#so I take a picture and text it to my tool tech and then call him to be like hey which fucking key goes to the 35' boom lift???

[neverendingford]

.

[soniabigcheese]

Good morning folks

Just for peace of mind - and I need opinions to settle a very old score here. Something that I haven't thought about for years but suddenly popped into my head.

It's a long and rambling post but I will get to the point. I promise.

Many many years ago, when we first went online and handled the computer (over 12 years now, maybe closer to 15), I set up a forum for the Sims 2 game. As well as integrating the rest of the franchise.

I wasn't tech savvy and had to learn on the hoof and as quickly as possible, but one thing that - at the time - defeated me, was editing a header picture to add text to it.

Easy now, we've got the tools, but back then, you had to get programs that you needed a university degree to understand.

So ... a friend at the time - not any more - said that she would help me. If I submitted the screenshot to her, she would add the text to it. She bragged that it was so easy a child could do it. I agreed and it came back looking just fine.

Then we had a falling out, several months later. Not a clue what it was over, something petty I'm sure, with her believing she was right.

Out of the blue, she demanded that I take down 'her banner' or she'll take legal action.

Bear in mind that it was my screenshot she used, all she did was overlay it with the text saying the title of my forum name.

Of course, I took it down, but, after all these years, who was right and who was wrong in this case?

And later on - say a couple of years later, I'd moved on and practically forgot about her, she contacts me to tell me that I'm 'bearing a grudge', trying to play the victim card.

Um, no. I'm calling it self preservation. She threatened me, I backed off and moved on, I think she should too.

[captainmdhridoyhossain-blog]

[ad_1] Regardless that there were makes an attempt at wraparound smartwatches, the device class itself hasn’t in reality observed a lot design innovation for moderately some time. Previous this 12 months, there used to be communicate of a flat-edged Apple Watch, however the ones grew to become out to be mere rumors. Whilst it’s not likely we’ll see drastic alternate any time quickly, apparently tech firms were toying with the speculation of looking at movies and taking pictures from the wrist. The most recent instance comes courtesy of a Samsung patent (by way of LetsGoDigital and Peta Pixel). At first filed in June with the International Highbrow Belongings Workplace (WIPO), the patent depicts a Galaxy Watch with a rollable display screen and digital camera smack dab within the center. The watch thought seems like a median round-faced watch, however urgent the crown permits you to prolong the display screen additional right into a kind of pill-shaped oval that’s 40 % higher. Along with novel techniques of showing knowledge, Samsung additionally turns out to assume a bigger display screen would possibly lure other folks to observe movies from the wrist. One drawing depicts a possible consumer looking at what seems to be Surprise’s Thor at the watch. As for the digital camera, the schematics display a design the place it’s situated in the course of the watch and is meant for taking pictures or video. It’s now not out of left box that Samsung would possibly attempt to prolong its foldable display screen tech to wearables. Samsung has experimented with cameras in wrist-based wearables before. Meta may be purportedly running on a smartwatch that will house not one but two cameras. And whilst there is not any digital camera within the Apple Watch, there may be the Wristcam, a $299 third-party strap with a integrated digital camera that may also be used for short-form video chatting. All of that is neat from a technological viewpoint, however as a wearables reviewer, I will let you know something: cameras and movies on smartwatches don’t make a lot sense. Would you watch a film at the wrist? Screenshot: WIPO by way of LetsGoDigital For lots of, one of the vital smartwatch’s largest “flaws” is that it’s a better half tool. Whilst you'll be able to do so much with it by itself, it’s nonetheless restricted with out your smartphone. As an example, replying to texts is tedious regardless of how massive the display screen or how correct your voice assistant is. Anything else greater than a handy guide a rough “sure” or “on my manner” calls for you to whip out your telephone. Deficient battery lifestyles additionally method taking lengthy calls simply isn’t an possibility. Standalone capacity is making improvements to, alternatively. Extra complicated fashions have LTE and contactless bills, which means that you'll be able to safely go away your telephone in the back of for fast jaunts across the community. However in terms of taking pictures and movies, smartwatches can’t exchange your telephone in any capability simply but. That’s most certainly the speculation in the back of this nascent push so as to add cameras to our wrists. We’re all video chatting now, and wrist communicators were buried deep into our collective psyche because of undercover agent flicks like James Bond and sci-fi classics like Megastar Trek. When you're taking a choice from the wrist, alternatively, you'll be able to accomplish that naturally. You don’t have to carry up your arm in a selected approach to be heard — you'll be able to simply proceed what you had been doing. You do for cameras and video chats. After I examined the Wristcam’s video chat for the Apple Watch, one of the vital issues I hadn’t expected used to be how drained my arm felt after protecting it as much as seize my face at a flattering attitude. Likewise, it’s simple to take out your telephone, snap a photograph, and get on along with your day.

Contorting your wrist to get an image is much less a laugh and extra awkward to do in public. The hassle doesn’t make sense when my telephone is proper there. Observing movies from the wrist is not up to very best for a similar causes. Whilst trying out the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2, I tried to view a Bon Appetit YouTube video — partially as a result of Samsung mentioned I may just, partially as a result of I sought after to grasp what looking at a video on this kind of small display screen can be like. It labored, however that’s the most efficient I will say about that have. The display screen used to be too small, the video used to be laggy, streaming video zapped battery lifestyles, and the app crashed greater than as soon as. It’s uncomfortable to carry your arm for a super viewing place for a longer length. Even supposing you need to build up the display screen measurement, I will not fathom looking at all 149 mins of Avengers: Infinity Struggle from the wrist after I may just achieve into my pocket for my telephone. And those are simply the technical stumbling blocks. Privateness is an entire bag of worms that no wearable corporate has successfully “solved” but. Those are extremely non-public gadgets, they usually gather treasure troves of information. Privateness considerations are a big impediment to wearable adoption, and also you simply must recall the Google Glass Explorer Version to know the way including cameras to combine may just move extraordinarily unsuitable. In all probability in the future, tech firms will determine some way for smartwatch cameras to paintings with out all of the additional steps and tradeoffs. However within the interim, cameras on smartwatches aren’t one thing maximum shoppers are craving for. [ad_2] #Samsung #patent #displays #smartwatch #rollable #display screen #digital camera

[danlewis89-blog]

Doodleoze review - IS Doodleoze Legit Or Scam Video Creator Software?

 Doodleoze Review

Thanks for checking out my Doodleoze Review 

In this article we will review a site called Doodleoze and we will know everything about this software and How you can make a doodle cartoon from it and also how actually you can make money with it in a very easy steps 

In the first what is Doodleoze Creator?

Doodleoze is simply a software or a creator tool that allow you to make Doodleoze cartoon videos in a very easy and simple way and is used to create sales explainer, use doodle marketing and create YouTube shorts videos using this software. This tool is created with appealing doodle sketched images. This software contains every tool that is needed to create whiteboard, glass board, blackboard and even green board doodle videos, and in this review I will show you how you can use it and also how to make money with it in an innovative ideas

Doodleoze software also is able to create all these and much more including complete keyframed doodle animations and will help your conversions to grow to the maximum. with this creator tool you can make any sales voideo or education video's that make the viewer stick with it and make a good conversion to your products.

How actually Doodleoze work?

The 3 steps to create your wonderful doodle videos include we can review it as follow:

First Step – choose the doodle sketch image(s) and place them on canvas

Second Step –add your text, images and/or videos of your choice

Third Step – Edit your placements and select “Create Video”

And that's all review all process and you will have your doodle video 

What is the benefit and features of using Doodleoz?

Allow me to review several of the unique features of the fantastic Doodleoze software creator.

Create unlimited Videos-

You can develop unlimited animation videos together with the Doodleoze software. you have no limit to create all this beautiful videos.

license Rights-

The commercial license is provided with the purchase of Doodleoze at no additional cost. That means you can offer the videos created by Doodleoze animation creator and whiteboard videos to your clients and keep 100% of the revenue out of it to yourself.

Zero Technical Skills Required-

You do not require some specific technical abilities to develop whiteboard or any other animation movies and the Doodleoze creator software. All you have to perform is obey the three simple moves to produce an incredible conversion-boosting, animated film, and whiteboard video

 Pc Software-

This is downloadable desktop software that could be used on both MAC and PC. So you can work any time with no connection and make all your work any time 

In this application, You receive permission to access 500 professional doodle sketch creator pictures for free. Additionally, you get permission to access 250+ Text Animations as well as 310+ fonts.

Doodleoze Review: Benefits of Doodleoze

Doodleoze’s cutting-edge tech allows you to create the perfect doodle videos and whiteboard animation video in a very easy and simple way , but it has features we need to review it and focus on it more in this Doodleoze video creator review:

✔ Takes only minutes to make, a green board, whiteboard, and blackboard glass board.

✔ This more natural doodle video creator makes attractive animation sketch video that attract attention and convert visitors into buyers.

✔ Requires no technical skills or any video editing skills to create doodle and whiteboard video .

✔ Create unlimited doodle videos without any restrictions.

✔ Create for yourself, and you can charge clients or sell this service on Fiverr or any other freelance site 

✔ Special pricing.

✔ Downloadable desktop software for Mac and windows, That will allow you to create all Doodleoze video any time at any place you like.

✔ Includes free lifetime Version-1 updates.

✔ 500 professional doodle sketch images.

✔ 250+ text animations with various effects.

✔ 310+ font selections on doodle.

And All is shown here in this Demo review 

Doodleoze ​Pros and Cons review?

Doodleoze ​Pros 

Doodleoze is focused on creating amazing doodle video content to help you get more leads and make more sales. you can make review video for any product and get also good commission through affiliate marketing 

Doodleoze is a desktop software that helps you create professional quality doodle video in a matter of minutes right from your desktop computer. Regardless if it’s PC or MAC – you’ll download it right to your computer and start producing a creative doodle video of your dreams and be a video creator

Create Attention Grabbing, Eye Catching Doodle Videos For All Your Video Needs. These videos are proven to help you increase engagement, generate more leads, and boost sales.

Doodleoze is a perfect choice also for youtube marketers, teaching and training, and review any product specially with YouTube shorts and facebook reels you can make advertising, creating inspirational videos, and everything you can imagine.

The best part is you Keep 100% Of The Profits! With the included commercial license, you can generate as many videos as you want PLUS you can even sell them and keep 100% of the profits!

Doodleoze was designed to help you get on the cutting edge of doodle video creation by producing stunning

Doodleoze ​Cons

In fact Doodleoze only a software that allow you to make videos and it doesn't have any traffic source you can relay on so you must know how to drive traffic for you videos in order to get more sales and that's what I have focused on this review in the bonus review you will get what you need to know on how to get traffic to your video in the bonus at the bottom of this review 

Doodleoze Q&A review?

What is Front-End Price of  Doodleoze?

The front end price of Doodleoze is 37$ as a lifetime payment 

Do Doodleoze offer a refund service?

Yes you can refund your money within 30 Days through Doodleoze site 

Do Doodleoze offer a Support on their site ?

Yes there is a full team can support you 24 Hours and give you full training inside dashboard of Doodleoze

How is the vendor Doodleoze ? 

The vendor is Andrew Darius et al and he is known with his high quality products and you can contact Andrew Darius et al personally any time and this is actually a great advantage as well 

What is the Doodleoze OTO's and doodleoze upsells?

Doodleoze oto 2022 has 1 Front-end & 5 OTOs:

Front-end: Doodleoze oto 2022 ($27-$37)

Option 1: Personal ($27)

Option 2: Commercial ($37)

Doodleoze 2022 App

Commercial License

500 doodle sketch images

100 Full HD Background Videos

245+ Text Animations Effects

300+ Amazing Fonts

Create Unlimited # of Videos

Export Unlimited Videos

Use or Sell to Clients

Keep 100% of Profits

OTO1: Doodleoze oto 2022 Agency ($67)

Doodleoze upsells For a one-time investment, you get an agency license to Doodleoze 2022.

Doodleoze 2022 agency might be just a foot-in-the-door tool that you need for businesses to choose you instead of your competition.

You can use it to create as many doodle videos as you want for your clients or to sell them as a freelancer. The choice is yours.

And you can charge them however much you want and you keep 100% of the profits.

Build Sustainable Video Animation Creation Agency Business

Full License To Use Doodleoze 2022 However You Want

Work Less And Earn More

Increase Your Profits Many Times Over With 5 More Doodleoze 2022 Licenses

OTO2: Doodleoze oto 2022 Club ($19/Month-$133/Year-$197)

Option 1: Monthly ($19/Month)

Option 2: Yearly ($133/Year)

Option 3: One-Time ($197)

This is VIP access to his private library of over 20,000 doodle images, AND 4,000 background videos.

Many of these have never been shared with the general public.

What was once part of their private and personal design collection, representing over 4 years of custom design work and tens of thousands in investment is now available to a limited number of Doodleoze 2022 Members.

OTO3: Doodleoze oto 2022 Emotional Characters ($23.5-$47-$77)

Option 1: 250 Drawn Emotional Characters ($23.5)

Option 2: 500 Drawn Emotional Characters ($47)

Option 3: 1,700 Drawn Emotional Characters ($77)

The characters you can get on this page were designed specifically to induce emotions needed for any marketing effort to push the viewer to take any action you desire.

You can use those emotional characters to create sales videos, explainer videos, scroll stopping facebook advertising videos, youtube videos, teaching & training videos, inspirational videos, and more

With those emotional characters, you can take any video to the next level.

Their team of professional artists worked on emotional characters sets for over 9 months and the results are nothing short of amazing.

OTO4: Doodleoze oto 2022 SalesCopyMaker ($29.95-$39.95-$47-$19.95/Month-$133/Year)

Option 1: Personal ($29.95)

Option 2: Agency ($39.95)

Option 3: PRO ($47)

Option 4: Monthly Club ($19.95/Month)

Option 5: Yearly Club ($133/Year)

SalesCopyMaker is using proven copywriting formulas inspired by the greatest-known copywriters.

Sales copies based on the same fundamental key copywriting principles, which are the base of SalesCopyMaker frameworks, worked great for his own businesses for over three decades and even helped him to make sales presentations which resulted in selling one of his businesses to a public company listed on the stock exchange.

SalesCopyMaker App

Video Sales Letter Scripts

Upsell Videos Scripts

Explainer Video Scripts

Social Video Ads Script

Webinar Slides

Use for Clients

Keep 100% of Profits

OTO5: Doodleoze oto 2022 Speechdio ($19/Month-$133/Year-$197)

Option 1: Global ($27)

Option 2: Agency ($67)

Option 3: PRO ($47)

World’s #1 Automated AI Text-To-Voice Software with SPD technology

Automated AI Background Soundtrack Harmonization

Virtually Unlimited Voice Renders

Unlimited Usage Rights On Personal Voice-Overs

Unlimited Usage Rights On Clients Voice-Overs

100+ Human Like Voices

100+ Harmonized Background Track

Step-By-Step Training

Up To 800 Words Script Length

Full One Year Access

Fast & Friendly Support

Enterprise License

And that's the final doodleoze oto 

Final verdict and Doodleoze Review conclusion  

doodleoze is a new and revolutionary makes creating doodle videos much easier, cheaper, and faster. It elevates video production to a new level. It is recommended that you obtain a copy and use Doodleoze software to complete your video-making tasks. Whether you need to create a few hundred videos or thousands, this user-friendly application will save you a lot of time.

how actually you can make money with Doodleoze?

As all of our reviews we offer very important bonuses you will need to start work and drive traffic to your site and this is how actually you can make money with marques Doodleoze editor

Doodleoze review and bonus

We add in this review to you 5 Bonuses you will need if you want to get nieves Doodleoze

 Bonus number 1

A COMPLETE Guide! For YouTube Shorts updated last dec 2021

doodleoze review and bonus Number 2:

Fastest $5000/Week YouTube Shorts Automation Method victory high class updated last jan 2021

Doodleoze review Bonus Number 3:

EARN $800+/DAY With CPA Affiliate Marketing Using YouTube Shorts  | And increase your scored in CPA game all cited in the bonus page updated last apr 2021

Doodleoze review Bonus Number 4:         

YouTube SEO: 3 Steps To Rank Number 1 on YouTube updated last OCT 2022

Doodleoze review Bonus review 5:

10 YOUTUBE SHORTS HACKS YOU DIDN'T KNOW EXISTED And icrease your points scored in seo game | How to Optimize YT Shorts & Grow Channel Fast! all cited in the bonus page updated last OCT 2022

you will need to check all this bonuses program creates for you to start work victory and drive traffic to your site and this is how actually you can make money with Doodleoze reviews and all addressed in this review

  Thanks for checking out my Doodleoze explaindio Review and we will review some other doodly maker agency soon and focuses in helping you and other users like videoscribe in next review articles with real review information about other video creator services like in the future

https://www.fiveminutesreview.com/2022/11/doodleoze-review-is-doodleoze-legit-or.html

[troublesometrollhunters]

So many characters that don't have any love. Can you write something for Valentine's with Krel? (If you don't want too I understand) Perhaps he's trying talk a girl (or the reader your choice) but doesn't understand Valentine's day, like 'im supposed to condense my love for someone down to just one day of expression? What pressure earthlings have' kinda thing. (Or honestly you can do this for anyone your the amazing writer)

"Krel. Aja. I have discovered something while doing research on this planet and its appears important." Mother states. Krel finishes a homework question before listening.

"Yes Mother?" He questions as Aja hums in acknowledgement continuing to text Steve.

"It is the human month known as February. In this month, humans celebrate what is known as Valentiens Day. Are you aware of what is expected on this day?" The computer asks. Aja and Krel pause looking at each other.

"What is this Val-en-times?" Aja asks confused.

"Valentine's." Krel corrects before looking up at the ceiling to listen to Mother.

"Valentine's is a day in which humans celebrate their love and connection to others. They give gifts and have elaborate dates. As you are both courting I thought you should be aware." She informs.

"Oh how lively!" Aja states before looking at her phone. She begins texting Steve about Valentine's asking more about it.

"When is it?" Krel asks as he pushes aside his homework. This was far more important at the moment.

"Two weeks my Royals." Mother hums.

"Two weeks? That's not nearly enough time!" Getting up Krel runs out of the room as Aja calls after him asking what he's doing. Krel only has a day to show how much he cares. He needs to do something spectacular for you! Something other worldly.

Smiling as he goes into his workshop, closing the door Krel hums. Good thing he was not from your world.

~~~

You haven't seen Krel in two weeks. You'd been hoping to hang out after school like you always did, but he was really busy apprentally. Aja drops off his homework at school but he's away "sick." Something about a bug you heard.

You tried to ask Aja what's going on but she just shrugged telling you it had something to do with a bug, body autonomy, and hearts.

You assumed Krel was holed up in Mother focusing on his parents cores. At least you assumed that until you get a text from the King in Waiting.

Entering Mother after school you pause looking at his message. He had a surprise for you. That was it. That was the message. Two weeks with no communication after constant texts and calls and now he wanted you to come over.

"Hey Mother. Ummmm... Is Krel alright?" You ask confused.

"Oh yes. The King of Waiting is fine. He has caught the love bug as you humans call it." Scrunching your nose confused you wonder if he was breaking up with you or if he was sick. Everyone was giving you mixed messages.

Mother lets out a robotic chuckle. "He is in his workshop waiting for you. He has what he calls, a surprise." Humming in understanding Mother stops talking and you begin walking away.

Going into Krel's workshop it was a mess. Which was not like him. He was curentully fiddling with something, tools spread out in front of him as screws, wires, nails, and soddering metal laid scattered across the floor.

"Uh Krel...?" Looking up he nods at you before going back to his project.

Weird.

"You humans are strange." He hums as you walk closer. Snorting at his greeting you look at what he's working on before walking around the Mothership, observing it's advanced technology. Not exactly where you expected to spend Valentines Day but it was beautiful none the less. All the light blue lights and glowing neon wires made surprisingly romantic mood lighting.

"I could say the same for Akriddions." You respond with a teasing smile. Krel rolls his eyes but bumping his shoulder as you sit next to him at his workbench, he chuckles.

"I assure you, you are the weird ones." He states but his tone is playful so you shrug it off knowing he's half joking.

"So two weeke no communication. This must be big. What's the surprise you were talking about?" Krel hums as he continues tinkering.

"Yes... yes almost there." He responds dismissively. Nodding knowing this is just how he is, you watch as he works on an advanced piece of tech.

"I don't understand this Valentine's. Humans picking one day and deciding thats the most important day to celebrate love. I love you all days. But because of the hoilday... I wanted this one to be special." Blushing as Krel begins talking about what he loves about you, why he wants you to be by his side you hear a click. "FINALLY." He states.

"Krel what are you making?" You question. You were confused and a little angry but after his speech about love you had to believe this was important. That you were important to him.

"A gift." He finally says.

Looking at him unsure he smiles. One hand takes yours before another twists his newest machine. The cylindrical shape opens and there's a shiny crystal inside. Tapping the crystal, light shot out from the machine reflecting off the rock. That light went everywhere and soon images began to form. Your eyes went wide as detailed holograms filled the room, moving pictures surrounded by stars flashing across your vision.

"Krel what...?" You mumble in awe.

"Just watch." He hums. Nodding you watch as the holograms shift, you notice you and Krel are in all of them. Memories. These were all the memories you'd made together.

Your first meeting at school, becoming friends and getting closer, hanging out together in class, sharing jokes, finding out he's an Akriddion, admitting your feelings, your first kiss, your first date, and so many more.

"Krel how did you...?" You mumble amazed. Reaching out for a memory you tap the holgram and it changes, shifting into a different memory.

"Two weeks. It took two weeks to scan through my favorite memories of us and then code them. But it was worth it." He states.

The artificial stars swirl around the room and your memories and you notice it's not any system you've ever seen. Reaching out for a star it explodes in your hand, a shower of glitter and fireworks shining down. "Akriddion has beautiful stars. I hope someday I can take you too see them." Squeezing your hand face blue, you smile leaning on Krel's shoulder.

"Someday I will." You hum kissing his cheek. That was a promise.

[nytech]

Building a Two-Sided Marketplace With Regina Gwynn …And uncovering the specificities of your target market.

TresseNoire’s Story

Regina: TresseNoire has been up and running since 2013, but this latest product is a pivot from our original premise, which was to create the first on-demand, on-location beauty booking app that would send a traveling textured hairstylist to your house, hotel, or office to do your hair. Our mission has always stayed the same: it is to give women back the most important resource on Earth, which is time. And we tried to think through multiple ways of doing that by allowing us to find out faster and easier ways to simplify the beautification process. For women of color with textured hair, there are lots of pain points. Everywhere from finding the right products to finding the right stylist, to maintaining the right hairstyles to finding the right long-term maintenance for your hair.

So we kicked off with this on-demand, on-location beauty booking app, which was very successful. We started off in Philadelphia, expanded to New York, and ended up with stylists in Philly, New York, Washington, DC, LA, Dallas, Texas, and Cincinnati. It was through that experience that I became, I guess, a tech founder, which is also a whole separate conversation. You know, I definitely was a non-technical founder, with a background in fashion and beauty prior to my entrepreneurship journey. But it also introduced a very large opportunity with taking the on-demand technologies that we had seen grow like Uber, FreshDirect, and all these other kinds of business models and apply them to the beauty industry.

We kept getting so many questions from our clients. “Okay, so now the stylist has left, I love my hairstyle. Now, what do I do? How do I maintain this hairstyle?” or “What products should I be getting in the beauty supply store?” And so I found myself doing so many additional phone calls, whether it was me advising the client, connecting them to our stylists either before, during, or after the hairstyles. We realized that there was an even bigger opportunity. Through the access to education and personalization, every single client was different, they had a different hair type a different hairstyle, they lived in a different location, they had different hair needs, whether it was fitting edges, or split ends, or dry hair or super curly hair.

So there were all these different variables that to my co-founder: “If we’re in this tech industry, and we have all these tech tools available to us, why aren’t we using all of these unique criteria to develop a more accurate system, a more accurate process?” That was the impetus behind pivoting to our virtual beauty coach app. Now, our clients can take a quiz. We gather 28 points of data to determine the kind of beauty regimen that works for them, and that education is delivered through a text message. So you interact with our beauty coach via phone, and you can actually change the algorithm based on the information you give us. So if it’s raining outside, then we’ll say hey, it’s raining, don’t forget your umbrella. And if you change your hairstyle, then we’ll change the education based on the data that the client provides.

We’re still in private beta, and we definitely have learned a ton this year, in a lot of the iterations that we’ve been working on. But I’m really excited about the long-term opportunities of providing this technology to additional beauty brands. The idea is to make sure that we’re getting education around our specific hair journey and making that type of information available to everyone.

Building a Two-Sided Marketplace

Andy: That’s really exciting because you went from being an entrepreneur that was using technology to build her product and her services to being a tech entrepreneur, and building a tech product. And I imagine that was a very different experience from both sides of the coin. I want to dive a little bit deeper into that, starting with the on-demand service platform that you provided, and the lessons that you learned while you were trying to scale that business into different markets.

Every market is a different market, and I’m sure you had to adapt to each market. What was it like to build an on-demand service?

Regina: Building marketplaces is really hard. Building two-sided marketplaces is even harder. Do you have to start building the offer or the demand?

In addition, understanding the nuances in the type of customer demand was essential to tailor our offer to each market. As we started to move forward, we realized that marketplaces are really hard.

When we look at Glamsquad and other beauty booking app type models, we see that they’ve been around since 2011, have raised over $30 million, and to date, are still in less than 10 markets. It’s become very clear that there was some very inherent kind of long-term challenges that we were going to face while identifying that there were other pain points.

Uncovering the Specificities of Your Target Market

Andy: How did you uncover the specificities of each market? What kind of data did you collect to inform your decisions?

Regina: Social media is really useful. We have a modest amount of followers, probably around 10,000 across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. They actually were the main indicator. When we would look at our audience, scroll through the pictures and see what are women wearing in Dallas, New York, Austin, Texas, LA, etc. That way we could see a very different consumer, from market to market.

We took that information along with talking to our stylists. So we always had at least a few boots on the ground in any market that we went into, and between my co-founder and I, we have networks across the country. We always wanted to just pick up the phone and talk to a girlfriend and say: “Hey, what’s going on in that area? What are the hot spots? Who are the arbiters of culture in that area?” Then we would follow them and watch them in order to find out where the beauty trends are going.

[mxndoscyarika]

Honeydew (Marcus Pike/Moreno x OC) | Chapter 2

Summary: Erin He moves to DC after working for the FBI in Texas and runs into a hero in disguise; Marcus Moreno. Something about him is familiar, too familiar, yet different in a way that she can’t quite place. Although confused, she can’t deny her feelings for him; perhaps, after years of regret, she finally found the one.

Warnings: food/drink, alcohol, loneliness

Ao3

Honeydew masterlist

Like my writing? Here’s my masterlist.

Author’s Note: Merry Christmas, everyone! Here’s a little gift from me to you 😌 I hope you like it! Let me know what you think in the comments below.

8 years later

Winter in DC was too cold. It had reached that time of year when the roads turned icy at the slightest humidity in the air, and it had already snowed at least twice since December began. Thankfully, the snow didn’t stick around very long; FBI agents were on-call 24/7. A double-edged sword, really. On one hand, it meant work was a great way to avoid problems. It was easier to forget. On the other hand, well, it was work.

“Six years in this city and it’s still so fucking cold,” Erin muttered to herself, shivering as her car warmed up. She buried her face into the scarf wrapped around her neck, trying to warm up. The warmth from the heated steering wheel seeped into her fingers, soothing the ache in her joints. She was supposed to meet Sachi at the bar for drinks. It had become a regular event in her weekly life; one night a week to go out and relax.

Some would’ve said that her promotion meant she could take more time off. That she could delegate a little more and take on a lighter workload as a result. But as a supervisor for the Operational Technologies branch, she had all the more reason to work more. Well, that’s what she convinced herself, at least.

Her friend and coworker, Sachi, was already seated at a table by the time she arrived. The bar was pretty busy, busier than the week before. It made sense; the holidays were always a time for friends and family to catch up on each other’s lives.

“Hi! Sorry I’m late, a meeting went overtime and I ran into some traffic on the way here,” Erin apologized, draping her wool coat over the back of her seat and sitting down. The next article to be shed was her scarf, which she kept piled on her lap. “Were you waiting long?”

“No, no worries,” her friend answered, shrugging. “I just got this table a couple minutes ago. Happy hour seems extra popular this week. How was the meeting?”

She rolled her eyes. “The usual; operations found some bugs in the new software and had some suggestions, so half of the developers will be working on that while the rest continue building our newest tool. How did your day go?”

“It was so slow, I don’t know which politician decided to choose yesterday to fuck up, but there were files everywhere,” Sachi groaned, rubbing her forehead tiredly. Her eyes landed on the sparkling gem on Erin’s hand. “I do have a question for you, though: why do you wear that ring?”

She raised a dark brow, then followed her line of sight to her hand. “Oh, this? It’s….it’s just something to keep the men away, that’s all. You know how they are.”

A curious head tilt. “I do, but are you sure that’s what you want? You deserve to find someone who makes you happy, Rin.”

Erin gave her a tight-lipped smile, twisting the metal band around her finger. It was a recent purchase; a gift to herself. A promise. A promise to remember. Even if he wasn’t hers to remember, at the end of the day.

“Is this still about that Marcus Pike guy?” Sachi asked, her voice softening as Erin avoided looking up. She reached across the table and covered her hand with hers. The glittering band of her own wedding ring seemed to mock her. “It’s been seven years since he went missing, Rin. You searched for him yourself; he’s gone.”

The news had broken just before Erin arrived in DC. Marcus Pike had gone missing, and there seemed to be no trace of him. His last known address was empty, his file had been wiped from all government databases, even his social media accounts were nonexistent.

One of the first things she did after her promotion was asking for a search squad. His number was still in her phone, but the number was no longer receiving calls. Even his email seemed to be deactivated, but it had existed before. There should’ve been a digital trail. It didn’t matter to her that it had been months since he was last seen–he was her best friend, and she wasn’t going to give up on him that easily.

Juggling her work with the investigation took its toll on her. Sleep eluded her, so she upped her coffee intake and spent countless hours off the clock. As a result, exhaustion settled in mid-day. Her work grew sloppy, obvious problems going untended and creating delays in operations.

The head of the department shut down her search after a year. He had cited it being a “waste of resources.” Maybe it was, to them. For such a large bureau with so many applicants, there was bound to be a replacement for Agent Pike. But even so, no one could replace Marcus.

“I know,” she replied softly. “I know. I’m trying, it’s just...I’ve spent years working for the FBI, and every time I stop to check the time, it’s like months have passed. And you know how my last relationship ended.”

She had been seeing a guy working for a tech startup, and at first it was great. The late nights and morning texts had been enough. But as time went on, and she became more immersed in her work following the election, her boyfriend grew restless. He wanted his girlfriend at home with him, preparing dinner and asking him about his day at the startup. Then he started the accusations. He accused her of cheating, of rubbing her success in his face.

Everything he said was false, but she had given up on trying to convince him. So she gave him a choice. He could leave if he wanted to, and there would be no hard feelings, just incompatibility. Or, he could stay, and she’d try to make more time for him. He chose the former.

“Oh come on,” Sachi reasoned, tapping the back of her hand. “You’re beautiful, smart, can kick ass. There has to be someone who’s into that.”

“Maybe,” Erin shrugged. Once upon a time, she had hoped she would meet someone like that. And in a way, she had. But at the end of the day,  she was a coward. She was a coward, and she paid the price for it.

They always said that time was money. In her case, the price she paid was high.

Sachi’s eyes lit up. “You know what? Why don’t you come to a holiday party I’m hosting? Maybe you’ll meet someone there.”

“Who’s going?”

“Some of our coworkers, some of my friends, and their friends, potentially,” she listed off, waving off her concern. “Nothing very special, in my opinion.”

A party would be nice. If not for the company, then for the food; and if not the food, then the drinks. Yes, the drinks. Drinks were good.

Erin conceded with a nervous grin. “Alright, but no meddling!”

“Yay!” she squealed. Then, her expression turned serious again. She pointed at the ring. “But whatever you do, don’t wear that.”

---

Sachi’s house looked like it was out of a movie. Tall and sparkling with lights, her home was the textbook picture of a family Christmas. There was even a wreath on the front door and a wooden sign with drawn-on snowflakes that welcomed the party guests.

The foyer was lined with emerald garlands and shimmering fairy lights, leading her further in towards the kitchen. From giant gold ornaments to wooden figurines, it seemed as if she had thought of everything.

When she reached the kitchen, there were already some guests gathered around the kitchen island. Platters of sweets and charcuterie boards were spread over the marble countertop, glistening in the soft light. The guests grazed from small plates as they greeted each other and raved about how great it was to finally catch up.

Perhaps she’d host her own holiday party someday. When she had the space, of course. The apartment that she’d chosen wasn’t the best for groups, and she wanted enough surface area for decorations. Her string of lights and small tree at home paled in comparison to the giant tree in Sachi’s living room.

The invite had specified a semi-formal dress code, so she chose a black off-the-shoulder dress that reached her knees. She paired it with some black heels and a white blazer draped over her shoulders for warmth. It wasn’t much, but it would do.

“Erin!” Sachi squealed, coming over to give her a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. You’re right on time. Everyone else should be arriving soon.” She shooed her away. “Go have fun! And if you need a wingwoman, I’ve got your back.”

Erin shivered as Sachi swept off her jacket, the cool air brushing against her shoulders. Nevertheless, she smiled. “Thanks.”

“Of course!” she replied. The next thing she knew, a glass of champagne was tucked into her hand. “Now go!”

What Sachi had failed to tell her, though, was that she was going to be one of the only singles in the entire house.

Wherever she turned, she found couples congregated into circles where they could discuss...whatever couples discussed. Not wanting to barge in as a third, fifth, or seventh wheel, she stuck close to  the perimeter of the room.

Thankfully, she found an acquaintance from work who had also come to the party alone.

“Waiting for someone?” Ashley asked, sipping from a half-empty glass of wine. She was one of the receptionists for the technologies department. They’d spoken a couple times, but never much more than professional talk.

Erin shook her head and finished her third glass of champagne. Maybe she’d try the moscato next, just to change things up a little. The whole point of attending the party was to relax, right? So, she was trying to relax. “Just trying to loosen up. It’s been a while since I’ve gone to a party.” A soft laugh. “I can see why people like bringing a friend along. It would help a lot.”

“Why didn’t you, then?” At the lack of response, she sighed. “Is work still taking up a lot of time? You know you can take more time off.”

Yes, she knew. She’d heard it nearly a thousand times already. She knew she could take time off just like she knew she could forget about her past and move on. Part of her wanted to change, to move on as if nothing had happened. But after years of the same routine, and the same decisions coming back to bite her, it was hard to change.

“I know,” Erin replied, pressing a hand against her forehead. It was hotter than normal–did Sachi turn up the heating? She silently cursed her genetics; she’d probably have a fever later that night. “But as you know, there’s always more work to do. I signed up for this, so I need to do my job.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t rest,” she reasoned, nudging her arm. “Are you still leading the search for that guy? Marcus Pike? I remember you were pretty involved with that.”

Maybe it was the exhaustion, maybe it was the alcohol. She gripped the glass a bit tighter. Her voice was clipped as she said, “No, I’m not. The search squad was disbanded years ago. We spent a year searching for him and there was nothing. There was nothing.” She swayed as she stood up, but quickly regained her balance. “I’m gonna….get another drink. Is there anything you want me to bring?”

“No thanks,” Ashley replied. Watching as Erin stumbled, she asked, “Are you sure you want another drink? Maybe you should take a break first.”

She waved her off. “I’m fine, don’t worry. It’s just the shoes.”

Yeah, right.

Erin’s turn around the corner was much too sharp, and her sluggish mind barely seemed to register the fact that she collided with a broad chest. Strong arms came up around her, holding her in place so she didn’t fall over. They were warm. Before she could stop herself, she splayed her hands on their chest, brows furrowed. What did Sachi put in there?

Then, she looked up and met the person’s eyes. Dark brown ones, to be exact. With a depth and sparkle that she hadn’t seen since Austin. Softly, she said, “M-Marcus?”

The man’s lips parting in shock. As Erin’s slightly-blurred gaze drifted down to his mouth, she frowned. No, it couldn’t be her Marcus; her Marcus didn’t have facial hair, nor did he wear glasses. He was handsome, though–just as handsome. And he was strong–she felt safer in his arms than she had in years.

“H-how do you know my name?”

His voice was similar, too, though a bit raspier.

She blinked. Then, it dawned on her; it wasn’t a dream. She really was at a party, in a dress pressed up against a very good-looking man who looked vaguely like her late best friend. It felt as if she had jumped into the snow without clothes on. She blushed and flinched away from him–as if she needed to be even redder–and said, “Sorry, you just look a bit like an old friend of mine. His name was also Marcus.”

It was her, Marcus realized. He would have recognized her voice anywhere, and when she looked up at him with those dark, green-flecked eyes, his years in Texas came rushing back to him. Part of him didn’t want to believe it. What was she doing in DC? And what were the chances that they’d meet again, with his changed identity?

Even so, she was as beautiful as he remembered, her smooth black hair styled into shining waves and her full lips painted a muted pink. In their time as friends, he rarely saw Erin out of her work clothes; a side effect of working for the FBI. Seeing her in a dress, and up close, against his chest felt like a dream. A dream that had plagued his mind for nearly a decade.

At the same time, she looked different. There was an air of exhaustion that clung to her just as tightly as her authority. Her eyes didn’t have the same bright sparkle that she had on her first day. He wondered if her smile was the same, and if she still took her coffee with two sugars and a splash of cream. If she still collected houseplants as if they were pets. If she was still the Erin he remembered.

The tugging in his chest pulled him towards her, and the old whisper of Marcus Pike urged him to tell the truth. To drop to his knees and beg for forgiveness. To tell her that he was sorry for leaving her, for dismissing her concerns about Lisbon. For disappearing without a trace. But Marcus Moreno, his new identity, his new life, knew it wouldn’t be fair to her.

So he introduced himself. A wave of relief washed over him as Erin giggled softly and shook his hand, telling him her name.

He’d missed her laugh, and the way the corners of her eyes crinkled just slightly when she was happy. He missed everything. He missed her.

“So,” she began, swaying a little. Her last drink was finally kicking in. Her brows furrowed in concentration. “How do you know, uh, Sachi?”

The little furrow of her brows was still adorable; he knew it only showed when she was thinking really hard. He just hoped she would remember their interaction in the morning. She rarely drank enough to get drunk, not wanting to bother with her body’s violent reaction to alcohol. Or so she told him.

“I’m a friend of her husband,” he replied, touching her arm softly as she swayed again. “Do you…do you want to sit down for a bit? We can keep talking, I just want to make sure you don’t get hurt.”

Erin hummed softly and nodded. “Yes, but don’t worry, I can handle a little fall.”

“I don’t doubt you can, Miss FBI.” Realizing his mistake, he cringed. So much for trying to have a fresh start. He guided her over to the table and pulled out a chair for her, making sure she was comfortable before sitting down in the seat next to her.

She frowned. “How do you know I work for the FBI?”

A pause. Then, he answered, “I overheard Sachi talking about you. You two seem to be pretty close.”

Drumming her fingertips on the table, she answered, “I guess so, yeah. She was one of my first friends after I moved here six years ago.” Her eyes glazed over with a tinge of sadness. “Time seems to be flying by very fast these days.”

Marcus sighed softly. “Yeah.” He offered her a smile that made her heart flutter. Or maybe that was just her stomach?  “I guess it’s up to us to make the most out of it, right?”

She nodded. Propping her head up against her hand, she replied, “Definitely. So, tell me about yourself, Marcus Moreno. I think you mentioned a daughter?”

He couldn’t help but smile at the mention of Missy. If there was anything he didn’t regret in the past few years, it was meeting his late wife and raising his baby. But the story of his wife could come later; for now, he wanted to tell his best friend about his little girl.

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[rocksandrobots]

Of Rocks and Robots Ch. 36 - Wrestlers, Boxers, and Ninjas, Oh My (Part 3)

Gogo fumbled for her phone as it went off on the table near her bed, ringing loudly. She moaned in frustration, still groggy from sleep, as she reluctantly sat up and answered the call.

"Hello?" She yawned.

"Gogo, is Varian with you?" Aunt Cass's voice came through the other end.

"Uh, no," Gogo said, snapping awake, "he left last night about ten thirty or so."  

Sunlight streamed in through the window, indicating it was late morning or near noon, and Gogo couldn't dismiss the growing dread churning in her stomach as she realized something wasn't right.

"Yes, he called about that time to say he was on his way home, so I went on to bed, but I haven't seen him all morning. He was supposed to help out at the cafe today but he never showed up, and his bed doesn't look like it was slept in…. and he isn't answering his phone." Aunt Cass explained as worry crept into her voice. "I don't want to panic but, so far no one's seen him. Hiro stayed up later than I did, which is normal, but he says he never saw Varian come in either. I texted Honey Lemon earlier but she never got back with me."  

Gogo heard the faint sound of snoring below her that told her exactly where her roommate was. "Yeah, she's still asleep. Have you called Fred, or Wasabi yet?"

"No, but Fred was here earlier to see Hiro and he said that he hasn't heard from Varian since last night either."

Gogo took a deep breath to calm her nerves, "Okay, I'll call Wasabi and see if he spent the night at the dorms or something."

"That's a good idea, and I'll call Granville to see if Varian is at the school. I know finals are coming up; he could just be doing some last minute work on his project."

Aunt Cass's voice sounded cheerful, but they both knew that Varian wasn't likely to skip out on his job like that. He took his responsibilities seriously, and after the bot fighting incident, he was pretty diligent about communicating his whereabouts to Aunt Cass as well. But there was no other way to move forward but to explore all their other options first.

So they said their goodbyes and Gogo called Wasabi. Then she called Karmi, and then Carl and Globby. She even called up Carol. No one had seen nor heard from Varian since last night.

                                                   ----------------------

"Mole hasn't seen him either." Fred stated as he finished reading the text on his phone.

They were all gathered at the apartment, trying to debate on what to do.

"And I just talked to Megan. He's not with her either." Hiro added.

"So who haven't we called? What aren't we thinking of?" Wasabi asked.

"I guess we're just going to have to go out and physically hunt for him like last time." Gogo said.

"Yeah, I'll get Baymax to fly around and scan the city. We'll have to pick up our armor from HQ though. I left it there for repairs after our last matchup with Trina."

They all started to file out the door, all except for Honey Lemon who stood next to the kitchen window on her phone.

"You coming?" Gogo asked her.

"Yeah, I'm just trying to call Varian again." She said distractly. She'd been withdrawn all morning since the news hit. Constantly calling and texting same as the rest, but not saying much outside of that.

"Well you can do that on the ride to HQ." Wasabi said and she followed after them, still trying to get through on the phone which just kept ringing.

Once outside on the sidewalk, the phone went to voicemail again. She growled under her breath as she hit the redial button again; unsure what else she could do.

"Hey, you guys hear that?" Fred asked.

"Hear what?"

"Sounds like a phone ringing."

"Well Honey Lemon is on the phone." Gogo pointed out the obvious, getting slightly irritated with Fred.

"I know that. It's not coming from her, It's coming from somewhere over there." He pointed down the sidewalk across the street. He then took off walking that way even as Honey Lemon hung up in frustration.

Fred paused as if listening for something. "Make that phone call again, HL." He yelled to her.

She did, and Fred bolted over to the bus stop across the way.

"I found it!" He shouted as he held up a ringing cell phone high into the air.

They all ran over to him. In his hand he held what looked like Varian's phone but the screen was cracked right down the middle and the back was all scratched up.

"Yeah it's his alright." Fred proclaimed as he went through the phone's contents. "Here's the text he sent me last night about the wrestling tickets."

Everyone exchanged worried faces. Yes, something was definitely wrong here.

                                                  ----------------------

Varian awoke inside a dark room. He tried to move his arms but they were tied behind his back. He tried to stand up or scoot the chair he was seated in but couldn't as it was bolted to the floor.

After a few moments of struggling he tried to calm himself with a few deep breaths. At least he wasn't gagged this time. Though that probably meant whoever took him had him secured in a place where calls for help wouldn't be heard. So he didn't waste his time on that. Instead he tried his best to adjust his eyes to the dim light and see where he was.

It looked like some kind of lab. There were computers over next to one wall; their screens emitting a soft blue light. There was a work desk near him with an assortment of tools and wires scattered upon it, and over in one corner of the room was a 3D printer like the one Hiro had in his lab. Though this one appeared to be far larger and fancier than that one. He also could point out what looked like large pieces of scrap metal and glass here and about the room. There was probably a furnace somewhere for melting it all down but he couldn't see it from the angle he sat at.

As he sat there wondering what all this stuff was for, a door opened on the right side of the room, flooding the space with a stream of light.

"Ah you're awake!" A voice barked and Varian turned his head to see Yama standing there. He was flanked by two men dressed all in black, faces hidden behind masks, and with various weapons tucked in their belts.

'Ninjas' was the word Varian was looking for. He'd seen them in action movies that Hiro and Fred like to watch sometimes. They were supposed to be skilled warriors, like knights or royal guards in his world, but they lacked any sort of heavy armor and used hand to hand combat more often.

Supposedly anyways. You could never be too sure how accurate a film was. But either way Varian didn't fancy his changes fighting them head on; especially while unarmed.

Yama flipped a light switch and Varian blinked rapidly at the sudden change. Once his eyes adjusted again he saw his first assessment of the room being a lab was correct. Not that he had time to really think about that because soon Yama was standing before him blocking his view.

The mob boss bent down till he was eye level to Varian and gave a cruel smile. "Well, well, we meet again. It's a small world after all." His grin became even wider and Varian's stomach dropped. This was about the money from the 'bot fight wasn't, or perhaps Yama still held a grudge over the insults he had cheekily hurled during their match. Either way, Varian sure he was as good as dead. It was funny though, in a way, of all the times he'd come close to death and yet it was here of all places he was going to meet his end.

"You're a smart kid ain't ya?" Yama continued. He picked up a small magnetic ball from off the table. It looked like the ones Sirque used in her portals. "My boss was very impressed by your breakthroughs in portal tech."

Varian raised an eyebrow. So this wasn't about revenge? Then what was it?

"You mean Sirque?" He asked.

"No, not her you nitwit!" Yama rolled his eyes. "The big boss. The one that pays us all. Haven't you been keeping up?"

"You mean the one that was trying to get rid of Momosake?"

"Now you're getting the picture."

"Did she rat me out?"

"Who knows," Yama shrugged, "All I know is that the boss wants to offer you a deal and I'm here to make it."

"You got a strange way of negotiating business." Varian pointed out drly.

Yama smiled again. This was his arena as much as the 'bot fight had been; dirty deals, intimidation tactics, and crooked schemes. He was every bit the stereotypical gangster, right down to the tax evasions and his little black book full of hit lists.

"Look, it's simple," he said as he slipped into his sleazy salesman act, "you build us a portal like the one you made that night. We provide you with all the tools and materials and when done, we let you go on your merry way with a nice fat paycheck."

"While you keep the patent and if I try to claim I'm the original inventor; I can expect to find myself wearing a pair of concrete shows at the bottom of the bay."

Yama chuckled with glee. "You really are a smart kid."

"I've been around." Varian said cooly.

"Then you'll know that if you refuse to take me up on my offer you can expect a fitting for those cement shoes tonight. "

Varian pressed his lips to stop himself from hurling a bunch of vitriol at Yama. Losing his temper right now wouldn't help. But he knew that any promises to release him were empty. Why pay someone off to keep quiet when you could just kill them and pocket the money for yourself?

"Is that what you did to Sirque?" He asked instead.

"Naw," Yama dismissed, "She still works for us. It's just good business to not put all your eggs in one basket, if ya know what I mean."

Varian didn't respond to that but silently eyed Yama up and down like he was a slayer wolf in sheep's clothing.

"Look, I can even call her up if you want." Yama said, sensing the boy's mistrust.

"She can tell you that we're on the up and up. Sirque can even tell you how much the boss pays her, and it's a pretty penny. I should know. I keep the books."

Varian chewed his bottom lip in thought. If Sirque was still around then why did they need him? Was she being held hostage too, or was she more free because she was in on the whole thing from the start? Maybe she hit a roadblock and that's why they needed him. Shoot maybe she was the one who cooked up this whole kidnapping plot to begin with? Who knew what the truth was?

All Varían knew was that he couldn't trust Yama any further than you could throw him, which wasn't far. But he needed to stall if he wanted to keep living.

"Ok, I'll do it."

Yama broke out into a sickening smile once more. "Good, I knew you'd see reason. Boys untie the kid!"

The two ninjas walked over and undid Varian binds. He stood up and rubbed his sore wrists as Yama finalized the terms of their agreement.  

"We should have all the latest toys here that you need to get to work. If something is missing you can let us know and we'll get it for you. We'll bring ya a sandwich or something if ya get hungry and there's a bathroom in the back. Now this is important, so listen up, don't go thinking about escape. No dirty tricks or trying to contact the outside, or the deal is off and well, my two associates here will have to start getting rough. Got it!?"

He pointed at the two ninjas who stealthily took up their positions at either side of the room. Varian quickly darted his eyes about taking stock of the lab once more, noting where the two deadly assassins hired to guard him were placed. Nothing immediately stood out to him as being useful or practical for escape, but perhaps he could build himself something…

"Got it." He nodded and Yama smiled, shook his hand in a forceful manner, and then turned to leave; laughing all the way.

Left alone now, save for his two jailors, Varian got to work.

                                                  ----------------------

"Any luck?" Wasabi asked over the intercom.

"Not yet." Hiro replied as he and Baymax hovered over the city. The robot performed his typical bioscan searching for their missing friend.

"I touched back with Aunt Cass. She's called the police and Cruz is on the case now as well." Gogo chimed in.

"Yeah, well, it looks like he just found something." Fred responded from where he kept watch, right above the trolley stop where Varian was last seen. "Cruz just pulled up to the apartment complex down the street from Gogo and Honey Lemon's place."

"Okay, we'll meet you there." Hiro said as he ordered the rest of the gang to reconvene.

They arrived back at the bus stop just in time to see Officer Cruz and his men dragging El Feugo out of his apartment building.

"Oooh I knew he was up to something!" Honey Lemon shouted, and before her friends could stop her, she took off running towards the arrest in progress.

                                                  ----------------------

"What is the meaning of this!?" The wrestler bellowed. "I demand a lawyer!"

"You'll get one." Cruz said as he forcefully shoved the suspect into the back of the police van. But before he could close the door, he was greeted by one of the Big Hero Six members running up to meet them.

"What did you do to Varian!?" The tall one in pink armor yelled accusingly at the perpetrator.

She had to be held back back by her fellow superheroes, who rushed up to join them, before she could lunge at the man seated in the paddy wagon.

Chief Cruz was not amused.

"This is official police business. Vigilantes are not needed nor welcomed when making an arrest."

"Sorry Officer Cruz," the shortest of the team apologized. "We're just looking for a friend of ours. Did you find him?"

"That's classified information." He said and he turned to leave.

"Please?" The superhero asked again, the desperation in his voice was evident. Cruz ignored him as he finished closing the vehicle door. He then ordered his men to move out, leaving only himself, his deputy, and a few of the forensic team behind as the criminal was hauled away.

The superheroes didn't budge. They wouldn't leave until they heard a straightforward answer from him. Cruz sighed. It looked like he was going to have to drop the niceties and tell the ugly truth.

"No we did not find him." He said as he faced the gang once more. "We got an anonymous tip off that El Fuego was seen with the missing person last night and articles of the victim's clothing were found inside the suspect's apartment when we came to question him. Said suspect is wanted for breaking patrol and we'll be conducting further investigation at the station."

"Clothing?" The green suited hero asked.

As if in answer to this query, some of the forensic people started to load up some of the evidence into their van.

"I have found Varian's goggles." The largest of the heroes said while pointing to one of the sealed bags that they carried; it did indeed contain the aforementioned goggles. He was a very imposing looking figure in his red armor, but his voice sounded very soft and lilting; almost robotic even.

Cruz raised an eyebrow at him, "Got good eyesight, hun?"

"Just his goggles? That's all?" The shortest of the heroes despaired. "But that doesn't make any sense."

"And that's why you're only an amateur." Cruz berated. "Clearly this is more than just a one person job. El Feugo has to be working with someone else and he handed the boy off to them, and who knows how many kids might be involved in such a plot. The more you six keep butting in the more risk you take in tipping off El Feugo's accomplices."

"So you don't think Varian was taken for any specific reasons," the one in yellow stated, "you think he's just the latest victim of a larger scam."

Cruz narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "And why would anyone want to kidnap Varian especially?"

His question went ignored; instead the leader of the group tried to bargain with him.

"Look, we can help you find him, and any other missing kids. Bay--- Red Panda here has bio-scanners and-"

"And where did you get such tech?" Cruz interrupted. The superhero visibly stiffened at that question, clearly unwilling to answer.

"What aren't you telling me?" Cruz continued to press. He was rapidly losing patience with them. "You listen here, this isn't a game. There are lives on the line and I don't have time to play twenty questions. So answer me. What do you know about Varian's disappearance?"

"Nothing…. No more than you do anyways." The short hero responded. "I mean we have some theories but nothing substantial to back them up."

"Theories alone won't save lives," Cruz said. "You need to stay out of this. Leave it to the professionals. Cause I swear to you, if I have to go tell my best friend that I found her child lying dead in a gutter cause you went and hindered an investigation, I will throw the book at you."

This last threat seemed to finally get through to them. Cruz couldn't make out their faces clearly behind the heroes' tinted visors, but he swore he saw the smallest one fighting to blink back tears. He just hoped a stern rebuttal was all that it would take to keep the vigilantes at bay as he entered his police car and drove away; leaving the small group of 'crime fighters' standing forlornly on the sidewalk.

                                                  ----------------------

Varian carefully poured the battery acid out of the dismantled motor and into the glass. He had found it inside an emergency backup generator storaged next to computers. Varian guessed that his captors wanted the option to remain off grid in case they had to lie low from the authorities.

He stalled when a drop of the corrosive chemical spilled onto the table.

"Steady...steady…" He whispered to himself as he readjusted and continued to empty the motor's contents. He desperately wished for a pair of gloves or an apron, or something. The lab he was currently held in was more geared towards engineering and computer programming and sorely lacking in both chemistry sets and safety equipment.

He also didn't know where his goggles went. He figured they got knocked off during the struggle last night. Perhaps not the most pressing of matters at the moment, but the lost still pained him. He had so little left of his old life that he hated to lose anymore.

He finished transferring the acid into the cup and placed the motor down. Then he tried to think of his next step as he raised the glass to better see his handy work.

It wasn't much, but the small amount of liquid would have to do. His only hope was that; one, the ninjas were ignorant of chemistry and two, he could catch them off guard and throw the corrosive contents at them. He prayed that would be distraction enough to get beyond the door and then hopefully make his way to freedom.

It was a pitiful plan, he knew, but he was dealing with limited resources.

It was a plan destined to fail.

One of the ninjas came up from behind him and grabbed his wrist.  

Varian let out a yelp of both pain and surprise. The warrior's grip was strong, more so than normal, and Varian felt like he was caught in a vise.

"Hey, I need that!" He protested as the ninja proceeded to move Varian's hand, and the glass full of acid with it, towards himself. Then without saying a word, the hired assassin used his free hand to grab the bottom of the glass and rip it away from Varian. He then tossed it into the trash nearby.

Well so much for that idea.

The ninja then released him and Varian ruefully tried to rub away the soreness in his wrist.  

"How am I supposed to work like this?" Varian bluffed. "You asked me to build a portal for you and I got to have fuel to power it up, don't I?"

His guard didn't respond and instead took up his position next to the door once more.

Varian rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath. He was making a show of his displeasure in order to hide the panic rising up within him.

What now? He thought. His eyes scanned the room once more and landed upon the other guard that stood at the opposite end of the room. Varian glared at him; almost challenging the ninja to say or do, well, something , anything.

"Can I get that sandwich y'all promised?" He sarcastically asked. But still neither of his captors said anything.

It was unnerving the way they never talked. It didn't help that their masks covered their whole face either. Varian supposed it was made of some sort of mesh that allowed the wearer to see out but from his point of view it just looked like they didn't have a face at all. It was just a formless black void where the eyes and mouth should have been.

That was probably the point; an intimidation tactic while also allowing them to keep their anonymity. Didn't stop him from being creeped out by them though.

Varian sighed deeply in resignation. His usual tricks just weren't going to help him here, and there was no way he could fight off both of them. He was way out matched, he knew.

So I guess there's nothing to it but to give Yama what he wants. Varian thought. Then another realisation struck him. "That's it! I'll make him portal alright!" He yelled to no one in particular. Let the guards hear him. All he was going to do was precisely what was asked of him, and it was going to be brilliant.

                                                  ----------------------

The Big Hero Six gang huddled upon a rooftop as they discussed what to do next.

"It just doesn't make sense." Fred said as he rubbed his chin in thought. He was perched on top of the ledge, looking for all the world like a gargoyle come to life. "El Fuego only ever cared about proving himself the best fighter. Why would he suddenly start abducting people?"

"Didn't you hear officer Cruz?" Wasabi replied."Someone else must have paid him to do it. He's just in it for the money."

"No, no, that still doesn't add up." Fred shook his head. "He just got back into wrestling. He shouldn't need the money, and why would he risk losing his dream job by committing a felony? Not to mention just leaving an article of your victim's clothing right there in your apartment, now that's just sloppy… amateurish even."

"Well no one said El Fuego was the brightest bulb in the box." Hiro chimed in as he read Baymax's latest scan readings.

"What are you getting at Fred?" Gogo asked.

"It smells like a setup to me." Fred answered. "It's a classic frame job. Just plant the evidence in the poor sap's apartment in order to throw the cops off your own trail."

"You can't be serious," came Honey Lemon's sardonic retort.

Everyone looked at her in surprise. She had been silently stewing over in the corner since they parted ways with the police. Now she was glaring daggers right at Fred as she crossed her arms and drummed her fingers.

No one ever knew what to do when Honey Lemon got angry about something. It was such a rare occurrence, like an ice storm in May. Sure, it technically could happen and has before, but you're never expecting it when it does.

Fortunately Fred was spared her chilly wrath when Gogo's phone rang.

"Hello? Yeah, hold on." She removed the phone from her ear. " It's Carl." She said as she pressed the speaker button.

"Hey, I just heard about El Fuego's arrest." Carl's voice rang out. "Did the police find anything?"

"No." Hiro told him. "They think he was working for someone else but they don't know who."

"I might know," Came Carl's weary response. "Some old associates of mine contacted me about a job. I told them I wasn't interested, but they then started asking about Varian. I thought they were trying to recruit him into their gang, and in no uncertain terms, I told them to leave the kid alone or risk losing their spleens. But it's starting to look like my words fell on deaf ears." He gave a heavy sigh. "Look, Globby and I are at Good Luck Alley right now doing some snooping. I don't wanna say too much over the phone in case anyone is eavesdropping. Why don't you meet us somewhere more secure?"

"We could meet you back at the apartments." Gogo suggested.

"Sounds good. I'll see ya there in a few, then." He then hung up.

As everyone made ready to leave, Hiro spotted the police van carrying El Fugeo stop at a red light beneath them.

"You guys go ahead and meet up with Carl. Baymax and I are going to go interrogate our westling friend down there before he gets to the station."

"I'm going with you." Honey Lemon said.

"Alright. As soon as you learn anything, call us and we'll do the same." Hiro ordered as he and Baymax flew down to meet the armored vehicle with Honey Lemon following closely behind.

                                                  ----------------------

El Fuego felt the police van rock wildly as something heavy landed on the vehicle's roof. Then a green substance started to seep through the ceiling in a bubbling ring; eating away at the metal like acid. Suddenly a strong arm punched the deteriorated circle and the metal clattered to the floor as three members of Big Hero Six swooped in.

"Where's Varian!?" The tall woman growled as she snatched him by the shirt collar and practically lifted him off the ground.

"I don't know." The wrestler insisted.

"You were with him last night and the police found his goggles in your apartment." The shortest superhero said. "Please, we just want to find him, and if you know anything at all about where he might be you need to tell us before he gets hurt."

El Fugeo gave a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I know something. But I'm not the one who kidnapped him! I don't play that game."

"Then who did?" The short superhero pressed.

"Yama. Two of his goons approached me last night before the show about 'a job'. I told them I wasn't interested and that I had a fight to win. Turns out they were after the kid. What for, I don't know, but I had just met him earlier that day. He happens to be a  fan of mine.  Well I wasn't about to let one of my fans get accosted, was I? So I walked him and his girlfriend to the bus and saw them safely home. It was easy to, since they didn't live far from me.  I even gave them a couple of tickets to tonight's match, just so that I could keep an eye on them. I figured if Yama's paid thugs showed up I could scare them off ya know."

The heroes frowned. "You mean you were trying to help?" The short one asked. "Then why didn't you contact the police?"

"Oh sure, with my record? I'm trying to keep out of jail, remember? Also how was I to know the chump would leave his girl's apartment in the middle of the night? Geez that aunt of his must be one chapada a la antigua, am I right?"

He wasn't sure what he had said wrong, but El Fuego found himself being roughly shoved back into his seat as the tall woman angrily flung him away from her grasp. Then without another word she jumped out of the vehicle the way she had come, her special boots springing her upwards at a height most normal people could never achieve.

The other two followed after her.

"Hey wait!" He called out and the short superhero stuck his head back down to see what the wrestler wanted. "I...I hope you find him." He sincerely said.

The superhero nodded. "Yeah, me too." The crack in his voice was evident even to El Fugeo.

                                                  ----------------------

Hiro joined Honey Lemon and Baymax on the nearest rooftop.

Honey Lemon stood stock still, her hands clenched into fists, as she watched the police van leave.

"He's such a jerk!" She suddenly fumed.  

"Yeah, you're right, he is," Hiro agreed, "but he's also innocent."

Honey Lemon looked at him in surprise, but Hiro pressed on.

"I think he's telling the truth. His story confirms what Carl said earlier and we both know Yama would have reasons to kidnap Varian. I think El Fuego was legitimately trying to help, in his own annoying way."

Honey Lemon opened her mouth to retort but nothing came out as she racked her brain for a counter argument. She then sobbed as she flopped down on the ledge and pulled her helmet off.

"But doesn't it make you angry?" She cried. "Varian's still missing and that… that creep , he… ooooh.." She couldn't even form words through her rage.

"I'm too scared to get angry right now." Hiro quietly admitted.

This stopped Honey Lemon from launching into another rant. Instead she gave him a pout as she blinked back tears.

"Our only hope right now," Hiro continued, "is that Yama nabbed him because that crime boss he works for wanted Varian' s portal tech, and not, you know, for revenge. Cause if this is about the money he lost in the bot fight then… then Varian could already be seriously hurt." He sighed and took a seat next to Honey Lemon. "Maybe Cruz is right. Maybe we're only making things worse."

"Y-you can't mean that."

"What happens to Varian if that crime lord figures out we're on to him? Hun? What happens if Yama knows we're involved, cause he hates us too.  Or, you know, maybe it's our fault for giving Varian that portal tech in the first place! O-or if we hadn't chased Mr. Sparkles down when he stole that first portal, then the two wouldn't have reconnected and Varian could be back safe in his world an-"

"Stop it." Honey Lemon said softly. She locked eyes with Hiro. "Stop blaming yourself for things you can't control. You had no idea that this would happen. No one did, and you are not responsible for what Yama does."

Hiro reflected on her words but didn't respond. She was right, he knew, but that didn't stop the guilt bubbling in his chest.

"Also Varian's world is even more dangerous than this one." She went on. "So it's a good thing he came here and met us. That's why we're going to bring his father here once he gets the portal working. Which he will, I'm sure. So will find Varian, rescue his dad, and then we'll all be together. Everyone will be safe and we'll all live happily ever after!"

She flashed him her usual cheerful smile, but it quickly faded as she noted Hiro's mournful eyes.

"C-cause after all, no one deserves to lose as much as we have." She uttered as if trying to convince herself more than anything. "Surely the universe isn't that cruel."

Both teens sat in silence for several minutes as Baymax continued his bioscan of the city.

"There's an incoming call coming from Gogo." The robot announced.

"Yeah, put her on speaker." Hiro said.

"Hey," the other girl's voice rang out, "Carl and Globby found a lead."

"Where?"

"Down by the docks. Meet us at Ryōshi Warf."

"Okay. We're on our way."

                                                  ----------------------

"So, how's things going?" Yama bellowed as he slammed the door to the lab open.

Varian visibly jumped at the intrusion but quickly gathered his wits about him. 'Never let your captor know how scared you really are of them', was a lesson Varian had to learn the hard way back in prison.

"It's going well." He said eveningly. "In fact I was just about to do a test run. Would you like to watch?"

Yama cocked a grin. This was going better than he had planned. He had originally expected the inventing process to take at least a few days, and probably would have required some more 'persuasion' tactics to go with it. But nope, the kid had finished in record time and was being very cooperative. The boss would be very pleased if Yama could show up tomorrow with a working portal. You know, after, he 'test ran' it on a few banks first.

"Alright, lets see it kid. Whatcha got?"

Varian picked up a remote control off the table and scooped up the magnetic balls that had belonged Sirque. The whole set up was similar to his first go at a portable portal, back when he and his friends had faced off with the acrobatic thief. However, this time he had built a computer interface into the remote instead of the more simple dial he had originally used. He had also programmed ways to gauge the velocity and temperature of the portal to keep it from overheating like last time.

"Okay, pick a place." He told the mob boss. "Though it needs to be within city limits since this is a short range test."

Yama rolled his shoulders and pursed his lips in thought. "Hmm… try the abandoned fisherman's warehouse on Canary street. I was thinking of making that a new bot fighting arena. We could check it out real quick."

Varian tried to slow his racing heart as he entered the coordinates. He had only one shot at this.

He then threw the magnets into the air and flipped a switch on the remote. The balls began to spin in the air as they linked up and a portal began to form.  

It came out right next to the warehouse.

"Haha! Good work kid!" Yama laughed as he good naturedly slapped Varian across the back. He nearly stumbled from the force, but righted himself quickly as Yama walked through the portal.

The mobster then turned around towards him and beamed. "Now we gotta hit up some banks! Can you make a portal inside a safe or better yet, inside a jewelry store?"

"Sure thing." Varian lied as he went and flipped the switch off on the remote. The portal promptly closed, leaving Yama stranded on the docks.

The ninjas immediately started to close in on Varian.

"Woah, woah, no need to get angry. It was just an accident. Look, the coordinates are still set. All I have to do is turn the portal on again and he can come back. See?"

Varian held up the remote so that his jailors could read the screen for themselves. They paused in their tracks, though one still loomed threateningly over him. He gulped as he flipped the switch once more.

The magnets floated back up into the air of their own accord and then proceeded to spin again. However this time the portal opened up over on the opposite side of the warehouse, back behind the street.

Varian steeled himself as he made a fist.

"This biggest, ugliest, bully you can think of."

He recalled Carl's advice as he swung with all his might and punched the ninja nearest to him in the jaw.

There was a sickening, unnatural crunching sound that Varian didn't want to think too hard about as he jumped through the portal.

Once through he quickly switched the remote off.

He turned around, and to his horror he saw the other ninja following after him through the rapidly shrinking portal.  Varian tried to call out a warning to him, but it was too late. The portal closed, cutting off the ninja's right arm.  But it wasn't blood that spilled from the wound. Instead electricity sparked from severed wires as the relentless robot stalked towards Varian.

"Oh no."

                                                  ----------------------

"I have found Varian." Baymax calmly stated.

The robot had never ceased running his bioscanners throughout the day. While his humans discussed strategy, he had kept a lookout on the edge of the pier as he scanned the boardwalk and docks.

"Wait. Really?" Hiro hopefully asked.

"Way to go Baymax! Alright!" Fred cheered and offered the droid a customary high five.

"Where is he?" Gogo asked.

"Over there, at the abandoned warehouse." He dutifully replied.

                                                  ----------------------

They found Yama outside talking on his cellphone as they approached the fishing warehouse.

"Listen up! I need you bozos to bring a car around and pick me up. I'm at the doc-"

"You're not going anywhere!" Wasabi said as the heroes surrounded the villain.

Honey Lemon threw some of her chimballs at him and a purple substance encased Yama's feet pinning him in place.

"Where's Varian?" Gogo asked, but before the mobster could answer Baymax chimed in.

"Varian is that way." He pointed towards the warehouse once more.

Yama looked confused. "I left the kid at the hideout. He shouldn't be here."

"Wasabi, Fred, stay with Yama and keep a lookout." Hiro said. "See if you can get any more information out of him while you're at it. Gogo and Honey Lemon, check the building. I'm going to fly up with Baymax and see if we can pinpoint Varian's location better."

                                                  ----------------------

Varian ran, but his pursuer was close behind. He knew he couldn't out run the robot, but there was little else to do.  He dodged a shuriken as it whizzed through the air and dove down the nearest alley.

Dead end.

He turned to face his attacker; casting his eyes about desperately looking for anything to defend himself with. He found nothing.  

The faceless android strode forward without remorse and Varian did the only thing he could. He threw up his fists, planted his feet, and took up the defensive position Carl had taught him.

The robot threw its last shuriken and Varian ducked to miss it. He then quickly stood back up just in time to block a blow from the deadly droid.

It hurt, but not as much as a busted nose would have. He then blocked a second punch, and then a third.

The ninja fell back and decided to give a roundhouse kick instead. Varian flopped down to avoid it and the robot's foot lodged itself into the brick wall.

Varian took this as an opportunity to kick back from where he sat on the ground. It wasn't nearly as graceful nor as strong as his opponent's had been but it managed to knock the android off balance anyway.

That was when Baymax and Hiro arrived.

Varian nearly cried with relief as the larger robot shot out his rocket punch and sent the fake ninja slamming into the wall before it shortcurited and crumbled up into a heap.

Hiro tore off his helmet. "Are you alright?"

"I think-" before he could finish the younger teen grabbed into a tight hug. "...so."

Varian stared down at the other boy, waiting for him to let go, but he didn't relinquish his grip. That's when Varian noticed that Hiro was crying.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm okay. Honest." Varian awkwardly said as he tried his best to comfort the other kid.

Hiro sniffled and tried to compose himself before letting go. "Baymax, do a scan." He ordered.

"You appeared to have suffered no major injuries. However traumatic events can cause psychological stress. I recommend talking with your ther-"

"It's okay Baymax." Varian interrupted. "I'm fine. Thank you, though."

"Then I am also glad that you are alright." The robotic nurse opened his arms wide and gave Varian a hug as well. "There, there." It said as it patted his head and Varian had to stifle a laugh.

"We better meet up with the others." Hiro said.

                                                  ----------------------

There were more hugs waiting for Varian when they rejoined the rest of the gang on the docks. Honey Lemon in particular just about squeezed all the air out of his lungs.

"So let me get this straight?" Fred asked, "You got to fight off a robot ninja!?"

"Two of them."

"Awe, I am so jelly!"

"So what do we do about Yama here?" Wasabi asked.

Hiro walked up to the mob boss and started to interrogate him "Who's this Bosu?"

"I'm not squealing." Yama said. "I know my rights, and you armored droks ain't cops."

"Well okay then," Gogo taunted. "I guess we'll just call the cobs and leave you to them."

Yama made a displeased face but still said no more.

"We'll drop you off at the police station, Varian." Hiro said. "You can tell Cruz about El Fuego's innocence and he'll take you home. Gogo phone ahead and let the police know where Yama is. You and Wasabi can stay behind and guard him till they arrive."  

"Got it."

"Honey Lemon, will you let Carl and Globby know what's going on. Tell them they can call off the search."

She hummed her acknowledgement.

"What about me?" Fred asked.

"You wanna take Minimax and do tonight's patrol?" Hiro asked.

"On it." He saluted.

And with that Hiro and Varian hopped on Baymax's back and flew away.

                                                  ----------------------

Aunt Cass was waiting for Varian when he and Chief Cruz pulled up. He barely made it through the door of the cafe before she flung herself at him and asked him a million and one questions.

Where had he been? What happened? Was he hurt? Was he hungry? Did they need to call the doctor? And so on and so on…

Varian answered them as best he could, conveniently leaving out Hiro's involvement.

"Well looks like my job here is done." Cruz said as he took his leave.

"Thank you Diego. I don't know what we would do without you." Aunt Cass said.

"Naw, don't mention it. I'm just doing my duty, besides Varian's quick thinking is what got him out of that mess. It's a good thing you're talking self defense classes at the gym. I always recommend young people should know self defense of some kind."

They then exchanged goodbyes and Cruz left.

"And you didn't want me to learn boxing." Varian teased.

However Aunt Cass only looked at him with tearful eyes.

"What is it?"

She sighed. "How does one boy find himself in so much trouble so often?"

Varian felt his cheeks flush and he lowered his eyes. He waited on another lecture, but it never came.

"I know, it's not your fault." She said as she lifted his face. "It's just…so… so… bizzare. You escape one death trap only to fall right into another." She blinked in bafflement. "Am I doing something wrong?"

"Noooo, no, of course not. It's not your fault either that Yama's a jerk."

"But I'm supposed to protect you." She insisted and then pressed her forehead against his.

"And you're doing great at it." Varian said as he pulled away to look her in the eye.

"You could say that again." Hiro proclaimed as he came down stairs to join them.

Aunt Cass gave them both a grateful smile before scooping them into a family group hug.

                                                  ----------------------

"List Newton's Three Laws of Motion." Honey Lemon read off the study sheet in her hand.

"Every object in a state of uniform motion will remain in that state of motion unless an external force acts on it.

Force equals mass times acceleration.

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Varian rattled off.

He had only heard of Isaac Newton upon coming to this world, but the famed alchemist's theories and equations weren't too far off from Varian's on calculations. Turns out that he only predated the physicist by about ten years.

"Annd that's it. We're done with the practice test." Honey Lemon said.

"Woot!" Varian cheered and threw his arms up in the air. "How did I do?"

"You got every question right, except for Einstein's birthday."

Varian curled his lip in irritation. "It's a physics exam, not a history test."  

This only sent Honey Lemon into a fit of giggles. It was good to hear her laughing again. He hadn't seen her smile since the wrestling match two days ago, but she had cheered up considerably since then and now they were back in her apartment resuming their studies.

"Do you wanna break for lunch?" He asked.

"Sure."

                                                  ----------------------

They found their friends all at Joe's Diner. Including, Carl, Globby, and El Fuego.

"Ah if it isn't my fans!" The wrestler called out.

Varian stiffened and gave Honey Lemon a side glance. But the other girl just continued to smile, and was a genuine smile at that.

"Hi." She sang as she walked over to join everyone and Varian allowed himself to relax.

"Globby here was just telling us about his newest passion project." Wasabi explained as they sat down.

"I call it the S.R.S." Globby excitedly went on. "The Supervillain Reform School! It'll be a support group for former villains and convicts trying to get back up on their feet and reenter society. What do ya think?"

"I think it's a great idea." Hiro chimed in.

"Yeah and if you need any help let us know." Honey Lemon added.

"And I'll be the first graduate, hey amigo." El Fuego laughed as he playfully nudged Globby in his non-existent ribs.  

"Oooh I smell a former super villain turned heroes team up in the air!" Fred said as he practically vibrated with excitement.

Carl chuckled, "Well I don't know about that, but it'll be a great way to give back to the community and help out some of the younger folks who keep getting dragged into the constant turf wars around here. Hopefully give them some opportunities besides taking dirty deals from Yama and whatever new crime lord pops up each month."

"That's really cool of you guys." Gogo said.

Varian agreed, in fact the whole idea intrigued him immensely. "Do ya need any extra members? You know just to get the ball rolling."

"Sure!" Globby exclaimed. "The more the merrier! You can help Carl out with the youth outreach!"

"Glad to have ya on bored buddy." Carl said as he gave a Varian a fist bump.

"Well then I propose a toast to the new S.R.S.!" Honey Lemon cheered as she raised her milkshake up and everyone followed suit.

                                                  ----------------------

An ancient hand drummed it fingers upon the mahogany desk in irritation.

Of course that idiot Yama got himself captured.

Time for a new plan.

                                                  ----------------------

If you like any of my work you can support me by leaving a tip on my ko-fi. 

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[paulieshore]

The Dynamic Duo

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1412

Characters: MC, Gavin, Minor, Victor

Part Two: Criminal Intent

The studio was silent, everyone doing as the officer said, writing away their statements of events only whispers could be heard. In the corner of the studio radiated ever so cold, Victor too was sitting in a chair typing away on his laptop Goldman rushed over (thankful that you weren’t anywhere near him at this time). Looking around; Gavin was chatting to some of the senior managers of the Barner Wors team. Minor was sitting next to you vigorously writing away on his paper, “Hey Minor, when exactly did you contact Gavin?” you prompted.

Minor looked up from his paper with a sheer look of guilt, “I’m sorry boss, but things just didn’t seem right, and after reading some of the scandals Barner Wors has been involved in... I called Gavin for advice… I’m sorry for not warning you...” He sheepishly looked back down, like a boy caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

You weren’t mad per say, but you did feel a tad bit upset, you tried to keep everyone from fighting but failed to notice maybe things weren’t as they seemed. “Thank you Minor.” A small smile at your lips.

He looked up from his paper in pure shock, you thanked him?

“I admit not being in the loop took me by surprise, but thank you for standing up for me… You know, behind scenes and in front. Next time, best leave Victor to me. I don’t want to lose a good employee because I couldn’t stand up for myself.” Laying a hand on the top of his head, ruffling his hair.

Minors face went a sly shade of pink before quickly looking down again, “Thanx boss Ill try my best to remember that!”

As you and Minor were having a moment, Gavin approached, “I’ve received statements from their team and dismissed them for now. Ill just collect the statements from yours and then begin inspecting the area. After doing so if we could reconvene in your office, I’ll need to ask you a couple questions if I find anything.”

Minor piped up, “Ill show you round! I pretty much know this place like the back of my hand now, it’ll make things easier for you to access!”

Before Gavin could turn down Minors offer, you agreed, it made sense and would allow Gavin access to anything around the company he needed. Plus, you had to get a hold of your insurance company and still deal with Victor, just then.

“Here * Victor pops up out of no where handing Gavin his statement* If there isn’t anything else ill be leaving.”

Gavin accepted the papers and nodded, “I’ll be in touch.”

Slightly glancing, “If I’m unable to answer right away you can contact my assistant Goldman, Mc has the details.” Looking at you, “Be at LFG later on.” As quick as he popped up, he was gone.

“Asshole.”

You looked at Gavin bewildered; did he just call Victor an asshole!?! You stifled a laugh, “He’s cold and strict but he isn’t as bad as he looks.”

“Your too nice…” Gavin gave you a look next, he may not have been smiling but his eyes were.

Gavin and Minor go off to start looking around, and you make way to your office. God, this was going to be a late one tonight, and you still had to deal with Victor. Just thinking about it made your palms sweaty and head hurt.

.

.

Meanwhile, back in studio Gavin and Minor were the only ones left. Gavin was hunched over the crashed light on the ground, lost in thought.

“This could have been bad” Minor observes, running his hand through his hair.

Gavin looks up to the area above, “Anyway we can get up there?”

Minor thinks for a moment, “Uh yea there’s stairs that take the lighting techs just above, follow me.”

Gavin and Minor reach the top of the studio just above the set, Gavin starts examining the area were the spotlight came from. Noticing few screws on the walk rail, and no clear damages due to breakage on the beams that supported the light, “do the security cameras cover any sections in here?”

Minor seemingly understanding what Gavin’s getting to, “Sure does let’s go check out the footage Sherlock!”

“Minor?”

“You mean Watson?!” Minor turns back grinning to Gavin.

“Shut up.” Gavin collects the screws and takes a couple pictures of the area.

In the surveillance room, Minor is skimming through the day’s footage from two cameras in the studio area. Stopping the footage tape at the early hours, both men notice an obscured figure holding a small tool kit, making their way to the stairs. Minor explains, no body is allowed above unless directed. Gavin asks Minor to keep this strictly between the two of them until further can be proved, from what he had seen he perceived; equipment tampering. Gavin was going to have to talk to security and the backstage personnel for answers, starting to believe criminal intent really is at play.

The boys meet Mc back at her office, she’s buried in piles of paperwork and her phone ringing endlessly. Gavin gives her a sympathetic look before knocking, “You busy?”

“Come in! Sorry I have to quickly get some emails sent off and fax some papers off to insurance, hopefully this blows over quickly. I can’t imagine the company can afford a huge insurance pay out, and now the slander is another thing... The internet has been going blitz since a statement was released by the leading actor on Tweeter.” You explain trying to juggle multiple things at once.

Minor was quick to pull out his phone to check the media platforms and sure enough….

The lead actor in the show was huge Hollywood heart throb Chris Hemswart, taking to tweeter this afternoon stating:

‘Today’s events were unfortunate as they were scary, I’m so glad everyone is alright and we get back on tracking with shooting! Big shout out for the Loveland City Police Department for having the actors’ backs!’

Minor showed Gavin silently as to not disturb Mc as she finishes her tasks at hand, the comments under the chirp (a chirp is like a status update) seem to be slandering not only your company but Barner Wors as well. Everyone on board and supporting the actors with best wishes and best of lucks. Minor whispers to Gavin, “Is he allowed to post considering the situation?”

“As long as it doesn’t hinder the investigation or reveal to much information, I have no cause otherwise to say no.” Gavin pulls his phone out and sends a text off to one of the lads back at the department.

-          I’m sending you some names of people and companies, get me some-thing to work with:

Chris Hemswart, Nicole Kissman, Barner Wors, xxx xxxxxx, xxxx xxxxxxx, xxxx xxxxxx.

.SEND.

“Sorry guys, right anything found, is everything alright??” Mc puts away the last file in her filing cabinet. Clearly seeing just how much these days have taken a toll on you; Gavin decides to shake his head.

“To early to tell really, I’ll continue my investigation and keep you informed.”

It was the look on Minors face when Gavin said that, which made you unsure Gavin was telling you the truth. You didn’t want to pursue the truth though, perhaps a part of you didn’t really want to know. What you really wanted to do was just curl up under a rock and hide from the world right now. “Well okay then, I have to head over to LFG ill see you guys out, okay?”

Heading out of the building both men decided to see you off to LFG, Minor saying the whole way he’d come up with you and talk to Victor. Gavin seemed to like the idea however clearly pointing out Minors ‘little dog syndrome’ he agreed it was best Minor stayed out of it too. Gavin wanted to come with you though, seeing how Victor was when he arrived made his blood boil. He envisioned himself knocking that stupid look off his face, but considering the reason he was there using his authority was his only weapon.

“Right well, I’ll see you guys... later… then….” Your voice gets smaller and smaller as you stare up the massive building of LFG. Praying that something unfortunate truly was to happen so you’d have an excuse not to enter the building.

To Be Continued

Master-List For Parts

 If youve read them so far thank you :) 

like, reblog and follow for future updates - support eachother by reblogging and liking xxx

[i-am-a-closet-fanfic-fiend]

Stepping Up ~ Bucky x Reader (Part 9/12)

A/n: Hi my lovelies! Happy Friday and Happy Captain Marvel weekend! So I have some more Stepping up for you! :D There will be three more parts and an epilogue. Enjoy! 

Summary: Weddings are never easy. 

Characters/Pairings: Bucky x Reader, Dylan x Penny, Ben x Zoe, Aunt Meg

Rating: K+

Warnings: angst ish not really though

Word count: 1477

Masterlist 

You woke to your phone ringing and a frantic knocking on your door. Bucky shot up next to you, instantly alert.

“I’ll get the phone. You get the door,” you mumbled rubbing your eyes.

He nodded and slid out of bed while you yanked your phone from the charger.

“Hello?”

“You are eligible for a discount on your current auto insurance.”

Growling in annoyance, you hung up the phone and looked over to where Bucky was trying to console a teary-eyed Penny.

“Penny, what’s wrong?”

“Everything is ruined. I knew we should have eloped.”

You scooted off the bed and gave your cousin a tight hug.  

“Penny, I need you to breathe, and tell me exactly what happened.”

Your tone was soothing, but held a hint of your mission voice. It did the trick.

“The venue had a pipe burst. It’s completely flooded. Everything is ruined.”  

“Okay. It’s okay. We can figure something out. The wedding isn’t until tomorrow.”

“But what about the rehearsal dinner?” she sniffed.

“That’s not until tonight. We have plenty of time. We’ll get it sorted out. I promise. First things first. I need to talk to the venue and know exactly what we’re dealing with. We should also call and put a hold on any of the deliveries that were scheduled for today.” You glanced at your alarm clock. “Okay, it’s only six. We should be able to reach everyone before they open. Can you make a list and we’ll all start calling? If we each take a few we’ll be done in no time.”

“Okay. I can do that,” she whispered to herself. “I can do that.”

“Breathe, Penny. I’m going to take care of this. I promise.”                            

“Thank you, y/n.”

“No problem, sweetie.”

She squeezed your hands and hurried back to her room for her planning binder. You shut the door behind her and leaned heavily against it, pinching the bridge of your nose.

Bucky gently rubbed at your arms, soothing you.

“Good morning,” you finally muttered.

“Good morning, doll,” he rumbled wryly, leaning down to plant a chaste but firm kiss on your lips.

You lost yourself in the sensation for a moment before pulling back with a grateful smile.

“Thank you.”

“You never need to thank me for kissing you.”

Rolling your eyes, you bumped your hip against his as you grabbed a pair of jeans and a blouse to change into so you would be ready to dash out at a moment’s notice.

 When you got down to the kitchen, your Aunt Meg, your parents, Dylan’s parents, and Penny were already divvying up the list.

“Where’s Dylan”

“In the living room on the phone with the venue.”

You nodded before leaving to take over that call, fully prepared to use your scary avenger voice. Dylan was more than willing to hand it off to you.

After a lengthy conversation with an admittedly apologetic manager, you hung up with a frustrated sigh.

“So there’s good news and bad news,” you reported finally.

“What’s the bad news?”

“The reception hall at the venue is completely flooded and unusable.”

“How can there possibly be good news?”

“Well for one, they hadn’t set up at all so none of your decorations got destroyed. They were in storage on the second floor. And since you were having your ceremony outside, it’s totally unscathed. So technically we have a wedding venue just not a reception venue. And they will be refunding your full deposit regardless of whether you use their space or not.”

“Did you threaten him?” Penny asked.

“Of course not. I was simply firm.”

Bucky coughed to hide his laugh and you smacked his flesh shoulder for it.

“Sorry, doll.”

“Even if we had the ceremony at the hotel. What would we do for the reception? The whole point was to have it all in one place so people didn’t have to travel.”

“And there’s no other place near here that would be big enough for 250 people,” Dylan pointed out.

It was quiet as everyone considered your options, occasionally tossing out an idea only for it to be shot down. Zoe and Ben leisurely made their way down during your brainstorming session.

“Morning all. What’s with the long faces?”

“My wedding is ruined,” Penny grumbled.

“Oh don’t be dramatic. What? Did someone accidentally drop a petal from your bouquet,” she sneered.

Bucky’s hand on your hip was the only thing that kept you from launching at her.

“Hush, Zoe,” your mother admonished, clearly done with her shit. “We have a real problem here.”

You tuned out the bickering for a moment, and as you stared out the window at the backyard you got an idea.

“What if we have the wedding here?”

“That’s ridiculous,” Zoe scoffed.

“How would that work?” your father asked, ignoring Zoe.

“We can set up the tables like we did for our graduation party. That was easily 300 people. Then we can set up an arch on the hill and the chairs can fan out towards where the swing set used to be.”

“It could work,” Aunt Meg agreed as she pictured it.

“But where will we get all of the tables and chairs?”

“And what about the dance floor?” Dylan asked.

“Call the venue and see if they’ll loan us their tables. It’s not like they’ll be using them today. As for everything else, I know who to call.”

“Yeah, but what’s it going to cost us?” Penny worried. “We’re pretty much maxed out on the budget department.”

“It won’t cost you anything.”

“You are not paying to get us out of this disaster,” she warned.

“It won’t cost me a dime. Scout’s honor. Just some groveling and probably a few months of bathroom duty.”

Bucky snorted as the others stared at you.

You waved your hand dismissively. “Look. I promised you I will take care of it and I will. If you’re okay with it, I will make the call.”

“Do you really think we can pull it off?”

“I will do whatever it takes to make sure it does.”

Penny and Dylan shared a long look, not needing to speak out loud.

“We trust you,” she finally said.

You nodded and left the room, already dialing the number, pointedly ignoring Zoe’s sarcastic “y/n to the rescue”.

You were worried he may not answer, but luckily he picked up after two rings.

“What’s up, buttercup?”

“Hey, Tony.”

You could hear the clinking of his tools in the background stop when you spoke.

“What’s wrong, y/n?”

“We’re in a little bit of a crisis,” you sighed as you sat down on the back of the couch.  

“What do you need?” he asked immediately.

“Some very large tents, a dance floor, and a few generators.”

“I assume you need it today.”

“That would be ideal.”

“Okay. I’ll take care of it.”

You were used to Tony’s generosity, but it usually came with insatiable curiosity.

“You’re not even going to ask what happened?” you asked, unable to hide the surprise in your voice.

“You can tell me later. Right now we need to get your cousin’s wedding back on track. Text me a list. Whatever you need. And the address. Everything will be there by three.”

“Thank you so much. I owe you like a million favors.”

“You don’t owe me anything, y/n. I’m happy to help.”

“You’re the best, Tony.”

“I know,” he assured you. “And if Penny and Dylan want to name their first child after the man who saved their wedding then so be it.”

You scoffed but didn’t comment, and when he continued his voice was soft and serious.

“Your family is my family, y/n. Give Penny and Dylan my best wishes for a long and happy marriage.”

“I will. And I’ll get you the list ASAP. Thank you so much.”

“Sounds good. I’ll call you once I have the details. Oh, by the way. How’d my little project for Barnes work out?”

You’d almost forgotten about the arm covering Bucky had foregone.

“He actually didn’t end up using it. No offense to your tech, but I wanted them to see the real Bucky.”

“I figured as much. Alright. You two have fun. Bye, kiddo.”

“Bye, Tony.”

 “Tony sends his best wishes,” you informed the stressed out couple.

“Tony as in Tony Stark?” Ben asked incredulously.

You ignored him and faced Penny and Dylan.

“We need to make a list of everything we’ll need, and he’ll make sure that it gets here this afternoon.”

“Are you serious?”

“100 percent.”

“How are we ever going to repay him?”

You shook your head.

“Don’t worry about it. He wanted to help.”

“That’s really generous of him.”

“Yeah, y/n, you must have kissed up pretty well for him to like you so much.”

You grit your teeth and ignored her.

“Let’s get started on that list.”

A/N: I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading. We’re wrapping up, but there’s still a good amount of story to tell, so stay tuned. 

xoxo Naynay

Tag Lists are Open (Please send an ask) 

Stepping Up Tag List @holycoldcoffee @ek823 @lordemjay @nirvanalovesyoutbh @eleshka-still @bookgirlunicorn @pastelsweaters-and-bubble-t

Bucky/Sebastian Tag List @waywardpumpkin @sadanddeadsoul @captain-maaarvel @caylast @isaxhorror @run-your-cleverboy @ria132love @mbsgr @hereisanapplepie @pierrxt-uta @thejourneyneverendsx @stevieboyharrington @catsandbooksinafarawayplace @mywinterwolf

Marvel Tag List @hdthdthdt​   @sophiatomlinson23 @misty-panther @supermusicallee @scarlettsoldier @acupofhotlatte @slender--spirit @petitesmate

Permanent Tag List @iamwarrenspeace @jayzayy @bexboo616 @neoqueen306 @santheweird @rowenaravencalw @buckitybarnes @prxttybirdz @sergeantjbuckybarnes @captainsamwlsn @broitsmydick @ailynalonso15 @nyxveracity @queenoftrash97 @walkingtravesty97 @lamia-maizat @memyselfandmaddox @lowkeybuckyb @whiskey2011 @averyrogers83 @lovingpeterparker @buckybarneshairpullingkink @beansparker @coralphantomninja @xxashy999xx @thisismysecrethappyplace @ravennightingaleandavatempus @paintballkid711 @whosmarisaaarw

[nikkyschoolblog-blog]

PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN (yes that’s the title)

We are surrounded by it. Is there ever a time when you don’t have your phone in your pocket? Everywhere we look it is Instagram this and facebook that. Oh you only got 100 likes? Guess your picture is not good enough to be showcased to the world. How many times a day do you think you look at your phone? How about a computer or any type of a screen? Every day we are constantly reminded that we are choosing to compare ourselves to the people around us. Social media of all sorts fills our heads with unrealistic expectations of reality. How do you contribute to society? American culture has evolved tremendously over the past few decades mostly due to the media and technology. My development as a young adult has also been heavily impacted by the media and it has transformed me into the savage queen I am today.

Can you even think about a time when people were not so readily available on social media? It boggles my mind to think that in the 80s when my parents were alive that they could not just call their friends on their personal cell phones. I remember growing up when I was taught to call up my friend on the home phone and say “Hello sir this is Nicole Bernier calling I was wondering if Naomi was available to have a play date?” And then I would wait patiently for Naomis Dad to go ask her if she wanted to bike over to my house. Nowadays kids don’t even talk to each other! The children I coach already have their own instagram accounts and get 3 times the amount of likes I do. I cant imagine being so young in a world of technology trying to figure out how they want to be viewed by society. Even as a young adult, I continue to waste my time stressing about how I want others to view me. We get here to college and expect that everyone has got their life path figured out when most of us have absolutely no clue what we are doing and spend more time on Snapchat than we do writing an essay.

When you turn on the radio there is a large chance that it will be some rapper singing about drugs, money or chicks. It’s tasteless how famous people want to present themselves by trying to promote bad behaviors. But oh no everyone loves Ariana Grande and Drake and how “lavish” their lifestyle is. How Nicki Minajs butt implants and Kylie Jenners lip injections are the new craze. Statistics have shown that the younger generations are more insecure due to the conveniency of social media and how the celebrities choose to promote themselves. The media can have a negative impact on certain people especially children because they often compare themselves with these unrealistic standards we are constantly surrounded with.

As an avid 50s music listener, I truly find it interesting how the lyrics of most of the songs are about love and romance or true heartbreak. It’s pretty rad how that is an artifact in itself and its so readily available to us all the time. It also shows how the music culture has changed over the years. Most kids I’ve met think my music taste is weird or what “my grandma listens to” but honestly in a world of people listening to the same genre, I like to be unique. I think everyone should give a good listen to some Dion and the Heartbreaks or Frank Sinatra and at least give it a chance.

So just a couple of months ago I had to go on a cleanse. Not a juice cleanse or a bath full of Lysol, no I mean I had to delete all social media off my phone because it was making me unhappy. Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly) the people I surround myself with told me that it also made them feel insecure and that they would be better off without it. This sparked my interest and I did a poll on instagram seeing how many people disliked social media and the results had me shook. More than half of my followers that answered said that they hated it. Why do we keep these apps on our phone if our happiness is not benefited by using them? I chose to be happy and after I deleted my instagram facebook and Snapchat I felt 1000% more productive.

Unfortunately I caved in after 2 months and redownloaded them because there was no way I was going to Europe and not showing the world pictures of how delightful my vacation was. I posted a whole bunch of fabulous pictures but in reality I was sick nearly the entire time so I couldn’t enjoy myself to the fullest extent. I posed and pretended I wasn’t hacking up a lung and I was thrilled to see that people “liked” my vacation more than I did.

Don’t get me wrong I’m the queen of taking pictures to the point where my mom is like “Nicole I am not going to be your photographer. Put your phone away.” I have to catch myself sometimes and remember that I am not living to please random people on social media. I am living for the experiences, for the laughs and the genuine connections.

Pictures were made to capture a moment but why force happiness to present a life you are not living? It’s almost like propaganda in a way because were only showing one side of how we live. Hey if you’re as happy as every single post on your insta then go you that’s awesome but most people can agree that life is not always just the happy moments. That’s the thing. Most people use these platforms to only show the attractive parts of their lives. It’s all just a game of comparison and perception. But who’s life really is the best? Are you genuinely happy in that picture you take on the beach with your butt hanging out of your bikini and Gucci handbag just so convenient placed in the frame of the picture?

When I think of media and pop culture I think of how my goal as a child was to literally become Sandy from Grease when she was all decked out in her red lipstick, leather pants and a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. I though she was the coolest person ever. I watched that movie on REPEAT because it was the only PG13 movie my mom allowed me to watch on my DVD player. Within a few years I was that kid who started smoking as a teen because I thought it looked “cool”. Now I’m stuck with a nasty habit that everyone thinks is gross because the media evolved to somehow make smoking cigarettes uncool but vaping apparently pretty dang cool. Guess I’m just a few years late.

When you’re young you need some kind of an idol or a person to admire. When I was a preteen I listened to Eminem and really resonated with his lyrics. His anger lit a fire within me and I became more and more defiant the longer I listened to him. I chose to be influenced by his freedom of speech and it gave me confidence to deliberately act upon my impulsive behavior. Parents hated Eminem because he got fame for promoting violence and presented himself in a negative way. I related to the fact that he was misunderstood yet also didn’t care about how people viewed him. As much as I want to forget 2008 me I will always remember how the music I listened to impacted my life and decisions at the time.

Speaking of 2008, I remember having a flip phone and trying to hold it still for about 4 seconds to make sure the pixelated picture did not come out too blurry. Now we have 12 year olds editing their face and their body on photoshop because that’s what the instagram models do. They wont ever understand how hard it was to type the s on the flip phones with no alphabet keypad. I was out here responding to texts hours late with one word answers and now here I am texting paragraphs like its none of my business.

Technology and the media is constantly evolving and shaping our culture into what it is today. It is changing so rapidly by incorporating technology into every little task and as much as I hate it I know that it plays an important role in who I am as an individual and how I choose to be viewed by others. People like to communicate with each other and that is why social media exists but there is a fine line between using it for practical purposes and allowing it control your life. To this day I struggle with using my phone as a tool rather than a time suck. Maybe Ill just pack my bags, and venture out into the wilderness to escape this crazy tech era. Hopefully they’ll have an outlet for my iPhone charger though.

[pokemonblack2white2nintndods2k12]

ugh im so bored… im gonna write down my hopes for animal crossing switch… or more like my personal pitch for an ac game. under a read-more bcs its gonna get long, but pls give it a read if u like animal crossing and tell me ur thoughts

TL;DR: the game will be called Animal Crossing Viva Resort and will be centered on making your town into a tourist destination, the campground will return and be expanded, u will be able to visit shopkeepers in their homes after hours, a cooking element will be implemented, and there will be multiple arcade minigames

- first of all with the welcome amiibo update and pocket camp, i expect rvs and the campground to return. also you will have your own rv which will serve both as a means of transportation to friends towns and a smaller customizable house you bring with you. harvey still runs the campground and ok motors will also be available for the same functions as acpc

- the game starts with you driving your rv when u meet a hitchhiker: rover. he jumps in and starts asking the usual questions…

- eventually you reach your destination where u are met by none other than mayor isabelle! thats right i think isabelle should be the mayor this time instead of you… however you still have the same powers (mostly) as in new leaf bcs, after some shenanigans, isabelle hires you as the new head of the tourism board! or something like that. your goal? transforming your small town into a bustling touristic destination, hence the title of this new installment: Animal Crossing: Viva Resort / Resort Destination… whichever one sounds best

- keeping up with the tourism theme of the game, many villagers will come camp in the campground, and the more you develop your town, the more campers will visit and the more often they will come. you will even get to act as a guide of sorts to these visitors, giving them a tour of the town or showing them where a facility is… some of them might even decide to settle in if you meet certain criteria, although they might ask you to build a specific amenity beforehand. you will also get a score depending on how much the campers liked their stay, kind of like with the hha but based on the whole town, and youll win items or get access to new pwp depending on how many points you have. there will also be an online leader board based on these scores as well as player ratings of towns they visit

- special characters who show up occasionally, like saharah, redd or even pavé will also come in their own rvs which youll be able to visit late in the day

- main street (or its replacement) will only contain nook’s homes, nooklings, able sisters, the post office, the museum and eventually kicks. you will also be able to visit after hours the able sisters as well as tom nook and timmy and tommy in their own homes, just like for villagers. other special characters like isabelle and digby, pelly and phyllis, and lyle and lottie will live in a housing complex run by a new character: the goose landlady Beatrice.

- a few days after ur settled in town, youll be able to use a trolley (driven by the monkey porter) to go to a new location a few ways from your town. this new location is a rundown mall overseen by the unlucky crow Fortunato… after talking with him youll agree to a partnership where u will help renovate the mall which will in turn help raise your nearby towns popularity… as you progress many new shops will open up in the mall, including shampoodle, gracie grace, the dream suite, the fortune shop, and some more relating to new game features that ill present afterwards… you’ll also be able to customize ur mall to ur taste and install several additions like a fountain (where serena may occasionally appear)

- one of these new features will be cooking: there will be multiple recipes you can collect and cook thru cooking mama-like minigames by using an oven or similar furniture as well as ingredients including fruits, fish, seafood, mushrooms as well as flour eggs sugar vegetables etc…. youll be able to grow your own veggies in a community garden run by Leif, who will also have a shack where he sells seeds and gardening necessities… what produce you can grow will depend on the season, although you may be able to develop ur garden into a greenhouse where u can grow anything regardless of the season… for the remaining ingredients, you will be able to buy them from a grocery store run by Jeanne, joans daughter, who will also sell out of season fish for a high price so you can cook them whenever u want (provided u have already donated said fish to the museum)… youll obtain new recipes either from your villagers, or by buying meals at Franklins new restaurant ( yes franklin will be a permanent shopkeeper bcs i hate thanksgiving) or coffee/desserts at the roost… once they’ve been cooked your meals can be exposed as furniture like in the previous games, or they can be given to your villagers as gifts… occasionally they will organise parties and youll be asked to prepare something and bring it with you

- another collectible will be books: several small illustrated stories and mini encyclopedias will be available to collect… villagers will occasionally ask you questions about books theyve read and if u know the answer theyll give u a prize… books can be stored in shelf furniture and u will be able to buy them from a bookstore run by a bookish guinea pig named Ronald

- a new tool thatll be available is the phone, which will serve a similar purpose to the megaphone, as well as allow you to text friends, keep a calendar and create alarms, and take zoomed in pictures (that are not screenshots) the phone will be given to you in your first week in town by a tech-savvy hummingbird named Pixel, who will later open an electronics store in the mall where shell upgrade ur phone, sell various electronics like fridges and tvs, and which contains a photography studio where u can take special pics with ur friends… ur phone will also be connected to the nintendo switch online phone app, which will allow u to stay updated on the goings-on at your town even when ur not playing… like telling you if a villager is planning to move out so you can change their mind b4 its too late (cookie… ill never forget you…)

- another store is the arcade, run by a cheerful red panda named Mateo where u can play multiple arcade minigames, as well as games such as darts bowling pool etc., either on ur own or with friends, and then win prizes depending on ur score.. youll also be able to play these games at ur home if u install an arcade machine or furniture like a pool table, although u wont be able to win prizes even if u get a high score

- in addition to these games youll sometimes have the chance to play outdoor games and sports with your villagers (like hide-and-seek in acnl)… also a few times a year there will be a sports day where a cheetah athlete named Ronnie visits ur town and organizes many games u can compete in with villagers or friends

- also you can organize several events either in your town or at a venue in the mall, like a fashion show, a comedy show, a kk slider concert, a book fair etc

- finally there will be two new villager personalities: prankster villagers who love jokes and playing pranks, and country villagers who are country bumpkins who love gardening and the outdoors… new species will be bats, geckos, armadillos and snakes

- oh yeah and while i haven't decided on an exact number of villagers, i think 16 is the highest number possible

[aspiestvmusings]

MCU & SPIDERMAN: FAR FROM HOME SPOILERY REVIEW

This is my first, initial “review” of the latest MCU movie - “Spiderman. Far from Home” 

SPOILERS, BEWARE! for “SPIDERMAN: FAR FROM HOME”

“Everywhere I go/look, I see his face/I am reminded of Tony”

The memorial video made by Peter’s HS friends. The comic cans, the online/getty pics used, the editing, the music choice “Dolly Parton’s “I will always love you” … from “The Bodyguard” by Whitney Houston” & images of Tony, Steve, Nat, Vision… Tony…

all the Ironman drawings/art on the classroom wall in Peters school (as he & Ned talk about the vacation plan)

the Ironman mural on the building wall… when Peter escapes to the roof… from the “press conference”

the film/video choices on the plane from Americas to Europe  (next to: “Nova: Einstein Rosen Bridges” &  “The Snap,” & “Finding Wakanda,” & “Hunting Hydra.”) is a 114 minute long Tony/Ironman docu/film… story

I am pretty sure there are also some pictures/posters/images on wall/screen at the airport, when they arrive in Europe... but I need to go watch it again (3rd time) to be sure. I think I saw it, but am not certain....

The murals (with flowers & lit candles) in Europe (Prague)…

Tony’s tech… everywhere

The EDITH integrated in Tony’s glasses...that are now Peter’s. He’s the next Tony Stark. He is the only one who can be trusted with the power - everyone else would just use it for their own good. The Tony glasses being basically a supporting character in the film... central in many scenes. 

Tony’s friends & “enemies” (people, who remember/mourn him & people, who are jealous of him)

Things I noticed/The little things:  

The BLIP “in memoriam” video edit made by Peter’s HS kids: The font was comic sans! The song choice was “I will always love you” by Whitney Houston from the film “The Bodyguard” (original: Dolly Parton), and the “in memoriam” part included images of Tony Stark... twice (first & last), Nat, Steve, VISION...and also others.... And biggest question here is... does this mean that Cap is considered dead? Does this mean his time travel shenanigans lead to him/the team listing him as one of the casualties... to not reveal the details of what really happened & to keep the time travel & other things... a secret? 

BOH! MJs new favorite word. I loved how Peter used it back at MJ... when he doesn’t want to reveal what’s in the bag/box. 

That “cat” in that one scene kinda looked like GOOSE, but only  a little bit, so was it a random cat, or was it a “relative” of Goose? Maybe another flerken?

I absolutely loved how happy & excited Peter got when he was told that the multiverse is real, not just a theory (anymore). I’m kinda sad that it turned out to not be true... for now. (he’d love to learn about the multiverse, just like he’s now studying Thor, who was a myth before, in his physics class)

When Peter was betrayed by someone he trusted & had no one to turn to, who did he call...from Netherlands? Happy. He was the one person, who knew, knew him & could be trusted, and could help him. I’m glad he had that option...someone to turn to. 

That tulip field in Netherlands was beautiful and all, but I was kinda sad to see that plane land there... and then hover above it..for a while... 

Speaking of the plane: The Avengers Tower was sold & is now being re-built by someone else, The Avengers Headquarters was destroyed in Endgame & since Tony is gone (and everyone else ran  away/went to hiding), I am not sure it’ll be re-built (we saw that the clan-up after the battle was happening... in the background...during the Endgame end scene where they set up the time travel platform by the lake). And now the airplane was destroyed in FFH. So lots of Tony’s tech (suit making machines & other tech) is destroyed now. And even though  the introduction of EDITH suggests that he had many other labs & tech set up, “secretly” everywhere... still... it keeps getting destroyed. and since he’s not here to create anything new, all his work will soon be destroyed/gone if this keeps happening. 

Peter stripped not once...but twice...in front of someone... a girl: first the SHIELD European agent, who made him the new (black) secret european “Night Monkey” suit (pants) & later in front of the girl he really likes... MJ (shirt). 

Mysterio’s illusions: all those scenes were visually amazing/brilliant! The Prague fire monster, the bar scene illusions after Peter leaves - the twist!, the German “safe house” illusions  that ended with the train & then the London Tower bridge illusions. 

The bar scene “turn of events” twist moment was brilliantly scary: it showed just how “crazy” Mysterio was. That, together with the “illusion rehearsal” scene, when he learns about the missing projector...and threatens his whole team... that was same level brilliantly scary. 

“Appearances can be deceiving”  hahaha Oh, how it hinted at the end credits scene reveal. It was not just Happy trying to tells “Fury” about Mysterio and his deception, but... also how Fury & Maria Hill are actually... skrulls, who work for Fury, while he (and Hill?) are elsewhere, working on other projects. 

Skrull sleeper cells... mentioned by “Fury”... a reference to Captain Marvel & comics.... 

Happy throwing a shield...at the drone... His cap moment. And his comment about how heavy it is/hard it is, and he doesn’t know how Cap does it hahaha

Michelle and the medieval weapon..that she borrows from the museum vault... 

There are many artifacts in the Tower of London museum vault - the crown jewels, all kinds of medieval tools & weapons, and also... “IRON MAN” - medieval iron knight armor!

Peter taking a selfie as he swings in NYC...in the end. He’s swinging & reading texts/texting & taking selfies... 

The text/line on the fence on the street/in front of “construction site”.... when Peter/Spiderman is swinging to MJ in the end scene..on NYC streets... (Madison Square Garden) say:   “We’re excited  to show you what comes next. And there are numbers 1, 2, 3 & a ? (instead of number 4) under the text. This has many meanings: a) the people in the MCU/FFH universe  are excited to show the citizens what they’re building there. b) the MCU creators are excited to show/tell us/viewers/fans what’s to come next...both in Spiderman films & MCU in general (Phase 4). c) Also..according to fans, who know more, it’s also a reference to the “Fantastic 4″.  

The initials B.F.P. on the suitcase he takes to Europe aka the suitcase belonged to Peters uncle Ben (May’s husband). Too bad it, too,  along many other things & places...got destroyed..in this film. 

LOL at everyone knocking on Peter & Ned’s rooms door at the hotel theyäre staying in in Venice. Interrupting “Fury” (and Peter) & Fury’s reaction... (he is so done with being interrupted...every 5 seconds)

All the “upgrades” to the class trip in Europe & all the changes in itinerary... #IfTheyOnlyKnewWhyThePlansWeereChanged

The “Peter tingle” (aka The Spidey Sense) 

“What happens in London/Europe, stays in London/Europe?” Peter, who is/has been keen to keep his identity a secret, behaved strangely & boldly in Europe & especially at the end of the big “battle” in London...where he just stands on the bridge...without his mask & talks to & kisses MJ. In the middle of the bridge, at the center of big event... Are there no video/traffic 8etc) cams in Europe/LOndon in 2023/2024 MCu? Are there no cameras/smartphones that people use to take pics & vids of every big event they see... in 2023/2024 MCU? I found that surprising... based on all the attempts he made until now & in this film..to keep his identity a secret. 

Pepper Potts signing the big (in both size & sum) check from Stark Fund to May’s charity event. But not being able to attend the event herself. Most likely cause the actress is done with MCU, but... otherwise...interesting... to mention her like that & specify that she was unable to attend in person...

How many “vacations” has Fury taken over the MCU history? While I mostly think that this was the first... after Fury & CM were “reunited” during the Endgame events (BLIP) & the plan was formed after Tony was gone (they were both at his memorial service) & the returned Fury who had no more team on this planet, was kinda lost...) But I also kinda think he might’ve used the skrulls before to take vacations. I am pretty certain that we saw the real Fury in Captain Marvel, in Iron Man films...  and I am also pretty certain that he was himself in Infinity War/Endgame...because as he’s “dying” aka turning into dust he doesn’t turn into skrull.Though it is possible that the dusting doesn't count & the skull face is only revealed if a character actually dies. (this is why we can be certain Tony was Tony & Nat was Nat in Endgame) 

ETA

What I LOVED the most 

My absolute favourite scene(s) is the Peter & Happy at the Holland/Netherland  tulip field & on the plane, hovering above the tulip field scene(s) -  their “talk” as Happy patched up Peter’s wounds. Talking about being a superhero and making mistakes, about Tony...and more... 

That scene...to me...sums up...hopefully... what’s to come. It confirms what I thought would be the case. Tony was/is Iron Man and no one can & should replace him as Iron Man. So everyone asking Peter if he’s gonna be the next IM... everyone looking for the next mightiest protector of the earth... and looking at SM...cause everyone else seems to have disappeared... are just putting too much pressure on him. He’s not the next Iron Man. He is Peter. He is Spider Man. (though after that end twist... who knows... maybe he will put on an iron suit for a while...since he can’t be the unknown neighborhood hero anymore...now that everyone knows...) But to me it summed up peters journey in this film & sets up what’s to come. He needed some guidance & Happy provided it... he needed to realize that he’s he’s own person & his own superhero & he’s not there to replace Tony/IM or any other superhero

But yeah... I loved how Happy said it. When others pressured him & manipulated with him (Beck purposely making him feel inadequate by saying things like “if you would've done better, he might’ve not died”), the now Pilot was his best friend & the one person he could really talk superhero things with...the one person, who IMO helped him the most with his grief over Tony & all the feelings he had regarding that & the pressure he felt to be his successor. 

Peter is likely the person, who will take over Tony’s role..somewhat...with the tech and such, but he is Peter, not Tony. 

And the end scene in Endgame with Happy & Morgan..talking about cheeseburgers & now this scene in FFH with Happy & Peter talking superheroes, responsibility, Tony...and more... tells me that Happy is now the mentor-uncle to these kids now...kinda. 

...and when Peter, excitedly, yells “I love Led Zeppelin” when the iconic IM song “Back in Black” by AC/DC starts to play... haha... awesome

What I hoped would’ve been (will be explored in future films) explored/shown in more detail: 

THE BLIP & how it affected regular people. We only saw the comial bits/parts - the marching band of Peter’s school disappearing & reappearing & Aunt May reappearing in her apartment..that was no longer hers...as someone else had moved in (a family). When in reality... this film confirms my “theory/suspicion” that Avengers 3 & Avengers 4 - the Thanos snap & the Hulk (un)snap both created chaos everywhere. Both emotional, and legal..and other issues. 

The fact that the world is not in chaos... makes no sense. But then again... since NYC & several other places on Earth being battlefields during the Avengers vs Bad guys/aliens battles...in the past films...and being re-built really fast & people seemingly not panicking or having PTSD after the events... is a thing... then I guess only the main characters will remember & suffer after living through such events...everyone else seems to go on with their normal lives in a week or so... 

It did bother me a bit (even though I know this is a blockbuster film..and those don’t deal with such things...) that the very real repercussions of the snap & re-snap were not really shown or told. Just the funny Blip-video. And then the little bit we saw from the Aunt May held charity event for the homeless. That was the only real hint about the seriousness of those events in the fictional universe (even though she also made a joke about it on stage...but the cause itself is serious)

Things that bothered me

How no one seems to do any background checks in this universe. How no one seems to use any security measures. Like... no one checking up on Mysterio’s backstory (and yes, I know...his team helped create such amazing backstory & provided such great “proof”...that it fooled even “Fury” & SHIELD -- probably would not have fooled the real man, but... that’s the point...) but still... 

Also... Tony’s glasses not having any other safety measures & it being so easy to transfer over the power to someone else. And...despite Peter being vulnerable & trusting what others tell him (he probably thought Fury had checked up on Beck, but still... how & why did EDITH/the glasses not “scan” Beck...and reveal he’s a fraud? I know... that the only time when he’s looking at the illusionist when wearing the glasses is in the bar scene & they seem to be not “on”... still... why is the tech not scanning everything nonetheless? Though yeah... I know that the idea is that because of the characters emotional state they are vulnerable & easy to manipulate, and hence not thinking of checking “twice”...

MCU using the same backstory for yet another villain. Thats old. It’s done. Time to move on. I'm talking about Mysterio & how his backstory is that because he feels personally attacked by Tony Stark then that’s a reason (which justifies..in his mind, when it does not...and has not for any other past MCU villain, who thinks the same twisted way) his actions - destroying historical sights/cities & leaving behind casualties... not caring if there are innocent bystanders getting hurt. I will allow it this time, because Tony was in the center of this film, but this had to be the last time MCU uses the same “Tony hate” as the villains motivator. Also... I don’t trust Beck’s version of the story, so I would not be sure if he’s telling it as it was. He might be, but he might be not. (maybe he did come up with the idea, but perhaps his work contact stated that all creations during working for SI belong to the company, so he has no right to claim the tech as his own..no matter how much he regrets it after. Or perhaps he did (co)create it, but since his idea was weapons-based (destruction) & SI didn’t do weapons anymore, the tech was redesigned by Tony. But until MCU makes a stronger case... I’m not gonna blame Tony for “stealing” becks tech & claiming it as his ow. Also because I do not think Tony ever claimed in past films that he made the tech. He says it cost him a certain sum...though... So it’s even possible he “bought” the idea from Beck...and turned the weapon into therapy sessions... But even if mr. Beck was telling the whole truth and he was the sole creator of the tech & Tony “stole” it... none of it justifies his actions of purposely hurting innocent bystanders & destroying places. ) 

And I cannot believe how anyone can see Mysterio as the good guy, or sympathetic to Peter.  I might be wrong, but IMO all his “friendliness” in the beginning was a trick... part of the plan to earn Peter’s trust. It was part of the “illusion”, so even though I appreciate his comment “never apologize for being the smartest one in the room”, I don’t see it as anything other than fakeness. And I know I might be wrong & he might’ve really liked the kid & try to be friendly & appreciate him... up until “his team messed up & he had no other option than to get rid of all the loose threads”) 

Things I did not see coming: 

The train! I mean... at first I did not suspect that it was actually Beck, not Fury in Germany, but I became suspicious before it was revealed. And then I suspected that the illusion was not over yet, but... what I did not see coming was that train...moment. 

Also...during the London Tower bridge scene... I had a hunch that he’s pulling a double again..and the dying Mysterio on the ground was fake, but I did not see it coming that in reality he was standing right next to spidey, while pointing a gun at the kid. I had thought he was “hiding” somewhere instead. So that kinda surprised me...

What surprised/confused me

What surprised me a bit was seeing THAT character (William) from IM1 being on Team Mysterio. Yes, he was one of Tony Stark’s Stark Industries previous employees, but  it confused me a bit that he blames Tony, when he should've seen Obadiah Stane (who yelled at him for not being Tony Stark & not being able to create a miniature arc reactor, when Tony could do it in cave...with no high tech..using just a box of scraps) as the one to blame -- his anger should’ve been directed at (based on what has been shown on screen so far) at the man who yelled at him in IM1. 

But I guess there’s either a bigger story there after that that the MCU writers/directors decided to not reveal just yet (as we saw him take that thumbdrive after the download was completed at the end of FFH) or Mysterio simply was able to manipulate people so well & rallied them against their former boss, making everyone see him as the bad guy & the source of all their problems. 

THEORIES: 

WHAT IF... the NYC “fake news broadcast” was an illusion created by Mysterio/histeam? This would make it much easier for Marvel to have several other movies released in the next few years...before the next Spiderman & go easier on Spiderman? This way we would not miss a lot of time & there’d be no need to clear his name. they could just have the movie take place right after Far from Home (and prior to the coming movies events)...or they could start with a flashback to the end of this film & the  fade to “2 years later” or something. The last bit is also how they can still release the next Spidery film in a few years, while having several otehr films events happen in between... use a time jump early in the film... after a “flashback”...to the time Peter was considered a villain

[batwake]

Come in From the Cold - chapter one

I realized today that I never posted the full first chapter on here so I figured while I work on chapter two I might as well post it! You can read it here on ao3.

pairing: Clint Barton/Bucky Barnes

tags: fight club au, canon typical violence, deaf clint barton

description: Years ago, the United States government passed a law banning enhanced people, mutants, and superheroes, forcing them into prisons and graves. Newly reformed and no-longer brainwashed Bucky Barnes heads underground, into a fighting ring called The Avengers Initiative, and learns to make a living there using his specialized skills. Clint Barton isn't an enhanced person, per se, but hung up his bow and arrow for good with the passing of the accords. It’s only when his best friend introduces him to the world of The Avengers Initiative does he start to get sucked back in.

“We are not special.

We are not crap or trash, either.

We just are.

We just are, and what happens just happens.”

—Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

Dodge. Dodge. Punch, miss. Dive, go for the legs. Go for my legs , he said. Jump back up, punch when he isn’t expecting-

Clang!

Metal fist connects with shield. Backpedal, recalibrate. Push the shield away, kick at the chest. He throws the shield— dumb move — catch it. Throw it, don’t bother looking as it cracks the closest wall and stays there.

Punch, punch, punch.

He goes down, does not get back up.

The lights go up, people cheering, some booing, but hardly audible over the clear and crisp announcement:

“The Winter Soldier wins!”

-

Clint doesn’t remember when the news broke.

Lots of people will tell you that they remember exactly where they were: drinking coffee on their balcony, listening to the radio. Or in the waiting room of a hospital, nervously watching the tv while their wife gives birth. A high school soccer game, where the announcer told everyone during halftime. Kate swears up and down that she heard it from a random twitter account before the story had even broke.

All Clint knows is that one day, enhanced individuals were outlawed, and he put he and Kate’s bows and arrows in the back of his closet, hidden behind boxes of Christmas decorations and clothes he refused to get rid of. It must’ve started as a normal day; put hearing aids in, drink an entire pot of coffee, take Lucky for a walk, go to the roof and shoot some arrows. Text Katie funny pictures of pigeons on the street and maybe call his therapist, if he’s feeling up to it. But by the end of the day, the world had practically ascended into chaos. People arrested, some killed in their homes, or in the street. Kate said that two kids at school were picked up and never seen again.

The accords, they’re called. Clint didn’t, and doesn’t, keep up with politics. But even he understands just what they meant. No mutants, enhanced persons, superheroes . At best, you’re put on a watchlist and have to swear to never use your powers. At worst, jailed or sentenced to death, if you’re considered especially dangerous.

And as for why these accords were introduced?

No one really knows.

But Clint often wonders.

~

“If you were really my friend you’d go with me,” Kate is saying. Clint is busy pretending he’s busy, the most of his torso hidden underneath his sink. It’s been leaking for months now. Today seemed like as good a day as any to fix it. She continues, “Darcy’s taken me a few times.”

“How did Darcy know how to get in?” The pipe is giving Clint just as hard of a time as Katie is. It won’t go any tighter, but maybe if he had a different tool…

“Someone she knows, knows someone, I guess. I don’t know.” He can practically hear the shrug and eye roll in her voice. “Can’t we just go together, this once? If you hate it you never have to go again.”

Clint hauls himself out from underneath the sink, starting to dig through drawers in pursuit of something he can better fix his sink with. He spares Kate a look, which is returned by an expression Clint can only describe as cross . “Why can’t you just go with your friends again if you’re so eager?”

The smile that Kate probably uses on her father to get more money is slapped onto her face. “Because you, Clint Barton, are my best friend. The peanut butter to my jelly, the apple to my eye. The Romeo to my Juliet, but without the romance and the death-”

“I think I get your point.”

Kate circles around the counter that had been separating them and steps in front of him. “Come on, Clint. We have fun, they get paid. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

Sure, Clint thinks, these people get the shit kicked outta them every night and we get to sit back and watch, hell of a lot of fun . He buries his face into his hands and leans against the counter, momentarily forgetting about his shitty sink. “Fine.”

Kate thumps her fist gently against his face, nudging his hands away until they’re resting at his sides. The expression on her face is telling, her eyebrows raised and lips pressed firmly together. Clint can see his reflection in the purple sunglasses that sit on the top of her head, so he pushes them down and over her eyes. Her stony expression doesn’t falter, even as Clint feels Lucky forcing his way between their legs as if sensing trouble. Kate’s hand moves from his face to his bicep. “You worry me sometimes, Barton.”

Clint rolls his eyes and moves away, pulling a wrench out of the drawer he was digging through and getting back onto the floor, rubbing Lucky behind the ear as he makes his way back under the sink. “Changing the subject won’t get you anywhere.”

The last thing Clint sees of Kate before he’s back under the sink is her arms thrown up exasperatedly. “I’ll be back at ten, bring cash.”

He barely gets the word “okay” out before the sound of the front door opening and closing echoes through his apartment.

~

Once the accords were put in place, enhanced people were out of jobs and essentially forced into hiding, assuming you hadn’t been arrested or killed. Some went to trial, but they were fruitless efforts. You stopped seeing the announcements of verdicts, always guilty , on the news after a couple months.

Around this time, a wise guy named Nick Fury had the brilliant idea to put these enhanced people to work, with the help of genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist Tony Stark, allowing them to use their powers, let off some steam, and get paid while they’re at it. This was the birth of an underground fighting ring called The Avengers Initiative . Stark buys the building, and all surrounding ones, builds a pseudo-arena in the basement and keeps them out of the eye of the public. Fury finds the people; fighters and workers and people in police forces and governments with grey morals. Together they built what has essentially become an empire , with fans and gamblers keeping the place in business.

Clint’s never been, but it’s been sitting in the back of his mind for months, ever since Kate first mentioned that she knew someone who knew someone who knows a place— whatever that really means. But now that he’s really going , he realizes that he’s never really considered what it all meant. They’re betting on real people .

Kate tells him not to think too hard about it.

They enter a tall building, clearly abandoned with the windows boarded up, grimy furniture left behind to rot. It looks like it was once a hotel, with a front desk sitting in front of little compartments which may have once held room keys. A large mouse-bitten rug covers most of the floor, swirls of deep red and gold starting to fade as dust gathers. Directly across from the door is an elevator, covered in graffiti. As they get closer, Kate leading the way, Clint can get a better look at the actual art, things like a spray-painted red spider outlined by a circle, red and white O ’s with a star in the middle like a target, a bright purple A with an arrow through the middle, among others. Clint says nothing as Kate steps up to the elevator and holds down the up arrow.

A few moments pass, and nothing happens. Clint opens his mouth to say something like seems like no one is home when there is a light-heartedping! and the elevator doors open to a high-tech, seemingly new elevator, the bright lights making Clint squint for a second. Kate steps in without a second thought, turning and crossing her arms, a smirk on her lips. “You coming or what?”

Clint promptly snaps his mouth shut, scrambling to get into the elevator before it closes.

The doors shut behind him, but it doesn’t move yet. On the wall are upwards of fifty buttons, all with various symbols and numbers that don’t appear to have any meaning.

To Kate they apparently do, reaching forward and pressing a series of buttons in a particular order, the buttons lighting up after each press. Clint counts thirteen buttons pressed when she finally stops, stepping back and standing next to him. He gives her a long look, only met with a half-hearted shrug as the elevator finally starts to move.

Clint stares at their reflections as the elevator descends. They tend to match, most of the time on accident , and tonight is no exception. Their purples stand out in the stark grey elevator, like Kate’s headband and pants, or Clint’s shoes and hearing-aids. It had always been their color.

His pointer finger twitches at his side. He balls his hand into a fist, trying to push that thought away. They know better.

The elevator stops, another lighthearted noise announcing their arrival. A few seconds pass and then the door opens, revealing them to the underground world of The Avengers Initiative .

The first thing Clint notices as they step out of the elevator is the giant hole in the floor.

It’s surrounded by bleachers filled with people, yelling at the fighters below. They’re too far away to be able to see down into the ring, but whatever is happening is clearly causing an upset. Clint takes a step forward to get a closer look but is stopped by Katie grabbing his arm. “Easy tiger, we gotta go over here first.”

They move towards a booth of sorts, where a man sits behind a counter covered in various papers and underneath a giant screen that almost resembles a chalkboard, titled “BETTING POOL”, listing names and figures in neat penmanship that Clint can’t make sense of. The man is busy counting something that Clint and Kate can’t see, and doesn’t look up when they approach. Behind him are several safes, whatever they’re holding is anybody’s guess.

“Hi,” Katie announces, slapping a hand onto the table, “We’d like two please.”

Two pamphlets are slid towards them. Clint takes the one Kate hands him, glancing down at it, then back at her. “What is this?”

Kate is too busy opening the trifold to answer. The cover reads The Avengers Initiative in big font, followed by the same purple A that is graffitied on the elevator. Clint cautiously opens it all the way, glancing between the new information that each page has to offer.

The first page appears to be a schedule of the night, starting with Black Widow vs. Madame Mask and ending with Thor vs The Hulk , listing fifteen fights in total. The middle is a description of the rules of the fights and how the betting works, and the third is the top ten fighters, reading:

Winter Soldier

Captain America

Thor

Scarlet Witch

Captain Marvel

Black Widow

Miss America

Ms. Marvel

Quicksilver

Black Panther

Clint reads through the rules a few times, glancing up at Kate every few seconds as she talks to the guy running the thing, counting her cash. The names are a bit ridiculous, he thinks, then remembers that he and Katie didn’t exactly have the best “code names” either. He flips to the back, frowning at the large black text.

BURN WHEN DONE.

Kate, pausing to turn and look at him expectantly. “You gonna bet anything?”

Clint glances at the list of names and the upcoming fights. Winter Soldier vs. Captain America is set for tonight, the top two names on the leaderboard. “Sure,” Clint decides in a split second decision, “why not.”

He fills out a sheet of paper while Kate finishes hers, filling in the blanks, such as the date of the fight, how much he’s betting, his contact information. (Kate says this is so if any info leaks they know who was betting that night)

Who are you betting on? asks the paper. Clint writes, The Winter Soldier.

“Good choice,” comments the man as he takes Clint’s papers and money, writing on something and putting the money somewhere they can’t see it. He does the same for Kate. “ Safe choice.”

Clint wonders if that’s an insult.

They move away from the booth after that, towards the bleachers at last.

They’re not completely full, people scattered among the three structures, some in groups and some by themselves. They sit at the bottom of the second bleacher, directly across from the elevator they came from, able to overlook the fighting ring below without anyone blocking their view. The ring is about two stories below them, and there’s a huge gap between the ring and the walls. “They can expand the ring for bigger, more powerful fighters,” Kate explains, pointing to the empty space between the walls and the ring. “They don’t have too many, but if you get a fight like…” she glances at her pamphlet as she crosses one leg over the other, “Thor versus Hulk, they’re gonna need a big space.”

Clint nods, glancing over her shoulder at her open trifold. No one is fighting currently, and there was a fight that was going on when they came in. “How many d’ya think we’ve missed?”

“That upset we heard coming in was probably Scarlet Witch related. From what Darcy told me, magic users don’t get a lot of respect from the crowd. Well, her type of magic, anyway. Telekinesis.”

“Ah.”

Kate nods, running her finger down the list. “Scarlet Witch versus Shocker is tricky because he would usually be a pretty good match for, like, Black Panther or someone, because they’re combat fighters. She can just pick you up and throw you somewhere.”

“There’s a reason she’s ranked number four.”

She throws her hands up. “I know right!”

Clint leans back and surveys the people around them, who are either talking amongst themselves, digging through their wallets, or furiously making notes in their pamphlets. “So, Katie-Kate, who’d you bet on?”

He almost misses it, as she covers her mouth with her hand. Kate is blushing . Clint stares at her, then prods at her shoulder. “What have you been hiding from me!”

Kate covers her face with her hands, uncrossing her legs and leaning on on his shoulder. “Miss America.”

“And?”

“She’s so fucking hot, Clint.”

The gears turn in Clint’s head. “Katie, you’ve only seen this girl fight in a fight club .”

“She’s still hot!”

She’s about to say something else, but the lights dim and a voice cuts her off, loud and booming throughout the makeshift arena, but oddly robotic and calm, and British?

“Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. The eighth fight of the night is one of the most anticipated ones of the week, with our top two seeds, The Winter Soldier versus Captain America.” Two people enter the ring from the entrance, walking up the steps to the slightly elevated ring. One is clad in red, white, and blue, Captain America , Clint thinks, and carrying a shield. The other, the Winter Soldier, is dressed head to toe in black except for his left arm, which is entirely silver, and his dark brown hair is long. It’s hard to make out any more features than that. “As always, the rules of the ring are as follows: No leaving the ring, no guns or knives, and finally, the fight continues until one person says the codeword or is knocked unconscious.”

Captain America and the Winter Soldier walk to opposite sides of the ring and step into what can best be described as a battle stance , staring each other down. The Soldier’s left side is facing them, and only then does Clint realize that the silver is his arm .

“You may begin,” chimes the voice, followed by a buzzer sound, signalling the beginning of the fight. Immediately the two fighters are lunging at each other, Captain America punching with the shield, the Winter Soldier blocking with that metal arm, occasionally managing to get a punch or a dodge in.

People are yelling, no surprise there really, mostly encouragement to their preferred fighter or anger about a missed punch or failed dodge. The guy a few seats above them is up on his feet and gesturing wildly, screaming something about his kids’ lunch money and grandmas.

They’re nearly an even match for each other, Clint thinks as another punch is blocked. They carry on for a few minutes like this. It’s an entertaining fight, he must admit. Clint is nearly on the edge of his seat, and Kate is biting her thumbnail. The Winter Soldier dives to the side to avoid a shot with the shield, and punches, his metal fist colliding with the shield and producing a clang! noise so loud that some people cover their ears. Clint isdeaf and he almost felt the reverb.

“Jesus,” Kate mutters. Clint is inclined to agree.

There’s some distance between them, now. Captain America throws the shield, bad move , Clint thinks as the Soldier catches it and throws it, almost recklessly . It connects with the wall across from where Kate and Clint are sitting, and stays there, cracks webbing from the incision.

They’re at it hand-to-hand now, and it’s clear who’s winning. The audience grows even louder as the Soldier lays down relentless punches, to the stomach and to the face.

Clint’s stomach twists.

Captain America falls to the ground after one final punch, and does not get back up.

The lights go up, people cheering, some booing, so Clint can hardly hear the announcement:

“The Winter Soldier wins!”

-

“I told you to go for my legs,” Steve is saying.

Bucky wants to bash Steve’s face in for a second time that night. He won’t stop talking, even after Dr. Cho asked him to while she gave him stitches on his lower lip. She pokes his forehead to shut him up again, gently applying some sort of ointment to his shoulder. Bucky’s already gotten the Doc’s five star treatment, now trying to fix one of the plates on his hand by himself. He’d rather not visit Stark this week, not after last time when he had all but removed the damn thing after an interesting fight with Scarlet Witch when she had fucked up all of his inner wirings.

“Too easy,” Bucky says around the flashlight he’s holding in his mouth, “if I wanted the fight to end in a minute and successfully half our pay, thenI’d go for your legs.”

Cho gives Steve the go-ahead to jump off her table, moving back to her equipment and beginning to sterilize, getting ready for whoever will come after their fight next. He approaches Bucky, taking the flashlight from his mouth so he can dig into his hand with the screwdriver more easily. It doesn’t seem to be doing much. “Besides,” Bucky continues, refusing to look up at his best friend, who is surely smirking despite that fat lip, “maybe you oughta learn not to throw that shield at me. You know what I’m gonna do with it.”

“Too easy,” is all Steve has to say on that particular matter.

They walk through the winding halls of the Facility together until they get to the locker room, where only Black Widow remains from the previous fights. A few others preparing for their upcoming fights linger. She greets them with just a raise of her eyebrows, likely because of the cut on her lip.

“We’re matching,” Steve fumbles. Bucky tries to hide his snort in the sound of the locker opening, but probably fails. The Widow doesn’t point it out, but Steve is already turning pink. Flirting has never been his forte.

“So we are,” she says. “How was the fight?”

“Good,” Bucky shrugs at the same time Steve says, “he won.”

“What about you?”

Black Widow waves a hand in a so-so motion. “I won. I don’t think that Madame Mask will be around for much longer.”

“That was what, her third fight?”

“Something like that.” She stands and pulls on the sweatshirt that had been sitting on her lap, covering the bruises and cuts that are exposed in the tank-top. The hood covers her red hair, and her hands are shoved into the pockets. “See ya around, boys.”

Bucky waves without looking as Steve stammers his way through a goodbye.

“You gotta get better at that, man. It’s been years.” Bucky shrugs on a t-shirt, then a sweatshirt. He digs around in his backpack for a few seconds before he can find what he’s looking for, a glove that looks like a hand, nearly identical to his right one. You can’t tell its fake, unless you’re actively looking at it like it is. He slips it on as Steve sits down to start putting shoes on, wincing as it nudges the plate he just fixed.

“She’s just so…” Steve trails off.

The hand settles into place as he wiggles his fingers. “Yeah,” Bucky agrees. “She is.”

They say hello to a few others as they leave, to Ms. Marvel braiding Miss America’s hair, and to Thor swinging his hammer in the hallway, and to Bruce, carrying a huge stack of papers into Fury’s office.

Hugging each other tightly despite the injuries they themselves caused, they split and go down different hallways, towards different exits. Bucky knows Steve will go home and nurse his injuries some more and drink tea and maybe sketch something, whatever it is Steve does when Bucky isn’t around.

Bucky leaves and takes the long way home, down streets he doesn’t have to and on subways he wouldn’t normally, losing the tail he is always worried will some day follow him home. It’s unlikely, Stark and Fury have a pretty foolproof security system, but…

He locks the door behind him, and begins the long and complicated process of checking every door and window, all the light fixtures, underneath cushions and inside cupboards. He finally collapses onto his uncomfortable mattress and sleeps a light and unsound sleep, the sun only just beginning to rise.

~

If Bucky could go back and do one thing in his life differently, he never would’ve joined the army.

It was the catalyst for what would become his life. Join the army, get captured by some Nazis, pumped full of steroids, get rescued by your best friend, coincidentally also pumped full of steroids but by some secret branch of government rather than Nazis, join his band of merry men, fall off a train, become a brainwashed assassin with a metal arm, get saved by your best friend, again. All in the span of a few years.

Then the accords happened and SHIELD got shut down, leaving Bucky in a state of limbo.

James Buchanan Barnes was legally dead to most people. So Bucky holed up in a shitty apartment in Brooklyn, near where he and Steve grew up, with a fake name and a new backstory, effectively going under the radar of the government. Steve wasn’t so lucky, having been SHIELD’s golden boy for years before the accords. He was arrested but released soon after, having been deemed unlethal and his name added to the watchlist.

They managed fine by themselves for a few weeks. Bucky did things for money that he’s not exactly proud of, but that’s not new. Steve tried to remain God’s righteous man, attempting to speak out against the accords but just getting himself into more trouble.

And then Nicky Fury showed up at Bucky’s door.

No one except for Steve knew where Bucky lived— yet there he was, with his dumbass eye patch and a job offer.

So now Bucky and Steve get beat up four out of seven days of the week, earning barely enough money to cover the bills and working the only job that people of their kind could ever hope to get in this political climate.

Bucky’s had worse jobs, he supposes.

~

It’s a rough few weeks, after the fight with Steve.

The decline starts with a match against Quicksilver, who he barely beats, managing to trip him as he passes. Captain Marvel catches one of his punches and essentially melts the metal of his left arm, calling for the end of the fight and a trip to Stark’s workshop. Scarlet Witch destroys him in an embarrassing fight, twisting his arms until he can’t move and essentially forcing him to call uncle.

He doesn’t bother going to see Dr. Cho or Stark, grabbing his bag and leaving behind a confused Steve and Black Widow in the hallway.

The exit that leads to the alley behind the building is the one Bucky chooses that night, climbing up the ladder and exiting through a small panel in the floor, closing it behind him and walking onto the alley as if nothing is out of the ordinary.

He shoulder checks someone and winces as his left shoulder lets out a mechanical whine. The guy stops and turns to stare at him, frowning. “What was that?”

Bucky protectively holds his left arm against his chest, and clears his throat. “Bad cough.”

The guy steps forward. “That sounded like-”

Bucky turns and sprints in the other direction, not listening to whatever the guy is yelling after him, or looking back to see if anyone is following.

It’s nearly three am by the time he gets into his apartment, having crossed more streets than usual and ridden more buses and subways than he can count on both hands. A paper is taped to his front door, asking for rent ASAP. Crumpling it up in his hand, Bucky slips inside.

He locks his door with a shaking hand, his metal one still tucked close to his chest. The series of locks all click into place with a finalizing snap . Bucky leans against the door, allowing himself to loosen his shoulders and breathe for a moment. Maybe he overreacted— but getting arrested wouldn’t have been a good end to what has already been a shitty few weeks. He checks the windows and the cupboards like he usually does, and only then does he let himself completely calm down, collapsing onto the dingy old mattress that sits in the corner of the room. On the floor next to it is a record player and a cardboard box full of miscellaneous tools, which Bucky stares at, then reluctantly sits up. He puts a record on first, grabbing one from the stack at the foot of the bed at random, then sheds his shirt and sets to work at his arm.

The Andrews Sisters sing cheerily about a famous musician going to war. Bucky’s head already hurts from the Witch’s magic, but he rolls his eyes and almost makes it worse.

“But then his number came up and he was gone with the draft, he's in the army now blowing reveille.”

The music is turned up as loud as the old record player will go in an attempt to force Bucky to listen to it instead of his own thoughts, whether or not it really works is to be decided.

Bucky flips open a few panels on his bicep, shining a flashlight on the inner wires and craning his neck so he can get a good look inside. A few are disconnected and tangled, explaining the pain, but others are completely fried. Which means Bucky has to see Stark, again .

“Dammit,” he mutters, snapping the panel shut and tossing the flashlight and screwdriver back into the box. No other fighter saw Tony Stark as much as Bucky did— in the few years he’d been fighting, Bucky was getting tired of the guy.

The bathroom is the only part of the apartment that is in a seperate room from the rest, but is barely big enough to fit a shower, sink, and toilet. Bucky showers in the cold water, letting blood and grime wash away from his skin. With only one arm, the shower lasts longer than it needs to, but he relishes in it, for the time being.

The bed isn’t comfortable by any means, nothing more than a lumpy mattress with some threadbare blankets thrown on top, but to Bucky’s tired and worn body, it feels like the softest bed in the world.

-

There are three hundred and twenty-seven arrow holes in Clint’s apartment.

A hundred and two are in Clint’s bedroom, sixteen of those are on the ceiling, seventy-five are in the kitchen, one hundred and thirty-nine are scattered around the living room walls, ten are in the various furniture around the house, and one is in the bathroom. (that one had been an accident)

None had been added to the collection since the accords broke the news.

Clint stands in front of his closet, hands on his hips. Lucky sits next to him, head cocked to the side and tongue hanging out, his tail thumping happily on the floor. Clint doesn’t dare open the closet, has barely touched it in years, but now feels strangely drawn to it. He’s been frequenting the Facility , as Kate calls it, over the last few weeks. He doesn’t have a ton of money to gamble, but he’s fascinated by the process, and knows that it helps the fighters get paid. It’s a whole new world, seeing these people in action. Magic users, and super soldiers, and demigods . Kate’s still obsessed with that girl, bets all of her money away no matter the odds.

And of course, there’s the Winter Soldier.

Dressed in black, with that lethal silver arm. He seems to be wearing thin, is what Kate had said, the more fights they watched of his. He went from the top seed to barely staying in the top ten, now ranked number nine.

The bow and arrow in the closet feel like they’re yelling his name. Take us to the roof, Clint. No one can see you from up there.

Instead, he leaves his apartment and makes his way to the abandoned building by himself, punching in the code to the elevator and entering the code he now knows. He descends into the facility, his heart hammering loudly in his chest.

Coulson is running the info booth like he usually is, typing something on a laptop. There are a few people lined up, so Clint grabs a pamphlet and waits in the queue, scanning the lineups for the night.

The eighth fight of the night. Iron Fist vs. Winter Soldier.

Clint steps up in front of Coulson when it’s his turn. He passes over the papers without a word, which Clint fills out quickly. He’s starting to have the pages memorized, able to fill them out without much thought.

Who are you betting on? asks the paper. Clint writes, The Winter Soldier, and hands the paper back over to Coulson. His eyes skim it, then his eyebrows raise.

“That’s a lot of money. You’re betting on losing dogs, Barton.”

“Just take the damn money.”

Coulson does without another word, letting Clint walk to his normal spot on the bleachers.

There’s a fight already in progress. Black Widow has her thighs locked around Captain America’s head, and sends both them topping to the ground. The shield rolls sideways and lands a few feet away. Captain America shoves Black Widow off of him roughly, diving after the shield and attaching it to his arm, jumping towards the Widow once more to knock her down.

He misses, the shield cracking the floor of the ring. Black Widow kicks at Captain America’s legs, sending him to the floor on his back. She straddles his chest, lifting a fist to punch—

Something must happen, because her hand lowers and she crawls off him, that British voice coming over the speakers to announce:

“The Black Widow wins!”

She holds out a hand to help him up, which he accepts. The man next to Clint isn’t yelling very nice things, but Clint refrains himself from saying anything. The dude looks like he could hold his own in the ring.

Several fights go by after that, Clint unable to pay much attention to them, his mind elsewhere. Miss America wins her fight against Black Panther, Clint tells himself that he’ll have to tell Kate about it later.

Finally the voice announces that it’s time for Winter Soldier versus Iron Fist, the two fighters stepping out of the entryway and into the ring. The Soldier is dressed in his usual getup, all black with the arm exposed, while the Iron Fist stands out in greens and yellows. While the announcer drones through his usual speech, the Winter Soldier spins his metal arm to stretch it a few times, then flexes his metal fingers, as if unsure of himself.

There’s the buzzer, and the two men go for each other—

It’s a brutal loss, for the Winter Soldier.

Clint has to give him credit, the guy didn’t tap out even when people were yelling at him to. He goes down and stays down with a final glowing fist, hitting the ground with the painful sound of his metal arm hitting the floor.

“The Iron Fist wins!”

A few people come out of the doors as the Iron fist exits, laying the Soldier on a stretcher and exiting unceremoniously.

Clint stands just as the same guy says to his friend, “what a pussy. Can’t even handle Iron Fist .”

Turning away from him, Clint balls his hands into fists, the temptation to punch the guy getting stronger the more he hears. Still, he forces himself to step away, moving towards the elevator and waving at Coulson as he passes. He doesn’t get any response except for a look that feels something like I told you so .

Once on the ground floor, Clint glances around the sparse room. The fighters must exit from somewhere, right? Kate had mentioned that Stark owns this building and all surrounding ones…

The street outside is mostly empty, no one to watch as Clint slips into an alleyway next to one of the buildings. There isn’t much— a few trash cans, a pile of blankets and clothes that Clint figures is from a homeless person, and a doorway to the adjacent building. First Clint moves to the door, prodding it, then moving to the handle. It doesn’t budge.

No surprise there— Clint moves to the trash cans, lifting the lids and finding nothing but garbage, rotting food and wrappers and probably drugs, knowing New York. Nothing there.

He moves to the blankets, toeing them away with his foot to avoid touching them. Clint frowns, crouching down and running his fingers along the crack in the ground, a faint light coming from beneath the surface.

“What are you doing?”

Clint spins around, half expecting to see a police officer. Then he’d be really and truly screwed . But it’s just a guy, with a grey sweatshirt and a backpack and long hair and holy shit .

It’s him.

Clint splutters, which seems to annoy the Winter Soldier. He takes a step forward, clearly threatening. Clint finally gets a good look at his face, which is battered and bruised from his fight twenty minutes previous. Stony grey-blue eyes, a cleft chin covered with stubble. Both cheekbones bruised, and a split lip. Clint witnessed the fight— it doesn’t take a genius to picture what the rest of his body must look like.

Thinking quickly, Clint throws his hands up in surrender. “It’s not what it looks like.”

The Soldier glances between Clint and the pile of dirty fabric behind him, unwavering.

“Okay, maybe it’s exactly what it looks like.” The Winter Soldier takes another step forward. “But I can explain!”

“You should probably start.” His voice is low and gravelly, but Clint wonders if that’s circumstantial.

Clint isn’t sure what to say for a moment. “I’m a big fan of your work,” is what comes out of his mouth when his mouth catches up with his brain.Jesus Christ , Clint can practically hear Katie saying.

“You’re what? ” The Soldier is suddenly in Clint’s space with his fist in his shirt, lifting Clint up until they’re nearly nose to nose, even though Clint is taller than the other man. Clint blinks rapidly, his hands going to the Soldier’s wrists. Right hand, he notes.

“I should’ve worded that differently,” he manages. “I’ve seen you fight. I’m into it.” Clint winces and wonders if he imagined the Soldier’s grip loosening. “I mean— I want to buy you a drink, or something.”

Jesus Christ, what is he doing? Kate’s gonna kill him.

Clint stumbles as the Winter Soldier drops him and steps back. He keeps talking, even as the Soldier walks to the edge of the alley and looks out, left and right, as if about to cross the street, but doesn’t leave yet. “I know that’s weird but…” You fascinate me, is what he wants to say. Instead, he whispers, “you seem like you need one.”

The Soldier slowly turns back towards Clint, holding his gaze. Something passes between them, Clint can’t quite say what, but it breaks when the Soldier looks away again. “No,” he mutters, then repeats it again, louder. “No.”

Then, he steps into the street, leaving Clint in the dust, left to wonder what just happened.

-

Bucky thinks of the guy who confronted him in the alleyway three nights previous.

He thinks of his shaggy blonde hair, and the silly purple hearing-aids. The purple band-aid that was on his nose, and the feeling of his hands on Bucky’s arm as he said I’m into it .

Bucky lands another punch to Drax’s face, but is roughly shoved to the ground again. The shouting of the crowd rings loudly in Bucky’s ears as Drax kicks his stomach. And then the man’s voice again, offering to buy him a drink. He forces himself up, can feel the metal creak of his arm throughout his body, and grabs at Drax’s body, slamming his head down onto his knee. Drax’s body crashes to the ground, as Bucky’s had done just seconds ago.

The man in the alley’s face sticks in Bucky’s mind as he punches one last time, and stays there as JARVIS announces:

“The Winter Soldier wins!”

Remorsefully, Bucky thinks it feels good to win again.

~

It doesn’t surprise Bucky when he goes back to that alley and find the man crouched over one of the facility exits. He’s feeling better than he has in weeks, even fresh out of a brutal fight. He needed the win, and the cash.

“Thats a bad idea,” calls Bucky, causing the man to spin around and stand abruptly. He’s disheveled, his blonde hair flying in every direction and shirt wrinkled. “It can only be exited from. Try to enter and you’ll get yourself killed.”

The guy’s eyes flick around Bucky’s person, from his hood, to his hands, to the backpack, and to his face again. “Noted,” he says cautiously.

Bucky shifts from foot to foot, and sniffs awkwardly. “I’ll take you up on that drink.”

-

The Winter Soldier is… odd.

He nurses cheap whiskey, and his eyes are constantly moving, sweeping around the bar, constantly on guard. His left hand, the one that Clint knows is metal but is currently masked with a glove that resembles a flesh hand, taps nervously on the table.

Clint stares at him, studying his features and trying to get a read on him. Tonight he sports a black eye with a heavy gash over the eyebrow, clean and stitched up already. The bruise from a few nights ago is almost faded on his cheekbone, and the gash that was on his lip is scabbed over. Every second that passes Clint thinks of another question— but keeps his mouth shut. He’s finally got the guy here, he doesn’t want to fuck it up.

Finally, half way through his own drink, he says, “I’m Clint Barton.”

The Soldier’s blank expression does not falter, but his eyes stop their sweep and land on Clint.

When he doesn’t say anything, Clint clears his throat. “This is when you tell me your name.”

The Soldier snorts as he lifts his drink to his mouth. There is a ghost of a smile on his features, and Clint realizes that he is handsome . The thought is gone before Clint can really focus on it, because the Soldier is talking.

“Not many people know my real name.”

“Awfully cryptic of you.”

He huffs something out that sounds close to a laugh, and moves to stand. “Thanks for the drink, but you’re going to have to try harder than that.”

“Wait!” Clint all but yells. The Soldier looks at him, tilting his head slightly. “Come on, man. I’ll do all the talking, how about that? I have nothing better to do.” The I’m sure you don’t, either is left unsaid.

The Soldier sits back down, raising his eyebrows and leaning back in his seat.

Clint takes that as the go ahead, and launches into the story of when he picked up Kate from school a few years ago and they ended up on a roadtrip to Orlando, Florida.

“You’re friends with a high schooler?”

“I used to be friends with a high schooler. Now she’s in college.” Clint wrinkles his nose. “Or so she claims.”

“How did that happen?”

Clint often wonders the same thing: how did he and Kate become friends? She was sixteen and good with a bow and arrow, Clint’s brother had just died and he was great with a bow and arrow. He had been in a bad place, Katie had been in a bad place, high school . They had just seemed to fit. The two of them and Lucky were their own little family.

“I crashed into her living room.” The sound of the Soldier putting his glass on the table signifies his surprise. “It’s kind of a long story.”

The story of running away from the mafia that killed your brother is a third or fourth date kind of story, anyway. It ends like how most of Clint’s stories end, with Kate saving his ass. The Soldier didn’t need to know that quite yet.

The front door of the bar opens and closes. Clint hears it rather than sees it, but the Winter Soldier tenses up, removing his arms from the table and shoving them into the pockets of his sweatshirt, forcing his shoulders down in a way that doesn’t look incredibly inconspicuous. Clint glances over his shoulder at whoever just walked in.

A police officer is moving to sit at the bar, holding a hand up to signal the bartender. Clint glances back to the Soldier, who looks two seconds from bolting out the door.

“Hey, my apartment isn’t too far from here.”

The Soldier is up and moving towards the door, apparently not needing any more convincing. Clint scrambles after him, leaving some bills on the table. The Soldier pushes the door open, Clint close behind him, sparing a glance at the cop. He’s watching them, but it’s not the kind of I know you’re secretly enhanced persons look, it’s more like, I sure hope these drunk idiots don’t become a problem. At least, Clint thinks it is. He’s never liked cops.

~

“Make yourself at home,” Clint announces. Lucky is happy to see them, his tongue rolling out of his mouth. The Soldier slips in and snaps the door shut quickly, as if afraid that the police officer had followed them to Bed Stuy and would be able to sneak in through the crack of the door. Lucky noses at the Soldier’s left hand.

“You didn’t mention a dog,” he says, pulling his hand away protectively, but allowing his right one to gently scratch Lucky behind the ear.

Clint shoves his shoes off and moves to the kitchen, putting on a pot of coffee. “What, you allergic?”

The Soldier follows, notably not removing his shoes (rude), trailed by Lucky. “No.” He glances around the kitchen, at the seventy-five arrow holes, frowning.

“Arrows,” explains Clint, hopping up onto the counter. He watches the Soldier poke at the holes with an odd feeling settling in his stomach.

“Arrows?”

Humming, Clint looks at the contents of the kitchen counter. He spots a bottle, grabs the cap, contemplates his surroundings for a moment, then flicks it. It bounces off the bubbling coffee pot, the fridge, and into the trash. The Soldier’s eyebrows shoot up in question. Clint shrugs. “Just can’t seem to miss.”

The Soldier leans back. “You’re enhanced?”

Clint waves his hand in a so-so gesture. “I’m deaf,” he taps his hearing-aids, “working theory is that my senses are heightened. But I like to think that I’m just really cool.” Kate’s aim is just as good as his and she’s not deaf.

“And that explains the arrow holes how?”

“Bow and arrow is kinda my thing. Was my thing.” Clint winces. “I’m not on an enhanced list, but…”

The Soldier sits down at the kitchen table, his shoulders loosening. “Better safe than sorry.”

“Yeah,” Clint agrees. “I don’t know if you can even call a deaf guy with a penchant for pointy sticks enhanced, but me and my sidekick hung up our bows for good when the accords happened anyway.”

“Sidekick?” The Soldier asks, the barest hint of a smirk in his voice. The corner of his mouth is slightly upturned, Clint notices. “You seem more like the sidekick-type than this Kate.”

Rolling his eyes, Clint hops off the counter to pour them two mugs of coffee. “Partners in heroism, whatever you want to call us.”

Two steaming cups of coffee are placed on the table. The Soldier drinks his quickly, while Clint nurses his own.

“So,” Clint starts after a few minutes of silence and coffee drinking, “if I can’t ask for your name, can I ask for your phone number?”

“Real smooth, Barton.”

Clint stands and digs through one of the drawers, pulling out a pen and notepad.

To his surprise, the Soldier takes it, and slides the notepad towards himself, looking contemplative. A brief moment passes, followed by the faint sound of pen on paper. “I don’t have a cell,” the Soldier explains, “so you’ll just have to stick with calling the landline that came with the apartment.”

Clint is tempted to make a joke about this being the 21st century, but refrains, just watches the Soldier’s neat numbers as they appear on the page.

The Soldier stands after leaving his final mark on the page. “Thanks for the drinks, Barton. And for paying me.”

Following him to the entryway, Clint watches the Soldier crouch and pet Lucky a few more times. “No problem man.” After a second, Clint adds, “I promise to call.”

The Soldier opens the door and looks at Clint with soft eyes. “Don’t bother,” he says, but it lacks venom, and comes across as a joke more than anything, promptly shutting the door.

When he returns to the kitchen, Clint picks up the notebook, running his fingers over the numbers, and the letters underneath them. My friends call me Bucky, is written in the neat handwriting.

Bucky.

Before he goes to bed that night, Clint programs the number into his phone under that name, and burns the trifold that had been folded and stuffed in his back pocket. He crawls into bed, running the events of the night through his mind. As he falls asleep, Lucky at his feet, Clint makes a mental note to call Kate in the morning. She’s going to hit him so hard.

-

Bucky feels like he’s about to fall over.

Tony Stark has him propped up on a table, left arm supported by some sort of stirrup, keeping it in place while Stark delicately takes it apart. Every panel is open, exposing the skeletal wires and inner workings. Bucky averts his eyes, not comforted by the fact that his left arm can so easily be taken apart and put back together again.

“This is what, the fourth time you’ve broken the thing this month?”

“ I didn’t break it.” Bucky shrugs his right shoulder, closing his eyes and trying to force the incoming headache away.

“Coulda fooled me,” remarks Stark, pulling out what looks like a fried microchip, connected to a coil of tangled wires. “How does this even happen?”

The fingers of the arm twitch violently as Stark disconnects the chip, letting out one sad whine before the arm totally loses power. Bucky can feel the weight sagging and pulling down the left side of his body. If he wasn’t already close to exhaustion, working to keep himself straight is going to become a chore. “Ask Thor,” he groans, digging his right hand into the edge of the table. “There isn’t a better way you can do this?”

“Unfortunately not. You ask Thor to stop frying all your systems.”

Bucky winces as he remembers the fight that occurred an hour ago. He won, of course, he was finally starting to get his mojo back, but his arm suffered a fatal thunderous blow, barely able to wiggle the fingers. So here Bucky sat, in the company of Tony Stark, for the last thirty minutes. His whole body was tingling from the lightning, and a cut that had only just begun to heal had been reopened on the side of his face.

Stark glances between whatever he’s doing and Bucky’s face. “You want someone to fix that?”

“No.”

He shrugs, going back to the arm. “Your loss.”

Bucky just closes his eyes and tries not to pass out, listening to the whirring of Stark’s machines and his occasional mumbling to himself. An indefinite amount of time passes until the door whirs open, making Bucky snap his eyes open. Stark is still sitting next to him, but now wears a mask over his face while he blow-torches something. Bucky tries to wiggle his fingers, feels nothing. So they’re not done yet.

Steve approaches, glancing between Stark and Bucky and Bucky’s arm, raising an eyebrow.

“Thor,” is all he can say. Stark flips his mask up and leans back, looking at him.

“He awakens!”

Ignoring him, Steve leans against a table nearby. There’s a freshly sewn gash that extends from the center of his forehead, moves over his eyebrow, and disappears into his hairline. Bucky reaches over to touch the dried blood where the cut stops. “Black Panther?”

Steve shrugs. “He’s got some mean claws.”

Bucky is well aware of how those claws feel on skin. He drops his hand back to the table, looking over at Stark. “How much longer?”

“Depends on if this works.” Stark lifts the chip that he had been working on with a pair of tweezers. “Hey, Cap, where’s the Widow? Aren’t you usually on her tail?”

The look on Steve’s face is funny enough to make Bucky huff a soft laugh. Stark isn’t exactly wrong— Steve’s been smitten with the woman since she first joined the Initiative. If he’s not with Bucky, he’s probably hanging around Black Widow. Their last fight ended with Steve tapping out and letting her win. Bucky can’t imagine she took that too well.

Steve chooses to ignore Stark’s comment. “How are you, Buck?”

“Peachy.” Stark places the new and improves chip wherever it’s supposed to go. It feels like a needle is poked into Bucky’s nonexistent skin, causing him to grit his teeth and inhale sharply. “Never been better.”

A hand is placed on Bucky’s right shoulder, a steadying force.

Stark finishes up, placing wires where they need to be and chips back into their panels. Bucky regains feeling in the arm slowly, like cold water trickling up the fingers, through the faux veins, and into the bicep until it feels like it’s a part of Bucky again. He can flex the fingers, and move the wrist, lift the arm out of the stirrup and stretch it, just as he had been able to do before Thor wrecked it. “Thanks, Stark,” Bucky says, as genuinely as he can as he jumps off the table.

He has already flipped the mask back down and has moved on to a different project, waving a hand absently. “Just tell Point-Break to be careful with my things, next time.”

When Bucky gets home nearly two hours later, his wallet barely any more full than it had been when he walked into the facility earlier in the night, he goes immediately to the phone on the wall after locking the door, instead of to the windows and cupboards like he usually would. Clint has left two more messages since Bucky checked that morning.

He holds the phone to his ear with his newly fixed hand, closing his eyes as he listens to the message.

“Hey, Bucky, it’s Clint. You probably knew that already. I just got home from lunch with Katie. She’s good, thank you for asking.” Bucky laughs. “I’ll tell her you say hello. I took Lucky to a dog park today but he refused to play with any of the other dogs, just laid at my feet and slept. Dumb dog, probably dreaming of pizza. It made me feel nice, though. Apparently he prefers my company to other dogs. What does that say about me? Anyway, I’m planning on going tonight. Just thought you’d like to know. Call me back whenever you feel like it— or not, if. You know. You don’t.”

The second one is shorter, and probably left not too long ago.

“Good job, tonight. Hope you get that checked out.” It takes Bucky a moment to realize that Clint is referencing the arm. “You should take a break. Seems like you need it.” There’s a pause so long that Bucky wonders if something is wrong with his phone. Then, Clint continues, “I’ll call you tomorrow. And the day after that. You can’t ignore me forever.” The line clicks when he hangs up.

Bucky doesn’t really know why he hasn’t called Clint back. Clint clearly seems interested in him. Every night he promises himself that he’ll call back, but he never does.

Pulling the phone away from his ear, Bucky realizes that half of it is covered in blood from the side of his face. “Shit,” he mutters, dropping it and letting it hang on the line. Bucky wanders to the bathroom to clean himself up, telling himself that he’ll call Clint back. As soon as he’s clean. Maybe.

-

Kate throws herself through the door, scaring Lucky out of the room and Clint off the couch he was peacefully asleep on.

He doesn’t have his hearing-aids in, but the sound of the door hitting the wall was just loud enough to startle him. Kate hovers over his body, saying something he can’t make out.

“I can’t hear you,” he says, groaning as he hauls himself from the floor back onto the couch. He keeps his eyes on her, even as she rolls her eyes and signs, get your aids then, this is too important.

Clint sighs. He forces his body off of the couch and into the bedroom, grabbing the hearing aids from the nightstand, putting them in his ears and turning them on. He walks back into the living area where Kate is now sitting on the couch with Lucky on the couch and half in her lap. “What could possibly be so important?” He glances at the time on his phone. “Don’t you have class?”

She waves a hand. “Not important.” Clint sits on the other side of the couch as Kate continues, “The Winter Soldier and Miss America are fighting tonight.”

Clint raises his eyebrows. “How do you know that?”

“Darcy told me.”

“How does Darcy know that?”

“Do you ever listen to me? Darcy has a friend who knows a fighter.” Kate kicks her feet up on the coffee table an throws her arms out. “We’re going tonight.”

Kate has been oddly fixated on Bucky ever since Clint told her about the evening they spent together. He left out most of the details, like his name and fascinating mannerisms. She had her crush on Miss America, too, and was adamant that Clint could hook them up somehow. Clint hasn’t even been able to talk to Bucky since that night. Still, Clint had promised that some day he’d mention it, just to make her feel better. He already talks endlessly about Katie in the messages he leaves. He would never tell her that, though.

She nudges his foot with her own. “My girl’s gonna destroy your guy.” She wiggles her eyebrows.

“Not a chance,” Clint says, his lips spreading into a smile and then a laugh. Kate laughs too, one of her hands falling on top of Lucky’s head and the other on Clint’s shoulder, a steadying force that reminds Clint why he loves her so much.

~

They place their bets with Coulson and make it into their seats just as the usual announcement is starting.

Bucky and Miss America walk out and go to opposite ends to the ring, which is pretty standard. Kate cheers as America steps to their side, Bucky across from her. The rules are announced, the buzzer plays, and the fighters go straight for each other.

Miss America hits the ground first, Bucky landing a solid push at her chest. She takes advantage of being on the ground to grab at Bucky’s legs, sending him toppling after her. His left hand grabs for her wrist but she gets to him first, grabbing ahold of it and twisting it behind his back.

America’s advantage doesn’t last too long as Bucky throws his head back, knocking their skulls together and pushing himself free from her grasp. He throws a punch that hits Miss America in the chin.

“Here we go,” mutters Kate from beside Clint, leaning forward in her seat.

Miss America gets some punches in as well, literal stars flying, like sparks from metal, as they connect with Bucky’s head and stomach. A glowing white star starts to appear around America’s head, resembling a halo. Clint’s seen the girl fight enough to know what’s about to happen.

Just as it seems like America’s going to deal the final blow of the fight with her star-power, Bucky grabs her roughly by the hair, the star fading away instantaneously as she hits the ground. Kate yells something, as do a number of other people in the crowd. Bucky plants his knee to her chest and punches straight across the face, lifting his fist once more, but going no further when America finally taps out.

“Dammit!” Kate shouts, shoving Clint’s shoulder.

“The Winter Soldier wins!” announces the voice as Bucky extends a hand to help the girl up, which she accepts. It’s a little hard to see from so far away, but Clint thinks they’re both smiling, despite the blood running down their faces.

“I told you,” Clint boasts, smiling from ear to ear. Kate shoves him again.

~

Kate passes out on Clint’s bed when they get back to his apartment, Lucky following suit. Clint stays up, not tired yet because of his nap from earlier, staring at his phone.

Is he going crazy? He feels like he’s going crazy.

The phone rings five times, as per usual, before the automated voice tells Clint that he can leave a message after the tone.

He’s quiet for a moment, trying to decide what to say, then, “I sure hope you’re actually listening to these. Kate would be so disappointed to find out you haven’t really been saying hi.” Clint taps his hand absently on the table, thinking about how Bucky does that, too. “Maybe I’d be a little disappointed, too. We came and visited you at work. Oh, Kate really likes your coworker, is there any way we— you , could get her number, or something? She’s been bugging me about it but I didn’t want to bother you— although I guess I should’ve thought about that before I started leaving you multiple voicemails a day.”

Clint leans back in his chair, staring at the few arrow holes above the fridge, forming a perfect circle. “I wish I could get back to work,” he mutters. “I miss it so much. Kate is always saying that we could but— it scares me. You know that.”

Clearing his throat, Clint continues, “anyway. You should call me back. Sometime. I’ll make you more horrible coffee and you can pet my dog some more. And meet Katie, you’d like her, I think. She’s a bitch and I like her so much. Okay. I’ll let you go now. Goodnight.”

When he finally crawls into bed next to Kate, she mutters, “you make me depressed.”

Clint huffs a laugh, taking out his hearing-aids and pulling the covers up and over the head. If she says anything else, he doesn’t hear.

~

The only reason Clint realizes his phone is ringing is Lucky nudging him in the face, his wet nose prodding Clint’s eye. He groans, rolling onto his side, pausing when he sees the light on his phone flashing. It’s still dark in the room, no sunlight pouring through the curtains or annoying birds outside. Sighing, Clint grabs his hearing aids and picks up the phone. “This better be good, Katie.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” says a man’s voice.

Clint sits up so fast his head spins. “Bucky?” Lucky looks at him quizzically. “Took you long enough, asshole.”

Bucky’s end of the call is staticy and hard to hear, but Clint can barely make out, “sorry. Can I come over to your apartment?”

Something is up. “What’s wrong?” Clint asks, throwing his legs over the side of the bed and standing up. The hardwood floor is cold against his bare feet as he leaves his room and goes to the kitchen, Lucky following close behind.

“I’ll explain later. Can I come or not?”

“Yes, yes of course you can.”

Bucky doesn’t say anything else, just hangs up. Clint stops in his tracks, staring at the screen. The number Bucky just called from wasn’t his home one, which Clint has programmed into his phone. Lucky whines at his feet, looking up at Clint with his one eye like he’s pissed they’re not in bed.

“Me too, bud,” Clint mutters, patting the dog affectionately on the head and continuing into the kitchen.

Clint has barely turned on the coffee pot when there’s a knock at the door. Looking through the peephole shows that it’s Bucky, standing stock still.

“You look like shit,” says Clint as he opens the door. Bucky pushes himself between Clint and the door, shutting and locking it himself. Clint takes a long stride back, looking his new visitor up and down. He’s wearing the same thing he wore the two times Clint has seen him outside of the ring, a baggy grey sweatshirt, worn black jeans, a backpack, and that fake hand. His face and hair is bloody, clearly fresh from a fight.

Bucky turns and looks Clint up and down, humming. Clint blinks, looking down at himself in his purple pajama pants and white t-shirt. “I have… coffee,” he mutters, making his escape to the kitchen.

It takes a few minutes for Bucky to make his way into the kitchen after Clint, apparently wandering the apartment. Clint hardly notices him when he does, turning and nearly dropping the coffee pot to find him sitting at the table. He’s washed the blood off his face, and is digging through a first-aid kit with his right hand. “You know how to sneak up on people,” Clint comments, sitting down and pouring two mugs of coffee. Bucky has discarded the fake hand and shrugged off the sweatshirt, leaving him shirtless in Clint’s kitchen.

“Don’t you guys have an infirmary, or something?” Clint asks, gesturing vaguely to Bucky. He’s covered in bruises and scars and cuts, especially around his arm, where the scar tissue is thick and red, extending from his shoulder across his pec.

Bucky pushes the kit away from himself, exhaling through his nose and speaking up for the first time. “We have a doctor. And a glorified mechanic. Speaking of which,” he holds up his left arm. “You wouldn’t happen to know how to fix a cybernetic arm, would you?”

“Unfortunately no.”

Wrinkling his nose, Bucky flips open a panel on his wrist and digs around in it. “My  hand isn’t working, but luckily I can move the arm.” He rubs the stubble around his mouth with his right hand, closing his eyes. “The mechanic, Tony, he’s not in New York for a little while.”

“So he can’t fix it.”

“No,” Bucky confirms. He opens his eyes, looking at Clint for a moment, then flipping the panel closed. He takes a long drink of his coffee before saying anything else. “I won’t be able to fight until he can get back.”

Clint mulls this information over, running his finger around the rim of the steaming mug. “No fighting, no money.”

Nodding, his gaze far away, Bucky purses his lips and doesn’t say anything.

He doesn’t know much about Bucky’s personal life, but Clint can imagine. He moves closer, scooching his chair until they’re practically side by side, their knees brushing. Clint grabs the first-aid kit, pulling out the disinfecting wipes and opening the package. Bucky doesn’t say anything as Clint brushes it across his face, over the cut on the cheek, and the one on the eyebrow, on the hairline, and so on. His right eye is black and almost swelling, both eyes closing when Clint gently runs his finger over the bruise.

“I’m no doctor,” Clint whispers.

“Doesn’t matter,” Bucky breathes.

The cuts are bandaged with whatever Clint has in the first-aid kit, including a purple band-aid over the eyebrow.

“We match,” Clint teases, gesturing to the various purple bandages covering his arms and fingers.

Bucky looks at them, raising his eyebrows in a fond expression. “What’s with you and purple?”

The best thing Clint can do is shrug. “It’s just always been… our thing. Kate and I.” He rubs awkwardly at his face. “It’s a little leftover. From before.”

They sit in silence, after that, drinking their coffee and sneaking glances at each other.

“You know,” Clint finally says. "You can stay here.” Bucky stares at him, his face blank. Quickly, Clint adds, “just for a few days. If you need it—”

“No, I. Thank you, Clint.” Bucky sniffs, looking down awkwardly. “Steve offered, too, but I. He can’t be keeping me at his place.”

Clint doesn’t ask who Steve is, or what the situation is there, but can feel the sincerity in his voice. “As long as you need it,” he says softly. “Seriously.”

A soft smile sits on Bucky’s face, the corners of his mouth slightly turned up. Clint is reminded again how handsome he is, his long hair hanging around his face and his stubble accenting his chin. When he isn’t frowning or keeping his expression blank, Clint would go as far as to say beautiful . He can’t even imagine Bucky unscarred and bruised, or what he looks like under all the wounds.

Lucky breaks the moment, nudging Bucky with his nose and barking.

Bucky looks down at him, raising his brows. His voice gets higher when he talks to lucky, saying, “hello again.”

“His name is Lucky.” Clint leans his hand on his fist, watching them. “He likes you.”

Bucky runs his hand along Lucky’s head, scratching behind his ears and at his nape. “I bet he likes most people.”

“Maybe. But that’s kind of what dogs are for.” Lucky tips his head back and looks at Clint, his tongue rolling out the side of his mouth in a goofy grin. “Yeah, you know we’re talking about you.”

More silence passes as Clint stands, putting their now empty mugs in the sink. “You can have the bed.” Bucky starts to argue, but Clint cuts him off, “at least for tonight. Rest those bones.”

He accepts reluctantly, letting Clint lead him to the bedroom. “I listened to all your messages, you know.”

Clint tries to hide whatever emotion is boiling in his stomach at that moment, pushing the door to his bedroom open. “Really?” he asks, feeling like his voice has gone up a few octaves.

Bucky seems to take in the sight of the bedroom, disheveled sheets and rumpled clothes on the floor. Lucky has followed them and has already jumped back up into his spot on the bed. “Yes. They were.. A nice thing to come home to.” Bucky shrugs his sweatshirt back on, sitting on the edge of the bed and leaving Clint standing in the doorway. “Your coffee isn’t shitty.”

That wasn’t what Clint was expecting— but takes it anyway. “Thanks.” He turns to go, then, “oh, by the way. That girl you fought—”

Maybe Clint’s imagining it, but it looks like Bucky is smiling. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Something boils over, a sudden rush of emotions. He covers it by letting out a low, quiet, “goodnight, Bucky,” and shutting the door.

-

Soft sheets, warm blankets. There’s a long, blissful moment where Bucky doesn’t realize where he is, just keeps his eyes closed and his breathing slow and deep, embracing the warmth and the sunlight on his skin. It doesn’t last long, the unfamiliar feelings settling in his skin soon after waking.

He sits up quickly, blinking hard and fast as his body shifts into defense mode, analyzing his surroundings. Clothes that aren’t his own on the floor, a window letting in sunlight across the bed, holes in the walls, a nightstand covered in sticky notes, wrappers, and plastic bottles, and a yellow dog at his feet.

Right. He’s at Clint’s.

Upon closer inspection, the sticky notes are all from Kate, all addressed to Clint, saying things like “took lucky for a walk before i left, dont forget to text me when you wake up” and “get new batteries for hearing aids” . There are hundreds of them all over the table and on the wall above it and in the drawer. Some are simple, just some numbers and dates, while others take up four notes attached to each other. All signed xoxo Kate .

It’s cute.

Clint isn’t on the couch when Bucky exits the bedroom, or in the kitchen or bathroom. In fact, A sticky note is left on the fridge that wasn’t there the previous night.

Bucky—

Will be back soon

Kate will come to take Lucky out at some point, because I have no idea what you get up to while the sun is up

Be good

Clint

His handwriting is small and curly, the letters pushed tightly together like they might fall off the page. Bucky takes the note and sticks it into his sweatshirt pocket, moving away from the kitchen to wander around the rest of the apartment. It’s different in the sunlight, from when Bucky had arrived last night and had checked all the windows and doors while Clint was making coffee. There’s a pizza box on the coffee table, and a crack running through a tv screen. Dog food bowl on the floor next to a leash. Two toothbrushes on the sink next to an empty orange pill bottle. The whole apartment is quaint , Bucky decides, noting the blankets thrown everywhere and the silly mugs in the cupboards and some pictures on the walls or on tables. Photos of Clint and a dark haired girl who must be Kate, or of the two of them and Lucky. There’s one of Clint and a man that somehow looks more put together when side by side with Clint, his auburn hair hanging over his forehead and his green suit ill-fitting. They must be related , Bucky thinks, looking between their scruffy square jaws and the way their matching crooked smiles don’t really meet their eyes.

Bucky sets the photo back down on the windowsill, looking down at Lucky from where he has emerged from the bedroom. He stretches, the front of his body getting close to the floor and his tail up in the air, then straightens and looks at Bucky. “Good morning,” Bucky says to him, even though it’s more likely well into the afternoon. He doesn’t usually sleep this late, especially not in a place he’s unfamiliar with, but maybe being in an actual, comfortable bed for once forced his body to succumb to sleep. It also helps that Clint, apparently a retired superhero, was asleep just outside the door. A deaf, clumsy superhero who only uses bows and arrows, but a superhero nonetheless.

Lucky jumps up onto the couch and goes right back to sleep, apparently content to wait for Kate to arrive.

The thought of Kate reminds him of Steve— he should probably go to his apartment. Brooklyn Heights isn’t too far away from Bed Stuy. He could catch the C train.

That’s the plan Bucky comes up with, heading to the bedroom to grab his things, shrugging on his shoes and jeans, followed by the stiff fake hand over the fingers that don’t work. It’s uncomfortable, feels like something is freezing his fingers in place while also wrapping them in a hundred layers of saran-wrap. He can hardly use the hand with the glove when his fingers are working , but now that they’re not it looks even faker than usual.

He keeps his hands tucked in his pocket as he walks to the subway and all the way to Steve’s apartment building, until he is knocking on the door. He knocks rhymically; three knocks, a pause, one knock, pause, then two more.

“Hey, Buck,” Steve says as he opens the door not long after Bucky knocks. “Did you—”

“Yes,” Bucky cuts him off, shutting the door behind himself and pulling the hand off, immediately breathing a sigh of relief. “I stayed there last night.” He doesn’t have to look at Steve to know what his face looks like, his eyebrows raised high and his jaw loose in a smirk. “Don’t even start with me.” Bucky holds up a hand as he moves up the stairs to Steve’s kitchen.

“I didn’t even say anything.”

“Your silence speaks a thousand words.” Bucky tells him, opening the fridge and grabbing his orange juice, pulling off the cap and drinking straight from the jug.

“Why’d you come here instead of hanging around your new bff’s house then?” Steve grabs the juice from him. “He doesn’t have juice you can steal?”

“Can’t I enjoy the company of my best friend?” Bucky turns to get a good look at him finally. His blond hair is damp from a shower, and a fresh bandage sits over his nose. “Did you break your nose again last night? Maybe it’ll get smaller this time around.”

Steve rolls his eyes, touching the bandage gently. “Stop changing the subject. How’s your guy?”

“You know, for a long time if someone asked me that question I’d assume they were asking about you.”

He gives Bucky a flat look.

Bucky throws his arms up, his left hand hanging limply at the wrist. “I don’t know what to say, okay! He went somewhere this morning and wasn’t back by the time I woke up. His friend was coming to take out their dog and I’m not exactly ready to meet her—”

“Girlfriend?”

“More like a sister, I think.” Bucky continues, “and I hadn’t seen you since before you went on last night, so.”

Steve reaches over and thumps Bucky on the shoulder. “You know you’re always welcome here.”

Bucky looks at Steve��s hand where it now rests on his shoulder. There’s a nasty bite mark on the webbing between the thumb and pointer finger. “Who almost took your finger off?

“Bucky.”

“Was it Drax? No, Hulk.”

“ Bucky .”

“It wouldn’t be safe here, you know that. You’d get arrested, I’d probably be killed. It’s a miracle I’m even able to visit once or twice a week without a SWAT team storming the place,” Bucky stammers, shrugging Steve’s hand off his shoulder.

Something odd passes Steve’s face, but it passes soon enough. He looks at Bucky softly, maybe fondly. He notices just then that the purple under Steve’s eyes aren’t fading black eyes, like they’re both used to, but just bags. Fatigue. Bucky runs his fingers over them, like Clint had done the previous night, but it’s less intimate. More… familiar. Tracing what’s already known. Reminds Bucky of when they were kids and he was saving scrawny little Steve from bullies on the playground. Who knew one day it’d be the other way around. Except the bullies were Nazis and the playground is a highway in Washington DC. And maybe Bucky was the bully a little bit in that situation.

Still.

Steve throws an arm around Bucky’s shoulders, and this time Bucky lets him hover close.

“So, this guy …”

Bucky groans, lifting his hands to cover his face, hardly managing to shield anything when his left refuses to comply. “He’s nice , Steve.”

“What, and I’m not?”

“Not nice like you, Captain America. He’s nice like…” Bucky thinks for a moment. “He and his best friend used to be some crime fighting duo who fought enemies with their bows and arrows. And he bought me a drink after I won my first fight in a while, and is letting me stay at his place even though he doesn’t know me. Doesn’t know about the shit I’ve done.”

Steve knocks the sides of their heads together affectionately. “If he can get past the underground fighting ring I think he might be okay with the brain washing thing.”

Bucky pulls away, just slightly, enough to raise his eyebrows at his best friend. “Not exactly the same thing.”

~

When Bucky gets back to Clint’s apartment, its nearly evening, the sun setting on the New York skyline. Clint is sitting on the couch eating pizza, Lucky at his side eating his own slice. Bucky stares at them, frowning.

“Should a dog be eating pizza?”

Clint shrugs, not looking up from whatever he’s looking at on his phone. Bucky rounds the couch, sitting on the chair beside the couch to avoid sitting next to Clint. “It’s his favorite food. What did you get up to today?”

“Visited Steve.”

Around a mouthful of pizza, Clint asks, “who’s Steve?”

That’s a great question. “Captain America.” Clint chokes and drops his phone. “My best friend.”

“Your best friend is someone you beat the shit out of on a regular basis?”

Bucky waves a hand. “Our relationship seemed to dwindle down to that even before the accords. Now we just get paid for it.”

The frown on Clint’s face is unpleasant to look at. “What do you mean?”

“Doesn’t matter. Pass me a slice.” Clint complies, and seems to accept that Bucky doesn’t want to talk about it.

They eat their pizza in relative silence, the only thing breaking it being the sounds of Lucky’s slobbery munching. Clint eats most of the box by himself, leaving it on top of the one that was already discarded on the table when it’s empty.

“You can have your bed back,” Bucky says eventually. “I needed that sleep last night, thank you.”

“No need to thank me.”

“I have every reason to.” Bucky plays absently with his limp metal hand, running his fingers along the panels that he can’t feel as he talks, avoiding looking at Clint, who surely is looking at him. “Steve’s on the enhanced person list, so I can’t stay with him ‘cause he could get arrested. And, well, lets just say that I’m not the safest person for an enhanced person to be harbouring.”

Clint reaches forward suddenly, wrapping his hands around Bucky’s, both metal and flesh. He holds them in such a way that forces the metal one to curl in on itself like a fist, the flesh one cupped over it. His own hold them on top of that, enveloping them almost completely. His hands are surprisingly big; Bucky hadn’t noticed. Archer’s hands.

There’s almost certainly a flush on Bucky’s face, which he can’t even cover because Clint has his hands wrapped up. Maybe his mouth is hanging open a little. He forces himself to look at Clint, his brown eyes meeting Clint’s blue ones. Bucky wants to say something, but doesn’t know what. He snaps his mouth closed, his teeth clicking loudly and filling the air between them.

Clint’s eyes leave Bucky’s, looking down at their hands. He separates them slowly, not pulling away, but leaning in close and studying the metal. “Can you feel it?”

It takes a moment for Bucky to realize what Clint means. “Right now, no. But usually, there’s some sort of sensation. Not exactly touch, but…”

One of Clint’s long fingers runs up the nearly flat plane of Bucky’s left middle finger, catching on the rim of the panel where a fingerprint should be.

Bucky desperately wishes that the hand was up and running properly, just so he could feel the sensation of Clint’s delicate fingers running along it and treating it like it might fall apart in his hands if he doesn’t handle it properly.

Clint stands suddenly, letting go of Bucky’s hand. “Bed,” he mutters, licking his lips and running a hand through his shaggy hair. He turns and looks at Lucky, who jumps off the couch and goes into the room, like he knows exactly what Clint said. Bucky feels cold, like cold water is trickling down his arm and into his body. “Good night,” Clint rushes out, and disappears.

It is only once Bucky is alone, the ghost of a touch along his fingers, that he realizes that his right hand was gripping the seat of the chair so hard that some of the seams have ripped, spilling out cotton.

~

Things get less strange, after that.

Tony is back after a few weeks to fix the arm (“Seriously, Terminator, have you no respect for this fine piece of machinery on you?”), and Bucky is back in the ring. He pays the rent and sleeps in his own bed for the first time in what feels like months but has in reality only been days. Bucky tries not to think about it, but while he lies awake at night worrying about whether or not he really locked his door (he always does), he thinks about how soft Clint’s bed was, and the warm presence of Lucky at his feet, and falls asleep quickly.

And maybe he wonders what it would feel like if Clint held his newly restored metal hand like he did that night, and what kind of sensations that would cause. He rubs his fingers together, staring at the peeling wall absent of any arrow holes, and knows that it doesn’t feel the same.

~

Bucky gets to Clint’s one evening after a fight, in considerably better shape than he would usually be. Someone newer, apparently, not as experienced.

The door swings open almost as soon as he knocks, revealing a pale and tired looking Clint. His eyes are rimmed with purple, like he hasn’t gotten enough sleep the past few days, his hair sitting flat and sadly on his head.

Bucky steps in and around him, venturing further into the apartment. Once the door is closed and Clint has followed Bucky into the living room, he says, “do you want me to ask?”

Clint gestures vaguely.

“Are you okay?”

Another motion, followed by a deep sigh. He flops back onto the couch, an arm thrown over his face. Bucky sits beside him, enough distance between them so they’re not touching but not so far that Bucky can’t reach forward if he needs to.

Finally, from behind his arm, Clint speaks up. “My brother died six years ago around this time.”

Bucky glances over at the photo of Clint and the man on the windowsill. “I’m sorry,” is all he can say, sitting still and watching Clint carefully.

“He wasn’t the greatest brother,” Clint admits, shrugging. He sits up, wrinkling his nose as he reaches forward and grabs something from the coffee table. “But today, I got a letter from him.”

“You what?”

Clint holds up what must be the letter, five or six pages stapled at the corner with creases where they were once folded. “It’s definitely him. He used all our codes, and apologized for—” Clint cuts himself off, clearly holding back something, then continues, “for what happened. Among other things.” Clint adds that last part somewhat grumpily. He flips through the pages of the letter absently while Bucky stares at him.

Bucky knows a thing or two about dead men coming back to life. He just doesn’t know how to apply it here. “Did he explain how…?”

“Not really. Something about wanting a better life away from the shit I was getting up to, which, frankly, wasn’t any better than what he was doing, but whatever.”

Seizing the opportunity, Bucky reaches forward and grabs Clint’s hand, dark metal stark against Clint’s pale skin. He seems surprised by the action but doesn’t pull away, much to Bucky’s relief. He just sits, unmoving, holding onto the letter in one hand and Bucky with the other.

“I’m not very good at comfort,” Bucky says.

“You don’t need to be.” Apparently Bucky doesn’t need to be a lot of things, to Clint. Maybe that’s okay.

At some point they’ve managed to move until they’re shoulder to shoulder, hands held together. They’re not really looking at each other, Clint down at the letter and at their hands, Bucky around the apartment and at the photo across from them, hardly visible from where they sit, just the green of the brother’s suit, the purple of Clint’s shirt, the starkness of their hair against a dark background.

Bucky isn’t even paying attention when Clint brushes his fingers along the gash on Bucky’s forehead with his fingers. His head snaps back around to find that Clint is close and looking at him strangely, his eyes flicking around Bucky’s face. “Did you fight good today?”

“I always fight good.”

Clint laughs. A decent, hearty laugh that makes him tip his head back and move a little bit away from Bucky. He realizes, looking at the soft smile that falls onto Clint’s lips after he gets the laugh out, how much he’d like to kiss him.

He does, when Clint rocks back forward, opening his mouth to say something. They’re still, for a moment, their lips pressed together, but then Clint moans, just a small, quiet thing as he drops the papers, and Bucky presses forward even more, his right hand moving up to hold the side of Clint’s head. His fingers press into soft blonde hair at the same time Clint’s hands are reaching up to hold onto either side of Bucky’s neck, underneath his curtain of dark hair.

Clint pulls away first to get a breath, diving back in before Bucky can even say anything. He wants to get his hands everywhere, they move up and down the side of Clint’s face and side, pulling their chests together. It doesn’t seem like they can get close enough, like this is something they bothneed , finally something they can agree on.

Bucky’s mouth moves to the side of Clint’s, then down until he’s pressing his face into the soft skin of his neck. “We should’ve done this a while ago,” Clint breathes, one of his hands now at the back of Bucky’s neck. Bucky just laughs, hot air against Clint’s neck as he does so.

A moan follows the laugh soon enough as Clint manages to slip a hand between them, digging underneath Bucky’s shirt and near the hem of his pants. “Okay, bedroom,” Bucky gasps, separating themselves. When he looks at Clint, with his pink lips and rumpled hair, he looks closer to himself than he had earlier, somehow. “I thought you’d never ask,” he says, leaning forward to kiss Bucky again, hauling them both up and pulling them towards his bedroom.

They stay close throughout the short walk to the room, getting distracted a few times by each other, finally shutting the door behind them after way, way too long.

[itneedsaying]

a complete gif tutorial

hi! so i was requested by @popalice007 to make a tutorial on how to make gifs and i am very happy to oblige! this will cover pretty much everything, from capturing frames to saving the final product. this is just how i personally do it, and there are loads of other ways to gif, and i recommend looking at other gifmakers’ tutorials to get a more well rounded view on how to gif. please continue reading if you are interested, and please like/reblog if you find it useful!

disclaimer this is going to get really wordy as i try to explain where to find things and how to do them and my thought process behind why i do them, but please send me a message/ask if something needs clarified!

also some of the pictures can be viewed in full size by clicking on them!

part 1: required materials and other tips

just another heads up, i have a pc, and while i believe most of this should be the same whether you have a mac or a pc, i could be very wrong as i’m not a computer expert and have never really used anything besides windows.

so the two programs i use are kmplayer and adobe photoshop cs5 portable. kmplayer can be downloaded for free here. i have the 32 bit version for windows, so that is what i’m going to be providing the instructions for, since the 64 bit version seems to be a little different. photoshop is pretty expensive, but thepiratebay has several torrents for it, and other downloads and torrents for it do exist. i downloaded mine quite awhile ago so i don’t remember exactly where and how i did it so it might require some researching. i would just double check the comments and instructions to make sure the download will work. there are also dedicated photoshop tumblrs that will probably have links to downloads.

if you are giffing a scene from a tv show, movie, video, etc, you also need to have the video saved somewhere on your computer/flashdrive/whatever. hd-source is a good source for tv shows, and there are tons of other sources. i download a lot from thepiratebay using a program called utorrent (i just use the free version) but beware because since you are downloading copyrighted materials it isnt legal, and while i have never had a problem, i have heard of people getting warning letters from their internet providers. you can also download youtube videos and videos from other places and there are lots of other ways to get videos that i won’t cover.

no matter where you get your video, you want it to be pretty high quality, since the higher quality the video is, the clearer and nicer the gif will turn out to be. most of the time you want 720p if you can get it. 1080p is nice and if you can get your hands on it without the video size being enormous you can certainly utilize it, but it isn’t a necessity and usually i don’t bother. anything lower than 480p can get to looking pretty grainy especially if you are doing full size 540 px gifs, but if you are giffing something from a convention panel video taken by a phone, for example, you don’t really have an option.

additionally, if you are giffing dialogue, find a script online somewhere or find subtitles. you can transcribe it yourself if you want, but if a character is mumbling or has an accent or something i like to be sure of what they are saying.

and finally, have some patience! a lot of the popular gifmakers have been doing this for years and have streamlined their process so it doesn’t take hours, but as a beginner it takes time to get everything right,so it is totally normal if you get to feeling frustrated.

part 2: capturing the frames

first you will want to have an idea of what scene you would like to gif. before i get started i create a new folder where i want the captured frames to go, and i name it something memorable so i can find it again later. kmplayer does also automatically create a folder called capture that you can use if you want. if you are doing a gifset like this, i would have 8 different folders and gave each of those gifs/scenes their own folders. 

however, the example i’m going to be using throughout this tutorial is going to be a dialogue scene, specifically this one here, just because they can get a little more complicated imo (plus i want to show how i use the text tool etc). if i’m giffing a scene where characters are talking, even if the scene is a long one with back and forth dialogue, i usually like to cap it all at once and put it in the same folder, and then i separate it out later in photoshop. you can also plan ahead and put all the different bits in different folders, thats up to you and your personal preference.

next i open up kmplayer. kmplayer likes to update pretty regularly and will let you know when you open it if it wants to update. it doesn’t usually hurt to ignore it if you are in a rush, but i usually let it do its thing and make sure i don’t also download whatever browser service, etc. it also wants to install. sometimes ads show up on the right side, you can close them by hitting the little arrow between the ads and the video screen

to open the video, click on “kmplayer” in the upper left hand corner and then click on “open files”. search for your video file and double click it to open it

kmplayer will then open the video, and if its 720p often i have to make the window smaller because it fill up the entire screen and i need to be able to see other windows besides the video. if i remember correctly when you first download kmplayer it isnt automatically set to keep the aspect ratio the same, so if you need to, hit the f2 key to open the preferences or click the lightning bolt on top next to kmplayer, and then click on preferences. under general and then screen on the sidebar, and then under general again i have my settings like so, and hopefully that resolves that issue if you have it. you might have to reopen the video again for that to kick in but i’m not positive. if it still doesn’t work try to google it. i’ve had the problem a couple times and the answer is out there but i’m no tech pro.

anyway, i then locate the beginning of the scene that i want to gif. you can click around on the bottom along the progress bar, as well as using alt+left or right to jump forward and back a minute, the left or right arrow key to jump 5 seconds, or the f key to go forward a single frame. every frame counts, and it is preferable to have too many frames and have to delete them later than to find out your gif will only be 10 frames long because you started capping in the middle of the scene, or because you stopped capping too early. i typically will watch the clip a few times so that i have a set idea of where i want to start and stop.

once you are paused at the beginning of the scene you want to gif, press ctrl+g to open kmplayer’s frame extraction window. click on the folder icon so that you can locate that empty folder you had made earlier. this is where kmplayer will save the screencaps. i then set my settings to png, continuously, original size, and every frame, like so

now we are ready to start capturing! click start on the frame extraction window, and then click back over to the video (this is why i make the video window smaller, so that i can see the video and the frame extraction window at the same time). once i’m back on the window, i hold down and/or tap the f key. kmplayer will capture the frames as you go along. the audio plays along with it albeit choppily which is why i watch the clip several times beforehand, because it can be hard to follow and is disorienting. you can also click the play and pause button, but, again, the audio tends to play at a different rate and it gets confusing, so for me frame by frame is the way to go. keep tapping f until you get to end of the scene/wherever you want to stop. i keep the folder where the caps go open usually so if i mess up or change my mind on where to start/end, i can delete the whole folder and create a new empty one to start over again. this process takes practice and is often dependent on what you are trying to gif and its not a big deal if you have to try it a couple times to get it right.

once you have reached the end of the scene, click back over to the frame extraction window and click stop. if you are giffing multiple scenes from the same video you can click the folder icon and select a different folder to save frames into and then repeat the process of finding the scene and capping it, or if you want to cap from a different video, you can open a new video and cap from there. then if you are satisfied and have all your caps, you are free to exit out of kmplayer. 

part 3: making the gif

now it is time to actually make the gif! go ahead and open photoshop, and if it is your first time you can play around and familiarize yourself with where things are. basic gifs don’t require a lot of the tools that photoshop has, and you can customize some as to what windows and panels are open. below is what my workspace typically looks like so that i can get to certain things quicker, but i will explain as i go along where the controls normally are found in the toolbar. also, if you hover over a control photoshop will tell you what it is and what it does.

to open the frames, go to file, then scripts, then load multiple dicom files. then find your folder of caps, select it, and then click OK to open

be aware that depending on the number of frames in that file and the size of the images it sometimes can take awhile to fully load. once they are loaded, you should be able to see all those screencaps as layers on the right hand side of the screen. if not, go to the top where it says windows and click on layers. i frequently accidentally cap a couple extra frames where the scene shifts and i go ahead and delete those layers by highlighting them (use the shift or ctrl key to highlight several at a time) and then clicking on the trashcan at the bottom of the layers sidepanel.

next we are going to turn these layers into gif frames! i have combined this step into an action that i use to automatically do this for me to save time since i gif on a semi regular basis, but the steps are as follows.

first, make sure the animation bar is open. if it is not then go up to window and click animation, and then it should open at the bottom of the screen. you also have to be in frame animation mode. on the upper right hand corner of that panel is an icon with four lines and and an arrow. click on that and then click on  convert to frame animation. then in the same menu click make frames from layers.

this can also sometimes take some time if there are a lot of caps but when its done loading there will be frames in the animation bar. in the animation menu click select all frames. then, underneath any of the frames, there will be an arrow beside where it says 0 sec. click it and change the frame delay. what you set it to can be up to personal preference. i typically set mine to 0.07 or 0.08 which seems a bit slow, but i find when i convert the gif to a smart object (we’ll get to that) that seems to speed it up a little so i’ve just stuck with it. feel free to change the delay if you find later that that is too slow for your taste. also in lower left corner of the animation bar is where you set how many times the gif loops. change it from once to forever. the controls to play the gif are also below the frames.

since i gif a scene like this all in one big long take, it is now time to separate it into separate gifs if need be. if you are making a gifset like this you can skip this part because you most likely capped frames from different scenes and gave them their own folders, so they shouldnt need separating. 

sometimes you have to get creative on how you split apart the scene, and there arent really any hard and fast rules. here are some things i like to keep in mind:

the camera angles - this is the most important for me. if the camera goes from showing one character to another, or from one angle to another, i separate those into separate gifs pretty much no matter what.

the length of the gifs - this is dependent on the size you are going to crop to, how much movement the scene has, how much color, etc.,  but i typically try not to go over 80-100 frames in a 265px width gif. they can be trimmed down later, but if it takes 200 frames for the camera to switch to the other character, don’t make that one gif

the dialogue - if there is a natural break in the dialogue, that is a good place to end a gif. you don’t need 50 frames of no one speaking if you are doing a gifset with dialogue.

how many gifs you are making/size - at some point you have to decide how wide your gifs will be and how many of them. if your gifs will be 268 px wide (2 columns of gifs) then you have to have an even number of gifs, and you will need to separate to account for that

going along with the first tip, i’m going to separate the frames by camera changes. i do this first so that way when i crop the gifs, i get things centered how i like. 

you can see here by looking at the thumbnails of the layers what i mean by the camera changing angles.

first, press ctrl+n to open a new blank image. if the preset doesn’t say dicom files, click on that menu and click dicom files, that way the new image will be the same size as the original. hit ok.

next, highlight the layers in the original that are going to be the new gif. hold shift while clicking the first and last layer that you want to be in the new gif to do that.  click on them, hold, and drag them over to the new document. they will probably be off center and/or invisible. if the layers are invisible click an empty box next to one of the layers so that an eye appears and the layer shows up. then click the move tool and move the layers around til the fill the document correctly. be sure not to stretch/transform the layers by dragging on the edges and corners. as long as all the layers are still highlighted they should all move at once.

next, scroll to the bottom of the layers and delete the blank layer. then repeat the steps to make frames and set the time delay and there is your new gif!

the layers for that new gif are still in the original document, so go ahead and hit the trashcan to delete them, as well as the now blank frames. continue opening new documents and splitting up the scene until you have a new gif for every camera change. the last gif i leave in the original document. i ended up with 5 camera changes so 6 gifs to start with

at this point i crop each gif. tumblr has a guide for image sizes, and the width is the most important thing to follow there. the height is really up to you. if i’m only doing two or four gifs i tend to make them taller than if i do 8 or 10 gifs just because it looks better to me. i’m going to probably end up with 8 gifs because a couple bits are a little long, so i’m going to go with 268 px as the width and 175px as the height. again, the 268 part is the important part to get right since i’m doing two gifs across. to crop, find the crop tool on the left and set your dimensions at the top. make sure when you enter your dimensions, it is in pixels/px and not inches or centimeters.

click, hold, and drag to stretch to create a shadow for what you cropping. i usually go as big as the edges of the image will allow, and then bring the corners in a tad, since occasionally i get a video that has a black outline and i don’t like to have that in the gif. either hit enter or the checkmark in the upper right corner of the toolbar to crop.

you might have to zoom at this point and resize your window. in the bottom left corner there is a percentage you can change, and now that the gif is cropped it will be small enough that you can set it to 100% if it isn’t that already. continue to crop the remaining gifs to the same size. after this i usually play through each one to make sure i have everything in the frame and roughly centered. if you need to undo, press ctrl+z or ctrl+alt+z and recrop or redo whatever needs redone. there is also a history you can pull up under windows, and you can use that to backtrack multiple steps.

next i figure out if i need to break up any of the gifs because of their length. with a gif this size i can probably get away with having more frames and i can trim them later, but if a gif has more than 100 frames i look and see if i can either trim it down now because there is a lot of frames without talking or movement, or if there is a natural break in dialogue where i can split it into two gifs. there are also times when the gifs are really short that you can sometimes combine with a gif before or after that one. that’s your perogative ultimately and what you think looks good but will fall under the 3mb limit, and takes practice and experience to get an idea if a gif is going to be too large. sometimes i go back and rewatch the scene to figure out where to split things up. i also keep in mind that i want 8 gifs for this scene and right now i have 6, so i need to create 2 more, whether i separate two gifs in half, or separate one gif into three new ones.

ultimately i decided to split my largest gif of 180 frames into 3 gifs because it has quite a bit of dialogue, and the other gifs are either already under 80 frames or can easily have some frames deleted out of it. between using the script, rewatching the scene a few more times, and trying to lipread what the doctor was saying, i decided to separate between frames 65/66 and 120/121 so that way they were roughly the same number of frames. the process to separate them is the same as it was when we had the big original gif. i selected the last frame i wanted to include in the new gif so that way the eye appears next to the corresponding layer in the layer panel, and this is how i know which layers to drag to the new document. for example, in the picture i’m moving frames 1-65 to the new document, so i select frame 65, then find that layer and select all the layers below and including that layer and drag them. then repeat the steps to make the frames, etc.

go ahead and delete the empty frames, as well as any frames on the other gifs you may want to delete to trim them up.

so now we should have all of our gifs laid out! my next step is to sharpen them, and i do this using smart objects, and the steps are as follows. (i also made this into an action.)

first, select all the frames and all the layers in the gif. if you deleted some frames but didn’t delete the corresponding layers, don’t worry about it, it doesn’t matter and doesn’t affect the final product.

next, click on convert to timeline animation. this is in the animation menu where we earlier found convert to frame animation.

then, at the top go to filter and click on convert for smart filters. this creates a smart object and turns all of the frames and layers into just a single layer/object. this allows us to sharpen the whole gif at once instead of having to sharpen each frame one at a time (trust me that takes forever if you don’t have an action or do it this way).

next under filter again, then under sharpen, click on smart sharpen. this brings up a window with a bunch of settings. these are what mine are:

repeat this for every gif. look how much better they look already!

at this point, if you haven’t saved yet, do it now! this is a good time to save and take a break. go to file and then save. the format should be set as photoshop/.psd. i go ahead and rename the files too, for example, dwshades1 and so on. i number them too so i can get the order right when i upload them. with it saved as a psd, you could close out and reopen it later and the layers will all be there.

next is coloring! this is technically optional, but is usually the most fun part of giffing in my opinion, and i tend to find uncolored gifs rather boring and bland. this is where you can do some brightening, color correcting, make gifs black and white, and more! its time to get creative with those adjustments.

as there are so many ways to color things, and whole tutorials dedicated just to coloring, i’m only going to show the basics of where to find the adjustments and some of the different adjustment layers that i use most. my first step always though is to create a group just for the coloring layers. the button to create a group is at the bottom of the layer panel and looks like a folder. the button to the left of that is the one that contains the different adjustments you can make.

the black and white circle contains a list of different adjustments you can make. the two i like to use most are curves and vibrance. curves is really useful to brighten gifs and vibrance obviously adds vibrance. my advice is to just play around with all the settings, and look at coloring tutorials. a lot of gifmakers also have psds that you can download. you can either use them as is to apply to your gifs and credit the maker, or just study what they did and learn from it.

anyway, i went ahead and colored my gifs. here is a before and after look, as well as a list of adjustment layers i added:

in this case the before gif doesn’t look bad, but that isn’t always the case, sometimes they start out super dark and colorless. and i like the tone and colors of the colored gif better (you can see how much i like purples and blues lol). again, all personal preference.

whether you color or not, if you have dialogue in your gifs, the next step is adding it in! if the gif doesn’t have a dialogue or if you don’t want to add text, you can skip this next bit.

first, select the text tool on the left side toolbar, it looks like a T. next i choose my font, font size, and color at the top. here are my settings, the key thing is to make it easy to read.

there are more settings like bold and italics under window and then character. these are my settings.

after these are set, click in roughly the middle of the gif and start typing the text that goes with that gif. i usually start with white for the first person to speak, and then change to yellow for the second person and so on, so that way its clear who is speaking, but that’s up to you. when the text starts to go off the edge of the gif, i hit enter to start the next line until i’m out of text. otherwise photoshop will allow you to type right off the edge of the gif.

a little hard to read, right? that’s why i add stroke, which outlines the text. to do this, make sure the text layer is highlighted, and then click the fx button at the bottom of the layer panel, and then click stroke.

these are the settings i use. usually i only have to change the size from 3 to 1px. hit ok.

so much easier to read! also, double check to make sure that the text layer is above the coloring layers.

next, i want to move the text to where i want. select the move tool on the left, and first move the text layer all the way to the bottom. photoshop has it so that it is kind of magnetized to the edges. i then go back to the character menu and change the baseline shift setting to 5 pt.

however, when you click to a different gif it doesn’t reset back to 0, so manually reset it back to 0 before moving your text layer, then change it to 5 again.

next, to center it on the gif. first select the gif layer, then hold ctrl while you select the text layer. the order is important, if you select the text then the gif, the gif will be moved to center itself around the text. then, with the move tool still selected, click this button on the top tool bar to align horizontal centers. 

great! now save your gif again, and repeat all these steps for the text for every gif that you are adding text to. most of the time i type the text on each gif first, and then move the text that way i’m not switching tools a dozen times, but it really doesn’t matter.

your gifs are officially done! time to save them in a format that you can upload to tumblr. go up to file, and click save for web and devices. these are my settings, but you can play around with some of the ones on the upper right side. however, you want to make sure that it is a gif, and that it is set to loop forever. those are circled. hit save, name your gif however you want, and save it somewhere you can find it later. do this for all of your gifs.

the other thing i circled in the document size. tumblr does not allow you to upload images that are above 3mb. if yours is above this, you have a few options to cut down on the size. changing the settings on this window such as going from diffusion to pattern, or reducing the number of colors can change the size, but if you reduce the number of colors, you lose some quality. you can also change your coloring layers around, because making a bright gif with a lot of colors can increase the size. black and white gifs tend to be smaller.

the option i tend to go for if i want to keep the colors and quality, is to reduce the number of frames you have. its a little trickier to do in timeline mode than it is when the frames are all there, but this is how to do it. if your gifs are all under 3mb, you can skip ahead to uploading.

in the timeline animation bar, there are blue rectangularish sliders you can move at the beginning and end, as well as a triangular one that shows where you are within the gif. decide the new place where you want the gif to start and end, and move the rectangle sliders there, like so. one tick over does not equal a frame, so i use the triangle indicator to figure out how many frames over i’m moving.

then in the animation bar menu, click trim document duration to work area. this will set your gif to begin and end where those sliders were. at this point you can try saving again to see if your gif is below 3mb. if so, then save it! if not, continue to move the sliders and trim until your gif is below the limit.

so now all your gifs are saved and ready to be uploaded! upload them like you would any other photo post. i always save as a draft first so i can make sure they upload right and so i can look them over again to be sure they are looping correctly and have no typos. only then do i close out of photoshop. tag with the appropriate edit tags (for example, dwedit for doctor who) or tag popular blogs for maximum exposure, but be aware that only the first 5 tags count and will appear in the tags. post and you are done! congrats!

[kramlabs]

six norms that may be making your family less healthy

via Shane Trotter

What is normal is not normal. The human biology expects sunlight, constant movement, physical novelty, whole, natural foods, close relationships built upon shared purposeful efforts for survival, and a generally slow life pace.

Today it is normal to eat exclusively processed, convenience foods, to remain indoors all day except for trips in our temperature controlled cars, to feel pulled and prodded by constant message alerts, and to sit all day, predominantly with our face in a screen while being passively entertained. Normal is a relative term.

Very few forces are as powerful as the human need to belong. Consequently, we naturally tend towards herd mentality, behaving as the masses do, regardless of personal benefit. In fact, we’ll adopt odd “normal” behaviors without even realizing they directly contradict our desires, or that we could choose not to.

The standard model of life that we’ve been handed has created a devastating global health picture and all signs point to this trend worsening in our youngest generation. Now, more than ever, we must be willing to question what is normal and carve a different path.

Freedom is not just having the ability to behave as we wish, but knowing why we choose those behaviors. Through reflection and education, we truly become free and are then able to craft an environment that pulls our family to health and vitality.

If wondering where to start, I recommend exploring these six norms that may be making your family less healthy.

1. Having “Kid Food” Around

There is a widespread belief that there should be a distinction between kid’s foods and adult foods. I’ll never forget a client telling me how she ate well for most meals, but often found herself snacking on her kid's chips or popping a soda. When I suggested she stop keeping these foods in the house, she responded angrily, “I’m not going to not have chips and sodas for my kids.”

I’ve even seen this in healthy parents who make separate meals for their children so the young ones aren’t subjected to nutritious eating, as if this was a torturous experience. They’ll have roasted chicken, brown rice, and mixed vegetables while making chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, or frozen pizza for the young ones.

We’ve been sold the belief that kids can only eat chicken in nugget form, fish in fried stick form, and that the rest of their diet should come from packaged junk. While it is true that palates have to develop, children have always eaten natural, whole foods.

Fruits, vegetables, meat, seeds, and nuts have been the only available foods for almost all of human history. Roasted vegetables, sweet potatoes, and fish are actually childhood favorites when children aren’t engulfed in a world of Pop Tarts and pudding that only further serves to warp their palate. Without a diet predominantly consisting of whole foods, children are virtually ensured of future struggles with health and eating.

Make it simple. Make meals from foods that could have existed 10,000 years ago and have your children eat what you do. Ice cream and other desserts are wonderful occasional treats, but they should require a special trip, not be an always available temptation.

2. Driving As Your Only Mode of Transportation

For most of human history, human muscle moved us wherever we went. Today locomotion outside of our sanitized home or office environment is typically outsourced to the automobile. We even drive across the work campus or endlessly circle in search of a closer parking spot.

Most people struggle to find time for fitness while neglecting to incorporate normal activity into their everyday life. Why is there a need to drive your kids to school if it is less than a mile away? Why must you drive to work if it is just across town? My daily trip to work only went from 10 to 20 beautiful minutes when I switched to a bike commuting lifestyle.

According to the CDC, 71.6% of Americans over age 20 are overweight. Healthcare costs are unsustainable, and yet we drive when it would be almost as easy to use human muscle.

Help your kids break free of this pattern. What a model it would be to make it standard practice to bike when round trips are 10-miles or less, or to walk to pick your kids up from school until they are old enough to walk home themselves.

Despite modern helicopter norms, this is the goal of parenting: to create self-sufficient people capable of creating a purpose and contributing to something bigger than themselves. As much as it scares us we should want them to have this desire for independence and exploration. It sure beats smartphone addiction.

3. Letting Kids Have a TV in the Bedroom

Our environment is powerful. If cookies are always on a plate in the kitchen, we’ll probably make it a norm to grab one while walking by. Replace that norm with a bowl of fruit or ants on a log (peanut butter and raisins on celery), and our snacking norms change.

Screens are an especially pervasive temptation in the modern world. They bring an infinite number of messages. Nowadays, televisions are the focal point of our homes, constantly beckoning us to sit down and stop conversations. But at least we share the programs. They can provide talking points, mutual laughter, and a communal experience not too much different from the primal experience of fireside stories.

Yet, in a kid’s bedroom, the TV brings no positives and many negatives. It is a constant source of distraction from study, reading, getting out to play, or trying any creative endeavor. It is a pull towards more time in isolation and more ability to avoid dealing with potential family conflicts. Most destructively, it is a recipe for poor sleep.

Adolescents and teens need 8 1/2 to 10 hours of sleep per night but tend to average 7 or less. Absent of this they will be foggy, moody, lacking concentration, and at increased risk for the poor decisions that characterize this age.

Their natural body rhythms pull them towards later hours, but school start times rarely honor that reality. Add extra-curriculars and socializing and it can be very difficult for teens to adopt a healthy sleep schedule. These struggles magnify tenfold when they have a TV in their bedroom, which they’ll inevitably watch from bed.

Dr. Craig Canapari, director of the Yale Pediatric Sleep Center, says that the number one thing you can do to help your kids avoid sleep problems now and into adulthood is, never put a television in their bedroom.

The only rationale I can see for putting a TV in bed is to appease your children, despite their own well-being. You are the parent. Be the parent.

4. Giving Kids Smartphones Without Boundaries

Nothing poses a greater risk to your children than that screen they can walk around with every hour of the day. The phone allows millions of messages to shape unhealthy beliefs and values, it prompts poor posture and sitting, it precludes face-to-face communication and overcoming social fears, and it wraps the mind in a vortex of anxiety and a compulsive need for distraction.

At least with the TV you sit and share a single program with other people. The smartphone isolates and constantly prompts you to search for the next best thing after only a brief superficial scan. Take everything wrong with having a television in the bedroom and multiply that by a trillion with the smartphone.

There is no culprit more responsible for the terrifying state of American physical, mental, and emotional health, particularly in childhood than smartphone ubiquity.

But, what are you gonna do, right? It is the world we live in, right?

Please, parents, piss your children off. Tell them no, not until 8th grade and not without tons of boundaries. Why open Pandora's box too early? I’m sure I sound extreme, but this technology is extreme. While working in schools I’ve watched the lobotomization it renders on a generation and, it isn’t just them.

Parents line the park benches scanning furiously. Grandparents and babysitters take their children to bounce houses at odd hours so they can sit and scan their phones uninterrupted. We’ve all seen tech addiction and we’re all subject to the allure. Unchecked smartphone use is the path to a Wall-E type dystopia.

You can’t pretend smartphones don’t exist and you can’t hide them forever, but you can for a while. I highly recommend checking out the screen use recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatricians and using their Create Your Family Media Plan tool. It is very easy and will prompt you through ideas and nuances you may not have considered.

5. Not Managing Smartphone Alerts

As usual, we should start with our own model. Strong parents make strong kids. More often than not we are constantly pulled away from the moment by email dings, texts, and quick scans that turn into a 10-minute mental mindless scroll. This is only made worse by the Apple watch that now supersedes any phone away boundary to shove messages back in your face. Take that dinner time!

Simple recommendations that can help you take back control of your time and be more present for your family:

Anything urgent should require a call. Go to your settings and silence all texts and email messaging. People will learn this about you and it will recalibrate their sense of what is urgent.

Plan the times you will batch all messaging response.

Plan the times you will use social media, apps, etc. For example, maybe you can batch this to two 30-minute blocks within your day. This takes the negative out and makes the tool work for you.

While doing complex work, turn the phone on airplane mode and focus. You’ll get more done.

After work or as you come to dinner, put the phone on a charger, away from you and your bedroom.

Get an alarm clock. A single function device.

Silence all calls and notifications a couple hours before bed. You can make exceptions for people you mark as favorites. This is quite easy to do actually.

6. Buying Into a Modern Youth Sports Culture

After the smartphone, this is truly the toughest insane norm to tread in the modern world. For most of you reading, youth sports were an amazing, integral part of your upbringing. Here we learned essential social skills, how to work on behalf of a team, and how to practice to improve. We played every sport, building a broad array of physical skills that nurtured a love of moving and play. It’s probably where you first fell in love with training.

Today, these foundational experiences have been completely perverted by conmen looking for easy money and a culture of over the top bulldozer parents, willing to pay any price to convince their child they are the center of the universe. Second graders have “signing days” when their parents pay for them to join the “elite” soccer team.

Third-grade football teams put the kids' name on the back of the jersey and have a “pep-rally” every Friday night before Saturday games. Most disturbingly, at earlier and earlier ages, coaches try to convince players they are falling way behind without ridiculous travel, specialization, and expensive skills coaches.

Elementary school kids will have multiple evening practices per week, late games, and long Saturday tournaments. Family time evaporates under the guise that this is what you have to do. By middle school baseball and volleyball parents have conceded their wallets and their summer to travel ball. The family no longer has the option to vacation other than 1,000-mile trips to play athletes just like the ones in their own city.

Clearly, this is an article unto itself. The biggest take-home message is:

This is not the best way to build athletes. Athletic participation is way down, meaning our talent pool is smaller and more kids miss out on these vital experiences. Furthermore, as detailed in the Long Term Athletic Development model, optimal athleticism follows age-appropriate, balanced exposure to sports.

Youth sports should not be expensive and should not be all-encompassing. All the kids want to do is play the game with their friends. Remember that? We’d just go play sports with our friends without coaches or parents and we grew up doing it. Or, we’d go outside and play catch with mom and dad.

Resist the urge to follow the masses into this crazy debt trap. Youth sports can be an amazing experience, but they shouldn’t be the only experiences. How you spend your time matters. Family dinner matters. Family vacation matters.

“It’s no sign of health to be well adjusted to a sick society.”

Krishnamurti

As usual, any broad rambling list will be full of prescriptions that don’t accommodate or appreciate your unique constraints and needs. There are major exceptions to nearly every point I’ve made, but I will stand by the underlying principles. Our standard model is a cultural conveyor belt towards poor health and dissatisfaction.

The best thing we can do is have the courage to buck the norms and live authentically, pursuing a path we earnestly believe in. This will take strength and require you to be counter-cultural. Your efforts matter. Strong parents make strong kids.

This Week’s Mission

Apply any of the suggestions from these six unhealthy norms. If you are unsure where to start, create a family media use plan. Having boundaries tends to offer a great deal of freedom. Without them, we are constantly pulled and prodded, controlled by a constant flood of habit-inducing notifications.

http://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/6-unhealthy-norms-plaguing-us-all

more:

http://breakingmuscle.com/coaches/shane-trotter