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robogalaxies · 2 months ago

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☎️ - The Unneeded But Happily Researched Crumbs Of Everything We Know About The Commissioner

“If anything happens… I’ll deny I ever knew you.”

The Commissioner is, as we all know, a mystery, and I hope it stays that way, but I put it upon myself to wrangle every little tidbit of information we have on him outside of giving cases! I do this solely because of three things:

I have nothing better to do

I find myself strangely endeared to his character (i.e. I do a gay little "favorite character" clap every time I hear him mentioned)

I want to share all my random knowledge with you all because I go digging for it in every S&M media there is

I'll be dividing this up into 4 sections for ease of access: comics lore, games lore (HtR, Telltale, TTIV), cartoon lore, and misc. lore. Some things MAY be assumptions based on other characters' reactions to what he MIGHT be saying or say about him, sure, but I will source all information on where to find it & provide images when they can be easily provided!~ If anything new comes up or I have forgotten something, I'll update. Until then... hope you love both hyperlinks and "at least I laughed at it" style commentary! ☎️

Comics Lore

The introduction of The Commissioner, as with everyone else! Small tidbits of his quite understated character outside of being The Phone are here, obviously, including:

the Commissioner's one and only speech bubble! (Bad Day on The Moon)

the beginnings of the implied "I love you" statements towards Sam & Max with an "XOXO" on a postcard (Bad Day on The Moon)

he shows SOME disdain towards Sam & Max's attitudes towards achieving their goals, being the one specifically to tell them to go on a road trip (On the Road #1, "Prisoners of The Casbah")

Games Lore

Hit the Road

The Commissioner is barely a character in this game (big surprise, right?) and you do not get much information on him minus the bare minimum of "he is Sam & Max's boss," so there's not much to be said here. In fact, I don't know why I mentioned it. Great game, though, go play it! Now! I'll wait until you get back :)

Save The World

Welcome back! There're only minor silly tidbits here, but they're needed for this comprehensive list. Everything is worth mentioning about a character with nothing to his name but "The Commissioner." I mean, you're reading this post, right?

wears bifocals! 👓 ("The Mole, The Mob, and The Meatball")

was once in contact with & worked with Harry Moleman, as he sent him to be the mole for the Toy Mafia. Crossover of the century... I wonder if he knows how far poor Harry has fallen ("The Mole, The Mob, and The Meatball")

Takes Sam & Max out for dinner sometimes, apparently, if they do well enough on their cases! Squirrel Garden sounds disgusting, but I'd be jazzed too if they also had the free breadsticks ("The Mole, The Mob, and The Meatball")

likely just a quick jab, so I don't really know why I'm putting it here other than humor, but Max apparently doesn't trust him! I hope that gets solved; Commissioner is sorta signing his meager paychecks ("Bright Side of The Moon")

Beyond Time and Space

The middle child of the Telltale trilogy, this game has barely anything in terms of tidbits given that he really only assigns the beginning cases in 1 out of 5 episodes, and even then, that doesn't give a single thing away. Despite this, there's gotta be one or two tidbits we should learn, right? Sure!

is aware of Sam's insistence on answering the phone & seemingly asks straight up why he didn't answer (What's Up, Beelzebub?)

Can confirm an "I love you" towards Max... d'aww! (What's Up, Beelzebub?)

The Devil's Playhouse

The Commissioner barely shows up or is referenced in this game, mainly due to the story existing outside of the common framing of "assigning cases," but we learn two small yet revealing tidbits:

British Columbian! 🇨🇦 (The City That Dares Not Sleep)

Has provided books on cultural and racial sensitivity for Sam & Max because they kept "reducing people to obvious stereotypes." (The City That Dares Not Sleep)

This Time, It's Virtual!

The phone exists yet again... but in your VR HEADSET! Some fairly funny Commissioner lore in this one even if you, like almost everyone I've seen in this fandom, dislike or even hate this game:

His family is in hiding, and I'm assuming Witness Protection?! Must come with the territory (phone call after completing first three Freelance Training segments in-game)

Can confirm an "I love you" of some sort said to Sam ... d'aww! (phone call after completing first three Freelance Training segments in-game)

Signs off even official, legal wanted posters with "The Commissioner," asking people to seek the help of Freelance Police & associates himself as PART of the Freelance Police!

signs your certificate at the end of the game, which mentions the Illuminati in conjunction with his name for some reason! What kind of policing are we running here....??

Cartoon Lore

Truly, the 90s cartoon is where most Commissioner lore lies if we take into consideration all of these happen within the same universe, which we likely shouldn't. This being said, the cartoon provides us with the only picture we have of the guy (see post photo above the cut). Alongside this, we also get a LOT more information than any other media:

before we even start the information in the ACTUAL cartoon, Sam & Max say within the show's initial Bible believe he's out to kill them, in some way, saying they're the "troubled, ungrateful sons he never had." That's so sweet ... in a way. As well, there's a very small section dedicated to the Commissioner as a character, though not much is said that we don't already know (Sam & Max Cartoon Series Bible)

has Geek's number, or at least a number to the Sub-Basment of Solitude, as he calls it more than once over the course of the series, which makes me wonder how well he may or may not know Geek! Like a grandniece or something (episodes 1, "The Thing That Wouldn't Stop It" & 3b, "They Came from Down There")

cried over the story of Sam & Max having to get rid of John, their beloved alligator son... must be a shared parental instinct (episode 6a, "That Darn Gator")

apparently sends sticker books in case briefings on a semi-regular basis, as Sam comments that he "loves when the Commissioner does that" as if it has happened before - how whimsical! (episode 6b, "We Drop at Dawn")

confirms the Commissioner as a legitimate police commissioner alongside being Sam & Max's boss (episode 6b, "We Drop at Dawn")

seemingly very fussy if not given his private bathroom and honor bar. Fancy stuff, Commissioner, & he apparently allows Sam and Max up there! Or not, they just sorta bust in. Whatever! Sharing is caring (episode 6b, "We Drop at Dawn")

the Commissioner has a DAUGHTER! and somehow, Sam & Max got invited to her WEDDING! I think she's beautiful and I hope she doesn't resent her special day getting ruined (episode 11a, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang")

that iconic, signed, chest only photo given with the solemn, loving, promise of "If anything ever happens, I'll deny I ever knew you," followed by Max crying that it's "It's just... so him." - what a loving, tender and slightly bordering on oddly familial relationship he has with Sam and Max... stop, I'll start crying! (episode 13, "The Final Episode")

Misc. Lore

These are lore tidbits that are present in mediums either outside of the media itself, belong in a game that is not technically part of the larger S&M canon, or has to do with out of media context, but should be included anyway because why not!

gifts Sam & Max a new floaty pen from a different United State every Christmas ... but not really anything else! (Poker Night 2)

Sam & Max discuss the Commissioner's power in response to doubt about his existence, claiming "Don’t you know he’s everywhere? He knows we’re talking about him right now!" - which is sort of scary, but I'll let it slide because it implies that the Commissioner's surveillance is of a much higher caliber than we initially thought and that is BANGER (in-character interview for Telltale, found here on Steve Purcell's Sam & Max FB page)

He's affectionate yet surly & I'm sure all those "I love you" statements contribute to that! D'aww... (Skunkape Origin Video)

Voiced by a member of Bay Area Sound, Julian Kwasneski, in the Telltale trilogy! Talked about and even has a LINE recited in this specific developer commentary! We love a mysterious boss who sounds like an adult in Peanuts.

God bless the guy, he had a rash! Does this matter? No. Will it ever matter? Likely not, as it was from the sadly cancelled Sam & Max: Freelance Police trailer. Sighs. At this point, you can tell I'm just adding whatever mentions we get of the guy. Makes me giggle, though.

Conclusion...?

In the end, the Commissioner is a mystery, and always WILL be a mystery. Hell, I sort of never want to know as it will ruin every single thing I have worked so hard to archive, but it is fun to comb through the different canons! Of course, it is likely any of this can be tossed out or considered non-canon in the blink of an eye because Sam & Max always loves to give a middle finger to character details if they don't affect the main plot & likely a lot of these are mere gags. The Commissioner is phone, and always will be only phone. However, it's always in my best interest to try to find ANYTHING to push back the curtain even the tiniest inch, and I hope my efforts were worth it. Now, to sign off, just press that phone! You got it, you got it! ☎️

#sam and max #sam & max #freelance police #the commissioner (sam & max)#if you sincerely read all of this... thank you. my god. thank you

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jflemings · 7 months ago

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— rascal

pairing: jessie fleming x raso!reader

synopsis: in the hopes of convincing you to sign with chelsea, sam encourages you and jessie to get to know one another

warnings: none

a/n: this lil idea has been bouncing around in my brain like the dvd symbol so here ya go

it was no secret that you were one of the more outgoing players on the australian national team, having gained a reputation of being bubbly and energetic through your style of play on the pitch and personality. sam had taken quick advantage of this from the moment you joined the team, posting various funny videos and photos of you during camps and tournaments purely for her own entertainment.

the most recent video she had shared to her close friends story. you were distracted with pulling out your training kit from your suitcase when she had loudly announced herself as she walked into your room, the camera in selfie mode and held above her head.

“look who’s baaaaack!” she exclaimed causing you to turn around too quickly and get your foot caught on the leg of the bed.

“fuck!” you exclaimed loudly as you fall to the carpet floor, both yours and sam’s loud and infectious laughs filling the room as you processed what happened.

she stopped recording and caught her breath before captioning the video ‘the rascal diaries are off to a good start 🤣🤣’ and posting it so that her club teammates could see.

“you- you are impossible” she managed to say before another round of uncontrollable laughter erupted from her “and erin and guro are gonna find it so funny”

you huffed and unhooked your ankle from around the bed leg before sitting up “i’m so glad that you get a kick out of embarrassing me” you say sarcastically “it’s really the best part of seeing you”

sam smirks “jessie will probably find it funny too”

a blush makes its way up your neck at the mention of her canadian club teammate “shut up”

“you two should swap shirts, add a canada one to your collection”

“i’ve got julia grosso’s” you shrug uselessly whilst pulling yourself up by the sheets “and, i don’t know, i’ve never spoken to jessie before”

“you’ll be speaking to her a lot when you sign with chelsea” the striker hums “might as well become friends now”

you huff and stand, turning around immediately and pulling your kit out of your suitcase “i haven’t decided on anything. and you’re not the first australian to try to convince me to sign for their wsl team” you look over your shoulder and quick a brow at the older woman.

“as if you wanna play for arsenal or city! you’re a blue through and through”

“steph is pretty convincing” you sing-song earning a swipe from sam as you make a run for the bathroom. you quickly shut the door behind you and put all your weight against it

“don’t listen to steph!”

———

hayley, sam, kyra, macca and yourself are all lounging around playing an intense game of uno when sam decides to open her big fat mouth.

you smirk and place a +4 card down, raising your brows at sam when she gasps “y/n!”

hayley, who’s sitting to your right, holds her hand up for a high five. the two of you laugh as sam reaches for the pile of cards whilst angrily mumbling, her already stacked hand beginning to slip from her grip as she attempts to organise them all.

“fuckin’ rascal” she grumbles from behind her cards, sinking further into her seat “if you treat jessie like this when you come to chelsea, i’ll have your head”

you roll your eyes and go to answer before macca just about jumps out of her seat.

“you’re signing with chelsea?”

“why is she bringing up jessie fleming?”

you cringe at the sound of hayley and mac talking over eachother at the same time, kicking your feet out and hiding behind your cards. hayley reaches over and pushes them out of your face so she can look at you “why is she bringing up fleming” she questions again.

“who cares!” mac loudly says “why are you signing to chelsea? i thought you were coming to west ham!”

“yep” sam speaks up again, quite pleased with herself and the chaos she’s started “she’s gonna be a blue and she’s got a biiiiiig crush on jflem”

both women gasp. hayley kicks your ankle hard and throws her cards down onto your chest “you didn’t tell me that”

“because it’s not true!” you defend “sam doesn’t know what she’s talking about”

kyra, who has been unusually quiet, snickers “as per usual”

your captain frowns at the young midfielder before turning her attention back to you, a sly smile on her face. she pays your arm with fake affection “it’s okay y/n/n, they won’t tell”

“there’s nothing to tell!” you almost shout before lunging at her “and stop looking at me like that”

hayley grabs onto the back of your shirt and plants your bum back into your seat “she’s cute, y’know, totally your type”

“and she’s smart! like really smart. you’re into that, right? your last girlfriend was pretty smart”

“wasn’t she also canadian?” mackenzie pipes up smugly, side eyeing you and getting a peek at sam’s card whilst she’s distracted.

“she was american” you grit out “and yes, she was smart but that’s not the point! i’m not crushing on jessie fleming!”

“not yet” hayley mumbles before yelping as you push her off her chair.

———

“scrambled!”

“sunny side up!”

you and hayley argue over steph who’s sat in between you, the both of you paying no mind to the defender who’s wearing a flat look on her face. you’re dressed in your training kit with the sleeves rolled up, showing off your toned arms easily as you half flail around.

jessie finds herself smiling at her phone, her eyes not once leaving your face. in all honesty, she really enjoys the videos sam posts during international break. she finds herself being entertained whenever she sees your face pop up on her phone, unable to stop the smile that eventually adorns her face as you get up to your usual antics.

whilst she hadn’t properly spoken to you, she had heard nothing but kind things about your character. sure, you were an instigator and a bit of a smart-ass on the pitch but off it people claimed you were one of the sweetest people they had ever met.

“sunny side up? are you kidding, the only thing that’s good for is when you want the yolk all over your plate” hayley argues whilst pointing her fork at you.

“hayley” you begin you say, running your hand over your brows “the day you stop being wrong is the day macca scores a hattrick”

“you little—”

the video cuts just as hayley goes to slap you again

jessie loudly snorts at the abrupt cut off and rubs her hand over her face in an effort to stop herself from smiling, you really were living up to the rascal nickname that your team so affectionately called you. sam said that it was alanna who came up with it when you were eighteen and ‘feral’ as she says. not only did you make it your mission to annoy your older teammates every chance you got, but you were also known to be a bit of a wild child in your teenage years and early twenties. more than once sam had boasted about all the trouble the two of you got up to with a smile on her face, claiming that you needed someone to ‘put you on a leash’.

jessie chooses to not remember the way sam insinuated that she should be the one to do it.

‘scrambled vs sunny side up: who wins?’ the text on the screen reads. jessie doesn’t think about it as she swipes up on sam’s story with a reply

sunny side up always. tell y/n she’s right.

———

jessie watches your back and shoulders flex under your jersey as you grab the back of hayley’s neck in the tunnel. she tilts her head slightly as you begin to fiddle with your sister’s ribbon, untying it and retying it before hayley swats your hand away.

she’s played against you for a few years now and she always found it endearing how the two of you not only wear matching ribbons, but also wear the numbers sixteen and seventeen respectively. sam told her that it was a complete coincidence that you got number seventeen when you were first called up, but that the whole team found it cute whenever they saw you two walking together. raso and raso, sixteen and seventeen, forward and defender.

adriana places her hand on jessie’s shoulder and leans down into her ear “eyes forward jeff” she whispers with a smile “can’t get distracted”

jessie’s face burns and she scratches the back of her neck nervously “i’m not distracted” she quietly defends herself, switching her weight from one foot to the other.

adriana doesn’t move her head but instead takes her own look over at the pair of you just in time to see hayley smack you upside the head. she can’t help but snicker “she’s pretty” she hums “definitely your type”

the midfielder throws her elbow back into her teammate “drop it” she grits out whilst stretching her neck out of nervousness. “i get it enough from sam”

“i heard she’s signing with chelsea. arnold and cooney-cross were talking about it just before we lined up”

jessie’s lip quirks at the thought of sam successfully getting you to sign to the powerhouse club, especially after all the pestering she’s put you through once she heard you were looking to move to europe from america. it had only gotten worse once the blues had actually made you an offer.

she silently recalls a time she and niamh walked into sam’s place and heard her loudly listing off reasons why you would be a perfect fit for the team. the australian even going as far as trying to rope the her and niamh into joining her pestering. jess had politely refused whilst niamh offered a kind smile and an enthusiastic nod, encouraging the decision.

dri leaves her alone once realises she’s not going to get anymore out of jessie, leaving her to get back into the right headspace for the game.

———

the match was close and although canada had beaten australia by one— curtesy of jordyn huitema— sam still had a wide smile on her face as her and jessie stood talking on the pitch.

sam laughed at the way hayley pulled you into a headlock and began dragging you around, hopping and cheering as she went. kyra, of course, stood back and egged the two of you on loudly.

“they’re great” she tells jessie between laughs “i think you and y/n would get along”

jessie cocks a brow and hums, choosing to ignore the smile that she can hear creeping into sam’s voice. she crosses her arms and continues to watch the two of you tussle, smiling when you hook your foot around hayley’s ankle and take her to the ground.

sam bursts out laughing and almost doubles over when she sees kyra toss you a waterbottle so you can empty the remaining contents onto your sister’s head. hayley’s eyes go wide in shock and you push her further into the ground before grabbing kyra’s hand and breaking out in a sprint, laughing boisterously as the two of you try to find refuge in polks and emily.

hayley pulls herself up and watches the two of you run off. a deep scowl settles on her face as she combs her hair back with her fingers and stands.

“you doing okay ras!?” sam shouts with a smirk

hayley gets herself off the ground and brushes the grass off her bum, making her way over to the chelsea players. “no. that was so uncalled for! she’s such a shit”

“acting as if you’re not the same”

“you don’t have much of a leg to stand on, sam” jessie mumbles.

sam’s jaw drops and hayley claps in delight “fleming’s right, you don’t!”

the skipper rolls her eyes and pushes hayley’s shoulder “you” she points “are just as bad as your sister. and you” she directs to the canadian suddenly “need to go do something”

jessie looks to hayley before back to her close friend shrugging in fake cluelessness. sam’s shoulders go slack just as hayley leans on her, her expression both knowing and unreadable. the way the two australians are looking at her makes her nervous and she digs the toe of her boot into the pitch out of habit.

“she means go make a move on my sister”

jessie’s eyes nearly fall out of her head as she once again looks between the two of them. hayley’s lax attitude and expression doesn’t do much to ease her sudden spur of nerves, even after she drops the facade and smiles instead.

“no i don’t” sam starts “i mean go introduce yourself properly. you’re the last phase of my plan”

“same same” the winger waves off

“oh” jessie says dumbly. she doesn’t really know what the right way to respond was, or even if there is a right way. at this point she really can’t tell what sam’s motives are. jessie wasn’t stupid, sam had been dropping hints that she wanted her to get to know you but jess hadn’t done much besides follow you on instagram. “when did i get included in your plan” jessie questions carefully, to which sam tuts.

“when i realised you are exactly y/n’s type”

jessie blushes furiously and brings her hand up to her face in an attempt to hide it. she kind of wishes that the earth would just open and swallow her, or at the very least that hayley would remove herself from this conversation.

raso nods “to a tee”

sam takes charge of the situation and grabs the younger woman by her shoulders. she manhandles her club teammate until jessie has you in her eyeline “go on!” sam says before giving jess one hard shove.

jessie, for whatever reason, reluctantly follows sam’s orders and begins to trudge her way over to you.

“you’re such a pot stirrer”

“they’ll thank me one day”

———

you’re listening to kyra talk your ear half off about anything and everything that comes to mind, her hands not being able to stay still as she runs you through a story involving charli, harper and a tub of butter.

as you lean down to retrieve your now filled waterbottle from the ground the midfielder abruptly stops. the sudden silence makes your brows furrow and you lift your head just in time to see kyra’s cheeky smile. she blows you a kiss and waves quickly before running off to annoy mini, leaving you both confused and intrigued about the end of her story.

“do you wanna swap shirts?” you hear someone ask behind you, the unmistakable canadian accent catching you off guard.

you spin around and are faced with freckled flushed cheeks and a shy jessie fleming holding her hands behind her back.

“sure” you answer sheepishly, cursing yourself when you realise how small your voice sounds. you watch as jessie’s shoulders relax and she reaches for the hem of her jersey, pulling it off in one swift motion.

you pull your own shirt over your head before she can catch you staring. you definitely did harbour some type of romantic feelings for the canadian but you had always pushed them aside with the excuse that you didn’t know her beyond whatever sam had told you and the times when canada and australia would play eachother.

the truth was that jessie is your type. a pretty brunette with brains and talent? yeah, sign you the fuck up. you had admired her work ethic and determination from afar for years but hadn’t gotten the chance to exchange more than a few words with her at a time until now.

your usually outgoing personality has suddenly taken a backseat when you finally removed your shirt and saw jessie nervously playing with the fabric of her own. the two of you smile at eachother and swap, silently putting on one another’s jersey.

“sam seems pretty sure that you’re going to take the deal chelsea offered” she says whilst pulling her ponytail out of the collar of your shirt.

you shrug and mimic her actions, subconsciously fixing your ribbon “sam is sure of everything even if she’s wrong” you roll your eyes and tilt your head “but- um yeah. that’s the way it’s looking”

jessie smiles genuinely and you feel yourself becoming light headed “well, hey, if you need a tour guide when you get there i’d be happy to show you around”

“that’d be great” you smile back at her.

“a photo girls?” a man with a camera asks the two of you. you both smile at eachother and stand close together with your arms wrapped around eachother’s waists, proudly showing off both of your nation’s badges.

the camera clicks a few times and you feel jessie tense slightly under your arm. he looks at his camera before giving the both of a thumbs up “great thank you!” he says enthusiastically before walking off to take photos of other players.

“jeff!” someone yells. leon and sinc stand a little way away, both smiling and beckoning jessie over to them. the canadian lets go of your waist and turns to you.

“see you in london?”

words fail you for a moment before you snap yourself back into reality with a blush “yep”

you give jessie a small wave as she walks off and tuck one of your hands under the canada jersey. you can feel the heat radiating off from your face and you lift a palm to your cheek in an attempt to cool yourself down. letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding, you relax your shoulders before you feel someone slap and grab you from behind.

“so i’ll see you at cobham then?” sam says cockily into your ear as she hooks her chin over your shoulder

“shut up sam”

#jessie fleming #jessie fleming x reader #jflem #jessie fleming fic #jessie fleming blurb #jessie fleming imagine #raso!reader #jflemings woso #jflemings writes

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1dmonthlyficroundup · 1 year ago

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— 1D Monthly Fic Roundup —

Hi, and welcome to the 1D Monthly Fic Roundup for October 2023! Below you’ll find 1D fics that were all published this month in the order they were submitted to the blog. We hope you’ll check out these new fics! If you would like to submit your own fic, please check this post on how to submit or visit our blog @1dmonthlyficroundup. You can find all our other posts here.

Happy reading!

＊ Fly To You by @babyhoneyheslt [G, 1k, Louis/Harry]

On the way to their honeymoon, Harry and Louis find out the pilot is ill. With Louis being a pilot, he offers to fly the plane there, and it turns out to make the start of their honeymoon extra special.

＊ Forgotten Kingdom by @babyhoneyheslt [G, 2k, Harry/Louis]

Louis had always loved ruined cities and had always been obsessed with Glyswing Kingdom, a city that many believed to be a myth. Moving into his grandparents house for renovations, he never expected to find what could be the long forgotten kingdom. Part 1 of The Secret City

＊Castles Crumbling Down by @babyhoneyheslt [G, 1k, Louis/Harry]

With Harry freed, the kingdom crumbled down around them, prompting a quick escape. Part 2 of The Secret City

＊ The Tower by @babyhoneyheslt [G, 4k, Harry/Louis]

There's something strange going on in Heaven.

Bored Angel Harry can't help but investigate. Part 1 of Devil’s In The Detail

＊ The Fool by @babyhoneyheslt [G, 4k, Louis/Harry]

After making a deal with the devil, Harry has to forge a new life for himself alongside Louis on Earth. Part 2 of Devil’s In The Detail

＊ The Devil by @babyhoneyheslt [M, 3k, Harry/Louis]

Harry has grown to love being on earth, but his absence in heaven and the company he keeps, hasn't gone unnoticed. Part 3 of Devil’s In The Detail

＊ Cold Spring by @nouies [E, 8k, Louis/Pedro Pascal]

Life went on as normal at Cold Spring Café. Sam’s scribbles remained indiscernible, Jake persisted on his idea of getting more pots for the shop, and Pedro…Pedro continued coming to drink his moderately-caffeinated americano, to write furiously in that notebook of his, and to captivate Louis to no end.

or…Louis is a coffee shop owner and Pedro is his newest customer.

＊ Lips so good I forget my name by @enchantedlandcoffee [E, 828 words, Louis/Harry]

Harry hummed in contemplation as he moved to palm himself through his briefs, "Do you think you've deserved it, Lou? Hmm?" At Louis' sound of protest, Harry swiftly moved the microphone back to the older man's mouth causing him to moan as he wrapped his lips around it again. "Because I don't think you have. I think you love your microphone too much to suck on anything else." Harry's words elicited a moan from Louis as his hips bucked up instinctively.

Or Louis needs to give up control in the bedroom sometimes, until he doesn't.

＊ Tied Up Like Two Ships by @enchantedlandcoffee [T, 2k, Harry/Louis]

"His crew boarded our ship and took a few of us hostage. Um, myself, Liam, Louis, Tabby, and a few others. Then they- uh- they, um…"

"They started stealing our most valuable possessions on board: heirlooms, jewels, weapons. And then," Zayn continued on from Liam, "then the cannons started. The first shot hit the side closest to the berth, where most of the crew were sleeping, and the second was aimed directly at the Captain’s Quarters. We- uh, we lost fifteen of the crew then, and then, uh, then ten shortly after."

OR Captain Styles wakes up to find his rival and old friend, Captain Tomlinson, aboard his ship. Part 1 of You Make Me Strong

＊ two languages, one love by @nouies [NR, 3k, Louis/Cillian Murphy]

The three times Louis speaks to Cillian in Spanish, and the one time he finally gets a response.

＊ a cycle of recycled revenge by brokenbeaks / @broken-beaks [E, 103k, Harry/Louis]

Foxburgh, England, 1983.

In the heat of summer, wreathed by pastures, rolling knolls, and thatched-roof cottages, Louis takes on a new job: caretaking for a recently blinded man named Harry. As it begins, what seems like a simple task turns into a quest that costs him every last bit of his pride and tolerance. Harry is, in practice, a two-legged curse. And Louis is just gonna have to put up with it.

Or: The one where Harry likes to infuriate Louis almost as much as he enjoys straddling his lap.

＊ the blue never-ending sky by @justanothershadeofblue [T, 3k, Louis/Harry]

“What do you suppose it’s like?”

Harry’s voice was dreamy, barely audible from where Louis lay on his back on the off-white carpet of Harry’s bedroom.

“Arizona?” Louis asked, and Harry made an affirmative noise from his position on top of his twin bed. “Wouldn’t know, would I?” Louis jerked his head at the window, dripping with mid-February rain. It was a useless gesture - Harry was busy staring at the ceiling. “On account of being British and all.”

“I bet it’s beautiful,” Harry said, and his voice sounded like he was already gone.

＊ all of my demons are wallflowers watching us by LiveLaughLoveLarry / @loveislarryislove [E, 3k, Harry/Louis]

Harry slides his hands into his pockets, feeling the comforting padding of the thick diaper he’s wearing under his jeans. He’s avoided haunted houses for years; his weak bladder and nervous disposition meaning that they often resulted in mortification. But since he started dating Louis – and since they discovered that Louis actually quite enjoys his weak bladder – well. Some of the calculus has changed.

＊ The Freak called ‘Jezebel’ by sweetkalachuchi / @neverforpickles [M, 8k, Louis/Harry]

“Zayn!” Harry said the moment he got inside the room, his voice loud and clear as it touched the four walls of the room. His voice bellowing and ricocheting on their own without Harry raising his voice.

Without hesitation, from where he’s sat in the sole incredibly detailed piece of architecture in the whole room, Harry calmly said, “I am going for a vacation.”

Or, the Devil decided to go for a vacation and met his soulmate instead.

＊ could start a cult by @nouies [E, 8k, Harry/Louis]

He lowers down the top that Louis is wearing, successfully unclasping his nursing bra as well, letting Louis’ tits bounce at the sudden movement. Harry massages both breasts to stimulate the milk flow, and he can feel his cock hardening inside his pants.

or...Harry can’t get enough of Louis’ breast milk.

＊ I Want Adventure In The Great Wide Somewhere by @rockstarlwt28 [G, Louis/Harry]

Harry surprises Louis with a little Age Regression gift in support of his gender fluidity.

＊ Wearing You Like Clothes by LetTheMusicMoveYou / @letthemusicmoveyou28 [E, 5k, Harry/Louis]

Louis rushes over to his door and hopes against hope that maybe he got lucky and it didn’t lock this time. He jiggles the handle, but no dice.

Louis groans. Great, so he’s locked out and it’s after hours so his landlord will be difficult to reach. He does have a spare key, but it’s with his best mate Niall, who is conveniently out of town this weekend.

And it’s not like Louis can go anywhere to ask for help.

Not when he’s only wearing knickers.

(Or the one where Omega Louis accidentally locks himself out of his flat in only his underwear. Embarrassingly help comes in the form of Harry, the beautiful Alpha that lives down the hall. It turns out alright in the end).

#28th appreciation #1dficvillage #hlcreators #trackinghappily #trackinghome #tracksintheam #1dsource #hltracks

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bladeweaver-if · 8 months ago

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Devlog (16/03/24)

I wrote another 1.5k today, continuing the home visit scenes in Chapter 2. It's a lot of fun to write Sam's dynamic with his father, and I want to use this as a chance to dive into their family history and their reason for coming to the city. I'll also be using it as an opportunity to have Callen and Sonia have some more adult conversations with Willem, giving some of their more hidden thoughts on your situation. Having moments like these is something that's tricky considering MC is a child, so it's a puzzle to find situations in the plot where they can be had without things feeling contrived - I certainly don't want MC to be just an obstacle to the other characters at this early stage.

I've also made a tough decision to remove some of the potential weapons from the potential roster. I'd once said there were nine, that number has been reduced to six.

Your available weapons will now be:

The broadsword

The rapier

The battleaxe

The greatsword

The spear

The glaive

I felt that nine would've ended up being a little too much to write fight scenes for, and this will give me more time to refine the scenes for the remaining weapons, making them even more unique. I'm even floating an idea for MC having a particular fighting style, though that might just be restricted to flavour text based on your mentor's choice - I'm writing it so that it's pretty evident you're trained differently by either one of them, and so would fight differently as a result. That remains to be seen though haha, as it might just end with me complicating the amount of fight scenes I have to write in an entirely different way.

I'm particularly excited to write some greatsword fight scenes. They're my favourite fantasy weapon archetype haha.

Progress is going good, and I'm very confident in my release date of next Friday for the update.

Bye!

#bladeweaver #development log

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unethicallypleistocene · 4 months ago

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hello, me again :) seems like summer is kicking ur ass. i would feed u summer fruits myself but since i can’t, eat them for me? 🥺 but no you’re not ending anything (asks or otherwise) on a depressing note, not on my watch. so! answer some more: 3, 12, 17, 27, 30. also, i love ur ask box title. truly feels like i’m dropping a letter for a dear friend

P.S: thank u for ur unwavering support of my holmesposting & denethorposting! 💕💕 i hope u know that i’m the same w ur cherikposting + can’t deny that they’re v amusing & so is ur commentary on them lolll

aaaaaah I am smooching you platonically!! I actually like summer quite a bit more than winter, but I suppose I have a good amount of Dread coloring my experience. Rest assured that I am consuming summer fruits at maximum velocity! Just this morning I horked down an unadvisable amount of mango (although there really isn't an amount of mango that's unadvisable besides. none) and I hope you're doing the same!! The horrors persist but so does fruit. And thank you for complimenting my ask box! I quite like it too, I really wish I had a similar cozy-looking mailbox irl that was full of the lovely messages from friends I have here! Also: ofc I will always be rooting for your holmesposting and denethorposting! Recently I've been debating whether I prefer holmes/watson as a qpr or a romantic relationship (both. both is good. they might be in a sam/frodo situation here). Thank youuuu for supporting my cherikposting as always! They're so silly and I hate them but that's why they're special to me <333

also. me learning you read my cherik commentary and find it amusing:

On to the actual questions!!

3. What are some of your pet peeves?

Time to get meta with it: when people ask for my pet peeves. I'm never able to come up with something Normal so either I say something actually true that's kind of niche and end up getting weird stares, or I panic and just make something up that's not true and end up spending time feeling bad for lying even though, really, who cares. My autism's kryptonite: pet peeve questions.

12. Something you want to monologue about?

Since I'm still in cherik prison, it looks like there's only one option. Sigh. There's something really tragic about ideology, especially ideologies that are more-or-less aligned, tearing people apart. When an ideology has the power to interfere with a (GAY) relationship, it thereby cements itself as a part of the self. It's more than identity, it's more than a motivator, it forces characters to become figureheads. Of course this is obvious for Charles and Erik specifically, that's been their purpose in the comics since the 60s (and this is especially important in the symbolism/allegory heavy world of x-men comics). Unfortunately for me, I just think their conflict is so much more interesting when they're actually together! They're constantly forced to deal with the cognitive dissonance of the most important person in their lives representing an obstacle to their deepest beliefs. And that's fascinating! I don't think they have to constantly be at the brink of divorce to be at odds, either. From my perspective, they probably increasingly like each other the more they fight, those absolute freaks.

17. Space, enchanted forest, magical kingdom, or underwater city?

Enchanted forest! Let me be an ent!! Let me shepherd the trees!!!

27. What fascinates you about humanity?

A passion for knowledge (of any kind!). People can spend decades studying a single topic, people can spend hours upon hours writing nonstop about a character. That love is so mysterious and beautiful to me.

30. What is your favourite way to create?

I love brainstorming writing ideas by listening to music. If someone opened my brain during my near-daily music session they'd find cumulative hours of animatic-style storyboarded narratives mapped onto songs. I know other people do this too, which makes me SO happy.

#thank you my friend 💖#I am gifting you a big summer peach #and a giant watermelon #cherik #x-men #<- tagged because of my monologue #I just can't stop talking about those boyfailures it seems #pleistocene answers asks

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mysticstarlightduck · 8 months ago

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OC In Fifteen Tag!

Thanks for the Tag, @kaylinalexanderbooks!

I'll go with some lines from Kyran Mavven (Of Starlight and Beasts), Raiden (Jade Ruins), and Sam Delaways (Enchanted Illusions)!

Kyran Mavven

"Ugh, you've got to be kidding me." *death glares at Masen from across the tavern with the wrath of a thousand suns.* [Masen sees him, and strides up to him for the whole tavern to see, speaking with an angry smirk "Hello, brother."]

"If I get to blow something up then... yes. The answer is yes. And it will always be yes."

[To Bastien] "... You're not as wretched as I'd expected, for an Eclipsed soldier, that is. You're... pretty okay." [Cue awkward pat on the shoulder before walking off]

"I haven't worked on a team for a while now. I wasn't expecting my next experience with this to be with this little bunch of dimwits, but I'll take what I can get."

"They're trying to kill us, aren't they." [Corah chuckles awkwardly drily, clearly lying "No, not at all! What made you come up with that?"] "First, most people we meet since you came around are actively trying to kill us. Secondly, and most evident - they've literally just stabbed you!

+ Bonus: "If you touch my glasses or my goggles again I will bite you."

Raiden

6. "Because I know how to put up a show - why do you think my fights in the arena have such a crowded audience? - while you almost stumbled yourself to death twice since we first met. By yourself. That's why I'm in charge of the distraction, and you're in charge of all the rest."

7. "Hold on just a minute! I'm far too glorious to trudge through that muck, oh, no way in the Hells! We're figuring out another way around this or I swear to the Spirits that will leave you behind -" [Gets thrown in the bog regardless, mid-tantrum]

8. "So we're working with the Daggerfangs now? Literal assassins and thugs?" Raiden looks between Solei and Nevan with a bitter laugh "Oh, okay! Here go my hopes at living past 25 then. But carry on, enlighten me with your plans."

9. "Just because I like to annoy you doesn't mean you're not my friend, Solei. Now, can you not be such a killjoy and just let me help you, or is that too difficult for your 'high royalness'?"

10. "Oh, it's not me you've gotta worried about. I'm all tied up!" He smiles, holding up his tied wrists with a near-hysteric laugh and a dangerous tone "You pissed off Jinn - you're more fucked than I could ever make you be. And I suggest you run off now, 'cause she's coming up behind you at a really remarkable speed."

Sam Delaways

11. "That's a good idea alright. If you two intend on being dead in a week that is!"

12. "...Yeah, this city ain't for the faint of heart - you gotta fight through it, or else it will consume you, and that never has a good ending."

13. "You don't say? Here I was thinking the whole 'drenched in blood and viscera, glowing pitch black eyes' was just a style choice of his - of course, I knew he was a necromancer! I just didn't know he was that necromancer, that bit is new."

14. "The constabulary here are more corrupt than the crooks. If you walk up to them with that bunch of evidence against the Mayor, I guarantee ya that you two will be the ones walking out of that station with cuffs and a noose waiting for you in the docks. We need 'ta make an actual plan to go about this."

15. "I want chocolate cake." [Harriet and Augustus turn to him, baffled, given that this is the wreckage of one of their most recent escapades gone wrong. Augustus speaks up "You do know that we almost died just now -"] "That's precisely why I want that cake. Now, shut up, and lemme just enjoy this ride for a while, fancypants, I got a headache."

Tagging (gently, no pressure): @lassiesandiego, @clairelsonao3, @little-peril-stories, @rickie-the-storyteller, @crowandmoonwriting, @sam-gladee, @writernopall, @oh-no-another-ideaa, @hrmkingizzy, @jasperygrace, @tabswrites, @littleladymab, @starlit-hopes-and-dreamss, @tabswrites @i-can-even-burn-salad, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams and @blind-the-winds

#wip of starlight and beasts #wip jade ruins #wip enchanted illusions #oc in fifteen #writing #writeblr #writers #writerblr #writers on tumblr #my writing #character writing #my characters #my wips

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rey-writez · 6 months ago

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ok so this story is can be found on wattpad rather than ao3 just cause i find the format of ao3 to be confusing ANYWAY who's up for some lost boys fanfiction?

CHERRY RED

My whole family hated that we were moving. At least my brothers did. Honestly, I was just excited though. I mean being stuck in the same small town all my 16 years of living really makes a person want to get out sometimes. Or maybe its just my innate wanderlust. What can I say? It’s tough.

“Yeah Claud, keep sulking out the window, it’ll help,” Michael quipped.

“Oh my god, I was not ‘sulking’ you dipwad.”

“Claudia, don’t call your brother a dipwad.” my mom sighed,

An hour later, we arrived at our new home. It was small and cute. Me and my brothers rushed to claim our rooms. I found one at the end of a winding hallway. It had a large bay window with a clear view of the sea. Perfect. Just then I heard a rush of footsteps and Sam busted in.

“Do you mind?” I scoffed.

“Boo, I wanted this room.” he rolled his eyes and I crossed my arms.

“Snooze you loose.”

“Oh well. Hey, me and Michael were going to the boardwalk tonight, you know, get to know the city more. Wanna tag along?” Sam questioned. I bit my lip and thought about it. I mean would I rather stay in to unpack more or go out… Yeah, I’m going out.

“Alright, I’m in. Now get out doofus!” and I hit him with a pillow playfully. Now time to unpack. I grabbed all the boxes inscribed with Claudia. There were 2. So I started with the first one. It was a bit heavier than the other one but I managed it. Soon enough I had a well decorated room and a nice squashy bed.

“Come on Claud, we’re leaving!”

“Mike I’ll be ready in a second” I shouted in return. Scrambling to my newly organized closet, I chose my outfit. I wore a white tank, denim shorts, and a long yellow cardigan. I slipped on my favorite pair of Converse and left for the boardwalk.

The boardwalk was more crowded than ever. I almost felt dizzy with the amount of input I was getting at once. But I kept going and kept exploring. I was all on my own looking around, Mike was off chasing some girl and Sam was in a comics shop, so I ended up wandering around. The boardwalk seemed to glow in the pale moonlight. I loved it. My aimless stroll was halted when I stumbled across a stand selling churros and other boardwalk food. I decide to buy a churro and a coke. The kid selling them almost looked dead inside. I walked over to a bench and began eating. Just then, a blonde curly-haired boy sat on the bench. He was the guy standing behind me when I was in line for my food. The guy who I could tell was kind of into me, and honestly, I was kind of into him too.

“Hey,” I said, breathy. “I like your jacket.” God, I bet he noticed how flustered I was. But then I noticed he was almost a little flustered too. Aww.

“Thanks, cutie.” His smile was goofy, yet comforting. “I’ve never seen you around here before, are you knew here?”

“Yeah. I just moved.”

“Nice, nice. So do you like it here? In Santa Carla?”

“Yeah, I love the beach. And I love traveling.” He nodded and seemed like he was a bit fidgety.

We ended up sitting there, just chatting. He was kind. He was funny. God, I was falling hard.

Then, I glanced around, looking for Michael. It was getting a bit late and I was thinking about heading home.

“Ugh— where is he?” I couldn’t find him anywhere so I guess he just wandered off. I was thinking about asking him to drive around town, cause boardwalks were never my favorite.

“Where is who?” He asked.

“Oh, my brother.”

“You have a brother?”

“Is that surprising?” I smirked at him and raised my eyebrows.

“No, I mean…” he trailed off and looked a bit flustered. “Why are you looking for him?”

“Was gonna see if he would drive me around town.”

“Why so?” He asked.

“You ask a lot of questions!” I sarcastically joked with a smirk on my face. “See boardwalks were never really my style.”

He nodded and sat in silence for a short minute.

“I could drive you around.” My face stayed normal, but inside I was ecstatic. This cute guy on the boardwalk just asked me if he could hang out with me.

“Okay, sure!” I tried not to sound too excited. This was the first time I had found real love since… Well whatever.

“Alright, come with me.” He stood up and shrugged away from the bench. I stood up and threw my trash away and followed him.

“Y’know, I never caught your name.” He said.

“It’s Claudia.” I said, smiling at him.

“Claudia. Claudia’s a nice name.” He muttered, looking up at the stars. “My name’s Marko.” I nodded.

“Well, nice to meet you Marko.” I chuckled and keep walking along side him. It was nice.

Marko lead me over to a crowded parking lot. I’m the middle, there were a couple of motorcycles. I assume the more colorful one was his.

Just then a curly-haired dark boy caught my eye. Michael? I wanted to yell. He was flirting with a girl. The same girl he was chasing at the beginning of the night. At least I notice my goddamn sibling. I thought.

There were 3 other boys there too. A brunette boy, a long haired sleazy one, and finally one who definitely looked like a leader. He had a short blonde mullet and a light stubble. Well. Let’s see were this might takes us.

“Mind if we go to my buddies hangout? Don’t worry, they’re chill. " Marko said warmly. The blonde shot me a big toothy grin.

“See, that’s Paul. And you see him? The other blonde? That’s David. And finally we got Dwayne. They’re basically my brothers. " he grinned. “You ready, Claudia? " I nodded.

The ride was mostly a blur. Marko turning around to give me big Chessy Cat grin while I return it and wrap my arms around him in order to hold on.

Finally, we were at his friends place.

LOOKING FOR MORE CHERRY RED?

MORE COMING SOON!

#the lost boys #tlb 1987 #the lost boys 1987 #tlb david #tlb paul #david tlb #marko tlb #paul tlb #dwayne tlb #the lost boys x reader #marko x reader #wattpad #michael emerson #Emerson sibs

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threewaysdivided · 1 year ago

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for the ask game: 💥🤔📚

if we can only do one, your pick :)

(Fanfic writer ask game)

💥 What is one canon thing that you wish you could change?

I've talked about some other changes in a previous ask, but I think Danny Phantom could have been improved by either re-writing the episode Memory Blank or at the very least, cutting a couple of the jokes. The base-premise is potentially interesting but it was definitely one of the ones where the show did characters dirty for the sake of jokes.

If I had to leave it mostly as-is, I would at least want to ditch the two random insert jokes where Danny "remembers" using his powers to peep in the girl's locker room. Not only is the base joke a gross, sexist "boys will be boys" gag, it also just feels really jarring and almost out of character for Danny in particular. That's not to say that Danny isn't canonically chauvinistic in other ways at times, but this one doesn't jive with how he reacts to similar situations (and behaviors from Tucker) in other, more character-centric episodes. The abrupt musical punctuation feels more like a sudden insert of Fairly Odd Parents humour and I would say it's probably only there because this kind of "adorkable misogynist" punchline is a common staple in both Butch Hartman and Steve Marmel's comedy styles.

Ideally though, since the main purpose of the episode is to give Danny his marketable DP insignia, I would rather do a full re-write around all three trio members actively trying to design a logo for Phantom. Rather than doing Danny and Tucker dirty by making them into boring butt-monkeys who live empty lives without Sam (and doing Sam dirty by making her seem like a weird stalker who changes Danny's suit without his knowledge or consent) we could have had an episode that let the icon have actual symbolic meaning for the whole of "Team Phantom". It's sad that one if the most iconic symbols of the show ends up being tacked onto a character assassinating goof-story when there were so many ways it could have been great.

🤔 Would you ever want to write something canon if you got the opportunity?

Going to go with a soft no on this one.

For one thing, I believe the best stories happen when someone has a specific story to tell, and at the moment my Deathly Weapons fanfic is the main story I feel the need to make exist. As a mystery nerd, I guess I could maybe do a decent detective story involving Batman or Gotham, but on the other hand I don't think it would be the kind of story Modern DC wants to sell.

From a practical point of view, I also think the things and stories I find the most fascinating within the Danny Phantom fandom would probably be too tonally serious to "fit with the brand" of official canon material. (Although it has been awesome to see some of the Phandom olds getting ascended to the level of official canon creators with the AGiT comics!)

As for Young Justice Animated I think I'm one of several fans who wouldn't mind being tagged-in (or at least a fly on the wall) if DC/Warner Bros ever decided to give it the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood treatment, kick Greg Weisman's Whedon-worshipping incel ass out the door and let some of the prominent staff who were dropped after Season 1 have a do-over to continue the story they were actually setting up. I think there was a lot of potential in that initial cast, and there were some really cool character-centric standalone episodes that could have come from things like digging into Artemis and Jade having a diegetic connection to Alice In Wonderland while living in the same city as Jervis "Mad Hatter" Tech. But as it stands, I found Weisman's multi-season vandalisation of his colleagues' work to be so egregious that I ended up blocking both the main series tag and his name for the sake of my blood pressure. Look, even when he's not writing like the kind of man who probably fantasises about impregnating his colleague's daughter, the Nostalgia-Critic-level incompetence at basic narrative coherence is just exhausting.

📚 Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?

Many!

For today's tasting, I would like to recommend Developmental Milestones and the broader Cor Et Cerebrum series by @audreycritter. Actually, let's just make that a general rec' for all Audreycritter's DC stuff.

I really like their interpretations of the Batfam and Superfam. They do such a good job of capturing the humanity of these characters in their non-cape moments, and I love their approach to dialogue. I think it speaks volumes to the strength of their character-writing that, despite not being a reader who generally goes in for Original Characters, I have become deeply obsessed with their on-call OC Batdoctor Kiran "Dev" Devabhaktuni. He is indeed the light of my life. Developmental Milestones is Dev's focus story but plenty of others put the focus on the canon DC roster if you prefer.

Go enjoy seeing Bruce get yelled at by a deeply affronted, potty-mouthed British Doctor with a heart of gold, though he'll stringently deny it.

Thanks for playing!

#fanfic writer ask game #myth-blossom's ask game #anonymous #Danny Phantom #Young Justice Animated #Cor et Cerebrum #fanwriter rec #fanfic rec #3WD Answers

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nessieart · 9 months ago

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tooth&claw chapter 1.

Read TEETH first

t&c Masterlist.

Summary: you and Sam Wilson have been following up on intel about old HYDRA bases around North and South America for the last several months, with no sign of Bucky Barnes. Wrapping up your last lead, you and Sam attempt to head back to New York, but are stopped on your way by a few mysterious people. They have more information for you than you bargained for.

WC: 5.7k

Pairings: Tony Stark x Shifter!Reader

Age of Ultron

Warnings: Canon typical violence, language!, blood, mentions of death, alcohol use, fluff, angst. No Y/N used. Use of nicknames(Poppy, Flowers)

You were sitting on Tony’s lab desk, waiting for him to finish maintenance on one of his Iron Man thrusters, so you both could go out to dinner. He said he made reservations at some fancy new restaurant downtown because, of course he did. The black dress you wore was simple, halter tied behind your neck, with an open back, and the tulle skirt flowed just below your knees. Your wedge heels dangled from your toes as you hummed to the music that JARVIS had playing softly in the background.

Just as Tony finished with his last gauntlet, former SHIELD agent Maria Hill, now assistant to one Tony Stark, strolled in. Her heels clicking in a confident stride - you’re sure you’ll never master- towards her boss. Tony raised an eyebrow at her as he set his tools down, safety glasses coming off to be replaced with his normal glasses.

“What's the ‘sitch? Got something new for me?” Tony rolled his chair out from the desk and stood next to your legs, a hand resting on your thigh as he spoke to Maria.

“Just received some intel about a new active HYDRA base, boss,” Maria supplied, she tapped a few things on her StarkPad and a big hologram of what looked like a castle floated in the area around the three of you.

Since the fall of SHIELD, The Avengers have been scoping out old HYDRA bases all across the world. Their main goal was to find Loki's missing scepter - the mind controlling one. Four barren bases down, and 7 months later, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

Tony lets out a low whistle, squeezing your thigh before he circles the hologram projected in the lab. His eyes are calculating, scanning the image with practiced ease as he peers over the top of his glasses. His hands come up, and he manipulates the image, making it smaller and taking layers away. “What am I looking at, exactly? New vacation home, Hill?” He teases.

“A little too cold for my liking,” she says without missing a beat. Her fingers move quickly, and another few images appear in the air. “Intel says this is actually a HYDRA base hidden in the mountains outside of Novi Grad.”

When you make a face, Tony speaks up, “Sokovia, honey,” and you nod. Geography was never your strong suit. “Show me something, JARVIS.”

Suffice it to say, dinner would have to wait.

***

“Another dead end,” Sam sighs, stuffing his hands in his jeans pockets. He leans back against the railing next to you and adjusts his sunglasses. You scrub a hand down your face, resting your forearms on the railing, and heave a sigh, too.

"This is the fourth city in however many months, Sammy,” your tone is defeated and sad. You can feel him looking at you, but you don’t turn your head. “He's a highly trained ex-assassin. If he doesn’t want to be found, we won’t find any trace of him. Ever.” You chance a glance, and you see his shoulders fall. You know he’s not the biggest fan of Bucky, but he promised Steve he would follow up on the leads they had. No matter where they took you.

And right now, you and Sam were in Cuba, another cold trail of old HYDRA safe houses and small operation locations left to collect dust. Your intel said it was an abandoned barbershop, but nothing stood in front of you but an empty building. The skeletal remains of a barbershop long since packed in.

There aren't many people on this side of town, and even fewer cars. The 1950s-style cars stood out like sore thumbs when you first arrived a few days ago, but now a welcome sight whenever you would pass one by. The red corvette a block away was brighter than the others. A man in a black suit casually leaned against the driver side door, his arms crossed at his chest. You could swear he was looking at you both, but it was hard to tell with the sunglasses clouding his eyes. You shook your head and turned back towards Sam.

The evening sun setting did little to lessen the heat, and you ran the back of your hand across your forehead, “We should get back to the jet. They should be back from Sokovia by now.”

Sam could tell you were itching to get home. He put a hand on your shoulder and squeezed, “c’mon, let’s get a late dinner, and then we can head home in the morning.” You agreed and went to follow Sam down the sidewalk, glancing one more time behind you toward the corvette, only for it to not be there.

At dinner, the conversation is minimal. You and Sam could sit in companionable silence for a while, getting lost in your own heads.

You haven't given up looking for your brother, Leon, but his trail was as cold as Bucky's. Everything ends in a dead-end no matter where you searched.

The streets of Havana were alive and thriving as music flowed from bars up and down the street. It brought a smile to your face as you glanced up and down the road.

“I've noticed him, too,” Sam says abruptly, pulling you from your thoughts. When you look up at him, he's staring down the street, and you follow his gaze. You see the same man from earlier. His hands in his slack pockets and leaning against the cherry red corvette.

“Since when?” You ask without taking your eyes off the stranger.

“When we arrived,” and your head whips around to Sam, eyes wide and brows furrowed. How haven't you noticed? Some guy has been tailing you both for 3 days, and you were completely oblivious.

Sam places a few hundred pesos on the table and gets up, and you follow his lead. As you both make your way down the street opposite of your mystery man, you can't help but glance over your shoulder to check if he's still there. It isn't until you round the corner that you stop, you feel it, then; the eyes on you like you're under a microscope. It makes the hair on your arms and the back of your neck stand on end.

Sam notices you stopped, and before he can question it, a woman steps out from behind a car. Her stance says nonchalance, but you've been around for a long time to not judge a book by its cover. Peggy Carter taught you that.

You step in front of Sam, sticking your arm out to stop him from advancing. The woman rounds her shoulders when you take the step forward, and a rumble fills your chest.

“What do you want?” You shout over to her, her lips curl up into a smirk, and she tilts her head. She steps into the streetlight, and you get a better look at her. She's Asian and maybe in her late 30s, her hands are balled into fists, and you think she seems ready to enjoy fighting you.

Out of the shadows behind the woman, the man from earlier steps into the light, “We just want to talk,” you didn't even know he was there. What is it with this guy? He gives you a reassuring smile, hands still stuffed in his finely pressed suit pants.

Of course. You scoff, “SHIELD died in the ashes along with HYDRA, I don't think we can help you, man.”

“SHIELD?” Sam asks, so only you hear, his hand goes to your shoulder, “Maybe we should hear them out.”

“If you believed that,” he continued, “The Avengers wouldn't be out there clearing out active bases or getting Loki's Scepter from Sokovia.” He brings his hand to his chest and rubs at a spot absent-mindedly. The woman next to him gives him a concerned sideways glance before he nods and returns his hands to his pockets.

“How do you know about all that?” Sam asks, and when he goes to step around you, you grab his wrist to stop him.

“Who do you think Maria Hill was getting her information from?” The man gives a simpering smile, like you should know better.

“We don't have anything to give you. Like I said, we can't help you,” you go to push Sam behind you so you both could leave. A heavy sigh stops you. The woman takes another step closer to you and looks over her shoulder.

“Sir?” She asks, and when he hums in affirmation, the woman lunges to get to you.

“Sam, go!” You push him, and in the next movement, you're blocking a punch to your face with your forearm. You push the woman back by her chest and send her flying back to the man's feet.

His eyebrows raise, “you good, May?”

The woman, May, grunts in frustration and climbs to her feet, offensive stance ready to lunge at you again.

“Get to the jet,” you tell Sam. He goes to protest, but you cut him off, “I'll be fine, i'll meet you at the rendezvous point.” You look over your shoulder at him when he doesn't move, “Sammy go!”

Sam stumbles back to get ready to run, “you better show up, or Stark will have my head,” and he turns on his heel and runs, leaving you with May and the mystery man in the alley.

As soon as Sam is out of sight and earshot, the man in the suit steps towards you. You growl, it fills your chest, and the man puts up both hands in surrender.

“Whatever you have to say, say it from over there,” you tell him, but he takes another few steps to put himself between you and his friend.

He gives you an easy-going smile, eyebrows creased in worry, “it's not that simple, Agent Jones.” You scoff a laugh and pace away from him. “It's about your brother,” he says hesitantly when you don't stop.

You go rigid, skin rippling, and claws threatening to come out, “what did you say?” When he doesn't answer, you turn to face him, eyes shining blue as you growl at him and his companion.

They don't seem at all surprised by your appearance, “Please, come with us. We have a good idea of where he is. It's more complicated than you think it is,” he tries to placate you again. He gives you a reassuring smile, and when you look at his companion, she crosses her arms in front of her chest and raises an unamused eyebrow at you.

You heave a heavy sigh and drop your head, “Fine,” you mumble out, “I'll go with you.”

***

One phone call to Sam, and an hour later, you stood in an empty field with Agents May and Coulson. After the earful you got from Sammy when you told him to head home without you, the two former Agents of SHIELD told you about what they've been doing behind the scenes -give or take a few details.

Sam was adamant about you not going, but he also didn't want you to miss out on an opportunity to find your brother. Even if the chances were low, there was still a chance.

Agent Coulson, or Phil as he introduced himself, had told you him and his team had been chasing down a group called Centipede for the last few years. He had said he thinks it's finally come to an end with the fall of HYDRA and a man named John Garrett. Who apparently was an evil Mastermind who had his fingers in a lot of pies, so to speak.

They led you to an empty lot, seemingly nothing in the vicinity until Phil pulled a small fob out of his pocket and a quinjet shimmered into existence.

“Should I be concerned about a missing jet, Phil?” You asked. He gave you a sidelong glance and a smirk to match. He shrugged and led the way on board. May insisted you go before her before she closed the hatch after you all entered.

It was a short few minute flight to a larger aircraft that shimmered into existence as the quintet approached and landed on top. A hatch opened on the floor leading down into the aircraft below. As your feet touched the soft carpet at the bottom of the stairs, your gaze landed on a multitude of people around the lounge-like area.

“Welcome to the Bus,” Phil informed you, coming to your side and laying a hand on your lower back. “Skye,” he called out, and a young woman - maybe in her 20s - stood up from the couch with a laptop in hand and followed. Phil ushered you away from curious gazes to another room filled with monitors and computers.

Doors slid shut behind you as the three of you occupied the space. The glass walls did little to stop the prying eyes of those on board from sharing glances and hushed words with each other.

Coulson introduced you to Skye, giving her your name and the reason you were here. He praised Skye at being a veritable genius when it came to computers and her hacking abilities, a proud glint in his eye. She ducked her head a little with a small smile.

Her fingers worked fast over her keyboard, only glancing up at you once or twice while you waited.

Who do you think she is?

Obviously, the agent Coulson told us about.

Yeah, but who is she?

Not sure, why don't you go in an’ ask, Trip?

Oh, don't tease him, Fitz. She's obviously here for the information Skye was asked to gather.

But, do you think she's really an agent?

You smirked, “you told them I was an agent?” Gesturing out at the group of people huddled in low conversation.

And when Coulson looked over at the group, they dispersed with hurried chatter. Phil smirked.

“Aren't you?” The girl, Skye asked as she arched an eyebrow at you, then looked to Coulson. He smiled in return. “Isn't she?”

“I haven't been part of SHIELD for a very long time,” you leaned a hip against the desk and crossed your arms over your chest. You took a whiff around the small space, not coming up with anything. Your brows furrowed as you looked between Phil and Skye.

You thought you were imagining it, Phil not smelling like anything. Thinking maybe the wind carried it away. But now, with him standing so close, you were positive there wasn't anything there. You stepped closer to him, picking up his hand and scenting the inside of his wrist. There was something faint, like a long forgotten book or newspaper, leather bound and dusty, ink fading with time, and the hint of vanilla. Soft and subtle. And you wouldn't have smelled it if you didn't lean into his wrist more.

“Uh,” he eyed you, a frown pulling at his lips when you let him go. “What was that for?”

“I can barely smell you,” you stared at him, head tilting to the side, “either of you. What happened?” concern filling your voice as you stared at him.

He cleared his throat, hand smoothing down the tie around his neck, “I died; is what happened,” Your eyes must have been the size of saucers because he gave you a sympathetic smile. “I'm fine, really.”

“And you? Did you die, too?” You asked Skye. She avoided your gaze and made a noncommittal noise. “Must be something in the water..” You tried to lighten the mood a little.

Skye finished her tapping and turned towards the big monitor in the room, “This is what I've found so far,” she cleared her throat a little, looking back at you as you scanned the screen.

There was an older man, relatively handsome, his shoulder leaning against the side of a building. His hands stuffed in his slacks, the trench coat he wore billowing in the wind, frozen in time. The picture was taken from a cell phone, most likely accidently catching the image of the mystery man. His eyes seemed to glow as the shadows cast the upper portion of his body in darkness.

His hair was dirty blond, gray at the temples, and slicked back in a nice coif. His beard was littered with gray hair, but it didn't take away from his attractiveness.

Another image popped up next. The mystery man had his back to the camera now, glancing back over his shoulder as his eyes glowed more. Next to him now was none other than Leon, eyes shining in adoration as he leaned into the touch of the man with his hand on his face.

You felt your hackles raise, a low growl escaping your lips when another photo appeared. Another photo popped up next to that one. They kissed, which isn't new for you, but the very visible bite mark on Leons neck was enough for you to snap.

“His name is Deacon Frost,” Skye began, “current residence is some plantation his family owned - in Louisiana. It goes back at least 100 years. According to the records I found, he has a whole load of people living there. Whether it's staff or otherwi-”

“Vampires,” you cut her off. Another growl sounds deep in your chest.

Skye looked back at you, eyes wide, “No way. Seriously, vampires? They don't exist,” she scoffed. When she looked at Coulson, he was already looking at you.

“You knew,” you told him.

He pursed his lips, “I had my suspensions. Theories,” and when you raised your eyebrow at him, he sighed. “OK, ok. I wasn't one hundred percent sure until you confirmed it.”

“Wait, you're serious?”

“I'm always serious.”

“Coulson!”

You pursed your lips, “I normally don't do this to new people but,” the skin on your arm rippled from your shoulder to your fingertips, claws coming out as the fur made its way down your arm like a wave.

You wiggled your fingers, knuckles cracking with a roll of your wrist. It was always harder to Shift during a new moon. It definitely hurt more.

You looked from Coulson to Skye. The former's expression filled with delight and a small smile. But Skye.

“What the hell? What the hell are you?” She all but shrieked and stepped away to the far corner as fast as she could.

“Welcome to the world of the Supernatural,” you shrugged, shaking Your arm out as the fur along it reseeded and flesh took over once more. “There's more than just vampires out there.”

***

With Coulson's instructions, Skye put everything she had onto a flash drive for you. You'd figure out more when you got home, and JARVIS could give it another once over. When she was finished, she slid it across the table top, not wanting to step closer to you. You sighed and pocketed the USB stick, gave a curt nod in thanks.

“Thanks for this,” you said, “but you could have called. You do know where I live,” you smirked at Coulson.

Coulson guided you out of the room, leading you through the lounge and up a spiral staircase, and into another room. It was a spacious office, Coulson's name plate gleamed on the desk.

He sat on the edge of the desk and folded his arms over his chest, “it's hard to come calling when the majority of your housemates think I'm still dead.”

You gaped at him, mouth opening and closing several times. “What do you mean they think you're dead?”

“Fury thought it best to never tell anyone,” he shrugged. “That included all of SHIELD and the Avengers.”

“What about the people that cared about you?”

Phil shrugged again, “Anyone that used to be in my life, outside of SHIELD or otherwise, knows I died. And will always know it.”

He gave you a leveling stare. It made your hair stand on end.

“You can't expect me to keep this from Tony,” you shook your head. “If you know what I am, and I think you do, you know what he means to me. I can't - you can't ask me to keep this from him.”

“You're right, I can't. Just don't go out of your way to bring me up,” Phil gives you a sad smile and paces toward you to put a hand on your shoulder. “For what it's worth, I'm sorry about your brother. I know you'll find him,” he gave your shoulder a squeeze.

You returned his sad smile and gave a shirt nod. After a moment, you cleared your throat, “ok, well, how am I supposed to get home? Don't suppose you're going to drop me off at the front door.”

Coulson laughed, and nodded his head towards the door, “C'mon.”

“Sir, we're ready,” May's voice came through the intercom as you went to leave the office. Coulson led you back down to the lounge and then another spiral staircase to the loading bay.

You pass between a van and the same red corvette from earlier in the day, running a finger down the body and coming to a stop next to Coulson. He hits a button, and the bay doors open, wind whips through the garage violently, and when the door fully opens, you see a quinjet hover a few dozen feet away.

Sam stands at the opening of the quinjets ramp, his hand gripping a handle so he doesn't fly out. He gives a nod, and Coulson returns it.

“It was nice to meet you, Phil, but I think my rides here,” you shout over the roaring wind. You go to take a step back to get a running start, but he calls your name, and you stop.

“You'll find him, I know you will,” he gives you a smile, and you place your hand on his arm and give a gentle squeeze.

“Thank you,” when you look back, you can see his team standing behind some glass and on top of the mezzanine, and you look to Phil again, “it was nice to meet you.”

You take a few steps back to get a running start, you sprint, leaping from the edge of the Bus. weightlessness filling you as the harsh winds carry your body from one place to another. And just when you think you start to free fall, your hand grips Sam's arm, and he catches you in his grip, bringing you in for a one-armed hug.

“You're crazy, you know that?” He huffs a big laugh into your hair as you hug him back.

Your forehead rests on his chest, “I'm just keeping you on your toes, Fly Guy,” you chuckle. He gives you another squeeze, and when you both look back out into the sky, the Bus shimmers from existence and disappears.

“C'mon, Baby Girl, let's go home.”

***

"’Boom! Are you looking…’ why do I even talk to you guys?” Rhodey is met with silence, and he sighs, “Everywhere else that story kills.”

“That's the whole story?” Point Break smirks over his beer.

Poor Rhodey, he tries. “Yeah, it's a War Machine story.”

“Well, it's very good then,” Thor laughs, “It's impressive.”

“Quality save. So, no Pepper? She's not coming?”

Pepper? Why on earth would he bring her up? Rhodey has met you multiple times. He seemed to love you. At least that's the impression Tony got. He hasn't talked to Pepper in a while. He knows you two talk all the time.

It's not weird. Don't make it weird.

“No,” simple. Smooth Tony.

“Hey, what about Jane? Poppy? Where are the ladies, gentlemen?” Maria cuts in. Now Tony knows for a fact you and Hill get along.

“Well, Miss Potts has a company to run,” smoothing his tie down a bit, “And Poppy is chasing ghosts in…um..” Where did you and Wilson go off to this time?

Thor shifts from foot to foot, “Yes, I'm not even sure what country Jane's in, either. Her work on the Convergence has made her the world's foremost astronomer.”

Tony hums.

“There's even talk of Jane getting a... um, uh... Nobel prize.”

“Yeah, they...they must be busy because they'd hate missing you guys get together.” She fakes a sneeze, what is this, the early 2000s? “Oh, excuse me.”

“Want a lozenge?” Rhodey fake comforts her as she nods. They both share a quiet chuckle, “Let's go.”

“But Jane's better,” Thor says into his mug.

Tony's eye twitches, Thor hasn't even met you yet. What does he know?

Nothing.

He looks around the party, avoiding eye contact to not further this conversation with Thor at all costs. He notices Sam Wilson ascending the stairs and meeting up with Steve.

Where the hell were you? Fashionably late was his thing. Surely you were around here somewhere.

***

“You go on up, Sammy. I need to change out of this, and I'll see you up there,” you wave him off as you step off the elevator to your and Tony's floor. Sam waved a ‘see you later’ as the doors closed.

He was smart and packed extra clothes, just in case.

You needed a moment for yourself anyway. The last few days are taking a toll on you mentally. Not finding any sign of Bucky after months of searching, and now new information about your brother, Leon, have surfaced. You just needed a quiet few minutes to yourself.

You dug the flash drive from your pocket as you passed the Smart Table in the room.

“Hey, JARVIS, I've got something I'd like you to take a look at when you have the time,” you said as you plugged it into the top USB port. The holographic keyboard and display came to life as you did. “It's got info about my brother on it. I can check back in later with you about it, ok?”

You retreated to the bedroom as you talked to JARVIS, shedding your boots and tactical outfit as you went.

The shower was heavenly. Rinsing the day off yourself always felt nice. But you had a party to attend, at least that's what the message from Tony had said a few days ago when they got back from Sokovia.

On the bed were two outfits, one you're sure Nat had picked for you, and the other Tony. Smirking, you put on your go-to.

A pair of dark, high waisted slacks and an oversized burgundy turtleneck. Your combat boots would have to do. No way were you wearing heels just to go upstairs and see your friends.

Once ready, you made your way back towards the elevators. Checking one last time at the progress JARVIS was making. You noticed a bunch of files open, more information being downloaded than before.

“Thanks, J! I'll go through all that with you later,” you call out as you enter the lift. You hit the button for the right floor and wait. The soft chime of the lift stopping, has you straightening.

The music wasn't as loud as you'd thought it would. Only a few people noticed you stepping off the elevator. No one you knew, however.

As you scanned the large lounge, you noticed Sam and Steve on the loft. They lifted their hands in greeting, and you gave a small wave.

“There she is!” Called a voice to your right, Maria and Rhodes met you halfway, and you gave them a hug.

“Maria, James. Good to see you,” you looked around a little, trying to find the man you came home to see.

“He's at the bar,” Maria nudged your arm. You gave her a grateful smile and excused yourself.

Tony wasn't paying attention when you found yourself standing behind him, his hands fidgeting with the glass in front of him.

“This seat taken, handsome?”

He straightened, glancing over his shoulder slightly, “Actually, I was just waiting for my girlfriend,” he turned fully to face you, eyes lighting up as he looked at you. “She's very possessive, y’know. Gets pretty bite-y when she doesn't get her way.”

You hummed as you stepped closer to him, fingers lightly running up his tie, “Think I can handle myself,” you step closer and one of Tony's hands finds your waist, pulling you in more. You pout up at him, peaking through your lashes, “And I don't get bite-y when I don't get my way.”

He chuckles, and you feel it vibrate through you, his free hand coming up to your face, and his thumb rubs across your cheek.

“I missed you, Pretty Girl,” Tony's hand cups your face and you lean into the touch. He leans in and runs his nose along yours, and a sigh leaves your chest.

“Missed you too, Tones.”

“Ahem,” a voice loudly calls from behind the bar. “OK, love birds, you're making everyone else jealous.”

Natasha smirks at you when you look over Tony's shoulder at her. He pulls you into his side as he turns to face her and reaches into his suit jacket pocket, placing a one hundred dollar bill on the countertop.

Nat's perfectly manicured fingers land on the bill, and she slides it over and places it inside of her blouse.

“Bet him you'd wear my outfit tonight,” She's still smirking. “I'll make you a drink.”

Tony, you and Natasha talked for a while, losing time while catching up and sharing drinks. They told you about what went down in Sokovia, from the advanced HYDRA weapons to Strucker's experimenting on humans with Loki's Scepter. Down in Strucker's lab, there was advanced robotics work, scraps, and heaps of salvaged material from the Battle of New York.

And a few more small details as well.

“Wait, wait,” you gasped between laughs, hand clutching Tony's arm to keep yourself upright. “He really said that? Language! Like you're 5?” You giggled again when Nat and Tony both nodded.

Tony pursed his lips, trying to hide the smile that spread across his face, hand resting on the back of your chair.

Bruce came over shortly after, his eyes only seeing Natasha, so you and Tony excused yourselves and made the rounds.

You met a few new people, including Dr. Helen Cho, who was in town for a conference, from South Korea.

***

Hours later, you were sitting in the loveseat between Tony and Rhodey. A casual and easy conversation flowed as everyone wound down from the evening's festivities.

You placed your finished Chinese food container on the coffee table in front of you. A sigh of contentment left you as you settled back in the seat.

“But, it's a trick!” Clint yells out, pulling you and Rhodey from conversation.

Thor chuckles from his spot next to Steve on the couch, “Oh, no. It's much more than that.”

“Uh, ‘Whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power!’ Whatever, man! It's a trick,” Clint snarks.

“Well please, be my guest.”

Tony places his arm behind you on the chair, “Come on.”

Clint raises his eyebrows, “Really?”

“Yeah!”

“Oh this is gonna be beautiful,” Rhodey says from beside you.

“Clint, you've had a tough week, we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up,” Tony's comment makes everyone around chuckle.

Clint struggles for a moment as he tries to lift Thor's hammer, “I still don't know how you do it.”

“Smell the silent judgment?”

“Please, Stark, by all means,” Clint places his hands on his hips as he challenges Tony.

You roll your eyes as Tony makes a show of getting up and peeling off his suit jacket. You willingly take it and drape it over your shoulders, letting his scent fill your nose.

Tony tries and fails to lift Mjolnir. Even with the help of Rhodes and their gauntlets.

Next was Bruce, and he fails, pretending to Hulk out in the process. You give him a sympathetic smile at his attempt.

Steve was next, and you swore you thought it budged, but he relents and sits back down next to Thor.

Thor sighs in relief, and he looks to you, and all eyes land on you after.

“No way, I have enough things to worry about, thank you,” your hands come up in defense.

“Widow?” Bruce asks, and she leans back, taking a sip of her beer.

“Oh, no, no. That's not a question I need answered.”

Tony picks you up bridal style and places you on his lap as he takes your seat, “All deference to the man who wouldn't be king, but it's rigged.”

Clint nods, “You bet your ass.”

“Steve, he said a bad language word,” Maria mocks and points to Clint. Everyone chuckles.

Steve gives Tony an exasperated glare, “Did you tell everyone about that?” You giggle from your spot on Tony's lap, and Steve shakes his head.

Thor gets up and easily flips the hammer around in his grip, grinning as he scans around the group, “You're all not worthy.”

There's a chorus of boos and disagreement as Thor just chuckles at everyone.

Then there's a loud screeching noise, like microphone feedback, but ten times worse, and everyone covers their ears. You let out a whine as it stops, and Tony runs his hands up and down your arms.

As the screeching fades, there's a thumping coming from the hall, a metallic voice fills the air, and Steve stands on high alert.

“Worthy... No, how could you be worthy?” it's a beat-up Legion suit. An arm is missing and leaking fluid. There's parts missing from its body, and the face is scratched and marred. “You're all killers.”

“Stark,” Steve says in his Captain voice, his stance wide.

Tony sets you down on your feet, placing himself in front of you as he pulls out his phone, “JARVIS.”

The metallic voice of the Legionnaire continues, “I'm sorry, I was asleep. Or... I was a-dream?”

Tony starts tapping at his phone, “Reboot, Legionnaire OS, we got a buggy suit.”

“There was a terrible noise…” the Legionnaire says, “and I was tangled in... in... strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy.”

Steve takes a step closer, “You killed someone?”

“Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices.”

“Who sent you?” Thor's voice booms.

A recording of Tonys voice plays from the suit, "I see a suit of armor around the world."

Bruce looks at Tony, shock on his face, “Ultron!”

“In the flesh,” the suit - Ultron - says, "Or, no, not yet. Not this... chrysalis. But I'm ready. I'm on a mission.

“What mission?” Nat asks.

“Peace in our time.”

***

Next>

AN: boy!! This took so long for me to finish. I knew where I wanted to go, but I just couldn't get it out there! Thank you for reading, it means so much to me!! More to come soon!

#tony stark x reader #mcu fanfiction #shifter!reader #tony stark x shifter!reader #tony stark imagine #mcu imagine #tooth&claw

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avengerscompound · 1 year ago

Text

The Tower - The King and I

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Avengers x OFC, Bruce Banner x Bucky Barnes x Clint Barton x Wanda Maximoff x Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff x Tony Stark x Thor x Sam Wilson x OFC (Elly Cooper)

Word Count: 3143

Warnings: smut (MF, Rimming, vaginal sex, anal sex)

Synopsis: After a long day on the throne, Thor and Elly take time to relax with each other

Author’s Note: Requested by @unnecessarypineapplesstuff on Tumblr, and KaylaCallahan & K-Destiiny on Wattpad. You can send in your requests too.

Takes place after Happily Ever After

The King and I

The day had been long and mentally exhausting. It felt like every resident of Asgard had come in wanting Thor to help adjudicate their petty squabbles. As I sat through them all with him in the afternoon, I could see how frustrated he was becoming.

Thor is a good man. Kind. Wise. Loving. Despite my feelings about monarchy, he’s a good king and does his best by his people who have multiple times rejected the idea of democracy. He always listens to his advisors and us, as well as his people when he makes a decision. The problem is, he hates it. He hates being confined to a throne when he could be out doing something physical. When it’s all little stuff, he gets very antsy, longing for the wind in his hair and something to smash.

I tried to help him be arbiter over the myriad of little grievances, such as broken windows due to children playing in the street, the ownership of certain animals, a farmer who wanted to know if he could graze his animals on royal land, and someone complaining about their neighbor hosing down the path in front of their store. If the answer was simple or could have been dealt with just some simple common sense and consideration of others, I’d take the reins, letting Thor have a moment to switch off. By the end of the day, if two women had come in arguing about which one of them was a baby’s mother, King Solomon style, I wouldn’t have been surprised.

When the last person had left the throne room Thor stood and stretched. “Come, my queen. We should return to our family.”

I stood and took his hand. “We have time before we need to get back,” I said as I looked up at him. The way he was standing was so tense, it was like every single one of his muscles was being held taut. “You need some fresh air.”

He furrowed his brow for a moment as he looked down at me and slowly his face softened. “Did you have something in mind?”

“The seed of an idea,” I said and tapped my earrings.

The armor from my suit bled out over me and I clipped Sanguine to my back. Thor’s face lit up and he unhooked Mjolnir from his belt. “Lead the way, my life.”

I took off flying out through the open doors at the end of the throne room. Thor was not far behind and I flew up and banked to the left, cruising over the edge of the city below. My head-up display took note of everything below, keeping a lookout for a store that sold beauty products.

When it alerted me that it had located one, I landed on the street just outside. Thor landed just after me as my suit was retracting. “What are we doing here?” he asked.

“Just a quick stop,” I said.

I went inside the small store. It was cluttered with shelves, each holding various bottles and jars. They ranged from ornate hand-blown glass bottles in a rainbow of iridescent colors, to tiny little brown clay pots with wooden lids. Each item had a thick piece of brown parchment tied to it with the name of the item and what it did written in runes. Dried herbs hung in the window and behind the counter was a bench covered in ingredients of all kinds. At the bench, a young woman with long blonde hair with small braids that had dried flowers weaved into it, and a floaty white gown, sat crushing something with a huge mortar and pestle. She looked up when she saw us and her eyes went wide. She nearly knocked her stool over as she rushed over to serve us. “Your majesties,” she said, bowing to us. “I am at your service.”

“I’m looking for massage oil,” I said as I glanced around the room. I had been learning Asgardanian since we moved here, but I wasn’t sure it was enough for me to be able to tell if something was safe to use as a lubricant if we needed it. I didn’t want to give Thor too many hints about what I was planning, but I either had to ask him or the shopkeeper and I didn’t know if I wanted her to know our personal business.

Of course, your majesty,” she said and led me to some shelves on the far wall. Each oil bottle was beautiful and ornate, in different colors with gold accents, and had an elaborate glass stopper. I started looking at the labels and holding them up to Thor to smell.

I leaned up to his ear and whispered. “Are these okay for sex stuff?” I whispered.

Thor laughed and put his arm around me, pulling me tight to his side. “Oh, I see what’s happening here. You do have some plans.” He took the bottle from me and looked over the label. “They will work for your nefarious plans.” I broke down into giggles and tried to hide it by holding one of the bottles to my nose and breathing in deeply.

Together we chose a bottle that smelled a little like wood and vanilla. I also grabbed a bar of soap that smelled like honey. I paid and we stepped back outside. I was about to call my armor again when I spotted a store over the road selling linens. I hurried over with Thor on my heel. We didn’t even step inside because I found exactly what I wanted hanging on a rack out the front. It was a big green rug with golden knotwork on it. It had an almost mink feel to it and I kept running my palm over it as Thor paid the middle-aged-looking man who ran the store.

“Was there anything else you were after, my queen?” Thor asked.

“Nope,” I said. “This is good.”

I pressed my earrings and my suit bled out again, this time with a case to hold the glass bottle of oil safely but I kept hold of the rug. “Let’s go,” I said and took off.

We just spent some time flying. I knew that it would help Thor to let go of his exhaustion and frustration. He liked the feel of the wind in his hair and the crackle of lightning on his skin as he was pulled along behind Mjolnir. Plus it was nice to see his country from above. It glittered like a jewel and when it was at peace, it was a good way to remember that those petty grievances he was dealing with today came out of a people who had no big worries. The city was running well and prosperous.

After a few laps of the city I banked away, sticking to the coast. Thor followed after me, occasionally calling out to me to ask where we were going or what I was looking for. I’d just all out to him to be patient, I’d know when I saw it. While I was looking for something in particular, I mostly just wanted to fly for a while.

It wasn’t too long before I spotted a small secluded bay on the coastline. It was a perfect crescent shape with a forest that grew right up to the white sands of the beach and beautiful turquoise water that got darker and darker as it moved past the bay and closer to the edge of the planet.

I landed and I grabbed my purchases as my suit retracted. Thor landed beside me, sending sand whipping down the beach. “This is a beautiful spot. Did you know of it already?” he asked.

“No. I just thought it looked nice,” I said. I set the oil and soap down and spread out the blanket on the sand. Thor set Mjolnir down on the edge of the blanket to stop it from blowing away, and I did the same with Sanguine at the opposite edge.

I started to unclasp my pauldron from my breastplate. “What are we doing here?” Thor said as he began to undress as well. I set the heavy armor down and moved onto the ties of my dress. “I thought we could swim,” I said.

“I didn’t bring a swimsuit,” he said.

I let my dress fall. I was naked underneath and I stepped out of the fabric with a smirk. “Neither did I.”

I grabbed the soap and rushed into the water. It was cold enough that as soon as I hit the water my skin broke out in goosebumps and my nipples pebbled. I had time to acclimatize as it took Thor a little while to get out of all his armor and clothes. I slowly eased myself into the water and washed myself with the soap, scrubbing my skin so that by the time he was in, I’d sunk down so only my head was above the surface of the water and I smelled like a mixture of salt and honey.

Thor approached me, hugging his large arms around himself. “How are you not cold?” he asked.

“Because I have body fat, unlike some Norse gods that I know,” I teased as I waded over to him, letting the waves push me along.

He caught me in his arms and pulled me up tight against him. “Mmm… you are warm. Maybe you can warm me up.”

I laughed and leaned up and kissed him. “Be patient,” I said and began to run the soap over his body. “You’ll get used to it.”

I washed him carefully, running the soap over his chest and arms and down his back. He gradually relaxed as he got used to the water and I caressed his skin. My fingers slipped between his ass. He hummed and tilted forward a little, pushing his ass out against me.

“You’re so eager,” I giggled.

“You bought special oil,” Thor said. “Can you blame me, lover?”

“But the oil is back on the sand,” I laughed and soaped up my hand and began to run it up and down his shaft.

He groaned and pressed his forehead against my temple. “That’s not helping,” he said in a deep rumble.

“Okay,” I said. “We can get out. Go and lie on your stomach.”

Thor laughed and hoisted me up over his shoulder. I squealed and broke down into giggles as he carried me out of the water. The initial hit of the air after being in the cold water brought on another wave of goosebumps, but the sun was warm enough that by the time he set me on the rug, they’d already passed.

I grabbed the oil as he got comfortable and straddled his waist so I was sitting on his butt with him spread out under me, pillowing his head with his arms. Even seeing Thor as much as I did, it was still easy to forget how large he was. I felt dwarfed as I sat above him. I poured the oil onto his back and his muscles all tensed, making his back ripple. I licked my lips as I watched and pushed my hands down on his back.

He quickly began to relax as I slowly and carefully massaged his back. My hands moved down his back from his shoulders, pushing out from his spine. His muscles popped as they released their tension and he let out a deep moan every time it happened. It made me wet hearing him. By the time I reached his lower back, I was sure he must have been able to feel how wet I was because my thighs were damp and sticky.

I shimmied down his thighs and began to massage his ass. He moaned and lifted his hips and spread his legs a little, wiggling his ass at me. I couldn’t help but laugh and I gave his butt a playful spank. “You are trouble,” I teased.

I didn’t keep him in suspense though. I moved between his legs and spread his ass cheeks with my hands. Thor shivered slightly and tilted his hips up and I leaned in. My tongue curled around his balls and I sucked one into my mouth. Thor groaned and shifted onto his knees more. It gave me better access and I moved from one ball to the next before swiping my tongue up his perineum to his asshole. He tasted of salt and honey thanks to the fact I washed him, but this was the beach, and with beaches came sand. Each lap of my tongue meant more grit got into my mouth and I knew I wasn’t going to want to keep this up for long. Thankfully I didn’t need to because even just prodding at his asshole with the point of my tongue seemed to send him into an animalistic need. He turned on me, no longer willing to be teased, and he pushed me down onto my stomach and pulled my hips back against him.

“Fuck,” I gasped and the sudden change. I spread my legs as he moved between them and looked back at him looming over me, his hand wrapped around his cock.

“No more games,” he said as he pressed the wide head of his cock against my entrance, and with a hard shove he thrust in. I was pushed forward as he bottomed out inside me, and I cried out at the sting of his cock hitting my cervix.

He gave me the briefest of moments to adjust, running his hand up my spine and kissing my shoulder, and then he began to thrust. He was like a man possessed. There was no gentleness or warmth to his actions, he just railed into me, shoving me forward with every snap of his hips. I tried to push myself up onto all fours, but I was immediately shoved back forward again. I ended up bracing my arms in front of me, with my back curved down, so I looked like a cat mid-stretch.

“Norns,” Thor groaned as he gripped my hips. “I will never tire of this. You always feel so good.”

I couldn’t even form the words to answer him. Every time he thrust into me, his balls would slap against my pussy and such an intense jolt would pass through me, making me cock drunk. I moaned and clenched around him, pushing back, trying to get more from him.

He wrapped his arm around me and danced a spark along my skin, it passed through my clit and I cried out, my legs kicking out behind me as pleasure surged through me. “Fuck!” I cried, my whole body clenching up at once.

His hand slid down to my pussy and he started to rub my clit in the same. I could barely hold myself together. The only thing stopping me from collapsing onto my stomach was Thor’s hand at my hip. He sent another jolt through my clit and everything seized up and my orgasm tore through me. I cried out loudly, my voice echoing through the bay as I gushed on Thor’s cock.

“Gods!” Thor groaned as he pulled out of me. I collapsed onto my stomach, breathing heavily as lights popped in front of my eyes. Thor grabbed the oil and drizzled some between my asscheeks. I moaned and clenched up as the cool liquid hit my skin. He slicked his cock with it and pressed the head of his cock against my asshole.

He pressed his entire body down on mine, completely engulfing me under him and wrapping his arms under my chest and he began to push in. This was not the first time we'd done this, not by a long shot. If it had been, Thor would have been much more careful about stretching me out first. I could take him, and yet the sting and the burn as my ring muscle stretched and he filled me, was intense. I whined pitifully under him and kicked my legs as I tried to relax and take him.

I wanted this. He knew I wanted this as soon as I had asked him what oil I could use as lube. I loved the way pleasure and pain mixed. I loved feeling stretched out and filled.

He pulled back and pushed himself up on his knees, so just the head of his cock was penetrating me. He grabbed the oil and poured more of it over his cock and my ass, shallowly thrusting in and out as he did to push the oil inside me. I moaned and arched my back. “Thank you, Thor.”

“You’re very welcome, my life,” he said, pressing himself against me and wrapping his arms around my chest. He started to roll his hips, each push forward into me went a little deeper. I felt like I was breaking apart under him. I moaned and whimpered under him, my toes curling and my fingers grasping at the blanket in front of me. My fingers closed around the handle of Mjolnir and all at once electricity flowed through me. It danced off our bodies, sparks flying out as he brought me closer and closer to the edge. “Thor! God… I can’t…” I babbled as I reached down under me with my free hand. He pulled me into a hard kiss and he thrust into me harder and faster.

I started to rub my clit and that little extra sensation to my already overstimulated senses sent me reeling over. Thor groaned as my ass clenched tight around him and he shoved in deep and came with me. There was an almighty crack as a bolt of light crashed down, passing through us to the ground below, the whole bay lighting up suddenly and then falling dark.

I lay under Thor breathing heavily as my body settled and my eyes readjusted to the light. Thor slowly slipped out of me and rolled over onto his back, and I curled into him, putting my head on his chest as it rose and fell with each breath. “Do you think we made another sex sculpture?” I asked.

He laughed and played with my hair. “I am sure of it,” he said. “And yes, I will send someone to bring it home for us.”

I smiled and leaned up and pecked his lips. He held me in place to deepen it, and when he pulled back and looked into my eyes. “Thank you for this, my life. I needed it.”

“You’re very welcome,” I replied and kissed him again. “Shall we head back?”

He hummed and shook his head. “Soon. Let’s just lie here for a little longer.”

I relaxed against him and closed my eyes, basking in my post-orgasm afterglow and the setting sun.

~ END ~

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haliaiii · 1 year ago

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so.. virgil.. he’s one of my new favs his neuvilette-esque design and bloodlust have captivated me…

Man oh man what can I even say about Virgil, he’s really something that’s for sure

Ok so kicking it off with some fun facts about him before I start my 3k word essay:

- His job title is Chancellor

- Basically the existing world is currently ruled by one empire (the country’s called Carmenta) and at the head is the emperor. There’s also the council that acts pretty much as the Parliament, with 7 total members, who are also governors of the main 7 cities making up the empire (all are named after planets btw, with the capital called Jupiter). Virgil is the head of the council, and holds a pretty high position in the government, basically he kinda acts as the Emperor’s advisor too.

- He pretty much leads the meetings and makes a lot of important decisions for the country itself

- Also Kalani lives in Jupiter, and basically works as a policy adviser, Virgil is pretty much her boss

If you want to know how she feels about him, pretty much

- Anyway politics aside, if you haven’t noticed yet from my last post about Virgil, he’s not really a great guy

- In fact he is retrograde’s main antagonist !!

I can’t talk too much about his past without spoiling a large portion of the story but let’s just say he has a weird obsession with Sam and likes to make Val suffer

Anyway here’s some more old art

That first one was a really old drawing back when I was trying to figure out his design, second one isn’t really a canon look but I do like the design so idk I might use it maybe?

- About his eye: you’re probably wondering why he hides his eye, and that’s cause it has something to do with his past! (I told you specifically what happened to him but for the general public who sees this, they won’t know but it’s related to what happened 500 years ago) but all you need to know is that it’s pretty ugly, if you do some digging on my instagram, you’ll probably find that animation I did of his eye so it’s not really a secret- 😞

- Also the whole council has some pretty weird outfits so he doesn’t really look that out of place tbh

- Another fun fact: Back in the concepts, his origin used to be that he was actually a robot that survived the Cataclysm 500 years ago (now it’s not too far off but there’s some very big differences, he’s not a robot tho now)

- He's definitely lost a lot of his humanity over the past years, and cracks are really starting to show

- For his weapon of choice, he uses a sword, similar to a rapier

- He does come across as friendly to the general public to maintain a good image, being a good looking guy has certainly helped his popularity too

- He definitely has something to do with Val's past, and is intrinsically linked with Sam

- Despite Kalani being on edge around him most of the time, he remains friendly with her and has even invited her to lunch on occasion

- He's met Kain only a very few times, and Kain's opinion on him is that he's a friendly guy like on TV but there's something kind of off

- Val turns the TV off every time Virgil's face shows up

- Sam feels a vague familiarity

Anyway that's all I can say about Virgil for now!! He's very very much so plot relevant

(also p.s. did you know I have Pinterest boards for like most of my ocs, even the ones I haven't talked about publicly yet? If you wanna look at their styles and aesthetics you can check it out here: https://pin.it/a6YnFld )

#i appreciate all ur asks about my ocs bc otherwise i feel embarrassed to talk about them on random 😭#u have no idea how excited i get when you come into my asks it's very fun #also i created him before neuvillette was leaked 💔💔💔#technically genshin stole from me 😿😿/lh #retrograde #retrograde ask #haliai ask

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grandhotelabyss · 1 year ago

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You know what, though, about that last post on Sontag and Paglia: since writing it, I've had what they call a download.

There's an expression: "be careful what you get good at." When I was a kid, back in the monoculture, we all went to see the now-forgotten Oscar-bait Richard Dreyfuss vehicle, Mr. Holland's Opus, about an ambitious composer who takes a high-school teaching job, never writes his masterpiece, and discovers in age that his life-long pedagogy and its inspiring effect on his students has been his real chef-d'œuvre. In middle school, my friend Dan and I, who had begun to collaborate on our own comic books, were horrified by this movie. We were ambitious artists! Is this what adulthood would do to us?

The movie's tagline, borrowed from John Lennon, evocative of its resigned melancholy to the missed opportunities and failed utopias of the 1960s, is, "Life is what happens to you / While you're busy making other plans." But my life's not that different now. Sam Worthington and I were plotting outside the local riverfront arthouse theater last night—there was a Lynch revival; I was there to see Mulholland Dr. for the first time in a theater since, well, the first time, just a month after 9/11, though the film's elegy for America wasn't as evident then as it is now—to start a new art movement and save the culture, wildfire smoke from Canada smothering the city (unreal city) on the other side of the Mississippi.

(All of the above is why I placed a little allusion to the film—Mr. Holland's Opus, alas, not Mulholland Dr.—in my novel-in-progress Major Arcana, by the way. Please don't run out and see this weepy old movie on my account—I myself haven't seen it in over 25 years—but if you've already watched it, you might revisit MA, Part One, Chapter 8.)

Now teaching has been fine for me, actually. I can see why other artists and writers find that it misleads them, takes them away from their real work, but it doesn't affect me that way, first, because it keeps me close to the arts of reading and interpretation as practical and performed arts, and second, because it introduces me to some 50 to 100 new people a year. Both of these, I believe, can only improve me as a writer, and my fictional characters' bitter remarks about their own students, especially when these characters are frustrated artists like Simon Magnus or Alice Nicchio-Strand, should never be mistaken for my views.

Criticism, though, is my "be careful what you get good at." A comparative book-length belletristic essay on Sontag and Paglia—it's a good idea, let's face it, one of those good ideas whose obviousness makes it better than something more flashily counterintuitive would be. Why on earth hasn't this been written yet? And look, I'll write it if somebody pays me; I'm not proud. But Anna K needs to write a book before she dies, as I believe Dasha was just telling her, so let her write it. Because I don't really want to do it. I was on a podcast recently—it hasn't come out yet; I'll let you know; not Red Scare—and the host asked me if I wanted to write a nonfiction book, and I said, truthfully, no, not really.

Sontag herself offers a cautionary tale here: the supreme critic as frustrated artist, berating everyone at the end of her days that they shouldn't bother with her essays, that her novels are all that really matter. I myself have never read even one of her novels. (Mea culpa, maestra—I will read at least The Volcano Lover this very summer.) And I understand this because I myself on bad days want to make people sign an affidavit that they've read each of my novels twice before they're allowed to read my criticism! And my criticism, such as it is, I want to say, is just a series of poems, not judgments as such, not pronouncements but moods, occasions for certain styles of thought. "You took my sadness out of context," I want to say when people treat my negative verdicts too seriously, as if I wanted to outlaw this or that way of writing. This is insane on my part, I know, and don't worry, I'm much nicer in real life than Sontag was.

Paglia, on the other hand, holds an ideal of scholarship qua scholarship that neither Sontag or I quite did or do. Paglia's father was a professor, remember, while Sontag and I hail from the true suburban lower middle class, "Lower Slobbovia" as she called it, quoting a comic strip: the kingdom of bêtise. We, Susan and I, are more lowbrow by origin than Camille, which is why we're so much more uneasy than she is with popular culture, but also equally uneasy in academe. Sontag wasn't, as Sigrid Nunez once clarified, a snob—how could she have been?—only an elitist, which, in art, is fair.

(I dedicate that observation to anyone who wants to say I shouldn't write about two lesbians; there are infinite microscopic ridges and hollows to every smooth-seeming facet of "identity," whatever that even is, and as much as I might miss something about their gender or sexuality—and then again, you know, I might not; I was raised in a lesbian-run beauty shop—a lesbian writer to the manner born is equally liable to miss something about their class, ethnicity, or religion. Nobody can say everything, but everybody has some part of everything to say.)

Anyway, my download was this. I've been saying to myself that 2023 is the year I relax my critical clench, unlearn my Arnoldianism, so to speak, as Sontag never quite unlearned hers; and I've been saying to myself, too, that when Major Arcana is finished—which it almost is for me if not for you; it's 50 chapters long, so you'll be reading it until next March—I would write a play. I've wanted to write a play in the abstract, on principle, as it were: I had no ideas for a play. Now I do.

(I should stop looking, ever, at Twitter, but today they're talking about what a bad play Hamlet is—not even a pseudo-political moral objection this time, though the prince is toxic, I'm sure, just about what a "mess" it is. My goal, then, is to write a play as bad as Hamlet.)

Anna K can write the prose treatise on Sontag and Paglia, but I'm writing their tragicomedy, under new names, of course: in the guise, in fact, of wholly new characters, characters in a dream, a dream of siege and sickness and spectacle, a Platonic dialogue on love in which these intellectuals' daemons—Walter Benjamin and Walter Pater, Simone Weil and Emily Dickinson—dance and duel. I call it Saturn Dreaming of Mars. I destine its completion for the end of the year. I plant my flag; I stake my claim; you heard it here first.

#susan sontag #camille paglia #creative writing #literary criticism

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apple-pecan · 1 year ago

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Marvel's Spider-Man (2018)

admittedly, i've been pretty apathetic about playstation's IPs since around the early 2010's. a lot of their dozens of good franchises like parappa, jak & daxter, sly cooper, and wild arms have been put to pasture solely so they can milk last of us for all it's worth, and maybe throw some other series like god of war and gran turismo a bone every now and then. i played a lot of third party games on the ps4 but rarely would i bother with any of sony's offerings.

however, one fateful day, sony announced "we're going to publish a spider-man game inspired by the absolutely GOATed PS2 Spider-Man 2. it's gonna be a PS4 exclusive, and we're having the ratchet and clank devs make it" and my instant reaction was "... yeah you fucking BET im buying that shit". i got it close to release but unfortunately for my insufferable weeb self, Dragon Quest XI came out a few days earlier on the same fucking week and i ultimately put way more time into that game and barely touched Spider-Man. 5 years later, with the """remastered""" version on PS5, i set out to rectify that and i am very glad i did.

think of the aforementioned treyarch PS2 game and imagine that with a way WAY higher budget, and you essentially have this game. it starts off with a bang as you immediately web swing your way through new york city to storm fisk tower and put a stop to kingpin. a very fun first impression, and once it's over you can just swing all over new york with some really fun movement; i know when i first got this game i spent most of my time with it just moving around from building to building, it was that much fun.

combat is essentially arkham combat, which was the style at the time, especially for super-hero games, but it feels more tuned up and engaging than what that would usually imply; my favorite thing to do is to air launch enemies and combo their pathetic asses in mid air like im playing MvC. ah, the good old days. sometimes you have to use stealth to progress, but they've made it ass simple so you wouldn't get frustrated, and in most cases it's entirely optional...

...except for the periodic times where you have to play as MJ during the main story. and maybe miles morales too. these are much slower sections where you have to sneak around enemies and distract them to get to the goal, and if one sees you, it's an instant game over. these missions aren't my favorite, obviously, and i DID groan every time one of them was about to start, but i've seen way worse mandatory stealth sections in games (suck my ass wind waker), and some of them have fun twists like MJ being able to lure enemies so spider-man can capture them and web them up on the ceiling.

tying it all in is a captivating and fun story that sure, while some parts you can see coming from a mile away even if you have even just basic spider-man lore knowledge, it still doesn't make it any less engaging. the last third of the game is particularly intense, with impossibly high stakes culminating in a tragic final boss fight and a very bittersweet ending. two scenes of the ending in particular had me on the verge of tears, something i absolutely did not expect jumping into this game. simply put, if you liked the 2000's sam raimi spider-man movies, you'll enjoy this plot quite a bit too.

all this being said, if you own a modern sony system (or now, even a PC that can handle this game), it's a no brainer, you HAVE to play this, especially if you have any fondness for the franchise it's based off of. this is the best spider-man game i've played yet, and this is coming from someone who played BOTH PS1 games!!!! play it!! or, more likely... you already have. i mean, it IS the best selling ps4 game of all time so... aw heck PLAY IT AGAIN THEN

9/10

NOTE: i dunno who's idea it was to make j jonah jameson into an alex jones-esque insane radio show host, but whoever it was, i just wanna say... FUCK YOU. at least you can turn it off in the settings XD

#apple's media review #apple's media: games

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kirakiwiwrites · 2 years ago

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My top 10 fics . . . (according to A03)

Thanks to @bitbybitwrites for tagging me in this challenge! ☺️

Rules: List your "top 10" (or up to 10 if you haven't written that many) fics ranked by kudos on AO3. Are you surprised by what's most popular to your readers? Then, under a cut, provide your ranking of your personal top 10 fics (with explanations if you want!), and then tag a few fellow writers!

Tagging ( and only do this if you are interested and apologies if you've done this and I missed your post): @shame-is-a-wasted-emotion and @ericdooley