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maribatshipper · 4 years ago

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Miraculous Damienette Reader Insert

A girl with H/C, H/L, H/S hair walks into College Françoise Dupont, looking for a certain bluenette, her E/C eyes glimmering as she sees the bluebell-eyed teen in one of the classes. The bell rings & she walks into the classroom & runs straight for the other girl.

"NETTIEEEEE!" She exclaims, surprising the bluenette.

The redheaded teacher asks, "Who are you? This-"

The girl laughs, "Oh, I am Marinette's cousin Y/N who just came back from Australia!"

Suddenly, a girl who's hair reminds Y/N of a horse's butt smiles, "Oh, I remember Australia. I went there last year & had some of that deliciously sweet stuff they called Vigimite."

Y/N laughs her butt off. The girl looks offended.

"That is the funniest thing I've heard in weeks! You can't even pronounce it!" Y/N laughs.

"Hey, Why are you laughing at Lila? She was just trying to connect with you!" A brunette with glasses frowns at Y/N.

"Because, this Lila girl obviously has never been to Australia. Vegemite is certainly not sweet. It is a savoury spread the locals put on bread. Next thing she's gonna be telling me is that they ride Kangaroos to school & the Koala Bear is actually a bear & they throw a shrimp on the Barbie! It's not a shrimp, it's a prawn! Kangaroos are wild animals & it's only called a Koala BEAR because it looks like a living Teddy Bear!" Y/N exclaims.

"N/N, calm down." Marinette sighs.

Y/N nods, "Sorry. Oh, you said something really important on the phone, Nettie!"

Marinette blushes, "It's nothing, really."

"We'll talk about it on the way to my apartment!" Y/N smiles.

Lila starts crying, catching Y/N's attention.

"Why are you so mean?" Lila cries.

Y/N goes full savage mode.

"Oh, forgive me. I didn't realise saying hello to my Cousin makes you blush!" She sasses.

The brunette girl glares at Y/N, "How dare you hurt Lila's feelings!"

Marinette sighs, "Alya..."

Y/N cuts her cousin off & laughs, "Seriously? If she's all upset because I love my cousin, then her family hates her, which I'm not surprised with the outfit she's wearing, & don't get me started on her hair! Are you trying to look like a dog's hind leg? You'd think that a girl who's on the magazines would at least model good clothes, & know how to MODEL! Honestly, you'd think Agreste would pick a good muse. I've seen 27 different kids here with much better fashion sense than you!"

Everyone gasps at Y/N's statements about Lila. Lila ends up crying her eyes out, but Y/N keeps smirking.

"I think you've caused enough trouble, Y/N." Alya sneers.

Y/N glares, "Like all of you have caused trouble for Marinette?" in a deathly serious voice.

Marinette hides under the table. If there is anything she has learned from the family reunions, it's that you do NOT get Y/N mad.

"You know, Marinette can sue the lot of you with what you've done. I've done my research on the lot of you. You, Alya! Your blog is crap! All it's used for is spreading Miss Rossi's lies. You call yourself a truth-seeker but you only see what you want to see." Y/N hisses.

Alya goes to object when Y/n gives her a look that can shut up politicians.

"You, Max! You believed a serviette-"

Marinette interrupts, "We call them napkins here."

Y/N continues, "A napkin could gouge out your eye! Dude, you're wearing glasses! Unless the paper had acid on it, the only thing it could've hurt is your cheek, glasses, or forehead! Use that brain you were given!" She turns to the Teacher, "Bustier, you make Marinette do all the work keeping your pupils in place, when that is your job! She's been doing everything except teaching the class. My cousin is spread as thin as Vegemite should be, & you all expect her to do more than her fair share! & don't even get me started on the texts I've seen!"

Marinette's eyes widen in shock.

"Did you say texts?" Marinette whispers.

Suddenly, a purple butterfly flies into the room & lands on Y/N's belt, absorbing it as a neon butterfly symbol appearing over her face.

"Des-"

"I'mma stop you right there, Moth-butt. YOU are one of the reasons I'm mad, so I suggest you remove this little insect before I crush YOU like one. NOW!"

The class stares in shock for a while before Y/N falls against one of the desks, the butterfly symbol disappearing & the butterfly forms again to fly away when Y/N grabs it, holds it by both wings with both hands & rips it apart, killing it.

"May that be a lesson to that man." Y/N smirks, "Now, I'm taking Marinette to my place & you can bet that your life is about to become so much harder! Somewhere out there is a tree that's working tirelessly to supply you all with oxygen. Go find it & apologise! Let's go Nettie."

Y/N grabs Marinette's hand & walks away.

***

"Now that that's out of the way, What's this about a boyfriend, Nettie?"

Marinette's a blushing mess.

"You don't have to answer my questions right now, but be careful in Paris, Ladybug." Y/N smirks.

Marinette exclaims, "What!? No! I'm- I'm not-"

Y/N laughs, "Whatever you have that fools all of Paris, even the world, doesn't work on your cousin who designed supersuits. There is also E's influence."

Marinette sighs, "How?"

Y/N ignores her question.

"Speaking of which, What Do You Think You're Doing?!"

The slightly older teenager instantly switches to lecture mode, whacking Marinette with newspaper.

"You taught me everything you know, which helped me with E, & I watched you with pride as you impress Agreste with your hat & created the album cover of Jagged Stone that hits the top of the charts like a high note, & you go running around Paris rooftops in a Polk-a-dot spandex ONESIE?! I'd think you'd at least get a decent supersuit! No more! We're going to design you a REAL suit in my office! No cousin of mine is going to be running around Paris in PJS!"

Thoroughly intimidated, Marinette stares at Y/N in shock. She barely sees this woman, & out of everyone in Paris, the family that she rarely sees figures out her identity! She just keeps staring shocked while Y/N drags her to a tall office with many supersuits lined on the walls, then takes her measurements.

"I... I don't know how you found out-" Marinette starts.

Y/N cuts her off, "I'm not going to tell anyone, Nettie. I've seen your fights against the Akumas. You're in a defensive battle, & need to keep your identity secret, even from your parents. Believe me, I can keep secrets, & I can't even tell you why."

That would be telling. Marinette knows Y/N used to be a superhero fan when she was younger, & it seems to have carried into her adolescence.

"That's not it N/N, I don't think my suit can change. I didn't design it, it's magic." Marinette frowns.

Y/N pulls out pieces of paper, "That would explain your powers, including why it took my 10 tries to recognise you. You & your partners must have Perception filters. You & Cat Noir's powers do seem to be in line with luck. Clearly you have some influence over your powers, so maybe that could extend to your suit? I mean, I did see that Pharaoh report. It's obvious your powers are older than you. Maybe even inheritable, & I doubt your predecessors wore spandex PJs."

Suddenly, there's a doorbell ring.

"Who's visiting?" Y/N asks.

She walks towards the door to see a young man with green eyes and dark hair.

"Damian Wayne? What do you want this time, Demon?" Y/N scoffs.

Marinette gapes. Her cousin knew him?

"Wondering why my girlfriend wasn't at home but was here." Damian scoffs.

Y/N turns to Marinette, who's smiling sheepishly.

"He's your boyfriend?! Now I feel kinda feel bad for putting a prank in his room. Oh, uh... Don't go in your room for the next 2 weeks, Demon. Does he know?"

Damian glares at Y/N while Marinette nods.

"Good, I can talk about it with him in the room. We'll design anyway, & you start practicing manipulating the suit’s design in private. In 2 months from now, I want to invite Ladybug to E's latest collection first hand, as some of the pieces have been inspired by her & her partners, & I do not want my cousin showing up looking like she put on an oversized toddler onesie, embarrassing herself, E, & I. If you can't change it, we'll make an oversuit with some of your boyfriend's tech. Maybe a jacket or armour. You'll look amazing!" Y/N natters.

Damian gives Marinette a deadpan look.

"What is she talking about?"

Marinette sighs, "She knows I'm Ladybug."

Damian sighs in annoyance.

"Oh please! Like it was that difficult to find out who the Batfamily was, Robin. The entire world is full of idiots. The only ones that figure it out & go public about the info end up dead. Also, I'm your family, Nettie. I'm supposed to protect you. But if your out there saving Paris, I can't do that. Just be careful, Nettie."

Marinette's eyes widen with an idea. Damian notices.

"No, Angel."

Y/N giggles at the nickname given to Marinette, remembering Damian's nickname.

"Opposites really do attract."

***

Ladybug is now seen swinging from rooftop to rooftop with a jacket with a hood that goes over her ears, with the design "La Mode" printed on the back, a new Fox hero, Kitsune, beside her, E/C eyes shining.

(Not my picture, I just googled it. Add a bit more armour on it.)

"You ready, Kitsune?" Ladybug asks.

Kitsune nods, "Ready as I'll ever be, Buginette!"

#Miraculous salt #Lila salt #Alya salt #Reader insert #Damienette #Maribat #Marinette's cousin Y/N!#Miraculous DC crossover

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capri-ramblings · 4 years ago

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I want a Magicam account so I can follow everyone in Twst (*´ω｀*)

Requests are in the works,both old and new. Your patience is greatly appreciated 🙏❤️

"Who's on Magicam?"

Riddle Rosehearts

- Riddle isn't always on his phone. Rather he has a schedule for when he can and won't use it.

- So, it's natural to say that he isn't on a lot of social media accounts aside from his existing magicam and email

- He doesn't see being on your phone all the time as a very good habit in the first place but he sees why people depend on it for entertainment with so many new apps and games made for it

- Riddle's magicam profile is a pretty simple one if not bland?

- He doesn't pay much attention to it in the first place but he does put just a bit of effort into making it look nice to his eyes

- His profile picture is him in Heartslyabul's full dorm uniform and his bio is just his name and his favourite rule

- Again,since he's rarely on it, Riddle's posts is rather few in numbers and are usually pictures he's taken of his favourite sweets or books he's finished reading placed neatly on his desk. He has one picture of himself in casual wear and two pictures with both Trey and Cater (which Cater probably took using his phone)

- He never makes stories unless there's a special event then he'd save a good picture of the entire dorm to post later.

- Riddle likes following pages with sweets and pastries along with ones that he sees as inspirational and informative

- He doesn't care much about followers at all and likes that his profile is seemingly private.

Trey Clover

- Trey's profile is just as simple as Riddle's, with a picture of him and his siblings as his profile picture and the words "Family and Baking" written on his bio followed by emojis of a smiley face and cake

- He doesn't post a lot but he does makes lots of stories whenever he's back at home, be it with his parents or his siblings, you'll never miss a chance at seeing him make pastries and bake cakes

- Back at school he completely shuts it off to focus on studies and other responsibilities but when he has free time he opens it up just so he can see his family members in the stories he's saved

- Like Riddle,Trey also believes it isn't good to look at your phone all the time but if you need a bit of a stress reliever then he gets it fully

- Trey would probably have lots of pictures where he's tagged by other people,mostly his mom and younger cousins who just always wants a picture with him

- Sometimes when he's really proud of a pastry he's made, he'll spend time taking a good picture of it then posting it with cute emojis. He tags Riddle in them all the time.

- Trey doesn't mind who follows him as long as they aren't creepy or plain disruptive, and the number count is also something he doesn't really care about.

- He likes tagging Cater and Riddle on recipes he finds on other people's magicam post, using it as a hint of him wanting to try a new pastry

- Magicam is his life support

Cater Diamond

- Not literally but like 👀

- If Cater isn't posting anything he's probably doing a live and chilling with his followers

- A big part of his time is spent on his profile and other social media apps, he uses different pictures for each social account he has, each with fun and amusing bios to read

- His bright and flashy personality really comes through all his profiles and one can't help but to feel welcome and intrigued after seeing through his entire magicam account

- His current magicam profile picture is of him with one of the Heartslyabul hedgehog and his bio says "Fun and loving Senpai, always here to bring a smile for my cute juniors!"

- Despite his avid addiction to selfies,Cater is pretty skilled in aesthetic photography and landscape capture and sometimes you can even find pictures of Riddle or Trey and even Deuce and Ace on his account. Each photo aesthetic and revealing bits and pieces of their own personalities

- His hashtags can get a bit over the top but he knows what's hot and recent so if you want someone to keep you updated on the latest trends,Cater senpai's account is the place to browse

- He appreciates each one of his followers and always makes time to do lives and interact with them, it's a fun past time he cherishes and it always gives him that sparkly after glow whenever he sees comments or people just saying how he helps them with stress and boredom

- Cater isn't vain or in desperate need of attention but it's always nice to know people genuinely likes the stuff he does

- He follows lots of fashion pages and models or celebrities like Vil,though if he sees one of his juniors in need of an account boost, be sure as hell Cater will do anything in his power to help them!

- The only reason Ortho has a magicam account is because he wanted to see what everyone else was doing and also because he wanted somewhere he could show off his latest and coolest tech Idia gave to him!

- He's adorable and bright and his profile picture is the picture Cater took for him during a ceremony at the school, where he's wearing his robes with a small peace sign held up

Ortho Shroud

- Ortho follows all kinds of people he finds interesting and Cater is one of them. He likes how positive Cater is and even though his following isn't that big he's glad there's people who would come by and like his posts or join his lives

- He's tried to have Idia actively join in but all he's gotten is semi blurry pictures of his brother and short clips of Idia playing his games or fixing a device

- He isn't active all the time but whenever he does he likes to spam people he follows by liking their newest post and commenting on their pictures, after all they spent all that time to post it right? So he has to praise their efforts!

- Honestly, most of his followers don't get the whole tech idea but because Ortho is very honest and genuinely bubbly, they can't help but have him appear on their feeds and interact with the young boy

- Ortho has a lot of love and adoration for his brother too so people are always cheering him on!

- Like Cater, he's also up to date with the latest trends and never fails to let Idia on them too.

Jamil Viper

- Jamil's account is private and his profile is simple yet somehow rather formal. The picture he uses for his profile picture is a black background with the letter 'J' written in cursive

- He's rarely on it but he's posted a few pictures and videos that are surprisingly very aesthetic to the eyes

- Since he dances and cooks, his posts are mostly made of solo dancing sessions or him making his favourite food

- Jamil doesn't follow a lot of people and he's very particular of who gets to follow him, and since he doesn't see the point of interacting with people he won't ever meet, he naturally gives off a reserved personality online that rivals how he is in real life

- He follows Kalim, of course, but he never likes any of his posts, though he will occasionally check the stories Kalim posts

- The words "Tired" is the first thing written on his bio before he places his name underneath it.

- Jamil pretty much uses magicam only when he has nothing else to do and though he gets why most people are hooked on it, he'd rather walk around the oasis to kill time.

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst wonderland #twisted wonderland scenarios #twisted wonderland fanfic #riddle rosehearts #trey clover #cater diamond #ortho shroud #jamil viper #twst riddle #twst trey #twst cater #twst ortho #twst jamil #twst fluff #twst headcanons

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linastudyblrsblog · 4 years ago

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Burnout, unfortunately, is everywhere. If you haven’t experienced it personally, you probably know someone who has self-diagnosed.

Defined by the World Health Organization as a syndrome “conceptualized as resulted from chronic workplace stress,” it causes exhaustion, “feelings of negativism or cynicism,” and reduced efficacy. That’s a big umbrella, and the condition has become something of a catch-all for chronic, modern-day stress.

Here are 11 of our favorites to help you create your own escape plan:

1. Figure out which kind of burnout you have.

The Association for Psychological Science found that burnout comes in three different types, and each one needs a different solution:

1. Overload: The frenetic employee who works toward success until exhaustion, is most closely related to emotional venting. These individuals might try to cope with their stress by complaining about the organizational hierarchy at work, feeling as though it imposes limits on their goals and ambitions. That coping strategy, unsurprisingly, seems to lead to a stress overload and a tendency to throw in the towel.

2. Lack of Development: Most closely associated with an avoidance coping strategy. These under-challenged workers tend to manage stress by distancing themselves from work, a strategy that leads to depersonalization and cynicism — a harbinger for burning out and packing up shop.

3. Neglect: Seems to stem from a coping strategy based on giving up in the face of stress. Even though these individuals want to achieve a certain goal, they lack the motivation to plow through barriers to get to it

2. Cut down and start saying “no.”

Every “yes” you say adds another thing on your plate and takes more energy away from you, and your creativity:

If you take on too many commitments, start saying ‘no’. If you have too many ideas, execute a few and put the rest in a folder labeled ‘backburner’. If you suffer from information overload, start blocking off downtime or focused worktime in your schedule (here are some tools that may help). Answer email at set times. Switch your phone off, or even leave it behind. The world won’t end. I promise.

3. Give up on getting motivated.

With real burnout mode, you’re too exhausted to stay positive. So don’t:

When you’re mired in negative emotions about work, resist the urge to try to stamp them out. Instead, get a little distance — step away from your desk, focus on your breath for a few seconds — and then just feel the negativity, without trying to banish it. Then take action alongside the emotion. Usually, the negative feelings will soon dissipate. Even if they don’t, you’ll be a step closer to a meaningful achievement.

4. Treat the disease, not the symptoms.

For real recovery and prevention to happen, you need to find the real, deeper issue behind why you’re burnt out:

Instead of overreacting to the blip, step back from it, see it as an incident instead of an indictment, and then examine it like Sherlock Holmes looking for clues.

For example, you could ask yourself: What happened before the slip? Did I encounter a specific trigger event such as a last-minute client request? Was there an unusual circumstance such as sickness? When did I first notice the reversion in my behavior? Is some part of this routine unsustainable and if so, how could I adjust it to make it more realistic?

5. Make downtime a daily ritual.

To help relieve pressure, schedule daily blocks of downtime to refuel your brain and well-being. It can be anything from meditation to a nap, a walk, or simply turning off the wifi for a while:

When it comes to scheduling, we will need to allocate blocks of time for deep thinking. Maybe you will carve out a 1-2 hour block on your calendar every day for taking a walk or grabbing a cup of coffee and just pondering some of those bigger things. I can even imagine a day when homes and apartments have a special switch that shuts down wi-fi and data access during dinner or at night – just to provide a temporary pause from the constant flow of status updates and other communications…

There is no better mental escape from our tech-charged world than the act of meditation. If only for 15 minutes, the ability to steer your mind away from constant stimulation is downright liberating. There are various kinds of meditation. Some forms require you to think about nothing and completely clear your mind. (This is quite hard, at least for me.) Other forms of meditation are about focusing on one specific thing – often your breath, or a mantra that you repeat in your head (or out loud) for 10-15 minutes…

If you can’t adopt meditation, you might also try clearing your mind the old fashioned way – by sleeping. The legendary energy expert and bestselling author Tony Schwartz takes a 20-minute nap every day. Even if it’s a few hours before he presents to a packed audience, he’ll take a short nap.

6. Stop being a perfectionist; start satisficing.

Trying to maximize every task and squeeze every drop of productivity out of your creative work is a recipe for exhaustion and procrastination. Set yourself boundaries for acceptable work and stick to them:

Consistently sacrificing your health, your well being, your relationships, and your sanity for the sake of living up to impossible standards will lead to some dangerous behaviors and, ironically, a great deal of procrastination. Instead of saying, “I’ll stay up until this is done,” say, “I’ll work until X time and then I’m stopping. I may end up needing to ask for an extension or complete less than perfect work. But that’s OK. I’m worth it.” Making sleep, exercise, and downtime a regular part of your life plays an essential role in a lasting, productive creative career.

7. Track your progress every day.

Keeping track allows you to see exactly how much is on your plate, not only day-to-day, but consistently over time:

Disappointing feedback can be painful at first – research shows that failure and losses can hurt twice as much as the pleasure of equivalent gains. But if you discover you’re off course, reliable feedback shows you by how much, and you then have the opportunity to take remedial action and to plot a new training regime or writing schedule. The temporary pain of negative feedback is nothing compared with the crushing experience of project failure. Better to discover that you’re behind and need to start writing an hour earlier each day, than to have your book contract rescinded further down the line because you’ve failed to deliver.

8. Change location often.

Entrepreneurs or freelancers can be especially prone to burnout. Joel Runyon plays “workstation popcorn,” in which he groups tasks by location and then switches, in order to keep work manageable, provide himself frequent breaks, and spend his time efficiently:

You find yourself spending hours at your computer, dutifully “working” but getting very little done. You finish each day with the dreaded feeling that you’re behind, and that you’re only falling farther and farther behind. You’re buried below an ever-growing to-do list. There’s a feeling of dread that tomorrow is coming, and that it’s bringing with it even more work that you probably won’t be able to get ahead on.

List out everything you need to do today. Try to be as specific as you can…Next, break that list into three sections. Step 1: Go to cafe [or desk, a different table in your office, etc.] #1. Step 2: Start working on item group #1…Once you finish all the tasks in group #1, get up and move. Close your tabs, pack your bags, and physically move your butt to your next spot. If you can, walk or bike to your next stop…When you get to the next cafe [or spot], start on the next action item group, and repeat…

When you’ve completed everything on your to-do list for the day, you are done working. Relax, kick back, and live your life. Don’t take work home with you because that won’t help you get more done – it will just wear you out.

9. Don’t overload what downtime you do get.

Vacations themselves can cause, or worsen burnout, with high-stress situations, expectations, and sleep interruption. Use it to help in recovery from burnout instead:

Make a flexible itinerary a priority. [A] study from Radboud University found that effective vacations give you the choice and freedom to choose what you want to do. That means two things: Try to avoid structuring your vacation around an unbreakable schedule, and plan on going somewhere that has multiple options to pick from depending on the weather, your level of energy, or your budget.

10. Write yourself fan mail.

Seth Godin uses self-fan mail as a way to keep motivated instead of burning out on a project that seems far from completion:

I define non-clinical anxiety as, “experiencing failure in advance.” If you’re busy enacting a future that hasn’t happened yet, and amplifying the worst possible outcomes, it’s no wonder it’s difficult to ship that work. With disappointment, I note that our culture doesn’t have an easily found word for the opposite. For experiencing success in advance. For visualizing the best possible outcomes before they happen. Will your book get a great testimonial? Write it out. Will your talk move someone in the audience to change and to let you know about it? What did they say? Will this new product gain shelf space at the local market? Take a picture. Writing yourself fan mail in advance, and picturing the change you’ve announced you’re trying, to make is an effective way to push yourself to build something that actually generates that action.

11. Break projects into bite-sized pieces.

Taking a task on in one entire lump can be exhausting and provide little room for rest in between. Breaking up your projects into set chunks with their own deadlines provides a much healthier, and easier, way of completing a large project:

The default take on deadlines is typically to consider them to be cumbersome and stressful. Yet, from another perspective, a deadline can be viewed as a huge benefit to any project. Without the urgency of a hard deadline pushing a project to completion, it’s easy for you, your team, or your client to lose focus. We’ve all worked on agonizing projects where the timeline just bleeds on and on, merely because the flexibility is there…

It turns out that the manner in which a task is presented to someone – or the way in which you present it to your brain – has a significant impact on how motivated you will be to take action. A study led by researcher Sean McCrea at the University of Konstanz in Germany recently found that people are much more likely to tackle a concrete task than an abstract task… It seems to me like the difference between being handed a map versus following the step-by-step instructions of a GPS device. Not everyone can read a map, but everyone can follow the directions. By breaking your project down into smaller, well-described tasks, the way forward becomes clear and it’s easy to take action.

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tommysparker · 5 years ago

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Good For You

Peter Parker x Reader

A/N: I dunno how I really feel about this one...but there will be a part 2! Inspired by “Good For You” from the musical Dear Evan Hansen, give it a listen and enjoy :)

Warnings: just pure angst, reader is disappointed but not surprised, and also # done

Six times.

Six times he’s canceled plans last minute.

And that’s just this month, so far.

You were happy for him, honestly, you were. But had you known his newfound fame would have cost you hours of waiting, hours of your life that you will never get back, just to end up looking like a fool as you leave the restaurant, you probably would have re-thought some decisions.

“Hi! This is Peter Parker, leave a--”

You sighed in frustration, tossing your phone and keys on the couch as you kicked off your shoes and shut the door to the apartment. Thankfully, your parents weren’t home so you had time to release some stress and anger.

Dropping yourself onto the cushions, you grabbed the TV remote and pressed the on-button, hoping some good ol’ fashioned Disney Plus would take your mind off tonight’s events, or lack thereof. However, the television network had other plans.

Sure enough, there was your boyfriend, dressed head-to-toe in that stupid red and blue spandex costume standing next to the great Tony Stark, who wore a regular suit and that signature smile the public adored.

Really? He ditched me to hang out with some tech billionaire? Is what you would’ve thought, however, you were used to it at this point. The first few times you felt disappointed, but now all you saw was red.

You turned off the TV, throwing the remote aside and grabbing your phone, hoping to see at least one message from your once adoring lover, but you were met with an old picture of you and him that you set as your lockscreen.

With a heavy sigh, you went into your room and decided to catch up on all the homework you’ve been ignoring. What better way to distract yourself than with memorizing calculus formulas?

The only text you got that night was from your parents telling you they’ll be home late.

---

The next day at school, you completely avoided Peter at all costs.

Peter was beyond confused.

He had gotten home late last night after spending hours with Mr. Stark teaching him the new customs of his suit and later going back to the lab to fix some minor bugs.

When he came into school this morning, he was hoping for the usual bear hug you greet him with when he walked over to your locker. However, by the time he got there you were already gone. Betty, whose locker was right next to yours, said you went to class early to talk to the teacher.

He shrugged it off, figuring he would catch you in between classes.

But he never did.

Every time he tried to talk to you, you would run off or ignore his callings. He thought maybe you were just having an off-day, you’ve been having a lot of those recently.

By the time lunch came around, he knew something was wrong.

No matter what mood you were in, you always made sure to sit next to him in the cafeteria, so when you didn’t show up at all, he had a feeling it was more than just an off-day.

He didn’t see you for the rest of the school day.

---

You were done. Absolutely done.

You woke up that morning ready to deal with whatever bullshit excuse Peter was gonna throw at you, but as you entered the school something inside you just snapped.

Maybe it was because one of your friends were talking about the amazing date they had, or maybe it was because you were tired after waiting for Peter to swing by your window and apologize for missing another date then end up passing out on the window sill, but either way, you were done.

You dodged Peter the whole first half of school, ditching after lunch because you weren’t ‘feeling well’.

The rest of the day you spent curled up on your bed, listening to music that related to whatever emotion you were feeling.

You glanced over at the clock, seeing school would’ve been out about half an hour ago. Picking up your phone you texted MJ asking if she was down to go out later. You were supposed to be having a movie night with Peter but if he could skip your plans dozens of times, why couldn’t you?

A ding followed by your phone lighting up took your attention off your laptop. Picking up your phone, you were hoping it was MJ accepting your invitation, and thankfully, the bookworm didn’t fail to please.

A few hours later, you were almost ready to go out, when a loud knocking sound came from your window.

Startled, you whipped your head towards the glass, and behind it stood non-other than your boyfriend.

Did you forget to tell him you canceled? Whoops.

Rolling your eyes, you opened your window and stepped back so he could come in. You were still upset with him, but that doesn’t mean you were about to make him wait outside when it was near zero degrees.

“Hey! Sorry I’m late Mr. Stark wanted to test this cool new web settings and we kinda lost track of time but I got your favourite food to make up for it- oh are we going somewhere instead?” Peter tilted his head as he took in your outfit. Normally on movie nights, you’d welcome him wearing a pair of comfy pants and his hoodie. However tonight you were dressed in jeans and a top he hadn’t seen you wear before. When did you go shopping?

“Yeah-no. It’s just me going, MJ should be on her way right now. Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier,” you shrugged, walking back to the mirror to finish doing your hair.

“Wait- what do you mean? What’s going on? It’s movie night...” The vigilante expressed, trying his best to mask the disappointed look his face fell into.

“Guess I’ll have to make it up to you, right? Just like all the times you’ve made it up to me.” You snapped, sarcasm laced with your words.

Peter could sense something was wrong, your tone and the look in your eyes being a dead giveaway. “What are you talking about, Y/N?”

“I dunno Parker, why don’t you tell me. Because I have been stood up too many times this month and honestly, I’m sick and tired of your empty promises,” You huffed, turning around to face him with your arms tightly crossed over your chest.

The brown-haired boy was baffled. “Look if this is about last week, I told you I’m sorry. You know how much being Spiderman means to me--”

“--More than it means being with me?”

Peter’s facial expression made it seem like the question slapped him in the face. “What? No! Why would you think that?”

“Um for starters, you’re always ditching me to go play superhero with a billionaire. Every time you tell me you’re gonna make it up to me, you never do! Yesterday’s date was supposed to make up for the one you missed last week, and that one was supposed to make up for the one you missed two weeks prior! I’m seeing a pattern Parker and I don’t like it.”

For some reason, his ears fell deaf to everything you said except for the mention of his alter-ego. “Playing superhero? Really Y/n? I’m saving lives! I’m making a difference here. I have these powers and if I don’t use them, and bad things happen, that’s on me. You have no idea the kind of responsibility I have. Besides, you should be happy for me! I’m better than I’ve ever been before. Don’t you get that?”

You bit your lip, fighting back tears. “Yeah, I guess you're right. Well...I’m sorry I don’t fit into your responsibilities.”

“What? No that’s not--”

“I’m not done yet! You got what you always wanted, right? Your dream is now a reality, well good for you, Parker. I’m happy for you, really I am. I just wish you would’ve told me that dream didn’t involve me so I didn’t waste my time loving you,” You spat.

“Wait, Y/N please--!”

“I mean, are you even sorry?” You cut him off again. “‘Cause you say it all the time but you never act like it. The Peter I knew would’ve put everything aside in order to right a wrong, but you, you just worry about yourself.” Yes, that was a low blow, and far from the truth, but in the heat of the moment you could hardly control the words coming out of your mouth. Months of pent up frustration being released kinda broke the filter.

Peter looked like a kicked puppy, he tried to say something but you kept ranting.

“When was the last time you hung out with Ned? Or had a real conversation with May? All of us are hurting, Peter. We’re your friends, your family. And all you do is jump the fence over to “Mr. Stark’s” at the blow of his dog whistle. But, hey, if that makes you happy then fucking good for you. I guess if I can’t give you any fancy tech, o-or ‘understand your responsibility’ then go ahead and cut me loose. No, really, I won’t mind--”

“Stop it! Just stop, please!” He had tears running down his face, similar to your own. He took a shaky breath, wiping away the tears roughly before giving you a heart-broken look.

You stared back, shoulders shaking and eyes red. You sniffled, pointing a shaky arm to the window. “Get out.” It was quiet, a huge contrast to the previous volume of your voice, but suddenly the energy was drained from your body, mentally and emotionally.

Peter left without a word or hesitation.

You walked to the window, swaying slightly as you watched him swing off into the distance.

So you got what you always wanted, live with the consequences.

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Again....not ecstatic about this turned out but hoping part 2 turns out better :/

All: @greenorangevioletgrass @allegra-writes @soraitmnt @worldoftom @farfromparker @angel-spidey @parkerpeter24 @god-knows-what-am-i-doing @the-panwitch @rebekkah4766 @hollandsamor @spideygirl2003 @theactualprincessofeverything

Peter Parker: @rubberducky-jrr

#peter parker #peter parker angst #peter parker x reader #peter parker x y/n #peter x reader #peter x y/n #rae writes sometimes

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kessielrg · 4 years ago

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[Kingdom Hearts] Busy Bees

Summary: By far, Ven’s got the most boring job at the flower shop; the cashier. Sitting day in and day out for someone to browse along the rows of flowers and gardening tools, then probably walk right out again. Sometimes an interesting thing would happen- but they were few and far between. [flower shop AU focused on UX kids][Part 3 in a series of oneshots][VenxOC][EphemerxOC/F!Player]

Rating: K

Word Count: 1,682 words

If you liked this story, please reblog!

- - -

Roughly a week before Easter, and Ventus was spending his time rearranging some displays in the hope someone would buy one. It could have been worse- he could have been placed on Easter basket making duty. Strelitzia and Lauriam were already in the back making some. Even more so, at least he wasn't on Easter Bunny duty. That was an event planned for the last day of March most of the time. And, thankfully, it was Ephemer who became their Easter Bunny. Not that anyone else wanted to volunteer...

The bell above the door twinkled as someone came into the shop. Ventus gave a half-hearted look up to give a customer service 'how are you today?' before recognizing that it was just Brain. Trailing right behind Brain was his sister, Sabrina (to whom Ventus absolutely did not have a crush on because she would never give him the time of day). Sabrina was giving her brother a rather irate glare as she sipped on her strawberry milkshake. Likely because Brain was going on about some tech video he saw earlier.

“Why don't you get how neat it was, Sabi?” Brain teased as they lingered near the entrance, possibly so Sabrina could finish her milkshake. “This guy was able to encode a full 5 minute video on a 3 inch floppy disk, and the quality was amazing. Amazing for what it could be, of course.”

Sabrina took her lips off her straw just to rasp, “Nerd.”

“Alright there peanut gallery,” Brain snorted, “I see how it is.”

He then attempted to mess up her hair, but Sabrina dodged it with a casual swoop to the side. It only lead to Brain to laugh at her even more.

“Oh!” he then realized, digging into a paper bag he was holding, “We got something for you Ven.”

Ven blinked, as if he were unaware of his own presence, as Brain pulled out a large muffin. Sabrina started to sip her milkshake again, starting to give Ven a rather judging look. He was more aware of her looking at him than the muffin.

“Are you guys going to help Strelitzia and Lauriam?” he asked, taking the muffin with care.

“Yup.” Brain grinned. “Even managed to drag Sabi into it because she needs something to do than staying at home managing her fashion blog.”

Sabrina huffed. “As if it's my fault that Elie Saab's idea of escapism is 'cirque du soleil' extravagance. 'Designed with his costumers in mind', my well manicured pinkie toe.”

“For the record, you should probably cover them with something.” Brain told her, pointing down to her feet. They were well manicured, and presently being showed off with lace-up sandals. “We're putting small bags of potting soil in the baskets this year.”

Everyone looked down at Sabrina's feet as she wiggled them a bit at the idea. After a moment, she just shrugged.

“I have a pair of socks in your locker just for this reason.” she informed him before starting to head toward the backroom. Brain watched her leave with a grin on his face, his hand at the brim of his fedora in an equal amount of fondness. He looked over at Ven -who started picking at his muffin with some interest- and his grin grew a bit wider, as if he were thinking of something amusing.

“You can come join us, you know. I'm sure Skuld wouldn't mind you abandoning the store front for back end stuff.”

“I… I'll think about it.” Ven carefully replied, almost timidly. “There's a lot of stuff to do...”

“Gotcha.” the older of the two nodded, tipping his fedora at Ven before also heading to the backroom.

Brain casually strolled into the backroom to see what kind of operation the Fleur siblings had concocted to get the baskets done. He was impressed to find that they came up with an assembly-line sort of set up. It started with the round wicker baskets they were going to place everything in, then someone would set a decent sized teddy bear in, then add small, unpainted terracotta pots with a bag of potting soil placed inside, then a young orchid, and finally a packet of flower seeds tucked between the orchid and pots. It was going to be a nice little display in all said and done.

“Look at you busy little bees,” Brain teased, “You need some food.”

Strelitzia, who had been measuring the potting soil to place in the zip bags, looked up at Brain as if she hadn't been aware they had arrived.

“You didn't have to do that.” she told him. She then worked herself up and brushed the soil off her work uniform. Sabrina -now wearing a pair of socks instead of her sandals- took a few steps back with a look of disgust on her face.

“How many baskets did Skuld want this year?” Brain asked Lauriam as he handed him a bagel.

“Twenty-five.” the pink haired man informed him. “That was the only amount of baskets she ordered.”

“Quite a bit, don't you think?”

“Seems like it, but we're in an outdoor mall and pretty well known locally. We'll get rid of them eventually. Speaking of, Skuld wants us to take picture of the baskets so we can put them up online.”

“We should have Sabrina do it.” Strelitzia happily suggested as she went to the sink to wash her hands off.

Sabrina scoffed as she took a stool to the prep table- right where the pending orchids and teddy bears were. “Because last time you used me as a marketing ploy, sales were so high that we had a party to celebrate.”

“You have a very marketable face, sis.” Brain teased, playfully rubbing her back. Sabrina let out another indignant scoff. The banter between siblings made Lauriam and Strelitzia go into a light laughter.

After everyone had something to eat, it was back to business. Strelitzia went back to measuring out the potting soil. Sabrina made herself the one to place the teddy bear and orchid into the basket, Brain sat beside her to get the bags of soil from Strelitzia so he could place them in the little pots. This then left Lauriam with placing the seed packets inside, and decorating the basket with a ribbon. Once they found a comfortable groove to work with, that was when the four of them started to talk.

And since she didn't come around that often, Sabrina was the focus.

“Have you found a new job yet, Sabrina?” Strelitzia curiously asked.

“No.” came the rather annoyed sigh. “At this rate, I might as well get into politics.”

“So we should all be afraid, then?” Lauriam mused as he carefully tied off a bow.

“El Presidente Sabi the Tyrant.” Brain remarked before giving his sister a teasing side glance. Sabrina sneered before poking him with her elbow. He poked her right back without shame.

“Have you thought about working here?” Lauriam asked, a smile on his face reflective of the fun environment. “You and Brain could carpool. I'm sure Skuld would arrange schedules so you two share the same shift.”

“Or share it with Ven.” Sabrina immediately spat back. She paused for a moment, as if she wasn't quite sure of what she had just said. It was Strelitzia who didn't see this hesitation, so she thoughtfully asked without meaning any harm;

“Have you and Ven started dating yet?”

“Strelitzia.” Lauriam quickly -but still oddly gently- admonished.

Strelitzia's cheeks immediately started to flare a bright pink. “Oh. Is that still a sore subject? I'm sorry. I didn't mean...”

“You're fine, Strelitzia.” Sabrina told her with a wave of her hand- not that the woman could see it. “It's not your fault that some people can't mind their own business.” She shot her brother a dark glare that he just as easily shrugged off. After giving an exasperated sigh, Sabrina then went on to say, “I don't see why I'm the one that has to ask him. I get that it's obvious, but I'm not the one that needs to put a spine in him. If he can't do something that simple, then I will wait- for him or otherwise.”

“Sabrina, I hate to break it to you, but not everyone can be like Ephemer.”

“Don't be stupid- Anora was the one who took the lead in everything they did. Probably still does.”

Strelitzia let out a snort so unflattering that everyone turned to look at her.

“Do you have something to say, Zee?”

“N-no!” the young woman stammered- her face becoming a shade so red, it could have rivaled a blossoming rose. “Not at all!”

“Some things never change.” Lauriam calmly noted as he went back to work.

Meanwhile, Ventus was doing his absolute best to grow a spine. He was caught in a conflict over whether they could really use his help, or if he just wanted to sit by Sabrina and make it less than obvious that he was admiring her. Other than that, he remained in the front as he tried to look busy in case someone came in. If he did go help the others, then who would come out to help a costumer than came in? There wouldn't be much of a competition, would there? Everyone but Sabrina was still a clocked-in employee, after all.

It's not like everyone didn't know he liked her. Everyone at that stupid flower shop wouldn't hesitate to place the two of them in the same room so something would happen. If Ventus went back to help, and a costumer came in, he'd almost place a hundred bucks that Brain himself would go to help.

“You know what?” Ven mumbled to himself as he took a look outside the windows. There wasn't anyone that looked remotely interested in coming toward the shop, and so with a nod, Ven went to the backroom. His confidence in his choice nearly faded the closer he got. When he was just steps away from joining the others, Ven nervously cleared his throat before asking;

“Room for one more?”

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mysticalmusicwhispers · 5 years ago

Note

Do you have any headcanons for any asian characters in hetalia?

Thanks for the ask anon!

The Asians (as a group and individually) have my heart so you can expect a lot of headcanons for them. I’ve posted a list of China headcanons here (scroll down and you’ll find them eventually), but I’ll probably put new ones in this ask too. Anyway:

- All the Asians love to take food pictures! I know this is a “fashionable thing” to do all over the world nowadays, but I feel like the Asian countries are like the epitome of food pictures. Taiwan, HK, Japan, South Korea, and maybe Macau would do this the most. They’d probably run a joint social media account just for food pictures (as well as food selfies, since they’re all super photogenic). I also think they might compete with each other to take the best pictures, and have people vote on whose is the best??

Also just imagine China cooking the food for them and then all the young’uns crowding around the plate taking pictures for a long time, after 5 minutes they hear China yell “Hey! The food’s going to get cold if you don’t start EATING!” *mutters “Sheesh, they’re too phone addicted”*

- A lot of people headcanon Yao/China as the boomer of the Asians (and in general), and make him like an old man not knowing how to use a phone and everything. But… literally, real China has so much social media and internet stuff, like they’ve literally almost phased out using cash because everyone just pays for stuff using WeChat on their phones… like literally, this stuff is way ahead of America’s cash rn, so I think China would be able to absorb his people’s phone/internet prowess and not be so “boomer-y” like everyone thinks?? I have to admit that the boomer China situation would be pretty funny but I just don’t think it’s very realistic?

- Ok this part is just a rant about South Korea. WHy in the worLd does he need to be all perverted???? Like why is he so obsessed with people’s body parts/breasts???? Like what, why can you not make him a normal person who is a tech savvy enthusiastic photogenic Asian who is definitely a nerdy jock (if those exist) instead of some random groper??? Ok anyway, I’ve got no idea what’s up with canon SK but I think he’d be like the Denmark in the asians? Very excitable, friendly, and overall gives off cool vibes. Also I think he just pretends to be dumb sometimes to make people laugh, but can read the mood pretty well even if people don’t think he can. He’s also pretty smart and good with technology, and can strike up conversations with a lot of people really quickly (this also leads to him getting a lot of connections if it’s in a Human AU) Overall, I think modern day SK’s got his heart in the right place, he just might mess up a few times.

- Ancient Times: the Asians in history are kinda complicated, because a) HK, Taiwan, and Macau are pretty much irrelevant right now, b) I am clueless about Southeast Asian history so idk what Thailand and Vietnam are doing at that time, and c) China, Japan, and Korea weren’t exactly friends all the time (and they weren’t really friends from WWI to the Korean War). Also to complicate stuff, Korea had three kingdoms: Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla; Silla apparently took over the other two later (with the help of the Chinese Tang dynasty) and became Unified Korea, and then the Korean War happened and it split again. So, idk what’s up with them (canon makes it more complicated because China took in Japan, I assume he would’ve taken Korea or the 3 kingdoms in as well because there’s a lot of shared history/trade/alliances between those three). There’s a lot of backstabbing and wars and stuff, some between China and Japan, some between China and Korea vs Japan, some between Korea and Japan, etc. If the countries were physically kids, I guess you could reason it out that they were just small bastards who were really rowdy and liked to fight, but I think that at least China would have been in his late teens/early 20s, and he took in Japan before most of the wars, so maybe that’s just Japan being a rebellious kid? Idk man East Asian history is complicated

- I think the young’uns are all fans of something (I think Japan and HK and maybe Taiwan are anime/manga fans, and SK likes his kpop idols) and they always get China to come along with them resignedly, to a convention or concert or whatever. But let’s be real, he hates on the others’ stuff but watches his own tv dramas just fine (although he hates the characters’ decisions a lot and rants a lot too)

- They get so competitive during sports! Especially at big things like the Olympics, or any international ____ competition (like swimming or something with lots of events). I think everybody would roast China for always failing soccer at FIFA (mens or womens) even if they themselves didn’t get in (usually Japan and Korea qualify, and they might even make it to like round of 8 or something). Other events, they’d just root for their own team and possibly make bets as to who’s going to win.

- I don’t know why China doesn’t have glasses in his design because literally so many people are nearsighted!!! (me included hhh) but idk I guess an explanation is he used to wear them and then was teased by his kids for being an old grandpa so he got contacts instead or something

- And because of genetics or something I think HK and Taiwan would also have nearsightedness but (I think in Taiwan at least) the trend is to get laser eye surgery, so I think both of them would’ve gotten it so they could keep looking cOoL (or something)

- All of them like TEA of some kind. Japan and China prefer to stick with the normal tea (brewed with tea leaves and stuff) but Taiwan loves bubble tea, and HK and Korea prefer iced tea more? But I think they’d all be able to switch between different types and not complain (except China, the old man)

- If China forgot he had a meeting scheduled and on that day, he invited all the others to his house, I think he’d begrudgingly put Japan in charge and leave, but I think Japan would let the others do whatever they want (he lowkey loves pranking China) and by the time China is back the house would either be wrecked or they’d went through all his stuff and now have a hoard of private things to ask him. China would throw them all out and then somehow find a way to get back at Japan

- I read a headcanon somewhere that they all think their own cooking is the best, and that would be very funny to write, but I think at dinners and stuff they’d all bring their favorite dish and just share, because nostalgia, sometimes they just feel like eating stuff that reminds them of their past or when they were at ____’s house (eg. Japan and Korea with Chinese food, Taiwan with Japanese food, etc.)

- Lots of family arguing and mutual pranks

- Lots and lots of low and high key roasts and lots of sarcasm (especially from the older ones).

Taiwan: “How do you think this dress looks?”

China: “Like you took fashion advice as bad as England’s cooking”

Japan: “I hate to say this, but China is 100% on point.”

Taiwan: D:

- Disapproval of clothing! China arguing at his kids that their clothes are too unconservative or show too much skin or something, and his kids arguing back that he dresses like he blindly picked out clothes without opening his eyes

OK yeah that’s it thanks for listening if you made it down here! I was originally intending to include Thailand and Macau and Vietnam but then realized I have next to nothing for them so… I’m sorry if you wanted some about them! Take my humblest apologies. Anyway, you probably noticed the Asians have my heart and definitely ask for more if you want! I’d never deny the chance to think about what dumb stuff they’d do lol

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evien-stark · 5 years ago

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✧I Need You✧ Chapter 113

Children were amazing, you realized later that evening after returning home from a late meeting. You wished you had Harley’s aptitude for simply, straight up, ignoring his problems. Namely that he’d thrown a giant tantrum (whether or not it had become understandable), had been rude to you (again, even though you understood it), and had caused a scene. It was remarkable, really, how quickly he seemed to forget. Like it had just never happened. Because he gave you a half-hearted greeting, glued to his video games, when you came in.

Tony was making something for dinner. ...and you had to immediately stow thoughts that domestic boyfriend was a very good look on him. ...domestic… husband… did you dare?

No. Now was not the time. You were getting sucked into this life. Having a child nearby. Fighting with but sort of growing used to his presence. Teaching him. Helping him grow. Waking up in the morning for a family breakfast. Working. Coming home for a family dinner…

It was scrambling your brains. And it had to stop. But, at the same time… it was making you realize how much you may have yearned for a life. If you could even imagine such things. A normal life. A home. A family. Would you ever be able to actually have such things? A recurring question. You knew the only reason Tony was being so attentive at home, in the kitchen was because he was following Harley around and trying to maintain a schedule. If not for that, he’d probably still be in the lab. ...but that only made your ache for some normality grow.

After slipping off your heels and changing into something more comfortable, and in the middle of telling yourself to shut up about all of this, you came back into the kitchen, stealing a chopped piece of pepper from a bowl on the counter. “I think I have a plan.” Murmuring softly, as you laid your head on his shoulder.

He was in the middle of what looked like sauteing some chicken and onions. “Always good.”

“WHiH is following me around.”

“You don’t say. Must be a day that ends in Y.” Hearing the roll of his eyes just by his tone.

“They stopped, for a while, when I told Christine off. But suddenly they reappeared. Just like a little someone else who suddenly showed up.”

Setting down his spoon he cast an uneasy glance down at you. “...they saw the kid.”

To this you gave a nod. “I shouldn’t have stopped for that Stern question, that’s my fault.” Because that had to have been when it happened. You’d gotten greedy for good and petty press. And now… “But I think we can use them. ...and him.”

Turning the burner off, he turned and settled a hand on his hip. “I’m listening.”

“I think we should go public with the internship program- and its pilot initiative. We can’t charge down to Tennessee and just remove the guy from the property- especially not now that the press is picking up on who Harley is.” What a mess that would make. Too many connecting threads now. “But if we bait his dad here…”

Tony considered it, head tilting to the side. Thinking. “How can you be sure he’ll turn up?” A fantastic question, considering your idea here was to shove the kid out into the limelight whether he liked it or not. And if you couldn’t be certain his shitty father would come, it would be a waste of time. And it might have even hurt Harley.

Not the most ideal outcome. “You said the guy suddenly came back after years of being gone- coincidentally after you revamped Harley’s garage with tech- that his dad then sold. Don’t you think that greed would manifest harder if he saw Team Stark parading his kid around?”

His brows lifted and then just as quickly scrunched, lifting a hand to his chin for just a moment. “Sure. It’s a good plan- in theory. What’s your backup?”

“Taking suggestions.” Giving him just a little bit of a dead-eyed stare. You were tired and now had sort of thought yourself into a melancholy over this fake glossy family life that a deep part of you knew you’d never have.

A quiet sigh left him. “So. You don’t want the kid to know.”

To this you gave a shake of your head. “Better he doesn’t know we’re using him- even if it’s to help him.”

“So then how are you gonna get him to go along with it?”

Reaching up you laid your hand over his heart with a little pat, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek. “Don’t worry about that. You know me.” Smiling up at him then. “I’ve just got a way about me.”

His warm grin was charming as ever. “Always have.”

----

The following afternoon, after having picked out your dress with Pepper for Friday, you then left on your own to meet up with Tony and Harley at your usual tailored suit shop. Having it closed to the public (the part of the public that actually went in a shop like that) was probably not the smartest. It would draw eyes. But all the better to set up some prime circumstances for media intervention… and let them do the work for you.

You both were also running short on time. And he just simply could not be caught dead in a suit that he’d already worn once. He also had to match. There were rules to these engagements, after all.

Harley was sat in one of the resting chairs, playing his handheld game and occasionally sneaking cookies from the little snack tray on the coffee table in front of him, while you had Tony up on the little dressing dais. You’d settled on black flared suit slacks and that was about all. And you weren’t even decided on that, really. You had a black double-breasted suit jacket that you’d had him try on a few times now… sort of attached to it. But. Something was missing.

Black button up shirt was a must- and you were thinking now- as you tied the third bow tie, dark red was definitely the choice. It matched with the theme of a Valentine’s gala, after all- and your dress, which was really the most important thing. “This one, I think…” Giving it a little tug and then standing back, hand to your chin with your other arm crossed.

Harley groaned. “This is boring.”

Tony half turned to him, small little grin in place. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m having a blast.” He gave his freshly tied bow a little double tug on its corners and shook out the arms of his suit jacket. “Are we getting close, honey?”

Breathing out a sigh, you undid the buttons on his jacket, smoothing your hands up his stomach and to his chest- perhaps touch too suggestively… unable to help yourself. “I think we need a waistcoat… and-...” Squinting at him with a step back to try and get a full picture. When the light bulb hit you turned. “Hey, Estie-” Your tried and true adviser on all things fashion. When she looked up from the fabric rack, “I know it’s short notice- do you think we can do the inside a wine color? And get a matching waistcoat… maybe with some black silk inlays?”

After taking a moment to envision such a thing, framing her pointer and thumb on both hands, she then clapped them together. “Oh! I think that’ll look absolutely divine.” Coming over she snapped her fingers at Tony to get him to take the jacket off. “Let me do a quick mock up. Let’s see where we are.”

Once Tony shrugged himself out of it and handed it over, he took a seat next to Harley. You weren’t entirely ready to call it quits, though, so you turned your back on them to look over the fabrics they had on display. One of them would be lovingly paired with the inside of his jacket, and the other would be used for his vest. Harley was not yet done complaining, though. “What’s the point of all this, anyway? You guys have like a million clothes. I’ve seen your closet.”

While perhaps it would have been a good idea to ask why he had been inside of your closet (huge and outlandish though it was…), instead you took the opportunity where you saw it. Still searching with your back turned to them you answered, “These things are very delicate affairs. If you don’t look a certain way, papers will talk about it for months. It’s annoying. Just easier to do it right the first time and be done with it.”

“What is it- it’s some stupid dance party, right?”

Tony answered. “It is a charity gala, where the elite give up their Valentine’s day to prove that they’re good people. Cavorting with one another while spending a small fortune to help those with less fortune.”

Your smile was hidden with your back still turned. “It’s terrible. We hate these things. They’re boring.” Perhaps not so subtly mocking him.

You sensed the flicker of his attention. “So why go then?” Before you could answer he quickly rebuffed, “-to any of them- I know you said this one you’re showing off at.”

Raising a pointer finger you corrected him, “Showing up someone. Not showing off.”

Even though you weren’t looking at him, you heard Harley shift around to gesture at probably everything around him. “Right. ‘Cuz this isn’t showing off.”

Tony’s tiny breathy laughter really threatened to break you. The kid was a smartass, but he was smart. Buying out a long block of time in an impossibly expensive shop and having them do an entire suit in two days just to wear for one night… he had a point. “This all has a purpose. Before we can even get into the event, we’ll have to walk a long red carpet…”

“Wouldn’t you know it.” Tony followed up and you could hear his continued grinning. “Showing off.”

“Trust me.” Said with a sigh as you tugged a very dark shade of red off the rolling rack. “You’re lucky you don’t have to go.” Going over to Estie after making this purposefully vexed remark-

Ignoring Harley’s sudden but quiet protests to Tony as you and Estie chatted about his wardrobe. But when Harley pointedly spoke up to get your attention- “They can’t be that bad.” Trying to bait you- Not realizing you were the one doing the baiting. You put the back of your hand on your hip to give him a little annoyed look. “Worse than you could ever imagine. I assure you.”

“You guys fight monsters for a living and you can’t handle one night talking to other adults you don’t like?” Seemingly very unimpressed and underwhelmed by the two of you so suddenly. Kids thought they were so smart, didn’t they?

“Consider it handled. We’re going, aren’t we?” Waving him off almost rudely as you turned back to talk with your designer.

Feeling suddenly very annoyed that you’d dismissed him in such a way, he started barking at Tony. “She’s overreacting. I bet it’s not that bad.” Saying the same thing to him, just in case there was a chance he hadn’t heard it. Or maybe that he’d side with him.

“Count your blessings, kid. You get another night of juice filled debauchery on my couch instead.”

“Well what if I wanted to go?”

Quickly (and purposefully) turning again you gave a stern warning, “Out of the question.”

“Kid,” Tony warned him suddenly. “You’re barking up the wrong tree.”

He stood, eyeing you up. “Why can’t I? I’m already here. So what? I wanna see what’s so bad about it.” Imagining he’d get one-up on you when the event wasn’t as terrible as the dumb adults were making it out to be with their whining.

Pretending to square up with him, accepting his little staring match, and then sizing him up, you narrowed your eyes. “You really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Tony reached up to tug on the back of his sweater. “Really, kid, come sit down before you regret this.”

Harley just shrugged him off. “You guys all act like the smallest things are the end of the world. It’s just a dumb party. I wanna see it.” You sensed that some of this upset was a little misdirected. But that was fine. It was working to your advantage.

Taking your time making him sweat out your waiting, still going strong as you looked at him without blinking- it took you a full minute before breaking to turn to Estie. “What do you think? Can you get something together in his size?”

She clapped her hands together. “Absolutely!” Then rounding her sewing table, she waved her hands at him. “Go go- on the dais- put your arms out-” Reaching into her apron to grab her measuring tape. “You’re going to be the handsomest little man at the ball, I guarantee it!”

Very quickly he paled. “Wait- I don’t wanna-”

Tony grinned, patting his back with a little push. “Can’t say I didn’t warn you.”

----

The planted paparazzi on the sidewalk were easy enough for Happy to deal with as the three of you got back in the car after your much longer than anticipated fitting. Harley was pretty annoyed but luckily, his happiness that he’d talked the two dumb adults into doing a thing he didn’t really want to do was winning out. You also happened to notice, as the car was pulling away, that a WHiH reporter, the same one from Tuesday evening, had been out front taking shots- which was good. Because that’s the reason you’d posted a crowd out front in the first place.

...but come Friday evening, the fact that they had yet to put out a story about the mysterious kid that had shown up at Stark Industries and was now being chaperoned around by Team Stark made you nervous. They hadn’t accosted you on the sidewalk either, as they were known to do. They were clearly following on the story, so what were they waiting for? It wasn’t like they had any journalistic integrity. It wasn’t like they were checking sources… right? They never cared about that sort of thing before, if Christine Everhart’s methods were anything to go by.

But their station was silent. What were they doing?

Other news outlets (the shadier ones, at that) had started speculating, as you had hoped they would. But you’d really been counting on WHiH to try and blast the both of you with a story over it. To reach out to Harley’s parents for comment and set the whole scheme in motion. Without them… it was just a good thing you had a backup to the setup of plan A. Still no word on plan B, though…

“All finished.” Your stylist chirping broke you out of your thoughts, finally looking past your mental fog to see yourself in the mirror.

She’d done exactly what you’d asked her to. A soft romantic glowy look for the evening, hair done loosely, and a touch of heart and stars glitter across your eyes and temples to match the rest of your makeup. “Thanks. It’s perfect.” Reaching into your purse, gently nudging aside the Heart Reactor glowing faintly at the bottom of your bag, you retrieved a hefty tip for her. “Don’t let Tony bother you on the way out.”

Grinning, she took her extra earnings and pocketed them quickly. “Never. By the way, cute kid.”

A snort escaped you before you could help yourself. “Don’t stay long enough to hear him talk. You’ll change your mind very quickly.”

Knowing better than to ask questions, she just serviced your joke with a giggle and then excused herself to be on her way. Once the door was shut you put on your entirely too-high heels with their too-high straps criss-crossing up to the knee. Fitting of your entirely too-much dress. An off the shoulder black into red ombre flowy piece with a long slit up the side, open diamond panel exposing your back, and long puffy black-sheer sleeves with the same ombre coloring tapering down. You finished off the look with a pair of chandelier heart earrings (ones that went with the cuffs you always wore) and the most important piece…

That bejeweled heart necklace with the black metal shards lining the sides. You double and then triple checked yourself in the mirror and then grabbed your black faux fur stole and purse and headed into the living room. Though the elegant click of your heels signaled your arrival, the boys were caught up in talking about something- techy sounding- so you cleared your throat. “Are we ready to go?”

You couldn’t help but mirror the admiring going on, as Tony turned to look at you. He looked terribly handsome, as always (thanks to you, too). But it was the dopey smile that emerged on his lips, the light of his eyes, the gentle lift of his brows. He could see you dress up a million times for a million different events, but it was always like he was seeing you for the first time all over again. “Yeah-” Clearing his throat right back at you, tugging on the sleeves of his jacket. “Yes, honey. Car’s waiting.”

Stealing closer, you laid a hand on his chest and leaned up to press a soft kiss to the apple of his cheek. “Good.”

His hand came over your hip, reluctant to let you go. “You look… uh- ...fantastic. You look fantastic.” Serving the word with a click of his tongue, when he finally remembered how to speak. Like he still couldn’t quite believe his luck.

“So do you.” A little tip of your head, a pat to his chest.

It was Harley, all too familiarly giving the both of you a little nudge. “Can we go?” He was nervous, though trying bravely to bury it.

Turning to him you offered a sweet smile. “You clean up very nice. ...are we sure about the hat, though?” He was wearing a smaller version of Tony’s suit- although with a regular suit jacket instead of going with the double-breasted. He had insisted on a black fedora for the evening. Something you really wished Tony would have talked him out of.

Putting his hands on both sides of the brim he readjusted it. “Yes.” Growling just a little. “Come on. Aren’t we late?”

Tony readjusted his bow tie and then held his arm out for you, waiting until you’d slipped yours around him to speak. “First rule of invitational parties, kid. They don’t officially start until we show up.”

As the three of you walked to the elevator he huffed and then grinned up at the two of you. “I thought they didn’t know you were coming.”

“They don’t.” Tony too quickly got caught in that trap- something that had you raising your hand to hide a smile. What a pair, these two. To your sudden giggles he rolled his eyes, ushering you into the elevator. “Whose side are you on?”

You gave him another small but consolatory pat on over the heart. “Yours, dear. Of course. Always. ...but he does have a point.” Tony made no great effort to hide the fondness of his smile accompanied with the roll of his eyes. “Yeah, yeah…”

----

Just outside the venue, you took a look up the long red-carpeted stairs- and all the reporters and cameras lining the sides. Barred off, as per usual, but… these things were never easy. You just pretended they were. Tried to make everything look smooth and elegant. Tony slipped on a pair of his tinted sunglasses. Red, of course, for the occasion.

Everyone had taken very sudden notice of the Stark car that was now on the sidewalk and were subsequently getting a little crazy. Turning, you put a firm hand on Harley’s shoulder. It spooked him immediately. “We’re going to have to stop to answer a few questions. And pose for a few pictures.”

He pouted. “Do I have to talk?” Whining, just a little. Like he’d just realized what a mess he’d gotten himself into.

Tony reached into his jacket. “Let us do all the talking.” Pulling out a smaller pair of slightly more heavily tinted lenses, he handed them over. “Otherwise just follow our lead. You’ll do great.” With that quick little powwow, he signaled Happy to open the door. Once out, he held his hand for you, and you ever so gracefully let yourself out of the car. Flashbulbs were going off a million miles a minute, calls of your name were getting deafening-

But it was nothing compared to when you stepped aside and a young boy stepped out in front of the three of you. After that, the screams for attention became practically wild. You thanked Happy for the ride in before allowing Harley to take up the front- just barely. For all his courage, and he was putting on a very brave front, he seemed to want to stay very close. This was good, though. That’s what you and Tony wanted, too.

It made it easier to pose for pictures, which the three of you did. You and Tony were quite used to mugging for the camera by now. You were just grateful Harley was a little too shell-shocked by all the attention to do any actual posing. He just kept his hands in his pockets. And, you were sure, was grateful for his new pair of sunglasses.

The first designated question of the night was a breeze- “We heard reports that you two weren’t coming tonight. What changed your minds?” Something you easily answered. “A small error that we’re glad to rectify- we’re here, after all, aren’t we? We’d never pass up an opportunity to give to a good cause.”

Then of course came the usual who are you wearing. Trite. Meaningless stuff. It was one of the reporters near the front of the stairs who nudged the security ropes to test her luck. “Who have you brought with you this evening? He’s adorable! Did you two adopt while we weren’t looking??” Getting some of the other reporters to chuckle as they all listened in, microphones pointed your way.

You settled a hand on his shoulder once more. “This is Harley. A bright young mind in our new Stark Industries Internship program. We’re in our initiation phase, but things are going quite well.”

She held the microphone lower to him. “How do you feel about that, Harley? How are you doing?”

Tony waved a hand in a circle, tuning attention back up to him, which the reporter heeded quickly. “Kid’s doing great. And ecstatic as you can imagine. After a week locked up in the lab we thought we’d give him some fresh air.” The crowd laughed at his joke, as they always did. Eager to be noticed.

The reporter eyed Harley again, not taking the hint. “What do you think of the program so far? How are they treating you?”

But this time you and Tony hung back, allowing him to answer, if he wanted. Harley crossed his arms. “Everything’s good. I guess.” “Are you learning a lot? Has this been a beneficial time for you?”

“The lab exercises are fun. This is boring, though.” Trying to pretend he was above it all.

At that the crowd really did laugh, and Tony drew their attention as he tipped Harley’s hat a little too far forward. “Seems like he’s learning a little too quickly. I’ll try to avoid handing him a scotch on the rocks. Good first lesson of dinner parties, if my dad taught me anything. Stay loose.” As the crowd broke into continued laughter, you waved off the press and took Tony by the arm again, nudging Harley to finish moving up the set of stairs and into the venue.

Once inside you let one of the attendants take your stole, but purposefully held on to your purse. Not that anything at this gala needed to be paid for. But even with the, surely unnecessary, sensitive equipment inside, you didn’t want anyone else hanging on to it. As Tony slipped his glasses off and tucked them back into his inside jacket pocket, you noticed Harley mirroring him.

Some couples were already enjoying the grand ballroom floor, some were sitting at tables eating, some were boozing at the open bar. But all eyes turned to your group as soon as you officially entered. Above the music you drew Harley’s attention. “That wasn’t so bad.”

He shrugged. “I guess. What do we do now?”

Tony put his arm around your waist. “Schmooze. Drink. Order whatever food you want. There’s a kid’s table full of rich brats who will look down their noses at you, if that’s your kind of thing.”

You made a face. “Stay away from them.” Worried not only that they’d be mean to him (as all children were, especially those kinds), but worried even more that they wouldn’t. And would be just like their shitty parents. And try to get in good with him to use him.

“Like I wanna hang out with them anyway.” Sounding entirely unenthused.

Tony couldn’t seem to hold back a chuckle. “Now you’re getting the hang of it.”

Spotting Mr. Smithfield himself- and he, you, with an excellent flash of shock and nervousness, you waved to him with an overly pleasant smile. Then you handed Tony your purse and gave him a pat on the arm. “Could you get me a drink, please? And find us a table. I’ll be back.”

Harley seemed upset about the idea of your departure. “What are you doing?”

But Tony put a hand on his shoulder and steered him towards the bar. “Her job. Don’t worry about her. She’s tougher than the both of us.”

“Oh.” You could hear his grin then. “She’s gonna go make him look like shit.”

Tony hung his head back with a very unimpressed look. “You teach him that?”

“It must’ve slipped out.” Giving a very innocent shrug, and letting the sound of Harley’s delighted giggles keep your conscience clear.

Halfway across the room Smithfield tried to find an exit, but you cut him off with a soft yet somehow steely grip on his arm. He turned to you, sweating. “It’s so nice to see you- I… I was sure your assistant told me you wouldn’t be here-”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” You fancied the idea of smiling at him like a shark ready to strike. “We’re happy to come, of course. Just as I’m sure you’re happy to pocket seventy percent of the donations through your off shore shell account tonight, isn’t that right?” He tried to speak but you stopped him, curling your fingers. “We saw your newsletter about us. To all your wonderful donors here tonight. Would be a shame if Stark Industries released your earnings tomorrow morning in the same way. What header did you use? It was very lovely.”

He’d gone practically white as a sheet at this point, eyes wide. Heart thumping. “A shame… it would be- that newsletter- you know- a miscommunication- sent out in error-”

“I’m sure it was.” Holding on to him with that tough grip a few seconds longer, staring him down enough to make a point before finally letting him go with a little smooth of his jacket. “Well. In that case. I’m sure the percentage variable I saw was a miscommunication too, wasn’t it? You wouldn’t dream of spending Stark Industries’ charitable funds to line your pockets, would you?”

“N-no… of course not…”

“Good. We understand each other, then.” You gave him one more smooth of his shoulders. “The venue is beautiful. You did a wonderful job. Thanks for inviting us.” One last saccharine smile and then you turned on your heel. While you expected him to dart away- which he did immediately- it was that he still carried that sense of rampant anxiety with him all the way to the kitchen door that made you slightly hesitant. Usually these sorts of encounters ended with the person on the other end feeling some relief.

And yet…

“Excuse me, miss.” Tony’s warm voice got all of your other thoughts to surrender. As you turned to him, he offered you a half glass of wine, which you took gratefully. “If you’re done menacing the host…” Grinning at you.

“All for a good cause, I assure you.” Teasingly, taking a sip after. Letting his laughter at your little joke warm you to your core. Looking over his shoulder, you arched your brow. “Where did you leave Harley?”

“Got goo-goo-eye’d by a blonde at the bar.”

“Tony.”

“I mean, once upon a time. Seems like the exact sort of thing that I’d do.” Taking a pointed sip of his drink. But your continued stare broke him and he raised a hand. “Kid’s fine. He can handle himself. And she couldn’t have been more than twenty.”

“That’s not funny, Tony.”

“I disagree, I happen to think I’m hilarious.” Leaning over he set his now empty glass on a nearby table and pushed his finger at the bottom of your glass to get you to empty yours. “Really. He’s fine. She was probably … I’m not good with kid ages. Fourteen? Why not. He needs to live a little. Learn something.”

Once your glass was finished you handed it to him and watched him dump it on the table next to his. “There’s no telling what these little gremlins will do to him.”

“Nothing he can’t handle- like I said. He’s tough. And mouthy, in case you forgot.” He put an arm around your waist, drawing you away. “Anyway. We’re here. Let’s dance, shall we?”

You allowed him to sweep you out onto the dance floor, where the sea of people parted for you as if you were royalty, as always. It was nice… to just pretend things were normal. To sway to overly romantic string music. Sliding your hands up his chest and laying your head on his shoulder as he held your hips carefully in his hands. One song bled into the next before you noticed. “How long are we staying here?”

“You’re asking me?” His voice was warm and rumbly against your ear. “You know if it were up to me we’d be gone already. I think we made enough of an impression, don’t you?”

While he did have a point… was that a good lesson to impart to Harley? Speaking of- you looked up and around, spying him sitting at a table with said young girl that Tony had let him wander off with. She was wearing his hat. And he looked very entranced. You couldn’t help a snort. “I thought all girls have cooties at that age.”

Tony followed your line of sight and smiled once he saw the little scene. “Some girls just smile at you the right way and it’s all over after that.” As you locked eyes with him, and his smile prompted your own- even more so when he leaned in, nose brushing yours. “See- like that-” Being bold with the other bodies on the floor, rewarding you with a soft kiss.

One you really would have liked to melt into. Except someone had stepped up very close to you very suddenly- someone full of that same panic. So much so that you broke from Tony with a murmur of a sound to see who it was- and then sharply inhaled when you felt something press deep into your back.

“Let’s not make any mistakes here.” The voice was decidedly not Smithfield. And, from the way Tony was gauging your new guest, he didn’t know who it was either.

He tried to turn you away. “Can I help you?”

The man stepped closer in, holding your arm to keep you from moving fully. Just enough to show off. A hot flare of anger rose from Tony, but died quickly when you shook your head. Then his eyes fell- to presumably- from the feel- the gun being shoved into your spine. “Move. Now. Don’t make this a mess.”

The two of you looked at each other, trying to figure out what the right move to make actually was. And you made the decision to step forward, so Tony fell in line. Ushered into the back kitchen- empty, not surprisingly. A few gunshots rang off in the main room and you heard a much bolder voice rise above the sudden screams. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you’d please-”

Your abductor shoved you both aside, and raised the gun- trained on you- probably in an effort to keep Tony pinned. But not a smart move no matter which way it was looked at. The both of you still put your hands up, though. You couldn’t help but start in on the sass. The man had ruined your evening, after all. “What is this? Are you guys serious right now?”

Though he was holding himself steady you still were tasting that terror. Drowning in it, almost. He was very frightened. “You weren’t supposed to be here.”

At this your head lolled back. “Are you fucking kidding me right now- how much are you paying Smithfield?” You were going to kick that man’s ass to kingdom come for his involvement in this.

In the other room you heard the direction- “Money in the bag- bleeding hearts of the world- jewelry, wallets, phones, I want it all!”

“Petty thievery, really?” Tony was just as unimpressed. “You’re hijacking a charity event to steal from the rich? Robin Hood himself better be out there or-”

He leveled the gun at Tony, “Just shut up!”

Your mind started racing. How quick could you move- how quick could you disarm him? He wasn’t standing that far away, and he didn’t seem like he was ready to take both of you on. Shame your Reactor was in your purse- and seeing as Tony didn’t have it, who knew where it was regardless, now. If he fired on Tony, at this range, it would be lethal. You had to be very sure-

The door to the kitchen opened just barely. “Time’s ticking. We’re rounding up for the speech. Bomb’ll go off in ten minutes. Hurry up back here.”

“Bomb?!” The word ejected out of you and Tony simultaneously.

“I’m almost finished!” Screeched so hard it nearly gave you a headache. The door pulled closed and his attention came back to you- thankfully- you weren’t as scared of having his gun pointed at you as you were Tony. ...Tony probably felt the same way. “Now- who goes first-”

Tony sighed. “Is this your first time? Because, honestly, my villain bingo card is just about filled up.”

“A real shame we’re missing the evil monologue in the other room. Might have gotten you all the way there.” Sassing a man with a gun pointed at both of you was probably a bad idea. But alas… how could either of you resist.

“I said shut-” About to yell again when a little noise popped off just behind you. You thought for a second that security had come to save you- but were kind of mystified to see something bounce off his arm. “What-”

But that was your open. Shifting back on one foot, you threw a half spin of momentum to stick one of your heels into his wrist with enough force to dislodge the weapon on the other side of the room. And then back on two feet, as Tony moved to grab the gun, you took a few quick steps, leading in with a punch to his gut that had him lurching forward. Which then made it easy for you to grab his arm and roll his whole weight forward in a twist to have him on his back.

Your heel was at his throat after that. “Where’s the bomb?”

He was already gurgling with the slight force you were using. “Ov- oven- it’s in the oven!” Finding a new threshold for that panic that had brought him to you.

“Tony-”

“I’m on it.”

Looking up into the doorway you saw Harley just standing there- with some sort of half visor over his eye, (...remarkably familiar, actually…) it spooked you. Just a little, with a tiny start. “Harley-!” Then, glancing down to the … toy gun?- held in his trembling hands. “What is that?”

He broke out of his daze, looking down and then shaking his head. “Why didn’t it work?”

“Over here, kid.” Tony was on his hands and knees, pulling the bottom rack out of the oven to reveal an alarmingly sized and complicated looking bomb. “You’re a messy coder, I warned you. Some of the same lines you have running on your targeting stack build the gauge on your compression load. Probably hit a cascade failure before your peanut even left the barrel.”

While you could listen to him talk like that all day, now was not the time. Laying more pressure on, you sent a steely-eyed gaze your attacker’s way. “What is this? Who do you work for?”

It was almost impressive, his will to live was keeping him smart, while he struggled to draw breath, he managed to lay still and flat on the floor, perhaps nervous that if he moved you’d end him right there. “SHIELD- we- work for SHIELD-”

You couldn’t help the dissatisfied scrunch of your face. “Bullshit.”

“No we- we were… left out in the cold- called terrorists- so we’ll show the world what real terrorists are-”

Leaning down in, you narrowed your eyes. “Stop lying to me.” Easy to sense immediately. Common sense would have told you that, though. “Your moments are numbered, so it would be a very nice time for you to feel some honesty, wouldn’t you say?”

A clouded look took over his eyes. “I- I can’t.”

“Sure you can. You feel like being honest with me. So talk. Now.”

He swallowed hard. “We’re hired hands- by a deep subsection of Hydra-”

A roll of disgust left you. “Of course you are. Un-fucking-believable.” That was really all you needed, and time was growing short. A well placed strike at the side of his temple knocked his lights clean out. After, you stood, hiking up your dress to tie it at the side. Looking over at Tony, “Can you disarm that?”

“Yeah- no problem. Probably. I just need a minute to look at it.”

Peering out the window, you saw hostages on their knees, being held ransom to a man on stage. “Where is my purse?” The silence was deafening. So much so that you couldn’t help an annoyed groan. “Alright- fine. Harley stay here. Tony I want that bomb gone.”

Harley looked over at you. “What are you gonna do?”

Tony answered for you, as he tossed the gun your way. “She’s about to save the party, kid.”

You shared an intense look with him- only a few seconds long- but one full of understanding. No words needed to be said. Activating your visor with a press of your earrings, you sidled along the back wall. “LUNA lock down all targets.”

“Scanning!” Taking a breath, using the cover of darkness to make your way closer to the action. The idiot on the main stage was going on and on and on… “Five left in the building, ma’am. Two- here-” Lighting their heat signatures up, luckily in the back. Crowd control. “Two- here-” Two manning the stage. “-and the man here.” On stage, of course.

“Okay. Thank you.” Disengaging her after. Needing the cover of that darkness to sneak up on both beefy men in the back as silently as possible. Really less than they looked. The first you took down easily with a yank to his arm and a kick to the back of his knee to send him crumbling down and a heavy whack of your gun at his temple. Once down you motioned for silence at the people who had been held at bay on their knees and pointed to the door. Go now. Go quietly. The other goon didn’t put up much of a fight, either. But he was a little more prepared- or maybe a little more skittish. When you knocked the back of his legs, his itchy trigger finger sent off a shot that had people screaming and the big boss pausing in his speech. You did the best thing you could think of, holding the beefy tool at bay with a twist of his arm and your heel in his back, you raised your gun towards the stage and fired off a shot that went straight through his thigh.

You then brought it down at the back of the other one’s head and dodged a return fire shot your way from one of the two up front. If given the chance, they’d start pulling hostages, so you knew you had to keep their eyes on you. It was why you serpentined the dance floor dodging their gunfire while other people wisely fled, ending in a forward slide that you boosted out of with your hands on the floor, spinning to knock one of the men to the ground.

Chaos became a cloak as you punched his lights out- and then subsequently were grabbed from behind, dropping your gun. Strong arms wound around you, squeezing the life out of you and almost cracking your ribs. You bent forward in a jump, throwing him off balance, and then rocked back with a smash of your head to crack against his nose. When he dropped you to your feet you served a series of one-two punches to his gut and then bent down to push up into an uppercut that knocked him clean off his feet.

Ducking down into a roll as you sensed the only other enemy in the room staggering close, you reclaimed a gun and then lifted off your crouch to stand fully- aiming it at him-

And Harley. Whose neck he had his arm around. God fucking damn it. “Drop it. Now. Or I’ll kill him.” Pressing his own gun right at Harley’s temple.

Immediately you put both hands up and away, held steady at the sides of your head. “Alright- hey- don’t do anything stupid-”

“I said drop it!”

“I heard you work for Hydra, is that right?” You felt that subtle out-of-body shift as that deeper part of you dropped somewhere below, lights blinding your second set of eyes. “Seems hilarious that they’d send you to a benefit where Team Iron was gonna be-” You broadcast just about every ounce of doubt and terror in tandem that you could muster.

It shook him- but only enough to have him suddenly jerk his gun your way. “Shut up- you don’t know what you’re talking about-”

“Kinda seems like they wanted you to martyr yourselves for their cause.” Very slowly, by inches, you started creeping.

“I said shut up-”

Closer… “Don’t you feel strange- lied to?”

“They said- they said you weren’t coming- this was our only chance-”

“Come on now. Everyone knew we were coming. We had an RSVP in since December. I’m sure your boss knew that too.” Closer still, as you started to watch his foundation crumble. “But you knew that, didn’t you? You suspected Hydra was sending you here to die. Don’t you think that’s unfair? Aren’t you angry?”

His grip on Harley was loosening. “Did they- ...did they really know…?”

“Of course they knew. You’re one rat in a long line. And if you-”

You’d nearly had him. One more broadcast, one more sentence, one more anything-

But Harley struggled very suddenly, bending in to take a bite out of the man’s arm. Which caused a chain reaction. He fired on you, sending a shot straight through your arm. Harley dropped to the ground. After recoiling you rushed forward, but not in enough time as the man swerved and pointed his gun right at Harley who was on his hands and knees trying to scramble away.

Instinct took over. In a quick flash you held the gun in both hands and fired off a killing shot. No time to think of doing anything else. There were no other options.

In another quick unthinking move, you dropped to your knees, drawing Harley in and half around to block the newly dead body on the floor from his line of sight.

Energy fled in droves as you raised your free hand to grip over your arm now leaking blood. “Harley-” Not sure what you were going to say. But whatever it was, it died immediately as he practically collapsed into you. Shivering. Scared. “I’m sorry- I- I wanted to help-” Sniffles were just as easily heard as they were felt with him so close to you.

A twelve year old child- one that had bottled many things up for quite a long time now- had just had his life threatened very seriously. Had just had two guns fired right next to him. His ears were probably ringing. His heart was probably beating to burst. Breaking down was not the least bit surprising. It was why you held your arm tighter around him, wilting while you tried to hold him steady. “You’re alright. You did good.” Spying Tony, taking his suit jacket off, heading your way. “We’re alright. Right?”

Tony knelt down, putting his jacket around Harley’s shoulders, and then laying a hand over one. If he hadn’t burst into tears, you were sensing there might have been a long stern talk about not listening when there are a bunch of men with guns around- given he’d slipped away and disobeyed you. But. Seeing as how he was crying…

“We’re alright, kid.”

With Tony close enough, you side shifted to just rest your head against him. “Bomb disarmed?”

“Yeah. Terrorists all taken care of?”

“Yeah.”

Tony gave Harley a little pat on the back, drawing his attention with a tired grin. “See? Exactly what I’d call alright.” It was just enough to get Harley to try and force a brave face with a nod, but he still couldn’t hide his shaking.

The front door of the ballroom busted open with the heavy steps of New York City’s finest. Many of which were uselessly shouting, “Police!”

Both you and Tony were unable to stow your eye-rolls, but he was the one to get up. “Nothing to see here, officers. Everything’s already taken care of. Though if you’d like to look the other way on getting our paperwork done…”

You suddenly had a much longer night ahead of you than you’d planned for.

#Tony Stark #Tony Stark x Reader #INY Chapter One Hundred Thirteen

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markleesthighs · 5 years ago

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Black Mamba | Chapter 3

Pairings: Reader x Mark Lee, Reader x Hendery, Reader x Jaehyun, feat. ot21

Genre: NCT mafia!au, angst, fluff, light smut (suggestive), comical

Warnings: Swearing, A LOT of flashbacks, passive-aggressiveness

Words: 3.045k

【 ❶ ❷ ➂ ❹ ❺ ❻ ❼】

Chapter 3 - Moving On

Seoul, Korea, a week after Valentine’s Day 2023

One week. One week since your heartbroken, one week since you’ve lost your love and heart to a man full of shit. You had never stepped foot into Mark’s bedroom since and have taken off your necklace you had kept on for three years was now in a box in your bedside dresser locked away forever. You both never talked with each other since that night and kept it strictly professional.

You focused on your work and have helped succeed almost 80% of the missions since last week. You also found yourself accepting more assassination missions wanting to get out of the mansion. You also got closer to Hendery, and it would not have been a shock to see that Mark took notice to that. He always gazed at you looking at you laughing over something Hendery said or when you let him come into the lab with you to look at what you were working on. He became a really close friend to you since that night.

You came back from an assassination, riding on your motorbike with your helmet on. You rode into the garage and took off your helmet and walked into the mansion and you heard the voice of the guys from the main entrance looking through the windows.

“Who is that?”

“She’s pretty.”

“I wonder when he broke the news to her.”

“Bet Mark bought her that necklace.”

“Ha, I bet he bought her everything she is wearing.”

You immediately knew who they were talking about, a/n (any name). Mark finally decided to bring her to the mansion and show her what he really does for work. You are going to assume its some spoiled brat who only wants Mark for money and his dick. You put your helmet down along with the others in your closet and started to walk down to greet whoever this a/n is. All the guys and Mark immediately stopped talking when they saw you, hearing the clicking of your boots approaching them. They all moved out of your way, and you made eye contact with Mark and a/n. Mark looked at you in panic and awkwardness, awaiting your reaction. I guess Mark thought you wouldn’t be at the mansion by now and try to sneak her in the mansion without you noticing. You reached out a hand to a/n.

“Hello, I am y/n, nice to meet you.”

“Hi! OMG, I LOVE your outfit.”

“Thank you, I’ve heard so much about you.”

You noticed her necklace, it was the same exact one Mark gave you, same letter engraving, the same pendant that you wore for three years.

“How do you know Mark?”

“Oh, Mark?”

You put an arm around his shoulder and gave him a noogie.

“I’ve known this idiot for four years, we are practically family, right, Mark?”

“y-yeah, family.”

She looked somewhat intimidated by you. You had a perfect, healthy body (all bodies are beautiful :)), friendly with all of the guys, and appeared to be a goddess to her.

“Oh, don’t worry about me, if I were to date anyone of these dumbasses it would be Hendery or Jaehyun.”

Both of their faces immediately lit up, and they started to laugh and hit each other

“Hey! That doesn’t mean I would date you, I would only do so if I were forced to by Mark.”

They both calmed down, and a/n seemed to calm down from her worries.

“Y/n why don’t you take a/n for a tour?” Mark said.

You fake smiled and said

“Sure, I would LOVE to.”

The guys and Mark soon dispersed back to their work while you led her around the entire mansion, explaining where everything is.

“So this the main entrance, obviously with high tech security, and has loaded guns and missiles built into its walls to ensure safety.”

“From what?”

“People trying to kill us.”

“This is the kitchen, living, and dining room, we don’t spend much time in the living or dining room since we are all busy 24/7. We also have a personal, professional chef and maid service for you if you feel like it.”

“So if I want anything I can get it?”

“Yes…”

“The floor below is mainly the garage, which you can’t have access to since you are not allowed to leave without Mark, another member, or a bodyguard.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Whatever,” you thought.

“If you go upstairs, this is the floor where the most work happens, and YOU MUST knock on the door before going in, understood?”

She nodded as you continued.

“If you look out here, you can see our bathhouses inspired by Japanese onsens, and you will go into the women’s side, not the men’s side. You can also see our outdoor and indoor shooting ranges where we train our trainees to shoot. Here on this floor, you will find all of our conference rooms and offices, if you look at the end of the hallway on the right that’s Mark’s office, you can feel free to pop in if you’d like. If you need any help, ask Taeyong, whose office is the last door on the right. If you look left, you will see the weaponry and technology labs, my lab is all the way at the end. However, you are NOT allowed inside.”

“Why not?”

“First, you physically can’t come in, and I don’t want anyone or you knocking on the door thinking you can, it has a facial and fingerprint scanner impossible to hack. Only Mark and I can access or allow anyone in. Second, Mark wants you to be safe, so he wants you to stay away from this lab so you can’t get hurt when we are testing weapons.”

“Aww, he’s so sweet.”

You roll your eyes so hard that you might hurt your skull of how annoying she is.

“This is the third floor, where all of the bedroom quarters are, this is where we all sleep, and you will be sleeping in Mark’s room.”

You walked her to Mark’s room and hesitated to open the door getting flashbacks of that night.

“Um, are you going to open the door?”

“Yeah I was, I was just making sure no one was in there.”

You swung the door open and let her walk around, looking at his room. It smelled just as you remembered, musk, cigarettes, and whiskey. You saw as nothing changed except the picture of you two were replaced by her and presents given by you were nowhere to be found. The one thing you still saw was the wall. The wall he threw you into was slightly dented and would only be noticed if you knew what happened there.

“Alright let’s go” (before you start crying at least)

“Okay!!”

She was WAY too peppy and energetic for your type, you have NO IDEA how Mark found her attractive, heck even started dating this chick. You led her through the rest of the house and eventually ended the tour.

“This concludes the tour any questions?”

“Uhhhh, yeah! What do I get to do!”

“HA, nothing.”

“W-what?”

“Listen, you are here to keep Mark happy, pick up a hobby or something. At least make yourself useful here.”

You left her in the elevator walking to your lab exhausted from talking to her and continued working for the rest of the day. You needed a bath and steam, so you headed to the bathhouses to relax for your tiring day. It was still snowing out, and the contrast of the cold breeze and the hot water and steam made you feel extremely relaxed.

You kept thinking in your thoughts about a/n, and how she magically seduced Mark. You also thought if Mark was really over you, or needed to distract himself. But nonetheless, you hoped Mark was happy since you still cared about him and would always support whatever he does with his life.

That was until you heard a crashing in your bathhouse. You immediately got out and put on your robe with a dagger, a throwing knife, and a gun equipped in your pockets. You held your gun and saw the shadow in the changing room who knocked over all of the buckets and towels. You prepared to protect yourself as you put them into a chokehold with your gun to their head.

“If you move or speak you will die got it?”

“y-y/n it’s just me.”

“What are you doing in here?”

“A/N??? WHAT THE HELL YOU SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME!”

“I-I just came to take a bath.”

“Well, a WARNING could have been nice.”

You calmly removed her from her chokehold and walked back to the outdoor onsen to have some steam and she soon followed shortly. She didn’t get in, but she looked around for a bit.

“What do you do around here?”

“You get in and relax, this is usually the time where I can clear my head, but you decided to come along.”

She then hopped in and sat across from you.

“So, do you like anyone here?”

“Why do you care?”

“I don’t know you are surrounded but so many handsome guys, I’m surprised you’re not dating one of them.”

“Why so you can cheat on Mark with one of them?”

“What? No. Never.”

“Well, I’m sorry I’m focused on my work, so I don’t have time for dating.”

“Oh. Have you ever thought about it?”

“No…not any of them are my type.”

You then got out since you’ve been in the onsen bath for too long and felt light-headed.

“BYEEEE I’LL SEE YOU TOMORROW!!!”

You waved and had a cold shower before you left. You felt better after and walked back into the mansion to find Mark reading on the couch, looking like he was waiting for his girlfriend.

“Oh, y/n, I have something for you.”

Mark got up and handed you an envelope with gold lettering with your name on it. You took it and opened if, in front of him, it read “25th Annual Masquerade Ball.” You remembered this ball since you remember your parents attending one every year. Mark was telling you that every member of NCT was required to attend, protect, and enjoy others and themselves.

He told you a fashion designer will come and take your measurements for your custom mask and ball gown. You remembered attending this ball with Mark several times. Even if he was busy, he still promised to give you a dance and never forgot his promise. You have memories of those magical nights, but this is the first time you are going solo. You walked away, but before you entered your room, you heard Mark’s laughing from the living room. You missed that, hearing his laugh and making him smile, it was a bittersweet feeling.

Every morning regardless of the weather, you do a morning run before you work on anything. You wake up really early to go on your run, so you are not disturbed by others in the morning. However, you didn’t realize that someone as looking for you. A/n actually asked a maid where you were. When you returned, she looked at you in awe, after your workout, you looked even more like a Goddess compared to her.

“How was your run?”

“Fine.”

“I was wondering if us girls wanted to hang out today since I have nothing to do here.”

“But unlike you, I have work to do here, so you run along and pick some flowers.”

You walked away with maids holding water, towels, and your change of clothes before heading into the lab. In the lab, your eyes met the invitation again, reminding yourself that the Masquerade Ball is coming up and the fashion designer was coming to see you today. Since you had a fitting around your lunchtime, you decided to design some Masquerade Ball friendly weapons. Gun holsters, knife pockets, tracking devices, earpieces, and night vision lenses. Soon after, you were called for your fitting and walked to the garage, got on your motorbike, and rode off to the fashion designers workshop. You arrived and went up to the top floor to meet a similar face who’s designed all of your outfits to the years prior to the ball.

It felt awkward, but, you kept calm during the entire fitting. While you were doing your fitting, you looked around and saw Mark’s and a/n’s outfit designs on the wall, matching in a beautiful navy blue and gold theme. You never matched Mark at these balls, since you kept your love hidden. The designer decided on a red dress with a golden snake necklace and golden embroidery. He would tell you he would send everyone’s outfits early for you to input any proper equipment or defenses.

It wouldn’t take long, it would just be a quick sew and an add on. You had given him the blueprints of the weapons prior so he can highlight and sew in pockets for special items like poison gas. He showed the masks that fit your special requests and accommodations. They had trackers, analyzers, and night vision mode when you looked through it. They also had an x-ray option to see what weapons the person is currently carrying (only for your mask). They also were secret gas masks and could see through smoke bombs. You soon left your fitting and rode back in peace, knowing that the gala will be left in good hands.

A week later, you were sent everyone’s outfits in a vast array of colors from black to yellow. You equipped everyone’s outfits until you hesitated at Mark’s. It was beautiful, and you knew how good he would look in it. It had golden vines across his navy suit jacket. You looked at a/n’s dress thinking how the dress could have been yours, that if things had worked out differently, you would be wearing this dress. This dress should be your dress, not hers.

You were about to burn the dress when you realized how selfish you were being. It’s Mark’s first time going to a ball with a date, and it’s not like he’s unhappy with her, he smiles all the time around her. You delicately placed her dress down, put a tracking device, dagger, and an alarm system connected to Mark, to know when she’s not within the eyesight of Mark. Your dress, you made sure it could be ripped off for any emergency. The skirt part can rip off and reveal your black pants underneath equipped with everything you needed, guns, knives, bombs, and ammo.

You sent the maids to deliver the suits and dresses to all the NCT members, while trainees were either working or have the night off (depending on how well they did on their tests). You also started talking to Hendery more and more, and now you both became very close friends. Mark did notice this and started to fill up Hendery’s schedule so you couldn’t see him often. You both would eat together, and he would hang out with you in the lab on late nights and bring you tea to keep you working. It would not be surprising if you didn’t say you started to warm up to him, or heck even likes him. He was there for you when you needed it, and you trusted him with your heart.

That night you were tired from all of your work you lied down on your bed and thought about Hendery. You wondered if he felt the same way or even liked you. You remembered when he seems excited when you said you would date him, maybe that’s a sign? You told Hendery all of your worries and concerns, and he was there to listen and comfort you. You two also occasionally had sleepovers in your room, pushing each other playing Mario Kart or watching sad romance dramas. He was like a best friend that you loved more. Since your break up with Mark, it’s been a long time since you’ve had a genuine best friend.

Sure, Mark was your best friend (that you dated), but a person to hang out with and spend your free time with was lovely. Yeah, the other guys are still your friends, but they are always super busy and can’t even catch a break with you. The only reason why Hendery can is that he is the head of his own department, and has other people working under him to do his work. Hendery strictly just reports what he gets from his peers. He works in the medicine and health department, which was in another building, to prevent sickness from spreading and allow a separate hospital for NCT.

You didn’t feel like that lonely child anymore, you felt love. Those same fuzzy warm feelings for Mark resonated within Hendery, but were you ever going to tell him? If he doesn’t feel the same thing what is going to happen?

You took a quick shower and changed, continuing to lay on your bed, thinking. Just as you were in your own thoughts, you heard a knock at your door. You got up to answer it, and speak of the devil, its Hendery. He walked in a little nervous and sat down on the bed.

“What’s up Hendery?”

“H-hey y/n, can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Do you w-want to come with me to the Masquerade Ball?”

“...”

“A-as f-friends of course...if that makes you feel comfortable.”

“...”

“I-I know you are still hurt from Mark, so I figured you should still enjoy the ball regardless.”

“T-thank you, I would love to go with you Hendery.”

“R-really??”

You then pecked his cheek, which made him blush a crimson red on his cheeks.

“You can also consider me your date then.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

He then hugged you before saying goodbye and goodnight, and you somehow lost all of your worries and fell asleep peacefully.

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kaijuguy19 · 5 years ago

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Scooby Doo,and the Ink Machine. Chapter 1

New York City, 1946

Car noises blared across the city sky as they drive off to their specific destination. Either they be towards home,work, shopping or really anything that warrants fast travel,it was hard to hear them unless you're hard of hearing. For a guy like Edward Blake it was the city version of hearing cicadas in the countryside which soothed him during his time,slumping over the drawing board as he made sure the lines on the cartoon characters he was doing are smooth as possible. To say that working for the famous Joey Drew owner of Joey Drew Studios and home of renowned cartoon icon Bendy the Dancing Demon demanded blood and sweat along with talent would be the understatement of the century. He lost count on how many social events,and free time he missed out on all because of how his boss demanded overtime from him and his fellow cartoonists. He sighed in annoyance at that,as he placed the finishing touches on the picture of Bendy about to give Alice Angel flowers. Thankful that this was the last cell he had to work on for the night,Eddy started to put everything on his desk away at the folder,and pack his own stuff to carry home.He then heard someone come next to him ,hearing then a mop plop down behind him. Eddy didn't need to ask who was it behind him.

"Anyone else gone home for the night Wally?" Eddy asked without looking at the studio's janitor Wally Franks.

"Well by that you mean the ones that don't have to make sure them ink pipes don't go dynamite on this joint then sure." Wally replied as he moped. "Afraid I can't say the same for myself you know?"

"Connor on your case again?" Eddy asked as he picks up his suitcase.

"Right on the money." Wally said with an annoyed tone. "One little slip up with the monkey wrench apparently lands me doing night shifts as a way to make me more attentive." Wally mops around the middle of the room. "Would it kill Connor to lighten up once in a while? You'd think working in a cartoon studio would make a fella chuckle a bit more."

"He's just a little on edge with what rumors are saying about the studio facing money problems despite what Mr Drew says." Eddy said. "That and the growing number of missing people here isn't helping him I'm sure." Eddy looked around nervously as he said that.

"Yeah well rumors, or not I ain't got time to do some overtime. Getting enough flak from my gal about not spending some more time together." Wally finished the last space in the room then starts to go out. "If I get slammed with doing oil changing the ink equipment next I'm outta here!"

After seeing Wally leave,Eddy followed out,then making a right turn. He pondered more about the rumors he mentioned Wally about the studio possibly going under. He felt that it might've been the reason why Drew had been making hem do more overtime as a way to pay off whatever dept he owed. Granted Drew talked about many times that the studio was doing fine and normally with a man that's able to make inspiring speeches he'd feel more at ease. However a man like Napoleon Bonaparte likely had said the same thing to his troops during the invasion of Russia,and he knew how they worked out for him at the end. But what worried him more was how people around the studios kept vanishing like ghosts. One especially was Susie Campbell who he remembered last time seeing was distraught about being replaced as Alice angel's voice actress. He was keeping on his toes since they started to begin. He also notice that the newest intern Drew hired named Buddy went missing too. He did like the kid from the few interactions he'd had with him. What didn't help was the strange noises he's been hearing near the medical rooms. Coming from the door that no one's meant to go inside in. Animal like noises he could've sworn were being uttered around that side of the studio. He prayed that nothing will happen to him long enough to see his brother Denny Blake being married to his long time lover. He's glad that Denny from his end was really making enough dough to last his luck for a lifetime along with his children's children when they come. At the very least one of the Blake brothers was getting fortunate at life.

As he reached to the exit,he stopped in dismay on what he almost forgot.

"Dang it!" Eddy muttered under his breath. "Of all the times to forget about my coat." Sighing he turned around and went to the direction to where he hung his coat in the recreation room. He went down the steps leading down to the recreation room,filled with tables, and darting boards on walls. He was about to grab his coat until he heard a clanging sound. He topped still and turned his eyes around. "Wally is that you?" Eddy called out in a quiet tone. "If this is a joke it's not funny..." Hoping as it was Wally,he was getting the feeling that it wasn't him.

Eddy backed away slowly,being extra attentive to his surroundings so he can catch who ever was making the noise,and chew out for making a distasteful gag. He kept hearing more clanking,making him want to just dash it out of there,but daring not too. He almost reached the staircase when he notice an odd yet familiar smell.

<i>"Is that ink?" </i> Eddy thought as he noticed more of the inky smell coming to his senses. He suddenly felt something wet,and sticky hitting his back. Heart pounding,and mind, racing in fear, Eddy began to look up to what he hit against.

The face of Bendy that is he assumed to be Bendy's from what face he can clearly see,smiled down at Eddy,as Eddy gasped a silent scream at the shock. The Bendy creature's face was almost covered down with ink but the smile clearly wasn't. Regaining what common sense he had,Eddy backed straight away to move from the creature's arms as it tried to grab him. Eddy ran to the other side of the room as the creature limped after him. Eddy threw tables at it,taking the chance to race down back to the stair case. As he ran up,he heard the creature racing after him. He slammed the door,and locked it after going up,praying it'll hold long enough for him to escape. He charged to the left,as he heard the door breaking open. Dashing some more,he eventually reached the exit,but before he can around the corner,he felt his right foot being grabbed,falling down face flat,eddy scream in terror as he being dragged more and more away from the exit.

Afterwards no other noise let alone screams of the terrified animator was heard other then wheezing animal noises in Joey Drew Studios.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Present Day:

New Jersey Pine Barrens. Nighttime

Owls hoot in the night sky as the trees of the infamous Pine Barrens rustles in the night. It was a peaceful sight to behold for sure that is until a giant shape burst out from the trees. The shape was a giant monster that had a demonic hose head,body of a bear,claws of an eagle with hood legs,bat wings,and snake tail that roared in fury as it tried to shake off a rope that was tied around it's tail.

At the end of the rope a tall skinny young man wearing a green shirt with his dog a Great Dane both clearly hanging on for dear life.

"Like this is the last time I try to play cowboy with a dragon thingy Scoob!" The skinny man cried out to his dog.

"Rikewise here Rhaggy!" Scooby Doo yelled to Shaggy Rogers in turn as they swing around the air like a couple of monkeys hanging for dear life.

The beast roared in fury at the two poor souls then it dove back down to the forest ramming into trees in an effort to shake them off.

"Like-OW-OOF! OWY HEY NOT IN THE MOUTH MAN!" Shaggy yelled in pain,coughing up leaves.

Coming in front of them was a van that was blue and green with the words Mystery Machine written on both sides. A gun came out of top of the van then it fired a net at the creature at full face. The beast roared as it crshed to the ground,knocked out.

Another young man dressed in a white sweater with an orange ascot came out of the driving side of the van,and rushed quickly to the van. Two other people a beautiful young woman dressed in a purple dress,green scarf,and purple tights,and a nerdy girl with an orange sweater with glasses followed after him.

"I can't believe this worked on the first try!" The man with the ascot said with excitiment. "I mean usually they tend to backfire at first but this is the first time it didn't happen!"

"Like that's great Fred but can ya please get me and Scooby down?!" Shaggy said as he and Scooby hung from branches in a comical fashion.

"Here let me help!" The girl with the purple dress said as he started to climb up. She soon reached them and got out some knives as she cut the branches down. both Shaggy and Scooby fell down softly.

"Like thanks Daphne!" Shaggy said as he rubbed his butt.

"No problem." Daphne Blake said coming down. "Pays to have outdoor training years ago."

Fred Jones saw upcoming police vehicles drive up. "Right on time. Care to do the honors Velma?" He asked the nerdy girl.

"Like I need to ask Fred?" Velma Dinkley replied in his usual know it all self. She turned to see the chief come up to them with a rightfully concerned look.

"Care to explain me kids on how the flipping heck did you capture the Jersey Devil?!" The chief demanded. "That monstrosity put many of my men and women to hospitals faster then you can say Clockman Diamond!"

"Funny you should mention that Chief." Velma replied going up to the Jersey Devil. "Had this been the actual Jersey Devil it would've done more then put people into hospitals but seeing as on how we've figured out on this is otherwise allow us to show you who's been really behind the Jersey Devil attacks."

She pressed into the monster's neck,making clicking noises as the head falls off revealing itself to be just a high tech suit,worn by a disgruntled man with balding hair,and a glare in his eyes.

"Glen Richards?!" The Chief cried in surprise "But how? Why? He was doing well as the city's electrician!"

"He was. However he didn't always want to be known as such. He had ambitions of being the owner of his own movie studio and was able to get enough funds from his time as an electrician however the problem was that he wanted to set it up at the Pine Barrens but the county council didn't allow it for obvious reason." Velma said.

"So in order to scare people away from the Pine Barrens for good,Richards used his suit making skills he learned from film school to construct the Jersey Devil suit using advance enough tech to make a convincing method to bringing the Jersey Devil legend alive!" Fred joined in.

"It took a little eye for detail to figure out on how the fur on the creature was made from leftover fun used from taxidermy operations." Daphne said plucking out clumps of fur then showing it to the police chief. "This was made from deer fur, so once we were able to figure where the fur came from and where bits of oil were flown about from the hydrolics all we had to do was to set him up and nab him!"

"And I would've gotten away with it too! If it weren't from you snooping goody two shoes suck ups to the law and your flea ridden sorry excuse for a canine!" glen Richards growled as he was led away."

"Hey!" Scooby said with offense.

"Like you could've just said Meddling kids and your dog too man!" Shaggy said.

"THEY MEAN THE SAME THING MORON!" Richards yelled as he was driven off.

"Sheesh! Like someone didn't give him enough hugs." Shaggy said with annoyance.

"Well thanks kids." The chief said shaking Fred's hand. "A lot of folks are gonna rest easy tonight."

"It's our thing chief! Always happy to help!" Fred said with his usual friendliness. The chief then went to his own car and drove off. He then turned around and faced his friends. "Another mystery solved gang!"

"About time too! Scooby Doo!" Scooby said giggling.

Daphne smiled then she heard her phone ring from her purse. She got it out and looked at her friends "Hang on guys! I have to take this." She answered the phone. "Yes?...Oh Mimi it's great to hear from you!...Yes I know I loved your last fashion show!....Huh?....Wait really?!" She said looking surprised then serious. "....You're not pulling my leg right?.....Where?!.....You have it?!....Thank you so much Mimi! I'll tell them about this!..alk to you later!" She hung up the phone and sees her friends looking a little worried.

"You ok Daph?" Fred asked in a concerned tone. "Something happen?"

"Yes Fred but it's the good kind!" Daphne said "It has to do with my great uncle Edward Blake!"

"Edward Blake?" Shaggy asked. "Wait wasn't he one of the animators of-"

"Of the Bendy cartoons? Well sure!" Daphne said with a surprised tone. "You watch them too Shaggy?"

"Like sure Daphne!" Shaggy said with a grin. "It's one of Scoob and mine's top cartoons to watch as kids."

"Surprised you didn't ask us before Rahpne!" Scooby said.

"Ok going fanboy or fangirl in your case Daphne aside what about Edward Blake?" Velma asked now curious.

"Oh right!" Daphne said remembering what she was about to say. "My old friend Mimi works as a fashion designer in New York City,and she said that during one of the renovations near where Joey Drew Studios was at,hey found a couple of items there. Most of which belonged to My great uncle who vanished those years ago."

"So this was a family mystery for a long while now?" Fred asked,looking equally as curious.

"Yeah." Daphne sighed. "I remember my grandmother talking about on how her father was devastated at his brother's going missing like that. He wasn't totally the same afterwards." She looked up,looking pretty glad. "Mimi said she has his suitcase in hand,and wanted to show it to me to finally get more of an idea of where he went."

"Wasn't the studio also the subject of urban legends of ink oozing out from the studio's cracks and odd animal noises coming from it?" Velma then inquired. "I remember reading upon New York's urban legends and that was among the more infamous ones."

"Like what now?" Shaggy asked now with a look of horror in his face. Same goes for Scooby.

"Yep." Daphne replied. "If that isn't adding icing on the cake for us I don't know what is."

"Well then." Fred said with a look of great interest coming upon him. "I think we've just found ourselves a new mystery!"

Both Shaggy and Scooby look dejected.

"Well so much for a relaxing weekend right Scoob?" Shaggy said to Scooby.

"Rep." Scooby said nodding his head. "Phooey."

#scooby doo #bendy and the ink machine #scooby doo and the ink machine #daphne blake #fred jones #shaggy rogers #velma dinkley #wally franks #thomas connor #themeatly #kindly beast #warner bros animation #hanna barbera #bendy the ink machine #ink demon #jersey devil #crossover

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creativestalkerrs · 5 years ago

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The Female Spider-Man; Part Eight (Peter Parker x Reader)

Summary; it’s the final fight and Y/N and Peter have a few party tricks up their sleeves

Warning; some FFH spoilers, swearing, sexual themes, party themes, sexy costumes, slight violence

Word Count; 2k

A/N; The next part will be the final part... thank you for the support and love xx

“I can’t believe I have to dress like a playboy bunny. How the fuck am I supposed to defeat Yeva in this?” Y/N asked as she pushed up her boobs in her costume. George laid on his stomach, looking at Y/N.

“You look fucking hot, Peter will have his hands all over you if he hasn’t already. And I thought you put your suit underneath… you stupid ass,” George laughed.

“Now that you say it, not a bad idea… but I have the guns and my web-shooters on so I’ll be fine. Also, Peter’s hands have already been on me…” Y/N smirked as she fixed her bunny ears as George raised his eyebrow.

“Are you going to explain?” George asked as Y/N’s face went red.

“I kissed him before the fight and I snuck out last night and we talked and we made out in the hot tub and now we have a date with him after this final fight. He likes me and I like him and I don’t have to worry about my double life around him and I can just be me… We’re really made for each other,” Y/N smiled, biting her lip and looking herself one last time in the mirror.

“Hey, are you rea- whoa you look… amazing,” Peter walked in as he looked up and down at Y/N who just stood there a bit awkwardly.

“T-Thanks… It was George’s idea. You look great too,” Y/N said seeing Peter dressed as Tony Stark. “Tony Stark, right?” Y/N doubled cheeks, raising her eyebrow.

“Yep, like father like son, I guess,” Peter smiled. “You’re a playboy bunny. It’s hot on you,” Peter grinned.

“You two, just bang! This is just sad!” George yelled as he pushed Y/N out of the way and to Peter’s and Shawn’s room, Y/N was left in shock as Peter just was grinning like a child.

“Ah- I- George is- I’m sorry for him,” Y/N said totally flustered. “But for the record, we could… do adult things at some point after all this is done but only if you want to? Holy shit am I talking? I’m sorry I’m-” Y/N rambled as Peter laughed and kissed her.

“You’re sweet… let's go, have some fun and kick some ass,” Peter smiled, holding her hand. Y/N grabbed her guns and put them on her hip as she grabbed her purse.

“Let's go. Shawn, George, and Henry will meet us there for some extra backup, Happy will stay in HQ,” Y/N smiled as she grabbed Peter’s hand as they walked out and to this costume party.

Happy called a car for them. They went in the back as they told the driver the address to the Lemon Ballroom. Peter sat next to Y/N but was still awkward. Looking out the window as Y/N tried to make some move, the only thing that could be heard was the radio. Peter snapped his head to Y/N who’s gaze was out of the window, her legs crossed, Peter’s hand gently touching her hand.

“What?” Y/N laughed, turning to Peter.

“This song… it sounds so familiar… hey, driver, can you turn up the radio a little bit?” Peter asked as the driver smiled and turned up.

“It’s... it’s my song. Holy shit, my songs on the radio!” Y/N’s eyes lit up as she heard her voice echo throw the car.

I’ll meet you in LA and you’ll have something to say

I’ll try to make you stay, as you sat there and pray

My other half, I want my other half

My other half, we both can laugh

In a perfect photograph

My other half, I want my other half

The song ended as Y/N’s face ended from ear to ear, Peter listened to the lyrics, smiling. Y/N shared a smiled because in a way she has found her other half. “That was Other Half by Y/N Y/L/N! Her new album is set to release next month. Speaking of the singer, fans and press have caught Y/N with a guy, that looks like Spider-Man, last week while going to fashion designer, George Cameron’s party, is that Y/N new boyfriend, her other half? Anyways, damage at Harbour Green Park in Vancouver-” The radio went static as they started to arrive at the Lemon Ballroom.

“Here we are, hope you enjoyed your ride,” The drive smiled as Peter and Y/N thanked the driver as they saw people going in and out of the Lemon Ballroom. Some girls wearing almost nothing in their costumes. Peter pulled Y/N, his hand around her as they went in, both looking for Yeva and her minions. They still questioned why this fight should be done as Tony Stark and a playboy bunny, but even dressed like that, they will win this damn fight.

Y/N saw George talking to some guys, Shawn getting swarmed by half-naked and drunk girls wanting to sleep with him, Henry was in a corner getting shitfaced.

“How do we do this?” Y/N whispered.

“What did that note say again that we found yesterday?” Peter asked. Y/N tilted her head and took out the slip from her bra. Peter gave her narrow eyes.

“Hey, boobs make for great storage, especially in the spidey suits… anyways… look down under and to your right. Happy said this place might have a basement… and George found Henry in the basement of the restaurant. It all connects… follow me,” Y/N acknowledged, grabbing Peter’s hand.

“How do we know which door leads to the basement?” Peter asked as they were down an empty hall of many doors. Y/N looked and saw a sign.

“It’s this door,” Y/N said opening the door. Peter looked at the sign that read ‘basement’. Peter followed Y/N steps as she tried to move quietly in her six-inch heels, Peter’s eyes on her ass. He couldn’t help it, in that outfit, she looked fucking hot. “I can feel your eyes on my ass, Peter,” Y/N laughed as they made their way to the bottom of the steps. Peter’s face burned with embarrassment.

“I-I’m sorry you look r-really good,” Peter stuttered. Y/N turned around and saw the blush on his face, she smirked and bit her lip.

“It’s okay Peter… maybe at some point, we can get freaky in a sted somewhere,” Y/N laughed with a wink. Her lips connected to his lips, leaving a red stain on the corner of his lips.

“Why a shed?” Peter asked.

“Why not?” Y/N laughed. “Anyways, no time to get horny… we have a bitch to fight,” Y/N said, turning on her heel again. Y/N opened the first door to her right to see a black box on a table. Y/N approached the table, recognizing the box from Henry’s picture. She put her hand on it, feeling a shock throw her body, she quickly pulled away as Peter came up to her.

“Are you okay?” Peter asked his hand on her back.

“She’ll be fine! Just some shock,” Yeva said, behind Peter. “Is that right, Y/N?” Yeva smirked. Peter looked at Y/N, whos eyes blacked out and seemed much more hostile towards him. “Say… how about you kill Peter for me?” Yeva laughed, Peter’s eyebrows raised as Y/N launched herself at Peter, grabbing a piece of broken glass and trying to slit Peter’s throat.

“Y/N, it’s me!” Peter cried out.

“She’s under my control Parker…” Yeva laughed, Peter noticed her eyes go back to normal as she got of Peter.

“It barely works you, bitch!” Y/N snapped out of her trance as she throws the glass at Yeva, that impaled her shoulder. She didn’t flench, she pulled it out and throw the bloody piece of glass on the grown, shattering it. Y/N shot her web at Yeva, but missing her. Peter got up and ran after Yeva, tackling her down.

“You’re a shit villain!” Peter screamed, putting his hands around her neck, choking her. Y/N got her high heel off her foot and pushed Peter off, impaling her eye with the heel.

“I learned that from a murder mystery, you whore,” Y/N yelled. Her hand was on her wound, screaming. “Now, tell me. Why are you here, who sent you. What do you want from us?”

“It’s Mysterio! Your uncle! He told me to kill you and Peter after everything that happened. He wanted to see if you could survive if you were truly the next hero. He never meant to hurt you, but even I know that’s bullshit. He wanted you to join us if you survived. That’s why we have that box, he’d knew you never do such a thing… You’re so stupid, he killed your parents! All those years ago. He. Killed them!” Yeva screamed. Y/N looked down, rolling off of Yeva, blood on her fishnets.

“Well, you’re joining them then,” Y/N cried out, tears rolling down her face as she grabbed the other shard of glass and slit her throat. Peter looked away as Y/N just cried out. “The fight… it’s over… He… he killed my parents… I… Take the box…” Y/N spoke slowly.

“What’s going on down here?” George said, but quickly connecting the dots seeing Y/N, Yeva’s body and Peter, who grabbed the box. “Oh my… Y/N, it’s over. The people… they didn’t exist,”

“What do you mean?” Y/N asked, looking at George.

“The people at the party, they just disappeared,” George explained.

“Beck did that… it was the illusion tech. Yeva must have had some of it… Let’s get back to the hotel room. Y/N, everything will be okay, lets clean you up,” Peter smiled, helping her up.

“So it’s true… Beck did kill my parents,” Y/N cried out as she sipped on her coffee as George and Peter comfort her. Henry frowned, looking at the report Happy pulled up. “I get he wanted me dead, but killing my parents? I thought they just… ran away,” Y/N was still in disbelief. “It’s over… that’s all that it matters,” Y/N said.

“It’s okay to grieve…” George gave her a side hug.

“It more of a weird curveball… I never really knew them. Say… we get some drinks?” Y/N smiled.

“I could use a drink,” George laughed, getting up. Happy came in the room, looking at his phone.

“Tomorrow morning, we fly back to LA. Things should be back to normal and Peter and I will go back to Queens,” Happy announced.

“Can… can I stay in LA for a few more nights?” Peter asked.

“You have duties in New York, Peter…” Happy told him.

“I know… I just… I promised Y/N I would… take her on a date, without any fighting,” Peter’s voice was soft when he said that, Y/N face was red. George, Henry, and Shawn looked at the two.

“Peter… what’s going on,” Happy asked.

“Fine! We’re dating!” Y/N said under the pressure.

“Called it!” Shawn laughed.

“You finally secured the bag…” George winked.

“I should have known we’d never get back together… it’s fine, Peter is a good catch,” Henry smiled.

“Now that we got our relationship status out of the way, can we all please get drunk now?” Y/N asked.

#peter parker #peter parker au #peter parker smut #peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #tom holland #tom holland imagine #tom holland au #tom holland smut #spiderman #Spiderverse #spiderman x reader

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toloveawarlord · 6 years ago

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Behind the Times (Ch.1)

You can find my Masterlist in my bio!

“Where is it? Come on!” Aspen muttered, checking under yet another rosebush for her lost item. Her day had ended on a strange and painful note, all because she took a detour through St. James Park instead of her usual route home. A night patrolman had spooked her, and she strayed off the beaten path to avoid detection. Jail time was not on her agenda.

One moment, Aspen had been snaking around a large Oak tree, and the next, the ground bathed in moonlight had fallen out from under her, sending her spiraling down a seemingly endless void. A rosebush broke her not so graceful fall. Even after crawling out, thorns still stuck into her skin, in places she could not reach on her own.

There!

The item she desired rested safely beneath the twisted branches of the bush. Her sigh of relief caught in her throat as the glint of metal next to her neck caught her eye. Aspen craned her head around and followed the length of the sword up to its owner.

The man’s intense gaze nearly stopped her heart. “Citizens are not permitted in the garden. State your name and intention,” he demanded. His crisp white uniform had to be a military one, but none like she had ever seen. Narrowing his amber eyes at her hesitation, he pressed the cold blade against her neck, a silent warning.

Aspen gulped. He definitely meant business. “Aspen Lancaster, and currently trying to reach my cell phone.” Was he a cosplayer? Just messing with her? The sword looks real. So real that she couldn’t bring herself to ask him on the off chance that he decided to murder her for talking back.

“Your what? How did you get in here? This is for military officers only, and high-ranking ones at that.”

Aspen tilted her head to the side, away from the blade. “I have no idea where here is so—”

“Is this what you’ve lost?” A second man interrupted, wearing a slightly different, but ultimately from the same group, uniform. In his hand was her phone, no cracks in the screen.

“Yeah, actually.” She hadn’t even heard him approach, let alone dig it out from under the bush. The only thing left to find was the satchel that she’d lost in the fall as well.

“Edgar. We have more important matters. I’ll only ask once more. How did you get in here?” He asked, straightening the sword in her direction once again. It was unheard of for anyone to enter the garden, especially when the two armies had only concluded their meeting a mere half hour ago.

Aspen glanced down at the blade. “I took a thousand-meter fall into a rosebush. It’s a wonder I’m not dead. Can you stop pointing that at me?” She asked. Real or not, it was sharp and threatening enough to keep her immobile.

“You expect us to believe that?”

Edgar raised his gaze from the device back to her. “Now, Jonah, let’s be civil about this. I don’t know many who would throw themselves into an actual rosebush for a simple lie.” He took her hand to help her stand, steadying her before asking, “What is this device?”

Aspen glanced between the two officers. “You don’t know what a cell phone is?” She started to laugh, softly and forced, but their confusion cut it off. They had to be cosplayers, and damn good ones at that, not breaking character even once.

“You’re very strange,” Jonah said, returning his sword to its sheath. He had no intentions of letting her leave but deemed her unthreatening enough to put his weapon away.

“You’re the one carrying swords,” she retorted. Staring at them a moment longer, Aspen decided to play along, explaining the phone as best she could. “It does a lot of things. Smartphones are crazy cool. It has thousands of apps you can download. It can play music, take pictures…” She trailed off, watching the confusion spread deep across their features. “You really don’t know, do you? Are you some kind of anti-tech groupies?” Heathens. Who doesn’t like technology? It’s so convenient. Jokingly, she muttered, “What century is it?”

Jonah answered with his scowl deepening, “The 19th.”

“Huh?” Aspen blinked. He wasn’t actually supposed to answer… or answer with an absurd century that wasn’t her own. He sure looked serious though. “What the fuck is going on?”

“A lady shouldn’t use such language if she wants to find a suitor,” Jonah chastised. His eyes raked over her, a hint of blush on his cheeks. He hadn’t noticed her strange attire until now. The amount of skin that she was showing made him quite uncomfortable. Her top must have shrunk, covering only half of her torso, and he couldn’t figure out what kind of undergarment she wore that loosely hung around her hips and fell to the tops of her thighs.

Aspen nearly stumbled back when Jonah thrust his jacket at her, demanding her to wear it. “But why-”

“How indecent,” Jonah muttered, the heat still present on his cheeks. “Have some self-respect.”

“How about you throw out your outdated opinions?” Aspen replied but slid her arms into the jacket none the less. The temperature had dropped, and a cool breeze drew goosebumps across her skin. On her small frame, the jacket was much too large, but very warm. “Though, I guess I’m the outdated one… postdated? Ugh.” She rubbed her stomach, a soft grumble at her words. “What I wouldn’t give for postmate.”

Edgar propositioned her with a tempting offer. “Why don’t you come along with us back to our headquarters, and we’ll treat you to a warm meal. You can tell me more about this smartphone. I’m very interested to learn more.”

“How do I know you two aren’t psychopaths who want to murder me?”

“You have our word, as the Queen and Jack of Hearts. That is plenty reason enough,” Jonah said, an almost crazy amount of pride in his voice.

Aspen tilted her head slightly. “Those titles mean nothing to me.” She couldn’t find any ill-will behind the invitation, and if they were murderers, then they probably would have killed her already. This is a secluded spot. Though, the odds of coming back from a secondary location were slim.

Edgar chuckled lightly, finding her to be the most interesting thing to come to Cradle. “You’ll only get your item returned to you after we’ve had a longer chat. So, I believe it’s in your best interest to cooperate.” His kind tone didn’t match the clear threat underneath.

She couldn’t very well just take the phone back. Her strength equaled that of a toddler. Plus, swords. “Fine, but only because getting a new phone is damn expensive.” Her head turned to scan the garden. “But I also lost my bag-”

“We’ll have someone search for your other things. This way,” He motioned for her to follow after him, leading her out of the building with Jonah close behind.

Aspen stopped so abruptly that Jonah narrowly missed running into her. The streets were lively, even this late at night. Many things had caused her to freeze. Their clothes were old fashioned. Horses were being ridden. Horses were hooked to carriages. The fountain looked to be the only normal piece, save for the large glowing crystal that by all accounts was floating. What fresh hell is this place?

“What’s the matter now?” Jonah asked, drawing all the attention of those around them.

All eyes were on her, whispering and pointing.

This didn’t make any sense. The entire town couldn’t be cosplayers. “What century did you say it was again?” Aspen asked hesitantly, taking a step back only to smack into Jonah. This is impossible. Insane. She had completely lost her mind.

“The 19th. We should have Kyle examine you. You’re beginning to look hysterical, not to mention the cuts and thorns from your self-proclaimed fall,” Jonah said, putting his hands on her shoulders to guide her forward. Only a few paces away, two horses were tied, beautiful saddles adorning their backs.

“Oh hell no,” Aspen muttered. Her escape was effectively blocked with Jonah’s fingers digging into her shoulders to keep her from moving. Edgar had his watchful eye on her as well, as if daring her to try and run. And where would she go? This most certainly wasn’t the London she knew. “Nope. I am not getting on a moving animal. Human kind didn’t destroy the environment and create manual automobiles for me to have to ride a horse.”

“You don’t have a choice. You’ll be riding with me,” Jonah announced. He’d already hoisted her up into the air and placed her on the saddle before she could attempt to get away.

The horse shifted its weight. Aspen clung onto the horn of the saddle, her body slipping backwards. It’s not even moving yet! Her squeal of terror cut short as Edgar steadied her from behind. Saddles are slick.

Edgar couldn’t help the laughter that broke out as he gently pushed her back up. “The more you move, the easier it is to fall off.”

“I didn’t move! The barn animal did!” Aspen shot him a glare over her shoulder.

Jonah mounted the horse behind her, caging her in with his arms as he gripped the reigns. “I’m not going to let you fall, so calm down,” he said. The cool tone of reassurance had her racing heart calming in seconds. “My title may not have meaning for you, but I promise that no harm is going to come to you while you’re a guest at our headquarters.”

Each step the horse took, made her body more tense. “Why do you care?” She asked, casting a suspicious glance up at him. Her hands were tightly gripping the material of his sleeve, afraid to let go.

“I could see how frightened you were when we exited the Garden. However you got there, whatever your intentions might have been, it’s clear that you aren’t familiar with this area.” Jonah stared straight ahead as he spoke softly enough that no one else could hear. “But don’t expect any special treatment from me,” He added swiftly at the end.

He’s very contrary. “You’re actually really nice, aren’t you?”

Jonah turned his nose up, but the hint of pink on his cheeks gave away the truth. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Aspen bit back a laugh. Though still filled with fear and worry, she felt at ease for the first moment since she collided with a rosebush.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am in love with Aspen. I wanted to try a less serious fic series with a more humorous element to it. I didn’t have a suitor in mind for her when I started but I’m leaning toward Jonah now.

#a meme queen #watch her draw memes and explain them to the minty boi #jonah clemence #edgar bright #aspen lancaster #one of us #ikemen revolution #ikerev

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morromasterofwind · 5 years ago

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Rho Epsilon + The Ninjas

HI. SO THIS IS GONNA BE RLLY LONG. I’VE EXPANDED ON THE LORE OF MY OC, RHO. THANK U ALL FOR SHOWING HER SO MUCH LOVE! THIS IS A MASTERPOST OF HER BASIC INTRODUCTIONS/INTERACTIONS WITH ALL THE NINJAS. I HOPE YOU ENJOY?

Rho and Kai

She encounters Kai first out of the ninjas. Not while the group is on a mission or anything. She actually finds him in Skylor’s noodle shop, to nobody’s surprise.

They end up staring at one another from across the restaurant all throughout meal time. Rho is already fully aware that he’s one of the ninjas, as their identities aren’t exactly a secret. She’s just staring because he is and it is really weird.

Kai, on the other hand, is intrigued yet very suspicious. He asks Skylor who she is, and Skylor simply replies that she is a friend who stops by a lot. Since he knew Zane could help, Kai drags him out there one evening.

“She is just another Elemental Master. I detect no problems here. She is not causing any disturbances.” “Ya sure ok Zane w/e you say.”

Kai is 100% convinced Rho is hiding something for like the first month they know each other. This is ironic, as she ends up becoming one of the people he trusts most.

He often vents to her and discusses things he would probably not say otherwise. He’d never forgive her if he knew, but most of it at first was a result of her powers.

She wasn’t trying to pry or trick him into befriending her. She just noticed a lot of little things that were concerning. The way he’d trail off his sentences and leave them hanging during more serious chatter among the group. The rather foul and unfair things he’d mutter under his breath at himself. The way he’d stay up all night training after certain battles. It wasn’t a healthy outlet or way to cope! She thought that Wu may be the only other person who knew Kai did this.

For as vocal as he seems about what’s on his mind, there is an awful lot he keeps under lock and key. So it wasn’t exactly easy to get him to come out of his shell. It was even harder to use her powers on him subtly. She hasn’t used any means like that in a while, though. He still trusts her. She’s glad.

Rho and Zane

Zane was the one who decided to bring her to meet the other ninjas. Despite knowing the implications of her powers, he’s never had any misgivings about her.

Given that he is not technically living, it is much (much) harder and more complex for Rho to analyze his words. Because of this, Zane terrified her at first.

She respects Zane the most out of the ninjas. She takes his opinions very seriously.

There is something about him she is drawn to and can vibe with.

These two have tons of inside jokes.

She likes when he answers her questions about mechanics and tech. Jay and Nya are awful at explaining it.

The protagonist of one of the novels she’s written is inspired by Zane. She’d sooner die than admit it, though.

Rho and Jay

Easily her best friend. There is nothing she wouldn’t do for him.

On days he is feeling more down and out, she is sure to alter any quips the others try to make at his expense. Even if they are not intended seriously, in the wrong mood she knows he’ll perceive them that way. Zane usually frowns and gives her a look in response, because he can tell when she does it.

After figuring out what her power is, Jay repeatedly thinks to himself that he wishes she had been there when Nadakhan was around. What Jay does not know is that a previous Master of Language actually taught the djinn how to manipulate people’s words long ago. It was a very different time in history. Regardless, Rho would not have stood for Nadakhan at all if she knew of him. She would have been offended and found his actions a mockery of her family’s legacy. She would have been quick to remind him what that power should be used for.

Fun fact: Rho is head over heels for both Jay and Nya. It is a Big Problem and She Hates It but she is whipped.

Jay thinks it is priceless when Rho freaks out over the gadgets he and Nya make.

Their brands of humor combined are chaotic. They piss Nya and Cole off so much with their jokes. Kai and Zane are pretty indifferent. Lloyd finds them funny.

Rho and Cole

After meeting Cole, Rho pretty much can’t picture life without him.

She finds his presence extremely reassuring and comforting.

She actually enjoys his cooking? What? Girl are you okay? Don’t question it, I guess.

He asks her a lot about her powers and what she is able to do with them. He is also really interested in learning about languages that are no longer spoken.

SHE LOVES HEARING HIM SING. Or speak, for that matter. His voice is very unique, in her opinion.

They absolutely work out together. He’s even sent her his playlist.

While she really sees the others more as friends than family, Cole is definitely like a brother to her.

Rho and Nya

She’s the one who convinced Rho to stay with them. Nya even taught her how to pilot the Bounty in case of emergencies.

Rho is absolutely impressed by Nya and tries to be more like her in everything she does. Whether it be training harder, or even the way she conducts herself in the face of adversity. Nya would likely tell her it’d be more beneficial to find her own strengths rather than chase after someone else. And she’s right. But still…

She makes so many water puns while talking to Nya. Most of them actually go over Nya’s head.

She loves stealing Nya’s clothes and wearing them. They’re a bit too small for her, but no regrets. Yes, she always washes and returns them the day after. Yes, she is obsessed with Nya’s fashion sense. Mainly because she herself has none.

Most of the time, Rho and Nya will just sit in comfortable silence. Usually while Nya reads books that Rho has recommended her.

They definitely have the same taste in television shows.

Rho loves snuggling with Jay and Nya on the couch on cold days. She’ll be a jerk and slowly creep her way up there with them if she walks in and they’re watching movies or smth.

Rho and Lloyd

SHE IS OBSESSED WITH LLOYD. She always dotes on him. She’ll jokingly call him her little brother, even though she doesn’t really see him as a brother in the same light she sees Cole.

“Hey, look what my coOL LITTLE BRO DID TODAY! YEAH! HE DID THAT! MY BABY BRO!”

She’s called him “Lloyd Montgomery” rather than just “Lloyd” since hearing his middle name. Nobody really knows why.

He’s taught her so much? She wasn’t even expecting him to.

She was very shocked to find out he and Wu are related.

He plays pranks on her if she is in a bad mood. It usually cheers her up.

Her favorite person to play videogames with. The others get too salty. Lloyd is actually fun.

She appreciates his willingness to listen and heart that seeks to reach understanding with others. They’re some of his strongest traits to her, even if he struggles to stop seeing it as weakness.

Bonus: Rho and Wu

They meditate together often.

She soaks in any and all wisdom Wu has to offer. Even things she’d rather not have to hear.

Tea? Tea.

Both literal and metaphorical tea. The two enjoy each other’s company a lot? It is odd. A very odd duo.

Much like Zane, Wu will be very disapproving of her trying to use her powers on people aside from combatant purposes. No matter how slight or what the reason, Wu will always have a talk with her after.

He warns her of the dangers awaiting one who consistently bends people’s perspectives and words to their will. He confronts her by asking how she would grow if all she ever heard was the things she wanted to. He reiterates that it isn’t fair, and that there is freedom in being alive. Freedom to hold opinions and behave accordingly. He warns that he will stop her if she starts to impede on that freedom within others.

Even so, he believes strongly in her good nature. But, as we know, he also strongly believes in his experience with a certain student. He knows it is his responsibility to crush the seeds of evil before they can sprout.

#ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago masters of spinjitzu #ninjago oc #original character #oc lore #rho epsilon

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kara-jayne-art · 6 years ago

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Blue Suits You Well

Written for Rarepair week, day 6: Secret Crush! Thanks for the eyes, @exaigon! @dbhrarepairs

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New Jericho isn’t near as dark and damp as it used to be on the old, abandoned ship. Their facility is clean, decorated, it even holds some pretty nifty tech for an ��office”. Its back rooms have also been a home for many lost deviants unsure of what to do now that they’d opened their eyes and torn away from their programmed instructions. For the most part, there’s absolutely nothing intimidating about a single inch of this place in it’s not-so-industrial appeal. Even the color of the walls, a commonly bland shade of eggshell white, offers a little more professional appeal than the rigid ship did.

Presumably, there’s really no element of intimidation here anymore. Except for when Connor walks in. A few deviants regularly peer to the side when he steps inside, avoiding all eye contact with the ex-deviant hunter before promptly disappearing without a word, and if they do speak, they spill out gaudy excuses. North wonders what their experiences with him must have been like. According to the stories, he was quite feared during the revolution when everyone began to recognize his stature as the hunter.

And yet… he’s nothing like that past image they paint with their rumors today. He pays mind to his business alone, leaves when he’s finished, doesn’t bother anyone. From what she can tell, deviancy has quite possibly taken a lot of his scare factor away. And if it really has, why are they all still so frightened? Whoever he was before waking up still has them shook. She really wants to know now, has to know….

So North watches him from across the room every day, devising ways to approach him without being awkward. Not gawking. Not even stalking. Just observing… Sure, Connor’s smiled now and then, but it’s always so… polite, too polite, as if it’s just for mannerism. If anything, she thinks he just blends in more, especially with his worn brown leather jacket and blue jeans keeping any intimidation at bay.

Today’s likely to hold the same quiet nature, so North lounges carelessly on a chair, wondering why time feels like it’s going so much slower than usual. That’s probably the boredom setting in. She sighs in defeat at the silence that today has to offer yet again, almost ready to dip out until something more exciting comes along. Before she can set the idea in motion, Markus appears around a corner and walks up to her with a look of question in his eyes.

“North, have you seen Connor? He’s usually in by now, and I can’t get in touch with him.”

A glance at the round clock on the wall tells her it's later than she thought and… ohhhh my, has Mr. Perfect (though she uses the word more out of satire than anything else) actually missed his A+ attendance streak?? This is so purely ironic, such a small, amusing mark of imperfection! Connor isn’t always at the top of his game after all. His deviancy actually has some imperfection!

With a shrug, North answers , “Nah, not a clue where he is.” Does it really matter? His days of flawlessness are tainted and he’s going to have to show for it at some point! This is the kind of excitement she wants. Trouble, defiance…

Markus doesn’t sound so concerned, though. “If you see him, let me know, okay?”

North grunts to herself as he brushes it off like dust in the wind. “Yeah, will do…” If Markus won’t bust Connor’s chops, SHE will! It’ll hopefully rouse some amusing reaction.

Ten minutes later, the doors open and in comes their belated detective…

Wait. Wait, wait! That’s definitely not his usual get-up. He’s wearing something much more form fitting, and it’s shade of blue reminds her of... When he strides a little closer to her, she instantly recognizes it. It’s something she’s always run from before...

...A police uniform…

It dawns on her that this is something she’s never considered. Connor’s actually an official, formal member of the DPD? He’s never spoken about becoming official, only that he cooperated with them during his assignments and continued investigations afterwards. But what’s even more eye catching is that his attire defines his shape in such a complimentary manner with its smaller cut and it’s delicious.

As he turns to send her one of his typical courteous smiles, there’s something else unexpected about him today, too: a small gash on his face, given away by the blue smear of thirium brushed across his cheek. North suddenly wants to nurse his wound, caress the slice on the handsomeness that dawns on her mind in a most uninviting way. Curiosity is starting to morph into admiration and she hates it.

But he pays no attention to his wound like the strong-willed officer he stands out as now and instead pitches a hall-pass story she can’t ignore. “Sorry, I’d ran out of time to change. A chase held me up longer than I thought it would,” Connor says, filling North with more intrigue than she’d intended. “Luckily, I managed to catch him on the nick of time.”

There’s something about this look, this Connor that she likes. No…. no, NO, NO! She refuses to admit she’s a uniform person. She just can’t be, but damn, there’s something about seeing Connor in his police attire that her eyes just won’t tear away from.

North tries to look at something else. The lamp? The pictures on the wall? The television with it’s depressing news? But fuck, the image won’t go away! It lingers in her imagination, watching made-up scenes of his hot pursuit, danger lingering in the air as he arrests his target. It gives her a sense of adventure she’s missed, makes her wish she was there by his side when he ran after them. What a ruse that would have been!

The sound of his voice pauses her imagination. “North, are you okay? You’re turning blue. Perhaps you need to see someone?”

Oh she already is right now… and it’s burning her cheeks.

The black and gold woven patch on his left shoulder and the black shoulder guards pressed firmly onto his shirt screams a sense of authority, domination he’s never extrovertly expressed under Jericho’s roof. She wonders how many assailants he’s had to detain with the cuffs hanging off the clip fastened to his belt. The sight of the gun hanging opposite of it tempts an urge North has been holding in for too long. Maybe he’d even consider a day out at the shooting range with the gun hanging on the other side.

What’s worse is the longer she stares at him, the warmer her cheeks continue to get, and for some reason she can’t peel her eyes away. North really needs to get him out of here fast before her entire face goes royal. She can’t will herself to shoo him off, so she turns to one of the things Connor knows best: duty. “I’m- I’m fine. Actually, Markus was looking for you.”

“Ah. I’ll go find him,” Connor responds with a short nod, giving her another one of those now-surprisingly-adorable smiles. He turns to walk off, and North can’t stop her eyes from following, tracing the shape of his figure she didn’t know he had.

“Wait!” North calls out. She beats herself up internally, attempting to tame the fluttering in her heart that screams what-the-fuck-are-you-thinking. Is this anxiety? Or is it fright? And the word just flew out of her mouth before she could stop it or think about the consequences, or what she would even say. Especially when she’d really meant to shoo him off. It’s just so stupid! So, so stupid!

It’s her high hope that he hadn’t paid attention nor heard her, but much to her reluctance, Connor stops mid-stride, turns back and meets her eyes again with an inquisitive gaze. She should have known his detective ears are too sharp and attentive to miss such a brash call out.

“Your wound… I think we should clean it up first.” Yes… that’s a perfect excuse to use!

“Oh, that…” Connor gently runs two fingers down the spot where his face is cracked. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Nothing, my ass! If you’re going to show up late, at least let me make sure you show up fashionably.” Connor sends her a gaze of confusion, but luckily doesn’t brush off her suggestion. It enlightens her to know he’s truly listening, another admirable trait she didn’t realize he had when they speak so little. And oh, he has another heart warming smile on again.

Something about this moment, when they are by themselves, has him sending more human vibes than she’s ever seen him give. “If you insist. I suppose I should at least clean myself up.”

Luckily, there’s an emergency repair kit nearby. Markus was wise to plan for the possibility of this kind of thing happening. It’s equipped with plastic molds, a few bags of thirium, and other various tools and materials an injured deviant in need would require within urgency. North opens the glass case, retrieving a clean cloth from one of the shelves, and walks back to Connor’s side, who’s waiting so so patiently. She’s glad he’s still there, especially when he was in such a hurry to arrive.

It’s a bit of an upward stretch, but North begins where the thirium is most faded, just at his cheek bone. Being so up close to him feels strange, and yet….. so right. She’s noticing more things about him than she ever realized before. His lean-cut uniform makes him look taller, and for some inexplicable reason, she’s imagining how high up she’d have to stand on her toes to reach his lips with hers as they stand so close.

There’s less than a foot between them, and just maybe he’d have to lean down, too. No!! North silently slaps herself. She shouldn’t be having these thoughts and they’re definitely NOT enticed by his formal attire! Her desires definitely AREN’T sparked by the gleam of authority of the badge clipped on his chest. It’s probably the light reflecting off of it that’s blinding her, or so she keeps repeating to herself.

As North continues to gently wipe his face clean of blue blood, another small interesting tidbit catches her attention, her eyes fluttering back and forth between the name monogrammed on his shirt and now much cleaner face. “Anderson?”

It’s Connor’s turn to blush, bashful as his eyes turn to the floor and hand rises to scratch the back of his head. “Y-yeah, I figured it would be more fitting to take on Hank’s name. They needed an official reference to file formalities and I didn’t really know what else to do, especially when…”

North has a feeling she’s been misjudging Connor for a long time. Whatever he was about to say was from the heart, guessing from the tone in the trail of his last words. “When… what?”

The detective seems hesitant as he briefly pauses, choosing his next words carefully. “Ah, I’ll save that for him to share.”

It’s clearly a personal story, and seeing as how the two started off with a partnership from the very beginning of the android revolution, their bond is one that Connor respects greatly. North can appreciate this. His silence around the office definitely isn’t just some egotistical attitude like her original assumption, and for once, she recognizes just how much she might be able to trust him.

“There, looking all clean again,” North says as she steps back to glance at him. He’s almost fresh enough to walk into a courtroom now. All that has to be done is to seal the tear in his oddly precious face, but she’s not experienced enough in that field to comfortably attempt it.

Connor brushes his uniform off a little, straightening and smoothing out some of the leftover crinkles as much as possible. “Thank you, North. You were right, definitely better,” he comments with a courteous nod and another look her way.

A hint of a smile crawls onto her expression, unable to completely hide the satisfaction of really connecting with him for once and hearing her name from his mouth in such a genuine way. She refuses to answer, else that smile might grow a bit larger than intended, so instead North nods in confirmation, a silent instruction to meet with Markus finally.

He understands her message and turns around once more to disappear around the corner, but for the second time, gets stopped by North’s involuntary voice.

“Oh, and… blue suits you well.” She can’t stop the smile that slowly makes itself known again (and she kind of doesn’t care if he sees it now). “… Lieutenant Anderson.”

#dbh north #dbh connor #connorth #connor x north #dbhrarepairsweek #men in uniforms

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