#imaging being a responsable adult who have a job oh gosh

[erabu-san]

petition for you to post that sketch that explained a sethoscara scenario when?????? 🤨?! (it's adorable! istg 😭

Like a comic ??

I already thought abt it but I NEED TO FINISH MY COMMISSIONS FIRST HUEHUEHHE I TAKE SO MUCH TIME ALREADY 😭😭 and my waiting list just keep growing OOF

[kerikaaria]

If I Never Met You: Chapter 9

(??? X Reader) Idol!AU, Manager!Reader

Genre: (PG13) Slight fluff

WC: 2.8k

Warnings: Someone’s a bit rude, but it’s not bad

Series Masterlist

Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 

Sejin oppa and I walked into the meeting room where we were meeting the team helping with pre-debut promotion ideas. Sejin gestured for me to introduce myself.

“Hello,” I greeted, bowing. “I’m (L/n) (Y/n), a manager-in-training. Nice to meet you.”

A few people greeted back with hellos, but I am pretty sure I heard someone whisper, “Yeah, we know who you are,” under their breath.

Sejin oppa placed a hand on my back, seeming to notice me tense up and we sat down while the meeting started. The team started discussing some ideas they had thought of, but none seemed to sound like they’d work, either to Sejin oppa or to the woman who seemed to be the head of their team, who I heard being called Ms. Lee.

I wanted to wait until everyone had said their piece, not wanting to just offer something they already came up with. But also because I was still feeling really nervous. When it seemed like there were no more ideas coming from others, Sejin oppa gently nudged me with his elbow.

I gathered all my courage before saying, “If I may, I have an idea.”

All their eyes focused on me, which definitely did not help my case of nerves. “Of course, go ahead,” Ms. Lee said with a smile.

“Well,” I started. “I feel like social media is really crucial. A large amount of people use it, especially teenagers and young adults. Primarily Twitter and YouTube seem to be very useful platforms that could potentially help.”

As I paused to take in a steadying breath, I heard one of the staff mutter, “Of course the college student would think of social media first.”

I watched Ms. Lee give a warning look to the staff, who wasn’t even looking at me. I was definitely shaken up by the comment. I didn’t know how many of these people thought poorly of me for my lack of experience, so my words may have been falling on deaf ears.

Sejin placed a hand on my shoulder for support while I gathered myself and continued. “So, what if the boys upload personal logs on YouTube, and start a Twitter account for the group so they can start posting things about themselves and interacting? I think fan interaction and personability are things very appealing to people, so if we give them whatever outlets we can to do that early that could help build a good base. Not just for early promotions to try to get their names out there, but also for starting a positive image and solid, supportive fanbase.”

As I finished my explanation, I looked over to Sejin oppa who gave me a smile. I glanced around the table, where most eyes were still on me.

Ms. Lee seemed to be contemplating my suggestion. “We’d have to work out the details to do that, but to be honest that’s the best idea I’ve heard today. Thank you for offering your suggestion, (Y/n)-shi.”

I bowed my head and thanked her for the compliment, not ignorant of the quiet scoff coming from, presumably, the staff who had the comment earlier.

“I’m not guaranteeing that it will pass,” she continued, “but we will try to work out the details on it and if we can work out a good plan, I’ll present it to the president. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to tell him whose idea it was.”

“Sounds good, Ms. Lee,” Sejin said. “Is there anything else we need to discuss?”

“Unless someone has any other ideas, I think we’re done here,” she responded. She waited to see if anyone spoke up but when there were no responses, she dismissed everyone.

I walked with Sejin back to his office, and he closed the door behind us. He immediately turned to me and smiled brightly. “(Y/n), you did great. It is kind of surprising none of them thought of using social media for promotion. They probably were thinking it wasn’t good enough compared to other outlets. But with limited money and resources, it’s probably one of the best things we have to work with. And you’re right, being relatable and interacting with fans are really crucial to creating a solid fanbase.”

I smiled shyly. “Thank you, oppa.”

“But not just that,” he continued. “Your idea aside, you did really well. Even though that one woman was being rude, you didn’t let it stop you and you kept going. That’s important, especially for you.” He walked over to his desk. “You’ve probably already learned that a lot of people judge based on appearance and qualifications you can put on a piece of paper.”

Yeah, I definitely have. Not just from hearing whispers around the company and that staff from the meeting today. But even at school, no one wanted to even attempt to approach me, scared that I couldn’t communicate well with them because I’m obviously different. And that would probably be the first thing people judged me on in general.

“I have no doubt in your abilities and know you can do well,” he continued. “But if you want to keep this job right now, you’re going to have to prove yourself to others as well. So ignore what others like that woman say. You just need to have confidence in yourself and push past them. Got it?”

I was taken aback by the sudden speech from him, but really touched that he cared that much. I nodded, letting him know I understood.

“Good.”

Two days later, Seokjin walked into the dance studio when he arrived at the company, where their group dance lesson was due to start in about 15 minutes. On Wednesdays, Jin and (Y/n) always came to the company together so when he walked into the room alone the rest of the group gave him curious looks.

“Hyung, where’s noona?” Namjoon asked. “She always comes in with you.”

“As soon as she got here, Sejin hyung told her to follow him to Bang PD-nim’s office,” Seokjin replied.

“Oh my god,” Hoseok gasped.

“Is it today?” Yoongi asked, his eyes wide.

“I don’t know, but maybe,” Jin replied.

They all shared looks among themselves, silently agreeing on something they needn’t say out loud before rushing out of the room together.

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. This is probably it. The fateful day where I find out if I’m staying or not. Holy crap, I’m not ready for this. Not that I ever would be, but still. There’s no way the butterflies in my stomach are going to stop dancing.

Bang PD-nim’s secretary told us we were allowed to enter his office, holding the door open for us. I walked in, even more nervous than the first time I walked in here for my first interview. “Hello, Bang PD-nim,” I said, dipping into a deep bow and trying to conjure up a smile.

He smiled back at me. “Hello (Y/n). Always a pleasure to see you.”

“Likewise,” I responded nervously as I sat down. I was very thankful Sejin oppa was in the room with us.

“As we established when I hired you, we’d be meeting this month to discuss if we’ll continue your employment or not,” Bang PD-nim said.

Oh my gosh, it is. This is it. Okay, calm down (Y/n). It’s alright, we can do this. I nodded.

“Tell me your thoughts on the job. How are you liking it?” He paused for a second. “And I don’t mean, ‘how are you liking BTS.’ I’m talking about the job itself.”

I took in a deep breath. “I have been enjoying it so far. Of course, I haven’t been able to get much field work done yet, but Sejin oppa has taught me a lot and it’s definitely something I’m interested in continuing.”

“So, you’re saying you would like to continue your employment with us?”

“Yes, sir. If you would permit me to, of course.”

“Well, you are right that you haven’t gotten to really do work outside of company affairs. And while I was hoping you’d be able to get some field work under your belt while you were here, I can’t really fault you for that.” He paused, looking over a paper that sat on his desk. “One thing really caught my eye, though. Earlier today, I spoke with Ms. Lee who told me you were the only one to have a good idea during the meeting on Monday regarding pre-debut promotional activities.”

I nodded in acknowledgement.

“I have to admit, that is a very smart idea and I will be wanting to put this into action. I was already planning on having them use a website called SoundCloud to upload their own personal music, but utilizing Twitter and YouTube early as well will really add to the potential of exposure and add a personal touch into being able to interact with fans and show their personalities. So great job on that suggestion.”

“Thank you very much, sir.” I bowed my head.

“Granted, that’s not necessarily a part of your official job as a manager. But it does show that you put thought and effort into helping BTS. And Sejin has told me how hard you’ve been working with him and how promising he believes you to be. To be honest, I don’t see anything that would lead me to believe official employment isn’t an option for you.”

I bit my lip to keep myself from smiling. Gosh, I wished these butterflies would really settle down already.

“Also, I’ve been watching you myself.”

My eyes widened at the statement. I legitimately had no idea that he personally kept tabs on me.

“I’ve watched how you manage the boys, and it seems that what I hoped from you has indeed happened.”

I blinked. “May I ask what that is?”

“That you can be both a responsible manager who is respected and listened to, but also a reliable friend and confidant to the boys.” He turned his attention to Sejin oppa. “Not that it’s not a similar case with Sejin for them, because it is. But I knew they needed another manager to always be with them, and I hoped I could find another person who would fit both of those roles.” His gaze turned back to me. “Which is why you were so appealing to me from your application and interview.

“You’re in their age group so I figured getting along wouldn’t be a difficult task. But also, the fact that you were able to learn Korean so fluently within just 3 years of independent study and not even an official class, on top of the grades you maintained while doing that showed hard work and dedication. Your leap to come to South Korea on your own at such a young age showed independence and a need for discovery. You seemed hungry for experience and knowledge. You also appeared to be a very open-minded girl who would be able to uphold the ideas and ways of thinking that, interestingly enough, are similar to BTS’ image and that I very much agree with. That’s what made you so interesting to me. And I’d be lying if I said you didn’t hold up to my expectations these last few months.”

I literally didn’t have words. I think the butterflies made their way to my throat.

“So long story short, if you want to continue this journey with us, I’d be delighted to hire you. Full time and not on a temporary contract.”

I couldn’t stop my lips parting in shock, and I thought I heard muffled voices coming from somewhere nearby, but I couldn’t focus on anything at that moment. My mind went black for a few seconds, until Sejin oppa lightly nudged my arm. “That’d be amazing! Thank you so much!” I bowed my head again. Then I realized something. “Although, one thing I do need to mention is that I think I may have to remain part time at school for the next semester. I haven’t signed up for my classes yet, but I’ll be honest, I don’t think there’s a way I can afford my own apartment yet. I’ve looked into it, but it’s just not possible for me right now. I was thinking I’d have to stay part time at school so I can still live at the dorm there until I accumulated enough to find a place to stay.”

“You know, I’ve actually thought about that,” Bang PD-nim said. “And if you’re to be a manager, we need you to be able to be close to the group anyway. That way if we need you, or the boys do, for any reason you’ll be right there. While it is true that sometimes managers will live with the group they manage, I can’t quite do that. Not only is there barely enough room for the seven of them in the dorm, but you’re also a girl and they’re a bunch of boys so that wouldn’t’ be appropriate either. But, there is another room right next door that you could move into.”

“That’d be wonderful. But I’m still not sure I could afford it.”

He shook his head. “It’s paid for by the company.”

My eyes widened in shock. “Wait, are you serious?”

“Consider it my investment into your employment,” he said. “A way for me to say that I expect a lot from you, and this is my way of helping that happen.”

I couldn’t help but feel like the gesture was a double-edged sword. That it actually meant, ‘I expect you to do well, so don’t mess it up.’ But nonetheless, it was a gesture I was extremely thankful for.

“That being said, I’m not saying you need to quit school. You can stay part-time if you want and we’ll continue to work around your schedule. Although it would be tricky for you since BTS is getting rather close to their debut.”

“Oh, I was only planning on staying so I’d have a place to stay,” I confirmed. “If I can continue to work, and have a place to stay as well then I have no desire to continue going to school.”

“Alright then,” Bang PD-nim smiled. “Here’s the contract. Feel free to read through it before signing.”

I didn’t take too long to skim it before signing a contract for the second time, this time as a real, full-time employee.

Bang PD-nim held his hand out for me to shake just like the first time. I took his hand, smiling at him.

“We’re delighted to have you stay.”

“Oh, but I do have a question,” I said. “Am I still going to have to take acting and singing lessons?”

Bang PD-nim chuckled. “That was a backup. If you had any interest and were any good, I was considering signing you on as a trainee if it didn’t work out with you being a manager. So you only need to continue them if you want.”

Oh, so that’s what that was about. I laughed a bit. “Well, I think I’ll just focus on doing the best I can for BTS for now,” I responded.

“I like that answer,” Bang PD-nim smiled.

Sejin and I made our way back to the dance studio where I knew the boys were currently practicing. I slowly opened the door as to not disturb the routine they were doing.

But my efforts were futile because as soon as he saw me, one excited Kim Taehyung yelled “NOONA!” and ran towards me at full force, almost knocking me to the ground when he wrapped his arms around me.

“Oh my… What the heck is that for, Tae?” was the only thing I could manage to say from the shock of the action.

“We’re just so happy!” he exclaimed, a little too close to my ear. “We’re so happy you’re going to be staying with us!”

I gently loosened his grip on me, surprised at his words. “Wait, how do you know?”

“We may have been listening at the door,” Namjoon said, rubbing his hand on the back of his head.

“It’s not nice to eavesdrop,” I said, jokingly serious.

“We just couldn’t wait to know, noona,” Jungkook added.

“Well, as much as I would have liked to tell you the news myself, I guess it’s all the same,” I smiled. “But you really shouldn’t be wasting your teacher’s time by stopping mid-routine. Get back to practice.”

Taehyung frowned at me. “Okay, noona.” He walked back to the rest of the group.

The teacher continued their practice, while I sat on the floor watching the seven members of who would (hopefully) soon be known as BTS work hard. I found myself smiling, happy that I was going to be staying by their side for a long time.

Series Masterlist

Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10

Tags: @calling-dips-on-j-hope

Send me a message or ask if you want tagged!

[magpiemorality]

I’ve Got You

@littlestr​ I hope you like this!! It got pretty long because there was a lot to get in, but I’m hoping it fills in the world you were looking for :) 

Setting: Canon. Thomas has been working on accepting all his sides equally and with that they’re getting to do their proper functions rather than the more negative ones some of them had fallen into. Deceit’s main role as self-preservation is finally being fulfilled to his satisfaction. With a brand new image and a flourishing sense of protectiveness, he is ready to help the last side come to terms with the new world order. 

AO3

***

It was time. Everything was in place and the plan was going to go off without a hitch, Deceit was sure of it. Thomas had been primed; the sides were all hanging out in the living room upstairs, and even Remus was working well with Roman again these days. 

The shift had taken a not-inconsiderable amount of work over the last few months. Logan and Roman had been easy to get adjusted to the new way of things, but Virgil? That had been tough. Especially because he looked so instinctively to Patton for guidance and Patton was struggling so much himself. 

But now the final steps were going to be taken, and peace would reign in Thomas’s mind. 

Dee fidgeted with his new waistcoat, pulling the suit jacket over it and smiling at his reflection in the mirror. Far less Disney villain and far more high-powered professional. Even his scales were looking less monstrous and more magical than before, and he really had to remember to thank Thomas in person for the shift in image, because they’d itched like crazy before. 

Upstairs Roman, Virgil and Remus were tangled together on one side of the sectional watching Moana, with Logan busy working at the table but angled so he could see the screen, and Patton flitting between the other side of the couch and the kitchen where he was not quite baking. As in; he had the ingredients out but they hadn’t moved in almost fifteen minutes. 

When Dee popped up beside him as he wrung his hands over the flour he jumped, squeaking in surprise before pasting on a wan smile. 

“Goodness gracious, you surprised me!” He laughed, but his eyes wouldn’t quite meet Dee’s. “Would you like a cup of tea? I have some great infusions Logan found me- you would not be-leaf the flav-” 

“Patton, stop.” It was gentle and quiet, but the words seemed to hit Patton like a truck. He flinched, glancing out at the next room before finally, finally meeting Dee’s eyes. “Come on, let’s do this upstairs.” 

“But the kiddos-”

“Are all well-adjusted adults and will be fine without you. Come.” He held a hand out, and Patton cooed at the buttery soft suede glove before hesitantly taking it. 

They whisked upstairs to Patton’s room, where Deceit took a seat on the bed and Patton just... stood there anxiously. The sight made Deceit sigh, but he had to stick to the plan despite any frustrations he might have, because it would be worth it. Not just for him- for everyone. 

“Really I don’t know what we need to talk about that can’t be said in front of the others, this is very strange!” Patton spoke to break the silence, still smiling nervously. 

“I need you to listen, to me. For once, though I know it’s still hard for you, will you?” 

Patton’s eyes darted around, searching for support and finding none. “I... suppose I can do that,” he agreed, rubbing the back of his neck and picking up a plushie to hug protectively. The sight made Deceit smile, and he patted the bed next to him until the other side took the hint and perched beside him. 

“You’re at risk, Morality. No, don’t interrupt me- you said you would listen. And I’m not lying to you- we’re changed now, or changing still, and that’s a good thing, alright? Don’t they all seem happier, downstairs? Doesn’t it feel calm? The only problems I can detect right now come from you.” Patton stiffened but didn’t say anything and Deceit carried on gamely. 

“I know you’re trying, I can see you trying, but you’re going about this all wrong. No one wants you to force yourself to make everything okay- everything just is okay, and that’s... okay! You’re starting to separate yourself out and it’s putting strain on Thomas. What we need from you, really need, is for you to just give yourself a break.”

“What?” Patton looked at him in total confusion. Deceit’s face remained serious as Patton searched it for any hints of a trick. 

“You need to give yourself a break. We’ve been over this time and time again but it’s not quite sunk in yet, right?” He tentatively touched Patton’s hand. “Let yourself just be. It’s... okay to be who you are.” Patton lifted his free hand to his mouth, eyes glistening. “I mean, I hated who I was to you all, to Thomas, for years! But now... he knows me. And he loves me anyway. If I can have that, why can’t you?”

Patton wiped a hand under his eyes quickly and stared at his knees. “But I’m supposed to be the one who looks after them, if they don’t need me then what’s my j-”

“Says who?” 

“What?”

“Who says you’re supposed to do anything? Except, well, you? We have roles to fulfil, sure, but they’re not jobs. We don’t have job descriptions and targets to meet or managers to please. What we do is just who we are. Trying to be something else is... well it’s lying. And, regardless of my feelings on the matter, I know how you feel about that,” he attempted a little smile, nudging Patton’s shoulder with his own and squeezing his hand. 

He wasn’t prepared for the sudden lapful of teary side that he got in response, but he rolled with it, scooting back on the bed and cradling Patton tenderly, stroking his hair. “You’re Morality. You know what’s right and what’s wrong for Thomas; you’re his compass. But, and this is me saying this as our self-preservation, you don’t get to decide he’s a bad person for doing the wrong thing sometimes. You don’t get to tell any of us that we’re not doing the right thing for Thomas. You don’t manage us, that’s not on you. Leave the worrying to Virgil, and let Thomas- gosh I can’t believe I’m saying this- let Thomas make up his own mind. Just, point the way.”

Patton sniffed against his chest and Deceit internally mourned his nice new suit. Oh well. “You think you can do that, Patton? Take a little step back? Let us all get an equal seat at the table? No one needs you to be in charge, we all l- we all love you anyway.” 

“...I don’t know how not to be that way,” came the little muffled whisper. Deceit rested his cheek on the top of Patton’s head with a fond smile. 

“I’ll show you. You start by letting us all take care of you for once, alright? I’m gonna bundle you right up in your onesie and we’re gonna pick your favourite blanket and go downstairs and Roman can make his hot chocolate and we’ll hang out on the couch. You can switch off for a bit, yeah? Have a night off? Call it a mini-break.”

“Yeah,” Patton agreed, lifting his head with a sniff. He managed a watery smile, and Deceit cupped his cheek gently.

“Things are gonna be different around here now. But they’ll be better. Trust me; I’d know.” 

And miracle of miracles; Patton blushed and agreed, snuggling quietly into his arms and letting out the biggest, most relieved sounding sigh Deceit had ever heard, like all the stress and tension and the entire weight of the world had just... evaporated away. 

An hour later they were all relaxing together (even Logan had deigned to join them) and Patton was curled sweetly up to his chest as Elsa sang on a snowy mountainside. 

A day later and when Thomas had a new problem to sift through they all showed up together and Patton insisted Dee take his new place by his side, only clutching at his hand once (twice, maybe three times) when he needed the support to stop himself blurting out the wrong thing. 

A week later and it was Patton, sitting with Dee in his room, that suggested it was time to find him a name. And Dee, still glowing with pride after Thomas decidedly hadn’t had a crisis after doing what Patton had dubbed the wrong thing (Virgil had been most surprised of all not to be put to work after that, and had seemed delighted that he could focus all the more on pushing Thomas to learn his lines, rather than overthinking his decisions until three in the morning), had asked if Patton would like to pick. 

Yeah, things were much better now. At long last. 

[blossem12]

Vampire!Deetz 15

Here is the awaited part 15! It's one of our longest chapters yet, so we've attached a read more so the people on the tag don't kill us. That being said, this part was written by both me and @nimarasnetherworld ! Hers is everything up to the ****** and mine is all after. 

We both really hope you enjoy this chapter and if you read it on the AO3 link that is later posted, Please feel free to leave, a Kudos or Comment! we love hearing what you think!

Chapter Summary: Charles contemplates his life and then goes to the Maitlands for his first training session. 

--

When Charles opened his eyes this morning, the first thing he noticed is that it was still dark outside. The vampire groaned rubbing a hand on his face before checking the time. 5am. That meant he had slept for about four hours. A good night for a vampire. Charles sighed, six months, half a year. Emily had died six months ago. It still hurt, he still felt guilty that he hadn’t been able to do anything to save her. But at least Lydia was safe. It still felt weird to wake up in their new house. They had done a lot of re-decoring but Charles had come to accept that this house would never feel like their old house back in New York. 

But as tragic as It was, the whole event hadn’t brought only bad things to the Deetz family. Thanks to the Maitlands, Lydia was getting better and she was working hard to control her newfound vampiric powers. Charles was glad that his daughter was finally smiling again. And of course, there was Delia.

Charles turned to look at the person sleeping beside him. Delia was still fast asleep, curled around him, her hand above his heart. The man couldn’t help but smile. He was happy that Delia had stuck with him, that somehow, she had returned his feelings. At first, he had felt guilty. He had never imagined that he would have fallen so hard and fast for another woman after his wife’s death. But bright, optimistic, Delia had waltzed into their life and now he couldn’t imagine it without her. 

He leaned toward the woman in his arms, pressing a kiss on her forehead. Immediately her scent overtook him and he quickly stretched his arm, reaching for the blood vial it had put on the nightstand. He quickly drank its content. It was still hard to be around her sometimes. But he made sure to always have some blood on him in case his urges become too strong.

Speaking of blood, they should have a new fresh stock soon. He had called Maxie and placed an order. The phone call also informed him that three other vampires had been killed in New York and four more across the country last week. I was getting out of hand. The council had yet to make a decision about these attacks. At least, here his family was safe. 

“You’re already awake?”

The question took him by surprise. Delia was looking at him with half-opened eyes, clearly still half asleep. Charles tucked a strand of hair behind her ear,

“Well, vampires don’t need a lot of sleep you know. But you can go back to sleep if you want.”

The life coach let out a small moan and buried her head in his neck.

“Maybe.” She mumbled.

Charles actually thought she had fallen back asleep when she spoke again,

“You’re supposed to train with Lydia today, right?”

Oh. The vampire had forgotten about that.

“Yes, that’s today.”

“Do you know what powers you have?”

This time it seemed like Delia was definitely awake, looking at him with her big brown eyes. He got lost in it for a moment before answering her question,

“Well I have to common powers vampires have, enhanced strength, senses, and apparently we can see in the dark better than mortals. But I don’t know about any specific powers.”

He thought about it for a moment,

“Come to think about it, there was one time when I accidentally lit some books on fire.” He frowned, “Do you think it could actually be a power and not just an accident?”

His only answer was a small snore. Delia had fallen back asleep. Charles chuckled. Well, guess he was going to find out during the training session tonight.

******

 "Come on Dad!" Lydia yelled from the foyer of the house, Charles approached the teen who was holding two umbrellas. 

It was around 9pm that night, the sun was slowly going down as Lydia traveled with her father over to the maitlands household. 

They were instantly greeted by the couple in the garden, Barbara was sitting on a lawn chair she had found in the randomness of the house while Adam was checking the plants around the house exterior. Charles found himself sweating as he approached the house, worrying about embarrassing Lydia in front of her mentors.

Lydia, however, was smiling more than any of the adults had seen. 

"Oh hello, Charles!" Barbara spoke when he entered the garden, the moon began to rise lighting their faces by blue light. 

"Hello, Mrs. Maitland." He said calmly, taking a pause to wave at Adam, "and greetings to you as well Mr. Maitland." 

Barbara let out a slight laugh at his formality, she went to correct him but shrugged. He was visibly nervous and the maitlands didn't want to pressure him. 

"What are you doing over here?" Adam spoke before Barbara let back a soft shocked face. 

"Adam! Don't be mean!" 

"Oh gosh, I wasn't trying to. I'm so so-" 

Adam was cut off by the father. 

"Its alright Mr. Maitland, I decided to join Lydia in training after she requested me. I don't know if I have special powers but it never hurts!" He chuckled. Adam smiled and continued with the flowers.

"Well. Considering Lydia's is linked to a certain emotion. The same may be with you…" Barbara trailed off, thinking for a moment before looking over at Adam, "Adamo?" 

"Hm?" The husband mumbled in response. 

"I'm gonna take Lydia to the other side of the house real quick to see how her powers are so far. I need you to see what powers Charles has." 

Adam eyes widened but quickly softened with a look from Barbara, he nodded as the two women quickly disappeared. 

Charles cocked an eyebrow at the man approached him. 

"Alright, Charles. I'm not good at this." 

"Good at what?" 

Adam took a breath, and stood tall,

"You are doing a horrible job at buying sustainable foods!" Adam yelled. Charles just sat confused. Adam groaned, "I was hoping the boring method would work but I guess I'll try the tiring way." 

Adam placed his hands on Charles's temple's and closed his eyes, Charles reluctantly closed his in response. 

Instead of the normal darkness, all Charles closed eyes saw was red. Images of Lydia yelling at him came to mind, she got frustrated and ran away disappeared, but the words she was yelling stuck. 

You don't even care!

The next image was Emily, it had been forever since he had seen an image of her, locking himself away from her. He couldn't help but notice that she almost felt fuzzy as if his vision was blurring. She also held an angry expression. 

You have to try Charles! 

The last image was of Delia. Delia stood there with her arms crossed, tears filled her eyes. Charles's heart began to drop at the sight of it. The door to their house formed behind her. She placed one hand on the doorknob as she spoke to Charles.

All you do is just replace people. 

Charles let out a yell of anger, Adam in response fell back onto the grass letting go of Charles's head. The bush next to them quickly caught on fire. 

"Pyrokinesis!" Adam shouted in joy, he quickly looked back at the father who was heavy breathing. "Your life is messed up too huh." He laughed slightly quickly eyeing the ground. 

"I guess its more than I thought…" 

"This is a big step. Spending time with her" 

As if on cue, Lydia was heard laughing as the voices were slightly getting louder. Adam stood and walked to a watering can to put out the burning bush. 

"Thank you, Mr. Maitland." 

"You can call me Adam." He smiled. Charles letting one out in return,

"You could see everything?" 

"Yeah. It was fuzzy but I could make out Lydia and Delia, I'm not sure who the second person was though." 

Charles felt his breath hitch as he quickly changed the topic. 

 "Also Mr." He stopped for a moment and corrected himself "very weird question but how did you become a witch?"

"My father tried to kill Barbara." 

Charles eyes widened, "Oh gosh." 

"Yeah, we're all messed up." 

----

Hours later it had rung close to 4am. The maitlands were tired but determined to make progress with Lydia. 

Charles, on the other hand, was getting very good at his powers. If he focused very hard on a plant, it would quickly erupt into flame (much to the dismay of the Maitlands). 

Lydia still couldn't move the watering can without being frustrated first. 

"You're doing great!" A voice yelled in the darkness, Charles turned to see Delia holding a lamp, shroud in some blanket that she was using as a coat. 

"Delia? Why are you up this late?" 

"It's very lonely in the house without you both.." she sighed as she let herself into the garden. Barbara waved and motioned at the empty chair, Delia took a seat and wrapped the blanket tighter around her. 

Charles smiled softly at the woman, it was evident that she was tired but she truly wanted to be around them. 

"Would you like to see the progress we've made?" Charles asked, letting his heart speak. Adam glanced over at Lydia, who was still struggling with moving the watering can and made a face of nervousness at Barbara. She in return shrugged and threw a bucket of water onto the latest bush that had caught on fire.

"How is it going over there, Lydia?" Delia asked the teen who was trying very hard to calmly focus on the watering can. It nudged over a small bit but her hands refused to glow. 

"She's doing great!" Barbara encouraged, Lydia rolled her eyes at the statement. She knew that she wasn't getting better, it only worked when she was angry. 

"And you Charles?" 

Charles smiled and snapped his fingers, the plant to his left immediately catching on fire. Adam's eyes widened, 

"That was so impressive!" He cheered as he grabbed the bucket from Barbara. 

Lydia looked over at the on-fire plant and began saw red.

This was supposed to be fun. She thought angrily, but I'm just stuck not improving. I wish he was just as bad as me. At least we'd have something in common.

Delia was clapping for Charles and each hit seemed to annoy Lydia more. She let out a small groan and closed her eyes. 

Charles's smile quickly dropped as his eyes glossed over, he stood still but the tree in the maitlands yard began to catch on fire. 

"Charles?" Barbara yelled as she saw the flames, when she looked over she saw his glossy eyes. She tilted her head and stared at him for a moment. She began hearing static in her own ears before he shook his head and released from his trance. 

He then took notice of the flaming tree, Lydia and Delia were wide-eyed as Adam was quickly trying to put the flame out with his own powers. 

"I'm... im so sorry!" Charles began apologizing, Barbara took notice of his words as she began aiding Adam, "I don't know what happened. My brain just went blank. Staticky, almost" 

"It's alright!" Barbara yelled back, "I think we need to call it a night anyway. You guys go home, we'll deal with the tree." 

It took almost no time for the Deetz's and Delia to depart the house, Barbara looked over at Adam as she put the tree out with one swoop of her hand. 

"Adamo, We have a static problem"

[ask-the-chan-family]

Story Challenge Day 3

Patching each other up At the darker part of Xuden City, S.T.AW.S. Agent Valo Drawer was standing by the back alley waiting to meet someone that supposed to be there. Valo usually don't meet someone like this unless it was something important, but he did gotten a special codex text messages that only a few people ever send him one like that, which made him realise that someone important is in danger. While waiting for the person that he going to meet, Valo look at his phone and read the codes message again. It said meet them at the back alley of the darker part of the city. It's really important. Once he saw the important part, Valo made sure that he brought his equipment and his cousin Merci Med pack with him also, knowing him whoever this person he had to deal with, might be hurt, or much worst. Valo try to think more who this person could be. Then only person in his mind was experiment number 12 agent Orca dragon, or Dashie that she like to call herself. Valo know that dealing with her would be a big responsibility on his fox paws. The head leader of the agrncy ask him to watch over Dashie activity, and make sure she stay out of trouble. At most time it was a piece of cake, but Valo learned the hard way that Dashie tend to act like a teenager, in an adult body. Valo always wanted to gain a higher position in the agency, but not someone else babysitter. although Valo understand what Dashie is going through, she spent most of her life living in the lab testing area, and try not to listen to any of their order, unless the agency use the collar which they proper train her in the younger days. While his mind still thinking about the old days, Valo remember when he met Dashie at the stage she was growing up. Valo see her having several injures around her body, knowing that the agency put her through some serious training. Valo know it was part of the job of not making friends with the subject, but with his kindness, and compassion, he was able to gain her trust. For the past years Valo stay in a distance to let Dashie have some space of freedom, she learn about the outside world, and even meeting the agency mortal enemy. Valo was afraid for Dashie safety at first, then Valo even learn more the real truth about the agency target. The whole time working with them, he learn that Thomas Matsudahairi was actually a good guy, and the agency wanted him gone because the major threat he was. Knowing that Thomas deal with the supernatural threat, he could bring much dangerous monster to Xuden City that the agency could deal with on their own. His main mission is too adverse from a distance, and gain the opportunity to take out the target. After finishing thinking about the past, Valo look at his phone to see if the person called, or text him back. Valo look at his massager, and notice that he had an unread messages. He click on it and it was another codex message like he had earlier before. Valo examine the message and it read "are you the one that got the message?" Valo text the person saying yes. The person send another codex message asking him if he was alone. Valo reply back to the person saying yes that he was alone. Valo waited a little while for another codex message from the person. He saw another codex message, but this message was short. Valo solved it quickly and read "you know who I am right?" Valo stay quiet for a moment, figuring out the person comment. Deep inside he already know the answers. Valo text back to person and said where she is? Valo waited to hear another respond from the person, but instead he heard someone spoke to him from a distance. Valo couldn't see who it was since the back alley light was very dim. He pull out his flashlight to see alot better, and find the person he was calling him. With the flashlight he spotted a hybrid wolf cat standing a few feet from him, Valo examine the hybrid face and knew it was the target the agency wanted gone. Valo was plan to pull his weapon, but he gave his attention back to thebtargdt and notice different. Not only he saw the target, the hybrid was carrying someone very tall on his back. Valo look and notice it was Dashie, but she was badly injured. Valo was shock to see Dashie in a very bad condition like that, she was a lot stronger than most of the agents she fought, and have a healing ability that heal her wounds quickly. But now seeing her bleeding heavily, and scars over some area, whoever it was that she fought, was more powerful than anyone can imaging. While his mind occupied on what happen to Dashie, he notice that the target was having a hard time carrying her. He seem like the type that can hold her no problem, but Valo notice that the target was injured as well, but crazy enough to carry Dashie in his condition. Valo grab his cousin Medical bag and head over to them, he help the target gently place Dashie on the ground. Valo look at the deep scar by the side of Dashie stomach, where it was bleeding the most. Valo knew that he have to heal the wound quick, but was afraid that he had to use a certain medicine that would sting her. The target look at Valo and ask him if there anything they can do to help her. Thomas Matsudahairi: hey, I know you don't want to talk too much, but is there anything we can do to help Dashie. Valo Drawer: there is. But Dashie is not going to like it. Thomas Matsudahairi: and that is? Valo Drawer: I don't have the proper med to heal all her wounds, but I have a special medical spray that should seal the deep wound by the side of her stomach. Thomas Matsudahairi: that sound like it should help, but why you said Dashie going to hate it? Valo Drawer: it have a very powerful sting that raises Dashie rage a little. Whenever they use this medical heal on her, Dashie Orca side had a little urge of harming anyone nearby her. Thomas Matsudahairi: does that sort of thing happened all of the time. Valo Drawer: not unless you want her to rip your arm off, which why they added the healing ability inside her. But now that her healing abilities aren't working right now, I need to use this stray to heal it a little faster. But if I do that, she will attack me without warning. Valo look at Dashie and notice that she feeling the pain from her stomach, he wanted to do something else until the target tell him that he can do it. Thomas Matsudahairi: I think I can do it. I think I can hold her back for a moment, while you give her the medicine. Valo Drawer: Are you sure about that. I know you’re strong, but you’re in bad shape like her. Also, once she in rage, she will attack you, she even might bite you. Thomas Matsudahairi: what choice we got here, my daughter.... I mean Dashie is hurt because of me, and I'm not going to lose her because of safety reason. You’re going to use that medical spray on her wound and I take whatever she through at me. Valo Drawer shouldn't care about the target safety, but Dashie care about the target so much, that she would hate him, and never trust him again. Valo look at the target again and nod to him that he will do it. The target knew what to do and gently held Dashie from moving too much. Valo held the spray by Dashie wounded area, and then start on it. The spray was doing its job and start healing the wounded, but soon you know it, Dashie were wide open with an angry glare, and start screaming like crazy. The target should have been startle by her surprised scream, but dealing with monster and demon his entire life, something that simple doesn't bother him. Valo look at Dashie and remembering seeing her angry look in the eyes. Screaming like a monsterious demon, wanting to harm anyone that is near. The target look at Valo. Telling to continue on healing her wound. While his attention was on Valo, Dashie look at him and took a bite on his left robotic arm. The target know he doesn't feel it that much, but Dashie biting strength was so strong, that she can nearly rip it off if she want to. The target could easily push her off, but all he did was look at her, telling Dashie to remember who she is. The target knew that Dashie never like to be known as a number, or a monster, all she want to be a normal being like everyone else, but instead just known as a super weapon for the agency to be miss use. Valo join in as well and remind her that she need to stop fighting, and come back to reality. It took a while for Dashie to get her mind free from this rage, but once she did that, Dashie free her mouth from the target robotic arm and look to see where she was. Dashie the Orca Dragon: what happened, where am I? Valo Drawer: where at a back alley Dashie, it good that you’re alright ... Well sort of ok. Dashie the Orca dragon: what do you mean sort of? Thomas Matsudahairi: Valo was trying to heal your wounds from a serious battle. He had to use a special spray to heal your wound by your stomach. Dashie the Orca dragon: a special spray.... Oh gosh no, did I done anything wrong to you guys, or. Valo Drawer: we're both fine Dashie, the target.... I meant your father was able to help you to go though it just fine. Dashie the Orca dragon: really! Did I hurt you anyway dad? Thomas Matsudahairi: nothing I can't fix later *he laugh* but as for you though, you need to go to the hospital at once, so you can heal yourself properly. Valo Drawer: I agree, even with the medical spray patching up that hole, you still need more proper treatment. Dashie the Orca dragon: I would argue with you on that, but seeing how I can't get up on my own, maybe I should do what you said. Just this once. Valo Drawer: I take that either way. But I still need to know what happened to you guys thought. The condition you guys are in, must the been a serious battle. Dashie the Orca dragon: tell you the truth Valo, which fight was more a one side then an even fight. Valo Drawer: what do you mean? Thomas Matsudahairi: there was a powerful demon from the underworld that attack us. She been following me for a very long time. She was able to locate Dashie, and attack her without warning. If I didn't stop that fight, Dashie would have been killed. Valo Drawer: well then, thank you for saving her Mr. Matsudahairi. If anything happened to her, who know what the agency would do next. Dashie the Orca dragon: knowing them they would crest another version of me. Valo Drawer: you know they won't do that. Dashie the Orca dragon: you never know. Thomas laugh a little seeing those two fight like sibling, reminding him with a little sister from his past. When he was about to say something to them, he felt a present that caught him of guard. He look back to the back alley and see something that he knew who is watching them. Dashie look at her father and notice that he was staring at something, which telling her that her father senses danger. Dashie the Orca dragon: is everything ok dad? Thomas Matsudahairi: of course Dashie, I thought I sense something. Valo, you got to take Dashie and get her wound treated right now. Valo Drawer: will do, but what about you, your no better shape than Dashie, you have to come with me and get your wounds healed up as well. Thomas the writer: thanks, but no thanks. No modern medicine can healed this thousand year hybrid condition that easily. Besides, there someone that wanted that I need to meet, and I don't want Dashie to be here. Dashie the Orca dragon: hold on dad *she try to get up, but fell back to the ground, knowing the injuries was too great* let me stay and help you. Thomas Matsudahairi: I wish you can stay Dashie, but right now I need to act like a father, and care about your safety. Dashie the Orca dragon: But Dad. Thomas Matsudahairi: Dashie.... Please just for once listen to me. I know you don't want to lose me, but I'm promise I be ok. Just promise me that you do what Valo said and go somewhere safe. Dashie look at her Thomas eyes and see that something was wrong. She wanted to say no to him, but she felt her body wasn't responding, and wonder why. Dashie look and notice that Valo use a shot to put Dashie to sleep. Dashie raise one of her arms towards Thomas, seeing if she can stop him from leaving. But before she got the chsnce to touch him, she was already asleep. Valo did his best to lift her right up and carry her on his shoulder, making sure she there properly. Valo look back at the target, but instead with anger, he replace it with concern. Valo Drawer: you’re going to be ok Thomas? Thomas Matsudahairi: .... Sigh, I don't know. The demon I'm facing is the queen of all demons, and she have a personal grudge against me. Valo Drawer: what did you do to make her upset with you? Thomas Matsudahairi: .... Sorry, there are some thing I like to keep personal, and this one is very personal. Valo Drawer: ...... Sigh, fair enough. Just be careful from whatever you do. If you want to see Dashie, she be at a special hospital not too far from here. Its own by our agency, but I will sneak you in, if you make it back alive. Thomas the writer: thanks for that, I try best to stay alive, for her sake. Noe get going, she already here, and I'm not sure I have the strength to protect all three of us. Valo Drawer did what he said and done his best to carry Dashie out from the back alley, leaving Thomas by himself. Thomas close his eyes and take a deep breath, knowing that it might be his last. Once he open his eyes, Thomas already sense the Demon Queen actually standing right behind him, breathing heavily on his shoulder. Thomas didn't bother to look already knowing who it was. He stay calm and relax showing no movement, while The Demon Queen had her arm over Thomas shoulder. Nophilia Redfield: I'm ashamed that you let that fox take your daughter away, I had so many brilliant ideas of the type of torment I had for the both of you. But I'm happy that she gone *her hand started glow with fire flames on Thomas shoulder* at least I have my big brother to play with. Thomas Matsudahairi: you and I both know you’re not my sister. My sister Nova died in that car accident. Who, or whatever you are, you’re not your sister I once knew. Nophilia Redfield: *she laugh in a disaster way* don't you dare think that going to work with me big brother, or should I remind you that you’re the one that created me in the first place. Afraid to lose your little sister, disobey our mother ancient rules, just to bring me back to life. *her hand was all flames and burn her brother shoulder a bit more* I lost most of my original memories, but still kept the one that important to me. You’re the only one that I care the most. If you dare try to be the very family we both hate. I promise you, I will hunt down the very people you care about. Especially that false creature that called itself your daughter. Thomas Matsudahairi: ..... Her name is Dashie, and you better leave her alone. Nophilia Redfield: then do what your little said, and never forget me. Thomas Matsudahairi: of course I won't, like you won’t forget this. Thomas pull something out what look like a small mirror that half broken, he held it up by her face. Nophilia knew that her brother knew one of her weakness, which the broken was once belong to her from her past life. Nophilia look at the mirror reflection and saw her formal self, Nophilia face started to steam of smoke, burning her face off. Nophilia start screaming when she feel the pain and move away from her brother. Thomas was a safe distance from and move away as fast he can, but sense that his body reach his limit, and force him to land on the ground. Nophilia stop screaming and feel her face half my burnt, she look at her older brother with rage, wanting to burn him in ashes. Before she got the chance to do it, she look at her necklace around her, remembering her old past with her older brother. Nophilia lower her hand, giving up on her revenge. She look at her brother was on the ground, trying to get back up. Nophilia was tired of fighting her brother, and open a portal back to the underworld. Thomas finally got up, and was relief that his little sister was gone. Part of him regret of doing that, but it was the only choice he had, but knowing her that his sister face will heal, and she will try again. Thomas try to move while holding the side of the wall, but with the amount of injuries he had token, he not sure he can make it. Thomas landed on his knees to rest knowing that he was not going to make it Before he close his eyes, he saw someone was standing . Thomas was had tried to say anything, but his body was so tired and went out cold. The End Another story challenge done Special guest Valo Drawer: @ask-valo-the-pony-drawer

[vividrogue]

You beautiful piece of a human's bottom's tell me about your ocs!

Oh gosh! Well, there’s a lot of them so I guess I’ll describe two of them who are the main protagonists of one of my series ideas called Clean Break. Because if I listed all of my ocs, this post would be even more ungodly longs as it already is.

Sunny’s this 30 year old recovering drug addict whose trying to get her life back together after almost killing herself at 27. She moved back to her small home town in the middle of nowhere that she hates after not being able to get a big break in her music career because it’s the only place she can go to to even try to have a support system (that didn’t work out well), she doesn’t like the whole being apart of the community and sticking together with family thing because for one she feels everything that all the community has ever done for her is judge her for her past mistakes and for second she honestly just views family as a group of people that you wouldn’t even be around if they weren’t related to you. When she was in high school she was one of those bad kids who would skip school, get into fights, was always in trouble, would manipulate others into taking the blame for her actions while also just being a jerk to everyone, and would use drugs and alcohol. She used drugs and alcohol as an unhealthy coping mechanism for the things she went through and was going through.  So now that she’s back at her home town she’s surrounded by people who she used to treat horribly who are now extremely more successful than her. All she wants in life is to just be left alone and become more than the mistakes of her past. She’s a bit of a pushover now since she feels that if she wants to be accepted by others she needs to do the same, she has a pretty poor self image seeing herself as really destructive person that doesn’t deserve have good things happen to her, but despite this she gets jealous easily whenever she sees some of the people who she basically used to torment in highschool having lives that are so much better than her’s. 

Some trivia about Sunny: Since she’s a musician, she’s developed a love for all music. Whether it be old school rock, experimental electronica, or even just your cheesy generic pop music she loves it and believes all music has a time and place to be played and enjoyed. Ironically, Sunny can’t sing, she’s more of an instrumental musician; she can play lead guitar and bass. Her biological dad walked out on her and her mom when she was 6, so now she has a subconscious goal that she will make herself better than her dad and insists that if she ever sees him again she’s going to punch him hard in the nose. She doesn’t handle stress well and often copes with it through smoking now that she’s sworn off using any other drugs ever again. She also has an insanely fast metabolism,  she can basically eat all the unhealthy foods she wants without gaining any weight, which has actually been a problem for her since there have been times when she is marked as under weight. It wasn’t because she was starving herself, she just can’t gain weight as easily as othersCoal is this 24 year old, promiscuous, arrogant asshole who sees people as nothing more than tools waiting to be used. He’s been an orphan his whole life, so as soon as he got enough money he took one of those ancestry tests to try to find the one thing he’s always wanted. He has built up family as a group of people who are never going to leave you even despite your flaws. People have always left him since he treats others so poorly, though he thinks that they leave him for no good reason since he never takes responsible for his actions. So after he takes one of those ancestry test he goes to the closet relative that he has: Sunny. He tells her that they’re half siblings, he basically overshares and tell his whole life story, just decides to move in with her without even talking to her about it, and forces her to open up old wounds involving family such as asking her about her dad who walked out on her at the age of  6 and why she doesn’t talk to her mom  anymore. Even though he presents himself as a really confident person, he’s actually really insecure, especially about his body image. When he was younger he used to be a tubby boy, even though there’s nothing wrong with that he got made fun of for it. So combine that with the feelings of loneliness and self hate, and you end up with how he is now. He obsesses over his weight, doesn’t feed himself properly, weighs himself several times a day, over-exercises,  fears about not having his ideal body type, and won’t even eat in front of others. If he doesn’t feel he’s doing enough he’ll harm himself by having painful, meaningless sex with any dude he can find as a form of punishment. He uses sex as an unhealthy coping mechanism for the things he is going through and for what he has gone through. All he wants in life is to be accepted by others and to actually have a group of people he can call his family. He has a bit of a short temper especially when things don’t go the way he wants them to, he’ll throw an entire tantrum over it. He’s also one of those people who will joke about others but can’t take a joke about them. Plus he doesn’t get attached to others easily out of fear he’ll eventually have to lose that person and have to go through heartbreak all over again, and overall he’s just a really impulsive person. 

Trivia about Coal: he’s a youtube vlogger, that’s his actual job and he actually gets payed pretty well for it too. Secretly he collects yu-gi-oh cards since its something he’s liked ever since he was a kid and continues to enjoy as an adult. For all 4 yours of high school he played football, so that was one of his motivations to start exercising and  to start unhealthily focusing on his body image. He mostly listens to pop and rap music, his favorite musician being Beyonce. And he actually isn’t a natural blonde, his natural hair color is actually a deep brown. He’s also the best dick sucker in 3 states, it’s honestly his proudest accomplishment and will fight anyone on it. 

And that’s about it for the two of them, honestly Sunny and Coal are the ones I’ve put the most thought into so that’s why I decided to talk about them. Again though, I have a lot of ocs, like over 50.  So as much as I love talking about them and developing them, there wouldn’t be enough time and space to talk about every single one of them all in one post. If you want to know more about them you can ask me more questions or even go through my oc tag. Thanks for asking this though, it was really fun and nice to talk about my troubled children to someone other than my close friends and family! :]

[sineala]

Sine, Sine! I'm sorry to bother you, but do you have any good tips for writing 616 Tony! I just love your characterization so much :)

Oh, boy, an opportunity to talk about my fave! I was actually sitting here thinking, gosh, I hope someone asks me to write meta about my favorite characters sometime soon! And then you did, so thank you, anon! (And thank you, I’m glad you like my characterization.)

Uh. This got long.

I don’t know if what you want are tips on writing 616 Tony as distinct from other Tonys, or 616 Tony as distinct from other people in his universe, but I will try to hit both.

If you haven’t read Elspethdixon’s 616 Steve/Tony ship manifesto, you really should, because it contains the most important tip for writing 616 Tony, namely: Tony hates himself. A lot. Self-loathing is the background radiation of Tony Stark’s life.

The second most important thing, which you will also learn from that ship manifesto, and which you already knew, is that Tony Stark has a suit of Iron Man armor. Now, in MCU, we know that the way this goes is that Tony spends most of his life fucking around and being rich and wasted and making weapons until he gets captured in Afghanistan, takes a bunch of shrapnel to the chest, and decides to devote himself to superheroing. He has a secret identity that lasts… until the end of Iron Man 1. He is Iron Man, and it’s made him reevaluate his life. Also, he probably doesn’t hate himself. As much. I will leave that discussion to people who are more into MCU than I am.

616 Tony, on the other hand, becomes Iron Man when he’s really, really young. Like, early twenties. He doesn’t spend decades in dissolution. Vietnam is his impetus to become a superhero, yes, but it’s really not the same thing at all. By the time we get to modern canon this means he’s spent basically his entire adult life being a responsible superhero, and now he’s busy mentoring the next generation of superheroes – Kamala, Sam, and Miles while he was alive, and Riri now that he’s dead. (”Dead.” Comatose. Whatever.)

But the way that Tony’s self-loathing intersects with Iron Man is that he does the secret identity thing. No one knows. No one knows for years. Even after Steve finds out in the early 80s, most of the team doesn’t know for at least a decade after that. The public doesn’t find out until the early 2000s. (Twice. It’s complicated.) So even if you look at him now and see a guy with a public identity, you should realize that this is a very recent development in his life.

A lot of superheroes have tension between their caped and non-caped identities. Steve, for example, has a bunch of angst about trying to be Steve Rogers, a regular guy, versus Captain America, and how to live up to that, and how much of a regular life he should try to have. This is not Tony’s problem, as Tony’s regular life is… pretty out of the ordinary, as these things go. No, Tony uses his identity as Iron Man to fuel his self-loathing.

Iron Man is a hero. Iron Man saves people. Everything that is good about Tony, Tony puts in a box and calls it Iron Man. He compartmentalizes. (I could probably write a whole other post about how Tony’s a control freak.) Iron Man’s fine, and Tony develops a drinking problem. (Demon In A Bottle actually happened while Tony had a secret identity, and included him deciding that he was sick of being Tony Stark and was just going to be Iron Man.) While with someone else it might not be a bad thing to say that Iron Man is all the best parts of him… that doesn’t leave a lot to be Tony. And he doesn’t really like the parts that are left.

However, I think Tony Stark is still a really good guy. I mean, early canon is early canon, sure, but even as a boss he’s always depicted as, basically, the most benevolent face of capitalism you could possibly imagine. Like, the fantasy job that was available in the fifties and sixties where a dude could support a family of four and buy a nice house in the suburbs and then retire with a generous pension? A SI job is clearly that job. He knows his employees’ names, all of them, and he just seems deeply concerned about them, all the time. And, hey, how about that time he let the Avengers move into his house and never leave, huh? :)

Also he’s… not really a playboy, as I would use the term. During the early years, when he was dependent on the chestplate, he certainly used it as a cover, and we see him deliberately keeping himself from getting close to people because he was just going to die and make them sad (no really), as well as presumably to preserve his identity. We see him wishing that he could get closer to people because he has so much love to give! In the romantic relationships we’ve seen him in, he’s generally very devoted, occasionally more than the other person is, occasionally to the point of creepiness. (Okay, that’s not really one of his best traits.) He falls hard and fast. He just falls in love a lot. He sincerely does. He’s a romantic, even if his persona says otherwise. So, yeah, he has a public persona. Tony Stark is a public persona. It’s pretty evident that that’s not really him, either.

He’s not as quippy as MCU Tony, or as all-around warm-and-fuzzy nice as AA or MA:A Tony, or as utterly flamboyantly campy as Ults Tony (although, man, if you want to talk about drinking problems, go see Ults Tony). If you’re writing his internal voice, I tend to go with a fair amount of obscenities (more than Steve, anyway), and bring your science metaphors to the party if you got ‘em.

But, yeah, the self-loathing. I like to joke that you can tell it’s a good Iron Man comic if Tony is naked and crying, possibly in the rain, because he thinks none of his friends love him. (By this criterion, Iron Age and Execute Program are very good.) Possibly contingent upon the self-loathing, he never passes up an opportunity for self-sacrifice. Sure, any superhero worth his or her salt will happily die to save others – it’s part of the character type – but they all have to get in line behind Tony, who will be there killing himself first. Possibly several times. As many times as it takes. You know that moment in Red Zone where Tony rips off his helmet, exposing himself to deadly flesh-eating bacteria, to give Steve CPR and save Steve’s life, because Captain America is more important than him? That’s Tony Stark. I will also once again point to Execute Program, where Tony literally stops his heart to save Steve. He really likes killing himself for Steve.

I guess other than the self-loathing the main trait I think of as characteristic of 616 Tony is the sense of responsibility, and yeah, I do mean that in the Spider-Man “with great power” sense. He’s a founding Avenger. He knows what he’s doing. If you’re writing an MCU or an Ults story, say, there are a lot of things you could put the Avengers or the Ultimates up against that they’ve never seen before, and they might freak out. Just a little. (When the Ultimates first fight the Chitauri, Tony nearly gives up. He’s just a regular guy. He’s having a hard time dealing with this stuff.) But the thing about 616 is that it’s going to take a lot to make the Avengers, and by extension 616 Tony, freak out about anything. Their lives are weird. So, yeah, he’s seen it all, he’s vastly experienced, he’s been a professional superhero for ten or twelve years now – which, unlike in MCU, means it’s more or less his whole adult life – and he’s going to step up and take charge and do whatever needs to be done.

As an illustration of both his sense of responsibility and the degree to which he regards Tony and Iron Man as two different people, I want to point you to Iron Man v3, the Secretary of Defense arc. Following Red Zone, in which it was revealed that the Red Skull was the previous Secretary of Defense (616 governments are terrifying, okay?), Tony has been nominated to replace him. And we see his Senate hearing, and one of the senators has reservations about Tony’s suitability, based on his public persona. (This arc happens shortly after the first time the public learns Tony is Iron Man.) And this is Tony’s response:

Senator: We can’t let you loose in the Pentagon. You’ll turn it into a cult of personality and you’ll never listen to this body again! You’re too smart for school, Mr. Stark. You make up your own rules. For legal behavior. For being honest with people. I won’t even get into your personal life…

Tony: Is there a question in there, Senator?

Senator: It’s all a question! Why should anyone think that Tony Stark would put this nation’s safety before his own personal aggrandizement?

Tony: Because I’ve been doing that for years! Because I’m Iron Man – and I never ONCE took the credit!

Senator: What exactly do you mean, Mr. Stark?

Tony: Just what I said, Senator. “I’m Iron Man – and I never took the credit.”

Tony: Did I try to associate his positive image with my companies? Yes, I did. But that’s all. I never, ever asked for a direct reward for anything I ever did as Iron Man.

Tony: And for every life I told you I saved as Iron Man, there are tens – hundreds – that I’ve kept to myself. To save lives, I have traveled far. Farther than any of you will ever go. I have traveled to dark places. All alone, away from anyone who could see, hear, or help. I have staved off threats that you will never, ever hear about. The simple knowledge of them would wreak more fear and ruin on the world than I could ever hope to gain from them.

Tony: Yes, Tony Stark is Iron Man. But Iron Man is not about Tony Stark. Iron Man is about everyone else… and if Tony Stark is Defense Secretary, it’ll work the same way. That’s all I have to say. Thank you.

(This is IM v3 #76 & #78, BTW. We get half the speech during the hearing, and then half in boxes later while we see Iron Man risking his life to save people. Tony gets the SecDef job.)

So I think that speech basically sums up 616 Tony. He’s Iron Man, and he never took the credit. And that’s who 616 Tony Stark is, to me. It’s not just that he’s about accountability, as the MCU arc goes; it’s true that he’s also about accountability, but he’s about accountability not as something he’s finally learned but as a part of the core of his character from the very beginning, as a part of being responsible and doing the right thing and saving people. And not needing to take the credit.

I hope that helps answer your question!

[missskaity]

It’s Worth It

Im just so goddamn scared. I’m mortified. 

It’s been a month and a half now, and it will probably be two months before I see him again. Distance literally sucks so much goddamn dick but in the worst way. It’s like this:

You like each other. You connect so well on all levels. It’s absolutely crazy. When you’re together it’s like time stops and everything is more beautiful than ever and you never want it to end. You cuddle, snuggle, fuck, make love or whatever you want to call it. You tell each other secrets of the past and secrets of how you feel about one another. You enjoy each others quiet time. You lay and listen to music you both mutually like and it’s not awkward if one of you lays on the floor almost naked while the other drinks tea and writes. Nothing is weird. Everything is out in the open. You literally let someone in your life and you spend this amazing time with them, creating memories and laughing until each others tummys hurt. And then the day comes when they have to go back home and deal with responsibilities and you have no idea when your schedules will allow you two to see each other again. When they leave you’re so sad but you’re overwhelmed with so much happiness because you literally have never been so happy in your entire life. 

But then, the waiting begins. You talk everyday and communicate but you don’t know when you’ll see each other. You tell each other how you adore their eyes, and how they remind you of their favorite song. You send each other songs that remind you of one another. You tell them how beautiful they are, and that you can’t wait to hold them in your arms and kiss them all over, up and down and everywhere. You tell each other how dearly you miss them and if you could fly you would fly straight to them. You tell each other, “you’re my world.” Then the day comes when seeing each other is brought up again and the world is bright again! Because it’s been so dark without them with you. But you still don’t know when that will be because of course we have to be responsible and can’t just up and leave our jobs or spend too much money. We have to still be adults and take care of business. All you know is that it will be soon but you’re not sure how soon. And now with winter, it could snow for two weeks straight (which is likely to happen here where I am) and the waiting time will be longer. 

It makes you sad when you have no idea how long you have to wait. All you know is that you want them near you, sleeping next to you, waking up next to you, touching you, kissing you, fucking you and just loving you every day. All you want is to feel their skin on your skin; you want to feel their bodies heat and you want to smell their bodies scent just the way it is. It makes you sad knowing that it could be another two to three weeks and although they want to maybe come within a week, you know that probably is not happening. But you also know when they come they can only come for a week and then you don’t know how long it will be after that week that you will see them.

Honestly, I said I could do this. I said I could do this distance thing and wondering and waiting, but it is so damn hard. 

But even though it is hard... I know how worth it that it really is.

You know when you meet someone and you feel it in your gut, and you remember the exact day that you feel it in your gut, that this person would be part of your life for a long time, and that you could turn out to be so beautiful? That’s a feeling i will never forget. And beautiful is exactly what we turned out to be. He came the first time for only four days. We shared our first kiss on my best friends couch. Everything was illuminated. The world ceased to bother me. Those four days were the most magical days I have ever had in my life. And all we seemed to do was walk around my town, getting groceries, going shopping, and ultimately hanging out at my house listening to music and fucking, fucking a whole lot. But it wasn’t just like normal sex it was so wonderful and sweet, it was genuine and intimate and beautiful. And so, so uncalled for. We didn’t expect to hook up right away but we did and it totally was worth it. And the kissing.. Oh my gosh, the kissing. It was like our lips were made for each other. I could kiss his soft lips all damn day if I could. The way he touches my skin and rubs my face and tells me things like how beautiful I am and how I made him feel alive again- that reminds me how worth it it is. 

He came and went after four amazing and breathtaking days. He did not come back for about three months and they seemed to fly by but this past time he came, he showed up for about 5 days. We started our New Year together. And it was amazing. There was a hard time that night with finding a place to go due to the storm so we had to drive back but man, I wouldn’t trade that night in for the world. We had a really great time together, and when he left I was super duper sad. 

It’s been a month and a half, and I feel like I’m going crazy. There’s been some crazy stuff that has happened in the short time he’s been gone and things felt weird, but he still tells me how much I mean to him each day or somehow shows it at least. 

This is definitely the hardest thing I have ever done. Being away from him is the toughest and most heart wrenching situation I’ve been in- not because it emotionally hurts me but gosh I miss his face and I miss his taste and his smell and I miss his beautiful, dark brown eyes. It’s tough for me because I just want to be around him all the time and I see such bright things for us and I just want to dive right in. 

I have never felt the way that I feel about him. 

I remember when I was just an eleven year old kid I had depicted the perfect man in my mind. Blue eyes, blonde hair, skater boy kind of look. But as I grew and grew and dated mean boys who treated me awfully, I created a different image in my head; one that did not change again. I was sixteen, listening to my favorite band and I remember telling myself that my perfect man would be an intellectual being; one who wrote poems of love and life and chaos; a man who had pride and dignity; a man who knew he wasn’t perfect but wanted to be perfect for his girl; a man who treated his girl better than any guy ever had. I wanted the man I chose to be with to be just like that. And I thought once I had found it, but flames can sometimes burn too quickly. There was a man who I did love, but I knew it wasn’t forever. He was a void, and he treated me like I was literally dirt from the ground. 

I reminded myself one day of the man I had created in my head, the image from when I was sixteen. Now twenty one, realizing that I had wasted so much time with the wrong ones, I stopped looking. I stopped in my tracks because I wanted the perfect man to pop out at me. Whether it be now or fifteen years down the line, I didn’t want to waste any more time on men who didn’t fit my criteria because I deserve the world, and I know it.

Then he came along

And life is so beautiful, and the wait is so worth it.