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eviesaurusrex · 2 years

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ꜱᴇᴄʀᴇᴛꜱ ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ ꜱᴍɪʟᴇꜱ, ᴘᴛ. 2 | ꜱ. ꜱᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ

GIF not mine!

Stephen Strange x Avenger!Reader

ask: Could you write a Stephen Strange x reader one shot (or longer if you feel it haha) where the reader is an avenger and she’s secretly dating Stephen? Like they’re sneaking around and staying at each other’s places (sanctum and tower/compound) and use portals in the mornings to get back where they’re supposed to be. Maybe a close call where Stephen literally kicks her off the bed and into a portal back to her own bed to avoid getting caught. Then later they’re found out somehow by tony/the team?

word count: 9.8k (send some help, please)

warnings: even more fluff, a bit of angst, nightmare, some good ol’ nightmare aftercare proudly presented you by Stephen Strange, more sneaking around the team, the team gets suspicious, cursing, curse words, Stephen being… Stephen, injuries

author’s note: pt. 2 is here!!!! Gosh, I’m still so excited about this ask and have to pour my entire heart into it. Thanks again for the request @clockblobber <3 This one is proofread but ignore mistakes if you stumble upon them – my brain is mush today, and I’m gonna go over it again tomorrow

»pt. 1 is here«

Typing away on her phone – Stephen had been at Kamar-Taj for quite some time now to deal with the new students of the mystic arts, and she had insisted that he saved all his energy for teaching them instead of visiting her every night – YN entered the living area of the compound after arriving from an intel mission only minutes ago. Scott followed close behind because his adjustable size had been crucial for the success of the mission, and with a deep sigh, he dropped into one of the armchairs unoccupied by the other present Avengers who had gathered for movie night.

YN didn’t even notice, too enthralled by the device between her fingers, and ran straightly into a walking Peter, who almost lost his balance. “Woah, hey there, Peter.” She grabbed his arm to prevent him from meeting the floor on a more intimate level and pushed the phone into the back pocket of her jeans. “Sorry, didn’t see you,” YN apologized while patting his shoulder softly. She always had gotten a soft spot for the young man and always looked out for him during missions, even though he could handle himself pretty darn good.

The brunette shook his head in protest. “It was my–…” But YN didn’t let him finish. “Nah-uh, I don’t wanna hear a single word.” She turned her head to be greeted by seven pairs of staring eyes, curiosity filled their irises completely – and she didn’t like one second of it. “Nevermind. You people prepared some decent snacks, or do I have to do the work again?” Because that had been the case during the last couple of movie nights which ended in ordering pizza and bickering about the choice of film.

They never really managed to watch more than one before it’s gotten worse and worse until Tony demanded the remote control sovereignty because he had paid for everything they used, while Nat and herself booed loudly because the Widows never were a fan of another Star Wars-filled night. Peter was always on Tony’s side – naturally – while Bucky and Steve kept themselves out of the discussion, still not really used to the “new” pop culture they had to face nowadays. At least Wanda, Clint, and Scott counted themselves as a constant part of Team Widow, and Thor, as well as Bruce, loved to hop between camps, always depending on the movie in question. Only Vision was indifferent, but everyone had gotten used to it by now.

It was utter chaos, sometimes even on the brink of anarchy, but YN loved it. She never had something like that in her life – at least, she couldn’t remember having a family – because she was never as lucky as Nat and never had a pretending family. Even though she wasn’t sure if she would’ve liked it very much. She always had lived her life within the confinements of the Red Room, always under the watchful eye of high-ranking generals and officers, always under the influence of a drug she didn’t want to remember. She had killed not only for Dreykov but also Hydra. She had met the Winter Soldier long before he had escaped his cruel purpose. And then, Nat had found her during one of her missions, months after the attack on New York, and Bruce and Tony had managed to get the drug out of her system. They had saved her and given her a life with a purpose, with a moral compass. YN had gotten another chance. And with that chance, a certain master of the mystic arts came into the picture – and the rest was history.

Blinking rapidly, YN escaped her thoughts and turned her attention back to the group. “The food is on its way, but we could use some more snacks,” Wanda told her, an apologetic smile on her face, but YN only rolled her eyes with a grin. “Sure y’all do. I’m gonna get you covered – but don’t you dare start the movie without me!” She made eye contact with Tony, who already held the remote in hand, and cocked not only an eyebrow but her head as well. “Try me, Stark,” she warned, and the man raised both hands in surrender. “We will behave perfectly.” Nodding, YN turned around, phone already in hand again, and trotted through the corridor into the kitchen.

Arriving there, the device started to vibrate, but it wasn’t an incoming text. With a soft smile, she accepted the call and settled the phone between ear and shoulder. “To what do I owe the honor of your call?” A greeting wasn’t necessary between these two anymore. Calling one another was as simple as taking Wilson down in combat training, unlike during the beginning of their relationship. Calls had been an utter nightmare.

A chuckle echoed through the speaker. “Do I need a reason to call the woman to whom I’ve pledged my love and devotion?” Softly laughing, YN grabbed a stack of bowls out of one of the many cupboards and spread them over the counter. “I see, you’ve read a lot of Shakespearian-sounding literature. Anything interesting?” She could hear Stephen’s grin from the other end of the world. “A few works weren’t that bad. I found spells I have never heard of before, and I think they could be useful if mastered properly. What are you up to, darling?”

In the meantime, YN had grabbed an assortment of snacks, and after ripping every package open, she dumped them in the waiting bowls, one by one. “Oh, nothing. It’s Friday, so we have movie night at the compound, and it will be a nightmare after film one. Just the usual.” She almost felt his sympathy physically. “I suppose Stark won’t give up the remote?” Scoffing, the Widow rounded the kitchen island to take a closer look into the freezer. “You can bet your sexy ass on it, love. Oh, yes. Come to me, ice cream!” She hadn’t planned for the outburst to leave her lips, but well.

With an evil chuckle, YN grabbed the last package of ice cream from behind a mountain of frosted vegetables – Nice try, Tony – and opened the foil to start eating it before returning to the living room. “Remind me never to hide any ice cream from you, my evil darling,” he laughed, and YN grinned happily. “It’s his ice cream. I would never dare to steal your ice cream because I love you dearly, my dear.”

Softly humming while eating the sweet substance, the woman leaned against the counter, totally unaware of the young man who stood just around the corner and heard every single word. She and Stephen talked for a few minutes more before they ended the call with the promise of a cozy weekend after she came back from her scheduled mission in Prague.

Meanwhile, Peter stood almost frozen in the middle of the living room, eyes wide and unsure where to start – and if he should say a word about the discovery he just had made anyway. But his mouth was faster than his brain. “Uhm… You always complain that YN is… is vanishing so often?” Instantly, Peter had gathered the attention of every single soul within this room. Steve furrowed his forehead, and even Bucky looked a bit worried while Tony straightened up on his spot on the couch. “Yeah? Talk, kiddo.” Peter scratched the back of his head and shrugged. “I think she has a boyfriend – or girlfriend! I’m totally open for both if she likes women more than men and if her partner in crime is a woman, that’s super cool because rainbows and love and–…” Scott patted his shoulder to silence the young superhero. “Think, that’s enough, Peter.”

The team exchanged glances before a bubbling laugh escaped from Tony’s mouth and let them look in his direction. Tears gathered in his eyes while his body shook with every laughter erupted from him. “YN and… and a boyfriend! Best joke ever!” Still laughing, Tony wiped the tears off his cheeks and shook his head. “Keep believing that, kiddo, but we know her a bit longer than you do. She would never have something like that because love isn’t her thing.” Nat cocked a copper eyebrow. “Love is her thing, but only on paper within books because men exhaust her – and she is only interested in them.” Steve seemed not to be convinced fully, but the creases on his forehead slowly erased themselves and Bucky leaned back on the two-seater they shared. “Not everyone needs love in their lives. Some only need certain needs satisfied, and…–“ Wanda threw a pillow against the former Winter Soldier’s head. “Bucky! He is still a teenager!” He raised both hands before crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“But…” Peter tried, but now it was Clint who patted his other shoulder. “Drop it, kid. She disappears to have time to herself. It gets crowded here, and sometimes, her thoughts run in the wrong direction. Can’t blame her. Everyone needs some peace and quietness from time to time.”

Unconvinced, Peter plopped down onto one of the two beanbags, the other entirely reserved for YN herself, and just a second later, three bowls floated through the doorframe into the living room. Before they could settle down on the coffee table between the seating area and flatscreen, Vision and Wanda took them out of the air and placed them down themselves. YN entered right after that, the other three bowls in her arms and a thankful expression in her eyes. “Thanks, V, Wanda. Wasn’t sure if I could master the landing.”

The red-haired witch smiled at her while the Widow rounded the couch and dropped her body onto the dark blue beanbag. “I told you it would get better with some more practice.” She sounded more than a bit pleased. YN grinned up at her. “Yup, totally.” She didn’t need to know that a certain sorcerer had helped her with the powers she mostly could only use with blunt force because no one in the Red Room had bothered to tame her. Years might have been passed since her escape, but those powers were gone for a while after her mind had reached the surface of consciousness. Probably a self-protection mechanism if Stephen was right with his educated guess. At least she could control them to a certain extent now. It would get better over time.

Another text from Stephen shifted her mood for the better after it had tried to take a detour back to the dark place it loved to sit and sulk. The movie was secondary, and even after the food arrived – sushi and pizza – YN barely looked up from her phone and was awfully quiet as soon as the bickering started anew.

Steve watched her closely and shock settled in his chest at the sight of a smile he had never seen on the face of one of his best friends before. Happy. Full of contentment. Her eyes twinkling and sparkling. She never was unhappy, of course not, but the soldier from another time knew the feeling she had always felt – the feeling of not fitting in. And suddenly, a realization crept up on him: Maybe that feeling had vanished somewhere along the road.

;

It was quiet in the compound. The world’s mightiest heroes had ended the day a few hours prior, soon after the Quinjet with YN and Sam had landed on the tarmac. It had become a ritual to wait upon arriving team members and to drink a soothing cup of tea to unwind from the previous mission and catch up on the gossip inside the compound.

Now, YN slept in the warm and loving embrace of a pair of strong arms, her head laying on a softly rising and falling chest, the sounds of Stephen’s deep slumber always the best method to lull her into sleep. But she started to move, softly at first, barely palpable. She rolled off his chest, and naturally, the tight embrace loosened around her body. Nails dragged over the comforter, ripped loose threads off the fabric while YN’s face contorted in confusion and fear, in agony and horror. Her breathing quickened, the heart within her rib cage started to race, and sweat dampened her forehead and back.

The dreams always hunted the Widow, but oh boy. The horrors of other nights were nothing in comparison.

The first escaping moan didn’t wake Stephen, not even the second one, the man too tired from long hours inside the Sanctum’s library to find one specific spell he had needed.

It was the scream that woke him with a startle.

“NO!”

Stephen didn’t need to turn on the light to see exactly where she was after tearing open his eyes. He pushed the traitorous blankets off his legs to scoot over to the moving and trashing woman. His hands almost didn’t grasp her arms because it scared the man how cold and damp her skin was. She had those dreams not as often as they used to come, but they were never this bad.

The next scream, so full of agony and blank horror, ripped his already bleeding heart to shreds. Stephen grabbed her upper arms softly, stroked them, caressed her face while pleading with her barely conscious mind to let her escape her own personal hell.

“YN, please. Please, wake up. I am here, nothing is going to happen. Everything is alright. It’s just a dream, only a dream. I am here, love. God damn it, let her wake up!” His voice sounded helpless, angry about the universe and himself, and with horror in his own eyes, he could see the light of the corridor suddenly shining through the slit between door and floor. Shaking her gently but urgently, Stephen tried it again while multiple hurried steps came closer to her door. “YN. YN! Wake up, love!”

With a violent gasp, her eyes finally teared open, tears staining her reddened cheeks, beads of sweat tracing her temples and contracting throat. Her eyes immediately found his face, but Stephen couldn’t mutter a single word. Instead, he left the bed in a hurry and hid in the bathroom – not his best move, but he didn’t care at the moment – and just in time, he closed the door only for another door to be opened. Hurried voices echoed through the room, and the sorcerer pushed both hands into his hair, running them through it over and over to calm himself and his rapid heartbeat.

He hated how helpless he had felt and still felt while others comforted his girl. He hated every single second of it and counted the moments until they left and closed the door again.

“Stephen…?”

Her small, shaking, and questioning voice pulled the sorcerer out of his spiraling thoughts, and without wasting another second, he ripped open the door. With a few long strides, he was back at her side, settling into their bed and pulling her flush against his chest. Stephen could feel the tears wetting his shirt, but he didn’t care. She could ruin every single piece of clothing he owned, and he would hold her anyway.

“I am here,” he whispered between kisses on her head. “Nothing is going to happen to you.” He could feel her short but stiff nod, almost as if she was a robot and didn’t learn how to move like a human. Both his hands stroked over her back - up and down, in a never-ending motion. Her body still trembled, and YN dug her fingers into the fabric of his shirt, clung to the man like a drowning woman clinging to a piece of driftwood. “I love you. I love you more than anything in this universe. I will always love you. It’s okay. It’ll be okay. They can’t hurt you.” He didn’t make any sense, but it didn’t matter.

After what felt like a never-ending eternity, YN stopped shaking like a leaf, her breathing slowed down again, and her hold on him was not that crushing anymore. “Sorry,” she mumbled, but Stephen was quick to brush through her hair and soothe the rising anxiety within her tormented mind. “Stop apologizing. There is nothing to apologize for.” He needed her to understand that, but his girl was smarter than anyone else – maybe except him.

She tried to find a more comfortable position but gave up because every single piece of fabric clung to her still damp skin. “Where did you hide?” Her voice was only a whisper, but the silence had settled back over the compound, so Stephen heard every single word and every single breath. “The bathroom,” he mumbled and pressed a soft kiss to her neck. YN’s soft chuckle was a good sign, and it put the beginning of a smile on his face. “Not your best move, love. Imagine one of them would’ve gone in there to get a cool cloth or something. What a sight that would be…”

He may roll his eyes, but Stephen was glad that YN could already joke around. That had always been a good sign.

The sorcerer pressed another kiss to her neck before looking into her barely lit face. “Do you want to talk about it?” Slowly, she shook her head. He knew she would decline just now, but he had to ask nonetheless. “Can’t. Need the sun to be up.” Her illogical fear of getting dragged back into the hell that was the Red Room still present in her overworking mind, and she knew how stupid it was. But Stephen never had judged her, not one single second. “Of course,” he said, caressing her face. “How about a shower?” She nodded against his neck, where she buried her face now, and Stephen picked her up with ease to carry her into his former hiding spot.

And that’s where they spent almost an hour under the warm water jet, her eyes closed, while Stephen softly washed her hair and did her entire hair and skincare routine. It always amazed YN how much attention this man granted her alone and how much he seemed to adore her. It was mind-blowing, really, and she desperately wished that this would be something lasting an entire lifetime.

;

Holding hands like lovestruck teenagers, YN and Stephen walked through Greenwich Village to enjoy one of the loveliest golden fall days they had encountered in a long time. She loved seeing the man next to her in casual clothes – a long dark jeans, grey shirt, and a dark green cardigan – though she wasn’t sure what about it made him look so irresistible. Maybe it was the domesticity of it, the warm feeling of home, and the comforting knowledge that one was deeply loved and valued. Or perhaps it was just his good looks and the eyes full of envy thrown her way by nearly every woman they’d passed so far.

Stephen gingerly pulled her closer to his side and put her hand around his bicep, wanting her as close as possible. Everyone should know that this woman wasn’t just an acquaintance, a mere friend who just happened to walk with him in the same direction. He could see the looks full of longing and the visible drool on some male’s chins. It was only natural that he did something about it, so he bent down and pressed a lingering kiss on YN’s temple to show the world what they needed to know. He was glad that reporters didn’t try to bother them anymore.

At least one thing Tony’s existence is good for, Stephen thought cynical, but different from his thoughts, his mood shone as bright as the fall sun over their heads.

“What are you up for today?” YN beat him to this crucial question. “Lazy walks around the block? A trip to Belvedere Castle? Exploring the new exhibition at the Louvre?” Her eyes looked as bright as the sky above them, and if the world paid close attention to the sorcerer now, they would’ve bared witness to the softest of smiles they’d have ever seen. But the world was blind, so the smile full of adoration and utter wonder over how his life had turned only visible for the one woman in his life.

Humming deep in thought, Stephen pulled one of her hands, which were both settled around his arm and in the crook between bicep and elbow, up to his lips to kiss her knuckles. “I’ve heard there is a new patisserie only two blocks further which happens to sell chocolate strawberries,” the man suggested, and pride and satisfaction filled his chest and body at the sight of her round eyes and the radiant smile stretching across her lips.

His past self wouldn’t believe his eyes. During some days, even he had difficulties comprehending the change he went through in order to become as worthy as possible for the woman next to him. Still, he didn’t believe to be worthy enough and was convinced that better men were waiting for her, but he couldn’t let her go. He was, again, too selfish, but she seemingly didn’t mind.

Maybe the universe granted him the happy ending after all.

“Can we go there? Like… now? Immediately?” Grinning, Stephen nodded but didn’t think of using a portal. He needed to savor every single second he could get with her – just as she did with him. So they walked the two blocks, side by side, softly telling each other about their respective days and just basking in each other’s presence.

The idyll got suddenly destroyed as YN stopped dead in her tracks and stared over the busy street to her right. She needed to bent around Stephen because the stubborn man never let her walk next to the road if he was with her, but she was sure her peripheral vision hadn’t tricked her. And the Widow was right: on the other side were Clint and Nat, talking about something which made the archer laugh.

“Fuck,” was all she hissed for now, and even Stephen caught up to her observation. But he couldn’t form a single word because the woman had already grabbed his hand and pulled him to continue their route for now. Her eyes were trained on the opposite side of the road while she gracefully avoided collisions with every approaching passerby. The sorcerer didn’t know how exactly she did that, but maybe it was her own little magic trick. He only followed her, always alternating between looking to the other pair of Avengers and straight ahead to nudge YN in a different direction if necessary.

“We need to turn the next one,” YN decided at the sight of Nat and Clint waiting for the streetlight to turn green. “And we need to be faster.” As soon as the words had left her lips, Nat turned slightly and looked in their vague direction. “Stephen, now.” They dived behind a group of tourists and sneaked into an alleyway but didn’t stop. Instead, their steps increased in speed, and YN guided them through a labyrinth of hidden shortcuts, backyards, and a tremendous amount of turns and corners. “You definitely have Google Maps in that pretty head of yours,” the sorcerer decided after another complicated combination of turning and shortcutting, and YN chuckled cheerfully while he had lost track after the second corner. “The first premise is always to know your neighborhoods better than the content of your backpack. And since I’m spending almost more time here than at the compound, I believed it was time to know my way around – just in case.” Grinning, YN guided them through another alleyway, but now, they stepped onto one of the main streets of Greenwich Village, the Sanctum Sanctorum already in sight.

Stephen turned towards her and cocked an eyebrow. “But what’s with the chocolate strawberries?” YN softly shrugged and circled both arms around his neck; his hands almost immediately settled upon her jeans-clad hips, pushed underneath the long cardigan she had thrown over the old band shirt she wore and which was her pride and joy. She rubbed the tip of their noses against each other and kissed him quickly. “We can get them later. What about that trip to the Louvre? I’m tempted to bet that we won’t see any of their faces in Paris,” the Widow whispered temptingly against his lips, and if Stephen weren’t already sold, he would be now.

But before he released her out of his grasp, he bent his head lower to kiss her properly – one hand tangled in her soft hair while the other pulled her smaller body against his. Their lips moved in complete sync, eyes closed at the blissful feeling of warmth and butterflies, breathing labored, hearts beating rapidly against one another.

Smirking, Stephen ended the kiss with one last sweet peck. He wasn’t sure what had happened in the last two and a half years ever since that woman entered his life and turned everything upside down, but he never would want it any other way.

“Now, we can go,” he spoke with a raspy but tender voice, and the portal opened just behind him to lead the couple into the heart of the city of love. He held his hand open, so YN could take it what she did with a bright smile on her gorgeous face. “Madame.” She curtsied with a soft grin. “Merci beaucoup, monsieur.” The reply escaped her in flawless French as she stepped over the golden glittering threshold, and she pulled Stephen with her before the portal closed itself and released the couple into a carefree Parisian afternoon.

;

“Sometimes you have the greatest ideas,” YN sighed, stomach full and on an endorphin high with all the sugar and love in her system. Stephen stretched his long, toned body over the comforter laying atop his four-poster bed, head propped up on one hand, eyes locked on the woman on the other side of the mattress, the remnants of their small indoor picnic between them. “Only sometimes, hm?” He teased her, and YN laughed wholeheartedly while taking one of the napkins and throwing it in the vague direction of his smirking face. “Oh, stop it,” she grinned before stealing the last chocolate strawberry and plopping the sweet fruit between her lips. Moaning, she chewed with closed eyes and let herself fall back into the pillows. “Best thing there is on this planet.”

His hand moved softly through the air, from left to right, his scarred pointer and ring finger sticking out while the rest was balled to a half-fist, and suddenly, the picnic disappeared. The sorcerer knew it would find its way onto the kitchen counter left from the sink. But he didn’t concern himself with the whereabouts of the dishes because as soon as the magic was executed, Stephen rolled himself on top of YN, arms resting next to her face so he wouldn’t crush her under his weight.

“You’re really trying to insult me even more?” It was only a rumble against her lips, and now it was her to smirk up to the sorcerer. “Yes, because I know what those tiny hits do to you – and what it will bring me,” she whispered back before kissing him softly, the sound of heavy raindrops loud on the windows of the Sanctum.

They had planned for a picnic in Central Park, far away from the privacy-invading eyes of nosy New Yorkers and tourists as soon as they lay eyes on the two Avengers. The forecast had been perfect all week long, but then, just after they had gotten ready and opened the doors of the grand building in Greenwich Village, the sky opened its gates, and the heaviest fall downpour in the history of New York made its appearance. Other people would’ve been crushed – other people as in YN – but Stephen didn’t graduate with honors when he would own nothing but simple-mindedness. He had wrapped YN in his arm, brought her back inside, and with a few flicks of his hands, the master bedroom was prepared for a cozy day indoors. They had watched numerous episodes of Golden Girls – YN loved the sitcom ever since encountering it during her post-Red Room recovery under the watchful eye of SHIELD – and she had even etched Stephen to play one of his old interviews for the prestigious Medical Journal. He didn’t like to dive into his old life, but he loved to watch the evident fascination on his girl’s face at the sight of his accomplishments. Stephen was nothing but a sucker for praise coming from this woman.

The feeling of her soft hands on the nape of his neck and her fingernails gently carding through the short hair there was everything Stephen needed or wanted in his life. It reminded him of his childhood, which barely happens anymore, but with her, everything felt light and bright, just as it did back then. Her chuckle at the feeling of his goatee tickling her lips was the sound he almost loved the most. It ranked somewhere between the tiredly mumbled I love you, Stephen when she was on the brink of sleep and the nicknames she used to call him. Nobody had believed that Stephen was a softy, he at the very least. But he was, and he didn’t want to change a thing about it.

“Thank you,” YN whispered between pecks of his lips and rubbed their noses against each other. She loved doing that. It always gave her a heart attack, for sure, especially when Stephen looked at her like he did now – as if she was the most important and gorgeous being on this planet – but it reminded her that her life was a different one now, filled with soft touches and warmth. There was still violence in it, definitely, but it was the good kind of violence. A violence born in the attempts to make earth a safer place, which was the entire opposite of her upbringing and early adulthood. And the man atop of her was a crucial part of it, and she loved every second. “For what?” His question almost got lost in the kiss they shared, lips moving more heated against one another while the tip of YN's tongue teased his soft bottom lip. YN shrugged and let Stephen roll over the mattress and, simultaneously, pull her on top of him. She propped her arms on his broad, strong chest - one of her preferred places on earth - and peppered his chin with soft kisses while searching for the right words. “For showing me love and how it is to be loved, and for always reminding me that this is my life now and not a dream I will wake up from one day and find myself back at square one. You’re completing me, love.” Her last words were barely a whisper, still too shy and insecure about expressing the depths of her feelings for this man, even though they had enough reasons to already know about them.

She was always scared of pushing him away with the intensity of her emotions as if her soul tried to compensate her for all those years without them, and YN probably would be scared for the rest of her life, even though no one had left her so far. Quiet the contrary. She had gained friends and an unexpected family, lifelong companions, and a relationship meant to be until her last day on earth, whenever that might be.

Smiling up to her, Stephen kissed her a second and a third time right after that, his fingers pushing soft strands of her hair out of her face with the beautifully blushed cheeks and behind her ear. "No, darling," he said lovingly and tenderly caressed the side of her face. Instantly, YN leaned into his touch, and Stephen thought his heart might explode right in this instant. "Don't thank me for that. You deserve every ounce of love I, and everyone else, can give you. And don't try to deny it. I know it's true." He looked up to her with seriousness in his bright blue eyes, capturing YN instantly like they always did. The couple just laid there, gazing into each other's eyes, before the woman on top of him cracked a small, shy smile and gently caressed his cheekbone with the pad of her thumb. "You are a wonder, Stephen Vincent Strange," she whispered, blunt wonder and amazement evident in her soft voice. "I will thank the universe for the rest of my life for the path it had put me on." Now it was Stephen who felt the blood rushing swiftly into his cheeks, and clearing his throat, he chuckled awkwardly, not sure how to handle the emotions now rushing through his consciousness.

Whatever she is doing to us, don't let it stop, and don't you dare ruin it, a warning voice spoke somewhere in his head, and the sorcerer almost snorted audibly. As if he would ever destroy the safe haven these two had created together in a world where peace was sometimes hard to find and even harder to hold onto and preserve. He would be quite the idiot if he'd pushed or scared YN away. But to his very luck, this woman was as fearless as an amazon, born out of the stories of ancient times when gods walked the earth and granted individuals the power to conquer anything.

She owned that force of nature within her delicate body.

The fingertips of one hand had started to slowly stroke over the length of her spine, while his other hand had found its home on her right cheek, cupping the soft skin and smiling as YN turned her head to kiss his palm. "I'm not good with words, you know that, but the feeling is mutual, darling. I never had luck with relationships of any kind and nature, never knowing what to do and what was expected from me. But finding you was the greatest gift life could ever grant me because we're learning this together, experiencing everything together, without judgment and accusations if something goes wrong. This-," Stephen placed a gentle peck on the tip of her nose, "-us, is my safe haven. You are my safe haven. I don't need more." A grin formed on her face, and she cocked an eyebrow, doubtingly, and the sorcerer sighed and chuckled. "Well, plus some space for my books," he added, and YN laughed as well. "And for all of your suits and ties. Not to mention the space Cloaky demands in your closet over there."

Pulling her even closer to him - if that was even possible - Stephen growled lowly in his chest before pulling YN's face closer to his to steal another heated kiss. "I'm trying to express my feelings for you, woman, and all you do is continue to insult me. It's not the proper response." Now it was her to steal a kiss from him, and he felt the grin on his lips. "When did you ever care for properness and social expectations, Mr. Strange?" Stephen grinned a devilish smile before he moved his head to start nipping at the soft skin of her exposed neck. "No one had ever spoken truer words, but it still is Doctor Strange, my darling love, even for you."

YN couldn't fight the urgent need to let her eyes fall shut at the tingling feeling that Stephen's lips and teeth on her skin created in the pit of her stomach, and a deep sigh, suspiciously resembling an excited moan, escaped her.

But the mood was ruined faster than hurricane Katrina had reached the North American shore.

The sound of hurried steps, loud voices, and an overall hectic group of intruders let the couple look up and straight to the massive wooden door of the bedroom. YN didn't even have the time to roll off Stephen to find the perfect hiding spot - she already had a few spots in mind - because the familiar sound of voices let her freeze for a moment too long.

What is Tony doing here?! And is that... Steve's voice?

Her mind screamed question after question, and just as the steps reached the floor of their shared bedroom, Stephen did something she would never have expected to be on his mind, or he even dared to think of: He opened a portal right at the edge of the four poster bed and threw her an apologetic look. Her own eyes went wide, and YN shook her head - slowly at first until it became faster and harder with every passing heartbeat. "No. Don't you fucking da-...!" But it was too late because just as the Widow tried to finish the threat laying on the tip of her tongue, Stephen pushed her off his body, off the bed, and straight into the portal.

YN hated the feeling of falling - he knew that fucking well! - and a shriek fought its way out of her throat until she hit the edge of her own bed in her room at the compound. She felt and heard a crack as her back hit the edge of the mattress because this obnoxious, massive, and idiotic specimen of a moron had miscalculated everything, and she hung upside down on the furniture. Her arms were stretched over her head, hands resting on the carpet laying in front of her bed to prevent icy feet in the morning, and a groan escaped her as soon as her back started to protest vehemently.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

The portal was long closed, but YN felt the urge to scream her frustration out in the open before another groan left her.

"Fuck."

Stephen knew very well that he had a lot of making up to do after what he had just done, but they had never been this close to getting caught by the remaining team, who was still painfully unaware of the couple underneath them.

"Why do you barge into my home on a Saturday afternoon? Are you feeling lonely, Stark? Sorry to break it to you, but I'm neither your wife nor your boyfriend, which you brought here as well, what a surprise. Rogers." The two men, plus Wong and Wanda, almost stumbled over themselves as they pushed open the door and entered his bedroom, just as the portal had closed itself after one movement of his hand. Too close, reminded the voice in his head, and Stephen knew that YN and he had to discuss this very prominent issue in their lives.

The arriving Avengers composed themselves again before Tony spoke up. "If you would have been so kind and answered the thirty-six calls and messages, we wouldn't have to come all the way here, Gandalf. But as you obviously fucked up your phone, because I can't think of another reason for not answering, we had to come to pick you up like a damn lost kid at the information counter in a mall." His gaze didn't even flicker to the phone resting atop the bedside table. The sorcerer had put it in flight mode to have some uninterrupted hours with his girl, but that little habit of his bit them both in the ass. They really needed to talk about the whole ordeal. "So, swing your lazy ass out of this bed and do your job. Earth called to get rescued again."

And with that, Tony left, leaving a sighing Steve behind, while Wanda observed Stephen too closely for his liking. The sorcerer raised an eyebrow, challenging her with a glare to keep doing that, and the witch started to smile a small smile before following Tony down the grand staircase. After a "We should get going" from America's Golden Boy, he left as well, leaving only Wong and Stephen in his room. The other sorcerer shrugged with an expression almost describable as apologizing, and he shook his head before changing into his blue robes with a looping motion of his hand and a snap of his fingers.

Cloaky was right at his side and put itself on his shoulders but pushed the sorcerer to a sudden halt as it motioned into the direction where the portal to YN's bedroom had closed a few moments ago. "We'll check on her, I promise." The ancient artifact seemed pleased for the moment, but Stephen dreaded the future encounter with his girlfriend because he could already imagine her words and could vividly picture the scene unfolding in front of him a few hours later.

And he was right.

After a successful mission filled with otherworldly beings - the reason why 80% of the attending team had been able to handle magic - Stephen returned with the others to the compound and delivered his report before slipping away. He needed to find YN to evaluate the damage he had caused with his little stunt, and he obviously wasn't the only one with that thought because the red fabric around his shoulders parted from his master to fly a few steps ahead, even though it didn't know where they should head.

Looking up toward the corridor's ceiling, Stephen contemplated if it was a thoughtful idea to ask Tony's AI. The Stark was nothing but thorough, so it wouldn't surprise the sorcerer if the douchebag made notes after each and every day about what each team member had asked. But he had to take the risk if he didn't want to waste countless hours searching the vast compound by foot.

"FRIDAY? It's FRIDAY, isn't it?" He had never used the AI, not a single time, even though he had been part of this circus for longer than he liked to admit. "How can I be of assistance, Doctor Strange?" At least she doesn't sound like Tony himself, was all Stephen could think at that moment because it would be so typical for this self-loving prick. "Are you able to locate people inside the building?"

Meanwhile, he continued walking without a destination yet. "That is indeed part of my abilities. Who do you wish to locate?" He turned a corner and found himself in front of an elevator, Cloaky already levitating in front of it. "YN," it was almost a mumble, but the AI still understood him. Thinking about it in more detail, Stephen really didn't want to know what FRIDAY could hear inside the personal rooms of the Avengers.

Maybe Tony never took notes because if he would, there was not even the slight possibility that he didn't know about them - and Stephen would be long strangled in a random corner of the compound.

"Miss LN is currently on the second floor, gym 03." The elevator immediately opened its door and Cloaky floated inside, beckoning Stephen to follow it with an almost annoyingly raise of its fabric's edge. Sometimes the sorcerer wasn't sure if the Cloak of Levitation still saw him as its master or if he preferred YN over him. Sometimes it even felt like it was their child and had decided to be a mama's kid after hanging long enough at its father's heels.

Maybe he felt a bit betrayed, yes.

"Thank you, FRIDAY." Stephen could be polite if he wanted. "A pleasure, Doctor Strange."

And with that, the elevator closed and brought him to the second floor to face the mess he had made.

He only had sat one foot on the floor, and the distinct sound of metal rushing through the air reached his ears. Swallowing thickly, Stephen followed the artifact, now knowing where it had to rush in order to check on its favorite person, while the sorcerer dreaded to enter the gym, where YN clearly handled pointy and sharp objects.

Probably with a picture of your face pinned against the bull's eye.

A throwing knife hit the target with a dull sound at the moment Stephen entered the gym, and he could see that YN had already drawn the next one out of the holster at her thigh. She flipped it gracefully in her hand, without even sparing one glance at it. He couldn't tell if she looked particularly angry or just tired, but at the sight of her next throw, he knew that something was off - and he would bet the last bits of his former fortune that it had to do with him. But Cloaky cleared the field for now and saved him from being punctured as it wrapped itself around her shoulders and almost lovingly nuzzled itself against her cheeks.

YN turned to him, cocking an eyebrow and casually playing with the delicate knife between her skillful fingers. "Look who's man enough to show up," the Widow smirked while patting the red fabric around her shoulders. Stephen stepped in her direction but stopped abruptly as the former assassin swiftly spun around and threw the last knife. She was already turned back to face him as the weapon was still mid-air and Stephen stared in utmost wonder as it hit the bull's eye nonetheless.

"You wanted to say something, darling?"

Her sweet smile couldn't fool the sorcerer, and the blunt show of her skill was nothing that scared him because he was certain of one fact: They would both never hurt the other, not even in their furriest rage.

But this game could be played by two.

With a barely visual flick of his right hand, Stephen gained a hold of her body without touching her and pulled her the last couple of steps to him until their bodies stood pressed against each other in the room. He wrapped an arm around her waist and started to play with her braided hair with the other hand.

"I came to apologize."

YN lifted the other brow. Even though they were in a pretty healthy relationship, it didn't happen every week that Stephen Strange uttered those words or even the magical sentence I am sorry which automatically implied that he admitted he did something wrong. That's why she waited patiently, hands resting on his upper abdomen.

A sigh left him. “I only had your best intentions in mind, primarily because we never talked about how to approach the topic in front of the others, and I figured you would preferrer to crack it to them in a more… neutral environment than our bedroom.” She hummed in agreement but still waited. Stephen eyed her face and let go of her braid to cup her cheek softly. “I am sorry, darling,” he whispered now, and after a deep breath, YN nodded. “Okay. But don’t you dare do that ever again, especially if your mind isn’t fully focused because I don’t feel the need to hit the edge of my bed a second time. My back still hurts, you moron.” And with that, she raised one arm to hit the back of his head softly with an open palm, but it was enough to convey the message.

Instantly, a worried expression settled on his handsome face, and the hand resting on her lower back started to trace her spine underneath the red fabric of the cloak that now clumsily caressed her other cheek. Stephen put pressure on his touch, feeling every vertebra pressing unyieldingly against his fingertips, and Stephen observed her face almost painfully close. She didn’t move a muscle, but he witnessed the slight furrow of her forehead and brows as his fingertips reached the middle of her back, where her spine gently curved.

Right at the lumbar curve, between L2 and L3, he thought while his fingertips continued the pressure in various places. It’s probably the ligament between.

“Does it hurt when I release the pressure?” His question was softly spoken, and YN still looked up to him, eyeing his face attentively. She cocked her head from one side to the other. “Kind of? It’s probably just the bruise, nothing to worry about. But hey, now we know that the bed frame is exceptionally sturdy.” YN grinned up at him, but Stephen only shook his head before taking her hand in his. “We’re going to the med bay to check you out, right now,” he decided, and the sorcerer’s mind was made up.

When it came to her, he needed to be 100% sure that everything was okay.

But they didn’t come far. Instead, they stopped dead in their tracks as the couple faced Peter and Scott, both staring at them with wide eyes after they had processed the meaning of interlaced fingers. Peter started to grin while Scott’s expression didn’t resemble joy over the newly found love. YN knew that mischievous look in his eyes, the glimmer of a stupid idea developing in his mind. “Scott…,” the Widow spoke warningly, but this son of an ant chuckled before spinning around and starting to run. “I will revel in your embarrassment, YNN!” He shouted over his shoulder, but YN couldn’t let that happen. She stopped holding Stephen’s hand, and the sorcerer couldn’t utter a single word before his girlfriend bolted right after the other Avenger. “And I will revel in your screams filled with pain and agony after I broke your flat ass, Lang!” Her angry words traveled over the corridor, and now it was only Peter and Stephen facing each other.

The young man started to grin again after the confusion and surprise had vanished from his face. “I am really happy for-…” But Stephen only needed to shake his head to one side to let him fall silent again. “Don’t, Parker,” was all he said before following the path YN and Scott had taken, the young hero hot on his heels.

This was certainly not how he had thought everyone would find out about them, and he had already played with images of Scott dangling over a cliff or freezing his ass off at the foot of Mount Everest within his mind. It wasn’t himself who the sorcerer was concerned – he couldn’t give less shit on the other’s opinion about him. But he knew how much it meant to YN because this bunch of mostly idiots was her family. Not by blood but by choice, and Stephen had never intended to overshadow anything about that. Now he feared that everyone would give her a hard time and what that would mean for her mental health.

Stephen was nothing but an over-worryingly boyfriend.

With a sigh, he followed the sound of steps and canceled Peter’s voice out entirely because he couldn’t handle all these questions now or ever. He liked the kid, he was a decent human after all, but his rambling nature wasn’t something Stephen particularly enjoyed. Instead, he focused on the shouting and watched after rounding the last corner as the catastrophe unfolded in front of his eyes.

First-row seats for your own downfall, wonderful.

YN panted heavily while hanging on Scott’s back to try and hold his gossiping mouth shut, but he was too used to it with a daughter at home. So, the inevitable happened only seconds later.

“YNN and Harry Potter are a thing!”

Immediately, the entire living area was silent as a grave, every movement ceased, and every single pair of eyes turned to Scott and the other arriving parties.

YN slowly slid off his back and threw Ant-Man a death glare – she would definitely try and step on him during one of their next missions – but she swallowed thickly at the stares moving between her and a certain someone somewhere behind her. The Widow knew that Stephen was here because she could feel his body temperature in her back only a heartbeat later, before his hands settled on her shoulders, softly stroking them with his thumbs.

Nat was the first to speak. “Well, that’s a surprise.” Clint cocked an eyebrow and threw Peter an approving nod. “You were right. Good ears, kid.”

Stephen felt as if he could touch her boiling anxiety under his fingertips and bent down to press a tender kiss to her temple while Steve marched a few steps in their direction before stopping again. His eyes searched her face, tried to read her mind, and settled on the sorcerer to evaluate the situation. But he spoke to YN. “Is he treating you right?” The woman didn’t need to think for even a second. “Better than the Queen of England,” she answered without hesitation, and Steve could see the tender expression in her worrying eyes. So he gave one nod of approval and settled back into the armchair.

Tony, on the other hand, seemed not pleased at all. He marched to the couple and weaseled his way past YN to shove Stephen a few inches back. “First, you insult her at every given occasion, and then you have the audacity to fuck her and play happy family?! Is your ego this massive?!” The Widow had spun around the second he had reached Stephen and had touched him, but instead of relying on violence, she grasped his wrist in a soft hold. She urged him with a pull to turn to her, to look at her and not to Stephen, but her face wasn’t as sweet as her touch. The Stark could clearly see the burning fire behind those irises who once had looked up to him with a terrified expression, unsure of what to expect after being finally her own person and having her very own life.

“You know I love you like the brother I never had, Tons, but if you touch him again, I have to kick your ass, and not even your precious suits will safe you then.”

YN didn’t have to raise her voice to convey the meaning to everyone, but especially Tony, because the Stark swallowed dryly. He had never thought to once be on the other side of the situation – not standing next to her and listening with utmost joy and pride as she threatened others but being the target of said threat. It was an unpleasant feeling, and he didn’t want to imagine how unpleasant it must be to feel her full wrath.

Meanwhile, Stephen stood there, a tender expression settling on his face – an expression never seen before by the others which threw them almost off their feet – and a pleased smile on his lips. “That’s my girl,” he told no one in particular in a mumble. YN heard it, though, and started to smile before throwing Tony one last warning glare and leaving him to stand next to her sorcerer again. “To make it official,” she raised her voice and gestured to Stephen, who already had his arm wrapped around her waist again. “May I introduce you to my boyfriend of one and a half years, Stephen Strange?”

The team’s eyes almost popped out of their holes at the mention of how long this had been going on behind all their backs, and Sam chuckled. “Never accept missions again which require detective skills. We suck at it,” he stated the obvious, while Steve almost choked on his coffee. “And I once called her my best friend.” YN grinned at him and shrugged softly. “I know what a gossip you can be with the right people around you, so… sorry, sweets,” she apologized, and Steve looked at her with a tender expression nonetheless. “I’m just happy that you’re happy. It always was the one thing I wished for you to find.”

Looking up to Stephen, who battled Tony in a glaring contest, a small but loving smile tucked on her lips, she nodded before turning back to Steve, who seemed more than content at the view of his best friend. “I am, Stevie. I really am.” Those words almost got swallowed by Tony’s exaggerated scoff, but Steve had the advantage of super soldier hearing, so he only smiled and didn’t stop observing the new couple while Bucky settled next to him. “She still will be your best friend, punk. Don’t go all brotherly tears now because your baby sister is grown up and finds her own life,” he chuckled while patting his best friend’s shoulder.

Meanwhile, Tony stared YN dead in the eye. “If he ever hurts you, I will end him personally. He only has to raise his voice in front of you, and I’m on my way. If his ego tries some bullshit, give me a call.” And turned to Stephen, he told sternly: “She has my number saved in her favorites.”

YN rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and I can remove said number out of my favorites. Plus, he is on this list, too.” And with that, she pointed to Stephen right next to her. Tony scrunched up his face. “Urgh, then please, I beg you, put me off that list if he is on there.”

“You are an absolute ass without reason.”

“Born like that.”

“It’s a shitty character trait. Do I need to call Pepper?”

Now, Tony stared down at her challenging face and gulped. “No…?” He morphed the one syllable into a question before raising both hands in surrender. “Okay, fine. I approve of this relationship.” The sorcerer scoffed. “We don’t need your stamp of approval,” he clarified, and YN warningly rubbed over his back. “We only told you because YN considers all of you family and didn’t want to lose you. So, toughen up, Stark, and swallow the bitter pill so we can move on from here because this woman deserves a dinner in the comfort of our bed and some episodes of Golden Girls after this day.”

She couldn’t comprehend his words because suddenly, Nat stood in front of her and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. She wrapped both arms around the fellow Widow and felt the redhead’s lips pressing soft kisses over her head. They may be close in age, but YN had always been the little sister in this relationship. “Thank you for choosing us as your family, Солнышко 1,” (1: little sun) Nat spoke in the soft tone entirely reserved for her most favorite people. “Thank you for accepting me, сестра 2.” (2: sister)

Nat squeezed her shoulder before letting go of her, and the Widow turned back to Stephen, one brow raised. “You said something about Golden Girls?” The sorcerer showed his signature smirk, and while a portal started to open in his back, he grabbed YN around her hips and threw her over his shoulder. A squeal escaped the surprised woman, but a laugh followed close, and grinning, she waved the other Avengers while Stephen carried her over the threshold of the portal right into the foyer of the Sanctum.

“Don’t you dare call or text us in the next 48 hours, Stark!”

This was a wild ride, wow. pt. 2 is finally here! I hope you enjoyed reading it :3 I really loved writing those two parts. As usual: comments, reblogs, and likes are much appreciated!

Taglist:

@poor-unfortunate-soul-85 @seasonofthenerd @onecrazydirectioner @meeksmusic83 @harpywritesfic @strangeions @mischiefmanaged71 @apple-and-berry @ben-er-ino @multifandomrandomgirl @lucimorningst4r @dark-academics-and-florals @hunterofshadows04 @janora00 @lejuveinlegroove @ohchoices @jyessaminereads

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thegoblinboy · 9 months

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💉 trans Steve my beloved

So I’m pretty sure I’ve talked about this idea before but closed Tran Steve who is also pregnant is something dear to me 😭

🍤 Seahorse Dad Steve🍤

*pretend those are seahorses and not shrimp I couldn’t find a seahorse emoji*

*click on title and force me to write*

Steve rolls out of bed, it was a bit of a struggle. Literally and figuratively a pain in the ass as he winces and moves his hand to rub the cramped area. Before he moves to stand but even that was a struggle because of his swollen feet. Breathing in and breathing out, he presses a hand down to support the bottom of his stomach. Shifting some of the weight from his back to his hand. Which had grown bigger with in the last month, swollen enough to the point he no longer can see his feet.

Grinding his teeth together he moves in an attempt to waddle as fast as he can out to his living room. Where his house phone was ringing from the phone holder, where he had set it the night before to charge. He normally leaves it next to his bed at night but he had forgotten to charge it the night before. Though what he did know was that whoever was calling him this early in the morning was heading straight to hell. Steve was wishing, manifesting and praying all that was holy to put whoever was calling him in hell. Burn them alive for all he cared. All because they woke him up ten minutes before his alarm.

Walking felt like he was stepping on needles, the effort of carrying a baby, the size of a watermelon was very stressful to his body. In the back of his mind he has to secretly chant that there was only six weeks left before the little shit was out. He was saying that with as much love as he could muster from his heart. Which was constantly burning now that he was pregnant followed with a lot of heat flashes. Now Steve never slept naked, but now nearly seven months pregnant he was lucky enough to get on sock on let alone pants.

Have 3 paragraphs not 3 sentences imma feed you

#trans steve harrington #seahorse dad steve harrington #ftm steve harrington #transmasc steve harrington #rockstar eddie munson #steddie #stranger things #eddie munson #steve harrington #steve x eddie #bxb #steveharrington #steveddie #eddie stranger things #steve and eddie #wip wednesday game #wip wednesday

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lsdunesarchive · 8 months

Text

Blue Echo Radio Interviews Tucker Rule

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21 Years of “Full Collapse” and L.S. Dunes

Recently, Blue Echo Radio had the opportunity to interview legendary drummer, Tucker Rule. Tucker has a long history of playing in bands such as Thursday (since 1997) and Frank Iero the Future Violents. Most recently he’s joined the band L.S. Dunes, which features other legends from bands like Thursday, Coheed and Cambria, Circa Survive, and My Chemical Romance.

Written by Cielo Maranchello and Maia Breashears September 6, 2022

Transcript under the cut

THURSDAY’S ALBUM, “FULL COLLAPSE,” HAS BEEN REGARDED AS ONE OF THE GREATEST EMO/POST-HARDCORE ALBUMS OF ALL TIME. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE SET THE STANDARD FOR THE SCENE IN THE EARLY 2000S?

TUCKER: It feels crazy because we literally were just a couple of people who put a band together to play in our singer, Geoff Rickly’s, basement because he used to have shows there. It was like, five dollars to get in and all kinds of acts came through such as Hot Water Music, Saves the Day, At the Drive in, the list goes on. So we literally just put a band together to play [and] to open for these bands. You never think you’re going to do anything that people think is important. That’s not what we set out to do, [we] kind of just wanted to play in the basement so it’s wild. I’m on tour right now. I’m in Worcester, Massachusetts and this record has taken us this far so it’s great.

THURSDAY’S FROM NEW JERSEY. CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR UPBRINGING AND HOW THE MUSIC SCENE IN JERSEY AND THE SURROUNDING AREA HAS IMPACTED THURSDAY’S SOUND AND YOURSELF IN PARTICULAR?

TUCKER: Well, we were really lucky to grow up in New Jersey around a time when all of this talent pool was going crazy. I remember being 14 and going to a venue called City Gardens and seeing the Bouncing Souls and Yuppicide. Fast forward a little bit of time after that, [I remember] going to see Agnostic Front at the Wetlands in NYC. We had Philly, New York, New Jersey– all the shows, we would just go to all of them. I remember skipping school one day to see Sick of It All in D.C.. Everything felt close enough to go to and we were kids, so we were willing to get in the car and drive an hour to four, to five hours to see a show. So we just got really lucky that things were so close and people came through the Tri-State area to play. For me, I liked listening to music but also, seeing a hardcore band and being that close really spoke to me.

BLUE ECHO: Shows really elevate the experience. It’s like nothing else.

TUCKER: Absolutely. As a player, as a drummer, being able to watch the drummer that closely and see what movements were making those sounds was really inspiring. I think it was huge for me to pick up the instrument.

DID YOU EVER THINK THURSDAY WOULD STILL BE PLAYING SHOWS OVER TWO DECADES LATER?

TUCKER: Absolutely not. I really thought we put a band together to play in the basement, to play with our favorite bands, to be able to get into shows and be a part of it. So no, I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would still be able to do this. Obviously, I love what I do. To have people come out to shows and have people sing along is really rewarding and I love my job more than anything.

HOW HAS CHANGING TECHNOLOGY IMPACTED BANDS AND YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE MAKING MUSIC?

TUCKER: You have to find ways to make money as an artist and as a musician. People think ‘oh, they’re putting out another box set’ or whatever. It’s like ‘well you know this is special to us too’. Being able to turn on Spotify and hear whatever song I want [or] whatever band I want is kind of crazy because we [musicians] see none of that monetarily. At the same time, all of this is just the flier for a live show in our opinion. That’s why we do it. We like playing, we love connecting with people. Writing the music is fun and being a part of the recording process and putting out records is fun but actually playing the music is all we kind of care about.

ANY ADVICE FOR SMALL BANDS TRYING TO MAKE A NAME FOR THEMSELVES IN THIS ENVIRONMENT?

TUCKER: I would say just be a nice person. Be good to people. You never know who’s coming to your show, and it doesn’t matter, just be a nice person. It’s so much harder to be a mean-spirited person. I think that the more people you come across, the more friends you make.

BLUE ECHO RADIO: I know that’s especially true for the Asheville scene. Everybody in the Asheville music scene has played in everybody’s band and knows everybody.

TUCKER: Yeah. It’s kind of the same with New Jersey. It’s a very small state but it’s vast. It’s filled with lots of people – overpopulated. Being nice will get you a long way in this world in any career path you choose.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA FOR L.S. DUNES? WAS THIS SOMETHING YOU WERE THINKING OF FOR A WHILE, OR DID THE ISOLATION OF COVID GIVE YOU INSPIRATION?

TUCKER: So I’ve been in a band with Tim, Thursday’s bass player, for 25 years. He and I have been inseparable musically from the day I started playing drums. I always just wanted to play with Tim as much as I possibly could. Frank and I did the Future Violents together but even prior to the Future Violents like we’ve always been friends. The Future Violents just taught us that we were very compatible musically so that was a no-brainer for me. Travis from Coheed, he’s always been a friend of mine – a friend of ours. We did some of our first tours with Coheed and I just love the way he plays. I love Travis, I think he’s a phenomenal human-being. Again no-brainer. I’ve always wanted to play with Anthony. I think he’s one of the most talented singers out there. His passion is insane and his stage presence is amazing. That energy is an energy I have in Thursday, and I wanted that in another band as well. Anthony was the only person I felt that could capture that in a bottle.

All of us have been friends for a very long time and we’ve followed each other’s careers. It’s just been a really fun time. Covid has a lot to do with it obviously because this whole entire record was written remotely. We were never really in the same room and you can only get that with like-minded people.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE IN THE INITIAL PRODUCTION OF PERMANENT REBELLION AND THE REST OF THE ALBUM? HOW HAS EVERYONE’S EXPERTISE FROM YOUR OWN PROJECTS CONTRIBUTE?

TUCKER: First and foremost, we all were lucky enough to have ways to record at home. I actually bought a bunch of recording gear and watched a bunch of youtube [videos] and asked a lot of friends how to do it. I learned how to record myself. So that was a huge boundary, a huge mountain to climb, for me personally.

I would throw a drum beat out, somebody would write a riff over it or vice versa. Things just kept stacking up and things were moving really quickly. I think the first song we ever wrote was a song called “Antibodies” and that’s the first song we ever sent to Anthony. We didn’t tell him who was in the band. I messaged him and was like, ‘Hey, I have a band. I have a couple songs that we wrote [and] I would love for you, if you feel moved by it, [to] sing over it.’ Maybe 24 hours later, we got vocals back, and I was like ‘OK, this is sick. This is exactly what I wanted it to be.’ I didn’t give him anything to go off of. I was just like ‘Here’s this. Just do what you do.’ Then I was like, ‘Well this could be a band if you want to be in it and here’s who’s in it if you want to contribute.’ This was on text. He called me, stopped midtext, and called me on the phone and was like, ‘Yo, I want to do this.’ It’s been really amazing. I think the five of us, amongst many other musicians in the world, really wanted to write music during the pandemic and needed an outlet and [we] found each other.

DID YOU FIND YOURSELF LEARNING NEW THINGS FROM EVERYBODY IN THE BAND WHILE RECORDING AND PRODUCING?

TUCKER: Absolutely. With Thursday, we’re already an established band, same as Coheed, same as Circa, same as MCR. Each of those bands have their style. When you’re starting something fresh, you don’t know what it’s going to sound like. You have no plan for ‘I want to be,’ or ‘we should sound like this.’ It kind of happens organically. I learned how to learn people’s writing styles and be intuitive about it. It really helped me to become a better player because I’m used to writing with Thursday. Thankfully I had Tim on my side, and Tim had me on his side [as] the rhythm section. These dudes are very intuitive, very smart, and very good at what they do. Everything came strangely easily, almost alarmingly too easily.

BLUE ECHO RADIO: I mean it worked! I, personally, love Permanent Rebellion. It shot up to number two on my on-repeat within like, four days.

TUCKER: Thank you! We’re really proud of it and that doesn’t even scratch the surface of the record. I don’t mean to sound like a jerk for saying that but I mean it. This record is probably, besides the birth of my daughter and my family, my favorite thing and my most cherished moment in my life that I was able to be a part of. [Ranked] it’s like my family, “Full Collapse”, L.S. Dunes. It’s been really rewarding. My best friend Gordie did the artwork. He did the cover of the record and a bunch of the [artwork] inside of the record. Everything is very special to all of us.

WHAT DOES L.S. DUNES MEAN TO YOU, EMOTIONALLY AND CREATIVELY?

TUCKER: It’s everything. It’s one of the things in my life that I am most proud of. The first time I saw the cover, I kind of welled up, [and] had a little bit of tears. The first time I saw the song was up on Spotify, even though whatever Spotify rips everybody off, I was moved.

We’re in our forties, you’re not to start a band in your forties. It’s hard to start a band, and we weren’t able to talk about it. Keeping a lid on L.S. Dunes has been the most impossible thing. It’s crazy. I can only equate it to having a baby. You really shouldn’t tell anybody that you’re pregnant for the first however long it is, but it is really hard to not tell your family, ‘I have this new baby that is literally being birthed right now.’

I would wake up in the morning and I would refresh my email over and over again just waiting for someone to send a riff so I could work on it and it literally became, besides raising my child and being with my wife, my reason to breathe. It’s why I woke up in the morning.

WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR L.S. DUNES AFTER YOUR INITIAL TOUR?

TUCKER: We’re a real band. People like to throw around the word ‘supergroup’ and all that and I get it yeah that’s the way to put it in a box. I respect that but we’re gang. We’re a real band. I hate the word side project because this is, I keep referencing children here, but it’s all of our second kid. We don’t love Circa more than we love L.S. Dunes, we love them both and we’re gonna do both. This is a full-time thing. We obviously all have schedules but we make time. It’s a real thing, there is going to be real tours, and there is going to be real shows, and there is going to be real merch and it’s a real record, and we’re real people.

AFTER PLAYING WITH DIFFERENT BANDS AND OTHER PROJECTS OVER THE YEARS, ARE THERE STILL PEOPLE YOU HOPE TO COLLABORATE WITH? - Scooter, Via Twitter

TUCKER: Yeah, I always want to play with more people because not only do I respect all of the musicians and talented people but it’s a challenge to work with people and I really love the challenge. I think anyone, in any one of our bands, will say the same thing. It’s the challenge and it’s the fun of getting to know someone on an artistic level.

TOP 3 THURSDAY TRACKS TO PLAY LIVE? - Rowan, Via Twitter

TUCKER: OK well my favorite Thursday song is “No Answers” and that also happens to be one of my favorite songs to play live because it’s a complicated song. It’s not the heaviest song in the world but it’s complicated on drums and I love the content. I just love the song, it’s a great song.

I love playing “Fast to the End” because it’s immediate and brutal and I love playing Jet Black because people seem to really react to that song.

AS OUR CAMPUS RADIO, WE’VE GOTTA ASK, WHAT HAS BEEN ON-REPEAT FOR YOU LATELY?

TUCKER: Rod Stewart “Young Turks” has been on repeat for me and also Anthony Green’s “Let’s Start a Band” because it’s my daughter’s favorite record to listen to. She knows all the words and she calls him Uncle Tony.

#ls dunes #l.s. dunes #m: tucker rule #lsd: 2022 #in: sept/22 #t: text #t: audio #t: video #misc: interview #misc: duneslore #misc: past lives #blue echo radio #archive[ane]

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deathshallbenomore · 1 year

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I'll be visiting Torino soon and I saw you post about it before so I wanted to ask, do you have some recommendations that wouldn't be found on a tourist guide? Grazie 💖

hiiiii (or, as the locals would say, cerea <3) :)

first of all, i'm so so happy you're visiting this beautiful city! i hope you'll love it at least half as much as i do (which is a lot. like. a lot)

under the cut!

as for my recommendations, i guess my biggest advice would be to just walk around and let the streets themselves guide you because a) the city centre (as in the very very centre and the neighbourhoods surrounding it) is not that big, so you could set some reference points, go for a long walk, and both see the main attractions and get to have a look at the city herself, b) because it's so worth it, torino really is so beautiful that even walking her streets is an experience by itself, c) torino is probably one of the easiest cities in the world to navigate because it was literally built like this:

in any case, here's a list of my favourite places/spots that oh my god you have to see/things you really need to do*

monte dei cappuccini (+ the church + the friars' back terrace in case they decide to open it to the public); the hill area is also really nice so i warmly suggest you get to the monte on foot

this is a classic, but the gran madre church - piazza vittorio - via po - piazza castello route is a must (and you can do it right after the monte dei cappuccini, to reach the city centre)

castello and parco del valentino (and especially the giardino roccioso) is beautiful (also psss the borgo medievale is fake lol)

close to the valentino, you can take a walk around the san salvario neighbourhood (my beloved) which feels a little bit bohemien and quite vibrant and lively. lots of beautiful churches, lots of interesting architectural styles, Thee synagogue (which you cannot visit, but it's breathtaking even from the outside)

close to piazza castello, the galleria subalpina is BEAUTIFUL and once you've seen it, instead of going back to piazza castello you can go straight to piazza carlo alberto, then piazza carignano and then reach via roma. you know. 'cause they're all beautiful and classy areas of the city centre

another galleria that i really recommend is the galleria san federico, which can take you from via roma to the embarrassingly beautiful piazza san carlo

the quadrilatero romano area might be a bit touristy (bc it's close to piazza castello) but it's so peculiar and i just love taking walks there. feels a bit like paris, but maybe let's not tell the locals. lol

the porta palazzo market is definitely An Experience; bonus points on saturdays and on the 2nd sunday of each month you will find the (gran) balon flea markets. definitely give them a go!

ah of course the mole, but that's like. Top 1 things you should see in torino so;

but! quite close to the mole, in corso san maurizio, go take a look at the "fetta di polenta". it's a building that literally looks like a slice of something

museums, duh

the lungo po is a great location for a lazy walk at sunset :)

for god's sake don't go looking for a pizza and a cappuccino in via po at 4pm but try to find a place that looks genuinely piedmontese because the local cuisine is amazing. you can also find quite a number of "piole" (they're called like that) that are supposed to be quite cheap but very good and "local"

bonus (totally out of context): piazza carlina (I’m so local now that I forgot its real name lol) and giardini reali superiori (if you’re lucky you might find the newly restored extra area open to the public, fingers crossed!)

eat a lot of gianduia, drink good wine and definitely try san simone (thee local amaro) [of course if you're into any of that, ça va sans dire]

just walk. fill your eyes, mind and heart with beauty <3

here’s some pics :)

#@ Stefano lo russo esigo la residenza onoraria senza passare per la burocrazia grazie mille aspetto una tua mail #of course many of these places are also incredibly popular but these are my personal torino experience recs so:

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moonbuglove · 8 months

Text

Ten seconds

I felt like some BokuAtsu from Atsumu's p.o.v.

In-Yun

The concept of “In-Yun” speaks about fate and predestination. It says that the lives you lived previously, and how the minute connections we make throughout our time in this world, reverberate through the layers of life until they finally coalesce for people to find each other

I don’t believe in fate. “The universe” is not some omnipotent force moving us around like chess pieces, manipulating us or protecting us or colliding us. Work hard, good things happen. Or not.

It’s life.

A cosmic crapshoot in which odds don’t mean shit. I’m more fatalism, less fate. With that said, I do believe circumstances happen in a certain order at a certain time. And for a certain reason. Which does sound suspiciously like fate, but I dwell less on the why things happen and more on how I should respond when they do. I sense storms coming, things shifting in the air. That helps me plan. It’s helped me in every area of my life, especially volleyball. But nothing prepared me for this moment. And it is a game of truth and dare, that is my downfall.

A dare that should be so insignificant.

Kiss Bokkun.

But nothing is simple when it comes to him.

Golden eyes with flecks of amber and bourbon in them tracing my features as he placed his hand on the side of the barstool and turned me completely around to face him. Treating me to an up close view of that classic Bokuto Kōtarō beam that reminded me that I’ve never seen him take anything seriously. He’s always smiling, laughing and joking his way through life, completely oblivious to the reality the rest of the world just has to deal with, so it shouldn’t have surprised me he would approach a literal child’s game the same way. My knees brushed his hard thighs, and I felt every eye in the living room on us as he leaned in close, resting his palms on the edge of the island. His body stretched over mine, blocking out my view of our teammates behind me. Not that I cared that I couldn’t see them. I was too focused on the way his smile was fading, shifting into a complex mask devoid of humor. I’m shocked at how quickly he does it. Goes from being the happy-go-lucky guy I’ve known him to be to…this. “Make it good for him, Bo-san” Shōyō shouted, laughing loudly, obviously drunk and I half expected him to turn around and say something stupid and completely on brand for him, but his eyes stayed on me.

Soft.

Serious.

For once in his life.

"Nervous?” He asked, eyes on my teeth digging into my bottom lip. “Nope. Why would I be nervous?” His brows lifted, amusement slipping over whatever conflicted emotion was shining in his irises just moments ago. “Because you don’t really do this kind of thing Tsum-Tsum, you know you don't have to right?" “What kind of thing?” I tried to sound casual, but my voice wavered a little. “Play truth or dare?” “Get roped into kissing teammates, unless.” He gets a far off look in his eyes something on the tip of tongue but he leaves it unsaid. The truth of the matter was, the worst decisions I’ve made in my life have been sealed with a kiss. Get ready to add this one to the list. The snarky voice in my head quipped as Kōtarō waited for my response, completely unbothered by the restless crowd behind him begging for us to get on with it already. “Oh? You jealous I have never kissed ya Bokkun?” I arched a brow, sass coating each word. “Maybe, maybe not,” He chuckles a deep and dangerous chuckle that makes my hands feel clammy. “Then I guess we should kiss before Hinata shoves our heads together.” "Yeah, I guess we should.” I watched his face move closer, and his breath skated across my skin as I fought the very real urge to let my eyes fall shut. My lungs burned, demanding air that was laced with his earthy scent and protesting when they were denied. I knew I needed to breathe. I didn’t want to run the risk of passing out and giving everyone here another reason to think I was weird. It was bad enough that I was known for the most casual of hook ups. Crumbling into a breathless heap the moment one of the most coveted pair of lips in the world of volleyball met mine would only make it worse. Kōtarō lifted one of his hands, bringing it up to my chin and cupping it between his index finger and thumb. With a barely discernible movement, he applied the lightest bit of pressure, forcing me to focus all of my attention on him. “Breathe for me Atsumu." He whispered, the quiet command pulling the trapped air from my lungs and giving me a glimpse of a side of him I’ve never seen before.

Dark.

Dangerous.

Lethal.

My eyes went wide, shock winding its way through my chest to mix with the mild panic being held in his gaze has sent through me. "Can I kiss you?" I nod not trusting myself to speak, but he shook his head. "I need words, to know if this is ok. I need to hear you say I can kiss you." All at once, I start to doubt the wisdom of going through with this dare, of breaking one of my personal rules to appease a room full of stupid drunk adults playing middle school games to distract us from adulting. "Yeah, you can kiss me." He smiles not the beam, no a small smile like it is a inside secret that we only know then Kōtarō’s lips are on mine. Taking me by a surprise that’s equal parts delight and terror as his tongue slids over my bottom lip asking for more. His arms snakes around my hips keeping me in place, which meant I couldn’t move if I wanted to, so I gave myself over to it. Over to him. It was supposed to be a simple kiss, but it’s not. Because Kōtarō pulls people in, but it takes a special type of person to keep his attention on them. And I was dragged into his orbit, albeit unwillingly at first drawn to his aura but now... now I don't think I want to lose his attention, random scooting closer to steal the others warmth, during late night bus rides after a match, accifental late night snack runs and stargazing in the roof of our dorms. Have all lead up to this moment. A grin curled against my mouth, prompting me to stop suppressing my own. "Yer a good kisser Bokkun." "Not so bad yourself Tsum." I snort pushing him back slightly, but his eyes stay on my lips. I open my mouth to retort trapped in our own little bubble. "Well damn get a room." Inunaki breaks our bubble we created then he is back to Bokkun laughing alomg with our teammates. I roll my eyes as I get up.

"I'm getting another drink." I say as I leave the room, I keep replaying those ten seconds in my head, of Kōtarō's lips against mine. I realized that this was an awakening. There weren’t any fireworks, it was more like being in a freefall, a rush that I could feel in my entire body while my heart raced a few feet ahead, like it was more susceptible to the gravitational pull. It's a million bolts of electricity reviving a stalled heart. It’s reckless, but beautiful.

Ten seconds is all it takes to make me realize it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and, though I have no way of knowing this for sure, it is also my biggest mistake.

#bokuatsu #miya atsumu #msby atsumu #bokuto koutarou #hq bokuto

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chaosintheavenue · 1 year

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Random reviews of Fallout 76 daily quests that no one asked for

A Refugee's Guide

I've only completed this once so far. It basically entails taking photos of locations and characters and harvesting certain plants, as directed. I believe there's a different version for each of the biome areas? I did the Mire edition, and it just so happened that two of my photo targets were ten steps apart lol. Overall pretty easy, and I like that it has some variety.

Big Game Hunter

I've activated this one a few times, but never been able to complete it properly. The aim is to kill given creatures within a set period of time,and I'm not great at combat and have little patience for respawning constantly to get one useless hit on a Yao Guai before it murders me for the sixteenth time, so... yep. This one wasn't for me. Seems like it could yield good XP for the more combat-inclined.

Buried with Honor

One of my staple daily quests. It's a glorified fetch quest (object: part of a skeleton that you then have to go and bury in the battlefield cemetery), with a hidden bonus stage of 'only remember when you reach the cemetery that you now have to go to your CAMP and get a shovel out of your stash'.

Code Blue

This is one of the newer Refuge dailies, and I've already had enough of it XD. It's pure fetch and return (object: medical information). Usually fairly easy XP, just lacks any wow factor.

Cop a Squatter

I've never completed this one proper because it's literally just 'clear out X area of Y enemy', but for some reason it tends to auto-complete for me a lot, with a radio announcement and giving rewards and XP and all? This has even happened when I was in the Pitt mid-dialogue with Danilo, for maximum comedic value. I'm fairly sure the quest simply tracks whether all of the targets die or not, regardless of what kills them, and the location of this quest is usually deep in Scorchbeast land, so they tend not to be especially long-lived.

Dross Toss

This is a nice easy one (as are all of the Camden Park dailies, tbh). You just throw rocks at tyres, and get your sweet, sweet XP reward regardless of whether you hit the targets or otherwise.

Ecological Balance

I do this one a lot for roleplaying purposes. It involves taking a soil, water and air sample from variable given locations around the Forest region, and then taking them to a separate location for analysis. I learned pretty early on that (unlike a few other dailies with similarly variable locations) you actually do have to go to the three exact sample sites indicated on the map, not whichever sample site of that type is most convenient to get to. On the whole, not the best or worst. Can take a while, and you're almost guaranteed to get attacked by multiple Liberators at the final stage (could be a pro or con depending on your play style and combat skill, I guess!).

Idle Explosives

Fetch quest once again (object: inert bombs, almost always from the Valley Galleria in my experience). There's a slight dialogue glitch with Boomer (the quest initiator) in which dialogue will close prematurely without the objective 'talk to Boomer' completing. Very easily fixable by talking to him a second time, just throwin' it out there that it happens a lot. Also, I have about 30 inert bombs in my inventory that I can't drop thanks to this quest.

Lucky Mucker

This is another Camden Park quest, and it's incredibly easy. You're supposed to deposit coal from a bucket into mine carts scattered around the park, but I just... trigger the quest and leave. Then, when the timer runs out, viola- XP and rewards! Sorry not sorry.

Mutual Aid

Fetch quest, fetch quest (object: 50 of a random crafting material). Not particularly hard, but can take a while for me. I don't focus on crafting or scrapping a whole lot these days, and so I don't have 50 of anything just lying around, but I'd imagine plenty of players do and so would find this one very easy!

Operation Tidy

This one's only triggered for me once. It involves picking up heaps of glowing toxic waste and storing it securely. I'm pretty sure there were enemies around, but I can't recall exactly what. Overall, wasn't too bad.

Pass the Buck

Agh. I've only ever had this one activate once, and I gave it a good faith attempt. You're supposed to pick up toxic waste barrels and dump them somewhere more private. Supposed to. What actually happens is that the quest glitches and spawns a freaking sea of mirelurks to repeatedly kill you. According to the wiki, this quest has currently been disabled because of such happenings.

Photo Opportunity

Another pretty easy quest. This one just involves taking photos of locations and characters affiliated with either Foundation or Crater (you get to choose which of the two each time you do the quest). I do recall that once you take said pictures, there's a choice to hand them over to a representative of the opposing faction for a reputation boost, but I can't say for sure what impact that has as I've never gone that route.

Play Time

I love Play Time. I hate Play Time. I love to hate Play Time. It's multiple daily quests in a trenchcoat, really. You encounter a Miss Nanny who mistakes you for 'Leslie', the child in her care, and sends you off into some dangerous situation. One variation involves picking flowers (which, despite indicating a designated flower-picking area, will still usually count flowers picked from anywhere or previously in your inventory, in my experience), another finding lost toys, another going on a playdate with feral ghouls, and my least favourite variation is collecting the body parts of enemies such as Mirelurks and Anglers for a 'science project'. Theoretically, I'm very much a fan of the variety here, but what tends to happen is as follows: I trigger Play Time, realise it's the killing creatures version, and then let it sit incomplete in my quest log forever, preventing me from being able to try the other Play Times until I finally get my act together, put on my big boy pants and kill an Angler or two.

Queen of the Hunt

Not for me. 100% not for me. The entire quest is checking multiple sites for a cryptid, then killing it once you find it. As you might have guessed by now, that sort of quest is very much not my style. Probably has good XP for the patient and feisty, though.

Recipe for Success

This feels a bit like a fetch quest, but it jazzes things up a little. You make a stew. That's it. A bit of running around to gather and prepare ingredients, trying not to forget to stir the bloody stew so you don't burn it yet again... and when all's said and done, you choose whether to donate it to a Raider or Settler representative for a rep boost with their faction.

Retirement Plan

I quite like this one. Would like it more if it didn't glitch out regularly lol. Rocksy at Crater will ask you to 'deal with' a former Raider in any way you see fit. You can kill them, recommend that they join the Settlers, or just tell them to get out of the area entirely. Easy stuff- unless the former Raider just so happens to be inside a hilllll-

Someone to Talk To

In this quest, you use special syringer darts to (temporarily) produce talking aminals. Conceptually, I love it! In practice, I'm not always the best at staying alive and in range of the darted creatures for the designated time period, especially when the creatures attack! Still, where else do you get to hear what a Deathclaw has to say about you?

Stings and Things

This took me forever. I think I left it on the books incomplete for around 20-30 levels, genuinely. It's very similar to one of the possible iterations of Play Time. Which one? You guessed it- the only one I don't like! In Stings and Things, you're gathering insect body parts instead, for a reward of insect repellent (and sweet, sweet XP).

Strange Brew

Now, this is definitely my most completed daily quest of all time. It's a fetch quest (object: honey), but the sheer convenience and effort-to-XP ratio make constantly repeating it worth it to me. The beehives always have way more honey than you need, the honey never expires in your inventory, and the quest itself gives yet more honey as a reward, making it very easy to end up with a surplus and be able to complete this quest automatically a few times before needing to actually acquire honey again. Add in that this is one of the most frequently triggered dailies, and you have yourself a practically free source of XP. There is often a dialogue glitch similar to that in Idle Explosives again, but just initiating dialogue a second time rectifies it.

Target Rich Environment

Yet another easy one- occasionally marred by a glitch though it may be. It's fetch and return (object: paper targets), and I gather that a few feral ghouls are supposed to spawn to spice things up at the end of the quest. However, when 'a few' glitches into an army that almost fills the target range Pass the Buck-style... things become a little less easy, let's say.

The Chow Line

This is the final daily quest in Camden Park, and it's as straightforward as the rest. Eat moldy hot dogs whilst getting attacked by Scorchies. If you don't manage to eat them all in the time limit, you still get your XP, so no harm done (except to your poor character's stomach from eating a ton of moldy hot dogs).

The Importance of Communication

This is another Crater quest, and I do it whenever it's available for roleplay reasons. This time, you go on a fetch and return journey (object: radio vacuum tubes) for Wren. Often- if not always- requires you to repair one of the tubes at a tinker's workbench also. How difficult the quest is depends very much on the location of the vacuum tubes, which from what I've seen rotates between locations all across the map. Wavy Willard's? Not too bad But Watoga? Bad.

Thrill of the Grill

Seems to combine two elements I don't like- fetch quests and killing multiple enemies- into one, and yet I enjoy this a lot. The premise is that you obtain Radstag meat for a cookout, and then after that also have to get some tatos for the side dishes. There are options to supply additional meat and vegetable types for bonus rewards too. When this quest begins, a huge Radstag herd will conveniently spawn somewhere nearby. The only issue I find is that going to any of the Toxic Valley farms marked as tato locations often triggers an event, causing a ton of enemies to spawn there and adding lots of new markers to confuse you. Also lots of fun when a Yao Guai slaughters the entire Radstag herd before you get there and is stood waiting for you...

Trick or Treat?

Fetch quest once again (object: pumpkins). It just so happens that the pumpkin patch is right next to an active fissure site of all places, so have fun grabbing your pumpkins and booking it back to the Pumpkin House! Random tip: before you initiate this quest by speaking to Jack O' Lantern, a few pumpkins can spawn behind the shed/garage to the left of the Pumpkin House door. Pick 'em up first if they're there, because after you've spoken to Jack, they seem to vanish?

Vital Equipment

The only strictly Settler daily quest. I've completed this quest three or four times so far, and it seems to follow the exact same progression each time. Ward will ask you to recover a piece of equipment that has been stolen by Raiders, and you have to track it down with the help of a radio signal. Upon locating the thief, they will try to persuade you to let them keep the equipment, and the decision you make will of course affect your faction reputation.

Waste Not

I originally thought this one was newly implemented with a recent update, but apparently nope, I somehow just never had it trigger until fairly recently. It entails killing three Protectrons in the northern Mire region and returning their Red Rocket cores to the nearby station. Not my first choice of daily quest, but I don't mind it.

#fallout 76 #chaos plays fallout 76 #feel free to agree or disagree with any of these lol #but do be aware that my play style is very much not what I gather is the norm

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rosethornewrites · 2 years

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Having a rough go right now.

My cat, who is my emotional support animal and has been with me for 18 years, has failing health. A UTI and/or arthritis has rendered her incontinent, necessitating washing bedding basically daily until the reusable, washable bed pads come and I can put them over the comforter. Doesn’t help the carpet (which needs cleaning anyway) or puddles on the vinyl floor. And she’s hating it. No telling if it’s permanent or can be healed. I’m essentially providing palliative care at this point.

Her treatment has decimated my savings and I’m relying on help from family to finish out the summer. And her treatment isn’t over.

My job, while I find it fulfilling when working with students, pays me under the area median income after 9 years of work and has denied me promotion for reasons that implied my required 500+ page material was barely skimmed, and it’s time to apply again and I’m angry and burnt out. Literally I was told to describe and prove that I’m an “excellent” teacher, not just a “very good” teacher. Anyone know the definition of excellent? This was instruction by an English professor.

My job has also asked me repeatedly to give unpaid labor, including asking me to put together a workshop on… applying for promotion, which I was denied. I used to go over and above and it gave me nothing but burnout and exacerbated health issues. I’ve divested myself of everything that isn’t contractually required and refocused on my students as solely as I can.

I have had to be honest with students about major problems at specific institutions that would impact them negatively if they went there for grad school. Grad school is, of course, traumatizing all on its own, but add extra toxicity to the environment and it’s untenable. There is major and ugly upheaval going on at many institutions. And not in a way that would correct systemic issues.

Rent went up, of course, by $100 a month. But rent is up everywhere, moving is expensive, and this is the last apartment my dad helped me move into before he died.

My salary for the next year has not been told to me, but my guess is that I technically am making less given cost of living increasing and little to no corresponding salary increase. Maybe I’ll get a couple hundred dollars a year more if I’m lucky. I’ll still be making under area median income, as a professor at a major university.

My mom’s health is not great and there’s so much family drama going on right now that I’m very glad I live 4 hours away. The saving grace is a cousin who’s become like a sister and is there to help.

My late father’s chihuahua has a brain tumor and will likely die in the next few months. She’s at a stage where she cannot stop walking in circles and it drives her crazy, so she hugs walls to keep from doing it. She can’t even stop while peeing. She still has good quality of life, but we’re monitoring her closely to determine when that’s not true anymore. Once she’s gone it’s another piece of my dad gone.

My brother became a military contractor and is now living in the Middle East as of last month. We aren’t super close, but I worry. Added note: his cat died in my apartment in February, as I was helping care for him, a week after he turned 20.

I now have been diagnosed with two skin conditions and referred to a dermatologist. By a gynecologist at the first appointment who took one look and said, yeah you have this and this, let’s fix it. I had shown my gp one of the issues and she basically shrugged and said it was my weight. It is actually a recognized chronic inflammatory skin condition that flares with hormones in painful ways and which I have been dealing with since puberty. Turns out I can get a shot once a month and it goes away. 27 years of dealing with it and embarrassment and pain, including a very painful procedure to kill my armpit sweat glands with lasers about 15 years ago. I’m now on E to stabilize my hormones and that should ease it too.

This is on top of the autoimmune disorder I have, and chronic mental health issues.

Have I mentioned I’m burned out? I have to work multiple gigs to survive, and I just never get anywhere.

I have higher education. I work in higher education. I am starting to hate higher education. I am not the only one. People are leaving higher education (and education generally) at pretty high rates. I think I would leave too if I wasn’t so burnt out I can’t think of what I could change to.

Can I just catch a break?

#on me #health #mental health #disability

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valleyrunearchives · 2 years

Text

Weightless (The Leap of a Jade Rabbit)

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Fandom: Boku No Hero Academia/My Hero Academia Pairings: Aizawa Shouta/Yamada Hizashi Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Chapters 4/?

Midoriya Izuku stopped believing in heroes when a tragedy occurred in his life. When at the tender age of 11, he lost everything that was everything dear to him, everything that was worth living for. Yet he doesn’t give up. He can’t give up. He decides to make a choice instead. No longer will he stand around and wait for the heroes to arrive while a crime goes down. He’ll be his own hero and a hero to those who are just like him. Those waiting for help that will never arrive. In order to do that, though, he’ll have to fight to survive and lie through his teeth. It won’t be so bad!

After all, it’s not like they can bring him in for vigilantism and Illegal Quirk Usage when he doesn’t even have a quirk, right?

<=Previous First Next=>

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Shouta looks up from his notes spread across the coffee table as the front door opens. He gives a wave as Hizashi comes into their home but doesn’t greet him verbally. Instead he turns back to his scattered notes and the phone cradled in his shoulder. He runs over the information in front of him then asks, “So you’ve seen nothing since then?”

“Nope, not a sign,” A female underground hero that goes by the name Blacklight confirms, voice gentle but hard at the same time, “I thought at first that they lived in the area. It seemed like the most likely choice. But after several weeks without even a glimpse, it was clear that my initial thought was off. I even tried to use my quirk to see if I could spot them that way but… it obviously didn’t work for a very good reason.”

“Oh?” He knows a bit of how her quirk works but not all of it.

“Yeah. I didn’t even consider what they were wearing until after I tried. As I’m sure you probably know since it’s the basics, my quirk works just like a black light does by turning my visional perspective into a literal black light. So that means brighter colors glow when I ‘turn it on’ for lack of better word. I’m lucky my quirk doesn’t stay on the whole time… I’d have a hell of a headache constantly! Anyway there’s a reason why this is important, I swear. The kid? They wear all black clothing with the exception of the vibrant neon green at the ends of their hoodie sleeves and their bright red shoes. They’re the only things that glow under my black light vision aside from those bright green eyes of theirs,” Blacklight makes a frustrated sigh, the sound crackling through the receiver of Aizawa’s phone, “Basically, unless they’re standing right in front of me, whether my quirk is active or not, I can’t really see them. Even when my quirk is active I can’t really spot them because the glows that they do give off are too small for me to take notice of when it matters.”

Shouta reigns in the disappointed sigh. Another dead end from another witness. “Alright, thanks for the info,” he says amicably, “Continue to keep an eye out for them if you don’t mind.”

“Sure thing Eraser!” she agrees immediately, “Kid's obviously been through a lot. No one fights that good without a hell ton of practice at clawing at whoever gets too close. I’ll forward any new information I find or let you know if I happen to spot them again.”

He gives his thanks again and hangs up the phone. He puts it down onto the table on top of one of the stacks of paper. He then takes a page out of his husband’s book and turns to flop face down onto the couch long ways. He groans loud and long. Why is it so difficult to find one kid? Where could they possibly be hiding that several pro heroes and the police can’t find them?

“Oooh…” Hizashi says with a clear wince, “You only do that when things are rough. Still having trouble finding the kid from earlier this week?” A gentle hand cards through his messy hair. If he was a cat, he knows he’d be purring at the soft affection.

“They’re a problem child is what they are!” Shouta shouts in frustration into the couch cushion, not raising his head, “Any hero who meets them only sees them one time then they’re never seen again by that same hero! They’re still active because people still catch glimpses of them or report that they’ve helped them out at a distance. But honestly, that doesn’t make any sense! How does that work? Is it a part of their quirk somehow that you can only meet them once? How am I supposed to find them if so?”

“Maybe you should take a break, baby,” Hizashi scratches at his scalp lightly. Oh, that feels nice though. “I know I was frustrated with you for leaving them alone but I don’t want you to burn yourself out on a mad hunt for them either. Maybe taking a nap and having a snack will let you look at this evidence again with fresh eyes!”

Shouta peeks up at him and his soft smile. He then smiles as well and murmurs just loud enough for the other to hear, “I love you.”

“I love you too! And people are still shocked whenever I tell them that you say those words first a lot of the time!” Hizashi pats him on the back almost condescendingly. His blonde beauty then stands up and heads for the kitchen, “I’m making a cup of tea for me. Want me to make you some coffee? Or get you a jelly pack?”

He struggles back into a sitting position, aching all the way up. Stupid old bones and overworked muscles. He opens his mouth to respond when the shrill ring of his cell cuts him off. He scoops the phone back up off the coffee table and answers it without hesitation, not even checking the caller ID, “Eraserhead.”

“Hey Eraser, it’s Tsukauchi,” the detective’s voice comes through, “Listen, I know you took the night off tonight-”

“Nao, please, I told you I wasn’t working tonight so I could work on the Jade Rabbit sightings…” he sighs, knowing this was going to lead to him coming out for something.

“Would you let me finish?” The man says somewhat irritably then sighs to reign his anger back in, “I know you took the night off but I think I have something for your vigilante kid case thanks to something we found tonight.”

“What?” he asks loudly in shock, jumping up to stand. Hizashi pokes his head out around the corner of the kitchen. Shouta shares a quick look with him. Hizashi seems to get what he’s trying to get across and gives him a thumbs up with a smile, moving back into the kitchen to grab a jelly pack for him to take with him. Shouta returns his attention back to the phone, “What do you mean?”

“Had a call come in about a capture. Said they couldn’t stick around so they could chase after another criminal and left a note. The usual for you underground types. We arrived to find our villain heavily unconscious with quite severe bruising to his body and head. Guy was so out of it from whoever got him, he didn’t even need the suppression cuffs until we were towing him into the back of the squad car.”

So far he wasn’t impressed. But clearly Tsukauchi wouldn’t have called him for no reason. “So? Clearly whoever the agency called in to cover my patrol tonight made a swift albeit violent catch.”

“See that’s what I thought too. But Eraser… the note left with the criminal has YOUR specific ciphers on it. It could also pass for your handwriting too.”

That makes him freeze. Is Tsukauchi really implying what he thinks he is? The man continues when he doesn’t respond, “I’m taking your silence as understanding of the situation but if I’m somehow wrong, allow me to recap what I think is going on; I believe that this kid of yours used your specific message ciphers on a capture in the district you were supposed to patrol tonight. So you would get the credit for it.”

It dawns on him swiftly, “They’re tracking our movements. That’s how we’re not seeing them more than once. They’re taking notes of where we are on which night and using that to their advantage… But how are they getting that info? And we rotate patrol routes, so how are they figuring it out?”

Papers flip in the background as Tsukauchi checks his case notes, “The cipher notes started appearing more frequently around a month and a half ago. Before it was only used in more volatile cases where one or more criminals were attempting to escape and it was more of a danger to let them go than to leave the subdued one or ones unattended. If they were able to learn all of the ciphers of the regular undergrounds patrolling his haunts in a month and a half, I guarantee that they may have somehow managed to decode how your district rotations work.”

“Do you still have the coded note from tonight?” Shouta asks, pulling on his boots and taking the jelly pack Hizashi holds out for him. He grabs his goggles from the hook on the wall next to the door and slides them on to hang around his neck.

“In my hand right now. Coming to pick it up at the station in person then?” Tsukauchi rustles the paper in his hand as something of a confirmation that he’s telling the truth about the note.

“Yeah. I wanna see what it looks like for myself. I’ll be there in no more than twenty,” he gives a quick goodbye to the detective and slips his phone in his pocket. He then turns to his husband, “Gotta run. Got a lead on our bunny.”

A wide, cheerful smile stretches across Hizashi’s face at that, “I know. Be careful. If you see the little listener at all tonight, remember what I said okay? Small talk and be gentle. He’s basically a feral cat right now, if that helps you.”

“I'll remember, I will. If you’re tired, go to bed. Don’t wait up. I’ll join you when I get back.” The two share a quick kiss goodbye. Shouta grins and rolls his eyes as Hizashi nuzzles his cheek with his lips; His adorably stupid mustache tickling his cheek. He scoops his capture scarf up off the end of the couch and throws it around his neck. With a last wave at his loud blonde, he climbs out the window, using his scarf to swing up to the rooftops.

With his higher route of travel, he makes it to the police station in 15 minutes. He walks in, giving a quick wave to the secretary on duty before turning to head towards Tsukauchi's office. He schools his expression into one of careful neutrality then opens the door.

The detective looks up as he enters. He gives him a small smile, "That was fast."

"I was at home. I don't live too far from here, y'know." Shouta huffs.

Tsukauchi says nothing in response to that. Instead, he holds out the ciphered message to Shouta. When Shouta takes it and looks at it, his breath catches a bit. He knew it would be his message ciphers on the sheet of paper. But the level of detail is astonishing. If he hadn't known for a fact that he wasn't the one who wrote it, he would legitimately believe that he had written it and just forgot. The handwriting is nearly identical to his own too, just like Tsukauchi said.

“What about the criminal it was on? Did the ciphers match what we needed to know about them?” He glances at all of the marks on the page and makes a mental note on what the message is saying.

Tsukauchi nods, “To a perfect tee. Not a single one that wasn’t supposed to be there or a single one missing. That’s why most of the police crew on scene didn’t even bat an eye at it. I only did because I knew you had taken the night off at the last minute.”

This ran way deeper than Shouta originally thought. He sits heavily in the chair across from Tsukauchi’s desk, running a hand down his face in exhaustion. The detective says nothing to allow him to take a moment to catch his breath and regroup his thoughts. “My initial thoughts about this were off… way off,” he voices to him first.

“How so?” Tsukauchi encourages.

He leans forward, resting his chin in his hand, “I originally thought that this kid’s hits were random. That they were just criminals he was running into with them deciding to dip their toes into the fights with them for a thrill. But this note, and likely all the others from before, prove that it’s intentional. They’ve made their own patrol routes around ours by apparently memorizing our patterns and rotations.”

“You mentioned that on the phone. How do you think he’s getting the info?”

“Not through any kind of technology. If they did, they would’ve known I wasn’t going to be on patrol. My guess is that their interactions with us are how they figure it out. They note who’s going to be in what area on which day and then adapt accordingly,” He sighs softly, “By that I mean they change how they travel around the city. For those who stay on the ground, they move to the rooftops. Vice versa, if a hero travels via the rooftops or in the air, they stick to the ground mainly in the shadows of alleyways. They must watch us after we leave them or after they disappear from our sight to figure out where we go and what we do on our patrols; Easiest way to avoid us is to stay in our shadows right under our noses.”

“They must take very extensive mental notes,” Tsukauchi crosses his arm with furrowed brows, “Especially with how he was able to learn and memorize all of this in just a few months' time.”

Notes… notes! It hits him faster than he thought it would, “They take written notes! They must have a notebook or something that he uses to take notes down of each of us. How else would they have been able to copy our ciphers so easily? They could use it to note down our ciphers to be able to take time during the day to memorize them and what they mean or at least make a translation chart for them.”

“And also use it to take note of your quirks and what they do. They could actually note down anything about you guys. How your patrol routes run, who you interact with, where you go after the end of the night. The amount of stuff that could be in that notebook, or books, would give anyone an advantage, no matter how small,” Tsukauchi looks concerned now, “Oh god… what kind of intelligence quirk does this kid have? Do we have to worry about a second generation Nezu? What if they turn to villainy? How much trouble are we in then?”

Shouta looks back at the coded message. Somehow, Shouta can tell by just those specific squiggles on the page that they don’t have to worry about villainy with the kid. He doesn’t know why exactly but they don’t. He took a deep, steadying breath, “I don’t have the answers to any of those questions. But I do know one thing.”

Tsukauchi sits up straight at that, listening intently. Shouta grins, “I know how to find them. Can you get me a list of which districts the most cipher notes have shown up on in the last month? I’ll also need a map of the underground patrol districts if you have one; preferably one I can write on.”

Tsukauchi doesn’t question him. Just gets what he asks and sets them down on the desk in front of him. Shouta picks up a nearby pen. He takes a quick run through of the list of known found cipher notes and the districts they were located. He marks x’s on any district on the map not listed. After that, he runs through the list again and marks the number of found notes on top of each district. When he’s finished, he sets the pen aside.

“They must live around here,” he draws a circle around three of the districts with the tip of his finger. They don’t have official names so they’re mostly referred to by the Greek alphabet. The three districts in the circle are Xi, Nu, and Eta. The other man gets up and moves around to stand behind him, looking at the map over his shoulder. His eyes widen as he realizes what Shouta is seeing. “Because those districts have the most amount of cipher notes,” he says quietly.

“Exactly. What’s an easier place to practice than around where they live? Do we know if there are any kinds of residential living spaces around these areas?”

“Couldn’t tell you off the top of my head unfortunately,” Tsukauchi murmurs sadly, “If I did, we could’ve just checked those locations and ruled out whichever ones don’t have our angry little bunny in it.”

“Hard way then. Plan C if you will,” Shouta responds, as he picks the pen back up to also make note of areas that have slightly higher numbers than the rest.

Tsukauchi blinks at him, “What happened to plans A and B?”

“Plan A was to get the kid down here on the night I met them, by force if I had to. Didn’t work. Plan B was to search around blindly where I saw the kid before and talk to them when I ran into them. Also didn’t work,” he uses his phone to snap a picture of the map, “So this is plan C.”

“Which is what, exactly?” Tsukauchi asks next.

“Trick the kid into still thinking they have the higher ground in terms of our information. Meanwhile I’ll start appearing on patrol routes in the high profile distracts on nights that I know street runners are active. Claim they called out or something. Can’t do it too many times in a row though because they’ll catch on. If this works, I should run into them quite a few times.”

“And then what? You bring them in for their vigilantism?”

He shakes his head, “No. Kid pointed out when I met them the first time that they didn’t use a quirk so we can’t bring them in. And considering I watched them fight that night, they’re right. As far as I’m aware they haven't used a quirk to take down any of the criminals yet. If that changes, only then will I bring them in for vigilantism.”

Tsukauchi has an odd relationship with vigilantes and what they stand for. Shouta knows that and knows that if this were a normal vigilante, he’d be wanting the kid dragged in kicking and screaming. This is not a normal vigilante. Tsukauchi breathes out a sigh of clear relief that he won’t have to interrogate a literal child about illegal quirk usage and vigilantism. He agrees with it. He’s glad he won’t have to do that too. He needs to get this kid to trust him.

And now he’s got a plan to do so.

#vigilante izuku #bnha #bnha fanfic #bnha fanfiction #mha fanfic #mha fanfiction #aizawa shouta #yamada hizashi #naomasa tsukauchi

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