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#but I'm not mad because I'm 19 and I'm way to young to be a good writer soooooooo
irregularbillcipher · 7 months
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i do think it's funny how many people in the lisa fandom seemed to go "oh nern is one of the oldest party members," because it's something i've seen sort of consistently. i know he had a wife (god rest her soul) and they seem to have been married a while, so he had to have been an adult long before the flash, but he's not the only one who was married-- the DE even implies that olan's children reached adulthood pre-flash so there's a strong possibility olan is meant to be older than nern but everyone just assigned nern as the group's resident Old Man
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refusetobesilent · 5 months
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It's very very unfortunate that I never had friends growing up. And when I say I had no friends, I mean from the day I was born until I was 17, already moved out, I did not have a single friend in my life. Some people have said that it's because of autism, which has since been ruled out, but I think it's because I grew up in a very isolated family - deeply religious immigrants.
Anyway, that's not the point here. The point here is that first friend I ever had in my life, when I was 17, moved to the East Coast shortly after coming out, all alone in a completely unfamiliar place where I knew no one. A trans woman who was nearly a decade older than me, who decided that she wanted a relationship. I wasn't willing to give her that because first, I wasn't attracted to her, and second, she was just too old for me. I was a teenager, and she was almost 30.
But still, I wanted to be nice, and kind, and I did want a friend. So I talked to her and she became my first friend. And there's a lot of things that she did during that time that are extremely messed up, none of which I'm prepared to share with anyone, especially not in a public place like this.
But here's one thing she did. She taught me what friendship looks like, what you're supposed to do as a friend. She was, after all, my first friend. But she was a dangerous person, a manipulative one that didn't have my best interests in mind. Only hers.
So I learned that friendship means doing whatever you're told, unquestioningly. Just like church! And when your friend isn't talking to you, it's not because she's busy. She's mad and you should be terrified of what's coming for you later. And similarly, if you're busy (if you're in class, for example) and you don't respond to her texts, you have to apologize and beg for forgiveness because you made her think something was wrong.
Now eventually I dragged myself away from her, but those lessons are still there. I don't know what's correct and what's her trying to hurt me, I have no other frame of reference. I try to make new friends, but whatever social anxiety I had before is so much worse now because everything, to me, seems like a warning sign. Everything makes my brain scream that something's wrong and I will suffer for it. I don't want to burden more people with what I know is just leftover trauma from my first 19 years of life, but one of these days I will have to learn properly how friendship is meant to work.
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arandomdai · 3 months
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Persephone Lost Herself To Marriage
⚠️ Warning: I'm just saying my opinions (and theories) like everyone else. So put your tin foil hats on, it's going to be a LONG read. Enjoy!!!⚠️
• The Realization
This was/is a cry for help. She's finally admitted something that we (some of us) already noticed. The fact that she's so worried about her blue corpse of a man's feelings, while in denial about killing hundreds if not thousands of mortals in seconds...is nasty work. Like okay you don't know yourself, good we are getting somewhere. But are you willing to change your ways like finally admitting that your Mom was right, Minthe was right (about you and your man), Zeus was right (where he says they didn't know each other long), finally realize your selfish and a murderer, etc. Like I wanna see the change, not this boohoo act. And speaking of Demeter, she is a little bit at fault for why Persephone acts like this. If she would've told her about being a FG, teach her how to defend herself, help her control her powers or help make her own decisions, none of this wouldn't happen. Now Persephone (this her own fault here)is trapped with guilt, a blu gru, and a whole population of shades coming in. Once this is over, I pray to God that she wakes up, and leave that man, live in the mortal realm, and hopefully come to terms/works on herself to know who she is because her being a Queen is not one of them.
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•Hades Is Her Downfall
This man never loved her. He wanted to sleep with her knowing he had a girlfriend (Minthe at the time) and when she was only 19 years old !!!(smdh 🤢😒), somehow he shows up in her nightmare saying, "I Know That I Can Smell Your Ambitions As They Rot At Your Feet.", he didn't let Persephone tell him what happened, lies about everything, disrespects Demeter, never gave Thanatos a real apology, never actually going to therapy, etc, need I say more? This man genuinely hates powerful women. He sabotaged Demeter's right to rule the mortal realm, gets angry when women stand up for themselves, preys on the vulnerable and young, dangles money over them, had an affair with Hera behind his brothers back, etc, and Persephone still thinks he's husband material... chile. Like how come she doesn't see those horrible qualities and notice that he brings out the worst in her? Real men don't treat women like this. To be fair, that first genocide she caused was all her fault, like yes they were playing in her face, but she didn't need to start killing people. But you know what she did, she was willing to help the shades get into the Underworld (and he was mad about that 😒). Now we're on to our second genocide, and this man was the cause of this as well (mostly her fault but still). The fact he said "I can't stop her from trying." Like yes you can Blunocchio 🙄. I'm so tired of him, and his evil ways. Persephone really needs to understand that man was never in her corner, and if he was, he would've left her alone from the very beginning. The lesson is don't EVER let a man be your downfall and try to make you feel powerless. If he can't take how powerful you are, he was never the one and he's an insecure a**hole.
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• There Was Always Someone
Hydros tried to warn Gaia
People thought Rhea was stupid for loving Kronos
Probably someone close to the Missing Goddess tried to warn her
Demeter warned Persephone
Do we see the pattern? Constantly losing yourself in love with abusive men, getting your powers drained because they wanted to prove that they were worth loving, and trying to prove the haters wrong (looking at you author)? Well, yes. Persephone had her twenties to look forward to (school, TOGEM, and starting her future), but made a man child the #1 priority. Had her thirties (self reflection, getting her shit together, realize she can do bad by herself.), but still managed to keep him in the #1 priority slot, instead of her and her own mother. Like does she not get that her mom is her real best friend? These fertility goddesses (excluding Metis 🤢) wish that they would've listened to those people/or families, and saw from their point of view that their men weren't no good, and go from there. Like did Persephone ever think about what Zeus told her ( his back story about what happened to Rhea), nope. Just ignored it because she never listens, and loves finding out the hard way 🙄😒. If the author wanted a real ('cause let's be honest, it's not) feminist retelling, she could've had Persephone look at the fertility goddesses differently, Seeing there struggles, learn that Demeter just didn't want to see her get hurt, and walk away from him (but in a perfect world I guess 🫤). Remember y'all there is always someone in your corner that is looking out for you and/or showing they love you.
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• Persephone's Fate
Until she starts listening to the right people, know how to think for herself, and realize that man ain't crap, she's doomed. Years from now, she's going to be trapped in a marriage full of regrets and shattered dreams, sparkling and useless if you will. Hades will continue to use and abuse her. Hell, wouldn't be surprised if he started cheating on her like he cheated on Minthe. Also, wouldn't be shocked if she becomes the next Hera, after all she was just her stand in. Hades would take most of her powers, someone defeats him, and puts him in prison somewhere, she starts seeing him, and no one else can. Would that be something? I mean he was in her dreams telling her that her ambitions will rot. Also people wouldn't want to come around her, and she gotta live with that for the rest of her life. Demeter, lasion, and her son living life to the fullest, so who can she call? She is stuck in a tragic cautionary tale of a fertility goddess. Someone that wanted to prove the haters wrong, wanted to be worthy of loving, and a victim of a man's abuse and manipulations.
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Halloween prompts no. 19
Danny is flung into a new dimension by Skulker and they continue to fight above a strange city. Danny makes sure to end it quickly after that in case he attracts the attention of yet another person or group of people who want to hurt him for whatever reason..
He flies into a nearby building only to discover a freaky mad scientists lab and finds a clone of someone named "Robin". The clone was appearently a baby that they were planning on brainwashing and raising in a cult like setting to kill the "Bats"
"Jee, is the rodent problem that bad?!" Either way he decides to kidnap the baby and destroy everything in a blaze of glory. No child soldiers on his watch. No siree! He then portals his way home.
What he did not count on was him immediately running into his parents in his ghost form with a very alive baby in his arms. They stared eachother down in uncharacteristic silence, one afraid that they would hurt the baby with thier reckless firing and the others staring slack jawed cause why does he have a baby?!
The whole of Amity Park is also asking this question. Many assume its his, despite his age because teenages parents do exist, plus phantom kept calling it "his" baby so...
Others are worried that he might have just taken a baby from a dangerous environment and decided to keep it not realizing how much work a baby is. (Spot on) Both theories raise questions about how ghosts view families and how they reproduce. Upon asking Phantom he turned bright green, made a witty one liner and bolted.
Frostbite calls Danny in to give a check up to both him and the baby and uses this time to get a DNA sample from the child, and with a bit of ghostly magic he tracks down the parents and contacts them by straight up ringing thier doorbell. He and Alfred get along immediately.
Eventually Frosty tricks Phantom into coming back to Gotham and reveals the babies paternity in front of the batfam and the bird in question (whichever one) is freaking out a bit, "I'm too young to be a father!" style and Dannys like, "Cool. Cause I have no intention of sharing! Byeeee!" Before vanishing. Frostbite wants a nap.
Cue batfam following Phantom back to his dimension via Frostbite only to discover various people in Amity Park have also grouped together armed with ghost hunting gear to capture Phantom and get the baby away from him. Yeah, they know the kid has good intentions but hes only 14 and its not good for him or the baby. So they're effectively acting like undead CPS.
About time.
Anyway, Danny realizes he can't revert to his living form because his ecto signature would still ping on the equipment as Phantom and thats not something he wants to explain right now. Or possibly ever. With that being said he refuses to abandon his child. Hes only had them for two weeks and they're already his whole world.
Sam keeps telling him this was stupid and even Tuckers concerned. "How will you take care of a baby, dude? You can't even balance your hero life with you real life" Okay, fair. Jazz then started talking to him about talking to the babys father to at least get some help raising them and Danny finally agreed. For the baby's sake.
Bruce is so relieved when he finally gets to see his grandchild safe and sound.
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bridgertonbabe · 5 months
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I love your bridgerton siblings support group chat.
What would be in the group chat the morning after the families Monopoly night ended in a screaming match with several death threats?
BSSG Group Chat
Sophie:
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Lucy:
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Phillip:
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Michael: Well at least we got the game night out of the way for this year 🙃
Penelope: and thanks to last night we can dissuade them from having one for another couple of years
Penelope: I hope 🙏
Kate: Wait what?
Kate: Are you serious?
Kate: Last night wasn't that bad!
Gareth:
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Lucy: I...
Sophie: Kate
Sophie: Sweetie
Simon:
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Sophie: In what world was last night not that bad????
Kate: Oh you guys are being so dramatic!
Penelope: Kate
Penelope: you do understand that a trip to a+e is the epitome of a bad night
Penelope: right?
Penelope: please tell me you get that
Kate: Yeah but it was only the one casualty this time!
Kate: So it was a way better night than the Cluedo incident of '19
Lucy: i'm sorry
Lucy: THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME A GAMES NIGHT HAS ENDED IN A TRIP TO A&E???????????????
Michael: Ah Lucy
Michael: So young
Michael: So innocent
Michael: So pure of heart
Sophie: Wow I had forgotten all about the Cluedo incident. I genuinely think I had repressed it.
Phillip: Lucky you.
Phillip: Btw Simon how much was the vase that El broke? I'll Venmo you.
Simon: Honestly Phil don't stress about it.
Simon: I hated that vase anyway.
Phillip: Are you sure?
Simon: Yeah and besides Daph's never gonna learn otherwise that this is always going to happen when she decides to host game night.
Gareth: also apologies about hy
Gareth: i wasn't aware she would bring her penknife to a fucking games night
Gareth: but more fool me
Penelope: Gareth we can't control our spouses
Michael: No matter how much we'd like to.
Penelope: So don't beat yourself up about it x
Lucy: so none of you are going to expand on what happened with Cluedo?????
Lucy: just how many people had to go to a&e that night?????
Lucy: how long into the night did it all descend into chaos????????
Lucy: why would any of you allow a games night to happen again after that???????????????????????????
Sophie: Lucy, were you under the impression that any of us wanted to be there last night?
Kate: I wanted to be there!
Michael: Community note: Kate suffers from a mental illness which only flares up in competitive circumstances.
Kate: Fuck off Michael!
Lucy: well at the very least you guys could have warned me about it!!!
Gareth: i did warn you about it
Lucy: gareth sending me this
Lucy:
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Lucy: is not warning me about it
Gareth:
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Gareth: i-
Gareth: please tell me you get the reference?
Gareth: if this is the way i find out you have never seen the film
Lucy: relax i know it's get out
Lucy: i understood
Lucy: i just thought you sent it as a joke because of how family game nights can be in general
Lucy: you never specified the severity of a bridgerton game night
Gareth: see for me sending you the pic was a warning about the severity of a bridgerton game night
Penelope: Also Gareth's warning aside, I did tell you to brace yourself when you arrived last night.
Lucy: again i thought you guys were joking
Michael: Did you miss Phil catatonic in the corner before the monopoly board had even been set up?
Michael: Or the fact Simon was half-cut from pre-gaming?
Sophie: Or the mad glint in each of the Bridgertons' eyes?
Lucy: ok fine
Lucy: perhaps i willfully ignored all the warning signs
Lucy: i was naive
Simon: Look don't stress Lucy, we've all been there.
Phillip: Yeah at some point we were all young and naive about game nights before we met the bridgertons
Michael: Not Kate tho
Kate: Fuck off, I'm not that bad!
Simon: ...
Simon: Kate I know it was you who keyed my car last night.
Gareth:
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Lucy:
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Phillip:
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Michael: Fucking hell Kate
Kate: What
Kate: Simon
Kate: No
Kate: That wasn't me!
Simon: Multiple people saw you.
Kate: Like who?
Sophie: Me
Kate: Sophie you're mistaken
Sophie: I can assure you I'm not
Kate: No, you're mistaken. Besides you were too busy crying last night to see things properly, the tears must have distorted your vision.
Penelope: I also saw you.
Penelope: You were not discreet.
Kate: Pen I have no idea what you're talking about.
Phillip: Not Kate in her gaslight era
Simon sent a video
Gareth: ayyy lmao talk your way out of that one
Kate: You filmed me???
Kate: While somebody was getting loaded into an ambulance???
Sophie: Bitch you were keying a car while somebody was being loaded into the ambulance!!!!!!!!!!
Michael: Wow now you've gone and done it
Michael: Provoking Sophie into using bitch
Kate: Instead of filming me why didn't you just stop me???
Simon: I wasn't the one filming you.
Simon: Amelia was.
Gareth:
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Michael: welp
Penelope: 😬
Kate: Ok look I'm really sorry, that was really out of line of me to key your Audi, I took things too far, especially when it was your car and not Daphne's.
Kate: But in my defence
Simon has left the chat.
Sophie has removed Kate from the chat.
Sophie has added Simon to the chat.
Sophie: Don't worry I removed her.
Simon: Thanks Soph x
Sophie: I'll leave her in time out for a couple of days and then add her back.
Michael: She never learns.
Lucy: ...
Lucy: are you telling me kate's been removed from the gc because of game nights before????
Phillip:
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vorpalfae · 21 days
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I'm just curious is there anything that you have in common with alice liddell to make you the "irl alice liddell" other than looking like her? I see it appearance wise but I was just wandering if you actually relate to her as a person/character...
Yes!! A big reason why she means so much to me is because I have so much in common with her & I've felt such a deep connection to her character ever since I played the first Alice game.
Trigger warning! some of our similarities include very sensitive topics 💜
we both were sent away to Asylums
we both were abused / mistreated at the Asylums
I also had a toy rabbit that i loved dearly but was taken away from me when we were thrown out of our home (along with a lot of my other childhood belongings)
we both have a sister named Lizzie
we both have been manipulated and made to believe we were insane by people we trusted. for her it was Bumby and for me it was my own mother, sadly.
we both have experienced psychosis or hallucinations
we both have been given medication / treatment against our will
we both have self-harmed
we both have experienced extreme grief and survivor's guilt as a result of a loved one dying while we somehow did not.
we both have PTSD & are haunted by our trauma/past.
both of us have memories that are so painful that our brain actually forgot about them. like alice i did recover my memories but i went through dissociative amnesia for years.
we both are fond of animals
we both had a sibling who was r*ped (except in my case the person who did it also r*ped me too)
we both have used opium as a vice (except my form of it was modern day heroin)
though i never actually received shock therapy I was almost forced to undergo it because i had lost my rights to refuse treatment by being deemed "incapable of making my own medical decisions" and was scheduled for ECT treatments against my will. I was so terrified by what the patients looked like who were coming back from ECT (scabs on there upper forehead, some of them who became my friends couldn't even remember who i was, one woman had forgotten what her own daughter looked like!) and because i was so scared i ended up climbing the fence to escape the hospital while we were outside for "yard time". i am still so grateful that i made the decision to escape and i succeeded. even though i have bipolar disorder, i was only 19 and was way too young for ECT. and i later found out that many patients had been mistreated and medically abused at that same hospital. some of them had even died under "mysterious circumstances" i also had other horrific things happen to me there.
shout out to McClean Hospital! also/formerly known as Somerville Asylum and Charlestown Asylum!! if you know anyone who has attended this hospital then they most likely have some horror stories to tell.
but yeah i'm sure i have a lot more similarities with alice. these are just the things i could remember off the top of my head. her character means the world to me. hence why alice: madness returns is my ultimate comfort game. i also truly love the aesthetics in the game itself. i love bugs, rabbits, cats, strange creatures, fantastical things, the victorian era in general. so so much of what is displayed in the game is directly similar to my personal interests or IS one of my interests lol. i could go on and on about my love for the game and my love for alice but i think this post is already quite long so perhaps i should end it here😊
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I made a tier list...
please make your own!! I need to see boomer nations opinions on our man!!!! I know the tiers are actually so vile so change them if you desire :)))
OK so my quick blurb on why they are their!! (working worst to best)
28. Identity Crisis #5 - HE WOULD KILL ME FOR THE FUN OF IT. It did bring about the most random rivalry between Tim drake’s fandom and boomer's which is very funny
27. Black Lantern - Oh no… he's back… like a boomerang. Ate his own son... RIP…. L skill issue
26. Sliver Age - Would actually call me a slur and say that I don't deserve rights. He would hate crime me and then solicit me for sex. He looks like he's wearing a dress… what a pretty lady.
25. Flash TV Show - EWWWWWWWW, he though he ate...
24. DC Online - He looks like he would punch me in face at a NYC bus stop
23. White Lantern - Don't look at me like that… stop. He's back from the dead like a boomerang?? Something about most of the New 52 boomerangs don't hit the same. the bride all in white :’)
22. Young Justice - Gave me the ick. You might be thinking... he looks identical to SS hell to pay, why is he down here?? Great question… HE WAS SO CREEPY TO ONE OF THE GIRLS IN YOUNG JUSTICE….. WHO IS A MINOR!
21. Injustice Movie - Just because your in the background… doesn't save you from this list!!!
20. New 52 - Ok he's kinda hot if you look through your peripherals…Why are you wearing skinny jeans… you millennial
19. Harley Quinn TV Show - He's fine… just fine. “We’ll stack out bingo… Boomer loves an older woman” NO HE MUST LOVE ME! I AM VERY VERY MATURE FOR MY AGE
18. Flash: Sins of the Father - Can you please stop talking in the 3rd person… you are starting to sound crazy.
17. Most Wanted - I know jack shit about him. That's probably because he is barely in a comic issues THATS NAMED AFTER HIM!
16. Flash Point Paradox - His fight scene actually ate. I'm a sucker for Boomer being with the Rogues. If cyborg can take his belt off… so can I
15. Suicide Squad 2021 - Wow they somehow gave him even less lines than his first movie. 1. He doesnt look like boomer. 2. His accent is so bad… and hes AUSTRALIAN 3. His acting low key kinda mid 4. They killed off two of the only OG suicide squad members they had on the cast 5. He dies in the first 20min and in the most disrespectful way
14. Suicide Squad 2016 - The only good thing to come from this man is the fanfiction he brought. THIS FUCKING MOVIE MADE HIM A CANON BRONY WHICH I CAN NOT FORGIVE. GET THIS OUT OF MY SMUT BEFORE FREAK THE FUCK OUT >:( Fuck him and pinky too, you son of a bitch!!!! (its not that serious lol... i just want him to stop fucking a toy horse... please guys)
13. This Goober Alien Guy - I know nothing. He just kinda showed up… and I'm not mad just a little confused. He looks like he needs a hot chocolate and a hug :)))) 
12. Lego Batman Movie - Low key an icon. What I would do to get my hands on one of these sets… I would come close to killing someone for it
11. DC Lego Super Villains - If he wasn't Lego I would propose (Shane Dawson style) Once again what I would do for the very discontinued Lego set tie in…
10. Batman: Brave and The Bold - Those cheekbones could cut someone. Why are you wear a mini skirt… take it off ;)
9. Suicide Squad (comic) - Yes I know he was drinking and driving but he's not real so it doesn't count!!! The beginning of the Boomer Mobile! THE GAP TOOTH DUDE!
8. Justice League Unlimited S1 - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Ok the hairline is… bad…. But so is mine twin!! I LOVE THAT THEY GAVE HIM PROPER CLOTHES AND NOT RAGS DUDE
7. Agent of Oz - is this picture is my school profile pic...yes… and??HE'S COVERED IN BLOOD AND IM GIGGLING!!!!!!!!!!!
6. Stjepan Sejic's Boomer - Choke hold and choke me...  I want to hear his voice but he can't break his mewing streak…The ungodly things I would let him do to me
5. Dark: Apocalypse War - Constantine! Boomer! GIRLS! GIRLS!! ILL SLEEP WITH BOTH OF YOU!!! I was not expecting him in this movie so I started to freak out when he showed up DUDE. PLEASE LET ME SIT ON IT
4. Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay - I'm a ride he wouldn't survive… I DONT HAVE WORDS TO DECRIBE HOW I FEEL DUDE… I WOULD DO ANYTHING HE ASKED FOR NO JOKE. Dead on the floor
3. Justice League Unlimited S2 - The glow up in REAL... had me on my hands and knees as a 3rd grader… and still on my knees today. I have never wanted someone to fuck me in the back alleyway of a shit bar so bad in my life
2. Batman: Assault on Arkham - The one that started it all… he is the reason I am this way. no lube, no protection, all night, all day, from the kitchen floor to the toilet seat, from the dining table to the bedroom BUT GREG ELLIS IS PUBLIC ENIME NUMDER ONE. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID!!!!
AND THE BEST ONE!!!!!!!! WE ALL SAW IT COMING
1. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League - I AM GNAWING ON THE IRON BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE!!!!!! He has it all, the face, the VOICE, the look, the character!!!!! It is hands down the most consistently good representation of captain boomerang out their… and its canon that's he has a big dick :D I would sell my first born to get one night…
Thank you all for reading this word vom, I am sick in the head <3
if any of the comic issues are off or something please let me know :)
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make your our and tag me!! i need to see them <3<3<3
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fuck-customers · 8 months
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It's almost sad that when I tell my regulars I only make $14.50 an hour at a job where I do professional level graphic design and print work, they all get shocked and say I should be making more (I work at a locally owned print shop, and I love the job for the most part, I just hate how I'm rushed and hate certain clients).
WcDonads employees make more than I do. Gas station employees around here make more than I do. And I honestly feel quite jipped because I was told to go to college. Get a degree. Find a job in the field I go to school for and I'll be set (I'm one of those "zillenials," too young to be a millenial but too old to be gen z). Some people say i should be thankful, $14.50 is a lot, but cost of living where I'm at is at least $20/hr. Granted, my college is completely paid for so I don't have student loans to worry about and I'm happy I have graphic design and photography experience. But when I'm at work and I feel the bald patch from where my hair has been falling out from stress from workload, it makes me feel like I was tricked.
I'm so conflicted. Like I said. I like this job. When things aren't busy it's wonderful. But those are becoming fewer and farther between where stuff has completely reopened from Covid and more people want printing for events and sales.
And I've met wonderful people! And learned about small businesses in my community I would have never known about otherwise! I love getting to make nice designs and print beautiful art every day. One of my current friends I've met copying her artwork for her! My gifts to my family have been photo prints and even signs for my dad's workshop that I've gotten printed at a discount and they're all loved so much. And I don't have to wear a uniform - jeans and a t-shirt of my choice every day!
But I've also been yelled at over small shit like maps not being printed on time, or how the color on a flyer isn't as "vibrant as it is on screen," or told to hurry up on a yard sign that someone decided they needed today rather than next week, or have a someone chew me out because I haven't even had time to print three sheets of mailing labels because I've had to hold the hand of a very picky woman who wants her rental guest book to look "just right" yet can't be assed to learn how to use a computer on her own. I've had packages thrown at me when I've said people need to pay to ship them. People getting mad over $.20 black and white copies and $.49 color copies. People saying they're going to get their business cards from PistaVrint because it's cheaper. People come to us and act like we're tech support - "Why is my computer not opening Wicrosoft Mord?! Why is my email not sending?! Why is my phone doing this?!" Like I don't know! Take it to Bye Best!
My manager hardly gets paid any more than I do and she's been with the business for almost 30 years and drives an hour each day to come to work. I only got bumped to $14.50 after my boss overheard I was interviewing at a college print shop that would have paid me $18 an hour. He couldn't even wage match! And I didn't even get the job.
I don't have funds to move to another location where I could find a better paying job in my field, nor would I want to as my family and community are here.
There is a pillow factory here I never knew about. They're hiring various positions starting at $19 an hour. Evenings and weekends mostly off, only needed to work if they need to fill a very large order. My friend started there this week and while she says she's physically tired, the environment seems nice so far and I'm so burnt out here that I've already asked her if she can get a word in for me to start there. More pay? And way less customer interaction? I could do that! But it sucks that I feel like abandoning what I like to do because of my pay grade and the stress I feel. I wish it was all different.
Posted by admin Rodney.
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olderthannetfic · 1 year
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The teenage fandom puritanism really confuses me. To be honest I don't know what to think. For the most part, the antis I've come across aren't sex repulsed, or sex negative or anything like that, they're just extremely, extremely uncomfortable with people older than them making explicit content of characters they like. These are often characters in their late teens (17/18/19) that the teenage antis identify with.
They feel like they're still kids and minors and fragile so they project this onto their blorbos and demonize anyone basically over 20, and the outrage seems to get worse the older one gets, making explicit fan content of them.
The antis I know reblog, create, post about sexually explicit writing and fanart themselves and they give a pass to anyone 18 or under making such content but as soon as your age ticks over that magical year, it's over.
A tiny part of me can kind of see it from the point of view of a young person who's grown up in a society where hysterical reactions to everything are normal and encouraged and where pedophile is the absolute worst thing you can call someone...It seems like to their minds any adult creating fictional sexy content of a 'teen character' must be acting on some vile real life impulse to harass and abuse real life teenagers because clearly there's no separation between fiction and reality /s.
So knowing they've grown up in that sort of environment I kind of get why they'd be so scared and distrustful of any adult having fun with fictional characters but it also still blows my mind.
I remember devouring as much smutty fiction as I could when I was in high school, some of which was about teenage or young adult characters, all of which were published books written by adults, and never once did it cross my mind 'This person must be writing this story because they're getting their sick jollies imagining kids having sex' (because antis conveniently refer to anyone under 18 as a kid, as if a 17 year old was the mental and emotional equivalent of a 7 year old. They conveniently forget that adolescence exists.) Actually, the authors didn't really enter my mind at all because I'd be too busy getting lost in the story, imagining it was me the sexy times were happening to and having a very good time.
I always thought these people can write these stories because they were that age once, they know what it was like. I've always thought of writing like this, that you write because you know what it was like, not because you necessarily want to be there right now.
So this terrible fear the young antis have of adults creating written or visual content of fictional young adults having sex or thinking about sex or craving sex is kind of wild and alien to me.
I think it's something they won't understand themselves until they hit mid-20s, 30s, 40s themselves, that when adults make that sort of explicit content it's not because they are horny for teens in real life and making fiction is just some sort of cheap cope, but because they're having fun reimagining their own youth or because now that they're removed from those turbulent teenage years they can look back with fondness, or horror, and can write about that period of life with more clarity and nuance. Or maybe, just maybe, they just think the characters are roaring good fun and are trying to create some content that will bring something entertaining, meaningful and just blimmin' good to read to that same audience that wants them pilloried.
Who knows. I'm just an old person who has no business having any erotic thoughts about nothing and anything I say can be discarded ^.^
--
You give them massively too much credit.
They are emotional children who have trouble sharing their blorbos with others and who are Big Mad some older person is a better writer and/or ships their blorbo in a more interesting ship and gets way more attention for doing so.
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batrachised · 4 months
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7 and 19 for the ask game pls!!! also i’m a little curious about #2 if you’re comfortable answering that 😅
~@no-where-new-hero
i didn't remember what 2 was and looked it up curiously, intrigued by your description, and began wheezing. (2. a compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom). I can honestly say, being completely genuine, that I have never thought about it😂the seed has been planted though, so maybe I will eventually grow to have very strong opinions on this lol
7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?
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I have star wars answers, but they're so irrational they're embarrassing lol, so I'll stick with lmm. speaking very carefully because I don't want to land this in the tags or the posts and be a spoilsport, but the new tv show about Anne seems to have a lot of OOC moments to say the least, and it kind of rubs me the wrong way when people think it's an improvement. In my opinion, it's often so different it's not really the same character anymore. So, a lot of the characters from there. Also, maybe I'm just old, but the new Gil and Anne look SO young to me that I can't get into it lmao, it's one thing when they're actually young teens but they're supposed to be adults and they look fifteen to me still 😭
19. you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like…
uncle benjamin
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Blue Castle chapter 24 and 25
Cissy is the daughter the Stirlings wish Valancy had been. Pretty, sweet, meek, innocent in the ways of the world, eager to please and quick to forgive. Someone who would do as she was told and look pretty in church without outshining Olive. And, of course, Cecilia Stirling would have had no need to go out to work, and thus never would have met her child's father.
I'm struck in particular by the juxtaposition of these two passages:
From chapter 24: " And I—didn’t know—some things. I didn’t—understand. Then his father came and took him away. And—after a little—I found out—"
Back in chapter 11: " Poor Mrs. Frederick was almost in a state of collapse. She had believed—or pretended to believe—that Valancy still supposed that children were found in parsley beds."
Cissy was raised by a single father who knows perfectly well how sex works, to the point where it likely doesn't even occur to him that people aren't just born knowing where babies come from. Her other main influence was her church community, made up of people who, one assumes, do not talk about these things publicly, and certainly not to Cissy Gay. It's implied that Cissy's mother, had she lived, would have (or at least should have) taught her these things. Clearly she never learned on her own, until it was too late.
Valancy, meanwhile, knows perfectly well where babies come from, to the point where she's embarrassed to even think about wanting them. Wanting to be a mother is perfectly respectable, even laudable for a woman in Valancy's position. Wanting the process of becoming a mother is most certainly not. It's not said where Valancy learned about sex and how it works, although my vote is from Olive, who has had boyfriends and been engaged.
So meek, innocent Cissy Gay might well have been better tolerated by the Stirlings than odd, never quite fitting in properly Valancy. (Cissy would, most likely, have been utterly crushed by the Stirlings in a way that Valancy never quite was. But then again, Olive wasn't. Maybe a Cecilia Stirling who was pretty and clearly had some marital prospects because of her looks would have been treated better by the extended family, if not Mrs. Fredrick and Cousin Stickles.) And, in contrast, Valancy might well have thrived as Abel Gay's daughter. Without discounting the impact of Abel's neglect, Valancy is clearly more outspoken than Cissy, and stronger willed. She grew up in a stifling and domineering society and the second she got out she not only knew her own mind but had no fear speaking it. If she'd been left to raise herself, I think it wouldn't have taken the promise of imminent death to set that part of her free.
I have AUs in my head now. Moving on...
Other thoughts about these chapters --
I did a little bit of research into the Canadian turn of the century education system back when we learned about Olive's engagements. She graduated from college at 18, and from what I could tell, it seems like College was for students roughly 15-18ish. So if that's correct and college is the word LMM uses to mean high school age students, with University being for 18+, then Cissy's young college student would have been a teenager. Probably 18 or 19 at oldest, possibly (likely?) younger.
And Cissy went to work at the hotel "4 years previously". At 25 or 26 at time of death (since she's three years younger than Valancy, who just turned 29), she would have been ~21 at time of boyfriend. So probably older than the boy.
Given that, it's likely that the boy was probably just as surprised and horrified by the pregnancy as Cissy was. I can't even be mad at him -- he screwed up and tried to make it right by offering to marry her and Cissy turned him down. Just a bad situation all around.
Even just reading about Cissy's funeral makes me furious. No wonder Valancy hated it ad Barney refused to go.
"her slanted eyes smudged with purple" -> Another purple mention. Is LMM subtly foreshadowing that Valancy has no intention of going back to her mother's house?
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leggerefiore · 2 months
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I am feeding you some content, both as a Valentine's Day treato and because I know you've been worrying to death over how the mouth pain has impacted your content (which I'd rather you rest than burn yourself out and suffer).
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Here's my take at a Cyrus x Reader timeline. Mostly based on what's been written and discussed, but I did add a HC or two (like Cyrus falling in love 1st because that's hilarious to me. Remember how we talked about Cyrus already assuming he was already reader's BF when they confessed and asked him out? Just imagine him waiting YEARS to tell reader how long he had assumed they were already a couple and it's something ridiculous like 6 months or more. Maybe it doesn't even come out until Lenie gets old enough to have crushes of her own like 20+ years later. Comedic Gold.)
I'm doing better-ish today. Some days are more manageable than others lol. I still want to try to write when I can since it's my favourite hobby and I like writing cute things... And I'd be remiss not to write something for this lovely holiday.
Anyways, on topic to the timeline... I see a friend group mention after becoming BFFs with Cyrus, so I'd like to imagine him being weirdly jealous in his own... Cyrus flair...
His teenage years after being forcibly separated from his friend group and having to focus solely on the activities and studies that his parents want his attention on... Poor guy probably feels like he lost to Volkner in some strange way. Though, he does have his awkward moments of rebelling, certainly... He can only take so much loneliness and difficult feelings before s/o finds themselves with a wordless Cyrus at their side who clearly doesn't want to go home.
Him falling in love first could also be a product of that loneliness, but not necessarily solely that.
As for later on, I think around 18 or 19 would probably be when his parents would want to look into "arranged style" marriages for him with their business partners and it would make him go more mad about his life not being under his control. (Maybe another reason he is so obsessed with order and what not.)
I do wonder what would make his final spiral happen. Maybe one of those old business partners tries to force a marriage by doing something to s/o? Or something maybe more canonical would just be the stress on him from running such a company at a relatively young age with his already rough upbringing.
Interpol custody arc is where s/o starts making Mob Wife Tiktoks or something lmao. Saturn begs them to stop. (Poor Cyllene, though. It would be a difficult readjustment for everyone.)
Pokemas Arc aka(gi) Cyrus Is At It Again! at least Cyllene would effectively nerf his true intentions in this AU. (She gets to be a sync pair with his Rotom, so she's extra effective, too.)
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vulpixhoney · 4 months
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I'm definitely just yelling into the void but I'm sharing my Luke Castellan playlist (again) and analyzing some of my songs choices because I have. brain worms. about these books. so character study with music
I have like 8+ hours of song in this playlist bc I've been adding to it for years so here are some highlights I'm thinking about rn
1. would've could've should've - Taylor Swift
but like. it's for him and Kronos you know. "And I damn sure never would've danced with the devil. At nineteen" literally dancing with the devil at 19. Kronos has been manipulating Luke since he was 17, taking his anger at the gods and twisting it into something that Kronos could use and abuse. And I think (imo) that even before TLO when Luke sacrifices himself he starts to regret joining Kronos but is so far in it now he can't turn back. Like he was a kid, he was seventeen. And even after that he's still young. He dies at 23/24, I'm 23 right now and I can't imagine getting literally possessed and having to kill yourself bc you got manipulated at a young age and made terrible choices. also "If you never touched me, I would’ve. Gone along with the righteous" if Kronos didn't reach out to him and one of his worst moments this wouldn't have happened. Yes Luke was angry and vengeful and burning with rage for the gods but he wouldn't have gotten that far without Kronos
2. sanity - paramore
him and his descent/fall from grace, but also his relationship with Hermes and the rest of the gods. "If I fall on my knees, I hear you laughing. If I call out your name, you don't come" taking this for his relationship with the gods/Hermes: the first line is like, when he fails his quest and has to go confront them and feels like they're looking at him with pity. And they gave him a nothing quest too, it was something that had already been done by Heracles, he's being given this quest just for the sake of quest-giving, it's nothing. And then he fails, and feels like he's being mocked, mocked by the people he just wants to notice him. And then the second line shows how absent the gods are in their children's lives. When Luke confronts Hermes at 14/15 when on the run he gets mad because he would pray and call for Hermes to help him during his mom's episodes. He was a little boy calling out for help, for the something the gods caused. And it was crickets. Hermes never came, never showed, never helped him. He was just left there alone. And then also at camp, Luke was counselor of the Hermes cabin, where all the unclaimed children are shoved, to be forgotten about by the gods. "No one home, but the void is loud.Echoes around my empty house... This must be the void they always talk about" honestly I see this when he's possessed by Kronos. Like he has another being inside him, taking over, piloting his body over him. His consciousness was obviously still there bc Annabeth and Percy were able to help him break free and stop Kronos. So what was he doing, could he feel anything? Could he feel everything and not be able to do anything? It must have been terrifying, and again he would've only been like maybe 22? when Kronos possessed him
3. sidewalk chalk - Annalise Emerick
this one for me is like quintessential my feeling about Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth. In the song she sings about a childhood friend she no longer talks too but thinks about often thinks about and wishes well. I see this mostly with like Annabeth. "I'm living my dreams right now The ones we used to talk about" She grew up with him, and is now going to continue growing up without him. She probably blabbed about her dreams of being an architect the way that kids always do, and now she's the architect of Olympus and is doing really well for herself. And probably thinks back to when she was a kid with Luke and Thalia.
4. I don't like my mind - mitski
I think that his anger at the gods was driving him mad, but Kronos' influence really pushed over the edge. Also going back to before, his living in his body that another being has control over, "Inside the walls of my skull waiting for its turn to talk". Ethan tells Percy that he thinks Luke is still in there, fighting back, trying to regain control over his body and his mind. And since he definitely was, he was probably in there spiraling about how he got to that point and all that he'd done and who'd hr become. Because once Annabeth helps him break through he is obviously regretful and wants to atone. "so please don’t take, Take this job from me" job/life. but also, him working for Kronos at that point was all he had. Literally. His job for Kronos was his lite He had given everything up at that point, and Kronos would routinely threaten Luke if/when he fails. Punishing Luke with nightmares and then forcing Luke to take him as a host bc he failed during the Atlas plan.
rapid fire songs I put in the playlist that I think about a lot:
eat your young - Hozier (obviously. I mean the gods ya know)
day after tomorrow - Phoebe bridgers (he's a soldier)
save me - Noah kahan (even after everything he's done Annabeth still tries to save him)
used to be young - Miley Cyrus (he was seventeen)
bad believer - st. Vincent (he's blasphemous what can I say)
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Top 100 Best Beatles Songs warning:this is my opinion and it may not coincide with yours and this is completely normal. So please don't get mad at this list.
(I decided that it would be fair to include in this list not only songs from albums but als songs from anthologies)
100) dig it
99) free as a bird
98) three cool cats
97)my Bonnie
96) across the universe
95)yes it is
94)Anna (go to him )
93) Your Majesty
92)a taste of honey
91)money (that's what I want)
90)thing we said today
89) when I get home
88)because
87) Mr moonlight
86) no reply
85)golden slumbers
84) boys
83)sea of time
82) hey bulldog
81)dear Prudence
80)wild honey pie
79)Martha my dear
78) pigges
77)if I needed someone
76)Michelle
75)you won't see me
74) blue jay way
73) blackbird
72) yesterday
71) one after 909
70) I'm the walrus
69) strawberry fields forever
68)dig a pony
67)everybody's trying to be me baby
66) I will
65) the word
64)yer blues
63)glass onion
62) back in the U.S.S.R
61) birthday
60)happiness is a warm gun
59)why don't we do it in the road?
58)I saw her standing there
57)love me do
56) please please me
55)it won't be long
54) you really got a hold on me
53)little child
52)if I feel
51 ) I'm so happy just to dance with you
50any time at all
49) baby in black
48)hello goodbye
47) the night before
46)nowhere man
45) I'm looking trough you
44)I'm only sleeping
43) here, there and everywhere
42)good day sunshine
41)doctor Robert
40)Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
39)getting better
38) fixing a hole
37) Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
36) lovely Rita
35)only a northern song
34)yellow submarine
33) two of us
32)Maggie Mae
31)for your blue
30) she loves you
29) I want to hold your hand
28) now and then
27)maxvell's silver hammer
26)sun king
25)baby it's you
24)too much monkey business
23) young blood
22) to know her is to love her
21) I got a woman
20)get back
19) you're gonna lose that girl
18) misery
17) you're really got a hold on me
16) fool on the hill
15) good morning good morning
14) Eleanor Rigby
13) twist and shout
12)octopus's garden
11)the ballad of John and Yoko
10)oh! Darling
9) do you want to know a secret?
8)and your bird can sing
7)Lucy in the sky with diamonds
6)all you need is love
5) within you or without you
4)Norwegian wood
3) something
2) love you to
1) It's Only Love
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Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 2
Episode 19: I Know Your Secret
~The Man Cave~
It was safe to say that for Henry, shit was going down. It had been a normal school day: lessons, copious amounts of homework, Jasper being strange and a note in his locker. Not a cute, love letter from a girl in his class, nope, it was some creepy note saying that someone in school "knew Henry's secret and what he did on Wednesday night". Spooky.
Henry and Charlotte had rushed out of school and raced to the Man Cave, where they hoped that Ray, (y/n) and Schwoz would know what to do. He only had one secret and that was his secret alias as Kid Danger, meaning that someone had figured it out and now his job working for Captain Man was in danger. 
"And your one hundred percent sure you didn't tell anyone?" Ray asked his sidekick as he paced around the room and Henry sat on the couch. He was freaking out, if someone knew about Henry then that meant the kid was at risk and so was he. Schwoz was busy scanning the letter to see if he could ascertain who created it, but the beeping of the machine just made Ray more nervous.
"I told nobody!" Henry swore, knowing that he took his oath to Ray very seriously. He'd never divulge his secret willy-nilly because that was one way of a bad guy coming and killing him and his family.
"Have you sent any emails or texts messages where you mentioned that you were Kid Danger?" Ray pressed further, making (y/n) roll her eyes. If Henry said he'd told no one, then he meant no one and that extended to electronic communication.
"Oh wait, yeah, last week, I did stand on my roof naked and yelled "Hey, everybody! Look at me! I'm Henry Hart and I'm Kid Danger!" The boy shouted sarcastically, causing (y/n) to giggle as the joke went over Ray's head.
"You did that naked?" He exclaimed in confusion, taking Henry's words literally. 
"I think he was being sarcastic, Ray." (y/n) pointed out, hitting his arm as she rolled her eyes again. Her best friend was looking extra dashing today, with a white, palm tree-print shirt that stood out against his tanned skin. God, he was hot and it made her pouty knowing that she couldn't kiss him like she wanted to.
"Oh, he's joking. This is joke time for you? I'm sorry, are you Jimmy Fallon? Hey, later on, are you gonna get some tacos with Questlove?" Ray snapped at his sidekick, which made the young woman stand in front of him so he'd back off.
"Okay, calm down and stop being a dick." She told him sternly and seeing her grumpy with him made him calm down a bit. He didn't want to fall out with her, not when things had been going so great between them in the past few weeks. 
"I don't see why you're mad at me," Henry commented, not realising that he was poking the bear. Geez, he really knew how to undo all of (y/n)'s hard work of calming Ray down.
"Dude, if anyone knows you're Kid Danger, they can follow you here, they can come down here and figure out I'm Captain Man and (y/n)'s Miss Danger." The large man stressed, sitting down on the opposite side of the couch. Just the thought of some evil psycho coming into his home and threatening his girl set him on edge. What if she was alone when she was attacked? He'd never get over losing her, especially if he hadn't been around to protect her like he was supposed to.
"Oh, so this is all about you?" Henry asked indignantly, giving his boss a cold, knowing look. His gaze briefly flicked to (y/n), who was trying to keep everything from erupting, but it was no use. Ray knew Henry was taking a jibe at him for worrying about (y/n) and not him, which didn't go down very well with the man or the boy.
"No!... It's mostly about (y/n)." Ray confessed, making his sidekick groan. Henry chuckled bitterly as the young woman frowned. Why was she getting dragged into this?
"Me? Why me?" She questioned, sitting on the back of the sofa as she gave her best friend a puzzled look. 
"Because, I'm indestructible and if someone was to come down here, you'd be at risk." He explained, confusing her even further. She looked at Henry for an answer, but he had been sworn to silence. He desperately wanted to tell her that Ray was unbelievably protective over her, more than she could ever see, but if he did, he'd break his promise. 
"Uh, hello? Super regeneration? I'm a superhero too...sort of." (y/n) argued, folding her arms as she challenged Ray. He didn't want to argue about this though, he'd never tell her, but she was too precious to put in harm's way and he wasn't certain that her power could protect her as well as he could.
"Ahhhh! I got it! I got something!" Schwoz suddenly shouted, making the three on the couch drop their quarrelling instantly. This was more like it, answers, not secrets.
"What'd you find?" Henry asked as they sat up, but Ray and all of his hyperactivity were already leaping up off the sofa and sprinting towards the genius.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! What'd you find? What'd you find?" He rambled, his muscles twitching with anticipation. It was funny to see such a huge man filled with so much energy, but that was Ray all over.
"You're so hyper, calm down." (y/n) teased him as she and Henry came over to Schwoz's equipment too. You wouldn't think that they were in the thick of an argument only seconds earlier, especially when Ray chuckled and put his arm around her waist.
"I scanned the note with this biometric particle scanner--" Schwoz started to explain, waving his crazy science stick scanner thing around.
"Right." The superhero duo nodded, watching with curiosity. They had no idea how the science worked, but if listening made Schwoz go faster, they'd do it.
"And now, you see, on this note, I found some DNA--" The small man carried on, but once again, his foreign accent was thick and indecipherable for Henry and Ray to understand.
"DN-eish?" The kid repeated as he tried to work it out in his head. In his view, Schwoz should've come with subtitles sometimes, especially when it came to important stuff like this.
"DNA. You know, the molecular acid that makes up our biochemistry?" (y/n) clarified. He wasn't that hard to understand, but maybe she had the unfair advantage of working with Schwoz on numerous engineering projects over the years. 
"And the person who created this note is...Henry Hart?!" Schwoz gasped in horror as the database found a match and Ray snapped his head to the boy. Was this all some big prank?
"What?" Ray breathed out and guided (y/n) away from the boy, thinking he could've turned evil or something. That idea was ridiculous and the young woman smacked the hands pulling her by the hips. 
"You, idiots! Henry isn't some evil mastermind!" She snapped and the boy was glad that someone intelligent was on his side.
"Dude, of course, my DNA is on the note, I brought it here! It was in my hands!" Henry hissed, making Schwoz gulp. Oops, a small mistake on his part.
"Oh, yeah..." He said nervously, realising that he'd made a slight error and then accused Henry of being a liar.
"Oh yeah! At least (y/n) knows I wouldn't fake it!" He snapped and patted the woman on the shoulder as the men sheepishly looked off to the side. Oh well, at least they knew now, no harm, no foul, right?
~Later that evening, Henry's room~
So, Piper was running an illegal tanning salon from the living room of Henry's house. Only Piper would think of something so crazy. Poor Henry had been forced to retreat to the sanctity of his room to get away from all the bright orange weirdos running around the house, but now, he had peace at last. 
Turning on the light, he took a sip of his soda and turned around to see Jasper, holding a sign. It read "I know your secret". Oh shit, maybe peace was the wrong word, panic was looking better. 
"That's right, Henry, I know," Jasper smirked, making Henry spit out all the soda in his mouth and then drop the glass bottle. Oh, dear God, how was he going to get out of this?
"Uh...uh--I..." Henry couldn't move his tongue or anything for that matter. His entire body was numb with shock and probably a good amount of fear as he stared at his best friend. This was bad, very, very bad.
"You know, you're not saying actual words," Jasper told him as he stood up and stepped down the stairs on Henry's ledge. He sounded so cocky and confident and it made Henry's knees wobble.
"So, you left the note in my locker?" Henry question, his mind racing at what he was going to do about Jasper knowing his greatest secret. What would Ray say?
"Uh-huh. 'Cause I know your secret." The curly-haired boy pointed to each word on his sign.
"Oh, man." Henry breathed out, feeling all the blood in his face drain away. He felt like he was gonna pass out at some point as he was feeling remarkably lightheaded. 
"Come on, Hen. How long did you think you could keep that kind of secret from your best friend?" Jasper asked him, making Henry stumble and stutter. The kid wasn't known for his amazing detective skills, so Henry was certain that he would never find out. That wasn't the case.
"Charlotte knows," Henry said nonchalantly, not thinking about the fact that he had two best friends.
"I meant me!" Jasper snapped.
"Ohhh, right, right, eight, I didn't mean--" He tried to excuse, but his friend was already offended.
"--Wait, wait, Charlotte knows?" He yelled, making Henry concerned about whoever could be listening. His house was full of strangers, any of which could walk in and hear them and then, the whole of Swellview would know. Henry slammed his bedroom door shut before turning back to his friend with a deadly serious expression.
"Look...you can't tell anyone about this, ever. As my friend, you gotta promise never to tell anyone." He told him, looking into his eyes so his message would carry more weight. This was the ultimate test of their friendship and Henry had to be sure that Jasper was trustworthy.
"If we're such "good friends", how come I had to find out the truth about you in the street?" Jasper asked harshly, which confused the blond boy greatly. Were they on the same page here?
"'Cause...I--I--" He stuttered, irritating Jasper again.
"Still not words!" The teen yelled, but it broke Henry out of his word-paralysis, so it wasn't all bad.
"Gah! If only he knew that he wasn't in danger at all, but he was about to be.
~Downstairs~
"Hey, what's that?" Piper asked Charlotte as the dark-haired girl walked past her. 
"Oh, just lemonade." Charlotte smiled at her, but her pleasant face soon dropped into a frown when Piper smiled and took it off her. Tanning the entire neighbourhood was thirsty work and the little girl was below taking other people's drinks.
"So, don't you love how busted Henry is?" Piper asked after gulping the lemonade. It was news to Charlotte and it made her forget about her stolen drink.
"What-What do you mean?" The older girl asked, suddenly feeling very uneasy. She didn't like where this was going.
"Jasper found out! You know! Henry's secret!" Piper squealed, but Charlotte wasn't excited by the "juicy" gossip, she was terrified. 
"Wait, you know. about it?" She asked in a fearful tone, but Piper just carried on smiling. Oh god, this thing was getting more and more complicated by the minute.
"Sure!" The girl confirmed in a happy tone, loving that Henry was gonna be in so much shit over this, especially since Jasper was Swellview's biggest drama queen.
"How?!" Charlotte gasped, thinking that this was now becoming a much bigger problem than the Man Cave team had first anticipated.
"Jasper told me. Henry should've waited for Jasper to go see that movie." Piper shrugged her shoulders and took another sip of her or Charlotte's lemonade. Wait a second...
"Whoa, wait, wait, wait. What movie?" Charlotte asked and a new, darker fear gripped her. 
"Henry promised Jasper that he'd go see Galaxy Wars 10 with him on Saturday night." Piper sighed and rolled her eyes. All she ever did was explain the latest gossip to people and repeating the same story over and over again was getting pretty boring for her.
"Yeah..." Charlotte winced, not liking where this was going.
"But my mom was dying to see it on opening night, so she took Henry with her to see it on Wednesday and then Jasper found out," Piper explained, but Charlotte felt like she was gonna throw up.
"And Jasper thinks that's Henry's secret? That he saw Galaxy Wars 10 without him?" She asked incredulously. Of course, Jasper would have the wrong end of the stick and now, Henry was in deep danger of telling him the wrong thing. Sweet cheese.
"Yeah. What? What other secret does Henry have?" Piper frowned, not knowing that her brother had so much to hide. If only she knew...
"I don't know, none...nothing. I don't know--what?" Charlotte panicked as the situation dawned on her. She needed to tell Henry right now before he made the biggest error of judgement ever.
~Henry's room~
"I would've told you but--" Henry tried to argue, but Jasper was firmly set in the idea that it was just a movie, nothing major. 
"I don't need to hear a bunch of excuses." He sighed, not seeing that Henry was going on about something much bigger than some dumb movie.
"I just need you to understand I--" Henry was cut off as his whiz watch began to flash and beep, but he didn't think that he needed to hide it from Jasper anymore. Oh god.
"Well, I guess I don't need to hide this from you anymore." He sighed and flipped the cover of the watch open and Jasper shrieked at the sight of Captain Man's and Miss Danger's hologram over his wrist.
"Hey, it's me." He greeted as Jasper freaked out. What was going on?
"Hey, kid. We have a little emergency." Ray announced, but he couldn't see how Jasper was gasping and hyperventilating just out of shot.
"Yeah, no kidding." Henry nodded, confused as to why Jasper was so affected by the sight of Captain Man and Miss Danger if he already knew about everything. Maybe it was just the excitement.
"Looks like the Malachi Brothers broke out of jail and they're headed for the demolition derby." (y/n) explained, also not realising what was going down. She just thought it was gonna be another normal night of kicking ass with her not-boyfriend and honourary little brother. 
"Okay, meet you in the Man Cave." Henry smacked away Jasper's hand as he tried to touch the hologram. He needed to listen to his boss's instructions, didn't he understand that?
"Nah, we'll hop in the Mancopter and we'll pick you up on the way to the derby," Ray explained as Jasper carried on freaking out. Holy cow, it was the actual Captain Man and his latest sidekick and they were talking to his best friend!
"Copy that." Henry closed the watch cooly, but Jasper was anything but calm. He was shaking with adrenaline and excitement from what he had just witnessed.
"That was Captain Man and Miss Danger! As a hologram! Calling you!" He yelled, punching out each statement like he was trying to overcome his rushing emotions just so he could speak.
"Yeah," Henry confirmed nonchalantly, wondering why this was a big shock to him. He knew he was Kid Danger, why was he so taken by Ray calling him?
~Downstairs~
"So Jasper left the note in Henry's locker." Charlotte seethed, feeling so annoyed with him and his stupid dramatic ways of riling up his friends. Any normal person would just send a text or something, but not Jasper, he sent an ominous letter.
"Mm-hmm." Piper nodded, sipping more of the lemonade. 
"Oh, man! I gotta go tell Henry!" Charlotte exclaimed, rushing to climb the stairs, but a hand on her arm pulled her back. 
"Wait!" Piper interjected, and she whipped around, thinking that there was another piece to the puzzle.
"I'm done with this glass." She smiled, making Charlotte accept it with a disgruntled face. She discarded it on the coffee table and sprinted to the stairs. She only prayed that she wasn't too late.
~Henry's room~
Fumbling behind one of the canvas prints on his wall, Henry pulled out his hidden gumball tube and held it in his hand as Jasper rambled in confusion.
"But I still don't understand how you were talking to a hologram of Captain Man and Miss Danger on your own watch!" Jasper freaked out. This was all too much for him and Henry didn't know that he had made a colossal mistake. Or how he was about to make another one.
"Yeah, I don't know how it works. Schwoz does and (y/n), you can ask them." The boy told his friend as he opened the gum tube and moved into the middle of the room
"What's a Schwoz?" Jasper asked, more taken by the odd name than by the mention of one of Henry's bosses at Junk-N-Stuff. 
"Wait, what's that?" Jasper asked again as Henry chewed his gum. Oh shit, things were about to get crazy.
"I'm gonna blow a bubble," Henry smirked, thinking that he was doing the right thing.
"You're gonna blow a bubble?" Jasper repeated in confusion. 
"I'm gonna blow your mind." Henry quipped, remembering that those were the exact words that Ray had spoken to him before he revealed himself to be Captain Man. Geez, that felt like a lifetime ago. 
Henry blew the bubble and it popped, transforming him into Kid Danger and blowing Jasper's mind. Well, the secret was out. 
"How do I look?" He smiled at his speechless friend. This was the biggest thing that had ever happened to him. Henry was Kid Danger? What the actual fuck?
"Jasper left the note!" Charlotte screamed and burst into the room and her eyes widened at what she saw. Henry in his. uniform and Jasper looking pasty and mil-bottle white. Oh god.
"I know," Henry said cooly, thinking Charlotte was just being. slow.
"But--hi, Jasper. Why's Jasper's mouth hanging open? And why are you dressed like that in front of Jasper?!" Charlotte screamed, letting out her fear at what had obviously taken place. Ray and (y/n) were not gonna like this. 
"YOU'RE KID DANGER!" Jasper screamed at the top of his lungs, making Henry look at him weirdly. Hadn't they. already established that?
"Yeah. You knew that---ooh! Jasper fell asleep." Henry trailed off as Jasper collapsed on the floor unconscious. Poor kid, he'd just found ut his best friend was the sidekick of Swellview's best crimefighter, there was no wonder why he fainted.
"No, he fainted!" Charlotte corrected, feeling so irritated with Henry that she felt like screaming. Why did he always have to go overboard? If only he had waited a few more minutes, this mess would never have taken place.
"Why?" Henry scoffed, thinking that his friend was being dumb again. He wasn't the dumb one though, he was. 
"Because he didn't know you're Kid Danger. He thought that your secret was that you saw Galaxy Wars 10 without him." She explained, leaving Henry as pale as Jasper and with his mouth hanging open. Yeah, that was his second colossal mistake.
"Well, how'd he find that out?!" Henry recovered and focused on the wrong bit. The whole Kid Danger part was his main priority.
"WHO CARES? You showed Jasper that you're Kid Danger!" Charlotte snapped and Henry looked down at his costume, then at Jasper, then at himself again and then back to Charlotte. 
"AW, GEEZ!" He whimpered as his heart began to pound in his ears. This was his worst nightmare. Jasper was a terrible secret keeper and Ray had been firm about. him keeping his oath.
"What are we gonna do?" Charlotte shrieked, fearing for Captain Man's safety and the security of her job. She was gonna be screwed for this. 
"I--gah!" Henry gasped as his larger holo-caller began to buzz.
"It's Ray and (y/n)!" Charlotte told him, although he had already guessed that.
"I know it's Ray and (y/n)!" He hissed and put the hologram device down on the ledge so he could talk to the couple face to face. He answered the call and they appeared in the room and the kids hoped they didn't look too nervous.
"Heyyyy!" Well, that wasn't a convincing greeting and Henry's fidgeting didn't help either. 
"Hey, it's us, Ray and (y/n)." He replied, even though it was clear who they were.
"I know it's you guys!" The boy snapped, but the adults brushed off his prickly behaviour.
"The cops captured the Malachi Brothers so there's no more emergency." (y/n) smiled, failing to see how clammy Henry had gone through the fuzziness of the hologram. 
"Uhhhh, maybe there is," Henry told them, bracing himself for the biggest ass-whooping of his life. Maybe he'd lose his job.
"What-what does that mean?" Ray asked, sensing. that something was off.
"Henry, are you all right? You look a bit peaky." (y/n) squinted at the boy's little face and on a closer inspection, she could just about make out how he was shuffling and sweating as he talked to them.
"Uh, just you better come over here." Henry groaned, feeling like he was about to have an aneurysm or a heart attack.
"And bring the memory wiper!" Charlotte added, making (y/n) and Ray gawp at the teenagers.
"Guys, what's happ--" Henry ended the call before he had to explain himself. It was rude, but at least this way he'd have five minutes to come up with a story. Or, you know, book a flight to Argentina so he could live out the rest of his days in hiding. 
Jasper stirred on the carpet and Charlotte nudged Henry when she heard his groaning. Not taking any chances, the kid whipped out his laser control and shot a green laser at his friend. If he was unconscious, he couldn't do any harm.
~10 minutes later~
As soon as the couple had arrived, the room had descended into chaos, adults versus kids.
"You took an oath!"
"It's not my fault!"
"It was your job to make sure nobody else found out!" 
"SHUT IT!" (y/n) piercing scream echoed through the room and the bickering ceased. The silence was smothering and tangible, like Ray's fury was embedded into it. He was pissed off, disappointed, gutted, all the emotions expected of a man who felt betrayed. He had trusted Henry and now, he was standing in the kid's bedroom, having just learnt that he "accidentally" told a teenager, notorious for being a blabber-mouth, that he was Kid Danger. Give him strength.
"Bucket boy is waking up." The young woman pointed to Jasper, who was mumbling himself into consciousness, probably affected by all the shouting. (y/n) had to admit, she was a little disappointed too with how the kids had handled everything, but the past was the past and now, they had to deal with the problem at hand. 
Well, they would deal with it in a bit. Ray and Henry both shot another green laser at Jasper, sending him back to dreamland. It made sense to come up with a plan first, this was a particularly sensitive issue after all. Henry turned his back on Ray and looked guiltily at the door and floor as he thought about what to say. 
"Look...it's just too dangerous to let anyone else know who we are or where the Man Cave is," Ray spoke for him, his voice low and serious. He knew it wasn't fair for the boy, he deserved a normal life, so did Charlotte and (y/n), but this was their life, fighting bad guys in complete secrecy. If too many people knew who he was, his life and everyone he loved would be in danger and he couldn't risk that, he wouldn't. 
"He's right. It's not fair or kind and it sucks, but we have to keep Captain Man's secret safe. All of us, no matter what." (y/n) told Henry, her eyes sad and understanding, since she knew what he was going through. It wasn't the first time they'd erased someone's memory, there'd been friends, family, so many who figured out the secret and just had to forget. She knew it was cruel but his life was her life and she'd resigned herself to dealing the bad in exchange for all the wonder he brought with all the difficulty. 
"And that means...we have to erase Jasper's memory." Ray picked up the memory wiper and the sight of the machine turned Henry's mouth dry. It was less of a machine or a cool gadget, more of a weapon now, something that was going to take his best friend away from him.
"But when you zap someone's brain with that thing, doesn't it erase all their memories?" Charlotte asked, eyeing the invention with a pained expression.
"Well, not all. He'll still remember how to breathe and eat and...that's about it." Ray's words weren't much comfort, they made the teens feel worse. Lose Jasper? He was annoying and sweaty and way too whiny sometimes, but he was also loveable and selfless and most importantly, their friend. And he was waking up, the time was near.
"It's not an exact science, we can't pick and choose what we erase. We just have to get rid of everything to ensure our survival because secrecy is how we survive. I'm sorry, guys." (y/n) gulped, wrapping her arms around herself at the thought of what they were about to do. Losing a friend was hard but like this? It was cruel and cold-hearted and something she hated about her job and the life she had chosen.
"Hey...can I at least have a few minutes alone with him before you...y'know, wipe his brain? I mean, we've been friends ever since we were five. Wouldn't you want to say goodbye to (y/n) if she had to forget?" Henry asked, hoping he could appeal to Ray's kindness and it worked. Ray couldn't imagine the pain of saying goodbye to his best friend and making her forget how special she was to him, so he agreed immediately.
"Sure thing, kid." Ray nodded solemnly as (y/n) blinked back tears and put her hand on his arm. 
"Where do you want us to go?" Charlotte asked softly, understanding that Henry needed one last time to goof around and bond with his best friend. 
"Closet?" They all looked at him with apprehension at the prospect of all three of them being squished into the tight space.
"Come on. There you go." He pointed to the room and they all begrudgingly stepped in. Hey, at least Ray had an excuse to get all close with (y/n) in there, even if Charlotte would be gagging the entire time.
Jasper moaned loudly and slowly got to his feet as his head pounded.
"Ugh, what happened?" He asked and turned to see Henry still dressed like Kid Danger.
"I, uh, I zapped you, accidentally." Henry lied, but at seeing Jasper's confused face, his resolve broke. His heart was breaking at the notion of losing his oldest friend and he peeled his mask from his face so he could look him in the eye and see the recognition on his face. What would it be like to see Jasper looking at him like he was a stranger?
"Wow! I can't believe this...my best friend is Kid Danger!" Jasper gasped happily, but his excitement just made Henry tear up more.
"Dude...listen, I wanted to tell you...a long time ago, but I took an oath." Henry told him, feeling guilty that he had been lying to Jasper for over a year.
"I totally get it." The curly-haired boy smiled, letting go of any hurt that he felt about the big lie. He understood that Henry had to keep himself safe and he'd rather be unknowing than have his best friend hurt.
"Thanks. And you know, it's--" Henry breathed out, not expecting him to take it so well, but he had to quickly shut the closet door as Ray peeked out with the memory wiper ready to fire. 
"Give me a minute!" He snapped to the man as he stuck his face through the gap, shoving Ray away from the door.
"Hurry up!" Ray hissed, getting antsy at how he was not only letting a boy walk around with his secrets but also at how he had (y/n) pressed against him with her back to his chest. God, her ass felt sinfully delicious pressed against his lower half and it was a real struggle for him to keep himself calm.
"Raymond, shut up!" The young woman threw her elbow back so it caught him in the gut. She wanted Henry to say his goodbyes properly since she never got to say hers to the friends and family she'd lost.
"Who?" Jasper pointed at the closet in confusion as he wondered who his friend was talking to. He'd never imagine that it was Captain Man, Miss Danger and Charlotte waiting to wipe his brain of everything he knew.
"Hey...huh. Remember this?" Henry distracted him with a photo of him and Jasper as little kids. They looked so young and it was another reminder of how their friendship had stood the test of time.
"Sure. You and me at Camp Tomahawk." Jasper smiled fondly at the memory and accepted the picture from Henry. Good times.
"Yep. We were cute, huh?" Henry joked, feeling like he was losing a part of himself. Jasper had always been there for him, what would he do without him?
"Hey, remember that time at the archery range, when Billy Brody started beating me up and you jumped in to help me?" Jasper chuckled at how his scrawny best friend had come to his rescue, even though Bill Brody was twice his size.
"Yep and we both got beat up," Henry recalled and they both giggled at how dumb they were. 
"I'll never forget that," Jasper promised Henry, but the boy looked away to the closet door with a broken expression. Oh, the irony; in about five minutes, he would forget it and everything else they'd done together.
"Well..." Henry gulped, not knowing how to break it to him.
"You've always been a good friend to me...Kid Danger. I'm proud of you." Jasper told him with his hand on Henry's shoulder, making the boy freeze. His best friend put the picture back where it belonged and Henry knew that he couldn't lose a friend, especially if they were Jasper because he was the best friend a guy could ever have,
"That's it. Ray, Charlotte, (y/n), get out here!" Henry shouted and the three awkwardly stepped out of the closet, shocking Jasper as he saw his idols. 
"Captain Man! And Miss Danger! Wow, they're right here in your room!" He exclaimed, quaking with excitement as (y/n) gave him a small wave and a sad smile. Poor kid, ignorance is bliss.
"Uh, I'm here too," Charlotte added, but Jasper just shoved her out the way so he could get close to his favourite superhero and his new favourite superheroine. 
"We're not doing this," Henry told Ray firmly, refusing to let go of his best friend.
"We have to do it," Ray whispered to him sternly, which made Henry's emotions run wild as he looked between the man and (y/n), who seemed to be conflicted. 
"No! I'm not letting you erase Jasper's brain!" The teen stated, which made Jasper pause and think about what he said. They wanted to do what to his what now?
"Uh, what?" He asked, gulping at the thought of Captain Man messing with his brain or something.
"Don't worry about it." Charlotte brushed it off, thinking that he wouldn't have to worry about anything after they erased his memories.
"Henry, he could tell anyone and I know he's a sweet kid, but he might let it slip accidentally." (y/n) tried to explain to the boy, even though she knew that he realised that. Henry knew the risks and how Ray was trying his hardest to keep them to a minimum.
"I'll never tell anybody!" Jasper promised, knowing that this was Henry's biggest secret and his unyielding loyalty to his friend meant he'd never divulge it.
"Oh, really? What if some big, bad, evil criminal captures you and threatens to cut all your toes off if you don't tell him everything you know?" Ray asked him, making Jasper think about the scenario.
"I'd tell him everything I know." He said, not realising that he'd said the wrong answer and he was just proving himself to be untrustworthy in Ray's eyes.
"Dude!" Henry sighed, thinking that it would take a miracle to convince Ray otherwise now. 
"My toes! What am I without my toes?!" Jasper whined, making his situation worse. At this rate, he'd be sat on his doorstep with no memory whatsoever in the next twenty minutes.
"Henry, he's a security risk." Ray turned to his sidekick, who just shook his head. Even (y/n) didn't like calling Jasper that, he was a person and Henry's friend, they should at least be nice about him when he was in the room.
"No, we leave Jasper the way he is or else,...I can't be Kid Danger anymore." Henry swallowed, but stayed strong as he offered Ray the ultimatum.
"Henry..." Charlotte started, worried at how reckless her friend was being. She could understand why, but it seemed so drastic.
"You're not gonna quit being Kid Danger," Ray whispered to him, thinking he could call Henry's bluff, despite the sincerity in the boy's voice.
"I don't wanna quit, but...if you're gonna erase all the memories from my oldest friend's brain...then I don't want this anymore." Henry offered his gum tube to Ray, who looked at it and then at Jasper. 
"Henry, are you sure?" (y/n) asked him, tentatively taking a step forward so she could look the boy in the eye and gauge his honesty.
"Yeah...how long have you known Ray?" Henry asked her with a steady voice as the young woman took no time at all to answer him.
"Almost nine years." She whispered at the same time as Ray, making their eyes snap to look at each other. It didn't feel like that though; the time had gone by so quickly and they'd gone from strength to strength, strangers to the best of friends and now they were on the verge of becoming lovers if they already weren't. Nine years of falling in love and they'd hadn't even made a move.
"Would you forget him if you had to?" Henry looked her in the eye and he didn't need to hear the answer, he already knew. 
"I'd rather never see him again than lose our friendship." She murmured, staring at the floor so no one could see her tears. Just the thought of being no one to him, just another face on the street was heartbreaking to her, because she'd gotten so used to being the first face he saw in the morning and the one he told everything to. She never wanted to lose that privilege. 
"Ray, would you give up being Captain Man for (y/n)?" The boy asked his boss, not knowing the answer this time. He knew he loved her more than himself, but being a superhero was everything to Ray. It was his life's work, everything he'd trained for since he was a boy, could he give it up just for one person? (y/n) froze as she expected him to say that Captain man always came first, the mantra that had been drilled into her since the beginning, but...
"Yes. Yes, I would. She's my best friend." Ray swallowed, smiling gently at the woman as she stared at him in shock. Really? Her? He'd leave the superhero life behind just so they'd stay friends? 
Of course, he would. He'd follow her anywhere if she let him and he'd resigned himself to being like that nine years ago when she beat the ass of some lowlife criminal in a cafe. She did Captain Man's job for him and he'd fallen in love with a woman who taught him more and made him feel more than he'd ever imagined. Without her, he was loveless and merciless, he wasn't Captain Man.
"I'm not gonna watch my best friend forget me...you wouldn't, I can't either," Henry told Ray, who stared at the gum tube that was still being offered to him. He had a choice to make.
"Gahhh, put that back in your pants." Ray sighed, making everyone frown at him.
"Wait, does that mean you're saying that--" Charlotte started, but Ray didn't want to hear everything spelled out, he was already annoyed that he was accepting another child into his workplace.
"Yes, yes, yes! Jasper can keep his stupid brain the way it is." He gave in and wandered across the room to avoid the delighted smiles of his friends and the bucket boy.
"Really?" Jasper gasped, ecstatic at what Captain man was implying. (y/n) gazed at her best friend with a proud, loving smile and seeing her so happy almost made the pain of having Jasper around forever worth it. Almost. 
"Yes! I've said yes five times now." Ray rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as Jasper's excitement irritated him.
"Wow! This is amazing!" He squealed and grinned at Henry and Charlotte, who understood his excitement. Now, they'd all get to hang out together with no secrets. Life was good.
"Just take it easy," Ray told him but was taken by surprise as (y/n) tackled him in a hug, not caring about his tetchiness.
"Aw, Mr Grumpy, you're a big softie, really." She cooed into his ear, which made him sigh and nod.
"Whatever." He brushed it off as his cheeks turned pink, but his arms went around her waist anyway so he could have his girl close to him. She was happy and still here, which was good enough for Ray and maybe he'd get used to Jasper's overzealous exuberance after a while.
"Oooh, I can even help you fight bad guys and stuff." Or maybe not. 
"Uhhh, no, that's not a good idea." They all replied quickly, not enjoying the idea of Jasper Danger being let loose on the streets of Swellview. His first takedown would be himself, probably.
"Come on, it's my dream," Jasper begged Henry, hoping his pouting and stuck-out bottom lip would sway his mind.
"Some dreams are best left unachieved, kid." (y/n) smiled at him sweetly as she pulled back from the hug, knowing that it be better for everyone if Jasper left the fighting to Captain Man, Kid Danger and Miss Danger.
Jasper went to argue back, but suddenly, Henry's bedroom door open and the superheroes panicked as some bright orange, fat guy bumbled in. Ray pulled (y/n) back into his arms as he assessed whether this guy was a threat (both criminally and romantically), but he didn't need to be worried. He was wearing a shower cap, for god's sake, hardly the suavest thing in the world.
"Oh, sorry, I just got a tan downstairs and I was looking for the bathroom and I--" The guy looked across the room and nearly passed out when he saw Captain Man with Miss Danger in his arms and then Kid Danger without his mask.
"Whoa! Captain Man! Oh my god, Miss Danger! You're, like, seriously hot!" The man gasped at the couple standing on his right, making Ray straighten his posture.
"Thank you..." (y/n) replied awkwardly, not knowing how to handle such a comment. She had to admit, Swellview's male population all seemed to be entranced by her appearance as the latest hero in town and Ray did not like it one bit. All these stupid guys gawping at his friend and his displeasure showed in the half-assed smile that he gave the orange man, which then quickly dropped to a scowl once he looked at Henry.
"And Kid Danger without his mask! You're Piper's brother!" He gasped as he recognised Henry, who suddenly remembered his bare face 
"Uhhh, w-well..." Henry stumbled as Ray and (y/n) moved into the centre of the room. This is why you don't take your mask off when there were strangers around. 
"I gotta tell everyone I know!" The man squealed, making Henry slump when he saw the smirk on Ray's face.
"You gonna whine about this one?" He asked his sidekick, who didn't care. This guy was strange and he shouldn't have been poking around his house.
"Nah, do it." He shrugged and Ray gently pushed (y/n) to the side so she wouldn't get hit by the eraser before firing it at the man's brain. His thumbs stopped typing as his mind went blank and fuzzy and after a few seconds, his memories were gone.
"Hey, what's your name?" Charlotte asked the man in a loud, clear voice so she could check to see if the gadget had done its job.
"Muuurghhhh." The man slurred, having forgotten how to form words properly. Ray smirked inwardly, he wasn't calling his girl hot now.
"Nice to meet you, Muuurghhhh." (y/n) chuckled at her little joke, glad that she found herself funny even if no one else did.
"All right, Jasper, you really wanna help us out?" Ray turned to the boy as he put his arm around his giggling best friend. She was so cute sometimes, especially with her silly jokes.
"Sure!" Jasper nodded, ready and willing to do anything Captain Man asked him. 
"Good, take this guy out the window and leave him on the sidewalk," Ray instructed him, trying to ignore how much Jasper's enthusiasm irritated him.
"Aye, aye, Captain Man!" Jasper smiled and dashed off to dump the man outside. He attempted to get the man over his shoulder in a fireman's lift, but he was twice Jasper's weight and therefore impossible to carry. Still, it made for funny viewing for Ray, Henry, Charlotte and (y/n) as they watched him struggle.
"You know, I might start addressing you like that. It's got a nice ring to it." The young woman chuckled as she looked up at the man next to her.
"Don't even think about it, sweet girl." He gave her a warning look, but she just giggled and leaned her forehead into his chest as she hugged his waist. She was small next to him and he loved how her little frame fitted so well against his.
"Hey, man, thanks for saving Jasper." Henry butted into their cute moment and clapped his boss on the back. He really was grateful, having Jasper in the Man Cave would be tricky for Ray, but he'd overlook that if it meant Henry got to keep his best friend the way he got to keep his.
"Don't sweat it, kid. He's your best friend and you can't give them up. Not for anything." Ray told him and Charlotte looked at the two adults with a gentle smile. So blind.
"When you said that you'd stop being Captain Man for me, was that the truth? It wasn't just something you said in front of Jasper?" (y/n) asked as she lifted her head to look him in the eye. She had just written it off as a product of the pressure he'd felt to make a decision, surely, he didn't place her above the thing he'd been destined for since the age of eight.
"Yeah, it was the truth. I love being Captain Man and having all the attention and praise, but...I love having you as my best friend more." He told her and he loved seeing the way a soft smile crawled its way onto her beautiful face. He swallowed the words he actually wanted to say, thinking that he wanted nothing more than to tell her that he loved her more than his job or his fame. Not as a best friend, as his girl, the one he wanted to marry and have a life with away from the trials and tribulations of being a superhero.
"You're my best friend too." She grinned and put her cheek back against his chest before he could see her hesitation. Friend; it was a nice word, it meant that they had an affectionate bond that tied them together, but at the same time, it hurt and stung. They daren't tell each other that their bond was much deeper than either one realised and it left them in a stalemate as they wondered if they could ever feel the same.
Henry and Charlotte rolled their eyes at their incapacity to see what was right under their noses. A love, pure and innocent, but also peppered with desire and passion, that had been burning for so many years. 
And they were about to finally notice it for the first time.
8 notes · View notes
itsclydebitches · 2 years
Note
'All but Ozpin were those teens not so long ago' Yeah for real, the show and the fandom both act as if the adults in RWBY sprang out of the ocean mist fully formed and ready to enslave the babes in the next generation in a war just because they wanted to do that.
That detail was so obvious to me even before Ruby started literally repeating Ozpin's choices: that the teenagers currently critical of the 30+ adults will, in the not too distant future, become the very same adults that the next batch of teenagers dismiss, unless they break the cycle's start by empathizing with the adults first. Personally, I'm of the opinion that if RWBY wanted the kind of anti-adult message that pervades much of the material post-Volume 3, it needed a cast that's a lot younger and who, crucially, will remain young for the majority of the story's run. A 10-15yo sneering at the adults who failed them hits a lot harder than the group of mostly 17yos who go through a two-ish year time skip halfway through the series, so it's only when they're 18+ that they start getting truly mad about the state of things. Having a 19 or 20yo Yang furious when she's holding a license and deferring to her younger sister's authority doesn't have quite the same impact.
But all that aside—because let's be real, I think the writers and fandom both forget how old and politically powerful the group is—the far more significant problem is that RWBY simply doesn't have a coherent message about that generational divide, let alone how to ethically fight an endless war. Fans think it does because most are reading their preferred moral between the lines, but the reality is that RWBY's only proper stance has been, "Every option is horrible, but we don't want to acknowledge that. Instead, we'll just play a version of musical chairs to pick which option is deemed The Most Morally Corrupt each volume."
If you start pooling all the arguments I've seen together, you often end up with something like this:
"Kids shouldn't be fighting a war."
Agreed. I guess Remnant needs an army of adults then.
"No, armies are horrible. Volumes 7-8 showed us that. Anti-military massaging is a core part of RWBY."
Okay, then we need to go back to adult huntsmen. "Exactly."
And when should they start training for this incredibly difficult, dangerous position?
"I mean... young I guess, but don't let them do anything too dangerous."
Just miraculously ensure the bad guys never attack their school? And, you know, hope that they don't get slaughtered the moment they turn 18 and enter real battle because they've been bubble-wrapped during training...
"Quit with the sarcasm. The point is that only the individuals who have committed themselves to protecting the people are responsible enough to hold that kind of power."
Cool... except for the fact that Rhodes' flashback showed how badly things can go when individuals are calling the shots according to their own morals, preferences, and needs, rather than having a system to fall back on.
"Rhodes was an exception. Most huntsmen are Good and Noble and Trustworthy."
Ah, so like Ironwood?
"No, not him. He's military."
Qrow then?
"Absolutely not, he's a drunk."
Glynda? Oobleck? Port?
"They abandoned them!"
What about all the background huntsmen?
"You know the show has gone out of its way to display them as inept, corrupt, or dead."
Hmm. It almost sounds like they're all humans who are inevitably going to make mistakes. What are we supposed to do about that?
"Well, clearly the answer is to have someone with experience in charge. Someone who has learned from their mistakes."
Like... Ozpin?
"You can't be serious. He's a manipulative bastard! A leader also has to be pure and innocent and loving."
Ah. Like a child who hasn't yet grown jaded by an endless war, or had the time to accumulate numerous mistakes in the first place?
"Yes!"
So we want someone like Ruby leading this war? The person who Ozpin was before, you know, thousands of years of traumatic life happened to him.
"Yes! She's the simple soul!"
Awesome. So we acknowledge that in this fantasy world having children fight is not only necessary, but potentially morally correct, especially when doing so is their passionate, lifelong dream?
"No way. Children fighting a war is so bad :("
And round and round we go. RWBY doesn't have anything to say about this, at least nothing that doesn't contradict or undermine what's been said before. Whether Remnant needs a child, an immortal, an army, or huntsmen varies from volume to volume—sometimes even episode to episode—and though the show has gotten this close to a solution in the form of, "We need everyone, actually. We need to unite!" it stumbled in the final hour by pulling back to go, "No wait, never-mind. We don't need them" and also "We introduced HUGE consequences to uniting and then decided to just ignore that, don't worry about it."
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