#no offense to those in the middle class y’all aren’t like

[nappingpaperclip]

you can tell when someone has been born into the middle class because they will like, genuinely get rlly offended if an impoverished person calls people in their tax bracket ‘rich’

it’s like a slur to them. you see, they struggle too guys. they are also living paycheck to paycheck struggling with their amazon addictions and having to buy all their groceries from trader joe’s

[thestarsanctuary]

hi! I was hoping you could do a Bakugo, Midoriya, Todoroki and Kirishima (separate) with an s/o that has Tourettes, preferably they/them pronouns please. I hope you're having a good day <3

Of course! I was gonna take a break in the middle of my (unspoken) break aka me being lazy, but this request was so nice I- I had to 😔✋🏾 it was definitely the heart. It got me.

MHA BOYS WITH AN S/O THAT HAS TOURETTES

TW FOR ODD LOOKS AND STARES/BULLYING(ISH)

BAKUGO

Bakugo wasn’t really sure when he first met you about why your head was twitching or why you were repeating the sentences Aizawa had said sometimes, as he didn’t know you had tourettes. He never even spoke to you like the others did so you never had the chance to tell him until Kirishima did.

When you two started dating he started seeing patterns of when you would get to stressed and start jerking or spouting out random things you heard from youtube videos, he did his best to make sure you knew he was there for reassurance, whether it was a hand on your hand or just pure presence.

There were times when you would have ticcing fits and he would have to sit and rub your back and watch you, and in those times you realized he really was there for you.

He likes to do this thing where he rants on about things he doesn’t like to try and distract you- I’m not sure how he has so much he doesn’t like but every time it’s a new odd topic....sometimes it can literally be something like how he hates trees because when it’s fall he has to rake up the leaves and you have to say

“Bakugo they literally help you not die.” It really is a mystery sometimes how he’s so smart.

Sometimes you can be a bit upset with your tics. It’s not that you’re insecure or that you’re ashamed, but they’re difficult to deal with. The control that you could have isn’t there and that’s stressful in and of itself, and in those moments Bakugo realizes the best thing he can do for you - is make you understand that you are just like the rest of the class and the rest of the people in the world.

“Listen it doesn’t matter if you’re different because to me you’re still cool, you’re still funny, you’re still incredibly sarcastic and while I don’t enjoy that for the most part- you’re my extra regardless of whatever you feel. Get that bull out of your head.”

I mean, he wouldn’t date anybody less than the best.

MIDORIYA

Midoriya is the predictable character in the relationship. He researched about Tourettes and what he could do in times when you needed him, I mean he’s not perfect but he’d rather know something rather than nothing.

You tended to be the one who was more of a risk taker, and sometimes your tourettes got in the way of that- which could frustrate you to no end then causing harsher tics like hitting or yelling, and those were the times Midoriya tried to get anything too dangerous either out of your hands- or just out of the way so you didn’t get hurt, he was smart with it.

Other times he could be too much for you, almost treating you like a kid so you had to remind him that you know and understand precautions, but that you also want to live like everybody else and that is nothing short of your business.

You’re favorite activity with him was when he would help you study because he made it so fun for you. It could be hard to pay attention in class sometimes and do your work after school so Izuku would come over and assist you. He would make sure you guys took breaks and that you understood the topic at your own pace.

“Izuku can you like- give an example?”

“Well it’s just kind of- wait what is an example-“

In many situations Midoriya LOVED holding your hand, like he did it at any time, any place. It was something he thought wasn’t too much in public and it was reassuring for you both. When you’re tics got too much you could squeeze his hand, and other times when he wouls get anxious or something would happen he would squeeze yours. It was cute and handy!

There were instances when Midoriya definitely had his mistakes with your tics and how to deal with them but he was willing to take his time and learn because who would he be without his perfect person stayin’ by his side?

KIRISHIMA

Kirishima is probably the most sympathetic with your tics because he stay prepared for them. It’s never been like “Kirishima can you” but it’s always been more like ‘Kiri how do you always know’ and there’s never been an answer that he gave other than ‘I gotta stay ready for my lovely lover~’

Kirishima likes to do this thing where he goes “neck” after you have a rough day with your tics and with massage your neck for you or your back, depending on how your tics were. He likes takin’ care of you, and it’s not like he doesn’t know you can’t take care of yourself because hey, you didn’t get into 1-A by being a pushover.

Sometimes you’ve had times when people in school just aren’t all that accepting and Kirishima will clap back unprovoked.

“Sometimes I think about how sad you have to be to make fun of them and dang man, you got a therapist?”

Other times you’ll basically respond for him, like I said, you can DEFINITELY take care of yourself.

Whenever you’re in the car or on the bus on a trip in the case that you’ve gotten real excited (which is natural being around your boyfriends and your friends at the same time) he’ll play this playlist he made of your favorite songs and sing to distract you. Does he sing well? That wasn’t the question- but he does sing, only for you though because the other students keep dissing him.

He has a reflex of rubbing your back during free period or at lunch. I don’t think this is relevant but it’s something super adorable, and sometimes he just gives you his hand to look at and play with when you have anxiety as well to keep you calm.

Also irrelevant but other times he’ll facetime you before you guys go somewhere and ask what to wear because he wants to match with you, and it’s so cute because you could lie so hard and he’d believe everything you say.

You two are kinda a power couple like- you both can hold your own but also are such nice people, good job makin’ the rest of 1-A feel lonely guys.

TODOROKI

Todoroki is a simple guy. He doesn’t want to overcomplicate things for the most part because “why would I act like your guardian, if I’m literally your boyfriend” and that’s that.

He tends to try and keep you calm, as it’s something pretty simple for him, he knows a bunch of tactics for distractions or when those are obsolete, he’ll just sit there with you, and maybe rub your back or get a water bottle for when it’s done, he just never wants to do too much because he knows your capabilities, and he knows your limits.

He is also a large hand holder. Mostly because he doesn’t like the idea of PDA for the most part, and he doesn’t like leaving your side either, because you’re very comforting to him. It’s a given we all know he needs love and comfort please.

There have been times when people look at your because of your tics in public and Todoroki has had to give a little glare back because of the disrespect being blatantly put out. In rarer times you will both glare at the same time, those are the coolest moments of you as a couple.

Shoto doesn’t really care much for your tics only because he’d rather just make sure you’re ok then watch Avengers rather than treat you like a child if anything, and that’s because you told him first that you wanted a boyfriend not a babysitter (speakin’ facts) and at first he didn’t understand and he thought you didn’t want his help but soon understood otherwise.

Some cute things I like to think of are that he likes to put on your favorite songs when you’re anxious and try to dance for you. It’s not good- let’s start with that, because he’s kinda...stiff, but the attempt is absolutely adorable (and oh so funny).

Other things are he likes to call you cheesy nicknames when you’re cuddling because he likes your reactions everytime, because according to him, yeah he said it himself, you are very adorable when annoyed. Don’t @ me!

Overall he just loves spending time with you whenever he can, you’re truly a safe-haven for him.

EL FIN

-

Alright tourettes is a real thing y’all, so I didnt make this rainbows n cupcakes bc im sure that’s not always how it is.

If anything in this is offensive or too much for somebody I can take it down and re-do it! I’m not too sure how it is bc it feels kinda repetitive but we’ll see I guess, and thanks to the person who requested my day was fine thanks 😩✋🏾.

I also included some things I like to do (play with hands and listen to music) because i have anxiety and I known that can worsen tics and can also come with tics (a lot of ppl with tics have adhd, anxiety, or some sort of disorder along with it)

- SS <333333

[mcwriting]

The Marriage Project (5)

Happy Halloween! This chapter isn’t spooky, but I hope you still enjoy! If you haven’t read my Halloween one shot from a couple weeks back, go check it out!

Story Masterlist

Word Count: 3727 (a long boi just for y’all)

Warnings: Brief discussion of harassment and injuries, but nothing explicit; some strong language

% Approximately the end of the 1st week of October %

You entered school early the next morning to find everyone chattering in the halls, many of them looking and even pointing as you passed by.

Well that’s… unusual.

You were at your locker when Alexis popped up beside you.

“Did you hear? Tom got kicked out of football practice this morning and he’s suspended! He’s not allowed to play in tomorrow’s game either!”

You slammed the metal door shut.

“What!?”

“Yeah! Something about him beating up some of the other players after school. Serves him right for being such a dick all these years.”

“No it doesn’t. Not this time.”

“What are you talking about, y/n? Aren’t you happy to see his demise? This is the revenge you’ve been waiting for!”

“Alexis, you don’t understand. Tom beat those guys up because they were catcalling me yesterday. He was sticking up for me.” 

You ran a hand through your hair and noticed Harrison and his goons down the hall flexing. “I need to go to the principal. It’s them who should be suspended, not him.”

“Okay, well, do you need me to come with you for moral support? I know how Mrs. Johnson can be,” Alexis offered. 

“No, it’s okay. I’m the one in the middle of this. Just go to class and let me know what other people are saying.”

With that, you headed to the office, shooting a death glare into the bruised faces of Harrison’s laughing crew as you passed by, trying not to make it obvious what you were doing.

When you entered, the secretary looked up at you and smiled.

“Oh, Miss y/l/n. What brings you in here this morning?”

“I really need to talk to Mrs. Johnson, as soon as possible.”

“Oh. Okay then. Is everything alright?”

“No. That’s what I need to talk to her about.”

“Alright then. I’ll go see if she’s available.”

She got up and disappeared for a few minutes, then popped back out.

“She’s okay to see you whenever you’re ready,” she said, sitting back down at her desk.

“Thanks,” you said passively as you stood up and entered the office, shutting the door behind you. You stood still, not sure if you should sit down yet.

“Well, good morning, y/n. What brings you into my office today? Don’t see you in here much,” she smiled, looking back down at a few papers on her desk. 

You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding, tapping a hand on your thigh anxiously.

“What’s wrong, y/n? You look nervous. You have nothing to be afraid of.”

You looked down and then finally spit it out.

“It’s about Tom. He didn’t do anything wrong yesterday after school.”

You sat down in front of the principal as she looked up at you.

“I’m sorry, what? Now, I don’t know what you’ve heard but he started a fight in the parking lot. That’s wrong in my book.”

You looked at your lap, playing with the plastic ring you’d continued to wear since late August.

“He only did it because the other guys were harassing me yesterday. They were catcalling and whistling and he was trying to stick up for me. It’s the other guys that should be in trouble, not him.”

“Are you sure you’re not just saying that to protect him? I know you two are friends.”

“With all due respect, Mrs. Johnson, we have always been enemies. We may seem like friends because of that marriage project thing but… I would never lie about any harassment for Tom Holland or anyone else. If those three guys had gone after me… I mean, I’m strong, but, I’m not that strong. I’m thankful for what Tom did for me, and I know he’d do it again for any woman.”

Mrs. Johnson looked at you for a few moments, then nodded her head.

“Okay, well. I’ll have a chat with Tom and the other boys and see what I can do. Thank you for being willing to come to me. Is there anything else you want to talk to me about?”

“No, no. It’s okay. I’ve dealt with this before and probably will again. I just really needed you to know that Tom doesn’t deserve to be in trouble while the others are walking around free.”

She nodded. 

“Like I said, thank you for letting me know, and I’ll see what I can do.”

You got up to leave. Your hand was on the doorknob when she said one last thing.

“You know, I wish I was more like you. The same thing used to happen to me when I was your age. I’m glad you actually had the guts to say something about it.”

You parted your lips to speak, but instead gave a tight-lipped smile and a quick nod. With that, you were out the door.

%

You sat in honors english next to Alexis, a pit in your stomach.

People kept looking at you, which was weird, but you figured it was because Tom wasn’t there for you to have typical banter.

You worried about Tom a lot, and hoped that Mrs. Johnson’s parting words meant she really cared about what you said. You decided to shoot him a text.

Hey. Idk if you’ve heard anything, but I went and told Mrs. Johnson that you were just trying to stick up for me, and mentioned that we’re enemies or whatever. She was gonna look into the other guys getting in trouble. Sorry.

By the time lunch rolled around, you were getting tired of the eyes on you. Usually you loved the attention, but something about it felt different today.

“What is everyone’s problem?” you finally asked Alexis and the rest of your friend group before biting into a carrot. “It’s like they’re all looking at me more than the normal amount.”

“Well… it’s probably because they are,” one friend said.

“And why is that? Like duh Tom’s not here. Big whoop. We’ve both missed school before.”

Alexis looked at you sheepishly.

“Lex, what are you not telling me?” you interrogated.

“Welllll… it might have something to do with someone spilling that Tom and you were seen hugging last night after your game, and now Harrison is using it to say Tom beat him up because he loves you or something.”

“I swear I’m going to kill that bitch ass.” you replied back, looking around the room. 

After a quick scan, it’s obvious that he and the other guys aren’t there. A sly smile rose to your face. 

Maybe Mrs. Johnson was on your side after all, and hopefully she’d see past any lies Harrison might tell her.

%

Tom was sitting in Mrs. Johnson’s office, flanked by his parents.

“Miss y/l/n explained to me that the boys you got in a fight with were harassing her. Is this true?”

“Yes, ma’am. I sat there and watched it happen and didn’t didn’t do anything about it, but then she called me out and I realized how disgusting it was, what they did.”

“Hm. And you found the best course of action to be punching Mr. Osterfield instead of coming to the administration?”

“I know what I did was wrong, but I didn’t want to tell her story for her. If she wanted to come out and say what happened then that’s her choice, but I couldn’t sit back and let them get away with it. I feel that it’s my responsibility to keep both my teammates and fellow men accountable.”

The principal looked at Tom for a few moments as she contemplated.

“Well, she came to me this morning and asked that I review your suspension. I also talked to the other boys and they admitted to saying a few graphic things to her. I just need to ask you one more thing: if this had happened to any other girl, would you have still gone after those boys?”

“In a heartbeat, Mrs. Johnson. I just think of what would happen if it were my mom, or a relative, or my future wife. No woman deserves to be treated that way.”

She nodded slowly, then shuffled some papers on her desk.

“Well, Tom. What you did was wrong, but I can tell that you know that. I’ll also say that you were doing it for a noble cause. It takes a lot to go up against three athletes and you didn’t come out unscathed. Since this is your only offense, I’m ending your suspension after today. You may go back to class tomorrow and play in the football game, but this suspension is staying on your record for now. If you don’t get into any more trouble by the end of the semester, I’ll take it off and you’ll be put back into the running for valedictorian.”

“Thank you! Thank you so, so much, Mrs. Johnson, you won’t regret it.”

She chuckled at his earnestness.

“Yes, well. You’re a good kid, Tom,” she looked to his parents. “And you two have raised an incredible young man. I’m pretty sure if there had been more people like Tom and y/n in my high school, the world would be a much better place.”

With that, they stood, exchanging gratitude and handshakes. 

Dom and Nikki slung an arm over their son’s shoulders as they walked back to the parking lot, proud of the son they’d raised.

%

You were laying on your bed after dinner scrolling through social media when your phone began to ring. 

It was Tom.

You quickly picked up and placed the phone to your ear.

“Tom!?”

“Hey, y/n.”

“Oh my gosh! I tried to text you earlier but I figured your phone got taken away or something. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good. And yes, I was grounded from my phone.”

“You say ‘was’ as though something has changed.”

“Well… Mrs. Johnson reversed my suspension,” he began.

“That's amazing!”

“I know, but she’s keeping it on my record until December. She said she’ll take it off if I can stay out of trouble but until then, I can’t be considered for valedictorian.”

“WhatI!” you exclaimed into the phone, shooting up to a sitting position.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy about that?”

“No! Now I’ll have no one to compete with! We all know you and I are miles ahead of everyone else, so without you, I’ll have precisely zero motivation!”

Tom laughed at your self concern while you twisted your star ring.

“Well I’m glad you were worried about me. I’m getting to play in the game tomorrow too.”

“That’s great. You’ll have to dedicate your win to me.”

“That depends on if we win, but seriously, thank you. If it weren’t for you I’d probably be in way more trouble.”

“About that… why didn’t you tell her what actually happened this morning? This probably could have been avoided,” you suggest.

“I didn’t want to come forward for you without your permission. It happened so fast that I was willing to just take the fall instead of dragging you into it. It obviously worked out in the end, anyways. The other guys got suspended for most of next week and can’t play in the next two games.”

“Woah. Johnson was serious. Hopefully that’ll teach them some consequences of not respecting women. Will your hand be okay, though? It looked pretty beat up yesterday.”

“Well thankfully I punch with the left and throw with the right, so I should be good there. I’m mostly just worried about everyone seeing my ugly bruised face.”

“It can’t be that bad. Plus, if anyone tries to give you shit about it just remind them where you got it. Not many people can say they took down three football players with just their fists.”

He laughed again.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I guess so. Anyways, I just wanted to call to tell you the news and thank you. See you tomorrow?”

“Sounds good, champ. We both need to rest up for our big days.”

“Champ? Is that my new nickname?” he questioned.

“Hm. We’ll see how it feels when I’m saying it to your face.”

“Alright, princess. Goodnight.”

You felt a flutter in your stomach.

“Night, Tom.”

%

The talk of the school on Friday was how Tom was back and Harrison’s posse was gone.

And everyone knew you had something to do with it.

You were popular and friends with a lot of people, but unless you were super close, they were usually pretty intimidated by you. Because of this, very few students came to ask you about what was going on.

Different rumors floated around all day, some saying that you and Tom were secretly dating, others claiming that you and Harrison were the ones dating, or that you were stuck in a love triangle with the two.

It was exhausting.

In home ec, the class was baking cinnamon rolls when Mrs. Flynn got everyone’s attention.

“Okay, class! I just wanted to ask if there were any couples wanting to get ‘divorced’? I want to figure out how to redistribute over the weekend for those that do.”

Three couples raised their hands and Mrs. Flynn wrote them down.

“Is there anyone else?” she scanned the room, stopping when her eyes met Tom. She looked between the both of you and raised her eyebrows.

You and Tom looked at each other, smiled, then back at her. You both shook your heads no. She pursed her lips, then grinned back.

“Alrighty then. Speak now or forever hold your peace!”

%

Your volleyball game that afternoon was a quick win, so you had plenty of time to shower and change before the football game that night.

There was a nip in the air now that it was the beginning of October, so you’d wiggled into some jeans and put on a long sleeved volleyball shirt. Your hair was pulled into two loose french braids that fell down your shoulders.

Your friends, having nothing to do while you got ready, had decided to go to the field early to do some “boy scouting” as they liked to call it, so you found them on the front row of the student section staring at the other teams' asses in their football pants.

Caroline and Alexis were talking about their own marriage project stuff when you sat down, waving to all of your friends.

“There you are! Did you eat dinner?” Alexis asked with concern.

“Hold on,” you reached into your bag and pulled out a sandwich from your favorite shop, unwrapping it and taking a big bite before continuing. “How’s it looking out there?”

Caroline leaned forward to talk to you.

“Numbers 11 and 28 are the cutest but it doesn't look like they’ll make it off the bench tonight,” she commented.

“Ugh. It always ends up that way, doesn’t it?”

You all talked some more as students filed in and the bleachers filled up.

You saw the team captains go to do the coin toss and watched Tom, who had tape around his left hand. 

As they came back to the bench, Tom noticed you and pointed his helmet towards you. He fished his necklace from his jersey to show you, then stuffed it back in before putting his helmet on.

You hadn’t really understood what he was trying to say, but assumed it was something about dedicating the game to you, so you just tossed a thumbs up at him and went back to your conversation.

The team had a long, rough game, but pulled out another win by just a field goal once again. You were headed to the parking lot when you heard a male voice yelling your name. 

You stopped to see it was Tom coming after you while the other girls went ahead to their vehicles.

Tom was covered in sweat and when he reached you was out of breath. His cheek had swollen up again and his bruises were apparent under the streetlights. 

“Hey. I parked by you so I figured we could walk together since my parents took the boys home.”

“Okay, I guess. Good game by the way. Your hand didn’t seem to stop you.”

“Thanks. It’s definitely hurting now. I’m just glad I’m not the reason we played poorly. Our defense is in major need of work, with and without our three missing players.”

“I could definitely tell. It must feel nice though, to win without them.”

“You have no idea. And yes, I dedicate this win to you,” he joked.

“As you should,” you fired back as you reached your car. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yep. I’ll try not to sleep through my alarm this time.”

%

Tom slept through his alarm.

Dom had let you in and mentioned that he thought he’d heard Tom rustling around upstairs, so you sat at the dining room table and did homework while waiting.

That morning, your friends and you had decided to go for a nice brunch, so for once you were dressed up nice, wearing a muted pink corduroy skirt and a flowy white v-neck. You had re-braided your hair into two loose french braids and wore some light makeup.

As you were working Nikki walked in.

“Oh my goodness. Stay right there, the lighting is perfect for some pictures.”

She ran out of the room and eventually came back with a camera and some light reflecting boards. As she was setting up the tripod, she started talking to you.

“You know, I’ve been wanting to do a photoshoot like this for a while. I haven’t done a real sit down shoot since I’ve been taking pictures at football games, and you’re the perfect subject.”

She directed you to pose certain ways, mostly trying to get candid pictures while you worked, but took some smiling portraits as well. After a little while, Tom appeared in the room with some coffee, his face still dark but somewhat better. 

“What are you guys doing in here?”

“Oh I’m just shooting y/n. I’m almost done. Why don’t you go sit down next to her and look like you’re working together.”

He rolled his eyes, used to his mother’s antics. He couldn’t blame her, it was her profession, after all.

“Do you really want me in pictures looking like this?” 

She looked up at him, remembering that he still looked pretty beat up. 

“Hold on, I can fix that,” she claimed, getting up. She returned with some foundation and concealer. He sat mostly still as she lightly applied it, wincing some when she dabbed her sponge over the darkest bruise. 

He took the seat next to you once she was done and Nikki told you to pose as though you were working together. She also got a few shots of you both looking seriously at the camera, then smiling.

At one point, Tom made a joking remark that caused you both to look at each other and laugh. You pretended not to notice the shutter click and flash light up.

After seemingly the hundredth picture of you and Tom together, he got fed up.

“Can we please be done now, mom. We need to work on our project.”

“Yes! Sorry, sorry. I was so deep into the zone that I forgot. You two were just being so cute.”

You felt yourself blush as Tom stood up.

“Okay, mom. We’re gonna go upstairs…” he blurted.

You gathered everything and followed him, almost running into Paddy when you reached the top of the stairs.

“Wow… y/n. You look so pretty,” he said quietly, blushing. You grinned sweetly.

“Thank you, Paddy. That’s very kind.”

“Don’t you agree, Tom? Don’t you think she looks pretty, too?” Paddy asked his older brother, who looked tense.

“Yes, Patrick. She looks very nice today. Now bug off, we need to work on our project,” he muttered. 

As you passed by, you thanked Paddy once more, amused at his middle school crush on you.

When you got to Tom’s room, you set down your stuff and pulled out a pair of leggings.

“I’m gonna go change real quick. You know my computer password by now so you can pull up the budget. I also have some makeup wipes in that pocket if you want them.”

When you came back, Tom was standing, rummaging around his desk. His face was also clean of the makeup.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, you’re back. I was looking for that paper Flynn gave us Monday. I set it up here somewhere.”

You stuffed your skirt into your backpack and sat by your computer to see what he had done so far. He let out a soft “aha!” 

He opened up a drawer and dug around in it too.

“Wanna kiss?” he asked dismissively.

“Excuse me?”

He turned around, holding something silver in his hand. 

“A Hershey’s kiss. Get your mind out of the gutter.”  

He tossed you a chocolate and you rolled your eyes unwrapping it.

“It’s kind of hard to get what you mean without context.”

You popped it into your mouth as he uncased his, sitting back down.

“I keep a bunch of candies and stuff in that drawer so my brothers can’t steal them. Don’t tell any of them.”

“Deal, as long as you’ll get me another one.”

%

As you were leaving that afternoon, Nikki stopped you in the doorway.

“Oh, y/n, I’m glad I caught you. I was wanting to ask, have you’ve gotten senior pictures done yet?”

“No, but I’ve been wanting to get volleyball ones done soon while the leaves are changing color.”

“Oh perfect. I was planning on taking Tom to do his football pictures next Sunday if you’d like to join us. I’ll do them for free if you’re okay with me putting them on my website.”

“Absolutely! Where are you planning on going and I can just meet you there,” you agreed, happy to have that weight off your shoulders.

“Well my parents have this lake house about an hour away and Tom really wanted to get some shots around the dock and woods. Would that be alright with you? You could just come here and I’ll drive us out. It would just be the three of us.”

“That sounds perfect, Nikki. We can figure out details next Saturday?”

“Absolutely. See you next weekend, dear.”

%

A/N: Fun fact, the “wanna kiss” scene is what actually caused me to make this entire story! The idea popped into my head and I couldn’t stop thinking about it and somehow it turned into this. So yeah! Have a great week!

Pls message or send an ask to be added to the permanent or story tag list!

Tag List: @jackiehollanderr, @one-big-fangirl, @l0lmk, @primadonnasdream, @bookworm06, @thenoddingbunny-blog, @agentnataliahofferson, @spider-babe,

[oscars-wifeyyy]

The Innocent (Oscar Diaz Fanfic)

I just want to see if this is a good start lol I kinda just wrote this cuz it just came up in my mind

In middle school and freshman year of high school, Elizabeth Hernandez was a girl that had braces and acne all over her face. Before summer came she was accepted into the same writing camp that Monse got accepted in and didn’t have to pay a thing except for the transportation. The school year ended and the class of 2018 was having a party to celebrate the end of high school so the crew went to look at the party. The crew went to hide behind the wall to watch the party as it progressed into the night until everyone decided that they wanted to get a beer so Cesar snuck into the party to get everybody beer.

Ruby, Monse, Elizabeth, and Jamal stood watching the scene unfold. The girls were looking for Cesar, Ruby was looking at the girls, while Jamal was freaking out over the football players that stood by the house.

“Do you see him?” Monse asked, crossing her arms. 

“I don’t see him,” Elizabeth went on the tips of her toes to see if she could get a better look.

“Something bad is gonna happen. I can feel it,” Jamal freaked out.

“Take a xanny, J,” Ruby glanced at Jamal, “We just can’t see him, ‘cause he’s being stealth,”

“Yeah,” Monse agreed, “besides, when has Cesar ever let us down?”

“Fourth grade. Kickball tourney,” Jamal looks at the group, “we lost,”

“That’s because I picked the kid with no skills,” the group turned, “and I would do it again. Loyalty trumps victory, compa,”

Elizabeth took the beer being offered to her, “got that right, salad,”

Cesar stood up behind the wall, “take it in, guys. This is about to be us. This is high school,”

The five took a sip of their beer and made a face of disgust, but continued drinking out of the can with the bitter-tasting liquid.

“Ruby,” Monse said, “you think Mario is gonna marry Angelica?”

Ruby shrugged, “No idea. Mario tells me jack,”

“What about that time he said Angelica had a dangler?” Jamal chuckled as Ruby tried to shut Jamal up, “what? He said that,”

“In private!” Ruby exclaimed, “time and place, dude. Oh, guys, check out Huerita at 9 o’clock. Monse, Eli, if you were a girl-”

“We are,” Monse interrupted.

“But if you were a girl like that, would you wear any underwear?” Ruby stared dreamily as Elizabeth turned to look at Ruby in disgust.

“Oh, my God. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die,” Jamal said.

“Why are you gonna die, J?” Elizabeth asked Jamal.

“See those guys over there?” Jamal pointed towards the guys in football jerseys, “they play for the ‘ridge. Did you know that last year alone a quorum of kids-”

“Died playing football?” Monse butt in, “you’re stuck on repeat,”

“So don’t play, sweets,” Elizabeth chuckled.

“No choice,” Jamal said, “Pops was a legend. It’s a family tradition. I’m dead,” Jamal jumped off the platform with Monse and Elizabeth.

“You’re not dead,” Monse said.

“Football spiral?” Cesar asked as he got down to help Jamal calm down, “Jamal, CTE is not in your future,”

“Guys, check out my game,” Ruby turned, “Heurita gave me the nod,”

A bald guy popped up and grabbed Ruby’s shoulder, “Eyeing my girl, cabron?”

“No, God, no. I’m not into blondes,” Ruby tried to get out.

“Easy,” Cesar said, “he does your mother’s taxes. Mrs. Guzamn, right?”

“Three thousand dollar refund. Schedule C, line 30. Home office deduction,” Ruby said.

“Seriously,” Monse looked at him in disbelief.

Another cholo came over the wall to see Cesar so he nudged the bald guy, “Yo, homes. What are you doing, ese? That’s Spooky’s lil bro, dawg,”

The guy let go of Ruby, “I didn’t realize it was you, homie. Hey, listen, man, tell Spooky Sad Eyes sends his respects,” Cesar nodded as the two cholos left the crew.

“Thank God for your brother,” Ruby rubbed his shoulder.

“Nah, thank God for better things,” Cesar shook his head as gunshots rang out and everybody crouched down.

“.357!” the crew yelled out after the 5th shot.

Soon they were in Ruby’s place, Jamal and Ruby were spying on Mario and Angelica arguing outside while Cesar, Monse, and Elizabeth were sitting on the couch. Elizabeth took out her phone to tell her mother she was fine and in Ruby’s house until Ruby and Jamal ran to the couch, “Mario’s coming!”

Elizabeth didn’t bother listening to Mario so she just put on her earbuds and looked at him as if she was listening, but when she thought he was done she took it out. Mario came back and said, “don’t bone Elizabeth and Monse,”

Everybody started laughing as Monse said, “Who would even wanna do that?”

The next day Monse and Elizabeth went to the coach station to catch their bus to the camp. Summer was spent writing in the middle of nowhere with activities and amenities provided for the students so Elizabeth was able to start working out, losing the acne, and lost the braces. A few months later, they were back and on their way to Ruby’s house.

Monse wore simple jeans and a shirt that showed a little cleavage while Elizabeth wore a blue destroyed  with a burgundy bralette and ripped jeans that covered her legs. Smiles were on both faces, happy that they lost the metal prison that held their teeth captive. Both had grown breasts which attracted a lot of unwanted attention from the ice cream man as he was selling. They walked a little faster until a voice was heard that they recognized.

“Angelica, once I’m gone, I’m gone! There’s not gonna be a Christmas break hook-up! You know why? ‘Cause I’m gonna be hooking up with other chicks!” Mario took a pause, “white chicks!” another pause, “I don’t know why I’m saying that. It’s you! Talk to me, boo!”

“Maybe she’s not home!” Monse called out as Mario turned.

“Oh. Hey, guys,” the three met on the street, “how was camp?”

“Terrible. Mildly life-changing,” Monse shrugged.

“I can see that,” Mario looked down at their chests.

“Shut up, Mario,” Elizabeth rolled her eyes as a blush came on and tried to hide her newly found breasts.

“You can? How?” Monse asked confused.

“You just...look, I probably have to go before traffic hits,” Mario changed subjects.

“No prob. Good luck at Cal,” Elizabeth waved.

“Thanks,” Mario sighed, “and you two, keep an eye on Ruby? Don’t know what that kid’s gonna do without me,”

Monse and Elizabeth arrived at Ruby’s house and to his now own room, “we’re back!”

“Can you guys move that side table?” Ruby pointed at the table.

“No, seriously, don’t make such a fuss. We’ve only been gone all summer but really, it’s no big deal,” Monse glared at the boys.

“How was camp?” Ruby reluctantly asked.

“Camp was fine. Notice anything different?” Elizabeth and Monse smiled wide.

“Both of you got boobs,” The boys said.

“You can wait for Cesar to help,” Elizabeth glared.

Jamal stood up, “then we’ll be waiting a long time,”

“Why?” Monse asked.

“Where is Cesar?” Elizabeth asked.

“We’re not talking to him,” Ruby shrugged.

“Y’all in a fight?” Monse asked, crossing her arms.

“Well, it wasn’t really a fight. More like…” Jamal started but Ruby cut him off, “we’re not getting into it. Trust us, Cesar’s not cool,”

“Well, I’m not cool being not cool,” Monse crossed her arms, “and why aren’t you at football?” Monse asked Jamal.

“We should really get to orientation,” Jamal changed subjects as he stood up, “before those lines get too big,”

“Yeah, I don’t want to get too sweaty for my ID. Like Mario said ‘it’s all about the right first impression,’” Ruby said, straightening his clothes.

“And sticking together! You’re definitely deflecting this whole Cesar sitch,” Elizabeth rolled her eyes, “so stop being bitches and tell us,”

“Right!” Monse agreed.

Now they were on their way to school and Monse was continuing to pester the boys while Elizabeth gave up and let Monse deal with that. However, it was kind of a backfire for Monse because the boys’ gave her the silent treatment.

“What happened with Cesar?” Monse threw her hands up, “this silent treatment will only last so long. I will break you,” a pause went by, “come on! There is no way Cesar did anything on purpose to destroy our crew,”

“He’s the glue of our crew!” Elizabeth added.

“That was then, this is now,” Jamal shrugged.

“Yeah. Cesar ain’t shit,” Ruby agreed.

They turned the corner to see the Prophets so Elizabeth alerted the crew, “shit, Prophets!”

Everyone was searching their clothes to see if there were any colors that would set off the gang members. Ruby took off his hoodie but messed his hair up a little.

“Damn it. Did I just jack my do?” Ruby pulled out his phone to see how it looked until he saw Jasmine, “code dread, code dread, code dread. Approaching on your six,”

“Yo! You guys going to orientation?” Jasmine’s voice popped up, “hey, you know my cousin, Berto, the fine one? Hey. His daughter, Letty, said it ain’t nothing unless you can’t spell your name and then you hold up the line and people get mad,” Jasmine ranted, “hey, why you guys walking so fast? You know I got asthma,”

“Sorry, Jasmine! We’re having a private convo,” Monse called out, “real sensitive stuff,”

“That’s what you always say!” Jasmine yelled but took a deep breath from her inhaler and began running after the crew.

They finally lost her after a few minutes and they breathed out a breath of relief not seeing Jasmine behind them anymore.

“Man, she is relentless,” Ruby shook his head.

“Nice save,” Jamal appraised Ruby,

“Oh, you’re not safe,” Monse interrupted.

“You’re threats aren’t penetrating, ok?!” Jamal said, “I’m not telling you what Cesar said,”

“Aha!” Monse turned to them, “so he did say something!”

“Jamal!” Ruby yelled, “do you need a muzzle? Monse, no offense, but you’re a loose cannon. We’re not telling you for your own protection,”

“My protection?” Monse leaned closer to Ruby, “eat a dick,”

“Case in point,” Ruby said, “you don’t even know and you’re at Defcon Solange,”

They continued walking and as they were walking past an alley they saw a guy getting jumped into a gang. Monse and Elizabeth began staring at the actions happening, but Ruby and Jamal took each of their arms.

“Don’t look,” Ruby grunted, “keep walking,”

“Why would anyone wanna get jumped on 19th street?” Jamal asked, “I’d join First Street. Only one second of pain,”

“Agreed,” Ruby said, “besides, who would want a lifetime commitment at our age?”

“Apparently neither of you,” Elizabeth chuckled.

“Lack of commitment seems to be a noticeable trend in this friendship,” Monse shook her head, “as does lack of space,” Monse pushed the boys away.

“We can’t tell you what Cesar said,” Jamal said.

Rap music was being played from down the street from a red Impala, “fine then. I’ll ask myself. Eli, let’s go,”

Monse walked in front of the car as a head stuck out of the window, “Hey, you crazy?!”

Monse and Elizabeth walked over to the driver’s side and leaned down, “we just wanted to let Cesar know that we were back in town,”

“And looking like some fine ass hynas,” the mystery cholo smirked.

“Underaged hynas,” Monse snapped.

“Not for some,” the cholo stared at Elizabeth, “it’s all good. You just look a lil different. What is it?”

“My boobs,” Monse deadpanned.

“Nah, you got your braces off,” he laughed, “and who are you, hermosa?”

“Elizabeth,” she blushed.

“Cool. Spooky,” he drove away as the girls went back to the boys on the sidewalk.

“When did Oscar get out?” Monse looked confused.

“Six weeks ago,” Ruby answered as they covered the girls cleavages with their sweaters.

“Now it makes sense! Whatever Cesar said, he said to impress Oscar. Cesar’s terrified of his brother,” Monse smiled.

“Along with everyone else,” Ruby said.

“Then who cares what he says,” Elizabeth shrugged.

“Oh, just drop it!” Jamal raised his voice.

“Do we look like we can just drop it?” Monse asked.

“Actually you do. You just won’t,” Jamal shrugged then a body jumped out from behind them.

“Tax time, bitches!” Latrelle said, “hands up, money out,”

“How can we take out money out with our hands up?” Elizabeth asked.

“I know you bookheads got that back to school gwop,” Latrelle scowled.

Monse started talking, “actually, it’s orientation day. Technically, we’re neither in school nor out of school. We’re…”

Ruby covered Monse’s mouth, “we don’t have any money,”

Latrelle gave a look to Jamal, “what about that 20?” Ruby groaned and handed Latrelle his 20.

Elizabeth, Monse, and Jamal were walking from orientation and were now in front of Cesar’s place that was filled with Santos. Monse and Jamal were going back and forth on the situation, but Elizabeth was stuck on the sight of “Spooky” working out as his muscles constricted when he lifted the weights. Slowly, she came back to reality and the bickering between Jamal and Monse.

“...but he would never join the gang. He’s an outlier so whatever is going on it isn’t that,” Monse snapped at Jamal.

“He isn’t the same,” Jamal said, “he dumped us,”

“But we weren’t here so it’s not official,” Monse looked across the street.

“If someone breaks up with you over text, is it official?” Jamal asked,

“Yes,”

“Consider me the text,” Jamal clicked his tongue, “Ding! You’ve been dumped,” Elizabeth and Montse rolled their eyes and started going over there, “wait! Please don’t go. Please, you’re not… you’re not safe,”

“Why?” Elizabeth asked.

“Because…” Jamal looked at their newly developed chests, “both of you blossomed,”

“Blossomed?” Monse asked.

“Popped. Busted out. Puffed your party pillows. Whatever you wanna call your new cha-cha-bingos,” Jamla pointed towards the cholos, “these new homies he’s hanging with are thirsty,” Jamal threw his hoodie onto Monse, who tossed it back as Elizabeth and herself walked to the other side of the street, “Ok. don’t worry, girls! I got your back…”

The two approached the exiled friend as the other Santos turned to stare at the two walking up to the younger Diaz. Monse stopped in front of Cesar as Elizabeth, coincidentally, stood in front of Oscar, who was staring at her. The leader’s eyes felt like it was burning holes through Elizabeth’s face, but she didn’t make it look obvious even though there was a blush on her cheeks.

“I need to talk to you,” Monse said firmly.

“I’m listening,” Cesar stayed seated.

“Privately,” Elizabeth whispered as the Santos turned to stare at them longer.

“Yeah. We can go inside,” Cesar’s older brother cleared his throat, “but, uh, if you both wanna sit on my face, y’all gotta put those mouths on pause so I can concentrate,” Laughs were heard from the cholos so Monse quickly bailed and went back to Jamal; however, Elizabeth felt a wave of burning anger in her so she pulled her fist back and punched Cesar on the mouth. He groaned as Elizabeth leaned closer to whisper into his ear.

“Do not try to come back and get along with me until you make things right with Monse. I know what y’all did so I’m only doing this for her now,” Elizabeth said, “come near me and I will punch the shit out of you again,” Elizabeth left as Cesar looked at her with slight fear in his eyes and the cholos stared at her in lust after the action was taken by her. Her cheeks burned red at the attention especially from the certain leader that sat next to Cesar. Oohs were heard from the porch, but Elizabeth paid no mind to it as she went back to walking with Jamal and Monse.

“Cesar is dead to us!” Monse yelled.

“Told ya,” Jamal said as he ran to the back of the bushes.

“He doesn’t get to break up with us,” Elizabeth rolled her eyes, “we’re breaking up with him,”

“Sit on my face? Who says that?” Monse stuck her hands out.

“Chairs who can talk! And buttholes!” Jamal called out from the bushes.

“I wouldn’t put dumb crap like that past Oscar, but Cesar?” Monse asked in disbelief, “what happened to him?” Jamal was rolling around when Monse came into an idea, “Cesar’s gotta be hitting the pipe. Right? right!”

“Could be?” Elizabeth shrugged as Jamal jumped onto the next patch of grass. “That was totally out of character,” Monse shook her head, but realized what Jamal was doing, “what are you doing?”

“I’m getting into character,” Jamal sprayed water onto her armpits and clothes, “hey, pops. Say nothing and go with my flow,”

“Monse! Eli! Welcome back, babies. Ready for the new year?” Dwayne hugged both girls.

“Bound to be a lot of surprises,” Monse shrugged as she reciprocated the gift already.

“How was practice?” Dwayne asked his son.

“Yeah, how was practice?” Elizabeth smiled as Jamal threw his gym bag at her.

“I don’t know. Ask those D1 scouts who were all up on me,” Jamal pulled on his jersey.

Dwayne chuckled, “that’s my boy!” He pulled Jamal into a man hug then walked away with an extra pep to his step and back to his gardening.

“Did you quit the team and not tell your dad?” Monse asked.

“No,” Jamal looked at Monse, “yes. Look I suited up first day, and I just wasn’t feeling it,”

“Wasn’t feeling it?” Elizabeth threw the bag back at Jamal.

“Yeah. Wasn’t feeling like breaking my neck,” Jamal threw the bag down on the ground, “listen, everybody that knows me knows that I suck, except my pops. And he keeps thinking that I’m just gonna wake up one day and be him, and...I’m not him,” Jamal sighed, “I just need the right time to tell him,”

“How ironic that a guy that can’t keep a secret is keeping the biggest secret of his life,” Monse smirked, “I’m gonna rat you out to your dad,” her smirk fell, “unless you drop the 411 about Cesar. What did he say?”

“No!” Jamal denied.

“Yes!” Monse said, “Mr. Turn-”

Jamal covered Monse’s mouth, “Cesar said you let him hit it before you left for camp,” Jamal said in one breath.

The two girls were fuming and decided to do a group call later with Ruby to find out the context and how he said it, but Elizabeth had work that night so she couldn’t participate, settling on telling Monse to keep her updated. A long six hours of working, she got off at 10pm and checked her phone to see a text from Monse telling her to meet at Dwayne’s joint at five to chop it up.

The next day came around and Monse and Elizabeth were at the joint with Jamal as he and Elizabeth worked. Elizabeth sometimes worked for Dwayne to earn a little extra money to prevent herself from asking for money from her mother because her mother was already deep in debt and Elizabeth was doing anything in her power to help her out.

“That’s the eleventh text,” Monse sighed, “Ruby’s almost 2 hours late,”

“He said he’ll be here, so he’ll be here. Trust me,” Jamal gave the customer his order.

“Yeah, Mon. Chill,” Elizabeth smirked.

“Said the guy pretending to play football?” Monse stared at Jamal. 

“Maybe my pops won’t notice,” Jamal hoped.

“I don’t think that’s possible, J,” Elizabeth motioned towards the countless photos of Jamal playing football.

“Where the hell is Ruby?” Jamal put his hand on his head.

After a few minutes, Monse and Elizabeth decided to go to Ruby’s house to see what was going on. The two rushed in through the door to see Ruby standing on top of a table, wearing a pink dress, and Abuelita was hemming it.

“What the hell is going on ?” Monse asked.

“I think it’s pretty obvious,” Ruby rolled his eyes.

“Great,” Monse rolled her eyes, “so, walk me through the moment Cesar said what he said,”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ruby looked at Monse.

“There you go again,” Monse crossed her arms.

“There you go again what?” Ruby looked confused.

“Keeping things from us,” Elizabeth stood by Monse’s side, “stop withholding things from us,”

Monse pulled Ruby outside onto the porch, “Monse, wait! Monse! We need to go back inside,”

Monse faced Ruby, “what did Cesar exactly say? And how did he say it? We need context, tone. We need to know, Ruby.”

“Y’all know what I know,” Ruby insisted, “what I don’t know is why he said it. But he said it. We tried to get him to take it back, but he wouldn’t. So what can we do? Drop it,”

“I can’t,” Monse looked down.

“Why not?” Ruby asked.

“‘Cause I’m still figuring out if I still hate him. You heard what your brother said. How are we gonna survive high school without Cesar?” Monse said.

“Mario’s not some sage. Don’t take his words to heart, it’s just words,” Ruby tried to persuade Monse, but she wouldn’t give up.

“If that’s true then why should we take Cesar’s words to heart?” Monse turned the tables, “they’re just words,”

“Sometimes, it’s not what you say, but how you say it. And Cesar said it like he meant it. But things could be worse,”

“What’s worse than losing a friend?” Elizabeth asked.

“Entering high school with a rep,” Ruby said, “you’re smart enough to know that a rumor could ruin your life,” Monse and Elizabeth nodded, “but it’s contained.”

“You’re right. No one knows,” Monse sighed.

Jasmine rode by Ruby’s house with her scooter, but she stopped to talk to the three, “hi! Damn, Ruby. I see you! I see you! And I’m down with it,” Jasmine winked at Ruby, “I like the freaky, just like Monse,” 

“What are you talking about?” Elizabeth asked.

“Y’all ain’t gotta be shy with me,” Jasmine smiled, “I know Cesar and Monse be getting it in,” Jasmine humped the air.

“No one knows?! Really?” Monse scoffed, “I officially hate the traitor, and now I’m gonna kick his ass,”

“Girl, I’m coming with,” Elizabeth growled.

“Monse! Eli!” Ruby ran back inside to take the dress off as the two girls got closer to the Diaz residence.

The two girls arrived at the Diaz house to see Cesar riding his skateboard and Oscar chilling on the wall. When they saw the suspect, Monse marched her way to Cesar and pushed him off of his skateboard.

“You little bitch!” Monse yelled as she began hitting Cesar.

“Damn, that hyna’s wild. Must be a freak on all fours,” a cholo said.

“Shut the fuck up, cabron. Before you’re gonna be like little homie over there,” Elizabeth snapped at the nearest cholo.

“I fought for you. I had your back. For what? For you to impress your puto friends and humiliate me?” Monse continued hitting Cesar as he tried to shield his face from the enraged girl on top of him.

“Hermanito, you better back up before you get smacked up,” Oscar smirked.

Elizabeth turned to the leader, “Callate, puto. You aboutta be smacked up like tú hermanito,”

“Watch it now, nena,” Oscar winked at the spitfire sophomore.

“Monse! Eli!” Jamal yelled as Ruby and Jamal pulled Monse to the sidewalk.

Elizabeth glared at the leader of the Santos as she walked back to her group of friends to listen to what they had to say.

“This is why we didn’t want to tell you guys!” Ruby yelled.

“Y’all goin’ crazy!” Jamal added.

“Crazy? We’re crazy?!” Monse yelled.

“Calm down. Breath,” Ruby tried to calm Monse down.

“Don’t you patronize me!” Monse pushed Jamal, “I don’t need you! Any of you! I was just trying to keep our crew together, but since Eli and I are the only ones who cares, y’all are dead to me! I’ll survive on my own,” Monse walked off.

The three stood completely dumbfounded by the afrolatina’s rant, but began walking home until a certain voice stopped them.

“Elizabeth,” The three turned to see Oscar standing on the steps of the porch, “come here,”

Jamal and Ruby looked at Elizabeth, asking if they should stay with her, but she knew that they were scared to even stay another minute, “it’s alright. I’ll text y’all when I get home,”

The two boys nodded and rushed to get home and avoid the feared leader so Elizabeth turned to walk towards the now empty porch. Oscar stood on the porch with a strong pose that oozed power and a smirk showed proudly upon his lips.

“Y-y-yeah,” Elizabeth stuttered.

“Let’s go inside so we can talk,” Oscar turned to the door to open it for her.

“No, gracias. Podemos hablar aquí,” Elizabeth blushed.

“Por qué eres tímido ahora? You were just talking real big, bebita,” Oscar smirked at the sudden shy girl in front of him.

“I w-was just heated i-in that moment,” Elizabeth put her arms behind her back and looked down when she felt the leader’s stare on her face.

“Alright. Let me see tu teléfono,” Oscar held out his hand.

“Por qué,” Elizabeth looked at him confused.

“Let me just see it. I’m gonna give you my number,” Elizabeth handed him her phone, “you can text me whenever and call me. If you need anything then hit me up, hermosa,”

“Oh, o-ok. Gracias, Spooky. Call me Eli. I kind of don’t like my name,”

“Oscar. Call me Oscar and no problema, princesa,” Oscar winked, “let me walk you home. Where do you stay at?”

“A few houses that way,” she pointed to her right.

“Alright. Vamos, hermosa,” Oscar walked down the steps, holding his hand out to help Elizabeth down the stairs, “so why haven’t I met you yet?”

“estaba en la prisión when I started hanging out with the crew,” Elizabeth shrugged.

Oscar nodded, “well, I find you muy hermosa. Let me get to know you,”

They were in front of her house as she leaned on the gate with Oscar leaning his hand next to her body and the other hand in his pocket, “we’ll see, Oscar Diaz. Buenas noches,”

“Buenas noches, hermosa,” Oscar smirked at the girl that walked under his arm to go inside the gate.

She had to work the next day so she immediately did her nightly routine then fell asleep in her bed with dreams of the big bad leader that live a few houses down. Her dreams carried her away and into dreamland until 7 am and her alarm blaring and telling her to get up. Elizabeth groaned as she slammed her hand down on the alarm and got up to get ready for the day. Once she was dressed and ready to go, she started cooking breakfast for herself and her mother since her dad was at the hospital still so she settled for eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns so she wouldn’t be late to the bus.

Elizabeth closed the front door and made her way to the bus stop with her earphones pushed into her ears with music blasting to keep her distracted from her surroundings. After a short five minute walk to the bus stop, a red Impala pulled up in front of it, but Elizabeth didn’t pay any mind to it until the driver had honked his horn. She looked up fast and saw the familiar bald head and bicep tattoo.

“H-hey,” Elizabeth smiled.

“Where you headed?” Oscar raised an eyebrow.

“Some of us have to work and can’t lead a gang,” Elizabeth chuckled.

“Where is it at? I can drive you,” Oscar leaned over to open the door.

Elizabeth thought for a second before getting in, “it’s in San Bernardino. Amazon warehouse,”

“Why are you working there?” Oscar began driving the car, “don’t you gotta have your diploma for that?”

“Yup, but I have some connections and they let me work there. They pay well and I got enough saved for the future,” Elizabeth sighed.

“Whatchu savin’ up for in the future?” Oscar glanced at the young girl.

“That’s gotta be at a later time,” Elizabeth shrugged, “if y-you even s-stick around,”

Half an hour passed with small talk between the two until they finally arrived in front of the warehouse building. Elizabeth gathered her stuff and opened the door to get out until a hand touched her forearm, 

“Mamita, what time you getting off?”

Elizabeth turned with her cheeks ablazed, “3. Bye, Oscar. Thanks for the ride,”

TIME SKIP

It was the end of Elizabeth’s shift and she made her way out after clocking out and as she opened the door, she saw the familiar Impala with a familiar body leaning against the front. She walked up to the body with red cheeks that seemed to always come when he was around.

“W-what are you doing here?” Elizabeth cleared her throat.

“What does it look like?” Oscar smirked, “picking you up, bebe,” Oscar opened the passenger door for her so she got inside and fiddled with her fingers as Oscar went around to get into the driver’s side. When he got inside, Elizabeth quietly thanked him for taking her to work and picking her up, 

“Gracias, Oscar, for picking me up and dropping me off,”

“No problema,” Oscar looked straight ahead at the traffic and a comfortable silence followed. “You’re very shy pero you have a fire in your eyes that you won’t let out. Por que?” Oscar questioned her as they got closer to Freeridge.

They were getting closer as Elizabeth thought about her answer until they reached her place, “some things...are meant to be kept inside,” she opened the door and got out, “bye, Oscar,”

The two went separate ways as the days went by and it was the first day of school. Elizabeth’s alarm went off as she groaned and slammed the snooze button to rub her eyes. At that moment, her mother came in and sat on her bed with a small smile at the sight of her daughter waking up, reminding the mother of the past times her daughter woke up.

“Mi amor, time to get up. It’s time for school and I made breakfast before I have to leave for work,” Leticia Hernandez smoothed down Elizabeth’s hair.

“Gracias, ma,” Elizabeth smiled before it dropped, “how is papa?”

“Tu papa es bueno pero still the same,” Leticia teared up, “things will be ok, mija,”

“I know, mama,” Elizabeth kissed her mother’s cheek, “I paid the phone bill and the internet bill so don’t worry about that,”

“Mija, don’t do that,” Leticia slightly frowned, “you should keep that money for you. I got the bills,”

“I know, ma, pero it’s fine. I have enough for myself. I just wanna help relieve some stress from you,” Elizabeth pouted.

Leticia’s eyes began overwhelmed with tears as it began running down her cheeks, “I don’t deserve a daughter like you,”

“Yes you do, ma,” Elizabeth hugged her mom, “you deserve the world with how hard you’re working. Now get to work so you’re not late and so I can get ready for school,”

“Wait, before we do that. I got something for you in the mail,” Leticia pulled out a letter, “read it,”

Elizabeth took the envelope and saw “UCLA” on the corner, when she saw it, her heart pounded in her chest and she began to get nervous, “open it, mija,” her mother softly said, Elizabeth’s hand shook as she opened the envelope and took the paper out. Her eyes skimmed over the letter and stopped at the first few lines of the letter seeing the “congratulations.”

“I-i-i goT IN! MA, I GOT IN! FULL RIDE SCHOLARSHIP! I’M GOING TO UCLA WHEN I’M DONE WITH HIGH SCHOOL!”

The two cheered and jumped around with tears going down their eyes, but soon embraced each other in a long hug. After a few minutes, they went their separate ways to continue with their day as Leticia left the house to go to the hospital for her shift as a registered nurse. Elizabeth went down to eat her breakfast, but was able to finish half of it so she packed it to put it in the fridge then did her morning routine. Once everything was done, she put on her denim shorts and a black v-neck t-shirt with checkered Vans slip-ons that adorned her feet. When she grabbed her backpack from next to her bed, she left her humble abode and to the Diaz house to meet with the gang.

“‘Sup, guys,” Elizabeth yawned, “we waiting for Diaz?”

The group nodded as the sound of a door opening caught their attention even more when Cesar walked out and to the group. Everyone looked at each other then began walking to school to start off the new year.

“I can’t do this,” Jamal said, “I can’t keep secrets! It’s gonna make me implode! I don’t know why anybody keeps secrets,”

“There is something I need to tell you guys,” Monse said before gunshots rang out.

“.44!” Everyone yelled with a smile for the feel of things going back.

However, that was when a car pulled up next to them, “Cesar,” Oscar called out as he got out and pulled the seat to allow enough space for Cesar to get through.

Cesar looked at the group then went into the car with his older brother and gang before Oscar pushed the seat back and got in himself, sparing a glance towards the crew. He drove away as the group followed to stand in the middle of the road looking at the back of the Impala.

“What were you going to say?” Ruby asked as he turned to Monse.

“Cesar,” Monse turned to the remaining group, “we need to save him,”

[squishysvt]

If I’m Lucky - Ch.7`Ten

Member: Ten (NCT) Genre: Angst, dark, and a sprinkle of fluff Word Count: 2,442 A/N this chapter is long and it’s been a??? month?? sorry lol -Admin Ay Warnings: profanity, talks of: body modification, drugs, weapons and sex oh my gosh this makes this chapter sound really bad but it’s not i promise

[previous chapter] ~ Ch.7`Ten ~ [next chapter]

recap:  As you had moved you had caught sight of Ten’s out of place shirt, it lifted slightly revealing a piece of his skin slightly above his hip. A black mark peaked from above his pants that you assumed to be a tattoo. 

Curiosity overwhelmed you. You tried your best to pull down his trousers to reveal the rest of it without causing Ten to wake up. Just as you had gotten a peek at the mark, a hand grabbed your wrist.

    As Ten laid in bed he traced the familiar marking on his hip over and over again. He’s had the scar for so long that he had nearly forgotten about its existence all together.

 Ten felt his lips quiver involuntarily as he spoke, “Dad, do I have to do this? Aren’t I already part of Squalo Nero by default since I’m your son? I should get a free pass or something.” Ten could feel the beginnings of sweat threatening to drip down his back as he sat in a severely uncomfortable wooden chair in the middle of the room.

His butt was starting to hurt from how long he had been sitting trying to talk his way out of his initiation. Yuta, the older man in charge of the procedure, towered over Ten’s figure as he shifted from side to side impatiently.

“Soon you’ll find out that no one gets it easy here, kid. Stop talking and get it over with.” Ten’s father’s brooding figure was planted at the door where he could easily get a view of the process. The rest of the gang lined the walls of the room observing alongside the leader. By the way his father waved him off, Ten knew that it was decided.

Yuta, after receiving a signal from Ten’s father, erected himself as he got ready to start the the branding process. Yuta sneered as he picked up the hot rod shaped as a shark. Ten tuned out the sounds of the other members mumbling insults around him. He knew that none of them liked that the boss’ scrawny fifteen-year-old son was allowed to join so easily.

Everyone had to go through the branding, no matter who it was. However, there were more...physically demanding trials to the initiation. Sometimes you had to withstand a beating from fifteen different men at once. Sometimes you were whipped six times in the back. If you were a woman, you were given the option to sleep your way into the gang.

Ten acknowledges that he indeed had a handicap.

Yuta eyed the instrument in his hand with one of the most sadistic smiles Ten had ever seen on a man. “This’ll hurt you more than it will hurt me, squirt.”

Lifting up the soft material of Ten’s shirt, Yuta hummed a soft rendition of a children’s song.

All Ten remembered after that was the heat gradually moving closer to his skin before he passed out.

    The faint knock on his bedroom door interrupted Ten’s memories of the past. He knew before humming an invitation to come in that it was you on the other side.

“Hey, you’re pretty good at school stuff, right?” You inquired as you plopped onto the edge of Ten’s bed, disrupting the previous quiet of the room.

“I guess, but how did you get in here?”

You giggled, “We do this every week, Ten. I picked the lock.”

“At least tell me you locked the door behind you.” Ten groaned. You had a habit of forgetting to do so.

“Don’t be a bitch, I doubt anyone would care enough to break in and hurt that pretty little face yours.”

Ten felt his mouth threaten to form a smile. Although there were definitely people out to get him, your teasing tone somehow made that reality disintegrate into the air.

“But yeah, I did. Anyway, could you help me study later? I’m lacking in a few subjects.”

Ten rolled his eyes as he spoke, “Maybe if you weren’t always slacking off during your free time your GPA would be higher.”

You gasped in mock offense, “Excuse you, but you’re lying if you were never tempted to click on one of those twenty minute vine compilations.”

Ten let himself release a breathy laugh.

“When do you want to get together then?”

“How about tomorrow at my place since we both don’t have class?” You prodded Ten’s covered knee with your finger as you awaited Ten’s reply.

“Why not just do it here?”

“Wendy and Doyoung aren’t gonna be there and my room is actually clean for once. I wanna show off, okay?”

Ten only shrugged, which was enough for you to pop up from your position on the bed.

“Great, be there at three!”

Ten watched as you zoomed out of his room and out the apartment room. As soon as he heard the sound of the door slamming behind you, a muffled ring sounded from the drawer of his bedside table. Ten huffed as he pulled the black burner phone out. A familiar number sprawled out onto the small screen.

“Yes, Dad?” Ten answered, all previous lightness in his voice gone.

“Be at the main building at nine. There’s a meeting.”

Ten didn’t bother to answer back, the gruff command from his father punctuated with the beep of the ended phone call. Squalo Nero didn’t consist of a single building, as it was too dangerous. Small buildings scattered around the city, each of which specializing in the different branches of the gang. The abandoned storage facility that Ten was in charge of was only for the drug trade. Other buildings worked with selling illegal weapons, member training, the sex industry, and so on. However, the main building that his father resided in was a good hour away, serving as a meeting place for all those in charge, this including Ten.

Ten glanced at his clock, the bright red numbers irritating his eyes. Classes started in an hour. Ten groaned as he forced himself to go back to sleep. Morning classes were a bitch.

    When Ten had knocked on your apartment door the next day, he was met with Wendy’s shorter figure in the doorway.

Wendy shifted uncomfortably, “Hey.”

Ten nodded, “Hello.”

Before Wendy could question him you appeared behind her.

“Oh, Ten! Come in! You’re like ten minutes late.”

Ten decided to ignore both your shit-eating grin and the obvious joke you were trying to make as he pushed his way inside past Wendy.

“Well, I’ll leave y’all two alone. Y/n, please do not burn the place down.”

“That only happened once!” A laugh caught in Ten’s throat as he heard the the defensive pitch in your voice.

“Yeah, well make sure that doesn’t turn into twice.” Wendy signified the end of the conversation with the slam of the door as she stepped out.

Ten allowed himself to observe the room as you muttered curses under your breath. Despite the similarity of build of you and Ten’s apartments, they both gave off different auras. There was a worn out ikea couch in the middle of the living room, across from it a small tv. Soft lamps and other decorative lights littered the room. On the polished wooden coffee table layed a couple of photos of the trio of friends that occupied the apartment.

Your apartment was warmer than his. The colorful personalities of the three dripping all over the room, in contrast to the lonesome black that was Ten’s.

“My room is on the left over there,” you jerked your head towards a door decorated with stickers and a big sign with your name on it, “Go put your stuff in there.”

When Ten finally settled his things and emerged from your room, he spotted you hunched over the island in small kitchen area. Ten slipped behind you, observing as you placed an array of snacks on the table.

With a sudden spark of playfulness, Ten slowly reached over your shoulder, hoping to alarm you. He smirked as the effort proved successful, you jumping and placing a hand over year heart like a middle-aged woman.

You hissed, “Can you maybe not do that?”

Ten smiled as he reached for a cheese cube you had dropped in the moment, popping it into his mouth.

“Sorry, did I scare you?” Ten cooed at your exasperated demeanor. You pouted, choosing to throw a handful of grapes into your mouth instead of giving into Ten’s taunting.

Rather than resorting to mindless chatter, you stayed silent, picking at the foods on the kitchen island. Ten relished in the comfortable silence that hung in the air.

After several days of contact with you, Ten had gotten used to your talkative ways. It had gotten to the point to where he would go so far as to say that he missed it late at night while he floated through his empty apartment. Then, the yearning for your voice to hold the place of the ringing silence in his ears evolved into the desire to have you fill the space next to him. Your presence at this point was enough.

How you managed to insert yourself into his life and get him this comfortable around you, he wasn’t sure, but he would blame it on your persistence.

Munching on a few crackers, Ten stretched his body, not bothering to think about how his shirt lifted over his stomach until he noticed the frown that crawled onto your face. The brand was in such a visible place, he should have known to wear a clothes with better coverage.

Just as you had cleared your throat, the sound of the front door opening cut through the tense smog that occupied the room.

Ten could visualize your ears perking up as you recognized the obnoxious laughter following right after.

“Doyoung?” You asked as you maneuvered to get a better view of the front door. Ten followed you, peeking over your shoulder to see the unexpected company.

“I thought you said you’d be out with...Jaehyun?” Your your question faltered as soon as said man stepped through the door.

Doyoung sighed, “Well, yeah, cancelling of plans. Jae here got us kicked out of the arcade.”

Jaehyun, who had stayed frozen since meeting eyes with Ten, spluttered as he tried to gather a response.

“I-- uh, yeah. A parent...didn’t exactly enjoy me shoving their kid during laser tag.”

You suppressed a laugh as you spoke, “You should get that aggressiveness of yours checked.”

“It was an accident! And he looked big for a eight-year-old alright.”

Doyoung chuckled as he pecked Jaehyun on the cheek. “I love you.” Ten, had he not been preoccupied with the current situation, would have taken the time to acknowledge the fond tone in his voice with a look of distaste.

“By the way, Jaehyun, this is Ten. He’s a friend of mine. Ten, this is Jaehyun, Doyoung’s boyfriend if you couldn’t guess.” You waved your hands between the two as you went on with introductions.

The fact that Ten had known Jaehyun for about a year already stuck to the tip of his tongue as he smiled enough to not be suspicious.

Errors that had let up to this meeting flipped through Ten’s memories like a children’s book.

Maybe if he had talked his way out of helping you the day of your first encounter. Maybe if Ten hadn’t let you inside his home when you were locked out of your own. Maybe if Ten hadn’t gotten so dangerously comfortable around you.

Maybe then he wouldn’t have had to meet one of his rookie underlings outside of Squalo Nero in such an unguarded state.

Now, since Ten was under the stares of both you and Doyoung, he would have to deal with Jaehyun as subtly as possible. This opposed to his normal method of an icy scowl and a fleeting threat that would guarantee no information of his private wearabouts floating around if he did it right.

Jaehyun sucked in a deep breath before holding out an unsure hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Ten’s eyes flickered from the hand and back to Jaehyun’s face.

“Likewise.”

Ten pivoted towards your room, patting your shoulder before walking in. “I’ll go ahead and start studying.”

    The study session lasted an hour before either of you said anything, a stiff air accompanying the both of you as you worked. You wanted to say something. Ten could see it from the way you fidgeted, stealing glances of him from across the room.

“I know you want to ask.” Ten gave in, tired of your hesitance.

You choked as Ten met your eyes, catching you during your attempts to peek at him again.

“I mean…” You tensed, not sure if you should continue. Ten tried urging you on quietly with the raise of his eyebrows.

“What’s the marking, Ten?” The question flew out of your mouth like a puff of air.

Ten sighed. As aware as he was that this conversation would happen, he wasn’t necessarily ready.

“It’s a branding,” he lifted his shirt for you to see, “Of a shark.”

Papers rustled as you crawled over to Ten to get a better look. You reached out towards the marking, waiting for Ten’ approval before touching it.

Your hands were cold, the gentle nature of your fingers against Ten’s skin feeling foreign to him. A shiver ran through Ten’s body as you traced around the plain shape.

“Why do you have it?”

Your eyes peered through Ten’s soul, disassembling every evasive answer Ten had prepared.

“It was for...an initiation.” Ten heard his voice crack as the sound of Jaehyun and Doyoung’s laughter erupted through the walls. You hadn’t wavered at the interruption, instead halting the movement of your fingers around Ten’s hipbone as you spoke.

“Are you part of a gang?”

Ten could have attempted to give you an unconvincing response.

“No, I just thought the design was cool. When I looked up it was apparently associated to some gang...wild, am I right?”

Except, everyone knew who Squalo Nero was. Practically the most influential group of organized crime in the area, their dirty hands controlled the streets. Schools and parents alike had to keep rash teens from associating with gang activity. None officially joined, but many took part in petty crime in the name of Squalo Nero, spray painting the black shark symbol on trains and the like.

“Yes.”

You sighed, resting your head on Ten’s shoulder. Ten considered himself excellent at reading others. It was a quality he needed for his job. Now, however, he found himself unable to read you. The different possibilities of your reaction ran through his head, waiting for you to say something.

“Why?” The question came out quiet. Nervous.

Ten was just as nervous, maybe even more so. He wondered why you still sat next to him after he had confirmed your suspicions. Most people, he would think, would peel themselves away from him in an instant. Most people would become scared of him. Most people would turn around and call the police as soon as possible. But you didn’t.  

[man-i-dont-know]

BNHA Chpater 177 & 178: Thoughts and Spoilers

Alright, I really haven’t been meaning to do these double chapter reviews, but I’ve been busy. Unfortunately I will remain busy for the next 3-4 weeks. I will try to get out posts of manageable size or possibly just post more diverse content but I’ll figure that out later. For now, let’s get right into these chapters.

Old man with awesome, blocky character design saw the tail end of the accident and is surprisingly chill with it. La Brava tries to throw him off by saying they are just filming something (with a land of quirks, minor explosions could legitimately just be written off as something normal). Despite this, La Brava knows the ruse won’t last long and wants Gentle to retreat. Deku and Gentle are in a “stand” off in the construction site, and they strike up a conversation. Gentle still wants to continue with the operation and Deku wants to know what he plans to do. La Brava eventually gets there and believes that Gentle is “begging for his life.” As the conversation geos on, Gentle just digs himself a bigger hole while trying to barter his way out of the situation. I say that like he is putting in genuine effort but really he’s saying “nah we won’t ruin the festival, we’ll get in without setting off the alarms and everyone wins.” When they realize neither side will budge, the fight really begins.

Gentle makes the whole construction site elastic, and is bouncing around so erratically that Deku can’t predict how Gentle will move. Gentle gets a pot shot or two off on Deku and loosens a girder that may fall on the old guy who is still around watching the “movie.” Deku intervenes and catches the falling girder (damn, like even with One for All Full Cowl, Deku is really getting jacked). Deku is appalled by this action but Gentle says he really wasn’t planning on hitting the old man, but he knew that the hero wouldn’t be able to take that chance. Even though Deku is jacked, it takes a lot of effort to hold the girder, and Gentle takes this opportunity to put some distance between them and head towards UA. The scene then cuts to what is happening at UA.

The band is nervous (Bakugou hasn’t put on the Class 1-A band shirt yet), the dancers are in their costumes, and Aoyama is in his hero suit (probably easier to handle his quirk that way). Several of them are taking not of the fact that Deku hasn’t come back yet. 15 minutes until the start of the festival.

Gentle has launched himself and La Brava towards the school, and Deku pulls off a rad move. Lifts the girder above his head with one arm, and with the free arm lets off a finger flick shock wave after the two airborne criminals. They manage to dodge, but they are both worried by his persistence and La Brava feels like she may have to use her quirk. Dun dun daaaaaa! Cliff hanger ending. The only good thing about these double chapter posts is I can step right over some cliff hangers.

We start with more festival happenings. Class 1-B is there meeting Kendo who is not participating in their mega-movie-mashup play because she is in the beauty pageant. Monoma is making fun of her a bit but there might be a compliment hidden in there somewhere? Kendo and Nejire show some great sportsmanship and hope the best for each other. Then that other girl that Nejire mentioned some chapters ago who won last year shows up, her name is excessively long so I’ll call her Eyelashes. Eyelashes is confident. We see Mirio, Aizawa, and everyone’s favorite, Eri (well at least mine, and I will fight you on that), are in a taxi headed to UA, and Eri is excited to see Deku. Honestly, Eri just needs to be adopted right now. Hatsume is ready for her robotics exhibit. All Might and Midnight are talking about how Deku got a permission slip to go off campus to buy some last minute supplies.

Deku gets out from under the girder successfully and continues his pursuit after he left sufficient evidence for the next person that something weird has happened here (put some rods on one of Gentle’s midair trampolines). Gentle tells La Brava not to use her quirk, not yet, it is for the escape. Deku switches into ultra high alert mode and Gentle is shocked that Deku closed so much space so quickly. Gentle puts up a barrier between them, and here is what I mean by ultra high alert mode: Deku remembered the placement of the trampolines as Gentle made a safe landing, and uses them to propel himself forward so quickly that Deku is behind the two of them hardly before either can react. Unfortunately, Gentle does react and puts up another barrier. Fortunate Deku is so freaking smart that he bounces the shock wave off the  first barrier in an incredible bank shot that gets around their defenses and knocks Gentle to the ground. Deku switches around and pounces on the two of them and manages to restrain them with his Full Cowl strength (like I know he’s jacked with a powerful quirk, but Deku, a freshman in high school, is restraining a full grown man with one hand and maybe a leg. Gym goals). As this happens, we see some La Brava back story.

She was a recluse. She at least finished middle school, maybe high school(?), but was crushed by the insensitive rudeness of someone she genuinely liked. It went beyond insensitive and calling her a stalker, but because of the framing of the back story, we aren’t totally sure if that is a valid comment or not, I’ll let y’all decide based on your own opinions of Brava. While she was a recluse, she stumbled upon a video made by Gentle, and she was immediately attached to him. We’ve already seen how she approached him, out of the blue saying that she was a huge fan, but we also see a bit of slice of life. Making tea, working a camera, teaching Gentle how to use the internet, running from cops, you know, normal things. We even see that Gentle changed his style to match La Brava’s, but this I mean he just straight up sharpied his eyes to match La Brava’s eyeliner (at least I believe it was a sharpie, I don’t think eyeliner comes in marker shape but I don’t know). In the present, Deku says he is going to turn them in right this instant, and La Brava takes this opportunity to tell Gentle that she loves him. And her quirk activates.

Love. As simple and metaphorical (and maybe a bit cheesy) as it is, La Brava’s power allows her to infuse power into a person she loves. Gentle has been granted a boost of strength equivalent to how much La Brava loves him, and with this strength, Gentle frees himself and Brava from beneath Deku and goes onto the offensive. Gentle is giving off smoke that we had seen before when he was first introduced, and I’ll be honest, I do love it when a character has so much strength that they radiate it in some way, smoke, aura, electricity, etc. Gentle has heart smoke. Gentle flipped Deku like a pancake and goes to knock him out with a chop to the neck, saying “love always wins.” Deku is curled on the ground, but he blocked the chop with his arm, Deku ain’t having none of that love power-up BS, he isn’t gonna let a trope defeat him. Deku will not only twist fate, but he will destroy tropes as they come at him. Deku has a shock wave attack ready and is very much still in the fight.

So here are my thoughts. I am worried about this fight. I have no doubt that Deku can win, but with the power up, I’d say that Gentle has quite a bit of physical strength over Deku right now. Sure Deku isn’t using all his strength, but he limits himself to prevent physical injury. at this point, I don’t think Deku is getting out of this without a broken something, and a broken anything is gonna keep him from participating in the festival. I am also concerned about how Deku is reacting to his shock wave attacks. After each one he noticeably lets out a grunt or there is some sound effect about throbbing pain. I think the gloves might be keeping his hands functioning, but he is putting too much strength into it and is hurting himself already. But let’s say Deku gets back up, because that old man may have called for help. Deku getting back up is the best case scenario, it means that he may not have to injure himself drastically to win, but the risk is that his back up is heroes from UA, which means that even though nothing occurred on campus, they may still cancel the festival. Best-best case scenario is Deku gets back up, Gentle is suppressed, and the heroes take advantage of the fact that nothing happened on campus and they let Deku run on over to Class 1-A where they dance and party and the school no longer hates them and Eri is there and Deku’s mom or Aizawa agree to take Eri on as their adopted daughter and everyone is happy and Shigaraki turns himself in and Deku becomes the symbol of peace. But that is the best-best case scenario.... I’d be happy with about half of those things.

I also want to discuss Gentle’s and La Brava a bit. I really like their dynamic a lot, I think La Brava may be obsessive, so that the guy she had a crush on years ago may have had a point in the “stalker” comment, but her intense adoration meshes incredibly well with someone like Gentle who want’s his name carved into history. I believe their relationship is pure (I’m only saying that because I’ve seen one or two posts where people are weired out with their relationship) and it takes the form of an intense fan and a celebrity. La Brava genuinely loves him and is grateful to be with him at all, she is grateful that he pulled her out of her recluse life style and “accepted her as who she was.” And Gentle feels similarly, he is greatly appreciative to La Brava and her devotion, he was something like a starving artist who finally found a critic/person who supported his work. They understand that without each other, both of them would be much worse off in the world. They are lifting each other up and supporting each other, and reading their backstories, I can’t help but feel attached and root for them. It also goes beyond that a bit for me, because neither of them seem like bad people. Their motives are love and justice (maybe fame), however the injustice they fight is in a hard place for the law. Some of the previous villains (Stain) were obviously bad people, but they had a point, others are obviously bad people who don’t seem to have any redeemable point to their actions (most of the rest), however Gentle and La Brava fall under neither of these categories for me. Gentle has seen a genuine problem with the heroes conduct and wants to act to change it, making his name known in the process (the fame part is the only thing that gives me genuine worry). But they----

I was about to say they weren’t bad people, but I’ve been burned in the past with theories like who is good and bad (I didn’t trust Mirio at first and I turned on Aoyama immediately). In truth we don’t really know what they plan to do at UA. I don’t want to say with total authority that he won’t do anything major, just cause some distress in the media and cause trust issues between the public and UA. I still feel that Gentle and La Brava have a good and pure relationship, but I will remain cautious about what they plan to do at UA.

So that is about it. I apologize for writing that last paragraph only to cut away and say something different. I realized during my writing it that swearing by these villains intentions may have consequences. For now I think of them as some lovable goofs with good intentions. I thought about deleting that thought paragraph, but that wouldn’t really be genuine, it was stream of conscious in a way (though I really hate stream of conscious in literature). Thank you for reading this big post, if y’all have suggestions besides “stay on top of it,” I would appreciate some tips on how to manage a blog properly.But for now, during my busy weeks I’ll leave it as is. So thank you for reading and following and in general working through my scattered thoughts. I hope you have a great day.

[placetobenation]

When Smackdown was in its heyday as a separate brand (the first time) I was its biggest fan. I loved the vibe, the workrate, the fist. Teddy Long making Holla Holla tag team matches. So in honour of #SD1000 I want to share a bunch of my favourite Smackdown matches with y’all. None of them happen to appear on WWE’s own 15 Greatest Smackdown Matches list – which are all really good as well, so think of this as a companion piece. You can never have enough Smackdown matches, I always say.

They aren’t in any order because don’t make me choose between my babies.

CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy – WWE Championship, Loser Leaves Town Cage Match (August 28th, 2009)

Jeff and Punk had an amazing and personal feud, and it all culminated in this epic cage match. Both guys were battered and bruised from their TLC match at Summerslam just days beforehand, and they laid it all out one more time here. Lots of bombs and near misses, the crowd heat is off the charts, and I can still hear J.R. to this day pleading, “Just drop Jeff! Just drop and pay the price!” The finish is poetic, and the post match, heartbreaking.

Matt Hardy vs. MVP (July 6th, 2007)

There are approximately one billion awesome Matt Hardy TV matches to choose from, but this one is special, not just for kicking off the amazing Matt Hardy vs. MVP storyline, but for being an incredible wrestling match, in the purest sense. All three dudes (Matt, MVP, JBL on commentary) work completely out of their skin. In fact this may be the best announcing performance of JBL’s career. By the end what could have been a routine match up felt incredibly momentous. If you like your wrestling to resemble legitimate sports, this one is for you.

Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio – WWE Championship Match (December 11th, 2003)

What a match-up. Brock was a beast at his bullying best, and Rey was for sure the Ultimate Underdog in this match. Brock was laughing uproariously at the very idea of Rey… until the match began and Rey started to literally run rings around him. Every time Brock caught and splatted him it looked like absolute death, and the hometown San Diego crowd was living and dying with every move. A great big vs. little clash.

Randy Orton vs. Cesaro (February 14th, 2014)

Orton was in the process of running the gauntlet of his Elimination Chamber opponents, making for a fun few weeks of matches, and this was the pick of the bunch. These are two of the smoothest workers ever, and both Cesaro and Orton seemed to relish the chance to let it all hang out with each other. Crazy cool stuff everywhere you look, and by the end Cesaro looked every bit the future star that he should have been.

Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio (January 23rd, 2003)

This aired four days after Angle vs. Benoit at the Rumble, and is a FAR better match. On the list of Kurt Angle’s best opponents, Rey is #1. And #2, and probably all the way through #10 before you even get to Steve Austin. They had a great match every year that they were on the blue brand together, but this one is my fave. It is a hellacious sprint, fast paced and ridiculously cool. Rey is still inventing moves as he goes here, and Angle just spikes him on his head a bunch with suplexes. Spectacular stuff.

Kurt Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero (April 14th, 2005)

This aired a few weeks after Angle vs. Shawn at WrestleMania 21, and is a FAR better match. I’m just full of takes today. Eddie was another great Angle opponent when they were on, and here they get plenty of time and are definitely ON. Suplexes galore, loads of counters and cool stuff, crazy nearfalls, complete with some Lie, Cheat & Steal nonsense and a clever furthering of the ongoing Eddie and Rey angle. These two guys can just GO.

Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan (May 4th, 2012)

Coming off the back of their unbelievable 2/3 Falls match at Extreme Rules, where Bryan first attacked Sheamus’ arm, this is quite something. I’m not exaggerating when I say that literally every offensive move Bryan makes in this match – strikes, moves, holds, counters – is directed towards Sheamus’ injured arm. Every. Single. Move. Couple that with Sheamus’ world class selling and this is quite a gnarly match, kicking off a great run as the Smackdown ace for Sheamus.

Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit vs. Edge & Rey Mysterio – WWE Tag Team Championship, 2/3 Falls Match (November 7th, 2002)

The Smackdown Six was my effin’ JAM and to me this is where it peaked. 2/3 Falls means two to three times the goodness, and this is chock full of all the good stuff – Angle/Benoit tension, Rey Jr. inventing wrestling, and workrate, workrate, workrate. These guys were cutting such a fast pace that they kept running into everyone at ringside – the referee, cameramen; the poor bystanders couldn’t follow the action quick enough to get out of the way! If you loved the No Mercy tag but haven’t seen this rematch, definitely check it out.

Chris Masters vs. Drew McIntyre (February 11th, 2011)

This is the most unique match on the list. From bell to bell it lasts 1:56. Drew Mac spends half of that time on the floor cutting a promo. Essentially, this is a 1 minute match, and it’s also the world’s greatest 1 minute match. Good wrestling comes in many forms, and this is a perfect example of my long-held belief that there’s no such thing as a match being “too short” to be great.

Rey Mysterio vs. Mark Henry (January 20th, 2006)

Rey and Henry PERFECTED the cat-and-mouse match here on this day. Rey ran himself ragged trying to do anything he could to cut down the giant, and Mark Henry was a human brick wall. This thing proves that Mark Henry has been the business for a long time, and Rey just simply cannot be real. It also comes with a finish that is so awesome, it’s not just out of this world, it is out of this ENTIRE GALAXY.

John Cena vs. Big Show (February 27th, 2009)

You know those “Imagine if they booked Big Show this well ALL THE TIME??” moments we sometimes get? Add this to the list. He looks completely unstoppable, thanks to Cena putting in a vintage Cena vs. Monster performance. He gets annihilated, selling his entire ass off and well and truly earning every small glimmer of hope he gets. Wonderful pro wrestling.

The Shield & Wyatt Family vs. Punk, Rey, Usos & Rhodes Bros. (November 29th, 2013)

The Shield had many cool matches, but I chose this one because it was so different. It starts out as a standard tag team match vs. the Rhodes Bros., which was already over 20 minutes and freaking FANTASTIC when interference lead to making it a six-man tag with Punk, and after more great action yet more people running in lead to a full on 6 vs 6 match as well. Suddenly the ENTIRE second hour of Smackdown was taken up by this never ending tag match. And it completely ruled.

Rey Mysterio vs. John Morrison – Intercontinental Championship Match (September 4th, 2009)

In the summer of 2009 there was a “New Smackdown Six” going nuts with awesome matches every week on Smackdown. Four months of workrate out the ears AND four months of steadily pushing Morrison up the card lead to this: a 25 minute, three segment, highspot extragavanza between the old master and the anointed prince. The spots are INSANE and never ending and the match just builds and builds until it reaches all the way to my heart. This is my favourite movez (with a Z) match of all time.

Christian vs. Randy Orton – World Championship Match (May 6th, 2011)

This is a big time fight with tremendous stakes, between Christian, who had just achieved the boyhood dream and was trying to keep the fairytale going, and multi-time champion Orton, trying to establish himself as the new ace of Smackdown. They start busting out their signature counters in this match, including a finish which would inform ensuing matches for months to come. Orton sells his own nearfall in this more than most wrestlers sell actual offense. A great first chapter in the quintessential ‘Smackdown workrate’ rivalry.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (June 23rd, 2005)

For me this is THE Eddie vs. Rey match. Yes, even above Halloween Havoc. This was right in the middle of their incredible 2005 storyline, and the heat and intensity in this is palpable. Even the referee feels it – look how jumpy he is in the early going. And then once it does get going, Eddie and Rey just go to work like only they can and this thing absolutely BANGS. Eddie beats the hell out of Rey, Rey beats the hell out of him right back, it’s a battle of wills of gargantuan proportions. And a true epic, right there on telly. I haven’t put this list in order, but with a gun to my head, this is the best wrestling match in Smackdown history.

I hope you’ve noticed, just like I did, that Rey Mysterio is in like half of these matches. There are so many more I could have chosen too, so shoutout to my man Rey Jr. for being so far and away Mr. Smackdown that I’m pretty sure daylight is second. He’s coming back to face Shinsuke Nakamura on SD1000 (praise be 2018), so with that and the rest of what should be a fun, nostalgic romp, I hope you all enjoy the show, and I hope you enjoyed this fun, nostalgic romp with me too.

[junker-town]

Inside Willie Taggart's first Signing Day at Oregon, where everything sounds new

The new head coach brings an entirely different energy to the futuristic complex in Eugene, with his first month in charge including multiple staff-inflicted challenges.

4:04 a.m. PT. The first fax is from three-star wide receiver Daewood Davis of Deerfield Beach, Florida. Two minutes later, it’s Fort Myers, Florida running back Darrian Felix.

“Threee OOOoooh fiiiive, to my city, we get it.”

Oregon head coach Willie Taggart is singing a Drake song that includes a reference to Miami’s area code while scrolling Twitter on his phone. His green-and-yellow Nikes lean on the edge of the conference room table.

“We need some music. Feels like an actual office in here. Can we get some music? Something with some juice, please.”

A Kodak Black track starts on Pandora. Thirty seconds later, phone calls and FaceTime sessions are muffled. There’s a dash to find the app’s “radio edit” setting.

“Clean version! Some clean music, please,” Taggart laughs.

4:20 a.m. Now it’s a “fax” from Cocoa, Florida athlete Bruce Judson.

“BRUUUUUUUUUUCE,” the staff yells. Bruce isn’t on the phone, and the coaches aren’t being filmed. They’re just yelling.

The fax is a holiday custom, one coaches observe on this day. They aren’t actually faxes in 2017; they’re photos of signed National Letters of Intent that’ve been scanned and emailed, then sent to a clunky desktop printer set up the end of a sleek conference room table, all purely for the ritual. Every detail in Oregon’s Hatfield-Dowlin Complex is equal parts ruthless function and overstated luxury. The printer is neither. Holograms of committed athletes would better fit the surrounding aesthetic.

Three months ago, Taggart was taping inspirational quotes to the walls of an all-sports weight room at USF, happy to be home in Florida but stewing about stuck outside of the national title picture.

Now he’s the captain of a billion-dollar football spaceship, which a shoe mogul landed in the Willamette Valley pines. The uniforms, the marketing, the “Puddles” The Duck commercials, the unassailable cool are Taggart’s to control. Now he can have holograms if he wants. In just under two hours, Phil Knight and a Nike phalanx will fill the other end of the conference table, just to watch.

Taggart’s entire career has been a labor to be recognized, and he has succeeded. This is Oregon. This is Nike. When he shows off the panoramic view in his office, he tells visitors, “Look at all this. Look at all the ‘no excuses.’”

4:21 a.m. A video wall on the far end of the room is playing ESPNU, and Lane Kiffin’s monotone Florida Atlantic commercial airs. Most of the room had never seen it. There’s a round of laughter. A few staffers debate if it’s real.

Texts and calls are coming in from the Sunshine State. Half the room came with Taggart from South Florida and are still enjoying East Coast body clocks, which put the hour at a respectable half past 7.

“West Coast hasn’t woke up,” defensive coordinator and former South Florida head coach Jim Leavitt yells. He yells and drinks Pepsi, both constantly.

“I can tell for certain, Hawaii is not awake yet,” new defensive line coach Joe Salave'a says. “I promise you.”

4:28 a.m. New offensive coordinator and former Florida International head coach Mario Cristobal sits at the middle of the table, filing through 2018 targets while a few of his new co-workers pass around a shadowbox of his championship rings from Alabama. He’s been a Duck roughly 13 days and physically in Eugene for only a handful of hours. By his count, he’s averaged three hours’ sleep a night since he was hired.

In a meeting room next door is a working list of around 100 names for 2018’s class, written floor-to-ceiling the previous afternoon. He expects to expand that to around 300 in a few days.

“I’m on the phone with this ‘18 kid in [a Southeastern state], and he’s telling me how he’s been an Oregon fan his entire life. Loved Oregon. Or loves Oregon. Those are the guys we have to I.D. immediately. Those are the guys we have to lock in on and not let up,” Cristobal says.

There’s a noticeable urgency. Just days released from four years in The Process, he’s anxious get Oregon caught up to the three-year advance cycle of evaluations programs like Alabama already have.

“It’s one bad recruiting cycle now; one cycle can cost you everything,” he says.

4:48 a.m. Pandora shuffles to Ice Cube’s “Check Yo Self.”

“You know Coach Leavitt was bumping this back in ‘90s in that all-white ride,” Taggart laughs. (For a period of time, Leavitt drove an all-white town car as a young assistant coach. He does not confirm if indeed bumped Cube.)

“Oh man! That car, man, what a great car …” Leavitt says, trailing off. He’s already in a full suit and completely hoarse. For the rest of the day at booster functions, he’ll tell record crowds in Eugene and Portland he lost his voice playing laser tag with recruits.

Each time, the line secures a huge laugh, then massive applause, because Oregon fans aren’t used to getting any information about recruiting. The Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich eras downplayed the public-facing components of chasing talent and celebrating the catch.

By lunch, the 24-man, consensus top-20 2017 class is sealed, save for a single player: No. 1 “athlete” (a player with an undetermined primary college position) Deommodore Lenoir. Taggart runs through the commitment list during a booster lunch at the Hilton in Eugene, teasing, “We might have more to come, and you’re really gonna like it.”

The crowd murmurs, and multiple fans who follow Taggart from to Portland Wednesday evening are rewarded with a breakdown on Lenoir, who announced mid-afternoon.

“It was Lenoir! Awesome!” one Duck fan yells to another in the men’s room at Portland’s Convention Center.

If this seems like standard Signing Day procedure to you, you’re not a Duck. And that’s why Taggart is still undefeated at the moment. He and a fresh-faced staff are embracing an exuberant transparency, the goal being to pair the swagger of Oregon’s carefully innovated aesthetic with a voice that matches.

4:55 a.m. Taggart is undefeated even in the wake of two substantial blemishes to his short tenure.

Most recently, assistant head coach David Reaves, a USF carryover, was fired after only five days, following his DUI arrest January 22. Per Taggart and athletic director Rob Mullens, there was an immediate agreement to move on.

“We tell our guys: don’t go out to the bars and do those things, and then we do it,” Taggart says. “David’s a good person. He just made a mistake. And we brought negative attention to our program in a situation where we already had that attention.”

“I did what I thought was best for our football team. I’ll always come back to that. I always say coaches have to be mentors to our players, and that’s not being a mentor,” Taggart says.

“That attention” came from a January team workout that sent three players to the hospital. Local reports stated that the workout routine was mandatory and included “up to an hour of continuous push-ups and up-downs.”

Taggart bristled at the claims made in local news reports, but Oregon suspended strength and conditioning coach Irele Oderinde, a Taggart hire, and issued an apology.

“There wasn’t anything wrong with the workouts from the beginning. It was a lesson for all of us, especially that our players don’t have anything to prove to us right now. They don’t need to prove everything to us at once and drive themselves into the dirt. We have to be smart about everything,” Taggart said.

“It’s easy to perceive [we overworked the players] because we’re a new staff. The reason it’s perceived that way is that it was portrayed as a ‘grueling, military-style workout’ in the press, but it wasn’t. There was no weight lifting on that day. Just body weight. Push ups, sit ups, planks.”

Taggart believes the negative recruiting from rivals who used the players’ hospitalization against the Ducks actually helped Oregon.

“The recruits knew the truth. We didn’t hide behind anything. They saw the negative recruiting as bogus because when they came on visits, those same young men who were in the hospital were on the players’ panel, where recruits and their parents can ask them anything. There was nothing to hide because there was nothing malicious. We’re not trying to beat anyone down, we’re trying to get better.”

6:15 a.m. Nashville defensive tackle Rutger Reitmaier is awake, and his NLI is in. Salave'a is fresh from a visit to Reitmaier and so smitten with Music City, he introduces Reitmaier’s commitment, itself a win over Tennessee and Michigan, Ric Flair-style.

“Y’all-sayin’! Deep South-playin’! Sweet tea-drinkin’! WOOOOOOOO,” Salave'a yells. He’ll soon celebrate by dancing to Chubb Rock’s “Treat 'Em Right.”

“Can we get some Geto Boys?” Cristobal asks without looking up from his chart.

He’s referencing a group from Texas. Notably missing from Oregon’s class: Texas and talent-rich cities in SEC and Big Ten territories. Taggart’s abbreviated transition class bookends with seven Floridians and 11 Californians.

“Could’ve been even better with even a few more days,” Taggart says.

“The strategy is that we’re gonna recruit California hard. We’re coming to California. And we’re gonna recruit Texas hard. But we’re always gonna recruit Florida. And Georgia. Those are football states. We’re gonna recruit football states. So we’re gonna recruit for Oregon in Ohio. I haven’t seen a limit yet to this brand, so we’re going.”

“I haven’t been anywhere yet as head coach here where at least one kid didn’t tell me that Oregon was their dream school. That this was a dream offer.”

A staffer comes in to alert the room that Knight and his Nike group are in the building and on the way. The music is turned up. It’s 2Pac’s “Ambitionz az a Ridah.”

Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports