#i think that sometimes we should be able to say “hmm these three technologies are not actually so good let's pack em up boys”

[ursula-legun]

Call me whatever kind of weirdo political label you like, but it is insane to me how de-emphasized non-human ecocide/genocide/specicde is.

I know that everyone - including myself - has massive anthropocentric bias when it comes to processing death, and the reasons for that make sense in the abstract (even if I think this should be shifted heavily.)

But, like, entire ecosystems are disappearing. Species, and the relationships between them, are literally being eradicated on a daily basis. We are barely even aware of most nonhuman culture, and it's getting destroyed at a rate beyond what we can measure; not only does the loss of life (by any metric - organism count, expected lifespan lost, biomass, etc) massively outstrip anything humans have ever experienced, but the loss of kinds of life or ways of life are being destroyed at, again, a rate beyond what anyone is bothering to quantify right now.

It makes sense to me when people are relatively unconcerned about this because they aren't aware of it. But when somebody has even a fractional understanding of the environmental devastation happening at every moment...even given the (tremendous) relative emotional weight that people place on human life, I don't understand how anybody can know about this but not prioritize it.

And unfortunately, even half-heartedly prioritizing nonhuman life massively shifts so many decisions in both day-to-day life and broad-spectrum politics that it feels like. A completely different set of conversations to be having. As environmental collapse roots deeper into mainstream political discussion, I feel like this is getting to be a more and more stark contrast - the political goals/desires of people who are becoming concerned about environmental collapse, purely for the potential human consequence, are so many steps away from the goals of environment-for-its-own-sake that things become almost untranslateable.

IDK. I think that in some ways I am feigning confusion to myself about this because it's....kind of necessary to do that...to continue having regular interactions with other human beings..................but on other levels, I am genuinely baffled.

The most profound anthropogenic environmental impacts of the last ~400 years were, charitably, mostly inadvertent; they stem from a combination of "acceptable losses," colonial alienation from the environment, and general ignorance as to the effects of various technological processes. At this point the consequences are clearly, and without exaggeration, apocalyptic; but most of the proposed mitigation strategies are about as blind as the initial processes, if not outright known to be inadequate.

There are very obvious actions that can be taken, which would clearly permit the greatest mitigation of the processes that are currently dominating the catastrophe - and there are similarly obvious obstacles to these actions, like, how do you get everyone to coordinate on global degrowth?

But what gets me, what really keeps me up at night, is that this is all entirely off the table for any "serious" discussion. Because large-scale degrowth, spinning down of industry, would lower many life expectancies and disrupt possibly every single human society, it's just...rejected out of hand no matter what. And again, I get it, loss of human life usually just feels worse than loss of nonhuman life, especially when it's your own community, but like...we're not even going to try and talk about this? We're not even going to try and plan out what it would look like?

The best alternative plans boil down to nuclear power, increased urbanization, electric cars, and space-based resource extraction. (Admittedly, while I don't love nuclear power, I would actually massively prefer it to hydro or wind.) But this is the basket into which we are putting the eggs of global food production? The idea of doing something that you know would cause significant human suffering, but massively benefit the entire globe, is so repugnant that you're going to go with....the fucking spacex weirdos??? As though that's not already causing incomprehensible levels of human and nonhuman suffering as we speak????? You think this is actually going to lead to a better average quality of life for humans, let alone all the other organisms, three centuries out??????? Hello???????????????

[the-banana-0verlord]

Lilian's Birthday girl vignette <I Wish...>

Tagging @simping-myjob cause you'll probably gonna want to see this

[Part 1] Sora: Happy birthday!!!! Lilian: Thanks! Hey, what's in your hands? Sora: Well, since you're always the one doing interviews on birthdays, and that it's your birthday today, Dad ordered me to interview you. Although I'm doing this because I want to, not because he told me to. Lilian: Pfft, okay. Ask away then. Sora: K so what's your favorite food? Sora:... Sora: What kind of lame questions is that? *Sora throws the paper away* Sora: Forget the article. There's some things I really wanna know and I don't wanna wait any longer. Lilian: A-alright, but please still record it, I don't want the newspaper club to have nothing...(especially considering I'm part of it.) Sora: Do you miss your old world? *Lilian stares blankly, stunned* Lilian: I... Can't say I do. Sora: Why's that? Lilian: Well, I don't remember any of it. I know it has technology, and every vague thing, but when I try to make out the details, it blurs. I can't really miss something I've never known. But there is something... Sora: What? Lilian: When I think of my birthday, I remember something. One scene. I'm in a woman's arms. I must be about 4 or 5, I don't really know. She talks to me, and she says my name. Her voice is soft. On the wall I see a calendar, and the date of november three is circled three times in red. That's all I know about myself. [Part 2] Sora: ...That's sad. Lilian: Maybe. Honestly, it feels like watching someone's else memory, not mine, so it doesn't affect me as much. Sora: Do you ever think about going back even though? Lilian: If we ever find a way, that's probably what I'll do. I don't belong in Twisted Wonderland; I need to go back to where I truly belong. Sora: No other reason? Lilian: Well, I am curious of where I come from, but I'm doing this mainly because it's the right thing to do. Sora: And if you don't end up going back, what will you do? Lilian: I'll probably get a job on Sage's island and I'll live there until I have money to move else where, because there's no chance Crowley will let me stay after graduation. After that, I think I'll travel. I want to see what the world truly looks like. Sora: Bold of you to assume we're not taking you back to Briar Valley with us. Lilian: *chuckle* That's probably where I'll settle in the end, but first I want to figure out who I really am. Sora: But I thought we where making theories on which if you didn't go back to your world? Lilian: Yeah, I meant my present self, not my past. Or rather, who I want to be outside of NRC and in a context no one knows about my conditions. I want to know about my hobbies, what I like, those kinds of things. I'll probably go visit Ace and Deuce too sometimes. Sora: Well, if you need a travel comrade, just ring me up. If you need financial support, too. Lilian: Thanks. [Part 3] Sora: Where will you go during your travels? I'm curious about the places you'll want to visit. Lilian: Hmm... Definitely the Queendom of Roses, and maybe Harveston and Fleur city. I think I'd like to go to each place where one of my friends live. It'll be nice to see them again and I'll be able to travel to more varied places. Sora: I recommand the scalding sands, especially Silk City. Lilia and I went there for our Honeymoon and I've made memories that will never fade. Lilian: I'll take notes on that. Grim: hey, you two! We're gonna serve dessert, come quick! Lilian: We should probably do as he says before he gobbles down my birthday cake. Sora: Right on that. *They walk towards the table where every member of the cast is sitting.* Grim: C'mon and make a wish already so we can eat! Lilian:*Giggles* Alright, alright! *Lilian blows the candles* Sora: Did you make a wish? Lilian: I did. Sora: What was it? Lilian: Don't they say that if you tell your wish outloud it won't come true? Sora: I didn't know you were this sneaky ~ Oh well, you do you. *Sora goes away to talk to the others* Lilian: (I wish...) Lilian: (I wish this moment would just last forever so I wouldn't have to choose wether I leave or not.)

[babyboibucky]

The Match - Part 9

Pairing: CEO!Bucky x Fem!Reader

Summary: Bucky brings you and Mackenzie with him to an important meeting.

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: Uhhhh hmm work tension, sexual tension, idk Bucky and Mackenzie being annoying as usual lmao

A/N: ALSO I know I haven’t mentioned what the fuck Bucky’s company is all about because c’mon, I didn’t expect I’d get this far lmao so IDK there might be continuity issues or inaccuracies or whatevah, just ignore it lmao it’s fiction. ANYWAAAY, I just want to say how GRATEFUL AND OVERWHELMED I am with the amount of attention that this series is getting. I appreciate every feedback, every ask and every freaking debate about this shit lmfao. I love you guys. I can’t put into words how much I appreciate you all askcnasjkcnak bye

The Match Masterlist || MAIN MASTERLIST

Don't let Bucky or Mackenzie get to you.

Mark's advice rang in your ears like a chant as you watched Bucky and Mackenzie's exchange about the project. Joining them in the conference room for a major brainstorming session was you and a couple of people from your team with Beverly taking down the minutes of the meeting.

The upcoming project was a huge one, given that Barnes Group of Companies was a huge name in the automobile industry. Meanwhile, Wilson Enterprises is one of the biggest autonomous vehicle technology companies out there. This partnership was one for the books, possibly an industry changer too.

You wanted to be a part of it, wanted to spearhead the entire thing and watching Mackenzie take the reigns on this one was truly making your blood boil.

"That sounds like a nice idea, Kenzie." Bucky praised, nodding his head.

Mackenzie shrugged, "It's what I do, Buck." she said.

"Yeah, it's a great idea. I do have some comments though, if you don't mind?" you asked.

Bucky and Mackenzie exchanged glances before turning to you. You glanced at Bucky for a quick second before ignoring the way he was eyeing you with genuine interest.

"I know that bringing in a celebrity to endorse this brand new model would definitely create noise around the partnership. Although I think that would take the spotlight away from the actual product we're creating here. We want customers to focus on the brand new car model and the technology that Wilson Enterprises will be providing it with, not on the celebrity endorser." you explained.

Mackenzie hummed, "I get where you are coming from. That's a good point, actually. But a celebrity endorser will pretty much do everything for the brand. Have him up on billboards and different advertisements and you're all set." she further explained.

You chuckled, "But then how will people understand what the entire partnership is all about? Aren't we supposed to be communicating a certain message to our consumers? Wouldn't it be better to hold an event to launch the product instead? Invite the press and key opinion leaders to spread the word. Have Bucky and Mister Wilson talk about this partnership. They're famous and powerful enough to get the message across. Why waste the budget on a celebrity when we literally have everything we need to make noise?" you shrugged.

The entire room was silent after your feedback, even Mackenzie wasn't able to respond to your suggestion. Glancing over at Bucky, you saw that he was giving you the look-- the one with half-lidded eyes matched with a head tilt, the one that often resulted to him giving you a very nice reward once office hours are over.

Feeling your breath hitch in your throat, you quickly looked away and shrugged your shoulders, "I mean, that's just my two cents. Having worked here for years, I just based it on my experience. You're the expert here, Mackenzie." you offered a proud smile.

Mackenzie tried to brush it off and turned to Bucky, "What do you think, Buck? I'm still into the idea of hiring a celebrity. That's good publicity. And let's not get worried about the budget now," she said, placing a hand on top of Bucky's that was resting on the table, "I have a lot of connections so I can definitely get an endorser for a much lower rate." she reassured.

"We may have a huge budget for this, but that doesn't automatically mean that we have to use it all up. We can allocate it somewhere else, maybe start a CSR campaign as well? We are, after all, coming out with an environmental-friendly model." you suggested.

You heard Bucky when he took a sharp inhale, bringing his hands up to rub his lips as if in deep thought. He then turned to Beverly, however, his eyes remained on you.

"Take note of everything she says." he reminded her before standing up.

He asked everyone else in the room of their opinions, whether it was your or Mackenzie's idea that the company will go for. The team was divided in half, some of them preferring Mackenzie's celebrity pitch probably because they didn't want to do a lot of work.

Bucky nodded, "Well, I guess we'll have to discuss both ideas with my partner Sam and let's see where we will go from there. I have a meeting with him this afternoon, I need you and Kenzie with me there." he said, looking at your before turning to Kenzie with a charming smile.

Don't let them get to you.

-

You've never wanted for the ground to swallow you up until this moment as you stood behind Bucky and Mackenzie in the elevator. This felt so much more uncomfortable than when you shared it with Bucky after swiping right with him on Tinder. There was still tension and it felt so much worse now because you didn't know whether it was between you and Bucky or him and Mackenzie.

Fucking Mackenzie and her nicely manicured nails which always seemed find its way around Bucky's arm. You eyed her hands as they squeezed his arm, the both of them talking in hushed voices as if you weren't standing behind them.

"I've been dying to try this restaurant, I heard they serve good food. Do you want to go have dinner there sometime this week?" she asked Bucky.

"I'll check my schedule, which restaurant is this?" he asked.

When Mackenzie uttered the name of that restaurant where you celebrated your promotion, you and Bucky choked on your own spits at the same time. Warmth crept up to your cheeks at the same time Bucky's ears reddened.

"Oh, what's going on?" Mackenzie asked with a nervous chuckle as she looked at you and Bucky, struggling with your coughs.

You recovered first and shook your head, "Sorry, I get allergies. Anyway, I've been to that restaurant. They do serve good food, the staff was very hospitable as well. I'm sure Bucky would enjoy it there." you said with a smile, pushing your way past them when the elevators door slid open.

Mackenzie asking Bucky whether he was up for dinner was the last thing you heard. Good luck explaining to her why he's banned from there, you thought to yourself.

Bucky led the way to his car and it instantly brought certain memories back. You weren't going to lie, you missed the fucking and how Bucky always made sure to take care of your needs. Seeing his car was enough to make your thighs clench at the memory of him fingering you as he drove.

His gaze was on you when he opened the door to the passenger's seat, his eyes inviting as you approached him. And just as when you were about to slip in, he turned over to Mackenzie and gestured for her to get in.

What a fucking asshole, you thought to yourself as you took a step back to ride in the back instead. You tried to keep your expression stoic when you saw that Bucky checked for a reaction. He seemed perplexed when he saw that you didn't react that much to what he did.

One hundred points to Gryffindor.

-

The location for the meeting was at a nearby restaurant so you didn't suffer that much during the entire ride. Mackenzie was busy with her phone anyway, typing out messages with those manicured fingers you were beginning to hate.

By the time all three of you arrived, Sam was already there. He donned a navy blue suit and he was rocking it. You'd seen his photos on the internet and knew that he was good-looking, but seeing him in the flesh, you were stunned at how gorgeous he was. Sam stood up when he saw Bucky, offering a kind smile to you and Mackenzie.

You weren't sure whether you were just being assuming or what, but you noticed how his eyes lingered on you longer that it did with Mackenzie.

"Sam." Bucky greeted, shaking his hand before introducing you and Mackenzie.

Sam shook Mackenzie's hand first before he turned to you. You took his hand and introduced yourself, "Mister Wilson." you said.

"Please, just Sam." he told you as he gently squeezed your hand before letting go.

"Have a seat." Sam said to Bucky and Mackenzie before pulling out the chair next to him, motioning for you to sit down.

You thanked him and sat down; straightening up, you were met with Bucky's watchful gaze as he sat down across you. Your attention was taken away when Sam asked what you wanted to order, he even suggested a certain dish and immediately went to discuss that it was his favorite thing to order.

This was going to be an interesting meeting.

And interesting it truly was, because you didn't expect for Sam to be so laid-back and easy to communicate with. He wasn't one of those uptight CEOs who were very intimidating to work with. Simply put, he was the complete opposite of Bucky. While Bucky was ice cold, Sam was sunshine and warmth with his attitude.

When it came down to pitching your and Mackenzie's ideas to him, you suddenly got nervous. Sam wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth; from what you've read, he started off working regular jobs before he climbed his way to the top. He was a self-made man and he had extensive knowledge in the marketing industry, having a doctorate degree in the said area.

Mackenzie was the first to discuss her strategy about hiring a celebrity endorser. She said it was fast and straight to the point. When it was your turn, you started off a bit shaky but eventually found your pacing.

"We wanted to ask you how this should go on about. I know that the offer for a partnership came from our end and that we're supposed to pitch the details for it. But we wanted you to be involved in this as much as we are." Bucky further explained.

Sam nodded and let out an amused chuckle, "I really appreciate this, Buck. I was going to ask you if I can contribute with the planning as well. I'm very particular when it comes to marketing our products." he said.

"That being said, I loved both ideas. I think hiring a celebrity endorser is good." he said, making Mackenzie smile proudly.

"But I would rather hold an event to launch the product. You understand the product and what we want to do with it. It's not just a brand new car, it's an innovation and the messaging is very important. I'm very impressed." Sam said, his attention geared towards you.

"Wow, I'm honored." you laughed. "Coming from you, I mean I've read about the marketing studies you did. Pretty big deal to receive a compliment from you." you admitted.

It was meant to be a genuine reaction, really. You had no ill intentions for it, you didn't do it to make Bucky jealous or get the upper hand. However, your passion for your career and area of expertise seemed to favor you. It had Bucky on edge, seeing you and Sam get along so well.

You didn't even need to check for Bucky's reaction because he simply cleared his throat and excused himself to go to the restroom. Mackenzie seemed unbothered though, when Sam favored your pitch over hers. You couldn't read her, sometimes she'd come off competitive but right now, she was unaffected.

When Bucky got back, he was quick to finalize the meeting, "I guess it's a done deal then. We'll work on the details of the launch and maybe we can set another meeting for the major presentation for your approval?" he asked Sam.

"That sounds like a plan. I'm looking forward to working with you." Sam told everyone, although he did seem to be directly addressing you.

"Alright, I'm leaving too." Mackenzie announced after Sam left the restaurant.

"Oh, you're not heading back to the office with us?" Bucky asked.

Mackenzie shook her head, throwing her bag over her shoulder, "I have another meeting. You know how it is with freelance work." she said as all three of you stood up to head outside of the restaurant.

"My Uber's here, I guess I'll see you both sometime this week." she said and waved at you before turning to Bucky and pressing a kiss on his cheek.

"I'm counting on that dinner, okay?" she reminded before slipping into her Uber, leaving you and Bucky to head back to the office together.

Alone with Bucky. In his car. The exact same car where plenty of fucking happened. Again, you chanted Mark’s advice in your head over and over again.

Don’t let Bucky get to you. And most of all, don’t cave in.

You quickly slipped inside the front seat of Bucky’s car before he could even open it up for you. The air was thick between you and Bucky and it almost felt like it was suffocating you. Reaching for the seatbelt, you tugged at it but it wouldn’t budge. Cursing to yourself, you tried again but to no avail.

“What’s wrong?” Bucky asked.

“Nothing. Seatbelt’s just stuck.” you grunted, using both your hands to pull down at it.

“Here, let me.”

Suddenly, Bucky reached over to your seatbelt and tried to fix it. His face was inches away from yours and you literally felt your insides jump at how you were immediately drowned in his perfume. If you moved forward so much as half an inch, your lips would already be pressing against the corner of Bucky’s mouth. And that thought was sending your senses into overdrive.

Do not. Cave. In.

The loud click of the seatbelt made you relax and thank goodness that Bucky was quick to move away from you, fixing his suit before starting the engine. The office may just be nearby but the fact that you and Bucky were together was making it feel like it was going to be an hour-long drive.

“So what do you think about Sam?” Bucky asked out of the blue.

He was gauging you, trying to get a reaction from you. Maybe he was expecting you to be flirty with your response, or be defensive even? You weren’t going to give him that.

“I think he’s great. Like I said, I’ve read his marketing studies and they were very insightful. I learned a lot.”

Plain, simple and safe. There was no hidden meanings and no malice; you were doing great at this whole not letting Bucky get to you thing. You made a mental note to thank Mark for his advice.

“He seems interested in you.” Bucky said again, shrugging his shoulders a bit and trying to be as nonchalant as he could.

“Well we are in the same field of expertise and I was very straightforward about admiring his skills. I’d be disappointed if he brushed off my ideas.” you slightly chuckled.

“I liked Mackenzie’s idea better, honestly.” Bucky blurted out.

By this time, you had Bucky’s plans figured out. He was coming for your job, using it as a bait to get a reaction out from you. He knew how much your career meant for you, how competitive you were in your field. Whenever his other tactics wouldn’t work, he’d always go for the career aspect.

“It was good.” you agreed, turning to Bucky with a small smile. “I think we can do that for other campaigns. Just not with this partnership. I like her.” you said.

“You do?” Bucky asked in surprise before he cleared his throat upon realizing that he sort of broke his facade.

You shrugged, “She’s a headstrong woman. She reminds me of myself actually.”

If you were alone, you would have given yourself a high-five because that statement truly made Bucky think. His forehead creased as he drove, his hand rubbing his chin and his jaw clenching as if he was in deep thought.

It was silent inside the car for a brief moment, before it was interrupted by the trilling of Bucky’s phone. He fished it out of his pocket but before he could even answer it, it slipped out of his hand and disappeared beneath his seat.

“Fuck.” Bucky cursed, both his hands on the steering wheel as he continued to drive, his attention divided between driving and searching for his ringing phone.

“Shit.” he hissed again, not knowing how to get his phone while driving. He quickly glanced at you before focusing on the road again. “Baby, can you get it for me?”

You almost missed the term of endearment. Almost. It was obviously a slip of the tongue because he genuinely didn’t seem to realize that he called you that. Bucky was more focused on the road rather than processing what he just said. You chose to ignore it the same way you did to the butterflies that erupted in your stomach.

“Yeah, okay.” you said and reached over to him, bending down to look for his phone.

In a split second, your face was right in front of Bucky’s crotch as you tried to reach beneath his car seat. You tried to ignore the bulge that was staring right at you and let your hand do the searching.

“Can you reach it?” Bucky asked.

You straightened up, “No. Can you pull aside?” you asked.

Bucky checked the surroundings and then the rearview mirror, “We can’t. We’re at a no loading and unloading zone.” he explained.

The phone continues to trill and it doesn’t seem like it would stop any time now. You sighed and removed your seatbelt before stretching your body over Bucky, slipping underneath his arms on the steering wheel so you can fully reach under his seat.

From another car’s view, you looked like you were giving him a blowjob. Not that you haven’t done that before, in this same car.

Finally, you felt his phone at the tip of your fingers and stretched further, your free hand coming to grip Bucky’s thigh unintentionally. It was only when you felt his muscles flex beneath his trousers that you realized how near your hand was to his crotch.

“Did you,” Bucky cleared his throat. “Did you get it?” he stammered.

You still have a certain effect on him, how very nice. Biting back a smirk, you hummed in response before pulling back and then handing him his phone casually. Mackenzie’s name was flashing on the screen as the phone continued to ring.

“Sorry, can you answer it and put it on speakerphone?” Bucky asked again.

You shrugged and did as you were told, holding the phone near Bucky as he continued to drive.

“Hey, Kenzie. Sorry, I dropped my phone. What’s up?” Bucky asked.

“Yeah, so my meeting got cancelled at the last minute. I was thinking maybe we can grab that dinner tonight instead?”

Bucky stole a quick glance from you but your face remained stoic, your hand steady as you held out his phone.

“Sure, how does around 7pm sound? I can pick you up.” Bucky offered.

“Sounds great. So are we checking that restaurant I was talking about?”

Bucky’s ears turned red again but he quickly recovered, “I was thinking of trying out a different one. I honestly didn’t like their dessert.”

Huh, that was weird. You and Bucky didn’t even make it to--

Fuck, he was talking about you, you realized. Clenching your jaw, you tried to keep calm. He was trying to get a rise out of you, don’t give in. Don’t react. Bucky’s conversation with Mackenzie didn’t last long and ended when they settled the location for their dinner.

The ride back to the office was quiet again, until your phone lit up from a notification. Bucky was already parking in the basement when you checked your phone, an audible gasp slipping past your lips upon reading the notification from LinkedIn.

Samuel Wilson wants to connect with you.

-

The Match Special Tags:

@marvelslag @weird-mumbling @propertyofpoeandbucky @lostinthoughtsandfeelings @mostly-marvel-musings @squishybabies @megzdoodle @suchababie @annathesillyfriend @xhollycowx @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog @5-seconds-of-mendes @gogolucky13 @countonthesun @iloveshawnieboi @learisa @borikenlove @scarlet-natasha89

Everything Bucky Tag List:

@ddowii​​ @jessou893​​ @stealapizzamyheart​​ @bagelofthelord​​ @mxnt​​ @dontputyourfckingdrinkonmytable @jeeperky​​ @ohladymacbeth​​ @wildflowergubler​​ @supraveng​​ @twinerd14​​ @buckysmar @bakugouswh0r3​​ @sweetcoldharmony @wintersfilm​​ @charminivy​​ @amelia-song-pond​​ @iamvalentinaconstanza​​ @mcubqrnes @im-squished​​ @tcc-gizmachine​​ @sipsteacasually​​ @prettyintopeerpressure​​ @weloveyasmin​ @est19xxshit​ @bloodhon3yx​ @dressed-in-prada​ @lizette50​ @thatfangirl42​ @sunflowerbunny2​ @unmagically​ @okiegirl24​ @sugarpunch-princess​ @enlyume​ @vvipgotbb @slimeyderp​ @lyoongx​ @just-deka​ @nobody-will​ @jaziona92 @elisebuitron​ @dpaccione​ @suvikamahes98blr​ @buckybarneshairpullingkink​ @earthtonav @x-judyjude-x​ @nani-kenobi @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @belladonnabarnes​ @iloveangstposts​ @weenersoldierr​ @asemistablehundredyearoldman​ @reidbuck​ @lizzarooni​ @girlfriday007​ @bonkywobble​ @lost-in-the-stars03​ @its-yasbxtch​ @whoth3hellisbucky

[fanficshiddles]

Triple Threat, Chapter 1 (Sequel to Trust)

Summary: Darcy and Loki were enjoying their life, still annoying the Avengers. But one day, Loki from another timeline appears. After causing some mischief, he tells them that Jane is compromised with the aether. And he needs their help.

Now Darcy not only has TWO Loki’s to deal with, but also a deranged and tortured Jane who’s much more powerful than she should be.

But they have to find her first.

Darcy was late. Ohhh so late.

She ran as fast as she could out of the compound with her bag over her shoulder, Thor, Tony, Natasha, Bruce and Loki were waiting at the Bifrost site.

‘Sorry! I’m sorry! I couldn’t find my contacts and got up late.’ She said out of breath as she slammed into Loki’s side, he slipped his arm around her waist to steady her.

It had been almost six months since Loki and Darcy realised they couldn’t love anyone else. Although, whilst they tried going on proper dates together, they found it wasn’t really them. The whole romance thing.

The Avengers didn’t really know what to make of them both. Loki and Darcy didn’t like it when they were called boyfriend and girlfriend, and to the team they were just like they were before. Mischievous and a bit annoying. But the team knew that no one else would get a look in at either of them now, that was for sure.

Did Darcy love Loki? Yes, she did. She wouldn’t ever hesitate to say she did. And Loki felt the same. They already had a strong foundation built together. Had they added very regular sex to the mix? Hell yes! Did Loki want to kill every man that even just looked at Darcy in a flirtatious way? Of course!

But they were comfortable and happy with what they were. Whatever it was.

‘You’re late.’ Loki drawled.

‘Well, someone failed to wake me up!’ She looked up at him, narrowing her eyes.

‘I’m not your alarm clock, it’s not my duty to wake you.’

‘It is when you’re the reason I was up most of the night. I was walking like John Wayne when I got up. It would’ve been polite to at least wake me.’ She huffed.

‘Eww. Too much information!’ Tony said as he pulled a face.

Loki just looked very smug.

‘Exciting night, huh?’ Natasha smirked at Darcy.

‘Hell yeah!’ Darcy grinned.

Loki chuckled and squeezed Darcy’s side, just as Thor called for Heimdall to open the Bifrost. Whisking them all up to Asgard.

Asgard and Midgard were working together, sharing science and technology. Tony and Bruce were able to take their inventions to completely new levels, while Asgard learned a thing or two from the scientist mortals.

So trips to the golden city were quite regular. Darcy went along whenever Loki went. Frigga was always so happy to see her, even Odin was starting to warm up to her, too. He was also trying with Loki, attempting to make amends for not being a great father. Loki didn’t make it easy, but Darcy kept telling him off and told him to try and at least be civil.

When they arrived, horses were waiting for them on the Bifrost. Tony and Bruce couldn’t get used to riding the horses, they were worse than Darcy had been her first time. They stuck to a very slow walk and took forever. Natasha was a natural rider, which didn’t surprise Darcy or Loki.

Darcy ended up having a favourite horse, a lovely grey mare, she was a gentle giant. Loki always helped her up, often flinging her too far so she would fall off the other side. That would usually end up with Darcy withholding sex for a day or two.

Luckily, he didn’t do that this time. He winked at her as he got onto his horse and the two went galloping ahead as normal. Thor and Natasha raced up after them with Tony and Bruce slowly lagging behind.

‘Hey, Birger! How’s it going?’ Darcy asked when they reached the stables and Birger was on duty just outside.

‘Good morning, Darcy.’ He took hold of the reins for her while she dismounted. ‘You’re getting better at riding, I see.’ He grinned.

‘Yeah it’s getting easier. Soon I’ll be bale to beat this one’s ass.’ She smirked and motioned to Loki who came up beside her.

Loki poked her side playfully. ‘Unlikely.’

‘You never know, My Prince. This mare is one of the fastest in the stables.’ Birger laughed.

Loki narrowed his eyes at Birger and then Darcy. ‘You’re turning Birger to the dark side. Stop!’ Loki put his hand over Darcy’s face with a chuckle.

Birger took Darcy and Loki’s horses from them, just as Thor and Natasha caught up with them. They knew the other two would take forever, so the four of them went inside and headed straight for the banquet hall.

Sif and the warriors three were there. They were pleased to see everyone, more so Thor. But Sif had a soft spot for Darcy, they got along well after they first met when Darcy and Loki visited for a week. Sif was secretly giving Darcy some fighting lessons, she wanted to surprise Loki.

Darcy had remembered when Jane told her about Sif, how she seemed stuck up and rather snippy with her. But Darcy had a feeling it was because Sif had a crush on Thor. So of course she would have been jealous of Jane.

‘Where’s the science dudes?’ Sif asked as everyone sat down to eat.

‘Probably still halfway across the Bifrost.’ Loki smirked.

‘Perhaps we should get them a carriage next time. Or take one of the ships.’ Thor suggested with a mouthful.

‘What are they hoping to achieve this trip anyway?’ Darcy asked as she filled her plate up with various meat and vegetables. She LOVED the food on Asgard.

‘Weren’t you listening in class?’ Loki rumbled, raising his eyebrow at her with a playful smile.

‘I was probably too busy staring at your ass.’ She shrugged.

Loki laughed while the others rolled their eyes.

‘I believe they’re hoping to finally get some of the magic from the healers into some kind of containment, so they can take it back home and study it properly. Change into something we can use. It would help speed up healing so much.’ Natasha said.

‘At least she listens in class.’ Loki teased Darcy, who then proceeded to stick her tongue out at him.

‘So childish.’ Loki tutted at her.

By the time Bruce and Tony joined them, the rest of them had stuffed themselves full and went to their chambers to get unpacked.

‘I’m gonna hang out with Sif while you are doing science with the others.’ Darcy said to Loki once they were sorted in his chambers. She was tying her hair up in a bun at the mirror.

Loki walked over to her and slipped his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head as he looked at her in the mirror.

‘What do you two get up to together? Hmm?’ He asked.

‘Girl stuff.’ Darcy shrugged.

Loki raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced. But he took her to meet Sif before heading off to the healer’s room himself to meet Natasha, Tony and Bruce.

As soon as Loki was out of sight, Sif took Darcy outside to the training area. She kitted her out with some basic armour, a shield and a sword.

‘Have you been practising the steps?’ Sif asked as she took out her own sword.

‘Yep. Well, whenever Loki is out of the way.’

‘Have you heard from Jane lately?’ Sif asked when they started doing some simple blocking moves, Darcy was able to step away and use the sword or shield to block any attacks from Sif.

‘Nope, nothing. It’s like she’s just vanished off the face of the earth.’ Darcy sighed.

‘Weird. I thought she was in love with Thor, she always seemed head over heels for him when they visited. Have you asked Heimdall to check in on her?’

‘Nah. She was such a bitch towards me and Loki ever since I was kidnapped by him in the first place. It’s up to her to come to me, if she wants to make amends.’ Darcy then took a jab towards Sif, surprising the female warrior and hitting her chest armour. But she was impressed.

‘Ohh, sneaky. You’ve been practising more than just your steps.’ She grinned.

‘Sure have!’ Darcy said triumphantly.

‘When are you going to show Loki your new skills?’

‘Tomorrow. I want to surprise him by asking him to teach me some moves. Speaking of which, can we work on tackling? I want to try taking him down.’ Darcy said as she stopped to catch her breath for a moment.

Sif laughed and put her arm around Darcy’s shoulders. ‘You really think you’ll be able to knock Loki down?’

Darcy shrugged. ‘I’m hoping the element of surprise will help me.’

‘Good luck with that. Loki is the champ of deception and he is NOT easy to take down, even though he doesn’t look very strong.’ Sif said.

‘Tell me about it. He can lift me with ease with one arm, uses me for weightlifting practice.’ Darcy huffed.

‘Sounds just like the old Loki really is back.’ Sif laughed.

‘Did he hang out with you guys when you were little?’ Darcy asked, they took a seat on a bench for a while to chat.

‘Not often. He was more into books and his magic. A bit of a loner. But I guess we didn’t help the fact by teasing and making fun of him, he was Thor’s little brother, that’s how we saw him. I feel bad now, knowing about his true heritage and everything he’s been through. But there were times his mischievousness shone through and he would join in sometimes.’

Darcy nodded. ‘He did tell me that he struggled because you would all fight with brute strength more than anything. While he prefers more skilled combat, using his magic and tricks.’

‘He is a highly skilled sorcerer, always has been after Frigga’s teachings. I think in a way, we were probably more intimidated by his skills than anything, which likely made things worse. There aren’t many people like him out there.’

‘There certainly isn’t. Which is probably a good thing, one Loki is enough to deal with.’ Darcy laughed and hopped back up to her feet. ‘Come on, let’s fight!’

-

That night, Darcy was getting ready for bed.

‘Hey, Loks. Can you poof me up my toothbrush? I forgot to pack it.’ She said as she rummaged through her bag.

‘Already in the bathroom.’ Loki said, he was in bed already, reading a book.

When Darcy headed into the bathroom, she smiled as she saw it was indeed there. Next to Loki’s in a little cup by the sink.

‘I used it to clean the toilet when we arrived.’ He called through to her when she started brushing her teeth.

Darcy popped her head round the door to look at him, brush sticking out of her mouth. ‘Yeah? Well I used yours to clean my ass. So guess that makes us even!’ She grinned and disappeared to the sink again.

Loki rolled his eyes and chuckled. ‘You can be so disgusting sometimes.’ He said loud enough for her to hear.

‘Right back at you!’ She shouted through.

He had just put his book down when Darcy came through to join him in bed. She jumped on top of him, he chuckled and let out a fake oomph.

‘Have you put on a little weight?’ He asked as he poked her sides.

‘Hey! That’s not a very nice way of flirting.’ Darcy scowled at him.

Loki smirked and ran his hands up and down her upper arms, squeezing her biceps. ‘You’ve got more muscles…’ He hummed. ‘Why have I not noticed this?’

Darcy rolled off him to the side. ‘Maybe because you’re too focused on other aspects of my body.’ She grinned and started un-buttoning her pyjama top, hoping to quickly get his mind off her new muscles.

‘Mmm… indeed.’ Loki purred and rolled on top of her.

[purpleyellow]

Happiness high

BTS 8th member

Sunny’s masterlist

“Sehun helps Sunny process her emotions”

a/n: The boys got so happy about the Billboard chart thing on twitter it was so cute I had to write about it jsdsklj. Your opinion is very important for me, send feedback anytime 💜 Also, don’t be shy and interact a little, ask box is always open!

“Hey, what’s up?” Sehun’s groggy voice sounded through Sunny’s phone.

“It’s five in the morning and I can’t sleep” She started looking out of the balcony. Her tone was a whisper even though she was sure all of the boys were also awake.

All seven of them, despite having their own places, made sure to come to stay at the dorms together with the girl, so the eight could celebrate the most recently achieved goal of topping the Billboard chart.

“It’s mind-blowing to think of it” The girl kept mumbling, not really sure if he had fallen back asleep or was still listening to her “I’m just so insanely thankful that the word thankful doesn’t begin to cover it”

“Hmm” Some noise that resembled him clearing his throat came from the other side of the line “I’m really proud of you” Sehun said with a sigh, aware there was more she wanted to say.

“The world is in such a weird state right now, and here I am feeling this insane rush of happiness, it just feels out of place. It’s even more surreal to think that I used to dream about doing things like this, but now that it happened, I don’t think I’m even close to fully comprehending it” Sunny mumbled looking out into the sky, a glimpse of orange indicating the sun was about to rise.

“Things like this take time to sink in, and you don’t need to feel guilty for being happy. You work so damn much, sometimes I wonder if you’re dating that computer instead of me” The boy smiled remembering the many times he had to completely drag her away of any form of technology to fully interact with her.

“I know, I know. I just wanted to burst and share this high with the world, I wish you were here to see the boys, they’re so happy too. We were talking about how we would give everything to hug our fans right now.” She walked back into the living room and dropped on the couch, stretching her neck to see that a few of the rooms still had their lights on.

“Think of it they must be just as happy as you guys” Sehun pointed out, his voice sounded more put together making her feel slightly bad for waking him up.

“If only I could explode myself into millions of mini Sunnys and just send them around the world to give back the love I’ve received,” Sunny said and stopped to yawn, getting a laugh as a response for her exaggeration.

“Please don’t, I would probably step on you on accident” Sehun joked rolling around in bed.

“Who said you love me enough to deserve a mini Sunny?” The girl sassed letting out a groan as she stretched her body on the couch.

“Wow, I let you wake me up two hours earlier than needed and that’s what I get as a reward?” He said incredulously making her giggle.

“Fine fine, I’d send you three just in case you kill one and the other gets lost on its way to you,” She said taking a breath and staring at the ceiling. “I really would do that if I could. I think about the hardships the fans may encounter in their daily life and it pains me that I can’t be there for them like they are for me”

“Trust me, they don’t support you for nothing. I bet they think you don’t fully understand how much you’ve helped them or don’t feel as loved as you make them feel sometimes.” He said and in the background, Sunny could hear him walking around before a door closed. “It’s a distant relationship, even more now, but the group is there for the fandom just like the fandom is there for the group. Dare I say is one of the most beautiful forms of love, now would you excuse me for a minute”

Hearing the phone being placed on something hard, the girl groaned when the sound of water falling hit her ears. Dropping the phone for some minutes, Sunny thought about what he had said, and how much peace it brought her thinking about the mutual love she had with her fans. Sunny got mad at herself for forgetting about that sometimes.

“I’m back” Sehun’s muffled voice made her bring the phone back to her ear. 

“Did you really just peed with me on the line?” She asked incredulously.

“Oh please, we’ve been dating for too long for that be a problem” Sehun’s smirk was evident in his tone “Did you think about what I said because I think I spoke very beautifully”

“Yeah, don’t start gloating though” The girl smiled “Thanks for waking up for me”

“No problem. If everything was fine I would pick you up to drive around like we used to do. But since we’re both working with a lot of people that wouldn’t be very smart” He said laying on his bed again and Sunny hummed in agreement.

“Do you think you’ll be able to fall asleep again or did I ruin that for you?” She asked biting her lip, as much as her body was tired, her mind was still running like crazy.

“As soon as you hang up I’m back to dreamland” He laughed “But don’t rush, I like hearing you talk”

“I’m a little sleepy now so I’ll just go,” Sunny said unsure of herself “I love you”

“I love you too” Sehun said it back and waited for her to end the call, except that she didn’t “You’re not going to sleep now are you?”

“Still don’t think I can” She sighed, feeling bad for keeping him up any longer.

“Alright, let’s chat then. Did you wish Jungkook a happy birthday in my name?” Sehun tried getting her to talk about something else to see if tiredness would set in.

“Not really, you never told me to, plus that’s too impersonal” Sunny rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see it “You should text him later”

“I thought I didn’t have to tell you.” He started defensive but his voice trailed off “And I pulled up our chat to text him after midnight but the last message was exactly a year ago” 

“What’s the problem with it?” She frowned at his embarrassment. 

“The problem is that I was going to type the same message,” He said, making the girl laugh.

“Just write something different. Call him Jungbug or something” She said yawning, mind becoming cloudier as they spoke.

“What kind of name is that?” Sehun’s tone was mixed with a laugh. 

“I don’t know. It can be you guys’ thing, calling each other weird pet names” Sunny said looking around the room and staying silent for a minute, her mind becoming blank “I think I’m going to bed”

“Are you actually going to sleep? Because I can keep talking if you want” The boy made sure, although, from the background noise, Sunny could tell he was moving his pillows around.

“No, this time I think I will. My body feels like it’s about to shut down” Sunny said with a breathy laugh. “Thanks for putting up with me”

“Thanks for calling me, I’ve missed your voice” His tone was sincere, making her smile for a second.

“I’ve missed you too” Sunny pouted “I love you”

“I love you too, I hope you dream with me”

“I hope so too”

[imagine-loki]

Triple Threat, Chapter 1 (Sequel to Trust)

TITLE: Triple Threat CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 1 AUTHOR: fanficshiddles ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki kidnaps Darcy Lewis, in hopes of getting the tesseract in return for her. Imagine his surprise when he grows rather fond of the mortal, finding that she understands him better than anyone else ever has.  RATING: M

SUMMARY: Darcy and Loki were enjoying their life, still annoying the Avengers. But one day, Loki from another timeline appears. After causing some mischief, he tells them that Jane is compromised with the aether and under Thanos’ control. And he needs their help.

Now Darcy not only has TWO Loki’s to deal with, but also a deranged and tortured Jane who’s much more powerful than she should be.

But they have to find her first.

Darcy was late. Ohhh so late.

She ran as fast as she could out of the compound with her bag over her shoulder, Thor, Tony, Natasha, Bruce and Loki were waiting at the Bifrost site.

‘Sorry! I’m sorry! I couldn’t find my contacts and got up late.’ She said out of breath as she slammed into Loki’s side, he slipped his arm around her waist to steady her.

It had been almost six months since Loki and Darcy realised they couldn’t love anyone else. Although, whilst they tried going on proper dates together, they found it wasn’t really them. The whole romance thing.

The Avengers didn’t really know what to make of them both. Loki and Darcy didn’t like it when they were called boyfriend and girlfriend, and to the team they were just like they were before. Mischievous and a bit annoying. But the team knew that no one else would get a look in at either of them now, that was for sure.

Did Darcy love Loki? Yes, she did. She wouldn’t ever hesitate to say she did. And Loki felt the same. They already had a strong foundation built together. Had they added very regular sex to the mix? Hell yes! Did Loki want to kill every man that even just looked at Darcy in a flirtatious way? Of course!

But they were comfortable and happy with what they were. Whatever it was.

‘You’re late.’ Loki drawled.

‘Well, someone failed to wake me up!’ She looked up at him, narrowing her eyes.

‘I’m not your alarm clock, it’s not my duty to wake you.’

‘It is when you’re the reason I was up most of the night. I was walking like John Wayne when I got up. It would’ve been polite to at least wake me.’ She huffed.

‘Eww. Too much information!’ Tony said as he pulled a face.

Loki just looked very smug.

‘Exciting night, huh?’ Natasha smirked at Darcy.

‘Hell yeah!’ Darcy grinned.

Loki chuckled and squeezed Darcy’s side, just as Thor called for Heimdall to open the Bifrost. Whisking them all up to Asgard.

Asgard and Midgard were working together, sharing science and technology. Tony and Bruce were able to take their inventions to completely new levels, while Asgard learned a thing or two from the scientist mortals.

So trips to the golden city were quite regular. Darcy went along whenever Loki went. Frigga was always so happy to see her, even Odin was starting to warm up to her, too. He was also trying with Loki, attempting to make amends for not being a great father. Loki didn’t make it easy, but Darcy kept telling him off and told him to try and at least be civil.

When they arrived, horses were waiting for them on the Bifrost. Tony and Bruce couldn’t get used to riding the horses, they were worse than Darcy had been her first time. They stuck to a very slow walk and took forever. Natasha was a natural rider, which didn’t surprise Darcy or Loki.

Darcy ended up having a favourite horse, a lovely grey mare, she was a gentle giant. Loki always helped her up, often flinging her too far so she would fall off the other side. That would usually end up with Darcy withholding sex for a day or two.

Luckily, he didn’t do that this time. He winked at her as he got onto his horse and the two went galloping ahead as normal. Thor and Natasha raced up after them with Tony and Bruce slowly lagging behind.

‘Hey, Birger! How’s it going?’ Darcy asked when they reached the stables and Birger was on duty just outside.

‘Good morning, Darcy.’ He took hold of the reins for her while she dismounted. ‘You’re getting better at riding, I see.’ He grinned.

‘Yeah it’s getting easier. Soon I’ll be bale to beat this one’s ass.’ She smirked and motioned to Loki who came up beside her.

Loki poked her side playfully. ‘Unlikely.’

‘You never know, My Prince. This mare is one of the fastest in the stables.’ Birger laughed.

Loki narrowed his eyes at Birger and then Darcy. ‘You’re turning Birger to the dark side. Stop!’ Loki put his hand over Darcy’s face with a chuckle.

Birger took Darcy and Loki’s horses from them, just as Thor and Natasha caught up with them. They knew the other two would take forever, so the four of them went inside and headed straight for the banquet hall.

Sif and the warriors three were there. They were pleased to see everyone, more so Thor. But Sif had a soft spot for Darcy, they got along well after they first met when Darcy and Loki visited for a week. Sif was secretly giving Darcy some fighting lessons, she wanted to surprise Loki.

Darcy had remembered when Jane told her about Sif, how she seemed stuck up and rather snippy with her. But Darcy had a feeling it was because Sif had a crush on Thor. So of course she would have been jealous of Jane.

‘Where’s the science dudes?’ Sif asked as everyone sat down to eat.

‘Probably still halfway across the Bifrost.’ Loki smirked.

‘Perhaps we should get them a carriage next time. Or take one of the ships.’ Thor suggested with a mouthful.

‘What are they hoping to achieve this trip anyway?’ Darcy asked as she filled her plate up with various meat and vegetables. She LOVED the food on Asgard.

‘Weren’t you listening in class?’ Loki rumbled, raising his eyebrow at her with a playful smile.

‘I was probably too busy staring at your ass.’ She shrugged.

Loki laughed while the others rolled their eyes.

‘I believe they’re hoping to finally get some of the magic from the healers into some kind of containment, so they can take it back home and study it properly. Change into something we can use. It would help speed up healing so much.’ Natasha said.

‘At least she listens in class.’ Loki teased Darcy, who then proceeded to stick her tongue out at him.

‘So childish.’ Loki tutted at her.

By the time Bruce and Tony joined them, the rest of them had stuffed themselves full and went to their chambers to get unpacked.

‘I’m gonna hang out with Sif while you are doing science with the others.’ Darcy said to Loki once they were sorted in his chambers. She was tying her hair up in a bun at the mirror.

Loki walked over to her and slipped his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head as he looked at her in the mirror.

‘What do you two get up to together? Hmm?’ He asked.

‘Girl stuff.’ Darcy shrugged.

Loki raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced. But he took her to meet Sif before heading off to the healer’s room himself to meet Natasha, Tony and Bruce.

As soon as Loki was out of sight, Sif took Darcy outside to the training area. She kitted her out with some basic armour, a shield and a sword.

‘Have you been practising the steps?’ Sif asked as she took out her own sword.

‘Yep. Well, whenever Loki is out of the way.’

‘Have you heard from Jane lately?’ Sif asked when they started doing some simple blocking moves, Darcy was able to step away and use the sword or shield to block any attacks from Sif.

‘Nope, nothing. It’s like she’s just vanished off the face of the earth.’ Darcy sighed.

‘Weird. I thought she was in love with Thor, she always seemed head over heels for him when they visited. Have you asked Heimdall to check in on her?’

‘Nah. She was such a bitch towards me and Loki ever since I was kidnapped by him in the first place. It’s up to her to come to me, if she wants to make amends.’ Darcy then took a jab towards Sif, surprising the female warrior and hitting her chest armour. But she was impressed.

‘Ohh, sneaky. You’ve been practising more than just your steps.’ She grinned.

‘Sure have!’ Darcy said triumphantly.

‘When are you going to show Loki your new skills?’

‘Tomorrow. I want to surprise him by asking him to teach me some moves. Speaking of which, can we work on tackling? I want to try taking him down.’ Darcy said as she stopped to catch her breath for a moment.

Sif laughed and put her arm around Darcy’s shoulders. ‘You really think you’ll be able to knock Loki down?’

Darcy shrugged. ‘I’m hoping the element of surprise will help me.’

‘Good luck with that. Loki is the champ of deception and he is NOT easy to take down, even though he doesn’t look very strong.’ Sif said.

‘Tell me about it. He can lift me with ease with one arm, uses me for weightlifting practice.’ Darcy huffed.

‘Sounds just like the old Loki really is back.’ Sif laughed.

‘Did he hang out with you guys when you were little?’ Darcy asked, they took a seat on a bench for a while to chat.

‘Not often. He was more into books and his magic. A bit of a loner. But I guess we didn’t help the fact by teasing and making fun of him, he was Thor’s little brother, that’s how we saw him. I feel bad now, knowing about his true heritage and everything he’s been through. But there were times his mischievousness shone through and he would join in sometimes.’

Darcy nodded. ‘He did tell me that he struggled because you would all fight with brute strength more than anything. While he prefers more skilled combat, using his magic and tricks.’

‘He is a highly skilled sorcerer, always has been after Frigga’s teachings. I think in a way, we were probably more intimidated by his skills than anything, which likely made things worse. There aren’t many people like him out there.’

‘There certainly isn’t. Which is probably a good thing, one Loki is enough to deal with.’ Darcy laughed and hopped back up to her feet. ‘Come on, let’s fight!’

-

That night, Darcy was getting ready for bed.

‘Hey, Loks. Can you poof me up my toothbrush? I forgot to pack it.’ She said as she rummaged through her bag.

‘Already in the bathroom.’ Loki said, he was in bed already, reading a book.

When Darcy headed into the bathroom, she smiled as she saw it was indeed there. Next to Loki’s in a little cup by the sink.

‘I used it to clean the toilet when we arrived.’ He called through to her when she started brushing her teeth.

Darcy popped her head round the door to look at him, brush sticking out of her mouth. ‘Yeah? Well I used yours to clean my ass. So guess that makes us even!’ She grinned and disappeared to the sink again.

Loki rolled his eyes and chuckled. ‘You can be so disgusting sometimes.’ He said loud enough for her to hear.

‘Right back at you!’ She shouted through.

He had just put his book down when Darcy came through to join him in bed. She jumped on top of him, he chuckled and let out a fake oomph.

‘Have you put on a little weight?’ He asked as he poked her sides.

‘Hey! That’s not a very nice way of flirting.’ Darcy scowled at him.

Loki smirked and ran his hands up and down her upper arms, squeezing her biceps. ‘You’ve got more muscles…’ He hummed. ‘Why have I not noticed this?’

Darcy rolled off him to the side. ‘Maybe because you’re too focused on other aspects of my body.’ She grinned and started un-buttoning her pyjama top, hoping to quickly get his mind off her new muscles.

‘Mmm… indeed.’ Loki purred and rolled on top of her.

[legendofzeldaalinktothepast]

Solar Power 

Fandom: She-Ra (2018) 

Ship: Platonic Scorpia and Entrapta, mentions of romantic Scorpia/Perfuma 

Words: 2204 

Rating: G 

The princesses are having a sleepover, and Scorpia is having trouble fitting in; fortunately, Entrapta understands where she’s coming from. 

Scorpia shoved the window open and took in the fresh, summer night air. 'Breathe, girlie. It's gonna be fine.' she reminded herself, counting her breaths and taking comfort in the silence around her. Just taking a moment to herself immediately brought her anxiety down a few notches -- at least enough to think straight again.

'Ugh... I knew this would happen. Why do you always get so nervous around them? It's not like they're gonna bite you!' she thought, rubbing her face with her claws.

She turned towards the bathroom sink and splashed her face with some cold water, finally grounding herself. 'Alright, Scorpia. You can do this! You're supposed to be the tough girl, and you've handled far worse than a slumber party!' Slicking back her hair, she took one last deep breath and unlocked the bathroom door, heading back towards the main living room. 'Just think of it like the bunks at the horde. It's basically that, but with more perfume and less-ugly pajamas!’ 

The sound of chatter and scent of baking cookies filled the hallway. Excitement rose up in Scorpia's chest; while she was never fond of eating sweets (years of consuming those bland horde rations really screwed with her taste buds), the smell of them was definitely pleasant, even nostalgic in a way.

Once Scorpia reached the living room, she bit her lip; now came the struggle of joining the crowd. Again. 'Ugh, no, don't think of it as a crowd! That's exactly what caused my little meltdown in the first place.' she thought, shaking her head. 'I gotta think of it as... Little clusters. Clusters I can handle.'

And she wasn't wrong; while all of the princesses were hanging out in the same general area, they had also formed smaller, more manageable groups... Catra, Adora, and Glimmer were chatting in the kitchen while the cookies baked. Perfuma and Entrapta were playing a game of chess on the floor nearby. Spinnerella, Netossa, and Frosta were standing by the fireplace, while the youngest of the three loudly told a story, which the married couple listened to with amused expressions. Mermista, an outlier, had fallen asleep on the couch.

'Hmm... which cluster to join...' she thought. In all honesty, Mermista's sounded the most appealing, but just flopping down and falling asleep next to her probably wouldn't make a good impression. Even she knew that. 'Maybe I could listen to whatever story Frosta is telling? That'll give me an excuse not to talk, but at least I'd be part of something!' she thought with a grin. With her goal clear in mind, however, she'd completely forgotten about Entrapta and Perfuma playing chess right in front of her, and ended up stepping on their board.

"Oh, uh, hey, girls!" Scorpia greeted, awkwardly waving a claw. "Sorry about that, I'm such a ditz, heh..."

"That's okay, I'm a ditz too!" Entrapta grinned.

"Neither of you are a ditz! Accidents happen." Perfuma smiled warmly, picking up the chess pieces.

Scorpia's heart fluttered. "S-still, I didn't wanna ruin your game! Here, lemme help." She sat down on the floor beside them, helping place the pieces back on the chess board. "Let's see... This one goes here, I think. Queens go next to the horses, right?" Scorpia said, holding the queen and knight piece in each claw.

"I-it's alright, I mostly remembered where my pieces were!" Perfuma reassured, taking the pieces from Scorpia's claws and placing it back on the board.

"Heh, me too!" Entrapta said, eagerly placing her own pieces back on the black and white tiles.

"Mind if I join the game? I've never played this before!" Scorpia said.

"Oh, unfortunately it's only a two player game..." Perfuma smiled sadly. "But once we're done with this round, you can play against Entrapta!"

"Checkmate! Scorpia's turn!" Entrapta grinned, making her knight piece jump over Perfuma's king.

Perfuma narrowed her eyes. "Did you re-arrange the board in your favor? I am almost positive your knight was not that close to my king."

"Maaaaybe." Entrapta folded her hands politely and tilted her head.

Perfuma rolled her eyes. "Well, it's no big deal," she said with a shrug. "After all, winning isn't everything! What matters is we had fun." She rose to her feet, smoothing out her night gown. "Scorpia, you can take my spot now! I think I'll get myself some tea."

"Thanks, flowergirl." Scorpia said with a wink. Perfuma rose to her feet, and Scorpia scooted over to where she'd been sitting. As she set the chess pieces back to their original places (or well... to the best of her ability. She really had no idea how this worked), she found her gaze shifting back and forth towards Perfuma, even long after she'd headed into the kitchen.

Entrapta gave Scorpia a nudge with her pigtail, causing her to jump. "Do you want me to tell you the rules?" she asked.

"Oh, uh... Nope, I'm good." she said, too ashamed to admit she had no idea how to play chess.

Entrapta cackled. "That's good, because I didn't want to! Chess is soo boring, but Perfuma really wanted to play it, and it only felt fair since she's been listening to me tell her about my newest robot all night -- her name is Sandra, you should meet her! But anyway, let's play something else!"

Scorpia didn't respond; her gaze was still cast towards the kitchen, and anxiety still lingered in her chest. It took her a moment to even process Entrapta's suggestion. "Oh! Uh, sure! What kind of game?"

Entrapta cupped Scorpia's face. "First, let's play a game called 'Tell Entrapta Why The Heck You're So Nervous Right Now'."

Scorpia burst into laughter; for the first time that night, she'd begun to loosen up a bit. "Oh, I dunno, just... I guess just. I've never been really good at these kinds of things, ya know?"

"Oh, I totally know!" Entrapta nodded. "Like, the whole... People thing. Especially when it's other princesses." She blushed a little.

Scorpia smiled. "Yeah... I'm glad at least someone does." she sighed. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun, and I'm glad I was invited! But... When everyone seems to fall into their little groups, and it gets loud and overwhelming... I dunno, I just feel so wrong, like I shouldn't be here."

"Ohh..." Entrapta said, tapping her chin. "Hey, you wanna go outside?"

"Uh, sure! What are we gonna do?" Scorpia asked, confused by the sudden shift in topic.

"Follow me." Entrapta said, and before Scorpia could question any further, she lifted herself up by her pigtails and scurried towards the door. Scorpia hauled herself up to her feet, glancing back one last time -- Perfuma had permanently joined the kitchen cluster, and Spinerella glanced Scorpia's way for a mere split second before turning back to Frosta -- and then continued out the door.

For a moment, she'd wondered if Entrapta had just up and vanished -- but soon enough she spotted her, sitting on the branch of a nearby tree. How she'd gotten up there so quickly was beyond Scorpia. She approached her with an amused expression on her face. "Whoa... You sure know how to climb."

Entrapta giggled. "Yeah, come on up! It's nice up here!"

"Ah, but... I'm a little heavier than you are, are you sure it's safe?" she asked; even with a body as tiny as Entrapta's, the branch seemed to be bending ever so slightly beneath her weight.

"Well... I could take some of the tools out of my pockets!" Entrapta said. At first, Scorpia thought the idea was absurd... but then she began pulling wrenches out of her pockets, one by one, and for a moment Scorpia thought it would go on forever... But soon enough, there was a pile of wrenches and various tools on the ground that probably weighed even more than Scorpia. How Entrapta had managed to fit all of those in her pockets was beyond her.

"There we go! Now it should be safe for you to join." Entrapta smiled.

"Heh, I guess I can't say no, now." With a grunt, she lifted herself up onto the branch of the tree, seating herself beside Entrapta. It took herself a moment to balance properly -- what she had in strength, she lacked in grace... But at least it wasn't too high, so if she fell, she'd get a couple bruises if she was unlucky.

"You ever hear of solar powered technology?" Entrapta asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah! That's stuff powered by the sun, right?" Scorpia said.

"Correct!" Entrapta said. "Like, one time I made a solar powered robot, and when I forgot to charge her battery, she had a lot of trouble functioning at night, or on super cloudy days... But when I do remember to let her charge in the mornings, she's able to do the most amazing things!" Entrapta flapped her hands. "Her name's Sandra!"

"Oh right, you mentioned her earlier!" Scorpia said, though she wasn't quite sure where Entrapta was going with this.

"Yeah! I think you'd love to meet her." Entrapta said. "Anyway, there was a reason I brought this up... Oh, right! Well, sometimes I'm kinda like Sandra. If I don't take some time to charge myself up -- in this case, just sitting somewhere quiet, maybe even twirling a wrench around -- and I go into a place with lots of people and noise, I kinda just break down, like Sandra! So that's why I always make sure to find some kinda quiet place when I go to sleepovers. Usually I just climb around in the vents, but I had a feeling that wouldn't be your thing, so that's why we're outside!"

"Oh, I know what you mean" Scorpia brightened up. "That's really nice of you. I tried doing a little recharging in the bathroom, but... Then I started worrying people would think I was sick, so I headed out before I was actually... You know, ready." She sighed, leaning her head against the trunk of the tree. "Like, I really do love being with the girls, but... They're so hard to connect with sometimes, and it gets noisy with all the talking and music and smells of perfume and food... None of which are bad, by the way! It's just... too much at once. Especially when Perfuma's around, I mean..." Scorpia blushed, not sure if she wanted to elaborate.

Entrapta scooted a little closer to Scorpia. "No wonder you looked like you weren't having fun. You weren't ready to come hang out with people. And what's Perfuma have to do with it?"

Scorpia blushed. "Ugh, she's just... Really pretty, you know? And I'm not really sure where we stand..."

"Is Perfuma your girlfriend?" Entrapta asked.

"Mmmmmaybe." Scorpia turned her head to the side. "Kind of? I don't know. Ugh, but she's so outgoing and extroverted and good with people, and I kinda worry that I'm getting ahead of myself and that I'll look like an idiot if I assume she is, and it turns out she doesn't feel the same..."

"You'll probably look like an idiot either way." Entrapta shrugged. "But if you are dating, and you assume you're not, that'll probably hurt her feelings. So it’s better to assume that you are. I mean, I'd be flattered if you assumed you were my girlfriend, even if I see our relationship as more platonic."

Scorpia chuckled. "Guess you're right about that." she said with a sigh. "You're a really good friend, you know?"

Entrapta blushed. "Thanks... I've been trying really hard lately, and well... Sometimes people still think I'm a bad friend."

"Hey, I think they just don't really get you." Scorpia shrugged. "But I do, because I'm the same way."

Entrapta flapped her hands. "Yes! That's very true! Our brains were wired in similar ways, so it only makes sense that you'd get me!" she said. "But you know what? That doesn't mean the other princesses won't like you! And that doesn't mean Perfuma doesn't, either. Like, it was really hard for me to get along with Perfuma too, but now I play chess with her, and she asks me questions about robots!"

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Scorpia smiled. "Thanks for letting me talk this out with you, girlie. I'm feeling a lot better, now..."

Just then, the door behind them swung open. "Hey, dweebs!" Frosta called from the castle, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Karaoke starts in five minutes, so ya better get your butts in here if you wanna sing!"

Scorpia brightened up immediately. "I'll be right there!" she called. "You coming, Entrapta?"

"Mm, need a few more minutes to recharge..." Entrapta said, kicking her legs. "But you can go in without me! I'll probably be able to listen from out here, anyway."

"Hah, that's true! Especially when I'm the one singing." Scorpia climbed back down from the tree and landed on her toes. "See ya in a bit!"

"See ya!"

Once Scorpia was back inside the castle, Entrapta turned her gaze back up towards the full moon. "Hmm... I wonder if I could make a solar and lunar powered robot..." she mused to nobody in particular, reaching down with her pigtail arm and retrieving one of her wrenches from the grass.

[sometimesrosy]

What things in 7x02 do you think were the most significant in terms of the direction the show is taking toward its end? And how do you think it may lead back to Bellarke, as well, since they’re the center of the story?

Hmm. I’m not totally sure because this is the beginning of the end, see, so I’m starting to collect details and information and references and symbolism... bread crumbs. Sometimes I’m still running on a FEELING of it being connected without being able to pin point how it is? So I’m going to have to put things together as I go.

But like, first of all, this episode was about Octavia and growth from “monster” to hero again. One of the things that was vital to her was that she learned to understand her brother and his relationship to her, and while it wasn’t as blatant, also clarke’s relationship with Madi. It was also an affirmation that she believes her family is Bellamy, Clarke and Madi... which was not really there in season 5 and 6. But if you’ll notice that after she came back from the anomaly, Clarke WAS suddenly her people again and she was NOT going to let anything happen to her. This is where she learned that. This is what led to her hearing Clarke was in trouble on that radio and then taking off to save her. ALSO what led to her faith in Clarke at the gate. And what led to her refusing to sacrifice the sancumites or the COG because she wanted to be better and do better, what led to Bellamy embracing her again as his sister.

And no matter WHAT you think of Octavia as a character, whether you think she’s irredeemable or god’s gift to “I love her and she’s never done anything wrong ever,” Octavia Blake is a SUPREMELY important character in this show.

If this story is an allegory about humanity’s self destruction and rebirth, then Octavia’s role in it is... humanity itself. Clarke is the Head, Bellamy is the Heart, and Octavia is the SOUL. Father, son, holy spirit is Octavia as the “son.” How Octavia suffers, falls, and is redeemed is how it goes with humanity. They are the trinity (in whatever myth you choose I think it fits) and Octavia is the child symbol in that trinity. So, what happens with Octavia finding redemption goes back to Bellarke as mother and father or head and heart.

ALSO we have a replay of Aurora, Octavia and Bellamy with Diyoza, Bellamy and Hope. And it’s quite possible that Bellamy can’t find true love with Clarke until he makes up with Octavia. AND Clarke and Bellamy have ALWAYS used Octavia as a bridge between them. Instead of talking about their feelings for each other they always talk about Octavia. If Octavia is separated or evil or antagonistic, their bridge to each other is gone. 

Another consideration is the set up of the backstory and narrative this season, which is WAY complicated with multiple planets, new technology, old influences and timey wimey stuff. SHOWING us how the time stuff is working with new mysteries, prisons, families, a kid growing up before our eyes who was actually conceived before the first praimfaya I think, minddrive readers so we could see Becca, a focus on Bellamy in a kind of mythology for Octavia, Diyoza, Hope, Echo etc, I mean, it’s not TECHNICALLY about Bellarke, but it’s setting up a story that will be getting there.

That’s the part I can’t know yet. I don’t know what is being laid out yet. Some people have mentioned the CB letters carved into the cave. I said it didn’t matter, but it might very well have been an easter egg. That won’t make sense until we know the whole story. We’ll get a bit more when we see how Clarke responds to this all. 

Oh also, Echo brought up the Together thing. That’s a bellarke phrase. And it’s being used for a part of their family that is NOT together. Because TOGETHER is important to the story. Bellarke are the SYMBOL of the togetherness that they need for all their people. Also the Trust Bellamy... “I trust you,” was a big thing for Clarke and Bellamy. There were a couple of other places where the Bellarke dialogue was repeated in this episode, and I don’t want to necessarily say that is ABOUT Bellarke, but I think we SHOULD be paying attention to Bellarke as the central relationship AND the metaphor IN the story for the unity and understanding and coming together that is needed for ALL the characters and humanity itself. 

So like these stories about the secondary characters are leading back to Bellarke because they are now telling the same stories Bellarke struggled with but for the other characters. Bellamy’s near raising of Octavia and Octavia near raises Hope. Echo’s isolation/solitary confinement for 5-6 years like Clarke’s isolation. And actually we’re getting in coming up to. Raven and Murphy having to make life or death decisions and keeping the communities from infighting. 

CRIMINY!

Octavia resented Bellamy for being parental. Now she’s parental. Echo took Clarke’s place on the ring while Clarke was isolated, now ECHO is isolates. Raven accused Clarke of deciding who lives and dies while forcing her to decide who lives or dies, now SHE’s causing people to die with her decisions. Murphy killed their own people and brought plague and blew a hole in their dropship and wanted to be the new king and NOW he’s in charge of keeping random peoples together and is playing GOD-King.

I mean. 

LOL.

If you only watch when Clarke and Bellamy and Bellarke (but no b/e) is there you will miss all that. You lose out on the comparisons. You won’t be able to see the similarities or links because you’ll be missing the data points.

You know that saying “once is chance, twice is a coincidence, three times a pattern?”

You’ll never get that pattern if you don’t watch the parts that you think are irrelevant. You’ll miss #3 and maybe #2. The details will continue to be irrelevant and you won’t get the reinforcing or breadcrumbs or narrative links that make the story deeper. All you’ll get is a love story with a lot of irrelevant nonsense around it that makes it frustrating for you. And then you’ll say that the story is too slow, or subplots are macguffins, or important episodes are filler, or it doesn’t make sense, or it’s bad writing, or a character is being minimized or vilified, or the writers didn’t give you enough information to understand so it’s their fault you were off in lala land with some other plot and endgame. (season 3 is a BIG example of this. Lxa was NEVER the hero. Bellamy was NEVER the villain. And Clarke was NEVER the love interest. That WIDESPREAD interpretation in both bc and cl fandoms was a misinterpretation because people didn’t follow the narrative and only watched what they liked. It’s backwards. L was villain/love interest. Bellamy was hero/love interest, and Clarke was hero/villain. HA!)

I mean you can continue to only watch for Bellarke, you might still get the love story you want, (better bet than s3 CLs since they shipped the non endgame pair,) but everything around it is treated as an obstacle or an offense, rather than part of the structure of a much better love story.

[nicknellie]

I’m just trying to reply to this through out the day so it’s all times lol (and then of course when I was going to send this it’s sadly didnt)

Thanks for linking the post, I think you brought up quite a few good points!!!

Honestly I thought you meant that both Julie and Flynn had matching jumpers however this works so much better. (Also yes Luke and Reggie would get this just because they can)

Just in case you don’t know what among us is when I go on my tangent here is the basics but basically there are 10 players in total and either 1, 2 or three are imposter (I’m choosing two here) whoever isn’t imposter just tries to complete tasks and figure out who the imposter is without dying

Box stuff

1. Yes, honestly the only time Luke’s room is clean is due to Alex because he is the mom friend. (And or Reggie because it could be that when Reggie is stressed he cleans but that also works for Alex)

Also that’s what I was thinking, Emily and Mitch just gave up. Definitely when he passed they just couldn’t change anything in his room because it was the one comfort that they had. That even though Luke isn’t here anymore, his room that he lived in was still there and sometimes they could pretend that he’s still there

3. They always bring him recipes to try out because Alex has magic with cooking and even if he has no clue what is going on it usually always taste good. (May not look good but it does taste good) Also love the detail of Reggie just forgetting about the recipes, he just has so much that he forgets some.

Board games and Jam stuff

1. Yes, they all have that one game that they can’t do. Monopoly is banned just because they are way too competitive and Alex has thrown drumsticks at Luke before.

I love the detail of the boys just guessing wrong just to annoy Bobby, they totally would too. In Cluedo, Reggie always thinks that it’s Alex, every single time.

(Among us tangent, really wish I can blame this on chaotic energy but no.

So Alex is pink, because

Luke is the colour white

Reggie is lime

Julie is red

Willie is cyan

And Flynn is purple

Alex and Willie are on the same team immediately (they just follow each other and keep each other safe) and Alex is a good imposter however Luke will only call him out for no reason at all when he is an imposter one time that they play together.

To give more reasoning they probably play together two times in total with 10 games each I don’t know, but the second time around Luke is salty and somehow knows when Alex is imposter even when he doesn’t seem suspicious at all.

Julie and Willie are the best imposter duo, alongside Alex and Luke. Reggie is not a good imposter and the first to die in the game is usually Julie (or Luke).

Wait yes, Alex can’t do life.

Oh Julie gets so mad at him however secretly she’s amused (Alex and Reggie are just having the time of their lives because they can tease both Luke and Julie also Flynn will definitely tease Julie as well)

Alex being the bank dealer is everything, and Reggie just forcing Luke to pay him is everything. (Not sure if this is a game rule but I’ve played a few times were you can give someone a building that has the cost/whatever you owe, so maybe they do that)

Honestly monopoly was banned before hand with Bobby but one day Julie brought it up and they just couldn’t tell her (Luke flipped a table... a table)

Also randomly Flynn and Willie are there just for chaos reasoning.

2. Yes lol

Number stuff

2. Alex and Willie just chilling and then Reggie ruining everything is perfect. (Also Willie is crying laughing during this whole thing, even more so when the hoodie rips and Alex just looks hurt and shocked at the same time towards Reggie)

So I watched the first episode, and I was mistaken. Maybe Arther changes as the show goes on but this is not how I thought the story went 😂

I was like, they changed the story but it still had to have the idea of Merlin helping Arther out with getting the sword out of the stone and in the shows there is a witch. I can’t tell if it’s because they are adding details to the story or if I just don’t know it. But yes just like with Merlin calling Arthur an idiot, my lord is total Alex energy. Definitely could see him doing that is real life at some point. Yes, Luke does still die from the hotdog

5. Same here!! Also the ones that you’ve mentioned I think I have read as well, have to love that for us (also the fact that everyone agree not to ship Alex with Julie and just have them be supportive wingpeople)

6. I love that for us. Also I love the sign idea, (Bobby somehow makes a sign to tell Willie that Alex is okay) it mostly comes because Alex is so distracted by Willie and the hair flip to notice that Willie is asking if he is alright or not. Wait I was still thinking about waterparks, moving to what you were actually talking about. I’m just keeping that in because

But yes, Bobby gets a sign from the boys and everything is better. (The sign is, don’t steal the songs, big no). Also I love how you say that they still go back to Julie but they make a quick pit stop

8. Yes, also their strengths complimented each other’s so without them there Bobby feels lost. So many props towards Reggie, I have no clue what is happening with that game at all times.

10. Aww happy Reggie with technology (also the fact that he doesn’t have to develop photos anymore makes him want to cry happy tears) ‘you don’t understand Julie, green photos. I’m not joking green photos, you don’t know my pain’

I know exactly what you are talking about, can’t remember the name at all though.

Reggie is just upset, but Alex and Bobby are rolling they find it that funny. Also Luke says something along the lines of, ‘it looked fine, I don’t see you blaming Alex and Bobby. This is not fair 🥺’

Wait yes, they always get recipes from bakeries. Also if a food is expensive/they don’t have enough for it but they want to try it sometime they (Reggie) will try to get a recipe just for Alex to make it.

Aw, Alex giving Bobby his own little box so that he always has something to eat.

11. And little did they know that Reggie actually met the Queen

13. Same here lol, but I’m not very good at sketching. However you should definitely do them if you want to! I’m in full support.

14. Yes exactly

16. Precisely, if it was anyone else Alex could say no however sue to the fact that it’s Luke and Reggie, he can’t

17. Oh my goodness you made my idea better. (Honestly I can’t type so I have no clue how I worded it) however I had meant that Reggie asks Caleb for baby pictures of Willie but your idea works so much better. (Also Willie isn’t really that creeped by the fact that Reggie has his baby pictures just accepts it)

Wait, I love that you said Caleb doesn’t question it. As if people ask Caleb for baby pictures all the time, or at least it’s normal (maybe normal Reggie behavior 🤷‍♀️)

But a Caleb scrapbook I love that idea. Also yes, Reggie just has baby pictures of everyone. Some random stranger that he saw once, yes, his great aunts ex husbands son’s daughter yes (oh my goodness what is that sentence). But basically everyone, even the queen

Yes, just them as babies in hot dog suits. Reggie also has a hat on for I don’t know why reasons. (Imagine if there’s a baby Willie with some kind of hot dog themed thing though)

19. Yes, Luke also smashes snow on peoples heads as well. And Alex is usually the one who stuffs it down the persons back (it is what Willie does as well, and they always have an alliance)

20. Exactly, Owen is such a great actor (also mentioning Booboo Stewart for same reasons)

And Owen does play Alex so perfectly, like Kenny could not have chosen a better actor for Alex even if he tried.

Honestly if the boys had hated Willie I would cry, A because no Willie and Alex and B that’s exactly what they are like and although it’s everything if no point A then sad. I mean, Caleb played Willie just as much as he played the boys. (I just want Caleb to be the good guy because but he does stuff like this whyyy)

Luke isn’t happy that Julie is mad at him however he’s happy that he was able to connect with Flynn

Anything that gets us Unsaid Emily is worth it in my books

21. Honestly I have no clue it’s just been something that I’ve been thinking about. Honestly both of those theories works so well and I feel like it will be so hilarious if Alex freaks over breaking in entering however he’s legitimately done something worse. Also yes, Emily and Mitch talking to Alex to make sure they are both alright is adorable

That would be hilarious, just send this to him one day 😂 😂

24. Yes, also just it either means Flynn and Carrie moments or Flynn singing which are both needed.

Yes only for one song, she can only manage one band and she doesn’t want to be a part of it (in that way). Yes it is a sad song with just them.

25. Imagine Alex and Carrie having a conversation and their banter just being everything

Yes and Luke is like the cool uncle who you go too when you want someone casual but I’m not going to call you out just yet to your father kind of person

26. Wait, yes that’s how all arguments used to get settled in the 90s and if Luke was in the wrong then he would usually write music (I’m basic apparently I can’t think of something else)

Same, especially if we get another hair flip from Willie.

28. This works perfectly! That’s exactly what happened and then ‘now or never’ came to be

32. I didn’t even think of the shop assistant giving him stickers I was just thinking of some random fan discovering Alex at 3 AM however I love that so much more.

Yes, he definitely would take extreme care of it and keep it in its pristine condition

35. Legitimately Ray just has so many kids, imagine if he tried to adopt Reggie, Luke, and Alex though that would be funny. And emotional at the same time

For the purpose of them looking amazing we are just going to disregard the fact that they can’t be seen on photo (maybe it’s a special camera that Willie has from the club i don’t know) (hmm or maybe if a ghost takes the picture then other ghosts can be seen?)

Yes I love that as well, the orb does look good for some reason lol

37. Who doesn’t live for heart eyes Alex (& Willie in my opinion). Yes, and these are not casual rules that you can break there’s legitimately a list and everything. Also Reggie isn’t allowed to wash it after shrinking it and changing the colour one time

39. Yes the dream father daughter team. They are so close (also just want to mention Ray in general not only with Julie but with Carlos as well, because you can tell that’s he trying so hard and is doing so well)

The categories are so funny also I love how we just have this so organized now

I’m sorry this took me so long to answer! I kept telling myself I would then getting sidetracked and now I’ve decided one o’clock in the morning is the best time to start writing this. Bare with me, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a lot of mistakes here 😂😭

BOX STUFF

1. Wait I didn’t think about that but I love it so much! Whenever the guys hang out at Luke’s before he runs away, Alex will walk into his room, tut at him or mutter something under his breath, and tidy while still managing to have a conversation with the guys - occasionally he’ll interrupt his own sentence to tell Luke off for the state of his room, like, “Oh yeah, I heard about that, it was — Luke, I swear if you don’t start picking up your dirty socks I’m going to shove them down your throat while you sleep — really cool actually, did you hear about...”. Also he has been known to just drag the vacuum cleaner in because he knows where Emily keeps it and he’ll hoover over the guys’ conversation.

And I can totally see Reggie stress cleaning? Bc usually he’s stressed or upset because of his parents fighting, right? So it must seem to him that everything is very disorderly and out of place, so to make himself feel better he spends hours putting things in the right place so everything is nice and tidy. It’s just an added bonus that the place gets cleaner. Also if the studio was messy the day before and suddenly clean when the band arrives in the morning then they know Reggie had a tough night.

Oh god that hurts. That hurts so freaking much. Just particularly the “pretending he is still there” part - I’m now imagining Emily or Mitch going up to Luke’s room alone, slowly sitting down on the bed or at the desk because they don’t even want to disturb the dust that has settled there. And they’ll look around the room and they’ll remember their son and all the things he used to do - write music, play games, hang out with his friends (who they remember and miss as well), and yes, argue with his parents. And they talk to him, sometimes in the way Ray and Julie do to Rose, as if Luke can hear them and is listening, but sometimes it’s as if he’s stood right in front of them. Tears in her eyes, Emily will whisper “How did your band rehearsal go?” because although it’s too late to start caring and to be okay with it, it comforts her to pretend it means something. She’ll imagine Luke’s reply, hear his voice tell her they made a killer new song, and she’ll smile as she replies, “That’s lovely. Well done, Luke. I’m so proud of you.”

3. Omg hang on I love that, like Alex being amazing at cooking but also completely clueless. He mutters to himself, “What the fuck does ‘fold in the flour’ mean?” then take a wild guess and somehow it tastes great. But like you said, it doesn’t exactly look very appetising.

BOARD GAMES AND JAM

1. Abwjskdlw Alex throwing drumsticks at Luke like a javelin or a dart or something, and Luke is frantically trying to dodge them but Alex has a seemingly endless supply of drumsticks, he just keeps pulling them out of nowhere and they’ve been there for half an hour of non-stop drumstick throwing and avoiding before he finally runs out.

YES and Reggie is totally serious about it too. Alex sneezes and Reggie is immediately like “that’s a tell!!! You sneezed last round too!!! I’m onto you, Mercer, I know it was you.” And Alex almost readies his drumsticks to throw at Reggie as well.

AMONG US

Oh this. This is glorious. I love this entire thing omg.

The detail of Luke saying Alex was imposter when he wasn’t sus just because he was annoyed is brilliant and would 100% happen. Also Julie-and-Willie and Alex-and-Luke being the best imposter duos is everything. Willie won’t kill Alex no matter what, but Julie is ruthless and Luke is usually first on her list.

Also I want to add what accessories they like because that’s fun! Although I haven’t played in months and can’t remember all of them, but this is what immediately springs to mind.

Luke - toilet paper hat

Julie - flower pot hat

Willie - top hat

Alex - the adorable little leaf thing

Reggie - pumpkin head hat thing

Flynn - no accessory, but she does have a tiny version of her character trailing behind her, you know the ones I mean right? She has a tiny child Among Us player with her at all times idk

Oh god, Monopoly is so much more hectic when Willie and Flynn join in. Willie somehow manages to collect so much money that he may as well just be the banker (definitely nothing to do with Alex being biased and “accidentally” slipping him a little extra cash). Flynn gets the best cards (that’s a thing in monopoly right? There’s a stack of cards in the middle you can choose from? Idk) and they basically win her the game. Luke gets angry, that’s when he flips the table again and Julie locks monopoly away forever

Same with Uno. Reggie doesn’t speak to Luke for a week after the first and only time they play Uno.

NUMBERS

2. I love that, like Willie trying to be a supportive boyfriend as Alex watches his hoodie get torn to pieces but just not being able to contain his laughter, practically lying in Alex’s lap because he’s laughing so much. It only gets worse as Alex cradles his ripped hoodie in his hands like it’s a dead animal or something. Like Willie is trying to be nice but the whole situation is freaking ridiculous and it doesn’t work.

Ahahaha I’m so glad you watched it! It does change a bit as the story goes on, I’m sure you’ll like it (I’d always be willing to hear your thoughts on it if you keep watching as well, if you want!!)

And like right??? Alex has complete and utter Merlin energy like “No, there must be another Arthur because this one’s an idiot” may as well be Alex saying “No, there must be another Sunset Curve because these ones are idiots”

6. Lmfao Alex just totally stops functioning after the hair flip and Bobby has to step in, love that. He very calmly takes over the situation, or has a sign, or just like freaking slaps the back of Alex’s head to bring him back to reality.

Right??? They just very quickly say “hey Bobby it’s us don’t steal our music” and then appear in the garage. Kinda tempted to write it now actually

8. Okay, seeing as it’s half one, I don’t want to go off on a whole tangent about “their strengths compliment each other” but I will definitely do this when I’m more awake because it’s a goddamn goldmine

10. Yesss 🥺🥺 like at first he would be a little sad that he didn’t get the experience of getting them developed but then when he remembered how annoying it was he’d be so happy. And omg can you imagine he reaction to how instant it is?? And how high definition?? My boy would stay there staring at these photos for hours on end, wide-eyed, mouth open, awestruck

Oh I love that! Reggie claims it’s so that Alex can enjoy himself and cook something new, which it partly is, but mainly it’s because Reggie just wants more food

11. I now wanna say that Reggie has met a ton of celebrities but nobody believes him because it’s Reggie (and he literally said how adults never believed him as a kid). He’s met the queen, the band Queen, Billy Joel (just because I watched a Billy Joel concert tonight - side note, Luke absolutely adores Billy Joel and listens to him constantly), whoever the president was when the guys were alive, and plenty more

17. Omg lmfao that makes sense 😂😂😂 but yeah like now I love the idea of him having Caleb’s baby photos too, I’m not going back on it. Caleb just has them ready to hand over the next time they all see each other (idk if I already mentioned that?) and he does a big evil speech but hands Reggie the photos halfway through, still talking, and Reggie just smiles and tucks them away into his pocket

“Or at least normal Reggie behaviour” I love how that implies that even though they’ve only really met twice Caleb already knows exactly what Reggie’s like and not only accepts it but is willing to encourage it, showing that he probably thinks it quite sweet (because let’s face it, we all think Reggie is sweet, and Caleb may be evil but he’s not stupid)

Reggie having the queen’s baby photos omg I’m dead 😂😂 that time they met he asked her and like Caleb she didn’t question it, just handed over these probably priceless photos and they end up in some ghost’s scrapbook

Omg yes all of them in hotdog suits plus baby Willie with hotdog socks! Or eating a hotdog! Or with a hotdog stuffed toy! The possibilities are endless

19. YES definitely. Also, Willie and Alex’s alliance only lasts until one of them has the perfect opportunity to shove snow down the other’s back just to watch them squirm, then it’s every ghost for himself

20. You are SO right, Owen and Booboo are literally amazing, we really won with this whole cast.

And thank you so much for saying Caleb played Willie as much as he did the guys!!!! I’ve seen so much stuff recently about Willie hate and like no?? You’re right, Willie was as much a victim as the others. Also I am so in love with the idea of Good Caleb! I just want him to adopt Alex, that’s literally it. Maybe instead of Caleb being defeated by the end of the show, he has seen the error of his ways and has turned nice, now only using evil against people who upset Alex and Willie, pretty please, Kenny make this happen???

Wait yeah that’s a really good point. Again, it’s a looooong tangent and it’s ten to two so I won’t write it now, but Luke and Flynn being friends (and competing over who loves Julie more) is something I desperately need

21. Yes lmao like Alex when he was alive would sometimes graffiti with the boys or set fire to stuff for fun (because they’re teenage boys and that’s what teenage boys do right? Idk that’s what the ones I know do) but as a ghost when he’s invisible he’s just very unsure about going into a closed museum

24. Yesss I need this so muchhh you’re so right

25. Alex and Carrie friendship is god tier.

Small tangent but y’know what else is great? Carrie and Nick being best friends instead of dating. They would get on so well without the pressure of a relationship (once Carrie becomes a little nicer and Nick stops being possessed)

Exactly that’s totally what Luke is

26. Another Willie hair flip PLEASE I would die. Just, Alex short-circuiting around Willie is the best thing ever. And it’s got me wondering what other little things Willie does that basically break Alex: stretching when he’s wearing a crop top so Alex can see his stomach and the smallest bit of his chest; okay but swimmer Willie?? Willie was on his school’s swim team and still swims sometimes and for whatever reason Alex’s loses it; twirling his hair around his finger (bonus points: twirling Alex’s hair around his finger while they’re cuddling)

32. I just love the idea of literally anyone giving them stickers. Reggie’s just out and about in a forest in the middle of nowhere one day (even he doesn’t really know what he’s doing there) and somehow someone finds him and hands him their fanart

35. Omg I didn’t think about how emotional it would be but then you had to go and say this and now all I can think about is each of the boys getting the family they deserve after so long and being loved and cared for unconditionally even though they’re dead and Ray would call them his angels (because he kinda did in ep 7) and oh god it’s too much I love it

Ooooh yes I like that, it’s a good way around the issue 😂 ghost takes photo, ghost can be seen. Perfect

37. Pffffft lmao YES. Reggie just wasn’t really certain on how the washing machine worked because it was at Luke’s house not his and they had a different model and he forgot not to mix colours and it all went badly wrong. Also Luke is banned from wearing them without supervision because once he accidentally set fire to one and now it’s elbow has a burnt patch on it

39. Now you’ve mentioned that I want Ray and Trevor to be friends again! They were probably buddies until Julie and Carrie fell out, I’d love to see them reconnect

Personally my favourite thing of this whole experience is how “Alex and jigsaws” turned into “Reggie has the queen’s baby photos”

[waltzofthewifi]

Kota Chapter 32: Bet On It

Table of Contents

"Alix, I bet you-"

"You gave up your bets when I beat you in that race!"

"Oh come on, that was only for-"

Lacy and Max exchanged looks as Kim and Alix started on another bet. Lacy loved Alix to death, but sometimes...

"It's on!" Alix declared.

The two shook hands just as Bustier entered the classroom.

"Alright, class," Bustier said, quieting the class down. "Let's start with our usual exercise."

Alix and Kim were the first to go, complimenting each other on never backing down from a dare. Bustier sighed a long-suffering sigh.

"There's an 89 percent chance that this bet will take place at my place," Max told Lacy. "Perhaps you could come over and we could play video games in the meantime?"

"I don't really know how to play video games," Lacy replied. And she wasn't supposed to, either - demigods and technology don't mix.

"I could teach you," Max said. "I am the second-best gamer in the class."

Alix and Kim slid back into their seats, and Rose and Marinette were called.

Lacy frowned. "Who's the first?"

"Marinette," Max replied.

"Really? Is there anything she isn't good at?"

"No," Max answered.

"What about waking up on time?" Alix offered. "Or time management in general?"

"That's true," Lacy agreed.

"So?" Max prompted. "Are you up to facing a master gamer?"

Lacy hesitated. She really, really shouldn't. But she liked hanging out with Max and Kim.

"You shouldn't push her too much," Chloe said. "Lacy's horrible with technology."

Lacy scowled. It was the truth, but still.

"I am aware," Max answered. "But I'm sure we could overcome that obstacle."

"And afterwards, we could get ice cream!" Alix added. "Just not from that romance dude."

"Sounds like fun," Lacy said.

Max's apartment was a bigger than Lacy's.

It was all one story, on the first floor of the apartment building - Max's grandfather lived with them, and he couldn't do stairs. It had a main living room with a master bedroom off on one side, and a hallway with four bedrooms off the other. One of the bedrooms was designated a guest room - and it had a lot of stuff that looked like it belonged to Kim in it - and the other was the "tech room."

"My dad and I both use it," Max explained as he showed it off to Lacy.

It reminder her of the few times she had been in the Hephaestus cabin. One table was completely overtaken by robotic parts and diagrams. The walls were covered with different types of diagrams, science facts, and astronomy models. There was a drawer in the cabinet designated as "Markov's room." And, of course, one wall was completely dedicated to computer screens and gaming consoles.

"My mom did, too," Max said. "Before she left for her training."

"Training?" Lacy asked.

"She's going to be an astronaut," Max explained.

"Cool!"

The bet was crazy complicated - Kim said a friend helped him come up with it - but essentially it boiled down to who could stand on one leg the longest (while standing on this and that and the other thing, while listening to a horror podcast, etc etc). Markov would do the timing.

"Three, two, one, go!"

"So, you've never played any kind of video game?" Max asked.

Lacy shook her head. "Nope."

"Then you wouldn't know what type of game you like to play," Max concluded.

"You should show her your game!" Markov suggested.

"That's right," Lacy remembered. "I remember you telling me about that. Let's play that."

Max was perfectly okay with that, and he started setting up while Lacy watched.

"Alright, there we go," Max said. He handed her the controller, and started explaining the rules.

Seems simple enough.

"I don't recognize most of these akumas," Lacy admitted when they made it to character selection.

"They were before you came to Paris," Max explained. "You should be able to see their stats and powers next to the character."

Lacy spent her time looking at each one, while Max immediately choose his. Eventually, she ended up on a roller skater with what looked like good stats.

The round started.

The first round, they didn't do much fighting - Max made sure Lacy knew what she was doing first. The next several rounds, Lacy lost horribly.

By the time they finished round five, the bet had been won.

"Ha!" Kim beat a victorious fist in the air. "Told you."

Alix replied by sticking her tongue out.

A knock on the door interrupted the weird face making competition.

"Come in," Max called.

Ondine peaked her head in. "Is Kim - oh, there you are."

"Ondine!" Kim replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Come in," Max said.

Ondine stepped in, giving Kim a peck on the cheek.

"I got out of work early and thought I'd stop by," Ondine explained.

"Have you met everyone?" Kim asked.

"I know Max and Markov," Ondine said.

"Nice to see you again," Markov said.

"And it's - Lacy, right?"

Lacy nodded. "Yep. We met at the swim meet." Which Lacy had totally come to just to meet Kim's girlfriend (she was curious, okay?).

"And I don't think we've met."

"Alix." Alix held out a hand. "I'm also in Kim's class."

"Oh, the roller skater," Ondine recalled. "Kim's mentioned you."

"Yeah, and he won't shut up about you," Alix countered.

"That's because she's awesome," Kim said. "Lacy and Max were just finishing up a round of Max's game. Want to play?"

"Sure."

No monsters attacked that afternoon, but Lacy was still nervous as she and Alix headed to the bakery.

"You're being jumpy, even for you," Alix commented.

"I just keep expecting an attack," Lacy admitted. "You know, being a demigod and using technology never ends this well."

Alix shrugged. "Maybe that's an American thing. You said the other demigod that you ran into mentioned Celtic monsters - maybe they're not attracted to Greek scents."

"Maybe."

They turned into the bakery. Mrs Cheng waved at them as they entered.

"Are you here to see Marinette?" She asked. "I think she just left with Alya."

"No, we're picking up something for Nath," Alix said. "He's out sick."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. What can I get for you?"

Alix relayed his order, and a few minutes later they were out of the bakery and heading to Nathaniel's place.

"So, what did you think of Ondine?" Lacy asked.

Alix shrugged. "She seems nice. Her and Kim seem to work together as a couple well."

"Yeah, they're really cute together. Kim's so supportive of her swimming abilities, and she's super supportive of him too! They're just so cute together!"

"If you say the word 'cute' one more time I'm disowning you."

"I don't think that's how friendships work."

Alix rolled her eyes. Lacy bumped her shoulder into Alix's.

"You know you love me."

"Yeah, uh huh."

"- as a way of letting Nathaniel know we were thinking of him," Marinette finished.

The class was gathered in the art room. Marinette had asked for a few minutes to talk to the class about a project before the actual class began.

"I think it's a great idea!" Rose said.

"I'm sure Nath will appreciate it," Alix commented.

"Yeah, he's really out of it," Lacy added.

"As long as I don't actually have to go near him while he's sick, I'm in," Chloe said.

"Alright, so here's what I need each of you to do-"

The project moved quickly, and the teacher didn't mind spending half the class period helping out. It was technically a study-hall period, but Marinette had asked the class to meet in the art room instead.

At the end, Nino helped video the result and send it to Nathaniel.

"Marinette's always so thoughtful about things like that," Rose said.

"She didn't really do that much," Chloe said.

Lacy gave her a look.

"What? I'm only saying that instead of praising Dupain-Cheng, Rose should be proud of what she did to help. That's a good thing!"

"Chloe's right," Marinette commented, stepping up behind her. "I only had the idea. It never would have worked if everybody wasn't so willing to spend time to cheer up a classmate. You should be proud of yourself, Rose."

"Did you just agree with me?" Chloé asked.

"Yep. And you better get used to it, if you're going to make a habit of being right."

Chloé groaned. "Yay me."

Alix reached over the desk and prodded Chloe multiple times.

Chloe turned around. "Yes?"

"We're going to that new superhero challenge place this afternoon," Alix said. "I was originally going to bring Nath along, but since he's out sick, we have an extra ticket. Right now it's just me, Lace, Kim, and Max."

"It would be tempting," Chloe admitted. "If I didn't already have a spa appointment scheduled."

"That's the place that paid Alya for an endorsement on the Ladyblog, right?" Sabrina asked.

Alix nodded. "Yeah, it's supposed to be super cool! Alya said that they'll be going this weekend to check it out, but since we're going today she'll interview me for her review."

"My dad's not thrilled with it," Sabrina said. "Something about a safety risk. He won't be happy if I go."

Alix pouted.

"Hey, we have an extra ticket tonight, right?" Kim asked, leaning up from his desk behind them. "Can Ondine come?"

"Yes, that sounds great!" Lacy replied.

"Hey, I paid for the tickets, I decide," Alix argued. "But yeah, that's fine, if it's fine with Max."

"Hmm," Max said. "With Nathaniel not coming, that makes me the least athletic. I would rather bring someone along that's more my level of athleticism, not another high-level athlete."

"Okay," Alix said. She stood up. "Rose, Juleka, either of you free tonight?"

"No, we have band rehearsal," Rose replied.

"Mylene?"

"I have tickets to my dad's play," Mylene answered.

Alix sat back down. "That only leaves us athletes."

Max sighed. "Then I'll just resign myself to being the slowest."

"You're not that out of shape," Kim said. "You'll keep up fine."

"Besides, it's a team thing," Lacy said. "We're all in this together."

"There's a ninety-eight percent chance I'm going to regret this tomorrow."

"It's closed?"

Max adjusted his glasses. "The sign on the door says something about safety risks."

"But I signed a waiver!" Alix argued. "This sucks!"

"They'll probably refund you," Lacy said.

"Yeah, probably," Alix said, deflating. "Ooh, maybe instead we can look at that climbing gym you were interested in."

"Ooh yes!"

"I'm in!" Kim said. "I always love climbing things."

"I'd be interested," Ondine added. "I've never rock climbed before. But you'd probably want to spend the money with your other friend."

"Hey, we can just get six tickets, or slots or whatever," Alix said. "There's no reason you can't come with."

"Thanks," Ondine said.

"I bet you I can climb faster than you," Kim said.

"No," Alix said. "I'm not taking that bet. I've seen you climb."

"Oh come on," Kim replied. "You're not one to back out of a challenge."

"I'll take it," Lacy said.

That got surprised looks from everyone but Alix.

"Are you sure?" Max asked. "Kim is a great climber."

"I'm an all-around athlete," Kim bragged.

"I'm a pretty good rock climber too," Lacy replied.

"Okay, you're on."

Roi Singe and Chat Noir landed behind Ladybug and Viperion after their patrol.

"This is so cool!" Roi Singe said.

"I know, right?" Chat Noir asked. "There's nothing like the rooftops of Paris at night."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," Ladybug said.

"It's definitely peaceful," Viperion added.

"How are things going with your kwami?" Ladybug asked.

"Great! He had this super cool idea for a bet with a friend that involved this really cool set up and we had to balance on one leg and everything and I totally won the bet!"

"Sounds like you're getting along fine," Ladybug said.

"We are," Roi Singe. "I'm going to rearrange some things in my room over the weekend to give him something to climb on."

"I got my kwami a cat bed and stand once," Chat Noir said. "He never used it. He prefers sleeping in my trash can."

"Your kwami sounds fun," Viperion deadpanned.

Chat Noir shrugged. "Honestly, he acts a lot like what I've heard cats are like. You just have to adjust to their way of showing affection."

"A lot like you, kitty," Ladybug stated.

"So how's your kwami?" Roi Singe asked Viperion.

"Doing good," Viperion answered. "I've been introducing him to different types of music."

"Nice," Roi Singe said. "Xuppu seems to like the weirdest music I can find."

"Sass is cool with whatever I put on," Viperion replied.

"Tikki's like that too," Ladybug said.

"I don't know what music Plagg likes," Chat Noir admitted. "When I give him access to my computer, he usually ends up watching epic fail videos."

"Tikki hates those videos," Ladybug said. "I like them, but I'm super clumsy as a civilian so I don't feel bad laughing at them when I've been them, you know?"

"I'm the same way," Roi Singe said. "Not clumsy, but I'm usually the one trying to do the weird stunts that end badly."

Ladybug nodded, remembering some of the weirder stunts she'd seen him try to do.

"I don't have that problem-"

Ladybug scoffed.

Chat Noir haltered. "What?"

"You can not convince me you never try stunts like that," Ladybug said.

"Not outside of the costume," Chat Noir said.

"Doesn't the Ladyblog have video of-"

"She took it down," Chat Noir interrupted.

"Shame," Ladybug said. "That was a hilarious video."

Chat Noir pouted.

"It's getting late," Viperion said. "You should all get to bed."

"What, are you the team mom now?" Chat Noir challenged.

"I am the oldest," Viperion replied.

"That doesn't mean you have to be all responsible," Chat Noir argued.

"We're superheroes. We all have to be responsible."

"Viperion's right," Ladybug said. "Besides, I'm really behind on homework."

Viperion frowned. "Sleep first."

Ladybug brushed him off. "I'm not tired."

"Viperion's right," Chat Noir commented. "I know you, you need to sleep."

"I'm fine."

"Sleep," Chat Noir repeated.

"Or I'll set Rena on you," Viperion threatened.

"Okay, okay," Ladybug ceded. "No need to get her involved. I'll go to bed."

Luka was waiting patiently outside of the bakery when Marinette left for school.

"So?" He asked.

"I slept," Marinette reassured him. "Tikki can vouch for me."

"Good," Luka said.

"Yeah, except now I'm extra behind on homework," Marinette admitted. "Plus I have another commission to work on."

"Remember, sleep is more important than your commissions," Luka said. "And more important than school."

"Chat's right. You are the mom friend."

It took a lot to make Marc angry, but eventually he slammed his pencil down and turned to Alix.

"Are you bored? Is that why you're bothering me?"

"Hey, I'm just checking in on you," Alix replied. "He's your boyfriend, after all."

"Alix, If Marc doesn't want to be bothered, we can eat somewhere else," Lacy attempted. Again.

This time, Alix threw her hands up. "Fine."

Lacy gave an apologetic look at Marc before following her out of the lunch room and into the courtyard.

"Was that mean?" Alix asked.

"A little," Lacy admitted.

"Ugh, I hate it when Nath gets sick," Alix complained. "At least I have you this time."

"Thanks?"

Alix took a bite out of her sandwich before continuing. "I just never really got along with anyone before Nath, you know? I'm always too blunt or too sarcastic or too energetic for everyone."

"Not for this class," Lacy said. "You have plenty of friends now. Me, Kim, Max, me, Mylene, Marinette, me, Adrien, me-"

"Alright, I get your point," Alix conceded. "I'll apologize to Marc later."

"Oh, there's Ondine," Lacy said, spotting the other girl across the courtyard. She waved, and Ondine waved back. To her surprise, Ondine headed over to them.

"Mind if I sit with you?" Ondine asked.

"Not at all," Alix said.

"Is your friend still out sick?" Ondine asked.

"Yeah," Alix replied. "Nath doesn't get sick a lot, but when he does he's totally out of it for a few days."

"Marinette came up with a really nice present for him," Lacy said.

"Marinette does seem really nice," Ondine said.

"She is," Lacy agreed. "And she's really thoughtful too!"

"Makes you wonder about the rumors going around," Ondine said. "I mean, everyone who knows her talks to highly of her, but then there's all of those rumors about her bullying someone-"

"Lila," Alix sneered. "That-"

"She's not the greatest person," Lacy summarized. "She lies and manipulates people into her liking her, which, yeah, doesn't sound so bad, but she always wants to be at the center of attention, and has threatened people in our class."

"That sounds horrible," Ondine said.

"Yeah, I'm glad she moved classes," Lacy replied.

"I think Kim mentioned her," Ondine remembered. "I remember he cancelled a few dates to help her with something. I'll admit, I was a little jealous."

"Kim's really trying to be nice this year," Alix said. "Lila was really good at abusing that.""He's so sweet," Ondine said.

"He's sweeter than he was," Alix said. "He was kind of a jerk at the beginning of the year."

"I guess," Ondine replied. "But that's all behind him now."

"I guess people can change."

Next Chapter

[nthrr]

A Second Chance

Summary: 'Who are you?' He wanted to know, know every single thing about her, things that one shouldn't want to know about a person who holds a gun on them. A second chance at love for the ones that were robbed of it.

It had been days since he had had a good nights sleep free from dreams. He didn't know why but since his childhood he had dreams that had followed the same theme. A world full of fantasy, honour and war. In his childhood those dreams seemed like an entry into the unknown, a world full of wonders and action that a little boy thoroughly enjoyed and embraced. But as he had grown older, had gotten better at understanding the world around himself , the dreams changed, their meanings changed. Cheerful laughter and abundance of love that shone through the dreams changed. The first time he experienced a life leaving its body through his own hands, he was fourteen. Waking up screaming he had thoroughly frightened his parents. Chalking it up to nightmares didn't seem to work in their household because once is a chance, twice is a coincidence but repeatedly for past how many ever years that he had started speaking from, explaining to his parents a world from history books that they attributed to his imagination, that had frightened them. A slew of doctors came and went, medicines consumed but the dreams didn't seem to stop. He stopped taking those medicines when he had accidentally overdosed due to him being delirious with not having slept in three days. It was a great fight with his parents but slowly he had them accept that those medicines were not improving him at all. Turning to yoga and meditation brought him a sense of calm but those dreams, those dreams where he was an royal, the feeling of a sword slicing the air around him, an all encompassing feeling of motherly love and devotion , the feeling of complete content and happiness as if he had found his soulmate, they never left and to tell the truth , he would rather have them along with sleepless nights with nightmares than do without them.

Inspite of all this he had an loving childhood, and a promising career. His family owns the prestigious Mahismathi Industries, a pioneer in the field of technology. Being the only heir apparent of MI , his life and future is set. But the thirst of knowledge and the fire to prove that he deserves the position made him an overachiever in his studies and in the work he started doing for MI. His parents seem to be happy that he is thriving despite his struggles in mental health and that has lead to what is now a big problem for him. Marriage. The thing he totally despises. Don't get him wrong he has no qualms about love, and he had gone on dates and had a few one night stands. But marriage is different. It's a partnership more than anything else. What was he to say to his future wife, that he has recurring dreams and nightmares and that he'll wake up screaming somedays, babble in a strange language on others, sometimes wake up kicking and punching so would you please learn some self defense or sorry we cant sleep in the same bed. Or should he say I'll try to love you but sorry I think I can't because I already love someone, oh it's just someone I dream of regularly, and no she's not real, yes I'm pretty sure, no I would not like an admittance to a mental hospital thanks. He would be really glad when this marriage talk comes to an end.

He prays for this recent bout of sleeplessness to end , he is getting sick of his own growchiness. Hearing his alarm blare out he groans and covers himself with his sheets willing the world to just disappear away. A few minutes later hearing the second alarm go off he huffs before throwing away his sheets and stumbles to the bathroom. He considers calling in sick for a few moments after he sees his reflection in the mirror, he really looks like a zombie, but then he curses himself for his very own good work ethics. Besides the vultures at the company would swoop in at just a peak of a mistake to point and complain. It was getting ridiculous, he was only in a mid management position now, both him and his parents agreeing that he should start low at the food chain, getting an experience at different levels in the company. But some people at the board still try to sabotage him at every turn. The thing was they knew his place at the top is cemented but they still try at every chance they get. He could even appreciate the ones that go about it in a clever way, because they could be useful for him in the long term but those stupid ones, he just doesn't know what to do about them.

Cursing the board members mentally, he got ready and hurried out of his house hoping he won't be late. Just as he was about to start the car his cellphone went off. Seeing that it was his mother calling and wondering she would at this time of the day he answered the call,

'Amma, good morning, why are you calling this early, any problem?' He inquired.

'Amar, good morning my son, did you sleep well'

'Ya ma, got some sleep , what's the matter , is everything ok?' It wasnt like his mother to call him in the early hours of the day. This call was making him a bit worried.

'Yes, good, everything is fine, don't worry and stop being a pessimist '

'Tell that to my mother who calls early in the morning to a son who she's going to see probably in an hour or so' he countered back.

'Stop sassing me, lord knows I get enough of that from your father and stop chuckling, like father like son', He tries vainly to cover his laughs. Like father, as if, he hasn't seen anyone in his life actually verbally spar with his mother and come out unscathed.

'Ok ok sorry, I'm stopping so why did you call' If he doesn't stop his mother now he would still be getting told off an hour from now.

'Oh that, I just wanted to ask you to collect a package from Ragupathy uncle on the way. Its the family heirloom from Andhra that got lost and was got back in an auction, uncle has it and he said he would deliver it personally, but it seems he has an urgent business meeting coming up and wont be able to come by so he asked me to send you by to pick it up'

'Cant you ask someone else ma, I'm getting pretty late, and if it really has to be me I can even pick it up in the evening' he tries.

'Amarnath, didn't I already say your uncle is going away on a business trip , and no I cant send anyone else because it's a family heirloom and it costs twenty two millions. And how many times do I have to say you are the boss of MI and you are allowed to be late sometimes. '

'Cool down cool down, dont get tensed, your blood pressure is already high, I'll go ok, and i really shouldn't be late even when I'm the boss' This was an age old argument in their home and today wasnt the day that it was going to be resolved.

'Really cant change you dear, but that is also why you are the heir to MI and your cousin Balla is not'

'Dont you get started on him now amma, and got to go now if I'm getting your package too along the way '

'Dont grumble too much will you, doesn't suit you'

'Ok amma got to go bye'

'Hmm , drive safely dear , bye'.

Ending the call with his mother , he started the car and turned it towards his uncle's home. Arriving in under twenty minutes, he rushed to the door and rang the bell. The door opened to reveal panja aunty a maid in his uncles home who welcomed him warmly. Asking for his uncle he was directed to the study in the upper floor. Knocking on the door and entering he found his uncle rushing around trying to fit as many things as he could in the bag of his.

'Amarnath, thank you my son for coming so quickly , I really didn't know who to trust with such an important piece of item. Thank God you're here'

'Its no problem uncle, mom said you have an antique piece for her?'he ended it as a question, trying not to let his frustrations show about how late it was getting.

Giving a confirmation his uncle went to the safe in the corner and brought an ornately carved box about the size of a shoe box.

'Take great care of this Amar, this thing does not only contain our family's money but also our history and legacy. Be careful will you?'

'I'll be careful uncle, it's already 7 isn't your flight at 7.30'

'Yes , yes I'll go , dont want to make you late' his uncle finished with a laugh. His entire family knew what a workaholic he was and took great pleasure in teasing him at any given chance.

Seeing his uncle off , he secured the package carefully in the trunk so that it wont jolst too much on the drive and started the car. It was a solid hour travel to his office from his uncle's home and he wanted to shave off whatever minutes he could so he took the smaller streets that wound through the city rather than the highway.

Later he would wish he had paid more attention to the road and to the car that was tailing him rather than speeding. But it had brought him to her and he wouldn't want it any other way.

It was halfway through, on a stretch of road that had sporadically placed houses and rather bare in terms of human activity that it happened. It wasn't that he wasn't paying attention to the road but when he noticed a man laying on the ground with his bike toppled over it was difficult to stop with the way he was speeding. He didn't think he had hit the stranger but it really was too close for his comfort. Berating himself and lamenting the consequences for his momentary lapse in judgement he hurried out of the car to check on the stranger.

It really had been a close call, he observed, if he had been even a second late in applying the breaks , the man would have died and he would have become a murderer. Walking over to the man on the ground he saw no evidence of bleeding , which was good. Crouching down , he laid his fingers to the man's neck to check for his pulse. Noticing that he had a good , strong pulse, he started to try to wake the man. With no amount of him trying getting any results, he decided to call the ambulance.

As concerned with the stranger as he was, he hadn't heard the scuffles coming from behind his car. But a strange loud thud from the near vicinity of his car startled him from his position. More wary now than he had been before , he tried to get up and check what the noise had been about. But before he could even stand fully, he was grabbed by the ankles and pushed to the ground. With his winds knocked out and reasonably confused he saw the man on the ground get up grinning. With a dawning sense of realisation coming upon him he turned his attention to the car to see four men with clothes tied over their faces trying to force open the trunk. He realised It had been a ploy to get him off the car.

It took him longer than he would be willing to admit, to get sense of the situation. Three by the car, forcefully trying to open the trunk, and an another who had tricked him, who now that he focused was swinging his leg back to deliver a kick. The kick landed hard on his abdomen knocking his breath out. Pain for many would cloud their senses but for him it sharpend them. When the next kick contacted with his abdomen he held on to the leg and pulled. Bringing down his assailant he crouched on the top of him and delivered a swift punch to his face. With the following two more the man was knocked out cold. Suddenly hands grappled on the back of his shirt pulling him away from the man. Allowing his weight to freefall on the assailant he got away from the hold and faced his three opponents. Breathing in and out and centering his mind he got into a battle stance.

In his childhood while other children opted for sports or games Amar was always fascinated by martial arts. After much cajoling to his parents he joined them, and never looked back. Fighting came easy to him, he raised through the ranks and joined even more different types of martial arts classes. It gave him peace and happiness that couldn't be found in his life plenty. So this situation of him facing three goons that seemed to be amateurs at best did not panic him as it would any other. They came at him from all sides, trying to overpower him , but he side steps and fights. The fight finishes in mere minutes. Panting heavily he carefully notes what he could about these thugs. From the way they way laid him and opened his car without any power tools he could tell they were well accomplished thieves, but their fighting left a lot to be desired. They weren't fighters , just thieves, good ones but just thieves .

A sudden feeling of a cold hardness pressed against his skull brought him up from his thoughts. With the realisation dawning on him he scolded himself for not checking up on the other thug he knocked out at the start. The gun pressed against him trembled making him more nervous that that idiot would shoot him without even meaning to. Seeing that he had not been shot at already he tried talking to the man who had his life in his hands. 'Listen buddy, there's no need for weapons here. Lower your gun and I'll let you guys go without even letting the police involved. But if you shoot and then got caught it would be life sentence for you. Your whole life would be behing the bars. Think that through. Put your gun away and I'll let you take your guys away. '

The gun pressing even harder against his head made him stop . The hand that was trembling till now steadied. The gun pressed firmly against the back of his head steadied. The click of the guns safety rang across the empty road sounding to him as if it was the conch sounding at his funeral. The safety had been on before , he could have tried to escape but there was no use lamenting about things that could have been. He knew in a few moments he would be no more. As many say, his whole life did not flash before his eyes , but his dreams did. Times he was happy and content in his dreams came to the forefront of his mind. He could totally ignore the gun behind him and he could go out with thoughts that made him smile. More than the fear of death , the wait for when the bullet will tear through him was what scared him. In the silence that made even death noisy , he heard the creak of the trigger being pressed. Then the shot rang through.

The pain he expected was not there, nor was the feeling of either heaven or hell. Slowly opening his eyes which he seemed to have closed , he turned around to see what the hell had happened. There on the ground laid the man who had held a gun to his head , with a bleeding shoulder. The gun laid on the ground and was now being picked up. Following the hand he saw the other held a gun too which seemed to be the source of the shot that he heard. Moving his eyes upwards he stopped short. Because there with guns in her hands, in a plain shirt and pants was the girl he was intimately familiar with. Eyes sharp as razors, beautiful red lips turned into a scowl, a face that shone even when it screamed murderous intent, she was there, every inch a perfect copy of the dreams that he had.

'Deva' his mind whispered, 'Deva'.

He wanted to pinch himself awake but he knew that this was real because even in his dreams he could never get the magnetism that shone off her eyes right, that was being directed at him. He didn't even mind the gun that was now pointed at him, again.

'Who are you , what the hell happend here ' she asked with a voice filled with authority. He found himself smiling hearing her voice. It was just as enchanting as he had always imagined it to be. 'What are you smiling for' she asked again with more force now. His smile had infuriated her.

'Who are you?' He wanted to know, know every single thing about her, things that one shouldn't want to know about a person who holds a gun on them.

'Devika Rajendran , deputy inspector of police , now give me your name or be ready to be dragged off to jail' she stated with a raised eyebrow and a relaxed stance. The confidence that she carried with her, it sent shivers down his spine making him want to needle her so much more, so that he could watch the way she got wound up and let go.

''Amarnath Chandran, software engineer at Mahismathi Industries ' he replied , holding back his true position at MI. He wanted her to look at him as if he was just any other normal guy, not the heir to a multibillion dollar company. It was experience that had him introducing himself as an IT guy rather than his true self. But looking at her he somehow doubted that she would bend down or simper at him. And it was that which made her even more attractive in his eyes.

'Well Mister Amarnath' he cut her off before she could finish the sentence,' its Amar, call me Amar'

If possible she looked even more less impressed by that statement. 'Mister Amarnath, I have to ask you , why was this guy pointing a gun at you' a hint of coldness seeped into her tone.

'I have no idea who these people are , they hijacked my car and tried to steal the antique that i had in my trunk, and trust me no way am i involved in any shady business Devika' and seeing the expression on her face become frostier he hastily added 'Maam, Devika Maam'.

'Cut off the name calling and show me your ID' she neared him and held out her hands.

He didn't know what was going through his mind. It probably was "she's here, she's real" and not "let's go to jail today". His response should have been "sure, let me get it from my car" and not what he said.

'I dont have it on my person at this moment but I could bring it to you by noon today. Your office is at the city headquarters isn't it'

If it had been him at her place , he probably would have done worse than slap the cuffs on his had and dump him in the back of the police jeep with the other thugs. He didn't care much for it, but at least the view was nice, or the back of her that he could see.

It took his mother half an hour to get the news and come to the station with a lawyer to get him out, the time which he spent most enjoyably watching her in her true environment. He seemed to infuriate her, smiling wider every time she managed to catch his look and glare at him. It was good that his mother came when she did or he didn't know what she would have done to him. But as soon as his mother came her entire ire transferred to his mother. Watching both the woman verbally battle he was glad that he wasnt caught in between but he would gladly accept that and more if only she could be in his life. They were two strong women who didn't want to give each other an inch of leeway. Finally Devika stomped towards the holding cell and opened the door with such a force that nobody could mistake her anger for anything else.

But before she could leave he grabbed her wrists making her turn towards him with such an anger in her face. It made him want to go to her and pull her in a tight hug and never let her leave. But he had an apology to deliver. Letting her go he lifted his hands up in an apology.

'I'm sorry I touched you without your permission, I just wanted your attention for a second. I'm sorry that I deceived you, it's my fault. The reason for it is simple. I didn't want to be away from your company just yet. You captivate me Devika, from your confidence to your inner strength that shows just as bright as your beauty, I wanted to spend more time with you. Your strength is beautiful, you are beautiful. Will you please accept my apology as a dinner tonight. Just an apology dinner, nothing else and if you never want to see me again you dont have to'.

Seeing the anger fade away from her face, and a confused look entering in, he smiled.

'Don't need to give me an answer now, tonight 7 PM at Jonas restaurant at the city centre, I'll be waiting, and if you dont show up I'll understand ' leaving the cell he started to walk out of the room and fortunately for him his mother seemed to have left already. Stopping midway he turned back to see her still standing in the same position. 'I don't know what you will decide tonight Devika, but either way have a good life officer'. He turned back and strode out of the room, whatever tonight may bring he was content in a way that he had never been. She may never come looking for him, but knowing that she was real, and that she lived a happy life somewhere was enough for him.

A smirk tugged at his lips, he definitely did notice the blush that stained her cheeks when she was with him.

Thank you @carminavulcana and @mayavanavihariniharini for welcoming me into this wonderful fandom.

Ao3 link

[eastasianfeelings]

the way you look at him instead of me: Wonho

— based on Monsta X as jealous boyfriends

Summary: You’re a female songwriter-producer who's working with Wonho again after a long time. You still feel an attraction to him, and as his jealousy demonstrates, so does Wonho.

Words: 3.5k

Warnings: jealousy, a bit of angst, making out

*

“For the last few songs I wrote, I worked with PD Wooyeong, PD Taehyun and PD Mino. I wanted to get a different feel for this song, so I’m really looking forward to collaborating on this one with you, Y/N-noona.”

Cue Wonho’s bunny smile.

You do your best to smile back, but it’s a bit hard. He’s been in your studio for only five minutes and already you’ve gotten a clear sense of how many male producers have gotten to work with Monsta X. You recognize almost all the names; you know that Mino, for example, got his first songwriting credit on a KNK B-side track just two months ago. And now he’s already working with Monsta X’s company?

You’re one of the few female producers in the business of churning out K-pop hits, and while South Korea might be a relatively advanced country technologically, gender bias still has a firm grip almost everywhere. Just yesterday you were turned down three separate times by three separate idol group PDs. You’ve been in the industry for over five years, and still sometimes you can’t even get a demo in their hands before they’re shutting the metaphorical door in your face.

“I’m looking forward to working with you too, Wonho-yah,” you say, the appropriate rote response to his sentiment.

His smile fades a little and he tilts his head at you. You get the uncomfortable feeling that he’s going to ask if you’re all right, so you move on. “Do you have a demo already?

“Ah, no I don’t. I asked Minhyuk-ah and Kihyunie to record some sample vocal lines, but I wanted to show you first.”

“Okay, let’s hear it then.” You make room on your desk for him to prop open his laptop.

He pulls his chair closer to yours and leans in to navigate to the song. The warmth of his nearness makes you look over reflexively, and then his deltoids capture your attention.

A spark of attraction zaps through you, hard. You almost flinch. There’s always been something of a pull between you two, a pull that sometimes makes you wonder what would happen if you were younger and not part of the industry and Wonho was the type of person to indulge in quiet indiscretions.

At that moment, Wonho turns to you. Whatever words he was about to say fade as the two of you lock eyes. The silence abruptly seems very, very loud. His lips…

But. You’re older, and you’re a female songwriter and producer, and Wonho is an idol with a million and one fans. The facts are enough to make you look away.

You fix your eyes on his screen. “Is this the demo?”

“Ah—yes.” Wonho clears his throat roughly, and you take miserable solace in the fact that you’re not the only one feeling this way. “Here, let me play it through once. Please let me know what you think.”

Fortunately, it’s easy to engross yourself in the work. Two hours fly by as you discuss melody lines, chord progressions, verse structure and more with Wonho, who’s very receptive and open. After a little encouragement, he also starts sharing his own ideas more freely.

“See, I think the background accompaniment is good if it’s strong here, it kind of sounds like it’s swallowing up the main vocal line — ”

“Swallowing?” you say skeptically.

He nods several times. “This song is about falling into love, right? So you fall and you’re swallowed.”

“It sounds blurry like this, though. Unintentionally blurry.”

“It sounds blurry, but if you think about it, the blurriness could represent your senses closing in as you fall. It’s kind of a trap, you know?”

You cock your head. “Honestly, I don’t think that’s the effect achieved here.”

“You don’t get it — ah, I’m not explaining well.” Wonho sits back with a huff, scrubbing his hands through his hair.

“I don’t get it?” you echo, torn between amusement and the urge to kick his impertinent little ass.

He realizes what he said and immediately turns, palms toward you in supplication. “No, no, Y/N-noona, I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that I didn’t explain well. It’s not your fault at all.”

Your irritation fades, leaving behind the amusement. “Well, Wonho-ssi,” you say jokingly, “if you can’t explain well and you keep offending people like this, you’ll just have to work on your songs all by yourself, right?”

“No, noona,” he says, looking half-agonized now. His hands are fluttering in between you two like sacrificial pigeons. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

You can’t help but laugh. “I’m teasing, it’s fine.” You punch him in the shoulder and oh God, his deltoids. The spark comes back; things inside you clench involuntarily.

Wonho’s looking at you with an expression like a chastened puppy, and the juxtaposition between his soft face and his hard muscles is somewhere close to fatal. You push back all the not-so-clean thoughts in your mind and repeat, “It’s fine, Wonho-yah, don’t worry about it, okay?”

He bobs a nod, but can’t help apologizing once more. “I’m sorry.”

“Why don’t we try easing back on the accompaniment, and see how it sounds? If it still doesn’t feel right, you can always experiment more.”

“Okay, noona.”

Around lunchtime, your stomach growls. You slap a hand to it, then mock-frown at Wonho’s little chuckle. “Sorry, I think I need some food. You probably have to get back to the company too, right? We can call it a day.”

“I actually don’t need to go back to the company for lunch,” he says, announcing it proudly like he’s earned some rare privilege. (Actually, maybe it is a rare privilege for idols like him.) “What about eating together?”

“Ordering delivery, right?” you check.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Wonho insists on deferring to your preferences, so you end up ordering from your favourite ramen shop. As expected, he’s perfectly happy with your choice. The two of you keep discussing the song until your phone rings with the call from the delivery person. A few minutes after you buzz them into the building, a knock comes at the door of your studio.

When you open the door, a smile spreads on your face instinctively: it’s Hyeontae, a part-timer at the ramen shop who you’ve become familiar with. “Hyeontae-oppa! I thought it was your voice on the phone, but I wasn’t sure.”

“You didn’t recognize me? I recognized you right away.” Hyeontae pretends to be offended, but his eyes are sparkling.

“That’s just because you saw my name on the order,” you joke, accepting the food from him.

“Still, you order from us so often. I’d have thought you’d be able to tell me apart by now.” He winks. “By the way, why’d you order all this? Don’t tell me you’re going to eat ramen for lunch and dinner?”

“No! It’s for two people. I don’t love your food that much.”

“Oh, you don’t? Then how come I bring you ramen every other day, hmm?”

You’re laughing and denying it when you feel a warmth at your side. You look round to find Wonho standing right beside you, staring at Hyeontae like the guy just said he hates Monsta X.

“Ah, Wonho?” you say, a little unnerved.

Wonho doesn’t break the stare until when Hyeontae stops smiling at you and starts frowning questioningly at Wonho. At that point, Wonho turns to you, creasing the corners of his mouth in a half-smile, and takes the food from you. “Noona, let me pay for the food, okay?”

“Oh, I already paid through the app,” you inform him.

“Yep, she’s good,” Hyeontae adds.

That does not make Wonho’s expression look any less foreboding. He returns his gaze to Hyeontae and shifts his weight closer to you. “Then, thanks for delivering it,” he says, and nonchalantly leans a hip into you. “We should get back to our work, right, noona?”

You teeter slightly under his weight before catching yourself. “Uh, yeah. Thanks, oppa.”

“No problem, Y/N-ah.” Hyeontae gives you a chipper salute. “Call anytime, okay?”

“Got it.” You give him a finger-gun back, then wave goodbye.

When you turn to close the door, you nearly run into Wonho. He’s still standing at the doorway, ramen in his hands, that glare on his face.

“Wonho-yah?”

He blinks, then refocuses on you. “Ah, yes. Yes?”

You gesture to the food. “Shall we eat?”

“Right! Yes.” He finally moves back into the studio, allowing you to close the door.

You relocate to the tiny card table next to the desk and set out the steaming take-out dishes. You’re pulling out the disposable chopsticks when Wonho speaks. “So I guess you go to that ramen shop a lot? For him to recognize you.”

“Yeah.” You nod as you snap your chopsticks and start rubbing them against each other. “We bonded because he loves this one girl group song that I helped to write, so he thinks I’m a big deal or something. It’s kind of silly, but nice at the same time.”

“I see.” Wonho yanks his chopsticks apart with a resounding snap, and you almost expect bamboo splinters to fly.

After another short while, he speaks up again. “You know, you shouldn’t have ramen too often. It’s not really healthy.”

You stop blowing on your ramen to look over at him. “I thought you like ramen?”

“It’s because I love it that I know it’s unhealthy!” he defends himself. “I always take lots of protein to supplement. I mean, I just think it’s important for people in general to know how to eat well.”

You smile at him. “All right, I got it.”

He drops his eyes to his food, mumbles, “So don’t order from that ramen shop too much,” and proceeds to stuff noodles into his mouth.

“Sure, okay.”

Your easy acquiescence seems to lift his mood. The rest of the meal passes by affably, with him sharing funny stories about recent Monsta X exploits while you laugh and shake your head in affectionate wonder at the mysterious machine that is K-pop. By the time the food’s done, your cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

“I feel like I talked a lot about myself,” Wonho says, pushing his empty ramen bowl to the side. “What about you, noona?”

“What about me?” You pick up the dishes and head to the garbage can to dump them.

“What’s going on with you? We haven’t been in touch for a while.”

You sit back down and shrug lightly. “Lots of things here and there. Just finding my way through the industry, you know.”

The lightness of your shrug and tone must not be entirely convincing, because Wonho leans forward on the edge of his seat to peer at you. “Noona?”

“Yes?”

“Do you… want to talk to me about it?” he asks.

“Talk to you about what?” you deflect, hunching your shoulders in unconscious defensiveness.

But he squares his body to you and leans in some more. “Anything. Is something bothering you? You don’t have to tell me, but sometimes — sometimes it’s helpful to talk to somebody else, no matter what it is.”

You hesitate.

“I want to help,” he says, very firmly, and looks at you with open, vulnerable eyes. “If I can.”

It’s impossible to doubt his sincerity.

So even though you’re not sure that he’ll see your point of view as a man, that there’s anything he can do to help, you tell him.

By the end, he’s frowning so hard his brow is scrunched into three lines. “Wow. I’m really sorry to hear that, noona. I didn’t know that kind of sexist stuff happened.”

“It’s okay,” you say automatically. It’s not, but neither is it his fault. “It’s just been eating at me for a while, that’s all. But I’ll keep working hard with people like you and build up my credentials until my time comes.”

“But it’s unfair.”

He doesn’t even question the validity of your experiences, which surprises and touches you more than his sympathy does. “It is unfair,” you agree. “But that’s how it is, I’ve accepted it.”

“No,” he says, sitting up straighter. “I want to help you.”

“What?” Now you’re definitely surprised.

“I know songwriters and producers who want collaborators,” he continues, picking up steam. “It might not happen right away, but I could at least make introductions for you.”

“Wonho-yah, you really don’t have to —”

“And I know Changkyunnie would probably be willing to work with you.” There’s a determined glint in his eyes. “He really liked that song we produced together for Trespass, he even asked me if I wrote it alone or with someone else.”

Okay, that stops you for a second. “Changkyun?” you repeat. You’ve never worked with an actual rapper before, and you’ve always wanted to.

“Yeah!” Wonho launches to his feet enthusiastically. “That would be so easy to set up.”

“Do you think we could?” You’re starting to hope; Wonho’s energy is infectious.

“Definitely.” He beams at you. “Would you want to?”

“If it’s not too much trouble, then yes, definitely! I’ve always wanted to work with someone like Changkyun.”

“Oh?” Wonho tilts his head at you.

“Yeah.” You’re getting excited now. “Do you think he’d say yes? To working with me?”

“I didn’t know you’ve always wanted to work with Changkyun,” Wonho says instead of answering. His head tilts further.

“Why not, right? He writes his own lyrics, and he’s worked on so many songs — I’m sure you know that better than me. It’s especially impressive considering he’s the maknae. And I’ve never worked with a rapper.” Giddiness bubbles in you, and you suppress a bounce.

You almost fail to notice that the energy is slowly draining out of Wonho’s body. “Ah, well, great,” he says, sounding lacklustre now.

You stop your internal party and focus on him. What’s going on? All the excitement from just a moment ago is gone.

He feels you staring at him and quickly tries to recover. “I’ll ask Changkyun, for sure. Just… how about we get back to working on my songs for now?”

“Of course,” you say. “That’s why we’re here, after all.”

Wonho shuffles back to his seat at the computer desk. When you sit down beside him, you catch him mumbling something like, “…didn’t seem like it anymore.”

“Sorry?”

He just gives a small sniff and keeps his attention on the laptop in front of him.

“Wonho-yah.” You put a hand on his shoulder and do your best to ignore the spark. “Is something the matter?”

He looks round promptly at your touch. “No,” he says. “I’ve just never seen you so eager like that before.”

You withdraw, puzzled by the slight prickliness in his words. “Really?”

“You looked like you were going to grab my cell phone and call Changkyunnie right there on the spot,” he says, almost accusingly.

“What???”

“Are you ever that eager to work with me?”

You just blink at him in bewilderment and, also, the tiniest, tiniest bit of excitement. Is he… is this…

He seems to take your lack of response as confirmation, and resettles himself to face the computers with a grumpy huff. “No. You’re not.”

“Wonho-yah.” When he doesn’t look at you, you dare to take his chin and pull his face toward you. He maintains his sullen look, but his breath seems to come faster. “Wonho-yah,” you repeat.

He doesn’t pull away from your grasp. “What, noona?”

“Are you… jealous?”

The question hovers in the air between you two. Your faces are centimetres apart; if you tipped your head forward, your nose would brush his. He’s breathing shallowly. You’re barely breathing at all.

Just when you decide you have to pull away, Wonho closes the space between you and puts his lips on yours.

You gasp into his mouth, both from the lack of air in your lungs and the shock of the contact, and a muffled sound comes from Wonho’s throat that makes everything inside you clench once again. Then his jaw is angled hard against you and he’s leaning his weight into the kiss like he wants to dive into you. You clutch at his arms, which have somehow wrapped around your body, and nearly melt at the solidness of his biceps. The feel of being wrapped up in him is entirely too good to be true.

He eases back, leaving both of you panting, and you lock eyes again. He’s searching for something in your face, explicit consent maybe, and you give it by leaning in and taking his lips this time. Next thing you know, his tongue is in your mouth and you’re halfway onto his lap and his fingers are in your hair, massaging your scalp so tenderly that you can’t help giving a small moan.

At the sound, his teeth close around your bottom lip, and you jerk reflexively. That causes you to come into contact with a hard bulge that all of a sudden makes his lap a hazardous place to sit.

“Ahh…” Wonho draws back and gives a hiss of air as you shift away from his erection. “Fuck.”

“Wonho,” you manage to get out.

“Yes,” he says on a pant, his eyes flicking between your eyes and your lips.

“We need to talk first, okay?”

He gives a low whine when you try to pull back and tightens his grip on you. “We can talk like this.”

You have to give a breathless laugh. Aren’t you supposed to get less amorous when someone says “Let’s talk”? Nevertheless, you let him arrange you so that you’ve got both legs curled up on his lap, not quite straddling him. In his current state, you feel like one wrong movement on your part could injure him, but he doesn’t seem to share your concern.

“Okay.” You attempt to clear your throat. “Okay.”

“Noona,” he says, heading you off. “You wanted that, right?”

You’re not usually the blushing type, not with your darker skin, but you’re pretty sure you’re blushing right now. “I — yes. But — you’re an idol, you know,” you say, trying to get this talk back on track.

“I know,” he says. In this position, you’re a little taller than he is, and you can clearly see him looking at your mouth, which happens to be level with his eyes. Despite yourself, butterflies start up in your stomach.

“And I work in your industry, Wonho —”

“And we work together, and I’m part of Monsta X, and I’m contracted to the company. I know all this, noona. I’ve thought about it before,” he finishes for you.

“Okay, well, good.” Why don’t these facts sound as much like barriers when he says them?

“We’ll figure it all out,” he says simply. “I promise.”

“You promise,” you repeat.

“Yes,” he says.

“It’s not that easy, Wonho-yah.”

“But I’m going to try.” He gazes up at you with those vulnerable eyes of his. “Trust me, noona.”

He says he’ll try.

So you say, “...I’ll try.”

You’ll try to trust him. It’s the most you can say right now, because the fears and worries are real. But so is he, right now. So are we.

In any case, Wonho seems satisfied with that, because he proceeds to completely change the subject. “You want me more than you wanted to work with Changkyun, right?”

Ummmm, what? “Is this an either-or situation?” you hedge.

“No. As long as it’s clear that you’re off-limits to him.”

“Wonho-yah.”

“And to your Hyeontae-oppa, too.”

“He’s not my Hyeontae-oppa.”

Wonho pulls you close, his strength overriding yours easily, and nuzzles into your stomach. “No,” he says, voice muffled. “You’re mine.”

“Wonho-yah, really…” You tug gently at his hair.

He tilts his head up and looks at you. “I’ll be yours too,” he says softly, “if you want.”

Aaaand that’s it. K.O. You’re dead. Slain by this boy who’s staring at you like he’s promising to use all the muscles he’ll ever build to search the world and give you whatever you want.

You lift a hand and rest it across his eyes. “Stop it.”

“Stop what?” He tugs at your arm.

“Stop looking at me like that when I’m trying to talk to you about something important.”

“How am I looking at you?” Now there’s a suggestive undertone in his voice.

You’re about to smack him for his cheek when his phone starts ringing on the desk. Startled, you quickly slide off his lap, clutching at his shoulders for balance, and reach for the phone.

“It’s Changkyun.”

In a flash Wonho’s standing and prying the phone away from you. “Don’t answer it!”

“I wouldn’t, it’s your phone.” You hold back a laugh at how panicked he looks. “But you’re going to ask him if he wants to work with me, right?”

He shoots you a stern frown. “Of course. After I tell him that you’re with me.”

And now you have to laugh.

“It’s true, isn’t it?”

“Wonho-yah...”

“We’re together now. You want me, right?”

“Answer the phone, okay?”

“Noona! Answer me first!”

Author’s note:

First this started out as fluff with a helping of feminism thrown in. Then I decided to try amping up the steaminess, because let’s face it, we’re all thirsty for Wonho. And then whoops it turned romantic and honestly I’m not even sure how. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!

[chrisbbaegopayo]

Hold Your Breath (Stray Kids: Stalker AU) ➻ Chapter 1

Genre: Thriller, Angst, Gore, Mystery, Suspense Characters: Stray Kids, OCs Word Count: 2.8k Warning: This story will contain elements of gore, on- and off-screen abuse, torture, mental illness, and stalking. It will feature themes that are not suitable for all ages, readers discretion is advised. Each chapter will have its own specific warning.

The story takes place in the main character’s third year of university. The prologue will detail information before the story takes place. Happy reading!

Chapters: Premise | 01 Prologue | 02 Chapter one | 03 Chapter two | Chapter three (part 1) | Chapter three (part 2)

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During the summer, she spent most of her time hanging around Jisung, and throughout her time spent lazing around the house and marathoning movies on both of their to-watch list, the two had engaged in casual conversations like regular friends. However, the topic of her supposed secret admirer never came up, and naturally, Jisung never suspected something was wrong. Her perky attitude kept him from knowing what was going on, and plus, she felt certain that once the new semester rolled around, the secret admirer would be out of her hair.

Plus, spending time with Jisung made her feel safe.

Jisung, who had worked at the local movie theatre, sometimes would offer her discounted movie tickets thanks to his employee discount, and sometimes, they would hang out at a nearby diner or cafe. They would laugh at random things that the older boy had encountered at his job, including a woman who bought both popcorn with extra butter and two slushes only to dump it all on him because her son was being particularly playful that day.

It took a while to get the butter smell out of his hair.

She laughed for a long time, with Jisung staring at her incredulously after that.

Jisung did say that thanks to the mishap, he was able to leave work to clean up—"to avoid affecting the overall atmosphere of the theatre,” as his manager told him. He was grateful for that. Jisung was never penalized for the mishap, and the lady apologized profusely for her oversight.

Jisung had a bunch of other funny stories that he told her in the course of the summer vacation, and some good news as well.

Though Jisung at the movie theatre, his main goal was to fund his own music career. Despite being a talented musician, he had never had any luck getting his music out there. He told her that on certain days, when he wasn’t working, he would be working with another friend, producing music that he wished people would listen to.

He had shown her several of his mixtapes, but other than a few supportive fans—her included—his career at making music never really lifted off the ground. But it seemed to be better now that he was able to purchase some advanced and better technology to help him make music that that had better sound quality.

His partner, Seo Changbin, who also shared the same dream, came from money and was rich, but Changbin’s parents were too worried about his condition to allow him to become fully engrossed in the music world. Nevertheless, whenever he had time, Changbin would make his way to Jisung’s house to dip his hand back into the music world, much to his parents’ chagrin. However, Changbin’s parents made it abundantly clear that they were not going to fund Changbin’s music career should he choose to pursue the path—which is to say, though they didn’t openly dissuade him from doing so, they weren’t encouraging him to do so, either.

After all, Changbin was born with hearing disabilities, and knowing that fact alone made Changbin even more admirable in Jisung’s eyes. Changbin had great rhythm, a great sense of style, and an ear for something more—something that Jisung did not excel at.

To further add insult to injury on Changbin's part was that he also had a weak heart, so the exposure to loud and brash noises could incapacitate him to some degree. The boy was already suffering from one disability, but this was a totally new monster to tackle. Changbin still loved music, and the louder the better. He pulled a weird "loud music can train my heart to withstand more" crap to his parents, something that Jisung had a hard time believing.

Jisung often talked to her about how life was kind of unfair—to give a guy this kind of unmatched talent and give him an equal amount of handicap that would deter him from utilizing his talent to its fullest…

...is truly ironic, in a sense. But Changbin seemed to make it out just fine.

“Life is full of adversities and obstacles,” Changbin told Jisung a few months into their friendship and partnership, “but the most important thing is to know how to navigate through and past the roadblocks in life that dares to keep us back.”

And through the summer, it felt as though she was given insight into Jisung’s life like never before.

On the last week of summer vacation, as she was getting her things ready for the new semester, he asked about her. It was also the first time in a long time that he had asked her about her own schooling experiences.

She was tempted to tell him about her secret admirer, but she decided against it and talked about the crazy amount of homework she would be expecting come third year, and joked about how she was going to have no social life. Of course, she was kidding, and he knew that.

“Nothing too exciting, you know, this and that,” she said, almost dismissing the idea that her life could get interesting. “Come on, to a plain girl like me? I’m as mundane as you can get.”

Jisung gave her an ‘are you kidding me’ look as he rolled his eyes, clearly not convinced. She only stuck out her tongue in retaliation.

She didn’t lie, she just didn’t tell him the whole truth. But he was clearly not going to be satisfied with that answer, this she knew for sure.

“My friend told me about how she walked into the wrong class acting like a diva and argued for five minutes with the teacher before realizing that she was supposed to be in the classroom next door,” she started, recalling the incident. “It didn’t help that she had been awake for more than 40 hours and was pumped off of energy drinks her brought bought her.”

Jisung chuckled, almost sympathetic. “And then?”

“She became more aware of her surroundings after five minutes of arguing���I think it woke her up and she nearly ran from the room. The funniest thing was the professor’s reaction to her running, his mouth was open the whole time, almost in a disgusted manner,” she said, hardly holding in her laughter. “My friend avoided that professor for a whole half a year before she apologized to him. He had half-forgotten her by that point.”

By then, Jisung burst into fits of laughter. It took him a while to calm down.

"Dude, these stories are gold," he said, in between chuckles. "You literally need to convince your friend to go audition for stand-ups. It's going to be a full house with stories like these."

She nodded in agreement, wiping the stray tears from her eyes. "I know, that's what I've been telling her, seriously, so much raw talent for the entertainment industry. But she just keeps on telling me that other people won't find her funny and won't pay to see her even if she tries."

Jisung seemed to have eased up on the laughter, but still, maintain that tiniest hint of mischievousness. "Well, people are missing out. They're golden, golden. She just needs to find the right crowd."

"Like your music career?"

Jisung huffed. "Hey, I resent that. My music career seems to show signs of promise, I gained two listeners on SoundCloud the other day. And just the other day, I gained 10 more subscribers on YouTube. I'm on fire!"

Although she was very supportive of his music, she never let up a chance to tease him about it—all in good fun, of course, and he knew that.

"Hey, new listeners on both platforms! That's always good news. It's not much but it's something, right?" She stood up, back facing the television, looking down at Jisung, who was lazily sitting on her couch. "What's say we celebrate with some soda?"

Jisung scrunched his nose in disapproval. "Soda? Again? We have that every day. I bet you're just thirsty."

She laughed. "Yeah, you're right, but hey, I thought of you. You got to give props to me for that. You want me to just ignore you while I drink all the soda in the fridge?"

Jisung crossed his arms in front of his chest in mock anger, "what am I, chopped liver? Give me a soda!"

"Okay, okay," she chuckled as she made her way to the kitchen and poured two glasses of soda from the fridge. "One Coca-Cola for Jisung, coming up!"

Jisung raised his arms in the air, cheering. "Yeaaaah!"

At that moment, her phone buzzed, startling her. She managed not to spill anything, props to her. The message would have to wait until she brought the drinks back to the living room.

Once Jisung had the drink in hand and she had hers, she dug the phone from her pocket, curious as to who texted her—she figured that it would be her friend, and it was, the same friend who was not quite awake when she stepped foot in the wrong class—incidentally, the same friend who gave her a little lecture when she found the note written to the gift-bearer/secret admirer.

"Do you want to hang out tomorrow?" There's a new cafe opening, and I heard they sell incredibly delicious pistachio crepe cakes!"

She smiled to herself as she settled her drink on the glass table and took a seat on the armchair. She looked over to Jisung, who was drinking the cup of coca-cola she had given him a brief moment ago.

"Can I bring a friend?" She texted back. Maybe Jisung might benefit from going to cute places once in a while.

"Hey, Jisung?"

He looked up at her from his cup. "Hmm?"

"Do you want to go to a cafe with me and a friend?"

Jisung thought for a moment. "Which friend?"

"Sooji. The same friend who walked into the wrong classroom and argued with the professor for five minutes straight." She paused and then added. "Yeah, that friend.”

Jisung's eyes lit up a little. "Sure! Where? What time?"

She shrugged, "Let me check if she replied."

The sound of a 'ding' and she knew her friend sent a reply.

"Maybe noon? It's the one with floral decor, pale yellow storefront banner, and it says "Petit Pâtissier" on top. You can't miss it. It's where the Korean bakeshop used to be."

She looked up at Jisung as she relayed the information. "It's downtown, where the little Korean bakeshop used to be, you know, the one that we used to frequent back when we used to live downtown? Yeah, it's closed down and a new cafe opened up there, called "Petit Pâtissier. At noon."

Jisung thought for a moment. He didn't need to be at work because he had the day off, and Changbin was with his parents doing some checkup so he would have spent that day by himself anyway. "Sure."

A ding interrupted her mid-cheer, and she checked back at her phone. 

"Is it the hot friend?"

She flushed, and immediately fired back a text profusely rejecting her idea that Jisung was hot.

"NO! I do not have a hot friend! What the heck, Sooji!” "But yes, noon sounds great." "And his name is Han Jisung. Not hot guy."

The reply from her friend was almost immediate.

"Oh, that friend." "But wasn't he the hot friend?"

She kept on gawking—she did not know that Sooji found Jisung hot, what, what, what the heck?  

"Whaaaa??" She replied. "Since when did you find him hot what when where how what why? Spill the tea, sis."

Jisung, who sat near her, was staring at her in confusion. "What was that?"

She side-eyed him as a grin made itself to her face. "My friend thought you were hot."

Jisung stared at her in disbelief. "Hey! I'm good looking!"

She could only laugh. "Yeah, she said that earlier, sheesh. But come on, her taste is always pretty questionable, let's be real."

Jisung rolled his eyes then and there. "Sureeee, you always say that."

She stood up and stuck out her tongue at him. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."

It was then that her phone made a 'ding' sound, and she stared down at her phone, curious as to what her friend said.

"Nope, my lips are sealed!" "But if he's coming tomorrow, then maybe we could talk about how hot he is." "I'll tell you when we hang out, again. Between us girls," Sooji wrote.

She giggled.

"Okay you better tell me!"

She stuffed the phone in her back pocket as she stood up, and then made her way to the kitchen, where she could refill her drink.

The phone 'ding' ed with another notification.

Normally, her friend wouldn't reply that fast, but she figured that Sooji would probably fire back with some comment along the lines of, "I'm serious" followed by a few exclamation marks, almost determined to prove her point.

But it wasn't Sooji. It was a bunch of random numbers. Was it some sort of telemarketer? Had they switched over to text now?

Unsure, she opened the text, and she yelped, dropping her cup to the kitchen floor, smashing it into multiple pieces.

Jisung, who was in the living room, dashed around to the kitchen. "What happened?"

Quickly, she placed her phone, screen down, on the counter and pretended to busy herself with the mess she had made. "I, um, I dropped my cup, I didn't have a firm grip."

Jisung could not find out. "Really, I'm okay."

Too bad it was just her spirit that had been broken.

Jisung had a feeling it might be more than what was on the surface, but he didn't press further and helped her clean up the broken glass. "Be careful, ok?"

She nodded wordlessly.

The two returned to the movie, and even though Jisung had picked out a scary movie for the two of them to watch, she wasn't all that into it, and the scary parts within the movie seemed more prevalent to her. It felt more real. Eventually, the scary movie felt a little too much for her to handle, and she pleaded with him to switch the movie.

"Could we switch the movie? Please?"

Jisung complied, but instead of putting on a different movie, he closed off the screen altogether before joining her on the couch.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head, almost painfully. "Nothing…really. I'm just out of it today."

He didn't want to press her earlier about whatever spooked her earlier, but now, it was a little more evident that something big was bothering her.

"Don't give me that crap," he said. "I know when you're extremely unsettled by something."

Something about 'how long have I known you for?' stuff.

She didn’t speak for a long time.

"I saw a scary advertisement," she tried again.

Jisung was still not buying it. "Really? How about you tell me what's really bothering you?"

There was a moment of pause, with the two just staring at each other, neither of them saying anything.

She entrusted him with every other secret, why not now? It made no sense of Jisung, and he felt as though she had been through this strange transition and became a totally different person—provided that she had been busy with school, but she had taken to be more secretive about everything, and he didn't like this change. Not at all.

"(Y/N)," he started, hesitantly, "are you in trouble?"

Her eyes widened—of all the question, why this one? Should she even tell him what was going on? She felt her resolve waver as she melted into a pool of insecurities.

"I—"

He only pressed further, and she felt she was backed into a wall—because why out of all the people, why her?

"Y/N, if you're in trouble, you need to let me know, really, is it school? What's going on?"

She shook her head.

"No...I..."

There was a long pause before she continued. "I just have some trouble with...someone, I guess."

He looked worried. "Who?"

What should she tell him? My secret admirer, who has been giving me gifts since the beginning of the year and making me really creeped out? No way, he'd go crazy. Someone who was pulling a year-long prank on me by sending me presents? No way.

"You're making me really worried." Apparently, she wasn't answering fast enough. "Seriously. You know I'm always worried about you."

She stared down, and fiddled around with her shirt, unsure of what to say.

"You promise you won't get mad?"

He gave her a bewildered look. "Why would I get mad?"

"I don't know. I just..." her voice trailed off, and he leaned in, almost in anticipation.

"Jisung, I..."

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Boom! Chapter one completed! Next week’s chapter might come a little late, but I promise there would be some other visual aids, such as the conversation featured here! 

If anyone has any questions regarding the plot, I can answer them! I know it’s not too far into the story yet, but I promise I won't give any spoilers! I might also add more interactive aspects of the story to give it more interaction worthy content, but for now, it will stay static. Thank you for reading! 

[sparrowjaywrites]

In My Head

(Soulmate AU: You hear your soulmates thoughts but can’t tell them your name or what you look like.)

(Gender Neutral Reader X Cisco Ramon)

           You’d heard him since your twelfth birthday, your soulmate. People could begin to hear them at any point in their lives as long as both soulmates where over the age of five. No one really understood how it worked or why some people started hearing soulmates on their fifth birthday and some didn’t hear them until they were in their nineties. The only thing anyone knew for sure outside the age requirements is if one could hear their soulmate, their soulmate could hear them. Oh and of course there where the rules.

           Soulmates rules where considered to be as real and unbreakable as the laws of physics, or as unbreakable as they had been before Meta Humans had started running around. Rule One: One could not tell their soulmates their name. Rule Two: One could not tell their soulmate their age. Rule Three: One could not describe themselves to their soulmate. Rule Four: One could not tell their soulmate their location (Discussing future locations could work but no dates or times). Rule Five: One could not block out their soulmate.

           The rules where not the only things making finding ones soulmate hard; people could of course fall in love with people who weren’t their soulmate whether they could hear them or not. It wasn’t uncommon for people to wake up one day able to hear their soulmates only to find their soulmates where happily married and soulmate or not they were not willing to leave their marriage or their kids. Many people who ended on the unhappy side of these situations would end up taking their own lives within the year. This had prompted the invention of a device that could severe a soulmate connection; this severance could end very badly and had been banned in most countries, but some desperate people still found a way when needed.

           You had begun hearing your soulmate at twelve; you’d nicknamed him Westley after learning his obsession with the movie Princess Bride. In response he’d tried to nickname you Buttercup, that hadn’t ended well. After a few weeks of arguing he’d come up with the nickname Starlight, he would never tell you why.

           Westley was an interesting guy, way too smart for his own good sometimes, hilarious, obsessed with pop culture, sassy as all hell, and very good at reading people, even when they were simply a voice in his head. His favorite color is purple although that does tend to change weekly, his favorite Pokémon is Bulbasaur, and he really likes superheroes.

           You had decided not long after meeting him in your head the first time that you would find him someday. Of course the particle accelerator blowing up had put a damper on that for a while. When ones soulmate died the other wouldn’t know it, they would simply stop responding to them.

           When the particle accelerator had blown up, you had been thrown through a window by the dark matter blast, your injuries resulting in a yearlong coma. When you had woken up it had taken a few weeks for the connection to reactivate and Westley had flipped out. He’d thought you had died. You hadn’t told him why you had been in a coma for so long not wanting him to know you were a Meta human, scared of what he’d think.

           You’d woken up a Meta human nearly five years ago now, and had yet to meet Westley in person. He’d dated on and off during that time, hesitantly but excitedly telling you about his current relationship as he always had in high school. You had also dated of course but not as recently. At nearly thirty you just wanted to meet Westley in real life, you had fallen in love with him years ago, although you’d never tell him that. He was your closest friend, for obvious reasons.

           ‘Morning, Starlight, what are you up too today?’ You smile shaking your head as you slip a strand of (H/C) hair behind your ear.

           ‘Coffee at the shop, while I work on my book.’ You respond sipping your medium flash with vanilla bean creamer.

           ‘I’m getting coffee right now, maybe this is the day we’ll meet?’ Westley responds excitedly.

           ‘Of course, you’ll trip and spill coffee on me like in all the cliché fanfictions your always telling me to read on Tumblr.’ You snicker.

           ‘What makes you think I’ll be the one spilling the coffee? Who says it wouldn’t be the other way around?”

           ‘Because for one, I’m sitting down, and two even if I was walking I’m more coordinated then you.’

           ‘Are not! You trip over everything!’

           ‘Exactly and your still a bigger klutz, that’s my point.’

           ‘Well I never.’ He huffs mockingly laughing lightly. You snicker smiling at the laugh. The day passed as usual you spent your morning at Jitters working on your book interrupted every twenty minutes or so by Westley making a joke or asking you something. Your afternoon was spent working on tech for your company, (Y/L/N) Technologies.

           ‘I just looked at the sky and thought of you, my Starlight.’ You let out a small snort at the pickup line you’d heard a million times before.

           ‘I like the line and all Westley, but you need new ones.’

           ‘As you wish.’ You let out another laugh causing people to glance at your; you bow your head with a blush.

           ‘Shut up, you’re making people stare at me.’

           ‘Oh am I?’ That mischievous tone is one you know well, and it spells trouble. ‘Hmm maybe I should just look up something to read to you then?’

           ‘Don’t you…’

           ‘Here we go, the five times Luke walked in on Han and Leia and he one time they walked in on him, this will be a most interesting read wouldn’t you say, Starlight?’

           ‘Westley, I swear to god!’ You groan your face a bright red as you wish for the line to move faster or for your obnoxious soulmate to shut the fuck up.

           ‘Luke was bored, he wanted to go for a ride in the Falcon, but Han was not where to be found. Oh well he would just go for his ride and Han would never need to know… as he entered the Falcon he found something a strange, a random black boot sat in the doorway as if thrown there. Shrugging he steps inside more clothing were spread down the hall leading to the cockpit… oh double meaning!’ Westley reads dramatically clearly getting a huge kick out of your annoyance and protests.

           “A large flash to go with vanilla bean creamer please.” You order doing your best to keep a straight face.”

           ‘Luke’s eyes widened as he froze in place, in the captain’s chair was his twin sister, in far less clothing then he’d ever seen before, on top of her was his best friend in a similar state of dress. “Oh, Han, yes!” Luke quickly turned on his heel running for his life wishing he hadn’t seen that!’

           ‘Westley that’s gross, knock it off!’

           ‘It is pretty badly written, I’m sure you could write it better!’ Westley laughs.

           ‘Would you shut up, you damn idi…’ Your train of thought is derailed as a dagger spins past your face lodging in the counter in front of you. It glowed with a golden orange. You spin around in time to see a person in a black coat with a hood and mask standing in the doorway as people start screaming around you. The person holds out a black clad hand the dagger spinning from the counter into it.

            You take a step back; dropping your coffee clenching your fist silver sparks crackle around it for half a second before suddenly failing. Why weren’t your powers working?

           ‘Starlight?’ Before you can answer the dagger is spinning towards you, just before it can hit you’re tackled to the ground by a dark skinned woman with long black hair.

           “Are you okay?” The woman asks quickly.

           “Y… yeah, I think so.” You nod moving to your feet, pulling your gun from your ankle holder as you do, the dagger spins back across the coffee shop into the monstrous Meta’s hand.

           “It’s time for you to die.” The Meta says stalking towards them. You drag the woman who saved you to the side as the dagger spins towards them again. You raise your gun.

           “Back off.” The Meta throws the dagger again, you open fire, one bullet bounces off the dagger sending it off course, the Meta quickly dodges the other.

           “Are you a Meta human?” The woman from before asks you. “She’s after Meta’s that’s the new Cicada.” You blink at her looking back at the woman firing two more rounds that miss, embedding in the now empty of patrons shop walls.

           “Yes, I am.” You admit.

           “Leave them alone.” A vibrating voice joins the madness as a red steak appears in front of them, less than a foot away stood the Flash. Westley would be having a field day right now if he where there, he loved Meta Heroes.

           “Good, I can kill you too.” A purple blur suddenly shows and the next thing you know you are being set down in what looks like a lab of some type. Computer monitors surround you. The woman from the shop quickly rushes over to a computer talking to the Flash through a headpiece. Moments later XS and the Flash are standing in front of you.

           “Are you okay?” Flash asks gently taking your gun from your hands. You blink still processing where you are.

           “Um… I… uh,” You run a hand through the back of your (H/L) hair nervously, when did your hands start shaking? “I think so… where am I?”

           “This is Star Labs; we brought you here to get away from Cicada.” The woman speaks up. You slowly nod.

           “Okay… why the hell is this Cicada after me in the first place?”

           “She wants all Meta humans dead.” XS explains.

           “How would she even know I’m a Meta? No one and I mean literally no one knew but me before tonight.” You protest crossing your arms.

           “The dagger she was using has the power to block powers, it glows when near a Meta human, you probably were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Flash explains. You nod frowning.

           “Then what the hell am I supposed to do?”

           “We’ve gotten most of the Meta’s out of the city and into hiding?” A woman with long brown hair says entering the room followed by a man who you were pretty positive was Harrison Wells, which made no sense as he’d been dead for four years, a tall dark skinned man, the DA, Elongated Man, and Vibe… who was another person you thought was dead.

           “I can’t just up and disappear.” You protest looking around at the super heroes in front of you.

           “Protective custody is your best shot.” The man suggests stepping forwards and showing you his badge, Detective Joseph West, the DA’s husband and the head of the Meta task force at the CCPD, you’d met him once after the particle accelerator had blown up.

           “If this lady is after Meta’s then why haven’t all of you left?” You challenge motioning to the Meta heroes.

           “Because we’re trying to stop Cicada and this is our home.” Elongated Man says.

           “Exactly, this is your home. Central City is my home; I’m not going to run away because some new psycho with a thing for leather and hypocrisy wants me dead.”

           “If you don’t go you’ll die. We can’t protect you all the time.” Flash argues.

           “I can protect myself.” You shake your head.

           “Your powers won’t work around Cicada.” The DA speaks up.

           “I wasn’t referring to my powers, and if powers don’t work against them, then I’m on an even playing field as all of you.”

           “We’re not going to be able to convince you are we?” Flash sighs shoulders slumping a bit.

           “Nope.” Flash shares a look with the woman from Jitters and XS two blurs disappearing down the hall, followed by everyone but Detective West. The two of you stand there awkwardly for a few minutes before the group enters again.

           “I’m Iris, this is Caitlin and Sherloque.” The woman from Jitters introduces herself motioning to the brown haired lady and the Harrison Wells look alike. “That’s Cecille,” She motions to the DA. “And I’m sure you know who the different heroes are?”

           “I do.”

           “What’s your name?” Flash asks.

           “(Y/F/N) (Y/L/N), most people call me (Y/N/N).” You introduce yourself smirking when she sees the Flash’s eyes widen.

           “The CEO and founder of (Y/L/N) Tech?” You nod with a snort.

           “Yup.”

           “Oh…” XS says eyes wide, looking surprised. A few people look at her questioningly; she shakes her head at them with the universal gesture for later.

           “What are your powers?” Detective West asks.

           “Do I have immunity for anything I say here?” You ask narrowing your eyes at him. “I’m not a criminal but I’d rather not regret this little meeting later?”

           “Of course.” Cecille speaks up, smiling at you.

           “Any of you heard of the vigilante people are calling Starlight?”

           “Yeah.” Iris nods.

           “You’re looking at them.” You gesture to yourself.

           “But you look nothing like them?” Elongated Man says shocked. You snort. You push a few buttons on your watch; thin strands of metal quickly cover your body from your watch, your belt and your glasses. A simple black suit covers you, silver specks shimmering throughout. Metal wraps around your glasses turning them more into a mask. You clench your fists then open them, shimmering silver sparks quickly spread over the suit making the effect look like a shimmering night sky full of stars, your hair floats up a bit turning a shimmering silver, your (Y/E/C) eyes quickly turning a soft silver. “Whoa…”

           “That’s amazing.” Flash laughs. XS is grinning now looking beyond excited.

           “Okay, that’s cool.” Detective West says pointing at you.

           “That’s wicked.” Vibe laughs grinning; he’d been silent so far looking at you as if trying to figure something out. Your eyes snap to him. You knew why he’d been staring at you now… his voice you recognized it… you’d heard it every day since you were twelve.

           “Well since we know your identity it’s only fair.” Flash shrugs looking at the others who nod. He removes his mask, and holds a hand out to you, his brown hair now free from the rubber. “Barry Allen.” You look at his hand having to drag your eyes away from Vibe. You shake his hand.

           “Nice to meet you.”

           “This is Nora, Ralph, and Cisco.” Barry motions in order to XS, Elongated Man, and Vibe. You look Vibe over without his glasses, he was cute, Hispanic, with flowing black hair, a kind smile. You deactivate your suit, letting your powers subside, your hair and eyes quickly changing back to normal.

           “Well, (Y/N/N) if you won’t leave we’ll have to figure something out.” Barry says smiling at you.

           “You could join team Flash?” Nora speaks up stepping forward smiling hopefully at Barry. “You’d make a great addition!” You raise an eyebrow.

           “Nora, a word please?” Iris speaks up. The two step out Barry following.

           “So, Starlight? I see where you get the name.” Cisco approaches you as the rest of the group follow Nora seemingly to join the conversation you can hear getting heated in the hallway.

           “I had the nickname long before I became a Meta.” You eye him up and down. “But I think you figured that out… Westley?” Cisco breaks into a grin.

           “I thought I recognized your voice.”

           “I recognized yours as soon as you spoke.” You laugh. “But to be sure.” You hold your hand out to him. Cisco takes your hand hesitantly. A slight jolt shots up your arm.

           ‘So Westley, my name is (Y/F/N)… holy shit, it is you!’ You think to him slowly grinning as you realize the rules were gone. When a person first made physical contact with their soulmate after their connection was made the rules would break allowing them to talk more freely from then on.

           ‘I can’t believe it’s really you…’ Cisco thinks back grinning just as widely. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you, Starlight. I’m Francisco Ramon, I’m your soulmate.” Cisco says out load.

           “It’s wonderful to meet you too, Cisco.”

~~~

AN: And that’s the end of Part One? I may do a few more parts?

[plane-lord]

32 Days Since Titan

So, here’s the finished fic I was working on before I saw Endgame. I’ve done a little tweaking, but it’s canon compliant. Still working through my feelings, this helped a little...

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18601774

Thirty Two Days...

It’s been thirty-two days since Titan. Nine since Tony Stark returned to Earth, and the Avengers compound, half dead, starving, and dangerously dehydrated. Three days since he was released from medical. He isn’t up to full strength yet, and tires easily; which is how he’s found himself waking up from yet another nightmare, this time on his sofa. Part of him wants to blame Pepper, for being so blunt and telling him he needs to face his feelings, honor Peter, not hide the memory of him away.

Leave it to Pepper, to hit him with the hard truth — Lord knows she’s the only one he will listen to, even though he won’t always admit it. Ever since he’s returned to some semblance of health, he’s been trying to “forget” the kid, well avoid really, he doesn’t think he can ever forget. He hasn’t returned to his lab, because he knows he’d see the last thing he and Peter were working on — the kid’s unfinished project spread across his designated table.

Tony is desperately trying to hold on to what he does have left — Pepper, Rhodey, the remaining Avengers — though he’s kept the latter at a safe distance, not interacting with them much after their brief reunion. He thinks maybe if he focuses on the things he does have, he’ll be able to have a life, make things better for the people who are left.

Tonight though... well, Pepper, aided by a couple glasses of wine, managed to get Tony to talk. He told her every horrid detail. Fessed up to his feelings of total inadequacy, how he was so desperate to hold on to what he did have left — her, Rhodey, Happy — that he didn’t dare think about how he might fix things, bring them all back. He didn’t think he had it in him to face another loss, another failure — because losing again might mean losing Pepper and he couldn’t do that. Ever.

Tony pushes himself into a seated position, elbows on his knees, head in hands, and tries to catch his breath. God he was getting sick of this — Peter (and Thanos) haunting his dreams. He must have fallen asleep soon after Pepper left him to stew in his thoughts.

It was a variation of the same nightmare that has been haunting him since he left that god forsaken, hell hole of a planet, with Nebula. This time they were at Peter’s graduation party. They were all having a good time, Pepper with their future baby. May, Happy, everyone there bursting with pride for Peter and celebrating the momentous occasion. And then like every nightmare since that day on Titan Tony hears a quiet, “Mr. Stark…” When he turns to find Peter, he watches helplessly as every single person disintegrates, turning to dust. The plates of food and drinks fall, the sounds of shattering porcelain and glass echoing as they hit the floor, mixing with the dust — leaving Tony alone and screaming in horror.

Tony squeezes his eyes shut, “It’s just a dream. Just a dream.” He says it out loud to reassure himself, trying to get his breathing under control, trying to stave off a panic attack. He hates this. With a trembling hand, he wipes the sweat from his forehead and stands up. He needs a drink.

The wine glasses and bottle from earlier are on the counter, where Pepper left them. It’s not quite the potency he needs, but there’s still some Malbec left in the bottle. He pours himself half a glass and downs it quickly.

After a few minutes, when the tremors in his hands lessen — he decides to start cleaning up the kitchen, to give himself something else to think about. Tony’s focus on the mundane task slowly work to calm him. He takes his time washing the stemware and cheese plates. He is careful and precise as he dries each dish, before putting them away. He throws away the empty wine bottle and wipes down the counter, just like he'd seen Pepper do. Satisfied with the now spotless kitchen he notices the wine opener still sitting out. He opens several drawers, trying to remember where it’s supposed to go. He really wishes Pepper would stop rearranging the kitchen, he can never find anything.

Opening the third drawer, which he quickly realizes is a junk/mail drawer he spots a rectangular object. He pulls out a black 5x7 picture frame and flips it over. His grip tightens and his eyes get a little cloudy when he sees the photo of him and Peter, each throwing up bunny ears behind the other’s head.

Tony remembers the day clearly, nearly eight months ago...

———

Sometime in early August 2017

Tony’s phone dings several times in a row, notifying him of incoming text messages. He picks it up with a scowl, there is only one person that would blow up his phone this early in the morning. “I’m beginning to regret giving the kid my number.” He grumbles to Pepper, who's sitting in the stool next to him at their kitchen island. “I haven’t even finished my first cup of coffee.”

Pepper rolls her eyes, as she finishes her last bite of yogurt, “Oh please, you love the attention.”

“I do not,” He scoffs. Opening the phone he scrolls through the texts. “Pepper, this kid — he wants to know what I’m wearing!”

Pepper laughs and stands up, picking up her bowl. She pauses on the way to the sink to kiss him on the cheek, “So, tell him. He’s just excited, Tony. Today is a big deal for our interns. I thought you were all about encouraging young minds.”

“Uh, yeah, in the abstract, hands off, pat on the back, move along sense. Not this, teenage — tell me what you’re wearing to the dance — nonsense.”

“Oh stop being such a grump and just tell him. He adores you, Tony. Peter’s just nervous and wants to make a good impression.”

And God did that statement terrify him. Tony Stark was not meant to be a role-model or adored — especially by young, impressionable teenage minds. He was a fuck-up of monumental proportions and he was certainly not cut out for this. He was fumbling through this mentorship and terrified of messing up.

“Fine. I’ll tell him, but know that I am doing so under extreme duress.”

Pepper poured herself another cup off coffee, ignoring his dramatics, she says sweetly, “Yes, dear, whatever you say.”

Tony shoots her a disapproving glare, letting her know he does not appreciate her sass. He types out a quick text.

A black cotton t-shirt and gray sweat pants. You?

A few seconds pass, before Peter’s reply comes through. Hahaha… I  MEAN for the luncheon today!

Tony taps out a reply, a mischievous smile on his face. God, he loves teasing this kid. Oooh…dress is formal. I’m wearing a tux.  

Uhh, would you believe my tux is still at the cleaners? ? 😳😳😳

Oh well, guess you’ll have to skip it then. Very strict dress code. NO EXCEPTIONS.

The reply from Peter is immediate, Dang, guess I’ll let Aunt May know… she’s going to be so disappointed. 😿

Oh? Don’t want to disappoint Aunt Hottie. Guess we can make an exception, this once... Dress is business casual. I’m wearing jeans, T-shirt, blazer.  

Haha, thanks Mr. Stark! I think I can pull something like that together. Happy is picking us up? 10:30?

Yup. See you soon. Tony replies.

Clicking the screen off he sets the phone on the counter and looks to Pepper, who is putting the dishes in the washer. “How long does this thing last, again?”

“I think a couple hours. I usually only stay to finish lunch, which is longer than your usual 30 minute drop-in, slash meet and greet.”

“Okay. Maybe I’ll stay for lunch, too. You know, inspire and encourage those bright young minds.”

“They’ll love that, Tony. Everyone is always so excited when you make an appearance. And it's a really good group of kids.”

Pepper walks around the counter and wraps her arms around his shoulders, pressing a soft kiss to his right temple, she says, “I’ll see you in a couple hours. Don’t be late.”

“Uhh, I’m never late!”

“Hmm, I literally have documented hundreds of missed appointments, engagements, and appearances over the last twenty years that say otherwise, but sure, Hon, you’re never late.” Pepper pats him fondly on the back and leans over to pick up her purse sitting on an empty barstool. As she makes her way to the door, she says, “FRIDAY, remind Mr. Stark to be out the door by eleven. Luncheon starts at noon.”

The AI responds with an obedient, “Yes, Miss Potts, I’ll make sure boss doesn’t forget.”

“That’s so not necessary — I can tell time!” Tony yells in protest, to her retreating back.

“See you in a few hours.” Pepper replies, as the doors to the penthouse elevator doors close.

“FRIDAY, remind me to get ready at 9:45.”

"Yes, boss."

The luncheon is held at Stark Industries offices in Mid-town Manhattan. For once, Tony is ten minutes early. When he saunters into Pepper's office, to escort her downstairs — he makes sure to point this fact out to her.

High School and College-age interns from every applicable department, and two of their guests, are treated to a catered lunch, presented with certificates of participation. The more outstanding interns of each department are recognized with their own official Stark Internship plaques. The afternoon also includes a quick meet and greet with CTO Tony Stark and CEO Pepper Potts, both of whom give a short speech to the attendees and present the awards.

Tony is just a little pleased to see Peter is given special recognition by the Science and Technologies Department. He had decided that Peter should officially join the high school summer internship program, get the kid some real world experience to add to his college applications. Somewhat to his surprise, the kid had jumped at the chance, offering little protest to the proposal, even though it might take away some time from his patrols. Maybe it was because Peter knew that Spider-man is never going to pay the bills, and perhaps, he really did take Tony’s advice to heart.

Tony tried his best not to show favoritism and mostly left Peter under the tutelage of the department’s internship program head. He would never admit to anyone, that he may have, discreetly, checked up on him multiple times a month. And he can’t say he didn’t, occasionally, pull him away for some ‘special assignments’ in his private lab — days spent working on their own projects and consuming copious amounts of pizza. And maybe, just maybe, he brags a little to Pepper when he reads a glowing review from Peter’s supervisor. Yeah, he’s man enough to admit — the kid is doing him proud.

The luncheon passes without a hitch. The awards are handed out, photos are snapped, and Tony gives his off the cuff speech, a mixture of humor and inspiration for the future. Pepper gives her brief introduction and a message about how important Stark Industries views the Internship programs and all their young bright minds. Most years Tony ducks out after the speech and certificate presentations, but this time he stays for lunch, while Pepper takes the opportunity to get back to her office.

Tony assembles a plate of food and makes his way to where he sees Peter sitting with his Aunt, and to his surprise, Happy, plus a couple interns and their parents. He tries to ignore the shocked faces of the other interns when he approaches the table, “This seat taken?”

Peter raises his eyebrows in surprise, “Uh, yeah. I mean, no, all yours, Mr. Stark. I mean, of course it is because you own them—”

Peter stops his nervous rambling at the pointed look Tony sends him. He wonders if the kid will ever not be nervous around him. He sets down his plate and sits in the empty chair next to Peter. He is mildly amused to see Peter wearing a corduroy sport coat, jeans, and a black t-shirt, nearly matching Tony’s own sartorial choices. He says a quick hello to everyone at the table and tries to give them his attention. He’ll never admit he relishes just sitting next to the kid and spending a little more time with him, sharing this day, celebrating his accomplishment.

The longer he sits the more relaxed Peter gets, even cracking a few jokes at Tony’s expense. Something he never would have done a few months ago. He doesn’t miss the way some of the parents, and teens, at the table look between the two of them, surprised by their easy banter and familiarity.

Lunch soon finished, Tony lingers for a little longer — taking more pictures with the interns and their familes. It’s well into mid-afternoon, when he tries to make his exit. He and Pepper have dinner reservations and he needs to get some work done before then.

Before he goes, May Parker pulls him aside. “Tony, would you mind me getting a picture of you and Peter, before you go?”

“Anything, for you Mrs. Parker.” Tony replies, giving her his most charming smile.

Handing his own phone to Happy, who for some reason, which he’ll have to investigate later, is still hanging around, he says, “Take a couple for me too, Hap.”

Tony throws an arm around Peter, who has his award in hand -- at May's insistence -- and pulls him in close. They smile and take multiple pictures with the award, both getting increasingly irreverent, much to May’s amused frustration. Peter even tries to sneak bunny ears — “Bunny ears? Wow, you are a nerd!” Tony teases, while throwing up two fingers behind Peter.

When Tony does finally leave, he is all smiles, with an extra swagger in his step. He’s not sure when spending time with the kid became so important to him and he’s a little frightened by the implications.  

The sound of bare feet on the hardwood floor, pulls him out of his memories. He looks up to see Pepper wrapped in her robe, her hair askew from sleep — it’s nearly one in the morning, way past her usual bedtime.

“Tony? Are you coming to bed?“ Pepper asks worriedly from the threshold of the living room. She hesitates when she sees him and steps forward cautiously, into the kitchen. “Hey, you okay?”

He watches her walk toward him, feeling lost and overwhelmed with sadness.  He thought he could move on, he told himself he could, but he knows now that he was lying to himself. This isn’t something he can just shove in a drawer, like the picture. He loved that kid and no amount of denial will lessen the pain he feels over his loss.

“Hey…” Pepper’s hand is on his cheek, wiping something wet from under his eye. She takes the picture from his hands and wraps one arm around his waist, holding it for both of them to see. “I forgot about this… It arrived the day you left. There was a card…”

She reaches into the drawer and pulls out a bright red envelope addressed to “Mr. Tony Stark”. She hands it to him, the envelope already open.

He opens the card and sees Peter’s sloppy scrawl:

Dear Mr. Stark, Thank you for everything you do for me. The Stark Internship made my summer and I cannot express how grateful I am for the opportunity. I know how "excited" you were to come to the luncheon and I thought you should have something to remember it by.   Sincerely your biggest fan, Peter

The card blurs and Tony tries to blink away the threatening tears. He drops the card beside the photo and pulls Pepper into a tight hug, burying his face into her shoulder. “I miss him,” he whispers. “He was such a good kid... and I didn't, couldn't —“

Pepper runs a soothing hand down his back, feeling the outline of his ribs, he's still so skinny. “I know. You did everything you could, Tony. I know that, he knew it… and he knew how much you cared for him. Believe me, he did.”

And Tony does know it. He could see it in the way the kid looked at him, the glint of awe in his eyes, that always made him a little uncomfortable because he didn’t know what to do with that kind of admiration. It kills him a little more to know he may never see that look again. He lets the tears fall freely this time, wrapping both arms around Pepper, holding her closer, clinging to one person he still has left…

Epilogue

The next morning he wakes up to find Pepper already gone from their bed. After his momentary panic, he remembers she had several meetings planned for the first half of the day. He stumbles groggily into the kitchen, seeking espresso and a bite to eat — he’s still feeling as tired and worn as he did the night before.

He’s well into his first cup of espresso, and the breakfast smoothie Pepper left in the refrigerator, when he sees it. The picture of him and Peter is propped up on the counter, next to one of him and Pepper. He’s tempted to put back in the drawer, but he tries to recall what Pepper said, about remembering and honoring. Moving on, but not forgetting because Peter Parker is not to be forgotten. Peter Park is loved.

THE END

[razieltwelve]

Policy (Final Effect)

Her Imperial Majesty Averia VII listened carefully as one of her chief economic advisors explained a number of key findings from his research of the other galaxy. Although the war hamster had elected to forego the use of a translator, neither the empress nor any of her other ministers and advisors had any trouble keeping up. Fluency in hamster was expected of any well-educated person in the Empire.

“I see.” The empress frowned faintly. “Thank you for raising your concerns. We’ve only just finished saving the other galaxy. The last thing we want to do is destroy it by accident.”

The hamster nodded sagely and squeaked his reply.

“Indeed. Their level of economic advancement is oddly low considering how long some of them have been spacefaring. However, some of that can likely be attributed to their various cultural attitudes, as well as the influence of the Reapers on their technological development.”

“Their inability to develop stable AI is undoubtedly involved as well,” one of her ministers said. He was a shrewd fellow, a bit long in the tooth, perhaps, but all the more cunning for it. “Without adequate AI advancement, constructing a forge system or a star-sphere would be virtually impossible, to say nothing of the day-to-day demands of managing one.”

Her science advisor, a Dia-Farron, rolled her eyes. “That’s not entirely true. The Quarians managed to develop stable AI… before promptly getting into a genocidal war with it.”

“Good grief,” the old minister muttered. “I read that report. It’s difficult to imagine anyone handling that situation worse.”

“Yeah…” the Dia-Farron shuddered. “You can imagine how our AIs and synthetics reacted when they found out about that little tidbit of Quarian history.”

“Keep an eye on them,” Averia said. “I don’t think any of them will do anything rash, but it must be jarring finding out that your very existence is considered illegal.” She nodded at one of her other ministers. “I want a plan for shifting public opinion in the other galaxy on my desk by the end of the week. We could simply impose our cultural standards by brute force, but I would prefer to employ peaceful means first.”

“And if those fail?” the Dia-Farron asked.

“Then we make it extremely clear that any attempt to destroy, tamper, or interfere with our AIs and synthetics will result in the use of deadly force up to and including the extermination of entire systems.” Averia’s eyes narrowed. “They are Imperial citizens. Any attack on them will be dealt with using extreme prejudice.”

“Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that,” the old minister said.

The Dia-Farron sniggered. “It would give us a chance to test that thing we’ve been working on…”

“Another death ray?” the old minster asked.

“Technically, it’s more of an anti-life beam, but, yes, you could call it a death ray.”

“Back to the matter at hand,” Averia said. “I think we can all agree that we must tread carefully when it comes to the economies of the other galaxy. Simply put, failure to properly regulate how much of our industrial and commercial capacity we bring to bear will undoubtedly lead to the complete collapse of their galactic economy and untold suffering and misery.”

The hamster cleared his throat and squeaked.

“No, I don't think they will resort to cannibalism.” Averia sighed. The hamster had a brilliant mind for economics, but he could be incredibly silly sometimes. “To put this into perspective, a single forge system has industrial output exceeding the entire Systems Alliance. We could have a dozen of those built in less than a decade.”

“Controlled flow of goods and services is the obvious solution,” one of her ministers suggested. “Given our technological superiority, controlling the flow of goods and people through our newly acquired territory should be easy. Moreover, we don’t have to worry about space pirates and other undesirables accessing the other galaxy since the principal means of reaching it is under our sole control.”

“They could reach it using standard hyperdrive technology,” the Dia-Farron pointed out. “It would take them substantially longer, but they could do it.”

“Which is why we will have patrols in place to intercept them if they do,” another minister replied. “It pains me to say it, but what we view as ramshackle fleets made up of cobbled-together craft could pose a deadly threat to the factions of the other galaxy. I’ve read the reports. Their most powerful weapons have output measured in megatons.” He shook his head in disbelief. “They’d be sitting ducks for the average space pirate.”

“In any case,” Averia VII said. “We need to be very careful about how much we introduce to the other galaxy and how quickly. Weapons, of course, are out of the question. Medical care we can likely be more free with, provided it can’t be repurposed into weapons. Construction, though, I think will be where we can make the most money in the short term.”

“Well, most of their galaxy did get blown up,” a minister said. “And we’re pretty good at building things.”

The Dia-Farron chuckled. “The Eranthem will be happy. The busier they are, the happier they are.” Her gaze shifted to Averia. “Let me make a suggestion, Your Majesty. We have a very good grasp of their approximate level of technological development. I would suggest a staggered sequence in which we slowly reveal aspects of our technology, always keeping just a few steps ahead of them. That way, even if we somehow lose track of the technology or if they work out how to reverse engineer it, we won’t have to worry about it too much.”

“That’s an approach we’ve used before,” Averia noted. “Albeit mainly when bringing new worlds into the Empire, worlds that are significantly behind in technological terms. This would be the first time we’ve applied it on such a large scale, but the idea has merit.” She paused. “Have you run the numbers?”

The Dia-Farron nodded. “Standard predictive science combined with Semblance-based forecasting suggests a 97% probability of success using that approach, which is the highest probability by a margin of 15%.”

“You could have said that earlier,” a minister growled.

“And have you rely on us for everything?” The Dia-Farron shook her head. “And it is only a percentage estimate. We’ve been wrong before. The best approach has been - and will always be - to use logic to guide our decision making before relying on more esoteric methods.”

“Has the bearer of Saviour run any simulations on the issue of economics?” someone asked.

“She has,” Averia VII replied - and Claire had complained about it too. “Her analysis is essentially that destruction of the galactic economy could be accomplished in a matter of years, ten at the most, should she wish it.”

“Well, that’s depressing.”

“Indeed. Saviour was able to identify weak points in the galactic economy, and she is compiling a report so that we can use those to refine our decision making.”

The Dia-Farron rubbed her chin. “Hmm… interesting. Our best estimates put the minimum time to destroy the galactic economy at twenty years. I wonder what Saviour saw that we didn’t…”

“We’ll table the discussion on economic policy for the time being,” Averia said. “Instead, let’s move on to cultural influence.” She sighed. “I’ve already gotten a request to build three Gary Worlds in the other galaxy, and I’ve been told that certain individuals have already begun broadcasting Gary as well.”

“Good grief,” someone muttered. “Those poor bastards have no idea what they’re about to endure.”

“Gary isn’t the only thing people are trying to export,” Averia said. “We need to consider what texts and other media we approve for release.” She smiled. “So… what are your suggestions?”

X     X     X

Author’s Notes

The Empire is a proverbial bull in a china shop, so it’s up to Averia VII to make sure they don’t leave even more wreckage in their wake. Of course, that’ll be easier said than done.

You can find me on fanfiction.net, AO3, and Amazon.