#even among the kids the girls are the smartest

[mommyesque]

My favorite thing about Delico's Nursery is that the men are utterly hopeless and it's the women that are the sole voice of reason

[childofsardior]

What do you think of the versions of the koopalings from Super Show? I usually hc them as just younger versions of the current koopalings

Thanks for asking! This is an interesting question.

I'll start saying that I've recently finished re-watching the Super Mario Bros. 3 Super Show with my sibling and we wanted to re-watch the Super Mario World one, too. So I saw their show version very recently and have a fresh memory of them all.

Short answer: (in my HC) The Super Show ones are not the younger version of my Koopalings, but I took some charateristics from them to give to my current (or younger) Koopalings!

Long answer: I personally like to think about the Super Show whole universe as one of the many alternative timelines/versions of the Super Mario World, so I see the show Koopalings too as alternative versions of the games/current ones. For my HC/AU, I am working on my personal view of the Koopalings + Jr. as kids. Most of them are quite or totally different from their Super Show versions, but I wanted to take some inspirations from details I liked about their personality in the show, too, as little references!

For example, Larry cheats a lot. I think he started cheating when he was little, considering the amount of older siblings he had to fight to impose himself. And being the youngest - exception made for Jr., that being the official Heir is a spoiled brat and will be always protected by Kamek or one of his careteakers - he could not win a single fight without finding the smartest (or dirtiest) way to do it. I want to think he was especially unsufferable when he was younger, while now he only cheats when needed (that's still often). I took this from his Super Show version and from Super Mario Kart 8 description.

Wendy is another example. Right now she has style and everything but it's not hard for me to think about a child version of her being extremely bratty and demanding as Kootie Pie is in the Show. I also love the idea of her being (or thinking herself as) Bowser's "favorite" when she was little, along with Junior probably, being the only girl and everything. But I also see my younger version of Wendy being actually cute and affectionate to her adoptive father in a sincere way.

(BTW Kootie Pie is probably my fav from the Super Show Koopalings, NGL)

I can kinda see Bully resembling a younger version of Roy, to be honest. But I personally was mostly inspired by his Super Show name. In fact I mostly headcanon kid-Roy as a tiny Dragon-Turtle that wanted his indipendence most of all and fighted a lot with his siblings, even before being adopted by Bowser, and resembling an actual "bully" for the most time he had to spend around younger siblings or underlings.

For my HC Ludwig, I actually took two details from Kookie in the show: one being baby/kid Ludwig HATING brushes and totally refusing to cut his hair, resulting in a blue mess of wild hair running around until he was like 12 or so; the other one is the French Fries joke in the last episode, when Kookie can only think about the Fries when King Koopa goes to France. Well, you can guess who is the one that always, casually and classily, orders French Fries at restaurants among my HC Koopalings.

I do not have much to say about Morton, Iggy and Lemmy compared to Big Mouth, Hip and Hop, except for the fact that I am saving the characters of Hip and Hop (or, to be honest, an inspired, fan-made version of them with the same names) to be future twin sons of Iggy - when all the Koopalings will be adult, with their own domains and everything and some of them with their own new families and kids! But this is a very long story and who knows, maybe I'll tell you in a distant future ;3

[dailydamnation]

They Were Roommates... Eventually

An X-Addendum fanfic (The start of a story five nights long.) (This one is for Tyramir, who once also dedicated an X-fic to me.) (Also posted on AO3.) (Banner art by Chris Sprouse.)

THE FIRST NIGHT

Katherine Anne Pryde had been in advanced classes for as long as she could remember. (Figuratively, because her memory, even of her youngest years, was quite good.) So often in her life when not among grownups, she’d been surrounded by older kids. Even then she was used to being one of the smartest people in the room.

And there was nothing... nothing... that got on her nerves worse than when the older kids—by only one or two years—had treated her like a child.

Among the X-Men, she was once again the youngest, but she’d earned their respect as a teammate and an equal. Mostly. There were a couple of them who she was still working on. And Ororo mothering her didn’t count, no rational being could possibly object to that. The point was, they sometimes forgot how young Kitty still was.

And secretly... secretly one of her favorite things about living at the school in Professor Xavier’s mansion was the fact that nobody here ever thought to wonder if young Kitty Pryde ought to have a bedtime.

That’s how she found herself wandering the dark halls to fetch some soda she probably shouldn’t be having past 2 AM. She wasn’t the only night owl on the team, but perhaps the only one who hung around indoors. Logan was weird. And sometimes a li’l scary, if you innocently asked what he did outside all night. Kitty rubbed her eyes, bleary from staring at her computer screen for what even she admitted was too long. Let the Wolverine roam the grounds all he wanted—she was happy to have these halls all to hers—

“Yaaah!” she shrieked.

A figure had appeared in the doorway to the lounge, silent as... as Logan, but much slimmer.

“Hello, Cat.” The moonlight reflected in blue eyes as the figure stepped forward. “Tch. Kitty. Hello, Kitty.”

“Illyana!” Kitty said calmly and not at all in a shrill and terrified voice. “Still up? Couldn’t sleep?”

“No,” Illyana said without further explanation. She regarded Kitty with equally bleary eyes, staring through her as if looking for someone else.

Her teammate’s sister was not scary in the way that Logan was, but she was... unsettling. That was the best way to put it. And Kitty honestly wasn’t sure if she felt that way because Illyana genuinely did unsettling things, or because she was so different. A week ago, Illyana had been six years old (“almost nearly seven!” if you’d asked her, in Russian because that was the only language she used to speak) and now she and Kitty were of an age, or close enough. Seven years of her life lost to... another dimension, where time moved differently.

“Oh... all right, then.”

Neither of them moved. That definitely counted as unsettling, right? The way Illyana just quietly watched people now, with something like suspicion in her eyes, or... sadness? Longing?

Kitty shook herself and rubbed her eyes. Living with telepaths was giving her ideas—she couldn’t read this girl’s mind. Not even Professor Xavier could, he’d let slip as much. And Kitty wasn’t sure how she felt about him trying that sort of thing without a body knowing, but she couldn’t say it wasn’t warranted. Unsettling.

Then, because it was very late at night, she yawned.

Illyana yawned back. Kitty almost laughed. No matter how stoic or weird the other girl came across, she was human enough not to be able to stop herself from doing that, even if she briefly looked cross with herself for it.

“It’s getting way too late,” Kitty said. “I’m gonna go to bed. You really should too, y’know?” Great, now she was trying to enforce other people’s bedtimes.

From a moment, Illyana looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t, so Kitty turned around and started walking back to her room, holding herself back from glancing over her shoulder.

Halfway there she remembered she’d been on her way to fetch a soda. Eh, that had been a bad idea anyway. She’d get a glass of water from the bathroom and lie awake with her brain buzzing for another two hours anyway, whether she had any soda or not.

That night, though she couldn’t figure out why, she spent most of those two hours wondering whether Illyana had followed her advice and whether she was getting any sleep at all...

(Part two.)

[beneaththetangles]

First Impression: Murai in Love

24-year-old Ayano Tanaka is a very unusual high school teacher with a very unusual student. Known colloquially as the “Iron Mask” by her second-year students, she takes no crap from anyone—17-year-old Murai included. Although he is among the smartest students in the class, Murai is a strange kid who often proclaims his undying and earnest love for Tanaka. However, Tanaka shoots him down repeatedly, saying that there’s no way she could fall for a guy who looks like him, thinking this will finally put the kibosh on his foolishness. So naturally, to impress Tanaka, Murai chops his long dark locks and dyes them blonde, much to the shock of the student body. However, this has an unusual effect on Tanaka. As it turns out, our teacher is a closet otaku who loves otome (maiden) games, and in a further coincidence, Murai now looks like the character she’s crushing on—the warrior Hitotose from the game “Feudal Era Love Scroll.” So now our dear teacher must try to keep her fan girl emotions in check while trying to get it into the lovestruck Murai’s newly blonde head that marriage to her student is NOT in her deck of cards…even if he looks like a pretty boy from her favorite game. Cue the shenanigans!

(Read More)

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

How is All Might part of the corruption of Hero Society?

Do you know the road to hell is paved with good intentions?

Listen, I'm gonna start investing terms here in order to explain this better but there's active and passive corruption.

⠀

One is about actively knowing and participating on it, by one or other way. Some examples are Lady Nagant, the Hero Commission, Endeavor, Hawks, etc etc. They do something they know they shouldn't do because it's bad, like killing people who has done nothing yet in the name of justice or crossbreeding to get the perfect child.

The other is the passive type, that means you are doing something wrong but you're not exactly aware, or you have all the best intentions but what you're doing is harmful, or you did that all your life because society convinced you it was good, but you haven't realize how fucked up it was until you saw it in someone else or someone else pointed it out for you.

Passive corruption is about being ignorant, naive, even highly traumatized or brainwashed. It's very dangerous, can happen to even the smartest and can occur in masses.

⠀

All Might's corruption is passive.

With the spot of the strongest hero comes the responsibility of the role. His image determined a lot of aspects of the hero society and he as an icon, a celebrity, was used in many ways that are not exactly innocent. When Tomura gives his first speech at the UA attack, he talks about this.

All Might became the symbol of commodity, of the indifference of the general public too. He was so strong, the hero society got lazy. It was said in the canon, don't look at me. His presence was very good for many reasons, but it was also a decisive factor of the ideal of a hero changing.

⠀

When it comes to his actions, one of the clearest examples comes from his mentorship with Deku. All Might (the figure) endorsed the tendency to self-sacrificing among the pro-heroes. It might be epic for the narrative, but it is deeply harmful as a practice.

Aizawa and Recover Girl corrected that on Deku, who later helped the kids from his class with it.

If you died, it's over not for you but also for all the people who loves you, all the people you need to protect, all the people you can saved. Putting yourself in harms ways can be tempting, but a hero shouldn't go down that road. The 1-A class reminded Deku of that when they went to rescue him on his rogue era, after the War. You are not alone and you have a responsibility to fulfill. No dying on the job if you can avoid it.

It's not directly All Might's fault. He was told that he needed to put himself as a shield to protect society from AFO, the way Nana Shimura did.

⠀

And speaking of Nana Shimura, her lesson of smiling because everything will be fine it's very cute, but taken to the extreme can be dangerous. Sadly, the concept got corrupted on the process and ended up helping to dehumanize the heroes. They are human too, they need saving too, they cry and get angry too. The shiny perfect image along with the entertaining quirk became the stereotype of pro-hero and people with less attractive visuals and spooky quirks suffered because of it.

You can argue that I shouldn't blame All Might for all of it, but I can argue back that you can be part of the problem against your knowledge or will.

The difference is that All Might corrects his ways through the manga.

[crinkled-emotions]

Oh I LOVE the sick prompts. I've loved the Jake and Bob ones you've posted here and on AO3, but im a Rooster girl through and through so if you could do 8 34 38 from the sick prompts list for Rooster with Maverick to the rescue please I'd love that xx

Okay I think my wifi is fixed so I am BACK! Here we goooooo!

8. "Weren't you sick just last month?", 34. "Let me just swim through this ocean of tissues first" and 38. "When were you planning to tell me you were this sick?"

We took a different direction on this one! Maverick comes in toward the end.

-

Now that he’d survived nearly dying at least twice in a matter of hours, Rooster was ruthless in the air. The uranium missing alone would have earned him his promotion in rank to Lieutenant Commander but the way he flew afterward really cemented it for Cyclone and Warlock. With the offer of a promotion came the offer of a teaching position at TOPGUN; he’d taken it without hesitating, very on-brand for post-mission Rooster. The other Daggers had formed a new squadron, Phoenix at the head. Rooster would never admit it but he knew he wasn’t going to fly in combat ever again if he had anything to do with it. Instead, he was going to share everything he’d learned from the last fifteen years with a bunch of snot-nosed, over-confident, stupidly-cocky TOPGUN students.

When he’d revealed the plan to the Daggers, Hangman (who had actually already taught at TOPGUN years ago) had burst out laughing with a good luck.

Thanks, Bagman.

His first class had been awful, and he felt like every afternoon he spent in Cyclone’s office explaining himself. He knew that now that the connection between himself and Maverick had been made there would be all eyes on him but he hadn’t expected to be pulled into Cyclone’s office after the first day and reamed over the coals for his lesson plan. Day two hadn’t gone much better, and by the time day three rolled around he was wondering if the Navy was still the best place for him. That afternoon, Cyclone had looked over his lesson plan and simply nodded. Good. That was all he said; like that was enough to satisfy Rooster’s need for approval (he would talk about that with his therapist about six months later).

His current group were... look, all of them were shitheads, and when I say all I mean all, but they had a good sense of humour and they occasionally listened to him if he asked nicely (threatened them with pushups). The group of seven were still playing as though they were individuals; Mac would yell at Paws, then Buddy’s wizzo Horse would yell back, and then-

Listen. It’s complicated.

-

Rooster was not feeling it that morning. He’d gone out for dinner the night before with Penny, Mav (who’s still refusing to admit he’s retired)  and Amelia and he got home later than he usually tucked himself in. He dragged himself out of bed eventually, huffing and puffing and trying not to think about how shitty he felt the whole time. The first coffee he downed tasted like ass; the second one he’d shoved in a travel mug to drink on his way to base. His breakfast bar wasn’t particularly appetising either but he had to have something in his stomach to settle the Tylenol he’d taken before running out the door.

“Sir-“

“-Mac, it’s Rooster. What do you need?”

The Lieutenant straightened his back in front of Rooster’s desk and Rooster silently begged he wasn’t about to say what he was going to-

“-Rooster, I respectfully request that I get an individual session today.”

“Kid, we’ve talked about this. TOPGUN isn’t for individual sessions; it’s about improving your dogfight skills and honing your teamwork skills which should already be razor sharp.”

“Lieutenant Seresin would give me individual sessions,” Mac said and his eyes widened when he realised what he’d done. Not his smartest move, yet Rooster couldn’t even be bothered scolding him. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Mac, the answer is no. I’m very aware Lieutenant Seresin is some kind of god among new students, but I’m not him.”

“Rooster-“

“-Mac.”

Rooster glanced up from his paperwork, eyes heavy as he rubbed at his temples to ease the ache, and Mac furrowed his brows.

“Weren’t you sick just last month?”

“What kind of- I swear to god- you’re still here?”

Rooster ushered him out of his office, pausing when he realised one of the quieter aviators, Jelly, was standing near the doorway.

“Please don’t tell me you want private lessons too, Jelly,” he huffed. She kept her eyes firmly on the floor.

“Can we talk in your office a moment, sir?”

Rooster opened his mouth to protest; he had a lot to do and he still had to see Cyclone at some point before his hop in about an hour, but the way she held herself concerned him. He stifled a yawn into the back of his hand, stepping back into his office.

“Of course.”

-

She was pregnant. She’d cried the entire hour Rooster had available and then some more, hysterical about how she’d messed up her career. Rooster had been firm when he reassured her that if he had anything to do with it, it wouldn’t detriment her career, and then gently congratulated her. She’d confided that she didn’t feel comfortable flying; not even at TOPGUN, not until after the baby was born, and Rooster had understood.

It did mean he was down a single seater but that could wait until he got to Cyclone later that afternoon. His phone had been buzzing on his desk the entire time but he was more focused on making sure Jelly was okay.

After getting her off to the infirmary to make sure they could sign her off he jogged back to his office only to find Cyclone waiting for him.

“Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw-“

“-sir, I’m sorry, I-“

“-are we going to make this a habit?”

“I had some team politics to fix; one of my aviators is having a meltdown about private lessons like he’s an eight year old wanting his piano teacher to hang around a little later, and another has some personal issues to sort out. What did you want to see me about, Cyclone?”

“Rooster. You came highly recommended, both for your promotion and for this teaching role. Might I remind you that paperwork is just as important as team politics?”

Rooster met Cyclone eye-for-eye. With anyone else this could be considered insubordination, but Rooster was feeling particularly brave (fed up).

“I’m aware, sir. The paperwork will be on your desk by the end of today.”

The pair stared for a moment. Rooster’s nose twitched and he pulled away at the last minute to sneeze. Cyclone snorted.

“Paperwork, lunch time, Rooster. Last chance.”

-

He’d opted out of the hop in the end, preferring to instruct from the ground, simply because his headache hadn’t subsided at all and his sinuses felt like they were backed up into his brain. Watching his team in the tower, he used the radio to call out and make minor instructions, but then blared a horn when they were behaving like they were all out for each other.

“Racket, what would you tell Tickle’s family if he died because you pulled a stunt like that?” Rooster warned through the comms.

“Sir, I-“

“-Mac, go anywhere near the Hard Deck again and I will put your ass in front of Cyclone, I’m not playin’. Adhere to the rules for once and I’d consider using more of my time to help you out of hours.”

“Are you talking about the bar or the- oh, damn.”

“Mac, you’re out. You can answer to Cyclone, I’ve had enough of your bullshit.”

He rubbed a hand against his chest, grimacing as he pulled away to cough. Warlock appeared right as Rooster reached for the box of tissues and Warlock cleared his throat.

“Well, I was going to- let me just swim through this ocean of tissues first...”

“There’s not that many,” Rooster frowned but Warlock pointed to the bin on his right side which was indeed overflowing and there were a couple on the floor. Now that Rooster thought about it, his nose hurt. Had he been blowing it too hard? Hm. Ooh, and he felt a little warmer than he remembered feeling earlier... had the Tylenol worn off?

“Rooster, son, I think you ought to get yourself home,” Warlock suggested gently, “you let me deal with these monkeys.”

“Sir-“

“-you’re not in trouble, you’re learning just as much as they are and quite frankly I think it’s time they understand the consequences of their actions aren’t always push ups or apologising to the class for getting them killed.”

“Am I fired?” Rooster asked, grimacing at the way he knew he had to find another tissue. Warlock shook his head.

“No, Rooster, you’re not fired. Take the rest of today off, it sounds like you’ve been burning the candle at both ends for a while.”

He gestured to the jets preparing to land.

“As I said; those monkeys can answer to Cyclone and I, really put the fear of God in them.”

Rooster chuckled.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Go, I don’t want to see you before oh-eight hundred hours tomorrow morning.”

-

Arriving back at his place, Rooster paused before he got out of his Bronco to rest his head on the steering wheel. A part of him was humiliated, couldn’t believe he’d been dismissed for being unwell by Warlock, but another part of him was glad because he was just starting to get dizzy as he pulled into his street. He took a deep breath, pulling away from the wheel to stifle a sneeze. He knew it was a man-flu, most likely something that would knock him out for 24 hours and he’d be fine, but another part of him kind of wished he had a significant other right about now to crawl into bed with.

He had one, a long time ago, but that’s a story for another time. Reaching into his pocket he knew he had to get groceries but he wanted to take a covid test just in case before he went back into public, especially because he was dizzy. He managed to get out of the Bronco eventually, using the hood to guide himself around and to the steps. He fumbled with his house keys for a solid thirty seconds before managing to get the key into the lock and open the door.

“Honey, I’m home,” he called to the empty house. Sighing, he dumped his duffel bag on the floor and stripped his uniform off, leaving it on the armchair of the couch. The best part of living alone? He could walk around in his boxers and no one was there to comment on it. The beauty of being single. The bathroom didn’t offer anything different to the medication he’d already taken so he collapsed on his couch and closed his eyes. Just for a moment, he told himself. He’d get up and do the washing or something... in a minute...

-

The next time he woke it was because he was coughing so hard he was gasping for air and it was pitch black. Goosebumps had risen on his arms and his entire body shook as he got up to get to the bathroom. Rooster doubled over the toilet, the coughing non-stop and he put a hand on his stomach when it felt like he was going to throw up. Spitting phlegm out, he moved to the shower and flicked the hot tap all the way on, letting the water heat to steam the room. He glanced at his watch, realising it was almost midnight, and then decided he couldn’t bother anyone at this time of night. Granted, the Daggers were all out and about at the moment, on some mission in god knows where, but they were all stationed primarily out of North Island. Maverick was five minutes away, he could text him, but Rooster didn’t want to disrupt his sleep. He’d always had trouble sleeping, Rooster knew that.

Huffing, he stepped into his double shower but stayed away from the hot water, allowing the steam to work it’s magic.

The coughing eventually subsided. His chest finally expanded properly and he felt like he could breathe again. Rooster hauled himself off the shower floor with a grimace, making his way down the hallway to his room. He managed to find a pair of sweats and a t-shirt that wouldn’t make his skin itch, pulling it over his head and curling up on his bed despite the way he was still mildly sweaty from the intense heat of the shower. Rooster buried his head into his pillow- he knew he was going to need more than just yesterday afternoon off with the way he was going.

-

Maverick woke to his phone vibrating on the edge of his bedside table, about to vibrate so hard it fell off the top. He reached over and grabbed it, frowning firstly at the time but then at the caller ID.

“Who is it?” Penny yawned, rolling over to glance at her partner. Maverick frowned.

“It’s Bradley.”

“You better answer it,” she suggested, resting her head back on her pillow. Maverick held the phone to his ear.

“Bradley? You good kid?”

Maverick frowned immediately after.

“Slow down, what? When did this- yeah, okay. Hold tight, I’m on my way. Do you- mmhmm. Yeah, I’ll grab it. Stay there, Roos, I’ll be there in a minute.”

Maverick got out of bed and searched for his jeans, hanging over the back of the chair in the corner of the room. He wriggled into them, Penny finally glancing up.

“He okay? He’s not still having those attacks is he?”

“No, nothing like that. He’s sick; the way he coughed on the phone told me all I needed to know. I’m going to check on him; I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

“Okay, honey. Let me know if you need anything.”

Maverick paused, leaning over the bed to press a kiss to her cheek.

“Love you.”

“Love you too, drive safe and don’t get whatever he’s got.”

“Yes ma’am,” Maverick replied with a grin. He headed out of the loft and carefully made his way downstairs, sneaking past Amelia’s room with practised expertise. He grabbed his Jeep’s keys and locked the front door behind him, just in time to see Amelia’s bedroom light flick on from her bedroom window.

By the time he got to Bradley’s place he’d decided he regretted leaving his leather jacket at home, it was fucking cold, but also that he was going to kick his ass if it was just a man-flu and he only wanted someone to notice him. Maverick knew the rest of the Daggers were gone, they were due to be back on base in a couple of weeks, but for the time being Rooster did sometimes get lonely. It made sense; he was sociable, and having none of his friends around made it a little more difficult. Using the key Bradley had taped under a windowsill at the front of the house, Maverick let himself in. Immediately he could hear the harsh sound of coughing and went straight into the kitchen to grab water before he went to see the damage. He paused at the kitchen counter, recognising the test in front of him.

I’m not talking about a pregnancy test either.

“Bradley!”

The coughing increased and Maverick filled a glass with water before jogging down the hallway. He hesitantly opened the bedroom door, wincing.

“Congratulations kid, it’s not covid. On the other hand, I do think you’re pretty sick...”

“Thank god, I didn’t even think to check,” Bradley said between coughs. Maverick frowned, carefully making his way over to feel his forehead.

“When were you planning on telling me you were this sick?”

“Honestly, Mav? I wasn’t.”

Maverick snorted, shrugging slightly as he passed over the glass of water. “Fair enough. Get this down and we can see what I can do.”

[thisisliterallymylife]

im a beauty

im one and only

im perfection

no one can take their eyes off of me

im a memorable person

no one forgets me even if they take a small glance

everyone wishes to be me

everyone wishes to have such a perfect life like me

im successful

im a valedictorian

my body is to die for

im the first millionaire in my familt

i drown in cash

i can literally buy everything i want

my money is limitless

my house is huge and beautiful

my house is so dreamy

everyone is jealous of my perfect life, body and brain

im the smartest person among my friends

everyone envies me

im married to him.

no one can take him away from me

he only has eyes for me

he wants to spoil me every chance he gets, and does indeed spoils me

he wants to touch me, kiss me, hug me every chance he gets

he loves me

hes in love with me

hes infatuated with me

he's blind to others

he proposed to me on a full moon night at the beach

he has written many, many songs about me

i reside in Australia, Sydney with my hubby CB

i visited over 20+ countries, and continue to do so in my entire life

we had two weddings, one in his hometown and other in mine

he proposed to me on the same beach we always met up

we have 3 kids, a girl and two twin boys

we visited Jeju Island for our honeymoon

he loves my body, my personality, my soul and flaws. he loves everything about me

its never a dull moment with each other

we have so many things in common. like music, movies, foods etc..

we are compatible each and every way

he's my twin flame, my divine partner, my soulmate and my lover in every and past life

i have a very BIG social life and circle

my best is Hermes, and we're best friends for life

nothing can destroy our friendship

i never had a seizure after 2024, never

i frequent to gym

i love myself

i love my beauty

i have achieved everything i wanted in life

i have a job as an hostess and i earn super well

i am SO lucky

EVERYTHING works out for me

all i seek is seeking me

i dont chase, i attract

im a money magnet

EVERYTHING works out in my favor

as soon as i desire something, its already MINE

NOTHING can hinder or delay my manifestations and my desires

other people are POWERLESS compared to me

i ALWAYS get the BEST outcome possible

my subconscious knows the best

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

i know, right? my life is a dream come true.

-EB04

[comicgeekscomicgeek]

Their Hero Academia - Chapter 96: Towering Inferno

Continuing my nextgen MHA fic!

Earlier chapters can be found here or by searching the “their hero academia” tag.

As soon as the Green Dagger gave the start signal, the four towers exploded into a flurry of action, with the students from the starting groups scattering like spooked cats, trying to get their bearings. They only had three minutes before the Shiketsu students would be released. Two minutes after that, they would have to contend with the U.A. students. And two minutes after that, SSZ would be unleashed upon the field.

It took Izuku back to his own school days, and the Licensing Exams, both the Provisional and Professional one. Everyone was so desperate to prove themselves and that could easily override more critical thinking skills. If someone was being completely objective, the smartest move would be to stake out the door and mob the competitors entering later. On the other hand, that would require teenagers being pushed into competition with one another choosing to cooperate with students who were ultimately the opposition, and he just couldn’t see that happening this early.

He sighed. He’d been at this for more than two decades, and in that time there had been a shift in how Hero society functioned in Japan. There was certainly still a degree of competition for rankings among Heroes, but the rankings weren’t treated with quite as much importance these days (He honestly hadn’t tried to take All Might’s place as the new Number One. That had just kind of happened! He was grateful to trade it off with Mirio sometimes).. And cooperation was way up compared to when he was a kid, with many Hero teams and partnerships out there.

But at the end of the day… it was still human nature to want to be the best, to be the star. He’d half stumbled into his own fame, but for the countless others in the profession, well, sometimes it was a struggle for a Pro-Hero to even get recognized. Throw a bunch of teenagers together like this and their own victory was going to be first in their minds. Add in the public hierarchy with U.A. and Shiketsu as the big two Hero schools in Japan, and the mix of animosity and envy towards SSZ as ‘outsiders’ and ‘the elite’, and it was all but certain.

Multiple screens around the area displayed different views from the four towers. In the upper left of the towers, tagged as Tower One on the big screen, Izuku watched as the red Seijin ninja found himself being backed into a corner by the girl from Seiai who was generating tendrils made out of some kind of energy. She’d created eight of them all together and while he’d pulled a weapon from within the folds of his uniform—some kind of kusarigama—he was just barely able to parry her attacks. 

If Izuku remembered right, the ninja’s Quirk was touch-based. He’d taken down Toshi with it, at least. A bad matchup for him, then. He tried not to smile as one of the Seiai girl’s tendrils slipped past his guard and smacked the sensor on his chest. It let out a high pitched beep and started blinking red.

Above the monitors showing the towers, there were scoreboards, showing the competitors, grouped by school. A red x appeared next to the red ninja’s name.

This was the tower Toshi had been assigned to, so it was where he was going to be paying the most attention.

In the meantime, the Ketsubusu student who was dressed like an old-timey circus strongman had made his way to a higher level. But the strongman didn’t see Kayda Tsuchinoko, the daughter of Tsu’s friend Habuko Mongoose, sneaking her way through the rafters. The Ketsubusu student was strong, but so was Tsuchinoko’s snake tail. If she could take him by surprise, she might have a chance.

Tower Two was going to be one to watch as well. With both Nozomi and Haimawari in it, the action was likely to be fast and furious. There, a Seiai girl had fled from the action and retreated to the top floor. From there, she’d activated her Quirk and was projecting her consciousness into a construct made from the material of the tower. If she could keep her actual body protected, she stood the best chance of running roughshod over everyone else.

Which could be a challenge in and of itself. The Ketsubusu boy in the costume with the arrows has some kind of “push” power, while the girl from Isamu Academy had force blasts, making them well balanced against each other. Both were currently running and gunning, exchanging blasts and dodging the buzzsaws thrown by the green Seijin ninja.

Tower Three, at least objectively, seemed like a broader mismatch of abilities, and was also tilted towards female competitors. Other than Shinji and Ushimaru, everyone there was female. The girl from Ketsubusu had some kind of mental Quirk. She’d been able to make the others run away from her at the outset, but he hadn’t gotten a good look at what she could do at any point in the Festival so far. The Seiai girl had whipped up a cloud of steam, obscuring the entirety of the first floor. The Isamu Academy girl was firing nets randomly in the cloud, hoping to hit someone. Meanwhile, the purple Seijin had pulled a chain from her arsenal and had animated it with her Quirk, turning it into a makeshift fan to give herself a bit of space. There weren’t any clear winners here, at least as far as Izuku was concerned. But Shinji would likely waste little time in dominating the field once he was released.

At least Tower Four was a little more mixed. The Ketsubusu samurai, his armor freshly repaired from Mineta’s kick, had leapt right into the fight, using his energy slashes to scatter the rest. The animal shifter from Isamu Academy had given himself ape-like characteristics and was hanging from the exposed rafters, dodging out of the way of the Seijin ninja’s fireballs. And the Seiai girl was using her heat-generating touch to do damage to the steps, keeping the others from following after her. Kocho was in this one, and her Quirk would give her lots of advantages here. But so was Tatsuma. From what Izuku had seen in the first event, there might not be anything left by the time the others were released.

“We’ve seen first blood drawn already, but things are about to get more intense! It’s time for Shiketsu to join the fight!” Present Mic’s voice rang out.

***

Mika fought down the urge to cheer as Shinji rushed out. It probably wasn’t good to be rooting for the competition, even if the competition was your giant and super hot boyfriend. 

“Can’t believe they’re making me wait,” Spencer grumbled. He looked over to the Festival worker monitoring them, who was staring intently at a countdown displayed on a handheld device. “You sure I can’t forfeit my advantage here?”

The worker shook his head. “Sorry kid, rules are rules.”

Spencer kicked the ground in frustration. “Aw, dagnabbit.”

“What, don’t you want to spend more time with me?”

“Later, Mimi,” he replied, giving her a charming smile that made her heart do a few flutters. “Never mix business and pleasure. And the business here’s fighting.”

Outside, Shinji was more than proving his power. He’d opened with a massive blast of wind, blowing all of the steam out of the tower. The girl from Seiai with the net launching Quirk made the mistake of attacking him head-on, firing a pair of nets from the openings in her hands. Shinji just threw back his head and laughed. She couldn’t hear it, but she knew the body language well enough. He threw his arm up in an arc, letting loose a mini tornado almost as tall as he was. It raced out and sucked up the nets and slammed right into the girl, setting off one of her sensors and throwing her into the nearby wall.

The Seijin purple ninja was a little smarter, trying to sneak up behind him. She used her object control Quirk to send one of her chains to wrap him up, pinning his arms to his sides. 

Under most circumstances, that would probably have been a smart move. Shinji did use his arms to help direct his Quirk. But that was all it did. Direct his Quirk. He had more than enough control with it to fly, after all. A fierce wind whipped up around his body, pushing the chains away before shattering them.

Shinji was big. And he was loud. And he laughed often. Those were the things people saw, forgetting that Shiketsu was at least as difficult to get into as U.A. and even more rigorous in how it policed and educated its students. It got people to badly underestimate him.

Unlike Mika, it wasn’t something he purposefully cultivated. It was just how things worked out. And it had worked out to his advantage here.

The worker’s device beeped. “Mineta, you’re up in five seconds. Get ready.”

Mika gave Spencer a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll try and leave you somebody to fight.”

The Texan grinned, teeth bared. “Mmm, you’re too good to me, Mimi.”

***

Once, when she was small, Koharu had been channel chasing and had caught a few moments of a sci-fi horror movie, where some terrible monster had gotten loose inside of a space station. It had slaughtered most of the crew and had been chasing the remaining members around. It had been absolutely inappropriate for a child and had given her nightmares for weeks.

When the Nomu had dropped out of the sky during her internship, she’d felt a very similar fear.

What she saw when she flew out of the gate wasn’t quite that bad… but only by a few degrees.

Tatsuma, in her full draconic form, stomped heavily after the competitors from Seiai and Seijin. The samurai from Ketsubutsu was already on the ground, all three of his sensors blinking. His armor had been shattered again, his helmet lay a few feet away, and his sword had shattered itself on her scaly hide. She felt bad for the guy. He’d tried his best to stand his ground, and he’d gotten curb-stomped for it.

The girl from Seiai was just flat out running now, while the Seijin ninja was trying to pepper Tatsuma with fireballs. But using fire against a dragon was just as ineffective as it sounded; the attacks splashed against her scales like nothing. 

Tatsuma had one sensor somewhere on her back, between her wings, one on her upper right arm, and one on her stomach, as though daring someone to get close enough to try and hit it. With the increased size of her dragon-form, it made for a very small target.

The shapeshifter from Isamu Academy seemed to have made himself scarce. Koharu couldn’t blame him.

Maybe she ought to just fly to the top? Once she had a high enough vantage point, she could spread her scales and unleash some of her powders over the whole thing....

A screech like a bird of prey shattered any thoughts of strategy right before something slammed into her.

***

“Stand still, dammit!” the girl from Isamu Academy shouted, filling the air with force blasts. She was getting madder and madder, barely even bothering to aim her shots.

Sorry!” Isamu shouted back at the girl from his namesake school. “Can’t do that!” He kept himself slow, zipping along the ground, moving side to side at the same time. It was a lot of concentration, but so far he was managing

He could understand her desperation. She was down to her last sensor. The Ketsubusu guy had gotten both her and the green ninja with a massive spray of scrap from his repelling power. Isamu’d nearly gotten hit then as well, but had managed to push his repulsion field out through his whole body, protecting himself.

Pow! He slammed into the Isamu Academy girl’s legs, flipping her over his back and knocking her down. He spun around, slid into a stop, and stood. There. Her last sensor was on her upper left arm. He charged up a low level pulse and fired it off with a soft pup. The energy pulse splashed into the sensor and set it off with a high pitched beep.

“Damn…” the girl groaned.

But he didn’t have time to rest or celebrate his victory. The sound of metal on metal made him spin. He had just enough time to throw himself out of the way of a punch thrown by the Seiai girl. Or rather, by the construct body she was controlling with her Quirk. He rolled and fired a volley of energy pulses at her as he came up, but it did nothing to slow her down. Behind him, he heard the Isamu Academy girl running away.

He kept the volley up, a constant barrage of shots, but she just kept walking, slowly pushing against them.

Wait! This was just a construct, right? He gained next to nothing by fighting it. It didn’t have sensors, her real body, wherever that was, did. They were on the second floor of the tower, and he knew at least some of the fighting was on the ground floor. If she was smart, she’d have gone to high ground…

“And now it’s time for SSZ!” came the voice of Present Mic.

The chill that ran up his spine had nothing to do with fear. Definitely not. Not at all. Nope.

A high pitched whistle made everything stop.

“What the hell is that?” the construct demanded, stopping suddenly. She looked around in alarm.

Oh shit,” Isamu thought.

“A nightmare,” he said out loud.

***

“HAAAARRRAAAH!” the Ketsubusu strongman let out a roar, his muscles becoming even bigger than before. He swung a meaty fist in a wide arc, but Toshi was already moving before the blow could hit him.

A quick gravity bounce sent him up and over the bigger student and as he dropped, he increased his gravity and kicked, slamming his feet into his back. It sent him flying, but didn’t knock him down. And unfortunately, the sensor there’d already been triggered, probably when Tsuchinoko had gone after him. So all it bought him was time.

The strongman spun and growled, dropping into a fighting stance. “Pretty fancy footwork, Mini-Deku. Your dad teach you that one?”

“Actually, no,” Toshi replied. He bounced lightly on the balls of his feet. A lot of his fighting style came from Great-Grandpa Torino, studying what little footage there was of the man. He couldn’t match Nozomi’s mid-air redirection, but he could bounce just fine.

He launched himself, towards the nearest wall at low gravity and bounced off it, launching himself at the wall on the opposite side. There, he bounced again, towards the back wall and back towards the muscleman. 

Despite his size, the Ketsubusu student was faster than he looked. He spun and caught Toshi’s head in his hand, swinging him around and slamming him into the wall. Stars exploded behind Toshi’s eyes for a second. He’d been cycling his gravity up in prep for impact and the guy’d still managed to fling him around like it was nothing.

“Imagine somebody like me getting one over on somebody like you,” the strongman said. He cracked his knuckle. “I’m going to enjoy this.” He flexed again, growing even more muscular still. Once more, he let out a bellow. 

“HAAAARRRAAAH!”

“HAAAARRRAAAH!” 

Both of them stopped at the second scream, which was tinny and high-pitched, a sound like a cartoon mouse would make.

Both Toshi and the Ketsubusu competitor looked behind him to see… a miniature version of the Ketsubusu student, maybe only about waist high, flexing and letting out another tiny bellow of rage.

“HAAAARRRAAAH!” 

The tiny version let out another warcry, before breaking out into laughter. Both Toshi and the Ketsubusu student could only watch with fascination as his body stretched and reshaped itself, into a muscular, dark-skinned boy. It was the shapeshifter from SSZ, the one who’d been clowning around during the opening ceremonies by turning into Quirky the Quirkasaurus. Not quite the same, but still clearly the same person. The crowd was audibly in hysterics.

Everyone continued to stare at each other for a moment, before the shapeshifter broke into a toothy grin and laughed, throwing his head back, before doubling over with laughter. “Sorry,” he said after a moment, “but I just could not resist. You should have seen your faces!”

“What?” the Ketsubusu strongman said, flatly.

The shapeshifter cut off his laughter and pointed at the strongman. “You! That’s what you look like. All brute force and no style. Where’s your sense of showmanship? You dress like you’re part of the circus, but you have all the charm of a drunken office party!” The strongman seemed to deflate slightly.

Toshi, however, was quicker to recover his wits. And with one of the Ketsubusu guy’s sensors exposed now that his attention was on the shapeshifter, he increased his gravity and drove a punch right at it. 

THWACK!

The impact sent the Ketsubusu strongman flying.

Toshi spared the shapeshifter a quick glance. His form was changing again, but Toshi couldn’t tell into what, just that it was horrible. “Sorry,” Toshi said, “but I… gotta bounce!”

Shifting his gravity, he launched himself into a bounding jump to put some distance between him and the shapeshifter.

As he bounced away, he could hear the shapeshifter call out. “I will give you a five second head start just for that pun!”

***

Koharu slammed the heel of her hand into the nose of the Isamu Academy animal shifter, forcing him to release her from his taloned feet. He looked disoriented, flapping his wing-arms hard, as though staying airborne was all he could manage. She hadn’t broken his nose–thank goodness–but that had definitely hurt. His Quirk didn’t seem as versatile as SSZ’s shapeshifter; it looked like he could only take on animal characteristics, like she’d seen him do back during the first event. That was something, at least. It meant there were limits.

He’d put his sensors all on his front. One on each shoulder and one dead center of his chest. While he was still stunned, she fired a blast of String Shot at him, hitting him with enough mass to knock him back as it expanded into a net. It hit him dead on in his center mass, triggering the sensor and pinning him to the wall.

He struggled against it for a moment before his shape began to change again, taking on the muscles and dark fur of a gorilla. Before, her String Shot and Mineta’s balls had pinned him pretty decisively. Here, he had more leverage and her String Shot began to tear.

Which was when the rumbling started. She was flying, so she couldn’t feel it, but she could certainly hear it. And worse, the whole structure seemed to be suddenly shaking.

The sounds of battle that had been filling the structure had come to a clumsy halt. Just moments ago, she’d been able to hear Tatsuma’s heavy footfalls on the floor above and the screaming of the other competitors as they tried to avoid her or stop her without success. The sound of her flame breath had been even scarier, truth be told.

What she hadn’t heard or seen, she realized, was SSZ’s competitor entering the tower, even with the doors open. Maybe she’d just been distracted by her own fight, but she didn’t think so. 

She’d seen Torino and Ushimaru during the first event and the other boy was a very good shapeshifter. The other girl had some kind of water power, right? She remembered it now, the girl rolling out like a small wave during the opening ceremony.

If the ocean ever disappears, don't go looking for it.

It was a lesson drilled into every school child, especially those who lived in coastal cities and island communities.

“High ground!” she yelled. “Get to higher ground!” She flapped her wings hard, heading for the staircase. Going outside would make her too exposed.

“What?” the animalistic shapeshifter asked, confused.

Over her shoulder Koharu could see the arena floor had been ripped open, and a massive wave of water was spilling out from the entry gates, flooding the first floor. The Isamu Academy student was swept away and slammed around. And worse, the water was following her, heading up the stairs!

***

“That’s where you put your sensors?” the purple ninja demanded. One of hers was already glowing. “What is wrong with you?” She’d ditched her chain weapons from earlier and now held a pair of boomerangs. But she also had the high ground, so to speak, having been coming down the stairway as Mika was going up it.

Spencer and Shinji had been going at it when she’d left the bottom floor. And not in the hot way she’d had liked to see and would hopefully be dreaming about tonight. She and everyone else down there had wisely decided to scatter from the ensuing slugfest.

“What?” Mika asked, batting her eyelashes innocently. So she’d put two of her sensors on her boobs and the other on her butt. Psychological warfare was a legitimate tactic for keeping people from trying to touch them! And the officiants hadn’t said a word about it, even if they’d given her a look, so obviously it was fine, right? She was reasonably sure it was fine.

Also, she hadn’t completely heard the ninja over the howling of the wind and the way that ninja mask muffled her speech. Plus there was some kind of rumble and shaking that she didn’t know the cause of. But she was very good at reading people’s reactions to her antics.

The ninja threw her boomerangs, which were glowing as they left her hands. Mika dodged under them, firing off a volley of her balls. The ninja dodged as well, so that all they did was hit the wall. “Guess we both missed,” she started to say.

SMACK! 

Something slammed into her ass, making her yelp and her sensor there go off. The boomerangs sailed around her, landing back in the ninja’s hands.

Right. Boomerangs came back. And an object control quirk. Stupid!

“Hey, at least buy me dinner first!” she yelled, firing more balls at the ninja.

“By the gods,” the ninja said, “Don’t you ever shut up?!” She dodged the volley, but one of the balls struck one of her boomerangs, knocking it out of her hand. The ninja let out a cry of pain and tucked her hand against her body.

It was just the distraction Mika needed. “Only if my mouth’s otherwise occupied!” Mika brought her head low and charged up the steps, catching the ninja off guard as she headbutted her in the stomach. 

Mika kept her speed up, hooves clanging on the metal of the steps, until she reached the top of the stairs. She stopped suddenly there, letting momentum launch the ninja. She landed on the ground in a heap, another of her sensors now blinking.

~*F~*E~*A~*R~*~

It hit her like a blow to the head. Sudden, overwhelming, fear. No, not fear. Terror. The kind of fear reserved for a plant eater suddenly sensing a wolf. The kind of fear that provoked stampedes out on the prairie. The kind of fear that stirred up something ancient and primal in her, and played the sound of ancient hoofbeats in her mind.

Mika ran.

***

Deku being the Symbol of Hope or not, operations at Might Tower were played fairly close to the vest, and as a result, information about what students had interned there recently wasn’t publicly available. The I. Island footage on the other hand, was all over the internet, if you knew where to look. A lot of it was about as high quality as Bigfoot sightings, but if you knew what you were looking for, there were things that stood out.

The same things that had been standing out in public footage of the Shield for a little while now. One For All was about as well understood as the inside of a cat’s head, but Nana Shimura and Sorahiko Torino had kept careful records of everything they’d been able to learn. And all of that had been passed down to The Six Wind Hero - Cyclone, Nozomi Torino. The moth girl was worthy of closer inspection at another time (she’d received Uncle Izuku’s approval, after all), but right now, she was in the same field as Haimawari. She’d agreed to participate in the National Festival partially because the Headmaster requested it, and partially as a training exercise for herself, but now her priorities had shifted.

“Six seconds until entry.” She took a few rapid breaths as the officiant gave her the warning, stretching her lungs.

None of the competitors in the tower had been eliminated yet, and from the screens available, and what she could hear, she was fairly certain she had a fixed location on where her target was.

The roar of the crowd swelled, but her focus remained on the countdown “--one, and… go!”

A high-pitched whistle tore through the air, the exhaust ports her Quirk left across her skin tearing against the air as she burst out of the starting gate. Most of her propulsion came from the soles of her feet, but the ports on her arms allowed her to fine tune her steering. No sooner had the excitement of her and her teammates entering pushed the crowd into further enthusiasm, she clocked the glint of a metal blade flying at her. The ninja student had let themself fall behind as the fighting headed up the stairs, likely waiting to ambush new entrants. A reasonable tactic.

Unfortunately, it meant he was between her and her objective.

The propulsion from her feet abruptly cut off, and she expelled air from one side of her arms, flipping her harshly over the path of the incoming weapon. Her mid-air position was an awkward sight to behold, but she simply let out another blast from her feet and resumed her forward path. She pivoted again, diving under a second blade, then shoved her palms into the ground. Another blast of air, and she flew upwards into her attacker.

“Oh for fu–”

Whatever the Seijin student was about to say turned into something you might hear from a children’s squeaky toy, as Nozomi’s fist met his abdomen. Nothing added from her Quirk except the momentum behind her flight path. ‘Practical training’ was what Uncle Izuku used to jokingly call her signature uppercut. For a brief moment, she could feel the shape of his ribs against her wrist, before the impact sent the boy flying away from her. She hadn’t hit a sensor, but maybe the impact would trigger one of them. Not her concern. 

The ‘pup’ of Haimawari’s Quirk was audible one floor up, interspersed with heavy crashing sounds. Not easy to hear, but if you were already listening for it, you could catch it. He hadn’t pressed his advance further yet.

A floor to ceiling bounce let her build up speed before she flew up and just beyond the edge of the tower, grabbing onto an edge to come swinging around. And there he was. Haimawari, fighting some creature made of garbage.

“Hey, U.A.” It wasn’t the teasing tone she reserved for Toshi, and she certainly wasn’t smiling the way she did for him. She landed in a crouch at the edge of the floor, and shifted into a runner’s starting stance.

“I’ve got something to find out from you.” She took a deep breath, and a thought and a split-second scream later, the distance between the two of them vanished.

***

As Toshi headed for the next set of stairs, something thick and warm wrapped around his body. Not the shapeshifter from SSZ. He’d left him behind when the red ninja had interrupted their chase. The laughing shapeshifter had said something about not being able to resist messing with such a humorless guy. 

Toshi looked down to see red, scaly coils wrapped around him, leading up to the ceiling, where they were attached to a red-haired girl in place of legs, who was hanging in the rafters. Kayda Tsuchinoko. They’d met a few times over the years, though the last time was probably more than five years ago, owing to their families mutual friendship with Aunt Tsu and Uncle Rikido, but he wouldn’t say he really knew her. Sato probably did. 

“Midoriya, right?” Tsuchinoko asked. “Can’t believe I actually caught you. That’s going to win me some prestige back at school even if I don’t win this thing!”

Toshi tensed against her coils. Contrary to how it often looked, he didn’t actually have super-strength. He just used his ability to adjust his gravity to give power to his punches or his jumps, but he couldn’t actually lift a car over his head or break out of chains or anything like that. 

Beep!

The tip of her tail pressed against the sensor on his chest. She’d missed the others, at least.

“Good job!” he said. And it was. He hadn’t been looking up. A big mistake, obviously, and she’d taken advantage of it. 

“But not good enough!”

He canceled his gravity just enough to make himself float and activated the CO2 jets in his boots. He hadn’t used them during the first event, because he only had a limited supply and because they’d been out in the open, where it was easy to get around by jumping. The sudden acceleration was like being shoved forward by being hit by a truck, but Tsuchinoko let out a yelp. She was dragged from her position in the rafters and trailed behind him, still wrapped around his middle.

As the edge of the Tower approached, he cut his jets and returned his gravity to normal, landing on his feet. He increased his gravity to turn himself into the unmovable object and Tsuchinoko snapped around him, her tail releasing as her upper body went flying by. 

Toshi grabbed her tail as her upper body went sailing out into the open air and let himself fall backwards, dragging her back inside. He released her and got quickly to her feet.

She stared at him with eyes with slit pupils. “You saved me? Why?”

Why had he done that? It would have been a nice, easy victory. One person closer to guaranteeing he’d be in the final round. But…

“My body just moved on its own,” Toshi said. “Instinct, I guess.”

“Still got me, though,” Tsuchinoko said. She pointed to a sensor on her tail. “Guess even an accidental tag counts.”

They probably should have fought. It was the smart thing to do. To try and get another strike in that way.

But…

Toshi gave her a smile, before bouncing off. “Good luck!”

***

As Koharu flew, the water followed. It has swept up the Isamu Academy animal shifter (who’d managed to survive by taking on shark characteristics) and slammed him into a wall, setting off one of his sensors. And it had continued to flow even as she’d climbed higher.

It was only when she reached the top floor, open to the sky, that she understood the severity of what had happened. Up in the air, she could see the arena itself had been damaged. The ground had been torn up and exposed pipes shot water into the air in pitiful sprays. The water girl from SSZ – Amani, that was her name – must have pulled more water from the plumbing in order to get that much liquid.

A stupid part of her brain wondered if the toilets were still working after that stunt. Another part called it all overkill. And yet a third wondered if SSZ taught its students to use such over the top measures or if it was just Amani. And then she remembered Ushimaru and Torino, and decided that making that big of an impact might just have been their thing.

Other than the Ketsubusu samurai, who’d been eliminated early, and the Isamu Academy shapeshifter, it looked like everyone else had made it to the roof. Tatsuma was there in her dragon form, the girl from Seiai with the heat touch, and the blue ninja with his fireballs. Tatsuma’s sensors were completely untouched, but both of the others had only one left.

In a show of surprising teamwork, the Seiai girl dropped to her knees and unleashed a wave of heat into the roof, projecting it towards the stairs. Tatsuma and the ninja both unleashed their own firepower on the advancing water as well. It sizzled and steamed, but still rose up in a massive column. It towered over them for a moment, before it came crashing down. 

The Seiai girl was swept away, falling off the tower. She screamed as she fell, making Koharu wince in sympathy. That was a long way down. The ninja was swept away too, but he pulled a grappling hook from somewhere and threw it, snagging a spot along the edge of the tower. 

And Tatsuma? She stood there and took all of it, not being moved in the slightest. The only thing she did to defend herself was to flip her wings in front of herself, protecting her sensors. It was impressive and terrifying all at the same time.

The water pooled and pulled itself towards one spot, rising up and becoming Amani, now magnified in scale enough to look the dragon in the eyes. Koharu couldn’t make out any sign of the SSZ student inside the mass, it seemed that she wasn’t just controlling the water, but was one with it. Midoriya would probably have some really helpful insight as to what that meant and how to counter it, but she was at a loss. Amani and Tatsuma were sizing each other up, like a pair of wolves who had suddenly stumbled into each other’s territory. Tatsuma’s throat swelled as she drewin a breath, preparing to let loose another fire attack, while Amani’s enlarged figure  once again collapsed into a roiling mass of water, only her head visible. All three of her sensors floated and bounced inside her watery mass.

This was not a fight she stood any chance in. Both of them outclassed her on every possible level. Neither of them were even paying any attention to her, even though her instincts were screaming that would change in an instant if she made a move on either of them.

But…

She flapped hard, flying past them. As she did, she released a cloud of her Paralytic Powder. It probably wouldn’t do anything to either of them, but at least it would make her feel like she’d done something.

She swooped down outside the tower, to where the blue ninja was pulling himself back up. She flapped her wings harder, arms extended out in front of her, as she dove towards him.

“Hai-yah!” With one hand still hanging onto his climbing rope, he threw a volley of fireballs at her with his other. 

Internally thankful for the flying drills she’d been put through at the training camp, Koharu dodged them easily. Down to his last sensor, he was getting desperate, his aim erratic. And then she flared her wings, flipping upward, and slowing her descent. As she did, she unleashed her sleep powder, filling the air with orange-yellow powder. His mask helped him some. Most people went to sleep almost immediately, but he was able to throw another few fireballs, his aim even worse than before. His other hand began to slip, until, finally, he started to fall.

She swooped down again, and grabbed his arm, bringing him to a stop with a sudden jerk. His sudden weight made her wings ache as she fought to keep from dropping. Gritting her teeth, she brought them both into the third floor of the tower and dropped him on the still wet ground. His last sensor was on his head, attached to the side of his ninja headgear. She gave it a hard slap. It let out a high pitched beep and she breathed a sigh of relief.. The ceiling dripped on her head.

“That’s three eliminated for Tower Four!” came the voice of Present Mic. “And… Amani has walked off the tower? Talk about making a splash!”

“Yes, but I don’t think Tatsuma liked that, Mic… But with Shiketsu, SSZ, U.A., and Isamu Academy in the final round for this tower, she’s likely to get a second chance to even the score!

***

Driven by unrelenting fear, Mika took a running leap off the side of the tower and began to fall. In that instant, all the induced and irrational fear vanished, leaving her mind as clear as it ever was.

***

(Back at U.A., Chihiro Kaminari suddenly felt the urge to make a sarcastic comment and wasn’t sure why.)

***

Unfortunately, it was replaced by very real and very rational fear. Mika was a tall girl, with dense bones and muscles, and ample amounts of body fat in a number of places considered conventionally attractive by society. All of which meant that she fell very quickly.

Okay brain, she thought, I know I’m usually drowning you with thoughts of hot bodies, but right now, I can’t boobily breast my way out of this, so I need you to do math. You’re falling at x speed, the floors are x meters apart, angle of descent…

She quickly fired a number of balls from her horns, covering the ground below.

BOING!

Grateful for the fact that she didn’t stick to her balls (No, no time to laugh!), Mika instead bounced off them like a trampoline, hitting at just the right angle that she went sailing back into the ground floor of the tower. She slid along the floor until she collided with the central pillar.

“Let’s… not do that again,” she said, quickly getting back on her hooves.

There wasn’t anyone near her on the ground floor at the moment and she was ashamed to admit she’d lost track of who’d been tagged and who hadn’t. She could still hear the sounds of high-speed winds, backed up by a booming laugh, which meant Shinji was still in the game at least. The sound of heavy footfalls, like hammers on anvils, accompanied by delighted Texan yelling, told her that Spencer probably was too.

Quickly, Mika peered around the central pillar to check the other side of the floor. There, as she’d expected, Shinji and Spencer were still duking it out.

“Holy hurricanes!” Shinji bellowed. “I haven’t had this good a fight since I went up against Tatsuma! You are indeed a worthy adversary, friend!”

He shot both arms out, unleashing a massive funnel of wind.

Spencer, meanwhile, was glowing as he ran headlong into the funnel, his arms out in front of him. The wind funnel brought him to a stop momentarily, the glow around him getting brighter as he pushed against it. Little by little, he was actually making headway against the gale, his feet actually leaving footprints in the metal floor.

“You ain’t… so bad… yourself… pardner,” Spencer grunted. He started glowing brighter as he pushed forward.

Shinji planted his feet and kept up the blast of wind for another moment, until he abruptly stopped. Spencer, surprised by the lack of resistance, tumbled forward. Meanwhile, Shinji sidestepped him and thumped him on the back as he stumbled past him, hitting one of the three sensors that were in a triangular shape on Spencer’s back. 

Back when they’d been waiting to be released, Spencer had explained that “If they’re seeing my back, then I deserve to get hit.” Mika could respect it, even if she didn’t follow the logic.

Spencer quickly spun and prepared to attack again, while Shinji rose up on a small tornado and shot away from him. He let out a laugh of his own. “You are good, big fellah. Not many people’s pulled that one off. You got me once. But that’s all you’re gonna get.”

“You’ll forgive me if I disagree!” Shinji shouted, whipping up more winds.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mika spotted someone coming down the far stairwell. Not the purple ninja, but the girl from Ketsubusu, all in black, save for the blank white mask that only showed her eyes. She had to have been the one who’d caused her to go over the tower edge. The Isamu Academy girl had been the one firing the nets and the girl from Seiai had been the one making the steam. And she hadn’t seen either of them in a while.

The Ketsubusu girl began to raise her hands to the sides of her head, her line of sight focusing on Shinji and Spencer. She hadn’t noticed Mika yet. Good.

Lowering her head to aim, Mika fired a pair of balls at the girl. One hit her left arm, breaking her stance and concentration. The other hit her in the stomach, doubling her over and tripping her sensor.

“And that’s three down in Tower Three,” Mount Lady announced. “U.A., SSZ, Shiketsu, and Seijin take this one!”

“Great shot, babe!” Shinji called out, his fight with Spencer already forgotten.

She heard a massive clang that sounded like Spencer kicking the floor. “Ain’t gonna lie, that was nice shootin’, Mimi.” She caught a disappointed tone in his voice.

She walked around the corner. “But you wanted to fight more, didn’t you,?” she asked, a smile tugging at her lips.

“See? You just get me, Mimi.”

***

Toshi was shifting through gravity in high gear, bouncing off walls and the ceiling as quickly as he could. Ahead of him, he could see the red ninja creeping along. Concentrating, he poured on the speed.

“Meteor… Smash!”

He slammed into the ninja before he could react, knocking him down and triggering a sensor. The ninja snapped back up, trying to strike at Toshi (And probably employ that nerve paralysis Quirk of his again), but Toshi had lowered his gravity quickly enough immediately after impact that he went flying out of the way, flipping and landing in a crouch.

The red ninja looked down at the sensor as though it had personally offended him. It was his second strike.

There was a strange sound and a subtle feeling of a change in air pressure, coming from behind him. He didn’t think, he just lowered his gravity and jumped straight up. His head bumped the ceiling, but it was a small price to pay. A bright blue beam sailed under him and struck the red ninja before he could get out of the way, tagging the last of his sensors. It was a force beam and slammed him backwards. 

The ninja slumped against the wall. “All my ninja arts,” he muttered, “useless…”

Toshi looked behind him, to where the beam had come from. It was the Shiketsu competitor, the girl with the three eyes. He hadn’t seen her at all during the first event, but why hide such a simple Quirk?

Wait. She did have three eyes, didn’t she? But then why did she only have one eye now?

“Thank you,” the cyclopean girl said, “for setting him up for me. But my gratitude extends no further. We are still competitors here.” She brought her hands up and released a double-barreled blast.

Toshi turned and bounced, heading toward the stairs. He beams flashed around him, but fortunately none of them hit. Was her depth perception poor with only one eye? If so, that was a bad combination with an Emitter-type Quick like that. He poured on a little more speed…

SMACK!

He impacted hard with something solid and unbendable, where there should have been empty air, and fell backwards, landing on his butt. He looked up, blinking away stars, to see a pinkish energy field in front of the stairs. And just behind it, clearly generating it, was… the cyclopean girl?

Did she have any energy manipulating Quick then? But then why were there two of her? And each one only had one eye. Which meant that there was probably a third one running around somewhere too, no doubt with a unique ability all her own.

At least now he understood why they hadn’t seen much of her during the first event. With a Quirk like that, it was probably great for intelligence gathering, on top of the offensive abilities. 

“Good job, To,” the one who’d fired the beams said, coming up behind him. “I knew we could lead him into a trap.”

“Of course, Ko,” the force field wielding one said.

“All right!” a voice called out. It was another one of the girls. She seemed a little unsteady though and leaned against the wall to guide herself as she approached. “We got him!”

Both of the other girls gave each other a look, then nodded. The force field generating one encased the third’s legs in a block of pink energy and the blasting one hit her with blasts from both hands. The blasts rocked the third girl’s body, tagging one of the sensors as well.

“Well,” the third said, her voice suddenly and surprisingly deep and accented, “it was worth a shot.” And then… the third girl changed. Her form blurred and shifted until she became SSZ’s shapeshifter. He tried to change form again, starting to become something big and monstrous, but more force fields held all his limbs in place while the other blasted him again and again.

Which was when someone else let out a war cry and Toshi barely had time to dodge out of the way. It was the actual other cyclops girl, this one clearly with some kind of strength Quirk. He bounced out of the way of her strikes, rebounding off the walls and ceiling, before barreling back towards her. She parried each time, deflecting his strikes and sending him flying until he could right himself. Her reflexes were good; her strength was even better. This could go badly for him, especially if the other two took down the shapeshifter and joined the fight.

A beep told him that the other cyclopes must have finally taken down the shapeshifter. Toshi paused just long enough to look.

“Th–th–that’s all, folks,” the shapeshifter said, a pig snout suddenly appearing on his face.

“Let me guess,” Toshi said, carefulling looking between the one-eyed girls, “mental connection between your selves he didn’t have?”

The two one-eyed girls looked him over. “Smart,” the blasting one said. “Not a lot of people who can figure that one out.”

Both of them got ready to fight again. 

“And with that, it’s three down for Tower One!” Present Mic announced. “After such a strong showing, who could have predicted SSZ wouldn’t make it to the finals for this tower?! U.A., Shiketsu, Isamu Academy, and Seiai are going on to the next round!”

***

Torino tore through the constructed body of the Seiai girl like a missile, shattering it into a thousand pieces. “Good,” she said. “Just the two of us now.” And she launched again.

There was a time, when faced with an opponent with a personal mad on for him, that Isamu might have panicked and tried to run. Which was not to say he wasn’t still afraid, but a full term at U.A. with Aizawa for a homeroom teacher,, an internship under Deku, the events of the Tokyo invasion, the I. Island affair, and the summer training camp had changed his initial reactions from one of flight to one of fight.

At the speed Torino was traveling, he barely had time to do anything but react. But he threw up both hands and projected his repulsion field outward, as hard as he could. Torino slammed into it with a mighty crack and bounced off, flipping in the air, before she landed on her feet.

“Good reflexes,” she said. And then she was moving again, ricocheting around until she became a blur. His helmet sensors attempted to track her, but she flickered in and out from tracking. The sounds of her rebounding off the various surfaces became a staccato rhythm as he waited for the next strike, from whatever direction it would come. He was getting dizzy from turning to try and follow her.

She struck again and again, and each time, he just barely managed to get a repulsion shield up in time to deflect her blow. 

“Your defense is acceptable, but where’s your offense?” 

He could have pushed his field through his whole body. That would have offered some protection, but it might not have been enough, not all spread out like that. But he’d already been slow a couple times, now, getting his shield up with microseconds to spare. He had to get lucky every time. She only had to get lucky once.

And so did he.

He sucked in a breath and called up his Quirk into his hands. A few months ago, he’d have never dared try this, for fear of completely exhausting himself. But the more he’d trained, the greater his energy reserves, it seemed, especially since the start of the summer. 

He let loose, spinning, arms out, filling the air with rapid fire, low-power blasts from his Quirk. “MACHINE-GUN SHOOT STYLE: MAXI-BLAM!”

Much as a disco ball filled a room with light, his arms filled the air with small pulses of energy as he spun in place, waving his arms through the air. None of them carried more physical power than one of his punches might – he was going for quantity over quality here – but that was hopefully all that he needed.

Isamu was well aware that this was a trick he would probably have only used under desperate measures in the field. It was too wild, too undirected, too dangerous to have used on the streets of a city unless he had no other choice.

But if this wasn’t desperate, then what was?

It was almost deafening, between the screaming whistle of Torino jetting around, the sound of his blasts hitting the metal structure of the tower, and the sounds his blasts made on their own.

KA-POW! 

But there was a very distinct sound his blasts made when they hit someone.

He had shut his eyes shut before spinning, to avoid the resulting dizziness otherwise. As he opened them, Torino was nowhere in sight. Then there was a soft crumbling sound from above, and a piece of grit clattered off his helmet. He abruptly looked up, and Torino was clutching onto the ceiling, perched on one of the beams. 

“Plus Ultra offensive effort,” Torino said. He’d managed, through sheer luck, to tag one of her sensors. And from the way her other arm was cradling her midsection, it looked like it had hurt.“But your follow through leaves much to be desired.” 

Torino released her side and brought up an arm in front of her, gloved palm open. “Air Force - Ten Percent.” The fabric of her glove abruptly swelled like a balloon, before there was the shrrrp of velcro coming undone. The glove flew off her hand and tumbled clumsily but at high speed straight down. Isamu raised his hands in front of him in reflex, bringing up a shield, the glove slapping against it.

While his arms were still raised, he felt his stomach drop as there was a sound of impact on the floor in front of and below him. It was immediately followed by an impact, and a crunching sound as one of his sensors was triggered and smashed. Then his brain registered the impact.

Isamu’s costume was designed like motorcycle gear, to cushion impacts and protect his bones and vital organs from being smashed if he smeared himself on the pavement or ran into a wall. The blow knocked all the air out of him in one massive puff of breath and it was only by virtue of the padding that the blow was slowed just enough that he didn’t also lose his lunch. Throwing up in his helmet would have been very, very bad.

He sank to his knees, holding his stomach. But he managed to bring his head up to see Torino towering over him. She took his helmeted head in her ungloved hand. “You’re skilled. I’ll give you that. And you’ve found a lot of uses for your Quirk. But you lack a killer instinct. That will cost you, every time.”

She drew back her other fist to give him another punch. “And I can keep this up as long as necessary until you tap into what you were given.”

Which was when he activated his Quirk again, extending an adhesion field through his helmet. Torino’s eyes widened in surprise and then Isamu took off at full speed, dragging her along with him as he zipped along on all fours. She threw off his balance something terrible, and between her body and her cape, she created a hell of a lot of drag. But he didn’t particularly care where he was going. He zipped left and right at random intervals, turning sharply near corners to try and bang her against the wall. 

Torino fired her own air jets, trying to change their direction, but he kept his own thrust up, matching her burst for burst, at least for the moment.

But he was so fixated on her, that he wasn’t completely watching the road ahead. It was only when his own proximity alarms started screaming that he looked to see a long, fleshy tube stretching out ahead of him.

“Look out, you idiot!” Torino yelled.

Both of them slammed into the thick tube and bounced off, separating in the process as they skidded to a stop.

The tube retracted, but the rest of what it was attached to rounded the corner. Miyahara, Shiketsu’s stretching rubber man. 

“I don’t know what you two were getting up to,” he said, “but that was way too easy.” 

Miyahara started extending his arms. “I finished off the ninja, and somebody got the girl with the force blasts, so this is for all the marbles.”

***

Isamu would give Miyahara credit, he had a lot of confidence for someone who was facing two-to-one odds against two people with high mobility and range. Even as his arms stretched out to ensnare them, Isamu and Torino moved.

They hadn’t planned it, hadn’t spoken to each other, but their Quirks made it perfect for her to go high and him to go low. Pressed so low to the ground that the zipper on his jacket scraped against the floor, he slammed into Miyahara’s legs at the same time that Torino slammed into his head. 

Isamu kept going, while Torino bounced around for another strike, now aiming for his midsection. This time though, Miyahara elasticized himself against the impact and he stretched against her blow, until he snapped back, sending her flying like a pellet from a slingshot. 

There were a lot of flying heroes that that probably would have worked on. But Torino’s skill and particular Quirk let her almost immediately stop herself, rocketing back again.

Isamu, for his part, drew himself up and fired off a volley of energy pulses. They were physical impacts, so they stretched Miyahara’s body out as they hit (Which was something he was probably going to be seeing in his nightmares.), but did little or not damage.

He may have read this one wrong. The rubber man may have, in fact, been more qualified to deal with them than he’d thought.

“Sorry,” Miyahara said, though he did not, in fact, actually sound sorry. “I’m pretty much punch proof.” 

His arm shot out and Isamu was forced to duck and slide again, keeping just out of his way. Miyahara was good, though, stretching out of the way of Torino’s rapid fire strikes at the same time, his rubbery body moving like a snake.

He got lucky and his hand wrapped around Torino, elongated fingers pinning her arms to her sides. 

“Fine,” Torino gave him a once-over, before a smile pulled at  one side of her mouth. “Let’s see what your limits actually are.” 

As it turned out, holding on to someone who could effectively fly by shooting air out of holes in their body was not a good way to limit the use of their Quirk. Torino jetted off again, around and around the central column of the floor, back and forth, this way and that, with Miyahara’s arm stretching and being pulled along the entire way. 

Miyahara’s look of alarm swiftly became a grimace of pain as he tried to resist the pull, stretching out his other arm to grab onto a ceiling beam in an attempt to anchor himself.

That was when Isamu took his shot. A repulsion pulse, dead center mass, tagging one of Miyahara’s sensors. More importantly though, it knocked him off his feet and he went flying, his other arm reeling him in like a fishing line. Miyahara banged against the tower structure several times by the time Torino stopped, collapsing in a heap at her feet, all of his sensors lit up.

Isamu had far too much of a sense of self-preservation to point out that she’d copied the same basic strategy he’d used on her. 

“And that’s it for Tower Two!” came the voice of Mount Lady. “With that brutal takedown, SSZ, U.A., Seiai, and Ketsubusu will be advancing to the final round!”

“And with that,” Present Mic added, “Round Two is over and we have our tower champions! They all fought an amazing fight, but what will happen in Round Three? We’ll find out after a short break! …and I’d also like to give a big thanks to our dedicated maintenance staff, who I’m sure will have the arena grounds handled just fine.”

The look Torino was giving him, though, suggested that her interest in him was far from satisfied. 

Great.

Just great. 

[cyrasblogproject2022]

#8: Kimberly Finkle (TSLOCG)

In continuation of my The Sex Lives of College Girls blog posts, here I will be discussing another one of the main roommates attending Essex College in the series, Kimberly Finkle. Kimberly is the only roommate that is a part of the lower class, therefore, she demonstrates intersectionality in the categories of gender and socioeconomic status. She comes to Essex on a scholarship, coming from a small town in which she was the brightest. She struggles to fit in among her wealthy and intelligent roommates, finding the courses at Essex to be much more challenging than she is used to. Her contrast from the other roommates is extremely evident, she is much more out of touch in terms of fashion and party life, things that the other girls have the financial privilege to experience. As always, spoilers are ahead for seasons one and two of TSLOCG.

She is the awkward and geeky one of the four due to her being raised in a much different environment. The show explores her struggles in identifying romantic partnerships and navigating a social life for really the first time ever. Kimberly is a girl who is launched into college and experiences a whole new world of party life, boys, and just being a young woman overall, and it takes her much longer to adapt than the other characters.

One notable trait of Kimberly is her budding interest in politics and activism that comes about in season two. She organizes a union rally on campus, is constantly preaching for fair treatment for everyone and aspires to always be learning more about the world. One could infer that this interest in helping the world and educating herself is a result of Kimberly's upbringing. She is aware more than any other character of the difficulties of being a part of the lower class and lends her experience to aid her political and social endeavors.

Lastly, a key plot point of the show occurs after Kimberly gets caught cheating on an exam and loses her scholarship. Seeing as her scholarship was the only thing financially allowing her to attend Essex, she now must find a new way to fund her college years. She ultimately stumbles upon a pamp

There are numerous other examples of Kimberly's socioeconomic status and gender playing into her struggles as a character, and the show makes a point to never overplay or exaggerate her conflicts. Kimberly continues to thrive at Essex and create a great college experience for herself, despite the challenges that her intersectionality may present her with.

For the next part of my series of The Sex Lives of College Girls blog posts, I will be covering the character called Kimberly Finkle. Kimberly is the only one out of the four roommates that is a member of the lower class, allowing her to demonstrate intersectionality through the categories of gender and socioeconomic status. Upon entering Essex College, Kimberly is noticeably the most different from the rest of the girls. She is more sheltered and awkward, but eager to learn and fit in. She does not have the same financial privileges her friends have to experience high fashion and party life, making her more visibly geeky and quirky than the other girls. She got into Essex on a scholarship, as she was one of the smartest kids in the small town she is from. She quickly learns after arriving in Essex that the courses are much harder than she is used to, and must adapt to this new environment in which almost everything is unfamiliar.

As I mentioned previously, Kimberly is written to obviously contrast with her roommates. She is awkward and does not know how to navigate friendships, relationships, new academic and work experiences, and more. She is judged by a lot of the characters for dressing the way she does and acting a certain way, and she is the butt of many jokes in the group. There is even a reoccurring joke poking fun at how Kimberly is able to hook up with hot guys despite her appearance and demeanor. At the very beginning of the show, her roommates do everything to make her feel comfortable, integrating her into their friend group and making her feel loved despite her differences. A lot of times, Kimberly experiences guilt for how her friends provide for her and feels very out of place. For instance, when Bela suggests that she should buy an expensive dress like it's nothing, or when Leighton fully pays for her meal on a fancy night out. Though her friends act out of courtesy, Kimberly struggles to accept these favors without them feeling like handouts.

One plot line that Kimberly trails down is her adventure into politics and a budding interest in activism. Coming from a lower-class family, Kimberly knows all too well the struggles of getting along in life, and makes many efforts to help out around campus. She organizes and leads a union rally, educates herself on societal and environmental issues, and always lends a helping hand to those who need it. Although Kimberly is the victim of many financially oriented struggles, her background allows her to put her experiences into use in helping others and spreading positive messages.

One of Kimberly's biggest conflicts comes about when she is caught cheating on an exam and her scholarship gets revoked. As a result, she must find an alternative method of funding her schooling, as prior to her punishment, she solely relied on her scholarship for support. Kimberly stumbles upon a pamphlet for egg donating, and after long consideration, decides to follow through with the procedure with full support from her roommates and best friends. I think this plot point is a crucial part of her story and perfectly represents her intersectionality. On one hand, this is an experience in which her socioeconomic status presents her with a problem, and her gender provides her with a solution. Although all goes well in the end, the process is very draining both physically and emotionally, and Kimberly's strength as a young woman independently making it for herself is evident.

I think the show does a great job of representing Kimberly's intersectionality without overplaying it. Just like Leighton and the others, her identities cease to define her and she continues to develop as a character aside from them over time. There are many more examples of how this is so that I hope to see continue in the rest of season two and future seasons to come.

[jiyuus]

My Girl

2am- brain go vroom- brain write whatever bullshit this is~

This also contains things from the Manga/s2 (I haven’t finished it) so if you don’t want to know what happens, then do not read- but it’s somewhat minor so- also for future reference an Engawa is the porch outside of traditional Japanese houses (that you mainly see in Asakusa)

(also @grumguchi said they like my Benimura stuff so I’m tagging them)

Fem reader

I hope you enjoy! and if you want to be tagged in my writings, let me know~

[Shinmon Benimura]

—————-

Living in Asakusa was... interesting, especially with what was happening at this very moment.

As you were walking down the market streets a basket in hand, getting the ingredients for tonights dinner especially because you had 2 guest come by for more training from Benimura, and a surprise guest who wanted to get stronger.

As you were walking along, picking out each ingredient, there were flashes of fire through the sky as the twins chased Tamaki, almost destroying the roofs as much as Benimura did. At that same time this was happening, a mule was dragging Shinra and Arthur through the town as Waka just watched with his hands inside his kimono. As you were looking at what was going on, and quickly put the pieces together, Waka spotted you and jumped off his place on a random engawa and walked towards you.

“What are you doing?”

“Shopping for dinner.” You simply answered, turning to a nearby vendor and picking up a random vegetable.

“But we have enough for dinner.”

“We had 3 guest, Beni.”

“You don’t have to cook for them.” You turned to look at him, a brow raised and your hands on your hips.

“Beni, first you have Arthur and Shinra doing the same thing Konro did to you, and second Tamaki is playing tag with Hina and Hika. If you don’t want them to die on your watch, then they need to eat.” You say, knowing very well what he was doing to Shinra and Arthur, while you knew that Hina and Hika would wear Tamaki down. Turning back to the stand, you wave Benimura off move on to the next stand, but instead of returning to see how Shinra and Arthur were holding up, he followed you around like a lost puppy. 

While walking, of course the people greeted you and Benimura, but you heard the screams of Shinra and Arthur, as well as occasionally saw Tamaki fall and get up before seeing Hina and Hika. Them greeting you before chasing Tamaki again and or them greeting you while chasing after the poor cat girl.

“I hope none of them need extreme medical attention, were too far from Company 6.”

“They’ll be fine.” Was all Benimura said walking off and jumping up to the roof where Hina and Hika stood, somewhat congratulating her on her accomplishment.

*

As Shinra and Arthur were attempting to kill Benimura in the yard, you were in the kitchen preparing some fruits as Tamaki- who was now in an Asakusa kimono as she clothes burned off when she was playing with Hina and Hika- sat on the back engawa.

“Are you sure they’re gonna be okay?” Tamaki asked as you slid the door open with your free hand, setting the covered plate next to Tamaki before sitting down yourself.

“Yeah, if there’s a risk of either one getting Tephorsis Beni would stop immediately.” 

“But how would he know?” 

You pursed your lips together. “He wouldn’t, but he wants them to go beyond their current limit. Konro did the same thing to Beni when he was their age.” You slightly uncovered some of the fruits and took a slice, offering some to Tamaki you gladly took some.

“Did you see when Konro did that to Captain Shinmon?” Tamaki asked before taking a bite of the fruit. You stopped eating and looking up at the orange and yellow sky, trying to remember if you were there or not.

“I think so, but to be completely honest, things like that happened- and still happen- a lot.” You smiled sheepishly as you looked at the girl. Benimura was the youngest among the neighborhood watch at the time, only being in his teens. Hearing random screaming and cheering was an every day occurrence while young kids and teens roamed the bustling streets of Asakusa.

“Despite what the empire might say, Asakusa is lively everyday, and no real harm is caused unless for good reason- even if there reason may not be the smartest.” You said nervously laughing as you stood up, a wave of heat washing towards you and Tamaki. “You might want to stand up.” You warned, knowing that either Shinra or Benimura were going to cause some fire to fly your way. 

Getting up Tamaki stood by the door where Konro and Hibana stepped through moments later after your warning.

“Good afternoon, Y/N.” Konro said while sitting in the same place Tamaki was sitting moments again. You greeted him back, while snuffing out some fire that happened to get a bit too close.

“So you’re a second gen.?” Hibana asked, looking over you with her flower like eyes. Simply nodding, you continue to snuff out any fire that got to close, being careful not to snuff out the boys fire in the process.

“So what brings you here, Captain Hibana?” You asked, taking your attention of the boys and still snuffing out any fire that got to close. Hibana only looked at you with surprise, being able to tell when I fire got to close- which even then was only about a foot away.

“How can you do that?”

“What? This? I’ve lived with and around Beni my entire life, and living in Asakusa being a second gen. was always helpful. You learn to get a feel for it after sometime.” Snuffing out each flame within a foot of the engawa with easy. You’ve had to put out a lot of unnecessary fires in Asakusa, almost every second gen. that worked with their power knew how to put one out without even looking at the fire.

Something that people from the Empire probably wouldn’t understand, and would instead call barbaric.

“It’s impressive to say the least.”

“Yep, that’s my girl.” Benimura said while coming up from behind you and hugging you. It wasn’t necessary rare for Benimura to do this, but it still caught you off guard each time.

“Stop doing that! Each time you nearly give me a heart attack.” You scold, turning around in his hold before looking over at the scene he was previously standing in. 

Shinra and Arthur laid almost dead like in the yard, their eyes turned to X’s and their faces in the dirt as Tamaki, Hina, and Hika poked at them.

“Are they dead?” Hina asked as Hika started to kick Shinra’s body.

“No, they’re just knocked out.” You said, unraveling yourself from Benimura’s hold. “Beni, help me bring them to a spare room. Konro, Tamaki can you start preparing for dinner?” You asked, hopping down from the engawa and walking towards Arthur as Benimura walked towards Shinra- shooing the brats as he picked Shinra up and over his shoulder. 

“Arthur would probably say something about how unknightly it is that he’s being carried by a woman.” Tamaki giggled as she went inside with Konro, you laughed along as Benimura helped you up on the engawa before going inside.

“Only my girl could carry a brat like a bag of potatoes and be perfectly fine.”

“I love the encouragement, Beni, but it’s weird- I’m only strong because you used to kick my ass when I trained with you and Konro.”

“How else was I supposed to spend time with you.” He asked, almost chucking Shinra into an empty room before you had to stop him and say that, that will only cause more problems for him later if he did that.

[xoxo-teddybear]

Troubled - Bakugou Katsuki

Bakugou x f!reader

Warnings: Cursing, Fluff, Kinda Angst(?), Storyline

Summary: Even though the two have been dating for about 2 years, Bakugou never knew about Y/N’s troubling life. With Y/N being lost and needing to find herself again, here’s how he finds out.

BAKUGOU’S MASTERLIST

Bakugou and you were so happy. The relationship was incredible. He loved you and you loved him. You were both so loyal to one another, so protective, so honest...sorta. That’s where you faltered a bit. You see, you had a secret.

In the 2 years that you have been together, it was obvious that you’ve already met Bakugou’s parents. However, he never met yours. You told him “they’re really strict. I doubt they want me to be dating so I don’t think it’s best for you to meet them just yet. Don’t worry, they’re awesome! Just overprotective.”

And like the good, loving, trusting boyfriend he is, he believed you! He so badly wanted to change your parents’ minds but he’ll meet them whenever you’re comfortable. He can wait. But it sucks that he could never go over even when there were times where it would just be you and him. Apparently your parents “didn’t allow anyone over while they were away.” Whatever, fair. He still loved you regardless. And besides, you always went over to his house anyway! So everything was fine.

You fed him these lies and kept the truth away from him. In reality, you did have parents. Divorced parents. A loving mother who is sadly always working from early mornings to late nights and a runaway father who eventually got a new family with new kids.

Your father left you. He left you and your mother when you were just 5 years old and you never told anyone. This caused you to be so..angry..and confused..and hurt. Your busy mother was never around to help you cope and so you resorted into actions. You took on this rebellious bad girl persona. Yes you were in the hero course, but you put up a front that displayed you as the rotten apple among the group. You were still lovable and very friendly (a little teasing but still) and people loved you. What they didn’t love was when you went over the top with your bad girl image and even Katsuki got a little peeved at it from time to time.

—

“Your homework assignment: Create a visual or report on the history of Japan’s hero industry. Japan has had a lot of unfair rules when it came to heroes and so it’s your turn to speak on them, who rebelled against them, and tell us something you rebel against. I expect it to be done next week. Don’t forget it...understand L/N?” Aizawa said as he stared you down.

You sat with your legs crossed with your chin in your hand as you blew a strand of hair out of your face. “Yeah, we’ll see how well that goes.” You sarcastically said with a nose scrunch and devious smile.

The bell rang and students began to leave the classroom. You caught up with your boyfriend, Katsuki, who waited for you at the door. You pecked his cheek before you both began walking to the dorms.

“Hey, dumbass,” He called for you.

“Yeah Suki?”

“You are gonna do the assignment right?” He questioned. You chuckled a bit as you looked at him.

“Suki, c’mon. We both know that’ll never happen.” You said with a laugh but Bakugou just looked at you with a concerned face.

“And why not? You know you can do it and you choose not to. For what? You act like they won’t kick you out of UA.” He reminded you.

“Because they won’t. It’s just homework and I make up for it by excelling at everything else,” you said proudly but he wouldn’t budge.

“Okay but first it was skipping class, then it was skipping school, now it’s dropping class and home work. When are you gonna get off this bad streak?” He asked. You felt a little hurt due to the misunderstanding. He truly didn’t understand but that wasn’t his fault. You didn’t say anything so you have no one to blame but yourself.

“Never!” You laughed, “I’ll be fine Katsuki. Besides, you like my bad side. It makes us balanced. You’re the rowdy and rude hidden Angel and I’m the sweet and pretty devil.”

“Heh, so I’m not pretty?” He jokingly asked. You faced him and wrapped your arms around his neck.

“You’re the prettiest,” you joked with him. You both giggled a bit before sharing a sweet kiss for a moment. You both separated and you began to walk hand in hand as you led the way.

“But seriously babe, be cautious. Okay? S’all im asking for. And at least try to do your homework. There’s no reason for you to be acting up like this.” He said but his words stung a bit. He..really...didn’t understand....at all. Your eyes went wide but you minimized them before turning to face him. You grew slightly silent as you stopped walking for a bit and he looked at you with a concerned yet serious face.

“....Um...yeah. Sure. And you’re right Suki. There’s uh.....no reason for this.”

—

After Katsuki walked you home, he kissed you goodbye for now before you walked into your very empty home. You sighed at the quiet and walked to the kitchen to find another note and your dinner placed in tupperware.

‘Hi baby. I’m sorry I’m not home again. I’ll be back later tonight. I have your dinner all set, just heat it up before dining.

Love you, -Mom’

Great. Another empty house for the umpteenth time in a row. You appreciated everything your mom did for the two of you. I mean, she is working 3 jobs to pay for the house and your school. Not to mention, put food on the table. But sometimes you couldn’t help but hate her for being gone so much. You missed her.

You took a shower and changed into some sleeping clothes. You brought your school bag with you to the kitchen and placed it on the seat before heating up your dinner. While waiting, you pulled out your homework.

Listen, it’s not that you didn’t want to do the homework. It’s more so that you couldn’t. You weren’t the smartest student and a lot of the time, you’d need help with the work. In class, it was easier because you had Katsuki but recently he’s been a little busier so you didn’t wanna be a bother. You didn’t wanna ask anyone else and so you resulted into helping yourself in some way. People always told you to confine in the help of your parents but one of them was gone and the other was always busy. There’s no one that could help.

You read the itinerary and came to the conclusion that it was just too hard for you to understand on your own. It would have to be another failed assignment but whatever. It was just one of many. You ate dinner, put away your work and bags and opted to sleep. Just drift away into dreamland where things were better. Where your dad was still a part of your family. Where your mom didn’t struggle in bringing home cash. Where you were a better student and person who did her work.

—

A Week Later

“So did your little brat ass even write down a sentence?” Your boyfriend teasingly asked.

“What do you think Suki?” You said with a smirk as you faced him from your desk. His eyes went wide as he stilled in his seat next to you.

“...Did you even try?” He asked, worried for your academic career and you. He tried encouraging you all week and you didn’t do anything?

“Relax babe. I opted for a visual,” you said with closed eyes and a smile. He smiled too, proud of you for getting it done.

“You actually did it? Nice work princess,” he said and leaned over to peck your cheek but you only giggled as you clarified.

“Well, more or less.” You said as you stated ahead with a smirk.

“More or less? The hell does that mean Y/-“ he was cut off by the sound of the door opening and their teacher walking in. Aizawa had walked up to the podium and began role-call. Eventually, he made it to the topic of homework and his attention was immediately focused towards you.

“L/N!” Aizawa called out in a non-aggressive or angry way. More like his form of enthusiasm.

“Yes sir?” You replied back with actual enthusiasm.

“Time to present your homework.”

“Can’t do that sir.”

“Why not?”

“Didn’t do my homework sir.”

“Why not?”

“That’s what I’m rebelling against sir.”

You smiled with a very devious demeanor and Aizawa sighed again before he continued. “Did you at least do anything for the assignment?”

“Sort of. But I’m gonna need a certain someone else to go first. Iida, I’m talking about you,” you said turning to face the very robotic and precise young man.

“I’d be glad to present first!” He said and quickly left to the hallway to bring in his visual. Now, the reason why you called on Iida first was because you knew he’d be the only one to actually do a visual and he went above and beyond. Aka, he used sparklers to give it a “wow factor” for creativity points. You would know. You had watched him do his work to see what you can rip off of him but oh well. A new plan already came into mind and so here we are!

Iida walked in with his visual to stand at the front of the doorway and yes, the sparklers were lit! You smiled at the sight and only allowed him to get a sentence out before you interrupted.

“Perfect! Thank you Iida!” You said as you got up. “But now I’m gonna need to show my assignment. You just stay right there.”

“Y/N..” Bakugou quietly called out as he watched you walk around to every student.

“Now, I’m gonna need a piece of everyone’s assignment. So I’ll take this,” you said and took Denki’s paper off his desk and went for everyone else’s as well. You lastly took Bakugou’s before walking over to Iida and taking a sparkler.

“So! For my assignment based on a rebellion, I chose to ignore the whole history part and decided to show you what’s gonna be happening in the now. This is my rebellion. Homework! Why all the homework, Aizawa?” You asked as you walked back to your desk. You kept talking as you kept walking. “We wake up at early hours, go to school, then go to hero school/training and head home with more work to do aka homework. As students, we never get to take control of what we want to do because we’re so preoccupied with school, school, school.”

“L/N...” Aizawa warned as he watched you stand on your desk.

“My rebellion? No homework, more freedom.” You said and began to bring the spark close to all the paper assignments but Aizawa snatched them out of your hand before you and the chance to start a fire.

“Al-Alright! That’s enough L/N!” He warned but you stood firm as you raised the sparkler to the roof.

“No homework, more freedom! No homework, more-“ You were cut off by the sprinklers being activated due to the spark being so close. Students ran out the room to avoid the water but Bakugou stayed with you along with Aizawa as the three of you became soaked.

10 minutes later

You and Katsuki waited outside the room together waiting for Aizawa to return to most likely scold and reprimand you. You were both drenched in water as you looked towards the ground and Katsuki grinded his teeth together. While waiting, it was clear your own boyfriend had been pissed with your actions and surprisingly, he decided to scold you as well.

“What the hell was that all about Y/N!?” Bakugou shouted as he stepped infront of you staring you down. You looked up at your boyfriend in shock. You’ve known each other ever since Junior High and not once has he ever been truly angry with you and your rebellious side. So this shouting was a shock to you.

“What? I did the assignment. I showed what I rebelled against-“

“Y/N quite acting like a dumbass! You know what I mean!” He shouted again. “You’re smart! I know you are! You have intelligence and yet you refuse to do anything useful with it! You get yourself into so much damn trouble and I’ve been trying my fucking best to lead you away from that shit but nothing seems to work! I want you to be yourself and I love you with my everything but this bad girl image isn’t you! Do you even realize how fucking disrespectful and wild you get sometimes?! It’s getting out of hand!”

You bit your lip as you looked to the floor once more. A silence over came the two of you.

“I’m sorry..” you softly said while looking up at him before the silence had a chance to grow alarmingly loud.

“I am too! Because you go too fucking far!” He said with stern eyes and a booming voice. You felt tears reach your eyes and you tried to blink them away as you looked at him and spoke again.

“....I have no one at home who helps me with my homework...” you said brokenly. Bakugou looked at you with a confused and kind of worried face as another silence grew. You said nothing and did nothing as you walked away from him, not even bothering to wait for Aizawa anymore and just went home.

—

Bakugou constantly tried to reach out to you. He called you always, spammed you with texts, left voicemail after voice and nothing. After that day, you stopped going to school. Bakugou occasionally tried going to your house to knock on the door, but it wasn’t too often due to him still believing your “strict parents” story. And either way, you never opened the door.

On the inside of your home, you were in your room. You ignored all of Bakugou’s attempts to contact you. You couldn’t be around him right now. You couldn’t be around anyone right now. You didn’t even wanna be around anyone at home but I guess that was the usual already. Your mom was too focused on working to notice her sad child but luckily she was also too busy to notice the constant phone calls from the school trying to inform her of her child’s absences. She always had a meal prepped for you when you “returned home from school,” and so that would be your meal. Including anything else you guys had laying around in the kitchen.

Days past by and most of the time, you were in your room staring down at the homework itinerary. You constantly thought about Bakugou’s words.

“You’re smart! ...... This bad girl image isn’t you!”

Was he right? You had no idea. Your dad left when you were five and it blindsided you. You’ve been lost and in the dark for 11 years. Was this bad girl who you were? Were you smart? Did you even know who you really were? You would constantly stare at yourself in the mirror trying to figure out and recognize who the girl in front of you was but you never figured it out. You thought you did but maybe you were wrong.

You spent a lot of time on your phone, specifically through the photo album on it that was filled with pictures of you and Katsuki. It made you smile looking at all the memories. You smiled at the fact that you were blessed with him. He brings out a better you...the best you....the real you. All the times you were with him were all genuine. It was the real you. And you had finally realized that. But you couldn’t be sure.

The bad girl you was still a part of who you were for over a decade of your life. Maybe that was who you were now. And there was only one way you could find out.

—

It’s been a week and you still weren’t in school. The day ended and Bakugou still waited and waited for you. He never stopped trying to reach out to you. He never stopped because he loved you but now, he also had questions.

‘What did you mean when you said you had nobody at home to help you?’ He thought to himself. The end of the day bell rang and Bakugou, too lost in his mind, didn’t realize all the students leaving. He didn’t even realize Mr. Aizawa walking up to him.

“Bakugou..” he began.

“Tch...the hell do you want?” He said while still staring down at his desk. Aizawa stared down at the sad blonde, slightly in shocked. He had never seen his loud, angry, prideful student this way.

“How’s L/N doing?” He asked.

“Like I would know. She hasn’t spoken to me in days.” Bakugou easily confessed. He honestly didn’t care how he looked. He’s been bottling up everything and needed to talk to someone. He was a little glad it was just his teacher and not one of his peers who he thought would just tease him for the weakness he was displaying.

“Well try to keep an eye on her.” he said and Bakugou looked up at him in confusion. “L/N may put up a tough front, but she’s human. She can only take so much before she explodes like a volcano. Knowing her, it can go 2 ways. She either breaks down in tears and gets everything off her chest or most likely, she’ll follow her rebellious behavior and utterly screw up. Who knows what trouble she could get herself into.”

Bakugou’s eyes shot open at the thought of you committing such terrible things. Aizawa walked back to his yellow sleeping bag once he realized Bakugou got the message.

“However, I will say this,” he said and got into his bag. “She’s very lucky to have you as her light in the dark. Make sure you continue to be her light until she’s completely away from the shadows.”

Bakugou nodded his head in silence as he stood up and went home. Tomorrow, he was going to get to the bottom of this. He won’t let his little volcano blow.

—

The blonde had gotten ready and planned to head over to your house to talk to you. Not try to. He will speak to you and he will help you. As he walked into the gates of UA he was shocked to see a pretty face waiting for him at the entrance.

“Hey Suki!” You said with a smile as you walked to him and wrapped your arms around his neck.

“Y/N...” Bakugou gasped out quietly. Once he felt your embrace around his neck he was quick to wrap his arms around your waist and hold you tight. He buried his face in the crook of your neck and melted into the scent of you. He held you so close you were kind of losing oxygen.

“Umm..Suki. Can’t breath!” You said jokingly. Bakugou was quick to let go but still keep a loose hold on you.

“Sorry! Sorry- I just- I-“

“Hey, don’t worry. I’m glad you missed me,” you said with a wink and Bakugou smiled. He truly did miss you. “But right now, we should get to class.”

Bakugou was shocked you were choosing to go to class but he nodded with a soft smile and followed your lead nonetheless. You walked into the classroom and took your seat after making eye contact with Aizawa. When you were seated, Aizawa looked at Bakugou and gave a signal of an explosion with his hands and mouth. Bakugou got the idea.

At any time, this might be the buildup to Y/N’s explosion.

Bakugou took his seat and was quick to talk to you. “Baby? You’re not gonna....burst or something right? Everything is fine? Yeah?”

“Uhh, kinda? I mean, I’m pretty secure. I just wanna find myself after all the years of being so lost. .....I’m sure that soon I’ll get those answers.” You calmly said.

“What do you mean?” Bakugou said. He knew it. You were gonna explode. And he also realized he needed answers too. What the hell was going on with you and why didn’t he know?

“Don’t worry love!” You cheerfully said as Aizawa began class. Time went by and class continued. Bakugou was constantly looking your way to check for any signs of agitation. Suddenly, the fire alarm rang and students jumped at the loud sound. Some began walking out as Bakugou sighed in relief.

“Oh thank god! You exploded,” he sighed with his head back and hand on his chest.

“What do you mean?” You questioned.

“You. You exploded. This is you getting all the frustrations off your chest,” he stood up and addressed everyone. “It’s fine idiots. This is just Y/N being a little delinquent,”

“Your blood pumping?” You calmly asked.

“Yup,” Bakugou said with a satisfied smile.

“Good, I didn’t do it,” you calmly said to Bakugou but he continued.

“Yes you did! Im assuming she started a fire but it’s fine. S’not a villain or something so don’t sweat it.” He said aloud. “Go ahead and get out of here Morons, I’ll make sure she’s in check.”

“I-...I didn’t do it,” you still calmly said but this time to reassure the class as Bakugou grabbed your wrist.

“Yes you did, and it’s fine! Because this is how you get all the bad out so now you can’t do anymore bad for 3,000 years.” He said happily but you still looked at him with a bored stare when out of nowhere, the alarm stopped and Principle Nezu came onto the loud speaker.

“Sorry students. False alarm. No need to worry, please proceed with your studies.” The students sighed in relief and Bakugou’s smile dropped as he finally realized this wasn’t you going boom.

“You didn’t do this? You aren’t a volcano?” He asked.

“No explody,” you said in a sing-song voice as you shook your head.

“You need a nap?” He asked. Maybe instead of exploding, you could just sleep off the issues.

“Wide awakey,” you replied.

“..You’re gonna burst and destroy the whole village, aren’t ya?” He sadly and metaphorically asked. You nodded your head as you replied.

“......And the neighboring towns.”

Bakugou just groaned and dropped your wrist as he sat back down with an annoyed face. You giggled as you took your seat too.

—

The bell that signaled the end of the day rang and you were quick on your feet as you skidded to Bakugou and pecked his cheek. He looked up at you with a soft smile, poked his lips out a little, and pointed at his lips for an actual kiss (which you gladly gave.)

“What’s the rush dumbass?” He asked.

“I’ve got somewhere to be. Don’t worry though, I’ll be fine!” You reassured him.

“..Alright I guess? You still coming over later for dinner with the old hags or...?”

“I’ll be there Suki!” You said and his nerves settled a bit. He kissed you on your cheek and nodded before he allowed you to leave the room and head off to wherever. As he watched you go, he couldn’t stop the uncomfortable stress he felt in his chest.

—

A few hours had passed since Bakugou’s last seen you. After school he went straight to the gym before dinner. While working out, his mind couldn’t help but wonder what you were up to. What was so important that it had you rushing around like that?

While Katsuki sat at the gym questioning your whereabouts, you were walking to the park with a book bag. You walked into the closed park. It was beautiful. The calming winds, the soft grass, the shining moon, and the beautiful gardens that held happy statues. Too bad you were here to find out who you were.

You placed the bag down on a bench and pulled out your tools. A brick, a hammer, spray cans, and matches. You looked at the instruments you brought and sighed at your actions. Were you really going to demolish a beautiful place just to discover yourself? Was this bad girl image really worth it? You hesitated before you went in to pick up the hammer but before you could, a familiar voice spoke up.

“Well look what we have here. Miss Y/N L/N, the rebel herself.” You turned around to see a few old friends. Haruki Gen, the professional gambler and money hussler and Izumi Tobio, the ruthless fighter. These two were your old friends. People you used to get into a whole lotta trouble with. You three were a delinquent trio that were all about no rules and no restraints. You completely forgot this was the usual hang where you three would just relax after a hard day of mean pranks, harmless stealing, and bullying.

“Haruki. Izumi. S’been awhile,” you said with a nonchalant smile.

“Of course it has. You left us after you got with that blondie boy-wonder.” Haruki teased. You chuckled but were offended as they picked at your boyfriend.

“His name is Katsuki.” You said with your hands in your back pockets.

“Whatever,” Izumi interrupted. “It’s a little dark out here. It gets scary when it gets dark around here.”

“Oh, I appreciate the warning.” You softly said with rudeness laced into the message.

“So where’s boy wonder?” Haruki asked.

“Katsuki.”

“Boy wonder. We see you got a brick and hammer here. Boy wonder isn’t gonna stop you?”

“Once again, Katsuki.” You warned.

“Yeah yeah. You gonna tell us what you’re doing here with those things. Whatcha’ gonna do? Build a house?” She teased.

“She’s Y/N L/N. She’s gonna burn the place down,” Izumi said as she wrapped an arm around your shoulder.

“Nah,” Haruki Said. “She’s changed. She’s gone soft. Just like boy wonder.”

“Okay, I’m gonna need you to start calling him Katsuki.” You warned.

“You’re soft like Katsuki. Better?” Izumi said softly into the side of your face.

“I’m not soft.” You said but Izumi disagreed.

“Yeaaahhhh you are. You’ve gone soft. But that’s okay. ‘Cuz we can fix that. And you know how we fix things? With a hammer.” She said and looked to Haruki. You both watched as Haruki went to pick up the hammer you brought and walk back to her spot next to you. “We could do a loootttt of damage with this equipment. Is that what you came here for? To see what you’re still capable of?”

“....Yeah....yeah I came to see what I’m still capable of.” You replied with a quiet but dark voice.

“Really?” Izumi said. “Because I’d love to have you back here doing damage with us.”

“Mhm!” Haruki agreed. “Now...watch and remember that this is what we do with a hammer.” She said before she bashed the head clean off the neck of a statue that oddly resembled your own boyfriend. You slightly flinched at the sound and sight of destruction while Izumi walked to Haruki.

“Okay slugger, let’s give someone else a chance,” she said and took the hammer from Haruki before placing it in your hands. “Show us what you got....softie.”

You took the hammer and once again hesitated before you raised the tool in the air to smash the statue. You freezed midway before you could finish the job. The statue really did remind you of Katsuki and you didn’t know if you had it in you to destroy anything reminding you of him. You paused for awhile and Izumi sighed as she took the hammer out of your hand.

“You’re soft L/N. I know it. You know it.”

“You’re not one of us anymore.” Haruki said.

“Exactly. You’re too soft to be one of us.” Izumi pushed you a bit, causing you to stumble forward slightly. “You chose the wrong group of friends. Chose the wrong person to associate with....you chose him. And he made you weak. So why don’t you just admit he made you weak and go home-“

“No. Because I’m not week.” You said as you faced them.

“Oh yeah? Prove it.” Haruki said as she walked towards you and you to her. “Take this hammer from me and prove it. Or else I’m gonna bust up Mr. Perfect right in front of you. ‘Cuz I don’t see anyone here who can stop me.” She said as she motioned towards the statue. She went in to bash it once more and you were quick to grab her arm and snatch the hammer out of her hand.

“Yeah there is,” you said and walked to the bench and picked up the hard piece of rock. “‘Cuz I’ve got the brick, and I’ve got the hammer.”

The two girls smirked at you and Izumi spoke up once more. “Good for you L/N. You know what you’re gonna do with those?”

You sighed through your nose before taking your arm and wrapping it around Izumi very casually, but brought her below your level and whispered in her ear but remained loud enough for Haruki to hear. “I know exactly what I’m gonna do with those.....I know exactly who I am.”

You pushed Izumi off of you and watched her backup to Haruki. They both looked at you in shock and slight fear as you held the weapons that you were capable of harming them with. You stared them down as they watched you with caution.

—

Hinata L/N. Your mother. She returned home at a surprisingly early hour of the night after finishing her final shift. She was exhausted and completely overworked, but knowing she made some money to support her and her daughter made her smile. She was glad she got to come home and spend some time with her daughter but when she called out your name, only silence filled the air.

She walked to the kitchen but stopped in shock to find the dinner she left for you completely untouched. It remained on the island with the Saran Wrap still covering it. Worried, she went up to her daughters room only to open it and see no one. Hinata’s eyes went wide in shock. Where was her baby girl? She ran to the closet in hopes of you being there, went to the bathroom to find it empty, and even went to the backyard to no avail. The entire time she screamed your name with tears filling her eyes. In a panic, she called a close friend of hers, telling her that she was on her way for a quick visit. It may have been years since they’ve spoken, but the bond was still there and help and comfort was all she needed right now.

—

Bakugou had finished his time at the gym, took a quick shower there, and made it home. When he walked through the front door, he didn’t expect to find his worried parents consulting a sad woman.

“The hell happened?” The young blonde questioned. The adults in the room took notice of the boy as he walked into the living room and Mitsuki was the first to speak up.

“Katsuki, this is my old friend Hinata. She’s come here for help.” Mitsuki quickly explained. Usually, she’d check her son for his abrasive language but let it slide as she wanted to out her full attention of her dear friend.

“That still doesn’t explain what happened, ya old hag.” Bakugou said placing his bag down and taking a seat. He was a hero trainee and it was in him to help those in need. Granted, he was kinda peeved at not seeing his girlfriend for a few hours and helping out some random, sappy, sad stranger wasn’t really intriguing but a hero’s gotta do what a hero’s gotta do.

“My daughter, Y/N, had gone missing.” Hinata explained. She was worried, yes, but she had always allowed Y/N to wander the city so in the back of her mind she hoped her daughter was just extending the time of her little stroll or whatever she was doing.

“Y/N?” Bakugou whispered to himself.

“Katsuki, you idiot! Your girlfriend!” Mitsuki shouted at the boy. Bakugou’s eyes popped open as he stood from his seat in a rush. He felt his heart about to blow in fear of something bad happening to his Y/N.

“WHAT?! Where the hell did she go?!” Bakugou screamed in fear with a worried look. Before any adults could answer a cop walked through the open door.

“I can answer that.” Officer Haru said. The four of them all looked towards the door to see the officer at the door way. They watched as the officer faced the door and tilted his head inwards. In came another officer that dragged along Y/N. The officer kept Y/N’s arm behind her back as she stumbled forward the slightest bit.

“Baby girl, what happened?” Hinata said as she got up in concern. You remained silent as you allowed officer Haru to speak.

“I’ll tell you what happen. Musutafu code 459 and 623.” He said.

“Vandalism? And Physical Assualt?” Masaru said concerned.

“What?!” Mitsuki said in shocked.

“What?” Hinata said in follow.

“Y/N...what the hell did you do?” Bakugou said in concern as he faced you. Your boyfriend kept his worried but stern gaze on you but that was because Bakugou was shocked. He knew you would explode but committing crimes and assault? Not to mention getting arrested? That’s not what he expected at all.

“You...” you began as you slanted your sight to your Pomeranian of a boyfriend. “You did this to me! Lock me up and put me in jail for the rest of my life and don’t allow visitors or else he’ll show up and bring me my stupid homework!” You said as you walked towards him but the officer held his hand out infront of you to keep you from getting any closer.

“Well first of all, I’d be helping your dumbass!” Bakugou said in reply. The officer took a look at Bakugou and spoke again.

“You’re the kid who’s head she put back on,” Haru said as he pointed towards Katsuki.

“What?” The blonde boy said.

“He’s my boyfriend and he ruined me!” You said still being held back by officer Haru’s arm.

“She’s my girlfriend and I love her,” Bakugou said with a stern voice and his hands in his pockets as he glared you down. “Look, Y/N. Just tell me what you did.”

“She assaulted two teenage girls and did a number on a public park. My park. I watch that park every day and it has never met harm not once until she came along.

“I’m sorry...” you softly said. A quick silence filled the room before Haru spoke once more.

“You all care about this girl?”

“We do.” Mitsuki said with 100% sureness.

“Then let’s all take a field trip down to my park so I can show you all just what she did. Let’s go.” Haru said and guided everyone out the door. Katsuki tried to grab your arm to get an explanation on his own but you shook your head, took his hand, and guided him as well.

After a short walk, you all made it to the park. All of you had walked through the gates to find the concrete area had been completely altered. The walls were painted in beautiful colors with inspiring murals, covering them in words of hope. Extremely precise and intricate chalk designs were covering the ground and the once broken statue had been fixed completely. You all looked around in awe. You walked towards the statues and Bakugou followed you.

“.....I had a brick in my hand.”

“Why?” Bakugou asked with a soft voice. You looked up to him with an equally soft expression as you spoke quietly.

“..because somebody went after you..I know you can defend yourself Suki but..still.”

“Who Y/N?” Mitsuki asked with worry. You took a breath before continuing as you opened up about your past a bit.

“..These two girls I used to know. These two troubled girls I used to know. I could’ve been them..I was one of them. And Suki, even today I would’ve been one of them.” You said but you made eye contact and broke into the smallest smile as you stared into his ruby eyes. “But I’m not. ‘Cuz they think a hammer and a brick makes you strong and as much as I wanted to throw a brick through a window..I knew it would’ve made me weak. I’m strong. And I know it’s because there’s something inside me that stops me from being weak and being one of them, and you are the reason why I have that something. And that something is the reason why I’ll never do any true damage.”

“Because you’re not bad, Y/N.” Bakugou said with a soft smile. You nodded your head and agreed.

“Yeah....why am I not bad?” You asked in confusion. Bakugou chuckled as he took your hands in his and placed his forehead to yours.

“Because it’s just not who you are. You may be a rebel at times, but you’re a rebel with a cause....it’s why I love you.” He softly said and you whimpered a bit at his words as he pulled you in for a tight hug and you slightly weeped into his shoulder. He kissed your temple to calm you down and you pulled your face away from him and just allowed your body to rest against his.

“What happened to the girls?” Masaru asked. You pulled away from Bakugou but allowed him to hold onto your side as you explained with a quivering voice.

“Oh, well they may or may have not insulted everyone and everything I love, so I may or may not have used my hero training against them until they learned their lesson.....especially since they were the ones who destroyed the statue.” You explained and they all just chuckled at your explanation.

“Yeah....they ran away so fast,” you chuckled out softly.

A comfortable silence came around until officer Haru spoke again. “My park. I watch this park everyday.”

You pulled away from Bakugou and stepped to the officer. “...I’m sorry..” you quietly said as you placed your wrists together, expecting the old officer to cuff you. Instead he stared at your wrists before softly grabbing them with his hands and just holding them.

“..You know I’m not gonna give up on that Izumi and Haruki. But I don’t want you to be anything like them.” Old officer Haru said with a comforting voice.

“Heh...I can’t....Katsuki won’t let me.” And the group all chuckled and laughed at that. Haru let go of your hands as he spoke again.

“Musutafu code 459 and 623. Vandalism. Physical Assualt. I’m gonna write this report down. And I’m gonna put it into a file. And then I’m gonna “misplace” that file. And if I never hear from you two hoodlums again, then that file remains misplaced.” He said, admitting to letting you off the hook. You sighed a little as Katsuki walked up to the two of you and softly spoke to you.

“....Ima hoodlum.” He said. Oh, the comedic relief this boy is bringing. You looked at him but went back to the officer as you looked at him in confusion.

“Why’re you letting me off the hook?” You asked but officer Haru just looked around at his newly renovated park.

“My park....I look at this park everyday....I have hope for this park too.” You smiled at him before he nodded with his cap and walked away from you all. The adults all looked at the two teens and saw Katsuki nod his head as he held you. They decided to give the two of you some space and head back to the house while you and Katsuki took a seat on the bench. You sat next to each other in a warm silence as Katsuki kept an arm around your waist and held you tight.

“...You still owe me an explanation Y/N.” He said and you nodded as you looked to him. He was right. You not only owed him an explanation but he deserved one too. And so you told him everything. All the lies, how your father left early on, how it was just you and your mother who struggled to keep the lights on. You told him you lied to him to prevent him from worrying, claiming that the troubled life was everything you knew and you thought you would be able to survive without his help. When he asked how his mother knew yours but didn’t know that you were the daughter of her dear friend, you told him how she did know but you begged her to not tell Katsuki. You told Mitsuki you would tell Katsuki eventually but eventually never came until now. Katsuki, being the great boyfriend that he is, listened to everything. He didn’t judge you for anything. Was he a little mad at the lies? Yes, but he understood. And he still loved you nonetheless.

Eventually, it became so late that the sun began to rise over the park and you were all cuddled up into Katsuki’s side with your knees pressed up against your chest. He rested his head on yours as you rested your own on his shoulder. You both just reveled in the intimate moment and savored every second.

“Hey princess?”

“Yeah Suki?” Bakugou looked towards the statue and smiled before speaking.

“Thanks for putting my head back on.”

You looked at him, pecked his cheek, and snuggled in closer.

“Yeah.....same to you.”

A/N: Hey Cubs! I know this wasn’t really a Bakugou x Reader kinda thing but I like the story line of it and I wrote it so HAH! Truthfully though, I hoped you all enjoyed it. Stay tuned. Oh! And part 9 of “Oh, The Lies You Tell” will be out shortly! See you soon Cubs!

[the-nysh]

Do you have anything in common with garou?

So sometimes....I don't even plan for it, but I often find myself wearing my wolf t-shirts upon chapter release days~ :P Aha, that's a little silly, but I've trained several years in martial arts (not my talent area, but it is something in common).

My childhood/school years I was one of those quiet, introverted artist/bio nerd kids who felt emotions quite strongly (and read many nature field guides!) But thankfully my schools - or at least, the academies I enrolled in, did not have overt bully problems (there was some, cause middle school girl cliques were the nastiest however, but in my experience, once in high school roles revered and it became the smartest top students who were the most esteemed to lead class morale instead, of which yes, I graduated among.)

What else....ah yeah, I do get pretty feral when my loved ones are in danger. Including for my older family and guarding my baby niece & nephew. (And if covid wasn't a thing, I'd be chilling to visit & play with the kids more.)

Emotionally speaking, it's a practiced effort to remain consciously chill & kind, because even as a kid my angry side (lashing out in pain or from losing a family member for ex) is probably the ugliest to feel - I don't like it. So Garou's struggle to navigate and control his feelings, strongly empathetic with a sense of justice, yet also knowing well how to hurt others (and verbally twist the knife) to make them understand too...is a familiar/relatable one to me. :') Any other issues in self-worth/doubt to darker intrusive thoughts remain private between me and my therapist. <3 But seeing Garou authentically be himself (without denying or holding himself back) and succeed (happily) at utilizing his best strengths/talents to make the world a better place, and finding the path that's true to him while enduring past all the mistakes/pain, is both a compelling and comforting journey to witness. :’3 

[giorno-plays-piano]

hey!! i love your writing sm💕 idk if you’re still taking requests or if you’re comfortable w a like platonic or father figure yandere. But how about yan! Steve Rogers where he kidnaps a teenage girl to be his daughter then shields her from the world to “protect” her kinda like rapunzel. if you don’t want to that’s no problem at all tho💕

Hi, sweetie! This is a very peculiar request, and I really, really like it! I guess I’ve made Steve a little softer than I expected, but here he is. Hope you’re going to enjoy this!

The one he cares about

Pairing: adoptive dad!Steve & Reader, Peter Parker x Reader (if you squint)

Warnings: yandere, obsession (non-romantic!), stalking, kidnapping, death of minor characters (but nothing too scary).

Words: 1870.

P.S. Just to clarify this is NOT an incest story, Steve does not harbor any romantic feelings for the reader, he loves her like a parent does.

__________________

Pacing up and down nervously like a caged tiger, Steve threw a glance at the clock on the kitchen wall, ready to take out his cellphone and give you a call. It was just 10 pm, but he felt something wasn't going quite right. Was everything ok at that party? Were you enjoying yourself? Did you finally confess to that silly guy Steve didn't like at all? What if he had already got you, Steve's precious little daughter, into bed?

Breathing in deeply, the man tried calming himself down. You were an adult. At one point you would start dating people, and it was perfectly alright, Sam reminded him the other day. You weren't some princess locked in a tower with Steve guarding you like an angry dragon. You had the right to love and be loved, create your own family, for God's sake. When he thought of you leaving him Steve was ready to break that kitchen wall.

No, no, no, it was alright. You loved him with all your heart, and no stupid guy could take it away from Steve. He was your father. Adoptive father, of course, but he did everything he could to make you trust and love him as much as you true family. You were calling him dad, after all. And even if you eventually married someone, Steve would always stay close to help and support you - and your kids, if you ever decide to have any. At the thought of him kissing the cheeks of his cute little grandchildren Steve had finally relaxed.

Oh, was it the sound of the front door opening? As much as he wanted to rush to meet you, the man quickly put on his apron he ironed this morning and turned to the heated stove to put a meat pie in it. Alright, alright, you were already home, it was perfect.

But why so early? Steve was really generous this time and gave you till 1 am - of course, if you took a taxi, not go walking the streets in the night. Did something go wrong? Did the guy reject you? Did he take advantage of you? Did he... do something he shouldn't have?

Steve felt his blood boiling. In a second he was ready to storm out of the kitchen to beat the shit out of that bastard who was stupid enough to hurt his child.

"Hi dad! I'm home!"

As you walked in, carrying your beaded clutch in your arms and yawning tiredly, Steve put a smile on his face momentarily, assessing whether you were hurt within a couple of seconds. No, apparently, you were alright: you moved just like before; your hair wasn't ruffled, and your makeup wasn't smeared eather. He had overreacted again.

"Welcome back, sweet pea." Steve moved closer to you, giving you a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead as you giggled softly, throwing your arms around his broad back. "How did it go?"

As your face turned gloomy for a fleeting second, he knew his sixth sense wasn't lying to him: something didn't go well.

"Nah." You brushed it off as you sat on the chair, carelessly leaving your clutch on the table and stretching your legs with a loud sigh.

"What is it, sweetie?"

Furrowing his brows, Steve sat across from you, his hands folded as he stared at you with worry. Shit, did this guy try doing something funny? Did he offend you? Oh, Steve was going to have a nice talk with him, a moron who thought he could do this to his little girl and it would never come back at him. Should he call Natasha? Maybe Bucky? He knew they were still in town. No, no, he would take this matter in his own hands and go have a nice talk with that stupid ungrateful ba-

"It's alright, I swear." You muttered and forced a smile, drawing his attention back to you. "He just... well, just didn't return my feelings."

"Did he reject you?"

For a second Steve felt both relieved and ready to go murder that kid in a cold blood. Rejected you? The prettiest and smartest girl in the town with a heart of gold? Who did that little shit think he was, rejecting Steve's precious daughter?

But it was better than him forcing you to do something you didn't want. At least that asshole didn't do anything inappropriate to you, probably too scared to face your angry dad who could crack his skull with one hand.

"Not like reject in the full sense of the word, but... um, I feel like he was a little scared of me." Your smile turned bitter, and you leaned onto Steve, pressing your forehead into his chest as you exhaled loudly.

Well, it wouldn't be the first time it happened. Everybody around knew you were the daughter of retired Captain America, and people were treating you with such caution as if you were some time bomb, clearly unwilling to make the world's first Avenger angry. Partly, it was a good thing since no one tried messing with you. However, you were also left pretty much alone, ignored by the majority for the sake of their own well-being. Although you had found several friends, dating someone was a completely different thing: guys were running away from before you even spoke to them.

"I'm so sorry." The man said quietly, rubbing your back and gently caressing your head with his other hand. "This is my fault."

You sighed, lifting your head and looking at Steve so tenderly he suddenly felt like he was the happiest man in the world. What, weren't you upset?

"Come on, dad." His heart sped up when you called him that, and he was ready to lift you up in the air, kissing his little girl's nose. "I thought he's different, but he's just a chicken like all other guys. I'll get over him soon."

"Hard to live up to our standards, I guess." Steve smiled and pinched your nose a little, making you laugh again. "But you need to know I am really sorry, sweat pea. I swear I wouldn't stand in your way if you decided he was the right guy for you."

Actually, Steve pretty much would, but you wouldn't know about it. Happiness of his only child was the only thing that mattered to him now: what was the point of being a parent if you couldn't make your kid happy?

"It's okay, really, dad. I wouldn't change the things as they are now. When I think what could happen if you didn't see me on the street that night... uh-huh." You didn't finish the sentence, not that you needed to.

If Steve didn't find you that night desperately searching for food on the streets of New York, you'd probably be dead now.

You were born to a good family, and you spent the first 11 years of your life in a nice place, having loving parents, the roof above your head and food on the table. You were just one more happy kid among thousands of others, neither better nor worse than all of them. It all changed when your parents were killed by two robbers who had broken into your house, and soon you ended up in an orphanage - you still had nightmares about this place. You spent a year there before you escaped, choosing the streets over an orphanage. Silly you, thinking it would be better.

When Steve found you, you were 13. Dirty, always hungry, acting like a little wild animal, you were no more pitiful than any other homeless child, ignored by the majority of people, but Steve saw you. He took you with him - forcefully, of course, because you fought him like a little angry cat, frightened to the core he was going to take advantage of you like all those people pretending to help you. But he didn’t. He was the one who had truly cared.

It took him months to get you accustomed to living in a house again with someone close to you. Steve spent even more time trying to make you trust him, make you believe he was your friend, somebody you could rely on, trust, see as a parental figure. You couldn’t even name all those people he hired to help you: countless psychologists and psychiatrists; doctors and nurses of all kinds; visiting teachers and tutors. Despite liking to live alone, Steve brought so many strangers to his house it felt like living in a royal palace with tons of court attendants. All of this was for you, the only person he cared about, his little child.

When you were 15, you started calling him dad, and that was the day neither Steve nor you would ever forget: he scooped you up and kept swinging you around till your head was spinning while he laughed and shouted how much he loved you, the best daughter he could ever had. 

You never knew the extent to which Steve cared about you, following you secretly when you finally agreed to leave the house - he needed to know you were safe and sound. Of course, he was always there when he supposed someone wasn’t treating you right, and he did everything he could to keep his only child happy. Unfortunately, you were lonely until Steve found a couple of good friends for you, but it was alright. You were perfectly okay now.

“I love you too, sweet pea.” He smiled, caressing your head gently. “But you know what? Don’t worry about that guy. I actually have someone who I want you to meet, and he’s a really sweet kid.”

“Whoa, what? What kid?”

“Well, you know. Kid from work.”

“Dad, what work? What kid?” You rolled your eyes at him, giggling. “How old is he, at least?”

“A little older than you, but he’s alright. He’s been wanting to meet you for some time.” But before Steve wasn’t sure kid was the right guy for you, considering that he was still very much an Avenger and was involved in all kinds of dangerous situations. 

“Dad, what kid? Are you talking about your superhero colleagues or something?” 

“... yeah? I promise, you’ll like him. Peter’s a good kid.”

“Peter? Peter goddamn Parker?!” You exclaimed loudly, realizing he was talking about Spider-Man. “Are you joking?!”

“What did I tell you about swearing, sweetheart?” Furrowing his brows, Steve shook his head in disapproval, but laughed in the very next second, watching your guilty expression. “Alright, alright. I’m not joking. If you’d like to meet him, I’ll ask him to come tomorrow for dinner, ok?”

“Yes, please!”

As he took the pie out of the oven with you waiting at the dinner table, Steve thought about giving the kid a big lecture about what he was and wasn’t supposed to do to you, but he was more or less sure Peter knew what was right and wrong. Steve could spot that familiar glint in kid’s eyes when he was looking at your photo that Steve had been showing him proudly. 

It would turn out alright. Your father was ready to do anything it takes to make you happy.

___________________________

Tags: @finleyjayne @alexakeyloveloki @helenaeisenhower @villanellevi @hurricanerin @inlovewiththefictionalcharacters @abyssaint @heeeyitskay @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @navegandoaciegas @rosalynshields @brattycherubwrites @sllooney @angrythingstarlight @lookiamtrying @buckysbunny @soleil-dor @stargazingfangirl18 @dillybuggg @literate-lamb @cosicas-cuquis @iheartsebastianstan @lovelydarkdaydream @sarge-barnes-sir

[unculturedmamoswine]

Tortall Daemon AU: Aly

@phillyofcheesesteak and @meallaaoi both very kindly asked for more Tortall Daemon AU stuff ages ago, and I guess I finally found some motivation to write more! Get ready for Aly’s daemon, everyone!

If you want to catch up on my Tortall Daemon AU, here is my first post, about Alanna, my second, about Jon, my third, about Daine, and my fourth, about George.

Aly’s daemon is what is called a scrub jay in our world, but most people here (and in Tortall) call it a blue jay. (Not to be confused with the actual blue jay, which is a different bird.) In my AU, non-mammal daemons run in the Cooper line, and Aly certainly favors her father. This also means that father and daughter both have blue daemons, which is kind of fun, though is really nothing more than a strange coincidence in-universe, like Alanna and Faithful having the same eye color.

Aly, being sixteen at the outset of her novel, settles before it begins. However, she was a rather late settler: her daemon only chooses his jay form about a year before Trickster’s Choice begins. This is another example of Aly’s portrayal as a teen who hasn’t grown up enough for her parents’ comfort. (In the beginning of the novel, Aly of course dyes her hair blue to match her soul’s feathers.)

Jays are corvids, which are quite intelligent birds, fitting for a clever girl like Aly. This would be something that people might be aware of in a vague way in the Tortall universe, but I doubt the average person would grasp the significance of his form, and certainly even the most learned of bird scholars wouldn’t know what we know today, which is that jays may be among the smartest non-human animals. They’re also common in both Tortall and the Copper Isles, meaning Aly wouldn’t stand out in a crowd, despite her daemon’s flashy blue plumage. Having such a common daemon would be of a lot of use for Aly’s cover as a slave and a simple maid, as commoners and servants have the rather unfair stereotype of usually having plain and unassuming daemons. Nobles, after all, want to believe that their souls are beautiful and rare, unlike those of the common rabble. As a matter of fact, in my AU, it’s not unusual for picky nobles to choose servants with specific daemons. It wouldn’t be unusual for a noblewoman to, for instance, discriminate against a candidate for a maid’s position because she has a venomous snake for a daemon, or a brilliant tropical bird.

Aly and her daemon would become a lot closer during their time as a slave in the Copper Isles. Not to say that they didn’t love and value each other before, but they were both always a little independent from each other, and never felt the need to sit around having heart-to-hearts. But once they’re isolated from everything they’ve ever known, and they get to a point where they can only trust each other and Nawat, they start communicating more. This is intended to represent the fact that Aly is finally doing the kind of work she really wants to do; she’s self-actualizing, I suppose, and is able to take herself seriously as an adult. However, her ability to almost consider her daemon as a part of her spy network separate from herself ends up being quite useful, even if he isn’t capable of traveling far from his human.

In interactions with Kyprioth, Aly’s daemon would be completely unfazed by the god. Since he’s not human, the no-touch taboo wouldn’t apply to him, and the jay would perch on Kyprioth’s body and peck at his bangles and beads, partially to show that he and Aly aren’t intimidated by him. (He is a little bolder about this than Aly would like, as a matter of fact, but she respects that her daemon usually has good ideas, even if she doesn’t always know his motivations.) Kyprioth would find this charming, and a sign that he chose a good vessel.

Of course, on a meta level, I chose a corvid for Aly to link her with Nawat, who is himself a corvid. Two brilliant birds, falling in love. What could be better? The significance of her daemon being a corvid is probably not something that means much to either of them; I suspect that crows are vaguely aware of the concept that jays are sort of their cousins, but they aren’t sentimental about it. Additionally, animals just find the idea of daemons to be more human than anything else, so Aly’s daemon’s shape means less to Nawat than the fact that she has one at all. I think it would take time for Nawat to understand the importance of Aly’s daemon. Humans have very complex relationships with their souls: daemons have their own ideas and thoughts, but are also undeniably part of a greater whole. At first, Nawat would be dismissive of Aly’s jay, and later he would grow to love him as much as anyone loves their partner. Nawat would also be a little disappointed that Aly’s jay couldn’t go flying with him, given that daemons can’t go far from their humans. Aly might be aware that jays and crows are related, or she might not. She isn’t a biologist, after all, but perhaps her Aunt Daine mentioned it to her at some point.

Regarding Aly and Nawat’s kids: they’re human, in the sense that they have daemons, but they are able to turn into crows as well, in keeping with the short story Nawat. I suspect that the forms their daemons will take will just end up being in keeping with the way anyone settles: maybe one is a sailor and so she ends up with a big tuna for a daemon, or perhaps one who values his avian heritage might choose a bird for a daemon, who knows?

[chalkrevelations]

So, Episode 7 of Word of Honor, and where to start? No, I’m kidding, I know exactly where I’m starting, which is with some recognition of what a great job this show does of developing 98 percent of its multitude of characters, because the first two things I’m going talk about this week aren’t even Zhou Zishu, Wen Kexing OR Wen Kexing’s thirst (AKA, the three main characters of the show).

Well, I guess I’m really starting with the usual warning – this is a re-watch and so there are SPOILERS here, not only for this episode, but for most of the show. Scroll away and come back later if you’re trying to watch all 36.5 eps unspoiled.

SO, I mean, come on. Of course I’m starting with the Smartest Man in the World, who has finally shown up in this episode, and I’m reminded once again what an actual cinnamon roll, too good for this world, Cao Weining is. He’s maybe the single completely good character we meet  – even Chengling wants to burn down somebody’s house at one point because he’s mad. But Cao Weining is almost too good to be true – and yet, there he is! Living his best life, being good, eating good, falling in love, and refusing to let his beautiful, clever, fierce girl’s neuroses come between them. I love him, y’all. And not just because he instantly falls in love with A-Xiang when he happens to see her beat up a bunch of drunk bro assholes in the inn where he’s having a quiet little lunch by himself before she storms into his life like a purple whirlwind. But let’s do think about this from his perspective, yeah? And let’s remember it as we watch the progression of their relationship, as we wait for the revelation we know is coming, and as – many eps down the line – he learns the truth of her. Cao Weining’s first experience of A-Xiang is someone who’s brave and capable, who defies outsized odds to come to the rescue of those in need, who doesn’t allow women and girls to be abused, who expects proper behavior from the representatives of the jianghu, and who is absolutely fearless in demanding just treatment and never even thinks to be intimidated when she faces unfair censure from an authority figure. This is the girl WKX raised, y’all. This is a girl who embodies everything Cao Weining has been taught to believe in as a cultivator. And this is the girl Cao Weining sees every time he looks at A-Xiang. Maybe, just maybe, this is the truth of her, and Cao-dage sees and understands it from the very first time he spots her, and anything else he’ll learn about her is really extraneous. (Hmm. I wonder what other relationship we’ll eventually end up seeing that kind of dynamic in, where someone truly knows you and believes in you, so everything else is unimportant?) Also, Cao Weining tells A-Xiang she’s very beautiful, and how many people do you think have ever told her that before in her life? He asks why he would want to fight and hurt her, and how many people – particularly men, given where she grew up – have ever told her that before? He buys her lunch – twice, because the first round gets cold. Remember a few episodes back, when WKX asked her who the second cutest person in the world was, and she responded that it was someone who would buy her a meal? Well, here he is. For bonus points, it is hilarious how badly WKX responds to Cao Weining’s very existence after ZZS points out the pair of them having a toast at the same inn that WKX and ZZS have stopped in WKX has dogged ZZS’s footsteps into. Poor Cao Weining doesn’t even get the shovel talk – although to be fair, he doesn’t get the full-court Ghost Valley Master press, either, so WKX must have been holding back somewhat – he just gets told to get out, before WKX grabs A-Xiang by the ear and delivers some scathing commentary on her taste in men, like he didn’t immediately fall for some rando who was tits out, drinking himself to death in the gutter.

ANYWAY, from the Smartest Man in the World, we’re going to move to Han Ying, My Beloved, who we see interacting with the Five Lakes Alliance again, this time in the person of Gao Chong, leader of Yueyang Sect and host of the upcoming Heroes Conference, da-ge of the 5LA. I had honestly forgotten we got to see so much of Han Ying this early on. What strikes me here is that this is a guy who I actually could believe is the second-in-command of Tian Chuang at what is it? 21 years old? When he’s doing his job, and ZZS is nowhere around for him to make pining puppy-dog eyes at, he’s focused and determined and a bit forceful and somewhat threatening and, frankly, appropriately arrogant for the job he’s been sent to do. He’s also wearing a cloak with a mini-Collar of Evil. He comes off as, dare I say, a capable leader of an assassin organization and a guy who’s able to do a proxy flex for his boss without looking completely ridiculous - which puts him one up on Duang Pengju, omg that asshole, and also makes me feel a little better about how I want ZZS to wreck him (or I guess, technically, him to wreck ZZS, because I’ve never seen a character (except Marcus Flavius Aquila, THANK YOU for your service, Channing Tatum) who put off such subby service-top vibes. WHY is there not more Han Ying/ZZS on AO3, fandom? I thought better … worse? … better? … of you.) When Gao Chong claims the Glazed Armor is a myth, Han Ying basically calls this older, respected zongzhu a liar and gets up in his face before refusing a dinner invitation and sweeping out in his mini-Collar of Evil with a credible “PAH.” My boy has layers, y’all.

What else? We start out the ep at Luo Mansion, a wedding scene, and I’m struck by how the Ghost Valley colors match traditional wedding colors, here. I’m thinking about how A-Xiang’s wedding dress won’t be red (and I think green was more common during the Tang dynasty?) although all the decorations will be, and I’m thinking about how we have this wedding as a book-end to that wedding, and I’m thinking about how it’s interesting that a girl who was raised in the Ghost Valley and protected by the Department of the Unfaithful meets a man who’s going to be so faithful to her in the same episode as this wedding with/of the dead. Ghoul, who’s one of the attendees from the Ghost Valley, also remarks that the red makes him hungry, so there’s a meat reference to throw into the thematic basket, I guess. (Also, hey. Ghoul is played by the same guy who’s Sun Yongren in Killer & Healer.) Lovelace (ugh) briefly menaces one of the Department handmaidens before Luo Fumeng shows up, and I think she’s Yun Zai or Hong Lu, one of the two maids that A-Xiang rescued from him, although I’m not positive, because her hairstyle is so different and hides a lot of her face, here. So, we’re all attending the “wedding” of Mu Yunge, the apparent fuckboy who got got a couple of episodes ago as bait for Ao Laizi when Changing Ghost got his hands (briefly) on the Danyang Glazed Armor. We did see a brief scene with Yunge in the last ep, when he woke up tied up in bed, being menaced by someone who appeared to be his dead lover – who hanged herself while pregnant with their child – but turned out to be Beauty Ghost using a face-masking technique similar to ZZS’s disguises. In the interim, Ghost Valley has kidnapped 10 cultivators as his wedding party, and – this is the important plot point – that includes Deng Kuan, head disciple of Yueyang Sect. We get to see some of Beauty Ghost’s ruthlessness here, as she carries in the dead woman’s memorial tablet draped in a red cloth – how’s that for some foreshadowing (my f’kn HEART) – to set it down in the “bride’s” place before Yunge is forced to bow three times. (Dead girlfriend was a Mo from Broken Arrow Manor, and I … am not sure if that is significant or not. Is she possibly related to Mo Huaiyang? Does anyone know which sect is associated with Broken Arrow Manor?) Beauty Ghost also kills two of the 10 “guest” cultivators for talking without permission as she explains the next event to them – cage match. Only one of them gets to get out alive. Deng Kuan, the best of them, apparently, pleads with everyone to not let themselves be divided, but we can all guess how this is going to go. I guess maybe he’s the other completely good character we meet, but he sure is a punching bag. He ends up the last man, sort of, standing, as he kills the final other person in self-defense, but not before getting stabbed, and he goes down and is out for the count.

Meanwhile, cut to Zhao Jing and Shen Shen drinking and gossiping at an inn on the way to Yueyang. Shenshen – Shenshen – continues to bemoan Chengling’s uselessness, and also talks about the torture the other Zhang family members underwent just in time for Chengling to overhear in the hallway, so thanks a lot for even more trauma, Shenshen. Zhao Jing is so sad about it all, y’all. He’s just so very very sad, can we just stop talking about it, Shenshen, because you’re making him sad, and he’s just going to let Da-ge figure it all out, OK? Uh-huh.

Fourth plot thread of the episode is ZZS skulking around, following Chengling, trying to convince himself that this kid is safe now that he’s turned himself in to gone to live with the 5LA, even as ZZS spots Tian Chuang spies in the ranks of the Yueyang disciples and among the dumpling vendors on the streets outside. ZZS follows the dumpling vendor, gives him a code phrase and almost gets his head taken off by a Scorpion blade for his trouble, before stabbing Dumpling Man in response. WKX picks this exact moment to wander back into ZZS’s orbit, taking the chance to flirt as Dumpling Man spits up blood and dies in the alleyway, because of course he does. WKX tsks, accuses ZZS of being cruel, and quotes some poetry about fair faces and poisonous hearts, which - like all of his poetry - has a double meaning, because which of them is he really talking about, ZZS or himself? ZZS notes that WKX is openly wearing the (Danyang) Glazed Armor because of course he’s looking for trouble, but WKX loosens his stays and clutches his pearls and replies that he couldn’t possibly be looking for trouble – him? Philanthropist Wen? He’s not a merciless killer like ZZS. Whereupon ZZS finally says out loud what he’s been clearly thinking since he started going on about what an awful person he is in the LAST EPISODE, which is why the hell don’t you stop following me around, then? There’s some more flirting, and WKX continues to follow ZZS around, and ZZS takes note that WKX is obviously flaunting the Glazed Armor out in the open, and then there’s a little sleight of hand when Famous Pickpocket Fan Bu Zhi, oh noes! Steals WKX’s Glazed Armor right off his belt when he isn’t even looking! before WKX continues to follow ZZS around, conveniently into the same inn where Cao Weining and A-Xiang are having lunch. After WKX attempts to chase him away, we discover Cao Weining has had his wallet stolen. WKX deploys his Sadness Eyebrows to convince ZZS to turn over his wallet to pay for Cao Weining’s and A-Xiang’s lunch. ZZS – who does an admirable job of refusing for a bit – finally caves, and WKX orders lunch for everyone, on ZZS. Now all we need is Chengling, because the fam is not complete without Goldbean.

[babymetaldoll]

Danger days - Chapter four: "She doesn't help me"

Word count: 8,5K

Pairing: Matthew Gray Gubler x OC + My Chemical Romance

Summary: Joey starts touring, and soon things start getting awkward with Gerard. Also, Frank is somehow jealous 'cos he wants to get all of her attention. Mikey spends most of the time drunk in this chapter and Ray is the father figure all these kids need.

Warnings: Alcohol, drunk talk, dirty thoughts, mentions of a boner someone is trying to hide, bad jokes, and a lot of cursing.

A/N: Ok Matthew fans, there's a lot of My Chemical Romance in this chapter, but we all need context and Joey has to be locked with them for A LONG WHILE. Also, all the "Text in italic" are thoughts and arguments our heroes are having with themselves.

All of this is fiction. And the gif ain't mine.

Masterlist

Chapter one | Chapter two | Chapter three | Chapter four | Chapter five | Chapter six | Chapter seven | Chapter eight | Chapter nine | Chapter ten | Chapter eleven | Chapter twelve | Chapter thirteen | Chapter fourteen | Chapter fifteen | Chapter sixteen | Chapter seventeen | Chapter eighteen | Chapter nineteen | Chapter twenty | Chapter twenty one | Chapter twenty-two | Chapter twenty-three | Chapter twenty-four |

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::: LAX, October 21st 2011 :::

Joey's eyes were still watered up as she stared at her boarding pass, making her best to stop crying. She had just hugged Matthew goodbye, and her heart felt like it was breaking as every second passed. She missed him already, and she felt like a sick cliché. She could still feel his arms around her, holding her tight, and his lips kissing her between tears, both of them crying as neither wanted to say goodbye. Joey knew she would keep on crying as they waited for their flight, so she walked away from their gate and tried to disappear among the people.

- "I miss you"- she read the text Matthew just sent her and wiped off the tears from her cheeks.

- "Me too"- she quickly wrote and held her cell phone close.

- "Hey!"- Mikey almost yelled next to her, making her jump.

- "Where the fuck did you come from?!"

- "The dutty free, I had to get some more chocolate for the flight"- Joey looked at him, still surprised, and making her best not to show how sad she was.

- "Why are you crying?"- it was clear she had failed.

- "I'm miserable 'cos I'm not gonna see Matthew in two weeks."

- "It's just two weeks, calm down"- Mikey tried to cheer her up and gave her a chocolate bar.

- "Well, I'll miss him too much."

- "I promise you, we are gonna have so much fun, you won't be sad the whole trip,"- Mikey wrapped an arm around her and messed with her hair.

- "Thanks"- she whispered just to be polite. She was too sad to believe him.

After a week and a half working with the band, Mikey was the closest band member Joey could call a friend among the guys. He and Ray were the nicest and always made her feel comfortable. They would joke around in rehearsals and have lunch together. It was nice. It felt good, like high school friends.

Frank and Gerard were a completely different story because though Joey felt they were very nice, things could become very uncomfortable very quickly with them. Frank would always start a conversation and share a nice laugh, but each time they stayed quiet, his eyes turned into a magnet she couldn't stop staring at. And it felt too intense, like Frank was even flirting a little bit. Sure, she thought he was cute, but he was married, and she knew things were never going to take a weird turn.

And about Gerard, well, that was even weirder. Completely odd. A case of study. He would make his best not to be alone with her, and she could feel it. She knew he always paid attention to what she was saying in a conversation. Still, he constantly made an effort not to talk to her directly. But when they were playing, she could feel her knees go weak each time he looked at her. That man sweated sensuality, and it took all she had in her to stop looking at him each time he moved closer to her. She couldn't concentrate, and she had to keep her eyes closed most of the time to avoid staring into his red hair, his fine ass, and pretty much anything related to him.

Joey knew she would never cheat on Matthew with Gerard. She just thought the singer was too hot for his own good. And for hers. It was a good thing he kept his distance. Well, except for the next ten and a half hours, ‘cos they had seats together.

- "Hey"- she cut him a shy, nervous smile and took a deep breath as soon as he appeared next to her. She had to stuff her hands in his pocket for a minute, ‘cos she was afraid they were going to start shaking. Yes, that's how uneasy she got around him. It wasn't something that happened right away. It developed over the week, and she tried to make lights off the deal most of the time.

- "Bitch, you are working with him. You can't act like a teenager around him just because he is hot. You don't even wanna date him or whatever, you love Matthew… you just wanna stare at this guy from a safe distance 'cos he is so fucking sexy!"- Joey thought.

- "Hey"- Gerard stood still and looked at the empty seat next to Joey. The rest of the band was spread on the plane, and neither seemed to be close for switching seats.

- "Ok, you can do this. She is your coworker. Just keep it casual,"- he thought and moved over to sit next to her.

Neither of them said a word for a while. Joey opened her backpack and grabbed the book she was reading, and Gerard kept scrolling down his phone. He looked out of the corner of his eyes and tried to catch the name of the book, but he couldn't. So he tried again, this time pretending to be uncomfortable in his seat, and he succeeded. He found out Joey was reading a book he didn't know.

- "Are you ok?"- the girl asked and turned to the man that looked blushed, almost caught in something.

- "Yeah, I just… wanted to take off my jacket"- he did so and stuffed it under the seat. Joey looked at him and nodded. The fact that he moved made his perfume reach her, and it was delicious.

- "So, what are you reading?"- his curiosity won.

- "Bestiario, it's a Julio Cortazar book I loved back in school. Mom sent me a box of my old stuff the other day, and I found it."

- "Never heard of him"

- "It's an Argentinian writer. He is awesome. His short stories and how he successfully created surrealist worlds are poetical."

Joey explained but made her best not to look into Gerard's eyes, so she kept staring at his hands playing on his lap.

- "Besides, he was a rebel. He used language his own way, creating words and neologism… I just love him."

By the end of her speech, she failed and turned her gaze at Gerard's, making her hold her breath.

- "Sounds impressive"- he whispered and cleared his throat.

- "You can read it if you want,"- Joey said and looked away quickly, feeling her cheeks blush- "It's a long trip."

- "Thanks"- and after that, the two of them fell silent again.

How had Joey ended up so affected by Gerard? She had a wet dream about him. One amazing wet dream that she couldn't shake off her head. And after that, she wouldn't stop looking at him differently. He was sexy. He was definitely fuckable. He was hot, and he was smart. He was trouble. She had to keep a cold head around him. A complete challenge for that long trip.

Why was it so hard for Gerard? ‘Cos since he first saw her, he got a boner in his pants, and that shit hadn't changed. If anything, it had gotten worse. That didn't mean they were going to fuck or be together or fall in love. Whatever the thing that caused him to be affected by her had to be shut down. And the sooner, the better.

- "Are you ok?"- Ray asked Frank, who kept moving and trying to catch what Gerard and Joey were doing.

- "Yeah, why?"

- "Because you are fucking driving me insane! You are too restless, and you haven't let me sleep in the last hour!"

- "Wanna switch places? Ask Gerard if he wants to sit with you."- Iero said and smiled- "Very smooth Frank, that way Ray will find out in a minute you wanna sit with Joey"- he nearly slapped himself.

- "No, I just want you to stop moving!"- Ray argued, with a tone of voice that sounded (again) more like a father than like a band member.

- "Fine"- Frank whispered, frustrated, and crossed his arms on his chest.

- "What's wrong with you?"- Toro turned to his friend, truly concerned something was tormenting him- "Is it about leaving the babies?"

- "Yeah"- Iero answered and looked outside the window.

It was the truth, but it wasn't just all of it. The actual fact was that he wanted to know if Joey and Gerard were talking. He knew his friend had a crush on her. It was too obvious for him, though the rest of the band nearly noticed it.

But Frank did. He knew each time Gerard stared at Joey more than he had to while she was playing drums. He also recognized the perfume Gerard rarely wore, only when he tried to catch someone's attention. And damn it! He didn't want Joey to notice his friend. He knew Gerard wasn't going to do anything, but if she was going to have a crush on someone in the band, that should be him, not Gee.

Each time Gerard's knee touched Joey, it felt like an electric shock against Joey's skin. That didn't let her concentrate on her book. Gerard didn't seem to notice, though, which was good. She didn't want him to know how much he could affect her. Not even she wanted to know how much he affected her. She knew she loved Matthew, and she would never cheat, but feeling so attracted to someone else made her very uneasy.

She opened her backpack and grabbed her iPod. The smartest thing to do was to listen to some music, read and forget about the fact the hottest guy she had ever met- except for Matthew, of course- was sitting next to her, reading a Stephen King novel, unaffected by her presence.

Gerard had managed to concentrate on his book for a few minutes, but each time Joey's leg softly brushed his, he shivered, so he ended up pretending to be cold. And covered his lap with his jacket. That was also very helpful in case he'd get an involuntary and inappropriately timed boner.

Suddenly, the soft touch of Joey's head reached his shoulder. She was asleep and casually cuddled against him. Was she faking it? It didn't seem so, she still had her headphones on, but the book had left her hands and fallen on her lap. She was asleep, resting her head softly against him.

- "Ok, Gerard, years of practice have come to this moment. Think about math, equations, science test, dissecting a frog, anatomy class, your drummer's body on that Misfits tank top she wore the other day… no! no, again, math, physics, avocado, coconut oil… Her hair smells like coconut oil… I wonder if she would let me spread coconut oil on her… Gerard!! You have a wife you love! Stop this!"

Gerard jumped on his seat, and Joey quickly woke up.

- "Wha…"- she turned to him confused, and he cut her a sweet soft smile- "Shit! I'm so sorry!"- the girl started apologizing right away, completely blushed.

- "No, don't be, you just fell asleep."

- "I'm so sorry."

- "Hey, it's ok"- Gerard said and acted all cool- "My shoulder is your shoulder… we still have eight more hours to reach London, and I am guessing you are a sleeper."

Joey's cheeks were burning as she sat correctly, her heart racing in her chest. Ok, that wasn't what was supposed to happen. And the tour hadn't actually started yet. Great.

The girl looked in her phone for old pictures with Matthew. Honestly, she already missed him, and she wanted to look at his face, remembering what was waiting for her back home.

- "You guys are a cute couple,"- Gerard said and regretted his words as soon as they left his lips- "Cute couple?! What the fuck was that? What am I? A fucking asshole, that's for sure."

- "Thank you"- Joey blushed and kept her eyes on Matthew's picture on her phone- He has been a real support for me ever since we met.

- "How long have you been dating?"

- "Six months and two weeks"- she answered proudly- "We met at the studio one day, he asked me out for coffee... and we've been drinking coffee together ever since."

The two of them smiled at each other and stayed quiet.

- "Your wife is amazing"- Joey added ‘cos it felt like the polite thing to do.

- "Thanks. Yeah, she is incredible."

- "How did you meet her?"

- "Touring, we were at the Project Revolution one year, and by the end of the tour, we got married."

- "Wow, that was fast"- Joey said, thinking out loud- "Shit! Less than three months and he got married?! How can you be sure to do such a thing? Well, maybe when you know you know… but I don't know… seems a little rushed to me."

- "We knew it was the right thing to do,"- he explained calmly-" We knew we didn't want to be apart from each other when the tour ended."

- "That's so sweet"- and after that, the conversation was dead- "So, I'm gonna try to sleep some more. If I fall on your shoulder, don't doubt to wake me up, please."- the girl said and fixed the little travel pillow behind her neck.

- "Don't worry, it's ok, I'm gonna catch a movie"- Gerard answered and smiled one more time, their eyes locked at each other- "Ok Gerard, just look away"- he thought and made his best to follow his own command, but he couldn't.

- "Come on, Joey!! Breath and fall asleep, and stop drooling for him all over! You are pathetic"- the girl wanted to hit herself as she cleared her throat and turned to grab her headphones.

- "Do you want to check out my book?"- she asked and handed him over the one she was reading before- "Stupid! He said he wanted to watch a movie."

- "Yeah! It sounded pretty good. I'll take a look at it while you snore"- he joked, and she blushed. Their hands brushed when she brought closer the book to him, and a little electric shock hit the two of them.

- "Ok, I'll sleep now"- Joey whispered and turned to look over the window- "Just try to sleep for the next eight hours, and you'll be peachy."

Mikey Way asked for another scotch and turned to the window. He wanted to get drunk and sleep. Being drunk was his new nature. Whatever could numb the pain away. He didn't even get to see his wife before he left for the tour. She called and wished him luck. That was it. And still, he wasn't brave enough to be the one to put out on the table the divorcing reality that came ahead. He didn't want to be the one to put an end to it all.

- "Hey"- Frank appeared and sat next to him- "What are you doing?"

- "Drinking, what does it seem like I'm doing?"

- "Being a jerk, that's what it looks like."

- "If you don't like it, you can leave"- but Frank didn't. Basically, because Ray had kicked him out of their seat for being too irritating. And James was snoring. Instead, he took a sip of Mikey's whiskey and nodded.

- "Good shit."

- "Get one for yourself and let me sleep"

- "Damn it! Why is everybody so obsessed with sleeping?"

- "Get out!"- Mikey Way mouthed with his eyes closed, and Frank had no other way but to stand up. He looked around the place until he found the red hair he wanted to spy on. Iero walked slowly, pretending to go to the bathroom, acting casual, which was completely stupid. No one was actually looking at him.

- "Oh hey!"- he said when she stood next to Gerard and Joey's row. He looked at him, raising his eyes from the book, and smiled. Joey was asleep and didn't even move. Her head rested on the seat, and she didn't seem to hear what was going on around her.

- "Hey Frank, what are you doing?"

- "Nothing, I just wanted to see what you were doing. Apparently, Ray doesn't want to sit with me, and Mikey doesn't want to sit with anyone."

- "Why?"- Gerard frowned, confused.

- "No idea, I think he is drunk,"- Frank made a pause and smiled at his friend- "So do you wanna go sit with me somewhere and talk for a while?"

Iero asked casually, though he basically just wanted to move Gerard away from Joey.

- "Not really"- Way simply answered- "Joey just lend me this fantastic book, and I want to read it while she sleeps"

- "Oh"- Frank didn't see that answer coming- "That's ok"- and didn't know what to say- "I'll just… go see a movie or something."

- "Ok"- Gerard directly answered and went back to the book. Frank had no other choice but to look away.

- "Ok fucker, what's the big deal? She is there, they are not even talking, she is asleep, you don't wanna be with her or anything, you are not jealous… you just don't want her to be with Gerard. Wait, is that shit being actually jealous? Nah, no, it's not. No. No way. I just… Nah, it's nothing, just shut up".

Frank plopped himself on this seat and covered his face with both hands. Decided to stop thinking shit, he put on his headphones and pushed play on his iPod. It was better to sleep than to do any other stupid thing for the rest of the trip.

Gerard woke up slowly. He never noticed falling asleep. His head rested comfortably to his right against someone else, who soon he realized was Joey.

He tried not to move and came conscious of the moment. She was still asleep, and her perfume filled the air between them. Gerard didn't move an inch. He didn't want to wake her up. He was enjoying this proximity. He felt their legs side by side, brushing against each other as his heart raced. Her body felt warm next to him, and that soft touch made him hungry for some more. A lot more. He couldn't stop wishing he could move her and kiss her whole body, right there, in the middle of the plane.

- "Shit! No!"- he felt his blood pumping down his belly and knew what was happening- "Melted plastic, NSync, funerals, Joey dressed like Morticia, laid on my bed… no!! Stop this!"

But it was too late to stop the boner. It was now time to hide it before Joey- or anyone else- could see it.

The girl sighed and opened her eyes, still half asleep. She had cuddled at Gerard's neck again, and she was afraid to move. No, she didn't want to move, and she was scared of that. She liked being close to him like this. But she shouldn't. She had to be professional. This was the lead singer of the band she was playing with. This was by far the most important job she had ever have, and she wasn't going to ruin it. She couldn't feel attracted to him or any other member of that band. Besides, they were all married! She even knew this guy's wife, and she was adorable.

- "No, Maria Josefina! This shit stops now!".

Joey moved slowly from Gerard's side and made her best to pretend she had just woken up, and not like she had been debating with herself for the last ten minutes or so.

- "Hey"- she whispered at Gerard, who calmly opened his eyes and scratched his head, looking half asleep and adorable at the same time- "Sorry I woke you up."

- "Don't worry, sorry I was leaning on you"

- "Sorry, I was leaning on you too"- she murmured and took a deep breath- "Do you mind? I need to go to the bathroom."

Gerard stared at her in a blank. If he moved, she was gonna see his boner.

- "Yeah, sure."

He slowly stood up (as well as the other unknown guy by the aisle) and did his best to cover himself with the jacket without being too obvious. It was a little worst when he felt Joey brushing her body next to him as he passed by her side. That added some friction that made him bite his lips.

- "Sorry"- she whispered softly, that didn't help either. Lucky for Gerard, she didn't notice a thing and walked away.

- "Dude put the gun down"- the guy in the aisle said, making fun of him. Way couldn't answer; he just sat down and tried to cool himself down.

- "What the fuck is your problem? What are you, fifteen? Put your shit together, you've been alone with him for like four hours, and already you are having a hormonal breakdown? Really?!"

Joey kept arguing with herself in the bathroom and looked at her reflex on the mirror.

-"And besides, you look like the shit!"- she tried to fix her makeup. She made a messy bun to keep her hair from falling on his face.

- "Ok, you are gonna go out there, and you are gonna be a professional grownup. You are gonna sit down and ignore that guy for the rest of the trip, did you hear me? Ok! Just do it!".

But no, it was impossible, she saw him from a distance, reading her book, and her stomach jumped. So she did what seemed to be the right thing to do: she sat next to Mikey and cut him a smile.

- "Hi stranger."

- "Hey gorgeous"- the girl frowned right away and sniffed him.

- "You are drunk"

- "You are smart"

- "Everything ok?"

- "Nop"

- "And you don't want to talk about it"

- "Nop"

- "Good…"

- "And why are you here?"

- "I've got the window seat over there, and I just went to the bathroom… and I didn't want to bother Gerard and the other guy in my way over."

Mikey turned to her, drunk as a skunk, and smiled.

- "Stop being so nice."

- "I can't turn it off…"- she made a pause and grabbed Mikey's plastic cup of whiskey- "Besides, I can be mean."

- "Bullshit"- he argued, laughing, and Joey drank what was left of the plastic glass in one shot, not moving a single facial muscle- "Wow, I'm scared. You drank my booze, rad!"- he answered sarcastically.

- "Oh, shut up, you are drunk."

- "Hey kids! What are you doing?"- Frank showed up and sat next to Joey, all happy and hyper.

- "Mikey is asking me not to be nice"- Joey answered and cut him a huge grin- "How is your flight?"

- "Bored. I saw a shitty movie, napped, and now I am hungry… wanna eat something?"

Joey thought about it for a moment and realized she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. And smiled lodged on her lips as she remembered Matthew had made her favorite breakfast.

- "Definitely"- and Frank's eyes lit up as he buzzed the air host button.

- "Great!"

- "And no more booze for you"- Joey warned Mikey, knowing he wanted to get more whiskey.

- "You are not my mom."

- "You are not my kid."

- "Stop it."

- "I am not nice."

- "Yes, you are, you are taking care of me,"- she took a deep breath and watched him smiling please, knowing he was right.

- "Fuck you! I'm not nice. I just don't want to carry you around covered in puke when we land."

- "You won't have to,"- he simply answered, slurred actually- "Frank will have to do it."

- "I won't"- he refuted shortly- "Ask Gerard, he is taller."

- "Right, you are tiny like a thirteen years old kid"- Joey chuckled, and Frank blushed, embarrassed that Mikey brought that up in front of her. Like she hadn't noticed.

- "Shut up!"- Iero was gonna punch Mikey's arm when the air host arrived, and he refocused on asking for food for the three of them. And booze for the three of them.

Gerard looked around and frowned. Joey was taking too long in the bathroom. Not that he cared, but maybe she didn't feel so good. Perhaps she was locked in there. Perhaps he didn't get the signs, and she was waiting for him to fuck in there and join the high mile club.

- "Stop that shit!! You are gonna have to spend months with this woman, and you are going to learn how to turn your dick off! If possible…".

After a few more minutes, Gerard convinced himself he wanted to go to the bathroom too and stood up. No, Joey didn't seem to be locked in any toilet. But where was she? It only took him a minute or two to hear her laughing along with Frank and Mikey. What the fuck?

- "Hey, what are you doing?"- Gerard asked as he stood next to Frank by the aisle and smiled. Joey's eyes were watering up as she kept laughing, trying to keep it down.

- "We are playing Who wants to be a millionaire,"- she explained and pointed at the screen in front of her seat.

- "Ok…"- he was going to ask what was so funny when he realized they were all drunk. Well, Mikey was wasted. Frank looked kind of drunk, and Joey… it was hard to say.

- "Well, keep it down, you don't want to disturb the rest of the passengers."

- "Sorry, dad"- Mikey answered, chuckling, and Joey bit her lips not to laugh so loud.

- "And stop drinking!"- Gerard commanded.

- "Yes, dad"- Mikey repeated, and Joey's face turned red from holding the laughter.

- "Stop it!"

- "Come on, man, relax. We are not doing anything,"- Frank tried to explain, but it was useless. He had been so into getting Joey's attention, and the girl knew they had been too loud.

- "No, dude, he is right. It's time to wrap up things here"- she grabbed her drink and stood up- "Come on, make room, let me pass."

- "Oh, come on! You don't have to go!"- Frank hated Gerard at that moment.

- "Mikey has to sleep, and we should notch down the noise for a while. Come on, let me pass"- Frank stood up, frowning.

- "Wanna go watch a movie with me?"- he asked Joey and pointed at his seat.

- "I don't think it's a good idea"- Gerard answered before Joey could actually say a word. And that was a huge turn-off for her. She hated when people took decisions for her, even the smallest, like that one.

- "You are gonna keep laughing and making noise."

- "Sorry, can't we have fun?"- Iero was taking shit too seriously all of a sudden, but lucky him, he was the only one who noticed it, and the air host saved his ass.

- "I'm gonna need you all to go back to your designated seats, please."

And that was it. Joey returned to her seat next to Gerard, and Frank grumbled all the way to his seat next to Ray, who was snoring.

- "Fuck you, Frank!! Stop being jealous! Seriously! This is not healthy!!"

- "Do you wanna watch a movie?"- Gerard asked a few minutes after they sat down and got comfortable on their chairs, stealing Frank's idea.

- "Sure"- Joey answered and regretted right away- "Wait, what had we agreed earlier today? Can you fucking listen to yourself for a second? Don't fuck up this job!"- she scratched her arm, nervous, feeling her whole body tense.

- "Great! What do you wanna watch?"

- "Horror"- she quickly answered- "Good, anything that can keep me occupied from thinking."

- "Cool, anything in particular."

- "Zombies"- Gerard turned to her and smiled so excited you could tell she had said all the correct answers.

- "Great, let's see what we've got."

The jetlag hit Joey hard when they reached London. It was eight hours ahead of Los Angeles time, and after that long, eternal, and challenging trip, having to deal with Gerard next to her, she needed to get some good rest. Besides, the first show was Saturday. She only had Friday to recover and get ready for the debut. And shit, she was freaking out.

- "God, kill me"- Mikey whispered as the van passed outside the hotel and had to turn around the corner. There were so many fans waiting for them out there, going out was suicidal. Joey wide opened her eyes and made her best not to show how shocked she was by the scene.

- "Hey"- Ray elbowed her and smiled- "Excited?"

- "Very"- she grinned and yawned- "And also exhausted."

- "Frank and I were thinking about asking for some room service and playing video games if you want to join us."

- "Sounds good. I just need to shower first."

- "Good, you shower! Can you teach Gerard how to do that, please?"- Frank joked, overhearing the conversation from the back seat- "Thank you for inviting her, Ray! Thank you, that you!!"- and god, he was excited, like a little kid.

- "Oh, come on! I shower now! Stop telling people I'm gross!"- Gerard argued and smacked Frank's head, joking.

- "You traumatized the band, and you have a stigma for being dirty and smelly, teen spirit,"- Mikey added with a deep, weary, hungover voice.

- "Shit! I need to catch up with a lot of info."

- "You are not really missing a lot"- James said next to her and yawned- "Gerard and Mikey didn't shower when they started touring; that's why they called Gee "Teen spirit." Frank used to hang shower camps at one side of the bus to shower after the show. Ray waited until the bus stopped by gas stations to use the shower there when it was available. He usually was left behind ‘cos everybody forgot about him. And that's the short version of touring with these guys. "

James explained as Joey chuckled.

- "Thank you, James. You are the best."

- "Oh, cut it"- Gerard threw his friend a scarf, and Joey laughed.

- "Ok, kids, and how are you planning to avoid all those fans waiting for you out there?"- Joey wondered as she kept looking outside the window as the group of teenagers reached the other side of the street.

- "The MCArmy is pretty cool"- Gerard explained as the girl turned around and raised an eyebrow, looking into his eyes, completely unconvinced.

- "I bet it can still get pretty scary to be out there with all those girls"

- "I mean it, they are not."

- "Yeah, sure. Then just get out this van and walk out there alone, without Worm"- Joey dared and their bodyguard, Worm, turned to him and shook his head no.

- "She is right, face it. You are never gonna make it"- the whole band made a pause after Worm delivered the line and chuckled. Joey didn't get the joke, but she said no word.

- "I really need to know more about this band, fuck!"

- "Don't worry, dude. We are gonna get through the back"- Worm announced, which seemed to be a good idea until they saw the back of the hotel and the way to the underground parking.

- "Oh shit!"- the words left Joey's lips- "Those are more girls that there were at the front… what the fuck?"

The drummer was clearly confused. She knew the band was big, but she hadn't evaluated precisely how big it was.

- "You are not a boy band when you are at a live show, right?"- she asked and turned to Ray smiling.

- "Yeah, we dance a lot. I'll teach you the choreography after dinner."

The van made its way through all the fans, and ten minutes later, each of the band and crew members was at their rooms. Frank lay on his bed and dialed his wife's number.

- "Hey baby"- he whispered with his eyes closed.

- "Hi honey, how was the flight?"

- "Long, eternal, I need to sleep a lifetime."

- "Me too, your daughters have been too spoiled, and neither of them is sleeping if I'm not holding them."

- "Shit."

- "I blame you for that."

- "Please don't…"

Frank chuckled and remembered all the afternoons he had spent holding both his daughters at the same time before he left for California to rehearsal for the tour.

- "I miss you so much"- and he wasn't lying at all. He loved his wife more than anyone.

- "We miss you too"

- "Is your mom still there with you?"

- "Yeah, I wouldn't have done any of this without her."

- "And Evan?"

- "He had a gig tonight, but he is coming to spend the weekend with us."

- "Awesome"

- "So, excited about this leg of the tour?"

- "To be honest, I'm kind of nervous."

- "Why?"

- "About the drummer and shit, we have press tomorrow, and I'm sure they are gonna start asking about it."

- "So?"

- "So I don't want to."

- "Don't make a fuzz out of something that hasn't happened yet"- Jamia made a pause as her husband stayed in silence staring at the ceiling too- "Besides, be honest, Gerard is going to answer all the questions"- Frank chuckled and sighed.

- "You are probably right"

- "I know I am, you know I am, deal with it."

Meanwhile, at the very same time, in his room, Gerard was talking with his wife too, and for some weird twist reason, he was having the exact same conversation.

- "I just don't want the whole tour to turn into "My chemical romance has a girl drummer" shit."

- "But it's an amazing thing to talk about!"- Lynz answered, frustrated her husband was still rambling about the same subject. It had been at least twenty minutes. It was probably his way to talk about her not being obvious. And pretending he hated the whole deal was his way to cope with the face he loved having Joey around.

- "I know it's gonna be fresh and exciting."

- "And inspirational to a bunch of girls out there"- that was probably the only thing that kept Lynz excited about Joey in the band. She didn't see her as a threat per se, but it was still a little weird for her.

- "Yeah, that's true… fans are gonna go nuts."

- "And media is gonna make up a lot of shit."

- "I hate that."

- "You do it for the music. That's what counts."

- "Yeah, I gotta love this shit to bear being apart from you so often,"- Lynz giggled at Gerard's words and sighed.

- "I know you love music more than you love me.2

- "That's not true."

- "I know… you love comics more than you love me,"- Gerard laughed and walked to the door, ‘cos someone was knocking.

- "You see through me"- Mikey walked in as soon as his brother opened and laid on the bed in silence- "Mikey just got here, I think we are gonna eat something and then sleep."

- "Go, I'm going to go out with Alicia today."

- "Really? that's cool, hey Mikey, the wives are going out together tonight,"- and Mikey frowned, surprised.

- "Cool"- that was all the excitement he could express.

- "Love you, babe, gotta go"- Gerard said goodbye to his wife and sighed as soon as he hung up the phone.

- "Everything ok?"- Mikey asked and kept changing the channels on the tv, not really watching anything.

- "Yeah, you?"

- "I'm hungry. Ray said he was asking for room service. Wanna go?"

- "Yeah, in a minute"- Gerard walked to the bathroom, and Mikey sighed, eyes glued to the television. That was the best way not to think. That and getting hammered, but he could do that later.

- "Hello"- Joey walked into Ray's room after she called her boyfriend, took a long, long shower, and put on clean clothes. Well, clean sweatpants and an old oversized Megadeth t-shirt. Basically, her pajamas.

- "Hey!!"- Ray's hair was dripping water as he opened the door and invited Joey in- "Sorry, I just stepped out of the shower."

- "Me too… and if we are gonna tour together, I figured you are gonna have to get used to seeing me in sweatpants"- Ray laughed and took a look at Joey up and down- "Sorry, not sorry."

- "Don't be. You look cute, in a nonsexual way"- he quickly explained and blushed.

- "Thank you… so? what are we eating?"

- "I don't know… what do you wanna eat?"

- "I'm so fucking hungry I need a double bacon burger with all the fries on this island… sorry, all the chips on this island."

- "Sounds good, make two of those,"- Joey sat on Ray's bed and watch him open his backpack.

- "What do you have there?"

- "Only the most important thing I carry around when we tour."

- "Guessing something related to… oh no, it's a PlayStation,"- Joey frowned and then chuckled as she saw Ray unpack his favorite console and plug into the television.

- "Since we are touring together, you should know this is something we can't live without."

- "Really?"

- "This is our life on the road."

- "Playing video games?"

- "Yeah… sorry if we are not that exciting."

- "Don't be sorry in front of a girl in sweatpants. Which games are you carrying?"- she moved closer and grabbed a few- "Call of Duty!! Cool!"

- "Do you play?"- Ray was excited, and you could tell.

- "It's Call of Duty. Who doesn't?"

- "Gerard"- Ray answered in less than a second.

- "Lame!"- the knocks on the door finished the conversation, and Joey walked over to answer. Frank held his breath, surprised to see there- "Hey! Do you play Black Ops?"

- "Ahh… yeah"- he doubted as he looked at her up and down- "You look…"

- "Like a mess? Yeah, get used to it"- he was gonna say cute, but she interrupted him at the right moment and walked back to Ray- "What else do you have there?"

Frank sat on the bed and stared at the scene. Ray kept showing Joey his video games, and she was really into it.

- "So do you play a lot?"- Frank ended up asking, and the girl grinned guiltily.

- "Maybe more than I should admit. When you live alone, and you don't have a job, there are too many hours to kill.

- "Been there"- Ray answered and chuckled

- "Then this tour is gonna be fun!"- Frank smiled and laid back on the bed as Joey sat next to him and tapped on his leg.

- "I am going to kick your Jersey ass."

- "Oh really? You better don't go all Icelandic on me when I make you eat the ground"- he made his best not to shiver at her touch and instead tickled her a little, which made her giggle, like a little girl.

- "I don't go all Icelandic, that's too cold and drunk"- she corrected him and tickled him as well- "I go all Latina, like mom."

Frank knew this was his chance to get a little closer to the girl, friendly closer, by the way. Well, that's what he kept telling himself.

- "Fine, then don't go all Latina on me when I kick your ass!"- he said and fully tickled her, hearing her laugh.

- "Fuck!! No!!"- she yelled, laughing- "You weren't supposed to find out about this weakness until way deep into the tour!!!"

Ray looked at them, frowning as he stood up and opened the door for Mikey and Gerard. He didn't say really a thing, just opened the door and walked back into the room.

- "Kids! Calm down! Or you won't have dinner"- Toro said and kneeled next to his suitcase, looking through his games for one he wanted to play. But neither Frank nor Joey paid attention and continued fighting over who could tickle the other. Gerard looked at them, deeply jealous, as Mikey nodded his head.

- "So… what are you doing?"- the youngest Way asked, staring at the obvious

- "We are…"- Joey made a pause and gave it a little thinking while Frank kept tickling her, enjoying a little too much the fact he could just touch her… in a friendly way- "Frank, what were we doing?"

- "You went all Latina all of a sudden."

- "Oh yeah, and you were all Jersey"- Frank had to stop ‘cos Joey stopped, but they kept pushing each other, and Ray continued telling them to stop like they were his kids.

- "And I told you I was going to kick your ass playing Call of Duty."

- "Right! That was why!"- Joey sort of shouted, and Frank burst out laughing- "Hey"- she smiled at Gerard and tried to look away.

- "Wanna play?"- Ray asked her, and she couldn't control her smile.

- "Always!!"

Gerard looked at her after she delivered that line. She sat with Ray on his bed holding a joystick, not paying half attention to him. Was that what made him act all jealous? The fact she paid attention to everyone else but him?

- "Just forget it, Gerard, eat your dinner and go to bed."

It was midnight, and Joey and Ray were still playing. Mikey was drunk and half-asleep on the bed, holding his phone tight. Frank was waiting for his turn to play, staring at the screen and laughing each time anyone would take a gunshot.

- "Ok, I'm going to bed"- Gerard said and stood up.

- "Ok, see you tomorrow!"- Ray said and never stopped playing, and neither did Joey.

- "Fuck you!!"- she yelled, and Toro laughed as the girl kept pushing him and making her best to force him to lose.

- "Don't be a bad loser!"

- "I am not a bad loser!!"- she argued right away and stood up to hand over Frankie the joystick, defeated again- "And you are a shitty winner, by the way!"

- "I'm leaving!"- Gerard repeated, and again, no one seemed to care.

- "Night night!"- Joey waved and turn around to look at the youngest Way- "Hey Mikey, are you ok?"

No, Mikey wasn't ok. He was laid on his back, tears slowly falling down his eyes, drunk as fuck.

- "Hey, Mikey, let's get you to bed, ok?"- he sighed and half-opened his eyes looking at Joey.

- "I don't want to."

- "Come on, you have an exciting day tomorrow. I got the schedule earlier, and you get to work for hours, and I am not doing shit!"- she joked, but Mikey didn't move- "Oh, come on… please, buddy?"

- "Is he ok?"- Gerard asked and walked over.

- "Drunk as fuck is the new ok,"- she answered as Gee shook Mikey's arm.

- "I'm alive"- he babbled and slowly sat down- "I'm ok, leave me alone."

- "You don't really look like you are ok"- Joey whispered and smiled at him- "Want me to show you my tits to cheer you up?"- Frank paused the game and turned to her.

- "Fuck yeah!! We could ask for that?"- Joey frowned and looked at him, annoyed.

- "I was joking"- she pronounced every letter in those words very slowly- "Just trying to make Mikey laugh."

- "Oh yeah"- Frank blushed and unpaused the game, turning to the screen- "I knew you were, I was just following the joke."

Joey nodded and turned to Mikey again. Meanwhile. Frank wanted to slap himself.

- "What the fuck is your problem!! That was so stupid! It was obvious she was joking, and now you made an ass of yourself! She is gonna think you are a pervert!!"

- "So, are you coming?"- Joey smiled at her friend, and he nodded- "Good, ‘cos I don't wanna smack you."

- "Do you need help?"- Frank paused the game again, and Ray almost growled.

- "No, I'm ok"- Mikey answered and stood up.

- "Come on, let's have a slumber party. We can do each other's nails"- Joey smiled, and Mikey smirked.

- "Braid my hair, sister"

- "And I'll curl your eyelashes"

Gerard watched in awe how his brother just followed Joey's commands like a little boy. He just went to bed when she asked him to. He laughed when she made the jokes. Was he crushed on her too?

- "Good night, kiddos"- Joey smiled and waved at Ray and Frank- "I had a blast with you tonight."

- "Goodnight, loser!!"- Ray teased her, and the girl stuck out her tongue at him.

- "Tomorrow, I want my revenge!"

- "Whenever you want to lose, I am here,"- he chuckled, and she pretended to be mad. The truth was, she had a great time with Ray, and she was glad he was so warm and friendly with her from day one.

- "Hey, Iceland"- Frank stood up and walked quickly over her- "That shit about your tits, I was joking."

- "I know, Jersey. Calm down"- she beamed and pushed his arm- "You are a good kid."

- "Thanks, goodnight"- he whispered and walked back to Ray's bed- "If only you knew…".

Gerard opened the bedroom door and waited for Joey and his brother to walk out to close it behind his back.

- "Where to?"- she asked, and Mikey pointed to the elevator. The three of them walked in silence, the door closed, and the youngest Way slowly raised his hand and pushed "15".

- "Please don't puke in the elevator"- Gerard teased him, and Mikey whispered

- "Like you never did that kind of shit back in your days,"- the silence hung amongst them until the door opened, and they strolled out.

- "Good neighbor, you are just four rooms down from my cave"- Joey joked as Mikey slowly and clumsily tried to open his door, but Gerard ended up grabbing his card and doing it for him when it was apparent he wasn't in the condition of doing it by himself.

- "Ok, Mikey. There you go"- Gerard helped his brother to bed as Joey took out his shoes and moved the pillows for him.

- "I don't want your help"- the drunk Way said, but Joey messed with his hair and smiled, trying to cheer him up.

- "I am not helping you. You asked me to stop being nice,"- Gerard frowned, not getting the conversation, but apparently, there were so many things Ray and Mikey could talk about with her he had no idea about. He should give up trying to catch up.

- "This is me making sure you owe me big time, and I am going to call in a huge favor as soon as I get drunk, and you are gonna have to take care of me,"- Mikey smiled and closed his eyes.

- "Ok, Bug"- the drunk boy closed his eyes and sighed- "I'm gonna start calling you "Bug" now because you can be fucking annoying!"

- "Oh really?"- Joey giggled and stood next to Mikey's bed with Gerard- "I'm gonna have to find a nickname for you then."

- "Your job for tomorrow"- the drunk guy whispered and sighed.

- "Goodnight, Mikey"- Gerard said and watched how his brother fell asleep in less than a minute. He and Joey walked slowly to the door and left Mikey alone.

- "Thank you for taking care of him,"- Gerard whispered as they walked down the hall to Joey's door.

- "Don't thank me for that. I consider him my friend already, and friends take care of each other."

The girl kept looking down at her shoes as they walked, decided not to land her eyes on his, not even for a second. God knows what could happen.

- "He seems to be going through a rough patch lately"

- "He hasn't told you anything about it?"- Joey asked surprised.

- "No"- Gerard shook his head and thought very carefully before he asked- "Has he told you… anything about what's going on with him?"

Joey didn't hesitate for a second and answered no.

- "It just seems he trusts you with his problems. That's all."- Gerard added.

- "We talk about random shit"- she quickly explained- "Maybe he just needs to ease his mind from whatever it is that is happening to him, at least for a bit."

The two of them stayed quiet, standing right in front of each other. Gerard was dying to hold her face with both hands and kiss her. They were alone for the first time ever. Ever. He has made his best for this not to occur before; the plane trip at least was shared with a hundred other people at the same place. Now it was just the two of them all alone standing in the hall.

- "What are your plans for tomorrow?"- Gerard whispered and raised his eyes to look at her.

- "Gym in the morning, practice in the afternoon"- Joey said and kept looking at her hands.

- "Where are you gonna practice?"

- "Here, in my room. I brought my electric drum ‘cos Brian said I could install it somewhere around the bus."

Gerard kept his eyes locked on her, and she could feel it as she continued talking.

- "I hope it's not an inconvenience, I'm just nervous. I feel like I need to practice another 100 hours to play the show you deserve."

- "No, of course, it's no problem"- he answered and slowly reached out his hand to clumsily place it on her shoulder- "And stop doubting yourself. You are an amazing drummer."

Joey couldn't help it and shivered as she felt Gerard's touch, raising her eyes to meet his.

- "Thank you"- she whispered, and time stopped as they stared at each other. It felt so natural to lean over. It was like their bodies were longing for proximity. But both of them knew they couldn't do anything like so.

- "Ok Joey, breath, act like a normal person and walk away from this temptation"- she sighed and smiled- "That would be a killer nickname" Well, see you tomorrow Gerard, have fun doing a million interviews.

- "Have fun at the gym- he smiled and watched her opening the door and walking into her room."

- "Good night"- she whispered and slowly closed the door.

- "Ok, that was good. You controlled yourself, Gerard. I'm proud… now walk away and get into your room."

Joey laid on her bed and closed the laptop, after a long video call with Matthew. Tears fell from her eyes slowly. She was nervous, excited, and most of all, she was sad her boyfriend wouldn't be there with her at her first show.

- "You have no idea how proud I am, Yami"- he had said, as the two of them cried.

- "I wish you were here with me, Akumu."

She had never been away from him in six months. Once for a weekend, but not a whole month. She missed him already. Watching his face on the screen didn't make it easy. If anything, it felt like it made it worse. She was in love with him, honestly in love. She had a couple of shitty experiences with her previous boyfriends, and Matthew was the first man who treated her with respect. It was sad for her to be so moved about something that could be the base of a relationship.

Besides, she wasn't just nervous about being away from her boyfriend. She also had second thoughts about her abilities. Maybe she really wasn't going to be able to do it right. She could be petrified in front of the audience. It would be easier if Matthew were there with her. But he wasn't, and she had to start dealing with this fear on her own.

She could still feel Gerard's hand on her shoulder, telling her she was going to do great. It burned her skin like the remainder of his warm touch.

- "Fucking temptation"- she whispered and rolled in bed to turn out the lights- "Gerard is so hot I could do something very foolish if I were single... and if he was single too, of course."

**

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