#the boy qualifies more as a teenager but kid still works in my mind

[kingofthering]

Marc noticing a kid in a wheelchair next to his spot on the grid and getting off his bike (during the Spanish anthem) to go give the boy a hug and take a photo with him.

[oldandkindasad]

Okay, I was gonna ignore this but... Yeah sweetie you're a gigantic bigot on multiple fronts too. Lemme just explain why:

"It's a tad bizarre he didn't say anything."

Maybe they had a conversation, OP explained his point, Gramps was like "Dope. I'm with it." And it went from there. When I came out to my dad, he asked if it meant I was a serial killer, I told him no, and he said cool, then I still love you.

"While I don't believe all so called autistic are even autistic..."

Oh this fills me with a special kind of rage, and honestly this, to me, was the most glaring part of your bigotry. You hate trans and the differently abled and honestly that's disgusting.

Do you know how hard it is to be diagnosed with autism? It's goddamn exhausting. I have ADHD and it was an easier time to get that diagnosis than it was for a three year old to get his autism diagnosis. Not to mention, if you're stateside, most insurances will not cover autism care (unless you get state care and you know what they'll ask for? A diagnosis code!) Those tests are anywhere between $1,000 to $1,500 dollars. And that's when they give you the pity, no insurance deal.

Then we can talk about how infantile autistic people are treated, how abused they are in school systems, how young girls are more prone to depression for masking, and little boys are encouraged to be locked away because they are not given the tools to regulate. I work in a school, I've heard people actively advocate for those things.

So the fact that you "don't believe them" or think that people are faking that struggle shows what kind of person you are.

"People like you that believe kids understand their own minds and bodies...."

A lot of them do? Like would you tell a fourth grader she isn't having her period because she "doesn't understand"? That said, no one is handing out blockers like they're candy. There is an actual evaluation process by people far more qualified than you are (thank goodness for that at least). And even then, it can be undone.

That's said, maybe have a dialogue with your kids. You can pretend they don't understand these things, but you forget kids these days (yeah I'm that old) are learning about the world at an exponentially faster rate than we ever did as kids.

"Aren't we special?"

Yes, nothing says special like being beaten to death, shot, or killed in some other way because it makes you feel squick. While you may not advocate for these things, your attitude justifies the extremists.

"what about kids who say they want to be animals?"

Jesus fucking Christ, have you ever worked with a kid? There's a difference in pretend play, my dude, they actively know they're pretending.

"Problems with detransitioning."

And problems with birth control, or those same hormone blockers for non trans kids because their body is having a free for all (which was actually the intended use

"About parents who think their kid is trans because they're 'boyish'"

That's a shit parent who doesn't know how to communicate (I said what I said).

"Teenagers are wrinkling their noses at it "

I... Just... Fucking what?!? So first we ignore the youngins and their opinion, and now because it's not 'cool' to them, well let's throw the baby out with the bathwater. And you claim OP is in an echo chamber? Buddy!

TERFS don't give a shit about kids, or women. So yeah, you're a bigot.

My 90yr old Irish Catholic grandpa doesn’t miss with my gender. He’s never gotten my name wrong, or my pronouns, never even faltered over it.

It’s all so natural too: son, big man, young man…

We’ve never talked about it. He’s the only one who hasn’t pushed for details. He just accepted it and carried on because it’s not a huge deal.

It’s so comforting.

[lavendersuh]

jaemin x reader | 70′s roller rink au | fluff | 2.8k words 

part of @nct-writers neo’clock event! 

warnings: none

summary: its the era of disco balls and groovy tunes, and you love working at your local roller skating rink. if only na jaemin wasn’t there to annoy you all the time.

note: hi friends!! i recently started roller skating this summer and it’s been so fun!! i finally was able to go to a roller rink (i masked up i promise!) but i wrote this beforehand while i was yearning to go haha. it was so fun and skating makes me so happy. i don’t think i’ve seen many roller skating aus so i hope you all enjoy!!

“Hey! Will you stop going the wrong way? I have kids learning to skate and you’re getting in their way!” 

You huff out a heavy breath from your exercise. It’s always tiring to teach young kids to roller skate, but you enjoy the smiles it brought to their faces. One day soon they would be able to easily join the adults that waltzed across the shiny wooden floors. 

Your job at the local roller rink is perfect. You love the smoky atmosphere and the big disco ball. You love hearing the latest groovy songs play over the speakers. You love being able to zoom around in your favorite bell bottom jeans and best pair of skates. 

What you don’t enjoy is annoying boys that obnoxiously skate around the rink. 

You look back at the boy in question. It isNa Jaemin, of course. The boy has been the bane of your existence since he came to the rink for the first time a little over two weeks ago. 

Na Jaemin, with his blonde hair and constant grin, always so cocksure about everything. You had to admit, he’s an incredible skater, but you could never admit that to him. 

Especially when he is doing everything in his power to annoy you at the present moment.

“Are you even qualified to teach people how to skate?” he asks, with narrow eyes, “Can you even go backwards?”

You know he’s just teasing, just trying to get a rise out of you, and you fall so easily into his trap every time.

“Of course I can go backwards Jaemin! That’s not what I’m teaching right now though!” you reply. 

“Well then, I can do a demonstration!” 

“Jaemin, no.”

“Jaemin, yes.”

You let out a sigh as you watch him show off in front of the kids. They were a nice little bunch, but they were easily distracted, especially when the distraction was putting on such a show. 

Once again, you knew, it would be a long night.

Not even a week later, you encounter the nuisance again. Tonight, someone that usually works the food counter called off, meaning you’re stuck making hot dogs and grabbing bottles of cola for a bunch of little kids and teenagers. It wasn’t the worst job, but it certainly wasn’t your favorite. 

Especially since you can’t just skate away when Jaemin comes around to annoy you.

You spot him skating around the rink with a few of his buddies, doing laps around the younger kids. You can’t help but roll your eyes. 

The last you recalled, Jaemin never ordered much from the food counter when he was at the rink, so you assume he won’t bother you tonight. You couldn’t be more wrong.

You were back behind the pretzel machine when someone came up to the counter, ringing the bell to get your attention.

“I’ll be right there!” you call out, “What can I get for you?”

“A second of your time perhaps?”

You whip your head around to see Jaemin standing at the counter, a cheesy smile across his face. His hair is ruffled and wild, and he seems to be breathing a bit heavy from the exercise he was just doing.

You huff as you walk over to him, “Jaem, if you’re just going to annoy me, go away. Do you actually want any food?” 

He doesn’t miss the small nickname that crosses your lips, but he doesn’t have time to think too hard about it. As always, he is on a mission. 

“I wanted to show you my new skates!” he says, moving backwards a bit to show you the new boots, “Nice wheels, right?”

You can’t help the snort of amusement that comes out. The skates are bright yellow, with orange wheels and laces. They certainly will stand out under the glow of the neon lights and the disco ball over the wooden rink.

He starts moonwalking around in front of you, and you can’t help but marvel with a smile of your own at the skates and the silly boy in front of you. He must catch you staring, because he breaks you out of your trance by coming closer.

He says , “I wonder how fast I’ll be able to go in them.”

He bounds off towards the rink, zipping around the people on his new wheels. He looks back over to see if you are watching, causing a triumphant grin to grace his face when he realizes he still has your attention. 

The only problem is, with his eyes on you instead of where he’s going, he nearly runs into an older lady, and quickly diverts his course to keep from crashing into her. His new skates take him directly towards the wall, sending him on a collision course with concrete. 

His fall is anything but graceful, as his friends laugh at him. You also let out a chuckle of your own at the silly boy who will do anything for even an ounce of attention.

It is once again the end of a long day, and the quiet of the rink surrounds you. The music is turned off, and you’re the last one here, finishing up some cleaning before you finally go home. 

You always loved being the last one at the rink. The roller rink was constantly alive with lots of people, lots of sounds, lots of activity. It was calming to be the only one, skating around the rink with a broom to wipe down the surface. 

As you are making your way around the outside of the rink one last time, you hear a loud noise near the entrance to the building. You can’t help but grip the broom a little tighter, before you see Jaemin come through the door.

He glides over to the opening of the rink, his boombox in his hand. You do nothing but stare as he sets it up on the ground, pressing play before starting to skate. Finally he acknowledges your presence with a casual wave, like he isn’t here after hours or anything.

“What do you think you are doing?” you ask. “The rink closed ten minutes ago, and aren’t you tired? You were here all night.”

You couldn’t ignore the slip up you made, realizing you let it slip that you were aware of his presence all night. You didn’t need him thinking you were looking at him a lot, because you weren’t. Ever. 

“I like skating to my own tunes.” he says, as nonchalant as ever. 

He apparently doesn’t see a problem with the way things are unfolding, and you let out a huff. 

“Oh my god, I’m trying to clean the floor! Can’t you just come back tomorrow?”

“Aw, so eager to see me again?” he smiles as he makes his way to you, “Anyways, I can help!”

He takes your broom, skating around while casually sweeping. You might not have brand new skates like him, but you easily catch up to him, snatching it back.

Why was he even here? Just like you had pointed out, he had been here all night. What was keeping him from going home like the rest of the crowd?

“Go, Jaemin!” you exclaim out of annoyance, “And take your annoying boombox with you!”

His face morphs into a pout at this, “You turned off the music, what was I supposed to do?” 

“Go home?”

You glide over to the portable machine producing the loud disco music, turning off the switch. You manage to pick it up, shoving the boombox towards Jaemin.

“Jaemin, I’m begging you, go home! I can’t clean if you are still here, and I want to go home, too.”

He must see the exhausted look in your eye behind all of your annoyance, because he rolls over to you.

Jaemin grabs his boombox again, “Am I too much of a distraction if I sit on the bench?”

He gestures to the bench just outside of the rink, where little kids often tied their laces. For some reason, he just doesn’t want to leave, so you nod your head. 

He sits down, and turns on his boombox again while doing so. He turns the volume down lower, and looks out at you, jokingly saluting you in a promise to not be bothersome. 

You roll your eyes, finally resuming your cleaning. 

As you clean, Jaemin talks aimlessly. He talks about his classes at the local university next fall, and about how he just can’t figure out how to land a specific jump on his skates. 

While you were reluctant to let him stay, his presence ends up being really nice. His voice is soft as it fills the empty building, and as you both walk out to your cars after locking up, you are grateful to have someone by your side. 

It feels a little weird that you are having nice thoughts about the boy who is constantly a pain in your side, but you ignore the slight upbeat in your heart rate when he bids you goodnight.

You throw him a smile as you get into your car, “Goodnight, Jaem.”

It is once again a slow Tuesday night, and you are almost about ready to fall asleep at the admissions counter. Every so often you are assigned a shift in the ticket lobby, which you don’t mind typically. On a weekend day, you would be busy taking care of admissions for people as they came and went.

The rink is not busy today. 

And you’re about to doze off. 

You sigh. The one day you don’t have a book or a newspaper or any homework to do. 

You find yourself brushing off invisible dust from your new vest and turtleneck outfit when you hear the door chime, signaling a new customer. You look up from your seat.

Of course, it is Na Jaemin.

“Hey, are you stuck out here today?” he asks, his skate laces tied together to rest over his left shoulder.

“Yeah, it's so boring tonight, kinda empty too, but at least that means you won’t plow into a sixth grader again.” you smile.

“That was one time!” he says, also grinning at the memory.

He pulls out some money for admission and you hand him the paper wristband to show he paid and brought his own skates. Just as he is about to walk through the door to get to the rink, he pauses.

“Hey, uh, what’s your favorite song to skate to?” 

“Huh?”

“Yeah,” he scratches the back of his neck. He tries to explain his reasoning, “Maybe if I play it on my boombox, you won’t make me turn it off.”

You let out a chuckle, “I’ll still probably make you turn it off.”

“Y/N, can you please just answer the question?” Jaemin seems serious now.

And while you are taken aback by the change from his normally aloof demeanor, you clear your throat, “Okay, umm, I really love that new movie Grease, right now. Have you seen it? There’s this one song that’s kinda slow, ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You,’ and it’s really pretty and fun to just skate around the rink to.”

You flush out of embarrassment for the cheesy song choice, but Jaemin nods with a smile. You ignore your traitorous heart reminding you that you had definitely played your Grease soundtrack cassette tape a few too many times since meeting Jaemin. There was definitely no correlation. 

“That song is nice.” he says, before turning away and heading into the rink, leaving you alone at the ticket counter once again. 

A few days later you once again are stuck at the ticket counter. And finally, your shift is over. The ticket counter was nice every once in a while, but you feel tired of standing there, especially more than once in a week. You much preferred the satisfying exhaustion that came from being on wheels for your entire shift. 

The staff has mostly gone home, even your boss who just needed to lock up the cash office. You had offered to lock up the building after he left, since you felt like skating for a bit before going home. 

There is something about skating on the wooden floor when no one else is around. It is entirely quiet, with the music turned off, just the sound of your wheels spinning., And peaceful, with the air clear of cigarette smoke and loud screams of children playing. It was calming.

Your calm is interrupted by soft music coming from near the entrance. It’s only when you see Jaemin’s face and his stupidly large boombox that you realize what song it is. 

Your favorite song.

You can’t help the goofy smile that spreads across your face as he skates over, leaving the boombox on the ledge of the rink wall, coming over to you as ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You,’ echoes throughout the building.

He’s mouthing the lyrics as he skates to you, his eyes bright with mischief and something else that you can’t quite place. 

“Hey,” he says once he’s finally in front of you, “Can I join? It seemed a little quiet in here.”

For some reason, this flusters you, as you look at his ruffled hair and jean jacket. “Uh, yeah sure.”

With your approval, he begins skating, beckoning you to follow him. The song ends, but starts up again, and you give Jaemin a questioning look.

“I made a mixtape of this song on loop a couple of times,” he says, running a hand through his hair leisurely, like that’s the most normal thing in the world for someone to do. “It’s nice right?”

It makes you smile regardless. The two of you skate around for a bit, simply going around the rink as you would if lots of people were there. It’s comfortable, you realize, with just the two of you all alone. 

Finally on the third loop of the song, Jaemin comes a little closer, and grabs your hand quickly, as if unsure that he is able to do that. You squeeze his hand in reassurance.

It’s strange, wherever this night is going, but you can’t remember a time that you seemed happier to be at the rink. 

“I recall you mentioning you can skate backwards, yes?” Jaemin asks, after a few moments.

“Yes, of course—” you begin, but stop talking when he spins you to skate backwards in front of him, causing you to let out a slight squeal at the change.

It’s almost like dancing in a way, as he pushes the two of you forward around the rink and you impulsively grip his shoulders to make sure you can keep your balance. 

Eventually, the two of you slow down, and he leads a few spins, which sends laughter through the air and chills down your spine. It's hard to believe just a few weeks ago this boy was the most annoying pain in your side. 

The boombox finally goes quiet after its few repeats of the song, and the building is plunged into silence again, as you stand in front of Jaemin with a small smile and a sweaty complexion. 

The neon lights glow around you and Jaemin’s face turns serious. He readjusts his grip on your waist, sliding ever so slightly closer to you. 

“I’m sorry I was an asshole at the beginning.” he says, just above a whisper to be heard by only you, “I didn’t know how else to get your attention. Finally I changed the plan to this, and I think it’s working out better.”

“The plan?” you ask, your brain cloudy from his proximity.

He has the nerve to look bashful, making his face even more cuter, “I’ve, uh, kinda liked you for a while, and I needed a plan to tell you and see if you felt the same.” 

You smile, moving your left hand from his shoulder to his jawline, stroking his cheeky tenderly. Every piece of him that you touch leaves a burning feeling within your heart, and you finally are thinking you know how to fix it.

With a bold move like when he picked up your hand, you touch your lips to his, letting them sit there for a moment. It’s a chaste kiss, leaving Jaemin to decide what to do next.

He deepens the kiss, smiling as he fully wraps his arms around you and keeps you from sliding away by using his toe stops. 

The disco ball overhead isn’t turning anymore, and the music that typically fills the roller rink isn’t playing, but you’ve never found the rink more spectacular in your life. It’s not the atmosphere of the rink that you love, but the people within.

And right now, the person in front of you is your favorite.

[ja-khajay]

Stuff I read (and liked) this year

As promised, here’s a list of the novels, comics, manga, etc... I read this year, focusing on the ones I enjoyed and would recommend to people. Under a cut, this is going to be a little long.

-------- Books --------

Favorite book of the year: Stranger in the Woods, by Michael Finkel

Non-fiction. Based on the interviews of the man himself by the author, it is about a man who felt so unfit for society he decided one day to leave it, and spent the next 28 years as a hidden hermit in forest in Maine. The book details how he survived there, how he was eventually found, and some of his reasons for doing so. It’s a great reflection on the nature of loneliness.

Indian creek, by Pete Fromm

...Yet another detailed tale of living alone in the woods. This time, the diary of a student who spent a winter in the mountains to help tend for salmon hatchlings, and how he spent the rest of his days hiking, hunting, meeting the locals. It’s a fun little book who, being set almost the whole world away from where I live, was a nice way to travel.

Howl’s Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones

I don’t feel the need to explain this one since everyone and their mom has seen the movie adapted from it. The book, that I first read a decade ago before I actually watched the film, is a less romantized, more spirited telling of the same story. The writing is absolutely delightful and so is the world it paints, and it’s the first time in ages a book had me laughing out loud during my entire read.

-------- Comics (BD) --------

Favorite comic of the year: Monsieur Désire?, by Hubert and Virginie Augustin

A discreet young woman becomes a maid for a decadent, unbearable, byronesque young lord. Caked in the rigid and oppressive social hierarchy of the victorian era, you follow a mental and verbal joust between the two, as the lord tries his best to offend and corrupt his new unrelenting servant, to little success. The writing and especially the dialogues were stellar, drawing me into the tense atmosphere, watching this trainwreck of a character flamboyantly destroy himself. While there’s no precise content warnings that I can give, this is a mature and heavy story.

World of Edena, by Moebius

Anyone who’s followed this blog for over a month knows how much of a Moebius fan I am. Edena combines the vague, dreamlike, wordless storytelling from stuff like Arzach or The cat’s eyes with an actual plot. While I haven’t completly finished the story, the evolution of the main characters and how the story is told have been great to read through, and as always the art is beyond gorgeous. Unfortunately suffers from some good old sexism in the writing that even if minimal, tasted sour

Le roman de Renart, by Joan Sfar (book 1)

Sfar’s work always has a signature vibe of being dreamy and light without being light hearted, of being down to earth but drifting in the fantastical, and this one is no exception. It’s an adaption of a series of medieval folk tales I grew up with, who uses the same characters to tell an original story. If you’re familiar with icons like Renart as well as other mythological big boys like Merlin you’ll fit right in. There is something special in how the dialogues are written, who feel natural in a way that you’d overhear in a street corner and is very special to me.

The mercenary, by VIncente Segrelles

Another one I post about a lot on this blog. The mercenary is a king on the throne of fantasy cheese. The worldbuilding is interesting at times but the writing is a pretty pathetic display of glorious old time sword and sorcery sci-fantasy 10 years too late for it’s prime (warning for ye old sexism and orientalism that plagues the genre, cranked very high...) but you come and stay for the art. The entire thing is drawn in a series of hyper detailed oil paintings with an insane eye for technical detail, from the engineering of the weaponry, to the architecture and weather, to the anatomy of the fantasy creatures... Each panel stands out as it’s own painting which makes even flipping through it without reading the scenario a treat. Click here to see more of the art, in my Segrelles tag.

The ice maurauder, by Jacques Tardi

A short story about mad scientists entirely drawn like a 19th century engraving. In great Tardi tradition everyone is ugly and mean, it ends terribly, it’s both a hommage to the genre of late 19th cent. to early 1900s dramatic adventure novels and a critical eye on it, and it’s morbidly funny. Most people I saw online hated the way this was written but I’m not them and I really recommend this book. Die mad

-------- Manga --------

Favorite manga of the year: it’s a tie between the following two.

Cats of the Louvre, by Taiyo Matsumoto

Most wonderful comic I have read in ages. The story follows a bunch of semi-feral cats secretly living in the Louvre museum’s attic, and the small group of humans who share their life, walking through the museum as the night watch. When the cats are together, they are represented in a humanoid way, but still act like animals, and “become” cats again when a human is nearby. The plot is a sort of supernatural mystery centered around a kitten who walks around paintings. It’s a love letter to art, sincere and beautiful, with a unique art style and great characters.

Memoirs of amorous Gentlemen, by Moyoco Anno

A sex worker in early 20th century paris starts writing down a diary of the clients she meets, in a quest to cope with the troubles of her life. You follow her, her colleagues, and her bittersweet relationship with an abusive lover. I don’t have much words about this comic, but the art and writing both are amazing, it’s the perfect length and drew me in like little series had before. Obvious content warnings as this is an adult story that talks about sexuality, but also depicts both mental and physical abuse.

Hana, also by Taiyo Matsumoto 

A very short story, this was not made to be read as a comic originally, but served as storyboarding and visual development for a play, and the way it is written follows that. Hana is a slice of life story set in a fantasy world, of a young boy, his family, his village. Despite the setting being an original one, the character interactions are refreshingly... normal, and there is no huge plot to speak of, just a bit of the life of these characters. The art is beautiful, entirely black and white, with a scratchy style and an emphasis on contrast. Matsumoto is on a speedy road to becoming my favorite manga artist haha

Delicious in Dungeon, by Ryoko Kui

While not marked as my year’s favorite, I still consider this series among my favorite manga ever. The art and writing are amazing, and it’s both heartfelt, well concieved and plain hilarious. The story follows several parties of dungeon diving adventurers each on their little quests with a premise of our protagonists, on a panic rescue mission, surviving in the dungeon by cooking and eating the monsters they come across. From a DnD party turned cooking manual dinner of the week beginning, the plot creeps up on you and slowly thickens. I don’t want to spoil anything about the overarching story of this because it was a delight to discover for myself. While everything about DinD rules, I am especially fond of the design philosophy of the author, who puts great detail in the practicality and biology of what she draws, as well as the character writing. Everyone even side characters has so much charm and depth to them, the cast is so diverse and entertaining...! Each character is just a bit lame enough but endearing, and has their own little backstory that shows in the way they exist. It’s a delight

Chainsaw man, by Tatsuki Fujimoto

I went into CSM expecting a borderline campy hyperviolent dumb fun thing to read and was very surprised to find an uncomfortably well written story about a teenager being groomed. The hyperviolent dumb fun fights are here nonetheless and the series still qualifies as shonen for some reason, but the more mature character writing as well as some truly outlandish visuals make it something very special. If you can’t stand shonen, not sure you will like it, but if you don’t mind it, worth trying.

Witch hat atelier, by Kamome Shirahama

The oh so elegant fantasy seinen every cool kid started posting about this year, who I also succumbed to and fast. Witch hat is hard to explain, as most of it’s plot revolves around the rules of the world it’s set in, specifically the regulations around it’s magic and the social and historical reasons for them. It’s about growing up, learning, disability, making art. You follow a little girl taken in by a witch as an apprentice, her magical education, and learn little by little why her lovely teacher is so willing to break a lot of rules... While a bit too gentle and pretty for my taste at times, Witch hat has great worldbuilding and explores sensitive themes I rarely see in manga, much less in fantasy. And Berserk wishes it had art this good

[proclaimersofheroes]

Well, I did promise this to @pocketramblr​ This year’s batch of students held few surprises. 

Children, excited for this new stage of life, bright and shining and so very naive. As always, chatter had flowed from his classroom out into the hall. Friends cheering, people reuniting from the exam. 

None of them had any situational awareness. 

None of them had any idea of the dangers that came with being a professional hero. 

Aizawa Shouta was very good at changing that. 

Many said he was too harsh, that he was scary. That maybe, if he got more sleep then he’d be a better teacher. 

But Shouta was qualified to be a hero, not a teacher. He’d been drafted into this by Nemuri, without the proper training for a classroom environment. 

But Nedzu had always known that. The Principal had seen him change, observed how the loss of Shirakumo had affected him. Shouta was not an academic teacher, he was here to prepare young heroes for the harshness of the world. 

And there they were, a bit of the earlier cheer from the classroom replaced with nervousness. That was good, it would keep them alert. 

“What about orientation, Aizawa-sensei?” Little hero eggs, all huddled together in a group. Some still jostled each other, giggled or tried to get their friends to listen. 

“Unnecessary. UA offers its teachers great flexibility and freedom.” His gaze roams the students, taking in the eager, curious faces and the low glow of those with permanently active quirks. “Because of the illogical setup of previous schools, none of you have had to push your quirks.”

Excited murmurs greet his ears, but the timing isn’t yet right. He palms the sensor ball, before tossing it to Bakugo Katsuki. From the exam and his school history, the blond seemed the most likely to have a grasp on the destructive powers of his quirk. “As the top scorer in the entrance exam, Bakugo will demonstrate.” The boy’s scowl turned into a wide, cocky grin. Shouta turned, gestured to the circle. “Stand in the bounds of the circle, and use your quirk to move the ball as far as you can.”

The explosion is powerful, as expected, and riles up the rest of the class. Perfect timing, and Shouta’s keen ears pick up one of the words he was waiting for. “Fun?” He turns to the children, looming over them and projecting dread and authority. “I guess you won’t mind that the lowest scorer will be expelled.” 

There were a few expectations for who it would be. Mineta Minoru’s behavior issues had been noted, and the boy had been assigned to his class in the hopes that Shouta’s severity could stomp them out. Hagakure Tooru had put in a surprisingly good showing at the exam, but due to the passive nature of her quirk she’d need stronger physical skills than many others. Midoriya Izuku had a record of terrible behavior that Nedzu had excused for some reason, and had frozen up in anxiety or fear during the exam until the end. To live as a quirkless person, instead of working to control the power he had… 

And still, that pattern continued. These children were giving their all, driven to use their quirks for any edge they could, except Midoriya. Registering as quirkless during middle school had crippled the boy, excluding him from quirk counseling. Shouta didn’t understand it, there was no medical exception on his file and why would he try for Heroics if he felt his quirk was uncontrollable? 

This was the boy’s last chance, the ball throw that Bakugo had started them off so strongly in. Shouta watched the emotions carefully flicker over his face, before that same determination from the exam came about. He watched as Midoriya squeezed the ball, clenched his jaw as he stepped into the circle. 

Those green eyes became almost radioactive, electricity gathering along his arm. 

He really was going to sacrifice an arm for this? No. 

Thick black hair lifted, red glow lighting up his dark eyes as he erased the destructive quirk. 

Midoriya’s stunned expression, the way he flexed his hand at the absence of pain, was unimportant as sudden movement caught Shouta’s attention. 

His capture weapon lashed out, wrapping up the incoming attacker before Shouta fully processed that it was Bakugo Katsuki. “You quirkless bastard!” Oh yes, the pair had been classmates in middle school. “Have you been lying, hiding your quirk the entire time!?” The glow of the boy’s eyes was intense, flickering red and orange with the strength of his rage and the attempts to use his quirk under Shouta’s Erasure. 

Shouta thought the boy was taking this far too personally. “Enough, you’re drying out my eyes.” The scolding got a scowl from the blond, and he couldn’t identify the strange look on Midoriya’s face. “Attack a classmate again, and you’ll be expelled.” It took a moment for the threat to sink in, and the boy slumped. 

Why hadn’t Bakugo’s obvious anger issue been noted in his files? After only an hour with the boy, watching his interactions with his classmates, it was more than clear. 

“Eraserhead!” Midoriya looked shocked, amazed. Shouta huffed softly, keeping his stern expression up. 

“You’ll never be a hero if you keep breaking yourself.” Dull acceptance, with a hint of surprise and pain. It seems the boy has heard it before. “You’ll be the one needing rescue after you can’t move.” 

Those green eyes close, and the boy takes some time to breath. It hurts every time, seeing the death of a dream. 

But it’s better than the death of a teenager, a child. Yes, Midoriya will be better off in Gen Ed until he learns to reign that power in. “Go, throw the ball.” 

Is that resignation that he sees in the boy’s posture? Probably. 

Midoriya stares at the ball for several seconds, rolling it between his two hands. Then, he stops. 

The boy straightens, face flashing to realization and then determination. Preparing himself, Shouta’s ready to erase that destructive energy before the child shatters his arm again. 

Green eyes glow again, but power doesn’t race up that throwing arm. No, instead there’s a sudden blast of strength, of wind, just before the ball loses contact with the boy. 

“I can still move, Sensei.” Midoriya’s grinning widely at him, wild determination in those electric green eyes as he cradles a broken finger. Shouta’s own red streaks them, and it’s a shock that a student who’s barely had a few words with him understands Shouta so well. 

Shouta grins just as widely back. Maybe, just maybe, the kid will be able to keep up with the others.

[tsunonotarou]

Being childhood friends to lovers with...

The second character who got to appear on my “Being childhood friends to lovers with...” series is Riddle Rosehearts!

This will have two versions! Since I have two in mind and I just can’t make myself choose between them. Hope you enjoy!

: gender-neutral reader!

BEING CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TO LOVERS WITH...

RIDDLE ROSEHEARTS

— AS A CHILD

|| Version one

You two got engaged at a very young age, obviously by both your parents’ choices as they are good friends and only want people who is “qualified” to be their childs’ lover—which in their opinion, there’s no better choice than each other’s children

So naturally you’d hang around with Riddle a lot. Though your parents are strict, they aren’t as strict and controlling as Riddle’s, so you have much more free time than Riddle do and you’d often use those free time to go to Riddle’s house

At that time the two of you never harbored any romantic feelings or even try to, the word “marriage” is so foreign and confusing, and you two would just dismiss it as becoming supports to each other in the future and—forever. Which is pretty much the meaning of marriage but, the word “love” never crossed yours or his mind

You’d stay by Riddle’s side to accompany him or have some small talk, it’s suffocating to study study and study all day, you know you can’t do much about it, the least you could do is offer him some of your warmth and comforting smile

Sometimes if you feel daring, you’d bring snacks that Riddle usually can’t get, strawberry shortcake? You sneaked a slice into his house to let him enjoy it secretly

He’s always thankful for it, and his heart went ↗️↘️⬇️⬆️⬅️↙️↖️ without him knowing but, he still gets nervous and scared for you, in fear of his mother giving you a very serious lecture

So he’s always telling you not to bring him sweets and such, but you still do it anyway

|| Version two

You were good friends with Trey and Che’nya, so when Che’nya knocked on Riddle’s window for the first time, you were there too

Hanging around with Riddle and the four of you enjoying the cake Trey made together and playing around was always fun

But you didn’t have other memories or moments with Riddle during your childhood days other than that, especially after Riddle’s mother constantly keeping an eye on the three of you to keep you guys away from Riddle

But you’d still occasionally leave some sweets outside of the window—the place where you, Trey and Che’nya first met Riddle—and then just leave, letting Riddle know that your friendship is still there and not going to be severed because of his strict mother, also a solution to cheer Riddle up since he’s been real upset after that incident

— AS TEENAGERS

|| Version one

When you two are in your teenage years you are undoubtedly in love with each other, since the two of you got to know a little more about that feeling

His teenage years are when he gets to go out a little more, his mother also allow him to go on dates with you, having tea together and get to know each other more, making up for lost time due to him being locked up in room studying when he was little

Loves to be in your arms as he finally lets out all the stress his mother has put on him, being in your embrace with your soft touches always calms him down

The two of you have designated time to meet up and he’s always so excited for it, part of it is because he gets to stop staying in the same room staring at the same walls for hours and mainly because he gets to see his love, you.

|| Version two

He gets a little jealous because he’s always seeing you, Trey and Che’nya playing outside through his study window

But like I said, his teenage years are when he gets to go out a little more

He tried to avoid meeting up with you guys because he’s afraid of his mother knowing and you’ll get in trouble again, but the three of you are persistent as hell, encouraging him to have cakes with you guys

To others it might seem you guys are a bad influence but truthfully, the three of you are the only ones who know what Riddle goes through and what he’s really feeling about all these work and studies, so as a friend, you three try your best to ease up his tense shoulders and stiff features

— AS STUDENTS IN NRC

(Since I wrote gender-neutral, I know NRC is an all boys school but for fanfic purposes you will be the only female ahaha)

|| Version one

If you got sorted into another dorm he'd be very sad

If you got sorted into Heartslabyul though, he'd act as if it's nothing on the outside but inside he's doing a small happy dance

You never broke the rules which he is insanely grateful for, it not only means you respect Heartslabyul it also means he wouldn't have to punish you, he'd hate to do that

Now you get to know more about the guy (Trey) whom Riddle always told you about when you were kids

Gets really protective, because even though NRC is a prestigious school, there are delinquents here and there and the last thing he want is you getting hurt

Ace teases the hell out of his dorm leader, making annoying kissing noises and talks about how Riddle is such a softie when it comes to you

Which often leads to Riddle cutting Ace's head

He literally cannot hide his blush

He's sealing Ace's magic with a deep shade of red on his face, how can Ace not snort? Ace honestly doesn't mind getting more duties if it meant he get to see this Riddle

|| Version two

The moment he spotted you in the opening ceremony his heart raced

Finally, he get to have a proper talk with you and spend time with you and Trey without worrying for his mother's wrath

You two definitely got to know each other a lot more during your stay in NRC, making up for lost time

Trey noticed something between the two of you, so he'll often excuse himself and leave the both of you on your own to get to know even better of each other

Takes very good care of you, always helping you with your studies and he almost never get irritated at you other than the times where you broke a few rules with the first years

— AS LOVERS

|| Version one

(It's mostly been covered in — AS TEENAGERS so I won't be writing this!)

|| Version two

I know saying Riddle blushes redder than his hair is commonly used but it is literally what happened

He was doubting himself whether he could be a good partner for you or not, plus his mother's confirmed disapproval without him even needing to ask, but he got the words out

And Riddle cannot be happier when you accepted his feelings

Things will be awkward at first, none of you ever been in a relationship before but Cater is always there to help you out! Trey mostly stops him from pestering you two

Things are a little bumpy at first, but you two were truly the happiest when together with each other

[titan-god-helios]

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BOY HERE WE GO SO recently ive been doing a shit ton of research and all on autism and adhd and ended up with a pretty freaking solid self-diagnosis of both and that made me hyperfixate on the topic even more and i think at this point its become a special interest for me AND JUST AAAA I LOVE LEARNING ABOUT THIS SHIT SO MUCH although, having audhd, all my knowledge is like having an enormous library with no organisation or archival tools to my disposal at all and instead whenever a specific bit of info is prompted into my brain by a convo or stimulus the corresponding book on the shelf wiggles n shuffles around a little and i have to go sprint to get it before the shuffling stops and i cant find the book anymore so thats fun BUT ONE FACT JUST RANDOMLY IS THAT AROUND 65% OF ADHDERS HAVE DIAGNOSTIC SYMPTOMS OF ADHD AND FOR AUTISTICS THE NUMBER GOES TO 85% WITH ADHD DIAGNOSTIC SYMPTOMS AND ALSO THAT THIS IS VERY LIKELY BECAUSE 5% OF THE WORLD ARE ADHDERS, WHILST ONLY SOMETHING LIKE 2% OF THE WORLD ARE AUTISTICS and another special interest ive had for a while now is tmnt (teenage mutant ninja turtles) and its one of the biggest comfort franchises//shows for me ever as a kid i watched nearly all the gens of the show, scoured youtube on my mum's phone for all the episodes, badly recorded from someone's tv, official clips that i pieced together, reposts of the actual episodes and so on and i had t-shirts and fanart galore, not to mention the copious amounts of time id spend ranting about the show and daydreaming about being the the turtles' best friend along with april and thinking about inventing and researching with donnie and playing hockey with motherfucking casey jones and being the brains behind their brawn and just hanging out and doing cool stuff i adored it and then that kinda chilled for a bit - i still was passionate as fuck about it, it just took up less of my mind as the world took up more, and then a month or two ago BAM i learned about the newest gen (rottmnt//rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles) and i scrolled through related hashtags for DAYS on tumblr and i reawakened that special interest and now im working my way through the show and IM SO HAPPY OHMYGOODNESS I CANT STOP TALKING ABOUT IT EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ooooooo another childhood until now special interest: harry potter i love that shit so much and the fact that j.k rowling inspired me, a queer, trans person to become a writer because i adored the power her writing had over me and my emotions and i wanted to make other people feel like that simply by being creative, and then she fucked it all up by being a transphobic bitch still doesnt sit right with me regardless, i still adore the franchise and the books and i will never not love them with all my heart and while i need to reread the series, i could tell you a lot of smaller details and theories and everything about it and when i was smaller i had a whole ass friendship that was built on not shutting up about harry potter and then we only ever spoke about harry potter or played games relating to harry potter (even though i generally hated playing pretend with other people, she was really headstrong and decided things so there was no grey area where one person didnt understand and THATS what i didnt like with mutual pretend play for the most part so yeah) im not sure if this qualifies as a SpIn, but i also have an obsession with learning as many home remedies or symptoms or quick fixes for several ailments of everyday life (joint pains, sore throats, headaches, cramps, period cramps, maybe even depressive episodes or shutdowns or burnout or panic attacks and so on). like at this point i could be a barely successful witch doctor or something i love it my boyfriend's started calling me dr. ash/elio too whichiscuteasfuckandiloveit AND IT JUST GOES TO SHOW OML

Alright folks this was fun the first time so lets do it again. Tell me about your hyperfixation and/or special interest. Share as much as you want, go ahead and infodump to me because i love hearing about peoples passions ❤️

[arcgeminga]

What is the mun's opinion of all the gold saints from TLC?

♚— Oh boi. This is gonna be a mouthful. I know you said "all" , but I can't do saints like Avenir and Sage since I haven't read Shion and the Old Twins' gaiden in English. And I'm not about to act like I know Spanish enough to write a review on those saints.

♚ Aries Shion - Should've been the Hades Arc Shion. Like damn, I really like Shion when he's an angry sheep!! I mean, he yeets the five bronzies in Hades Arc like "Fuck dem kids!". 

I really like Specter/Pope Shion. But TLC Shion I do not hate. In fact, I can understand how and why he becomes Pope. I really like TLC Aries Shion! I just wished he was more angry sheep, but TLC Shion is not bad. I especially loved his Gaiden, at least the part where Avenir was shown. I feel like they should have explained more on his thoughts on becoming pope or exploring him having some sort of survivor's guilt but hey. I don't dislike him!     

♚ Taurus Aldebaran/Hasgard/Rasgado - Honestly, the only thing I can say about Hasgard is that... I don't hate him. I love his English Voice actor (because I'm a really big fan of Jamieson Price since Tales of Vesperia), but for Hasgard himself... I don't really have an opinion or thought on. His teenage years with Sisyphus and Aspros seemed fun, and I'm kinda... hm... sad that their relationship mellowed out? Or at least, we didn't get his and Sisyphus' opinions or reactions to Aspros' death.     

♚ Gemini Defteros & Aspros - OH BOY WHERE DO I START!? ----- Gemini Aspros - I understand why Aspros was the way he was towards everyone and his brother. It's honestly not his fault. I am happy that he doesn't have a "split personality" at all throughout TLC, even though that is something I would never diss Saga for (even if it wasn't really a split personality). He was simply manipulated into behaving cruelly because someone showed him something that he was scared of, and that was akin to his brother not needing him. His Gaiden harks back to that too, during that 'flashback' when he told Defteros that he was going to become pope, Defteros donned the gold cloth and said 'yeah so we can be equals and I won't need you' (paraphrasing). If Aspros is just going to be used and tossed away, might as well harden his own heart before then. And it doesn't help that he saw himself as a Specter and his brother as a Gold Saint when he went to the oracles.

 I feel for Aspros because, in the end, he had no idea that he had been manipulated hard enough that his goodest boy personality changed. And honestly, I can relate to that. I've had my personality take a deep dive some years ago after I had a panic attack. So I don't fault him for his actions. He was just trying to make the best with what he knew, understood, and could do, even if that meant doing terrible things. After all, it is his mindset that the weakest people are the ones that don't do anything.     ----- Gemini Defteros - I also can't fault him for anything. He was dependent on his brother, and there was no way he could understand what was going on in Aspros' tortured mind since Aspros never spoke about his feelings. But I believe that, contrary to what Aspros thinks, Defteros would have been very dependent on him even after Aspros became pope. After all, he didn't have friends, lacked social skills, and couldn't find it in himself to trust anyone aside from his older brother because of how Sanctuary treated him as they were growing up, so he would have been stuck in like a childish headspace of needing a protector and provider, which was Aspros. You can tell that much because he was asking Asmita what should he do when he was possessed by the DEF. 

When Aspros died (or rather, when Defteros killed him [which seriously broke his heart]), it forced Defteros to grow up and look after himself. This isn't a terrible thing--but it was a terrible and such a trauma-inducing way to go about it. But how he died--or rather, the fact that he wanted to sacrifice himself to save his brother... honestly it still makes me cry a lot. You can see in his eyes that he loved his brother even after the very end, and wanted him back. And just IMAGINE how many times Defteros' eyes have shown nothing but the purest love for Aspros, and how Aspros had been manipulated to see those eyes as nothing more than hate. ----- Gemini twins in general - If it wasn't obvious already, I love these two so much. I hate--I ABSOLUTELY HATE--that their brotherhood was RUINED, because these two are so... important to me. I see myself and my sister in the Gemini Twins so much. To the point where it's so personal to me. Even after being manipulated and losing his brother, Aspros still held his little brother very close to his heart and lamented and regretted the fact that he will never get the chance to be the brother he should be. And Defteros... I can't explain why his loyalty and patience for Aspros affect me so much, but it does. It does in a way where it hits me more than just an emotional way. I guess that's because I see my sister in Defteros much more than I should.

I love the twins in such a profound way where I cannot find the right words for it. They obviously still love each other so much, even after all is said and done, and I think that is so important. Having that kind of unconditional love for your sibling is the most important thing in my opinion.

God, look at me, I'm crying over the Gemini twins again for like the 100th time oiwhfowef

     ♚ Cancer Manigoldo - So, Manigoldo... Honestly, I love him, too. But in a different way. When I see Manigoldo, I remember the private threads that a friend and I used to do on Skype, and I am frankly very enamored with him. But also because of that, I do not see him the same way as everyone else too. Besides, he makes up the second half of my OTP, so ofc I'm going to see him differently. Especially since I single ship!

    ♚ Leo Regulus - He's another one that I like a lot! Not only because he's adorable, but I also see him in a different way because I'm a single shipper, and I will never say aloud who I ship Regulus with. I won't say that he's a part of a different OTP (since I only have one OTP in all of Saint Seiya) but I do like Regulus a lot because of a friend's interpretation of him in Private threads a very long time ago. 

Yeah, he might be kinda OP/Gary Sue, but he's not too hateful in my opinion. I wouldn't say he's the best TLC Saint, since my heart is stolen by the twins, but he's a very amiable character when interacting with the characters of the TLC verse, and I wish I can squish his cheeks one day!! He's so adorable! I will say though that he is impressive to replicate a Big Bang(?) by himself... I don't remember if it's the thing that really killed him, but... huh. To be that unafraid of death, I wouldn't be surprised if he has some sort of mental/personality disorder that made him... like that? Something undiagnosed? Hm... thoughts, thoughts.

     ♚ Virgo Asmita - Asmita is one of the gold saints that, I honestly, don't know about. It's different from how I feel about Hasgard. For Hasgard, I don't have an opinion for, but for Asmita, I just don't know. I love how Teshirogi drew his hands. Like damn, bruh, can we switch hands? We're both Virgo, and I think we can make it work out... /kicked

     ♚ Libra Dohko - LOL DOHKOOOO!! My sister's favorite. I feel like he's super impulsive in TLC. I haven't read his gaiden at all, so I can't say much about that, but I do like him! Like with Shion though, I feel like he should have had some sort of heavy Survivor's guilt in the end. I'm also insanely curious about what ability Defteros zonked on him to erase the memory of Athena's blood and cloth. I don't know if it's shown in Dohko's gaiden, but I would love to see how TLC Dohko came across and raised Shiryu.

     ♚ Scorpio Kardia - As a character, I adore him. He's charming, spontaneous, and, like Aspros, wants to live his life to the fullest. And his fullest means just having fun before his short life is ended. Krest might have made him practically immortal, but he's still suffering. However, Kardia also holds a lot of bad memories for me from days before, and his entire character serves as a painful, but a graceful reminder of who I was back then.

      ♚ Sagittarius Sisyphus - Honestly, I don't ever think he was qualified to be a candidate for the papal throne. He's so melodramatic. Yeah, he might treat everyone with kindness and all, but I feel like he doesn't have the knowledge part down. Let alone, he's a brawn brain! Bruh!! Shooting an arrow at "hades" is always a bad idea!! What made you-?! 

Lmfao, if possible, I feel like he and Aspros should have dual-pope'd Sanctuary. One has the brains, but lacks compassion while the other has the compassion but is "shoot first, ask questions and think about that later".

      ♚ Capricorn El Cid - I... should love El Cid, but my mind goes blank a lot around him. He's impressive, I give you that, but I don't think I have an opinion on him. And I've read his gaiden in Spanish a LONG time ago, so I'm not going to pretend that I know him enough to talk about him.

      ♚ Aquarius Degel - hm... I think he's cute. Especially in his gaiden, he's really cute.

     ♚ Pieces Agatha -

[kyle-valenti]

highschool milucho au drabble for @laufire

Lunch period arrives what feels like all too late after a hectic morning where Michael Guerin had punched Wyatt Long in the face for Maria. While she still thought he was an idiot for having done it, she downs a brownie for sustenance and brings Rosa along outside with her to go check on him. Unsurprisingly he was in the spot she had expected, clearly having ditched at least one class prior, and Rosa skipped over to him and roughly grabbed his hand to check on the bruise. Rosa scoffed, putting her hand to her chest with what was only half-kidding offense. “You fought him without me there? En serio? How dare you!”

Sitting up a little more against the metal bleacher column he had been leaning against, Michael gave a casual shrug. There’s still a smirk on his face as he does so. “Can’t help it if you’re always late to wake up, Ortecho.”

“He was dumb.” Maria said, a scolding look on her face that didn’t quite match her eyes. Both sat down without caring about chairs, Rosa too lazy and Maria liking to feel the earth underneath her. The shade provided overhead was just enough and while the teachers usually checked underneath here, the school was luckily short staffed due to a field trip. Also lucky was the lack of campus security in a small town. 

“No, he was right.” Rosa huffed. “Fuck Wyatt Long.”

“Thank you,” said Michael, turning to Maria with a smug look in response. Maria rolled her eyes, but Rosa still looked angry and displeased at the idea of Wyatt Long being within feet of Maria, because she continued, “Are you gonna hate me if I run over and slap him?”

“Yes!” Maria exclaimed. “Stop with the violence, you two! He’s not worth it.”

Rosa made a disgruntled sound, muttering, “Pacifist.”

“I am a lover, yes.” Maria replied with a teasing tone; one that Michael couldn’t help but use to flirt with a sultry, “Tell me more.”

She hit his arm and although the other girl rolled her eyes, Rosa was still distinctly smiling as Michael winked Maria’s way.

“Gross, stop.” She huffed, no meanness in her voice. “Even Kyle Valenti thinks we’re dating.”

“Kyle?” Rosa laughed. “Kyle’s not remotely observant enough to think that.”

Michael made a noise at that. “He was just being an ass because I commented on how he was clearly in love with Alex Manes.”

Maria glared now. “Be nice to my favorite gay and the clearly repressed football jock.”

“Here I thought you were about to pick a favorite bi.” Michael joked.

“Why would she?” Rosa challenged with a smirk. “I’m right here.”

“Right,” Michael drawled sarcastically. “Just because you two have sleepovers--,”

“Oh my god, you two.” Maria snapped, but that was the wrong decision because the two mischievous partners-in-crime looked at her with sudden interest. Michael was the first to pounce. “We making you uncomfortable, Deluca?”

He’s all but grinning, not even hiding behind a smirk, eyes alive. Even Rosa is clearly amused and holding onto laughter.

“Why the hell did everyone have to go on that museum trip?” Maria huffed, trying to ignore both of them and the feelings that rose up when the direct attention of two people who hated the world but liked her was suddenly her way. She definitely needed more friends, or at least less nerdy ones. “I need Liz.”

“You’d really use my baby sister to get out of flirting?” Rosa asked, letting out the laughter now.

Maria could feel her cheeks heat and she folded her arms stubbornly. “I’m about to use Kyle to get out of this. Luckily I have tests to study for.”

“What test?” Rosa replied, one eyebrow arched. “We have all the same classes.”

“And you suddenly pay attention?”

Rosa gave in with a playfully exasperated expression. “Okay, okay, mi vida; we’ll stop.” Then, amending as she looked conspiratorially at Michael, she said, “Well. I’ll stop.”

“I’ll try.” Michael shrugged, pretending to look as thought it would be heavy work. “I have considerably less self-control.”

Quirking her head, Rosa retorted. “Challenge accepted.”

Michael raised his eyebrows in response, before laughing. “Yeah okay.”

“Why am I always babysitting you two?” Maria sighed. “Please, tell me.”

“You’re the one who brought the pot brownies to school.” Rosa pointed out.

She couldn’t say much to that. Home had been stressful with her mother’s sudden memory lapses when it came to finances and worrying about colleges after SAT scores was even more anxiety inducing. If she was rich and privileged like Isobel Evans, maybe she could afford some xanax, but in the meantime her anxiety attacks would have to be treated herbally. Childishly, she pointed at Michael. “He’s the one who brought the flask.”

Definitely unapologetic, he shrugged. “Less teachers, more fun.”

“Fun?” Rosa asked. “We haven’t had fun in a while.”

“True.” Michael added, lighting up even further. Maria groaned. “Is this another ‘steal the principal’s desk’ situation?”

“No, but that was fun.” Rosa said thoughtfully. “We should have more… teenage fun. We have the drugs, the alcohol, now--,”

“I am not having sex under the Roswell High bleachers!”

Rosa gasped before laughing awkwardly, and Michael’s grin took an even brighter turn. “Wow, Deluca, I see where your mind’s really at.” Then he turned to Rosa, who noticeably looked pinker, and paused. Slowly, he inquired. “Do you want me to go?”

“No.” Rosa replied. It wasn’t like she and Maria belonged to each other, true, but something about the mischievous Michael Guerin staying around after Maria’s slip seemed to create palpable tension. Fumbling, the beautiful brunette added, “I mean we’ve all kissed before forever ago, right? Why don’t you pick your favorite bi, Maria.”

“I’m not sure choosing favorites qualifies as fun.” She retorted, trying not to withdraw into herself. She was safe with them, she knew that, but it still felt dangerous somehow. She looked at Michael. “No sudden objections?”

Michael scoffed. “You actually think I’m going to object to being kissed by two hot girls? I’m only human, Deluca.”

Biting her lip after rolling her eyes, Maria tried not to think about how attractive her last name was every time he said it, because that was such a ridiculous thing to find attractive. Rosa had picked up on the habit, although used it far more rarely, and now she was stuck in between them.

“We don’t have to--,” Rosa began. Shaking her head, Maria came to an abrupt decision. “You decide who goes first.”

“Ladies first.” Michael declared congenially.

When Rosa turned to Maria she looked hesitant and unsure. Charged moments weren’t exactly new to them, but they didn’t exactly kiss outside of spin-the-bottle or seven-minutes-in-heaven games. Any heterosexual excuse to be made, somewhere between Rosa’s Catholicism and Maria’s fear of being vulnerable to someone. 

Only two seconds pass before the hesitation is over and then Rosa’s lips are soft and inviting like Maria remembered, tasting of cinnamon gum and tajin mango suckers. It’s an addictive flavor, especially with the flood of emotions it foretells every time. At first it’s closer to chaste than not, given the company, but like many times before it deepens until they hear Michael shift and quickly break apart. 

Maria expects some dumbass comment about not needing to stop for his sake, but either he’s too turned on to make it or he simply knows better for the moment. Shockingly, it seems like the second choice with the almost exposed look he has on his face now. For whatever reason, maybe because of his general outward mask, she had thought that while she’d be safe this would still be a fun game to him and not something where his eyes would be soft and his body language almost nervous.

More than anything else, that makes her choose to kiss him first. 

With Michael she can only taste the cheap whiskey he’s been drinking all afternoon, but his skin smells like desert rain, and it’s quite possibly the most confusing contradiction for him she could ever conceive. The shape of his lips might be a contrast to Rosa’s but he still uses them quite well and by the time she pulls back out of mindfulness for Rosa, she’s breathless yet again. 

 “Obviously I’m not actually choosing.” Maria said primly, trying to cover the fact that she had to clear her throat.

“Well I feel used.” Michael teased, but a miracle had happened because it looked like he was blushing too. Michael Guerin. Blushing.

Rosa made an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “As if you’re not getting off to this tonight.”

“Rosa!” Maria snapped, actual hurt rising. It was silly to be upset about offhand humor from either of these two, she knew that. They both felt more than they would ever let on and jokes and sarcasm were their defense for almost everything. Rosa went to apologize, but the overwhelming feeling in her chest was too much. “Don’t. I’m just—I’m going to go sober up.”

They both called after her, but she ignored them both.

“I should really avoid weed, huh?” Rosa deadpanned sadly.

He raised his flask. “I can’t say anything. You gonna follow her?”

“You?” she asked without an answer.

“You’re her best friend.” Michael countered, and while it wasn’t technically sexist she still narrowed her eyes at the ‘you’re both girls’ vibe it gave off. Either way, it was still a painful statement and she muttered, “Yeah. Friend.” Michael went to say something—either an apology or a lecture—but Rosa shook her head. “I’ll give her a head start. You should check on her later too, though.”

Michael scoffed. “Come on, Rosa, she doesn’t want me. I’m just a guy she can use to pretend she’s straighter than she is.”

“Ay, you’re dumb.”

“And if she did want both of us?” Michael demanded, turning things back into their normalcy of confrontation and stubbornness.

“At least you’re not ugly.”

That seemed to take the wind out of his sails at least, but he did give her a look. “Glowing endorsement, Ortecho.”

She smirked. “And I guess you know how to kiss for a white boy.”

“That I’ll take.” He replied, chuckling despite himself and looking annoyed about it.

Rosa gave him a two finger salute as she got up to go after Maria.

[dontshootmespence]

Well Deserved

Summary: After catching Everett Lynch, it’s finally time.

Words: 881

Warnings: None!

A/N: This is for @cmbingo​ and fulfills my fix a plot hole square. One episode Rossi said he was retiring, the next episode, he changes his mind. I mean what? Spaghetti grandpa deserves some retirement. Also, I’m getting rid of the stupidity that was replacing Hayden with Krystal. Rossi and HAYDEN live happily ever after. Thanks. :D 

Nearly 40 years earlier, when he and Jason Gideon founded the BAU, it was only the two of them. Now here he was, standing in his backyard with a glass of champagne in his right hand and Hayden, once again, at his left. 

At the seemingly never-ending array of tables ahead, sat his BAU family, their families. His daughter Joy and his myriad of adopted children, Spencer, Morgan and family, Luke (who was trying and failing to keep his crush on Penelope a secret) Matt and his brood, Penelope, Emily, JJ, Will and the boys, Tara; they were all here. Hotch came too, with Jack who was somehow a teenager now, in tow. Despite his hardships - the cases he failed to solve, the people he lost - he was a lucky man.

“Alright, alright,” he said, clinking his knife against the side of the champagne glass. “I want to thank you all for coming. For those of you that said this would never happen,” he chuckled, lifting Hayden’s hand to his lips. “The day is here.”

Tears gathered in his eyes as he continued to speak. “I’m not that old, but four decades ago, I started the BAU along with Jason Gideon to hopefully do some good in the world. To delve into the minds of killers no matter how scary that idea sounded so that we might be able to get ahead of them. I had no idea that our little two-person team would grow to what it is today. And I couldn't fathom how proud I would be of the people I’ve worked with. When I came back to the BAU it was to solve a case that had haunted my dreams, but even after we solved it, I stayed, not only because I couldn’t sit still just yet, but because I’d found a family. And now I’m confident leaving my baby, the BAU, in the hands of the wonderful team that’s become my home away from home over the last decade or so. To all of you, thank you so much for standing at my side. I always have and always will, love you all. Salut!”

Rossi lifted his glass to the air in a round of cheers. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. “And don’t think just because I’ve retired that you’re getting rid of me. I’ll be around for babysitting duty. I’ll be around for consulting, because even though I want to be home, I’m a pitbull and can’t imagine not lending a hand now and then, and most importantly, I’ll just be around if you need me. Thanks again for coming. Now, let’s eat!”

Spoken like a true Italian, Rossi had his entire gathering catered by his favorite Italian place. There was chicken parmigiana, lasagna, pasta alfredo, garlic bread, anything you could think of and alcohol to match. Like a bride on her wedding day, he made his way around the gathering, conversing with anyone and everyone. “Rossi, you’re finally settling down,” Morgan said, clapping his former boss on the shoulder. “You think it’ll stick this time?”

“Definitely,” he leaned in to kiss Hayden’s forehead before his eyes glanced across the yard to where Matt’s twins played with his grandson, Kai, Joy following closely behind. “It’s time to step back. Plus, I’ve lost this one once,” he said, squeezing Hayden’s hand. “Completely my fault, but I don’t want to jeopardize this again. And I know everyone at the BAU is more than qualified. They probably won’t even miss me.”

Luke sidled up to his side just as the words left him. “Of course, we’ll miss you. That just means we’ll have to show up unannounced every now and then and raid your secret stash of scotch and bourbon.”

“I had to give in my FBI gun, but I still have another. Try me.”

Morgan rejoined Savannah as Luke and Rossi strode through the dance floor toward the bar, that of course, Rossi had tendered. “So, you gonna ask Garcia out yet or are you gonna wait another five, ten years?”

“What?”

“Come on, kid, you can’t lie to me.”

Luke smirked and bit the side of his lip. “No, I’m not gonna wait. Figuring maybe now might be a good time.”

“I think so,” Rossi replied, shoving Luke away by the shoulder. “Go get the girl.”

Rossi chuckled to himself as Luke practically skipped away. Those two had been dancing around their feelings for each other for near three years now. Hayden laid her head on her husband’s shoulder. “You sure you’re ready for this? Retirement?”

“Oh yea,” he replied, leaning against the bar. “I’m tired. Not that I’m gonna slow down, you know. But it’s time for me to relax, spend time with you, with Joy and Kai, be the refuge for the team when they need it. Host lots of lots of parties with good food and great alcohol. Think you’ll be able to stand me being home all the time?”

Hayden kissed the underside of his chin. “I can think of a few ways to stay occupied,” she replied with a raise of her eyebrow.

Unfortunately, Joy had the privilege of walking by just at the right moment. “Ew.” Despite herself, she had to smile. They both deserved this.

[marginal-notes]

TLOK Episode One a.k.a. Korra immediately goes on a rampage

So, as mentioned, I’m finally getting around to watching The Legend of Korra with all of my terrible tastes and general thoughts. 

Don’t give me spoilers, my indignation will be funnier without them. 

What I Know About Korra Going In:

If the show can have all of Aang’s bending teachers still around for the audience’s nostalgic pleasure, Suki better be alive and kicking too or I am going to throw a fit

Technology progressed pretty intensely in ways that I will want to pick apart later

Listen, what the fuck is Republic City. Why. Why does this exist. Show you better answer me fast with why this exist for a legitimate in world reason that isn’t just: “The audience is a bunch of American kids and teenagers and we want to uphold the liberal ideals of democracy because of course that’s the motives of the victors after a global war of probably unprecedented scope despite like, Zero (0) indication that the idea of democracy was rattling around anyone’s heads in ATLA.” 

If this is the reason, I’m going to quit watching. Disgraceful. Disgusting.

Something involving anti-bender sentiment.

Something involving something called the Red Lotus which I am side-eyeing the shit out of 

Bloodbending?????

Spirit World shenanigans and Avatar backstory that’s on thin ice with me. 

Love triangles. UGH. TERRIBLE. WHY DOES MEDIA DO THIS. WHO FINDS THIS INTERESTING. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND SO YOU CAN EXPLAIN TO ME. 

Alright, here we go. 

WELL, 30 SECONDS IN AND I GOT MY WISH FOR AN EXPLAINATION ABOUT REPUBLIC CITY.

Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko transformed the Fire Nation colonies into the United Republic of Nations, a society where benders and nonbenders from all over the world could live and thrive together in peace and harmony.

Okay. I’m.... I’m going to withhold judgement for now until I watch like, literally more than 30 seconds to fully form my thoughts about this move. I THINK IT’S A DUMB MOVE AND IF THIS IS WHY PEOPLE KEEP HAVING FIRE NATION DEMOCRACY FICS I QUIT.

So. We get a panning shot into this city. Very urban city that’s the product of the industrialization and like whatever the hell that propaganda voice over is talking about. 

As a method of setting the scene and immediately letting the viewers feel and know the passage of time between ATLA and TLOK, I love this shot. There’s no mistaking this for being immediately after ATLA. We’re listening to one of Aang’s kids. There are skyscrapers. The Fire Nation palace in ATLA probably counted towards the architectural development towards urban skyscrapers, but that architecture is fully formed by TLOK. Brilliant. 

I'm the Avatar! You gotta deal with it!

What a cute brat. Her poor parents, oh my god. 

Also, is she supposed to be a prodigy. 

Again with immediately setting contrasts against ATLA. Very cool demonstration, extremely effective distinction between Aang’s journey around the world trying to find teachers and learning how to bend in the middle of a war vs. Korra at peacetime with a whole entire facility dedicated to her. 

Not sure about how I feel regarding the White Lotus’s presence. 

IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE KATARA????

That's your grandmother, Meelo.

Does he not visit his parents. It can’t be that hard to swing by for like. Yearly festivals if the Water Tribe has those. I don’t see why not. Maybe something for when the winter night ends, I can see that being festive. 

Tenzin do you like. Not call? Not write?? Sir???

Oh my god, Pema. I hope she really likes kids, despite how rowdy they are. 

Wait. How old is Tenzin. Thirties to forties? 

How old is Katara. 

Is this going to be a repeat of the Fire Nation royal miracle babies. 

I get that, but I don't think keeping me locked up in this compound like a prisoner is what he had in mind.

Going by the episode title, I bet we know what Korra has in mind. Speaking of this compound, where’s the Southern Tribe? The aerial shots look like it’s in the middle of nowhere. Is she so far removed that she doesn’t even spend time with the tribe she was born into? Cause that sure as hell wasn’t how Aang was raised. 

Honestly fascinating as these contrasts keep coming. The bizarre presence of the White Lotus. The way her teachers come to her instead of her seeking her teachers the way Aang and Roku did. 

The Avatar must have always been a special political figure, without any good contemporaries to our world, to be honest. Back in ATLA, we see that Roku isn’t beholden to Fire Nation citizenship - he seems to transcend that. And it honestly seems important that Roku and Aang went out to the world, experienced the other nations and their ways of life. I think Aang does have a line regarding this. 

Because Korra’s situation? Can easily turn into a nightmare, given the realities of what being the Avatar could easily mean. 

OKAY THIS SHIP. Very cool looking, very neat, I continue to love every visual manifestation of the passage of time between ATLA and TLOK. One small question. What’s with the rigging poles. 

(source)

To be fair, this is a battleship from the British navy, but aesthetically I think we can say this is a fair inspiration. From what I remember while researching the coal fic, the rigging and poles there serve no function. It’s aesthetical. At best, there’s a limited function, but it’s predominantly for aesthetics in the transition into the ships like the Titanic with no rigging at all. 

Which raises my question about WHY ON EARTH?? The Fire Nation navy in ATLA??? Were clearly way past this stage in design? Literally during Sozin’s time too??? Almost two hundred years before this current shot in TLOK? Why would the ship design regress like this??? The Water Tribe ships probably wouldn’t evolve into the designs that Europe used? Earth Kingdom ships would probably be more inspired by East Asian designs which also wouldn’t end up with this system for sails? 

Where does this aesthetic come from. 

IS THAT A CAR. 

....

.......

..........

I am not qualified at all for dissecting the potential social and cultural explanation for the western influenced aesthetics appearing. I am but an ignorant banana, I don’t know shit. 

.......

oooooooh this is going to slowly annoy me isn’t it.......... 

That will be twenty yuans.

[Jaws theme]

The city's huge. I bet we could find a place to rustle up something to eat.

You know, I’ve seen plenty of weird shit in Central Park and around NYC before. Korra, you are so unprepared.  

Are you tired of living under the tyranny of benders? Then join the Equalists!

Oh boy. Let’s.... let’s put a pin in this thought. I’ll come back to it once I know more about what’s going on. Because. This will either be fun. Or I’m going to have to create a second spite fic folder. Please, show, don’t give me reason to create a second spite fic folder. 

On a different note though, I really do love the choices so far for setting up this show’s forward path. There’s no way to mistake this as a rerun of ATLA. This is it’s own separate story and I love that. I really do respect that. The way the different threads are emerging feel really smooth: 1) the impact of Korra’s isolation towards her culture shock in the giant city - which must smell and sound REALLY weird to her; 2) her prodigious talent in the physical, exciting parts of bending meshing with her teenage nature and also clashing with the spiritual parts of being the World Bridge; 3) the absolute hot bed of chaos every part of Republic City must be. 

Kinda funny that people would still have sideburns in the same style as from like. Seventy years ago. Vintage. 

Mr. Chung, please tell me that you have my money, or else I can't guarantee I can protect your fine establishment.

My terrible taste in interests rears its head again. Listen, you cannot imply something like the mafia or the triads exist in universe and not have me immediately ALL OVER THAT. Republic City, you are such a mess. Like, for this alone, I might write a single fic for TLOK that’s just about trash collection and disposal. And corruption. And- 

I am fascinated by the genetics and molecular/cellular biology behind the yellow and white eyes in this universe. 

Police! Freeze where you are!

Bitch what the fuck. How many of these rigid airships are part of the police. Are all of them for the police? Are the police literally patrolling people from the sky? 

Also, that better be helium in those ships instead of hydrogen by this point in time. I’ve already made my post about the fleet of hydrogen ships in Sozin’s Comet. 

How much property damage is being inflicted thanks to these couple minutes. The police just. Stab the brick work. There have got to be so many bitchy lawsuits about that. 

This poor girl’s culture shock. 

HEY I HOPE THAT POLICE OFFICER SWUNG THEMSELF ON A CLOTHLINE, NOT AN ELECTRIC LINE LIKE I FIRST THOUGHT. 

HEY YOU CAN RIP SOMEONE’S SCALP OFF LIKE THAT. 

HEY WHAT IS WITH THIS WHOLE SCENE. 

HOW ARE THEY JUST RIDING ON THOSE WIRES, HOW MUCH TENSION IS IN THAT STUFF. 

HOW DOES THAT ZEPPLIN MOVE THAT FAST AND LIKE. AGILE. 

YALL. 

WHY DOES THE POLICE STATION LOOK LIKE THAT

Well then, why are you treating me like a criminal? Avatar Aang and your mother were friends. They saved the world together.

Oh this bit is fascinating, I love it. It’s only been 18 minutes, but the level of sheer propaganda everywhere trailing after Aang is really cool. There’s so much I want to know now about how Aang got from the end of ATLA, where he probably wasn’t thinking AT ALL about this kind of cult legacy forming around him, to this. 

Lin Beifong’s shut down of Korra’s attempt to use her status as Avatar is great. Just because Korra’s born into this elite role and then locked up and probably pampered in her compound, where everyone is well aware of her status and what it means, it doesn’t mean she gets to strut around with no idea how stuff works or the context behind what she’s seeing and then doing whatever she wants. 

Contrasts, love ‘em. 

On a different note, the design of this room. 

As far as I can tell, it’s a dim, doorless room, which is honestly. Really terrible design. And it says something about the way the Republic City police functions and how that reflects on the chaos of the city itself. 

Putting someone dragged into the police station in a dim room without any door as a sign of a possible escape is just a terrible idea. The only thing you’re going to succeed in is making the person tenser and more belligerent. Your suspect or witness gets more nervous, gets more combative, gets more unreliable in this kind of environment. In turn, the police probably starts feeling more and more entitled to harsher retaliation. Conflict resolution? De-escalation? That really doesn’t look like its in the core of the city police. They’re wearing armor for god’s sake. 

Everything so far in this first impression of the police is really damning about their attitude and Lin Beifong’s leadership. Rather than using a rappel line down from the airships, they damage buildings. In chasing Korra, they further damage property. The armor, this freaking room. The fact that so much about the active police shown so far depends on metalbending, which implies that very few people can join the field police. The fact that for the gang to be so blatantly in the open about their presence and territory, there must be dirty cops on their payroll. 

There has to be so much Lin Beifong hate in this city. 

I have done my best to guide Republic City toward the dream my father had for it, but you're right. It has fallen out of balance since he passed.

If anyone tries convincing me Republic City was ever in “balance” they’re a punk ass liar. I don’t think the city could have ever been in balance, whatever that is. The way it was created, the speed it expanded, the life that must be lived there - balance? Don’t kid me with that propaganda. 

Tenzin could be trying to find a balance alright. I just wonder how many people vehemently disagree with his idea of balance. 

Hello? I'm Korra, your new Avatar.

Well, TLOK is definitely in the era of mass distribution of news and the idea of public sentiment at a level never seen before. This is going to be very interesting for its populist implications, along with other developments regarding politics. 

Oh Korra. Did no one try rehearsing this with you? This is a terrible first impression for you to give to people. 

Also, what is this building. Is this like a city hall? Why is the roof on the building to the side slanted like that. That’s an angle I’d expect from like. Snow concerns. In northern Europe. 

Love that Avatar Aang propaganda. Starting to feel like we’re going to see a lot of it going forward. 

Oh my god, everything about this press briefing (?) is highly concerning. This rampaging teenager suddenly appearing without any warning or announcement. The clear lack of script or practice. The open location just to anyone instead of to a select set of journalists who would be sympathetic/under government control. Lin fucking Beifong and Tenzin being the only people accompanying Korra on the stage. 

What a disaster. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

You know, I’m enjoying this more than I expected to. The general writing is great, the use of visuals and other small details to set the time and place is excellent, the worldbuilding implications are rich in potential. I’m looking forward to exploring where the plot threads introduced so far will lead towards!

[bookiemonsterph]

The Isle Of The Lost

Synopsis:

Twenty years ago, all the evil villains were banished from the kingdom of Auradon and made to live in virtual imprisonment on the Isle of the Lost. The island is surrounded by a magical force field that keeps the villains and their descendants safely locked up and away from the mainland. Life on the island is dark and dreary. It is a dirty, decrepit place that's been left to rot and forgotten by the world.

But hidden in the mysterious Forbidden Fortress is a dragon's eye: the key to true darkness and the villains' only hope of escape. Only the cleverest, evilest, nastiest little villain can find it...who will it be?

Maleficent, Mistress of the Dark: As the self-proclaimed ruler of the isle, Maleficent has no tolerance for anything less than pure evil. She has little time for her subjects, who have still not mastered life without magic. Her only concern is getting off the Isle of the Lost.

Mal: At sixteen, Maleficent's daughter is the most talented student at Dragon Hall, best known for her evil schemes. And when she hears about the dragon's eye, Mal thinks this could be her chance to prove herself as the cruelest of them all.

Evie: Having been castle-schooled for years, Evil Queen's daughter, Evie, doesn't know the ins and outs of Dragon Hall. But she's a quick study, especially after she falls for one too many of Mal's little tricks.

Jay: As the son of Jafar, Jay is a boy of many talents: stealing and lying to name a few. Jay and Mal have been frenemies forever and he's not about to miss out on the hunt for the dragon's eye.

Carlos: Cruella de Vil's son may not be bravest, but he's certainly clever. Carlos's inventions may be the missing piece in locating the dragon's eye and ending the banishment for good.

Mal soon learns from her mother that the dragon's eye is cursed and whoever retrieves it will be knocked into a deep sleep for a thousand years. But Mal has a plan to capture it. She'll just need a little help from her "friends." In their quest for the dragon's eye, these kids begin to realize that just because you come from an evil family tree, being good ain't so bad.

Title: The Isle of the Lost Series: Descendants Author: Melissa de la Cruz ISBN: 1484720970 (ISBN13: 9781484720974) Pages:  311  pages (Hardcover) Published: May 5th 2015 by Disney-Hyperion Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Children, Adventure

My interest in this novel was thanks to initially seeing advertisements for the first made-for-television Disney movie, The Descendants, which, much like the book here, focuses on the offspring of four of the most notorious neer-do-wells in the Disney universe. (And, as a sidebar, the movie is honestly good, clean fun! I know I’m not in the target audience for it but I really did enjoy it, and the songs are super-catchy.)

Overall, I found The Isle of the Lost to be a speedy, entertaining read. Plot-wise, the novel focuses on and fleshes out the lives of four young antiheros: Mal, daughter of the evil fairy Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty; Evie, daughter of the vain Evil Queen from Snow White; Jay, son of the wizard Jafar from Aladdin; and Carlos, son of puppy-hatin’ Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians. These four teens, their parents, and others like them (read: villains) have been eternally banished to the Isle of the Lost by edict of King Beast (from Beauty and the Beast) who rules the United States of Auradon. As far as the four leads are concerned, they aspire to be as bad as their parents, but they’ve not quite earned their proverbial stripes.

I really enjoyed the character dynamics here, which is what caused me to bump this up from three-stars to four-stars. Even though this is a fantasy story, the teens have to contend with making their parents proud (something that’s a part of growing up even in the real world). Mal struggles most of all as her mother rules the Isle; Evie hopes to maintain her mother’s high standards of outer beauty; Jay is determined to be the best thief on the Isle; and Carlos, who is an inventor at heart, struggles with his fur-loving mom and her demanding ways.

Even though these kids are the flesh and blood of notorious folks, I called them antiheroes for a reason. They’re not do-gooders by nature, so the titles of “hero” and “heroine” don’t fit. On the other hand, these kids aren’t full of cold-blooded, black-hearted evil either, so they don’t qualify as true villains. Instead, they’re antiheroes – figures who are neither consistently moral nor abjectly immoral and who make good, moral choices at times. The best instances of this arrive in the book’s latter half where the gang seeks out the Dragon’s Eye, a magical artifact that will cement Maleficent’s power. Even though from the start Mal acts like this is all about her, her attitude changes and she shows that she’s not entirely like her mom in a good way. As a whole, while there is some teenage drama here (something I cringe at if it happens too much), it’s not all-encompassing as the story focuses more on developing the lead characters as individuals, not having them constantly squabble or wallow in angst.

Overall, character-wise, this is a fun romp, and long-time fans of Disney will be pleased with the incorporation of many familiar faces, from the members of King Beast and Queen Belle’s court to the denizens on the Isle. The author clearly knows her Disney neer-do-wells and presents them in a light that, much like a Disney film, doesn’t negate the fact that they’re not heroes but doesn’t make them psychotic and bloodthirsty either.

As stated, the characters saved this from being a three-star read for me. Writing-wise, this novel is a simple, quick read for adults, but at times, it’s almost a little too simplistic though it manages not to insult an adult reader’s intelligence and, to be fair, this wasn’t penned with grownups in mind anyway. That being said, the best audience for this novel would be pre-teens and young teens (i.e. ages 10 to 15). Anyone younger probably won’t appreciate the character dynamics and/or Disney villain line-up (as they might be too young to be familiar with much of the canon), and anyone older than 16 might not be attracted to the novel’s delivery. However, I, an adult reader, liked it enough to keep it on my bookshelf and I’d definitely read any related books if this happens to become a series. It definitely has potential and I’d love to read more.

Content-wise, this is a very age-appropriate novel for its chief audience. There essentially is no profanity aside from some invented words and a PG-level word here or there, but the occurrence is so sporadic, if you blinked you’d miss them. There really is no violence other than some nasty (but overall harmless) pranks some of the villains pull. Lastly, there is no sexual content of any kind and the interactions Mal and Evie have with Jay and Carlos are chaste and appropriate for their characters’ ages. Overall, parents and guardians should have nothing to fear in handing this novel off to their Disney-loving pre-teen or teen (though I always encourage parents and guardians to read books first as everyone has a different spectrum for gauging appropriateness for various ages).

In the end, The Isle of the Lost is a fun, frothy read with colorful characters and plenty of potential for future adventures. While the writing itself can be a bit too breezy in terms of simplicity, it works as a vehicle to carry the plot and characters. For pre-teens and young teens, this is a treat; and adult readers can enjoy it, too, for its homage to some of Disney’s best of the worst.

[chaoticevilbean]

Wings of Flame

"What are we doing out here again?" Rainbow Dash flew back and forth across the path ahead of her friends, scanning the ground for possible traps or obstacles. Probably weren't any, but anything can happen in the Everfree Forest.

"I already told ya. We're lookin' fer the Lost Library. Chances are, there's somethin' there that can help us defeat King Sombra." Applejack gave the avian a stern look, which got an eye roll in response.

"Well, where is the Lost Library anyway?" Pinkie Pie asked as she skipped next to Fluttershy.

"Princess Celestia said that it was once the Great Library of Equestria. People came from far and wide to simply gaze at its front door. To enter the library was told to be a magical experience, filled with wonder and beauty."

"Oh my, Rarity." Fluttershy held her hands close to her chest, nervous to be in the dark forest but interested in her friend's story. "That sounds wonderful. What happened to it?"

"Well, the Great Library was said to be a gift from the Spirits of Old, and when people stopped treating the library with respect and started neglecting its books and the building, the Spirits hid it. It became the Lost Library and avians, mages, and the earth-bound have all been searching for it since."

"Don't worry, Fluttershy," Shining Armor called from where he led the group. "The Lost Library has never once been said to have traps. It's just hidden."

"He's right, y'all. Granny never once mentioned no traps or tests. If ya find it, ya find it. If ya don't, ya ain't worthy."

The group kept walking with small chatter after that. No one wanted to be in the Everfree Forest, but it held the last known location of the Lost Library. Rarity and Shining Armor led the group, using a compass spell to find the spot.

Around noon, Rainbow Dash flew in front of the two mages, effectively stopping their movement.

"Rainbow Dash, what on earth ar-"

"Shh." They all fell silent, listening.

"I don't hear anything."

"Exactly. There should be at least a breeze, but there's nothing. We have to keep a close eye out." The others glanced around warily, suspicious of the quiet.

The quiet was broken by something breaking through the trees into the center of the path.

A small dragon sat, staring at them all with golden-green eyes. Purple scales glistened without any direct light and the claws on its feet were shining in a way that made it hard not to notice them. Green spikes and scales accentuated the purple, deep and rich in color.

"Is that a dragon?" Pinkie Pie shouted, shocked. Applejack gave her a sharp look, but the dragon hadn't spooked so it was nullified.

"I thought dragons were all extinct," Fluttershy murmured, eyes fixed on the small creature in wonder. It really was small, only about the size of a ferret.

"They are." Shining Armor slowly moved in front of his companions, but it seemed that while sound didn't set off any alarms, movement signaled danger. The dragon took off into the trees on the right, a violet blur.

"WAIT!" Fluttershy took off after it, her friends rushing after her as fast as they could.

"Fluttershy, wait up!" Rainbow Dash shouted, but even with her speed, she somehow couldn't keep up with the other avian. They ran left, right, over a log, under some hanging vines, all over. The only way the group was going to find their way back now was with scouting and magic.

Finally, the group broke through a treeline to see Fluttershy frozen and staring.

Right in front of an enormous building. The front doors were ornate, made of some strange material that seemed neither wood nor metal. The windows were stained glass, the walls a mottling of greys, browns and greens. Flowering bushes and trees decorated the grounds around the building, and a few park benches sat ready for a person to rest on.

"The Lost Library," Rarity breathed.

"Well, whaddya know," Applejack mimicked her sentiment.

"The dragon went in through a little doggy- er, dragon door," Fluttershy informed her friends, turning to face them timidly.

"Should we see if anyone's home?"

"I don't think anyone would be living in there, Pinkie Pie. I mean, it is a library. Who would want to live in a library?"

"We should check to see if anyone's here anyways," Shining Armor decided. "Look, there's lights on." Sure enough, as they approached the front door, light filtered through the windows in bright colors.

Knock knock knock. A collective breath was held as they all waited. And much to everyone's surprise, footsteps and speaking were heard immediately after. The words got clearer as whoever it was walked closer, their voice loud.

"I told you, Spike! They wouldn't have been able to follow you if they weren't worthy! Now stop fretting and go get some tea! No, not peppermint, we're out! Try green! Out as well? Jasmine will work! Just make sure to not burn it!" The doorknobs rattled a little before the not-wood-not-metal doors swung in, revealing a young teenage girl.

Her hair was black with hot pink and magenta highlights, all of the colors tinged with light purple. Her skin was pale, but more of a that's-just-the-color than never-seen-sunlight. Her eyes were a bright violet, like the scales of the dragon they had seen before. She wore a matching set of loose black pants and shirt, along with sturdy boots that were obviously made with running in mind. Trimming and light embroidery matching her highlights colored her neckline and waist. A black cloak with purple and pink stars hung down her back, clinging to her shoulders like a snug blanket.

"Greetings, Worthy Stallions. My name is Twilight Sparkle. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," the girl, Twilight, said with a small bow and a voice befitting a princess.

"Greetings, Library Keeper," Shining Armor responded, trying to remember what Princess Luna had told him about how to greet anyone who was in the Lost Library when they got there.

"My name is Shining Armor, Head of the Canterlot Guard. These are my companions: Fluttershy, Keeper of the Ponyville Animals; Rarity, Master Tailor of Ponyville; Rainbow Dash, Right-Hand of the Leader of the Wonderbolts; Applejack, Mighty Farmer of Sweet Apple Acres; and Pinkie Pie, Smile Finder of All She Meets." Shining Armor pointed to each of them as he introduced them, eliciting waves and blushes.

"You learned the proper introductions!" Twilight Sparkle squealed, and then suddenly Shining Armor was being dragged into a giant library towards a table in the center that was the only one without any books on it. Instead, the dragon sat next to a setting of tea, looking amused, if dragons could look amused.

"You know, it's been so long since anyone's visited and most people don't know much about here that I haven't heard someone give the proper introductions in ages. I always wanted to know if I qualify as a librarian, because no one here can really tell me. Spike doesn't count, he's not a human, but you're a mage. You must know a lot about magic. What's your specialty? You said you're a guard so probably protection magic. Rarity's a mage, too, if I'm not mistaken. Does her magic help her sew? They call them designers now, I think, not Master Tailors, but that doesn't really matter here. And those avians have such pretty wings. The only wings I get to see aren't on another human."

"Whoa, slow down," the guard said quickly as she took a breath. "I can barely understand you. You talk really fast. Maybe say it again, but slower?" Twilight took this with ease, still smiling brightly.

"Do you know protection magic?"

"Yes, I do. It's my specialty. Especially barriers."

"I knew it! Does Rarity's magic help her sew? And is she called a designer?"

"Uh, sometimes and yes." Twilight let go of him then, moving towards the tea set and pouring out seven cups with practiced ease. The others had followed the two, and when Shining Armor looked back, he found all of them holding in laughter at his situation.

"So is there anything specific you're here to learn? No, I'm not going to hide the books, Spike. I'm a librarian, I have to help. I have plenty of friends already, I'm not like that. No, I'm not. Do I need to recount the Lonely Dragon Syndrome? That's what I thought." Twilight spoke to them first, but her attention was diverted by the dragon moving ever so slightly.

"You can speak to dragons?" Fluttershy asked excitedly, though it didn't really do much volume wise.

"Technically, I can't. I never learned, but I've spent too long around Spike to not know what he's saying. Anyways, what're you here for?"

"We need to defeat King Sombra. He's come back fer revenge an' we have to stop 'im." Twilight set down the teapot, looking at Applejack with worried confusion.

"Defeat King Sombra? Why? That kid is adorable!"

"Adorable? Try evil," Rainbow Dash said, flying up a bit. "He's trying to take over and enslave Equestria."

"That doesn't sound right," the other muttered, moving over to the shelves behind her. A wave of her hand and three books floated into her arms, which she then brought over and gestured for them to all sit.

"These are the books I have on King Sombra. Or, at least, the ones I've read. I can see if there're more later, but I think these are important." She opened the first book to a specific page it seemed she had read often because she had no trouble finding it. Turning the volume around, she showed them all a picture of a young boy, maybe fifteen or sixteen. He was rather cute, in an awkward sort of way.

"King Sombra was adorable as a kid. I guess he wouldn't be a kid now, but you might understand my confusion a little better knowing this. He was also known for being extremely kind, giving everything he had to those around him. I would think the only thing that could lead to him turning villainous is his crush on Princess Celestia going wrong. She is still a princess, right?"

"Yes, she's still a princess. In fact, she's the one that sent us."

"Well, if Princess Celestia is sending you after Sombra, then he's probably-"

"Hold up," Rainbow Dash held up her hand. "Sombra had a crush on Celestia?"

"A requited crush." At Rainbow's obvious confusion, Twilight simplified. "She loved him back." The effect on the table was instantaneous. All of them gasped and drew back, sharing all kinds of confused looks.

"Are ya sure?" Applejack asked, face loose in mild terror.

"Of course I'm sure, it's mentioned in at least five different books on Equestrian history and in all three of these books. Anyways, I don't really know anything that could defeat him power wise, but I'm sure I can find some volumes that might help. Spike, could you grab The Advanced Mage's Guide to Banishment and Keep the Shadows at Bay by Solar Aura? Lumin Shadow's series would be helpful as well, but are you sur- okay, okay! I get it, you've got good balance." The dragon, Spike as they assumed, flew off towards some of the upper shelves while Twilight went to fetch some books herself. It was then that the group took a look around at their surroundings.

The library was huge, with large arches and shelves going all the way to the ceiling. Perches and balconies were situated at regular intervals, meant for avians that might come. Doors were in seemingly random places, each one with simple doorknobs and pictures on the centers. All shelves and balconies and tables and chairs and doors were ornate, carved and crafted with exquisite worksmanship. It was obvious why people used to come just to look at the building.

BOOM!

Twilight dusted off her hands, grinning at the huge stack of books now in front of Shining Armor. Spike came over with his own stack of books balanced on all four of his claws. Another boom shook table as the books were dropped down.

"There you go," Twilight chirped. "All the books in this part of the library that might contain information to help defeat Sombra."

Rainbow Dash picked up one of the books, heaving under the weight. She sighed.

"Looks like we're gonna be here a while."

[heartofholland]

bitter - p.p.

summary: you worked your whole life for this, and peter parker took it away without a single second thought.

word count: 2.5k

warnings: a bit of swearing but for comedic effect i swear

authors note: this is my first (and most likely last) time writing. if its not good blame my C in english <3. this idea randomly came to me in the middle of the night and i though i’d give it a shot. shoutout @hollanderheart​ for not only motivating me to write and post this but also being my own personal hype woman at all times. enjoy!!

---

You had never had a solid reason to hate Peter Parker. He was smart, quiet, and always kind to you and everyone around him. You thought he was a nice boy, and never had a problem with him. Until now.

Until Peter fucking Parker stole your internship.

The news was initially broken to you through hallway gossip. Not believing the story, you went straight to the only person who you knew wouldn’t feed you bullshit, MJ.

“Did Peter get the Stark internship?” You practically screamed. MJ turned, stunned from your sudden close proximity and your wide, questioning eyes. Closing her locker after grabbing the books she needed for her next class, she answered, “Yeah, he’s had it for like a week, why?”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Your back hit the lockers and you rubbed your face in frustration.

“Well, I didn’t know you were so invested in Peter’s business all the sudden,” she quipped, not realizing you weren’t in the mood based on the death glare you returned.

“You realize I’ve been working on getting that internship for like, my whole life right?” You scoffed and let your head fall back and hit the locker.

“It must’ve slipped my mind, my bad.” she replied coolly.

You groaned, “I can’t believe Peter Parker just destroyed my future.”

“I’m gonna sit this breakdown out, I have to study for my Calc test.”  She gave you a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before making her way to the library.

There you stayed, leaning on the lockers frozen with solitude, or was it anger? You couldn’t quite tell.

The rest of the morning passes with a breeze, just going through the motions of your daily routine without even thinking. Everything just felt numb. The final bell rang, allowing you to get away from the possibility of making any contact with Peter. The hatred you held for that boy was unimaginable.

The internship at hand was a once in a lifetime experience. The September Foundation Internship. One high school junior, hand picked by Tony Stark himself, was hired to work alongside the mastermind for an entire year. Rumors claim that if you’re cool enough, he lets you try on the suit. Others claim that if you stay late enough, you can see the Avengers in their daily lives. But no one has ever been able to verify them. Now meeting the Avengers would be cool and all but that's not why you wanted this internship. By featuring this on your applications, it was basically one way ticket to acceptance.

To any school. Anywhere.

Though your resume may be long winded, having the internship on there puts you ahead of any other student there. And if you were trying to get into MIT, it definitely wouldn’t hurt to be friends with an alumni. A very prevalent alumni who donates large sums of money each year.

What irked you the most was that you didn’t even get a letter of rejection. You had to find out through gossip. Like really? How long does it take to write an email?

Hey sorry you sucked so much that you didn’t get the internship. Better luck next time!

XOXO Iron Man :)

Sure, Peter Parker was a hard worker with a big brain but there was no way he was more qualified for that job. You had hundreds of hours of community service, a spotless report card, professional relationships with many prominent authoritative figures, and you participated in extracurriculars that Peter hadn’t even heard of. So how did he get in over you? Sure he has marching band, academic decathlon and robotics but in no way could that ever put you a step above him. It’s not like he’s some sort of superhero saving lives.

The fact that you couldn’t come up with a single thing that could make him stand out over you annoyed you to no end. The internal conflict occupied your brain for almost a week until you decided to confront Peter.

You spotted him in the cafeteria, laughing with Ned acting like he did absolutely nothing wrong.

Oh boy did he have it coming.

“So how’d you do it?” you accused, slamming your lunch tray down and sitting down across from him. Ned scootched away suddenly uncomfortable with your closeness and accusatory voice. Since becoming official with Betty, he knew how women’s emotions worked (to an extent) and he knew that tone did not mean sunshine and rainbows.

“W-What are you talking about?” he squeaked, confusion written all over his face. His eyes bouncing all over your features as if it would help predict what you were going to say to him.

“The September Foundation Internship,” you started with a calmer tone, “How’d you beat out all 5000 candidates, including yours truly?” You smiled innocently, but Peter knew that look meant anything but.

He looked around for a second, coming up with absolutely any excuse to satisfy your jealousy, “I did- I didn’t ask Mr. Stark so- so I really don’t know.” He turned to Ned widening his eyes as if sending a telepathic call for help. Ned frantically shook his head, not wanting any part of his problem. He deals with enough angry teenage girls as it is, he wouldn’t voluntarily put up with any more than he needed.

Peter panicked, spouting out the first thing that came to mind, “Well in my application I-I mentioned that I like to build LEGOS, so I guess Mr. Stark assumed I’m good with my hands?” uncertainty prevalent in his voice. He visibly winced at that poor excuse of reasoning.

You were surprised, “Oh, ok. Thanks Peter,” getting up to move towards your typical spot in the cafeteria.

“Real smooth, bet you really fooled her there,” Ned teased his friend, noticing the concern on his face, “What was I supposed to do? Just casually mention I’m Spider-man? She wouldn’t believe me!” Peter weighed.

LEGOs.

A toy that was meant for children beat you out. Embarrassed was an understatement. You played with Barbies and Polly Pockets! You even played with the sexist “girly” version of LEGOs! Granted you probably haven’t picked up a toy in maybe 10 years but still! That just isn’t fair.

---

“Mr. S-Stark could I have some advice?” Peter was quite literally shitting his pants with nervousness.

Tony looked up from his blasters he was tinkering with, “I mean you can ask but I can’t guarantee I can be your Dalai Lama” he taunted.

“Um okay well,” Peter gulped, “This really pretty girl at my school is mad at me and I don’t know what to do”

Tony was stunned, “Girls talk to you? And you hold a conversation? Congrats kid you’re growing up!”

Peter was embarrassed, “Well, not exactly. You know that internship you host every year?” His hands were shaking from nervousness, so he dropped his web shooters and clasped them in his lap so Tony wouldn’t notice. But of course he did, setting down his blasters and turning his chair to put his complete focus on Peter.

Well that totally makes this conversation easier!

“Of course. But I’m not giving it to you. I spend enough time with you already as it is.”  

That helped ease his stress, “Well to cover for Spider-Man I just tell everyone I do the Stark internship, forgetting that there is a real internship. So this girl applied for the September Foundation Internship and is mad because she thinks I took it from her. But that's crazy because she's like the nicest person and worked so hard for this internship and there is no one I know that is more deserving of the spot and-,” Tony cuts him off, knowing the boy could ramble for days.

“What’s her name?” He questions, “Y/N Y/L/N, But I’m not asking you to like give it to her because that’s not fair, just give her a tour of the tower or something for her to finally realize I’m not that important around here,” Peter justifies.

“I’ll see what I can do.” With that, he walked out of the lab.

---

You’ve accepted the fact that you didn’t get the position and have continued to build your resume, filling in the space you left for the internship.

“Mr. Harrington? Flash isn’t here today so do you want me to do the lab alone?” You asked, grateful your annoying lab partner isn’t there attempting every pick up line in existence on you. Each one followed up with a denial and you completed the lab on your own.

“No,” Mr. Harrington said. “Ned’s partner isn’t here either so you can pair up with him.”  

Begrudgingly, you stood up to join Ned at his lab table. Curious you ask, “Who is your partner?”, Ned hesitates in his answer, “Oh, Peter is busy with the Stark internship.”

Nevermind. Any progress of acceptance you thought you’d made was gone.

“Oh, okay.” You ended the conversation knowing you couldn’t handle dwelling on your failures any longer.

You would’ve been able to juggle the internship and school. Peter can’t even stay a whole day of school without leaving. This was just another reason why you were more qualified than him.

-

Peter was just arriving at Avengers tower to talk to Mr. Stark about how he altered his web shooters to increase the output of webs. He took the elevator up, assuming he would just be in the lab like he always is. And he was there, just not alone. He catches their attention when walking in, embarrassed to be seen so caught off guard.

“Ah Peter! So good to see you! I want you to meet our newest intern, Y/N Y/L/N!” Tony smirks at the boy whose eyes are blown wide staring at the girl in front of her.

“H-Hi Y/N. C-congrats on the internship.”

“Thank you Peter.”

“Well I have to go check on Cap, he gets angry when he doesn’t have his green smoothie. You guys get comfortable with each other! But not too comfortable, I don’t need to see any angsty teenager lovers in my presence.” Tony winked at Peter before he left the lab.

“Well that's awkward,” the girl begins, “I think I just stole your job.”

“Wh-what?” his eyebrows knitted together.

“Well you’re always gone for the Stark Internship so I just assumed it was the September Foundation Internship?” Now they’re both confused, clearly Mr. Stark wasn’t clear on Peter’s affiliation with him.

“N-no I just do a different intern job for Mr. Stark. I-I just clean up the lab.”

He has really gotta pick up his excuse game.

“So you’re a janitor?” She frowns.

“N-no I just make sure it’s tidy for Mr. Stark, organize the supplies and order more when he needs,” Peter stuttered.”

Ok now he's improving with his justification skills.

“Oh ok? Well I have to go, I have a charity thing.” You made a solid attempt at cutting the tension between you both..

---

“I didn’t ask you to do that.”

Tony spins his chair, spotting Peter at the entrance. “Well I reviewed her application and you were right, she does deserve it. Plus, I know how you struggle with the ladies, so in a way I was throwing you a bone, whilst still getting a prodigy by my side.”

His jaw set, “I’ll have you know I am perfectly good with the ladies and don’t need your help,” Peter stormed out of the lab like a toddler.

“That’s not what you said in the lab the other day!” He calls after him, knowing full well he was out of earshot.

---

Peter has never felt so relieved than when the quinjet touched down on the top of the building. The mission was a complete disaster. If he had to explain the definition of “abort mission” he’d probably start with that.

After stepping off the quinjet, Peter made a beeline for the kitchen. His throat scratched every time he swallowed, probably from yelling into the coms trying to navigate through the pure chaos.

Passing by Wanda, he could tell by her facial expression he wasn’t in good shape. He could feel the dried blood stuck to his skin and the smell of sweat was unavoidable from even 10 feet away.

After his five minute walk, which would be better described as a limp, he made it to just get a glass of water. Finally, the rush of moisture runs through his whole body. Whilst peacefully chugging his entire cup of water he hears the sound of glass shattering, followed by the words,

“What. The. Fuck.”

He knows the voice from anywhere. Hell, he hears it on the morning announcements with Betty every goddamn morning. Frozen, he doesn’t know what his next move is. Does he run and act like it never happened? Does he just accept it and brush it off like no big deal? His rough draft of an explanation is slowly being put together in his head when you move in front of him.

“You’re not an intern. You’re fucking Spider-man.”

“O-oh hey Y/N, didn’t see you there”

Real smooth Parker. Why don’t you talk about your LEGO skills again. Just try and see if you can make this conversation any more awkward than it needs to be.

“Cut the bullshit. Why didn’t you tell me?”

She always knows how to get straight to the point. Something he always admired about her.

“I-I-I didn’t think it was important?” The apprehension isn’t helping his persuasion skills in the slightest.

“Oh being an Avenger is just a common occurrence nowadays?” You push, determined to get a real answer and not a half assed excuse.

“I mean if you live around here yeah everyone is some kind of super hu-”

“Peter.” You cut him off, annoyance obvious in your tone.

He sighed, “Yes. I am Spider-man. The only people who know are Ned, Aunt May, and the rest of the Avengers. And now you.” Distress was obvious on his face

You began to feel guilty once you saw the panic on his face, “I won’t tell anyone,” you squeak, the first drop of sympathy Peter has ever received from you.

“Thank you, I’m sorry for not telling you. You’re part of the team and deserve a real confession, not finding out by accident.”

The guilt train is on a two way track tonight!

“No, it was your secret. You deserve your privacy.” A small smile tugged at the edges of your lips.

“Thank you for being so understanding. Now that the secret is out maybe we could work together on my suit sometime?”

Peter is nervous. Why is he nervous? Did he just accidentally ask her on a date. Oh god what if she isn’t interested?

“I’d love to Peter! It's a date!” Your smile beaming gave Peter a surge of confidence, and he reached around your waist to pull you into a hug. You were both ecstatic to have finally started to see each other as friends, and even a little more than that.

Your trances were broken when you finally spoke up, “Maybe you should take a shower first,” as you finally realized the stench in your close proximity.

A flush creeping up his face when he realized. “Let me go shower then we can continue this,” he beams.

“See you then Spider-man!”

[heathsbitch]

Treat You Better ➳ PEAKY BLINDERS

vi. MICHAEL

          Her throat burned. Her legs burned. Her eyes burned. Groaning, Ivy sat up and opened her eyes. She cast them around the room she was in. It was the Shelby's living room. 'What am I doing here?'  Then she remembered; the opening of The Garrison, stealing the bottle of rum, almost having sex in an alley way, with Finn. Emotions raged through her head. Finn was one of her closest friends, probably her best friend. But surely he was just that? But best friends don't try and sleep with each other...

She curled into the woolen blankets that lied on top of her. Turning her head, Ivy noticed Finn sleeping next to her small body. His mouth was wide open and short snores were leaving it. He was still in his suit and coat from the previous night but his hat and shoes had been taken off. Ivy was also still in her clothes from the previous night but she had no shoes on either. "Right, time for you two to get up." Tommy said as he burst into the room. Finn jumped from his position on the couch, then immediately sunk realizing the throbbing headache he now had to nurse. "I have a job for you two."

What Tommo had failed to mention about the job he had for the two of them was the fact that it involved standing around for hours in a bright light. Well, it was bright to them anyway. They were waiting outside the sectioned off room in The Garrison. Finn and Ivy had to bring in initiates for the Peaky Blinders. Finn was leaning on a wall whilst Ivy had her head face down on a table and slumped over in her chair. "Fuck," He groaned for what felt like the 50th time in the past ten minutes. "What happened last night?" The girl sat up from the table to look him straight in the eye. "Do you not remember?"

"No," He laughed "Do you? 'Cause I was completely out of it. I didn't do anything stupid, did I?" Her heart dropped slightly. Was it out of relief or sadness that he had forgotten what had happened? She wondered if John remembered what he saw...

Finn took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. "Want one?" She shook her head and sat back in her chair. Her head was pounding like drums were having a rave inside of it. A large, bald man walked out of the cove. "Next," Finn called, taking a puff of his cigarette. A strange-looking man in a bowler hat looked around the room, anxiousness practically pouring out of his ears. "Next." Finn repeated, looking directly at the man, he shook his head at the poor guy as he entered the small room. "Play nice, Finley." Ivy told him, opening her eyes. She had closed them to try and get some relief from the light but it wasn't working out too well. Last night, she hadn't got a proper look around the recently restored pub. Gold covered the place, it looked extremely expensive. The bar was lined with various alcohols, each one a different colour and size. 'None of that shit for a couple days, or weeks.' She said to herself, the girl's hangover slapping her repeatedly.

Large and small tables alike lined the room. A red velvet curtain hung at the back of the room. It was probably a cornered off room for some higher-class customers. It wasn't in use now.

"How are you feeling?" Finn asked Ivy. "Like shit." They both laughed then groaned immediately after, the headaches getting increasingly worse when they chuckled. "Same." He agreed. He was staring at a sign at the side of the bar, it had a list of spirits and beer on it.

"Having trouble there?" Ivy joked but he didn't reply. "Wait, you can read, can't you?" He looked at her and sheepishly shook his head. "I can read some things, like separate words. And I can write my own name. But, that's it." He didn't look at the girl when he spoke. He was embarrassed at the fact he couldn't read or write properly. "I could teach you, if you want." She offered. She wasn't near enough qualified to teach him but she could try her best. "Really? You would do that?" He asked, excitement running through him. "Of course, Finn. That's what friends are for." The corners of his mouth turned up when she said the word 'friend'. "You know, I've never had proper friend before. Not before Isaiah anyway." She gave him a sympathetic smile, "Neither have I," He returned the smile. "People have always been scared of me as well, Finn. My dad has a bit of a bad reputation. It might even be worse than the Peaky Blinders." The girl kept her eyes trained on the floor when she spoke.

Finn came over to sit next to her at the table. He lent back in his own chair and took one of her hands in his. Ivy's eyes met his and he smiled.

The Shelbys were finished in half an hour. They came out to see the two teenagers leaning on the table, sleeping, still holding hands. Arthur walked up to the table and slammed his hands against it. They both shot up, startled from the noise. Their hands disconnected immediately and their eyes darted between each other and the Shelby boys. "Come on you two. We've got work to do." Tommy took them to the Shelby's house so they could work the books for the rest of the day.

"Run for the hills! It's Digbeth kid!" Arthur shouted as he burst through the doors. "Get out of town, kid, or I will shoot your fucking head off!" John shouted back, drawing his gun. "I've got a prisoner! Stay back!" Arthur wrapped his arm around Ivy's neck and shook her around playfully. She groaned in pain, her headache still raging through her. "Time's up. You're dead. Go down. John!" He pretended to shoot John but he just stared at something behind them.

Ivy pulled out of Arthur's grip so she could turn around. When she did, the girl saw Polly with a young boy around her age. "Michael?" Ivy whispered. The corner of his lips turned up when he saw her. She gave him a warm smile, she wanted him to feel welcome. Tommy walked in and gave him the same smile Ivy had. Well, it was more of a smirk. Arthur and John both put their guns away, they snickered in the process. "All right then, Polly," Arthur began "Who's this?" The boys snickered again. "Gentlemen. This is your cousin. Polly's son, Michael." Polly held onto Michael's arm, he looked slightly uncomfortable and wore an awkward smile, but Polly smiled proudly next to him. Michael walked away from Polly and towards Arthur, John and Ivy. He shook John's hand firmly and moved onto the girl. Instead of shaking her hand, he brought it up to his lips hesitantly and layed a kiss on the back of it. She could feel her face flush bright red. His cheeks also held a slight red tint as he pulled away. "It's nice to see you again."

"You too." She returned the smile that she had on earlier. "Pleased to meet you." Michael said to Arthur as he shook his hand. "I'm Arthur. You've met me. I used to throw you out of the window so John could catch ya'." The girl gave a worried look to Arthur but he kept looking forward at Michael. "I used to put you in a shoe box and kick you down Watery Lane." Her head snapped towards John, 'What the hell is wrong with them?' Tommo smiled at the Solomons's reaction. "I bet you're glad to be back." He said to Michael. He laughed at their words "I don't remember any of it. All I remember is the day they took me away."

'Well, that got morbid pretty fast.' Polly walked over to her son and placed her hands on his cheeks. He was a little bit taller than her but looked down into his real mother's eyes. She engulfed him in a hug and everybody exchanged looks around the room. Polly pulled away and Tommy stepped in to talk to him. When they walked in, Ivy hadn't taken note of Polly's appearance. She wore the same beautiful red dress from last night. Her hair was messy and her eyes had dark bags underneath them. She might've looked worse than Ivy did. What had happened to her? "Well you're here now, son," Tommo placed his hand on Michael's shoulder, "Welcome to the Shelby family." He shook his shoulder and flashed him a smile. "Later on we'll show you the ropes." Arthur told him. Ivy turned her head to look up at John, a smirk played upon his lips. "Yeah, we'll show you what's what." Polly looked between her nephews, worry plastered on her face. She probably didn't want him to get involved with Peaky business. She was trying to keep Ivy away from that side of her life as best as she could. Ivy could see why she wanted to keep him away, she just wanted to protect them.

"Let's leave him be for now, eh?" Tommo stepped in, even he wanted to keep Michael away from his brothers. "Come on boys, Ivy." She went to follow them out of the room but Polly kept her back. "Ivy, can you stay here, please?" The girl looked at Thomas for permission and he nodded his head. "I would like to speak to you later. Meet me at The Garrison." He told her and she nodded her head, notifying that it was okay. They left the room and Ivy made her way over to Michael and Polly. She sat down at the table so Michael and Ivy followed her actions. "I was just wondering, Michael, if you would like to stay with us for a few days," Polly asked her son "Would that be alright with both of you?" The young girl looked at Michael and he nodded. "That's fine with me." Ivy said to Polly. "I'll have to call ma' mother to see if that's alright."

"Okay," Polly agreed. "There's a phone in The Garrison that you can use. Ivy, you have to meet Tommy there, don't you?" She bobbed her head, agreeing to what Polly was saying. "Would you mind taking Michael down there?"

"No, that's fine." Polly stood up from the table and they followed in suit. "I'm going to get dressed now. It's good to see you again, Michael." Polly hugged him again before walking up off the stairs. Ivy walked over to the coat rack by the door where her coat hung. She grabbed it and put it on. "You ready for the dirty old streets of Birmingham?" He laughed at the girl's light joke, "Yeah."

On their way to The Garrison, Michael was asking her a few questions about her relations to the Shelby family. "So, are you related to Arthur, John and Thomas?" The pair walked down Watery Lane, the light wind brushing through their hair. "No," Ivy laughed "I'm from London. Our family's are..." She paused, stuck for what to say. She couldn't say that they were trying to murder each other or the truth about why she ran away. "Friends," Was the word that she decided on. "Well, they're in business together."

"So are you just visiting or..." He trailed off. "I was supposed to be just visiting but I'm moving in properly with Polly soon." The rest of the walk to The Garrison was filled with small talk, like how old they were and basic information like that. She had found out that Michael was only a few years older than her and the little boy they saw at his old house was his 'brother'.

"Tommo," Ivy called out to him as they rounded the corner of The Garrison. "Michael needs to use the telephone." He looked between the pair, "Alright, but make it quick. Ivy and I have business." Ivy furrowed her eyebrows. Business. Tommy took them through the pub and towards the small office at the back. "Polly said you own this place," Michael said to Tommy. "She said you own lots of different businesses." Ivy shook her head, her dad and Tom were always competing for businesses, that's why he was always complaining about him. "You call her Polly or mum?" Tommo quipped back. "I can't get used to calling her mum yet." Michael confessed. Tommy sighed as they reached the office and closed the door behind him. "Who are you calling?" He asked. "My mother. I mean..."

"I know what you mean," Ivy sat down at the chair by the desk whilst the boys stayed stood up. "What are you gonna tell 'er?" Michael looked at the girl then towards Tommo. "I'm going to tell her where I am."

"And now you're gonna tell 'er you're going home." Ivy's head spun around at Tommo's orders. 'Why did he want him to go back home?' Michael took a seat next to her and told Thomas what Polly had told him, "Polly said that I could stay here for a few days." He took his hat off of his head and held it in his hands. "Do you want to stay?" Ivy asked this time.

"I only just got here." Michael told the girl. "What age are you, Michael?" Tommy began to lightly grill the boy. "Seventeen." Michael looked at Ivy whilst he spoke. "Seventeen," Tommo repeated "Which means it's not up to you, right?"

"I'm eighteen in a few weeks. I make up my own mind." His confidence shocked Ivy, he seemed like an innocent and quiet boy at first. "You smoke?" Tommy asked his cousin. "No." Thomas pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it, taking a few puffs from it. "Drink?" The girl turned to Michael, he looked back at her and shook his head. Maybe he was just as innocent as he first seemed?

"You're going to call your mother. Tell her you're getting the next train home. When you get there, write a letter to Polly saying that when you're eighteen, you'll come back here and-" Michael interrupted him "I just told you, I make up my own mind." Ivy stayed quiet but her eyebrows were raised. Not even she had enough confidence to stand up to a man like Tommy.

Tommo's facial expression did not change one bit. "Do you know what we do? Michael?" He took another puff of his cigarette, he was calm the entire time. "We Shelbys and Solomons?" When he mentioned Ivy's name she gave him a worried look. Michael seemed like a confident man but she didn't want to scare him away. "You're a Solomons?" He turned to ask the girl, she only nodded her head. His facial expression didn't change. 'These two are gonna be the death of me.' Ivy thought to herself. "Yes, I think I know what you do." The two continued to stare at each other. The girl began to feel increasingly more uncomfortable in the scenario she was in. "You've got smart eyes," Tommy paused "But you're young, so you think what we do is alright. It's not alright," The girl agreed with Tommy. She didn't want to be murdering people because of 'business'. Blood still stained her hands; no matter how much water she used to try and cleanse them.

"People get hurt," He looked straight at Ivy when he said those words, she kept her eyes focused on the floor, guilt filled her still. "Now, call your mother. And we'll drive you to the station."

"No," Michael and Thomas's exchange picked up more and more tension the longer it lasted. Ivy shifted in her seat. A long pause lasted between them before Michael spoke up again. "In my village," He begun, "There's this little wishing well. It's made of white bricks, right in the middle of the village green. Everybody says how pretty it is. But I swear to God, if I spend another day in that village, I'm going to blow it up with dynamite. Probably blow my hands off with it, but it will be worth it. Just to see all those pretty white bricks spread over the pretty village green." Michael began to scare Ivy. But it was good fear. In a way, he intrigued her. He had a darkness deep inside of him that looked like he couldn't control. Ivy knew that the same darkness lurked inside her, somewhere, buried deep within the small girl. They were both dangerous.

She dragged herself out of her dark thoughts, she shouldn't be thinking like that. Ivy averted her eyes back to the men. She didn't know if it was her hallucinating, but it looked like Tommy was smirking. Strange. He snubbed out his cigarette, "Yep, you're Polly's son all right. Just as you're Alfie's daughter." Michael and Ivy turned towards each other but turned back to Tommo almost immediately. He lifted his hand up in his defense as if he was saying that he'll explain later.

"Are you going to call Mrs Jo- your mother?" The girl stopped half way through her sentence to re-evaluate her words. "Yeah, but I think I'll stay," He walked over to the phone and called her. Within a few minutes, he was done and ready to leave the room. "Are you coming, Ivy?" She stood up and walked over to Tommy. "Tommo said he needed to talk to me. Can you wait outside for a few minutes please?" He nodded and left the small office. Ivy raised her eyebrow at Tommo, waiting for him to speak. "I'm going to see your father, again, Ivy." She took in a deep breath. She still needed more time to prepare what she was going to say to him. "Next time. I promise." Tommy nodded accepting her proposition. "Alright. You'd better go and see if Michael's alright."

"Bye, Tommo." Ivy left the room to try and find Michael.

vii. THE HORSE AUCTION 

MASTERLIST

[softstarfire]

Secret Apprentice: Chapter 5

The Star and the X

Chapter 4 - Chapter 6  (AO3) (FF.NET) 

Summary: Starfire has a fun date with her new friend. She gets to feel "normal", “human”. Her happiness doesn't last long. As time flies by, her problems get worse. The rain won’t wash her doubts off and in the Tower her best friends are waiting for her with questions that she won’t want to answer. Will a strawberry dress make things better?

Chapter 5: The Star and the X

Red X and Starfire landed on the entrance of the mall. He had put on his mask and immediately clocked himself so no one would see him. “I haven’t been to this mall, but it was the most close one”, she turned around and couldn’t see him. “X… I am sorry, Jason?”, he took a minute before letting her know she was by her side. He had never imagined he would hear her call him by his real name. Could this become a regular thing for her? For them? 

“Did I let him fall?”, she was walking around by his side with a worried look on her face. “I am here, but I don’t think I should enter like this”, she heard his voice and ran to him with her arms stretched out trying to feel his body and she did. She wrapped her arms around his body. “Jason! I am glad that you are well, I thought I lost you”. He held his breath in, why was she so happy for him? He exhaled. Everything about her was so different and new to him, he couldn’t understand her but somehow it made him feel warm inside. She stepped back and took his hand and flew him up. This time she only took him a hundred meters above the mall. With her free hand she took off his mask. “We are out of Jump City. We shall not be recognized”, he turned around to see Jump City miles away from where they were. He could still see the back of the Teen Titans tower. “You said it was the closest”, she avoided answering and flew down again.

Without letting go of his hand, she pulled him into the mall. It was a small one, it wasn’t too crowded and there were just a couple of security guards. Nobody seemed to care when they entered.

They walked into the first store they found. “We shall get you a new glorious fit of the out”, Starfire stated as she walked through the aisles. She stopped at the man’s side of the store. “What style do you prefer?”, she asked looking back at him finally. “I think I can do this by myself”, Starfire looked around. “There is one thing I haven’t planned”. She got closer to him. “I do not carry the money”, she whispered. He chuckled and took some out of a pocket behind his belt. “Slade payed me just yesterday, we may as well enjoy it”, he gave her the money and she looked at it amazed. “This is too much of the money!”, she tried to keep her voice down. “Stealing from the Teen Titans pays well”, he answered. She gasped. “I do not think I should use this money if it is-“, Jason put his hand back in his pocket and took out a black card. 

“Here. My mh... I guess you could say, my dad? he gave me that card. He said I could use it in case of emergencies, and I think this qualifies as one”, he shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, you have a father”, her eyes opened up in surprise, “Well, he’s not actually my... It’s complicated. Just take it, the code is 1608”, she came closer to him. “Why is it 1608?”, he sighed at her question. “It’s my birthday”, he answered softly. “Oh! That is so kind from you father”, he didn’t answer. “Get some clothes and I’ll meet you at the ice cream shop, okay?”. 

She took the card. It had Jason’s name on it. When he was about to leave, she hugged him. “I shall thank you for this plastic version of the money”, she gave him a kiss on his cheek and walked away. Jason froze on the spot. Lucky for him, she walked off without looking back at him.

After an hour Red X was ready. He walked to the Ice Cream shop. He was wearing black skinny jeans, black combat boots, a black t-shirt, a brownish leather jacket and a black backpack to keep his uniform in. He stopped himself a couple of stores before the ice cream shop. He looked at his reflection in a jewelry store. Would she like how he looked? Why did he care about it? He really wanted to look good, at least for her. He tried to fix his hair to make it look more casual. He ended up making it look a little like Robin’s, but like an I just woke up version of Robin’s spikey hair.

When he got to the ice cream shop, he looked around for Starfire but she wasn’t there, so he sat in one of the tables that were near the glass door and he waited. He looked at his brand new watch. Ten minutes went by and no one came in. 30 minutes. 40 minutes. 1 hour. Nothing.

Jason was half worried for her and half worried for the card he gave her. He got up and went out to look for her. He looked in every store of the first floor, but he couldn’t find her. He went to the second floor and repeated the same process. He walked around for another hour maybe, he looked at his watch again. 2pm already. They didn’t have much time to get to the museum, it closed at 5pm if it was like the one he used to visit when he was a kid in Gotham.

There was one place where he hadn’t looked: the hair salon. He slowly made his way to the place. The big glass windows let him see who was inside of the shop. He didn’t see Starfire in any seat, nor in the counter or in the back. Still, this was his last chance, so he entered.

 The woman at the reception greeted him and asked if he wanted to get a haircut. He shook his head and kept looking around. A blonde woman saw him and approached him laughing. “Now you must be the boyfriend”, he looked at her confused. “I am looking for a girl mh... she has green eyes and-“, the woman cut him off and put an arm around his shoulders as she pulled him to the back of the salon where there was a white closed door. “Your girl is right here”, as the woman said that, the door opened. 

Starfire came out of the backroom. She was wearing a short pink dress with strawberries all over it, white combat boots, her fully green eyes looked human, but they were still green. Her red hair was dark pink now and she had curled it just a little bit, so it fell gracefully past her shoulders. He was more than surprised, he was speechless, he was blushing for sure and his heart was beating faster again. “Fuck”, he thought as his feelings took over his whole body. “Oh! Jason, you were wrong when you said that I could change anything I wanted instantly. It took much longer”, she complained. Starfire walked out of the bathroom and went back to the seat where her other things were. She had changed her backpack for a pink one in which she kept all her secrets and now her purple uniform.

The hairdressers laughed at Jason’s surprised expression. He turned around to look at Starfire, but he didn’t move from the spot where the woman left him. “Go, kid or you’ll lose her”, he heard from another hairdresser. Starfire took her things and she walked to the counter. Jason finally moved; he almost ran to her.

After paying, the two teenagers walked out of the place. “You look... What is the world that Beast Boy uses?”, she asked putting her backpack on. “Oh yes! You look cool”, she smiled at him. He hadn’t said a word still and there were a lot of words that he wanted to say, but he couldn’t. “I like your jacket; it looks glorious on you. Do you like my dress?”, he cursed in his mind. Yes, he liked her dress but that wasn’t the only thing that he liked. “You do not like my dress?”, she asked. Her shoulders relaxed and she pouted again. Why was she being like this? Why was she acting like this? What did she want from him? “I like it, I... You look beautiful, Starfire”, that last sentence came out so softly that only she could hear it since she was just next to him. “Oh, thank you, friend!”, she hugged him, stopping them in the middle of the hall. When she let go of him, he felt his cheeks burning. He cleared his throat. “I wish to show this dress to Robin”, as she said that he felt a familiar feeling: jealousy. He had felt this for a while know, especially because of Dick. “We have to hurry, or we won’t get there in time”. He changed the conversation. Starfire pulled him to a hall that conducted to the emergency stairs. There was no one there. She took off her backpack and opened it. He waited, looking at her, taking in every detail of her face. He wanted to remember this moment with her alone even if it wasn’t special to her.

She showed him the button she took from Red S’s belt. He took it. Their eyes met as she extended her right hand and he held it on his right one. He stepped forward, closing the distance between them. She smiled once again and lifted him from the ground, making her way out through a window. He pushed the button making them invisible to those around them. Jason didn’t see her either, he could only feel her warm skin through his hand. And the wind. He could hear her giggling here and there. That was enough for him to imagine her smile, her hair and her face full of joy.

When they landed on a side of the museum, he pushed the button again. There she was. Her hair covered her face and she was laughing as she tried to push it away. He put the button in his pocket and helped her uncover her face. It was her hair. He thought it was a wig, but it was in fact her soft hair. “So, you will have pink hair from now on?”, he asked when he could see her eyes again. She shook her head. “It is not permanent. I can wash it off. Do you like it better?”, she asked tilting her head. Another one of those things Starfire did that had an effect on him that he couldn’t put into words. “I like it, but red is your color”, she giggled and now that sound also had that effect on him. “Now, how does this work?”, she looked at the big building beside them. “Haven’t you been on a date or something to the museum?”, she shook her head. “I haven’t been on a- Oh yes! I was in Robin’s date with that Kitten girl. It was a dance that was a date and I did not enjoy it first”, she pouted again. This time Jason took her hand and pulled her to the main entrance.

They were greeted by a security guard. The first thing that caught Starfire’s attention was the big T-rex skeleton in the middle. She was about to fly to it, but Jason pulled her closer to him. “No flying, Starfire”, he whispered. “But Beast Boy-“, she pleated pouting once more. “That’s not him, it’s a skeleton from a real dinosaur”, her eyes grew bigger and she ran to it. She walked in circles around it and only stopped when she saw a screen with a text about the history of that skeleton. She read it. While she read the text to Jason, he looked around. He counted the guards, the cameras and the workers. He even counted the public, there were a lot of kids since it was a Sunday. “They do not exist anymore? They did not mention that Beast Boy can turn into different types of dinosaurs”, she complained poking the screen trying to correct it. “Let’s move”. Jason pulled her away once more.

They spent hours walking around, she read everything she could, even the emergency signs. Meanwhile, he kept looking for the cameras, keeping track of every detail that could be useful to Slade.

On the basement of the museum, there was an exhibition about aliens. They detailed how the most famous ones came to earth and there was a miniature replica of the ship that brought Starfire to Earth. The Gordanian’s ship. Her eyes lit up and she held her right hand up with a starbolt ready to blow the replica. “Hey! Calm down, it’s not real. It’s like a toy”, he grabbed her hand. She hid the starbolt so he wouldn’t get hurt when he touched her. “They used me like a toy. They experimented on me and they hurt my people”, her eyes went back to normal and he could see tears starting to fill those emeralds up. She had probably burned the contacts, he figured.

Jason slowly put down her hand, still holding it in his. He sighed and looked at her, not knowing what he could say to make her feel better, what she had just told him was horrible and there was no possible way that he could compete against the pain they caused her. Her tears started falling down her cheeks and she just let her head down. He hugged her, putting his arms around her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She sobbed in his chest for a while until she felt like the pain had washed off, at least for now. Then, she looked at him again, stepping away to see his face. “Thank you, X... Apologies, Jason. I feel better now, and I must thank you for being a good friend to me”, Jason just smiled. He didn’t know what to say to that too, but he couldn’t think about it for much longer because she leaned in and put a soft kiss on his right cheek. He immediately froze again. Those same new feelings came back. It felt like he had something going on in his stomach, but it wasn’t painful, it wasn’t 

uncomfortable either. And his heart was beating faster. Also, his cheeks were probably red, at least a brighter tone than his regular pale color. He wanted to do something. He wanted to kiss her back but not on the cheek. What if he just leaned in and did it? It wouldn’t be a bad thing? Would it? She smiled at him and turned away. He was so focused on her that he missed the man that came in to announce that they would closing in 10 minutes. She nodded and went back to tell him. “We must get back to the lodge. Are we done with the checking of the security system?”, she asked. “Yes”, he walked to the door and she followed him. The two went back to the entrance. He looked around once more just in case he missed something. She was looking around too and when they got out of the museum she sighed. “I had so much fun, that I did not get to do the checking as well as I wished to do”, she confessed, her shoulders fell back down, and she pouted. Once again, he wanted to kiss her. “Robin always says that to remain focused is a great ability. I must say that sadly I lack that ability”, she giggled. There he was, Robin. There was no way that Jason could have Starfire. There was no way that he could kiss Starfire. She could only think of Robin. Robin this, Robin that. It felt like a harsh reminder that he needed to get back to his side of this game.

“You should get back to the lodge, I will get home on my own”, she looked shocked at his statement, maybe a bit sad? “Are you sure?”, she asked. Did she want him to stay? No, there was no way. “Yes, don’t let me keep you away from your Robin”, Jason handed her the button from Red S’s suit. She looked confused now. Maybe a bit angry? “Are you okay?”, she asked as she saved the button in her backpack. Now he was confused. If she was angry, why would she worry about him? He ignored her. “Jason, please, did I say something wrong? Is it Robin?”. Touché. “No, Starfire, it’s your Robin”, he turned around and ran away from her, she didn’t follow him this time. He was right, it was her Robin. That’s why he had to do it, he had to become the new one if he wanted a chance on a new life.

Starfire sat on a bench in the park until it got dark. Something about looking ‘normal’ made her feel different. Nobody recognized her, she didn’t have to fight crime or be with a masked Robin. She wanted to have a day like this one but with him, no masks, no powers. Just Dick and Koriand’r or maybe Kory with the human eyes.

She walked through the park until it started raining. She quickly tried to run for cover but there was nowhere to go where she was standing, so she stayed there. The water started washing the pink dye off her hair. She looked at it as she returned to her red-haired self. The dress got wet and she could almost feel her uniform back on her skin. She clocked the backpack, it was time to go home.

She walked through the park, then she ran and then she flew. The cold normally affected her powers, so she flew slowly until she reached the tower. She landed on the main entrance. She felt tired, she felt sad and because of that, she felt weak. Starfire entered the code on the panel at the door. There she saw her teammates; they were looking at her with confused stares.

Starfire entered into the first floor. She stopped just two steps away from the door. “Star, we have to talk”, Robin started. He had his mask on and his voice sounded sad? No, that wasn’t it. Angry? Not at all. What was it? What could he be feeling? Why was it so difficult to know his feelings? Oh right. She knew what he was feeling, at least what it sounded like. He sounded disappointed.

“Where were you, Star?”, Cyborg’s voice sounded disappointed too. “I...”, there was no way she could tell them she went to the lodge, that Slade was there, that Red X was there and then she had a date with the last one in a museum. Was it a date? That’s what it looked like. Like those movies she was always watching that Beast Boy passionately hated. Why couldn’t she have a date with the one she wanted to? “Where?”, Beast Boy sounded disappointed. “I was mh...”, could she tell them about the pink hair? What about the lenses? And the dress? She looked down. Her dress was all wet. “Tell us, Starfire”, Raven sounded disappointed. “I went shopping”, she tried fixing her wet dress. She wanted Robin to see her in that dress so badly and now he had seen her, but he didn’t say anything. Was it so bad?

“Look, Starfire...”, Robin walked up to her. The way he said her name sounded like how her mom used to call her before telling her to go to her room because she had done something bad. And in this case, she really had done something bad. “We saw you flying off today, you didn’t just fly away from the tower, you disappeared...”, he paused. He was really struggling to say what he wanted to say, but she already knew. And she was struggling too but she had too much pain inside to let it out. Robin looked away from her. Why couldn’t he look at her? “You hate me”, her shoulders fell, she looked down and sighed. “No, Starfire. We just want to know how you did that because...”, he paused again. Did she break Robin again? “Because you looked like Red X”, Beast Boy pointed out from behind Robin. “And after the weird encounter we had with him we wanted to know if you, mh...”, Cyborg paused too. Raven walked up to her. “Starfire is there any chance that you are working with Red X on something?”, the Tamaranean stepped back and they all looked at her like she had just confessed. “I am not”, she immediately responded, looking back up at them. Her eyes lit up for a second, but her feelings were too confusing for her to be just as angry as she needed to light them up for good. “Then why did you disappear just like he does?”, Robin asked. He came close to her once more. 

She sighed. Why? The reality was that she did work with him and it got worse because he also was working with Slade. She couldn’t tell them about Slade, she had to protect her planet, and this was the best way. But Red X. Jason was different. He somehow had helped Robin once. Maybe she could make them see him as she did. As her friend. “Robin, you know he is not just a bad person. He helped us once. And when I needed it, he helped me too”, she explained tearing up. Maybe it looked like she was crying because of what she was about to tell them. Maybe they figured she was going through something. But the fact was that she was crying because she was about to lie to her best friends.

“When we fought him at the building he told me that he wanted to mess with us, with you Robin and with me that night that he stole the T-ship apart from taking it. But when he did not see me, he tried once again at the building. But he noticed that I was not myself and he asked why I wasn’t there the other night. I- I just told him the truth and he did not know how to react. He just listened so I continued talking. I was so sad at that moment that I told him that I wanted to disappear. That is when he touched my face, which Beast Boy saw from the window. But he didn’t just touch my face, he gave me something else. He gave me a button like the one in his belt and he told me to use it in case I felt like that again. That is why I used it today and it felt well... I did disappear. I felt better. I felt free”. At least she wasn’t totally lying. When she looked back at her teammates they all looked shocked.

“Star... I am so sorry you felt like that”, Cyborg was the first one to talk. “Me too, I didn’t know, or I would have been there for you”, Beast Boy joined in. “Starfire, we all would have been there for you. I am so sorry. I should have felt something. I should have helped you”, Raven came closer. Her three teammates hugged her and when they moved away Robin stood still in front of the alien princess. He walked up to her, he put his right hand on her cheek, caressing it with his thumb. “Starfire, you should have never felt that way. You brought us together. You are the heart of the Teen Titans. You can’t leave us. You can’t leave me”. Beast Boy hugged Raven’s right arm. “I am gonna cry”, he whispered. “Kiss her already”, Cyborg yelled. “We are not looking”, Beast Boy covered Raven’s eyes and she tried to push him away.

Robin kissed Starfire’s forehead, then he kissed her nose and when he was about to kiss her lips, he stopped. “I love your dress, Star”, she blushed. Her eyes closed as soon his lips were on hers.

The rest of the team cheered for them. Well, Cyborg and Beast Boy did. Raven was still trying to get BB’s hand out of her face and when she did, she smiled at the sight of the couple in front of them. “I’ll get the kids out of here”, she took the shape shifter’s hand and dragged him to the elevator, pushing Cyborg in the way.

When Robin’s lips left Starfire’s, she opened her eyes. “Is it too late to ask you and your dress out on a dinner night?”, Dick asked softly. Her teammates were already gone so the silence that surrounded them made his voice echo a little bit in the big entrance of the tower. “Robin, would you please give me some time to do the fixing of myself?”. She tilted her head. He smiled at the sight of her cuteness. “I’ll wait, Star”, she smiled back. “And Robin, could I get a date with Dick Grayson?”, she tilted her head to the other side. He chuckled. “Anything else?”, he asked jokingly, and she just shook her head. “Then Koriand’r and Dick are going on a date”, she clapped in excitement lifting herself just a bit from the ground. She held his hand and took him to his room as fast as she could. When she let go of him, she flew in small circles. He had never seen her this excited, he thought. And she got excited easily. “Go get ready, Star, or we will be dinning at midnight”, she nodded with her eyes closed. “I must get ready for our date”, she said that last bit slowly and then she flew away to her room. He stayed there for a bit just thinking about her. He was happy that she felt better, but he was sad that she felt so bad in the first place. When he was about to enter the room, he stepped on something watery. It was a tag from the store were Starfire had bought the dress. It said that it was a limited collection from the mall outside Jump City. It was not the mall were Starfire regularly went. There was something about it that made him wanna check it out, but he had a date to get to, so he rushed into his room and put it away with other paperwork he had from his investigations.

Back in Starfire’s room, she was trying her best to dry her dress. She had put the backpack in her closet, and she wasn’t paying attention to it. She was trying her best to get her outfit to look as good as it did in the afternoon. Then she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked almost like she did back in the mall. She turned to the door and when she was about to leave, she heard it. A beeping interrupted her happy thoughts. It was Slade. She ran to it and opened it. Slade appeared on the main screen. “Children...”, Red X was in the call too. “Plan A has failed. I am entering Plan B but I need one thing more. I need some things from the Titan’s tower that will help me contain your sister and I need the Tower to be empty in case she decides to attack you”. “I have to tell my friends”, Starfire answered worried. “No, we need to keep your friends out of this, so take them away from the Tower. Your sister has decided to come with me to Earth and I will try to debilitate her with Plan B, so she doesn’t put Earth in danger. But I need you to obey me or else the plan will fail too and then she will invade the Earth with no mercy. Leave the Tower and turn the security system off. We will get to Earth at midnight, be prepared”.

A/N: Chapter 5 is up! This chapter is so soft. I guess you can tell more about Jason in this chapter. I loved writing his struggle with what Starfire makes him want to be, because he also wants it but ugh. I really loved writing StarX. But my favorite part is when she opens up to the Titans about her depression. I loved how united the team was in the animated series, so I wrote it thinking about their unity and how much they cared for each other. Raven doesn’t like when her friends are in pain, so I think she would be so sad to know that Star felt like that and that she didn’t sense it. Also, Cyborh the OG RobStar shipper. 

Chapter 6 spoiler:  “I won’t hurt you”, he would never hurt her if he knew who she was.