#Jasper's Answering Machine

[beuxwhoyouare]

Raised You Better

My son Jasper was a good kid. He was a star soccer player in school and got a scholarship to play in college, so I only saw him on holidays. I missed him so much and looked forward to our quarterly reunions.

Well that was until his most recent visit. He was being so distant and when I finally inquired why he was acting differently, he finally admitted he actually dropped out to pursue being a personal trainer.

I was shocked. He's always been a model child and did all me and my husband expected of him. Maybe it was all our time away working? Maybe I should've been home more instead of being at the lab. It felt like a punch in the gut. I mean sure he knew what he was doing thanks to all his time training for soccer but that's not a way to build a life?

My husband and I did it right. We met in college and supported each other through our advanced degrees and worked our way up in an international pharmaceutical company. Personal training is just so...surface level. He's supposed to be better than us. That's what you want for your children. No no no this is no good. I'll have to set him on the right path.

I knew of a special program at work that was rooted in natural medicine and meditation with a mad science twist. I set up Jasper with the "Sports Nutrition" department at work but it was actually our new experiment. It looked like a TENS muscle stimulator on crack. Several wires shot out of a relatively large dark grey box with a screen and several sliders on one side. I sat connected on the other side of the wall connected with the pads all over the top of my head. All I had to do was wait for Jasper to get hooked up. We sold it to him as a scientific way to curb cravings for sweets and unhealthy things, like an ozempic shot for the brain. In reality, I was told that the machine would take positive attributes from one source and strengthen them in the weaker mind.

I saw the lights flicker and anticipated that he had already been hooked up to the machine. I just laid back and rested while focusing on the importance of getting a quality education. Eventually, I must have dozed off because when I opened my eyes again it was all so groggy. But I was sitting facing the opposite direction. I lifted my arms to wipe my eyes and gasped when I looked down. My boobs were gone and replaced with sizable mounds of muscle escaping a tiny white tank top. My arms and thick thighs now filled with tattoos....no?! This isn't supposed to be how it works

I told the lab techs who I am and that I was actually Meredith. They both looked at each other spooked but judiciously jotting down notes. After answering a few security questions, they agreed to believe that I was indeed not Jasper and it must be an unforseen side effect from the treatment.

That's when they explained the problem....When my body woke up, it also said it was Meredith. Could the experiment have basically overwritten the memory of my son with my own? I felt like I basically killed my own child. Grief swept over me. But then so did a bravado, a confidence, a giddiness? The two lab techs handed me a towel as they shyly avoided looking down at a tent forming in my shorts. Oh I guess the excitement led to a physical response.

In theory I get it as a scientist. I did in fact instill positive traits on my son. Granted, that also erased him seemingly. But also it's a chance at a new life full of new experiences. I'm a man now. And what a man indeed. I walked into the shower facility at the lab. I took off the outfit Jasper donned to the lab, if I was still a woman it'd be called skimpy and slutty. Tiny shorts with underwear built in and a virtually see through tank top. In two swift moves, I had taken everything off. I had seen my son naked as a child but this is different. He looked so much like his father....well I guess I looked so much like MY dad now. His genetics graced me well as I placed one hand on my pecs and another on my new dick. I squeezed both recoiling from the newfound pleasure. This was wrong right? Like I shouldn't be doing this....I felt disgusted with myself. No. This is for the betterment of Jasper's life. I'm going to let go of my past life....I'm Jasper now.

And what a life it will be. Years of playing sport and training, whew. I wasn't going to let him throw it away, I'll let it be a side job, maybe I'll own a business with a bunch of trainers under me but I won't be hustling like that. Not yet. I gotta learn the new me. I used my hands to trace the curves of each new tattoo, then moved on to each muscle. I poked and prodded before squeezing, then I remembered I had business to attend to. I took one hand and gently took hold of the warm fleshy rod under the steamy water pulsing down onto me. I pumped back and forth for a few minutes. Jasper was not sensitive at all...I shoved aside my reservations and gripped myself firmer and began jerking harder and faster. Eventually I introduced my other hand....oh he was girthy in the best way. I mean I am thick in the best ways. Harder and faster, it felt like I was floating outside of myself as my muscles took over almost like autopilot.

The steam radiated off my new musculature when it felt like I saw a flash of light. Shot after shot came out of my new rod. The lab walls had likely never seen a show like this but I was happy to christen them. The autopilot kinky thoughts continued to take over my new mind and body. I squatted down an licked the nearest wall as my cum dripped down. I knew Jasper was queer but I didn't know how he would respond to this kind of kink. I think he was a little freak because there was not one single butterfly in my stomach from this action. I quickly toweled off and headed to my apartment. I figured "Meredith" could find her way home.

The apartment smelled like a young male in college. A musk twirled around sweat and strong cologne. Foreign to me, but familiar to my new body. I couldn't control myself and ripped my clothes off...literally. My strength made it obscenely easy to tear them off in ways they weren't intended to. I wanted to try on all my new clothes. This body made everything look good.

My phone buzzed. It was one of "my" bros asking if I was coming down to the shoot. I played it off like I forgot and asked him to send me the "deets" again.

I threw on the nearest random shirt and bottoms and made my way to the warehouse address given. I guess "I" had agreed to help with the photoshoot to launch "our" new clothing line. A nearby table had Jasper's name on it and I quickly assumed the position taking off all my clothes and putting the skimpy clothing on. I channeled my new swagger as my bros began taking pics.

Oh I think I'm gonna like this. Hopefully I can find a cute twink or something soon. I really wanna put these thighs to work plowing someone's son or two.

[jasper-the-menace]

I am returning now with more information dredged up from the Planeswalker's Guide to Streets of New Capenna. What else we know about Old Capenna:

The archangels and archdemons together fucking SCRAMBLED to set up New Capenna.

The last fight against the Phyrexians before New Capenna was sealed from Old Capenna happened on the elevator up.

The archdemons went to those who are now the demon family heads and got those five to do the dirty work. The first of these was Falco Spara, who is described as "a brilliant, uncompromising, utterly fanatical lawyer".

Jetmir's druid order wasn't always party-focused, but he was a prodigial son who turned into a druid leader and refused his order's asceticism.

Ziatora was once a bandit leader and berserker who still lives to fight and gain power. She's still the only surviving dragon of Old Capenna.

Raffine believed she was an instrument of prophecy and is outright called "controversial".

In addition to being part of an all-but-dead aristocratic house, we know Xander was jealous of the acclaim his younger peers received. We also know that he and Evelyn dated (and she became the second vampire of Capenna once his pact turned him into the first) and that Anhelo has always been his right-hand man.

Spara was the one who drafted up the agreement between the five families to keep the uneasy peace of the now-angel-less city, which the other four signed.

Because of the story The Contract Breaker, we know that one of the ways down to Old Capenna is along a support girder practically splits an Old Capennan castle in two. I also can't find which story it's in, but I believe it was mentioned that New Capenna was built on the "capital" of Old Capenna.

And thanks to March of the Machine episode 9, we can confirm exactly what I suspected: The devils served as the underlings of the archdemons before and during the transformation of the five demons, as the angels in that episode recognize the demons and devils as being kindred to each other. (At least, that was my reading of it.)

So...yeah, I was totally right with some of these. Though I still wonder how Spara took over the Brokers. Was he a paladin himself? Was he their lawyer? Did paladins serve as lawyers in Old Capenna? Hopefully we can get answers if we ever return to the plane.

MTG fan lore question, what was Old Capenna like? Do you have any ideas™️?

Hey Faust, my dear friend! I had to think on this one for a while, to be completely honest with ya.

Well, as we know, before the Phyrexians showed up and fucked everything, there was a Kingdom Era in the plane, where the five crime families started in different jobs than we see them in now. The Obscura were mystics, wizards, and advisors of the plane's angels; the Maestros were nobles and art aficionados; the Riveteers were artisans, blacksmiths, edificers, and architects; the Cabaretti were a popular druidic faith; the Brokers were paladins. It's even directly compared to the Bant shard of Alara.

We know that Old Capenna also had very few sphinxes, as they were very territorial and vain - they also had temples that they would draw the masses to, vying for worship through their visions and effectively only say the good stuff to keep the masses coming back. But we know Raffine didn't do this song and dance, instead crafting dark prophecies that were far more true and honest than the other sphinxes she knew - her mother, her rival, and her former lover, though she didn't care much for the first two and can't even remember the third at this point.

Xander is mentioned in canon to have been an ailing artist of an all-but-dead aristocratic house, showing that Capenna during the Kingdom Era was probably very, very similar to the romanticized idea of medieval Europe.

Ziatora is mentioned to be the last of the dragons who was able to survive through the power of her contract with an archdemon, so clearly Old Capenna had enough of them to go around and have a pretty sustainable "knight versus dragon" ecological dynamic. We also know that the rest of the dragons are now extinct, as seen in the lines "But where are the other dragons now? For all their righteousness, their gloating and purity, the great dragons of Old Capenna are dust."

The leonin druids that were the Cabaretti were founded by Jetmir, and they enjoyed the cycle of life, death, rebirth, and life eternal and were greatly connected to nature. They also served as entertainment to keep spirits up among settlers, who in turn would keep the druids fed and warm. This dynamic didn't change much when the druids moved into New Capenna and became a crime family.

But surprisingly, we don't actually know much about Falco Spara's past before becoming head of the Brokers, or even if he founded the order that would become them later. All we really know is that he has some of the clearest memories of the founding of New Capenna.

So that's all canon with a bit of speculation at the end of Xander's section. So let's address the elephant in the room: the angels and archdemons.

Given that the only demons with that creature type are the crime lords (and Ob Nixilis as an interloper), that means there were no minor demons left around the time of the Streets of New Capenna block. So either minor demons were wiped out by the Phyrexian invasion that led to New Capenna's construction, or they never existed and only the archdemons did. Personally, I'm leaning towards "normal demons never existed in the first place", because it's hard to believe they would have all been wiped out without a trace. Perhaps the Capennan devils used to serve in that function instead, given that other planes such as Innistrad have them as the "lesser evil" to a demon's "greater evil". There were archangels above the regular angels during the Phyrexian invasion, so it doesn't make sense that archdemons wouldn't have some kind of servant.

I'm particularly interested in what drove the Obscura broadly to join the archdemons, given their closeness to the angels, but I believe it just comes down to survival. The archdemons had the best deals for New Capenna and could even repurpose the angels into Halo, so it makes sense that even the Obscura would turn against their angelic masters.

Hopefully this gave ya something to think about, Faust!

~Jasper

[cookie-crumblr]

Chubby F! Housewife Reader X M!Yandere Streamer OC Jasper

Part 2!

Next part

Part 1 Here!

MINORS DNI!

CW: F!reader, reader referred to as she/her, reader has a vagina, reader in a dress and bra(so has breast, dw not described! :3) noncon implications, violence against reader (not by ML), STILL NO SMUT!? WHO AM I ?? XD luv y’all have fun!

*Smack!* *Thwack!* *Smack!*

“Don’t slip up now!” You giggle slightly out of breath already.

“Hah! Speak for yourself, be careful not to trip!” Jasper retorts.

*THWACK!* You hit another tennis ball this time with all the oomf you can muster.

His indoor tennis court is in its own area of the house, the floor and walls are a black and white spiral that add to the trippy illusion of his entire home.

You’re both opposing a machine that is spitting out balls at you at the speed of fucking light. You haven’t done anything like this since highschool maybe, but for the most part you’ve kept up perfectly!

He’s impressed. Not to mention he keeps almost missing hits because of your dress barely covering you, and your jumping and moving around exposing more and more of yourself. He can’t help but get a little distracted.

*Smack!”

He gets a little closer to the middle at the same time that you dove for the ball and miss, and you start falling. You see the strange floor coming closer and hold your arms out to try and catch yourself, until it stops suddenly and you’re hanging there in the air.

He caught you in his arm, and threw away his racket to support you with his other.

He presses a button on his keyring, stopping the onslaught of balls, as you stare up at him, a growing warmth spreads across your face.

You’re both out of breath and bust out laughing now.

“Thanks! That was fun, really got my mind off… Stuff hah!” you say and look away while getting your barings back.

“you’re always welcome here. can i see your phone?” He asks while fixing his shirt. You hand it over, you had it in your bra, and pull it out without much thought, and when you turn back his pale face is red. “Ahem, uh just text when you wanna come over and give me a minute, i’ll most likely be ‘round” he coughs.

“Thanks so much Jasper! I really appreciate this!” excitedly, you thank him again.

~

“Where the fuck were you!?” Edward sprays spit as he fumes and interrogates you.

“I went for a walk…” You answer, and before you can say more he continues to barrage you.

“At this time of night!? are you fucking stupid?”

“No! I was just chilly on the deck, so i-”

“Why not just come back inside? Gods why did i marry a brainless fucking imbecile,”

“Sorry…” You try to end the argument, maybe if you just apologized you can get out of it.

“Prove it.”

Your brows knit, “Wh-what?”

“Prove. It. Are you that fucking stupid? on your knees.”

you swallow and get down, turning your head away from him, even though you know in your sickly feeling bones what’s coming.

“Look at me.”

Fuck… Don’t. regardless of you’re marriage, you hate that you’re turned on in this circumstance.

“Look. At. Me, Darling~” he fumes.

Begrudgingly, you look up, and give him your best smile, feeling like the sludge building up in your veins will spill out any second.

You love Edward… Yes.

~

He punched you that night, you don’t even remember why. Now you have to try and hide your black eye before the employees see. or anyone else for that matter. You didn’t sleep after that either… You were just dissociating and going in and out of waking night terrors that felt so real, as if all night he was tormenting you, while really, he simply slept next to you.

“Jasper, can I come ove—” you erase the text message almost as soon as you typed it. You probably shouldn’t even go outside in the sunlight with this shiner.

“Hey Y/N! hope you’re alright, what’s been up?” Jasper sends you a text that you don’t reply to… You don’t feel like it. Who even is he? just your neighbor that kinda flirts with you even though you’re married.

“Homewrecker!” You surprise yourself, and cover your mouth. Ops… You haven’t really spoken to anyone in at least a day.

You wait a few more days when at least the swelling is all down and the colour is almost a skin tone again, at least it isn’t purple anymore.

“Howdy Jasper! sorry i went on a mini vacation! what have you been up to?” You lie. You haven’t even left the sunroom except for the bathroom. Hopfully he just didn’t notice that you didn’t actually leave to go anywhere…

He did. He knows you’re lying too. You think he couldn’t see you through all those windows? Just because you have sheer curtains and we’re surrounded by big plants. He watched you.

He edged himself to you. Never letting himself actually cum.

He didn’t see your eye, but he knows something had to have happened, he just doesn’t know what.

Before he can reply you send another, “Actually can I just come over?” You decide to risk it. The makeup you ordered, and that came in yesterday, should cover the rest of it at this point at least.

Maybe you were a bit dramatic… All he did— No. We’re not going down any of those roads.

“Yes, I just cleaned up actually :)”

“Scared of me seeing your place a little messy?”

“Would you blame me?” You weren’t expecting that answer. You don’t know what you expected, but that answer just wasn’t on the list.

You hop over to hedges between your yards and don’t even look back as you pass through the gate. It latches behind you.

He answers the door as soon as you ring the bell, he must���ve been waiting right there! The thought makes your heart flutter.

“Hey Jasper!” You try to keep your eye out of direct sunlight until he lets you inside, and you feel like you can breathe again.

“Howdy neighbor! What’ll ya have to drink t’day?” He asks going to his retro looking fridge.

“I want what you’re having!” You pout a little, and he chuckles in response.

“You’re so cute,” he reaches into a drawer and pulls out two silver and pale blue cans.

While he’s reaching you notice something that looks like a splotch of blood on his side. You gasp, “Jasper! are you okay??”

“What? Why? ‘m fine?”

You rush over to him and point to the blood, you almost grabbed at his shirt to look for any injury, but managed to stop yourself, he’s still a stranger… kinda.

“Oh shit! jus’ a Second” he runs off presumably to change, so you sit at the bar, and admire his interesting design style.

i when he finally returns he’s in a black, even more ripped up shirt, that’s covered in safety pins, and has some metal looking band logo.

“Sorry, I don’t know where that came from” he laughs nervously.

You laugh, a brow raised in unspoken question, but move on, “So what’s on the agenda for today?”

“I have a pool—”

“No! Thank you, ahah, um sorry no thanks,” You apologize profusely for your outburst.

“You don’t gotta apologize, no pool, gotit,” he holds up a thumb and smirks with his head tilted, his black hair falls at an angle covering even more of his face. His teeth poke out like fangs over his pulled up lip.

Your face feels hot, “Okay, sorry,”

He lightly laughs, “I have a few gaming setups, and a PlayStation”

“Okay! I don’t really know any games you’ll have to teach me! is that okay?”

His grin widens, almost too excitedly, but you’re excited too, so you think nothing of it.

He picks a shooter first, you can’t even keep your head in a forward position, you keep aiming either up in the air or down at your feet. Before you start to actually get frustrated, Jasper scoots closer on the couch, and puts his hand over yours on the controller.

His thumb gently guides yours up and foreword, his body brushes up next to you.

You feel hotter in this proximity, and his hand is warmer than the other night, but still chilled. His long, slim fingers are pale with black nails and a few silver rings.

You feel his breath in your hair and turn your head, accidentally putting your lips right in front of his, you both look speedily at each others, and then up into each other’s eyes.

Pale, icy cold blue orbs stare deeply into you. He licks his lip.

You stand up too quickly and get slight vertigo, “S-sorry! I forgot I had some-things to do today! Um, Groceries! yes. ahem. bye!”

“Y/N.” Something in the sound of his voice freezes you to your bones, you don’t quite turn to look, but you turn to show you’re listening. “What happened to your eye?” He asks.

[maltmealo]

Chapter 3:analog_mannquin

Where did they come from?

--------------------------------------------------------------

Optimus looked at the tiny human, she was asleep again. Questions upon questions ran through his mind, how was she alive? If what she said was true then she should not be here in Jasper. Optimus watched as Ratchet measured the EMF around her, Bulkhead was standing to the side nervously tapping his digits together.

“Ratchet, did I hurt her?” he asked, leaning back on the wall, “Optimus didn't get anywhere near her head though! I just kept her from falling,” he trailed off, going back to staring at the floor.

“No, you didn’t, and there is nothing there! Like she just magically healed herself, there is not even a cut on her.” the old doctor said pointing towards her now-cleaned forehead. “This is weird, a human falling out of a ground bridge that isn't an actual ground bridge, saying she got hit by a truck, and then bleeding like this?”

Optimus shakes his head, staring at the human on the cold metal table, “I do not believe she is in league with the deceptions, if she was, she wouldn’t let herself be so vulnerable, it is unlike a Decepticon to risk death for a chance that we would save them.” Optimus says, staring at the human's energon on my hand, “Ratchet are you sure the human is okay? This is an obscene amount of energon loss for a human, and I do not believe it should be red like this.”

Ratchet let out a short snort, “Optimus, humans don’t have energon, they have blood, and blood is supposed to be red,” he said smugly, “The government human that comes here made me take a human ‘biology’ class like i’d ever need to use that.”

Optimus sighed and looked up at him, “His name is agent fowler, and even if he did make you take that class, it was useful was it not?” Ratchet huffs and turns around, mumbling a yes. Optimus shook his head and turned to look at the small human unconscious on the table, she wasn’t bleeding anymore, which was good. His mind races as Optimus recalls the fresh memory of what had happened.

“Optimus, there is an unusual EMF reading west of the base,” Ratchet spoke, pointing at the screen, “looks like a ground bridge signal but it's different, stronger.”

Optimus snapped out of his daze, the dull anger building up inside him stopping as he spoke. Megatron’s army had been destroying them, the recent losses weighing heavily on his mind. Optimus walks up to him, looking at the screen, the dull beeping of machines running cutting off his trail of thought. Optimus looked around, spotting Bulkhead, the rest of the team had gone to recharge, Bulkhead almost going with them.

“Bulkhead, you and I will go to find out the source of the EMF signal.” Optimus says as Bulkhead turns around and nods, “Ratchet, open the ground bridge.”

The ground bridge opens, Bulkhead and Optimus run into the ground bridge, running off into the desert night. A faint purple glow emanates above them, a rift in the sky had opened, the rough yellow sand almost glowing, reflecting the purple gap’s light. Optimus and Bulkhead stopped, readying for a fight. But none comes, only a tiny human limply falling to the ground like a rock. Bulkhead being closer, somehow managed to catch them.

"Optimus… what do we do?" Bulkhead asks, curling his digits around their body, water dripping into the sand. They looked like they just swam through the Pacific Ocean, pale and drenched.

"Are they breathing?" Optimus questioned, hovering his hand over the human. Humans need oxygen to survive, if they didn't breathe, they would die, he remembered that. Bulkhead scanned their body, nodding.

"They're alive, should take 'em to ratchet though." He confirmed, waiting for the prime to agree with him, "Right?"

Before Optimus could answer, the loud sound of energon guns firing drew his attention from the soaked human in Bulkhead's servo. A group of Decepticons was charging at them, the Decepticons had tracked the strange EMF signal as well.

"Ratchet, open the ground bridge at our coordinates," Optimus commands into his communicator, firing back at the Decepticons. He didn't have time to think of the potential consequences of taking a strange human into their base, if they didn't leave now, they would be overwhelmed by Decepticons. “Bulkhead, we’re bringing the human with us.”

Bulkhead nodded and fired a couple of shots at the Decepticons to slow them down, keeping the human close to his chest as he began to back up. Optimus fired his energon gun at the top of the ridge, making boulders fall in front of the Decepticons, slowing them temporarily. The bright blue glow of the ground bridge opened behind them, illuminating the silhouettes of the two giants. The two quickly ran through the bridge, leaving the Decepticons, who were now over the boulders, in the middle of the dark desert.

Optimus and Bulkhead, walk into the metal hanger, Ratchet waiting for them. He almost looked offended when they produced the human, his face changing from shock to horror.

“A human was caught in between the fight?” he asked, his voice wavering between fear and shock. He quickly snatches the human from Bulkhead’s servo, setting her on a way too big, metal table meant for the Autobots when they get hurt. A translucent blue light scans over the human’s body, their scans popping up on the screen behind Ratchet, as he turned around, he visibly relaxed, although a look of confusion was on his face.

“Ratchet, is something wrong?” Bulkhead asked, anxiously wringing his servos, the human resting on the table seemed to have dried off, only being slightly damp now, they were shaking on the table, still recharging. “Why are they shaking like that?”

“I don’t know, I'm a cybertronian doctor, not a human one.” Ratchets states, watching the human, “But the EMF reading is coming from this human.”

“But humans don’t emit EMF right?” Bulkhead looked to Ratchet for confirmation, confused as to why a human was giving off electromagnetic signals.

“Not to this level,” Ratchet remarked, gesturing to the screen, “This EMF level is comparable to high amounts of Energon, it’s a wonder we didn’t find them sooner.”

“Oh that's ‘cause they fell out of a portal thingy.” Bulkhead proclaimed, an excited look on his face, “Do you think this human has magic?”

“Bulkhead, humans don’t have magic, you’ve been watching too many of those human shows.” Ratchet expressed, slightly annoyed, “It’s most likely they’ve been exposed to some sort of cybertronian device that opened that ‘portal’ and left an EMF on them.”

Optimus who had been silent up until this point spoke up, “Will they be okay?” Ratchet shrugged and turned back towards the screen.

“She needs a human doctor to tell her that,” Ratchet stated, his face plate contorting into a grimace, his voice suddenly changing from concern to fearful anger, “Did you two not consider the fact that this human might be a Decepticon spy?”

Optimus inwardly cringed at the thought, humans were small and weak creatures compared to them, but the human government had proved to be able to do at least some damage to the Decepticons, he had never thought that maybe these small fleshy creatures would be on the Decepticons side. Although he highly doubted the fact that this human was one of the Decepticons, he was ashamed that he didn’t think fast enough to think of the possible danger he just put his team in.

“Ratchet, I made the decision to bring them here, and it seemed as if the Decepticons were investigating the portal as well,” Optimus stated, unable to tear his optics away from the human.

“Are you sure that they fell out of a portal? Not that they were just thrown there by the Decepticons?” Ratchet questioned, leaning on the table the human was on.

“I’m sure that they fell from some sorta portal!” Bulkhead yelled, agitated that Ratchet was accusing the human of being a spy.

“And then you brought them here? Bulkhead, what if they were a Decepticon spy!” Ratchet proclaimed, not looking for an answer.

“Ratchet is right, bulkhead,” Optimus answered, “But then again, they appeared to be in distress, and as Autobots, it is our duty to help those in distress.”

As Ratchet was about to speak up, a scream came from the human, who was now awake. Their gazes flicked down to the tiny human who was scampering away from the middle of the table.

The flashback ended as Arcee and Cliffjumper entered the room, greeting the three. Cliffjumper gasped as he saw the human on the table, basically running over and slamming his hands on the table, leaning in to get a better look.

“A new human? Did Bulkhead crush this one’s car again?” Cliffjumper joked as Ratchet pushed him away from the table gently. Arcee came up beside him and looked at the human, asking the same question.

“Why do we have a human on the table?” she questioned, keeping her partner from poking at the small human.

“Bulkhead and Optimus found her falling from a portal,” Ratchet answered gruffly, “Why are the two of you here, weren’t you guys recharging?”

“Not tired anymore, who are they?” he ask, poking the human's side, their body jolting in response. Optimus let out a small inaudible exvent, relieved to see that the human was at least responding in some capacity. Arcee swatched Cliffjumper’s hand away.

Ratchet relays their name to the two, “Fowler has been informed and we’re running their name through this slow human database.” Ratchet scoffs, smearing at the screen.

The beeping of computers overwhelms the noise in the room, Cliffjumper trying to continuously poke at the human as Arcee prevents him, Ratchet looking through the data on the screen, various individuals of the same name popping up, but none looking quite like the human on the table. Optimus walks off, entrusting the human to the good doctor's service. He needed to recharge, at least for a moment, not really tired but something pulling him towards the alluring haze of sleep.

[kaeso4ka]

Hi! From your yandere Optimus NSFW Alphabet, reader had rejected Optimus before eventually gave in to his advances. Could you do the story/elaboration/scenario of how did that happen? Thanks!

Hi. Sorry for the long reply :)

Oh well… This story better start at the beginning isn't it?

You met him by chance. Well, no, it wasn't. He was the one who happened to see you during a very ordinary patrol in Jasper. You barely noticed the truck: there's a highway near Jasper that leads to the big city. There are a lot of truckers there. But there was other news: the truck noticed you.

Actually, it's not love at first sight, but sheer lunacy. Optimus tries to rationalize his feelings that arose the moment his gaze fell on the human figure, but… But at some point, the mech just stops doing that. Even perfect Prime isn't so perfect. Sometimes.

The fact that you got to the Autobots' base is almost accidental. Almost. You don't suspect a thing, and Optimus Prime is in no hurry to confess anything. No one will believe that the brave leader of the Autobots brought another man to the base on purpose. Everyone will ask the question, "why?" Even Optimus won't be able to answer.

Okay, you don't like this very much. Alien warfare, Decepticons, your new partner… You're a regular Jasper resident. You don't want to be at the center of the madness! But Optimus convinces you it's for your own safety. And your safety is important to you. But is it safer with Prime?

Optimus Prime's attention to you seems strange. You dismiss the bad thoughts as nonsense. But something inside you tells you that this mech is just as much to be feared as any other organic obsessive-compulsive suitor. But it's a machine. A robot. Is xenophilia allowed on Cybertron?

On Cybertron, xenophilia is punishable by death, but not when the xenophile is Prime. The truth is revealed, like a nuclear bomb going off, and you're horrified. You don't know where to go or who to ask for help. Agent Fowler, the government, no one will help. Not when you've been banned by the goddamn king of an alien race.

Optimus doesn't do anything terrible after he confesses. Almost. Prime throws you gifts, takes you through the portal to all sorts of scenic places. Tells you about Cybertron, reads you poetry. Every minute he tells you he loves you. He loves you, so he forbids you to move around on your own. He loves you, so he suggests cyberforming - turning you into a Cybertronian after Prime creates an artifact. Loves you, so he'll merge with you immediately after cyberforming you with Sparks, forever binding your lives and destinies together. You're terrified.

One day Optimus rapes you, but hey, it's certainly not rape. Optimus thinks it is. You didn't agree, but you cum on him anyway. And cried. But… It's the little things in life, isn't it?

Optimus is not happy with you. And your behavior. You tried to escape him, and when you couldn't, you wanted to leave his life willingly. Prime doesn't yell at you, but his silence makes your condition worse. You ask what's going to happen next. Optimus is still silent.

… and then you're given a condition, and that's when you realize it's over. Either you stay with that Mech forever, for millions of years, or Earth is going to be very bad. And the worst part is that no one will believe that the good and brave Optimus Prime could do and say something like that. No one would believe that he's insane, obsessed with a sick love for you.

And so the years pass. You await your fate: the cyber-formation and the merging of the Sparks. You almost pray for Megatron and the Decepticons. You wait not for them to win, but for them to end your suffering by ripping the Spark from Optimus Prime's chest.

[panlight]

Let's say that vampirism actually enhances a person's WORST trait (rather than an innate ability or power). What would be each Cullen's enhanced flaw?

I keep trying to answer this and I keep coming back to like, twisting their positive traits into a flaw, so I guess that's where my brain is going with this.

Like, Carlisle. I think if negative things were enhanced we'd end up with someone who is like . . . 'saving' everyone. He knows best, he wants to help, congrats you're a vampire now whether that's something you'd ever have wanted or not. He'd like amass a huge coven much more quickly and before he himself had really beaten the bloodlust/thirst stuff, so either it's just way too many vampires to keep in line and they start killing lots of people, or it really becomes a cult-like sort of thing with his natural ability to draw people to him also being twisted/corrupted. Probably wiped out by the Volturi early on because yikes.

With Edward I guess it would be his judgmental streak? Already in canon he is pretty quick to decide this person is bad based on a few idle thoughts, thoughts this person might actually consider intrusive, or thoughts they would never voice nor act on. He's probably leave on his rebellion much sooner because he would be convinced he'd ridding the world of monsters and Carlisle's like, "he's just like my father." I think whether he can still read minds in this scenario or not wouldn't really make a difference, he'd still appoint himself judge, jury and executioner.

The dark side of ability to love, to me, is possessiveness and jealousy. So an Esme with flaws intensified I see as someone who is very possessive and jealous of those she loves, to a manipulative and unhealthy degree. Lots of guilt-trips and "don't you love me?" and all that. Carlisle probably can't keep a job because she's jealous of the time he spends there; the kids probably don't go to school because she wants them with her, etc.

SM seemed pretty happy to highlight Rosalie's flaws already; her vanity, self-absorption, her rudeness. But I think if her power is beauty than the enhanced flaw has to be related to that too, so either enhanced vanity or maybe she's more like a Heidi type who can lure people in not just with looks but with a little something supernaturally extra. Whether she still abstains from human blood or not, she could still use and manipulate people with that kind of power.

Emmett's competitiveness and impulsiveness could be the enhanced flaws. It would be sort of like James, I'd imagine, constantly compelled to put himself (and his family) in increasing levels of danger. It could also enhance his temper; instead of being kind of playfully competitive, he gets actually violently angry.

I mean Alice, let's be real, already manipulates reality and the people in to her will based on her visions. She does so in an attempt to bring about the 'best' future possible, but it still veers into questionable territory pretty quickly. If her sort of pushiness and desire to know and control everything were enhanced, it would take what is already sort of there in canon and push it all the way into a really dark place where she's pulling the strings and creating a future that solely benefits her and doesn't care one bit about who might be harmed in the process.

Jasper lack of self-control intensified would also be, uh, really bad. I suppose he would have been killed by Maria pretty early on if he was that impossible to rein in, unless he killed her first and then the Volturi would have to step in because there is this out of control killing machine who can't control himself running around. If we stick with his gift being corrupted/turned into a flaw, that charismatic streak that he had could turn into a power to actually make people do things, like mind-control of sorts. I personally don't like mind control powers because the lack of free will really squicks me out, but I can go with something like hypnosis, where like some people are more susceptible than others and you can't really get someone to do something they wouldn't do as themselves. So like he couldn't compel the average person to serve as his Renfield or to murder people on his behalf, but he could find people who were susceptible to the power of suggestion AND who had that darkness already in them and get them to do almost anything.

[apollos-forgotten-flower-bf]

Can we talk and rant about Leo valdez and valgrace please

ALWAYS.

Leo is, and has been, my FAVOURITE Heroes of Olympus character since I opened The Lost Hero. The "stupid", impulsive, comedy relief, who also are EXTREMELY relatable characters have ALWAYS been favourites of mine. Many other people like him too — and it's completely deserved! He's funny, he cares for his friends, he's extremely talented, and he's smart! Really, there isn't a "stupid" part about him. Even the negatives to his personality — the jokes made at inappropriate times, imposter syndrome, faking arrogance, etc. — make him feel so much more human! He is so well-written; an amazing character who is easily loveable, and IS loved by the fandom! I think a lot of the people who dislike Leo, and say they dislike him because he's "overrated" are just...wrong. He isn't "overrated", he's a good character receiving the love a good character deserves! Are you going to tell me that Percy is overrated? Or Annabeth? And I'm not saying that you can't dislike Leo for no reason. Though, I personally won't agree, I can't stop you. I'm just saying that, giving a reason like "he's overrated" will just be wrong.

The only part that I don't like about what Rick Riordan did with Leo over the course of H.O.O and T.O.A is pair him with Calypso. Like, really? A 16-year-old with obvious self-esteem issues and a lack of social awareness with an overly-critical, argumentative, 5000-year-old TITANESS? REALLY???? I had liked Calypso at first, in Battle of the Labyrinth, but every time she shows up after that just...pisses me off. And the fact that Leo didn't even need a relationship in the first place. Why could Rick just leave Leo single? Or; make valgrace canon.

Speaking of valgrace (haha), I have been a valgrace shipper since before I even read H.O.O (i saw some of it on tiktok and was just like "yep. That seems about right.") so I have been piling up reasons that they should've been endgame. They obviously care a lot for each other! They had their little Medea-induced fight in TLH, sure, but even afterwards; Jason apologized, and they went back to being friends, so easily! Jason seems to be the only one who can tolerate Leo and his bafoonery at times, much better than Calypso does, and Leo is one of the only people to actually treat Jason like a person, rather than "the Mighty Son of Jupiter" or "the Great Warrior of Camp Jupiter." To Leo, Jason is just Jason. Some guy he met, and who happens to be his best friend. Who cares that he could snap Leo like a twig? He's just a dude. And, even though a lot of characters see Leo as this dumb guy that can only work with machines, Jason knows otherwise. That's why they'd be so good together! They KNOW each other, beyond what their pasts and abilities are. In all of their interactions together throughout the series, they always seemed more comfortable together than with others. Jason never knew how he was supposed to act around the others of the 7, because he knew they saw him as some kind of leader, and expected him to have the answers all the time. But with Leo, he knew Leo didn't set some ridiculously high standards with him. And, they'd be better together than with their canon partners. I shouldn't need to give reasons why caleo sucks, right? And, Jiper (or Jasper) was doomed from the start. Imagine randomly waking up on a bus, no memories, holding a girls hand — and she claims to be your girlfriend. Anybody would be confused. Jason stated multiple times in H.O.O that he didn't know what he was supposed to do in his relationship, with fear of not living up to Piper's expectations of him. Neither of them even asked to be in the relationship! It was completely based on fake-memories caused by Hera, which would be a horrible basis for any relationship. Also, I headcanon them as gay & lesbian, so I also see it as a form of comphet. A really fucked up form of comphet. I think the only reason Valgrace wouldn't work out would be the fact that one was destined to die — "to Storm or Fire", not "and". Which makes the ship even more tragic! The person they knew best, and that knew them best, destined to die before them with no way of getting around it? FUCK, that hurts. The amount of times I've cried over Valrgace could have my tears used to restore rainforests. Finally, this was a great excuse to post my first valgrace fanart, so thank you.

I spent 2½ hours on this, 7—11 am this morning, and ohh my god(s) my back hurts so bad rn. I got the design for Jason and inspo for this overall piece from the tiktok page @miles (meowrales) (one of my fav h.o.o artists AND THEY LIKED THE SPEEDPAINT I POSTED of this SO 🎉🎉🎉)

If requested, I'll upload the picture w/out the text (which are the lyrics of I, Carrion (Icarian) by Hozier.)

Share your rants or favourite headcanons of valgrace, Leo, and/or Jason :) I'd love to hear them!

[queen-of-writing-bad-things]

Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 3

Episode 5: The Trouble with Frittles

~In the Man Cave~

It was official, the city had gone insane. In the world's craziest PR stunt, the Frittle Company had decided to release two new chip flavours, Bodacious Blue Bacon and Raging Red Rhubarb. Both were wacky, both were weird and both had sent Swellview into a meltdown when the sneaky CEO announced that only one flavour would become a steady product. Now, everyone was bacon or rhubarb, red or blue. 

It was the same in the Man Cave. Henry and (y/n) were Bodacious Blue Bacon all the way and Ray had found an ally in Jasper for Raging Red Rhubarb, not that the true fighting had begun yet.

"Hey, Schwoz." Ray greeted his funny little handyman as he and his girlfriend came down from the sprocket. He was munching on some red Frittles, but (y/n) wouldn't say anything, not yet. Bacon was way better than rhubarb, however, she loved her boyfriend and knew that he'd take her different opinion as the ultimate betrayal.

"What's the scoop?" (y/n) quipped as she watched Schwoz shovel oats into the auto-snacker with a small scooper. God, she loved puns, Schwoz though, not so much.

"I'm filling the snack machine with oats for my sister." He answered after rolling his eyes, making Ray groan. Not that damn horsewoman.

"Ugh, Winnie's still here?" He grumbled, which caused (y/n) to smack him on the arm. She didn't want him to be rude about Schow'z family, but then again, having an equine madwoman around the place did make having time for themselves tricky. She didn't have an understanding of boundaries.

"She's only been visiting for two days." Schwoz frowned, thinking that the large man was overreacting.

"I know, but...she looks like a horse and she freaks me out!" Ray whined, shoving another Frittle into his mouth. Those eyes; they followed him around the room and it made making out with his girl extremely freaky for him.

"Shhhhh! She's right over there." hushed Schwoz and the three looked over to see Winnie stood sleeping by the elevator, snorting and whinnying like a horse. "Schleeping." Schwoz smiled, she was his sister and he loved her even if she was odd.

"Ignore him, he's just cranky." (y/n) smiled at Ray and leant up to kiss him, but the man jerked his lips away when he saw Schwoz snacking on something repulsive over her head. Blue Frittles? What the fu...

"Hey, dude, uh...if you really like those...blue Frittles, you really gotta try these Raging Red Rhubarb ones, 'cause they're really good." Ray retched at the thought of the Bacon flavour and (y/n) pouted as he ignored her kiss for some dumb chips. Well, he definitely wouldn't like it when he found out what her preference was.

"Eh, (y/n) and I think the blue chips are better." Schwoz shrugged and the young woman gulped as she nervously looked at her boyfriend. He slammed his can of Frittles down and looked at her with annoyed eyes. Honestly, it's the ones that you love the most that hurt you the most.

"I mean, the rhubarb's nice, but the bacon is, y'know, nicer." She smiled shakily, but he wasn't impressed. His darling, sweet girl was in league with the blue Frittles? Ew.

"On Tuesday, you're both voting for the red chips," Ray told the two, making (y/n)'s smile drop instantly. He wanted her to do what now? 

"Okay, A, don't tell me what to do, B, no, we're not and C, don't use that tone with me or you won't be getting any for the next four weeks." She replied sternly, moving to stand next to Schwoz with her hands on her hips. She loved him, always, but she wasn't going to get bullied into something. Her opinion was valid.

"The red chips are better." Ray insisted, looking at both of his friends with a serious face. He didn't want to go a whole month with no touch from his girl, but he wanted, no, he needed those rhubarb Frittles in his life and every vote counted.

"What's it like to be so stupid?" The small guy folded his arms and looked at his boss with as much disdain as the woman next to him. If they wanted to vote for blue, they were gonna vote blue.

"You shouldn't even be allowed to vote." Ray hissed back, making (y/n) step in front of her little friend protectively. 

"And what's that supposed to mean?" She asked him in a pissed off tone, staring at him with a hard gaze and folded arms. God, he was such a drama queen sometimes.

"You know exactly what that means, sweet girl," Ray growled at her softly and tried to walk away, mumbling something about Schwoz going back to his own country. Schwoz, being a small guy, wasn't one for extreme acts of violence, but being told to go back home over a damn chip got his dander up. He sprinted across the room and leapt onto Ray's back, strangling the startled man as they struggled.

"Seriously? All this over a chip flavour?!" (y/n) shouted at the men, who were spinning wildly across the room. She couldn't bear to watch as they knocked into the peaceful Winnie, setting her off into a frenzy. Geez, what a mess.

"Oh, for god's sake!" The young woman shrieked and tried to avoid getting clipped by Winnie's flailing arms as she made her way over to Ray and Schwoz. At this point, Ray had peeled Schwoz away from his back and was holding him under his arms like a child. It was quite a comical sight, not that Schwoz was laughing.

"Put me down!" He grunted, kicking his legs around in the air as he struggled to get free. It was a useless attempt though, Captain Man's clutches were strong and used to holding even the toughest of criminals. Puny Schwoz had no chance of escape.

"Nope, I know where to put you," Ray smirked and marched Schwoz over to the big barrel of oats he'd brought down for Winnie. He wasn't going to put him in there, was he?

"Raymond, don't be ridiculo---oh, god." (y/n) facepalmed as she watched her boyfriend plunge the poor repairman face-first into the oats, leaving nothing but his calves and feet sticking out of the top. It was an immature move that proved he'd won, but Ray couldn't help but feel like he'd gained one thing and lost another; the adoration of his sweet girl.

"Unbelievable." (y/n) hissed and walked off to grab the blue can of Frittles that Schwoz had left lying around. If he wanted a war, he could have won, he could stick her in with Schwoz if he wanted, she didn't care.

~

The couple were sat on opposite ends of the couch's crescent curve and each enjoyed their respective books and chips. Normally, the girl would be glued to his side and he'd press kisses to her head whenever she giggled at a funny line in her novel, but this wasn't normal. It was boyfriend versus girlfriend, red versus blue and neither were gonna back down, not even when the elevator dinged and Henry and Charlottes stepped onto the battlefield. 

"Oh, hey guys," Ray smirked at the teens as they frowned at the scene. They couldn't discern which was weirder, Schwoz in a tub full of oats, or seeing the world's cuddliest couple sat so far apart. However, the sharp flick of (y/n) turning her page over (with sass) told them that she was pissed off and the presence of the Frittles said even more. All out couple war.

"Uhhhh, Ray? (y/n/n)?" Charlotte asked the couple nervously, wondering why they were both acting as though nothing was wrong. They should be kissing for the fiftieth time that day by now, not munching on Frittles.

"Yeah, what goes on?" The superhero asked cooly, not glancing up from his book, although (y/n) did sneak a peek. It reminded her of ten years earlier when she first came to the Man Cave and would study the features of his face from behind the safety of her book. It was never more than a glimpse since she didn't want to risk her handsome boss noticing and she always told herself that it wasn't checking him out, it was just an analysis. Little did she know that he too often gave her an "analysis" to memorise the way she bit her lip at the tense part or wiggled her toes when she got to the happy ending. 

This wasn't like that though, she was observing the enemy, seeing if he was as uninterested as he sounded and she stuck her nose back in her book when she saw that he was. There was a small "analysis" on the side too though, she had to admit that she had never been very good at resisting those. 

"Did you stuff Schwoz into a bucket of...oats?" Henry questioned as Charlotte dashed over to help the screaming man, making (y/n) chuckle humourlessly.

"No, I don't recall seeing Schwoz today." Ray brushed off the comment as popped another Frittle into his mouth as Henry went to help Charlotte yank him out. 

"That's funny because I do, babe." (y/n) remarked, spitting out the pet name like it was nasty on her tongue. Ray didn't take it to heart though, he knew it was just fighting talk. Never in their history had she called him babe. Doofus? yes. Handsome? yes. Babe? no. It wasn't her style, she'd given him her names for him and they always fell from her lips with so much sweetness, it sent him crazy. It was cold and lonely without her, but it would be over in a few days, hopefully.

The couple's focus was stolen from the lines in their books as Henry and Charlotte pushed the oat bucket over, freeing Schwoz from his torture. He stood up furiously, shaking off the oats from up his sleeves and glared at his boss, but it was safe to say that Ray didn't give a toss.

"Oh, hey, Schwoz. Where you been all day?" Ray smirked and nibbled on another chip. That cocky smile, it both boiled (y/n)'s blood and made her shudder with desire.

"You know! You stuffed me in that bucket of oats!" Schwoz cried and Ray giggled at the reminder. 

"Oh, yeah. Good for me." He chuckled, snapping his book shut as his girlfriend studied his every mood. When he wanted to be, he could be so damn annoying.

"(y/n), why didn't you help me?" Schwoz whined and stamped his foot, making the young woman lift an eyebrow. She wasn't cruel or uncaring and she wanted to help, but...

"Well, I wanted to, I really did, but Ray said he'd never kiss me again if I went near you. Don't get me wrong, Schwoz, you're great, but I'm not giving that up after waiting nine years so..." She trailed off when she witnessed the rage build in Schowz's eyes until it reached its boiling point. The small man wrapped an arm around Ray's neck and yanked him backwards in a chokehold, making Henry, Charlotte and (y/n) panic.

"No, no, no!" Henry freaked and dashed over to pull Schwoz away, but for such a small guy, he was quite strong. It must have been all the lugging and loading Ray made him do.

"Okay, Schwoz, let go now." (y/n) pleaded with the guy and put a knee on either side of Ray's hips so she could lean over him and prise Schwoz's fingers from his throat. Her boyfriend had been pissing her off all day, but she didn't want any actual fighting going on. She loosened his grip as Henry pulled him away, causing Ray to collapse on her as he gasped for air. The couple toppled onto the floor, with Ray panting into her neck as she winced at the rough landing, although having her boyfriend on top of her did have its perks.

"Schwoz! My spchoon is too schmall!" Winnie trotted into the Man Cave as her brother seethed and Ray sneakily pressed his lips to (y/n)'s neck, feeling her pulse under his lips. She giggled at him when he pulled back and his eyes crinkled with happiness as he took into her flushed cheeks and the rapid rising and falling of her chest. Chips or no chips, they were still dorks in love.

"Well, what am I supposed to do about it?" Schwoz asked his sister, not wanting to leave his argument unsettled.

"Go get your sister a bigger schpoon!" Henry told him and shoved him in the horsey lady's direction as Ray raised his body from (y/n)'s and balanced himself on his knees.  

"Oh, schweet," Schwoz grumbled in his strange accent but complied anyway. He knew when to walk away, sort of.

"Why'd you shove Schwoz in a bucket of oats?" Charlotte asked the large man as (y/n) gazed at him with playful eyes, pushing her boobs out a little in a way to lure him to her side. It was tempting, very tempting, but rhubarb was just his vibe.

"Because I'm the boss around here! And he and (y/n) were talking about blue chips and how great they are." Ray grumbled, scrambling to his feet and offering a hand to his girl. Sure,  she was a tease and the enemy in the battle, but he was a gentleman through and through and he wasn't going to leave his queen on the floor. 

"They are great, way better than those icky red chips," Henry noted, screwing his nose up at the thought of the sour taste of the rhubarb Frittles, which didn't go down very well with the big, blue aficionado, Ray Manchester.

"What are you talking about?" Ray let go of (y/n)'s hand and stood straighter as he looked at Henry with disgust. Another blue? First, his sweet girl, now his faithful sidekick, his friends sure had bad taste.

"Here we go again..." The young woman groaned, pinching her nose as the boys glowered at each other.

"Oh, come on, you guys! This is so dumb!" Charlotte voiced her annoyance too, although she was more neutral than (y/n) since she didn't give a shit about red or blue. She thought the world had gone mad and she sure as hell wouldn't be voting for a winner.

"Dumb?" Ray gawped at the young girl with an incredulous expression. This wasn't dumb, this was the question of the century: red or blue?

"How can you say that?" Henry added, making Charlotte roll her eyes. Despite his calmer nature, Henry was as big of a drama queen as Ray, especially when it came to being competitive.

"'Cause, no matter which chip wins, nothing's gonna change! I mean, remember when they came out with nacho cheese-flavoured chips that everyone thought were gonna change the world? Well, they didn't. Then, they gave us sour cream and onion, nothing changed. Then, cool ranch, then salsa verde, every four years, it's another new, exciting flavour! But look around, people. Nothing's changed! Yeah, you ponder that." She exclaimed, making Ray and Henry think about her mini-speech.

She had a point. The entire situation was just nothing marketing ploy by a large company to fool suckers into buying their chips. But, they didn't have time to ponder any longer, because the alarm sounded, making their heads snap to the supercomputer

"Emergency!" Henry gasped, knowing that noise so well. He heard it in his sleep now.

"Oh goodie, it's a video call." (y/n) smiled as they dashed over, rubbing her hands together excitedly. She always loved it when they got to see who was calling, it made things more interesting.

"Put it on screen," Henry instructed Charlotte, who sat down at the controls and hovered her finger over the button.

"Wait! We're not in uniform." Ray mentioned, gesturing to their casual clothes. God, they couldn't show the person who Captain Man was under the mask, nor his sidekicks. That would be a disaster.

"She's not gonna turn on our camera, doofus." (y/n) rolled her eyes and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, but her amused smile let him know that she took his cautiousness in good humour.

"This my first day on the job?" Charlotte quipped, turning around to give Ray a raised eyebrow and a cynical look. Geez, some people just had no faith.

"No..." Ray mumbled, looking off to his right so he could avoid any eye contact. (y/n)'s smile was way more interesting anyway.

"Help! Please! Captain Man, Captain Man!" A terrified man appeared on the screen, shaking with fear as rocks crumbled around him. Well, this didn't look good.

"This is Captain Man, please state your emergency," Ray answered, leaning forward so he could hear everything. Plus, it was nice when (y/n) rested her cheek on his shoulder.

"Sure, I was climbing up Mount Swellview and there was an avalanche and I fell...ah! There's a big boulder on my leg and I can't move! Ah! More rocks are falling, please help, Captain Man, Kid Danger, Miss Danger, please, help!" The man groaned, clutching his broken leg as it throbbed under the boulder and he reached into his rucksack for a small comfort.

"All right, we're gonna be there in, wait...what did you just put in your mouth?!" Ray gasped when he saw a flash of blue across his screen and he knew just what corn-based snack the man was eating.

"Oh, it's a blue Frittle chip. They're so good." The man replied, making Ray huff like a child. So, he was a blue man?

"Oh, so on Tuesday, you'll be voting blue?" Ray prompted, making Henry and (y/n) look at him weirdly. It wasn't the time for the petty competition, this guy could die.

"Yeah, I guess." He said,  quivering as more rocks tumbled from the cliff face.  

"Oh, well, I guess you can just save yourself!" Ray hissed and slammed his hand down on the end-call-button, ignoring the man's protests. Well, there was no need for that.

"Are you not gonna help that dude just because he's voting for blue?" (y/n)  gasped as Ray sulked and turned his back on her, Henry and Charlotte. The teens were equally disgusted and couldn't believe that Ray's childishness was triumphing over his sense of duty.

"Maybe." He muttered, folding his arms like a scolded child as he took in their hard stares. 

"Okay...okay, then we're not gonna help anyone who votes red," Henry spoke for the both of them, making Ray let out a high-pitched squeal as (y/n) snapped her head to look at Henry. She didn't care about the chips, she just wanted to help people.

"Hey, speak for yourself!" She frowned at Henry, who gave her a begging look. He desperately needed her on his side if he was gonna strike out against Ray, but getting her to go against her boyfriend was immensely difficult. 

"Whoa! You guys can't stop not helping people because they support a different chip than you." Charlotte chided the man, who wasn't about to take a dressing down from his youthful assistant.

"Really? 'Cause, I'm pretty sure I just did, Charlotte--" The superhero argued back, making (y/n) see red when he got all stroppy.

"Raymond Manchester!" She snapped, uttering his name with fury in her voice. She didn't normally raise her voice like that, not with him and not so angrily, but sometimes, he needed bringing back down with a sharp tongue.

"Oooh, busted," Henry smirked at how pale Ray went and the way he gulped at the young woman's outburst. He hated being on the receiving end of her rage, but he loved seeing her so animated and...hot.

"Our job is to help and protect the citizens of Swellview and that means everybody. No matter what damn chip colour they like. We don't judge and we don't discriminate, both of you should know that." She lectured them, making the smile on Henry's face drop. The boys felt like they were standing in front of their teacher and boy, it was scary.

"I know..." Ray scuffed his sneaker against the tiled floor, sticking out his bottom lip in a pout. He knew she was right and he felt guilty at how he'd gotten so caught up in the stupid chip voting.

"You can't tell us what to do..." Henry mumbled, not liking how he, a fifteen-year-old boy was being told off, even if he was being stupid.

"You wanna say that again?" (y/n) growled at him, stepping forward so she could hear every word that the boy dared to say. Talking back wasn't his brightest idea...

"Nothing." He quickly retracted his protest, standing straighter as the surprisingly intimidating woman looked him up and down. She wasn't the same (y/n) he'd met two years ago, she wouldn't say boo to a goose, but now, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind.

"Henry! (y/n)!" Schwoz shouted as he ran down into the Man Cave again. He must've found Winnie another schpoon.

"What?" Henry asked irritatedly, still feeling the sting of his telling off.

"Someone broke into the Frittle Factory and stole a whole load of Frittle chips!" The little man divulged, making the boys' eyes widen. They hadn't learnt their lesson and (y/n) sighed when the mention of the brand made them stand to attention.

"What colour chip?" Henry whispered, trying not to upset the girls, even though they could hear every word, loud and clear.

"Red," Schwoz answered as he typed away on his cell, making Henry smirk victoriously.

"No!" Ray cried, dreading the thought of the Raging Rhubarb having a disadvantage.

"All right, do I have to lecture you boys again? Charlotte's up for it too." (y/n) questioned and folded her arms as she and the girl crossed their arms.

"No, no, no." Ray and Henry quickly shook their heads, not wanting to be on the receiving end of her anger again. They'd had enough already.

"Good, so you go get that truck and Henry and I will go get that guy off the mountain." She smiled at her boyfriend, thinking it was a good idea to keep Captain 'I'm voting red and nothing else' Man away from the dude, who was a staunch Bodacious Bacon fan. 

"Wait, where's my gumball tube?" Ray suddenly asked as Henry and (y/n) took out theirs. They were already chewing the gum, but he was still patting down his pockets. 

"Oh, here, I made you a new one." Schwoz smiled sweetly at his boss and offered him the new tube. His smile suggested something sinister, but Ray didn't pick up on it. He was just eager to get dressed and go salvage the red chips. The three blew their bubbles and snapped into their uniforms, only, Ray wasn't in uniform, more like a beautiful white wedding dress.

"What the..." He gasped as he looked down at the flowing gown and Charlotte, Henry, Schwoz and (y/n) couldn't help but giggle. 

"Schwoz! What did you do to my balls of gum?!" He growled at the man as the woman and teens laughed. It was pretty funny to see and his exposed chest and arms were not going unappreciated by (y/n).

"That's what you get for putting me in a bucket of oats!" Schwoz replied mirthfully, loving how sweet his revenge was. Karma was a bitch and she had hit Ray hard.

"You know, I always thought I'd be the one wearing the dress." (y/n) giggled, adjusting the strap of Ray's dress like she was his bridesmaid. Oh, she wished she had a camera right now, he was putting her scarlet and azure ensemble to shame.

Ray's cheeks flushed at her teasing, feeling all embarrassed at how she was loving every second of it. But her words weren't lost on him and the thought of her wanting to wear a white dress for him made his heart soar. It wasn't just him then, she wanted to be his forever too. The tender moment was cut devastatingly short though, as Winnie came galloping in and started to laugh or neigh at the hilarious sight of a man in a dress.  Her reaction was infuriating for Ray, who didn't mind his girlfriend fawning over him, but Schwoz's sister? Ew, no.

"Oh, shut up." He grumbled, tugging at the white material that was making him look so foolish.

"Horse." (y/n) added on the end, not even bothering to disguise it with a cough or anything. God, that laugh/neigh was annoying and it proved to be too much for Ray to handle. He gathered his skirt and stormed off to the secret door, probably intent on manually putting on his super suit. Life was hard when someone messed with your balls.

~At the Frittle Factory~

"I am not talking to her." (y/n) seethed as Henry told her the bad news. He shuddered at her fury,  but Ray was too busy with the factory workers to break it to her, even though he was the only one who could calm her nerves and anger. 

"We have to. It's a TV interview!" Henry pleaded with her, trying to get her to come on camera with him. Evelyn Hall, KLVY News reporter and ex-flame of Captain Man, was begging the supers to give her a few words about their involvement with the Frittle Van rescue, but (y/n) didn't want to say anything to her, even if she was just doing her job.

"I don't care if it's a speech to the fucking U.N, Henry, I don't like her." She frowned, screwing her nose up at the thought of all those times she had to endure Ray and Evelyn flirt or kiss or whatever. She knew that her jealousy was unfounded and she trusted her boyfriend, of course she did, but she couldn't help but feel her insecurities rise to the surface. Meaningless or not, Ray had gone out with hundreds of girls, what if he suddenly realised that she wasn't what he thought she was? What if he called everything between them a mistake and reverted to his playboy lifestyle?

"Come on. She's coming over, just let me do the talking..." Henry rushed, dragging her to the camera crew despite her complaining and smiled politely at the pretty woman, although (y/n)'s was anything but polite. More of a sneer than a smile.

"I'm live at the Frittle Factory with Kid Danger and Miss Danger. Tell us how you caught the criminal who stole the Frittle truck." She started immediately, leaving the sidekicks to flounder as they thought of something to say.

"Uhhh...well, actually--" Henry stuttered, ready to admit that Ray had done all the hard work. They'd been on Mount Swellview just ten minutes before and had only arrived to see how Ray was doing. Speak of the devil, Captain Man himself sauntered up to his sidekicks and smirked into the camera, allowing them to give him the perfect introduction.

"Actually, it was Captain Man who did the rescuing of the truck and capturing of the criminal, so..." (y/n) gave Evelyn a half-assed smile, wishing that she was talking to anyone but her right now. 

"But you helped." The woman pressed on, making Henry and (y/n) feel pretty awkward. They had literally just arrived on the scene, this was nothing to do with them.

"No, we were actually trying to save another guy, who fell off a mountain." Henry recounted the tale, impressing Miss Hall, who cosied up to the dashing young superhero. Now, wait just a second, had (y/n) missed something?

"Wow, you're the real hero." She flirted with Henry, making Miss Danger do a double-take. Had Evelyn Hall switched targets?

"Well..." Henry blushed, feeling flattered that the pretty reporter was lavishing the praise onto him. He did half the work, (y/n) deserved some recognition too, not that she minded, she was still processing the fact that Evelyn Hall wasn't flirting with her boyfriend.

"Uh, excuse me. Hi, hello." Ray nudged his way into the shot and Evelyn's smile fell. The superhero wasn't so super in her books and he wasn't a hero either, more like another guy who stood her up after promising he'd call her.

"Hi, uh...who are you?" She asked him, not caring that it made her seem like an idiot on national TV. She just wanted to see Captain Man squirm.

"I'm Captain Man, you know that everyone knows me, so..." He gulped at her sarcastic smile, not liking where this was going. He didn't want (y/n) to see this, not when they had been so happy together recently. One word from Evelyn could bring it all crashing down.

"Oh, right. The guy who took me out on two dates and then never called me again." She recalled bitterly, not caring that Kid Danger and Miss Danger were caught in the middle of their argument, the latter swallowing down the lump in her throat. It was never nice to meet the ex and with Ray, that was gonna be a very long line of disgruntled women.

"Do you wanna hear about how I recovered the stolen Frittle truck?" Ray asked her, hoping he could just do the interview and move on before Evelyn convinced (y/n) that he was some lousy jerk, who'd left a trail of broken hearts behind him as he pursued her. Just the sight of her fidgeting fingers was enough to make him nervous, was she thinking the worst already?

"I do not, I don't like being stood up." She smiled at him sweetly, making Ray stutter in panic. They couldn't leave it there, not when it made him look like the world's biggest asshole.

"Yeah, 'cause we all know how you like the reverse, Evelyn." (y/n) retorted, not being able to help the comment that slipped from her lips. She had nothing but disdain for the girl, she knew it was the wrong thing to feel for her, pity or sympathy was probably more apt, but she couldn't help it. It was a long seated grudge and it grew deeper when she made her boyfriend panic.

"B-back to you, Trent." Evelyn snivelled and scurried off in a tetchy mood. Oops, (y/n) had just made an enemy, not that she cared.

"I love you." Ray breathed out to the young woman next to him as she watched Evelyn storm away. He couldn't help it, he didn't know why. Maybe it was born from his panic that she'd leave him for someone with a cleaner slate and this was just his way of trying to hold onto her with the words he'd struggled to tell her for so long. Or maybe he was just in awe of how despite his regretful past, she still hadn't run a mile. Perhaps it was both.

"I know." She smiled at him, letting the phrase wash over her. She was the only one who got to hear those words and it warmed her heart to know that he'd picked her over everyone else. 

"Captain Man! Captain Man! Miss Danger and Kid Danger." A short man called out after the superhero's preventing Ray from seizing his girl and kissing her honeyed lips like he wanted to. The guy was wearing an expensive-looking, bespoke suit and it was obvious that the guy was the Frittle CEO, basically the boss or head honcho. 

"Hello there." Ray smiled at the important businessman, shaking his hand courteously even though he'd interrupted his moment with (y/n).

"Hi." Henry shook his hand too, trying to stay calm at meeting the face of Frittles. First, Evelyn flirting with him and now, this? It must've been his lucky day.

"Hiya...okaaay then." (y/n) held out her hand for him, thinking that he'd shake it as he'd done to Ray and Henry, but no. To her surprise and Ray's jealousy, he raised her gloved hand to his lips and graciously placed a fleeting kiss to the back of it, like he was bestowing his respect on a regal queen. It was a bit awkward for the young woman and made her look to her friends for help, but she just had to accept it, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend. 

"I'm Jack Frittleman, chairman and CEO of Frittle snacks and I wanted to thank you personally for..." Mr Frittleman's gratitude was interrupted when one of his workers whispered something in his ear and handed him a sheet of paper.

"There a problem?" Henry asked the man as he noticed the frown on his face, not that Ray cared. He didn't think it was fair that Frittleman got to kiss his girl before he did, even if it was just a peck on her hand.

"Well, sort of. When the truck was stolen, it had four hundred cases of Raging Red Rhubarb Frittle chips." He read out the report, but the superheroes didn't see the problem.

"So?" Henry questioned as Ray scratched the back of his neck. 

"So it seems that two cases of chips are missing. Weird. Wonder what happened to them." The CEO pondered, striking a thought up in (y/n). Huh, she knew someone who'd die for a steady supply of those damn chips...

"Raging Red Rhubarb did you say? Very weird..." She played it off like she had no suspicions, but there were too many correlating factors in it for her. Namely that Captain Man loved the red chips.

"Well, I suppose you'd have to ask the chips." Ray smiled at Mr Frittleman, ignoring how the woman was eyeing him carefully. Nothing to see here, not any stolen chips anyway.

"What's that mean?" The man asked, looking at Ray weirdly. 

"Hmm?" Ray gulped, wondering how he was gonna excuse himself out of this one.

"Well, I can't ask the chips 'cause they're missing." Mr Frittleman noted, not seeing the bigger picture as Henry did.

"And even if he could, chips can't talk." The boy added, leaving Ray in a difficult spot to explain himself. Talk about throwing someone under a bus.

"Well, if chips could talk and were here, I'm sure they'd tell us." He replied,  confusing everyone listening. He was getting deeper and deeper into the bullshit he was speaking.

"What's he saying?" Mr Frittleman asked his sidekicks, hoping they could shed some light on the superhero's odd choice of words, but they were just as lost as he was.

"Absolutely no clue." (y/n) shook her head, tapping Ray's arm to tell him that it was probably best for them to leave before he said something else weird.

"Bottom line is, you're welcome." The large man shook the chairman's hand again and gave him his most charming smile and turned to leave before a hoard of children came running in.

"Captain Man! Kid Danger! Miss Danger!" The gang screamed, Piper being at the front as she lead the way. The Man Fans were here and they were ready to see their heroes in all their glory, especially since it gave them a chance to see Miss Danger up close. A new addition to the Captain Man team? They'd happily welcome her in.

"Who are these children?" Mr Frittleman asked, feeling slightly startled by so many children bursting into his factory. Health and safety weren't very high on the list by the looks of things.

"Oh, that's my si----" Henry caught himself before he could name Piper as his sister, but his trailing tone made him sound crazy.

"Si---scissors! Has anyone seen my scissors?" He saved it at the end and even if it did sound bizarre, it was a lot better than revealing his secret identity.

"We're the Man Fans!" Piper introduced them proudly and she and Marla whipped out their Man Fan club cards.

"The official Fanclub of Captain Man, Miss Danger and Kid Danger!" Marla squealed, barely able to contain her excitement at the sight of Swellview's greatest crimefighters. 

"We're verified," Piper added on the end, making (y/n) blush. It was nice to be included and to see so many happy faces, well, it was sweet. 

"Hi, guys." Ray smiled at his club warmly, his hand curling around (y/n)'s as he sought out her touch. Did he care that people were watching his every move? No, he wanted the world to know that Captain Man had found his soulmate and he wasn't letting go.

"Hello." (y/n) greeted the kids, who weren't oblivious to how Captain Man and Miss Danger was holding hands. Ooooh, Captain Man and Miss Danger, sitting in a tree...

"Are you guys here to see the launch of the Frittle blimp?" Mr Frittleman asked the group, believing that they'd come across town to see his genius advertising idea.

"No. Kids hate blimps," Marla answered curtly, not caring about a big balloon in the sky, which was what a blimp was to anyone under the age of twenty-five.

"We gotta decide what Frittle to vote for on Tuesday, so we need to know!" Piper smiled at her heroes, who felt a bit put on the spot. What. the Man fans were told, they'd do; it didn't matter about their personal opinion, what their heroes said was the right thing to vote for. 

"Need to know what?" Henry looked at the kids blankly, not seeing what they were getting at.

"Which chip Captain Man, Miss. Danger and Kid Danger are voting for." Piper explained, not realising that she was reigniting a burnout argument. 

"We're gonna vote for whichever you guys tell us to." Oliver Pook added, making (y/n) stiffen. Did they have to bring that up? It had already blown up once, she didn't want it to happen again.

"Well, if you really wanna know, personally..."

"Well, I'm gonna go with.." Ray and Henry started, but an arm curled around their shoulders and they nervously looked to the side to see. (y/n) smiling at them pleasantly, or was it sinisterly?

"You say anything, I'll break your phone, you say anything and you're sleeping alone tonight." She hissed in their ears before letting them go and pushing them forward a bit. A few light threats always did the trick.

"Look, kids, Captain Man, Miss Danger and I do not get involved in snack politics, so you're just gonna---" Oh, Henry, he was such a good egg. The thing with Ray though, he wasn't and that was a problem. Mainly because he just sussed that he'd follow (y/n) to her bedroom and latch onto her until she gave in. No need for him to slumber in solitude.

"Vote red!" He yelled to the kids, making (y/n) growl and Henry gasp. So, he'd chosen death, not life, a bold choice.

"What?" The boy stuttered and was horrified to see the kids agree on voting for the gross rhubarb. Well, he wasn't having that. 

"Kids, you like me. Captain Man says vote for the Raging Red Rhubarb Frittles!" He addressed the group, ignoring Henry's babbling for some sense. 

"You're so gonna be eating those damn chips alone, Captain Man." (y/n) muttered, not liking how he was essentially rigging the voting. She thought it would be best for the kids to make their own decision, but no. Ray couldn't let this one go.

"No, you're not supposed to--vote blue!" Henry switched tactics and decided that if Ray was gonna play dirty, then so would he. Screw the moral argument, he wanted to chow down on Bodacious Blue Bacon for the rest of his life.

"Stop it! You can't tell them to vote blue--vote red!" Ray encouraged the children, who were now unsure of what to do. They couldn't vote for both and the way Captain Man and Kid Danger were arguing, it looks like they'd never get through to them.

"Okay, why don't you both just chill? Hmm? Kid Danger, go over there." (y/n) stepped in between her friends and forced Henry to back off. It was like trying to control two kids sometimes.

"You need to calm down." She turned to Ray and gave him her scolding face as she tried to control her stroppy boyfriend.

"Oh, so you're now telling me what I can and can't do like him?" He whined at her, not meaning to upset her, but his sneering voice ruffled her feathers.

"Oh, grow up." She hissed, stepping back from him. If he was going to act like a child then she'd leave him alone to cool off. She wasn't going to be jibed at and it looked like Henry wasn't either.

He'd grabbed one of the company's tube launchers and loaded up a can of blue Frittles. It probably wasn't the best idea to fire a tin of chips at your boss's face in front of a crowd of his adoring fans, but people do dumb things when they're mad. 

"Okay..." Ray growled as Henry poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue, not caring about how furious the man looked. Ray went and grabbed the red launcher, making the boy gulp. He was a lot squishier and more vulnerable than Ray, surely this wasn't fair.

"Hey, he's not indestructible, you can't shoot--" (y/n)'s protests didn't matter, this was war and Ray Manchester took no prisoners. He fired a can of Red Frittles into Henry's abdomen, sending the kid to the floor with the forceful impact. Poor Mr Frittleman, he didn't want a brawl in his. factory, so he looked to Miss Danger for help.

"Guys, don't do this." She stood in the middle, but she was fighting a losing battle.

"Oh, he asked for this." Henry seethed and fired another can past (y/n). so it would hit Ray on the temple again. Ouch, that one had to have been painful and the pain was like adding wood to the fire. It made Ray even angrier.

"Okay! Say hello to my Frittle friend!" He quoted Scarface and yet another load of red frittles were sent Henry's way. It was slightly biased for a man as large as Ray to fight a skinny kid like Henry, who didn't have the weight to keep himself on his feet.

"Oh, right in the eye!  So, that's how you wanna play?" Henry rubbed the pain away and reloaded his weapon. All (y/n) could do was keep the kids back and hope they didn't hurt each other or someone else.

"That's enough!" Ray told his sidekick, seeing panicked everyone was getting, especially the children, who were distressed to see the superheroes fight.

"Oh, that's enough? Let me just adjust the gauge right here..." Henry sassed Ray and flicked the switch on the side of the barrel. No more playing around, he wanted to finish this, but turning up the firing speed wasn't a good idea. Ray was hit by a can and then another and another until the weapon was firing hundreds of Frittle tubs per minute. Uh-oh, Henry couldn't control it and he looked at the malfunctioning thing in his hands. 

"What did you do?" (y/n) shouted at the boy as she stopped Ray from hiding behind Piper and pushed the girl away from Henry's line of fire. For a superhero, he could be so daft sometimes, and if he wanted a human meat shield, he could use her.

"Stop being such a baby, you're indestructible," She rolled her eyes at him, wincing when a rogue can hit her shoulder. She was grateful for her super-regeneration, otherwise, the bruise would have stayed there for weeks. The worst wasn't over though, the catapulted Frittles hit some machinery at the back of the room, causing it to spark uncontrollably and an alarm to go off.

"What's happening?" Mr Frittleman asked his workers as they ran to save the machine, but it was too late. Henry had messed the whole thing up.

"Why's that light flashing?" Ray pointed to the red beacon and pulled (y/n) to his side. Whatever was going on, his gut told him it wasn't good and he wanted her right next to him where he could keep her safe.

"They jammed the system controls! Now, the corn compressors are building up an extreme amount of pressure and...they can't release the corn gas!" Everyone paled at the news. Pressure meant explosion and an explosion was very, very bad.

"Oh, well done, you two. Nice going, you've outdone yourselves this time." (y/n) clapped her companions sarcastically as she guessed that they were heading for a catastrophe and she had to hand it to them. This was their biggest fuck up of the year.

"Attention. This is Jack Frittleman...run!" The CEO announced over the tannoy and no sooner than he did, the crowd bolted for the exits. Ray, (y/n) and Henry herded them all out first, but not before running back to grab a few final cans of their favourite Frittles.

"Oh, sweet cheese, come on! This thing's gonna blow!" (y/n) shrieked at them as she waited in the doorway and the man and boy knew she was right. Forgoing any attempt to salvage the snacks, they legged it through the door and made it out with seconds to spare. 

~In Junk-N-Stuff~

Back at the store, the Man Cave team were crowded around Jasper's PearPad as they watched the news report on the Frittle Factory Tragedy.

"And the explosion was felt all throughout Swellview and even some nearby cities, including Neighbourville, Bordertown and Rivalton," Trent reported in his usual prickly manner.

"But luckily, despite the magnitude of the blast, everyone important survived." Mary smiled, her pleasantness coming through the screen. The pair were like chalk and cheese, polar opposites.

"So the real victim is our own City of Swellview because, not only has the red versus blue contest been cancelled, but also CEO, Jack Frittleman, says it's going to take four years to rebuild the factory." The male anchor carried on, disappointing the city with his depressing news.

"Four years? That's a Frittle too long if you ask me." Mary quipped, smiling at her little pun, but like usual, Trent Overrunder wasn't going to let her stay happy for long.

"I wish you'd been in that factory, Mary." His cruel words choked the blonde up and (y/n) frowned as the clip ended.

"What a dick! One of these days I'm going to kick his ass." She scowled, but no one cared about poor Mary as she did. They just wanted to enjoy one more Frittle.

"Dang it. Man, I loved those blue Frittle chips." Henry sighed, missing the snack already and it had only been an hour. 

"Me too." Schwoz whimpered, also feeling sad that the contest was kaput. Now, they'd never know which one was Swellview's favourite, well, not for another four years.

"Me three." (y/n) admitted, thinking that since the Frittles were gone, it wouldn't hurt to add in her voice. She liked the blues just as much as they did, even though she hid it well.

"I loved the red ones," Jasper commented, declaring that he, like Ray, preferred the rhubarb in all its artificial sour tang.

"I loved not caring," Charlotte smirked, loving that she was free of sadness or anger since she had been neutral from the start. Who was laughing now?

"Well, Henry, Schwoz, sweet girl...sucks for you guys." Ray walked over and wrapped his arms around (y/n) from behind as she stood in the middle of Henry and Schwoz. She frowned in thought as he rested his chin on top of her head, but after the thrill of the explosion, she couldn't put two and two together.

"What's got you all smiley, Mr Grumpy-Pants?" She asked him,  wondering why a guy who'd been whining for days about the red chips was now happy that they were gone.

"Oh, you know, Raging Red Rhubarb Frittles, my love." He smiled down at her and lovingly pressed a clumsy kiss to her cheek, which made her feel embarrassed. None of this was making sense, apart from him being gross with the young woman.

"Yeah, well, that's too bad 'cause they all blew up." Henry reminded him, also finding his boss's cheery mood peculiar. He was way too dramatic to be pleased about this, unless...

"Did they?" Ray looked at the boy with a mischievous expression and untangled himself from (y/n) so he could move freely about the shop floor.

"Yeah, just on the news," Henry confirmed as they all looked at him in bewilderment. Little did they know that Ray had a trick up his sleeve.

"Did they?" He reiterated, adding to the confusion. He loved to build up the suspense, it played into her drama queen persona.

"We just watched it." Jasper frowned, falling into Ray's trap.

"Did we?" He pressed on, irritating (y/n) with his slowness. 

"Are you drunk? Just get to the point, Raymond." She groaned, hating how he had to turn everything into The Ray Manchester Show.

"Ray, what do you know?" Henry asked his boss, also getting the feeling that Ray was toying with them and he just wanted to know what his game was. 

"I know that when you're a superhero and you recover a stolen truck with four hundred cases of red Frittles inside, it's never a bad idea to snag a couple of cases for yourself." He chuckled at their flabbergasted faces, revealing his devious actions. 

"That's stealing." Jasper pointed out, thinking that a superhero should've known better than to make an opportunistic looting just for his own benefit.

"Is it?" Ray shrugged and ignored the fervent yesses from his friends. Of course, it was stealing, but he'd overlook that since it got him a few months supply of Frittles.

"Yeah, all right." He conceded, but he didn't care, not when he knew that he'd be munching through his steal soon.

"Wait, you're saying that you were acting weird at the factory because there's two cases of Frittle Chips here?" (y/n) asked him, not believing that her sweet and goofy Ray would do something so sneaky. It was ingenious but sneaky. 

"Yep, 'bout a half-mile down there, in the Man Cave." He smirked, feeling pretty good about himself as Jasper patted him on the shoulder. Looks like the reds won this one.

"Wait, my sister, Winnie, went down to the Man Cave to have a schnack and take a nap." Schwoz gulped as he realised that she'd probably eaten the lot since she literally had the appetite of a horse.

"You little shit, Schwoz!" Ray exclaimed angrily as everyone giggled. Captain Man had been outwitted by a horse lady.

"You know there's gonna be none left." (y/n) chuckled at him as he put his head in his hands and sighed, her hand rubbing his back soothingly. 

Looks like no one had won after all.

[ilikeapples01]

Moment of Wisdom (all hail empress pink au) (art by kishinpain)

“I’m telling you, Hessie, these organics just don’t measure up to us, you’re better off without them.”

“And I’m telling YOU, Emerald, that these organics work and fight harder than any gem I’ve seen you put out.”

And so it went between them, as it had since they met thirty-three hours ago on the Yellow Diamond’s order. They were to cooperate in a campaign near the galactic rim, inserting operatives behind the lines of a frozen conflict to dislodge some difficult positions. Despite the three-dimensional nature of interstellar warfare making flanking that much easier, such gaping sores in the backlines were simply unacceptable for secure supply lines, and a full-blown siege would be the death of billions of civilians.

“Yeah, until they give out and you have to replace them while they ‘sleep’ and ‘eat’ and bum about not working for half the day,” Emerald retorted, clearly having none of it. “None of this shift work nonsense, just put a gem in there and cover it all day every day, easier on everyone.”

Hessonite simply scoffed. “Show me a gem that can go that long without needing to recuperate and I’ll show you a liar,” she answered. “You seem to forget your subordinates are people and not machines, the way you treat them.”

“So what if they run ragged?” Emerald dismissed callously. “What does it matter when it’s for the sake of all civilisation and for making lives worth living? What sacrifice now could be too great for that?”

Hessonite sighed, coming to a stop amidst gems and organics alike as they laboured. “Emerald,” she began, letting her hand rest upon her erstwhile rival’s shoulder despite the latter’s obvious distaste. “I’m going to give you some free advice, because I can’t let you think like that in our Empress’ light.” Taking her other shoulder in her other hand, Hessonite fixed Emerald with a look neither really expected - one of genuine personal concern. “If you treat that kind of back-breaking extractionism so flippantly and constantly fall back on it, it’ll stop being a sacrifice and become the norm. You won’t ever spread the bettering of life Pink wants, you’ll only spread the suffering you claim will bring it. That make sense to you?”

Emerald stared back at her, a little lost for words. “That’s… strangely profound,” she answered, not expecting such a deep explanation. “I thought you were gonna whine at me about ‘rights’ and all that gravel.”

Hessonite smiled. “You should’ve been there for the bollocking I gave Jasper’s brat then!” she laughed.

“Hold up, bollocking!?” Emerald coughed in surprise. “Where’d you hear that one?”

“Heard it from the PM, and honestly it sounded hilarious.”

“Figures. So where did you want those operatives again?” Emerald asked, only now remembering why the two of them were even in the same room.

“Let’s go somewhere no one can eavesdrop first, then we’ll talk brass tacks,” Hessonite answered, leading the way out.

“And yes, that’s also from the Prime Minister.”

https://www.reddit.com/r/AllHailEmpressPinkAU/

(+18 nsfw warning, viewer discretion is strongly advised)

https://twitter.com/kishinpain/status/1709568445598007461?t=t7BkJxO3hBQTaagpa9IheA&s=19

[themaladaptivewriter12]

Title: Valentine's Promise

Might add a part two, a sm*t, haven't decided

Pairings: Cater Diamond x Twisted Wonderland Male OC (Mirai Yuhara)

Summary: 

“Mirai?” Cater whispered. “Huh?” Mirai answered, reluctant to take his eyes off the city. “Jasper.” Mirai’s head snapped away from the scenery for a second to see Cater holding a small red velvet box. Mirai froze, his heart stopping, his blood feeling as if ice was shot through his veins. He didn’t know what to do, but to sit there like a deer in headlights.

Notes:

cw: Nothing but fluff.  

This was a little thing I wanted to post for Valentine's, albeit 3 days late, and it kinda delves into a little bit of the "after story" I've been conjuring up for Mimi and Cater. Hope you enjoy!

Reblogs are appreciated, just use my custom tag, #TheMaladaptiveWriter12, if you do!  ( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ♡

Cross posted from my Ao3: TheMaladaptiveWriter12

Cater sighed once more before stretching his arms above his head, grunting softly as his back popped in multiple places, the tension from slouching over his desk all day lessening. Today felt like the worst, time felt as if it had been slowed with how excited Cater was, but now that it was finally over, and that excitement hadn’t waned a bit. From the moment he had woken up, Cater had been so giddy that he couldn’t focus. He had messed up during his debriefing, ran into the vending machines because he was on his phone, and he accidentally misspelled their client’s name on their webpage. #Unprofessional.

The moment the last meeting of the day was adjourned, Cater sighed with relief, slouching in his chair. This month so far has been super busy with the amount of clients who wanted their advertisements up today, potential clients whose appointments were scheduled all throughout the week with notes that needed to be looked over, and various websites to be updated. They definitely weren’t out of the woods yet, but that was the life of someone who worked in the Social Media and Marketing Department.

But today was special, and it had the entire building buzzing. Pink, red, and white hearts decorated the office, the women of the office wore their pretty pinks and luscious reds, pretty bouquets and boxes of chocolates dotted the desks, the guys wore their best dress shirts, and the older men adorned their themed ties hand picked by their wives that morning. Today was Valentine's Day and Cater knew this one was going to be special. 

Cater made his way to his desk from their roundtable when an arm wrapped its way around his shoulders, startling him. 

“So,” the voice said. 

Cater whipped his head around and was met with a mop of brown hair and brown eyes. It was Lucas, of course it was Lucas. The twenty-five year old was Cater’s senior by a year, and terribly nosey. 

“So?” Cater asked.

“Penelope, she’s pretty cute right?”

“Not this again,” Cater sighed, moving out of his grasp to walk a bit faster.

“Oh, c’mon dude,” Lucas sighed, rushing after him, “You two would make a great couple!”

“And I keep telling you I’m seeing someone.”

“You mean his fake girlfriend,” Fabian joked, matching their stride. 

Fabian, a twenty-two year old blonde with a knack for unintentionally offending people with his words. Cater wouldn’t lie, he didn’t like the guy when Fabian first came to their department, but after they got to know each other, and eventually sat in the same quad, he learned that Fabian wasn’t a bad person, just a little hard with his words.

“Mimi is not fake,” Cater huffed, moving to clean up his desk.

“C’mon dude, you can’t blame me,” Fabian reasoned, from his side of their shared desk, “Every time I mention your girlfriend you get all defensive, and the last time I asked for a picture, you wouldn’t show me.”

“Maybe she’s shy?” Brain offered from his desk.

Brian was the best behaved out of their quad. He hated confrontation, and tended to keep to himself, but when the time arose, the twenty-four year old would stick his neck out for anyone without a second thought.

“Or imaginary,” Fabian muttered.

Cater rolled his eyes, making for his hasty retreat, when suddenly his phone vibrated and like his life depended on it, Cater snatched his phone from his desk, unlocking the device. Fabian and Lucas rushed over to try and peek at the message, which Cater promptly pulled out of sight.

“He’s practically been glued to his phone the whole day,” a soft voice chided. “I knew he loved the thing, but today was something else entirely.” 

“Sup, Tif,” Lucas greeted, looking up from his attempt to get a glimpse of Cater’s phone.

“Hey guys,” Tiffany smiled. 

Tiffany, better known as Tif throughout the building, was part of the Marketing Department. The twenty-five year old and her team often worked with Cater and his quad, like today.

“Hey, Tif,” Cater smiled.

“Going home so soon?” Tiffany asked.

“Yeah,” Cater sighed with a dopey smile, “I got plans and I don’t wanna be late.”

“Plans?” a sweet feminine asked, “That’s nice to hear.”

“Penelope,” Lucas cheered, “How was work?”

“It was an easy day,” Penelope smiled, playing with the petals to a bouquet of flowers. 

Penelope, the office sweetheart and most eligible bachelorette, was the floor’s secretary. Cater couldn’t remember a time when Lucas wasn’t trying to set him up with the twenty-five year old, or a time the guys of the building treated her like a princess. Don’t get him wrong, Cater liked Penelope, but just not like that.

“Oh, nice flowers. Who’s the sender?” Fabian asked.

“My mom,” Penelope laughed awkwardly, “She always sends them on Valentine's Day.”

“That’s cute,” Tiffany smiled.

“Aw,” a deeper feminine voice sighed, “I wish my mom did that.”

“Hey, Brooke,” Brian smiled, “how was accounting?”

Brooke was head of accounting, and like a mother figure to the younger workers on the floor. Anytime you needed something, Mama Brooke was on the case, the twenty-nine year old taking her title with stride. 

“Same as always,” Brooke said dismissively. “What I wanna know is what was so important that you couldn’t pay attention during today’s roundtable, Cater?”

Cater laughed awkwardly, “Sorry, Brooke. I’ll admit, I was a bit distracted today.”

“I get it, it’s Valentine’s Day,” Brooke smirked, “you just got distracted by some really nice pictures from your girl.”

Cater flushed to the tips of his ears,” I-It’s not like t-that!”

 Brooke laughed, “So, does anyone have any plans for tonight? My husband and I are going to that really fancy restaurant on 5th street.”

“Me and my hubby are gonna go see a movie,” Cecelia said excitedly.

“Me and my girlfriend are gonna stay in and make dinner,” Fabian said.

“Jesse and I are gonna go to a drive-in movie,” Brian smiled. 

“That’s cute,” Cecelia whined, “We should've done that instead.”

As the group spoke of their evening plans, Cater’s phone vibrated again, and he was on it like a moth to a flame.

“Mimi’s here,” Cater gasped, suddenly rushing to get his things.

“Mimi?” Cecilia asked.

“His fake girlfriend,” Fabian teased from his seat across from Lucas.

“Whatever,” Cater laughed with a scoff, putting the last of his things in his bag.

“It’s okay man, we’ve all been dumped before,” Fabian said, “You don’t have to keep up this charade any longer.”

Cater rolled his eyes, getting the last of his things.

“Leave him alone, guys.” Brooke huffed, “Cater, I’m sure your girlfriend is very nice.”

“Thanks Mama Brooke. See ya,” Cater called, practically running to get to the elevators.

“Oh, I gotta see this,” Fabian said, rushing to follow Cater.

“I’m coming too,” Lucas exclaimed, shooting from his seat.

The group followed closely behind Cater as he weaved his way through the desks, quads, and cubicles, trying not to lose that head of bright orange hair in the crowds of people making their ways home.

The Cater and his unappointed followers passed by one of the quads when a pair of gold eyes spotted them. “Where are you guys going?”

“Hey, Maddox,” Lucus shouted, “You’re gonna finally see Cater’s girlfriend!”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

Cater rolled his eyes affectionately. Maddox was one of the seniors of the department at thirty-six years old, he was one of the guys who trained Cater when he first joined, and became a big brother of sorts. Whenever Cater needed something, whatever it might be, Maddox had his back.

 All of them shoved their way into the elevator, pressing the button to the ground floor. The ride from the eighth floor was a long one, and every time they stopped on a floor, they got curious looks as there wasn’t a lick of room for anymore people. 

Once they stopped at the third floor, Keith gave them all weird looks, as he was trying to use the elevator as well.

“Keith,” Cecelia waved, “we’re gonna see Cater’s girlfriend.”

Keith worked in IT, the twenty-six year old always hanging on the eighth floor when he wasn’t supposed to.

“Ima take the stairs and meet you guys down there,” Keith said, before he rushed to the opposite side of the room to the stairwell. 

“Guys,” Cater whined as the doors shut once more. 

Downstairs, Mirai stood awkwardly next to a gaggle of women. He felt so out of place standing next to all of them in their cutesy skirts and frilly dresses, even their hair was curled and or pressed. And how could he forget their polished nails on dainty hands that held their teddy bears, roses, and chocolates. 

Then there, sticking out like a sore thumb, he was, a man all dolled up with a bouquet of flowers of his own. Mirai couldn’t help but feel a hint of jealousy at their flawless beauty. Why couldn’t he look that pretty like them with their soft skin and long eyelashes? Maybe he should have worn a skirt instead? 

Mirai sighed, shaking his head to somehow shake the thought away. He was fine, this was fine. He dressed up too in his suit and black and red rose pattern mesh button up. He had spent hours trying to perfect his eyeliner, and once he did, he chose pink eyeshadow that went perfectly with his flushed cheeks and pink lipgloss. He knew it did, because he had called Crewel before he left and he said so. 

Instead of a teddy bear, well, he did actually get a teddy bear, but it was with the soap set that came with bath bombs, face masks, lotions and oils, which was at Cater’s apartment, sitting on the living room coffee table. And as for chocolates, Cater hated sweets, so he improvised with dark chili chocolates for him to try and if that failed, Mirai got a fruit and cheese platter, which was also sitting in Cater’s apartment, chilling in his refrigerator of course. Fiddling with the petals of his bouquet of roses, wondering if it all was too much. 

And on a side note, Mirai really thought he would be late with how much of a hassle it was to get into the building itself. The guy at the gate gave him a hard time, and it wasn’t until Cater’s father had to explain that he was with him did the man let him in. After that, Mirai and Mr. Diamond had split ways in the lobby, the older man having something important to take care of, leaving Mirai in the lobby, which led him to his current problem. The woman at the front desk.

The woman gave him such a hard time for a while, questioning how he got past security, why he was there, and who for. Mirai argued with her for a good while, telling her that he was picking his lover up, just like everyone else and that yes, his visitor’s pass was valid. Mirai didn’t understand, all of the misses were here, so why couldn't he be? Mr. Diamond said it was okay, so what was so bad about him being here? 

She had finally stopped when one of the women stepped in, asking her why she was so adamant on trying to get Mirai to leave. And now said front desk woman, with the name tag that read “Mara,” was giving him the stank eye as she tapped away on her desktop computer. Mirai just hopped Cater or Mr. Diamond came back soon.

“So what do you and your boy have planned?” the woman from earlier asked.

Mirai startled a bit, not expecting her to ask him that, or anything for that matter, “I-I, h-how did you-”

“Oh please, Honey, no man makes himself look that pretty for a woman unless one of them swings the other way,” the woman laughed. “Also, I may not be the straightest woman here.”

“O-Oh,” Mirai chuckled nervously, “I tried my best. Uh, do you think it’s too much?”

“Not at all, hon, you look stunning,” she smiled. “You make me feel like I should have stepped up my game this morning, but then again, my Georgiana doesn’t like that shmancy stuff.”

“Don’t, don’t sell yourself short. To be honest, I was a little jealous at how pretty you guys were compared to me.”

“Please, you’re the best dressed out of everyone here.”

“Thanks,” Mirai muttered, flushing a pretty pink.

“You’re welcome,” the woman smiled, “I’m Xola by the way.”

“Mirai.”

A chime sounded through the lobby and immediately everyone perked up at the sound, their eyes honing in on elevators.

“Good luck,” Xola smiled.

“Back atcha,” Mirail nodded.

The elevator doors opened and Cater scanned the lobby, looking for the familiar blonde wolf cut and silver prosthetic. It didn’t take long for Cater to spot a constellation of freckles on rosy cheeks and eyes as bright as the stars.

“Mimi,” Cater gasped, running across the lobby.

“Cater,” Mirai shouted, matching Cater’s enthusiasm as he met the strawberry blonde halfway, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck.

Cater pulled back just enough to smash his lips into Mirai’s in a deep kiss, his hand reaching up the cradle the back of Mirai’s head, his fingers musing through his gelled tresses. Mirai sighed against Cater’s lips, his eyes closing in bliss. If his hands weren’t so full, Mirai knew his hands would be bunched up in Cater’s blazer by now. 

Cater finally pulled back after he had enough, the biggest grin on his face. “Hey Babydoll,” Cater muttered affectionately, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Mirai chuckled. “Sorry I wasn’t able to come down for your Birthday. I could only get three days off.”

“I don’t care about that. You’re here now and that’s all that matters.”

“It does though,” Mirai whined, “ It was your twenty-fourth Birthday.”

“And you can make it up to me by coming to see me for your twenty-third. Now, Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Mirai smiled, wriggling out of Cater’s grasp to hand his gifts.

“Mimi,” Cater gushed, “thank you, baby. And don’t worry, yours are in the car.”

“It’s okay,” Mirai smiled, “I can wait.”

Cater looked at the bouquet and smiled fondly, “Ya’know, after all those years of painting the roses red, I’ve come to appreciate a fine red rose. I can tell these are good quality.”

Mirai chuckled, “Same here. I couldn’t just get any old rose, it just didn’t sit right. I felt as if Riddle would pop out of nowhere and collar me or something.”

The two of them fell into a fit of laughter at the image they conjured in their heads. 

“That’s Mimi?!” Lucas shouted, prompting an end to Mirai’s and Cater’s little moment, “You told me Mimi was a girl!”

“No I didn’t,” Cater said with a sardonic smile, “I said I was seeing someone and you assumed.”

“But his name is Mimi!”

“Yep. Short for Mirai.”

“Dude,” Lucas whined.

“Ignoring him,” Brooke said, pushing her way to the front of the group, “I think some introductions are in order.”

Cater took the time to introduce his colleagues to Mirai and vice versa. Mirai found the group to be very lively, and even with their different personalities, they somehow fit together perfectly. 

“You two have seriously been together since high school?!” Cecelia gushed, “That’s so cute! I wish me and my hubby were high school sweethearts.”

“I’m not sure if it counts, Cater mused, “we met during my third year, and by my fourth, I was doing my internships, and he was entering his Sophomore year.”

“It counts,” Brain nodded.

“Wait, how old was he when you two met?!” Tiffany asked.

“He was seventeen then,” Cater laughed.

“Oh.”

“I’m so proud of you, Cater,” Maddox cried, “my boy is becoming a man.”

“Maddy,” Cater whined, “stop it.”

Mirai chuckled at their antics.

“So how come I’m just learning you have a high school sweetheart?” Fabian asked.

“I told you I was seeing someone for a while,” Cater laughed. “You're the one who decided that I had an imaginary girlfriend.”

“As I said earlier, you wouldn’t show me pictures.”

“And since when did I have to?”

The two began to bicker when a thick accented voice spoke up, “So this is the fabled lover of Cater Diamond.”

Cater laughed awkwardly, looking up at Georgiana, “I didn’t know word got out that far.”

 “You two make a great couple.”

“Thx.”

“If only you’d told me it was Cater, I'd have given you some dirt on these guys, Mirai, no questions asked,” Xola laughed.

“Don’t you dare,” Keith shouted.

Cater’s colleagues began to converse amongst themselves, when Mirai checked the time. It was almost four-thirty, their dinner reservations were at five.

“Catie,” Mirai muttered, pulling at Cater’s sleeve, “We have to get going.”

Cater gasped. “Oopsies, sorry guys, but we gotta go if we wanna make our reservation. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Bye Cater, have fun,” Tiffany called.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Brooke shouted.

They made their way to Cater’s car, and Cater, ever the gentleman, opened Mirai’s door first, making sure he was seated, before shutting the door, and making his way to the driver's seat. 

“Here you go, Baby,” Cater muttered, kissing Mirai on his temple, as he handed Mirai a bouquet of pink and purple hydrangeas, a teddy bear and a box of chocolates. 

“They’re so pretty,” Mirai gushed, “Cater.”

“Of course, you only deserve the best.”

“And you got me lilies,” Mirai whispered, voice growing a little emotional, “Cater.”

Cater kissed Mirai on the head once more, “Don’t cry, Baby.”

“I’m not. I’m okay.”

Cater smiled softly, starting the car, and as he pulled out of his parking spot, the two of them spotted Mr. Diamond pulled out of his parking spot. Mirai waved with a big smile, his smile getting even bigger, if that was even possible, as Mr. Diamond waved back. 

“Have a good night, Mirai, Cater,” Mr. Diamond called from his open window, as he drove up to their car.

“You gonna go see mom?” Cater asked.

“Of course.”

“Good luck,” Cater called. “And give these to them for me?”

Mr. Diamond nodded, taking the flowers before diving off the lot.

“Let’s get going, shall we?”

The ride to the restaurant wasn’t a long one and after Cater switched his blazer for a red one and gave his keys to the Valet, they made it just in time. The restaurant was beautiful, decked out for the holiday with rose petals decorating the tables, white ribbons covered the chairs, and pink hearts decorated the windows. And you’d think it would look tacky, but it didn’t, somehow the restaurant made it work, the look giving it a romantic, classy feel. 

The dining room was packed with couples, each and everyone of them dressed to the nines. Mirai wondered how Cater even scored seats in a place like this.

“Good evening, Sir,” the hostess smiled, “May I have a name for your reservation?”

“Diamond,” Cater supplied.

After a second, the Hostess smiled, “Ah, here we are. Diamond, table for two. Alright, follow me if you please.”

Dinner went off without a hitch. Their table was on the indoor balcony that overlooked the rest of the restaurant and the city below through their floor to ceiling windows. They were served three courses starting with drinks and appetizers, which consisted of honey glazed prosciutto wrapped asparagus paired with a raspberry or cheese fondue sauce and for their drinks, sparkling cider since they had to drive home. 

For their next course, Cater had a brown butter steak and mashed potatoes, and for Mirai, a plate of their finest fettuccine chicken and broccoli alfredo. Over dinner, the two of them talked about anyone and anything. Mirai filled in how things were with living with Crewel and Grim, and how university was going. He talked about the last time he met up with Ace and Deuce and how they even went to visit Riddle and Trey. Mirai told Cater anything he thought was interesting. 

And Cater told him things in return. Cater talked about his department, his floor and everything they went on in the office. He talked about his sisters and his mother, he talked about his upcoming collaboration with Vil, and his hopeful future one with Idia and Kalim. 

Once dessert was served, things slowed down. The sun had long set, the food had settled in their bellies and with the looks Cater started giving Mirai over his glass of sparkling as he watched the blonde devour a piece of red velvet cheesecake, Mirai was ready to head out. 

“Ready, Babydoll?” Cater muttered with lidded eyes.

Mirai swallowed, feeling the telltale heat of a flush beginning to prickle at his cheeks, as he started back at Cater. The strawberry blonde smirked, putting down his glass to rest his cheek on his fist.

Mirai cleared his throat, but his words still came out hoarse, “Y-Yeah.” 

They paid, took the last piece of cake to go and made their way to the front of the building where the valet arrived with their car, and as they waited, Cater made sure to get as many pictures as he could. 

“Can we stop by somewhere before we go home?” Cater asked after a while of driving.

Mirai looked from his window to Cater, he couldn’t read the strawberry blonde’s expression, his face blank, eyes on the road.

“Sure. I don’t mind,” Mirai muttered finally, looking back at the city flying by. 

Cater drove around for some time and after a while, Mirai realized they were in the outskirts of the city, the amount of skyscrapers getting smaller, the amount of cars dwindling.

“Where are we going?” Mirai asked, looking out the windows.

“Surprise,” Cater smiled.

It wasn’t long after that they made their way to a scenic spot that overlooked the city. Here, they could see the stars in the sky, there were no bright lights outshining the galaxies above.

“Come sit,” Cater beckoned, crawling over the center console to sit in the back seat of his red convertible. 

“Cater,” Mirai giggled, crawling after Cater. 

Once he was back there, Cater wrapped the two of them in a blanket and pushed the button the dropped down the top.

“Why are we here?” Mirai asked, “What's going on?”

“Because it’s nice, and I can get some totally awesome pics for my Magaicam.”

Mirai shook his head, he guessed some things would never change. Cater snapped a bunch of pictures as Mirai stared at the cityscape below.

“Mimi?” Cater called.

“Yes?” 

“Cake?”

“I just had some. You tryna get me fat?”

“Well I do like feeding you,” Cater smirked. “Open?”

Mirai smiled, taking the fork into his mouth. The cake was sweet, creamy, and think, just what he liked in a good cheesecake. Eventually Mirai’s eyes wandered back to the city. Even from here, the city looked full of life. The red taillights dotted the roads, the white and gold lights from the buildings twinkled like stars, and above, the lights the warded off incoming planes pulsed like the city's heartbeat. Mirai agreed, this was nice.

“Mirai?” Cater whispered. 

“Huh?” Mirai answered, reluctant to take his eyes off the city.

“Jasper.”

Mirai’s head snapped away from the scenery for a second to see Cater holding a small red velvet box. Mirai froze, his heart stopping, his blood feeling as if ice was shot through his veins. He didn’t know what to do, but to sit there like a deer in headlights.

“Ca-Cater?” Mirai whispered, shakily.

“I-It-It’s not, it’s not what you think,” Cater stammered, face going cherry red. “Will you open it?”

Mirai shakily took the box from Cater’s hands, gently pulling the top up to reveal two simple gold bands with little flowers engraved on the outside, and in the center most flower, was one lone white rhinestone. On the inside of the rings were their names, Cater Diamond on one, and Mirai Jasper Yuhara on the other.

Mirai's lip quivered as he tried his best to take the ring out of the box, but he didn’t think he could without dropping it. “I can’t,” Mirai gasped a breath as he eyes filled with tears. 

“Here, let me,” Cater whispered, taking Mirai’s ring to loop a matching gold chain through it.

Mirai watched curiously as Cater did so, wondering what the gold chain was for. 

“I know you’re supposed to wear these on your left hand,” Cater muttered, before reaching around the blonde to clasp it around his neck, “but I wanted it so that when the time comes, you would be able to fit it on your right.”

Only then did Mirai’s eyes finally shed their tears, “Cater.”

“They’re promise rings, oh, well, you probably already knew that-wait did you? I-I-, this, this isn’t a proposal, well, not that kind of proposal. I wanted that one to be even more special, like #TheProposal, but I also wanted this one to be special, but not too special that it would outshine that one, and I-,” Cater stopped for a second, before laughing through his tears, “I’m not making any sense, am I?”

Mirai chuckled, voice muffled due to his emotions, “I-I-It’s, I understand you fully.”

“I-I’m so nervous,” Cater breathed, eyes misty, “I’ve never thought I’d be doing something like this. My life has never been stable, ya’know? I’ve moved around more times than I could count, gained and lost so many people who were close to me, and after a while, I stopped caring. I just knew everyone would disappear one day, so why try? If they were all gonna forget Cater one day, why not give them Cay-Cay instead?” 

Cater took a breath before continuing, “But that was before I met you. You made me want something stable, something permanent. You made me want to be me, to be Cater. And I want you.”

Mirai hiccuped at Cater words, and as Cater reached for his hands, Mirai sobbed, gripping them tightly.

“I can’t express how much I want this to be the real deal, but I can wait. I want you to finish school, I want you to find a place for yourself here in Twisted Wonderland. And then after all of that, we can think about actually tying the knot,” Cater chuckled. 

“I’d like that,” Mirai smiled, voice quivering.

“We can take our time, we can be young and dumb. We can make our mistakes, and find our place and who we are.”

“And then when we marry, we can get that house with the guest room, and the huge backyard?” Mirai asked.

“Yep, the one with the guest room for the guys, and the two car garage for our fancy cars.”

“With our dogs, and space to throw parties the whole street would envy?”

“And let’s not forget the giant walk in closet.”

The two of them fell into a fit of joyous laughter, the world and all of their worries seeming a world away. 

“Here,” Mirai eventually said, holding out the other band to Cater.

“You do it,” Cater smiled.

Mirai took his time and carefully slipped the gold band onto Cater's left hand. “There. Perfect.”

“Yeah, perfect,” Cater sighed, but he wasn’t looking at the ring on his finger. Mirai looked up and realized what he was implying, his face flushing.

 “I love you, Mirai,” Cater said, voice full of unbridled emotion. 

“I love you, too, Cater,” Mirai choked out.

Cater pulled Mirai in for a sweet kiss, like he was trying to convey his feelings with his body and soul. Mirai kissed him back, the same feeling of love and devotion. Cater pulled back seconds later, pressing his head to Mirai’s. Even if the kiss wasn’t a long one, it conveyed everything they wanted it to.

“So, selfies?” Cater asked.

“Yeah, selfies,” Mirai laughed.

Cater snapped as many pictures as he could between showering Mirai with love and affection, littering his face and anywhere he could get his lips on with kisses. Mirai felt as if he was floating. Yes this was only the beginning, and yes they did have a long way to go, but Mirai was fine with that, because had a promise to keep, and there’s no place he’d rather be, he was content with just simply basking in their shared happiness and adoration.

[call-me-eds]

call-me-eds Masterlist

Fic Recs

STRANGER THINGS

Blurbs (includes recs)

Eddie Munson

The Other Woman

You know she means a lot to Eddie, but that doesn’t mean you’re happy about it.

Jasper Avenue (Part 1)

Eddie broke up with you before you went off to school and is still in Hawkins. You’ve been trying to move on from each other, but you’re alone, drunk, with a cell phone, and have his number memorized.

‘tis the damn season (Jasper Avenue Part 2) Winter break is here and you’re back in Hawkins for a month. It didn’t take long for you to run into the person you’ve been trying to forget for the last five months, your ex-boyfriend Eddie.

New Dress

Eddie hears through the grapevine that you want to go on more dates, and he goes into quick action.

Prom Night

You never thought it would be your fault that you couldn’t go to prom with your boyfriend, but Eddie did his part. It was you that messed up.

Girls Freak Me Out

After graduating, Eddie isn’t as in the loop with the Hawkins population, especially when someone new comes to town.

Chivalry Kills *18+

Eddie is a perfect gentleman to everyone, and it makes you feel invisible to him. 

Lecture *18+

Wayne walks in on something..unbecoming. He has a special relationship with you, but now all of that is out the window.

Bathtime

Fluff, fluff, fluff with our boy Eddie.

Scare

You help Nancy out in an emergency, it brings back a painful memory, Dustin doesn’t bother to read instructions.

Done Deal

You thought you and Eddie were just enjoying each other’s company, but he takes a step that puts your relationship in more of a gray area.

The Boy is Mine (call-me-eds version)

A romantic night in at the trailer

Steve Harrington

A Family Affair *minor smut

You and Steve finally get a moment alone without your brother.

Second Date

After a disastrous first date, you and Steve give it another go.

Answering Machine

You hesitate to open up to Steve, but when it all gets too much, he can’t bear to see you suffer anymore.

Crush

Almost everyone can tell that Max has a crush on Steve. When he cancels a driving lesson to take you on a date, you think that you can take out 2 birds with one stone.

Friendsgiving *18+

You and Steve try to get through a dinner after crossing a line.

Baby *18+

Snapshots of your relationship with Steve through his most used nickname.

Steddie

Fight

Eddie and Wayne get into a fight, and he goes to Steve for comfort.

IT

Not Today (Reddie)

All Eddie wants is to be an emotional backbone for Richie, who is used to running and hiding from his emotions. He’s trying to learn and be emotionally available to Eddie, but it’s hard to change all at once.

Patience (Stenbrough)

Stan needs help in school. He hates not being the smartest one in the room, he hates having to ask for help, and he hates having to ask for help from his boyfriend.  

Know-It-All (Stozier)

Stan knew all there was to know about almost everything. He’s spent almost his entire life trying to pin down just one thing about Richie Tozier, but no one could do that.

Weak (Stenbrough: Fuckboy!Bill)

Fuckboy! Bill has his claws deep in Stan.

Weak Part Two (Stenbrough: Fuckboy!Bill) Stan gets some guts and Bill isn’t sure how to handle it.

Tomorrow (Reddie)

Eddie is leaving for college and Richie can’t quite handle it.

Jewelry (Stozier)

Richie falls in love with piercings and rings while Stan falls in love with him.

Poison (Stanlon)

Getting high has never been so stressful, but then again, everything that Stan did had an edge to it.

Eye On The Ball (Bichie)

Bill tries to cope with his role in his friend group and Richie can’t stand it.

Drive (Reddie)

All Richie has wanted is to have his license and his freedom, and there’s only one thing that might stand in his way.

Yes (Stenbrough)

Stan has had enough of Bill’s heroics and can’t help but put his foot down.

[candyskiez]

2, 9, 33

:3

1. Ohhh god. I think Furyflame, a warriors self insert when I was like. Ten or eleven. She had fucking WINGS. I made a whole fake clan for my family and my pets. It was insane.

9. I'm guessing this means songs that fit them so!

Jasper: Pills and Good Advice by Left at London (fits him a little too well), Metaphor by The Crane Wives, Our Word from 36 Questions

Ivy: Cassandra by Florence + The Machine

Lilac: I can't fix you by the living tombstone, but also Fences by Destroy Boys

Aster: Banks by Lincoln

33. Okay I honestly dunno if you mean scrap an OC or kill them in story. Jasper and Lilac were both originally dead but I wanted them to live so badly that I wrote alternate timelines where they lived and now they're the canon ones. Does that answer your question 😭😭

[wannabecatwriter]

Halloween OC asks. Round 2

Thanks for the tag @cawthorntales.

I'll answer for Jasper

Inspired by my favorite Halloween Scooby-Doo movie(Fred got turned into a evil vampire, Velma a evil werewolf and Daphne a evil witch). If a evil warlock used a spell on your OC to turn them into a evil monster. What monster would your OC become? How would they be different from their true self? Maybe not exactly a monster, but some kind of mad scientist. Like, some creepy scientist who wants to turn people into machines.

What is your OC least favorite candy. He's not a fan of Laffy Taffy.

What is a Halloween "Staple" that your OC isn't a fan of? Pumpkin Spice. He doesn't hate it, he just thinks it's a bit too much and too everywhere during that season.

What horror movie trope would your OC be? Example: Final girl, dumb jock, the couple that gets attacked having sex, etc He'd be that guy who tries to analyze the situation logically and solve the problem/catch the monster/ outwit the killer. Whether he'd be successful or not is up in air.

Does your OC think Nightmare Before Christmas is a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie? Jasper: Come on, it's a Halloween movie.

Which OC is dancing along to Monster Mash?

Not Jasper, but his coworkers from the autoshop would, for sure. And they might drag him onto the dance field.

[itsyourchoicedevotionals]

Approachable And Loving

“One sitting on the throne… He who was sitting was like a jasper stone… a sardius in appearance… there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones… upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting… Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder… there were seven lamps of fire burning… the seven Spirits of God… before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal… in the center and around the throne.” Revelation 4:2-6NASB

In case you’ve not figured it out yet, God sits resplendent, impressive in heaven. Francis Chan asked everyone in his book, ‘Crazy Love,’ to ponder just how all-important God is— Almighty God— absolute Ruler and Creator of everything everywhere. Our Creator spoke, “…Let there be light…” Genesis 1:3. Scientists are still discovering new galaxies. Were these galaxies truly newly discovered, or are God’s words actively creating new galaxies now?

Imagine with me, we’ve just entered the throne room of Almighty God. What are the first words we’d say? Since Chan posed this question, I’ve considered it with a lot of thought.

Growing up in the holiness religion, Yahweh was this huge formidable being for whom we had to walk perfectly before in order to be loved. Mess things up, sin big-time and always look over the shoulder wondering when He was going to zap you with sickness and harm. That God was frightening and unapproachable. My puny mind had difficulty absorbing the sights of heaven or imagining what I’d do faced with such awesomeness should I actually get there..

In the book made movie, ‘Heaven Is For Real,’ Todd Burpo’s father deals with the reality of heaven. He’s heard about this God of love all his life. The subtler teaching of approaching a God of judgment had him with that same awaiting of being zapped, that I experienced. Faced with explaining the unexplainable God, Burpo was bereft of words. Sense, logic, nor previously known experiences didn’t fit into any of the unexplainable events. Eventually Burpo settled on the fact: God can do things however He pleases for He is THE Almighty.

My thoughts have come through many difficult places in life. Although I revere God in His awesomeness, I’ve needed an approachable and loving God, which I’ve discovered through reading and studying His Bible. Paul taught God will be what I need, although not always financially. Philippians 4:19KJV “…my God will supply all your needs…. in Christ Jesus.”

In prayer I’ve come to the knowledge He’s our Almighty knowing everything God. Prayer isn’t presenting a honey-do list to God; nor is it pulling the handle of a heavenly vending machine. Worship, praise, surrender, admitting how much we need Him while seeking the Source of all wisdom and answers are all parts of prayer. I’ve learned while surrendering everything to Almighty, I must allow Him to become God over those needs. Taking those needs back isn’t trusting Him to be all His Word says He is.

David understood my feelings: “Since I am afflicted and needy, Let the Lord be mindful of me. You are my Help and my Deliverer…” Psalm. 40:17NASB. As I face the largest, most difficult place in my life, I’ve had to pray— ‘God You are my “Help and my Deliverer.” This mountain is more than I can endure.’

How would your prayers change, if you stood in the astounding throne room of Almighty God, as you prayed? What would you say or think? Would your knee willingly bow admitting your need? One day it will. “…That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance,” Isaiah 45:23KJV. Now or later? It’s your choice. You choose.

LET’S PRAY: Father thank You for being approachable, even as You are the Most High God. Teach us to admit our need for You as we revere You, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

by Debbie Veilleux Copyright 2024 You have my permission to reblog this devotional for others. Please keep my name with this devotional, as author. Thank you.

[darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght]

Pokémon Reborn Screenshot Let's Play: Chapter 14

Oooh it’s a great day today, folks! Have you noticed this latest part hasn’t taken a century to be released? That’s because the new way of taking screenshots has worked…relatively well! 

After doing some searching around, I was made aware of the program PicPick, which (among other features) acts as a way to take screenshots, either of your whole screen or of a specific active window or what-have-you. Heck, you can even assign certain hotkeys to those functions so you can take screenshots without needing the program open! 

It…wasn’t entirely a smooth setup, admittedly. While I was trying to set up the hotkeys the way I wanted (by default, it’s Alt + PrintScreen, which won’t work for me because Alt in Reborn is the speed-up key), I kept getting a specific error that seemed to imply the issue was OneDrive or Dropbox (the former for me, since I don’t have Dropbox) hijacking the PrintScreen key, which seemed to be confirmed by several Google searches. However, after nearly two hours of various fixes, I was at my wit’s end and just hopped on a Discord call with some friends so I had people to actually talk to.

And it was at that point that one such friend saw the error and pointed out an alternative that I hadn’t considered. See, I had unassigned keys to all but the “screenshot active window” function because I was like “well I’m not gonna use those so…” However, he suggested that all the functions needed to be assigned hotkeys in order for things to work. So I went back and fixed that, and lo and behold…yeah, that was the problem, OneDrive had nothing to do with it. 

I had planned to start the play session at 1 PM that day. I actually started at about 3 PM. All of this because I wanted to release these chapters faster and take better screenshots. Be grateful for…at least five seconds.

Now, with that story out of the way, onto the actual content. And that starts with a recap of the events of the last chapter!

Xera continues battling her way through the Onyx Trainers’ School on her way to Florinia and the Gym, as well as answering quiz questions, which is another requirement for anyone looking to challenge Florinia.

In front of the door to the Gym, Xera encounters Fern once again. He insists that she’s only gotten this far because of “luck and pity,” then gives her one last chance to give up and go home. She refuses, and the two engage in a battle.

Xera is able to defeat Fern, to the latter’s frustration. Fern concludes Xera having a Badge is the difference between them, and decides to take on the Reborn League himself in order to surpass her.

After Fern departs, Xera is finally able to enter the Gym, where she goes on to challenge Head Instructor Florinia and her desert-themed Grass team at last.

After a battle of wits and Field Effects, Xera emerges victorious, earning her second Gym Badge: the Canopy Badge.

Soon after the battle, Amaria enters the arena with a report for Florinia. Apparently, Borealis was recently seen around the Beryl Ward; as such, it’s highly likely that is where Victoria is being held captive.

According to Florinia, both the Jasper and Beryl Wards are also experiencing rampaging plants like what happened in Obsidia Ward, except on a more widespread and severe scale. 

Because Xera is the only one who has both taken down a PULSE machine and seen Borealis, Florinia enlists her as the person to investigate these incidents. To help with this, Florinia installs a new app onto Xera’s PokéGear: the PULSE Dex, which acts as a PokéDex for PULSE-modified Pokémon.

While the OTS students take notice of Amaria’s arrival and begin growing eager for a battle or demonstration from a celebrity Gym Leader, Florinia urges Xera to get going as she prepares to make arrangements for Xera’s entry into Jasper Ward, through which she can then reach Beryl.

So that’s what the next plot hook is- traveling into the Jasper and Beryl Wards, with three main objectives: take out the PULSEs, track down Borealis, and rescue Victoria. Xera’s got two Gym Badges by now, so- what could go wrong? Nothing? Everything? With my luck, it could go either way, but we won’t find out just staying on the intro post, so- here we go!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Part 14

Part 15

Part 16

[whumpy-wyrms]

For the whump asks!

3, 17, 23 please!

from this ask game

3. What kind of whump do you absolutely refuse to write?

besides the obvious stuff like nsfwhump and the rest of my squicks, i’m really not a fan of like intense conditioning or dehumanization, especially with pet whump. i’ll definitely read that stuff occasionally but i don’t see myself ever writing any of it

17. Do you consider character death (that is not reversed) to be whump?

hmmmmm… it’s complicated. i honestly really like character deaths sometimes. heck some of my favorite ocs ever that i don’t post about here (Louie, Toast, Lucian, Jasper) literally all DIE at some point in their story and i think that’s cool as hell despite making me cry (Louie’s technically still alive in a machine, but that wasn’t the case originally).

but when it comes to specifically whump stories? i’m not a fan of character death at all. i read whump for a different reason, and i often see myself in the whumpees, so bad endings or major character deaths just make me sad and i don’t like reading about them (there are always exceptions though).

so i’m really not sure if i consider character death itself as whump. like it is whump when Silas brutally murders Aspen over and over again, but it wasn’t whump when Basil died. it’s really confusing and i’m not sure if i have a clear answer actually! those are just all my thoughts anyway

23. Do you write whump for OCs or just canon characters?

just my ocs! the only time i’ve actually written about other characters besides my ocs was a couple years ago when i was hyperfixated on the amazing world of gumball and wrote a 70k word fanfiction that i never finished. i don’t think it was that whumpy? like it wasn’t focused on that but it was about the end of the world and very high stakes stuff. anyway i prefer to write about my ocs and dunno if i see myself ever writing fandom whump but u never know!

thanks for the ask!