#and the car job being a little more planned in advance so she uses tech she's worked on

[mirrorhouse]

i replayed the street kid intro after starting a new game to see if i can fix an issue i’m having and i really feel like all these prologues would’ve worked better if they were set a few years before the main story and not six months. i know we can just headcanon anything we want but v’s apparent inexperience, the street kid apparently only meeting jackie now (even though they’ve lived in the same area and been going to his mother’s bar for ages), the length of time v and jackie knew each other being different in every prologue but they still act the same with each other in the main game no matter what... it’d feel much better if it wasn’t only six months before everything happens

[stxrrywildflower]

intern

pairing - bau team x teen!reader

summary - you intern for garcia at the bau

warnings - mentions of case

word count - ?

note - takes place during season 7 around 2011

you knew penelope from the minute you were born.

both of your parents were extremely close, living just a few short blocks away in san francisco. penelope was only 17 when you were born, you instantly becoming her new favorite person. her mom was even named as your godmother.

when penelope’s parents had died, yours had looked after her even though she did go underground as a hacker. despite how much penelope had changed, she was always there to check up on you and your parents.

and then she had gotten caught by the fbi of all people.

you were far to young to even comprehend what was happening. all you could remember was penelope hugging you tightly before she left. the two of you kept in contact by letters ever since that day.

now 17, you were an expert with computers. penelope was your guide, helping you learn to hack everything and anything as well as your way with all technology.

adding on to that, you were incredibly smart, taking all advanced placement courses at school. one of your classes was an internship, you had to find a local company to spend a certain number of hours a week in order to earn credit.

when penelope hears the news, mostly since she had access to your course schedule, she pulled a couple strings.

before you knew it, you were booked to have an internship with the behavioral analysis unit in washington d.c. under penelope garcia. aaron hotchner would be your ‘boss’ as he was the unit chief.

your parents were incredibly supportive, working out the details for you to stay with penelope for the semester and possibly part of the summer.

with multiple bags packed and a plane ticket booked, you were set to leave for washington d.c. in just a few short days.

____

arriving at quantico, you were more than nervous.

a car was arranged to pick you up from the airport, an agent named anderson picked you up to bring you to the bau. from there, you would be able to see penelope, meet with hotch, and get your proper paperwork and badge.

you could tell from the second you stepped in that your presence was out of place. a teenager was rarely in the bau, nonetheless one few people could connect to someone on the team.

“alright this is the floor you will be working on. garcia’s office is down the hall but through those doors over there is what we call the bullpen. that’s where the main teams desks are as well as where they do briefings,” anderson spoke, giving you a mini-tour.

“and the staring?” you asked. “that will stop soon. once they see you with agent hotchner they’ll back off. as much as i want to defend your case, i can’t say i wouldn’t act the same. this is the first teenager working at the fbi ever,” anderson informed you. “oh wow, didn’t know i was making history.”

“yeah you are, and I'm sure-” he was cut off.

“penny!” you exclaimed, rushing forward to hug the tech analyst, your luggage remaining behind you.

anderson smiled to himself, waving towards garcia before heading back to work.

“i’ve missed you so much sweetie,” penelope grinned, matching your enthusiasm. you hugged her for a little longer, overjoyed to see her after months.

morgan was next in the hallway, hugging you once penelope let go. “hey kid, how are you? school okay?” he questioned, ruffling your hair. “everything’s good derek, i’m just stoked to be here,” you grinned.

the rest of the team, to say the least, was extremely confused. there were a ton of questions running through their heads as the scene played out.

“maybe it’s morgan and garcia’s secret love child,” emily snickered, spencer and j.j. laughing too.

“i can take your bags down to my lair and we can bring them to my place after work,” penelope offered. “and i can take you in to meet hotch,” morgan piped in.

you kept your backpack with you, the three of you splitting up. morgan stayed by your side, guiding you into the bullpen.

the two of you couldn’t have been in the main roof for more than a few minutes before who you assumed was hotch was down to greet you.

“welcome y/n y/l/n, it’s nice to finally meet you,” hotch greeted, extending his hand for you to shake. you took it, nodding with a “nice to meet you too sir.”

“please, call me hotch. we can talk up in my office,” with one final smile towards morgan, you were following the into chief up for your meeting.

“so how do you know garcia?” hotch first asked.

“she’s pretty much my godmother, her mom was my official one before she passed. our parents were friends so i’ve known her for most of my life,” you explained, a smile on your face. “she taught me to hack when i was only 10.”

hotch nodded, “and you’re seventeen, correct? have you committed to any colleges?”

you shook your head no. “not yet sir. i’ve been accepted to a few but haven’t made any final decision. pennelope is pushing me to go to school around here though.”

“i’m sure wherever you go will be a good fit. but now, we have to get into some of the more official stuff. how are you managing school with this inteenship?”

“my teachers moved all of my classes online with virtual lessons and work. penelope and i have already worked out a schedule so i can focus on my work here and do schoolwork at night,” you explained.

hotch was obviously satisfied with his answer so he continued, “now with your internship, we don’t expect you to work cases with us right away. it is mostly just learning under garcia. once you feel comfortable enough and get a recommendation, you can move up.”

you nodded along, taking in the information about your job. “i can take you down to get your badge and then you can meet the team,” hotch offered. “sounds perfect.”

photos and paperwork didn’t take more than twenty minutes. you were back up, a crisp new badge clipped on your jacket, soon enough.

“my team,” hotch called. “conference room.”

with his usual ‘unit chief’ tone, no one bother to argue with him. adding on to your interaction with three out of seven members, changes were obviously happening.

you were seated on top of one of the file cabinets, morgan beside you and penelope next to him. your conversation died down once more people entered the room.

both you and morgan quickly got down, wanting to look at least a little bit professional.

“everyone, i would like you to meet our newest team member, y/n y/l/n. she’ll be interning under penelope and helping out on cases,” hotch inteoduced.

you waved to everyone, a slight smile forming on your face. “from left to right is reid, prentiss, rossi, and j.j. and your already know garcia and morgan,” hotch pointed out each individual member.

“wait i’m not following. you know morgan and garcia?” rossi asked.

“my parents knew penelope’s for a long time. i grew up with penelope pretty much as an older sister. and i know morgan since he’s visited home a few times,” you explained.

the team was already eager to get to know you, having a fresh face around, nonetheless one that was only 17, would definitely be nice. so, for your first day, you were pestered with questions. you already fit well with the team, a new member being added to their little family without problem.

____

your first week was pretty much just learning the basics of how the computers in garcia’s lair actually operated. you had your own little station in one of the corners, a few computers and monitors set up for you to work with.

two weeks in, you had your first real assignment.

it wasn’t by choice, you were supposed to start working with the gory stuff in two weeks, or a month of working there.

you absolutely loved the job with the team. oftentimes, you found yourself hanging out with either emily or j.j. for dinner and time with sergio and or henry. you went on morning runs with morgan, the two of you constantly sending each other new routes to run on. spencer helped you with your homework, planning a schedule for the idea work time like it was no issue. if you ever had a problem with school, he would always help you figure it out.

rossi found a new sense of joy in teaching you to cook. you grew up in san francisco, eating a lot of sea food and not much else. rossi changed that, making you various pasta dishes to try as well as the recipient. and hotch, hotch became an overall mentor and pretty much another dad to you. while spencer helped you with work, hotch would keep you in line with everything.

the latest case was pretty intensive on you and penelope. you did as much work as you could, you still weren’t officially clear to handle crime scene information just yet.

the one time penelope was out of her office getting coffee for the two of you, her office phone had started ringing. you quickly pushed away from your desk, your chair rolling across the floor until you were in front of hers.

“office of the most talented and magical members of the bau here. how may i help you?” you greeted. “man garcia is really rubbing off on you,” you chose to ignore that comment.

“speaking of garcia, where is she?”

you sighed, “getting coffee. what do you need?” hotch was quick to answer, “i need you too look up an unsub. name is roger clark.”

in lightning speed, you clicked away at the computer as you dug up information on the man.

“ah here his is. clark rogers was born to a frank and mary rogers. was a normal child, played sports and graduated with honors. did have a case of aggravated assault in college though he got off free since his dad was a lawyer. oh shoot, his mom died a few weeks ago,” you quickly explained.

something about a possible trigger as barely audible in the background of the call. “we need a location asap,” emily spoke.

“oh i’ve has the location sent from the minute you called,” you leaned back in your chair, most of your work already done.

hotch actually had one of his rare smiles on his face after that. “thanks so much,” he spoke. “stay safe,” you called before hanging up the call.

little did you know, your work was more than helpful. though it was minimal, small details you had provided actually proved to be useful in taking down the unsub. even penelope, who heard news of everything once she returned, was thoroughly impressed. it wasn’t super easy finding out that information as fast as you could.

all you knew is that you were guaranteed a job once you graduated.

☆ ☆ ☆

tags - @tinylumpiaa @sapphicspence @itsmyblogandillreblogifiwantto @change-the-world-someday @ah-blossom @dr-reid-ismyspiritanimal @kissessforharryyy @garcias-batcave @spenceneedsahug @jjandreidsgirl @zoseph @spencerreidxoxo @marvelxmendes @kissessfordraco @ogmilkis @cm-is-kinda-cool @ssa-morgan @matthewgublerswife @spencerslatte @babyangellee @agentshortstacc

[danny-chase]

The Batfam as Tech Majors

AU where Alfred got tired of watching Bruce slap duct tape on the Batmobile and call it good, so he forced the children into college. He makes each of them complete an internship with Lucius in R and D so they have better knowledge of how the devices that their lives depend on work. Majors/minors/tropes under cut.

Dick:

Mechanical Engineering Major

He was in undeclared engineering for as long as possible

He settled on mechanical because it seemed the most broad

Plus he joined a car club, loved it, and there were a ton of MechE’s there

He ends up taking credit overloads most semesters because he always finds 1-3 random classes that he wants to take

Despite taking everything from advanced computer science classes (he somehow convinces even the most intense professors to let him into their classes) to hyper specific phycology classes, he doesn’t have any minors to show for it

He just gets bored with the subject after a couple classes

This gives him a bunch of random knowledge

When he talks to his younger siblings about classes, somehow he’s always managed to take at least one that they’re in, and offers advice.

He has the best RA stories. He most certainly did not need to be an RA. But the school was hurting for them and he thought it would be fun.

His residents loved him, but that didn’t stop them from playing beer pong in the common spaces at 3am.

He founds a circus arts club after his residents pull up information about his past and get overly excited about it

Specifically, he finds out they know about his past, because one of them decided it was a good idea to try and juggle knives, and because he’d prefer there not to be any additional bloodstains on the carpet he decides to start the club

He nearly graduated late because he forgot he needed to take specific classes for his major

Barbara: 

Computer Science/Math duel Major

She’s a TA for Comp Sci 1, all the students fight to get her help because she’s amazing at spotting bugs and is super patient

Somehow she’s the president of 3 clubs and is on student senate

She’s the curve breaker

She gets homework assignments meant to take a week done the day they’re assigned

She and Dick went to a single party together, stayed for five minutes, decided it was too loud, and went to get ice cream

Along with her club, she’s in professional organizations, and is part of a women in STEM mentoring program

She started a petition to get more wheel chair ramps installed. Half the buildings are protected under some “historical grounds” bs that’s an excuse for not being accommodating

The petition didn’t go anywhere at first, but it was widely shared on social media and made the school look horrible, so they implemented some of her proposals

Jason:

Philosophy/Cognitive Science duel Major

He gets asked “There’s a philosophy major?” every time he has to do one of those stupid what’s your name and major icebreakers

Jason lives in the library

He’s fallen asleep in there at 3am after it gets locked up

He quotes philosophers at his siblings when they’re being annoying, and it effectively shuts them up, because he only quotes the most nonsensical arguments

He gets involved with the college’s community outreach program

He volunteers for a local robotics team

When people find out his majors, they’re genuinely confused, because he understands robotics really well

He lies his ass off about being really interested in it as a child

Dick convinced him to be an RA for a semester, and he almost had a heart attack

Someone choked in front of him on the first day

Despite seeming like a tough RA, he genuinely cared about his residents and had to quit because he was so stressed out that one of them would do something stupid and die

Cass:

Innovation/Design Major

She’s really observant, so she’s great at spotting flaws in infrastructure and coming up with ways to fix them

Spending time with Barbara made her realize the lack of systems designed with wheelchair users in mind

Her experience being illiterate and not knowing English has imprinted on her the need for signage that can be understood by anyone

She focuses on taking project based classes, where she can draw out her designs and build them, rather than figuring out the math behind them

She has patents for the inventions she created at WE

She was exempted from the “Alfred’s mandatory college degree program” but decided to go as a part time student for herself

It took her twice as long to graduate, and a lot of tutoring from her siblings, but she made it!

The family threw her an extra special party when she graduated - everyone else had minor celebratory dinners, but they went all out for Cass

There was not a dry eye at her graduation ceremony

Cass works part time with WE on and off as a designer after her first internship

She comes up with ideas during patrols, draws them and sends them to Lucius

Tim:

Computer Science Major with a minor in game design

He makes it to approximately 20% of his lectures

He nearly didn’t graduate on time because he put off his humanity courses for so long

He missed the actual ceremony, even though the family showed up

He starts all his assignments the day before they’re due

If at all possible he avoids groupwork and offers to do assignments by himself because he gives his teammates heart attacks when he starts his part the project at 3pm the day before it’s due

This leads to extremely frequent all-nighters

He always finds himself rewriting everyone else’s code to make it work more efficiently

This can, of course, cause some people to feel a little upset

Other students specifically seek him out as a teammate so they can half ass their parts

He participates in game jams when he has time, and got super into the hacking club

Against all odds, he joined a fraternity

Dick literally fell off a building when he found out

He makes up stories about partying for the heck of it, when in reality he and the guys just play Smash Bros together until 3am

He hasn’t seen anyone drink more than two beers, and he hasn’t tried alcohol there either

He joined on accident, he had just pulled an all-nighter and stumbled into a recruiting fair, he heard someone shouting about Mario Kart Double Dash, and bada bing bada boom, he agreed to rush because it involved being stuck in a room playing video games all weekend

Steph:

Civil Engineering Major with minors in Sustainability and STSS (Science, Technology, and Social Science) 

She gets constantly shit on for being a civie

Every time she introduces herself someone mumbles “fake mechie” in the background

She and Jason complain about the disrespect together

She was genuinely shocked when Bruce offered to pay for her college tuition

She’d been planning on going and cutting costs any way possible

But Bruce took her aside when she was applying and offered to pay it all

She refused at first, but then money just appeared in her bank account, and what was she supposed to do, give it back?

She also participates in professional groups and is a member of SWE (Society of Women Engineers), and she mentors younger students

She ends up as class president by running a very successful social media meme campaign

She got and email saying she’d won and panicked because she had no idea what she was doing and was just having fun making memes

She ended up staying class president the entire time, and ended up getting really into it, and ended up with a pretty solid approval rating

She joined a sorority and had a blast

They worked with the local animal shelter, and she started bringing Damian along as well

Her sisters think he’s adorable and he secretly enjoys the attention

She gets her revenge on all the civil engineering haters by landing her dream job redesigning the poorer areas of Gotham to include more green spaces, increase affordable housing, and upgrading access to utilities

Duke:

Biochemisty Major with a minor in Neuroscience 

Harper, Tim, Steph, and him are all in the same year

Tim convinces him to join the fraternity with him

He joins a variety of professional groups as well

He mentors other BIPOC, and joins NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) and runs helps run professional development programs

But he’s also in like million other clubs that he does not put on his resume

He’s runs the college’s meme page club, is part of the Pokémon Go club, is on the competitive Overwatch team, consistently attends the anime club’s Dragon Ball Z watch parties, joins the Dance Dance Revolution club, and the list goes on and on

When Tim is awake, and Harper isn’t busy, they go with him, but both of them have too much inconsistencies in their schedule to join

He ends up meeting like half the campus

He unintentionally has become a god of networking

Unlike his siblings, he goes all the way for a doctorate

He researches Joker venom, determined to figure out a cure for his parents (in my HC, he eventually does)

He wins like every award imaginable for his groundbreaking research into venoms as he comes up with vaccines that save countless lives

He still works on the meme page, even after he graduates

Harper:

She somehow defies all odds and triple majors in Physics, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering

She takes credit overload every semester, and gets credit for her internships at WE

She and Steph were roommates freshman year, and Steph swears that Harper never sleeps

She is the most wanted partner for every engineering project

She thrives in college, and lives off of coffee

She’s in the front row in every lecture

She doesn’t leave the lecture halls, she’s gotten locked in more than once after falling asleep

She had a heart attack the first time she saw students using the machine shop

Half the students weren’t wearing safety glasses, she counted three people wearing slides, the machines were rusted over, the soldering irons were all broken, and she nearly watched someone break their wrist using a power drill

She refuses to work there

Her secret to success is prioritizing - she absorbs the material like a sponge so if homework is only worth 5%, it isn’t getting done, and she’ll just cram before the exam

She almost joined Tim and Duke’s frat (it’s co-ed), but she didn’t have the time

They let her in without rushing senior year because Tim ended up as the boss, and he said so

Cullen:

I don’t know a ton about Cullen, but I feel like he would be a comp sci major

He comes in when Harper, Tim, Duke, and Steph are upperclassmen, and he joins all of Duke’s clubs

They have a million inside jokes

To the other siblings, it seems like the two have their own language

He also joins a club that mentors LGTBQ+ students at the local high school, and encourages them to pursue STEM careers if they’re interested

Jason recruits him as a mentor for the robotics team (he’s the lead mentor at this point) after some of the kids in his mentoring program mention him at a meeting and Jason is like O.O

He avoids parties at all costs, and ends up joining the frat as well

It’s all Duke’s fault he’s in a frat

He does however, meet some lovely boys in the frat

Damian: 

Aerospace Engineering/Environmental Engineering dual Major with minors in sustainability and biology

He nearly riots when he’s presented with the college’s idea of a vegetarian/vegan meal

He manages to get out of the meal plan after that, and begins rallying students to push for better options that contain actual protein

He joins a community service club that works with the local animal shelter, and secretly joins the circus arts club (that’s thriving even without Dick there)

He learns how to sew blankets out of old clothes for the animals

He and Barbara are the only siblings to graduate with a 4.0, simply because they were the only one that took the time to actually do all the homework, and remembered to turn things in on time

He refuses to live in the dorms, and instead lives in one of their apartments nearby (once again somehow managing to complain to the college enough to get his housing waived)

He literally walked in once when visiting Duke, and immediately walked out, and resolved never to step near one again

He makes a total of three friends while at the school, both are in the animal shelter club

They exchange vegetarian/vegan recipes, and get together to cook

He decides to move off campus with them his junior year when they needed another roommate, and he won’t admit it to his siblings, but he had a ton of fun

He and his friend group may have joined an animal rights hacktivist group and may have helped orchestrate some major hacks

Poisson Ivy finds out and feeds him targets and information when they’re supposed to be fighting (she just walks back to Arkham if the others aren’t watching, and slips him a list at the end)

Bonus Bruce:

He cries at every graduation

He’s asked to make a speech at every graduation

He never does - it’s about his kids, not him

He single handedly is keeping the school from bankruptcy - not that any of his kids (other than probably Barbara) know

He sobbed for days after Cass graduated

He genuinely didn’t expect Dick or Tim to graduate

After Dick graduated, he wouldn’t let Bruce touch any of the equipment, and the rest of his kids followed suit

He isn’t actually bad at engineering, his education was just super informal, and hey duct tape works 95% of the time in his experience

The real reason Alfred was annoyed was because he refused to take the time to properly fix something if someone was in danger, and then he’d forget that he’d just used duct tape to patch something

But now since no one lets him touch anything, he’s genuinely lost a lot of the knowledge

But in a pinch, he can fix stuff

[goindownshipping]

Take me back to the night we met

Pairing: Peter Parker/Tony Stark (Starker)

Rating: Teen (T)

Notes: This has been sitting in my drafts for literal ages, so I decided to post it to give me motivation to write chapter 2... here’s hoping that happens soon y’all!

Warnings: None, meet-cute/awkward Starker. More to come in chapter 2!

Word count: 7k

Summary:

Peter and Tony are both hesitant to head back to their small town for a close friend’s wedding. Little do they know they’re from the same town, and little does Peter know that Tony Stark knows who he is. Awkward boys flirting ensues.

Or, Peter works for Stark Industries and is beyond shocked when bumps into Tony on a trip home.

Read on AO3

Peter sat at his desk, looking out the floor to ceiling windows, still unable to fathom how he got to this point in life. From his desk in the open floor plan of Stark Tower, he had a panoramic view of New York City. Every day he looked out on the skyline that people would travel thousands of miles to catch a glimpse of just one time. Thinking back on how he got to this moment, he remembers being one of those people - eager and hopeful for something more, something greater. 

He glanced down to his desk, eyeing the invitation he’d been steadily ignoring for a few too many days. Any reminder of his hometown was a bittersweet one and, for some reason, this one was particularly tough to swallow. Having left home immediately after graduating high school, Peter cut ties with too many people and burned several bridges. He didn’t regret a second of it though; he worked hard to earn his scholarship to NYU and would have never let that opportunity slip through his fingers. In the years since he moved to New York, his trips back home became less frequent and his ties to the town dwindled more than they already had. Sure, he was still close with MJ and Ned, and obviously May was still the most important person in his life. But otherwise, there was nothing left for him back home. 

With those thoughts swirling around his head, Peter looked down at the wedding invitation with a twist in his gut. May’s best friend was getting married and there was no way he could miss it. He may not be particularly close with Pepper anymore, but at one point, she was like family to him. He knew she would want him there, and so would May. There was no way he could disappoint either of them. Besides, it would be a good excuse to spend some time with MJ and Ned - he knew he didn’t get back to see them enough. 

With his mind made up, Peter quickly filled out the card indicating that he would be attending by himself. Who doesn’t love attending a wedding alone, he chuckled to himself. Yes, he’d have May and his friends with him, but that didn’t replace the longing he had for someone else by his side. Peter had worked hard and tirelessly through college and to get his foot in the door at Stark Industries. For years he told himself that he didn’t have time for anything too personal, always prioritizing himself and his career. Now that he was settled in his job, he allowed himself to want other things, other people. He had a few close friends in the city, but never sought out anything romantic. There had been a few fleeting flings here and there, but Peter always ended things before they could get serious. 

The shrill ringing of his desk phone brought Peter back to his surroundings and he shook off the lingering thoughts about his loneliness. As he chatted with someone from the developer team, he slipped the RSVP in an envelope and placed it in his stack of outgoing mail. He pulled up his group chat with Ned and MJ to let them know he’d be in town for the wedding.

Peter: Welp, guess who’s coming to Pepper’s wedding?

Ned: HELL YES! 

MJ: I’ll believe it when I see it, Parker.

Peter smiled to himself. Maybe this wouldn’t be as awful as he was expecting.

Several floors above Peter on the executive level of Stark Tower, Tony Stark himself was pacing his office, whispering into his phone at his childhood best friend. 

“Can’t I just send an expensive gift? Come on, you guys will love it. I’ll send you on your honeymoon. Where do you want to go? I’ll send you anywhere. Just please don’t make me come back there.”

“Tony, come on. You’re my best friend. I know coming here isn’t exactly your idea of a vacation, but I need you here for this. I’m getting married for fucks sake. You’re not getting out of it.” 

Tony sighed loudly into the phone, he knew Happy was right. 

“I know, I know. I want to be there for you, I really do. You know it’s not about you - you know how hard it is for me to be there." 

“I know Tones. I know it’s not the same, but, you’re family to us. I can’t get married without you standing up there next to me and embarrassing me the whole time."

Tony snorted at that. 

“Well you know I can’t pass up an opportunity like that. Just tell me when and where, and I’ll be there."

“Thank you, Tony. It means the world to me. I’ve gotta run, but I’ll send you some more details soon. Love you man."

“Love you too Happy. I’ll talk to you soon."

As Tony hung up the phone, he took in his surroundings. His floor of Stark Tower loomed higher than several of the buildings in the vicinity. He could see for miles from this vantage point. This right here was everything he’d ever dreamed of - This city, this job, this company. He rarely thought about who he was prior to all of this, but Happy’s wedding was changing that.

-

More than 20 years ago, Tony left his hometown in the dust as he sped off to MIT at the young age of 16. He’d never been particularly close with anyone back home, except for Happy, so it was easy to leave and never look back. Upon arrival at MIT, he worked harder than anyone around him, determined to prove everyone from his small town wrong, especially his parents. People in Springdale didn’t believe in leaving for something better. Everyone graduated from high school and went to the local university, only to stay trapped with the same 10,000 people for the rest of their lives. 

That was the opposite of what Tony wanted. From a young age, Tony knew he was different. He couldn’t get enough of the meager machine shop his school district had and was quickly building engines far beyond the scope of his instructors. After the engines, he got his hands on some of his own tools and resources and began building computers and robots in his garage. He never bothered with making friends, much preferring to spend time building and tinkering at home. 

All of these experiences helped him to get through high school faster than his classmates, and before he knew it, he was accepting a scholarship to MIT. His parents didn’t understand, but with the value of his scholarship, their opinions were irrelevant. The summer of his 16th birthday he packed up his most important possessions and moved to Cambridge without thinking twice. MIT was nothing like his small hometown and Tony thrived surrounded by like-minded students and faculty. He practically drooled over the technology and resources he had at his fingertips.

As soon as he could, Tony started doing research in one of his professor’s labs. There were very few research positions for undergraduate students, but Tony was nothing if not persistent and he worked hard to earn one of the coveted positions. A few years, countless sleepless nights, and several technological advances later, Tony was finishing his degree with plans to continue at MIT to pursue his Master’s. While completing his Bachelor’s degree at MIT, Tony’s trips home were few and far between. He went back for the occasional major holiday or birthday, but, for the most part, he stayed in Cambridge.

The second year of his Master’s program, everything changed. He’ll never forget the call from the local police station alerting him of an accident involving his parents. He may not have been particularly close with them, but they were his only family. Through his haze, he managed to get himself home the next day. That entire trip home was one he would gladly forget. The news of his parents passing away and the loneliness he felt was something he would never truly shake. He didn’t surround himself with many people, but the loss of his parents created a hollowness that he couldn’t have expected.

That trip back to Springdale was the last time he’d been home in the past 25 years. His friends from MIT and Stark Industries didn’t even know where he grew up. After MIT, Tony had pieced his own version of family together - he had everything he needed in those few close friends. 

The transition from MIT to New York was a quick one; Tony landed a prestigious internship with Oscorp and quickly worked his way up from there. Over the course of a few years, Tony had enough of his own ideas and resources to venture out on his own and start up a small tech company. A few of his closest friends and best colleagues from Oscorp joined him and slowly built Stark Industries into the powerhouse it was today. 

“Nat!” Tony called from his office, the door always slightly ajar.

“What is it Tony?”

“I need a flight home."

-

Several weeks later, Peter found himself pulling into May’s driveway, kicking up plenty of gravel and dirt in his rental car. Before he could bring the car to a full stop, May was bursting through the front door, eagerly approaching Peter. He pulled himself from the driver’s seat, taking a brief moment to stretch after the long drive from the airport. Seconds later he was engulfed by one of May’s all-encompassing hugs, somehow wrapping him up entirely despite the fact that he was at least a full head taller than her.

“You’re taller."

“Missed you too, May."

“Maybe you wouldn’t be so tall or miss me so much if you came home once in a lifetime. FaceTime isn’t the same, Pete."

Peter grimaced at that. He knew she was right - he didn’t come home enough despite how much he loved her. Being home was a strange mix of emotions. It was familiar and unsettling at the same time and Peter didn’t quite fit here anymore.

“I know May, I’m sorry. Work is just so busy and you know it’s hard for me to be here. I’ll try to-”

“Uh uh,” May interrupted. “No excuses. I know how hard you’ve worked for what you have out there. Just don’t forget about little old me." May cracked a grin and elbowed Peter in the ribs, just hard enough for him to know she really meant it.

“Love you, May,” Peter grinned. 

They each grabbed a bag from the car and made their way up the front steps of May’s house. As soon as they entered the hallway, Peter couldn’t help the feeling of home that washed over him. This town may not feel like home anymore, but the smell of pine and just slightly burnt bread would always send him back to his childhood.

“Shower up, Pete. You stink and we have a dinner to get to,” May called from where she was already bringing Peter’s bags to his room.

“What dinner, May? I thought things weren’t happening until this weekend?”

“Tonight is just family, and us obviously. Pepper insisted on us being there! I know you want to see Ned and MJ, but they’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

Peter trudged up the stairs to his room, finding May already hanging up the formal items he brought for the various events attached to the wedding. He didn’t quite understand why someone needed to rehearse a wedding, but, whatever.

“I can finish this up,” Peter insisted, taking the hangers from May. “When do we need to leave?”

“In about an hour. Do you need anything?” May asked as she headed for the door.

“I’m good, May, thanks,” Peter grinned at her. “Can you get the door?”

With that, the door closed with a thud and Peter let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. Hanging up the rest of his clothes, he realized the room was exactly as he’d left it when he sped off to NYU. He picked up his phone and snapped a picture of his surroundings, quickly sending it to Ned and MJ before getting himself ready for dinner.

An hour later, Peter was feeling much more human thanks to a hot shower and some fresh clothes. As he and May pulled up to Recipe, one of the few nicer restaurants in town, a swanky black Tesla caught Peter’s eye. In this town, the nicest car you usually saw was whatever new pickup truck could haul the heaviest trailer - or whatever. Peter didn’t care to know.

“May, who the hell is at this dinner?” Peter gestured out the window toward the car that clearly didn’t fit in along their historic downtown street.

“Oh, just family and maybe a couple close friends like us. That must belong to one of Happy’s friends.”

As they rounded the corner, they could hear laughter from the large patio behind the main house that was the restaurant. The patio was surrounded by large trees with strings of lights woven throughout the low-hanging branches. Peter was happy to see that this place was still here after all these years.

“May! Peter! You made it!” 

Pepper, May’s lifelong best friend, called out to them, beckoning them closer. Peter recognized nearly everyone around the large table - one of the things that comes along with a small town. The circular table was situated at the center of the patio, and he spotted the back of a man’s head that looked familiar, yet out of place here. He couldn’t quite figure it out, seemingly due to the sheer amount of time that had passed since he’d seen this particular group of people. 

Peter ducked under a couple branches and approached the table, quickly giving Pepper a hug and kiss on the cheek before finding the empty seat on the other side of May. He rounded the table and slid into his seat, interrupted by the waitress before he could even say hello to everyone else. As he turned back to the rest of the guests, he expected to be faced with Happy, Pepper’s fiance. 

What he didn’t expect was to be faced with Tony Stark - founder and CEO of Stark Industries, his very own employer. What the hell is Tony Stark doing at this table? In Springdale? For May’s best friend’s wedding?

As conversation swirled around them, Peter forgot how to speak momentarily, staring dumbly at the man across from him. Tony smirked back at him and threw him a wink while extending his hand across the table.

“You must be Peter. It’s so hard for me to believe that you’re someone’s nephew.”

Peter stared at Tony’s hand, fighting an internal battle to remember what he was supposed to do. Eventually, he reached across the table, nearly knocking over an entire glass bottle of water, and grasped Tony’s hand. He couldn’t help but appreciate the way Tony’s hand gripped his. The handshake was firm, his skin slightly calloused but soft, and Peter held on for an unacceptable length of time.

The waitress approached with his old fashioned, causing him to yank his hand back, as if he’d been shocked. He looked up to find Tony quickly averting his eyes back to the menu and Peter wished the ground would open up underneath him and swallow him whole to avoid the embarrassment that he knew was about to ensue.

The rest of dinner continued mostly uneventfully; however, Peter continued to make a fool out of himself any time Tony so much as glanced in his direction. Anytime Peter looked up, he was met with Tony’s intense gaze, but the man seemed to take pity on Peter and avoided any further embarrassment. Instead, Peter chatted with May about the city, but tried to avoid work; no one seemed to be acknowledging the elephant in the room, and Peter didn’t want to rock the boat. 

Tony Stark was not your average wedding guest, and everyone at the table seemed intent on ignoring his status. Peter knew he was missing something, but now wasn’t the time to ask why the CEO of New York’s largest tech firm and self-proclaimed “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” was in their presence. 

Peter was certain that Tony had no idea who he was. Sure, Peter had been working at Stark Industries for a while now, but he’d only met the company’s founder once and it was by complete accident. When Peter interviewed for his first entry-level position, Mr. Stark himself just happened to be on the HR floor for another matter entirely. Peter had nearly collided with him as he exited the elevator and frantically looked around for the office number he’d been given. He could have never expected Tony Stark to point him in the right direction before heading down the hall in the opposite direction. Peter had stared at the back of Tony’s head for a moment too long that day, but headed off toward his interview before he could see Tony throw a glance back in Peter’s direction.

Now, back in Springdale, Peter was baffled at Tony’s appearance in the small town.

Dinner came to a close and Peter nearly leapt away from the table to escape back to the safety of May’s home. Before he could make a move, Pepper grabbed him and May by the elbows. 

“You two better be coming with us for drinks!” 

Peter hesitated, exhausted after a day of traveling, but May was beaming. 

“Of course, Pepper. We wouldn’t miss it,” Peter agreed with a soft smile.

Out of the corner of his eye, Peter could see Tony leaving in the direction of his out-of-place sports car. Peter felt relief wash over him, realizing he'd get a break from embarrassing himself for the rest of the evening. 

Pepper and Happy decided that they wanted to go to Barley & Vine, the only good place for drinks in their small town. It was just a couple blocks away so the four of them decided to make the short walk together. Peter and May walked together, a few paces behind Pepper and Happy, wanting to give them a bit of space. Thinking back on dinner, Peter couldn’t help but laugh at himself. May didn’t miss it and threw a sneaky glance at Peter. 

“What, May? You’re not subtle, so just spit it out."

“So that’s the hot CEO you never shut up about, isn’t it?”

“May! What is he doing here? You do realize that’s Tony Stark right? Like, the Tony Stark! And he’s here?”

“That must be the Tony that Happy mentioned to me,” May shrugged. “I didn’t know he meant Tony Stark. I guess everyone in this town forgot that he grew up here, not in some lab in New York.”

“Tony Stark is from Springdale,” Peter deadpanned. “You have got to be joking. How is that even possible?”

“You’re the one that works for the man, ask him yourself! The brainiac had already left town by the time I got to high school so I never knew him. How could I have known that he and Happy grew up together?”

Peter just shook his head as they approached the small bar. After tonight, he’d spend the rest of the trip with MJ and Ned and hopefully avoid any further embarrassment in front of Tony. He knew they would give him a hard time for the whole thing, so he could only hope they didn’t find out about his antics at dinner that night.

Barley & Vine was one of the only places Peter enjoyed visiting when he was home. The cozy interior was inviting and the eclectic furniture set the place apart from the other dives in town. Pepper, May and Peter settled into some plush chairs and couches tucked into a corner near the back of the bar as Happy grabbed them a round of drinks. Peter was grateful for the quieter atmosphere after the long and unexpected day he’d had. When Happy returned, May and Pepper were already wrapped up in a conversation that seemed to be about the seating arrangements and predicting who from high school would hook up with an old flame. 

Happy extended a beer to Peter, which he took with a grateful smile. Peter had only met Happy once before this weekend, but he seemed nice enough. 

“So,” Happy started. “It seems like you and Tony had the same idea about getting out of this town."

“I guess so. Although, I had no idea he was from here. Everyone back in New York just knows he went to MIT when he was 16 - no one talks about what came before that. Seems pretty unreal that you guys grew up together." Peter eyed Happy nervously, unsure if this was a topic he’d be comfortable talking about.

“Yeah, Tony’s a pretty private guy and when he left Springdale he never really looked back. There’s too much here that he doesn’t like to revisit. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it when he agreed to come out for the wedding." 

Peter nodded in understanding. “I can understand that. I pretty much did the same thing when I left for NYU. I don’t get home enough, that’s for sure." Peter smiled in May’s direction knowing she missed him more than she ever let on.

At that, Peter and Happy fell into comfortable conversation about Peter’s experiences at NYU and now at Stark Industries. Happy had visited Tony in the city a few times, and they swapped stories about their favorite places, discovering that Tony had taken Happy to Peter’s favorite greasy burger joint.

Before long, all four of them were chatting excitedly about the coming weekend and Pepper and Happy’s honeymoon plans. Before Pepper could continue her ramblings about some private beach they were going to, the group was interrupted by Tony’s arrival. Peter was on his second beer of the night, giving him just enough of a buzz to be less chaotic than he was at dinner.

That was before Peter realized the only empty seat was on the couch next to him.

“Sorry I’m late guys. I had to run to the house for a minute and I forgot how slow the speed limits in this town are.” Tony already had a drink in hand as he settled into the spot next to Peter, leaving a comfortable distance between the two of them.

Peter snorted into his beer. “As if you follow speed limits."

The comment seemed to catch Tony off guard and he let out an unexpected laugh. Peter told himself that the blush he could feel on his cheeks was from the slight buzz, not from making Tony laugh. Before Peter had a chance to embarrass himself any further, Happy interrupted.

“May, did you ever meet Tony before he left us for MIT’s fancy labs?”

“Ha ha, very funny Hap,” Tony said with a genuine smile. They’d been friends long enough and been through so much that Happy could give Tony a hard time for just about anything. “Anyway,” he turned to May, “no, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m sure I would remember meeting you,” Tony said with a wink.

Peter rolled his eyes. He knew the reputation that Tony Stark carried in New York, hell the reputation he carried around the world. But he also knew May and that she wouldn’t be amused by Tony’s flirting.

“Well, you sure don’t seem to remember everyone you’ve met." May narrowed her eyes at Tony. “Have you met my nephew Peter yet Mr. Stark?” May asked with a playful glint in her eye.

Peter glared at May, willing her to shut up before she said anything else. 

Tony moved back in his seat next to Peter to get a better look at him. “As a matter of fact, we have met. Peter, you’re on the implementation team, yes?”

Peter’s jaw dropped in disbelief. At a company the size of Stark Industries, there was no way Tony knew who Peter was. Peter barely came into contact with any of the executive team and had never worked directly with Tony himself. 

“I may be the CEO of the company, but I keep close tabs on who we hire. Chalk it up to my perfectionism,” Tony finished with a sheepish grin.

“I, uh, yeah. Implementation team, that’s me,” Peter stammered. He took a big gulp of beer and stared at his feet, hoping the attention would turn away from him if he just pretended he wasn’t there.

The other four seemed to take the hint and started reminiscing about growing up in Springdale along with the trouble they all got in during school. Tony chatted with them for a while, surprisingly enjoying the conversation about a town he hadn’t considered home for decades. 

“Oh my god,” Pepper laughed, “was it junior prom that you spiked the punch, Hap? I’ll never forget the lecture you got from Mr. Houser that week!”

“Hey now, it’s not my fault that I lost my touch for sneaking around after Tony left town. He was always the brains behind the operation."

Noticing that the conversation was taking a turn toward a time after he’d left, Tony retreated to the bar for another drink. When he returned to the couch, he handed Peter another beer.

“I saw you were getting low. Figured you could use another."

“Thanks, Mr. Stark."

“God kid, please call me Tony."

Peter felt the dip in the couch as Tony sat back down, sitting slightly closer to him this time. May, Pepper, and Happy were wrapped up in a dynamic conversation about some town-wide scandal from a couple years prior. Neither Tony nor Peter knew what was going on.

“So, you’re from Springdale?” Tony asked.

“Uh, yeah. But wait, you’re from Springdale?” Peter asked incredulously.

Tony let out an uncomfortable laugh and took a long sip from his glass. “Against all odds, yeah kid, I am. I left when I was 16 and hardly ever came back - haven’t been back since my folks died."

“I get that. My parents died when I was young; that’s why I lived with Aunt May until I left for school. It’s tough coming back here when there isn’t much left here for me."

Neither man really knew what to say after that; they were both surprised by their similar history with the small town.

“So,” Peter started with a grin. “Did you really build DUM-E in your parents’ garage in high school?”

For the first time that evening, Peter saw Tony’s face stretch into a wide smile, his eyes even crinkling a bit.

“How the hell would you know that?”

“The R&D team at Stark Industries tells a lot of stories about your robots. Rumor has it that you built it before you were at MIT, so, now, I figure that means you had to have built it here."

Tony only smiled bigger and shook his head before launching into the story of how DUM-E came to be. Peter listened intently, amazed at the brilliance of the man in front of him. Of course he knew that Tony was a genius, you don’t build a company like Stark Industries without being the smartest person in every room, but it was different to witness it up close. It also seemed like Tony’s hard exterior had softened enough to let his guard down just a bit. Peter was enjoying seeing a more human side to the enigma that was Tony Stark.

“There was this one time in college when I was working on new technology for engine propulsion and I had DUM-E on fire safety and the stupid thing would douse me with the fire extinguisher every single time I ran a test. He wore the dunce cap for a while after he cleaned up the mess he made."

Peter leaned forward out of his seat to take a drink from his beer sitting on the table in front of him. When he leaned back, Tony had moved closer to the middle of the cushion and casually thrown his arm along the back of the couch. At this point, Peter was fully tipsy, and didn’t think twice about setting back in, feeling the warmth from Tony’s body where they were nearly pressed against each other. Peter and Tony were so close together that Peter could barely turn his head to make eye contact with the man next to him. He didn’t let himself think about what would happen if they both turned toward each other.

Peter sat quietly for a moment, gathering the courage to ask Tony the question that he hadn’t been able to shake since he arrived at the bar. The consistent buzz and warmth just under the surface of his skin helped push him to get the words out of his mouth.

“So, how did you know who I was when May asked?”

Tony looked away from Peter, seeing that Pepper, Happy, and May were all still engrossed in their own conversation.

“You’ve been at the company for what, five years now Pete?”

“Six years in the spring, yeah."

“Sounds about right. Just over five years ago I seem to remember going down to the HR floor to sign some paperwork. Natasha was out of the office, so they hadn’t gotten delivered to my office, but the head of the department needed them by the end of the day. So, I popped downstairs for a minute to get those done. On my way back to the elevators, I was nearly the victim of a head on collision, thanks to a very stressed kid. He was lanky and had the softest looking curls and these bright red cheeks." Tony smiled to himself, and if it was brighter in their corner, Peter would have sworn he saw Tony blushing.

“Anyway, I pointed him toward the entrance to the main HR suite, assuming that he was there for an interview based on the stress rolling off of him in waves. He practically sprinted away from me, and by the time I looked back, he had already rounded the corner. A couple weeks later, I saw those same curls rising a full head above all the other new employees passing by my lab on the tour included during the onboarding process. Bummer for me, I didn’t know his name and we never seemed to cross paths again."

Peter sat quietly, slowly processing the words that had come out of Tony’s mouth. The alcohol rushing through his veins seemed to slow his thought process drastically, leaving Tony sitting in awkward silence. After a moment, Peter turned to look at Tony with a cautious smile - he was surprised to see Tony already watching him intently.

“You remember me. From my interview. When we didn’t even meet."

“Yeah, kid, I remembered you,” Tony said carefully, unsure of what was running through Peter’s mind.

Throwing caution to the wind, Peter scooted even closer to Tony; any space that remained between them was now gone. Tony’s arm that had been resting along the back of the couch came down around Peter’s shoulder, settling the younger man into his side. Their legs were pressed firmly together and Peter attempted to make himself smaller, wanting to rest his head on Tony’s shoulder. From that position, Peter turned his head just slightly, his nose now resting in the crook of Tony’s neck. The grip around his shoulder tightened, and Tony turned his face into the curls on top of Peter’s head.

Tony glanced up, seeing his friends and Peter’s aunt eying them curiously. May locked eyes with Tony, her gaze piercing for a moment. Tony held strong, so as to not alert Peter to the silent conversation they were having. Just as Tony thought was going to be forced to peel Peter off of his side, May’s eyes softened and she just shook her head with a fond smile. Tony let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding as May, Pepper, and Happy let him and Peter remain in their little bubble.

“Peter, whatcha doing down there?” Tony asked, his voice smooth and low. Peter could feel the words vibrating in his ear from where he was pressed against Tony. 

Peter thought for a moment. What was he doing? His entire body stiffened as he realized the way he’d tucked himself into Tony’s side. Before he could pull away, Tony’s hand settled on his shoulder, halting the mindless wandering it had been doing along Peter’s arm. Tony squeezed his shoulder tightly and kept him in place. Tony leaned down even further, his lips brushing the shell of Peter’s ear. Peter could feel Tony’s warm breath on his ear, causing him to shiver despite the warmth of the man next to him.

“Nuh uh, I’m not complaining. I’d like to keep you right here, actually.”

Peter could feel butterflies erupting in his stomach, and the beginning tingle of arousal just at Tony’s words and the way he whispered in Peter’s ear. As much as he wanted to just curl into Tony even more or simply climb into his lap, Peter knew that if this was going to go any further, it couldn’t happen here. Peter pulled back from Tony’s neck and took in his surroundings. Tony’s arm returned to the couch’s backrest, but his intense gaze never wavered from Peter’s face. Peter could feel the blush rising in his cheeks, burning its way down past the collar of his shirt.

“It’s late, you’ve had a long day of traveling. How about you let me take you home. Those three are bound for a late night." Tony nodded toward the other three, and Peter wondered how long he’d been tucked into Tony’s side based on the quantity of empty pints and shot glasses in front of them. 

“Yeah, okay. Let me just give May a heads up."

“Sounds good. I’ll say goodnight to Happy and meet you up front."

Peter nodded and pushed himself out of his seat, finding his legs far less stable than he expected. After a moment of catching his balance he caught May’s attention and nodded toward the door. He wove his way among the various groups in the bar, smiling at a couple familiar faces that he couldn’t quite match with a name. He reached the entrance and leaned against the wall, feeling exhaustion settle deep within his bones. 

May approached a moment later with a massive shit-eating grin on her face. 

“What in the hell was happening on that couch, Peter?”

Peter scrubbed his face with his hand letting out a long breath. “Fuck, I have no idea May. I’ve never said a word to the man before today. I have no idea what’s going on."

May reached up and ruffled his curls like she had done when he was growing up. He couldn’t help but lean into the familiar touch, comforted by her presence.

“Well whatever it was, you two aren’t subtle."

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, Tony’s going to give me a ride home. I’m exhausted and I know you’re having a good time with Pepper and Happy."

May only smirked at that. “Yeah, sure, he’s just giving you a ride home."

“Oh my god, May, not happening. Call me if you need anything, yeah?”

“Same to you mister. Have fun."

Leaning up on her toes, May pressed a kiss to Peter’s cheek before heading back to Pepper and Happy. Tony was already heading toward the entrance and May quickly grabbed his elbow as their paths crossed.

“Be nice to him." Before Tony could open his mouth to reply, May had already moved past him, rejoining Pepper and Happy. 

Tony found Peter leaning against the wall at the entrance to the bar, eyes practically closed and looking like he was about to melt into a puddle on the floor. Tony cleared his throat softly, hoping to get the boy’s attention without scaring him too much. 

“You ready to get out of here, kid?”

“I’m not a kid,” Peter pouted as he headed out the front door and looked down the street for Tony’s car.

Tony just laughed, not bothering to argue with Peter. Tony placed a gentle hand on the small of Peter’s back, guiding him toward his car around the corner. Peter leaned into the touch, reveling in the warmth radiating from Tony’s hand. The two of them walked in comfortable silence, taking in the familiar sight of their hometown. When they approached Tony’s car, Peter paused and tilted his head back to take in the night sky.

“I forgot how bright the stars are here,” he said with wonder.

Tony looked up too. It had been so many years since he was anywhere besides big cities with all their bright lights and never ending noise. Tony closed his eyes, taking in the silence around them.

“It sure is different from the city."

When Tony opened his eyes, Peter had moved closer than he had been before. His eyes were wide, flickering between Tony’s eyes and his lips. Without realizing it, Tony’s tongue darted out, wetting his lips and he swore he saw Peter go cross-eyed following the movement. 

“Pete,” Tony whispered. “You gotta tell me what you’re thinking."

Instead of answering, Peter invaded Tony’s space entirely, fisting his hands in the fabric of Tony’s all too expensive dress shirt. He tilted his head until his nose bumped against Tony’s and he could feel the other man’s breath on his lips. Tony groaned at the feeling and wrapped his arms around Peter’s narrow waist, pulling him into his chest. Their lips were so close to touching that Tony swore he could feel them brush against his. Peter let out a shaky breath and smiled softly at Tony, nodding his head just slightly.

He couldn’t tell which of them moved first, but before he knew it Peter’s soft lips were pressed against his own. Tony swallowed Peter’s soft moan and allowed his tongue to explore the seam of Peter’s lips. One of Peter’s hands let go of its tight grip on Tony’s shirt and traveled up his chest, over his shoulder, and settled on the back of his neck, just able to wind his fingers through the strands of hair there. The move made Tony let out a loud moan as he pulled back from Peter, nipping his full bottom lip as we went.

They pressed their foreheads together, panting against each other's lips, not loosening their grip one bit. Tony could feel Peter’s face stretch into a grin and he pulled back just far enough to catch a glimpse. Tony leaned back in to press another kiss against Peter’s soft lips before taking a step back, allowing his hand to find Peter’s.

“God, you’re gorgeous. I should get you home before we horrify this entire town,” he said breathlessly.

“Yeah, you’re probably right."

Tony quickly opened the passenger door and allowed Peter to slip inside before closing the door. As he rounded the front of the car to the driver’s side, he swore he could feel Peter’s eyes following his every move.

“You’re staying with May, right?” Tony asked as he got settled into his seat.

Peter nodded. “Yeah, the house is just off the highway by the Dairy Queen."

Tony hummed in recognition and started the car. Peter, being about as subtle as a trainwreck, couldn't take his eyes off of Tony the duration of the short ride to May’s house. Watching Tony’s hands grip the wheel and grasp the gear shift should not have affected Peter the way they did, but he simply couldn't help it. After a few minutes, Tony glanced over and caught Peter staring at his right hand on the gear shift. Peter turned bright red, realizing he’d been caught, but Tony simply slid his hand over the center console and settled his palm on Peter’s thigh.

“You’re pretty cute when you get flustered, Pete." Tony squeezed Peter’s thigh and just laughed at Peter’s garbled reply.

Deciding it was safer not to speak, Peter stayed quiet until they neared May’s house. Even then, he only said enough to direct Tony down a couple quiet streets until the house came into view. Tony’s hand remained firmly on Peter’s thigh the entire time, squeezing in acknowledgment as Peter directed him. When Tony came to a stop in May’s driveway, both men hesitantly turned toward each other. 

Tony lifted his hand from Peter’s thigh to cup his face, running a thumb along Peter’s cheek. Peter’s hand reached out to wind his fingers in Tony’s hair, pulling the man closer as he did so. 

“I would invite you in, but I think I might fall asleep walking to the front door,” Peter said, disappointment evident in his voice.

“Well then I better make sure you get to the door in one piece." 

They reluctantly dropped their hands and stepped out of the car. Tony came around to Peter’s side and wrapped an arm low around Peter’s hips. Peter couldn’t help but lean into the warmth and firmness of Tony’s side as they made their way to the front door.

Tony used his grip on Peter’s waist to turn the boy to face him.

“Get some rest, kid."

Peter nodded in agreement, already slumped against Tony’s chest.

Tony chuckled and took a small step back, making sure Peter remained upright. Tony leaned in cautiously, but Peter answered the question before Tony could even ask it by pressing his lips firmly against Tony’s. They got lost in each other for a few moments, before Peter pulled back with a yawn.

“I’ll see you soon, Tony."

“Absolutely, Peter." Tony squeezed Peter’s hip before heading back to his car. 

Peter unlocked the front door and stepped inside the familiar threshold. Before closing the door, he called out to Tony. “If you thought I looked good in a suit all those years ago, just wait until you see me at the wedding." Before Tony could say anything, Peter closed the door.

Tony stood frozen in the driveway where he’d already opened the door to his car. He just shook his head and laughed, knowing he was in trouble with this kid.

[greasers-stole-my-social-life]

The Gang’s Superpowers - HCs

I had a lot of fun with these and hope y’all enjoy!!

Darry

Power: Hyper-Awareness/Spidey Senses

Ok so his nickname is literally Superman, so I feel like he’d have it all - x-ray vision, flight, super strength, etc. - but, if he could only have one power, it would be ultra-awareness(aka spidey senses(also, i know that this isn’t one of Superman’s powers, but I still imagined it’s a power he would have 😊)). 

He became aware of his senses when he prevented a young Ponyboy from burning his hands on the stove while trying to climb to the top of the cabinets for a cookie

He would be aware of everything going on around him, and he knows exactly when danger approaches. 

If someone dropped a glass, he would be there to catch it before it hits the ground and shatters

the gang would be rough housing before a rumble and Darry would run into the living room to catch Sodapop before he hits his head on the coffee table

He goes out of his way to make sure the gang stays out of trouble, and he only uses his powers for good! 

One time, he sensed danger while on a break from work, and saved a child from getting hit by a car. If it weren’t for him, the child would’ve died chasing after his balloon.

when strangers ask abt the incident, he always lies and says that it was a fluke, but we know the truth!

Weakness: Ponyboy. Just like Superman, having heightened senses can be atrocious and make it difficult to carry out normally simple tasks. He struggled a lot with his powers as a child and couldn’t calm down easily, but luckily Soda was able to help him out a lot by teaching him how to focus(which is kinda funny since Soda can’t concentrate for shit lol).

BONUS: Darry would most certainly have super strength, and it would actually be hilarious bc he wouldn’t want to draw attention to his superhuman strength so he would hold himself back all of the time and act like some things were far too heavy for him! Even when he would set down a glass, he had to focus a lot to make sure he didn’t smash it by mistake

Sodapop

Power: The ability to heal others/take pain away

I feel like Soda’s really empathetic and would be a strong healer. 

When someone close to him gets hurt, he can’t help but heal them bc he cares so much about them

Once he learned about his powers and how it could be dangerous if someone found out that he could miraculously heal people with serious injuries, he decided to take pain away from people instead

If an injury is too severe or he doesn’t get to someone in time, the only thing he can do is remove the pain the person is feeling

when Pony was playing hide and seek with Curly when he was little, he climbed a tree to hide but ended up falling out of it instead, ultimately breaking his arm. Soda ran over and healed his arm before he could even cry. It was their little secret

He felt tremendous guilt when his parents died bc he felt as though he could’ve saved them if he had been there

he tried his best to heal his brothers’ pains after their parent’s deaths, but he was too hurt himself to be able to help others

The reason why Darry loves Soda’s massages so much is bc Soda secretly removes Darry’s pain

Darry doesn’t like Soda using his powers all willy nilly, so Soda just pretends that he’s good at giving massages naturally when in reality, he’s using his powers lol

Eventually, Darry catches on, but doesn’t say anything...the man deserves to be healed after a long day of roofing!

Weakness: When he’s hurt, emotionally or physically, he can’t help anyone. He can actually cause them more pain and inflict the pain that he feels onto others. He doesn’t mean to, but he simply can’t help it!

Ponyboy

Power: Mimic other’s powers

unlike the rest of the gang, who automatically knew exactly what their powers were and how to use them, Pony had trouble deciphering what his ability was

it wasn’t until Soda healed his broken arm that he realized his unique ability

he copied Soda’s exact actions and ended up healing a butterfly’s torn wing

everyone thought he was a healer like Soda, but then, when Steve was able to fix a car without having to look at the manual, Pony fixed his stereo that he thought was long gone without any knowledge of radios, and his power was revealed

He often times fails to see how his powers could help others, and never aids other people unless prompted to

this also stems from the fact that he gets overwhelmed easily and has trouble creating a plan on the spot

he’s still in the process of learning how to be an effective hero, but luckily he has the rest of the gang to help him harness his craft

his favorite power changes day to day, but when he mimics someone’s power and really loves it, he goes on a streak using that power for weeks!

the main reason that he doesn’t use his powers much is bc hes low key disappointed that he doesn’t have his own specific power, and feels like he steals them from everyone else

little does he know that he is probably one of the most powerful superheroes out there!!

Weakness: Just like how he can take other people’s powers, he also adopts their weaknesses. So, if he’s using Soda’s power to heal someone else, he can’t do it if he’s hurt as well.

Steve

Power: Understanding the inner-workings of machines and technology

While it may seem like a boring power, Steve actually has one of the most useful powers there is

His mom thought he was just really smart at first, but when their TV broke, he was able to fix it within minutes at age 4 and they knew it was more than just being insanely smart!

suddenly, he was able to fix everything, from toasters to radios to motorcycles

Soda cheered him on and Steve kept improving his repair times

part of the reason Steve got a job with Soda at the DX was bc he wanted someone to keep track of how fast he was able to complete jobs...and bc he loves Soda

he has to be careful that he doesn’t repair a car too quickly too often bc he’s worried that people may discover his power and try to take advantage of him

He always tries to help his friends when he can, and has fixed Darry’s truck on multiple occasions

sometimes he worries that people use him just for repairs, but he knows that he can always count on the gang to make sure that he knows his power is valued

he’s relieved that he has friends to lean on that know the struggle of having superpowers and having to be so secretive

When technology started advancing more, he couldn’t help but take the new tech apart and piece it back together again for fun

he keeps this to himself bc he thinks that it’s a bit nerdy to do something like that, but he thoroughly enjoys it

Weakness: He can’t explain the inner workings of things to other people. This seems fine on the surface, but in crises, the pressure is all on him. This also means that when he repairs something, he has trouble discussing what the problem was, which can rub customers at the DX the wrong way.

Two-Bit

Power: Hallucinations

He found out he could cause people to hallucinate when he was in preschool

his teacher was bothering him bc she kept telling him to “stop distracting his classmates” so he imagined that a snake, his teacher’s biggest fear, was in the room, and sure enough, his teacher and classmates jumped out of their seats screaming

when the custodian came in to put the snake outside, it was just gone

he mainly uses his powers for pranking purposes

BUT he still uses his powers to help others when possible!!

He uses it in school when teachers confront him about not turning in assignments

“Mr. Mathews, where is your homework?” “Uh, it’s right in front of you?” and he would have a smug smile while they fumbled and apologized profusely. Ofc, when he would leave, so would the homework, but teachers were embarrassed to ask him about it again

If a soc was about to jump a greaser, Two would make them hallucinate that the rest of the gang was with him and could outnumber the socs

he’s not very subtle about who sees his powers, and anytime a stranger points it out, her tries to make them believe that they’re wrong or that they’ve hit their head

Darry tries to make him better about hiding/disguising his power, but Two often times gets flustered and gives himself away.

he’s the only one in the gang, besides Dallas, that has to wear a disguise if he wants to use his power bc otherwise he exposes himself

Weakness: His hallucinations are only temporary and require focus, so he has to be careful when and where he causes hallucinations. When fighting a villain, his power is good for distractions, but the hallucinations can’t do anything physical to anyone. ex, If he caused a hallucination of a snake, the snake can not actually cause harm to others.

Johnny

Power: Siren/Compulsion

Johnny found out about his power when he was little by begging his dad to “stop” when he was yelling at his mom and him

his dad just stopped. No movement, it was just a halt in his movements. He realized that he had the power to command people around

He dislikes his power because he doesn’t like being able to have that much control over anyone, even people as terrible as his parents

the reason he’s so quiet is because he never wants to accidentally boss someone around or cause them to do something bad

he’s overly cautious with his word choice so that he doesn’t mistakenly tell someone to do something

when he sings/hums to himself without thinking, no matter how quiet he is, he accidentally draws people to him

most of the time it’s Dally or Pony lol

he kinda resents his power because it’s harder to have control over than the rest of the gangs’ powers

the gang always tries to lift him up about his power tho!

they know that he has no ill will and they know that he’s capable of controlling his power

He feels best when he can use his power for good, and always tries to be as helpful as possible while causing the least damage possible

this boy doesn’t have a bad bone in his body, so there’s really no reason for him to worry about abusing his power

Weakness: Much like the sirens in most fairy tales, he can not control people that are hard of hearing or deaf, or if they are covering/blocking their ears with headphones or earbuds. In a way, he is also his own weakness because he sometimes thinks he’s not capable of using his power! But he is!! He’s the most responsible with his power!

Dallas

Power: Teleportation

He first discovered his power when he was about 8

he was in the process of stealing candy with his NY gang, but he was cornered by the store owner

he panicked and closed his eyes, then poof! He was outside the store behind his friends, running away with all of the stolen candy in his hands

He uses his powers all of the time for crimes...and to show off

Darry warns him all of the time not to abuse his power, but as much as Dally respects Darry, he still uses his power far too often and carelessly

one of the reasons he had to leave NY is bc people began to catch on to the fact that something about him was superhuman

if he doesn’t want to deal with someone, he just vanishes and goes to anywhere else.

one time he accidentally ended up in Russia, but that’s a story for another time lol

he doesn’t wear a disguise even tho he really should with how much he uses his power

he’s used his power to get away from girls that he lost interest in instead of actually confronting his feelings

when no one’s paying attention, he does actually use his power for good

one time a guy kept pursuing a woman outside of Buck’s after she said no multiple times, so Dallas teleported in between them and knocked him out cold

he hates when people thank him for saving them so he usually gtfo’s before they get the chance to say anything to him

his heroism is discrete in his mind, but everyone knows that he’s a hero in the dark

Weakness: If he doesn’t have enough time to plan where he’s going to teleport to, drinks too much, or doesn’t focus enough on the destination, he can end up somewhere completely random. One time he accidentally teleported himself into a holding cell at the police station after drinking too much at one of Buck’s parties and was too tired to teleport out until the morning.

I hope you enjoyed reading my hcs as much as I enjoyed writing them!! Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like for me to write about!! Stay safe!

[kannra21]

I dare you! - even before the anime confirmation - suzue and daisuke headcanons lolol gonna take the risk?

Yea I thought ab something, for instance how they met and all that stuff. It's fairly different. In the novel, she came to the Kambe household as a secretary but from the anime we can conclude that she's so much more than this. In anime she can't be considered father's secretary since his parents both died I guess, although it wasn't mentioned but the creators pointed it out in a way.

Since that's clear, I made a couple of hcs/scenarios featuring their relationship from the begging. Hope you enjoy. ^^

- Kambe and the co needed to investigate the suspect of whom they had recently gathered information on the possession of suspicious substances. They didn't know exactly what it was about but they hoped they wouldn't arrive at the wrong time and encounter the entire mafia, in which case Daisuke decided to take the rest of the police department members as reinforcement in the case of an emergency. Daisuke has never needed any help, he often relied on his advanced technology and fortune, but this time was different and he clearly doubted that he could take on a couple of their men by himself. He's not a fool, he'll assign as many people as needed, just tell him how much and he'll find himself fine agents to cooperate with.

- When they reached the place he entered first, climbed the stairs and came across a room whose doors had a circular glass window. He cautiously peered through it and noticed eight men. Among them was also their suspect who was holding an open suitcase and showing it towards a person who was obviously someone from a higher rank. He held it before him like he was waiting for his approval. He couldn't make out anything else since the lighting was really bad and there were also three SUVs parked at the side of the entrance. Were there more people in the cars? He couldn't tell.

- He took his high-tech glasses to analyze his surroundings. He realized that the suitcase contained some dangerous chemicals involving nitrogen. Nitrogen-based explosives are considered incredibly volatile and Daisuke decided that this was no situation for messing around. But then he saw a girl with them. She emerged from the shadows and stood by the mafia boss's side, she looked somewhat insecure but knew that she was supposed to be there despite the tension building in the room. And then in the midst of their negotiations he heard him say that he'll pay for a bigger amount in exchange for the girl.

- She looked shocked beyond belief. She didn't want to enroll into yet another criminal organization. Just from her reaction Daisuke could conclude that she was nothing like the rest of the people she worked for, perhaps she was just a victim? Taken as a hostage so she could do their dishonorable job? He heard him say that the suspect could create more goods with her help. He admitted that they were running out of material recently so he offered her as the ideal tool. He praised her capability and skillful hands, that she was qualified for production of weapons, especially firearms.

- She objected, expressing her disapproval of the whole idea. She was nobody's minion to let herself be manipulated so casually. She didn't want that. The mafia boss seemed vividly unnerved by her attitude, she was lucky to be so pretty otherwise she'd experience a faith worse than death.

- Before the situation could get out of control Daisuke opened the door and dropped a gas bomb. The thick smoke filled the room and everyone started coughing. With his high-tech equipment Daisuke could still identify everyone and he entered the scene, ran past the group of distracted gang members and tried to save the girl by taking her hand. Since she also couldn't see much, she started to resist and she managed to kick him a couple of times before he took her by force and carried her somewhere safe. When they took a refuge, he called his police colleagues who then entered and started shooting. The mafia members were shooting as well but to no avail so they got into their cars and tried to flee. The police waited outside creating a barrier but with enough speed and force they succeeded in breaking it and escaping their sentence. Daisuke was disappointed, it was supposed to be a clear catch but it seemed like their cars were built of some fine titanium-like material which allowed them to push through it a lot easier. His thoughts got interrupted by the tight clenching of the woman's hands on his jacket, she was still holding onto him from all the fear she just expected.

- He got worried so he took her hands and shifted a little to look at her face. He asked her if she was okay and if she was going through some sort of a panic attack. She told him that she was fine. She still looked somewhat stressed out so he stroked her hair to calm her down. It was considered a normal police approach towards victims and children, it's not like he had compassion towards anyone in particular, he never did. He was a millionaire detective with no sense of empathy. They stood up and he decided to take her to the police station so she could give her report. When they arrived and got seated in the office she introduced herself. Her name was Hamada Suzue and she was working as a weapon constructor for the mafia boss, she knew of mechanics and engineering but also some other kinds of small jobs she used to do in the meantime. She got involved with them by accident and needed to keep up with their wishes for the past six months. She revealed everything they were doing, the plans she overheard them talking about and their lab for creating all sorts of things.

- After the interrogation she proved herself to be quite useful and gave them a large amount of information. Daisuke then went to drive her home but she said the mafia knew where she lived. It was unfortunate because everyone had already gone to their homes by now so they couldn’t organize a night watch. It would be too dangerous to leave her alone by herself anyways. Daisuke suggested she take her things from home and move in with him for a while until they finally caught the criminals. She began to refuse but he assured her that it was the right thing to do.

- Eventually she agreed and did as she was told. When they reached Daisuke’s mansion Suzue couldn’t believe her own eyes, she practically stared at the unique sight in front of her. When they went inside, she looked around and found herself fascinated by the whole place. She asked him where he got all this from and he replied that he was a millionaire detective. She told him that it was wonderful, that he must be so lucky. But then he looked a bit down and replied that it wasn't really like that, Suzue then looked somewhat sad and apologized. Daisuke ordered the servants to prepare dinner for them and during that time he showed her where her room would be.

- The servants, despite knowing that Daisuke's business was none of their concern, were still curious enough to ask him who was the girl that he brought with himself. He replied that it was a victim who needed a temporary accommodation until they imprisoned the criminals. Telling them that, he left and headed for the dining room. The servants gave each other knowing looks, they knew perfectly well where this was going. Daisuke could have called a hotel room for her but still decided to keep her here at his place. When she moved all her things to the closets, she joined him in the dining room and they ate.

- The atmosphere was nice and cozy. The ambiance so beautiful and luxurious and the food delicious. It was some type of unusual food since Suzue ate it for the very first time. As they ate, they talked a little about themselves and got to know each other. Suzue's discussions mostly revolved around work and so did Daisuke's. Despite working for the bad guys in the past couple of months, Suzue realized she didn't resent her work, in fact, it motivated her even more to promote her knowledge and skills. She had earned her bachelor's degree for a reason and she wanted to achieve herself as a person, to gain respect and approval. The only misfortune that struck her was that she entered into business with bad people, and now she claimed that she has learned from her mistakes. Suzue took the opportunity to thank Daisuke for the rescue and accommodation.

- Although she didn't come from an aristocratic family, Suzue had fine manners and a cheerful spirit, something Daisuke admired about her. She was so talented, so smart, so capable. She's doing things he couldn't even imagine himself doing without HEUSC, she was a real sight to behold.

- Daisuke talked about his detective work and motivation behind it, his past and the loss of his parents. Suzue felt bad but he told her it was fine, that it was something he needed to get used to. She asked him if he lived with someone to which he replied that he was alone. Suzue admitted that her childhood also wasn't all that great and that she lost confidence in pursuing relationships because of being surrounded by thugs, Daisuke on the other hand, felt proud that she felt comfortable with him and his place. They needed to grow up into responsible adults by themselves, they fought so hard to become people they were today. She concluded that they were lucky for how far they have come and wished Daisuke all the best, she said that past doesn't define a person and that each struggle is a steeping block to reach one's true potential.

- And then she got up from her seat and came to Daisuke's side. She placed a hand on his cheek, thanked him for the dinner and apologized for hitting him at the mafia hideout. Daisuke smiled a little and told her it was nothing. Then she left the dining room, leaving Daisuke alone with his thoughts. She was so respectful and kind through the dinner but something changed, the sudden confidence and flirtiness wasn't necessary, Daisuke concluded. It's like she was honest through the whole conversation that all of a sudden she remembered something that made her change her attitude, that sudden change of personality worried him. She's still hiding something. He chose not to make a fuss over it but still decided to keep his eyes and ears open in case something happens.

- He left the room and found a couple of servants spying on them. They panicked and apologized for their inappropriate act. They admitted that they just wanted to be supportive of their boss and the pretty lady. He said that their shift was over and that they were allowed to leave their work. As he watched them disappear into the dark hallway Daisuke felt embarrassed, did they really just look that close and comfortable with each other? No, it must be their imagination.

- He was climbing the stairs and just as he was about to enter his room Suzue stopped him and looked a little discouraged. He wondered if there was something wrong and she asked him if she could spend the night with him. She explained that the trauma of being surrounded by the hooligans took a tool on her and that she couldn't fall asleep. Daisuke felt uneasy, before fifteen minutes ago she was flirting and playing confident but now she's traumatized and frightened by her dreams. Either she developed some sort of PTSD, bipolar or she's trying to manipulate him into something which lowkey frightened him. His detective senses screamed at him that something was fishy about the situation but he decided to let her into his room, maybe she was just afraid.

- As he put his things away and went to take off his jacket, he felt something thin and cold pressed against his neck. A knife, wonderful. He should have listened to his instincts. He told all his servants to leave their work, it meant no one could help him anymore. Suzue told him to hand her the gun, he did so and she threw it on the floor far away from their reach. Now she didn't have to worry about him hurting her, so she ordered him to reveal important information they had gathered during the investigation. Daisuke asked her why she was doing this and she replied that she must have a plan B in case the mafia finds her anyway. If she proves herself to be useful and gives them away all that information maybe they'll spare her the torture and take her back in. Daisuke felt sad, realizing that she still didn't feel safe with him, that she didn't trust his words. It seemed like she was betrayed by the authorities before, that it wasn't the first time. Daisuke wanted to fix that, he just wanted to gain her trust again, this time for real.

- He laid his hand on hers, not to take away her knife but to calm her down. This time it wasn't a classic police procedure towards victims, he did this because he genuinely cared about her and he wanted her to know that. He told her about how much he had been in the police force, about his high-tech equipment, alarm system and other surveillance components, the basement where he kept all his weapons and aids in the case of emergency. He told her that he even does boxing and admitted that he could've disarmed her at any given moment but still decided not to do it because he didn’t want to hurt her. Suzue lowered the knife and let it fall out of her hand. She was so shaken, insecure, desperate. She said that all she really wanted was to finally trust someone and feel safe without having to make up for it.

- Daisuke slowly approached and hugged her, she hugged him back and cried. This was the first time Suzue could actually rely on someone and she was very grateful. He said that her past was being too hard on her but he also reminded her of her own words, that past doesn't define a person. He let her stay in his room that night.

- The next day he woke up to see a tray with food placed by his side and Suzue greeting him. A breakfast in bed? She told him she did it just for him after what happened the last night as an apology for being a nuisance. Daisuke was preparing himself to properly mock his servants for making their guest doing all the work but she stopped him by saying that it was entirely her idea and that they had nothing to do with it. Daisuke thanked her and asked how he should repay her to which she replied that she didn't want that, that she didn't want him to make up for anything. This reminded him of her words from the last night, that all she wanted was to feel safe without having to make up for it, she wanted him to feel the same way. So it was supposed to be a mutual understanding? When Suzue realized that, in all her determination to make things better between them, she didn't notice that she was ordering him around and acting very impolite to which she panicked and started apologizing.

- Daisuke smiled and he actually found it quite sympathetic. Listening to a stranger in his own home was oddly satisfying. It felt so normal and domestic, it reminded him of the days when his family was still together. No, he shouldn't feel so nostalgic just from a nice gesture from a stranger. A certain stranger who decided to step a foot into his world. Daisuke felt a warm feeling overflowing him, is she really supposed to be just some random stranger? They talked only yesterday and yet it felt as he knew her very well from the conversation they had.

- He thanked her for the meal, returned to his bed and tried it out. This was the very first time he tasted someone else's cuisine that wasn't from servants or specialized chefs. It was exiting in a way; she didn’t know his taste and everything she made was based entirely on her own preferences. He took a bite and couldn't believe how good it was. The flavors were nicely balanced and the texture was good, nothing too bland nor spicy. He complimented her cooking and she looked happy and proud of herself.

- After breakfast he needed to go back to detective work. He was still kind of worried that Suzue will feel uneasy being by herself so he showed her the basement with weapons and video surveillance so she could see what's happening in the house at any moment.

- Needles to say, when he came back he realized that she turned the basement into a workshop and he found her working on a weapon he has never been in a possession of. She greeted him and said that she noticed he didn't have enough firearm despite calling it the weapon's room so she took matters into her own hands and constructed something by herself. Daisuke, instead of warning her about messing around with his belongings without permission or criticizing his lack of equipment, decided to take a look at what she had made for him. She made a sniper rifle, he examined it and noticed it was correctly handled in every way. He decided to try it out on a dummy and it also worked perfectly. Daisuke smirked, showing her his satisfaction. He allowed her to do things like this more often.

- Daisuke has been away from home often lately and Suzue was not allowed out for her own safety. It was pretty boring for Suzue and even if she was allowed, she could only do so with Daisuke's escort. When he returned home she asked him if she could take part in his missions which he refused, saying that he didn't want to expose her to unnecessary danger. It's true, he took her to dinners and everywhere outside to spare her the boredom but she asked this time because she wanted to be useful. Daisuke finally decided to give in and let her do as she pleased. Arguing with her wouldn't do him any good and outraging her might even lead to an worse outcome, because she would probably come out on her own and get into trouble which would then result into him being guilty since police officers are the ones who're supposed to take care of their victims' safety. He couldn't really do anything about it, she was so determined and passionate about her goals that he had no other choice but to play along. Daisuke noticed that she was the first person to ever control him that way, he never let himself be manipulated by anyone. He was the millionaire detective, no one was supposed to get into his way of things and yet, this woman had the audacity to interfere and shape things the way she wanted. This was the first time Daisuke realized that he felt something more for the person he shared his mansion with.

- Suzue tried herself in the role of a spy and seductress so thanks to her help, they managed to uncover several other dealers and smugglers. She wasn't afraid this time because she knew that she was being put under constant watch and Daisuke decided to borrow her his high-tech equipment because he was this worried. Daisuke never shared his equipment with anyone, at this point it was obvious that he started acting so unlike himself, that he actually cared for her well-being.

- As they lived longer and longer with each other Daisuke discovered something new about her every day, all positive things. He adored her driving skills and when she told him that she was also in the possession of a pilot license, he felt so proud. He supported her in everything she was doing and she couldn't be happier to return his kindness with whatever he asked her to construct.

- The day has finally come when they managed to capture the mafia Suzue was working for. Now she was a free woman, she could go home and continue living her own life. The thing is, she couldn't. She was so happy living with Daisuke and she could finally use her talents for good, for helping the police and other innocent people like herself. It's like she finally found a place she could belong, Daisuke felt like home to her. When she waited for his answer she wasn't expecting him to kiss her. He was holding back all this time and hid behind his aristocratic politeness that he managed to deceive her, making her believe that he was just kind and supportive of her without any ulterior motives. She laughed with tears in her eyes, she was so happy and they returned home, holding each other's hand.

- They got married and in the two years since living with him, Suzue has adapted to a rich lifestyle and mastered all manners while Daisuke showered her in luxuries.

- He couldn't judge her at this point, because he knew that everyone would do that in her place, so he asked her if she had decided to marry him because of his wealth that he owned. To his surprise, she said no. She admitted that she was never the type of woman to be influenced by money so easily. She stayed with him because of him, and that was the only thing that mattered.

[strvwberryblcnde]

👫 lana & dom

send a 👫 and I’ll write four headcanons i have about our muses’ relationship.

lana buys lots of things on random whims n i feel like smthn she wld have bought the summer her n dom started properly seeing each other is a polaroid camera. probably one of those fujifilm mini ones in pink w stickers on of holographic mermaids n butterflies. n all her friends wld be subject to hving their photos taken on this at 447294734 parties but fr the most part like 50% of the film wld be spent on dom esp considering how often they’d see each other. i cn imagine her being annoying abt it e.g. bursting in unannounced when he ws showering n flinging the curtain bk n shrieking in delight as she tkes a pic of him in there. penis NOT in shot (lana ws very disappointed when she realised altho inevitably dom ws relieved). it ws probably rly blurry too from her springing out of nowhere n running away after she’d dazed him w the flash bt lana wld never dream of throwing it away she’s probably like ugh cole sprouse WISHES he ws me tht stupid i’m weird i’m a weirdo bitch i’m taking his photographer crown n i’m loving it..... another time if she ws wearing his tshirt or smthn jst to laze around in she wld have tried to convince dom to wear her cropped bowie t-shirt she usually lounges in she’d b like OUTFIT SWAP!!!! like it ws a reality show segment. she’d do his hair w her strawberry clips n everything n wna take a polaroid of tht as well. a majority of these polaroids wld b taken w her sat on top of him in bed peeping thru the viewfinder n grinning sickeningly wide after. she’s bad at organisation bt she wld keep very close track of these polaroids n treasure them a lot bc they’d document a summer where she was rly rly happy. probably took them with her to la too she jst has them hidden somewhere.... idk if she’d ever b able to bring herself to throw them away to b honest

i jst had this vision of lana n dom taking franklin to the park n i already told u abt how she’d tell franklin tht she gives the flowers all their own names n say he shld come up w his own names fr them too bc it’s more fun tht way bt. i cn imagine if they saw two bees trying to pollinate the same flower n like buzzing close to each other if franklin pointed it out lana wld gasp n be like OMG they’re in love. they’re married bees. u can tell frm how bright their stripes r they’re extra yellow n glowing like the sun tht’s what happens. tht means they’re in love franklin. n idk if franklin wld say this or not bt if he asked what loves like lana wld b like hmMMM well. love’s kind of like being first in the queue fr the best rollercoaster. or licking the sugar off ur fingers when they’re all sticky frm candy floss. going to the zoo n getting to see all ur favourite animals on a day tht’s sunny but not TOO hot. enough to give ur nose freckles bt not burn ur shoulders. make u feel toasty like ur inside a cocoon. n love’s like........ she’d pause here. she’s crouched dwn on his lvl as she says this mayb dom hs walked off to get them ice creams n she briefly lks at him in the distance as he’s paying before lking bk at franklin. scrunching her nose playfully as she tries to stall. when she hesitantly continues she’s like. n love’s like getting home after tht perfect day at the zoo n finally getting into bed w fresh sheets when ur sleepy n ur eyes r all droopy n heavy. the pillows r fluffy n it’s safe n warm n all of the gd in the world at once. i think love’s like tht. it’s jst.... nice n stuff. n she’d jst be like :) afterwards realising she’d rambled on n change the subject like hey lk at that BUTTERFLY franklin............. bt i jst think this is. particularly heartwarming to me bc not only wld she have been basing tht on hw she feels abt dom bt. in the past love ws always a thing w barbs tht hurt her whenever she tried to hold it n.... he jst rly transformed her idea of being loved by someone into smthn safe n reliable n consistent......... smthn she cld actually make a home out of instead of constantly hving an eye on the door in case they leave / she needs an escape route..... a relationship isn’t a scary concept w him

lana n dom r like. opposites when it comes to social media esp instagram...... dom jst nt even knowing hw to use it n lana posting so regularly hving a small following fr her fashion n whtever.......... i feel like lana wld try to teach him how to use it bt it wld consist of a lot of her being like no that’s--.... dom that’s--.... that’s not ri--.... n jst throwing her head bk n cackling so much she wld b rly endeared by him being clueless abt it she’d be like ommmmmmmmmg it’s ok i’ll b steve jobs n u can be my sexy assistant tht just has to strut besides me like a car dealership model whenever i go on stage to debut the nxt technological advancement. dom wld have to be like... isn’t he dead? lana wld gasp so suddenly n be like omfggggggggg tht explains why me calling this tech nerd wearing a turtleneck steve jobs lst week bombed so hard mayb he thought i ws telling him to die..... dom’s probably like... i doubt he thought tht lana..... she wld laugh at the thought of this anyway n change topics jst the worst attention span already over it. ALSO this is instagram related bt.... bev.kingston wld rly centralise her hate crusade onto dom when it became clear they were dating / things gt mre official n serious. mostly lana wld b like this is so funny n dumb bt.... i think she wld dm bev.kingston one time being like. ok all jokes aside can u cool it a little on the dom hate not to b gross bt he makes me rly happy n i dnt want him to b sad if he ever advances beyond a technological grandpa n sees all this stuff. bev.kingston wld literally screenshot this n post it on her insta like LANA AND I HAVE BEEN IN CLOSE CONTACT I HAVE DECIDED EVANS BOY IS ON TRIAL BASIS EVEN IF I HATE IN MY HEART AND KNOW FREYA IS ONE FOR HER  n she’d update her page like 21/08/2020 LANA DM’D ME ABOUT EVANS BOY (or whtever the date ws) n it’d be sm. lana wld b embarrassed she’d try to get her to delete it she’d b like fk my fking life ur sick bev ur lit rally sick.....

lana treats halloween as a week long celebration she goes to sm parties tht she literally hs to have like..... 482759872 costumes planned each yr. n fr one of them. she’d b like let’s go as each other :) n she’d dress as an angel n he’d dress as a devil. she’d put on red lipstick before they went purely to “help w his costume” n it’d jst consist of her leaving lipstick prints on his cheek n neck n hip even if. his hip wsnt visible w the top he ws wearing she’d b like dom listen.... listen. it’s literally part of the vision n it’s necessary......... it doesn’t matter if ppl can’t see it we’ll both kno it’s there n it’ll elevate the look so mch...... w that attention to detail u cld even b in the running fr winning a prize...... then she wld take the lipstick off like it wldnt even be part of her outfit she only put it on to do this specifically. she’d insist on them getting a photo tgether n it’d b a bit gross it’d b a whole thing she jst.... wld b very proud to b seen w him she’d show him off a lot.... if anyone complimented her outfit she’d b like ya n have u seen dom he’s a devil we match :) n if there ws another pair tht had worn the same which i mean there probably might it isn’t a hugely original concept bt lana wld be like......... ummmmm tht guy is the most pathetic devil i hv literally ever seen..... if she ws drunk she might even b like ummm.... hw does it feel fr dom to be a sexier devil than u............... does it sting? jealous i bet....... n dom wld have to b like lana please.... im sry abt her.... u lk gd haha...... cushioning the blow. taking her hand n leading her away. n lana is jst tittering n murmurs in his ear like. he knew it ws true u cld see it in his eyes. he knew u lkd better than him. 

[qqueenofhades]

the book of dust & daybreak: chapter four

Summary: Sequel to the shadows among the stars. Garcia Flynn and Lucy Preston, having returned to the present, are in a race against time to retrieve Ashmole 782 and prepare for a supernatural war against the all-powerful David Rittenhouse and his evil allies. As the creature world is plunged into fear, suspicion, and darkness, and as they face new challenges to their relationship and their family, the odds have never been higher and the need has never been greater. Love, magic, mystery, hope, and heroism must find the way, and vampires, witches, and daemons must somehow come together to resist a common enemy and heal centuries of estrangement, as the All Souls Trilogy reaches its epic conclusion. Rating: M Status: WIP Previous: Durance Vile

Chapter 4: Collateral Damage

Rufus Carlin has been through a lot of shit in the six-odd months since he started dating Jiya de Clermont. There’s the realization that the supernatural world was real and her dad could literally chomp on him, being chased through Oxford at suspect hours by shady characters, building the TimeMaster 3000 and scanning the past in case it started to break, the terrifying adventure to rescue Anton Sokolov, the months in Paris and Venice (which would be nice under other circumstances), the constant vigilance, the preparation for a war, and now, the fact that his job is on very thin ice, which is the first godforsaken ordinary thing he’s had to worry about and in that sense, is almost nice. Not that he regrets it. He is madly in love with Jiya, and it’s a testament to that fact that he’s stuck it out through all this, but he can’t deny that he’s looking forward to a few days in Oxford. Not just to save his bacon, although that is obviously a priority, but just to have a little space from all these crazy supernaturals and their crazy problems. He feels bad for leaving Jiya, but they can’t be together every hour of the day and night, and she’s at Sept-Tours, which is a real-life fantasy video-game fortress, surrounded by her family. She’ll be fine. Hopefully.

The one snag in Rufus’s foolproof plan to pretend that this is completely normal has come in the form of his traveling companion. Jack Blackfriars is nice and all, and if Rufus was single, he’d definitely appreciate his effectiveness at drawing female attention. But he’s not, and Jack is a five-hundred-year-old vampire – courteous, serious, and old-fashioned enough that Rufus, who possesses multiple advanced degrees and lectures in astrophysics and computer science at the world’s top university, found himself compelled to explain an in-flight menu on the plane over to England. He doesn’t want to be a dick, but Jack has had a lot more time than anyone to learn about it, and if he hasn’t gotten it by now, Rufus isn’t going to serve as his personal concierge. At least Jack doesn’t seem to expect it, and hey, if Rufus was born while Elizabeth the First was queen, he’d probably trip up from time to time too. They know each other a little from all those months in Venice, and they’re cool.

The main problem with Jack, however, is not his Luddite tendencies or habit of slipping into King James English when he’s tired or worked up. It’s the fact that Jiya clearly asked him to keep a weather eye on Rufus, and while they were waiting for their luggage at Gatwick, Rufus wandered off to have a pee and found Jack having kittens when he got back. This seemed a little over the top, since Rufus definitely isn’t going to ask for permission to go to the bathroom every time, and he resents the implication that he is a helpless and fragile human who is at risk of immediate death every time he’s out of sight. He knows not to let his stupid pride or male ego get in the way, but if that was the case, he’s already fucked and there’s not much to be done about it. He’s tried to help as much as he can, he built all the tech and the TimeMaster and the setup for watching Liechtenstein while Jiya’s uncle Gabriel was playing Sleeping Beauty. But he’s conscious that he can’t fight like the rest of them, that if push comes to shove he’s going to be two hundred pounds of total deadweight, and that is… he doesn’t know what to do with that.

The drive to Oxford passes in silence except for stiltedly polite conversation, but as they sit in a long traffic queue in Headington, Rufus decides to bite the bullet. “So, man,” he remarks, as offhandedly as he can. “You planning to Bodyguard me this whole time, or – ?”

Jack shoots a confused glance at him. He shifts into gear as the cars ahead of them start moving; he’s a careful, deliberate driver who acts like he just got his license, sticking exactly to the speed limit, always using his turn signal, and waiting long enough to let someone merge that Rufus, born and bred on the fury roads of Chicago, wants to yell at him to punch it because only the strong survive. Finally he says, “Jiya did ask that I looked after you, yes.”

[read the rest on AO3]

[marionetteblues]

the future

JILY CHALLENGE | @marionetteblues vs @chierafied TV Show AU -  "i am painfully in love with a woman who has been engaged to another man for 3 years, who she is marrying now because she is in denial about the fact she has feelings for me so honestly no i'm not okAY... my wife is marrying someone else" jim and pam the office au

what is this? who knows, not me soooo this is an eensy bit late because i’m an idiot but it’s just about on time! also i have no idea how security works in any shape or form so please don’t yell at me over it and let’s all call it creative license ok 

Sometimes, James thinks he can tell the future. He gets these weird feelings - flashes, maybe - when he meets a person. He knew the moment he met Sirius that this person would become like a brother to him. He could see it spread out before his feet, scrolling through every second of his life.

He had the same feeling when he met Remus. He knew when he met Lisa how their relationship would end. It played out in a way that was eerily accurate to his own prediction.

He’s been wrong once - Peter, unfortunately - and it never changes. It usually happens in that first split second of looking into someone’s eyes and just knowing.

That’s why he never sees Lily coming. She kind of sneaks up on him.

The briefing has been steadily melting his brain all morning. He didn’t finish up last night until at least a quarter to midnight, because the band did three encores and then invited a bunch of people back to the green room.

Alastor Moody stands at the top of the room, and at least he looks as bored as James does. He’s crawling through a list of assignments in a drone, but his eyes never rest. They dart around uneasily. Nothing unusual.

He’s been at Moody’s specialised security firm for about a year now. Most of the guys are a lot like Moody - slightly older, grizzly looking guys who look like they could punch through cement. Having a missing limb isn’t a requirement, but Moody knows what he likes, and that’s apparently amputees who could kill you.

James is kind of an anomaly, if you think about it. But he’s good - he does a lot of tech stuff, a lot of crawling into tight spaces that no one else can fit in, a lot of pretending to be a hipster arts student to “blend in”. James doesn’t mind; he’s still a junior member of the team - a lot of the time, he just gets puts on a team because he’s on the payroll and Moody is going to be damn sure he’s going to use anyone he’s paying.  

That feeling he gets? It makes him pretty good at his job.

“Potter,” Moody barks. “I’m putting you on Dawlish’s team to guard the ambassador’s family. We’re expecting it to be an easy job. Which is why you’re taking the new recruit with you.”

It’s some kind of magic, but that’s the exact second there’s a knock on the door. The girl who lets herself in is compact, a little on the short side. Her dark red hair is pulled into a sharp, sleek ponytail. She’s dressed in black, sensible clothes. Her expression makes her look like she could eat them alive.

A couple of the guys shift uncomfortably. There have been women before, obviously, but a lot of the team have been there for decades, and Moody doesn’t see any sense in replacing them while they’re still good and not dead. Which means that there’s not a lot of staff turnover.

“Alastor?” she says, easy and light, like she isn’t looking at one of the scariest guys anyone’s ever come across.

“Ah, Evans, just in time,” Moody mutters, clapping his hands together. “I don’t like late.”

She shrugs her shoulders. “I got a little held up at your HR department.”

Moody blinks at her for a second - the rest of the room holds its breath - and then coughs out a laugh.

“Take a seat. Everyone, this is Lily Evans. She’s our new recruit, and she’s one of the best in the business. I wouldn’t cross her,” he adds with a wry smile, even a tiny, harsh chuckle.

“As I was saying, Potter, you’ll be staying with Evans until she gets acquainted with how we work around here. He’ll fill you in, Evans. Right. Back to work!”

And that’s how he meets her, giving her the details of a glorified babysitting mission, which involves a lot of walking while looking menacing, driving cars in tight packs so they get hit with the bombs or bullets or anything else that could be heading for the target.

“Is this your first time in security?” he asks her as they leave, geared up and split into pairs.

Lily walks alongside him with breezy confidence, turning her head to look at him sharply. “Well. I’ve been with MI6 and the CIA for three years, and I’ve got three advanced degrees in criminology and security management. Can you defuse a bomb?”

James can’t help but laugh, throwing his hands up in surrender. “Alright, I’m waving a white flag here. I didn’t mean to imply you had something to prove. Just making small talk.”

Lily grumbles something under her breath that he doesn’t quite catch, and she says nothing until they get to their car.

He takes one look at her and then nods to the driver’s seat. “I’m guessing you want to drive, then?”

James can see her, biting back her smirk. But she doesn’t quite manage it as she climbs into the driver’s side and starts the engine. James grins and follows her.

The thing is, James doesn’t see it. Not right away.

Here’s what he sees: this is the first co-worker in Moody’s entire outfit that is anywhere close to his age, so it makes sense for them to band together. They’d probably be partners a lot, and Lily would do that thing where she deflects his prodding and personal questions and keep it kind of professional, while at the same time they’re eating a mountain of chinese food out of cardboard containers while sitting in their car, maybe tossing cheetos at each other or something.

It doesn’t really start like that.

Lily is … quiet. She wears her sunglasses and stares at the windshield when they’re doing the more covert stuff. She stands much taller than she actually is and stares straight ahead when she’s on duty.

At briefings, she sits and takes notes and plays with a ring that’s kept on a silver chain around her neck, tugging it back and forth.

But slowly, Lily opens up, and they end up more or less exactly the way James saw. And that’s fine, because that’s how it works. James sees, and then the world sees.

They’re doing heightened security for some singer who’s convinced that someone is planning to kill him after his show. They’ve got people on every entrance, two on either side of the stage, plants in the audience. Moody says they’re making a fortune from this guy’s anxiety.

They’re kind of spares, here. They’re alert, they’re ready, but there’s not really much for them to do except sit against the wall under harsh fluorescent lights outside of the dressing room - locked, of course - and feel the bass vibrating through the floor, rattling their bones.

Lily’s got her head buried in her phone, toying with her ring. She wears it around her neck on a silver chain when she’s in the field - if you could even call this in the field - and James has seen her tug on it a lot, back and forth.

“Is there really something more interesting than me on that thing?” James says, poking her arm. His earpiece crackles like someone’s trying to get through, but no one says anything.

“Is this about your ego or about you being a Luddite?” she says with a wry grin, but she doesn’t look up.

James pouts. “Can’t it be about both?”

“Isn’t it always about both?”

“Sometimes it’s about your ego,” he points out, making her laugh.

She lifts her head, rests it against the wall and blinks at him. “It’s my mum.”

James snorts into his bottle of water. “Is she antiquing or crafting?”

Lily wrinkles up her nose like she does so often. It’s her signature move. “She’s not doing either. You’ll be appropriately horrified to find out that my mother has found an even worse hobby.”

“Something worse than antiquing?”

Lily nods gravely, letting out a deep, dramatic sigh.

James narrows his eyes. “Something worse than crafting?”

“Considering that antiquing is worse than crafting, obviously…”

James holds up a hand, resting his elbow on his knee before she can go any further. “Lily, I am not getting into this argument with you again, there is no way -”

“You said you weren’t getting into this argument again, you’re just -”

“I just can’t believe you think antiquing is more of a problem here -”

“You know, I think you’re more of a problem here -”

They both pause to take in a large breath at the same moment, and then burst out laughing. They’re sitting in the hallway that runs from the dressing room to the steps up to the stage. One of their guys pokes his head around from where he stands on the wings to peer at the commotion, and they just laugh when they try to silence the other.

They both go quiet, and in the silence Lily starts fiddling with her ring again, glancing at her phone.

“So, what is worse than crafting and antiquing?” James says, glancing at the phone. It hasn’t buzzed or lit up.

Lily groans. “Wedding planning.”

There’s a few beats of silence; whatever James was expecting, it was in the abstract. If he had to guess, maybe beekeeping or making her own shoes something else a little wacky. He hasn’t met Lily’s mum, but he’s seen a lot of pictures and heard a lot of stories.

He shifts his weight uncomfortably before he realizes he hasn’t said anything, and Lily’s looking at him with this sort of expectant expression.

There’s not a whole lot James can say back to that.

“Have you set a date? Did you deliberately not invite me?”

Lily doesn’t scowl the way normal people scowl. She scowls with her whole face, her whole body, her whole self - past, present and future. It’s terrifying.

She scowls now and James braces himself to scoot away from her.

“No, we haven’t set a date yet,” she tells him, her arms folded tightly across her chest. “Three years I’ve been waiting for Aaron to set a date. Now, I think he’s just taking bets on how long I last before my head blows up.”

James clears his throat. Lily talks about Aaron too. They met so many years ago, it’s like a whole other Lily. Before she ever got a qualification, before any of her training, she worked as a receptionist for a newspaper, and that’s where she met him.

Privately, James thinks that Aaron is trying to set the record for world’s longest engagement.

And then it hits him, jabbing him right in his stomach. He blinks over at Lily and he can see something else, something he never saw before. He swallows, his whole body going cold as Lily keeps talking about her fianc��. He can’t look away, but he can barely look at her. His heart is hammering and his insides are shaking, his entire body reeling from the gravity of … this.

Once he’s home, James lies in bed, wide awake for hours. He watches the sun crawl up from behind the horizon from his spot on the bed, he watches his room slowly lighten from pitch black to shadows and shapes.

This is what he sees now: the same arguments, crafting or antiquing or even something worse, only now they’re in his apartment instead of their work space. Instead of sharing his lunch because she never remembers to bring food, he makes them both lunch. Backing away when she scowls with her own body, but hearing her laugh when he does. Distracting her from her phone in other ways than poking her in the arm, much more exciting ways …

He alternates between lying on his sides, stomach, and back. He pinches his nose and stares at the ceiling. Every second he spends not sleeping, he grows more uncomfortable, and the less he can think about anything else.

He’s heard Lily talk about her fiancé dozens of times. He asked her about her ring once, and she said she didn’t want to lose it, and he felt nothing. He remembers feeling nothing.

Or maybe he just doesn’t remember feeling anything, so he thinks he didn’t.

Or maybe he remembers feeling something, but he never realized that this was what he was remembering.  

It makes no sense, to see the trajectory of a relationship, to think you know exactly what’s going to happen and have no idea, all in one moment. And in the very next, you know, and you realize you knew nothing.

And that’s when James knows.

He’s been wrong twice.

He tries telling her. His first attempt is some ridiculous teapot scheme while they’re all passing out Christmas presents.

It doesn’t go according to plan.

But she likes the teapot.

“Maybe I don’t need to tell her,” he says to Sirius one day, over  their breakfast. For James, that’s fried eggs and bacon. For Sirius, it is coffee as black as his name.

Sirius does not look impressed.

“All you’ve talked about for months is that you need to tell her,” he points out, his eyebrow drawn up delicately. “And especially before she gets married. Not that you couldn’t tell her after, but it might be a little more tricky. All things considered.”

“Yeah, but she wants to get married, right? I shouldn’t get in the way of that.”

Sirius takes a massive gulp of his coffee like he’s chugging a beer. “Look, I think if she really wants to be married, she’d be married.”

“She’s waiting for -”

“Oh my god, James, I physically cannot care about this anymore.”

“I know, I’m just saying that -”

“Don’t. Care.” James glares at him in complete silence until Sirius shrugs his shoulders again. “People make things happen when they want them to happen.”

“So you think I should make it happen?”

“I never said that,” replies Sirius, going back for more coffee, because he never learns.

“But you think I should?”

“If it makes you stop whining about the girl, tell her in skywriting, Potter, just do something.”

Do something. That’s never been something that James has had a problem with. He’s pretty good at getting things done. He’s pretty good at wanting to do things, even. He gets what he wants, most of the time.

But this? This feels different, and weird, and new, and he continues to do this dance with her, feeling his heart thud when she smiles at him across the table during their briefings, experiencing a consuming ache of disappointment when they aren’t on the same assignment.

He even convinces himself that he’s happy to do it. After all, he’s not the opposite of happy.

James picks the worst moment to realize that he can’t wait a second longer. He comes into the break room, and it’s a quiet day. He and Lily are charged with manning the phones, hopping with frantic calls from people with warbling voices who need more security than the local mall can provide.

Lily’s already in the break room, and she nods her head towards the tea that is sitting on the counter, steaming.

“For me?”

She nods distractedly. “It’s so you don’t mind that I’ve commandeered the entire table.”

He sits down opposite her - she’s right. There isn’t a single place to put a small cup of tea. He adds enough sugar to make Lily pull a face, since she’s a purist who doesn’t even put milk in her tea, and then sips on it happily.

“What is all this?” he asks her. It’s a lot of papers, bright colours and fancy fonts.

He peers, and has a sinking feeling in his chest.

“Wedding stuff,” she grumbles. She could have very well said ‘battle plan’ in the same tone. “I figure if I do some of the ground work, maybe Aaron will just ... “

“Just what?” he prompts her, frowning deeply.

Her own face starts to crumple. “What does it mean when someone asks you to marry you and then doesn’t for four years?”

It’s another one of those moments in his life where James thinks he can see the future. He feels the pressure of it laying in front of him, his feet fast approaching him.

“It means you shouldn’t marry him,” he says, his tone lighthearted.

But Lily’s eyes dart up to meet his, her face stricken. “What?”

James’ breath is unsteady; he needs to force his lungs to take in more air before he can speak. “I don’t think you should marry him, Lily.”

She says nothing. Nothing. James watches as she swallows hard, eyes boring into his.

“And why is that, James?”

She leans across the table, and he really sees it - he sees the outcome before it happens, he knows how this is going to work. She wants to hear him say it out loud.

So he does. He tells her exactly why, and he waits for her to smile and say that she loves him too, that they’re much better matched than she ever was with Aaron.

This is when James realizes, for the third time, that he’s wrong.

It’s four a.m. in the morning, and James has given up trying to tell the future. Three strikes and you’re out, and he doesn’t want to find out what happens when you’re wrong for the fourth time.

But just like always, Lily has other ideas. She never fails to sneak up on him. Maybe she thrives on subverting his expectations. Maybe it’s just the universe.

But she shows up - and she doesn’t knock, she bangs, hammers, pounds, brings down the thunder on his door until he opens it - and she stands there, dressed in mismatched socks and her hair in these ridiculous braids that she obviously wears to bed.

And she glares and glares, her hands still balled into fists. “I broke off my wedding for you,” she says, her voice loud and clear. “I broke off my wedding, and you just didn’t say anything. After all the stupid things you said!”

“Stupid?” he repeats, frowning as he rubs sleep from his eyes. He works in security, so he’s got a swiss knife tucked between his fingers. He drops it on the nearest surface. “Technically, you didn’t have a wedding to break off.”

“I had a ring to give back,” she replies, stomping into his apartment. He shuts the door behind her, and finds there are no words inside of him.

“And you don’t even react,” she mumbles, her voice breaking a little bit.

“I wasn’t sure you wanted me to,” James admits, rubbing the back of his neck.

All the fight seems to leave her. She flaps her hands to either side as if she’s saying take a look around, idiot - she’s got a point. It’s four a.m. in the morning, and she’s here in his apartment, looking ridiculous, and yelling at him about wedding rings.

“James…” she whispers, shaking her head. Her eyes are so wide. James can tell she’s doing everything she can not to insult him right now.

And just like that, he can’t see anything. Well, he can see her, he can see the smile growing as the anger wears off to be replaced by something warm and hopeful and good. He can’t see the future. But he can feel it, somewhere deep down, he can feel his future standing in the room with them. This is it.

[readthiscrap-blog]

Out Of Time

Partly inspired by Acrimony, and I just decided to throw a little Black Panther in there. This is AU Erik, that never became Killmonger, but is somehow still a piece of shit. 

Enjoy :)

You sat watching the clock slowly tick away as you took another long swig of wine straight from the bottle, the glass having been abandoned a long time ago.

Tick- 11pm

The trickles of light filtering in through the curtains had long since turned into shadows, and there you were, in the same spot, drinking, playing with a knife, and becoming more and more unhinged at every tick of that stupid fucking clock.

Tock-11:30pm

You didn’t bother checking your phone, you knew he wouldn’t call. Erik never called, not even when he was 5 hours late for your anniversary dinner. You looked at the clock again and you twirled the knife in your hand-6 hours

Tick-12am

You finally heard his keys in the door, but you didn’t move. You just raised the wine bottle to your lips once again. You watched as he came in and walked passed the dinner you had left on the table without a second thought. You watched him drop his keys on the counter, and make his way into the living room.

You watched him turn on the light, you didn’t even flinch at how bright it was, you were focused on other things.

“Shit baby, what are you doing sitting here in the dark like a creep” He had finally noticed you, and although an apology should be the first thing out his lying ass mouth, he decided to question you instead. That was funny, and so you started to laugh.

Tock-12:05am

You laughed, took another gulp of wine, and laughed some more. Your stomach was starting to hurt, you were laughing so much. He even started to laugh with you, but his was the nervous kind. Good, he should be nervous. Your laughter stopped abruptly at the thought of why he should be nervous.

“You’re funny, you know that?” You stood slowly finally becoming aware of exactly how much alcohol you had consumed. You decided to sit the bottle on the table.

“Yeah babe, but I don’t think I told a joke. How much have you had to drink?” Oh this was funny. You almost started laughing again. Here he was trying to play the concerned husband, as if he actually gave a damn about you.

“Sit down.” You ignored his question as you pointed to the spot on the couch that you had just vacated with your now free hand.

“Why? I think you need to go to bed” He started to walk toward you, your skin crawled thinking about his touch.

“Sit. Down.” You had the knife pointed at his chest now. He slowly backed into the couch, and took a seat.

Tick-12:15am

“Baby what is this about? Why are you acting like-”

“Shut up, it’s my turn to talk. That’s how this works now, I talk, and you listen.” You were staring him down now, but he was more focused on the knife you were gripping. He nodded, and sat back.

“We’ve been together since high school Erik, that’s 12 years E, 12 long years, and I’ve loved you every minute of every day, for 12 consecutive years.” You started to laugh again, and then began to pace. “But you know what’s funny? You don’t feel the same.”

You saw him start to open his mouth, and waved him off with your knife. “No, you don’t get to defend yourself right now, trust me i’ve been defending you enough for the last year and a half”

You were standing in front of him now, looking down at the man who held your heart, the man who held a part of your soul within him, a man who you knew didn’t deserve it, and started to laugh again.

Tock-12:21am

“I’ve been defending your actions to everyone, my dad, my cousins, co-workers, even myself.” You were gesturing wildly with your arms, as he tried to focus on your words, and keep an eye on the knife in your hand.

“It’s always because of work, ‘oh he’s just working late’, ‘he’s trying to get a promotion, so he’s working overtime’, ‘he got the promotion so he’s working overtime’, everything was always about work, you and your job.” You were pointing the knife at him now, but you were smiling.

“You could never make it to any events, family or work-related, but I didn’t care, I was so proud of you. My baby moving up so fast at his tech company, my man was working so hard to achieve his dreams.” That smile morphed into a look of despair as your eyes filled with tears.

Tick-12:35am

“But you weren’t working late were you?” You shook your head and answered your own question. “No, maybe in the beginning, but definitely not lately.” You looked at him, and then started to laugh again, he looked so scared.

“I can’t believe I fell for the most cliche lie in the book. ‘I’m working late’, you’ve told me that so many times, and i believed you everytime. Like a dumbass.” You finally let your tears fall.

“Baby I-” You cut off his sorry ass lies before they could start.

“Shut. Up.” You looked at him, and began to talk again, despite the tears that were steadily making paths down your cheeks.

“What are you gonna say? It was a mistake? A mistake that you made every week.” You watched as he hung his head, knowing he’d been caught.

“That’s right nigga, I found it all, every dinner, every hotel room, every flower bouquet.” At that you stopped to chuckle, a watery and sad one, but a chuckle nonetheless. “You don’t even send me flowers.”

“I’m sorry.” That’s all he had to say, and he couldn’t even look you in the eyes to say it.

“No you’re not, you’re sorry that I found out.” You sat on the table in front of him and forced his chin up with the tip of your knife and locked eyes with him. “How long?”

“How long what?” You could read the fear in his eyes as he quickly remembered the weapon you still held.

“Don’t play stupid, it doesn’t suit you. How long have you been fucking that bitch behind my back? How long have you been making me look a damn fool when I come to your office and she smiles in my face knowing she’s fucking my husband? I’m gonna ask you one more time. How. Long?”

“8 months”

Tock- 12:43am

You slowly sat back and tried to do the math. 8 months, what happened 8 months ago? That was November, something big happened in November, what was it? What was- Oh.

“Your promotion. You got promoted 8 months ago, and then you started fucking somebody else.”

“It wasn’t like that, I didn’t plan it. Our offices are right next door to each other now, and we started talking more, and it just happened. I never meant to hurt you baby please, you have to believe me.” He got down on his knees in front of you, and tried to reach for your hand. The knife back at his throat quickly stopped all movement.

“The only thing I have to do is not slit your throat, because I don’t want to go to jail. Although right now jail doesn’t seem so bad.”  You slowly brought the knife down to your side, you were being a little too tempted. The longer you stared at him, the angrier you got.

“Baby let’s talk about this in the morning okay? When you haven’t been drinking.” He tried to reach for the knife again, but this time you were ready, and with one well timed swing his arm was bleeding.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? AH YOU STUPID...FUCK. BABY PUT THE KNIFE DOWN.” He was standing and advancing toward you until you held up the knife again, the blade now tinged red.

“I want you out of my house, and if the cut wasn’t clear enough, I want a divorce.” There was no emotion in your voice. You had none left, you had given it all to the man standing in front of you, and look where that left you. Empty and alone.

“You can’t do that, this is our house.” His arm had stopped bleeding by now, you were glad. The last thing you needed was to catch a case.

“My house remember? When I bought this house you were fresh out of MIT, and had no money. I bought this house for us to spend the rest of our lives in, to raise a family in.” Your eyes were getting misty again, but you pushed that feeling back. “Get out, you know what time I work, so come back tomorrow and get the rest of your shit. I don’t want to see you unless a divorce lawyer is present.” You walked over to the door and held it open.

“I’m sorry baby, I mean that. I fucked us up, but i’m gonna fix it, i’m gonna make it all ok again, and we’re gonna make it.” He was babbling at you as he grabbed his car keys off the counter and walked out the door. You slowly closed and locked it behind him. You laid your forehead on the door.

Tick-1:00am

“No, we’re not.”

[taaroko]

Post-IW MCU Rewatch: Ant-Man

Yay, time for Ant-Man! This one has rather grown on me over the last couple of viewings (not that I ever didn’t like it).  

Hi middle-aged Peggy! (Isn’t it great how many times Hayley Atwell managed to get herself into these movies beyond what the original plan was, out of sheer enthusiasm? Yeah, I’m still bitter Agent Carter got cancelled.)

The music for the logo is awesome.

My killjoy brother says the main reason he dislikes this movie is that he doesn’t think it makes sense that Hank would ever trust some stranger (Scott) with his tech. Um. Hank has been protective of the tech because he doesn’t want it to be abused. But Scott proved he wasn’t a corporate goon by going to prison for screwing over a corrupt corporation. He’s proven himself. Also he doesn’t have the knowledge to make more of the particles, so he can’t steal any of the secrets himself. 

Luis is probably my favorite sidekick in the whole MCU. He’s irrepressibly cheerful, he compulsively makes delicious-looking waffles, he’s a refined wine man and fan of neo-cubism yet also steals two smoothie machines, and when he goes into ramble mode it’s the greatest thing ever.

Anyone who has ever worked food service has met an idiot like Scott’s customer. Also his boss is basically David Brent. Trying way too hard to be cool, but kind of a git and a coward.

Scott’s attitude is super endearing. Very chill, understated reactions to things that annoy him. You get the impression that it’s not so much that he’s a very patient man as that he’s just so used to stuff like Luis’s antics that he’s become kind of inured to it. He’s also able to roll with the punches. Getting fired from Baskin Robbins could’ve made him bitter and angry, but instead he just kind of shrugs and takes that Mango Fruit Blast. He’s not prideful at all. 

I called the tank being real by the second time the keychain appeared onscreen. Chekhov’s Tank!

Hello, Darren Cross, dude who is only not the worst MCU villain because Malekith exists. (How did Malekith manage to have less of a personality than Darren? It’s absurd.)

The ad video for the Yellowjacket is horrifying. Do people actually make ad videos for advanced weaponry? Do they narrate them with movie narrator voices and tidy up the diction to make them sound like wonderful good pieces of technology, but in a not-entirely-convincing way?

How is a hand on a shoulder such a sinister and obvious sign of impending murder?

Cassie is the most adorable little girl ever, and the kid playing her is a really good actress. I love that Scott is a dad. It makes him much more interesting. (Also is he the only divorcé in the entire MCU? Wait no, May is too. I think he’s the only one in the movies, though.)

“He’s so ugly! I LOVE HIM!” AAAAGH. SO CUTE.

I love that all the little details keep coming back. (The tank, the “La Cucaracha” horn.” Just lots of really good callbacks. It’s hard to believe this movie had production issues with changing directors.)

The way Darren kills that guy by shrinking him, and then wipes him up and flushes him, is ridiculously horrific. And the way he looks in the mirror after that is probably the most interesting he ever is in the movie. He knows the path he’s going down, and he’s not stopping.

So it’s not entirely clear. Is Hope dating Darren? Are they living together? Or are they just business partners? I’m confused.

YES LUIS STORY TIME. This is like Kid History, and it’s my favorite thing. Please please please make an MCU recap narrated by Luis, Marvel.

This music is weird and fun. I love it.

Scott parkouring is great. I wonder why he developed that skillset when he was just an electrical engineer. Has he been doing it since he was a kid?

Scott is like the midpoint between Tony Stark and Peter Quill in almost every way. Good at outside-the-box solutions, has engineering skills (but not at Tony’s level), a sense of humor that’s more self-deprecating than Tony’s but less wide-eyed dorky than Peter’s, etc. That’s awesome.

Could you be more transparently evil than using a bleating white lamb for your ill-fated lab experiments?

Huh. There’s a moment where Scott looks in the mirror too. Is that meant to be a contrast with when Darren does it? For Scott, it’s a moment where he resigns himself to failing, even though he caved and did the burglary. I don’t really see the connection, emotionally, to the way Darren looked in the mirror, but I guess one of them is the apprentice Hank rejected, and the other is the apprentice he ultimately chose. *shrug*

Ant-Man perspective is great. The encounter with the rat is terrifying.

You broke Scott’s chill, Hank!

Okay, so Scott’s actual superpower is changing his clothes at the speed of light. It was entirely unnecessary for them to give him such a small interval of time to get the suit on.

“What happens if I throw up in this helmet?”

There were zero bullet ants on the floor in the initial wide shot of the room. Also in the second wide shot. Which takes place two seconds before Scott tries to put his foot on the floor. Did they...forget to render ants in those shots? Or did they forget there were going to be ants there when they filmed from that angle? Gonna count that one as a mistake, because they could not have gotten all over the floor that fast.

They really needed to do more to explain about Darren’s brain chemistry getting messed up by the particles, because as far as I can tell, the first time he ever shrinks himself is on the helicopter at the end. How do these particles make him evil/crazy, exactly? What was he like before? What have the particles done to Hank?

Also they shouldn’t have explained the particles as changing “atomic relative distance” without also explaining that the suit allows you to control your weight relative to size. Because sometimes Ant-Man appears to weigh as much as he looks like he should, but the rest of the time, he’s clearly still 180 lbs in that tiny space (with the reverse problem when he becomes Giant-Man). If he always weighed 180 lbs while being the size of an ant, he would constantly punch through surfaces by walking on them, and if he was always the weight of an ant, he’d be powerless to do anything except be sneaky.

The montages in this movie are great.

Scott uses Hope’s move later. :D And she was totally checking him out.

Huh. Hope and Scott’s conversation in the car happens exactly halfway through the movie, and it’s the turning point. This is when they start being on the same team.

Hank’s revelation about Janet comes rather out of nowhere. I feel like they could’ve woven that in more effectively. It’s also a little exposition-heavy to entirely work on the emotional level.

This gesture by Scott is one of the best things.

I love the crossovers. Crossovers forever! (Seriously, put Thor cameos in future GotG movies and Loki cameos in future Doctor Strange movies. No, I don’t for a second believe Loki is really dead.)

Poor Sam. He missed out on Sokovia just to get trolled by this rando in a shrinking suit.

Hope saw Scott use her move! Hee!

Sinister hand on shoulder!

Okay, Hope’s “I’m at home” line is why I was confused about whether she and Darren were dating and living together. But it occurs to me now that there’s not really an implication that it’s his home too. So I think they’re just business partners. Good. Because Darren being double-crossed by his girlfriend and failing to react on that level would have made him a much worse character than he already was.

Seriously love Luis, and the other two guys are great too. Excellent crew of wombats.

I love the wallpaper in Hank’s house. Also, just, all of Hank’s house. It’s so pretty.

Okay I absolutely believe that Luis was the only guy to ever knock out that huge dude from the prison. He’s been knocking people out with single punches left and right on this job so far. I love him even more now! That’s such a cool little bit of consistency for him.

Is it true that cops use Crown Victorias as their undercover cars most often? Because I’ve kind of assimilated that as real-life trivia ever since theaters.

What was the point of frying the servers if they were just going to shrink the building to nothing anyway?

Kurt and Tip are hilarious. “There was a black guy who looked exactly like me who attacked us and put us in the back of this disgusting van!”

So if the Avengers have spent the last year taking down Hydra facilities, how are there still people in Hydra who can spend billions for Yellowjacket suits?

I thought Hank was going to die the first time I saw this. Now I’m betting this will be a How to Train Your Dragon situation with Ant-Man and the Wasp, where not long after we discover the long-lost mom, the dad gets killed.

Darren’s villain music is the best thing about him. It’s very unnerving.

All the fights while Scott’s in the suit are so much fun to watch.

“Are we the good guys? Feels kinda weird.”

I don’t like that the chain attachment on the tank also gets huge. And how does a tank cushion a three-storey drop?

That Darren is able to shoot ants is very silly and weird. Would’ve worked better if there was buckshot or something. But still. This movie made me care about an ant dying.

Dangit, Darren, you just killed everyone else in the chopper. You suck.

Briefcase fight! I remember how hard everyone laughed when “Disintegration” started playing in theaters. So great.

All the abrupt cuts from epic to insignificantly small are what make these fights so funny and awesome.

Bug zapper! I watched this with my dad recently (his first time seeing it) and he laughed so hard at the bug zapper.

Another tased Avenger!

So I thought this movie was going to be stupid, right up until the trailer got to the bit with Thomas the Tank Engine. Then I knew it was going to be amazing. It’s still probably my favorite moment in the whole movie.

They kinda overdid it with the “back it up” bit.

Giant ant! Poor Paxton.

Did anyone not see it coming from the moment Hank talked about going sub-atomic that Scott was going to have to do it at the end?

The infinite shrink is mesmerizing to look at. I bet this movie was cool in 3-D. (I have glasses, so 3-D is not so fun.)

Hi Janet!

The bottom half of that face in the photo actually looks kinda like Michelle Pfeiffer’s face. Nice work!

Hahaha, I love that Cassie kept the ant as a dog.

MORE STORIES FROM LUIS! The way he blinks too many times after he finishes is what really clinches it.

So yeah, I like me a heist movie, and it was definitely a brilliant decision on Marvel’s part to go small (figuratively and literally) with the next movie after Ultron. It is a mistake to think you always have to escalate your threats in a series. That was the problem for a while with Supernatural, and it’s definitely a problem in shows like Dragonball Z and Naruto too. Ant-Man was the perfect way to scale back and remind us that these movies are a ton of fun. I’m so glad that they did the same thing with the scheduling of Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp, and I can’t wait for July 6.

I really hope Ant-Man and the Wasp does the same thing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 did, and goes deeper with the characters instead of just getting bigger in scope. Because Ant-Man is one of the more surface-level movies in the MCU. Scott doesn’t really carry a lot of angst, so even though his arc is about proving he can be the hero Cassie sees him as, it’s pretty chill, with just a couple of moments where he loses...hope...(dang it) in his ability to make this work and be the dad he wants to be.

The bigger emotional arc was Hank and Hope, because Hope absolutely carries her angst and bitterness in a big way. They’re kind of a representation of what Scott and Cassie could end up being if Scott doesn’t get his crap together. And Darren is an evil parallel for Scott, obviously. All of the different arcs probably would’ve worked better if they’d spent enough time and effort on Darren to make him interesting. But the lack of depth in all of the arcs doesn’t ruin the movie because it’s a comedy. This is deliberately a light, fun comedy action movie, and it’s great.

Also it has a good and memorable soundtrack, so bonus points.

[cayleyshortstories]

The Oculus

Written by Joshua Tesoro & Illustrated by Bastin Agustines

Itadori Zoldyck spends his weekends in a small apartment playing video games all day. He can make his life "better," but he does not have the opportunity to demonstrate it. He excels at coding and technology in general. He made tons of inventions when he was still a kid and his parents always supported him, but he felt hopeless when they died. He lost both of his parents when he was very young, and he had to work a variety of jobs just to keep up with the bills and provide shelter for himself. Except for his goofy best friend Feitan Portor, he doesn't really have anyone. Despite his circumstance, he idolized Franklin Stark, the brilliant billionaire and CEO of the well-known tech firm Stark Industries. His friend invited him to a Stark Industries tech expo one day, and when Itadori learned that Franklin would be there, he agreed right away. Normally, he would refuse to attend any events, but this time, his idol, Franklin Stark, had approved it.

Itadori and Feitan were astounded by the technology and inventions they saw on the day of the expo. Jetpacks and flying cars were among the inventions that were being developed. The entire area has a futuristic vibe to it. Itadori was curious if he could make similar inventions, or if he could improve them. “You can make inventions like this, you know; I know you can because you're a genius in this field,” Feitan said suddenly to Itadori. “It's all this computer nerd stuff.” “Do you really believe that?” Itadori asked. I don't know how long it's been since my parents died; I've lost faith in myself and haven't had the chance to demonstrate my abilities to anyone.” “Well, you can begin by doing something you think is fantastic, and never forget to believe in yourself. You know how proud your parents were of you and all the things you've created.” Feitan remarked. Itadori smiled, knowing that his friend was always joking around, but he would always be there for him.

They were walking around the tech expo when Itadori realized he couldn't find his friend Feitan. He immediately dialed his phone number, but no one answered. He was searching for his friend when he noticed him passing through the restricted area. It was a small room with a large door in the center. He pursued him in an attempt to stop his friend. “What are you doing?” he exclaimed. You'll be discovered, and we'll be kicked out of the expo. You know how much I've wanted to meet Franklin for a long time.” “I'm sorry, I was just curious, you know, what kind of technology they were developing in this area,” she explained. Feitan replied. Aren't you a little intrigued? Let's take a quick look and then get out of here.” Feitan knew from Itadori's expression that he wasn't convinced and that his friend would drag them out, but then the big door opened and someone came running in the opposite direction. They had no choice but to enter the restricted area.

When they walked into the room, they noticed a large white circular portal. There were a lot of people watching and taking notes. What was that for, Itadori wondered. Itadori knew the portal was a portal to somewhere when it suddenly released a large blue energy and became active, but he didn't know where. He suspected it led to another dimension, but he wasn't sure if it was possible with today's technology. They were simply observing the scientists present when the portal abruptly shut down, sending a small shockwave through the room that knocked them to the ground. Itadori and Fetitan were also knocked out, and when they awoke, they were surrounded by guards with guns drawn. “What are you doing here?!,” one of the guards exclaimed. Aren't you aware that this is a restricted area? This is a government-approved top-secret experiment. You are not permitted to enter. Both of you should be arrested right now!” Itadori was taken aback and apprehensive at the same time. He was under pressure to figure out a way to get out of this situation, or he and his friend would be arrested and imprisoned, or worse, killed by one of the guards. He suddenly came up with a plan to save himself and his friend. The only way to save Feitan in his mind is for him to say, "I know how to fix the portal you're working on here. I am the best in my school and I also have a masters in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering." Suddenly, a well-dressed young man enters the room and says, “Let's give this boy a chance, shall we? He’ll be imprisoned if he’s bluffing.” Because of this young man, the rest of the room fell silent. Franklin Stark, the CEO of Stark Industries, was the one who made the announcement.

Itadori was so shocked and happy when he saw his idol. So shocked that he couldn’t move for a second. “So, show us what you got, kid. To help you, I’ll explain what we're doing here. That portal leads to another dimension, not to mention an advanced one. It’s so advanced that the technology there can either destroy our world or lead it into a new era. We tried so many tests, but the problem was not activating the portal, but rather sustaining it while someone was still inside. There has been a test where one of our employees was stuck there. Her name is Lucy Smith. She was our lead scientist and as I’ve mentioned our problem is to make the portal stay open long enough for us to get in and out safely. We tried everything to save the scientist but as you can see, we have no way of contacting her and we can’t go through the portal because of the problem.”, said Franklin. “So, kid, show me what you've got. “Assist us in saving this man and possibly dozens of others who could benefit from the technology from another dimension,” he added. Itadori was under pressure because he didn't know what to do at first, but now that he knew about the portal, he knew what to do. Using his technological skills and knowledge. He created a program to handle the massive amounts of energy and a power source to keep the portal running long enough for them to enter and exit to the other dimension. Franklin was blown away by Itadori's abilities. He was so taken aback that he told him, "Not bad, kid." Do you want to be a part of my team? You have a lot of potential to follow in my footsteps as a successful inventor.” Itadori felt relieved when he heard those words because he had accomplished his goal. He was the one who did it. Franklin's words had a similar effect on him. “All right, let's put it to the test, shall we?” Franklin said, "You two are going to the other dimension with me." When they heard what Franklin said, both of the teenagers were taken aback. “What are you saying?” Itadori exclaimed. We're just regular teenagers, you know. We are unable to travel to another dimension. “Don't you have anyone to help you with this?” “Look, kid, you've got a gift. Don't settle for anything less than the best. You have tremendous potential, and I want to take you to the other dimension with me so that we can develop technologies that will benefit humanity. Furthermore, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Franklin responded, "Would you really waste it?" Feitan eventually persuaded his friend to travel to the other dimension. Franklin put together a team that included himself, Feitan, and Itadori. They'll have two more people monitoring the portal to see how much time they have before the power source needs to be recharged. “See you on the other side, my friend,” Feitan said as he entered the portal. Itadori grinned and greeted Feitan with a smile. They saw a large white light after entering the portal and were astounded by what they saw. It was truly a futuristic metropolis. There are flying cars everywhere, and even the trains are floating. Humanoid robots were seen casually assisting the people around them. They ventured deeper into the city in the hopes of uncovering information about Lucy's whereabouts. So far, they've relied solely on advanced technologies to locate Lucy. There is a device that allows you to view the security cameras installed throughout the building. You can even identify the individual who was caught on camera. However, after receiving the device, Itadori noticed a mysterious woman staring at them. She fled after attempting to confront the woman. They were chasing the woman down a small alley when they were suddenly approached by some evil humanoid robots who attempted to hit them. They were about to be cornered when the woman they were chasing suddenly assisted them in stopping the humanoid robot by temporarily disabling it.

Itadori then inquired as to the identity of the woman, to which she replied, "I am Lucy Smith, and I thought you were one of the guys chasing me." When I saw Mr. Franklin here, I immediately returned.” “We've come to gather some data to aid in the development of technology for our world, and, of course, to save you,” Franklin explained. Lucy explained that she is attempting to hide from the people present because they are aware that he is from another dimension. Lucy added, "They call themselves the Eternals." Lucy explained that they live in an advanced civilization where there are no wars or suffering, and only one government. She didn't say anything about stealing a valuable piece of technology from them, the Oculus. The Oculus is a cube of pure energy capable of destroying an entire world. Lucy isn't really a bad guy; she wants to use the cube to generate an infinite amount of energy that will benefit the entire world. Many people in the other dimension will suffer, however, because when the oculus leaves the other dimension, it will unleash a powerful shock wave that will destroy the entire dimension and its inhabitants. When they were about to leave the other dimension, Itadori noticed a glowing blue light from the bag. He immediately approached Lucy and asked what it was. Lucy, having been exposed, tried to talk it out but Feitan was skeptical about it. He told Itadori and Franklin that she was up to no good. After hearing this, Franklin approached Lucy and asked her to give her the bag. She refused. After that, Franklin became suspicious of Lucy as well and tried to take the bag from her. When Lucy noticed Franklin was becoming suspicious, she dashed to the portal. The three of them chased her down, but just as Itadori was about to catch up to her, she threw a grenade at him, knocking him down. When Feitan realized what had happened, he immediately called Franklin and told him to save Itadori and enter the portal. He intended to take Lucy on by himself. Someone grabbed Lucy's feet as she approached the portal, preventing her from passing through. Feitan was the culprit. Feitan tried everything he could to keep Lucy away from the portal so Franklin could get Itadori to safety. Franklin was well aware that Feitan would put his life on the line for his best friend. That was crystal clear to him. Franklin entered the portal just as it was about to close. Lucy escaped Feitan's clutches and kicked him away, allowing her to pass through the portal as well. The other dimension, along with Feitan and his companions, exploded when the cube exited the other dimension. After the three of them escaped through the portal, Franklin confronted Lucy and asked what had happened. The other dimension was destroyed as a result of the cube, Lucy explained. She continued, "When the cube exits the other dimension, it will unleash a massive shock wave that will destroy everything in its path." Franklin couldn't believe Feitan, along with the other inhabitants of the alternate dimension, had died. Feitan was supposed to be trapped in another dimension, but he is actually dead. He was concerned about Itadori's reaction to his best friend's death. He had no idea Itadori had heard everything; he was unable to move due to the grenade's damage. He was furious with himself because he believed it was his fault that Feitan had to make the sacrifice. Franklin questioned Lucy about why she had done it. “It was for our world,” Lucy explained, “because this cube has unlimited energy and can develop futuristic technologies.” Even if it means killing dozens of people in the process, I would gladly do it. There can be no victory without sacrifice.” Itadori was enraged when he learned of this. What Lucy said disgusted him greatly. “Don't you dare make my best friend's life seem insignificant!” he exclaimed. Not to mention the billions of people you've murdered!” Given his circumstances, Franklin was surprised to learn that Itadori can communicate. Lucy smirked and giggled as she heard Itadori's words. Itadori used all of his remaining strength to stand

up when he heard her laugh. He inquired about Lucy's plans. “Fine, I'll tell you about my cube plans,” she replied. I'll construct a power container to store the cube's energy and use it to develop technologies that will make me one of the world's greatest scientists, capable of assisting dozens of people all over the world. Don't you see what I'm talking about? This cube is going to save the world! Itadori and Franklin attempted to fight her, but she possesses a device that allows her to easily knock people out. She was able to flee. Itadori and Franklin stood up and talked about what had happened. Itadori told Franklin about how much of a good friend Feitan was. He was furious with himself for being so frail in the other dimension. Franklin cheered him up by telling him that he was not to blame. He also needs to stop Lucy if he doesn't want his friend's death to be in vain. It was Itadori's mission to stop Lucy when he realized this. He was the only one with the knowledge to stop Lucy’s plan so Franklin went to him for help. He went to Stark Industries right away and used their technology to find Lucy. They eventually found Lucy after hours of searching and devised a strategy to apprehend her. Because they don't know much about the Oculus and only know that it's dangerous, Itadori devised a strategy to prevent Lucy from using it. Lucy was in a Stark Industries facility that had been abandoned, but some of the technology and cameras were still operational. Itadori first devised a method of hacking into the facility so that Lucy would be unaware of their presence. Franklin and Itadori discussed what they would do to Lucy once they had stopped her on their way to her. For a while, Itadori remained silent. “As much as I hate her for killing my friend, I can't kill her,” he said suddenly. I don't want to do it. Perhaps there is still a way to persuade her that what she is doing is wrong. So, Mr. Franklin, here's the deal. When we arrive at the facility, I'd like you to leave me alone with her. Stay in the plane and keep an eye on us. If everything else fails, press this button. When Lucy said she was going to build a power container for the Oculus, I knew I had to do something about it, so I built this device that can hack into any device. It will be able to stop Lucy's plan once you press that button.” Franklin was surprised to learn that Itadori had already devised a plan to stop Lucy, but he was determined to persuade her. Franklin stayed on the plane after arriving at the facility, as Itadori had requested.

Itadori and Lucy finally confronted each other. Lucy was taken aback when she saw Itadori approaching her from across the hall. Lucy stated, "You've got skills kid, I'll give you that." “Are you here to put a stop to it? I could kill you right now, but I've decided against it because you have potential. I don't want to squander it. As a result, I'll make you an offer. Join me, and together we can make a difference in the world. “Are you sure you don't want that?” “Lucy, I know we haven't spent much time together, but from what I've seen of you in the short time we've interacted, I know you are a good person,” Itadori replied. You want to help others, but your methods are ineffective. It is not worth it to put other people's lives on the line for the sake of progress. You have the ability to change the world, but this isn't the way to do it.” Lucy was taken aback by Itadori's continued attempts to save her. She immediately remembered her past, recalling how she had been bullied as a child, but that someone had helped her and believed in her. “Don't worry about them; they're just envious of your abilities,” said the person. Don't let anyone put you down because you have the ability to change the world.” She realized all the mistakes she had made after recalling this. “You're right, Itadori, what have I done?” she exclaimed. All I wanted was for the good of the world because I want to make it a better place. When I was a kid, someone believed in me, but will he be proud of me now that he knows what I've accomplished?” After saying this, a massive explosion erupted from the cube. “It is not too late to save other people,” Itadori told her. “Assist me in putting a stop to this.” Lucy knew there was no stopping the cube now, and the power container couldn't handle it, which Itadori didn't know. There was only one thing she could think of as a solution. She instructed Itadori to hack into the Stark Industries mainframe. She only said that so Itadori could flee for his life. She intends to make a self-sacrifice in order to stop the cube and undo everything she has done. She then called Franklin to warn him to stay away from the facility and to offer her body to be mixed with the cube. She can control the cube to some extent with this. Then there was a massive blue explosion. Itadori and Franklin had escaped harm's way. Itadori tried to go to Lucy's location after realizing what had happened, but his wounds from the grenade were still present, and he was knocked out due to the shock. Itadori awakens in a white room where Franklin has been waiting for him. Itadori tried to stand up because he remembered what had happened and felt guilty for not being able to help Lucy. “It wasn't your fault, Itadori; in fact, you were the one who made Lucy realize what she had done and she changed her ways,” Franklin said. She gave up her life for the sake of humanity.” Lucy's need to sacrifice herself made Itadori a little sad. “You fool, stop moping around. “After you're completely healed, you've got a lot of things to do,” a rambunctious adolescent said. When Itadori heard the teenager's voice, he was both pleased and surprised. Feitan was the culprit. Everything Lucy had done had been restored. Everyone in the alternate dimension was also alive. The reason why the other dimension exploded when the Oculus left the dimension is because they needed the energy to keep the balance. When Lucy mixed her DNA with the cube, she had restored the other dimension along with all the people that were killed because of the cube. When she was in the other dimension, she saw Feitan and at first, Feitan didn't remember what happened. He tried to fight Lucy but when Lucy explained everything to him, he immediately helped her to bring the Oculus back to its original place. They encountered the authorities in the other dimension, and Feitan tried to explain Lucy’s side and what had happened. After this, the authorities took the cube and Lucy was still punished because she stole the cube from the other dimension. She had already accepted this and was ready to

sacrifice herself for the peace of everyone. Feitan helped the people in the other dimension to restore what had been lost. In return, they taught Feitan their technology and how to utilize it. Following that, Franklin sought the help of Itadori and Feitan to study the cube and develop other technologies that would benefit the world.

____________________________________________________

ILLUSTRATION EXPLANATION:

This is the analysis and appreciation for the short story titled "The Oculus". It shows two people in front of a portal looking at a futuristic city with floating cars, trains, buildings, and a large tower with a blue light-emitting from it. The two people near the portal are the two main characters Itadori and Feitan. This image shows the scene in which they traveled to the other dimension in search of the assistant of Mr. Stark which is Lucy Smith. She is hinted from the many digital screens with the silhouette of a wanted person who came from another dimension. The illustration also shows that the dimension they traveled to is more advanced than theirs and that it has many technological advancements that they could learn from. The tower at the back is where the oculus is kept. It can be a kind of foreshadowing because the thing inside that tower is crucial to the progression of the story. This image shows the characters, setting, and the main plot points of the story whilst not revealing the plot itself.

[allanamayer]

More Product, Less Pollution

Earlier this week the Coalition of Museums for Climate Justice (sounds a bit more pleasant than “Against Climate Change” I suppose?) posted a great meditation on air travel and its contribution to pollution (which I saw thanks to the great Eira Tansey). It’s inspired a long and meandering rumination of my own about the environment and our work.

Here in Canada our GLAM work covers a huge geographic area, and at ridiculous cost (“cheap flights from Iqaluit to Toronto start at $1,732,” proclaims the Expedia headline). Our national library and archives frequently hosts “national” symposia and other in-person events in places like Ottawa and Toronto, but has yet to livestream or provide other ways to access and participate in the events remotely.

Compare to the recent Ontario Digital Inclusion Summit, that livestreamed using Youtube (making rewinding and replay immediately available) and offered digital Q&A participation through a tool called Slido. Thanks to this, the Summit was able to include both far-flung participants from all ends of the earth, but also people who couldn’t attend the event due to mobility, cost, or scheduling.

Similarly forward-thinking, the aptly-named Access Conference for library technology livestreams its events, keeps up a steady stream of Twitter participation, and shares edited individual sessions and slides on Youtube and its website after the fact. It’s the smarter way to overcome Canada’s geographic divide, and to be inclusive to all types of stakeholders. And it’s vastly cheaper and less damaging per capita than flying around the country.

A certain quality of internet access is required to livestream events and to keep up with Twitter hashtag use on the fly, I know. Canada still struggles to provide basic internet connectivity to the vast majority of its northern and rural communities, especially in Indigenous communities - 18 percent of the population has no access to better-than-dialup internet. The nation declared in December 2016 that broadband internet is an essential utility “for quality of life” but won’t hit its target of 100% delivery until somewhere between 2026 and 2031.

This lack of residential service, of course, doesn’t mean that Library and Archives Canada can’t start offering livestreaming of its events well in advance of full market saturation - and I hope I never hear them argue this.

I’m sure there are, instead, a bunch of mitigating factors I can’t possibly understand or have explained to me because I’m sooooo far outside the world of LAC and its millions of restrictions. I’m sure federal government livestreaming has to, by law, provide simultaneous transcription and audio in both official languages, or something else totally prohibitive, and a million signed waivers from both presenters and audience members, and some sort of deposit requirement, and on and on and on. I’m sure it can’t cost just a few thousand to do properly with existing in-house expertise and existing in-house equipment. I’m sure LAC’s internet connection is so bad it can’t even provide wifi to conference delegates, let alone reliably stream audio, let alone video.

The last email exchange I had with a LAC staff on this topic was for the “Foundational Meeting” of the National Heritage Digitization Strategy - a new standard that sets digitization goals for every heritage organization across the country regardless of capacity. That was October 2016, and I was advised that “If there is sufficient demand, LAC will do its utmost to provide this service.” I asked the national archives listserv to weigh in and make “sufficient demand” known at the time, but apparently no action has been taken since. Which is funny, because I hear complaints about LAC’s initiatives being inaccessible to smaller, rural, and northern organizations basically all the time.

For an industry consistently denied opportunities by cost barriers, an industry with a consistent critique of being too top-down, large-organization-focused, and ignorant of the issues facing non-academic institutions, livestreaming events of national interest seems a no-brainer. National professional conferences, symposia, and committee meetings should all be included in this. (Someone with enough clout to sit on the latter will have to fill me in on how easy it is to Skype in to such meetings as a member, let alone an observer.)

We could, eventually, settle on one of many different models, from fully-virtual conferences and a mix of on-site and remote presentations, or local-hub conferences (satellite events for watching livestreams in groups, and having breakout sessions or collaborating digitally with other hubs) - such as what the Canadian Archives Summit did in 2014, which I would link to, if the links weren’t all broken already. Flying Less has a great FAQ (in a Google Doc) to help you think about ways to decrease air travel and increase remote participation.

Canada is the perfect country to pioneer such forward-thinking policies as nation-wide virtual events and reducing barriers to participation. Alongside broadband as a utility, can’t we conceive of virtual professional development as a nationwide right? Especially in heritage, where we already believe digital heritage is the way of the future - else why would we have an NHDS at all?

For now, let me end this section with a plea: tell your conference organizers to spend less time deciding where to host a conference to maximize attendance, and more time working out ways to attend remotely. I’d happily throw in a tenner for live access to my national conferences, especially the wonderful ACA Annual. For events around ideas with national reverberations, such as the NHDS, it seems like an obvious priority for federal funds.

**

It’s easy to use sticker-shock as a reason to cut down on needless expenses, and it’s an exciting bonus that reducing those expenses is also environmentally superior. But to me it’s equally compelling to talk about what changes we, in our little profession, can do to mitigate climate change.

Eira Tansey is at the forefront of this, leading Project ARCC (Archivists Responding to Climate Change) and sharing useful resources wherever she shows up on the internet (and also walking the walk on other ethical issues by recently leaving Twitter, the hotbed of hate). I have been thinking of how to contribute to this discussion for a long time.

There’s as much reading about how climate change affects archives (emergency preparedness and disaster relief for heritage collections; institutions in high-risk regions; preservation environments in the time of climate instability) and how archives can affect climate change (utility consumption and sustainable operations; sustainable materials and buildings; efficient digital consumption and offerings; dealing with volatile storage media and disposal; renewable conservation) as well as how to archive and promote data and information related to climate change, which is especially relevant in an era of government censorship and cuts to environmental protection services and science.

One thing I hope to write in the future is a non-exhaustive list of ways archives and other heritage organizations can divest from corporations and vendors that contribute to climate change (such as banks that invest in oil pipelines, suppliers that aren’t using recycled materials where possible, etc.).

For now, I’m not in a position to do building or space planning, order LEED-certified HVAC and recycled-material acid-free boxes, or work with local scientists to do data-rescue initiatives. I am, however, in a position to research and write about two things relevant to my work and the profession at large: digital labour and digital consumption.

***

It’s indeed modest and necessary to claim that air travel for work and professional development is a brutal abuse of our environment and our budgets. By very minimal extension, we can see that car travel for work and professional development is the same. A car commute produces more than ten times the carbon-dioxide emissions of an equivalent public-transit trip.

In the archival industry, which is so very material-focused and place-based, it’s hard to imagine a career that doesn’t involve heading in to the office, sitting among the collections, supervising the reading room, setting up the computer terminals and microformat readers, giving tours and organizing exhibits, lecturing in classrooms, processing in the workroom, digitizing in the lab, and meetings, meetings, endless meetings. I realize that, but I also realize that as the profession transitions slowly but surely to more digital tools, digital work, and digital communication, opportunities are popping up all the time to think about ways to make our work more energy-efficient and less environmentally damaging.

Of course, I know plenty of library and archives workers who are able to take days at home - whether this is because part of their job includes professional-development and research time, because they work primarily on tech they can access remotely, or because they’ve organized their schedule to optimize a day for writing, editing, and emails. I can rattle off a quick list of tasks that can be done at least partially at home:

Virtual and phone reference, especially on institution procedures or web resources

Administration and coordination through email and phone

Lecture, tour, and exhibit planning

Research and policy-writing, such as on legislation or involving environmental scans

Writing and editing documentation

Marketing, social media, web copy

Web/systems admin, digital collections admin

Metadata, copy cataloguing, finding-aid writing and editing

Post-processing of digitization

Lots of meetings! So many meetings!

The obvious financial expense of using your home technology and utilities to do your job’s work will have to be reckoned with in your contract. And none of that will cut down on pollution - but saving yourself a gas-guzzling commute certainly will.

Desk shifts and tours aside, lots of people work better without social interruptions and casual chats around the watercooler, and when occasionally saved from the stress of deciding what to wear, at least a day or two a week (or month, or whatever works in your shop). The flipside is yes yes yes I know your IT department would never give you remote access, ever ever, I know.

I hope dearly that heritage institutions of all kinds will look clearly at such factors as their regional roads and bike lanes, walkability and public transit, housing costs relative to proximity, and relevant compensation (and office perks - including employee parking! Space on your land! That you could use to hold stuff!) in order to find ways to offer increased remote work for GLAM staff.

Then it’ll be up to GLAM staff to figure out if they can work productively from home - something that isn’t easy for everyone.

**

I’m relatively lucky in that I’ve captured for myself one of the few remote-work jobs in the heritage industry: a nonprofit software provider with a team entirely decentralized across the province. We work together with Skype, Google Hangout, shared documents, and plenty of emails. We get together once a year on the occasion of the Ontario Library Association SuperConference, as many of us as can be gathered; there are team members I still haven’t met in the flesh.

We’re able to support ourselves in this by working on digital solutions for a number of public libraries, archives, museums, galleries, historical societies, and other interest groups. Many of these organizations are simply too small to have the capacity for internal IT staff and stacks, so our process often involves shipping USB sticks and HDDs across the province for ingest, and arranging for the shipping of materials to digitization vendors elsewhere. Our process also often involves talking to municipal IT workers who are managing the unfamiliar world of digital heritage collections - a point of contact rife with opportunity and conflict, and one I’d love to be able to explore more in the future.

I believe strongly in a consortial approach for small organizations and want desperately to see our nonprofit grow in capacity and stature. I want this not just for my own prosperity (and because I have a job with a five-second commute and no dress code) but because it’s the answer to our problems both financial and geographical.

At one point I thought of having Iona’s job: the Archives Advisor for the province, driving from one border to the other to assist in training, project management, and emergency relief. I imagined driving a mobile digitization studio around in a suspicious white van to do processing right there in the parking lots of archives and libraries. It would take some math to discover whether one vehicle delivering digitization to a variety of organizations would be less energy-consuming than the equivalent in shipping costs and remote digitization. And hey, what if I put solar panels on the roof of the van? What if I converted it to biodiesel and ran it on food-frying oil from the many A&Ws on the road between institutions?

**

Working in digital means the actual energy consumption of what we do and what we offer is quite obscured, compared to the monthly electricity bill of a library branch. Unfortunately, this means obscuring the intense cost of web servers with 99.9% uptime and multiple redundancies.

A recent (and very impressive) look at the climate-change contributions of Amazon Web Services brings this into stark relief: AWS was predicted (in 2015) to use almost as much energy in 2016 as the entire residential sector of Seattle - 7.2 million megawatt-hours serving up data, producing 3.3 million tons of carbon dioxide. Converting land - to produce solar and wind power in server-heavy places like Virginia - is only going to offset one fifth of this pollution. By now, cloud hosting and services take up 2% of the USA’s total energy consumption.

These numbers scare me, but I lack the immediate capacity to translate them into meaningful comparisons. I don’t know how much energy my employer’s digital collections consume, and I don’t know what nationwide numbers might look like. I do think that sooner or later we’ll need a benchmark that measures financial cost, energy consumption, and pollution effects compared to access and download rates to decide whether or not to put stuff online, and whether or not to restrict access. I absolutely envision a future where digital collections are unavailable overnight and on weekends because the traffic doesn’t justify the cost of keeping the server on. Maybe the energy usage is negligible - but we don’t have the numbers to be sure, and at some point the carbon emissions will outweigh those pennies of actual consumption.

I have been thinking about digital consumption in heritage since I started hearing the dreaded phrase “blockchain in libraries.” A library school recently got a tidy grant to research the possible uses of consensus algorithms for libraries - decentralized linked metadata is an obvious one, provenance information for digital assets is another. Past that, I’d be hard-pressed to imagine any kind of “distributed authority” system that would benefit from power-chugging servers meaninglessly generating blocks to hold our not-all-that-often-used data or to arbiter our not-all-that-sensitive transactions. (We literally have TDRs for that.)

Most importantly, blockchain mining (or, the most popular algorithm anyways) is a huge energy sink, inspiring assholes everywhere to set up giant server farms in the Arctic just to keep their systems cooled, and hacking networked devices to utilize unoccupied memory. Bitcoin alone is a network of such consumptive scale that it out-emissions Ireland. Already. Renewable energy is an absolute, non-negotiable prerequisite to using blockchain technology for anything at all, let alone for anything as superfluous as library checkouts. Sorry, blockchain-in-libraries enthusiasts, but this is just another digital evangelism without ethical grounding. Moving fast and breaking stuff shouldn’t mean actually destroying the planet.

**

Digital Consumption For Archives is going to be a much larger and more exhaustive research project, perhaps not up to me to complete. A nice first step would be for things like the National Heritage Digitization Strategy to conceive of what total storage and bandwidth would be required were Canadian heritage organizations actually to get all these materials online. Or for organizations to start doing environmental audits, to make transparent their power consumption and where that power comes from, and to ask their contractors and vendors to be transparent as well. To always choose the sustainable option when it presents itself, to include sustainability in RFPs, and to provide the aforementioned flexibility to get your employees’ cars off the road one day a week.

However we do it, what we talk about when we talk about digital heritage needs to include the costs to our power grid and to our planet, and the costs if we can be smart enough to offset or reduce those emissions to zero.

[batmanvillainswithcircularheads]

Hey do you wanna know what I thought of Batman: The Telltale Series? No? Well here it is.

Season 1

Not a huge fan of this Bat symbol. It’s not awful though. And Batman’s ears are a liiiiiiiiiiittle too short.

I’ve heard some people say they don’t like Troy Baker as Batman, but I think he does a perfectly fine job.

It’s neat that the game lets you choose the color of Batman’s equipment, though I think blue is really the only color that works for it. Also it seems a little weird that everything Batman owns glows. There’s a moment where he grapples up a stairwell and the levels of the building light up as he passes through them. Doesn’t seem very stealthy for what’s supposed to be a method of escape.

The visuals in this game are good. The animation can be a little stiff at times, but nothing too bad. The cell shading’s cool.

Batman calling Alfred “Al” is weird. Why does he do this? I do not like this.

Catwoman is really good in this. I like her involvement in the story. I like her and Batman. I like her voice. I like her costume, though the material seems kinda bland; I like it when Catwoman’s costume is a bit shinier. That gadget she has that lets her slide up walls is cool, I’ll be damned if I know how it works though.

Not a huge fan of Batman scrambling his voice. It’s not huge, and I get why it makes sense for him to do it, but I just don’t like it. There are a lot of times Batman has more personal conversations with people and having him talk through a machine in situations like that makes it feel kind of distant, like he’s hiding behind it. I prefer it when Batman just speaks in two different voices as Bruce and as Batman. Hell, Troy Baker’s surely got the vocal range for that; He’s Troy Baker.

It took me forever to realize what it was I didn’t like about Gordon’s design, and that’s that his mustache is too thin.

Harvey Dent is good in this. Would have preferred his hair be black though. And why is he so tall? Bruce looks like a dwarf standing next to him. I do really like how they build up Harvey and Bruce’s friendship in this. Seeing him try to fight his own transformation, and regret what he does as “Two-Face” immediately after he does it, is genuinely saddening.

Vicki Vale could have been a good character if they hadn’t wasted her on a twist. Having to choose between giving the evidence on Falcone to her or to Gordon was interesting. It would have been nice to see that carry out through the whole game. Also when are we gonna get redhead Vicki Vale?

The design for Oswald Cobblepot is... different. I guess it’s fine since he’s supposed to be him when he’s younger. Still, he’s pretty much gonna have to change every single thing about his appearance in order to actually end up looking like his old self. The bird-beak gas mask is clever. I kind of like that the “Penguin” persona starting off as a way for Oswald to commit crimes while keeping his own name clean. Personality-wise he’s good. By the end of the game he’s an absolute bastard and all you want to do is beat the shit out of him, which is about what the Penguin should be. Him being childhood friends with Bruce Wayne seemed a little weird and didn’t really add much to his character or the story. It’s a little Roman Sionis-y.

Actually hold on a second here the Penguin in this game is actually just Black Mask  - childhood friend of Bruce Wayne’s  - hates the Waynes because of what they stand for  - “legitimate businessman” who creates a masked alter-ego to commit crimes I’m not even complaining about that it’s just kind of weird.

Batman having white lenses in his cowl is interesting and it makes sense. I don’t really like it or dislike it.

The Waynes murder twist is what really kills this thing. It’s such a huge change to Batman’s origin just for the sake of a twist. The whole time through I was hoping they’d reveal that all of the evidence was fabricated, and when they introduced Falcone’s drugs I was holding out on the hope that they were somehow influencing Bruce’s memory, as contrived as that would be. Bruce revisiting his parents’ murder seems forced. I get that people block out memories sometimes, but apparently all Bruce had to do to remember the entire conversation that happened while his parents were being repeatedly shot was to think real hard about it. Has he never thought real hard about it before? Didn’t Bruce try to investigate his parents’ murder after it happened?

Bruce’s car turning into the Batmobile is dope. Wouldn’t work for most versions of the Batmobile, but since this is early in Batman’s career and the Batmobile is pretty close to a regular car, it works. The color-changing is great too. 10/10 Batmobile would like to see again.

I’m not really fond of Batman using such advanced technology like drones, a forensic scanner built into his glove, and lenses that let him plan out his moves in advance, so early on in his career. Like I get that Bruce is gonna have a lot of technology at his disposal, and it’d be stupid of him not to use it, but when it’s early in his career I prefer seeing him not have everything built up so much and having to rely more on what he can make on his own. Like it’d be one thing if he were just occasionally re-purposing some Waynetech inventions but these things look like they’ve been specifically made for Batman. The damned things are even shaped like bats.

I like the idea of Martha Wayne organizing special screenings of The Mark of Zorro whenever Bruce wanted to see it. That’s sweet.

The choice of whether or not to save Harvey is a pretty obvious one to include, but having it be a choice brings up some weird questions. If you save Harvey, he still ends up becoming “Two-Face,” so it’s not like you’re actually saving him from a life of crime. It seems like he was doomed from the start. Does Harvey’s face ever become disfigured in that timeline then? Does he just go on to have a lengthy criminal career as Two-Face, without actually having two faces?

Hey Blockbuster sure is a character who is in this and sure does look the way he does in this and that’s just about all that can be said about him

So if you save Selina, she’ll show up to the hospital with flowers, then change her mind, give you the flowers, and you walk into the hospital with flowers for Harvey. If you save Harvey, Selina doesn’t show up at the hospital at all, and you visit Harvey... with the flowers. Where did you get the flowers from, if not Selina? If Bruce bought the flowers himself, then why didn’t he also buy them in the timeline where he saved Selina? He didn’t know Selina was going to be there to give him flowers, so why did he show up without flowers? I feel like this would have been a good opportunity for the game to go, “hey look at that, your choices really do change things!” by having him not have the flowers if you save Harvey.

Where did Selina get that tank top from? She wasn’t wearing it when she took off her suit. It’s not like they’re opposed to showing partial nudity in this game; we saw Selina without a shirt earlier on, and we got a whole walking simulator of a half-naked Bruce. If they really wanted to have Selina be more covered up they could have had her put on the tank top after she woke up. Did she have sex with Bruce, put the tank top on when they were done, then fall asleep?

Meeting Joker in Arkham and seeing a glimpse of who he would become was cool.

I don’t really like Zsasz’s voice.

Batman comforting the Vale kid was a good moment.

Penguin’s monocle looks kind of silly. It’s a nice nod to his regular monocle, I guess.

Harvey’s arm catching on fire when you jam his gun is kind of overkill. The flames really burned through that much clothing and did that much damage to his arm and leg in that short an amount of time? Like give it a rest he already has two faces.

Why do grapple guns need to be connected to a computer?

The flashback to Bruce and Oz as kids is kind of weird. Didn’t really tell us anything we didn’t already know. Didn’t make me feel anything for Bruce and Oz’s friendship since I didn’t really care in the first place.

Oh no Commissioner Grogan doesn’t like me I wonder if this is gonna cause any tension going forward oh wait he’s dead now and we made up how sad

Y’know, Harvey’s “Two-Face” voice sounds real silly when his face isn’t disfigured.

“Cobblepot” slapped over the ”Wayne” in Wayne Enterprises in Comic Sans is golden.

heheh, Fal-Coney Island

I had forgotten Selina was in the game until that last part with her. It was a good sendoff though.

Using the reflection in Alfred’s glasses to find clues about the room he’s being kept in is clever. I like it.

The armored Batsuit is dope. The classic Batsuit is also dope.

“Blue... the same color as my tech. It can’t be a coincidence.” Yes Bruce it absolutely goddamn could.

Vicki already had a perfectly sound motivation for doing what she did, did we really have to learn her adoptive parents were abusive too?

I keep forgetting Vicki can levitate. Probably because she only does it twice in the whole game. You’d think she’d do it a little bit more given how useful it is. It’s kind of over-powered honestly. How does it work? Is it the same technology as her staff? Where did she get that from? What does it have to do with her character? Why doesn’t Batman start using stuff like this?

So if you choose the option that gets Alfred’s eye blown out of his head, he has an eyepatch. So throughout the rest of Batman’s career Alfred’s gonna be a guy with an eyepatch. Having an eyepatch is now Alfred’s thing in this world. Either that or Bruce gets a little bit of his ear blown off, which is less egregious but still kind of weird... still that shit’s gonna heal up the second he meets Ra’s al Ghul.

So if you go as Bruce Wayne, Bruce makes a speech, and if you go as Batman, Batman talks to Jim for a hot minute before the speech happens... so Bruce could have still made his speech. You didn’t have to choose between going as Bruce and going as Batman. Sure, Batman swoops in to save Jim once Random Attacker with No Motivation #389 drives a truck into Jim, but Batman had no idea that was going to happen, and he would have saved the day even if he went as Bruce.

“Oh boy, it’s gonna be tough to top that!” John he pushed someone out of the way of a truck it’s the least impressive thing that’s happened in this entire game.

The real shame about this game is that it didn’t need to have all of these twists to be “new” and “different.��� There have been plenty of stories that focus on Batman’s early days, but this one was different in that it was a video game that had you go through his early days step-by-step, instead of just having it be the backdrop for a regular Batman adventure. Splitting things up pretty much 50/50 between your life as Batman and your life as Bruce Wayne is also pretty rare for a video game. Hell, the simple fact that this is a Batman game done in the Telltale style sets it apart from other Batman games in and of itself. They didn’t need to make Thomas Wayne a criminal, make Vicki Vale a terrorist who’s actually an Arkham, or even make Penguin Bruce’s childhood friend. This game was good enough without those, and would have been better off if they weren’t there.

Season 2 Episode 1

Haha what the fuck they made a sequel?

The Riddler in this looks baaaad. The hood just doesn’t work. I feel like it’s an attempt to make him look more “realistic,” but isn’t it more realistic for someone to wear a bowler hat with a suit than to have a suit where the jacket has a hood? When he first shows up at the casino he looks so out of place with his hood up. Bowler hats may be kind of flashy, but real people do wear them. It’s not like it’s to hide his identity, since he doesn’t seem concerned with hiding who he is, and the game goes out of its way to have his hood get knocked off in every encounter anyway. The hook on his cane is clever, but hacking and slashing at people doesn’t seem very Riddler. Him being a villain from back in Thomas Wayne’s days bothers me too. It means his career reached its peak before Batman was even around. He’s hardly a Batman villain then, just a Gotham City villain whose last fight happened to be against Batman. And then he dies.

New Batsuit looks good. I didn’t dislike the old one but I like this one a lot more.

Riddler tells Batman “you’re supposed to be the world’s greatest detective.” Would Batman really have already gained that reputation at this point?

Gordon’s mustache is bigger. I like it.

Seeing Bruce doing Batman work at rich people events is fun, though the “I’m looking for new thrills” excuse can only work so many times.

Hey, Amanda Waller’s in this.

Interested to see where Alfred’s condition is gonna go. I hope he’s okay. I hope they don’t kill him for shock value like everyone else in this series

Tiffany is annoying. She’s every “young genius” character.

Killing Lucius was stupid and needless.

“Please tell me you didn’t put him in danger.” “We didn’t know there was any danger.” “How dare you!” Well fine then Tiffany I’ll choose the Lie option then. The fact that you can do everything else right but telling Tiffany the truth will cause her to hate you is dumb.

So does no one else notices that Joke- John Doe’s skin is white and hair is green?

All of Riddler’s puzzles and the way Batman solves them are pretty clever.

Seems weird that the game gives you the option to let the other three agents die to save Avesta. Even if Avesta were to die, ti’d still be one death as opposed to three, and if you want to save Avesta it’d still be objectively better to let her take the first two sonic blasts, then choose her over the other agent for the third riddle since either way one person would die (not that the third riddle matters in the end, since Batman ends up breaking out before that). Yeah that causes Avesta to go deaf, but going deaf is still better than dying. It seems like an obvious choice given Batman’s morals.

So we get to fuck Agent Avesta, right?

Season 2 Episode 2

Bane’s tattoos look bad. And when his veins turn green they overlap with the tattoos, so it looks even worse. His goatee sticking out of his mask looks stupid too. The rest of him’s fine. I like his voice.

i’m getting tired of every introduction to Bane having him do the back-break pose, then not breaking Batman’s back. I get that you can’t do the whole Knightfall arc when you’ve got your own story to tell, but if Bane’s not gonna break Batman’s back then don’t bother teasing it.

That one purple button on John Doe’s vest is annoying and out of place. i hate it.

They’re kind of pushing this whole “John is obsessed with Bruce” thing a little too hard. It was fine having them interact in Arkham but now it seems like they’re using John’s fixation on Bruce as a stand-in for Joker’s fixation on Batman, instead of just having him be fixated on Batman in the first place. Really Bruce’s involvement with the villains in general is getting to be a little too much. Bruce interacting with white collar criminals in a sort of shady-business setting is one thing, but now he’s hanging around with full-on supervillains.

The “LOL WOULDN’T IT BE CRAZY IF BRUCE AND JOHN WERE GAAAAY” jokes are cringey please stop forever.

It seems like in this Joker is the one trying to impress Harley and Harley is the one who’s pushing Joker around. And instead of Joker turning Harley into what she is, she just decided to dress up like the biker version of a court jester and commit crimes using a sledgehammer because her dad died... as you do. So why then am I supposed to feel bad for Harley? Normally it’s because she was in an abusive relationship, but now she’s the abuser. If anything I should feel bad for Joker... who apparently is becoming the Joker... because of Harley? God this is like a fanfiction. And if Joker ever does end up being the one who manipulates Harley, why the hell should I care? If anything she deserves it since she was the one who started manipulating him. There are plenty of stories where Harley manages to pull one over on Joker, and they work because Harley’s getting payback for what Joker did to her. In this, she’s the one who started this whole thing. All of this is her fault. Honestly, fuck her.

Outside of that, Harley’s kind of annoying but she’s not awful. She’s got a few “Wouldn’t it be just QUIRKY if I did something really inconveniencing right now?” moments.

Bruce letting John and Harley into Wayne Enterprises is just reckless. It’s bad enough on its own, but when Harley starts physically threatening and putting her hands on his employees then good god he shouldn’t be letting this happen anymore. The whole thing is just irritating to watch.

Y’know, Bruce really oughta change up all of the secrets in his office if Penguin knows about them and is telling other criminals.

At this point Tiffany is just here to be an inconvenience.

I feel like they could have worked Matches Malone into this story, instead of having Bruce pretty much become a criminal.

Fries’ suit is pretty good. It’s missing the dome though, you can’t have Fries without his dome. His glove that can freeze things by touching them is neat, but I still prefer the gun. I also don’t really like his voice. His characterization’s good though.

Fries sounds like he’s voiced by the guy who voices Skullface. He isn’t.

I like Harley a lot more when she’s being more sincere instead of trying to be the most annoying person in the room.

Do... do we get to fuck Harley? I don’t know if I wanna fuck Harley. Or rather, I don’t know if I want Bruce to fuck Harley.

I don’t really like all the villains already being in full-on “villain mode” already. It seems like they just popped up out of nowhere, already established and organized. I wanna see how these people become supervillains, not just have them pop onto the scene in full costume, ready to start their life of crime. The only one who seems like he’s still in a sort of early stage is Joker, the one who would make the most sense to already be a full-on villain.

What’s the point in Bruce hiding his face during the heist if they’re going to call him by his name anyway?

Seeing Bruce try to reduce the deaths by beating up agents himself was cool.

Bruce seeing the Batsignal go up as he drives away with the villains, not able to do anything about it, is a good scene.

Interested to see what they do with Riddler’s dead body.

Hey look, Catwoman’s back.

Might add more when future episodes come out

[idontevenknowanymore826]

just journaling 🤗 while toking a little

why am i pulling so much? fuck i thought i was getting over trich. my hair was really growing...and then mom comments on all my gray hairs 🙄

i feel stressed like overwhelmed and overworked...maybe im working too much. I am so stressed over the holidays bc my mom pressures me to do ALL THE THINGS 😳. host everything plan everything. i dont even feel like i can enjoy it ☹️😓😣. im just anxious for it to be over.

my mom has been staying with us and its not so bad but she like...stresses me out...feel kinda annoyed with her sometimes. she just always wants to talk about herself...never really interested in my well being; only what i can do for her or how i can make her happy.

i want the money though. with these new car payments i might have cut my income too much...im starting back to school soon for my bachelors in respiratory. hoping to be applying to PA school in a few years 🤑🤗😳😁. i want joesy to go back to school too. he seemed to kinda be open to rad tech school. i hope i didnt bring it up the wrong way in our marriage. i was just like i want you to go back to school to make more money—learn a trade—do something you actually like. sometimes he says hes happy but i dont think he really wants to do inpatient phlebotomy for the rest of his career. to me that just sounds sad...like hes smart and witty and i want better for him. but he was like ‘am i not good enough for you’ and i tried to reassure him but im not sure he believes me...just maybe his job and income isnt good enough for me? i don’t necessarily want to be the only breadwinner...i just hate that he acts like school is never an option and he will just do this forever. he talks like hes 80–and too old to do anything when he is only 34. i just dont want our life to be limited together...i dont want to settle and i dont want him to either.

as a friend told me, since i did that job previously i know how low on the scale it is...its like entry level...why not advance? to me its like an investment in happiness and job satisfaction? im not overly pressuring but trying to encourage...i know he’s capable of so much more. he like doesn’t believe in himself and sits home playing video games when hes not working.I just feel like hes not satisfied. and he’s overworked in my opinion—its a very active job... with no union. but it makes ok money like $18/hr and mine currently is $29/hr

am i asking too much? i worry bc we r trying to get pregnant and i want both our jobs to be high pay so we dont have to work as many hours. i currently make 65k per year and he makes 37k per year...i did a couple years of school. after securing pa employment i intend to earn around 100k per year. should i just do my school and not nag him to go back also? i just dont want to struggle financially and sometimes i want him to work at bettering himself a little bit harder. i adore him and i dont want to ever hurt him ☹️. i just like nice things and not having to worry about money and having plenty of time off to travel and self care. do i sound mean, demanding, or a bad wife?

and lawd my lifestyle has been a wreck eating poorly not tracking calories and not working out. i got pretty sick and i was so worn out. i hope i can get myself back on track—i still have a ways to go on my weight loss journey—100lbs.

i feel so whiny 😫😆

anywayz thx for listening tumblr-verse 💕

[victoriabricebooks-blog]

Omega’s Dragon: Desert Heat (The Sunfire Brothers Book 1)

Dragon Alpha Tyran Sunfire knows it’s good to be King. As ruler of the dragon clans of the desert, he’s used to owning the best of everything: a glittering casino on the Las Vegas strip, a palatial estate in the desert, and gorgeous men at his beck and call. There’s just one catch: In order to keep his position of power, he must produce an Heir to the throne. And fast. Bailey, a human Omega, spent his childhood one step ahead of the law, but his sister promised that one last heist would set them up for life. Unfortunately, getting caught stealing from a dragon has dire consequences. In exchange for his sister’s freedom, Bailey offers his body to Tyran. But the dragon is interested in more than just a one night stand... When sparks start to fly, will the growing child inside Bailey be enough to hold them together? Or will their differences tear them apart?

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Sneak Peek:

Bailey:

“Tell me the plan once more.”

Bailey sighed, but obediently counted off the steps on his fingers. “We get to the blackjack table. You sit down at the one where Mark is dealing. I sit down two tables away and pretend to be drunk and sloppy. At five thirty two pm, I pretend to pass out, making as big of a scene as I can.” He rubbed the cheap digital watch on his wrist just to confirm it was still there.

Rachel nodded approvingly as she paced the dingy hotel room’s worn carpet. “And then?”

“During the commotion, you and Mark swap the casino’s deck of cards for your counterfeit one. Once you make the swap, I miraculously recover and exit, to meet you back here. You do your crazy card counting magic, bet it all, win, and we walk away from all this.”

His sister smiled. “Well, a little simplified, but correct. But you don’t need to understand the card-shark stuff, just your part. You feeling ok?”

“I still don’t see why we’re picking the biggest casino on the strip for this. They’ll have the tightest security, won’t they?”

Rachel ruffled his hair affectionately. “Oh, little brother, I’ve taught you well.”

“Seriously, Rach. Why?”

She sighed. “I know it’s not ideal, but do you know how hard it is to get an inside man who’s willing to take the risk? Mark works at the Golden Dragon, so that’s where we’re hitting. Besides, all that racket about Vegas casinos having super tight security is a myth.” Rachel waved a hand dismissively. “They spread stories about their special tech and godlike surveillance to discourage idiots, but even the best security system is only as good as the people watching it. They’re only human, after all.”

Bailey frowned. “And you’re sure Mark is legit?”

“Trust me, I can pick out a cop in ten seconds. He’s not one of them. Besides, he stands to lose just as much as we do if this goes bad.” Her eyes softened, and she rested a hand on his shoulder. “Relax, Bailey. I know you don’t like this, but hitting it big is our best chance at a good future. We’re not going to be stupid and greedy like the people who get caught. We’ll finish this job, take the money, and go live somewhere quiet. Isn’t that what you always said you wanted?”

Bailey felt the familiar pang of longing deep in his stomach. He nodded, unable to speak.

Rachel knelt down so that they were eye to eye. “Like I promised you when you were born, kiddo, I’ll always take care of you,” she said. “I’m no saint, but I love you. You know that, right?”

“I know,” he said. “I love you too, Rach.” And he did.

“I’m glad you’re looking out for us, but don’t worry. Just do your part and we’ll be fine.” She stood and stretched like a cat in the sun, flashing him a warm smile. “Besides, I’m feeling lucky.”

Tyran:

“Yes, that’s it,” growled Tyran, as his cock hit the back of the stranger’s throat. “Slower.” He twined his fingers in the man’s hair and guided him up and down, just the way he liked it. The dragon had picked up his latest boy toy at the pool that afternoon: he could spot a Beta from a mile away. Tyran couldn’t recall the man’s name; probably because he hadn’t bothered to ask. And after all, who needed a name when you had an ass like that?

Outside the window, Tyran could see the last rays of the setting sun sinking behind the mountains, painting the desert sky a vivid gold. He’d selected the suite on the 40th floor for their little tryst on purpose: the height gave him a fantastic view of the Strip. As the sun faded, the famed lights of the city began to glow like multicolored jewels, tempting tourists to come try their luck. His kingdom. His playground. His Hoard.

As if sensing his distraction, the stranger ran the flat of his tongue up the underside of Tyran’s cock, making the dragon smirk. Needy little thing. “Where did you say you were from, again?”

“Nebraska,” mumbled the Beta, the sound muffled by a mouthful of the Alpha’s thick cock.

“That’s right. In town for a sales conference?”

“Mmhmm.”

Tyran chuckled. “You want some business advice? Quit sales, go into whoring. Because fuck, your mouth feels good.” In truth, the stranger was about average. But the dragon knew how to get the best performance out of his toys.

As expected, the Beta enthusiastically increased his speed, sucking like he wanted to drain every last drop from the dragon’s cock. Tyran’s eyes fluttered closed as he lost himself in the pleasure. The hot tight mouth was drawing him closer and closer to the edge. As always, it was so good to be the King.

The harsh buzz of his cell phone, vibrating like some giant bee on the nightstand, stirred Tyran from his reverie. He reached for it, careful not to move too much. The stranger shot him a disapproving glance, but the dragon ignored him and thumbed the answer button without looking at the screen. “Hello?”

“Tyran, do you know what time it is?”

“Good evening, Mother. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Her voice was girlishly high and soft, yet Tyran could hear the anger beneath it. “This isn’t a social call, Tyran. You missed the appointment I had scheduled for you today. Didn’t Kael tell you? Do we need to find a new assistant?”

Tyran smirked. “He told me you had scheduled a lunch meeting for me and a certain friend of yours. I told him to ignore it. I don’t appreciate being set up on a thinly-disguised date with some ancient dragoness. She’s closer to your age than mine, you know. How would that look?”

The Beta’s eyebrows furrowed in a look of confusion. Tyran smiled and gave the back of his head a gentle push, encouraging him to continue.

His mother’s voice interrupted his reverie. “She may be older than you, but her Clan is famous for their strong fertility magic. Why, her sister is mated and has four children already.”

Tyran made a face. As if his mother could see him, she sighed heavily.

“We have been over and over this, Tyran. You are the eldest son. I’m not nagging you because I enjoy it. It is your responsibility to us all to produce an Heir. Otherwise, our status as ruling Clan could be compromised. I know you don’t care about ruling, but think of me. Think of your brothers.”

He scowled. “I will mate when I choose to. And I do not choose to yet.” At the sound of the word “mate,” the Beta perked up. Tyran rolled his eyes. “I have to go, Mother. We can discuss this later.” Or never. He hung up without waiting for her reply and reached out to stroke the Beta’s hair. “Business. You know how it is.” He was pretty damn sure the stranger had no idea.

The Beta smiled anyway. “I’m sure running this place and dealing with all that money is so tiring. Let me help you with some of that stress.” He drew Tyran’s cock into his mouth again. The dragon sighed and laced his fingers behind his head, letting his eyes close. The Beta wasn’t the brightest, but he gave a decent blowjob. Tyran lost himself in the surge of pleasure, the hot tightness of the stranger’s mouth.

When the phone rang again less than a minute later, Tyran was sure it was his mother calling to berate him for hanging up on her.  But when the caller ID display lit up with “SECURITY,” he sat bolt upright in bed. The Beta made a little choking noise, but Tyran ignored it and punched the call answer button.

“Yes?”

“Sir, you’d better come down here. We’ve had a breach.” Despite her jarring words, the voice of Magda, his chief of security, was calm.

He cursed under his breath. “What kind?”

“Someone tried to bribe one of our dealers. He let us know in advance, so we set up a sting. Idiots never saw it coming. We have them in the holding cells now.”

Tyran felt a rush of triumph. “Good work. I’ll be down in five.”

“Yes, sir.”

He hung up and patted the Beta’s shoulder, causing the man to look up. “Looks like we’ll have to cut this short. Get dressed and see my assistant Kael on the way out, he’ll get you a car.”

The man looked startled. “But I thought… don’t you want me to wait until you get back? Don’t you want to fuck me?” His tone was pleading, with an overly submissive whine that set Tyran on edge.

Tyran smiled. “No. I won’t be needing you any longer.”

The Beta’s face reddened, and he sputtered something, but Tyran was already off the bed and headed for his closet. Too bad he hadn’t gotten to finish, but this was Las Vegas. Easy come, easy go.

And he had some people’s lives to ruin.

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