#season 5 really hit some nice punches in for me

[spookynest]

Guess who finished watching wwdits!!!!

#wwdits #what we do in the shadows #spookynest’s art #I was sick and has power over the remote control so I finally finish watching my stuff #I want a season 6 of these dorks #season 5 really hit some nice punches in for me #also delight to see so many Toronto landmarks

[djservo]

that time of the month again... how did your october reading go? i saw you hit your reading goal! are we increasing it to push or just enjoying the moment? what's on the winter horizon

IMO !! we both hit our goals right? I feel like I cheated bc half of these reads were lil bite-sized afternoon reads but whatevz, october was fun!

High Risk: An Anthology of Forbidden Writings edited by Amy Scholder & Ira Silverberg

I found this buried in the back of a bookshop for like $5 & saw that old copies are selling for like $25+ online?? wild! I lucked out! I loved the variety featured here, poems and prose and short stories and essays, a lil bit of everything for everyone. I've shared this exact sentiment before I'm sure but I really do love these types of anthologies because it exposes me to so many new authors/artists I wouldn't have so easily come across otherwise, and this collection was particularly fruitful. my favorite bit was probably 'Dear Dennis' by Dodie Bellamy, which is from a collection of letters written from the point of view of Mina Harker from Dracula and it's just as fun and zany as it sounds. this particular letter is addressed to Dennis Cooper which makes it even more fun for me hehe here's a particular (NSFW) passage I was super charmed by and keep thinking about

The Complete Eightball 1-18 by Daniel Clowes

ohhhh daniel... with a collection this big there are bound to be some misses + the cynical sarcastic gen X 'everyone's an idiot & society is stupid' voice/punchline got predictable and grating after awhile, but it's still a treat to see the progression of his art and storytelling. Ghost World + Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron were featured in here so it was really nice to reread them bc I already loved them both but this time I was able to appreciate the artistic details and stories even more. especially Ghost World which I read around high school and it left a more superficial "haha bitchy teenage girls me as hellll" impression whereas this time around I was surprised at how emotionally gut-punched I felt at the end. so beautiful and touching

A Season in Hell and the Drunken Boat by Arthur Rimbaud

I was craving some poetry + Dennis Cooper has referenced Rimbaud as an early inspiration so I thought i'd give a try, and I totally see the influence with this sorta meandering self-loathing nature mixed with this sensuous + bursting understanding of life. poetic stream-of-consciousness mumblecore. the beauty's kinda stained for me by racial slurs and general weird racial undertones but what else can I expect from a white french man from the 1800s i guess! the length is short enough (hardly 100 pages) to not have to commit to it very long at least

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

I am sooo shocked at how into this I was + I wonder if this would've been the case if I'd read it in high school under a teacher's direction bc while I've enjoyed books I've been assigned to read and analyze academically in the past, the vibe is so different when you're reading something on your own and processing/interpreting things by yourself, more limitless in a way. and I think because of that freedom to move around and stew in and envision things way I wanted to, I really had fun with this!! I think reading it at my age, so removed from school, also made it more shocking in the sense of realizing these are literal children.....??!?? so crazy silly funny scary to think about... these poor boys who desperately need therapy... also the copy I had included introductions by Lois Lowry and Stephen King which were basically nostalgic odes to literature and the stories that shape us as and the way we interpret the world as young readers and I really had a moment like...wow... books really are so powerful like truly....

The Wolf Plays by Brad Fraser

I cant lie, I picked this up bc I was so entranced by the photoshoot Keanu Reeves and Carl Morotte did for the live performance they starred in hehe. it feels redundant to be like 'this would've worked better on the stage.." when reading a play bc Obviously it was Meant for performance/the stage, but IDK I've read screenplays that were so layered and full of life from dialogue to stage directions that it felt as if I really were witnessing a production of it whereas here, the direction and characters were so sparsely written that it was hard to imagine it being any more fleshed out for the stage. to be fair, Fraser himself admitted in the introduction to Wolfboy (the first/main play out of he two featured in this collection) being rushed and rough around the edges so oh well, I'm just glad to have gotten this out of my system now or else it would've plagued me

Castle Faggot by Derek McCormack

so strange and bewitching. I love how it plays with form in a kinda taunting way. blank boxes where you imagine the picture that's being drawn out n stuff like that. I think I'll need to read it again to flesh out my thoughts but with it fresh on the mind, I'm tickled by its way of weaving anger with absurdity. in the afterword convo between Dennis Cooper + Zac Farley, Dennis recounts a story about Derek where they were hanging out at some mall and Derek spotted Nicholas Brandon (the guy who played Xander in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and without a word Derek made a beeline to Xander and just stood closely right behind him on the escalator staring at him intensely and Dennis was equal parts humiliated and terrified bc he'd never seen this weird dark obsessive side of Derek before + that was basically how he felt about the book as well. thought that was neat and somewhat clarifying LOL

PHEW im pooped. NO i will NOT be increasing my reading goal for these last 2 months, lest I strive farther than my capabilities/motivation yet again!!! I tried a few Fil-Am/Filipino horror fictions in october but none of them really clicked for me and i didn't want to commit to something I felt lukewarm about so I'm planning to read some (non horror) Fil/Fil-Am books this month. I realized in October I read almost every form (poetry, fiction, graphic novel, play) except nonfiction wtf! my bread and butter! so I'll probably look for something stimulating buried in my pdfs somewhere

#asks #cheesehair #reads

[bluewings55]

So everyone in the Winx fandom, doesn't matter where you are most active knows the drama about.... yeah basically everything.

So I kinda wanna throw my opinion out there cus I don't want to let you wait for me to post the Mythix designs

I'm not going to cover every problem there is (cus there's a lot) and just straight talk about the main things:

The characters and how Nick changed them

Everyone probably knows about the things going on (especially TikTok) when it comes to hating specific characters, especially Bloom.

Now, I'm going to be as neutral as possible here. No hate towards everyone or the characters.

I understand that people dislike a specific character.

And I agree.

Partially

Let's take Bloom:

I really like Bloom, especially her younger self. But in the newer seasons, she gets even more attention, she takes the unnecessary spotlight, makes things about her and things are about her even if she's not/barely related to it.

Yes, I understand: she's the main character.

But what about, for example, season 5?

In my opinion, it should have been about Aisha. It was her home planet, her family and her people in danger.

But the creators HAD to drag in Daphne so that Bloom was in focus. And let Bloom defeat Tritannus since she is the main character.

She has no ties with him, so why let her get the final punch and not Aisha?

And Bloom. Really? Crying cus your shit Boyfriend didn't LOOK at you? Aisha's Boyfriend went into a coma/died and you are complaining about attention?!

This is not the Bloom I know!

In earlier seasons it made sense that Bloom was the main focus. But the creators didn't only focus on her, they equally devided the attention on all the Winx:

Musa's struggle with Riven, Musa's passion for Music and the loss of her mother, Flora and Mirta, Flora's building up confidence for Helia, Stella, her Father and the chaos in Solaria, Aisha's Trauma and trying to save Andros, Tecna and her feelings for Timmy, Tecna in the omega dimensions etc etc.

It was so much better and more interesting in earlier seasons since you get to know other characters more, and it felt like all of them were important, with a bigger focus on Bloom.

And that was completely fine!

But it's not just Bloom that changed: everyone was being downgraded by Nickelodeon so that she gets the Spotlight, and that just made the show loose it's unique style.

In the dubs (even in earlier seasons) everyone only talks about Bloom, not 'The Winx'.

In season 1 or 2 (I can't remember), some place got attacked and what did the people yell?

"where is Bloom?!"

In Season 4 where the pets get transformed by the Wizards, what did Stella say?

"Hit it bloom!"

In the second movie when the fairies fought the Trix, what did Tecna say?

"we would have defeated them faster if Bloom was here!"

....

That's not necessary.

Nick made them all look fucking incompetent if Bloom wasn't around.

And that's not true.

Sure they aren't as strong as her, obviously, but that doesn't mean they are weak.

But nope, Nick didn't like that and changed it, giving characters maybe 1 episode where they seem important and the rest is about Bloom.

Well not on my watch.

Now, something I want to do for my Sona au is quite related to this:

Since it's my Sona au (and I'm probably going to sound a little as a hypocrite here), I want my Sona to be in the Spotlight here.

But i'm not going to get rid of characters or make them incompetent and seem weak.

Unrelated to their powers or history: they all deserve attention, love, power AND A BACKSTORY nudge nudge wink wink to Flora and Tecna

I want them all to be back to their younger self, the ones we all fell in love with. The strong powerful inspiring girls and in edition my Sona.

I'm going into detail what exactly is going to change, but rest assured: your characters will be loved and cherished equally.

Imma try and organize everything a little as well, making links to the separate Winx Sona AU chapters, Transformations and changes.

Have a nice day!

#winx fandom #winx club #winx redesign #winx #winx musa #winx stella #winx tecna #winx sona #winx roxy #winx bloom #winx flora #winx au #winx writing

[blookmallow]

y’all i am so sorry i failed you

i just found this buried a year into my drafts and realized. i never posted my animatronics ratings for last year’s spirit halloween releases. i started it and i never finished it. it’s now closing in on halloween season again and i still haven’t done it. im ashamed. i am so sorry  

ANYWAY, here’s, uh, my. 9 month late 2022 spirit halloween opinions, happy summerween i guess 

Mr. Punchy 

NEW CLOWN NEW CLOWN fuck yes i love a new clown

also for some reason the first sentence of his description made me lose it 

BIG fan of this just from a visual standpoint, i love the colors, love the hair. i like the light-up face on this one a lot, most spirit clowns ive seen fall into either “Clown Who Is A Monster/Creature” (crouchy, hugz) or “Clown Who Is A Scary Guy” (wally, henry hussle) but this one feels very “evil fun house prop” which i really think works for it. im assuming he’s based on punching-bag clowns, which i haven’t seen them do before, but the fact that his body is a Ball also gives me the mental image of him violently bouncing toward you which is good as well. theres a certain manic energy about this guy that im really fond of. i like him i would like to see him 7/10 

Spike

standard zombie torso figure, though it does have some interesting implications given that Stab The Brain is the generally agreed upon best way to deal with zombies, but this guy seems to be doing just fine despite the giant stake in his head. the website description says he got it from his wife attempting to mercy kill him once he turned zombie but she failed so he’s just stuck like this now. it does not explain why stake to the brain didn’t work, though (the implication is that she missed or something but clearly she didn’t. ive never heard of zombie brains having a very specific precise spot you have to hit to kill them, this looks like it should’ve worked to me) 

something about the bLurghHGhRUrrh noises he makes and the little nicely buttoned flannel shirt with jagged obviously-cut-out-intentionally tears at the bottom is very funny to me. i like to think his wife has accepted the situation and he just lives on the porch scaring away birds and stuff now. 5 /10 hes not really anything special but he brings me joy 

Rat Girl

it’s... fine. she’s a Creepy Little Girl. she’s got a rat. it’s not particularly inspired but I don’t dislike it. she doesn’t really do anything but i like the eye movement. 5/10 

Lil Skelly Bones

this is a variation of another animatronic they had previously, same lil guy but now he’s a jumpscare figure instead of a swinging one. not really a fan of stuff that’s Just “jumps out at you” and thats all but he’s pretty cute. love how Small he is. whats even going on here, is he a skeleton dressed as a skeleton?? i don’t know. it’s very cute. 5/10 

Tombstone Terror

on a surface level this is just a tombstone with a skull that pops out and yells at you. it looks nice, it’s designed well, but it’s about as basic as it gets as far as the concept goes. the description for this one really makes it though, because evidently this skeleton’s name is Steve and he used to be the graveyard caretaker who loved his job so much he stuck around after death to continue protecting the graveyard

his name is steve and he loves this graveyard so much. 6/10 its very uncreative as a prop but it gets a bonus point for steve 

The Widow 

this one looks really familiar i feel like they had a very similar one previously? i dont know. anyway she’s very scary looking and the Neck Snap motion is really unsettling to see. one of those rare animatronics that i actually do feel a lil creeped out by and wouldn’t be eager to approach. her description says her husband cheated on her so she murdered him (and her sister, who he was cheating with) but then broke her neck in the process of trying to dump the bodies in a lake, so here we are. 7/10 i dont love it but i feel like it’s pretty effective and my first reaction to watching the video of it was “eugh. i dont want to see THAT again” so props for that 

Betty Sharpe 

lots of blood on this one, very nice, 

apparently she’s some kind of child beauty pageant contestant who murdered all the other girls

i really like the movement in the bag, something about the relatively slow motion and the size of the bag gives it a sense of “what the fuck does she have in there” since it doesn’t seem fast enough or big enough to be a person. gives the impression of a mutilated but somehow still barely alive person shoved in there, which is excellent. her design doesn’t read very clearly though, it looks like she’s wearing some kind of nightgown. i feel like they could’ve done more to make her look like a deranged diva, give her a tiara or something. the face looks really plasticky also. overall i think its a decent concept that could’ve been executed better. 6/10

Young Crouchy

H U H???!?????

this... sure is a choice. i do not understand the decision-making here at all. i like crouchy well enough but did ANYONE want this. it doesn’t even read as “young crouchy” at all, he doesn’t look Younger in any sense and it sounds like the same recording so his voice isn’t different either. it just looks like Slightly Shrunk crouchy. the fact that the original crouchy is so tall and imposing is really what makes him so effective, so this one just looks comical 

the description goes into his tragic childhood where i guess he’s... disabled? which is why he stands like that? 

The pain of growing up orphaned in the streets can only be masked by laughter, at least according to this broken child. With no friends, no family, and nowhere to turn, he had a stroke of luck when the circus came to town. He never intended to scare anyone, but with his broken posture and twisted frame, he was quickly adopted into the traveling circus and immediately found his calling. No amount of makeup could ever hide his sinister grin and sharp, dagger-like teeth, so he finally embraced his true identity as Crouchy and worked to become the show’s most terrifying act!

for one thing that doesn’t come across as a child even remotely at all, and while crouchy always had the “he just wanted to be a regular clown but he was too scary and everyone was afraid of him so he just decided to embrace it” backstory, i feel like this just makes it come across super ableist. “clown who is just really terrifying no matter how he tries” is kind of a funny concept but now they’re saying “his posture and body structure are Weird and Scary so no one liked him and all he’s good for is being Scary” just. feels real bad. and “he’s called crouchy because he has a physical disability that affects his posture” comes across way worse than “he’s called crouchy because we’re not creative and this is the pose he’s in. i mean because its a personal quirk of his” 

then they also follow up this description with “Every good evil villain has to have a tragic origin story!” which just feels SO forced, it makes me feel gross, this whole thing is stupid, i dont like any of it,

i feel like if they had leaned into “this is very silly” more and made this guy be like, Crouchy Jr, His Son, or his mini clone or something and made his voice higher it might’ve worked. a few people in the youtube comments pointed out that this prop could be beneficial as like, a Smaller/More Affordable crouchy if you don’t have the money or the space for the full size one, which is fair, but i don’t know. i just dont like this whole situation i really don’t 

3/10 try harder next time, spirit 

Strawman

spooky scarecrow man!!! i really hope I get a chance to see him in-store sometime hes lovely. love a creepy scarecrow

the design is good, his face design is pretty cool, it looks better in motion his mouth movements are pretty solid

he has a good range of motion in his head and the jerky/stiff movement in his arms works for the character really well whether it was intentional or not. hes interesting to watch. i like him. i think he’d be a great host/introductory figure at the beginning of a haunt or front of your yard or something to greet guests coming in. hes good i like him 7/10

theres also a new Reagan from the exorcist, but i havent. actually seen that movie yet sdfsdf so i dont really have anything to say about the animatronic other than “it looks fine to me” 

Possessed Pumpkin 

i feel like pumpkin man and creepy scarecrow are friends. they go well together. cursed pumpkin patch is a good concept i like it 

anyway we have this guy at my local store right now, he’s pretty Big and solid looking, its a pretty decent design, i like his big claw hands

his backstory kind of clashes with the design concept though, apparently he was... a kid in a homemade halloween costume who got bullied for his costume and then the other kids locked him in a barn at a haunted pumpkin patch so his body got taken over by evil spirits. which is a hell of a story that then makes No sense with the visual, because that is Not a child. nothing about this even remotely reads as “possessed child” at all. so then it comes across as “he grew up into an adult man in this pumpkin patch and just never fucking moved on from that one time he got bullied on halloween as a child” which just makes him kind of sad. pretty good design, poor backstory, 7/10 

anyway sorry if i missed anybody it took me so long to remember this was in here the new arrivals page on spirit’s site is now for this year so i cant tell which ones were new last year anymore :’    ) fjsdg

#halloween #spirit halloween #spirit halloween 2022 #animatronics

[queen-of-writing-bad-things]

Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 5

Episode 3: Thumb War Part 1

~Downtown Swellview, in backstreet alley~

Oh, (y/n) loved this job.  Some women got to jet all over the world and drink cocktails for a living, which genuinely happened to this one girl she knew in college - Melanie something or other. Yeah, good old Mel got to spend her evenings in Bora Bora watching the sunset, others got to relax in their penthouse suites after a gruelling day in court as a sleek, successful lawyer, whose biggest worry is what to order at the five-star restaurant they dine at every night. 

(y/n)'s nights were different. There was no sunset, the concrete jungle took care of that by hiding the horizon. She certainly wasn't being wined and dined with filet mignon and a Bordeaux, no, she and Ray didn't have that kind of money. What they did have was emergencies coming out of their ears because as usual, the criminals didn't come to Captain Man and co, they went to them.

That's how they'd ended up in one of the grottiest, grossest areas in all of Swellview--and believe me, Swellview had quite a few. It was dark, duh, because there could never be a crime on a nice, sunny day in one of the posh estates, and there was no one around--the perfect place for a nice robbery or murder. Yeah, their criminal had decided to make a shady backstreet carlot his digs, but whatever, they'd been in worse spots. 

And the guy wasn't even that big of a deal. Sure, he was a pain in the ass, but whatever criminal wasn't? Stainless Steve was hardly gonna go down as the world's greatest mastermind, rather the wackiest. His entire get-up made him look like an oven-ready turkey--all wrapped up in aluminium clothing. Steel shoes, steel-lined, foil clothing, dyed silver hair with added shiny highlights and gloves with iron knuckledusters under the metallic padding. 

He looked weird, really weird, but no matter how tough he thought he was, beating him up was a walk in the park for Captain Man and Miss Danger tag-teamed him, with the kid watching on the sidelines. A few punches from the hero here, a couple of kicks from the heroine there and Steve was getting tired. It wasn't glamorous by any means but god, she loved this job.

Ray grunted as he sucker-punched the metal man across his cheeks, making him collapse onto his knees as his face stung from the impact. Captain Man's strength was living up to its name, but the worse was yet to come. As he knelt, defeated on the ground but just gathering his energy to give the smirk hero a taste of his own medicine, (y/n) swooped in with a sharp kick to the chest, metal boot hitting metal jacket, and Steve stayed down. Probably a wise choice to stay there and wheeze as Ray grinned and pecked at his girl's lips for being so goddamn hot.

"You wanna tag in, kid?" The man asked his other sidekick as he pulled away from his blushing finacée so Henry could get some action. They'd been doing all the heavy lifting for the last ten minutes, wanting to do some couple fighting since they bounced off how hot the other was when throwing fists, but now, the kid looked like he was itching to do something useful. So, they elected to take a break as he was doing now, after all, a mid-battle kiss and cuddle wasn't so bad, was it?

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! You work on this sandwich, I'll work on Stainless Steve!" Henry garbled through a mouthful of PB and J. A mid-battle snack wasn't so bad either and Ray was endlessly hungry so he didn't mind splitting it with the kid, who was already springing to his feet at the opportunity of going to pound town on this clown.

"Deal. We'll munch, you punch." Ray grinned as they high-fived on the way past, Ray snatching the half-eaten sandwich as he guided (y/n) over to an oil drum. He could perch her on his knee and lavish his attention on her with kisses, sweet words and soft touches whilst his other sidekick burnt off some steam. And he got an evening morsel--win-win.

"I'd much rather work on you, Captain..." The woman teased her lover as Ray took a seat, causing his smirk to grow even wider. She too sat down, feeling emboldened under his dark gaze and how eating the sandwich was the last thing on his mind when he had an angel tempting him in ways that shouldn't have been possible. Perhaps he had to keep an eye on Henry too, but that didn't mean he could multitask. Kid, sandwich, hot future wife, he could do that.

"I'm gonna wreck you, Kid Danger," Steve growled as he slowly stood up, his chest and face still aching from the couple's assault, but he was less concerned about them. Sure, Captain Man and his girlfriend or whatever she was these days could take him but now it was just him versus a skinny, pathetic child. What could go wrong?

"Yeah, I don't think so, Steve. I have super-fast reflexes, so don't even try--" Henry chuckled with his boss at how cocky the villain was. He was the one with the superpower, he could move super-fast, no one else, Steve was fighting a losing battle, at least that's what they all thought. So, when the metal man backhanded the kid across the face before he could even finish his sentence, it came as quite a shock. Who was the cocky one now?

"Oh! Nice shot, Steve!" Ray exclaimed, shooting up from the oil drum so quickly that (y/n) nearly lost her balance. What gives? She was pulling out all of her best moves; fluttering eyelashes, big, doe eyes, innocent kisses to his cheek that then drifted to his jaw or lips, she wanted to seduce him and yet he was now preoccupied with how much Henry was sucking and that damn sandwich. Huh...rude.

"Don't compliment the criminal!" (y/n) snapped at her stupid doofus, who pouted when she took a speedy bite out of the PB and J to ruffle his feathers. Normally, the girl wasn't in the habit of sharing one snack between herself and two others but if she wasn't gonna get any kisses then she might as well do something else, and her sulking made Ray smile. He couldn't wait to take her home.

"Okay, you know what? That's it." Henry grumbled, having had enough toying with the guy, he just needed to let off some steam. No one punched Kid Danger, made him look like an idiot and got away to tell the tale. Looking over his shoulder, the teen whacked Stainless Steve repeatedly in the nose, his hands moving so fast that they became a red and blue blur. And Ray was loving it, his little movements and shimmies in time with every beat were so adorable as he watched his youngest sidekick beat the crap out of the guy, fists thumping against the metal but never tiring.

Henry gripped the criminal's jacket as his punches jackhammered the man's face, spreading pain throughout his nose until the guy couldn't take it anymore. His eyes rolled back and the kid knew he was done, so he relented to catch his breath and to watch Steve go floppy in unconsciousness.

"Careful, don't fall." He warned him breathlessly, even though he knew that the man was out for the count and couldn't hear him even if he wanted to, so it was no surprise when he fell back onto the ground with a scraping thud. "Aw, you forgot to be careful..." 

"Hey, nice job, K-D!" (y/n) grinned at the boy, strolling over to his side to share a fist bump with him since he'd pulled some pretty sick moves there. She never tired of seeing his lightning reflexes in action, just like he never tired of seeing all of her bruises disappear in under ten seconds. 

God, he wished he had that, his knuckles seriously needing icing, but that would have to wait until they got back to the Man Cave and he dreaded hearing Ray's complaints about how he wanted his fiancée all to himself after taking down one of the most irritating criminals in the city. Still, what needed to be done had to be done and his hands were sore.

"Thanks, Miss Danger," he grinned at the woman as his tender knuckles met her healed ones before he turned to Ray, who was still munching the sandwich, "okay, let's call the cops and have them come pick up this--yo! Whoa, whoa, whoa! Watch out! Wath out!"

"Holy shit, turn around, doofus!" But suddenly, there was no option for going back to the Man Cave. The hero stood there obliviously as his sidekicks watched in horror at how a Mini Cooper hurtled towards him in reverse. They had no time to react to how random it was, just that Ray was standing there eating like nothing was wrong because he was completely unaware that he was about to be flattened, and as usual, he thought their warning meant nothing. What a doofus.

"Watch out for what?" He asked in confusion but there was no urgency or worry in his voice and neither was he in a rush to do what they said. The danger was over, they'd caught the bad guy, kicked his ass and now, it was time for them to relax. All this hurrying wasn't his style, not when he had a half-decent sandwich in his hand and his eyes on the most beautiful woman in the world. Who'd want to turn their back on her?

"Just turn around, please!"

"Doofus, for the love of God, just turn around! Please, if you love me, turn around!" The boy and woman pleaded with him, wanting to avert disaster before it struck. Of course, it wasn't as if Ray would die or be seriously injured if he got hit, his indestructibility would protect him but that still didn't make it okay to just stand back and watch. He was their friend, boss, lover, and brother from another mother, whatever their connection, they cared about him and seeing him be run over by a tiny yet powerful British car made them cringe. If only he'd listen.

"Sweet girl, you know I can't take my eyes off you. I'm not losing the sight of you standing there, looking all pretty for you, the kid or anybody..." Oh, god. Should she melt or punch him for being a lovable idiot? 

"Move out of the way! We're not joking, dude!"

"I can't hear you, there's like a car coming or--" Too late. Oh well, at least Henry and (y/n) could say that they tried to save him, and it was Ray's fault that he was catapulted halfway across the parking lot when the Mini backed into him. To be fair, if it wasn't her beloved moron, the woman probably would've laughed at how comical it was to see a huge man fly through the air screaming, only to land on the concrete with a small squeak. However, when that squeak had such a familiar groan following it, all her heart could do was tense in worry.

"Oh my god!" She shrieked and ran after him, Henry quickly on her tail as tears sprung in her eyes, although they'd never fall. Now was not the time for sentiment, now was the time to make sure that he was okay--and he was. Captain Man is always okay if a little embarrassed.

"Dude, you all right?" Henry panted as they skidded to the spot where Ray had finally stopped rolling. He was moaning and groaning, perhaps a little delirious from the pain of a fall and blunt force trauma that would kill anyone else, but apart from that, he was still dumb old Ray.

"Yeah, I'm o...okay!" The hero groaned as the pain fizzled out and his vision cleared from the blurriness, bringing his friend and sweet girl back into focus. Aw, she did look all pretty tonight and the only thing that marred her exquisite features was the worry etched across her face from how he stumbled over his words. Well, he'd sooner put an end to that.

"Are you sure, doofus? How are you feeling?" (y/n) asked as she knelt to brush the back of her fingers across his forehead, which was slightly clammy and sticky from the fight and impact but she knew that that dopey look on his face wasn't due to a concussion, neither was her grabbing her hand to squeeze through the pain. He was on manoeuvres.

"Like I'm on cloud nine when I look at you, baby," Ray replied with a toothy grin, making her face burn as Henry groaned. Great, he got all concerned for nothing when in reality, his boss was just gonna use this as an excuse to have a nurse tonight--and he did not want to see or hear that.

"Oh, god. He's fine!" Henry argued, knowing that whilst some doctors might think the man was on some pretty strong hallucinogenic painkillers or something, the reality was that his brain was like that twenty-four-seven.

"I think I might need a kiss to make it better..." was his tongue-in-cheek reply. Oh, the gall of this guy. Whilst (y/n) laughed, Henry wrinkled his nose and turned his back, bored at how with every passing day, with every step closer they got to finally tying the knot, they got touchier and grosser. 

He refused to look as the girl bent to seal their lips together, the sweetest medicine Ray could've received and suddenly, the residual pain faded away and in its place, a burst of energy arrived. Call it energy or desire but Ray quickly felt the need to return home as he sat up in that dimly lit parking lot, following her lips as she pulled away after a minute. If they were at home, he could pull her to a private corner or pull her back down for more but it was cold and open here, not the place for him to go in a second time.

"Later, doofus. We still need to deal with Stainless Steve." (y/n) reminded him as she sat back on her haunches before straightening to her full height. She wouldn't mind playing nurse and indulging him when then they were safely back at the Man Cave, just not when they had work to do first. All that needed doing was getting Steve to jail and then they could revert to their normal lives. Duty first, pleasure second, that's how it went for them.

"Ugh, fine! Let's call the cops on this bozo, they can deal with him." Ray conceded, agreeing that they couldn't have another blood bank incident where they leave the criminal to return to his devices. They began to stroll back to the spot where Steve had been lying, but things weren't as they had left them.

Their criminal was gone, no longer on the ground where Henry had dropped him and in his place, there was a camera crew and that pretty young reporter from KLVY News. Huh. Odd. The news must've gotten wind of what they were up to because they hadn't made the call and no one was around to witness the fighting occurring. Very strange, indeed.

"Uh, guys. Why are they here?" (y/n) asked her doofus and friend as their relaxed stroll picked up into a brisk pace. She thought she'd heard voices earlier but she'd just put it down to kids or some low-level criminals hanging around in the shadows; not once had she expected it to be a camera crew ready for an interview. Okay, that was fine, she could do an interview, it wasn't like she was the sole speaker and they didn't frighten her as they once did. No, this was weird but fine, just another factor in a normal night for them.

"They're probably here to interview us, sweetheart, y'know, 'cause we're superheroes. Come on..." Ray grinned at the thought of being in the limelight and basking in the glory that came with yet another successful takedown of a pesky criminal who blighted the city. He'd take the lion's share of the camera and fame and (y/n) was fine with that; whatever was left could go to Henry because her idea of hell was performing in front of the nation as they scrutinised her every move.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we need to tell them about the fight!" Henry grinned and sped up into a jog with the couple so they could catch the woman and her crew before they left the scene. This was as close as he'd get to being thanked for what he did, so he took every opportunity to let the praise wash over him, even if Henry Hart would never be thanked or acknowledged.

And so, they skidded to a halt in front of the camera and a frankly stunned reporter, panting from the sudden exercise but they'd made it and that's all that mattered. But what was odd was that the woman didn't look happy to see them, more surprised or dare (y/n) guess...disgusted, uninterested? That was new.

"Hey! Hey! What's up?!"

"What's going on? We're here!" The boys rambled as they swiftly smoothed their hair and painted their best smiles on their faces as they stared down the lens of the camera. Miss Danger settled for just standing there with a soft smile on her face; they could do all the talking because she guaranteed that their words would be infinitely better than whatever she could come up with.

"Are we on the news?"

"Are we live right now?"

"Yes!" Well, that answered those questions. Without even batting an eyelid, the reporter pushed her shock to the back of her mind and tightened her smile, moving on like the interruption was a mere bump in the road for her. Three superheroes coming out of nowhere and crashing her report? That was nothing and she quickly accommodated them, including them because after what she'd just witnessed, she'd love to get their reaction.

"As you can see, I am now with Captain Man, Miss Danger and Kid Danger." She grinned into the camera, pausing to look at the heroes in turn as they lined up, Ray subtly taking his sweet girl's hand to remind her that he was there. Like he always said when she worried about being on TV, it wasn't something to stress about, only a chance for them to revel in their excellence--y'know, the usual bigheaded crap that she only tolerated from him.

"So...what's up?" 

"Huh, what's up? What do you mean?"

"What's up with you? What do you mean?" The question came as a surprise for the trio because it was so basic and generic, not the usual snappy ones they got, which were all about finding out the who, when and why.

"What do you want?" Okay, then... This had suddenly gotten very awkward. They were heroes, they'd just defeated a bad guy and a news crew had turned up. What did she think they wanted?

"Well, I figured you'd wanna interview us about Stainless Steve and uh, the people of Swellview might wanna know that the city is safe once again..." Ray replied, smirking as he inclined his head towards the presumably grateful audience at home, but that was when something became very apparent to his sidekicks. Something was lacking, something missing and it was kind of a problem.

"Uh, dude, dude, dude, dude!"

"....thanks to us, so you're welcome--what, what, what?! You're not seeing me on the news?!" Ray snapped as Henry and (y/n) prodded his arm, vying for his attention so they could point out their problem. It was rather important, so even if he got pissed at them, not that he would over such a trivial thing, they did it anyway.

"Uh, Captain, Stainless Steve is gone."

"What?" Ray gawped at his girl's face before taking a look around. She was right too; Steve was gone, vanished, stolen, whatever, he wasn't in the spot where they'd left him. What the--- did they miss something? They'd only been gone a second and in that time, their man had done a runner right before they could slap the cuffs on him.

"Where'd Stainless Steve go?" Ray stuttered, looking just as lost as his sidekicks because they could swear that he was out for the count when he'd been rammed by that rogue car, Great, that was them not going home tonight, it looks like they were off on a search for the metal man, but strangely, the reporter had all the answers.

"He was captured by The Thumb Buddies!" She told them, changing her voice at the end to sound proud and dramatic, but she wasn't making any sense to the three. The what? Seriously, had they missed something? Was she saying that somebody else had stolen their win?

"What?"

"I'm so sorry, what did you say?" Ray and Henry stuttered as they tried to understand what she was telling them. Not being praised and showered with gratitude was like a slap to the face and Ray found himself needing the support from holding his girl's hand, not the other way around, because what the hell?

"You sound like you said somebodys. Did you say somebody's?"

"We captured Stainless Steve--I don't know what she's saying, I'm just trying to explain to her that they and I captured Stainless Steve..."

"Yeah, I don't think she's listening." (y/n) stopped the boys' ramblings as she caught sight of the woman's glazed, empty stare and how she had that expression on her face that only came with experience. Y'know, that expression you develop after dealing with men for most of your adult life; the nod-and-pretend-you're-listening face for when they keep talking and won't shut up. Most journalists have them and this one was just waiting for the heroes to let her return to work.

"Thank you. I'm Kimberly Cross, crossing off." Ray, Henry and (y/n) were left stunned as the woman spoke loudly over their explanations and excuses before tootling off, taking her mic and cameraman with her and leaving them to stand there in confusion.

"Where are you going? Are you done?"

"That's not the end of the interview, is it? 'Cause I had more to say, he was talking and I was talking and--oh, hey, I found the sandwich!" And as the reporter climbed into her news van and drove off, Ray soon found himself with a lot of questions; where had their guy gone and who had stolen the limelight?

"No, dirty!" (y/n) growled as she watched her lover lunge for the remnants of the sandwich he'd dropped after being hit by the car, which she suspected had belonged to the guys who'd snatched their arrest. It had fallen in the mud after that, with one side of the crisp, white bread now stained black and there was no way she was gonna kiss him if he ate something off the ground. God, was it worth it?

"Aw..." Jeez, it wasn't Ray's night tonight. No capture, no thanks and now, no sandwich. At least he had home to look forward to, after all, that concussion might just make a return the moment he stepped foot in his bedroom. He only hoped that there was a nurse on call.

~One week later, the Man Cave~

For one week, there was peace. Not an easy peace, but peace nonetheless. The Thumb Buddies, as the team discovered, were an up-and-coming duo popping up all over town at various little rescues or missions and whilst it irritated the hell out of Ray and Henry, they didn't do anything to stop and find out who they really were and what they were up to. 

So, here they were, one week later, one week older, and (y/n) was still putting up with their bitching and moaning since she wasn't going to get herself worked up over two guys who were just lightening their load. It was the boys who were mumbling and grumbling as they were called out to yet another emergency at the local baseball game, which left their headquarters in the hands of Charlotte, the smart one and Jasper, the not-so-smart one.

"Uh, what are you wearing?" Said smart one asked the not-so-smart one as she stepped out of the elevator and glanced up from her PearPad. Jasper, in all of his genius, had chosen one of the worst shirts he could have possibly chosen to put on that morning and Charlotte knew that the garment was gonna stir up some trouble when Ray got back.

"Oh! This is my Thumb Buddies shirt." That's what was gonna get him hung drawn and quartered.

"Yeah, well, you better take that off," She advised as she strolled past. It was better to warn him now, that way when it all went wrong and Ray was scrambling to wrap his fingers around his neck, Charlotte could at least say she tried to save him. Come on, that shirt was just begging to be ripped off.

"Why?" Jasper frowned, showing just how unaware he was. Had he not met Ray Manchester? The biggest man-child around? (y/n) wasn't always gonna be around to protect him and calm her baby down, so what then? Jasper might as well have betrayal scrawled across his forehead in permanent marker.

"Because, last week, Ray, (y/n) and Henry caught that criminal, Stainless Steve and those Thumb Buddies guys took credit for the capture." The girl explained as if it hadn't been the talk of the Man Cave all week. God, (y/n) must've been exhausted, she had been soothing his bruised ego all week, telling him that it was all right and to focus on her instead, which had been the sole reason for the uneasy peace they'd found.

"So?" And Jasper seemed to have a death wish. Did he want to be thrown into the pot and boiled to death?

"So, Ray and Henry were pretty mad about it and (y/n) can't hold them back forever, so if I was you—" Charlotte's advice ran out as the tubes beeped and dropped, bringing down Kid Danger in the left one and Captain Man in the right one, with Miss Danger wrapped up in his arms. Oh dear, here came the blood bath; if he was smart, he'd take the shirt off now...

"Hey! How'd it go at the baseball game?" Charlotte didn't miss a beat, figuring that if she stayed calm and acted natural, maybe, just maybe, the boys wouldn't notice the abomination that was Jasper's shirt. Ray didn't look in his direction very much anyway and it's not like having two, smiling guys and their names splashed across your chest isn't obvious...right?

"Oh, I don't know, I'd say it went pretty well..." Ray replied with a huge grin on his face as the three came down from the tubes with a certain bounce in their step that hinted to the teens that they knew more than they were letting on. Well, they were in a good mood, that was a positive sign for Jasper's survival and despite how noticeable it was, the hero and sidekicks hadn't seen the shirt yet, rather they were too caught up in whatever it was they had to reveal.

"Uh, yeah, we didn't do that much other than, uh..."

"WE FOUGHT A BEAR!" (y/n) just couldn't hold it in, not when she was still on her adrenaline high. Not to brag but it had been the most awesome mission of her life. Full of danger, full of daring stunts, full of risk, which normally, she wasn't a fan of but she had to admit, seeing Ray tackle the beast head-on was something that wouldn't be leaving her dreams for the next few weeks. It was hot.

"We fought a bear! Yes, we did!" "Oh my god, we did that! We did fight a bear!" Henry and Ray turned into giddy schoolboys as the excitement came flooding out of them too. If (y/n) found it exciting, then they found it unbearable because heaven knows that they sort the danger, stunts and risks a lot more than she did. And judging by how they were screaming in each other's faces, with Ray giggling like a child on Christmas when his nose brushed (y/n)'s, it was quite the battle.

"Hey, hey, hey! What bear?" Jasper butted in, not wanting to ruin their vectoring shrieking but come on, they couldn't just leave them in the dark like that. Screw the bear, him wearing that shirt in front of them and then drawing their attention was risky, but even so, the heroes didn't notice, not yet anyway.

"Okay, okay, so, shall I tell them the story?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Henry asked his boss with a huge grin on his face since he didn't know if Ray wanted to bask in the glory of this and be the one to retell the tale but he was surprisingly fine with it. Of course, he was; he had other business to attend to, such as sharing a post-fight with his sweet girl as the adrenaline high always made it that much better.

"All right, all right," Henry gathered himself as Ray took a moment to tightly hold (y/n) against his chest, her arms wrapping around his neck as their lips met and Henry knew that he had a few seconds to shine, "These college kids brought a real-life bear to the baseball game!"

"Yeah, you know, just to be funny," Ray added as he and (y/n) broke apart. The kiss was good but neither of them could resist being a part of this story, not when it made them seem so epic. 

"Which it was. Dangerous, but funny." The woman added, beaming up at her doofus as his hands stayed on her hips, keeping her close and he was inclined to agree with her. Sure, the bear could have killed everyone on the field but it did make everyone chuckle to see several grown men wet themselves. And besides, it wasn't like Swellview's greatest heroes couldn't handle it.

"Oh, it was hilarious."

"So hilarious," Henry and Ray agreed, the latter smiling down at his sweet girl as she drunkenly giggled at the memory. No one got hurt so it was okay to laugh, right? Of course, if someone had lost an arm or had a leg swallowed then she'd be suitably sombre but since that wasn't the case, it was fine...yeah. It was fine.

"Anyway, until the hotdog guy came out." Henry carried on with the story as Jasper munched on some chips. Any second now, they would see the shirt, once the story was over and they weren't so chipper, that would be it and he just wasn't bothered.

"Yeah, you know weiners?"

"Yeah, I love weiners." The boy nodded through a mouthful of the fried potatoes because he was loving hearing this story as much as they loved telling it. Charlotte was just waiting for him to get rinsed; now that would be the real blockbuster.

"So, the bear, he gets a whiff of the weiners, right? And he just loses his mind! Chases the poor Weiner guy right onto the field!" Ray continued, getting visibly more and more animated as he relived those exhilarating moments. He'd just acted on instinct for the next part, maybe a show of bravado for the crowd watching as well as one lovely young woman in particular, but either way, his reputation was shining brighter than ever.

"So, Ray, being the adorable doofus he is, chases the bear onto the field!"

"I did, I did!" Ray's cheeks flushed slightly under the adoring gaze of (y/n), who couldn't help but feel her tummy flutter when he'd risked his safety doing something that was admittedly, very stupid but also kinda hot. It was selfless and that wild spark of passion in his eye was just another reason for her to fall in love with him, as was the way his hand found hers without even having to break eye contact.

"And check this out. He tackles the bear!"

"I tackled a bear! I tackled a real-life bear!" Ray couldn't help but skip around a bit at Henry's revelation, even if it meant dropping his girl's hand as quickly as he picked it up to squeeze it. Oh well, he was excited, she knew that and it allowed her to admire the man as he glowed with pride and maybe a bit of ego too. Damn, she knew those muscles were big but today, they seemed even bigger. 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, and the bear gets up, he's like, oooargggghh! And there's spit coming out of his mouth, arrroooghhh! He slashes at me, his claws just scrape right across my face!" Ray exclaimed as if the details of him nearly being mutilated weren't horrific to hear. 

Perhaps that had been a bit of a terrifying moment for (y/n), seeing her almost-husband getting shredded until she remembered that he was Captain Man. There was no need to worry, the pain only lasted for a second and he'd been through worse, no matter how much her heart instinctively bled to see him wince from the claws.

"Oh my god!" Charlotte gasped. She certainly felt the same terror (y/n) had and was wondering how the woman could still be smiling because that sounded awful--the sort of thing that she'd work herself until a nervous frenzy over. And yet here she was, giggling and blushing like a schoolgirl as she drooled over her fiancé, nothing new there but why wasn't she laying down the law? Giving them the third degree for being so reckless? Why had she participated?

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I guess that he thought that Ray was gonna go down or something like that but--"

"Instead, the bear goes, ooooraggh! Which I guess in bear language probably means...."

"Uh-oh, this doofus is indestructible!" She was laughing because everything had turned out fine. Why stress about something when you can laugh about it instead? The bear had gone in for the kill, expecting Captain Man to have his innards as his outards as he gnarled and viciously pawed at his stomach and face, but when Ray grunted through the pain and stayed in one piece, all of the danger disappeared.

"Stupid bear had no idea that I can't be harmed!" Ray yelled, gesturing wildly to his still perfect face as (y/n) stepped over to wind her arms around his neck, unable to keep her distance any longer. His hands landed on her waist, keeping her close as the story continued with the same energy, the same longing looks, but just a physical connection that couldn't be ignored any longer.

"We are smarter than a bear!"

"We are smart than a bear!"

"We are the smarter species!"

"Yes, that happened!" And that was the end of that. Charlotte and Jasper were left...regaled as (y/n) finally pressed her lips to Ray's for the first time in minutes because neither of them would ever get enough of that. For some reason, they were just drawn to each other today, more than usual and the high from the fight wasn't helping. They were living their best lives and it showed, no wonder they couldn't keep their hands to themselves.

"Wow..."

"Unreal, man." The teens complimented them on their big win. Charlotte didn't sound particularly thrilled but that was just how she was. It was impressive and like Jasper, she found herself to be quite entertained by the grandeur of it all and speaking of grandeur, (y/n) had a brainwave. If two kids were entertained by the tale, who was to say that others weren't? After all, it's not like that baseball park had been empty, far from it. A couple thousand people from it, to be exact.

"Sweet cheese, we might be on the news! I bet they're talking about us right now," The woman gasped, looking up at her lover with sparkling eyes and his grin grew from the moment she said the word 'news'. Ever since the debacle with Stainless Steve, Ray had been anxious to get a new story in the press to make them all seem like the best team around again, but there had been nothing of substance worth reporting, which left them at a stalemate. Until now.

"I like the way you think, sweet girl..." He smirked and immediately began to lead her over to the supercomputer where they could hear all of their heroic actions being broadcasted to the city. He wouldn't mind seeing an action replay of how she gave the beast a swift jab to the snout after it wandered a little too close to Kid Danger for her liking; even when he was still reeling from being mauled, it was so hot to witness and seeing it again would be a godsend.

"Yeah, let's see what they're saying about us," Henry smiled and so, they all gathered around the computer. The trio stood back a little so they could soak up the story and bask in their awesomeness, which just left Charlotte and Jasper to bring it up on the monitor.

"Okay...coming up, now."

"And Trent, this happened just moments ago?" Mary suddenly appeared on the screen, sporting her usual blonde bob as she looked across at her colleague. Oh good, they hadn't started their report yet, they hadn't missed it. Fresh off the press, that was more like it, so much better than that Thumb Buddies crap.

"That's right, Mary..." Trent nodded, causing a surge of excitement to run up Ray, (y/n) and Henry's spines. Any minute now, they'd announce how awesome they were and then the Thumb Buddies would be history.

"See? They're talking about us!" "Fought a bear, my man!" It was kinda cute just how excited they were and (y/n) wasn't about to complain, not when her hero wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her in close, encasing her in his warmth and the scent of his cologne. She could feel his smile pressed against her neck as he refused to let go of the hug, wanting to hold her there as he heard the praise coming from the news crew. At that moment, life couldn't get any better.

"Okay, now, we're gonna go live to the scene where it all went down and talk with the actual heroes who saved the day." However, you can only go so high until there's nowhere left to go but back down. Their smiles deflated when they heard that because it didn't make any sense. They'd left the baseball field, they were safely anonymous and hidden in the Man Cave, how were they meant to do an interview now?

"What? How are they gonna interview us right now?" Henry asked, looking back at the perplexed couple as the cold seeped into their fluffy warmth. Oh dear, this didn't feel right, (y/n)'s tummy was talking to her, telling her that this next bit of news wasn't gonna be something any of them wanted to hear. 

"Yeah, yeah, 'cause we're here..." Ray muttered and just to make sure that they hadn't been tailed or anything, the boys checked behind them to make sure that there were no pesky reporters that needed a Memory Wiper to the face. That was dumb but the young woman with them let it slide; she didn't want to upset them any further, not when she sensed that Trent was about to cause a shitstorm.

"Thanks, Trent," said the reporter who had been with them the other night, bringing their attention back to their screen and oh, it wasn't good, "I'm here live at Nacho Ball, where a local, sweaty man committed a crime just moments ago."

"What, what, what is all this about?" Ray stammered, looking at his sweet girl for answers as they moved closer to the screen with heartbroken, confused expressions. Their big moment was gone, it had been replaced with a crappy fast-food restaurant instead, which stung. His girl could give him the answer, right? She was smart, she knew stuff, she made things clear with that big brain of hers when he didn't understand, she knew what was going on and it was all fine...it had to be.

"Why are they at Nacho Ball?"

"Don't look at me, I know just as much as you about this..." (y/n) told them. For once, she didn't have all the answers, rather, she was in the dark too, with nothing to go off except her gut and that was telling her that this wasn't going to be easy to hear. Oh, her poor doofus, her poor Hen, they were gonna throw fists first and ask questions later because they took so much pride in being the number one heroes in this town. To be outdone on their turf, it didn't look good.

"Can you tell us what happened?" The reporter asked a miserable looking girl, who seemed to have a perpetual wobbly lip and permanent tears in her eyes like someone had just told her the worst news in the world. Sure, she worked at the grossest Nacho Ball in town, but come on, was life that sucky for her?

"Yeah...Um, this guy, I think his name is Jeff, he ordered a three-ball nacho sack and when he paid for it, he handed me a coupon." The whiny girl described. So far, so...normal.

"But there was something wrong with that coupon, wasn't there?"

"Yeah! It was expired!" Jeez, this girl was whiny. It made (y/n) wonder what had happened to make her so teary because surely, getting so upset over one coupon wasn't worth it, not when her mascara was in danger of running down her face and making her look like a panda.

"Kimberly, we've just received cell phone video of the attempted Nacho Ball crime, so we're gonna show that right now," Trent butted in and suddenly, the viewers were being shown some blurry, shaky footage of what had gone down in the restaurant and suddenly, their suffering made sense. This guy was the author of their frustration, rather, because every time something irritated them, he was always there.

"Okay, that'll be twelve-twenty-one."

"Oh, yeah, sure. Here's a Nacho Ball coupon for twenty bucks."

"Great. I will just ring this up." "Thanks, bro!"

"That's Jeff!" Ray pointed out, knowing that tubby belly, moronic voice and dumb cap anywhere. Of course, it was him, where there was trouble for him and his sidekicks to sort out, Jeff was there too. His arms tightened around his sweet girl as he couldn't help but tense his muscles in aggravation, and (y/n) responded in turn. If she allowed her doofus to get worked up every time Jeff did something dumb, she'd be walking a greying old man down the aisle, not a super-hot hero.

"It's okay, doof. Everyone knows how stupid he is." She soothed him, tilting her head back into a rather awkward angle just to peck his chin affectionately. Ray softened at that and instantly relaxed when his mind focused on her tender love rather than stupid Jeff and the woman was left satisfied when the creases on his forehead relaxed and his shoulders slumped a bit, The ensuing kiss to the top of her head wasn't bad either.

"This coupon expired four days ago."

"Oh, I didn't know."

"Oh, sure you didn't." The whiny girl sneered as Jeff frowned at the expired coupon with knitted eyebrows and in a moment of colossal overreacting, the girl slammed her hand onto the panic button on the counter—the one reserved for when they were genuinely being robbed.

"HELP! THIS GUY HERE IS TRYING TO ROB US!" And that's when everything went to shit. To be fair to Jeff, and (y/n) couldn't believe she was sticking up for him, but it was a bit much how she assumed that he was a robber just because he had a dodgy coupon. Dare she say that she felt sorry for him in a way? The ensuing sirens, alarms and flashing lights were a bit much as he stood there and protested his innocence, right up until someone tackled him from behind.

A tall man with an orange cape leapt onto Jeff's back, slamming him into the counter and wrestling him to the floor like he was a WWE champion. Then, as Jeff was wriggling for freedom from the sudden assault, another guy joined the fray, pouncing on his friend's back and pinning Jeff to the tiles even more, possibly squishing his pancreas in the process too. They'd slapped the cuffs on him quicker than Ray, (y/n) and Henry could blink and upon freezing the frame, they saw who'd upstaged them with such a miraculous counter.

The damn Thumb Buddies.

"Whoa! Gosh, that was the bravest thing I've ever seen." Trent grinned, causing Ray and Henry's mouths to drop open. Okay, (y/n) wasn't particularly thrilled by it herself but they took it much more seriously. For them, it was like a betrayal seeing how these two idiots were being praised for taking down one criminal who hadn't even done anything—and they'd dealt with Jeff hundreds of times.

"Whaaaaat?" "Bravest?!" They gasped, staring at the monitor in disbelief because all they'd seen was a mad scramble to rest an idiot, hardly the stuff of legends. They'd nearly been eaten by a bear, that was heroic and deserved praise and yet they weren't getting any, all because of these two.

"I have done braver things on the toilet!" "Yeah, that is a bit ridicul—oh my god, Ray, what?" (y/n)'s nose scrunched up at how disgustingly dramatic her lover was being, which earned her a sharp shushing from Charlotte. The girl was still trying to listen and whatever troubles they were having comprehending being replaced was interrupting that. 

"Kimberly, are you with the heroes right now?" Trent pressed further, sending the boys into a cold silence as they begrudgingly started to listen again. Did they have to call them that? So what? They did one rescue and now everyone was fanning over them, had everyone lost their minds? Captain Man and Kid Danger, were the brave ones...and Miss Danger too, of course.

"I sure am, Trent," The reporter grinned as the camera cut back to her, revealing to the heroes' disdain that she was now with their newfound enemies, "And once again, it looks like our city of Swellview owes a big thank you to The Thumb Buddies!"

"You're very welcome." "We appreciate that, yes." They weren't anything spectacular to behold. To (y/n) (and secretly Ray and Henry), they just looked like two guys in costumes, which was technically what they were too. They seemed a bit dorky, a bit starstruck by the cameras and attention suddenly thrust upon them but apart from that, they seemed very polite and respectful, maybe even humble for the praise the news lavished on them. It was so damn aggravating.

"Okay, who are these Thumb Buddies? Where did they come from?" Ray asked darkly, needing more than a hug from his sweet girl to let this one go. He needed answers because, despite the report being muted, he could still feel the rage burning through him. This was his city, he'd been protecting it for years and now that there were two newbies on the scene, he'd lost the loyalty of his fans, and everyone knows how Captain Man thrives on the attention—simply doing it as a good deed was okay but doing it to be loved was better.

"Yeah, and why are they in our town, doing our job?" Henry asked too, his lips pursed into a thin, firm line. In his years as a sidekick, he'd grown used to the praise too, after all, he never got any as Henry Hart, being praised as Kid Danger was all he had left to fill that need to be loved. If they were the heroes now, where would that leave them? The professionals, the dependable ones, the ones who knew what they were doing?

"Well, technically, they're making our job easier." (y/n) pointed out, which caused Ray to whip around to face her with a murderous look, almost like she'd prodded her finger in a sore wound. It was a betrayal, how dare she side with the enemy, even if she did make a valid point. His sweet girl, did she like these Thumb Buddies too?

"Whose side are you on?!" He asked her furiously, but the woman didn't flinch under his intense gaze or bat an eyelid when his face got close to hers. If anything, her heart rate increased for a different reason entirely, not that she'd ever let him know that since he was being his ridiculous, doofy self right now. She'd only make a move on the adorable doofus when he was being reasonable, not irrational.

"Oh, we're picking sides now?" She smirked, raising her eyebrows in a way that said she wasn't taking him seriously, more like finding his fury amusing, "You know I'm with you, doofus, calm down.

"...Charlotte, I told you last week that I wanted a full report on these guys. Now, where is it?" Ray switched targets after taking a split second to calm down. Right, his girl would never side with two guys she'd never met and had no plans on joining, which was crazy when he snapped back into the moment and realised just how close her smirking lips were to his. So, he quickly redirected his anger onto someone else, namely Charlotte since he'd given her a task to complete after the incident last week.

"I sent you an email, last week." The teen stated dryly, giving him one of her dead-eyed stares because he was accusing her of slacking off. She was Charlotte, the reliable one, if her boss needed something she'd do it and she wasn't gonna be held responsible if he was too busy getting it on with his girl to realise that his order had been delivered.

"You know I don't read my emails unless you send me a text telling me to read my emails," Ray replied petulantly, trying to not seem like the idiot in this situation. (y/n) knew that all too well, he was so...forgetful, so distracted by things he deemed more important than a boring, old email, so he needed several reminders since he was usually busy eating, showering, napping, training, playing games or loving up her to notice.

"I also sent you a text," Charlotte stated, which was grinding for the man to hear, so much that he couldn't help but growl and reach out with grabbing hands, only for Henry to shove (y/n) into them instead. He could hold onto her for a bit, she could help him calm down a bit because God knows that he needed it and she craved it and it came with the bonus that Ray wouldn't kill Charlotte for his mistake.

"All right, all right, just...hug (y/n), there you go...will you just tell us who these Thumb Buddies are?" The boy then turned to his friend, who didn't know how to tell them that there wasn't much to tell. She'd trawled through every newspaper, every magazine, every gossip column, social media accounts, private records and public information to work out just who they were dealing with. Dorks. Normal, kooky dorks with nothing exciting and nothing to fear, hardly worth getting so upset over because they were people. Merely people.

"They're just...they're just guys. Regular guys, who started fighting crime." She said slowly, trying to phrase it gently, but just how gentle could she be when telling them that there was no dirt to sell to the press or legitimate reason for the city to be fawning over them?

"Then, why is everyone making such a big deal about them?" Ray asked in a distraught tone as his fingers danced up and down his sweet girl's satin-covered spine. It soothed him, feeling the curves and contours of her body, which he practically had memorised at this point, and feeling her forehead rested against his shoulder calmed him even more. He couldn't get mad when he had to stay still and give her affection.

"Well, they're new and they seem nice." Well, he could when Jasper was the one stating facts. God, he said it in such a plain, obvious way and it aggravated everything, making Ray see red. His hands seized (y/n)'s hips and squeezed and he couldn't help but shout, though he did take care to not shout directly into her ear.

"We're very nice!"

"Yeah, we're delightful, Jasper!" Even Henry couldn't help but snap too because he felt the same; they had everything the Thumb Buddies had and more, it was just because he lived in a throw-away society that it wasn't good enough. He'd finally reached the point where he was no longer new and exciting, the same with (y/n) and she'd been the latest to join. They were nothing new, so that meant they weren't wanted anymore...how depressing.

"Jeez, stop shouting, doofus. I think you're overreacting to this." (y/n) grumbled when her moment of peace was shattered because of her stupidly loud fiancé. She'd been enjoying that, had liked just breathing him in for a moment with just his hands on her back and his cologne in her nose, it was intimate yet softly so, just enough to satisfy the unending need to have him close. That is until they got upset again and she accidentally poured petrol on the bonfire.

"Overreacting?! We're overreacting? This is underreacting!"

"Overreacting? Oh-ho-ho, this--this is subtle!" The boys hissed, once again feeling betrayed by her cool response to the news that these new heroes were the greatest thing since sliced bread. That gained them an eye roll because with how many good times they shared, it was easy to forget how childish and proud Ray could be and how that had rubbed off on his most impressionable sidekick. She adored him, both of them, but god, could they be any more annoying?

"Hey! Look how popular those guys are," Jasper suddenly drew their attention back to the news and once it was unmuted, Ray and Henry found themselves with more cause for clenching their jaws.

In the time they had been "underreacting", tons of fans had seen the Thumb Buddies on the news and had gathered in the grungy Nacho Ball, almost to the point where no one else could fit into the restaurant. Each one was waving bits of nacho sacks for autographs or PearPhones for selfies, shouting and proclaiming their newfound love just as they used to do for Captain Man, Miss Danger and Kid Danger. All that just for them?

"And as you can see, it looks like everyone wants their tacos signed by the Thumb Buddies. Back to you, Trent."

"And Mary!"

"Looks like the Thumb Buddies are gonna be autographing tacos for quite a while, so if you're in the area of Nacho Ball, you might wanna head on over there and meet them." The report finished with the shining smiles of Trent and Mary and the dark frowns of Henry and Ray, who'd grown more and more livid with each swirl of the pens held by the Thumb Buddies. When was the last time they'd been swamped by fans wanting an autograph? Right, before these clowns turned up with their stupid kneepads and orange jackets.

"Are they--are they kidding me?! Not even a mention of the thing we did at the baseball game?" Ray whined as he plonked himself onto the back of the couch with a sour pout on his face. That prompted (y/n) to wander over with a sympathetic expression written on hers. He might have been annoying her but that didn't mean she didn't understand what he was feeling and looking so sad she couldn't help but intervene.

"Just let it go, sweetheart. We don't need a party for every mission we complete." The woman told him gently, standing in between his legs and stroking her hands over his scratchy cheeks that would be due a shave in a couple of days. The praise was nice but by no means necessary, just knowing that they'd do the right thing should've been enough.

"But sweet girl, I--"

"Wait, wait, wait, stop kissing, shhh!" Henry suddenly shushed their little pep talk when the next story flashed up on the monitor and it was like the producers could hear their prayers. Okay, his assumption that they'd sloped off to the back to makeout was misplaced and a bit annoying but Ray didn't care, not when he saw that the city's baseball match was up next. 

"Didn't even get one kiss, let alone kissing..." (y/n) muttered under her breath as Ray scrambled to stand next to Henry. She'd been building up to that and had been hoping for some adoration from the man since they'd been talking about these Thumb Buddies for far too long. Couldn't they just change out of their uniforms and watch a movie or two? Laze the rest of the afternoon away?

"And now, some news about today's baseball game. The Swellview Sailors lost seven to three..." Trent reported the score and left an awkward gap, which made everyone hang on to his every word for that crucial addition, "Captain Man and sidekicks save the day". However, he said nothing and didn't even crack a smile as his viewers waited for an explanation or development that never came, much to the heartbreak of the boys. "That's it."

"All right, that does it! We're going down to Nacho Ball and we're gonna tell those rotten thumb buddies that Swellview is our town!"

"Our town!" Ray and Henry growled because Trent's failure to mention their heroism for the day meant one thing. All-out war. If these Thumb Buddies wanted to take over their turf then they were just gonna have to fight them for it and they'd see who was the best when they had a proton blaster being waved in their faces. 

"Who needs the Thumb Buddies?"

"Nobody!" It was safe to say that they were ranting and blinded by the red haze of frustration from being ranked second place behind two bozos from nowhere. Were they gonna march into a Nacho Ball and cause a scene because they were jealous? Hell yeah.

"Nobody I know!"

"Exactly!"

"I fought a bear!" Ray exclaimed as they marched off towards the tubes again. It didn't matter that they were tired from an eventful mission, it didn't matter that (y/n) groaned and looked up to the ceiling with a silent plea for some invisible for to make them see sense but it wasn't happening. It was either stay in the Man Cave and hear all about how Captain Man and Kid Danger made fools out of themselves or she bit the bullet and went with them to try and avert disaster. Why did she love this job again?

"Are you gonna go with them?" Charlotte asked her with the same bored tone and the dry look she'd been wearing all afternoon, ever since this problem fell into her lap. In some ways, she admired the woman for being so loyal since not many people would still work after being led into reckless decisions so many times but then again, there was being loyal and then there was being dumb. Which one was (y/n)? Love made her do dumb things for all the right reasons.

"Yeah, someone needs to care since they don't." The heroine sighed tiredly and trudged along behind them, mentally preparing her camera face again since she'd end up in the papers one way or another. It would be something ridiculous like "Miss Danger spotted with Thumb Buddy, has she moved on?" or "Have Miss Danger and Captain Man called it quits?". Stupid, irrelevant headlines that were always far from the truth.

"If I come with you, do you promise to watch that new rom-com with me? The one with Tom Hiddleston in it?" (y/n) asked her doofus as she ascended the steps and wrapped her arms around his neck, ready to go up the tube. 

That was a toughie; on one hand, he loved sitting down to watch a rom-com with her since they were boring but the perfect opportunity to just...admire her. But on the other hand, he'd have to admire her as she admired Tim Hiddlestick or whatever he was called with his stupid suave accent and perfect face. A celebrity crush was a celebrity crush, hardly anything substantial but still. Did he have to see her drool over someone who wasn't him?

"...Fine. Just because I love you." Ray conceded, deciding to indulge his darling girl since she was so graciously following him on a personal mission to bitch and moan at two men he'd never met. Precious girl, keeping him from sinking into self-ruin, he could survive one movie for her, after all, Theo Piddleson wasn't the one who was gonna be waiting for her at the end of the aisle.

"Thanks, doofus. I lo--"

"W-w-wait--wait! Since you guys are going to Nacho Ball, can you pick me up a three-ball nacho sack?" Jasper butted in, thinking with his stomach and not his head--a grave error to make. (y/n) didn't think anything of it, to be fair, she'd probably pick up a snack once they were done berating the Thumb Buddies, but Ray took it much more seriously. He was enjoying a moment with his fiancée, she was about to say those three words that he'd never thought he'd have the privilege of hearing and he'd cut her off. Not cool, man.

"No, we're not gonna pick you up a three---what are you wearing?" Ray stammered and took a double-take when he finally saw what the boy was wearing. This was his gravest error. It was obvious now he was looking at him properly and with those faces smiling up at him, it was impossible not to notice. The lettering, the photo, and him interrupting the moment were infuriating and all of a sudden, he was breaking away from (y/n) to pick another fight.

"What do you mean?" Jasper's hands moved to cover his chest as if he'd been burnt, quick and reflexive. Charlotte couldn't help but grin; her warning had not been heeded and now, he was about to face the consequences for thinking he knew everything. 

"Move your hands," Ray ordered him. He didn't want to sound too harsh, deep down he knew that Jasper was still a kid and he wasn't about to yell, not when his sweet girl and other employees were in earshot but damn it, he knew what he'd seen. Jasper could move his hands over the pattern as much as he wanted, but he could still see those eyes peeking out.

"Jasper, just move your hands away from your shirt,"

"Yeah, you're not in any trouble," (y/n) agreed with Henry after Ray turned to them for help. It was no secret that the kid wasn't slightly afraid of them like he was with Ray, so they'd be able to get through to him hopefully, but those were famous last words that the woman couldn't guarantee. With her, he wasn't in any trouble at all but with Ray, that was a different matter because he'd labelled those men as enemies and he was supporting them, even if he didn't see it that way.

So, slowly, very, very slowly, Jasper parted his fingers, revealing his Thumb Buddies shirt in all of its glory, much to his terror and Ray's disappointment. Someone get (y/n) on hand, he preferred to have his head on his shoulders, not rolling along the floor...

"Wow..."

"Calm down, calm down, it's fine, just look at me, doofus..." (y/n) moved like lightning as she watched Ray's eyes darken. Henry was gonna let her do most of the work since she was the expert at taming Ray but he still offered a hand on his boss' shoulder as another force guiding him back to the tubes. If they could just get him out of the Man Cave, he'd probably forget about this and Jasper would live to make another mistake, another day.

"It's fine..."

"We're all good, just come with me."

"It's totally fine..."

"You good?"

"I'mma just walk away..." So far, so good. Ray melted into his girl's touch like her soft words were working and with Henry helping out, for a moment, the sidekicks thought that they were gonna get away with this one. The man seemed calm and suspiciously reasonable for a guy famed for having a ridiculously short temper and childish personality, almost too suspiciously as if it was all too good to be true.

And it was. Ray just couldn't take it, he couldn't have those sorry excuses for superheroes being showcased in his secret hideout and in a moment of madness, he went berserk. No thought, no beforehand, no thinking things through, he just grabbed a spare blaster from a rogue and began firing to the beat of his frustrated grunts and groans. So much for having a magic touch, Henry and (y/n) were instantly wrangling to get him under control rather than treating him with the utmost care.

"Raymond, put it down, you moron!" (y/n) screeched as Jasper hit the deck and Charlotte hastily opened an umbrella. Oh yeah, that was gonna keep her nice and safe. Jasper was in a similar position, although he at least had the sense to clumsily scramble for cover as (y/n) did her best to get her rogue lover under control, mainly by jumping on his back and trying to steer his fire away from the boy. It was a damn good job that Ray was a shit shot with an even shittier aim because otherwise, Jasper would be a goner as her weight was doing nothing to make those muscles move.

"Ray!"

"Raymond Manchester, I swear to god, if you don't stop trying to kill one of our employees, you'll be walking down the aisle by yourself!" The woman played her trump card by shouting the warning into his ear and as the threat wormed its way through the labyrinth of Ray's brain, his lasers slowly tapered off. 

Alone? On his wedding day? No sweet girl? No Mrs Manchester? Well, he'd wrap Jasper up in cotton wool, beg on his knees for the rest of his life and worship that boy if it made her happy and prevented that terrible possibility from becoming true. 

That gave Jasper enough time to wriggle through one of the holes in the sprocket and hide behind the thick metal as Ray lowered his weapon and Charlotte closed her umbrella. Right, in future, they'd be using the no wedding warning to get him to cease because Jesus, he could've hurt someone.

"Dude! That was dangerous! What if you hit him?" Henry asked sternly as (y/n) frowned and folded her arms. What had he been thinking? She'd never cancel the wedding, not unless something heartbreakingly catastrophic happened, but it had been enough to shock him into stopping, not that Ray shared their worry about hurting Jasper. The only thing he cared about was giving his best puppy dog eyes to his fiancée. Yeah, she'd be needing a bit more than that.

"Oh, it was set to a light stun!...ooh! Wait...yikes!" Ray brushed their worries away because he'd assumed that the weapon was just zapping lightly and Jasper, had he been hit, would have been fine...or not. To his and (y/n)'s and Henry's horror, the blaster had actually been programmed to burn and sear flesh, a setting reserved for their greatest and most hated enemies, not for the kid they were all so fond of.

"Raymond. Get your ass up those stairs before I kick it from here to Nacho Bell." (y/n) glowered at her dumb doofus and he ashamedly shuffled up to the tubes with eyes meeting the ground. He hated how angry she was and how she gave him the cold shoulder as they were packed into a single tube, his arms being the only thing keeping them pressed together because right now, she could barely look at him.

It stung and as the seconds passed, he found himself growing more and more embarrassed by his outburst as they whooshed off without Jasper left behind to lick his wounds. She'd forgive him in a bit but in the meantime? Ray Manchester was firmly on the naughty step.

~Nacho Ball~

Well, this was homey. As shown on the news, Nacho Ball was packed full of people and whether they had gone there for the food or not was irrelevant. The only thing that mattered to Ray and Henry was that everyone and they meant everyone, was collecting their order and then pandering to the Thumb Buddies like over-excited children--which most of them were.

Everyone boy, girl man, woman and toddler giggled and blushed as they approached the small table that the staff had set up for the men so they could hand out free t-shirts, selfies and sign tacos, and for the boys, it was enraging, perhaps even humiliating. There was a time when people used to do that for them, they'd queue around the block just to get a glimpse of their red and blue uniform but now? They were old news, pushed aside for the newest toys in the toybox.

And that wasn't the worst bit.

"Hey, isn't that your obnoxious little sister in there with the Thumb Buddies?" Ray asked as the trio peered through the glass door and assessed the situation, which was when they saw the biggest betrayal of all. There was Piper, fawning over the Thumb Buddies as they gave her a free shirt and signed everything she pushed in front of them. What the hell? She was supposed to love them and be their biggest fan, but that was not what they were seeing. Traitor.

"Yeah...what is she doing?" Henry breathed out as he watched his sister take an obnoxiously happy selfie with their rivals, something which made their skin bristle. Well, his and Ray's skin, (y/n) wasn't particularly bothered, not when she could smell that greasy, not-good-for-you-at-all goodness just waiting for her to buy. They hadn't had lunch yet, couldn't they forget about these guys and just move on, much like she was trying to do about the whole Ray-Jasper blaster incident? Was that too much to ask?

"Uh, I thought she was supposed to be the president of the Captain Man fan club," The hero stated bitterly as he stared at the alarmingly pink shirt that Piper had thrown over her cute outfit and how it proclaimed all her love for those idiots. He, out of the kindness of his heart and perhaps just a little bit of simping for his then-best friend, had made her president of the Man Fans all those years ago and this was how she repaid him? Et Tu, Piper?

"Yeah, she is, but you can like two things, doo--oh, sweet cheese, here she comes..." (y/n) muttered before trailing off as the girl abruptly turned around and headed for the door, straight for the ensnaring superheroes. Oh dear, (y/n) would hold them back as much as she could but even with her best, this was gonna be excruciating.

"Hello." Yep, it was excruciating and they'd only said one word. Before the heroine could tell them that confrontation was a bad idea, y'know, caring so they didn't have to again even though she had every right in the world to just leave them to it, they marched into the restaurant and that was where the awkwardness began. 

Ray stood with his hip jutted out at an angle and even lanky Henry cut an imposing figure as he towered over his shocked sister with a sour expression on his face. There was nowhere for the girl to go and when she looked at Miss Danger for an explanation, all she got was a wince because they were in too deep now to go back, like they were a jealous girlfriend confronting her boyfriend for being with someone else. This shit was getting weird.

"Yeah, hi, Pi---Hello, little girl," Henry added, switching his voice at the last minute when he realised that Kid Danger did not know Piper Hart on a personal level, no matter how many times they'd interacted.

"Ah, jeez..."

"Uhhh, h--hey, Captain Man, Miss Danger and Kid Danger. I, uh, didn't expect to see you guys here," Piper stammered awkwardly as her palms grew clammy around her tray of food. It truly was like she'd been caught out, stuck between her new lover and her old one, especially when the boys pettily folded their arms like she was in the wrong. God, (y/n) felt first-hand embarrassment, second-hand embarrassment, third-hand embarrassment, fourth-hand...and so on.

"Yeah, we bet you didn't."

"Yeah, we bet you didn't." Ray and Henry spat, giving a pretty good impression of Regina George as they stood there like a couple of mean girls, bored yet spiteful looks on their faces and for what? Piper hadn't done anything wrong, who said she was switching sides?

"Yeah, well, I--I..."

"Nice t-shirt."

"Yeah, with the Thumb Buddies on it," Ray flicked his fingers towards the hot pink material Piper was wearing, specifically the spot on her chest that had that stupid smiley pic of them together. He could feel his sweet girl glaring daggers into the side of his head and the way she was growing more and more restless by the scene they were causing but he wasn't done yet. Oh, he had a lot more to say, no matter how much his heart was tugging his brain towards the door and the idea of going home, where he could make all of his wrongs right.

"Oh, come on, this is just a t-shirt. It's not like I'm their number one fan!" Piper chuckled nervously and tried to play down the reasons why she'd put the shirt on in the first place. It wasn't a big deal, just a freebie she'd been given by two new celebrities, hardly the legends that were Captain Man and his sidekicks. Of course, she still loved them, but that's not what they were hearing.

"Oh, really? Then explain this!" Ray snapped and pushed the girl to turn around so they could see the back of her t-shirt, which had the icing to go on the traitorous cake. In big, white, stupid lettering, Piper's back read "thumber 1 fan" and as if the pun wasn't bad enough, the meaning behind the words was just another knife in their hearts. She could lie to them all she wanted but they knew the truth; the cold, heartbreaking truth.

"Thumber one fan?"

"Jeez, man..." She made them sick, and if (y/n) was just a little bit braver, she might've mocked them for that. She could tell them that all kids make mistakes but on second thought, she wasn't even sure that Piper had. So she was wearing a shirt with a dumb pun on it that promoted other heroes, so what? 

"Don't you think you're overreacting now, Captain Man?" The woman hissed to the man, slightly turning her back on Piper so she would struggle to hear her. The last thing she wanted was for Piper's view of her fiancée to dip, he deserved to be loved for his bravery, just not his partial stupidity, which was working against her right now. Piper didn't hear her, thank god, but neither did Ray, not when he didn't want to listen.

"Okay, look, I know this was wrong, I just really wanted to meet them, and have them sign a taco and take a selfie but it was just this one time, I swear! It didn't mean anything!" Piper begged them desperately, and alarmingly, she was starting to cross into the "yeah, I cheated but it didn't mean anything" territory of being caught red-handed. Things were starting to echo a really bad teen breakup movie and the boys weren't helping, not even caring when (y/n) tiredly pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. She gave up staying at home for this shit...

"You know what? Just forget it."

"Yeah, we have something to do, so..." And here came the awkward confrontation of meeting "the new guy", or in this case, the Thumb Buddies. They'd had a go at the cheater and now it was time to slag off the one who dared to take their place, which made (y/n) groan loudly and unapologetically as she stomped after them, and Piper watching on forlorn.

"Hey, what's up? How's it going?"

"All right, okay..."

"Hi, yeah, sorry--ooh, nice shirt, where'd you get that?... Yeah, just following my idiot of a fia--boyfriend...hey..." Of course, slagging off "the new guy" had to come with a little showing off too, just to show them who they were messing with and the cheater who they'd given up in the process. 

The room's reaction was instantaneous; once Captain Man, Kid Danger and Miss Danger made themselves apparent in the middle of the restaurant, people began to switch sides. What the Thumb Buddies had previously had was given to them, the adoration, the excited squeals, the constant hellos and how are yous, the phones that were suddenly shoved in their faces because holy shit, it was Captain Man, Kid Danger and Miss Danger! Cue the fangirling/boying. 

Piper stomped off humiliated and (y/n) made a mental note to make it up to her later as she graciously smiled at everyone who greeted her, from the cutest kids with their colour-in menus to the cocky high school seniors who thought they had a chance at taking her on a date. 

Hell, on second glance, even the Thumb Buddies seemed to be stunned and hyperventilating from their presence, which was a huge ego boost for Henry and Ray as they preened under all of the attention that had found its way back to the right people. This was more like it.

"MARRY ME, MISS DANGER!" A churlish voice came from the back, probably from the table of football players in the corner, who thought they were so clever with their cheap cologne and playground popularity. Okay, Ray loved the attention but not when it reached this point, not when the odd idiot around the room failed to read the signs that those shoes were already filled, never to be empty again if everything went smoothly. 

So, much to the squeals, jealousy and thrill of the others in the Nacho Ball, he slung an arm around (y/n)'s waist and pulled her close to his chest to show those morons, wherever they were in the sea of people, that this little fling of theirs as the magazines called it, that he was already set to have her as his wife. (y/n) blushed and shyly rested her palm on his chest as she ignored the camera flashes, acutely aware that this was gonna be posted online in a few hours, and the last thing she needed was to be scrutinised for all the wrong reasons.

They'd been so careful with what they'd fed to the press. Sure, there had been speculation on just what stage their relationship was at but there had been no official, definitive announcement for the world to savage, pull apart and sulk about. No hearts had been too broken because for most, they were still boyfriend and girlfriend. That wasn't serious, it couldn't be, please, tell them that Captain Man hadn't settled down and please, tell them that Miss Danger hadn't settled for less than she deserved. Still, no time like the present and some provoking to shove things in the right direction. 

"All right, everybody out! Right now! Customers, employees and the gunches who keep asking my fiancée to marry them, we have official business with the Thumb Buddies, so goodbye!" Ray gave no fucks. 

Without a second thought, he and Henry grabbed the portable tannoy system from their belts, which were rarely used, and ushered the crowd from the restaurant, although they weren't as obstructive and annoyed as you might think. No, they were far too preoccupied with Captain Man's very public announcement that he and Miss Danger were...engaged? 

Someone call KLVY because sweet cheese, this was huge! Some were shocked, some were whispering excitedly with their friends, some were disappointed and one girl was straight-up crying. Guess she had quite the crush on one of the heroes that had now been obliterated.

"That's right, one foot in front of the other! You can walk and murmur about what I just said at the same time! You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here..." The man was shameless and having Henry back him up wasn't helping as the trembling Thumb Buddies rose from their seats and (y/n) stood frozen like a statue. Had he just told a room full of people that they were getting married or was she just crazy? It was gonna happen at one point but jeez, she wasn't expecting that...

"You okay, sweet girl?" A soft voice suddenly sounded and she snapped out of her daydream to see that Ray was back by her side after shoving the last person through the doors. For such a huge guy, he sure could be silent when he wanted to be and despite his bumbling size, he was never rough, not with her. Well, not unless she wanted him to be, but right now, she wasn't talking to moron Ray, she was speaking to darling Ray, the one who'd gotten down on one knee and given her a ring with the sweetest words she'd ever heard.

"Yeah...you do know you just told everyone we're engaged, right? The whole world will know now..." (y/n) whispered to him as one hand settled in her lower back and the other picked up her left hand, one finger stroking over the place where her engagement ring would be if she wasn't in uniform. 

It was...new, maybe a bit overwhelming but still a good feeling to know that everyone else was caught with them, which meant no more lies and rumours about how they secretly hated each other and everything was for show. This was nice, impromptu, but nice.

"Let them know. I want the whole world to see how much I love you," Ray whispered after tenderly kissing her cheek, his lips moving across to ghost past her ear. It tickled, made her blush and caused a grin to spread on her face at the sentiment; she would've thought he'd be shy and reluctant to let everyone know his business since professions of love weren't gonna bolster his tough-guy reputation, but this was the opposite. Newsflash: Captain Man's soft spot revealed.

"Is that...okay with you?" This man. This fucking man, could he be any more perfect? Sure, it was too late to go back on his words but still, her comfort came above everything for him and unlike most, he never missed a chance to make sure everything was okay between them.

"More than okay. It's perfect, doofus...I love you," (y/n) replied gently, unable to stop herself from saying the words she'd been denied earlier because this was just a micro-step in them getting closer and closer to the big day. Everything was still in the infancy stage with very little planned apart from a rough idea of who was going to be there and doing what yet they were getting there, very slowly but very surely. 

Now, Henry was a patient boy, especially when it came to these two. He could take the kissing, the random breaks they seemed to take to say some mushy stuff and even their borderline obsessive behaviour when it came to needing physical affection every five seconds, but he had his limits. Okay, one smooch and that was him done; this was a Nacho Ball, for god's sake, hardly the time or place and the Thumb Buddies were getting restless. Time to intervene.

"Uh, Captain Man? Miss Danger?" He cleared his throat as the kiss lingered on and on and on. Maybe he was a killjoy but when they had interrogations to do about who these idiots were and where they had come from, he had to draw the line somewhere, especially when he'd allowed the moment to stretch on for as long as he had.

"Ugh, fine, you can have him back..." (y/n) pouted as she relinquished her hold on her doofus and accepted that he couldn't be soft and squishy forever. Out here in the world, he wasn't Ray Manchester, he was Captain Man and she was Miss Danger, with nothing to shield them if they revealed who they truly were. He'd go back to being an ass and she'd have to wait until they were back home to see the real him again.

"Now..."

"You two..." And just like that, they were back to it like nothing had happened in between. The boys descended into intimidation again and (y/n) prepared herself for awkwardness by folding her arms and acting as uninterested as humanly possible. What was though, was how excited the Thumb Buddies looked. To most people, Ray and Henry would look pretty terrifying right now but all they could muster was a constipated look of delight. Maybe it was nerves?

"We don't know where you came from..."

"We don't wanna know..." Still, no change in their expressions, even as they edge closer. Could it be possible that the Thumb Buddies weren't the dastardly villains that Ray and Henry had painted them out to be? (y/n) couldn't say for certain, but they looked so happy, perhaps a little too happy...

"But I'm gonna tell you something right now...okay, why are you smiling at us like that?" Ray asked as their grins unnerved him. It was kinda difficult to act all mean and serious when they weren't flinching or shaking, this was the opposite of what he had been expecting. Why weren't they scared? Why weren't they begging for forgiveness? Come on, he was supposed to be giving them what for.

"Joey...I--I--I think I'm gonna faint..." The smallest of the men stuttered to his friend as his wide eyes stayed on the three heroes, his hands grabbing onto the taller man's arm as if he needed to steady himself. Jeez, were they that imposing? (y/n) had always seen herself as quite friendly and approachable, but when she gave them a reassuring smile, his eye did a funny twitching thing. 

"Just--just hold onto me."

"I'm gonna faint!"

"Just live in the moment, okay? Just breathe and live this moment," The tallest of the two, Joey apparently, encouraged his friend, who began to take deep, calming breaths that seemed to settle his nerves. Joey was hyper too but he hid it much better than his friend with the moustache, who, despite his breathing, still needed to hold his arm for support as Captain Man swapped some confused looks with his sidekicks.

"Okay...OH, GOD, WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS REAL LIFE!" All of their attempts to stay calm were in vain because the moment they let down their guards, it all came pouring out. It was slightly alarming to be shouted at about how much they were loved, so (y/n)'s hand sought out Ray's as her calming measure, but they were used to it. Screeching fans were an occupational hazard for them and these guys were no different, even if this was a complete three-sixty on what they had been expecting; "the new guy" was chill? Go figure.

"Okay, what is going on?" Henry demanded as he watched two normal if slightly oafish men fanboy over him, his boss and his boss's fiancée. Had he missed something? He'd expected this confrontation to be dramatic and angsty, not dorky and amicable because they were supposed to be the replacement and they were supposed to be the jilted exes...or something to that metaphoric effect.

"I think they're a lot nicer than you originally thought," (y/n) murmured without taking her eyes off of the men. Ray's hand squeezed hers and it was enough to not get nervous but the confusion was still there; Charlotte had been right, these two were nothing special, just two dorks in strange costumes who decided to be vigilantes. Oh, how she hated to say I told you so...

"It's just...the only reason we ever decided to be crimefighters--"

"--Is 'cause we want to be exactly like you three!"

"We humble ourselves before you..." Ray, Henry and (y/n) were speechless as the THumb Buddies revealed their almost devout love and loyalty for them but also knelt to the ground and bowed their heads as if they were in the presence of royalty.

Okay, perhaps it was a bit extra, demeaning to them, and embarrassing for the trio to be revered as superiors but it was also kind of flattering, and definitely a slap in the face for Henry and Ray. You could say that they hadn't just got the wrong end of the stick, they'd chosen a completely different stick entirely, one that was far from the truth.

"These guys are all right."

"Yeah, I'm starting to like these guys..." And just like that, Henry and Ray's opinions were turned on their heads, much to the frustration of (y/n). They changed theories as quickly as they had formed them and only when they were faced with irrefutable evidence, not someone else's wisdom. Her wisdom, they'd ignored it and now, they looked like idiots. Jealous, moronic idiots.

"You could've just listened to me, but nooooo. Miss Danger just likes to listen to herself say smart stuff, she doesn't want anyone to actually follow it." The woman growled sarcastically and slapped them both upside the head for pissing her off. One of these days, they'd listened to her when she said something to save them from trouble and then, they wouldn't end up in tricky situations. Y'know, like having two men kneeling before them.

"Sorry, sweet girl--I mean, uh, fellas, you may rise before us." Ray stammered a quick apology to his precious girl before grabbing his microphone and addressing the Thumb Buddies like he was their king and they were pitiful peasants. He was loving this; as much as he'd. hanged his mind to see them as equals, not enemies, he refused to let them know that because he was the experienced, dog-eared hero who'd saved the city from peril for twenty years or more. They were just starting out and as such, needed to show him some respect.

"Look, guys. Y'know, the whole superhero thing, it's sort of my--oh..."

"Emergency..." (y/n) muttered as Ray was interrupted by the quiet beeping of his phone. An emergency call was being put through and it wasn't like he could ignore it, even if he was about to tell the Thumb Buddies that Swellview was his city, no matter how much they helped or won the hearts of its people.

"They're getting a real emergency call!"

"I know, I know! Shhhh! Shhhh! Shhhhhhhhh!" The smaller man shushed Joey as he freaked out. So far, all they'd managed to pull off was stopping petty thieves and scavenging the leftovers of Captain Man's fights, so they'd not properly sunk their teeth into a meaty crime yet. Therefore, the notion of a genuine emergency, one fit for only the best, was cause for them to get giddy again.

"I should probably take this. If you'll excuse me..." Ray inclined his head towards the vigilantes politely and sloped off to the side to answer the call as the Thumb Buddies spluttered every respectful phrase they knew. To be honest, Ray could kick their dog and spit on their grandmothers and they'd probably say thank you, that was just how much they loved him. (y/n) and Henry, however, had no idea what to say, their boss normally led the talking for them.

"Where are you going?"

"We don't know these--we don't know what to say! Don't you dare walk out--oh, god." The sidekicks spluttered as Ray walked out the door with just a loving look over his shoulder at his sweet girl and nothing more. Oh, that was chivalrous, leaving them in it. Now, it was gonna be awkward and the pair prayed for a conversation point to make itself known as they slowly turned around to face the Thumb Buddies again.

"So..." Good start from Henry, certainly better than whatever (y/n) had planned as their watery smiles paled in comparison to their enormous grins, "The Thumb Buddies. Cool name."

"Nah. It's stupid..." Joey said bashfully, making (y/n) smile softly at how friendly they seemed. They weren't the brightest pair she'd ever met and they definitely had a childish streak in their personalities but it kinda reminded her of Ray and the playfulness that endeared him to her. They were dorks but she was famous for liking those, doofuses specifically, so hearing them be so hard on themselves strangely struck a nerve.

"Don't be so hard on yourselves, it's cute. How did you come up with it?" She asked with as much interest as she could muster in her voice.

"Well, Mark and I used to be dance instructors," Joey started. He and the smaller, moustache man, now known as Mark, began to lazily demonstrate one of their old routines, making Henry's smile falter from the awkwardness and (y/n)'s grow from how...endearingly quaint they were. What was it with her and dorks? She didn't fancy them or anything, far from it, she'd already found her perfect doofus for that, but they were so nerdy and weird she couldn't help but relax. 

"We taught the elderly to dance," And with an explanation like that, she was sold. She liked these guys, they were the kind of people she would've hung out with in college. Misfits and weirdos.

"But we never really felt fulfilled, y'know?"

"We felt like a couple of...nobodies." They went on, making Henry nervously look back at the door every five seconds as (y/n) kindly listened intently. He wanted Ray to come back now, he wouldn't tolerate a long-winded life story that made him want to tear his eyeballs from their sockets, he'd tell them straight and that'd be it. How long could one phone call take?

"But then, one night, we were having dinner with my sister and she says, you guysth!"

"'Cause she talks with a lisp!" Mark chuckled as Joey slurred his speech to be a bit more comical, enough for (y/n)'s gentle smile to twinge as they enjoyed retelling the story. Someone kill Henry now, he was having a dork overload and it was bad enough spending eighty per cent of her time with her and Ray being dorks in love.

"She does! She says, you guysth! You don't have to be nobodiesth! You can be sthomebodies!"

"And we were like, Sthombodies?!"

"Which sounded like Thumb...Buddies!"

"So now, that's who we are."

"The Thumb Buddies!...Boop!" Well, that was an adorkable story and to top it all off, they seemed to have like a strange, handshake thing which involved pressing their thumbs together and squeaking, which was...normal. Henry was getting a vibe here, a very specific vibe that came from a very specific kind of dork. 

Y'see, over these years he'd become an expert in what he called dorkology--the study of dorks, mainly because he worked for one. Ray was a dork, specifically a doofus, and on the chart of dorks, he was somewhere in between a nerd and a dweeb, possibly edging on being a sap but nowhere near being a dunce. Frankly, he was a dork but not a Thumb Buddy dork.

It all sounded very complicated but by Henry's calculations, Ray might have been a dork but he was a dork who got the ladies, very well by previous accounts. A dork who found themselves a mate in the wild was rare and it was only specific groups who could be so lucky. Many dorks found themselves unappealing to the females of the world and often, there were not nearly enough dorkettes to go around, so Ray finding his perfect bookworm dorkette match in (y/n) was a stroke of star-crossed fortune. 

The Thumb Buddies weren't so lucky though. From where he was standing, he noticed that they weren't blessed with the looks to accompany the personality so, unlike Ray, they weren't doofus, they were dimwits. Dorkette-less dimwits.

"So...I'm guessing you two aren't married." He stated after a brief second of study and placing them securely in the dimwit section of the dork chart. Judging by their amused scoffs and chuckles he was right and judging by how (y/n) knitted her eyebrows and glared at him, she didn't like that. Yeah, on the female dork chart, she was a bookworm, bordering on being a nerd, techie or weenie.

"Nah...just wait for the right girl!"

"That special someone!"

"Where is she?"

"Keep looking! If Captain Man can get someone as perfect as Miss Danger, we can too!" They laughed awkwardly as (y/n)'s cheeks flushed. Dorks couldn't go for the same dorkettes, doofuses were a higher ranking of dork so they got the prettier dorkettes, which was how a moron like Ray won the heart of (y/n), the borderline genius. The Thumb Buddies were on a lower rung, less likely to find themselves a girl since they weren't super-hot, super-cool walls of muscles like Captain Man.

"Trust me, it's worth the wait," (y/n) advised with a gentle smile as they awkwardly tittered about being loveless, much to Henry's amusement. Oh, he loved studying dorks, especially after spending a few years in the field waiting for two to finally discover that they were true dorks. A very complicated science, but rather interesting too, and speak of the dorky devil...

"Kid, sweet girl...Stainless Steve is on the loose." Ray panted as he sprinted back into the restaurant, having just gotten off the phone with Charlotte with some bad news. All of that hard work last week and for nothing because that metal bastard had evaded the useless police before he could be locked up. 

"What? Again? I thought the cops had him," (y/n) practically deflated when she heard the news, although she perked back up again when his arm curled around her back and rested his hand just above her butt. Y'know, she'd get to go home at some point, she'd get to change into some comfy pyjamas and nap at some point too, but of course, the job came first.

"They did, but he got away and now, we gotta go get him again," Ray replied tiredly, soothing her worries by rubbing his thumb against her satin-covered skin. He hated the idea of going through all that effort again but they were the guys to do it. Who else would?

"All right, okay, all right, we're sorry guys--" Henry sighed and turned to the Thumb Buddies, expecting them to understand that they had to go do some serious hero work but to his surprise, they had other ideas. This was their chance to do some proper crime-fighting, not the odd punch-up they had been doing recently.

"No! No, no, no, no, can we go with you?"

"Oh, please, let us come with you!"

"You gotta let us come with you!" Joey and Mark yelled, screamed, and begged the heroes to let them accompany them. Getting in on the action of a real Captain Man and Co fight would be a huge boost to their confidence and they'd finally get a taste of what being a superhero really meant. It was the chance of a lifetime and even if it made them seem a bit desperate, they couldn't help but run and circle the heroes to stop them from walking through the door without taking them first.

"Uh, no..."

"I don't think that's a good idea..."

"We don't usually do guided tours of crime scenes..." Their excuses came quickly as they thought about the prospect of having two inexperienced, untrained noobs following them into what could be a highly dangerous situation. What would happen if Steve was particularly vicious on his return?

Sure, the Thumb Buddies' enthusiasm and endless energy were a bit annoying, the upstaging even more so, but they couldn't let them get hurt. No, having them in the background would just leave them to make mistakes because it was just another thing to worry about.

"I'll rub your shoulders on the way!" Joey offered, which was an odd thing to put on the table. Ray's shoulders were tense, fair enough, he carried the weight of the world on them at times, but he had a very willing girlfriend to do it. (y/n) was more than happy to lavish her doofus with affection as she eased his pain. Seeing him tilt his head back and hearing him groan and praise her dextrous fingers was a dream, but admiring and having her lips on his broad shoulders and neck was bliss.

"What? No, I'm sorry, boys, but I'm the only one who rubs Cap--"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Or not. (y/n) snapped her head in Ray's direction when he interrupted her gentle protests with a raised hand. Okay, was he considering this? She wasn't going to but she could rub his shoulders if he wanted that, he didn't need a Thumb Buddy to help out. Consider her thoroughly confused. "You'll rub my shoulders?"

"Sure!"

"You got good hands?" Rude, much? Her hands were great, probably smaller than Joey's but still powerful. She punched people for a living, there was power in those paws. And yet, apparently, he didn't want her doing that. What was Raymond's game?

"Yeah!" Joey exclaimed and raised his hands to show Captain Man just how big they were. He could cover more ground and get at those knots. He just needed to say the word.

"All right, let's go..." There was the word. Henry and (y/n) stammered and staggered after the hero as he casually walked past the celebrating Thumb Buddies and out the door. (y/n) had to practically jog just to keep up with him as the men put on their serious faces and swaggered behind them, which left her with a minute to ask a question. Why?

"My shoulder rubs not good enough anymore, doofus?" The woman asked as she caught up enough to speedily walk beside him, although there was no malice in her tone, just a genuine curiosity as to why he'd allowed two amateur vigilantes to tag along. There had to be an ulterior motive, she just couldn't see it.

"You know I love them, sweet girl, but if you're behind me, I can't do this..." Ray smirked as he slowed down to a casual walking pace, one that was much more suited to her shorter legs and the Thumb Buddies' out-of-shape bodies. For a dork, he sure could be cryptic at times and despite her borderline genius, she couldn't always figure his riddles out, not until he put the engima into practice.

"Do what? I don't under--oh my god, Raymond, that's so good..." Her knitted eyebrows soon relaxed--all of her muscles did from their tense, confused state--when Ray dipped behind her and two huge, enormous, massive, colossal, warm hands rested on her small shoulders and began to manipulate her muscles in a way that could only be described as magical.

Seriously, he was clumsy and poorly coordinated at other stuff but with this, he was an artisan., so much that she didn't realise her slip-up as the pleasured sighs fell from her lips every time his thumbs ran across her spine.

"That's Captain Man to you, sweetheart," Ray purred into her ear as his body forced hers to keep walking, even if it was barely a crawl from how much they'd slowed down. The Thumb Buddies were enthralling Henry in another one of their fascinating stories and even though they were distracted, they were catching up, not that (y/n) could even think about going faster. It was hard enough putting one foot in front of the other as his fingers swirled across her shoulders, let alone coming up the brainpower to focus on anything else.

"Yes, Captain..." She whined breathlessly, trudging along with only him on her mind. It wouldn't last forever, eventually, his fingers would cramp up and her muscles would stop feeling so good but for now, she was gonna soak it all up. It was worth it just to feel him shiver against her when she called him by that name.

~A shady house, the backyard~

It wasn't unheard of for athletes to have their shoulders rubbed before a big match, rather, it was common amongst boxers and the like, y'know, the ones who got riled up too quickly and needed to calm down before their focus snapped. That wasn't the situation for Ray, he never got wound up enough for that to happen but one thing was for sure, his mind had never been calmer in the buildup to a fight.

Joey was right, he did have good hands and they were working magic on Ray as they approached a suspicious-looking house in a quiet neighbourhood of Swellview--a little too quiet if you asked (y/n). Much like he'd done with her, Ray was loving the shoulder rub, so much that (y/n) was happily hearing him mumble rubbish to her as he loosely held her hand and rambled. Something about prettiness, weddings and...food? That pretty much summed him up.

As they approached the backyard, things started to get creepy, so it was a good thing that at least one of them could relax. The Thumb Buddies felt fine; with Captain Man, Miss Danger and Kid Danger leading the way, they felt unbelievably protected and the sidekicks wished they could say that. Sure, they were confident in their abilities but (y/n)'s tummy was talking to her as they snuck around the old, creaking house and into the backyard, the last known location of Stainless Steve.

Of course, he couldn't have chosen the park or the rich estate to hide, no, he had to hide in the dark and in the neighbourhood where the trash collectors seemed to be on strike. There was crap scattered everywhere, ranging from an old, abandoned sofa to chip packets to an old orange cone, this place was gross, not that Ray seemed to mind that much as he sneakily checked their surroundings with Joey massaging his shoulders and (y/n) safely tucked into his side with her fists ready to swing.

"Kid, you see anything?" He questioned Henry as he walked in behind him, Mark on his tail since they'd each decided to take a Thumb Buddy into their responsibility. They'd hopefully stay safe that way but it was so dark and the bushes were so built up that it was almost impossible to catch a glimpse of shiny metal anywhere. An ambush would be so easy in a place like this...

"No, nothing. You sure Stainless Steve ran this way?" Henry asked as Joey began chopping at the man's spine, causing his ensuing groan to sound funny. They'd been walking around for ages and had seen nothing, which was starting to make him nervous.

"That's what the cop in the police helicopter said, maybe he---ahhhh. Ahhhh, this guy's hands are like magic," Ray grinned as the guy behind him kept rubbing for much longer than his sweet girl ever could. Not to be mean or anything since he'd adore her until his dying day but sometimes bigger hands were just better. They could cover more ground and go on for longer, not to mention the fact that this way, he could have a massage and look at her.

"Thank you..."

"You know, if you're not careful, he'll grab onto you and never let go. It's what happened with me." (y/n) joked as she witnessed Ray's dopey smile and Joey laughed as the hero's cheeks flushed pink. It was a fairly accurate description of how they'd ended up the way they are now; they met, they fell in love, they latched onto each other, never to let go again. It was that simple.

"Hey, hey, hey, look! Footprints...leading up to the shed," Henry suddenly interrupted, pushing all of the jokings to one side as he noticed some familiar prints etched into the dirt below their feet. Too deep to be any of theirs, kinda like the wearer had been weighed down, possibly due to the impossibly heavy metal jacket they always wore. It was him, wasn't it? Steve was in the shed and all they had to do was sneak up to it and nab him, Easy.

"Oh, hey! Do you guys think that Stainless Steve is hiding in there?" Mark asked under his breath. Ten points to the Thumb Buddies for a brilliant deduction; he might have been hiding in there, might being the keyword. Steve could be sneaky when he wanted to be, so every clue was to be taken with a pinch of salt because, in this game, there was no chance to restart if you walked into a trap.

"Yes."

"Probably..."

"Well, we don't know until we look..." The trio replied as they cautiously eyed the shed, pondering about how they were gonna go about this one but for Joey and Mark, that wasn't an option. This seemed like a simple enough mission, just going in and grabbing the villain, so what they asked next seemed like a no-brainer.

"Ooooh, let us go in there and get him!"

"Yeah! Let us do it!" They begged yet again, wanting a chance to do some real crime-fighting for once without having to stick to small operations or mere lucky finds. The last time they'd dealt with Steve, they'd just stumbled upon someone else's hard work and stolen the glory, but this time, they wanted to do things properly. If they'd let them, that is.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no..."

"That's not a good idea, guys..."

"It's probably best to let us handle this one..." (y/n) said in line with her friends. In her experience, no mission was ever as easy as it appeared and if they allowed the Thumb Buddies to proceed and then they got hurt, well, that was on them. They were the professionals, they had the knowledge, weapons and backup ready if something went wrong. Mark and Joey didn't, not that they were listening to that reason.

"Please! If you guys will just let us do this, it'll make us feel like we really did something..."

"Like--like our lives have meaning..." Well, when they put it like that, it was nearly impossible to hold the tears in. (y/n)'s watery eyes met Ray's as she and Henry looked to him for the final say and she wondered which side was winning the war in his mind. 

She'd seen it before, hell, she used to be like that, an inconsequential nerd with nothing more than a nine-to-five life as her future when all her heart secretly longed for was an adventure. An odd longing for one so naturally nervous but she understood what they were feeling--the need to belong to something, even if that something wasn't something tangible, like morality or the belief that some things were still good and wholesome and worth fighting for.

"Captain Man?" She asked with hope in her voice, wanting to hear his judgement on the matter so they could put the men out of their misery. He was the boss, he made the call, not her, not Henry, him. What had he decided?

"Well...all right."

"Okay, you guys can get him," He caved, that was his decision. (y/n) broke out into a smile when his softer side came out to play again. Maybe he didn't need his name on this capture, perhaps letting them get a taste of what fighting the big dogs felt like, after all, he remembered what it was like being the newest hero on the scene and trying to find his big break. And seeing the proud smile on his sweet girl's face as they celebrated just sealed the deal; yeah, he'd chosen correctly.

"For real?!"

"Seriously?!" You could say that they were a bit happy at the news, possibly ecstatic. Just a bit. 

"But be careful! We don't want to have to scrape you up off the ground and into a bucket..." (y/n) quelled their excitement as Henry shushed their squeals; the last thing they needed was to give away their position because rule number one for espionage was to always try and have the element of surprise. That was their first lesson, the next lesson was not getting yourself killed before you'd even started because they didn't need the guilt on their consciences.

"Yeah, I don't want those fabulous hands getting hurt," Ray added, which made (y/n) frown at his simping as the Thumb Buddies grinned and blushed. This was it, their moment had come just as Joey's sister had said; time for the dorks to find their place in the world.

"Totally get it, totally get it!" Joey laughed it off as Mark came to face him and then, their smiles dropped into serious, stern expressions, which were completely ill-suited to their natural goofy personalities and whacky costumes. "Okay, man...this is it."

"I love you." Bit much? Bit of bromance going on? It made the heroes share a slightly confused look at how bluntly Mark said it but they understand the sentiment, it was cute. Ray loved (y/n), (y/n) loved Ray, Henry loved (y/n), (y/n) loved Henry, Henry loved Ray, and Ray loved Henry, their unit was built upon trust and a strong friendship, more in the couple's case. It was a good sign and lesson three was to always have your partner's back.

"Yeah...who are we?!" Nobody batted an eyelid at how Joey didn't reciprocate because of how weirdly touching the scene was as they entered lesson four - opening lines must always be cool and must always boost your confidence.

"THUMB BUDDIES!!! Boop!" They shouted as they mashed their thumbs together before charging into the shed with a battle cry sounding out into the night sky. Mark went in first with Joey stumbling over his heels as the wide-eyed superheroes watched on, ready to step in if they needed to but then the doors slammed shut and they assumed that they had everything under control. Until they didn't.

To their absolute horror, shock, terror, surprise and whatever, the shed wasn't a shed. Instead, it was a cleverly disguised trap, revealed when the flimsy, wooden walls fell to the ground with a slam. The trap itself was rather disturbing yet brilliant; a tiny, compact rocket with just enough room for two or three people to squeeze into it if they wanted an uncomfortable jaunt into space and through the small viewing window at the front, they could see the men's terrified faces pressing their noses against the glass. Oh god, they'd said to be careful.

Lesson five, charging in is nearly always a dumb idea. Be the tortoise, not the hare.

"Well, that's weird..." Ray stated as he blinked at the rocket. (y/n) was unable to form words as her hand slapped over her mouth at the peril the Thumb Buddies found themselves in and it didn't take a genius to work out that they were panicking. Well, they would be somebodies after this, the first idiots to not want to go to space. How had it all gone so wrong, so quickly?

"Hey!"

"What's happened?!" Joey and Mark screamed above the noise of the engines starting up, the strange hissing and gentle vibrations of the metal making them feel sick as they realised that the door had been bolted after they ran into the pod. All heroes had bad days but these guys had the worst luck in the world. Not to be a pessimist but it looked like their bad day would be their last...

"Uhhh, uhhhh, we don't know!"

"You seem to be in a rocket," Henry told them as they tried to think of something, anything to help out. They should've known it was a trap, just walking into the shed to make an arrest was too easy but they were the ones who'd wanted to save the day. Their mission, their rules, their tactics. How could they help when they were still figuring out exactly what had happened and how?

"Uh, but don't worry! Everything's gonna be--"

"Activate main engine... Prepare for launch..." (y/n) could tell them not to panic all she wanted but when the rocket's automated voice came on and the thrusters started to fire up and spark flames, it didn't matter. They were panicking, she was panicking because she just knew that they were meant to be the ones in that damn rocket, not the Thumb Buddies, who were just fledging fighters, totally unequipped to go into space.

"Fine?---" 

"Ignition...goodbye." Before she could offer any counsel or advice on how to shut the rocket down, the remaining thrusters kicked in and the shuttle started to shake, rattle and...fly. Screaming and pleading for their lives, the Thumb Buddies watched with pale faces and bloodshot eyes as Captain Man, Miss Danger and Kid Danger stood frozen on the lawn, getting smaller and smaller until they were like ants on the ground. 

They were up in the stratosphere before they even spoke again, unable to process that the one time they decided to accept some superhero interns and they accidentally sent them to the moon or something. Definitely not a mission to give to KLVY and certainly not their brightest moment.

"Well, I'll be darned..." Ray muttered as their necks stayed craned at the stars, watching the rocket into it was nothing more than a shooting star crossing the galaxies. (y/n) could swear that a tear rolled down her cheek as they became yet another star in the inky darkness; it was all so damn poetic, they'd wanted to shine and now they would but no one would ever know who they were admiring when they looked up at the sky and happened to see them floating past. They'd be immortalised in space and free to wander the cosmos as the Earth kept spinning...would anyone miss them?

Her thoughtful reflection was broken as delighted cheers broke the quiet of the night and when she finally brought her gaze back down, she saw that it was Stainless Steve. He'd crept back into the garden and was cheering at the sky as he watched his rocket disappear, which was no doubt his cunning method of getting rid of them once and for all. If only he noticed how he'd only succeeded in sending the wrong heroes.

"Goodbye, Captain Man and Kid Danger! And you're stupid little fiancée! Enjoy getting hitched in outer space for the rest of your---lives..." His screams were cut off as Ray, henry and (y/n) took a few steps forward and when the metal man turned around, he was met with their stony expressions. Oh, how they wanted to kick his ass into space too, maybe he'd bring their newfound friends back when he returned.

"You tried to trick us!" Ray realised as he looked from Stainless Steve to the path the Thumb Buddies took and back to his stupid shiny face. Right, it all made sense now, they were meant to run in there and get caught, not those guys. They had just been a very unfortunate accident, sneaky, little...

"You tried to shoot us into space!"

"No! No, I didn't!" Liar, liar...aluminium foil on fire. Steve cooly looked off to the right as they caught him out as if lying about what had just happened right in front of them would change anything. They might have looked dumb but they weren't, unlike him in his stupid metal outfit and facepaint. Why couldn't he just use a ski mask like most villains?

"You did too! We just watched your rocket fly away!" (y/n) spat, stepping forward as if she was about to punch the guy, but Ray's hand quickly caught her wrist to stop her from doing anything rash. She was upset, he could see that from her quivering bottom lip, so there was no knowing what was going through her mind and he didn't fancy letting her stand up to Steve alone, not when he was ready for a fight too.

"Yeah, so? What are you gonna do about it, girlie? Run and hide while Captain Man saves your pretty little ass?" Steve growled, taking one step closer so (y/n) could feel his breath fan across her face as he sneered. Contrary to popular belief, Miss Danger did not need the assistance of Captain Man because she was not a damsel in distress, nor was she afraid to fight her own battles, no matter how much Ray wrapped her in cotton wool sometimes.

"I hope for your sake that you've got metal everywhere..." She smiled sourly, watching as the confusion flickered over his features for a second before she took the plunge and kneed him right in the balls. Yeah, it was all well and good having metal plates sewn into your jacket but when you forget about the squishy parts, none of that really matters. 

Steve crumpled to the dirt and Ray and Henry witnessed the scene with wide eyes and their breath caught in their throats as the small girl took down a guy, who thought he could intimidate her. Well, here's to no little Steve's running around in the future. 

And just for good measure, Henry found a discarded, crusty soda cup lying on the ground, which was filled with a suspicious liquid that could have been soda or something more human, so naturally, he savagely threw it at the man's body, hoping the smell stayed with him for days. 

Ray would've done something too, he would've ensured that the villain stayed down until the cops arrived but he couldn't take his eyes off his sweet girl, who couldn't take her eyes off the rocket above their heads. It was just a speck at this point, only just in view and whilst she lamented the loss of the Thumb Buddies with Henry, he struggled to control his racing heart. It wasn't his fault that she was so hot when she fought.

"This is bad..." Henry said after a minute or two and he wasn't wrong. What could they do? They could muster the Schwoz's love shuttle and follow them but there was a strong chance they'd be dead by the time they managed to launch. Everything came back down to Earth eventually; the rocket wasn't big enough to fully explore the depths of space, and nor did it have the fuel to do so. It would circle the planet a few times, perhaps stray away just a little and then get caught by gravity again, at least, that's what (y/n) predicted. Was that good or bad though?

"Shhhh! We don't know what happened..." Ray silenced his sidekick as he snapped out of his filthy thoughts and promptly made a ruling on the matter. What the news didn't know wouldn't hurt them, right? As far as he was concerned, the Thumb Buddies were strangers to the Man Cave team and the night's events never occurred, which was cruel but what else could he do?

"Doofus, what are you talking about?" (y/n) asked with a frowning face. Sometimes, her dorkette just didn't get his dorkiness, not when she was racking her brain for a solution that didn't involve spending millions of dollars on a rescue mission.

"We were never here."

"We were never where?"

"We were somewhere else..."

"Where?"

"I wasn't here, and neither were you. In fact, I was at home with my fiancé all evening..." Oh, now she understood. Henry jumped onto his almost evil plan almost immediately as the man seized his girl by the arms and began to drag her away from the "scene of the crime". (y/n) didn't like it not one bit, but she allowed him to take her anyway--the mens rea to follow the actus reus as it were. Were they just gonna walk away and deny everything if the Thumb Buddies ever cropped up in conversation again? Yep, looked like it.

"Said Captain Man today in court when the prosecuting attorney questioned his whereabouts on the night of the disappearance," The heroine muttered bitterly as they scampered away from the house and back towards the Nacho Ball where they'd left the Man Van. 

It wasn't a long walk but it certainly looked suspicious for any lowlife witnessing three superheroes running away like they were the bad guys. Perhaps they wouldn't snitch when the police came knocking on doors and asking questions?

"You got a better idea, sweet girl? Other than going home and watching that rom-com with Ted Iggle-Piggle?" Ray asked with soft yet serious eyes because he was up for suggestions, anything she could give him, he'd take. She had to believe him, he wanted to do something about their...predicament but he had no idea how to get those fellow dorks back. Maybe a good night's sleep in each other's arms would bring some inspiration.

"His name is Tom Hiddleston, and no, I don't. I have nothing..." (y/n) replied tiredly, not even having the energy to twitch the corners of her mouth into a smile. Going to bed and chilling with a crap movie did sound nice and her doofus always knew how to take her mind off the bad stuff that waited outside the four walls of their bedroom. 

Sleep always brought better thoughts to her and who knows? Tomorrow might just give her an idea of what to do or maybe her worry would fade in the night, and honestly, she didn't know which was better. A hopeless struggle that might just fail or the prospect of carrying the guilt of never knowing for the rest of their lives? Her famous last words:

"Perhaps it's better to just forget. After all, I doubt we'll ever see them again..."

#dangerverse #ray manchester #ray manchester x reader #reader insert #x reader #chapa de silva #danger force #henry danger #captain man x reader #fanfiction #cross posted on ao3 #cross posted on wattpad #ray manchester smut #ray manchester fanfiction #captain man smut #captain man #love confessions #long post #mutual pining #fluff #part 1 #lovers #rewrite #romantic #new relationship #romance #danger force season 3 #kid danger #henry danger smut

[narumi-gens]

Okie I’m callin ya melly bean (like jelly bean ya know?) 💕 I have no idea about a release date for HP, honestly. I agree that there is SO much coming out that I’m kinda just laying here waiting for it to all release so I can get overwhelmed and take forever to start watching hahA (except for CSM that’s getting watched ASAP)

Omg yes I have been reading part 2 and honestly? The first chapter back blew me the fuck away. I was worried like, what if it’s disappointing? What if it doesn’t live up to the hype I had in my head? But what a small minded little bug I am. I am in LOVE with Yoru and can’t wait to see what heart breaking shit she gets up to 😭 Also yes! There was also a cat dude 🥺💕 Seeing him back was so good, I missed him so much I hope Tatsuki gives us more and doesn’t throw a complete curve ball next chapter by starting off with some completely different plot.

UggGGGHHHHHH tired, messy, boys who smoke like a chimney are my absolute weakness! My friends are always telling me to stop going for guys I gotta fix but like, if I don’t fix him then is he really even mine? I binge watched The Bear too and also thought it would be a comedy but it ended up really surprising me. I thought it was shot beautifully and did a great job at portraying grief when it comes to having a loved one unaliving themselves who wasn’t the best person when they were alive but you still miss them like hell and remember them in the best light because what else can you do? (Hit a lil close to home and it’s nice seeing media ditch the bullshit trope of “an angel gained their wings” ya know?)

Alsooooooo I’ve been seeing your Yuri drabbles and that you’re possibly working on a fic for him and !!! He’s my favourite from Spy x Family and I agree there totally isn’t enough content for him and don’t mind me on my knees presenting my cupped hands towards you for a lil sustenance 🤲🏼

😭 Naoya my poor, sad, sack of misogynistic shit I can’t believe what they’ve done to you. I’m not gonna act like it isn’t what he deserves but WE deserve some pretty boy Naoya even though I know we are 100% not gonna get it 🥲 At least we’re getting feral Maki <333

This ask has been SO freaking long and I’m sorry but I had to mention one more thing! I feel like we seriously have the same taste when it comes to the entertainment we like to consume (whether it be music, manga or television) so I was wondering if you’ve seen The Boys? I just started watching it and I’m already on season 2! I would love to talk (write) your ear (eye) off about it if you have!

- 💀 🌸 (Glad to hear you’ve been doing well! Remember to drink water and give Miso lots of kisses on the nose 💕)

We can always count on Fujimoto to do the exact opposite of what we're expecting. "Oh, you've been waiting a year and a half for CSM to come back? Well here's a brand new character with no mention of the old protagonist and I'm gonna make you fall in love with her immediately." And I did, I so did. I love how pathetic she is and how clumsy she is and how deep down she's just so kind 🥺 This last chapter was seriously one of my fave CSM chapters. Like probably a top 10 or even top 5 chapter. I'm just soooo happy it's back 🥰

Yeah, I really loved how The Bear looked at grief and was like "there are just some things you're never to know about a person or from a person when they're gone and you just have to make your peace with it." Like what a gut punch. Almost as much of a gut punch as Carmy's "I don't ask ppl how they're doing bc I don't know what to say when ppl ask me how I'm doing." Alsooooo....Jeremy Allen White just did one of those "essential things" GQ videos and I'm just so in love with him 😭😭😭😭

Omg that Yuri fic is getting some real big hype and I'm so sorry to everyone who's going to have to wait like a year for it to come out bc I am a s l o w writer lol but there really is such a lack of Yuri content out there that it's upsetting 😡 So even it takes me ages, I will get that fic out. It's going on the wip list in my pinned!

I actually haven't seen The Boys! When it came out and everyone first got into it, I was like "oh it's just an adult version of BNHA" but now I'm so profoundly uninterested in BNHA that it might be a good time to start. Plus there's like 3-4 seasons now so plenty of episodes to catch up on... 🤔

Always feel free to drop in my inbox lovely 💕💕💕 (I will drink lots of water but I will not kiss Miso on the nose bc she hates that. But she does love giving kisses. Sometimes I'll be sitting on the couch and won't realize she's behind me and all of a sudden she'll start licking my hair to clean me bc she thinks I'm her baby and not the other way around 🥺)

#mel answers

[study-coffee-chicago]

Seasons of Med: Season 2 and Seasons of PD: Season 4: Necessities, Love, & Care (A Halstead Brothers + Halstead Sister! Imagine)

Your age: 15

Jay's age: 29

Will's age: 31

You were currently sitting at the library, trying to figure out how you'd get food for dinner. It was January and you had run out of your Christmas money two weeks ago and you had burned through your money from helping with kettle corn at the beginning of December. Right now you were SOL: Shit outta luck.

Your mind wandered back to the last day you had helped working the kettle corn stand when it was a dreary late October day.

"We have kettle corn, caramel corn, cheddar, Chicago style, and a few other flavors," you explained to a customer. She picked up a medium bag of caramel corn. "That one?"

"Yes, dear. Me and my husband love this stuff," the old lady said.

"I'm sure. It's really good! It'll be six dollars." She pulled out a five and two ones. "I'll be right back with your change."

"Oh, no, keep the change, dear. Thank you for the popcorn."

"You're welcome. Have a nice day."

"Y/N," Emma said to you. "Can you grab me a lemonade from the cooler?"

"Just one?"

"Yup, just one."

You grabbed it from the cooler and were about to pass it to her when you saw who her customers were: Jay and Erin.

"Y/N?" Jay asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Working," you answered quickly. "Little bit of extra money never hurt anybody. The real question is, what are you doing here? I know Erin hates being outside when the weather is crappy."

"It's because he's annoying when he whines and begs to do something, so I figured it was just best to give in," Erin answered.

Jay rolled his eyes. "God, I can't win with either of you. Why do you always gang up on me?"

"Because, Halstead, us girls gotta stick together," Erin laughed.

"Okay, okay, fine. Y/N, what popcorn should I get?"

"First of all, it's kettle corn," you corrected. "And, I suggest the cheddar. Or, if you want a combination of both salty and sweet, then get the Chicago style. It's cheddar and caramel."

"Me and Erin like sweet, but I know you. You like cheddar. And you'll pick out the cheddar pieces when you're at my apartment, so I'll get the Chicago style."

"Or," Erin started as she picked up a large bag of caramel and a large bag of cheddar, "We could get this big bag of caramel, and then you could have this bag at your apartment for Y/N. That way the flavors aren't touching."

"Erin Lindsay and not liking her food touching. Fine, we'll take what Erin suggested and one lemonade."

"One or two straw holes?" Emma asked, picking up the lid-punching tool.

"One's fine," Jay answered.

"They swap enough spit as it is," you whispered to Emma, causing her to laugh.

"What'd she say?" Jay asked.

"I can't tell you. It's a secret."

He huffed. "Fine. Keeping secrets from your big brother? That's cold Y/N, that's cold."

"So you're saying you never kept secrets from Will?" Erin asked.

"I have the right to remain silent."

"Exactly," Erin said. "How much does he owe you?"

"Excuse me? I didn't know I'd be the one paying for all of this."

"You were the one who dragged me outside, so yes, you are paying, Halstead. Now, get your card ready."

Jay rolled his eyes and pulled out his wallet. "How much?"

You did the math in your head. "$23."

"Emma, can you check her math?" Jay asked and you rolled your eyes in his lack of faith in you.

"$10 for the cheddar and $8 for the caramel makes $18...plus $5 for the lemonade...yup $23."

You handed him the card reader. "And now it's just going to ask you a few questions," you told him after his card went through.

Without allowing him to read it all the way through, Erin hit the tip and no receipt buttons. "Hey!" Jay exclaimed.

"Don't blame me! You were the one who wanted me to come out here!" She turned to you and took the bag of kettle corn as Jay picked up the 32 oz lemonade. "Thanks, Y/N!"

"No problem! Just make sure he doesn't buy any more paintings of motorcycles!"

Man, how you wished you could work that job right now because it was only for a few hours on the weekends. But, it was winter now, so there were no street fairs, farmers markets, or festivals going on. Because of this, your money had run out. You'd have to do what you'd have to get yourself some food, even if it would leave you with a guilty conscience.

With that in mind, you got up and left the library.

***

"Pop's been complaining of chest pain and refuses to go to the hospital," Jay told his older brother as he walked through the front door and into the living room.

"Of course he did," Will grumbled. Then, he turned to his father. "This won't take long. Unless it's bad. Then you'll have to come with me and actually go to the hospital this time."

"You can't force me to do anything," he argued as he watched his oldest son open up his medical bag.

"Just let him do his job. He knows what he's doing," Jay agreed with Will. Then, he remembered something. "Where's Y/N?"

"At school."

"At school? At 5 pm?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sometimes she stays after school and does homework. She's always home before it gets too late so I don't ask."

It's not like Jay and Will could have known this, though. Yes, you would talk and they're obviously there for you because they're your brothers, but your dad's parenting skills--or lack thereof--hadn't ever come up. You'd get together with your brothers once a week, but it was usually at one of your brothers' places. They rarely came inside your and your dad's place.

"All units, we have reports of a robbery at 3020 East Main Street. Assistance requested," Jay's radio stated.

Jay looked to Will, silently asking if it was okay for him to take it. "I've got it from here."

"Thanks, man," Jay said, clapping Will on the back and leaving the house.

He drove to the small corner market that had made the call. It was only a block away from where you and your dad lived, but despite it usually being somewhat slow, today it was even slower. There was only one car parked in the lot, so Jay was confused as to who would even rob this place.

He put on his vest and walked into the store. "Got a call about a robbery," he said to the store manager as he entered.

"Yes, right over here."

He led Jay over to where a girl was sitting on a stool, tears rolling down her face. She held a box of pasta, a loaf of bread, and a small jar of peanut butter. Her coat was unzipped, revealing the tampons and pads she had stuffed inside her coat after she had ripped open the box.

"Y/N?" Jay asked in disbelief. "What are you doing? What were you even thinking?"

"I- I'm sorry," you sniffled.

Then he turned to the store manager. "You called the cops on a fifteen-year-old girl for grabbing what looks to me like necessities?"

"I've let her go the past two times when she needed things, but today she didn't have the money, so I couldn't let it slide."

Jay threw $30 in the man's hand. "There. Now it's all paid for." He turned to you and took the loaf of bread. "C'mon."

You followed him out of the store, waiting to be yelled at as you entered his truck, but it didn't come. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he handed you the bread. "Why? Why did you do this?"

"There- There's barely any food in the house. I was just hungry."

Jay looked you up and down. He hadn't been really looking for changes in weight like he told Natalie he would do six months ago. He kept it up for a few months and then winter came around and it was hard to tell because of bulky jackets and sweaters. But, now that he actually looked at your face and hands in an investigative manner, it was clear as day: You had lost even more weight.

"And the other stuff?" he asked.

"Dad won't buy them for me. Says that they're too expensive and to just use something else. He said that if he had had a son he wouldn't have to worry about it, like it's my fault. Usually, I take some from school, but I ran out and I needed them."

"And the food?" Jay asked as he started driving back to his childhood home.

"I get breakfast and lunch at school, but I have to eat dinner at home. And on weekends I just skip meals and eat breakfast and dinner."

"What? What about Dad?"

"He gets takeout or he goes to the bar and isn't home until late."

Jay sighed as he pulled into the driveway. "Go pack a bag, kid. You're staying at my place until further notice."

"Really? I thought you guys forgot about me?"

"We could never forget about you. It's just, work has been busy for both of us. So, sorry if these last few times we've all been together for dinner have seemed a little rushed. Now, go inside and grab your stuff while I have a chat with Will and Dad."

"Dad, Will," Jay said after you had run upstairs and they were sitting on the couch. "I need to talk to you. In the kitchen."

"Really, Jay. Why can't it be here?" your dad grumbled. "First he--" He pointed to Will. "Wants to take me to the hospital because he said I have a valve issue and now I can't even have a conversation with my sons while sitting down?"

"Just get up, dammit!"

The three entered the kitchen and sat down, but Jay stayed standing. "Jay, what's going on?" Will asked.

Instead of answering his older brother, Jay just opened the fridge. There was a half drank gallon of milk, a jar of grape jelly, and a can of pasta sauce, along with other condiments, and a lone egg sat on a shelf. "This? This is what you expect your daughter to eat? I caught her stealing from a store just so she could get food and tampons!"

"Well, I'm not gonna pay for it."

"Excuse you?" Will exclaimed, eyebrows raised in surprise. "What do you mean you're not paying for it? She's your daughter, isn't she? Then you have a legal responsibility to feed her, make sure she has shelter, clothes, and goes to school!"

"She can go get a job."

"She is fucking fifteen!" Jay yelled. "She doesn't need to be worrying about where her next meal is coming from! She's supposed to be worrying about getting a good grade on a math test or if that boy likes her or not, but not that!"

"She needs to learn to grow up someday. And she won't if you boys baby her like you always do whenever you see her."

"Baby her?" Will yelled, disgusted. "She's a kid. She needs to be babied sometimes. She needs fucking food and a nice home to come home to, not whatever the hell you think this is."

"It hasn't been a home since your mother died."

"Yeah, we gathered that," Jay scoffed. "But you don't have to take it out on her."

"Jay," your small voice said from the doorway into the kitchen. All three men looked over to you, your backpack on your back, a duffle bag slung over your shoulder, and your favorite blanket wadded up in your hands so that you could carry it without it dragging on the ground.

"Ready to go?" Jay asked, his voice immediately softening.

"Uh, yeah," you answered, unsure of how your dad would react.

"What do you mean ready to go?" Pat Halstead asked, standing up from where he had been previously sitting at the table. "She's not going anywhere!"

Will rushed over to you, placing a hand on your shoulder while Jay stalked over to be face to face with your dad. "She is coming with me until further notice. You're lucky I don't arrest your ass for child neglect!"

"You wouldn't do that to your own father!"

Jay pulled the cuffs out of his back pocket. "Oh yeah? Try me."

He sat back down and Jay turned to you. "Here, let me take that." You handed him your duffle bag and followed him and Will outside.

"Jay, I gotta go. I gotta get Dad to Med to get the valve fixed. And, I said one hour out of the hospital tops and it's been two."

Jay closed the truck door once you were safely inside with all your stuff. "Good luck trying to get Dad to go the hospital," he scoffed. "Get going. Don't give Goodwin another reason to fire your stupid ass."

"I'll call an ambulance if I have to." Then, Will smacked Jay upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You know what it was for. And, I'm your older brother, it's my job."

"I'm your older brother, it's my job," Jay mocked. "But, in all seriousness, do me a favor and make sure Y/N's all caught up on her immune- immune--"

"Immunizations?" Will laughed.

"Yeah, those."

"I'll do that. And if she's not, I'll give them to her tonight when I come over to your place after my shift is done...which will be in like two hours...depending on how much of a pain in the ass he is to get in the hospital."

Jay nodded, and then got in the truck, both of you making your way to his place.

"I'm gonna go take a shower," Jay said after you had put your stuff down by the couch. "You have homework?"

"Yeah," you looked down, not wanting to even try and struggle through your homework...or have Jay sign the slip that said that you failed your last test.

Jay smiled. "I'll help you with it when I'm out of the shower, okay, kid?"

"How'd you know--"

"That is the universal facial expression of I need help, but I don't know how to ask for it. I'll be ten minutes tops."

And so, you tried to struggle through your homework for ten minutes. But, you ended up working and reworking the stupid algebra problem. Why did math need letters anyway?

"Okay, I'm back," Jay said as he pulled a chair out to sit next to you. "What are you workin' on?"

"Can you sign this first?" you asked, sliding the yellow paper over to him along with the pen. You hoped he'd just sign it blind, but as you saw his eyes skimming the page, you knew that wouldn't happen.

"Did you try your best?" he asked as he slid the piece of paper back to you after signing it.

"What? Yeah, of course, I did."

"Okay, then we'll figure something out. Now, how about we eat some dinner? I've got pizza in the freezer. That okay?"

"That's great," you answered.

Jay got the pizza in the oven while you went and changed into your pajamas. You decided it was in your best interest to have Will help you with your math homework.

***

"Ah! The man of the hour!" Jay exclaimed as he pulled out the pizza and Will entered the house.

You immediately noticed the red bag he was carrying over his shoulder and the two king-sized Twix bars.

"Why do you have your medical bag?" you asked.

"How did you know this was my medical bag?"

"I'm not stupid, Will."

"Okay, so you're all caught up on your shots, but I need to do a blood draw because I need to see if you're deficient in any vitamins and minerals. Have you been eating enough fruits and veggies?" he asked.

"Probably not as much as I should," you admitted. "They're too expensive unless I get the canned kind and I don't like those unless it's canned peaches. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Short Stack. None of this is your fault. You hear me? None of it. I just need to take the blood and then get it sent to the lab to see if you need to get any specific pills to get your vitamin and mineral levels up."

"Okay. Does it hurt?" you asked. You knew what a shot felt like, but you'd never had your blood drawn before, so you didn't know what it felt like to have a needle in your arm for a long time, taking blood. You knew what it felt like to have an IV in from when you passed out at the movie theater, but you didn't know if this needle would be the same size or bigger.

"You just feel a slight pinch at the beginning."

"Like getting a shot?"

"Like getting a shot," he confirmed.

"Hey, I was thinking," Jay started as he reappeared from the kitchen area, "what if we have celery and carrots with ranch for dinner, too? You know, like when we eat chicken wings at restaurants and they bring you some veggies, except we'll have ours with pizza."

"Okay," you agreed. "I like ranch."

"So does everyone in the midwest," Will joked.

"What's the medical bag for?" Jay asked. "She needs shots? And, what's with the Twix bars?"

"No, I'm drawing her blood to see if she's deficient in anything. And, there's one Twix bar for her and one for you because we all know how you feel about needles, Jay."

Jay rolled his eyes. "We doing this before we eat?"

"Yes. And, I need you to answer some questions for me, Y/N. These are strictly doctor protocol questions, okay? You don't need to be embarrassed about any of the answers."

You nodded.

"Okay," Will started, "When did you last eat? Just need to write it down for fasting glucose levels."

"Um, lunch at school, so around noon."

"So, six-hour fast," Will scribbled down on a piece of paper. "Next one, are you sexually active?"

"Will!"

"It's just standard protocol, just in case I need to test for STDs."

"No, I am not. Next question."

"Okay, last one: When was your last period?"

"You've got to be kidding me. I'm not pregnant, I haven't had sex!"

Will chuckled. "It's not for that. Sometimes when people are deficient in vitamins and minerals, they can lose their period for months at a time, signaling that their body isn't healthy. The medical term is amenorrhea." But, what he wanted to say was that when girls are underweight, this can also happen. And, from seeing how baggy your sweatshirt and jeans were on you, he assumed that you'd lost ten pounds since last going to the doctor when you passed out in the movie theater parking lot, making your weight loss a grand total of 25 pounds, which would qualify you as being underweight.

"Oh. I started today."

"Okay, good to know. Any changes in length or heaviness of menstruation?"

"I swear, I'd rather have Natalie or April be asking me these questions," you grumbled. "But, yes, it's a lot lighter and it went from me having my periods for five days to two days. Can we please stop talking about this now?"

"Yeah, we're all done. Sorry about that, but it's protocol."

"Says the guy who's drawing my blood at Jay's apartment instead of in a hospital, where it should be done."

"Hey, I've worked in much worse conditions than this in Sudan. How much water did you drink today?"

"A lot."

"Okay, good." Will started to unzip his medical bag. He passed a Twix bar to Jay. "Here, eat this and focus on it so you don't focus on the needles and then freak out."

Jay rolled his eyes, but took the candy bar and unwrapped it.

"Do I get one?" you asked.

"Once I draw your blood, yes, the other one is for you. Now, right or left arm?"

You held out your left arm and Will moved to the other side of you so he had a better angle. He sanitized his hands and then snapped on a pair of gloves.

"So, what do you do?" you asked. "I've never had my blood drawn before."

"I just tie off your arm so that I can get the veins to show a bit better, wipe down the spot with an antiseptic wipe, stick the needle in, and then wait for the vial to fill up."

"That's it?"

"That's it. Can you make a fist with your left hand for me?"

You did as Will told you and then he tied a band around your bicep and started touching the inside of your elbow, trying to get some veins to show. He furrowed his eyebrows and moved down your arm, rubbing your forearm and then going back up to the crook of your elbow and gently pressing there.

"What's wrong?" you asked.

"You just have really small veins is all. I could take the blood from the big vein in your forearm, but I don't really want to do that one since it's so big. Can you squeeze your fist tighter for me?" You did as he said while he kept pressing on the crook of your elbow. "There we go. Got one. Now, turn and look at Jay while I get the needle ready."

You looked at Jay and tried not to laugh. "You okay?"

"Me? I should be asking you that," he replied. "You're the one who's about to get stabbed with a needle."

"It's just that you got some sweat on your forehead. You look nervous."

"They're needles. They're tiny little sharp metal objects and if one breaks off--"

"Jay, respectfully," Will started, cutting off his brother, "shut the hell up, so you don't scare my patient. You might just want to look away instead of watching me. Then you might feel fine." Then, he turned back to you. "Okay, Y/N, keep looking at Jay. Close your eyes if you want to. You're going to feel a small pinch."

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. Then, you squeezed your eyes shut tightly and grit your teeth, trying not to yell out as the needle pierced your skin.

"Hard part's done," Will said. You nodded, still keeping your eyes closed.

"That was not a small pinch," you retorted about a minute later.

"Sorry."

You opened your eyes and watched as the blood flowed from your vein into the small tube that was hooked up to the needle.

"I thought you hated blood," Jay pointed out. "And here you are, watching the entire process."

"I'm fine when it's my blood if it's not a huge, deep cut," you explained. "It's other people's blood I don't like."

"Well, that takes any job in the medical field off your career choices," Will said.

You sat there for a few more minutes, waiting for the vial to fill up. Will pressed on your arm, close to the needle, to see if more would come out. "This vein is really small," he said.

You watched as the blood coming into the tube started becoming slower and slower, in what looked to be bubbles.

"Just a little more," Will muttered.

You started taking deeper breaths as you felt sweat start to bead on your forehead.

"Okay, let's see how much this gave me." He pressed his thumb above where the needle was and you turned back to Jay as he removed the needle.

Then, he got the blood into the vial. "Bad news," he started, "I might need to take more. Let's see how much extra there is." He put the extra into another, smaller vial. "Yeah, this one clotted too, so bad news, we need more."

You nodded and closed your eyes, feeling your face get hot and starting to feel lightheaded. You pinched the bridge of your nose, willing this uncomfortable feeling to go away.

"You doing okay?" Will asked.

"Yeah," you answered.

"Okay, I'm gonna do your right arm this time." You held your right arm out to him. "Make a fist for me." You did as he told you and he tied the blue band around your bicep.

But, you were getting even dizzier. "Actually, can I get some water? I feel dizzy."

"Course," Will said. "Jay, can you get her some water and juice if you have any?"

"Apple juice good?"

"That's fine," you answered.

Will untied the band from your bicep. "We're just going to wait a few minutes until you feel less dizzy before I take more blood, okay?"

You nodded and took the water from Jay when he came back.

"Let's have the juice after I finish," Will suggested after a few minutes had passed and you finished the water. "Feeling better, Short Stack?"

"Yeah, let's get this over with." Your forehead was still a bit sweaty, but you were a lot less dizzy.

Will repeated the same process as the last arm and it went a lot faster. Turns out he picked a bit bigger vein in the crook of your elbow of this arm than he did the other one.

"And, we're done," Will said as he capped the vial.

He handed you the juice. "Thanks," you said. "That was not fun."

"I bet. At least you didn't pass out. I've had a few patients do that when I went through my clinicals. That's why normally when someone gets their blood drawn, they sit in this chair where something is flipped down in front of them so they don't fall out of the chair just in case they pass out."

"Jay, do you pass out?" you asked.

He scoffed. "No. I don't even get dizzy. My body doesn't react like that."

"He just breaks out into a sweat whenever he sees needles," Will whispered, loud enough for Jay to hear.

"Hey! I heard that! Take one more jab at me and you won't be getting any pizza, Will. I mean it!"

Will held his hands up in a mock surrender while you finished up your juice. Then, Will started to pack up his medical stuff and Jay brought the pizza and veggies and ranch out, along with plates of course.

You ate your pizza while Will helped you with your math homework. Once you finished two slices of pizza and some celery and ranch, you said that you were done.

"You sure?" Jay asked. "You can have as much as you want."

"I'm good. Gotta save some for tomorrow." Your eyes widened as you realized what you had just said. "I'm gonna go take a shower. It's been a long day."

"Okay, clean towels are in the cabinet in the bathroom where they always are," Jay said, trying not to react to what you had just said even though he knew exactly what you were doing.

You were rationing food.

"Fuck," Jay said as he put his head in his hands when he knew you were in the bathroom and out of earshot.

"What? What did she mean by gotta save some for tomorrow?" Will asked.

"She's rationing it. I used to do it in Afghanistan. Save some of my MRE and put it in my pack to eat the next day if I was on a long trek and we knew we wouldn't get back to base. It would be cold and usually disgusting, but I'd choke it down because it was calories and I needed fuel to be sharp in case we came in contact with combatants."

"Poor kid. At least we had Mom."

Jay nodded. "What happened with Dad at the hospital?"

"Had to have a mitral valve replacement because his wasn't working properly. Told him over and over to get his checked regularly, but he didn't because he's stubborn. He went for the non-surgical option first, but then there were complications, so Rhodes performed surgery. He's fine."

"That's good... I guess." Jay glanced around and he saw your duffle bag sitting outside the bathroom door. You had grabbed your clothes to bring them into the bathroom and left your open duffle bag by the door.

Jay stood up and started walking towards it.

"What are you doing?" Will hissed.

"I need to see if she's got anything else in there that will help prove neglect. I'm assuming it needs to be proved...I only know criminal court cases, don't know much about family court cases."

"What do you mean family court? You're going to fight Dad to be able to take care of her?"

"Yeah, I'll fight to be her legal guardian. Unless you want to do it. My loan went through for a new apartment, which has two bedrooms, so I figured I might be better suited."

"Go ahead. You'd probably have a better chance anyway because you were around more when I was in New York."

Jay nodded and started to dig around your duffle bag. He chuckled and pulled out your Build-A-Bear. "She still sleeps with Beary," he said as he held up the stuffed bear. "Probably doesn't change his clothes anymore because she's too old for that, but he's in pajamas."

"Remember that military uniform you got for her bear? Mom said she barely took Beary out of that because she missed you so much."

"Yeah, and if she wouldn't have dropped him at the airport, I might not have met Mouse."

The two fell into a comfortable silence as he continued to dig through your bag. He got to a big zip-lock bag full of pieces of fabric that were stained light reds and browns.

"Will, c'mere," Jay said, waving him over. Will squatted down next to Jay. "You know what this is?"

Will sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. I saw a lot of this when I worked in Sudan."

"Well, what is it?"

"So, when girls don't have access or money to buy feminine hygiene products, they'll use scraps of fabric and wash them. Looks to me like she cut up some, um, she cut up some underwear and then used them as make-shift pads. If they aren't taken care of properly, she could end up with an infection. And, if she tried to use them as tampons instead of pads, it could lead to TSS, which stands for Toxic Shock Syndrome."

"We're gonna have to talk to her about this now, aren't we?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. She's not gonna be happy you dug through her stuff, so I'll let you explain why you were going through it. And, if she used them as tampons, I want her to get a pelvic exam, just to make sure she didn't get any infections. Much more likely to get an infection from tampons than pads."

Jay nodded. He hated having the current conversation and knew he was going to hate the next one even more, but he knew he had to do these things if he wanted to petition the court for legal guardianship.

Jay picked up your duffle bag and brought it to the living room and he set the zip-lock bag full of pieces of fabric on top.

"I can't believe we missed this," Will said. "I mean, we're both trained in how to spot abuse and we couldn't even spot it in our little sister."

"There weren't outright signs," Jay said. "No bruising, limping, cuts, burns, nothing like that. And, it's winter, it's easy to hide the weight loss. But, I still agree with you. If we would've spotted it earlier, we could've gotten her out of there."

"I'm pretty sure she's officially underweight now."

Jay ran a hand through his hair and then stood back up. "I'm gonna go put clean sheets on my bed. I'll let Y/N take it tonight so that we can keep talking out here when she goes to sleep."

"Good idea."

A few minutes later, Jay was back on the couch next to Will and you walked out of the bathroom, wearing a baggy t-shirt and some sweatpants that you had to keep pulling up because they were too big on you now, and a pair of fuzzy socks. You were cold all the time now and wanted your hoodie out of your duffle and wanted to put your dirty clothes in there, but when you looked down to the spot where you thought you had put it, it wasn't there.

"Guys?" you asked. "Have you seen my bag?"

You walked over to the kitchen table where your blanket was sitting on the chairs and wrapped that around yourself instead.

You furrowed your eyebrows as you saw your brothers on the couch, your duffle bag in front of them on the floor, and on top, your bag of ripped-up, old underwear that you used as pads when you didn't have any.

"You went through my stuff?" you asked, starting to become angry.

"Y/N," Jay started, "I know you're mad and it was me who went through it and not Will, so don't be mad at him, be mad at me. But, I went through it to see if anything was in there that could help me get you out of dad's house. Permanently."

"You- You want to have custody of me?" you asked.

A small smile appeared on Jay's lips and he nodded. "It wouldn't be considered custody because I'm not your biological parent, it would be considered guardianship, but yes, I want you to stay with me. And, my loan went through for a new apartment, so you'd have your own room and everything."

"Okay."

Jay looked at Will, not wanting to be the one to start this conversation. And, he figured Will would be the best one to start it because he was a doctor.

"Y/N, we need to ask you about these." Will motioned to the zip-lock bag on top of your stuff.

You sat in the loveseat across from them and looked down at your feet.

"It's okay, you're not in trouble," Will continued. "We just want to know how you used them in case you need to get a pelvic exam to check for infections in that area."

Your lip began to tremble as tears started to roll down your cheeks. "I used them as pads," you said quietly. "Dad wouldn't buy me any and I stopped getting them from school because I thought they'd suspect something was wrong if I- if I kept taking them."

"One more question," Will said softly. "I just need to know in case we need to take you in for this. I know you said you used them as pads, but did you ever try and use them as tampons?"

"No. I only used them as pads," you whispered. "I was scared to use them as tampons." You looked up at your brothers, who both had tears in their eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," you rushed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner I was just--" You let out a wail and Jay got up and knelt in front of you.

"Hey, hey, none of this is your fault. Do you hear me? Absolutely none of this is on you. It's all on Dad. Every single bit of it. You are not the one to blame."

You launched yourself into his arms, crying out every emotion you had felt these past few months: anger, frustration, fear, sadness, it was all coming out now.

And, Jay just held you and let you cry it out because that was what your guys' mom used to do for him. And, he knew it worked.

Twenty minutes later, your wails were just quiet whimpers and you pushed yourself back up onto the loveseat, where Will had moved to the spot next to you. He wrapped an arm around you and you leaned into him, craving the comfort that had been denied to you for so long.

"You still have that Twix bar?" you asked.

"All that crying made you hungry, didn't it, Short Stack?" Will asked as Jay got up to retrieve the candy bar from the table.

You nodded.

"Thank you," you said when Jay handed you the Twix bar. You unwrapped it and broke it into the two sticks. "You guys want any?" They both shook their heads: they knew you needed to get as many calories in you as possible.

Jay sighed, he might as well get this hard conversation over with you tonight as well. "Y/N, you can eat as much as you want. I won't say anything about you eating too much, okay?"

You looked up from your candy bar. "You won't call me a burden because I'm eating your food? Like Dad did?"

"He said that?" Will asked, giving Jay a look that read when I see him next, I can't be held accountable for my actions.

"Yeah. One time there were some leftovers he had gotten from a bar and I was so hungry and it was the middle of the night, so I took them out and heated them up. The microwave timer must've woken him up because he came out just as I was about to start eating and then he yelled at me for eating his food and called me a burden."

"Well, we don't think that. Neither Will nor me think that," Jay told you. "And you can eat as much as you want."

You yawned as you crumpled up your Twix wrapper.

"Tired?" Will asked.

"Yeah," you mumbled.

"It's been a long day," Jay said. "You can take my bed."

"Jay, it's your apartment, I can't--"

"Y/N, this isn't up for discussion. I already put clean sheets on the bed for you."

"Is- Is there a fan in your room? I can't sleep without white noise."

"There is. You want me and Will to tuck you in?"

"I'm too old for that." You stood up and Will did, too. "Jay, can you hand me Beary? He should be in my duffle."

"Here you go, kid."

You took your bear and held him loosely in your arm. Then, you enveloped Jay in a hug and did the same for Will.

"I love you guys."

"We love you, too," Will said.

"Now get to sleep. You've still got school in the morning. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Dad sometimes wouldn't be home when I woke up for school. He'd be at a friend's house sleeping off a hangover from the night before or just sleeping."

Jay furrowed his eyebrows. "Doesn't he have to work?"

"He does work, but only a few days a week. The other days, he stays out really late and then comes home either drunk or hungover."

"I see," Jay stated. "Well I won't be doing that, I can promise you that."

"I know. You aren't like Dad. Neither of you are." You yawned again. "I'm going to bed, goodnight."

A few minutes later, you were out like a light and Will was still at Jay's apartment.

"So, Abby called me the other day," Will started. "She's looking for you. Says she's in town for a few days and wants to meet up."

"Oh yeah? She say why?" Jay asked, wondering why his ex-wife--who was the result of a blackout drunk wedding in Vegas, a thing that lasted only 24 hours tops--was in Chicago and was looking for him of all people.

"She said you two are still married."

Jay threw his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

***

"Morning," Jay said as he stood at the stove flipping some eggs. "Sleep good?"

"I slept really good. Didn't even hear you wake up."

"Fan did the trick then?"

You nodded and grabbed a mug from the cupboard and went to start pouring yourself a cup of coffee.

"Nuh-uh," Jay chirped, putting his hand on the handle of the coffee pot as well.

"Why not? I drank it at Dad's."

Jay raised an eyebrow. "You drank coffee at Dad's?"

"Yeah, on the weekends sometimes that would be my breakfast because it curbs my appetite and there wasn't a lot to eat."

Jay sighed. "Well, you'll have enough to eat here, I can promise you that. And, coffee stunts your growth."

"Jay," you groaned. "I haven't grown since sixth grade."

"Okay, well, then you don't want to become dependent on it at such an early age, then. Come talk to me when you're a legal adult or in college."

"Fine." You let go of the coffee pot and put the mug back in the cupboard.

"You can have juice though." The toast in the toaster popped up and Jay placed the toast on a plate and then put a slice of cheese on each piece and then an egg on top. He also put a small bowl of strawberries next to it. "I'm gonna go get dressed while you eat. And then, once you're ready, I'll take you to school."

"Okay, thanks, Jay."

"You're welcome, kiddo."

You rolled your eyes at the nickname and then went to the fridge to get the apple juice. When you opened the fridge, you saw a brown paper bag with your name on it. Curiosity got the best of you, so you took it out and looked at the contents while you ate your breakfast.

Inside was a ham and Colby jack cheese sandwich with lettuce, pickles, mustard, and mayonnaise, an apple, a coconut-flavored Greek yogurt, celery with peanut butter, and a chocolate chip granola bar. There were also two dollars at the bottom of the bag paperclipped together with a sticky note stuck to the top.

For chocolate milk. ~Jay was what the note read.

Tears sprung to your eyes as you continued to eat your breakfast. You don't remember the last time you brought a lunch to school; you'd always get your lunch for free at school. When you got the paper from school about the free/reduced lunch because teachers noticed you didn't have much to eat, you waited until your dad was hungover and it was early in the morning, and handed him a pen and he signed the paper blindly. And, that's how you got lunch and breakfast at school without any cost to you or your dad.

"Hey, I can just brush my teeth at the kitchen sink if you want the bathroom--" He cut himself off when he saw the tears in your eyes. "What's wrong?"

"You- You made me lunch?" you asked as you turned to face him.

He smiled. "Of course I did. I know how bad cafeteria food can be. And, if it tastes good, it's usually not very good for you."

"Thank you," you said as you wiped a tear away that had rolled down your cheek.

"Aww, hey, don't cry, don't cry. It's okay. You're safe now. You don't need to worry about where your next meal will come from. And, I'm going to petition a judge for legal guardianship in a few days. I just have to have a few conversations with some lawyers."

"Does this mean you have to move? I don't want to kick you out of your apartment."

Jay dismissed that with a wave. "I already put in a loan application for a new apartment. Two bedrooms. Really nice."

"Can you tell me about it? While I finish eating my strawberries."

Jay nodded and sat down in the chair across from you. "It's a two-bedroom, washer, dryer. But, I know you don't care about those things. There's underground parking. It's got a gym, a whole club level, with like a coffee lounge, and all this other stuff."

"That sounds really nice."

"Yeah, it is a pretty nice building. Coffee lounge would be perfect for you to get your homework done if you don't feel like staying in the apartment."

"I thought you said I couldn't drink coffee?" you asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I meant the caffeine in the coffee. Decaf coffee and lattes and tea lattes, that's a different story. I'm sure they have pastries there, too."

"Never pegged you for a coffee snob," you joked.

"You learn a lot about coffee and about a person when you have to get your entire unit coffee. I'll let you in on a little secret: Ruzek's coffee order is the most complicated."

"Really?"

"Really. Now, go finish getting ready. Don't want you being late for school."

***

"Hey, Er, can you meet me at the diner we usually go to?" Jay asked his girlfriend over the phone after he had dropped you off at school.

"Yeah, no problem. Give me fifteen minutes. We haven't caught a case yet, but we should keep our radios on just in case. Everything okay?"

"It's a long story. I'll explain everything in person, okay?"

"Okay," Erin answered skeptically. "I'll see you in a few."

Fifteen minutes later on the dot, Erin walked into the little diner and spotted Jay sitting in the corner booth.

"Alright, what's going on?" she asked after she had ordered her food and some coffee. "You sounded really stressed on the phone."

Jay sighed. "I'm going to fight for legal guardianship of Y/N."

"What? Why? What happened?" Erin asked as she widened her eyes.

"Our dad, he uh, he hasn't really been the greatest. Not keeping food in the house, calling her a burden when she tries to eat some of his food, not buying her products for you know...girl stuff. She's probably lost like 25 pounds since the end of last school year. And, I know that doesn't sound like a lot with the amount of time that's passed, but she's underweight. Will drew some of her blood last night to see if she's deficient in some vitamins or minerals."

"My God."

"Yeah, so, I know we were going to move into your place together, but I need another bedroom and my loan went through at that place I told you about, so I'm going to put an offer in there. You could always move in with me if you want, but I don't know if it would be a good idea for that to happen right away. I just want to get Y/N healthy again. I'm sorry."

"Jay, I get it. She's family. Do you know how you're going to go about this? Did you talk to Voight about taking any time off to sort this out?"

"Not yet. But, I think I'm going to call Antonio and see if he can help me out with getting a meeting with ASA Stone. I know he works criminal cases, but he's gotta know some stuff about family court cases. So, I figured he might be able to help me with this whole process."

"Good idea. If you need any help, just say the word and I'll be there."

Jay smiled. "Thanks, Er." He didn't want to have the conversation he was about to have, but he knew he had to tell her. "There's uh, there's one more thing I need to tell you."

"Okay, what is it?"

"About eight years ago, I was married."

"Excuse me, what? You were married and you didn't tell me?"

Jay knew this was a bad idea...which was why he hadn't wanted to tell Erin, but now that he wasn't officially divorced for whatever reason, he knew needed to tell her. "Just let me explain."

"Yes, please do," Erin sneered.

"Her name's Abby. She ran Cultural Support during my last tour in Kandahar. About a year after I came home, I saw her at a funeral in Vegas. Was... was a guy in our unit, he had redeployed, and, um, he didn't... Um, I was, like, blacking out most nights, and we were both pretty shook up. And, um, we got married." He chuckled at the thought of his twenty-one-year-old self thinking that marriage was a good idea. "It was, like, a 24-hour thing, it was a total joke, and it is long over."

Erin just stared at him, as he waited to be chewed out by her. "Jay, you married this girl. And you never told me, and you were never gonna tell me," was all she said.

"I know. And, I'm sorry. But, I'm meeting up with her in a few days to sign the documents that I thought I'd signed because she's getting married and we need to make the divorce official...even though, in my mind, it's been official for eight years.

"Er, please don't hate me, but with everything going on, with me trying to get guardianship of Y/N and me finding out that I'm somehow still married--"

"You want us to take a break?" Erin asked, finishing his sentence for him.

Jay nodded. "I'm sorry. I just don't think I can juggle a relationship with all this other stuff. And, it's not fair to you."

Erin swallowed. "Well, just tell me if you need any help with Y/N. I'll always be there for you. Relationship or partnership, I'll always have your six."

"And I'll always have yours."

Erin's phone buzzed on the table and she picked it up. "It's Voight. We caught a case."

Jay laid some bills on the table. "Then let's go."

***

"Got the results of Y/N's bloodwork back," Will told Jay over the phone while he had a quick break for lunch...even though it was four o'clock in the afternoon. But, that's the thing about the medical field: breaks are never regular.

"And? Any deficiencies?" Jay asked, walking into his bedroom as you were at the table doing homework and he didn't want to distract you.

"Yes, two actually. Iron and riboflavin. The low iron explains why her periods have become shorter and lighter, but that can also be attributed to how small she is now."

"How do we go about this then?"

"I'll send you a list of foods that have levels high iron and riboflavin. Oh, riboflavin's found in vitamin B by the way."

"Okay, care to tell me what iron and riboflavin do? I know iron helps with hemoglobin and red blood cells, but I have no idea what riboflavin does."

"You're right about iron. I'm shocked. Or, what do the kids say these days? I'm shook."

"I swear to God, please never use that phrase again. And, I know what iron does because I paid attention in high school nutrition class, thank you very much."

"If I remember correctly, I helped you with most of the homework in that class."

"Whatever, you helped me. Now, tell me about riboflavin."

"So, riboflavin just helps convert food into energy and is needed for healthy skin, hair, blood, and a healthy brain." Jay could hear a beeping in the background on Will's end. "Gotta go. I'll send you that list of foods right now, though."

"Thanks, man."

You looked up as Jay came back into the kitchen. "Everything okay?" you asked.

Jay pulled out a chair and sat across from you. "So, I just got off the phone with Will. He got the results from your bloodwork back."

"Is it bad? Am I dying?" You set your pencil down, bracing yourself for bad news.

"No," Jay chuckled, "you're not dying. You just don't have enough iron and riboflavin, which is a specific B vitamin. Will sent me a list of foods that have high levels of those in them. You up for some grocery shopping? We can also grab some multivitamins that have those in them, too, just to help your levels stabilize faster."

"Okay, we can go now. I'm due for a break."

***

"So, some foods that contain riboflavin include milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, meats, green leafy vegetables, and riboflavin enriched grains and cereals," Jay read off his phone.

"I've had a lot of those today already," you pointed out. "Eggs and cheese with breakfast. I had that yogurt for a snack at school, and I had meat and cheese on my sandwich and I had chocolate milk with my lunch at school."

That was just standard, Jay thought. He wondered what you ate when you were at your Dad's. And, he knew that if he wanted to obtain guardianship of you, he'd need to know these things.

"What did you eat at Dad's?" Jay probed.

"I mean, I barely made it to school on time most mornings because I was trying to be quiet so I didn't wake Dad, which made me move slower when getting ready. So, I'd usually just grab a small thing of dry cereal when I got to school and eat it in my first class. I never checked to see if it was one of the enriched ones. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. There's no way you could've known. Now, what did you usually have for lunch at school?"

"I always tried to get veggies with my lunch, but most of the veggies were the gross canned ones, like canned corn or green beans. I don't like those. Sometimes, they'd have little salads as a side and I'd get those. Sometimes they'd have yogurt parfaits and I'd get those. But, I'd usually go for the pre-made subs, because at least those would have veggies on them...even if it was just lettuce and pickles. I'd usually try to get an apple or banana as my side, too." You paused. "If I was getting meat and cheese from the sub and milk from my chocolate milk, then how am I deficient in this?"

"It's probably because the meat and cheese schools use is so heavily processed that there are little to no vitamins left in it," Jay answered.

"And you know this how?"

"As you get older, you acquire a lot of knowledge and one of those things is that the more processed a food is, the fewer vitamins and minerals are preserved...and I watch a lot of The Food that Built America on the History channel."

"Oh, okay. What foods are on that show?"

"Usually it's about fast food. One episode I watched last week was about ice cream and popsicles and how they came to be in America. Pretty interesting."

"Can we watch an episode tonight? That show sounds good."

"Of course." He paused in front of the fresh produce. "Take your pick. But, just make sure you get some leafy greens for the riboflavin and some fruit and other green veggies for iron."

You picked up a few things such as more apples, a bag of Clementines, bananas, spinach, carrots, and celery, and then, you shocked your brother as you picked up a bag of kale.

"Kale?" he asked. "Didn't know you liked it."

You shrugged. "I heard it tastes kind of like spinach. And, I saw a recipe on Pinterest for a salad that has kale, lemon juice, and dates. Is it okay if we try that?"

"You know, I think that would be the perfect side for dinner tonight. I'll add lemon juice and dates to the list."

"I didn't grab too many fruits and veggies, right?" you asked, not wanting to waste food or your brother's hard-earned money. "I- I can put some back if you want me to."

"Nope, it's all good. We can always freeze the bananas if they go bad for smoothies or banana bread. And, we can always turn the apples into apple sauce. Spinach and kale freeze well, too and you can't even taste them if we put them in smoothies."

"How do you know this stuff?" you asked.

"I used to watch Mom cook a lot when I was little. And, when I moved out on my own, she gave me a copy of a cookbook she always used. Said the recipes at the beginning of the book were simple enough that I wouldn't burn my apartment down."

You laughed at the thought of your mom scolding Jay if his apartment got ruined from his cooking. "Do you still have it?" you asked. "The cookbook, I mean."

"I do."

"Can we make something out of it tonight?"

"You know, I think that's a great idea." He pursed his lips. "How about Mom's chicken pot pie? I think I have some frozen peas and corn in the freezer and we can use the carrots we just grabbed in it, too."

"That sounds really good. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me." Jay paused. He figured now would be as good a time as any to tell you. "Uh, do you remember the day that we got ice cream and went and played soccer with Ben when you were little? The night that Mom went into the hospital?"

You nodded, swallowing the lump in your throat at the memory of that day.

"Well, she told me to take care of you. There's no way I would break a promise to Mom."

"She said that?"

"Mhmm."

"It's like she knew something was going to happen."

"Mom was a smart lady. Will had to have gotten it from somewhere and he sure didn't get it from Dad."

You laughed. "Hey, you're smart, too. Just not sciency smart. You're more puzzle smart because you put the pieces together of who committed a crime." Jay laughed at your description of his job. "Oh, is the recipe for Mom's garlic mashed potatoes in that cookbook?"

"It is. Want those as a side along with the salad you mentioned?"

"Yes, please...if it's not a problem."

"They're super simple and quick to make." He scribbled on a piece of notebook paper that he had written down a few groceries on, like the salad ingredients you had mentioned. "Alright, potatoes, a rotisserie chicken, and pastry dough have all been added to the list."

***

"I'll be back later tonight, no later than midnight," Jay told you two days later on Sunday night. "I know it's not ideal because you have school in the morning, but try and get some sleep while I'm gone, okay?"

"I'm used to being home alone at night, Jay." You shrugged. "I'll be fine."

"I know, it's just that not something I want you to get used to. Feel free to eat anything you want, cook anything you want. As long as you don't burn down the house, I don't care what you make. Oh, and remember to take your multivitamin before bed."

You rolled your eyes. "I'm fifteen, not five. Now, get going. Don't want you to be late to meet that lawyer."

"Love you. I'll be back by midnight. Lock the door behind me."

"I will. Love you, too."

With that, Jay left his apartment to go meet with ASA Stone and you locked the door behind him as he told you.

***

"So, Antonio told me you have some custody questions," Peter Stone said once he closed the door of his office.

"That's right," Jay replied as he took a seat in front of Stone's desk and turned his phone completely off and Stone took a seat in his chair behind his desk.

"Didn't know you had a kid, Halstead."

"No, I don't actually," Jay chuckled. "I have a kid sister. Name's Y/N and she's fifteen."

"Okay, and why do you want guardianship then?"

"When me and Will, my older brother, were kids, our dad kinda checked out on parenting us when we hit our mid-teens. But, we had our mom around, so it was okay. I went over there the other day because my dad was having some heart issues and I called Will. When I was there, I got a call of a robbery and it was Y/N. She was stealing food from a corner store because our dad wasn't feeding her," Jay explained.

"I see. So, other than her word and her stealing food, do you have any proof of this?"

"I know I should've called DCFS before letting her stay with me, but I couldn't let her stay there a minute longer, Peter. She's lost like 25 pounds in the past six months and she's deficient in both iron and vitamin B."

"Okay, what we have to do is petition for guardianship in front of a judge. I can help you with the documents and I can even represent you at the hearing if you want."

"Wow, yeah, that'd be great. Thank you."

"Anything else you want to tell me about your dad? Any physical or emotional abuse?"

"Not technically, but there is something else." And then Jay launched into all the information you had told him two days ago.

"Okay. And, you know your dad could theoretically press kidnapping charges against you because you took his kid without his permission?"

"I do. But he was basically starving her. No jury would find me guilty."

"I'm not going to argue with you about that one because I agree with you."

"So, do you think I have a chance of getting guardianship over Y/N?"

"In theory, yes. But, most judges like to keep the child with their biological parents. But, seeing as Y/N's fifteen, she does get some say in who she stays with," Stone explained. "When we have a custody or guardianship battle, we use the child's best interest standard. This means that you must prove that you are capable of providing food, clothing, housing, medical care, and a stable home life for Y/N. There will be one or two home visits before appearing before a judge, just to let you know."

"I'm aware of that. And, I just put an offer in on a new apartment with two bedrooms this morning and they're pretty quick in responding, so I should know in the next few days whether or not I got it."

"That's a good start. And you are financially stable to raise her until she turns eighteen, so three more years?"

"I am."

"Alright, let's start on those documents then. Unless you have any more questions for me?"

"I do actually. I, uh, I just found out that I'm technically still married. Something about me not signing the divorce papers even though I specifically remember signing them? And, before you ask, me and this girl served together, we were both twenty-one, going through rough patches and it was a Vegas wedding eight years ago. Lasted no more than twenty-four hours."

"It's really good that you told me this because any good lawyer would find that out when you file for guardianship. It's possible that she didn't co-sign the divorce papers. If that's the reason, I can help you draw up new divorce papers right now."

"Really? You'd help me with that?"

"Of course. A friend of Antonio's is a friend of mine," Stone said as he started typing on his computer. "So, what you can do is you can file for a no-fault divorce."

"You're gonna have to be specific, Stone. I know a bit of criminal law because I've had to testify in criminal cases, but like I said, I don't know family or civil law," Jay said.

"What a no-fault divorce is, Jay, is that you don't have to prove that either of you did anything wrong to get a divorce. All you have to do is state that your marriage is unsalvageable and continue filing for divorce."

"That's it? What if she doesn't sign it?"

"The divorce papers will be served to, uh...what's this girl's name again?" Stone asked.

"Abby."

"Abby. The divorce papers will be served to Abby and she has twenty days to file her response with the court. If she doesn't, then the court rules it as an uncontested divorce and then you're officially divorced."

"Me and Abby are meeting up to talk about all this tonight. But, can we just fill out paperwork for this no-fault divorce just in case things don't go as planned? I just really need to get guardianship of Y/N. The least amount of problems, the better."

"Of course. And if everything goes well with her tonight, then just give me a call and I'll shred the documents."

"Alright, just tell me where to sign."

***

"Wilson is running through the showers wearing nothing but a Kevlar vest, right?" Jay reminisced on the good parts of his Ranger days with Abby at a bar around 8:30 that night after his meeting with Peter Stone.

"Well, the lieutenant said, all outdoor activities to be conducted in body armor." Jay laughed at Abby's rendition of their lieutenant's voice. "Do you remember, he had his girlfriend's name tattooed on his ass?"

Jay set his empty drink down on the bar. "Did he tell you that was his girlfriend? That was his dog's name," Jay laughed.

"That actually makes more sense," Abby said. "I could go for another one of these."

"I, um, I shouldn't."

"Gotta get back to the barracks?"

"No, I uh gotta get back to my little sister, actually. I'm looking after her at the moment. It's a long story. Do you have the papers?"

"I, uh, I don't have them."

"Abby."

"It's just, I never told you. Even that crazy day we got married, I never told you that I loved you, Jay. It didn't feel right. But, I loved you, Jay. I do love you."

Jay sighed. "Abby, you deserve everything good. I'm just not the guy that's gonna give that to you." He brushed her hair to the side and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

After putting some money on the bar to pay for the drinks and tip the bartender, he left the bar. Guess he was going to need these no-fault divorce documents, anyway.

He was almost to his car when he heard someone calling his name. And, it was a voice he knew all too well.

"Erin?" he shouted as she came closer. "What are you doing here?"

"Would it kill you to turn on your phone? You need to get to the district. Now."

"What? Why? What's wrong?"

She got in his passenger seat. "Just drive. I'll explain on the way."

***

You were sitting on Jay's bed reading a book when you heard a knock on the door.

Slowly, you got off his bed and made your way out of his room. You took a knife out of the knife block, but you hoped you wouldn't need to use it. Jay would've told you if someone was planning on stopping over. And, if it was Will, he would've given you a heads-up.

The knocking got louder and more aggressive. "Jayson! Open this door! I have the right to see my daughter!"

Dad.

With the knife still in hand, you backed up and then, once on the carpet, ran back into Jay's room and quietly shut the door and locked it. You pulled out your phone and tried Jay. It went straight to voicemail. The pounding was getting louder. You tried Will. It went straight to voicemail because he was on shift. You thought you heard your dad starting to kick the door now instead of just pounding on it with his fists. You tried the last person you thought could help.

"Y/N?" Erin asked as she answered her phone and paused the tv show she was watching.

"Erin," you whispered. "I'm scared. I need help."

"You need help? Can you tell me why?"

"My dad, he's- he's here. He's looking for me." You heard a crash.

"Jay? Y/N? I know one of you is in here!"

"I- I think he just broke down the apartment door. Please help."

"Okay, okay, here's what you're going to do. I want you to hide somewhere and I'm going to call a patrol car over there right now. You're going to turn your phone on silent and I'm going to call you right back," she told you.

"Okay," you whispered as quietly as you could.

"I'll call you back in one minute tops."

You moved as quietly as you could with the knife and your phone still in your hands and opened Jay's closet door. You buried yourself behind the two garment bags that contained Jay's police blues and his military dress uniform, hoping against hope that your dad wouldn't find you.

Your phone lit up and it was Erin. You answered.

"Y/N, the officers will be there soon. I don't want you to talk. Just know that I'm on the phone with you."

At the same time, as she was talking to you over speakerphone, she was texting the team. She assumed you couldn't reach Jay or Will since you had called her. She told them what was happening and that a few of them needed to get to the district because they needed to find Jay's location. She also told Voight to get ahold of Sharon Goodwin so she could notify Will of what was currently happening.

"Chicago PD! Put your hands where we can see them!" you heard from your hiding place.

"See?" Erin said. "I told you that you'd be okay. I told them that you were hiding, so if someone opens the door, it's just an officer."

Just after she said that the closet door opened.

You squeaked.

"It's okay. You're safe," the officer said. "We're just going to take you down to the district. You're safe."

You peeked out from your hiding place and you saw the blues of the officers. You slowly made your way out and followed the officer out to the patrol car, the one that didn't house your dad for a breaking and entering charge at the moment.

***

"Where is she?" Jay yelled as he entered the district.

Platt just pointed to the bench next to one of the offices where you were sitting, staring at the floor, with a police jacket draped over your shoulders.

He sunk to his knees in front of you. "Are you hurt? Did Dad hurt you? Did he put his hands on you in any way?"

You shook your head.

"Oh thank God."

"I was so scared," you whispered. "When you and Will didn't answer, I thought he was gonna get me."

"I'm sorry. I turned off my phone when I talked to ASA Stone, and I forgot to turn it back on. I'm so sorry. C'mere."

You all but fell off the bench and into Jay's arms. "Is he going to jail? I don't want him going to jail."

"He was drunk out of his mind. I can ask not to press charges, though."

"Please. He needs help."

Although Jay didn't say it, he knew you were right. Jails and prisons didn't rehabilitate, they just taught criminals how to be better criminals. He knew that his dad needed rehab, a twelve-step program, anything.

"Okay, I won't press charges. But, I think we're gonna need to stay with Will for the night because our door's broken. What do you say we run home and grab some clothes to bring to Will's? And, since Dad will be here for a little longer, we can run to his house and get more of your stuff. Sound like a plan?"

"Can we get Dairy Queen on the way to Will's?"

"We sure can."

***

"I- I don't think any of these dresses will fit me anymore. They look way too big," you said to Jay as the two of you unpacked a bunch of your stuff in the guest room of Jay's new apartment. You wanted to think of it as the guest room for now instead of calling it your room just in case Jay wasn't awarded guardianship. You didn't want to get too attached.

Jay sighed. He figured you were right. He would see if Erin could take you, but their relationship was on the backburner right now. And, Erin had some stuff with Bunny she had to work out after she had brought her that pearl bracelet and said that she might be leaving Chicago. So, now wasn't really the right time for him to be bugging Erin about going shopping with you. And, he couldn't ask Kim because she was taking some furlough after finding her sister brutally sodomized after a night out.

He thought about asking Will if Nina could come, but he didn't think that those two were too happy with each other at the moment since Will hadn't told Nina about their dad being in the hospital and she had to find out from Natalie. Not Will's greatest moment.

He racked his brain for more women he knew.

Then it hit him: Gabby.

Yes, they had briefly dated, but that was five years ago. She was married now and his feelings for her were completely gone. They were civil with each other when they saw each other in the field and would chat when Gabby showed up at the district to pick up Eva or Diego.

"How about you try a few on after we finish unpacking, and then if none of them really fit, I can give Gabby a call and see if she'll take you shopping while I work on unpacking the rest of the house," Jay suggested.

"Okay. Will's gonna be over after his shift to help though, right?" you asked.

"He better be. He said he would. If he doesn't come, he better have a really good excuse."

"You can't unpack the kitchen without me," you told him.

"Why not?"

"I can't have you putting the glasses and other stuff on high shelves because I wanna reach them without having to climb on the counter."

"Okay, fine. I'll keep your short little height in mind while I unpack." He paused. "Do you want to get those fancy word stickers for your room for one of the walls?"

"Decals? And, it's not my room yet."

"Listen, after that stunt Dad pulled at my old apartment, Stone is 99.9% positive that I'll be granted guardianship. We just have to jump through all the hoops first."

"Like the home checks?"

"Like the home checks," he confirmed.

"What do I say in court?" you asked a few minutes later as you were putting the pillows on your freshly made bed.

"You just tell the truth," he answered.

"Will you be in there with me?"

"No, I won't. Stone said that usually in these cases you talk to the judge by yourself so that you can't be intimidated by either of the people who are fighting for custody or guardianship."

"So you won't be there? Will won't be there?"

"Will will be out in the hall and I will be in a different room. I'll be in like a witness room, where they make witnesses of a crime wait so that their testimony isn't swayed by what the other people are saying on the stand. But, me and Dad will be in the courtroom at the same time, just so I can see what he'll be saying."

"And, I'll be in there then, too?"

"Yes."

"What kind of questions do they ask me?"

"Stone said that since you're older, you get a say in who you stay with, so they'll ask you questions like who've you known the longest, who you feel safest with, who you want to live with, etc."

"Will they ask me questions about Dad? Like how he didn't give me food and how he broke into your apartment?" you asked.

"They will," Jay confirmed. "But, Stone will be in there for those questions just in case he needs to object to something."

"So the only time I'll be alone with the judge is when they're asking me the first few questions? Like who I feel safest with?"

"Exactly. Now, do you need help putting these books on the top shelf of your bookshelf?"

***

"Hey, how was your day?" Jay asked as he came home from work that afternoon. It was a shock that he was home by 5 pm, but you had a big day tomorrow. Not only was tomorrow Friday, it was the day you and Jay had to go to court to see if he would be awarded guardianship of you.

"We've got a problem," you stated.

"Um, I can try to help you with it, but let me go put my gun away first."

While he was doing that, you pulled out the slip of paper and the note that Gretchen Cunningham had written, saying that she wouldn't allow you to make up the test you would be missing because you had to go to court.

"Alright, what's the problem?" Jay asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Cunningham. She's the problem...as always."

You handed him the papers and he read them over. "Yeah, this isn't going to fly. She doesn't need a judge's signature to allow you to take the test. I'll talk to the school tomorrow morning when I call to tell them you'll be absent."

"I hate her," you groaned. "She's so mean. And, I know what you're gonna say. You have to deal with people you don't like. But, she lost one of my assignments and told me I didn't turn it in and couldn't re-do it!"

"Well did you?" Jay asked. "Turn it in, I mean."

"Jay!"

He put his hands up in a sign of surrender. "I'm just saying, could be your fault."

"Yes, I turned in the stupid assignment. And, she paired me up with the stupidest kid in the class and told me to do well on this assignment because he needed a good grade to pass. It's not my fault he's failing! Don't put his grade on me, lady!"

"And she wouldn't let you re-do it?"

"Nope. But it's fine. I'm still getting an A. That might change if she doesn't let me take this test, though."

"It's like deja-vu from my freshman year all over again. Why doesn't she retire already? She's like 100."

"Or they could fire her," you quipped. "Or I could switch classes."

"I'll see what I can do. Who's the other history teacher?"

"Um, Miss Hedge."

"Hedge? As in Jayne Hedge?"

"Yeah, it's actually her. Why? Do you know her?"

"Yes he does," Will said as he entered Jay's apartment. "In fact, they went to freshman snowcoming together."

"How did you even get in here?" Jay asked, turning around to look at his older brother.

"For a cop, you're not that smart. You didn't lock the door behind you."

"I don't lock my door when I'm still awake. And, seriously? You just had to tell Y/N that, didn't you?"

"You guys can't just leave me hanging now. Tell me the story!"

"Fine," Jay grumbled and Will just laughed and sat down at the table, too. "I met her at school, obviously. She was on the freshman basketball team and I had winter weight training for the soccer team. I thought she was pretty and she was really smart, too. And, I knew that a bunch of the girls went to get Taco Bell after practice, so me and some of my friends decided to go, too."

"There used to be a Taco Bell close to school?" you asked. If there was, you'd never seen it before.

"It got torn down just after I graduated," Jay answered. "Anyway, we went to Taco Bell and I started talking to her and we talked a lot after practice. I'd walk her home sometimes. Then, I asked her to snowcoming and she said yes."

"So, why'd you guys break up? I know you dated Allie in high school."

"We realized we were better off as friends." Jay shrugged.

"And he realized he liked Allie more," Will added.

"Yeah, that too."

Will set a big bag of takeout on the table.

"Seriously?" Jay asked. "I thought we weren't going to do this that much anymore so we can get Y/N's vitamin and mineral levels stabilized."

"I'm sure she'd appreciate the break from your mundane meals," Will said. "And, I got us all side salads to go with the burgers instead of fries, so calm down." Jay gave him a look. "Fine, I got the side salads along with the fries. But, they're made out of potatoes, so they're technically a vegetable."

"For a doctor, you don't know much about nutrition, do you? And, my meals are not mundane."

"Dude, you'd have chicken, spaghetti, or grilled cheese every night."

"Not every night, just a lot of nights when I'd get home from the district late. I'll have you know me and Y/N have been making really good diners lately. Wanna tell Will what we made last night for dinner, Short Stack?"

"We made this really good pasta. We used Orzo, which looks like rice, but it's pasta. And we made a sauce out of tomatoes, onions, and orange juice. It was supposed to be lemon juice, but Jay didn't have any. We put chicken sausage in it for protein...and spices of course," you told Will.

"That actually sounds really good. Wow, Jay cooking every night, not something I expected."

"I like it," you said. "And, he lets me play whatever music I want when we cook."

Will rolled his eyes. You had Jay so wrapped around your finger that he'd do almost anything for you. Will didn't think he himself was that bad, but deep down, he knew he'd do anything for you, too...despite not being in Chicago as long as Jay had been.

***

"So I got a call from Stone this morning," Jay said around 11:30 that night when he and Will were sitting on the couch, each nursing a beer.

Will set his beer down on the coffee table in front of him. "And?"

"And, as of yesterday at midnight, I am officially divorced from Abby. Turns out, they served her the papers and, since she didn't sign them and it had been twenty days, it turned into an uncontested, no-fault divorce."

"Congrats, man. Might've been eight years too late, but you're a free man now."

"Amen to that. And it came at just the right time."

"Yeah," Will agreed. "You nervous for tomorrow?"

"Not really. More nervous for Y/N than anything. I've testified in criminal cases, so I kinda know how this goes, but she hasn't. And, before me and Dad go in to plead our cases, she has to talk to the judge all by herself. I just wish one of us could be in there with her."

Will nodded. "Know what they're going to ask you?"

"I know what Stone's going to ask me because we prepped, but I have no idea what Dad's lawyer is going to ask me. Pretty sure he's got just a public defender, though. Hopefully, that works in my favor."

"Not always, man," Will disagreed. "The public defenders who do these cases only do these cases. They've had a lot of practice."

"You really know how to make me feel better, thanks," Jay replied sarcastically.

"Rather have you hear it from me before the case than someone else after. Are you going to get cross-examined?"

"Probably. Don't know what they're going to ask me though because it's a cross. Stone set up some sample questions for me to answer with him to practice, but I'm going in blind. I'm used to it though because I've testified before. But, this feels like my biggest case."

"Because it probably is."

"Are you talking about tomorrow?" you asked as you quietly padded across the floor towards the living room.

"Y/N? What are you doing up? It's almost midnight," Jay pointed out.

"I- I know. But I couldn't sleep. I'm scared. What if I have to go back to Dad's? What if they find neither of you fit and I have to go into foster care?"

Jay patted the empty spot on the couch next to him and you sat down. "We just have to trust the system. That's all we can do."

"I know, but I can't sleep. And I'm so tired."

"I have an idea," Jay started and stood up, "stay here."

"I'm gonna go look for some melatonin," Will said after a few minutes of you two just sitting in silence. "I think Jay still has some for nights that he can't sleep."

Will was still rummaging around Jay's cabinets when Jay came back with a big black box with some cords and a cardboard box balanced against his hip.

"The hell is that?" You quickly covered your mouth when you realized you had sworn. "Sorry."

"It's okay. And, to answer your question, this is VCR. And, I have a bunch of videotapes in this box." He turned from you to face the kitchen, where Will was still opening and closing cabinets. "Will? What are you doing?"

"Looking for melatonin for Y/N. You got any?"

"First of all, it's so late that if you give it to her now, she'll sleep through her alarm and we can't be late for court tomorrow. And, second of all, I keep it in the medicine cabinet in my bathroom."

Will closed the cabinet and made his way back to the couch to sit next to you as Jay started to hook up the VCR to the tv. "Uh, Jay," Will began, "you know it's a little late for a movie right? And, I should get going in like half an hour?"

"We're not watching a movie. I recorded a bunch of the Blackhawks playoff games on one of these and I thought Y/N'd like to watch the 2010 Stanely Cup final series against the Flyers. Or, we could watch the final series against the Bruins when they won the cup last year."

"Let's watch the 2010 one," you said. "I don't think I watched it because I wasn't into watching hockey as much as I am now."

"And you have Jay to thank for that," Will pointed out.

"You can record things on there? Like an old-school DVR?" you asked.

"God, now I feel old," Will groaned. "Wait until she learns about floppy disks."

"Floppy what now?"

"Nevermind. Only 80s-90s kids would get it."

"We get it. You guys are millennials."

"Got it!" Jay exclaimed as he popped the videotape into the VCR and it started playing. "Now, shut up so we can relive this, Will."

You fell asleep before you even reached the end of the first period.

***

You rubbed your eyes and then looked around you to notice that you were still on the couch. You craned your neck to see the time on the oven on the other side of the open concept kitchen and living room and saw that it was 5:45 am. Jay was at the gym now. And, you knew you wouldn't be able to fall back asleep because you were already starting to worry about the rest of the day. You had to be in court at 8:30 and had to be talking to a judge at 9:00, the judge that would determine who you would be living with, which would inevitably determine your future.

God, you were thinking just like the teachers talked about the SATs, how if you didn't get a good grade on that standardized test that your future would be ruined.

You stood up and stretched and then went back to your room to grab the book you were currently reading. Then, you turned on a few lamps and grabbed a yogurt and fruit from the fridge, along with a glass of orange juice. After wrapping yourself in a blanket, you started to eat and read, hoping that that would keep your mind from wandering and worrying at least until Jay got back from the gym.

Half an hour later, Jay unlocked the apartment door and walked inside, confused as to why you were awake. It was only 6:15 and he had told you just to be up by 6:45.

"What are you doing awake, Short Stack?" he asked as he grabbed a banana from the bowl on the counter.

"I woke up at about 5:45 and I couldn't fall asleep. I'm sorry."

"Nothing to worry about. I just want you as well-rested for today as possible. You have your dress all ready? Know what shoes you're going to wear?"

"Jay," you whined. "I picked all of that out last night because you told me to."

"Just didn't want you to have to rush. I can turn the game back on for you so you can watch it until you have to start getting ready?"

You nodded and Jay came over and fiddled with the tv and the remote, going back to the middle of the first period where he thought you had fallen asleep.

"Okay, I'm gonna take a shower. Will said he'll be here around 7:45. Oh, and you can take that history test when you get back on Monday, in Miss Hedge's class."

You smiled. "Okay." Then, you turned your attention back to the hockey game.

***

You widened your eyes as you stood in the second bathroom getting ready. You had gotten dressed (into a navy blue, lacey dress that ended just above the knee that you had bought with Gabby a few days ago), washed your face, brushed your teeth, did your makeup, but now you were cursing yourself for being so stupid. You had no way of doing your hair. You didn't have a straightener here. And, your typical ponytail or bun wasn't going to cut it for court.

"Jay!" you yelled as you exited the bathroom and knocked on his bedroom door.

He opened it as he was tying his tie. "Yeah? Everything okay?"

"I don't have a straightener! I can't do my hair and if I wear my hair like I usually do then it will look bad on you and--"

"Hey, hey, calm down. We've still got over 45 minutes before we have to leave. I'll give Gabby a call and see if she's not on shift and can let you borrow hers."

You sighed the biggest sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Five minutes later, Jay knocked on the bathroom door as you were brushing your hair. "Gabby will be here in ten."

"Oh thank God."

***

"Thank you!" you exclaimed ten minutes later as you opened the door, revealing Gabby with her hair straightener. And, behind her, was Casey.

"No problem. Just tell me if you're not used to it and need help."

You took it from her. "No, I should be good. Thanks, though. C'mon in. I'm pretty sure Jay's around here somewhere."

They came into the apartment while you ran off to find Jay.

You knocked on his bedroom once more and he opened it, this time completely ready for the day. "Gabby and Casey are here," you told him.

"Casey's here?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yeah. I think he just came with Gabby."

"Okay. Go fix your hair. I'll go talk to them."

Twenty minutes later, you were finished and slipping your shoes on when you heard a knock on the apartment door. "I got it, Y/N!" Jay yelled.

Well, I hoped you would because you're closer to the door than me, you thought to yourself.

Jay opened the door, and since it was exactly 7:45, he was expecting to just see Will. But, what he saw both shocked him and made him want to cry from appreciation at the same time.

Standing next to Will was Natalie and behind them was all of Intelligence and Trudy Platt and Mouch, all of Squad 3 and Truck 81 (minus Casey because he was inside), Sylvie Brett, Chief Boden, April, Maggie, Dr. Rhodes, Dr. Charles, Reese, and Noah.

"You're all here for the court case?" Jay asked, stunned.

"Well, Natalie has to testify about Y/N's deficiencies and weight loss, but yeah. It's better if the court sees that the person trying to get guardianship has a ton of support. So, I figured I'd call in reinforcements...even though I'm pretty sure my big personality is enough."

Jay rolled his eyes. "Your big ego maybe." He paused, not knowing how he was going to fit everyone in his apartment even if it was bigger than his last one. "However many of you guys can fit inside, can come in. Um, some of you might just need to meet us at the courthouse--"

"Jay, they just came now so you could see how many people were behind you. They're just gonna meet you there. Except for me. I'm driving you two." Jay furrowed his eyebrows. They didn't talk about this. "I'll explain later."

"Gabby," you said as you walked out of the bathroom. "Can you--" you stopped as you saw everyone outside Jay's apartment.

"They're all here for you and Jay," Gabby explained as she stood up. "And, you can't cry because it'll smear your makeup, so hold back the tears."

You nodded as you held them back. "Can you, uh, check the back of my hair to make sure I got it all straight?" you asked.

"Two spots are still a bit wavy. Let's go fix it so you can get going."

A few minutes later, Gabby had fixed your hair and everyone besides Will and Jay had left and were on their way to the courthouse. You slipped on a pair of black ballet flats and your coat.

Will had explained that the reason he was driving was that if Jay didn't get guardianship, he didn't want him driving in such a distressed state. Will had worked on so many patients who were in car accidents due to their emotional state and he didn't want Jay to be one of them.

"Ready?" Jay asked you.

"As ready as I'll ever be," you said as you wiped your sweaty palms on your dress.

"All you have to do is tell the truth."

***

You thought you'd be comfortable inside a courtroom because of the crime dramas you'd seen. But, standing inside one was very different from watching a fictional tv show.

No one but you, the judge, the court reporter, Peter Stone, and your dad's lawyer could be in the room for this next part, so everyone was either in a witness room or waiting outside in the hallway for the go-ahead to be let in. You would be allowed to be in the courtroom while they were talking to Jay and your dad, but they wouldn't be able to be in the room when you talked to the judge...for obvious reasons, such as influencing what you would say.

"All rise."

You stood up next to Stone as the judge, who you now knew as Judge Callahan, entered the room.

Once you sat down, you were called to the stand. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?" you were asked as you placed your hand on the Bible.

"I do," you answered.

"Alright, please allow Miss Halstead on the witness stand," Judge Callahan said. "Now, I'm just going to ask you a few questions. All you have to do is answer them. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Okay, first question: Has your father, Pat Halstead, ever hit you or physically abused you in any way?"

"No," you answered.

"Has he ever neglected to give you necessities, such as food, water, clothing, or shelter?"

"Yes."

"Can you please elaborate?"

You did. You explained how your dad never had food in the house and would yell at you and call you a burden if you tried to eat his leftovers.

"Is it true that your father tried to break into your brother's house to get you?" Judge Callahan asked.

"Yes."

"Who do you feel safest with?"

"My brother, Jay Halstead."

"Who would you prefer to live with?"

"Jay Halstead."

***

Jay sat on the witness stand. He had answered all of Stone's questions, including all of the questions about him finding you stealing, what you had been using for pads, and what he had been told that you had been eating at your dad's house. Natalie had testified about your physical well-being, weight loss, and iron and riboflavin deficiencies. But now, it was time for Jay's cross-examination. And, he sure as hell didn't expect this next question to be asked.

"Mr. Halstead," your dad's lawyer began, "you previously said, and I quote, that your dad clocked out on parenting you and your older brother, Will, when you were in your teens, around when you started high school. Can you elaborate on that?"

"Objection!" Stone yelled. "Relevance?"

"Speaks to a pattern."

"I'll allow it," Judge Callahan said. "Please answer the question, Mr. Halstead."

Jay nodded. "He clocked out on parenting me and Will because he said that were essentially grown men at this point in our lives, we didn't need him cheering us on or him helping us. He didn't come to a single one of my soccer games in high school. And, if by some miracle we went out for ice cream or something just me, my brother, and my dad, he wouldn't pay for ours. Said we were old enough to pay for ourselves.

"But, we had our mom. She came to all our games and school events. She made us breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If she wasn't there, I don't know what would've happened to me and Will. My dad didn't even want me to go into the military and didn't want Will to go to medical school. He said a real man went right to work. The only time I felt loved by him in all my teenage years was when I left for the military. It was like because he knew I might die over there that he figured he'd say he loved me one last time."

"Redirect, your honor," Stone said. Judge Callahan nodded at Stone. "You said that your mom made you and your brother lunch. Are you doing that for Y/N?"

"Objection! Relevance?"

"Speaks to Mr. Halstead's abilities as a parent."

"I'll allow it. Please answer the question."

"I actually do," Jay answered. "I make her a packed lunch to bring to school every day and I'm sure to add foods high in iron and riboflavin to help those levels stabilize quicker. The first time I packed her a lunch, she actually cried because she hadn't gotten a lunch from home in so long."

"Thank you."

"Mr. Halstead," your dad's lawyer started, "you were previously deployed overseas in Afghanistan for two tours of duty. While I thank you for your service, is it possible that you could have PTSD and hurt Y/N in the middle of the night?"

"I would never hurt her!"

"While you are fully conscious, maybe. But, while you are in a sleep-addled state, isn't it possible that you might think that the person waking you up is an enemy soldier and not your little sister?"

Jay sighed. No one knew this about him, not you, not Will, not his dad. No one. And now all of his family and closest friends were going to know since they were in the courtroom watching this entire thing unfold.

"I am on Prazosin for nightmares caused by my PTSD," Jay answered.

"And how long have you been on this medication?"

"For about two years."

"And this has helped you manage your nightmares?"

"Yes, very much so."

"No further questions."

***

"Jesus, Jay," Will said after you had watched your dad's testimony on why he should get to keep you. It was the usual: how he was your father, so, therefore, he deserved to keep taking care of you and it's what your mother would've wanted...despite her telling Jay to keep you safe before she died. They already had the responding officers testify about the break-in, so he couldn't deny that and he was under oath, so if anyone found out he lied, then your dad would be held in contempt.

"I'm sorry I never told you, man," Jay said. "I just, I thought of it as weak that I couldn't deal with my own shit." He grimaced when he realized he had sworn around you. "Sorry, Y/N."

"It's okay. I hear that stuff at school."

"I'm just upset you didn't tell me they were getting that bad, Jay," Will lamented. "I know I wasn't there for you a lot after Mom died, but I'm here now."

Jay nodded, and Will knew he didn't want to talk about the topic anymore. You looked through the little window into the courtroom and saw that the judge was coming back from her chambers.

"Guys, I think she's made a decision," you said nervously.

"Whatever happens, me and Jay will be there for you," Will promised.

All you could do at this point was nod, as a lump was forming in your throat from all your nerves.

Jay led you back into the courtroom and you sat at the front, between Jay and Will. You wiped your sweaty palms on your dress and Jay gave your shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Judge Callahan stood up.

"By using the child's best interest standard of who can provide food, clothing, housing, education, medical care, and a stable home life for Y/N Halstead, I declare Mr. Jay Halstead the legal guardian of Y/N Halstead."

You could've sworn that you stopped breathing the second she said Jay's first name. You were so overwhelmed that you just turned to him and started crying as he wrapped an arm around you while he listened to the judge state your dad's visitation rights.

But, you didn't hear any of that. The only phrase that kept repeating in your head was I declare Mr. Jay Halstead the legal guardian of Y/N Halstead over and over again.

Now, you knew that you'd always have the necessities when you lived with Jay. You wouldn't have to worry about where your next meal was going to come from or if your dad would be out until 3 am drinking. You wouldn't have to worry about having access to tampons or pads and not be embarrassed anymore to ask for some from school if you forgot to put any in your backpack that day. But most of all, you knew that you would be loved and cared for.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Did I make anyone cry with this one??? The blood draw scenario was actually based on when I had to go and get my blood drawn the other day and thought I was going to pass out, which is why that scene was so long. Anyway, thank you again for reading, and please reblog/like and comment and tell me what you think! As always, if you want to be added to my taglist, just tell me and I’ll add you!

taglist: @theambracer88 @virtualreader @kelelas-life @celyndavies @brookerz122493 @musicismyescape27 @anotherfan07 @thexplosivegirl @dreamingwithlens @xoxmariaxox @onechicago18 @iamasimpingh0e

#jay halstead #will halstead #jay halstead imagine #jay halstead fanfic #jay halstead fanfiction #will halstead imagine #will halstead fanfic #will halstead fanfiction #chicago pd imagine #chicago pd #chicago med #chicago med imagine #chicago med fanfic #chicago med fanfiction #chicago pd fanfic #chicago pd fanfiction #halstead bros #halstead brothers #halstead sister #halstead sister imagine #writer #writing #fanfic #fanfiction #imagine #my writing

[sortasirius]

“Inherit the Earth” and the Fakeout

Absolutely genius.  Amazing, iconic, legendary, something only our showrunner Andrew Dabb can pull off.

"But Lilly, the episode was so bad!  It was just the brothers, they didn’t look for Cas and Eileen!”

YES.  THAT IS EXACTLY THE POINT.  THIS WAS A FAKE ENDING, THE END OF THE SEASON, NOT OF THE SERIES.

Let’s get into it.

An empty world.  No one left but Sam, Dean, and Jack.

So Dean ran, he somehow managed to pick himself up off the floor of the dungeon and meet up with Sam and Jack.  That jacket was this silent reminder.  Remember what I’ve been saying, Cas has occupied the negative space all season, this is no exception.

Dean can’t look either of them in the face, he’s doing that thing, where his eyes move everywhere BUT where he should look. 

“I couldn’t save anybody.”

Sam couldn’t save the world and Dean couldn’t save the one person that means the world to him.

“Where’s Cas?”

“Dean?”

I think it’s there, in that pause where Dean tries to push down the emotions, continue the fight, not think about the memories he left in the bunker, that Jack realizes what must have happened. Jack is the only one that knows about the deal, he has to know what Cas not being there must mean.

“He saved me.  Billie was coming after us.  Cas summoned the Empty.  It took her...and took him.  Cas is gone.”

This may shock you, but I am GLAD they didn’t talk about Cas, especially with what happens at the end of the episode.  Cas is allowed to just take up unsaid space.  It’s obvious he’s missing with the way they blocked things, obvious he’s missing here.  This whole “oh well they don’t care about Cas because they didn’t talk about him”?  Malarkey.

“Jack I’m sorry.”

Guilt.  Regret.  Pain.  Dean will carry this with him for the rest of his life.  Not only that he lost Cas, but that Sam lost Cas, that Jack lost Cas.

That SHOT, with the distance between Jack and Sam where Cas is SUPPOSED TO BE, and then a zoom out to...THE WORLD.

Okay, as usual, Bucklemming has the subtlety of a sledgehammer lmao.

Jack crying???  Praying to Cas????  Bruh?????

Also it’s just straight-up frightening for everything around my boy to die he is my baby son.

Also not to point out the incredibly obvious, but Dean starts drinking immediately, and continues drinking throughout the whole episode.  Grief arc 2.0 babey.

“We can what, Dean?  There’s no one left to save!  Everybody’s gone!”

“You can’t just give up.”

“What other choice do we have!”

Idk why, but for Sam, who’s the constant, the one who’s always had hope, through everything, through all these years, when he finally says this, when he finally loses his hope?  It hits the hardest.  Sam is the leader, so not only is he grieving the loss of Eileen, he is a general grieving the loss of his soldiers, his friends, the world that he feels the duty to save.

When they go to meet Chuck, I just can’t get that image of Dean, leaning against the car, handprint still on his jacket, staring at the ground out of my head.  It takes him a few seconds to catch up to Sam, like he’s pulled out of thoughts like deep dark water.  Remember friends, it doesn’t have to be loud to be powerful.

Chuck wearing BLACK?  FEAR.

“That’s right, the whole Cain and Abel thing.  Us dead, whatever.  I’ll kill Sam, Sam’ll kill me, we’ll kill each other.  Okay, you pick.  But first?  You gotta put everything back the way it was.  The people, the birds...Cas.  You gotta bring him back.”

Willing to kill his brother.  Willing to die.  Tears in his eyes, begging God to bring Cas back.

And Chuck?  Chuck doesn’t care about their surrender, he knows he’s already got them beaten.  He cares about their pain, he cares about them suffering, because to him?  That’s the entertainment.  He’s not entertained by their found family, by their happiness, by their joy.  He wants them to suffer, all of them.

“Eternal shame.  Suffering.  And loneliness.”

And he leaves them with just that.  No hope, no family, just the three of them, broken, alone.  Jack locked in his bedroom, Sam trying desperately to make life “normal” again.  And Dean.  Dean who drank so much he passed out on the floor.

He doesn’t feel terrific, he feels like shit, because not only is he dealing with the shame of an empty planet, he’s dealing with the guilt of being back in the place where the Empty took Cas.

This whole thing with the dog was just absolutely heartwrenching shit and if I didn’t hate Chuck before, him snapping Miracle right in front of an already fragile Dean would seal that deal.

I just want everyone to know that this is a Jake Abel stan account.

“Daddy’s boy” is a big insult for my boy Dean to use considering his own past with his trash abusive father but I’ll allow it.

I do think it’s interesting, ending of his arc aside, that Michael is willing to help them now.  What changed?  Sure, he ended up trying to help Chuck, running back to his father, but why get back in the game?  I wonder if it has anything to do with the loss of Adam.  It’s an interesting parallel, a man loses his angel while an angel loses his human.

Everything is so DARK in the Bunker now too, even the lighting is loud.

When I tell you I lost my shit when I saw Cas was calling Dean, when I heard Misha’s voice??  I knew it didn’t make any sense but I didn’t care, I would’ve been one step behind Dean as he sprinted towards the door.

Fuck you, Eugenie.

I mean it’s torture not only to Dean, who looks beyond fucking crushed when it’s damn Lucifer at the door, but for us too.  Who the FUCK wanted Lucifer back?  And to tease Cas???  Garbage.

I mean...fam.  Listen, we know who’s writing this episode, this whole Betty thing is just like blatantly unnecessary but again, Eugenie loves Lucifer, gotta distract her with a shiny toy lmao.

It was cool to see Michael and Lucifer onscreen together.  It was a cool dynamic that we rarely got to see.

The whole episode is just twist after twist.  Listen, it’s their last episode so I guess they needed to fit in a season worth of twists in one episode.

Bye Lucifer.  We know Eugenie can’t bring him back.  Blessings to all.

This scene with Adam is the FOURTH scene where Dean is drinking...big yikes to my guy’s liver.

Here’s the thing about Michael.  He’s a mirror for Dean in season 5.  Loyal to an absent father.  He has never changed, but Dean has.  Dean is able to acknowledge now, the trauma that his father put him through, he was able to move past the need for pleasing him at any cost.  Michael and Chuck?  Are John and Dean, if Dean had never been allowed to grow.  And Chuck proves, like John did, that he would always put his wants (in John’s case “the mission”) over his children.

Also not to beat a dead horse but Michael’s death was also peak Eugenie.

Sam getting to punch Chuck in the face?  Thank you, he deserves that.

Obviously I don’t love any scene of my boys getting brutally beaten.  But what I love, what I will always love about them, is what Chuck hates about them:  they won’t ever give up.  They know they won’t win against him, they don’t even land any hits, but that’s not what matters.  What matters is their controller doesn’t control them anymore, that they really are free.  No matter how hard they get hit, the get back up.  It is their choice to stand up to him, no matter the cost.

The moment where Sam and Dean are supporting each other, covered in blood, and they look God in the face, and they laugh.  That is why I will love them unconditionally for the rest of my life.  That is who they are, they will never cow to the villain, whether that’s Azazel or Alastair or Zachariah or Lucifer or Amara or Death or Metatron or Cain or God.  They will always choose to stand up.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Because.  You lose.”

Chills.  What a line.

And Chuck is left, small, human, no longer a villain, no longer anything.

Gotta be real, woulda been nice to, idk, not see all this essential plot in a flashback, but I know I can only ask so much of Bucklemming.

For Dean to walk away from killing Chuck, right after he’s called him “the ultimate killer” is quite simply the most beautifully heartwrenching thing I could ever ask for.  Because that’s who Dean was under Chuck, that’s who Chuck wanted him to be.

And he would have before:

But he’s heard some things since then, heard some things about how others see him.  Not as the killer, not as a monster, not as angry and broken or his daddy’s blunt instrument:

I’m not saying that Dean doesn’t kill Chuck for Cas.  He doesn’t kill Chuck because he doesn’t think he has to anymore, he doesn’t kill Chuck because he listened to Cas, he took Cas’ words to heart.  He made the choice not to be the killer.

“See that’s not who I am, that’s not who we are.”

And Chuck is angry, because he thought, after everything, even after losing, that he would still know Dean well enough to know that he would kill him.  But Chuck has never really known Dean, he has never understood where he’s really come from.  Cas understood, Sam and Jack understand, but Chuck never did, and writing off Dean as angry and broken is his biggest mistake, because that’s never been Dean.

“It’s not his power anymore.”

And it’s not just his physical power, it’s his power over the story, over the boys that’s the real power taken from him.

For Jack to be the one to bring everyone back, for him to be the hero of the story?  That’s poetic right there.  Now, I will say, I don’t think this story ends with him as God, because for him, the child, to take on this burden, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to me for his arc, but we shall see next week.  It felt pretty tied up, but there’s one major loose end: and that’s Jack seeing Cas again.

“Just you and me, going wherever the story takes us.  Just us.”

“Finally free.”

This doesn’t feel triumphant to me, it doesn’t feel like relief.  It feels like they’ve settled, like this is the best they’re going to get, so they might as well make the best of it, at least they have each other.

For Cas and Jack to be carved into the table?  I cry.

And for the montage, very similar to “Swan Song” to be set to “Runnin on Empty”?  Sorry but that’s just too sus to be ignored.

They packaged this episode as an ending, because for many, it might be.  The season’s story, the season about fighting Chuck is over.  So, you might be asking (or, well, screaming, judging by my replies lol), what’s left?  And that’s a good question, Chuck has been defeated, so what is left?  What’s left is what’s really mattered all season: the relationships that have been crafted over the years.  Dean and Sam’s unhappiness at the end of the episode, where “just you and me” sounded more of a grudging acceptance than anything else, is one of the clues that has to be looked at.  Why didn’t Sam find Eileen, why didn’t Jack bring back Cas?  Those two characters specifically are the ones we need to watch out for.  As I’ve said over and over again, peace, contentment, satisfaction, those don’t come from Sam and Dean on the open road together anymore.  They have a family, more of a family than they did when they started hunting together all those years ago, and that family is what holds them together.  They need each other, of course, but each other isn’t enough anymore.  Sam needs Eileen, Dean needs Cas.  That is where they will find their peace.

This episode, as many written by Bucklemming was sloppy, rushed, packed full of shit, and had little gems that we can talk about forever, but that was the end of the season, and next week?  Andrew Dabb brings us home, where Dean and Sam will finally be able to choose what they want for themselves, and that, my friends, is Eileen and Cas.

#supernatural #spn #spoilers #my meta #spn 15x19 #destiel #saileen

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket Manga Review , ch 111

sigh~~~ I feel that my recent posts are a bit negative towards the anime, but thats cuz the chapters I’ve read so far are either unbelievably important character depth content cut for no valid reason or content in the anime but packed with million other things that it lost its purpose or importance. Basically tohu’s ep 6 which consists of 4 chapters & now ep 5 which is a momiji ep & yup, packed with 4 chapters as well... so, I apologize for any negativity, my intention is just analyzing artistic & story-telling aspects, I love se03, but yeah it screwed up lots of important characters due to its not so thorough plot decisions & harmful character insight choices.

today.. we explore Momiji... but only before his curse breaks.

Furuba anime struggling to know how to design an episode based on various plot-heavy chapters?

so, they decided 13 eps, & decided one ep for momiji cuz motoko’s graduation & the fanclub is the core of the furuba & have already cut tons of tohru, cuz who cares? she’s kind. be like her. end of lesson. No. really, jokes aside, how to do this?

How to combine several chapters in one ep? collect small snippets from chosen chapters/content like a bee does flowers? you gotta skip some content, you gotta highlight others. The ep is only 20 min after all & you got an op & Ed that you cant always skip.... so.. furuba team decide that momoji’s ep should be true to his zodiac animal, this is the rabbits last appearance in spirit. so, they went with quick hopping from one chapter to the other like a rabbit?

No really, ep 5 is really like a rabbit in its flow, you can’t savior a moment enough before jumping to the other: we learned momiji grew up!! loves toheu romantically, challenged kyo, really meant it, wanted a fair love game, got freed, lost tohru romantically & faced momiji! but that’s not all? we still have space!! quick add akito’s moodiness & love triangle with her dog & her submissive bed partner, add a happy comedy for no reason whatever & make shigue kiss tohru & wish shes 'was his lover instead!!!!!!!!! Mind you all this happened in the anime before shigure hurt tohru with his “the truth of the zodiacs talk & them accepting & feeling consolance that kyo is doomed”talk. 

-Gets whats my biggest surprise after reading this chapter ?????????

Shigure is consistent!! He isnt a rabbit hopping here & there. The dog is loyal & is tired for good reason! Him being depressed & his weird talk with thoru makes so much sense given the manga’s order.

Kyo is consistent!! In the anime, momiji surprise him with confession he loves tohru & challenge him, then kyo la~la~la~joins them downstairs for curry. Not a single expression on his face, where is the expression? it will appear when the plot is forced to address it: by the end of the ep when momiji face hin again. Then we get kyo’s reaction.

I need someone to tell the anime that actions require a reaction. You can refrain from showing a certain reaction if you can’t address it now, but you can’t erase it, negate it, then make it appear when have to!!!! couldn’t they make kyo refuse to join them & eat together? the     other characters wont be surprised they think he’s needlessly moody. The audience will know that kyo is troubled with momiji’s challenged & it will excite them!!! having kyo just go eat & watch the momiji/hiro/haru/yuki comedy skit is weird.

The manga’s author wanted kyo to join the dinner, like the anime did. but huge difference. the author actually cares for logic reaction & understands that the audience aren’t dumb little kids that will sit & wait for kyo’s turn to...react! nope! she did this: (a) & (b) below.

-Lost Small Bits/ Panels from the chapter.. But Sadly Big Huge Chunks for Characters buildup & Growth:

(a) addressed the fact the hiro noticed kyoru is in love & dressed that shigure was right!! the cat being in love is a weird concept to the zodiacs! hiro reacted naturally & the author used hiro to flesh yuki’s (the rat), momiji’s (the rabbit) & haru’s (the cow) decision to silently watch the kyo (the cat) makes his own decisions to live!!! They won’t interfere or tell akito or remind him of his state as the doomed caged cat. So sad this moment is cut from yuki. Why must yuki only interact with kyo to beat him (all seasons)? why must yuki only think of kyo to envy him (all seasons) ? Here, yuki’s growth towards kyo as a person & his relationship with tohru is 1000 times better than all tohru is my mom’s sh!t & I envy kyo’s Sh!t we saw in the anime over & over till we memorized it.

(b) kyo didnt just go la~la~eat with momiji after knowing he loves tohru. Nope, there’s small bits missing: called logical emotional reaction. He was surprised he’s caught pining over tohru! cuz yuki, the audience representative, has told us in the previous chapter that ppl in love dont notice anything around them. Kyo thinks him being cold hid his feelings. the dummy’s feelings are as bright as the sun in the Sahara, tohru too. a child read her! such small thing that wont take much space from the ep but was cut cuz kyo only needs to be responsive at the ep’s end. & this scene of kyo & tohru looking awkwardly at each other is minor in space but so important cuz kyo is determined to let go but his decision is challenged by not only momiji, but his natural attraction to tohru. Here he knows he’s caught & exposed... here he knows momiji is a better choice for tohru cuz he wont didn’t hurt her mom... here he knows that even yuki is better cuz never had to pretend to be cold to her... here he knows the world is better than him... & here he just cant help by smile & walks towards her... T_T ... another lesson in writing slow burns by Takaya-san.

-Why would the anime team pass on this?? drawing kyoru closer after the epic tear in Cinderella ep, cuz they want empty suspense~! The anime team thinks that if kyo & tohru stand next to each other, then it means all their issues are solved & the audience are so stupid as to forget tohru’s mom, kyo’s imprisonment, kyo not confessing his sins to tohru & tohru’s need to make a choice wether to fogive hom or not.. nope! you see, they think, ppl who read mangas are smart, so the author can give this epic symbolism & pp would still be not sure kyoru is end game & tohru will forgive him or kyo even fogive himself, but ppl who watch, oh no, gotta cut all the plot worthy content, produce a graduation song for a minor character, cut all kyo/tohru interaction cuz it only means romance & not at all character depth & oh if we show yuki actually formulating deep thoughts that aren’t centered around him, the audience might forget his se02 struggles! or that might ruin yuki’s upcoming growth moment in the finale where he .. you guessed it hits kyo.. as he always do & sulk &  think abt himself cuz yuki can only do monologues when he’s directly involved.... man~it is so sad how the anime is dumped down.. Who is the target audience again? not kids as young as hiro cuz even hiro is smart!

-just look:

 Momiji talks abt kyo shouldn't give up loving tohru & the authr shows this this ghost!!! his mom! The author reminds us that kyo isnt da~~~~ forgetting anything. He’s a deeply troubled soul & hos mom wants him locked cuz she too was locked in a cage & thinks that’s safer...why oh why you dump ur own story! sh!t~

Side Notes:

I like the closeups on Kisa’s face as she interacted with kyo. It’s very rare for kisa to have a world beside the endearing parental/big protective bro/big doting sister love she has with tohru & haru & off course the romantic love with hiro which was perhaps since their birth or sth. lol.  Kisa & kyo arent much on the brotherly side as they rarely interact, but its one of those  refreshing  interactions she has that helps cast a new light on her as tiny as it is,  but its sth out of the norm around her. She sees him  around tohru & gets to perceive his true unprovoked character. “He is  nice guy”.

I really wanted to punch kureno this chapter.. like Shigure is a jerk shitty dog for sleeping with akito’s mom but kureno... dude.. you submissively sleep with the guy’s eternal love interest & still walks in on him talking to her!!! lol. you’re mentally, emotionally & physically weaker than him & yet, she puts you on her bed, not him & you, tho not wanting her at all, dont walk away. No wonder shigure is defeated & wishing for someone like tohru, lol! Even if shigure met an older tohru-like person, it wont work. shigure deserve someone like him mean, schemer & loves playing power games. Tohru is someone who values honesty & commutation, not saying she’s an angel on earth, but tohru knows who suits her.. except fate is saying: NO. .... currently. lol.

I know kureno’s weakness is part of his character & I love that such characters exits. There are ppl ike that in real life. It’s just this chapter, I felt shigure’s frustration. XD

Yuki in this ep is the best yuki. no exaggeration here, I love when yuki is calmly thoughtful of others & here its kyo of all ppl !!!! cutting this scene is sad.. without it, kyo & yuki remain a cat & rat in the anime. Only ever thinking abt each other thro envious binoculars or hateful words or yuki giving kyo comedic hitting or life’s problem-solving hitting. Why can’t anime yuki be interactive outside his self-centered issues is beyond me.

Momiji & kyo’s interactions are always the best! whether comedy or drama.

I hated the curry cooking scene in the anime... so weirdly out of the ep’s flow.. very forced comedy... in the manga it had a purpose! not just quick add comedy cuz next shot momiji curse breaks & drama & we’ll close the ep with tears & sadness & glimpses of hope...

I love haru’s answer to hiro... so him.. “a guy can’t fall in love?”so chill.. so..simple.

#Fruits Basket #Anime Only #manga spoilers #fruits basket manga #manga review #sad paper #mad paper #I'm having shitty personal day dont mind me #sorry for extra anger #if it sounds like I;m screaming or shouting #I'm not i swear #I really love the anime & se03 is the best content among the other seasons #its just have big giant issues in plot & characters....

[wizkiddx]

was thinking for toms most recent ig story it sounds like hes working out early everyday, what if u did a blurb where the reader does it with his and its like best friend --> something else ? sounded like a you type of story, id love if you gave it a go ❤️💕

oohkay so sorry this lit just came through this evening and I suddenly got v stupidly into it (if u put in a req before that I promise I am working on it I just got way to invested cos this is stupidly cute) xxxx

summary: what starts off as tom taking you under his wing and some sunrise workouts together might just develop into something more

“It shouldn’t be legal…. to be doing anything… this fucking early!” Spoken, well yelled, in between the fake strokes of the exercise bike and your pants. All you got in response was the two men laughing at you, no sign of sympathy at all, as your gritted your teeth - fighting against every body instinct to stop the movements. Your heart was pumping like the clappers; breathing shallow and rushed and your arms… your arms felt like they were about to fall off. Combine that with the lack of sleep from waking up before the sun did at 5 am - meant you felt like your were in literal hell.  

Why ever you’d agreed to do these workouts with Tom and Duffy escaped you. Being the new and rising actress, with a new supporting role in the next Spiderman, meant you’d spent a lot of time with Tom over the past few weeks. Not to inflate his ego either, but Tom had been a real life hero to you. See, you were the complete opposite of his experienced and seasoned professionalism - this was your first acting gig. And what a gig it was, the second biggest part in a Marvel movie. You never really believed you’d get the part and even when you did, were pretty sure it was some elaborate joke, where Ant and Dec were going to jump out from some corner and go ‘ha its a prank!’ or something. 

Yet somehow it was all still happening, you had been flown halfway across the world to spend three months alone on a film set. Well obviously not alone, but you knew no one - you were a complete outsider. That, really, was the reason you’d agreed to do these sessions with Tom. He’d offered half heartedly while between takes as you were moaning about how out of breath you got in that scene. At that point, you’d only known each other for a matter of weeks, he really hadn’t expected you to commit to 5 am each and every morning. What he wasn’t aware of though, was how ocmplerly stranded and lonely you felt here, hence why you jumped at his offer. 

And yes you loved to moan and complain when you were there, however you were also so incredibly thankful he ever offered. Duffy, Tom’s PT, was a right laugh too and he took great joy in torturing you - and was also entertained by the new and inventive ways you’d insult him after he ordered you about. 

“Come on Y/n, 200m more and then we are done, even your little arms can survive that.”

“Really … not the encouragement… I was looking for.” Still panting, face bright red and blotchy as you pressed your legs straight again.

“Tom? You wanna help Y/n out?” 

“Nah you know… kind of enjoying seeing her in pain.” The British voice laughed from somewhere behind you, making you roll your eyes.

“Why the hell… are you not… torturing him?” He sounded way to comfortable and relaxed to be working hard. 

“He’s got a stunt heavy day today so wanted to go easy this morning.”

Now that was a bloody joke. You were BOTH filming the SAME scene today, doing the SAME stunts. 

“Did I forget to mention Y/n is on set too?” The joy in Tom’s voice made you want to do horrible things to him. Even though you felt like you wanted to collapse on the floor, you’d happily do a set or two on a punch bag right now - if that punch bag was Tom’s face. 

Before you could hurl some fresh abuse at your costar, Duffy called time on the rowing machine, turning the display off and passing your water bottle over as you slouched on the slidey seat. 

“Done good Y/n/n, I am actually super impressed with your progress” The stocky man patted you on the back genuinely, bringing a bit of smile to your otherwise grimacing face. He went over the chat to Tom about some boy shit that you couldn’t care less about, allowing you a couple minutes to get your breath back. As soon as you did and tried to dismount the machine of death, your ruined legs seemed to have other plans, shakily buckling so you ended up starfished on the floor, groaning at the dull ache that came with the sudden movement. 

And what show of concern did Duffy show you? A belly laugh that echoed round Toms indoor gym making you groan again, throwing your forearm over your eyes. It was in fact the curly haired brunette, who came and knelt by your side, wordlessly balling up the towel and placing it under your head as you shot your eyes open in shock. 

“You okay? Sorry… I might’ve taken our friendly competition a bit too far.”

“I just… just might have to gain the power of flight this afternoon cos my legs aren’t gonna bloody work.” Tom chuckled and shook his head at your dry humour. 

“Oh I’m sure we can talk to Jon and get that arranged… not like Marvel don’t spend years crafting the script and storyline for a newbie actor to change it all.”

“Might I remind you… they wouldn’t have to if your weren’t such a dickhead!” You exclaimed, sitting up and staring at him with an exasperated look than only made him burst out laughing again. 

“I’m sorry I’m sorry… I just cant take you seriously when you look like such a tomato!” His voice went an octave higher as he laughed at himself, the situation getting even worse for you when you heard Duffy join in too. 

The boy was bloody lucky you couldn’t lift your arms right now, otherwise they’s almost certainly be attempting to ruin his pretty boy face. 

/////////////////////////////

After a long day of shooting you and Tom were in one of the set buggies, being taken back to your trailers to change for the evening. There was a peaceful silence until Tom ruined it yet again.

“ Got any fancy plans for this evening then?”

“Well you know me, back to my lonely little old place and  frozen pizza - so living the movie star life.” 

“It’s a Friday! You not going out with your team or anything?” He sounded so bemused at your quiet plans, and mention of a ‘team’ had you cocking your head to the side. 

“‘My team?’ Tom until I get my movie star pay check I can barely afford my pizzas, never mind a whole persons wage.” You were still only three weeks into filming and although you spent an hour every other morning sweating your ass off with Tom - apart from that you’d tried not to impose yourself on him too much. You didnt want to look clingy and naturally Tom always had a mountain of people vying for his attention - you would go to the back of a long line. So honestly, you were still a bit of a mystery to him, right now you’d both only scratched the surface on each other. 

“Really? I know this is your first big job but I thought you’d have someone here?” 

“Nah… I mean I’ve kinda clung to the Marty on the camera crew but he’s going to see family tonight sooo.”

“Come back to mine. I’ve swapped Harry for his twin Sam, which is a bit of an upgrade cos Sam’s a chef. He just arrived last night. I bet he can one up any pizza you were planning on.”

“Honestly I don’t want to impose, sorry I didnt mean for this to be a pity party or-“ The buggy slowed to a stop and Tom instantly vaulted out of it, standing right infront of you and blocking you exist off the back sofa. Both of you were still in costume, Tom in latex and you in your corset-esque two piece, but then both wrapped in matching long line black jackets supplied by set. 

“No come on I’m serious… Sam’s dying to meet you and it’d be good to spend more time together. You know, cos of chemistry and all.” The last bit was a switch from his cool and smooth, normally easy going tone - into something a bit more… anxious? Just like that, before your brain even knew what it was doing, you agreed, smiling broadly and nodding. 

So barely an hour later, you were knocking on the doors to Tom’s mansion-ish rented Atlanta home which was much much more grand than what the studio had arranged for you. Even though you were here most mornings, this time it felt different. Yeh it was stupid, but you can’t help the way you feel and you were stressed. For no real reason… just, just because. 

Thankfully, it wasn’t awkward at all  and you especially instantly hit it off with his younger brother Sam. Everything just felt easy and simple which meant so much more considering you’d felt so isolated an alone halfway across the world for your home comforts. Being British too, simply chatting to the two young men about your hometown and growing up was just so familiar, it really helped you feel less homesick.  Naturally too,  you’d fallen into a casual and friendly ribbing of Tom with Sam, making the three of you spend to majority of the evening cracking up (or in Tom’s case pouting at the abuse). It was a nice change from the two on one attack you got from Tom and Duffy that morning. You’d all cooked dinner together… well no, you and Tom had stood idly watching Sam cook an amazing chicken curry dish - which he promised to give you the recipe too. Honestly Sam felt like your long lost best friend, especially when it came to your shared ability to berate Tom for anything and everything. 

About an hour ago Tom had stuck on the film, effectively shutting up you and Sam - thankfully for him since Sam was just about to get to some rather embarrassing stories of Tom as a kid. You and Tom were on the longer grey sofa; with Sam sat  the other side of the coffee table in an impressively soft armchair - looking as though it was swallowing the lanky boy. The calm, the silence and the comfort was only going to go one way for you though. After your workout this morning, plus all the running and jumping during the shoot,  after what had already been a pretty intense week, it was hardly surprising that you didn’t even notice yourself drifting off the sleep. 

Who did notice though? Perhaps your brown haired costar who’d been stealing glances across to you ever since the movie had been put on? Because as much as he hated to admit it to himself, this didnt seem to be panning out as a normal job. A normal job is something you put your all into, for a couple weeks, and then leave with good memories and a good pay check. Yes, he had only known your for a matter of weeks or so but it already seemed to be unfathomable to cut ties with you. How would he go without your kind mannered abuse everyday? You were just refreshing, new and mysterious. And Tom was more than intrigued, his interest was peaked. 

And it was stupid to feel like that…. Of course it was. You can’t fancy a colleague because things get complicated and awkward. Tom knew that. 

Then why was he now delicately draping a blanket over your frame and smiling smally when you hummed in your sleep, in what seemed to be a show of appreciation for the layer of warmth? 

Because you were his excited puppy of a costar who is giving everything she has for the job? Because he is worried and wants to look after you? Because he cares? 

No matter why, in that moment you were contented and as was Tom. Oh and Sam? 

Sam saw the tell tale signs in his brother. He saw the way Tom had been touching your arm or the small of your back just a little more than what would be considered normal while he’d been cooking. He’d seen the way Tom had been laughing purely because you had. His eldest brother never did anything rash, it was always a painfully slow process for everyone involved. But Sam thought this just might be the start of something. The start of a slow burn.

#tom holland #tom holland fluff #tom holland x reader #tomholland #Tom Holland angst #tom holland x y/n #tom holland x actress!reader #tom holland x you #sam holland

[disfordevineaux]

Hello ! So if you finished watching season 4, could you share your opinion on it ? Did it meet your expectations ? Was the ending satisfying ?

HELLO! Yes, yes I have. Pretty much the second it came out I was watching it. I have pretty much been in a gif making coma for the last 3 days since its release, and I think the fact it's over has now just hit me.

I really liked s4. It was rushed, yes, but that's understandable considering the context. S4 was clearly not the initial plan. Not many Netflix aminated TV shows reach S6 or past that, so I have a feeling they were going for 6 seasons but had to cut it short. It's better than it getting officially cancelled. Which is most likely why season 4 was full to the brim with actions and character development. So I'm not mad at the quick end but I would have loved at least one more season to really flesh the development and plot points. No more so than the Devineaux development in regards to the new Julia and Chase dynamic.

Before I go into that I want to address the solo Chase-ness that was fantastic. Chase got his ass kicked like 5 times this season, once by a chair.

And was clocked by a frisbee for good measure too.

Oh, and landed on his car another time. The pain in his face... I- help this man.

But he got to kick some of his own asses this season too ofc.

Anyway, Chase really stood up and said ‘I am a Himbo’ this season and it filled me with joy. Just look. veryveryveryvery handsome as always I approve of this message.

Enough said.

Let me get on with the big thing I want to talk about. The Chase and Julia dynamic reinvention.

If I’m honest, it did feel quick, due to time constraints, but not out of nowhere. My expectations for Chase and his growth was blown out of the water. I was incredibly impressed with his physical display for admiration for Julia in the end. His way of officially apologising, (as someone said on a rb of one of my posts), Chase is a person of action and his grand gesture of giving Julia the spotlight, as well as a few glowing compliments and a callback and twist of what he used to say, was a great twist on just an ordinary apology. I adore how you can clearly see that he means it.

It was monumental, if a subtle display of respect that clearly struck a positive chord with Julia, and only could have with Julia. Just look at her face in the gif above, PURE. She clearly seemed as though she had decided to forgive his past transgressions after his help in her rescue.

Most definitely helping in her decision to return to ACME to be his partner again. Know she isn't alone and that Chase truly has changed for the best. I love how Chase was complete rapture that she had decided to return, even going for a hug. The guy really went from S1 striving to be stoic all the time, to allow himself to wear his emotions and expressiveness on his sleeves. Just, good vibes right there. It felt like the s4 Chase we got was always there but hidden by his ego and by himself deliberately.

Wholesome stuff my guys. My heart was FULL. I tell you. FULL. I slapped my hand to my chest in awe. He even asked: ‘But your academic career?’ and was happy to be finally able to hunt down real criminals with her, as, and I quote, a family. Adorable.

Don’t even get me started on the fist-bumping. I would throw myself into a pit of fire for them.

And those inside jokes? I could be here all day. Their dynamic now, if not nearly displayed a much as I wanted, was nourishing to my soul. Just LOOK

And that is just one scene.

After the first time jump of 3 weeks, they appeared to be finally enjoying one another company, a true team. Then after 6 months, it seemed even more natural, playful too. They trusted each other's abilities and opinions. Sharing their belief that Carmen was good as well as supporting one another as good partners should, especially Chase. They look so comfortable in each other presence it was immaculate.

They appeared content, and I loved that most of all. Chase was genuinely interested in Julia’s explanations and it was heartwarming to see. Julia appreciating it too. Watching them interact as close friends now was such a treat. The last 2-3 episodes, in particular, Chase even asking her to continue and adding onto her historical divulges. Awesome stuff. And Julia running into Carmen just as she was about to punch Chase’s lights out was pretty sweet too, as well as her getting one in on Cleo, GO GIRL GO. Julia this season had so much more depth. Loved it.

Also, finding out Chase’s name is in fact a self-given nickname was right on theme with the show. So many people with real names we will never know.

Back onto the expressions and his enthusiasm. I mean LOOK. This dude- AND THE CAT JACKET RETURNS!

He just loves his wordplay.

Anyway- The effect Julia had on him was profound and just fantastic to see. He wanted to be better. Chase will no doubt rub off some of his own flairs onto her in due time I'm sure.

Chase working with carmen and the small interaction we got were great as well. Still a little rigid, but full of intrigue.

Chase wanting to go and save Julia, because he earlier felt as though this was all his fault, was precious too. And the whole Tigress and Chase fight scene was amazing. He trapped her inside a casket, iconic. And Chase showing up as Julia is like ‘omfg Devineaux is that you?’ As he just all suave says ‘fashionably late as always’ and pushes his messy hair back like HOOO BOY you lovely little stinker I would die for you. He was ready to fight 1 v 3. No one has the same determination as a Devineaux. For an ordinary guy, he is really able to keep up with the best, if not behind a tad I MEAN UM. DUDE SLID DOWN THE STAIRS AND JUMPED RIGHT INTO A HOLE. No second thought THEN SWUNG HIMSELF OVER NO PROB? Who is this athlete of a man?

Like my man, you are not graceful at all please let carmen do it.

In the end, he really did save them both which was vindication, Speaking of vindication:

Okay, I really went off track and hardly said what I wanted to say. I got carried away with gifs. I think I said what I wanted to say? Right now my brain is still mushie.

To finalize: I was content with the end. Zack and Ivy joining ACME as Carmen has some time to go truly find herself was an interesting idea. The 2 year time jump at the end left a few holes but hey, I’ll take it. Shadowsan returning to his brother was so nice to see, and Player all alone in the restaurant kinda broke my heart. The entire storyline with Chase and Julia was absolutely, revolutionary. It was what we deserved, what they deserved.

I think my love for Chase really made me live for the scenes and moments we got of him alone and interacting with others. Season 3-4 really were his crowning glory. I'm proud of him.

Also, I want to mention the Zack/Turtle scene because I nearly died when I saw it the way the turtle wiggles and the way he rUNS I- okay goodbye.

#season4spoilers #im so sorry this post was so long and i dont think i even said what i wanted but oh well #i have so many inboxes to answer i #i do love em tho keep em coming #i am still in my gif coma as u can see by the 50000 gifs skjskdjs #sorry sorry #chase devineaux #carmen sandiego #julia argent #carmen sandiego netflix #carmen sandiego 2019 #disfordevineaux #disfordevineaux ask #cs chase devineaux #cs julia argent #chasulia #platonic and romantic #pick your poison

[miyagihawk]

Could you maybe write one where Robby or Hawk asks y/n to prom? You don’t have to if you don’t have the time <3

thank you so much for requesting !! this will be my first robby one yayyyy

promposal | robby keene x reader

warnings: fluff, maybe swearing?, also quite cheesy but i love cheesy

summary: prom season is arriving, and you don’t have a date. but you’re kind of hoping a certain someone will ask you.

word count: 1,516

(this one’s set around season 2 and y/n is in miyagi do with sam, robby, and demetri)

“Ugh, prom. Just another excuse for horny teenagers to publicly grind on each other and dress up all nice for it,” Demetri scoffs as you two pass a promposal on the way to Bio class.

You roll your eyes at him. “You’re always such a pessimist. I think prom is cute,” you argue.

“Of course you think it’s cute, you’re a girl. Girls like dressing up and all that romantic shit. So you’re going?” he asks.

You shrug. “I don’t know, I mean no one’s asked me but maybe I’ll just go with Sam or something. I take it you’re not going?”

“Oh I’m going. I hate it, but it’s still part of the high school experience,” the black haired boy wiggles his fingers at you and you laugh. “What about Robby?”

Your heart flutters at the mention of his name.

You’ve had a crush on Robby ever since you met him when you joined Miyagi Do. His kind eyes and dedication to karate made you fall for him fast. With practice at the dojo everyday, he’s become one of your best friends, along with Sam and Demetri. But you’ve hidden your feelings for him because you’re sure he doesn’t feel the same.

“Um... what about Robby?” you question nervously, wondering if your feelings have been obvious.

“Oh come on, he’s obviously going to ask you to go with him,” Demetri muses, and you two walk into your class.

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you shake your head, setting your books down on your desk.

Robby has never said anything about prom. He doesn’t even look like the type of guy to go. But you feel yourself hoping that what Demetri is saying is true.

“Oh Y/N, Y/N. Always so oblivious,” he taps your head before going to his own desk and ending the conversation.

Demetri is probably messing with you, but the whole period you zone out, thinking about what prom with Robby would be like.

-

Karate training was cancelled for some reason, so you took the extra time to catch up on your schoolwork at home.

Suddenly, the sound of your ringtone pierces the air, making you jump at the sudden break in silence.

You read the caller ID and it’s Sam. She never really calls you, so you begin to worry that something is wrong.

“Hello?” you answer.

“Y/N! Oh my god, something’s wrong! You need to come to the dojo, like right now!” Sam exclaims, making your chest pound with anxiety.

“Wait what, Sam! What happened?” you frantically sputter. Thousands of scenarios flood your mind all at once. Is there a fire? Did the dojo get trashed again? Is someone dying?

You hear shuffling and whispers on the other side of the phone before Sam blurts, “Just come Y/N! Hurry!”

In a panicked manner, you rush around your room to put on your shoes and get your car keys. Regularly a 15 minute drive, it takes you 5 minutes to get to the dojo. You got a few honks and middle fingers as you stepped heavy on the gas, but the urgency of Sam’s voice made you not care.

You slam your car door shut and run around the front to the backgate. But before you could open it, something covers your eyes and all you could see is black.

You realize that they’re hands from someone behind you and in your frenzied state, your first instinct is to elbow the person’s chest.

After the hit, your eyes are released and you hear a groan from behind you. You turn around in fear to see who you were expecting to be a murderer. But it was Robby Keene on the ground with a pained look on his face.

“Oh my god, Robby what the fuck are you doing? I’m so sorry,” you rush over to where he lays on the floor. He clutches his chest where you hit him and you place your hands over his in worry.

“I was trying to be romantic,” he chuckles, sitting up to face you. He was grinning, even though you just sucker punched him with the sharpest bone in your body.

“W-What? I thought you were a serial killer! What happened, where’s Sam? Is she okay?” you stammer, not even noticing what Robby just said.

“Nothing happened Y/N, calm down. We just needed you to come here,” he rests his hand on your shoulder to calm your panicked breathing, and your cheeks tint pink at his touch.

“I- So- Nothing happened? Why am I here?” you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. There’s just so many things happening at once and you were kind of expecting a disaster.

Robby stands up and reaches his hand out to where you’re kneeling on the concrete. You take it in yours and feel yourself calm down from the chaos of the last 15 minutes.

“Can I cover your eyes now that you know it’s me?” he laughs, and you nod in confusion.

His fingers place over your eyes once again, blocking all of your vision as he leads you to walk to the backyard. You stumble a few times, but he finally stops your walking once you guys have reached a certain spot.

“Ready?” his voice says close to your ear, making you shiver from his unexpected proximity. He counts down from 3 to 1 before pulling his hands away and freeing your eyes.

You blink a few times to adjust to the brightness of the scene, then you see the beauty in front of you.

Fairy lights are strung around the big tree, lit up just in time for the setting of the sun. The pond holds floating candles that drift delicately around the water and a picnic blanket with food lays on the grass next to it.

The dojo looks nothing like where you guys sweat and train and sometimes bleed. It looks like a fairytale, and your mouth is slightly open at the realization that it’s all for you.

“Robby, what is-” you turn around to where he’s still standing behind you.

You almost want to cry at the view of him holding a bouquet of your favorite flowers. His signature side smile widens at the little gasp you let out when you see him.

“Y/N Y/L/N, will you go to prom with me?”

No way. There’s no way Demetri was right. You stand there frozen at his question, not believing that it’s real. The boy of your dreams, asking you to prom. The boy of your dreams setting all of this up for you.

“Y/N?” his voice snaps you out of your trance, and your confused expression turns into a huge smile.

“Of course. Yes!” you beam, catching him by surprise when you jump into his arms to embrace him. He laughs into your shoulder as you squeeze him tight in appreciation.

-

“I love it all, thank you Robby. You really do know how to make a girl feel special,” you say in between bites of chocolate covered strawberries.

“Well you are special,” he smiles, admiring how cute you look with your cheeks filled with fruit.

“I’m so killing Sam by the way. I really thought I would come here and see a dead body!”

“I’m sorry, it was my idea. Kill me instead,” he chuckles at the recent memory of your worried frenzy.

“I will. But after prom,” you joke and pop another strawberry into your mouth.

After some cute banter and more yummy food that Robby made, you two lay down on the blanket to try and see the stars. The smog of the Valley doesn’t give much of a view, but if you look hard enough it’s there.

The conversation has faded out, and you’re deep in thought. Does this mean he likes you? Are you guys together now? Asking you to prom doesn’t necessarily mean anything.

The question leaves your mouth before you can stop it.

“So... is this a friends going to prom together kind of thing? Or is it a couple going to prom together kind of thing?” you blurt, interrupting the pondering silence between you two.

Yours and his eyes stay stuck on the night sky. He thinks for a moment and you play with your fingers in anticipation.

“It’s up to you... but I like you Y/N. A lot,” he admits, setting fireworks off in your stomach.

All this time, you’ve both had feelings for each other. But you’ve danced around it like it’s a fire pit that can’t be touched. You almost want to laugh in disbelief, because you were so sure that you would keep your heart locked and live forever with longing stares. You thought you would be stuck watching him with someone else because you’d never have the guts to actually say what you feel. But you’re wrong.

Robby’s head is turned towards you now, and you take your eyes off of the stars to look at him. He looks nervous, waiting for your response to his confession.

Instead of talking, you reply with a long awaited kiss.

#cobra kai #cobra kai imagine #cobra kai x reader #cobrakai #robbykeene #Robby Keene #robby cobra kai #robby keene imagine #Robby Keene x reader

[buttterknifeee]

An Introduction Pt.3- Teen Titans x Aquagirl!Reader

Pt.1 Pt.2

Requests for this series is now open!!! You can request for ships, episode inserts, and headcanons for this series!!! More info can be found here

Summary: You guys are like the "Friends" of the crime-fighting world. Robin's totally Ross and if this was one of those episodes, it would be called "The one where aliens get their asses kicked"

Ships: none, see info above

A/N: Once again this is a reader insert for the Teen Titans 2003 show season 5 episode 10 (the one where they all meet!) I also added an epilogue for funzies.

You found yourself in a dark bubble of Raven’s magic, floating up to the alien ship. You had offered to water jet all six of you up, but you weren’t even sure if you could create that big of a geyser. Besides, a quiet bubble is much better than a large geyser. Beast Boy, however, disagreed.

“That dark energy stuff gives me the--” He was cut off by a glare from Raven. ”Uh...I mean, it's cool!” He gives a guilty grin.

Robin tells us to go to the firing control room, and you all crept through the hallway in a single file line: Robin, the pink-haired girl, Beast Boy, You, Cyborg, and Raven, who you noticed was still near the entrance. Cyborg gave you a look as if to say Keep going; I’ll handle this. You nodded and continued walking forward.

You were walking near Beast Boy, when you noticed a cut on his arm, with that part of his suit torn open. You pointed at it.

“Hey, you alright?” you asked, referring to the gnash.

“Oh this?” He replies. “This is nothing. When you’ve been a part of the DOOM patrol, a little cut is nothing.” He smiles confidently, patting his wound. You realize that he was totally bluffing when a comical tear springs from his eye and his arm tenses.

“Here I can help.” you say softly. Concentrating on the air between your hands, you condense the liquid in the air, forming a small bubble of water. You move that bubble of water onto his arm and it begins to glow. You let go of the water, revealing Beast Boy’s arm to be completely healed.

“Dudeee,” he stares in awe of your handiwork. “That's so cool-” He’s interrupted by your stumbling; healing really does take a lot out of you. He lets you lean on him, and the two of you continued walking forwards. After a few seconds, he stops.

“Uh, guys?” he says. And that's when you noticed it too. The six of you were surrounded by alien soldiers, and they seemed really out for your blood. “I think they know we’re here.” The six of you charged at the fleet of soldiers. But Robin seemed to have an idea.

“Raven!” he yelled. “Take out part of the floor!” Raven looked at him with confusion, but then nodded and did as she was told. With a large SMASH, she removed the part of the bottom of the ship, revealing the water below. The water below you realized, suddenly understanding Robin’s plan.

“Aquagirl! Now!” he yelled, holding off a soldier with his staff.

“On it!” you yell, punching another alien out of the way. (Apparently with water powers came enhanced strength, which you found out at that moment.)

Concentrating on the water below, you raised your arms, allowing the ocean to shoot up from below. Instead of blasting the water through the entire ship, you carefully controlled it to grab onto the aliens that were attacking your friends, pulling them through the hole and causing them to fall into the ocean below.

You looked at the door to the control room, which was locked shut.

“I got this.” Robin said, placing something shaped like a birdirang onto the door.

As the bidirang counted down, you heard Trogaar talking from behind the door. “The Earth scum shall learn it takes more than six juvenile heroes to defy the mighty Lord Trogaar!” he said, most likely with a smile on his face. You all looked at each other, prepared to prove him wrong.

The door exploded, and Robin was the first to get through. “We’re not six heroes,” he declared. “We’re one team.” Him considering the six of you a team sparked something inside of you. You all split up to take down Trogaar and his guard, with Robin at the lead. You took on a guard, kicking him in the stomach and sending him flying towards a wall.

You noticed that Robin was on the shoulders of Trogaar, and you sent a jet of water to his face to knock him off balance. That didn’t work and he threw Robin across the deck. Luckily, he landed on his feet. The two of you joined to fight Trogaar, taking turns to land punches and kicks. However he overpowered you and Robin, throwing you both across the room. You landed on your back, but Robin hit the wall with the back of his head and fell to the floor.

“Robin! Aquagirl!” The alien girl yelled. You got up as quickly as possible and helped Robin up from sitting position as she and Cyborg tried to take on Trogaar, only to be thrown in your direction as well.

Still leaning on you, Robin looked at Cyborg’s arm. “Can you rewire that into some sort of weapon?” he asked.

“I can try,” he said, getting up. The four of you were in a fighting stance, despite being injured and surrounded by Trogaar and his goons. Suddenly, you hear a voice, as clear as day.

“Get away from my friends!” It was Raven, supporting an injured beast boy. “Azarath Metrion Zinthos!” she chanted. Part of the ship exploded, sending it crashing into the ocean.

You found yourself standing in the ship, the roof torn off and making a slow descent into the ocean. All of the alien soldiers were groaning on the ground, but Robin, Cyborg, and the alien girl were all unharmed. The four of you watched in horror as Trogaar aimed to attack Raven when BLAM! You turned to see Cyborg standing next to you with a smoking sonic blaster in place of his arm. He grins.

“Alright I’m only gonna say this once. Boo-Yah!”

“Yo, is it just me or are some of these guys starting to move again?” Beat Boy points out, still slumped in Raven’s arms. He was right; a few of the aliens began to twitch, making attempts to get up. You turn to the other 5 people.

“You guys don’t worry. They’re in the ocean now, meaning that they’re in my territory.” You cracked your knuckles, your eyes glowing blue.

.

.

It’s the next morning and you find yourself sitting with Robin, Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy, looking at a view of the bay and an island

“Thanks so much for the new suit Cyborg!” you say, fiddling with your brand new outfit. You were wearing a cropped short-sleeve rash guard and swim shorts, both with deep cyan and black patterns. He also gave you black gauntlets with curved spikes ‘To protect yourself from bad guys and still be aerodynamic!’ according to him. Robin gave you one of his old yellow belts, since he figured you’ll probably need something to carry stuff in. Finally, you found some black scuba shoes from the swimwear store that allowed you to walk and swim with ease.

“Its no problem AG! I figured you needed a new outfit if you’re gonna be a superhero now” Cyborg chuckled, calling you a new nickname that he probably made up just then. Superhero, you thought. I like the sound of that.

Raven had a far away look in her eyes.“That's quite a view.” she said, still staring that the scenery

“Somebody oughta build a house out there,” Cyborg agreed, his voice now softer.

“Yeah, if you like sunshine and the beach.” Beast Boy added, making an obvious dig at Raven.

“You know, you're kind of funny.” Raven said to your surprise, smiling softly at Beast Boy. This was obviously too much for the guy’s ego.

“You think I'm funny?” Beast Boy sat up straight, looking at Raven. “Dude! I know some jokes!”

You laughed at Raven’s face of pure regret, before a familiar voice brought your attention to behind you. It was the alien girl, now in a purple outfit similar to the one before, but this time it seemed to really suit her.

“I look .. nice?” she asked, obviously insecure. You took her hand again.

“You look amazing,” you reassured her, causing her cheeks to flush.

Robin stepped forwards. “I still don’t know your name,” he said.

“In your language, it would be ‘Star Fire.’” she says with a smile.

“Welcome to Earth, Starfire.” Robin said.

She looked at you all shyly, certainly different from when you first met. “ I thank you all for your bravery and help, and I wish to ask permission...to remain here. Where the people are most strange ...but also most kind.”

“You don’t need our permission,” Raven said calmly.

“But if you want our friendship, you've got it.” Robin added.

“I could use a new friend,” you say with a wink.

“Guess we could all use some new friends.” Cyborg agrees.

“Besides, we kind of made a good team.” Beast Boy says proudly.

“I thought we might want to keep in touch, so Cyborg and I designed these.” Robin fished out four black and yellow communicators. You, Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire each took one and observed them. They were similar to flip phones, but they were circular and had no logo on the front.

“Made ‘em outta my own circuits, '' Cyborg said proudly.

“When there’s trouble, you know who to call,” Robin said. You all smiled at one another. You were a team.

Epilogue

While everyone else was still smiling at one another, you excused yourself and walked a few feet away. You opened your new communicator, dialing in a phone number you know by heart. You waited for the person on the other line to pick up, and began to speak.

“Heyyy dad. It’s (y/n); you must have been worried sick, I’m sorry… Yeah no I’m fine, really. I’m in uhhh Jump City and I made some of the coolest friends and I was wondering... if I could stay here? I’ve been spending the whole night wanting to go back home, but I think this might be home for me. I understand if- oh? Really? You’ll let me stay? Wow, thanks dad. I-I promise that I’ll be careful and that I’ll go to school here, I know there's this high school called Murakami School I’ll try to… I love you too dad. I’ll talk to you later.”

You flip your communicator closed, and walked back to your new friends. Raven looked at you.

“Are you alright?” she asked, noticing your change in mood.

“Yeah,” you say, a smile forming on your face. “I’m great actually. Just had to call home.”

“You're going home???” Beast Boy asked, a frown falling on his face.

You chuckled, “Of course not.” You lightly punched his shoulder. “Besides, this is my home now.”

“Awe Yeah!” the green guy cheered. You laugh, feeling extra cheerful. Now that you’re in a team, you really do feel like you belong. You looked at your new team.

“Anyone up for pizza?”

#teen titans 2003 #teen titans cyborg #raven teen titans #teen titans x reader #teen titans #teen titans terra #robin x reader #rachel roth #robin #dick grayson imagine #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson #victor stone #vic stone #x reader #beast boy x reader #beast boy #raven x reader #raven #starfire #koriand'r #kori anders

[txtdreamss]

mirrorball // [g.w.]

sequel to tolerate it

warnings: angst, fem!reader

summary: It’s been 2 weeks since George told you he has a date to the yule ball. As of now, it’s the night before and you are reflecting on your feelings for him and wondering if you can continue as his best friend.

word count: 1.5k

A/N: So, here it is! I am hoping to get this posted as soon as possible for those of you who wanted to see a part 2 to tolerate it. I had a really difficult time deciding on how I wanted to end this, and I really hope it pleases you guys (not sure I’m happy with the ending, but that is to be expected). Sorry in advance for any errors, as this is a one-woman show and I sometimes miss my own mistakes. :) Special thanks to @ajusquishy for being the first to ask about this addition to tolerate it!

*****

I want you to know I'm a mirrorball I'll show you every version of yourself tonight

The past 2 weeks had been the most difficult time of your life. George had been following Alicia around like a lost puppy, and even Fred was getting sick of it. Oddly enough, it seemed like George couldn’t get through one interaction with you without mentioning the girl’s name.

“Oh Y/N, we decided to match my tie to her dress!”

“Did you know she said I am the cutest quidditch player she has ever met?”

“I’m thinking about asking mum to knit her a sweater this Christmas!”

At first you could handle it. As his best friend of nearly 6 years, it was your job to handle it. Why didn’t that make any of this easier?

There wasn’t a change in George that you had neglected to notice. Hell, your heart dropped when he showed up with a new bruise after quidditch practice. You were the one who had told him to grow his hair out (and damn, was that a good piece of advice). George had even been with you when he chose his first pair of dress robes for merlin’s sake!

Molly Weasley saw you as her stand-in while the boys and Ginny were at Hogwarts. Of course, she didn’t know that George and Fred had grown in their pranking abilities thanks to your sugar-sweet exterior, but that didn’t change the role you played in the Weasley children’s life. You were the responsible friend who also just happened to lead a double life when it came to the twins.  It was thanks to you that they had received only 3 detentions this quarter, and it was their fault that you now had an affinity for “accidentally” leaving dung bombs in the outer pockets of Cormac McLaggen’s bag.

“Hey, Y/N... I haven’t seen you around much. You aren’t avoiding me, are ya?” George’s baritone voice broke you out of your thoughts. He settled his arms on the top of your head, and sighed deeply, letting his head drop. “Fred and I need your help figuring out what the best escape route from the dungeons is.”

“Go ask Lee, he can do some math too.” Yes, you were being harsh, but George’s presence was enough to shatter any semblance of self control you still had left.  “Now, if you excuse me, I have a study date with some ancient runes and Hermione.”

As you stalked out of the common room, George couldn’t bear to bring up how he hadn’t been able to come up with any solid pranks in exactly 14 days.

*****

You'll find me on my tallest tiptoes Spinning in my highest heels, love Shining just for you

Tonight was the night; your hair was curled to perfection, and the gown your mother had sent you was the color of holly. The heels you had strapped on were a matte black dusted with the occasional piece of red glitter. Despite the fact that George was not your date, you couldn’t help my let your thoughts drift to him as you got ready. Would he think you looked pretty? Would he think you looked as good as her?

Lee tapped you on the shoulder, and you steadied yourself before letting him gently grab your hand. “Don’t let that prat get you down. You look like a goddess, Y/N. Now, let’s go show Georgie what he is missing.” 

Lee was a great friend for doing this for you; he knew about your feelings (Fred apparently can’t keep his mouth shut), and immediately became set on helping you get back on your feet. He had become your greatest cheerleader as of late, and claimed that George doesn’t know it, but he definitely has feelings for you.

As you both walked into the great hall, you couldn’t help but let out a gasp. There were snowflakes and all types of seasonal decor strung up across the room, and it was almost like the room had transformed into a winter dreamscape. Fred and George had beat you there, already sipping punch with Angelina and Alicia.

“You boys clean up nice.” The twins and Lee let out a chorus of ‘hey’s, clearly displeased with your mockery of their appearances.

“Oi, I was betting 5 galleons that Fred would show up in his trainers...” George’s voice was surprisingly meek, almost as if he was looking for your approval with his jabs towards his brother.

The boys immediately began discussing their plan to spike the punch bowl with firewhiskey, and Angelina and Alicia launched into a conversation about where they had purchased their gowns. You felt more than out of place at this point, and decided to relocate after notifying Lee that you’d be fine on your own for a bit. Almost immediately after, Angelina went to distract McGonagall while Fred and Lee snuck under the table of refreshments.

You went to talk with Hermione and the younger trio, and were drawn into a lesson in muggle dancing.

“No, Ron, that is not how you hit the woah.” (I’m sorry I felt so inclined to include this cuz the image makes me chuckle lol).

“Well, ‘Mione, why don’t you and Y/N show us how this is done then?” Harry and Ron crossed their arms, and Hermione slipped her arm around your shoulders.

“C’mon, Y/N. You look like you could use something fun.” She dragged you onto the dance floor, and you both began dramatically spinning each other to the sound of your wheezing laughter.

If only you had noticed a certain red-headed prankster gazing at you like you had hung the stars in the sky...

*****

You are not like the regulars The masquerade revelers Drunk as they watch my shattered edges glisten

Fred and Angelina had taken to the floor as soon as the waltzing began. After watching them twirl to the crescendos of the music, you finally decided enough was enough. All it too was a look at Lee, and he understood what you needed to do. You slipped out of the doors to the great hall, and found yourself wandering amongst the carriages powdered with snow, occasionally stopping to draw shapes into the piles of flakes.

Following five-ish minutes of mucking about, you finally decided to sit on the steps that bridged the courtyard and the hallways. Snowflakes continued floating, but you quickly realized the droplets of water on your face were from small tears and not the weather. Sniffles escaped your nose, and you crossed your arms in a poor attempt to keep warm despite your lack of sleeves.

Out of nowhere, you felt heavy cloth drop onto your bare shoulders.

“Be careful, love. Ya look like you’re halfway to becoming an ice lolly.” George shuffled his long, lanky body onto the steps. You looked at him through your lashes, and he seemed almost squeamish.

“Don’t you have Alicia waiting for you inside? I’m sure she wouldn’t be thrilled to see you out here.”

“Bloody hell, Y/N, I think we have been pretty dense.” Confusion evident on your features, George let his larger hand cover yours. “I didn’t want to ask Alicia. I wanted to ask you.”

“What do you mean? You’ve been talking my ear off about how much you like her for weeks now...”

“I was trying to make you jealous.” Silence overtook the interaction.

“So you’re saying that we both have been blind to our feelings?” 

George let out a small chuckle, and pulled his hand away. To be quite honest, you felt like maybe you had been ignoring the signs: the subtle stares, the extended physical contact, the willingness to be there whenever and wherever you asked him to.

“I think we may want to start over and forget the last few weeks.”

“I think I would quite like that.” You stood up, and brushed the snow off your skirt before extending your hand towards George. “Well, George, the yule ball is in... now... would you like to be my date?”

“I would enjoy that a bunch, Y/N.” He took your hand, and pulled you into his chest. “May have a dance to start off the evening?”

“...There isn’t any music.” You chuckled, but George simply grinned at you before beginning to hum.

“Problem solved. So, may I have this dance?”

“You may.” You dropped your head into the nook of his shoulder, and George began to sway and spin you, leaving 2 pairs of footprints in the snow beneath your feet.

From just beyond your view, Fred, Lee, Angelina, and Alicia let out somewhat of a “oomph” and high-fived each other before turning to go back inside.

Shining just for you.

#george weasley #george weasley x y/n #george weasley imagine #george weasley x reader #george weasley fanfic #george x reader #fred weasley #lee jordan #angelina johnson #yule ball #harry potter #harry potter imagines #hp #hp imagine #george weasley angst #george weasley fluff #reader insert #fanfic #fanfiction #angst

[frogboy0]

Amphibia season 1 rewatch + notes :)

So I just finished rewatching the ENTIRE season 1 of Amphibia and I have some notes on the episodes that stood out to me! There are some quick notes, a couple lengthy analyses and even some headcanons sprinkled in! It's like a written stew of season 1! I'll be doing a written Amphiba stew for season 2 too!!

It's kinda long so you could just skip this or hit the keep reading button and give it a read! 

S1: E2 Cane Crazy

Anne shows general disregard over other people's things

(Mimicking Hop Pop and breaking his cane, throwing all the wood carving things that Loggle made, even a coo coo clock that she even said was nice (And for him to say it took 20 years to make right after she broke it))

S1: E2 Flood, Sweat and Tears 

Anne would be the WORST during sleepovers and I LOVE IT!!! My girl is just being a tween, staying up late, playing would you rather and keeping everyone else up. I think that's ADORABLE and now I'm thinking about how sleepovers might've been back home with her, Sasha and Marcy… 

She also just stays up late in general?? She reads dumb magazines and eats CRUNCHY snacks. She is really just 13,,,

And it looks like Sprig does it too, not as much as Anne (probably because he is younger than her) but it seems like it has to be in his terms. Before, he looked to be annoyed with it when he was trying to sleep. But, if he was awake, like in the beginning or at the end of the episode, he had no problem staying up playing would you rather!!! 

S1: E3 Hop Luck 

Anne: Old things are dumb! 

And 

Anne:* violently GRABS Sprig and shoves him against the wall* don't you DARE talk about pineapple in my pizza… Ever…

Anne: 

Sprig: 

Anne: Okay! Let's go get these ingredients! 

HHHH ANNE!!! I love this funky little child SO MUCH!!! 

Hop Pop loves these kids so much that he was willing to put aside his old, traditional family recipes in exchange for making pizza with them. My heart is gonna explode I'm-

Anne please don't make your surrogate frog brother get married just to get some pizza dough I'M BEGGING YOU-

S1: E3 Stakeout 

Hop Pop: I'm a crisp 68!

Is Hop Pop actually 68 or does he mean more of 68 going on 80 68? Either way he looks great! 

Anne has Blam Berry Blitz ("the drink that punches you in the face and doesn't stop") in her bag along with all the OTHER stuff we already saw (air pump, toe nail clipper, pencils, cat toys, bath bombs, etc)

Anne is officially those friends that have EVERYTHING in their bag no matter what. 

I really like the relationship between Anne and Hop Pop, how they both in some way yearn for what was but in different ways (Anne wanting to go home and Hop Pop's olden ways when he was a little pollywog) but are still similar in how they try to remember. They try and try and try to keep what little family/friends they have safe and protected. They love the relationships they've formed with other people (And with each other) and would go great lengths to help and protect them!

Also I MAY be looking way too into it buuuut was Boulder-Tron (that rock dude that Polly hallucinated at the end) supposed to foreshadow Frobo??

S1: E4 Taking Charge 

Okay quick one, Anne nearly having a whole ass panic attack when her phone dies because she couldn't look at her photos or videos of home actually made me sad. This girl is only a CHILD and her entire home and everything is gone and she for real thought she couldn't ever get it back,,, 

Hop Pop: I mean, the part where the island itself is revealed to actually be…!

Sprig: No! 

Polly: Don't!

Anne: Spoilers 

I dunno why and again, I MIGHT BE LOOKING TOO DEEPLY INTO THIS, but maybe this is foreshadowing something with the land of Amphibia? That maybe there is more to this crazy land than we know? Maybe even a reason it, along with all the other universes even exists??? 

S1: E5 Breakout Star 

AHSBWJOA ONLY EPISODE 5 AND ANNE ALREADY HAS HER PHONE'S LOCK SCREEN OF THE PLANTER FAMILY I'M-

S1: E7 Dating Season 

Anne said that ⅔ of ALL soul mates start out as "just friends" 

…

I'm looking at you, team Sashannarcy 

S1: E7 Anne vs. Wild 

Hop Pop's behavior at the end of the episode when Anne finally shows them the calamity box is awfully sus…

He doesn't say anything but "may I?" To inspect the box and then is like "Nope, never seen it" I just feel like he knows something and then adding onto it with the whole burying it to protect his family just sounds like… he definitely knows something, maybe not a lot but there is something he's not telling the others 

Also, why would a book that HE has have information on the Calamity box?? 

(I fully support the Dr. P was a Planter and also possibly the pink frog who was friends with King Andrias theory)

S1: E10 Toad Tax 

At this point, Anne said that she has already been in Amphibia for over a month now. 

(And damn, Sasha's been in prison for like a month,,, yikes)

Also Hop Pop teaching Anne how to pay taxes is so adorable, she really is part of this family now guys,,,

And I love how Anne was able to win over the Wartwood people by being her natural, charming and not to mention caring self. Anne, like Marcy and Sasha, can be selfish because honestly what kid, especially a 13 year old, isn't. 

But what matters is that she always tries to make up for it. 

Yes she did join the arguably sketchy toads into getting the taxes from everyone in order to feel somewhat included in ANYTHING, but while she was doing it, she knew it was wrong. Anne knew it was wrong and tried to give back some of the stolen stuff. Hell, even at the end she risked her safety to protect people she felt didn't even LIKE her, like, Anne literally broke her arm from them because that's just how Anne is. 

S1: E10 Prison Break 

I always forget how like,,, SUPER cunning Sasha is. I mean, she was able to talk FIVE toads into quitting within a WEEK as a PRISONER. Like?? 

Grime: That's not a bird. It's a heron, a murderous predator that happens to love the taste of flesh 

Sasha: Cute 

The lines in this show I'M-

So Anne was a varsity tennis player and Sasha was a cheerleader and did Tai Chi. I still can't believe they were both jocks,,, 

(Well, Sasha I get but Anne? Sweet ol' lil baby with the lanky limbs Anne???) 

Hey um, why the FUCK does Grime have acid spit?

Sasha: *looking at photo of her, Anne, and Marcy* Hold on for a little longer, girls. I'm coming for you. And when I find you, we're gonna get home. But first, I think we're gonna have some fun with this place 

Okay so this line right here. Now I may not be even remotely correct but this line, this last piece of dialogue spoken by Sasha right before the episode ends leads me to believe that she… doesn't take this world seriously. 

At least not yet. 

I think the 3 girls all see Amphibia differently: Anne as more of an obstacle, a wall preventing her from being home, Marcy sees it as an escape from her life with constant stimuli, and Sasha, she sees it as just really another thing to control. Everyone and their mothers know that Sasha can be a little more than controlling and we all know that she liked being lieutenant just a little too much. 

This world is interesting to Sasha, not in the interesting that Anne sees it (who is interesting in the new people and the relationships she's formed) or Marcy (who is also interested in the relationships she's formed along with the thirst for knowledge and again, the constant stimuli in an environment where she isn't stifled and allowed to flourish). 

No, Sasha sees Amphibia as interesting because it gives her something to control. In a world that is not your own, a world that you will leave eventually, who would actually FOLLOW the rules put in place there? Especially a 13 year old who is basically like a war commander who, even if she does do something wrong or breaks a rule or two, the only person who might even dare to stop her is Grime, and even then, he might just encourage it because it is season 1 and they aren't that close and he doesn't really care for Sasha at this point. 

She also is actually very logical. Everything she does in Amphibia, all the morally questionable things she does, it is always for the same reason (or at least at first), to get her and her girls home. Wanting to sacrifice and kill Hop Pop at the end of season 1? Well The toads had promised if she helped, they'll help her find Marcy and bring the 3 of them home. She cares for Anne and Marcy SO MUCH that she is willing to go great lengths to help keep them safe. 

But even though Sasha didn't really care about anyone in Amphibia besides Anne and Marcy at first, it doesn't mean she won't ever. We see countless times throughout season 2 of Sasha caring. She feels regret with her impending betrayal on Anne and Marcy, she cares enough to try and warn Anne about King Andrias' evil plans. Hell, even in the season 3 intro we see her and Grime at Wartwood and it looks like they're gonna be starting another rebellion against the king to help all the amphibians in Amphibia. 

I just really like watching Sasha's appearance and knowing what will happen in the future with her character. 

S1: E13 Trip to the Archives 

Anne: I get this place. It's like a library from my world. Zoo books and manga, here I come! 

So whenever Anne goes to the library, presumably with Sasha and Marcy, she'd go straight to books on animals and manga probably while Marcy did whatever work they needed (if Anne's dialogue in season 2 with Marcy always doing the work for their group projects was anything to go off on)

I dunno, I think that's kinda cute that Anne liked reading books on animals and probably reading all the manga that Marcy recommended. 

Maybe Anne and Sasha would sit right next to each other while Marcy worked and read fun manga together and cackle with each other while Marcy tried SO HARD to concentrate and NOT infodump to them because she's read that specific manga 20 times and HAVE YOU GOTTEN TO THAT ONE PART WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER GOES- 

S1: E15 Wally and Anne

MOSS MAN!! 

When Anne wakes up in the middle of the night and goes to grab Wally at town square, her hood is up and it's dark. The only thing we can make out of her face are…

Glowing blue eyes.

Glowing eyes that share an uncanny resemblance to the moss men.

And Anne loves doing elaborate, silly handshakes? That's so CUTE! Too bad none of her friends liked them as much as she did :( 

When they finally reached the foggy mountain place, Anne noticed glowing blue butterflies and started to follow them, which led her right to the moss man.

WAIT ANNE ALSO DID ROCK CLIMBING BACK HOME?? FUCKING JOCK!!!

S1 E20 Reunion 

Okay I WAS about to say that there wasn't anything to say about this last episode that hasn't already been said before BUT

The last couple moments, when Anne is holding Sasha off the cliff and trying to pull her up with the Planters, there's a couple interesting shots that I would like to talk about. 

While the Planters were holding onto Anne, they say things like "Hang on, Anne! We got you no matter what!" 

And even when the stone cliff starts to chip and break, none of the frogs back off, they don't loosen their grips, they just keep holding onto Anne. 

And they will never let go. 

Because they love her. Because in only 3 months, Anne was able to get a surrogate frog family and dozens of other frog friends in Wortwood. Because Anne has this amazing support system both literally and metaphorically. Because Anne is Anne. And Sasha...

Isn't like Anne. 

Matt Bradly himself even said that both Sasha and Anne are different from Anne, Anne is the heart, the emotional connection in their logical worlds. Anne can make so many friends so easily and Sasha… Sasha became a war genral, she lost a fight against the one person who she thought would never fight back. 

Sasha doesn't have what Anne has. She doesn't have the kind of skills to make such strong relationships, the kind where you risk your life for the other, in such a short amount of time. 

Hell, they even play a song called "Lean on Me", Anne has people to lean on and they would lean on her just the same. She found these people, made these friends, formed amazing relationships, in only THREE months. 

"Maybe you're better off without me"

And Sasha was only dragging her down. 

Sasha loves Anne, she cares for her and would do anything to protect her. That's why she let go. She didn't want to drag Anne down, to hurt her more than she already has. 

Sasha would do anything for Anne, even die. 

Over all notes: 

Season 1 is SUPER FUNNY!! The lines hit and they don't rely on toilet humor to get the audience to laugh. They use great one liners and physical humor that isn't fart or butt jokes. They do an excellent job on showing how crazy the world of Amphibia is through humor like how the animals are always eating each other. 

I really like how the characters were crafted so carefully! And the storyline!!! You could notice things that get explored in season 2 and I can't WAIT to see how many bread crumbs were left to lead up to season 3!

HOW DOES ANNE KEEP SO MANY THINGS IN HER BOOK BAG??? 

That stuff is in her SCHOOL BAG, why would she bring it to school??? So far I've got an air pump, toe nail clippers, pencils, cat toys, bath bombs and an energy drink. WHY??? I wonder if she held on to any of Sasha or Marcy's things too or ever forgot to give them back

Also again, I'M STILL IN SHOCK OF ANNE BEING A JOCK. I don't even know why I am, I knew she played sports and stuff it's just,,, she's so lanky,,, 

Her and Sasha are jock buddies and WILL shove other jocks in lockers if they ever pick on their nerd Marcy.

I also am in LOVE with Hop Pop's screams lmao

Be ready for an analysis of season 2! 

#amphibia #anne boonchuy #hopadiah plantar #hop pop #sprig planter #polly planter #sasha waybright #Marcy wu #season 1 #analysis #my ramblings

[love-hope-faith-feels-like-a-lie]

Another one for you! What are your five "go to" GG episodes you find the most rewatchable? They Shoot Gilmores and The Lorelais' First Day at Yale are definitely both on my list, but I'm still trying to pick just three more from the zillion other episodes I love :)

Thank you for this. I really appreciate it💕 Right off the bat I’m going to apologies for how long this is. I couldn’t keep it to just five episodes and I had a need to explain why these are my most rewatchable episodes.

1) Forgiveness and Stuff (1x10) I’m such a sucker for Luke being there for his girls. The way he gives Taylor, the guy he’s thrown a frying pan at because he’s annoying and he hates him, the keys to his establishment just shows how much he cares and knew Lorelai needed him. It makes me happy. Plus it’s where we get the classic blue hat. Lorelai saying Luke always looks good and Luke saying “I can’t imagine anyone seeing you as a disappointment.” Such cute moments in this episode.

2) Dead Uncles & Vegetables (2x17) Just as I love Luke being there for his girls, I equally love when Lorelai and Rory are there for him. Luke and Lorelai are a cute married couple in this episode (and pretty much all episodes really) and you can’t convince me otherwise. Also, don’t we all just love the way Rory makes Jess help out. It’s so funny seeing him just let her and we all know he’s loving it.

3) A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving (3x09) If you don’t join in when everyone is chanting ‘Jackson,’ then you haven’t been watching this episode right. I love getting to watch the girls go through their Thanksgiving traditions, especially Lorelai and Luke’s. The Lane and Dave moments are cute! The girls eating with Luke and Jess is adorable and they all look like a cute happy family. I adore the fact that Lorelai takes food from Luke’s plate. I’m telling you these people have been married since day one. Plus it’s Jess and Rory’s first Thanksgiving together as a couple and ain’t that cute! I love drunk Sookie! She’s funny and I can’t help but say her lines with her.

4) A Tale of Poes and Fire (3x17) It’s super fun seeing Michel interacting with Miss Patty and Babette. Lorelai screaming ‘Stella’ for Luke to come to the window is always fun to watch. But the best part is Lorelai telling Luke about her dream and how they smile while discussing it. Lorelai not being about to tell Luke that they kissed in her dream because it hits too close to home brings out the feels. Oh and Rory’s going to Yale!

5) The Fundamental Things Apply (4x05) Luke and Lorelai’s first movie night. I love how Lorelai teases Luke about not having watched many movies and not knowing what the FBI warning is. It’s so fun to watch. I love how comfortable they both look while they sit and watch Casablanca. Luke helping Rory out with her awkward date is cute, and a little Dad moment which fuels my ‘Luke has always been a father figure to Rory’ feels. The best moment is when Luke is sleeping on their couch and Rory says, ‘He looks comfy there, doesn’t he?’ and Lorelai looks like she doesn’t want to think about how comfy Luke looks because she doesn’t want to admit how much she likes seeing him there. And I’m definitely reading way too into that look but it makes me happy so it counts. 

6) The Incredible Sinking Lorelais (4x14) The proud and happy smile on Lorelai’s face when she’s looking at the gum wrapper with the Dragonfly’s first reservation makes it worth watching this episode. She’s adorable and I’m so proud of her. Lorelai wearing her Bon Jovi hat and Luke commenting on it is fun. The best part about this episode has to be, as Lorelai puts it ‘the meltdown in the park’ moment. Lauren Graham is so good at emotional scenes (and pretty much everything this woman does) that it always hits me when Lorelai is breaking down. Of course I love the fact Luke instantly knows something is wrong when he sees her and he’s there to comfort and support her. 

7) Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out (6x8) Lorelai jonesing for her colours is super fun and cute. Colin and Finn are funny when they’re drunk. ‘I’ve forgotten how to get into a car,’ always cracks me up. Then he appears. The man of the hour. Yes, Jess Mariano. It’s nice to have Jess back for this episode. I alway forget how much I love his interactions with Rory until I watch them again. I’m super proud of all he’s done and seeing him come back, showing his book to Rory and telling her that he couldn’t have done it without her is such a beautiful moment. Probable one of my favorite between the two. And of course seeing Jess questioning Rory and being able to wake her up and make her realise that she’s not acting like herself is the best. All that said, the part which I just love is when Paul Anka gets sick and Lorelai is in Rory’s room watching him sleep. Once again Lauren is just incredible and makes my heart hurt at hearing Lorelai say she's a bad mother. Luke being there to comfort her is an added bonus, especially the way he touches her hair to comfort her. 

8) Santa’s Secret Stuff (7x11) I know what you’re thinking, how is a season 7 episode where Lorelai and Chris are still together on my most rewatchable list? Well let me tell you why. I love getting to hear about Lorelai and Rory’s Christmas traditions, such as how they put green and red M&M’s in their cereals on Christmas day (which I did last year and let me tell you it be yummy) and getting to see the girls go through those traditions is nice. Gigi isn’t my favorite character (honestly have no opinion on the kid) but she’s adorable when she copies Lorelai as she says ‘The redcoats are coming.’ The fact Lorelai doesn’t think twice about helping Luke with the character reference warms my heart to no end and is just super cute. Talking about cute, Luke and April! These cuties! Always love any Papa Luke moment. Luke being a Dad is so cute to watch and I love April (just hate what the writers did with her storyline in season 6 but that’s a rant for another day). Love that she’s 60% atheist and 40% agnostic. This girl is so quirky and I’m so here for it. What makes this episode one of my most rewatchable episodes is that scene between the girls and Luke and April when they’re all out shopping. This scene is amazing because it shows how much Luke cares for Rory. He’s always cared about her and throughout the years has always given her gifts for her birthday and holidays and maybe they weren’t the best gifts, but the love is what counts especially since Luke finds going out to buy presents such a daunting task. It just makes me happy seeing how much Rory means to him. What makes me love this scene is the smile and just the look on Lorelai’s face. If that look doesn’t show how much she loves and admires Luke then I clearly need new glass. (side note: I actually do need new glasses but that’s besides the point lol) 

9) I’d Rather Be In Philadelphia (7x13) This episode just really shows how great Luke is. The fact the moment he finds out about Richard being at the hospital he just had to go and see if everyone is okay, to see if Lorelai is okay is next level cute and just reminds me why Luke is always going to be the better man. Yes, he has issues and has dealt with somethings in ways that I just want to punch him so hard his hat starts spinning like Daffy Duck's beak, but he’s always there for his girls even when he’s not with Lorelai which just further shows how much he cares and is generally such a great guy. I love that Luke let’s Emily give him chores to do and that it kinda feels like he’s part of the family because he’s helping out, but then I remember he’s not and that hurts. I love that he comes back with food and a fish bag. He’s a cutie. Love that Lorelai is happy to see him. Logan is there for Rory which is nice to see. It’s interesting to see how everyone deals with Richard being in the hospital this time around compared to in Season 1, mostly Emily. All her moments especially when she has a little breakdown in front of Lorelai, and then her talk with Richard hurts to watch but in a really good way.

10) It’s Just Like Riding a Bike (7x19) Lorelai’s dress at the start of this episode is the only reason I rewatch this episode endlessly. Ah well that and some other things too, I guess but mostly the dress. When Lorelai calls Sookie, that whole scene I personally feel like it presents a parent having to deal with sick children so well. Sookie’s place being a mess, her sniffing what I’m hoping is milk from the kid’s bottle and using it for her coffee, and also picking a lollipop from the tablecloth is really how life looks like for a parent just in general, let alone when their kids are sick. So it’s refreshing seeing this being presented in a realistic way. Luke and Lorelai car shopping is awkward but I love every moment of it, especially when Luke starts ranting and then they starts bickering. The smile on Lorelai’s face. Lord take the wheel because my heart can’t deal with the cuteness. The smile screams ‘I have him back’ to me and I love how happy she is about that. Luke doing everything in his power to make Lorelai be able to have her old car is just sweet, and have I forgotten to mention that this guy is just the best? I love it. 

Okay, I’m finally done and the fact you’ve gotten to the end of this is amazing. It was hard to narrow it down to just these because there are a lot of episodes I love and rewatch often, like a bunch from season 4 and 5 but these just happen to be the ones I go to when wanting to rewatch an episode. It really only occured to me once I was done that I have no season 5 episodes on this list and more season 7 ones which I’m not even sure why that’s the case but it is. They Shoot Gilmores and The Lorelais' First Day at Yale is definitely episodes I watch often, especially because they both have cute moments: ‘Another kid might be nice’ and 'Rory says thanks for everything, too,’ are some. Thanks again for the ask, It was a fun distraction. 💕

#ask #gilmore girls #lorelai gilmore #rory gilmore #luke danes #luke and lorelai #jess mariano #rory and jess #L talks #more then needed