#had to take a photo this time because my scanner will soon be old enough to buy cigs and beer and it's never been great with colours

[naturalshocks]

Graphite pencils and coloured pencil on a sheet of paper from a Moleskine sketchbook, A4.

#OFMD fanart #Stede Bonnet #Edward Teach #Our Flag Means Death fanart #Our Flag Means Death #Gentlebeard #Blackbonnet #Rhys Darby #Taika Waititi #Blackbeard #ofmd #go get your squidward stede #had to take a photo this time because my scanner will soon be old enough to buy cigs and beer and it's never been great with colours #this is also the main reason why I rarely work with colour so if anyone has any printer-scanner-copier recs I'm all ears

[fandom-necromancer]

‘You come here often?’ ‘Well I work here.’ Part 4 

This was prompted by the lovely AO3 user LoafofCat! Enjoy!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Reed900 [Read complete on AO3]

‘You know, if you just wanted to see me, there would be easier ways.’ ‘Bold of you to assume I come here only to see you.’ Nines smiled looking up to Gavin, who was just untying his apron and sitting down in front of him with a coffee of his own. ‘Am I wrong then?’, the human asked and Nines huffed, letting his head fall. ‘No’, he admitted. ‘Okay, so let me get this right’, Gavin laughed. ‘I had to propose to my boss to get thirium drinks on the menu as a “costumer asked for it” and it might help us crank those numbers up, just so you could plant your ass here in your break?’ ‘It did get you more costumers though’, Nines shrugged pointing to the other tables. ‘That’s not- Nines, do you think I care about this shop? I just work here; I don’t care if… You know what? Screw it. Nice to see you, Nines.’ ‘Nice to see you too’, the android chuckled. ‘How are you?’ ‘Can’t complain. What do you have there?’

Nines looked down on the tablet in his hands. ‘Oh, just work. A case.’ ‘You are on your break and brought work?’, Gavin asked, looking at him sceptically. ‘Tina was right, you really are me just with a little less personality.’ ‘Being nice and polite doesn’t mean not having a personality. You were just an asshole.’ ‘What technically is a personality trait’, Gavin argued, taking a sip from his coffee. ‘Now come on, tell me about your case!’ Nines frowned. ‘I really can’t tell you, it’s-‘ ‘Confidential, I get it. But come on, I’m a former cop I can keep a secret. For old time’s sake.’ The android eyed Gavin and how he looked so eager to get information. It was cute in a way, how he looked in between his eyes and the tablet in his hands. Maybe that’s why Nines showed weakness and caved in.

‘Okay, but you really keep this to yourself. We are investigating a series of murders. They don’t have anything in common in regard to victims or how the deed was done or staged, but at every crime-scene we found the picture of this man.’ Nines flipped through the pictures of the different crime-scenes until he reached a few portraits. They weren’t really the kind of pictures you would expect of a cold-blooded serial-killer. Not after the few flashes of gruesome staging, Gavin caught a glimpse of as Nines had searched for these. They all portrayed a middle-aged man with a small belly you could easily get if you worked long hours in the office and were too exhausted afterwards to do sports. The pictures looked like they were ripped right out of a family photo-album. The guy was at the beach smiling at the camera with a cocktail in hand. The next one showed him in what Gavin supposed to be his home with a small dog on his lap. Then next to a ridiculously oversized barbeque grill all shiny chrome and reds.

Gavin lifted a brow at Nines. ‘Yeah, sorry Nines, but no way this is your killer.’ ‘I ruled it out as unlikely, too’, the android nodded. ‘Although you can never know with people. At the very least it’s a lead. Maybe the killer knows this man. As much as this is a lead, it is also our only link.’ Gavin shrugged, leaning back. ‘Well, why haven’t you solved it then? I mean, you can scan his face and get a name, age, address, likely even social media as creepy as they designed you and Connor. No offense there.’ Nines sighed. ‘As creepy as I might be designed, my scanner has its limits too. I can’t get a name to this man, not even an age. Scanning him just returns an error. Manual research in the police databanks also hasn’t brought up anything yet. We also can’t exactly go around asking for this man. If he is the serial killer, as unlikely as it might seem, we would only alert him.’ Gavin nodded absent-mindedly, staring at the photo, pulling the tablet closer to zoom in on some details. ‘Honestly?’, Nines said frustratedly. ‘We’re all currently waiting for the forensics to find more evidence on the bodies. It’s quite frustrating, but at the same time no one really minds if I spend a bit longer on my break with you.’

Gavin couldn’t help but let out an exaggerated ‘Awww’ at that, Nines reprimanded with an annoyed but amused look. ‘Nah, really thanks, looking at your tablet for what, ten minutes? This was already more exciting than the whole damn month. The most action I had was a drunk guy I had to escort out because everyone else was too chicken shit to risk getting vomited on.’ ‘Understandable.’ ‘Not the point. I mean, I’m happy here, I guess. It is decent money and I have more time for my cats at home. Also, maybe not being confronted with what humans are capable of is nice for a while. But I can basically feel my brain rot here.’ ‘That is also understandable’, Nines huffed. ‘Maybe search for some outside work activity? Something new to learn and keep you active mentally?’ ‘Like what? Knitting?’ ‘If you want that?’ ‘You know what? Maybe not the worst idea. I’ll see if I can find anything and when I have I will-‘

Nines never got to find out what Gavin would do afterwards, as his colleagues called him, pointing at the growing queue. The human sighed. ‘Well, my call to duty’, he announced and walked over to press a quick kiss to the android’s temple. ‘Was nice chatting with you, babe. Good luck with your case.’ ‘Yeah, you too.’

-

It was a slow Tuesday, without many costumers coming in. The rush of office workers in their break had already stormed the small shop and rushed back to their workplace and now it was mostly a few students and the regular old granny circle in the front judging people and eating cake. Living the life. Gavin had already washed the entire stack of mugs twice now and was out of work, except for manipulating the radio until his co-workers began to wonder why the last song had been so long and found him messing with the system. Then he walked around, collecting discarded newspapers and cleaning the tables while his co-worker told him she would be out for a cigarette. He nodded and continued working until a sole costumer entered. Gavin quickly rubbed the table dry and hurried over, throwing the man an extra smile just in case he wanted to complain about having to wait a few seconds. ‘What can I do for you?’ ‘I’d like a coffee, please. Medium, to go with cream but no sugar.’ ‘Coming right up.’ Gavin was already going through the motions of preparing the coffee and turned around to hand it over. ‘Anything else…’ He trailed off, as he saw the man’s face, but he seemingly hadn’t noticed his slip. ‘No, thank you, that would be all.’

Gavin watched him leave again and was trying to decide what to do next. He couldn’t just leave; he was at work after all. But he couldn’t do nothing either. Frantically he looked through the shop and, in the end, shook his head, rushing past the counter. Outside his co-worker stopped him. ‘Gavin? What are you doing?’ Gavin blinked, but came up with an excuse fast enough: ‘Dude forgot his wallet. Can you take over for a moment? Sorry!’ ‘Sure, no problem. Just hurry, he’s already behind the corner.’

Gavin did hurry. But not to run after the man, but to pull out his phone. ‘Nines? Yes, hi babe I know you are at work, shut up, this is work. Li-Listen, yes. Shut up for just a second! I’m pursuing your office killer. Ye-Yes, exactly, the beach holiday photo model with the ugliest dog I’ve seen in my life. Now will you phcking get your ass here? I will pursue him you can track my phone. Wh- come on, it can’t be that dangerous, I’m still well trained now stop worrying and move your ass!’

He had become louder than he wanted and had caused the man he wanted to follow inconspicuously to turn around. He wasn’t really unsuspicious though, dressed in the silly coffee-shop apron and shouting at someone on the phone. Trying to play it down, Gavin instead tried the open approach: ‘Hey, you forgot your wallet!’ It only caused the man to bolt. So much for being a friendly, costumer-orientated employee. Gavin pushed it all to hell, lifting up his apron and running after the man. So, he did had dirt on him. Gavin followed him down the street and used a streetlight to take the corner with more speed. A mistake he later would regret as he ran face first into a fist that definitely wasn’t human. Seeing stars, he looked up from where he had fallen against the building. The chubby man was surprisingly agile and fast, unfitting to his overall completely average looks. And Gavin saw why: The skin where the man had punched him had retracted to show stern white underneath. The man was an android? Where the hell did he get all these modifications from? Cyberlife had designed all androids to be phcking inhuman models. But maybe that had been the plan. Being as inconspicuous as possible. Remembering the brief flashes of crime-scenes that made him pale. Oh no.

‘How the hell did some barista recognise me, huh?’, the android asked, holding Gavin by the throat, his toes barely touching the ground. ‘You are all over the news!’, Gavin tried. ‘I’m not. None of my doings have even been published yet.’ ‘Well, I was a cop once.’ ‘Were you? Well, who is your contact then? If you were a cop once.’ Gavin really hoped someone would turn the corner and see this to help him. Because the way the android’s hand clenched around his throat, lack of oxygen could soon be his least concern. ‘My boyfriend, okay? But I will never tell you his name!’ ‘Your boyfriend? Alright, thank you. After I killed you, I will go to him next. See if I can’t keep this information from spreading.

The pressure on his throat became almost unbearable, as Gavin saw a flash of white behind the man. ‘I highly doubt that’, Nines voice sounded through the alley and Gavin could see the gun aimed at his head. ‘Now let him down and go.’ The android in front of Gavin cursed, but complied. ‘You are arrested for the suspected murder of three people, as well as the attempted murder of this man. Turn around, hands behind your back.’ Nines handcuffed him, reading him his rights before making the call to the station to send a car.

‘Gavin, that was extremely reckless of you.’ ‘Hey, I got your killer, right?’, Gavin croaked with a cocky grin while rubbing his throat. ‘I solved a case you would have waited weeks on before even getting close to the guy.’ ‘Oh, please, I’m the most advanced android there is. I would have gotten him.’ ‘Yeah, but it was the ex-detective they threw out to replace with you that caught him in the end.  Please, rub that into Fowler’s face for me, would you?’ ‘I most certainly won’t’, Nines stated. ‘I will emphasize your involvement in this case though, what at least should keep your employer off your ass.’ ‘Oh, what would I do without you?’ The android in Nines grip struggled against him, causing Nines to return his attention to him. ‘Urgh, get a room, you two!’ ‘Excellent idea actually. Gavin, how about after our shifts ended, we meet at my place? You know? To celebrate.’ ‘Oh, I’d love to’, Gavin grinned and winked the RK900.

The captive criminal got a glimpse of the gesture and regretted it deeply. ‘Oh, please, just kill me, would you?’

#detroit become human #dbh #Reed900 #RK900 #Gavin Reed

[siberianoverture]

Don’t You Know - 3

A/N: Hi! I realized I should probably specify when the fic happens, sorry! It all happens a year after Endgame, 2024. I spared Tony, I like the theory that if everyone on the battlefield touched each other the energy would be dispersed, Steve returns the stones and comes back because Peggy Carter moved on, and Natasha comes back. Hope my forgetfulness didn’t cause too much confusion. English is not my first language and although I am pretty confident in it I know I make some mistakes. If you happen to find them please let me know! If you want to be added to taglist let me know! Enjoy!

previous: CHAPTER 2

When Sam came into his friend's room to propose a trip to the city for lunch, he found him standing in the middle of the floor staring at the wall above his desk.

"Buc-" he stops when he follows Bucky's gaze, "what's all this?"

There are two pages ripped from a notepad taped there, both with big black letters in Bucky's neat handwriting. First read 'a girl', second 'forgetting'.

Bucky doesn't look at him, clearly deep in thought, so Sam steps in front of him forcing the super soldier to look at him. Bucky lowers his eyes and steps back until he is sitting on his bed.

"What's going on?" Sam asks again turning slightly to take another look at the wall.

"I can't remember her," Bucky says still looking at his shoes, "there's a girl that worked with Winter Soldier, but I don't remember."

"Maybe it was one mission only so there's nothing to remember," Sam tries but Bucky shakes his head.

"I would remember, I remember everything he saw. There is a person-shaped hole in my memories. Like someone took an eraser and wiped her away."

"I thought they took down all Hydra barriers," Sam begins and Bucky looks up at him, "Oh, you don't think it was done by Hydra. Like a superpower?” Bucky nods, “How do you know it's a girl anyway?"

"Natasha, she said there was a rumor of a girl working with Soldier. She thinks it's her, but I don't think so. Nobody would've called her that, everyone would just say Black Widow. Also, it became quite known we had missions together. It just doesn't add up but if anyone knew it would be her, so I don't really know where to look," Bucky explains starting to ramble a bit so Sam sits down next to him and places a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Hey, calm down. We'll figure it out."

*

A month passed and they had found nothing.

Bucky had a new routine now: run, breakfast, look for something, lunch, look for something, dinner, look for something until he passed out, rarely in his bed, usually on the floor next to it. This changed only on mission days, if there is a slight chance that he could find something more about her, he goes. The team doesn't ask.

He hadn't told anyone what he was doing, trying to protect himself from everyone's pity, it was Hydra after all. He knew that she might be dead already. It did not stop him, the weird dreams and memories he couldn't catch fueling him. Also, for some reason, he did not want Steve knowing.

Sam is with him whenever he can, sometimes reading some files but usually just keeping him company. With Bucky running after ghosts and assumptions there was little he could help with besides standing next to his friend when mission reports bring back dark memories.

*

"Sam Wilson came back from his mission and is heading to your room, Sergeant," Friday informed tearing him away from reading through old files for what felt like the hundredth time. Sure enough, Sam was soon walking through his door, still in his suit with an old looking manila folder and throwing it to Bucky.

First, there was a list of Inhumans with their photos and their abilities. At the top there was a boy, no older than fifteen, and there was one word in the abilities column: FORGETTABLE. Bucky looked back at Sam.

"I know it's a boy but, remember, there was a series of experiments where they tried to transfer powers," Sam turned the pages, " there was one page missing and here it is. There was one success, and it was a girl." Sam points to the bottom of the page. FEMALE, 737079, 18, SUCCESS. He flips a few more pages. "She survived because they gave her the serum."

"That's impossible," Bucky shakes his head, "There were five bags, they made five Soldiers."

"True, but all of them were different. They had to adjust the dosage or they would kill them. Maybe they had a bit left and used it on her. It wouldn’t be enough to make a new soldier, but to strengthen her enough to survive however they transferred the powers to her."

"If she was forgettable she would be the best spy Hydra had. That is why she's not in any reports, she would do her job, report to whoever, and everybody involved would forget she was even there," Bucky is overwhelmed. He walks to the window and looks out, "If we worked together I have to look through missions that had more than one objective. Killing for me, information for her. She could be still there."

"Yeah," Sam sighs, "Too bad we don't have a photo."

Somehow Bucky is sure he would recognize her.

He starts looking immediately and he finds quite a few matching his criteria. Next day something pushes him to look through recordings from 2014, his last moments as Winter Soldier and everything plays like he remembered, until, late in the evening, he switches to a view from CCTV near the highway with a clear view of him looking for Natasha, her shooting him, him ducking and then when he and men beside him stand up, there's one more person he doesn't remember being there. It's a woman, in suit that almost exactly matches his, only differce is both her arms being covered. She’s head shorter than him, with hair pulled away from her face. He says something to her, she nods and runs away, and he jumps down the bridge.

He stands up from his computer and stretches. Then he calls for Sam and shows him the video.

"At least she doesn't seem to have any metal limbs," he tries to joke but neither laugh, "If she looks like you does it mean she comes with a handy little manual too?"

"Yeah, she might. We should check the place you got the folder from out again."

They walk out arm in arm and head to the hangar. It's dark outside but Sam knows Bucky won't be able to wait for the morning to come.

When they land near the base, system informs them of a car heading in their direction. Obviously Hydra as the base lays in the middle of nowhere.

"I have a strange feeling they are after the same thing we are," Sam mutters turning on the Quinjet's cloaking.

"It means we're in the right place," Bucky answers and leaves the plane.

"Do you know where to go?"

Bucky doesn't answer and enters the base leaving his friend no choice but to follow. He moves with confidence that makes Sam realize he had already been there at some point in his life. They find the elevator and Bucky presses 737079 into the keyboard and it moves.

"It's the number next to-" Sam begins but he's interrupted.

"It translates to 'spy' from hexadecimal."

The door opens to a room with the same machinery Sam saw in Winter Soldier's files. His eyes follow Bucky noticing how tense his friend is when he marches to one of the cabinets with the last century looking hand scanner on its side.

Bucky glances over his shoulder at Sam, his eyes filled with sadness, anger, and a bit of fear. Then he places his hand at the scanner. It shines green and the cabinet opens with a hiss. Inside is a folder, bound in black leather with a red star on it. Inverted image of a book that controlled The Soldier. Bucky feels sick.

Sam grabs the book and drags him back to the elevator, pushing the button for the ground floor and he can't help but ask.

"How did you know?"

"I just did," Bucky rests his forehead on a cold wall and tries to calm himself, "It's like muscle memory."

They run back to Quinjet and see Hydra soldiers entering the base when they fly back home.

*

It is nearly midnight when they land and walk back to Bucky's room. He sits down on his bed, a manual folder in his hand and Sam leans on the desk with his arms crossed. They share a look and Bucky finally starts reading.

"There's no name, just the number again. Born in 1973, obtained in 1990. She was seventeen," he looks up at Sam but can't read his expression, "Trained in espionage, injected with serum in 1991. Makes it possible to take powers from injected Inhuman's blood serum. One injection lasts two hours, max three types can be mixed, max five of each. There are words to put in Soldier mode-" Sam interrupts him.

"Same as yours?"

"No," he reads them with an uneasy feeling, "Seek, bullet, lucid, seven, reflect, set, moon, ten, acid, tenet.” “They are in English,” Sam notices.

“Someone else worked on her programming. All other soldiers were programmed in Russian, native language of person doing the conditioning," He needs to really control himself not to punch anything when he reads next few sentences, "After depletion subject experiences psychosis and should be confined posing threat to itself and others. It is advised to put the subject immediately after calming in cryo-chamber. It is no longer in Winter Soldier mode. It is advised to wipe before mission opposed to after."

His vision goes dark when he glances at the next point and he has to put the folder away. Deep down he expected what he saw but this doesn’t lessen the pain that comes with it. He stumbles into the bathroom and splashes his face with ice-cold water. Sam follows and when Bucky turns off the sink sits him on the edge of the bathtub.

"What does it say?" He asks after Bucky's breathing calms.

"I was her handler."

next: CHAPTER 4

#Bucky Barnes #james buchanan barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky imagine #bucky barnes fic #bucky x y/n #bucky x reader #bucky x you #reader insert #Don'tYouKnow

[threeminutesoflife]

Flaying a(n Albert) Fish

Pairings: Clint x Dark!Reader x Steve Summary: Reader extracts revenge against a monster. Warnings: 18+, dark reader, blood/gore, serial killer similar to Albert Fish- mentions of sexual assault and death against children- no description, home invasion, kidnapping, cannibalism, body parts, murder Word Count: 4.5k

Halloween Challenge- Are You Afraid of the Dark @barnesrogersvstheworld  Thank you for hosting! Hope you have a fantastically Haunted and Happy Halloween!

prompt: #20 monster

“I would say sorry for not having smaller hands, since that’s what you prefer... and this’ll be the last time you feel anything warm on it...” you snarled at him coldly, “but we both know I’m not.”

Taking a step away from him, you twirled the hammer in your hand.

“Don’t forget to scream- just like they did. Because this is going to hurt,” you reeled the weapon back behind your head. “So. Very. Much.”

Deafening screams filled the house as you connected again and again, bludgeoning his depravity. 

Bursts of air flared from your nostrils, while you tried to collect yourself and settle your breathing.

Blood dribbled down the end of the hammer adding to the growing puddle of inside-out remains between you both.  Adrenaline slowed and your knuckles cracked as you jerkily loosened the grip on the hammer.

Tossing the weapon to the side, you eyed the new bastardized art piece. Blood spilled out, a waterfall between his legs. Tormented whimpers, broken sobs and dying struggles for breath; all his suffering brought a sense of warm achievement in your chest. 

The police scanner bounced off your old Tower bedroom walls again.

You knew FRIDAY could simply stream the chatter, but there was something nostalgic about pushing buttons and twirling knobs.

You’ve listened to scans and phone calls, examined emails and files, plotted an idea of homegrown justice, and researched possible suspects. It was a haunting police case taking up your attention in between the missions. Maps and photos hugged your wall with notes crisscrossing over other various notes.

FRIDAY recorded the scans and police emails when you were away. Ever vigilant to highlight any details or new findings from the police mainframe about the intruder, who was preying on families with young children.

Which is where you read that the gags he placed between the children’s teeth- were all torn from what they determined to be one main source, a blanket. A dark line of all the better to hush them with came to your mind.

According to the notes, the gags' frayed ends matched each other when lined up. FRIDAY displayed the crime photos that showcased how the arrangement made an old, faded cartoon character emerge. Police thought the sexual intruder, dubbed the boogeyman, was ripping up his own childhood blanket to use in his assaults. One detective scribbled a possibility that the intruder's gags meant he was sentimental- and this was a way to intimately share himself and be closer to the victims.

You hoped the sentimental criminal slipped up on a small detail, perhaps overlooking the copyright year by the licensed character design. A small something to help narrow down his age, but unfortunately no. The print design was too timelessly popular and none of the victims left living could describe him.

And with no leads, the crimes continued. The boogeyman kept breaking into homes in the middle of the night to preform heinous acts. He threatened to kill the parents and siblings of the terrified children to keep them quiet and pliable.

Families were terrified for their children, scared their homes would be next. If victimizing the children out of their innocence wasn't monstrous enough, he'd hog tie them with duct tape and hide them away in their closets or stuff them into toy chests. Then he'd ransack the homes, randomly pocketing worthless items before leaving.

It was a grim thought you always had when reviewing the crime photos, it was like the children were his play things and he was simply plucking them off the floor, clearing them away when he was done with them. This monster needed to be stopped before he broke more toys and threw them away completely.

But it was always the same- until it wasn't.

Michael Robertson's small body recovered from river.

Steve was well-aware how this case was taking over your attention. From the smaller missions you traded or tried to give away to other teammates- to the many nights you kept the middle of his and Clint's bed empty.

Both men clearly remembered the cold shoulder you served them when Steve sent you out on a two week mission, pulling rank and ordering you to comply. Clint sided with him believing a break away from the case would help. As begrudgingly as you felt at the time, it did help to be away from the white noise of the scanners. Until FRIDAY sent you an urgent message- another child victimized a few days into the mission, this one resulting in death. His body found a day before you got back.

Breaking News: CHILD TAKEN, BODY FOUND.

Michael Robertson, age 6, kidnapped from home while parents slept. Killer removed boy's pajamas and laid them out on child's bed for parents to find next morning.

You knew you were losing yourself more and more in this police case, but with the hysteria emerging on the streets now that the boogeyman claimed another victim, one resulting in death, you expected additional branches of law force to step in soon. And you didn't want to deal with another player on the field.

You wanted this guy. He gave you something to sharpen your attention on and the want grew in you to strike him down. It was a tumor-like revenge. The team noticed you pulled away from evening dinners and movie nights. They began murmuring their concerns among each other and then to Steve and Clint. 

While looking over more crime scene photos about the Robertson case, FRIDAY announced Wanda would be making cottage pie for dinner tonight. Glancing at your watch, 3pm, you mindlessly mumbled a 'no thank you' and then froze. Slapping the desk, you knocked an empty cup over onto mission reports you've been avoiding to fill out much to Steve's annoyance.

“FRIDAY, please bring up the old police notes about cottage- about home repairs or work crews. Wait, how far back did the police look?”

“The officers went back three years, Miss. No common links appeared.”

You scanned over the photos of children and their similar ages of 6 and 7. Would he have waited for more than three years to attack? He would have known the homes' layouts, he broke in so easily to each child's bedroom. If he did wait, for how long? Why wait so long?

Your gut was rarely wrong, and the home repair angle felt like something solid, “FRIDAY, please run all the family's credit cards and bank accounts to see if there were any repair companies or purchases done within the last five years.”

Looking at the youngest victims' age, Gabrielle Reyes with her toothy smile just turned 6, “If nothing, please try six.”

An electronic chorus poured in your room as computer alerts went off, reports fired across the screen.

A description and photo of self-employed contractor photo, Randall Williams, looked back at you.

FRIDAY ran off the newly found information. The victims' families hired his company in the past four to five years. Rachel Collins' home was his last before heading out of state. He was recently released five months ago from an out of state prison for a buffet of reasons, one being incident exposure.  

“Miss, I took the liberty to run his payment history. He's been paying for a storage unit over the last eight years under a different name and P.O. Box number.”

You scoffed with a mix of thankfulness for Williams' laziness of leaving a trail and a curse that the repair history was not run back further in the beginning.

“Send me the address for the storage unit and his current address please, FRIDAY. And don't forget you're beautiful!”

Snatching your leather jacket and utility bag, you ran past Steve and Clint, who were folded against one another on the couch.

“I'll be back tomorrow. Don't wait up, my loves!” You called out to them over the action movie.

Clint and Steve stared at your figure fading quickly out the door, both pairs of eyes zeroing in on your large utility bag. They turned back towards each other and exchanged a knowing look. Steve dragged his hand over his face with a heavy sigh.

Unfolding himself from Steve, Clint kissed his cheek and patted his thigh, “I'm on it.”

Picking up his keys and jacket, Clint paused and took in Steve's concerned expression. “Hey, don't worry.”

Steve only sighed again as a reply and let his head hit the back of the couch. The sound of the door locking behind Clint drowned out the explosions on screen.

—

A fresh tank of gas, a new box of protein bars and a couple bottles of water later, you pulled into the storage facility. Stretching your limbs from the two hour drive, you took in the old property. It was run down with no foot traffic or desk clerk. The only camera you could see around the buildings was pointed at the office door, lens broken.

After grabbing your leather gloves and pulling the crowbar from the trunk, you went to work on the unit's lock.

Randall Williams reminded you of New York's grandfather serial killer, Albert Fish. Breaking into the storage container and shifting through his boxes, the incriminating photos he had of known and unknown victims were simply too hard to look at.

This man, this thing, was something that needed to be put down. The police were right in calling him a boogeyman. But they didn't know the accuracy of the nickname especially since it was once bestowed to Albert Fish himself.

You hoped Williams wasn't a cannibal, yet.

The young faces looked out at you from the photographs, some with tears and others with defiance. There so many, so many unrecognizable faces. You could feel the acid burn starting to rise in your chest. For a second, you wanted to talk yourself into believing these newly discovered victims were fake snuff photos he collected along the way, but you knew better and you saw the gags. Some with the same design used on the recorded victims. This was the man you’ve been looking for, and this man was a monster. 

Eyes watered and the taste of bile rose in the back of your throat. With a shaky hand, you read a recipe of brown butter and sautéed onions with human flesh. A list of spices and measurements. Your memory flashed to the little Robertson boy with questionable wound and knife markings.

Flipping through the journal you read Williams’ comments next to the favored recipes and the preferred cooking techniques.

How long has this been going on? Your eyes darted to the stacks of photos with mystery faces.

There was a strange recipe of your own growing within you; ingredients of anger, sadness, disgust, revenge.

Laying the photos out on the cement floor, you surveyed the expanding collection of tragedy. You shuffled your feet across the ground and paused before each photo. 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10’s created a paper train of frozen mementos from each child’s nightmare. On the shelf, another box of negatives caught your eye. 

Monster.

Your body felt heavier with each photo; guilt and sorrow for not stopping these events from happening, even if you never knew some occurred until now. You sent out an apology and prayer in your mind for them all. 

“I’m fine. Be back in a few days. Love you, see you.” You quickly sent the text to Steve and Clint. Leaving you the grim photos on the ground, you pulled the storage door closed behind you. Pointing your car west, you drove off to deliver revenge and extract other things.

Randall Williams lived outside of a small town on a neighbor-less dirt road. Parking your car a safe distance away, you quietly made your way to his neglected looking home.

The house was quiet, dark and smelled sour. The sliding door was unlocked. Flipping the safety off your gun, you slowly slid it open. Suppose monsters don't have a lot to worry about.

Closing it behind you, you immediately covered your nose with back of your hand and tried to save your sense of smell from the pungent stench. The kitchen reeked of moldy food and ignored trash. You would have thought the home was abandoned, except the mail on the counter was stamped with this week's date.

Walking around, a calendar caught your attention. Next week's dates were circled and marked, Growing Dreams Day Care- install shelving. Biting your cheek, you tried to bury down the rage.

Creeping quietly in what you assumed to be the direction of the bedroom, you gingerly opened the door with your fingertips, gun ready in your other hand. Bathroom.

Squaring your shoulders, you made your way further down the hall. The second door held the right answer. There laying on his stomach, snoring in a pair of dirty briefs was the small statured, unaware boogeyman.

Three quick fast steps into the room, you came up to the bed and kicked the mattress. “Hey! Devil's Reject!”

Randall's eyes shot open and he flipped himself over to sit up.

CRACK!

You slammed the butt of your gun on his jaw. “Hurts, don't it?”

He let out an unearthly growl and groggily scrambled up, attempting to right himself to lunge at you. Bringing your boot up and kicking him back in his sternum, his head slammed against the wall and cracked the stained plaster.

“Nighty-night, fucker,” you smashed your gun against his face again.

Grabbing his legs, you pulled his unconscious, dirty body down the hallway. Dragging him through the kitchen, you were about to set him up at the kitchen table when you saw another door.

The door creaked open and basement steps greeted you, “Bingo.”

Bringing Randall's body around, you positioned him by the stairs and let him topple down the steps without a care.

Skipping down after him, you heaved Randall's body into position. After securing him to a chair, you took the time to exam the basement and survey his workspace until he woke.

You stared almost uninterested at the bound man before you. The toe of your boot lifted the lid of his unlocked tool box and knocked it open.

“So how’s the carpentry business?” an air of indifference in your question as you reached in and pulled out several hammers before spying a box of nails.

The man only muffled and grunted against the material wrapped around his mouth.

“Yeah, sorry about that gag I suppose,” you examined the different tools in your hands, flipping them from side to side testing their weight.

“Not the same blanket you tore off for your victims, but I did make sure to grab your dirtiest work rags. So please, wet it down real good and enjoy the taste.”

Standing up, you swung the hammer around, “Ah, this is the one.”

He eyed you with hatred as he rocked and rammed his body against the ropes in hopes to loosen them. Frantic sounds erupted deep from within his chest only to be stifled by the gag, when he realized the restraints wouldn’t give. 

You hummed in pleasure at the trapped animal before you.

“Girl Scouts,” you nodded toward the knots on his body, “Don’t let the cookie sales fool you, asshole. Us little Daisies grow up to be Venus flytraps later in life.” 

He rocked his body forward again as you bent down and picked up the box of nails.

“Not interested in what you want to say. Plead innocent, plead guilty. Shit, I don't even care if you regret every monstrously thing you've ever did. Actually, don’t give a fuck if you don’t regret it either. All that matters is that it ends here, that you end here. I know you checked out those homes you worked on, picking out the children and then coming back for them. Like some twisted human layaway plan. That was a hell of wait, but I bet you had nothing else to think about when you were locked away. ”

Reveling in his fear, you circled him. You could practically smell the panic ooze out his pores. “Ever hear about the serial killer, Albert Fish? Preyed on kids, ate them even. You both had common interests, similar ways- he your inspiration? My gut told me within time, you'd be like him.”  

Dancing your fingertips across the tops of his shoulders, you emphasized each word with a tap, “And. You're. Already. There.”

Williams knocked his head side to side, trying to shake off your touch. He glared in your direction but refused to make eye contact.

“But there's a thing you’re missing from being so very much like him. A subtle difference to some, but devil's in the detail- am I right?”

You shook the box of nails up to his ear as you leaned by his other.

“He stuck pins in his groan, 29 to be exact. They have x-rays of it. No, no, I shit you not. So we're going to improvise with these nails and recreate it on you,” you bopped him on the nose. “Artistic interpretation and all.”

Driving the nails into him with a hammer, you randomly picked spots along his inner thigh and pelvis. “Do you like astronomy? Should I make the Little Dipper?”

He howled against his restraints. Drool and hatred running down his chin. Randall passed out on nail number eight, when it was jammed into his testicle, but came back around for the thirteenth nail while you slapped him awake. He passed out again on the twenty-third nail and you carried on without your audience.

“Oh good! You're awake- again,” false happiness laced your voice. “Take a look at the new additions!”

Swiftly grabbing the back of his head, you forced him to crane his neck awkwardly downward as he tried resisting.

“Oh good god. Stop bawling already,” walking around to his front, you brought the hammer down and smashed it against his left kneecap.

More cries of anguish poured out of Randall.

Reaching back into his toolbox, you crouched down in front of him, “you only have yourself to blame- for all of this. But also because you kept passing out on me- and that… well that, gave me time to think.”

You delivered a Cheshire grin and held up a pair of pruners.

His body shook and he screamed at you through the gag as you painfully pulled down on his nailed testicles. You quickly shoved the pruners around one sweaty ball. His right nut rested between the tool's blades, the nail stuck out below. His body convulsed in pain as you smiled and began cutting into him.

Randall's shoulders involuntarily shook as he wailed incoherently. After a few minutes his shoulders fell down around him, making him smaller with the weight of defeat.

Pressing the toe of your boot into his broken kneecap, you slowly and gradually applied more pressure, “Pay attention, fuckface. There’s still more I can cut from you.”

Blood painted his cheek as you tapped his face with the pruner’s blades, You pulled down his gag and he reeled his head away.

You plucked his testicle off the floor, “Hm. Kind of looks like a weird party appetizer, meatball and blood gravy. Gore gravy? You think that sounds better? Here. Want to try?”

Twirling the hammered nail between your thumb and finger, his detached ball freckled his cheek and forehead with blood. Threads of veins and skin twirled on the air like streamers. 

“Blow on it, might be hot,” you cackled at your joke.

“Fuck you!” Randall cursed through shaky, chapped lips, gaping in pained disbelief at his removed appendage.

“Tsk-tsk,” you snapped the meatball appetizer back and forth on front of his eyes. “That bad, lousy fucking attitude and those actions is what got you here, motherfucker.” 

You sneered at him coldly. “Don't make me get creative. Could always skin away pieces of you and wrap them around other parts,” you dramatically cut the air with the human hors d'oeuvre and pointed at his crotch with it, “like pigs in a blanket. Foreskin's optional, you know.”

He started paling between your words and the blood loss, silently staring wide-eyed when visualizing your threat.

“Now,” you stepped between his bounded legs, “Open up, fucker. Time to try, then die.”

Pinching his cheeks, you forced his mouth open and scrapped the nail against his teeth until his ball rested in the back of his mouth. Horror filled Randall's eyes as the taste of warm iron hit his tongue.

Quickly grabbing the sides of his head, you abruptly raised your knee and slammed it up against his jaw. “Enjoy.”

A mixed sound of wet squishing and teeth cracking sang throughout the basement as Randall sobbed. The deflated testicle and pieces of teeth fell from his mouth between his hysterical wails. You leaned against the wall until his banshee screams subsided, a mask of boredom across your face.

When his shoulders stopped shaking and he settled to broken whimpers, you punched him again and slid the gag back in place between blood-coated teeth.

“And now, for our final act,” you callously taunted as you eyed his maimed and bloody crotch. Locking eyes with Randall, you jerked your chin in to the direction of his tools, “Ready?”

—

Standing before Randall's crumpled body, you heard your name float down from the top of the stairs, “Sweetheart, it’s time to go now.”

Clint silently made his way over, stepping between you and Williams’ broken corpse.  

He pulled out a plastic bag from his utility vest and held it out to you with his own gloved hands.

“Meet you back at the car?” you inquired as you stuffed your bloody gloves into the bag he always provided.

“Always,” Clint kissed your forehead and tucked the soiled bag away. “Go on now, gonna do a once over here and I'll meet you. Love you.”

“Love you,” you backed away and made your way to the car.

Clint pulled out several photographs of Williams’ victims and scattered them around his corpse. Picking up the bloodied hammer, he cringed when seeing a few pubic hairs stuck to it. He promptly dropped the tool on top of the victim's photos.

When he followed you to the storage unit, he figured the photos would come in handy for what he knew you'd do next. As he resumed to tail you from the warehouse, he decided to make an anonymous tip to the police about the storage unit when you were done. He didn't want to risk any evidence showing who Randall Williams really was could be overlooked.  

Back at the car, you turned up the volume and resumed listening to your audiobook. You didn't have to wait long, soon Clint tapped on your passenger window asking you to unlock the door.

Dropping into the passenger seat and assessing your appearance, Clint raised your hand to his lips for a quick kiss, “You look more content already.”

“Only because it’s over and I get to go home to you and Steve,” you smiled and cupped his face. “Thank you.”

“Never have to thank us, sweetheart.”

He rolled his cheek into the warmth of your hand. Your fingers skimmed through the top of his hair. You liked to tease that his hair felt softer with the mohawk. 

Blessed is what you felt. You found a home with Clint and Steve. And they accepted your need to play judge, jury and executioner. 

Clint tapped your thigh and gave it a squeeze, “Let’s get home to him, sweetheart. He’s been worried.”

He reached behind your seat and pulled out the unopened box of protein bars, “See, you plan well but then forget details like this.”

Ripping the box open, he freed a bar from its wrapper, “Eat.”

You wanted to object for a moment and say you were fine, but Clint's tone was laced with a plead, not a command.

“When we get back he'll want to feed us, you know. No one was happy you skipped another dinner.”

You chuckled at Clint's reminder about Steve's concerns and opened a bottled water, “What about your car?”  

“Had FRIDAY drive itself home.”

Humming at his answer, you capped the water, “Ready?”

Clint nudged your arm and took the bottle for himself, “Yes. And tomorrow we'll have a long talk about you being more aware of your surroundings. You were so blindly driven, you didn't notice me following like you usually do.”

—

When FRIDAY announced your return home, Steve felt he could breath easy again. He knew what these kills meant to you and the sense of serenity they brought.

Determined to make your and Clint’s return as smooth as possible, he put on your favorite playlist and he spread out the 24hr takeout menus.

He heard you before seeing you, smiling at the sight of you and Clint rounding the corner. Your legs swung back and forth, head tipped back with laughter, humor staining your expressive lips as Clint gave you a piggy back ride. A smile of Clint’s own beamed across his face at Steve as he set you down. 

“Hey, doll.” Not hiding his admiration for you, Steve scooped you up into a tight embrace.

“Hey, handsome.” With a kiss on his jaw, you nuzzled in closer to him. 

Opening up your embrace, you both pulled Clint into the hug.

Steve pressed his forehead against Clint's temple, “Thank you for being careful and bring you both back safely.”

Clint leaned into Steve's words, “Never have to thank me.”

Steve kissed Clint soundly and turned his gaze on you, “Give me everything you need burned.”

You nodded at his request and pulled out the bloody bag.

“Weapons?”

You turned your head shyly towards Clint, and he slightly shivered as he replayed in his mind what you orchestrated in the basement. 

“She used his own. Left them there with some incriminating photos. Less things to carry back,” Clint explained to Steve.

Tilting your head at Clint's mention of photos, you truly realized then just how absorbed you were for not noticing him at the storage unit. Hearing Steve call your name, you gave Clint a soft smile before turning back around.   

“Alright, doll. You know the next part. Strip.”

Without a second thought to his request, you swiftly slipped out of your jacket and boots, followed by your top and pants.

“Always love this part, sweetheart, ” Clint murmured behind you.

“Me, too. She looks so pretty with that new sense of accomplishment. Don’t you, doll?”

You laughed at your boyfriends’ praises, “Gonna go shower now. We eating soon?”

“Pulled out some menus when you two got back. I was thinking that little Italian place.”

“Sounds delicious,” you left for the shower after gifting both men a slow, appreciative kiss. “Maybe come join me before the food arrives?”

Both men hummed in appreciation as they watch you walk down the hall.

“I’ll get hers. Gotta wash mine, too.” Clint offered, collecting your soiled items from Steve to bring to the laundry room and incinerator. 

Clint stepped into the elevator but froze suddenly when he saw Steve holding the Italian menu.

“Steve!” Clint frantically called out, forcefully pushing the elevator doors apart. “Order mine without meatballs!”

#dark!reader #steve x dark!reader #clint x dark!reader #clint barton x reader #steve rogers x reader #ayaotdchallenge #dark!clint x dark!reader #dark!steve x dark!reader #dark!clint #dark!steve #dark!marvel #dark!fic #dark!fanfiction #steve x reader #clint x reader

[lauras-collection]

More Than I Know [Part 4]

Tom Holland x female Reader

Masterlist

Summary: You arrive at the wedding location and bump into someone you didn’t expect to be there. 

Words: almost 2.2k

Warnings: swearing, nothing else I think (let me know if there is anything in there that I should add)

A/N: I’m so excited about everything that’s going to happen in the next few parts! I hope you enjoy this one!

Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Today was the day. Today, you and Tom were going to drive to your sister’s wedding location. Kate and Daniel were basically doing a ‘wedding weekend’. Of course, your sister would do something extra like that. Everyone would arrive today, Friday, the wedding was tomorrow and on Sunday Kate insisted to do a post-wedding brunch with the immediate family, that included you and Tom. So as soon as you would arrive at the hotel you would have to pretend to be a loving couple until leaving on Sunday. 

You were packing your suitcase when the doorbell rang. After putting the shirt you had been folding down you walked to the front door. You were greeted with a smiling Tom when you opened the door. 

“Hey, you ready to go?” Tom asked and your eyes widened. Was it already that late? You turned your head to check the clock on the living room wall. “Relax, I’m messing with you. I’m early. I hope that’s okay.” A sheepish grin was on his face now and you couldn’t be mad at him. You let out a relieved breath. 

“Of course, come in. I’m still packing.” You started walking back to your room. Tom following behind you. “And I’m kind of freaking out. We can’t mess this up. What if someone notices that we’re just faking it? Someone’s bound to notice, right? Why would you ever be with someone like me?” You stopped walking and looked at him abruptly. “You know what? Let’s just stay here and not go at all. Saves me a lot of embarrassment.” You were pacing now. Tom gently grabbed your arms to stop you.

“Hey, hey, hey. Y/N. Stop that.” He turned you to look at him. “We’re going to the wedding. And your family believed us right? And these are the people that know you the best. The people that matter. Everyone else can think what they want. And just for the record, why wouldn’t someone want to be with you?” 

You huffed and looked at him, and all you could see in his eyes was honesty. You shook your head to try and get all the negative thoughts out of your head. You ignored Tom’s question and entered your bedroom. Tom followed you and leaned against your dresser while you continued folding your clothes. 

“Is that your dress?” Tom pointed at the garment bag hanging from your mirror. You nodded and watched as Tom walked towards the item, opening the zipper a little bit to get a peak. “Looks fancy.” He comments before closing the zipper again. 

“It’s my sister’s wedding, obviously it’s fancy.” You chuckled and closed your suitcase turning to look at Tom who was leaning against your dresser again. He was wearing a black hoodie and jeans, his hair curly and natural like the day you met him. A small smile made its way on your face. He looked so soft, you wanted to wrap your arms around him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Tom asked with raised eyebrows. 

“I don’t know. Your hoodie looks so cosy I just wanna...” You wrapped your arms around yourself.

“C’mere then.” He opened his arms with a soft smile and made grabby hands at you. You walked towards him, your arms wrapping around his torso. You let out a content sigh and Tom wrapped his arms around you, lightly rubbing your back.

“I was right. This is super cosy.” You mumbled causing Tom’s chest to rumble with a chuckle. One of his hands moved to play with your hair and it took everything in you not to sigh again. You felt all the stress inside you fade away. You stood like this for a while until Tom ran his hand over your head one last time, letting you know it was time to go.

It usually took about two hours to get to the place where Kate and David were getting married. But because it was a Friday afternoon the streets were busy and you were stuck in a massive traffic jam. After about an hour you both decided it was time for food so Tom exited the motorway and drove to the nearest drive-thru. It didn’t look to be the best place to get your food but you were both hungry and there was nothing else close enough.

 After you told Tom that you’d like a chicken burger he ordered for the two of you. When you arrived at the window, the cashier looked at Tom bewildered for a moment before uttering “You’re Spider-Man!” 

Tom chuckled lightly, nodding “I am.” The boy handed Tom the takeaway bag and Tom passed it on to you.

“Can we take a selfie?” He looked at Tom excitedly. 

“Of course, man.” Tom posed for the photo and then reached for his wallet in the back pocket of his jeans. 

“Oh no. You don’t have to pay. You’re Spider-Man! My treat!”

Tom paid no attention to the boy’s words and handed him the money. 

“Keep the change.” Tom smiled and the boy just looked dumbfounded. You could only grin at the situation. With a final goodbye and a wave, Tom continued driving, heading back towards the motorway.

“That was sweet.” You smiled, removing half of the wrapping of Tom’s burger and handing it to him. He took a bite while concentrating on the traffic. You couldn’t help but notice how attractive he looked casually driving with one hand on the steering wheel, the other holding the half-unwrapped fast-food burger. His elbow placed on the armrest in-between the two of you, his gaze fixed on the street. 

“Happens quite a lot recently.” He finally said after swallowing. “It’s pretty cool. Especially when they call me Spider-Man.” He chuckled and took another bite. You unwrapped your own burger and took a bite as well letting out a content sigh. 

“Enjoy this meal because after this we’ll only get fancy food for the rest of the weekend.” You said and Tom scrunched up his face.

“Ew, gross.” And you both had to laugh. 

***

When you finally reached the hotel you would be staying at, Tom parked his car. The hotel looked like an old castle and was surrounded by nothing but trees. There was nothing around for the next couple of miles. You hopped out of the car, shaking out your legs. You did a little dance to regain the feeling in your butt cheeks, the gravel crunching under your sneakers. Tom laughed at you as he opened the car boot to get out your suitcases. 

“What? My butt was numb.” You chuckled as well and opened the back door to get the garment bags that Tom had hung there. 

“Y/N! Tom! You made it!” You heard your mum exclaim as she came running from the hotel’s entrance. You couldn’t even greet her before she had engulfed you in a hug and placed kisses on both your cheeks. 

“Yeah, traffic was crazy. It took us three and a half hours.” You finally said as your mum moved on to greet Tom with a hug. 

“Oh really? You two must be starving! Come on in. I’m sure the kitchen can make you a little something before dinner.” 

“That’s alright, mum. We got something on the way. Can we just go to our room?” You asked and your mum nodded eagerly, leading you inside the hotel so you could check-in. A few minutes later you were standing in front of your hotel room. You held the key card in front of the scanner to unlock the door. When the light turned green you pushed the door open to a small but cosy room. After you held the door open for Tom so he could push your luggage inside, you closed the door and let your eyes roam the room. There were two armchairs on the right side of the entrance, the bathroom on the left. And in the middle of the room, a double bed. Of course, there would be only one bed. 

Tom seemed to have noticed the look on your face. “I can sleep in one of the armchairs. Or the bathtub.” You looked at him quickly. Was he serious?

“Don’t be ridiculous. We’re two adults, I think I can handle sharing a bed with you.” You laugh and nudge his shoulder. “Or do you not want to share a bed with me?” 

“I do.” Tom was quick to answer. “I mean, I don’t mind.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“Okay. That’s settled then.” 

***

After getting ready and another pep talk from Tom, the two of you made your way to join your family and the other wedding guests for dinner. Dinner was taking place in the big dining room of the hotel. As you entered you were amazed at how luxurious everything looked. You had joined Kate and David when touring the location, but the decoration made everything look so much fancier. Everything was either white or gold and stood in beautiful contrast with the quaint architecture of the building. The chandelier bathed the whole room in warm yellow light and you felt like you were in a movie. 

“Wow, this looks incredible.” Tom let out and you nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah. They’ve really outdone themselves.” Tom took your hand and pulled you towards your sister who was standing among a small group of wedding guests. 

“Hi, Kate. This looks incredible.” Tom said, greeting your sister with a hug while you were still gaping at the decorations. Initially, Kate wanted you to be part of the whole wedding planning but as soon as you noticed that Kate knew exactly what she wanted, you felt redundant and backed down from the planning. Now, you were happy because you experience the whole wedding without connecting it to the stress of planning it, unlike your mother.

“Thank you, Tom! I know, isn’t it amazing?” She replied while giving you a hug as well. “Doesn’t it look even better than when we toured it?” 

“Yes! I didn’t know it was possible, but wow! I didn’t know we were attending a royal wedding.” You were teasing, but it could easily have been a royal wedding. 

“You’ve always known I’m a princess.” Kate stuck her tongue out towards you. 

“Yeah. My princess.” Daniel, who had heard the last part of your conversation, said and wrapped his arms around his bride. He gave Kate a kiss on the cheek before greeting both you and Tom.

“Why don’t you guys find your seats? It’s almost time for dinner. There are name tags at the tables.” 

While you looked for your names on the name tags, you noticed a familiar face that you hadn’t expected to run into at your sister’s wedding.

“What the– What’s he doing here?” You let out in a breath causing Tom to look at you. He followed your line of vision.

“An ex-boyfriend?” He asked with raised eyebrows. 

“Something like that.” Your gaze was still fixed on the back of the blonds head.

“You wanna talk about it?” Tom sounded concerned so you turned to look at him.

“Maybe later. When we’re alone.” You smiled at him softly. The moment you had turned to Tom the blond had spotted you and made his way over.

“Y/N! What a surprise to see you!” He wrapped his arms around you in a hug, his hands rubbing your back before letting go of you again.

“Joe. Are you aware that you’re at my sister’s wedding?” You raised an eyebrow.

“Of course that was stupid of me.” He laughed, his grey eyes moving over your face, not even acknowledging Tom who’s arm was now moving around your waist sensing your discomfort. “How’ve you been?” 

“I’ve been excellent. This is Tom by the way.” You said and mimicked Tom’s position by twining your arm around his waist. “My boyfriend.” 

Joe looked down on Tom as he shook his hand. Joe was about five inches taller than Tom and had always prided himself with his height like he had an active part in becoming so tall.

“Oh yeah. I read all about it on the internet. Found someone better than me, huh?” You could only let out a huff at his words. 

“It’s not like you wanted me.” You squinted at him and felt Tom squeeze your waist a bit, his thumb slowly caressing you over the fabric of your blouse. “Now if you’ll excuse us, dinner is about to be served.” You moved further along the tables without another glance at Joe until you saw your name next to Tom’s written on the small pieces of card-stock. The two of you sat down and Tom noticed that you kept looking at Joe with a frown on your face.

“D’you want to give him a show?” Tom nodded towards him and you broke into a smile.

“Hell yes.” 

Part 5

Thank you so much for reading 💕

Taglist:

@jackiehollanderr // @alicethestral // @snowxbarryxendgame // @van-horn-dashner // @sltwins // @yeahimcrying // @ohhhotstan // @heathera101x // @xxnomercy // @bbyxk // @infamousmany // @zabdisamor  // @starsholland

Let me know if you want to be added or taken off the taglist :)

#tom holland au #tom holland x reader #reader insert #tom holland fluff #fake dating #more than i know #my writing #mine

[slash-em-up]

A Meeting of the Minds pt. 4: The Collector x Reader x ChromeSkull

This one carries a heavy TW for mentions of suicide and infant death - nothing that should come as a surprise if you’ve seen the after-credits scene in L2R2; but better safe than sorry....

———————————————————————

It was a well-known, but rarely addressed fact that of the three of you, Jesse - oddly enough - was the one with the best track record in relationships.

You’d pried it out of Asa one night when Jesse was off dealing with business of a more… bloody nature.

“You know he was married, and now he’s not. Why are you digging?”

You scowled at Asa. Finding it highly annoying that he was so casual about something that seemed like such a big deal to you.

He didn’t even look up from the laundry he was folding as you stomped up to his side.

“Aren’t you at least a little bit interested? Who were they? Why did it end? Does he want to get married again some day?”

Asa snapped one of his button-down shirts out with a flick. The side-eye he sent your way was communicating ‘you’re an idiot’ in THX.

“I’m not interested because I already know –“

You opened your mouth.

“- and before you ask, no, I will not tell you. It’s Jesse’s private business.”

“You are no fun at all.”

Your statement was met with a small smirk and a shrug.

On your way out of the room you swiped Asa’s glasses off of the dresser in retaliation.

Enjoy reading ‘Bugs Quarterly’ or whatever without these, nerd.

———————————————————————

The car ride over to Jesse’s ‘company headquarters’ was pleasant enough. You were incredibly grateful you’d let your men talk you into letting them buy you a new car because the convertible top was really working wonders on your mood.

You pulled up to the nondescript factory building and punched in the gate code Jesse had given Asa and yourself. A black-clad security duo met you as you parked in front of the entrance, each offering you a tight nod and a crisp ‘Ma’am’.

Smiling, you let yourself into the lobby - if you could call it that. If anyone walked in off the street, they might think they had just entered the worlds dingiest janitorial company… or maybe a chop-shop. But one swipe of your thumb on the scanner took you back to the actual office space, which was all gleaming black floors and matte metals. Very industrial-chic.

The first person you stopped in the hall and asked to direct you to ‘Mr. Cromeans office’ looked at you like you were either a corporate spy or someone with more than a few screws loose…. Maybe a combo of the two; but gamely pointed you towards a large pair of ebony wood doors.

There was barely a sound from the door as you opened it just wide enough to poke your head through and scan the room, looking for your boyfriend.

Jesse was the farthest thing from a small, unobtrusive man; but even he could have been dwarfed by the sheer size of his office. You don’t know why you were surprised. Leave it to Jesse to have an office larger than your last apartment…

Speaking of… the man of the office was apparently still taking care of business, because unless he was hiding underneath the desk (could happen, it was big enough), the room was completely empty.

What an excellent opportunity to do a little snooping…

You sidled up to the highbacked leather chair that sat imposingly behind Jesse’s desk and took a seat. The leather felt like butter underneath your fingers and you couldn’t help but wriggle around a bit, enjoying the plush padding and broad seat which had clearly been custom made for a man of Jesse’s stature.

Giggling lightly, you tucked your feet up underneath yourself and ran your hands over the dark wood of the desk, tugging gently at several drawers, hoping one or two would pop open and share their treasures with you. Happily, several were unlocked, and with great glee you began to rifle through Jesse’s knickknacks and paperwork.

You weren’t really sure if he’d have any kind of information on his ex-wife just chilling in his desk but hey, you were already pretty infamous among your guys as a busybody – much to Asa’s ire and Jesse’s amusement – so every little detail was of interest.

Snorting in amusement, you pushed a drawer containing a chrome-cased Switch and three different boxes of condoms closed, and smiled as your questing located an old digital photo frame in the lowest drawer– because heaven forbid Jesse would ever have something so pedestrian as a physical photo…

You plugged the frames power cord into a port by the lamp and waited a moment as the screen came to life.

The first image that popped up was the overview screen – it looked like there were only three pictures saved on the tiny card inserted into the back. Oh well, better than nothing.

It took you a moment to recognize the person staring back at you from the small image as Jesse. The height should have been a dead giveaway; but the wide, toothy grin on the unscarred lips of the man threw you for a loop. You still thought Jesse was very attractive; but before his accident? An absolutely stunning man. The kind you would have lusted over from a distance in college.

Moving your focus, you turned your attention to the woman Jesse had one of his long arms wrapped around. This must be the former Mrs. Cromeans.

She was gorgeous. No two ways about it. Every bit of her looked perfectly put together, from the roots of her stylishly cut blonde hair to the tips of the soft-looking manicured hands she had delicately placed on the table in front of her. They both looked so happy…

You swiped to the next image.

Mrs. Cromeans stared up from the picture – her smiling face trained on something above the camera. She was outside, and clearly in the middle of saying something as her mouth was slightly open as if forming words – looking no less pretty for it – while the sun shone down on her at a fetching angle. You’d bet anything that this was one of Jesse’s photos. He had an eye for that sort of thing.

Another swipe.

A sharp gasp broke from your lips as soon as you realized what you were seeing in the next picture.

Black, white, and grey morphed together in the ultrasound picture, giving you the vague, but unmistakable image of a tiny head, legs, feet, and hands.

The text of the photo read ‘Crom, M. GA: 12w6d’.

“Oh my god…” you could hardly believe what the image was telling you. Jesse was a father? What the fuck had happened?

Shutting off the power with a quick flick, you lowered the frame back to where you’d found it – halting all movement as a file folder loudly proclaiming ‘Federal Bureau of Investigations’ on the front with a white label reading ‘Cromeans, M. 31/10/2011’ caught your attention.

Pulling it out from underneath the pile of random papers, you held it for a moment. The sinking feeling in your stomach telling you that you wouldn’t like what you found inside.

You were right.

Blood spattered walls of what looked like a police interrogation room were the first thing you saw when you peeled back the front of the folder – blood, gore, and in the next photo, the nearly unrecognizable body of Mrs. Cromeans. Skimming the contents of the report you gagged at the unemotional tone the writer took as they described springing the news of her husbands status as a wanted man, including pictures from one of Jesse’s murders, to the very pregnant woman. Tears began to fall from your eyes as you read further – her shocked denial… grabbing a gun from the agent… a single shot… unable to save the baby…

A sob broke from your lips as you tossed the file and it’s horrific contents back into the drawer. You had enough forethought left to re-cover it with papers, hiding the fact that it had been disturbed in the first place; before you stood on shaky legs and ran from the office.

——————————————————————

The trip back to Asa’s house was a blur. Nothing registered until the door slammed behind you, and you slowly lowered yourself to the floor, tears still rolling down your cheeks.

You felt, more than saw Asa approach you from the living room. He crouched down in front of you, gently grasping your face in one large hand and raising your eyes to meet his. The stoic man was hard to read on the best days; but right now his pursed lips and furrowed brow clearly showed a mixture of concern and annoyance.

He sighed deeply as he wrapped an arm under your knees and one behind your back, gently hoisting you into the air and carrying you up the stairs towards the bedroom.

You buried your face into his broad shoulder, and for once he didn’t complain about you staining the fabric with your tears.

“I told you to leave it alone.” He murmured quietly.

Nodding in agreement, you promised yourself that next time Asa told you that you didn’t want to know something, you’d listen.

The bed squeaked as you were gently set on it, feeling numb and tired as your shoes were removed and a quilt was draped over you.

“Sleep now. I’ll wait up for Jesse.”

Humming out your assent, your sore eyes closed, and exhaustion took over in minutes. The door closed quietly as the horrors and sadness of the day drove you into an uneasy slumber.

———————————————————————

Pale blue light woke you from your dreams of blood, and it took you a moment to focus on the numbers being projected onto the white ceiling.

2:15 AM Tuesday

You knew Asa preferred his analogue alarm clock, so that must mean Jesse was home…

Turning slightly, you found yourself spooned up against the large man. Asa was nowhere to be seen; but you often found yourself missing a partner when the urge to indulge in their ‘hobbies’ struck.

Deep, even breathing into your hair told you that Jesse was fast asleep – his trips always took a lot of energy out of him – even though you knew from experience that his mood and libido would be high for the next few days.

Reaching back, you pulled one of his large arms across your waist, bringing his hand up and pressing a soft kiss to the back of it before settling it lightly next to your heart.

You didn’t know if you wanted to talk to him about his wife anymore. You were afraid, you were nervous, and you didn’t want to hurt Jesse by re-opening old wounds.

Asa probably hadn’t said anything to Jesse -more out of his own desire to avoid any emotional upheavals than any protective action over your own mis-step; but you would be thankful for his silence at any rate.

You’d heard somewhere that what’s dead should stay buried; and right now the words of the phrase rang truer than they ever had.

If Jesse wanted to talk to someone about his dead wife and child… you were here for him. But the more you thought about it the less appealing having that conversation became. It was as simple as that.

Eyes closing once more, you drifted back into slumber. Determined to keep the ghosts of your lovers past exactly where they were.

#jesse cromeans x reader x asa emory #asa emory #jesse cromeans #chromeskull: laid to rest 2 #laid to rest #chromeskull #the collection (2012) #the collector (2009) #horror movies #slasher fiction #jessica writes

[its-bianca]

Studying/Planner Apps

Essential apps for studying, planning, health, etc. Who says everything has to be analog?

These are all the ones I’ve tried and downloaded (unless said otherwise). The ones with the * next to it are the ones I don’t use or have gotten rid of for personal reasons, but still highly recommend all of them.

I go through apps like a child goes through toys. I try them out, get rid of the ones I don’t like. Apps are toys.

There’s tons more, but these ones are the ones that I recommend to people with similar needs and schedules like mine. The ones I haven’t or don’t use anymore are ones I could definitely see being helpful to others or that I’d maybe use in the future if my needs change. 

Note: these are things from the App Store, but I’m pretty sure most are available on the Play Store too.

Podomoro Time Trackers

Forrest* - Haven’t tried this because you have to pay for it on the App Store, but I’ve seen everyone go bonkers over this app and how they plant trees for studying, etc. etc. 

Plantie - Best and only Podomoro app I still use. Gamified, but not TOO gamified. You just grow fruit, collect, coins, buy more fruit trees. It’s super simple, while still providing really good graphs and charts. Also, it allows you to turn off the feature where it stops your task as soon as you leave the app. Sometimes I need to use my phone for assignments, and I still want to track my time. It’s completely FREE, with GREAT charts as a visual. Other apps need a premium subscription to access the graphs and charts, which is why I love this app because even though the chart is quite simple, it does its job. Although, it doesn’t tell you when to take the longer break and it has to be adjusted manually. That’s fine for me, because I always get disturbed by something before I even get to 4 blocks, and if I waited until I had a big chunk, I’d never get anything done.

Block & Flow: Stay focused* - Podomoro but visualised with stacks of blocks for each day or week. And you can list out what tasks you have for that day and sort out sections for work, reading, school, etc. I didn’t need that feature, which is why I used Plantie instead.

Workflow Timer* - Another good option with options to make multiple tasks lists. One of the simpler and more user-friendly ones. It also looks really good!

Hours Time Tracking* - App for timeblocking, scheduling, and tracking the time while you’re working. It’s not helpful for me, because it’s practically impossible for me to strictly schedule something in my day after school, but could be useful for others. Really easy to makes tasks and separate by color. 

Stay Focused* - Simplest Podomoro timer out there. No distractions, no graphs, no gamification, just pure focus.

Planners/Calendars/Tasks

Wunderlist - Great reminder system, intuitive (type in “essay next mon” and it will schedule the task to be due next Monday), syncs everywhere, attach documents, etc. I used this for my assignment list, books to read list, schedule etc. for a long time, until recently where things got hectic and I wanted to make a daily to do list rather than only a master list. I use a bullet journal for school stuff now, but still keep Wunderlist for that shopping/movies/books/apps/websites to check out list. 

24me* - Personal assistant, lots and lots of features, with scheduling, to-do lists, notes, journaling, etc. Tracks weather and traffic to and from work/school. All in one.

Google Calendar - I don’t schedule on this, but use it to sync my school calendar with personal calendar. Easy scheduling and you can SHARE your calendar with a friend! All Google apps are made for collaboration basically. 

Habitify* - Habit tracker on your phone and tracks progress every day, showing when you skip and reminding you of it. Don’t quite remember why I got rid of it because checking back it seems really good. Might redownload. 

Trello* - Kanban boards, “cards” and lists, great reviews. I’ve heard people use it as a bullet journal sort of and project planner though that wasn’t it’s original purpose. I downloaded it for a club thing, but never really used it personally. 

Notetaking/Planning/Journaling

OneNote - I use this ALL the time, even though I don’t use my Microsoft account much anymore. My notes are organized and have a hierarchy. Very customizable with headers, notebook sections, pages, subpages, etc. Easy to share with group mates and an okay collaboration space if you want to see each other’s progress on research or something during a group project. MUCH better than having tons of Google or Word docs of notes. Completely FREE for the full experience.

Notion* - One in all workspace for journaling, notes, scheduling, planning projects basically a mini-website for your life and work. Great guide for bullet journaling on Notion from studyblr Eintsein here. Another Notion bullet journaling guide on YouTube here and here. I highly recommend it, but don’t use it since I use an analog bujo, prefer OneNote for class notes, and don’t have much use for it other than that currently. You do have to pay for unlimited notes, but there’s a pretty good amount to start out, and if you really don’t want to pay, there are workarounds to it.

Milanote* - Like Notion, but more restrictions on the free version. I don’t use it anymore because I’ve realized I didn’t really have a good purpose for it and it cluttered up my phone. In a way, it’s more ~aesthetic~ than Notion, but there are less things you can do. It does have a better learning curve though.

Evernote - I don’t use it often, but I have it to take quick notes or other stuff. Evernote is like a god in the notetaking world, because it’s user friendly, quick, and syncs up really easily with everything. 

Health

7 Minute Fitness - There’s a lot of these out there. Go find one or two. Don’t be sedentary.

30 Day Fitness Challenge - Same concept as above.

Simple Habit - FULL of free mostly 5 minute guided meditations (though there’s premium access). There’s no excuse now. Also, I used to try 10 minute meditations on Headspace which made me really sleepy. 5 minutes work best, because they’re quick, and if you want more time, just move on to the next part in the series or find another one. Lots of free series for basically any subject (school, women, mothers, grade anxiety, sleep) and SOS mode. Unfortunately, you can’t download any of them in the free version.

AloeBud* - Self-care pocket companion. Make reminders on your phone for every self-care thing you can think of. Schedule notifications multiple times a day with personalized messages. 

TaoMix2 - Mixer for relaxing nature/white noise sounds. It’s pretty restricted in the free, but it’s enough for me.

Cove* - If you’re a music person, this app let’s you make quick music and tunes matching your mood. A sort of an easy music therapy if you’re not good with instruments or composition. 

Reflecty* - Little journal buddy asking you fun/reflective questions about your day and tracking your mood. It’s short and sweet. Each entry is a “story”.

Oak* - Great for breathing and very simple guided meditations. Breathing practices for anxiety, freshening up, and calming nerves before a big performance. It just takes 15 seconds to breathe.

Grid Diary* - Journal prompts in grid fromat. Customizable daily prompts.

DayOne Journal* - Again, RAVING reviews. Everyone loves it. I haven’t used it because I prefer analog journals, but it’s a pretty good for travel journals with pictures, audio, video, etc.

UVLens - Reminds you to put sunscreen on throughout the day depending on your skin, activities that day, and type of sunscreen. 

Flo - Period tracker. Need I say more? 

Tasty - FOOOD (by Buzzfeed). New recipe ideas, includes shopping list, make your own cookbook.

KitchenStories - MORE FOOOOD. Includes Asian and international cuisine since it’s crowd-sourced.

Miscellaneous

Audiobooks - Audiobooks from the Gutenberg Project, but in app form. You can download classics for free, etc. There are some paid audiobooks, but they’re usually for better narrators/text corrections, so absolutely not necessary to get lost in an old book. Jane Austen, Charlotte Brönte, L. Frank Baum, all the good stuff.

Daylio - Tracks mood, activities, with intuitive charts. You can edit moods and activities shown per day. Free version is pretty good, and it replaces the need for making a habit tracker in my journal, because I don’t like making those.

Scannable - Very intuitive scanning app. I’ve used this for many legal/important documents and nobody had a clue it was “scanned” on a phone. It makes regular photos of documents easier to read and look like it came from a scanner. It can share as a PDF or jpg. Granted, you need good lighting for the best quality. 

Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Slides - Everyone’s probably used this before, but to reiterate, this is the best collaboration app/website. Super easy to share with real-time tracking and updates.

BEAKER by THIX* - For chemistry people. Mix compounds/elements together, make new compounds, see their reactions. Don’t have much use for it since my chemistry class is moving at a glacial pace but I could see this being useful for others. 

Chemtriz - Same as above, but gamified. You take elements and put them together in the right configuration to make compounds.

PictureThis - Plant Identifier - Weird addition to list, but it’s a cool app to get back in with nature. Now I know what a boxwood plant looks like.

IFTTT* - Hard to explain, but it enables different apps that don’t usually work together to work together. So if you input something in an email, you can make it go into a Google Spreadsheet(?). Just go check it out. It’s cool. Many shortcuts, track stuff in the Health App, get emails showing cool NASA pictures. 

Canva - AMAZING graphic design app/website for those who can’t use Photoshop (ie. me). It’s better online, but there are hundreds of templates for magazines, book covers, planners, posters, flyers, and basically any graphic design needs. Many free graphics and photos ready to use. Premium version is NOT necessary to get full benefits from this program. I used it to create this calendar for my room. 

#productivity #being productive #apps #productivity apps #self care #mental health #studyblr #studying #high school student #student #bujo #studyspo #studyinspo #og posts #google #study tips #study hacks #school #strategies & tips #fitness apps #note taking #notion #journaling #journal #planning #planner #schedule #block schedule #podomoro #time tracking

[lazella]

Papa Tony

Been really looking forward to finishing and posting this. We all know that Tony adopts pretty much anyone so let the dad instincts commence!

Tony read over the scans on his monitor. He had hooked up Yugi to every medical scanner he had as soon as he found out that the Soul Stone seemed to have fused with his body. The Soul Stone was the most mysterious of all the stones so who knew what the effects on Yugi were.

“Is all this necessary?” Yugi asked from where he laid on the table.

“You’ve got a rock that contains cosmic power potentially in your brain so yes…” Tony said as he switched to viewing brain scans, “I’m pretty sure you want it out.”

Yugi just let a hum and just relaxed as Tony continued his examination. He was about to switch screens when he noticed something. One of Yugi’s brainwaves was very active, the one that indicated speaking. But Yugi was silent. Tony was about to chuck it up to internal thought only for a second wave to show up. The two waves took turns being active, as if in conversation.

“Yugi?”

“Yes?”

“Are you talking to someone right now?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because according to what I see, you are talking to someone right now. So depending on your answer I should consider this normal or I will get very concerned.”

“Oh…” Yugi looked a little comfortable and fell silent. The scans indicated that he was back in his internal conversation before he spoke out loud again, “Do you believe in magic Tony-san?”

“I have a few wizards on speed dial and friends with a god so yes…I do believe in magic.”

“Okay…” This seemed like a relief to Yugi, “I’ve got another me who shares my body.”

“Another personality?”

“Not quite like that…he’s got not memory of his past or his name, so he shares mine. The only clue we have was that he was in Egyptian Pharaoh in life.”

“So you’ve got a dead guy in your head? How did he get there?!”

“It happened when I completed this Puzzle,” Yugi sat up and held up his large gold pendant for Tony to see. He had wondered why Yugi wore something that was so bulky.

“So magical artifact had a guy sealed in it…no other curses or anything?” Tony asked.

“None that I know of.”

“So I’m going to file this under normal for you…” Tony said as he closed down the screens.

“It’s normal as Yugi and I can get.”

Tony had to do a double take. Yugi’s voice changed only slightly. His posture was slightly different and there was something off about his eyes.

“Apologies I figured that I introduce myself since you are now aware of me.”

“Nearly gave me a heart attack that’s what…” Tony sighed, “You neglected to mention that you can switch out like that.”

“Most people don’t notice…Then again they don’t know what to look for.” The not-Yugi said.

“Just as long as you two get along Your Majesty I don’t think any of us will take issue…”

The not-Yugi arched an eyebrow, “Your Majesty?”

“Yugi said you were a Pharaoh and I’m not going to call you ‘Yugi’…that will just get confusing…” Tony said, “Now then…I’m sure there are few people I can call to see if we can resolve this memory loss problem.”

This seemed to surprise the not-Yugi, “You’ll do that?”

“Kid…there’s no way in good conscious let you walk around with no identity. I’m sure it has caused a few problems.”

“It has…a few life or death situations actually.”

The coffee cup Tony was holding shattered on the floor, “HOW?!”

“A few people have taken issue that I’m…still here.” Not-Yugi admitted.

“No…no no…no no NO!” Tony grabbed Not-Yugi’s arm and started drag him off, “Come on!”

“Where are we going.”

“We are going to see someone about your memory issue then getting you equipment so that people don’t stick you two into life or death situations!”

“I usually win though…”

“THAT IS NOT THE POINT!”

…………………………………..

Tony munched on popcorn has he watched Natasha and Judai spar. Curiosity was sparking in his head as he wondered how a seventeen-year-old boy was keeping up with a trained assassin but Judai seemed to dodge any sort of inquiry. So for now, it was observation time.

Judai dodged another punch from Natasha and went to kick her legs out from under her. She saw this coming and stepped back far enough to through him off balance. Natasha then grabbed Judai’s wrist and twisted it behind his head.

Judai had a quite a visible wince on his face trying to get out of Natasha’s grip as she got his other hand. Tony reached for his other bag of popcorn getting a feeling that things were about to get interesting.

Something snapped in Judai, his eyes flashing orange and green and claws growing sharp. Natasha was shocked at the change causing her to lose her grip a bit. Judai took his chance and flipped Natasha over his head and pinned her down with a foot on her chest.

“Nice one kid!” Tony clapped, “Never seen anyone throw Natasha like that and…” He trailed off, noticing the look on Judai’s face. It like he was frozen in a moment of panic eyes still glowing green and orange.

“Judai….hey Judai! Snap out of it!”

Judai blinked back to alertness, eyes returning to their normal brown, “Ah! Sorry! So sorry about that!” He got off Natasha and offered a hand, “Instincts took over…”

“It’s fine…” Natasha said as she accepted the help up. “I’ve been through worse.”

“But this was supposed to be a friendly spar…” Judai said, “And I…” He trailed off.

“And I what?” Natasha prodded.

“I…I…” Judai looked at the ground in shame, “I acted like it was the real deal…”

“So.” Was the causal response from Natasha.

This caught Judai off guard, “I could have killed you! My instincts just takes over and then…”

“Kid we nearly kill each other every day.” Tony shrugged munching on more popcorn, “Just ask Bruce how many times he threw us through walls when he had gone Hulk.”

“B-but…” Judai stuttered in shock, “You all…”

“We just learn each other’s quirks and adapt.” Tony said, “Some of our allies were people who tried to kill us so it’s really not a detracting factor. In fact, crazy dark backstories just makes you fit in even more.”

Judai blink, frowned, then laughed a bit, “I never…though of it like that.”

“Welcome to the world of superheroes…” Tony laughed, “Now that I think about it, you should already know about that since I do know that deck of your IS superhero themed.”

Now Judai was laughing even harder, “Your right! I should know that!”

“Atta boy…now let’s see what you can really do against Natasha.” Tony said as he sat back down with his popcorn.

“Are you sure…I mean…” Judai was still somewhat unsure.

“Would you rather go against Hulk?” Natasha proposed.

“This is fine…”

……………………………………

“I have to admit Mr. Stark, the technology and construction you’ve done in your suits is amazing.”

Tony sure liked Yusei. The kid was brilliant. Any sort of engineering or physics problem was second nature to the kid. Finally he had someone who could keep up with his nerd talk.

“You still owe me an explanation about your motorcycle.” Tony said, “You did say you built it yourself from scrap.”

Yusei chuckled a bit, “I sure did…” He turned to the bike that was parked in the corner of the lab. “I’ve replaced parts of the engine with better quality materials over the years but the frame is the same.”

“Quite the impressive work…I can’t believe your self taught,” Tony said as he tapped the metal casing of the D-Wheel. “Mind if I take a peek?”

“Go right ahead,” Yusei opened the engine compartment.

Tony whistled. When Yusei said that his bike didn’t run on gasoline he just had to figure out what the alternative fuel that he used. The circuitry was like artwork linking all the parts together. The main engine hub was impressive. It seemed to be spinning round and round and…

Why did Tony feel like he had read theories about this before?

“Yusei…am I looking at a perpetual energy machine?”

“Not quite…This a smaller version of the main Momentum reactor that acts as our main power source,” Yusei explained, “After many years of operation we found a flaw that caused it to build up too much power internally which has a risk of causing a catastrophic explosion. I helped develop a counter generator called Fortune to absorb the excess energy and feed it back into the system.”

Tony now had a notepad in his hand making calculations, “So a perpetual energy machine in two parts…now how to combine them into one…”

Yusei raised an eyebrow, “Mr. Stark…what are you doing?”

“Making improvements…you wouldn’t happen to have blueprints of those two reactors on you?”

“I…do actually….” Yusei ejected a flash drive from his bike, “My father was the one who developed the original Momentum.”

Tony could recognize the expression on Yusei’s face, it was one he had quite often.

“He died when you were young…didn’t he?”

“I was just a baby…” Yusei sighed, “His work was sabotaged, and his last act was to get me to safety.”

“Sounds like he was a good man…” Tony patted Yusei on the back, “Now let’s review those blueprints and see what we can do…”

……………………….

New York Central park was a popular destination for both locals and tourists to visit. Many fun sights to see and take photos off. Though those who were celebrity followers were surprised to find millionaire playboy philanthropist Tony Stark sitting on a park bench with ice cream in his hand sitting next to a boy with duel colored hair, also with ice cream in hand.

Tony paid no mind to the gawkers. “So Yuma…thoughts on the ice cream?”

“It’s good but…” Yuma frowned, “Still confused as to why you suddenly dragged me out of the tower just for ice cream? We passed at least four other places on the way here.”

“Because I can tell you were going nuts being cooped up inside all day.” Tony pointed out, “Making a fortress out of cardboard and bits of my suits then trying to jump over it in one go was the tipping point.”

Yuma blushed in embarrassment.

“And there’s the fact you’re talking to yourself…”

“That part is not true.” Yuma pouted, “I told you several times about Astral.”

“So invisible friend?”

“He’s not invisible…just visible to some people.” Yuma pointed out.

“That still counts as invisible.” Tony responded.

Yuma stuck his tongue out, “Thor can see him.”

“Well lucky him…he get’s all the cool stuff.” Tony took another lick of ice cream, “I have to build my cool stuff.”

“Then why don’t you invent something so that you can see Astral?”

Tony paused, Yuma had a very good point. He was a genius after all. He wasn’t going to let something like being chosen with magical powers stop from doing anything.

“Fair point…I concede victory to you Yuma.” Tony said, “I need you to hang around to give good ideas more often.”

Yuma smiled, “Thanks for the ice cream by the way.”

“Anytime kid.” Tony smiled back, “Just say the word and we’ll do it again.”

……………………..

“You got me a what?”

“She’s called a therapist Yuya. She won’t bite you, her job is to talk to you and figure out your own head.”

“Um…no offence Tony…” Yuya scratched the back of his head, “I don’t think she’s going to believe what I have to say.”

“She’s the Avenger’s personal therapist. She’s heard everything past the sun. A patient with four people in his head will not be a new thing for her.”

Yuya was still unconvinced, “I don’t know about the others though…especially Yuri.”

“Which is more of a reason to start now. Listen kid…” Tony started rustling Yuya’s hair, “I can tell you’ve been bottling up a lot of things which is not healthy for a kid…or kids…that are only fourteen years old. You haven’t slipped much but it doesn’t take much to figure out that you still need help.”

“I DON’T NEED HELP!!!” Yuya suddenly shouted then shrunk back on himself, “….sorry.”

“I guess that was Yuri.”

“Yeah…he doesn’t talk to any of us about his past….I mean he talks about current stuff but the moment we start sharing childhood stories he clams up. What makes you think he’s going to open up to a complete stranger?”

“You never know until you try…” Tony admitted, “Just ask Pepper how many times she had to drag my butt to a therapist, she didn’t give up on me for sure. How about you just try once and see how you feel?”

“Okay…” Yuya slowly nodded, “What if I don’t like it?”

“Then we’ll try something else.”

That seemed to be the reassurance Yuya needed to enter the room out of his own free will. Out of courtesy and patient confidentiality, Tony waited outside. A good hour later, Yuya came out though based on the way he was walking it wasn’t Yuya in control.

“So…which one….” Tony said trying to figure out which one he was talking too.

“Yugo sir…the others are in a deep conversation. I didn’t have as much to get off my chest so I took the reins.”

“So I take it that the therapist help?”

“I don’t know why Yuya didn’t go to one sooner…then again I don’t know if we even have them back home.”

“Sounds like that’s a problem we need to fix.” Tony muttered, “So…while the other three are in their talk…what to come to my lab and tinker with a few things?”

“Do I?!” Yugo was bouncing on his feet.

“Then lets go!” With a cackle they ran down to the lab.

………………………………..

Tony was fiddling with his latest project with Bruce in his lab. Yusaku was quietly working on a nearby computer giving a death glare to anyone who came close. Tony just left him be. Programing seemed to be more of Yusaku’s forte rather than engineering. He just needed to focus on this new reactor to see if he can give it more juice.

“You sure it’s okay to work on this with the kid in the lab?” Bruce asked.

“We have enough safety precautions in place and he’s far away enough.” Tony reassured him, “Now pass me that soldering iron and let’s hook this baby up.”

Bruce complied and took a few steps back. Tony a look in his eye that spelt trouble, trouble Bruce really didn’t want to be in, but a responsible adult had to be in the room. Tony finished the connection and removed his googles, “Time to light this baby up!” Like a giddy child, he started the power core. The reactor light up as expected but then started sparking.

“Tony…” Bruce began warning him.

“It should die down…” Tony was about to explain himself only for the reactor to start sparking more.

“Turn it off!!!” Bruce yelled.

“Trying!” Tony yelled back as he hurried to cut the power taking a quick glance at Yusaku. The boy was fully aware of what was going on but had not left his corner.

“Kid run!!!” Tony yelled at Yusaku which seemed to snap the boy to attention. He began to creep his way around the edge of the lab being very cautious of the flying sparks.  Electric sparks continued to fly turning into streams as the reactor started to critical. Tony was fumbling at this point trying to find the wires and disconnect them as the switch was now effectively dead. Feeling the plug in his hand he yelled out…

“Hit the deck!!!”

He broke the connection. The reactor let out one last flash of sparks then fell silent. With the danger passed, Tony and Bruce shakily got up from the floor.

“Well there goes today’s work…” Tony muttered.

Bruce didn’t comment instead looked around the room, “Where did the kid go?”

Tony looked around as well, there was no sign of Yusaku. “Hey kid? You okay? Where’d you go?”

“TONY!!!”

Tony ran around the table to where Bruce was crouched down. Yusaku was on the floor twitching. Tony started cursing under his breath. Did Yusaku get struck by the electricity?

“Hey!” Tony lightly shook Yusaku’s shoulder, “Speak to me.”

Yusaku didn’t answer but was mumbling. Tony only caught bits that sounded like ‘sorry’ and ‘I’ll keep trying’.

“Aw man don’t do this now!!!”

Tony and Bruce looked at Yusaku’s wrist device where the AI was poking out of.

“Snap out of it already!”

“What’s going on?” Tony asked.

“He’s stuck in another episode…” The AI said, “The electricity must have triggered him.”

Tony felt his heart drop, was Yusaku suffering from a PTSD episode? With great care, he rolled Yusaku over and tried to stabilize his trembles.

“Hey Yusaku…look at me.”

Yusaku blinked a few times but he seemed to be focusing on Tony now.

“Can you tell me where you are?”

“I-I’m….” Yusaku stuttered a bit, “In a lab…”

“Who’s lab?”

“Y-yours…”

“That’s right…come on…” Tony helped the shaking boy up, “Fresh air will do us all good.”

Bruce helped Tony walk Yusaku out of the lab and towards one of the sitting areas by a balcony. Easing Yusaku into a chair, Tony took the seat next to him while Bruce went to get drinks.

“So…feeling better?” Tony asked.

“I’m better….” Yusaku sighed, “I apologize…I haven’t had an episode like that in a while.”

“You want to talk about it?”

“No…it was years ago anyway and I’ve got closure…” Yusaku said.

“If you say so…” Tony said as he downed the scotch that Bruce brought back, “Sorry about the scare though.”

“Perhaps I should not work while you are playing with dangerous equipment.” Yusaku said as he took some lemonade.

“How about I set you up with your own laptop?” Tony proposed, “That way you can work wherever you want.”

Yusaku actually smiled, “I would like that.”

#infinity stones au #yugioh #gx #5ds #zexal #arc v #vrains #tony stark #avengers #papa tony

[womenofcolor15]

Teenage Girl Admits To Staging Her Own Kidnapping That Made National News & Folks Are Pissed

A teenage girl has admitted she staged her own kidnapping that made national news. Find out why she did it, and why folks are pissed inside….

Karol Sanchez, 16, made national headlines after video her being kidnapped on a Bronx street in front of her mother went viral. An Amber Alert was issued, and police were searching for the abducted teen. Turns out, it was all a hoax.

Karol reportedly admitted to staging the incident. The reason? She reportedly wanted "to get away from her strict mom” who wanted to move the family back to Honduras. It's also reported Karol didn't want to leave so she could be with her boyfriend, a 23-year-old alleged Crips gangbanger who was once arrested for murder.

The alleged abduction went down around 11:20 p.m. Monday (December 16th) as the 16-year-old and her mother were walking near East 156 Street in the Bronx. In the video footage, you seen two men jump out of a car, grab Karol, shove her mother to ground, and then drag Karol in the car before speeding off. Check it:

  ALERT: NYPD looking for 16-year-old who was kidnapped Monday night while walking with her mother in the Bronx

pic.twitter.com/lshfucjCtf

— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) December 17, 2019

    An Amber Alert was issued in hopes of locating the missing teen:

  AMBER ALERT: Karol Sanchez (16) was kidnapped by a group of males around 11:30PM Monday evening on Eagle Ave in the Bronx. She is 5’5” tall, 150 lbs. Suspects are described as four adult males in their 20s with dark complexions. pic.twitter.com/C5TzpEtOAR

— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) December 17, 2019

  Fifteen hours later, Karol reappeared at the same interception that she was allegedly abducted from. It’s reported she walked up to two police officers sitting in a squad car and told them she was the missing teen.

“We were looking at the [missing poster] picture saying, ‘I hope she’s OK,’ and she walked right up,” said Akash Singh, 29.

“She was trembling while she was walking. She just looked really scared,” continued Singh, a construction worker on a project in the area. “She put her hands on her knees and she started talking to the cops. They jumped out of the car and put her in.”

  After police brought her down to the precinct, she was reunited with her mother:

  WATCH: Moment Karol Sanchez was reunited with her family after being kidnapped in the Bronx

pic.twitter.com/71kl1MoibB

— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) December 17, 2019

    According to reports, there were four men in the car and it turns out that the men were her friends. Karol isn't expected to face charges, but cops were still looking to question the four men who were in the car, one of whom is believed to be her boyfriend.

Twitter has been quite vocal about the situation. And people are upset, especially since young, black women are being snatched up and being forced into prostitution rings.

  So we had to start 2019 with Jussie Smollett's hoax and now end it with Karol Sanchez's staged kidnapping?! I am too through! 2020 can't come soon enough! pic.twitter.com/jMi1n0BuSy

— Giselle J. Phelps (@GisellePhelps) December 17, 2019

    What Karol Sanchez did just set black girls back. It's bad enough the media & police don't take missing black women serious. So the 1 time it actually makes national news it's staged. We got so many black girls who are currently missing parents left heartbroken.Girl really pic.twitter.com/i9W3WZIULA

— Kayla Got The 411 (@kaylagothe411) December 17, 2019

    Karol Sanchez and Jussie Smollett trynna set black folk back fifty years single handily pic.twitter.com/jSPd34y2gM

— Babyface Kese (@BabyfaceKese) December 17, 2019

    If Karol Sanchez really staged her own kidnapping... it's gonna be a LOT harder for black girls who are legitimately missing to get their justice. Oh, Jesus.

— Sydney Noel (@sydneynoels) December 17, 2019

    I’m having a huge problem accepting some ppl’s excues for this girl staging her own kidnapping. How can you come and call this a dumb decision bc she’s a 16y/o? Not once in my pre-teen or teen years I ever thought about this horrible decision which in fact has consequences.

— andrea (@cabacaceresxoxo) December 18, 2019

    Now I've done some stupid ass shit ass a teen due to my mom being over protective, but staging a WHOLE ASS kidnapping? The police would have had to lock my momma up before releasing me to her because I would have shown up dead the next day. https://t.co/deTtWZrONt

— Alexis Mozell (@Masemom5) December 18, 2019

    I hope the young lady who staged the kidnapping (knew the story was off from jump) doesn't get in any real trouble. Also hope her homies who tried to help her don't either. If my parents tried to take me to another country indefinitely as a teen.....I absolutely woulda ran away.

— Sardonic Savage, MPA (@4hannahannah) December 18, 2019

    The people want the facts NEOW. This whole situation was sketchy from jump. I figured she was targeted but not that she orchestrated it. I really hope that’s not true

— orlando brown prince michael jacksonjr aka blanket (@cuzzinneenee) December 17, 2019

  Some folks online were skeptical from the beginning with some people accusing her mother in being in on it: 

"My initial thought is that a family member or associate knows why this happened. There are plenty of girls that age walking alone," one commenter wrote.

"I wonder if it is a family associate," another user wrote.

"omg so scary! but seems like inside job!," one person wrote.

What makes this situation worse is the fact that black women are being abducted and sold into sex trafficking. The NY Daily News released an article in 2017 about how dozens of Bronx teen girls were actually missing with fears of possible abduction and forced prostitution. There are so many women being sold into sex slavery, so for her to lie about being kidnapped is just too much.

Thoughts?

Photo: New York City Police Department

  [Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2019/12/18/teenage-girl-admitted-to-staging-her-own-kidnapping-that-made-national-news-folks-are-pis

[speedybooksandcreativeheaven]

Only Sinners are Repentance Series

Chapter 10

Story Summary: The gangs in New York have not been getting along as the control of the city is falling apart. Here we follow the story of Viper and Vemon as these girl’s experience heartbreak, drama, and death.  

Chapter Summary: After, Jacks failed to break in Sam now confronts Kayla about their feelings for one another. While Mika looks into the years when Kayla joined, and she learns more about their secretive past.

Vemon – Kayla

Viper – Mika

Word Count: 1504

Sam POV

I was standing outside the door when I heard Kayla give orders to Joe to bring Jack outside. They open the doors as I turn the corner to not be seen. I hear yelling and screaming as I see Joe dragging Jack behind him.

My heart couldn’t stop beating in my chest. I can’t believe that she likes me back! All those years! My whole face glowed when I heard her voice but then I remembered our lives. We could never be together as I am assigned to bring them into the station.

I walk back towards the door as I see Kayla slump into the chair as she tells the men to relax. I see her body shake as her expression dulled. Jack must have said something to have her worried. I see Mika walk towards her as she tries to get some information about what Jack told her.

“What happened during those years? Did he really kill our members just because he didn’t get what he wanted?” she asked.

I see Kayla stand up as she slams her balled up hands on the table. The sudden movement caused Mika to back away from her as her brown eyes went dark and glared with anger.

“It’s none of your business, Viper! Get out of here!”

I see Mika quickly put her gun away as she bolts for the door. We lock eyes as I see her green eyes showing fear as she runs down the white hallway.

I decide to make my presence known, so I push open the doors and walk inside the office. As soon as I open the doors I receive a glare from Kayla, but she sees me, and her gaze softened as she covers her head in her hands.  

“I’ll always be here for you. You don’t have to be scared anymore.” I spoke in the quiet room as Kayla removes her hands as I see her sad brown eyes.

“Sam,” her lower lip trembled, “How much did you hear?”

“Enough to know that you have feelings for me,” I state as her face blushes.

“Oh…” she winced, “Are you ashamed of me now that you know who I truly am?”

I walk closer towards her as one hand is on the black desk chair as our noses are touching.

“I would never be ashamed of you, doofus. I was worried, scared and a tad bit overreactive to when I first found out. I wanted to keep you safe, take you away from all this!”

I pull my face back as my hand still grips the chair. She smiles as she stands up and wraps her arms around my neck as she presses her head into my shoulder. I pull her against me as I whisper sweet nothings into her ear.

She lifts her head up as my arms are on her hip, trapping her as fear crossed her face.

“I don’t want you to get hurt because of me! There are still things I have seen, done that you wouldn’t forgive me. My sister doesn’t even know! Only me, Vic and Jack know and Vicino is dead.”

“I don’t care! I know that I still love you! Doofus, you forget that I am a police officer. I have seen and done many things that I am not proud of. Our relationship is the most important thing to me.” I confess as her face closed up in my embrace.

I pick her up as my one arm goes under her knees as she squeals and grabs onto my shoulder laughing until I reach the couch. I plop her down as I sit and pull her between my open legs. Her back leans against my chest as I wrap my hands around her, interlacing them. I can hear her heartbeat as she has calmed down and her breathing is normal. After a couple of minutes of comfortable silence, she turned her head towards me to look into my mossy green eyes.

“If nothing lasts forever, will you be my nothing?”

I beam down at her smiling face, “I will be your nothing until the end of time.”

I removed my hands from her waist as I pull her up, so she is sitting on my lap. I softly grabbed her chin as I gazed down at her thin pink lips. I pulled her face towards mine as I finally kissed her. Her brown eyes snapped open and then roughly closed as I moved my hands down and rest them on her lower back while her hands rested on my shoulders. I kissed her with all of the pent-up passion that I had for her over the last 6 months.

Slowly, I slowed down the kiss as we needed to breathe. We pull away as our link of mixed saliva broke. She touched her lips as she gave me a smile.

“I love you, Sam.” It was said so quietly that I almost had to ask her to repeat those three little words.

“I love you more, you doofus.”

Mika POV

I never seen Kayla so cross with me before. I shudder before I bolted out of the room but not before I see Sam and he notices my scared face. I slowly started to walk as I have been running for a while. I put my right hand on the white wall as I stop to catch my breath. What I didn’t know is that it opened a secret door that leads into a small concert room with a bunch of filing cabinets placed together and a touch screen computer mounted on the wall with a small clear desk and chair underneath. I looked both ways to make sure no one was coming, and I stepped into the room as the door shut behind me.

I walk up to the computer and sat down at the desk. Before I could access a scanner popped up and asked for my identification. I placed my hand and watched the screen as it analyzed my scanned hand and read out my file. I was in.

“Mika Anderson, identification accepted.” T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y spoke in the quiet room.

“Search the database for when Kayla Anderson started to work with Vicino and Jack.”

It took a couple of minutes as I saw company files and online newspaper clippings popping up on the screen.

“Kayla Anderson, 24 years old, female. Started in 2011. Worked closely with Jack and Vicino.”

“Can you pull up Jack “Griff” Griffin file. T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y”

A British voice read his file, “Jack “Griff” Griffin. The Kings Jack gang leader. Was the next in command for Don under Vicino “Vic” Anderson. Killed over 30 workers and one female cop, he presently runs the largest drug trade in lower New York.  He put out a death treat on Venom after the accident..”  

I thanked him as I dug a bit deeper. I wished I never found this in a million years.

It was an old photo back when Kayla was given the next in command for Don. I saw her shaking Vicino’s hand while I saw a pissed off Jack in the distance. A video started to play, it was at our old location and I see Jack walking away as he pressed a button and blew up our old headquarters with Kayla and Vicino still in the building. I pull up the rules the see that if the next in command was killed the original worker who was picked by Vicino, would-be future Don of the Royal Serpents.  

The police told the news that night after the damage they were still looking for a body as they declared her dead on the scene. It wasn’t until 2 years later when I joined that Jack started his drug trade and he wanted to finish what he started.

For those two years it showed that Kayla disappeared with the help of Vic with fake passports and money, while Vicino worked in the shadows to recruit new members and get the company back on its feet.

It wasn’t until 2014 that Kayla made her face known as she was caught on a security camera shopping in another country. I see a police file in 2014 written by Willian Hotch, chief of the New York Police station. ‘Wanted criminal working with the Royal serpents has risen from the dead today as she has been on the run for two years.’

I stood up and backed away from the screen not believing that this was true. All of the dates matched the time frame, my father worked with us, and Kayla was on the run after Jack wanted to kill her to gain his spot back! He still wants to kill her and take command of our gang!

I started to breath heavy as I punched the wall which signaled the door to open as I ran along the hallways looking for Kayla’s office while the other members looking at me as if they saw a ghost.

#mobau #seduce me #sam incubus

[emospritelet]

You can’t do a naked calendar plot line without some kind of Full Monty reference. Whether Dr Gold has a sarcastic line about being in a strip group to pay for med school or Belle having a fantasy about a guilty pleasure movie or the photographer playing “You Can Leave Your Hat On” during the shoot I needs a FM reference.

So remember when I suggested Gold might be persuaded to take part in a naked calendar as a fundraiser for the hospital?  I asked you people to stop me and no one did.

Anyway, I tweaked the above prompt a little…

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8] [Part 9] [Part 10] [Part 11] [Part 12] [Part 13] [Part 14] [Part 15] [Part 16]

AO3 link

Belle stayed in bed for the next three days.  Her father was in no way as attentive as Gold, but at least she knew not to expect much from him.  He brought her tea each morning, with the air of someone who felt that they were performing a task that was beneath them.  Dinner was takeout fried chicken, which she pulled a face at, and received a lecture on her lack of gratitude in return. It didn’t make her recovery any more rapid, but she felt too sick and weak to care all that much.

It was a relief when she felt she could get out of bed, not least because she could make her father breakfast and stop his complaining, however briefly. She really needed her own place, and to that end she spent the rest of the morning making a notice to hang in the break room at work. Wanted! it shouted in large red letters, followed by a description of what she was looking for: apartment or shared house with access to a garden, plus the approximate rent she was looking to pay. She had left tear-off strips at the bottom with her name and number, and she prayed that someone in Storybrooke would have what she wanted. Someone who was quiet and tidy and liked cooking dinner with a glass of wine and a little music.  Someone who enjoyed lazy Sundays with coffee and croissants and a good book. Someone like—

Belle squeezed her eyes shut, scrunching the paper a little in her fingers and shaking her head.  No. He had made it very clear that he didn’t see her as anything more than a friend, and to share a house with him would be exquisitely painful.  Not to mention the fact that the poor man had probably breathed a huge sigh of relief when he returned home and found her gone. Maybe he had danced around the place.  Naked.

Belle rolled her eyes, shoving the image away, the memory of seeing every inch of him.  The thought made her grin, and she shook her head in resignation. Barely over the flu, and her libido was already at full power. She tamped it down, concentrating on smoothing out the crinkles in her notice. Someone in Storybrooke would have a place to rent. She just hoped it would be someone she could stand.

x

Gold had never before found his house to be too quiet.

When he had first moved to Storybrooke, he had breathed a sigh of relief at leaving the city behind, at his pace of life changing so dramatically, his journey to and from work undisturbed by the honking of horns or the screaming of sirens, the only sounds in the evening the ticking of clocks or the music he played.  He had revelled in peace and quiet, in silence. And now it seemed oppressive, almost ominous, as though a heavy cloud had stretched across the sun and his world was left in shadow.

The first night after Belle left was torture; he could smell her scent on the pillows, and his sleep was restless, filled with vague dreams of her being there with him.  He stripped the bed the next morning, changing the linen for fresh and shoving the sheets into the laundry hamper to wash. The dreams faded, but it was a partial victory only.  The house was still too quiet.

He told himself it was for the best; he liked his own company, after all.  He enjoyed solitude, had sought it out and embraced it. Having Belle in his house didn’t change who he was on the most basic level.  So why did the house feel empty without her? Why did he feel empty?

His brain wasn’t coming up with any satisfactory answers to that question, certainly none that made any sense, and so he chose to deal with his inner turmoil in the best way he knew, which was to bury himself in work until he forgot about it.  Fortunately, the hospital was as busy as ever, and Dr Whale had almost cried when Gold told him he could take the rest of the week off. For a terrifying moment he had thought Whale was going to hug him, but thankfully he had restrained himself and had simply run off to the locker room.  Nurse South had immediately approached, a clipboard in her hands and a determined look in her eyes, and Gold had gotten an update from her and thrown himself into dealing with the latest casualties of the harsh Maine winter.

Jefferson appeared for the evening shift, just as Gold was starting to realise how tired he was.  A friendly clap on his shoulder made him stagger, and Jefferson grabbed his arm to keep him upright.

“Take it easy, would you?” he said.  “Go on, get on home. I can cover your last hour.”

“I’m alright,” lied Gold, rubbing an eye, and Jefferson grinned at him.

“So, I hear Belle finally went home,” he said.  “I’m guessing you’ve been enjoying a little alone-time since she left, am I right?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” snapped Gold, and Jefferson blinked.

“It - means that I know you like your own company?” he said.  “What the hell did you think I was talking about?”

“Nothing,” sighed Gold, giving himself a mental kicking.  “Sorry. I’m just - sorry.”

“No big deal.”  Jefferson looked him over.  “How is she, anyway?”

“How should I know?”

“Wow, are you in a crappy mood today,” remarked Jefferson.

“Sorry,” said Gold again.  “She’s - I don’t know how she is.  Not back at work, anyway.”

“Maybe she’s actually getting the rest she needs,” said Jefferson.  “Unlike some people.”

“Stop nagging me.”

“Somebody ought to.”

“Why is that somebody always you?”

“You know my constant dragging comes from a place of love, right?”

Gold shook his head, secretly amused, and Jefferson grinned.

“Grace is better, by the way,” he said.  “She’s back in school. She says I’m to invite you to a tea party this weekend.”

“I’d be delighted.”

“Good, because I already told her you were coming.”

Gold nodded absently, setting down the chart and moving on, and Jefferson eyed him, lips pursed as though he had a secret and was wondering whether to tell him.  Gold grumbled under his breath.

“Whatever it is you have to say, why don’t you just say it?”

“Okay,” said Jefferson.  “The Board agreed to buy that new CT scanner you wanted—”

“But?”

“—but they’re insisting that we do a fundraising drive to show willing.”

Gold groaned, letting his head roll back.

“Let me guess,” he said dryly.  “Bake sales and a charity dinner.”

“Is that so terrible?”

Gold snatched up the chart from the next patient’s bed, grumbling to himself.

“I’ll bake something,” he said.  “Several things. I’ll even attend the dinner.  Just don’t leave me alone with the bloody donors.”

“You’re safe, I promise,” said Jefferson, and hesitated.  “Anyway, that wasn’t what I was gonna tell you. I - kind of had an idea for fundraising.”

“Oh yes?”

Gold checked over the figures on the chart, nodding to himself when he saw the slowly improving picture.  He turned his attention to the man in the bed. Alfred Prentice was pale and thin, his white beard stretching down over the blankets.

“Good to see you getting a little better, Mr Prentice,” said Gold.  “I hope you’ll be able to go home soon.”

The old man lifted a hand briefly, closing his eyes, and Gold turned back to Jefferson, who was looking surprisingly shifty.

“Go on,” said Gold suspiciously.

“Okay, so I thought we might all contribute to a calendar,” said Jefferson, in a rush.  “A picture, maybe a short bio, maybe a fun statement.”

“Who the hell would want to buy that?”

“Oh, we’d all be naked,” said Jefferson, in a matter-of-fact way, and Gold’s eyes narrowed.

“What?”

“Well - naked calendars of regular people sell, you know?” said Jefferson, giving what he no doubt thought was his most charming smile.  Gold turned away.

“No.”

“Oh, come on!”

“No.”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t done things you didn’t want to further your career in medicine,” said Jefferson.

“Yes, I waited tables every night at university,” said Gold impatiently.  "I certainly didn’t take my clothes off for cash.“

“Pity, you could have saved yourself time and money,” said Jefferson, with a grin.  "Get me drunk enough and I’ll tell you about my time at Blue Star. Stripping’s a lot more lucrative than carrying plates of food.“

Gold stared at him for a moment, unsure whether he was joking, and Jefferson’s grin widened.

“Get me even drunker and I’ll probably show you my routine to You Can Leave Your Hat On,” he added, and Gold shook his head.

“God, please don’t.”

“You’re no fun.”

“I keep telling you that, but you don’t take any notice.”

Jefferson sighed in exasperation.

“So?” he said.  "You in?“

“No one wants to see me naked even accidentally, I assure you,” said Gold, in a very dry tone.  “Let alone pay money for it.”

“You wouldn’t be totally naked,” persisted Jefferson.  “I was thinking about a strategically-placed clipboard or something.”

“No.”

“Whale’s doing it.”

“Whale would get his tackle out for a croissant.”

Gold moved on to the next bed, and Jefferson scampered after him.

“Okay, that’s true,” he allowed.  “But think of the hospital! Isn’t getting state of the art equipment worth a little humiliation?”

“You’re not selling this too well.”

“The photo shoot will be private,” added Jefferson.  “Just you, the photographer… And me, if you want some support.  Moral or otherwise.”

Gold sighed, and Jefferson grinned at him.

“Everyone else has said yes.”

Gold reached for the patient’s chart, and looked up at him.

“Fine,” he said resignedly.  “But next year I’m sticking to the bake sale.”

#hey nonny nonny #fic: kiss of life #rumbelle fic #my fic #dr gold x candy striper belle #rumbelle

[rolypolywl]

Welcome to day 12!

Now, since we are doing three days a week, day 12 is the last day of week 4! That means that, at the end of today, we will have been doing this for ONE MONTH!

Yes! One whole month! We have done it!

So I want you to think back to the first day you started exercising with me. How long ago does that seem? Has the time flown by? Are you completely blown away that the month has ended already? Or has it been a struggle every day and week?

Either way, share your story with the hashtag, #FirstMonth! Tell me how it went!

Now, on to today’s topic!

Speaking of hitting our one month point, let’s talk about progress.

So, I have talked before about the importance of weighing and how you should also have non-scale victories.

On bodybuilding.com, registered dietitian Paul Salter, said this “The thing about weight is that it's really just one piece of the progress puzzle; it's not the piece. Exercise performance, appearance, measurements, energy level, body-fat percentage—all of these things indicate important changes, but you can't measure them as readily as weight.”

He asks these questions: “Have you found a routine that works for you? Do you feel like you're in control of your situation? Is your nutrition humming along, or is it a raging tire fire? Are you pushing yourself adequately, but also recovering adequately? These things are far more important than a single number.”

Today we’re going to talk about some of those other metrics for assessing your progress.

So, here are things you can look at, instead of just weight:

Appearance (Videos/Photos)

Measurements

Energy Level/Stamina

Exercise performance

Routine

Feeling of control

Pushing yourself adequately

Recovering adequately

Nutrition status

Fit of clothes

Body Fat percentage

That is shockingly more than I anticipated.

Appearance (Videos/Photos)

So, back at the beginning, I took a video of myself, showing my chub. I have stills from that video, so I have pictures of myself that I can compare to.

I’m using this for appearance, but you all should take pictures or videos too. I know it is hard, because you don’t want to have a reminder of yourself at this weight, and especially one without your big baggy concealing clothes. But it can be a good way to track your changes.

You can always take a mirror selfie, but you can get a better shot with a helper or using a timer and your phone.

Measurements

Now measurements, I also shared, and I’ll show them here.

I intend to do these once a month, so I’m not obsessing, but hopefully I’ll see some progress by the six month mark. And I’ll actually post that update on the first, next week, because we are a month in! Yeah!

I don’t expect my measurements to change too much just yet, at my one month check in, because I’m not doing any actual strength training to tone my body, and my nutrition isn’t there yet, but again, by that six month mark I’m hoping for some smaller numbers.

If you want to take some measurements, you’ll need a flexible tape measure. These come in sewing kits, and you can almost always find them in the dollar store or in the grocery store in the, like, emergency sewing area, with the patches for pants and stuff.

You don’t want to use a construction tape measure, even though it has some flexibility, because it is not as flexible as you need. Now, this is easier with a helper - and not a kitty helper like my baby - but someone like Roly Mama. She helped with mine. You want to make sure that your helper isn’t cutting off your circulation trying to get smaller numbers. And you don’t want to be flexing. Just hold your arm out, or prop your leg up on a chair or step, and let it be natural.

So that’s measurements. You can see the list of ones I did: neck, bust or chest, waist, hips, thigh, biceps, and calf.

Energy Level/Stamina

So, I will be the first to admit, that I currently get winded going up the stairs too quickly. When I was working at my old job, I had much better stamina because I was more active. I was walking every day, and I lived on a third floor walkup, and my bedroom was upstairs within my apartment, so I was using the stairs a lot. I had much better stamina then, though I was too stressed out to lose any weight.

So when I can walk up three flights of stairs without getting winded, I’ll know that my stamina is back up to where it was. And it might even get better!

Exercise performance

So, when I had more stamina, I was also performing better at exercise. I was walking 5Ks somewhat regularly - you might have noticed my 5K shirts - and though I was only walking, I was able to do it in under an hour and a half without dying. I even walked a couple of 10Ks. So I had much better stamina.

When I’m able to walk a 5K or up 4 flights of stairs without collapsing, I’ll know that my stamina is getting better - back to where it was when I was more active. My goal is to eventually be able to actually run a 5K and then a 10K, so I will be able to track how that improves.

With stamina and activity level, it is easy to set personal goals for yourself. And you can break them down into small chunks. Like, one flight of stairs without being winded. Then two flights, then three. Or walk a 5K, then walk a 10K, then run a 5K, etc. Set those small goals for yourself and see what you can achieve.

Right now, I complete this short workout on this bike, or I do an easy 30 minute walk, and my thighs are doing that tingly popping thing after. I will know my performance has improved when it takes 45 minutes or an hour to get that same level of tingles.

Routine

So routine can be a lot of things, like we talked about sleep routines and bedtime routines. There’s also the exercise routine. I’m doing the 3 times a week, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and I hope you’re doing it along with me on the days that work for you.

And I’m doing the No Zero Day May, walking every day. I’m establishing these routines, and as I keep them up, I’ll be able to keep track of my progress. A calendar or app is great for this!

Feeling of control

This, I think, ties more into nutrition and eating. When you have that out of control food feeling, which I’ve had before. Since I haven’t tackled my nutrition yet - that’s coming, but I don’t want to get overwhelmed by starting everything at once.

So, in that respect, I’m not feeling overwhelmed, so I’d say I’m feeling in control.

Pushing Yourself Adequately/Recovering Adequately

These kind of go together; are you pushing yourself enough to feel it, and are you not pushing so hard that you’re dead. And I’d say yes! I’m getting those tingles from working out, but I’m not dead every day. And I’ve only had to take a nap after our walk twice - both early days!

Nutrition Status

So, again, I’m not focused on this one yet, but I will be getting to it soon, and we’ll cover it then. But again, taking “before” assessments and then tracking it throughout!

Fit of Clothes

So, my lowest adult weight, I was pretty comfortably wearing medium tops and size 12 jeans. I’m currently in 2-3XL and 24W. That is scary to say out loud. But, again, I’m looking to change that. So I know that, when I can fit back into my 22W jeans, and when a 2X is baggy instead of comfortable, I will have made progress.

I have those goal clothes that I’m waiting for, but, I’m not setting myself up for failure by having only my size 12s and mediums as goals. I’m aiming for each next size of jeans and tops. I will throw a party when I hit 2XL, and 22W jeans. Because that is a huge step for me!

Don’t only pull out those clothes from five or eight years ago! Set yourself up for success with small increments! One size down at a time is the way to lose 12 sizes!

Body Fat Percentage

So, this one is the hardest to do at home. In fact it might be impossible. You see on shows like the Biggest Loser - in the later seasons - they would do this thing where they dip you underwater to find your body fat percentage and all these crazy things.

Ain’t nobody got time for that!

But, there is an almost do-it-at-home yerself way!

So, I found this thing, actually, because they advertised at my old job, and I found it really helpful. The company is called Body-Comp, and you can go to their store, but also they have this big, mobile bus, which they take to places, and you can go there.

Like I said, they came to my work the first time, but they also go regularly to gyms and places like that. And you don’t have to be an employee or a member of the gym or whatever, because it is out in the parking lot in their bus.

So you can go at any time, and it only takes 15 minutes.

What you do, is you lay on this table, and this scanner just goes over your head, takes about 5-6 minutes for that part, and it does a full body scan. A DEXA scan.

Then you get this great doc emailed to you with your scan and all these breakdowns. And yes, I am going to do the scary thing and share mine with you.

So right at the top, it shows your body fat percentage, your mass (weight), and how much of you is fat tissue or lean tissue. Now, one of the big things is when you think about “oh, muscles weigh more than fat” - well this breaks it down for you. You know how much weight is muscle and how much is fat.

So you can see that, in March, when I did this, I weighed 272.7 that day, and my body fat was at 55.5%. So I had 151.4 pounds of fat tissue, and 115.4 pounds of lean tissue. And that fat tissue one is almost my weight loss goal. My goal for my height to be comfortable in my body is 150 pounds, assuming that I don’t really have muscles built up, though “officially” I should be 130 for my height. So from 270 to 150 is 120 pounds to lose, or, if I’m going for the 130, that would be 140 to lose.

And that’s basically - I have 150 pounds of fat, and I should lose basically all of that. 120-140 of that 150.

So, the other thing it does is give you this picture of your body.

So you can see the yellow is fat and gunk, and the orange is lean. So you can see, you gotta have something positive. And my calves are mostly muscle, not fat. I’m proud of that, darn it.

I think this is a remnant of when I was doing those 5Ks, but my calves are on fire! You have to be happy about something on your body, and for me that’s my calves!

As you scroll through your breakdown, you can also see where your fat and lean tissues are distributed, your arms, legs, trunk, etc. And you can see how much is Android or Gynoid fat and what those ratios are. And the ratio should be less than 1.0, and mine is 9.8. So I’m there! Barely, but I’m in the right ratio range! And people often tell me that they don’t believe that I weigh as much as I do, because I look very proportional.

So yeah, there it is in math.

So, there are more things on here, but I covered the important ones.

And like I said, you can go back every 6 or 12 months and see how you are improving. Now, going to one of their mobile busses is cheaper than their store, but it does still cost $49 a pop. But, you can buy a four-pack for only $175 and save yourself $20. And you use them later.

So you can get those incremental check ins to see how you’re doing.

Now, on a side note, Body Comp also offers allergy and food sensitivity testing; DNA testing, Metabolic tests, those tests where you run on the treadmill and breathe into the hose thingy…

They have a bunch of different things you can get a baseline on for yourself, and then check back in again.

So, if you can, check them out!

Now, small caveat, Body Comp is based in Southern California, so if you aren’t there, they won’t be convenient for you. There’s another company, DexaFit, which has more locations around the US and Canada, but I don’t have personal experience with them. But I assume that the process is similar.

But! I bring them up, because you can use their site to get an idea of what all these things are called, and what they do, and then you can then find a resource in your area.

So, that’s our last metric - body measurements.

In conclusion, there are a lot of ways to track your process, not just weigh ins. Check out all of these and make a plan for how to track the metrics that are important to you!

This has been Roly Poly Weight loss. As always, I am your host, Roly Poly. Remember that weight isn’t the only metric. Use the hashtags #Progress, #Measurements, and #BeforeTogether to share your different metrics!

And please join me next time!

#FirstMonth #Progress #Measurements #BeforeTogether #RolyPoly #WeightLoss #WeightLossJourney #losing weight #weight loss #Exercise #Fitness #Health #Healthy #health & fitness

[friendshipstates]

Into the Riderverse (AU RP Interest Thread)

What has gone on before:

“I’m not supposed to tell you this, but when have I ever let the rules get in the way?” The message had come from Kaitou Daiki, also known as Kamen Rider Diend. “Behind the floodgates, you’ll find another gate. A gate to everywhere. Don’t let them open it.” And with that, the phantom thief had formed a dimensional wall and left Fourze and his allies in the Rabbit Hutch befuddled.

Certain allies were less confused by the cryptic clues from the blue Rider than Fourze was. After taking the time to hear the explanation from a friend who understood the answer, Fourze led his team down into the flood tunnels under Tokyo.

The Radar Module had been activated, and soon the scanner found something that definitely shouldn’t be there. There was no reason for a door to be inside the flood tunnels. After all, the first major storm would see that place under a foot a water.

After a few moments to pry open a door that definitely didn’t want to be opened, the Rider and his allies had found themselves in the middle of a Shocker laboratory. All around them, skull-masked goons were talking about the coming incursion, and how they’d take over the whole multiverse. At least that was the topic of conversation until they spotted one of their most hated foes. A Kamen Rider dared show his armored face in their lair?

What followed was like music. Fourze and his allies moved in such perfect synchronicity that the dozens of Shocker mooks never stood a chance against them. This finally led into a battle in the middle of a room that should not exist. A massive supercollider in a space barely big enough to contain an IMAX theater. And the collider had been turned on, just as Fourze found himself in hand-to-hand combat with an augmented human. The Snake Commander of Shocker fought against Fourze for ten minutes, luring him closer and closer to the center of the room. Finally, the supercollider reached critical state, and a dimensional gate was opened, catching Kamen Rider Fourze in the middle of it.

In a brief moment, Kamen Rider Fourze looked into the Multiverse, and the Multiverse looked back. He knew that he couldn’t allow Shocker to use this gate. So, summoning his Barizun Sword to his hand, he opened his own warp portal inside the dimensional portal, shunting the energy from the collider elsewhere. As thanks for protecting it from the whims of wicked men, the multiverse drew Fourze into it. His armor fell from around him and he turned to his allies, who had just subdued the Snake Commander.

“Don’t worry about me. Find them.” He gestured off into the portal at unseen figures. “They’ll be here soon. Find them, and bring them to Hikari…” What appears to be a humanoid form in grey mist drifted around his body, and Kisaragi Gentaro was gone.

There was no explosion, no shower of sparks. With an unceremonious “POP” the two portals collided with each other and slammed shut, taking their friend with them.

This left his allies in a secret base and very confused. But elsewhere, some other people are going to be very confused.

In a small photo studio, a young man with a Blackbird camera looks up at a photo backdrop of a moonbase, and shields his eyes as the image seems to shatter into seven pieces.

Turning to his own allies, Kadoya Tsukasa says “I know what you’re thinking, but this wasn’t my fault.”

----

All Right, Let’s Take it From the Top…

My Name is…

Sir Gentaro Bladebond, Paladin of the Goddess Kazashiro who stands for Purity, Beauty and Self-Worth.

I was raised in the temple of the Goddess to be her chosen champion. During a diplomatic mission to the Blue Sky Kingdom, to join my church to the church of their god Blue, I met a young mage named Tsubasa. She had lost everything that was dear to her, and I took her under my wing as I continued my adventure. We returned to the Blue Sky Kingdom bearing an artifact of great power, which we returned to Blue in person. For a few days, things were peaceful. Then my fellow acolytes called my attention to a strange vortex that opened in the divine gardens. Leaving Tsubasa in the care of Angela, my group’s ectomancy expert, I went to explore it. I found myself in a strange new world, with spires of steel and glass, and found myself in conflict with an unusual creature. A beast of stained glass, trying to claim the life force of a woman on the street. I drew my holy blade to fight the monster, and that’s where my story resumes…

---

My name is…

Gentaro Kisaragi, Blue Lantern of Space Sector 2814. 

Seven years ago, I had an encounter with an alien spacecraft. The pilot, Roa’ka’nar, was heavily injured in the crash. I took him into my home and nursed him back to health. Through the whole time, I worked to keep him from reopening his wounds, helped him regain his strength and get accustomed to Earth food and tradition. When the time came for Roa’ka’nar to return to his homeworld, he revealed his true identity to me. He was a member of galactic protection agency, A Blue Lantern, who used hope to save the worlds. He told me his last battle before the crash had been so taxing that he was thinking of calling it quits. But I had stood by his side, and motivated him to be better. He saw in me the potential to bring great hope. So for the first time in Blue Lantern history, a Corpsman took on an apprentice. I joined Roa’ka’nar for those years as he trained me to fight against the Reds and the Black Lanterns. During our last day together, I was separated from Roa’ka’nar by a dimensional vortex. Though I’m in a different world, it’s still the same Tokyo I grew up in, mostly. As long as there’s hope here, there’s still a charge in my power battery...

My name is...

Gentaro Kisaragi, also known as Switch-1. 

Seven years ago, The Zodiac Alliance descended on Earth. They came to force humans to evolve to a higher power, by giving them a taste of “Star Blood.” But before them came the Yuujou Switch, a device that drew power from people’s bonds of friendship. On countless other worlds, the Zodiac Alliance had been driven back by warriors of great friendship using the power of the Yuujou Switch, and our world was no different. Okay, maybe a bit different. My own belief in the power of friendship granted me and my friends the power to transform into Yuujou Sentai Switchman, and we took the fight to the Zodiac Alliance. During a fight with Commander Libra, I found myself and my mecha, the Rabbit Racer, sent to another world. There are others here like me. Maybe I can be their friend and fight alongside them until I get home. I hope my team is ok…

My name is…

Gentaro Kisaragi, though the rest of the world knows me as the Pro Hero Fourze.

 Though I may not be at his level, I fought alongside All-Might in a few encounters. But my power source isn’t like his. You see, each time I create a genuine, lasting friendship, my power increases by four. Four extra feet per jump, four extra seconds to take a beating, four extra miles per hour, four extra pounds of weight. I have over two hundred friends, and I’m looking to make a thousand. Not because I want to be more powerful, but because I just want more friends.

When the portal appeared, I had put myself between it and a villain I was trying to save. The last thing I heard was that villain saying “He really did care about me..” I hope I can get back home and find that guy. I really want to be his friend.

My name is…

Gentaro Kisaragi. I’m a graduate of Mahoutokoro Magical Academy, and I work as a private eye. 

Did someone get lost in the Nevernever? I’ll find them. Does some Black Court vampire need a punch in the mouth? I’m your guy. I use my magic to get the job done, and my hands to make your life better than when I found it. Everyone I’ve helped has stayed in touch and referred me to other cases, so I’m never hard up for work. One day, I finished up a case and found myself staring into a cloud of mist. I heard a woman’s voice coming from the mist. She said “Follow me, there are people that need your help.” Of course, I followed her towards the portal. This new version of Tokyo is different from what I’m used to, but magic still follows the same rules here, mostly...

My name is…

Gentaro Kisaragi. I’m a Pokemon trainer from Mistralton City. But I don’t go out and catch Pokemon after harsh battles. Whether they’re lost, abandoned or mistreated by their original trainers, I nurse them back to health and give them a spot in my team. Right now, I have an Arcanine named Queen, a Swanna, a Gothorita, a Porygon named Gigabyte, and an Ivysaur that seems to have adopted me, and comes and goes as she pleases. She was with me when the portal opened, so I have that going for me. But now I’m in a world with no Pokemon except the ones I brought with me. I’m kind of scared, to be honest.

My name is…

Shinyu Kisaragi. I’m Sixteen years old, and can I tell you a secret? I’m a legendary warrior. 

I know, it’s weird to think that a girl dressed like a punk rocker could be a force of pure magic, but it’s true! During a field trip to the observatory, my classmates and I watched as a geologist cracked open a meteorite. The inside of it glowed, and we found ourselves in a different place. Right in front of us was a massive spider web made up of gold and silver threads. A really pretty boy named Kengo appeared from the web and told us we were looking at the Bonds of Life, how everything in the universe was connected. Off on the edges of the web, lines were being snapped. Kengo told us that a great enemy calling themselves Threadbare were working to break apart people’s connections to each other. As each person was severed from those ties, they fell into darkness. Kengo gave us each a Star Switch and told us that when the time came, we could transform into the Soul Bond Pretty Cure. Well, I did transform into Cure Friendship and it was so awesome. Now if only my costume wasn’t so frilly. I’m in another version of Tokyo now, and I know that my friends are still out there. I can feel them in the Bonds of Life but who are these other people I sense…

---

Welcome to an AU RP, inspired heavily by and cribbed directly from “Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse.” If you haven’t yet seen this movie, do so as soon as possible.

In this AU, Every other version of Gentaro I have dabbled in, and some I haven’t, have found their way to this reality. But being in a different plane of reality causes their bodies to glitch out in painful ways. It’s this reality’s way of saying “You don’t belong here.” They want to get home as soon as possible, but once they’re made aware of one of their own number being missing, they’ll do whatever it takes to help Gentaro come back.

In order to return the other Gentaros to their home universe and reclaim this universe’s Gentaro from The Void, the heroes who take part in this will have to find the other Gentaro’s and bring them to the one place where a Rider can open a dimensional gate: The Hikari Photo Studio, base of operations for Kamen Rider Decade.

But the heroes aren’t alone. Some of them have brought enemies with them, and the Shocker organization that created the original multidimensional gate will stop at nothing to prevent Fourze from returning.

If you’re interested in taking part in this, give this thread a like and tell me in the comments which AU Gentaro you want to do threads with, or if you want Multiple Gentaros for a thread. Then we can plot the adventure as it takes turns and curves Through the Riderverse.

#Verse: Into the Riderverse #AU RP Thread #Into The Spider-Verse

[artstarstv]

The photograph is not a photograph: An interview with Hyungjo Moon

Hyungjo Moon is a New York-based Korean artist known for his stark, conceptual photography, which brings together stock photos with everyday objects. By using different cameras, computer screens, scanners and still life set-ups, Moon creates a new picture with many components, and ties into a popular aesthetic that we can all recognize—whether it’s elements of street scenes, domestic scenarios and close ups of products.

Part of the minimalist, collage-driven photo movement in conceptual art, which is led by artists like John Baldessari, Jeff Wall, Thomas Ruff or Andreas Gursky, Moon is part of the following, new school of art photographers who layer digital shots with stock photography, Photoshop images, personal narratives and graphic design. It’s in this recipe mix that the magic happens. As Moon says of his art: “The combination of objects, shapes, colors, scanned images, excerpts and photographs creates a certain new space, somewhat different from traditional photography.”

He has exhibited his photos across the globe, from South Korea to China, Slovakia and Indianapolis. Since graduating with a master’s in fine art from Bard College’s photography department in New York, Moon has also been exhibiting at all the cool kid galleries in Brooklyn—from Arthelix to Site: Brooklyn and even the Baxter St Camera Club of New York, which is the original Camera Club of New York, founded in 1884 and is one of New York’s oldest art organizations with its professional archive held at the New York Public Library. 

On the commercial side, Moon works as a photographer for Bookdummypress, an independent publishing house in Brooklyn which specializes in artist publications, where he archives the exhibition catalog and printed matters, designs the guidebook and does photo shoots for the New York Center, a study abroad institute, and is part of a team which organizes artist conversations at the Baxter and participates in the club’s annual art book and zine fair. 

Moon’s recent compelling photo series is called ‘Zero Point,’ which shows shoots crumbling sidewalks full of snow, piled-up of magazines, sports cars, desert landscapes and shots of the artist’s studio. Moon is currently publishing an artist’s book of the same title with selected photos from the series. As he gears up for the release of the book, Moon took some time out to talk to us about Dutch design, minimalism and the art of vintage images.

ArtStars*: How did you first get into photography?

Hyungjo Moon: When I was in high school, I realized that I enjoyed looking at the shape of objects and landscapes. I also watched movies and for the parts that I liked, they remained in my head like a print of the photograph. I started drawing interesting landscapes, scene of movies, objects to record or make a scrapbook or collection, but soon enough, I thought that taking pictures is more attractive because it allowed me to remember the moment that I looked at things. Photography has brought me opportunities to contemplate about my imagination through the image. Soon after, I learned technical skills for photography and took traditional documentary-style pictures I was into at that time. 

What photographers influence you the most and why?

I liked some photographers from Düsseldorf School in my early years of photography, and then interested in photographers from Vancouver photo-conceptualism like Jeff Wall. Bernd and Hilla Bechers, Thomas Ruff, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth influenced me in many ways in terms of style, technique, and conceptual method towards photography. Their thoughts about the photography were totally different from those I had. But I think the most impressive one was Thomas Ruff. He confronted the most important matter of photography at that time, which are capturing the reality and matter of representation. I had been thought about how to make an impressive, beautiful ‘good picture’, but he influenced me to change everything upside down. I could think about photography itself as a medium, not a sheet of paper that has printed image.

Where did you begin for your ‘Zero Point’ series?

I have been capturing the shape of interesting, sometimes banal objects with minimal background in my studio. I scraped small sized objects for work and made pictures with them. I sometimes scanned product catalogs that have old style product pictures, which have interesting points to myself because it has a similar style to my work. I used Photoshop a lot because I was working in the digital photography process. I naturally utilized some features of Photoshop and started to arrange pictures as layers, and I also draw lines of shape from objects to mingle them to images. While doing so, I was kind of designing the space of the frame, the white ground. I thought I might appropriate design materials or methods and use them in my work process. The combination of objects, shapes, colors, scanned images, excerpts, and photographs created certain new space, somewhat different from traditional photography. 

Often there are overlapping frames, what are you trying to say with the spaces between them?

I have been thinking about layers in Photoshop. Like a blank page of the photobook, the blank layer has a potential background of spacing, making rhythm, size, the contrast of images. When images are overlapped, the whole image becomes a scene of images like a movie. I thought about placing images and objects on the background is somewhat comparable to the method of graphic design except for its goal. I think as the photograph becomes the layer, the photograph is not a photograph (loses its own value as one sheet of the picture) but one layer part of the whole image. The spaces between layers and frames construct a tension, other meaning to contemplate. Likewise, the unidentifiable meaning of layers indicates a situation that too many images make us hard to think or concentrate on one thing, distracting our visual literacy. 

The series is shot on streets, in bedrooms, landscapes and even pages of a magazine or book. Does the location matter?

It does not matter when I choose objects but I always think about what image is attractive when they are organized with other layers. I usually try to find interesting things about myself. Sometimes each picture or shape has a certain meaning, but I would rather not to say. 

What role does design play in this series – Bauhaus design, minimalism, and Korean design?

I was influenced by Dutch design, which was in fashion 2010s, as it brought creativity to graphic design but also to my work when I was thinking about patterns, organizing, and proportion. In my work, the design has a role to navigate a visual organizing method inside the frame. Minimalistic images are very popular because of Instagram, I think it influences me subconsciously. 

What is your most poignant photo in the series and why?

I would like to pick ‘Goodbye 2017, Hello 2018,’ I made this work last December. Last year was a year of political turmoil in society, I was thinking about the effect that political change might bring to us. ‘Goodbye 2017, Hello 2018’ is not directly indicating anything about it, but I rather choose my own methodology to construct an image of chaos to reflect current happenings and see what would happen in this year.

Check out more of Hyungjo Moon’s artwork at www.hyungjomoon.com. Get the Zero Point book here.

Interview by Nadja Sayej

#hyungjo moon #artist #art #photography #nyc #new york #photo

[killfaeh]

Back to childhood with AppleWorks

Hi everyone! Today I'm going to tell you about a very old software that kept me busy for many, many hours during my teenage years and that I've had the pleasure of rediscovering these days. Apple fans will have glitter of nostalgia in their eyes, others will have the opportunity to discover a beautiful tool that has not forgotten to be compatible with Windows. It is AppleWorks! AppleWorks was an office suite, installed on all Apple computers of the time, which, in addition to the classic word processor, spreadsheet and Power Point presentation, also offered a vector drawing tool and a bitmap drawing tool. It was my first experience in digital drawing and photo manipulation and with a bit of inventiveness, I was able to get some amazing things out of it. Behind its apparent simplicity, this little soft hides an unsuspected power. Let's go for a little trip back in time!

Small overview

The painting module

Gallery of illustrations

Install AppleWorks (Yes! It still works! )

Small overview

AppleWorks is 6 softwares grouped into one. When you launch it, it offers you the possibility to create 6 types of documents: word processor, spreadsheet, database, presentation, bitmap drawing, vector drawing.

I quickly talk about Spreadsheet, Database and Presentation because I never used these modules. Anyway, know that with Spreadsheet you could make like with Excel, with Database, create databases and with Presentation, make like with Power Point. (You can click on the images to enlarge them to full size.)

And here are, then, the 3 modules that I really used!

The word processor

I wrote all my comics scripts, presentations and internship reports there when I was at school, until my dad bought Microsoft Office. Hard to compete with the Word arts. 8D Except that Microsoft Office did not offer vector drawing software, nor bitmap drawing software. So it was not about to dethrone AppleWorks.

The vector drawing module

This module helped me a lot to make diagrams to integrate in the word processor, draw dungeon plans for our Donjons and Dragons sessions, make some logos or paste editable text on images like my comics pages. I particularly liked its ability to generate gradients that roughly matched the shape in which they were applied, and there are recent vector drawing technologies that still can't do that and that's a little bit annoying to me. And finally, here is the module where I really spent the most time!

The bitmap drawing module

Well... Some geometrical shapes, a pencil, a brush, a filling tool, an eraser... So far it doesn't look much different from Paint. Wait until you see what it is capable of. :p

The painting module (bitmap drawing)

To begin, AppleWorks 6 is not the first version of AppleWorks that I worked with and already at that time, I had my little habits and what a disappointment for me when I didn't find my favorite features !! Looking for a little bit it turned out that they were just a little hidden and just needed to be tidied up a bit. Because yes! This small software already had a customizable interface by drag and drop as on a modern Photoshop!

Now all is clear, we can get to the heart of the matter: drawing! :p I've already mentioned the toolbar on the side earlyer, which is already familiar to you if you've ever used Paint. Now, let's move on to the area just below: the palettes. AppleWorks offers a limited palette of colors.

You can combine the selected color with a pattern to apply. Some of them look like manga screentones.

Some fun colorful patterns are also available.

And finally a small palette of gradients is also available.

Well... A few funny patterns, some gradients. It's enough to have fun for 5 minutes, but nothing special. We will going not very far. That's where the real work begins. :p Do you remember? A few moments ago I added buttons in the horizontal bar at the top, including this one.

And this is what it opens!

A customization window! :D Not enough colors in the default palette? Never mind! You can create as many color palettes as you want.

Not enough patterns either in black and white or in color? You can create as many pattern palettes as you want!

The default gradients palettes is too poor? No problem! You can create as many gradient palettes as you want! And for the moment, I spent a lot, a lot, a lot of time on this section! You can make circular gradients.

Linear gradients.

And gradients that fit the shape in which you apply them. Well, it's far from perfect with concave shapes, but it already allows for interesting things.

And to give the coup de grace to Paint, with AppleWorks you could even create your own brushes! :p

There are even some effects available such as blurring.

This AppleWorks is a piece of cake in the belly! :D Now that we know about its possibilities, I propose to show you a small gallery of what I was able to do with this software from end of nineties to middle of 2000s. :D

Gallery of illustrations

Let's start with the very first drawing I made with AppleWorks in 1998. We didn't have a scanner at the time, so I had to do it entirely with the mouse. It was also a time when I didn't have much notion of saving the original files and I considered that as soon as I had printed the drawing, it was no longer worth keeping it on the computer to save space (the hard drive was 4 GB). So this is a scan of the printed version you see here. x)

A good old Darth Vader! (1998)

Well, making a drawing from A to Z entirely with the mouse was laborious, so I also used AppleWorks to create backgrounds and print them. Then I would do my drawing by hand and cut it out and paste it onto the printed background. I was able to make interesting effects by understanding the limitations of the software and exploiting them. By understanding that gradients were composed of a series of solid color bands, I could make focus line effects by filling them with the filling tool with a different patterns or gradients.

This posing remind some Dragon Ball character (Between 1998 and 2000)

It is also with AppleWorks that I made my first attempts at photo manipulation. I used photos from an encyclopedia we had on CD-ROM and manipulate them by tinkering them and copying and pasting small pieces here and there. Then I printed my montages and paste them onto the comics pages.

My montages were mainly used for space scenery. (1999 - 2000 in collaboration with my sister)

This software really pushed me to be creative to get what I wanted out of it. I had even managed the tour de force of pasting a white lineart over a photo.

(2000 - 2001)

In the absence of layers, I had to work on 2 files in parallel and with the lasso select tool. And then one day, our first scanner finally arrived home! There the serious things could begin! I was able to stop trying to make drawings with the mouse and use AppleWorks to put in color drawings made with the traditional way. So I was able to go further from the end of nineties. It obviously started with Saint Seiya. x) (You can always click on the images to enlarge them to full size.)

I loved the Aquarius saint. He was my favorite character from Saint Seiya. ^^ (2000 - 2001, this way)

At the beginning I was just doing solid colors, but as I experimented with the features and learned how to combine them, I ended up getting more and more advanced renderings.

Aoshi Shinomori from Kenshin and Ashram from Record of Lodoss War. These two were also my favorites characters at one time. (Between 2004 and 2006)

If you have enlarged the images you must have noticed that the line is particularly crenellated. There was no antialiasing, no layer system with opacity levels, no tolerance threshold for the filling tool. So it had to be black, or white, but not in between. As a result, AppleWorks was not really adapted to work on drawings with small details, hatching or heavily detailled backgrounds...

I tried anyway. :p These last 4 examples I think I made them between 2004 and 2006. The comics pages come from the first version of the Nécrotech project which is currently in a dormant state (but which I intend to resume one day). You'll notice on the first image of the last page some effects whose style stands out a bit from the rest. It's normal, I made them in another old painting software, Art Dabbler, but this is another story. :p In 2007, I got tired of suffering, I started to use The Gimp, in 2008 I bought my first graphics tablet, in 2009 I embarked on the Photoshop adventure and you know the rest: I sold my soul to Promarkers and Clip Studio Paint. And then there are days like that, we fall back into childhood. (Click on the image to see it at full size and distinguish the pixel patterns. I know, I repeat myself, but the devil is in the details. :p )

Last week, I decided to make a theme of the Drink'N'Draw from A to Z with AppleWorks to see what I could get out of it with 15 more years of experience in drawing and illustration. 8D With some tips you can get a pretty amazing result! I am happy with the result, especially the colors. It wasn't done without pain. The feature I wanted to take full advantage of (customizing color patterns) is buggy on the Windows version of the software, so I had to set up a Mac OS X Snow Leopard virtual machine to be able to do the finishing touches. What an adventure! In any case, AppleWorks is always well adapted to make pixel art and this experience has allowed me to learn new things applicable in recent and professional softwares. I had never really tried pixel art, which I love, by apprehension of the execution time. I think I found the trigger to get serious about it. I will explore it further. :D Well, well, well! But in fact, calculating gradient patterns for pixel art with shaders shouldn't be complicated. I think I will add such an effect in Péguy ! :D

Install AppleWorks

You've read it right! You can still install and use AppleWorks in 2021! :D

Windows

I did the test with Windows 8.1 on my Cintiq Companion tablet from Wacom, and in the comments it seems that it also works very well on Windows 10. To do this you will first install the latest version of QuickTime 7 which you can find on this page. You double click on the installer and you do next, next, next... Even when you are asked if you have a product key. It is not mandatory and useless for our needs. Then you go to this page and download the first file. You unzip the file and double click on the installer, then same procedure as before: next, next, next... You can do retro digital painting now! :D

Mac OS X

Apple computers have changed so much in 20 years that it is now impossible or at least very complicated to run the original programs on today's machines. The manipulation therefore consists in using the Windows version with the Wine emulator. If I had no problem with the procedure, it may seem a bit complicated for non-technical profiles so I simply propose you to download the final application I created myself via this link on Google Drive. You just have to download it, unzip it (with a double click) and launch it. If you're a computer geek and want to get a version of AppleWorks without the color pattern bug, you can get the .dmg here and install it in a Snow Leopard virtual machine.

Be reasonable about the size of your files. This is an old software that will have trouble supporting surfaces exceeding 2000px by 2000px. There is a way to cheat a bit, it is by creating a vector drawing file and creating a bitmap drawing surface inside.

That's all for that nostalgic moment. I think I will come back with some illustrations made with AppleWorks in the future. :D Have a nice day and see you soon! Suisei

P.S. If you want miss no news and if you haven't already done so, you can subscribe to the newsletter here : https://www.suiseipark.com/User/SubscribeNewsletter/language/english/

Source : https://www.suiseipark.com/News/Entry/id/308/

#illustrations #AppleWorks #digital art #retro digital art

[lilacmoon83]

Dreaming Out Loud

Dreaming Out Loud

Chapter 36: Whatever It Takes

August stood in front of the pawnshop, looking at it with trepidation. He had received a message at the front desk of the Inn this morning from Mr. Gold himself. The note requested his presence at the shop that afternoon and had stated expressly that his services as a writer were required.

He instantly wondered if it was a ruse. Surely by now, the Prince had told the Dark One everything about their encounter. He still didn't understand the Prince's motives for helping him and wondered what would happen when they found out they actually shared a grandson. He suspected that it would make their friendship stronger and something about that didn't set right with August. It frustrated him, because he felt the Prince should loathe the Dark One as much as he did, for he was the cause of all of this. However, August also was not a father and didn't have that kind of common ground that Gold and David shared.

Cautiously, he stepped inside the seemingly empty shop and felt his trepidation increase, as Mr. Gold came in from the backroom.

"Mr. Booth...you're late. I was beginning to think you weren't coming," Gold stated.

"Sorry...but I think you can understand my leeriness," August retorted.

"Leeriness? I simply called you here to hire you for a simple task," Gold responded, as August approached the counter.

"Why would you be leery? It's not as though you lied and were going to pretend to be my Baelfire...or that you stole my dagger," he hissed, as he grabbed August's shirt.

"Oh wait...you did exactly those things," he snarled at the formerly wooden boy. August's eyes were wide with fear and he was speechless, as he swallowed thickly.

"So...that's it? You're going to kill me?" he stammered. Gold growled and let go of him, as he stumbled back.

"No...I'll not waste time on such a meaningless task when you're soon to be scrap wood anyway," he hissed.

"Then what do you want? I'm not like the Prince. I won't make deals with the likes of you," August spat. Gold chuckled.

"You know, I love how you pretend you have any more of a moral streak than me. It's quite amusing, considering you're a liar and a thief. But I didn't call you here to talk about your failings as a real boy," he continued.

"Then what?" August asked.

"I want you to borrow young Henry's book and add these pages to it," Gold replied, as he handed him some finished pages that would fit in the book, complete with illustrations. August took a moment to look through the pages and his eyes widened.

"Is this story real?" he asked.

"As real as any other story in Henry's book," Gold answered.

"And Snow White doesn't know?" August asked again.

"Not yet...but she soon will when her daughter breaks the curse," Gold replied.

"Fine...but what will you do for me?" August asked. Gold sneered at him, as he grabbed him by the shirt again.

"I will promise not to use you for firewood…" he growled. August glared at him, as he released him. He had been debating whether he should tell him that he knew Baelfire, but Neal, as he went by now, didn't want him to know. And this was a promise August decided he would keep. As far as he was concerned, Neal was better off without this man in his life.

"Fine...I'll have to swipe the book from the kid, but it shouldn't take me long to add the pages," August replied, as he stalked out of the shop. He decided then though that it wasn't the only story he would be adding to the book. It was time to add his own as well…

Emma smacked the monitor and the screen blipped slightly, but remained frozen. It was no wonder though, it was still one of those clunky box monitors in true 1980's style. She had found money in the budget for a scanner, but it was proving to be incompatible with the dinosaur computer. She had been determined to streamline their filing system by scanning everything and eliminating the old, archaic way they did it now. But it was really hard to do with such outdated computers.

"I'd ask if you need my help, but I can barely use one of these things so I doubt I'd be able to fix it," David mentioned. She smirked at him.

"Yeah, watching you figure out a computer is kinda funny," she teased and he rolled his eyes.

"Here come the old jokes," he muttered, as she beat on the side of the monitor again.

"I may not know anything about them, but I don't think beating it up is going to work," he teased back. She smirked.

"It's been known to work on the bug," she quipped, as she started looking through Storybrooke's small phone book.

"I'll probably fall over in shock if Storybrooke actually has an IT guy," she mentioned, as she looked through it.

"If Regina would just give us the funding to upgrade the entire system, we wouldn't need one," he mentioned back. Emma snorted.

"Yeah, add that to a list of things that will happen when the Underworld freezes over," she commented, just as Regina walked in with a woman they didn't recognize trailing her.

"Speak of the devil," David muttered, making Emma snicker.

"Well...it's good to see that our Sheriff's department doesn't seem busy at all. You'll be able to devote your full attention to a very serious matter," Regina stated, as she motioned the woman that was with her.

"What are you talking about?" Emma questioned.

"This is Mrs. Larson...her daughter Paige is in the same grade as my Henry and I have brought some very startling facts to her attention," Regina stated.

"And what facts are those?" Emma asked. The timid woman looked up at her.

"I think someone is watching my little Paige...that shouldn't be," Amy said.

"Watching her?" Emma asked.

"Yes...he's been spotted on several occasions near the Elementary school during recess. These photos were taken and he is very clearly focused in on little Paige. It's quite concerning," Regina replied, as she dropped a file onto the desk and pictures of Jefferson at the school spilled out. Emma sighed, while David closed his eyes. It didn't take a lot to know exactly where this was going.

"I want a restraining order filed against Jefferson immediately," Regina snapped.

"Cool your jets, Mayorzilla...first of all, this is circumstantial at best and hardly a mountain of evidence," Emma retorted.

"I know Jefferson personally and I can assure you he doesn't mean any child harm," David added.

"You're not needed in this conversation, Deputy," Regina said dismissively.

"I'm concerned for my daughter, Sheriff and I'm in agreement with the Mayor. I don't want this strange man watching my little girl," Amy replied, causing Regina to smirk smugly.

"I trust you'll follow Mrs. Larson's wishes and file a restraining order immediately?" Regina asked. Emma glared at her.

"Consider it filed," the blonde answered.

"Good...see that it is delivered to him by the end of the day. And if he is caught within five hundred feet of the Elementary School again, I expect him to be arrested without question," the Mayor added.

"We'll do our jobs. It's not our department that seems to have shortcomings. I think we both know that's the justice system in this town...and the mental health system," Emma retorted, as they shared another glare.

"Come along Mrs. Larson, I'll drive you home," Regina said, as the timid woman followed her out.

"Dammit...I warned Jefferson to be careful," Emma complained.

"I know...but he can't help it. He misses his little girl," David replied, as they shared a gaze.

"He's not going to take this well," she mentioned.

"Yeah...I'll tell him and try to calm him down then," he replied, as his phone rang.

"Hello?" he answered and listened to the person on the other end. Emma started to worry when she saw her father clench his jaw and go rigid. His face was soon a mask of anger.

"Is she okay?" he asked in an even tone.

"I'm coming right now," he said next, but then stopped, as the other person kept talking and he sighed.

"All right...fine, I'll wait until the end of the day if she's sure," he relented, as he hung up the phone.

"What now?" Emma asked.

"One of your mother's students was prodded to give her a box at recess. When she opened it, there was a dead bluebird inside and that...monster was standing right there across the street!" he raged.

"Oh God...Mom…" she lamented.

"Tell me that's enough for a restraining order against him!" David exclaimed.

"He'll deny that he had anything to do with it, but I don't care. We're delivering one to him anyway. I'll fight Regina and anyone else that disputes it," she growled.

Regina's heels clicked along on the pavement, as she approached the Rabbit Hole. She was feeling quite pleased with herself, as she would soon have Jefferson exactly where she wanted him. Now, it was time to tempt a certain barfly to leave Gold in the dust and she knew exactly how to do it.

The Rabbit Hole was definitely not her usual scene, but if this worked, then being seen here would be worth it. Upon entering, she spotted Lacey immediately, as she finished off another drink. She smirked and approached her, pleased that most of the other riffraff that surrounded her at the pool table made themselves scarce in her presence.

"Good afternoon Lacey," Regina greeted. The brunette looked up skeptically and raised an eyebrow.

"Madam Mayor," she greeted, as she made her shot.

"I was hoping we could have a word," Regina requested, as Lacey moved to the side of the table to make another shot.

"No one is stopping you from talking," she replied.

"Right...you seem like you're a bit bored with this town," Regina mentioned. Lacey scoffed.

"Who isn't?" she sniped.

"It just makes me wonder why you've stuck around this place. You know, I remember before your father had you committed, you were going to blow this place and see the world, one bar at a time. Whatever happened to that?" Regina asked curiously. She snorted.

"I'm not dripping in money, like you, Madam Mayor," Lacey replied.

"Of course...you see, that's why I actually came today. I have this for you. It's from your father. He knows you don't want to see him, but he wants you to be happy and make your dreams come true; what every daddy wants for their little girl, really," Regina said, as she handed her a check. It was made out to look like Moe had written it, but it was Regina's money. With the curse weakening, she knew Lacey might actually make it over the town line at this point. If she did, she would never remember her life as Belle. And Regina would enjoy twisting that particular knife in Rumpelstiltskin. The barfly's mouth dropped open.

"Whoa...this is a fortune!" she cried.

"I guess your father has been saving his pennies," she commented.

"Though...I suppose Mr. Gold will be quite sad to see you go," she added.

"Who cares? It's not like I was serious about him!" Lacey exclaimed. Regina smirked deviously.

"Exactly! Now go on...go home and pack. It's time for you see the world and find Lacey's happy ending," the former Queen said.

"No offense, Madam Mayor, but I'm dropping this town like a bad habit," Lacey agreed, as she hurried out. Regina smirked victoriously. Everything was happening exactly as she wanted it to.

Flashback

Seven Months Before the Dark Curse

Hades, Ares, and Phobos arrived at their destination after a fairly lengthy journey. Even as Gods, the trip to this particular place had to be made by horseback.

"I do not enjoy the mortal way of traveling," Ares complained, as they dismounted the horses and approached the sacred and mysterious place known as the vault of the Dark One.

"How does this work? Ares asked.

"Pour the ashes on the vault seal," Hades instructed, as he magicked a three tiered candle to shed light on the dark and desolate place. Ares did as instructed and spread Deimos' ashes on the seal.

"There can't be more than one Dark One at a time. How do you know this will work?" he questioned his brother.

"We are not creating another Dark One. The ritual works for anyone wishing to bring someone back from the dead, as long as the price is paid," Hades responded.

"A life for a life," Phobos stated and his Uncle gave him a curt nod, as he came to stand behind his nephew.

"We still don't have a sacrifice. Don't we need a mortal for the ritual?" he asked.

"If we were only reviving him to be mortal...but Deimos is a God. In order to restore him and his immortality, we must sacrifice...another immortal," Hades informed. Before either Ares or Phobos could realize his implication, the God of the Dead shoved his nephew onto the metal plate in the ground.

"Hades...what are you doing?!" Ares cried, as he held Phobos there and the other God cried out in agony, as his body was marked by the seal. Ares watched in horror as his son was tossed away, his flesh burning and intensifying as an inky blackness consumed Deimos' ashes and began to rise in a mass of convulsing black matter.

"Father...help me!" Phobos cried desperately, as more and more of his body burned away as the mass began to take on the form of a man. With a final screech of pain, betrayal, and desperation from Phobos, he was incinerated to ash and taking his place was now a revived Deimos.

The deplorable God of Terror looked at his hands in amazement and then an evil smirk marred his newly restored face.

"You...you killed my son!" Ares cried.

"You knew there was a price to revive your other son...the useful son and not that sorry excuse we just rid ourselves of," Hades spat.

"So you killed one of my sons to revive the other? So he can do your bidding?" Ares cried.

"Yet you did nothing while Phobos writhed in pain. You've become so weak, Ares. No wonder there is no war anymore in this land. Phobos was even more pathetic than you are," Hades quipped.

"He's right father...it's time these mortals knew true terror and pain again. It's time they are put back in their place and after I dispatch Snow White's meddlesome friends and her husband, they will learn that place with her by my side as my Queen, in chains if that's what it takes," Deimos hissed.

"You'll do no such thing...at least, not yet," Hades admonished.

"What?" Deimos growled and the God of the Dead held up a hand.

"They must think you are still dead for the time being, for there is a curse coming and it will provide a much better opportunity for revenge against Persephone's daughter," he explained.

"A curse?" Deimos questioned.

"Yes...the Queen will be casting a terrible curse that will take the Kingdom to a Land Without Magic. She is doing so to punish Snow White and destroy her happiness," Hades said.

"But...in a Land Without Magic, I will have no power!" Deimos protested.

"Not in the traditional sense, but someone like you will be very well off and important in this land. And no one, save for the Queen, will have any memory of who they really are," Hades continued.

"But if I don't know who I am…" Deimos started to protest again.

"Relax...you may be unaware of your immortal roots, but you'll still be yourself deep down. And Snow White will be reduced to a timid, meek woman that will be easy prey, especially without her husband around to make trouble for you or her friends defending her," Hades responded.

"I still don't see why all that is necessary! I can have her now! There is no blood moon to stop me until next autumn!" he argued.

"It is necessary...because I said it is!" Hades shouted, as his hair exploded in blue flames, making Deimos cower back before the powerful God of the Underworld.

"You will do as I say and someday, there will be magic there. The rules are very different in this Land Without Magic. You will be my way in, so to speak. You'll do as I command and then I'll let you do whatever you wish with Snow White," he promised.

"Of course, My Lord," Deimos answered obediently.

"Excellent...remember, no one can know you're alive and you must be in the Kingdom when the curse is cast," Hades instructed.

"I will do as you command, My Lord and then chaos will reign," Deimos replied. Hades smirked at that word. Oh, chaos would reign. When the curse was finally broken, he would finally be able to offer Zelena what her heart desired most; revenge against her sister. And then...then she would see they belonged together.

"Yes...chaos will befall all who oppose me, including Zeus," he said, as he looked to Ares.

"I would choose sides wisely, brother," he warned, leaving Ares torn.

Everything on Jefferson's table went scattering to the floor, as he angrily upset it. His temper and unstable nature had finally reached a boiling point. David tried to keep him from a further tirade, but the Hatter shrugged him off.

"It's not fair...she's my daughter! Not that woman's!" Jefferson ranted.

"I know...I know...none of this is fair," David responded.

"It's easy for you to say! At least your daughter knows you! She doesn't look at you like you're some stranger!" Jefferson shouted. The Prince sighed, knowing he was right.

"We're going to fight her...Regina is pulling out all the stops now. You have to know that means she's scared," Emma reminded.

"No...what I know is that she always wins! And we keep losing!" Jefferson yelled.

"Not for long...it will happen. The curse will break," David insisted.

"You keep saying that! But are we really any closer than we were four months ago?" Jefferson muttered.

"Of course we are. There is a battle coming...I can feel it. This is all just building to a confrontation with Regina and she knows she probably can't undo the damage we've done to her curse now. It's only a matter of time," David replied.

"I'm tired of waiting! I want my daughter!" he snapped.

"And you'll get her back! I want my mother too and I'm not stopping until we get her back!" Emma snapped back. Jefferson shrunk back slightly, as he glared at the piece of paper in her hand.

"We have to issue this to satisfy Regina for now," Emma said.

"She's not done...she won't stop here," he warned.

"We know...and we'll be ready to fight her every step of the way. She won't get away with this for long," David assured. Jefferson wanted to believe that, but the more he thought about it, the more tempted he was to beg Emma to get his hat to work.

"What if I have a way we could escape her?" he blurted out.

"What do you mean?" David asked.

"My hat...it can open portals. We could take Henry, Grace, and Mary...all of us and just escape!" he pleaded. David and Emma exchanged a glance.

"Without their memories, Grace and Mary wouldn't understand what we're trying to do," David reminded.

"Oh please...Mary would follow you anywhere! And back in our land, one true love's kiss and she'd remember everything! And Grace...maybe the same could work with her," he said.

"But there's no magic here...how do you plan to get the hat to work?" Emma asked.

"You're the Savior...you have the magic it takes. Please Emma…" he begged.

"You know that running isn't the answer. Believe, it's really tempting, but we'd never truly be free. Regina and Damon are bad enough, but back there we'd have Cora and possibly Hades to deal with. It's too dangerous and I know my wife. She'd never leave our people at Regina's mercy," David implored.

"Oh please! These people don't give a damn about you! They lied to you about the wardrobe! Why the hell would you still protect them?!" Jefferson shouted, as David tried to calm him down.

"Because it's the right thing to do...and you know it," the prince said.

"He's right...but we need to go. We have another restraining order to deliver," Emma said, as they started toward the door.

"If you think Damon's going to stop stalking Mary, because of some dumb piece of paper, you're idiots," Jefferson grumbled.

"We know he won't...but we're still going to give the warning anyway. Are you going to be okay?" David asked.

"I'll be fine," he muttered. At least he still had his telescope. They hadn't taken that away...yet. He watched them leave and then shut his door. And once he was alone, his tirade began, as he threw and tossed any object within reach…

Mary watched her students file out for the day and forced an encouraging smile for Henry. The boy had been worried about her all day since the commotion at recess. She was tired of this man making her feel this way. It wasn't right, especially since his threats weren't just at her, but at David too. She sighed and packed up her things for the day. Walking out of the school and toward her car, she checked her messages and found one from her husband.

"Hey...I heard what happened. Stephanie called me and I was going to come right away, but she insisted that you were okay. I know you are...because you're strong, but I still wanted to be there for you," his message said and she smiled at his concern.

"I'm not going to let him keep doing this to you. It might not do much good, but Em and I are going to deliver a restraining order to him in person today. I don't know how yet, but I am going to stop him and find a way to lock him up permanently," his message continued. That worried her a little. She didn't like the thought of people she loved confronting this monster, especially on his own territory.

"But I don't want you to worry. I won't be long and then I'll see you at home. I love you so much," he said, as his message ended and she hung up her phone, as she reached her car. Her heart dropped into her stomach though when she reached the station wagon and saw a bouquet of black roses laying on her hood. Tears threatened to fall and her heart pounded in her head. She picked up the roses, intending to toss them to the ground, but cried out, as inevitably, her finger was sliced by a thorn. She dropped the disturbing flora to the ground, as blood dripped onto the hood of her car and onto a note left for her. And the words on the piece of paper made her blood run cold.

Here lies David Nolan

She read the words and almost felt like she was hyperventilating. The note was clear though. Her husband was going to confront Damon Tromera today and this monster had made his intentions clear. He was going to kill David. She let the paper fall to the ground and jumped into her car, before peeling out of the parking lot. Stephanie waved to her, trying to get her to stop, but could only watch, as Mary sped off at dangerous speeds. She ran to where the black roses had been discarded and picked up the note. Her blood too ran cold at the words on the paper.

"Oh Gods...Athena protect them…" she uttered, as she hurried on foot, intending to follow her daughter. She only hoped she didn't arrive too late…

#Snowing #snowing fanfiction #season 1 au #season 1 retelling #Golden Mad Charming BroTP #persephone #greek mythology meets farytales