#act 1 = a heist that goes too well probably

[spaceprincessleia]

Right, this is barely an outline, but I came up with a cute idea for the Velcinta action adventure with Kleya and probably Aphra, and I’d like to share a scene outline with you. The rest will be 100 % inspired by Flight of the Silverbird from Two Steps from Hell, and probably be the end of act 1.

“What in the galaxy is our cargo?! Kleya?”

“That is not for us to know.”

“Us? You mean you don’t know either?”

“We do as he tells us, Vel. But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

“You don’t know. He didn’t tell you. He didn’t tell you!”

“Well, you lost them, didn’t you?”

“Barely. Who were they? What do they want?”

“You’re off course,” Kleya changed topic, a displeased frown on her face. “You should be on your way to Coruscant.”

“I know. We just got attacked, remember?”

“Vel, we can’t afford to lose time. Get back. On course. To Coruscant.”

Vel hated when she talked to her like that, her voice as condescending as if she were talking to a child. “I said I know. Let us catch our breath for a bit, okay?”

“Catch your breath?! Cinta? Let me speak with Cinta.”

Vel rolled her eyes, and turned the commlink’s screen to face Cinta.

“Hey, Cinta. A little help here?” Vel noticed Kleya’s tone slightly soften, and she knew Cinta heard it, too, even if she couldn’t tell her.

Cinta shrugged. “Vel’s the pilot. What do you want me to do? We’ll take five, and then we get back on course, like you said. It’ll be fine.”

When Vel returned to the screen, Cinta moved her hand horizontally across her throat, straight and with palm down. “Cut her off,” she mouthed silently.

Vel nodded slightly, and interrupted Kleya; she hadn’t listened to her for a few seconds, and no idea what she was on about. “Kleya? I think you’re breaking off.” She shook the comm link theatrically, switching back and forth between holding it up to her ear, and staring at the screen the screen with feigned confusion. “Well, everything’s under control here, situation, uh, normal. I’ll let you know as soon as we’re back on course. Sorry, what? Hang on, I’ll— “ She hit the button, and the device switched off.

Cinta snorted, eyebrows raised in amusement. “Situation normal? Really?”

Vel scrunched her nose and grinned. “Well. It worked, didn’t it? Now …” She directed her attention to the control panel of the ship. “Let’s see where we are.”

“You want to enter atmosphere?”

“Yeah. Just for a spin, fly off the adrenaline. We’ll be fine for a few minutes, right? And if there were hostiles here, we would know by now.”

Cinta held both hands up, palms facing away from her. “Like I said, you’re the pilot. And I wouldn’t be alive right now without you, so, yeah, let’s go for a spin.”

[superman86to99]

Adventures of Superman #515 (August 1994)

Massacre in Metropolis, Part 2: the ice cream heist turns fatal! As seen last week, Massacre and his wormy little sidekick, Skimmer, have come to Earth to steal ice cream for a space mobster, but Skimmer ends up doing all the work while Massacre goes straight to punching Superman. In fact, Massacre cares so little about completing the mission that he punches Superman right into the spaceship carrying all the ice cream, causing it to come crashing down and explode. Superman, Massacre, and Skimmer survive the explosion but the ice cream, sadly, does not.

Massacre gleefully pummels Superman, who's having trouble punching him back -- Massacre always seems to know exactly what his next move will be and act accordingly. After deducing that Massacre doesn't have psychic powers (otherwise he'd be taunting him with stuff like "I bet Lois is making out with Jeb Friedman right about now!"), Superman figures out that he's predicting his moves by "sensing nerve signals," whatever that means.

What's important is that Superman deliberately misses Massacre with his heat vision in order to drop a wall on him from behind by surprise, and then just starts beating the crap out of him while Massacre is too distracted to sense any nerves or whatever. The massacrer has become the massacred!

Meanwhile, Superman's own wormy little sidekick, Jimmy Olsen, is taking photos of the fight from a rather flimsy-looking half-destroyed bridge, as a worried Lois looks on. Skimmer, who is also worried about his guy losing (and ending up stranded on Earth), sneaks up on Lois and takes her hostage. Lois, however, is pretty used to being kidnapped by "meta-weirdos" by now, so she quickly frees herself...

...at which point the entire bridge starts collapsing due to a blast shot by Massacre. Superman is able to save Lois and Jimmy, but Skimmer is buried by the rubble and it looks like he's about to go the big Ben & Jerry's in the sky. Supes wants to take him to a hospital (it's Metropolis; they probably have a whole unit for aliens crushed by debris during fights), but a weirdly emotional Massacre says no. He says Skimmer may be a bug but he's his bug, so he wants to transport him to a "xeno-med" instantly, which is his only chance of surviving. Superman agrees, and as Massacre disappears with Skimmer, he says something about having "learned his lesson well."

On the final page, we see that, after leaving Skimmer at the space hospital, Massacre retired from punching and now works a normal office job at a space insurance comp-- wait, no. He actually just let Skimmer die while he sat on an asteroid, thinking about how he's glad his little pal is dead now, because that means his rivalry with Superman is now personal.

(No, he's not cheekily winking at the camera, he just got a swollen eye from the fight.)

Creator-Watch:

As with Massacre's first appearance, artist Barry Kitson is credited as plotter in this issue, with regular writer Karl Kesel handling dialogue. You can sort of tell they're working Marvel style (art goes first, then the writer figures out what the characters are saying) because the narrative style is WAY more action-driven than your average Kesel comic, and some of the dialogue has a distinct "OK, what do I make them say in this one?" vibe to it.

This might explain why parts of the fight feel repetitive, as Don Sparrow points out (but I'll let him talk about it in his section below!).

Plotline-Watch:

When he goes off to take photos of the fight, Jimmy leaves his clothes-scavenging partner Lucy Lane with the white-haired girl from Adventures #514, who turns out to 1) be named Case and 2) want to be a rock star. In fact, she and some friends are currently looking for instruments in the wreckage of a music shop so they can form a band called the Riot Grrrls and play at the upcoming Metropolis benefit concert. They're nice enough not to ditch her, but Lucy doesn't really fit in with the group; she's more of a Tiffany person, as we find out.

Lucy apparently doesn't realize that the "Babe" mentioned above is Jimmy's old friend Babe Tanaka, now a big death metal star (as mentioned in Man of Steel #36), whom she should probably remember from that time they were both turned into vampires and almost slayed by Robin. Or maybe Lucy does remember Babe but she's playing dumb because she's still jealous of that time two years ago when she saw her "kissing" Jimmy at the hospital...

The Massacre/Doomsday comparisons continue. Don Sparrow says: "Massacre gets more of a push, with still some more Doomsday invocations, as Lois' fretting establishes that Superman had an easier time fighting Doomsday than he did Massacre." Because, you know, he could actually lay a punch on Doomsday. Lois' concerns turn out to be misplaced (one distraction and Massacre turned into a punching bag) but I think we should cut the girl some slack; she did just watch her guy get beaten to death a few month's ago, in the comic's timeline.

After successfully ricocheting his heat vision to drop that wall on Massacre, Superman thinks: "And Ma said Pete and I were wasting our time in that pool hall!" Imagine young "aw shucks" Clark Kent and Pete Ross angering redneck hustlers by being inexplicably good at pool. Why wasn't that included in the World of Smallville miniseries?! Why wasn't the whole mini about that?!

Plug-Watch:

SPARROW ALERT! Don will be appearing at SaskAssemble AND Sask Expo Regina in September, so if you're from those parts, go there and confront him about his shameless Jimmy Olsen apologism.

If you're using League of Comic Geeks (sort of a Letterboxd for comics), I've started an account where I'm slowly posting blurbs from our older blog entries in the corresponding Superman '86 to '99 era issues, so feel free to follow along! I'll also be (briefly) commenting on the non-Superman comics I do read from time to time, including the '90s DC stuff I scour for Superman references for the Super Titles Round-Up posts. Be warned that you might suddenly see like 40 Zero Hour crossover issues show up in your feed...

Shout Outs-Watch:

Riot Grrrl-loud shout outs to our supporters, Aaron, Chris “Ace” Hendrix, britneyspearsatemyshorts, Patrick D. Ryall, Bheki Latha, Mark Syp, Ryan Bush, Raphael Fischer, Kit, Sam, Bol, Dave Shevlin, and Dave Blosser! Join them (and get extra non-continuity articles) via Patreon or our newsletter’s “pay what you want” mode!

Oh yeah, Don is also appearing RIGHT HERE AND NOW:

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):

We start with the cover, and it’s a little bit of déjà vu, a conceptual mirror image to last week’s Superman #92, where Massacre was decking Superman.  On this week’s cover, Superman is striking back.  Apart from the reference to the previous cover, this one is fine, but maybe a little stiff and static.

Inside the book, we’re greeted almost immediately with a big old explosion as Superman, Massacre, and Skimmer’s ship crash back down to the rubble that is Metropolis, miraculously hurting no one important.

An odd thing in these fire-lit pages is that aside from slightly curlier hair, it’s hard to tell Lois Lane apart from “Dis”, one of the Riot Grrrls. The image on page 4, though, of Superman’s fighting stance in the flames against Massacre, is a good one.

The art team seems to thrive at drawing teeth, which are prominently featured in a sequence of panels on pages 11 and 12.  Say what you want about intergalactic villain Massacre—he takes care of his chompers.

The battle scenes here are well-drawn—generally Barry Kitson is a terrific and consistent penciller—but there is something repetitive about the fighting.  Apart from Superman’s heat vision bank-shot, it’s literally just a slugfest, with the fight choreography just being haymaker after haymaker. 

It’s not only visually a bit repetitive, but seems to forget that Superman learned to fight smarter (using his flight, heat vision and arctic breath more to his advantage) in his second fight with Doomsday. 

To this point, Skimmer seemed like a harmless hanger-on, so it’s a bummer to see him go full villain, threatening (and very nearly groping) Lois Lane.  Nice to see Lois do some hand to hand combat to free herself, and her dialogue about not being a damsel in distress is in-character.

The images of Massacre crying are unintentionally hilarious, as is Superman’s stern, vice principal like admonishing that so long as Massacre continues killing, they’ll remain enemies, BUT HE’S FREE TO GO. [Max: I always took the "crying" as a side effect of the beating, since it's only in one eye and it's the one that looks swollen on the final page. Maybe Massacre's blood is white? Or maybe Kitson intended it as blood but the editors toned it down to avoid implying Superman punched someone's eye off.]

I suppose Massacre staying would threaten Skimmer’s survival, since Massacre says he’s taking off to tend to his care, but still, this seems super weird and casual after they’ve built Massacre up as an unstoppable killing machine for three issues. 

SPEEDING BULLETS:

You might be sitting there thinking an excessive amount of time is being spent on the characters Azuki, Case, Dis, Margo and Sinda forming a band, a band called the Riot Grrrls.  If that’s what you’re thinking, you’d be right.  [Max: Maybe once Kitson learned he'd be plotting the issue he said "Awesome, I can turn it into a backdoor pilot for my Riot Grrrrls comic pitch!"] Aside from taking up a lot of panels and not really advancing the story, I also have to chuckle at the on-the-nose band name, which Is also the name of a Pacific Northwest punk movement or genre.  Calling your band Riot Grrrls would be as literal as naming your band “Seattle Sound” or “Grunge Music” in 1994.  On the plus side, Dis mentions Bessolo Boulevard, which we’ve established is a reference to the adopted name of tragic 50’s Superman, George Reeves.

I had thought that Case’s mention of “Shonen Knife” was some kind of in-universe slang (the Legion books were always establishing future slang terms, as were off-worlders like Lobo, whose expression “Feetal’s Gizz” became almost like a catch phrase, or in Batman Beyond, the young people called things “shui”, an apparent abbreviation of the principle of feng shui) but that’s just because I wasn’t sufficiently hip to know that Shonen Knife was an all-girl Japanese pop-punk band.  In our universe, even!  So Case was dismissing her lyrics as being too close to a Shonen Knife song.  Which one?  I have no idea.

A little later in the story, the Riot Grrrls take up two more full pages to scavenge the rubble of a music store, called Tom N’ Nancy’s Music Mart.  I believe this is a reference to frequent Karl Kesel collaborator Tom Grummett, and his wife, Nancy Grummett (a celebrated potter/artist in her own right, in these parts).  [Max: And the store seems to be located in Grummett Ave., too!]

There’s also pop culture references, one to Teen Talk Barbie, the controversial 1992 Barbie doll who famously said “Math class is tough” (among 270 other less offensive phrases, including “I’m studying to be a doctor”) earning the ire of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.  The doll is misquoted in this issue as having said “Math is hard.”  Lucy Lane also shows her pop culture illiteracy when Margo mentions lead singer/vampire harpy Babe Tanaka, and Lucy asks if she’s anything like Tiffany.  Pop singer Tiffany (nee Tiffany Darwish) was largely out of the public eye by the mid-90s, and a far cry from a Riot Grrrl.

Seriously, it’s just so weird to try to give Massacre a heart, like he’s a big softie at the end!  [Max: Whether he was crying or not, I still think he should join the Riot Grrrls and write a heartfelt song the sad passing of Skimmer.]

[mystical-flute]

Fleeting Lullaby: Swanfire Week Day 1

Also on AO3

Prompt: Emma and Neal playing on the swings at a small playground that nobody goes to anymore.

Summary: Neal is acting strange. Emma is determined to find out why.

Crestview Park was perhaps the saddest excuse for a park Emma had ever seen. One of the slides was ripped from the playscape it had once been attached to, a worrying gap separating the two. The climbing structures were missing a few rungs on each one, and the coils on the spring toys for younger children were rusted from lack of care.

Even the picnic wooden picnic tables were splinter traps, parts of the wood so sharp they looked like the splinters could penetrate even her heavy jacket.

The worst part of the park was the litter. Not just litter from food, but she could see cigarette butts among other things used for drugs. It was no wonder no one was here, and, frankly, she was very confused as to why Neal would want to bring her here. Even though they weren’t exactly rolling in money, they had been trying to stay away from the sketchy areas of town.

He’d been acting strange anyway, since he’d told her about his wanted poster and how he had to leave. She, of course, had refused to leave him behind, and they had a plan to get the watches, even if he had taken some convincing to let her go with him.

So what was the big deal?

He led her to the one part of the park that didn’t look like it would blow over at a small gust of wind - the swings, and took a seat on one. She followed, a cup of hot chocolate in her hands.

“So… do you want to tell me why you’re so freaked out about this last heist?” she asked with a frown. “You’re scaring me, Neal.”

He heaved out a sigh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out. I’m just - are you really, really sure you want to do this? Steal the watches and go on the run with me?”

“Of course I’m sure, Neal. All I want is you, and our future together if we can fence those watches.” She had a bunch of fantasies in her head about what they’d do with the money, despite her mind telling her not to get her hopes up, and she was starting to think this was why she never should have in the first place.

Neal nodded slowly. “Okay, okay. That’s what I want too, I swear. I just… got confronted with my past and I felt a little overwhelmed.”

“The wanted poster, I know. I said I was fine coming with you for a reason.”

“I don’t mean that, Emma. Last night while you were looking at a map of the station, someone who knows my dad found me.”

His dad? Oh, that was another matter entirely. Neal didn’t talk about his dad much, but Emma did know that he was apparently an awful human being who Neal felt the need to run away from when he was only thirteen, so the fact that someone his dad knew had found Neal… well, it concerned her, to say the least.

“I see. What did he tell you?”

Neal looked like he was struggling to figure out what he was going to say as he rocked forward and back on the swing. “He… said that my father is in need of help. That there is someone very bad after him and only I can save him, or something.”

Emma blinked in confusion, then began to laugh, also beginning to swing. “You’re kidding, right? Why would you want to help your dad after he forced you to run away from home?”

He pulled a face. “I don’t know. He probably made a bad deal with someone.” The words were bitter, holding a much deeper meaning than Emma could understand, and she frowned a little

“I guess that means you don’t want anything to do with him, right? So you’re not going to go help him.” It would be stupid of him to do so, wouldn’t it? His dad was a terrible person…

“I don’t know,” Neal said. “It’s like I said before… once you find a place that feels like home, you miss it. If my dad is in trouble, I want to help.”

She couldn’t say she understood his reasoning at all, given what she had heard about him, but she loved Neal, so she nodded. “Okay, then we’ll go together and help him.”

“What? Emma, are you sure?” he questioned, his eyes wide.

“I didn’t leave when I found out you stole those watches and you had a wanted poster. I’m not leaving you because your dad is an asshole. Besides, you might need help, and how else are you going to show him that you’re better without him?”

Neal tilted his head back and laughed. “Yeah, I guess so. Alright, if you’re sure. After we fence the watches in Canada, we’ll go to Storybrooke together.”

Emma hummed as they stood up. “Well, it’s not Tallahassee, but at least I’ll be with you.”

[thelemoncoffee]

Okay soooo more dual-classing phantom thief/detective au

One really funny scenario I was imagining was if Kokichi or Shuichi gets a lead on the other phantom thief, so they start doing detective work but. They forgot that they're still in their own phantom thief attire. They're just out here acting as a detective as their phantom thief identity and everyone around them is like "yo what??"

Like, for example, right after a heist, Shuichi gets a call that Thief 1 has been spotted at so-and-so museum, so he hurries over there, only to realize once he's there that he never changed out of his phantom thief outfit, and he probably shouldn't try to, like. Arrest a phantom thief as a phantom thief. Meanwhile Kokichi is staring at this other phantom thief that just showed up with no explanation and not a single word said to him, leaving both of them extremely confused about what to do next.

Tbh, I too am not sure what would happen next, but I have three ideas:

Eventually Shuichi leaves (because what else is he supposed to do) and Kokichi makes his get-away, but it never leaves their minds that their first meeting with the city's other phantom thief was an awkward stare down in a random museum.

Shuichi just grabs whatever Kokichi was in the middle of stealing, goes "my robbery now", and bolts, leaving Kokichi to chase after him.

Alternatively, Shuichi steals something else, because hey, he might as well now that he's here, and both of them act like the other isn't even there. Just another Tuesday, just another robbery.

Alternatively alternatively, the exact same previous scenario plays out, except Kokichi strikes up a completely casual conversation with Shuichi. Like, the kind of conversation you'd have with an acquaintance you run into at the grocery store. "Oh hey, Thief 2, fancy running into you here. How've you been?" / "Uh, can't complain, I guess. What about you?" / "Same old, same old."

I can't decide which one I like best, but I imagine each one would leave very different impressions on Kokichi and Shuichi as well as any other detectives on the case that hear about the interaction

*wheeze* they're such awkward morons i love them

[whatinthehale17]

Twin Heist

I started a Choices One-Shots series on ao3 but I figured I'd start putting it here too because why not. It's just a bunch of different One-Shots of my MC's from my favorite choices books getting into shenanigans with other Choices characters.

Also if anyone comes across this and has any prompts, I'd love some prompts.

Choices Book- High School Story: Class Act

Characters- Lauren Hamilton (MC HSS:CA), Lucas Hamilton (MC's Twin HSS:CA), Lillian 'Lilly' Benson (MC HSS), Lilith 'Lily' Benson (MC's Twin HSS)

Rating- Teen

Chapters- 1/?

Words- 3,396

Chapter Summary- Rewrite of the scene in HSS:CA 3 where they have to get the staff back from the Statton kids except instead of it being MC with Ajay, Rory and Skye, it's my MC's and their twins.

~~~

It was chaos after recieving the texts from the Stattons kids, acting as if they weren't the cause of the missing staff. As a lot of them crowded around Lauren, Erin, Emma and Maria's room, talking over one another, Ajay tried to get everyone to quiet down and take control of the situation, though no one was listening to him. Until a louder voice cut through. "Guys, everybody, please!" Lilith 'Lily' Benson yells out, having moved to stand on one of the beds and everyone turns to look at her. Her curly blonde hair was cut short and styled in a way that fit her, dressed in a long sleeved striped collared shirt and black pants.

"Let's not panic. It's only 10, we have tons of time to get the staff before our performance later" Lily reminds them.

"Thank you, Lily" Ajay nods, motioning to her before addressing the crowd himself. "I will go retrieve the staff, Rory and Lauren you can come with me. Being lead actors might be useful in this situation" Ajay says and Skye goes to volunteer as well but Lillian 'Lilly' Benson pipes up instead, dressed in a hoodie and jeans, her wavy blonde hair resting on her shoulders.

"Hold on a second. This is my staff. I think I should go and get it. Plus, you're talking to the people who helped pull off the Hearst spirit stick heist. We might have more luck" Lilly points out and her twin nods in agreement as well as some of the others who had been there as well.

"I think as the director, I should go and get it and you all focus on getting to Spotlite" Ajay disagrees but the Benson twins shake their heads.

"Trust us, we've got this. You get the others to Spotlite, me and my sis can do it. We'll have the staff for the show" Lily tells him.

Ajay moves to argue again, but some of the others seemed convinced. "Lucas and I can help too! Like a twin heist!" Lauren quickly agrees and the Bensons smile.

"Yes! My daughter must be there to help me with my staff" Lilly agrees.

"I'm not sure I'd be up for this. I'm not good with the whole heist thing-y. I'd probably mess everything up" Lucas disagrees anxiously.

"No way! Come on, Lucas. Just think of yourself as your character. You're mischievious, remember! You're great at it!" Lauren assures him and others start nodding, the four of them looking to Ajay who still seemed on the fence. He gives in though, nodding.

"Fine, you four can go and get the staff. The entire department is depending on you. Please, don't screw this up" Ajay begs.

"That was inspiring" Lilly jokes.

"As for the rest of you, we're heading to Spotlite to start setting up. Come along" Ajay urges. Rory turns to Lauren, squeezing her hand and sending her a smile.

"Good luck, Lauren. You've got this" Lauren smiles, giving her a kiss.

"Thanks" The others start to leave, Erin giving Lucas another pep talk, Emma giving Lilly a cheek kiss and Lily kissing her girlfriend Hazel Porter as well. Soon, it's just the four of them.

"Okay, so, what do we do?" Lucas wonders.

"Hmm...usually it's Maria or Michael that does the planning and we just go along with it" Lily admits and the two freshman gape at them.

"Then why did you volunteer?" Lauren asks in disbelief.

"I hate seeing people panic" Lilly admits and her twin nods in agreement.

"So, we're actually screwed then?" Lucas sighs out.

"No, no, we've got this guys! We've come all this way to perform this awesome show, we're not giving up now. They're counting on us." Lily says before thinking it over. "First, we have to figure out the room they'd be keeping it in"

"Good idea" Lauren agrees.

"I think one of the evil blonde bitches would have it" Lilly shrugs and the others nod in agreement.

"So, we find out their rooms then." Lucas says.

"Let's go down to the front desk and see what we can find out from the hotel staff" Lauren suggests and they take the elevator down to the fancy hotel lobby. They look around, Lily pointing towards the concierge busy doing something on a computer.

"That's who we need to talk to. We have to try and convince him to let us in their rooms or at least give us the room numbers" Lily explains.

"Easier said than done" Lucas scoffs.

"Think positive, Lucas." Lauren nudges him and the others nod in agreement.

"We're all actors here" Lilly adds, putting an accent on 'actors'.

"Exactly, we con our way into convincing him and if it doesn't work, well we'll have two more people here that could just steal the damn things" Lily shrugs. She looks at the group.

"So, I think Lilly and Lauren should do it. They're already like a father-daughter duo and the best out of us. No offense Lucas" Lily quickly adds but Lucas waves her off.

"None taken" he assures her. Lilly looks to Lauren then.

"Shall we, dear?" Lilly offers her hand and Lauren laughs, taking it.

"We shall" They head up to the concierge as Lucas and Lily watch from the distance, keeping out of sight.

"Can I help you?" The man in the uniform asks politely, looking up from his computer to address them.

"Hi, there" Lilly easily puts on a charming smile, surprising Lauren for a moment. She sometimes forgets the fact that Lilly was popular and could convince anyone to do anything she ever wanted. No wonder she was a good actor as well. "My friend and I were wondering if you could help us out with something" Lilly says and Lauren nods, plastering on her own smile.

"You see, we have a personal delivery for our other friends Cory and Kitty. It's our friend-iversary so we wanted to surprise them with a gift inside their rooms" Lauren explains cheerfully and Lilly nods in agreement.

"it would mean a lot to them. We take our friend-iversaries very seriously" Lilly adds and Lauren nods in agreement.

"How sweet! If you leave the items with us, the hotel will gladly deliver it to them" The man assures them. Okay, not what they wanted.

"Uh, no!" Lilly quickly says and the man raises an eyebrow. Lilly lets out a slight laugh. "I mean, like, it would go much better if we could surprise them in person, you know? You can't celebrate your friend-iversary without your friends there" Lauren quickly nods in agreement.

"Yeah, we're both gonna pop out of a giant box like we're the present! But we'll be holding the real gift box with their actual presents inside." Lauren explains.

"Yep, funny right? Presents in a present. In the present. It's an inside joke, really" Lilly waves it off. The man looks the two of them over carefully though they smile innocently back. Lucas turns to whisper to Lily in the distance.

"i don't think it's working. Oh, God, I've never had to steal anything before." He whispers and Lily pats him on the shoulder reassuringly.

"You're acting like they don't have him convinced yet. Look" They look back over to see the man smiling brightly at the two of them.

"Now that's what I call an inside joke! I wish I had friends like the two of you" The man says and the two laugh, continuing to smile at him as he fetches out the room card.

"Here's a keycard to Cory's room so you can get in. Don't forget to return it after the deed is done" He reminds them.

"No problem, sir. We are eternally grateful" Lilly starts ushering Lauren away.

"For real. Thanks for making this possible" Lauren agrees, slightly surprised.

They walk away to where Lucas and Lily were waiting, both smiling as Lauren waves the card, smiling. "You did it! I had faith in you the whole time!" Lucas cheers.

"Uh-huh. Sure you did" Lily scoffs, sending him a knowing look before turning to the others. "So, who's room is that for?" Lily wonders.

"Cory. Let's just hope he's the one with the staff" Lauren says and they head towards the elevators, Lauren still boasting about conning the concierge into giving them the card.

"You take after your father" Lilly grins as they step off the elevators and onto the floor.

"Wait, is that-" Lucas points at the end of the hallway where two familiar blonde kids were stood talking.

"You think the Berry kids really bought that we're at Spotlite? None of the other performances were even worth watching last year. It was such a snooze." Cory's voice rings out down the hall as they stand in front of a door.

"Why wouldn't they believe it? They're a bunch of starry-eyed first-timers" Kitty drawls, amused as the four watch, hidden in an alcove.

"Great, they're standing right in front of his room...what do we do now?" Lauren mutters.

"I say, it's four against two. We go and kick some ass" Lily cracks her knuckles for effect but Lilly slaps her hands, giving her a look of disbelief.

"We're not starting a fight with the Statton kids." Lilly scolds.

"But we'd win" Lily whines.

"Not with me here. My punches probably feel like you're getting hit with teddy bears" Lauren scoffs.

"No, you throw a decent punch" Lucas nods, thinking it over.

"No, stop toying with the idea, Lucas. You've got the freshman thinking it too now" Lilly shakes her head at her twin.

"No, you're right. If we were to start a fight with any rival school, I'd want it to be Hearst" Lily shrugs, her expression turning dark and Lilly shrugs.

"I wouldn't argue with that one" She agrees.

"Guys, look at this" Lucas had emerged from a room behind them, excitedly holding up a room service outfit. "Lauren, this would definitely fit you. You could wear this and pretend you're there to clean their room" Lucas points out.

"Guess you've stolen something now, huh, Lucas?" Lily laughs, nudging him. His eyes widen.

"I did, didn't I?" He gasps like he can't believe it.

"Here, put these on too." Lilly hands her a pair of sunglasses. "They're my lucky pair." Lilly adds.

"Hey, wait a second, aren't those mine?" Lily brings up, looking the pair of sunglasses over suspiciously.

"Erm...no?..." Lily narrows her eyes at her sister. "Anyways" Lilly laughs nervously. "Hurry up and put the disguise on, Lauren. We're running out of time" She urges Lauren into the staff room and Lauren changes into the outfit. She comes back out to show it off to the other three who nod approvingly.

"Nice going, Lucas. Great plan" Lily pats him on the shoulder and he nods proudly.

"You're room service, Lauren. You have to confidently walk up to them as if you're just there to do your job" Lilly explains and Lauren takes a deep breath, nodding.

"Got it" She strides up to the two Statton kids and they don't even spare her a glance as they continue to chat. "Excuse me. Room service" Lauren puts on an accent, just in case they recognizes her.

"Ugh" Cory looks her up and down in distaste, turning back to Kitty. "It's the cleaning girl. I hate talking to service people..." Cory mutters as if Lauren wasn't standing right there.

"Let's scram. Wanna go rehearse some more downstairs?" Kitty asks, also looking disgusted to be in the vicinity of a cleaning lady. They quickly leave Lauren behind and soon their voices fade to nothing. Lauren lets out a breath of relief then.

"The coast is clear" The other three meet her at the room, smiling.

"You make your father so proud" Lilly wipes a fake pretend tear from under her eye and Lauren laughs.

"What do they have against cleaning people anyways?" Lucas wonders curious and confused.

"Let's just get the staff and get out of here" Lily shrugs. Before they all move into the room though, she stops them. "Wait actually. Someone should keep watch, just in case they come back." She brings up and the others nod in agreement.

"How about we stick in the same pairs since Lauren's in disguise and it's Lilly's staff and Lucas and I keep watch?" Lily suggests and everyone nods in agreement, Lauren and Lilly heading in while Lucas and Lily stay in front of the door, just in case. The room is not what they were expecting however as they spot what looked to be a giant tree in there.

"What on earth? There's a tree in here!" Lauren exclaims in disbelief.

"There's something you don't see everyday" Lilly scoffs, shaking her head. "Come on, we don't have a lot of time" They both begin to search the room for the staff.

"If I were my staff, where would I be, besides in my hand?" Lilly mutters, looking around. She holds her hand out, as if the staff would magically fly into her hands and stands there for a moment, Lauren turning to raise an eyebrow at her as nothing happens. "Dammit, thought that would work. Guess I'm not Thor." She tsks.

"Maybe it's in the tree?" Lauren brings up after another moment. "Like hidden among the branches! The staff is wooden, so it'd totally blend in" Lauren points out and Lilly grins.

"I knew bringing you was the best choice" They both pause at the trunk, looking up before looking at one another. "So, who's climbing then?" Lilly wonders. Lauren holds her hands up, stepping away and shaking her head.

"I'd probably break like every bone trying to climb that thing. I'm too clumsy for that" Lauren says and Lilly lets out a shudder.

"Yeah, well, I recently have broken a bone and I'd like to not do it again. Plus, Emma would kill me" Lilly points out and Lauren gives her a guilty look which she waves off.

"Maybe whacking the tree will knock some things loose?" Lauren suggests. She climbs up onto the sofa and starts whacking it with a pillow, the only thing giving way being the leaves.

"Sorry, tree" Lauren apologizes. Lilly moves to start shaking the tree trunk and the branches begin to sway back and forth.

"I command you to give me my staff" Lilly bellows. Meanwhile in the hallway, Lily peaks around the hallway the Statton kids disappeared down as Lucas keeps his eye down the hall they walked down.

"My turn!" Lucas says, humming as he thinks. "I spy with my little eye something....hmmm...blue" He says.

Lily glances around, thinking it over. "My shirt" She points to one of the navy blue stripes but he shakes his head. "Hmmm...your shirt?" She points at his blue flannel and he smiles evilly, shaking his head again.

"Nope." Lily looks around again before pointing to his shoes.

"That stripe on your shoe?" She wonders.

"Dangit!" He groans and Lily does a little dance.

"Right, my turn. I spy with my little eye something..." She casually glances down the hall she was supposed to be watching, her eyes widening at the sight of four familiar students heading their way. "Statton" She squeaks out.

"Is that a color?" Lucas asks confused.

"No, Statton" She hisses, dragging him into the room they had left cracked open to find Lilly holding up her staff triumphantly in her hand.

"I knew you would come back to me" She even gives the staff a kiss, Lauren watching in amusement.

"They're back!" Lucas panics and they all pause with wide eyes as the door opens again and Cory comes waltzing in.

"Forgot my jacket. Don't mind me, cleaning girl" Cory grabs his jacket, barely glancing at them as they all share wide eyed looks.

"Uh, make it quick! We're just about to begin the...deep clean vacuum!" Lauren throws on her fake voice again as Cory's headed out the door but Kitty peaks her head in, noticing the others.

"Wait a minute" Cory pauses, looking back as well after noticing her expression. "What's with all these other people?" Kitty points out.

"Hey!" Cory seems to realize. "You're the Berry kids!"

"Us? Berry? Pfft! Yeah, right, never heard of them" Lily scoffs.

Kitty points towards Lilly's hoodie with Berry written across the front. "That's literally a Berry high sweatshirt" Everyone turns to give Lilly a look who holds her hands up in surrender.

"You didn't give me time to change" She defends herself. Cory notices the staff Lilly's holding.

"They took the prop!" He yells out.

"More like we took it back!" Lucas yells out. He runs at them full speed then and they both move out of the way. "Come on, run for it!" He calls and the others don't waste any time, following after him. They all barrel into the hallway and past Marvin and Yves who were waiting outside the door.

"What on earth?" Marvin says in disbelief.

"OUTTA OUR WAY!" Lauren screams as they push past the two of them and down the hall they first came down.

"Ha ha! Three out of the four of us play football, fuckers! Try and catch us now!" Lily calls back to them as they hightail it down the hall, Lauren trailing at the back as she was not one of the football players.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE, YOU INCOMPETENT TWERPS! GET THEM!" Kitty screeches as they continue to run.

"On it!" Yves agrees and the chase begins.

"The stairs, take the stairs" Lily calls, ushering Lauren in front of her, glancing back at the group chasing them as Lucas continues to lead the charge. He opens the doors for the stairs and heads in, Lilly right behind him as well as Lauren and Lily and she quickly moves to shut the door behind her and follow after the others. The Statton kids open it a second later, the football players rushing down the stairs at record pace, Lily throwing Lauren over her shoulders so she could keep up with them.

"Woah!" Lauren gets a view of behind them, though watching the stairs go by at a quick pace like this was starting to make her feel sick. She could catch glimpses of the angry Statton kids trying to keep up with them, though it was obvious these kids only did theater. They make it into the lobby and push past people, Lauren back down to the ground, albeit a little nauseous. They're already halfway across when the others catch up wiith them.

"PICKPOCKETS! STOP THEM!" Marvin calls out. A suitcase rolls out in front of Lilly and she barely hops over it in time, nearly face planting, though she recovers, a tight grip on her staff.

"Theives? I won't let them get away!" A random man calls out and it seems the lobby was now after them too.

"The fountain!" Lilly yells and Lucas runs towards the center fountain, dodging a lady in a wheelchair. A man runs right at Lauren but she manages to use her training from the self-defense classes they took for the show to send him into the fountain. They make it out of the hotel as no one could keep up with them and continue to run down the streets of London. Once they're sure they've made it, they all stop to catch their breaths, looking at one another.

"That...was...awesome!" Lucas cheers, jumping excitedly. "Yes!" he whoops.

"It was like the spirit stick all over again" Lilly grins.

"Did you see that random guy I flipped into the fountain? I feel kind of bad" Lauren admits.

"He should've known better than to get involved" Lily shrugs, patting her back.

"And we got my staff back!" Lilly holds it up triumphantly again, the others cheering.

"That was actually a lot of fun. We make a good team" Lauren smiles and the others nod in agreement.

"Next time we need to plan a heist, I know who I'm bringing" Lily agrees and they all fist bump.

"Come on, let's get to Spotlite and tell the others." Lauren urges and the others nod.

"And we have to listen to that Spongebob song 'Sweet Victory' on the way" Lucas adds, the others nodding in agreement as they move to take the metro, laughing and singing along. Those Statton kids were no match for them.

[shy-marker-pliers]

Hello! First I'd like to say that I love your writing! You write everyone's character so well! I was wondering if you could do a funny jigen/gang x reader where Y/N is extraordinarily strong? And maybe a crumpet or Jigen's reaction to them picking him up?

omg thank you! :D

and of course i can!

lupgang with a strong s/o (focus on jigen)

Lupin:

pic above is basically his reaction whenever you carry heavy stuff around

*tucks hair behind ear* wow i sure hope a handsome and/or beautiful thief named (y/n) doesn’t lift me up in their big strong arms!! oh nooooo…. 👁🫦👁

*like that one song from part 1* Loopan….he’s a Nice Man….

it would probably take a little while for him (and the rest of the gang) to find out, unless you spend your spare time walking around and picking up random heavy shit lol

the way he’d find out would probably be on a heist! maybe he’s carrying a big ol’ bag of gold and stuff (and struggling because…look at this man’s noodle arms) and you just…”oh, lemme take that for you lup!” y o i n k

his ass goes 😳🫶

latches onto you like a parasite at every opportunity (it gets to the point where he gets grompy if he has to walk around the house)

if this man ever sprains his ankle or something i pray for you because he’s gonna be your backpack the entire time

literally says “AWOOGA” out loud if you ever flex while wearing smth that shows off ur muscles

you’ll have to carry him away if anybody ever talks bad abt how strong you are because he can and will bite

all of this goes double if you’re a lady btw. lupin likes a woman who can kick his ass. in fact he’d thank her if she did

Goemon:

^ actual footage of him leaping into your window to challenge you as soon as he hears abt your strength

tbh i feel like goe would be the first to find out because he has chronic I Need To Be Better Than Everyone At Everything syndrome so he’d immediately try to fight you to see ur skill level n shi

goemons area of expertise lies in agility and speed so your defo be able to beat him at like…arm wrestling or smth. which would annoy him severely

no talk him, he angy

ngl he’d be like…super passive aggressive about it at first. like; “well, you may have won for now, but zantetsuken is a far better weapon than anyone’s bare hands, no matter how strong they may be. i would ultimately be the victor in combat. but being strong is cool too, so yknow whatever-“

“but what if you didn’t have zantetsuken?” *silence* *’plap plap’ sound of sandaled feet speed walking away from the conversation*

he eventually learns to appreciate it tho. having someone strong on the team means that he has to carry fewer things, which gives him easier access to zantetsuken (and he wouldn’t be mad if maybe you just so happened to pick him up and pull him away from oncoming danger…i GUESS 🙄)

ur his favorite person to train with 😌

acts like he’s better than u but if anyone ever implies that you’re inferior in some way he goes into a spiel about how there r many different kinds of strength and every warrior needs to have a different set of skills to make their team equipped for anything

“goe he just said that i couldn’t beat him in a race please chill out-“

“yes babe your swordsmanship will definitely strike fear into the hearts of your enemies now will you please come back to bed it’s thrEE IN THE MORNING-“

he’s in the same boat as lupin when it comes to strong ladies btw. he won’t admit it but on the inside he’s just GRR BARK BARK WOOF AWOOGA HUMMINA HUMMINA

Jigen:

when y. um- y. when the um uhh me wh- HHHH. the- when you um- HHHHNGH

tbh jigen is usually focused on his own thing during heists, so itd probably take him a while to notice just how stronk you are

he’d totally sneak a peek at ur muscles every now and then tho. mans weak for buff ppl. i mean have you seen his exes???

bridal carry him at every opportunity 🙏 he will be so happi

“hmph i can walk by myself yknow…but i GUESS you can keep carrying me if you really wanna….but not cuz i like it or anything grr”

my dude has never been great at verbally expressing his feelings so even if y’all have known each other for a long time he still won’t outright ASK to be held/carried. what he usually does is (A) complain about back or knee pain until you ‘offer’ to carry him or (B) say that he’s too lazy to get up from the couch so someone (you) will have to carry him to the fiat or wherever.

like lupin, if he ever injures his leg he’s gonna milk it for AGES. totally denies it tho

“ughh damn my ankle is killing me i don’t think i ca-“

“jigen, if it is that much of an issue i’d be able to carry you.”

“no goemon i’m fine but thanks. oof owww ouch”

“h-“ “well (y/n) since you offered-“

whenever you walk around carrying heavy things he’s just like

totally zones out watching you whenever you show off your strength. gets all red too heheh

lupin and fujiko tease him relentlessly but all he needs to calm down is a (y/n) hug where you pick him up

pretends to fall asleep in the car so you’ll pick him up and carry him to his bed

i’m conclusion: he’s down bad

[linkspooky]

The Hands that Will Save the League

In chapter 321 we're reminded once again of the reoccurring motif of hands reaching out to save someone in need, especially with the double spread close-up of Iida's hands reaching for Deku's hands. I couldn't help but think how this could apply to the league of villains. Hand symbolism has always been associated with Shigaraki (duh), both in the fact that his hands destroy everything they touched, and also his reason for being a villain stems from the fact that not a single hand reached out to save him that day. However, we've also had another character in the league with hands drawn up close and personal reaching out to save the others: spinner.

1. Just an Empty Cosplayer

I'm not the first one to make this observation. @codenamesazanka pointed this out long before me, especially in regards to Spinner's importance to the league, but basically, Spinner's role is that despite being a teenage mutant ninja turtle he's also the everyman of the league. He's not connected to the main conflict of the story by bloodline or legacy, the way Shigaraki, Dabi, and Compress are. He's not someone with an incredibly powerful or deviant quirk like Twice or Toga. He is a victim, but he doesn't have the elaborate villain backstories of Twice, Shigaraki, Dabi, and Toga.

He literally is just some guy with a lizard quirk. He has the weakest quirk in the league and the weakest reason for why he joined the league. Spinner faces societal abuse because of his quirk, but what spurred him to action was seeing Stain appear on TV, and a desire to be a less empty person than he was before. Spinner was pushed, he was rejected by society, but I would say as an inverse to the league who are driven by extraordinary circumstances, Spinner is basically an every man who drives himself to keep up with the rest of the league despite seemingly lacking everything "special" they have.

And I believe this every man quality, and this drive Spinner has is what's going to be the key to piecing the league back together. It's because Spinner sees himself as so far behind the rest of the league, and so much less special than they are, that he's driven to try to understand them.

Not only is Spinner a member who has tried to understand every member of the league in one way or another, Spinner is also someone who similiar to Sihgaraki foils every single character in the league despite just being an everyman.

2. Spinner and Toga

While Spinner and Toga may not have the same level of development to their interactions as Twice and Toga, Spinner reaches out to her once but not twice, and there are a lot of parallels you can draw between the characters.

Both Spinner and Toga joined the league for the same reason, an empty admiration for Stain, without really caring about Stain's ideals. Toga admires Stain because he's covered in blood and fighting for something and she wants to become more like the people she admires, Spinner because he saw himself as pathetic for hiding in his room all day and when he saw Stain taking a stand trying to change the whole world on his own he wanted to become that way too. Which means both of them have a tendency to want to become more like the people they admire, because their own sense of personal identity is so weak.

Himiko and Spinner both define themselves by the way society has rejected them. Spinner has internalized the idea that he's an empty person who can't accomplish anything on his own, every terrible thing other people said about him due to his heteromorph quirk he accepted it. At the same time, Toga was somebody born with a "dangerous quirk" who was told to repress it and then did that living under a fake identity as a normal school girl that would please her parents and the people around her for as long as she could. Both Toga and Spinner are taught by the society around them to be self-loathing and to repress themselves because of their quirks. They're also characters who are both defined by a desire for release.

When Spinner asks if Toga still wants to be in the league because of Stain and she responds, Now I wanna become everyone I love. Spinner comments, "You're so free."

Spinner and Toga both claim they joined the league because of love for another person, they both loved and admired some aspect of Stain, but their real reason for joining, or at least the reason they stay is that deep down both of them desire the freedom to be themselves. Toga wrapping her desires up in language like love for other people, and wanting to become them, is because deep down she believes because of her quirk there's no one who would accept her for herself, as the normal girl she believes she is, no one will let her live as Toga thus she tries to become other people. It's the same for Spinner, who believes he can't be anything other than the Lizard Freak, so he too tries to dress himself up and become a Stain Cosplayer. It's only through the league's acceptance that Toga and Spinner slowly begin to learn that they are good enough on their own, just as themselves, and their priorities begin to shift.

3. Spinner and Twice

Twice and Spinner have several backstory parallels already. They are both characters affected by poverty, Spinner lived in a backwater town plagued by old views of heteromorph quirks, Twice lost his parents and began working to support himself at a young age before becoming homeless. Spinner and Twice were also both labeled in a way that stuck with them, after Twice got a criminal charge in an accident on his permanent record he couldn't find another job after being labeled deviant. Spinner was labeled as a deviant because of his quirk and the idea that he's a lizard freak has always stuck with him the same way that Twice has internalized the idea that "bad people don't get saved."

They also both chose to isolate themselves because of the circumstances they faced. Twice's first response to homelessness was to decide to never trust anybody but himself, and he became a criminal who pulled off heists with only clones of himself as team members until that stopped working for him. Spinner's response was also to shut himself away in his room and become a NEET. They both cut themselves off to the society that labeled them as unacceptable, but in the process they also cut themselves off from other people and became unable to trust others.

While they have major backstory parallels, I believe the greatest parallel between them is going to be that Spinner will inherit that role that Twice had for the league. While Shigaraki is the leader, Twice more than anybody else believed the League to be a family, and encouraged everyone to be friendly with one another.

It's Twice more than anyone else who emphasizes the bond of the league, that they're all strays, that they need to take care of each other and save each other. It's Twice who urges Shigaraki to save Giran because he's one of them. He makes the unspoken bond of the league as a group of miscreants into a spoken one, because Twice wants those things, he's well aware of the fact that he wants trust and acceptance and came to the league to find those things. This is the greatest thing that ties Spinner and Twice's characters together, because they both view themselves as worthless, they define themselves by how they help the other members of the league.

Twice's death so far isn't something that has been really capitalized on by the plot, Hawks has yet to face consequences, we haven't gotten to see much of the league's reaction because they were scattered soon afterwards. However, if Twice's death is going to cause development eventually I believe it will be in the vacuum in the league created now that Twice is gone. There is no longer someone who is urging all of them to be together. Twice's death causes most of the league to become less stable. Toga goes on a killing spree, Dabi attacks Hawks, Compress tries to kill himself in a heroic sacrifice, Shigaraki hasn't gotten the chance to react yet but he's also gotten worse considering he's currently possessed. You could even say that Twice's death has caused other characters to double down on their worst habits.

Dabi's worst habit is that he acts separately from the league and refuses to participate in the group dynamic, believing himself to be a solo avenger. Dabi not trusting or telling the league what he was planning on doing with Hawks, as a consequence of his decision to play solo avenger, caused Twice to trust Hawks which led to his death. Hawks was the one who killed him but Dabi played a part, and when Twice dies Dabi obviously reacts to it, but also his decision is to double down on his bad habit, insisting he's only using the league and he doesn't care about the rest of the group. Toga also doubles down on her bad habit, she runs away from the rest of the league and insists she's only doing this for the freedom to do whatever she pleases, not because you know Twice got killed right in front of her. Compress's arc is less pronounced, but he also does, in fact, try to kill himself in a grand heroic sacrifice for the rest of the league.

When twice dies the league begins to fall apart and everyone acts on their individual worst flaws, ignoring that they were always stronger together as a group. However, there is still one person who wanted the exact same thing Twice did, to be trusted, to belong to a group. This is most likely the role that Spinner is going to grow to, someone who is trusted by everyone in the group.

Notably, when Toga is about to run away it's Spinner who reminds her that the league is a place for them to come back to. Toga who was probably the closest to Twice and spiraling the worst because of his death, and Toga and Twice's friendship was the first time we really saw how much of a "bond" the league had formed with one another, because in the camp arc they barely cooperated, only begrudgingly. It's Spinner who who emphasizes that even though everyone in the league is doing this for individualism "doing what they want" that they are also together as a group. Spinner is set to inherit Twice's role as the heart, because one he tries to understand other people in the league making the effort to reach out, and two Spinner is aware of what he wants just like Twice he wants to be trusted by the rest of the group.

4. Spinner and Dabi

This one is a little bit harder because Dabi's character arc really hasn't started yet. We have just now gotten to the reveal of who he is and what his motivations are, after it being a mystery for so long. However unlike the rest of the league, we haven't really seen how Dabi has reacted and changed by becoming a part of the group. Even if his motivation isn't "I'm only using them" and deep down he really does care, I don't think he's even realized yet that he does care or that he's not just using them. Dabi still believes himself to be alone, and therefore he's still isolated from the rest of the league and flying his revenge quest solo even though he's really not.

In that case, the biggest parallel between Spinner and Dabi is that they both had to be won over by the league. They both joined because of admiration for Stain, probably because Dabi genuinely believed in Stain's ideals of taking down impure heroes because it fit his own agenda so well, whereas Spinner is a self-proclaimed empty cosplayer.

Spinner, however, has already gone through an arc where he was dissatisfied with his reasons for joining the league and didn't believe he belonged with the rest of the group. He didn't have anything to love like Toga. He didn't know yet he wanted friends he could trust like Twice already did. He doesn't have a strong backstory motivation like Compress, or Dabi or even knows what he wants out of society. However, the entirety of MVA is Spinner letting himself be changed because of his interaction with the group.

Spinner failed at life, his quirk is worthless and only good for sticking to walls. He also internalized the idea that he himself was a failure, and locked himself inside believing he couldn't accomplish anything on his own. Spinner says he has nothing he loves, and nothing he wants to do. Not only that he feels unloved and unwanted. However, Spinner finds something to love in Shigaraki, even if he can't find a strong sense of individualism and still believes himself to be worthless he becomes motivated to help others. Spinner, the most normal person in the group with the most worthless quirk, becomes the greatest help to Shigaraki, basically once he gets over himself and his preconceived notions of himself. Because, you don't actually have to be a special person or have a strong quirk to be a hero, you have to reach out a hand.

The same way Spinner was won over by the League, Dabi has yet to be won over. However, if that does happen, it's probably going to look like Spinner's arc. Dabi antagonizes Spinner a lot, but they actually have more in common than they do differences. They both have failure quirks, while Dabi has an overwhelming fire quirk he wasn't allowed to use, Spinner is literally just a gecko. They both also were labeled as disappointments and given up on, Enji gave up on Touya, Spinner never had any potential from the start and locked himself away in his room. However, their paths so far have been opposites, Spinner let Shigaraki reach him and became a part of the group, Dabi at every possible opportunity insists he's doing this all alone. He takes every chance he can to separate himself from others. If Dabi's arc is going to be a mirror to Shoto's arc eventually, then someone has to reach him and convince him he can't do this all on his own, and Dabi can only truly find himself when he's part of the group once more. After all, so far Dabi is the one most resistant to change. Toga's goal has changed, Shigaraki's changed, Spinner has changed, even Compress now admits that while they're just a gang of thieves that he cares more about everyone else's dreams than his own. Dabi is still nursing a ten-year grudge against Endeavor and doing everything he can to take him down on his own because he hasn't let the group in. And he won't improve or change until he does let others in.

5. Spinner and Shigaraki

I love Compress but I'm skipping over him because his arc hasn't been elaborated on yet. If you want a quick summary though, both Spinner and Compress didn't believe the group to be anything more than a gathering of selfish criminals, however, both of them changed because they wanted to see Shigaraki's dream come true. Not only was Shigaraki the one who inspired both of them to change, but also Compress is the one who first sees how close Spinner is to Shigaraki more than anyone else in the group was.

He also sacrifices himself BECAUSE he's come to realize that what he wants more than his own dreams is to see everyone else's dreams come true. I know Compress's backstory is rushed as all hell, but it almost... almost... works because Compress isn't actually doing this because he's Oji Harima's grandson. His motivation changed a long time ago, he just didn't realize it until he was about to lose the league.

There are a few more parallels, they're both dropouts. It's implied that Compress was literally just a retired and failed stage magician before he decided to become a villain. Hopefully we'll become more on that later because the idea of Compress sucking in showbiz so he decided to follow his grandfather's legacy is really awesome. Spinner was a Neet before he saw Stain on television. They also both have more minor quirks, Compress just shrinks people, Spinner sticks to things. They both also are characters who don't seem important at first, but consistently hover around in the background constantly making sure everyone in the group is okay. Compress calls to check up on people, he talks to Dabi a lot, he tries to keep up with everybody in a melee, it's the little things he does that make Compress same for Spinner. They're both cosplaying as legendary villains who are greater than they are, Stein is cosplaying his grandfather, Spinner is cosplaying Stain, but it's unknown whether Compress really cares that much about his grandfather's ideals, I think he cares about the league more. Compress and Spinner are also people who question and try to understand things, Compress lectures the kids that they had their ideals handed down to them for adult, Compress realizes Spinner's importance to Shigaraki before Spinner even did, Compress and Spinner also both try to understand other people's dreams because they're lacking in their own. Spinner doesn't even have a dream, but he's the one who listened to Shigaraki's dream first.

Now it's been directly said by canon that Spinner and Shigaraki's connection is the most developed, and they are the closest to one another. By developed I mean, it changed over time, when it started out they had almost nothing to do with one another. Spinner was just a rank and file league member that Shigaraki used on the hideout raid. They didn't even get a character introduction scene like Shigarki did with Dabi and Toga.

However, Spinner and Shigaraki's characters are extremely closely tied together. Shigaraki's like the main character of the league, his backstories parallel everyone else's, including the main character of the entire story Deku. He's the one who makes the plans, goes through training arcs, he's the one who the league unites around. However, Spinner actually has all of that too. I just spent a very long time showing how Spinner despite not having an overly complicated backstory has strong parallels to everyone in the league. If Shigaraki is the main character, then Spinner is the everyman / the perspective character, hence why he's the narrator of MVA. Shigaraki is a person of extraordinary circumstance, the symbol of society's oppression who everyone in the league deepy relates to because he's suffered the same way that they have and he accepts them. Whereas, Spinner has suffered because of Hero Society too, he's more like a normal guy who makes an effort to understand everyone around him.

However, Deku wasn't saved by his love interest, or even his childhood friend who is apparently his destined rival, he was saved by Iida trying his best to keep up with him.

Spinner and Shigaraki are both the emotional core of the league in different ways. The league all respects Shigaraki, they rally around his ideas, his dreams are what inspire everybody. However, more and more it's looking like Spinner, ordinary, average, Spinner is working to build emotional connections to everyone in a much more normal way. He talks to Toga and tries to understand her love. He even consoles Toga when twice is gone. He challenges Shigaraki directly to his face. Compress who is always sort of watching the league in the background and checking up on them in little ways notices how hard that Spinner is trying to take care of Shigaraki.

Shigaraki accepts people at their worst and gives them a place to belong, but I think by Spinner's efforts to get to know and understand others, we as an audience are shown how humanizing of a presence that Spinner is on everyone else. Spinner, just being a normal guy, brings out the fact that the rest of the league despite their extraordinary circumstances are deep down just normal people to, who want to be loved normally, and live normally. Spinner literally wakes up Shigaraki, because he remembered the one time that he opened up in front of all of them, and cares enough to try to understand Shigaraki's hurt feelings and what he cares about.

If anything from the last arc in the manga, we're shown at great length, how understanding, reaching out, it all takes effort and it's not as flashy as defeating a villain or rescuing someone from a natural disaster.

Spinner is so important to Shigaraki, because while Shigaraki has given everyone in the group a place where they can be individuals, Shigaraki hasn't realized he himself can be an individual yet. He ultimately, shares the same character flaw as Deku. It's because he's decided that he's going to carry out his dreams for the sake of the league and to create a better future for them, that Shigaraki no longer cares what happens to himself, or about his own future. Everyone talks about Dabi's suicidal nature, but this is something that Shigaraki is challenged on over and over again. What are your motivations. What are your reasons. What do you want to accomplish. He always responds with nothing. There's nothing that he wants, there's nothing worth living for, he only wants to destroy and make a better world for the people who are around him. Shigaraki is the most thoroughly dehumanized character, to the point where he just straight up accepts "god of destruction" because that is at least an identity. Shigaraki needs Spinner and his normalizing influence, because Shigaraki can't see himself as a normal person.

Shigaraki shares the same character flaw as Deku, he does everything for the sake of others, with no regard to himself, which leads to extreme bouts of self-harming and fighting alone. Shigaraki faced off against Endeavor, and basically all the heroes alone even though he did call for backup. However, even before that Shigaraki made the decision to get dangerous risky surgery that would be like hell, because he believed deep down he wasn't good enough alone. Shigaraki just does not care about himself and is unable to see himself as an individual, which is exactly why he needs someone to care for him and see him that way.

Shigaraki's greatest challenge to date is that he's been dehumanized so thoroughly, and lost sight of himself to the point where he's lost even his own body autonomy. When Shigaraki is battling for possession of his body as AFO attempts to take total control and make him into a symbol again, denying him his personhood, we're set up directly with Spinner being the one who reminds us that Shigaraki is just a person, who likes video games, and gets along with his friends. It's Spinner who notices right away that AFO is different from Shigaraki and challenges him the same way that he challenged Shigaraki directly in the My VIllain Academia arc. This is all set up most likely, for Spinner being the one to reach out a hand the same way IIDA did, because what Shigaraki needs the most right now, is not a hero who will save him, but rather a normal person who will understand him and remind him that deep down he was just a normal kid too before all of this happened. What Shigaraki is most in need of is a hand that will reach out to him, and Spinner has already done this once putting Nana's hand back on his face when he couldn't wake up, but what he's failed to realize is that it's his own scaly lizard hands that should be doing the reaching out.

[averagewriter-inthedark]

Endgame III 🔥 | Dark Phoenix Series P.5

Takes place during the second act of Avengers: Endgame

Read parts 1-4 here -> Series Masterlist | Marvel Masterlist

Characters & Pairings: Dr. Evelyn Alice Stark (OC)/The Eagle/Host of the Phoenix Force, Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch (platonic), Doctor Stephen Strange (slight romance), Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier (implied slight), Tony Stark (platonic/nephew), Howard Stark (Platonic/brother), Steve Rogers (platonic/best friend)—a lot of the marvel characters will be involved in this series since it take place during phase 3 & 4.

Content Warnings: light angst, fighting, profanity, blood. Slight canon divergence | Female OC (she/her) | Wc: 4k +

Premise: Reunited after seven years, Evelyn Stark & Steve Rogers have a lot to catch up on. For starters there’s the topic of Eve’s state, then the potential time heist which could bring half the universe back.

——————————————————

“Are you okay?” Was the first question Steve asked Eve the moment they sat down at her dining room table. She prepared some tea and brought over a tray with sugar, honey, milk, and a few cookies on a plate.

She gave him a choked laugh, “I could be better, but I’m alive.” He thanked her as she handed him a mug. Now that it was Eve in her own body, Steve could see the drastic changes in her features. Not only was the hair an obvious change, but her complexion was slightly paler compared to her tan the last he saw her. Her cheekbones were more pronounced and her eyes were an amber shade instead of deep brown. Eve still looked beautiful, but Steve could see the sadness in her.

The clinking of the spoon stirring her tea filled the silent void. Bringing the mug to her lips, Eve took a sip after saying, “I’m fine, Steve. You can stop worrying.”

‘Oh right,’ he thought with a sigh, ‘she can read minds now.’ Her chuckle confirmed he was right. Steve shifted in his seat, “That’s gonna take some time getting used to.”

“Believe me,” she takes a bite of a cookie, “I’m still getting used to it.”

“What exactly happened, Eve? When you woke up?” Tony hadn’t said much to him, and Nat explained the best she could. But Steve wanted to know first hand from Eve and how it’s affected her the past five years.

He then remembered what the entity had told him, ‘I see what Evelyn sees. I hear what she hears. I feel what she feels.’ If it’s true, then it meant the entity was watching the conversation unfold through Eve’s eyes. It sent chills throughout Steve at the thought of being watched.

“Well,” Eve began after taking another sip of tea. “I assume you can imagine the feeling of waking up after being unconscious for an entire month to find out half the universe was erased and you probably should’ve been dead.” She gave a shrug, “Add on the fact there was a voice in my head calling out to me, plus I could hear everyone else’s voice despite their mouths not moving.”

Natasha’s words from earlier filled his mind, “she just kept saying, ‘it’s in my head. Get out of my head.’ Then lights exploded and the monitors went crazy. I’d never seen anything like it.”

Eve continued, “Then the pressure in my head became too much and I knocked out again. When I woke up—the next day, thankfully—Tony was loading the car saying we were gonna go someplace quiet.” There was a sense of longing in her tone when she goes on to say, “Him, Pep, and Morgan are the only ones I’ve interacted with face-to-face the past five years. Sometimes I’ll see Happy—or even Rhodey, but I haven’t been to the city since twenty-eighteen. The one time I did….” She trailed off, bringing a hand to her mouth when she shuddered. Steve could see the pain in her expression as she thought back to the memory. “It was too overwhelming. So many voices—it was like chaos in my head.”

For about ten minutes, Steve listened intently to Eve as she recalled the following months after Thanos. It hurt him to hear how isolated she felt, not being in full control of her own body, and dealing with the loss of her friends like everyone else.

“You’ve found something,” she says once she finishes. “A way to reverse it?” Steve didn’t even question her, he was already thinking about it.

“It’s a working theory,” he replies, finishing his tea and placing the mug on the tray. “Tony doesn’t think it’s possible. Says it will only make things worse.”

“He’s right to feel that way. Tell me more about it.” Steve proceeds to give Eve all the information he, Scott, and Nat had gathered. First he goes on to talk about Scott’s journey in the quantum realm. Then it shifts to the theory of going back before Thanos to get the stones and ends with Tony’s argument from earlier in the day.

“I get that he’s scared, Eve. I am too,” he leans forward, connecting his eyes with hers. “But this is a chance we gotta take. We can go back and undo this.”

Eve stays silent, glancing at the bottom of her empty mug. “When you mess with time, it can mess with you back. You know that, don’t you?” Of course Steve knew. Everything came with a risk.

“I know, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

They continue to discuss theories and possibilities for the next half hour. At one point Nat texted him, ‘you still alive in there?’ To which Steve replied with a thumbs up emoji.

They were finishing off their second cup of tea when Eve said, “I’ll talk to Tony, but I can’t guarantee he will give in. Although…” she pauses to light a cigarette with a lighter Steve was sure was from the 40s. The action surprised Steve since the last time he saw Eve smoke was 1944, just before she found out she was pregnant. Getting a closer look at the lighter, Steve was pretty sure it was the same one she had. Or just one she found that closely resembled it. When she offered him one Steve politely declined.

The woman took a deep inhale before letting the smoke release, putting the tin she kept the cigarettes in a drawer beside her. “Considering you went to him first and put the idea in his head, he’s probably already working on something.”

Steve tries to ignore the feeling swirling in him. He didn’t want to get his hopes up just yet. “And you think it will be enough for him to help?”

Eve takes another drag, “If Tony can guarantee that going back in time will not affect the present, then it will be. Believe it or not, he feels just as much guilt as you and I. It may look like he’s doing good—married with a daughter and living in the countryside. But whenever I visit I always catch him looking at the photo of him and Peter. The guilt is there and the hope an opportunity will emerge.” Eve pauses again to finish the cigarette before putting the bud in the ashtray. “Tony will do what he can if it means saving the kid and keeping his own.”

Steve nods, confident Eve could get through to Tony. Then the question popped in his head, “What about you? Will you help us?”

She scoffs, giving him a look of ‘do you really have to ask?’ Eve gets up to retrieve two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. “I’m not one hundred percent confident things will go as planned,” she pours an inch of liquid into each glass, “because quite frankly it’s never that way for us. But if this is our only chance to bring everyone back,” she locks her eyes with Steve as she slides over the glass, “then I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Clinking the glasses, the soldier keeps her gaze as he repeats with determination, “Whatever it takes.”

Saying their goodbyes, Eve walks Steve out where she is greeted by Natasha and Scott. The two women embrace, exchanging a few words and promising to catch up at a later time. Scott shakes her hand, flinching slightly by how warm it was despite the cold breeze they were having. Eve nods to him, “it’s nice to see you again, Scott.”

Once said and done, Eve turns to Steve to say, “I’ll talk to Tony tonight. I recommend finding the others in the meantime.” The two hug, promising to keep in touch. Steve leads the others away and they wave to Eve while getting in the car. She returns the gesture, watching them pull off her driveway and onto the road before heading back inside.

“Finally,” a voice sighed, causing Eve to jump back at the sudden sound. “I thought they would never leave.”

The woman rolled her eyes, moving to her office to begin constructing blueprints and potential theories of traveling the quantum realm. “Tell me right now, can we pull this off?”

“Not feeling confident in your friends, are you?” There was an amused chuckle which angered Eve. “Oh, calm down, Evelyn. Would it kill you to laugh every once in a while.”

“Geez, I don’t know,” she replied sarcastically, practically slamming a notebook on the desk. “I haven’t had a reason to laugh in five years—not since my mind and body have been taken over by a cosmic entity!” The silence that followed was unnerving. It’s never been so quiet for Eve with the constand looming presence of the entity—the only time being when she’s pushed to the dark void.

“I’m going to give you a moment,” it replied, unfazed by her reaction. “Because I can feel the excessive amount of stress and anxiety you have over this situation with the stones. It’s suffocating, Evelyn. So to put you at some peace of mind, I do believe it is possible to accomplish this ‘time heist’ your friends are working on.”

It did give her some peace—or at least a speckle of it. “Fantastic,” her tone implied she wasn’t so sure. And not to mention, the entity could tell she was lying.

“Have more faith, Evelyn.”

“I'll have more faith when half the universe is back,” she grumbled, rolling out a large piece of sketch paper. Eve poured an array of colored pens, pencils, and markers onto the desk, some falling to the floor. “Onto another matter,” she then said, taking a pencil to start sketching. “Why didn’t you tell Steve your name?”

Eve could’ve sworn she felt them roll their eyes. “It’s not really a name as I’ve said before. More like a title—something a few civilizations coined.”

“And you’re keeping it to yourself because?” She drew out curiously.

“Why not, Evelyn? Keeps the mystery, doesn’t it. I quite frankly enjoy others not knowing. Although I do believe Thor is aware—he’s got the most knowledge of me out of all your friends.”

The woman huffed, rolling her eyes once more and continuing to focus on the blueprints in front of her. “Whatever floats your boat—or wings, P.”

Later that night, Eve let herself in Tony & Pepper’s home after he texted her saying they needed to talk. On her way out she had replied, ‘yeah, I was thinking the same.’ It was a peaceful night with the sun having set by the time she reached the house, deciding to take the almost 30 minute walk around the lake instead of driving. Eve was in need of clearing her head—as best as one could with a cosmic entity constantly pestering it, and walking during the late evenings was the cure for it.

“Tony?” She called out gently, not wanting to wake Morgan if she were already asleep. The lamp in the corner of the living room was on, as were a few candles scattered around. There was no sign of anyone from where she should see

“In here,” he replied from the opposite end of the living room, close to his office. Closing the door, Eve removed her jacket before hanging it on the rack and moving further into the house until she finally reached Tony. He was leaning against the wall with his gaze firmly set on the table. When her eyes landed on the projection shown, Eve felt a tightness in her chest.

“Is that what I think it is?” Footsteps echoed from her boots, Eve stopping just before the model. It was almost like an oval shape with an endless loop, similar to a rollercoaster. Tony still hadn’t answered her. Although, the woman already figured what the model represented. Eve brought her hand up, glancing at Tony, “May I?”

When the man nodded, Eve slowly spun the model so it faced her rather than viewing it from the side. Here she was able to clearly read all that was in the image. A small smile lifted from the corner of her mouth, “I thought it would take more convincing on my end, but you never fail to amaze me, Tony.”

There was a low chuckle from her nephew, “I guess all it took was a little push.”

She watched him push off the wall to pour two small glasses of whiskey from his small corner bar. Accepting the glass, Eve nudges her head toward the stairwell, “from Pepper?” They clinked the glasses and each took a sip of the burning liquid. “Or Steve? Cause I sure as hell haven’t said anything. Yet.”

“A little of each I suppose,” he replied with a sigh, moving to take a seat in his chair. Eve placed herself in the one next to him. Tony takes another sip and Eve notices the linger of sadness in his eyes. “I was just thinking. About the kid, you know.” She nods, understanding where he was coming from. “

“It wasn't fair,” Eve thinks aloud, looking back at the model with a newfound hope. “It wasn’t fair for any of them.” Her thoughts drift to her friends. A memory of Eve playing poker with Sam and Steve while Vision and Wanda looked on. Then there was Peter’s bright smile when he watched her work with awe. Finally, a bar in 1943 where Eve could be seen pouring shots on the opposite side of the bar with Steve and a young Sergeant Barnes.

A light pressure could be felt in the back of her head causing Eve to close her eyes. As much as she tried to ignore the feeling of her 24/7 companion, Eve could never avoid it.

“I know,” Tony’s voice cut her from her thoughts. When she looked back at him, Eve let her gaze draw over his features. Crinkles and grey hair took over after years of stress and being the hardworking man he was. Having to chase a toddler around also took credit. Then there was the looming feeling of guilt which can easily wear a person down. Tony had lost a lot of weight after Titan, but managed to gain it back over the years with the help of friends and family.

The resemblance to Howard was uncanny. In the beginning when Eve first woke up from the ice, she would avoid Tony’s gaze at all costs. It took months before she could even look him in the eyes without wanting to cry because all it did was bring her pain. Pain and grief over the loss of her life and loved ones. A part of Eve died the day she woke up.

A part she could never revive.

“How confident are you in this?” A gentle tilt of the head toward the model had Tony look back at her with mock offense. It made her smirk.

“Are you doubting me now, Evie?” She scoffed at him, taking another sip of the liquor. He pointed a finger before she could answer, “Actually don’t answer that. I already know.” He was referring to pretty much every major conflict they’ve had in the last decade.

“Don’t get me wrong, Tony, there’s been moments. But you always prevail.” She sees him smile at that. Fiddling with her now empty glass, Eve looks to the floor. “You already know what I’m gonna say.”

He nods, placing his own glass on the nightstand beside the chair. “Cap got to you?” The accusation results in a glare. “What did he think of your little friend?”

“Concerned,” she replies with a sigh. “As expected. He tried to keep his thoughts quiet, but of course I heard everything. There’s a bit of distrust—not to me, per say.” Eve then hears a sarcastic laugh in her mind. ‘Typical.’

Eve returns the subject back to the matter at hand. “Time travel, Tony. Who would’ve thought? Howard and I used to talk about the possibilities when we were kids. It was one of his goals to one day figure out the key to unlocking it.” A small smile made its way on her lips at the memory. She turns her eyes to Tony. “He’d be proud of you.”

Not used to the praise, especially by family members, a light blush coats Tony’s cheeks and he brushes it off. “Eh, he would’ve done it first if he were here. But I’ll take the credit where it’s due.”

Eve shook her head while chuckling. Then became serious, “We should go tomorrow. They’ll be at the compround and I wouldn’t put it past them to figure out something with what little they have. We don’t need them to get trapped in the quantum realm if we’re gonna need all the help we can get.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he shrugged, knowing she was right. There was still a lingering doubt. The thought of losing everything he had by going back to fix everything He thought back to his earlier conversation with Pepper before saying, “It’s just too big of a risk.”

Eve gave a knowing smile, “We’re superheroes, Tony. This life, regardless of how careful we are, comes with a risk. We all accepted that when we took on the role.” For Eve and Steve the oath dawned on them in 1943. Now 80 years later, the oath still stands.

Silence fills the room as Tony stays deep in his thoughts. The decision had already been made, but the man still had his worries. Eve had them too, there was no doubt about it. Every mission, every endgame, there was always the fear of the worst. The ‘what if.’ Focusing so much on the bad ‘what ifs’ cost them a lot. Neither wanted to make the same mistake.

Suddenly, Tony rose from his seat and began compiling the data together. “While I work on this, there’s something in the garage you may wanna take a look at. I figured you would clean it up better than me.” This caused her to raise her brow. He waved a hand to dismiss her, “Just go, I’ve got this sorted out.”

“Okay,” she muttered, putting the glass next to his before departing. Eve grabbed a water bottle on her way through the kitchen to get to Tony’s large garage. Which could also be described as his makeshift workshop. Flicking the lights on, Eve took in the scene before her. The cars were parked in the driveway giving more space to the area. Some of Morgan’s toys were scattered along one side while Tony had an array of supplies and materials on the opposite end.

There, leaning against the wall and almost hidden by stacks of boxes, was a familiar object made of the strongest metal on Earth. A tightness filled Eve’s chest. It had been seven years since she last saw the shield. Eve shivered as she remembered the cool Siberian breeze. Blood painted her knuckles and lips. Discarded wings sparking from where they were ripped off laid on the floor. And a gun pointed at her best friend.

She had aimed at his wrist, the man grunting when the pain erupted causing the shield to drop from his grip. It left an echo in its wake, while two super soldiers stared one another down. “Eve,” he pleaded, exhaustion in his tone and blood running down his cheek. For Eve, there were unshed tears brimming her eyes.

“Go,” she ordered, voice wavering as the anger caused her entire body to shake. It shocked Steve she was even saying it. “Go and never come back, Steve Rogers.”

The Captain could see her finger hovering over the trigger. Believing she would shoot him again, Steve lifted off of Tony and went to the shield, but a bullet zoomed past him into the column freezing him in his tracks.

“I didn’t say take the shield,” her tone was cold. The gun was still trained on him and Steve made no move to tempt her. Despite the pain in his heart, no argument followed. No more words had to be spoken for him to understand the message. “I gave you that shield, Steve Rogers. I’m taking it back. And if you ever show your face again, mine will be the last thing you see.” She lowered the gun, but her gaze never faltered. “I hope it was worth it. Because you can never come home again.”

And so Eve took back the symbol of Captain America. But the second she got back home the shield was placed in Tony’s care. She didn’t care what he did with it as long as it was away from her. In all honesty she expected him to melt the metal down to repurpose it.

Thankfully, he didn’t.

Taking it in her hands, the shield was cool against her skin. Her reflection stared back at her against the glare from the light. It was odd for Eve, seeing the red that now painted her hair and drifted into a dark brown.

Using her right hand, Eve removed a thin layer of dust coating the surface. Her eyes trailed over the most obvious feature. The scratch marks left behind from T’Challa.

Now Eve understood what Tony was trying to tell her.

The Avenger brought the shield over to the work table before rummaging through Tony’s tools. Once gathered, she pulled on a mask to protect her face when the bright glow of the blowtorch filled her vision. The Eagle had work to do.

“Somebody peed my pants,” Scott, back to his normal self, announced after going through the quantum realm in their attempt at traveling through time. The man was in a daze.

“Oh, thank God,” Natasha claps a hand to her chest in relief.

“But I don’t know if it was baby me or old me. Or just, me me.

Bruce, now in his hulk-human hybrid glory, throws his arms out in celebration. “Time travel!!” He’s the only one smiling by what he just witnessed. Everyone else just looks at him with disbelief. “What?” He says when Steve puts his hands to his hips and walks away. “I-I see this as an absolute win.”

The cool air hits Steve as he exits the compound's glass doors. All he could do was sigh while his mind processes what just happened. Thankfully, Scott was okay. But they still had a long way to go. Bruce was doing the best he could with what they got, but everyone knew they needed a certain someone to help them.

Speaking of the devil—literally—the sound of a car’s engine had Steve glancing up from the ground. His posture straightened, watching as a speeding Audi drove up the road and turned the corner with a loud screech. Steve didn’t even flinch when the car strolled past him a few inches before reversing and pulling to a stop.

When the window rolled down, he was met with the one and only Tony Stark. Steve’s brows raised, face reading ‘wow, wasn’t expecting that’. “Why the long face? Let me guess, he turned into a baby?”

The frown from Cap couldn’t hide the truth. “Among other things, yeah. What are you doing here?” One look into the passenger seat and he knows Eve is not with Tony. Something in his stomach drops, thinking she backed out on her word. But Eve Stark never breaks a promise. And considering Tony was at the compound, chances are the super soldier was on her way.

“It’s the epr paradox,” Tony opened the car door to exit. “Instead of pushing Lang through time, you might wind up pushing time through Lang. It’s tricky, dangerous, somebody could’ve cautioned you against it.”

“You did,” Steve points out for the both of them. Tony didn’t bother hiding his smug expression.

“Oh, did I? Well thank God I’m here. Regardless, I fixed it.” Wrapped around his hand, just below his knuckles was a device resembling that of a watch. “A fully functioning time-space gps.” Two fingers lift up when Cap smiles at him. “I just want peace. It turns out resentment is corrosive and I hate it.”

“Me too,” Steve agrees. Tony takes a moment to gather his thoughts, remembering Eve’s words from the night before.

“We got a shot at getting these stones, but I gotta tell you my priorities. Bring back what we lost, I hope yes. Keep what I found—I have too. At all costs.” Taking a few steps, Tony stops in front of Steve, “And, maybe not die trying would be nice.”

Steve nods, feeling the hope rise in him. His hand goes out, “Sounds like a deal.” Tony takes it in his firmly, the two shaking to seal it. They shake hands for a good bit before Tony releases. It’s then Steve asks, “Where’s Eve?” The brunette had yet to show and there was no sign of her just yet.

Tony takes a quick glance over his shoulder, “She should be here soon. She needed to fix something up real quick.” A few taps to his watch and there was a blinking red dot in the center. “Looks like she’ll be pulling around the corner in just a sec.” Clinking the lock button on his car, Tony starts making his way inside, “I’ll leave it to you two. I’ll be inside cleaning up whatever mess you guys started.”

Without another word Tony disappears into the compound, leaving Steve standing in his place. A few seconds later, as predicted, a rumble of an engine hit his ears and Steve turned to see a figure on a motorcycle zooming down the road. Unlike Tony, they slowed down when maneuvering around the corners and slowed to stop right behind the Audi. Reddish-brown hair peeked from beneath the helmet, and a brown leather case-like object was strapped to their back.

When the helmet was pulled off, Eve Stark was revealed. “Steve,” she greeted with a smile. Steve mirrored it as he watched her kill the engine before swinging her leg off the bike. “Am I late?” She asked, putting on her sunglasses.

The man couldn’t help but chuckle, going as far as to bring her into a hug. “You’re right on time.” Eve patted his back gently, pulling away so she could remove the case attached to her. He watched with curiously, but recognized the familiar shape.

“I would’ve been here earlier,” she told him, moving it in front of her to unzip the bag. “But I had to do some finishing touches,” Eve revealed the newly refurbished vibranium shield, causing Steve’s eyes to widen. All he could do was stare as she held it out to him.

“Eve, I don’t know.”

“Why?” She tilted her head, brow raising beneath her sunglasses. “We made it for you.” Flipping it over, Eve had a teasing smile. “Between me and you, I think Tony would prefer it out of his garage before Morgan takes it sledding.” Both the soldiers laughed, Steve placing his arm in the holster. Where it belonged.

Eve stepped back, admiring the Captain with a proud look. It felt like they were back in the 40s getting ready for an ops mission with the Howling Commandos. The Captain and the Eagle once again.

Steve lifted his head back to her after taking in the shield. “Thank you, Eve.”

“It’s not just me you’ll have to thank,” she points out. “Also, will you keep that on the downlow? We didn’t bring one for the whole team.” Eve lifts the bag to lay it over the seat before giving Steve a look. “We do have a team, right?”

At this Steve shrugs, not really knowing how to word the group they had. “It’ll be one. Once everyone else arrives. Rocket, Nebula, and Rhodey are on their way. From there Banner and Rocket will go get Thor.” Eve grimaces, familiar with what became of Thor. It pained her to know how hard he took the defeat. Between all the Avengers, Thor lost the most when one stopped to think about it.

“You think he’ll be on board?”

“Let’s hope,” Steve replies, not feeling too confident either. The two make their way into the compound, Steve placing the shield in a safe place and joining up with the others. Hugs were exchanged, kind words spoken, and then it was game time.

They were gonna bring everyone back. After five years when they thought all hope was lost. It was time. And whatever risks and consequences that followed would be worth it.

The Avengers were ready to assemble.

…………………..

Tag List: @todaywasafairytale07, @ohholyaphrodite, @esposadomd, @psychomanias, @mochuchi, @avengersassemblee

[aceofthegreenajah]

Okay, time for Sandman!

What I think I know before starting:

- I’ve read some of Neil Gaiman’s more popular books but no comics. I own the Sandman… audiobook? Audioplay? Radioplay? One of those. But I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

- I know the inciting incident – Dream aka Morpheus was captured (I think they were trying to capture Death and got him by accident).

- I’ve seen some pictures about casting.

- I think the comics were vaguely DCU related but I might be wrong about that. I think the show has to write around some things they don’t have the rights for in regards to that, but again, that’s just me reading between the lines and I might be wrong.

- I think the comic series is really long, was started when I was a kid, and might even be still ongoing???

On with the show!

- Okay that opening sequence was cool as hell I kinda want to rewatch it immediately.

- Oh this place is not ominous at all.

- Charles Dance! I didn’t know he was in this too!

- mr. Charles’ character you are sus. And a dick.

- prediction – the summoning will interrupt this and the Corinthian will remain free while Dream is trapped, and will be more powerful when he gets out. A volume 1 villain or something further down the line. (five seconds later:) yes I knew it.

- These older shakespearean actors really can declaim.

- Is that kid gonna be Morpheus’ eventual ally and releaser?

- The Corinthian came back faster than I expected.

- I also kinda want to go back and analyse the way the Corinthian moves sometimes. Kinda dreamlike, not fast, just the moment you take your eyes off him he’s somewhere he wasn’t before, but it’s the logical place for him to be so your brain just goes ‘oh, makes sense.’ At least mine does.

- Ooh that look says a lot with 0 movement, well done!

- He looks kinda spindly and a little eerie. Well done on that too.

- Well I think your father would just ask for more and more and more if he got something, but who am I to know? I’ve only seen him be a shitty father to you and a cult leader and an arrogant, reckless amateur magician who stumbled his way into good fortune by accident. See, he even makes, you, his own son call him ‘magus’!

- Is Ethel like Alex’s stepmom now? Or an apprentice magician? (hoping for second, expecting the first)

- By the way I love this bird on principle.

- Daring heist / escape by bird??? Sign me in! Oh you little saboteur!

- WHO DID THAT I WILL KILL YOU

- IT’S THE KID I LIKED YOU YOU’RE DEAD TO ME

- Maybe it’s okay his sibling to death maybe it’s not permanent

- Is that motivating him to escape tho (or motivating the kid to turn over a new leaf (I won’t forgive him but I’d give him points for effort))

- This man – Roderick or whatever – gets worse by the second.

- Sure you’ll probably be fine but it should still be your decision! Yes run away Ethel! I mean free Dream first as a distraction / to screw him over.

- Oh well robbing him is good too I guess.

- Sure fight over the magic circle of containment hope you made it from a durable material.

- That look from Dream is pure disgust and derision. Deserved of course.

- Ethel giving off villain vibes. Well more than she already was. I like it. She’s smart she’ll be terrible *★,°*:.☆(￣▽￣)/$:*.°★* 。

- Paul act as a conscience here please someone needs to. (but don’t get yourself in trouble you seem sweet.)

- understandable. Short-sighted maybe but understandable.

- I told you make your magic circles out of a more durable material. Also was it on purpose? I’m inclined to think so, but certainly he didn’t seem inclined to correct it.

- Feeling a little bad for the quilt Paul must feel but Alex kinda got what he deserved. If he had released dream after his father died I’d have said he’s a kid and an abuse victim he should be spared, but he had decades to try to be better. Eventually you do run out of time to change.

That was a fucking good time. 10/10

[elpercotreviews]

My Anime 9/10′s

With probably no spoilers cuz I don’t wanna talk too long about them zzz.

1. Fullmetal Alchemist

YALL ALREADY KNOW THIS A 9/10. The only real reason this show is not a 10/10 is because it’s just a story that I’d never rewatch. There’s like 70 episodes, which is way too long for my short attention span, especially since I’ve seen it already. But yeah, by all accounts, this story is a masterpiece and is one of the only “shounen” anime’s that I genuinely enjoyed. No random sexualization. No dumb filler. All the characters have an actual purpose and role in the plot and everyone has their own morals and ideals that interact to make the story interesting. I couldn’t bring myself to really hate anyone, even the villains, because everyone was pretty well written. Also super satisfying ending that ties up everything properly without leaving me confused or upset. If you only watch a few anime in your life, Fullmetal Alchemist is pretty much a MUST WATCH to see a beautiful example of a modern classic anime as an artform. Also I should say that I really don’t like Hunter x Hunter (AN EXTREMELY CONTROVERSIAL OPINION BTW) but I love Fullmetal Alchemist so take from that what you will.

2. Parasyte: The Maxim

Same kinda shit where you already know this a 9/10 for me. It’s just a very satisfying anime that doesn’t have random sexualization or random filler or anything like that. Ending is also very good and ties up the story in a way that doesn’t leave more questions but also allows the characters to have a “life” outside of the scope of the story. I think Parasyte, because of its more horror and psychological-esque vibes, counts as a seinen and not a shounen, so for more mature audiences. I also really liked how the story was successfully adapted to modern times since the manga is from the 80′s. I have actually rewatched this anime, but what stops me from giving it a 10/10 is a few things that I found kinda “stereotypical” that I don’t wanna discuss further too much cuz it’s spoilers. I still obviously really like this anime and highly recommend it.

3. Zankyou no Terror

TBH, this anime is pretty hard for me to properly describe in a lot of words as to why I like it. The art was really pretty as well as the music, which was just straight up amazing. The cinematography of this anime is excellent as well, and a lot of scenes have that sense of being acted out by real people, as opposed to feeling completely drawn/animated. I was a teenager when this anime came out and I think a lot of the themes presented in the show really related to me. The show does kinda have some leftover questions when it ends that prevents me from rating it a 10/10, but I have such a soft spot for this anime. It’s from the same creator as Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop, and although those two animes are also very good, they did not impact me as much as this anime did. Recommended for people looking for idk something that gives off Inception vibes?? In the sense that it’s much more about its themes and its message more so than the believability of the events that occur.

4. Magic Kaito 1412

THIS IS JUST A PERSONAL PREFERENCE BTW LOLOL I DON’T KNOW ANYBODY WHO’D PUT THIS AS A 9/10 ANIME. I JUST REALLY LIKED IT OKAY. It’s made by the same person who does Detective Conan but I like this a lot more because it’s a much shorter series and slightly more mature (more for teens than just straight up kids). I really liked the main guy, I think he’s funny and charismatic. He’s a pervert at times but Imma forgive that cuz of the 90′s. Idk it’s just a really fun anime that I don’t have to take seriously and can just watch and enjoy.

5. Mob Psycho 100 (season 1 AND 2)

Imma put season two as slightly better than season one. So season one would be like a 9 and season two is like a 9.25 for me. Super super funny anime and I like it SO much more than One Punch Man. I liked that there was a good balance of serious moments, but you can definitely still count this anime as a comedy. I’m typically not the type to watch “comedy” but this anime genuinely had me laughing out loud, while also crying and freaking out right alongside the main character. The main guy is super great because he’s just this shy and sweet middle schooler, and it’s really interesting watching him balance trynna have a normal life while also using his powers for good and such. Apparently the anime was decently faithful to the manga and there’s apparently enough material for a third season so I’d be pretty stoked for a season 3, but season 2 ended on a pretty good spot and was satisfying. TBH, if I had the time, I’d probably rewatch both seasons and bump it up to a 10/10.

6. Vinland Saga

This anime is just the first season of what I hopes to be a whole series that will be stay beautifully and faithfully adapted from the manga. As someone who read very far into the manga (but quit like years ago simply because I hate slow updates lol), I actually didn’t enjoy watching the anime at first. I was impatient and kept waiting for when like the “major” events would happen. So I watched like three episodes and quit. But when I had some free time, I decided to get stuck in and commit to watching the whole series and I was so pleasantly surprised with just how good it was. I was impatient but I needed to realize that there is no “filler” or like “wasted time” in the entire anime. I hadn’t read the manga in years, so so many things were only vaguely familiar but I think this helped me stay surprised and excited throughout the anime. I’m looking forward to the rest of the manga being adapted because it’s just a good Viking saga lolol. Major themes of stuff like growing up, violence vs. peace, what it means to be a good person, etc. Lots of blood and LOTS of violence like a LOT they are VIKINGS CMON but tbh not really any gore which I liked cuz gore makes me ughhhh. A very good watch and only a taste of an excellent story.

7. Demon Slayer

It’s just Demon Slayer duhhh. Of course this a 9/10 for me. I don’t wanna write much just cuz the show is so popular. Just read a REAL review of this anime somewhere else lmaoooo. Also yes I did watch the movie in theaters and yes I liked it a lot as well mmkay. I’m mad hype for season two. My S/O doesn’t like Demon Slayer as much as me, but also has Hunter x Hunter as their all time favorite anime. Do with that information what you will lolol.

8. Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2

Same shit as Demon Slayer. Just go read someone else’s review about why it’s so good lol. Also, unlike Mob Psycho 100, I can’t include all of the seasons in this, because I have very various opinions about how good/bad the other seasons were. But this season 3 part 2, was just plain and simply amazing. While I might not like each season equally, as a whole Attack on Titan is also a modern masterpiece of storytelling. Read the manga if you can.

9. Great Pretender

I love this anime so much. Such a good and fun wild ride. The whole show is ridiculous but in a fun way. I’m a HUGE fan of heist films, so of course I absolutely enjoyed a heist anime. I’ve watched this show in sub AND dub, due to the fact that everyone is “technically” speaking English the entire time. If you’re a purist, just watch in sub OR dub cuz I did get confused here and there, especially when I would go back to compare language discrepancies.  Because basically I did this super high maintenance thing where I switched back to Japanese whenever the main character had flashbacks, since he’s ya know, Japanese. The dub also has this confusing thing where the first five minutes or so are still in Japanese, but switches to English when a little cue card on the screen goes “For the Viewers sake, everything from now on will be translated to Japanese.” It’s cuz in the sub, the inverse obviously happens where the characters are initially speaking broken English to each other, but for convenience sake, everything from that point on will be in Japanese. It’s confusing at first but I liked it cuz it just proved the whole international vibe of the show. It’s funny either sub or dub when they joke about how bad the main guy speaks English, cuz in the dub he’s speaking perfect English, while the sub has him not speaking English at all. But anyway, great anime that WOULD have gotten a 10/10 if not for the last episode. Like without spoiling ... WTF WAS THAT LMAOOOO. The anime as a whole is super wacky and zany but at least I could try to think it’s real life, but that last episode was just so unbelievable and bizarre and pulled my suspension of disbelief into the STRATOSPHERE that I just had to convince myself that this show takes place in some improbable alternate reality where something like what happened in the last episode is at least 5 percent possible CUZ HOW DID ANY OF THAT WORK LMAOOO??? Once again, great show, one of my absolute favorites, BUT THAT ENDING THOUGH WTF.

10. BNA

Good super underrated anime that I don’t hear people talk about at all. If Beastars is anime Zootopia, then BNA is Disney Beastars lmaooo does that make sense? It’s a lot more fun and zany than Beastars and I liked it way more. Made by the same people who made Kill la Kill. I really like that more classic, animated “cheap” art style that the anime has, and I also really liked the plot of the story. Not a 10/10 cuz the show does leave a few unanswered questions at the end of it, but this show was such a fun and interesting ride. When I finished the last episode, I was left with a big smile on my face because I just genuinely enjoyed this anime. Recommended if you wanna watch something a little unique and more on the silly and wack side. Talks about some serious stuff, but luckily the show never takes itself TOO seriously, and remains overall lighthearted for a fun action/sci-fi show.

[vickyvicarious]

what do you make of Eliot's pre-show reputation for working alone? it makes sense for Parker and Hardison, who've always worked that way, but Eliot has a history of working as part of a team in various contexts

Yeah, it's definitely interesting! Really, Sophie never gets that label of 'always working alone' (and in fact later we see her bringing in Tara, which supports that she has friendly contacts still). It's just Parker, Hardison, and Eliot. And like you said, it makes complete sense for Parker, and even Hardison's hacking is just typically more suited to be done alone even if he is a social guy on a personal level. Eliot is different, given his history.

One thing I noticed a while ago, which is also interesting, is that Eliot's job by its very nature depends on other people. Sophie, Parker, and Hardison all steal what they want - as retrieval specialist, Eliot had to be hired. That's not to say he never just took something he wanted, necessarily, but his role majorly depended on people a) knowing of him in the first place, b) trusting his reputation enough to hire him, and c) being able to get in touch with him to hire him. I highly doubt he was handing out business cards left and right, so he had to have a network of contacts to at the very least pass his name along as an 'I know just the guy for the job' kind of thing. In fact, we see him bring in a friend on a con early in S1, and he is in contact with/does jobs for old military contacts throughout the show. (Once again, in the first episode Parker and Hardison were successfully recruited for someone else’s job, so it's not like that never happened for the others. But the general trend was that they picked their own heists; Eliot was hired on by other people.)

So we have a guy here who has a history of working on teams, a reputation as a loner, and yet still actively works for people who he has to keep on good enough terms to keep hiring him. How did that happen? In my opinion, it all comes back to Damien Moreau.

Eliot's timeline goes through some distinct phases:

Rural teen with a relatively poor family, I think they mention he played football; very all-American.

Joined the army with "a flag on his shoulder and God in his heart" or however that quote went.

Highly trained military operative involved in very classified operations.

Working for Damien Moreau.

Working solo as a retrieval specialist.

Leverage.

It's easy to track him through 1-3. He was recruited into the army with promises of heroism and glory, excelled at what he did, was eventually disillusioned. Getting from there to Moreau is a bit more of a jump, and likely didn't happen immediately. Given how protective Eliot gets over people he's working with, and how vigorously he hates betrayals of trust from his team, I think it's not unreasonable to assume that part of the reason he left the army had to do with whatever unit he was in getting very hurt. Likely in a way that made him feel he failed to protect them; maybe he was the only one who made it out of one specific situation. Maybe just a bunch of people he worked with got whittled down, or maybe it wasn't anything so deadly but he saw how little their lives mattered in the grand scheme of those in charge, saw how amoral the missions he was given were, and it was more of a gradual slide into illegality. There's also the detail that as he got into more and more classified work, he might be less and less likely to have a large group of people he could talk to/be a regular team with. Either way, I think Moreau didn't completely hire him straight out of the army, but there probably wasn't a tremendously long time between him leaving that group and joining up with Moreau.

*I originally thought Eliot didn't meet Toby until after he left Moreau, but a helpful anon corrected me on that! 'In the French Connection Job he says to Nate "I was out of the service and working for my 2nd PMC", doing wetwork.' He 'should've' killed Toby but instead stayed with him for months, 'learning how to cook and how to feel'. It certainly seems like he had gone some degree of numb after his experiences in the army and even since leaving it. His second private military contract/company... still implies he was working for organizations of some sort, though I get the impression he wasn't sticking around for terribly long times. Still, even if he then works solo retrieval type gigs for a while, I don't think he was nearly as insistent on working alone/had such a clear reputation about it, not yet.

Eliot no longer believed that he was doing good. He'd lost his naive patriotism and seems to have lost his religion for the most part as well. He didn't trust the system, but for the most part he still seemed to have faith in individuals. He still kept in touch with some old colleagues, he'd learned from Toby; he still wanted to be a part of something, even if that something couldn't be the US Army. He's a self-motivated criminal now but he still isn't averse to working with others.

Then comes Damien Moreau. Whether you read their relationship as romantic or not, it was undeniably important and personal. They knew one another well. Damien even still liked Eliot years after he'd left. There's good evidence for them having an emotionally abusive relationship where Moreau took advantage of Eliot's tendency to do things for those he cares about (I reblogged a great meta on this a little while ago). But essentially what we see here is that in all his time working for Moreau, no one else made such a strong impression on Eliot. Moreau definitely seems the type to play favorites and emotionally distance Eliot from other goons - Eliot isn't just another goon after all, he's the best. He's worthy of Damien's time and attention and specific assignments that only Eliot can be trusted to get done right. Whatever process of estrangement Eliot's superior skills may have begun, Moreau quickened until there was only one person who was the most important to him. Eliot didn't just work for him as a part of some vast criminal network by the end - no, he worked directly for and with Moreau himself. He was part of a team of two for all intents and purposes, regardless of how often he may have cooperated with others on specific jobs (though I suspect that got less frequent over time as well).

And when Eliot realized how deep he'd gotten, how terrible he'd become? He left, and left Damien Moreau specifically behind. Maybe he took a break for a while, went underground... it certainly doesn't seem like he had a conversation with Moreau and resigned so much as he just ran. And when he returned it was as a solo act. What this tells me is that not only did his time with Moreau break Eliot's trust in himself, it broke his ability to trust others. Not everyone necessarily, but in a working capacity. It probably was not the first time he'd experienced betrayal (in some form or another, his time in the army definitely qualified) but it was the most personal. Eliot trusted and liked Moreau - and he did the worst things in his entire life for him.

He couldn't repeat that. He couldn't leave himself open to getting sucked in like that again. And what's more, at this point he really didn't need to. His skills were such that he could get the job done himself (and had perhaps even honed those more solo skills while working for Moreau), and doing so meant that he never had to leave himself vulnerable to someone else like that again. He didn't have to be responsible for someone else getting hurt, and he didn't have to accept that he'd put someone else in charge of who he hurt. Eliot starts being more careful not to permanently injure or kill people, starts getting more selective with his jobs, and makes it a requirement that he works them alone. He still has to accept jobs from others, yeah, but he has ultimate control over what jobs he does accept, and if he operates purely on a freelance basis without getting too involved with any one client, then he can avoid the emotional entanglement that lead to such horrific loss of judgement in the past. It's hard, because he is naturally drawn to other people... but Eliot thinks that letting no one in is by far the safer option for everyone involved. He still builds relationships with others in order to get his name out, and may do repeat work for certain people, but no one is going to own him anymore. He is good enough that he can afford to set the terms like that; when he keeps getting the job done the word will spread that even alone he is worth the money. Eliot relies only on himself and any relationships he has are necessarily shallow. Professional, brief. This extends even to friendships (that seem to involve infrequent contact for the most part) and romantic relationships (he has plenty of sex but doesn't get emotionally close to anyone, does not fall in love). He is alone - in fact he is emphatically and outspokenly alone, because he doesn't want anyone to get their hooks in him like that ever again.

(*Doing jobs like this also limits the likelihood, especially in the beginning, that he's going to end up working for Moreau again in any real capacity. As time passes and Moreau doesn't attempt to bring him back too hard, that may become less of an issue in his mind, but it could certainly be a perk at least as the start.)

Then of course we eventually come to Leverage. It's been a while since Moreau. Eliot has built a solid reputation for himself - and he is being offered a LOT of money for a job that promises to be fairly quick. At this point, he probably feels like maybe he can trust himself as part of a team again without getting too sucked in - he will just keep it to one job and go his own way afterwards. It'll be fine.

...And then he immediately gets sucked in, bonds right away and wants so badly to stay. But even then, it's because of Nate. Eliot knows Nate, trusts him to be the 'honest man', is certain enough of Nate's moral compass that it's okay to get drawn in if Nate is the one making the plans. If it weren't for him, Eliot would have walked right away. Eliot was never going to allow himself to be ruled by others again... but Nate isn't like any of those people, he is a good man. Eliot can trust him not to lead him into anything too morally wrong, and in fact the work with Leverage is a way to bring some good back into the world. Not redeem himself, that won't ever happen, but under Nate's leadership Eliot can do something good for once. He doesn't want to stop.

By the time he moves past trusting Nate's judgement so much, he already trusts and loves the whole team. Parker and Hardison especially, so now he has to stay to keep them safe... even from Nate's plans sometimes, when he gets drunk and reckless. Eliot is secure in his role as part of a team again - and he probably was very lonely without one for all that time. It's not really in his nature to work alone long-term. And a key difference this time is that everyone else gets just as invested as he, and there's a good balance of power and respect unlike all of the more hierarchical teams he was in before (army, Moreau, they would have clear command structures - hell, even high-school football has a captain and a coach). Nate is nominally in charge but they talk back to him and lead where they have the most expertise. They dedicate themselves to him as much as he to them, they change together. And they change for the better, together.

[washymylifeaway]

SunaOsa fanfic recs: valentines edition~~

SunaOsa is one of my all time favorite ships and this past month, there has been/was an exchange going on between writers (here is the link) and artists (separately) and because I don’t have a life (or maybe it’s just that SunaOsa is my life LOL), I’m here to tell you some of my favorite fics from the pile :D However, as much as I love a ship, sometimes fluff is too asajndajnd so mind you there will probably be a lot of good fics missing just cause I couldn’t get myself to read more fluff (or angst) LOL (IM SORRY but sometimes I also just can’t motivate myself to read a fic no matter how good it looks OOPS).

As always, please check warning and tags before reading any of these fics, and take care of yourselves!!!!

In no particular order (jk the order is last updated haha) tho my favorites will have *** next to them :)

***glass stained black by unrequitedangst (E) 31k // Mafia AU’s are some of my favorite kinds of fics, and this one did not disappoint! The character development of Osamu is really legit and despite being mafia, it’s not that heavy or angst of a fic (but you should still definitely read tags and warnings first). It’s an Osamu heavy fic, and if you’re into reading him being stupid, go right ahead LOL.

redux by catalysis (T) 2.3k // ngl I hate break-up fics with a passion truely (when you can’t handle fluff or angst what to do) but I liked the concept for this one hehe (so I made myself suffer LOL). It was short, but cute !!! and the unspoken words really hit me in the FEELS (so what I’m dramatic fight me LOL).

Impropriety by DeathBelle (T) 5.7k // royalty~ I love the banter between them in this fic and we DO stan respectful Osamu yes we do <33333 The relationships between not only SunaOsa but SunaAtsu (because even though it isn’t really SunaAtsu best friend agenda, I can delude myself into think it is okay :/) are done so well and so nice he’s mean Osamu is best Osamu.

***what are you waiting for? by Slumber (T) 3.7k // MIGHT BE MY FAV FIC FROM THIS EXCHANGE!!! It made me cackle and I love how they learn new things about each other!!!! Like the development is so good and Suna is really doing the MOST!! Also, I love recursive endings AHHHHHH!

agape by sketchedsmiles (T) 11.7k // soulmates, then they were SOULMATES! (ik that’s not how it goes but pls just humor me LOL) This fic really depicted Osamu’s insecurities/internal turmoil/overthinking really well and the realization he has vs Suna’s AHJAFKASFJ. I love confident Suna.

fireside by tartaglia (starkartifices) (T) 3.6k // we do love the subtle flirt flirt don’t we hehe ;) It’s short, it’s fluff, and it’s funny - what more could you ask for? Also whats a vigilante fic if there isn’t at least one pun about being a vigilante LOL.

Over and Over Again by tookumade (G) 6.4k // I would like to order one reassuring, reliable Miya Osamu for myself please and thank you :((( The way the relationship is so GOOD like both Suna and Osamu pick each other up and they know the other has their back ajfhkajdfl. I would purchase all the onigiri with the deal Suna was proposing ;) Onigirintarou.

from here to eternity by TheGlovedArtist (T) 6.6k // I for one am a big fan of mythology and stuff (heroes of olympus but like IDR any of the plot LOL) so of course I read this fic. The snark appearances of Sakusa and Komori gave me LIFE and the difference in descriptions from Astumu and Kita cracked me up. This is another respectful Osamu fic (yes I love these) and in this one it was a ‘I save you as much as you save me’ type beat LOL. Gotta love rings.

***Subtle Inarizaki Dating by sifuhotman (T) 15.2k // THIS ONE. Even if you don’t read the whole thing, I beg of you, please, I AM ON MY KNEES, read the SID for Astumu. It is worth the loss of all your brain calls I guarantee it. It made me giggle so freakin much. Suna might be an A-Hole but he’s OUR A-Hole <3

Forever Begins with 8 Seconds by subtlehues (T) 3.9k // FLUFF hehe, I love their dynamic in this one it’s very good and cute and everything great! Also, I am all for the head cannon that Suna cannot cook, yes pls. Also SUPERPOWERS whooooooooh.

***try again, and again, and again by rosegoldwriting (T) 2.6k // SOULMATES! If you ever wanted a specific soulmate AU! for SunaOsa look no further, it probably comes out LOL. I love this concept of them just being like ‘WTF’ everyday, it gives me life. Also, count how many soulmate AU’s you recognized because I just thought about it and I think it’d be fun LOL. (I went back and I think 11 but I’m not sure LOL)

let us burn by SilverMoonT (G) 13.5k // I am always up for a nice vampire Osamu and witch Suna (which believe it or not, is my second one because I read the other one by this writer LOL) This one is more Suna POV and it really goes into his fears and desires, and I like the way Osamu pushes him to live more freely.

***reasons to microwave an elixir by spiritscript (T) 8.2k // THIS ONE. UGH I love, and it’s funny and cute and it EVEN HAS CRIME (kinda not really but yes)! I love the quiet moments they have and the PET AHHHHHHH! We love medic Osamu :DDDDD But also the betrayal and the sparring (and the irony at the end LOL) AJSKJNFK.

we fall between by stringendos (T) 14.7k // honestly the entire time I was just screaming at my computer, begging for them to hurry up and realize, but alas this is a ~slow burn~ for a reason and the tag ‘exes who act like theyre married’ really is the reason I read it and I do not regret LOL. Also bless Matsuda and stan her.

All the Time in the World by minie_ai (M) 8.8k // we love immortality! Denial! And Suna mentally filing away blackmail against people (namely Astumu) LOL. Running away from your problems is always the answer (I am saying this is a not sarcastic manner because I too, run away from my problems LOL) but ramen is ALWAYS a good answer. We love ourselves some emotional constipation LOL.

***none but you by broikawa (T) 7.2k // everything is a competition always LOL, not that I’m complainin but still LOL EVERYTHING. I really love this one because I love the progression and cock-block SakuAtsu hehe. I love them being synchronized idiots <3

it all comes back to you, (my home) by iritaescents (T) 4.5k // FOREVER, WE STAN FOREVER. Anyway, LOL this was is very very cute and fluff and not slow burn, it fast burn LOL. It’s a cute fic to read and it even has our favorite, now say it with me SOULMATES LOL.

Can't help falling in bed with you by tirralirra (T) 6.7k // here we see a 5 + 1 with points for the title (I think it’s very funny LOL my humor is bad ;)) Not that it really needs extra points because it’s a great fic in itself LOL but I really liked the title so I felt the need to share this with you all (OOPS). This was so cute, and the + 1 is HILARIOUS.

It’s no longer up :(((((( -> love's consequences by xginpuff (T) 6.5k // WARNINGS AND TAGS been a while since we had an angsty fic in this list (LOL the way I just tried to avoid all of them hehe). I read the tags but ngl I was still surprised later LOL maybe I’m just dumb, but anyway IK it starts out a bit confusing, but after you read more, you’ll get into it!

***sunagashi by bastigod (T) 9.8k // if there’s anything I like more than mythology, it’s folklore LOL. I love this fic and the plot is written so artfully AHDSAJN. Also the scene with the Ume-chan and her comment (so snarky I love). Also they way I went through so much trouble trying to figure out the kanji LOL (SPOILER it’s miyarin hehe)

catch me (while i'm still runnin') by lunarins (T) 4.3k // first and foremost, may we have a moment of silence for Komori and his eyebrows..... Continuing, this fic was so good because I love a good heist hehe. Their slight of hand abilities really doing the most LOL, and the ending OMG. I love the way the writer added in how they appeared to others during the heist, it really made it so good! Ugh to have a painting class and almost die LOL.

***if we get this right by Slumber (G) 5k // OLD FRIEND plsplspls I love this fic and I love how Osamu slowly relearns who he knew Suna as AHHH. The ending, again UGH, I really loved it and their banter with one another.

The Study of Suna Rintarou by DeathBelle (T) 6.1k // PLEASE the way Osamu kept getting offended omg. But also the effort Suna puts into getting to know Osamu, I was in ~love~. Read to me Osamu, READ TO ME. But also the Osamu is an oblivious MF agenda is alive and well within this fic hehe.

Take a Hint by pancake_surprise (G) 2.3k // ok so I had just read a tumbr post about the one bed thing and then I saw this fic. It was like the stars aligned okay? I was like, ig I HAVE to read it now hehe. But seriously read it, it’s cute and like everything else, of course there’s a challenge to be made LOL.

Heatwave by pancake_surprise (G) 2.1k // the way they were dating without knowing they were dating man. The tag ‘Didn't Know They Were Dating‘ more accurate than the ‘first dates’ one LOL jk but actually tho am I kidding? It’s the first official one IG. LOL anyway, we do love the doin of the defining of relationships. Yup.

If you made it all the way down here, CONGRATS LOL. Like I said, I didn’t read all of them (sadly) and these were the ones i did read LOL. I might add more depending on whether I can motivate myself into reading fics I know will be good LOL so we’ll see heh. Honestly, I thought I was gonna get word counted, but YAY we finished (for now hehe). Also sorry for any possible typos (is this no beta we die like men?) I’m running on 90 min of sleep so my engrish be strugglin LOL. Be safe and wear masks :)

[luninosity]

Okay, so, some Falcon and the Winter Soldier thoughts (will have some spoilers) for episodes two and three. General non-spoilery comment first: I feel like these were both *okay* episodes - neither as good as the first, but I didn’t dislike them, either. I’m still really curious to see how we’re going to wrap this all up in three more episodes; it doesn’t feel like we’re halfway done yet!

Okay, more spoiler-y notes below the Read More, not in any real order, just as I think and type. I’ll probably forget some things, but for now, here’re some thoughts...

--I like ep 3 slightly more than ep 2, mostly because of Zemo!

--I actually really love Zemo here (I liked him in Civil War, too): complex, sardonic, enjoying poking at people, a villain we do feel sympathy for even as he’s still sharp enough to remind us that he is a villain. Daniel Bruhl has always done a fantastic job flipping between calculated cruelty, wry humor - the whole “I am a Baron” moment was great - and pain that for him is still raw, about the loss of his family. (Some things’re awfully cliche - look, the supervillain’s playing chess and reading Machiavelli in his cell? really? - but, y’know...sure. Why not. We expect some cliches in the superhero genre, and this is an inoffensive one.)

--also Zemo dancing. That’s it. That’s everything.

--moving on from that: I’m also really liking how they’re writing John Walker. He does have charm, and there’s a certain amount of sympathy - especially as we see him worrying about filling the Captain America shoes, in ep 2 - but we’re also getting this really subtle sense of wrongness about him. He’s clearly vindictive and angry when things (and people) don’t act according to his mental script for them, and he’s willing to use his name and power to do things like get Bucky released...which in context and given our sympathies for Bucky is a good thing, but...it’s also an indicator of his willingness to do what he wants, because he can. (To be fair, Steve Rogers also often did that! - but Steve earned our trust, both in narrative and character. From his first introduction to WWII leadership experience to all the Avengers stuff, Steve consistently acts to protect people, and he’ll also listen if someone else has a good idea or if someone needs to talk, like with Wanda.) So I’m really liking this slow-fuse character development.

--mixed feelings about Sharon. I love that the show’s acknowledging how much she sacrificed for our main heroes, with no reward. On the other hand, she also clearly knew the consequences that could happen; she said as much at the time. The level of bitterness seems like a lot. But I’m also interested in everything we still don’t know about her - if she’s not the Power Broker herself, she’s obviously Up To Something. So that should be fun.

--hey, look at that X-Men location, with Majipoor! Also a nod to Wolverine’s favorite bar there, I think?

--I love heist and disguise plots!

--I also really like Bucky’s having to revert to the Winter Soldier - Sebastian Stan does it so brilliantly, with so many layers of emotion: not wanting to, loathing it, recognizing the necessity, shutting off all emotion and just coldly doing it, hurting but covering it up...just fantastic, and you know I love some hurt/comfort, and this seems like such a great set-up for emotional hurt

--but! this also seems like...a weird plot hole, kind of? Bucky’s pretty famous at this point, right? I imagine the criminal underworld knows he’s been pardoned and deprogrammed, right? or do they assume Zemo, with his knowledge of Hydra, still has some special control over him?

--along the same “this seems like someone didn’t think this through” path, Sam, you’re a professional, turn off your phone on a mission. Oh my god. Face-palmingly stupid - and I think somewhat lazy writing, as the writers plainly needed a giveaway, and went for the first idea they had. Even if it made a main character look incompetent.

--the Flag Smashers and Karli are...fine. They feel very Generic Marvel Villain - not the big space alien type, but the other type, the “I have a personal loss and motivating pain so I’m a little sympathetic but also Clearly Evil, watch me kill civilians so the audience won’t ever find me TOO sympathetic” type. Meh. Fine. Zemo’s more interesting, but...fine.

--Anthony Mackie is such a fantastic actor - every bit of his reaction to the Isaiah Bradley reveal is so good. The anger, pain, frustration, ferocity...heartbreaking. Actually that whole scene is so good - his emotions at discovering this secret history are palpable, and it’s so painful, because we also understand why Bucky would keep the secret - as someone who knows about pain and trauma and being experimented on, and knowing Isaiah wants to be left alone - we feel really deeply for both characters here, and it’s great.

--I actually liked the abrupt swing from the Isaiah Bradley encounter to the casual everyday racism of the cops on the street - is it subtle, no. But it’s not meant to be: it’s meant to be standing up and shouting about how not that much has really changed, and about how pervasive racism is. I know some reviews were all, “this was just too much!” or “too forced!” but...look, it needs to be shouted sometimes for people to hear.

--Bucky’s notebook being Steve’s, oh, ouch, my feelings. If I had the time and energy to write fic...

--(also, if I had the time and energy to write dark!fic: where’re my fics in which Zemo’s implication about the Winter Soldier “doing anything you want” gets played with? what or who does Bucky have to do to keep the undercover charade going? so many Bad Wrong Kinky power dynamics and explorations of consent and what this would do to Bucky’s head, here, and honestly I’d totally read them all, just saying.)

--Sam and Bucky together...I don’t know. This is one of the elements that I’m not actually a huge fan of, but I think it’s partly a personal genre / sense of humor thing that’s not clicking for me, personally, again. Like...

--I don’t find people shouting aggrievedly at each other to be funny? I’m not sure why it is.

--I mean, I get that they’re doing, like, eighties buddy cop movies, but...it got old really fast then, and it’s not something we needed to bring back. It’s not clever, and it’s...well, shouty and annoying.

--(I say this as someone who genuinely likes the first two Lethal Weapon movies...but the significant difference is, I think, we’re also shown in both those movies that Riggs and Murtaugh care about each other. They don’t want to be partners initially, and they don’t get along initially, and they do argue over tactics**...but they immediately feel responsible for each other and act to protect each other even as they argue, because it’s the right thing to do and we’re shown moments of them awkwardly trying to connect, because they both have that deep sense of...protectiveness...that makes them Good People - like, if they learn something that the other person needs to know, they tell each other. They protect each other’s families / love interests. So by the end of the second movie, with that fabulous character death fake-out, Murtaugh’s initial shock and grief is real and powerful and painful, and so is his genuine relief when the worst isn’t true - and it’s all earned.) (**however, they tend to argue tactics *before* jumping in - “is it 1, 2, 3, go on 3? or 3, then go?” And then once that’s established, they go ahead. That makes a difference as far as...well...competence and teamwork!)

--(Sam and Bucky, as far as I can tell, don’t do the above, and just...maybe shouldn’t be working together?)

--I also don’t find grown men acting like my youngest nephew, when he’s having a temper tantrum, to be funny. Staring contests? Random insults? Sulking in silence? Oh, grow up.

--(Also, yes, writers, we see you with the “couples therapy” and “get closer and make your legs touch” and “landing on top of each other as they hit the ground” moments. I, at least, personally, am very tired of...I don’t know that I’d call it queerbaiting exactly, but this idea that we’re supposed to find these moments funny...because why? Because, ooh, they’re two men getting close to each other, physically or emotionally? Why is this a thing we need to draw attention to? Do you think you’re doing some sort of fan service? Please either make Sam/Bucky happen or stop doing this.)

--both Sam and Bucky are highly competent and professional agents, or they should be. They should know how to work in the field - even with people they may not like - and adapt to shifting strategy, make best use of available assets, include people in the plan, etc. I can’t help but compare this to something like, say, Leverage, which also has a team who mocks each other and makes jokes but clearly absolutely respects each other’s capabilities, has a plan going in and tells everyone what the plan is, and adapts (and trusts each other to adapt) on the fly as necessary, and does it all without random insults about someone’s (PTSD-related) staring and “robot brain”.

--one of the very specific moments that bothers me a lot is the ending of the therapy scene (yay for showing heroes in therapy! but also I’m pretty sure she’s...not a great therapist?). Bucky finally opens up and says something real, about his own self-doubt and wondering whether Steve was wrong about him....and Sam just...brushes it off and goes, “we’re done here,” basically. Not only does that feel wildly out of character for former counselor Sam, it feels cruel. I really deeply dislike that moment the more I think about it. Makes me want to scream.

--Sam insults Bucky way more than the other way around. It’s starting to feel very one-sided (it’d be better if more clearly reciprocal, though it’s still not a dynamic that’s my favorite), and again, feels out of character - maybe this is Anthony Mackie’s sense of humor, but Sam isn’t Mackie, and Bucky isn’t Seb, and it reads as...a weird unbalanced power-trip thing to me. And also out of character for Sam, who can be sarcastic (”If you guys eat that sort of thing,” about breakfast, when Steve and Nat have randomly shown up at his door) but that’s not the same as just throwing unprovoked insults at a person who’s trying to recover from trauma, and a lot of those insults seem to center on things that were done to Bucky, that he had no choice in (the staring, the arm, etc), and that feels....it just feels mean, to me. Make fun of things he’s had a choice in / can do something about, if you have to - hair, clothes, liking “old people’s games” like gin rummy or pinochle, not knowing who Beyonce is, I don’t know, there are so many options that aren’t cruel! Do that instead. Let Bucky have a good comeback for once, too!

--the action scenes are action scenes. Also fine.

--Sam might be right about destroying the shield, and the show may even be (unintentionally?) setting that up as the best outcome, but that’s a problem for the future, Sam; get it back first. Also it’s a problem you caused by giving the shield up - did you really trust the government to leave it unused in a museum? You’re not that naive.

--overall, it’s...a perfectly fine show, so far, I think? Solid, and interesting, but not great. I think some of what doesn’t work for me is because it doesn’t work for me personally, as far as the shouty insult-heavy action “comedy” bits that I’m not enjoying, but I think they’re doing what they aimed for with it, so in that sense, I guess it’s working? There’s a lot of really cool stuff around the edges - John Walker, Isaiah Bradley, that Dora Milaje stinger, the bigger world of a history interwoven with racism and superpowers, the chillingly effective use of Bucky’s past - but I wish I liked the central Sam-Bucky relationship more. Individually they’re wonderful - they’ve both had such powerful scenes dealing with family, trauma, and consequences - but I feel like, in the effort to do the buddy comedy dynamic, the writing has just made me really sure that they actually genuinely don’t like each other? To such an extent that if they show any affection / caring / interest in each other in the last three episodes, it won’t be believable. (I mean Sam and Bucky, not Mackie and Seb. Mackie and Seb’re adorable.)

--I just want to think about Zemo dancing some more.

[caitybug]

It may be February but... why not haha. 

Below the cut, organized in chronological order, are the fics I wrote in 2020! All put into one place :D. Thank you to everyone who read, kudos’d, commented, beta’d, and supported my writing. It was my first ever year writing fanfiction, and I am so thankful for all the friends I’ve made because of it.

<3 <3

If Not For You

Word count: 92,461 Chapters: 36 Rating: M

Summary:

Simon was born and raised in the midwest, and he thinks he has his life figured out. He has a girlfriend that he feels happy with, is excited to drive for his junior year, and can't wait to get away from his father when he goes away for school.

However, this all changes when his mom dies and he is carted to the east coast to start at a boarding school. Simon then has to deal with having a roommate (who hates him), living with his mother's death, and wanting to be anywhere but where he is.

To add to it all, one day he gets a strange phone call, and he wonders if his mother's death was really an accident at all.

author’s note:

This was my first like actual fic. And my first try at writing something. This fic will always have a special place in my heart because it helped lead me to all the amazing people I now call friends <3

Not only that but it was a bit of therapy for me. (Self insert? In MY fanfiction? More likely than you’d think!)

Anyway, whenever someone comments, leaves kudos, or otherwise acknowledge that the fic exists I get emotional haha. I also have like three playlists for it too haha.

The Heist

Word Count:7456 Rating:T

Summary:

It's the fourth year of the Halloween heist, and Baz is determined to win. He thinks he has it all planned, that he knows Simon Snow through and through.

Despite this, somehow Simon still manages to surprise him.

author’s note:

b99 AU bahaha. Need I say more??

Pay Your Fines, Snow

Word Count: 1524 Rating: T

Summary:

Baz Pitch works at the local library every summer. He's annoyed at kids who run around, people who don't follow directions, and Simon Snow- who can't pay a fine on time.

author’s note

This fic was the first of the fics that sparked all my crazy prompts haha. It was so much fun to do! 

There is a wonderful podfic of this made by the amazing and beautiful @xivz​, and it also has art now by @peachpit-gabe!! Go check it out here. 

A Rebirth

Word Count: 3374 Rating: T

Summary:

Simon and Baz need to finish their presentation for their Art History class. However, Baz also got pulled into watching his younger siblings for the weekend.

Frozen 2, chicken nuggets, sword fights, and themes of Renaissance.

author’s note

I wrote this for the amazing @krisrix as a prompt! It was so much fun to do and I legit wrote the whole thing in like one afternoon and had it looked over and posted it haha. I still feel bad because Kris legit asked for babies and I kicked the babies out at the beginning of the fic LOL. 

Coming Together in Three Parts

Word Count: 4639 Rating: M Chapters: 3

Summary:

Three snippets of their lives after Wayward Son.

author’s note:

The summary definitely leaves a lot to be imagined haha. But I decided to pull a @ninemagicks and give a metaphor of threes and I love yous. So it’s three lovely stages after Wayward Son. There’s the I Love You, the moving in, and then a marriage proposal. I was fairly proud of this! And I did this as an exchange fic as well. 

The Three Acts of a Wizard

Word Count: 6439 Rating: T

Summary:

Today, Baz is giving Simon a reprieve (or, that's what he is telling Simon.)

Cue a removal of cursed body parts, a grumpy fireplace who *knows* what is happening, and a shrill frizzy-haired friend threatening to poison some scones.

(this is a remix fic for @ninemagicks​ HMC AU YWSAFS

author’s note:

I wrote this for Nena’s birthday in the summer! Their friendship has meant the world to me, and this story is what I think gave me the gall courage to message them and harass them with 2k word comments/metas haha. If you’ve not read their fic, make sure to do so!

Heaven is a Place on Earth

Word Count: 12,711 Rating: M Chapters: 5 Summary:

Five hours each week. That's all Simon and Baz get.

But we know that's all they need to fall in love...

~~

A San Junipero AU

author’s note:

This fic idea came to me randomly and I literally wrote it in a week. I love it so much, and despite being MCD I think it’s still generally happy (I mean.. they do end up together??) Idk, it has a special place in my heart. And I made @krisrix read Baz with an american accent so... win win haha. 

(Un)Sexy Saturday

Word Count: 6157 Rating: M/E Chapters: 9 (they’re different stories each chapter.)

Summary:

Summaries vary by chapter. Overall it’s just a collection of silly stories where sex gets interrupted. 

author’s note:

Honestly this series was so fun to do. I need to continue it sometime! From beauty blender butt plugs, to swingers, to garlic allergies... it just makes me laugh haha. 

5 Times Simon Wanted a Fistbump, and the 1 Time He Finally Got It

Word Count: 5489 Rating: T Chapters: 6

Summary:

Simon Snow hasn't had a lot of friends in his life. He has Penny, who is great, of course. He has Baz (but does he count as a friend?)

So now, seeing Shepard, he's got a chance at a friend. A bro of sorts.

Simon sees the final hurdle in their friendship to be a fist bump. A simple signal of their friendship.

But how long is it going to take to get it??

~~

5 + 1 Yearning for a Fist Bump.

author’s note:

Simpard. Friendship. And art by @nick-eyre?? Perfection. 

A Goblin’s Skull, Maccies, and a Door Handle

Word Count: 2017 Rating: T

Summary:

Simon Snow wakes up in a building he doesn't know, tied up and blindfolded.

Luckily his best bro Shepard is there too.

author’s note:

Wrote this as a little bday treat for @nick-eyre :D. Decided to give Simon a friend who would also lust after goblins with him haha. 

One Word, Four Letters, A Lifetime's Worth of Pain: IKEA

Word Count: 2428 Rating: T

Summary:

Baz comes home and notices the house is suspiciously quiet.

When he finds Simon, surrounded by unfinished pieces of furniture, he can't help but ask... why?

Author’s note:

This was written as a birthday gift for @foolofabookwyrm! She is an absolute gem and has never been to IKEA, but now I hope she understands the struggle of building IKEA furniture haha. 

The Beat of My Heart

Word Count: 2230 Rating: T

Summary:

Simon is kneeling on the ground, waiting for Baz to come home.

He has a question. One he's wanted to ask for a while.

author’s note:

This was written as a birthday gift for @krisrix! A little proposal fic for the rat king <3 <3

Out of My Mind

Word Count: 10876 Rating: M Chapters: 3

Summary:

Baz and Simon are living their lives, domestic and content. They have a nine-year-old daughter, a Sunday morning routine, and plans to be alone for the first time for a while.

But when a girl who is growing into her powers reads something she shouldn't, they get into a predicament they don't expect.

author’s note:

This was a COE gift for @krisrix! Body Swap! Parents! Married! I tried to do it all for him haha. 2020 was really the year where I was like yeah, let’s write Kris a million fics. And honestly—wouldn’t have it any other way.

Imposter vs Crewmates

Word Count: 754 Rating: T

Summary:

Everyone has their quarantine coping strategies.

Simon tried to bake bread.

Baz watched Twilight.

But Penelope...

She introduced the gang to Among Us.

author’s note:

Look. I’ve no excuses for this lolol. Just thought it’d be silly :D. 

The Ethics of Wanting You

Word Count: 1417 Rating: T

Summary:

Simon Snow realized recently that he has a crush on Baz.

Penny suggested he find reasons to spend more time with him, so he suggests a study session for their ethics exam the following day.

(It doesn't go as planned, but the result is very much worth it.)

author’s note:

Birthday gift for @peachpit-gabe <3 <3. Just a cute one shot with snowbaz.

Pumpkin, Let’s Make a Patch

Word Count: 2516 Rating: T

Summary:

Simon Snow is trying to create a neighborhood pumpkin patch.

Baz, unknowingly, rips the pumpkins out of his front lawn.

(How will he make it up to him?)

author’s note:

This was done for the COC. I based it off this cute tiktok series with this kid who rode around on his skateboard and plants pumpkins around his neighborhood.

Weathering the Storm

Word Count: 2248 Rating: T

Summary:

Shepard was nine when he first met a boy he'd learn was Simon Snow.

He was in a ditch crying, and Shepard wasn't sure what to make of him.

This boy lived in his mind until he saw him again years later.

And today, when there's a storm unlike any other in London, he knows who must be at the center of it.

author’s note:

Honestly. This is probably one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. IDK. It’s so short but... I love it. And if you like to listen to fics— @bloodiedpixie did a phenomenal podfic of it! And @nick-eyre did AMAZING art for it too <3. 

New Beginnings

Word Count: 2090 Rating: T

Summary:

It's the first New Years Eve after the Christmas that changed everything.

After Simon Snow and Baz kissed.

After they defeated the humdrum.

After the Mage's death.

But, as many of us do, it's time to take the New Year as an opportunity to begin anew.

author’s note:

Part of a server exchange I did for @knitbelove :D. 

And, all of the prompts I’ve yet to put on ao3... lolol

[wlw-lovestruck-fiction]

Ahh, after reading that fic where mc faints from toxic paint, can you guys write a part two of that? If you guys have time since you probably have a dozen requests. Thanks in advance

Written by @an-awkward-ghost

Part 1

“How was your day?”

Leon’s voice broke the silence in the car. Vivienne grinned at him, lazily twisting the necklace she had stolen between her fingers. She couldn’t wait to see how MC would look with it… she was a little breathless just thinking about it. It didn’t feel as if the word beautiful would make it justice…

She purses her lips, but decides not to dwell on it. She’ll get to see it soon enough.

“My day was perfect, of course.”

Leon gave a light chuckle in response. Their headquarters came into view after a few seconds, and they didn’t waste time in getting out of the car, glad to be home and get the opportunity to relax after a long day.

“Seems like the others will be out for a while.” Leon mused, after quickly checking his phone. Vivienne shrugs in response.

“Well, they’ll miss the Italian dinner we brought, then. What a pity.”

Their relaxed mood quickly crashes when Leon opens the door and almost staggers at the scent within. Paint, no doubt, but there was something else lingering that made Vivienne signal for him to wait outside.

If he fainted due to the toxic environment inside… No, Vivienne couldn’t let that happen.

Leon stares at her hand for a second, his gaze quickly snapping to what he could see of the apartment. He huffs as he takes a few steps back, clearly worried.

“MC was supposed to be inside, wasn’t she?” The seductress asks; it’s a rhetoric question, because the fact that part of the scent is paint is a blatant answer. Leon is saying something about alerting the others but Vivienne is already inside and searching before he can finish his sentence, and he doesn’t protest. If MC was truly inside, they needed to get her out as soon as possible.

God, what if Elizabeth was there, too? She was much smaller… she could be…

With a sense of urgency that increased by the second, Vivienne made her way towards the living room. She saw MC there, laying over the couch as if she had fallen there rather than simply dozed off. On the other side was Elizabeth, also passed out, and her chest was rising and falling at irregular intervals. A wave of relief crashes against her when she verifies they are both still alive, but she needed to hurry. She didn’t know how much time they had been exposed to the toxic paint.

She hesitates in her next step because, even though her entire being is screaming at her to go to MC, she should prioritize Elizabeth for now. Cursing internally, and hoping that her beloved’s condition doesn’t worsen in the few seconds it would take to get Elizabeth to Leon, Vivienne goes for Elizabeth first.

After passing her to Leon she goes to check on MC, almost sprinting. MC’s breath is irregular, too. There is a thin layer of sweat adoring her beautiful face, and she is making weak sounds of discomfort that break the seductress’ heart. Vivienne checks her over for possible injuries before scoping her up, deciding to preoccupy herself with the paint once MC was safe.

It doesn’t take long to get her to the safety of the hallway, but Leon and her hardly stop there. They go straight for the car, their phones already going off with worried messages from the rest of the Poppy. They are used to acting under pressure, a result of countless heists where something had gone wrong. Vivienne couldn’t be more grateful for their expertise: in a manner of seconds, they’ve hatched a hasty plan where Jett and Zoe will pick Vivienne and MC up in a stolen car, going straight to the hospital, while Leon goes to a vet with Nikolai and Remy.

And, if everything goes right, this event will be nothing but a scare which they are going to laugh over in the future. Once they figure out how this happened.

As Vivienne gazes down to MC’s chest, rising with difficulty, she vows to make sure this will never happen again. Even if she has to check every single paint in Paris.

[jcmorrigan]

It's giovanni's bday today! (or yesterday if you get this ask tomarrow) Any HCs for the birthday boy?

Okay I am once again doing this off the top of my head because I wanted to go improv style, but here is a story called THAT TIME THE BLASTERS TRIED TO THROW A SURPRISE PARTY AND IT DIDN’T GO WELL.

-Crusher has Giovanni’s birthday marked in his personal planner, and in his phone, and he also has the week leading up to it marked, and his calendar has that entire week outlined in pink marker, and basically mid-January he bursts in on a meeting of the other Blasters and goes “THE BOSS’ BIRTHDAY IS COMING UP YOU GUYS”

-One of them - I’m gonna say Flamethrower - actually has a late January birthday and is like “Can we not focus on my birthday first? Please? No? Okay.” (Don’t worry. Giovanni himself will throw Flamethrower THE BIGGEST PARTY)

-So for a while, Giovanni has been going around like “So my birthday is coming up. I sure hope nobody..............IS PLANNING A SURPRISE PARTY”

-Crusher: “So, guys, I’m not sure, but I think he might want a surprise party.” Car Crash: “Are you sure about that?”

-They resolve they are indeed going to throw him the most surprising of parties! Which means they CANNOT acknowledge his birthday until the moment of truth. They have to make him think they FORGOT.

-Which is not easy when Giovanni enters the temporary lair (I still love “abandoned library”; pry that one from my cold fingers) and goes “THE BIRTHDAY BOY HAS ARRIVED”

-There’s a host of grunts and vague acknowledgements. Nobody gets up from what they’re doing.

-Giovanni clears his throat. “I SAID. The birthday boy HAS ARRIVED!”

-Ben: “Happy birthday.” Giovanni: “SHUT UP, BEN!”

-So he tries to just focus on heist planning since nobody seems to be up for birthday talk. Halfway through detailing how he’s going to break into the local public pool after hours for illegal swimming, which is TOTALLY a thing high-profile criminals do, he just slams his hands down on a table and goes “SERIOUSLY, DOES NOBODY CARE THAT IT’S MY BIRTHDAY?”

-Nope. (At least...that’s what they WANT him to think.)

-”That’s fine. This is fine. It doesn’t have to be about me all the time. I can take it.”

-Ten minutes and he’s crying in the corner, wiping his eyes with the corner of his cape, because nobody cares about his birthday

-Ten more minutes and he just storms out. Spike: “So I’m thinking maybe we didn’t think this plan all the way through...”

-Nobody wants to celebrate Giovanni’s birthday? He’ll throw HIS OWN BIRTHDAY PARTY

-He spends, like, four hours making the world’s most perfect layer cake, with the layers dyed all different colors

-His mom walks in on him hanging a “HAPPY BIRTHDAY ME” banner in the living room and is just “Giovanni what are you doing”

-(She then hands him a watch and a gift card because she might argue with her son a lot but she’s a good mom)

-None of the Blasters seem to care about Giovanni’s birthday...so he’s going to invite his OTHER friends!

-Except Molly’s...busy. Busy? With WHAT? Does she not get that it’s her boss’ birthday?

-(She’s helping the other Blasters prep for the party later.)

-Fast forward fifteen minutes and Giovanni has rounded up one (1) party guest. And the only reason Sylvie is here is because it will get Giovanni to stop blowing up his phone. (Bonus reason: there’s cake. Sylvie doesn’t like to admit it but he loves cake.)

-Sylvie starts to rethink his decision when Giovanni makes him wear a sparkly party hat

-Sylvie realizes that generally one should give a birthday-haver a birthday gift. He doesn’t particularly WANT to but it’s only polite. So he offers for a free therapy session

-(..............is Sylvie the THIRD therapist character with weird nightmare powers that I like? That’s for another post)

-Giovanni: “Please. I am completely self-actualized. I don’t need any help with my emotions.”

-Giovanni, two minutes later, on the couch sobbing: “AND THEY ACTED LIKE IT WAS NO BIG DEAL AND I THOUGHT WE WERE ALL FRIENDS”

-Sylvie is...weirdly sympathetic. But also curious. Why would everyone bail on Giovanni? People mostly seem to like him.

-”And then Bear Trap was busy with some weird appointment she couldn’t even tell me about - “

-It hits Sylvie like a freight train, and he says it before he can think through the consequences: “You...you realize they’re all planning a surprise party for you, right?”

-Giovanni: “They WHAT”

-Sylvie lines up the evidence. Everybody loves Giovanni, but they’re acting like his birthday is nothing, meaning it’s a fakeout.

-Giovanni: “WHY THOSE NO-GOOD DIRTY LIARS - I LOOOOOOVE THEEEEMMMMM”

-Well, the problem is that he and Sylvie have already put away an entire layer cake. Oh, well! Birthdays are for eating two cakes. Birthdays are for doing whatever you want, really!

-Crusher calls him to tell him to come down to the temp lair at once and Giovanni’s just “Riiiiiight. I gotcha.” He winks, even though Crusher can’t see him wink over the phone. Then he goes to head out -

-And at the last minute, invites Sylvie to come along, because Sylvie is his rival, and to a true villain, a rival is as important to you as any friend! (Read: Sylvie is his friend and he wants him at this party)

-Crusher, in the meantime: “I think he figured us out.” Molly: “Probably.”

-So when Giovanni shows up to find the temp lair decked out in confetti and streamers, and a big ol’ chocolate cake on the table, the Blasters all yell “SURPRISE!” with these looks on their faces like they don’t know if he will actually be surprised

-Giovanni: “OH MY GOD I AM SO. SURPRISED!”

-Sylvie: “Yeah, literally no one here is surprised by anything. You all knew what each other was doing.”

-Giovanni: “Though I am touched that you guys gave me the surprise party I’d been bugging you about for weeks - “

-Sylvie: “YOU MEAN YOU TOLD THEM YOU WANTED THIS AND THEY STILL FOOLED YOU? WHAT THE HELL”

-And they all dance the night away to rock songs that probably have too many swear words for Molly to be listening to, but she doesn’t care.

That was more of a story than headcanons but I hope you enjoyed it anyhow