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itsclydebitches · 4 years ago

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YYH Recaps: Episode 1, Surprised to be Dead

Hello, all you hypothetical readers! It's a beautiful spring day and I have a free afternoon ahead of me, so what better time to start another massive project while I guilty stuff my other WIPs deep into the depths of my hard drive? Yeah. Iffy life choices aside, someone mentioned a few weeks back that they'd love for me to recap a show I have more positive things to say about than negative (RIP RWBY) and ever since Netflix announced that their live-action adaptation of Yu Yu Hakusho is in the works, I've been itching for a re-watch of the anime. With the RWBY hiatus underway, it seemed like the perfect time to fulfill both desires.

Before we begin though, I'd like to touch on a few things that are going to influence this project.

First, YYH is near and dear to my heart. Written by Yoshihiro Togashi in the early 1990s and later adapted for an American audience by Funimation, I had the pleasure of experiencing this story five different ways: as a serialized tale in Shonen Jump, a binge read when I had the money to buy the manga, tiny snippets of the anime on Adult Swim late at night — don't tell my parents ;) — as an after-school treat on Toonami, and then years later as a re-watch when I introduced it to a friend (who, in turn, blessed me by having us watch Fullmetal Alchemist next). I used to keep a Hiei bookmark in everything I was reading, the spirit gun made it into our witch-wolf-space adventures on the playground (middle school was wild), and there was a long period of my life where I tried very hard to teach myself to stand with my hands behind my back, precisely as Genkai does. Spoiler alert: I failed. So to say I love the series is... a little bit of an understatement. I bring this up simply as a way of demonstrating that there's more than a bit of nostalgia attached to YYH for me and that will inevitably cloud my reading of it. How can it not? So that's just something to keep in mind as I work through a series that, like any having hit its 30th birthday, has its outdated, flawed, and other questionable aspects.

Second, but very much connected to the first point, is that these are pretty casual recaps. I summarize and extrapolate, focusing primarily on plot and dialogue (but with the occasional cinematography aspect tossed in). I'm not conducting research on the cultural history here — something that will come up at least once in this episode — I'm not arguing an overarching thesis, and I've never been someone who focuses on the author/production/trivia of a series. I'm here for the story as the story is presented to the viewer. If you've read my RWBY Recaps, this will function precisely the same way, with the only difference being I'm engaging with a finished text as opposed to an ongoing one, so there’s a lot less, “Maybe ___ will happen” theorizing going on.

Third, I obviously recommend that you watch the show yourself (you can find it on YouTube!), but you don't have to know the series to follow along. As these massive paragraphs attest, I tend to be both detailed and verbose, so we'll be covering every major plot point — and most of the smaller ones too.

Finally, I'm working from the dub. I know, I know, the horror. But it's what I grew up on and, honestly, I think it's superior to the sub. YYH's dubbing is in a class all its own and to this day there are very few shows that compare to it. Trust me, it's a good call.

That's enough of the boring chit-chat though. Let's get started!

Our very first episode "Surprised to be Dead" opens on a crowded street. We see lots of traffic, people going about their business, and a pedestrian crossing sign that, crucially, turns red. This is our normality and, like in every genre story, you need to break that normality at some point so that the protagonists can go on their fantastical/supernatural/science fiction journey. YYH eases us into things by first breaking the normality of an everyday afternoon: there's a screech of tires, quick shots of a man pushing a child out of the way of an oncoming car, and then his back is hitting the windshield. We begin this story with a horrible — but otherwise mundane — car crash.

Now, these flashes alone have a fair bit to unpack. Despite later getting a brief shot of the man's scared face right before he's hit, the moment's focus is really on the child. He's the one foregrounded in the initial, slow-mo shot. He's the one who appears in color while the man is kept in shadow. This isn't just a hit, it's a rescue. The camera is also careful to follow the soccer ball this kid was playing with (more on that later in the episode), with it flying through the air as the man is hit and bouncing to a stop in the street, acting as the dramatic finish. It's childhood! It's innocence! It's play on a sunny afternoon! And it's all gone wrong.

This moment is chaotic and even a bit confusing. Not in the sense of what's happening — that is quite obviously a guy being hit by a car — but who the victims are, how precisely this came about, or even why we're meant to care about this beyond a generic capacity to feel for other human (fictional) beings... that's all removed. And it works. As the crash takes place, the camera pans across the stunned crowd and we, the viewer, become a part of that crowd. They don't know what precisely is going on either. We're all just horrified onlookers as a sudden tragedy takes place. We're all watching the same show.

So everyone realizes this guy has been hit. People are staring in shock and someone calls for an ambulance. We see the driver fall to his knees in the street, distraught, shakily saying, "I didn't mean to..." It's a very serious and emotional scene that —

— is immediately tempered by this guy waking up, complete with a cute 'pop!' sound effect when he opens his eyes.

This is YYH's brand, this Very Serious Circumstances skillfully interwoven with casual indifference/comedy. It's admittedly far from a unique brand, but it's an excellent choice given that this is the same attitude that will drive 99% of our protagonist's interaction with the world.

Speaking of said protagonist, our guy wakes up, opens his eyes, and realizes that he's floating. There's a great, disorientating shot from his perspective where everything is upside down, causing him to nearly fall out of the air. Well would you look at that, he's as confused as we are. It's our audience surrogate!

A narrator says, "And so it all begins. This boy's name is Yusuke, he's fourteen years old, and he's supposed to be the hero of this story. But oddly enough, he's dead."

Game of Thrones might have made it popular, but YYH did it better.

(Yeah, yeah, I know one death kick-starts the journey and the other is a shocking twist. Just let me have this.)

Now, it's a weird introduction, right? At least at the end. The announcement that change has occurred, a name, an age... that all checks out. But "supposed to be the hero"? What the hell is that “supposed to” mean? Our narrator gives us the easy, surface answer: "But oddly enough, he's dead." We're capitalizing here on the audience's expectation that death ends a character's journey and though they may have been a hero previously, they can no longer be one moving forward. That function within the story has passed. So it's this intriguing question of, "What kind of hero do you have when that hero is dead from the start?" but as we'll see soon, there's an additional meaning here of, "How can Yusuke be the hero?" As this premiere sets up, Yusuke doesn't act like the hero is “supposed to” act.

Until he saved this kid.

But right now he's just confused: "Okay, this is weird. Stupid weird."

Two EMTs arrive on the scene and are hilariously useless. You know how in any medical drama a doctor will stop CPR after a couple of seconds because obviously you're not going to spend half the episode on realism? Well, that's this only a thousand times worse. One guy just looks at the kid and announces he's fine except for some bumps and bruises. Meanwhile, the kid is sobbing.

"Well, at least one of them is," replies the other EMT, because I guess he can tell Yusuke is beyond hope without taking a pulse or anything? "I hate cleanup," he complains as they load his body onto a stretcher because that's? An empathetic response to have??

Honestly this scene is wild.

Yusuke is understandably upset that he's, you know, dead and all. He starts hounding the EMTs who, unable to hear him, just go about their business of taking the kid and his body to the hospital. "You think you can just do whatever you want because you have that stupid uniform on? You can't just write me off. Listen to me!" and Yusuke tries to punch one of the EMTs in the head, resulting in him floating right through.

What a great way to introduce your protagonist's personality. We see here that when things go wrong Yusuke's default emotion is anger and it starts creeping in even before he thinks the others are ignoring him: "Stupid weird." He has problems with authority — "You think you can just do whatever you want because you have that stupid uniform on?" — is used to others listening when he gets angry — "You can't just write me off!" — and is poised to use violence at the slightest provocation. Yusuke is a guy who, right now at least, is ready to punch first and ask questions later.

As Yusuke floats back up into the air and the ambulance drives away, he finally cools down enough to try and think his way out of this. "It's not like this is the first time you've been in a jam,” he thinks. Yusuke recalls that yeah, something was different about today...

...he actually went to school.

Catch me laughing that this idiot boy equates the weirdness of him dying with going to school. Good lord.

Anyway, this jumpstarts our flashback. We open on a generic, anime middle school (that always feels like a high school to me) where the principal is calling for Yusuke through the loud speaker. Oooo someone’s in trouble! We follow a young girl up to the rooftop and she gets a classic hair-blowing-in-the-wind moment to establish that she's our love interest. Meet Keiko Yukimura.

Keiko finds Yusuke hanging out and immediately starts lecturing him for trying to chew gum and refusing to wear the boys' uniform. "Oh, give me a break, Keiko. I look better in green." Note that it's here we learn her name and it's an easy, casual way to introduce it. I bring this up because Yusuke's introduction via our narrator is very much... not that. It's an on your nose statement about his name, age, and importance to the story, and if you're just starting the show in 2021, it might come across as a rather armature move. Like something out of a kid's show, perhaps. Yet here we see that this was a deliberate choice, considering that YYH is capable of introducing character information naturally when it wants to.

This moment also tells us that Yusuke cares a great deal about his image. More on that in a bit. Because Keiko isn't finished her list of grievances yet, going on to say that his attendance record has hurt their entire class, hurt her as class representative, and if he keeps going down this path he won't even graduate middle school. "Sometimes I think you don't care about anyone but yourself and then you don't even do that right!"

They're legit complaints. Too bad Yusuke is busy looking up Keiko's skirt.

Yeeeeah. Sadly, this is common for anime, particularly a 90s anime like YYH. Even presumably more progressive series like My Hero Academia feature characters like Mineta, whose entire personality is being a pervert, and the creation of abilities that "require" kids/young women to be scantily clad. See: Yaoyorozu. YYH is no different in this regard, with various forms of sexual harassment functioning as a shorthand for how much Yusuke secretly likes Keiko. "Boys will be boys," right? Obviously not.

Like so many others series, the creators get away with it because they’re framing it as a bad thing. It's totally fine because look, Keiko slaps him! This is teaching the viewer how wrong this behavior is. Never mind that this is clearly an established habit between them, that Yusuke laughs off Keiko's discomfort, and that the whole scene is meant to be funny for the viewer. That's the real purpose here; it’s not a PSA on harassment.

That, and to establish the long-suffering love Keiko has for Yusuke in turn, largely stemming from a life-long friendship. "Dumb boy! He hasn't grown up a bit since he was four years old." We see that Keiko's early interactions with Yusuke have given her insight that others lack. As she heads down from the roof she runs into two girls hiding around the corner, too scared to come out lest "the great Urameshi" set his sights on them. Isn't Keiko terrified of what he might do to her? "Or worse, what others might say of it?" Like any classic high school middle school setting, one's reputation is king. Yusuke cares about how others see him — maintaining that tough boy attitude — and the girls care more about what the rest of the school might think of Keiko's interactions with him than the presumed harm Yusuke could do to her. They heard he can summon 2,000 men with just a whistle and that he "kills for fun!" But that means nothing in the face of people talking about you. Despite being one of the most popular girls in school, Keiko is the outsider here via her disinterest in what other people think.

The animation changes here, giving us a good look at how the girls picture Yusuke: tough, scowling, surrounded by shadows, and backed by an entire army.

In contrast, we've already seen what Yusuke is really like.

Keiko laughs the image off too. Yusuke is more like a "lamb" than a killer and besides, he couldn't order around two people, let alone two hundred. "He doesn't have many friends."

"That's not what I heard," says one of the girls.

"Yeah," goes the other. "I think we would know."

Again, rumors rule here, with whispers in the hall considered more reliable than someone who interacts with Yusuke on a daily basis. Keiko doesn’t have a hope of changing their minds.

Oh, as a side note, I love that they gave Keiko Miyazaki-esque hair. It's very emotive.

Yusuke escapes outside where the principal is still calling for him to report to his office. He overhears a conversation around the corner and we cut to two boys, one of which is showing a wallet off to the other. He explains that some bully tried to rough him up, but he said he was Urameshi's cousin and the bully took off, dropping his wallet in the process. The guy's friend is impressed, but what is he going to do if Yusuke ever finds out he lied? Not to worry, he says, that "blockhead" would probably think it's true even if he did somehow hear.

Yusuke, obviously, does hear about this and he, also obviously, does not believe this guy is his cousin. He looms ominously and they scurry up against a wall, terrified and offering him the wallet as an apology.

"You think I want your money?" Yusuke yells.

YYH is, in many respects, a rather simple story, but I appreciate the hints of complexity in these otherwise straightforward interactions. It's not that this guy used Yusuke's name to steal a wallet, he used it as a form of protection against another bully — a far more sympathetic motivation. It's not that Yusuke's fearsome reputation has resulted in any genuine respect because once people think they're safe they reveal how little they think of his intelligence — he's a "blockhead." And Yusuke, though intimidating and violent, is not your average, schoolyard bully. He doesn't care about money, only the insult and the damage this guy using his name might have done to his reputation. There's a little more nuance here than you might otherwise expect.

Also, note how dark the boys' standard uniforms are and how much they blend into the rest of the world. Yusuke, as our protagonist, stands out in his bright clothing. He was right, he does look better in green!

So he's ready to clobber this kid when one of the teachers arrive: Mr. Iwamoto.

Iwamoto demands to know what's going on, but the boys are too terrified to rat Yusuke out. Noticing the wallet on the ground, he assumes that Yusuke was after their money, something that greatly offends him: "Whatever!" Iwamoto goes on to say that, "No good weeds like you should have been plucked a long time ago," making it clear that he considers Yusuke a hopeless case. The positive aspects that Keiko sees, as well as the complexity the viewer sees — to say nothing of his introduction of saving a kid — aren’t considered here.

Notably, Iwamoto exists in part to show us what Yusuke could become. Not a teacher (he's obviously not attending school enough for that!), but a cynical man who is cruel for cruelty's sake. Yusuke is already barreling down that path, ignoring Keiko's advice, terrorizing other students, trying to punch EMTs, etc. If his life (or afterlife...) hadn't changed through that accident, this is the kind of person Yusuke might have grown up to be, and we can see that clearly in the visual parallels between them. Dark haired men dressed in green who scowl with ease and toss out cutting insults. Yusuke is staring his future in the face.

For now he walks off with a final shot, "You shouldn't talk. It makes you sound stupid." This time Yusuke makes it to the school's entrance and tries to enjoy his second attempt at chewing gum, but someone hits him in the back of the head.

"Okay, somebody's DEAD — ah. Sorry, old man."

"That's Mr. Takenaka to you."

Our principal has finally left the office and hunted down Yusuke for himself! Putting this interaction immediately after the one with Iwamoto allows the viewer to compare them. Yusuke might be irreverent towards his principal, but it's clear there's still some kind of respect between them. Yusuke only starts threatening because he doesn’t realize who hit him and once he does realize it's Takenaka, he immediately apologizes. That "old man" comes across as a teasing insult and Yusuke allows himself to be briefly dragged back towards school, rather than throwing a now classic punch. In turn, Takenaka cares enough about Yusuke to try and keep him on the straight and narrow. He utilizes Yusuke's preferred language — violence — but in a casual way, nonthreatening way: slight hit to the back of his head, noogie, pulling him along by the ear.

It's the sort of physicality we're used to seeing in media between a parent and child who are outwardly antagonistic, but actually share a deep bond. Takenaka is also careful to frame their return to his office as a "discussion," not a punishment, and offers Yusuke tea along with the conversation. Whereas Iwamoto considers Yusuke to be a "weed" that should have been plucked from their school long ago, Takenaka is determined to help Yusuke bloom.

If we're continuing the flower metaphor :D

Yusuke isn't in the mood to play along though. He gets away by using a fake ear, startling Takenaka when it unexpectedly pulls free. Yusuke escapes the school grounds and Takenaka, suffering a back twinge from his fall, can't chase after him. Poor guy. I understand that pain lol.

Yusuke heads home where we're introduced to his mother, Atsuko. Most notable in her first shot is the soft lighting that highlights her looks. We're not told how old she is here, but I believe she's around 28 — and she looks it, if not younger. Given that Yusuke is 14, that means Atsuko was a mom at his age. This is a quick and subtle way to tell us about Yusuke's home life. There are more overt details in this scene — it's at least lunchtime and Atsuko hasn't left her bed yet, she demands that Yusuke make her coffee instead of greeting him, it's all meant to imply (before we actually see) that she's an alcoholic — but her age is another way to highlight the broken household here. There's no partner in sight and she clearly had Yusuke as a teenager. He hasn't had a strong parental figure to take care of him. If anything, Yusuke is taking care of Atsuko here.

"Oh great, mother of the year!" basically sums things up.

Atsuko wants to know why Yusuke isn't in school and he says that everyone is pissing him off today, particularly with their preaching. "Dear, if you hate preaching so much you should live on your own... but you can't do that, can you?" Alongside a rough upbringing, Yusuke is suffering from the common problem of being trapped in a dead-end life. He hates his school, his town, and coming home to find his mom hungover. Yusuke has no prospects and, outside of one principal, no one who is actively working to help him find some. Even the little things he hates, like being preached to, are unavoidable because if you want to live on your own, that requires money. Good luck pulling that off as a middle schooler whose only skill is street fighting!

Yusuke walks off in a huff, literally shouting in a street about what a bad day he's having (and hilariously scaring off pedestrians in the process). His shout brings trouble though. A couple guys appear to ambush him, their boss close behind. The music increases the tension, Yusuke's expression is serious, and we even get a Dutch angle thrown into the mix.

For any who don't know, the Dutch angle is a popular film technique to establish that something is wrong. There's tension in the scene, something uneasy is at play, and the world is now literally off center. It's perhaps most famously used in Do The Right Thing to establish the friction between an Italian-American pizzeria and the predominantly African American neighborhood it's based in.

But it's also used a great deal in horror as a way to say: yup, shit just got real. Scary real.

This Dutch angle introduces a character you may not appreciate at first, but absolutely should: Kazuma Kuwabara.

He's initially the comic relief and that's clear in his introduction. Within seconds we move from that intimidating arrival to, well, seeing him. To be clear, I've got nothing against redheads with big chins, but compared to Yusuke's design, Kuwabara is meant to be the funny looking one. His threat level plummets the moment we get a look at his face, especially in a series that will occasionally use looks as a (supposed) measure of intelligence.

Also, Kuwabara is dressed in light blue so, like Yusuke, we know he's important!

Any assumptions that his appearance isn’t meant to imply a goofy, embarrassing personality are put to rest when Kuwabara starts rambling about how they last time they fought Yusuke just got a cheap shot in and he'll definitely win this time. Yeah, he won't. Yusuke is thrilled by this diversion though and we get a shot of him looking almost as creepy as Keiko's friends think he is. Whatever else might be said about Yusuke, he is absolutely a monster in a fight.

Which we see here. If anyone picked up the series without knowing this was a fighting anime, they'll realize it now. Yusuke's choreography is stylized to show off his skill: he disappears with a 'whoosh' and dark lines to suggest inhuman speed,

attacking Kuwabara with a knee to the face, utilizes flying kicks, lands perfect, precision punches, and ends it all with the toe-tip landing we've come to expect of all powerful fighters. Kuwabara never even got a hit in.

Happy as a clam now, Yusuke wanders off whistling and Kuwabara's friends are left to pick up the pieces. AKA, his likely broken bones. I love that they're legit friends though and not just nameless goons for the sake of giving Kuwabara a small gang (though their names won't come up until later). "That makes 0 wins an 156 loses!" one of them cries, trying to get Kuwabara to stop ending up in the hospital, probably. We establish that Kuwabara is The Most Dramatic Ever when he pulls his broken body into a seated position, shouting, "No! I almost had him that time!"

Then he passes out.

Kuwabara, honey, you obviously did not almost have him, but god bless you for the outlook. The most optimistic thing on this Earth is a well-loved Golden Retriever, but Kuwabara comes in at a very close second.

With his dream to one day beat Yusuke in combat established, we cut to Yusuke wandering the street where the episode opened. "Okay, I'm remembering" he says in a voiceover. "After that I met the kid."

The soccer ball reappears as it rolls to a stop at Yusuke's feet. He grabs it and immediately starts yelling at the kid. Horrible protagonist, right? Well, Yusuke is trying to instill in him the danger of using this street as a playground, a worry the viewer already knows is 100% justified. “Listen, kid, that’s dangerous! There are cars going by that will splatter you into the pavement!” It's one of those quick moments where we get to enjoy Yusuke's duality: he's someone who is nearly making a toddler cry, but for rather understandable reasons. He's got the right idea, but needs to go about it in a more mature manner.

Which is precisely what he attempts to do. Sort of. Yusuke changes gears, though whether it's a more "mature" route is certainly up for debate lol. He tries entertaining the kid instead, raising and lowering the soccer ball to reveal goofy faces.

When these fail to impress, Yusuke goes full out by stuffing the ball into his pants, pushing his nose up with a pair of chopsticks he got from god knows where, and generally just putting on a display.

So Yusuke cares very deeply about his reputation... but only when it comes to those who are an established part of his life. Keiko, Mr. Takenaka, and the other kids at school all need to maintain a particular image of Yusuke, one that he's carefully cultivated. But random pedestrians on the street? Who cares about them? Let them talk.

This shows us that Yusuke does indeed have priorities over his own, selfish goals. Namely, the happiness of some kid is more important to him than looking "cool" for a bunch of strangers. Lots of characters with Yusuke's surface attitude would sneer at the idea of degrading themselves for — their words — some brat. But Yusuke, as we constantly see, actually does have that heart of gold. “Well, if all else fails I can still make kids happy.”

Although... I'm not sure what to make of his display itself. I have the distinct sense that there's something prejudiced here that I'm not able to fully articulate, what with the chopsticks, slanted eyes, bald head, and the like, though to be entirely frank I don't have enough knowledge of Japan's history to say precisely what it might be. Or, really, whether it exists at all. Just something to chew on.

What I am sure about though is the importance of having the child label Yusuke as monster — "Yeah, monster! — but in a delighted manner. Yusuke is indeed some kind a monster, someone who disappoints adults and terrifies his classmates, a demon fighter on the streets too, but here that identity is reworked into something positive.

Having successful secured a laugh, Yusuke tells the kid — calmly this time — to go play elsewhere. The toddler stares up at him with the blank expression only kids can manage.

Well, kids and whatever headspace I'm in after writing these metas.

To absolutely no one's surprise except Yusuke's, the kid does not go elsewhere. Instead, he continues kicking the ball down the street, causing Yusuke to exclaim, “Dammit, what’s the use? The kid can get smashed by a car for all I care!” Liar, liar.

The picture becomes desaturated as the kid kicks the ball and it flies into the street, time slowing down to show it landing precisely in the middle of the road. Yusuke again yells for him to stay put, but when has a toddler ever listened? He begins to walk into the road as our driver arrives, speeding, swerving, and paying more attention to the girl at his side than what's in front of him.

This time, we see the accident from the front with both Yusuke and the kid presented equally.

There's a cut to black and when we return we're in the present, Yusuke floating above the policemen now investigating the scene. “So that’s it? I’m roadkill?” As Yusuke realizes he's dead, specifically that he's a ghost, a voice goes,

"Bingo! Bingo! You win the prize!"

A woman has appeared who is quite obviously othered by the standards of the episode so far. Unlike the greens, blues, and browns of the series' modern clothes, she's dressed in hot pink kimono with blue hair to match. She's also, you know, floating on an oar.

“I didn’t expect you to figure it out so quickly," she says, referring to Yusuke's revelation that he's dead. Apparently, those who meet unexpected and/or violent ends tend to take some time coming to terms with their demise. It's a nice acknowledgment of Yusuke's intelligence in an interaction that's otherwise... not great for his self-esteem.

Meaning, this woman is about to drag him lol.

She introduces herself as Botan, pilot of the River Styx and guider of souls to the afterlife. You might also know her as the Grim Reaper.

(Hey, RWBY fans: I originally wrote that as Grimm Reaper 🤦‍♀️)

It's an claim Yusuke takes issue with because 1. Botan is too pretty to be the Grim Reaper and 2. If she was really some god of death she'd be taking this much more seriously, not laughing and saying, "Bingo!" For the audience this does two things. First, it acknowledges our own expectations and validates them. Yusuke's world isn't so far removed from our own that he takes Botan's looks and personality at face value, he also expected a skeleton with a scythe. So don't worry, all the weird stuff in this series is weird to our protagonist too. They'll be explanations. Or, even if there’s not, you’re not wrong for being surprised.

Second, it sets up the very common theme in YYH of undermining those common assumptions again and again and again. We've already seen it with Yusuke, wherein characters who look and act a certain way are, supposedly, destined to be that person and nothing more. Yusuke is meant to be just a "weed," a dumb, violent, angry loser who goes nowhere in life... but we already know he's more than that. Botan is supposed to be scary and serious, but she says nah, I want to be cute and bubbly instead. No character in YYH embodies who they're "supposed" to be when you look past those surface characterizations. They play the part of archetypes — and do keep certain parts of their expected personalities — but they're also far more well-rounded than that. Which yeah, is something most people expect from any story nowadays, but YYH is particularly adept at making you think you're watching Simple Show A only to turn around and surprise you with More Complex Show B.

It's great, trust me.

So Yusuke is pissed that Botan isn't adhering to those expectations, in the same way that he works hard to validate others expectations of him. He doesn't know how to deal with someone challenging his world view yet. Rather than angering Botan though, she just nods and says that this response makes sense for him. “Rather than being scared, or surprised, you yell a lot and tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about." Taking out a notebook, she quickly summarizes everything we learned in the flashback — minus Yusuke's complexities: he's fourteen, in middle school, is ill-tempered, violent, hates authority, and is a horrible student.

Typically, Yusuke responds by getting angry and trying to snatch the booklet out of her hands, only for Botan to pull it out of his reach, laughing. The tables have turned! Rather than being surrounded by people who cower at Yusuke's imposed authority, he now finds himself faced with someone who laughs at his transparent attempts to take control of the situation.

Calming down, Yusuke wants to know if the kid he saved is really alright and Botan offers to let him see for himself. That offer produces Yusuke's first, genuine smile.

They fly to the hospital where a doctor is in the process of giving the kid a clean bill of health, his mother crying with relief.

That's enough for Yusuke. “Alright, Botan, I’ve got no regrets, so you can take me to hell or wherever it is I’m going.”

That tells you all you need to know about Yusuke's self-worth, despite his bad boy attitude. His life is a dead-end as far as he can see and most of those around him haven't done anything to dissuade him of that idea. He says he doesn't care if the kid lives or dies, but then instinctively saves him. Post his death, Yusuke doesn't have anything he considers a regret, or anything he'd like to do before he leaves, like saying goodbye to a loved one. Oh, he's also pretty sure he's going to hell and has resigned himself to that without a fight.

Uplifting!

Botan just laughs though, saying that she's actually here to offer Yusuke an "ordeal" that could bring him back to life. See, he wasn't supposed to die today — let alone die saving a kid — and frankly they don't know what to do with him. It's another neat summary of what we've already learned: Yusuke is a far more complicated case than the afterlife assumed and now, when push comes to shove, deciding whether he belongs in heaven or hell is... muddled.

There's a fantastic story there about the problems with an afterlife that reduces a person's entire life to a few surface characteristics recorded in a book, refusing to acknowledge the context of their situation, or their capacity for change. “Run someone with your credentials a thousand times and they never would have saved a kid like that." Except, of course, Yusuke did save him, so those "credentials" are suspect, to say the least. However, YYH is not a story that explores these issues. Instead, I recommend you watch this!

Rather than being upset at the afterlife's low opinion of him (because let's be real, Yusuke shares it), he latches onto a little detail Botan let slip. If he wasn't supposed to die today... then was the kid?

Mmm... no. Actually, without the chaos of Yusuke jumping into the road, the driver would have swerved at the last second and the kid would have not only lived, but actually come out with one less scrape.

So Yusuke is obviously upset by this news! I would be too!! Holy shit, hang onto the "it's the thought that counts" message with everything you've got.

Also, don't think too much about the fact that the afterlife apparently knows exactly what will happen to people, down to how many cuts they accumulate in an accident. Also, don't think too much about where the afterlife foreseeing the crash begins and the unexpectedness of Yusuke interfering ends. That way lies madness. This will never come up again, so just let it go.

Sorry, 2013 me hijacked the post for a second.

As said, Yusuke is understandably upset by this revelation and as he fumes I'm reminded that this series likes to pull some amazing expressions.

Botan reiterates that it's all fine because Yusuke can come back to life. Weren't you listening? He should feel honored, in fact, considering that an offer like this only arrives every 100 years or so. Well, that explains why all of humanity isn't grappling with people coming back to life on the daily. One person every generation isn't going to cause much of a stir.

However, instead of jumping at the chance Yusuke announces that Botan is just like the teachers at school: she doesn't know what she's talking about. “You said yourself my life was kind of pathetic, right?” he says, going on to explain that everyone will be happier now that he's dead. His school won't have to deal with his behavior, Keiko won't have to nag him, and his mom will be able to party whenever she wants. It's a win-win for everyone involved.

Hmm, this feels familiar.

Don't worry, Yusuke doesn't need to experience a whole alternate reality to get the message.

“I’m sorry you feel that way at such an early age," Botan says and she is sorry, because despite her teasing nature that's a legitimately horrifying thing to believe. Yusuke won't budge though and after a little back-and-forth Botan leaves, telling Yusuke he should think it over while visiting his wake. She'll come back once he decides what to do.

“Do you have worms in your ears, lady? I did decide!” but Botan is long gone.

We cut to that night where Yusuke has indeed decided to attend his own wake. Maybe because of Botan's advice, maybe because he's just morbidly curious. We’re not given insight into the decision.

Atsuko is a mess, to put it mildly, not dressed for the occasion and sitting slumped against the way, staring vacantly as the guests offer their condolences. Yusuke is surprised by the fact that his entire class is here, but quickly writes them off when he sees two of the boys laughing. I'm on the fence about this detail, which I'll unpack in just a second.

First though, Yusuke sees Keiko exiting the house, inconsolable in her grief. She collapses on the ground with her two friends trying to offer comfort, despite the fact that they had nothing good to say about Yusuke himself. Good on them.

Before he can think too long on this though, Yusuke is distracted by Kuwabara's arrival. Unlike Keiko's crying, he expresses his grief through yelling. Specifically, yelling at Yusuke. For dying. For daring to "run away." His own friends are physically holding him back as he charges into the wake, screaming, “Who am I gonna fight now, huh? Who am I gonna fight?" It's not really about the fighting, of course. At least, not the fighting alone. "You’re supposed to be here for me," Kuwabara finishes, the punch he's thrown at Yusuke's photo going limp and catching his first tear.

You know, for all the goofy expressions, this show really is gorgeous. Just wait until we get to the fight animations.

Kuwabara's reaction is why I hesitate to write off the classmates like Yusuke has. Granted, we have no reason to believe that they care for him as Kuwabara does — they're nameless background characters defined only by their terror of "the great Urameshi" — but it's still a split second taken out of context. We don't know what they were laughing at, or if laughing is a part of their grief. God knows I personally laugh at the most inappropriate moments. If you tell me someone has just died there is a very good chance I will laugh awkwardly as I try to process that. It’s just a reflex. All of which I bring up not because these side characters are important, but because Yusuke's perception of his own worth is. The point of each of these moments is to show that those around him have always cared for him, even if Yusuke didn't notice. It's nice to think that extends to his classmates too. The variety likewise exists to show us how people grieve differently, with Kuwabara's friends not understanding that this is how he's working through the trauma: “This place is for mourning!” He is mourning, even if his way of mourning isn't as socially acceptable as Keiko's. So if screaming and throwing punches is valid, crying is valid, staring stoically in a drunk stupor is valid... why not laughter too?

Not likely, perhaps, but possible.

As an additional possibility to chew on, watching this premier again, it struck me how more emotional Kuwabara's scene is compared to Keiko's. Don't get me wrong, crying and calling Yusuke’s name gets the point across, but it's two seconds of generic grief compared to a much longer scene rife with intensity. When Kuwabara arrives the music swells and everyone is forced to pay attention to him. His grief is loud, violent, and given symbolism with his fist and the photo. There's more effort put into his reaction, frankly, so it wouldn't surprise me if fans started shipping them after this. That grief combined with an "enemies to lovers" possibility is a pretty potent mix. To be clear, Yusuke/Keiko is the (oh so obvious) canonical endgame and in the fandom Yusuke/Kuwabara can't compare to another slash ship that will turn up later, but this is a good example of how writers can craft some Very Gay Scenes without realizing it. When you have the girl crying prettily for a second and the guy absolutely losing his mind over Yusuke's death, questioning his purpose now, his support network, and then collapsing in grief... don't be surprised if your audience goes, "Oh hey, maybe they'd be a good couple instead."

But I digress.

The only people who are unquestioningly happy about Yusuke's passing are Mr. Iwamoto and his co-conspirator, Mr. Akashi. You know Akashi is another bad guy because he has bucked teeth and "ugliness" is an easy way to code for evilness. YYH is not immune to those mistakes :/

These two are really something else though, standing in the middle of a wake and claiming it's “too bad that car wasn’t big enough for them too," referring to Kuwabara and his friends. Wow! What stellar members of the academic community. Iwamoto goes on to say that Yusuke dying at least accomplished something good. Not, mind you, saving the life of a child, but rather looking good for their school's reputation. Akashi agrees, but says it's likely Yusuke only accidentally saved him while trying to steal the kid's lunch money. Remember, that accusation of theft is the one thing Yusuke has said outright that he does not do.

He's pissed listening to all this — wouldn't you be? — but knows by now he can't do anything about it. In another fantastic shot, Yusuke hovers his hand over Iwamoto's shoulder, desperate to grab him, when Takenaka's arrives there instead.

“What do you suppose is more disgraceful? That boy showing his misery, or your insensitive and idiotic words!”

HELL YEAH. You tell 'em, Mr. Takenaka.

Yusuke gets his third shock of the night at this passionate defense. Takenaka leaves the teachers to go pay his respects, but admits to Yusuke's picture that he just can't speak well of him. He was surprised to hear that Yusuke gave up his life for another and it's a fact that he acted selfishly. Though he doesn't say it in as many words, Takenaka explains that he's not grieving because Yusuke was a good person, but because it's so clear to him that he might have been. “Why didn’t you stay? You could have made something great out of yourself.”

Normally, "Why didn't you stay?" is just something for the living to grapple with, as the dead obviously don't have any say in what happens to them. But Yusuke does. It's here that the lighting grows soft again and Yusuke considers Takenaka's words. Keiko and Kuwabara grieve for who he was, but Takenaka grieves for who Yusuke could have been — someone that might still exist if Yusuke decides to undergo this ordeal.

Atsuko adds fuel to the emotional fire, breaking down and hiding her face in her knees.

Finally, the kid Yusuke saved arrives with his mother. Because yes, Yusuke saved him in every way that matters, considering no one else knows — or will know — that he'd have lived anyway. I like that the show doesn't allow that knowledge to undermine the emotion of their arrival, or what Yusuke’s act meant to them.

The mom tells her son to pay his respects and the kid thanks Yusuke for saving him, and for "making faces." He clearly doesn't get what's going on here. This is confirmed as the two leave and he asks his mom if he can play with Yusuke again tomorrow. “I know some people sounded angry at him, but he’s really nice!"

They're probably just crying because they want to play with him too, he thinks, which just makes his mom join in. Everyone is crying in this club tonight.

Those words are the cincher for Yusuke and with a brief montage of all the grief he's witnessed, he makes his decision.

We cut to later that night where Yusuke floats above the city, admiring the moon. Botan reappears and he asks, “Have you ever not known about something that seemed obvious to everyone else?” Yes, everyone has experienced that at one point or another. She asks if he's made his decision and Yusuke agrees to try and come back to life.

Emotional revelations out of the way, we're allowed another tone shift as Botan yells with joy, speeding off and causing Yusuke to grab hold of the end of her oar, lest he be left behind. Cranky as always, he demands to know where they're going. "To the spirit world, of course!" They're off to see someone who can explain the ordeal and give Yusuke the tool needed to complete it. Just hang on and enjoy the ride.

Thus ends our very first episode! Ah, the nostalgia. This is part one of a four arc series, with the anime cutting out a lot of the filler stories found at the start of the manga — a smart decision, I think. They primarily do the work of teaching Yusuke what he learned at the wake, so if you can accomplish that as quickly as the adaptation did, all the better. Especially since Yusuke needs to grow a great deal beyond the basic understanding that people might, sort of care for him, and that work will occur primarily through a job he's going to take on. The series isn't really about his death and it's not about an attempt to come back either — it's about what happens once you get that second chance. So this is the setup, but it's important setup all the same.

No need to skip ahead though. I've blathered enough for one recap. I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you when the writing gods next bless me with energy! 💜

#YYH #Yu Yu Hakusho #YYH recaps #mymetas

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tinyboxxtink · 4 years ago

Text

“Helpless” *Part 10*

Dammit!! I really wanted a nice and even chapter set, but I couldn’t fit the proper ending in here. So, I guess I’m just gonna have to deal. LoL.

Side Note: I initially wanted to toss the word ‘helpless’ in there to go with the title, and now it’s just everywhere. So, sorry if it seems cheesy lol. And if you don’t notice that’s a good thing! It just bothers me...lol

Master List

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

FINALE!!

Tag List

@wanniiieeee

@dumauier

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@word-scribbless

---

You were lost in your thoughts when Olivia’s phone rang.

“...Yeah, uh huh. Alright, thank God. Yeah she’s here,” Olivia glanced at you. “Uh huh...yes we will, Okay thank you,” She hung up the phone and looked at you again.

“They caught your friends,” she told you.

“Oh they are NOT my friends,” you scoffed.

“I thought you said--” She started.

“Arianna was my best friend, until she got the lo--until she got Rafael shot,” You tripped over your words, not really wanting to get into the ‘love’ debacle with Olivia again.

“I see. Well, apparently they didn’t have the gun they used to shoot Rafael on them, and they’re insisting that you have it,” She stated coldly.

“I...Wha...A-Are you serious?!” You were shocked. “I-I-I-I...I don’t have a gun! I don’t have ANY gun! Y-You saw me!”

“She’s right Liv, we didn’t see a gun on her at the scene,” Rollins pointed out.

“She could have stashed it,” Olivia eyed you?

“A-Are you serious, Detective? Didn’t we just do this? I couldn’t have-- I would NEVER--”

“Alright, why don’t we just start from the beginning, okay?” Carisi interrupted you, trying to be the mediator.

“...The beginning of what, exactly?” You asked confused.

“Of the night,”

“Well, I mean you were there at the beginning,” you shrugged.

“Right. So take us after we left you...in the kitchen,” Carisi alluded to when they had caught you making out in Fazzoli’s kitchen like teenagers.

“Right. Um, so Rafael helped me re-do all the prep we knocked over, and then he gave me a ride home, and then we--” You paused, wondering how much detail was really relevant. You decided some things were better left private.

“We said good night, and then I went upstairs and Arianna was packing, and she said we had to leave and I was never gonna see Rafael again, and when I refused she pulled a GUN on me,” You paused again, reliving the night all over again.

“So I called Rafael because I was scared, but I know I shouldn’t have because I knew he’d want to come and be a hero or something. He wanted to call you, and I said no. Then he said he was going to come himself and I still said no! But then Arianna came in and heard him on the phone so she smashed it, and then--”

“So why exactly, did your friend pull a gun on you?” Fin interrupted you.

“I...um, because I wouldn’t do what she said,” you bit your lip.

“Right. And why did she say you both had to move and ‘never see Rafael again’?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I um-- well she, she thought he was going to come after us. Her, really,” you started to twirl your hair furiously.

“And why would he do that?”

“God..” you didn’t want to do this. You didn’t want to have to explain to actual cops what you did. But you also knew lying would bite you in the ass, so you continued.

“...Because I told him what we do,” you looked down at the floor.

“And what do you do, Y/N?” Olivia aske sternly.

“I...we...we sort of...hustle, people,” you muttered, still looking at the floor.

“You hustle people?”

“Yeah I have this superpower--” you started, but suddenly realized you sounded like a nut job.

“A superpower,” Fin half laughed.

“Not like laser eyes superpowers. Like a...skill?” you tried finding a better word for what you did.

“A skill?”

“Yeah I can-- um, read people,” you bit your lip again, not really knowing how to explain this.

“Like a psychic?”

“No! Like...body language. Microexpressions,” You didn’t know why they would know what those were, but you really didn’t have another word for them.

“Oh like on that show!!!” Carisi chimed in excitedly, causing the squad to stare at him. “What? I love Tim Roth,”

“So what, you’re just really good at reading body language? How does that help you hustle people?”

“I mean it’s-- it’s more involved than that,” you replied, a bit offended.

“Yeah Fin, you should see this show man. They’re basically human lie detectors,” Carisi added.

“It’s a TV Show” Fin rolled his eyes.

“But it’s based on real life science! Science I’ve studied my entire life, basically,” you started kicking yourself, should they really know how good you were?

“...Ok well whatever, so you were scamming Rafael and he found out?”

“NO! Well…” you bit your lip. “Kind of,”

“Kind of? My best friend could be dying because of you right now, so you better start talking straight to us,” Oliva got in your face.

“I am! Ok look: I really liked Rafael for a really long time, and then Arianna told me his name and so I kinda ‘went for it’ but I really did like him! And then Arianna told me to start ‘using him’ and getting something out of him we could use, so I started to. But when he told me that his dad used to beat the shit out of him I couldn’t--”

“I’m sorry, what?” Olivia interrupted you.

“...He told you about his dad?”

“I...um, yeah,” You looked down at the floor again; he probably wouldn’t have wanted you spewing his life long secret out in public like that. The squad all looked at each other in disbelief.

“....That must be one hell of a superpower,”

“I-I can’t believe he told you-- he’s never even told ME,” Olivia blinked in disbelief.

“...So you manipulated him into telling you intimate things, and then what? He figured it out?” Rollins persisted.

“Yeah, pretty much. But I sent him away before he told me anything else, and I told him to stay away from us!” you defended yourself.

“And why’s that?” Fin asked.

“Because Arianna doesn’t give up, that’s why. She would have kept on digging, but I told her that he was onto us so she backed off. And then he just had to come back and talk to me, and-- and talking about ‘saving me’ from Arianna, like he could,” You rolled your eyes, why did you ever let him try?

“He wanted to ‘save’ you? From your best friend?” Rollins now raised her eyebrow.

“She was my ONLY friend. My only family. She kept me to herself, and manipulated me our whole lives,”

“Oh ok so this is all Arianna’s fault, and you’re just the victim, is that right?” Olivia scoffed.

“NO!!! Look, I told you-- I kept telling him to back off, I even straight up ghosted him after he gave me his number. But then tonight he--”

“Insisted we have dinner at Forlini’s,” Rollins finished, making your face fall.

You knew it; he was trying to reach you. Maybe if you had just called him back, or texted him ONE TIME, he wouldn’t have brought everybody there tonight. Then Arianna wouldn’t be on to you, and then none of this would’ve happened.

“You HAVE to believe me,” you begged them. “I never intended for Rafael to get mixed into all of this. I tried to stop him, I tried to push him away from me but he just-- wouldn’t,”

“Mr. Barba’s a fighter, like I said,” Carisi shrugged.

“Liv, I believe her,” Fin looked at her.

“It does sound like something Barba would do,” Rollins agreed.

“Yeah I...I guess so,” Olivia was still shaken up from the fact that Rafael had shared his deepest secrets with you, who he barely knew, over her.

“Look Arianna’s going to try and take me down with her, but if you just ask Rafael--” you started, but still Olivia would not let you finish any sentence about her best friend.

“And how are we supposed to do that, Y/N? He’s lying on a surgical table, because for whatever reason he thought he could ‘save you’ from your apparently ‘manipulative’ best friend!” She kept herself from physically shaking you,

“...I know,” Was all you could say.

“Liv we don’t know anything right now, okay? We still could ask Rafael when he--” Rollins started.

“IF he” Olivia interjected.

“Liv, be positive,” Carisi warned.

“We can still check her story. Meanwhile, she’s still ‘in our custody’,” Rollins finished.

“You’d better--” Olivia started but was interrupted by the doctor returning from the OR. He was covered in blood.

“Oh my god…” you whispered, tears stinging your eyes.

“He lost a lot of blood,” The doctor explained. “But he made it through surgery...barely,”

The squad and yourself let out a collective sigh.

“The next 12 hours are crucial,” he went on. “If he makes it through then, he’ll have a fighting chance,”

“Oh my God…” You put your hands over your head, trying to breathe, but Rafael’s blood on them just made you panic more.

“Can she...do you have anything she could change into?” Fin took pity on you and your blood soaked outfit.

“Yes, yes of course. We have showers and some scrubs you can wear dear,” The surgeon nodded to a nurse.

“We’re gonna need those clothes for evidence,” He told you.

“Right..” you nodded softly.

“Right this way dear,” a nurse gestured to you to follow her.

As you followed her, you wondered if the squad would update you if something happened with Rafael. And then you thought-- would you really want them to?

On your way to the showers, you saw a team of surgeons rolling Rafael down the hall on a gurney. You couldn’t help yourself, you had to see him. You ducked out of the nurse’s view and chased the gurney down the hallway.

“Wait! Please!” You yelled, they turned and stopped.

“Ma’am you really can’t be back here,”

“I..I’m with her,” You glanced behind you to see the nurse coming after you.

“I just-- I needed--” You stared at Rafael, just lying there. Lifeless. Helpless. You felt yourself start to cry for the millionth time tonight.

“Friend of yours?” the nurse asked.

“Dude, I think he’s more than her friend,” another one rolled his eyes.

“Can I just--?” You pointed to Rafael.

“Yeah alright, just a SECOND,” He stepped away and looked down the hall, pretending not to see you.

You moved past them and stood right next to Rafael’s head, stroking his hair.

“I love you, Rafael Barba. I am not done loving you yet, do you hear me? You fight. You come back to me,” You ordered the unconscious man, like an idiot.

“Please,” you whispered, before placing a kiss on his head. You nodded a ‘thank you’ to the team, before they continued down the hall.

“Sorry,” you apologized to the nurse for ditching her.

“It’s fine, I’d do the same for my husband,”

“Oh we’re not--”

“Oh, you’re not? So you REALLY can’t be back here, can you?”

“I-I guess not,”

“Alright...you know what, here,” She pulled out a sticker that said “ALL ACCESS”.

“I could get in trouble for this, but just in case I’m not here when you get all cleaned up, use this to get to his room. It’s family only in ICU,”

“R-Really? Seriously?” You took the sticker in shock. “You’d do that for me? Why?”

“You looked so helpless, just standing there,” She turned her head sideways in sympathy.

“Thank you,” You whispered, and she nodded as you two resumed walking down the hall towards the showers.

Hopefully you could use that sticker SOON.

#rafael barba #rafael barba x you #rafael barba x reader #rafael barba imagine #law and order special victims unit #law and order svu #law and order svu fanfiction #helpless #angst

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danurso · 4 years ago

Text

That's pretty D.U.M.B

Part 0 - Part 1 - Part 2

Oobleck: Which one of you is going next!?

Ruby: . . .do. . .do we have to doctor?

Oobleck: what do you mean miss rose?

Ruby: i mean that you already tested and found out that the machine works, couldn't we stop here?

Oobleck: OF COURSE NOT!!! science has in its basis constant testing! one single success can't let any scientist or researcher like me satisfied! Why did you suggest that miss rose!?

Ruby: it's just. . .i don't know, the other Weiss seemed nice but, Jaune was a bit. . .

_WBY/J_P_: Rude?/Mean?/Stuck up?/S-scary?/Abrasive?

Ruby: yeah, all of that, what if we bring another jaune like that? Or one even worse?

Oobleck: Well, considering the infinite possibilities out there, it wouldn't be impossible to bring other Mr.arcs like the previous one, but the same way a bad Mr.arc can show up, a good one can as well.

Yang: yeah. plus, we're talking about vomit boy, how many evil versions of him can be out there?

Ruby: i don't know, and i honestly don't wanna find out.

Yang: come on, he wasn't that bad, he was just like weiss cream would be if she was a boy but still had to deal with her period 24/7 and weiss cream was just like jaune if he was a girl, which, i think wouldn't change much aside from what's between his legs.

Jaune/Weiss: HEY!

Ruby: still, i'm not sure if we should keep going.

Yang: Come on, what if the next Jaune that comes up is a reaper that uses a cool gun just like yours?

Ruby: . . .it sounds cool, but still. . .i don't know about it.

Yang: *sigh* welp, then i think i'll have to go next.

Ruby: w-what? Yang you-

Yang: relax, considering what happened last time this Jaune is probably going to be a cool brawler who loves parties like i do.

Oobleck: while that is indeed a possibility ms. Xiao long, i wouldn't take it for granted until we see who's coming through the D.U.M.B.

Yang: welp, only one way to find out, right? *walks up to the D.U.M.B* you're coming vomit boy?

Jaune: err, can't we just listen to ruby and stop here?

Yang: you too? C'mon, man up vomit boy! Its gonna be fun!

Jaune: you only say that because you weren't the one watching a mirror version of you looking at you like a pathetic little bug, i'm not looking forward to that again.

Yang: come on, how bad can the next you be?

Jaune: i have no idea.

Yang: and that's why we have to find out! *holds jaune's arm and drags him to the D.U.M.B, placing both of their hands on the device*

Jaune: w-wait, yang i-

Suddenly, the device lights up with an yellow aura similar to yang's, before it fades away.

Blake: and it did it again.

Weiss: *sitting behind a table* i am not taking another explosion.

Ruby: *hiding behind weiss* me neither.

Weiss: what are you doing you dolt!?

Yang: *grinning and with her semblance on* ready vomit boy?

Jaune: *with closed eyes and bracing himself* not real-

*BOOM*

Once again the room was filled with smoke, this time though it was a yellow one, which quickly started to dissipate thanks to the open windows.

Jaune: *on the ground* oww, why does this thing has to explode to work?

Yang: *shrugs while still standing, her body covered with aura* no idea, but seeing you fly is funny.

Ruby: *still behind weiss* so? What jaune showed up?

Oobleck: *fanning some smoke away* they're probably still in the smoke ms.Rose. The device seems to have worked again, but we still need to wait to see who-

A blur then jumped out of the smoke, and in the blink of an eye collided with doctor oobleck, it happened so fast that the group barely had time to react, and only realized what happened when they saw oobleck pinned on the ground.

(A)Jaune: *wearing a white T-shirt, blue pajama pants, with several visible scars on his legs and arms, holding oobleck down by the throat and holding a handcannon on his forehead while glaring at him with scarlet eyes and black scleras*

RWBY/J_P_: *shocked*

(A)Jaune: i'll ask this only one time, and you better give me a good answer. What did you just do?

Oobleck: *sweating bullets* w-well, you see, i-i-

(A)Yang: jaune!

(A)Jaune: *looks back at the smoke cloud*

(A)Yang: *coming out of the smoke, wearing her usual sleeping clothes but with a yellow robotic right arm and rubbing her eyes* don't you think it's too early *yawn* to be causing havoc?

(A)Jaune: *looking back at oobleck* look around yang, we're not at the dorm.

(A)Yang: *looking around* huh? How did we- *notices the group, including herself and another jaune* . . .okay, what the hell is going on? Am i still dreaming?

(A)Jaune: you're not dreaming, and i'm trying to figure out exactly what is going on.

(A)Yang: by scaring the hell out of everyone around you?

(A)Jaune: do you know a more effective way of getting answers?

(A)Yang: yeah, did you tried to ask first before going straight into violence like we talked about?

(A)Jaune: hmph, do you realize how much of an hypocrite do you sound like right now?

(A)Yang: punching someone is way different from holding them at gunpoint bad boy. Now, why don't you just let poor professor Oobleck off the hook before he vomits out the rivers of coffee he's always drinking?

(A)Jaune: . . . *sighs, eyes going back to white scleras and marine blue iris* fine. *gets up and stands next to yang* but if your way doesn't work out i'll-

(A)Yang: dismember them, kill them, yeah yeah i know the drill with you, so relax and just leave it to me okay bad boy? *grins and winks at him*

(A)Jaune: *crosses his arms* hmph.

(A)Yang: i'm sorry for him, he gets grumpy when you wake him up out of the blue like that, specially on a sunday.

Pyrrha: *helping oobleck up* to the point of hurting a teacher?

(A)Yang: can we all just be happy that "hurting" was all he did to professor oobleck? If you did that a few months ago jaune would've probably beheaded him.

Oobleck: *gulps*

(A)Yang: speaking of which, what the heck just happened? I was enjoying my warm bed on a cold sunday morning and now we're on a classroom, with people that look way too much like us.

Oobleck: w-well, i am sorry to disturb you and mister arc with this experiment miss xiao long, but we are testing a new device, a device with the power to bring other versions of peoples to our universe.

(A)Jaune: *raises eyebrow* so we are in a different universe?

Oobleck: precisely!

(A)Jaune: that explains why there's another "us" here. How do we go back?

Weiss: wait, so you will just believe in what we're saying?

(A)Jaune: i've dealt with things stranger than this before, jumping into a new universe isn't anything too out of the common really. Plus, i know when people are lying.

(A)Yang: you did that before?

(A)Jaune: no, but it's not really worse than salem's shenanigans.

Ozpin: salem you say?

RWBY/J_P_: WHA-!?!?

Weiss: where do you teachers keep coming from!?!?

Ozpin: *behind the students* that's a very good question miss schnee. *sips coffee, completely ignoring her very good question*

(A)Jaune: Oz? You're here too? Guess this universe is not that different from ours. Do they know about her?

Ozpin: no, at least not yet mister arc.

(A)Jaune: good, ignorance is a blessing.

Blake: what are you two talking about?

Ozpin: nothing that really matters miss belladonna, i'm here just to observe oobleck's experiment. *sits on the farthest table.* please proceed as if i'm not here.

Weiss: why are all teachers in beacon so weird?

Yang: you talk like we're any better.

Weiss: we're not. . . .okay, point taken.

Oobleck: answering your previous question mister arc, this device has a time limit of half an hour or a manual trigger for you two to go back.

(A)Jaune: good, i'm tired and want to go back to bed as soon as i can. How does the manual trigger works?

(A)Yang: hold up you lazy bun. come on, we're in a whole different universe, don't you wanna take a look around? See if we can find something interesting?

(A)Jaune: i've already seen my fair share of weird stuff on our own world, i'm not interested.

(A)Yang: *grins* oh really? *walks up to yang, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer* are you going to tell me you're not interested in a world with two of me?

(A)Jaune: . . . . *blushes a bit and looks away*

(A)Yang: oh? What is that? Did you just think about something naughty bad boy?

(A)Jaune: . . .no.

(A)Yang: *grinning* li-ar~

(A)Jaune: i'm not lying.

(A)Yang: *gets closer, booping his cheek* of course you're lying, how can you not love the idea of having two me's around you?

(A)Jaune: *looks back at her* because you're the only yang i love you dumbass blonde.

(A)Yang: *blushes* . . . .that's a low blow.

(A)Jaune: you started it.

Ruby: is it me or these two really look like they like each other?

Weiss: *deadpans* wow, how did you figure that one out ruby?

Yang: so me and vomit boy from the other dimension are together?

(A)Yang: vomit boy? Why do you call jaune like that.

Jaune: oh god, please don't-

Yang: because the first time i saw him he ended up puking on my shoes.

(A)Yang: PFF! HE WHAT!? YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!?

Yang: *grinning* i'm serious. guess seeing me for the first time was too much for him.

(A)Yang: *starts laughing*

Jaune: *red* i have motion sickness! It's a very common problem!

(A)Jaune: so i not only look like an idiot here, but act like one as well?

(A)Yang: i don't know, i kinda like the idea of a softer and dorkier version of you.

(A)Jaune: i don't.

Pyrrha: but why are you like this?

(A)Jaune: what?

Pyrrha: you are a lot different from our jaune.

Ruby: yeah, yang looks almost the same, but you are a bit different.

Weiss: a lot different actually.

(A)Jaune: judging by how he acts and looks like, he probably had a comfortable normal life, with little to no training.

Jaune: h-how-

(A)Jaune: the moment i attacked oobleck i saw everyone tensing in reaction, it's an combat instinct to get ready whenever something unexpected happens, you were the only one who didn't reacted like that, which means you have barely any combat experience.

Jaune: i. . .can't argue against that.

(A)Jaune: meanwhile, i didn't had it so easy.

Weiss: let me guess, your father was a heartless bastard?

(A)Jaune: *snaps to weiss, eyes get red and surrounded by a black sclera* say that about my father again and i'll cut your throat.

Weiss: *shivers*

(A)Yang: *flickers his forehead* hey! cut it out bad boy. i know it's hard to believe but for once ice queen wasn't trying to be mean, she was just asking a question.

(A)Jaune: R-Right. . . *sighs, eyes going back to normal* sorry.

Yang: what's up with his eyes? It almost looks like a grimm.

(A)Jaune: that's because i am partially grimm.

PR__Y: what?

Oobleck: *taking notes* please elaborate more mr.arc.

(A)Jaune: genetic enhancement. I got through a lot of experiments when i was seven.

RWBY/J_P_: SEVEN!?!?

(A)Jaune: the genetical enhancement is lethal on adults with fully developed bodies, only small children have a chance to survive.

Ruby: just a chance?

(A)Jaune: yeah, fifty children ranging from five to ten were tested on, only three survived, one of them being me.

Pyrrha: oh my god. . .that's so cruel.

(A)Jaune: not really, we all knew what we were getting into.

Blake: how can any five year old consent to something that has a chance of killing them?

(A)Jaune: because they would wind up dead without this power. We all agreed to go through this because we all had the same objective, take revenge on the organisation that killed our families.

RWBY/J_P_: . . . .

(A)Jaune: when i was a kid, a man tried to recruit my father to be part of his organization, when my father refused he blew up our home, killing my sisters and my mother, only me and my dad survived, but he lost an arm and was really hurt, he carried me as far as he could but the man found us and killed him. . .i only survived because of my mentor Qrow branwen and his sister.

Ruby: uncle Qrow? He was your mentor?

Yang: *shocked* wait. . .did you say his sister was there too?

(A)Jaune: yeah, they both saved me and took me to the Reaper organization, they offered me a choice to try and have a normal life or join the reapers, qrow wanted me to have a normal life but i didn't listened to him, i was so full of anger that i signed up and proceeded with the Reapers.

Oobleck: reaper program. . .sounds like something i heard before, but the project i knew was stored for being not very ethical.

Jaune: makes sense, the program consisted in making genetic enhancements on kids and making them go through the toughest training possible.

Blake: what kind of training?

(A)Jaune: several kinds, ranging from survival training to durability training, they would expose us to harsh places and teach us to survive, as well as expose us to high levels of pain, heat, cold, electricity, poison and others just so our bodies could get used to it.

Blake: that's. . .inhuman, how could they do this to children?

(A)Jaune: we did this to ourselves, we asked for the training. . .we just didn't knew how insane it would drive us.

Yang: i mean, i'm not a specialist but you don't really look that insane.

(A)Yang: that's because you met him now, he wasn't like this a year ago.

(A)Jaune: because of the grimm essence and the painful training, me and the other two kids didn't turned out very well, i was probably the most mentally balanced out of the three.

(A)Yang: and he still tried to kill me at least three times.

Weiss: and you're dating him!?

(A)Yang: *shrugs* he's wasn't that bad after you got to know him well, specially compared to his friends. One of them was a sociopath that tested the most painful ways to kill on his enemies. the other was a wild animal that killed anyone who got near him.

(A)Jaune: unless this person was qrow, oz, ironwood, raven or steph.

(A)Yang: yeah. Jaune was the least fucked up of them, yet he tried to kill me twice and two other teachers as well on his first week on beacon.

(A)Jaune: *deadpans* why do you keep bringing that up? I apologized didn't i?

(A)Yang: only after we started to get together, and every time remember you pointing that gun to me i get annoyed, *grinning* specially because your handcannon is not the kind of gun i like to see you pointing at my face.

(A)Jaune: can't you leave the dirty jokes for later? Or just stop with them altogether?

(A)Yang: you know i can't.

Ruby: so, jaune got through a lot and became a killer. . .please tell me you aren't evil too yang.

(A)Yang: well, last time i checked they didn't had my size on the killer's clothing store, so i guess i'm with the good guys for now.

Yang: what about my arm? What happened to it?

(A)Yang: i lost in a grimm attack.

(A)Jaune: *looking down* it was my fault.

(A)Yang: no it wasn't, and even if it was you still made up for it, so don't go getting gloomy because of it, okay? Basically a group of grimms came after me, i was so distracted with the fighting that i didn't noticed one had a bomb attached to it.

(A)Jaune: i tried to shield her from the explosion but in the end it still took one of her arms away.

(A)Yang: which was still a pretty cheap price to pay for the result, even though i still think you're an idiot for doing that.

Yang: what did he do?

(A)Yang: in our world, there's a woman who can control grimm, and she was the one who sent the grimms after me by request of the same guy who killed jaune's family.

Ruby: but why did he wanted you dead?

(A)Yang: because i'm jaune's angel.

Weiss: you what?

(A)Yang: angel, i'll explain that later. Well, this idiot right here *points to (A)Jaune* had the great idea to go after her even with the injury of the explosion leaving him vulnerable.

(A)Jaune: i already told you why i did that, i was angry and couldn't think straight.

(A)Yang: *glaring at him* and i already told you i don't give a damn to your reasoning, you're still an idiot. Anyways, he obviously failed and had to run away, but while he was running away he found my missing mother and saved her.

Yang: Raven?

(A)Jaune: Summer Rose.

Ruby/Yang: *shocked*

Ruby: m-mom is alive in your universe!?

(A)Yang: yeah, she disappeared during a mission when we were really young. . .we thought she was dead, but she was being kept alive in suspension so they could understand more about her. . .special powers.

(A)Jaune: i woke her up and managed to escape with her. Nowadays she is working as a teacher in beacon while trying to rebuild her marriage with qrow.

Ruby/Yang: SHE'S TRYING TO REBUILD WHAT WITH WHO!?!?

(A)Yang: i know right? It was one hell of a surprise, we had no idea they were married, but after uncle qrow saw mom again and kissed her in front of everyone, it was kind of hard to keep it a secret.

Ruby: wait, does that means i'm-

(A)Yang: uncle qrow's secret daughter? Yup, you are.

Ruby: oh my god. . .it's so much to think about that my head is starting to hurt.

(A)Yang: i don't blame you, it took awhile to digest everything weird that was happening in my life. One day i'm just good ol' me, going to beacon like i always wanted to do, and suddenly i lose an arm, my dead mom is alive and back, i find out she was actually married to my uncle, my sister is technically my cousin and i am the new angel of the guy who tried to murder me a few times when we first met.

Weiss: you mean girlfriend?

(A)Yang: *shrugs* works too, it's the same thing.

(A)Jaune: *frowns* no it's not, an angel is one of a kind, you can find other girlfriends but an angel is unique, you're the only one i ever confided with my fears and weaknesses, you're the only one who ever saw me cry and the only one who i ever showed my love to, you might be my girlfriend but before that you're my angel, because only an angel like you to bring peace to a demon like me.

RWBY/J_P_: . . . .

(A)Jaune: . . . *red* can you stop staring at me like that?

(A)Yang: *smiling* i can't, i love when you get on your poetic mood, it's too cute.

(A)Jaune: ugh, i should've just stayed shut.

(A)Yang: yeah, you should've known better than giving me ammo to tease you at this point.

(A)Jaune: i hate you.

(A)Yang: nope, you don't. But putting the cheesy and cute poetry to the side, an angel is like a break to the reapers, they usually don't trust anyone and are terrible people, but when they find someone special that they can trust they change a lot. I told you about jaune's friends earlier, the one who liked to torture people as a hobby now likes to plant flowers and care for them on his free time with his angel, meanwhile the psycho animal got just like me, a fun guy who loves to crack jokes and tease other people, though he isn't as cool as i am.

(A)Jaune: but is still a lot more perverted than you. . .if that's even possible.

(A)Yang: i know right? I don't know how that girl survived dating him for so long, if all the reapers have the same level of stamina i wonder how she isn't on a wheelchair.

(A)Jaune: now you're just being dramatic.

(A)Yang: remember when we first did it? And i couldn't stand without my legs shaking like leaves for almost a whole day? Imagine a girl going through that almost every day.

(A)Jaune: . . . . . .yeah, you got a point.

(A)Yang: i know. though, if she keeps having sex with him so much it's because she likes it, sometimes i imagine how it feels to do it all the time.

(A)Jaune: *deadpans* knowing you, i'm sure you do.

(A)Yang: *grins* are you saying that you don't think about that too? We're almost on our vacation you know? We could go out for a few days and find out~

(A)Jaune: *blushes* y-you-

(A)Yang: pff *chuckles* you're too easy to mess with sometimes.

(A)Jaune: *sighs* Can we leave already?

Oobleck: *looking to his clock* well, since you've been here for twenty seven minutes and forty three seconds i don't think there is much time left anyways.

(A)Yang: well, it was good while it lasted.

(A)Jaune: yang, we didn't do anything but tell them how our world is.

(A)Yang: *ignoring him* It was nice to meet you awkward jaune, i mean, vomit boy. *winks*

Jaune: *chuckles awkwardly*

(A)Yang: oh, and other me.

Yang: yeah.

(A)Yang: you better not let him slip, i had to work a lot to make this jaune here soft, you already got a softy ready for you, they might not be the same but if he's also jaune then i'm pretty sure you're not gonna regret.

Yang: i'll think about it.

J_P_: you WHAT!?

Yang: what? If i'm the one saying it then it must be true. Not to mention that Jaune does look cute so its a double win for me.

Jaune: *blushes* i-i'm cute?

(A)Yang: good. *starts glowing along with jaune* i don't know much about your jaune, mine was a knucklehead most of the time but when he wanted to be, he was very kind and supportive, he helped me to deal with a lot of old issues, and i'm pretty sure your vomit boy isn't different on that aspect.

Yang: right. . .i'll keep that in mind.

Ruby: err, other yang?

(A)Yang: yeah?

Ruby: can you do me a favor?

(A)Yang: i don't think i have much time left to help you other rubes.

Ruby: no, it's nothing really big, just. . .when you go back, can you please tell mom that i love her?

(A)Yang: . . . *gives her a small smile* sure, i promise i'll tell her when i get back.

Ruby: *with a shaky smile* right. . .thank you.

(A)Yang: and hey, please don't cry, my ruby or not i still don't like to see you sad.

Ruby: right. *sniff* i'll try.

(A)Yang: good. *glow gets stronger* Bye everyone, it was nice meeting you.

Yang: same.

*(A)Yang waves one last time before vanishing completely from the room*

Blake: . . .once again, that was something.

Yang: ruby? *puts a hand on her shoulder* you okay.

Ruby: y-yeah, i'm fine, i just. . . *sighs* i wished i could go there myself, even if i could just go for a minute to see her. . .

Yang: yeah, i know how you feel.

Oobleck: well. . .it seems that you just got through a very sensitive moment mr.rose, would you like to take a break?

Ruby: no, it's okay, i. . .i think i'm fine.

Yang: you know you don't need to push yourself, right ruby?

Ruby: i know, and don't worry, if it becomes too much i'll stop, but for now. . .mr.oobleck?

Oobleck: yes miss Rose?

Ruby: can i go next?

#rwby #jaune arc #yang xiao long #weiss schnee #ruby rose #pyrrha nikos #jaune x yang #yang x jaune #rwby dragonslayer #dragonslayer #jaune x harem #colorguard #That's pretty D.U.M.B

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carbscartoons · 3 years ago

Text

Aoi drabbles

Aoi sat alone in her room, sobbing softly to herself. She had just witnessed the brutal murder of Leon, and he himself had brutally murdered a fellow friend. Tensions were high, and trust was deteriorating fast. Aoi hated it. Everyone was sensing a growing barrier between each other, and Aoi had never felt more alone in her entire life.

Aoi constantly had thoughts running through her head, and without companionship she had no outlet. Her brain felt like it was going to explode. Back home she always made sure she was with someone, because she feared the thoughts that would come if she was by herself. Now she was alone, and her self deprecating thoughts were amplified ten fold by the fact that she was literally in the middle of a murder game. She hated herself most of all for doubting the loyalty of everyone else. She wanted to believe in them, but already two of them had proven themselves capable of betrayal. She hated herself for being no help whatsoever during the trial. She knew she was stupid. She felt utterly useless and powerless. She loved having control over her life, and here she had none.

She tried to form friendships with the others, but all of their interactions felt so hollow. How can you act normally under such crazy circumstances? She was always very painfully aware of the cameras watching her every single move. She wondered if there was anyone out there, watching her. Seeing her in all of her idiot glory.

Aoi did not form permanent friendships. She kept everyone at arms length because she feared what they’d think of her if they got too close. She knew she had a habit of rambling, and being overly excited and loud. She didn’t want to put people through her company longer than they needed to be. Here though, she was locked in. The walls were literally closed in around her and there was no way out. She felt suffocated. She was being pulled between two desires: to hide away from everyone and to seek companionship to somewhat settle the voices in her head. She felt helpless because she knew either way she would hate herself.

Aoi committed herself to trying to befriend everyone, that way she could space out her time spent with individuals.

“Celeste hey!! Do you want to maybe walk around for a bit? I actually saw some cards in the recreational area and I know you like gambling so I thought-“

Celeste put up a hand to silence her. Aoi clamped her mouth shut.

“Not at the moment I am afraid. I am much too preoccupied in my own pursuits. Besides, I’m not so sure you would be a suitable playing partner.”

“Oh.. okay..” Aoi stood in the hallway as Celeste walked away. Of course she didn’t want to hang out with her, Celeste was much to smart to be affiliating with an idiot like herself.

She felt dejected but pushed it down. She was going to find someone else.

As she wandered into the kitchen she spotted Makoto and Chihiro sitting at a table together. They had seemed nice, so maybe they’d be more receptive to company. She walked over.

“Hey guys! Would u mind if sat with you for a bit?”

Makoto beamed up at her. “Not at all Hina! Chihiro was just telling me about a game that she had begun programming before she ended up here.”

Chihiro blushed and looked off to the side, “i-it’s not actually that big of a deal... just something I was doing on the side. It’s kind of stupid.”

Aoi slammed herself down into the seat next to Chihiro, “HEY!! No bad talking yourself like that. Dude you’re literally the ultimate programmer! If the ultimate programmer made a video game, I KNOW I’d play the heck out of it!”

Chihiro blushed harder and stared intently at the table in front of her, but a small smile twitched at the ends of her lips. “Oh... that’s very nice of you to say Hina. Thank you.”

Aoi slapped the girl hard on the back, causing her to slam forward into the table. “No prob— oh! I’m so sorry Chihiro are you okay?!”

Chihiro looked a little pale but nodded her head quickly. Ugh stupid!! She should’ve been more careful with someone as fragile as Chihiro. “Gosh I’m really so sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you so hard.”

Chihiro forced out a small laugh. “It’s fine please, do not worry.” Chihiro smiled kindly at her, “I admire how strong you are actually.”

“Oh!” Aoi was taken aback by the sudden compliment, and she actually felt pretty good about herself. “Well thank you! I guess I got some pretty big muscles huh? That’ll happen when you are doing almost nothing but swimming all day. Plus a few hours at the gym and my daily 20 mile runs. I just like the feeling of exercising you know? The slight ache in your muscles, the adrenaline coursing through your body. I always push to my limit, and then I go even further than that! When it hurts you know you’re getting stronger!!! My coach always told me that I worked too hard. He would say “Aoi. You’ve been swimming nonstop for almost 3 hours. If you keep going you’re going to have a stroke.” I laughed at him because that was a really good pun! And when I told him so he said it wasn’t intentional, but I think it was. My coach is just a pretty naturally...”

Aoi suddenly stopped and looked at the two people in front of her. Chihiro was staring at the table again, although the slight smile from earlier was gone. She actually looked like she might be on the verge of tears. Meanwhile Makoto was watching her with a smile, but Aoi could tell it was somewhat strained.

She was upsetting them. She was boring them. She’d interrupted the probably really interesting conversation that they’d been having to just go off on some tangent about herself. Why couldn’t she just be normal?

There was a slight awkward silence before Makoto chipped in. “Huh. That’s really interesting Hina! It sounds like you work really hard.”

It wasn’t interesting. “Yeah, I guess I do haha. But uh, Chihiro! I’d love to hear more about this game that you were talking about! What’s it about? Is it fantasy? Science fiction?”

Chihiro lifted her head and she suddenly looked very tired. “Ah.. it would probably be considered science fiction yeah. But like I said it’s not that big of a deal. Also it’s been a really long day and I think I might be ready for bed. It was great talking to you two though! I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Chihiro got up quickly and without looking back walked through the doors. Makoto tried to make conversation about how good the food was here, but all Hina could think about was how tiring she must be to everyone around her.

——————-

This is just a short drabble to kind of get a grasp of my take on Aoi’s personality. I think from this the main takeaway is that most of the things she does is motivated by her low self esteem. She vacillates between throwing herself into social situations and distancing herself from people before she get’s too close for fear of letting them down. Her intense exercise regimen is also an attempt to push out her constant barrage of negative thoughts.

Anyway I want to write a Sakuraoi fic and I’m getting a feel for the characters so yeah :)

#drabbles #sakuraoi #Hina

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songofclarity · 4 years ago

Note

i hc that nhs went to cloud recesses early bc nhs used to be ahead of the curve in certain areas of academic development (ex. his interests in astronomy and poetry—not anything martial, but cloud recesses is a scholarly place after all), but when he got to cloud recesses he didn’t have his standard structure and without that structure (in true adhd fashion) he kind of fell apart, and then it was easier to own it as “laziness” and make that a personality trait than admit that he really had Tried and Failed (can you tell i’m projecting lmao)

Oho, that's a good headcanon, Anon!

The fan is the sign of the esteemed gentleman, but now you’ve got me also thinking... the most beautiful fidget toy

I like how you specify astronomy and poetry, once again the subjects of a refined gentleman, because by all means he could still be ahead of the curve in those areas! It’s just they’re never talked about because that’s not what he’s at Cloud Recesses to learn. Although I feel like I’m going to completely deviate from your headcanon in a moment, projection is just one way we show our love for characters so keep it up, Anon, you’re doing great!

My understanding is that Cloud Recesses is what was supposed to give him structure. The structure back in the Unclean Realm was likely, “I do whatever I want when Da-ge isn’t looking, and then I do whatever I can to slip away” judging by how he behaves when we finally get to see him in his natural habitat lol

So Cloud Recesses is, practically by it’s definition, structure. And the dilemma I see with measuring Nie HuaiSang’s academic success/intelligence here is that, by what I recall, Cloud Recesses doesn’t teach science or art to these 3-month-long guest students. It’s a cultivation sect and it provides instruction to young cultivators about clan history, clan politics, historical cultivators, etc.:

Lan QiRen’s lessons were not only tediously long, but everything was also tested on. The generational changes of important clans in the cultivation world, the division of their areas of power, famous quotes by famous cultivators, family trees…

Although he didn’t understand a single bit as he listened in class, Nie HuaiSang worked as hard as a slave when the date of the test approached. He copied Virtue two times for Wei WuXian, and begged before the test, “Please, Wei-xiong, if my grade is lower than yi, my brother would really break my legs! Stuff like telling apart direct lineage, collateral lineage, main clan, clan branches… For us disciples from big clans, we can’t even distinguish our relationships with our own relatives, randomly calling everyone who are more than two tiers away from us aunts and uncles. Does anyone have enough capacity in their brain to remember those of other clans?!” (Ch. 14, ERS)

So it’s necessarily that Nie HuaiSang is unintelligent or a bad student but rather the subjects being taught are really... well, boring for someone who prefers science and art! He’s not even lazy about his learning. He still listens in class. It’s just that it all goes in one ear and out the other.

In that way, I’m not sure I see any signs that "he kind of fell apart" when he arrived at Cloud Recesses. From the sound of it, he had the same struggle at home and that didn’t change: he can't memorize the lists of names of these aunts or those famous cultivators, and he can't remember the birthdays of all these cousins or when all these random famous people were born, either.

(The people in his p*rn books begin and end with the shapes drawn on the page! Please don’t make him think too hard about genealogy and politics!)

He’s getting the education he needs, the kind of education he absolutely wasn’t getting at home, and he flounders because it’s a type of learning and thinking he hasn’t been forced to do, and that alone is a struggle to overcome.

Now I’m gonna bring Bloom’s Taxonomy into this because I can, but the school at Cloud Recesses focuses on remembering, understanding, and applying. It explains why Lan WangJi is so unwilling to bend against the rules. They say remember this rule, understand that it is important to live by this rule, and apply this rule to every day life.

Meanwhile analyzing, evaluating, and creating involve taking that information and making it one’s own.

[Disclaimer that Bloom’s Taxonomy is based on Western thought and may or may not have a proper place in a collectivist society like the Fantasy China which MDZS is based on. This is NOT to classify higher order skills as being more intelligent or better than lower order skills. It’s just to describe how much mental manipulation is done to the subject matter. Geniuses on Jeopardy are masters at Remembering! The brain shows physiological changes and develops new neuron pathways regardless of learning method. Nonetheless, for our independent thinkers like Wei WuXian and Nie HuaiSang, this kind of scale seems applicable.]

Consider when Wei WuXian ponders the benefits of demonic cultivation at school. He takes the application of current techniques and the knowledge of the known world and creates something by blending the two. It doesn’t go over well in the classroom:

Another book came flying from Lan QiRen. He spoke harshly, “Then, let me ask you again! How do you make sure that the resentful energy only listens to you and does not harm others?”

Wei WuXian ducked while speaking, “I haven’t thought of it yet!”

Lan QiRen raged, "If you thought of it, the cultivation world would not allow your existence! Get out!" (Ch. 14, ERS)

This is a case in point for no analyzing, evaluating, or creating allowed. It’s sit down, listen, memorize, and obey.

(Note that Demonic cultivation is dangerous to everyone, as we later witness, so Lan QiRen is not wrong to be furious and having no tolerance for this line of thinking. Wei WuXian is literally talking about desecrating people’s graves and bodies and using them as weapons. This is so far out of line with Gusu Lan teaching, but it still deprives Wei WuXian of hypothesizing other ideas with the material he’s being given.)

And, it should be noted, Nie HuaiSang is the only person who not only understands where Wei WuXian is coming from but builds upon it. The same Nie HuaiSang who has to beg Wei WuXian to help him cheat when it comes to clan heritages and family quotes is the one who realizes ANOTHER use for Wei WuXian’s idea all on his own.

Wei WuXian suggests using demonic cultivation to fight evil with evil, resentful energy vs resentful energy.

Nie HuaiSang suggests using demonic cultivation as a possible power source -- for people who don’t have a core:

After thinking for a few moments, an expression of envy and yearning appeared on Nie HuaiSang’s face, “To be honest, Wei-xiong’s words were quite interesting. Spiritual energy can only be obtained through cultivation and taking great pains to form a golden core. It would take I-don’t-know-how-many years to do, especially for someone like me, whose talent seems as if it was gnawed by a dog when I was in my mother’s womb. But, resentful energy are from the fierce ghosts. If they can easily be taken and used, it would be beyond wonderful.” (Ch. 14, ERS)

Nie HuaiSang has analyzed, evaluated, and then created a new place in the world for demonic cultivation. And the notable element is that he thinks in regards to himself.

And despite how this appears, this is not egotism. It falls quite soundly under Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development for Nie HuaiSang’s age group: Identity vs. Role Confusion. Poor, self-deprecating Nie HuaiSang is trying to find his place in the world where his brother won’t yell at him for his grades lol He’ll take whatever help he can get!

(But it’s not Nie HuaiSang who has to put this theory into practice)

I think what I’m trying to get at is that Nie HuaiSang is perfectly intelligent, perfectly active in his learning, but his talent lies outside of cultivation -- and saber practice:

[Nie HuaiSang,] “I can’t learn it means I can’t learn it and I don’t like it means I don’t like it! What’s the use of forcing me?!" (Ch. 49)

And yet we always see him try, until he has to try something else:

Nie HuaiSang also wanted to join in, but he had been reminded of his older brother as he met Lan XiChen. Cringing silently, he didn’t dare to have fun, “I’ll pass and go back so that I can review…” With this act, he hoped that Lan XiChen would put in some good words for him to his brother. (Ch. 16)

“WITH THIS ACT” -- Nie HuaiSang is so sneaky but he’s so obvious about it, I love him. This is the mind that’s going to bring down the Big Bad in the end. Keep up the good work, Nie HuaiSang!

#asked from above #anon #i was trying to say something about nhs and education #but idk how effectively that worked lol #i'm like reaching for a point but i might have juuust missed it #so if this doesn't make entire sense it's me not you lol #nonetheless!!#adhd headcanon is very good and i love it!#but i also think nhs's learning difficult can be explained in another way #at least in regards to cloud recesses #nie huaisang #mdzs thoughts

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bakugou-tm · 5 years ago

Note

Karma with an artist s/o? Does he pester them to see their drawings? Does he list off all the different ways to kill someone with a pencil? Does he tease them for drawing him? Basically any head canons or scenario you have because I’m a desperate person.

OOoOooooOOOOooo this is a cute idea, but forewarning this is my first time writing for a character other than Bakugou so if it isn’t super on point d o n t @ me pls :’)

Rating: S for karma being a little S h e t

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who knew being in a class filled with children training to be assassins and an unkillable octopus like teacher could be so morning.

If you had told anyone else that this was the environment you walked into everyday they would probably put you in an insane asylum, but sure enough it was your boring reality.

Sure things were exciting at first, everyone hoping they would be the one to end that stupid yellow octopus’ life; but as months went on it was clear you needed to learn from the master to kill him.

Most of the time you were honestly paying attention, subjects like math and science you tended to struggle in, but with your sensei blabbering on about some time in history, you decided to partake in your other skill to kill the time.

You started doodling in class about the second month in during school. Whether it's to calm you down, lighten your mood, or just to prevent you from smacking your head against the table and snoozing away; you grew a liking to doodling. This liking getting to the point where you bought your own journal just for doodling.

The drawings started out with simple things like nature, your classroom, your family... but soon you decided you wanted to draw everyone in your class.

Each person had their own unique features, especially Korosensei himself, but the person you loved to draw most of all was your infamous boyfriend: Karma Akabane.

Though you did draw him more often because he was your boyfriend of course, you also loved drawing his perfect features in many unique ways. It always reminded you how lucky you had been to call him your soulmate, making sure to drill each unique feature he had until you could picture his face with your eyes closed.

His simple vermillion locks, his calm yet mischievous smile, that jawline so soft yet sharp you swore he carved it at night, to your favorite feature of all: his golden eyes. In a way you almost saw them as bronze, the way they shimmered with delight whenever he had his way to even when they darkened when it was the opposite.

All he ever had to do was glance at you with those ravishing golden eyes and you felt like you would melt before him every time.

Most people in the class didn’t quite understand why Karma chose you. He was stereotyped as a heroic lunatic, meanwhile you always preferred to stay calm and rational.

Honestly most of the time you didn’t even know why he had chosen you, the only thing you did know is you would try your best to never lose him. Sure in person he didn’t seem like a fan favorite, but when you two were alone he treated you as if you were an angel from heaven.

The feeling of his love you hoped would never be replaced.

During the last five minutes of the class you had dozed off in your own thoughts, lightly shading your boyfriend’s light locks in your notebook. When five minutes passed and the bell rung for lunch, you hadn’t even noticed the loud sound or your classmates obnoxiously getting up to grab their lunch.

All you could focus on was your beloved boyfriend, continuing to admire everything about him. It was almost as if you could hear his voice beside you..

“If you get any closer to that notebook you’ll be making out with it (F/n).”

This comment made you realize that it wasn’t indeed your mind filling Karma’s voice in your head, but actually himself speaking right beside your desk.

Letting out a small gasp of surprise you decided to slam your book closed, disregarding the sharp pencil that was still inside before you felt a sharp stab to your finger.

Karma didn’t look over your mini panic attack or the way you flinched in pain from obviously stabbing yourself. Though he did want to ask about both things, he knew if he asked about the book he would never know. So to play along with it, he focused on your new wound.

“You seem a bit startled their doll, everything alright?”

It wasn’t long before your felt a rush of warmth flood to your cheeks, you only hoped it wasn’t as visible as it felt. Standing up quickly you shoved your notebook in your bag and covered your now bleeding hand with your other palm, “Yup! Everything’s just dandy! I just got a paper cut is all.”

The red haired boy raised an unimpressed eyebrow at you before letting out a chuckle. You hadn’t even noticed how quickly he snatched your right arm from your own grasp, holding your hand firmly so you couldn’t move away before inspecting your oozing finger.

“I’m sure lead poisoning is just dandy too right?’ Karma said with one of his many teasing grins.

Karma simply admired you in this state. Your soft lips pinched together and puffed out just in the slightest to match your rosy cheeks, giving you the perfect pout as you avoided his gaze. Small expressions like this he made sure to save to his memory every time, you didn’t even try to but you were so damn adorable.

“Relax pouty pants, let’s just get you to the nurse before this lead poisoning makes you even more klutzier.” Karma said smoothly, grabbing your bag from you grasp before leading you to the door, grinning as you shouted profanities and arguments the whole way out.

-----

Honestly, Karma didn’t think his plan was going to go so smoothly. From him grabbing your bag from you to you being in the nurses office (or at least Korosensei’s office) for a solid twenty minutes.

All of this gave him plenty of time to see just what those pretty fingers have been creating every class. It was obvious by the way you focused so intensely on your notebook every class that you were doodling something.

Karma never cared too much because he knew you had good grades, and if it kept you from falling asleep then kudos to you for finding a way not to pass out during that snooze fest.

But ever since you’ve been so secretive and protective of this damned book, he knew he had to figure out what you were hiding.

He never assumed he would be offended by what you drew, infact by the way your rosy cheeks grew even darker in shades each time he neared you while the book was open, he figured he would find some fantasy crap in here.

Though as he looked through every page of your notebook, he came to realize there was nothing embarrassing at all. Just pages and pages of his classmates, more specifically of him.

He was astonished at how well your artistic abilities truly were. With just a pencil and paper you were able to capture every feature of him so perfectly. Though he would never admit, it made his heart swell when he thought of the idea of you daydreaming about him.

Love was such a mystery to him during the few years of his life, never would he of imagined he could discover every detail of it just spending a few months with you. You always kept surprising him, day after day just giving him another reason to love you even more.

Though even with these strong feelings he held for you, he knew he would never reveal them until the time was right. So in the meantime, he would make it his life’s mission to see that pouty look on your face over and over again.

Just in time, the door slid open your form walking out still facing the door frame as you waved a goodbye and offered a warm smile to your sensei before closing the door behind you.

Whipping your head to the side another shriek ripped from your mouth to see Karma leaning against the door frame, smirk on his face as he raised his brows to you.

“My goodness Karma, how many times are you going to scare me like this?” You said with a nervous giggle as he wiggled his eyebrows down to you.

“Sorry I just can’t help it, being the best assassin in the class and all.”

At this you rolled your eyes, poking his cheek with your now wrapped finger before grabbing your bag from his hold. Karma watched as you began to walk down the hallway, expecting him to follow you.

“But now I know who the best artist is.”

Your footsteps suddenly froze. A wave of fear flowing through your body as you prayed those very words didn’t just escape his lips.

Spinning around you felt as if your entire body was on fire when you saw your boyfriend waving around your sketchbook, devious glint written all over his features.

“K..Karma how did you-”

The vermillion haired boy placed a finger against your lips staring down to your frame as he flipped through the pages, “Well after you had your seizure when I came to your desk today, I decided to distract my attention to your bleeding finger instead of your book. Obviously my plan worked as you handed your bag right to me with ease.”

Inhaling sharply you felt as if you could float away with the draft of the hallway. All of your doodles, all of your kind words written next to them. He saw all of it, and oh what does he think of you now? An obsessed crazed person? A psycho stalker?

“I..I..” You stuttered, not even finding words as you felt warm tears fill at the rim of your eyes, the only thing keeping them in were your long lashes and the sheer will to not cry in front of Karma of all people, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to draw you without your permission! I..I was just bored.. and I love looking at you and d..drawing you it just.. it just makes me calmer and-”

The more words that flooded out of your mouth the more you felt yourself fall apart, you thought you were done with for good until you felt his smooth fingers grip your chin and his lips smash against your own.

This kiss wasn’t like his usual intimate ones, though it still had his crazed passion he always carried. It seemed more like one to shut you up, and to send you the message he couldn’t always say aloud.

Once he pulled away he analyzed every feature of you. Your shimmering (e/c) eyes still glossed over with a layer of tears making them shine more than usual, your silky (h/c) locks sliding off your shoulder as your head was tilted up to reach his own, your smooth lips parted slightly as small breaths of air came in and out of them after such a sharp kiss.

He wished he could kiss you for hours, days, years. You were to damn perfect for him, but he would be damned if he let anyone else treat you less than the royalty you were.

You felt your breath hitch when you noticed his expression darken in the slightest. His thumb tightened on your chin as he remained close to your lips, eyes narrowed as they stared right through you.

“Listen now angel face, I don’t want you having any damn fear when it comes to me learning more about you. I don’t care if you had the strangest thing in the world in there, I will always love you for you and I will forever want to know everything about you do you understand?”

You let a small sliver of your lower lip slip in between your teeth, your eyes falling to the floor before you let out a small sigh, “Y..Yes, I’m sorry...”

Karma felt his face soften in the slightest as his arms snaked around your own, holding you tight against him as your arms found their place on his chest, “You having the fear to hide those drawings from me pisses me off..”

Looking up to him quickly you noticed the rising anger in his expression, but as your hand cupped his cheek you saw it disappear as fast as it came.

“I didn’t want you to be upset Karma, I just was scared you would be weirded out if you found out I was drawing you randomly.” You admitted, feeling a wave of relief as his eyes met yours once more.

“You kidding? Those drawings were amazing! I’m always down for an ego boost.”

A small grin broke across Karma’s face when he heard your angelic giggle fill his ears, running his fingers through your strands of hair he held your head to face his one last time with a serious expression.

“Promise me you’ll be honest next time, alright?”

Smiling softly you placed your lips on his with the sweetest kiss he’s ever had before pulling away, “I promise Karma-kun.”

Placing a quick kiss on your forehead, the red haired boy slid his fingers down your arm until they were locked in your palm, leading you to the rest of your classmates to eat lunch.

“You know babe since you’re so good with drawing with that pencil, I can show you how to be good with murdering with it.” Karma spoke in a husked voice, your head whipping up to his to see that trademark grin of his that made sure to show all his canines that only made him look more mischievous as he held your pencil up right in his hand.

Bursting out into giggles you snatched the pencil from his hold, enjoying how his eyebrows furrowed before leading him to the lunch room,

“Maybe later my little demon, but first let’s eat, I think all this lead poisoning has me starving to death.”

#karma akabane #karma #karma x reader #karma akabane x reader #assasination classroom #w o w this was fun to write #I hope I nailed his character right I feel like I didn't #feedback feedback FEEDBACK #and enjoy :')

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thebibliomancer · 4 years ago

Text

Essential Avengers: Avengers #230: THE LAST FAREWELL!

April, 1983

“Yellowjacket no more!”

Aw, dang! Hank got raptured!

Captain America, Thor, and Hawkeye is a weird collection of characters to be staring forlornly at the empty Yellowjacket uniform.

Thor hasn’t really expressed much about the Yellowjacket situation in comparison. You think they could squeeze Wasp into the shot. Just her ex-husband is all. She’s just the team leader is all.

Put Wasp on the cover, you cowards.

So last times on Avengers: Hank Pym got himself kicked out of the Avengers and out of his marriage and pretty much deserved it. He was tricked into committing treason by his arch-nemesis Egghead and sent to jail. He sat in jail for, like, a really long time. The wheels really spun on the arc.

He was kicked out of the Avengers/walked before he could be kicked out in #213. He was arrested at the end of issue #217. His trial was in issue #228.

He was kidnapped from his trial by the Masters of Evil. Then in #229, he turned the tables on them all in quite a satisfying manner and slugged Egghead in the egg head.

Then Hawkeye manslaughtered him. He’s dead.

Hawkeye arrowed the science gun to stop Egghead from shooting Hank in the back and then the science gun backfired and microwaved that egg.

This makes Hank’s victory a little bittersweet for him.

Hank Pym: “I defeated the Masters of Evil single-handed... but more than anything, I wanted to bring Egghead to justice. He was a thorn in my side for so many years. I was never able to defeat him for long, not when I was Ant-Man... and not even after I became Giant-Man! He bedeviled me in every identity I assumed. He did me the greatest wrong when I was Yellowjacket. I’d already ruined my Avengers career, when he tricked me into committing a federal crime!”

Hawkeye too is set to thinking by what happened. Maybe humming a bit of Bohemian Rhapsody to himself too.

Hawkeye: “This is unreal! I’ve never killed a man before! I never planned on anything like this happening! Yeah, but I can’t feel sorry for Egghead! If anyone deserved this, he did! My brother Barney bought the farm, stopping Egghead from killing the Avengers. And if I hadn’t acted when I did, Hank Pym would be dead! If I had to do it again... I would!”

Hawkeye: ‘Eh, fuck ‘em!’

hah.

But Hank laments that with Egghead dead, so goes his chance of proving his innocence by turning him over to the law.

Hank Pym: “Egghead was always getting away from me, Hawkeye. It’s almost as if he’s pulled the ultimate escape!”

Fun fact: There doesn’t seem to be an Ultimate Egghead! Why would there need to be? Even more than in the 616, Ultimate Hank Pym is by far his own worst enemy.

Hawkeye basically tells Hank to buck up and that there’s basically incriminating evidence lying all over the place.

He doesn’t say it but even Egghead’s dead deceased corpse is kind of like evidence. Evidence that he wasn’t dead until recently.

Captain Marvel shows up because someone finally came looking for Hawkeye.

Hank is surprised, much like others have been that this is Captain Marvel. He knew the old guy, the super saiyan. And I guess he didn’t hear there was a new one.

Hawkeye: “We’ve had a few changes since you went in the slammer, Hank. C.M. is an Avenger in training.”

Huh. Captain Marvel doesn’t even react to the dead body. Then again, there’s a lot of bodies lying all around the place.

And while Hawkeye is introducing the new Captain Marvel to Hank, one of those bodies stirs.

Moonstone has regained consciousness and assesses the situation. She could blast Hank, Captain Marvel, and Hawkeye with her coherent light pew pew but that’d just weaken her.

Like in the previous issue, Moonstone is one of the few supervillains who knows when to fold ‘em.

So she decides to skeedaddle while the getting is good but whoops.

Getting wasn’t good.

The rest of the Avengers have shown up and cornered her while she was pondering.

So Moonstone decides ‘eh fuck it’ and promises to spill all the beans if it gets her a lighter sentence.

So days later, the mostly off-screen trial of Hank Pym finally ends.

A loooot of new evidence suddenly popping up led the prosecution to withdraw all charges.

The lead prosecution witness, Trish Starr, suddenly reversing her testimony after putting on Tony Stark’s magical mental-scan helmet kind of tanked the case, really.

Wait, they really did just admit the use of the helmet in the trial when its new, unsubstantiated technology whose inventor disappeared?

Damn, I knew the Marvel legal system was wild (considering comic books as legal documents as explored in Dan Slott’s run on the character) but still!

Although it makes sense. Egghead got Trish to incriminate Hank by using the bionic arm to alter her memories. The helmet Tony invented undoes that kind of alteration. This connects the dots quite reasonably. Glad Stern was paying attention when preparing to finish this arc.

Moonstone and Beetle confirming that Egghead was using Hank as a tool also helps.

In fact, not only did the prosecution drop all their charges, the judge also dismissed all the charges. Which feels redundant? I dunno much about law, really. Just the She-Hulk version of law. Which, again, uses comic books as legal documents.

Apparently happening at around the same time, Hawkeye also had his day in court.

Literally a day.

It wasn’t a trial, just a hearing to investigate whether he was guilty of wrong-doing in the death of Egghead.

Newsman with a newsplan: “Though he was threatened with contempt-of-court charges a number of times -- Hawkeye was found innocent of any wrong-doing in the death of Dr. Elihas Starr -- the self-styled Egghead.”

Yeah, I bet Hawkeye was threatened with contempt-of-court a bunch. And I bet you anything that at least one of the times he rejoined with “No, you’re out of order! This whole damn courtroom is out of order!”

And then the judge probably just sighed.

I mean, look at that unbelievable Hawkeye in the bottom left panel.

Anyway, I think Stern must have felt a little pent up having to start his Avengers run finishing off someone else’s story, especially having to devote a recap issue to it since the plot had been interspersed with fill-ins.

Because in the middle of concluding this arc, he throws in two plot beats that I have to assume are to set up stuff of his own.

A day after the trial, the Beetle is being escorted to a cell in a Western Pennsylvanian federal maximum security prison when he bumps into another prisoner.

What neither the Beetle or the guard notices is that the bump to “Sam Smithers” has peeled off some skin on his arm and revealed THAT HE IS ACTUALLY MADE OF WOOD!

Suspect possibly a living puppet.

And elsewhere but samewhen, IN SPACE, specifically on Saturn’s moon Titan, Thanos’ brother Eros is basically complaining about being bored.

When Captain Mar-vell died of having a lot of cancer, he asked Eros to look after Mar-vell’s... uh... -google- robot girlfriend?? Elysius.

Eventual mom to Genis and Phyla-Vells.

Soooooo, Eros has done as Mar-vell’s deathbed wish was and spent an agonizing several consecutive months hanging out in Titan’s beautiful inside forests and just having a real hard time caring about one thing for such a long period of time.

I’m not even being unfair to him.

Eros: “This is the first time in ages that I’ve spent so many consecutive months on Titan! I have ever been a wanderer! I’ve sought out adventure across the wide cosmos. Frankly, I have known romance on more worlds than most sentient beings could imagine. That’s part of the problem. Our friendship has been wonderful, but I’m having a hard time adjusting to it. My previous relationships have all been of a fleeting nature.”

‘Look its not you, its me’ except for attempting to dump someone as a friend, instead of romantically.

Not dump, even. He just kind of wants to ditch her and is asking in a roundabout way if she’s emotionally stable enough to ditch.

She goes, yeah sure, go off and have fun. And maybe she’s getting tired of his company too.

Elysius: “Look... you’ve been a great comfort to me these last few months, but now I need to be alone for a while with my thoughts.”

Geez, how clingy has he been this whole time while desperately wanting to be anywhere else?

Anyway, since she’s fine with him fucking off, he does fuck off. Right to the Hall of Science.

Where Eros’ dad is like ‘oh ffs’ when Eros tells him that he needs to use the LIVING COMPUTER Isaac to look up planets with the highest adventure potential.

Mentor of Titan is a man deeply disappointed in both of his sons for very different reasons.

Anyway, would you really be surprised if I told you that Earth was in the Top 3 planets in known space for adventure?

You wouldn’t, right?

Meanwhile, back at the plot, Hank Pym is on a boat with Trish Starr.

She wants to apologize for that time she incriminated him but Hank isn’t going to blame her for being as much a pawn in Egghead’s scheme as he was.

Trish: “Yes, uncle was like that all of his life. I think he really enjoyed using people.”

And she remembers the first time they met in Marvel Feature #5, where Egghead tried to drain her mind to power his machines. Because. Batteries hadn’t been invented? Because he’s just not happy unless he’s screwing over someone else?

Second one sounds likeliest.

She also remembers the time he car bombed her car but siphoned out most of the gas first.

Trish: “He didn’t want to kill me... only maim me. Nice guy, my uncle.”

Yeah. Its stories like that why its only Trish and Hank also Fred Sloan on a boat at Egghead’s funeral. Yeah, by the way, this is basically Egghead’s funeral.

Fred is only here for Trish.

Hank reacts to Fred so I wondered if he’s important in some way or if Hank recognized him but I checked the wiki and his main importance seems to be... this issue? So I don’t know why Hank reacts to the guy.

So Fred is just here for Trish. Trish is here out of duty, since she was Egghead’s only known family. And Hank is also only here out of duty but more archnemesis ‘can’t believe that asshole is dead and I don’t even get to feel good about it’ duty. I assume.

Hank even gets the honor (?) of laying Egghead to rest. By dumping his ashes into New York harbor.

Mostly because it doesn’t seem like Trish wants to?

So Hank quotes some Mark Twain and dumps the ashes.

Hank Pym: “‘Death... the only immortal who treats us all alike, whose pity and whose peace and whose refuge are for all -- the soiled and the pure, the rich and the poor, the loved and the unloved.’ Farewell, Egghead.”

Trish: “It’s awful to say this -- but I can’t find it in myself to be sorry. I think I’m glad he’s dead.”

And that’s Egghead’s legacy. Mourned by no one. And his death is only not cheered because the only people that cared feel shitty about feeling glad he’s dead.

ANYWAY, there’s some other loose ends to tie up.

So Hank takes a taxi to the Avengers Mansion and I guess finally explicitly explains why the mansion has seemed to change positions over time?

Hank Pym: “I never thought I’d be coming here again. The place has certainly changed since the day Jan and I met here with Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk to draft the Avengers charter and by-laws. And I still recall the time Iron Man and Thor moved the mansion back from the street to give us more privacy. What a project that was!”

Sounds like a heck of a noodle incident, Hank.

... Why just Thor and Iron Man? Did they... did they literally just shove the mansion back from the street? ... There’s... basements and caves under there. How does that work? That seems like a massive architectural project.

Hank, pls, I need to know more details. You can’t just drop that information and casually stroll away. HANK!

Captain Marvel meets Hank at the door and escorts him inside, captain marveling at how calm Hank is despite everything he’s been through.

Hank shows up to the Avengers meeting and-

Oh god, She-Hulk looks like she wants to punch the suppressed emotions right out of Jan. She-Hulk, pls.

So, Wasp is super formal, calling Hank Dr. Pym and telling him that they want to use the mento-scan helmet to see if he was under outside influence when he did all the very bad things he did.

All of the Avengers are harboring their own concerns.

She-Hulk: “I’ve read legal briefs that were more informal! She’s cool on the surface, but inside -- ! Jannie, why are you doing this to yourself?!”

Are you guys already at the cute nickname stage of your friendship or is that just the way She-Hulk be?

Cap is worried that this is rough on Jan but that she’s doing what she needs to do as the Avengers chairwoman. But he’s more worried about the absence of Iron Man who is still missing and who ignored three calls to assemble.

Thor is just internally like ‘just do the helmet, my dude.’

Hawkeye is literally biting his lip at the tension.

Hawkeye: “Jan divorced Hank after his last breakdown. If we find out that he wasn’t to blame, what’s it gonna do to the both of ‘em? I hate this! That stupid court hearing was a breeze in comparison.”

Huh, Hawkeye has a point. Even if outside influence is proven, its not as straightforward as Jan and Hank instantly getting back together, no harm no foul. There was harm. And the problems with their relationship were deeper than one incident. But it would also create this possible expectation that they should get back together because the specific incident wasn’t Hank’s fault.

And Captain Marvel is still looking at this from an outsiders’ perspective.

Captain Marvel: “They’re really hurting over this... all of them! They all care so very, very much. If I ever become a fully active Avenger, I pray that I can live up to their example.”

So Hank very calmly agrees to use the helmet. But...

Hank Pym: “Sorry... no outside influences. It would have changed a lot of things if there had been, wouldn’t it? But no, I made my own mistakes... and I have to live with them.”

Thiiiiis was the best decision for the story arc. It may seem, in retrospect, the worst decision in the long run, but I can respect the story for standing by what it has done and standing by the growth Hank has had as a result of everything that happened.

I think a lot of more modern marvel comics have gone a little wild with letting the heroes do all kinds of dubious things and also die because it can be easily undone. It was a Skrull, they were being mind-controlled, it was an AU Nazi version of them created by a cosmic cube child. Or by giving the hero some big redemptive moment like Iron Man wiping his mind to make up for doing Civil War. Or Iron Man dying to make up for Civil War 2. You can explore whatever scenarios you want without worrying about dealing with the consequences long-term.

But in this era of Marvel, they were concerned with the long-term. Not to say that there weren’t cop-outs back in this day too. But since books were expected to keep going indefinitely instead of being cancelled and relaunched, there’s less of a sense of ‘this thing is only here to play with for a little while.’ If you wrote a thing, another writer was expected to follow up on it.

And I miss that a little.

So not giving a cop-out bullshit thing that undoes Hank’s actions was bad in the long run for his image as a character. But that’s a long way from now problem, exacerbated by writers like Chuck Austin and Mark Millar who wanted to wallow in it.

For an arc where Hank fell from grace and proved himself again, taking ownership of what a garbage fire his life can be was necessary.

One among many reasons I probably won’t like the Crossing when I get to it, haha.

With Hank’s actions proven as being Hank’s actions, Hank says there’s one more loose end that he wants to help tie off.

He wants to participate as witness when the Avengers hold a court of inquiry for Hawkeye killing Egghead.

This comes as an absolute surprise to Hawkeye, who I guess never read the bylaws. Which honestly, is very in-character for him.

But it being brought up, he insists that all he has to do is enter the findings of the state judge and be done with it.

Hank insists he participate though.

Hank Pym: “Hawkeye is faced with charges because he acted in my defense. It’s only right that I act in his.”

So, the Avengers go to the first floor library, which is apparently the court of inquiry room. I feel like we’re suddenly getting a lot of details about the layout of the Avengers Mansion in recent issues.

So Wasp convenes the court all formal style, so formal style that Hawkeye thinks that stickler Cap(tain America) couldn’t have done a better job. The purpose of the court of inquiry is to determine the validity of the charge of “unreasonable use of deadly force” and determine what if any proper disciplinary action should be taken.

I think Hawkeye is annoyed at having to go through with this (read the bylaws, my dude) because when Wasp asks if he has anything to add to his claim of innocence of the charge, he says he already gave the court copies of the court transcript that cleared him of the same charge, but also decides to speechify a little, because he wasn’t accused of contempt of court enough today.

Hawkeye: “I have already given the chair copies of the transcript of a hearing of the state courts... a hearing which found me not guilty of the same charge. And I have something else to say as well!”

“I don’t deny that my actions caused the death of Egghead. But in no way did I use undue force! I found Hank Pym in mortal danger, and I used the necessary means to save him... period. After all, we are supposed to be the Avengers, right?”

Luckily for Hawkeye, the Avengers are more willing to put up with him than a state court so Jan just goes ‘ok, noted.’

Captain Marvel also has a minor change of heart on Hawkeye. I don’t think we’ve gotten her in-depth feelings on him before (although he did get pissy about her joining the team, we didn’t see her response to that) but she’s impressed because she thought he had more wind than conviction but is seeing that isn’t so. And she’s also impressed by Serious Mode Jan who she thought was kind of flighty.

Captain Monica Marvel seeing all kinds of new sides of the Avengers lately.

Also, this isn’t important and you won’t be able to see what I mean unless I included more caps than I wanted to, but in the panel establishing the court of inquiry, Monica is just standing off to the side. But in the next panel she appears in, she’s moved over to sit on a couch instead.

I think its a framing thing but its still kind of funny to imagine her going ‘wait why am I standing up’ and heading for the comfy couch.

With Hawkeye’s statement given, Wasp invites Hank Pym to speak his piece.

And Hank gets up and gives an entirely unnecessary but probably appreciated defense of Hawkeye.

Hank Pym: “Ladies and gentlemen... I have not always been on the friendliest of terms with Hawkeye. Point of fact, we nearly came to blows a number of times... back in the days when I was an Avenger. But in all the time I’ve known him, Hawkeye has never used undue force.”

“I realize that this inquiry is little more than a formality. I have no doubt that you will find in his behalf. He did, as he said, act only in my defense. Unlike my own recent case before you, there is not the slightest hint of misconduct or negligence. The only thing Hawkeye is guilty of is being a good Avenger.”

“When I last spoke before this body, at my court-martial, I was not in a rational state of mind. I was unfit to be an Avenger. You wisely expelled me. I never expected to speak before you again. And now, I can think of no finer final statement than this... It has been my sincere honor to have known Hawkeye’s fellowship... as it has to have known yours.”

Okay. So. Half a defense of Hawkeye. And half... just a general good-bye and a demonstration that he actually does know how to deliver a defense at a court-martial. Cool.

I imagine if he had a mic, he would have dropped it.

Probably not, actually. Hank isn’t that exact blend of cool and inconsiderate for a mic drop.

Jarvis intercepts Hank on his way out and asks that he come with him to the second floor study. Jarvis has taken the liberty of gathering up the personal items Hank just kind of left in the mansion and packing them for him.

One suitcase has a bunch of Hank’s clothes that he had stashed in the mansion over the years. Including some wacky ties for wacky tie Fridays and a shirt that Hank had just plumb lost.

The other suitcase is a spare Yellowjacket outfit. In case Hank ever needs it.

Then Hank and Jarvis shake hands, Hank thanking Jarvis for everything that he’s done for him and the Avengers. He asks Jarvis to take care of himself because he knows he doesn’t have to ask him to take care of the Avengers.

This is a very touching scene. Its so touching that Jarvis excuses himself to go get misty eyed.

This is a Jarvis appreciation blog because I appreciate Jarvis as well.

Then, as Hank heads back down the staircase, he is intercepted by Thor, Captain America, and Hawkeye.

Yeah, the court of inquiry resolved off-screen because of how forgone a conclusion it was.

The three Avengers basically fall all over themselves to pat Hank on the back. Hank actually looks somewhat panicked by the positive affirmation.

That’s some mixture of funny and sad that I can’t identify.

Hawkeye tells Hank how much he appreciated his unnecessary defense. Thor clasps Hank’s shoulder and tells him he’s a class act, but in Thor-y words. And Cap extends an offer for whatever the Avengers can do to help Hank get back on his feet.

Hank thanks him for the offer but he’s already received an offer from a small research foundation in the Midwest.

Seems like getting exonerated of a treason charge is the best resume of all. That and Hank’s actual impressive resume.

But Cap has some stuff to work out re: Hank because he starts off on the stuff he put on the back burner back in that Ghost Rider issue.

Cap(tain America): “Hank... I know Iron Man would agree, if he were here, that we’re all sorry about the way things worked out. We should have realized the pressures you’d been under, prior to your breakdown. I was group leader at the time! I should have -- !”

Hank Pym: “Hold it right there, Cap! What I did, I did to myself! If I could have admitted that my problems existed... If I’d been willing to open up to you folks... Well, ‘if’ can be a big word sometimes. The fact of the matter is, I screwed up. And you did the only thing you could do! I don’t blame any of you.”

Hank has boarded the personal responsibility train and goddammit he’s riding it to the end of the line!

Good for him. Good clarity for the arc to have in its last issue.

But having started to slightly shout at the Avengers that he’s taking responsibility dammit! (he looks a bit pissed when he’s responding to Cap) Hank awkwardly excuses himself.

Cap tries to stop Hank from leaving because he has reached the bargaining stage of grief, I guess.

Cap: “Hank, wait! It doesn’t have to end like this! We could make a special amendment to the by-laws! We could reinstate you as an Avenger! You could be a special reservist -- !”

Hank: “Thanks, Cap. But no thanks. Trying to play super hero was the biggest mistake I ever made with my life! I was only fooling myself in ever thinking otherwise. But if you ever really think you might need a Yellowjacket again some day...”

He hands Cap the Yellowjacket suitcase.

Hank: “... Here! All you need is a good man and what’s in this case!”

I would hope, anyway. It’s going to be awkward if he opens it up later and its full of wacky ties.

The funny thing, although not really funny ha ha, is that Yellowjacket is the one codename of Hank’s that never really catches on outside of him.

You have multiple Ant-Men, a couple Goliaths, at least one other Giant-Man. There was a second Yellowjacket, eventually. But she didn’t make a big splash.

Despite Hank’s attempt here to pass the torch, Yellowjacket is a codename that remains inextricably tied to him. Which might be the problem. If there were another, more successful or at least more endearing Yellowjacket, Hank’s infamy in the role would not stand out so much.

Alas.

She-Hulk and Captain Marvel try next to intercept Hank. They don’t know him very well but they wanted to say their goodbyes too, despite not really knowing him that well.

Its the thought that definitely counts, probably.

But Hawkeye has some social awareness for a change and draws their attention to Wasp who is hanging back, but who clearly wants to talk to Hank.

So the rest of the Avengers quickly vacate to let Hank and Jan finally have closure. Or re-closure. “I want a divorce and to never see you again” is a kind of closure.

The situation has changed, however.

They both try to apologize to each other and then laugh at the awkwardness.

Hank: “Janet van Dyne, you are one in a million! After all that I put you through, you want to tell me that you’re sorry?”

Wasp: “I think we both made some mistakes along the way, but there were some good times... weren’t there?”

Hank: “Yes. But you can’t base a marriage on just a few good times. I fell for the young lady who reminded me of my first wife... and you thought you’d found the strong, silent hero. But I was never that strong, Jan. You know that now.”

Wasp: “Uh-huh.”

Damn, his prison time really did bring Hank a lot of clarity. That or the pile of therapists Tony kept throwing at him.

Hank also kind of talks over Jan here. Or at least steers the conversation. I don’t know what Jan would have said because Hank tells her that they both have other lives to lead and tells her to take care of herself.

Maybe its for the best, if, like Cap, she was going to try to shoulder all the blame for Hank’s bad decisions.

Hank walks out the door and finds Trish and Fred from the boat waiting to give him a ride to the airport. And then he is gone.

Like in the final image of the COURT-MARTIAL issue, Jan watches at the window.

“The last time Henry Pym left these walls, Janet felt like crying... but couldn’t find any tears. Today, at last, she has found the tears... for her former husband... for her team... for herself. Today, there is pain and remorse and release. There will be time enough for joy and hope tomorrow.”

Emotional catharsis can be like that.

In that the book kept going ‘Jan is really holding her emotions in and that’s probably not overall great for her’ its good that she can let it out now.

Kind of laughing at Captain Marvel and She-Hulk who only recently just met Jan being the ones going there there while the men she has known for years are just awkwardly standing in the background.

And that’s the fall and rise of Hank Pym. Apparently collected in trade as The Trial of Yellowjacket, which is a decent enough name too.

Overall, a good arc. That is kind of hampered by the need for filler and a writer change near the end. But honestly, Stern catches the ball and runs with it. He concludes the arc just as good as Shooter would’ve.

This arc is all kinds of iconic for Hank, although, unfortunately, most people are only aware of the beginning and maybe have a hazy understanding of what the ending does.

Although. This is a really good send-off for Hank. A really, really good send-off that would have worked best if he did like he said and quit superheroing forever.

That’s not to be, obviously, not in a perpetual narrative machine like Marvel. But it feels like it could have been and maybe should have been the last word on his character.

I enjoy Hank in Busiek’s Avengers and in Avengers Academy. And also, conceptually, Hank telling Reed “it’s on, bitch.” I very don’t enjoy Ultimate Hank Pym. So its a balancing act. The perfect exit for the character vs but I like some stuff when they brought him back.

Anyway.

After this, Stern gets to move on to his own material. Which he already planted the seeds for in this issue.

That’s a pun.

Follow @essential-avengers because of my bad puns. Also like and reblog, if you like to reblog.

#Avengers #Egghead #Masters of Evil #Hank Pym #Hawkeye #the Wasp #Captain America #Thor #She Hulk #Captain Marvel #Monica Rambeau #i did a lot of quoting because the comic has some good quotables here #essential avengers #essential marvel liveblogging

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brightdrawings · 4 years ago

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A Well Deserved Drink

Stan ruminates over his feelings towards the newly hired farm hand at his family farm

also on ao3!

This fic was written out of a challenge by my friend @lemonfodrizzleart based on her work tumblr and twitter! Featuring her absolutely ADORABLE OC Jackie. Now with further delay, I hope you all enjoy!

Stanley wanted to smack himself. Growing up as a respectable southern gentleman, his father had taught him to never stare at a person, no matter how much they attracted his attention. It was rude and a Pines man was many things but rude was not one of them. That's why he had made the effort to avert his eyes when he'd notice the way Fiddleford's hand would linger on top of Stanford's whenever his twin would pass the farmhand a tool, or in this instance a water bottle after a hard day’s work. He knew spreading rumors and walking about someone when they weren't around was not what a good gentleman does, but something deep down in Stan told him that those lingered holds were not accidental.

There was something deeper behind it, and in this moment, as Stanley found his eyes wandering over to the figure of the newest hire, Jackie.

She had joined the farm recently, but she had meshed with the other farm workers very easily. At least Stan thought so. She was funny, she was caring and was smart enough to challenge even Stanford. So much so that Stanley would often find the pair arguing well into the night over a science topic or something or other. It was nice that she was also very attractive, lovely curly hair that reached halfway her down her back, beautiful brown eyes that reminded Stan of his mother's prized amber necklace, and a body that was a tad thin at first, but with her determined spirit she was easily growing a sturdier build. Stan kept some of those thoughts to himself however, he didn't want to make it seem that her appearance had an influence on his decision to accept her on the farm.

Today the four of them were working with the horses, cleaning up the stable and relining the floor with fresh straw. Everyone was putting in their best effort, Jackie had even woken up early with Stan to milk the cows. Stan wasn't sure if it was a good idea to saddle the newbie with a task that involved an early rise as milking, but despite his protests Jackie insisted on getting up at dawn to work.

"If I want to become a proper farm girl I need to put in the effort. And I've never backed down from a challenge." She said with that glowing smile that Stan often thought about whenever he was working the fields.

After getting a good haul of milk, the pair had made it back to the farm house in time to find Stanford and Fiddleford rubbing the sleep from their eyes under their glasses as they cooked breakfast.

Soon they had filled their bellies with sunny side eggs, bacon sides and tall glasses of milk and made their way to working on the farm. Stanford and Fiddleford guided the horses out of the stable and into a nearby field, letting them enjoy some sunshine and fresh air. Meanwhile Stan and Jackie got out their broom and started sweeping up the floors.

After a few hours of work, going from one horse enclosure to another Stan and Jackie had cleaned up the stable until it was practically glistening. As well as a straw covered dirt floor could glisten. Jackie wiped the sweat from her brow, a satisfied smile on her face as she put away her broom. Stan watched as she walked to the ice box by the stable door. She bent over and took out a pair of water bottles and Stanley covered his eyes before they could go where they shouldn't.

"Stan, you comin'?" Jackie asked.

"Sure thing!" Stan said, looking up just in time to see her leave the stable. He quickly put away his broom and followed her, just in time to meet with his brother and Fiddleford.

"Are you ready?" Stanford asked.

"Sure are!" Jackie grinned. "Those horses are going to trot back in and think they've come home to a mansion."

"Someone seems confident in her work," Fiddleford teased.

"She earned that confidence," Stanley said, poking Fiddleford's chest. "She was up before dawn while you two were still sawin' logs."

"Because we were up all night doin' research Stanley." Stanford flicked his brother's ear. "Fiddleford and me weren't up all night dancin'"

If Stan hadn't known any better he'd have guessed that Stanford sounded almost longing when he mentioned dancing.

Before he could think about that Jackie nudged him, "I'm just glad that my efforts are being appreciated." She grinned.

And once again Stan's mind began to jump and his eyes began to wander. She had worn cut off jean shorts, a tank top and a loose fitting plaid shirt. Her dark curls that usually fell down her shoulders were tied back, showing off her plump cheeks that bore deep pimples that made her smiles all the wider. Her tank top had a low cut, showing off her-

"Are you thirsty Stan?" Jackie offered him a bottle of water.

"I ah-thank you kindly." Stanley said, suddenly realising how red his cheeks had become.

"Gonna need more than that," Fiddleford said with a shit-eating-grin. "Stan's real thirsty."

Stan's cheeks burned a deeper crimson as his fists balled up. They saw, and they thought they were so clever.

"Get back here you smart aleck!" Stan screamed as the two fords ran their laughter filling the fields, leaving a confused Jackie in their tracks.

#Gravity falls #Stanley Pines #Jackie #GF OC #OCxStan Pines #stan pines x oc #Stanford Pines #Fiddleford Mcgucket #Fic #writers on tumblr #Mystery Farm au

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cinaja · 4 years ago

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Before the Wall part 32

Masterlist:

A/N: This chapter is a bit longer than usual. I considered splitting it, but it felt more coherent as one part, so I left it like this. And after the last chapters, I did my best to make this a bit happier (at least in parts)

----

In the next months, life once again proves its uncaring ability to go on no matter what. In the scope of a war that spans an entire Continent, a few thousand dead soldiers are as inconsequential as the pain they cause the ones who survive. But to the lives of the people who were affected by these deaths, they are anything but.

Ironically enough, the next months go well for the Alliance. Jurian spends most of the time rebuilding his army from scratch. The number of new recruits is staggering, and within one months, they are back to their old number. With the newly-trained soldiers, they even win a few victories against to Loyalists. It helps that Jurian has a new spy, whose identity he refuses to disclose, but who brings invaluable information. Meanwhile, Drakon finds a way to work with his advisors that doesn`t look quite so much like he`s being manipulated. And Miryam… well, she manages to avoid any larger catastrophes with the council. Or with herself.

But while things may get better for the Alliance, nothing really improves for their little friendship group. For the first weeks, Miryam tries to ignore the changes in Jurian, but after a while, there is no denying it anymore. He grows harder. Colder. It`s like some spark in him went out. His smiles grow rare, laughs even rarer. When he isn`t busy training his new recruits, he pours over maps in his tent. Whenever Amarantha or Clythia are mentioned, cold rage flickers in his eyes.

Miryam worries about him. And she worries about herself. Lately, her power doesn`t just push and pull at her, there are moments when she actually loses control. Four times now, she had to rush out of the camp, away from anyone who might see, because she could not hold it in anymore.

It seems like today will be the fifth time. Standing in the war tent, Miryam does her best to focus on what Jurian is telling them. His spy sent some intelligence about Amarantha`s supply routes, and he`s hoping to intercept them. Miryam should be listening, but her focus keeps slipping. She tries every trick she knows – breathes in deeply, digs her nails into her leg, counts backwards from thousand. Nothing helps. It`s like she`s caught in quicksand and the harder she struggles, the further it pulls her down.

“Maybe we could lay a trap here”, one of Jurian`s new commanders says and taps the map. Jurian nods in approval and the discussion continues.

Miryam takes a shuddering breath. The ground seems to shift under her feet. She needs to get out of here. So far, she managed to keep her problems secret, but if she loses control in the middle of a strategy meeting, the council will know within the hour.

She jumps to her feet so abruptly that every eye around the table turns to her. “I have a meeting to attend”, she says as calmly as she can manage, “You`ll excuse me.”

By the time Miryam stalks out of the tent, Jurian has already returned his attention to the maps. Miryam walks through the camp as quickly as she can without running. The human soldiers stop and stare at her as she walks by, a few incline their heads. Their old soldiers were her friends - they were the people she sat with by the fire, the people who told her jokes and shared food with her. She likes the new recruits, but they are distant with her. They treat her with reverence, not friendship.

She`s almost out of the camp now. The ground seems to slip under her feet and she nearly stumbles. The guards wave her through and Miryam stumbles through the light birch forest they made their camp in, away from where her soldiers might see.

Somehow, she manages to get a safe distance away from the camp before her legs give out from under her. She falls to her knees on the ground and finally loosens her grip on her power. But letting go doesn`t truly offer relief. Without anywhere to go, her power rushes through the air, shoots into the ground and then back into Miryam. It shoots through her, burning like fire. She has to press a fist against her mouth to muffle her scream. Why does it hurt so much?

She doesn`t know how long she kneels on the ground, gasping for air, trying not to scream. An eternity passes, or maybe it is just a second. But eventually, her power calms down. Miryam lets herself sink to the ground and wipes the sweat from her forehead.

“Shit”, she mutters towards the sky.

“Can I do anything to help?”

Miryam screams and bolts upright. “Cauldron, Drakon!”

“Sorry.” He winces and carefully steps closer. “I wanted to help, but…” He trails off. “Do you need anything.”

Miryam shakes her head. Her head is pounding, her entire body hurts, but there`s little to be done. “It will go away eventually.”

“So that wasn`t the first time?”

Miryam runs her fingers over the ground. Cracks have formed in the earth, leading away from her like little bolts of lightning. The biggest is five centimetres wide. She supposes that she`ll have a hard time denying that anything bad happened now.

“The fifth”, she replies quietly.

Drakon curses. “Miryam. Why didn`t you say anything?”

The deep worry in his tone surprises Miryam. And scares her, to be honest. It isn`t unusual for her to be in pain after having to use her powers in battle, and Drakon never sounded this worried about it.

"Do you know anything about this?", Miryam asks, countering his question with one of her own.

Drakon shrugs. "A little. I had tutors on magic when I was a child and they liked to warn about what might happen if I didn`t pay attention and failed to learn how to properly control my powers. But air magic is one if the easier ones to master, and I'm not that powerful, so I never truly had problems."

Miryam tries to tell herself that whatever warnings Drakon`s teachers gave him were just an attempt to get a child to take his lessons seriously. But somehow, she can`t quite manage to convince herself.

"But I have a friend who studies magic", Drakon continues, "He might be able to help."

Miryam is already shaking her head before he finished the sentence. "No. Most certainly not. Do you have any idea what it will do to my standing in the council if this becomes public?"

"This is serious, Miryam", Drakon says. When she just crosses her arms, he sighs. “I swear that my friend will keep your secret.”

Miryam rubs her hand over her arm. She is so damned tired.

"How well do you know your friend?”, she asks and privately thinks that if they`ve been friends for over two years, she`ll take the risk.

"Oh, I'd hope I know him very well, since we were together for three years."

“Kiko?”, Miryam asks. As far as he knows, he was Drakon`s first and only romantic partner so far. “I thought he studied social sciences as well.”

“No, his subject were magical studies. He specializes in Elemental Powers, but he`d also have learned something about Higher Powers.”

Miryam smiles, mentally readjusting the image she had of Drakon`s former partner. It isn`t that she knew much about him in the first place, but she knows Drakon writes him letters at least once a month, and still talks of him fondly.

“How did you meet, then?”, she asks, “Since you wouldn`t have had the same classes.”

“My class had the task to organize social projects in a nearby city. He blew up his lab and was assigned volunteer work as punishment, so he ended up working on the project I lead. And don`t think I didn`t notice you changing the subject.” Drakon runs his fingers over the ground, where a long crack has formed. “Please”, he says, “At least give it a try.”

Miryam makes a face at him. “Fine.”

At least if it`s Kiko they`re meeting, she knows that Drakon knows him well. Chances of her secret getting out are slim. The risk is within reason.

Drakon perks up. “Really?”

“I`m probably going to regret this”, Miryam mutters, “but yes. Besides, I always wanted to see university.”

And maybe she is more scared of what`s happening to her than she thought, if she is willing to take the risk.

----

Mor is happy. It is ridiculous, she knows. Around her, the world is burning, yet she has never felt more like herself than in the last year. Especially right now.

Together with Adromache, she sits huddled around a campfire in Andromache`s camp, both of them wrapped tightly into a blanket. It is winter, and Andromache`s army has been stationed further north these past few weeks, so it`s freezing cold. Mor doesn`t much mind the temperatures. The Illyrian mountains get just as cold, and the temperatures give her an excuse to sit closer to Andromache.

Mor runs a hand through Andromache`s hair. Even after all these moths, she still can`t quite believe it.

“I have to go to Telique tomorrow”, Andromache tells her and absentmindedly turns the stick she`s using to roast a loaf of bread over the fire in her hands. “I`ll probably be gone for most of the day.”

Mor frowns. “I haven`t heard of any Alliance meeting.”

“No, it`s just the human queens. A…”, she frowns, “A strategy discussion, you could say.”

“Oh, another one of your secret humans-only meetings?”

Andromache jerks away from her, eyes widening in surprise. “What… how…”, she sputters.

“Az told me”, Mor says, “He had to find out for my uncle, but I think most of the Alliance knows.”

Andromache groans and rubs her temple. “So much for our attempts at secrecy. In that case: Yes, we`re holding one of our humans-only meetings, as you call them.”

Mor pulls her stick out of the fire and carefully takes a bite of the bread. It is so hot it burns her tongue and she curses softly.

“I suppose I shouldn`t ask you what you`re going to discuss.”

Andromache smiles wryly. “Might be for the best.”

Mor nods. She`s curious, of course. But Andromache is a queen with a duty to both her country and her people. Asking her after information that the human leadership has deemed secret would mean to ask her to choose Mor over that duty. And since Mor loves her, she`d never ask her to make that choice.

“I also have a meeting. With my uncle”, she says instead.

“Ugh.” Andromache reaches for the wine bottle standing next to her and passes it to Mor.

She laughs. “At least he likes me better than Rhys. Although that’s probably because I’m not a danger to his throne. Unlike Rhys, being his heir and all.”

Andromache shakes her head. “You Fae and your obsession with bloodlines and such things. I personally find it much smarter to have the ruler adopt the person they deem most suited to taking the throne, no blood relations required.”

Mor nods. She finds the human rule of having rulers pick their own successor, possibly also from adopted family, fascinating. Not that it could ever work in Prythian, where the power chooses the next ruler, but it still seems like an intelligent system. But well, most things the humans doo seem more intelligent than how Fae act.

She takes a swig from the bottle, then puts an arm around Andromache. “Either way, it looks like we’ll both need a drink tomorrow evening.”

Andromache laughs and leans against her. Right now, sitting by the fire together, Mor would like to freeze time and live in this moment forever. She smiles into Andromache’s hair and pulls her a little closer, thinking just how lucky she is to have this.

Mor leaves the camp early in the next morning to go meet her uncle. This time, at least, he didn`t demand she come visit him in the Hewn City. With the war escalating further each day, even the High Lord of the Night Court can`t constantly remain in his seat of power. He spent the past few days in one of the Illyrian camps where the soldiers gave him trouble, and that is where she is asked to meet him.

The camp is hundreds of miles further south, and Mor opens her fur-laced cloak almost as soon as she lands. The Illyrian soldiers watch her wearily, but they don`t try to approach her. It is a well-known fact that both the High Lord and his son like Mor, and that makes her untouchable to them.

Mor finds her uncle in the commander`s tent, eating a breakfast better suited to a palace than a war camp.

“Ah, Morrigan”, he greets her and gestures to an empty chair with his fork. “Sit. Have you eaten?”

“No, My Lord.” He wordlessly dumps some fried eggs on her platter and Mor smiles. “Thank you.”

“So, tell me”, he says and takes a bite of his eggs. “what news does the Continent have?”

“Nothing much”, Mor says, then begins to rattle off a few basic rumours she heard. Who got into an argument with whom, which Alliance members might be thinking of forging a new alliance.

“And your friend Andromache?”, her uncle asks, “Still dangling around with that guard of hers?”

“That`s a rumour”, Mor says, trying to sound as annoyed as possible.

The truth is, Andromache and her started that rumour. Well, Andromache`s spymaster did, but she gave the order. Andromache came up with the idea. She thought that the perfect way to keep rumours about a relationship between them from spreading was to start a rumour that she was in a relationship with someone else. The guard she asked for the favour is an old friend of hers, who`s currently uninterested in relationships and didn`t mind helping out.

The High Lord nods and returns to his food. Mor takes a small bite of her food and watches him over it. She wishes he`d just dismiss her and let her return to Andromache`s camp.

“What do you know about Miryam?”

Mor perks up. “What?” She catches herself. “What I know about her? She`s my –“ She remembers that her uncle can`t stand Miryam and catches herself before she can say friend. “I know her well.”

“Does she have any secrets?”

“No”, Mor replies automatically, which is, of course, a lie. “Why are you asking?”

“She annoys me.” He shrugs. “I think she`s an arrogant, stupid child who, through sheer dumb luck, got into a position she has no right to. And I`d like her to lose this position.” He smiles. “But since you know her so well, I find I have a hard time believing your no.”

Mor shifts uncomfortably in her seat. “Well, all of her secrets are connected to her past. And I doubt it will work in your favour if you bring that up.”

The High Lord mutters a curse. “And Jurian?”

“No secrets that I know of”, Mor says, which is actually true.

The High Lord stabs his sausage with way more force than necessary. “Everyone has secrets”, he says, “It`s just a matter of finding them.” To Mor, he adds, “You`re dismissed.”

----

Jurian watches Miryam as she sketches the final symbol on a doorway, then steps back. The symbol glows and sinks into the wood, Miryam brushes the chalk off her hands.

“I wonder”, she mutters, “why we have to hold each of these meetings in a different location. I have to set new wards every time.”

“Secrecy reasons”, Jurian says and twirls his knife around his finger once.

Miryam makes a face at him. “I’d like to see the spy who gets through these wards.”

Jurian just shrugs. In his opinion, it’s better to be safe then sorry, and the more human palaces have wards, the better. With how the war is going, you never know when you might need them.

Outside, the sun is already beginning to set. Jurian sighs. He wishes the meeting they are about to attend was already over and he back in his camp. He still has an attack on Amarantha’s supply routes to plan, the information for it supplied by Clythia, who still hasn’t made the connection between her meetings with Jurian and the fact that intel about her army keeps getting out.

“It’s almost time for the meeting”, Miryam says, “We should go if we don’t want to be late.”

Jurian doesn’t particularly care about being late, but he still follows her. The meeting is held in one of the palace’s highest rooms. It has huge, open windows overlooking a small port city and the bay beyond. The windows aren’t filled with glass, but this is one of the human settlements furthest south, and even in deep winter, the temperatures are mild. Jurian sits down in a cushioned chair while Miryam walks over to greet Andromache.

Sighing, Jurian stares down at his shoes. He hates sitting around like this, doing nothing while outside, the war rages on. He hates these useless, stupid meetings where people only talk but never see to say anything and they can spend hours discussing without coming to a conclusion. Just the thought of spending the next hours sitting around in this chamber makes him furious.

But of course, Jurian if furious more often than not lately.

Finally, the meeting starts. Indeed, they spent more than half an hour discussing the current state of the war, as if they aren’t all fighting it every day.

“Things have been looking better”, Andromache finally summarizes the situation, “but we’re still losing.”

Jurian bristles. “We won’t lose. Not while I have anything to say about it.”

“If we do lose”, one of the other commanders says, “you might be dead, anyways. So in that case, you wouldn’t have anything to say about it.” Jurian just glares.

“Miryam”, Andromache says, “how is that spell you were working on coming along?”

“Not good.” Miryam sighs. “I’ve been stuck for these past months.”

“Or maybe you just haven’t been trying very hard”, Nakia says. When Miryam starts to object, she cuts her off. “After all, what do you care about other people, as long as yours get freed?”

Jurian glares at her over the table. He’s angry at her, too. Although he has to admit that Miryam hasn’t been working on the spell as hard as she could have been, for reasons Jurian doesn’t entirely understand

“Unlike you”, Miryam says, “I care about all humans, not just a group of them.”

Nakia jumps to her feet, but Andromache takes her by the arm and pushes her back down.

“That’s enough. Nakia, for the last time, stop implying that Miryam doesn’t care about humans outside of the Black Land. It’s ridiculous and you know it. Miryam, the same goes for you. We’re all on the same side here.”

Miryam presses her lips together. “I can create wards that hold off an enemy army for a few hours”, she says, “But you are asking for a spell that effectively cleaves the world in two and is able to hold off against any and all Fae for eternity! Do you even realize…” She shakes her head, and when she continues, her voice trembles slightly. “You demand the impossible. And when I cannot do it, you accuse me of failing on purpose. This isn’t fair.”

Andromache sighs. “No one truly believes that.” She looks at Nakia, who is glaring at her fingers. “Not even Nakia. Tensions are just running a little high for everyone, that’s all.” She turns back to Miryam. “And no one here expects the impossible. But you know how dangerous our situation is – you know better than anyone here what will happen to us if we lose. So I’m begging you to keep trying.”

Miryam fiddles around with her sleeves. “Of course I’ll try”, she says and Andromache moves the subject to different matters.

When the meeting is finally over, Miryam rushes out of the room and Jurian is quick to follow her.

“No one thinks that”, he says while they walk through the halls, “You know that no one thinks that.” But he can’t quite stop himself from adding, “But you have to admit that you haven’t exactly been doing your best.”

Miryam whirls around to him. There is true hurt in her eyes, and Jurian curses himself for not being able to keep his mouth shut. If there was ever a time not to bring this up, it is now.

“I’m not saying you didn’t try”, he says, “Just that, considering how precarious this situation is, I thought you would have been… you know…” trying harder.

“Sure.” Miryam rubs a hand over her face. “It’s only one of the most complicated spells I’ve ever heard off. Surely I must only try harder if I want to come up with a solution. Because it’s that easy.”

Jurian sighs. Now he just made it worse. “I’m sorry”, he says, “I didn’t mean that. I don’t really know that much about magic, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Miryam nods. “I’m going to university with Drakon tomorrow”, she says, “Maybe they have some texts or… something.”

“What are you doing at university?”

“You know how I’ve been having a little trouble with my powers lately? Drakon thought the university might have some information about it.” She turns to Jurian and manages a smile. “You could come along if you want to. I’d be happy to have you there.”

Jurian would love to say yes. But the very idea of spending an entire day with running around some university for rich Fae children disturbs him. He already lost one day – wasting another seems irresponsible. He has a war to fight, and two Hybern generals to kill. And if he’s honest, this entire visit seems far too Fae for his liking, anyways.

“I’m sorry”, he says, feeling terrible about himself because it is not Miryam he’s trying to refuse. “Things at camp have been terribly busy. If we want to pull that attack on Amarantha’s army off, I can’t be gone tomorrow. But I’m sure you’ll have fun with Drakon.”

“Of course. We probably shouldn’t leave the camp without a commander anyways.” Her smile is almost convincing. But only almost.

Jurian reaches for her hand. “But we can for a ride. After our raid. We haven’t had time alone together in a while.”

Miryam looks relieved enough that Jurian feels even worse about himself. “I’d like that”, she says, and this time, her smile actually looks real.

----

Miryam and Drakon set out three days later. At Sinna`s insistence, they are accompanied by two guards – although officially, taking the guard`s was Drakon`s decision. He winnows all of them to a well-kept lawn just within the university grounds. A few of the guards employed by the university look at them sharply, before one of them recognizes Drakon and inclines his head. Drakon nods back at him.

Meanwhile, Miryam is too busy staring at their surroundings to notice the guards. Drakon smiles at her, remembering his reaction to first seeing the university. Built in the centre of the Continent, it is almost like a small city in itself. The centre is made up of the university complex – libraries, laboratories, offices and lecture halls – but around it, there are normal houses and workshops mostly catering to the university.

"Beautiful", Miryam whispers.

Drakon nods. "The buildings are over a thousand years old. The university itself is far older, but it was burned down once and had to be rebuild." He points ahead to a huge wooden building that towers over the rest of the city. "The library is over there. It's where we'll meet Kiko."

His guards fall back and a few metres as they start walking and stay far enough behind that they likely won't be able to hear their conversation. Miryam absentmindedly links her arm with Drakon`s, but keeps looking around at the university buildings.

“It`s all wood”, she says, amazement colouring her voice.

“It was the style at the time. Well, at least here.”

Miryam nods. One of the buildings, a fragile-looking clocktower, catches her attention and Drakon has to tug her aside to stop her from running into a faerie who`s standing by the road. She turns around to smile at him, more freely than she has in a while. Drakon doesn`t know why, but his cheeks heat and he quickly looks away.

"I just wish Jurian had come along", Miryam says softly. "Getting out of camp for a bit might have been good for him."

Drakon nods, and turns back to Miryam, whose smile has dimmed considerably. They both spent the last months worrying about Jurian. Drakon wishes he could do more to help, but things between him and Jurian have been difficult lately, and the worst part is that he doesn`t even know why. It`s like from one day to another, Jurian decided that he doesn`t particularly care for Drakon`s company anymore. Even his refusal to accompany them on their trip today seemed to be aimed mostly at him.

Normally, he would have assumed that he`s seeing things, but when he asked Miryam about it, she shared his opinion. Although she didn`t know the reasons behind Jurian`s behaviour either. She offered to ask, but relying on Miryam to solve the problems between him and Jurian would just make him feel like he`s too much of a coward to do it himself.

“Does Jurian know why we`re here?”, Drakon asks.

“I`m not keeping this secret from him.” She shrugs. “He knows I have trouble with controlling my power sometimes, and that we`re asking a friend of yours for advice.”

Drakon frowns at her. Somehow, he finds it hard to believe that Jurian would have stayed behind if he truly knew why they were here. Jurian may not be interested in visiting a Fae library, but he cares about Miryam more than about anything else and the idea that he`d not at least try to help her with a problem like this seems outlandish.

“And you`re sure you told him how serious this is?”

Miryam suddenly finds huge interest in a smaller building to their left. She carefully studies it, then asks, “Is that a tavern? I thought this was a university.”

“Miryam.”

“It`s not…” She sighs and turns around to face Drakon. “I told him the truth. I just don`t see the point in exaggerating a problem and giving him one more thing to worry about when he can`t do anything about it anyways.”

Drakon does see the point in it. He sees several points, actually, and is about to tell Miryam as much when they get interrupted by a Fae male with colourful butterfly wings.

“Ah, Drakon”, he says and reaches for his hand. “It’s so good to see you. How are you?”

“Well. And you, professor?”, Drakon asks, trying to sound polite, but not overly cheerful.

Professor Niko taught two of his classes in his second and third year at university and him and Drakon never quite got along. He once had Drakon fail an assignment just because their opinions didn’t match. But him now being Prince seems to have increased the professor’s opinion of him, which only makes Drakon like him less.

“Oh, I can’t complain.” He smiles at Drakon. “I’ve read your papers. Good work as always. Although I do find a few of your arguments a little… extreme.”

“What is extreme about saying humans should be equal to Fae?”, Miryam cuts in, frowning lightly.

The professor turns to Miryam, seemingly only noticing her now. “And you must be Lady Miryam”, he says, “Well, I can imagine why you’d say that. Although even you must admit that Fae have certain inherent advantages over you mortals.”

“No, I do not see it that way at all”, Miryam says in a tone that dares him to argue.

“And if you’d ever talk to a human”, Drakon adds, “you might find you agree with her.” His cheeks are burning. “But as it is, Miryam and I have to be off.” He takes her by the arm and leads her away. As soon as they are out of hearing range, he sighs. “Sorry. That was… He’s from Rask, you see. You know that I don’t agree with that.”

“I know that”, Miryam says, “Just… are there slaves in this city?”

“No. Slavery has been prohibited on university grounds for millennia.” He hesitates. “Although the university doesn’t accept human students either.”

Miryam sighs – and changes the subject. “They don`t seem bothered by your new status.”

Drakon feels like he should say something more on the university’s leaning on slavery, but if Miryam decides not to pursue the subject, that’s her choice to make.

“Royalty isn`t as uncommon here as you`d think”, he says, “Most nobles, including royals, want their children to get the best education, and that means either this university, or the one in the Black Land. Most prefer this one, though, because it`s independent.”

Some extremely smart person decided millennia ago that education shouldn`t be tied to one single state, so he arranged for a small bit of land around the centre of the Continent to be made into neutral ground and to build a university there. The obvious flaw in that arrangement is that the university now has to cover its expenses from the money students pay, which effectively bars most people from attending.

“So this is where rich Fae families send their children to make useful connections for later?”, Miryam asks

Drakon winces. “Basically. Although there are even divisions between individual classes. Lower-ranking nobles generally go into social studies or sciences and hope for a seat on a ruling council. Well, or military. Royal children are generally expected to go either into politics or the military." He shrugs with an indifference he doesn’t quite feel. "My father always wanted me to go into politics. But well, I failed in the lessons, and since my father had little patience for useless things, he had me try military next."

"Even if you don't excel at lessons, they are hardly useless", Miryam objects.

"Well, I wasn't referring to the lessons." Miryam`s expression shifts from confused to upset, and he quickly adds, “We both know I`m hopeless at politics. Anyways, my father thought that at least I`d prove to be somewhat brilliant in military matters, so he sent me off to train under Sinna. But I guess I didn`t have any particular talent for that either, so when I was nineteen – after five years of trying – Sinna convinced my father to send me to university.”

Miryam stops walking to stare at him. He doesn`t understand what her problem is, until she says very softly, “Your father sent you to join the military at fourteen?”

“I don`t think you understand how embarrassing it is for a Continental ruler to have a child that completely fails at politics.” Miryam continues staring at him, and Drakon awkwardly shifts his weight from one foot to another. “It`s not like there were any battles at the time. But after a few years at university, my father decided I was at least good enough at what I was doing that he could give me a seat on his council. Well.” He winces. “Until the matter with Ravenia, of course.”

Miryam stares at him for another uncomfortable moment, then continues walking. “Your father sounds horrible.”

Drakon is too surprised to say something at first. He just stares at her. But then, he catches himself and vehemently shakes his head. “No. No, he isn`t. Wasn`t, I mean. He was a good person.”

Miryam arches an eyebrow at him. “He sent you, his own child, off to the military at fourteen and sold you to Ravenia ten years later.”

“No, it`s…”, Drakon stammers. He hates the way Miryam says it, how she makes what his father did sound terrible and heartless. “It`s not like that at all. And please stop looking at me like you feel bad for me. You’re the last person who should feel bad for me for that!”

Miryam presses her lips together. “Bad childhoods aren`t a competition.”

“I didn`t have a bad childhood! And I loved my father.” And I got him killed, he adds silently.

Miryam looks at him like she very badly wants to argue, but bites her tongue at the last moment. Instead, she nods towards the towering building before them.

“Is that the library?”

Drakon nods and tries hard to push his thoughts away from his dead family and what they might think of him now. He makes to step through the library`s huge doors, but one of the guards in fronts stops him with an outstretched hand.

“No weapons past this point”, he says.

Oh, right. He should have remembered that. Drakon unties his weapons` belt and hands it to the guards, Miryam passes over her dagger. Then, Drakon turns around to his guards, who look extremely unhappy at the idea of giving up their weapons.

“We`ll be busy in the library for, say, three hours, and the it is well protected. There`s a nice restaurant just around the corner, if you want to go. You are, of course, invited.”

The guards don`t look overly happy that they won`t accompany them, but the prospect of a free dinner that isn`t army food seems to lighten their mood. Drakon hold open the door to the library for Miryam and follows her inside. They walk past the front table and Miryam cranes her neck back to look up at the high ceiling, and the stairs climbing up right to the roof.

“We meet Kiko in the ninth story”, Drakon says, “So, we could walk, or-“

“Fly, please.”

Drakon laughs and ruffles his wings. A group of students walks past, one of them whispers something to the others and then, they all stare. Drakon wraps his arms around Miryam, spreads his wings and sends them shooting into the air. They land on the ninth story and Miryam quickly straightens her clothes.

“There we are”, Drakon says and pushes open the door. “Magical studies, department for Higher Powers.”

It isn`t one of the parts of the library he visited frequently as a student, but he knows his way around well enough not to get lost as he leads Miryam through the labyrinth of shelves to where they agreed to meet Kiko.

He is already there, casually leaning against a shelf. In the soft light, his red skin seems to glow, the colours shifting around it making him look like a living flame. When he sees Drakon, he grins broadly and pushes off the shelf he was leaning against. Drakon closes the space between them with two quick steps and pulls his old friend into a hug.

“I missed you too”, Kiko says. He lets go of Drakon and gives him a mischievous smile. “So, tell me, Your Highness. Do I need to bow?”

“Don`t you dare.” Drakon laughs and waves Miryam over. “That`s Miryam. Miryam, Kiko.”

“Nice to meet you”, Miryam says.

“The pleasure is mine.” Kiko sketches a bow, then winks at her. “My friends will be beyond jealous if they hear I`ve actually met you. That is, if they believe me at all. But”, he adds, expression turning more sober, “I suppose you aren`t here just to give me something to brag about to my friends.” He turns to Drakon. “Your letter said you need my help. What can I do for you?”

Drakon sets up wards around them with a wave, then inclines his head to Miryam. “I think it`s best if you explain.”

Miryam nods, but looks around nervously even though she should know about the wards. “You know that I`m a witch”, she says carefully.

Kiko nods, excitement lighting his red eyes. The horns poking out of his curly hair seem to tremble slightly. “Yes, of course. That must be so exciting! I`ve never met a witch before – is it true that you can see spells? And talk to animals?”

Drakon winces. He didn’t consider how utterly fascinated any people who study magic are by witches. That the Guild is so secretive about their abilities only adds to the general interest. Maybe he should have warned Kiko that Miryam has a rather difficult relationship with both her abilities and the Guild.

“Yes to the spells, no to the animals”, she says. Drakon is probably the only one to notice that her smile seems a little strained. “I`ve been having… trouble with it lately, though. For over a year now.”

Kiko`s expression turns serious immediately. “What kind of trouble?”

“With the control. It worked just fine in the beginning, but now…” She shrugs a bit helplessly then begins to haltingly describe her problems. Problems that Drakon didn`t even know existed until a few days ago. “Do you have any idea what it might be?”, she asks after she finished. “Because it keeps getting worse and I...” She breaks off and shrugs again.

Kiko nods. “I see.” He starts chewing on his lower lip. “I take it you aren`t ready to take this to my professor?”

Miryam immediately shakes her head. “It has to remain secret.”

Kiko nods again, but his frown deepens. “The problem is that witches are rare. And, if you excuse me saying so, somewhat secretive about their power. Scholars have been petitioning with the Guild for centuries to get them to disclose at least some information, but they refuse. So I`m afraid that I have far too little information to be able to give you any definite answers.”

“Your guess is better than mine”, Miryam says. If she is disappointed, she hides it well. She now wears the same mild expression she usually dons for council meetings.

“For the reasons behind your troubles”, Kiko says, “The only guess I can come up with is that you simply grow more powerful with time and whatever control you had when you were younger is simply no longer enough. For Fae, it takes about seven years for their power to fully mature, and it might be similar for witches. You got your power at – sixteen? Seventeen? Count up from there.”

Miryam presses her lips together. “So you`re saying this will get worse for one more year?” Drakon squeezes her hand.

“I`m sorry”, Kiko says. “The best advice I can give you is to find someone with similar abilities and get him to teach you.”

“The only people I could ask for that are other witches. And the Guild hates me.” She shakes her head. “There has to be another option.”

Drakon shoots Kiko a pleading look. Just give her something! He can`t have dragged Miryam here, made her hope there might be a solution, just for them to leave empty-handed.

“Well”, Kiko says and gestures vaguely to the shelfs surrounding them. “This is the world`s biggest library. Not a problem those books don`t know a solution to. We just need to search.”

“Great”, Drakon says, quickly jumping onto the suggestion, “Where do we start?”

“Shelf 36 to 120 could have something”, Kiko says.

Drakon looks at the long shelves, then back at Kiko, brows raised. Searching this many shelves would take days.

“Good”, Miryam says, “I’ll start from the end, then.” She manages a parting smile, then rushes off.

Drakon has to fight off the impulse to run after her and find some words of comfort. This didn’t go at all as he’d planned.

“I`m sorry I couldn`t give her a better answer”, Kiko says as they walk over to shelf 36.

“Not your fault.” Drakon sighs. “I should have handled it differently.” Maybe he should have discussed the matter alone with Kiko before bringing Miryam into it. Or he should have made it clear that they might not find anything.

They start from opposite sides of the shelf and begin to sort their way through the books, checking each title and only taking a closer look at the books that sound promising. Drakon sighs. How are they ever supposed to find anything this way?

“And how are you?”, he asks.

“Can’t complain.” Kiko shrugs. “My studies are going well, and I haven’t blown up anything in a few months, so that’s a new record.” He nudges Drakon in the side. “And right now, I’m a little pissed at you. How come I only now find out that you have a crush on her?”

Drakon nearly drops the book he just pulled out of the shelf. “What?” Then, he finally processes what Kiko just said and vehemently shakes his head. “No. No, I don`t have a crush on Miryam! That`s ridiculous.”

Kiko laughs, puts his book back into the shelf and pulls out another. “Obviously you do.” He scans the book`s first page and puts it back into the shelf. “Just the way you look at her. Although I should have probably known from your letters already – you can`t seem to stop going on about how amazing and talented and wonderful she is.”

“I`m not…” …in love with her, Drakon wants to say, but he can`t quite get himself to actually speak the words.

He isn`t in love with her. He isn`t. Sure, he notices thinks about her, like how her smile lights up her entire face and makes her look like she might be glowing. Or that she is beautiful. But he`d have to be blind not to notice that. And she`s kind, and strong, and smart. He misses her when she`s not around.

They are friends. That`s why. But if he`s entirely honest, they have been friends for a while, but in the past months…

“Shit”, Drakon mutters and runs his hand through his hair. “Shit, I can`t be in love with her!”

“Why not? She seems nice.”

“Because it`s going to ruin everything! She`s my friend, and…” He begins pace between the shelves. “And she`s in love with Jurian. Who is also my friend. Oh, Cauldron, what if they find out?”

Jurian seems angry enough with him as it is. Maybe it`s because of that? Maybe he somehow noticed that Drakon fell in love with Miryam and is angry about that. Who could even blame him?

“Don`t you think you may be over-reacting a little bit?”, Kiko asks. His mouth quirks upwards like he is trying very hard no to smile. “Look on the bright side: at least it can’t end worse than your engagement with Ravenia.”

But this just horrifies Drakon more. “I was engaged to –“ He frantically runs his fingers through his hair. “When we first met, I… She… Oh Cauldron, I`m a terrible person.”

Kiko laughs and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Look, Drakon, not to interrupt your freak-out, but don`t you think you`re blowing this way out of proportion?”

“This is a disaster.”

“It`s a crush. The thing about crushes is, you can`t really control if you get them or not, and they usually don`t last long.” Kiko gives his shoulder a final squeeze and lets go. “So calm down a little”, he says, “As long as you don`t start trying anything with her, you should be fine.”

“Right.” Drakon nods and takes a deep breath. This is fine. The situation may not be ideal, but nothing needs to change about their situation. They can still be friends. It`s fine. He looks down at the book still in his hands and flips it open.

“Then we should probably, you know. Continue looking.”

Kiko laughs. “You really haven`t changed at all.”

Drakon doesn`t bother to tell him how very wrong that assessment is.

----

Miryam has never seen so many books in one place. The shelves reach up to the ceiling and are stuffed with volumes, some of which look like they might be hundreds of years old. She barely dares to touch them for fear that they might fall apart under her touch.

After she worked her way through the first shelf, though, she realizes that there may well be too many books. She could spend days here and still not have seen everything. Even if she just glances at the title of each book and only takes a closer look at the ones that sound like they might be useful, the search takes ages and the odds of finding any useful information seem minimal. Cauldron, she doesn`t even know exactly what she is looking for. Information on witches? On magic in general? On how to control power? Maybe Kiko doesn`t truly know either, and that`s why he has them search close to a hundred shelves.

After working her way through three shelves, Miryam is just about ready to give up. Coming here was a stupid idea. A waste of time. She should have known that witches would be so secretive about their abilities that no one would be able to tell her anything. Well, except for the Guild, but they`d probably rather kill her than help her. How foolish of her, to have hoped that this visit might be the solution to her problems. It will be the best to tell Drakon and Kiko to give up the search before they waste any more time chasing after information that isn`t there.

She walks past the seemingly endless rows of shelves until a small glass vitrine catches her attention. She pauses. The vitrine itself looks rather inconspicuous, as does the leather book lying inside, but the glowing strings surrounding both are anything but. Miryam automatically reaches for the vitrine`s lid, but stops herself in the last moment.

“Go ahead”, a voice says from behind her, making her spin around.

A Fae female in scholar`s robes stands between the shelves. She is easily one of the oldest Fae Miryam has ever met, hair already streaked with white and skin marked by deep wrinkles. Her deep brown eyes seem kind enough, though.

“I`m sorry”, Miryam says. She feels caught, even though she wasn’t really going to do anything. “I wasn`t going to touch it.”

“Please.” The female steps closer. “I`d love to see. I so rarely get the chance to see a witch at work.”

Miryam considers refusing, but the spells on the book are witch-made. If she wants to find out what is inside, this is her chance. Carefully, she reaches out for the lid. The wards on the vitrine are simple enough that Miryam doesn`t need to speak to disable them. She opens the lid and pulls out the book. Half a thought has it flap open.

“Fascinating”, the female says as Miryam carefully flips through the pages. “None of our experts have been able to open it.”

Miryam can easily imagine why. After all, her own spellbook is protected by similar wards.

“It`s a spell book”, she explains, “Warded against anyone other than a witch reading it.”

And, this much is obvious just from reading the first page, the spells inside are far more advanced than anything that Miryam has been able to find in her own book. She scans the pages, struggling to understand what, exactly, is written in there. Wards, if she`s not mistaken, but more complicated than any she has ever seen.

She flips the book shut. “May I borrow this?”

“Unfortunately, that will not be possible.”

Miryam hesitates. If she is correct, this book will not be able to help her with the problem she came here to solve, but it might just contain the solution to another issue. She promised Jurian to keep looking into ways a wall between humans and Fae might be constructed, and if there’s a chance of this book containing answers, she cannot give it up this easily.

“I have another book”, she says, “similar to this one. It contains general information on how witches` powers work. If you let me borrow this book, I could copy a few pages from mine and send them to you in exchange.”

She sees the light glinting in the scholar`s eyes and knows she has won before the female says, “That seems like a fair trade. I`ll expect the book and your copies back in a month.”

“Thank you”, Miryam says and tucks the book under her arm. “Now, if you`ll excuse me, I have to go find my friends.”

She feels the female`s eyes on her back as she quickly walks away to where she suspects Drakon and Kiko. She finds them by shelf 40, standing hunched over a book When she walks over to them, Drakon looks up.

“Oh, good that you`re here.” He smiles at her, then quickly looks away again, like he’s uncomfortable about something. “We may have found something.”

Miryam quickly steps closer. “Really?”

“Yes, uhm. Kiko thinks…” Drakon clears his throat and steps from one foot to the other. He really does seem uncomfortable. Miryam wonders if she interrupted something between him and Kiko.

“It`s a book describing the case of a shadowsinger who lived five hundred years ago”, Kiko says, “He also had trouble with his powers, from what I`ve been able to gather. I don`t know the book, or the author, but shadowsinging is considered a Higher Art, same as witchcraft. Maybe you`ll be able to find something useful in it.”

“Thank you”, Miryam says, not bothering to hide her relief. If there was another person who struggled with the same things and made it out of it, she might just be fine. “Truly.”

Kiko`s skin turns an even deeper red. “Anytime. And I`ll continue looking. If I find anything, I`ll let you know.”

“Thank you”, Drakon says and glances at a clock that’s standing in the corner. “I’m afraid Miryam and I have to get going. I told my guards we’d be back in three hours, and I don’t know what they’ll do if we’re late.”

Miryam thanks Kiko again, then steps back a few steps to let him and Drakon say goodbye in private. The two of them hug, Kiko says something that makes Drakon laugh, then they break apart.

“Take care, you two!”, Kiko calls after them as they walk back through the library. Drakon waves back over the shoulder at him.

When they are out of the library and walking through the university town again, Drakon nods to the second book Miryam still holds in her hands. “And what is that?”

“A spellbook.” She reaches for his hand and smiles. “Coming here was a wonderful idea, Drakon. Thank you.”

He smiles back at her. “I just hope this book we found will help.”

Back in their camp, Miryam spends the entire night reading in the book about the shadowsinger while Jurian sleeps next to her. The book isn`t helpful. Not in the slightest.

Dread growing with each page, Miryam reads the scarily blunt description of what happened to that long-ago shadowsinger. It started with trouble with controlling his abilities. Small at first, then bigger and bigger, until he had outbursts where he entirely lost control. The symptoms the author describes are scarily similar to what Miryam is struggling with, just applied to a different set of powers. But it didn`t end there. After a while, he started to lose touch with reality. Could no longer tell what was real and what imagined. Saw things that weren`t there. After two years, he died during one of his magical outbursts.

Miryam carefully closes the book and puts it on her nightstand. Blows out the candle.

She spends the rest of the night sobbing into her pillow.

But in the morning, when Drakon asks her if she found anything in the book, she makes herself smile. “It was very helpful.”

It’s not like there’s anything they can do about it, anyways. Better to focus on winning the war than to waste time on a problem that doesn’t have a solution.

----

Tags @croissantcitysucks @sjm-things @clolikescloquetas

12 notes · View notes

stonyiscanon · 4 years ago

Text

socially awkward! peter parker x oblivious shit! reader

read: peter has a heart attack every time he talks to you because you’re too pretty and nice oof

lmfao just experimenting some new head canon//writing styles lmk what you guys think 🥺

it’s essentially a crack fic i have no regrets.

Warnings: an excessive amount of exclamation points used, overload of fluff, it might be little TOO crack-y if that’s even possible for me, a confusing amount of POV switches. ok it’s just shitty writing would you please read it.

Words: 4.8k this be a baby fic

Genre: fluffity fluff, idiots to lovers, high school! reader, god just read the title.

my masterlist is here if you want more shit

talk to me! be my friend please im lonely

peter first meets you when you’re new to midtown and you get sorted into his science class.

you sat in front of him your very first day and yeah he’s been soft™ for you ever since

like no joke the first time he saw your face he freezed up and choked on his banana

‘oh nO NED!!! she’s PRETTY!!’

‘like, REALLY pretty!!! S H I T’

‘um,,... okay ain’t that a good thing you sit behind her in class!! maybe you can ask for her number or something—‘

oh hohohohoho ned my friend,,

N O

ABSOLUTELY NOT

peter parker has spoken to you a total of twenty-two (22) times within the whole year that you’ve been... acquaintances?? classmates?? ….. friends???

and his fat secret crush on you will STAY A SECRET THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

he’ll die before he asks you out or makes a move because there’s no way in hell peter has a chance with you, the beautiful new girl.

‘i mean, she’s not just beautiful too! she’s so smart, and i know that because i can literally see all her notes from behind her and she gets like, basically all A’s, but she doesn’t even know she’s smart and beautiful?? like, she never raises her hand in class even though i know she knows all th-’

you would think ned would be tired of peter’s ‘shit I’m in LOVE’ rants by now, he’s not because we stan supportive friend ned.

hehe little does he know his big fat secret crush may not be,, totally unrequited

👀

oKAY so maybe you have a humongous tiny crush on the dorky cute guy who sits behind you in science class

WHAT ABOUT IT not like he likes you back anyways.

that one time you asked him for a pencil he looked like he was having an aneurysm!! like okay, are you that hideous or—?

(yeah it totally doesn’t hurt at all that the cute guy you like is repulsed by your presence and seems to ignore you and tense up whenever you’re around)

(t o ta ll y) 🤡

yeah y/n kinda dumb in this because the entire student body knows about peter’s (not so secret lmFAO) crush on you

everyone lOwkEy ships it

ned is president of the petery/n shipper fanclub

that may be because he’s the only member in aforementioned fanclub but you two have many supporters outside the fanclub

ned hypes peter up everytime science class comes around and peter gets kinda confident when he walks in the classroom

‘yeah! i got this!! maybe this time i won’t stare at her hair creepily and then run aw-‘

‘hey peter!’

asjkdjejnxHAUXINENEIAIRJBSJS

ABORT NEVERMIND I DONT GOT THIS ASKXISNNDKSN

peters brain has left the building

and he kinda stares at you for a sec and runs off to his seat at the back

hm, yeah he definitely doesn’t like you

you sigh as you take your seat in front of him, trying to ignore how your love for this dork is completely one sided

the entire class wants to throttle both of you

so then for the sake of the cliche and the plot (did you heart that fourth wall break?? nvm i didn’t hear nothin)

gasp group project time??!?!?!?!

dang who could have saw this coming

totally unexpected

wow

peter is half hoping to get you and half DREADING to

because he knows if he gets you he’ll be able to spend time with you but 300% won’t be able to function and will most certainly fail this project

but i mean who cares about grades.

in a plot twist that literally no one saw coming,,,

‘betty and liz, you’ll be doing yours on atomic structure,

and peter and y/n are partners! you’ll be doing...’

oh nO

you’re partnered up with peter!

i mean this is great news you get to stare at his precious face more but you’re basically forcing him to spend time with someone he doesn’t like!!

so you turn around and you give him an apologetic and (cute as FXCK) small smile

meanwhile, peter combusts

one look at your smile and he just knows he’s completely fucked

like he physically uwus so hard he slams his head on the table

‘oh! are.. you okay? i mean, is working with me really going to be that bad?’

awkward laugh to hide the pain,, quick y/n!!

‘nO!! i mean, no, absolutely not that’s not what i- it wasn’t my- i didn’t m-‘

you smile a little sadly this time and say,

‘don’t worry about it, i know you don’t like me. it’s only two weeks anyway. i promise i won’t take much of your time.’

wait. hold up. back up here. wha-? wHO doesn’t like W HO??

‘wait what do you mea-‘

‘don’t worry about it. wanna meet at the library after school to get a head start on this?’

‘uh, yeah. i mean- cowabunga…!’

wat

shit peter has never wanted to die more in his entire life

so he does what any other normal person would do and yEEts out the classroom full speed

leaving you slightly hurt but mostly just confused

peter strolls in the library casually attempting to strain his neck 360 degrees to look for you

he looks like a chicken and also that’s humanly impossible but leave him be he’s iN LOVE

he spots you on one of the study tables. he takes a deep breath,, and walks over

‘hey!! sorry i’m a little late, uh, something… came up haha’

acting like the poor boy didn’t stand outside the library for fifteen minutes thinking about what he was going to say to you

‘no worries!’ you shoot him another one of those painfully adorable smiles and peter wants nothing more but to give that smile a smooch because damn that is a face that deserves smooches

but he also has a tiny feeling that maybe you might not appreciate it if he randomly kissed you out of nowhere

(you would not mind at all but he doesn’t know that)

‘so yeah! ready to compare the wonders of chemistry and motion physics?’ peter says, bending down to snatch his backpack up to the table (effectively hiding his red cheeks)

you snort as you prop your elbows onto the table, resting your head on your hands.

‘the wonders? hm, i really can’t tell whether you’re being serious or not. guess you really are a dork.’

you giggle a little bit before you catch sight of peter looking like a gaping fish. you immediately slam your hands down, perhaps a little too loudly considering you’re in a library, and blurt out,

‘uh, I was.. joking! making a joke, in case, you know, that wasn’t obvious.’ You awkwardly hide your face between your fingers and squeak out a small apology

‘nO! no, no, don’t worry about it. yeah, I am a dork, so… yeah, i’m not offended, or anything. uh- just, yeah, don’t worry about it.’

well, that ruined the flow of conversation peter was so desperate to keep up with

none of you speak for a bit, opting to look around the very interesting library walls instead, until peter clears his throat and brings up motion physics again

yeah! this will be fine. all you have to focus on is science, and NOT peter’s very soft kissable lips and how good he looks in his light green coloured sweater

huh

oh no

desperately attempting to clear your mind, you try and focus on what he’s saying instead

it’s just SCIENCE, y/n. focus on the SCIENCE.

this distraction just-concentrate-on-the-work technique works for about the next hour or so as you guys study and work on this project

everything is going great!

you two have an organised google doc full of research and a finished introduction! you’re being extremely productive!

both of you are doing an amazing job at hiding your mutual (except none of you know it’s mutual) attraction!

so as you walk out the library beside peter some time later, you’re smiling softly, because even if your massive crush isn’t reciprocated, you and peter can maybe at least be friends by the end of this, right?

he didn’t even look like he detested you as much as usual today

maybe that’s because he was pretty much forced into cooperating with you because of this project, but you even caught him smiling at you today, so he must be warming up to you

which is great news, of course

peter swallows down his fear and the excessive amount of spit that is coating his tongue and turns to you

‘so, this was really fun’

you tilt your head, mildly horrified at his words

‘we need to stage you an intervention if a science project is something you classify as ‘fun’’

‘no, i mean, the science was kinda boring. spending time with you was really fun. ….right?’

oh good, he isn’t actually a complete monster who does science for fun

(he totally is but you don’t need to know that)

‘yeah! hanging out was really fun, even if we had to spend that time doing work’

you shudder and cringe when you mention ‘work’, because there are much more interesting things you’d rather be doing with peter

👀

‘yep.’

‘yeeep.’

‘so, we should meet up again to work on this… project. right?’ you’re shifting your weight and darting your eyes across the floor, desperately avoiding peter’s gaze.

‘yeah!!’

oof maybe that was a little too enthusiastic. maybe you didn’t notice?

‘i mean, yeah… yeah, totally. sounds… chill.’

oh god that’s worse isn’t it

‘great!’

cue awkward silence

‘so… um… can I maybe have your number?’

you stare blankly at him trying to conceal your excitement because did PETER PARKER just ask for YOUR number?!?!?!

oh no why aren’t you saying anything crapcrapcrap this is peter’s first time asking for ANYONE’S number did he mess up oh no he messed up didn’t he.

‘you know, for the project!!!!! haha!!!!’

oh. of course he wouldn’t actually want your number

*sigh these oblivious fucks I stg i’m the one who’s actually writing this and I want to throttle them*

‘oh… yeah, no problem! um, here’s my number’

‘cool! i’ll text you then!’

from peter p [12:48]

Hey y/n!! Um this is Peter btw. Peter Parker. From science class.

to peter p [12:49]

hey peter!

from peter p [12:49]

So if it’s cool w u do you want to meet up at my place? For the project haha, just figured a change of scenery might be nice. The library can get a little bit boring sometimes.

to peter p [12:49]

yeah sounds cool just send me ur address and i’ll be over after skl tdy if that’s ok

from peter p [12:50]

Yep awesome see u then

to peter p [12:50]

see u! :))

that smiley face almost makes his heart burst god he’s so whipped for you.

then the panic kicks in.

‘OHMYGOD Y/N Y/L/N IS COMING OVER.’

peter spends like three hours making sure the apartment is SPOTLESS.

spends like half an hour trying to decide whether he should take down all the Star Wars memorabilia down from his walls

like, he doesn’t want you to think he’s a DORK.

(too late peter)

but then ultimately keeps them up, partly because shit you’re coming in like 5 minutes he doesn’t have time for this

but also, you’re a nice person! you surely won’t make fun of him for having a knockoff replica of the death star in his room.

hopefully

oh god if you make fun of him for being a Star Wars nerd he will break down in tears HE HAS TO TAKE THEM DOWN

*ding*

fuck

peter stands up from his spinney chair abruptly and scrambles towards front door.

he spent some time this morning with Aunt May for girl advice and nothing really came out of that except a very traumatizing safe sex talk and some teasing that he will never be able to erase from his memory.

he takes a fast detour and quickly stops in front of the bathroom mirror on his way to open the door, desperately trying to tame the mop of curls and his head.

did I put on deodorant this morning? crap I brushed my teeth right?

*ding*

FUCK

peter stops in front of the door, takes a deep breath and-

‘hey!’ a strangled greeting comes out of his throat but hopefully you don’t notice how nervous he is.

you don’t, because this is oblivious shit!reader

‘hi peter!’

peter is suddenly very aware of how long you have been standing outside.

‘oH! sorry, um come in!!’ he says, opening the door wider and welcoming you in with (overly?) enthusiastic arms.

‘yeah! make yourself at home and everything. you want a drink or something?’

‘water would be nice.’

peter sprints to the kitchen to get you some ICE COLD water in his favourite mug.

peter parker’s apartment is covered with cosy furniture and photos of him and another middle aged woman. half those photos are him and that woman smiling brightly into the camera.

there’s a photo that’s nicely framed above the mantle that shows a young peter beaming in front of a birthday cake, with that same woman and another unknown middle aged man smiling down at him. the photo is clearly old and crumpled, even with the frame around it.

peter looks so happy in that photo…

huh. baby peter is just as adorable as he is now.

you jump away from the photo when you hear his footsteps coming back into the living room. something about the photo seemed emotional, personal. it just didn’t seem like something you should be looking at.

peter comes back clutching two mugs and hands one to you.

‘nice place!’

‘oh, thanks… yeah my Aunt isn’t home right now, she’s downtown meeting some friends, so we have the place to ourselves……’

‘so we can study uninterrupted.’ he says.

oh of course, studying!! yep that’s exactly where your mind went when peter said the apartment was empty aHaH.

peter’s room is a little less adult than the rest of his apartment, flooded with polaroids of him and Ned, with Star Wars posters on the walls.

you ignore the pang of jealousy that you feel when you spot a photo of MJ and peter grinning in front of a bowling alley.

so for the next two hours you two are in peter’s room… studying vigorously.

you would be 100% lying if you said you weren’t disappointed only studying happened.

the weird thing is???

every time you would look down at your textbook to explain something about periodic motion peter seemed to be looking at you when you looked up?

well, looking at you isn’t very weird, looking at someone while they’re talking is just basic manners. but when you looked back he would snap his eyes straight back to his own textbook, nodding and wordlessly agreeing with whatever you had just said.

maybe it’s just your imagination but the way he looked at you, it’s almost a loving, caring gaze.

oh god who are you kidding, it’s just your brain and imagination playing tricks on you.

you’re alone with peter parker in his bedroom!! these things are going to happen!

‘hey you want to take a break? we’ve been going at this for a whole hour now.’ peter says, craning his neck to take a look at the clock on the wall.

‘has it really been a whole hour?’ you lean back in your chair looking up at the ceiling.

‘yeah okay. let’s have a small break then.’

peter picks up both of your mugs and heads off to the kitchen, groaning slightly when he stretches his legs out for the first time in an hour.

*a/n: apologies in advance to those with nut allergies*

he comes back with both your mugs refilled with (water for you, gatorade for peter) and a small bag of almonds for you to snack on.

‘oh hey! almonds are my study snack of choice too!’

‘yeah, i know’ peter says carelessly, scrolling down his phone.

‘i don’t like almonds all that much, but i bought a few packs this morning on the way to school.’

hm,, wHat

‘if… you don’t like almonds why would you get them for me?’

‘because you like almonds.’

blink.

b l i n k

it takes a bit of time for peter to realise what just came out of his mouth.

‘i meAn! I’M NOT A STALKER I SWEAR. i just see you at school sometimes and you always have a small pack of these to snack on whenever you’re doing work so i thought,, you know, since we’re doing WORK, i should buy some for you… so you won’t get hungry!!!’ he’s wailing nonsensical excuses and apologies by now.

huh.

peter parker knows that you snack on almonds when you study, and bought a pack for you even though he doesn’t like them at all.

maybe he doesn’t hate you as much as you thought.

you tear apart the packaging and stuff an almond in your mouth, your traitorous lips slowly threatening to curl into a huge smile.

(despite how much you fight against it, you end up with a slightly demonic looking huge smile on your face, which you attempt to hide by stuffing more almonds in your mouth)

(you now look like a chipmunk)

(but a cute one!!!!)

meanwhile peter is trying to hide the feeling of humiliation by resting his face in his hands, because he literally just exposed himself. he will not be able to take it if he looks back up at your face and you’re laughing at him for this stupid crush.

to his surprise, he does not look up to find you mocking his love for you, but instead, he finds you with a mouth full of almonds, struggling to chew and swallow them all without looking like a disgusting fool.

oh.

that’s kinda cute.

after a good five minutes of you trying to force like 10 almonds down your esophagus, you clear your throat and awkwardly blurt out a ‘thank you’

‘for the almonds! it’s cute how you bought them for me because you knew how much i like to snack on them while i study. that’s really sweet of you. i guess you really don’t hate me all that much, huh?’ the last sentence comes out teasingly, a playful smile gracing your lips, but instead of uwu-ing over your cute smile, peter’s just confused.

‘why would i hate you?’ he says, his eyebrows laced together in confusion.

‘well, i always kinda got the impression that you didn’t like me… all that much? i never really knew why. hey, why did you hate me so much before this? if i accidentally did something at the start of the year that pissed you off, i’m sorry.’

your playful smile fades a little bit as you see peter basically collapse on himself just due to sheer GRIEVANCE.

‘WHY WOULD YOU THINK I HATED YOU?’ peter yells out, probably annoying the neighbours with how fucking loud he is, but he can’t seem to bring himself to care right now.

‘you… didn’t?’ you say, now becoming just as confused as peter.

he shakes his head aggressively, bringing his fingers up to his temples.

‘but… you always seemed so jumpy around me! and you would never really talk to me, and that one time i asked you for a pencil, you looked like you were dying or something! i always just thought you didn’t like me!’

god

peter doesn’t know whether he should be laughing or crying.

‘that’s not because I HATED YOU!! that’s because- i mean- i always thought-’ he’s still yelling and at this point one of the neighbours are definitely going to come knocking to complain, but peter still doesn’t care, because he’s currently having an existential crisis.

ohmygod all this time my CRUSH thought I HATED HER because I couldn’t function like a normal human being in front of her because of how much I liked her until i gave her some ALMONDS what is wrong with me? what kind of entity that controls the universe could hate me so much to pull THIS kind of sick prank on me?

‘wait if you didn’t hate me why would you always act so weird in front of me?’

‘BECAUSE-’ peter tangles his fingers into his hair, and he kicks his chair, sending it halfway across his room from frustration.

‘how could you possibly think I hated you??? how could you possibly think ANYONE could hate you??? you’re single handedly the only good person in this godforsaken school full of IDIOTS and BULLIES! nobody could ever hate you, y/n, and certainly not ME!’

perhaps he is using an excessive amount of hand gestures, but it gets his point across.

‘wha-? what do yo-?’

‘wHat are you TALKING ABOUT?’ you say, slowly turning just as frustrated as peter.

‘if there’s ANYONE that’s decent in this ‘godforsaken school full of idiots’ it would be YOU, peter parker!! nobody would just pay attention to what I EAT so I wouldn’t get HUNGRY during a study session oKaY!! you’re so CONFUSING! every time I accept the fact that you don’t like me back you pull this bullshit, essentially making me rethink ALL MY FEELINGS!’ you say, going through the room (stepping over the toppled chair), just to jab a finger onto peter’s chest.

suddenly both of you are aware of your flushed cheeks and your close proximity.

‘wha- WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?’ peter basically shrieks, and you would not be surprised if all of New York managed to hear that scream.

your cheeks darken as you awkwardly step back from him, realising that you accidentally outed yourself.

‘um- i mean,’ you stumble on the fallen chair as you desperately walk backwards with your hands behind your back to avoid peter’s piercing gaze.

*you’re not good at confrontation okay*

‘you like me?? wait wait, you like ME?’ you frown a little as you look at peter’s incredulous expression.

‘well yeah, you don’t have to rub it in like that, I know you don’t like me back.’ You mumble, looking away.

‘don’t like yo- OH MY GOD!’

this time peter stalks all the way across the room, looking you dead straight in the eye.

‘you better not be joking with me, y/n.’

you squeak out a small ‘no’ or something like that because you can’t really focus with peter looking down at you like that.

‘you mean to tell me, my stupid fat, nervous crush on you was mistaken for HATRED, and all this time I’ve been thinking I have no chance with you, but you’ve been crushing on me too all this time?’ his words come out jumbled, and a little fast, but you can decipher the general meaning.

peter parker likes you… too.

oh GOD WAT

he clears his throat, biting his lip and you can just tell he’s about to apologise, because peter’s a complete angel who probably doesn’t want you feeling uncomfortable.

‘um- uh, y- oomph!’

and in this shocking turn of events, you execute the only spontaneous thing you’ve ever done in your life and pray that it ends up well.

you lean forward and press your lips to peter’s, hoping to whatever superior being there is that this was a good decision.

spoiler alert: it was

peter.exe has shut down because all of a sudden your lips are against his and oh wow this is so much better than all those times he’s imagined it happening because it’s actually happening now.

your hands find their way to peter’s curls that he was trying so hard to get under control an hour ago but now he can’t remember why he doesn’t like his hair if it’s just going to be tugged on by you like this from now on.

he grabs you by the waist and pulls you closer to him, pretty much pressing his body against yours.

not that you’re complaining.

and god if peter died from suffocation right now that would be a heavenly way to go, and he would be a-ok with dying if it meant finally being in your arms.

you pull away from peter, both of you slightly panting before you burst out in giggles, resting your head and letting it fall on peter’s shoulder.

‘oh my god, we’re such idiots, aren’t we?’

peter hums in agreement before lifting your chin up to kiss you again.

bonus: boyfriend! peter

definitely still stares at you in science class except now whenever you catch him staring he just shoots you a lazy grin

because yEa he has FULL RIGHTS to stare at you now because you’re his GIRLFRIEND.

you find out he’s spiderman pretty much immediately let’s be real this boy is not the best at hiding secrets

especially from his GIRLFRIENDS whomst he loves VERY MUCH.

this boy also gives you anxiety attacks whenever you see spiderman on the news saving people, getting hurt and shit, but he understands.

sends you a text before and after he gets in the suit whenever he can.

most certainly uses his spidey-powers for things they were not intended to be used for.

to visit his girlfriend so she can give him cuddles at any time why what were you guys thinking about hMmmMMMmmmM?

likes to show you off but also gets very blushy and shy about PDA

pretty much had a seizure the first time you held hands.

ned almost fainted when he heard the news (aka peter rushed to call him the second you left that night you kissed because these bitches are very gossipy)

peter parker is the ultimate clingy boyfriend.

……

and you love it.

your science teacher no longer puts you in the same group or partners you guys up now though.

because now you can’t study together, you literally can’t keep your hands off each other.

sometimes when peter is feeling ~particularly clingy he just nuzzles into the crook of your neck during lunch, and pulls you to him so you’re pretty much on his lap.

and MJ is just like yall r disgusTING

right in front of my salad.

in conclusion, peter parker loves you and you love him.

it’s honestly kind of sickening,

but you love that too.

37 notes · View notes

thanksjro · 4 years ago

Text

More Than Meets the Eye #12- Gay Rights: the Movie

Finally finished with our franchise obligations! Let’s get back to the main story.

Those are some ominous ellipses. Almost like something bad is going to happen!

Let’s take a look at Cover A for this issue.

When this was released to the general public, alongside the synopsis that stated the Lost Lighters were going to run into a group of Decepticons, a lot of people thought we’d be seeing them meet the Scavengers. This isn’t the case, and that’s not Fulcrum. It’s some other K-Con, one that has purple in his color scheme.

Our story opens up with a narrative framing device:

Welcome to “Before & After”, one of the more ambitious issues of MTMTE in terms of storytelling. Roberts really likes bouncing between scenes and POVs, and he’s really indulging that here.

Rodimus and crew have loaded up on one of the Lost Light’s scouting ships to check in on a planet called Temptoria. Whirl’s leading all the guys in the front in a war cry that wouldn’t be out of place in Hollywood’s version of the Vietnam war, while Brawn demonstrates how to not properly handle a gun. Rodimus tries to explain what exactly they’ll be doing, but no one’s listening, feeding off of the chaotic energy. The back seat isn’t quite as rowdy.

Oh, Ambulon’s here? That’s got to be awkward. And Perceptor’s looking mighty cross about having to pick up a gun again. Isn’t he supposed to be retired from being a science sniper?

Rodimus finally gets everyone to settle down long enough to explain the situation, though not without a little jargon mixup.

Basically, Ultra Magnus went down to Temptoria while the “Shadowplay” story was being told, and found out that the organic populace had been enslaved by a group of Decepticons, and, more importantly, the sovereign agreement that the planet had with Cybertron’s been violated. Also, these guys might have been the one’s who kidnapped the Circle of Light. You remember those guys, right? The guys who were supposed to be in the 2012 Annual, but they weren’t, and Drift got really mad about it.

Rodimus wraps up the briefing with a “’Til all are one!” And we cut over to see what Swerve and Tailgate are up to. Tailgate seems to be a little nervous, not the type to enjoy waiting, but Swerve seems to be doing just fine. Why is that, exactly?

Even if Rung’s still a steamed side dish of a vegetable, he’s still here, in a way. And good on Swerve for not assuming Tailgate can visualize in the same way he can. Aphantasia is more common than one might think.

Escapism is an interesting way of dealing with your problems, but I don’t know enough about wartime psychiatry to know if this is something that would actually be considered a viable solution or not.

Oh, now that I’ve said it, I’ve got the research itch.

Later, later.

Anyway, Tailgate gives it a spin, and his happy place is surprisingly domestic for such a seasoned professional.

Pipes, it’s a clear glass, it’s not hiding anything from you.

Speaking of Pipes, he’s seated next to Hound, as they discuss what happened to Red Alert. Or, rather, the cover story that’s been fed to the rest of the crew by Rodimus, which is that the engine room pretty much attacked him. This is how ghost stories get started.

Trailcutter’s gotten some guns installed in his legs, because he’s a hypocrite.

Over with Chromedome and Rewind, there’s trouble in paradise, as they’re having a lovers’ spat. Chromedome’s giving Rewind the silent treatment, and Rewind’s having none of it. What exactly are they fighting about? We don’t get to know about that yet, but it’s digging up other issues, like Chromedome going back on his promise to stop injecting. The only thing keeping this from becoming a total meltdown is Whirl can-canning through the door to kidnap Rewind, so he can film Whirl getting in the zone before the fight. Whirl’s having a great time. This is probably the first time they’ve gotten to fight something since the Lost Light took off, and he’s all about it.

Rewind’s dragged away, and Chromedome just lets it happen, because he’s feeling cross. It’s good to take a moment to cool off, but I’m not quite sure this was the best time or way for it to happen.

Meanwhile, on the Temptorian surface, Blip the Decepticon, who is likely the dirtiest son of a gun we’ve run into so far, is asked to take a look at the monitor by a guy who sounds exactly like Megatron. It doesn’t particularly matter which Megatron, because comics are not an audio-based medium, so you can pick whichever one you like best. What’s on the monitor does not please Blip in the slightest.

I feel like maybe having guys who don’t turn into flying machines jump out of the bottom of the shuttlecraft isn’t the greatest tactical thinking, but I’m sure everything will be okay. Brawn’s got a gun, maybe he’ll figure out how to rocket-jump before he hits terminal velocity.

Then the narrative jumps to after the fight, as the ship flies away from the scene, and Chromedome isn’t happy. It’s for a different reason than earlier, though.

Man, Pipes just can’t win, can he?

Ambulon remembers that he is, in fact, a medical professional, and starts working on Rewind, while Chromedome tries to ask Swerve just what the hell happened. Swerve’s having his own issues, however.

I’d nearly forgotten they had skeletons.

On the production side of this issue, we’ve got two artists: there’s our usual guy, Alex Milne on the “Before” sections, and Brandon Cahill on the “After”. Cahill’s other Transformers work includes The Transformers (2009) and the sister series to MTMTE, Robots in Disguise. Outside of the franchise, he’s worked on several Marvel pieces, including writing Sable & Fortune and Legion of Monsters. Unlike a lot of the alternate artists we’ve seen for the series, Cahill won’t be a one-and-done; we’ll see his art again in Dark Cybertron, Season 2 of MTMTE, and even Lost Light.

Getting back to the story, we’ve jumped back to the point in the battle where everyone’s hit the ground and are just wailing on each other. Tailgate and Swerve watch the chaos unfold, as Ultra Magnus more or less takes on a platoon of Decepticons.

Drift’s having a great time, as he Naruto runs through the enemy, slashing as he goes with a big ol’ smile on his face. He stabs a guy in the back of the head who was trying to grapple with Rodimus, thus interrupting the little dialogue they had going on. Rodimus is vaguely upset that his moment was cut short.

In the “After”, the shuttle’s landed back on the Lost Light, and Chromedome rushes out with Rewind in his arms to find First Aid with a motorized stretcher. He was hoping for Ratchet- he wants only the best for his shnookums. As they run Rewind down to the medibay, Chromedome starts listing off his allergies- which include ultraviolet light, something we know reveals mnemosurgery scars. This is a holdover from a dropped plot point I’ll cover at a later time; as it stands in the canon narrative, Rewind’s just got an allergy to the friggin’ sun.

Back at the shuttle, Tailgate starts dragging Cyclonus down the gangplank. Oh, hell. You know it’s a bad situation when the guy who literally couldn’t die for six million years is out of commission.

Spoke and Lockstock are a bit of a gag- they always manage to get their asses kicked, but everyone on the ship really likes them. They will never be seen on-panel, and have no character designs.

Over in the medibay, history is being made.

Esteemed members of the jury, I present to you: canon gay robots. The first in a long line of them. This is the starting point of the queer community being handed the Transformers franchise on a silver platter.

Up to this point, Roberts hadn’t gotten any further than implied attraction and affection between robots, in either his fanworks or professional credits. Pretty heavy-handed implication in some cases-

-but implication nonetheless. Here is the first, honest-to-god direct confirmation of two male-coded robots in love.

In love and space-married and recognized by the authority in power, in a comic written in 2012, as a part of a major franchise owned by a massive American company, three years before same-sex marriage would be legalized on a federal level.

As part of the story, it’s great. Within the context of the time during which it was published, it’s a whole other level. This wasn’t just good writing, it was important.

Let me part the kimono a little here, with some personal backstory- I grew up in Buttfuck Nowhere, NC, and went to a high school that was so homogeneous, they were threatening to bus students in after I graduated. I didn’t know what a gay person even was until I was 12. “Lesbian” was used as an insult, and it was one I was subjected to because I had cut my hair short in middle school and wore cargo shorts on occasion. It was something I really pushed against, because that’s how a lot of people react to being forcibly given a label.

Not the best environment for a little queer kid, clearly.

It wasn’t until well after I’d gone to college that I really started understanding who I was. Hell, I’m still figuring some things out, but at least I’m getting somewhere.

I remember reading this for the first time in 2015- yes, I got into the comics sort of late- and then having to reread it. I needed a moment just to process what had happened. As a person who had only recently come to terms with their sexuality at the time, it was kind of mind-blowing to have that sort of representation, especially since I was also watching Transformers Prime at around the same time. Talk about the duality of man, am I right?

These days, there’s a lot more representation in many different forms of media. Things are getting better. Which, y’know, yay! I’m glad. I just can’t help but wonder if things would have been a little different if this sort of representation had been available earlier on.

Anyway, so yes, Chromedome’s got a difficult choice to make for Rewind- either let his body try to sort itself out, or let First Aid break out the clamps and try to jumpstart him. Rewind’s got a relatively rare spark type, but luckily Chromedome’s the same type. Looks like everything’s coming up roses for our boys!

Tailgate and Cyclonus aren’t getting nearly as good a break.

My god, he’s filled with grape soda!

Back in the “Before”, things are getting a little silly.

Chromedome, what POSSIBLE tactical advantage could you be gaining from riding the giant, fire-breathing robot dinosaur? This is why they threw you in Kimia, isn’t it? Because you’re a dumbass.

While this bullshit is happening, Rewind and Tailgate are stacked on top of each other to look through a window, because I guess that’s just how things turn out when the resident couple on the ship is upset with one another. Rewind’s found something, but it isn’t the Circle of Light. Rather, it seems the Decepticons are dabbling in Pink Alchemy- a rather inefficient process that allows organic creatures to be turned into energon for consumption.

The good guy thing to do would be to save all the organics, but there’s a bit of a problem- the door is wired to a massive bomb. Good thing Tailgate was in Bomb Disposal, and is just generally an impressive and well-established dude. He gets to work.

Getting back to a point I made during Chaos Theory, Whirl can’t make a fist. Punching himself in the face is probably more akin to slashing it.

Tailgate’s got a weird approach to bombs, taking the time to teach Rewind how to do it, by way of student-led learning. They decide to poke a hole in the bottom of the bomb to drain all the explosive fluid out, which Tailgate does with little robot tears streaming down his face. Fear is a great motivator.

Oof, not a “Domey” in sight. That’s how you know things are rough.

Outside of this little scene, Whirl and Cyclonus are handling Decepticons. Whirl’s got a hold on that guy who’s voiced by Frank Welker, and we get a nice shot of his sad cat face before Whirl turns his head into a memory.

Swerve- who is also here- asks Whirl to loan him a gun.

GODDAMMIT SWERVE.

Not a single one of you bastards know proper gun safety! Between all the severe depression and reckless weapon-handling, I genuinely have no idea how the hell are any of you are still alive.

In the “After”, Chromedome’s just finished jumpstarting Rewind, and it’ll take a bit to see if it worked, so he’s left alone with his thoughts.

Just kidding, Tailgate’s come over to check in. Seems like Cyclonus is gonna pull through, something Chromedome’s not terribly thrilled about. Chromedome’s still miffed about the whole Kimia thing.

We finally learn why Chromedome and Rewind were fighting; it was because Rewind, as a walking historical database, has been deemed too important to die, and can opt out of any fight he choose to, but he doesn’t, thereby putting himself in harm’s way unnecessarily. Maybe he just worries about you when you go out there on the battlefield alone, Chromedome, you ever think of that? Maybe he doesn’t want to wonder when his husband will return home from the war.

Tailgate asks about all the little vials that are scattered around Rewind’s hospital bed, and we get a little Cybertronian tradition thrown at us.

The vials are filled with innermost energon, the stuff that surrounds the spark casing and never changes, no matter how much you modify or upgrade your body. Leaving a little of the stuff for someone in an offering signifies that you care very much for that person. Chromedome can’t give Rewind any, because he was “born dry”, but I think being space-married to the guy more than makes up for it.

Tailgate asks how the two of them met, and unlike in issue #6, Chromedome is feeling vulnerable enough to indulge the question this time.

But first we need to establish that Chromedome is insanely insecure.

So, Rewind is fucking old. He’s older than the Cybertronian civil war, he’s older than the calendar system, and he’s old enough to have been affected by Functionist society’s categorization system. Due to being a memory stick- something that there were millions of back in the day- Ratioism dictated that Rewind as an individual was worth very little, and made him and his like into slaves. Because he was a slave, he needed a master, and that master was none other than Dominus Ambus, also known as Cybertron’s Mech of the Year for 40,000 consecutive years.

Even on Cybertron, there’s a weird stigma about breastfeeding.

Rewind and Dominus quickly became friends, because that’s just the sort of guy Rewind is, and it made Dominus realize that maybe these slaves Cybertron had been working to death were sentient creatures worthy of respect too. He even developed a test to prove that all the slave classes were on the same level of functionality as everyone else.

On their quest to find a cure for the horrible disease Cybercrosis, Rewind and Dominus fucked off into space, on a wild goose chase to try and find Luna 1, the Cybertronian moon that just disappeared one day. Weird, that. They didn’t find it, and by the time they’d come back home, the war was well underway. They immediately became Autobots, and that was it for a while.

Then we move on to how Chromedome and Rewind met, and boy is it a doozy.

Chromedome had decided he wanted to kill himself, so he moseyed on over to the nearest relinquishment clinic- they did assisted suicides instead of body-swaps at this point- to do the deed. He was sitting in the waiting room, when he heard someone screaming. He wandered into the back to find Rewind weeping over a coffin, and he thought to himself “Maybe I don’t need to die after all” as he offered his future conjunx a shoulder to cry on.

What a fucking dark start to a relationship.

Rewind wasn’t upset about anyone who was dead though, but rather missing- Dominus had disappeared into thin air months ago, and Rewind was getting desperate to find him, looking in more and more awful places in the hope of recovering what he’d lost.

As it turns out, he’s still doing that. The reason the two of them are on the Lost Light is because Rewind needs to find Dominus- alive or dead, it doesn’t seem to particularly matter at this point. That’s why he buys snuff films in dark alleys.

See, Tailgate gets it.

Guys, bad news.

Chromedome’s spark is too weak to jumpstart Rewind. Unless they find another compatible donor, Rewind’s gonna be in big trouble. There’s nothing to do but wait.

Later, in their room, Chromedome is sitting on the floor and very much not following doctor’s orders to get some sleep. Someone on the opposite side of the door he’s leaning up against starts talking to him. Chromedome doesn’t seem to want to hear any of it, until he does.

Given who the basement dweller is, this probably won’t turn out so hot.

Chromedome gets a call from the medibay, and fortunately the universe has decided to play nice this go around, because someone came forward as a match.

But it’s not like Whirl cares about anyone, right? Not in the slightest, nuh-uh, not him!

While Chromedome gives Whirl what is probably an uncomfortably long hug, and they both most likely ignore the fact that Chromedome would be actively suicidal without Rewind, Tailgate’s off in the corner, having taken his hand off and begun pouring cartoon toxic waste into a vial. It’s actually his innermost energon. Boy’s making an offering, but it isn’t to Rewind.

It’s to this ungrateful fuck.

Cyclonus stalks away from Tailgate’s kindness, until he’s stopped by witnessing the power of love.

Everyone likes Rewind, and these displays of affection seems to have reminded Cyclonus that he’s horrifically lonely. Feeling some remorse over his actions- not that he’ll ever admit it out loud- he goes back to help Tailgate pick up the pieces of the vial he broke.

Wrapping up our story, we go back to the “Before”, right before the bomb is set to go off. Whirl and Cyclonus have more or less taken care of the Decepticons, Whirl suggests they set aside their differences and agree to stop trying to murder each other, in a surprising show of reason and, perhaps, self-preservation. Cyclonus doesn’t seem to agree with the idea.

I genuinely think that’s the most he’s said all series up to this point.

Rewind calls the two idiots over for help, because Tailgate’s about to pull a self-sacrifice to get this bomb emptied, and he just isn’t listening to reason. Cyclonus assists.

Once Tailgate’s been fastball-specialed out of the room, Whirl decides to get back to being a bastard, and locks Cyclonus and Rewind in with the bomb with 10 seconds left on the clock. Ah, so the donation was out of guilt, I see. Still a form of caring, in its own way.

With no way to escape, all Cyclonus can do is attempt to shield Rewind with his body as the bomb goes off.

That’s the end of the issue but it’s the middle of the story, and despite what Cyclonus says, dynamics are changing. Slowly, but surely, things are shifting. He’s headed for a lot of character development, and he’ll be kicking and screaming the whole way.

#transformers #jro #mtmte #issue 12 #maccadam #Hannzreads #text post #long post #overthinking about robots #incoming analysis #comic script writing

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hitbythunder · 4 years ago

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The Roll of Thunder -5

A Thor x Reader and later some Loki x Reader story

Warnings: non-con in later chapters

~º*º*º~

“Welcome, my son. It has been too long.” The All-Father said, his voice echoing through the empty throne room when Thor rose again. “How fares your new live on Midgard?” “It is very different, many things have changed... I have changed.” Thor replied hesitatingly and averted his gaze for a moment, trying to hide his sadness from his father. Odin sensed the discomfort lingering on his son and thus he didn't press the matter further. “Your visit is as joyful as it is surprising yet I wonder about its cause?” the All-Father said, his one eye watching his son intently. “I came to seek your knowledge and advice on this.” Thor replied while he placed the pieces of the sphere, which he had carried loosely, in front of the throne where they were more visible. The gold sparkled brightly in the well-lit throne room, causing the engravings to be more prominent and Odin rose abruptly when he saw them.

“These are the remains of a sphere. The engravings seem to be Asgardian...I hoped you could decipher their meaning.” Thor said in a low voice, not wanting to admit to his father that he had paid little attention during his history lessons. Odin had descended the steps of his throne when he picked up one of the pieces to observe it closely, his eye full of wisdom scanning every detail of the fine lines in the metal. “These are from an ancient dialect, once spoken here in Asgard. Only few possess the skill to read them... Where did you find that?” the All-Father said then, pensively stroking his snow-white beard with his free hand. “On our last mission we secured the golden sphere along with Loki's scepter.” Thor reported and noted how his father's one eye lit up briefly at the mention of the weapon. “At first we thought it to be an ordinary artifact and tried with all means to open it. After two days it did so on its own and forth came a woman.”

“A woman? Of what race?” Odin asked, turning the piece of the sphere around in his hands. “She is of no race I am familiar with, father. Her ears are pointy and her complete back is covered in golden scales. According to Midgardian technology one can assume that some sort of magic is involved and that she is still growing.” Thor replied and he purposefully left out the fact that she looked like the fallen prince of Asgard, knowing that his father was grieving too – probably more than he himself was. “Not human nor Aesir, not Jotun nor Vanir...” Odin mumbled, more to himself than to his son, before he finally looked at the blonde god, who was waiting impatiently for the response. “I am afraid that some time is needed in order to solve this riddle but fret not, my son, I shall uncover the truth behind this phenomenon.” Thor's shoulders slumped visibly at those words, had he expected some answers to the many questions in his mind. But time was not a problem, Thor had plenty because of his immortality. The only thing that bothered him was that no one knew what the black-haired woman would change into, what dangerous creature or beast she would become if more days passed.

“In time the truth will come to light and until then you should travel back to Midgard and ensure that this woman does not escape or inflict harm.” Odin said reassuringly, reading his son's expressions like an open book. Meanwhile a guard approached and picked up the pieces of the sphere to carry it away into the king's study, his every move watched by the Thunderer. “But...” Thor said barely audible but was cut off by Odin. “You sought advice, now heed it.” On his way to the palace gates, Thor came to a halt when he heard a familiar voice call him. “Lady Sif!” he said joyfully and bowed slightly as did she when she stood beside him. Clad in her finest armor, her black hair floating loosely down her back, she smiled ever so cunningly at him. “My prince, it's good to see you. I wasn't informed on your visit.” “No one was since I am already leaving again.” Thor replied and her smile faded instantly. “Oh... well, we can't let Lady Jane wait.” Sif said and forced herself not to let the words sound as sore as she felt right now. Since she first met the golden crown-prince she had deep feelings for him, but due to her low birth there was no way he would choose her. Later, when Sif had accomplished a high status amongst the Asgardian warriors, leading the Warriors Three herself, hope flamed up inside her that there could be a happy ending for her with Thor after all. Days before his coronation, Thor had been a real gentleman to her and there were some signs that he felt drawn to her. But then he was banished and met Jane. Thor hesitated to reply but decided it wouldn't matter if she knew what had happened. “Jane and I go separate ways now.” “Oh...” Sif's voice rang a little bit too high and loud, betraying the delight she felt at this revealing. “Nevertheless, I must go. It was a pleasure to meet you again and please present the Warriors Three my compliments.” Honestly, Thor had no intention to stay any longer since he knew how awkward the conversation would become if he did. Thus he bowed again and quickly made for the Bifrost.

Nothing holds me here... *** It was evening when Thor arrived at Stark Tower and the other Avengers were gathered in the living room, some of them watching a baseball match while Tony and Bruce talked about science. The Kitten sat beside Steve on the large cream couch and immediately looked over to the balcony door when Thor landed outside, her sharp sensed had already alarmed her of his presence long before the others noticed. “Hello friends.” Thor said when he entered the living room, carefully shutting the fragile glass door behind him – he had already smashed it several times using too much force. “Ah, welcome back Goldlocks! And? What did daddy Odin say?” Tony said and enjoyed the god's irritation because of the nickname. The other team members turned to listen to the answer. “Not much, I'm afraid. The engravings are indeed Asgardian but it will take a while to decipher them. For now we ought to surveil her and keep her within the tower.” Thor replied sternly and although he didn't look at the black-haired woman, he could feel her burning gaze on him. “And here I thought Odin has cosmic knowledge?” Tony quipped and gained a very angry stare from the Thunderer, causing him to regret his loose tongue. “Mind your words. The All-Father's wisdom is far beyond your understanding, Man of Iron.” Thor said as he sat down beside Bruce on a smaller couch of the living room suite. Luckily, Tony decided not to add any remark and everyone turned back to watching TV or conversing.

Later, Thor and Bruce stood at the bar, fetching some drinks and snacks for everyone, when Thor noticed how close the Kitten sat to Steve. In fact, she leaned on his shoulder casually and he didn't seem to mind at all. Under the dark blue shirt, his broad chest heaved slowly as did the woman accordingly but her black tank-top was way more showing. The scales had spread further as Thor realized, covering half her arms down to the elbows and he wondered if her legs looked the same. Suddenly he remembered how he met her accidentally in the bathroom. Her still wet body had been covered only by a towel which had squeezed her breasts lovely together, her slender legs bare in front of him. Despite his distrust and grudge for her, Thor had to admit that she was beautiful and he couldn't help but imagine her naked form, wondering which parts were covered in scales – and which not.

His alluring daydream was interrupted when Thor saw how the Captain put his right arm around the Kitten in a kind embrace and on top of that, she snuggled up to him. Thor's mood darkened as did the sky outside and he took a long sip from his drink. “Everything alright?” Bruce asked cautiously. As an expert on anger-management, the change of Thor's expressions didn't elude his eyes. Although the god didn't reply, Bruce only had to follow his gaze in order to get one. “Ah, you don't approve of those two and judging from the face you're making right now I guess you're jealous.” the scientist said in a low voice, not wanting the others to eavesdrop on their little chat and Thor almost choked on his drink at the words. “I am certainly not. This miserable creature...” “Look, Thor, I know she reminds you of your brother but she is definitely not like him. She's a very kind being and deserves to be treated nicely, not threatened with a hammer. Steve protected her from you, that's why she likes him and he grew quite fond of her...” “I can see that...” Thor muttered into his glass, narrowing his eyes at the sight of the Captain and the woman almost cuddling on the couch. “Please don't act foolishly.” Bruce said calmly and Thor snorted half amused, half offended. “My mother often told me that too.”

Thor grabbed the bowl full of popcorn and walked over to the others when suddenly all windows on the north side shattered into million pieces due to an explosion. Luckily the living room suite was far enough away from the windows so that no one got hurt. Everyone jumped to their feet, ready to face whatever caused this disruption, Tony called for his suit while Thor grabbed Mjolnir when about twenty men came through the destroyed windows. They were clad completely in black, masks covering their faces and on their helmets flaunted a red skull with tentacles. “Hydra!” Steve hissed and darted forward, followed by Thor. They reached the enemies just before they could draw their guns and sent five of them right back outside the window. However, the remaining Hydra agents pressed forward and attacked the others which were unarmed at the moment, even Tony wasn't in his full suit yet. Clint and Natasha, both experts in hand-to-hand combat, fought them off as best as they could while the Kitten hid behind the couch. She was very frightened, her whole body trembling as she cowered on the floor. Then there was a loud bang and a scream. “Natasha!” Clint shouted and furiously kicked the agent looming above her away before he knelt down beside her. “Nat?” he repeated but the red-head only grunted and pressed her hand flat against her stomach, red liquid welling up between her fingers. “Shit...” Clint muttered and tried to lift up the wounded assassin as gently as possible to carry her away but he didn't see another agent approaching them. Nor did he expect the Kitten to jump forth from her hiding place and tackle the Hydra agent behind him. The agent tried to shake her off but she wouldn't let him, she scratched him across the face, she bit him in the hand – she fought him with everything she had. Clint watched in amazement and noted another agent coming at her.

"Watch out!" he cried and suddenly something emerged from beneath the Kitten's red skirt, something flexible but indefinable – and it became longer and longer. "Is that a tail?" Clint muttered to himself as he dragged Nat behind the couch and as he took another glance at the fighting woman he was sure. "Holy shit, it's a tail!" Said part of her body was wrapped around one agent's neck, squeezing life out of him while she kicked the other one fiercely in his crotch before she lashed across his face with her now long black claws, wounding him badly at the eye. She was furious, her emerald eyes sparkling dangerously and she would show no mercy to those men who had hurt Natasha. The Kitten owed her that. The face of the agent whom she was strangling became red first than purple until he fainted and collapsed onto the ground. The other in front of her was blinded, blood gushing from his face and the Kitten simply turned to face the next opponent. In the meantime, more Hydra agents had entered the Tower but they stood no ground against Thor, Tony in his suit and Steve, one after another landed unconscious or badly wounded on the floor. With his mighty hammer he had crushed a man's skull through the black helmet, the sound of shattering bones being familiar to the god. Then Thor turned and saw the Kitten fight fiercely with three agents and another two lying at her feet.

"That's the last one!" Steve shouted as he sent an agent flying across the living room by a nice left upper cut. The same moment, Thor walked over to the little woman and eliminated two of the agents she was facing. Panting she stood before him and glared at him because she was not sure if he would attack her too. But Thor had no such thoughts as he was stunned by the newest changes to her body: from her lower back a long tail had grown, covered completely in golden scales and with a spike at its end. The scales on her body had stretched further, reaching down her whole arms and legs which sparkled with every movement. Then Thor noticed the long black claws she had, blood dripping from the sharp tips as it did from her pointy fangs.

What in the Nine Realms are you?! Thor thought to himself while Tony, Steve and Bruce – who had hidden behind the bar so that he wouldn't turn green and trash the whole Tower – stood perplexed beside him. "Incredible..." Bruce muttered and cautiously took a step closer. "I wouldn't get too close, buddy. She's definitely biting!" Tony said and refused to take off his suit, maybe the fight wasn't over yet. "She has become a monster as I feared. We shall have her in chains from now on!" Thor yelled and didn't wait for a response before he stepped towards her. The Kitten hissed dangerously and bared her fangs at the approaching god as she crouched before him, ready to lunge at him and rip his throat out if she must. This time her eyes were different, there was still fear but also blunt determination to fight him and Thor felt a cold shiver running down his spine as he met this intense gaze. "Stop it, you idiot!" In time, Clint stepped between Thor and the Kitten, shielding her as best as he could from the blonde giant. "She's no monster! Nat and I would be dead if not for her!" he added while Bruce ran over to the wounded red-head. "I need her down in my lab, NOW!" Bruce said as he examined her belly while Steve walked past Thor. "Go and tend to her, I'll take care of the Kitten." he said to Clint who nodded and turned to pick up Natasha.

"Of course you do, in every possible way I bet. You would let that scum even suck your cock!” Thor spat, his voice full of bitterness and all eyes were on him, except for Bruce and Clint who entered the elevator with Natasha. "You better watch your language." Steve said surprisingly calmly as he turned to the god. "Or perhaps you enlighten us on what your problem really is." he added and walked slowly towards the blonde. "Have you lost your eyesight? Look what she has done, look at her, she is -" Thor began but Steve wouldn't let him use that particular word again, especially not in the Kitten's presence. "None of us knows what she is but I don't care! I like her and there is no shame in that!" Steve said now louder and harsher than before. Thor chuckled condescendingly. "You must be truly desperate to be drawn to such a creature."

"Stop this bitch-fight, you are embarrassing!” Tony put in while the Kitten snuck away towards the elevator without any of the three man noticing. “You have no saying in this, Stark.” Thor replied ignorantly but Tony wouldn't have it. No one cut a Tony Stark short. “Well, since you seem to have overlooked the neon sign outside, this is my tower and I don't want the two of you trashing it because of some silly fight over a woman!!” “We are not!” Thor and Steve said in unison – much to Tony's surprise – and glared at the scientist. “Oh come on, of course you are! You fell head over heels for the little, helpless Kitty because of your 'protective-nature'!” Tony yelled at Steve before he turned to Thor, pointing accusingly at the god. “And you are horny whenever you see her but won't admit it because she looks like Reindeer Games – which makes me wonder about your relationship with Loki... did you let him 'wield the hammer'?”

And again, Tony regretted his loose tongue only seconds later, his cunning smile fading instantly when both Steve and Thor were on him. Now they were fighting each other and him too. When the three squabblers were done, half of the living room was trashed and everyone had some bruises here and there. Thor sat alone outside on the balcony, his head throbbing from the Captain's mean sidewinder as he watched the streets of New York at night. Besides the slight pain, his mind was plagued by confusing thoughts and he pondered over Tony's words for quite a while, not sure if there was some truth in them after all. Although Thor had envied Loki for his elegant looks, he had loved him as a brother, always, and there was nothing more. Honestly, Thor didn't know why exactly he acted so out of control when the Kitten was around, why his fury took the better of him several times. He remembered how he had loomed above her with his hammer ready to strike, her tiny body shaking in fear which had pleased him. And in the next moment, his mind would torture him with pictures of her naked form, posing playfully before him, those emerald eyes sparkling seductively while a sly smirk graced her lips.

Just like Loki... The god shook his head wildly to get rid of these images and stood up again. He needed some rest now, although he dreaded the dreams he might have tonight.

#loki x reader #thor x reader #fanfic #romance and drama #the roll of thunder

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herocentral · 4 years ago

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Possible Hero 6

Authors notes: Well folks this is it we’re in the endgame now, so watch as the final countdown to catastrophe begins!

Kim Possible & Big Hero 6 (c) Disney

Chapter 10: Countdown to Catastrophe Pt 3:

It was now daytime over San Fransokyo however all was not well Baymax in his armour was carrying Hiro, not on his back but held him by his left arm. Hiro struggled to get free from his friends grip but couldn’t.

“Baymax you have to listen to me!” Hiro pleaded but had no response as Baymax’s eyes glowed red he knew it was no longer his friend but he was under the control of someone else.

Hiro tried reaching for his armour access port so he could remove the chip that was responsible for this but couldn’t reach. Baymax then turned to him.

“Do not.” He said in a deep voice and Hiro just gave up.

The robot flew towards a cliff side far from the city and there was a small cave entrance. They flew in and at the end of the tunnel was a steel door which upon Baymax’s landing opened to reveal a tunnel.As they entered Hiro struggled to break free from Baymax’s grip but couldn’t.

“Resistance will result in further injury.” Baymax advised in a deep voice.

Hiro looked in surprise just then the door in front of them opened and they walked inside. They passed Momakase who was busy dicing sushi with her graphene katanas she took a moment to look and see their new prisoner.

Meanwhile Globby and Noodle Burger boy were busy playing poker as Hiro and Baymax walked by.

“Golly mister, I’ve got a noodle supreme with all the fixings.” Noodle burger boy said as he showed his hand.

“Gah knock it off with all the fast food jabber its confusing!” Globby groaned.

Baymax escorted Hiro down the hall of this strange complex then suddenly the young genius heard the sound of a familiar voice.

“Hi Hiro.” Said the voice. “Trina?” Hiro said and he looked to see the head of a brown haired girl with greyish blue eyes sitting on the table near him and there were wires coming out of it.

“GAH!” Hiro said in shock! “Y, you’re a..” “A robot, obviously” Trina answered as her body tapped Hiro’s shoulder it was wearing a pink shirt with grey pants and dark red shoes and wore black fingerless gloves on her hands.

Hiro was shocked to see and find out that a friend he met at the bot fighting arena and was responsible for using some of the contestants robots to commit crimes was really a robot the whole time.

“Uh obviously.” Hiro said stuttering “You never figured it out? Thats so pathetic it’s cute.” She said as her body did the gestures.

Hiro just looked back on the robot and then suddenly realised how her voice sound a lot like Kims a rather strange coincidence really. Baymax and Hiro continued down the hall way until another voice emerged one he was all too familiar with indeed.

“Well well well look who it is.” Hiro looked to see Shego leaning on the left wall filing her nails and smirked.

“Are you ever not going to get captured by the bad guys kid.” She said practically gloating. “Still this does make a change from last time doesn’t it, but it’s kind of ironic that your so called family is the one to bring you to the bad guys instead.” She walked over and looked him in the eyes.

“Yeah why don’t you take a picture Shego it’ll last longer.” Hiro glared.

“Hm not a bad idea.” Shego said as she pulled out her phone and took a picture of Hiro being held hostage by Baymax.

“I still can’t believe you decided to work with Obake!” Hiro glared.

“Hey nothing personal kid it’s just business, besides for once I’m on the winning side.” Shego smirked.

“Yeah and what happens when the winning side cuts you loose.” Hiro said as controlled Baymax pulled him away.

“Talk to the hand kid.” Shego brushed off. With that Baymax took Hiro to the end of the corridor and saw a glowing green light from the doors window.

The door opened and Hiro saw standing over a collection of monitor screens showing a map of the city a surveillance footage of his friends, Ron and Rufus in the Lucky Cat Cafe and some schematics for a device and the man watching them was Obake himself.

“Hiro Hamada, welcome.” Obake greeted as he turned to face his captive.

Hiro’s Garage Lucky cat Cafe:

Meanwhile back at the garage at the Lucky Cat Cafe the rest of Big Hero 6, Ron and Rufus were present, but Honey Lemon waited at the garage door rather anxious as a certain young genius was no where to be seen. However Ron was worried too he still hadn’t heard from Kim about what happened at Night Market.

“Oh Hiro was supposed to meet us.” Honey said holding a lock of her hair.

“Its not just him I still can’t get word from KP do you think she’s okay?” Ron said still brooding over the Kimmunicator.

“Ron relax I’m sure she’s fine she’ll get here soon.” Wasabi assured and Rufus backed that up with a consoling tap on Rons shoulder.

“Its defiantly weird.” Everyone then turned to Fred looking over the conspiracy board.

“People who make elaborate conspiracy boards are usually pretty reliable.” Fred then said.

“Uh huh.” Rufus agreed. “Great but it still doesn’t tell us what the bad guys planning.” Wasabi said.

“There has to be a pattern somewhere?” Gogo said, Ron looked over the board himself and he wished Kim was here as she could figure out the pattern faster than anyone. However when Ron looked over the board he suddenly noticed something and just like that something clicked.

“Hold the nacos guys!” Ron exclaimed getting their attention. “I think you’ve been looking at this all wrong!”

“Ron, explain now!” Gogo said simply wanting to know what he was talking about.

“You shouldn’t be looking for a pattern in the threads, you should be looking at the things that have been raised from the pattern.” Ron explained and it seemed everyone seem to know what he was talking about.

“Obake has the magnet from the school.” Gogo said looking at the large magnet that was stolen on Halloween night.

“And he was doing something in the bay.” Fred added.

“Yeah hence why he helped you guys stop that Baron Von Steamer dude right, but why?” Ron then asked Wasabi then realised something.

“What if he was turning H2O into D2O?” Wasabi said

“D20?” Ron asked. “Yeah it’s known fact that sea water if properly converted can be turned from H2O into an element known as D2O.” Wasabi explained.

“Which means what?” Ron asked again still confused.

“Heavy water, that can be used as fuel.” Gogo then explained.

“Uh huh I mean I don’t get it but ah huh.” Fred said.

“Oh right I think I had that on a science test once, I think it was one of the questions I got wrong.” Ron realised. “But fuel for what?”

“I don’t know but we know he was obsessed with Shimamoto.” Honey said looking at an old newspaper clipping about the city rising painting.

“Okay okay but what about the energy amplifying thing, Granville said he tried to make one but failed, and you said Yama blackmailed Hiro into stealing that ornament from her desk which we know was said amplifier.” Ron listed. “So what could he want with a magnet, water fuel then trick Hiro into making the amplifier for him? I mean I may not be smart but I’m getting a doomsday machine vibe from this.”

“Great minds think alike my man.” Fred said and Rufus nodded.

As they talked Honey Lemon began to think about all the components that their shadowy adversary had stolen in the past few months and what they could be assembled into. Then suddenly a horrifying realisation hit her he’d stolen Shimamotos journal during their confrontation at SFAI and given what they recently just learned there was only one clear conclusion.

“The Great Catastrophe!” She gasped. “He’s trying to recreate the Great Catastrophe!”

Everyone looked in horror knowing what said catastrophe did all those years ago to the city and most importantly the people.

“Wait wait the catastrophe that destroyed the entire city years ago the one Shimamoto said she created in her message that Great Catastrophe!?” Ron questioned in fright.

“Yep thats the one.” Wasabi said in a scared voice. “Oh no!” Rufus squeaked.

“And he has everything he needs.” Gogo realised, this was Obake’s endgame.

“Okay it’s official this is the insanest bad guy plan in the history of bad guy plans he’s going to kill thousands of innocent people!” Ron exclaimed.

Just then the kimmunicator ring tone sounded off which to Ron was a great relief it had to be Kim calling in from Night Market. So Ron hurried to answer it.

“Kim KP you there!” Ron called but it wasn’t Kim but Wade.

“Ron guys!” Wade called. “Wade whats wrong?” Gogo asked seeing the worried tone in his voice.

“I’ve lost contact with Kim, she found Obake’s hidden secret but the cellar was drowning the signal!” Wade panicked. “When I managed to get through I could hear some kind of explosion! Somethings wrong!”

“Oh no Kim!” Ron exclaimed. “Ron put whatever you’re thinking out of your head, lets get down to Night Market square and…” Gogo was interrupted by a groaning sound coming from the garage entrance everyone turned and saw something that made them gasp in shock.

“Oh my..” Honey gasped.

What or rather who they saw was Kim Possible, not dead and certainly not buried under the rubble of a building. She was panting with exhaustion and was completely covered in soot from head to toe and her left armour gauntlet was cracked and fried.

“Hey guys.” She breathed before she collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

“Kim!” Ron exclaimed as everyone ran over to her unconscious body

KP P.O.V

Kim was barely conscious but she could see the faces of Ron Honey, Gogo, Wasabi, Fred and Rufus standing over her but then she passed out.

Sometime later she began to hear voices around her and could faintly make out the voices as her friends and her parents.

“When she came in she just collapsed.” Honey explained rather worried.

“Its okay Honey you and the others did the right thing calling us.” Ann said assuringly. “She’s okay just badly shaken and bruised but she’ll come around in a few minutes.”

Slowly her eyes opened to see her parents and friends looking over her.

Normal view

She groaned as she woke up and found herself on the couch in the garage. Her armour had been removed as well as her equipment belt and gloves. She slowly managed to sit up.

“Easy Kimmy cub don’t try and stand.” James warned with care.

“Uh Dad, Mom guys.” Kim groaned. Just then Ron came through to see her and just wrapped her in a hug.

“KP you’re okay!” Ron breathed in relief. “Ow ow Ron easy.” She groaned as he hugged her too tight and Rufus came and hugged her face.

“Kim what, what happened?” Ron asked. “Oh you know just another disagreement between me and a mad man you know how it goes.” Kim said casually. “Obake just tried to bring a building down on my head.”

“What?” James said “Why?” “I’m betting so she wouldn’t interfere with his plan.” Gogo guessed.

“Kim we just figured out what Obake’s plan is!” Fred then said.

“Let me guess he’s trying to recreate the Great Catastrophe.” Kim said much to everyones surprise especially Ann and James.

“How did you…” “Figured it out when he showed me…” Kim answered Wasabi but she suddenly remembered.

“Hiro!” Kim breathed and suddenly summoned the strength to stand up from the couch.

“Obake’s got Hiro we need to find them now!” Kim said in a serious tone

“What!” Honey exclaimed. “Kim whats going on?!” Gogo asked.

“It’s Obake he’s been watching all of us!” Kim began explaining. “He has surveillance footage set up every where at your homes, the hotel where I’m staying, Hiro’s lab at SFIT and the Lucky Cat!” Kim listed.

“He’s been watching us, but that means..” “He knows who we are!” Gogo interrupted Wasabi who then realised how.

“Noodle Burger Boy! He can scan customers and analyse their food needs Obake must have taken him so he could scan us during the fight and learn our identities!” Wasabi figured.

“And this mad man plans to create the same catastrophe that destroyed the city!” Ann gasped. “But why?” James said.

“To make what he calls a new world he won’t care about those who get hurt and he had Noodle do something to Baymax during the fight at Krei tech to get control of him.” Kim explained as she put her equipment belt back on.

“A sleeper!” Fred gasped. “But how do we find Obake we don’t even know where he is!” Honey said.

“Yeah without Baymax we can’t track him!” Wasabi pointed out.

“What about the tracking through the data chip thing we used before?” Ron suggested.

“Obake was the one who suggested that so he’ll make sure we can’t use that to track him.” Gogo shot down.

Kim then put her gloves back on and activated the Kimmunicator to call Wade.

“Kim oh man am I glad to see you.” Wade gasped in surprise. “Yeah likewise Wade, can you get a fix on Hiro’s position?” She then asked.

“On it!” Wade replied. “Wait you can find him how?!” Wasabi asked.

Flashback to Granville’s office.

Kim placed a consoling hand on Hiro’s shoulder after hearing Granville’s story but when she removed it a small blue device was now on Hiro’s neck under his hair.”

“I placed a tracker on him just in case something like this happened.” Kim said.

Present day:

“Wow way to think ahead.” Fred said. Then Wade buzzed in.

“Got him!” Wade said now they knew where Hiro was.

Obake’s lair

Deep in Obake’s lair the villain is showing his captive Hiro some footage shedding some light on what happened during their fight at Krei tech.

“Noodle Burger boy.” Hiro guessed.

It showed Noodle burger boy swinging down to Baymax’s chest and inserting a certain chip into his data port which caused him to go haywire then later take Hiro straight to the villains lair.

“I should have been there.” Hiro said with a look of guilt realising he was to blame for Baymax being like this now. “but I was…”

“Doing vital work.” Obake interrupted then showing him the energy amplifier he unknowingly created on his behalf. “For me.”

He gestured for Baymax to let the young genius go which the robot complied. Obake then placed the amplifier into a container for storage then showed him a monitor of a painting done by a certain artist.

“Lenore Shimamoto?” Hiro wondered. “I’m a big fan.” Obake said as he unveiled her creation as the other villains in the room watched.

“Shimamoto built a rather unique machine.” Obake moved the visuals showing the schematics of said machine. “It created a star.” He then showed a holo vis of an energy star.

“A star?” Hiro wondered. “It collapsed quickly.” Obake described in the visual.

“Th, that would create a giant shock wave.” Hiro then had a horrifying realisation. “Wait thats how she caused the Great Catastrophe!”

“Oh you are sharp.” Obake complimented then moving the slides to show San Fransokyo in the past and present day.

“But new San Fransokyo is much larger now, so I need a bigger bang!” He then explained. “I improved upon Shimamoto’s inadvertent discovery, it should be quite a show.”

“Why didn’t I listen to Granville.” Hiro said to himself in guilt.

“Because like me you were meant, to push limits.” Obake said to his fellow genius showing him a simulation of the star exploding and destroying the entire city in the process.

Hiro smacked away from the mad genius Obake seeing he really was insane.

“But everyone will be….Aunt Cass!” He breathed in horror. “ I, I have to warn her!” Hiro hurried to try and exit the room but Baymax stopped him.

“If it’s any comfort, even if she left now she wouldn’t make it out of the city in time.” Obake said coming over giving Hiro false consolation while Globby stuffed his face with sushi but realised what Obake was planning to do.

“Wait he’s going to destroy San Fransokyo?” Globby questioned. “Even Joes Diner?” He got into Momakase’s face.

She responded by slamming the sushi tray into his face. “Your breath smells like garbage!” She said and Noodle just giggled.

“Besides Globby, he’s a bad guy this kinda thing goes with the territory thats what you signed up for right?” Shego smirked liking Obake’s ambition more and more.

However the glob villain bore a rather doubtful look in his glowing green eyes, he never signed up for this, he just wanted to be recognised but not when people he knows are going to get hurt.

Freds Mansion:

At Freds Mansion the rest of the Team Possible and Big Hero 6 were suited up in their armour. Kim had just set out to try and rescue Hiro from Obake but decided to go solo as this required stealth, meanwhile James and Ann were told to take the boys and look after Aunt Cass at the cafe and be ready to move at a moments notice. This left the rest of the team waiting figuring out what to do next.

“Hiro, Hiro.” Honey tried on the coms to no success. “Nothing.”

“There has to be something we can do to help.” Gogo said.

“If we had Baymax we could scan for him and go help.” Wasabi thought just as Mini Max entered Freds room carrying a tray of asparagus.

Then Fred had an idea. “Well can you scan for people Mini Max?”

“Sure within a mini radius.” Mini-Max answered.

“How mini is mini?” Ron asked. “This room” Mini Max answered and began scanning.

“I do not detect Hiro Hamada.” Mini Max said much to Freds disappointment.

“Asparagus spear.” Mini Max offered which immediately perked Fred up a bit. However Ron had just had enough.

“Guys we can’t just sit here and do nothing!” Ron said. “What can we do Ron, Kims benched us and we don’t know how we can help find Obake.” Gogo said.

“But we can’t give up, I know sometimes I screw up on missions sometimes and heck I’m not to afraid to admit I get scared!” Ron then began to say. “But I’m still there beside Kim through thick and thin, because you never abandon your friends in a time of need.” Everyone listened to what Ron was saying. “KP’s doing her part now we need to step up and do ours.”

Everyone was amazed and surprisingly inspired by Rons speech and deep down they knew he was right.

“Wow good speech.” Fred said amazed. “Uh huh.” Rufus said hopping onto Honey Lemons shoulder.

“Now come on we have big brains in this room now is there a way we can find Obake or at least his Catastrophe machine!” Ron then said.

“We know his machine will out put a lot of energy.” Honey Lemon pointed out.

“We are able to scan for an energy surge.” Wasabi added.

“Let’s pick up our equipment from SFIT, and get to the highest point in the city.” Gogo decided.

“Find Obake.” Wasabi said determined. “Find Hiro.” Honey said determined.

“And stop this countdown to catastrophe.” Ron said determined.

“You know Ron sometimes you are really surprising.” Gogo admitted.

“Thats what you get when you underestimate the Ron man! A BOOYAH!” Ron cheered.

“Now if only you could solve the losing your pants problem.” Gogo then said as they took their leave.

“Aw man way to undo the Booyah.” Ron said rather down.

“Hey she does that dude.” Fred acknowledged. “There there.” Mini Max consoled.

Obake’s Lair:

“You’ll be quite safe here with me, two visionaries just hanging.” Obake said as he was typing on the keys to his computer and plugging in Noodle Burger boy.

“Its not about me your going to hurt millions of people!” Hiro tried.

“Together we’re going to create a star, congratulations Hiro thats some final project.” Obake merely said.

“NO!” Hiro said. “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” He reasoned but Obake knew where he’d heard that before.

“Ech thats Granville talking.” Obake just gagged.

“Because, Granville was right.” Hiro began to see what his teacher was trying to tell him about having limits. “She’s been right all along.” He said in guilt.

“Nonsense!” Obake disagreed. “Do you know why Icarus plunged to his doom?” He then asked.

“Because he flew too high.” Hiro answered. “Because he needed better wings.” Obake said putting his hands on the geniuses shoulders looking at him squarely in the eye.

“We have the ability to remake the world!” Obake said. “Starting with this city! The worthy survive” He then said with a sadistic smile, whilst Hiro looked with worry as he was helpless.

Elsewhere deep in the lair near the water filtration system, a grate was raised from the floor and out from it was a certain red headed teen who was now wearing a wet suit with an air tank. She had to admit Obake was smart putting his lair hiding in plain sight under the San Fransokyo bay where no-one would think to look it was a wonder why none of her arch enemies had thought to do that yet.She removed her air mask and goggles then activated the Kimmunicator.

“Wade I’m in.” Kim said. “Right according to the tracker Hiro should be somewhere in the control room some kilometres east to your position.” Wade relayed. “Ron and the others are trying to locate Obake’s machine.”

“Please and thank you.” Kim said as she turned off the Kimmunicator, took off her flippers and as her bare feet touched the cold metal ground she went off to find Hiro.

Elsewhere in the city:

Meanwhile the rest of the team were in Wasabi’s car heading through the city after collecting their equipment. However, they were going at an unbelievably slow pace probably because the neat freak of the group was driving despite some protest.

“Wasabi step on it!” Gogo said “Way ahead of you we are currently five percent over the speed limit.” Wasabi said looking at the speedo.

“Uh dude no offence and all but we are kind of in a hurry so can we please pick up the pace!” Ron said. “Uh huh yeah Floor it!” Rufus agreed.

“This is a quick enough pace.” Wasabi said. “Okay I can’t believe I’m saying this but maybe we should have let Gogo drive.” Ron said but be careful what you wish for.

“Way ahead of you.” Gogo said pulling out what looked like a remote control for a toy car. “New driver!”

With that they accelerated forward with Wasabi yelling in terror as they did swerving round cars and speeding through the streets like something from a Fast and Furious film. Gogo worked the controls on her remote. Not to say there was a side effect to this for one of the passengers in the back seat with Ron, Rufus and Honey Lemon.

“Uh guys, heads up I get a little car sick.” Fred warned as he started to gag as he wasn’t feeling so good “In the back sometimes.”

Honey moved a little closer to Ron who blushed a little whilst Rufus hid behind her head to avoid the coming vomit crisis.

Back at Obake’s Lair:

Obake carried Hiro’s energy amplifier as he Baymax, Noodle Burger Boy and Shego escorted the young genius down the hallway. But Hiro still didn’t know the reason for being here.

“Why am I here?!” He demanded. “You have my energy amplifier what more do you want?”

Obake stopped outside a door Hiro then stopped only for Noodle to crash into him and Hiro pushed him back.

“A student.” Obake then answered. “I’m sorry?” Hiro questioned.

“Granville doesn’t understand your potential but I do!” Obake then said with an evil look. “When my new city is complete, it will be a paradise for learning and research I can’t wait to see what you’ll accomplish!” He said rather eagerly.

“What we’ll accomplish.” He said calmly. Hiro couldn’t believe what he was hearing Obake wanted him as a student in this new world of his he really was crazy.

“What!” He said in disbelief. “You’d have to be crazy to think that I would ever join you!” He exclaimed.

“You’re a bit worked up right now.” Obake observed ignoring his comments and he moved for Baymax to open the door to what looked like a prison cell.

“But you’ll understand, tragedy has moulded us, intellect has driven us, now we stand at the doorway to greatness!” Obake said with determination.

“Once it’s all over and theres nothing left to save you’ll see things differently.” He predicted.

“No I won’t!” Hiro disagreed. “I’m not like you!”

“Aren’t you?” Obake questioned whilst holding up the energy amplifier the young genius made despite the protests from his tutor. Hiro then began to wonder if he was right. Before he could answer Baymax pushed him into the cell and shut the door behind him before he tried to get out.

“Go set the wheels in motion.” Obake said as he handed the amplifier to Noodle Burger boy.

“Oo oo oooo!” Noodle cheered. “An order of the secret menu!”

“JUST GO WILL YOU!” Shego exclaimed. With that Noodle just hopped away to do his job. Obake then turned to Hiro in his cell.

“Oh and Hiro in case you were thinking that Mrs Possible might try and come to rescue you.” Obake said as he then activated a video of Kim inside the basement of the Night Market Square building she was trying to get out but then a huge explosion consumed the room and then it switched to the outside view and Hiro looked in horror to see the building crumbling down to the ground with her still inside. Shego was in shock too.

“No!” Hiro breathed in horror. “I don’t deny my method is, harsh.” Obake said smiling. “But winning tends to settle any arguments.” Hiro just glared at the villain in disgust as he left.

“Hold up glow face!” Shego then said as he turned to see Shego rather angry.

“Is there a problem my dear?” He asked. “Yeah who said you could get rid of Kim Possible Thats my job!” Shego argued as the honour of defeating Kim was stolen from her.

“Was it though?” Obake questioned to which Shego looked confused. “Time and time again you’ve had the chance to defeat your enemy multiple chances in fact and every time you’ve squandered them.” He explained. “In fact you have the potential to be a great villain yourself but insist on working with amateurs like Drakken instead of pursuing your own path to greatness.”

Shego was still listening to what her new ‘boss’ was saying to her and began to question herself.

“I have merely shown you what you should have done from the start because unlike those other so called ‘super villains’ I don’t hold back and let those who interfere get the chance to do so again, and isn’t it clear that you're smart enough to take over the world?” Obake then questioned. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say that you like being the hired help.”

He then walked away from the scene to his control room but Shego wasn’t letting this freak insult her right to her face.

“Oh really!” She said as she ignited her plasma blasts but before she fired them they suddenly disappeared. She tried to use her powers even her gauntlets but they didn’t work.

“What w, what happened to my powers?” Shego gasped.

“Oh I’m sorry did you forget who you’re speaking to?” Obake said then pulling out of his pocket a small remote device.

“You see I anticipated you would stoop to something like this my dear, so I made sure to take the necessary precautions.” he explained. “Those gauntlets not only enhance your powers, but can also neutralise them with the touch of this remote.”

“WHAT?” Shego exclaimed. “You see what I have given you I can also take away, see to it you remember that.” He then pressed the button again giving Shego back her powers and left.

Shego knew she had been duped and she looked to the young genius in the cell and realised he was right Obake would betray her and who knows maybe even cut her loose.

Later Hiro was trying to escape his cell, he charged the door but instead of busting the door down it really hurt his arm as he hopped around in pain. He then tried pulling on the locking wheel multiple times even turning it but that didn’t work. All seemed hopeless until.

“Looking for a way out?” Hiro looked up and saw Globby sliming into the cell between the cracks. Hiro shrieked as he let go of the handle and fell on the floor.

Globby then fully entered the room just as Hiro stood back up again.

“What are you..” Hiro then realised what Globby was trying to do. “Wait, you’re going to help me escape?”

“Yeah I knew Obake was crazy, but I thought it was a fun crazy.” Globby explained. “Plus I don’t want to destroy the city all my friends live there.” he then said. “Felony Carl and urm?” He tried to list his other friends.

“Felony Carl.” He then said again. “Thats the whole list isn’t it?” Hiro asked with a knowing raised eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Globby said with a frown.

Outside the cell Momakase was busy tossing her Graphene knives at the opposite wall just out of pure boredom as she stood guard over the prisoner. Suddenly the door from Hiro’s cell was knocked down by Globby now in the form of a bull she turned and saw him and Hiro together.

“Me and the kid are breaking out!” Globby said and Hiro just smiled and waved.

“Counter proposal No!” Momakase denied as she drew her katana. She charged forward and sliced at Globby with her katana trying to strike him but every time she sliced at him he just reformed into his original shape.

“Globby are you okay?” Hiro asked out of concern.

“Yeah it looks worse than it feels.” Globby replied as the ninja chef keeps slicing.

Momakase jumps away and draws her second Katana. “Lets see if we can change that.” She twirled them round but before she could attack

KLUNK! Something hit her in the head or rather someone. She fell to the floor and revealed it was Kim in her wet suit holding a piece of piping in her hand showing it was her who knocked her out.

“What? You never learned a sneak attack in ninja school?” Kim cracked.

“Kim!” Hiro said amazed as he ran over and instantly hugged her which she just returned.

“But I thought, Obake?” “So did he but he clearly forgot who he was dealing with.” Kim smiled interrupting Hiro.

Flashback: Several hours earlier:

Kim sees the count down is about to reach zero, and suddenly sees a grate in the ground as she scans the room, she pulls up the grate then jumps into it just as the clock reaches zero and destroys the building. In the rubble some debris started to move and it revealed Kim with her gauntlet shield pushing up the debris to get clear she succeeds and pushes the slab away but the effort shorts out her gauntlet. She coughs in the dust but then walks away to head for the garage.

Present Day

“Besides, it’s not the first exploding building I’ve escaped from and it probably won’t be the last either.” Kim pointed out.

“But how did you find me?” He asked and she answered by pulling from his neck the tracking device she placed on him earlier and then he knew.

“Obake’s not the only one who’s one step ahead.” Kim smirked.

“Oh clever.” Globby said as he looked Kim was about to attack but.

“No no Kim it’s okay Globby’s on our side now.” Hiro explained. “Oh well good enough for me, now let’s get Baymax and get out of here.” She said

“Yeah but first.” Hiro gestured to Momakase as she was regaining consciousness. “Glob her” They said and instantly Globby fired some of his goop and pinned Momakase to the wall.

“Ha who’s breath smells like garbage now?!” Globby gloated. “Still yours!” Momakase said as she was then gagged with goop.

The three then headed down the hallway to look for Baymax without being seen but suddenly as they turned a corner they saw a certain green female with energy blasts standing between them.

“Well well well, I guess Obake’s full proof plan didn’t work, you’ve got more lives than a cat Kimmy.” Shego taunted.

“This isn’t a game Shego innocent people are going to die I can’t let that happen.” Kim said. “So you can either stand aside or we can go another round.” She warned moving into a battle stance.

Surprisingly however Shego didn’t take up her own combat stance, instead she powered down her plasma hands then turned to move out of the way.

“You’re ballon friends down this hall way fourth door on the left, if you plan on saving him you better hurry.” She then said.

This left Kim, Hiro and Globby confused Shego was letting them pass regardless of the consequences.

“What?” Hiro gasped in disbelief. “GO! Before I change my mind.” She then warned. With that the three ran past before Globby turned back to the green villainess.

“Thanks.” Globby said and he left. Shego then looked at herself and wondered why she just let them go like that.

“Since when did you grow a conscious?” She said to herself and to cover her tracks she ignited her right hand in plasma then shocked herself knocking her out onto the ground.

Elsewhere:

Hiro and Kim peaked into the room that Shego directed them to and found Baymax powered down in a dark room. Hiro snuck into the room and slowly approached his de-powered friend and reached for his data port to remove the chip.

“Whoa what are you doing!” Globby whispered. “He’s a bad robot now!” Hiro reached for Baymax but Kim put a hand on his arm to stop him he turned to her.

“I’m sorry Hiro, but it’s too great a risk right now we’re unarmed and out numbered and it’s to dangerous to escape with a bigger group.” She said then putting her hands on his shoulders knelling down to his level.

“But I promise we’ll come back for Baymax as soon as possible, but we have to go before we’re discovered.” She said and deep down Hiro knew they were right. He takes one last look at his friend.

“I’ll come back for you Baymax.” Hiro promised as the three took their leave of the room leaving Baymax de-powered and alone in the evil lair.

They soon arrived in the main control room and looked for a way out of the lair but scanning the room there wasn’t one.

“Theres no way out.” Hiro said. “And we can’t leave the way I came in I only brought one air tank.” Kim pointed out.

“Oh isn’t there?” Globby then said rather confident with his glob hands on his hips.

He reached for the grate on the floor and pulled it out of the floor revealing a potential escape route. Globby jumped down the manhole. But then came up again and grabbed Kim and Hiro with his glob hands.

“Hold your breath!” He called as he pulled them down the tunnel. “WHOA!” They cried as they went down.

Outside the lair which was a network of pipes and a circular entrance running straight into the bedrock under the bay Globby with Kim and Hiro inside quite literally escaped through the water pipe that lead from the lair to a pipe cover in the bedrock. The locking wheel turned and opened Globby made himself into an air bubble for his passengers to breath and in an instant they floated up to the surface and emerged on within the bay area.

Hiro and Kim then began running inside of Globby to make him move in the water towards the shore.

“You know I swear I’ve seen this once in a movie.” Kim then thought out loud.

“Did it involve superheroes lost in a jungle running away from bladed discs?” Hiro guessed since he’d seen that film once before when it was Freds turn for group movie night one time.

Upon making the shore Globby swung from building to building carrying both Kim and Hiro across the skyline. They soon landed in an alley way just opposite the Lucky Cat Cafe, with that Kim and Hiro dismounted.

“Wait here.” Hiro said as he left. “Why can’t I come in?” Globby asked.

“Are you seriously asking that?” Kim wondered. “I don’t have time to explain to you.” Hiro said as he left leaving Globby with a frown. “Rude.”

“Come on we’ll go round back to the garage.” Kim said as she pulled him towards the back of the cafe. “But I get it.” he then said.

Hiro then entered the Cafe completely drenched in water and was greeted by a welcome sight. “Hiro.” He looked to see his Aunt Cass serving coffee in the cafe.

“You’re okay.” she said in a relieving voice and Hiro gave a warm look to his aunt as he was afraid he wouldn’t see her again.

“Aunt Cass.” He breathed with joy nearly tearing up as he enveloped her in a hug.

“Whoa you’re all wet.” Cass noticed by the wetness of his clothes and hair.

“Yeah, ah freak down pour.” Hiro explained. “It didn’t rain here?” Cass questioned.

“Actually Cassie it did.”

Hiro and Cass looked to see Ann and James Possible sitting at the table enjoying some lunch in the cafe whilst at the same time keeping an eye on Cass should the worst happen.

“Yeah a surprising down pour earlier today, read it on my phone.” James added.

“Uh y, yes it happened three blocks away the weirdest thing.” Hiro agreed.

“There are fresh towels in the laundry room.” Cass accepted as she refilled someones coffee then had an idea. “Oh we should go out to dinner tonight your pick you know celebrate the end of your first semester.” she suggested.

“In fact Ann why don’t you and your family join us.” She then said. “We’d be delighted Cassie we’ll buy.” Ann offered.

“Oh I don’t think…” “Oh come on its our last day in San Fransokyo its the least we can do.” James agreed.

“Well okay then.” Cass said. Hiro just looked down a little guilty thinking if first finished semester could very well be his last.

“Thanks Aunt Cass.” Hiro thanked “Love you.” He said hugging her.

“Oh watch the hot coffee!” Cass warned lifting the two coffee pots in her hand. Then tilted her head embracing her nephew.

After a minute they broke their hug but Cass couldn’t help but notice the look on Hiro’s face. “Is something…”

“Uh gotta go.” Hiro said as he walked away to get himself dried off. “Don’t forget dinner tonight!” She called.

Hiro looked back and gave a warm smile to his aunt then looked to the Possible who nodded and wished him luck for what lay ahead.

Hiro’s Garage:

Meanwhile in the garage Kim was changing back into her mission outfit and told Globby to wait outside whilst she did. She slipped her black crop top back on and was now fully dressed in her mission outfit. Just then Hiro entered the garage.

“Hows your aunt?” Kim asked. “Oh yeah she’s fine.” Hiro said in a depressed mood. To which the cheerleader noticed.

“Hiro, whats wrong?” She asked and in response Hiro just swiped away the tools on his bench in anger.

“This, this is all my fault.” Hiro stuttered almost on the verge of a nervous break down.

“No this isn’t on you.” Kim tried. “Kim don’t you get it I disobeyed Granville I created that amplifier I set this in motion it is my fault!” Hiro said nearly on the verge of tears.

“I was so stupid, I wanted to prove I could accomplish the impossible that I didn’t realise that I was just handing the final piece that Obake needed right into his hands!” Hiro cried. “The city’s going to be destroyed and it’s all because of me and my ego!” Some tears started streaming down his face.

Kim sat down on the stool near Hiro’s work bench and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hiro, look at me.” She said and Hiro looked at her and listened. “Mistakes are going to happen it comes with the job be it as a super hero or even a young genius in university.” Kim said.

“Thats easy for you to say, you haven’t made any mistakes that have lead to a catastrophe.” Hiro then said given how perfect she seemed.

“You honestly think I haven’t made my own fair share of mistakes?” Kim questioned in surprise. “Well guess what I have.” this got the young geniuses attention.

“You see not to long ago Ron wanted to try out as a cheerleader for an extra curricular activity.” Kim described.

“The Mad Dog?” Hiro then remembered.

“Yeah and well as you can imagine the rest of my squad weren’t too fond of the idea and well instead of supporting him I sided with the cheer squad.” Kim explained. “And well it lead to a fight between me and him, since we’ve known each other since pre-k and I didn’t stand by my best friend.”

“All because he wanted to be a mascot?” Hiro questioned. “Hey he was foaming at the mouth I’m only human.” Kim then exclaimed.

“Anyway after a fight with Drakken and his Bebe robots I realised that I’d made a mistake that my friendship with Ron was more important than the opinion of the cheer squad and it turns out they liked his act.” Kim continued which left Hiro more than surprised.

“Then sometime later I made the mistake of suggesting that Ron should get a hair cut.” Kim explained which had gotten Hiro more confused. “But it changed him into something he wasn’t all because I thought what was best for him, and I realised he was better the way he was him and his Ronness.”

“So you see that was me making a mistake and it wasn’t the only one.” Kim then said. “We all make mistakes Hiro but whats important is how we make right by them.”

“But it’s not just that, Obake says I’m like him and, I can’t help but wonder if he’s right.” Hiro then explained.

“You’re not him, thats not the kind of person that you are.” Kim comforted.

“Then what kind of person am I?” Hiro wondered Kim then scooted closer to the young genius.

“The kind of person who cares whether or not all those people outside live or die in this visionary world of a deranged mad man.” Kim then gestured to the outside of the garage. “Obake believes he knows whats best for everyone, but you knew that the things that he was doing to accomplish that was wrong” She explained. “You know the difference between right and wrong and are not willing to blur the lines between them.” Hiro listened to what his friend said. “That is the kind of person you are, and thats what makes you different than Aken.” Kim said pointing to his chest.

“Being smart isn’t a thing you are Hiro, it’s what you do with it.” Kim then said. “The way that Tadashi raised you to do with it.”

Hiro looked up hearing the name of his brother and in that moment he knew she was right, he wasn’t like Obake at all. Sure he’s done some questionable short cuts and took dangerous risks and heck even made some mistakes but he’s always put right his mistakes. He then remembered his brothers dying words.

“So what are you going to do?” Kim then asked and after a minute Hiro responded.

“Theres someone out there who wants to hurt people.” Hiro said with determination. “Someone has to help!”

“Someone has to help.” Kim smiled. “You know for a moment there you sounded just like my brother.” Hiro noticed and so the two set to work.

Elsewhere:

Meanwhile high above the city on the city’s highest structure which was a rather tall radio tower, which was actually the place where Big Hero 6 had their second fight with Globby.

The rest of the team were still trying to track down Obake or his device using a small radar dish scanning for energy surges. Ron held the Kimmunicator attached to the radar as Wade was doing his part too. Gogo was using her tablet to run scans of the city too whilst Wasabi, and Honey Lemon watched Fredzilla meanwhile was looking down from the tall structure

“Wait you’re not scared to be up here Wasabi?” Fredzilla asked.

“Oh I’m quite terrified.” Wasabi acknowledged. “I’m just more afraid of the city being wiped out.

“You’re not the only one.” Ron agreed.

“The tall sky scraper or the city being wiped out?” Gogo asked already knowing the answer.

“Both.” Ron said. Rufus stayed close to Honey Lemon as he too was a little scared she petted him for comfort.

“Any luck Wade?” Gogo asked. “No nothing so far no sign of a surge of energy.” Wade relayed and then at that moment.

“Guys are you there?” Called a familiar voice on the coms. “HIRO!” Everyone exclaimed.

“Where are you? is Kim with you?” Wasabi asked.

“Yeah she’s with me, listen” Hiro relayed

Hiro’s Garage:

“Obake has control of Baymax, he used him to capture me.” Hiro said as he was putting his armour glove on and in the background Kim was doing the same with her newly repaired gauntlet.

“I only escaped because of Kim and Globby.” He then said and said Globby then landed next to Hiro.

“I’m a good guy now!” Globby said in joy

“Yay Globby!” Said a joyful Honey Lemon on the coms “I knew you weren’t all bad.” and Globby formed a glob ear on his left side then stuck himself to Hiro’s helmet and pulled it off his head and he fell over.

“Hey it’s the tall girl!” Globby said rather happy as Kim helped Hiro up. “She believed in me all along.”

“I’m really not that tall.” Honey then said.

“Its probably the shoes she wears.” Kim guessed.

Obake’s lair:

Momakase is still stuck to the wall by Globby’s goop she struggles to free herself but to no avail. She tries to reach for her katana with her foot only for it to be picked up by another certain individual in the room. Obake proceeded to pull the glob gag off the ninja.

“The idiot glob helped the boy escape.” Momakase explained.

The left side of Obake’s face glowed in anger knowing his future apprentice escaped.

“And thats not all, the Possible girl is still alive!” She then said. “What!” Obake exclaimed and the glowing part of his face glowed brighter. “Thats impossible she couldn’t have survived that!”

“Yeah well thats the thing Obake.” Obake turned to see Shego limping towards him looking a little beat up. “Kimmy isn’t one to go down easy guess your plan to eliminate her wasn’t as full proof as you thought.” She said.

Obake just glared in anger then turned to Momakase and used the katana to cut her free. “Bring him back!” He exclaimed.

Momakase broke free from her goopy bonds “Why bother?” She then questioned.

“Yeah he’s clearly a lost cause and doesn’t want to be your student.” Shego agreed.

“He needs guidance, my guidance.” Obake said as he handed Momakase the katana and took his leave.

“Does he seem to be losing it?” Shego said to the ninja. “Finally something we can agree on.” Momakase agreed as she departed on her mission.

Elsewhere a distance from the city:

Meanwhile at a lighthouse a distance away from San Fransokyo Noodle Burger Boy on his hover claw vehicle arrived at the lighthouse with the energy amplifier in hand. He departs his vehicle and enters the top of the lighthouse.

“Noodle Burger, we deliver.” Noodle said as he opened the doors inside lay a large looking device and a group of machines surrounding it the machine that Obake built from the specs left behind by Lenore Shimamoto.

“Helooooo.” He called as he hoped inside the building. “he he he he he.”

Noodle hopped onto the control console and began flicking buttons and switches turning on the machine. He opened a compartment located in his head and pulled out the energy amplifier and inserted it into its desired slot in the centre of the machine. The amplifier twisted open inserting itself in the console.

Noodle then jumped from the machine. “This Noodle Burgers gonna ring everybody’s bell! He he he.” He said as he pressed a button and the power began building from one percent capacity and climbing. The amplifier then hummed into life surging power all over the room and so Noodle Burger Boy took his leave.

“Time to fry the noodle!” He sang as he entered his claw vehicle and fled the scene back to Obake.

Back with the team:

Whilst Gogo studied her tablet with Wade the radar suddenly detected the energy surge they were looking for.

“Gogo I’ve got something!” Wade relayed. Gogo checked the data and triangulated the location.

“Hiro, Kim it’s in the Kittyonpoint lighthouse.” Gogo relayed.

“Copy that.” Hiro relayed.

“How are we going to get there?” Honey wondered.

“Yeah without Baymax we can’t fly there and I’m not sure these jet packs can take passengers.” Ron agreed gesturing to his armour jet pack.

Hiros Garage:

Hiro was still trying to pull his helmet from Globby’s sticky face until finally he got it free and puts it back on.

“I’ll go.” Hiro said. “Not alone you’re not I’m coming too.” Kim said to which Hiro nodded.

“Okay you guys stay where you are.” Hiro said “Globby go be with the others.

“Okay but what are you and red going to do?” Globby asked.

“Something I’ll probably regret.” Hiro said. “I was afraid he’d say that.” Kim said to the fourth wall knowing where this was going.

“YAHHHHHHH!” Hiro was screaming as he rode his Skymax pod towards the lighthouse something he defiantly regretted as Kim flew along side with her armour jet pack.

“Your right you would regret it!” Kim called. “I MISS BAYMAX!” Hiro exclaimed.

The head of the Skymax pod turned to face Hiro and just blinked if it had a face it would probably raise and eyebrow at that remark.

“S, sorry heh heh.” Hiro chuckled innocently.

They approached the lighthouse to see it surging with bolts of purple energy. Hiro dismounted from Skymax and Kim landed and retracted her jet pack. They looked through the open door and saw the amplifier hooked up to Obake’s Catastrophe machine. They then saw the power was up to ninety two percent power.

“Oh no!” Hiro panicked. “Wade! The amplifiers linked to Obake’s machine and its building power, can you hack in and shut it down?!” Kim asked on her visor Kimmunicator.

“I can’t get through the firewalls they’re too thick, Obake made sure of that!” Wade relayed. “You’re going to have to remove it manually!”

Hiro moved forward to try and remove it but a bolt of energy shocked him back sending him flying off the lighthouse railing.

“HIRO!” Kim exclaimed as she fired her grappling hook from her gauntlet which Hiro caught with his magnet glove and was pulled back onto the railing. Hiro then noticed how the power surge was attracted to his magnetic glove then an idea sparked from this.

“Kim I’ve got an idea, get behind me.” Hiro said and Kim complied standing behind him.

Hiro then proceeded to activate his magnet gloves by rubbing his hands together and drew the energy towards them and and tossed it away before they overloaded. This enabled them to move forwards clearing a path. As Hiro flung the bolts away Skymax moved to avoid them eventually hiding behind the door. Hiro kept pressing forwards and eventually he and Kim reached the amplifier and he tried to pull it free from its mountings. However it wouldn’t move and the power kept climbing to ninety five percent. Kim then leaned in to help and together they pulled and pulled trying to free the amplifier.

“Together now!” Kim growled as they tried to pull it free but it still wouldn’t move and time was running out.

“Skymax!” Hiro called and the unit popped out of its hiding place at the sound of its name. The bot revealed its limbs as it pulled on Hiro’s waist in an attempt to pull the amplifier free.

The power climbed to ninety six percent and rising, the heroes growled as they kept pulling and pulling until with one final tug as the device reached ninety seven percent the device was pulled free as they and Skymax were flung out of the lighthouse. The machine lost power and deactivated.

Skymax lifted Hiro into the air and Kim activated her jet pack to hover in place and saw they had succeeded.

“Whew oh that was so close.” Hiro breathed in relief. “Yeah that was kinda cutting it close.” Kim agreed as they flew away with the amplifier in hand.

However, all was not as it seemed for in the mounting where the amplifier once stood a bolt of energy slowly materialised and powered the machine to ninety eight percent and rising.

Meanwhile:

Hiro rode Skymax to the tower where the team waited with Kim close behind on her jet pack. They landed on the tower and hurried to them.

“Guys! We did it!” Hiro exclaimed and they were greeted by Fredzilla leaping onto them and hugging them.

“AW YEAH!” Fred congratulated. “Up high Hiro!” Hiro granted Fredzilla a high-five as Ron rushed up and gave a high five to Kim.

“BOOYAH I’d call that situation resolved!” Ron cheered. “yeah!” Rufus agreed as he flew onto Rons shoulder.

“Great job guys!” Honey Lemon said hugging Hiro and Kim.

“Thanks Honey but we’re not finished yet.” Kim reminded.

“Yeah now we get Obake.” Gogo agreed. However their joy was short lived.

“Uh whats that?” Globby asked and everyone looked to the lighthouse that from a distance was still surging with power. The top of the lighthouse suddenly exploded in a blast of energy and within a circle of smoke they saw a small glowing object, it was the star that Obake wanted to create.

“Uh that shouldn’t be happening, why is that still happening?!” Ron then pointed rather afraid.

“The reaction became self sustaining.” Honey Lemon explained in horror.

“Oh no.” Rufus squeaked in horror.

“Obake did it.” Gogo said horrified. “We were too late.” Hiro breathed in horror. Kim looked in horror too they thought they had thwarted the bad guys plan but it was far from over.

“Wade, are you seeing this?!” Kim breathed. “Unfortunately yes that stars building up power and at the rate it’s going it’ll collapse in on itself and explode taking the city with it.” Wade analysed from his computer screen.

“How long?” Hiro asked. “At this rate, I’d say an hour.” Wade estimated.

“What do we do?” Fredzilla asked. “We need to evacuate! as many as we can!” Gogo suggested.

“We’d never get them all out in time.” Kim disagreed. “What about Global Justice?” Ron asked.

“No they’d never make it!” Wade relayed.

“They’re right we have to stop that shockwave!” Hiro said.

“Theres no way to stop something with that much force!” Wasabi questioned.

“Yes there is” Hiro explained. “with an equal opposite force.”

“He’s right thats the only way to stop that thing!” Wade agreed doing the math.

“But with what?” Ron questioned. “We’d need something enormous.” Honey Lemon explained.

“Enormous!” Hiro said having an idea in his head. “We got that.” He said turning to the group.

San Fransokyo Docks:

Honey Lemon, Gogo, Wasabi, Ron, Rufus and Kim stood waiting for something at the harbour then emerging from the water in front of the docks was the Mega Kaju mech. The mech kneeled down and the cockpit opened to reveal Hiro and Fred at the controls.

“If we use the amplifier to make the Mega Kaju super jump into the bay…” “The giant wave will counteract the stars shockwave.” Gogo finished Hiro’s sentence.

“Then its bye bye star!” Ron said.

“Guys the city needs us, we were the ones who decided to be super heroes nows the time, to be super.” Hiro declared.

“Hiro’s right we can do this!” Honey Lemon agreed.

“We stopped Drakken’s Destructo Yamas and we will stop Obake’s Great Catastrophe remake!” Kim said.

Soon everyone was in Wasabis car driving down towards the fishing village that was within the exploding stars path standing between two large rocks in the bay entrance.

“Globby, Honey Lemon you guys need to create a breaker to protect Fish Town.”

Globby swam towards the two giant rocks whilst Honey lemon created a path of ice with her chem balls across the bay.

“Wasabi, Gogo, Kim, Ron keep people away from the shoreline!”

On the shoreline Kim, Gogo, Wasabi, Ron and Rufus evacuated the civilians away from the docks. A small child was holding onto the dock crying in fear, Gogo skated over and held her hands out to the child which he accepted as she carried him out of danger.

“Hiro we’re nearly done getting the people out.” Kim called on the coms. “Good we’re almost ready.” Hiro relayed.

“Hiro, I know we need to protect these people but they aren’t safe as long as Obake’s out there and he still has Baymax.” Kim reminded.

“I know but the stars going to blow we can’t let it happen” Hiro relayed.

“I know thats why I’m going back to get Baymax you and the others focus on your tasks.” Kim relayed as Ron and the others listened in on her conversation.

“If you’re going after Baymax then I’m coming with you KP!” Ron announced.

“No Ron you’re needed here.” Kim said “He’s right Kim you’re going to need someone watching your back inside that lair.” Hiro relayed.

“Yeah cause I’m pretty sure you miraculously rising from the dead is gonna attract his attention.” Wasabi agreed.

“If it hasn’t already.” Gogo agreed.

Kim took a moment to consider and they were right by now Obake knows she survived his trap and will more than likely suspect an attempt to rescue their absent companion.

“Okay Ron let’s do this!” Kim agreed to which Ron nodded then turned to Rufus on his shoulder.

“Rufus stay with Gogo and Wasabi.” Ron instructed to which Rufus nodded and used his armour jet pack to fly onto Wasabi’s shoulder.

“Kim.” Hiro called on the coms. “Promise you’ll get Baymax back safe, he means the world to me.”

“To all of us.” Honey Lemon agreed.

“I will Hiro, and I’ll make sure I bring Obake back in handcuffs.” Kim said with a determined voice.

With that Kim and Ron fired up their jetpacks and took to the skies. From their vantage point they see Globby expanding himself to create a water breaker between the two rocks.

Honey Lemon ran along the ice path she created and fired from her Chem purse blue chem balls which created blobs along the top of the breaker reinforcing it.

She then arrived to see Globby's glowing eyes and face. “You’re very brave Globby.” Honey said admiring his courage. “Good luck.”

“If I don’t make it, tell Felony Carl that..” Globby struggled to say this next part. “..He was my whole list.” He smiled.

“I don’t know what that means, but I promise.” Honey said as she fired a red chem ball from her purse and threw it at Globby which created a heart shape which made him smile and surprisingly blush.

Kim and Ron flew the skies seeing the star grow larger and larger then Wade called in on their visors.

“Sitch me Wade.” Kim answered.

“Kim, Global Justice is about two hours out.” Wade notified.

“That’ll be too late, did you run the search I asked for?” she then asked.

“Yeah I’ve run scans of the area round the bay for traces of vapour trails given off from Baymax’s wings and jet boots and I’ve found an identical set that lead into a cave entrance near your current position.” Wade relayed looking at the radar screen showing Kim and Rons icons on the screen.

“Okay that just screams secret entrance.” Ron called.

“Yeah Hiro did say when he was captured he was taken through a cave, that must be it.” Kim realised.

“So thats the plan sneak in the same way you did before?” Ron guessed.

“No, we have to assume Obake knows we’re coming so he’ll expect us to break in the same way I did before.” Kim relayed. “So no surprises or stealth this time, we’re going in through the front door.”

“Good enough for me let’s do it KP!” Ron called shooting his hand into the air which caused him to nearly lose his balance in his flying shaking slightly. He regained his balance and followed Kim downwards. Behind them the star grew ever larger in the gathering clouds.

Meanwhile in the cockpit of the Mega Kaiju Hiro was pushing buttons and moving switches which moved the mech into the bay and towards the star.

A distance away Gogo was skating away carrying two children in her arms with Rufus close behind as they continued to evacuate the area. She carried the kids to a school bus where everyone was being loaded onto.

Wasabi helped the children get on board the bus. Gogo skated off to find some more but suddenly without warning a certain ninja came in slicing at Gogo with her katana it knocked Gogo off balance and she fell to the ground. It was Momakase who couldn’t have picked a worse time to pick a fight.

Rufus flew in front of Gogo in a fighting stance. “Bring me the boy and you’ll be spared.” Momakase simply demanded.

“Ugh.” Gogo groaned as Momakase had the worst timing.

“No way!” Rufus squeaked in defiance but then Wasabi stood in front of them both.

“You and Rufus stay with the bus and protect the kids.” Wasabi said as Gogo skated away with the naked molerat close behind.

“I’ll take care of Momakase.” He then said to which the ninja smirked and drew her katana blade.

“We both know you’re no match for me.” She smirked as her hair blew in the wind.

Wasabi energised his plasma blades. “Actually since we last met I watched some instructional fencing videos online.”

The scene cuts to Wasabi watching online videos about fencing in the darkness of his lab looking at a computer screen. The video informed him how to block and attack.

“So bring it!” Wasabi said as he took up a fighting stance and the two engaged in combat just as Gogo drove the bus away.

The two clashed blades and Wasabi blocked Momakase’s incoming attacks then slid past her as she tried to strike him with her katana. He’s about to attack her from behind but she is quick to turn and attack but he blocks the attack. Wasabi then makes multiple blade swings at Momakase who tries to block them but forces her back towards the village and Wasabi sets off in pursuit.

Meanwhile in the bay the Kaju mech begins its walk towards the star and in the cockpit Hiro sat ready for the plan.

“You ready for this?” He asked his co pilot which was Fredzilla who came in on his own chair.

“Yes I am.” Fred answered with seriousness in his voice.

“No you’re not!” Called a voice and then flying into the mechs cockpit was a certain small robot now clad in his blue armour as he flew into the cockpit.

“Not without Mini Max at your side.” The little robot declared and gave Fred a high five.

“Sweet dramatic entrance Mini Max, you’re getting the hang of this.” Fred complimented.

Hiro then took the controls and pulled the control levers which stopped the Kaju a distance away from the star. He inserts the amplifier into a holding frame, but does not activate it yet.

“When that star implodes we jump.” Hiro said and waited for their moment.

Back in Fish Town:

Momakase slashes down her blades from the air cornering Wasabi into a wooden wall as he blocks her attacks. She breaks through his attacks and kicks him into the wall and he stops himself from falling over by digging his blades into the ground.

Momakase slashes her blades at Wasabi which seemed to do nothing but in actual fact it sliced off his right shoulder pad and some of his dreads in his hair.

“AH MY DREADS!” Wasabi screamed. Then a piece of Wasabi’s right gauntlet lost a pice exposing its inner circuitry rendering it useless.

Momakase tosses away her katana leaving her with only one blade, and Wasabi readied his remaining plasma blade preparing himself as the ninja raised her blade ready to finish off her opponent.

However before she could strike a certain armoured naked Mole rat flew up in front of her.

“Hello.” Rufus squeaked. “What?” Momakase said confused. Rufus then performed several kung fu poses before he kicked Momakase in the face which did hurt.

“Gah!” She growled and swung her blade at him trying to slice the mole rat to pieces but missed every time.

“Irritating rodent!” She growled and performs one final slash which seemed to do nothing however it did as Rufus’s armour was sliced clean off and he had nothing keeping him in the air.

“Uh oh!” he squeaked and dropped to the ground. He was then met by the blade of Momakse she raised the blade waiting to finish the rodent and Wasabi off. Suddenly speeding in was a mag lev disk which bounced off the walls and Wasabi ducked to avoid it as it headed to the ninja the disk split in half with cables coming from it tying her hands.

“Gah!” She growled and the owner of the disk came skating into the scene and threw her remaining disk at the ninja who was fleeing the scene only for the disk to tie her legs together causing her to trip up and fall to the ground on her back.

“YEAH!” Wasabi cheered and Rufus squeaked with joy. “BOOYAH GOGO!”

Behind her the occupants of the school bus were cheering for their heroes and Gogo smiled with pride whilst Wasabi looked at Gogo with a raised eyebrow and arms crossed. As Rufus scurried up Gogo to reach her shoulder.

“We got bored waiting on the bus.” Gogo shrugged. “Right Rufus?” She offered her finger for a tiny high five which the small mole rat accepted.

“Oh yeah we bad!” Rufus squeaked.

Elsewhere:

Deep in the gathering gloom of his lair Obake oversaw his accomplishment grow in power as he typed on the keyboard of his computer. Shego and Noodle Burger Boy watched the show as well.

“Wow mister, your plan seems to be working.” Noodle burger boy observed.

“Seems?” Obake questioned rather loud. “I bet a song will..” Noodle burger boy was then shut up by a blast in the back compliments of Shego’s plasma blast from her finger. Noodle Burger boy then fell to the ground deactivated.

“Hm you read my mind.” Obake mused. “He was getting on my nerves.” Shego just shrugged.

Obake then looked to a certain red clad armoured robot in the room with them. “Perhaps you’ll be better company.” He mused as he pressed a key on his keyboard and Baymax’s eyes returned to their normal black circles bringing him back to his old self.

“Hello I am Baymax.” He greeted in his normal voice but found himself unable to move his arm. “I am unable to move.”

“Well I can’t have you running off, but I thought a chat might be nice.” Obake said.

“Oh great the only chat he’ll get is about health advice.” Shego groaned to herself. To which Baymax blinked.

He took a scan of Obake and highlighted a certain part of his brain which was shown in purple and red as he spoke.

“I’ll be remembered forever because of whats about to happen.” Obake said in a rather happy tone. “Impressive isn’t it.”

“You are in need of medical care.” Baymax noted. Which did get Shego’s attention.

“Oh this?” Obake said as his face glowed purple when he touched it. “A souvenir from a childhood mishap.” He dismissed.

“Uh what kind of childhood mishap?” Shego asked the healthcare robot.

“The damage is significant and growing.” Baymax diagnosed from the scan. “it is affecting his temporal parietal junction.”

“The part of the brain that allows one to tell right from wrong, I know” Obake said but didn’t look concerned.

“Well that explains a lot.” Shego said to herself.

“Your condition is treatable.” Baymax then diagnosed only for Obake to laugh to himself.

“Why would I want to do that?” Obake said as he turns his chair round to face Baymax and Shego and they see his face glowing neon purple. “Its been quite liberating.”

Baymax tilted his head in confusion, however Shegos attention was focused on something else on the monitors.

“Heads up looks like we have guests.” Shego pointed out and Obake turned to see on the monitor of footage showing Kim and Ron enter the lair through the lift and ran down the corridor. Obake just smirked at this prospect.

Kim and Ron ran down the hallways of the lair in search of their missing companion. They found the room he was previously in but he was not there now.

“Wait where is he?” Ron questioned. “He must be in the main control room, and I’m betting thats where we’ll find Obake.” Kim guessed.

“I must say Mrs Possible you never cease to impress me.” Called a voice on the intercom then a hologram of Obake himself appeared and they could see that the left part of his face was glowing.

“Whoa Freds right that is a creepy dude!” Ron grimaced.

“Surprised to see me Aken!” Kim smirked.

“A little I’m a little surprise you survived my trap.” Obake admitted.

“Uh what part of she can do anything did you not comprehend?” Kim said in a gloating way.

“I admit I have made a number of miscalculations involving the two of you, but your presence cannot stop the tide of progress.” Obake mused.

“Dude you call murdering millions of innocent people progress your delusional!” Ron exclaimed.

“Which by the way is so not happening, Big Hero 6 will stop your exploding star, and when they do Global Justice will be waiting for you with hand cuffs!” Kim said pointing at the mad man.

“I doubt it, but why not entertain yourself whilst you watch a new world being born.” Obake said chuckling.

At the other end of the hallway illuminated by a glowing green light from her hands was Shego standing in their path.

“I’ll leave you to your work my dear.” Obake said as his hologram disappeared. The two opponents stared each other down like a pair of wolves ready to attack.

“Ron, go find Baymax I’ll take care of Shego.” Kim looked to her sidekick with a serious look in her eyes. Ron nodded and took his leave and Shego let him pass which left the two women completely alone.

“I don’t get it Shego, you let me and Hiro escape and knowing what you do now you’re still working with him!?” Kim questioned.

“What can I say princess I’m a complicated girl you of all people should know that.” Shego smirked.

With that the two take up a combat stance then charged forwards as their fists met each other in the air.

Back at the Bay:

Inside the Kaiju mech, Hiro, Fred and Mini Max continued to watch the star grow but did not act as it was not the right time.

“Is it time now?” Fred asked eagerly. “Now? how about now? oh oh I know how about now?

However they still waited then right before their eyes they began to see the reaction taking place. The time was now.

“Now!” Hiro slammed a button on the console and activated the energy amplifier which surged with energy inside the cockpit Hiro buckled himself in the seat and the buckle had the Big Hero 6 logo printed on it. Hiro looked with a determined glare.

“Its Kaiju cannon ball time!” Hiro said determined and moved the lever forwards bringing the mech up to full power its eyes glowed purple and it prepared itself for a jump raising its arms in the air then taking off into the sky like a rocket. It ascended into the air leaving the city nothing but a spec below.

Hiro, Fred and Mini Max looked forward with determined frowns until Fred spoke up.

“I just want you to know, that being a super hero with you had been an honour.” Fred smiled to which Hiro replied with a smile of his own.

“You guys are the best.” Honey agreed on the coms.

“I’m proud of what we’ve done.” Wasabi said as he buckled himself into the drivers seat of the buss.

“Same.” Gogo merely said.

“I’m glad we met you guys,” Kim said as she blocked Shego’s attack with her gauntlet shield. “And I know Tadashi would be proud of all of you if he could see you now.”

“Yeah and no matter what happens next, if we go out we might as well go out with a blaze of glory together!” Ron agreed as he ran through the base.

“Uh huh!” Rufus agreed on the coms.

“Inspiring words.” Mini Max agreed.

“Guys, I know I’ve made some mistakes but…” Hiro confessed.

“We’ve all made mistakes.” Honey Lemon said.

“Yeah some big, some little and some that can’t be forgiven.” Ron agreed as he continued his search.

“But we get through it because we’re a team.” Wasabi said determined as he drove the bus away tires screeching with the evacuated citizens on board.

“Whats important is how we make right by those mistakes and not let them define who we are.” Kim mused as she jumped to avoid blasts from Shego who then formed her plasma blades from her gauntlets and charged towards Kim who formed her shield and blocked the blades.

“Not bad words, but kinda pointless, you think those losers can stop this plan thats being a bit optimistic isn’t it?” Shego questioned.

“They have more courage then you or Obake will ever have and they have what he doesn’t a real reason for what they do!” Kim glared with effort.

“Oh please.”Shego said as she then generated a giant plasma blast which catapulted Kim across the floor and damages her armour destroying her left shoulder pad and leaving her with one gauntlet on her right wrist.

“You know we’re even right?” Shego said. “We’ve both been armed by geniuses with toys to further our potential.”

Kim groaned as she tried to stand up and could see her shield wasn’t working but when she reacher for her pocket she felt something and she instantly knew what it was.

“We’re practically a couple of walking armouries!” Shego exclaimed.

“Maybe Shego.” Kim said standing up. “But lets see how well you do without your toys!” Kim turned and fired her laser lipstick at Shego like a wave and she blocked the blast with her arms but it wasn’t her Kim was trying to hit.

Shego looked and saw the laser blast had destroyed her energy enhancing gauntlets she saw them crumble to the ground. She growled as she lit up her hands with plasma energy and charged at Kim like wise Kim charged back and flipped over her with a jump then performed a leg swipe tripping Shego up.

High above, the kaiju mech shot through the cloud bank and inside the crew readied themselves for the big one.

“Lets make some big waves!” Fred said waving his arm for empathises and he grabbed a large lever above his head and together Hiro and Fred pulled the levers which commanded the mech to curl into a ball just as they reached the atmosphere. The mech came crashing down from the sky back down to the sea.

Honey Lemon was still reinforcing Globby’s breaker with her blue chem balls. She looked up and saw the mech falling from the sky. However she then turned to the collapsing star which began to collapse in on itself shrinking down into a smaller humming star.

On land Gogo was gathering up a cat as she looked to see the star collapsing and Wasabi saw it from the bus window as did Rufus as the two looked at each other. Wade was watching everything from a satellite view of the area and was sweating like mad with nervousness. Honey looked with great concern, Fred’s look changed from a confident look to a concerning one. Ron stopped in the base and looked up into the air knowing the star was nearly ready to blow. Kim struggled against Shego but looked considerable worried. Hiro looked with determination.

In a flash the star collapsed and disappeared and silence fell over the whole area. With an almighty bang the star exploded letting out a shockwave of energy causing an explosion equivalent to that of 10 million Hiroshima bombs just as the Kaiju mech crashed down into the bay with a huge splash letting loose a powerful wave.

Gogo knelt down as she shielded the cat from the gale force winds that followed the explosion. From a distance away Wasabi watched the star explosion and the wave forming around it as Rufus stood on his right shoulder with a concerning hand on his face and Wasabi placed a hand on his. He then felt someone holding his hand and it was a little girl who looked on.

Wade was watching everything unfold from his room as he sat tensed up on his chair.

“Please please please please please.” he begged with crossed fingers hoping and praying this would work.

The wave had just covered the entire explosion and the reaction happened the entire explosion was cancelled out and the waves retracted carrying the Kaju mech with it and the massive tidal wave headed for the water breaker.

“I’m questioning all my life choices!” Globby said rather scared.

“You got this Globby!” Honey Lemon encouraged which brought a determined look on the glob monster turned heroes face.

The wave crashed into the breaker with devastating force and Globby growled with ferocity as he tried to keep the wave back Honey Lemon pushed on the other side as the water built up, when suddenly the breaker sprung a leak and another one which Honey quickly sealed up with her chemballs generating blue goop balls.

Globby reformed his face just as a boat crashed into him and he looked rather horrified he closed his eyes as he held out. Then slowly the water receded and swept back into the sea just as the dawn broke on sunrise. The catastrophe was over.

Globby opened his eyes and saw it was all over and he survived. “Ha ha ha! It worked!” He laughed with joy.

“OOO I knew you could do it!” Honey Lemon said hugging the glob wall. On land the people cheered with praise knowing the heroes had succeeded in saving not just their village but also their lives.

“Yes!” Wasabi and the girl cheered. “YES!” Rufus squeaks as he hugged Wasabi’s face with joy.

“You know I shouldn’t but what the heck.” Wasabi said. “A BOOYAH!” He cheered.

Gogo came out of a wooden house behind a door hat fell to the ground still carrying the kitten in her arms. Then just behind her more kittens emerged meowing in joy knowing they were safe and Gogo bore a smile of relief.

“YESSS!” Wade cheered from his room practically spinning on his chair. “IT WORKED KIM IT WORKED ITS ALL OVER! YOU DID IT GUYS!”

Obake’s lair:

Inside the lair it began to collapse the shockwave from the wave also hit Obake’s underground lair as a result the structure was becoming unstable and began to collapse.in the hallways and during the fight Shego stopped and saw this happening.

“What, what just happened?” Shego questioned.

“He did it!” Kim gasped knowing what had just transpired. “Its over, Hiro did it! He saved the city!” she exclaimed in joy.

“BOOYAH! THATS MY MAN HIRO!” Ron exclaimed with joy as he heard it over the kimmunicator line. But was snapped back to reality when he saw the falling rubble.

“Oh yeah right find Baymax now celebrate later!” Ron said as he kept running through the base.

“Thats it I’m out of here!” Shego said running from the collapsing lair leaving Kim in the dust.

“Yep defiantly bad.” Kim agreed as she hurried to find Ron and Baymax.

From the control centre of his lair Obake watched the events unfold on the monitors which were blacking out one by one as his lair collapsed around him. He had seen Big Hero 6 had succeeded in stopping his grand vision.

“Hiro, how could he possibly?” Obake said in disbelief and utter shock.

“Hiro is clever and resourceful.” Baymax pointed out as Obake looked completely distraught.

The rest of his surveillance monitors blacked out and he faced the reality that his so called visionary scheme had been undone, by one who he thought could be his very equal but he was wrong. He was completely despondent.

“My new city, my dream.” Obake said in loss. “They still remember Shimamoto they revere her.” He stumbled backwards from the collapsing rubble around him.

“My scan indicates that, this structure is sustaining damage.”Baymax diagnosed the lair falling apart around them and some rubble bounced off his head.

“This wouldn’t have mattered!” Obake said as he touched the glowing area of his face. “I would have lived forever, the man who remade the city into something perfect!” He said in disbelief and anger that he was denied his glory.

He lowered his head down and lost all sense of hope realising his dream was shattered and that there was nothing left for him now. He turned to Baymax opened his access port and removed his Obake chip reactivating all of the healthcare robots functions including his movement.

“There there.” Baymax said patting Obake’s shoulder.

“You should go.” Obake said releasing him. “You are in danger.” Baymax noted.

“Yes I’m aware of that!” Obake said almost as if he didn’t care. “Do I have your permission to help you?” Baymax questioned.

“Go to him go to Hiro!” Obake lashed out before looking down. “Tell him, I still think we would have done great things together.”

“I am a personal healthcare companion, I cannot leave until you say you are satisfied with your care.” Baymax explained as Obake turned around and took a seat in front of his console and after a minute of silence.

“I am satisfied…with my care.”He said simply and that was the command for Baymax to leave.

With that Baymax turned around and began to leave the room, but he turned his head to take one last look at Obake who sat in despair as his world collapsed around him. The healthcare companion wanted to help him despite everything he’s done but the robot had to do what his programmed command tells him to do. And so he left the control centre as the villain accepted his decided fate.

Elsewhere in the base Kim was running from hallway to hallway looking for any sign of Ron in the hopes he had found Baymax or Obake. The lair was collapsing faster and faster in a minute this would be a collapsed wreck at the bottom of the bay. She turned a corner and found what looked like an escape pod it maybe their only means of escape. She hurried and tried to open it but it was locked and it turns out with good reason.

“Ah ah ah.” Said a voice and Kim looked in the window of the pod to find a certain green villainess standing inside it.

“All full I’m afraid Kimmy, its been a blast!” Shego said as she powered up the pod and it rocketed off into the air and out of the collapsing base.

“Great.” said a rather sarcastic Kim. “A perfect end to a perfect day.”

“Kim!” Called a voice and she turned to see Ron running towards her.

“Ron! Wheres Obake?” Kim asked “We can worry about that later this lair is falling apart and Shego took the only escape pod.”

“Oh no she didn’t, look what I found.” Ron said and they soon heard footsteps approaching and Kim saw something that made her gasp with joy.

On the surface Hiro and Fred were having problems of their own. The Mega Kaju mech was in pieces sinking to the bottom of the bay after the hit it took from the shockwave. In the cockpit Hiro, Fred and Mini Max were trying to get out before they drowned kicking the cockpit doors/eyes of the mech to force them open. Hiro tried and tried again to force the cockpit door open but it was no good it was jammed and the water level kept rising.

Fred emerged from the water and looked to Hiro. “Everything’s jammed!” Fred relayed.

Hiro kept kicking and kicking the door with all his strength but it still wouldn’t shift. He looked to Fred shaking his head there was no way out, in saving the city it looked like they doomed themselves.

All of a sudden a red armoured hand dug into the porthole and tore it off the mech and it was Baymax who ripped off the porthole entrance and then tossed it away. He then turned to his compatriots. Then appearing on his back were Kim and Ron in tow.

“Hey boys, look who we found.” Kim smiled and Hiro gasped and laughed with joy as his friend was safe.

“I was alerted to your need for..” “Baymax!” Hiro interrupting him and wasted no time in hugging him.

“Hiro.” Baymax returned the hug, whilst Kim and Ron put their hands on the young genius too.

Fred escaped from the mech and hopped onto Baymax’s left arm and Mini Max used his own armour jet pack to fly out.

“We are still sinking.” Mini Max pointed out to which they were.

“It is time to go.” Baymax agreed. “Then let’s fly big guy!” Ron said.

On the shore the rest of the team, Rufus and Globby waited for the arrival of their friends hoping they were okay. Honey Lemon paced with worry whilst Globby looked out onto the open water.

Suddenly Globby noticed something on the horizon and he could instantly see what it was.

“THERE THEY ARE!” He called out and flying in from the distance was Baymax carrying, Hiro, Kim, Ron, Fred and Mini Max.

Globby laughed in joy to know they were safe whilst the rest of the team looked with faces of joy whilst Rufus jumped up and down with happiness to know his friends were alive.

Baymax landed and everyone dismounted as his wings retracted. “You guys are okay!” Honey Lemon said with joy. Hiro met with his friends for Honey Lemon to pull him into a hug, and did the same for Ron and Kim.

“We did it we saved the city!” Honey lemon cheered. “Was there ever any doubt!” Ron agreed as he hugged Honey Lemon too and Rufus hopped over and hugged Rons face.

“Nice job genius.” Gogo said to the young genius rather harshly. “You helped the bad guy create a star.”

“Way to ruin the moment Gogo.” Kim said. “Yeah I I know” Hiro stuttered only to receive a hit in the arm.

“You also saved the city.” Gogo said happily. “Aw yeah thats the attitude we like to hear!” Ron said pulling Gogo into a hug.

“Ron no hugs!” Gogo said with a strict face.

“Thanks but, none of this would have happened, if I hadn’t been so…me.” Hiro admitted with some guilt still.

“True being you did put the city in danger.” Kim pointed out much to everyones surprise. “But being you also made things right and saved the city, and I learned a long time ago that being yourself is more than enough to save the world.”

Hiro then gave a smile to that sentence. “Tadashi was right,” Baymax said hugging him. “You are a good kid.”

With that everyone joined in a group hug to share the moment and even Globby joined in wrapping himself around the group of heroes with a smile. Despite Wasabi being a little grossed out. They enjoyed the moment and then broke off from the hug.

“Yeah we saved the city but Shego got away.” Kim then said.

“What about Obake?” Hiro asked. “I don’t know man I didn’t see him get out.” Ron said as they all looked out over to the rising sun.

“Do.. do you think he survived?” Wasabi wondered. “I wish I knew Wasabi, I wish I knew.” Kim said as her hair blew in the wind.

Lucky Cat Cafe:

In the cafe a newscast about the near catastrophe was broadcasting on the television by Bluff Dunder.

“It was a countdown to catastrophe, but thanks once again to the combined efforts of Big Hero 6 and teen hero Kim Possible I am fine.” Bluff reported but then realised what he just said. “A, and the city is too which is what I was worried about.” He covered up

“Who are these mysterious do gooders?” Bluff then wondered to the audience.

“They did it.” Ann said with pride. “Thats our girl.” James agreed.

Mochi let out a meow whilst Aunt Cass was eating a cup cake in worry her fifth one. Then the tweebs noticed a certain young genius, his health care companion and their sister and friend arrive at the cafe in their casual attire, enter the store and the sound of the bell got their attention.

“Aunt Cass.” Hiro breathed in happiness, Cass turned to see her nephew standing in the doorway.

“Hiro!” Cass startled as she tossed her cupcake to Mochi and hurried over to her nephew. “Kimmy!” Ann said as she and James hurried over too.

Cass embraced Hiro in a hug whilst James and Ann embraced their daughter in a hug too.

“You’re safe where were you?” Cass said rather worried. “There was a star and and this huge wave and the city almost..”

“I saw it.” Hiro said “You saw it?” Cass asked and Hiro acted quickly to cover it up.

“Uh I saw it on my phone while I was safely hiding at school.” Hiro explained the best he could.

“Yeah uh where me and Ron took him to hide at school before we went to help those Big Hero 6 guys.” Kim covered up too.

“Yeah also my phone battery died at school.” Hiro added smiling innocently but Cass wasn’t sure she felt like her nephew was hiding something.

“Is there something your not telling me?” Cass asked.

��Yes.” Baymax said with a knowing finger “We are..”

“Starving!” Ron then covered up quickly. “Well I’m starving.” Hiro added. Baymax then looked over Hiro and Ron and diagnosed their ‘hunger’

“Starvation is not imminent,” Baymax showed a calendar on his viewing screen. “It would take weeks without choleric sustenance to…”

“Okay let’s have some breakfast.” Cass decided stopping Baymax’s sentence.

“Ah thanks Aunt Cass.” Hiro said thankfully. “Its good to be home.” He then hugged his aunt.

“I don’t suppose theres room for us in that breakfast?” Kim asked.

“Oh of course there is for all of you.” Cass said kindly. “Well I help with that.” Ann said.

“Really if I recall in home mech back in high school you were always second to me?” Cass teased. “Hey Cassie I’ve improved since then.” Ann teased back heading up stairs to cook. Followed by the rest of the family and their friends.

“You all did good kids, you saved a lot of people.” James whispered to Hiro and Kim.

“We saved a lot of people.” Hiro agreed as they headed upstairs.

The following afternoon:

Kim and Hiro arrived at SFIT and stood outside the door to a certain deans office, and Hiro held his energy amplifier in hand but was nervous about what was to come.

“Hiro, you ready for this?” Kim asked. “Yes I’m prepared to accept the consequences of my actions.” Hiro said knowing he’d probably lost his place at SFIT.

“I’ll be waiting outside for you.” Kim said and Hiro knocked on the door.

“Come in.” Granville’s voice called and Hiro looked back to Kim who gave a thumbs up in response as he entered the office.

He found Professor Granville typing on her computer at her desk and he approached a little nervous.

“So uh, about my final project I..” “Getting an A.” Granville interrupted turning her computer around to show Hiro what she was looking at and it was photos of Big Hero 6, Kim and Ron with the civilians they saved.

“For showing ingenuity, and for saving the city.” Granville said smiling as she scrolled down the photos. And Hiro was amazed despite everything he achieved his passing grade for the semester.

Hiro then looked up to his tutor with an apologetic look.

“Thank you Professor Granville, uh for everything.” Hiro thanked. “For trying to teach me about limits, I I think I get it now.” He handed his amplifier to the professor smiling.

“Its a lesson I’ve had to re learn a few times myself Mr Hamada.” Granville admitted. “Everyone makes mistakes.”

“But, it’s how we learn and make right by them that matters.” Hiro then realised to which Granville did crack a small smile knowing he was learning well and took the amplifier to her safe.

Hiro cracked a small smile as Granville placed the amplifier into her safe in the wall and typed in a code to seal it away for safe keeping.

“But don’t get too comfortable.” Granville then pointed out which changed Hiro’s look a little. “Next semester will be even more of a challenge, I hope you can handle it.”

With that Hiro looked with a confident smile and nodded as he took his leave of the office and Granville did crack a small smile as he did, however.

“Hiro.” She then said getting his attention as it’s the first time the professors ever called him by his first name.

“Do you or miss Possible know what happened, to him?” Granville asked wanting to know the fate of her former student.

Hiro looked to the professor wanting to answer that question but he himself wasn’t sure about the fate of Obake after stopping his Great Catastrophe.

Later in deep beneath the bay:

Sometime later Baymax and Hiro donned their aquatic gear which was coloured black and Prussian blue Baymax’s suit had some red lines on his suit and some jet propellors on his shoulders with red pipes leading to his chest. His head was his normal face encased in a glass bubble. Hiro wore similar armour with fins on his helmet and a rebreather on his helmet with a jet pack to move him through the water.

The two were searching what was left of Obake’s base looking for any signs of life before Global Justice could arrive to salvage the wreck.

Baymax ran a scan with his sensor but could detect no signs of life on the ocean floor, not human life anyway.

“I do not detect Aken comma Bob.” Baymax relayed as Hiro swam with his tablet scanning the area with Wade.

“He’s right Hiro I’m not picking up anything.” Wade agreed.

“He couldn’t have survived this it’s impossible.” Hiro doubted as they swam and continued the search.

“As you have said nothing is impossible.” Baymax mentioned as they kept searching.

However they didn’t notice on the bed of the ocean floor close by some sand blew away to reveal a certain chip lying in the sand, could Obake have survived I guess we’ll never truly know the answer.

Authors notes: The city is safe the catastrophes over but is Obake truly gone for good? Who knows.Upon watching the final part of the episode I thought it would be a good idea for Hiro to have some form of nervous breakdown given he’s been building up a lot of guilt over his part in Obake’s master plan. But Kim reminded him that being smart isn't what he is its what he does with it.

The story not over yet folks see you at the epilogue and post Epilouge.

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