#but *eyes engineering goals* admittedly stupid hard

[aro-culture-is]

Aro culture is trying to find a job where you can work with queer people.

[neonponders]

WIP Wednesday

Thank you for tagging me @lazybakerart 💗💋

I’ve got two big writing projects on my plate this week lol but one thing I’m kind of indulging is a break-up/getting back together fic that I actually started in this post, but I’ll share what I have so far underneath the cut ~

(and excuse me while I overshare, because I’m still stupidly proud of this The Mummy_au post that I made if anyone wants a taste of that)

Tagging (if you want) ✨ @ghostofjellyfishforgotten , ✨ @smashmouth-hargrove , and ✨ @withoneheadlight 

(also just a heads up for the wip below: it’s once again me exploring my own asexuality through Steve, but I don’t know how far I’m going to go into it. Still, that might be a content warning people may need if they’re sex-repulsed 🌹)

Ch. 1

Sex with Billy was fine. Good, even.

When they finally moved past every look and touch being a threat veiled in a tease, Steve enjoyed looking at Billy. He enjoyed looking at Billy and discovering those California eyes already on him. He liked Billy’s hands. The man had beautiful hands; strong, thick fingers but...somehow elegant.

He liked Billy’s body, even though he sometimes worried that the guy seemed determined to break it ten different ways. Cigarettes, alcohol, excessive working out, and sometimes all at the same time.

Sex didn’t always mean Steve got to cum. Usually he didn’t, actually. But he enjoyed Billy’s kisses on his neck, and the taste of his tongue, and - admittedly - he loved just having all of Billy’s attention enraptured on him. Steve didn’t mind taking his dick inside because once he got used to it, that felt surprisingly good. When he managed the pleasurable sparks and sensational tingles that mounted into something explosive, he understood why sex was great. But for the more frequent, calm nights, he’d come to think of it as a weird yet pleasant massage.

So he took it. Because it was easier on his hands and knees, for one, and because Billy had a control complex. And Steve could hide his lack of enthusiasm.

Not to say that Billy was selfish or careless. Far from it, Billy Hargrove was an incredibly doting lover. Big surprise, there. Considering how the guy

Well

Existed.

Steve couldn’t really blame Billy for never noticing that he could go a long time without sex. Because Steve liked resting his hand on Billy’s chest while they watched a show or movie. It didn’t matter how much bare skin he had access to. In fact, the more coverage, the better. A clothed body is better to cuddle with than skin that can get sticky or irritated.

Steve liked kissing. He’d always liked kissing. Kissing was the reason he’d assumed he was like everyone else: the desire to kiss, crushes and girlfriends, masturbating, even the giddiness of sex with someone new.

But something fizzled out very quickly in Steve’s brain. Once hands and intent started moving beneath clothing, Steve just...didn’t want it. Suddenly a lot of things popped into his brain that he’d rather be doing. But he persevered because he loved Nancy, and her blooming sexual prowess and bravery was sexy.

Fun.

Billy was a whole big bag of new with an edge of scary that turned out to be more endearing than Steve thought possible. So it was easy to go like that for a while.

Normal.

Eventually he had to admit to himself that he didn’t like taking showers at 1am because he didn’t enjoy being covered in his own, and Billy’s, sweat. He didn’t like feeling the drips on his skin or the tackiness of too many skin oils on his hands.

He hated admitting to himself that he felt relief whenever Billy went out of town for work. He missed Billy, of course, but a lot of things had begun to snowball together in Steve’s life: changing jobs, managing bank accounts and savings, and there were a lot of truths Steve was facing outside of his relationship.

He was tired. Damn tired. He spent many days off wondering if people in their twenties feel this tired all the time or if it was just him. It must just be him. Because Steve sees Robin just as much as he doesn’t. She’s got goals.

And Billy

Billy has big dreams. He’s ready to work damn hard and already is. That’s why he uses his hefty gas money funds, to travel around. Scout the areas. Steve even drove him to the airport once, so Billy could really gain some distance over the weekend. Expand his network.

As if the universe knew, some bigwig passing through Hawkins on their way to Chicago ran right into Billy. A bigwig looking for a handsome, charismatic, young guy to mentor. It really couldn’t be more perfect than divine intervention. They’re Billy’s inlet to the business. Modeling, acting, freaking UNICEF ambassadorial work if he wants to feel extra important. If he gets big enough to have his face mean something around the world.

Within one conversation, he’s got a business card, and an appointment in a Chicago skyscraper next week to take measurements and do a rudimentary photo shoot. The manager warns him that it’s the agency getting to know him, but like any job interview, it’s his chance to interview them right back. Billy likes that a lot—feeling like he has a stake in something instead of just being a corporate pawn. And maybe he eats right out of the manager’s hand, but it’s still a shot. And he’s taking it.

He immediately goes to Steve’s work, fired up from seeing a future for the first time like he finally got the right prescription glasses. The only caveat is that Billy has to move out of Hawkins, which isn’t even a flaw, really. It’s as close to perfect as life’s ever been for him.

Steve can only listen quietly as he sits at the table in the break room. Because Billy’s got big dreams that are already coming true. Every detail of his enflamed speech is given over pacing feet; he can’t even bother to sit at the table. Billy’s got so much energy he’s already mentally and emotionally out the door.

Steve…isn’t. His mental health has been on a downward slope since before they graduated, and it won’t allow him to reach anywhere. He doesn’t have any dreams to steer him in any direction anyways.

Billy’s rant begins to wind down about what he wants to do; his fire about his dreams and his motivation simmers down to an even boil. Steve’s impressed and already proud of the person Billy will become, but Steve can also hear Billy’s frustration with him and their relationship.

For not keeping up.

Steve’s…kind of never been able to keep up. In bed or in life.

And perhaps the saddest part is that Steve doesn’t even have it in him to fight for it. For them. He doesn’t feel worthy enough to hold Billy back. So he doesn’t.

Billy snaps a little, “Why aren’t you saying anything? I’ve been talking about this for the last two years! Steve?”

He’d gotten distracted by looking at his backpack hanging on the wall. Steve’s throat hurt. Two years? God, it’s really been two years already…

He pinched his fingertips over the table as he began, “Billy, I support you. I know you can get there—wherever it is you want to be. I’m not going to tell you to stop or slow down. You’re going somewhere. But I’m…”

He took a breath to finally say it. “Not. I don’t know what I’m doing, and I don’t think I have the energy to figure it out any time soon. You should go.”

Steve can see the disappointment sinking through Billy’s features. And the anger that he’s so used to throwing up as a shield. Billy has so much energy coursing through him as it is, Steve can’t blame him for swinging right into the direction of livid.

The real surprise comes from how soft he speaks. No yelling. No hitting the table. No wrenching Steve up by his green uniform vest. They were long past those outbursts. Which…really just confirmed Steve’s decision. Billy had come a long way. He could go so much further.

“That’s what you have to say? Just like that…you’re really giving up on us?”

Steve knows he’s gaping like a stupid fish. But it isn’t just like that, is it? Billy’s been revving his engines to get the hell out of Hawkins ever since he got here in the first place. Steve tries to say as much, but Billy cuts him off.

“I thought you’d be excited for this. You should be hauling me out of here to pack my bags.”

Steve tries to offer a small smile, but his voice betrays him. “I thought I kind of am? I didn’t take you for the long distance type.”

It’s not the response Billy wants. That should make Steve feel better than it does; the blatant display that Billy wants more of Steve. His excitement, his attention, maybe his companionship…

Steve doesn’t know what he wants—or rather, he does. That’s the issue. Billy’s wants and Billy’s problems can all be resolved by leaving one critical piece behind.

Steve.

Some more things are said, but Steve doesn’t do well on the spot. Especially when the limelight is Billy. Steve fails the tests and he fails the interview. Billy storms out, leaving Steve at the table, pinching his fingertips white before he unconsciously glances at his backpack again.

The backpack full of apartment lease papers. The papers Steve’s already signed because even with his insecurities, the mornings he woke up to discover Billy spooning him after having returned in the middle of the night were his best days. Because Billy’s silly insistence on hand poured coffee was his favorite drink. Because Billy was funny and weird like an artist and loony like a nerd with his video games, and Steve knew—or at least hoped that—Billy loved him the day he started holding his hand while driving that stupid, loud, beloved Camaro—

Because Steve’s heart was a magnet. It stayed where it landed and tugged back even when pulled away.

All he’d needed was Billy’s autograph to be given the keys. Keys to the rest of their lives, if Billy wasn’t already so far away.

Ch. 2

Robin gripped Steve’s arm, hard. A gargled sound escaped him as he grimaced and tried to pry her hand off. Her other hand pointed at one of the catalogues on the store’s many counters. When he invited her with him to pick out glasses, he hadn’t expected to walk out of the freaking optometrist’s office with bruises…

Nor had he thought he’d see a familiar face in the catalogue. Plenty of models were looking editorial chic, advertising that anyone could look as good in whatever glasses they chose.

Except Billy really did look good. The picture was just a vague image outside, the camera focused on Billy’s three-quarter profile gazing off past the photographer.

“I didn’t expect him to actually be working this fast,” Robin admitted. “It’s been…what? Seven months, give or take? I thought casting calls for models were competitive.”

“Not if you look like Billy,” Steve huffed with a quiet mixture of humor, sadness, and just a sprinkle of spite. A sprinkle of jealousy, if he was being honest with himself. The self-help book tucked under the covers of his bed talked about honesty. So he admitted honestly, “He looks that good and knows how to stand out in a room…good for him.”

He could see in his periphery Robin looking up and scrutinizing him. “Really?”

Steve shrugged with a nod. “Yeah. What’s the other option? Him struggling for work?”

Robin sighed and plucked a display set of glasses at random to try on and occupy herself. “That’s big of you, but everyone wants something cathartic. It’s annoyingly impressive that he landed the front cover of a magazine in less than a year.”

Steve opened the catalogue to give them both a reprieve. “You wanna get food after this? Take your mind off the audition?”

For all the good being a band geek did, Robin had experienced her own humbling experiences over the last few months. Like failed auditions to be in city orchestras. She and Steve were feeling very stuck in Kansas while Billy gallivanted around Oz.

• • • • • • •

The plot gets messy because years will actually go by, and Steve and Robin get married so that they can share insurance benefits (and be safe in their bi/lesbian open relationship, buy a house together, etc. It’s the life/happiness security Steve wants but obviously there aren’t any romantic feelings).

Of course this is when Billy happens to reenter Steve’s life. He’s got some hot-shot model he’s been seeing, and apparently Steve is married so there’s the added dash and twist of ~ cheating ~

I’ve been in some kind of mood, all right.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading lol.

[theidiotwhowritesthings]

The Right Moment

Hello this is more Marvel (not that anyone asked for more marvel oops). Like I said before I’m always a slut for Tony Stark so I had to write this out. Especially since I’ve always wanted to play with the ‘Soulmates AU’ thing.

Tony Stark x female!Reader

Warnings: cursing, age gap

Takes place during IM2

6,650 words

The words were a messy scrawl against your skin. It was only a few shades darker than your skin tone, like every other soul mark in the world, making it look more like a birthmark than a tattoo. Not that anyone would see the mark and confuse it for a tattoo.

Nobody was born with his or her soul mark. It usually appeared in the early teens, around puberty, but the soul marks were more than just words on skin, marks on flesh. It was a part of who someone was. It was a quick glimpse into their future. A soul mark was the first sentence your soulmate would one day say to you. It was a moment in time etched on your body.

You slowly let your finger trace the four cluttered words on the right side of your ribcage. The handwriting was rushed and messy. Chaotic. It looked like the handwriting of someone who was always busy and scribbled notes wherever they could find space. That’s what you always imagined at least. The style of it somehow made the phrase look that much better though.

Looking for me, sunshine?

The words had appeared on your skin one random Saturday morning a few weeks after you turned twelve. Not everyone in the world got soul marks. There was no hard science behind it that said who would and wouldn’t get one. Scientists who studied the phenomenon said that genetics had nothing to do with it. Despite that, you had always assumed you wouldn’t get one. No one in your family had one, except maybe a great great great grandma on your mom’s side, but no one that anyone remembered.

Your mother had been so proud when she saw the words, as if you had done something special to deserve them. Your older sister gushed about how lucky you were. At only 12 years old you hadn’t fully grasped the concept of soulmates, but it excited you all the same. You thought you were lucky too.

Getting a soul mark at all had been nothing short of a miracle, but the fact that it was a simple, succinct mark was just pure luck. There had been a girl in high school whose soul mark took up all of her back. Apparently, her soul mate was quite the talker. Still, you always thought having a soul mark taking up all of your back would be better than having some obscene sentence out where others could see. A guy you met during your first year in college had the words, ‘I’d let you fuck me any day of the week’ written on his forearm in a loopy, fancy font. He seemed rather proud of it though, so you assumed he didn’t share your opinion. Then of course there were the overly plain soul marks. There were probably millions of people out there with the words, ‘Hey there’, ‘Hi’, and ‘How are you?’ written on their bodies. They were probably just as protective of their marks as you were with yours, but it had to be a pain having God knows how many people say those words to them all the time.

“Girl, are you ready, yet??”

You jumped at the voice behind the door, “Oh, yeah, almost. Be right out, Amber.”

The sound of heels walking away from the locked bathroom door made you turn back toward the mirror you had been looking in. Your eyes drifted over the words one last time before you turned to look at the dress hanging on the towel rack behind you. It was something you had bought proudly, but the moment you brought it home you questioned it. It flashy and bold with dark gold sequins decorating the entire thing. The dress loosely came down to right above your knees. It was a deep v-neck dress with two thin straps that went over your shoulder, one connecting higher up to the dress that covered your sides and the other further down to connect at the dress that sat on your lower back. You scrunched up your nose before just grabbing the dress and turning back around.

Admittedly, you had always hoped you wouldn’t have to wait long for your soulmate. Your mother would always hush you when you complained about the wait, ‘Everything comes at the right moment. Be patient.’

Knowing what you knew now, it was probably a good thing your soulmate wasn’t at the high school you attended. Most of those guys were still living in that same, small town content with not seeing the world. Now, you love your hometown, but it didn’t have what you wanted. What you needed. You craved exploration and adventure. You had dreams and goals that involved venturing out of comfort zones.

Still, you wondered what it was like for the people who met their soulmates so early on. There was a couple you met in your junior year of college that had met each other two days after they got their soul marks. They had to wait a total of two days, and here you were pushing on seventeen years.

Quickly, you slipped your short dress on and left the bathroom to find your roommate. You had met Amber Reyes as a senior in college when you went to rent an apartment near the campus. The two of you got along swimmingly, and when it came time to spread out it just so happened that both of you had your sights set on the Big Apple. Amber had a job laid out in New York City, and you had just been accepted into NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine.

The first year or so had been rough. The two of you were living in a shoebox sized apartment in Hell’s Kitchen working your asses off. Med school was as difficult as you knew it would be and Amber’s first job hadn’t worked out leaving her looking for new work. Still, the two of you had each other and with a little elbow grease it all worked out. Now Amber was running her own garage doing various auto repairs and you were a Resident at New York Hospital working in the Emergency Department.

Life was good, though your apartment was still kind of shitty.

“-look we’ll just meet you there, Kyle.” Amber said into her cell phone. She was leaning against the living room couch wearing a tight white, one shoulder dress that ended above her knees. It made her dark, flawless skin glow. Her long, brown hair was pulled up into a tight, clean ponytail. As per usual, she looked like an absolute goddess. Amber’s brown eyes shot over to you, “M’hm, just don’t do anything stupid. Love you too.”

You lifted your hands and glanced down at yourself, “Are you sure this dress doesn't make me look like a hooker?”

“Oh, it absolutely does.” Amber smirked and walked toward you, “It’s perfect. Now what are you going to do with your hair?”

“I was just gonna leave it down.” You shrugged then squished your cheeks with your hands. “Can you help me with my make-up?”

“Duh.” She replied and headed back towards the bathroom. Amber was the most brilliant mechanic that you’ve ever met. Granted, you hadn’t met many, but still. She could take apart just about anything on earth and put it together in better shape than it had originally been in. Amber also was infinitely better than you were at applying make-up. She made it seem almost effortless. “So, Kyle is getting our tickets for the after party right now.”

“Sounds good.” You replied nonchalantly as you glanced at the words that were half showing on her bare shoulder blade. All you could see were the words, ‘Holy shit’, but you knew the entire thing read, ‘Holy shit, my soulmate is hot’. Amber was lucky in the sense that she was able to put together some of the mystery of how she’d meet her soulmate. She knew from the beginning that she’d probably be the first one to speak in the conversation considering her soulmate used the word soulmate in the sentence.

Kyle Davis was Amber’s soulmate and they had met a few months after the two of you had settled down in your broken down, shoebox of an apartment. He was a mechanical engineer that stopped by where Amber had worked at the time to pick up a few parts as a favor to his employer. All Amber had said after watching his failed attempts to flirt with other customers was, ‘That’ll be 143 dollars, Casanova’, and he had replied exactly how Amber expected someone would one day reply to her.

You had spent years of your life wondering about how you’d meet your soulmate, but you had no idea how it could play out. The words on your side could be the second part of the conversation or the first. It worked either way.

“What are you thinking so hard about?” Amber asked as she grabbed the desk chair and dragged it into the bathroom for you to sit on.

You dropped into the chair with a sigh, “Just nothing.” Amber rolled her eyes giving you a dead panned look. You shook your head, “Seriously, I just… I’ve been thinking about my mark for the last few days.”

“Why?” Amber questioned and moved some hair out of your face before grabbing your stash of make-up.

You rubbed your hand over the material of your dress that sat just above your words, “I don’t know. It’s been bothering me lately.”

“Bothering you?”

“Yeah. It itches.” You replied and tilted your head up so Amber could work her magic.

“You know”, Amber began, “Some people say that your mark itches when you get closer to meeting your soulmate.”

Your eyes widened and Amber scolded you about the exaggerated facial expression, “Really? Did yours?”

“Mine didn’t, no, but Kyle said his felt weird for a few days before.” Amber said. Her voice trailed off as she focused on the task at hand. You had read all the online stories and self-help books on soul marks and soulmates. A part of you had hoped maybe it would shed some light on the process, but it didn’t really help anything. All you really got from it was the fact that there was no typical case. Soul marks were weird things with minds of their own. “Who knows, maybe this means you’re getting close.”

“God, I hope so.” You mumbled under your breath. After waiting for this long, a part of you didn’t even know what you’d do once you met the person. You tended to be pretty independent in nearly everything you did. It was part of the reason why any past relationships you had never lasted long. Dating between two people who weren’t fated for each other was a struggle enough, but your desire to handle things on your own and not open up certainly didn’t help the matter. Despite all this though, you desperately wanted to know. Even if it ended up being a disappointment, you just wanted the answer now.

Amber smirked as she put on the finishing touches, “Maybe they’ll be at the party tonight.”

You couldn’t stop the small smile that bubbled onto your lips, “You really think so?”

“Take a good look in the mirror, [Surname].” Amber smirked, “Who the hell wouldn’t fall for you?”

“Hello, gorgeous.”

“Are you here alone?”

“Can I buy you a drink?”

“Damn, girl.”

Amber’s words had gotten into your head, and now at the start of every new conversation you were basically holding your breath. You weren’t purposely getting your hopes up. In fact, you had a running mantra in your head that sounded a lot like the motto your mother introduced to you a week after you got the damn mark.

‘Everything comes at the right moment. Be patient.’

“Be patient, [Name].” You whispered to yourself, but you could hardly stand still.

“Why do you look so nervous? I should be the one who looks nervous. Shit, Amber, do I look nervous?”

You tore your gaze away from the crowd to see Kyle was no longer talking to you but was now facing Amber. He was wearing a fancy suit with a dark colored, neat tie that was hilariously uncharacteristic of him. You were used to seeing Kyle in worn down T-shirts and jeans. His medium length, dirty blond hair was combed back neatly, but despite Amber’s arguments he hadn't shaved the facial hair above his upper lip and across his jawline.

“You look fine.” Amber replied and adjusted his tie. “Though maybe you’d look better if you had listened and shaved—”

Kyle rolled his blue eyes, “I told you, Amber. I had to keep it. What if I run into Tony Stark? It might impress him!”

“And I told you that was the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” Amber replied with an irritated sigh. “Besides, if you really want that job at Stark Industries, your best bet is to find Pepper Potts. She’s the CEO now. Talk to her about your designs.”

“Oh, but hon… Tony Stark.” Kyle replied, “If I could find him in this crowd somewhere and talk to him…”

“The mission tonight is to get a job, not stalk your idol.” Amber argued.

Kyle turned back to you, “Tell her, [Name].”

You grinned at him, “I also think your best bet is Pepper Potts. In fact, anyone other than Tony Stark is probably a good bet.”

Kyle frowned and mumbled something under his breath about his role model. Unlike Kyle, you didn’t have Stark’s biography memorized, but you got enough information off the news. He went from being a playboy, genius, billionaire with his hands in the weapons manufacturing business to some sort of self-declared superhero named Iron Man. From what you’ve seen in the news, he seemed like he was doing pretty good. He stopped Stark Industries from making weapons when he found out they were going to the wrong people, saved lives, and made a difference.

Of course, you weren’t too startled by the fact that it didn’t last long.

Sure, he was still Iron Man so he was still out helping people, which was great, but the hero obviously couldn’t keep his wild side down. Hell, the news had a field day when he randomly gave the position of CEO to his personal assistant. Now, based on what you’ve seen, you couldn’t figure out if he had done so to dedicate his life to helping the greater good or getting drunk off his ass and making poor life decisions. There were certainly more headlines about the poor life decisions than there was the heroic stuff.

“Now go. You’ll do great.” Amber smiled and pressed her lips at the corner of his mouth before pushing him off. You watched Kyle nervously make his way through the large crowd to where a red headed woman was talking to a group of people in business suits. Hopefully, the nerves would wear off and the friendly, easy-going Kyle would come back out. You tore your gaze away from him to see Amber grinning at you.

“What?”

She chuckled, “That smile hasn’t slipped from your lips since we walked through those fancy ass glass doors.”

You rolled your eyes at her, but the smile she spoke about didn’t falter. Despite the fact that nearly two hours had passed since you got here, you couldn’t shake this feeling of excitement. It was spilling out of you. Hell, it took everything in you not to just randomly start laughing. You felt downright giddy.

“I’m just in a really, really good mood.” You shrugged. Amber gave you a knowing look and you didn’t bother to mention the fact that your soul mark had been tingling since you walked in. That had to be a good sign, right?

“I think I’m gonna get a drink.” Amber replied simply.

You motioned for her to grab an empty table off to the side, “Wait here. I’ll get us both something. The usual for you?”

“Please and thank you.” She nodded.

You made your way through the crowd toward where the large bar sat in the corner. There were a few people leaning against the bar, but it was otherwise abandoned. You assumed this was due to the fact that servers were walking around everywhere taking orders themselves. That saved you a hassle. Nearly all of the barstools were open where you came to stand, but you didn’t bother grabbing a seat. You wouldn’t be long.

“Two dry martinis. One with olives and the other with a twist.” You ordered when the bartender caught your eye. He nodded and went to work while you waited patiently. The wall behind the bartender was an enormous mirror that you could see yourself in. The smile on your face was certainly large, but you hoped the excitement of it all didn’t make you look like a crazy person.

You chuckled and turned to look over the crowd. Was it really possible that your soulmate was in this very same room as you? The possibility existed that maybe they weren’t. Maybe all this excitement and soul mark tingling was just a false alarm, but the thought that the answer to the biggest question in your life was breathing the same shared airspace as you was exhilarating and terrifying and wonderful all at the same time. Quickly, you tried to push down your excitement. Nothing would be worse than to go home empty handed then wake up early for a long shift in—

“Looking for me, sunshine?”

The distinct, baritone of a male voice spoke from beside you and it shut down every single thought in your brain. It took every fiber of your being not to jump out of your shoes. Hearing the words made you feel like a fire was lit in your chest. Like something in your very soul moved at his voice. The tingling on your right side was replaced with a feeling of warmth. As if an invisible hand were tracing the words as they rolled in your mind. The fact that the voice was vaguely familiar didn’t even click with you until you turned to face him with a grin.

The smile you had managed to keep on your face all night slowly began to crack and slip away as you stared at the man beside you. His voice was vaguely familiar because you did know his voice. Hell, he had been on the news doing some interview not even a day ago. His face was one you knew because damn near everyone in the world knew who this guy was.

Tony fucking Stark.

There was no mixing him up with some other guy. He leaned against the bar beside you facing the huge mirror while you faced the crowd. His eyes were focused on you, but the clear, red glass of his sunglasses tinted the brown color. He had on an expensive dark burgundy suit over a black dress shirt with no tie. He even had on the same smirk that he wore in most of the pictures you had seen him in and not a soul in the United States of America, hell the world, wouldn’t recognize the unique goatee surrounding that stupid smirk.

Maybe he didn’t notice the absolute panic attack going on in your mind, but he pushed himself off the bar slightly, leaning closer to you. The bartender came back with your drinks then left to cater to another guest. Mr. Stark glanced at the two tall glasses.

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re not here alone.” Mr. Stark spoke again.

You had to say something. Words needed to come out of your mouth now, but what would you say? No matter what you said he would know. The next words to come out of your mouth would be marked on his skin somewhere in your handwriting. If you said nothing, then would he even know? It’s not like a soul mark could say, ‘Your soulmate says nothing because she’s an indecisive dumbass’.

“Miss?” He questioned as he leaned forward. His smirk had widened as if he were impressed by the fact that you were speechless. As if it were his mere presence alone that could stun women into stupor.

The words left your mouth before you even had time to consider them. In an exasperated, ‘I’m giving up on the world’ tone, you sighed, “Oh, fuck me.”

That made the smirk fall off his face as quickly as your original smile had disappeared. Mr. Stark pulled his glasses off making it easier to see his wide, shocked eyes. He blinked once, twice… three times, before shaking his head, “Who told you to say that? Did Pepper put you up to this?”

“Oh my God.” You put a hand to your face as if that would help steady the tilting world around you, “You’re Tony Stark. Tony fucking Stark. Are you kidding me?”

“Rhodey then? Did he tell you to say that?” Mr. Stark questioned further. He slipped his glasses into his jacket pocket and his hand lingered over his left side briefly. “Maybe…Happy? Was it Happy?”

You turned around quickly, grabbing your martini, and quickly began to down it. The alcohol burned your throat, but as soon as you had finished yours you picked up Amber’s. Mr. Stark grabbed your wrist before you could bring the glass to your lips and your eyes darted to his in panic. The two of you just stood like that for a moment. You with a martini glass halfway to your lips, panic in your eyes, and Tony Stark holding your wrist with disbelief in his own warm, brown eyes.

The party around you hadn't stopped. People still milled about laughing and talking as if nothing had changed. Yet here you stood feeling like the world had dropped out from under your feet.

“You’re really my soulmate, aren’t you?” Mr. Stark commented in incredulity with a slight shake of his head. The corners of his mouth quirked up as a chuckle rolled out. It wasn’t the typical smirk though; it almost seemed like a genuine smile.

“Is this really happening?” You said in a whispered tone.

“Oh, it’s really happening, sunshine.” He said and took his hand off your wrist to grab the glass. Mr. Stark set it against the bar countertop. He grinned, “You are gorgeous, by the way, I didn’t get to that part of my little spiel.”

You swallowed the lump in your throat, “You’re Tony Stark.”

“I think we’ve already established that. The question is, who are you?”

“I-I’m [Name].” You said.

“[Name]…?” He questioned, obviously fishing for your last name for some reason.

“[Surname].” You finished then shook your head, “Listen, Mr. Stark-”

He rolled his eyes, “Don’t start that. Just Tony.”

“Mr. Stark”, You ignored him, “This has to be a mistake. I’m not— and you— I don’t think we’d even get along, let alone work out.”

He shrugged, “Obviously, you’re wrong. My words are on your skin, and yours on mine. Where are my words, by the way?”

“I uh- um, here.” You lifted your hand and set it over your mark.

Tony’s eyebrows rose in surprise, “That’s interesting.”

“How so?”

His smirk returned as he grabbed your hand softly and pulled you a step closer to him. You froze in surprise as he moved your hand to rest inside his suit jacket on top of the left side of his ribcage, “My words are right here.”

“Really?” You blurted out. There were myths and rumors that the closer the soul marks were to being in the same place, the stronger the bond between the soulmates would be. You had never met anyone who had soul marks in the same place, and the closest you had seen yourself was a couple where one mark was on the woman’s ankle and the other on her partner’s hip.

“We could leave, and I could show you.” Tony said slyly. “I mean, to be honest, I always imagined the context of your words to be a little different.”

You snatched your hand away from his chest and crossed your arms, “You wish.”

“I most certainly do.” You could feel your face heat up as you unconsciously took a step back away from the bar and away from your supposed soulmate. His smile faltered slightly, but he didn’t hesitate to take a step toward you. “Listen, I was serious about that first part. Let’s get out of here. Go get something eat or find a place where we can get a real drink.”

“A place where we can just talk?” You pressed.

Tony stuck his hands into his pocket and nodded, “We do have a lot to talk about.”

You rolled the idea around in your head for a few seconds before nodding your head. He grinned in response and offered you his arm to lead you out and you took it after only a brief moment of hesitation. It was easy to conclude that you were torn on this matter. The curious part of you, the part looking for answers, was more than happy to go to some random bar and chat up a storm. When did his soul mark appear? Was it the same time as yours? Had his been feeling weird up to this point? You’d chat up a storm to find the information you wanted.

However, this was not some random guy in a room of people or the guy next door. This was Tony Stark. The billionaire, the playboy, the narcissistic superhero that people either adored or hated. Was this the kind of guy you wanted to know? Yeah, he was your soulmate according to the words on your chest, but sometimes these soulmate things didn’t work out. It was rare, but these things did exist. Even if you decided to not judge him on his very public mistakes or the women he flaunted, he was still a powerful man with a lot of enemies.

What exactly were you getting yourself into?

The place he had in mind was literally only a few blocks away from where the after-party event was being held. After only a five minute, rather uncomfortable walk, you found yourself sitting in a booth in the very back of an old diner across from Tony Stark. The two of you stood out among the other customers in your formal clothes, but after a couple minutes passed nobody seemed to be paying either of you any more attention.

“Well, look at you Tony, all dolled up.” An older waitress came by with a wide smile. He grinned and she continued, “The usual?”

“You know me well, Ethel.” He replied and glanced at you, “You hungry? I usually get a thing of fries here. It’s good, we can share?”

You nodded, “Sure.”

Tony glanced back at Ethel, “She’ll have a scotch too.”

“She looks like she could use one.” Ethel commented, “What’d you do to the poor girl?”

Tony held his hands up in mock surrender. Ethel gave you a warm smile before walking off. You readjusted the hem of you dress and pulled it down, so it covered a little bit more of your legs.

He leaned across the table slightly, “So, how do we start this heart to heart—”

“Do you even want a soulmate?” You asked bluntly.

Tony blinked in surprise, “Wow, ok, go straight for the jugular there.”

“Seriously, I mean it.” You said, “I never took you as the kind of guy who would even want to settle down with one person. You seem pretty pleased with how your life is now.”

“That’s a fair question.” He leaned back into the booth and didn’t immediately answer your question. Finally, he shrugged nonchalantly with a smile on his face, but his brown eyes looked worried, “I don’t know. I really don’t. What about you?”

You forced a chuckle and tucked a piece of hair behind your ear, “Every little girl dreams about her soulmate, right?”

“Knowing what you know now, knowing that it’s me, do you still want one?” He asked. Ethel came back with two glasses and a bottle of scotch. It looked a lot more expensive than this place could handle and you wondered if the guy in front of you had anything to do with that. She set them down on the table with a smile before leaving. Tony grabbed the bottle and poured some amber liquid into both glasses. He set the bottle down and pushed the glass toward you before grabbing his own, “Do you even want to consider the possibility of having Tony Stark as your soulmate?”

He took a large drink of his scotch but didn’t tear his eyes from yours. You tapped your fingers against the glass and tried to ignore the chill running down your back. The diner was much colder than the party and this dress was hardly made for cold temperatures. You twisted your lips in thought, “That’s a really good question. I’m supposed to, aren’t I? Judging a book by its cover is wrong.”

“True, but this book can’t really deny most of the things on its cover.” Tony said, “And there is a lot of things on my cover. Good and bad.”

“Like being Iron Man?”

He smirked and nodded, “Yeah, that’s one of them.”

“A good one or a bad one?”

“I was going to let you decide on that.” He said then added, “Though I will admit, I was hoping the whole superhero gig would add some points with you. I hear the whole ‘saving lives’ and ‘being a hero’ thing is quite the turn on for ladies.”

You bit back a chuckle, “Admittedly, the Iron Man thing did win you a decent number of points.” You took a quick drink of the scotch, ignoring the burning taste and the growing smile on Tony’s face, then said, “But then there’s the whole ‘archenemies’ and ‘worrying about you dying’ bit that loses you nearly as many points as you had earned.”

His smile faltered on that last statement, and even though you meant it mostly as a joke he seemed to tense at the words. You took another sip of your drink and rubbed your arm with your free hand to try and get rid of the goose bumps that had formed. Tony shrugged out of his suit jacket and offered it to you over the table. You opened your mouth to argue, but the look on his face put a halt to your words.

“Thanks.” You mumbled and shrugged into the dark burgundy coat. It was obviously too big for you, but it was warm and smelled nice.

Moments later, Ethel came back with a basket of fries that she set between the two of you. Tony thanked her sincerely, and you gave her a brief smile. She left again, as quickly as she had come, and it was silent between the two of you again.

“You know, it kind of sucks.” Tony said suddenly making your eyes widen. He snatched a fry from the basket and quickly ate it while you waited for him to finish his thought. “We find each other, and you know everything about me but I know absolutely nothing about you. Kinda seems unfair if you ask me.”

You grabbed a fry for yourself, “From my perspective, I know a lot about you, but now I have to sit here and wonder how much is true, how much is false, and whether or not any of it actually represents who you are.”

“So, I guess we can agree that it sucks from both sides of things?” He commented. You chuckled and nodded in agreement. Tony finished his drink and grabbed the bottle to pour himself some more, “I bet you never pictured meeting your soulmate would look like this.”

You let out a laugh, “Yeah, you can say that again.”

“Tell me about how you pictured it.”

For a moment you didn’t say anything. The only person you had ever shared your daydreams with was your older sister. It wasn’t so much that you were ashamed of the fantasies, everyone with a soul mark had their own, but saying it out loud just made it seem that much more real. You were always afraid that if you said your hopes and daydreams out loud too many times then eventually you would start believing it might actually happen that way and you didn’t want to be disappointed.

Tony noticed your hesitance and spoke up, “I never really thought about it when I was a kid, and as a young adult I didn’t really give a damn…” He chuckled, “Thinking back now though, the funniest thing would have to be the way my mom’s face looked when she saw the words ‘Oh, fuck me’ written on her 12 year old’s chest.”

You couldn’t help but let out a bark of laughter at his words and he smiled along with you. That did have to be pretty bad. His mom probably thought he’d end up with some crazy woman or something.

“I’m the only person in my family with a soul mark.” You admitted with a small smile, “My parents didn’t have them, but they were still so close and just perfect for each other.” You let your eyes linger on the glass in front of you, “I had a few daydreams on how meeting my soulmate would pan out, but I guess the similar theme in all of them was just excitement. If my parents, who weren’t marked for each other, were so perfect and close…how much better would my relationship one day be?”

Your eyes lifted back to the man in front of you only to find his gaze hadn't moved an inch from you. Nervously, you finished your drink and then pulled the coat around you tighter before reaching for another fry.

Tony cleared his throat, “How do you think your family would react if you called them and told them who your soulmate was?”

You chuckled, “My older sister would lose her mind. She kinda has a low-key crush on you. Even her husband knows it.” Tony laughed quietly as you continued, “My dad would be worried. He’d probably threaten your life a bit.”

“And your mom?” Tony questioned in amusement.

“She would be torn for sure.” You said confidently, “She’d probably rotate from being super worried to asking about when I was going to give her grandbabies.”

Tony choked on the scotch he was drinking and that made you chuckle to himself. He pulled the glass away and cleared his throat. He looked like he wanted to say something or maybe comment on what you said, but you didn’t give him the chance, “How come you called me sunshine?”

“I’m sorry?”

“My words.” You repeated, “I always thought my soulmate would be some sort of southern gentleman or…I don’t know. Sunshine just doesn't seem like the kind of pet name you would use.”

Tony licked his bottom lip in thought and he undid the top button of his shirt. A light blue glow peeked out from his shirt, but your eyes lingered on an odd looking set of angry, inflamed lines that briefly could be seen when he undid his shirt . Your attention was pulled away when he began to speak, “Honestly?”

“Yeah.”

“I noticed you earlier in the night.” Tony said and he tried to sound as nonchalant as he could, but his shoulders were on the tense side and his eyes looked worried again, “The dress and your legs are definitely what first caught my attention, but then I saw you smiling and… damn, you were smiling. I don’t know if I could even call it just a smile, you were grinning ear to ear.” His lips quirked up slightly, “I lost sight of you for a while, but then I saw you heading toward the bar and I thought I’d strike up a conversation. A few hours had passed so I figured maybe you had to be at least a little tired of being so happy, but there you were grinning again.” Tony shrugged, “I don’t know what you were so happy about, but you were just beaming at the bar and I swear you lit up the entire room with that smile.”

You ducked your head down slightly as a small smile grew on your lips. His answer wasn’t the kind of answer you expected from him. Hell, none of this conversation was exactly what you expected of him. A determined idea settled in your mind and you looked back up at him with a smirk, “Thanks, Mr. Star— uh, Tony.”

He raised his glass at you slightly, “My pleasure, [Name].”

The two of you talked for a few more hours. Eventually the fries and the alcohol ran out, but the conversation didn’t. It was mostly just light-hearted banter and the trading of information. You told him more about your family and background, and he answered nearly every question you rattled off to him. You avoided the heavier topics, like the fact that you knew his parents were dead or the whole kidnapped and held hostage thing, because you didn’t want something to make this night go wrong.

A buzzing in your purse made you stop mid-sentence and reach over for it. The moment you pulled it out and saw Amber’s name flashing across the screen your face paled, “Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit.”

“Everything ok?” Tony questioned.

“I ditched my friend at that party. I went to get her a drink and…”

“And you ran into me.” Tony chuckled, “It’s fine. I should probably leave.”

The tone of his voice and the worry in his eyes made you pause skeptically. You thought this impromptu date of sorts was going very well, but occasionally you’d notice the look of worry grow. You stood up and let Amber’s call go to voicemail, “So now what?”

“Now, I get your number and you go home and dream about how hot and amazing your soulmate turned out to be.” Tony replied cheekily as a confident mask covered the look of worry he had worn only moments ago. He reached forward and pulled something out of the pocket of his jacket. You smiled and gave him your number without hesitation. He nodded, “I’ll have someone come pick you up and take you anywhere.”

“You don’t have to do that.” You argued as he sent out a message on his phone.

He shoved it into his pocket and shook his head, “I insist. Happy’s a great driver.”

“Happy?”

“He works for me. Good guy.” Tony replied. You tried to shrug out of his jacket, but he reached forward and held the lapels in place. “Keep it.”

You nodded once, “Ok. Well, it was… really good to meet you? I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say now.” You both chuckled, but you pushed on, “I’m really glad you came up to speak to me, Tony.”

“Yeah, me too.” He replied softly. You didn’t know what to expect, but Tony leaning forward to pull you into a hug as not it. After a moment you hugged him back and tried not to let your mind roll to the cliché thoughts of how right this felt. He pulled away with a smile, “I’ll call you.”

Then without another word Tony left and you sat down to wait for the car he had called for you. Your soulmate was completely out of view now and a part of you wondered if it had all been some sort of weird ass hallucination. The cologne on the expensive jacket around your shoulders told you otherwise though.

Your cellphone buzzed again, and you picked it up expecting another text or call from Amber. Instead, it was a single text from an unknown number.

‘Goodnight, sunshine.☀️’

[parkerparts]

My Work is Loving the World

Harley Keener lives alone in Tony Stark’s cabin by the lake. He fills his days with bot-building, AI-coding, garden-tending, and absolutely no spider-killing. It’s fun, sure, but he’s terribly lonely. That all changes when he comes across a red and blue spider in his garden, and to make matters even better, the little fella can understand him.

Truly, it’s a testament to Harley’s sanity — or lack thereof — that he doesn’t run away screaming. Instead, he smiles softly and holds out his hand. “Well then, Peter. Want to come stay with me in the house for a little while? I’m real lonely up there and could use the company.”

The spider Peter doesn’t bother spelling out a response. He just jumps into Harley’s hands, ready to go with him to the ends of the earth.

“Well then,” Harley says again, if only to fill the silence between himself and the nonverbal creature. “Here we go.”

(parkner, 2.6k, no warnings except for fluff and a lil sad boi harley, inspired by this prompt by @offbrand-celestial, title from mary oliver’s ‘the messenger,’ beta’d by the lovely @midorimireio-blog)

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When he was nine years old, Harley read that killing spiders in a beer brewery was practically illegal. His garage might not be a brewery — though admittedly, he had made moonshine in there once or twice on a whim with a friend or as a dare — but he still outlawed the killing of spiders.

“Why?” his Ma had asked, stepping into the place to bring him a dinner plate. She frowned at the expanse of cobwebs Harley empathetically embraced.

“They’re cool creatures,” he said with a shrug, mouth full with a bite cornbread. “Ain’t done nothing wrong to me, so I don’t see no point in killin’ them things.”

Twelve years later, not a thing has changed. He lives in Georgia now, in the lakeside cabin Tony and Pepper keep as their getaway house. They visit more often as Morgan gets older, needing a break from whatever mess they handle up in the city to spend time as a family — Harley and the other Keeners included. Harley’s Ma lives in New York, has some swanky job in one of Pepper’s departments, but Abbie’s in Georgia with Harley, attending Emory University. Harley, at Tony’s insistence, had finished high school before moving out, though he refused to go to college. He liked living here, alone most of the time except for when Abbie visited from her dorm on holidays and the Starks and his Ma came down every couple of months. He could do as he pleased, tinkering and inventing and regularly blowing things up. He was terribly happy in that cabin by the lake.

He was also terribly lonely.

Sure, he had his cars and his bots and his trusty AI C.I.R.C.E, but they weren’t the same as human connection, something he infallibly yearned for. Some days, when the self-imposed isolation was too much to bear, he’d drive half an hour into the city of Atlanta, stay a night in a hotel, find a bar, and dance the night away with a faceless guy or two before sleeping alone, buzzed but not drunk and temporarily satisfied.

Most days though, he’d just swallow down the loneliness, bury himself in work or bury himself in blankets. It was all the same to him anyway — a hazy blur of sunrises and sunsets and meals he may or may not have eaten, chores he may or may not have finished. The pile of dirty clothes is a testament to that last one, and he spends three days in an engineering binge to create Landry, the bot who lovingly does his laundry for him when he can hardly be bothered to get out of bed.

Some memories in this hazy blur stick out more sharply than others, and they all revolve around the garden.

It had been started by Pepper as a vegetable garden. When its care fell into Harley’s hands, he had lovingly invested in it, throwing as much hard work and passion into it as he did his engineering. Over the years it has grown into a veritable maze — though not an actual hedge maze, which would have been unimaginably pretentious in Harley’s eyes, and much too orderly. He grew nearly every fruit, vegetable, and flower the Georgia climate would allow and spent hours engineering bots to take care of it.

And, just as in the old garage back in Rose Hill, he had a strict no spider-killing rule.

Harley wakes up, sprawled sideways in a chair on the porch. The sun is high in the sky, and a glance at his phone indicates that it’s well past noon. Even then, Harley shivers, the spring air not yet warm enough for his liking. Half a day wasted, though really, Harley muses as he goes inside, he was up all night combing through his AI’s code, so it’s not like he actually wasted time. Just daylight.

“Mornin’ C.I.R.C.E,” he greets his AI, yawning. “How we feeling?”

“Like brand new, after last night’s check-up.”

“Good, good,” he murmurs, rifling through his dresser. At long last he finds a pair of clean jeans, holding them up with a triumphant grin. “C.I.R.C.E., wake Kof-E up for me, will ya? And send Landry in here. She’s been slacking off her duties.”

“You got it, partner.” Tony had been downright scandalized when he heard Harley’s AI’s country twang. Abbie had laughed about the look on his face for days. Harley smiles at the memory as he goes back out into the kitchen, freshly dressed but with his hair as unkempt as ever. His beloved robot Kof-E whirs from his place on the kitchen counter, wheeling closer as Harley approaches to present a cup of coffee. Harley takes it and pats the robot’s head. He heads outside again, slipping on his boots and a flannel as he makes his way to the garden.

He grabs an apple from the trees that line the border of the garden as he walks through, pausing to greet his robots — Go-G and Gerald — by name as they trundle along. Soon he reaches a small clearing by the lake under the shade of an oak tree that’s sure to be over a hundred years old. Here, Harley takes a seat, finishing his apple and tucking and core into a bag in his pocket that he’ll put in composting later.

A flash of light catches his eye, and he stands, moving closer to the source. There, in between the branches of the tree, is a spider web that — if Harley’s not hallucinating — spells out HI.

“Howdy,” Harley says out loud in response, feeling only a little stupid. “Where are you?”

As if it can understand him, a spider skittles out of the shadows of the branches. Harley bends closer to take a look, surprised by the vibrancy of the peculiar red and blue creature.

“Can you understand me?” Harley asks.

He only has to wait a moment before the spider has spun a new pattern, spelling YES.

“You got a name, fella?”

The response takes a little longer this time as the spider spells out PETER.

Truly, it’s a testament to Harley’s sanity — or lack thereof — that he doesn’t run away screaming. Instead, he smiles softly and holds out his hand. “Well then, Peter. Want to come stay with me in the house for a little while? I’m real lonely up there and could use the company.”

The spider Peter doesn’t bother spelling out a response. He just jumps into Harley’s hands, ready to go with him to the ends of the earth.

“Well then,” Harley says again, if only to fill the silence between himself and the nonverbal creature. “Here we go.”

Over the next few days, Harley and Peter figure out how to live together comfortably. All of Harley’s robots are programmed to recognize and avoid spiders and spider webs, so Peter’s safety isn’t much of a concern. Communication, however, is.

They start out with an old-fashioned chalkboard with basic responses, needs, and the alphabet written out for Peter to indicate by crawling on. With that taken care of, Harley sets off on his next engineering binge, with the goal in mind to create a robot that will allow Peter to move and speak.

He begins by programming a new AI called PETER — Personal Equipment for Telecommunications and Electronic Replies because Harley loves is acronyms as much as Tony does — and gives him the voice of a teenage boy or young adult.

If Abbie or his Ma were here to witness this bout of insanity, they’d call him out for his poorly concealed loneliness. Nonetheless, he is alone and shamelessly gives in to his fantasy of finding a best friend, even if that best friend is a spider.

And really, Peter’s not too shabby of a best friend to have. He likes bacon and waffles — really, the fact that this spider liked human foods should have been a glaring clue to Harley that something truly weird was going on — and makes Harley regain a somewhat normal sleeping schedule by wrapping webs gently around his wrists to make him stop working late at night and somehow — Harley has never figured this one out — getting C.I.R.C.E. to play rock music loudly every morning to rouse him awake. He also gets C.I.R.C.E. to wake Kof-E up every morning though, so Harley can’t complain too much. Peter accompanies Harley in the lab, webbing tools over with surprising strength and giving as much input as he can with his limited communication abilities. He accompanies Harley into the garden every evening and listens as Harley speaks, asking questions every now and then with his little chalkboard. Harley can’t wait to build his robot, ready to hear Peter tell him a story of his own.

At long last, after two weeks of work, Harley finishes the robot, affectionately nicknamed “Capslock P.E.T.E.R.,” with Peter’s approval. He guides the spider into the clear container that serves as Capslock P.E.T.E.R.’s head before stepping back with bated breath to watch his genius play out.

“Hiya, Harley,” Peter/P.E.T.E.R. says, and Harley is nearly moved to tears. “I’m Peter.”

“I know,” Harley replies with a breathless laugh. “It’s nice to meet you, Peter.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Peter replies, voice full of emotion that Harley had no idea an AI was capable of producing.

That evening, they go out to the garden, back to the clearing where they first technically met. Peter greets the garden robots as he trundles by, voice adorably becoming more enthusiastic as the robots chirp back. Harley just smiles fondly at the spider inside the robot, quietly regretting his failure to give Capslock P.E.T.E.R. a face, if only to see him smile back.

“I think it’s your turn to tell me a story,” Harley says, settling by the lake. P.E.T.E.R. rolls to a stop beside him.

“Okay,” he says. “Well, here it goes.”

Peter had once been Peter Benjamin Parker, a bright, young science nerd living in New York City with his aunt. He worked as an intern for Tony Stark, who found the boy after heavy surveillance of a masked vigilante who liked to web muggers up in a sticky, fluid substance of his own invention. “Spider-Man,” the media called him, though Tony preferred “Spider-Boy.”

Then, in a tragic twist of irony, Peter was actually bitten by a spider and somehow become a spider himself.

“Mr. Stark was beside himself. The whole thing was so bizarre, and he couldn’t figure it out. Dr. Banner thought it was radiation, but he attributes most unexplainable phenomena to radiation,” Peter explains.

Eventually, a wizard doctor guy Tony reluctantly called in a favor with figured it out. Harley wants to interrupt and ask what exactly he had figured it out, but Peter glosses over it and presses on. Apparently, Tony had been telling Harley’s Ma the story and she, remembering Harley’s affinity for spiders, had suggested that Tony send Peter down to Harley’s place. They wanted it to be a secret or for him to figure it out on his own or something, so they discreetly packaged Peter in the latest care package/equipment shipment they had sent down from New York.

“That was nearly a week before I found you!” Harley cries out, remembering.

Peter reminds him that “You had an engineering binge,” and Harley blushes, unapologetic.

Together, they sit in silence for a moment as Harley digests the story, which really was something straight out of a comic book. Then a thought occurs to him and he says, “Hey, what did that wizard doctor figure out?”

“Oh,” Peter says with poorly feigned surprise, as if he hadn’t wanted Harley to remember that little detail he left out. “Yeah, he figured out a cure.”

“There’s a cure?” Harley turns to face Capslock P.E.T.E.R. with excitement. “Peter, why didn’t you so? We have to fix this! Tell me, what can I do?”

Peter is quiet for a moment, and Harley begins to wonder if he’s said something wrong. “See, this curse or whatever is magic. And the only cure is a kiss. A true love’s kiss.”

Harley’s mind goes blank. True love?

Harley doesn’t believe in true love. He doesn’t buy into the whole soulmate idea. He moved out to a cabin in the middle of the woods with a heavily encrypted, unlisted address, condemning himself to a solitary lifestyle. He’s lonely, sure, but he likes it. He likes his space, his bots, his AI …

And Peter. He really, really likes Peter.

In the past couple of weeks, Peter has become an integral part of Harley’s life as his trusted companion and caretaker. He’s listened to all of Harley’s stories, and Harley wants nothing more than to hear all of Peter’s, get to know the boy beneath the arachnid body. As he thinks about it more, Harley can’t imagine a life without Peter in it, and maybe Peter’s not his true love — not yet, at least — but it’s worth a shot.

“Well then,” Harley says tentatively. “What are we waiting for?”

With shaking hands, he frees Peter from Capslock P.E.T.E.R.’s containment, smiling as the red and blue spider jumps eagerly into his hands. Harley raises his palm to his face, closes his eyes, and before he can think any more about it, he kisses the creature.

Immediately, Harley can feel the ripple of magic course through Peter’s body. The creature in his hands morphs until he’s cupping not a spider but the soft cheek of a boy whose lips are pressed gently against Harley’s. He opens his eyes at long last and pulls away, unable to contain a gasp at the sight of the boy-turned-spider-turned-boy-again, whom he’s come to love.

Peter wears what looks like a spandex suit, though it’s probably some fancy Stark tech, red and blue with black webbing all over it and a black spider emblem emblazoned on his chest. Harley assumes that the mask Peter mentioned is missing, but he’s glad for the fact as he drinks in Peter’s rosy cheeks and amber eyes and tousled brown curls that make Harley’s heart ache with yearning.

“Hi,” Peter says nervously in his own voice, not Capslock P.E.T.E.R.’s.

“Thank God you came back wearing clothes, because that would’ve made for a real awkward situation.” Harley wants to take back his words — which he hadn’t actually meant to say aloud, for goodness’s sake — as soon as he sees Peter’s eyes widen, but when the boy lets out a bark of surprised laughter, Harley relaxes, joining in. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”

“It’s okay. The first time I met Mrs. Potts, I ran into her — literally — and tried to say either ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘Nice to meet you’ but ended up blurting out ‘I’m sorry to meet you,’ instead. I just ran away. It was so embarrassing!”

Harley can’t help but to laugh again, leaning his head on Peter’s shoulder. Peter leans his head on top of his. They sit there together, in the clearing by the lake, where it all began, feeling completely at peace with the world and each other and their state of being.

“Thank you,” Harley says suddenly, grabbing hold of Peter’s hand.

“What for?”

“The efflorescence of love,” Harley replies, “and the gossamer that holds us together.”

Peter says nothing at that, just squeezes Harley’s hand tighter. Together, they watch the sunset, witness the way the world changes colors.

The world might be forever changing, but at the heart of it all sat two boys by a lake with the knowledge that through it all, they’d have each other.

And it would be enough.

“I died, and was born in the spring; / I found you, and loved you, again.”

— Mary Oliver, “Hummingbirds”

[sparkly-angell]

Stuckony Fic Rec because why not

*= series

ATTENTION! LOST ARM (If found please contact:) by Fakesheep-luna Teen, 8k Bucky doesn't understand why everyone is so worked up. He just went out for a few drinks, made some new friends and passed out in a dumpster. No big deal! "No big deal??" Steve squeaks, throwing his hands up in the air "You lost your arm! And you don't even remember how!" "Well, at least it wasn't the good one."

Guys!! This fic is comedy approved! its really good, made me laugh a lot, and the plot? amazing. Go read!

Break In by Tenspencerriedplease 7k Scott Lang, at least, understood why Tony hated this stupid job so damn much. He had a Masters degree in engineering but Tony was working on a PhD. Unfortunately for him even with his previous experience and schooling- good schooling- he was stuck working in a knockoff version of McDonald’s meets Subway. At least he works there until he meets Steve and Bucky.

askfjnsfdjsn aaaaaaaa I love gang AU and this one is Great. Highly recomend!

Brooklyn Boys - Bakey Au* by Quicksylver28 Teen/Mature 27k Tony is a bachelor college professor who walks into Steve and Bucky's Bakery/ Cafe. Awkward Flirting ensues.... and fluff, we wont forget the fluff.

ITS SO SWEET! Pun intended. Gosh, I wish I could eat all those baked goods. Sounds delicious. Anyways, the fic is sweet. Peter is a good friend.

Bruises and Drunken Heart Tattoos by Akira_of_the_twilight Teen, 6k An older man in his thirties was standing over Bucky with a bottle of aspirin in one hand, and the fingers of his other hand still gripping the rim of the cup he’d set down on the nightstand. Amber eyes blinked at Bucky in mild surprise. The man’s lips curved into a teasing smirk. “I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

I wanna hug Tony so hard over the course of this fic. It’s cute the way they fall in love. And it’s also funny. 

Canvas, Ink & Paint* by Ficlicious Teen, 11k Bucky's got one goal: to rescue a captured SHIELD agent and get out before the guards realize he's not one of them. Unfortunately, apparently he's also got soulmates, and when their messages and sketches start appearing on his skin, his mission becomes a complicated mess of trying not to get caught covered in their ink.

!!!!!! I love soulmate aus and this fic is one of my favorites!! Poor Bucky, tho, he was just trying to do his work. Go read!! 

Carrier by Just_another_tinker Explicit, 49k Steve and Bucky gift Tony with their jacket that survived from the 1940's. Turns out that wasn't the only thing that survived.

YALL. SO. MUCH. ANGST. and with a happy ending? someone said Pining? PERFECTION. I love the group dimensions in this fic. 

Comic Books and Kings by Ashes0909 Explicit, 10k Tony Stark read Captain America comics and everyone knew it, but it was only ever about Bucky Barnes.

Freacking great! Tony having a crush on Bucky before his crush on Steve? Godsent. 

Coffee Love* by Syriala Good, 8k Tony thought his best day was when Steve walked into the coffee shop he was working in. That was until Bucky came in a few days later.

The fluff!! The flirting!! Their kind of pining! *heart eyes*

Cried For Love (Can’t Stand It) by Potrix Explicit, 7k Bucky braces his hands on his hips, and tilts his head to the side, expression caught somewhere between anxious, confused, and nervous. “Well, shit.” “Yeah,” Steve agrees, worrying at his bottom lip, and rubbing at the back of his neck. “That can’t be good.”

Steve and Bucky become spirits and Tony blames himself (which he shouldn’t but thats Tony for you). I love this fic a loooot! (and i wanna hug tony a loooot too)

Difficult Conversations by Yumekiumono Mature, 34k HYDRA had brainwashed their Asset into silence, and then muzzled him to boot. It's not that surprising that Bucky no longer considers talking to be one of his strong suits. So why does he keep having to have difficult conversations? Or, the road to loving Tony Stark is never an easy one.

!!! Man! Tony/Bucky is strong in this fic, but also Steve is there and he is cute. Ive read some WinterIron fics with a similar plot, but the fact that this is Stuckony makes it 100% better. 

Don’t Say It by Bibliomaniac Teen, 35k Tony Stark is autistic and nonverbal. Which is fine, obviously, except for it means that Steve and Bucky don't have his words, and it only takes him a few minutes to decide they don't need to know he has theirs. That's also totally and definitely fine, until he goes and falls in love with them.

So. Fuckin. Good! Soulmate au. Its a must read fanfic. For real. The pining and the angst. Gosh, Tony is the best fuckin person. He doesn’t deserve all this pain.

Eagles by Spqr Teen, 6k Natasha presses her hand over her heart, and – Tony has heard rumors, that her skin is blank, or that she killed her other half, but he doesn’t believe them. “They deserve to know, don’t you think?” “They’ve been together for ninety years, Nat,” he says. “They’re practically married. There’s no room for me.”

Gosh!! Another soulmate au. Me addicted in them? yes. This one hurts more. I think i really cried while reading it. But has a happy ending so its worth it! 

From Winter’s Cold by 27dragons Explicit, 64 Thanks to one of Thor's crazy stalkers, Tony finds himself stranded in the past. If he significantly changes the course of history, he might never get home again. The choice, when it appears, turns out to be not nearly as difficult as he might have expected.

I simply love this fic. One of my personal favorites! Tony is taken back to 1945 and he finds no one other than.... Bucky. Go read! 

Liebestraum No.3 in A Flat by Daecyan_Shikoba Teen, 10k I humbly request to the pianist: Liebestraum No.3 in A flat

Im actually just doing this rec because of this fic. sfdjnsdkjfsn i love it SO much. Pianist Tony has a crush on his neighbours and has anonymous requests to play the piano. Its great. This fic is so relaxing to read.  

Long Distance by Notevenclosetostraight Explicit, 44k At the end of a bad day, Tony gets drunk and texts Rhodey all his woes. Except he typed the wrong number, and has been texting someone named Steve– who is blond, 28, teaches art and somehow charmed by Tonys drunk rambles.

Go read!!!!!!!! Its cute, full of sexy times and fluff. 

Hands by ezazahaz Teen, 1k He pushed harder, feeling the suit start to crack under his metal hand, the arc reactor giving way. Just a bit more force, and it might push through the grafted skin and false sternum that had replaced the device that had once been a part of the man. This time, instead of saving the man's heart, it would crush it, and he could never hurt Bucky again, never hurt Steve again. Bucky has a nightmare.

I know this one is smoll. But! it’s full of emotion and hurt/comfort. It’s cute. Mostly Bucky/Tony

Hollowness by amobisan Explicit, 63k It feels like a hollowness, when Tony first realizes. First sees. And the first thought, the first thought his useless, traitorous, genius brain can come up with was "At least this time when he leaves, it wasn't your fault."

So. Many. Feels. Tony is so selfless and sad it’s painful. But there’s also so much fluff!!! And a Lot of sexy times. 

How Good You’ve Got It by Orphan Account Mature, 2k Tony was only trying to work on deciphering Loki's power signature, which admittedly what Steve would call 'poking an angry brown bear with a pointy stick'. But if he could just- Shit. It wasn't supposed to do that.

Goddamn. One of my favorite fics!! I’ve already reread this like, three times. It’s small, I know, but the plot? Incredible.

Me through Him to You* by sahiya Teen/Explicit, 71k “You’re sick, you need someone to look after you. This mission could take a couple of days, and I want you in one piece when I get home.” Tony sighed. “Why do you care?” Steve’s mouth twisted unhappily. “I hope that’s the fever talking.” He stepped closer. “When I get home,” he said, so quietly that Tony didn’t think even the nosiest of their nosy friends could hear it, “we’re going to talk, all right? Until then, please let Bucky look after you. Consider it me looking after you, through him.”

First fic: sick fic, sick fic, sick fic!! Fluff!!! Love! Second fic: all. the. angst. you never knew you needed, with ahappy ending, tho. 

Not Like That At All by Catchclaw Explicit, 8k One last gig. That’s what Steve tells himself this'll be.

Hilarious! I s w e a r it’s so funny. I mean- theres a lot of smut that happens but the end? comical. And sweet. Go read!

One Date Wonder by Arukou Explicit, 20k Every week, the same guy comes into Steve and Bucky's diner and every week, he's got a new date on his arm. Guy just can't seem to catch a break, and after a particularly bad date, Steve and Bucky start taking matters into their own hands to help him out.

Sweet, cute, fluffy! Poor Tony I want to hug him :’( Amazing Diner!Au, a must read.

Pretend You Don’t Know Me!  by Aknightofagoodking Teen, 16k Peter forgets that his class is taking a field trip to Stark Tower. Tomorrow. ["So you want us to pretend we don't know you that well?" Mister Stark asks, looking somewhat unhappy. "Yes! Exactly! Pretend I'm actually just an intern. Can you do that for me, please?"]

Ok, so this focus more on Peter. But Stuckony as Peter’s dad? Isn’t that just the best thing in the world? 

Scientific Heresy by Antigrav_vector Mature, 34k In the process of running the particle accelerator in his basement and fixing the arc reactor, Tony finds himself flung into the past where he has to take on a fight not his own if he wants to get home to stop Vanko. At least he had a chance to replace the old rector that had been killing him with the new one before everything went sideways... But now he has no choice but to face off with family, friends, and old heroes, and none of that sounds remotely appealing. Well, okay, getting to meet them all during their glory days kinda does.

AAAA Ok, I love time travel stories, so i might be biased a little, but this is the best!! There’s a lot of action scenes which are great and engaging. It’s a must read. 

That Damn Flight Suit by Orphan Account Explicit, 2k James and Steve make a very interesting discovery about what really is under the Iron Man suit. Cue awkward boners, oblivious Tony, and slightly possessive super-soldiers who really don't want to share his...assets... with the world.

I mean- It’s smut. 

The Sex Shop Around the Corner by sadieb798 Mature, 16k Tony really hates his job. When he tries to figure out what he wants to do next, Tony decides that instead of making weapons for war, he should make things for pleasure. So he decides he's going to open his own sex shop.

cmon, tell me this isn’t the best au out there. skdjfsdkfsn but for real tho, the fic is full of fluff, some pining and kind of a mis communication? perfect. 

The Shirt by Sailorchibi Explicit, 3k How an impulsive decision that Tony made at sixteen and an equally impulsive decision that Tony made at forty-three combined to have the best outcome ever.

Smut. Again. But its damn good as well.

The Stories We Write by Notevenclosetostraight Mature, 33k A question at an interview leads to Steve and Bucky discovering fan fiction, and after piles of coffeeshop au's and fake dating tropes (and screaming over ABO fics) they find an author that writes some of the best fics they've ever read-- reader inserts starring a dark haired, dark eyed male reader as their shared love interest.

This fic is so freacking amazing!! Steve and Bucky are such nerds. Tony is mostly unaware until--

Thats it!!! Hope you enjoy reading them all :) If you want more, you know where to find me ;)

[wanderers-ward-blog]

All the emoji best frand, hit me

send 😀 for a head canon about a time your muse made mine happy

When the King introduces her to newer things, such as other forms of technology, new foods she hasn’t tried yet, places she hasn’t been to. She is always excited to experience these things with him, as it just seems all the more enjoyable. The gift of the cell phone was a particularly amazing gift, and after a quick tutorial by the King, she was off snapping pictures and videos and sharing all of that with him. She is still working on a way with Cid Nan Garlond on how to transmit those signals all the way to Insomnia. The enthusiastic engineer insists that it can be done.

send 😥 for a head canon about a time your muse made mine sad.

Though not entirely his doing, she was very sad to see him go back home. There was a lot they hadn’t gotten to do during his visit to Eorzea (they hadn’t annoyed Alphinaud NEARLY as much as the two of them are capable of, a huge regret). She wasn’t kept down too long though, as she remembered something fairly important; moogles can fly fairly far to deliver mail if bribed with their delicious kupo nuts.

send 😡 for a head canon about a time your muse made mine angry

He hasn’t made her angry yet, but a good way to do it would be to doubt her ability, and mean it. She has pride in her skills, and being told she isn’t good enough or that she can’t handle something gets her (stupidly) angry, and in the mind to prove someone wrong.

send 😕 for a head canon about a time your muse made mine confused

Constantly, she flounders with the new things he shows her, particularly electronics. Watching him handle them are a good way for her to learn, though there are times it confuses her as well. Why use the heat box (microwave) if it makes everything taste like cardboard, when the oven is better? Why use different cameras, when the phone takes pictures too? Mostly, she gets over this confusion and just accepts it, as she isn’t a very argumentative person.

send 👪 for a head canon about a time your muse made mine protective

Most of the time they were traveling Eorzea, she was very relaxed. However, the moment they stepped foot in Ul’Dah, her eyes would shift about constantly, always on the lookout for people she knew were no good. No place puts her on edge quite as much as Ul’Dah, even after all the dust settled with the feigned assassination of the Sultana. She refused to let her dear friend fall into any bad business, even minor.

send 😱 for a head canon about a time your muse made mine worried

Seeing how he reacts after a particularly hard battle, how much it takes out of him, that makes her very worried. Hydaelyn speaks to her of her friends’ ailment, tells her it is a matter of time, and she wants nothing more than extend his. So much so, that she is prepared to do something she didn’t do even for Haurchefant, should he perish too soon, and not on his terms.

send 😄 for a head canon about a time your muse made mine thankful

The patience he has with her is definitely something she appreciates. Her own sister is not nearly as kind to her when it comes to introducing her to new things and helping her learn about it. She had been anxious, admittedly, asking him so many questions about things that seemed common sense, and she was extremely thankful that he didn’t make her seem like an idiot. Nyxia did feel a little guilty about flooring that phone though…

send 😍 for a head canon about a time your muse made mine develop a crush even for a moment.

It had been during their traveling together, the two of them worn out after a surprise fight. A stupid comment, a terrible joke, and then the two of them were laughing, so hard that her stomach hurt. Perhaps it was the situation, the two of them on the ground, dirty but victorious, but she had felt an intense admiration for him, and for that laugh. It rang through her ears, and she had been a little off guard by how nice it sounded. When they had settled, and picked themselves up, she had decided that it would be a goal to hear that honest and breathless laugh as much as possible.

send 😌 for a head canon about a time your muse made mine feel loved/cared about

If there is one thing Nyxia loves, it is mail from him. It lets her know he is still thinking about her, and gives her something to look forward to on her way home from yet another fight, another adventure. When her body aches and her mind too weary, she sits down to read his letters, and it’s a reminder for her that someone actually genuinely cares about her, and not about what she can do for them like so many others.

[foursproutwealth-blog]

5 Things to Consider When Selecting a Website Theme

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/wealth/5-things-to-consider-when-selecting-a-website-theme/

5 Things to Consider When Selecting a Website Theme

Here’s how to pick your website theme out of the thousands of options.

March 1, 2018 6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Selecting a website theme can be overwhelming — there are literally thousands of free and paid options available to download and purchase. Your theme is the overall look, feel and style of your website. This includes things like the color scheme, layout and style elements. In essence, your website theme is a direct representation of your brand and has a direct impact on your users’ experience.

Admittedly, I was never a fan of pre-built website themes back when my agency provided web design services. Years ago, most out-of-the box themes were clunky, provided SEO nightmares and just weren’t as effective as a fresh custom design.

Times have changed, though, and now there are plenty of good-looking themes — but don’t judge a book by its cover — poor coding, slow speeds, search engine optimization issues and poor user experiences still exist.

To help you pick a great website theme for your particular business needs, make sure to take into account these five things.

1. K.I.S.S.

K.I.S.S. is an acronym for “Keep it simple, stupid” — one of my favorite sayings when it comes to modern-day website design. Several years ago, websites were very loud, and companies wanted flash animation, fancy features and other bells and whistles. Now, flat designs with a minimalistic approach are popular.

Websites that are too busy take the user away from the desired call-to-action and they are a headache to navigate on mobile devices. If you take a look at Team 10’s website, you will see a great example of an effective design. Each section of the website is simple, features a flat design and gives the information seeker exactly what he or she is looking for — nothing more and nothing less. It’s so simple that it’s brilliant.

2. Developer support availability

This is something that not many people take into consideration when selecting a theme. It’s very rare that you will be able to install a theme and not have to make updates as the platform you are using changes and advances. This could be due to feature changes or security issues — no matter what you are using, from WordPress to Shopify and every other option, you need to anticipate there will be updates required to keep your theme from breaking.

The majority of theme marketplaces will have information on the developer, as well as a log of all the updates that have been released for each particular theme. Pay attention to this information, as well as customer reviews and ratings — it can give you a lot of insight.

Themes that have been around for a long time and have several updates indicated that the developer is constantly making changes to make the theme better. One of the most popular WordPress themes, Newspaper, has over 57,000 sales and is updated all the time. If you look at it here, you can scroll to the bottom to see the update log and a list of all the changes made each time. This is an example of a theme with excellent developer support.

3. Mobile readiness

Almost all popular modern-era website themes are responsive, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are guaranteed to provide an excellent mobile experience. There are plenty of websites that will pass Google’s mobile test, yet provide such a poor user experience that they are worthless on smaller screens, in terms of conversion potential.

Look for a theme that is extremely adaptive and built with converting visitors in mind. If you look at this contact page on a desktop or laptop computer, you will see that the form features several steps. It’s eye-appealing and is very easy to complete of desktops and laptops.

Now, if you look at the same page on a mobile device, you will notice that there is a very prominent “Click to Call” button on the very top of the page, allowing the visitor to make immediate contact without even scrolling. If they do scroll down, they find the contact form, but in a different format that’s much more user-friendly on mobile devices.

The majority of website themes will have working demos for you to play with before purchasing, so make sure to put them through the ringer on mobile and tablet devices.

4. Available plugins, apps and extensions

It’s very rare that you will run a website theme in its stock version — you will customize the look and feel to match your brand, as well as add special features to enhance the user experience and turn more traffic into leads, sales and revenue.

WordPress has over 54,000 plugins available, Shopify has thousands of apps and WooCommerce has Extensions available to help enhance your website theme.

You need to know what platform is best for your business before exploring available themes, and once that is decided you can then begin to explore other add-ons. For example, if you are an e-commerce brand, Shopify is very hard to beat.

If you are a small service-based business and your goal is to generate leads, then you may want to use WordPress and focus on publishing great blog content to pull in traffic. Look at the offer used on this lead capture form — a downloadable brochure in exchange for a name, email address and phone number. Rather than a standard sidebar offer that offers a newsletter subscription or an emailed offer, this allows the consumer to access the bribe immediately.

There are plenty of plugins that can help you implement and manage download offers with no coding or development skills needed. Most of the popular services you will use with your website, like Mailchimp, for example, has plugins available that make integration simple. Make a list of what you will be using and what features you will need to add to your theme and reverse engineer the best options.

5. Cross-browser compatibility

Testing your website theme on all of the popular web browsers is an important step, especially if you are considering using one that hasn’t been updated recently. With so many different devices, browsers and operating systems being used, testing helps ensure that your theme will provide the same user experience and functionality for everyone.

There are plenty of free tools and resources available online, as well as paid options that offer a free trial. One of the oldest, Browser Shots, allows you to run your website through them all at once. The free open-source tool is a great starting point — if you do spot an issue on a particular browser you can then further investigate using other available resources.

[foursprout-blog]

5 Things to Consider When Selecting a Website Theme

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/wealth/5-things-to-consider-when-selecting-a-website-theme/

5 Things to Consider When Selecting a Website Theme

Here’s how to pick your website theme out of the thousands of options.

March 1, 2018 6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Selecting a website theme can be overwhelming — there are literally thousands of free and paid options available to download and purchase. Your theme is the overall look, feel and style of your website. This includes things like the color scheme, layout and style elements. In essence, your website theme is a direct representation of your brand and has a direct impact on your users’ experience.

Admittedly, I was never a fan of pre-built website themes back when my agency provided web design services. Years ago, most out-of-the box themes were clunky, provided SEO nightmares and just weren’t as effective as a fresh custom design.

Times have changed, though, and now there are plenty of good-looking themes — but don’t judge a book by its cover — poor coding, slow speeds, search engine optimization issues and poor user experiences still exist.

To help you pick a great website theme for your particular business needs, make sure to take into account these five things.

1. K.I.S.S.

K.I.S.S. is an acronym for “Keep it simple, stupid” — one of my favorite sayings when it comes to modern-day website design. Several years ago, websites were very loud, and companies wanted flash animation, fancy features and other bells and whistles. Now, flat designs with a minimalistic approach are popular.

Websites that are too busy take the user away from the desired call-to-action and they are a headache to navigate on mobile devices. If you take a look at Team 10’s website, you will see a great example of an effective design. Each section of the website is simple, features a flat design and gives the information seeker exactly what he or she is looking for — nothing more and nothing less. It’s so simple that it’s brilliant.

2. Developer support availability

This is something that not many people take into consideration when selecting a theme. It’s very rare that you will be able to install a theme and not have to make updates as the platform you are using changes and advances. This could be due to feature changes or security issues — no matter what you are using, from WordPress to Shopify and every other option, you need to anticipate there will be updates required to keep your theme from breaking.

The majority of theme marketplaces will have information on the developer, as well as a log of all the updates that have been released for each particular theme. Pay attention to this information, as well as customer reviews and ratings — it can give you a lot of insight.

Themes that have been around for a long time and have several updates indicated that the developer is constantly making changes to make the theme better. One of the most popular WordPress themes, Newspaper, has over 57,000 sales and is updated all the time. If you look at it here, you can scroll to the bottom to see the update log and a list of all the changes made each time. This is an example of a theme with excellent developer support.

3. Mobile readiness

Almost all popular modern-era website themes are responsive, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are guaranteed to provide an excellent mobile experience. There are plenty of websites that will pass Google’s mobile test, yet provide such a poor user experience that they are worthless on smaller screens, in terms of conversion potential.

Look for a theme that is extremely adaptive and built with converting visitors in mind. If you look at this contact page on a desktop or laptop computer, you will see that the form features several steps. It’s eye-appealing and is very easy to complete of desktops and laptops.

Now, if you look at the same page on a mobile device, you will notice that there is a very prominent “Click to Call” button on the very top of the page, allowing the visitor to make immediate contact without even scrolling. If they do scroll down, they find the contact form, but in a different format that’s much more user-friendly on mobile devices.

The majority of website themes will have working demos for you to play with before purchasing, so make sure to put them through the ringer on mobile and tablet devices.

4. Available plugins, apps and extensions

It’s very rare that you will run a website theme in its stock version — you will customize the look and feel to match your brand, as well as add special features to enhance the user experience and turn more traffic into leads, sales and revenue.

WordPress has over 54,000 plugins available, Shopify has thousands of apps and WooCommerce has Extensions available to help enhance your website theme.

You need to know what platform is best for your business before exploring available themes, and once that is decided you can then begin to explore other add-ons. For example, if you are an e-commerce brand, Shopify is very hard to beat.

If you are a small service-based business and your goal is to generate leads, then you may want to use WordPress and focus on publishing great blog content to pull in traffic. Look at the offer used on this lead capture form — a downloadable brochure in exchange for a name, email address and phone number. Rather than a standard sidebar offer that offers a newsletter subscription or an emailed offer, this allows the consumer to access the bribe immediately.

There are plenty of plugins that can help you implement and manage download offers with no coding or development skills needed. Most of the popular services you will use with your website, like Mailchimp, for example, has plugins available that make integration simple. Make a list of what you will be using and what features you will need to add to your theme and reverse engineer the best options.

5. Cross-browser compatibility

Testing your website theme on all of the popular web browsers is an important step, especially if you are considering using one that hasn’t been updated recently. With so many different devices, browsers and operating systems being used, testing helps ensure that your theme will provide the same user experience and functionality for everyone.

There are plenty of free tools and resources available online, as well as paid options that offer a free trial. One of the oldest, Browser Shots, allows you to run your website through them all at once. The free open-source tool is a great starting point — if you do spot an issue on a particular browser you can then further investigate using other available resources.