#google image search antics

[furbearingbrick]

allow me to slip into something more comfortable

#google image search antics #brick attempts to be funny #shartpost #shapeshifting

[gaysindistress]

Van Helsing Retold - six

pairings: vamp hunter!reader x vamp!bucky

Summary: Under the cover of night, vampires and their hunters have been at war for centuries, never letting their bloodshed reach the light of day. That is until the wife of a powerful vampire leader, Steve Rogers is murdered and he demands revenge. Y/N Van Helsing is the target of his crusade and she comes face to face with his right hand man, Bucky Barnes.

Warnings: cursing, violence, blood, vampire antics

Word count: 2.4K

Five | series masterlist

Tag list: @emerald-writes @globetrotter28 @vonalyn @cakesandtom @nerdytif @teambarnes72 @crazyunsexycool

disclaimer: credits to original creator/poster of image/gif. found on google/Pinterest

My mother flinches when I say the title that she has probably never heard and it sends a a ripple of hurt through me. She’s here. She’s alive. She…she’s alive and yet she left me with the Guild. She left me. My lungs feel like they’ve been ripped from my body and in their place is a gaping hole that my chest squeezes around, trying to keep itself alive. Sam’s hand darts out and wraps itself around my bicep before I can stumble forward towards her. Another wave of shock and fear rolls in, Bucky’s emotions to be exact.

“I feel like a test of your love is fitting, don’t you?” Steve’s voice cracks through my shock, “I’ll let one of them go if you complete the turning process.”

The moment the words leave his mouth, Bucky crumbles to the ground beside Steve as a result of another vampire jabbing him with a cattle prod. I gasp in pain and crumble too as I watch him fall and Sam grunts in protest from being caught off guard.

“What do you mean complete the turning process?” I manage to gasp out and Steve’s sharp gaze cuts to me and then to my infected hand.

“I can practically hear the venom crying out to be feed,” he casually states as he looks between Bucky, my mom, John, and myself, “so who will it be, Y/N Van Helsing? Your mother who you thought tragically died when you were an infant, the Guild Master who’s hopelessly in love with you, or the vampire that has a soft spot for you?

Bucky growls but is forced to the ground again with another stinging zap of the prod. John makes a noise too but my focus is entirely on Bucky. How could Steve have known? I go over every little memory that I can manage, desperately searching for anything that might explain how he could possibly know. Bucky’s noises of protest are growing weaker, spurring me to look even harder when it hits me; Steve didn’t say that we were mates.

He doesn’t know. He only thinks that Bucky has taken a liking to me but he doesn’t know about our bond and that is something that I can use to my advantage.

I gently push off of Sam and do a mental check of my body; my hand is throbbing now due to the nearby blood but the vial that Bucky had given me earlier is still tucked into my sleeve. Straightening my back and squaring my shoulders, I lock eyes with Steve as I start my negotiations, “If I turn…”

Bucky cuts me off with a pained groan that sounds like he’s trying to say no but the electricity from the prod drowns it out. I force myself to keep my eyes on Steve and I continue, “If I turn, you will let both John and my mom go.”

Steve gives me a bored look and I offer up another condition to sweeten the pot, “And I’ll kill Bucky. Save you the trouble.”

That earns another pained groan and a deep, blood curdling laugh from Steve.

“You’d kill him for me?” Steve asks as he breaks our stare to look down at Bucky. He crouches to his level and disgust drips from his voice, “Did you hear that? She said she would kill you herself if I let the other two go.”

Sam grabs ahold of my elbow and jerks me back, “What the fuck?”

I don’t look at him while I pull the vial from my pocket and tuck it into my fist. Sam curses under his breath when he sees the flash of glass and blood, “what’s the plan?”

“I’ll take him out while you get my mom and John.”

It’s not lost on him that I didn’t mention Bucky and he squeezes my elbow, wordlessly asking me about him. I shoot him a pointed look over my shoulder and he drops my arm. The meaning behind my look is not exactly reassuring or clear, for that matter, but either way, he knows better than to question me. He’s always trusted my judgement and he has no choice but to do the same now.

Steve stands up and claps his hands together before making a show of presenting my mom and John to me, “Go on then Van Helsing. Feed and complete your transition.”

“I don’t suppose you have blood bags laying around?” I ask him while coming to stand before them.

“Fresh is always better,” he winks at me as I fight the urge to scoff at him. The transition doesn’t require more than a drop of human blood but new vampires are known to be violent and implusive. They can’t stop the moment the blood touches their lips and no matter the amount of self control I have now, I know I’ll fall victim to the blood lust if I’m not careful.

I stop in front of John and my mom and look between them as I stall, pretending to struggle in my decision about who to feed from. Bucky is telling me to choose John through the tidal waves of anger and hatred that break across our bond and without a second thought, I do take a half step towards him. His shock is written plainly on his face albeit difficult to see behind the blood and swelling. Of course, he would think so highly of himself as to believe that I might actually feed from my mom over him. However I don’t know her and therefore can’t trust her to keep quiet as I let the vial of Bucky’s blood slip into my hand and kneel in front of him. His eyes flicker to my hand and I quickly whisper for him to look at Sam. The gentle command will seem like evidence of whatever love Steve thinks I have for John but it’s to keep him from growing suspicious and demanding to see what’s in my hand.

I take John’s wrist in my other hand, whispering to him the plan, “On my word, take my mom and run.”

“I’m not doing that Y/N. I’m not leaving you here to get yourself killed,” he hisses and tries to jerk his wrist away. My infected hand, the one that’s wrapped around it, tighthens its grip with a new strength that I can only assume came from the venom. He hisses again although in pain this time and if he had more strengthen himself, he would’ve tried a second time to break free.

Steve’s patience is beginning to wear thin and he demands for me to get a move on it before he slits both of their throats.

“Please,” is the last thing I whisper to John before yanking the cap off of the vial and bringing it my lips but it seems that I’m not fast enough. Steve lets out a monstrous roar as he launches himself at me and rips me back with a fistful of my hair. My hands fly back to try to claw his away as Bucky and I let groans of pain out at the same time. John tries to pull my back but another vampire has grabbed him and as well as my mom.

The sound of glass shattering draws everyone’s attention to the small pool of blood on the ground between John and me. No one makes a sounds as confusion takes ahold but Steve’s grip grows tighter when the realization hits him. Sam curses under his breath from behind us when Steve yanks me to my feet. Moving his hand to wrap around my neck, he pins my back to his chest and his scruff scratches against my cheek as he speaks lowly into my ear, “Whose blood does that belong to, Van Helsing? What vampire was stupid enough to infect you without seeing you through the turn?”

When I don’t answer right away, he squeezes tighter and tighter until I’m tearing at his hands to pull him away. He demands me to answer his question before repeating it.

“Your wife,” my voice comes out in the form of a squeak but he hears me regardless.

“My wife?”

“S…She spit on me as…,” I stammer through the weight of Steve’s grip on my neck, “as… I shot a stake through…her heart.”

He doesn’t make any sudden movements like I had expected and chuckles instead, “So you were the one who killed my mate?”

“Yes and I would do it again.”

He sniffs the air for a moment and then tightens his grip once more as he lays eyes on Bucky who is still crouching on the ground. The vampire behind him has the cattle prod shoved into the juncture of his neck and shoulder, awaiting any chance to shock my mate.

“Do you know what my favorite part of the transition is?” he whispers without waiting for my answer, “My favorite part is that you can still be persuaded. You’re not quite human, not quite vampire which makes you to the most dangerous and perfect weapon I can think of.”

“No,” I mummer in disbelief and he finds great pleasure in that.

“What was that Van Helsing?” he spins me around so that I’m facing him and he forces me to make eye contant with him.

“No,” I whisper louder and it spurs him to gesture to the vampire holding John. The vampire jerks my Guild Master forward and when he is within arm’s reach, Steve swipes some blood form his face with his thumb. I struggle against him, using my nails to tear at his hand and fight as much as I can but it’s no use. I’m not strong enough to get him off of me and the venom is slowly draining whatever strength I do have.

“Whose blood was in that vial?”

The unwelcome familiar wave of complacency overcomes me as I mindlessly answer him, “Bucky’s.”

“Bucky’s?” he parrots with mock shock, “Is he your mate?”

“Yes,” I whisper before he forces my mouth open and wipes John’s blood onto my tongue. A bitter coppery taste fills my mouth and not soon after, a dry thirst follows. It feels as though my body has become immediately addicted to it and it’s been 30 seconds too long since I’ve had my last fix.

“Kill him.”

My body obeys and my mind fades to black as to save me from remembering my next actions.

The transition must have completed itself or completed enough that I get the pleasure of witnessing my chaos because I’m self aware again. Barely but I’m in control of myself again which is more than before. A broken voice from under me catches my attention and I look down as it calls to me again.

“It’s okay.”

I stare with a wild look in my eye at the hard body beneath me. I can hear every movement inside of his body. I can hear every shallow move of his chest and how the nerves in his back are screaming from being pressed into the hard floor. I can hear his lashes as they flutter against the top of his cheek. I can hear the tears that slip down the side of his face and how they splatter on the ground. I can hear as his body starts to accept its fate and it slows.

“It’s okay.”

I can hear the air being pushed from his lungs to his lips as his speaks.

“It’s okay.”

When my eyes finally focus, all I see is the beaten and bloody face of my mate laying under me. The knife I’m holding is pressing into the soft skin of his throat while thin black lines of blood mix with his tears.

“Bucky,” is all I manage to choke out.

His eyes open and even though, he is dying, he still smiles at me.

“Y/n,” he whispers back, “there you are.”

“I can’t…i can’t.”

“I know and it’s okay,” he tells me as my hand presses the knife harder against my will.

“It’s not. It’s not,” I ramble, trying to force my hand to move but stays put, “It’s not fucking okay.”

“When I found you but couldn’t have you and all I had was my dreams, I didn’t care what you were doing. Only that you were with me,” he tells me, “even if you were trying to kill me.”

He lets out a sad chuckle, “it’s ironic that this is how it ends for me.”

My tears start to blur my vision and he gently wipes them away for me, “i wish we could’ve had more time, Y/N. Then I would’ve got the chance to tell you how in love with you I am.”

“Fuck,” i scream.

My knife presses harder. It’s met with little resistance.

“I love you too.”

The turning process didn’t hurt but it wasn’t pleasant. I was hyper aware of every little thing and i became so over stimulated that i threatened to cut my own ears off if Sam didn’t stop breathing so hard.

I think the hardest part was not having Bucky there with me, to guide me, to comfort me, to love me when I couldn’t love myself for becoming what I’d hated for so long.

Sam could only do so much and with no other friendly vamps handy, all I had was myself and the unconscious body of my mate to attend to, a distraction from the burning bond in my chest.

A startled gasp yanks me from my sleep and I blink frantically as my eyes adjust to the lights. Bucky is sitting straight up in the makeshift cot Sam and I scrounged together. He’s looking around the room, taking in his surroundings as he comes to the realization that he’s alive.

“Took you long enough,” I tease him while standing and moving to sit on the bed’s edge.

“Y/N?”

“Bucky.”

He throws himself at me, pulling me into the most bone crushing hug he can manage in his weakened state. Burying his face in my neck, Bucky takes deep breaths in and his body shudders when it recognizes me. I wrap my arms around him too and we stay like this for a while. I’m not sure how long but it’ll never be long enough.

Eternity would not be long enough but luckily we have it so we can at least try.

#bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes fic #marvel imagine #bucky barnes fanfic #van helsing retold bucky #van helsing retold bucky barnes #vampire!bucky x reader #vampire bucky barnes #vampire au

[dreddedwheat]

Back to the Dredd-tomes: Judgement Day

Okay, so-!

Brief introduction: I used to have a previous blog that focused on my youthful fanboyism of the 2000AD and Judge Dredd universe. A few misstimed clicks a year or so back and that all got nuked, and it basically killed my enthusiasm for writing stuff up, since I lost a metric ton of amateur analysis, fan-mixes and other stuff that most people would usually forget.

There was a lot of back and forth with good folks like @judgeanon (who I credit with helping support what is a vanishingly small online discussion around Dredd and 2000ad in general), which is now sadly mostly lost. Usually for the better with my more immature antics, hence the fresh start and fresh name to go with it.

However, after a Christmas filled with a sudden surge of - probably ill-informed - Dredd buys, I decided to get back into things. That means actually talking about the comic that was formative for me as a fan of both comic-books and fiction in general...

JUDGE DREDD

And where better to start than the biggest, the meanest, and the best/baddest (depending on who you ask) Dredd epic, JUDGEMENT DAY. (Spoiler warnings, images courtesy of the 2000AD site and Google Search.)

So, let's get into a basic overview of this contentious Dredd epic...

The Story so far: Judge Dredd is a law-enforcer in Mega-City One, a massive post-apocalyptic metropolis. As a Judge he's authorised to deliver instant sentencing on the spot, no jury or court necessary. He's judge, jury and executioner, and he is the law, but you probably already knew that.

Johnny Alpha is a Strontium Dog, a mutant bounty-hunter that wants to break free of life on an increasingly anti-mutant Earth. Taking on the bounties no-one else will touch, he utilises his unique 'Alpha Eyes' to see through walls, sense other people's intentions and more. He always gets his man.

Alright, now that introductions are out of the way, let's get into it. For the uninitiated, a Dredd 'epic' is a pretty standard description for a big summer storyline. This all started with the "Apocalypse War" back in the eighties, a storyline which defined not only Judge Dredd but also British Boy's comics.

For American fans, and British comic readers of a certain age (like me) it's hard to imagine a time when most British comics were simply lukewarm re-treads of the same adventure stories you'd read in the fifties, sixties and seventies. Of course, not all of these were bad - far from it - but like many things in Britain during the eighties they were a victim of a stuffy, uptight and squeamish society.

2000AD proved to be a seminal title in many ways, mostly in introducing borderline graphic violence, mature storylines, cynical themes and more complicated heroes. Judge Dredd, a tyrannical authoritarian supercop who nonetheless has strong principles and heroic intentions is the most emblematic of that.

However, for most of his lifetime Dredd had been a relatively straightforward and heroic figure. And although a direct criticism of this was not far away - in the form of the Democracy Now storyline - the Apocalypse War was perhaps the first time we saw Dredd on a firm backfoot.

The lantern-jawed hero was put thoroughly on the defensive when the Sovs, a pastiche of Soviet-era Russia, attacked and destroyed a large portion of Mega-City One. It was a grand war story depicting the Judges of the city waging guerilla warfare and culminating with a particularly chilling page where Dredd retaliates using the Sov's own nukes, obliterating hundreds of millions of people.

Yee-ikes, even nowadays this is vicious stuff. Now imagine this in a mag that's being sold next to "The Beano" on shelves and you can imagine why this was considered such a definitive storyline.

But, okay, why am I telling you this? Well, put simple, Judgement Day is a result of the inherent love that writer Garth Ennis, best-known now for titles like The Boys and Punisher Max, had for this storyline. At least that's the prevailing thesis put forwards by people like JA, God knows that online discussion of Dredd is hard to come by no matter what.

Regardless, this should set the stage. By now, Mega-City One has fazed many crises and successive near-extinction events. Most recently - at the time - Necropolis, where the Dark Judges (we'll get into them) invaded and took control of the city's Judges, attempting to carry out their campaign of omnnicide before being narrowly halted by Judge Dredd, McGruder, Cadet Giant and the everlovin' Psi-Judge Anderson.

So, stage-set, where does that lead us?

Judgement Day is, in simple terms, Dredd vs Zombies. Pretty cliché now, but back in the 90s this was still a fresh and rather bloody concept. And regardless of what one thinks of Ennis' writing, the art is stunning and graphic, with Dredd mainstay Carlos Ezquerra taking center-stage. Although I'd argue that Dean Ormston is at least second-best if not better, with some mouthwatering - pardon the pun - depictions of flesh-eating zombies cribbing from giallo films.

Judge Dredd - and the rest of his post-nuclear world - suddenly face an overwhelming undead assault from the necromagus Sabbat. Resurrecting billions of corpses, Sabbat wages all-out war on the Mega-Cities, and all seems lost until the arrival of Johnny Alpha...

Alpha and Dredd had already met in the story "Top Dogs" where Johnny and his partner, the time-displaced viking Wulf Sternhammer, narrowly escaped capture by the lawman. Naturally, they don't get on too well.

Regardless, Alpha proves instrumental in helping Dredd - and a coalition of international Judges - finding and destroying (or near-enough) Sabbat in a bloody showdown in the Radlands of Ji, a part of post-nuclear China.

In-between we have lavish set-pieces of Dredd and his fellow Judges fending off hordes of the undead, flashes to other parts of the globe and other judges playing their part, as well as fantastic art throughout.

So, what's the problem?

Well, the main issue is that, as JA pointed out in his own posts on the storyline, Judgement Day is very much a 'blockbuster' event. And sadly, it's as close as 2000AD has ever gotten to emulating the American comics ideal of the big crossover event. And NOT in a good way. Although you couldn't criticise it for being slow-paced and overwrought, it has many issues that mark it out for fans.

For one, the storyline - as I only recently found out - ran consecutively in both 2000AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine, the latter a solely Dreddverse-focused publication. Now, obviously, the issues with asking people to buy two magazines, monthly and weekly, aside this also meant that the fairly fast-paced movie-style storyline was constantly being broken up.

Add onto that the ridiculous stakes ("Billions of people are dying! Planet Earth is on the brink!"), an at-times-confusing tone (Sabbat's zombies performing a Disney-esque musical number during the climactic showdown), the destruction of various international Mega-cities - few of which we'd even had the chance to know - and the borderline fanservicey pairing of Dredd and Alpha, and we have a recipe for...not a disaster, but something that's a bit of a messy moment in the Dredd saga.

Because, yes, Dredd's story has been continuous, and while not concrete generally the broad-strokes have always been pretty solid (usually a tweak to a character's origin or what they said and did here, but stuff like the Apocalypse War is almost untouched). Judgement Day really feels like a moment where a lot of potential areas of the world like Brasilia, Mega-City Two and others were, quite literally, nuked off the face of the Earth. We also saw some interesting side-characters gored under the zombie hordes, such as Oz Judge Bruce and Judge Dekker.

Basically, Judgement Day slammed the door shut on potential plotlines, was shaky in terms of the publishing angle and overall had more of an overwrought Hollywood blockbuster than intense action-thriller. It also came hot on the heels of Necropolis, and arguably was part of a quick-succession of world-shaking crises such as Inferno which, as far as I can tell, numbed readership going into the 2000s.

Sabbat also stands as quite a weak villain. He rarely appears until the finale, and his backstory - a downtrodden teacher's pet turned murderous necromancer - may be an amusing reference to the aforementioned "Beano" but it's also a bit of a silly one for someone who's meant to be our big, brutal bad-guy, and not in a good way. He's not a bore to read, but sometimes his moments of simpering arrogance can undercut what is essentially an apocalyptic moment for the world of Dredd.

However, even more frustratingly, Judgement Day is also a massive stepping-stone in terms of the-then current Dredd plotline, making it very hard to ignore. It effectively marked Chief Judge McGruder's last major heroic moment, the first time we saw Judge Hershey take up the mantle of Chief Judge and perhaps the most definitive Alpha/Dredd crossover.

I think it's a testament to the overall high-quality of major Dredd storylines that Judgement Day holds up as well as it does. But it also bears all the hallmarks of something that would work well in a vacuum, but which has a messy place in continuity. I'd loved to have seen a non-canon take on this, perhaps allowing us to bring in characters like Wulf Sternhammer - who was sadly offed before this storyline was written - into the zombie battle royale.

There's also some usual holdovers of poorly-aged stuff that was endemic to British comics at the time. Hondo-City, Ciudad Barranquilla and other areas get equal billing but some traces of their stereotypical origins remain. This storyline did go some way to fleshing out the wider world - as much as it obliterated it - of Dredd.

Yet I can't deny that, in the moment of reading, Judgement Day is enthralling. It's pure, gorey action and fanservice. I just wish it didn't cast such a shadow across later stories, and that it hadn't taken so many interesting places and people with it in the process.

Picking this story up, you know what you're getting, and if you're along for the ride...you'll have a hell of a time.

As it stands, Judgement Day is a weaker entry writing-wise but still well-worth picking up for the art and general premise alone. If you're a new Dredd fan and want something a bit lighter than the commonly-cited "America" storyline, this is a fine way to get into the fast-paced and more action-focused content of 2000AD without needing much forward knowledge.

FIN

#Judgement Day #Judge Dredd #2000AD #Comic Spoilers #Analysis #Please excuse the messy and rather unfocused writeup #But I figured either go big or go home when it comes to returning to the comics game #Edits are likely to take place at some point or another

[bestonlinemarketingcompany]

Why is site content important?

We’ve all been there. You take a chance on a lower-ranking link because its title or snippet appears to have the info you’re looking to find.

But upon arriving on the page, you find the content stuffed with every keyword variation imaginable. In a misguided attempt to get more clicks, the author has sacrificed considerations like readability and grammar, right alongside their dignity.

Upon encountering such internet atrocities, most users can’t close the page out fast enough. This is just one of the many reasons that keyword stuffing does not work.

Not only are major search engines like Google well aware that some marketers do attempt such antics, but they’ve also taken steps to prevent their success. Keyword stuffing will not only hurt your results ranking, but it’s also a great way to lose a potential customer’s trust once and for all.

While the proper use of SEO keywords and phrases is a vital part of digital marketing, it’s never going to negate the need for quality, user-friendly content. If you are lucky enough to get a user to click on your page, make sure they don’t regret it.

Why is content important in SEO?

While figuring out how to increase your rankings in the SERPs can feel daunting, Google will be the first to emphasize the importance of content in SEO. 

The world’s favourite search engine points to 5 key components for search engine optimization success:

Meaning

Relevance

Quality

Usability

Context

While the use of specific keywords is mentioned in the “relevance” section, it’s important to look at this tactic in context. 

For instance, as Google attempts to establish the “meaning” of a query, it also uses a sophisticated synonym system.

This system is designed to find the most relevant match to a user’s question, even if the keywords don’t match exactly. 

The “quality” component is all about finding the most trustworthy and authoritative matches, while “usability” looks for pages that offer the best user experience.

“Context” considers everything from a user’s search history to location.

The bottom line is that SEO algorithms are designed to present the best available content matches for a user’s search. 

In turn, making sure your content fits the bill is a vital part of SEO.

How do content and SEO work together?

Now that you understand the importance of content in SEO, it’s time to zero in on how content and SEO work together to help your business grow.

A well-rounded content marketing strategy addresses customers at every stage of the marketing funnel, often in different ways. This is one of the reasons that many brands choose to utilize many different types of content.

For example, a single company’s campaign might include content like:

Blog posts

Product copy

FAQs

Videos

Images

Testimonials

Social Media posts

Newsletter sign-ups

Case studies

Interactive quizzes

These are just a few of the many commonly used types of digital content, but you get the picture. A well-rounded approach to SEO can not only ensure that your brand tops more SERPs, but it can also help direct specific users to where you want them to go.

If a customer is in the awareness stage, then the right keyword combo might present them with your SEM link or paid ad. Having your blog post pop in response to a lead’s question is a great way to boost trust and authority in the consideration stage.

If a potential customer is hovering on the edge of conversion, SEO can also help ensure that they quickly and easily find the answers to any questions they may have.

In essence, SEO helps ensure your target audience can find you – great content is what will make them glad they did.

For more details on our products and services, please feel free to visit us at: Web design, Website design, Hire Dedicated Resources & Offshoring Services, CRM Solutions.

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[pleb-the-original]

Day 7. Pinterest Art Base

(So the whole idea for this one came after a google search where I looked at images and saw a bat base. I really liked the idea of a bat character, and it spiraled into a complete cast for a cartoon.) Name: Manny Species: Bat/Mannequin Personality: Neurotic, high strung, constantly tired, serious, doesn’t engage in shenanigans, a realist but optimistic, very supportive. Summary: Manny used to be a completely normal store mannequin. That was until he was stolen by Nephy the Silkweaver, a golden orb-weaver wizard who specializes in sewing magical clothing. Manny is actually her biggest accomplishment as a mage due to being fully sentient and intelligent. She uses him as a normal mannequin but also to ask for advice and comfort at times. Manny is perfectly okay with this, although he has a low tolerance for Nephy’s and her other familiars antics. He’s alright with Bob the pincushion frog but Ned the cat with needle claws likes to push his buttons. Manny also tends to think that Nephy herself can be a little annoying at times, especially when she’s worked herself into a spiral of stress. Despite his grumpy parental energy, he tends to be the one to help Nephy through any conflict. He is sheltered however since Arthropoda like Nephy are discriminated against and she fears what may happen if the Mammaleons found out that she was accomplished enough in magic to create a being like Manny. However she keeps adding to what Manny can do, like being able to swap around other mannequin parts. Manny is just grateful to be of service however he can. 

#writing #creative writing #prompt list #writeblr #fantasy #cringetober 2023 #cringetober #pinterest art base #character writing #character description #original character #oc #witch #witchcore

[melanieenvs3000f23]

Week 1: Nature’s Influence

As I kick back and ponder my relationship with Mother Nature, I can't help but think about how things have taken a wild turn over the years. Back in the day, nature was just a backdrop to my childhood antics – a place to climb trees, chase butterflies, and get down and dirty in the mud with my pals. We didn't give two hoots about the intricate ecosystems lurking around us. Nature was basically a playground, not some mystical force.

Fast forward to when I got into biological science in university and things really changed! Suddenly, nature wasn't just a pretty picture in the background; it was a whole universe of complex, interconnected life forms. The concept of "nature interpretation" became so prominent. It wasn't just about admiring landscapes; it was about decoding the epic stories that nature had hidden in its folds.

As I dug deeper into nature, I started seeing the importance of people in the mix. I could picture these nature guides and experts spewing knowledge and helping people decipher the secrets of the great outdoors. These people offered me a "sense of place" in the wild.

One very prominent figure who stands out in my memory is my high school biology teacher. This woman was a nature ninja. She took our boring biology classes and turned them into thrilling adventures in the nearby woods and streams. She was our fearless leader, guiding us through the wilderness, encouraging us to ask questions, soak in the beauty, and understand how crazy intricate the natural world really is. Thanks to her, I got cozy with the woods and realized how vital nature interpretation can be.

I did a quick Google Image search of "nature interpretation," just as our course suggested. What did I find? Lots of signage, groups of people, all ages, and everyone looking pretty comfortable – no snowstorms or mosquito attacks in sight! These pictures tell a story about how people see the field, and it screams for more diversity and inclusivity.

When it comes to my personal nature interpretation experiences, it's been a mixed bag. The awesome ones were led by passionate guides who made me feel like a nature detective, sparking my curiosity and making me fall in love with the great outdoors all over again. But then there were the duds – the ones that felt like an exclusive club, leaving people like me out in the cold.

So, as I cruise through this course, I'm excited to level up as a nature interpreter. I want to remember that it's not just about dropping facts; it's about weaving stories and forging connections between people and nature. I know I won't always have all the answers, and my perspective will do some acrobatics as I learn.

To sum it up, my relationship with nature is all about respect and responsibility now. It's gone from casual fling to a deep, meaningful connection. Thanks to my education and the awesome people who offered me that "sense of place." As I take this journey into becoming a nature interpreter, I'm all about learning more through any means necessary. Nature, with its wild complexities and breathtaking beauty, is a never-ending adventure, and I'm ready to share that joy with everyone.

[cyallowitz]

Teaser Tuesday: The Magical Mayhem of Darwin

Teaser Tuesday: The Magical Mayhem of Darwin

Google Image Search Try as I might, I can’t avoid showing what Darwin is capable of.  I talk about the chaos he can create, but I don’t believe I’ve put up a scene where you see him in action.  The chase kind of showed it, but that was nothing compared to his true antics.  To be fair, Darwin doesn’t mean to make messes.  They just tend to happen. (more…)

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#action adventure #caster #Darwin Slepsnor #excerpts #fantasy #fiction #humor #magic #Slumberlord #sneak peek #spells #sword & sorcery #teaser Tuesday #Windemere

[catbountry]

What the Fuck is the Spamtotem?

Ya girl is about to fall into another rabbit hole thanks none other to KnowYourMeme.com. Allow me to set the stage for you.

So I’m checking Spamton’s KYM page because I love that image of Spamton as Max Stirner and I will just pull it up sometimes because I am part of the very specific demographic that finds it funny, only to be confronted by this image:

On KnowYourMeme, this image is simply labled “The Spamtotem.” So, naturally, I googled “Spamtotem” and was lead to a /v/ thread with only a few posts in it, containing both of these images.

There is zero explanation here and I think perhaps these came from another thread that didn’t pop up in the Google search. So I decided to check TinEye, which has usually been pretty reliable for finding duplicate images online, for both of these photos. The results?

Zero matches.

What are these? The first one appears to have been made with what I’m hoping is either dentures or a set of model teeth that dentists usually have, and not a full set of actual human teeth. Its name is a clear reference to Chris-chan’s legendary Sonic Totem, one of CWC’s cursed artifacts that is a recognizable image even to those who don’t follow Chris-chan’s antics.

I think the connection made here by the denizens of /v/ is pretty obvious. The second one appears to be made with real human hair.

UPDATE BEFORE I EVEN GET TO POST: As I’m writing this right now, somebody has said they’ve seen the doll with the hair on Twitter. I will update and keep you guys posted. I am extremely curious about this and would like to, hopefully, ask the creators of either of these pieces some questions. This is some true outsider art shit and that’s the kind of shit I live for so don’t fucking scare them off, you cretins.

Also said person found images of the doll being tossed around and I’m pretty sure I saw these circulating on Twitter myself, but they’re very blurry. However, I think it’s clear that they are the Spamton doll.

There’s some pretty strong shitpost energy in these images so I’m guessing the smaller doll was made at least a little ironically. If there isn’t, then we might be seeing some voodoo, I don’t know.

I still have nothing on the main Spamtotem right now. I will update as I find out more, because I definitely intend on finding out more. I’m also posting about this on Twitter.

Thanks for any help, I am just really curious and want to know as much as possible.

#deltarune #spamton #spamtotem #cursed #tl;dr

[furbearingbrick]

uh....thanks, google

#google image search antics #alejandro jodorowsky #the holy mountain 1973 #frogs and toads #brick speaks #this is why google needs to die

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 311: Hand Gun

Previously on BnHA: Horikoshi was all “thinkin’ about dropping in some woke analogies of the very real and very presently relevant issue of racial profiling idk what do you guys think” and then shrugged and did it without waiting for an answer, and ngl it was a bit sudden, but I’m here for it. All Might was all “DEKU YOU NEED TO EAT” and Deku was all “OKAY” and took his hero bento and went to go stand dramatically on a tower in the rain whilst having some highly anticipated Vestige flashbacks. OFA II was all, “sup, I guess I’m not Kacchan... OR AM I,” and ngl I think he is?? Alternate universes anybody?? Hello??? But anyway, so OFA the First a.k.a. Yoichi was all “remember that time you guys rescued me from my evil brother and Two took my hand and we Had A Moment?”, and Two and Three were all “ahh yeah good times”, and it was very nice and very, very gay. The chapter ended with it being very unclear if Two and Three have actually lent their power to Deku yet or not lmao. Y’all need to get your shit together dudes.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “what if I gave a random bad guy a fucking tommy gun that shoots nails” and jesus christ calm down son. The Hawksquad, a.k.a. SQUAWK as per @hotchocolatier​, are all “time to drive aimlessly around town acting like Deku has a restraining order on us because that’s literally the best plan to combat the League we could come up with,” and I have no further comment. Hawks is all “idk about you guys but I want to know more about AFO and Tomura’s whole deal” and I can’t remember the last time I identified so strongly with one of these characters. All Might is all, “[EXPLODES???]”, and the chapter ends with that mysterious hot girl from the Tartarus breakout being all “HELLO I CAN TURN INTO A GUN AND I LITERALLY DON’T GIVE A FUCK” and (1) WOW, and (2) IT’S TRUE, SHE CAN, AND SHE REALLY DOESN’T. GODDAMN.

(ETA: so this wholly escaped my notice on the first go, and also has nothing to do with the chapter itself, but I only just realized that this chapter was scanlated by a new group, TCB Scans. they actually did a very good job, and I’m curious if they’ve found a new RAW provider, because the quality this week is actually crazy good in comparison to what we’ve been dealing with for the past few months. I’m gonna have to get caught up on what exactly happened here lol.)

so what will it be this week? more Vestige antics? more of Sad Nomad Deku standing on buildings and pretending like he’s some cool aloof antihero, as if he could fool us when we all know his hero backpack is secretly stuffed full with his nerd diaries and the remnants of all the hero bentos that All Might keeps giving him?? or, just putting it out there, just a crazy thought, but you don’t suppose we might actually cut back to U.A.? mmm. side-eyes emoji

maaaaaan I’m starting to get tired of this trend of beginning chapters by dropping in on random power-tripping civilians and/or Shindou lol. just once can we get a chapter that opens with someone I actually give a fuck about

oh at least Endeavor is here

A WHAT SUPPORT ITEM!??! HOLY SHIT DDLKJSLFKJL

lol somehow that’s more terrifying than bullets for me?? like I’m fully aware that bullets will fuck you up way worse and that in real life nail guns probably don’t work like this AT ALL and only have a range of like... hold up let me just google... up to 100 to 150 m/s and distances of up to 500m wait WHAT

okay wait. hold up. like I was expecting google to tell me nail guns only shoot a few feet at most, and instead the first search result is some CDC blog article that’s “dispelling” the “””myth””” -- please note my repeated sarcastic quotation marks -- that nail guns can fire 1400 feet per second, by explaining that actually they can fire anywhere from 315 ft/sec to 1,295 ft/sec, and that “it is in the pneumatic nail gun user’s best interest to handle these tools as if they were a firearm despite having a lower velocity” dlkjdslkjflkl

SO THAT SCENE IN IRON MAN 3 WHERE TONY RAIDS A HOME DEPOT AND BUYS A BUNCH OF RANDOM TOOLS AND SHIT AND GOES ON TO STAGE A ONE-MAN INVASION OF AN INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST’S FLORIDA MANSION HQ IS ACTUALLY TRUE. YOU’RE TELLING ME THAT THE FILM “HOME ALONE” IS ACTUALLY A DOCUMENTARY. “the Discovery Channel television program “Mythbusters” compared the penetration capacity of an airborne projectile shot from a pneumatic framing nail gun to that of a 9mm hand gun” HELLO YES AND A MERRY “WHAT THE FUCK” TO YOU AS WELL

anyway, so. there’s apparently a reason why the Number One hero, who can burn people with the intensity of a sun going supernova, is hiding here behind this concrete support column making frowny faces. nope. nuh uh. he ain’t about that. I don’t blame you buddy

so now he’s barrel rolling out of his hiding place and setting this dude THE FUCK ON FIRE because HELL NO. BAD ENOUGH I HAD TO WATCH THAT FUCKING MUSHROOM EPISODE LAST WEEK! YOU TAKE THAT SHIT SOMEWHERE ELSE

LOL look at his face

I know the context is actually him being all “I know I’m responsible for basically everything that happened and so that’s why I’m so grim and serious about this mission to set things right piece by piece,” but in my mind this pissed-off face is 100% all because this dude tried to shoot his eye out with a nail gun. look at that. you made him go full flame face again. beard and all. protecting his face so that it can hopefully melt any stray nails that get too close. nope nope nope

good lord. so what’s up next. let me guess the guy fighting Best Jeanist has like an atomic chainsaw or some shit

lol nope we’re just cutting back to Hawks and Jeanist chilling in the Jesla after they’ve wrapped things up

Jeanist has got some serious Groot energy you guys jesus christ he’s like 12 feet tall

oh snap someone threw a pipe at him now

today is just the chapter of Endeavor being assaulted by random DIY tools I guess

I mean, I get why they’re pissed at him obviously; I would be too lol. but tbh I also don’t really understand the “get out of here we don’t want your help” attitude that all of these people suddenly seem to have?? like it if were me, I would be fucking DEMANDING for him and the other heroes to be working round the clock to fix their stupid mess. I mean who else is gonna do it?? it’s their mess, I sure don’t want to be the one to clean it up instead. anyways but whatever lol

oh shit?

so they haven’t dropped the whole “OFA secret potentially gets revealed to the world” thing yet after all. that makes sense I suppose, it did seem like that whole thing wound up playing out a bit too easily

anyway so yeah

the locals are definitely none too happy. well at least Dabi’s got something to be cheerful about I guess

so now we’re cutting to the interior of the Jesla and they’re chitchatting about the current investigation

oh wow this actually makes a bit of sense now. so there was a reason they were keeping their distance from Deku

please note that even in this abstract Endeavor’s-Mental-Image-Of-Him panel, Deku’s eyes still don’t have the light in them anymore :( my poor son

also ftr I still think using Deku as bait in this particular sense is the shittiest idea ever ngl. like sure, let’s let the sixteen-year-old run around battling miscellaneous escaped prison convicts while we stay several kilometers away ON PURPOSE despite the fact that you’re using him as bait to draw out the Big Bad, who just a reminder can destroy anything with a mere touch and who you were all basically helpless against. what exactly are you all planning to do if Tomura or one of the other League VIPs actually shows up to retrieve him?? are you even keeping tabs on him at all in real time?? jesus

(ETA: well that escalated quickly lol.)

Horikoshi is all of a sudden dropping whole pages of exposition here and I can’t be bothered to summarize this lol so just,

a big fat YES to what Jeanist said, though. that’s why imo they would have been better off laying a trap at U.A. rather than just wandering around out in the open. I assume they’re trying to cut their potential losses because U.A. is full of students (and civilians), but those students also happen to be more capable than pretty much anyone else in the manga at this point. and tbh they’re already in life-threatening danger regardless of how things play out from here on, so they might as well at least try to use the few advantages they have right now. U.A. is almost certainly going to come under siege at some point anyway, so they might as well prepare for it

lol I don’t think I’m explaining this very well because I don’t have the patience right now to break it down point by point like it really ought to be, so for now I’ll just say that imo “U.A. siege” stands a good chance of being the eventual endgame even now, and so this whole “Deku runs around being bait” arc is really just killing time until then lol. like and subscribe for more rambling nonsensical takes such as this. maybe next time I’ll even put it all into one single sentence for maximum meandering senior citizen rant value

well it’s nice that they’re finally talking about all of this I guess

we readers have known all of this for months now but this confirms the heroes are finally caught up. ALSO, Hawks is so fucking smart, as always. kinda wonder if things would have played out differently if All Might had let him in on the secret a bit earlier. probably that’s why Horikoshi made damn sure they didn’t find out until after the War arc lol

OH MY GOD YOOOOOO HAWKS OUT HERE ASKING THE REAL QUESTIONS

“anyone else wondering why AFO bothered to raise Tomura as his fake heir for fifteen years when he was secretly planning on taking over his body the whole time” YES, [raises hand] lmao Hawks where the hell were you when I was debating this “AFO is the final villain and Tomura is just his pawn” thing on multiple occasions over the past several years lol

lmao seeing them debate the metaphysics of OFA and all of its mystical bullshit is seriously surreal you guys

JEANIST HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT MY META TAG I HAVE WRITTEN SO MANY ESSAYS. I ACTUALLY WAS PLANNING ON WRITING ANOTHER ESSAY ABOUT THE THING THAT I’M PRETTY SURE HAWKS IS ABOUT TO BRING UP, BUT I NEVER GOT AROUND TO IT WHOOPS, BUT MAYBE I WILL NOW LOL LET’S SEE HOW IT GOES

yes!!

WHICH AFO FUCKING ENSURED HE WOULD BE BY LITERALLY PLANNING OUT EVERY LAST DETAIL OF HIS FAMILY TRAGEDY, FROM SECRETLY GIVING TENKO THE QUIRK TO MAKING SURE NO CIVILIANS OR HEROES WOULD HELP HIM UNTIL AFO FINALLY STEPPED IN. I’M 1000% CONVINCED THIS IS THE CASE YOU GUYS. NOT JUST BECAUSE I’M NOT A FAN OF “THE WORLD IS A FUNDAMENTALLY SHITTY PLACE, ACTUALLY” TAKES BECAUSE MISTER ROGERS TOLD ME TO ALWAYS LOOK FOR THE HELPERS, BUT ALSO BECAUSE IT LITERALLY JUST DOESN’T MAKE A LICK OF SENSE OTHERWISE. THEIR ENTIRE HOUSE CAVED IN FFS, YOU’RE TELLING ME NONE OF THE NEIGHBORS FUCKING OVERHEARD THAT SHIT AND WENT “UMMMMMMMMM” AND WENT TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON?? “DIDN’T THERE USED TO BE A HOUSE HERE, AND LIKE A WHOLE FAMILY, AND SHIT?”

LIKE I’M SORRY, BUT IT’S ONE THING TO SAY IT’S REALISTIC THAT NOT A SINGLE PERSON WOULD ATTEMPT TO HELP THE WANDERING TRAUMATIZED CHILD AFTERWARDS (WHICH I DISAGREE WITH AS WELL BUT AT LEAST THAT’S MORE SUBJECTIVE), AND IT’S A WHOLE OTHER THING TO ARGUE THAT IT’S REALISTIC THAT NO ONE WOULD BE FUCKING NOSY. LIKE THAT’S A WHOLE DIFFERENT LEVEL OF “THAT’S NOT HOW ANY OF THIS WORKS” ENTIRELY LOL. anyway tl;dr AFO is a piece of shit and Tomura’s entire worldview is based on a magnificently intricate and savagely cruel lie more at 11

anyway so after all that ranting it looks like that wasn’t even what Hawks was talking about after all lol. I just went off for absolutely no reason lol oh well. instead it seems that Hawks is suggesting that Tomura’s carefully cultivated hatred might not yet have actually reached “can defeat OFA” levels even after all of that trauma. interesting!

don’t mind me, I’m just sitting here while my brain furiously scrambles to put together all the parallels between Hawks and Tomura that it never noticed before until exactly this second. like I’m not even sure that was the intent here at all (I need to check out another translation or two lol), but regardless my mind decided that now would be the perfect time to make the connection between these two twenty-somethings who both had horrific childhoods and spent years being molded by their respective manipulative guardians, and developed eerily similar “laugh at everything because what else can you do” coping mechanisms to deal with it all hmmmmm

anyway so they were talking more about their strategy, but now all of a sudden Jeanist’s phone is beeping??

AND NOW WE’RE CUTTING AWAY TO ALL MIGHT AND HIS MIGHTMOBILE DAMMIT so that means the call to Jeanist was actually something important then!! WAS IT BAKUGOU OMG. DOES YOUR INTERN WANT A WORD FFFKLFSJK please it’s been so long I just need a little crumb or two to tide me over lmao have mercy

anyway so All Might’s following the GPS tracking device he’s apparently got planted on Deku (which in my conspiracy headcanons he’s actually had for a long time now, like since before DvK2 lol because HOW ELSE WOULD HAVE HAVE KNOWN THAT THEY WERE FIGHTING EACH OTHER IN GROUND BETA, PEOPLE) and thinking angsty thoughts about Deku’s sucky life

AND NOW ALL MIGHT’S PHONE IS RINGING TOO?? BAKUGOU HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE YOU CALLING. “WHERE ARE YOU HIDING THE NERD GODDAMMIT”

OMG

lol is he under attack or is he just finally giving All Might the slip like we all know he SECRETLY PLANNED TO ALL ALONG oh my poor dumb angstmuffin

OMG AHHHHHHH WHAT

DID ALL MIGHT JUST FUCKING DIE LMAO NO OF COURSE NOT, BUT WHAT

WHAT IS HAPPENING OMG

THE FUCK IS THAT. AT LEAST IT’S NOT A NAIL

OH IT’S A SPEAKER!! OMG DID THEY TAKE ALL MIGHT HOSTAGE

“THEY’RE HERE” WELP, TIME TO SEE JUST HOW SHITTY THIS SHITTY PLAN REALLY IS LOL

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SHE!!!!

omg. AND OVERHAUL JUST CHILLING THERE IN THE BACKGROUND ALL “WHAT DO YOU EVEN WANT ME TO DO I’VE GOT NO FUCKING ARMS” YEAH GOOD RIDDANCE LOL

DOES THIS GIRL HAVE ONE GIANT LEG OR WHAT, LIKE WHAT’S THE DEAL HERE

-- HOLD UP WAIT, THE GUN IS HER ARM, HOLY SHIT SHE CAN TURN INTO A GUN -- OKAY HOLD UP BECAUSE I NEED TO SAY THAT IN BIGGER TEXT BECAUSE !!!!

YOU GUYS, THE COOL TARTARUS GIRL IS BACK AND HER QUIRK IS “CAN TURN INTO A FUCKING GUN.” THIS IS NOT A DRILL!! MY BEST GIRL MT. GUN IS FINALLY BACK ON THE SCENE WITH HER QUIRK “CAN DO ANYTHING A GUN CAN DO.” “I HEARD Y’ALL WENT AND NAMED ONE OF YOUR HEROES ‘GUNHEAD’ EVEN THOUGH HIS HEAD ISN’T EVEN A GUN, LIKE WTF IS UP WITH THAT LET ME SHOW YOU HOW IT’S DONE” DANG OKAY

lmao only fifteen pages this week, and STILL NO KACCHAN (THEN WHO WAS PHONE!!!), but man I don’t even care because finally we’ve got a cliffhanger that’s actually deserving of being a cliffhanger! hot dog. okay then

#bnha 311 #endeavor #hawks (bnha) #takami keigo #shigaraki tomura #best jeanist #all might #midoriya izuku #cool tartarus gun transforming girl #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha

[oneoftheprettynerds]

Just My Type: Dark!Steve x Reader (Mob AU)

Chapter 2 in the Lipstick and Crayons Series.

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Darkside

Main Masterlist

A/N: This chapter is 2K words more than the last chapter and I’ve second guessed every single line in this one. This story is getting a lot of traction guys and I’m equal parts happy and scared. Thank you for the nice comments, they do encourage me. Also I’m just ranting feel free to skip this note haha. Your support in any form: like, comment or reblog is appreciated greatly. Also you can dm if you want to be friends, God knows I need those. Hopefully, this chap was worth the wait. Also, I made a poster for this on the main masterlist so check that out, it might be foreshadowing dome plot.

Warning: Eventual Non-Con, Sickening Threats, Mob Themes, Violence, Death, Manipulation, a mild mental breakdown, Cheap Tricks later.

Genres + Characters: Mob AU, Single Parents AU, Steve Rogers x Reader.

Summary: Steve can't ever repay you for what you did. After meeting you, Steve believes his broken family is the missing piece in the puzzle of your own wrecked one. Indebting the crime lord to you has been the biggest mistake of your life, cause now you can't get rid of him, no matter what. Loyalty and favours go a long way in the mob.

Chapter 2: Just My Type

It had almost been a week since the incident and you had barely gotten a wink of sleep. When you drove back to your house that night, Steve surprisingly didn’t argue as you had expected. After that friend of his whispered something in his ears, you only assumed he was needed elsewhere and you couldn’t be more thankful for that. They escorted you to your car and Steve thanked you with a strained smile, words genuine but eyes calculating. You didn’t even wonder what went inside his head. You were thankful for the peace and quiet of your own car, content to just get out of the area and into your humble abode.

After you put the already asleep Grace to bed, you couldn’t bring yourself to get out of her room. You just sat on the floor beside the bed, hand intertwined with hers as you rested your head beside her tummy on the mattress.

Your adrenaline wore off and your limbs ached as your thoughts finally settled into place, the gravity of the catastrophe a few hours prior hitting you. Tears made their way down your cheeks as you realized that you both could have very well died tonight.

One bullet could have sealed each of your lives and you were basically defenseless had Steve not saved you against the creeping assaulter. You couldn’t commend yourself for even defending yourself against one attacker, the guilt of killing someone harboring in your tired head. Your quiet whimpers eventually wore you out, while Grace’s shallow breaths lulled you to sleep.

You didn’t manage to sleep for long though, every time your eyes closed, horrific images flashed in your mind. A blood curdling scream here, heaps of dead bodies there, with distant exploding sounds all around. You could see men clad in black holding guns to Grace’s head and whensoever you woke up, you just wondered how much more creative your mind could get, making these visuals so realistic.

When 8 AM rolled in, you didn’t wake Grace up even though it was Monday and you had work. You got up, changed into a long tee after a shower and called your office and then her daycare. You knew you would have a hard time going back to your normal life, to become trusting enough to leave her alone.

Your assumption about yourself was right. You took almost the entire week off, which your boss generously allowed you to after hearing your traumatic experience, which soon made the city news headlines. All your colleagues checked on you, almost once in the five day break you took, and sweetly enough offered to bring you anything you needed.

It was kind of them, but none of them could bring you what your heart genuinely craved: peace and assurance that you and Grace would be safe.

Even though Saturdays were off, you did go to work to see what you missed and where to start on again. You went in because you knew that the random spurt of resolution you got in the bathroom to collect your life, wouldn’t last.

To ease back into your normal life, you gathered your guts, called a babysitter and left home. You couldn’t bring yourself to leave Grace at the daycare just yet. One of your good friends offered to come in to the office and help you, even on the weekend and you were quite grateful to him.

When you both decided to take lunch in the nearby dining place, you both got to talking, the conversation obviously originating from ‘How have you been?’ and ‘Is Grace okay?’. You reminisced about how you used a photobooth to hide, grotesquely and uncomfortably chuckling when you remembered Sarah calling you her mom and how her dad saved you all.

You deliberately left the part where you killed someone and Steve shot someone too. You hadn’t come to terms with it yet and you stiffly restricted your mind whenever it tried to go down that lane.

He sensed how the conversation was becoming tense and distressing for you and briskly redirected the topic.

“I hope the dad was hot though?” He wiggled his eyes creepily and you snorted at his vulgarity, light for the first time in days.

“He was easy on the eyes; I will admit that.” You played along, recalling your girlfriends and how you used to ogle people.

“Don’t be a homewrecker though, I don’t support cheating.” He said nonchalantly, checking his phone as a notification bell rang off.

“He’s a widower.”

His eyes snapped up and met yours as his head tilted in confusion. “That’s a strange fact to know about someone you met for a few minutes.”

Steve’s even stranger comment about his dead wife popped in your mind and before you could stop yourself, you blurted that out as well.

“He even said and I quote, ‘She deserved what she got.’” He put his phone down, weirdly amused.

“Ooh Creepy! Do you think he is one of those husbands who kill their wives and bury them in the backyard? The podcasts always say that the psychopaths are visually handsome and charming. And his statement was quite vague and spooky.” He continued munching, and you felt that now Aiden was really paying attention unlike before.

“Steve did have a gun while searching for Sarah, come to think of it.” You drank your tea and awaited his response. What you did not expect was his eyes to widen and worry to cloud his features.

“Um Widower Steve with a toddler Sarah? At the place where The Vices attacked?” He mumbled, grabbing his phone and doing God knows what on it. Your eyebrows furrowed and before you could ask him what was up with his antics, he resumed.

“This is a long shot but I really hope your Steve didn’t look like this.” He positioned the phone in your vision, and you could already tell it was Steve by the sapphire blue of his eyes piercing through the screen into your soul. The picture was a month or two old, his hair was much longer when you met him than in the photo.

“This is him.” Your eyes met Aiden’s and worry visibly took over his features as his forehead creased and jaw tense.

He looked around the restaurant, finding it empty in the afternoon. He leaned and whispered, “This Steve of yours is dangerous.”

You interrupted Aiden, even though you already knew Steve was, the sight of his armed men still fresh in your head, and inquired, “Why do you say so?”

“It’s just like the fictional stories we hear from our parents, except here, in this city of ours, every myth holds true. There are really powerful men, untouchable by law, who reign the city silently and live luxuriously. Every shady, under the table deal you’ve heard of, transpires. Illegal trades, fraud schemes and bounty hunters are not fictional, they exist here. These men kill whatever hinders them and trust me, you don’t want to be the deer caught in their Jaguar’s headlights.”

Ice froze in your veins again, resembling the fear you felt that night but now because of your deemed ‘savior’. You convinced yourself that you had not wronged him in any way, instead had saved his daughter’s life.

“Are you in contact with him? If you are, distance yourself cleverly, don't block him immediately.”

“No, we just parted ways near my car, he thanked me for Sarah and was called away. It’s almost been a week and he hasn’t reached out if that’s what you mean. We didn’t exchange contacts and I don’t think I even told him my full name.” You explained yourself as if you were on the witness stand in court, trying to convince yourself more than Aiden.

“Pray that he doesn’t remember you more than that, if at all. I’m being totally honest here in telling you this, I’m genuinely worried for you and Grace. You are smart but he is powerful. He has unimaginable resources and if you become more than a speck of dust on his windshield, you are screwed. There is no exaggeration here.” You took his words to your heart and swore to be careful, if not for yourself then for Grace.

The rest of the day went by and you found yourself dwelling on and worrying about Aiden’s words. At least he put it out there as it was. Heeding his advice, you did google Steve on your phone, finally finding him in the topmost news headline when you added ‘Buck’ in the search bar as well.

‘With 38 lawsuits pending against businessman Steve Rogers, the filers have lost all hope in prosecuting him. All cases are being drawn out for indefinite periods of time by the Chief Justice Bruce……’

Aiden was right.

Businessmen was code for illegal mob heads. Cases being stretched on meant he was, in fact, invincible, at least to the common man’s fists.

You flickered through several titles, each one more surprising than the last. He was believed to be involved in the carnival attack, alleged for three hit and run cases that he didn’t lose but the witnesses swore they saw him driving and was also rumored to have brought in quintals of drugs just last week, but the packets just evaporated into thin air and there was no proof of their existence in the first place even on incessant searching.

Every crime of his made you shudder and you mentally thanked Aiden for pulling you out of your oblivion. Your mind raced and heart palpated and you cursed yourself for being so drastically unaware even after living here for almost four years. Technically speaking, Steve and you were even, him saving your life and you saving his daughter’s. No logical reason came to your mind for him contacting you ever.

You wished as Aiden said and assured yourself that your paths would never cross again, Steve not having reached out in a week, so hopefully never again.

That thought went out the window when you reached home to find a box awaiting you. Hannah, the babysitter you had called, informed you it came around 5 in the evening and was exclusively to be opened by you today.

Your mind raced as you paid the babysitter, your hands sweaty as you tried not to think about the gift and its sender. There was an apparently clear answer to who mailed it but you refused to accept that, courtesy of Aiden.

The box was of the height of Grace, it was black with red hearts painted across it; some red roses also sparingly adorned it. You opened the lid and found tons of red tissues and a multi-flower bouquet adorned with mostly red roses and a few purple and pink flowers.

Because of your frequent gardening in your backyard, you knew all the flowers’ meanings. To sum it all up, red flowers, especially roses were used for courting someone. Pink meant admiration, purple for beauty and you knew the ‘violet’ flowers were for loyalty.

As your nerves increased tenfold, you willed yourself to get it over with and empty out the box first, ignoring the little card in your bouquet, saving the ‘best’ for last. You find a mini bouquet inside but unlike yours, it had chocolates of every kind. You did read its card and cringed when it was for Grace, bothered not by the deed but by the doer.    

Further inside were some animal plushies, face masks, perfumes, scented body lotions and shampoos. Your head hurt thinking about the ‘single mother care package’ delivered to you by someone you refused to acknowledge.

As Grace sat in her playpen occupied, you dared to pick your card and read its message, your heart beating unrealistically fast for someone who refused to accept the cruciality of her situation.

~

I can’t thank you enough in this lifetime for saving my little princess. The gift of your help is more than anything money could ever buy for me. Please accept this invitation of mine for dinner tomorrow night, 7PM at La Bonne Nuit, as a symbol of my sincere gratitude for everything you’ve done. I’ll gets the kids covered and pick you up, you just be ready and look as amazing you always do.                                                                                           Sincerely,                                                                      Steve Rogers

                                                                                            ~

You stilled as you read it over and over again.

An invitation, your ass. Even in writing his authority portrayed, there was no question and hope for you coming, he just stated that you’d come. Looking pretty as always? You just met him once, in the middle of a calamity, covered in dirt and blood.

All the red roses and gifts screamed his romantic interest but you illusioned yourself into thinking they meant gratitude. You wouldn’t be able to digest it all otherwise.

Knowing what you knew now about Steve, you understood there was no denying the dinner tomorrow. You had to get out of his clutches and distance yourself, but as Aiden had so rightfully said, cleverly.

That night you laid in bed mulling over your next course of actions. You had called the gift shop to return the unwarranted presents you received but they said it was non refundable and anonymous to trace. You bitterly snorted in their face, they put a card with Steve’s name on it for heaven’s sake!

You didn’t flinch even when you realized you never gave Steve your address, neither for mailing stuff nor for picking you up. There was no number given to call him and thank or to call him and deny. The bastard had planned it all out, and you felt like you were driving in a one way lane, going deeper into the tunnel. Somewhere among your all-relentless fretting, you managed to finally sleep.

 When the doorbell rang, your eyebrows furrowed. It was just 6 PM and you weren’t expecting anybody else except for Steve. You had already begun getting ready, having developed a habit of keeping an extra margin of time now having a toddler. You still had to assemble Grace’s essential backpack, fill it with her meds and bottles.

While still putting on your diamond earring, you made your way to the door, unlocking it to find a redhead grinning at you. Before you could interact with her, a small body clung to your legs and you looked down to find the azure eyed kid that put you in this mess, Sarah, smiling up at you.

“Mama! You look pwetty!” She looked up in awe and now aware that she didn’t have a mother, you were even more so coerced into accepting this title rather than telling the kid that 'you are semi orphaned'.

“I’m Wanda, Sarah’s nanny. Mr. Rogers told me to pick her friend, Grace, up for the night?” So, this was what Steve meant. Bringing Sarah was proof enough of her legitimacy, but behind her you saw ‘Buck’ salute you from the driver’s seat of the black car. One of these days, you needed to learn his real name.

You invited Wanda inside and Sarah ran to Grace immediately, grabbing and whining while asking Grace to give her some popcorn she was munching on, her fist generously full.

In your open plan kitchen, you grabbed two plastic bowls, filled them with each with the tub of popcorn that sat in the microwave and handed each toddler one, fortunately quietening Sarah. Sarah obeyed Grace, in first thanking you, their ‘mama’ and then following her to her open playpen.

You faced Wanda again who sat on a barstool and kept on beaming. If your annoyance at her amusement showed, she sure didn’t let it falter the smile.

“Mr. Rogers told me you’d worry about your daughter, but I assure you she’d be in more than capable hands.” All you could focus on was how self-reassured she was. “I’ve served him for almost two years, the last family I served, I was there for 8 years and before them, I was employed for 3. I know the general bedtime and snacks, all I need from you is information about her allergies.”

You nodded and told her about Grace, her meds and what all you packed. When you got to know that her family owned the daycare Grace went to, you were finally somewhat convinced. After seeing them off, it was about fifteen minutes later, that the devil disguised in Prada showed up at your door.

You grabbed your purse and your keys. Wiping your sweaty palms on your dress, you opened the door. Steve stood there, a smirk lodging on his handsome face. His blue, three-piece suit perfectly paired with his cerulean eyes was impressive to say the least.

He was dressed to kill, and it appeared as if you were his first victim.

As your eyes took him in from top to bottom, his did the same lazily, taking their time, resting at certain places for longer period than others.

“You look stunning.”

You knew you did. You wore one of your more expensive dresses when you found out La Bonne Nuit to be one of the few seven-star hotels in the country. In hindsight, if you’d have dressed worse, maybe he’d have left you alone.

“Thank you.”

“Shall we?” He offered you his hand and you obliged with your palm in his. Your other hand pulled the doorknob while you stepped out, all alarms already set-in place. He waited while you locked and put the keys in and when you were done, with a soft kiss along your knuckles, he pulled you along.

The act surprised you, your stomach turning and your gut wrenching and you wondered if you’d be able to process the food after all, with your upset digestive system.

Like a proper gentleman, he opened the door for you and when you settled, he took his position at the driver’s seat. The silence was painful for you, your overthinking finally filling ideas in your head that you avoided contemplating about all day, focusing on Grace.

He was relaxed though; his humming was proof enough.

Mid way through, your thoughts were rudely interrupted when a hand housed itself on your knee. You glanced to find Steve’s palm slightly rubbing your knee. If it was meant to be assuring, you certainly didn’t feel like it.

You frowned and looked up to Steve who still had the arrogant smirk on his face, eyes straight ahead on the road, giving no indication of his inappropriate touching.

You wanted to swat his hand away but a brainwave dashed through your head and a disturbing thought made you halt, that whether he carried guns to restaurants as well, since carnivals were no big deal.

You ignored his hand and continued looking outside, pretending to ignore it as well as he did. Your scowl was a huge giveaway though.

You didn’t know that, but when your eyes found their way out, his finally rested on your face, the smirk growing even more.

Thankfully, apart from the incongruous touching, the dinner went okay-ish. The food and wine were impeccable, perfect even, the restaurant on the hotel’s top floors was so picturesque. You tried to savor your one-time experience there, knowing you’d no way be able to come back there.

Well, you tried to relish as much as you could while your mind still sat there, wary of the human in front of you. If you’d ignore your journey here, Steve was nothing short of a true gentleman, often making you wonder if you had imagined his hand on you.

This ‘friendly’ date you were having was probably one of the best you have had, he had left no expenses. He appeared to be interested in your work, about your childhood and about Grace’s but you swiftly avoided his questions about her father. He was growing a tad bit too comfortable for your liking and you still refused to entertain the idea that this was a ‘date’ date.

When you were finally onto dessert, the last course of your meal, your table was shadowed by the broad frame of a brunette and his date. He clapped Steve’s shoulder and Steve rose to hug him, you awkwardly smiled.

“It’s been far too long since you’ve been here, Cap. Why don’t you and your gorgeous date stop by my penthouse for a bit? We could finally go over the papers you sent me, in person?” He winked, they discussed something more and then went away, his date bowing and trailing after him as well.

Steve claimed his seat again, and finally told you about the interrupter. “That was my good friend, Tony Stark, always in a hurry. I’ll introduce you to him when we meet him later.”

“I think I’ll be heading home; you need not worry about my introduction, I hardly think we’ll ever run into each other again.” His eyes narrowed and you clarified, “Me and Mr. Stark, I meant.”

That’s good, don’t associate yourself with more of his kind.

“He was so kind in inviting you though, it would be rude to refuse.”

“It’s already late, Steve. And I’ve never left Grace alone for a night yet. What if she’s antsy? What if she is bothered? What if she feels unsafe? She's only used to very few people, and after last week, I-” You had started the sentence hoping to use Grace as an excuse but every word of yours succeeded in making you more apprehensive.

The carnival night flashed in your mind, along with the nightmares and you started panicking even more. Your hands clammy, your dessert spoon fell in your lap as sought your phone in your purse, hoping to call Wanda for an update. You felt like a terrible mother, who left her child with a stranger, only a week after she suffered trauma, just to go on a date with a mobster.

Steve reached across the table and grabbed your fidgety hands and as you wriggled to get your hands free, he softly called your name. Voice stern but vocals gentle. Your blurry eyes snapped to meet his while he guided you to breathe deeply, in and out.

His firm hold convinced you to listen to him, you’d never free yourself of them otherwise.

When you had calmed a bit, he withdrew his hands and fetched his phone. Your thoughts slowed down, and you wondered if anyone here was judging you. Your little scene, mercifully, went unnoticed by the other affluent people dining here.

Steve handed you his phone where four colored frames rested, the screen showing you Grace and Sarah cuddled in a frilly, pink four poster where Wanda sat too, her lips moving.

The feed was live and the screen muted, both the toddlers’ eyes fluttering close slowly, on the bridge of sleep.

You handed the phone back to Steve and drank your water while he rubbed circles on the back of one of your hands. You never freaked out like you did right now, always collected and never giving into anxiety. What had happened to you?

Well, In your defense, you had never experienced a disaster either.

“The kids are safe; I’m never putting either of them in harm’s way ever again.”

Your mind did catch the plural in his statement but you promised yourself you would not let it get that far and continued drinking your water, emptying the entire glass.

“The HD image you just saw was by cameras Tony recently developed. His technology is amazing, I’ll take you to his lab sometime.” You appreciated his attempt to redirect the topic but you also focused on how tech-savvy his friends were as well.

You hummed and agreed, trying to be ambiguous with your answer.

When you finished your dessert, you hoped he’d forget about his ‘friend’ Tony but to no avail.

“His penthouse is two floors above. He owns this hotel as well in case you didn’t notice.” He led you to the elevator as you recalled the Starks Group logo you saw earlier sometime.

Some AI named Jarvis opened the elevator doors for you in the living room of Tony’s penthouse. It was even more magnificent than the restaurant earlier, the place illuminated by several hues of different colours. Steve chuckled and strung you along, introducing you to a ginger-head named Pepper, who was Tony’s date earlier and went to search for his acquaintance.

She offered you wine but you politely declined, opting for water instead. She brought your glass to you from the extravagant kitchen and you both sat on the barstool there instead of the living room. Too anxious to say the wrong thing, you stayed quiet until her voice filled the deafening silence.

“So, Steve almost never brings dates around. You two serious?” She questioned, leaning towards you, waiting for some gossip, no doubt.

“Oh no! We aren’t dating. He just invited me for a friendly dinner. We merely met the other week.” You deliberately left out the part where there was bombing by crime families and attack on the common man.

“Honey, in the mob life, you don’t just introduce random people to the fam.”

Oh, she wasn’t being shy about the whole mob ordeal. It seemed weird to hear it from her, since you and Steve hadn’t used the word yet. Maybe he figured you already knew considering the circumstances you met in or how famous he was.

“We really aren’t romantically involved. This dinner was just a gesture of gratitude if I’m being truthful.”

She chuckled, as if you were a kid making stories and quizzed, “Gratitude for what?”

You trapped yourself into that one. You didn’t know how to answer her and your brain downright blanked. Surprisingly,, Steve came to your rescue and two voices interposed your conversation.

Steve called your name and as you turned to the men, he continued, “She’s the one who saved Sarah the other night. You know the story, Wilson probably got it printed.”

“Impressive, really. Hey, I’m Tony and I see you’ve already met Pepper, my fiancée.” He shook your hand and kissed your knuckles, much like Steve did earlier in the day. You bowed, smiled and mumbled a ‘nice to meet you as well’. They escorted you to the elevator and Tony continued.

“Well, it’s not everyday Steve brings brave and extraordinarily attractive women around. Welcome to the family, sweetie. She’s a keeper, Cap.” He winked while saying the last sentence and before you could correct him, Steve ushered you inside the elevator, bro-hugging him. As the doors closed, Pepper winked at you from behind Tony and a shudder ran through you.

Okay you had to make it clear, get on the same page.

As the elevator music filled the silence, you started, “Steve, look we aren’t-”, “I served in the army, that’s why Tony calls me Cap, short for captain.” And crudely got interrupted.

“I never wanted to get into the army, I thought people were fools to sacrifice the one life they got. But I went to make my mother’s dream a reality, I really loved her, you know? Sarah is named after her, my mother.”

His voice broke at the end and as much as you wanted to redirect onto your former topic, you couldn’t. This amiability of yours would be the death of you.

“She died alone in her bed; I was dispatched too far away to even make it back for her funeral.” He mumbled but you heard him clear as a sunny day, and he leaned back onto the wall for support while you awkwardly rubbed his shoulder to return the support he provided earlier during your mental breakdown.

He closed his eyes and gathered himself, taking deep breaths. As the elevator dinged, his eyes opened and he gave you a strained smile.  

The car ride to his mansion was painfully silent, his mind too sidetracked to focus on harassing you again. With all that you went through today, you almost forgot about that.

His mansion was enormous, twenty guards stood outside and even more patrolled the lawn. He took you inside his house, the interior even more detailed and scenic than Tony’s temporary residence.

You just concentrated on swiftly getting Grace and Uber-ing back. As Steve showed you earlier, Grace and Sarah hugged and slept and it was a meticulous task to untangle their limbs without waking either of them up andnd get Grace with her back-pack. You thanked Wanda on the way out, hoping to avoid Steve but somehow he stood outside before you, leaning on his sleek black car. He opened the door for you before you could refuse the ride. You settled with Grace in the backseat itself, trying to be smart.

He just summoned one of his guards to drive and sat alongside you in the back. You didn’t let the annoyance at his clinginess show though. You just focused on Grace who drooled over your shoulder.

Hopefully, there won’t be any point of exposure to him ever again, your circles didn’t match, both social and professional. Your Venn diagrams didn’t overlap anywhere. This should be reason enough to avoid meeting ever again.

He didn’t try anything even this ride around. You doubted it was hardly because of the toddler or because of the driver. He did as he pleased, if he wanted to he could very well grope you. Luckily, he wasn't in the mood.

When you reached your dwelling, you stepped out hastily, thanking him in a whisper. You fumbled to get your keys out, but since everything you held slowed you down, he caught up with you without even trying.

He took and held Grace’s bag while you drew the keys out, Grace still on your hip. He handed you the bag back, “So this is it, I guess?”

“Yeah, tonight was a total delight. Thanks for the dinner and everything, really.” You put up your best façade, hoping to convince him.

“It was, thanks to you. The company matters the most.”

You awkwardly chuckled and you sensed him leaning in, his eyes flickering shut. Your eyes closed as you turned your head to avoid him, so that his lips would peck your cheek.

They never came.

Your eyes opened to find his and he chuckled, leaning in once again swiftly, catching you off guard this time. He didn’t meet your lips though, he kissed the corner of your mouth, lips overlapping for a fraction of skin.

“In due time, baby.” He stepped back and strolled to his car leisurely, content in his own world.

You opened your door and slammed it shut, the peck feeling wrong on so many levels. It felt more sensual than a lover’s kiss, leaving room for intimacy and longing.

Your thoughts ran a hundred kilometers an hour, the most absurd but nauseatingly true being, this was a date and it was not your last encounter.

Steve smirked outside in his car, the dinner an absolute success in his opinion. Tonight just made him feel that you both were more than compatible for each other. You needing him during your mental breakdown, him relaxing under your shy touch, Tony’s approval, not that important though, and your anxiety for Grace was the best part, because he, more often than he’d like to admit, fussed about Sarah the same way, agonizing and fretting her well being.

A text lit up his black screen and his grin widened even more if possible.

‘The Stark cameras are up and working, Sir.’

#dark fic #dark mcu #dark!steve rogers x reader #dark!steve rogers #dark!steve x reader #Steve Rogers #steve x reader #steve rogers x reader #mcudarklibrary #Chris Evans #chris evans x reader #marvel fic #mob au #mob!steve #mafia!steve rogers #Mob!steve x reader #dark! mob! steve rogers #mafia au #ray writes #just my type #Lipstick and Crayons #Lipstick and Crayons series

[jungkookiebus]

Petals | kth

Genre: hanahaki!au, ANGST Rating: PG13 Pairing: taehyung x reader Word Count: 1.8k Warnings: heavy angst, unrequited love, mentions of blood (and a fair amount of it), major character death Author’s Note: A kind anon asked, I had never heard of it, but immediately started googling and found the subject pretty fascinating. It’s short and sweet, but I think it covers the angst bases. 🙈

The first time you saw him was in spring. The cherry blossoms were blooming, and life seemed magical. Sun beat down on the campus and right onto him. He must have been a transfer; you hadn’t seen him this semester. His soft brown hair shone with strands of gold in the sunlight. His skin was equally as golden, and he seemed to shine. Whispers went around campus quickly. The new boy was beautiful, that much you knew, but the rest was a mystery. Rumors surfaced that he was some out of town rich kid. Others said he was some poor orphan from Daegu. Whatever he was, he was your new object of affection.

You learned his name when you found out you had chemistry together and his last name put him right next to you. He sat smoothly on the stool next to yours, his sweet scent wafting in your direction.

Taehyung. It rolled off the teacher’s tongue delicately because that was the only way one should say it.

You chanced a glance at him. He must have felt your gaze because he looked over at you and smiled. His smile was boxy, but it reminded you of a heart. His eyes were a deep, chocolate brown.

That spring semester was one to remember for you. Every day, after lunch, he was always happy when he sat down next to you. He’d tell you about the current video games he was trying to beat, the book he read over the weekend, or the strange antics him and his new best friend, Jungkook, got up to. Every now and again his hand would find your arm as he excitedly told you a story. Your face would heat up, but you don’t think he noticed. He’d go on talking like nothing had happened and would eventually ask you what you had been up to.

Your feelings for him grew as the months wore on. His touches would happen more often, and he’d keep his palm against your skin just a little longer than normal. You knew, in your heart, that he was beginning to feel the same way.

That was, until, the last day of the semester before summer break. You were making your way down the hall to your last chemistry class. You were excited to see him, but sad that this would be your last class together. Maybe he would tell you about his feelings? If not, were you prepared to make the first move? But those thoughts were quickly dashed when you saw him in the hallway with her. Your school’s sweetheart was oddly close to him as he stood against the wall. One of his hands was on the strap of his backpack while the other was stuffed into his pocket. She, too, leaned against the wall but her chest was nearly touching his arm and she was doing that disgusting thing that girl’s do when they look up at boys and bat their eyelashes. He was talking to her and smiling. It made your heart drop sickeningly into your stomach. You just looked at them, neither of them noticing, as you passed and walked into class.

Moments later, Taehyung was walking into the room, usual smile on his face as he sat down next to you.

“Everything okay, ____?” he asked.

“Yea,” you mumbled, looking ahead.

He merely shrugged and began rambling on as he usually did. You wanted to pay attention, to give him all you had, but you also wanted to be upset with him. Why was he talking to her of all people? Did he not feel anything for you?

Class went by as usual and at the end, Taehyung was extending his hand towards yours. Your heart flipped in your chest.

“Hey, put your number in here,” he said while handing his phone to you, “so when I finally beat Jungkook at that game I’ll take a picture of his face and send it to you.”

And then again, maybe he did like you? Hope bloomed in your chest like a flower and settled here. Nestled deep in your heart, the petals fluttering in time with your heartbeat.

You put your number in his phone that day and he waved a goodbye to you as you parted ways in the hall. But the joy you felt when you left campus would not be long lived.

Taehyung texted you once and it was as promised, a picture of a sad looking Jungkook. You replied and got nothing in return. The message was left as read in your inbox and there it sat. That was when you coughed up the first petal. Delicate and white, it traveled up your throat as you panicked, and out came the fragile thing. It landed softly in your hand and laid there as if it had just come from a flower. You quickly dropped it on your bed, but the burn in your chest was undeniable. Utter pain coursed out from your lungs and to the rest of your body. Heartache charted a course of hot fire to your nerves.

You cried, holding your phone, telling yourself just to text him, but if he liked you, he would have messaged you back. That whole semester was nothing to him. Your talks about art, music, and books was just filler for him before class started. He was nice and social to everyone, so what really set you apart? Nothing. You were as forgettable to him as the rest of your classmates.

Later that night, you’d cough a pink petal, just a tad bigger than the last. You placed it with the other on your nightstand. They delicately overlapped, seeming to have come from the same flower. Perfect matches. Most unlike you and Taehyung.

A week later and you gathered up the courage to text him. Not even five minutes later he replied to you. The ache in your chest subsided a little. The tickle in the back of your throat wasn’t quite as pronounced. He seemed happy that you texted him. Or, as much as the text could portray emotion. He told you about his family vacation, where he had gone, the things he had seen, etc. He began to attach photos and you were excited that he was wanting to share such intimate details about his life. The first few were some nature shots, a couple of squirrels, and then you began to get to ones of his family. His little brother was just as cute as him and you saw that the both took after their father.

The next one sent your heart plummeting into your stomach.

It was Taehyung and her. The girl from the hallway. The one batting her eyelashes so innocently at him. You felt instantly sick, bile rising in your throat. You dropped your phone on your bed as you began to cough. It lit up with text after text from him, but you couldn’t see through the blur of tears as you coughed. Your chest was on fire and it felt as if someone had stuffed them full of old wash clothes. For the life of you, you could not catch your breath. Something was travelling up your throat, but it didn’t feel like sick. You clutched at your throat as you tried to get any amount of air around what was coming up. In the last few moments when you thought you were going to pass out, it fell from your mouth. A small bundle of forget-me-nots lay in your bed as if they had just been plucked from the bush. You inhaled a large breath, throat burning as you did so, but the burn in your lungs worsened.

You grabbed your phone and unlocked it, wiping away your tears so you could see the screen. Taehyung had kept on talking as if he hadn’t just sent you a picture of him and that girl. He kept talking to you like he had in class; like you were the only person in the world. He had begun asking you questions, but his last message was that she had just arrived at his house and he had to go.

I’ll talk to you later, yea?

No. No, he wouldn’t. This burn in your chest was killing you. You coughed into your hand and blood was spattered on your skin. The metallic taste of it made you sick as you stumbled to the bathroom. Leaning against your sink, you pulled the glass that was sat next to it under the tap. You drank heartily but was soon coughing most of it up. It came out stained pink, mixed with your blood, as you struggled to breathe. You dropped the glass into the sink as you fell to your knees. You couldn’t stop coughing. Your lungs burned like paper in a flame. More blood dripped from between your lips. Something was coming up your throat again. Tears streamed down you face, mixing with the blood, and caused a horrid display of red lines down your neck, mapping out your death. Two bundles of forget-me-notes fell to the bathroom tile. Their various blue, pinks, and whites were quickly becoming stained in the deep red blood that dripped to the floor. You were on your hands and knees but were becoming weak quickly. Your knees wobbled and your elbows began to give way as more flowers fell from your mouth. Soon, you would black out and hopefully the rest would be painless.

Yet, you couldn’t quit thinking about him, his soft smile, those bright brown eyes, and the soft, deep tenor of his voice.

Your thoughts were filled of still images and moments with Taehyung as you collapsed to the floor. By now, it was littered with your macabre floral artwork. Your eyes closed as the flowers filled your throat, a whole bouquet waiting to escape.

And it was his voice that said your name one last time and it was his face that you saw when your body seemed to sigh its last breath, if you had any. Blood still dripped thickly down your cheek and on the flowers beneath you. Finally, you were freed from the pain. No longer would you feel his rejection nor the anxiety that plagued your mind.

The medical examiner sat in a soft crouch next to your body. She came in after evidence had been marked off, photographed, and toted away in sterile bags. Now, it was just her, and you lying on the floor, in the bathroom. She quirked her head to the side as she searched your face. Your parents had found you the next morning, so even though the color had drained from your face, something about your features seemed…bright. The flowers spilling from your mouth hadn’t been removed, but the rest around you had been carefully stored away. Despite the gruesome, bloody bouquet however, it almost looked as if you had died with a turn of your lips. A grisly smile. This death would follow her forever.

The girl with the flower filled lungs. What a horrible, beautiful death.                                                

#bangtanarmynet #ficswithluv #btswriterscollective #bts angst #taehyung angst #taehyung x reader #reader insert #tw:death #tw:blood #tw:character death #taehyung #bts #hanahaki

[sankyeom]

i’m terrified because i’ve never felt this way before | j.ww

series: 13 ways to say i love you prompt: “i’m terrified because i’ve never felt this way before” pairings: wonwoo x reader genre: angst with a smidge of fluff idk probably doesn’t even count, idol!verse themes: first relationships, not knowing how to express yourself word count: 2.8k 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝

Your relationship with Wonwoo had been troubling you for a while now. For the first few months, things seemed to be going really well. Despite the fact that you had dated and been in relationships before, everything was a first for Wonwoo. This wasn’t a big deal to you at all. In fact, there was something special about experiencing everything for the first time with Wonwoo as the two of you progressed in your relationships.

First, it was skinship. Despite living with twelve other guys for well over four years now, Wonwoo still wasn’t quite comfortable with skinship; at least not on a romantic level. Holding hands made his cheeks and ears blush a deep red. Hugs and kisses made his heart rate increase and his breath catch in his chest. Seeing it made you grin. You were excited that he was so responsive to your actions and he seemed to have a lot of affection for you as the skinship multiplied every day.

Soon, you and Wonwoo were able to hold hands in public – under a disguise, of course – with no issue, and Wonwoo was confident enough to do the same in front of his members. The better the two of you got to know each other and the longer the relationship continued, the more nonchalant Wonwoo was about skinship and expressing your feelings for each other with physical contact.

The verbal thing, however. That could use some work.

You didn’t really mind it at first. When you had expressed that you loved being in his presence, or were having an amazing time and wanted to stay in that moment forever, Wonwoo seemed to freeze up entirely. His whole body stiffened and he often changed the subject instead of responding to your verbal expressions of affection. It wasn’t something that bothered you in the beginning of your relationship, but now that you were nearing a year of being a couple, it was something that concerned you.

Of course you were aware that different people experienced emotions like love and affection at their own rate, and you never wanted Wonwoo to feel like you were pressuring him to tell you he loved you. But when Wonwoo began to withdraw from your touch and cancel plans more regularly, you couldn’t help but feel insecure and hurt.

The more serious your relationship got, the less Wonwoo wanted to interact with you at all. Comeback and tour season you understood was busy and difficult on him, but blatantly avoiding you seemed to have nothing to do with his work schedule.

“I just don’t know anymore,” you said, clutching onto your phone. Your best friend Soonyoung had called you after dance practice to check in on how you were doing. Soonyoung had been the one to introduce you and Wonwoo, and he was very invested in your relationship.

More invested than Wonwoo, it seemed sometimes.

You were lying on the sofa of your apartment, staring at your ceiling fan moving in circles as you spoke. “It just feels like we’re prolonging the relationship to avoid an inevitable breakup.” This wasn’t the first time you had a conversation like this with Soonyoung. In fact, talk of breakups and separation were becoming more and more regular during your phone calls with your best friend.

“That isn’t true and you know it.” Soonyoung insisted with a scoff.

“I don’t know about that anymore, soo.” you sighed, closing your eyes. The ceiling fan was starting to make you dizzy; or maybe it was just the conversation. “We gave it a good shot. It was a good run.”

“Stop talking about your relationship like it’s already over.” Soonyoung said sternly. “It’s not over. I know things have been a little… off lately. But I'm 100% sure it’s just temporary.”

You sighed. “Well I'm glad one of us is 100% sure of something.” you retorted, sitting up from your place on the sofa.

“Maybe you guys just need to like… go on a date or something?” Soonyoung suggested, though it sounded a lot more like a question than actual solid advice.

“Okay scratch my previous statement. I’m 100% sure that would just make things worse.” you deadpanned, picturing it all. Sitting at dinner with Wonwoo as he stared at you with vacant eyes and paid little attention to the conversation.

“Oh come on!” Soonyoung whined, clearly not happy with your response. “I think that a date could be good. I don’t want my best friends to just give up on each other.”

“So you admit that he’s given up on me, then.” you said, trying to sound more like you were kidding than hurt by the suggestion. If soonyoung noticed the difference, he didn’t say anything.

“Please, Y/n. you have to at least try.” you could hear the sound of keys turning and assumed that soonyoung had arrived back at the dorms. “It just hurts to see you so upset. If it doesn’t work after the date, then you guys can,” he sucked in a breath, as if his next words pained him. “Break up. All you have to do is give it another try.”

“Okay.” you gave in. “I’ll give it another try. I just… I don’t want to really try and end up broken up anyway.” you confessed, biting your bottom lip at the idea of breaking up with Wonwoo. Even though you were sure it was what he wanted, the idea ripped your heart to shreds just thinking about it. “I don’t think I'd be able to handle that.” you laughed softly; sadly.

“I know, Y/n. and I’m sorry. But if it doesn’t work, we can watch movies and eat ice cream all you want.” Soonyoung promised.

“I think that would just make it worse, but I appreciate the thought Hoshi.” you admitted, teasing your best friend with his stage name.

“Okay I gotta run.” Soonyoung whispered abruptly before hanging up the phone. You assumed that it meant that Wonwoo had come out of his room and joined Soonyoung in the living room, and he didn’t want him to know that you guys were on the phone.

You cringed as you opened your message app and pressed on Wonwoo’s contact. The picture was a funny selfie he had taken on your phone, and a cluster of emojis followed his contact name. A nostalgic, fond feeling erupted in your belly, but the sadness that followed quickly overshadowed the original, happy feeling.

Nervously, you began typing your message to him, asking if he had time to grab dinner tonight or eat in at your place. When you saw that he had read the message but made no move to reply, you nearly threw your phone across the room in frustration. Instead, you placed it face-down on the coffee table and decided to just get ready for the day.

After showering and making yourself a light lunch, you circled back to your phone and were surprised but relieved to see that Wonwoo had replied to your message, and agreed on dinner. Seeing that he was in the mood to eat out made you nervous. Breaking up in public was never ideal. It was messy, awkward, and always had spectators; no matter how much it looked like nobody was paying attention.

You agreed on a slightly fancy Chinese restaurant downtown as the location for the evening, and soon distracted yourself with the new season of Stranger Things on Netflix to pass the time.

Once you were ready for the evening and dressed, you opened your door just as a knock sounded. You were surprised to see Wonwoo standing in front of you, flowers in hand and something that almost resembled a smile on his lips. “Oh,” you said dumbly as a form of greeting, still surprised to see him. “I didn’t realise you were picking me up.” you admitted, wearily eyeing the flowers he had brought.

You thought back to when you first started dating Wonwoo, and he told you that he thought there was nothing more romantic than a single rose. Now, he stood before you with a bouquet of daisies.

Awkwardly, Wonwoo fumbled with them before pressing them to your hands. “these are for you.” he said, like it was obvious. You supposed it should have been. You grasped them as gently as you could, smiling awkwardly at him before placing them on the countertop and grabbing your bag.

“Let’s go.” you suggested. You didn’t want to look at the daisies any more than necessary. Wonwoo was an expert in all kinds of things, even the meanings of flowers. New beginnings. That’s what a quick google search on the way to the restaurant told you.

He might as well have stabbed you straight in the heart.

Waiting for a table was even more tense than you had expected. Since you didn’t have a reservation, you had to take a number and wait in the busy restaurant to be seated. You felt guilty for thinking it, but – just briefly – you had wished you were out with all the boys instead of a date. Junhui would teach you crude words in Mandarin while Minghao would shake his head at his friend’s antics; Wonwoo might actually be talking and laughing instead of staring at his shoes in silence.

When you were finally given a table, Wonwoo awkwardly stood in front of the table as he realised the size of it. It was a small table, meant for two people, in an intimate corner of the restaurant with ambient lighting and soft, romantic music playing. The image of the table itself seemed to stun Wonwoo, but he tried to hide his fumble by sitting down.

His long legs, however, had always been slightly less coordinated than his sharp mind, and he stumbled over the chair’s legs before taking his seat. The waiter seemed to be confused by his behaviour, but played it off with a smile aimed at you as he pulled out the other chair for you to sit.

Realising this, Wonwoo stood up quickly again, trying to tuck your chair in for you as you sat. “It’s fine.” you interrupted, giving him a tense smile as you took your seat without the help of the waiter, or your boyfriend.

Once your food was arriving, you decided to just grit your teeth and go for it. “So, are we going to talk about it?” you asked, poking your broccolI with you fork but too queasy to actually eat it.

Wonwoo, whose mouth was full of rice, choked on his food before chugging water to force the food down his throat, coughing as he went. “W-what?” he stammered once he could breathe again.

“I mean, I think it’s been a little obvious what’s going on so we should just talk about it.” you explained patiently. “Soonyoung said that we should get together and just figure it out so,” you gestured around you at the restaurant.

“Okay. Um, yeah.” Wonwoo nodded his head quickly, pushing his plate forward so that he could place his hands on the table, folded together in front of him. “Yeah, let’s talk.” When nobody said anything afterwards, he gestured in your direction for you to start.

“I kind of had an idea of how you’ve been feeling for a while now.” you began, trying to hide the way your hands were shaking, and your voice was soon to follow.

“Oh?” Wonwoo asked, his voice a higher pitch than usual.

“Yeah,” you nodded, glancing down at your lap to prevent Wonwoo from seeing the tears that were starting to collect on your waterline. “And I just wanted to say that it’s okay.” you paused, before adding: “If you want to break up.” just in case he didn’t understand.

Wonwoo’s eyebrows rose so high that they hid behind his hair. “Break up?”

“Well, yes.” you confirmed, frustration coming out in your tone. “Soonyoung said we should go out on a date and try one more time but clearly it isn’t working so we don’t have to-“

“Excuse the interruption,” Wonwoo interjected, elbows on the table and hands now flat against one another. He looked deep in thought. “But you texted me to go out so that we could break up? That’s what this is?”

Now it was your turn to be confused. “Of course that’s what this is.” you confirmed. “You’ve been wanting to break up for a while now, did you think I hadn’t picked up on it?” now you were sure you would start crying any time. “I thought that we promised to be honest with one another. If you wanted to break up, I would have much rather you told me when you first started feeling that way rather than having to deduce it myself from your signs.”

“There were signs?” Wonwoo was unusually calm, and it was starting to frustrate you further.

“Yes,” you said firmly, your gaze finally meeting his across the table. The sight of tears in your eyes seemed to only confuse Wonwoo further. “We had finally gotten somewhere with the skinship and the opening up and then suddenly, you started shrinking away from my touch and avoiding any type of conversation with me. You would just stare at me with the most vacant eyes an-“ you cut yourself off once you felt your voice crack. “I just wish you would have told me.”

“Oh god,” Wonwoo groaned, bringing his palms up to cover his face. “I can’t believe I made you think that.” He seemed to sit there for a moment, contemplating, before he moved his hands to look at you. “I don’t want to break up.” he told you, each word enunciated slowly and carefully.

You laughed tearfully, removing the napkin from your lap to stand up. “I can’t do this anymore,” you stated, wiping your cheek quickly as a few tears escaped. “I’ll take a cab home.” you informed him.

Wonwoo stood too, and the abrupt scraping of his chair brought attention to the two of you. This was exactly what you were trying to avoid. “I’m terrified.” Wonwoo blurted out. “I’m terrified because I’ve never felt this way before.” he amended, stepping forward to gently take your hands in his. Your teary eyes widened at the confession. Wonwoo’s eyes darted around, aware of the eyes on you. “Can I drive you home?” he pleaded in a whisper. You nodded, and let him lead to out of the restaurant after paying.

Once you were in the car, Wonwoo turned to face you. “I’ve been pulling away because I’m scared. because I’m falling in love with you and you could crush my entire being if you didn’t return my feelings.” he threw his head back in frustration. “But now I’ve gone and made the woman I love think that I want to break up with her, even though all I want to do is spend every waking moment with her.” he brought his eyes back to yours. “And that terrifies me. And now I’ve made a huge mistake, and you want to break up with me-”

“I don’t want to break up!” you exclaimed. “You wanted to break up,” you paused. “or at least I was sure you did. And Soonyoung was sure too. And all of those trashy magazines that try to give you relationship advice? Yeah they all pointed in the direction of ‘break up’.”

“I’ve been struggling a lot with figuring out how to express myself in relationships.” Wonwoo explained. “The skinship was new, and then expressing myself verbally was just even more difficult for me. And once I realised I loved you I guess I just... froze. Even more than before.” Wonwoo chuckled sadly. “But now it seems that I’ve just ruined any chance I had.”

“What about the daisies?” you asked before adding: “New beginnings?”

“They also mean true love,” Wonwoo retorted, eyes clear. “but I do see how I really screwed that one up.”

The idea that Wonwoo didn’t want to break up with you was still difficult to process. For weeks now you had been transfixed on the fact that you would be breaking up. You were so sure of it. Yet now, he was telling you that it was all just a misunderstanding?

“You love me,” you finally processed.

At your words, Wonwoo flushed red. “Well, yes.” he agreed. “I love you.”

Your heart wanted to scream. “I love you too, you know.” you told him, firm and sure of yourself.

Wonwoo looked like he might faint he was so relieved. “Really?” he asked. “Because I don’t want you to feel like you have to say that if you don’t actually-“

You cut him off by grasping his jaw and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. “I’ve been falling apart for weeks, thinking of how I could let you go and still keep it together.” you whispered, stroking his jaw with your thumb. His eyes closed in ecstasy at the intimacy of it all.“I’m sure. I love you.” you promised.

Wonwoo sighed happily, leaning in to press another kiss to your lips. Then another, and another, and another. “I love you.” he repeated. “Finding the courage to tell you was nowhere near as hard as the thought that I might lose you.”

“You won’t.” you replied. “I’m not going anywhere.”

a/n: yeah idk how happy i am with the ending but here it is

#jeon wonwoo #wonwoo #wonwoo imagines #wonwoo x reader #jeon wonwoo imagines #jeon wonwoo x reader #wonwoo scenarios #wonwoo blurb #seventeen imagines #seventeen blurbs #seventeen scenarios #seventeen #svt #wonwoo angst #wonwoo fluff #seventeen angst #seventeen fluff #seventeen x reader

[aion-rsa]

Why Solar Opposites Season 2 Brought The Wall Back

https://ift.tt/3m9sZ47

This interview contains SPOILERS for SOLAR OPPOSITES seasons 1 and 2.

Mike McMahan and Justin Roiland’s sci-fi animated sitcom Solar Opposites is technically about a family of aliens stuck on planet Earth, learning lessons about how to love one another while, they try to repair their spaceship. However, as the first season progressed, the show slowly revealed it was simultaneously telling another story.

One of the aliens, Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone), has a habit of shrinking down humans and imprisoning them in a wall-sized terrarium. In a surprising twist, we get to see that the tiny humans have actually formed their own Mad Max-ian style society in there. We learn more and more about this society until, seven episodes into the first season, Solar Opposites ditches the aliens for an entire episode set inside he Wall.

It ended up being just about everyone’s favorite thing in the show.

“We didn’t invent (the concept of) a show in a show, but I think we’re maybe the only show where the show in a show is more popular than the show,” McMahan tells Den of Geek.

When Hulu offered us the chance to speak with McMahan Justin Roiland about season two, we knew we’d better get in plenty of questions about The Wall or the Internet would come after us. Luckily, Mike and Justin love the Wall, too.

“We both love it because there’s nothing else, there’s no other project we work on, where we get to do the Wall-type stories and there’s no other show that does it like that,” says Mike.

Justin explains how, when pitching the series to other networks, Justin “wanted to come in there kicking the doors down and screaming about this concept and how fucking awesome it is,” but they were advised to downplay the eccentric, high-concept Wall plot.

Mike adds, “We originally thought that there was a chance that Solar would live on broadcast, would look like a big family Sunday night Animation Domination-type show. And when the show didn’t get picked up to series the first time, we then got a second hit at it with Hulu. And when we were in that pitch, there was no hiding it. We were like, ‘Also there’s gonna be a fucking ton of this Wall story.” And they were like, ‘Fine! Do whatever you want!’”

The Wall was part of the series from very early on. Justin explains:

“Mike and I developed the sort of broad strokes for the show. I actually don’t know the exact order of things, but I just know it was around the E3 that Bethesda announced Fallout Shelter [June 2014]. I was playing Fallout Shelter, I was doing a lot of VR stuff around this time [Roiland also has a video game company specializing in VR called Squanch Games], and working a lot on Solar, and just kind of brainstorming. Fallout Shelter was definitely the inspiration for the Wall ‘cuz I was just looking at it zoomed out.”

Mike interjects, “For me, it was like, Tiny Tower, was another app, an iOS game I was playing, too.”

This seemed like a surprising origin for the Wall until I Google Image searched both of these games and the similarities became immediately clear.

As for how the Wall storyline evolved in season two, Mike says the mantra was “Never go back on the Wall. Keep the story going, but don’t just repeat. I think you see that pretty clearly. We get really weird.”

Solar Opposites uses the Wall as a vehicle for riffing on dramatic film and television tropes in a more sincere way than the crazy alien sitcom plots are capable of. The first season was an homage to dystopian cinema, culminating in a revolution. As Mike said, season two absolutely does not repeat what came before it. This time the running Wall storyline focuses on a new character, played by Sterling K. Brown, who is hunting down a serial killer in the Wall.

Read more

TV

Solar Opposites Season 2 Review (Spoiler-Free)

By Joe Matar

As in the first season, the seventh episode is a Wall-centric one that takes things in an unexpected direction by taking place almost entirely outside of the Wall, following the still alive and still tiny The Duke (Alfred Molina) and Cherie (Christina Hendricks), as they try to survive the wilds of the aliens’ backyard. To complicate things more, Cherie is pregnant with Tim (Andy Daly)’s baby. This climaxes in one of the most simultaneously thrilling, bizarre, and inspired scenes Solar Opposites has ever done, as the shrunken Cherie ends up giving birth inside a Pez dispenser as normal-sized alien Jesse (Mary Mack) ejects Pez candies into her mouth one after another, unknowingly getting ever closer to devouring Cherie and her about-to-be-born baby.

When I mention how totally weird this scene is, Mike raises his arms in triumph and shouts:

“Yes! I love that Pez dispenser birth! It’s so fucking weird!” He also points out that, adding to the weirdness is that during this sequence Jesse is singing some kind of counterargument song to TLC’s “No Scrubs.”

“She’s singing like a pro-scrubs song. Yeah, that’s a crazy sequence.”

However, Mike points out that the unique and odd blend of drama and comedy we get from the Wall needs to be tempered with the sillier antics of Solar Opposites’ lead alien characters.

“Everybody who’s yelling, like, ‘Oh, I wish this show was all the Wall,’ that’s like somebody being like, ‘I wish Twinkie was all the cream.’ Like, you wouldn’t fucking like it or else you’d be out buying cans of whipped cream and eating that.

“The Wall is all about balance. The (alien) stuff is so tied to the Wall and we know what we’re doing with that. It’s like, how much of the Wall can we get away with to make it feel like you want it all the time? And that’s part of the fun of it, too.”

I mention that it’s cool how the Wall provides a structure for the series now, serving as a C-plot underneath the other storylines, and culminating with an all-Wall seventh episode in each season.

“Wait for season three,” Mike teases, “’cuz we like to fuck with expectations!”

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

The first two seasons of Solar Opposites are now streaming on Hulu.

The post Why Solar Opposites Season 2 Brought The Wall Back appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/31xm63b

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[living-dead-parker]

Grocery Store Antics - Dad!Tony

Summary: Tony takes his kids to the grocery store

Warnings: cussing, probs ooc, nebula was adopted by Tony idc idc idc, tony in a dad outfit just picture it plz, not super funny but i tried 

Part of a new collection I plan on starting called Tony Stark and his kids.

Word Count: 1.8k

"We need some hot links, hot dog buns, some chicken, drinks, and some desert," Pepper says out loud before turning to look at May who is making the list. May gives her a thumbs up, completing the shopping list. Among it includes bug spray, pool noodles, and tons of ice cream. All of it completely necessary.

The heat is returning once again, and while not super hot, it's warm enough for a barbeque and swimming in the lake. Tony insisted on grilling and making a day out of it. He has his dad outfit on; a pair of khaki cargo shorts, random SI shirt, and his dad sandals. He has on a bucket hat, of all accessories, and some sunglasses with the lanyard strap on it. Peter insisted Tony wears the ensemble, making him look like the ultimate dad. You're not sure how Peter convinced him to do it, but maybe he's finally accepting that he's becoming an old man. Either way, you're shocked because you remember being 14 and hearing your dad claim that you'd never catch him dead in a pair of cargo shorts and a bucket hat.

"Someone go with me to the store!" Tony exclaims, hearing feet running down the hall. In seconds, all the kids come tumbling in. Morgan up front, Peter next to her. You stand behind Peter and Nebula behind Morgan. Tony rubs at his temple before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Dad move!" you yell, causing Peter to giggle. Tony looks up, beginning to regret any of this. Now his children are gonna bully him? It's like the Avengers all over again.

"What store are we going to?" Peter asks, walking over to May and grabbing the list from her.

"Not sure, but let's get going while May and Pep set up. Rhodey should be here in a bit, so we should get going."

With that, you lead the way out, followed by Morgan, Nebula, then Peter. Tony walks behind everyone, closing behind him. You sit in the passenger seat of the Audi SUV, connecting your phone once the car is on. Peter sits behind you, Morgan in the middle in her car seat, and Nebula behind dad. Tony pulls out of the driveway, heading off towards the city. Taking over the music, you start by playing some RHCP, to which both you and Tony sing to.

The drive wasn't too long, but it wasn't super quick either, having to drive a good twenty minutes to reach the nearest grocery store. You played some classics, singing along as loud as you could with your father. Every once in a while, the two of you would glance over at each other, smiles as wide as rivers and oceans. Tony would take in the sight of his first born, the pride and joy he's felt overpowering anything. Getting you back was probably the biggest event in his life. You, on the other hand, seeing the old man makes you feel nostalgic. He's been through so much and you owe it all to him. He's always been so selfless with you, even if things were bumpy at times. Cheesy as it may sound, he's your soul mate and you're his soulmate.

"Alright," Tony says once the car comes to a stop in the parking lot of the grocery store. "No lollygagging, in and out. Hear me?"

"You got it, sir."

Peter runs off and grabs a cart from the parking lot collector things. He returns to you all, moving over to your side. Tony picks up Morgan and puts her in the small seat on the top basket. He turns and sees Nebula eyeing the cart, never having done it before. It's quite adorable, actually. She's been getting used to more human things. Shopping malls, movie theaters, parks, and watching TV. For now, Tony and Pepper are letting her be a kid, seeing that she didn't get much of that. They're letting her experience the good stuff in life. All the ice cream, the fun parties, and bounce houses, cool music, and television. All of it.

So Tony chuckles as he nods his head to the bigger basket. "Get in, ya big dope," he jokes. A full belly laugh comes out when Nebula gets in excitedly, squealing as she sits down in the cart. You giggles, taking a quick picture of her in the cart. Having a blue alien sister is cool, except for when it's not. The only times it's not is when you see people staring at her like some kind of monster. It tends to happen a lot in public, much like at this very moment. There's a couple staring harshly while their kids ask about the 'cool blue lady'.

"What are you looking at?" you call out, causing Tony and Peter to pause in their steps. Your group all look over at the people on the other side, meanwhile Nebula looks down shamefully. Sometimes, she refuses to go out for that reason. People tend to ruin the moment. "She's cool and helped save the world, so a thank you is in order instead of staring at her like she's a monster."

The couple turns away and walks faster, almost running away. You flip them the bird when they look over their shoulders, but ultimately they speed walk away all the way. Tony chuckles, lightly clapping your shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. They're not worth the stress," Tony says looking at you and then at Nebula.

"Let's just go inside and get what we need," you mutter softly, calming down from the moment.

Upon entering the store, things went downhill. Morgan was beginning to get antsy, so Tony put her down so she could walk. The first thing you all got was the dry food items. From there, you went to other non-perishable items or things that did not need to be refrigerated just yet. Before getting the meat and cake, you all happened to walk into the aisle with toys and pool supplies.

"Dad!" you exclaim, grabbing an already inflated whale floatie with black handles on it. "We need him!"

Tony sighs, pointing at the basket nonetheless. You giggle villainously and throw the floatie into the pool. Peter grabs a couple of pool noodles, Morgan grabbing three boxes of donut floaties, three mattress floaties. Behind Tony's back, you and Peter sneak in two boxes into the cart while Tony answers his phone. When he turns around, he has five super soakers in his hands.

"So, change of plans. Steve, Nat, Sam, and Bucky are going to be joining us for some food and a swim."

"So we ambush them with water guns?" Nebula asks. Her voice sounds almost menacing. It's awesome.

"Morgan, you take Nat. She won't attack. Peter, Y/N, Neb," Tony continues, looking at the three of you. "You take Sam and Bucky. I'll get Steve. That sound good?"

"Sounds better than good," you respond excitedly. Tony chucks the soakers into the cart, grabbing the handle and pushing it. There are still so many more things to buy, and the first cart is already running out of space. Even without Nebula in it. So Tony sends you and Peter to get a new cart.

The two of you do just that, grabbing a new cart and racing back inside. However, when he hears the distant sound of singing, he knows it's you. As the words to My Heart Will Go On fill Tony's ears, he sighs. Not a minute later, you're rounding the corner into the aisle that Tony is in, revealing Peter kneeling at the end of the cart with his arms spread as if he was in the king of the world scene in Titanic. Tony sighs, assuming his signature Tired Dad™ stance; head down, temple rub, pinching bridge of nose.

"Onward, trustee sea captain!" Peter exclaims. Tony flips the kid off, pushing the cart out of the aisle and into a new one.

"Dad," Morgan says excitedly as the group approaches the produce section. Tony turns to see his little girl with an orange in her hand. "Orange you glad I'm the normal one?"

Tony chuckles, shaking his head but approving of the joke nonetheless. However, you approach with your hands behind your back. You look at the little girl before squatting down to her level. You pull one hand forward, revealing an avocado.

"Avocadon't go there," you start. You proceed to reveal a squash in your other hand. "Before I squash you," you continue, pulling out your phone and showing your screen to reveal a google image search of baby goats. "Kid."

The beginning probably wouldn't have been funny, but Tony finds himself busting a guy at the preparedness and the commitment to the joke. How you had that ready, he'll never know, but he doesn't want to. He likes the mystery.

"Tony," Peter comes up, holding his hand out to reveal an orange in his hand. "Orange you gla-"

"Morgan beat you to it," you say, looking around a grabbing a bag off one of the nearest stands. It seemed to be all so conveniently placed. Tony's impressed. A bag of peas. "Pea-ter."

Peter is stunned into a silence. First Morgan steals his pun but now he gets punned right back. Not even by Morgan. He feels bamboozled. Peter looks around and grabs a small bag of beans just a few feet away from the group.

"I feel so bean-boozled."

"How do I do it with all of you kids?" Tony asks as he begins pushing one of the carts away.

"Should have kept your legs closed," Nebula cuts in, causing you to burst into laughter.

"She got you, dad."

"It doesn't even work like that-" Tony cuts himself off with a playful sigh. "Plus two of you aren't my creation, so," Tony mutters, not sure what to say next.

The rest of the grocery trip was spent making dumb puns, mispronouncing any and everything. It also involved bugging Tony as much as possible. There's one thing all four of you enjoy doing, and it's bugging Tony. Who doesn't enjoy bugging their dad?

"Morgan, say cupcakes are for basic bitches," you encourage the girl. Tony turns to look at you two as Peter and Nebula continue looking for some kind of desert to feed everyone. You suggested cake, but dad keeps saying no.

"Morgan if you say it I will tell mommy-"

"I'll have Peter make you a web swing!" you bargain.

Morgan nods, watching as you pull your phone out. You open your camera and begin recording.

"Daddy," Morgan begins, smirking as Tony begins shaking his head. "Cupcakes are for basic bitches,"

Suddenly, Peter and Nebula burst into laughter at the young girl's words. At that point, Tony calls it a day. They've been at the store for about an hour, things are running behind. So Tony heads to check out, pay for everything. Damn near has a heart attack at the price, despite the fact that he's a literal billionaire.

"500 dollars? How?"

He looks over the receipt and sighs when he sees what cost him almost three hundred dollars and something that cost him 70.

"A raft lounge for almost 300 and an inflatable pool seesaw for 70? Wow. Bamboozled by my own kids."

#tony stark #peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker x stark!daughter #tony stark imagine #dad!tony #stark!reader #stark!daughter #nebula #morgan stark #spiderman imagine #iron man #iron man imagine #tony adopted nebula #idc what anyone says #they love nebula #everyone does #she gets the love she deserves with her new family #endgame sort of happened #but tony didn't die #tony lives #tony is not dead #neither is nat #nat didn't die #nat isn't dead #endgame can choke #endgame can suck it #also everyone is happy #everyone loves each other #maybe i'll do some angst in the future

[furbearingbrick]

hey girls

did you know that uhhhhh

uuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhh

egg

#don't ask. there is no answer. #google image search antics #brick attempts to be funny #shartpost