#prom arc still has me by the throat

[submissiveness]

brian trying to recreate prom moments for justin is stuck in my head.

[fabuloustrash05]

My Review of Mutant Mayhem

Warning: SPOILERS

The animation was AMAZING!! From the colors to the facial expressions to the fight choreography, it all looks so good!

It took me a while for me to get used to the Turtles designs and voices but after finally seeing the movie and watching them talk and move, I can say now that I do love them, though I'm still not crazy about Raph's design…

If you know me then you know I'm not too big of a fan of the idea of Splinter not being a human at all, but for this movie it makes sense as to why he was always a rat and never human. Him being a rat from the start and hating humans ties in with the movies message about being accepted and even has a little connection/parallel with the main villain Superfly. I am still kind of upset that Splinter has no connection to Hamato Yoshi (that we know of rn).

Another reason why I don’t like the idea of Splinter never being a human or Hamato Yoshi is because I feel like it takes away the ninja aspect of their story, but the way they explain why they’ve ninjas was actually hilarious. Splinter and the boys learned how to be ninjas through YouTube tutorials, which makes so much sense for this day and age with how many people claim they are experts at something simply because they read or watch something online. 

Leo was my favorite turtle in this movie, I loved his personality/character and how serious but dorky he was. He’s trying so hard, I love his hopeless romantic side, and how he wants to listen to his dad but also have fun with his brothers, so he’s stuck in a tug or war with himself. He was precious and I love him.

Leo having a crush on April actually wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. His crush on her was genuinely sweet and it wasn't shoved down our throats like in other versions *cough* 2012 & Bayverse *cough* I like that he asks her to prom, which I thought was very cute and a nice ending for Leo.

I'm surprised how quickly they killed off Baxter Stockman, but his "son" Superfly was a really cool villain to take his place. Ice Cube did an amazing job! But I’m not full convinced Stockman is dead. There’s no evidence that he’s still alive but knows. Maybe they’ll pull an 03 Stockman and make come back as a robot in the sequel.

The other mutants were also really fun, but I wish they had more screen time. And truth I felt like they added too many Mutants and I felt like a few of them could've been removed from the film but overall they were a fun cast!

Mondo Gecko and Mikey instantly becoming besties was nice. And I loved Bebop and Rocksteady's Bromance.

Mikey twerking was NOT needed in this film.

I like how the "milking" joke actually came full circle when the turtles were kidnapped by Cynthia.

Splinter vs the TCRI soldiers was my second favorite part of the movie, The animation was so well done in the choreography of the fight was amazing and had great detail.

My overall favorite part was the sequence of the Turtles confronting each one of Superfly’s leads. How the scene would sync up and cut back-and-forth to each brother fighting different gang members. The music during the scene was so well done and the animation with how it tied in with each brother was peak cinema. 

April’s little arc of getting over being camera shy was cool and actually helped save the Turtles and NYC. But the April puking joke went on for too long. The fact they showed it longer than I excepted felt wrong.

I’m happy that Splinter got a girlfriend by the end but please don’t ever show us him making out with Scumbug ever again. *flashbacks to 2012 Raph making out with an ant*

My favorite joke was when the Turtles were like “Eventually Superfly will run out of cars to throw at us, right??” *Superfly turns to see he’s right new to a parking garage* LMFAO XD

There was a lot of modern day references and slang in this movie and a lot of people say this movie is gonna be outdated in 5-10 years but I feel that’s gonna be part of the movies charm. We’ll have to see in 5-10 years…

Superfly’s mutant army (Mondo Gecko, Bebop, Rocksteady, Leatherhead etc) got redeemed way too quick. All it took was one heartfelt speech and suddenly they weren’t down to kill all humans. Like they seemed really excited about it during the bowling scene?? Gave me Shrek 3 vibes. I was confident that Mondo Gecko was gonna change but all of them was unexpected but I’m happy regardless by the end that the Turtles have a bigger family.

I loved the sequence of the people of New York helping the Turtles and their mutant friends stop Superfly. I feel we’ve never seen that done before and in truth, New Yorkers ramming their cars into a giant kaiju Superfly IS something New Yorkers would do! XD

The ending I did not expect, the Turtles actually being excepted by all of New York, and actually getting to go to high school. This was so new and fresh, and I absolutely loved it and I can't wait to see more of it in the TV show and the sequel.

Also there’s a mid credit scene.

It starts off very cute with the Turtles doing high school shenanigans: Mikey in joining improv, Donnie with his “people” (lol), Raph joining the wrestling team, Leo and April starting a conspiracy vlog, and finally them at prom, but then it cuts to Cynthia, who it’s revealed she is secretly watching them. She talks to her second in command about wanting to catch the Turtles and get revenge. She then basically says that she “knows a guy” that can help and it cuts to a shot of someone outside the city….

SHREDDER IS COMING

But sadly no Casey…

[spaceorphan18]

You mentioned you skip things you dislike, same, but I'm curious what plots you dislike the most?

Ha okay

To clarify from last night, though, I don't actually mind Comeback all that much (except Sue's story line is not in great taste at points) but it was getting late and I really wanted to watch BIOTA. Lol

Really, at this point - a lot of the things I dislike are a lot of trends -- such as the racism or fatphobia or just meanness that a lot of times permeated the show. There are also moments that just infuriate me -- such as Emma giving up her 'virginity' as a prize to Will for winning Nationals. Or the continued 'how to be a real man' rhetoric the show kept trying to shove down our throats. That stuff makes me want to throw things at the wall.

Here's a list of my least favorite story arcs in no order except, perhaps, chronological:

The Fake Baby - Season 1: I think over the years, I've gone a lot softer on Terri, and can recognize the satire the show was going for. But I still think the idea that Terri could fake a pregnancy for that long without Will noticing feels like a stretch and I've always found it a bit dumb.

Will/Emma/Ken/Terri Love Triangle - Season 1: It's not that it's bad -- Season 1 might have the tightest comedy in the show, I'm just bored by it because I really do not care about these characters. And Ken might be one of my least favorite characters during the entire run.

Will's Mid-Life Crisis - Season 2: It was clear that the show wasn't sure what to do with Will, especially after the pivot to focusing on the kids, and a majority of his stories in Season 2 weren't all that great.

All of it - Early Season 3: There's not much going on in eps 1-8 that I like - The First Time is an exception, and even within that episode there are things that I'm just like, ew, no. In case you're wondering - a run down of bad storylines in Early Season 3

Rachel v Mercedes which seemed like a cop out so they could feature Rachel still while trying to give Mercedes /something/ but while the concept of the Trouble Tones was fine, it's marred by the fact that Brittany and Santana are so mean during this time period

The Student Election - which I find frustrating, partially because it ties into the weird - Kurt is too gay to accomplish things stuff - but also partially I'm not a fan of how they showcased Brittany either. (I do like the unicorn concept, fwiw though)

Sue v Beiste for Cooter. Why was this a thing? Also - it's soured due to the fact that Cooter because a domestic abuser.

Finn disliking Blaine - because why not

Rory. Look, no shade at Damian McGinty. But Rory is easily the most boring and useless character on the show.

Santana's coming out - I think her development in Season 2 was great! The fact that this was botched so horribly is just frustrating. Santana is probably at her worst during this period - and her cruelty swept under the rug. Brittany is barely a part of the story line. And the whole thing becomes about Finn and how he's handling it more than what Santana's going through.

Puck/Quinn/Shelby - I hate it. I hate all of it. This is by far my least favorite story line in the show. I could make an entire separate post about how much I hate this story line.

Will and Emma - Season 3: It's not the worst, but Will's continued terrible decisions in relation to Emma are just frustratingly annoying -- such as his treatment of her about getting tenure and how he deals with her mental illness.

Sue's Pregnancy - Season 3: Why? Why was this a thing? It ultimately served no purpose and was mostly erased and not talked about after Robin was born.

Princess Rachel - late Season 3: Rachel was, annoyingly, handed everything on a silver platter because the writers felt like she deserved it after all of her 'suffering'. Props might be the worst - when Tina is brainwashed to say how wonderful and magical Rachel is and then they go stalk Carmen Tibideaux. (The Prom episode stuff is bad, too). But the worst part about all of it is that it came at the expense of Kurt - who got to fail so that Rachel could be lifted up.

Marley's Easting Disorder - Season 4: It was just poorly handled in general and 'resolved' by a Ryder making her feel better about herself. I just can't with it.

Marley/Ryder/Jake Triangle - Season 4 (and 5): It's just boring. And after all the love triangles and not great romances on the show it just wasn't that interesting.

Previously Unaired Christmas - bleh

Anything Vocal Adrenaline - Season 6: While I think I understand why there was so much VA -- it was a way to fill out the episodes. It was just too much.

Looking at the episode list, those are the big ones. There are minor things here and there, and definitely moments that make me want to throw things, too.

[btxtreads]

Hero

CHAPTER TWENTY: SUPERSTAR

↳ Pairing: Kang Taehyun x Reader

↳ word count: 2k words

↳ rating: G

↳ genre: floof >3<

The prom itself was beautiful. Pretty lights hung from the ceiling, and girls twirled around with the guys they liked on the dance floor—the skirts of their gowns creating beautiful flurries of colors that were so pleasing to the eyes. By the side, next to the snack bar, was a wide table occupied by the stars of the night—Korea’s flower boys all dolled up and escorting a single girl, Y/N.

Youra sat on another table—all the girl’s, led by Youra’s best friend Ana, were taking hopeful glances at their table—hoping for one of the (uninterested) TXT boys to ask them to dance. However, Yeonjun and Soobin were more interested in the big pile of food they took from the snack table—and Kai was busy watching his phone intently. Beomgyu was seemingly nervous, eyes flittering back and forth all around the venue.

Y/N clutched a glass of fruit punch in her hands, taking small sips as she observed the boy. She sighed as she set the cup down on the table, turning to the boy with raised eyebrows.

“You okay, babe? Are the girls bothering you?” Y/N asked, whispering over to him—glancing at the girls all looking over at their table. “If you’re uncomfortable here, we can just go take the boys and eat out instead.”

“It’s not that. I’m good.” Beomgyu answered, smiling over at Y/N’s worried glance. “I swear, I’m okay.”

“You don’t seem like it.” Y/N mumbled, raising an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s late.” Kai mumbled under his breath, making Yeonjun, Soobin and Beomgyu turn to him with wide eyes.

“Who’s late?”

Kai snapped his head up in surprise, not knowing that he spoke out loud.

“Uh—my sister.” Kai squeaked out awkwardly. “My sister is late to midnight dance school.”

“Midni—There’s a midnight dance school in Seoul?”

“Yeah, it’s fun.” Soobin supplied, smiling awkwardly.

“Oh, well. It’s only ten—and you said he.” Y/N blinked over at Kai, making him shake his head frantically.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Okay,” Y/N snorted, ignoring the boys’ weird antics as she reached over to fix Beomgyu’s bowtie. “Your tie isn’t set in place.”

“I don’t know how—“

The lights of the venue immediately closed down. There were a few squeals from the girls around the venue, and the five teens can hear Youra screeching nearby.

“What’s going—“ Y/N started, eyebrows furrowed as a bright light shone towards their table. “on?”

Soobin, Beomgyu, Yeonjun and Kai all exchanged grins of relief from behind the girl. He came through. A spotlight turned on, pointing towards the stage as a tall blonde stepped towards the microphone stand.

“Oh my god, is that Kang Taehyun?”

“Taehyun is here?”

“Taetae! Oh my god, wait do I look pretty enough?”

People flocked towards the stage, silently pushing each other over to get a glimpse of the boy. Taehyun ignored all the murmurs around them, clearing his throat as he locked gazes with Y/N.

“Y/N?” He started, smiling softly. “There’s some things I forgot to tell you back in Seoul.”

He turned over the the side with a small nod, taking a shaky breath as music started to play. He smiled back over at Y/N, singing.

“Baby, I’m falling head over heels.

Looking for ways to let you know just how I feel.

I wish I was holding you by my side.

I wouldn’t change a thing cause finally it’s real.”

Y/N broke eyes contact with the blonde, turning to shoot her best friend a worried glance. Beomgyu only grinned, nodding reassuringly as he helped her up.

“Gyuu,” Y/N trailed off, but the boy only smiled wider.

“I’m trying to hold back,

you ought to know that.

You’re the one that’s on my mind.”

There was a beat of hesitation. Y/N’s fists clenched on the skirt of her gown as she turned back to her friends. Yeonjun and Soobin had wide smiles on their faces as they watched, chewing relentlessly on their food. Beomgyu and Kai has phones in their faces, taking a video of the situation.  Y/N turned back to the stage, biting her lip as Taehyun stepped down.

“I’m faling too fast, deeper in love.

I’m finding the magic in the colors of you.”

She can feel hands on her back—some of her schoolmates reaching out and pushing her forward. Y/N furrowed her eyebrows as she was forced to walk forward, anxiety creeping in on her as she saw Taehyun walk closer to her.

“You’re the right time, at the right moment.

You’re the sunlight, keeps my heart going.”

Y/N stopped in her tracks as Taehyun finally reached her. He took one of her hands in his, forehead leaning on hers.

“I know when I’m with you, I can’t keep myself from falling.

The right time at the right moment,

It’s you.”

Y/N’s eyes softened as he leaned down. He let the song trail off as he cupped her cheek and closed his eyes.

As if a wave of realization crashed down on her, Y/N clenched her jaw and stepped away. She crossed her arms and looked down at her feet, avoiding Taehyun’s desperate glance.

“So, that’s it?” She spoke, voice low. “What did you think? That you can just come here and sing me a song and everything will be okay?”

“I was hoping—“ Taehyun started, eyes flying over to his friends.

Soobin was waving his arms in a wide arc above his head, while Yeonjun was frantically shaking his head. Hueningkai was making a giant X with his arms while Beomgyu was rapidly dragging a hand against his throat—a signal to stop. Taehyun blinked as he looked down at the girl, gulping at her sharp glare.

“I-I mean no.” Taehyun said. “Of course, not.”

“Right.” Y/N snorted, disbelieving. “Taehyun, the world doesn’t work that way.”

“I know that.” Taehyun replied gently, taking her hands in his once more. “But I’m working on it—I’m trying my best. I want to fix things.”

Y/N didn’t reply.

“Y/N, I—I’m really sorry, but I’m getting better.” Taehyun explained. “I want to fix this—us.”

Y/N was still silent. She turned over to look at her friends, eyes trailing over to the entrance. There was a flash of hesitation in her eyes. Taehyun followed her gaze, seeing a small army of press and paparazzi filming the moment.

Taehyun sighed, raising her hands to his lips and pressed a small kiss on her knuckles. He then turned over to the press and pursed her lips.

“I lied.”

There was an air of palpable silence that blanketed the venue. Y/N was watching him in shock, and so were his friends.

“Taehyun,” Y/N started, making Taehyun smile over at her softly. “What are you doing?”

“It’s okay,” he mumbled back. “Let me do this.”

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows as Taehyun wrung his fingers, clearing his throat.

“I just want to say that I was wrong. I told myself that I didn’t have a choice because I was scared to admit that she’s always going to be my choice.” Taehyun said in a clear voice. “I lied about not knowing Y/N, because I do. She’s smart. She’s funny. She’s an annoying passenger, a terrible navigator, a lousy photographer. She’s Beomgyu’s best friend. She’s the girl that stole my heart.”

Y/N tried to suppress her smile—she really did. But she couldn’t help the small smile leaking through her lips.

“I’m sorry.” Taehyun said again, turning back over to her and taking her hands in his once more. “I’m really sorry for what I did—It’s a dick move, and I really shouldn’t have done it, but I did and I’m never going to forgive myself for that.”

“Tae,” Y/N said softly, but he only continued.

“And I’d really understand if you won’t forgive me—I mean it’d suck, but I understand. But I just couldn’t forgive myself if I just didn’t try to give you back. Losing you was my biggest regret—“

“Taehyun.”

“and if I don’t get you back, it’ll be the biggest mistake of my life. I really love you and—“

“Superstar.” Y/N chuckled, cupping his cheeks and stopping him from talking.

“Huh?”

Y/N smiled softly, brushing her thumb across his cheeks.

“Just don’t do that to me again.”

Taehyun blinked in shock, making the girl giggle. He broke into a wide smile, leaning down and pressing his lips against hers—hands frantically gripping her hips. They can vaguely hear cheers erupt around them, even Beomgyu screaming about how it was all his idea.

They didn’t care. All Taehyun could feel was her lips moving softly against his, her soft giggles escaping her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They would’ve lost themselves in the feeling of finding each other again—if it wasn’t for the bright flash directed their way. Taehyun abruptly pulled away, an irritated sigh breezing past his lips as he leaned his forehead on hers.

“Well, you’re a superstar.” Y/N giggled, running her hand through his hair.

“Yeah,” Taehyun grinned in exasperation as he pressed a quick peck to her lips. “Yeah, I know.”

He pulled away from her, arms still wrapped around her waist as he shot the press a dead-panned look.

“Go away.” Taehyun spoke. “Now.”

“Got it, got it!” Hueningkai’s voice resonated throughout the venue as security arrived to pull the media out of the venue. “Someone play the music please!”

“Got it!” Yeonjun’s voice answered and a song flowed through the speakers—Hueningkai’s voice backed by loud bass music.

“Hyung, I haven’t released that yet!”

Taehyun mumbled under his breath, snorting as he leaned his forehead back on Y/N’s.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” Y/N grinned, cupping his cheek once more.

Taehyun smiled giddily, making a move to lean back down to kiss her when she heard someone clear their throat next to them. The couple turned to the side, and the girl released a soft groan as Taehyun furrowed his eyebrows.

Beomgyu stood beside them, taking a few steps to stand behind Y/N while he held a plate of pasta. In front of them was Youra, wide-eyed and shocked as her friends—the TXT fanclub Youra had—flanked behind her with equally as wide eyes.

“Why didn’t you stop her?” Y/N sighed in exasperation as she turned back to Beomgyu.

He only shrugged, pointing towards his plate.

“The spaghetti’s immaculate.” Beomgyu commented before walking off.

Y/N blinked as the boy shot them a thumbs up and padded away.

“Taehyun,” Y/N sighed. “This is my sister, Youra. Youra, this is Tae—you already know him, I guess.”

Youra only released a shocked whimper, nodding. Taehyun chuckled under his breath and kissed her forehead.

“I got this.” Taehyun whispered against her forehead. “Give me ten seconds.”

“Okay.”

Taehyun pulled away from her and pocketed his hands with his superstar grin. He tilted his head as he took a step closer to Youra.

“Hey, Youra.” he started. “Want to dance?”

Youra didn’t reply. Instead, she broke down into frantic, shocked giggles. Taehyun raised his eyebrow as she giggled. The boy waved as her friends gave him a small wave, pulling the girl away from the couple and leaving them alone.

Y/N smiled as she watched the boy nod to another fan who waved over at him, turning back towards her and wrapping his arms around her waist once more.

“Always the superstar.”

“Your superstar.” Taehyun grinned, kissing her nose. “Hey, I got something for you.”

Y/N smiled softly as Taehyun pulled out a pair of shades—ones she always sees him wear around in photos taken by the paparazzi. She giggled, remembering the rendezvous she had with him in Seoul. She took the pair in her hands and wore it on her face. Taehyun smiled.

“Well, how do I look?”

“Like a superstar.” Taehyun chuckled, grinning as Y/N reached out to pull him back down to connect their lips once more.

As the world continued to revolve around them, their world started to revolve around each other. It was their happy ending.

[foryoumyheroes]

Their S/O takes them to an Asian House Party

[Midoriya + Todoroki + Bakugou + Kaminari + Kirishima] 

A/N:  Hey here’s a niche that no one asked for. 

I know that Japanese is a type of Asian but I am a wildly different type of Asian 🤣🤣, so my headcanons are based entirely off of being this other racial group. 

I just want to say that most of the time older Asian relatives really step out of line with their comments and can be really hurtful. I absolutely hate that behavior and their mindset, but for the purposes of this let’s just say that they’re not being harmful at all and it’s mostly light teasing :) If they’re like that in real life :) screw them >:) Also P.S. if these sound familiar it’s because I’ve recycled a lot of ideas from my other blog where I wrote “Asian House Party” headcanons already! 

Warnings: mentions of alcohol, hints at underage drinking  

Midoriya Izuku: 

For the longest time it has only been him and his mom, so when he enters the house and sees it packed with people his brain just goes blank because this is a family party. 

These people are all related to you somehow?? 

He asks you how you guys are all related and you’re genuinely like, “I don’t know???” You just call everyone auntie and uncle and hope for the best.  

If you start taking him to parties before he becomes a Pro, he has enough of a baby face that your older relatives and grandparents give him a red envelope without thinking too hard about it. But he gets so embarrassed and feels so bad that he ends up giving it to your mom. 

At his first party he’s supperrr nervous and wants your family to like him. He’s stuttering nearly every other syllable. 

Never leaves your side. Trails behind you like a puppy the entire time. 

After he’s been to several parties with your family, they recognize his red Nike Air Forces in the pile of shoes outside the house enough to be like, “Hey, [Name]! Your boyfriend’s here!” 

Midoriya is kinda of a pushover during the beginning of the series, and Asian families have the tendency to tease without knowing how it might sound, so he becomes an easy target until you pull him aside and tell him to argue back. 

He’s like noooo I don’t want to be disrespectful :(. He says that he’s used to bullying so this is nothing which makes you kinda sad and angry. You’re like hahahaha no. 

You two eventually get your family to stop and that’s when he’s finally indoctrinated into your fam. 

He’s kind of the quintessential Asian boyfriend? He goes to a good school, is sweet and innocent, polite to elders, etc. When he goes to the party with you your aunties are going to your cousins and say, “Why can’t you get a boyfriend like [Name].” 

Your female relatives kinda baby him because every time they see him he’s always in a new cast with another broken bone, so when there’s no more space left on the couches or the folding stools they kick your cousins off to make room for him. 

When he later becomes Pro-Hero Deku, everyone’s in love with him. He becomes the talk of the party. Everyone brags about him saying that they practically saw him grow up when they only see him once or twice a year. 

He also becomes the “cool uncle” that offers to take your younger relatives out for boba. But you pay. You have to pay or else your mom will yell at you for making the guest spend money. 

Yes, you will polite fight your own boyfriend. 

No, he will not win, but he’s determined to win one time like the shonen protag he is. 

Always leaves the party with the large trays of leftovers for him and his mom. 

Even when he’s like in his late twenties he’s still sitting at the kid’s table. 

Todoroki Shouto: 

When you first invited him to a party with your family he’s just like, “Oh. Sure.” Most of the parties he’s been to is the rich people parties that his dad took him to for publicity, so he arrives to the house in a whole suit and tie. 

Your cousins and uncles are clowning him while the older women swoon. You’re in the background panicking because everyone else is in sweats or shorts while he looks like he’s going to prom?? 

[Your auntie says, “Oh my god, he’s making such a good first impression!” 

You: Hahahaha! Yea!〔´∇｀〕

Inner You: Oh god I forgot he’s clueless ⊙▽⊙] 

Brings an expensive pastry every time because Fuyumi said it was polite. From that everyone’s like, “Oh??? You’re invited to every party from now on!” 

Becomes the source of your mom’s humble brag. “Oh, your son goes to Stanford and is studying medicine? My kid and their boyfriend are both Heroes-in-training and he’s the son of the Number One Hero — “ 

Kinda just does whatever your aunties and mom tells him to do? 

He’ll sit wherever they tell him to sit, even if it’s far away from you and he’ll even take the many family photos for you guys in the end. Even though he’s shit at photography. 

If they’re like, “Oh, you’re so skinny, you should eat some more!” He’ll just shrug and be like okay, and doesn’t stop them when they continue to put food on his plate even though he’s full and gets into a big food coma that knocks him out on the couch right away. 

Every time he appears, your aunties will just stop and say, “Oh, he’s so handsome!” 

He’s getting better at handling kids and it shows by the way he’s more willing to play with them then hang out with your cousins that are around your age. He’s in the room upstairs and is ;; just napping with them.   

The kids in the party call him Zuko.  

Before you brought him your aunts and uncles would be like, “Do you have a boyfriend?? Do you have a girlfriend??” and you would say, “Yeah, Todoroki Shouto.” And they would laugh in your face. 

NO ONE BELIEVED THAT HE WAS YOUR BOYFRIEND UNTIL YOU BROUGHT PROOF!! HERE HE IS !! IN THE FLESH!! 

I feel like he would have the most culture shock? You guys conduct yourself in such a different way than his own family and from everyone in 1-A. You guys go batshit insane. 

When you wake him up and offer to walk him to the train station to take him home, he offers to walk you back to your house as well and you say, “Oh, I’m going back to the party after this.” 

It’s almost midnight?? 

He asks you where are you going to sleep or if you’re going to sleep at all and you don’t know how to explain the concept of how you and all of your cousins and siblings are going to cram into one room upstairs and sleep on every blanket in the house on the floor while only three or four lucky relatives are able to get the bed. 

Older Asians have no filter so they will straight up say to his face that he looks nothing like his dad he’ll just go, “ :’) Thank you, that means a lot to me.” 

Before Endeavor’s redemption arc he’s prone to oversharing and one day he tells your mom that his dad is a piece of shit and his mom is in the hospital. 

Your mom, taking her sandal and holding it like a weapon: Oh? Where’s your father?? I just want to talk. Your mom is welcome to every [Surname] party from now on!! Haha! (◕ᴗ◕✿)

His brain is doing backflips trying to figure out how you’re related to everyone. 

The only guy that neatly puts his shoes off to the side at the front door. 

Bakugou Katsuki: 

At first you didn’t invite him to the party, he kinda just figures it out from how your relatives are all tagging you on social media and forces you to invite him. 

Not because you’re ashamed of him but because they’re somewhat overbearing ;; and Bakugou has no filter. 

For someone who’s so “badass” he’s super anal about the rules and punctuality. 

You tell him the party is at 18:00 and by 17:45 he goes into your house and finds you still napping with your PJs on. Even though you tell him that the party isn’t really starting at six he doesn’t listen. He forces you to get dressed and takes you to the party and whatdoyouknow no one is there yet. No one is going to be here until at least two hours after the designated time. 

He instead forces you to help the women in the kitchen prepare the food, aka he’s helping while you laze around in the living room. 

All of the women are like, “Wow! You can cook so well! [Name] you should be more like him!!” 

If this is the first time he meets your entire extended family, he’s inwardly hyping himself up to make a good first impression. If you are not Japanese, he manages to memorize several greetings in your language and the proper formalities when greeting an older relative. Then he goes in and everyone’s already drinking and screaming their throats out to karaoke. 

When he walks into the party with his black tank top and saggy pants everyone’s first thought is that he’s an Asian Baby Boy. Like he probably takes social media pictures in front of cars, is going to break your heart, goes to raves, is named Kevin Nguyen. 

Everyone is loud af at this party so they don’t really care that he’s screaming. They love teasing the shit out of him because his reactions are so fucking funny. 

When one of your uncles offers you alcohol he immediately snatches it away from you. No, you guys are underage, have an athletic lifestyle, and he’s so protective of you asdfg 

He’s been so focused on being a Hero that when your cousins play against him in video games or card games he loses horribly. He’ll just keep going, “One more round!” until he finally wins. 

Your mom forces you to do a convenience store run to get something that the party is running out of and when you come back Bakugou managed to find is way into the “women” side of the room where they’re all gossiping with him and playing poker together like they’ve been friends forever. 

Your mom honest-to-god acts like he’s more of her child than you are. 

When you guys finally get your families to meet, his mom and your female relatives are going to be so powerful together. 

Is trying his damned hardest to get through the entire party because it can go all night long and he sleeps at 8:30PM. 

Kaminari Denki: 

The KING of the Asian House Party.

Absolutely CRUSHES it at karaoke with your family. Even though he might not speak your language, he’s putting so much passion into it that no one cares anyway. 

Sings so loud that the neighbors complain. 

Your family loves him because he’s just so happy-go-lucky. The life of the party. 

He goes around eating all night and continually asks you, “Hey [Name], what’s this? What’s this one?” 

You can drop him off in the designated kids room and not see him for hours on end. He’s too busy playing video games with your cousins and siblings. 

But he’s such a sucker. Your uncles and older cousins pull him into any gambling game and he loses so bad, even if he’s gambling things like candy or food. 

Kinda gullible when your family teases him?? If you’re not Japanese they teach him an insult in your language but tell him it’s a complement or “It’s like saying, I love you more than words,” and they send him off to tell you it. 

And he acts super fucking cocky like the e-boy smirk while he’s rubbing his hands together, and biting his lip and shit. While you’re just sitting on the stool with a drink in your hand like, “Okay....” 

He tells you the insult and butchers the pronunciation already, but acts like you’re about to fall in his arms and you just ;; burst out laughing ;;; until you fall off your chair. 

Has the party time down pat. He won’t arrive until three hours later, and that’s when you tell him an earlier time than everyone else. 

Will drink anything your uncle offers up. He’s a lightweight. You end up half-carrying him half-dragging him back to his house. Nearly trips on the sea of shoes outside the front door and falls on you. 

You’re just lucky that he doesn’t discharge his Quirk randomly when he’s drunk.

Doesn’t get Asian glow.  

When your mom discovers you struggling outside she just tells him to sleep over and if this is his first party with you guys, you’re able to get the bed because he’s the guest 😌😌. If he’s been here several times before, yeah ;; you guys are going back to a pile of blankets on the floor.  

Kirishima Eijirou: 

The “big brother” figure of the party. 

The kids love him and he’s willingly playing “Heroes and Villains” with them for hours. 

Since he’s so broad they hang off of him like a limpet and he walks around with children draped around him. 

Ngl... He walks into the party dressed like all of your other male cousins. 

Basketball shorts, t-shirt, crew socks. 

He’s able to find his shoes super fast at the end of the party because he’s the only person that’s willing to wear crocs. 

Willing to go outside with your cousins to play basketball with them but he’s so out of practice that he fumbles so bad. 

After several games he gets the hang of it and isn’t deadweight to your team anymore. 

LOVES going to your family’s parties because he gets to eat whatever he wants without holding back. Eats several plates and when someone suggests going to get ice cream he’s like, /gasp/ “Ice cream???” 

They were offering the little kids, but okay, a teenager can come along too. 

You’re never too old for ice cream. 

For some reason he’s able to get along with everyone at the party?? He just has a personality that makes him easy to talk to, and by the end of the night or the next day, he’s saying goodbye to everyone by name. 

[“No, wait, [Name], I haven’t said goodbye to your cousin’s sister-in-law’s daughter yet. 

You do a double-take because even you have no idea who that is.] 

When he gets a little bit older and he’s finally allowed to move out of the kid’s table and eat with the older male relatives he’s so ;;; awkward. 

They’re just all in the garage eating, drinking, and smoking and he’s just sitting there having no idea what to do. 

Eventually he convinces you to join him in the garage because he wants your emotional support and is super shocked when you fit right in. He’ll just ;;; go back to the kid’s table. 

Can’t sing to save his life. 

You guys heard him do karaoke once and you never let him do it again. 

If one of your relatives teases him he’s able to laugh it off and not think too much about it, but if they say something that might be hurtful to you he’s so quick to shut it down. He doesn’t care that they’re blood related to you or not. 

Does not let up until they apologize. 

For some reason all of the ladies are confused af when they find out that he dyed his hair?? They’re like omg is he a secret delinquent. 

LOVES to hear your relatives talk about what you were like when you were a kid. 

It’s embarrassing af but he just laughs it off like, “It’s okay, babe! You sound like you were super cute as a kid!” 

[starship-squidlet]

New Music: Act 4, Scene 4

Chapter summary: Things escalate at school for the band.

Word count: 2,639

Disclaimer: Preface

Tag list: @the-cowbi @i-am-a-wizard @xbanner-carriedx @celestial-rose-sky (let me know if you’d like to be added to/removed from the tag list!)

Links: Spotify playlist, YouTube playlist, ‘Anything Goes’ on YouTube

A/N: Not going to lie, I love this chapter! Anything Goes is a favorite song of mine, and is also the last song I ever performed (fun fact about Jack: she used to be able to sing in public lol) and I was super excited to be able to use it for New Music! I hope you all love it as much as I do, as we head into the final arc of this story.

Previous chapter: Act 4, Scene 3

Next chapter: Act 4, Scene 5

Jack yawned and rubbed his eyes. Their show the night before had gone late, and getting up for school in the morning had proven… difficult. But he had hauled himself out of bed, and was now trudging along with Race as Cora, Elaine, and Albert chattered cheerfully a few feet ahead of them.

“How are they so awake?” Race groaned, nearly tripping over his own feet as he shuffled along the pavement.

“Witchcraft,” Jack mumbled.

“Keep up, Racer,” Albert grinned, glancing back at them over his shoulder.

“Yeah, don’t want to be late to Pulitzer’s assembly,” Elaine snorted.

Both Jack and Racetrack groaned. “I forgot about that,” Race grumbled.

“Did they even say what it was about?” said Jack.

“No, just that we were supposed to check in with our homeroom teachers outside the gym and that homeroom and first period were cancelled,” said Elaine.

At the school’s property line, as they had become accustomed to, they split off into two separate groups. Normally, they would have met up with some of the others near the property line and split up with them, based on who was going to which class, but today they stuck in the groups they’d walked in—Elaine and Cora with Albert, and Jack with Race. They saw some of the others as they went: Spot and JoJo with JoJo’s sister Cami; Elmer with his older brother and younger sister, walking with Davey and Sarah Jacobs; Henry and Boots with Specs; Mike and Ike and their older and younger brothers. Alan, Bill, Darcey, and Katherine joined Jack and Race as they headed for the gym, then Alan ran ahead to scare Elaine, who chased him down the sidewalk to the school door and vanished into the crowd. Cora joined Davey with his little group of Elmer and siblings, along with Cami de la Guerra. Finch and Mush came from the parking lot, with Tommy and Crutchie a few feet behind them.

Inside the gym, Jack looked around for his friends. They were hard to find, spotted in their little groups of two and three. Finch and Mush joined Elaine and Alan near the front of the bleachers; Jack and Race followed Katherine, Bill, and Darcey into the same row, using Alan, Bill, and Darcey as a sort of buffer between their two groups. Cora, Davey, and Elmer sat with Sarah, Walter, Annia, and Cami a bit to their right and a few rows further up. Spot and JoJo took seats in the front row, and Blink joined them a few moments later. Henry, Boots, and Specs were on the far side of the room; Mike, Ike and their brothers were two rows down and against the wall to their left. Crutchie and Tommy sat in the front row with Smalls, near the door where it would be easier for Crutchie to get out at the end of the assembly without being trampled by the inevitable crowd. On the other side of the gym—there were bleachers on both sides, and they’d all been set up to accommodate the entire student body for the assembly, although it was still a tight squeeze—Jack could see Oscar and Morris Delancey, sitting almost exactly across from him and Race, making faces and sneering at them.

“Do you think they realize how stupid they look?” Katherine leaned over to whisper to Jack.

He snorted. “Who knows what’s goin’ through those thick skulls of theirs.”

As the last students found their seats, Seitz and Bunsen closed the doors to the gym. Something pricked at the back of Jack’s neck; if the Delanceys hadn’t been visible across from him, he would’ve guessed that it was the niggling feeling of them staring holes into the back of his head, but, since he could see that their attention had turned to Crutchie and Tommy instead of him and Race, he didn’t think that they were the source. Jack did a quick look around. Everyone seemed okay. What is this? he wondered. Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?

Katherine nudged his arm. “Hey. You okay?”

He smiled. “Yeah. Just tired.”

The gym fell silent as Pulitzer strode across the waxed floor. There was a single microphone set up on a small platform in the middle of the huge room. He walked up to it, stepped up to the microphone, and tapped it, almost like he was trying to quiet the already silent student body. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said into the mic, the phrase echoing around the room, bouncing off the tin ceiling and wooden floor. Every eye in the room turned to the principal.

Pulitzer looked pleased with himself. He cleared his throat and leaned a little closer to the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen; students of the World. I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve called this assembly today.”

“Don’t really care,” Race muttered.

“It has come to my attention that there has been a petition circulating around the school,” said Pulitzer.

Every member of the band, their friends, and Alan, Bill, Darcey, and Katherine froze. Jack felt his heart leap up into his throat, Katherine squeezed his hand. He could hear Race’s breathing get faster next to him.

“I want to make it clear to every person in this room that actions of that sort are not going to be tolerated in this school,” Pulitzer’s voice rang out, sounding vaguely tinny to Jack. “Under no circumstances will Jack Kelly and the Newsies be performing on school grounds, or at any school function. Nor, in fact, will any similar bands that boast such vulgar-sounding ‘music’ be welcome in these spaces.”

Jack heard Elaine hiss “Alan” from further down the bench, and then, before Pulitzer could continue, a new voice was ringing out through the gym.

“Why?” Alan called. His voice was loud and clear, ringing out to echo just like Pulitzer’s had.

Pulitzer zeroed in on Alan. Jack and Race shrank away, trying to make themselves as small as possible. On Alan’s other side, Elaine looked like she wanted to melt into the floor as she, Mush, and Finch also tried to make themselves disappear. “And you are?” Pulitzer said drily.

“Alan O’Dell.”

Jack was pretty sure he saw Pulitzer’s face twist in disdain at the name.

“My sister’s a member of the Newsies,” Alan explained. “I’ve been to a ton of their shows. Their music is really good. I guess I just don’t understand why they’ve been banned the way they are. It seems unfair, and based entirely on your own, personal, opinions and bias. The Newsies are an extremely popular band, and that’s not just a coincidence. They’re good, and the petition clearly indicates that your student body enjoys their shows and would like to be able to have music they enjoy at their end-of-year dance.”

“Mr. O’Dell, am I to take it that you were responsible for the petition that has led to this assembly?” Pulitzer stuck his thumbs in his vest pocket and rocked back on his heels. He now looked thoroughly pleased with himself.

“Actually, no,” said Alan, crossing his arms over his chest, “but I wish that I had”—

“We started it.”

Every eye in the room shot from Alan O’Dell to Walter Kasprzak and Sarah Jacobs, on their feet and mirroring Alan’s posture. Turning back to look at Pulitzer’s reaction, Jack noticed that Theo and Conrad Duncan—Mike and Ike’s older and younger brothers—were also on their feet. Beside Katherine, Bill and Darcey slowly stood up, and Cami and Annia stood next to Sarah. Jack noticed the teachers around the edge of the room scribbling notes and the sinking feeling in his stomach got worse.

Students around them were whispering furiously at this turn of events. Jack glanced back and saw Davey and Elmer beaming proudly up at their respective siblings. Cora looked a little more like a cornered cat, but still seemed happily surprised by everything going on around her.

“My name is Walter Kasprzak,” Walter said. “My little brother Elmer is one of the Newsies. I’m really proud of him and his friends and everythin’ they’ve done. Their music is amazin’, and I thought they at least deserved the chance to play prom, rather than just bein’ rejected out of hand.”

“And I agreed with him,” said Sarah. “My brother Davey’s in the band too. If other school bands are considered for the dance, there’s no reason that the Newsies shouldn’t be just because the music they play is newer. Like Walt said, the music they play is enjoyable. People our age like it. We want to listen to it. It’s great to dance to. So, we talked it over, and we wanted to do what we could to at least get them considered for the prom.”

“That’s why we came up with the petition,” Theo said. “To give our brothers—‘cause I’ve got two in the band to be proud of—a chance to show their stuff and get the recognition they deserve. If you look over the petition, you’ll find that it’s divided by class, and you’ll notice that there are just as many signatures from the ninth and tenth grade classes as there are from the eleventh and twelfth grade classes. That means that it’s pretty clear: even students who have no vested interest in prom since they won’t be attendin’ it are interested in havin’ the Newsies play it. They think that the band deserves the chance, because they like them and their music.”

“Just because a thing is popular does not mean that it is good or appropriate,” said Pulitzer, almost laughing behind the words. “The music that the Newsies play is wild and unrestrained. If we give into that sort of attitude”—

Before he could finish, Katherine had shot up to her feet and stepped up onto the bench where she’d been sitting. She flung her arms out, threw her head back, and belted: “Times have changed! And we’ve often rewound the clock since the Puritans got a shock”—

“When they landed on Plymouth rock!” Crutchie jumped up and interrupted her to finish the line. They grinned at each other across the gym, then turned to face Pulitzer.

“If today any shock you should try to stem,” Mike popped up like a rabbit, Ike right behind him.

“‘Stead of landing on Plymouth rock,” sang Ike, then the twins slung their arms over each other’s shoulders and belted in unison:

“Plymouth rock should land on them!”

“In olden days, a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking,” sang Elaine, climbing up onto her seat so that she stood even with Alan.

—“But now, God knows! Anything goes!” Cora hopped up to finish the line. Elaine turned around and they grinned at each other, before turning to glare at Pulitzer.

“Good authors too, who once knew better words,” Davey gave in and stood between Cora and his sister.

“Now only use four-letter words writing prose!” Race popped up, not to be undone by his younger sister. “Anything goes!”

“The world has gone mad today

And good's bad today,

And black's white today,

And day's night today,

When most guys today

That women prize today

Are just silly gigolos!”

Finch was next: “And though I’m not a great romancer, I know that I’m bound to answer when you propose”—

“Anything goes!” sang Mush, standing up next to him.

“When Grandmama whose age is eighty,” Romeo was the next one up, climbing up onto his seat to belt, ever-so-slightly off key, “In nightclubs is getting matey with gigolos!”

“Anything goes!” Elmer shouted.

“When mothers pack and leave poor father because they’ve decided they’d rather be tennis pros,” sang Specs.

“Anything goes!” they all cried before launching into the next chorus:

“If driving fast cars you like,

If low bars you like,

If old hymns you like,

If bare limbs you like,

If Mae West you like

Or me undressed you like,

Why, nobody will oppose!”

“When every night the set that’s smart is intruding on nudist parties in studios!” Blink was next, to his friends’ surprise, given that they’d never heard him sing before.

“Anything goes!” Tommy shrugged and stood up next to Crutchie, who nudged him with his elbow and grinned.

“The world has gone mad today

And good's bad today,

And black's white today,

And day's night today,

When most guys today

That women prize today

Are just silly gigolos!”

Boots and Henry took the next chorus together, the others joining in as it went. Then, JoJo stood for the next line: “And though I’m not a great romancer”—

“I know that I’m bound to answer when you propose!” Spot was on his feet next to JoJo almost instantly, another almost unheard voice from among the band members.

“Anything goes!” Smalls popped up next to Tommy, grinning wickedly.

“If saying your prayers you like,

If green pears you like

If old chairs you like,

If back stairs you like,

If love affairs you like

With young bears you like,

Why nobody will oppose!”

Jack sighed and shook his head. He didn’t like where this was going, but he wasn’t about to abandon his friends again. He stood up to sing the last chorus with his friends. They were no longer the only ones singing; not only had the others who had stood with them—like Sarah, Theo, Bill, and Darcey— started singing as well, but many of the students seated around them had joined in. Even the Delancey twins seemed caught up in the moment, although they weren’t singing. Jack was pretty sure if he ever saw Morris and Oscar Delancey sing he would spontaneously combust.

“And though I’m not a great romancer,

I know that I’m bound to answer when you propose!

Anything goes!”

As the last line died away, almost as if they had rehearsed it, every member of the Newsies filled their lungs with air and shouted as loud as they could, one last time: “Anything goes!”

The gym slowly fell silent again. A few students tried to start a round of applause, but that quickly died out. Pulitzer simply waited for silence to fall and attention to return to him. Once it had, he spoke: “All members of the Newsies, as well as any of you who stood in response to the petition, please take your seats and stay in them. We do know who all of you are, so if you attempt to leave, you will still be punished. All other students are dismissed.”

Jack sat down, a lump in his throat and his hands trembling. That’s what I was afraid of. They sat as still as possible as the rest of the student body filed out. A few whispered encouragement as they passed, but most seemed too afraid of Pulitzer’s retribution to do or say much.

Once the gym had emptied of the other students and teachers, Seitz and Bunsen once again closed the doors, and Pulitzer stepped down from the platform. He accepted a piece of paper from Seitz, who gave an almost apologetic glance to the teenagers before moving aside.

“Sarah Jacobs, Walter Kasprzak, Annia Kasprzak, Theodore Duncan, Conrad Duncan, Camilla Carlotta de la Guerra, William Hearst Jr., Darcey Reid, Alan O’Dell, Katherine Pulitzer,” he read from the sheet of paper. “You are all suspended through the rest of the week. The rest of you,” he looked up, and an evil smile crept over his face, “are expelled. You may collect your belongings from your lockers, and then must leave school property. Once you have left, you may not return to school property for any reason. Officers will escort you in pairs to your lockers. Once they have escorted you out of the school building, you must leave the property. Those of you who are only suspended must leave immediately.”

[leiko-skyline]

A Prom In Paris: Chapter 4 (Dresses)

(Click here for Chapter 1)

Content Warning: Mylène is portrayed as having unhealthy body image, and I write using her mindset in the beginning. If you wish to skip over this, start reading from the bold print (Papillon's words) in the early-middle of the chapter.

Disclaimer at the Bottom.

Mylène wrestled another dress onto its hanger. She had been shopping since school got out, and it was nearly seven and she had neither eaten nor found a dress that fit. Not even one that she liked; one that fit.

"Are there any more?" she asked the lady at the counter.

The lady at the counter sighed and stood up. "Let me check," she said, going into the back.

Mylène looked herself in the mirror. Short, she thought, trying to stand taller. Lumpy. Heavy. Not even pretty.

Ivan had told her so many times that she was beautiful. It didn't make her feel any better. She wondered – if her boyfriend's affirmations didn't make her feel better about herself, would anything?

She hadn't worn a dress since école primaire, when childrens' dresses stopped fitting her. The more dresses she tried, the more she worried that nothing would fit. Worse, each dress that didn't fit – didn't make it past her hips, didn't zip up, fit too tight in one place and too loose in another – further affirmed what she was thinking as she tried them on.

Lumpy.

Heavy.

Not even pretty.

The lady returned with a dress. Mylène's breath caught in her chest – it was the color of the sky, with a layered skirt and cloth flowers traveling up to one shoulder. It was a little wider than the other dresses – maybe this would fit.

"Go ahead and try this on," the lady said, handing her the dress.

"Thank you!" said Mylène, taking it and bolting into the dressing room.

She hung the dress on the rack and just stared at it for a moment. There was a warmth spreading from her heart that said, this is the one. This is the dress that will make me pretty.

Actually, maybe it was, Please fit me. Nothing else has all afternoon. Please, I'm begging you. It was hard to say which.

Mylène took a deep breath and started to try it on.

It was the kind that lacked a zipper and had to go over her head. The waist had trouble making it past her torso, but a few wiggles and it was down. Mylène held her breath as she moved the straps to her shoulders. She turned around to face the mirror.

And, well.

It wasn't perfect. The bust was just a tiny bit large, and it only fit if she sucked her stomach in. But she could do that, right?

It wasn't a success so much as a, Well, this is good enough. But this was by far the best she had found in four hours, and she had math homework to do, and this dress would work.

Mylène started to take it off. She pulled the skirt over her head.

And then she was stuck.

She squirmed, trying to get the waist back over her chest. She heard a rip at her side and stopped moving.

Oh no.

She moved carefully and heard another rip. She froze with her arms and skirt stuck over her head, the dress definitely damaged and stuck at her chest and it was getting hard to breathe and through the rip in the side she could see herself in the mirror, her bare lower half which was–

Lumpy.

Tears rose through her throat to her eyes.

Heavy.

I just want to fit into a dress again, she thought, starting to cry.

Not even pretty.

Metamorph – I will give you the power to have any shape, and fit anywhere. In return, you must obtain the Miraculous for me.

"I will, Papillon."

"There's got to be something!"

"He likes Jagged Stone. Sing him a Jagged Stone song?"

"I'd be so nervous, I'd sing off-key the entire time."

"Marinette, you can't just shut down every idea I give you."

"Logic. I'm being logical."

"Sure, sure. You've logicked your way through Jagged Stone, any and every kind of food, posters, flowers, and even reenacting a Chat Noir and Ladybug adventure. Which sounded great to me."

Marinette shuddered just thinking about that last one. "Adrien isn't dorky enough to play Chat Noir."

"Maybe you could just kidnap him."

"Alyaaaaaaa…"

Alya stretched and yawned. "Let's take a break. It's already seven."

Marinette sighed and stood up. "I think my dad made dinner, are you hungry?"

"Am I ever."

Marinette's dad was burning the food. "Sorry about this," he said, serving the quiche onto plates. "I got distracted by the news."

Marinette glanced over. Her heart sank as she saw the unmistakable live footage of an akumatized villain.

"I'm sure it's great as always," said Alya, bringing plates to the table.

"I gotta– I left something at school. I'll be right back," said Marinette, rushing for the door.

"It can wait until we after we eat, right?" said her dad.

"School will be closed by then. Don't wait for me."

She flew out the door. Alya and Marinette's dad exchanged a glance and a shrug.

"Your daughter's a strange one," said Alya.

"You're telling me?" said Monsieur Dupain-Cheng.

Chat Noir sat atop a building, waiting. Normally he'd have plunged right into battle. But for a few reasons, he needed to talk to Ladybug first.

Not because of prom. He was trying to bury the prom reason underneath the duty reasons.

"Hey. What did I miss?" Ladybug said, landing next to him.

"Not much. She's tearing up the boutique down there. The shop owners ran away. Problem is, I can't pick out the akuma."

Ladybug squinted at the boutique below. She caught a glimpse of something hot pink wearing a blue dress.

"That's not Horrificator, is it?"

"I don't think so? She looks more human than Horrificator did. No tail, fewer eyes. But it might be Mylène again."

Ladybug prepped her yoyo. "All right, let's go check it out."

They landed and entered the boutique. The outline of a butterfly flashed around not-Horrificator's face. "Glad you showed up!" she said. "Why don't we skip the part where I fight you and win, and you just hand me your Miraculous now?"

"Ooh," said Chat Noir. "I'm very convinced. You really have a way with words."

He and Ladybug walked forward slowly. "Mylène, why are you doing this? What happened?" Ladybug asked.

"My name is Metamorph, not Mylène. Until Papillon found me, I couldn't find a dress that fit. Now, I fit any dress, and everyone else can feel my pain of searching and finding nothing." She reached out and pulled a glittery gold dress off a rack, and ripped it in two.

The fashion designer part of Ladybug cringed internally. "I guess it's the dress," she whispered to Chat Noir.

"We have to rip her dress off?" He sounded horrified.

"I mean, Horrificator didn't wear clothes." Chat Noir didn't seem convinced. "It'll be all right. You can look the other way."

"I'd rather you ad-dress that situation."

"If you're not going to hand them to me peacefully," said Metamorph, "I guess we'll do this the hard way."

She pulled five clothing hangers off a rack and threw them at Ladybug and Chat Noir. Chat Noir used his stick to bat them away, but too late, Ladybug realized it was a distraction.

"Watch o–"

Two full racks of clothes hit them from both sides. It was a soft landing, due to the clothes, but the racks stuck, pinning them in heavy winter coats. Ladybug struggled to get her arm out in the open. Metamorph advanced on them, grinning.

Chat Noir extended his stick in the middle of a mass of clothes, pushing everything off of one rack. They jumped out of the trap and ran at Metamorph. Right as they were about to reach her, she seemed to collapse to the floor. Something pink slithered out of the bottom of the dress and up into another one hanging on the wall. Metamorph took shape as a smaller version of herself, fitting into the child-size dress exactly.

Chat Noir picked up the dress she'd been wearing and tore it in half – nothing happened. "Well… hm."

The gears in Ladybug's head were whirling madly. If she was trying on dresses when she was akumatized, then there's a high probability she wasn't wearing much when it happened… So it would have to be the dress, in theory.

Wait, if she was trying on dresses…

"Chat Noir, hold her off," Ladybug told him, darting towards the changing rooms. Metamorph shoved another rack of clothes at him; he leapt over it and took a swing at her. She melted out of the child's dress and took shape in a yellow sundress.

Ladybug, meanwhile, ran in and out of the dressing rooms. She found a prom dress in one, but tearing it in half resulted in nothing.

Ladybug entered the seventh room and heard the door lock behind her, and was promptly tackled by Metamorph, whose body took on just the shape she needed to hold Ladybug down and reach for her ear–

"Cataclysm!"

The door shattered. Chat Noir put his baton between Metamorph and Ladybug and pulled Metamorph off of her.

"Lucky charm!" Ladybug yelled. From her yoyo fell a red-and-black spotted…

…thermos…

She looked around. At first nothing stood out, but then she noticed the jewelry for sale at the front counter.

Chat Noir was still wrestling with Metamorph, only stopping her from taking his ring by gripping his baton tightly. Ladybug's yoyo grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away. Chat Noir prepared to fight Metamorph with her, but he realized there was something glittery flying in a gentle arc towards him. He caught it, looked at it, and immediately knew what had to be done.

"Hey! Metamorph!" he called.

Ladybug and Metamorph looked up from their fight to see him waving his ring in the air.

"Want my Miraculous? You'll have to catch it!"

He threw the ring. Ladybug and Metamorph both ran for it. Ladybug opened the thermos and reached up, catching the ring inside it; Metamorph, not to be outdone, shrank and leapt into the thermos to get it. Ladybug shut the thermos.

"A perfect fit!" she said.

They moved quickly, hoping Metamorph wouldn't run out of air. On the floor of the very last changing room lay a prom dress, the deep violet color of an akuma. Chat Noir tore the dress, Ladybug caught the akuma that emerged, and Mylène appeared outside the thermos.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug cried, tossing her Lucky Charm in the air. With a whoosh, the boutique fell back into order, the akuma's destruction erased.

"Mylène, are you all right?" Ladybug asked.

"Yeah, what happened?"

"You were akumatized."

"Did I hurt anyone?"

"Nope. Just some dresses. And they're all right now."

Mylène drooped a little. "Okay. That's good."

Ladybug noticed. "What's wrong?"

Mylène was staring at the ground. "I couldn't find a dress that fit," she mumbled.

"Hm…" Ladybug looked at Chat Noir, then at the store, then at Mylène. "I think I know a place that'll work."

Ladybug and Mylène started to leave the store, Chat Noir lagging a little behind them. While the girls talked, his heart was pounding.

Akuma's been defeated. Now is the time.

She's gonna say no.

Stop being a fraidy-cat!

Why is this so difficult?

His ring beeped. Ladybug turned around. "Ah, your ring. You're running out of time," she said.

I sure am.

"I need to talk to you," he said.

She hesitated. "Okay. What is it?"

Chat Noir glanced at Mylène.

She needs to prioritize Mylène right now, because Mylène is still sad and was just akumatized and could be akumatized again, and did her earring just beep? She needs to hurry. Also she's not going to say yes anyways she's going to say no she's going to say no.

The wall between his heart and his vocal chords pushed down on his words until they fizzed out.

"Never mind," he said quickly. "See you later."

He ran.

"What in the name of camembert was that?"

"Forget it, Plagg."

"Forget it? You've never been like this before! You were once again – once again, this isn't the first time – going to ask the love of your life to the prom, and once again – once again! – you chicken out?"

"What am I supposed to… How do I…" He groaned and flopped on his bed. "I don't know what's happening! I don't understand it! The moment comes and suddenly my heart's beating too fast and my head's a jumble and I can't do it!"

"Well, don't just give up on it!"

"I'm not giving up. That would be a lot easier, and a lot less stress, but I'm not giving up."

Mylène was unsure about the plus-size boutique for a bit, but after Ladybug convinced her that it was more of a this-store-sells-clothes-in-your-size thing than whatever preconceived notion Mylène had (at least, tried to convince her), they went for it. Mylène took a few dresses into the changing room; Ladybug went into another stall to detransform for a bit and feed Tikki.

Mylène was on her own. She took a deep breath.

Here goes, she thought.

For a bit she was concerned the first dress wouldn't get past her hips, but the zipper wasn't all the way down. It slid on easily and zipped up comfortably. Mylène realized she could relax and still feel comfortable in it. She turned around to look herself in the mirror.

Oh! she thought, stunned. I look…

She thought about it for a minute.

I look pretty okay, she thought.

She tried on the others. One of the dresses – it was light pink, with sheer lacy shoulders, a bright sash across the waist, and a knee-length skirt made from layers of some kind of shimmery sheer pink material. Mylène zipped it up and turned around.

The background noise within her faded away, as though her head and her heart had stopped talking to look. Mylène twirled for the full effect. The skirt floofed out a little and she giggled.

She looked up and caught the expression on her glowing face. Words couldn't… she couldn't… It was perfect.

I feel like a princess.

It was a much shorter shopping trip. Mylène paid for the dress, thanked Ladybug, and brought home the dress that made her feel like a princess. She'd thought before that the dress would make her feel pretty again, and it kind of did, but in more of a roundabout way – through her smile, her eyes, the glow she gave off – than just decoration.

Ladybug didn't need to tell her she was pretty. Ivan told her often, and it hadn't ever affected her. Now, Mylène felt it anyways.

Better. I feel… beautiful.

It must not have been up to them, after all.

(A/N: Disclaimer: I really think the canon Mylène is good with her body image – I've never noticed her express discomfort in her body, although I don't think any other character has either. I also want to say that I didn't pick Mylène because her body type must inherently mean she's insecure (which, obviously, isn't so).

I chose Mylène (and this topic, for that matter) because her body type most mirrors the insecurities I used to have. I've wanted to incorporate this story into a piece for ages, but my pokemon fanfic never gave me the chance, whereas for this one, the opportunity presented itself with a fanfare and confetti. I mean, prom? Dresses? All it was missing is... well, a lot, but I can write about that later. For now, this was something I'd wanted to get off my chest, and Mylène was unfortunate enough to play me.

I would further like to point out that Mylène doesn't feel pretty just because she found pretty clothes. What the dress in the end did was let her see herself in a new light, and thus come to terms with her own body.)

(Chapter 1) (Chapter 2) (Chapter 3) (You are here!) (Chapter 5)

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

Temper by Chantal Fernando

Knights of Fury #3

Looking for a tame biker romance without explicit violence? This book might be for you. It is NOT your typical biker romance but a rather sweet story of an ongoing annual request for a date when Temper rolls through town and that request has always been turned down by abbie...until...one day Temper comes into Abbie’s bar and says he might not ask her out this year, she decides that would NOT be good thing at all and so they do go out on their first date...finally.

The date is splendid till it is not and then her life changes dramatically. Given a chance to leave her town, state, controlling mother and a life that was not the one she chose she spreads her wings, meets new people. Does the tourist thing and gets to know Temper better.

Of course there is a bad guy to thwart, some surprises, twists and turns with the expected HEA.

What I liked:

* Temper: rugged, mature, commanding but with a tender heart

* Abbie: a woman who needs change and is willing to take a chance with Temper

* The Knights of Fury and their women

* Learning the back stories of both main characters

* The thwarting of the bad guy

* That there is a HEA for the two

* The potential for more stories in the series

What I didn’t like:

* The overly tame nature of this not so gritty MC romance

* The way Abbie moved from mouse to wannabe Wonder Woman

* Abbie’s mother

Did I like this book? Yes, as a romance

Did I like this book as an MC Romance? Not as much as others I have read

Would I read more in this series? Maybe

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

Title: Temper

Author: Chantal Fernando

Series: Knights of Fury MC series, #3

Length: approx. 60,000 words (256 pages)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Imprint: Carina Press

eBook On-Sale: April 20, 2020

eBook ISBN & Price: 9781488054037, $4.99 USD

Book Description:

New York Times bestselling author Chantal Fernando returns to the Knights of Fury series with her most complicated hero yet. He may be the epitome of cool, but this MC president isn’t called Temper for nothing…

Every year, the hot, tatted biker comes into Abbie’s bar, orders whiskey and asks her out. Every year, Abbie turns him down. After all, dating a man that goes by Temper seems like a really bad idea, no matter how attracted she is to him.

But this year is different. Abbie’s different. Older, wiser and tired of being stuck behind the bar in a sleepy town. This year, she’s ready for whatever adventure the sexy but sweet biker has in store for her.

Or so she thinks…until an elegant candlelit dinner ends with a dead body.

Now Abbie finds herself on the ride of her life, whisked away to the big city in Temper’s protective custody. She should be scared, but—despite his nickname—it’s clear the last thing Temper would ever do is hurt a hair on her head. And when danger catches up with them, Abbie soon realizes that holding tight to her man while straddling a Harley may be the safest place of all.

Buy Links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YCQPTBW

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/temper-chantal-fernando/1133792899

iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/temper/id1481346510

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/temper-13

Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Chantal_Fernando_Temper?id=e-WxDwAAQBAJ

EXCERPT

It’s been a while since I’ve seen [Temper], and he looks good. It’s like the man doesn’t age. He’s tall, strong, and kind of mean looking, but he’s been nothing but nice and respectful toward me. We kind of have a routine going every time we see each other. We chat, we flirt, he asks if he can buy me dinner, and I say no. He ac­cepts that and leaves, until next time.

I don’t know why I always say no anymore. The first time was a combination of him being a biker and feel­ing so much older than me. But the age thing doesn’t bother me that much anymore. Truth is I’ve never said yes, to any man, to any date. I get asked out by people coming into the bar, but you don’t have to be experi­enced to know what they are really looking for, and it’s not a loving, long-lasting relationship. My experience is severely lacking, aside from prom and the mistake I made after it, and there’s no saving me now. I’m going to be a spinster. Hopefully Ivy will give me some nieces and nephews I can claim as my own.

Temper places money on the table, with a huge tip, like he always does. “Seriously? Who tips that much?”

His lip twitches. “You can take yourself out to a nice dinner with it, since I know you’re never going to let me take you out.”

“You giving up that easily?” I tease, giving him a flirtatious smile. I don’t know where this sudden bold­ness is coming from, other than the fact that I don’t want him to stop asking me out, and I’ve only just re­alized this.

I’ve never met another man like Temper, and I don’t think I ever will. I see how people treat him, avoid him, and make sure not to challenge him. Hell, my own mother warned me to be friendly with him, but never too friendly. He has this air of menace about him, but over the years I’ve also seen how he treats his MC brothers like family, and he’s always respectful, even to the people who work here. I’ve seen him vulnera­ble when he talked about his Prez… Hammer was his name, I think. He’s never rude, or arrogant—to me, anyway—and he’s always generous and polite. When he speaks to me, he always uses a humble, gentle tone, one that I’ve come to enjoy listening to. I know there is another side to him, and I can’t help but want to get to know that more.

“It only took a few years of rejection,” he jokes, lifting the whiskey glass to his lips. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him make a joke before.

“Maybe this was the year I was going to say yes,” I reply, clearing my throat. I don’t know what’s come over me, but I have the feeling like if I truly do want to take a chance and go on this date, it’s now or never. I’m stuck here, in the same job, doing the same thing every damn day, and I deserve to have a little fun and do something reckless for once in my life. I’ve always been the good girl, the trusted daughter, and the responsible older sister, taking care of my family as much as I can, since my dad has never been around. I know his name, Cohen Pierce, and that he lives in California somewhere. But he wanted, and still wants, nothing to do with me, and that’s fine. I’ve accepted that.

But what have I ever done for me? Other than college, which I had to drop out of anyway, I can’t think of one single thing.

Temper lowers his glass and studies me, brown eyes filled with surprise and suspicion. “You want to go on a date with me? Why now?”

Shrugging, I lower my eyes to the counter before returning them to him. “Time for me to live a little.”

Being safe hasn’t gotten me anywhere in life.

AUTHOR BIO

Chantal Fernando is the New York Times bestselling author of the Wind Dragons Motorcycle Club series, the Cursed Raven Motorcycle Club series, and the Maybe series, along with several other novels. She lives in Western Australia, where she is working on her next book. Find her online at AuthorChantalFernando.com, and on Twitter and Facebook.

Connect with Chantal Fernando

Website: http://www.authorchantalfernando.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorchantalfernando

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChantalFernando

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7056719.Chantal_Fernando

AUTHOR Q&A

Your latest release, TEMPER, is the third book in the Knights of Fury series. What three words best describe TEMPER the novel?

Fate, alpha, suspense.

Now on to Temper the man. What is his most surprising quality?

His loyalty, and his protective side. He will do anything for those that he loves.

Abbie has been turning Temper down for the last five years. What prompts her to finally give him a chance?

Abbie gets tired of doing the same thing every day, and her life not working out the way she had once envisioned. She wants adventure and to take a chance, and Temper ends up being that chance.

What do you love most about Abbie?

Abbie is resilient, and she becomes stronger and stronger with each obstacle life throws at her.

What would you like readers to take away from Temper and Abbie’s story?

I want them to just enjoy the ride and to feel the love between the two main characters.

Where did the inspiration for the Knights of Fury series come from?

I actually had a dream about the first chapter of Saint, and the rest just flowed from there.

What do you love most about writing MC romances?

I love that there are no limitations and I can go wherever the characters take me.

What can readers expect from you next?

A spin off series, maybe? ;)

[allisonswrittenwords]

Oh yes, we’re delving into Marvel territory!

My introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe happened in 2015, when I watched The Avengers the night before I went to see Avengers: Age of Ultron.  I fell in love immediately with a team of superheroes trying to stop the nefarious, scheming, mischievous brother of one of those heroes. The next day, I fell in love with those superheroes and their plight to stop James Spader’s evil robot form (relax, I know it was only his voice!).

Not only did I fall in love with the whole idea of this cinematic universe (I’ve seen every movie that connects the Avengers, with the exception of Hulk’s movie – I will do that, since my boyfriend has it in his collection!), I fell so hard for Thor.  Like, in love.

And an Avenger touched my shoulder and back before calling me “love.”  Verily!

Anyway, I love The Avengers, and I’ve collected some (yes, only some) Thor stuff (but I also love Captain America and the underappreciated Hawkeye – I’m going to be him for Halloween!).  I wanted an Avengers mug, and bought one in Disney Land last December…

  It didn’t matter that I’d never watched Avengers Assemble, I just really liked the mug.  That’s despite the fact that Hawkeye and Black Widow aren’t on it.  I could take or leave Black Widow (not really, she’s cool), but seriously, no Hawkeye?

It’s ok, Hawkeye.  You’re appreciated in my world.

I also have a Thor stocking and ornament at my boyfriend’s mom’s house in California, the envy of every eight-year-old that dares to not be an Iron Man, Captain America, or Hulk fan.  I’m sure its because he is too pretty and appeals more to females, but I digress.  I love the Norse God of Thunder…and the arrow-slinging archer no one else seems to like.

Anyway…

Season one of Avengers Assemble laid out the ground work for the team in the time after the events of the first feature film (I should note that while the timeline stays true to the feature film and the cinematic universe, Falcon is a part of this team, so we know better).  In season two, the team has encountered Thanos, and now are on the hunt for the Infinity Stones Red Skull has scattered about the universe, all in an attempt to keep them from falling into the wrong hands of another adversary…Thanos.

One of those stones (and the consequences of it) are the basis of this episode, “The Age of Tony Stark.”

Article…ASSEMBLE!

Oh, come on!  Don’t leave!

At Stark Tower, in the holding area…

Red Skull is imprisoned and suffering from “Cosmic Brain Fry” (Iron Man/Tony Stark’s words).  And despite being in this state, Red Skull takes to drawing on his cell walls.

  The drawing, however, is more complicated than just scribble.

We (ok, Hawkeye) see scribbles, but Tony sees the names of the Infinity Stones, and one of them (the Time Stone) is giving off a signal.

To the Avenjet!

  The team is headed to the site of where the Time Stone will appear, while discussing the past and why (or why not) reliving it sounds like a great idea.

Hawkeye abhors the idea of having to relive elementary school (something tells me the master archer was a little punk and troublemaker), while Thor believes history is filled with glory, and Captain America (who is what, like 70 years old?) draws strength from the past.  Tony Stark takes a different (read: opposing) view of the past – it’s full of mistakes we’re always trying to improve upon – he believes in looking forward, but doesn’t diminsh Cap’s love for the past.

Wow, he’s actually agreeing with Cap!

The Avengers arrive at their location, just in time for the arrival of the Time Stone…which materializes right above Tony’s hand.

Mission accomplished before the opening credits, right? And that sounds like all is well and good, but…

Big but…

The stone decides to harbor itself in Tony’s arc reactor, directly affecting how his suit functions, while also causing a rather interesting problem…

Dammit cartoon, why freakin’ Hawkeye?!  My boyfriend already tells me nobody likes him, why make this more obvious?!  Hawkeye asks “what’s next, prom?”

Really, did a young Clint Barton not have a prom date?

Opening title card, then back to the action!

Meanwhile, back at the Claim Site for the Time Stone…

Hawkeye got carried away by a Pterodactyl, which happened because the Time Stone lodged itself into Tony’s reactor arc, and it disables his armor while simultaneously unleashing the threat of flying dinos.  Stark freefalls towards the sea (Jarvis is unable to power the suit up), but thankfully, Thor is there to help.

And Black Widow is able to fend off Pteradactyls.

Oh, and Hawkeye is fine.  Thanks for not asking.  In fact, he’s so ok, he reminds Cap about why he hates the past.

Yes, because these are normal circumstances to be in on any given day.

And no lie, none of this is the worst thing that has happened!

Iron Man (or Tony, rather), on the other hand, is not having such a good day.

Thor is able to rescue Stark successfully AND toss him aside to fight dinosaurs, the team is able to fend off the dinos (Thor and Hulk especially enjoy this).

Remember how I said this isn’t the worst thing that could possibly happen in the wake of the Time Stone lodging in the arc reactor?  Well, the Stone causes another time shift that eliminates the flying threats.  Still not the worst….but this is.

I’m getting to it, people!

The team notices something seems a little off about Tony…

The ever-observant smartass Hawkeye points out that something is off about Tony’s voice (thinking the Iron Man suit speaker is broken), so Tony clears his throat and tries again.  Still not normal.

Whaaaaa?!

Back at Avengers Tower…

Jarvis informs Tony that the armor is fully functional, but believes someone else is in the suit, unable to pick up the the unique body signature that the suit was made for.  Which means that this is an imposter, or…

No, that’s Tony Stark alright.  But…yeah, he’s younger, impatient, and he wants his mask and suit off like yesterday.  So Hulk does the honors despite what may happen to the mask.

Worst.  Day.  Ever.

Turns out the Time Stone caused a time rift that not only brought on flying dinos, it also de-aged Tony.  Right now, he’s a cranky 17-year-old in a tin can that he is desperate to take off.

Oh, it only gets better.  Or worse.  That depends on your definition of this situation.

I’d say worse if you’re a citizen or tourist of New York City, which is now overrun by not only dinosaurs of the winged persuasion, but also the walking, short-armed variety.  As I said, Thor and Hulk are all about throat-punching and destroying dinosaurs, but this is just one of the problems of messing with the Time Stone, even inadvertently.  And of course, the Avengers, minus Iron Man and Captain America, have to go save the day.

Hulk gets major points for screaming in a T-Rex’s face and scaring it off.  That’s just awesome!

When Tony’s mask was removed (forcibly), it was revealed that he had de-aged to a seventeen-year-old.  However, by the time he removes his suit, he is now fourteen years old.

Young Tony is not ok with this, especially since he can’t get his suit to work to his specifications.  Oh, and zits.  But he’s also still a genius.

But the Time Stone is causing other problems – specifically, prehistoric problems.  And Tony wants to contribute to the fight, but…he can’t.

His suit says “nope,” and shocks him.

Fourteen-year-old Tony, taking cues from seventeen-year-old and adult Tony, doesn’t want Cap’s help, but Tony’s got another thing coming to him…

His arc reactor ignites the Time Stone, sending yet another time slip through the city.

This latest time slip de-ages him further, leaving him as an eleven-year-old.  And while the fourteen-year-old was your typical brat “I don’t want your help” type, eleven-year-old Tony has a different stance…

“I need your help, Cap!”

At this point, I’m beginning to feel bad for him.  I don’t dislike Iron Man/Tony Stark by any means, but obviously I’ve chosen my favorites.  Stark comes off as cocky, but this experience is obviously bringing him down a peg.

He’s unable to help the team he assembled from the finest superheroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  But loyal-to-the-core Captain America is willing to stay behind with Tony (even though he says he doesn’t need a babysitter) as the rest of the team heads off to save New York from every time slip the Time Stone brings.  That not only means dinosaurs, but also “deadly robots from the future.”

Yep, just another day!

Oh, and Black Widow and Hawkeye fist bump before fighting off these robots.  That’s awesome!

Unfortunately, Cap and Tony have a different problem.

Remember how Red Skull was locked in holding, scribbling about Infinity Stones?

A cell breach happens when the tower’s systems go offline.

Cap goes off to check on Red Skull…

And he gets knocked out for his troubles.

Meanwhile, Red Skull is on the hunt for Tony and the Time Stone, mumbling “Stark!  Time Stone!”.  Tony, watching Red Skull on screens, comments that Red Skull is a “freak,” and sounding like a typical child, asks Jarvis to shut off the elevator, “or something.”  Since the systems are offline, this is not possible.

“Remind me to invent you better next time.”

Meanwhile, on the street, the Avengers are trying to conquer their robot problem.  Back in the tower, a rambling Red Skull is thwrated by skillfully placed marbles.  Hey, when all else fails, right?

Tony has Red Skull give him chase before retreating into the training room, using a hologram to lure Red Skull in.  Tony can’t understand why Red Skull wants the stone so bad, and activates Captain America’s Training Sequence.

Red Skull escapes, and arrives at a door with “Do Not Enter!” written on a carefully placed note.  He opens the door and is further chased by Thor’s pet, Bildgie.

Tony’s enjoying this fun moment, and takes the time to go into his quarters to look inside a shoebox of childhood memories.

He realizes why he hates his past…until he finds his first armor design.

He designed this at eight years old.  What did you do at that age?

It never worked…without an arc reactor!

Meanwhile, Red Skull continues to run from Thor’s pet.

Cap comes to and checks on Tony, who is working on the armor design, knowing that it will now work.

If only he could stop the intense pain from the Time Stone.

Meanwhile, on the streets, this next time shift brings on lost Hydra Squadron (“Shoulda stayed lost,” according to Hulk).

Thor refuses to be dino food, despite the Pterodactyl chomping on his leg.

Red Skull, in hot pursuit of little Tony, finds him.  If you’ve never seen Tony sweat over anything, you’re going to see it right here, right now.

And when Red Skull finds him, Tony screams at Red Skull to get away from him.

Red Skull tells him to “stop being such a baby.”

Yeah, what a freak!  Do you see that Stark is having a bad day?

Red Skull grabs little Tony, as another blast from the Time Stone sends Red Skull and Tony flying.  This shift rejuvenates Red Skull, returning him to top form.  Tony informs him that the Avengers will be there to kick his red can, to which Red Skull informs Tony that they are preoccupied with the chaos Tony created.  And it is at that moment that Cap finds Tony, and gives Red Skull a piece of his mind.

Actually, it’s more like the broad side of his shield.

He says picking on kids is a new low for Red Skull.  This gives Tony ample time to suit up in jet skates, as Cap tries to distract Red Skull.

Outnumbered, outgunned, and in that awesome Avengers formation from the movies…

(You know, this one!)

Hawkeye is excited to be able to say what he has always wanted to say…

  Only for Thor to do the honors.

Poor Hawkeye!

Cap and Red Skull continue to battle as Tony completes his armor.  And just as it looks like Red Skull may have gotten the upper hand on both of them, Tony’s armor is complete!

He’s now…Iron Kid!

Cap loves this, but Red Skull thinks of it as “pathetic.”  But that’s ok, because Tony is able to blast Red Skull out of the Tower…and into the waiting claws of a Pterodactyl.

Awesome!

Cap makes sure Tony is ok, but of course, he’s AWESOME!  Unfortunately, that moment is short-lived, as Tony almost buckles over from another inevitable time slip.

He feels like he can’t control it, but Cap tells him to focus.  He informs him that he has the power to stop the time slips.

It’s alot for Tony, who is terrified that he will de-age into nothing.  And it’s at that moment that he’s truly looking up to Cap for comfort, confessing that he’s scared.

This may be an eight-year-old version of Tony Stark, but his fear certainly reflects that innocent age.  All that adult intelligence, accomplishment, and ability, but his instinct is pure fear.  And he shows that he’s quite human, and says that he is not as big and strong as Cap.  Cap informs Tony that he was brave long before he was Captain America, and that Tony Stark was a hero long before he was Iron Man.

Cap comforts Tony, and this powerful moment is enough to dislodge the Time Stone and reverse everything.

Not pictured: The moment Stark ages back to normal and is hugging Captain America.

I hope someone reading this doesn’t decide to write slash because of that sentence.

Meanwhile, on the street…

Hawkeye is testing his “unexperimented” arrow…at the same time a time slip eliminates all the chaos.

Hawkeye is convinced that it was the best shot ever though.

The team realizes it was Tony, who has contained the Time Stone.

Poor Hawkeye!

Hawkeye tries to get everyone to believe the unexperimented arrow was his best shot ever, to which Thor reassures him.

“Right?!”

Tony and the team discuss the containment of the stone, Falcon admires Tony’s first armor drawings, and Thor runs off after the escaped Bildgie.

It’s nice to see everything back to “normal,” but there is still something left unsaid between Tony and Cap.

Engaged in his training, Cap is visited by an adult Tony Stark, who informs Cap that he thought having a photographic memory meant he would never forget anything, but he did forget how tough being a kid can be.

And what being a hero is.

Tony shows Cap a picture of him as an eight-year-old on Halloween, dressed as Captain America…with a shield he designed himself.

Cap offers to let Tony practice with the real thing, to which Tony offers to make some modern improvements.  But he’s only kidding…sorta.

He resumes the training session, and that’s the end of the episode.

Wow, I really liked this episode.  I’ve loved the entire series up until this point (which says alot, since I’m not huge on cartoons), and the Infinity Stone arc really makes it interesting. Plus, there’s the dynamic of the Tony Stark/Iron Man-Steve Rogers/Captain America relationship.  We pretty much know by now how Stark feels about Captain America, and the expectations Stark’s father had about wanting Tony to be “just like Captain America” when he was clearly a different type of person.  I like that for a brief moment, that strain was put aside when it mattered most.

Sure, if you’re an adult watching it, this seems a little awkward, but it took all of this for Tony to realize that a hero is more than the suit he wears and the accomplishments he has made – it is about heart and knowing that you have that little something within you. In the end, it wasn’t about saving the day, it was about knowing one’s inner strength.

At the risk of getting too deep in all of this, I’m going to end it here.  I’m actually a few episode ahead of this one, but I really wanted to share it with you.  And if you think the Avengers got some time off from having to save the world and not let the Infinity Stones fall into the wrong hands during the next episode…you’re watching the wrong show.

Let’s just say the Stones are prepared to wreak more havoc in the next episode.

Until next time…

I always say I take great screenshots, but this is definitely one of my top ten best.  I think Hawkeye needs a hug.

The repercussions of the Time Stone in Tony Stark's reactor arc are huge! Oh yes, we're delving into Marvel territory!

[lhugbereth]

KP- thanks tumblr, always a pal >:((( the message was basically Noctis watching Ignis perform in a professional event for the first time and being absolutely floored by how graceful and strong Ignis is, making everything look completely effortless. He knows Noctis is watching and shows off just a tiny bit and earns himself almost perfect scores in all his events ;)c

Hi KP! Sorry this took longer than expected.... I didn’t intend to write so much, but then fluff happened and I couldn’t stop x3 Actually, since Ignis doesn’t compete I changed it a youth sports charity event, and instead of perfect scores, he wins a prince’s heart instead. 

Just in time for a little holiday magic in August, I present you with “Noct and Iggy are total dorks and bond over sports cars and bad puns” 

(Part 16 of “Promptio on Ice” - here’s the masterpost!) 

Dorky IgNoct under the cut! v v v 

- It starts with a text from Prompto, of all people. Noct is definitely glad they’ve started hanging out (Prom is into all the same video games and comics, is easy to talk to and a lot of fun), but he’s even worse than Gladio when it comes to teasing him about his crush on Ignis. Prompto’s known Iggy for a long time, works with him almost everyday, and recently started sending Noct stealthy photos snapped during training - Iggy stretching, Iggy standing, Iggy sitting on the bleachers. One particular pic was nothing but a close up of Iggy’s ass as he bent over the mat (followed by emojis of a peach and an eggplant which Noct isn’t sure he wants to understand). This routine seems to be Prompto’s way of helping out his new friend, and Noct both loves and hates him for it.

- But this time is different. There’s no photo attached to the message he’s sent, but it still gets Noct’s heart racing all the same. He reads it again, and again, just to be sure he isn’t dreaming.

>> Gladdy’s taking me to Lestallum for the festival this weekend!

- He’s been hearing about the event all week. It’s an local youth sports competition to raise money during the holidays, and apparently Ignis has been asked to be the opening performer. According to Prompto and Gladio, he’s been working hard to debut a new technique for the event. Now Noct is being offered a ticket up close and personal. He would have to be crazy to refuse.

- It turns out, though, that the seat is more ‘up close and personal’ than he expected. When he arrives at the arena on the day of the event, Ignis is already there and occupying the chair next to where Noctis is supposed to be sitting. Upon seeing him, Noct nearly loses his nerve completely. He looks good in a pair of long white pants over a tight-fitting blue-and-black leotard. Too good, in fact. There is no way he can do this! But before he can turn and run, Ignis spots him, smiles, and pats the open chair. He’s pretty much doomed.

- “Ah, Noct. I was wondering who Prompto would send in his place. Thank you for coming.”

- “Uh, yeah. N-no problem.” Noct swallows as he takes the seat, meets Iggy’s gaze fleetingly before staring down at his boots. “I heard you’re, like, a guest of honor or something?” He tries to smile, but his nerves get the better of it and it probably ends up as more of a cringe.

- Luckily, Ignis doesn’t seem bothered by it. “Well, something like that. I’m a bit out of practice, though, so don’t get your hopes up.” He follows this with a wink that makes Noctis very glad he’s already sitting down. Fortunately, he doesn’t get a chance to respond (he would have just said something totally lame, anyway, like I’m sure you’ll find a way to impress me) because suddenly they’re being approached by an energetic young woman with curly blond hair and a headset.

- "Sorry t’innerupt, fellas. Mr. Scientia, we're ready for ya to get set up now."

- "Thank you, Cindy. Noct," he smiles as he gets to his feet. "I trust you'll be watching?"

- Of course, I can't take my eyes off you. Noctis clears his throat, forces a polite nod. "You bet, Specs."

- When Ignis turns to follow Cindy back to the locker rooms, he has a certain lightness in his step that wasn't there before. Without even realizing it, he's smiling. Cindy, who is in charge of the local youth sports center and therefore that day’s events, has known Iggy long enough to notice both. "So who’s yer new beau?" she asks with a sly wink. Ignis refuses to meet her gaze.

- “A friend of Prompto, or rather, of Prompto’s boyfriend. I’ll admit I don’t know him very well yet.”

- “Well, maybe after t’day that’ll change.” They enter the locker room, and the din of the arena fades behind them. “Are ya still planning to show us somethin’ we ain’t never seen before?”

- Ignis doesn’t answer right away. He’s been working on his new move for a couple of weeks - an acrobatic-style twist off the bars at the end of his routine - but he isn’t sure he’s quite ready for it. With all the extra time he’s spent at the ice rink with Prompto, there hasn’t been much chance for him to practice alone. If he attempts it now, there’s a chance he might mess up - or worse, injure himself. But next to him Cindy is waiting for an answer, so he smiles, pats her hand, and offers a noncommittal We’ll see.

- Out in the arena, the music starts. Cindy rushes off to MC the event, and after a brief (but far-too flattering) introduction, Ignis steps out to a roar of applause. He wonders fleetingly if Noct is clapping, too, and the thought puts a rare, genuine smile on his face. Perhaps Cindy is right - this may be his chance to impress him, to get closer to him and finally unravel his mysteries.

- Perhaps over coffee. Or wine. Yes, definitely wine. And a nice dinner. Would Noct appreciate a good Tenebraen roast?

- Ignis nearly laughs aloud when he catches himself. Of all the things tobe thinking about at a time like this.... Shaking his head, he turns to the mat - there are three bars set up, each at different heights and spaced far enough apart for him to easily maneuver between them. At Cindy’s cue, he clears his mind, powders his gloves, and takes a deep breath at the edge of the mat. Then, to the sound of the audience’s cheers, he starts forward. A brisk run, keeping his knees bent and his back straight, pivots into his jump and grabs onto the first bar with both hands. It’s smooth, appears effortless and that, Ignis knows, is the most important illusion. More cheers fill the air as he begins to swing himself, using his long legs to build momentum until he’s able to jump to the next bar.

- Somewhere in the crowd, he hopes Noct’s heart is racing.

- Iggy continues his performance, flipping and spinning in the air as he jumps from one bar to the next and back again, so many times that the audience falls silent in awe. Everything is perfect, every twist of his lithe body, every precise move that has him latching onto his next target without fail. And then, just as he he’s feeling his limbs begin to tire, he nears the end of the routine. One last jump has him landing with both hands on the tallest of the three bars. His movements slow, then he gradually builds them up again, swinging faster and faster until he’s nearly spinning in a full arc. The next part is tricky - he needs to turn himself around at the very top, releasing the bar in mid-swing with one hand while pushing off with the other to send him twirling upwards through the air. In practice he’s only managed to succeed a handful of times, but….

- He has to try. Hundreds of eyes are watching. Noct is watching. Without much time to debate the risks, Ignis throws himself into the final move. From somewhere in the arena he can hear Cindy’s excited voice announcing the debut of a special technique, the moment they’ve all been waiting for. Ignis grits his teeth - he’s almost at the right momentum, just a few more swings - there. At the top of the bar he lets go and his arm flies out wide. At the same time, he tries to turn his other hand - but something is wrong. His fingers are slipping away until there’s nothing left to grip. The bar is gone from his reach and instead of pushing off, Ignis is suddenly falling, falling.

- He hits the mat with a thud and the crowd gasps in unison. Even Cindy’s voice trembles into the microphone, and then she’s running.

- Noct is faster. He reaches Ignis just at the gymnast is sitting up, wincing and hugging his left arm to his chest. Blue eyes go wide. “H-hey, don’t move. Just stay still.” Iggy looks at him, face red with embarrassment and pain, but he nods. Noct kneels down at his side, puts an arm around his shoulders for support as Cindy and some of the other staff finally arrive.

- “You okay, Mr. S?!”

- “Help me get him to the locker room.” Noct gestures for her to grab his other arm, and together they walk him off the mats. Someone else takes over as MC to keep the crowd from panicking at the show going, but the din of it is lost as soon as they’re out of the arena.

- “I’m fine, really. Both of you, please.” But Noct’s hold on him is firm, not letting go even after they’ve sat him down on a bench and Cindy’s rushed off to get him some water and painkillers.

- “Can I see it?” Ignis swallows. His wrist is throbbing with pain - he must have landed right on it when he fell - but he cautiously extends it out for Noct to take a look. Gentle fingers stroke over his swollen wrist, press just enough to make him wince but quickly pull back. “It doesn’t look broken. Probably sprained, but we’d better get you to a doctor. Do you mind…?” Noct pulls out his phone and, at a wary nod from Ignis, sends a quick text. Then Cindy comes back with water and aspirin, and Noct announces that he’ll be driving Iggy to a clinic.

- Driving? Clinic? There’s a half-formed protest on his lips but then Cindy is shoving a plastic cup between them and he’s powerless to argue. He waits for Noct to bring his car around back, then is carefully helped outside to it.

- If he thought Noct was an enigma before, now he’s thoroughly mired. The ‘car’ turns out to be a sleek, brand new, limited edition Audi R8 (Ignis has only ever dreamed of owning such a beautiful machine) and yet Noct somehow still manages to drive it like it doesn’t cost half a million dollars. He’s glad they’re going to a hospital because he’s convinced they’re going to need one with the way Noct takes each turn - but somehow (mostly due to quick thinking by other drivers) they manage to arrive in one piece. The pills Cindy gave him have kicked in by now, and Ignis is able to walk up to reception with only a little assistance.

- The young clerk automatically gives him a large stack of forms to fill out and tells him to take a number. One look around the waiting room tells him they’ll likely be there a while, but just as he turns to tell Noct that he should go, he sees the dark-haired young man already stalking up to the counter. “Dr. Yaegre is already expecting us,” he says. “Let her know we’re here.”

- Ignis looks as surprised as the clerk looks unimpressed. “Kid, we’re a hospital, not a nightclub. I don’t know who you think you are, but you can’t just - “

- “I’m Noctis Lucis Caelum and technically, I own this place. Call Dr. Yaegre and tell her we’re here.”

- There’s this little sound that Ignis makes in his throat. He isn’t sure what to call it - not a gasp, not a sigh, something more awed. He stares at Noct in sudden silence as the clerk hurries to get the phone. Lucis Caelum…. That makes Noct the son of Regis Caelum, the most powerful man in Insomnia and the owner of the Insomnia Kings hockey team. Which helps to explain the car and the company he keeps. It also, Iggy supposes, explains the way he’s so good at taking command, carrying himself very much indeed like the heir to a powerful family. But perhaps more than that, more than the pain his wrist and the whirlwind of the entire situation, Ignis finds himself left speechless by Noct’s sheer dominance. It is frankly the most arousing thing he’s ever seen, and it leaves him weaker at the knees than he was when they first walked in.

- The doctor is a lovely woman. Tells Ignis to call her Sania, hugs Noct as if he were her own son, and gestures them both to follow her down the hall. Several x-rays and tests later, she’s confirmed that Ignis’ wrist isn’t broken, but it is sprained, and quite badly. She’s going to have to splint it, and he’ll have to take a break from sports for at least a month, maybe more. The news isn’t as devastating to Ignis as he might have expected, perhaps because through it all he’s got Noct’s hand in his, giving him little reassuring squeezes as the doctor speaks. Although he knows this isn’t what Cindy intended, it seems she was right about this being his big chance after all.

- Sania leaves them to call a nurse for his splint. In her wake, Noct lets out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, Ignis. What are you going to do for a whole month?”

- “I’ll manage. It will give me more time to focus on Prompto’s competition, at least.”

- They both smile. “Anyone ever tell you that you work too hard?”

- “I’ve been accused once or twice in my life, Mr. Caelum.” The use of his name has Noct wincing, which is...unexpected. Ignis frowns and reaches once more for his hand out of reflex. “...Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you feel you needed to hide who you really are?”

- “It’s just…. I don’t know.” With Iggy’s hand covering his on the arm of the chair, it’s a lot harder to think clearly. He keeps his eyes fixed on their fingers, not trusting himself to meet that beautiful emerald gaze. “Usually when people hear my dad’s name, they think they’re supposed to treat me like some kind of prince. It’s so frustrating sometimes.”

- “But you are a prince, Noct.”

- He suddenly looks up at him, blue eyes going wide, and Ignis can almost hear his heart breaking. He quickly shakes his head. “It’s not because of who your father is. It’s because of you. You’re brave. Caring. Commanding. Quite handsome.” Iggy adds a smile along with the last one, enjoying the flush of red spreading across soft cheeks. “I’m in your debt today. Perhaps you’d allow me to repay your kindness with dinner one evening?”

- “D-dinner? You mean…? Like, just the two of us?”

- “If you’d like, yes.”

- “Um. S-sure. Sounds nice.” Oh Six, am I dreaming? Is this real??

- “Lovely.”

- Noct can do little else but smile in return. Eventually the nurse enters their room and carefully splints Ignis’ wrist, finally running through a list of dos and don’ts before releasing him for the evening. Noct offers to give him a ride home - which he almost feels bad declining (his apartment is actually only a few blocks away) but he also values his life and so ultimately turns him down. They walk out together anyway. Dusk has fallen, and the air is thick with the threat of snow.

- “You sure you don’t need a ride? It’s getting cold.”

- “Thank you, but it would be far too much trouble. I...wouldn’t mind a bit of company on the way, though.”

- “You got it.” Noct shoves his hands into his coat pockets. Ignis walks a little closer to him as they head across the street. “Um. By the way. I’m really glad I got to watch you perform today.”

- A dry chuckle. “I’ll admit, it wasn’t exactly my greatest hour.” He holds up his wrist, the dark splint covering his palm and half of his forearm like a glove. “Still, it was heartening to know you were there.”

- “R-really?”

- “Of course. Especially since I was Noct expecting to see you.”

- “...Did you just…?”

- “Hm?”

- “Nothing.” Noct clears his throat, thankful that the approaching darkness hides his reddening cheeks. It doesn’t, however, hide the obnoxious grin plastered on his face. “Hey, Iggy?”

- “Yes, Noctis?”

- “I think...you were really Spec-tacular today.”

- “...Stop.”

Bonus:

- The moment Noct gets home, he flops onto his bed and quite literally squeals into his pillow. If Gladio or Prompto could see him now they would never let him live it down, but they can’t and so he doesn’t bother hiding his excitement. A date! A real date! With Ignis “Oozes-sex” Scientia himself! He’s got to pinch himself to make sure he isn’t somehow dreaming this all up. And then he texts Gladio to gloat.

>> Heh, ‘bout damn time. When’s your big night?

>> Um, we actually didn’t get that far….

>> You at least got his number, right?

>> …..SHIT

>> Smooth.

>>  Prom’s with you right?? Can’t he give it to me?

>> No can do, Witless Wonder

>> You gotta help a bro out!

>>  Prom says he can bring him along to your dad’s party this week ;) The rest is up to you

- Noct groans, letting his phone fall onto the mattress and then onto the floor. Some friends they are. How is he supposed to wait five whole days before he can talk to Iggy again? And then what is he loses his nerve? He can’t just whisk Ignis off to the hospital every time he wants to flirt with him….

- Five days. That’s how long he’s got to come up with a plan. And find something to wear that will catch the gymnast’s eye. If he’s going to do this, he’s gotta do it right.