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sage-nebula · 3 years ago

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Thinking about all the clues in canon that Susie is an orphan who, before the game started, never had any friends or anyone who really cared about her (with their care for her being known to her), such as:

— At the beginning of Chapter 2, Ralsei reveals that he has set up rooms for Susie and Kris in his castle, so that the Dark World can be like “a second home” to them. When Susie sees her room, she spends a moment marveling about how she has her own room and awkwardly asks Ralsei how long he spent setting it up for her. After that, she’s overjoyed about how cool it is, bragging about it to both Kris and Lancer. While it could be that she just likes the room, the emphasis she puts on it being her own room makes it seem like this might be the first time she’s ever had a room to herself. Which, to be fair, Kris shared their room with Asriel as well, but the room Kris shared with Asriel was still their room, at least on one side of it. If Susie is from a group home, it could be that she never even had that much to herself.

— Susie seems to care greatly for Toriel, but in Chapter 1 also seems a bit jealous of Kris for being Toriel’s child. In Chapter 1, after Susie threatens Kris about biting their face off, she stops and says, “Nah. Kris, you have a good mother. It’d be a shame to make her bury her child.” If you try to skip school instead of going to the closet after that, Susie stops Kris by saying, “If you skip school, your mother will have a heart attack.” In both cases, Susie is expressing care for Toriel’s emotional well-being; however much Susie might not care for others, she does care about Toriel enough to not want to stress her out. Keeping in mind that all of this happens before the first Dark World trip, it can’t be explained away by Susie’s character development like Susie’s eagerness to bake a pie with Toriel (and otherwise adherence and respect that she shows for Toriel) in Chapter 2 can.

But going along with that, when you follow Susie to the closet in Chapter 1, Susie mocks Kris by saying, “Not used to walking without someone holding your hand? Come on, freak.” Given the respect and care Susie has already shown for Toriel, it’s clear that her mocking of Kris here is not because Kris should be ashamed for holding Toriel’s hand; rather, it could be jealousy that Susie doesn’t have someone to do that for her, and perhaps never did. It’s easier to call Kris a freak for having a loving mother who holds their hand than it is to admit that she wishes she had the same.

As a final note on the Chapter 2 interactions, Susie is surprised that Toriel knows her name and remembers her. This, in addition to her eagerness to help out with the pie, her laughing at Toriel’s jokes, etc, shows that Susie has a fondness for Toriel, who is the most motherly character in the series. Considering that Toriel acts kind and motherly toward Susie, the idea that Susie might not have never had a mother (+ people to care about her) suggests that her fondness for Toriel (+ jealousy of Kris) contributes to how quickly she latches onto / how much she cares about Toriel.

— Susie eats chalk, and while this could be a “haha monster snack” joke, not only do we not see other monsters eating chalk (in fact, Noelle thinks Kris is lying to her if you choose to tell Noelle this about Susie at the end of Chapter 1), but eating chalk can be a sign of a nutrient deficiency. Specifically, craving chalk can be a result of an iron deficiency. If Susie is an orphan who hasn’t had parents to take care of her, then she could have an unbalanced / nutritionally deficient diet, and thus she does things like eat chalk in an effort to make up for it. (Her jeans are also ripped up, and while distressed jeans are cool, it’s also possible those are the only pants she has.)

— While the other kids in Alphys’ class openly detest Susie (e.g. laughing at Kris for being paired with her, warning Kris about possible death at Susie’s hands, refusing to hang out with Kris if Kris is hanging out with Susie, etc), Monster Kid tells a story to Kris in Chapter 1 that suggests that, at one time, Susie might have wanted to be friends with them. Specifically, if you talk to Monster Kid at the end of Chapter 1, Monster Kid tells Kris about a time when the kids from Alphys’ class (sans Kris) were playing kickball in the street. MK says that Susie was “standing in a corner” staring at them, but that when the ball did get kicked over to her, she froze before kicking it so hard that it hit Undyne’s car. Monster Kid doesn’t say what Susie did after that (only that Alphys came out and kicked all their asses at the game), but does go on to insult Susie some more, and notes that Kris looks increasingly annoyed at the insults. Regardless, the thing to take away from this story here is that Susie was watching all the other kids play, and froze when the ball came to her. She kicked it . . . and it hit Undyne’s car. Monster Kid’s retelling of the story suggests that they and the other kids thought that Susie did that on purpose, but my interpretation (knowing Susie as I do now, and also knowing what it’s like to watch other kids play while not feeling invited to play yourself) suggests that it was probably an accident. Susie wanted to play and be included, but accidentally kicked the ball into the car, and was thought of as a freak and bully after despite her actual intentions.

— To that end, at the start of Chapter 1 Susie is pretty blatantly of the opinion that everyone hates her and wants her to get kicked out of school. She flat out says as much to Kris in front of the lockers at the start of the chapter. (“Everyone wants it. Everyone’s waiting for it.”) It’s not only the other students, either; Alphys is afraid of Susie and uses any opportunity she can to get Susie out of class, which would explain why Susie doesn’t hold nearly the same care or respect for her that she does for Toriel, someone who actually did care about and treat Susie with kindness.

— Susie expresses shock when Lancer wants to be like her / wants to be her friend, and in turn, latches onto him with fierce loyalty that is only momentarily shaken when she thinks he’s betrayed her (and she even reasons that with, “why would anyone want to be my friend?”). That line, suggesting that she feels stupid for thinking Lancer would want to be her friend, points to a friendless background. But her fierce loyalty to anyone who shows her even a bit of kindness also shows just how incredibly lonely she is. In fact, if we think about it, the people who Susie latches onto are those who have shown her some big act of kindness before:

Noelle: Lent Susie the candy cane pencil and smiled at her. Considering how the other kids in Alphys’ class treat Susie, the simple act of lending a pencil with a smile probably seemed like a huge act of kindness to her.

Toriel: Acts motherly toward Susie, as she does with all her students. Might not be special treatment in the grand scheme, but it’s special to Susie who typically doesn’t get that treatment from others.

Lancer: Said that he wanted to be like Susie, that he found Susie cool, wanted monogrammed track jackets with her, etc. Actually wanted to be Susie’s friend and appreciated her.

Kris: Defended Susie from the King’s attack. Note that although Susie was working with Kris before this, she wasn’t to the level of calling Kris her friend before Kris defended Susie. Also note that this is not an action that we, the player, make Kris do; Kris does it on their own regardless of the choices the player makes.

Ralsei: Healed Susie’s injured leg after Susie fell from the trash heap in Chapter 2. Granted, Susie was being nice to Ralsei before that and seemed to consider him a friend (enough), but it was only after Ralsei went out of his way to heal Susie’s injury and offered to teach her healing magic that she yoinked him off to spend time alone with him in the city and wanted to bust out of prison to find him when she thought he was being tortured in Queen’s Castle. Ralsei showed Susie some dedicated kindness, Susie latched on for life.

The fact that it takes on gesture of care on someone else’s part for Susie to be willing to kill for a person suggests that not only has Susie not had friends before, but perhaps that her feelings of loneliness were mixed with rejection to the point where she latches on fiercely to these people who care for her and doesn’t let them go.

— In addition to all this, although Susie latches on strongly, she also seems to be worried about losing those connections, too. When Lancer seemingly betrayed her, she said “why would anyone want to be friends with me?” When they returned from the Dark World, Susie hesitantly asks Kris if they’ll still be friends even if it turns out the Dark World was just a dream (well, she doesn’t finish the thought, but it’s clear that’s what she was about to ask before she fled). In the Snowgrave Route, when Noelle flees Kris at the hospital, Susie assumes Noelle is fleeing because of her and expresses dismay that Noelle is “scared of [her] again.” Susie’s default is that people fear or hate her and will run at the first opportunity despite how she tries to keep them close, which again speaks to a history of loneliness and rejection.

— Susie got banned from Free Ham Sandwich Day. This is a throwaway joke line, but if you consider that Susie might be an orphan with food insecurity, it could be less that she was just stuffing her face to be a pig and more that she was eating as much as she could because she didn’t know when she’d be able to eat again. Considering that she also eats things like chalk, candy cane pencils, apple-scented shampoo, and moss . . . well, the idea that Susie is food insecure doesn’t seem too far-fetched. (Kris also eats moss if the player makes them, yes, but the player has to choose that. Susie just does it on her own.)

Anyway, none of this is Conclusive Evidence, of course, but I think there’s a lot to suggest that Susie could very well be an orphan possibly living in a group home, and that she’s never really had the love of family or friends before the game started. Her aggression is defensive aggression more than anything else and it’s pretty clear that she just wants to be loved and give love in return. Susie’s fantastic and I can’t wait to see what more we learn about her as the game goes on.

#deltarune #deltarune spoilers #dtr spoilers #dtr susie #meta #considering how judgmental Susie felt Ralsei was of her throughout most of Chapter 1 #(and tbh Ralsei *was* - he admits himself it took him time to realize Susie being Susie was great)#it's not surprising it took her the longest to warm up to him #but now they are besties and it's great

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the-last-rat-standing · 2 years ago

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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Spoilers galore:

It was never going to be easy. Chadwick Boseman’s passing was shocking and the loss will ripple through the Marvel universe for decades. What he brought to the character cannot be understated, and what he left behind is equally important.

I give Ryan Coogler all the credit in the world. What he gave us is a wonderful movie that struck the perfect balance between grief and moving on. So much of the movie reflected so much of our real life grief at Chadwick’s passing, but handled it in a way that gave us an opportunity to smile and let go.

We’re never told exactly how T’Challa died, beyond a mysterious illness that was too far gone for Shuri to cure. @thenicecheese thinks it might end up being an illness tied into characters who were ‘snapped’. Maybe so. But for me, it won’t matter- it was just enough information without tying themselves up in knots to explain it. The funeral was just the right length, too, giving us a moment to grieve before seguing into the Marvel title sequence.

Except it wasn’t the regular Marvel title sequence. They replaced all the images on the Marvel logo with images of Chadwick Boseman, and there was no music. Yeah, just stab me in the heart, Marvel.

I’m not going to get too too much into the details. It had its flaws. Some of the CGI wasn’t great; while the water sequences were beautifully done, the air shots were often poorly rendered, particularly the ones with Namor flying around. (That being said, when Shuri cuts off one of his wings? Great scene.) Was also waiting for someone to say, “Just because you’ve killed this scientist doesn’t mean there isn’t another scientist to take over the work.” It was a pretty weak premise for Namor to lose his shit over.

I was surprised at how ‘Big Bad’ they made Namor. Not a lot of grays in his world nor the writers’ depiction of him. There wasn’t really a point where I felt he was justified for killing all those people at the beginning, or invading Wakanda. I will say, Tenoch Huerta, who played Namor, was very good with what he was given. Probably needed just a little more sensuality, but had a great presence.

Speaking of presence- and this surprised me, considering how important she was in the movie- Letitia Wright felt like the weakest role in the movie. Her turn to vengeance was very good, but overall, she lacks a screen presence that draws me to her. Will also say Dominique Thorne (RiRi Williams/Ironheart), while not bad in the role, sort of faded into the background after her introduction. Lupita Nyong’o was so much more compelling, and she barely had much to do.

You know who had the most amazing presence? Oh my god, Angela Bassett and Danai Gurira. The scene where Ramonda strips Okoye of her rank was stunning and heartbreaking all at once. Long after this movie fades from my memory, this scene will remain.

And here’s where I talk briefly about DC movies. This isn’t meant to trash them or put them down in any way; what I’m about to say is honest criticism. There are 2 things Marvel does incredibly well that DC just doesn’t.

1. Music. Sarah Halley Finn does an amazing job at casting, but whoever chooses the music for the Marvel movies is vastly underrated. Have you seen the Quantumania trailer yet? Have you heard that freaky version of “Good-bye Yellow Brick Road”? Who can forget “Dear Mr. Fantasy” that started Endgame? Though it’s not in the movie, “No Woman, No Cry” (covered by Tems) was in the trailer, and my god, talk about perfection.

2. This one is currently out of DC’s hands, but is indicative of how DC has handled their universe. Consider this: Iron Man only came out 5 years before Man of Steel. But what has DC got to show for it? A botched Justice League with a Batman who didn’t even get his own movie. A tepid Batman vs. Superman whose only bright moment was the introduction of Wonder Woman. An Aquaman who hasn’t had anything to do since Justice League (5 years ago). A Flash movie that is under a toxic cloud. A Suicide Squad and a The Suicide Squad. I mean, wtf are they building over there? Which is why it will take them a long time before they have a scene in a movie that makes us gasp the way Okoye getting stripped of her rank did. Which is why it will take them a long, long time before the death of a secondary character will hit us the way Ramonda’s death did. You can’t rush that kind of emotion, but DC just doesn’t want to take the time to build a real foundation. They only appear to build the Hollywood fronts old Westerns used back in the day- a passable facade with nothing behind it.

As I said, Wakanda Forever has its flaws, but it will get a lot of goodwill because of the subject matter that carries this movie (how do we move on from grief?), and how it reflects real life events that led up to it. And that’s okay. Sometimes we all need a good cry. I hope Chadwick Boseman would be proud.

I’d give this 8//10. (For comparison, I’d give Dr. Strange/MoM 7/10 and Thor: Love and Thunder 6/10. For DC comparison, I thought The Batman was 7/10.)

There is one post-credit scene. It comes fairly quickly after the last scene.

#black panther: wakanda forever #black panther #wakanda forever

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bothcreativitybois · 4 years ago

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Karaoke

Pairings: Intruality, pintroverts

TWs: Alcohol, the word sex, slightly angsty ending, non sexual ‘Daddy’.

Songs: I’m Not That Girl (Wicked) I Don’t Dance (High School Musical 2)

Taglist (ask to be added): @star-crossed-shipper @crazydemigod666

Karaoke night. The night once a month that half the sides love and the other half dread. For Janus, Logan and Virgil the night was torture. Drinking, performing, making an idiot of himself. However the more boisterous sides thrived on these nights. Remus usually took the helm, Roman saw it as a ‘waste of good talent’. However he was never alone.

“Get another umbrella drink!” Patton cheered. When Thomas was drunk so were the sides, so both of the sides had pink flushed cheeks and trouble controlling their volume. Patton didn’t really need to be there but he enjoyed the night and always stuck around.

“That isn’t their name, Daddy.” Remus teased. He knew what Patton was talking about, the drink they’d been having all night and Patton had quite enjoyed it. However he did not enjoy the name. Patton looked down at his crossed legs.

“But it has a bad word…” He whimpered. Remus found Patton’s hesitation adorable although he did also enjoy pushing him. But even drunk Patton wouldn’t say a bad word, especially when the whole name made it more vulgar.

“Another sex on the beach then!” Remus shouted. That drink was perfect for the two of them. Patton enjoyed the pretty colour and sweet taste, Remus enjoyed the name and how drunk it made Thomas. The liquid courage fuelled him. Remus guided Thomas to the bar and he ordered another drink. They looked at the stage where a member of Thomas’ group was singing I’m Not That Girl. Patton bopped along cutely, Remus was mesmerised with his adorable little bounces. Patton noticed Remus staring and giggled.

“What?” Patton pushed Remus away playfully.

“Watching you dance like that makes me happy.” Remus usually didn’t have much of a filter. The only thing he’d block was his emotions, especially ones he saw as weak, like the growing admiration he’d been having for Patton, but when drunk those final hurdles shifted down too. Patton covered his face but Remus could still see the wide smile under his hands. Something about Remus being so genuine made Patton melt. When Thomas turned to get his drink he noticed a new group enter the bar, specifically one member. A familiar cute nerd with dark hair and stubble. Patton hit Remus’ arm and pointed to where Thomas was looking.

“Code Flores!” Patton squeaked. Remus’ smirked. Roman wasn’t around, now Thomas might take his suggestions for seduc- flirting with Nico. Especially since he’s drunk.

“Oh hell yes! The night just got interesting.” Remus enthused. Patton enjoyed seeing Remus so excited but was stuck on what Roman would think. Thomas waved at Nico, he smiled and began walking over. Thomas picked up his drink and Remus summoned identical ones for him and Patton.

“What are you gonna say?” Patton asked looking up cutely at Remus, his heart skipped a beat. All the things he wanted to say to Nico… he couldn’t say in front of Patton. Hell, Patton wouldn’t even say the word sex when it was in a drink name. Remus looked up at Nico then back down to Patton.

Maybe… just maybe…

Remus thought of all the things he wanted to say to Patton.

“Hi there!” Nico gave a little wave as he spoke.

“Didn’t expect to see an angel in here tonight.” Thomas responded. Nico blushed and laughed.

“How many drinks have you had?” Nico asked playfully. “You seem a lot different to the guy who fell in a trash can.”

“Well I’ll need something else to fall into tonight, how strong are your arms?” Thomas reached out and gave Nico’s arm a cheeky squeeze. Patton chuckled.

“I love watching you work, Remus.” Patton encouraged. “Roman would never be that forward.” Remus took a moment.

“...You enjoy me being forward?” Remus asked, confused. This whole time he was holding this stuff back in fear it’d be too much for him, but Patton was not only receptive but enjoying it.

“Sometimes.” Patton diverted his eyes. “It gets the job done.” Remus knew Patton enjoyed things more storybook romance, he knew how to provide that.

“Are you gonna sing tonight?” Thomas asked Nico. The man rubbed his neck shyly.

“I’m not sure I could do something like that…” He admitted. “Being up there alone... everyone looking at me…”

“Yeah that’s the fun part!” Thomas joked. “And who said you’d be alone?” Nico blushed. Patton caught on to Remus’ plan.

“Are you suggesting a duet?” Nico raised an eyebrow. Thomas put down his drink and put out a hand.

“If you would be so kind?” Thomas joked. Nico slipped his hand onto Thomas’, both men smiled and blushed. Thomas began to drag Nico to the stage. Patton’s eyes sparkled.

“Remus you’re great at this!” Patton marvelled. Remus smiled at him.

“Now it’s your turn.” Remus elbowed Patton flirtily. “What song should they do?” Patton’s face lit up. He looked closely as Thomas flipped through the folder of songs available.

“That one!” Patton pointed to one of the songs written under the heading ‘Duets’. Patton somehow smiled in a way that was devilish and sweet, it made Remus’ heart flutter. Thomas jammed a finger onto the binder.

“You up for this?” Thomas looked back at Nico and asked, he was met with a smile and nod. Thomas handed the book to the DJ and took two microphones from them. He and Nico’s hands brushed as he handed over the microphone. Thomas took the opportunity to drag him onto the stage. Remus and Patton sat back as the first notes of I Don’t Dance flew from the speakers. Thomas and Nico’s voices bounced off each other perfectly. The boys danced together, which gave Patton an idea. He grabbed Remus’ hand just before the instrumental solo.

“Do the thing!” Patton demanded. Remus looked at him confused, head fuzzy from the alcohol and the feeling of Patton’s hand slipped on top of his.

“Do what?” Remus asked. Patton rolled his eyes and pulled Remus to his feet. He began dancing to the beat, body close to Remus’. Thomas mimicked his movements with Nico. Remus began to understand what Patton meant. Remus took control, Thomas mirrored. Remus slipped his hands onto Patton’s hips, he guided him to loosen them to the beat of the music. Patton’s whole body tingled from the touch.

“Relax. It’ll help you.” Thomas whispered in tandem with Remus. Thomas and Nico separated to continue singing, but Remus and Patton didn’t. Their movements slowed, they blocked out anything that wasn’t each other. Patton had moved his hands to Remus’ shoulders. As Nico and Thomas belted the last notes, Remus rested his forehead on Patton’s. The soft side bit his lip.

“Is that what you meant?” Remus purred quietly. Words got caught behind the lump in Patton’s throat and instead he nodded. “We should get back to Thomas…” Remus trailed. He began to remove his hands from Patton’s hips but was stopped with arms draped around his neck. Both the sides felt warm and drawn closer.

“He can handle himself.” Patton whispered. Remus took the hint, it was the green light he’d been waiting for. He pulled Patton closer so their bodies were touching. Patton was surprised with how gentle Remus was being, as much as he enjoyed the rough chaotic Remus, this was bringing up something else. “Please kiss me.” Patton finally gave in. Hearing that, seeing how close Patton was, Remus couldn’t hold back. He lifted Patton up to him and kissed him deeply, Patton kicked up one leg behind him. They stayed there until neither could breathe then pulled away. Only then did they realise what they’d done. Surprisingly Remus was the one who pushed off first. He stared at Patton in a way he couldn’t read.

“Patton- I shouldn’t-” Remus couldn’t complete his thoughts. Patton reached out a hand, but Remus just sunk out.

Patton and Remus really like karaoke night.

But they know the others don’t.

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alltheselights · 3 years ago

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Hi Emma!

I don´t know if I have asked this before, but I can´t seem to find my ask with an answer so I will just give it a go :) (feel free to not answer this if you feel uncomfortable).

But here is the thing:

Harry get major roles and I am very happy for him. He is doing GREAT musically but also in acting. I know it will seem like I'm comparing them, but Louis hardly gets opportunities like this. Do you think it is because he isn't like Harry (charming, the apple of the eye, womanizer etc) or because his team is just trash. Also do you think Louis will ever get a good promo or opportunity like Harry gets? BC I don't see any change on Louis' side at all?.....................................

It just annoys me that people on Twitter and Tumblr say trash like this:

"Louis will be so proud to say that his hubby works for Marvel"

Like???? Louis has an entire career to be proud of?!

I just don't know what to do..........I do love your page btw :)

Yeah, there’s no change with Louis. I definitely don’t think it’s just because Louis’ personality is not exactly like Harry’s (and for the record, Louis is also charming even if it��s not in the exact same way that Harry is). I think it’s just because Harry has been set up for success since the early days of One Direction (always being given solos, always being highlighted out of the band, always being given high-profile beards like Taylor and Kendall who made him more famous, etc.) and Louis was shut down from the early days of One Direction (never being given solos, painted as homophobic and “ordinary,” having a no-name beard, etc.). The difference in how they’re treated by their teams, the media, and fans has only become more pronounced since they went solo. Harry debuted his solo career on SNL and with a Rolling Stone cover. Louis’ album title was announced in a teeny bopper magazine and got two weeks of local signings in the UK as “promo” for his debut album.

It is absolutely not because of a personality difference or talent difference. Louis has talent and an incredible personality and that’s why he has such a passionate fanbase, even if it is smaller than Harry’s. It’s solely because of the difference in how they’ve been treated and the fact that Harry’s team works for him and Louis’ works against him at every turn. And I do hope that changes for Louis eventually, but I’ve seen no indication of it. It’s depressing, but it’s just disappointment after disappointment when it comes to witnessing Louis’ solo career these days.

Also, yeah, it’s always annoyed me how people are always like “Louis must be so proud of Harry!” and “pick someone supportive” when it’s always ever one-sided. You very rarely see anyone that Harry would be proud of Louis’ accomplishments or expecting Harry to speak up on Louis’ behalf in the way that people always expect it from Louis - which is even more frustrating when you realize that Harry speaking up to support Louis might make a huge difference for him, whereas Harry doesn’t need any boost that Louis might provide him by talking about, praising, or supporting him. I find that most of the fandom views Harry and Louis’ relationship as very one-sided and always expects Louis to give more and do more than Harry. It’s annoying.

#asks

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lovelivingmydreams · 4 years ago

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The blame game

@sanderssides-secretsanta for @averykedavra

Rating: PG

Pairings: whatever you want. Any actions can be read as platonic or romantic I’m not telling you how to enjoy this fic. Aka I couldn't pic.

Hurt comfort

Triggers: hospital, injury, pain, burns, coma, mention of abduction

Summary: A couple of years ago people disappeared. And then months later they started showing up again. Some escaping, some being freed. No one knew what exactly went on in those months. All evidence was destroyed before answers could be found and the victims were unwilling to testify. Until one group, the first to break free, showed up when a building collapsed and used incredible abilities to save the day. They spoke out about what had happened, and swore themselves to serve and protect the public interest.

Time went on and now the victims that all had gained some type of power are accepted into society. The team is still doing what they can to save others and protect each other. This story takes place during what should've been a routine mission.

“We have to finish up. Under current circumstances we have 3.4 minutes until the building collapses.”

“I did a sweep, I didn’t hear anyone calling out and no heartbeats. Pat can you feel anyone?”

“No kiddo, it seems all clear on my end too.”

“Marvelous. Jan how is our cover holding up?”

“I’m fine Roman. I can hold it for a few more minutes.”

“Remus do you have yourself together?”

“All bits and pieces accounted for Bro! Though Jan can always check later to make sure.”

“And that’s enough. I’m taking you first.”

“Virgin! So forward!”

“If you upset him Remus, I swear to god!”

“Relax RoRo…”

…

“I’m back. Come on popstar. They are getting closer, we have to hurry.”

“Maybe take Lo first… If I’m too far I can’t…”

“It’s just for a minute Padre.”

The connection fell away. Indicating Virgil had indeed brought Patton out of range.

“Two more minutes,” Logan stated as he joined Janus at the street side of the shop they were hiding in.

“I am sooo glad the looters came to cause extra chaos. I was just thinking that evacuating the citizens from earthquake shaken buildings wasn’t enough of a challenge,” Janus grumbled annoyed.

“We shall deal with them once we are all outside,” Roman assured him as he too joined them.

“Next passenger please,” Virgil announced as he came to a halt right behind Roman, making him jump.

“Stop doing that!” he demanded.

“Only if you stop being funny when I do,” he teased while picking up Logan.

“This never seizes to be mildly embarrassing,” Logan huffed displeased. Being carried out bridal style by their youngest member was a little awkward for everyone. Well except for Remus. But he wasn’t bothered by anything. “Do you prefer a piggy back ride?” Virgil teased.

The circumstances that led to the formation of their team had been far from pleasant. Virgil especially still had nightmares and flashbacks. But they all enjoyed the power sets they were given. Though if they could choose they’d do without the trauma. The only thing they wouldn’t give up for that was each other.

“And you all secretly like being held,” Virgil insisted before taking off. Roman and Janus exchanged a glance wondering if Virgil was just teasing or if he actually could tell that they appreciated the rare opportunity to have Virgil actually welcome physical closeness.

They all were pretty close after everything. And any awkwardness about being emotionally vulnerable around one another had gone out the window long ago. Still Virgil felt the need to act tough to make them not worry about him. It didn't work, but he still tried.

“I better get going. I’m not fond of Logan’s ticking clock,” Roman stated.

“Yeah, I’ll give us a little more cover. V only needs 10 seconds to get me out anyway.” Jan didn’t want to risk the rioters seeing them now. There was no telling what they’d do.

Roman nodded and started to sprint to the exit.

Janus turned away, but then his heart stopped when he heard a crashing sound and a pained outcry.

“Roman!” Virgil gasped behind him.

“I’m fine, get J. I’ll-” Roman cut himself off with a loud curse.

“You hurt your ankle,” Virgil concluded. Janus looked back and watched as the young hero gathered Roman in his arms. “J I’ll be back for you soon okay?” He didn’t wait for an answer.

Janus considered just dropping the illusion of an empty trashed store with faulty wiring and make his way to the back to meet Virgil halfway. But the rioters were hot on their heels now. He couldn’t risk anyone following them. Not that anyone would be able to once Virgil had him. But if anyone was inside when the building gave out…

Suddenly something flew through a window. A flaming bottle? Janus could see it heading to an isle with cleaning products. He realized what was about to happen at the same time that he saw Virgil return and hesitate upon detecting something moving in his peripheral.

Janus acted without thinking. He dropped the illusion and tackled Virgil to the ground.

Janus moved to cover Virgil’s body with his own. There was an infinite fraction of a second of blinding pain. He never even registered the sound of the explosion. Just pain and then darkness.

He heard the murmuring and the zooming and beeping of machines. He felt disoriented. What happened…?

“Come on J. Please wake up,” Patton? He sounded like he’d been crying.

“Patton I… I don’t think…” Logan’s voice. Not quite as steady and certain as he normally sounded.

“Don’t finish that sentence! He has to wake up! I don’t know what we’re supposed to do if he… If he…” Patton started sobbing, the sounds muffled by something. That wasn’t right. Janus tried to open his eyes but it was hard.

“I can’t… We are supposed to stick together… and he… And then Virgil…”

Virgil? Suddenly Janus remembered. No. Virgil had to be fine. He made sure of that right?

Janus forced his eyes open and found Patton clinging to Logan’s frame on his right. Remus sitting uncharacteristically quiet and still behind them.

He blinked a few times. Something was off. His sight… And why did his face feel weird… Everything felt weird.

“Hi,” was all he was able to force out of his throat.

Remus perked up, Patton and Logan nearly jumped at the unexpected sound. All of them had bloodshot eyes. He’d expected as much from Patton. He was in a hospital and something was going on with Virgil. But it took a lot for Logan and Remus to cry.

“Janus,” Logan breathed as they all gathered at his bedside. Logan grabbed his hand to squeeze it. Janus squeezed back and felt Logan relax instantly.

“Wha…” Janus tried, hoping he managed to bring across the pleading tone he intended despite the pain in his throat keeping him from saying much.

“You’ve been unconscious for the past month. There were several operations and you have only been breathing on your own for the past 21 hours and 28 minutes.” That explained the pain in his throat.

“Pat? Eyes…” he asked. He was burned. He was no idiot. He just wanted to know how bad and Patton could show him.

“I don’t know Jan…” Patton bit his lip looking at Logan for help. Their academic friend nodded in agreement.

“There is… Someone like us on staff. We were to alert her once you’d awoken so she could heal you up some more. It is probably best not to distress you until she has,” Logan urged.

So it was really bad. “Call…” he managed. Maybe then he would be able to talk better afterwards.

“Very well…” Logan pressed a button.

“Re… V…” Remus didn’t do sugarcoating. He would tell him no matter how bad…

“Roman is watching the Emo. We’ll all go to see them together soon,” Remus murmured. Now Janus was getting really worried. What was going on? Remus was never this… restrained.

“Remus. We have all repetitively told you, you did not delay Virgil in any way,” Logan insisted sternly.

“Yeah Rem. None of us think you did anything wrong that day. And I’m sure Jan and V would agree.”

Wait, why hadn't. Virgil told him to stop moping yet? Why wasn’t he here? Why did he need someone to watch over him?

“I should have sat still. I knew we had little time left. Instead I made Virgil slow his step to make sure he didn't drop me.”

“We all delayed him in our own way Remus. It was a collection of circumstances. If anything, I should have taken the violent nature of the rioters into account and adjusted my timeframe accordingly.

We all relied too much on my prediction and…”

“Don’t you start that again. I could have tried to get a feel of the crowd and told you. Then you might've known there was a risk too consider!” Patton protested.

“Patton you couldn’t have possibly…”

“It’s my job Lo! I should look after all of you guys. I’m the one who keeps us happy and together and now everyone is sad and… and…” Patton was shaking with sobs again. Only now did Janus remember that when Patton was tired (physically or emotionally) his empathic ability played up without him wanting to. His telepathic link on the other became much harder to establish under such circumstances. Which meant that while Patton couldn’t find comfort in linking with the others, his usual coping tool for anything bad going on, he felt his own feelings on top of everyone else’s unfiltered.

Logan seemed to realize this too. “Patton, I’m sorry. I should have realized. You need not burden yourself with our guilt as well as your own. Please, please forgive me this oversight?” he asked with a comforting hand on Patton’s shoulder, the other still holding Janus’.

Patton gave a small tired smile. “It’s not your fault Lo… You guys don’t have to repress your own feelings just for me. We are all a bit stressed out and…”

“Pardon me?” Everyone immediately looked to the door. Well everyone except Janus who couldn’t turn his head very well. But he got there.

His left eye still was not right but he could discern a figure at the door. Hopefully this person was the one who could get him out of this bed so he could finally get answers.

“Ah. Doctor Laffeye. Thank you for coming. As you can see Janus has woken up. Could you…?”

The figure came closer and seemed to look down at Janus.

“Hello. Elena Lafeye, she/her… Your eye isn’t doing so well it seems.” She sounded kind and disappointed by her observation. That wasn't good.

“No See…” he croaked.

“And your troath probably feels pretty painful too. I’m going to do my best to help the healing process along. But I find that I get the best result in several sessions rather than one go. You just tell me when it starts to feel painful. That might indicate that I am rushing some stitches or something like that. Sometimes the body just protests being forced to heal. It is important that you are honest, or it’ll be worse in the end okay?”

Janus felt frustrated, what was the point of a healing ability if it couldn't get him back to normal right away? But, if he could get well enough to get out of the room to wherever Roman and Virgil were... Then that was enough right?

“Kay,” he promised.

“Good. I have told this to your friends, but I’ll repeat it to you. Thank you. For speaking out about it all. You guys make life much easier for the rest of us. Thank you.”

Janus thought she sounded sincere, but he could not see her face clearly enough to be sure.

“No prob…” No, that was as far as he got.

“Top to bottom then,” she said. It was not a question.

Janus expected Remus to laugh or make a joke, but he didn’t and that was terrifying. Did he really feel that responsible? Or did he look so terible that even Remus couldn't make light of the situation?

“Here we go.”

It started with a light tingling sensation in his left eye. It became warm and then it was kind of like a static… “Stop,” he croaked as he forcibly shut his eye when the first sting occurred.

When he opened his eye though he could see improvement. It wasn’t as sharp as he was used to. But he no longer felt like he was half blind.

“Wow, it looks a lot better!” Patton exclaimed, probably trying to assure Janus. Sadly Janus could only think about how Patton didn't say he was back to normal.

“I am going to focus on your face now,” the doctor warned and the tingling started again.

“Stop,” Janus rasped again when it started to feel like a web of glowing hot wires was put against his skin.

“Okay. I’ll move on to your throat. This shouldn’t hurt as much considering most of the trauma from the accident has healed on it’s own. Any damage left now is from the breathing and feeding tube. This is just to make you more comfortable with speaking.”

This time the doctor stopped before Janus got even a little uncomfortable.

“How’s that?” she asked.

“Well…” That didn’t hurt. “Better. Thank you.”

“Good. Now… Let’s see if we can get you well enough to leave the bed alright? I’m sure you’d like to check in on your other friends as well.”

Yes! Please, let me see them. “Okay.”

The doctor took in a deep breath and the warm sensation kept traveling up and down the left side of his body. From his fingertips to his shoulder, through his torso, down his leg to his toes and back.

Up and down, over and over again.

“S… Stop please,” he gasped when the warmth started to burn.

“Okay… how does that feel? Can you try and sit up?”

Janus blinked. Right, he’d stayed put so far. To be fair even moving his head had been exhausting a few minutes ago.

“Um… Yeah,” he murmured as he carefully moved his arms. His left stung a bit, but it was manageable. He’d deal with it if it meant they’d go to see Virgil.

“Carefull Jan!” Patton pleads as he frantically flayed his hands around wanting to push him down but scared to touch.

“It’s alright sir. I think he’s got it,” the doctor stated soothingly. Once Janus sat up the doctor nodded satisfied and left with the promise of checking on them again in an hour.

“Patton. Will you show me now?” Janus asked as soon as they were left alone.

“I…”

“Please. I need to know,” he pleaded. He could feel something wasn’t right with his body. He was too much of a coward to simply look down though. He told himself he wanted to see the full picture. That he wanted to see what the public would see when he inevitably would be swarmed by reporters. But honestly, he hoped that if he looked through Patton's eyes he wouldn't hate what he’d see as much.

Patton once again turned to the others. Remus squirmed, avoiding his eyes. Logan sighed and squeezed Patton’s shoulder, encouraging him to turn to him.

"He will only get more stressed by not knowing. We can hardly keep him away from reflective surfaces. Best he sees it when he has a chance to mentally prepare." With that Logan's steady gaze directed itself towards Janus.

"You were burned on the entire left side of your body. There were many skin transplants performed to help save your life. Are you really ready to see yourself?"

Janus wasn't sure if he was. But he knew he had to see.

He gave them a firm nod.

Patton sighed resigned to the decision "Ok... 3, 2... 1."

Janus struggled not to scream out in horror. The man he saw trough Patton's eyes wasn't him. The left side of his body was an awful patchwork. It couldn't be. And this was after accelerated healing?

"Is... is this why Roman and Virgil aren't here?" he asked with a shaking voice. He wasn't sure how he'd feel if the answer was yes.

"No! No of course not!" Paton exclaimed. It should have been a relief. But if they weren't avoiding him...

"Then... why? What happened?"

Silence filled the room.

"Patton was linked with the rest of us," Remus started, his voice unnervingly... normal.

"When the explosion went of... you know how we sometimes link up subconsciously. We all blanked for a second due to the pain." So he'd sent out an SOS...

And everyone had felt what did this to him...

“But Roman… He shot in action. By the time we realized you two were in danger he was already back at the building. He told us he found you two buried under some rubble. You were on top of Virgil who wasn’t burned at all, but he was unconscious. Roman managed to wake him up though and… Well we finally found out what happens when ‘survival’,” their nickname for Virgil’s power set, “Is pushed to the limit. Virgil told Roman to pick you up and next thing Roman knew you were all back with us and Virgil collapsed from overexertion.”

Patton and Logan nodded. “The doctors say he pushed his muscles so hard that they broke a few bones. There were hairline fractures all over. And… He still hasn’t woken up,” Patton explained sadly.

“Roman aggravated his injury going after you two, but he couldn't be made to care about his own recovery. He has refused to leave Virgil's side unless he knew one of us took his place. We’ve been taking turns to let him freshen up and visit you. Well Patton and Remus have. Apparently my care was unsatisfactory. Who knows what is going on in his head,” Logan added. Clearly still a little hurt by whatever had led to that decision, and frustrated by what must have been countless fruitless attempts to get Roman to listen to the doctors.

Janus could easily imagine why their theaterloving friend might be acting that way. Roman had declared himself to be their leader. Despite not being the oldest or most experienced in anything. It had been his idea to save people thought. And they all understood that he felt responsible for putting them on this path.

His guilt must run deep.

“I have to go see them,” Janus stated. This time everyone nodded without even a second’s hesitation.

“You won’t be able to walk on your own just yet. Even without your injuries, your muscles haven’t been used in a month. They will have to rebuild strength through physical therapy,” Logan informed him while Patton pulled up a wheelchair.

“I have used the past month to learn how to help you get settled without hurting you. I assumed you would prefer that over a nurse,” he added.

Janus smirked. “Oh no, I was totally hoping some random person would be yanking my body around.”

The other chuckled. “We missed you Jan,” Patton smiled warmly.

And Janus could feel how sincere he was. He could only really smile with his right side, so even when he tried to do it sincerely it probably looked like a smirk. So he gave his friends more of the humor they’d been missing. “I’d say I missed you to. But… I didn’t.”

He could feel the chuckle vibrate trough Logan’s chest as he carefully maneuvered him into the wheelchair.

Patton put himself in charge of steering him while Remus and Logan walked on either side of him, like they were escorting someone powerful or famous. And technically, Janus was both. They all were. They just tended to forget that around one another.

But it became rather apparent when they left the room and there were two armed police officers stationed in front of the door.

“We are going to see Instinct now. You may try to stop us, but it’ll only waste 13minutes and 29 seconds of all of our time before we convince you to let us trough. At the most.” Logan stated. He said it so firmly that anyone who didn’t know him would assume he knew this as a fact thanks to his predictive reasoning. But Janus, and the others surely too, could tell that he was lying. Meaning the guards might be able to stand their ground if they chose to do so.

But as no one bet against Logan’s predictions the guards stepped aside and let them trough.

There were guards in front of the room next to them too. These two however stepped aside right away.

Remus opened the door and they could hear Roman’s voice.

“I’ll let you pick the movies for a month. I won’t ever complain about your loud music again. I’ll admit I’m a big idiot! You can even have that in writing. Just please… Please V… I can’t… We can’t lose you.”

Janus’ heart ached. Their friends had gone through hell the past month.

Patton rolled Janus inside and he felt tears jump to his eyes. Well at least his tear ducts worked.

Roman was holding Virgil’s limp hand in his own. His head resting in the crook of his arm on the bed as he gazed up at their friend’s sleeping face. He was sitting in what looked like a very uncomfortable chair and had yet to realize he had company. His clothes were wrinkled, his hair was a mess.

Janus and Roman were easily the vainest in the group. They knew this and accepted this about themselves. They often bonded over fashion and the sorts.

Logan came closest, though he did not care for fashion or anything like that. He just carefully maintained a professional appearance at all times.

The others didn’t seem to live in the same world when it came to caring for ones appearance. Except for Remus he was from a different universe.

And yet here both theatric, normally impeccably groomed men were. Absolute messes.

“You look terrible,” Janus drawled casually. Because there is no right way to draw attention to your presence in these circumstances.

Roman looked up, his eyes wide, a small ghost of a smile, a tiny spark in his eyes as he took him in.

Well at least his new look didn’t gross him out. Then again, he had apparently seen him look worse.

“I mean, so do I. But I was in a coma for a month. What is your excuse?”

Now the smile did break free, though the spark turned into silent tears. Janus would take it.

He could see Roman was struggling with the desire to come over and check on him and the need to stay close to Virgil.

Luckily Patton rode Janus over to be right in front of Roman so he wouldn’t have to choose.

He turned in his seat, switching Virgil’s hand from his right to his left so he could place his now freed hand gently on the scarred side of Janus’ face. Janus gasped in awe. Leave it to Roman to know, to understand, that Janus needed someone to treat his ruined half as if nothing had changed.

Roman angled Janus’ head and his own so that their foreheads touched.

“Welcome back,” he whispered.

“Good to be back,” Janus responded, feeling an immense weight fall of his chest.

Roman sat back up again, now holding Janus’ hand instead of his face.

“I hope, though I do not deserve such a gift, that you can find it in yourself to forgive me.”

And there it was. “For forgetting how to use a brush?” Janus scoffed.

Roman’s eyes flashed in annoyance. “This is no laughing matter! If I hadn’t tripped you and Virgil would have both been out of the building when that bomb went off! If anyone had ended up in the hospital it would have been me and rightfully so! I have no right to be left with nothing but a fractured ankle! It even healed over by now. Virgil however won’t be fully better for months! Even if he wakes up! And you… You could have died! We were told to prepare for… And the doctors don’t know why Virgil hasn’t woken up yet… and… and… I should’ve protected you both I…” Roman was full on sobbing now.

“Kiddo, no…” Patton whispered weakly.

“Don’t be stupid Romano. Anyone else would’ve waited for the V train and ended up caught in the blast as well or something,” Remus argued.

“Indeed. And there is always a chance that Virgil would have stopped to pick you up anyway and took a moment to tease you before taking you away. You know he likes carrying ‘the prince’ like a princess. You are his favorite to ‘whisk away’. There are an infinite amount of things that still could have gone wrong,” Logan reasoned earnestly.

Roman looked around at them in surprise. “But… I…” Then he stopped himself and allowed himself a chuckle.

“I guess… You all have some good points,” he sighed before letting go of Janus’ hand and turning back towards the bed. Switching his hands once more before dragging his left trough his hair and rubbing his eyes. “Now if only…”

“Tell me someone took a picture of the prince as a pauper.”

When they heard that everyone shot up in attention, except for Janus who didn’t have the strength to do more much more than hold his position right now. But he too turned his head to the bed where Virgil was blinking his eyes as he tried to take everyone in.

“You guys look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he chuckled. Then his eyes landed on Janus and widened.

Janus prepared himself. Last time Virgil saw him he didn’t even have so much as a freckle to tarnish his complexion. Now…

“J? Are you… Does it hurt?” he asked tentatively.

Well… No point in lying. “I’ve felt better,” but he didn’t have to be too honest either.

“Well… For what it’s worth, I think you look wicked. And anyone who has a problem is going to have to deal with me… umph!”

Roman had had enough of sitting around and was embracing Virgil.

“You are awake!” He exclaimed in relieve.

“Okay… Um… How long…?”

“A month,” Logan supplied as he came to stand at Virgil’s other side and ran his hand affectionately trough his hair. “You have a few broken bones that have yet to fully heal and a lot of physical therapy ahead, but now that you are awake, rest assured that you will make a full recovery.”

Virgil nodded in understanding.

“Princey? Can you let go of me now?” he asked.

“I don’t think any of us are ready for that kiddo,” Patton stated trough his happy tears as he sat down on Logan’s side of the bed and placed a hand on Virgil’s knee.

“Yeah! I finally have my creep and horror buddy back!” Remus exclaimed with glee, finally back to normal now that everyone was awake and together it seemed.

“Virgil, I… I thought….” Roman gasped as sobs threatened to overtake him yet again.

“Relax Princey. You don’t get rid of me that easily…” Virgil chuckled. Then he looked at Janus with some sadness in his eyes.

“Thanks. For saving me. I wish it hadn’t been needed though.”

Janus met Virgil’s eyes earnestly. “Of course Virgil. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

“And you have nothing to be sorry over okay kiddo? You did nothing wrong!” Patton insisted.

“Indeed...” Logan started probably about to do the same rational breakdown of Virgil’s actions and possible consequences of other decisions on his part as he’d done for everyone else but himself.

“I know,” Virgil chuckled with a roll of his eyes. Surprising everyone. If there was one member of their group they could assume would find a way to blame himself for everything wrong with the world, it was Virgil.

“What? You all have been helping me with my negative thinking remember? Hindsight 20/20 in this case. There is no use in dwelling on what happened if in the moment you acted with the right intentions and to the best of your ability. No point in playing the blame game,” he droned off the last part with a fond smile to Logan, who stared at him for a moment and then let out a single laugh. Followed by another , and another.

Patton joined in with giggles. Remus started cackling and Roman finally had to let Virgil go in order to laugh fully with tears in his eyes.

Janus had to settle for a warm smile on half his face and a slight shaking of his shoulders.

“Um… What did I say?” Virgil frowned.

“Nothing. It’s just that we have all been playing the blame game ourselves without even realizing,” Janus informed Virgil. “And now you, out of everyone, have put things in perspective again.

We are all here. And everything else, we can deal with.”

Virgil smiled at that. “Yeah… Yeah we can.”

Many challenges were still ahead. But that didn’t matter. They were all together again and all was right in the world.

Virgil=Instinct

Survival: he can choose to heighten his senses and increase his physical strength and speed to super human levels. His tolerance for pain is also heightened. Usually needs a nap and food after missions. Occasionally he'll discover he has injuries once he deactivates his power.

Roman= Prince

Equip: Basically full metal alchemist. If he can imagine the object clearly he can make it using molecules in the world around him. But for, by example, a working radio he'd have to know how all the parts fit together and work. So he has only a few of these complex objects in his arsenal.

Remus=Ragdoll

Asemble: Mr potato head from toy story. He can disassemble himself like a doll and put himself together again. If he pulls of a hand he can still use said hand as if it were attached. He lost his right little toe once and since then they all make sure Remus is in one piece before leaving.

Patton=Father

Connect: Can establish a telepathic bond with others and feel their emotions. The better he knows you the stronger both powers work. The team often uses this for group discussions, Patton shares his empathic powers with the rest through telepathy and that usually calms everyone right down. Hard to be mad when you feel how loved you are by the one your fighting with. Everyone agrees that if Patton wasn’t the cinnamon bun he is he'd make for a master manipulator.

As mentioned in the fic, his empathic abilities flare up when he is tired while his telepathy becomes harder to handle. He can connect briefly to one person at a time under those conditions.

Logan=MasterMind

Predictive reasoning: he can basically tell the future. Short term predictions are more accurate than long term. You can ask him the most likely outcome if you do action a as opposed to action b by example. He is still learning to take emotions into account but Patton helps him with that.

Janus=Fantasm

Mirage: he can create illusions. They work better when sight is limited by darkness fog or limited thinking of the spectator due to high emotions or the like. It does require more focus the more complex the vision is. He also can't move if he wants to keep it up. He usually takes care of distractions or hiding them.

#sanders sides #ts sides #sanderssidessecretsanta #fic #hurt comfort #roman sanders #virgil sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders

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daddysfangirls-marvel · 4 years ago

Text

Make her stay

Request

Summary: Hi, I love your writing and was wondering if you write an overprotective! Tony x reader where she is his daughter and she is dating Loki?

Warning: language, fluff

"You going to continued sitting there and glare or?"

Tony gave Clint the middle finger and continued to glare at the back of the heads of his daughter and her shitty boyfriend, Loki, who were both cuddling up on the couch watching Tv. And he could do nothing about it.

She was an adult; he was an adult. They could make their own decisions, but that didn't mean he had to like it. And he made it very clear he did not like it one bit, took any opportunity to make sure everyone knew this. As annoying and childish, and damn right mean as it was.

"You should leave them be," Steve said as he came into the kitchen, grabbing water.

"She's my daughter; I can do whatever the hell I want."

"Correction, she's an adult she can do whatever the hell she wants. Leave her alone, Tony," Steve said, scolding the man as he left the room and dragged Clint with him.

Tony watched as his daughter gave Loki a quick peck and got up from the couch, smiling as she left. Her smile dropped when she reached him. "What the hell do you want?"

"Can't I stand in the kitchen, I own it after all. Or did you forget." Tony snapped back. Grabbing his arm, she pulls him into the hall away from the main room. "Seriously, what are you doing?"

"something wrong apparently," she glared at him, "watching my daughter curl up and cuddle with evil."

"Why?"

"what do you mean -"

"Don't you have something better to do. You say you own the place I bet it takes a lot to keep this place running and paid for better get to work and leave us alone. Seriously, go away", she said, walking away and returning to Loki.

Scoffing as she walked off, Tony did as asked and went to find something else to do. All while keeping an eye on them through security cameras.

"Sorry about him."

"It's alright, he's a father, and he's just worried about you," Loki said he already knew how Tony was. Unfortunately, his behavior just heightened and became more directed towards Loki once he started dating his daughter. "He doesn't need to worry."

"Doesn't he"? Loki said with a mischievous smirk.

"no, no, we're watching a movie—no naughty stuff. My dad is riding my ass enough I don't want to give him a reason." he just chuckled and kissed her forehead them snuggling up with each other again. They got a few more minutes of peace before the traffic started up in the kitchen. The couple cursed silently. "How about we finish this in my room? Less traffic there".

"yeah," Loki snapped his fingers, and the couple now found themselves laying on (Y/n) 's bed "much more comfortable," she giggled as she nuzzled into his neck.

"Yes, very much so. How about we forget about the movie and just nap." "I'd like that very much."

The couple got a good 45 minutes into their nap when it was rudely interrupted by her bedroom door slamming open. They both jumped up, startled Loki moving in front of her protectively.

"Heyyyyyy," Tony said, standing in the middle of her room "I was ....um I was looking for you."

"Why?" (Y/n) asked, still trying to wake up and shake off the disorient.

"...the lab. We need you in the lab."

"Oh my gosh" (Y/n) sighs, crawling out of bed. She quickly pushes her father out of the room and closes the door behind her "You don't need me in the lab. There is nothing for me to do. It is my day off. Why are you fucking with us?" "I just-"

"No, you need to stop this bullshit. We were sleeping. Simply sleeping and nothing else. Why are you doing this?" "I'm just-"

"NO, WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? Seriously! What has he done? He has been nothing but good to me, but you've had your head so far up your ass that you don't see how good he is treating me. How out of everyone who I've dated, he is the best. I Just- I just... I'm moving out".

"wait for what?"

“I'm moving out. I can’t take it anymore. I can’t take you anymore. I'll start looking for places tomorrow. I'll let you know when I've found something."

"Wait, sweetheart," Tony said, reaching for his daughter, but she pushed him away and went back to her room, slamming the door. Tony just stood there wondering how the hell this conversation ended like that. -

Tony didn't know how the fuck shit went sideways, and he had spent the last couple of hours nursing a scotch and wondering where he went wrong.

"Don't you look amazing."

"Not now reindeer games."

"Not now, then when? We need to talk about (Y/n). She's someone we both care about."

"You've already won. Why even talk about it?" "Because she loves you. And I love her, and she doesn't want to leave. She's just tired of what she's called 'the helicoptering.' She's an adult and capable of making her own decisions." Loki pours himself a glass of scotch, ignoring Tony's glare.

"Yeah, and the first adult decision she makes is you. You see why I'm worried?" Loki sighs, "what can I do to make you trust me?"

"... I'll never trust you. After everything you've done, never."

"Well, I'm not leaving (Y/n), so we're going to need to compromise."

Tony sighs, dropping his head on the table "I don't want to. I want my little girl".

"She's not little anymore."

"so, everyone keeps reminding me." Loki refilled his glass "I just..." he sighs

"I... I love your daughter. I love her very much, and I'd do anything for her. Just tell me what to do. So You'll allow me to love your daughter."

"Nothing," he says, chugging the rest of his scotch "... convince her to stay, and I'll stop being an ass and tolerate your... relationship, okay?"

"Okay, I'll get her to stay.”

Request tags

permanent tags

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@acupofhotlatte @actors-hot @drakesfiance @qwazykayy

#tony stark #Loki Laufeyson #loki fanfiction #loki x reader

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fandom-necromancer · 4 years ago

Text

On Cloud Nine

This was prompted by the amazing @smolandangry001! Enjoy!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Hannor/Hancon

‘Am I allowed to know where we are driving?’, Connor asked with a smirk on his lips. They were driving through Detroit towards the riverside in Hank’s car, Knights of the Black death blaring in the background. ‘Somewhere special’, Hank answered ominous. ‘It’s a special day after all.’ ‘Really?’ Connor could list a lot of events that would make this day an anniversary of something, both personal and in general. But what in particular Hank could mean, he couldn’t pinpoint. ‘Yeah.’ Hank huffed a laugh. ‘Today, exactly a year ago, we met for the very first time. Me, wasted in a bar when we had a case. You came in there the stuck-up machine sent by Cyberlife. God, back then I thought all of it was some sort of prank. That someone rented me a plastic prick to babysit me. I planned on trashing you the second you weren’t needed anymore back then. And now…’ Connor smiled and cocked his head. ‘And now?’ Hank looked at him, lips slightly parted, before he could press them together oddly serious. ‘Now I have a hard time concentrating on traffic with you sitting next to me.’ Connor knew the man had a habit of flattering him, but still he felt a blush creep up and he had to look out of the window, realising they were on the bridge to Belle Isle already. ‘Maybe I should drive, so you could admire the view’, he answered cheekily and side-eyed his human just in the right moment to see him swallow at that. ‘Con, I love you, but there is no way you will drive this car outside of absolute emergencies.’ The android laughed and nodded. ‘Thought so.’

They drove down the road towards Cyberlife Tower, now headquarters of New Jericho, android repair centre and a place for androids and humans to get together. How much everything had changed in just one year. Not everything was perfect and would likely never really be, but everything was progressing in the right direction. In every aspect but the minds of a few people, androids and humans were equals now. And Connor was proud to have been able to contribute to that, even though he had sent quite a few deviants to their demise in his early days.

‘What are you planning?’, he asked curiously, as Hank parked the car and walked towards the entrance. ‘They opened a restaurant in the very tip of the tower’, Hank unveiled. ‘If it is to be believed what the brochures say, you have the best view of Detroit’s skyline from up there. And they serve android food that’s made by your kind, so I hope it’s not the slushy disaster they gave you last time I took you on a date.’ Connor remembered that day very fondly, but that didn’t help the sudden terror setting in when he heard the words “very tip of the tower”. ‘Everything alright?’ ‘Hm? Yes! Just remembered how I tried to scrub my filters clean afterwards.’ Hank winced, holding the door open for him. ‘Yeah, sorry for that!’ ‘It’s okay. It’s funny looking back now. Let’s go.’

The relief of having avoided telling Hank didn’t help with his anxiety building up at the prospect of being up on the 40th floor and having the perfect view of Detroit. He knew he wasn’t good with heights ever since he hurled himself and Daniel from the apartment balcony. Even as a machine led by clear orders and logic, he had felt that fear keeping him from analysing possible landing sites of Marcus and his team. He doubted deviancy would make it any less intense. But as he entered the elevator, he saw Hanks content smile and tensed his shoulders. Hank planned this for them. It would have a nice view without a doubt and be very romantic. It wouldn’t be that bad, right?

But with every number ticking up and every second passing in the tight space of the elevator and the steady pressure of being pulled upwards, it was hard not to analyse velocity and distance from the ground. By the time it passed the height he would have still survived a fall at, he had to take out his coin and calm himself by calculating the exact motions. ‘You sure you are okay?’, Hank asked and his worry was obvious. ‘Yes!’, Connor answered maybe a tad too fast. ‘I’m just excited’, he lied. ‘It’s been a while since we had time to do something together.’ ‘Yeah, trust me, I’d take you out more often, but I’m out of the age I could go out after work still.’ Connor dropped the coin into his pocket, reaching for the man’s hand instead. He was about to reassure him how he was absolutely perfect in his eyes, but in that exact moment, the doors opened to a restaurant, adequately dark so the city lights in the night were accentuated. The words he had prepared were forgotten.

It looked far higher than it should be according to the simple facts. Simple numbers and complex experiences were two entirely different things.

Hank hadn’t realised his frozen state until he stepped forwards, Connor’s hand slipping from his. ‘Connor? Connor, what’s wrong?’ ‘Nothing’, he tried, but Hank was not having it. Opening his mouth to say so, a waiter approached them. ‘Good evening! Your reservation please.’ ‘Err… Anderson. A table for two.’ ‘Of course, if you would follow me, please!’ Connor had stomached the first shock, but his legs were barely cooperating with him. The ground seemed to dip and his programming automatically tried to compensate by leaning away from the large glass front despite there being no objective need for it.

The waiter led them to a table directly next to the window. A perfect spot normally, but Connor shook his head. ‘Hank, I can’t sit here’, he whispered. ‘Could we have one further away from the window?’ The man looked at him in confusion, but nodded as he saw his expression and how his eyes were fixed on the edge of the ground. ‘Uh, excuse me, do you have a table closer to the wall?’ ‘Of course. Right here.’

Connor felt overly self-conscious sitting down across from Hank. He didn’t want to look up and see his eyes on him. Clearly, he had just ruined the date as the view was likely the reason Hank had decided on this restaurant. ‘I’m sorry.’ ‘Why? Connor, what’s wrong?’ ‘Before we met… I had a case. There was a deviant caretaker android that considered himself family. As he was about to be replaced, he kidnapped the daughter. I was sent in to save the girl. I could have talked him down, but back then I missed that opportunity. The only way to safe the girl for me was to jump at the deviant, taking him down with me. I… Well, that Connor died there. I have his memories. And ever since I… I guess I developed a fear of heights. I’m sorry. I guess I ruined it.’

‘Hey, Con. Connor. Look at me.’ He did and met his gentle gaze. Hank held out his hand on the table and Connor took it. ‘You didn’t ruin anything. I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have taken you here then. But it’s fine. Do you want us to leave?’ ‘No. No, from here it’s… it’s okay. But I couldn’t have sat directly at the window. Just… Aren’t you disappointed? I thought you decided on this to see Detroit.’ Hank sighed. ‘Connor, I see Detroit every day. And I can see the Skyline from here alright. But I came here to spent time with you and relax. To have a nice evening knowing you had one too. If you are comfortable, I’m too.’

Connor relaxed a little. ‘Still, you pictured it differently, I’m sure.’ Hank shrugged. ‘Con, I pictured a lot of things differently in life. I definitely didn’t picture my family to be an android and a dog. But god, I’m happy it turned out that way.’ He brushed his thumb over Connor’s knuckles and marvelled at the way his artificial skin retracted under his touch. ‘Connor, I love you and I want you to be happy. If that means we leave and go somewhere else, I’ll be in the elevator this very second.’

The android relaxed into his chair. ‘No, I’m… I’m fine with this, really. It is triggered as soon as I am close to an edge or once I can look down to the ground. This is… Really, it’s okay from here.’ ‘Thank God’, Hank laughed. ‘Because my backup plan would have been takeout. Took some time to find a restaurant that guaranteed no filter-scrubbing afterwards.’ That had Connor smiling again, tentatively looking over to the windows as the waiter came with the menu. When he had left, Connor was still staring at the twinkling lights. ‘The view really is amazing.’ Hank let his eyes wander over Connor’s hazel ones and further down getting stuck on his soft smile. ‘Yeah, it really is.’

#detroit become human #dbh #Hannor #Hancon #hank anderson #Connor dbh #RK800 #antis come fight me #I will defend Hannor to the bitter end #Honestly I don't know if I like father son or relationship better but I will fight for both #oh boy fear of heights really is a bitch #I once nearly fell over on an escalator because I leaned forwards too much XD #also the absolute worst is when you love the view but hate the way up #worst for me was the belltower of a church in Schneeberg. Complete wooden stairs you can see through all the way down #I died like a hundred times there #but it was worth it for the view #and the Hamburger Michel was bad too. But I always have to go if there is a good view because I am like that #rant end

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itsblissfuloblivion · 4 years ago

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Torch - Chapter 11: July

you asked for it, we give it to you, don’t be mad...

Ao3//FFnet

Harry thought he’d been through quite a series of unfortunate events throughout his relatively short life, some that’ve left him feeling embarrassed and in need to crawl into a hole and possibly die, and others that have left him a heartbeat away from turning rogue and going after Voldemort guns ablazing. But this, Harry comes to accept, is the worst so far.

Not only did six other people suddenly become acquainted with his most...intimate parts, but two of them happened to be Fred and George. Judging by the grins they’re both sporting, Harry’s in for a hellish summer - or however long he’d be spending at the Burrow before jumping recklessly into what probably will be his death.

Later, when the firewhiskey’s numbed his heart, when he’s too tired and tipsy to scream at everyone and claw at himself to grip the pain and throw it out, Harry lets the images of Hedwig and Mad-Eye wash over him like muddy waters clashing against the shore. The two first soldiers of the war - and Harry wonders how many more there’ll be until a skinny, averagely skilled, not-special almost seventeen year old serves justice and catches the bad guy for good.

A bitter laugh rolls down his throat and Harry shakes his head in self-loath, marveling at how impossibly stupid everyone has to be to put all their trust in him.

Harry starts as he feels a small hand on his shoulder - Ginny’s. As she’d done earlier, instead of saying something or asking him what’s wrong, Ginny takes his hand as she sits down next to him on the front steps. And, like earlier, her touch has a calming effect on him, steering his thoughts away from self-destruction and towards the blissful, golden days they’ve spent together.

But most of all he remembers her as she’d been on their last shared moment, her sad eyes and her bare chest, giving herself entirely to him. And just like then, his heart battles his mind, takes it to a savage war where what he wants to do and what he must do almost blend in, blurred around the edges.

He remembers her standing before him, waiting for him to touch, to feel, to melt into her and he remembers that he couldn’t do it then. He can’t do it now either.

It’s as if Ginny reads his mind because she squeezes his hand tighter and, looking bravely into his eyes as her bottom lip quivers, she says, “You know, I’d really wanted...that to happen then.”

Harry’s breath catches and he nearly crashes his lips to hers, nearly loves her right there, on her parents’ front porch. But instead he mumbles, his voice too shallow to meet the unwavering courage etched in hers, “Ginny, I - ah. Please know that putting an end to this,” he gestures between the two of them, a deep crease forming between his eyebrows, “is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

“An end?” Ginny lifts her brow, her brown eyes blazing.

“Yes. It’s how it has to be,” Harry retorts, his voice a little higher and he immediately hates himself for it.

“Why?”

“Because it must. Because you’re not safe if you’re with me. Because I couldn’t live knowing that they’ve hurt you because of me.”

Although he’s careful to keep his voice low, the words erupt like barks from his mouth, clipped and loaded with ill concealed anger. And when she starts protesting that she doesn’t care for her life, that she can take care of herself, Harry loses his mind for a moment and his vision darkens suddenly, he’s out of breath.

He’s astonished to discover that he’d gripped her shoulders sharply and had probably shaken her, the anger boiling in his chest taking over his actions. Ginny stares back at him for a moment, pained and shocked, then smashes her mouth onto his with such force it hurts them both. Harry’s arms immediately let go of her, falling limply at his sides.

She ends the kiss just as quickly and shoots him a look that Harry can’t entirely describe - a little wounded, a little cross, and most of all a steel resolve that sends him into a panicked frenzy because he doesn’t know if she’ll run after him, or fight her own battle or, the most terrifying of them all...if she’ll just forget him.

Ginny smacks the door behind her before he can get a chance to apologise for being a crass prick or ask her what she’d just decided. Sighing deeply, Harry admits he really does deserve the door smacking. Why did he ever think that this, whatever this was, could’ve possibly been better than admitting that he loves her, so much that he feels a big part of him is missing when she’s not there, so much that his heart is broken beyond repair.

Because he’s a stupid prat with a hero complex, that’s why.

“What’s with the face, Medium Sized?” Fred grins at him when Harry finally drags his feet back inside.

Harry simply flips him and starts climbing the stairs all the way to Ron’s room. He’s fairly certain there’ll be enough other occasions for Fred and George to take the mickey out of him on accounts of his physique, but today he’s just not up to it.

An unsettling thought crosses his mind before he drifts to what he has no doubt would be an unrestful sleep: being split into seven, even if by means of Polyjuice, appears to him not so different than what Voldermort’s attempted to do. It’s truly a thought that weighs tangibly on the self-hate load for many reasons, but most of all it’s the fact that Harry keeps finding similarities between him and Riddle every time he stops to think about it. And that makes him retch right there, near the camp bed he’d been sleeping on summer after summer since someone had seen enough good in him to have him rescued from the Dursleys - and, quite truthfully, from himself.

Somehow there’s not much opportunity for wallowing when he wakes up as Mrs Weasley seems to have devised the cleaning schedule from hell to keep them occupied and leave no room for mysterious plots to be cooked up between Ron, Hermione and himself. And honestly? Harry’s a little grateful for that.

The blazing sun overhead casts an orange glow behind Harry’s eyelids at the end of the day, warms the metal rims of his glasses where they press against his flushed cheeks. For a minute, while Ron and Ginny’s mingled laughter still colors the air and Harry’s breaths are still calming, it’s almost like he’s got a normal life again. Like the world isn’t silently waiting for him to take out a maniac they haven’t managed in two decades.

And for a minute, maybe more, Harry thinks he can let himself have it and forget about yesterday, forget about all the bad days he’d ever had. He’s already given up so much, is preparing to give up more when he heads out alone to finish what Dumbledore started, he lets himself be selfish. Only a little longer.

“Alright over there, old man?” Ginny’s voice calls out.

Harry cracks one eye open and finds Ginny smirking at him, hair wild around her face, braid half undone. “I’m just a year older.”

“A year is a long time,” Ginny shrugs and winks, “Grandpa.”

“Whatever happened to respecting your elders, then?”

Hermione returns from the house with lemonade in hand and a smile on her lips, “Are we back to this again?”

“Yes. Harry is an old man and I proved it by totally kicking his bum three games in a row.”

Harry pushes up onto his elbows and blinks slowly. “First, you’re a trained Chaser and I’m not. Second, Hermione was my Keeper. And we all know what that means.”

“Don’t be mean,” Ron puts in as he gulps at his lemonade, stray droplets falling over his cheeks. Hermione gives him an approving nod and that probably genetic Weasley smirk slides across Ron’s face, “Hermione can’t help being allergic to the Quaffle.”

“Oh bugger off, Ronald,” Hermione grunts, kicking Ron’s thigh as she claims a place in the grass.

Comfortable quiet falls over them, the trees in the grove swaying with the wind as it carries the scent of wildflowers over the yard. With the sweet tang of lemonade on his tongue, Harry truly feels a sense of relaxation, of contentment that people tend to associate with summer. It’s borrowed time he can't bring himself to give up.

As if Ginny can read his mind, as if she knows his overthinking, overworked mind is settling on its usual dark track, she nudges his side with the toe of her trainer. “So all I’ve heard so far is a lot of excuses, and I’m nothing if not an excuse eliminator.”

“That’s one thing to call it,” Ron snorts.

“Anyway,” Ginny says with a roll of her eyes, “How about we have a go with the Snitch. Although we’ve seen I’m no slouch as a Seeker either.”

Her eyes catch his and he knows they’re both thrown back to that day, the sunlit weeks that followed, the stolen time. And her smile is a little dimmed when she stands and offers him a hand up, “Let’s put you to the test, eh?”

It’s like she wants him to know she’s momentarily forgot about the day before too, about his words and about her pleas.

So Harry accepts the hand up and ignores Hermione’s pointed stare and mumbles about ‘idiots with self destructive tendencies.’ He has a sudden death challenge to win after all.

The Snitch is for practice, and probably older than any of the foursome, but it does the job. It’s a bit sluggish taking turns, so there’s an advantage to catching it there, but the old thing has no trouble darting off and hiding before Hermione’s finished her last eye roll aimed at Harry.

Ginny doesn’t need to take her eyes off the horizon for the trash talk to begin, mostly the usual shots at his age and eyesight. Ron likes a good gangly something thrown in there, but Ginny’s never been one for poking fun at Harry’s physique. In fact, she seemed to like it well enough - before Harry’s life kicked in with its usual ‘pull the rug out’ disappointing development.

They circle in the air for who knows how long and Harry gives as good as he gets, asking things like whether Ginny can find balls smaller than six inches wide. But when he mentions ‘balls’ Ginny gives him a dangerous look he knows means something scandalous is about to leave her lips - until they light in victory.

He twists quickly and finds the Snitch bobbing in the air, as if it’s about to flit over for a visit with Luna and her dirigible plums.

Though Ginny spotted the Snitch first, Harry’s definitely a few paces closer and he’s fast on the uptake so they’re basically neck in neck, screaming toward the little ball.

Ginny nudges his shoulder a bit with hers, no cobbing, but her set jaw and cheeky grin are just as dangerous. Harry’s so caught up he can barely hear Ron and Hermione’s shouts from below - who they’re rooting for is undetermined - all he knows is the push of the air against his ears, the pounding blood in his veins, and Ginny flying at his side like a comet.

At the last second, she lowers herself just a bit closer to the broom and slips past him so her fist closes around the Snitch. So last second in fact, that his hand closes on top of hers. He can’t seem to release his grip and Ginny doesn’t pull away, even as the wings flutter against their palms. “Gotcha, Potter. No flashy mouth tricks - just quality play.”

Her whiskey eyes find his and if he thought his heart pounded uncontrollably before, now it may as well be beating out of his chest. His thumb brushes over top of hers and it feels like all his insides are in his throat as he murmurs, “Nice catch.”

“I don’t know another kind.”

Somehow, his grip slides to her wrist and she’s released the Snitch to feebly fly over the swaying grasses. Then her hand is around his forearm and they’re breaths apart. “Ginny - ”

Whatever he was going to say, it’s now lost to the summer air as Ron’s voice sounds from below, beckoning them inside.

They spend the little time left of July planning and preparing for the moment they’ll have to leave everything behind, which, to Harry, is in a way exactly what he needs simply because it doesn’t offer much room to interact with Ginny. It’s odd how seeing her now makes his heart leap with happiness and then immediately twist with sadness and guilt.

Even though it’s hard not to catch her eye at dinner, especially when the table’s too packed with people, close members from the Order, and no one can notice. Or when little Gabrielle Delacour arrives with her parents and turns her Veela charm on Harry; the small display of jealousy from Ginny revives the old monster nestled in his chest, gives Harry an extra spring in his step for the rest of the day. She cares enough to show the rest of the world he’s off limits. Only Ron’s withering look wipes the stupid grin plastered on his face.

“Should I be fighting off smitten women having a go at you or is this a girlfriend only task?”

Harry stops in his tracks and looks over his shoulder. He sees Ginny, her hair messily twisted in a bun at the top of her head, leaning against the doorframe of her room and staring after him intently. He also notices the puffiness around her eyes that makes the dark rings under them more evident. His insides churn painfully.

“I don’t think women have ever been smitten when it comes to me. I rather tend to attract the usual love potion spiked chocolates kind of people,” Harry shrugs as he fully turns around to face her, one hand gripping at the railing. He feels as though he needs to tether himself to something or else he might just run to her and take her in his arms and kiss her tired eyes till she’s sound asleep and safely pressed against his chest.

Ginny lets out a dejected chuckle, “Clearly you’re not at all familiar with Hogwarts bathroom talk.”

“Oh?”

“But it’s somehow so typical of you to be oblivious of your charms,” Ginny shrugs and Harry forgets himself enough to let a smile stretch onto his face.

“My charms?”

“I believe tall, dark and handsome were uttered here and there,” she smiles a bit as her eyes lock with his and instantly a series of intimate moments they’ve shared passes before his eyes. “But they’re all wrong.”

“They are?” Harry parrots stupidly, heat spreading all over his chest, his face, to the tips of his ears.

“Yeah,” Ginny nods and covers one arm with the palm of her other, brushes it from her shoulder to her elbow as her lips slightly quiver. “It’s actually your eyes. Good night, Harry.”

And just like that she twirls on her heels and closes the door right after her. Harry can hear the springs of the mattress lamenting faintly and tries with all his might not to imagine her crushed on her bed, crying.

He doesn’t even realise it’s his birthday until the sun shakes him out of the poor sleep he’d managed to get once his mind got too tired of playing thousands of different versions of how he might die, how we might bring sorrow and death upon others, all peppered with instances of Ginny crying.

Huh, at least now he can do magic without being traced. Cheers to surviving this long and successfully eliminating the option of rotting in Azkaban every time he feels like actually being a wizard.

Harry gets to enjoy a bit of lightheartedness and bask in other people’s relationship problems when Ron gifts him a book essentially on how to pick up women and not long after Hermione publicly announces she’s about to pack Ron’s pants as soon as they get out of the washer. Unfortunately, he can’t share neither of those moments with Ginny as she’s not there…

Soon enough he locates her when she calls him to her room and Harry steps inside aware of his faint trembling. He comments on the view from her windows and she ignores him, like she should. Who’s invited into their former girlfriend’s bedroom and steers the conversation towards scenery?

A bloody idiot, that’s who.

She mentions Veelas again and his head starts spinning as Ginny looks at him with that blazing look on her face and it’s then when he knows it’s simply become impossible for him to step back. Harry kisses her as fiercely as she’s kissing him, ready to go where he’d previously forbidden himself to go with her, no longer able to control his mind, his body, its reactions to her. Harry’s ready to give himself away completely.

But before the thought of locking the door can cross his mind, before he can take this any further, the door bangs open and they break apart. Lust turns to anger and anger turns to guilt in Harry’s mind as he promises Ron he’s done, he’ll stay away, he’ll will himself to stop. He can’t keep doing this to her, he must never do it again.

An image of Ginny happily in love with another man invades his mind for the rest of the day, obsessing him, torturing him, the faceless man telling him nonchalantly that ‘you’ve lost her, mate’ as the two of them kiss deeply and turn their backs to Harry. They’d never could’ve had a future anyway...

#itsblissfuloblivion #itsblissfulbolivion writes #itsblissfuloblivion writes torch #harry potter #Harry Potter x ginny weasley #ginny weasley #Hermione granger #ron weasley #torch July chapter #canon compliant #hbp missing moments #hurts so good eh?#fightfortherightsofhouseelves #gryffindormischief

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monkeebratz · 5 years ago

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Bio!Dad Bruce Wayne AU - Super Meet

SO we have two ways that the Parisian Super Squad meets the Batfam.

The first, which I’m only writing down because I cannot forget about it, and its hilarious is: the Super Squad gets to Gotham, gets Mari’s texts, gets to their hotel room, throws their stuff in, transforms, and starts running around looking for her. They find her walking around the fashion district with the Wayne’s. Adrien, as Chat Noir, spies Marinette first. And, in typical fashion, acts first and thinks later.

So basically the Wayne’s watch a young, blonde, male version of catwoman throw an incredibly expandable baton between them and Mari, jump down, pick her up. Say “Bonjour. Au revoir.” And then make his expandable baton extend again and carry the now screeching Marinette to the top of the building where the rest of the Super Squad is waiting. Luka is going to strangle him. Holy shit. Chat Noir? More like Chat NO-ir!

The Batfam, of course, suits up and starts chasing after them. In full daylight. (These are the perfect opportunity for “Only in Gotham tweets” tbh) They catch up to Marinette berating all of them in incredibly loud and frantic French. As Multimouse. Going on about how irresponsible it was to leave Paris unprotected! Yes she knows Hawkmoth was defeated but it is the principle of the matter!! And they left BEFORE she told them about what happened with her bio!family and Batman! ALSO THEY KIDNAPPED HER IN BROAD ASS FUCKING DAYLIGHT IT DOESN’T MATTER IF THIS IS GOTHAM YOU SHUT YOUR TRAP CHAT!

The whole squad looks so defeated but then Mari starts crying and throws herself into Chat’s arms going on about how good it is to see them and she’s so happy they’re here and they’re so so stupid! And then its a hug pile. Big hug pile. The Batfam looks on in utter confusion bc, again, only like. Two of them know French. Then Batman coughs and they all look up and just. Don’t move. Maybe if they don’t move he won’t see them.

“... I need to be taking Miss Dupain-Cheng back to her family, now.”

“But-!” WHACK (why yes that’s the sound of Marinette kicking at them all)

“You kidnapped a girl in front of her family with no warning, in a very dangerous city. I’m sure her family would like the reassurance that she’s safe.”

So Batman and the Robins take Marinette back to Wayne Manor and Alfred clings to her (like he totally didn’t put everything together already they’re all so obvious). And then the Batfam, minus costume, comes barreling down the stairs and they all tackle Marinette and its another hug pile. Bc holy shit Mari why did you get kidnapped by your so called friends? Oh, they’re stupid? Can relate.

And then. Of course. Guess who shows up at the door. Just peeks their heads in, detransformed of course. “Uh, hi? We’re friends of Marinette? We’re here to visit her?”

Bruce is shrieking like WHY. WHY IS THIS SHIT GENETIC?! Internally. Can’t spill the beans QUITE yet.

Anyway, INTRODUCTIONS GALOR, YADA YADA, Dick and Adrien get along so well. Too well. Kagami and Damien also get along well too (they’re both ready to stab a bitch, don’t test them). Luka is too chill NOT to get along with anyone, unless they insult his friends and partners. Chloe is ready to throw down but also holy shit that’s Bruce fucking Wayne? Damn, Mari. DAMN. Already on social media about this.

(Also listen, I am shipping trash so I’m going to be vague as hell with things but in my brain this will be a poly!partners au so the Super Squad is just dating each other. But for the sake of everyone they could also just be really good/close friends, as they’ll be sharing rooms and be very touchy feeling and such. Its up to you. But just know, I’m just. Like this.)

So it basically just devolves into story sharing and puppy piles and the Wayne’s all looking at the Super Squad with side eyes bc HM. HOW FAMILY. ALSO STOP TOUCHING THE BABY! NO CORRUPTING THE BABY!! THAT’S OURS!!!

WE SAW HER FIRST SO FUCK YOU!

I’M LITERALLY? HER FATHER? FUCK? YOU? YOU CATWOMAN KNOCK OFF???

This is all happening with their eyes btw

And of course. The whole squad follows Marinette out as Multimouse to go meet batman, who Bruce told her had something to talk with her about. And she kinda cries bc SHE’S GOING TO GET KICKED OUT OF THE CITY BC OF HER IDIOTS!

Its not, its the Batfam taking the Super Squad to the Justice League tower. They weren’t expecting so many people but its fine. They’ll make it work.

Because Bruce had called the Justice League for an emergency meeting that night with the tone of voice that clearly said anybody who didn’t show up would have a bat hunting them down and shoving his foot up their ass so far they’ll taste patented leather for the rest of their life. They’ve almost never seen him so angry? And he’s bringing guests? What? The fuck??

Multimouse Marinette gets briefed that, as the current Guardian of the Miraculous, and a hero of Paris, she’ll be there to get a formal apology and an explanation about why a bunch of teenagers had to fight an emotionally manipulative super villain by themselves. Chat Noir is maybe hiding behind the rest of the Miraculous Crew and they’re only kinda notice but don’t think much of it tbh. Adrien does NOT want to be the one to explain that his FATHER was said super villain. save him.

Btw the whole group is having mixed reactions to the idea of meeting the Justice League. Adrien wants to run away but he also doesn’t care? Like. They’re all superhero’s, he gets that they can’t always help, but also. Fuck. He loves being a superhero but having someone with actual experience might have saved them all a lot of heartache. Chloe, meanwhile, doesn’t give a sINGLE SHIT about the JL. Fuck them. Fuck them so hard, so assholes ignored them and they’re going to be high and mighty. She may be a better person now but she will not put up with their nonsense. Not now. Not ever. Fight her. Luka is that sort of calm angry? He’s pissed that they brushed them off but since everything’s over there’s no point in holding onto his anger. There may or may not be a lot of meditating in the Bat Plane on the way there so he doesn’t use his lyre like a fucking BOOMERANG AGAIN and smack them all upside the head with it. Kagami doesn’t care? She’ll threaten them to the ends of the earth should they ever blow off such messages again, but she also just. Has very little emotional investment in them otherwise.

Marinette, of course, is freaking out and pacing and trying to channel her inner ladybug and screaming internally bc why. WHY. She’s angry but she also understands, but she’s still so stressed. just. please. Tiny squeaks.

And okay, they get there, and Batman comes in with ALL the Robins AND all these new kids?

Flash: I’m sorry, you called an emergency meeting because of your extended family?

Diana: HUSH

Because Diana, of course, recognizes them what and who they are. And is screaming bc holy shit? The Miraculous Holders are active again? Do they need their help? Where is Ladybug? Who is the Guardian? She just has. so. many. questions.

And Captain Marvel/Shazam (seriously wtf IS HIS NAME) is fangirling HARD. Because that’s the Miraculous Holders! The ORIGINAL magic users! SEVERAL of his people (Hercules/etc) were Miraculous holders on top of Shazam and HOOOLLLY SHIT THEY’RE HERE! IN FRONT OF HIM! HOLY SHIT!!!

Superman, Green Arrow, and several others are sweating bc uh. UH. OH SHIT THOSE MESSAGES WERE REAL?

Yes. They were real. And now they have Batman in full dad mode demanding an explanation. Several people (Superman, other mutation/alien esc powers) claim they went to Paris to check on the damage but they couldn’t find any, OR the supposed supers of villain.

Multimouse steps forward and starts explains how the Ladybug powers work and if they had bothered to contact them beyond telling them this wasn’t a line of communication to be used for PRANKS, they would know better. Diana chimes in with how she was helped created BY the Ladybug miraculous, etc, why did nobody ask her about this? Hell, why did nobody ask their resident magic user, Captain Marvel/Shazam???

Green Lantern: No offense, but doesn’t this all seem a little far fetched?

Chloe: ... Bitch, you have an alien ring that gives you powers. Shut the fuck up.

So there’s some arguing, back and forth, and Bruce looses his temper a little bit. Smacks his hand HARD on the table. “Enough. It is your job to investigate. It is not your job to leave the saving of an entire city to my fucking daughter, who was barely thirteen at the time this all started. As far as I’m concerned, this can never, ever, happen again. Wonder Woman, Captain, I assume you’d be willing to go through our notifications for any discrepancies?”

And there’s a huge moment of silence. Everyone’s staring at him. Multimouse squeaks. Red Hood just. “Good going, Bats. Real smooth.”

Chat: OH MY GOD YOUR DAD IS BATMAN? WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY ANYTHING, WHY- HOOOOO OH MY GOD YOUR DAD! BATMAN! IS DAD! YOUR DAD WHO IS ALSO-!

Viperion is making wheezing noises and covers Chat’s mouth and then there’s even more yelling and arguing and finger pointing, and Bruce wants a drink. And a nap. In whatever order he can get them.

Basically he gets Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel/Shazam to agree to looking through messages but also gets the hell out of dodge.

Next in, the reactions to all this tomfoolery. Also apparently superhero-ism is now genetic.

Tag List! (Please remember to send me an ask if you want to be added!)

@mystery-5-5 @mariae2900 @vgirl-10123 @iglowinggemma28 @deredereart @synnesstra @dahjokester @destinationdesignation @lordsmeldingtonthethird @emjrabbitwolf @unabashedbookworm @saphiraazure2708 @rhub4rb @romanoff-queen @octoberscorn@littleblue5mcdork @foxyrelina @severelyenchantedwonderland @dast218 @ace-aro-agender @rogueptoridactyl @kitkatcatfangirl @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @poshplumcot @iggy-of-fans @schrodingers25 @two-faced-biatch @moonlitarchangels @vixen-uchiha @rikku052 @elspethshadow

People who should be tagged but may not? So sorry, I’m still going to add you until tumblr stops being a dick about this.

@tbehartoo @wuvpancakes

#miraculous ladybug #maribat #batman #biological father bruce wayne #miraculous ladybug au #batman au #aaaannnd that's its i'm not tagging anymore i'm sorry i'm just TOO TIRED

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oh-theatre · 5 years ago

Text

Pause

A/N: Yes hello this sucks but also am smoft for logicality and would die for them. I am so sorry about this absolute trash but uhhh enjoy I suppose??? idk man sorry B A P E YS IM LOVE THEM?? ALSO THIS MAKES NO SENSE LMAO

summary: this concept

pairing: romantic logicality

warnings: fighting, crying, swearing

Logan and Patton don't fight often, they don't have a reason too. However, they do sometimes, they have a method though. They hated fighting, it creates a barrier between them and they need each other. So, if it gets too much or too heated. One of them, or both of them, would shout ‘Pause’. Then for as long as the pause was intact, there was no fighting, until someone said ‘unpause’.

“You forgot to pay the bills again Pat” Logan chides, Patton sighs stepping into their apartment, exhausted after a lengthy day. He hangs his coat, pursing his lips. “This is going to get us in so much trouble love” Logan pushes the envelope on the table, Patton cocks his head reading them he rubs his forehead.

“I'm sorry Lo!” Patton laments, he takes Logan's hands pouting. The taller man's face remains unchanged. “I've been really busy lately” He rushes, Logan groans “It's true”

“We are both busy, but love you have to pay the bills!” Logan goes to the couch burying his head in his arms. Patton fidgets as he takes a side next to Logan. “Pause?” He wonders, Logan relieves looking up.

“Pause” He agrees, Logan takes is and backs, smiling up at him. “What's up, love?” He asks, Patton bites his lower lip bouncing. “Pat?”

“I love you!” He squeals, Logan shakes his head kissing Patton on the cheek.

~~~

Patton fidgets loosely with the ends of coats, pacing through the apartment. He finds himself in a routine, two steps around, before a revolving door once more. He takes deep breaths, he hates fighting, he hates yelling. The door creaks open a moment later, a cautious Logan steps into the apartment.

“Pat-”

“Why?” Patton asks, Logan closes his eyes sighing. “I'm just wondering why?” He begs, Logan goes to him.

“It was a huge opportunity for me!” Logan argues

“But why didn't you tell me! Dearest, we tell each other everything!” Patton cries “This is going to uproot our entire life, the job is across the country!” Patton goes to the papers on the table, twiddling with them facing away from Logan. “I haven't seen you in weeks and- pause” He breathes, Logan nods rushing up to him.

“Oh thank god” Logan wraps him up, embracing Patton as they melt into one another. “I missed you so much” He admits

“I missed you” Patton pulls away, kissing Logan quickly. “How was your flight?”

~~~

“You bought a dog?!” Logan exclaims as a smiley-faced Patton waltzes in. “Honeybee you cant just buy...pets!” He exclaims, eyes wide as the puppy races around. Patton bobs his head smiling. “Pat!” Logan watches it cautious as it runs through

“Pause! Please!” He begs, picking up the small puppy. Logan bites his lower lip but sets his book down, his arms open for receiving it.

“Yes of course” he resigns taking the small dog, he pets it carefully small giggles as it adjusts to his hold. “Aw...puppy” He marvels, Patton takes his seat next to Logan kissing his forehead softly.

“Puppy” He confirms, leaning his head on the man's shoulder petting the dog.

~~~

“I hate them ok?!” As soon as the words left Logan's mouth, his eyes shot open. “Pat-”

“My parents?” Patton breathes “You...hate them?” He takes a moment shutting his eyes. “H-how? What have they done to you?” He asks through a laugh

“They're just always...here” He shakes his head, hoping his voice stops soon. The words just keep going. “Patton, you know I love you it's just they are…”

“Caring! They care ok?” Patton shouts, he pinches himself hating how he raises his voice. “God I cant believe- look I get that they can be overbearing, but Lo...to hate them?” He scoffs, his eyes pouting sadly. Patton eyes the establishment around him, apologetic looks to the patrons. Logan reaches over interlacing their hands into one.

“Pause?” He hopes “It is our anniversary, after all, I shouldn't have brought it up” he laments, Patton plays lightly with his partner's fingers in his own, lifting it up with a soft kiss.

“Pause” He smiles

~~~

They weren't always bad fights, and some were never rehashed again. Some were just silly, or small reminders. The pause just gave them a moment, should it be an event or a prolonged time or simply the fact that they missed each other, they paused. But sometimes…

“Then maybe we shouldn't get married!” Logan screamed, his throat hoarse as he threw down his jacket, his eyes wide as soon as the claim fell. Patton winced his own blue eyes twinkling with the reflection of watery tears. “Pause” Instantly

“No, not this time” Logan tries to take a moment forward “Don't” he barely whispers, he rubs under the glasses taking his coat. Gently he makes his way out of the apartment. Logan wants to reach out but it seems his body can only do one thing, shatter. He collapses into the couch, grasping the cushions under him.

“Ok, so li- Logan?” Roman walks in, his goofy smile quickly changing as his eyes land on a disheveled friend. Virgil cocks his head but closes the door behind them, they sit on either side. “Dude, you ok?”

“Hey, lightbulb, you have to talk to us” Virgil pokes, Logan sighs lifting his solemn head. The energy to do so gone as he continues. “Whats up L?”

“I said something….awful” He admits “And I didn't mean it, what a stupid thing to say, I'm just...frustrated” He groans, wanting to pull his hairs apart. He needs help, he needs to talk to someone, he needs...he needs “Patton” he whispers through a shaky breath

“Patton?” Roman checks, rubbing Logans back in comfort. “Where is sunshine anyway?” he looks around, Virgil gives him a quick glance.

“I have to go find him” Logan decides, he grabs his own coat placing a scarf around him

“No, no pausing” Patton denies as soon as Logan walks into the cafe. He sits in the corner watching the world go on without him, clearly a sweet drink in front of him. Logan takes the adjacent seat, trying to meet a stubborn pair of eyes.

“Patton, will you please look at me” He pleads, placing his hand over Patton's soft fingers. He uncurls the nails that dig deep into Patton's skin, as he has always done. It was an awful habit. Patton wipes once more under his eyes, the ends of his sweater in play.

“Hmm?” He hums turning, their eyes connection across the bustling place. Logan feels the ring around their fingers click, a sweet spark between them.

“I do...I do want to marry you” Logan assures, his hands holding tight “I actually have no excuse or explanation for my words I was… frustrated, over something silly that had nothing-“ he taps gently “nothing to do with you. Patton, light of my life, there is nothing more in this world that I want than to be married to you.” Logan smiles, Patton nods softly “I shouldn't have taken out my own anger on you. But I want to marry you Patton, and everything that comes with you...your parents” Patton lets out a tearful laugh “Your need to buy more pets than we can handle…” He jokes “Just...I want to marry you, Patton, because...I love you. Mor-” A kiss interrupts Logan's words, not that he minded, gentle and delicate they part.

“I love you so much” Patton cups the man's cheek, softly caressing every freckle upon Logans face.

They didn't always need to pause, sometimes a little honesty and a lot of love could mend them. And they did get married, and their vows were twice as long and filled with more love than can be described.

#THIS IS SO BAD LOL SORRY #pause #pause au #logicality #logan sanders #patton sanders #sanders sides #writing #write #thomas sanders #youtube #my writing #fanfiction

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gingerwritess · 5 years ago

Note

All I can think is “ vending machine “ idk why?? Maybe you can do something with that??

lmao i don’t think many people like this pre-dating idiots kick i’m on but look i’m just proud of myself for actually managing to create a plot and i rly love this so oops have some more t e n s i o n

also i’ll answer asks asap so sorry it’s taking me a while!!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Thirteenth floor. Break room down hall H. Use code 1217. Now.

Who is this?

Your lover.

Right. Your lover, the not-yet-released psycho who’s pretending to be a doctor in the same facility where you work, and now apparently has a phone.

And your number.

Great.

We’re not dating, you type back. I’m busy.

I’m dying.

Good for you.

You grin to yourself—nice one.

A couple minutes pass with no response and you wonder if he’s actually dying…would that be the worst that could happen?

No. No, I don’t think that’d be too terrible.

But why would he ask you for help? I mean, it’s not like you’re friends—but then again, you’re the only one who knows who he really is…who else can he ask?

Fine. Be right there.

Turns out your fake doctor boyfriend already has a higher clearance than you. Your ID stops unlocking doors by the seventh floor, much to your chagrin, and you have to use the code Loki gave you to enter the psych/physiology floor.

Hall H turns out to be the furthest hallway from the elevators, so by the time you find it and start looking for the break room, you’re pretty sure he’ll already be dead. Since he was dying, after all.

You’re half expecting him to be lying in a puddle of his own blood, some other worker having discovered his real identity and not having as much self control as you did, but nope.

He’s still Robert Laing, reddish-blond and donning a lab coat that’s a little too short for him, staring at the vending machine in the corner.

“You came.” He doesn’t look up when you walk in, a dollar in one hand and two quarters in the other. “I’m shocked.”

“Of course you’re not dead,” you groan, turning right back around to walk out the door. “I gotta admit, by the fourth floor I was hoping—”

“I’ve given you every opportunity to kill me,” he snaps, making you stop in your tracks.

“You’re hard to kill. I shot the hell out of you that first time.”

He rolls his eyes. “Oh, please, your heart wasn’t in that.”

“Well, gee, I’ll be sure to mean it next time—”

“Next time?”

“I’m not very optimistic about our relationship, Doctor.” You cross your arms over your chest, scowling at him from the doorway. “Why’d you call me all the way up here? Just to rub it in my face that you have a higher clearance than me?”

“That was just an added bonus,” he sighs, turning back to the vending machine and waving his dollar at it. “I, erm…could use some assistance.”

Oh my god.

“You don’t know how a vending machine works??”

“I’m from another realm, stop laughing,” he hisses, and one of his quarters bounces off your forehead.

“HEY—”

“Just help me, woman. Please.”

“Well, since you said please…” you can’t help one more snort of laughter as you head over to him and take his money out of his hand. “Okay, what are you trying to buy?”

He points.

You try not to laugh.

“Okay, you have to punch in the code underneath it. B-4, see?”

“Here?” He points again.

“On the keypad, idiot.” You point to the keypad and watch him carefully enter the code. “Now you have to put in your money. Coins in here, bills in here. It’s a dollar fifty.”

“But I only have a dollar twenty-five—”

“Yeah, cause you threw one of your quarters at me, genius.” A big part of you wants to just tell him oh well, guess you can’t eat, but you fish around in your pocket for another quarter.

“Here.” You press it to his open palm, trying not to sound too annoyed. He’s just a big baby, you’re quickly discovering, death threats aside. “Found it on my way up, get your candy bar.”

There’s a beat of silence—shouldn’t have done that.

“…thank you.”

He sounds genuinely surprised.

“No problem. I mean, you are dying, after all.” You brush it away with a chuckle, smoothing out the corners of his dollar before trying to slip it in the machine.

“I didn’t know how to get you up here,” he admits, watching you closely. “Though nobody usually responds to my death announcements anymore.”

The machine spits his dollar back out and Loki huffs, trying to shove the bill back in the slot.

“Easy, Loki, stop it,” you laugh, taking the bill from him and trying to flatten it again. “Don’t force it in, just let it take it gently.”

You guide the dollar back in and this time it takes, whirring to life to retrieve Loki’s Snicker bar.

“That’s what she said,” you mumble to yourself as an afterthought, realising what you just said.

Loki coughs behind you.

“Sorry.” You turn around and give him a sheepish grin—he’s a little red in the face, but that might just be part of the facade. “Can’t help it.”

“That’s…quite alright,” he replies smoothly, taking the candy bar as you hand it to him. “Although…is that what she would say?”

“You disgust me.”

“And here we almost had a decent moment.”

“Almost,” you sigh, throwing up your hands in a helpless shrug. “I almost forgot you were Loki, to be completely honest.”

“Ouch. That seems unnecessary.”

“Dr. Laing isn’t completely unbearable,” you continue, holding up a finger to shush him. “So you can take…like, fifteen percent of the credit.”

He rolls his eyes again, ripping open his candy bar. “How gracious of you.”

“No need to thank me.”

You just stand there for a moment, arms crossed as he takes a tentative bite.

“Y’know, you seem more like a KitKat kind of guy.”

“I like chocolate,” he shrugs, “even more so when it comes with caramel.”

“Seriously?” You can’t help but grin—the more you talk to him, the less and less intimidating he becomes. There’s no way you’re letting this guy actually threaten you anymore.

“It used to be considered a delicacy meant only for the gods.” A flash of light fills the room and Loki’s back to Loki, gesturing at himself. “Back before your kind corrupted it.”

“Um, Loki, hate to burst your bubble, but humans invented Snickers.”

“Well, you’re not all terrible.”

Figuring you might as well take advantage of the opportunity, you flop down on one of the couches, staring at the god across from you.

…munching happily on a Snickers.

“Why are you doing this?”

He blinks and clears his throat, taking a couple steps closer. “What?”

“What are you getting out of this, all this pretending to be a doctor, getting hired here?”

“I have nothing better to do,” he answers carefully, studying your face with a quizzical gaze. “I certainly don’t want to be sitting in a cell talking through my emotions, so I might as well be putting my skills to use.”

“You’re actually taking patients??” You can only imagine what happens to them—Loki doesn’t come off as the kind of guy who’s taken his pledge to never harm. “What kind of doctor even are you?”

“To use your terminology, you’d consider me a neurosurgeon.” He sighs and lowers himself onto the couch across from you, still working on that candy bar. “Maybe in part a physician, as well.”

“Damn,” you whisper, undeniably a bit surprised. “That’s…a lot of work—for humans, I mean. Did you go to school for that?”

“I’ve studied my entire life. Never one particular subject, on Asgard w—they steer clear of limiting children’s knowledge to one specific field.”

“That’s pretty smart. Here, you’ve gotta pick one thing and just try to be good at that.”

“Identity can be terribly limiting,” he says quietly, picking at the candy wrapper. “If I identified myself as a ‘good’ neurosurgeon and only that, I don’t think I’d ever have discovered my aptitude for diplomacy, writing, mathematics, anything else.”

Diplomacy, neuroscience, math, writing, chocolate, caramel—this guy has layers, that’s for certain.

“So is this some kind of redemption plan?” You try for a smile, maybe feeling a little bit guilty for laughing before. “Gonna help a bunch of people to prove yourself and then make a big reveal to your brother?”

“That’s not a terrible idea.” He stands and stretches, crumpling his empty candy wrapper and tossing it into the trash bin. “Though I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I were ever redeemed.”

“You need to meet a nice someone, maybe settle down for the next few centuries,” you laugh, following him out the door as he shifts back into Dr. Laing. “Have a few creepy, greasy-haired babies. Might be good for you.”

He laughs and holds the door for you to leave the room, heading away down the hallway as you wait for the elevator. “That’s the furthest from a future I’d ever want, darling.”

“I’m not your darling, dipshit.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

hope you enjoyed, please reblog and feel free to send me ideas!

~ masterlist link in my bio ~

loki tags: @bluediamond007 @himitoshi @drakesfiance @destiel1597 @dangertoozmanykids101 @archy3001 @jcalpha1 @yzssie @skullvieplu @forthesnakeofdragons @skulliebythesea @wegingerangelica @storiesfrommirkwood @agarwaeneth @adaliamalfoy @laurfangirl424 @paradisaicsam @fitzsimmons-is-forever @ladylokimischief @katelinwrites @tarynkauai @polaristrange @loavesofmeat @canadian-ravenpuff-multishipper @lou-makes-me-strong @holyn0vak @chocolatealmondmillk @swtnrholland @kenzieam @jessiejunebug @catticas @the-republic-and-face-of-texas @doralupin01 @whitewitchdown @atomiccharmer @falconfeather23435 @babygirlicecream @avengrcs @vethrvolnir2 @bookgirlunicorn @wabisabigrl @myhealingstar @khaleesi-marvel @ei77777 @spacecrumbs @scarlettghost13 @rocks-are-pretty-odd @confessionsofastrugglingteen @easilydistractedwriter @arttasticgreatnessoftheawesome77 @fluffyllamaswearinghats @milktearose @lcyouinhell @h0tshotholland @dontmesswithmemundane @southsidesarcasticwriter @helnik-s @lilith-akemi @fire-in-her-veinz @unlikelysamwinchesteronahunt @mischievousbellerina @kcd15 @mellowgirl01 @lokislilcaribbeanprincess @allthingzhiddleston @scorpionchild81 @lokixme @blue-automne @galaxycharmed @devilbat @kangaroobunny @end-up-well @planetariumx @sarcsep @mrfandomtastic @amaru163 @im-way-too-many-fandoms @caswinchester2000 @kybaeza @wester-than-west @vintagesunshinebitch @adefectivedetective @poetic-nikolai @moonduhsted @kerri-masson @iamverity @innaminitus @spnbarnes @narcissxblack @woohoney @anxiousamandapanda @padmeisgay @authordreaming13 @lokisironthrone @theunknowinglys @highfuncti0ningfangirl @epicfallenismine @stubby-toe-589331 @fandomnerdsarecool @retrofantasyland @arch-venus25 @forever-trapped-in-my-dreams @littleredstarfish @marshyrebelcloud @okie–loki @atterodominatus @stfxlou

#loki x reader #loki reader insert #loki slowburn #loki enemies to lovers #loki fake dating #loki imagine #pre-dating idiots

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onthesandsofdreams · 4 years ago

Text

We’re Dating (No, We’re Faking It)

Fandom: Iron Man/Marvel Cinematic Universe Pairing: Tony Stark/Pepper Potts Rating: T Summary: Pepper stares at the face of an unrepentant Tony Stark. “Are you kidding me?” She manages, once she’s recovered from the shock. She shakes her head, as if trying to clear it. “Why exactly did you do that?!” Tony, looks at her as if she were slow. To be honest, she’s feeling it. Tony grins at her, leans forward from his seat and she fights the impulse to slap him. “Because you’re the only one Christine would not dare mess with.”

Words: 1372 Notes: Written for Fictober-Event, prompts: 4. “that didn’t stop you before” & 24. “are you kidding me?”

Read @ AO3

Pepper stares at the face of an unrepentant Tony Stark. “Are you kidding me?” She manages, once she’s recovered from the shock. She shakes her head, as if trying to clear it. “Why exactly did you do that?!”

Tony, looks at her as if she were slow. To be honest, she’s feeling it. Tony grins at her, leans forward from his seat and she fights the impulse to slap him. “Because you’re the only one Christine would not dare mess with.”

She closes her eyes, she really doesn’t need a rival nor the whole school newspaper team giving her wide berth. Some already do, but she really, really doesn’t need them is printing stuff about her. She’s the student’s association treasurer, she doesn’t need a scandal. Much less, when Yale Business calls. But, now thanks to one Tony Stark, she will likely will be putting fires and dealing with unwanted attention. All because he couldn’t think of someone else, all because he had to go and tell Christine Everheart that they were dating. “And you couldn’t think of someone else?” She asks, once she opens her eyes and glares at him, Tony doesn’t flinch from her gaze. The bastard’s quite amused.

Tony shrugs. “The other person she would’ve not dare mess is my Platypus, and Rhodey would sooner kick my ass than kiss it.” He leans again, eyes sparkling with amusement. “Besides, we make a power couple. And we’re totally made for each other.”

She knows he’s joking, the light tone is a dead giveaway. And now, she wants to cry. This is her last year of high school and, much to her chagrin, she has developed feelings for him. She likes him more than what she should. And now, he’s basically told the school they are together, because telling Christine is basically broadcasting it in the news, she’ll probably make a good journalist someday. “And what do I get out of it? I mean, what if I wanted to date someone else and you’ve gone and ruined it.”

For a moment, Tony flounders. Then in what she has now realize is typical behavior, gives her a winning smile, “C’mon miss Potts, you can’t do better than me. Well, truth be told, Rhodey would be better than me. But the school’s full of losers and you know it. As to what you get out of it, well, you’d be fake dating me and I’m awesome. I’m willingly offering some actual dates, just because of the trouble and yes, I’m paying.” Of course he could, he’s rich. Not that’s saying much, because the private high school they attend is not cheap. It’s for the wealthy. But even surrounded by wealth, Tony’s inheritance is larger than just about everyone else.

It’s not, but she’s really not interested in risking her heart. And another, smaller, traitorous part of her wants to size up the opportunity and see where things go. She knows which is going to win. But she might as well set some rules. “Fine. But I have rules…”

“Wouldn’t expect anything less of you, Pep.”

She glares, but his smirk is now smug and, right now, she’s torn between kissing it or slapping it away. “First of all…”

They spend the next several minutes laying down rules. She feels quite accomplished at the fact that he didn’t argue, much. But there’s the logical part of hers that is telling her that she’s being a complete idiot. That doesn’t do much for how her heart skips a beat when Tony takes her hand after they leave the council room. Tony simply looks smug.

Tony and her have been fake dating for two weeks when one day, she’s talking with some of her girl friends and Tony all but rushes towards her and kisses her in full public view. She’s left rather dazzled after that. Tony winks and ‘reminds’ them that they are going for a date after school. Her girlfriends giggle.

It’s been a month when it happens, Christine is trying to make some rumors about her. Since printing them would be out of line and would risk her loosing her spot on the newspaper, Christine opts for rumors. She catches them very soon and she deals with Christine in the same way she deals with everyone, with polite, but cutting words. Ok, maybe all but calling Christine trash wasn’t the best, but she did get on her nerves. And she will not allow anyone to put her down as just ‘a handy woman – if you know what I mean.’

Tony kisses her in public again when he finds out.

It’s been two months, when they’re sitting on a booth in a fifty’s style dinner, eating (a burger for him, chicken wings for her and both have milkshakes) when Tony looks up and says, “I need your permission to kiss you.”

She arches a brow, “You have before, without proper warning. That didn’t stop you before.”

Tony squirms under her gaze, “Yeah, but this time it’s different. My mom’s been asking about you, and since you agreed to come to the fundraiser we’re throwing, well, I figured that I’d give you head’s up. Since my parents will be there, don’t want to make it awkward.”

She bites into her wing, chews carefully and washes her food with milkshake. “That’s fine.”

The smile that Tony gives her, could match the sun itself in its intensity.

The fundraiser is quite something, she’s sitting with Tony, next to his parents. His mother, had welcomed her with a hug and a kiss on her cheek, “Tony has spoken so much of you, I’m glad that we’ve finally meeting.”

She had turned to Tony, he’d blushed. “Thank you Mrs. Stark. It’s very lovely to meet you.” She will not be intimidated, even by a woman who is on the society pages for all the charity work she does and her business acumen.

The whole even had been flawless, Tony had asked her to dance several times. They had spoken about everything and she found that she didn’t want to leave, it was only when the fundraiser was winding down that she and Tony were walking away from the other people. “What did your mom meant?” She asked.

Tony did not met her eyes, in fact, he was looking everywhere but her. “Ah, well, I’ve talked about you with her, about you wanting to go into business. Did you know my mom went to Yale?”

She was flattered that he had, but it didn’t made sense. “Why? I mean, I appreciate it, but why talk about me? And no, I didn’t know.”

Tony turns to her, stops walking and she’s forced to stop too. “Because I like you Pep.” He says and she freezes. “I like you very much.” Then he sighed loudly. “Okay fine, I might be in love with you.”

It would be much latter, when she’s had some time to think about it, that the garden was like a fairy garden and the moon was high and flowers gave a lovely scent. It was quite romantic. “Tony Stark if you’re joking…”

Tony panics, holds her hand and makes her look at him. “No! I wouldn’t play with you! Never!”

She looks at him, really looks at him. And he’s looking back at her, eyes soft and shinny and warm. Oh. He means it. Her heart speeds up, she takes a deep breath and exhales loudly. “You’re serious?” Her own voice is soft and quiet.

“I am.” Upfront, simple, easy and very, very Tony. “I love you, Pep.”

She tries to smile at him, but she’s still a bit dazzled. “I love you too,” she finally admits. “Now what?”

“Now, we’re officially dating.”

“Okay.”

Tony beams at her, she can’t quite resist that face and leans forward, he meets her halfway. His lips are soft and warm and it’s perfect. And they will continue dating and see where that goes, and she’s happier than she’s ever been. They separate when the need to breath grows. But they only stare at each other for a good while and then kiss again. Neither spots the camera taking their picture, it makes it into the society pages. Neither of them care.

#fictober20 #tony x pepper #pepperony #tony stark #pepper potts #marvel fic #au: high school #marvel

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat: The Many Ways the Crossover Almost Happened

https://ift.tt/38sRB2j

Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, the game that really kickstarted the fighting game genre, has turned 30 this year. To celebrate, Ryu and Chun-Li are appearing in Fortnite. It’s par for the course for Ryu, who has been in so many crossovers to fight everyone from everywhere. Ryu has crossed over with the cast of Tekken, the guys from King of Fighters, the Marvel superheroes, just about everyone under the Nintendo banner, GI Joe, Power Rangers, and even Family Guy for some odd reason. Ryu and Street Fighter have crossed over with nearly everyone.

Yet for some reason, the number one dream fighting game match-up has never happened. Yes, we’re talking about Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat. These two giants of the fighting game industry have never exchanged blows despite being household names from the very beginning of the fighting game boom of the early 1990s.

That doesn’t mean there haven’t been some close calls or that they haven’t brushed shoulders in the past…

The Beginning of the Rivalry

The first iteration of Street Fighter II came out in February 1991. This was the sequel that made good on the promise of the 1987 original, which had great ideas that it couldn’t really execute. It would be bold to say that Street Fighter II perfected the formula, but it was such an improvement that it’s still incredibly playable to this day. It was a lucky break for Capcom, who would go on to milk the game’s success with several new editions of the title, from 1992’s Champion Edition all the way to 2017’s Ultra Street Fighter II: Final Challengers for the Nintendo Switch.

If you’re a fighting game aficionado, you know the history. The success of Street Fighter II sparked a boom for the fighting game genre. In Japan, SNK released Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting right on the heels of Capcom’s hit, while Alpha Denshi gave us World Heroes in ’92. Meanwhile, in America, Midway Games was planning its own Street Fighter II competitor, which was originally meant to be a tie-in game for the movie Universal Soldier starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. When that project fell through, Midway turned to the much gorier Mortal Kombat, a fighting game that digitized actors instead of sprites, an innovative approach to animation at the time.

Released on October 1992, Mortal Kombat was a major hit, and Midway quickly put out a sequel, Mortal Kombat II, six months later in April 1993. The third game would be out two years later. Mortal Kombat was speeding through its early days with cabinet after cabinet, while Capcom was focused on re-releasing newer versions of Street Fighter II. After making bosses playable, adding new characters, and tossing in other bells and whistles over the course of various upgrades, the studio concluded the game’s original run with 1994’s Super Street Fighter II: Turbo.

That meant that at a time when the internet was in its infancy, these two popular franchises were mainstays of print gaming magazines. Announcements, previews, reviews, secrets, tips, and so on. If your early ’90s magazine didn’t have at least a page dedicated to Street Fighter and/or Mortal Kombat, then get your eyes checked because you weren’t looking hard enough.

In 1992, Electronic Gaming Monthly famously pulled an April Fool’s Day gag on readers where they took the Street Fighter II mistranslation, “You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance,” and insisted it was a reference to a secret boss fight that involved working your ass off in the game in a way that was outright impossible, making your way through the game as Ryu without taking a single hit until your battle with M. Bison (and that was the “easy” part). The joke led to many stressful nights for gamers, who were finally told the truth about the hoax the following December.

But Midway took the idea of a secret boss more literally. Using the Sub-Zero/Scorpion ninja sprites, Midway introduced a green-clad fighter named Reptile, a seriously difficult opponent that you could only fight in arcade mode under some seriously ridiculous circumstances. Reptile was added in the 3.0 version of Mortal Kombat, making him the first secret boss in the genre’s history.

Capcom would eventually catch up with Akuma, a character extremely similar EGM‘s design for Sheng Long, in Super Street Fighter II: Turbo. By then, Midway had thrown in three more secret boss fights for Mortal Kombat II, and even SNK had already introduced Ryo Sakazaki as a secret final boss in Fatal Fury Special.

Brushing Shoulders

The Mortal Kombat series really thrived as a gorier and campier alternative to Street Fighter II‘s more fundamental approach to the genre, but that didn’t stop Midway from taking a couple of jabs at Capcom. In-game, secret characters would occasionally pop up before rounds and say something cryptic for the sake of helping the players figure out how to unlock their fight, a nod to the Sheng Long joke. But there were more direct pokes at the competition. For instance, Jade would occasionally appear for the sake of asking, “CHUN WHO?” and vanishing. Midway also included “RYU” as default initials on Mortal Kombat II‘s high score board. Cute.

Meanwhile, Capcom stoked the fire with a commercial for Street Fighter II: Champion Edition for Sega Genesis. It featured a security guard at a toy store coming across a box for the game. Blanka’s arm would thenreach out and grab the nearby box for Mortal Kombat and crush it into smoldering trash.

But it wasn’t all jabs. The two companies crossed paths in other interesting ways. In 1993, Malibu Comics published a Street Fighter II series for only three issues before having to drop it because Capcom was unhappy with Ken Masters’ grisly fate in the story. Around the same time, Malibu also launched a Mortal Kombat series, and the publisher would actually batch issues of both series together and send them to vendors.

Games

The Strange History of Street Fighter Comics

By Gavin Jasper

Games

The History of Mortal Kombat Comics

By Gavin Jasper

Hasbro double-dipped when it came to action figures too, releasing sets for both Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, complete with weapons and special vehicles. But while Street Fighter characters were treated like part of the GI Joe line, and were even featured in commercials where they all hang out and beat the crap out of Duke, Mortal Kombat was kept separate from Hasbro’s most popular figures.

Nintendo also used both franchises as major selling points for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The SNES ports for Super Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat II both played big parts in Nintendo’s Play It Loud ad campaign. One such commercial even had a guy getting a massive Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat tattoo on his torso.

But the closest thing we’ve ever gotten to a real crossover between the two games was through their Saturday morning cartoons. Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm were both released as animated follow-ups to their live-action movies, although they were directly inspired by the games themselves. On Nov. 16, 1996, both series, as well as Savage Dragon and Wing Commander Academy, took part in a long-forgotten crossover event based around a hero named the Warrior King and his search through the multiverse for a special orb that controls the weather.

The Warrior King played a major role in his Street Fighter episode as the romantic interest of Chun-Li, while in Mortal Kombat, he merely made a quick cameo as a shadowy figure running through a portal. Regardless, both stories involved the villains (M. Bison and Shang Tsung) wielding the same mystical orb.

No, the crossover ain’t much, but that’s still more than what we got in Wreck-It Ralph. Although the Disney movie featured M. Bison, Zangief, Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, and Cammy, it didn’t bring in any official Mortal Kombat characters to face them. Instead, the movie included “Cyborg,” a blatant Kano knockoff with the same cybernetic eye, goatee, and zest for heart-ripping. Why didn’t Disney just use Kano? Probably because he’s a Warner Bros. property. Still, missed opportunity.

Copying Test Answers

The video game adaptation of Street Fighter: The Movie will always be a fascinating novelty. Released in 1995 in arcades, the game not only copied Mortal Kombat’s digitized actors but it actually featured Jean-Claude Van Damme, the actor Midway had been unable to secure for its own Universal Soldier tie-in years earlier.

Interestingly, whenever Capcom sets out to make a totally new Street Fighter game, the studio usually chooses to go in a new art direction. Street Fighter V is the exception, although Capcom did initially start with a more photorealistic art style before nixing it and going with “Street Fighter IV but extra.” So, when Capcom tapped Incredible Technologies to put together the video game version of Street Fighter: The Movie in 1995, it was at a time when the publisher was also considering using the digitized Mortal Kombat style for Street Fighter III. Thankfully, Capcom decided not to go in this direction.

Midway hilariously dipped its toe in Capcom’s waters a bit more blatantly in 2004. Mortal Kombat: Deception introduced a fighter named Kobra who was supposed to be the latest human POV character, only evil. But Midway initially named him “Ken Masters” due to his physical similarities to the Street Fighter character. The studio included “Ken” in a beta version of the game provided to the press, with the express direction NOT to mention the character.

Guess what happened next. A German publication posted the images of “Ken Masters” anyway, suggesting Mortal Kombat vs. Street Fighter was finally happening. Sadly, no, this was not a teaser for the long-awaited video game crossover. It seemes Midway just hadn’t come up with a proper name for “Ken Masters” yet.

Capcom did throw in a cute reference to Mortal Kombat in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The game featured Nathan Spencer, the Bionic Commando, whose cybernetic arm could shoot out like a grappling hook and grab opponents from far away. When doing that to yoink an enemy towards him for a haymaker to the face, he’d quote Scorpion’s famous “GET OVER HERE!” Nice.

Not the Right Fit

Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon admitted in 2008 that he’d tried to make Mortal Kombat vs. Street Fighter happen at one point but Capcom wasn’t interested.

“I’ve always wanted to cross MK over since about MK4, or something like that. I’m a big fan of all of the other fighting games, Street Fighter, Tekken. I always thought, wouldn’t it be cool to have MK vs. SF and MK vs. Tekken? We pursued some of those ideas to the extent we could but we always ran into some kind of road block and couldn’t do it.”

A full-on roster vs. roster situation was out back in the ’90s, but these days, guest characters are a normal part of fighting games. Tekken 7 alone includes representatives from Street Fighter, Fatal Fury, Final Fantasy, and The Walking Dead. Mortal Kombat and Injustice have gone all over the map with their DLC choices, including slasher villains, ’80s action heroes, Spawn, Hellboy, and even the Ninja Turtles. When a fighting game announces a new season of DLC, you usually know to expect at least one crossover character to be included in the package.

For 2019’s Mortal Kombat 11, Boon reached out to Capcom once again. Wouldn’t it be neat if a Street Fighter character got in on all the gritty time-traveling action? While we don’t know which character Boon was interested in using, many fans theorize Akuma would have been the perfect fit. But Capcom said no.

Here’s what former Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono had to say about it:

“It’s true that a proposal for a Street Fighter character in Mortal Kombat was rejected by Capcom, but it wasn’t me personally! There were many people at the company that felt that it wasn’t a good fit for our characters. I actually met Ed at the Brazil game show and spoke to him personally about it. So it’s true – but I didn’t make the decision!”

So why didn’t it happen? Probably because Mortal Kombat 11 is banned in Japan due to all the gore and extreme violence.

“I understand why people want it,” Ono said at the time, “but it’s easier said than done. Having Chun-Li getting her spine ripped out, or Ryu’s head bouncing off the floor…it doesn’t necessarily match.”

Maybe one day. For now, we’re left waiting for Ryu to finally get over here.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Special thanks to tabmok99 for helping with this article. You can check out his Mortal Kombat know-it-all YouTube channel here.

The post Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat: The Many Ways the Crossover Almost Happened appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/30veXj9

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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dinoyoongi · 5 years ago

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I’ll Play For You

SYNOPSIS: You’re a new artist who is given the opportunity to perform at the American Music Awards. When your piano player doesn’t show up, Min Yoongi steps up to save your performance.

PAIRING: Yoongi X You

GENRE: Romance, Fluff

WARNINGS: Language, Anti-Justin Bieber (I would stay away from this if you’re a big fan ...)

WORD COUNT: 4500

AUTHORS NOTE: There may or may not be a part two to this - it will depend on how much of a plot I can think of for these two going forward. But I did scrap some scenes from Yoongi’s perpsective that I might publish as an outtake so look out for that!

____________________________________

“Wait, where is my piano player right now?” you disbelievingly ask into your phone, heart twitching uncomfortably at the unspoken answer. Please be joking. Please be joking.

“I'm sorry, Y/N, he was arrested a few hours ago for driving under the influence. Apparently it's not his first offense.”

You're suddenly dizzy, your body swaying until you find the stiff comfort of a wall to hold you steady. Your grip on the device is so tight that it feels as if the screen will shatter under the strength of your fingers. “Can't you go bail him out? You can take the money out of my album earnings.”

Your manager sighs loudly. “He's trashed, Y/N. I talked to him on the phone and he's mumbling all kinds of nonsense. He's not fit to play piano for a practice performance let alone an AMA stage. I've already exhausted all of my resources and I'm afraid there's nothing else we can do at this point.”

“So that's it? Everything that I've worked so hard for these past few weeks … all for nothing? You said yourself that it's insanely rare and humbling for somebody as new as me to be asked to perform at the American Music Awards and now I have to give it up?”

You know it's not your manager's fault. If not for him, you wouldn't have been given this incredible opportunity to begin with. Rising to stardom from YouTube covers was something that was admired towards the end of the 2000's, when performers like Justin Bieber and Charlie Puth were plucked straight from the internet and onto the music charts. Rising to stardom from YouTube in 2020 when a vast majority of YouTube's content was contributed by people just like you attempting to make something of themselves? Almost impossible. But you somehow managed to defy the odds. You nabbed the attention of an agent who thought your voice was indistinguishable, one that the music industry hasn't heard before. A voice that can't be compared to anyone else, one that will easily make you a household name. You signed the contracts almost immediately.

“Ask around backstage. Maybe the staff have musicians that can fill in. I'll email you the sheet music just in case.”

With trembling limbs, you push yourself off of the wall and elbow through a crowd of excited, noisy bodies to the offstage entrance. You fumble through your clutch for your artist pass, flashing it at the intimidating security guard who studies it like an exam; probably trying to find any flaw on the laminated plastic that can deny you admittance. You don't blame him. You probably don't look so much like a performer right about now. Your eyes begin scouring the packed area for any sign of show staff the moment you take a step in. If the situation were different and you weren't terrified that your entire career was about to go up in flames, you would have marveled at the amount of celebrities that casually milled about. Taylor Swift is in the corner taking selfies with the Jonas Brothers' wives. Bruno Mars stands in a different corner while somebody attaches microphones to his clothing. BTS are squeezed onto a large sofa, a line of media outlets waiting for their turn to interview them. You should be starstruck. You should be nervous with excitement. You should be anxiously conjuring different ways to coolly ask for autographs and pictures in your head. But all you are is desperate.

Catching a glimpse of a man wearing a headset bustling past you, you touch his arm to grab his attention. “My name is Y/N. I'm scheduled to perform in the 9 o'clock hour. There's been … a mishap, with my piano player and he won't be able to attend. Is there anybody here that can play for me?”

You pray that the look of despair on your face is enough for him to at least ask around but he's shaking his head before you can even finish asking your question. “All artists are responsible for bringing their own band or backing track.”

You're knocked forward into the man when a body rams into your back. Sparing a quick glance over your shoulder, you see that the members of BTS have disbanded from the sofa and are now huddled in a group behind you. The tallest one bows in apology and opens his mouth to speak but you cut him off with a quick nod before turning back to the staff member in front of you.

“Can you please ask around for me? This performance is really important to me and I don't want there to be a gap in the schedule if I can't perform.”

His sigh of annoyance is loud and dramatic. “It's like I said, all artists must bring their own band or backing track. What about a backing track? Do you have anyone that can send it over?”

“No,” you mumble hopelessly, blinking away the moisture in your eyes. “I'm doing a tweaked cover of Sailing by Christopher Cross. It wasn't recorded so there isn't any backing track. It's just supposed to be me and the piano. All I have is sheet music.”

He clicks his tongue disapprovingly and you feel your heart drop to the ground. “That doesn't help anyone right now. I just have to say – this is seriously unprofessional. What label are you signed under? Why would they allow you to come here so unprepared?”

You open your mouth but find that the words do not come. You've never had a panic attack in your life but you feel as if you're on the brink. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.

“Justin!” the man exclaims happily as you feel a body approach you from behind. Whirling around, your eyes widen in surprise when Justin Bieber reaches out and connects hands with the staff, participating in a childish handshake that goes on for far too long. “How are you doing? Ready for the show?”

Justin smirks, raising a glass of amber liquid. “Just keep these coming, alright?”

The staff member nods frantically. The desperation to please this singer drips off of him like sweat on a Texas summer day. It's a drastic jump from the unaccommodating, discouraging way he's been speaking to you. Feeling your eyes, he glances at you for only a second before whipping his attention back to Bieber. You can almost see the light bulb click on above his head. “I know you're here to enjoy the show but this girl,” he nods in your direction and you pale at the sudden attention, “is singing tonight and she's in desperate need of a piano player for her performance. Would you be interested in helping her out?”

The “Baby” singer looks closely at you. You're aware that he most likely has no idea who you are or where you've come from but you clap your hands in front of your chin, dropping any ounce of dignity you have left to silently beg. Justin Bieber doesn't even take a full ten seconds to consider before he begins laughing loudly. “Yeah, no.”

You stare at his exiting back in disbelief. Every step he takes away from you is like a sucker punch to the gut. The staff member claps a hand around your shoulder, at least managing a semblance of decency when he gives you a pitying grimace. “Sorry, kid. That's show business. Let the scheduling staff know in at least twenty minutes what you plan on doing.”

That's it.

You really weren't performing. You've been practicing for weeks. Months. You've daydreamed about this night daily. You've pinned so much of your hopes and goals on this night. And just like this … poof. Gone.

You don't realize you're crying until the salty liquid drops onto your lips, breaking you out of your misery-filled trance. Looking around, you're startled to see many sets of eyes watching you sympathetically. But nobody approaches you, nobody cares to ask if you're okay. That's show business, he had said.

Show business fucking hurts.

“Excuse me?” a deep voice asks from beside you. Through blurred vision, you can make out colorful clothes and dark hair. Assuming that you're in the way of the BTS members, you hurriedly move from their area, mumbling a quick apology. “No, no. I will do it.”

You sniffle quietly, dabbing at your wet eyes with the pad of your thumb. “Do what?”

“Play the piano. You have sheet music?”

Wait. What? What is going on right now? Is one of the members of BTS offering to completely save your life right now? Okay, maybe you're being a bit dramatic but it feels comparable.

“We overheard,” the tall one with tan skin interrupts. “Your … dilemma. Yoongi can play the piano well and would like to help you out.”

“Yoongi?” you ask, locking eyes with your savior. He smiles softly and you control the urge to shiver. It's a universally acknowledged fact that the boys of BTS – and most k-pop idols, if you're being honest with yourself – are ridiculously gorgeous. Now is not the time to be ogling them though. “I … I can't thank you enough but are you sure? You guys are kind of the guests of honor and well … I'm not much of anybody. I don't want to put you in a rough spot.”

The tan one, who has introduced himself as Namjoon, takes a few seconds to translate your words. Yoongi scoffs and your head whips to Namjoon, suddenly nervous that he has changed his mind.

“I want to help, Y/N,” Yoongi tells you seriously. Don't swoon. Don't swoon. While you're busy trying not to swoon, you wonder how he knows who you are. “Where is the music? I need to get familiar with the composition.”

“Oh!” you blurt, scrambling for your phone. Pulling up the sheet music file from the text that your manager has sent, you awkwardly angle your phone toward him. “I'm not sure how you want to do this. Do you want to borrow my phone?”

“I will send to myself,” he says, stealing the device. He taps a few a buttons before handing it back. You notice a new conversation thread in your texts. Holy meatballs – do you actually have a member of BTS' number saved in your phone?

“I will delete it! Your number, I mean. When the performance is over … I'll delete your number so nobody accidentally, you know -” you cut yourself off, feeling your composure about to crash and burn. Behind him, some of the other members snicker but Yoongi gets right down to business, eyes scanning the file intently. You watch him with a quiet fascination. Whenever he gets to the end of the page, he nods curtly to himself – a gesture you don't think he's aware of – before scrolling to the next. He's clearly confident in what he's doing and it fills you with a warm, comfortable sense of assurance. Although the anxiety that something might still blow up in your face is present as ever, Yoongi has pushed the heaviest weight off of your chest and you don't know how you're ever going to thank him.

_________________________________________

You tried to enjoy the show and performances with the same enthusiasm as the audience but anxiety pokes at you at the slightest hint of your guard slipping. Has Yoongi learned the song well? Does he even like the song? What if he decides that this entire thing isn't a good idea and changes his mind? You're not completely clueless; you've purchased quite a few k-pop songs and you're familiar with the fan culture. Fans seeing Yoongi on stage with you could stir up a mess of rumors. You've asked the stage production staff to push the piano out of the spotlight so that only his silhouette will be visible but you wonder if it's enough. What if he gets in trouble with his company? What if you get in trouble with his company?

Shaking away the bad thoughts, you smooth out any wrinkles in your dress and round the corner to meet Yoongi. You've changed out of your evening gown and into your performance outfit – a long, yellow sundress with chunky, wooden buttons on the chest underneath an oversized, distressed black denim jacket. On your feet, instead of the typical heels, you sport a pair of black Converse high tops. Your manager tried talking you into a different outfit.

“It's your first performance on national television. Don't you want to be a bit more … dolled up?” he had asked, frowning when he saw the mock-up outfit concept you had thrown together. Being signed to a relatively new, smaller company, you knew there wasn't a big budget for stage outfits yet. But you also knew that your manager would convince the label to splurge for a glitzier look if you had agreed. However, you were literally known for singing in front of your camera with Spongebob and Pokemon tee shirts on. It didn't feel authentic to be dolled up.

You had agreed to meet at a quiet area near the stage twenty minutes before your performance. BTS' nominations and performance would be toward the end of the show – to keep those ratings steady, of course – so you weren't interrupting his schedule. He's sitting alone on a sofa in the emptied lounge, air pods in, head nodding as his eyes studies the screen of his phone. He glances up when he senses you approaching and you gulp when you notice his eyes sweep across your figure appreciatively.

“You look pretty,” he says, his smile small but killer. Heat blooms in your cheeks and you're suddenly thankful for the layers of foundation, concealer and powder you have stacked onto your skin that hides what is surely a very, very telling blush. “Are you ready?”

“Am I ready?” you ask incredulously as you take a seat next to him on the couch. “Heck no. I'm terrified. This is my first TV performance.”

“You will do great,” he assures you, eyes moving back to the phone.

“Yoongi?” His head lifts in your direction. “Do you think we can pull this off?”

“I play piano, you sing. What else is there to do?” he asks sarcastically. The first thing you notice is that he's a lot better at English than you were first led to believe. The second is that this man is incredibly sassy. The third is that you find said sass highly attractive.

“What if we're not … you know … in sync? And you haven't even heard me sing before,” you argue. His confidence and optimism is admirable but you want to make sure that his feet are at least a little bit on the ground.

He cocks an eyebrow. “Of course I've heard you sing. Why do you think I'm helping? I'm your fan.”

“My fan?” you ask with wide eyes, jabbing yourself in the chest with your thumb. He laughs, reaching over to grab your wrist away from your chest with a playful, gummy grin. “You're my fan? Do you know who I am?”

“Yes. I watch your YouTube videos. You're very good,” he compliments. The sass has suddenly disappeared and you watch as his cheeks tinge pink. “I like the Eminem songs.”

“Not those ones!” you wail dramatically, lowering your head to your knees. “I was so young and thought I was being so inventive slowing down an Eminem song. That's so embarrassing.”

He's laughing with you when a staff member approaches, headset on and clipboard in hand. “You're on in ten minutes. The crew will come grab you a few moments before to get you set up on stage.”

Any bit of laughter or mirth stuck in your throat is swallowed down immediately. Dread washes over you in goosebumps, a rattling heart and clammy skin. You're startled when Yoongi reaches over to grab your hand. “Stop worrying. You are going to kill it.”

“I am going to kill it,” you repeat, nodding in self-assurance. “Okay, yes, I can do this.”

He taps your hand gently before turning his attention back to the screen of his phone. Your skin tingles at the missing contact.

“Yoongi,” you interrupt him again. He exhales a tiny sigh but his lips are upturned in amusement. “I'm so thankful to you right now. I just … I don't have any way to repay you for this. I could give you the money that my original piano player was going to receive but it's probably just pocket change to you. I want – I want to just confirm one last time that you're sure about this?”

Your words were stuttered and fast and you're not sure how much of it he understood, but he sets his phone down on his knee and turns his body to face you. This time, you can't suppress the shiver when he fixes his intense gaze on yours.

“I don't know how much you know BTS,” he begins, taking quick pauses to think about his words. “But we are from a small company. We were … overlooked and not taken seriously too.”

“Fucking Justin Bieber,” you mutter angrily under your breath. Yoongi pauses to laugh heartily before continuing.

“We did rise to the top by our own hard work. But I remember all the times that we asked for help. Producers, fellow idols, music video directors … so many people shot us down because we came from nothing. And … I see that in you. You are going to be so big thanks to your own talent but I want to tell stories and brag that I played piano for Y/N at her first award show performance.”

His accent is thick and he uses the wrong words in some places but you understand everything as if he's speaking perfect English.

“Wow,” you mumble, your awestruck eyes not leaving his for even a moment. “I think I just fell in love with you.”

Wait.

Did you just …

Slapping a hand over your mouth in horror, you watch the pink in Yoongi's cheeks flush darker before he throws his head back in laughter again. Slinking down into the cushion of the couch, you groan at your word vomit.

“I should have gotten drunk too,” you mutter, absolutely humiliated.

“I think you just became my fan,” he says smugly, crossing his arms over his chest and kicking his leg up over his knee like the cocky, attractive little shit that he is.

“Oh, really? I guess I'll have to cover a BTS song on my channel next then,” you attempt to flirt. It's awful, you know, but he grins anyway.

“I will look forward to it.”

“Y/N?” your head shoots up at a neck-break speed. A woman with the same headset stands near the wall. “You're up. You can follow me and we'll get you settled on the stage.”

Like a robot, you shuffle quietly behind her, heart feeling like it's going to rip right through your ribcage. Yoongi notices, taking in the sight of your fingers trembling at your sides. He's not sure what compels him to do it, but he reaches down and snatches your hand in his, entwining your fingers together. Meeting his eyes, you feel the nerves begin to melt away.

“Just pretend you're singing to me, okay? Pretend that you're recording a video that only I will see. You are going to be amazing.”

His words envelope you like a warm hug and you nod, gathering as much confidence as you can before walking onto the stage. Yoongi stays away from the light, quietly sitting down at the piano unnoticed. There's a hushed murmur amongst the crowd when you step up to the microphone and sit down at your stool, various moons and stars dangling from the ceiling above your head like a galactic halo. Scanning the audience, the brightly colored hair and clothing of the remainder of BTS sticks out like a sore thumb, one chair in the middle of their row unoccupied. Upon realizing that they have your attention, their arms raise enthusiastically, clapping and flashing you the silliest thumbs up. You grin down into your microphone before glancing over your shoulder to pass the thumbs up along to Yoongi.

“Our next performer has amassed millions of views with her imaginative and beautiful covers on YouTube. Tonight she makes her TV debut with a cover of one of her favorite songs on it's 40th anniversary. Ladies and gentlemen – Y/N!”

The lights in the arena fade out, your spotlight the only source of brightness. You tense, feeling the weight of a thousand set of eyes trained directly on you. And that's only counting everybody in this room, not the millions of eyes that are watching you from their living rooms across the country. Pressure pushes onto your chest and you inhale sharply.

But then the piano starts playing behind you.

You don't understand. It's the same notes. It's the same melody. It's the same exact song that your original musician had been playing this entire time. So why does it feel different? Why does it sound better? Why is your heart doing somersaults in your chest at the sound of the keys?

Maybe it's because of him.

Yoongi is given a small piano solo in the beginning of the song. It lasts roughly thirty seconds before it's your turn.

You sing.

__________________________________________

The song lasts just barely over four minutes but on the stage it feels like hours. You're in a bleary kind of daze when you stand from the stool, soaking in the loudness of cheering from the audience and the amount of people currently on their feet for a standing ovation. A quick look over at the piano confirms that Yoongi has already left the stage so you do the same, walking as if you're on autopilot.

Since you've come to the event alone, nobody but the staff greets you when you return backstage. They congratulate you and shower you in praises as they remove your wires and microphones but you can't hear them, desperately looking around for Yoongi. Did he already go back to his seat? Was that it – the favor was done so he was done with you? Your chest throbs with two conflicting emotions; complete elation at the successful performance and reception that you've just received and complete devastation at the thought that your time with Yoongi was over. You stand in the middle of the lounge, eyes focusing on the couch where the two of you had sat so closely earlier.

“Y/N.”

You freeze at the sound of his voice. Spinning around, he stands in his original, colored clothing with a smug, proud grin on his face. The other six members bounce on their toes behind him, their hands clapping together as they felicitate you.

“That was incredible!” Namjoon exclaims. “Yoongi-hyung said you were good but -”

You lunge at Yoongi, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him as close to you as you possibly can, burying your face in the crook of his neck. You can feel your tears glide down your cheek and you know he can feel them dropping onto his skin. A man in plain clothes begins sputtering angrily in Korean to Namjoon. This must be their manager and he doesn't seem too pleased that you're manhandling his talent but you can't find it in you to care about manners right now.

If Yoongi had a problem with it, you knew that he would gently push you away. Instead, he cradles your head with the back of one hand, using the other to rub your shoulder soothingly.

“Is she … okay?” one of the members asks hesitantly when you don't come up for air.

You take this as a sign to knock off the waterworks, extracting your body from his and wiping away any traces of mascara from your cheeks before they can see. “I'm fine. Sorry for being so dramatic. I'm just really thankful to Yoongi right now.”

Yoongi's hand doesn't leave your shoulder. You can almost feel the heat of his fingertips through the thick denim of your jacket. “I told you that you would kill it. You were amazing.”

“I don't know how we're supposed to perform after that! You stole the show!” Namjoon exclaims. The rolling of your eyes is contradicted by your abashed smile.

“BTS!” a staff member calls loudly from across the room. “You're needed for a quick rehearsal!”

Yoongi holds a finger up to you, speaking Korean to his members and managers for a few moments. They all turn to leave except Jungkook, who is simultaneously the youngest but largest. He leans in to show you something on his phone. “Noona, I did what Yoongi-hyung said and deleted all of my Justin Bieber albums. See?”

Yoongi shoves him away quickly, muttering in Korean, and you can tell that it's not something you were meant to be told. Yoongi is clearly embarrassed and it's so fucking cute that you can't restrain the hideous, lovesick giggles that force themselves from your belly.

“Don't you have to join them for rehearsal?” you ask curiously, scuffing the toe of your shoes against the shiny, linoleum floors.

“It's rehearsal for announcing best male artist. Namjoon is doing the talking on stage so I'll just catch up with them in a minute.”

You wonder why Namjoon is in charge of doing the speaking when Yoongi is clearly skilled at English but for right now, you don't mind it. It's giving the two of you a few more precious moments.

“So … thank you, Yoongi. A million times – thank you. I won't ever forget what you've done for me tonight,” you tell him sincerely, choking your emotion back down. “I know there's not much I can do for you but I'm in your back pocket if you ever need me, okay?”

“I'll remember that,” he quips, gummy smile making an appearance before he turns solemn. “I'm glad I could help you out. I can't wait to see where you go from here. Starting with that BTS cover, of course.”

You giggle. “Oh, of course.”

“Well, I guess I'll let you go now. I'll be cheering BTS on from my seat later, not that you need any encouragement,” you tease. You gulp down your coyness when he takes a step toward you.

“I don't know,” he drawls in that thick accent of his that is beginning to sound awfully sexy to you. “I'm feeling kind of … terrified.”

Somehow, you know exactly what he's doing. Your grin is stupidly huge as you reach for his fingers to interlace them with yours.

_________________________________

Later that night, when you've come down off of your high and you're tucked into the comfortable sheets of your hotel bed, you get a text message.

By the way … don't delete my number.

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