#you mentions you wanted snapback Keith

[sheepnasleep]

KEith + white hair + snapbacks

[rudysrings]

TEACH ME

The lifeguard at the beach yesterday inspired me to write this...y’all tell me that’s 👆👆👆not JJ!!!!

Summary: The reader has to train a new lifeguard, a certain blonde who can’t seem to stop hitting on her.

Word count: 4.1k (Holy shit what did I do)

Warnings: Uh mentions of drowning, weed, fluff? Not much this is really just a sweet oneshot

Credit to @alexa-playafricabytoto for the killer idea...I don’t think I did it justice but here we go anyways 😂

DISCLAIMER: I don’t know shit about lifeguards and was too lazy to do research so this it’s extremely likely that this is HIGHLY inaccurate and I’m sorry about that but just go with it for fanfic purposes, eh?

“Hey, Y/N!” Mr. Rodriguez, your manager called out for you from his office in the beach’s visitor center. You had just clocked in, still in your jean shorts and tank. 

You quickly walked over, popping your head in the doorway of his office. Seated in front of him, you noticed, was a blond in a red snapback, a Kildare County Marina T-shirt on. “Yeah, boss?” You asked.

He gave you a rare, sweet smile, gesturing for you to sit down. 

Confused, you cautiously walked over, sliding into the empty chair beside the blonde boy. You felt him glance at you but you looked straight at your manager.

“So Kyle’s out on some family emergency this week…” Your manager started.

You scoffed inwardly but didn’t say anything out loud for the sake of being professional. Kyle’s family emergency was most likely him passed out and hungover after a night of drinking, smoking and a shit ton of coke or molly or acid or whatever he was taking these days. 

“And seeing as he was your partner and was supposed to train the newbie,” Mr. Rodriguez continued, gesturing towards the boy beside you, “So meet JJ Maybank, your new partner until I decide he’s learned enough from you.”

Your beach’s lifeguards worked on a partner system, due to its size. There were always two lifeguards in every tower to maintain maximum security.

You tried not to groan. JJ Maybank? Of all the people in the world, you had to get stuck with the one notorious for recklessness, theft, and starting fights? Of fucking course, you did.

“Right,” You nodded, giving your manager a tight-lipped smile, maintaining your politeness while subtly letting him know you were not happy with the cards you had just been dealt.

Again, without looking at JJ, you stood up, your hands on your hips. “When do we start?” You asked.

“Right now.”

You nodded, turning on your heel and calling over your shoulder. “You coming, Maybank?”

You heard shuffling as he followed after your long strides. You grabbed a rescue buoy for yourself and tossed one to JJ, who caught it with ease. You walked toward the front desk, smiling at Cheri, one of the receptionists your own age who was always nice to you, letting you get away with things she probably shouldn’t have. Picking up two whistles, you walked out the door and finally greeted the boy.

“So you lifeguard now?” 

He shrugged. “I do whatever to pay for my pot.” 

You rolled your eyes, walking down the beach towards your assigned tower for the day. “I can respect that.”

“So there are a few things you should know,” You began, to which JJ listened intently.

“I figure Rodriguez has already been through the list of your duties?” You raised an eyebrow in question.

JJ nodded. “Thoroughly. He doesn’t think I’ve a single brain cell, that man. He tried to draw me a picture of the lifeguard tower.”

You held in a smile. “If you ask me, he’s right to think that,” you quipped, making JJ pout.

“Anyways, apart from that, you need to know a few other things that are kind of unwritten. For example, don’t bother telling people to get off the rocks, just be ready to save them if they fall.”

JJ wrinkled his brows. “The fuck kind of rule is that? Not even going to warn people?”

You shrugged. “Unless you want to make a scene with a bunch of Karens shouting at you for dictating rules on a public beach, then you’ll do as I say.”

JJ grumbled. ‘Yes, ma’am.”

“Bob your head every once in a while so you don’t miss the people right below you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Keep the buoy on you wherever you go.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And lastly, don’t ever think someone is faking anything. Doesn’t matter if your friend is pranking you, we gotta do what we gotta do. We have to save every last imbecile on this beach.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Frustrated, You turned towards him, stopping in the sand, one hand on your hip. “Oh, shut your trap with that ma’am nonsense, Maybank. Trust me, you lucked out with getting me as a partner over Kyle—”

JJ nodded. “I sure did, guy’s a total tool. Besides, hot girl over junkie guy,” he whistled low, “no debate there.”

You tried not to blush at JJ calling you hot, but you felt the tips of your ears turn pink.

“Right, well, you can’t be hitting on me while we’re working together, Maybank.”

“Why not?”

You stepped forward, poking him in the chest. “Because you’ve known me since we were kids, yet we’ve never spoken. So don’t go pretending that I’m not invisible anymore.”

JJ frowned. 

You turned, “Come on, there’s work to do.”

One the two of you climbed up the tower, you put on your whistle and gestured for JJ to lean forward, so that you could toss it over his neck. He did so, accidentally knocking his forehead on yours. “Sorry,” he mumbled, stepping away. 

As he settled in, you stripped your shorts and tank, now left in your ruby red lifeguard one piece.

Today was slow, being a Wednesday off-season, and JJ tried to start a conversation. He pulled out a joint and offered it to you. 

You gave him an “Are you kidding me,” look and he shrugged, unbothered, lighting it up and taking a long hit. “So what’s Keith really doing if he’s not having a family emergency?”

“Kieth? You mean Kyle?”

JJ nodded. “Right, him.”

You laughed dryly, “Probably wrecked after popping ten too many pills and sleeping with a few too many girls. Guy doesn’t know when to stop.”

JJ didn’t look at you, looking out at the sea. “So when did you two break it off?”

“What—We—” You spluttered.

JJ took another long inhale from the joint. “It’s easy to see, babe.”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” you snapped, pulling down your sunglasses from atop your head, hoping to hide the emotions that were most definitely swimming in your eyes. 

“S’not, I know,”

“Then why ask?”

“Just curious as to how a girl like you ended up with a douche like him.”

You were quiet for a moment, before you said, “He wasn’t always like this.”

“Only doing coke, not into molly yet?” JJ joked.

You chuckled. “No, not like that. He was incredibly kind, he had the biggest heart.” You fingered the wood on the arm of your chair.

“Then what happened?”

“Then his mom died, and I wasn’t enough.” Your hand retreated into your lap. 

“He dump you?”

Your eyes narrowed. “No, I dumped him. I’m smart enough to know when I’m getting less than I deserve.”

JJ hummed. “I think I have a chance then.”

You laughed. “You’ve got nothing more than wishful thinking, Maybank.”

“Come to the kegger tonight. I’ll show you wishful thinking.”

You almost gasped at his forwardness. “No, you idiot.”

He turned towards you, meeting your eyes, pleading. You didn’t relent. 

“Fine, miss, I’ll just let you keep that stick up your ass then.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”

When lunch came around, you let him go first, and when he returned, smelling of way too much weed, you asked, “You mind if I catch some waves? Think you can hold your own for a half hour?”

JJ gave a toothy grin. “Hell yeah, and watch you ride those waves? It’s going to be hard for me to watch anything but you.”

You smacked him over the head. “Do your job or we’ll both be in trouble, Maybank.”

You grabbed your board and climbed down, racing across the sand towards the water. Finally, you let yourself relax, sinking into the waves as they came. You even caught yourself doing a couple tricks, unconsciously trying to impress the blonde boy who was watching you from the tower. You felt high as a kite when you even managed to successfully execute several cutbacks in a row. You thought you heard a celebratory whistle from the direction of the tower and you jokingly gave a salute towards the beach.

As you climbed back up, JJ cheered. “Holy shit! I knew you were good, but god damn, Y/N! You gotta teach me how to do that Rodeo Flip! I’ve been trying to get it down for years!”

You laughed. “We’ll see, Maybank.”

His hands tugging at his hair in excitement, he asked, “How are you not going pro?!”

You shrugged. “I don’t do it for sport. It’s just something I do for me.”

JJ nodded, a renewed look of respect in his eyes. “Word.”

You spent the rest of your shift laughing at the ridiculous tourists on the beach, especially the ones that forgot sunblock.

You told JJ to go on ahead of towards the visiting center as you had a couple of things left to tidy up. 

When you returned, he was chatting up Cheri, a thousand watt smile on her face as she enjoyed the attention from the pretty blonde.

You rolled your eyes, shoving past them to dump your equipment and clock out. You didn’t know what that bubbling feeling in your abdomen was, or why your stomach lurched at the thought of Cheri and JJ, or maybe you did, but you chose not to think about it too hard, afraid of the conclusion you’d come to.

As you walked out of the visitor center, turning towards home, you heard JJ call your name. You stopped, closing your eyes and muttering a silent prayer for the patience to deal with this boy.

He jogged out, making his way to you. “Hey!” He greeted, out of breath.

“Here to give me another half-assed invite to some kegger?” You asked.

JJ frowned, shaking his head. “No, I just wanted to clarify something you said this morning. You-You said that I thought you were invisible, because we’ve never spoken.”

“And?” you didn’t see where he was going with this other than to insult you.

“We’ve never spoken because I had the biggest crush on you Y/N. I’ve avoided you everywhere. You were hardly invisible to me. If anything, I didn’t think you saw me.”

You laughed. “Sure, Maybank.”

JJ shuffled his feet, shoving his hands in his pockets. “It’s true,” he mumbled.

You smiled, “Have fun at the kegger, JJ.” You gave him a peck on the cheek before walking off into the night, the darkness hiding your flaming cheeks. 

You heard a celebratory whoop from behind you and bit your lip as you smiled. 

Your heart felt light all week as you got closer to your partner. He was actually great at his job, especially with the children patrons on the beach, which greatly surprised you. 

You remembered one day in the middle of the week, when you were dropping your equipment off, JJ didn’t have his whistle. 

When you asked about it, he simply laughed. “This kid near the docks kept pestering me for it. Little guy wanted to be a junior lifeguard. Couldn’t say no…”

It was at the end of the week when you met his friends, the infamous, self-proclaimed pogues.

The trio had shown up near the end of your shift, claiming to be curious of the job that JJ actually managed to keep for longer than a day. JJ saw them approaching and immediately swore, turning towards you to say, “I’m going to apologize now for what you’re about to experience.”

Before you could ask what that meant, he had left, climbing down the towers to stop his friends from reaching you. 

Confused, you made your way down, too, watching as a boy with shaggy brown hair clapped JJ over the back, ruffling his hair aggressively. “So this is what you’ve been missing out on pogue days for?”

A dark haired boy, who looked nervous about simply existing, added, “Not what, who,” nodding at you, standing with your arms crossed over your chest and an eyebrow cocked. 

JJ had a permanent blush on his face, but you couldn’t puzzle out why. Meanwhile, you received a slightly reserved smile from the girl holding hands with the nervous boy. She waved politely. 

The boy with shaggy hair marched forward, arms wide open to give you a hug. You thrust your hand out on instinct, which he looked at like a difficult algebra equation, before brushing it away gently and pulling you into his tight embrace. The boy gave great hugs, you had to admit. The kind of tight bear hugs you expect from your mom. 

You laughed nervously, patting him on the back and looking over his shoulder at the other three, who all laughed. JJ mouthed I’m sorry at you and you responded with I’m going to kill you.

When he finally let you go, he tussled your hair and said, “Nice to meet the girl who’s got my boy tripping over his own feet to get to work. I’m John B.”

You flicked your eyes over to JJ, who was as red as a tomato. He buried his face in Pope’s shoulder, muttering something. You snorted. “Hardly. I’m Y/N.”

The dark haired boy grinned, “Trust me, we know. I’m Pope and this is Kie,” he introduced himself and what you assumed was his girlfriend.

In the next hour, you learned that JJ’s friends were loud, blunt and lacked basic manners in some ways, but they were youthful and thick as thieves, clearly a family. 

There was something warm about Pope, something that allowed you to trust him immediately, completely. So when the other three were surfing, and he joined you on the sand, asking you, “So are you feelin’ my boy or what?”, you weren’t afraid to be completely honest.

Giving a short laugh at his bluntness, you admitted, “I don’t really know. There could be something there. There is something there, I think.”

“Then what’s stopping you?”

You would feel pathetic to confess this to anybody else, but Pope seemed like he wouldn’t judge you if you admitted to having three children. “I don’t know if we want the same things. I don’t see a guy like that in a serious relationship. Doesn’t seem like the type to settle.”

Pope grinned. “You know him well, then.”

Your heart fell as you thought that Pope was confirming your fears.

“But not well enough, I think. You’d be surprised. He’s kind of...obsessed with you. But not in the “Pokemon gotta catch ‘em all!” kind of way. He doesn’t see you as some sort of spiky eared Pichu…”

He trailed off and you looked at him, absolutely baffled. “I’m sorry...I don’t follow?”

Pope cleared his throat. “He likes you, Y/N, like really respects you and wants to make you happy. Any fool can see that.”

You were sure your entire body was on fire with how hard you flushed. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. Well, you keep him on his toes so we don’t mind. And it’s made him a little softer, a little more careful, which we definitely don’t mind. He needs to be checked, that one.”

Pope stood up, reaching his hand out and pulling you up. “Now, JJ tells me you have a killer cutback. Wanna show me?” He asks.

You give him a big smile, grateful for his kind words and ability to seamlessly bring you back to reality from that heavy conversation. “I’d love to. If you can keep up!” 

Laughing, Pope followed you into the ocean, JJ giving you an excited smile as you joined him in the water, content to see you getting along with his family.

Later that night, when his friends left, and JJ was helping you towel off your hair while shaking his own like a wet dog, making you giggle and shriek at the sensation, he asked, “You wanna actually catch some waves outside of this beach sometime?” 

It was your conversation with Pope earlier that gave you the confidence to say, “How about tomorrow? It’s our day off…”

“I’ll pick you up before dawn then?”

You nodded, “Sounds perfect.”

He tossed you your towel, casually throwing an arm over your shoulder as the two of you walked back to the visitor’s center.

The next morning, you were a mess. JJ had never seen you in anything aside from your lifeguard uniform and you nearly lost your mind trying to figure out what to wear. You felt like a middle schooler deciding what to wear on the first day of school to impress their crush. 

Eventually, you thought to hell with it, and just went with a blue romper over your swimsuit, letting your hair down for once.

You didn’t bother with makeup since you were planning to get soaked anyways. 

When you heard the distinct sound of a large engine approaching, you walked out of your house, curious.

When the image of JJ on a dirt bike came into focus, you couldn’t help the cackle that tittered out of your mouth. 

He slowed down to a complete stop in front of your driveway, swinging his leg over and walking up to you, spinning the key ‘round his finger.

“Hey, dude!” He greeted, sweeping you up in an unexpected hug. Still, you melted into his frame, letting your usually rigid spine relax, feeling JJ nuzzle into your shoulder slightly and sighing.

You pulled away after a moment and JJ rubbed the back of his neck shyly, shuffling his feet awkwardly. “Sorry, I-uh, I really needed that today.” This boy was touch-starved. 

You patted his chest as you walked towards the dirt bike. “S’alright, it happens to the best of us.”

JJ followed you. “You ever ridden one of these before?”

You cocked your head at him. “Oh yeah, all the time.”

He looked surprised, before handing you the keys and raising his eyebrows in challenge. “Prove it.”

You simply smirked and mounted the bike, pretending you didn’t hear JJ mumble “That’s hot,” under his breath. Instead, you started the engine and nodded at him to get on behind you.

JJ smiled before climbing on behind you, scooching forward until every inch of your back was flush against his front. 

“Let’s go, babe!” You said, before taking off down the street. 

JJ gave you directions, steering you into areas of the Cut you had never been, which was saying something since you knew this town like the back of your hand.

Finally, he pulled up to a small cove, where you saw a small patch of sand. It was the farthest land towards the sea, meaning you would probably find the biggest waves.

“Holy shit, how did I not know this place existed?”

JJ grinned, bringing you to a small shack where a couple of boards were hidden from view in the foliage. 

He handed you a board. “I’m full of surprises. Your hair smells nice, by the way.”

“Stop that!” You laughed.

“Stop what?”

You slapped him over the head. “Making me blush.”

“Don’t think I will.”

You rolled your eyes and simply unzipped your romper, ignoring the whistle from JJ as you stepped out in only your swimsuit. You laid the fabric over the handle of his dirt bike and turned towards him. He was still in his T-shirt and swim trunks.

“Aren’t you going to take your shirt off?”

JJ gave a shit-eating grin, “My, my, Y/L/N, at least take a guy to dinner first.”

You shoved at his chest. “No, you dumbass, I meant you can’t surf in that.”

JJ opened his mouth as if to say something before pausing and wrinkling his nose. “It’s just not a good idea for me today.”

“What did you eat a little too much? I can promise I’m not afraid of a food baby, Maybank, I can deal.”

JJ tried explaining before just giving up and pulling his shirt off, leaving you shocked and incredibly confused, not to mention concerned.

Bruises littered his body, beginning at his shoulder and ending far below his ribs. Involuntarily, your hand brushed his skin. “What the fuck happened, JJ?”

He shrugged. “S’my Dad, you know. Gets angry sometimes is all.”

You shook your head sadly. “You don’t deserve that.”

JJ laughed darkly. “That’s up for debate.”

You stomped your foot. “No, it’s absolutely not! No one deserves that, especially not you.”

JJ softened. “You really think so?”

“Of course I do.”

He gave a small smile. “So you won’t make fun of me for not being able to keep up with you today? It’s only because I got my ass kicked, otherwise I’d surf circles around you all day.”

His words made you frown, but you recognized the coping mechanism and simply said, “Oh sure, Maybank. You know as well as I do that there’s not a world where you can surf better than me.”

He shrugged, walking towards the water. “I can sure as hell try, babe!”

Surfing with JJ was an experience on some whole other level. Sharing a wave was something even the most experienced surfers didn’t attempt, but something in you trusted JJ and the two of you tried it out. It was absolutely surreal, until JJ didn’t resurface.

Your euphoric smile quickly turned into a panicked cry. “JJ? JJ?!” You looked around and caught sight of him hanging on to his board, eyes closed. You swiftly untied your board from your ankle and swam over to him, pulling him towards you. He was like dead weight. You dragged him over to the shore and dumped him there, immediately leaning down to check his pulse. 

You felt it clear as day, but tears filled your eyes. “JJ! Wake up!”

You began chest compressions immediately. Before you even got to ten, however, you heard a giggle. 

Bewildered, you looked at his smiling face, his amused blue eyes laughing at you.

You instantly flinched away, retreating from him. “You were faking?”

JJ nearly choked on his laughter. “You-you should have—” He tried to breathe through the guffaws “—seen your face! Priceless!”

You slapped at his chest with your fists as he sat up, ignoring his slight winces given his prior injuries. “Ay, ay what’s up with that! Stop it, Y/N!”

“You bastard! I thought you were dying!”

JJ softened, before holding the back of your neck and pulling you towards him, leaning in to capture your lips with his. It was sweet and short and he pulled away quickly, asking. “Was that alright?”

You shook your head, pouting. “No, another!” 

He smiled, but gave in to your pleas gleefully, his other hand coming over the front of your neck, pulling you closer to him by your throat. You bit his lip harshly, still angry from the stunt he had just pulled and his whined quietly, moving his hand down your spine, hands brushing the bare skin that your swimsuit exposed. 

He lay back, pulling you on top of him. You straddled him, allowing him to deepen the kiss. You didn’t realize how much you had wanted this until you were doing it. You were kissing JJ Maybank. And it felt right. It felt as right as surfing did, maybe even better, you dared to think. 

Maybe it was the fact that he kissed you like he had all the time in the world and didn’t care, because he was hungry right now. Maybe it was how he held you like he was afraid you would let go. Maybe it was how he managed to wordlessly beg for your skin on his, clearly touch-starved. Whatever it was, it solidified the growing feelings you had for the blonde, blossoming into something new, something stronger, something better, until you couldn’t hear any of your own thoughts other than his name--over, and over and over again. 

When you finally broke that time, you smiled into his neck, trying to catch your breath. “Wow,” sighed JJ, “That was some kiss, babe. If you kiss me like that forever, I’ll die a happy man.”

You giggled, but sat up slightly, flicking his nose. You knew you had to get this awful, insecure doubt of yours out of your mouth right now before you let it fester into something that could ruin this beautiful thing you were creating with JJ. “If you ever break my heart, JJ, I swear to God, you better not cheat on me.”

He frowned. “Wouldn’t dream of it. I’ve wanted this forever. Can’t fuck it up now.”

You smiled, bending down for another kiss. JJ stopped you. “Wait. While we’re making promises, let me just say, if you ever get back with Kyle, I will sue.”

You thought the whole town probably heard your laugh then.

K so not my best work but hope y’all liked it!

Tagging @rretrophilee @jjsbxtch @drewsephsmiles @uwubonebabie bc we talked about it! You don’t have to read if you don’t want to lol 💛

[missmitchieg]

Julie and The Phantoms Season 2 (maybe 3 and 4? Dunno how long they’ll keep it going.) Wishes

Luke calling Julie Butterfly/Mariposa (but maybe once or twice, he slips up and calls her Mi amor).

Luke calling Julie Star/Starburst/Supernova (hi @metaorigin 👋 That concept is beautiful and wonderful)/Superstar/ESTRELLA.

Luke calling Julie Sun/Sunshine/Sunbeam/SOL.

What I’m saying is GIVE ME LUKE LEARNING SPANISH AND JULIE SWOONING OVER IT BECAUSE IT’S REALLY CUTE WHILE ALEX AND REGGIE ARE OFF TO THE SIDE LAUGHING THEIR ASSES OFF AT THEM.

Julie calling Luke Lucas teasingly. She will be the only one allowed to call him that because “it’s cute when she says it.”

Reggie and Alex casually calling her Jules.

Reggie catching up on Star Wars and complaining about Jar Jar.

More group hugs.

Carrie redemption.

Luke being jealous AF of Nick but in his cute Luke way.

Reggie/Julie bonding.

Disaster Bisexual Reggie being a Disaster Bisexual because yes, he is.

Distinguished Bisexual Julie being a Distinguished Bisexual because yes, she is.

When Reggie realizes he’s not entirely straight but also not gay, he nervously goes straight (lol) to Julie and says “I don’t know if there’s a word, in 2020, for what I am, but I know I like both boys and girls.“ and Julie just hugs him and says “Me, too.“ Luke is Super Very OK with this (because he’s a little not straight, too.) and loves his best friend and his Julie just the same. Alex is kind of happy to not be the only not straight one in the band.

Julie and Reggie having cute little matching Pride bracelets.

A scene where Julie comes home absolutely fuming and says “Guys, I need you to haunt someone.” A wide eyed Alex, slightly terrified of an angry Julie, says “Ok.” and Luke instantly, fists clenched, jaw clenched, eyes squinting, like he is pissed just because his Julie is pissed, is like “Who made my girl angry?” and Reggie is like “I will steal all of their left socks!“ Absolute chaos ensues. Alex is awkwardly knocking stuff over while Reggie steals left socks and a shoe lace. Luke is just going full Paranormal Activity in this house, messing with the curtains and blinds, knocking more stuff around, turning the TV on and off, just bonkers over whatever this person did to Julie or Flynn that Julie said she needed them to haunt this house. Post haunting Juke hugs ensue.

More of Julie’s cute doodles.

Carrie, Julie and Flynn being friends again.

Carrie and Alex becoming besties.

More Sunset Curve flashbacks and songs because Now Or Never and Bright both SLAP and I need more.

Julie schooling the boys on all the music they missed out on.

Willie watching Julie and The Phantoms performances.

Alex/Julie bonding.

Julie teaching the boys about technology.

LUKE FINDING OUT ABOUT PERFECT HARMONY.

Perfect Harmony but not a daydream this time.

More group hugs.

More of Carlos being The Best little brother.

A Willex reunion and hug.

Flynn deciding the boys need some clothes that isn’t 25 years old and going shopping with them. “You can’t just wear the same five shirts all the time.” (Can they wear clothes that’s new/not theirs? Eh, whatever. They should.)

ALEX BEING SUPER CUTE AND EXCITED IN THE PRIDE SECTION AT TARGET. “GUYS. GUYS. THEY HAVE GAY PRIDE STUFF HERE.“ JULIE, FLYNN, LUKE, REGGIE AND WILLIE BEING SUPER HAPPY FOR ALEX.

I love Julie’s season 1 fashion, but I kind of want the boys’ fashion senses to bleed into hers a little bit. Like, give me Julie in her usual cute, girly outfits but with a familiar looking orange beanie. Luke and Julie wearing orange beanies at the same time. Give me Julie in an Alex-esque distressed jean jacket but there’s stars or butterflies embroidered on the sleeves. Give me Julie in her cute little butterfly hair clips and a leather jacket. Give me Julie in a snapback and skull print skater dress. Give me Julie in 90′s band tees and a flannel. OH. Give me Julie wearing Rose’s bedazzled Sunset Curve shirt. GIVE ME JULIE IN LUKE’S FLANNEL.

JULIE’S FASHION SENSE BLEEDING INTO THE BOYS’ FASHION SENSES. LUKE WITH A STARRY GUITAR STRAP. LUKE WEARING A CRESCENT MOON MUSCLE TEE THAT MATCHES JULIE’S NECKLACE. LUKE WEARING A SUNFLOWER SHIRT THAT MATCHES JULIE’S. REGGIE IN MORE BUTTERFLIES. ALEX WEARING GLITTER. ALEX WITH CUTE, COLORFUL STREAKS IN HIS HAIR. LUKE AND REGGIE WITH COLORFUL STREAKS. LUKE WEARING BUTTERFLIES. LUKE AND REGGIE WEARING GLITTER. THE BOYS WEARING SHIRTS JULIE DOODLED ALL OVER AND LOVING THEM. LUKE AND REGGIE WEARING JULIE DOODLE GUITAR AND BASS STRAPS. LUKE, REGGIE AND ALEX WEARING BLACK NAIL POLISH. LUKE, REGGIE AND ALEX WEARING PRETTY COLORED NAIL POLISH.

Phantom/Flynn bonding.

Movie nights.

Carlos meeting the phantoms for real.

Carlos and Luke mischief.

Willex dates.

Julie/Willie bonding.

Flynn/Willie bonding. I JUST WANT EVERYBODY TO BE FRIENDS AND BE HAPPY.

FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS WITH LITTLE GHOST CHARMS.

Did I mention more group hugs.

I wanna see what’s gonna happen with Caleb!Nick.

More of that cute thing where Reggie sings into Luke’s mic.

More of that other cute thing where Reggie and Julie sing back to back together.

Learning Alex and Reggie’s last names and more about their parents.

More Dirty Candy performances with Alex poofing in.

WILLIE WATCHING ALEX DANCE WITH DIRTY CANDY.

BOBBYTREVOR KNOWS ABOUT THE PHANTOMS AND I NEED MORE TIME WITH HIM PROCESSING THAT THEY ARE A GHOST BAND NOW.

Willie, Alex and Reggie being the biggest Juke (Jukebox?) shippers.

Julie, Luke and Reggie being the biggest Willex shippers.

Luke teaching Julie guitar.

Julie teaching Luke piano.

Reggie solos.

Alex solos.

Willie solos.

Willex duets.

Willie teaching Alex how to skate.

Alex teaching Willie how to drum.

Alex wearing Willie’s bracelets.

More Jukebox duets.

CHARLIE AND MADI WRITTEN JUKEBOX DUETS BECAUSE THOSE TWO REALLY WENT OFF WITH PERFECT HARMONY AND I NEED MORE.

MORE GROUP HUGS.

Reggie just absolutely killing it on a piano and Julie being obsessed with it.

A scene where Julie trips over something and Luke catches her and they Have A Moment. Bonus points if the boys witness The Moment.

ROSE AND THE PETAL PUSHERS FLASHBACKS.

ROSE IN GENERAL FLASHBACKS.

Alex becoming a Louis Tomlinson stan. Willie’s only a little jealous and Alex thinks it’s cute.

Reggie becoming a Keith Urban stan.

Luke being #1 Julie stan.

Julie being #1 Luke stan.

CUTE LITTLE PRIDE STICKERS ON THEIR INSTRUMENTS.

JULIE DOODLES ON THEIR INSTRUMENTS. OH MY GOD, JULIE DOODLES ON THEIR MICROPHONES LIKE HERS.

Nick showing off more guitar skills because we saw that like, once in season one.

More of Nick being a Julie and The Phantoms stan having a blast and a half at their performances.

MORE. GROUP. HUGS.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #235: Havoc on the Homefront!

September, 1983

Welcome to the Wizard’s Mansion of Mechanized Mayhem!

This cover has got it going on!

Where “it” is “multiple things.”

Still, I love covers that are just like ‘here’s a couple things happening today’ and this is a great version of that concept with the things being viewing screens that the Wizard is looking at.

He’s watching the Avengers in various peril channel.

This is a good cover!

So last time: uh, a couple things. Wasp called Vision and Scarlet Witch in as reservists when Annihilus tried to blow up the universe with an invisible dome. The two basically contributed nothing but Vision was thrown into a robotic coma.

Wanda and Vision in a tube moved into the mansion while he recovers and Wanda recapped her entire backstory including new retcon that Magneto is totally her dad.

Then she had a Dr. Strange crossover. Since it also involved Monica, two Avengers makes it notable enough to synopsize in brief. And its titled Assault on Avengers Mansion! so its like its baiting me.

Dr. Strange astral projects to bother Wanda when she’s trying to get some grief reading in. He wants to find the Darkhold and she’s the last known possessor or vice versa because thats when she was possessed by Cththon and had to be saved with a care bear stare from the Avengers. But Dr. Strange really wants the Darkhold to stop Dracula from getting it. Yes, Dracula.

Since the Darkhold is being stored in a vault at Avengers Mansion after Beast brought it back from Wundagore, Dracula’s cult attacks and manages to break into the Mansion. Dr. Strange, Wanda, and Captain Marvel all fight off Dracula’s cult and then Dr. Strange trolls Dracula by teleporting the Darkhold somewhere else.

Also, Avengers Mansion got trashed in a break-in in Fantastic Four #257. Dammit. Whats with all the intertextuality in this era?

So that story there is: mostly a lot of Galactus eating the Skrull homeworld and fallout from aforementioned Annihilus story. Only the last two pages are relevant.

Mr. Fantastic shows up to Avengers Mansion to check on Vision, Wanda goes to make him tea, and then he’s teleported to a space trial leaving a giant melted hole in the mansion.

Honestly, I don’t know why FF got asterisked instead of the Dr. Strange issue. They both messed up the mansion but the Dracula cult was more of a break-in than someone leaving a giant hole in the wall. Although that’s more mysterious.

Anyway, with two different ‘read this also’s between issues that messed up the mansion, no wonder the opening splash has to be devoted to a repair crew patching things up.

Wasp is putting her size-shifting to good use to literally micro-manage. Zipping around at tiny size telling everyone how to do their job.

Captain America who is also supervising and impressing people with how buff he is gets annoyed and goes to tell her to stop but stops himself.

Captain America: No... No. She’s in charge here, and I have to let her handle things as best she can. Her methods do seem to bring results... They’re just not my methods, that’s all. Yeah...

And then he sulks off, ignoring Wasp when she asks what he’s muttering to himself.

Hm. The new leader honeymoon period is off, it seems. Cap was Wasp’s biggest supporter as chairperson and now he’s grumbling and second-guessing.

Dang.

I hope this isn’t snapback to Wasp not being leader because she’s flighty and silly. I hope we’re not just going to do that.

Cap wanders over to where Vision-inna-tube and Wanda are. Wanda is still glued to Vision’s side. And either Wanda can read minds or Cap says something between panels because we have Cap wondering in a thought bubble whether if Vision has shown any signs of improvement and then Wanda answering that he hasn’t shown improvement or worsened.

Cap(tain) America: “Well, don’t let yourself get too worried, Wanda. That husband of yours has been through worse scrapes than this. He’ll pull through!”

Scarlet Witch: “When you say it, Cap, I can really believe it!”

Inspirational Cap! Charisma rolls: Very.

Still, Wanda is sad because Vision is lying in a tube helpless and she can’t even touch him.

Cap wanders off again, without even saying goodbye (rude) while musing how much it sucks.

Cap: Blast it! Those kids were just starting to make a life for themselves, and this had to happen! Why was it that of all the Avengers who went up against the threat of Annihilus -- it had to be a couple of reservists who suffered most?

And then starts musing how weird it is that Scarlet Witch and Vision as reservists since they were active Avengers for so long!

Remember, Wanda joined the Avengers not very long after Cap did! Only a couple months in-universe! She was one of his Kooky Quartet!

Cap: At times I wondered if the Avengers would survive -- but somehow, through all the tumult and changes, the team not only survived -- it grew stronger! I pray it always will... with the menaces we so often face, we can’t afford to weaken. We’ve gone through so many changes lately. We’ve picked up two fine new Avengers in Captain Marvel and the She-Hulk, but we’ve lost Hank Pym... and now we’ve lost Iron Man, too. Even Thor has taken himself off the active roster to pursue a personal mission. I hope he won’t be gone too long.

Cap is clearly in some sort of dour Mood.

A dour and monologue-y mood.

And what’s Thor up to leaving the team roster OFF PANEL?

(Sigh)

Well, since the asterisk is telling me to see Thor #334... oh geez, Don Blake is under suspicion of killing Jane Foster. Thor, and Lady Sif take Keith Kincaid (the non-Thor love interest of Jane) on a trip to get the Runestaff (long story) and restore Jane Foster (long story).

Annoyingly, the Thor issue does show him telling the Avengers he’s going to be gone for a while and to take him off the active roster. And borrowing a Quinjet.

I think that it would have been nice to see at least a panel of that. Or something. I don’t want the book bloated with ‘see alsos’ but I’m confused why it put the most emphasis on the FF one when it was literally two pages where Reed manages to ruin the wall while getting kidnapped.

Whatever.

Anyyyyway.

Even though he thinks the new Avengers are good, Cap worries about having both Thor and Iron Man off the team.

Especially Iron Man.

He was their science/technical guy. And on the current team, the only one with any sort of science expertise is new trainee Starfox.

Who is busy making out and not being on time for his daily training session.

At least he remembers that he has a prior obligation.

And he’s only two minutes late. Or to put it another way, he’s a whole two minutes late. And Cap(tain America) is a notable stickler for punctuality.

Cap: “Punctuality may be an anachronism in this day and age -- and, for all I know, it may be unheard of on the planet Titan -- but in my day, it was something that was expected of people!”

Wow, Cap really pulled a ‘in my day.’

Frankly, I’m surprised he doesn’t pull that more often.

Starfox does seem contrite and apologizes for putting pleasure before business which sends Cap into an introspection about why he’s really being so harsh on Starfox.

Protip: It’s Tony. It’s almost always Tony.

Cap: Pleasure versus duty, that’s what it always comes down to. It was Tony Stark’s ‘pleasure’ which led him to giving up his Iron Man identity... leaving the Avengers. Some ‘pleasure’! He’s crawled so far into the bottle, he may never get back out. And there’s nothing I can do to pull him out... Nothing any of us can do, unless he lets us. That’s what’s really bothering me... isn’t it?

And he accepts the apology with a “just don’t let it happen again.”

You sound so old sometimes, Cap.

Meanwhile, She-Hulk is off on a jog through New York, listening to some Beach Boys’ California Girls.

An overeager driver scoots forward and cuts her off at the crosswalk and (I assume) in frustration, she punches the hood of the car.

And given it’s She-Hulk, she kinda punches a hole IN the hood. And probably engine.

The guy being either an idiot or incredibly unperceptive runs after She-Hulk to grab her arm and yell at her.

She does not care for that at all.

Like, why would you? She’s seven feet tall and green and just punched a hole in the hood of your car.

Luckily for the guy’s skeletal integrity, Spider-Man pops out of nowhere to be Friendly Neighborhood and mediate this conflict.

They both air their grievances.

She-Hulk: “This creep grabbed me!”

Creep: “Hey! She... she crunched the front of my car!”

She-Hulk: “That was you who cut me off in the crosswalk? You’re lucky I didn’t rip out your axle!”

Spider-Man: “Now, now! Let’s keep this friendly! Sounds like you’re in the wrong, chum! The lady had the light!”

Creep: “Lady?!? She’s no --!”

Spider-Man: “I wouldn’t say that if I were you! That’s the She-Hulk, dummy! Remember what she did to your car? Well, just imagine what she could do to you!”

Creep: “Oh yeah.”

And with the power of Spider-Man’s bomb-ass mediation, the guy realizes that he was in the wrong, apologizes, and leaves in a hurry.

(Her skeptical glare cracks me up for some reason)

Moral of the story: Don’t be a jerk. Stay behind the line when the little man is lit up.

After the guy takes off, She-Hulk praises(?) Spider-Man’s amazing mediation skills by saying he should have been a lawyer. And then they catch up.

She-Hulk is still having trouble adjusting to the East Coast lifestyle and lack of beaches so Spider-Man suggests checking out the Jersey Shore.

She-Hulk: “My big problem right now is housing. Avengers Mansion is nice, but I want a place of my own.”

Spider-Man: “It’s tough -- rents are pretty steep.”

She-Hulk: “The real trouble is finding a place I like. With the thousand a week I get as an Avenger, rent’s no big deal.”

Spider-Man: “I guess not, if you’re making a... a thousand A WEEK?!? I passed up a chance to become an Avengers, and they make $1000 a week?!? Oh, NO!!”

Ha ha, that ol’ Parker luck.

Maybe Thor should have mentioned the money when he tried to recruit Spidey.

Meanwhile, at a federal penitentiary in Vermont, a scene change.

Bentley Wittman, aka the Wizard, aka the Wingless Wizard, aka the adult man who thought the best use of his time was bullying a teenager, is being questioned about Plantman Sam Smithers’ escape from jail.

The Wizard claims that he knows nothing about Plantman’s escape and that he barely knows the guy anyway. They were airlifted from Ryker’s in the same helicopter and that’s it.

But a convenient x-ray tells a different story.

And that story is that “the Wizard” doesn’t have any skeleton bones.

... Were we really at the point in 1983 where we didn’t know about the dangers of overexposure to x-rays? They just causally scan both “the Wizard” and the guy questioning him?

Anyway, the ruse being rumbled, the fake Wizard rips the bars out of a window and jumps out to his death.

Or it would be death if he wasn’t just animate wood wearing a fake skin suit.

Kinda gross if you think about it.

Anyway, where is the real the Wizard?

Obviously, he escaped jail a while back. Not only is he a sinister criminal mastermind who has sinister masterminding to mastermind but also he was tired of the prison hair code. Because dammit, he wants to rock the goatee!

(Literally a comment he makes, calling the prison barbers butchers)

The Real Wizard gets a BLIP-BLIP-BLIP priority alert that informs him that the plant-him has been discovered which means that the authorities will be looking for him now.

Wizard: Now every law officer in the nation will be looking for me. Well, let them! They’ll not find me, unless they look here! And if they do look here, they’ll have a fight on their hands! The Wizard will not bolt and run like some common criminal! My home is my fortress! They’ll never get me out of it! Never!

Anyway, within an hour of the discovery of Plant-Wizard, a disgruntled agent of the national security council named Mr. Sirkorski receives a briefing.

Usually, this problem would be Gyrich’s problem but he’s busy somewhere else, probably making mutants miserable if I had to guess.

-checking- Yup, he’s over in the X-books, being involved in Project: Wideawake, the project that will later accidentally shoot Storm with a demutantifying gun that will take away her powers, leading her to kick Cyclop’s ass, leading to him leaving the team and feeling sad about being happily married.

Wow, Gyrich, you’re the worst.

Anyway, since the Wizard is tied to the presidential hostage crisis via Plantman, that makes it Serious Business.

Hence, Mr. Sikorski’s serious business.

And he hates it.

He hates this bonkers superhero universe. He just wants to live in a spy thriller universe without all this specific nonsense.

Mr. Sikorski: “Oh, great! Plant-Men... criminal scientists... prison breaks! Don’t they think I have enough to do, just keeping track of what the Russians are up to?”

Also Mr. Sikorksi, on the following page: “And it’s up to me to call in the appropriate parties. I feel a little weird doing this! It’s hard enough for me to believe there are such things as Avengers! I certainly never thought I’d be calling them for help!”

This guy is great. I hope he becomes a recurring and just continues to be low-key pissed about what genre he lives in.

SCENE CHANGE TO AVENGERS MANSION’s actually looking cooler than ever meeting room.

The table looks enormous and theres a giant viewscreen that they can display stuff on.

Only misstep in my opinion is that the seats don’t have personalized icons on the back.

On the big viewscreen map, Cap(tain America) is displaying for Captain Marvel known properties and hideouts that the Wizard has used in the past.

And then big boss the Wasp comes in with She-Hulk to start the meeting.

Since the government has requested that the Avengers help search for the Wizard, Captain Marvel suggests that she could zoom around and check off the whole list in no time flat by using her lightspeed.

Cap(tain America): “You probably could, C.M. -- that’s up to Jan to decide, of course. It would save us some time. After all, the Wizard could be in any of these places... or none of them!”

Wasp: “You think so? If I’d escaped from prison, I’d want to go home. But that’s just me, I suppose.”

Cool contribution, Jan.

I don’t mean to mock, its just she makes a goofy face.

(Hey, I wonder if her new costume was inspired by the FF’s negative zone’d ones. It’s kinda got a similar palette and rough design)

Anyway, Scarlet Witch asks whether she can be excused from superheroing for the day to keep an eye on the Vision.

Wasp: “Why, Wanda! I should say not! You agreed to fill in for Thor while he’s off in space, and I intend to hold you to that! I’m the chairwoman, and I’ll decide who goes where!”

In fact, since somebody does need to watch the Vision, Wasp chooses the most reasonable candidate.

Captain Marvel!

Who needs her to get the task done in five seconds! She can watch the coma-robot.

You make interesting decisions, Jan!

The remaining Avengers will split up into squads.

Captain America will take Scarlet Witch and She-Hulk to check the hideouts on the east of the map. Wasp and Starfox will check out the western ones.

She-Hulk: “You and Starfox, huh? That’s rich... the All Flirt Squad!”

Pfft.

Cap(tain America) isn’t feeling the humor and tells She-Hulk to save her jokes for when they don’t have a job to do.

Minutes later, the Avengers land a Quinjet on the front drive of the Wizard’s Long Island estate. He has one of those.

Cap: “Come on Avengers -- let’s get this over with!”

Good attitude, Cap.

Wanda notes that the grounds look neatly tended considering that the estate has been empty for the past several years but She-Hulk thinks a gardener was probably kept on retainer.

The Wizard was stupid rich.

When they get inside, Cap changes his tune. The place looks too tidy and ready for occupancy to be empty so maybe the Wizard is here.

So he pulls a ‘lets split up gang’ and splits up gang with each Avenger taking a wing.

Cap: “Oh, and She-Hulk, try not to break anything if you can help it. This is private property!”

Priorities!

Granted, She-Hulk is known to break things. Why just today she broke some dude’s car.

The Wizard is watching all of this on his home security system and springs individual traps on the individual Avengers.

She-Hulk finds herself in a series of identical small non-descript rooms, each more identical than the last.

So identical that its the same room, looping.

Wizard: “Through the circuity in that doorway, I’ve activated a dimensional matrix which will keep your walking back and forth ad infinitum through the same room!”

Except without seeing herself leaving which you’d think she’d be able to see.

It’s a smart way to trap a Hulk, provided they don’t run out of patience or get frustrated and smash something.

Meanwhile, Cap gets locked in a chamber where an anti-gravity field has been activated, leaving him flailing through the air.

Oh, and dozens of high-intensity laser torches pop out of the walls and start trying to carve up Cap.

Meanwhile, Scarlet Witch’s individualized trap is the most individualized of all.

Because She-Hulk’s and Cap’s could be used on any number of people really. But Wanda’s feels like it was created to counter Wanda. Pretty on the ball from the Wizard considering he doesn’t often fight the Witch.

When Wanda enters the room she suddenly starts spinning out of control, flies across the room, and lands in a chair.

Wizard: “Marvelous! I’ve ensnared the Scarlet Witch within something against which her astounding hex powers are useless. My field effect devices have generated a pocket of non-causality within that test chamber! Within the area, all actions have an equal chance of occurrence. Therein, all probabilities are skewed. She won’t be able to stand, much less cast a hex!”

Wow! That’s some high octane comic book nonsense science!

The point being that every time Wanda tries to do something, something random happens instead because its all equally likely. She tried to walk into a room and ended up standing on the roof. She tried to back out of the room, she started spinning. She tried to stop spinning and she flew into a chair.

Sure.

With the Avengers all trapped, the Wizard turns his attention to deciding how to dispose of them.

Except, as cleverly foreshadowed by my snide comments, She-Hulk’s trap is only as good as Jen’s patience.

Which is good forrrrrrr. Two dozens loops.

At that point, she’s sure some bullshit is up and scratches the wall with her nails to leave a tangible mark. When she sees the same mark in the ‘next room’ her suspicion is confirmed.

And now that she knows someone is jerking her around, she decides to ignore Cap’s suggestion to not break private property by breaking private property and rips the doorframe (and the dimensional matrix) to crap.

There’s a backup trap that drops slabs of six-inch omnium steel around her but yeah she’s a hulk and she’s not playing considerate anymore. She starts KRUNGing the walls with her fists.

Meanwhile, Cap uses physics to get out of his jam. He throws his mighty shield to break some lasers so action/reaction will propel him backwards and he can jump off the wall, grab his shield back, and uses one of the broken-off lasers against the others.

Also, meanwhile, Scarlet Witch tries to figure out her own, incredibly specific trap.

Scarlet Witch: This is like a nightmare! Whatever I try to do, something else happens. Just in making the attempt to call on my hex power, I wound up falling flat on my face! I can’t even... wiggle my fingers? I... I can! Oh, but only very close to the floor! Whatever is causing my actions to go awry must be weaker near the room’s outer surfaces! Then there’s HOPE -- !”

Wizard must have gone cheap on the pocket of non-causality projector for that room if it’s not completely covering the area. Sure, the area it doesn’t cover is relatively small but now what’s about to happen is going to happen.

So Wanda gets as low as she can go to the floor and uses her probability-altering powers.

This causes the non-causality field to reverse because why wouldn’t it? And causes feedback through the circuitry which causes the master control to shock the Wizard.

It also causes every logic circuit in the master control to overload and the whole dang thing explodes, Wizard barely flying out of the control room in time.

Right in She-Hulk’s path.

She’s not happy. He’s not going to like her not being happy.

She-Hulk: “After what I’ve been through, it’s gonna be a real pleasure to pound that helmet down around your ankles!”

Wizard nopes right out of her way and decides to abandon fortress.

Then Scarlet Witch probability alters his battlesuit flight controls to malfunction to halt his escape and make him crash to the-

...

I’m pretty sure his neck is broken now.

I mean, it’s apparently not because he keeps talking and moving and living but he look at that panel. Guy should be dead as movie Zod.

Y’know, if the Avengers are going to kill the Wizard, the FF should really get them back and kill one of their villains. I suggest Grim Reaper.

Anyway, surrounded by Avengers, Wizard pulls his trump card.

Wizard: “Your confidence is ill-founded, Captain America. There is one resource I can yet draw upon. There is a thermonuclear devise beneath my house -- powerful enough to destroy half of Long Island and make the remainder very unpleasant for a very long time. Much as I hate to see this place destroyed, I would press the button, so to speak.”

“You being such renowned public heroes, would hate that even more. But unless you allow me to go unharmed, I shall active the timing sequence of the bomb’s detonator.”

And Cap is like ‘do you mean this detonator’ and pulls out one he prepared earlier.

HAH!

You know, ironically, if he had just hidden in a safe room or on the roof or something, the Avengers probably would have came and went without noticing him. Springing traps on them really backfired in oh so many ways.

The threesome return to the mansion, presumably after turning Wizard over to the authorities, and Wasp comments that it sounds like they had a bit of excitement (Starfox grumbling to himself more excitement than he had searching the Bronx with the Wasp ha ha).

Cap(tain America): “You’ll be glad to know, Wasp, that your instincts were correct. The Wizard had indeed gone home. He gave us all a pretty good challenge... a welcome challenge, I dare say.”

Wasp: “Looks like I assigned the right people to search the right place, huh?”

Cap: “Yes, Ms. Chairwoman, I’d say you did!”

And elsenow, Wanda goes to the medical bay to check in on Vision and relieve Captain Marvel.

Scarlet Witch: “Can you hear me, darling? I hope you can. I was feeling awfully blue today... And I was given a duty that first seemed annoying, and later became dangerous. But I didn’t give up... I came back, and I won. I know that you can come back, too, darling! It’s just a matter of time... and hope.”

“It’s funny! I thought the Wasp was silly for sending me on that mission. But -- in a way --it was something I need. I think the others needed it, too!”

Captain Marvel: “Then that’s why she sent you, Wanda... because she knew what you needed! And that’s why she leads the Avengers!”

Secret friend mastermind Janet van Dyne sends you out for punch therapy when you need to punch something.

Reminds me of when Captain America picked a fight with Goliath Hank Pym to lift his spirits. Except with a lot less fighting her own friends and more pointing them in the right direction.

Something I love about this era of Avengers and with the big shift in Wasp after Hank’s court-martial is that while her character has changed she’s still recognizably and uniquely herself. She’s still a bit goofy. She’s still playful. And on top of that, she’s proven that she’s a good leader for the Avengers. It’s not mutually exclusive.

Cap (previously Wasp’s biggest supporter as leader) started this issue grumpy and even had his own ideas what the best tactic for searching for the Wizard would be, but by the end he agrees that Wasp made a good decision.

Despite playing the ditz for a long part of her career, Wasp isn’t dumb. And she’s got a good head for the interpersonal challenges of running a team too.

I’m reminded that during the much later Busiek run, when the Avengers need to expand and modernize to match up to expanding challenges, Captain America turns the leadership of the team over to the Wasp.

My point being, I was worried that there’d be snapback on Wasp being leader because she is flighty and silly. But instead, she can be flighty and silly and still a good leader.

I’m pleased with this take, Stern.

Follow @essential-avengers​ because there will probably be more Wasp being a good leader. Fingers crossed. Also, like and reblog this post maybe if you also like Wasp being a good leader.

[funkiing]

🧛‍♀️ Cold

tw ;; blood and violence mentions.

with his bloody nose, horrible weather, and the icy wind cutting into his skin, being alone was currently the least of keith's worries.

dried blood covered his hands and face, a busted lip and a nasty wound on the left side of his face. his bright blue hair had been covered in snow, red snapback a few feet behind him. the rapper couldn't move as he stared up into the sky. sky and stars were all he could see in his state, vision sometimes obstructed by the green tops of the trees. despite his limited vision, the male knew exactly where he was, as he had seen this place once before. it had been the only thing he was able to see, and now the painfully familiar scenery couldn't leave his mind.

with a strained sigh, keith endured the pain of snowflakes and dust particles hitting his eyes. you forgot how painful that actually was, until you had to experience it for hours on end. the male couldn't move. his whole body bruised and beaten, plus the added suffering of being frozen in the snow.

everything was so cold.

he wanted to sleep.

[sasuhinasno1fan]

Catwalked into my life

I was trying to figure out what to do a crossover with but I've been reading FFXV fics and decided, well I've made them roommates, why not make them related. I hope you like it. Crossover

Noctis sat in the car Ignis had driven him in, waiting for the familiar blonde head to appear in the stream of people walking into school. Finally, he spotted someone dodging people, his green wristband a beacon.

“Prom’s here. I’ll see you later Iggy.”

“Do remember to share the desserts with Prompto and also remember no running off to the arcade this evening. Your cousin will be here this evening and your having dinner with him.”

“Iggy, you know as well as I do Keith will be completely fine with burgers.”

“Be that as it may, he is a visiting royal so we have rules we must follow. So no running off.”

“Fine.” Noctis exited the car and met up with Prompto. “You’re pretty late.”

“Sorry. My mom called me right when I was leaving.”

“Everything ok?”

Prompto’s parents worked as journalists but their office was based out in Altissia so they lived there while Prompto lived in Insomnia. They paid his bills and sent him a small allowance, since he worked part time. Usually if they called, they’d be on the phone for hours catching up.

“Yeah. My mom was mostly calling to ask if my cousin could stay with me for the weekend.”

“Your cousin?”

“Well, his mom is friends with my mom and they’re really close so he’s kinda like my cousin. Anyway, he’s a part time model and there’s this event happening.”

“The Moonlight Fashion Show?” Noctis interrupted.

“How do you, never mind. He was asked to join the models kinda late so they couldn’t get him a hotel so my mom was asking if he could stay with me.”

“Funny. My cousin is also coming for a visit.”

“What cousin?”

“His mom was my mom’s sister. They were a bit estranged from each other because of some really bad argument but my dad knew my mom still cared so he kept her in the lop. After my mom passed, my aunt didn’t want to lose her connection with me so she talks with us way more. Anyway, she’s coming to visit before going to Lestallum for some sort of union talk, so I’m having dinner with her and my cousin tonight so no arcade.”

“Is he cool or?”

Noctis shrugged. “He’s pretty cool. He’s kinda like me. Knows he’s related to royalty but doesn’t make it a habit of letting people know that. He likes to keep to himself.”

“Sounds exactly like you. I’d like to meet him if I got the chance. Oh by the way. Would Iggy be free to maybe drive me to the airport so I can pick him up? He’s coming in tomorrow afternoon.”

“I guess. I can get you a taxi if you need it.”

“No, that’s fine. You know I don’t like taking your money.”

“Not like I’m using it for much else, but if you really need a ride, I can beg Specs to take you. What’s your cousin’s name anyway?”

“Lance. His name’s Lance.”

Noctis happily sat out of training as he watched Galdio spar with Keith. Even with wooden swords, it was easy to see how well Keith could keep up. Keith technically wasn’t part of the royal line, his mother’s family was added to the royal family tree as dukes and duchess, so he was never expected to learn how to fight. When he first visited though, he had watched Noctis practise with Gladiolus and wanted to try. They had to send a member of the Glaive to help train Keith because he liked it so much. Noctis would still preen at how he would still manage to keep Keith on the ropes.

The young fighter was thrown to his back by Gladio, the wooden sword flying from his grip.

“Good, you’ve gotten better. Still not good as me though.” Gladio joked as he pulled Keith up, ruffling his hair when he was on his feet.

People would think Keith and Noctis were brothers and he could kinda see it. Their hair was on the long side but Keith’s was more of a mullet while Noctis’ looked like he just rolled out of bed. Their eye colour was also different but they other than looks, they both like keeping to themselves and didn’t make friends easily. Noctis was lucky with Prompto but as far as he knew, Keith hadn’t exactly made friends in his school. But Keith’s personality was a bit prickly for those who didn’t know him well.

“I can see that smug smile of yours.” Keith said, tugging his hair tie out of his hair, ruffling it to air it out.

“Just happy to see someone else at the mercy of Gladio.” Noctis joked, dodging the same hair tie.

“Asshole.” Keith collapsed next to his cousin, looking tired now that training was over. “My trainer has to be going easy on me.”

“Well they’re not Gladio so probably. If you’re that tired, maybe we could skip dinner and just get Iggy to grab us burgers.” Noctis suggested, really not in the mood to get dresses up for a dinner with his cousin.

“Tempting, but my mom said at least one or two of the council members would join us so they could talk to her. Speaking of things my mom’s making me do, you know the Moonlight Fashion show?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“My mom is insisting we go.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah, so guess who I asked to come with us?”

Guess who he asked? Wait…

“Tell me you didn’t.” Noctis begged.

Keith gave him a deadpan look, “If I have to suffer, so do you. Besides, your dad wasn’t going and you guys had tickets.”

“Why am I the one suffering though?”

“Because I can’t get out of it. Noctis,” Keith went from deadpan to pleading, “I don’t want to go to this by myself. Please come with me?”

It was like Keith knew if he pouted, he’d get his way. The asshole was good at looking like he was a poor boy who only wanted a simple thing and it’s be a crime to say no.

“Uggg, fine. You so owe me for this.” Noctis grumbled. “Oh, wait a second. You remember me telling you about Prompto?”

“Your best friend right?”

“Yeah, I forgot he mentioned that his cousin was supposed to be walking in that show.”

“Does this mean I get to meet the famous Prompto?”

“I’m going with him and Specs to pick up his cousin at the airport tomorrow after school, how about you meet him then.”

“Anything to get me away from having to spend the afternoon drinking tea with high society ladies my mom has to entertain now that’s she’s here.”

Keith wasn’t one to make friends easily but Prompto was pretty good at making him talk. Since they picked him and Noctis up from school, Prompto had asked him tons of questions, all of which Keith answered. He never felt that he was being integrated and he watched just how comfortable his cousin was with the blond. They just easily melded together.

Ignis insisted that he get Prompto’s cousin – friend? – through security like he was a member of the royal family so they didn’t spend all afternoon waiting in arrivals. Prompto tried, hard, to get Ignis to not do that but his pleas were unheard. Keith could tell Prompto was really Noctis’ friend because of actually wanting to be his friend, not the prince factor.

“So this cousin of yours? How’d he manage to walk in one of the biggest fashion shows if he works part time?” Keith asked.

“Oh, check it out.” Prompto pulled his phone out and after a bit of searching, showed Keith the picture on his phone. Lance had been modelling a sweater, the largeness of it sliding off his shoulder, his blue eyes smouldering. It took everything in Keith not to start blushing. Part time or not, Lance was really good looking. “Part time or not, you look like this, you get called. Just, he was part time so he wasn’t first pick but after another model got really sick, first person they called was him. And it’s not photoshop. Check this out.” Prompto swiped to a picture of him and Lance posing on a couch. “That was when I visited my parents earlier this year.”

“He’s really good.” Keith pointed out.

“Right?” Prompto preened. “Just wait till you see him walk the runway.”

“You sound like a proud mother.” Noctis teased.

Prompto stuck his tongue out at Noctis. “Most people tend to look at him and think he can’t do the job.”

“Sounds like someone I know.” Noctis’ own phone buzzed and he pulled it out. “Iggy’s got your cousin. Said he kinda scared him?”

“Lance never believed me when I said I was friends with the prince so he thought he must be in trouble.” Prompto said, not sounding at all sorry.

Soon enough, Ignis came through arrivals, followed by a tan skinned teen, his brown hair mostly hidden by a backwards snapback. Keith noticed he also had blue eyes, but not like Prompto’s. His reminded him more of the sea. He also looked slightly scared, looking relieved when he finally spotted Prompto.

“What the hell you asshole?”

Prompto laughed. “Not my fault you didn’t believe me.”

“I thought I was about to get sent back home.” Lance complained, hitting Prompto on the shoulder, “I can’t believe you didn’t even warn me!”

“You wouldn’t believe me.” Prompto pointed out. “Noctis, this my cousin Lance. Lance, this is his royal highness-”

“Prom.” Noctis complained.

“Ok fine, this nerd is Noctis and this is his cousin Keith. And you’ve met Ignis already.”

Lance bowed his head slightly as he shook Noctis and Keith’s hands. “Nice to meet you. You didn’t have to come all this way to pick me up.”

“No point of Prompto paying for a taxi and having to wait very long for you to come through security. It was no problem.” Ignis said, leading the group to where they left the car. A few Glaives were there for extra security and quickly helped Lance getting his suitcase in the car.

Keith opened the door for Lance. he looked at him and gave him a smile. Wow, and what a smile.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” Keith said, watching Lance climb into the car.

“You’re drooling.” Noctis teased as he climbed in after Lance.

“So you didn’t get me a hotel, did you?” Lance asked.

“Please, you’re not that important. You’re roughing it with me.” Prompto said. “Noctis is coming with us because we do need to work on a class assignment together.”

“Hang on, you can’t abandon me now. Tea with society ladies remember.” Keith begged, turning to face his cousin.

“Well, I just need to settle in but if you want, I can hang out with you.” Lance offered.

“Good enough for me. God knows this assignment might just kill us.” Noctis said, answering for Keith.

“Should I be worried?” Ignis asked.

“No need Iggy, I promise he’ll still be alive by the time we’re done.” Prompto promised. “You sure you don’t mind sticking around?” He asked Keith.

“It’s fine.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure I can entertain royalty for a few hours.” Lance said.

Ignis dropped them off at Prompto’s house and Keith took it upon himself to take Lance’s bag inside.

“You’ll be in my parents’ room, it’s all clean.” Prompto directed.

“Try not to need us for a few hours so I can finally die.” Noctis said as he walked to Prompto’s bedroom.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry. Come on, I’ll show you the room.”

According to Prompto, his parents lived in Altissia so the fact that the room didn’t look lived in wasn’t surprising. Lance dropped his book bag on the bed and pulled his hat off.

“You can laydown the bag at the end of the bed, I have to unpack everything.”

“Sure.” Keith did just that, unzipping it so Lance could start unpacking and sat at the end of the bed.

“So, I don’t think I’ve actually heard of you in terms of the royal family.” Lance said as he pulled clothes out of his bag.

“Technically speaking, I’m not part of the royal family. We have a title but that’s only because my aunt was Noctis’ mother.”

“That’s right. Normal commoner caught the eye of the king, love at first sight and all that.”

“Basically. Uncle Regis wanted us to be part of the family even though my mom and her sister were arguing at the time. Uncle’s always made sure we’re taken care of.”

“He sounds pretty amazing.” Lance said.

“He is. So, how did you get into modelling?”

Lance looked slightly embarrassed about the attention on him. “Oh, well. Prom loves taking pictures and whenever he was in town, I’d kinda stick to him like glue because I could never make friends easily. He’d take pictures of me and I didn’t want to make his pictures look bad, so I’d try modelling in the mirror. It was actually thanks to Prompto that I got scouted. We were taking pictures on the beach and a scouting agent thought we were actual professionals. Prom wasn’t going to move to Altissia just to work as a photographer but I was offered a contract. My mom agreed as long as it was part time so I could finish school.”

“You a Junior like them?”

Lance nodded. “I like modelling but I don’t know if it’s what I’ll do forever. I like a lot of things. I like going to the aquarium and part of me wants to try to go into marine biology.”

“That’s a big step up from modelling.”

“Not only that, the best program for it was way out of my price range. Maybe I should just stick to modelling. It’d be easier”

“I think you can do it. Just because something is easy doesn’t mean you should just give in. a lot of people think I should go into politics to help my uncle but I want to work as an officer. Because of who my uncle is, politics would be easy but I don’t want easy.”

Lance took Keith in before giving him a thankful smile. “You’ve got a point. And besides, Galding Quay is also a bit of a fashion district as well as where the program is. Modelling does come with a big pay check.”

“Well there you go.”

“You know, I was so sure that there was no way Prom was best friends with a prince because as far as I knew, all members of the royal family had to be stuck up.”

Keith let out a scoff, “Noct and I are the last people to be stuck up. We’re too busy avoiding unwanted talk and boring conversations.”

“So I can tell. Looks like I was wrong about you Keith. I wonder what else I was wrong about.” For some reason, that made Keith feel like blushing.

The day of the Moonlight Fashion show was here. The day after Lance got in, he was busy with rehearsal so Keith only saw him when he came with Noctis to Prompto’s house. They talked, almost falling into it as easily as Noctis and Prompto did with each other. Well except, Keith was pretty sure he gained a crush on Prompto’s cousin. He was good looking and really nice and his laugh was something he could listen to for hours. Wow, Keith was a bit obsessed but he was fine. he never felt that way about anyone, ever, so if that’s how his first crush was going to happen, then so be it.

He tugged at his tie, noticing his cousin wasn’t looking comfortable either. He was also wearing his crown, because it was required for events such as this, and he could tell Noctis wanted to throw it across the room. Prompto was doing a good job of distracting him though, talking up a storm, and showing him the pictures he got. They were able to sit in the front rows next to the catwalk so Prompto was gushing about the perfect picture opportunities.

“Smile.” Prompto said, holding up a much smaller camera to face the small row of them. Keith naturally smiled, feeling Gladio sticking his head into the frame at the last minute. “Dude come on, that motion blur is so not good.”

“Well excuse me.” Gladio said, sinking back into his seat. There was a row of Glaive members sitting next to him in the second row and Keith knew there were more around. Ignis himself was seated next to Prompto, his eyes trained on his tablet, noise cancelling headphones on his ears.

The lights finally dimmed and the noise died down as the main designer for the fashion line came out onto the catwalk.

“Welcome everyone to the Moonlight Fashion show. As you know, I have collaborated with many designers, both amateur and professionals so we can create the designs you see today. I do hope you enjoy our show and I’d also like to extend a kind welcome to the prince of our glorious kingdom, Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum.”

With the painted Prince smile, Noctis stood up and waved at the applauding crowd.

“Now please enjoy our show as we walk through the moonlight.”

With another round of applause, the main designer stepped off the catwalk as the first model walked down the catwalk. A lot of the clothes were black, navy or a deep purple, most having a sparkling effect within its seams. Then Lance came onto the catwalk. His pants were dark blue with crescent moons tastefully sprinkled throughout, his black top having cut outs for his shoulders. Keith definitely noticed the glitter around Lance’s eyes. As he turned to walk back down, he caught Keith’s eyes and winked at him.

“You’re blushing.” Noctis whispered, laughing as Keith threw his elbow into his side.

Lance came back down near the end with a girl on his arm, her one shoulder galactic inspire dress taking most of the attention, even as Lance spun her so she took up the room at the end of the catwalk. But Keith’s eyes were trained on Lance, his blazer looking like the night sky and his suit fit him perfectly. Lance sent him another smile as he took the hand of his partner and walked back up the catwalk. It was a bit hard to pick Lance out when all the models came out so the designers could get their recognition, but he was able to pick him out near the end of the line.

Once the catwalk was once again empty and the lights had risen, Ignis stood up. “We’ve also been invited to the afterparty. It would do good to make an appearance.”

“Lance is supposed to be working that too. Come on, I want to eat overpriced free food.” Prompto said, making sure he had his camera before dragging Noctis to the exit.

The after party was in the room next door and was a bit dark so the motion sensored floor could light up well as people walked around. There were different podiums and soon models from the show came in and stood on them, allowing the audience members could take a closer look at the clothes.

Ignis stopped Noctis from following Prompto to the food table. “We need to go greet the designers.”

“What for?”

“One of them is the niece of the royal seamstress. Besides, it’s the polite thing to do.”

Noctis groaned and Prompto promised to save him a plate as they disappeared into the crowd. Most of the Glaive members disappeared to, no doubt to check out the place and keep an eye on Noctis. He knew a few still had their eye on him, so Keith went around to go look for a particular model. He found Lance surrounded by a few women who seemed more interested in Lance’s body than his clothes. He’d changed back into his first outfit, his face shining from the glitter still on it.

“Excuse me ladies.” Keith interrupted, holding out his hand for Lance, which he took and stepped off the podium. “I’m afraid I need to steal him.”

Keith pushed Lance away from the pouting ladies and lead Lance to a less populated area.

“Thank you. I felt a bit like a slab of meat. Is this how Prince Noctis feels? Is this how you feel?”

“It can be much worse.” Keith admitted. “You looked amazing up there.”

“Oh thank you.” Lance said, a blush easily seen even in the dark light.

“Are you going to be doing the modelling all night? I think Prompto said he wanted to get burgers after.”

“I thought I saw him darting to the food table?”

Keith shrugged. “I mean, free food but I know I could still go for a burger.”

“I’d love to but I’ll be working until the party is over.” Lance said, looking upset. “I would love to spend some more time with you.”

“Well, if you’re free tomorrow, would you like to have breakfast with me? Not at the Citadel or anything, but there is the secret dinner Noct and I like going to.”

With a slightly shy smile on his face, Lance nodded. “I think that’ll perfect. I’d love to. I have maybe 4 minutes before I need to get back on the podium. Want to split a cupcake with me?” Lance asked, pointing to where the food table was.

“It would my honour.”