesn’t have to tell you that. it shows in how eager he was to reciprocate, his shyness blossoming into passion. you feel yourself melting under his touch, the kiss eventually becoming a series of short pecks. peter gives you the final one. his pink lips form a grin when you pull apart. your hands stay on each other, not in a rush to go anywhere.

“woah, i like you so much,” peter laughs out. the words roll off his tongue naturally. “you know i like you,” you drawl, smiling at him, a full body smile while you caress his skin. he winds both arms around you and dips his head down to steal another kiss. you’re loving what’s happening. however, you don’t feel like making out while dirty brooms stare at you. you should take this back home.

“wanna get out of here? i do,” you suggest, voice muffled from his lips. they detach from yours and brush your cheek gently. peter makes a funny face. “hm, i thought we had to come. harry needs us,” he says what you did yesterday, earning a groan back. “you’re joking.” “i’m not. what kind of friends would we be, ditching him like that?”

he’s going to end you one day.

“yeah, no. i have no idea how basketball works, and i’d like to keep it that way,” peter drops the act, pressing his fingers into your sides. “i’ve been so mean to harry. i was...” “a dick?” you finish for him. it’s more of a statement than a question. to soften the blow, you rub his cheek with the tips of your fingers. “yup. he’s gonna think i hate him or something if we don’t stay.” his formerly smiley face is frowning.

“harry of all people will understand after we tell him our reasons,” you reassure him, nudging under his chin with your nose. “besides, he has other things to worry about. mj, the scout. it’s fine.” peter considers it, ultimately giving in to you like he always does, resting his forehead on yours. “i guess so. less distractions for him, yeah.” “exactly. that’s what i wanna hear.”

having his approval, you unwind yourself from him and head to the door. his fingers wrap around your wrist gently. “what about my popcorn?” a giggle escapes your lips. “you’re still on that?” “you said all i can eat!” his voice comes out high pitched, adorably high pitched.

“fine. i might have those bags you put in the microwave.” you smile when his fingers lock with yours, peter kissing the side of your head.

“even better. let’s go home.”

[glowinggator]

Short! S/O

Request: Can I ask for some rottmnt x short/small reader

Pairing:  Raphael/Reader (Established), Leonardo/Reader (Established), Donatello/Reader (Established), Michelangelo/Reader (Established) (ALL SEPARATE - NONPOLY)

Content Warnings: None! 

Word Count: 1200 

[A/N: Whoa.... two fics in a row where I landed on a perfect wordcount.... I feel blessed.]

Raphael

Tall and small… the optimal dynamic…

He’s one of the few who won’t hold your height above your head. (Pun intended.) He honestly just sees you as you, you know? He’s always been considered tall, so your height isn’t that crazy to him. He’s not necessarily the type to freak out about it in regards to self defense, either. You’re a total badass: you can handle yourself! He’s always the first to step in when someone tries to start something, though. That’s just who he is, though: he’d still do it if you were 10 feet tall. 

He always tries to put things where you can reach them, but sometimes you need something up a little higher. And oh god, he’d be lying if he said his heart doesn’t melt when you ask him to grab you something off the top shelf. 

Piggyback rides galore!! He also likes to carry you like royalty, and he’s always surprised by just how little you weigh. He thinks it’s cute. 

(He’s awesome to go to concerts with!! You can sit on his shoulders to get a better view, and he holds you so steady. He’s also built af so nobody’s gonna be able to knock y’all over <3) 

It’s so nice to lay down and cuddle with him!! He envelops your smaller frame almost entirely, and you feel so safe in his arms. You could lay like this forever, you think. 

He’ll always bend down for kisses without question, but god, please pull him down by the strings of his hoodie someday. He gets this really cute and dorky laugh as the blood rises to his cheeks, and he can’t help but kiss you again afterwards. 

Leonardo

He’s so cocky about being taller than you, it’s unreal. He can’t help it! You’re just so tiny and cute and-

Attack him like a feral dog to put him in his place <3 (/j)

He’s not really worried about your ability to defend yourself: You’re plenty capable, and you’ve picked up your fair share of self-defense moves. Height isn’t an indicator of strength, by any means. 

Loves grabbing things off the top shelf for you!! He gets this dorky little smile on his face when you ask, and for a moment, he’s silent. He laughs a little, ever so softly, but not in a patronizing way. He totally asks for a kiss as payment, though. 

(But from then on, that thing is in a place where you can reach it. He likes being able to grab stuff for you, but he gets that you wanna be able to just grab shit sometimes. What a sweetheart <3 He pays attention!!) 

Temple kisses? Temple kisses! He loves having his arm around your shoulder, just as a casual form of affection, and sometimes he’ll pull you a little closer so he can lean down and place a kiss to your temple. 

If you’re both feeling particularly playful, he’ll totally hold stuff above your head so you have to lean into him to grab it. 

He’ll short circuit if you ever pull him down for a kiss. Do it, it’s cute to watch the blood rise to his cheeks as he processes your actions. He’s so in love with you. 

Donatello 

As friends, he doesn’t really acknowledge your height at all. But once you guys get together? He suddenly starts processing how much taller he is, and it totally makes his heart melt. Like oh! I actually have to lean down to kiss you? It’s something that he doesn’t really understand until he’s in a relationship with you, and it’s cute. 

People often underestimate how strong he is but like… he’s low-key kind of built. As a hands-on engineer, you have to be! And you can bet that he totally uses that when he’s feeling romantic. He loves picking you up and carrying you around like royalty. (That inner theatre nerd also comes out, 100%. If he can’t pick you up and serenade you, what’s even the POINT.) 

Adores grabbing things for you if they’re put up too high for you to reach. Like god, you could inject straight dopamine into his brain right now, and it wouldn’t even be able to compare to grabbing shit off the top shelf for you. He’s so cocky about it, and you know he’s gonna ask for a kiss on the cheek as payment. 

Always yells “do you need help with that?” if he sees you standing on your tiptoes for something. He thinks you’re cute. 

He’ll lean down for kisses, but you can see a smile toying at his lips when you ask. He won’t comment on it, though. 

It’s so fun to dance with him!! You move slowly across the dancefloor, fingers interlocked with his as you spin around and around. He’ll always drop his hands a little so you don’t have to stretch as much, but he revels in the way you press yourself against him. He could spend forever like this, and quite frankly? So could you. 

He’s happy being the big spoon or the little spoon, honestly. He has no preference. If you try to be the big spoon, he’ll snicker about it a little, but he won’t comment on it. 

He loves when you guys are sitting, and you rest your back against his chest. (It’s fun playing animal crossing with him like that. (His favorite villagers are Wolfgang and Roscoe. He gets really excited if you have them in your town.) 

He’s gonna short circuit if you pull him down by the hoodie strings to give him a kiss. It doesn’t matter how many times you do it, he’s gonna pause every time. Don’t stop, though. He loves it. 

Michelangelo 

He could be a SINGLE centimeter taller than you, and he’ll lose his mind. Finally… he’s tall… god is real <3 

Unfortunately, both of y’all are kind of fucked in the height department. That just means you get to climb shelves together, though! And kick tall people in the shins for saying overdone height jokes. You guys are a power couple in every sense of the word. 

He loves having his arm around your shoulders! 

Since you guys live together, it’s really rare that there’s ever something that’s put up too high for both of you to reach. 

It’s really funny when you’re standing on your tiptoes to grab something that’s just out of reach at a store. 

“Oh shit, that’s way too high up. Don’t worry babe, I’ve got this.” 

...he’s climbing the shelves like a fucking spider. People are staring. He refuses to ask a stocker for help. You’re getting kicked out of Yokai Target for this, but you got your can of peas. That’s all that matters. 

He loves it when you rest your head on his chest while cuddling, or when hugging. 

Forehead kisses!! He loves them so much… He’ll run his thumbs over your temples so, so gently before kissing your forehead. He’s most fond of doing this in the early morning or late at night, when you’re both really sleepy. The air seems different, more serene. 

[thesiriusmoon]

Criminal Minds characters as muppets!

❀ ❀ ❀

Aaron Hotchner as Kermit The Frog

Icon of Hotch credit - @spookyreid

They’re both natural born leader

They care a lot about their team

I just know Hotch enjoys musicals

They have hot wives (Haley and Miss Piggy)

Many members of their teams look up to them

The responsible one

Probably drink a lot of tea

Protective over their work, friends, and family

Can be very serious

Gets where they need to be and gets what they need done

Great dads

Iconic to say the least

Can be intimidating when needed

Calm but when they explode they really explode

Will argue with higher authority without a problem

Spencer Reid as Walter

Icon of Spencer credit - @hrmiongrngr

The baby of the group

Very enthusiastic and loves to help

Looks up to Hotch/Kermit

Has saved the day on many occasions

Cuties

Well read

Struggles to interact socially

Awkward

Nerd

They both love Halloween

Intelligent

Love sweaters

Emily Prentiss as Red Fraggle

Icon of Emily credit - @lokisoftieking

Best girls

They’re competitive in a fun sense

They don’t let anyone get them down

They do what they want, when they want

Cool and funky

Will beat a bitch up

Isn’t afraid of anything

They hate making mistakes

Makes friends easily

Life of the party

Keeps the energy high

Very supportive of all their friends

Is a protective person

Derek Morgan as Pepe The King Prawn

Icon of Derek credit - @swccessful

They’re very flirtatious

Tough guys (even though Pepe is tiny)

Cocky attitude but we love that

Full of swag

Unintentionally comedic

High egos

Both make tasty snacks (haha get it?)

They just vibe through life

Kings (get it again?)

Isn’t afraid to fight someone bigger than them

Good cooks

Unbuttoned Hawaiian shirts are their thing

Love the beach

Penelope Garcia as Mokey Fraggle

Icon of Penelope credit - none

The dreamers

They like making their own clothes and jewellery

Worries a lot about their friends and families well-being

Does everything they can to make people happy

They would read you a bedtime story if you asked

Wouldn’t hurt a fly

Are good bakers

Great with children

Problem solvers

Knows everyone’s birthday

They’re sweethearts

You can go to them for comfort

Loves plants and colourful things

Full of love to give to everyone

They definitely carry around tissues, plasters, water bottles, and other materials in their bag at all times like a mum

Elle Greenaway as Miss Piggy

Icon of Elle credit - @tenelvez

Bad ass

Hot and knows it

Won’t let a man disrespect them for a second

Sassy

Both great fighters

Knows how to use a gun and WILL use it if they want to

Won’t hesitate to punch someone

Everyone has a crush on them

Confident

Stands up for themselves and others

Will be aggressively supportive of you

Gaslight gatekeep girlboss

Jennifer Jareau as Janice

Icon of JJ credit - @rweditz

Mainly because they look alike-

They’re laid back

Can have an attitude (when needed)

Confident in front of cameras

Pretty blondes

They both start with J which is cool

Is like an older sister

Is brutally honest

Gets on well with everyone

Good at giving gifts

Likes parties

Many hidden talents

Always looking their best

David Rossi as Statler

Icon of Rossi credit - none

This is one of my fave ones

Tell me they don’t look alike I dare you

But Rossi is attractive-

Sarcastic and witty

Will stand their ground

Banters with the rest of the team

Always knows what’s going on

Has fun in thinking they’re better than everyone

Likes wine

Jason Gideon as Waldorf

Icon of Gideon credit - none

Him and David are literally Waldorf and Statler

Sarcastic and witty

They don’t look so much alike, but the vibe is there

Likes old stuff

Banters with the team

Him and David would have got on well

Old school

Would love some peace and quiet

Loves puns

Laughs at most things

❀ ❀ ❀

I hope you enjoyed this! It was really fun to make and gave me quite the giggle. I love the muppets and love criminal minds so I thought, why not do this?

Feel free to add any others that you think match well in the comments <3

[spideykaiparker]

Field Trip Gone Wrong

Peter Parker x Avenger!Reader

Warnings : slight angst, some fluff, terrible fight scene🤩

summary : Peter's Decathlon team was going on a Field Trip, on the way there, they encountered some trouble, leading to Peter revealing both of yours identities.

a/n : I'm so sorry this is really bad:( i kinda gave up on this halfway writing it, but decided to continue it. i promise i will come up with better fics than this one! also sorry for the horrible superhero name, i didn't know what else to name with the superpowers. English is not my first language, i apologize for any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Happy Reading! ^_^

Peter's decathlon team was going on a field trip to some museum, Peter didn't really want to go, he didn't want to leave you alone, he wanted to stay with you, go on missions with you, but instead he's going on this field trip without you.

You were an avenger, you have telekenesis, pyrokinesis, and hydrokinesis. Tony recruited you after he found out that there was a new vigilante in queens. You have quite a bit of a reputation, and when he found out that you were around peter's age, he asked peter to convince you to join the avengers.

you were a bit reluctant at first, not really wanting to work with a team, much more comfortable with working alone, but after a bit of negotiating, you eventually agreed. Tony designed a new suit for you, it was similar to Black Widow's but yours is black, with some dark blue accents on the middle and on your arms, like this.

you usually go on missions with Peter, the both of you were quite the dream team, many people think that you both looked cute together, seeing you guys head to the crime scenes together is absolutely iconic, with peter swinging around buildings and you flying with your telekinesis.

shortly after you were recruited as an avenger, you and peter got closer to each other, then eventually leading him to ask you on a date, and from there bloomed a beautiful relationship.

~

"alright everyone, onto the bus!" Mr. Harrington said loudly clapping his hands. one by one, Peter's teammates filed into the school bus, with Peter and Ned following behind.

"dude! are you wearing your suit underneath?" Ned whisper-shouted when he saw something red poking out from underneath of his collar.

peter quickly moved to cover the exposed part, "shh! yes, I'm wearing it, just in case, i got this weird feeling when i was getting ready this morning." he explained quietly.

"oh you mean your peter tingle?" Ned asked as they moved to the back seats of the bus.

"please don't call it that" he exasperated, "but yes, my spidey-sense" he continued, shuffling inside the school bus.

"Awesome!" Ned exclaimed excitedly.

"no, not awesome, something could seriously go wrong today!" Peter whisper-shouted, throwing his hands to the air.

"okay okay, we'll keep a lookout for anything suspicious" Ned put his hands on peter's shoulder in an act of comfort.

peter sighed and slid down in his seat, wishing that this field trip will end quickly even though it has only barely begun.

throwing his head back on the seats, he decided to call you to check how you're doing and also maybe because he may or may not have missed you already.

Pulling out his phone, he searched through his contacts, eventually stopping on your name, 'Y/N💖' and your profile picture, a picture of you and peter cuddling on the couch, your face buried in his chest and his head resting on top of yours, while your arms wrapped tightly around each other.

He pressed the call icon, waiting for you to answer, after a few rings, you finally answered.

"hey pete, what's wrong?" he sighed in content when he heard your voice, wishing you were here by his side.

"nothing's wrong, i-i just... missed you" he stuttered out, feeling a bit embarrassed that he already missed you even if he just saw you more or less an hour ago.

"awee pete, you just saw me an hour ago" you cooed but really, you missed him too.

"i-i know, I'm sorry"

"noo don't say sorry, you don't have anything to be sorry for, i missed you too, pete" you sighed out.

"t-that's great then" he hummed.

"but is there seriously nothing wrong?"

"well no, at least for now, but i got a weird feeling earlier, me and ned are on a lookout for anything suspicious" he explained, sitting back on his seat.

"okay, if anything happens, call me, okay?"

"yeah, of course" running a hand through his curly locks, his phone was suddenly snatched harshly by none other than Flash.

"what's up parker? you talking to your imaginary girlfriend?" he taunted, looking at the screen seeing your name and profile picture.

"give it back Flash" he stood up, making a move to grab his phone back, but Flash dodged his attempts.

"who's Y/N huh? did you pay someone to pretend to be your girlfriend?"

"what the fuck, Flash? that doesn't even makes sense, why would i do that?" peter exasperated, throwing his hands to the air.

"well i don't know, you're the one that did it, maybe you did it to make yourself look like less of a nerd" Flash continued taunting him.

"—peter? you there?" your voice rang out.

Flash pressed the phone against his ear, "hey! are you really peter's girlfriend?" he asked.

"uh.. yeah? why are you asking?" you were confused now, but then putting the pieces together, concluding that this was Flash, the guy who bullied peter all throughout highschool.

"did he pay you to say that?"

"what? no! why do you even care about peter so much— you're like, obsessed with him dude, are you sure you don't have a crush on him?" you retaliated back.

"ew! why would anyone even like him, I'm so much better than him—" he started, but got cut off by you.

"Oh really? what? you think just because you have money, you're much better than peter? what do you have besides money that makes you better than peter? oh right, nothing. and you bullying him doesn't make you even better. peter is so much better than you ever will be, he's smart, handsome, kind, and much more that I can't even count on my fingers. just because you have money, doesn't makes you better than anyone else." you spat, fed up by his behaviors towards peter, someone has to put him in his place.

Flash froze, his mouth opening and closing like a fish, eyes wide, he's glad that he didn't put the call on loudspeaker or else that would make the situation even more embarrassing than it already is.

peter, because of his superhearing, heard every word that came out of your mouth, he's awestruck because of the fact that you defended him form Flash like that.

"w-whatever, peter is still a nerd anyway" he replied, not knowing what else to say, then quickly giving peter his phone back, going back to his seat, while you laughed wholeheartedly.

"oh my god, Y/N, that was awesome!" he beamed with a bright smile on his face.

"yeah, yeah i know I'm awesome"

he was about to reply, but turns out his senses were right, because suddenly, the school bus was forced to come to a halt. The bus was stopped by a group of men, three in total, each wearing masks that covers their whole face.

"—pete? you there?" you questioned, wondering why he suddenly got quiet.

"yeah, Y/N, i think my feeling was right, something did happen..." he trailed off.

"what's wrong pete?!" you demanded.

"i don't know, these guys just showed up out of nowhere, can you come here? i think i might need some help" he explained, scanning the situation.

"yeah, okay, I'll tell Mr. Stark too, okay? but i think he'll arrive a bit longer, i heard he had a business trip"

"okay, just get here as fast as you can" then he hung up, quickly texting you the address where they're at, then turning off his phone, because one of the guys climbed onto the bus and demanded that they got off the bus and followed them, pointing a gun at them.

slowly, he and his teammates got off the bus, leaving their stuff in the bus, they were at an empty road, they were guided to a large field not too far from the road.

the three men ordered them to kneel on the ground with their hands behind their backs.

peter was contemplating on what to do, if he tries to do something now, then his identity will be revealed, but at the same time, if he didn't do anything, his teammates are in great danger, he could wait for you to come, but who knows what will happen while waiting for you, and besides, they were pretty far away from the compound, so it will take a while for you to arrive.

one of the guys pointed a gun at Mr. Harrington and all of them gasped simultaneously, while the other two went back to the bus to grab their phones.

the two guys came back with the phones, but before they could dial anyone, peter suddenly stood up slowly, with his hands in the air. the guys immediately pointed their guns towards him.

his teammates looked at him like he was crazy, there's no way peter could do anything in this situation, but actually they're wrong, peter can do something, he doesn't care if it will reveal his identity, what's important is to protect his teammates.

'what are you doing?' ned mouthed to him, eyes wide, not actually thinking peter is going to do what he's thinking. But peter only replied by giving him a determined look.

"hey man... look we can talk this out, just put down the gun..." he trailed off, his middle and ring finger slowly coming down to press the buttons on his palms, his webshooters ready to shoot.

"hey! stand down! or else I'm going to shoot!" one of the guys commanded.

when peter didn't listen, the guy puts his finger on the trigger, ready to shoot.

just as he was about to pull the trigger, peter quickly shot his webs at two of the guys, taking their guns, while he kicked the other guy in the face, successfully knocking him out, peter webbed the guy to the ground so he doesn't get away when he wakes up.

his teammates gasped, seeing the webs, and how peter kicked, putting the pieces together, realizing that peter was spider-man.

the two guys immediately attacked peter but peter easily blocked their attacks, one of the guys aimed to punch his face, but peter ducked down, sliding his legs under the guy, so he tripped and fell down.

the guy who was tripped got back up and continued attacking peter, while the other guy sneaked up behind him, but before he could do any damage, you flew over and attacked the guy who was sneaking up behind peter, you picked up a rather large rock with your telekinesis, and threw it at the guy.

"hey! it's Kinetic-Girl!" one of peter's decathlon teammates exclaimed, while the other's just gasped, shocked to see another avenger so upclose.

"peter?!" you exclaimed, still fighting with the guy from before, as you saw peter fighting with the bad guys without his suit on.

"Y/N! oh my god I'm so glad you're here, i know you have a bunch of questions right now, but now is really not a good time" he said as he continued dodging and attacking the bad guy.

when peter successfully knocked the guy for a second, he quickly removed his clothes, revealing his suit underneath, his mask coming up to cover his face.

peter's teammates gasped as they watched the scene unfold infront of them, they could see what other people were talking about when they saw you and peter fighting together, both of you were absolutely iconic.

just as you finished taking out the guy you were fighting with, two other guys appeared out of nowhere and started attacking you, but this time you could feel that they were a lot more stronger than the other guys, you thought maybe they were enhanced as well.

peter came to you when he also finished defeating the guy he was fighting with and continued fighting with one of the new guys.

"hey! where did they came from?" he questioned as he dodged an attack.

"i don't know! they appeared out of nowhere!"

turns out, the guy you were fighting with had a knife in his jacket, he tried stabbing you, and you tried to use your telekinesis to throw the knife away, but it seems like the guy had an iron grip on the knife, because all it did was pulled his hand away from you for a second and then continued attacking you.

as you were fighting the guy, unfortunately you didn't notice another guy sneaking up behind you, which led to you getting stabbed from behind, right below your ribs.

"Y/N!" peter shouted when he saw you get stabbed, with a new found determination, he didn't hold back and fought the guy with all his might, punching and kicking him until he passed out, quickly webbing him to the ground and running over to you.

you gasped, as you looked back to your wound, carefully pulling out the knife, even though you know you're not supposed to do that, but you couldn't fight with a knife sticking out your back.

you continued to fight with the guy the best you can, but somehow the guy managed to stab you once again near your ribs, and once again, you pulled it out and continued fighting the guy, not wanting to stop until he's passed out.

peter also attacked the guy, but is seems like the guy was even stronger than the one he was fighting before, so it took a while for you two to successfully knock him out.

you used your pyrokinesis to light his clothes on fire, which caused him to stagger back a little, but that didn't stop him for good, as he stood back up and charged towards you.

but luckily peter was behind the guy, so he kicked the guy on the head, causing the guy to fall down, to which peter quickly sprayed him with a ton of webs so he couldn't go anywhere.

as soon as he was done with that, he quickly ran over to you, who was now feeling the effects of the stab wounds. you staggered a little, going over to peter.

his masked opened up, revealing his concerned face, then out of nowhere you lost your balance, to which peter thankfully caught you, due to his incredible reflexes.

both of you fell to the ground with peter cradling you on his lap, he removed your mask so you could breathe easier, removing the hair out of your face, then proceeding to caress your face, lightly tapping you cheeks to make you stay awake. he took his clothes that he took off earlier, then used it to gently press it against your wound to prevent any more blood loss.

"Y/N? c'mon Y/N please stay awake, please don't leave me, I'm gonna call Mr. Stark, okay? stay with me please" he pleaded desperately, his eyes tearing up.

his teammates watched with sorrow as peter desperately tried to make you stay awake, they felt the pain from peter's cries, they wanted to help him, but not knowing what to do.

"peter?... I'm sleepy..." you trailed off, your one of your hand coming up to put it on top of peter's, which was holding the cloth on your wound.

"no! Y/N, please, stay awake...!" he cried. his mask came up again to cover his face, he frantically ordered Karen to call Mr. Stark so he would get here quickly.

"Karen? call Mr. Stark please" his voice groggy, from crying.

"alright peter" came her reply.

after a few rings, Tony finally picked up.

"hey kid, what's up?" his voice rang out.

"Mr. Stark! please you have to come here quickly, Y/N! sh-she's... she's—" he choked out a sob, cutting off his words.

"what happened to Y/N, peter?!" Tony's worried voice rang out.

"sh-she got stabbed, please Mr. Stark, come here quickly" he pleaded in between his sobs.

"alright kid, I'm already on my way, okay? keep her awake"

"o-okay.." Tony hung up the phone.

his mask opened again, looking down at you, your eyes having a difficulty to stay open.

"Y/N?" he whispered.

"hm?..."

"please stay awake, i can't lose you" he whispered, leaning down to rest his forehead against yours.

"I'm not going anywhere, pete, though i do kinda feel sleepy, I'll just take a quick nap, okay?" you slurred out, eyes drooping, your breathing slowing down.

"no! please... don't close your eyes!" he desperately pleaded, holding you close to him.

just as your eyelids were about to give up, Iron Man suddenly flew by and landed right next to you and peter.

his masked opened up revealing his concerned face, he knelt beside you, gently taking you from peter's arms, carrying you bridal style.

"kid?" he said softly.

"Mr. Stark?" came your reply, your voice sounded so weak that he almost flinched.

"Mr. Stark! please hurry and save her!" peter butted in.

"right, uh, I'll see you in the compound, okay kid?" he said, beginning to fly away.

"o-okay Mr. Stark, please help her"

then Tony flew away, leaving peter with his wide-eyed decathlon teammates. They were all gaping at him, as if waiting for an explanation.

"uh..." peter trailed off.

then all of a sudden they began bombarding him with questions.

"since when were you Spider-man?!"

"was that your girlfriend?!"

"how did you became Spider-man?!"

"what?!"

the questions goes on and on, making peter overwhelmed by all of the shouting.

"hey!" the shouting stopped, "uh.. i would like to answer all of your questions, but not now, i really gotta check on my girlfriend, so please hold onto your questions for monday, until then, please don't tell anyone about this, or else Mr. Stark is going to do something, so for the sake of all of us, please keep your mouths shut about this" Peter explained to his teammates. "oh yeah, the cops will be here soon too, so don't worry about the bad guys, okay?" he added.

when he got a nod from one of them, he immediately took off, not forgetting to close his mask, then continued to shoot a web to a nearby building, swinging away from them, leaving his teammates with their mouths agape.

~

when he arrived at the compound, he immediately ran to the infirmary as fast as he could.

when he saw you laying down on one of the beds, he immediately thought the worse.

"Y/N!" he shouted, grabbing a few of attentions from the nurses there.

"shh!" someone suddenly appeared besides him. "calm down, she's just sleeping, luckily i got here on time, so it wasn't that bad" Tony explained to him, slightly calming him down.

"oh.. thank god" he released a relieved sigh, smiling while making his way to you. when he arrived besides you, he sat down on a chair next to your bed, gently taking your hands into his.

"oh yeah... i think i accidentally revealed mine and Y/N's identities to my decathlon teammates...?" it comes out as a question, not the way he intended it to be.

Tony raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean by you accidentally?" he asked, though he already knew what he meant, i mean it's pretty self explanatory.

"I'm sorry! i didn't mean to! i didn't know what else to do, i didn't want to risk my friends life just because i wanted to protect my identity, their life is much more important than my identity. And Y/N was having a difficult time breathing so i had to take of her mask" he explained, a sigh falling out from his parted lips, placing his elbows on your bed, running his hands down his face.

"well, what's done is done, i mean, you both were going to reveal your identities when you graduate highschool anyways, right? it's not too long from now, so for now they could sign NDA'S, and you wont be too burdened by it for long, because it's not too long until you graduate." Tony gives a solution, standing besides him, patting his shoulder.

"okay..." he felt slightly relieved, at least not too many people knew, he wished his teammates will keep their words and not tell anyone about it.

"I'm proud of you kid, you did the right thing, don't think about it too much, okay?" Tony patted his shoulder once again, then went out of the room.

"okay..." he mumbled, even though he knew Tony wouldn't hear him.

he averted his eyes to you, staring at you, admiring you, he thought you looked so peaceful while sleeping, not being burdened by missions and the responsibility of being an avenger.

"staring is creepy you know" you suddenly muttered out, your eyes still closed, but feeling an intense stare at you.

"Y/N!" he gasped, "i was so worried about you, i thought you were going to leave me" he whimpered out, pressing a kiss onto your hands.

"hey, you can't get rid of me that easily you know" you joked, but inside you were feeling horrible, you should've been more careful, what kind of superhero are you? can't even dodge a knife.

peter laughed slightly, but still looking concerned. "how are you feeling?"

"like shit" you replied, a smirk forming on your lips.

you both laughed, but you couldn't help letting the thoughts back in, your laughter fading.

"hey, what's wrong?"

"nothing, i-i just— i was so bad out there, i couldn't even defend myself, letting myself getting stabbed two times, what kind of superhero i am, if i can't even defend myself, how can i even help other people like that, pete?" you exasperated, looking dejected.

"hey, hey, that wasn't your fault, you tried to defend yourself, but the guy was enhanced, you, couldn't do anything about it, and besides, you still helped my teammates back there, you know? you also helped me a lot, if you didn't show up, i don't know how I would've handled that" he gently took your face in his hands, wiping the tears that you didn't even know were there.

"thank you, i don't know what i would do without you" you managed to let out, too overwhelmed by the emotions you're feeling.

"anything for you, baby" he pressed a kiss onto your forehead.

"i love you"

"and i love you, Y/N"

you ushered him to hop on the bed with you, desperately wanting to cuddle with him, want to feel his warmth.

"are you sure?"

"yess, now get your ass here"

"geez, okay boss" rolling his eyes, he gently got on the bed, snuggling up besides you, wrapping his arm around your shoulder, not wanting to touch your wound, in return, you wrapped your arms around his waist, resting your head on his chest.

"oh yeah... i think i also accidentally revealed your identity to my teammates," he started, just as you were about to get mad, he continued, "—But! don't worry about it, i already talked to Mr. Stark, and he will have it sorted, they're going to sign NDA'S, and besides we're going to reveal our identity after i graduated highschool, so it's not too much of a burden" he continued his explanation.

you sighed, silently agreeing with him, because there's nothing you could even do, so you just accepted it, and continued cuddling up to him.

not long after, you both fell asleep in each other's arms.

~

monday came by, and peter was already dreading it, he didn't want to deal with his teammates shenanigans, but he has to do it unless he wanted his and yours identities revealed. his teammates already signed the NDA'S, right when they were back at school from the horrible field trip, but still, Peter was a little paranoid.

during school hours, his teammates just looked at him, like they're expecting something, sure it was annoying, but peter learned to get over it.

then finally, school was over, and it was time for Decathlon.

when he stepped foot into the room, he immediately got bombarded with a ton of questions from his teammates.

"woah woah! okay! one at a time!" he exclaimed, raising his hands in a defensive manner.

"okay, anyone who has questions, raise your hands" almost immediately, everyone except Ned and MJ raised their hands.

"umm, you there, with the glasses" he pointed to a random student.

"how did you become Spider-man?"

"uh.. i got bit by a radioactive spider on the field trip to oscorp, and no, the spider is not alive." he answered.

"alright, next question, you" he pointed to another student.

"is Kinetic-Girl your girlfriend?"

hearing the question, a blush immediately formed on his cheeks, but he answered it nonetheless.

"uh.. yeah..." he answered shyly, rubbing his cheeks to somehow calm down his blushing.

"does the webs come out from you?"

"no, i made them"

"how long have you been dating Kinetic-Girl?"

"it's about to be two years next month"

"so do you really have an internship at Stark Industries?"

"well at first it was a cover up for... Spider-man, but then Mr. Stark actually made me his personal intern"

and the questions goes on and on, but peter answered every single one of them, not really minding it at all.

"uhm.. okay, that's all for the questions, once again, please don't tell anyone about this, you've all signed the NDA'S so you can't talk about this to anyone, keep it to yourselves, okay?" he ended the sudden QnA with that, hoping that his teammates will keep their words and not tell anyone.

"and please don't treat me any different, just treat like you always do, like the nerd i am." he finished.

his teammates agreed with him, and with that, they continued the decathlon meet like any other day, the fact that peter is Spider-man, pushed away to the back of their minds, but some still shocked about the newfound information i.e Flash.

[davidmann95]

Sooo… Superman and the Authority?

magnus-king123 asked: Your thoughts on Superman & the authority Give it to me...lol

Anonymous asked: Seeing Bezos take his little trip into space the same day Morrison puts out a Superman comic that touches on how far we’ve fallen from the days when we dreamed of utopian futures where everyone explored the stars was a big gut punch. Not used to Superman being topical in that way.

Anonymous asked: What'd you think of Superman and the Authority#1?

This is far beyond what I can fit in the normal weekly reviews, so taking this as my notes on the first six pages, with this and this as my major lead-in thoughts:

* Janin's such a perfect fit for Morrison - the scale, the power, the facial expressions selling the character work, the screwing around with the panel formatting as necessary to sell the effect, the numinous sense of things going on larger than you can fully perceive amidst the beauty and chaos. It's a shame he wasn't around 25 years ago to draw JLA, but I'll take him going with Morrison onto other future projects.

* His intro action sequence is such a great demonstration of why Black actually does have something to offer, and also how he's such a dumbass desperately needing Superman to save him from himself.

* While Jordie Bellaire didn't legit go with an entirely monochromatic palate the way early previews suggested, it's still an effect frequently and excellently deployed here. And glad to see Steve Wands carry into this from Blackstars since there's such an obvious carryover from its work with Superman.

* "Gentlemen. Ladies. Others." Great both because of the obvious - hey, Superman's nodding at me! - and because it's a phrasing that reinforces that this take on him (and let's be real Morrison) is old as hell.

* I'm mostly past caring about whether this is an alt-Earth Superman until it becomes indisputable one way or another, this and Action both rule so what does it really matter? But while there are still a couple signs in play suggesting some kind of division (the Action Comics #1036 cover, Midnighter up to time-travel shenanigans) the "lost in time" quote clearly thrown in after the fact to explain how he could have met Kennedy outside of 5G that wouldn't be necessary for an Elseworlds, the assorted gestures towards Superman's current status quo, the Kingdom Come symbol appearing in Action, and that Morrison would have had to completely rewrite the ending if this wasn't supposed to be 'the' version of Clark Kent going forward as was the intent when they first planned it all say to me that no, no fooling around, this is our guy going forward one way or another.

* Janin and Bellaire making the first version of the crystal Fortress ever that actually looks as cool as you want it to.

Anonymous asked: I like that Superman and The Authority is basically the anti-All-Star; instead of the laid back, immortal Superman who is supercharged, we have a stressed, ageing Superman whose tremendous powers are fading. The former will always be there to save us, but the latter is running out of time and needs to pull off a Hail Mary. Also, he mentions in his monologue to Black that he was "lost in time" when he met JFK, so maybe he is the main continuity Clark. Or he's the t-shirt Supes from Sideways.

* You're absolutely right - the power reversal is obvious and the ticking clock in play seemingly isn't for his own survival but everyone around him as he wakes up and realizes all the old icons grew complacent with the gains they'd made and he's not leaving behind the world he meant to. Both, however, are built on the idea of preparing the world to not need them anymore - it'll still have a Superman in his son, but that'll only work because of the others he empowers and inspires. The question is what happens to Clark if he's not going to live in the sun for 83000 years.

* Clark's 'exercise' here does more to sell me on the idea of Old Man Superman as a cool idea than however many decades of Earth 2 stuff.

* Intergang being noted alongside Darkseid and Doomsday speaks to how much Kirby informed Morrison's conception of Superman.

* This isn't exactly the most progressive in its disability politics but at least it makes clear Black's being a piece of shit about it.

* It's startling how much Clark can get away with saying stuff in here you'd never expect to come out of Superman's mouth. "I made an executive decision" "Privacy, really...?" "You have nowhere to go, Black. Nothing to live for." "There are few people in my life who I instinctively and viscerally dislike, and you've always been one of them." It only works because there's zero aggression behind it, he's just past the point of niceties and being totally frank while making clear none of these assessments preclude that he cares and is going to unconditionally do the right thing every time. He is absolutely, per Morrison, humanity's dad picking us up when we're too drunk to drive ourselves home.

* The story doesn't put a big flashing light over it, but it's not even a little bit subtle having the material threat of the issue be a ticking timebomb left by the carelessness and hubris of generations past.

* Manchester keeps trying to poke the bear and prove his hot takes about Superman and it's just not working. The front he put up under Kelley is gone after decades of defeats, and as Morrison understands what actually conceptually works about him as a rival to Superman underneath the aging nerd paranoia he's exposed as what he absolutely would be in 2021: a dude with a horrific terminal case of Twitter brainworms. I was PANICKED when I heard there was an 'offensive term' joke in this, I was braced for Morrison at their well-meaning worst, but it's such a goddamn perfect encapsulation of a very specific breed of Twitter leftist who uses their politics first and foremost as a cudgel and justification to label their abrasive, judgmental shittiness as self-righteousness (plus it's a killer payoff to a joke from way back in his original appearance). Cannot believe they pulled that off when they're so very, very open about basically not knowing how the internet works.

* @charlottefinn: Manchester Black using his telekinetic powers to force someone he hates to fave a problematic tweet so that he can screenshot it and start a dogpile

@intergalactic-zoo: “Once they cancel Bibbo, Superman won’t be *anyone’s* fav’rit anymore!”

* Friend noted this issue had to be fully the conversation because the whole premise stands on the house of cards of these two somehow working together, and with three 'silent' inset panels the creative team pulls off that turning point.

* So much of this feels on the surface like Morrison bringing back the All-Star vibes with Clark, but when he drops a "That's all you got?" in a brawl you realize what's underlining that bluntness and confidence in the face of failure is that deep down this is still the Action guy too. This dude ain't gonna get wrecked in his Fortress while the other guy chuckles about him being A SOFT WEE SCIENTIST'S SON!

* Bringing up Jor-El made me realize that Morrison already spelled out that this is the final threat to Superman, what he faces at the end of the road:

"Now it's your turn, Superman."

* A l'il Superman 2000/All-Star reference with the Phantom Zone map!

* There's so much intertextuality going on here even by Morrison standards - Change or Die with the old hero putting together a team of morally nebulous folks out to 'fix' everything, Flex Mentallo with the muscleman trying to redeem the punk, Doomsday Clock with the fate of the world hinging on whether Superman can get through to a meta stand-in for an idea of 'modern' comics cynicism, DKR and New Frontier and Kingdom Come and Multiversity and Seven Soldiers and What's So Funny and All-Star and Action and the last 5 years of monthly Superman comics and Authority and probably Jupiter's Legacy and Tom Strong - but none of that's needed. You could go in with the baseline pop cultural understanding of the character and not care about any of the inside baseball shit and get that this is a story about a leader of a generation that let down the people they made all their grand promises to as inertia and day-to-day demands and complacency let him be satisfied with the accomplishments they'd made long ago, looking at a new era and seeing the ways its own activists are dropping the ball. The only thing that fundamentally matters in a "you have to accept you're reading a superhero story" sense is that because he's Superman he's willing to own up to it and listen to people who might know better about some things and try to set things right while he and those who'll take his place still have a chance. And yes, the oldster looking back on their legacy with a skeptical eye and hoping for better from the next generation, hoping most of all that their little heir apparent can fulfill the promise inside of him instead of being a provocating little shitkicker, is obviously also autobiographical.

* The overlaying Kennedy reprisal is such a great visual of a sudden intrusive thought.

* The Kryptonite secret is the obvious "This is going to matter!" moment, but "He lied about his son" is a bit that doesn't connect to anything going on right now so maybe that's important here too? More significantly, the Justice League can't actually be the villains here but that Ultra-Humanite's crew are in an Earth-orbiting satellite makes pretty clear what's up.

* I've said before that between Superman, OMAC, and a New Gods-affiliated speedster this was going to use all of Morrison's favorite things. King Arthur playing a role isn't exactly dissuading me.

* Love the idea that all the antiheroes have their own community in the same way as the capes and tights crew. They definitely all privately think the rest are posers though and that they alone are Garth Ennis Punisher in a mob of Garth Ennis Wolverines.

* Manchester's fallen so far he's gone from trying to convince Superman to kill to convince him to dunk on people for their bad takes and Clark just doesn't get it. Official prediction of dialogue for upcoming issues:

"According to these bloody Fortress scans, the only thing that can restore your powers is an unfiltered hit of dopamine. Don't worry, Doctor Black has a few ideas."

"Hmm. Maybe I'll plant a nice tree?"

"...fuck you."

* Ok I already talked about how great the Fortress looks in here but LOVE this library.

* A pair of pages this seems like the right spot to discuss from Black's original appearance that underlines both his and Superman's inadequacies up to this point:

Responding to the problem of "the government and penal system are hopelessly corrupt" neither of them has any actual notion of what to do about it in spite of their respective posturing beyond how to handle individual outside actors - each is in their own way every bit as small-minded and reactionary as the other. Clark's coming around though, and he's holding out hope for the other guy.

* Superman: Have a lovely mineral water :) proper hydration is important :)

Manchester Black: *Is a dude who can get so mad he vomits and passes out. At water.*

* That last page is the one to beat for the year, and does more to put over the idea of this as an Authority book than that Midnighter and Apollo are literally going to show up. It also feels like Morrison tacitly acknowledging all the ways the premise could go or at least be received wrong - from Superman saying 'enough is enough' to who he's bringing into the fold to go about it - in the most beautifully on-the-nose fashion imaginable. Maybe they'll save us all! Or maybe they'll drown us in their vomit.

[sizeshiftingdeath]

@mcyt-gt-events This is my entry for the Secret Santa mcyt g/t event to @bio-nerds-corner Hope you like it!

Found

“You know what time it is guys?” Foolish asked excitedly.

“POPCORN TIME!!” Charlie and Purple yelled together. The trio raced through the walls to get to the recently put up Christmas tree, decorated with beautiful ornaments and the thing they were most excited for, popcorn on a string, neatly wrapped around the tree, popcorn is a luxury for borrowers most of the time specifically because they can never get to it without being seen, especially not fresh popcorn. “It may be exciting but we still have to be careful grabbing it ok?” Foolish said, knowing that the other two might accidentally cause a scene if they weren’t reminded.

“Ugh, yea yea yea we get it, don’t get caught by the humans so we don’t die,” Purpled said, rolling his eyes at Foolish. After that, they cautiously walked out of their small hole near the tree and started to climb up it. As they got higher, they carefully put small bits of popcorn into their bags, making sure no one was coming back into the room.

Fundy could swear he heard something messing around with the Christmas tree he spent hours setting up, so he went to go check. As he walked into the room, all the sounds he heard before stopped, and as he walked closer to the tree, he could tell something was off. “SAM! Did you mess with the popcorn strands you KNOW I spent HOURS on??” Fundy yelled out, angrily to Sam.

“Why would I do that? I haven’t even been near the tree since you put it up,” Sam calmly called back.

“Well some of the popcorn is missing!”

“How can you tell? It could have just moved around a bit while you were putting it up,” Sam said, trying to calm Fundy down and hoping to stop this little argument. Fundy wasn’t having any of it though, he knows how much popcorn he put up and he 100% knows for a fact some of it’s missing. As Fundy carefully looked around the tree he saw it, actually he saw three, so he grabbed the thieves who stole his hard work. As he pulls them out of the tree and into the open, he sees three little people in his grasp. Fundy, of course, confused says “What the fuck?" The three borrowers stared in horror at the realization that they've been caught. “Who are you and why are you stealing the tree popcorn?” Fundy asked angrily.

“Maybe if you put us down we’ll tell you,” Purpled said, wanting to fight.

“If I do that, you’ll just run off,” Fundy retorted.

“Ok! Ok! Calm down, we’ll tell you if you agree to let us go,” Foolish butted in.

“Fine,” Fundy agreed.

“Ok, good. So, the reason we were ‘stealing’ the tree popcorn is because we need it to survive. If we didn’t we’d starve,” Foolish explained.

“Alright, that explains the tree popcorn stealing, but it doesn’t explain who or what exactly you are. I mean, you seem like you’re just tiny people,” Fundy questioned

“Ok then! I’m Charlie, that’s Foolish, and that is Purpled. We are all borrowers and we live here in Las Nevadas! Also, a borrower is someone who borrows small things that the owner of the house they’re living in wouldn’t miss, like paper clips, or small pieces of food, or even thimbles!” Charlie explained cheerfully.

“Charlie! Don’t go sharing our entire species secrets!” Purpled yelled quietly to Charlie.

“Okay then…… uh, I guess I’ll let you go now since you answered my questions. But don’t think for a second that you can just steal my stuff, especially the stuff I worked hard on!” That last sentence lingered in the trio’s ears as they quickly got away from the giant and into the safety of the walls.

A couple days after the encounter, Foolish decided to take Purpled and Fundy out borrowing for essentials, water, food, and some needed materials. As they were heading back from the trip with their haul, none of them expected Foolish to get caught in a hidden mousetrap close to their hole in the wall. Foolish held back a yelp of pain as he dropped his bag and everything he collected so he could try and get his legs unstuck from the trap. Charlie and Purpled dropped their stuff to help Foolish but he pushed them away, telling them to get back to the walls with the materials while freed himself. As Foolish was trying to ignore the pain while trying to free himself, he didn’t expect one of the giants to walk into the room.

Sam was wandering around trying to help Fundy put the last of the Christmas decorations up when he heard a snap from the kitchen, meaning one of the mouse traps he set up was triggered. As he walked into the kitchen he did not expect to see a small person with their legs stuck in his trap. Sam rushed over, intending to help the tiny person.

Foolish looked up at the giant with fear and saw worry in the giant’s eyes. Foolish started to panic and began pulling on his legs harder, hoping they would come free before the giant got to him. But it was too late, the giant freed him from the trap and held him in his hands.

Sam picked up the small person trying to see how badly they were hurt when all of a sudden, another tiny person walked out of a hole in the wall (Was that always there?) and started yelling at him. Sam tried to calm both tinies down, the one panicking in his hands, and the one shouting at him.

“Hey hey, calm down, I’m just trying to see how badly your friend here is hurt, okay?” Sam said quietly to the yelling tiny. Just then, Fundy walks into the room.

“Sam I still need your help with the decora- What the hell is happening in here?!” Fundy shouted confused at the situation. “First off, Sam, put him down, secondly, Purpled, stop yelling, you’re just making this worse.”

“You know these guys, Fundy?” Sam asked, confused.

“Yea yea, met ‘em a few days ago. Now can someone please explain what’s going on here?”

“Well, I got stuck in a mousetrap that was placed around here and then this guy comes and grabs me out of nowhere. I mean, I’m thankful he freed me but he could’ve just put me down right after.” Foolish explained his side of the story.

“Well I thought we caught a mouse in the trap, that’s kinda the point, anyways I saw him and wanted to help so I released him from the trap and tried checking to make sure he wasn’t too injured. Then this guy with the antennae came out of the wall and yelled at me.” Sam explained.

“All I saw was this big guy come and grab Foolish so I came out to try and get him to put Foolish down.” Purpled explained annoyed.

“So what I’m getting at here is that Sam helped free Foolish from the mousetrap, but didn’t put him down right away so you came out and yelled at him. Did I get that right?” Fundy reiterated.

“Yep,” Foolish, Purpled, and Sam said in unison.

“You guys are lucky Quackity is away for a few days because otherwise, I don’t know what-” Fundy was cut off as they heard the door open behind them and watched as Quackity walked through. Foolish and Purpled sat frozen in fear, not knowing what to do. Sam and Fundy tried covering the borrowers so Quackity didn’t see them. “Uh Quackity! Heyyyy! I thought you were gonna be out longer, what made you come back so early?” Fundy asked nervously.

“I felt like you two would do something stupid, like burn down the place, while I was gone so I decided to come back early.” Quackity explained. “I also feel like it was a good idea because what the fuck are those?” he asked, pointing at Foolish and Purpled. At this point, Charlie walks out of the hole in the wall to see what’s happening and of course, wants to explain to Quackity of Las Nevadas that they, in fact, live there and don’t mess with main parts of the casino.

“So, what I’m getting from this small green person is that you guys are what’s called ‘borrowers’ and have been ‘borrowing’ food and other small materials over time?” Quackity questioned.

“Yup! That’s basically it!” Charlie said cheerfully.

“Alright, as long as you don’t break anything or steal anything important you can stay.” Quackity said, walking away.

“Well that went better than expected,” Fundy said.

“Yea… It was also kinda terrifying,” Foolish quietly said.

“Anyways… You guys just gonna stick around then? It’ll be nice to have some more people around other than Sam and Quackity. No offence Sam” Fundy said.

“None taken,” Sam replied.

“Yea, I think we’ll stick around, as long as you guys don’t try to kill us or something,” Foolish answered.

“Haha! You got yourselves a deal!”

[bokebelle]

Bertholdt with his crush (feat. reiner, annie, ymir, and historia and wingmen/people)

request: can you please please PLEASE do some headcanons where its a modern highschool!au and nerd!bertholdt has a crush on the reader while annie reiner and ymir (sometimes historia) put bertholdt in situations where hes by you or has to talk to you? thank you!!

WARNINGS: none

a/n: im so sorry i posted this so late! uni has been kicking me in the ass. I also just made it a more modern college au bc idk how flirting works in high school. jsdfkjdsk this is also unedited 

the moment rei, annie, Ymir, and hisu (ymir snitched) found out bert liked you, bert wanted to dig a hole and die in it on the spot

to be fair, reiner would probably be really subtle about trying to get you to together

reiner would probably invite you along whenever he and bert would do stuff

“hey [y/n]! You wanna study with us? Bert and I are off to the library right now”

he’d talk about things he knows you and bert like so you two can have more to talk about

he would also strategically sit away from bert so you could sit beside him 

He’d also leave to get “snacks” during your breaks so you and bert could be alone and talk

his mf got too excited and forgets to actually buy snacks because he was too busy watching from behind a bookshelf and sending pictures to a  group chat he made with annie, yimir, and historia without bert

took much longer because he actually had to go buy snacks

ymir would be a little less subtle but it can be easily be confused as her just teasing you guys

She’d insist you all study together in her and historia's apartment during finals so you guys could study longer

when you try and find a seat, she will NOT hesitate to shoo you away until you end up sitting beside bert 

“sorry babe, that seat is for historia” “ymir, she isn’t in the room yet” “i knw but I want her beside me. there’s an open seat beside bert, go sit with him”

historia would also be just as lowkey about it as reiner

she would ask you to help her in the kitchen and would make you bring like 6 bags and plates of snacks and drinks while she only brings a bag of chips ymir and a bottle of water for her 💀

she would also redirect any question you had towards bert because she “doesn’t know the answer, that’s why ymir has to help” she and ymir just spent half the time cuddling instead of studying

“hey bert, I think [y/n] is struggling with the snacks. mind lending a hand?”

when you handed him a few bags of chips, your hands touched and this baby turned so red you thought he was having a heat stroke or smn

ngl he froze for a seconds before helping you

they’re all pretty impressed with how bert managed to keep his cool during the entire night

lmao he’ll never admit it but he was too busy noticing how you’d move a little bit towards him whenever you had a question and the face you’d make when you were concentrating

it was getting late and you had exam in the afternoon, so you decided to go home. since you live pretty near ymir and historia’s place you decide to walk home

“hey [y/n] i can walk with you. it’s pretty late and it’s not safe to walk alone.” “are you sure?” “yeah I live pretty near you anyway, it’s no problem” 

and here we have the silent, but deadly one

the one who would not hesitate to throw bert under the bus if it was for his own good

since you and bert were just walking, you guys decided to head out first

everyone said their goodbyes just as bert is about to close the door, he hears annie go “hey bert since you had the balls to walk them home, maybe you finally have the balls to ask them out”

bert slammed that door SO HARD everyone thought he broke the door

pLEASE SOMEONE SAVE THIS MAN HE WASN'T BUILT FOR THIS

he’s praying to every god in every religion he knows that you did NOT hear annie

but you just...talk to him like and he’s relieved and makes a mental note to look for new friends

you ask him questions about his major and he gets so passionate about why he loves his major and his plans after school

you both don’t notice you’re already as your place

“well, good luck with your exam tomorrow [y/n]!” “hey bert I have one more question!” “sure what is it?” “are ever going to ask me out?”

BRO THIS MANS SOUL WENT TO AFTERLIFE AND GOT REINCARNATED IN THE SAME BODY AT THAT MOMENT

if you watched avatar: the last airbender, this mf went into the avatar state 💀

BLUSHING MESS OF A MAN

“okay well, um, do you wanna maybe go on a date with me after the exams?”

“u-um do you want me to? I mean you don’t have to and I didn’t think you heard annie and honestly it’s not a big deal and you’re probably gonna say no and tha-”

“bert you’ll never know if you don’t ask me.” you smile at him, biting your lip to hold back your giggles as the taller boy got redder with every word that left his mouth

“i’d absolutely love to”

EXTRAS:

lets just say, those were some of the best scores bert got in a while

unblocked it when annie told him you guys never would have dated if she didn’t say anything

his favorite date is when you study together because he gets to spend time with you while also helping you study <3 

Bert blocked annie’s number for a few days

ymir says she didn’t care if you guys started dating or not

reiner got disappointed that it was annie who got you guys together, not him but called it a team effort anyway

historia swears ymir had the biggest smile when you guys showed up holding hands after your first date

ymir never denies this but gets super grumbly about it

[fernpost]

Cycle 3 - A Meal

[link to ao3]

[first] - [previous] - [next] 

“Do we not have it?” Lup’s voice, just on the edge of unadulterated panic, filters through the room. It is borderline sweltering, and they’ve been at it all day.

If they don’t have it, it’s all been for naught. Taako bites at his nail, racking his brain, “fuck, do we not?”

Lucretia is sitting across the room, writing down notes from the day before. Her hand stills as she looks up, “it’s missing?”

Lup wipes her brow, before snapping her fingers and dropping to her knees, opening a small cabinet. She digs frantically through what they have, “if it’s not here, there’s none. I’ve looked all over- we honestly should have had it sooner but there was so much to do and-”

Taako steps behind her, hands resting on his hips to feign casualness. Lup adjusts her position and curses as she hits her head. Taako is about to comment, when she gasps.

He is silent as she jolts backwards with a cry, hand held in the air in success, waving it in the air, “we have it!”

Taako pulls it from her grasp, making his way towards the stove. Lup follows close behind, “if we had used the rest of the garlic last week, I would have jumped ship in shame.”

“Can’t make Mama Davenport’s special meat stew without it. Who are we to surprise our great captain with subpar stew.” Taako peels it quickly, cutting it up and tossing it into the pot liberally, firm in his lifelong belief that no recipe can have too little of the perfect allium.

Lucretia smiles as she scribbles in both of her notebooks from the table, “and Taako couldn’t have transmuteted more because…?”

Handing the spoon to Lup, he turns with an affronted gasp, resting his hand dramatically against his chest, “Do you think me a subpar chef?” With a snort, he kneels to peek into the oven, checking the status of the bread they are baking, “but actually, transmuted food is never as good as the real stuff. You can always taste the difference. It’ll do in a pinch, but for the occasion the Taaco’s spare no expense.”

“Ah, of course.” She goes back to her writing, content in listening to the two of them cook more.

After a few more minutes of gentle stirring, Taako sends Lup to grab Barry from the lab, where he’s been pouring over the same notes for a few hours now. Magnus, Merle, and Cap’nport should be back within the next half hour, if the Sending note Taako received is to be believed.

Considering it’s from Merle, who's to say. But preserving the heat of a dish with magic is much easier than making a dish from scratch, so it won’t be the end of the world. Anyways, Taako will give Merle shit either way.

Taako hear’s Lup laugh as she approaches, so he knows she successfully managed to wrangle Barold away from his work. He is already tired of their strange almost-flirting rituals, but it’s nice to see Lup so excited about something, even if it is a nerd like Barry.

(Taako is steadfastly ignoring how much he enjoy’s Barry’s company himself. Or Magnus’s. Or Lucretia’s. Or how comforting it is to talk to Merle. Or how welcoming Davenport always is. It all means nothing. They’re all still his coworkers. He definitely never seeks out their company. He pretends not to think about how the last time he was around the same people this long was his aunt, and he pretends not to think about how that ended. And it never feels bad when they leave on dangerous missions to look for the Light. Never.)

“Lup, the bread!” Taako calls out, pulling the stew from the stove and bringing it over to the table. Lucretia picks her notebooks up, bringing them over to the small sitting room and leaving them on the rickety coffee table (it wasn’t always rickety. Magnus had been trying, apparently, to teach Barry a wrestling move Merle had described to him once. Mending only goes so far). Lup crosses the small kitchen quickly, grabbing the oven mitts from the counter and pulling the bread out. It smells absolutely divine, of course.

Barry hovers near the edge of the kitchen, hands hovering awkwardly in front of him, “can I help-”

“Not after last time, Bluejeans.” Taako places the lid on the stew, turning to the fridge to look for the cider bottles he knows are in there somewhere from a small market they found near the end of the last year.

“Can you grab the plates?” Lup asks as she removes the bread from the tin and begins cutting it. Barry is quick to help, pulling the plates down from the cabinet right next to her (he’s trying so hard to not brush against her, it’s almost sad). Once he has a stack of seven, he pulls out the utensils as well.

Lucretia stiffens from where she has made her way to the window in the sitting room, peering out. “They’re back!”

Barry glances over, almost overbalancing and dropping the silverware as he gets distracted. After he regains control of the plates, he asks, “how do they look?”

“No worse for wear. No one’s limping or missing anything important, at least.” She pauses, and squints, “I think Magnus is a little singed, though.”

“He’ll be fine.” Taako waves it off. The big guy not getting injured would be more surprising.

Lup is bringing the tray with the bread over when the front door opens. Taako places the last cider down before calling out, “oh Captain!”

“We have a surprise for you!” Lup yells.

“What do you-” Davenport pauses, and Taako has cooked enough for the gnome to know he is smelling the air. “Is that stew?” He rounds the corner with the others. He looks tired, thick bags hanging heavy under his eyes.

They were supposed to be gone a week for a recon mission, but Merle sent a message saying they’d be a few days later. About halfway through them being gone, Taako had started digging through the books Davenport brought. One was, for some reason, an old cookbook. It was covered in scribbled writing, and a note left at the beginning detailed how Davenport’s mother gifted it to him when he left for his first job on a ship. One recipe in particular had a sticky note marking it, and Taako had glanced through the recipe. It seemed easy enough, so he brought it to Lup to make.

If she had said anything about him being a sap, he’d deny it. He just enjoyed trying out a new recipe.

“Are we going to eat or just bask in the smell?” Taako sits at his normal seat, not waiting to begin to serve himself. He passes the ladle to Lup, watching as the others join them. Davenport remains standing, only moving when Magnus kicks his chair away from the table, gesturing for him to sit.

The ladle is passed to their captain, who scoops some of the stew and stares at it, “is this…” Davenport looks up at Lup and him, squinting, “did you two go through my cabin?”

An overlap of “no,'' and “Taako did,” answer his question, and Taako quickly slaps Lup on the arm. “Was just looking at your books. You expect me to not read a cookbook you’ve got hidden away?”

Davenport doesn’t answer. He scoops up some of the stew and sips at it, obviously hesitant. It’s quiet in the room, before he smiles, “almost as good as my mom made it.”

A cacophony of mockery aimed at Taako blusters out, his own voice just barely rising above as he defends his honor and abilities.

No one mentions how their captain looks a little misty-eyed. It’s been a long three years.

Later that night, Magnus approaches him and Lup as they play cards in the sitting room, vaguely describing a pie his dad used to make on Candlenights, asking if the two of them thought they could recreate it.

Taako is offended that he believes they can’t.

[eminems-skittles]

cosplays and crushes [penelope garcia x reader]

penelope garcia x fem!reader warnings: none word count: 2.3k

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

     The hot San Diego sun had started to set on the line full of costume-clad convention goers. Penelope and Spencer, decked out in their Doctor Who and Rose Tyler cosplays, had been camped out since 4 in the afternoon. They just so happened to be in San Diego for a case when Rossi surprised the two nerds with tickets to Comic Con. Hotch had already agreed to giving them the weekend off in order to attend the event, saying they deserved the break and to be around people who understand what they're talking about. After some pushback from Spencer and Penelope, not because they didn't want to go but because they didn't want to be out of state if there was an emergency, they gladly accepted the tickets. The rest of the team, having been aware of the surprise, had already booked hotel rooms at a fancy hotel in San Diego as well. They had all decided that it was time for a well deserved break from their demanding jobs.

   Currently, Spencer and Penelope were in line for the Doctor Who panel. They were surrounded by people who shared their love of the show. While everyone there were all dressed in cosplays and costumes, one specific person caught Penelope's eye. Well, technically, she noticed the girl as soon as they arrived in line. This particular girl had (Y/H/C) and was dressed as (Y/F/C). She was there, apparently by herself. After two hours of constant chatting with Spencer about what they are looking forward too, their theories of previous cases, and Penelope's not so secretive constant checking to see if maybe the beautiful stranger's friends had finally showed up, Penelope had finally gathered the courage to introduce herself to the lonely girl. Spencer, being the expert profiler he is, had already picked up on Garcia's growing curiosity about the lonesome girl.

   Spencer leaned close to Penelope, to ensure that the girl wouldn't hear him, and whispered, "Just talk to her Pen. She won't bite."

   "Aw but I like it when they bite," Penelope whined jokingly, winking at the now blushing Spencer. She pinched his cheek, "Oh ease up, kiddo. I'm kidding. I would talk to her but what if she shoots me down? She is way out of my league. Besides, what am I supposed to say?"

   "Pen, believe me, she is not out of your league. She's here isn't she? You two are in the same league. Just talk to her." Spencer tried to convince her. If the girl they were talking about wasn't so close, Spencer might have also mentioned that he noticed the girl looking at Penelope also. But for now, he'd keep that too himself.

   Penelope took a deep breath, making eye contact with Spencer, who gave her a small reassuring small, before turning around to face the girl. She waved before introducing herself, "Uh, hi! My name is Penelope and this is my friend Spencer! I really like your costume! (Y/F/C) is one of my favorites!"

   "Oh hi!" she waved at spencer slightly before directing her attention back to Penelope. "My name is Y/N! Thank you so much! It took forever to make. I like yours too! Where are you from?"

   "We're from Virginia, we were out here for work and one of our co-workers surprised us with tickets. How about you? Where are you from?"

   "Oh that's awesome! I'm actually from Virginia also! How funny! I live in Richmond for work but when I'm not working I live in (Y/H/T)." Y/N said, her eyes lighting up when she heard that the pretty girl in front of her lived in the same state as her. "If it's not too much to ask, where do you guys live? I'm not a stalker I swear." She added quickly.

   Spencer and Penelope shared an amused look, before laughing slightly.

   "We live in Quantico. Spence and I work for the FBI." Penelope hoped it was okay that she told this stranger that she was an FBI agent. However, Spencer didn't stop her so she assumed it was okay. "What do you do for work?"

    "Oh well I am an elementary school teacher so when school is session, I live in Richmond but during summer I go back home to help out my family. It's not the best situation but I make it work," She laughed slightly. Penelope decided then and there that she loved Y/N's laugh. "Anyway, what do y'all do for the FBI, that is if you're allowed to say."

   "Well I am a tech analyst for the Behavioral Analyst Unit, or the BAU as we call it. So I basically research suspects, victims, open cases, stuff like that and send it to the team." Penelope explains, being careful not to spill too much about her job.

   "And I'm a profiler for the BAU. So while Penelope is at the office, the other agents and I are in the field, examining crime scenes and catching serial killers and bad guys," Spencer explained.

   "Wow, you guys have such cool and important jobs." Y/N said.

   "Yeah, I guess we do," Penelope said, smiling brightly at Y/N. "So are you here by yourself?"

   "Unfortunately. My girlfriend was supposed to come but uh she broke up with me two weeks ago and it was too late to refund the tickets. I needed time away from there anyway" Y/N looked sad as she explained. Penelope looked at Spencer, her eyes silently pleading with him. Spencer looked at Y/N, then at Penelope, before slightly nodding his head.

   "Oh no! I'm so sorry, hon! If you'd like, you can stick with Spencer and I. We're staying at the main hotel with our coworkers. You are more than welcome to join us!" Penelope said, silently cursing herself for sounding so eager. How she already managed to have feelings for this girl so fast was beyond her. Normally, it took her a few days before developing feelings for someone. Yet here she was, having the most mundane conversation with this random girl.

    Thoughts started zooming around in Penelope's brain. Surely it has to be fate that they were both here. Penelope never planned on going to Comic Con until a few days ago. She didn't even plan on going to this panel because she had thought they missed it. And yet, here she was, talking with the prettiest girl she had ever seen. She almost couldn't form proper sentences. Y/N's smile seemed to cause her brain to short-circuit.

    "Are you sure? I don't want to impose. This is your guys vacation." Y/N hesitantly said.

     "It's fine, really, Y/N. It would be fun. Comic Con isn't a place to be alone at." Spencer cut in, a small smile stretching across his face. This was the first time he had seen Penelope act like this in front of a girl, and with everything that Penelope did for him and the team, he figured it was time he did something for her.

    Y/N contemplated for a second. A very small part of her was saying no, because she had just met these people. But then she reasoned that they are FBI agents so they wouldn't hurt her. She also already had started developing a small crush on Penelope. She knew she shouldn't of been catching feelings so quickly. It had only been two weeks since her ex had broken up with up her. However, in this moment, Y/N could care less. If her ex didn't want to be with her anymore, that was no longer her problem. She couldn't spend the rest of her life being sad about someone who did not care about her anymore.

     "If you're sure about this, then of course! You guys seem really fun and I'd love to hangout!" Y/N agreed.

    Penelope and Y/N shared a smile, getting momentarily lost in each others eyes. They stayed like that until Spencer nudged Penelope with his elbow. Once they were broken out of their trance, Penelope and Y/N had realized that the line had finally started moving. Once they got into the panel, Y/N, Penelope, and Spencer sat down as close to the front as possible. Throughout the panel, Y/N and Penelope silently fangirled as Spencer watched intently, no doubt trying to memorize everything that everyone said. Not that he had to try.

     At the end of the panel, around 9:00 at night, the trio was trying to figure out where to go for dinner. Spencer, who was eager to tell Derek about Penelope's new love interest, excused himself to the hotel for the night, saying he was too tired and to go out without him.

    "Let's go change into normal clothes and meet up in 15 minutes? We can go to the hotel bar or go to a restaurant in town?" Y/N asked, secretly hoping this dinner would turn into a date. The day she had spent with Penelope was one of the best days she had had in a long time. Even when she was with her ex-girlfriend. Penelope agreed before they headed to their respective rooms to change into clothes for the evening.

   After they got ready, they met in the hotel lobby and decided on staying at the hotel restaurant and bar. Penelope decided against going into town because of what she sees everyday in her line of work. Y/N did not mind, she just wanted to spend time with Penelope.

   The two had ended up getting kicked out of the hotel bar, having stayed until 2 in the morning. They had decided to make their way to the pool to just sit and talk.

   "Thank you for the wonderful night, Penny," Y/N said, smiling at the slightly taller girl. Y/N was slightly tipsy, leaning her head against Penelope's shoulder.

   "You know, I think you're one of the first people to call me Penny, doll face," She said giggling a bit harder than she should have. "You're welcome, sweetcheeks. I had an amazing time tonight also."

   Little did the two girls know, the BAU team (with the exception of Hotch, who insisted that he had better things to do than spy on Penelope's first date) were hiding along the row of chairs behind them to get a good look at the scene unfolding in front of them.

  Y/N and Penelope stared at each other for a second before a voice shouted, "JUST KISS ALREADY!" The two of them jumped about five feet in the air before looking back to see JJ and Emily pulling Spencer back to the ground to hide him from the two.

  "Might as well give the people what they want," Penelope said, wiggling her eyebrows. Y/N smiled for what felt like the millionth time that day, before nodding her head.

  The two leaned forward, pausing for a second to look each other in the eyes, before leaning in all the way. Penelope brought her hands up to Y/N's face, one on her cheek, the other on the back of her neck. Y/N put both of her hands on Penelope's cheeks. They stayed like that for a few moments, the soft kiss seemingly having lasted longer than a few seconds. They pulled apart, catching their breaths.

   "Wow," Y/N breathed out. A smile and blush had forced their way onto her face, as she looked at Penelope.

   "Wow," Penelope repeated, staring into Y/N's eyes.

   "I SHIP!" Spencer shouted from where he, Derek, Emily, JJ, and Rossi were supposed to be hiding. Penelope broke her stare from Y/N, turning to face her not so secretive friends.

   "Ok, who let him drink tonight?" Penelope shout back to her friends.

   "You know, for FBI agents, your friends aren't all that sneaky." Y/N said, smiling slightly before kissing Penelope again. The group of FBI agents all hooted and hollered jokingly at Penelope and Y/N.

    "Alright you idiots, lets all get to bed before we anger Garcia enough to make her hack all of our records," Rossi said to the team, trying to get them to leave. He was met with a few groans and 'okay dad's, but everyone got up and followed him out of the pool area. As soon as they were sure they were by themselves, they pulled apart from the kiss.

   "I know we just met and you're fresh out of a relationship, but Y/N, I uh I really like you. And I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be with you. I can wait as long as you-" she was interrupted by yet another small kiss.

   "Penny, I like you a lot too. And I want to be with you too. But it's going to take a bit of time before I get into another relationship." Y/N explained.

   "Of course, take all the time you need, sweetie," Penelope said. The two girls cuddled up next to each other for a few minutes before deciding to call it a night. Penelope walked Y/N to her hotel room with promises of an early breakfast the next day.

  "Goodnight Y/N," Penelope said, before kissing Y/N's cheek.

  "Goodnight Penny," Y/N said, kissing Penelope's cheek as well. She unlocked her door and stepped instead, saying goodnight one final time before watching Penelope walk back down the hall to the elevator. Before she got into the elevator, Penelope waved back at Y/N before dramatically blowing a kiss down the hall. Y/N playfully got the kiss and placed her hand on her cheek, waiting for the elevator doors to close, before making her way into her own room. She was unable to stop smiling the whole time she got ready for bed. This was the best day ever.