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#this cannot be both the 'i was a gifted kid' site and the 'i can't name a single African country' site
neechees · 29 days
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Ever notice how everytime there's an ignorant person using the excuse of "it's the American education system's fault" it's almost always pertaining to information about other cultures/ethnicities or countries, usually ones designated as not "White" (ex: that Africa isnt a country, that Mexico has cities) and not things like. Science or Math.
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thatonecitykid · 3 years
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I bet on Losing
Hey everyone! Sorry this is so sad.. was already crying so might as well make everyone else cry.This takes place after Endgame but during the same time as Far From Home. Listen to "I Bet on Losing Dogs" by Mitski for the full experience. Word Count: 2517. Have fun angels :)
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Peter had finally left for his class trip, Pepper and Morgan had gone to spend their summer in Malibu, the remaining avengers were either in space or had completely disappeared from your life. Here you were after five years of your life had evaporated, and after all this time you had to play your fathers role for all the remaining avengers. You hadn't had the opportunity to cry when you first learned about what had happened. You couldn't cry at the funeral, not because you did not want to, but because you felt as if your father wouldn't want to see it. No one wanted to leave you alone, but after months of trying to dig some type of emotion out of you they had assumed that the death and slow disappearance of your makeshift avenger family had unaffected you.
You finally had the opportunity to exist alone. You had also finally mustered up the strength to visit secluded cabin your father had lived in for the last five years of his life. Although you had been given the keys immediately after the funeral, something about visiting the area made you feel uneasy. Not necessarily creeped out but just as if you did not belong, after all it was something your father invested in after you had already blipped away for several months.
You drove up to the cabin alone, slowly unlocking the door as if to not start or whoever may be inside. Before even entering the cabin, it looks clean, you assume that Pepper has had people cleaning constantly to maintain the cabin. It made sense, it was something she's cherished. You stepped into the cabin slowly and began to look around. The walls were lined with framed pictures of Morgan, family pictures of Pepper, your dad, and Morgan, and random posters and vintage albums. Although you were not the one to complain about it, having no evidence of your existence in the main areas of the home caused your heart dropped. As you wandered through the kitchen and the main family room, there is no evidence of Tony's life prior to the blip, just a somewhat normal family of three.
You decide to wander to the basement area, leaving the office and bedroom spaces upstairs for later. There was a large sitting area that you assumed they watched movies in. There was also a playroom painted pink featuring all sorts of gadgets very similar to those you grew up with that Tony had made for you. Towards the back hall of the basement, it was a glass door to your father's workshop area. You open the door gently and made your way in.
Despite looking like somewhat of a mess, you knew that behind the madness there was a method. You could tell that although your dad left in a hurry, things were placed in specific spots very similarly to how he did in every other one of his workshops. You walked towards his swiveling chair, noticing a metal box with a button on the worktable. You press the button and jump back as a life-size hologram of your father appeared in the room. He began
"Hi Pepper. My love, my muse, my boss. If you are listening to this then I did the one thing you have always told me not to do. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the worry I've put you through, and I am sorry for taking myself away from you. I was a gift wasn't I. You've already seen another version of this message, but it never hurts to see your face again my darling."
The tears in your eyes begin to form, not because you had not expected to see your father. At this point you had already seen the message he had left after the funeral; It was only really meant for Pepper and Morgan, never addressing you.. At the funeral you refused to enter the cabin but as you watched the message while standing outside, Happy looked over at you with remorse but you kept a straight face again. Who were you to complain at your dead dad's funeral? Yet this message radiated the same energy.
As the second portion of the message began to play tears began to fall faster. It almost feels like an out of body, sure your dad had taken up different kids during your time growing up, but this message made you feel as If you had been completely replaced. Although it felt like a dumb theory there was no evidence as to your existence prior to Morgan.
"Hello my little scientist. How's my favorite person. Daddy is really sorry I can't be there right now. Be a trooper and hug you mom for me real quick. Now you must be surprised because I'm supposed to be the strongest dad in the world but let me tell you kid, sometimes crazy things happen when put on the ironman helmet. My little minion I love you 3000. My love for you is infinite. You have been and will forever be daddy's best friend."
Here you were crying over a child who had also lost her father, filled with jealousy over the fact that you father had chosen her and failed to consider your return but had prepared for Peter's return, still had projects waiting for Harley, and had in fact set up a stable plan for Morgan's future. At this point you were sobbing, what had all felt like a bad nightmare and jumping to conclusions had started to feel way too real. This emotion was even stronger than when you watched footage from your father suit as the snap happened, this emotion felt like a stab in the back.
Maybe he never loved me.
You tried to collect yourself but were still sobbing when the holographic figure of you father disappeared. You might as well finish the house tour before leaving. The upstairs portion of the house featured Tony and Pepper's room, Morgan's room and two other doors. The main bedroom was tidy and organized, with a closet full of clothes that both Pepper and your dad had left. You walked into Morgan's room and did a quick look around, not wanting to invade child space. Returning to the hallway you opened the door to your father's office. Inside there was a rather simple with a desk, a leather chair, and two matching chairs. The plants in the room were growing well, meaning someone still came to water them. There were a few pictures on the wall, including Peter's Stark internship picture, and a random picture you took of the original Avengers after their first New York battle. On the desk there was another metal box similar to that in the workpace. You argued whether or not you wanted to potentially break your heart more before giving in, siting in the leather seat and pressing the button.
A slim beam of light scanned over your face, confirming your identity, and the box began to play. To say you were shocked is an understatement, as your father's hologram appeared across the desk sitting in one of the matching chairs.
"Hello Munchkin. If you've found this box, then I just going to have to accept that I've failed you. You've been gone for five years and regret every moment leading up to when you snapped away. You really did want to come to space with me, and honestly you would have been helpful, but I don't think I could see you Blip away and have the will to continue. That being said because I am already admitting I was wrong, I should not have had your suit take you to the bunker room, where you eventually snapped away alone. I regret that decision y constantly. On another note, I'm sorry I didn't hug you as soon as you got back, I clearly I cannot really hug anyone."
You had finally given up on holding in their tears. You didn't have to be strong in front of your dad. He had always held you when you cried and this time he couldn't. You tried to wrap your arms around yourself, but nothing felt the same.
"I hope you are crying, because if I'm crying alone during this part, I'll be embarrassed, his image continued as it stood up and leaned against the back of the chair. Munch I know you've probably walked around this house and have found no evidence of yourself. You've probably beat yourself up about how much I love Morgan, but think about it. The amount of time I've spent these last 5 years essentially idolizing you would not have been good for her to experience. "
You rose quickly from the chair. Not even one damn picture?
"Now I know you're wondering not even a single picture. Pick up the projector box and follow me ."
You did as the digital version of your father told you and followed it back into the hallway.
"Put the box down and put your hand on the center of the door. "
This activated a scanner which opened up the door to the room. As you walked in you recognized that this was an exact replica of your room back in the Malibu house. You were still a kid when the original house was blown to pieces but somehow everything was exactly as you remembered it. As you walked further into the room you noticed the large screens, placed like picture frames, which played videos and pictures of you and your dad throughout the years.
Your father walked towards the center of the room, bounded by how far the projector was.
"You see kid, me and you have somewhat the same grieving styles. I have a feeling you didn't cry at the funeral. I have a feeling you haven't cried, at least in a way that someone else could have noticed. You take after me in that sense."
The hologram started to sniffle, your dad had actually started crying when recording this. You really wanted to hug him, the reality of his death hurt even more. You had finally allowed yourself to start grieving.
"Look, I know you used to listen to the song about betting on losing dogs when you wanted to cry, but that does not apply to you at all. You may have gotten a more complicated stick of life, but I can tell ya, this does not need to be your villain origin story. From the first day I took you home I could tell you were a fighter, but I need you to feel as if its ok to cry. I've spent hours on this floor in shambles wishing you were here. The small things that Morgan does that remind me of you throw me into sadness pools constantly. You are my motivating force. I really hope you allow yourself to cry about it so that you can continue in life. I don't think I can stand in this room for any longer before I cannot speak at all, so please take the projector back to my office. "
As you lifted the projector you thought about how much this must have hurt your father to record. Maybe he didn't want anyone to encounter this box except for you. As you placed the box on the desk, you sat back into the leather chair as your father's holograph sat across from you.
"On a different note, you are probably wondering why I seemed to set up a game plan for everyone but you. With Morgan I just made sure she had a comfortable, who am I kidding, lavish funding behind her. I can't dictate what a five-year-old should do. For Harley you know that I've always looked out for him, a position in Stark industries honestly should not have surprised you. Peter is what I feel most conflicted about. I'm not setting him up to become the next Ironman, I'm setting him up to become the greatest version of Spiderman he can be. Well, I know the media is probably going to take it and run having known that Spiderman and Ironman we're friends at some point, but I'm really giving you the biggest responsibility. I don't expect you to live in my shadow, I want you to outgrow it. I think you might be surprised to see everything that I left you, besides Stark industries itself. That's a conversation for another day."
"I know I've been speaking for quite a while, but my baby, my baby yes I called you that. I know how much this has all affected you, and I'm sorry, I am completely sorry and do take full fault for it all. But now because we cannot change the past, let's focus on the present. I want you to know that I loved you with my entire being. I'm not sure how to emphasize this enough but I do want you to know you were cared for, you were loved, and you were thought about for every minute. If you don't get to see this message, and I'm already gone, that means this message will never have to play for anyone. Either I found you and I've given you a new message, or I'm rolling in my grave. Either way my darling I cannot emphasize how much I love you. I do hope for the best for. Before I have to go, I want to see you smile. Sure, I can't physically see it right now, but I can imagine it."
As the recording choked out that last sentence, you flashed a weak smile. A face sticky with all the tears that you have been crying.
Now I know you need to get back home, but when you get back to the city, stop by the shawarma place and get something to eat. you gotta eat Darling. Also don't act like you don't like Peter, you two idiots keep pushing each other away in cannot take it. Now I'm gonna say goodbye mini me. Watch over Pepper and Morgan for me, okay? I love you."
You took one final sweep of the house before heading back to your car. You had cried so much that your eyes physical hurt. You almost felt a sense of comfort having finally released some of the pent-up emotion. As you drove towards the city and towards the Shawarma place you almost felt kind of sad, knowing that all of your friends were in a foreign country. Yet you still felt as if your best friend, your Dad was watching over you. And in all reality that felt as if it was the only thing that mattered.
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lost-eternity · 4 years
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Match Up Requests: CLOSED Please read the pinned rules before requesting
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Match up for: @ happythoughtfulstarfish
Okie dokie. I match you with...
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Peter Parker/Spider man!
First of all, girl, you're very pretty :). Just thought that I would say that. Right. On to the match up.
Like, from appearances alone. You two would compliment each other so well. 🥰
With heels on, you'd most likely be taller than Peter Parker. 
Like. How dare you! He would do his best to one up you.
You occasionally catch him standing on his toes to try and match your height. And you look over at him like "???"
Cue mumbled excuses and awkward laughing
Then one day your heels go missing. And as you're looking around, you notice Peter is standing surprisingly tall. Upon further investigation you notice that he put on your heels. 
Would this guy actually steal your own heels just to one up you? He'll, yeah he would. It's all in fun and games though and he isn't too serious about it. 
But personality wise? Even better.
You are both serious nerds
It's not technically official but I head-canon that Peter Parker is a theatre nerd as well. I could just be Tom Holland seeping through but he gives off those theatre kid vibes.
You know how I mean.
He'd be wholly supportive of your hobbies. He would love to go and spontaneously buy random tickets to musicals on Broadway, even if you two don't get the best of seats. 
Just be prepared to watch a lot of cult classics with him.
Like. A lot.
Especially Star Wars. You two will watch those movies so many times. And every single time he will be dramatically (poorly) mouthing the lines along with the film because let's be real- he has all of the movie scripts memorized. 
He would also love to learn how to play an instrument from you. He'd be really bad at it. Honestly, he would be playing horrendously with this puppy-like jubilation that makes up entirely for his horrible pitch. It's adorable, really. 
Your morals also align perfectly and that works out very well because the both of you are incredibly stubborn and steadfast in your resolve. You both strive to see the best in people, even if it puts you in jeopardy. Critics would call it gullibility. But you would be able to keep each other in check.
Sometimes.
You would be a massive headache for those in SHIELD or anyone assigned to manage you.
I can imagine Peter roping you into one of his elaborate schemes after getting hyped on caffeine and the two of you raising hell together. With the best of intentions, of course.
Like, "no. You cannot kidnap an ice cream truck and drive it to the orphanage for the kids. That is called theft and that's illegal."
"I don't care if it will make the children happy!"
You both have an incredible drive to help others. Peter's just manifests in a way that is a lot more... potentially lethal. Whereas you are content enough to simply volunteer your time. 
Just. Don't ask to go with him on one of his super hero missions.
Trust me.
Peter has already lost people in his life. The poor boy would never forgive himself if he lost you as a result of his ineptitude on a mission. 
Don't put him through that
Because he is awkward as well, you two would do very well to motivate each other and encourage one another to step outside of your comfort zones.
Meet to new, make new friends
Honestly, you’d be perfect together
~
You probably met Peter's sophomore year of College.
It's a funny story actually. 
You volunteered with a charity service who was hosting a musical, "The Adams Family" The ticket revenue collected during the performances would be put to relief and conservation efforts in foreign countries.
Everything was extremely low budget. All of the cast members were volunteers and very few actually had much theatrical experience. 
But you did not mind too much. You were cast to play the role of Morticia. So no complaints there!
The venue you were performing in was actually lent to you for free. It was on a college campus, and the auditorium was actually decently sized.
The previous performances went off rather smoothly. The turn-outs had been decent as well, thankfully.  
It was closing night. Your final performance for the night. The audience was slowly filling into the room, that was when it happened.
One of the crewmembers on hair and makeup, completely new to the theatre environment actually asked out loud: "Wait, why can't we say 'Macbeth' again?"
Silence 
Dead Silence 
So quiet that the muted chatter of the audience could be heard from behind the heavy oaken doors of the female changing room.
The shit storm that followed would have been absolutely hysterical if everyone were not so panicked.
Those in the cast who actually had experience in theatre arts were whisper-shouting at the offending crewmember.
The others looked on, an expression of complete confusion plastered onto their brow
It's not like you could have sent her out to run around the entire college campus. You were on in 5.
Collectively,  you all decided to let it go.
It was just a legend after all.
"We'll be fine."
At least, that is what everyone told themselves. 
~
The night, surprisingly, went off without a hitch. There were a few technical difficulties with the lighting (the spotlight "affectionately" named Big Bertha refused to fully open its iris) and a few missed cues, but otherwise, the performance did not terribly fail as many feared. 
~
You and the rest of the cast were now hurriedly darting back from the bathrooms after intermission. It was a frenzied sprint around the back of the building to avoid the audience catching a glimpse of you. 
That was when you heard something that caused you to peel off the rest of the group.
It was this peculiar scuttling sound, followed by a darting figure.
You initially thought it was an audience member who had lost their way and turned down the winding path.
The narrow road itself was completely innocuous and actually just led to a dorm site. However, under the dark of the new moon, illuminated by few stray streetlamps, it felt kinda ominous. 
Having to remind yourself that you weren't actually in a horror movie, you continued down the path towards the figure, asking him if he were all right.
Then he stepped into the flood of light from a lamp, his movements kinda janky and angled.
This "person" was not a person at all. Rather it was a humanoid beast covered completely in rippling grey fur. Like 'Cousin It' jumped right out of the play and appeared on the street. But this wasn't your cousin. You knew the little girl who played him and she was much... much shorter. This thing cleared 213 centimetres! 
You wisely decided to run. 
And it gave chase, scuttling after you like some malformed beast.
So here you were, still in complete costume, being chased down the street but a Cousin It lookalike and screaming your lungs out.
You didn't get really far because Morticia's sprawling mermaid dress did little to help you move your legs. 
Cousin It caught up to you, a clawed appendage swiping against your ankles.
With a loud rip the dress tore and you fell. Pain flared through your elbows made contact with the grated pavement. 
Rolling onto your back,  you gazed up at the creature. Its purple fur glowing dimly under the backlighting of the street lamp.
For the first time you noticed its eyes, multiple gleaming plates meshed together to form one bulging eyeball,  like a fly or moth. Its mangy hair, overgrown and matted, reeked with a permeating stench you can only describe as rotting eggs. 
So maybe you were in a horror movie. And the horror movie was 'Mothman'... or maybe the curse of Macbeth was here and this creature was coming from retribution.  
Regardless of the reason, you did not have too long to think about it as the creature took a lumbering step towards you.  Then another... and a third... then it paused. 
It pulled against something, like a dog heaving against its leash. But it couldn't move another step 
"Stay where you are, Mothra." A trilling voice called. 
Blinking, you noticed a figure perching on the top of the lamp post, hanging upside down from a glistening web. Another web was attached around the creature's waist, preventing it from advancing. 
The blue and red was unmistakable. 
This was spider man! 
But why is he here? 
Cousin it gave a roar of complaint and swiped for the spider. He nimbly dodged out of the way, laughing the entire time. 
It was not long before he had Cousin It wrapped up in a thick cocoon of webbing, and was absently dialing something on his phone. 
You heard him mumble something about how much of a nuisance "A-Chiltarians" were. 
A-Chiltarians?
What was that supposed to be?
Spiderman seemed to notice you for the first time, and apologetically offered to escort you back to the play.
Which was practically ruined as intermission was over and no one seemed to be able to locate you
The audience was beginning to get antsy
To make up for lost time, Spider man grabbed you round your waist
Before you knew it, the two of you were flying 
Swinging from tree to lamp as you glided across the ground back towards the theatre. 
He dropped you off, literally dropped you, onto the stage, just in time for your next scene. 
You could hardly act through the confusion of WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED TO ME
The rest of the night, you were understandably preoccupied 
~
After the performance, the cast stood along the hallway, allowing the audience to meet and greet with them and pass out gifts.
A young man garnered your attention in particular 
With hazel eyes and mousy hair, he introduced himself as "Peter" and handed you a bouquet of flowers
And you find yourself looking at him like "Do I know you?"
He seemed rather apologetic for whatever reason and praised your performance 
Getting suspicious, especially after the events of that night, you had a feeling that he knew something he was not letting on to.
So you asked for his number.
And to your complete shock, he actually gave it
So. Over the course of one night, you were saved by the legendary spider man and got the number of a cute boy.
Maybe the curse of Macbeth is not so bad after all
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rosesanthology · 4 years
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Escape Plan | Matsukawa Issei x F!Reader [mafia!AU]
This took me SO MUCH TIME to write aaaaaah it's not surprising that it's so long :0 i just have many many feelings for Matsukawa Issei ALSO im begging y'all to listen to the playlist before/as you read please !!
Im kinda pissed that i cant add a "read more" option since im on mobile tho :\
(Also ngl at first i planned to get one of the 2 shot but i didn't have the heart to go thru with it)
Warnings : Fluff, it starts with humor but at some point it gets angsty ???? Idk y'all tell me
- Au that could be considered as a ennemies-to-lovers type of situation
[Tags] : @raevaioli and @haikoo like i cannot stress this enough @haikoo this your main manz
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- if you could only use one sentence to describe your job to a Karen it would be : stealing from the rich in order to trick other rich people
- you had been what the people would call a spy for most of your life now, the Tokyo based Nekoma Organisation being something close to a family
- you worked with both of your very good friends, Kuroo Testurou and Kozume Kenma
- Kuroo, the leader of your little squad, had been the first one to open up to you when you joined
- he was a gifted chemistry genius and you were sure he could make any poison or soporific out of the most random stuff
- he also had insane combat and physical abilities which made him fit to act in a lab as well as on mission grounds
- Kenma was a little more reserved at first, he was the same age as you but still was really reluctant to accept you as one of his own at first
- when he saw how much Kuroo trusted you and how interested you were in his work he slowly but surely found himself caring for you
- to put it simply Kenma, better known as "apple pi" was a hacker. His job ranged from creating computer viruses to full on enabling the security of whole museums
- despite his cute appearance and shy demeanor he was probably the scariest of you three
- finally, you Y/L L/N was the infiltration and weapons expert of the group, you could weild literally anything from guns, to swords to,,,,,metal rods (but you don't wanna talk about this one) and you were of great help when deciding which infiltration angle was the best in missions
- Kuroo, under the orders of Boss Nekomata, quickly taught you the dangers and ways of the job during your first months working with them, the organisation specializing in outsmarting rich bastards and stealing their precious ressources in order to make "better use of them"
- if they were hoarding a particularly efficient brand of medicine, your goal was to steal it all, and sell it to people in need for free or a low price
- if they were in possession of some important object like let's say,,,,,the construction plans for the emperor's new vacation house, you stole it, made copies to sell at a high price to the highest bidder and your good affiliate, the Fukurodani Corporation would keep an eye on the original as part of their personnal collection, you were fine with that
- yeah they were others organisations like that in Tokyo, your friends from the Fukurodani Corp of course but also the Shiratorizawa elite crime group with who you had worked a couple times before
- ah and there was the Yakuzas too....honestly they were the only group in Tokyo with whom you were still on dangerous terms with
- they didn't like Nekoma in their affairs and you didn't like them in yours, but you tolerated each other
- your boss had established a truce with the representant of the big Yakuza group of your area, Kondo "the viper" Takara, a truly scary woman who had blasted her way to the one of the top positions of the hierarchy
- she even had a cool nickname ヾ(`ε´)ノ
- but you knew better than to mess with them
- all in all y'all kept doing your jobs well, not bothering anybody
- except for one remaining rivalry with some Miyagi group
- the Aoba Johsai Institution.
- well, rivalry would be a strong word because you kinda got along with that Iwaizumi guy, he was a great hand to hand combat fighter and you respected that
- the others however ? Trash. 👁3👁
- they seem to act like Tokyo will be their territory in the next 5 seconds flat like ??
- THEY DON'T EVEN GO THERE ????
- "they be acting like they can just swoop in and eat OUR rich" you had told Kuroo and Kenma one day over ramen
- spoiler alert : it was a bad idea cause Kuroo snorted and almost made the noodles go up his nose
- no but seriously they always seemed to take advantage of YOUR missions to attract attention
- how did they even know which missions you were on anyway ??? (Kenma and Kunimi are actually good friends cause they play video games together but he'd never tell you that)
- it's like that one time you infiltrated a business company's heir's residence and then you came across a dude named Hanamaki and you had the HARDEST time whisper shouting to him how blowing up the whole place was a bad idea to retrieve one (1) diamond
- at the end you felt so tired that you gave it to him anyway ಥ_ಥ ("just take it ffs" "really ??" "Don't make me regret this")
- they also had the single worst person ever on one of their teams.
- Matsukawa Issei
- just thinking about it made you want to take your metal bat and break something in your shared room with your two other friends
- seriously that guy was like the epitome of clownery
- he's also supposed to be his team's gun expert except that's not the best task for someone who refuses to take anything with him but his freaking FISTS
- the first time you had met y'all ended up being on the same case to assassinate some guy who had kidnapped some cute freckled kid from a place in Miyagi called Karasuno
- EXCEPT HE WAS IN TOKYO SO IT WAS YOUR DUTY !!! NOT HIS !!!!
- you had Kenma on the earbud telling you about the guy's position in the club you were currently one street away from. You were posted on the rooftop of a building with a sniper rifle ready to get done with it and go save the kid but GUESS WHO COMES IN FISTS SWINGING WHEN YOU LITERALLY HAD THE TARGET IN SIGHT
- and he had the nerve to look straight toward your rifle's aim and flip you off while smirking
- sir you're about to catch these hands🚶🏽
- he had knocked him out alright and he got the young boy out but you were NOT ready to let that slide so you quickly got down and crossed path with him at the back exit of the club
- "what exactly do you think you were doing in there ?" Listen. You may have sounded confident enough saying that but you had NO idea that this dude was like a whole ass giraffe
- and he knew he was tall so he had the audacity to say
- "sorry can't hear you so well from down there midget, i was just doing my job (▰˘◡˘▰)" if it weren't for the karasuno boy being right there you would have stabbed his kneecaps on sight
- anyway after that y'all just seemed to run into each other wayyyy too often
- insults were shared just as often tho
- "well butter my buns and call me betty broker if it isn't my sweet little midget shooting people !"
- "stfu before i choke you"
- "kinky but can you reach my neck ?"
- "you've sunk low enough"
-so yeah f u n  t i m e s
- aside from that, business was going great but Kuroo had had news of a very important mission for you but he insisted on letting Boss Nekomata tell you about it himself for some reason
- he'd never done that :(
- you were kinda hurt that your best friend was hiding stuff from you tbh :(
- and Kenma did not seem to know more than you for now
- so you spent a whole week just mopping around
- sometimes you would go and poke fun and the newbie Lev Haiba but it wasn't the same
- Kuroo and Kenma kept working on missions while you were left waiting for that one assignment that Nekomata seemed to keep you for
- until today when Kuroo finally told you that the boss was requesting you in his office
- ngl you were EXCITED
- maybe you would have to zipline down the Tokyo tower (σ≧▽≦)σ maybe he was going to let you take a chainsaw with you this time (σ≧▽≦)σ
- maybe he- "oh" you deadpanned, stepping foot into the office and seeing none other than your arch nemesis, Matsukawa Issei in all his pisces clown glory
- "why tf are you there shitty eyebrows"
- "i had a good day too Y/N ! thanks for asking :D" today was the day. You were 100% ready to kill him and the knife that was attached to your thigh strap seemed like such a good option rn-
- "stop it you two. Y/N take a sit" Nekomata gestured, as you didn't hesitate to listen to your superior even fully aware of Mattsun's eyes annoyingly following your every movement
-"Okay so. Y/N i know you may be wondering why Matsukawa's here but to put it simply we've been informed that a rich family have gotten their hands on one of Aoba Johsai's rarest item : a gold engraved katana that belonged to their first boss"
- "so what do you need us for ?" You didn't mean to use "us" but you knew better than to piss off your boss, he was like a parental figure come on
- "i need you guys to infiltrate an auction held by said family and steal it back in the span of one week. It's up to you to work together or not but keep in mind that our arrangement states that we're autorised to make copies of the katana for future sells."
- you guys nodded, after all you were professionnals before everything and you were about to leave when Nekomata put something on the table
- "here are the keys to your appartment near the auction site it'll be your hideout !"
-.....now this had to be a cruel joke-
- "id rather sleep under a bridge then live with her for a whole week"
- "wow this is the first time we agree on something Mattsun" the oh so familiar nickname dripped in venom as you said it, unsure of what was supposed to happen
- "oh yes you could but i suppose that you don't have the supplies and tools that you will definitely need during that mission :)"
- you locked eyes with the brunette for a minute before reluctantly stomping to the table and grabbing hold of the keys and adress written on a paper, storming out of the door,  letting out a loose "come on shitty eyebrows we have data to collect" to your new....partner ? Ugh it was about to be a long week
-  it turns out the appartment was a lot smaller than you hoped for, with two single person beds, a computer post and different storing purposed furniture
- it was a common thing however, because the last thing an undercover spy would want is to draw attention with a flashy hideout
- the first step was to gather information on who would be at the auction which shouldnt be too hard
- "hey ill take the lead and contact my friend so that he can determine who is going to be here" you said as you sat on the chair in front of the computer
- "mm yeah you do that ill check what kind of weapons have been provided to us" Mattsun had no difficulty finding them as the drawers well full of them....this was very promising
- Kenma had just sent you the list of people that had been invited to the event, and you recognised many names as being members of the powerful Yakuza group lead by Konda Takara, of course.....the infamous viper herself
- you called out to Mattsun to show him and briefly explained what they were up too and how they usually fonctionned
- the auction was to take place the last 3 days after an opening party, leaving the rest of the week for preparations
- they usually took their time in comitting their crimes so you thought that stopping them mid plan by taking advantage of it was the best way to get the sword
- Mattsun didn't have anything to say for the moment, seemingly thoughtful about the whole situation
- "just so you know" you started, already regretting the decision of talking in your head, "i don't plan on being friends with you anytime soon but i feel like for this we should at least try not to rip each other's hair out"
- "i never planned on that second option"
- "huh ?"
- "i hope you know that we've never had a single conversation without insults of some kind before so for the sake of both of us it would be better to actually get to know each other since we're supposed to work together"
- you hated to admit it
- but he was right
- however you didn't comment on it, opting for throwing him a dry "let's sleep" before plopping yourself on your own bed on the other side of the room
- this is about to be one hell of a week
-3 days had passed in the crammed appartement both you and Mattsun struggling to inform yourself on each specific individual that was going to be present at the auction
- right now, you were both sitting on the floor, wearing simple oversized shirts and pyjama pants and shorts, cheese pizza box laying on top of the document covered surface
- "Mattsun, pass me the paper about Okuda Takeda please" :000
- Matsukawa froze, because he knew that in 2 days of living together y'all had establised that you wouldn't be at each other's throats
- but hearing you using his nickname unironically and saying please ???? That was still something he had to get used to
- "what are you staring at ? Give me the paper shitty eyebrows >:[" ah there she was
- "thats my girl" he thought, handing you the document and resuming his own reading
- here's the catch : Mattsun was head over heels in love with you since like day 1 that Hanamaki told him about this pretty girl who let him take the diamond from his mission. He tried to repress his feelings as he had noticed that you seemed way closer with your friend Kuroo who he had seen on missions with you
- maybe you liked him
- he would understand, he seemed way more confident than him and he was also probably way smarter since he was a genius and all
- also the way you were always soft to him and not Matsukawa kinda got to him
- he wanted you to hug HIM after a mission too and NOT insult him
- but he judged it for the better as he still got to be close to you in his own way with the playful fights you always seemed to pick with him
- it was easier than confronting his feelings or rejection
- this mission proved to make things so much harder for him tho
- like yeah he saw you being a badass plenty of other times but now ?
- he got to see you being all clingy and grumpy in the morning (he never knew being called a dumbass while you were falling back asleep on his shoulder was his thing but hey) , got to see your nose scrunch up when you were focusing on mapping out the position of the vent system of the venue
- he could go on for hours about how much he loved you and your plan was not making it easy.....profiting off the yakuzas' plan took way too much waiting and he understood that you wanted it to go as well as possible but he just couldn't keep living like this until then
- it felt like torture
- and he did not want to see you in that gorgeous dress that you were supposed to wear at the auction during the infiltration
- he knew that a couple more days could drive him crazy and make him do dumb shit like kissing you
- he had thought about that a lot of times but never brought himself to do it because je knew it was pointless
- he had to take action now
- the night of the opening ceremony, the day before the Yakuzas would start their scheme
- both of you were laying in your beds, awake, that was a habit you had developped over the past nights, you were just, aware of each other's presence and then sometime you would ask him something about his life, his friends, himself
- it made his heart beat too fast everytime and he could feel himself falling even more by the second when he heard you giggling talking about the time you pulled a prank on your friend Yaku with Kuroo
- he knew that you were already very sleepy from the way you were slurring your words
- "Y/N do you hate me ?" He said, abruptly and he heard a strangled laugh coming from you followed up by the question
- "what's that for dummy ?"
- "please answer" he asked in a whisper, sounding almost desperate
- you took a second to think about it
-you had grown quite close to your tall partner in such a short period of time, even letting your guard down and stopping from being so defensive
- "i don't hate you....i could never" you said the last part more to yourself tho but Matsukawa didn't miss it, he wished he did as he heard the soft sighs coming from your now sleeping form
- his heart ached as he got up, putting on his black coat over his mathing turtleneck shirt, taking his gun and spare map of the auction venue
- you were totally going to hate him now....
- and then he left for the opening party
- the rain was pouring outside
- for some reason you couldn't sleep well that night
- that only happened whenever Kuroo was out on a mission at night or Kenma was working in his office
- you hated sleeping alone, you couldn't do it
- being alone was the one thing you dreaded the most in your life, death was nothing if nobody knew where you were, if nobody aknowledged your existence you weren't alive
- but Mattsun was there and you trusted him.
- yeah you were kind of an ass to him during like 90% of your interactions with him but you just didn't know how to talk to him ??? He was so strong and good at what he did so you couldn't help but feel admiration but also intimidation
- yet you've felt probably more comfortable with him than anyone in your life (yes even Kuroo and Kenma weirdly enough)
- it was a nice feeling
- maybe it was because you saw him differently than them...
- but anyway
- you felt like yourself around him
- and yet
- why couldn't you sleep ?
- "Mattsun ?" You called out to him, voice cracked from not having used it for a while
- no answer
- maybe he didn't hear you over the rain....?
- you had a bad feeling about this
- "Mattsun ?" You called out a little louder, sitting up
- yep definitely
- you turned on the light and to your surprise, Matsukawa was nowhere in sight
- your heart sunk at the realization
- you were alone
- what about the plan ? Ah its true that he never said anything about it
- did he not trust you enough with it ? Did he think you were too assertive ?
- you wanted to cry but it seemed as if your brain wasn't working, your body rushing on its own to check the date and time on your phone : past 10pm on thursday night.....
- the opening party !
- "shit shit shit he must have gone there to take them by surprise wtf is he thinking doing this alone?" You thought aloud, maybe it would trick your body into not being scared
- at this point you were terrified, rushing to get the red dress on as well as putting your 2 guns under each of your thigh straps
- is he alone ? Surrounded by highly trained and dangerous Yakuzas ? What if....you were too late ?
- you didn't have time to think too much about it as you knew that this kind of thoughts led nowhere.
- you had to infiltrate that party the fastest you've ever done in your life and see for yourself, luckily, the venue was only a few crossroads away from your appartment
- truth was Mattsun's plan was not so bad
- after all you had insisted on making him find info on every staff member there too so it's thanks to you if he just so happened to know what type of guy that one waitress liked in order to flirt with her and convince her that he had forgotten his watch in one of the closed off aeras of the venue
- the place was absolutly gigantic, after all it was a mansion bought will illegal money
- he hated this, he just wanted to get it over with, retrieve the sword, gtfo and go back to Miyagi forever so that he wouldn't feel the pain of the illusion of being by your side when you were clearly far ahead of him
- you'd always been anyway
- he had finally reached the generator room and opened the vents with much difficulty as the room was a mess of cardboard boxes and storage shelves
- he was just going to cut the power, which would take about 15 minutes to get back, allowing him to go thru the vents to the main hall that was right thru the wall to his side, retrieve the sword and just make a run for it
- hopefully the rain would cover most of the sound he made so that was even better
- see that would have been great if he hadn't felt the icy cold metal of a gun at the nape of his neck as he was fiddling with the generator
- he had been caught.
- it was the end.
- shit he fucked the whole mission over and now even you didn't have a chance to-
- "what exactly do you think you're doing Mattsun ?" You said coldly even tho the hurt in your tone didnt go unnoticed by the taller man
- "haha Y/N whatchu doing here on this fine night ? You look stunning btw"
- "Cut the crap shitty eyebrows i asked you a question"
- you finally lowered your gun allowing your harsh glare to show how upset you truly were
- damn, Matsukawa really felt shitty :\
- he'd never seen you like that- well not soaked from the rain but....so vulnerable to him
- all your feelings talks happened in the dark of night in your hideout, he'd never seen your face look so pained before
- "I did what was best for both us..."
- "bullshit." He wasn't sure that he believed himself either to be honest
- "what the fuck are you even doing anyway ? I thought you and i were in this mission together ?? Did nothing matter to you ? I finally think that i found someone who i could trust other than my fucking family and that's what you do ? Ditch me for your own profit ?? You did what was best for your damn self Matsukawa"
- you were upset. He got it really, his insecurities had gotten the best of him like they often did....except he didn't have the strength to confront them, to confront you about it. So he got it and he didn't retaliate.
- "so what ?? You're not even going to say anything ?? Not even TRY to fucking apologize ? Do you really don't care ?" You searched for his eyes, but little did you know that he just....couldn't talk nor maintain eye contact with you right now
- "Mattsun...i thought you and i had...something ? I don't know maybe i hallucinated or some shit but i thought we were at least friends you know ? D-did you ever tolerate me at all ?"
- your voice cracked, it got lower and it cracked, and at that moment he was sure his heart broke right at this instant too
- he wanted to tell you that that was the farthest thing from the truth
- he wanted to tell you that he loved you
- but you were too far. Once again, you were miles ahead of him, more than ever
- and the sound of voices coming from the corridor did NOT HELP
- you could not afford being found here so with the professionalism left in you, you pushed your feelings away and pulled Mattsun behind a shelf, crouching and waiting
- you were so close he could feel you shivering from the cold and he felt so so bad
- but now was not really the moment
- "didn't you hear shouting ?" Shit. Maybe you should have waited until getting out of here for your heart to heart because this guard was definitely not trippin
- there were 2, luckily they didn't have the idea to split up to search the room, all you had to do was move low and close to the walls in order reach the door and well....the katana literally could not matter less to any of y'all rn
- at this moment you really regretted going out in such a hurry completly forgetting to contact Kenma, he could have hacked into the camera system and told you were they were so easily.....
- anyway, despite that you guys were stealthy enough to get out if the room
- now the problem was getting out of here.....
- you held Mattsun's wrist loosely as you ran thru the corridor of the building, thunder raging and labored breathing filling the silence
- "Y/N we could get out from the rooftop !" Right....if you could only get there then maybe you could just parcour your way out of this by getting on other rooftops....damn you were glad Matsukawa always thought of every escape plan possible
- you didn't really mean what you said earlier
- yes, you were disappointed but, you were also scared for his dumbass
- and rn may not be the best moment to realize it as you were most likely in a life of death situation but....you loved him
- fuck you loved him so much that you were running in a goddamn dress right now
- "i truly hoped it wasn't you" said a voice from the end of the lobby
- of course it just had to be the Yakuza boss you dreaded so much
- Kondo was just standing there, arms crossed but you knew better than to take her lightly
- "did you come to retrieve it ?" Its funny how her voice seemed to dominate even the full on storm outside, the occasional lightning bolt shining light from the huge windows into the corridor
- "No....let us pass please we just want to leave" Mattsun felt how tensed you were and immediatly rested his hand on his gun handle under his coat
- "yeah sure sweetheart but only if you tell your guard dog to calm down unless he wants me to cut his fingers clean off" she threatened nonchalantly as her hand met the handle of her own katana strapped to her belt
- Matsukawa was deadass glaring at her so hard you didn't recognise him
- he honestly looked like he could take her on but...you didn't feel like testing this theory tonight
- "hey hey, it's alright" you soothed him, putting your hand on his arm and squeezing slightly
- it seemed to work because he quickly let go of his gun even tho he was still glaring
- "let us go" he said firmly
- she pushed herself out of the way and motionned with her arm as if to say "go on~" in the most theatrical way
- you passed her without issues and soon found yourself on the roofs as planned in Mattsun's escape route and made it safely to the streets, rain still pouring
- you were finally letting out a breathe you didn't know you were holding all this time
- you were alive and most importantly, so was he
- you turned around and were ready to say something when he cut you off by grabbing your arms and pulling you into a kiss
- it was short but it managed to get his point across very well as well as warm you up when he wrapped his arms around your waist, resting his forehead against yours
- "i love you Y/N....i swear i didn't mean to hurt you and put you in danger like that....if i knew i would have done things differently i-"
- "i love you too Mattsun and it's never been a problem to me, i've done way more dangerous things in my life than rescue my boyfriend from getting killed dummy"
- in the end, you weren't alone
- somehow he had become, your escape plan from it
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hockeyknowitall · 7 years
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ok so i remember people talking about the rules of the draft and you can't be in both juniors AND college hockey and then still get drafted. do i have this right? if not, can you explain anything similar to this rule and also why the rule is in place? is there actual merit to it or is it just a stupid NHL rule? thank you so much!
Okay this is, kind of complicated because it’s not an NHL rule, it’s an NCAA rule. This doesn’t apply to CIS which is the Canadian version of the NCAA, I know my school which is part of the CIS has a few players that go back and forth between Juniors. So you can technically play college and junior level hockey but CIS players don’t usually make the NHL. 
This rule, that you can’t play in both the CHL and the NCAA is a one way rule, meaning an NCAA player can leave to play in the CHL but a CHL player cannot leave to play in the NCAA. This is because of how the leagues function monetarily. the NCAA is very strict about a players eligibility based on what they are compensated. an NCAA team will compensate things like travel and lodging during road games and can compensate you with something like scholarships but that’s it. the CHL is a lot more giving. They’ll get you housing, get you lodging, get you food, etc. and i believe there is some sort of payment system but i’m not sure how that works necessarily because lower level mens hockey isn’t necessarily my area of expertise, but i do believe either they, their billet family, or both get some sort of extra compensation. Because of all o that the NCAA will not allow you to play for a Juniors team and then come to them.
The NCAA wants amateur athletes so they say if you play for a pro team you cannot play in the NCAA. they consider the CHL to be pro but they also consider other leagues like the ECHL, the AHL, and the NHL to be pro (i’m sure european leagues fall under this as well). But according to this article which sites the NCAA’s recruitment FAQ page, you are allowed to go to CHL or NHL training camps but you can only receive financial compensation for 48 hours. that means if a camp is 5 days long you are responsible for paying for your lodging, your food and anything else for 3 of those days, or else you lose your eligibility. You also are not allowed to accept any sort of gift from another pro team. that includes something like a baseball hat or whatever.
Now whether or not I think this is all bullshit or not is pretty complicated. Theres a lot of gross, suspicious stuff the NCAA tries to pull, with the way they exploit their players and profit off of them. However, these players are getting paid in the form of an education which is very valuable, at places like BC and BU which are two of the biggest hockey schools in the world, if you get a full scholarship that can be around 70,000 dollars a year, that’s a sizeable AHL contract. So i get where they’re coming from with this idea of getting amateur athletes and keep them amateurs and integrity. I just think they go overboard. What’s a meal bought by another team and how does that affect your integrity as an amateur athlete? what’s a 20 dollar hat? I assume these rules are so strict because they don’t want people to get around them but i don’t know how legitimately valid this all is or how much of it is tradition. Because one on hand it could signal well, this player is being bought, giving him more resources so he has an unfair advantage OR it could go the other way which is, this kid can’t afford to go to NHL camp, because he cant pay for his own food or else he loses eligibility. So i think that question is more complicated. 
Hope that answered your question!
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