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helliontherapscallion · 3 years

Note

Heya. I know that requests are closed and I totally respect if you ignore this because of that. Two hours ago my dog had a seizure and my mom and I are currently in the parking lot of the emergency vet waiting for an update. I’m normally “the rock” for my family (if that makes sense) when shit hits the fan, so I feel like I need to hide my panic so my mom doesn’t worry more. I claimed to need to use the restroom (there’s those portable bathrooms outside) but I’m actually just having a panic attack on a stairway nearby. Most of my friends are asleep or offline right now so I don’t have anyone to help ground me. I know my mom would, but she’s already dealing with enough. Your writing has never failed to calm me down or cheer me up, so I was wondering if you could maybe make headcannons or something about how texts or a quick phone call with the SBI would go and how they would help a teen friend who’s going through this situation.

I don’t want you to feel pressured to do this because of guilt or anything of the sort. I understand that requests are closed, but I thought it was worth shooting my shot. So it’s completely okay if you ignore this.

(A/N): I wrote this as fast as I could, so there might be a few mistakes here and there. I really hope your dog gets better soon and nothing major is wrong with them, I’ll keep you guys in my thoughts. If you wanna talk about it, my DMs are always open love <3

Warnings: mentions of dog seizures, vets, panic attacks

Your pleasant day had gone so wrong so fast

You had a blast hanging out with your neighbor and childhood friend Techno and his brothers

You spent most of the day at the park hanging out and generally goofing around

That was until you received a phone call from your mother

She was in a panic telling you to come home, telling you that there was something wrong with your dog

You quickly excused yourself by telling them that your mom wanted you home as soon as possible suddenly and ran home in tears when you were out of their line of sight

When you were running you could feel yourself being filled with dread

Your chest felt tight as you fought off a panic attack, you needed to be strong for your mom

You were her rock

It was only natural to comfort her, she helped you so much with your anxiety and panic attacks even when facing her own troubles and stress

So you did your best to stifle your panic

When you got home, you could hear the loud sobbing of your mother, the faint sound of heavy breathing, and rustling

The sight in the living room broke your heart

Your beloved pet was on the floor having a violent seizure while your mother was looking on in horror

You quickly took action, moving the stuff around the dog away from it

The only thing you could do was wait it out, so you made quick work of comforting your mother

After the seizure, your dog was looking around confusedly and whining slightly

He seemed very tired

Doing some research, you found out that it was best to let the dog rest after such a seizure because it takes a lot of energy out of it

The nearest emergency vet was about ten minutes away so you picked up your dog and escorted your mom to the car

You drove to the vet, your mom was too distraught to drive

The vet immediately took him in and got to work, leaving you and your mom in the car waiting for an update on the pooch

She had calmed down for the most part, but you could still feel the panic brewing in your chest threatening you with a full blown panic attack

You held it off so you could be strong for your mother, but you were spiraling and fast

When it got to the point where you couldn’t hold it back anymore, you quickly excused yourself to the portable bathrooms

You ducked into an abandoned staircase and the panic attack quickly reared its ugly head

Your breaths came out in short hyperventilations, your chest feeling like an elephant was sat on it

You couldn’t breathe

When it got to the point where you were dry heaving, you knew that this one wasn’t one that you could calm yourself down from

You had to call someone

Your mom was immediately out of question, even if she would gladly help you

In your point of view, she had enough to worry about

Your best bet would be to call Techno

You had extreme difficulty finding his contact because your vision was tunneled and blurred and your hands were shaking, but you eventually found it

He and his brothers should still be at the park

You felt guilty for calling, but you knew you needed help and Techno and his brothers were your best bet

“Hey (y/n), uh is everything alright with your mom? You left in a hurry.” Techno saw his twin and Tommy look at him in question. He wove them off.

He was only met with heavy breathing and sobbing from your end, which worried him to no end. He knew damn well about your anxiety and panic attacks, in fact he was the one that encouraged you to open up to your mom about it and ask her for therapy sessions. He’s calmed you down from enough panic attacks to know exactly what to do to help you.

“Hey you’re alright,” he cooed to you in a soft voice, “take deep breaths. Where are you?” His brothers looked at him in alarm. They also knew about your panic attacks as you were basically like another sibling to them. Wilbur grabbed the car keys and the three made a dash towards the family car.

“Techno…” Your breathless and strained whimper on the other end made his heart break for you. “Where are you?”

When you told him that you were at the nearby emergency vet, he could feel his heart sink. Your dog was growing older and older and his health was declining. That dog was with you two through thick and thin when your family got him in middle school. You were seniors in high school now, so that dog was old for his breed.

“We’re on our way, just hang on tight buddy. What’re five things you can see?”

After you got through the 5-4-3-2-1 technique, you still were in the midst of an intense panic attack and it worried Techno to no end. Usually you would be calmed down by now. Luckily, they arrived at the vet and quickly found a parking space.

You could hear running coming towards you and looked up to see the brothers running towards you. Techno kneeled next to you and attempted to give you a smile, “we’re here. Is it okay for me to touch you?” At your nod, he grabbed your hand and put it on his chest. “Breathe with me, okay? Do you think you can do that for me?” You didn’t respond to him. Your hazy eyes darted to his face when he gently called your name and asked you again. You nodded making him smile at you, “good, we’re gonna do the 4-7-8 breathing technique,” he told you softly, “do you remember that? You breathe in through your nose for four seconds, hold it for seven, and exhale slowly through your mouth for eight. I’ll do it with you,” he took in a deep breath through his nose and you tried to follow suit but failed. Your breathing was just too erratic.

“Tech, I-I can’t. I…”

“Hey you can do this, I know you can. Let’s try again, it takes time to even out breathing.” He said something to his brothers you couldn’t hear and they ran off. “Deep breath in,” he breathed in and you tried to follow him, “hold,” you held in the breath for about two seconds, “and out,” the breath ripped itself from your lungs. “You’re doing so good, I’m proud of you (y/n).”

The breathing continued for a bit with you getting nowhere before you heard the boys return. They had a couple of ice cold water bottles in their hands. Techno let go of your hand and grabbed one of them. He turned to you with an encouraging smile, “okay, we’re gonna try something new. I’m gonna have you touch this, is that alright?”

You reached out with a shaky hand to touch the plastic and jolted slightly at the temperature, a gasp ripping itself from your lungs and your eyes focusing slightly better than before. “I’m gonna run this up and down your arms, focus on the feeling of the temperature and the feeling.” As he ran the bottle down your arms, you could feel your heart rate drop at the temperature and your heated skin cooling down. Your breathing eventually evens itself out leaving you panting and shakily reaching up to wipe at your tears.

“Are you good now?” You nodded and leaned against the brick wall tiredly. An open water bottle was put into your hands. You drank it and relished in the feeling of the ice cold drink slithering down your throat. It even heightened your senses.

Wilbur sat on your other side and slung an arm over your shoulders, giving you a side hug. Tommy sat across from you while Techno sat on your other side holding your hand, lazily rubbing his thumb over your knuckles.

“Do you wanna talk about what caused this?” You nodded and told the three everything that happened today and why you were at an emergency vet.

After you finished telling them, Wilbur turned to give you a full hug. Your face was against his chest, faintly you noted that he smelled like grass with hints of earth. “He’s gonna be alright. He’s a fighter, do you remember when he ate that bee?” You nodded, remembering that even if he was swollen, his tail was still wagging and he was as happy as he could be. He recovered quickly from that, never once losing his excited and loving personality. You thought about how even in the car he was licking away your mother’s tears and nuzzling into your hand even though he was exhausted.

“That dog has lived through so much health shit,” Tommy chimed in, “a seizure isn’t gonna take him out anytime soon.”

They stayed there for a while with you giving you reassurances and reminiscing on stories of him until you felt better

Eventually you had to go back to the car to wait with your mother, so they left to go to their house

Your dog was returned to you and your mom with the instruction to give him some medicine and come back for further examination

They didn’t find the cause for the seizure, which bothered you but relieved you that he was alright

When you got home, it was late at night and you honestly felt so drained

The next day, your dog was still slightly tired but he was slowly returning to his playful nature as the day progressed

When you were laying in the grass in the backyard with him reading a book, you saw Techno poke his head over the fence and smile at you. “Hey, how’s (dog name)?”

You ran your fingers through his fur as he slept peacefully, “he’s doing better. The vet still doesn’t know what’s going on with him, but he’s still himself.”

“We’re having some cookies and lemonade over here, do you wanna come over? (Dog name) can come too.”

“You’re more than welcome, (y/n)!” You could hear Philza’s voice chime out from their backyard. You got up and (dog name) followed you into their backyard slowly. They were sitting at the picnic table that was there since you and Techno were kids. The paint had long since chipped and faded with each year that passed. Tommy loudly cheered while Wilbur and Philza gave you gentle smiles as you walked next to Technoblade.

You sat next to Techno and a glass of lemonade was placed in front of you. (Dog name) laid at your feet and resumed his nap. You grabbed a cookie and took a bite, humming at the taste of your favorite flavor dancing across your tongue.

Being with the family was something that always made your worries fade away into nothingness and get replaced by lighthearted and refreshing happiness. You spent most of the day laughing with the family and petting your sleeping dog. Everything was going to be okay with them.

#sbi x reader #sleepy bois x reader #sleepy bois inc x reader #philza x reader #technoblade x reader #wilbur soot x reader #tommyinnit x reader #mcyt x reader #dream smp x reader #requests #hellion's requests #tw: swearing #tw: panic attack #tw: animal injury #tw: anxiety #tw: seizure

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stxrrywildflower · 4 years

Text

intern

pairing - bau team x teen!reader

summary - you intern for garcia at the bau

warnings - mentions of case

word count - ?

note - takes place during season 7 around 2011

you knew penelope from the minute you were born.

both of your parents were extremely close, living just a few short blocks away in san francisco. penelope was only 17 when you were born, you instantly becoming her new favorite person. her mom was even named as your godmother.

when penelope’s parents had died, yours had looked after her even though she did go underground as a hacker. despite how much penelope had changed, she was always there to check up on you and your parents.

and then she had gotten caught by the fbi of all people.

you were far to young to even comprehend what was happening. all you could remember was penelope hugging you tightly before she left. the two of you kept in contact by letters ever since that day.

now 17, you were an expert with computers. penelope was your guide, helping you learn to hack everything and anything as well as your way with all technology.

adding on to that, you were incredibly smart, taking all advanced placement courses at school. one of your classes was an internship, you had to find a local company to spend a certain number of hours a week in order to earn credit.

when penelope hears the news, mostly since she had access to your course schedule, she pulled a couple strings.

before you knew it, you were booked to have an internship with the behavioral analysis unit in washington d.c. under penelope garcia. aaron hotchner would be your ‘boss’ as he was the unit chief.

your parents were incredibly supportive, working out the details for you to stay with penelope for the semester and possibly part of the summer.

with multiple bags packed and a plane ticket booked, you were set to leave for washington d.c. in just a few short days.

____

arriving at quantico, you were more than nervous.

a car was arranged to pick you up from the airport, an agent named anderson picked you up to bring you to the bau. from there, you would be able to see penelope, meet with hotch, and get your proper paperwork and badge.

you could tell from the second you stepped in that your presence was out of place. a teenager was rarely in the bau, nonetheless one few people could connect to someone on the team.

“alright this is the floor you will be working on. garcia’s office is down the hall but through those doors over there is what we call the bullpen. that’s where the main teams desks are as well as where they do briefings,” anderson spoke, giving you a mini-tour.

“and the staring?” you asked. “that will stop soon. once they see you with agent hotchner they’ll back off. as much as i want to defend your case, i can’t say i wouldn’t act the same. this is the first teenager working at the fbi ever,” anderson informed you. “oh wow, didn’t know i was making history.”

“yeah you are, and I'm sure-” he was cut off.

“penny!” you exclaimed, rushing forward to hug the tech analyst, your luggage remaining behind you.

anderson smiled to himself, waving towards garcia before heading back to work.

“i’ve missed you so much sweetie,” penelope grinned, matching your enthusiasm. you hugged her for a little longer, overjoyed to see her after months.

morgan was next in the hallway, hugging you once penelope let go. “hey kid, how are you? school okay?” he questioned, ruffling your hair. “everything’s good derek, i’m just stoked to be here,” you grinned.

the rest of the team, to say the least, was extremely confused. there were a ton of questions running through their heads as the scene played out.

“maybe it’s morgan and garcia’s secret love child,” emily snickered, spencer and j.j. laughing too.

“i can take your bags down to my lair and we can bring them to my place after work,” penelope offered. “and i can take you in to meet hotch,” morgan piped in.

you kept your backpack with you, the three of you splitting up. morgan stayed by your side, guiding you into the bullpen.

the two of you couldn’t have been in the main roof for more than a few minutes before who you assumed was hotch was down to greet you.

“welcome y/n y/l/n, it’s nice to finally meet you,” hotch greeted, extending his hand for you to shake. you took it, nodding with a “nice to meet you too sir.”

“please, call me hotch. we can talk up in my office,” with one final smile towards morgan, you were following the into chief up for your meeting.

“so how do you know garcia?” hotch first asked.

“she’s pretty much my godmother, her mom was my official one before she passed. our parents were friends so i’ve known her for most of my life,” you explained, a smile on your face. “she taught me to hack when i was only 10.”

hotch nodded, “and you’re seventeen, correct? have you committed to any colleges?”

you shook your head no. “not yet sir. i’ve been accepted to a few but haven’t made any final decision. pennelope is pushing me to go to school around here though.”

“i’m sure wherever you go will be a good fit. but now, we have to get into some of the more official stuff. how are you managing school with this inteenship?”

“my teachers moved all of my classes online with virtual lessons and work. penelope and i have already worked out a schedule so i can focus on my work here and do schoolwork at night,” you explained.

hotch was obviously satisfied with his answer so he continued, “now with your internship, we don’t expect you to work cases with us right away. it is mostly just learning under garcia. once you feel comfortable enough and get a recommendation, you can move up.”

you nodded along, taking in the information about your job. “i can take you down to get your badge and then you can meet the team,” hotch offered. “sounds perfect.”

photos and paperwork didn’t take more than twenty minutes. you were back up, a crisp new badge clipped on your jacket, soon enough.

“my team,” hotch called. “conference room.”

with his usual ‘unit chief’ tone, no one bother to argue with him. adding on to your interaction with three out of seven members, changes were obviously happening.

you were seated on top of one of the file cabinets, morgan beside you and penelope next to him. your conversation died down once more people entered the room.

both you and morgan quickly got down, wanting to look at least a little bit professional.

“everyone, i would like you to meet our newest team member, y/n y/l/n. she’ll be interning under penelope and helping out on cases,” hotch inteoduced.

you waved to everyone, a slight smile forming on your face. “from left to right is reid, prentiss, rossi, and j.j. and your already know garcia and morgan,” hotch pointed out each individual member.

“wait i’m not following. you know morgan and garcia?” rossi asked.

“my parents knew penelope’s for a long time. i grew up with penelope pretty much as an older sister. and i know morgan since he’s visited home a few times,” you explained.

the team was already eager to get to know you, having a fresh face around, nonetheless one that was only 17, would definitely be nice. so, for your first day, you were pestered with questions. you already fit well with the team, a new member being added to their little family without problem.

____

your first week was pretty much just learning the basics of how the computers in garcia’s lair actually operated. you had your own little station in one of the corners, a few computers and monitors set up for you to work with.

two weeks in, you had your first real assignment.

it wasn’t by choice, you were supposed to start working with the gory stuff in two weeks, or a month of working there.

you absolutely loved the job with the team. oftentimes, you found yourself hanging out with either emily or j.j. for dinner and time with sergio and or henry. you went on morning runs with morgan, the two of you constantly sending each other new routes to run on. spencer helped you with your homework, planning a schedule for the idea work time like it was no issue. if you ever had a problem with school, he would always help you figure it out.

rossi found a new sense of joy in teaching you to cook. you grew up in san francisco, eating a lot of sea food and not much else. rossi changed that, making you various pasta dishes to try as well as the recipient. and hotch, hotch became an overall mentor and pretty much another dad to you. while spencer helped you with work, hotch would keep you in line with everything.

the latest case was pretty intensive on you and penelope. you did as much work as you could, you still weren’t officially clear to handle crime scene information just yet.

the one time penelope was out of her office getting coffee for the two of you, her office phone had started ringing. you quickly pushed away from your desk, your chair rolling across the floor until you were in front of hers.

“office of the most talented and magical members of the bau here. how may i help you?” you greeted. “man garcia is really rubbing off on you,” you chose to ignore that comment.

“speaking of garcia, where is she?”

you sighed, “getting coffee. what do you need?” hotch was quick to answer, “i need you too look up an unsub. name is roger clark.”

in lightning speed, you clicked away at the computer as you dug up information on the man.

“ah here his is. clark rogers was born to a frank and mary rogers. was a normal child, played sports and graduated with honors. did have a case of aggravated assault in college though he got off free since his dad was a lawyer. oh shoot, his mom died a few weeks ago,” you quickly explained.

something about a possible trigger as barely audible in the background of the call. “we need a location asap,” emily spoke.

“oh i’ve has the location sent from the minute you called,” you leaned back in your chair, most of your work already done.

hotch actually had one of his rare smiles on his face after that. “thanks so much,” he spoke. “stay safe,” you called before hanging up the call.

little did you know, your work was more than helpful. though it was minimal, small details you had provided actually proved to be useful in taking down the unsub. even penelope, who heard news of everything once she returned, was thoroughly impressed. it wasn’t super easy finding out that information as fast as you could.

all you knew is that you were guaranteed a job once you graduated.

☆ ☆ ☆

tags - @tinylumpiaa @sapphicspence @itsmyblogandillreblogifiwantto @change-the-world-someday @ah-blossom @dr-reid-ismyspiritanimal @kissessforharryyy @garcias-batcave @spenceneedsahug @jjandreidsgirl @zoseph @spencerreidxoxo @marvelxmendes @kissessfordraco @ogmilkis @cm-is-kinda-cool @ssa-morgan @matthewgublerswife @spencerslatte @babyangellee @agentshortstacc

#criminal #criminal minds #spencer reid #spencer reid x oc #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x y/n #aaron hotchner #derek morgan #emily prentiss #jennifer jareau #david rossi #penelope garcia #luke alvez #matt simmons #tara lewis #bau team #bau team x teen reader

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ko-fanatic · 3 years

Text

Blood, Guts and Chocolate Cake

Rating: Mature

Fandom: Danganronpa

Pairings: IshiMondo

Summary:

Mondo Owada, the Ultimate Bodyguard, is entering a four year contract with one Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the Ultimate Idol. It makes sense, two Ultimates put together for their high school careers, and he could use the steady pay check to send home to Daiya; those medical bills were a bitch, and it was his fault the accident happened in the first place.

It was supposed to be easy, guard the cutesy, clean-cut idol from perverts and stalkers, no big deal! However, the world's perception of Kiyotaka Ishimaru was far different than what the young idol had become. During the first few months before even stepping into Hope's Peak, he's more worried for the young boy than he's ever been for anyone before.

TW: Alcohol, and eating disorders (both restrictive behaviours and B/P), mentions of disability, underage sex/sexualisation, drugs

The hallways of this damn building were too long.

That was definitely the first impression Mondo got, being led down said monotonous hallways by a young woman with an expression which implied that she simply wasn’t paid enough to care about small talk. Not that he had any room to judge, hands shoved in his pockets and a permanent scowl on his face. He might’ve been going to review an upcoming contract, but the best thing about his position was that there was no need to be all smiley; Hope Peak’s choice for Ultimate Bodyguard was all the credentials he needed at this point.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel a bit intimidated by how long he would be working with these record label types. He couldn’t deny it made sense - hire the Ultimate Bodyguard to protect the Ultimate Idol, sound logic; it was just that a four year contract was… a lot. That wasn’t even thinking about the fact he was going to be glued to the guy’s hip for all that time, having to get along no matter what. Would he even have time to make friends of his own? Doubtful. Still, a paycheck was a paycheck, and he’d have to go to some highschool anyway, so kill two birds with one stone.

He’d never had an issue smiling through vapid celebrity bullshit before. It was going to be an easy ride, too; from what he knew, the guy was as prim and proper as they came. Real boy next door image. Easy to take care of, and mainly just telling overzealous fans to back the fuck up. Simple.

His inner monologue was broken by an abrupt stop, the woman only sending a bored glance his way before knocking. The door was pushed ajar with the quiet muttering of “Mondo Owada to see you, gentlemen”, before he was unceremoniously shepherded into the room.

It was just as big as you’d expect from a building like this, with a gargantuan desk and several business-types sitting across from him. They were even backlit by a floor-to-ceiling window showing Tokyo in all its glory - like some cheesy ass movie. Still, taking a cursory glance around the room, he couldn’t see anyone fitting the description of “teen idol”, let alone Ishimaru himself...

“Owada-san, good afternoon!” One of the men greeted cheerfully, clasping his hand in one of those firm yet professional grips he’d gotten used to since rising up in his career, “My name is Shiro Kamei, and these gentlemen are Kenshin Aki and Yutaka Hayashida. We’re Kiyotaka Ishimaru-san’s managers.”

“Well, that answers one question,” He shrugged, not sugarcoating his words, but not being as rude as he certainly could be, “But I don’t see Ishimaru-san around. If I’m meeting with anyone, I personally think it should be with the guy I’m gonna be with 24/7, for the next four years.”

“Of course!” Kamei-san chirped, far too cheerful for his taste, especially considering the stench of ass-kissing that followed it. Not sincere, but too many meetings like this one had trained him to swallow down the vomit that threatened to spew from the fakeness of it all.

“Ishimaru-san will be here soon,” Hyashida-san intoned, temperament a bit more palatable than Mr Chipper, “He’s a rather busy young man, being an idol of his caliber. Dance practice is just wrapping up, any minute now, so we can use this time to have a little chat - go through expectations for your role and such.”

Mondo managed to stop himself raising an eyebrow at that. Like he wasn’t the best bodyguard in Japan. He guessed it was something needed for a job of this sort, not temping or whatever, and so he settled down for a bunch of timewasting jabber.

Or, it was, until a certain request caught his attention.

“We also expect him to be kept out of, well… trouble…”

“Thought he was a cutesy, innocent kid?” He frowned, sitting a little straighter in his seat, attention piqued, “I’m guessing he’s the kind to get mouth-breathers and creeps, huh?”

The three men looked a little more caged at that remark. A couple cleared throats, a few tugged collars and cuffs, awkward air.

“Yes, there have been incidents, but nothing previous security couldn’t handle,” Aki-san informed, “The issue is a recent change in attitude. Nothing much, but tugging on the leash more than necessary, if you understand my meaning.”

He did. Part of him wanted to object to the idea that a sixteen year old needed to be kept on a leash at all, but idol shit was full of PR.

“So boy next door is going through a little rebellion, and you want me to make sure it stays on the DL,” He shrugged, “Got it.”

“I wouldn’t put it like that, Owada-san -!”

Kamei-san was interrupted by several short, sharp raps, door opening to reveal the man of the hour.

Ishimaru was pretty, no denying that. His eyes were what really caught everyone’s attention; bright, wide and doll-like. That said nothing about his facial structure - cheekbones and jawline and everything prominent - or his barbie doll-esque frame. He was probably one of the slimmest people Mondo had ever seen, at least in person. Well, and outside of a hospital. The media went absolutely gaga over his thigh gap, his lithe abs and delicate hip bones.

He personally prefers a little more meat on the bones, a little less fragile, but he guessed it was an idol’s job to appeal to the masses.

“Good morning, everybody!” He beams, but honestly? The sunshine emanating from him is a lot warmer - a lot more real - than Kamei-san. He actually had to take a second to come back to himself, knocked off equilibrium. The power of the Ultimate Idol, for you.

“Kiyotaka, this is Mon -”

“Mondo Owada,” He cuts in, wanting to introduce himself, cut the preamble, and offers his hand to shake, “‘M gonna be the one guarding you.”

Ishimaru gives him a once over, and for two seconds he thinks he sees a smirk pull at the corner of the young man’s lips, but he soon brushes it off as a trick of the light.

“Thank you so much for accepting our proposition, Owada-san!” He grins, and Mondo hates his little bi heart at that moment. Ishimaru clasps his hand. He can’t help but feel that they’re too calloused for a pretty boy idol, but he doesn’t dwell on it, “I hope we get along well!”

He’s loud, but the words are sweet, and Mondo relaxes a little bit. Easy job, as he thought.

---

Mondo was proven wrong in a matter of three days into his contract. He’d certainly been proven wrong far quicker than that before; however, in terms of sheer what-the-fuckery-is-this, this situation took the cake.

The train journey to the first tour destination wasn’t bad, if tedious. Kid spent all his time reading, and Mondo had no clue how he didn’t puke all over the place from staring at the pages. He’d looked at his phone for about five minutes and was ready to lie down and accept his death.

… Trains were not his prefered method of transportation…

Ishimaru had passed on the sandwiches on offer, but so did Mondo. No big deal. Those things sucked ass, and maybe the kid was more nauseous than he seemed. Wish that was him, considering he was pretty sure his face was pale green.

Settling into the hotel was fine, as was the tech set up in the venue. Stress emanating off everyone, but pretty normal as far as that shit was concerned. Ishimaru was dragged between costume fittings, tech run throughs and other things that just passed in a blur.

No, what really proved to Mondo that the pretty boy idol was going through an actual rebellious phase, was what he walked in on at 11:56pm, night three.

He’d gotten up due to a serious inability to sleep. Seriously, did he manage to get jet lag without even switching time zones? Nah, didn’t work like that. Maybe it was second hand adrenaline from the performance being tomorrow. Ishimaru might not make his kind of music, but the guy had this infectious enthusiasm for it all. He’d be backstage, too; premo location to see everything up close. He couldn’t help the slight smile on his face, in spite of how tired he felt.

Any fleeting, fuzzy feelings disappeared, however, when he walked into the main area of their hotel suite.

There stood Ishimaru, back to him, very much not dressed for bed. His jeans were so tight they looked spray painted on, not to mention the sequined top that cut off to show a tantalising flash of milky pale skin.

“Where’re you off to?”

His question seemed to startle the kid, who practically jumped three feet in the air, hand clutching his chest as he whirled on him.

“Fuck, what’s your problem?” He gasped out. Mondo couldn’t help but let his eyes widen, having not heard the boy swear since they met. Admittedly, it was only a few days, but Ishimaru just gave off such an innocent vibe. He’d questioned if the boy even knew a swear word for a while.

“The guy I’m meant to protect is running off into the city at midnight, and obviously didn’t plan to tell me,” He answered bluntly, “So, come on, where’re you trying to slink off to?”

“None of your business,” He sniffed, shoulders squaring, “And stop… talking to me like that. Like I’m a child. It’s annoying as shit.”

“Alright, sor-ry, jeez,” He apologised, hands up in surrender, “Let me just grab my coat and -”

“No!” Ishimaru ground out, “I’m going out, you're staying here, and my managers are none the wiser, got it?”

Oh, that sneaky fucker. While Mondo was all for personal freedom, no way was the scrawny kid going out there to get attacked and murdered in some urine soaked alleyway. For one, it’d completely fuck up his plans for the next four years - no money to send back to Daiya, and he seriously doubted Hope’s Peak would want an Ultimate Bodyguard who let the world’s most popular idol get murdered in a matter of days.

“Yeah, no, not happening, kid,” He shut down, reaching over the boy to get his coat, only for hands to press against his chest, stopping him.

“What do you want then? Money?” Ishimaru asked, looking up at him through his lashes. Fuck, the kid really went all out with the makeup; smokey eyeshadow and liner, glossed lips, the whole deal, “Or I can suck your dick?”

He nearly choked at that, face hot as hell and probably an embarrassing shade of red. “N-No! What the fuck?!” He yelled, only earning a shrug in response.

“Look, I need to go out - alone,” Ishimaru began again, arguing a point Mondo simply wasn’t going to agree with, “I need to get a little fucked up, railed into some guy’s mattress, and then I’ll come back. I’ll be here again before sunrise.”

“Tugging on the leash more than necessary”, his ass!

“Sorry, you're talking to the wrong guy,” He dismissed, doing his best impression of Daiya’s you done fucked up voice he could, “Back to bed. Don’t think you’re sneaking out, either. I’m just gonna stay out here all night, make sure you don’t go and get yourself cut up and dumped in the river. Y’know, my job.”

“Fuck you,” Ishimaru spat, storming back to his room with a mutter of ,“Asshole…”

If Mondo knew one thing, it was this… He’d really had no idea what he was signing himself up for.

---

A/N:

WOW, it's been a while since I've written for this fandom. Thank you Taka and Mondo for being an adorable pair of dumbasses and dragging me right back into DR. Hopefully, I'll add to my old fics too, but I've got lots of new ideas I want to play with (Including two other talentswaps and two AUs!)

For now, Ouran fics are on the back burner, I'm afraid. I'm sure I'll be back to them soon enough, but I'm a bit burnt out in my OHSHC obsession, so we'll see.

Also, as always, comments really help and if you want to take any of these concepts and run, go for it! All I ask is a credit and a link if possible! :)

#danganronpa #Dangan Ronpa #dr talentswap #idol!Ishimaru #bodyguard!Mondo #ishimondo #Kiyotaka Ishimaru #mondo oowada #blood guts and chocolate cake series #my fanfiction

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spencerreidshortstories · 4 years

Text

The Team Found Out About You

Description: The team finds out about the girl Spencer has been spending time with. There is slight teasing from Morgan, but that’s the be expected, really.

Rating: Teen

Warnings: None really, just light-hearted teasing amongst friends.

Spencer's team didn't find out about her until he'd known her for three months. He was a pretty private person, and he hadn't planned on telling them yet, but the team had all made plans to go out on a Friday night after work since they didn't have a case. The thing was that he already had plans and since he never had plans, they all wanted to know what was going on.

What was going on was he was in the middle of Star Trek and he wasn't watching it alone.

"Pretty Boy has himself a girlfriend," Derek said, grinning, teasing like he always did. It didn't really bother Spencer anymore. He knew Derek would never tease him with a harmful intent behind it.

"No, I –"

"Oh, who is it?" Penelope broke in. "Do we know her?"

"No. We met at the library, and she's not my girlfriend. I haven't known her that long."

"But you've invited her into your apartment?"

"Well, yes, to watch Star Trek."

Spencer knew what they were talking about, though. He had a thing with his personal space. He didn't let just anybody into it. For him to let her in his apartment meant that he felt some kind of attachment to her.

He regretted telling them her name, though, because Garcia literally pulled up her personal history and a background check, which Spencer was not okay with even if he was curious. He could just ask her and she wouldn't mind telling him. She was an open book.

"You sure you don't want to know?"

Derek and Spencer had followed Garcia to her tech room and she'd gotten done in less than five minutes. There obviously hadn't been much to find, which was good. That meant there weren't any skeletons in the closet.

"As long as there's nothing bad, I don't need to know."

"Well, there's no criminal record. Not even a speeding ticket."

"She's a very safe driver."

"You've let her drive you around?"

"Sometimes . . ."

He began to fidget. This was why he didn't let people in on his business. They always had questions and they wouldn't leave him alone about it. It really wasn't a big deal. Okay, it kind of was, but still . . .

"What's she like?" Derek asked.

"She's . . . I don't know – our first conversation was about books. She was having trouble reaching a book on the top shelf because she wasn't tall enough, so I got it for her, and she had a basket of books she was checking out and – "

"A whole basket?"

"She likes to read," he said and shrugged. "We talked for a while and we went out for coffee that weekend. She didn't treat me like a freak when she found out how many I have or how many Bachelor Degrees I have."

Neither Derek nor Garcia said anything about the freak thing, because some people did have an adverse reaction when they found out how smart Reid was.

"Does she know what you do?"

"Yeah. We – we try to hang out when I have time off. Or when she does. She stays pretty busy. She has two jobs."

"She runs a youth center and works at a Jr. High as a guidance counselor," Garcia supplied for Derek.

"She calls it her baby," Spencer said. "Anyway, we just – we just get along. We can talk about anything and she doesn't mind when I don't know when to stop talking, so that works, and she's smart –"

"She was one of the highest scorers for her college entrance exam. Top five percent," Garcia said, looking at one of the computer screens. "She took five, sometimes six, classes at a time, and still kept an A average in most of her classes."

Okay, so Spencer hadn't known that part, but he didn't need to know every little detail of her life. They were just friends.

"That's – stop. I'm good not knowing. I didn't need to know that to know she's intelligent. She can keep up with my train of thought, so –"

"That's a miracle right there, Boy Genius."

Spencer grinned and shook his head. "It's great. She's letting me explain the science behind Star Trek as we watch it."

"That's – that's commitment right there. When can we meet her? Why don't you invite her out tonight?"

"How about I don't? I don't know how she'd feel about me just springing this on her last minute." Then, "I'll ask her how she feels about it and maybe we can do it next time. Just . . . don't embarrass her."

"Is she easily embarrassed?" Garcia asked. And then, "You know, I can't find this girl on social media at all. What's up with that? There's her professional email for the school and that's it."

Spencer remembered she'd told him one time that she hated technology. She could type on the computer and that was about as far as her knowledge went. The kids at the youth center had had to show her the different apps on her phone and how they worked.

"She's not great with technology."

Garcia seemed offended, and Spencer shrugged. He wasn't great with technology either.

"To answer your question . . . she's not easily embarrassed, exactly, but she does blush a lot." When Derek's eyebrows shot up Spencer was quick to say, "Shut up, and you're not allowed to tease her if she decides she wants to meet you guys."

"We would never make her uncomfortable, Reid," Derek said, serious now.

"I know that, but you tease people. It's part of who you are. Just . . . wait for her to get to know you first, so she knows you don't mean anything by it. It's how you show affection."

As if Derek had to prove Spencer was right, he said, "Have you kissed her yet?"

"What? No!" And then, "She's not my girlfriend!"

He decided now was the time to leave. He felt like he was in a bad teen movie – not that he'd seen many of those – and he was confused as to why he hadn't extricated himself from the tech cave sooner.

As he was walking back to his desk, he wondered how long it would take for the rest of the team to find out about her. There was no way Morgan and Garcia were going to keep their mouths shut about it.

As it turned out, Garcia was the one to spill the beans and everyone knew by the time they went out that night. None of the others made as much of a fuss about it and Spencer was grateful. They all seemed interested in meeting her though.

When he asked why, Derek said, "Because she's gotta be special if she caught your interest, Pretty Boy."

"Yeah, we have to meet her now," JJ said. "From what you've said, she sounds amazing."

He didn't say it, but he did think she was amazing. She was kind and bright, and had nothing to do with his job. She brought him a kind of peace that he hadn't known for a long time, since before he'd started working.

He loved his job and he couldn't imagine doing anything else, but that didn't mean the cases didn't bother him or stay with him, sometimes keep him up at night or bring him nightmares when he did sleep. He didn't have to think about murder or rape or kidnapping when he was with her because she wasn't part of the team. She was something far from them, set apart from his job. That was one of the reasons he hadn't thought to introduce her to his friends. He didn't want to mar his friendship with her by maybe bringing that part into it.

He would, however, ask how she felt about meeting his team members. He had said he would, and he didn't like lying. He hoped it didn't change anything between them. He still wanted her as his TV show buddy. As she had said when they'd had coffee, it wasn't fun binging a show on your own.

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x ofc

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mrfoox · 2 years

Text

No one asked for my ocs back story but listen:

Doran had to see his parents being killed in front of him as a child. The murderers had some mad body augmentations so his parents couldn't do anything. He tried to stop them but they probably just kicked him away and laughed at his attempt

Since then he just carried the survivors guilt with him and an wish of 'getting stronger' and getting more power

After the incident he got adopted by some reletives part of V's nomad clan, they were around 8-10.

He was never open with any of his pain and thoughts, so really his obsession with getting stronger (with body upgrades mostly) was not anything known.

Doran and Violet (V) was friends along with another person (still not sure who they are but I know their fate rip). I say they were all friends but it was majority V being the bridge between those two. Doran and the other friend only spent time together if V was present, and they were pretty... Different and overall didn't get along + mostly played nice for V's sake.

Somewhere in their early teens V and Doran started dating. Often going out to do (dumb) shit, V was pretty rebellious and Doran honestly just wanted to find opportunities to 'grow' (and to keep V safe)

Fast forward to them being 18-20... Doran have secretly managed to get close with some members of maelstrom. Mostly he was rubbing their backs and they finally trusted him enough to give him some sort of 'joining' ritual mission.

Which, being maelstrom, was kinda fucked... They wanted him to prove he was willing to leave his clan, so they wanted him to make 'an grand exit'. Cut all ties and all that. Doran spent some time trying to think up what would satisfy them enough to let him go with them... And came to the conclusion he had to do something big.

Yeah, he was going to kill off his friend + gf. But since Doran did actually have some feelings for V, he wanted to not actually kill her, but hurt her enough so maelstrom would be impressed/think she died.

V, Doran and the friend had their own secluded 'base' (abandoned building/factory) where they spent most their time at. So Doran called both of them over with some excuse or lie. (good to note is that Doran is sort of an tech freak, so ofc he's set up surveillance around their place so he can monitor when the others arrive etc)

I'm thinking Doran probably told them that he was hurt or stuck/in danger around the facility, so that V and the friend came asap. He rigged an specific room with explosives (my dude is also a fan of explosives, oops) and while keeping eyes on them as they searched for 'him'. Once he saw they were relatively close, and would find the right room soon, he called V from a secret number. And made her basically stop the searching as she was trying to understand wtf was going on as they talked. Meanwhile the friend continued to look.

He probably was cryptic about the phone call and gave her some instructions to 'look out the window' or something, to get her further from the explosives. Also... He probably said 'I'm sorry' as his final words to V as he seconds later detonated the explosives. V got that stomach drop feeling that something was happening that was Bad ™ and just as she called for the friend... The explosives blew.

After that was done he basically took some evidence from cameras he set around the place (outside the facility) and showed the footage to maelstrom people. (who thought it was hilarious he killed his gf and best friend, since that was what he claimed he did) They were amused and convinced of his loyalty and he got to come with them back to night city to begin his criminal career

And V + the friend? Well uh... The friend died on impact, nothing left of them to find/bury. V was in bad shape, she almost died. She lost an eye permanently from the blast but otherwise the clan was able to get her back to health. Her recovery and all that probably took close to two years. Then she finally left to Night city to find Doran

#miranda talking shit #My ocs #Oc: doran #Oc: violet #Ive never actually written down my back story for these two so heres... The short version of it #cyberpunk 2077 #And im sure some things dont make sense or arent lore wise correct but i am an evil person so this is just how it is with my ocs story (:#I just wrote this down from memory and havent read through it but i just love them #Also dorans backstory is probably one of the most...brutal i have... Like the few that can match it is my boi Sebastian and Nadia

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pl-panda · 3 years

Text

To Marry a Vigilante: Part 15

MASTERLIST || First || Previous || Next

To Marry a Vigilante: Part 15

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

The book was incredibly interesting. It was written in some dialect of Mandarin. Many things were also covered in The Grimoire but several stories told there were previously completely unknown. It seemed like it was written after the other book and while the first was entirely encyclopedical, this one contained detailed stories from several time periods. What got Ladybug’s attention was that many of them were diary excerpts.

One of the most important elements was a story about the seventeenth-century villain, Lord of Butterflies, who came to the colonial city of Gotham and tried to take control of the settlement. He was a master of deception and almost succeeded. Ladybug and Black Cat of that time never appeared. Another story told about their involvement in the Thirty Years’ War in continental Europe, where they were hunting the Snake and Bee Miraculous users that tried to manipulate the conflict. Luckily for Gotham, a witch hunter named Malleus opposed him and used jars with symbols engraved on the walls to keep the butterflies locked away so they could not wreak havoc again. The book told of the power struggle until finally, after the burning of Raphael Dent, a longtime friend of Malleus, the attacks stopped. Most people thought that the problem was over, but from the looks of it, the author of that book tried to imply that Lord of Butterflies just bid his time, waiting for the opportunity to strike again.

Ladybug read the story twice, trying to figure out the fate of all the corrupted Butterflies or the jars, but she got nothing. Maybe if they figured out what symbols kept the akumas in, she could experiment with warding the butterflies away. It could be a breakthrough!

While she was browsing the book, Black Cat eyed the teens. “Shouldn’t you people scramble for classes?”

“Nope!” The little one, Maps, grinned. “The new school policy. In case of a supervillain attack on campus, the rest of the classes that day are canceled to avoid additional stress to students. It’s nice they care about our mental health.”

“Yeah… Dude,” Colton looked at Black Cat, “any chance you can tell me what tech your staff uses?”

“Tt. It’s magic.”

“No, seriously, I suppose it could be an organic metal of some sort, but it’s able to perfectly support your weight at the same time.”

“Magic.” The vigilante-turned-hero growled.

“Come on! Don’t do it to me, man! Pom won’t let me live it down!”

“I told you magic was real!” The teen was glaring at him with a smirk on her face.

“Tt. Don’t play with magic or you’ll get burnt.” He scoffed.

“Don’t be a grumpy cat!” Ladybug called from over the book. “Silverlock… Why does it sound so familiar…”

“Did you say Silverlock?” One of the teens peaked. “I’m Olive Silverlock.”

“Bellatrix Silverlock was the only akuma from that period mentioned here by name… I wonder why… Ugh! I can’t decipher that part. It’s too old and damaged.” The heroine groaned. “Cat! We should move back to the base.” She pulled a pair of glasses from her yo-yo and put them on. “Tikki! Kaalki! Merge!”

As soon as the light of transformation died, a portal consumed both superheroes and the book, leaving the teens alone in the dark library.

-----------

Sabine paced around the manor in the foul mood she was in ever since she sent the kids on their way after initiation and returned home for some long-deserved rest. Half-way home, she received a phone-call from Chloé saying that Marinette was crying in the bathroom with her over another girl that threatened her. The only thing that stopped Sabine from turning around and possibly crashing the car through the front gates was her daughter begging her not to.

She admired that her little girl tried to resolve the problems herself and she didn’t want to come off as overbearing and intruding. It wouldn’t stop her from preparing for if it seemed too much for her sunshine. She made a mistake with Lila. This time, she would be ready. But first, she needed tools.

“Tom! Where is my suit?!” She called out to her husband, who was happily baking in the kitchen. He finally managed to kick Alfred out and get control. Sabine laughed when the butler, passing her, revealed that he let him win.

“I think Bruce wanted to put it in the vault, together with the bag!” The large man answered with a merry tone.

“Thank you, honey! I think I’ll be going out for a while!”

“Be safe!”

Finally having a direction, she stormed toward the vault. It was hidden under the stairs, where one had to first enter a secret passage, only to then open a door in the wall.

When she opened the doors and looked inside, her first instinct was to immediately go into a battle stance.

It looked like a tornado passed through the room, which was supposed to be neatly ordered. All the documents were scattered, two priceless artifacts got destroyed and every drawer was pulled out. Inside the wall opposite to the doors, someone made a giant hole. The concrete was shattered and the metal reinforcement cage was pulled apart.

Warily, Sabine approached the hole. Once she got closer, she could take a better look at the reinforcement. What got her attention was the way it was bent. Someone grabbed it and ripped it apart. The hole itself also revealed a small rectangular area that was used to hide something. A secret buried so deeply it was frozen inside a wall of a hidden vault inside a hidden corridor in one of the best-guarded buildings in Gotham.

“Oh for crying out loud! I just wanted my suit…” She threw her hands up.

---------

More or less at the same time, Tim had a lazy day at the cave. He didn’t need to return to Wayne Enterprises for at least another week. He tried to solve a cold case, using the updated list of secret powers Sabine provided him. He and Bruce were both worried about how much had escaped them. Neither considered Luxembourg Secret Service to be capable of ordering a hit on a hitman that was after their Duke. And hire Lady Shiva nonetheless.

He just got himself a new cup of coffee when suddenly, a portal appeared in the middle of the cave and dropped two superheroes and a book on a podium. The Cat landed on his feet while Ladybug fell on her rear with a soft thud. Startled, Tim dropped his mug and the coffee spilled all around him.

“Could you not!?” He shouted, a bit embarrassed that they got a drop on him so easily.

“Tt. Shut up replacement.” Cat growled. He and Marinette dropped their transformations and she proceeded to feed Tikki with some cookies while he reluctantly pulled a small, isolated box from his pocket and gave Plagg a bit of cheese.

“We’ve got plenty of new material after the last akuma attack. I’ve sent you a picture of a woman using the Peacock Miraculous and we’ve got an essential book.” She walked over to the bat computer. “It appears that they used the distraction the akuma caused to infiltrate the place.”

“I’m not sure, Angel.” Damian was busy with the other screen, trying to attach the tablet to it. The deciphering system managed to unlock it already and while he waited for the system to scan for any traps, he browsed the photos. “From the look of it, she only got two or three pages before we ambushed her. She must’ve arrived shortly before us or couldn’t find it for a long time. I would hazard a guess that she didn’t know about it.”

“But… That would mean she was at school when… but how would she… No! The only other person that heard about the book was Erica.”

“Maybe not. She could’ve been there trying to get some information on us.”

“But how did she get there before us?”

“Tt. It’s not like the Detective Club was in any hurry.” He huffed.

“Um… That’s all great and all, but what the bat are you talking about?” Tim asked, trying to get between the married couple.

“We had an akuma attack at school. Damian earned detention for calling Hammerhead old while out of the suit. After we dealt with the akuma we learned about this book,” she pointed at the podium. “We went to check it and found the new Peacock trying to photograph as much as she could. We stole her tablet and kicked her backside.” Marinette beamed.

Their discussion was interrupted when Sabine stormed inside the cave. “I need security feed from the Gala. Someone trashed the Wayne Vault and stole some box!” She shouted at Tim. “Oh! Hi Sweetie. Go change out of the uniform and we will get tea in a minute.” She smiled at her daughter. Except it was not as genuine as her usual smile. It felt much more forced.

“Maman. I would love to, but maybe let’s deal with the break-in first?”

“We must wait for Bruce to get back anyway. He took Cass to the ballet class today. My turn will be on Thursday.”

She pulled the video feed from the camera that overlooked the entrance to the corridor that led to the Vault. She put it on double speed and watched various guests hang around and talk. They usually had a glass of champagne. Suddenly, Marinette lunged and pressed the pause button.

“Him!” She pointed to a younger man with jet black hair and a white mask that covered the upper part of his face. His hair was neatly combed back with no small amount of hair gel, enough that it shined in the camera.

“He doesn’t stand out really…” Tim scanned the image.

“The bracelet!” She seethed. “I can’t believe that bastard still carries the bracelet.”

“Tt. I can cut it off next time I see him.” Damian offered before muttering “Together with the arm.” Luckily for him, Marinette had more pressing matters than stopping his murderous instincts.

“So Agreste somehow got inside during the Gala. It’s maybe an hour before the akuma attack.” They continued to watch as he chatted with people nearby. Finally, when they left, he slipped inside the secret passage. They switched to the camera inside, only for it to then be destroyed by a cane. The one inside the vault was a bit farther away, so before it was destroyed they got a good look at the boy.

The male figure had a dark purple suit with the signature butterfly brooch pinned to the top of the shirt. His chest was protected by two black flaps that looked a bit like the moth wings. In his black gloves, he held a cane topped with a purple orb. The face was covered by a simple domino mask that did nothing to hide the mane of blonde hair on top of his head.

“At least we know that he inherited his father’s lack of taste. At least his mask isn’t…” Marinette stopped herself when Damian poked her side and pointed toward the glass cabinet inside which the first Red Robin uniform was. Its mask was pretty close to what Gabriel wore. “Oh… Nevermind.”

Tim was clearly unamused.

“This is still important. We’ve got a first look at his transformation. We can set cameras to, in addition to akuma tracing, scan for him personally.”

“I don’t think it would do much good. The image wasn’t the best.”

“But how did he avoid the scanners?”

“Alfred was busy, tracking a suspicious blonde with bi-colored eyes. She was supposed to have messed too close to the kitchen for his liking.” Tim explained.

“I remember her. She said something to me. ‘You’re far from victory yet’. I considered it suspicious, but in the whirlwind of the following events, the meeting slipped my mind.”

“You! The great Damian Wayne forgot a crucial detail!?” Tim laughed. “This is gold! I need to mark the date on my calendar!”

“Tt. And I need a set of matches.” The youngest Wayne growled.

“So we’ve got another suspect on the list?”

“It’s getting complicated. First the vault, then the book… Hawkmoth was narrow-minded in his goals. Create akumas, have them hunt Ladybug and Chat Noir, take the Miraculous.” Marinette collapsed on the nearby chair. “Adrien is… he’s more organized. He’s got a plan. He’s not after the Miraculous. Or rather not directly. There is something else he’s trying to find. I’m just not sure what…”

“The history of Gotham is filled with so many mysteries that we wouldn’t even have any idea where to begin.” Tim wasn’t helpful. At all.

“We know they stole something from Wayne Vault and used the akuma as a distraction to carry it away. Then, they attacked the school. What could be at Gotham Academy that they had a personal interest in?”

“The book?”

“I don’t think they knew about it. The attack on the Academy could’ve been to test our abilities.”

Tikki and Plagg floated to the group. “Gotham is a dark place.” Ladybug Kwami started. “There are so many things in this city…”

“What about the Bat miraculous, cookie?” Plagg asked. “I mean where else would it be but Gotham?”

“Bat… Miraculous…” Time starred at the two mini-gods. “You’re joking, right?”

“No. Balla is the Kwami of clarity.” Tikki nodded. “The Bat Miraculous gives the wearer supernatural perception and near-precognition.”

“What?” Marinette asked, not sure what the word was supposed to mean.

“They can see the immediate future.” Her mother clarified for her.

“Is it possible they are after the Bat…” she tried to imagine what jewelry would be associated with bats. Tikki came to help.

“It’s the belt buckle.”

“Tt. Bat Buckle?” Damian raised an eyebrow. “Whoever made the Miraculous had a great sense of humor.”

“Okay. But we still need to figure out their next step…”

“Sweetie? Maybe you focus on school and let me deal with this?” Sabine asked after a moment.

“But… I’m the Guardian.”

“And you’re also a teenager.” Her mother countered. “I’m not trying to replace you or keep you on the sidelines. I am your mom though. Teenage years are supposed to be the best in your life. You should be dating, spending time with friends. Exploring the world. Nowhere on that list is fighting against a mad terrorist.”

“But… but… I can’t just sit back while you fight!”

“You can still fight. And help.” Sabine tried again. “I just don’t want you to devote all your time to this. You can leave the investigation to me, Bruce and Tim and enjoy the time with friends; Or design; Or take Damian on dates.”

“Tt. It’s my duty to take her on dates.”

“Dream on, grumpy cat.” Marinette booped his nose and giggled at the face he made.

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

Masterlist // Next

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itsmeevie01 · 4 years

Text

Bio!Dad Bruce Day 19- Identities

It took three weeks for Tim to come apologize to Marinette. In the time, Jason had spent as much time with her as possible. He would spar with her and teach her new moves. Before she returned to Paris, Jason took her out shopping. (with Bruce’s money.) he would text her when she was in school and send her small anecdotes.

While Jason was distracting Marinette and helping her stay positive, Bruce took Tim aside and explained that there were some things that he didn’t know. When it came to Marinette, he had to respect her privacy.

While those conversations were happening, Marinette also stopped to talk to the Kwamii. At 15, she was the Guardian. As the Guardian, Marinette felt it was time to take care of a few things. The first? She and Chat Noir needed to talk.

One day, after another fight against Baby August (poor kid), Ladybug asked Chat to meet her after he had recharged. When they reconvened at the Tower, Ladybug was the first to arrive. When Chat joined her, he found her sitting on a beam looking out over their city. Her shoulders were slumped, and her fingers were playing with the loop on her yoyo absentmindedly. “Bug? What’s going on?” the girl startled and turned to where her partner was standing on the same beam.

“hey…Chat. The um.” She took a shuttering breath that worried her partner. He had only seen her this nervous when dealing with reporters years ago. “the Guardian died. He… he had been trying to tech me. I was learning the Grimoire and the potions. He…he passed while I was there and named me the next guardian?” as her voice grew higher at the end, Chat Noir focused in on his Partner.

“Ladybug, are you ok? Is there anything I can do to help?” the teen smiled at his concern, grateful for his support.

“well, I talked to the other Kwamii and it turns out the last Guardian…made up quite a few unnecessary rules.” Her blonde partner froze, before collapsing next to her.

“Is- is this going where I think it is?”

“I…”

“Bug?”

“do you want to know who I am? Under the mask? Without all…this?”

“what do you mean? I already know who you are.” Chat’s response made Ladybug shriek.

“WHAT! HOW! BUT!”

“Bug, hey. Hear me out.” When the girl nodded, terrified, he continued. “I know that you are brave. I know that you are brilliant. You have a heard of gold and are willing to always go the extra mile. And the mile after that. I know that you live almost exclusively on coffee. At three am, you have the worst crack head energy. I know that the Akumas make you cry because of their designs. You have no problems taking care of others even when it is at your own detriment. I’ve seen you limp home after an akuma that took a little too much from your cure. I know YOU. The face under the mask? That’s just the icing on the cake.” When he stopped, Ladybug stared at him, tears shining in her eyes.

“Thank you.” The way she breathed the response, Chat Noir knew that she hadn’t meant to say it. “you. This. Its. Thank you.” The next thing the cat new, he was bring wrapped in a hug by a crying vigilante. He pulled her close to him and let her cry. He let her relax as they sat there, watching their city.

“Bug?”

“Yeah?”

“I would love to know what your face looks like.” The smile that she sent him could have light up the sun.

When Tim called to apologize to Marinette, she, Felix, and her father had been on a call to go over leads and see if there was anything the Bat Crew could do without being on site. It had taken prodding from Felix to step away from her desk and answer the call.

“what.” Her flat answer would have tipped off anyone who knew her, but Marinette knew that Tim was well aware how angry she still was with him. Her tone was just the icing on the cake.

“Marinette? Hey. I… we need to talk. Can we video chat?” the teen narrowed her eyes but acquiesced. When her brother’s face came into frame, Marinette blinked in shock. Her brother was sporting a black eye and a split lip. Odd. Jason hadn’t mentioned him getting hurt any time recently. After grabbing her earbuds to afford her brother some privacy, Marinette raised a pointed eyebrow at her brother.

“talk.” Over her phone, she could see Felix blink in shock at her dead tone. oH, Mari was pissed.

“I was wrong Marinette. I invaded your personal space. I had just gotten hurt and was taking my anger out on you. I am so. So. Sorry.” Marinette nodded when he paused. “I-there was a situation. I was injured because of it and- “

“Tim!” her examination made him freeze. “its ok. Jason helped me work out my aggression. When I saw the footage of your fight with those goons, well…it made sense.” The sound of Tim choking made Marinette pause, blinking, before she realized that Tim hadn’t known that well…she knew.

“what makes you say that?” the strangled sounds of her brother panicking made Marinette snort. He forgot that she could see him turning the color of snow.

“Dad told me. No Big.” The sight of Tim’s mouth hanging open in shock made Marinette giggle. “He told me because I’m acting as an intermediary with the heroes here. I asked that Dad not rope me into anything. I have enough right now.” When Felix caught her eye, her mouthed ‘are you ok? Need me to create an emergency?’ she subtly shook her head no, before turning her attention back to her brother. “Tim? I’m sorry too. I lashed out. I got angry that you were angry at me.” He shook his head.

“already forgiven, Little Bit.” She shot him a gin. “well then! Do you want to meet one of my best friends? We were working on a project before you called.”

“sure! I thought you were only friends with those two crazies…Alix and Chloe?” Marinette blew a raspberry in response to her brothers teasing before disconnecting her earbuds and joining Felix at her desk.

“Tim? Felix. Felix? Tim. You may have met at the Christmas Gala.”

A week and a half later, Batman, Chat Noir, and Ladybug agreed that they needed someone from Gotham on the ground. After a debate over who could control their emotions the best that left them with a vary confused Chat, the trio settled on Red Robin. When the Vigilante arrived in the City, he was met by the other teens. When they had led him back to the small apartment that Felix had conned his parents into renting, the older vigilante had been shocked to see the two detransform. The action had left the two in all black with bat-issued domino masks that Marinette had picked up last time she had taken the horse miraculous over to Gotham. It was time to get to work.

hey! thats number 4 for today...next time? we get closer to getting rid of Hawkmoth...

#b!dbwm2020 #b!dbwm #ml x dc #maribat #bio!dad bruce wayne month 2020 #My writing

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vagabondedlife · 3 years

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Kei Fujiwara’s name is hardly recognizable to most fans of Japanese cinema despite her crucial role in director Shinya Tsukamoto’s early cult classics. As Tsukamoto’s “right hand” woman in the 1980s, Fujiwara became closely involved in his underground theater troupe, Kaijyu Theater, and contributed to the productions of the experimental and DIY films The Phantom of Regular Size (1986), The Adventures of Denchu Kozo (1987), and Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989). Her credits include actress, cinematographer, prop artist, makeup artist, and set-designer (her apartment was used as a primary set). She also engineered Tetsuo’s iconic phallic drill.

Born in Kumamoto in 1957, Fujiwara moved to Tokyo in her early twenties and discovered theater troupe director Jūrō Kara, who became her mentor. After a decade, she created her own troupe called Organ Vital, which underwent a series of evolutions but remains her life work. Her new project this year is Ibunkitan, a form of micro-nomadic theater, whose kanji characters mean “strange-listen-machine-story.” A private person now living in the reclusive mountains of Nagano, Fujiwara rarely gives interviews, but seemed excited to talk about her rarely discussed directorial debut, Organ (1996).

An avant-garde exploration of violence, pain and pleasure with an operatic amount of coagulated blood and extrasomatic body horror, Organ follows two detectives after they break into an organ harvester’s warehouse and collide with yakuza gangsters, a drugged doctor, and his eye-patch wearing sister Yoko, played by Fujiwara herself, who also produced and wrote the film. A cherished work among hardcore fans of Japanese cult cinema, Organ is still ripe for rediscovery. The film’s offerings of a full-bodied sensorial experience and an abusive questioning of cruelty prove tirelessly relevant.

Fujiwara’s work was recently revived at FFFest in New York City with a double feature of Tetsuo: The Iron Man and Organ. Fujiwara prepared a special statement that was shared as an introduction. Following the screening, we had the opportunity to speak to the artist about her life, practice, and ideals in more depth. The conversation was held over the phone in Japanese.

NOTEBOOK: Is Ibunkitan a new Organ Vital?

KEI FUJIWARA: Yes, it’s a new Organ Vital. When I was young, I lived in the rural area. I always just read theater but never had the opportunity to see state-of-the-art theater. When I was in high school, I was always reading, and I picked up an Antonin Artaud book that featured this French term. It meant the vessels of life. When translated to English, I’m told it just becomes, “vitals of organ,” or something, but in Japanese it is called gozōroppu and to me signifies the corporal. That’s the name of my theater company, and it has always been that for me. Born into this three-dimensional world with bodies, we sense and express. That’s what’s interesting in life. Ibunkitan can be done in a very small space. We’ve done it in temples, in the corner of a shop, in salons. Our first performance was in March, and we’re planning to do another in November. We've been invited to perform my new Jomon-inspired piece in a live-house in the mountains in Nagano, so we’re preparing some woodwork for that now.

NOTEBOOK: You were working in Shinya Tsukamoto’s Kaijyu Theater production between working with Jūrō Kara?

FUJIWARA: Jūrō Kara, my mentor—when I was in Jōkyō Gekijo [Situation Theatre], he took a liking to me and wrote roles for me. A lot happened, and Kara said he would make a new troupe with me, but I had other plans, so I left once, and he said, “As my mentee, you can leave but wait for me to come get you.” That’s when I went to work with Shinya Tsukamoto on his plays and films. It was after Tetsuo: The Iron Man [1989] that Kara started the new troupe “Kara-gumi” and I returned to work with him.

NOTEBOOK: How was it that you began working with Tsukamoto?

FUJIWARA: I had just left Kara and after a while a friend said that Tsukamoto was looking for someone to act in his plays. He was Tsukamoto’s classmate and an actor, and he made the introduction. I found Tsukamoto interesting and talented. So, I began working diligently as his right hand after that.

NOTEBOOK: I wanted to ask you about Tsukamoto’s 1987 film, The Adventures of Denchu Kozo.

FUJIWARA: Denchu Kozo and Tetsuo were actually both shot in my apartment where I was living at the time. You know all those cats? I couldn’t rent a normal apartment, so I had to live in a cheap nagaya tenement house on the verge of getting demolished. I just needed a place to live that permitted pets. Denchu Kozo and Tetsuo’s interior shots are all at my place.

NOTEBOOK: Are the scenes projected in the TV monitor in Tetsuo from Denchu Kozo?

FUJIWARA: Yes. They’re from Denchu Kozo.

Above: Organ

NOTEBOOK: What turned you onto making Organ, if you were always only interested in theater?

FUJIWARA: That was because of my experience filmmaking with Tsukamoto. It prepared me for how arduous it would be. Theater is an impermanent art, and that’s why it’s such a luxurious art form. But film is like capturing a world in a crystal ball. The joy of creating film is like making your own universe. My staff members at the time— six men other than myself—were all talented, and I thought, “Everyone’s here, why don’t I just make it?” So, all the staff also became the actors, and that’s how we started filming. But it was so difficult at first. We used the atelier space we had and reformed it over and over and shot it like that. It was time-consuming. It became the warehouse set, the school set. It kept on transforming. We did it all in the same space.

NOTEBOOK: That seems like a very theatrical way of using space.

FUJIWARA: Yes.

NOTEBOOK: But first, you started writing it?

FUJIWARA: Yes, I first started writing it. I’m actually not very good at planning. I just think that if I put my mind to it, I can make it happen. So I wrote the script, and had the staff pool in their savings. Between the seven of us we had 200,000 yen, so I thought, “Great, if we have 200,000 yen and one reel of film is 5,000 yen, and even if we bought lights, we can make 30 minutes of footage.” As for the equipment, there are countless aspiring-filmmaker boys who have camera equipment lying around collecting dust, so we borrowed from them. As for the set, we were all used to making it for our theater. We were good at foraging free stuff to make things. That warehouse set in the beginning of Organ was made with an extremely cheap budget. Then we started filming. All those organs in that scene were worked from what was supposed to be our dinner for the day [laughs]. We used real food. We took some gelatin- and konjac-noodles and thought, “This can look like veins!”

NOTEBOOK: And then you had it for dinner?

FUJIWARA: Well, we ended up not being able to, because it was covered in fake blood! It was all about how little money we could spend and still make something, which was a valuable lesson for me.

NOTEBOOK: You’ve mentioned the Kenji Miyazawa poem, Ame ni mo makezu1.

FUJIWARA: Yes, I just really like Kenji Miyazawa. I like the way he thinks, and his philosophy. He’s a Buddhist, and as I haven’t studied Buddhism properly, I cannot say for sure, but I think his seimeikan, or view of life, is on par with that of Osamu Tezuka. Osamu Tezuka and Kenji Miyazawa are two gods with the same perspective regarding seimeikan. No matter how great their art is, Yoshihide Otomo and Hayao Miyazaki can never reach Osamu’s level. Osamu’s core is love. There’s only love. The way they think about life is totally different. I was reading manga before I was literate [laughs]. I like Osamu Tezuka, but also Sanpei Shirato. And in my teens, I liked Daijiro Morohoshi. He’s an extremely interesting person.

NOTEBOOK: Do you think that your films need to be discovered?

FUJIWARA: They need to lock in perfectly with someone’s desire to watch it, or else watching it has no meaning. It just appears as a confusing, grotesque film.

NOTEBOOK: Please tell us about your make up and special effects.

FUJIWARA: Since Tetsuo, my method is always the same. I don’t have any background knowledge of special effect makeup. I just have a gut feeling of what can and can’t be used. Tsukamoto had these drawing storyboards for Tetsuo, like the steel body and the drill penis. For the latter, Tsukamoto just wanted to make something simple and said it would be enough if we could just pretend like it was moving, but I thought it would only be interesting if it actually moved. I didn’t have any hi-tech skills, so I thought, “That’s it!” I took the nearest working electric fan, dissembled it down to its core, used all the rubber and tape I had at home, sprayed it up and got it to go, vroom [laughs]! It was the same for Organ. I used household products, mostly kitchenware.

Above: Organ

NOTEBOOK: What about your cinematography?

FUJIWARA: I had no background knowledge. The first time I started shooting was on Tsukamoto’s set. A lot of people who graduated film school and wanted to help were there, but Tsukamoto didn’t trust any of them. Just because you have technique doesn’t mean you can shoot well. He thought that the person wielding the camera needs a certain amount of power, of energy. So I, who had never touched a camera in my life, was given the camera and told where to press to get it rolling, and shot all of the scenes Tsukamoto was in.

NOTEBOOK: Do you still shoot with a camera lately?

FUJIWARA: Rarely.

NOTEBOOK: As the occasion for this screening was FFFest, Female Filmmakers Festival, could you comment about your experience as a female filmmaker?

FUJIWARA: Something men don’t have—there are two types: female filmmakers who focus their perspective on their immediate surroundings and daily lives, and those who focus on creating a worldview from the even more intimate bodily perspective. That’s what’s a little different from male filmmakers. Even in theater, most female directors write familial narratives, although I don’t [laughs].

NOTEBOOK: The podcast Ladies Horror Night, on the occasion of this screening, recorded an episode that raised the question of why you, a female filmmaker, didn’t include more female characters. I’m not sure about this pressure for female filmmakers to represent female subjects, as I think there’s power in the female filmmaker re-writing the male-centric story. Can you speak on this and how you came to write the police story in Organ?

FUJIWARA: When I think about seimeikan—our view of life—it appears to me that the moral judgment of good versus bad is not something universal, but just a rule that protects our lifestyle in society. It’s a regulation. We make regulations to protect ourselves. That takes the form of “good” and “evil.” But that’s not the good and evil that holds ground in nature. Animals kill other animals for their own predation, right? Humans, too, in the context of war, can kill other humans and become heroes. The concept of zen-aku, or the notion of good and evil, is just a societal regulation. The police represent upholders of this regulation. And then there are those who defy this regulation, who lie in a realm completely different from this conventional morality. Organ is a clash between these two groups. That’s how I formed the police narrative. As for why there are few female characters, well… In the case of females, expressing them requires—for many, not all—a focus on the micro world, the micro perspective, that is, if you pay attention to their priorities. In other words, if you have a goal and you want to finish something, but she says she needs to take a bath at this certain time and cannot participate, there’s nothing you can do. In my theater, only men can keep up with me. Because of this standpoint, if a woman were to express a woman, she would need to create a micro world. But when describing a police story, a macro worldview, the direction would lose focus.

NOTEBOOK: It would become more internal?

FUJIWARA: Right. That’s why there aren’t as many female characters. But the wife of Numata represents the reality for women. And also the female teacher who approaches the criminal but gets killed. Woman participated in this way. But it’s hard for them to take leading parts for the narrative. It’s hard to let them be there and have their perspective be represented, because their perspective is in a different dimension.

NOTEBOOK: What about the character you play, Yoko?

FUJIWARA: Yoko is outside of that realm. She’s an outlier. She doesn’t represent family or the household or the joy of daily life, because she didn’t enjoy any of those things. That’s why she can exist there.

NOTEBOOK: How did you direct your actors in Organ, was it different from how you usually direct them in theater?

FUJIWARA: It’s the same. The only direction I gave them in Organ was that they only get one shot. I don’t give actors multiple takes. If there’s a camera or equipment problem that requires another take or two, I’ll do it. But I won’t do it for the actor. The actor has one chance, the take. But, on the offhand that the actor makes a mistake and requires a take two, I tell them they need to buy their own film roll. That was the rule. So, no one ever made a single mistake. They were all dead serious, completely focused. They’re all broke and have no money to buy film.

NOTEBOOK: In that sense it’s theatrical.

FUJIWARA: Right, and I had one actress tell me that that it was brilliant. She said, “I do lots of work for TV and film, but everyone is so lukewarm and they do take after take, and think about it so leniently. But there’s none of that here. The one take is the real thing.”

NOTEBOOK: So, that urgency was good for the actors?

FUJIWARA: Right. They said they couldn’t afford to buy their own film.

NOTEBOOK: If you give theater actors the same direction for film, how does that work? The performances in Organ don’t come off as exaggerated; I doubt a viewer without knowing would assume they are all theater actors.

FUJIWARA: There’s no difference. In theater, my scripts are like music scores. The lines come out and dance, modulate, sing, calling on the innate sensation playing the instrument that is yourself on stage. The actor, with this music-score-as-script, has a multitude of possibilities of how to play it. In film, the scripted character is a part of the environment. They are simply material for the scene. I didn’t need to explain this to them, they naturally just became materials for the scene.

Above: Organ

NOTEBOOK: That’s a good transition into my next question: can you talk about your music and sound design direction?

FUJIWARA: Music is difficult. What I say doesn’t get across, because I was working with new people. They hadn’t even seen any of my theater. I like German bands, something strong and hard. But even if they mimic the Germans, the Japanese can’t avoid making music that doesn’t sound soft and weak. One day I said, “Make it more powerful, something that alludes to the power of nature, more animalistic and sturdily-built,” and they said, “Okay.” The demo they brought to me literally had animal sounds, like elephants wailing and dogs barking, and I was like, “…That’s not what I meant” [laughs]. It didn’t get across. But there were some interesting sound bites that I could use. But Japanese band musicians can’t get over their own softness. I think what they have is different.

NOTEBOOK: So you’re not happy with the results?

FUJIWARA: Well, I’m the type of person that thinks, que sera, sera. So I wasn’t satisfied, but…

NOTEBOOK: You’ve mentioned that you a very easily scared person. But in Tetsuo and Organ, your characters say, “I won’t be afraid.” How do you interpret this difference?

FUJIWARA: When I came to Tokyo in my twenties, the first theater directors I met said they’d never met anyone as weak and sensitive as myself. They didn’t think I could live on a few years longer, much less do theater, and that I might find myself drugged up in a brothel in the near future. Kara was the only person that ever said to me that I was the strongest person he’d met. In other words, the fear and strength that I have appears to others as a weakness that can barely withstand life, but it’s just my highly sensitive nature they see. In actuality, I’m very strong. I feel very easily, so that seems weak, but my capacity for empathy is just very large. I feel others’ pain and sadness so strongly that I throw up thinking about them. That’s why I don’t watch TV or read the newspaper. Or else I would be crying all day [laughs].

NOTEBOOK: Watching Organ feels like you’re making the audience feel this extreme pain you describe.

FUJIWARA: Yes, that’s the result of the film. My second film, ID [2005], is even more so.

NOTEBOOK: In addition to fear and pain, pleasure is another large theme. After the screening, someone told me your film was grotesque but something about it was so pleasurable. How do you maintain that balance?

FUJIWARA: I think humans, in order to live, can’t cut those away from existence. If you deny desire, you’re not human. The existence of such things causes our misery, too. Thus, desire and slaughter are inescapable. My fear and sorrow regarding this, and my questioning what are they anyway. That’s what I wanted to portray.

NOTEBOOK: What’s interesting about your portrayal of violence is that Yoko uses the gun as a weapon but doesn’t shoot from it. The one time she tries to shoot at her father, it wasn’t loaded. She mostly hits with it.

FUJIWARA: When I act a role, it needs to be real for me to imagine it. I can’t shoot a gun just like that. I need to feel it. Whenever I do something I feel a corporal build-up that can’t just be released by shooting away.

NOTEBOOK: Shooting it would be too easy?

FUJIWARA: An action needs to be taken. The body and the heart are connected. It’s not that easy.

NOTEBOOK: What was the biggest challenge in shooting Organ?

FUJIWARA: The most difficult challenge was the first scene, in the warehouse. When the doctor and yakuza fend off the police while trying to dissect the man. That shoot was in the middle of summer, but we had to close off the warehouse because it was a night scene. It was hot, smelly, only men, and everyone’s body odor was suffocating the room. That was really difficult. At the time there were seven of us, and now there are three of us, just Takahashi, Mori and I. In Organ, all the actors take on multiple roles. Whenever they weren’t onscreen they were doing lights or shooting. We shot it scene by scene in order. I remember towards the end of the film, during the scene in the tunnel, when my role Yoko comes in on a bike and there’s a fighting scene, we couldn’t get a permit to shoot. We were able to shoot outside the tunnel on the road but not inside. But I badly wanted to shoot inside so we went at midnight, and the characters got all bloody and we were shooting, and the police came. They thought it was a real yakuza fight and took off the safety on their pistols and were about to shoot at us. We thought we were done for. The character Yasuda, who later falls into the ditch and gets stabbed with a Japanese sword, was responsible for getting the permits and he had all the documents on him. So, he came out from the ditch all bloody and with a sword in him, screaming, “We’re shooting a film!” terrifying the police even more. While he was negotiating with them we finished shooting the scene. The police just told us to be safe and left, but it was all thanks to him for putting his life on the line. We really thought we were going to get shot. Usually film shoots have large crews and it’s obvious, but in our case, all the crew were also the actors, so it was hard to tell, and the lights were hidden.

NOTEBOOK: What about the camera?

FUJIWARA: Yes, but it was a small 16mm Scoopic, and the police were so focused on the bloody actors they didn’t notice it. The police were terrified, but it was a great location and I just needed to shoot there no matter what.

#link #in case they delete it

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tchallasbabymama · 3 years

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M’Baku’s Love- Chapter 4

Heyyyyyy y’all, enjoy chapter 4! Check out my masterlist HERE to catch up and read my other fics. Let me know if you want to be tagged!

Word count: 3052 After their kiss, Monae seemed to be avoiding him. They arrived and left at the same time almost every day, but she always found her way to her car quickly and was gone before he even stepped out the door. About a week had passed before M’Baku grew sick of it and headed down to her office to confront her on the sudden change of behavior when he almost ran over N’Jadaka.

“Yo, what’s up with you?” asked the prince.

“Nothing.”

“Nigga you walking around here looking like ‘Hulk smash’, what’s wrong?”

M’Baku sighed, not in the mood to deal with N’Jadaka at the moment. He reluctantly gave in, knowing he needed to talk to someone before he did something stupid like barge in on her in her office like he had planned.

“She is not talking to me.”

“Who, Monae? The fuck you do?” His right eyebrow lifted as he eyed M’Baku curiously. The Jabari chief rolled his eyes.

“Nothing! I just- we kissed,” M’Baku sighed. “And she has not spoken to me since.”

“All I’m hearing is you’re a bad kisser,” N’Jadaka smirked.

“...Is your cousin still here?” M’Baku deadpanned.

“Nope, you’re stuck with me and Lil Bit.”

M’Baku started massaging his temples, he could feel the stress headache creeping up on him.

“Fine,” he gave in as he and the prince ducked out of the hallway and into an empty conference room.

“The issue was not my kissing, the issue is that damn ring on her finger. Sometimes she is hot, sometimes she is as cold as the mountains. I know she is engaged, but I cannot help but want to be around her.”

“Damn, you got it bad. What happened to being ‘unattached’ while you’re here? I was just talking to Neicey, the new Black American history teacher, about you and she seems like she’s down for whatever, if you know what I mean. She might be able to help you get Monae off the brain. Here’s her number.” He handed M’Baku a slip of paper. “You do know how to use your phone right?”

M’Baku loved the prince like family, but sometimes he just wanted to punch him in his smug face.

“Yes I know how to use my phone, N’Jadaka.”

“Don't ‘N’Jadaka’ me, I’m trying to help your big ass.”

“You are right,” he conceded with a sigh and looked down at the number in his hand. “You said her name is Niecey?”

“Yup. Go talk to her, she doesn’t have another class until 3. Last time I saw her she was down by the court.” N’Jadaka said while walking backwards and disappearing through the door, leaving M’Baku alone to think about his next moves.

Of course he wanted to pursue Monae, but he knew that would be a dead end with the way she was treating him now. He decided a little fresh air wouldn’t hurt and stuffed her number into his pocket before heading outside to the basketball court.

M’Baku saw her before she saw him, and once again Monae ran straight into him. Without even looking up she knew who it was. She’d know that body and that cologne anywhere.

“M’Baku! Hi, I’m sorry...again,” she tried to laugh off her nervousness.”Anyways, gotta jet!”

“Not so fast,” M’Baku lightly grabbed her arm. “Why have you been avoiding me?”

“I’m not-” M’Baku cut her off with an eyebrow raise and a look that made her heart beat in her pussy. “Ok fine I am.”

“Why though?” He pulled her in closer and she backed away.

“Because that kiss should never have happened and if I’m around you too much it might happen again.”

He smirked.

“So you avoid me because you cannot keep your hands and lips off me? That is understandable, I have been told I am irresistible.”

She chuckled, neither confirming nor denying his statement.

“Monae, as much as it pains me to say this, we could just stay friends. That way you keep your honor and I get to keep you in my life without you running away every time you see me. Eh?”

Monae was quiet for a moment, contemplating the proposal. Could she really be friends with this man?

“Deal.” She reached her hand out to shake on it and he returned the gesture.

“So where were you ‘jetting’ off to?” M’Baku asked her as they walked towards the front doors of the outreach center.

“Home, actually. I know it’s early but my sister, Jazz, is in town and I want to spend as much time with her as possible before her break is over.”

“Oh, well, have fun and give her my best.”

“Will do.”

And with that, they parted. Monae headed to her car and peeled out of the parking lot while M’Baku watched with a smile on his face. Friends? Who was he kidding?

Shaking all non-platonic thoughts of her out of his head, he finally made his way to the basketball court where he noticed Niecey heading right for him.

“M’Baku, right?” She asked, clearly knowing the answer already.

“Yes, and you must be Niecey.” He took her hand and kissed the back of it.

“I am. So N’Jadaka tells me you’ve had your eye on me...I thought you were feeling Monae for a minute there.” she laughed.

“Monae? She is engaged. So, would you like to go to dinner tonight? You pick, my treat.” he tried to play it off and change the subject. Luckily it worked and her face lit up at his proposition.

“Ok, it’s a date.”

_______

“Look, she is a nice girl, but she was so...dull. I had to try way too hard to engage her in conversation.”

“Maybe she was nervous?” Shuri asked, only halfway listening as she examined the communication device designs her highschool aged students came up with.

“For what? It was only dinner,” M’Baku sat down in a huff.

“Some people get nervous around people they like, M’Baku, it’s normal,” the princess said defensively.

“Ohhh, the plot thickens,” said N’Jadaka as he entered the room. “They didn’t like the flowers?”

M’Baku and Shuri answered at the same time.

“What flowers?”

“Shut up!”

“My bad cuz, I thought that’s what- you know what? Imma go-”

“Actually I would like to talk to you after we discuss the princess and her crush.” M’Baku added teasingly.

“They’re not- ugh, fine.”

“How did you meet?” M’Baku asked her, desperate to talk about anything other than his boring date with Neicey.

“I met them at a conference for Teens in Tech at UC Berkeley. They’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen, but they barely know I exist and I didn’t send the flowers because I chickened out. There, happy?” she rolled her eyes and went back to her work.

M’Baku grinned, finding her nervousness a nice change of pace from her usual arrogance.

“Ah, young love. I do not miss it,” he mused.

“Oh like your situation is any better? At least my crush is single.”

“At least I can talk to mine,” he said under his breath.

“Not without her fiance coming up to the Center,” Shuri pointed behind M’Baku to a tall thin man in a nice suit heading down the hallway towards them.

“Derrick, my man. How’s it going?” N’Jadaka put on a fake smile and tried to dap him up, but Derrick wasn’t on the same page so it ended up being more of an awkward fist bump.

“Going good, going good. Just here to see my girl,” he turned and stuck his hand out to M’Baku. “I don’t think we’ve met. Derrick Jones, attorney at law.” M’Baku stared at his hand a little too long before shaking it.

“Lord M’Baku, Chief of the Jabari,” he introduced himself with a sly smile.

“Oh a chief? That’s awesome man, I bet all this is boring as hell to you huh?”

“Quite the contrary.”

“Cool...cool...well, I gotta go find Momo. See you all later!”

Shuri gagged as he walked away and they all looked at each other in disgust at the nickname.

“‘Nae’ would be so cute, but ‘Momo’?...For an adult human? Absolutely not, I don't know how she stands that man.” Shuri rambled on about her disdain for Derrick. “Did you see how he deflated when M’Baku introduced himself with his title? He thought being an attorney was such a big deal? Ha!”

M’Baku couldn’t help but laugh and agree with the princess. Even without Monae in the picture the man was insufferable.

“And he didn’t even acknowledge you.” N’Jadaka added, shaking his head.

“Nope, just the men.” Shuri smiled sarcastically before turning to the chief. “If it’s not clear already, I’m on Team M’Baku. Fuck that guy, Monae deserves better. Even if it's not you, she doesn't deserve...that.”

“I agree...and thank you, I knew I would grow on you eventually.”

“Yes well it would’ve gone quicker had you not insulted my intelligence when we first met. This ‘child’ can hold a grudge.”

“Oh I am aware.” They smiled at each other before M’Baku’s assistant found them and interrupted.

“Excuse me, M’Baku?”

“Yes, Deontae.”

“There’s a phone call for you from Abiola, he says it’s urgent. Something about a snow bank...”

“Ah yes, thank you. Udakus, I will see you both later.” M’Baku saluted them in jest and was on his way to handle his business when he overheard two people arguing in a conference room.

“You don’t have to! I make more than enough money!” said a man whose voice M’Baku couldn't quite place. He continued down the hall with Deontae typing away on his tablet, but stopped in his tracks when he heard the other person. They both looked up at each other, recognizing Monae’s voice immediately.

“But I want to! What part of that don’t you get? I like being here with these kids a-and these people. The Wakandans are amazing and-”

“I’m sure they are sweetie, but this neighborhood is dangerous and I don’t like you being here. Do you know how many kids are probably downstairs trying to break into my car as we speak?!”

M’Baku rolled his eyes and he and Deontae shared a look. No matter how nice his car was, it wouldn’t attract anywhere near as much attention as the Wakandan technology in the Center.

His disdain for Derrick grew as he realized he had just mentally defended the useless gadgets of the lowlanders.

“Nobody wants your stupid car Derrick! There are literal hovercrafts in this building, nobody cares about your Audi.”

Deontae stifled a laugh.

“Wow, so it's like that? Why are you lashing out at me?”

“I’m not lashing out at you, I just want to keep my job that I love and you didn’t even ask me about moving first!”

“I figured if you didn’t want to go with me we could do long distance. LA isn’t that far-”

“Yes it is.”

Derrick let out an exasperated sigh.

“I’m taking this job whether you're coming or not. You need to figure out your priorities.”

Deontae’s jaw dropped and he wasn’t able to pull it back in time when the door swung open and Derrick pushed past the two of them. When Monae looked up and saw them her face turned to stone. She was horrified that they had just witnessed her in such a vulnerable state.

“My apologies, we were just walking by and-”

“We didn’t hear anything!” Deontae forced out. M’Baku gave him a look and he shrugged. He wasn’t good under pressure.

Monae wiped her eyes and M’Baku felt so helpless. All he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and make everything better...that and beat Derrick senseless.

“It’s ok, we were uh, pretty loud,” she said, avoiding eye contact with M’Baku.

“What do you need from me?” He asked her, his voice soft as a pillow. Deontae’s head tilted to the side as he took in the scene before him.

She thought about it for a moment, not able to say what she really wanted, which was to crawl into his big strong arms and never leave.

“Just some time,” she sniffled and cleared her throat. “Are we still on for lunch?”

“Of course-”

“Great, see you then!”

Monae breezed right past them and towards her office, and Deontae turned to see M’Baku’s dejected face.

“Wooooooow,” he started with a laugh. “Woooow… you like her don’t you?”

“Keep your voice down,” M’Baku whisper yelled, looking around for any possible prying ears.

“You got good taste, I’ll give you that. Shitty circumstances though.”

“Yeah, tell me about it…” M’Baku’s shoulders slumped as they made their way back to his office.

--------

“You have barely touched your burrito.”

Monae looked down at her plate and noticed he was right.

“I guess my appetite isn't too big today, too much on my mind.” She sighed and pushed her plate forward.

“I know it might be weird, but as your friend you can always talk to me about anything.” M’Baku knew he didn’t want to talk about Derrick, but he would do anything to make her feel better.

She looked at him for a few moments before she began. “I don’t know how much you heard, but Derrick got a job in LA and wants me to move with him. He’s always hated that I work here for some reason...I just wish he would have discussed it with me first, you know?” She twisted the ring on her finger and bit her lip nervously. M’Baku nodded to show he was listening, but his eye kept being drawn down to her ring. That little silver band with the fancy rocks in it that meant so much to her.

“He just- he means well, he does. He wants what’s best for me-”

“But should that not include what you want?” he asked in earnest, trying very hard to remain friendly. “If he is to be your husband, ask yourself if you can marry a man who doesn’t listen-”

“M’Baku”

“-to what you say you want. What do you see in him? He treats you like a child-”

“M’Baku, stop! Ok, I didn’t ask for this. It’s more complicated than that.”

“It doesn’t have to be…”

She looked at him as a tear escaped.

“It’s been seven years M’Baku, I can’t just throw that away!”

“So you would rather waste a lifetime being miserable all over seven measley years?”

She stared at him with a silent fury in her eyes.

“I knew this was a bad idea.” Monae called the waiter to bring her a to-go box and her check, refusing to let M’Baku pay for her this time.

“Monae, I-”

“Don't bother. I’ve had enough men telling me what to do for one day.”

M’Baku had never meant to make her feel that way, and as she left the restaurant his heart sank.

The walk back to the Center was a blur, as was the rest of the day. M’Baku couldn’t get her words out of his head. He decided to give the one person he knew he could come to with this a call, hoping they would answer.

“My son, how is America treating you? You have not seen any police have you?”

“Just in passing, mama.”

“That is still too close for my liking with those killing machines they carry everywhere. Are you eating? You look thin. I will send some stew with the king next time he goes to the Center.”

M’Baku smiled warmly at his mother’s unnecessary concern. He was eating just fine and hadn’t lost a single pound, but he would never in his right mind turn down his mother’s cooking.

“Thank you mama, I would love that. How are things?”

“I will be happy when you come back and I can retire again. The council is driving me crazy. This week the big issue is snow bank height. Can you imagine? Arguing over damn snow banks.”

He chuckled, missing his mother’s animated voice.

“Now, you have not called me all week. What is wrong?” she abruptly changed the subject.

“Why does something have to be wrong?”

She sucked her teeth and he could already picture the look on her face. It’s the same one he gets when he senses bullshit.

“M’Baku, I raised you. I know you, now talk to me.”

He let out a deep sigh, contemplating how much he should tell her.

“I met a woman here, but she is engaged to a man who does not treat her well.”

“Engaged? M’Baku I raised you better than that-”

“I know mama, but I did not know at first. Apparently here the women wear rings to signify they are betrothed.”

“Just the women?”

“Yes, it is quite an odd culture.”

“I can see that...well son if you truly have feelings for her and this man does not treat her the way she should be treated, what would it hurt to make your feelings known?”

“That is the thing, mama. She knows, we-” he sighed, knowing this wouldn’t go over well. “We kissed.”

There was silence on the other end of the line before a slow chuckle turned into a belly laugh, leaving him confused and speechless.

“Mama, are you done?”

“I am sorry son,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “You just reminded me so much of your baba. You know, we were in a similar situation. He was in your shoes, and I was the young lady. What is her name?”

“Monae.”

“Such a pretty name, I am sure she is just as beautiful.”

“Even more so.”

“Hm, I bet. Anyways, long story short, your baba stole me from my betrothed.”

“He what?!”

“I was supposed to marry Hodari-”

“The head fisherman?”

“That is the one. Our parents had arranged for us to be married, but my heart was not in it. Then along came your baba, all tall and handsome, and I never looked back. My point is, if it is meant to be then it will be, but you cannot just give up if you truly think she feels the same way you do.”

“I do not want to give up, mama, but I do not want to push her away either.”

“Then let her come to you.”

Next Chapter

Taglist: @maddeningmayhem, @theblulife, @devnicolee

#cecewritessometimes #black panther fic #m'baku #m'baku x oc #black!oc #m'baku's love

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goindownshipping · 4 years

Text

Take me back to the night we met

Pairing: Peter Parker/Tony Stark (Starker)

Rating: Teen (T)

Notes: This has been sitting in my drafts for literal ages, so I decided to post it to give me motivation to write chapter 2... here’s hoping that happens soon y’all!

Warnings: None, meet-cute/awkward Starker. More to come in chapter 2!

Word count: 7k

Summary:

Peter and Tony are both hesitant to head back to their small town for a close friend’s wedding. Little do they know they’re from the same town, and little does Peter know that Tony Stark knows who he is. Awkward boys flirting ensues.

Or, Peter works for Stark Industries and is beyond shocked when bumps into Tony on a trip home.

Read on AO3

Peter sat at his desk, looking out the floor to ceiling windows, still unable to fathom how he got to this point in life. From his desk in the open floor plan of Stark Tower, he had a panoramic view of New York City. Every day he looked out on the skyline that people would travel thousands of miles to catch a glimpse of just one time. Thinking back on how he got to this moment, he remembers being one of those people - eager and hopeful for something more, something greater.

He glanced down to his desk, eyeing the invitation he’d been steadily ignoring for a few too many days. Any reminder of his hometown was a bittersweet one and, for some reason, this one was particularly tough to swallow. Having left home immediately after graduating high school, Peter cut ties with too many people and burned several bridges. He didn’t regret a second of it though; he worked hard to earn his scholarship to NYU and would have never let that opportunity slip through his fingers. In the years since he moved to New York, his trips back home became less frequent and his ties to the town dwindled more than they already had. Sure, he was still close with MJ and Ned, and obviously May was still the most important person in his life. But otherwise, there was nothing left for him back home.

With those thoughts swirling around his head, Peter looked down at the wedding invitation with a twist in his gut. May’s best friend was getting married and there was no way he could miss it. He may not be particularly close with Pepper anymore, but at one point, she was like family to him. He knew she would want him there, and so would May. There was no way he could disappoint either of them. Besides, it would be a good excuse to spend some time with MJ and Ned - he knew he didn’t get back to see them enough.

With his mind made up, Peter quickly filled out the card indicating that he would be attending by himself. Who doesn’t love attending a wedding alone, he chuckled to himself. Yes, he’d have May and his friends with him, but that didn’t replace the longing he had for someone else by his side. Peter had worked hard and tirelessly through college and to get his foot in the door at Stark Industries. For years he told himself that he didn’t have time for anything too personal, always prioritizing himself and his career. Now that he was settled in his job, he allowed himself to want other things, other people. He had a few close friends in the city, but never sought out anything romantic. There had been a few fleeting flings here and there, but Peter always ended things before they could get serious.

The shrill ringing of his desk phone brought Peter back to his surroundings and he shook off the lingering thoughts about his loneliness. As he chatted with someone from the developer team, he slipped the RSVP in an envelope and placed it in his stack of outgoing mail. He pulled up his group chat with Ned and MJ to let them know he’d be in town for the wedding.

Peter: Welp, guess who’s coming to Pepper’s wedding?

Ned: HELL YES!

MJ: I’ll believe it when I see it, Parker.

Peter smiled to himself. Maybe this wouldn’t be as awful as he was expecting.

Several floors above Peter on the executive level of Stark Tower, Tony Stark himself was pacing his office, whispering into his phone at his childhood best friend.

“Can’t I just send an expensive gift? Come on, you guys will love it. I’ll send you on your honeymoon. Where do you want to go? I’ll send you anywhere. Just please don’t make me come back there.”

“Tony, come on. You’re my best friend. I know coming here isn’t exactly your idea of a vacation, but I need you here for this. I’m getting married for fucks sake. You’re not getting out of it.”

Tony sighed loudly into the phone, he knew Happy was right.

“I know, I know. I want to be there for you, I really do. You know it’s not about you - you know how hard it is for me to be there."

“I know Tones. I know it’s not the same, but, you’re family to us. I can’t get married without you standing up there next to me and embarrassing me the whole time."

Tony snorted at that.

“Well you know I can’t pass up an opportunity like that. Just tell me when and where, and I’ll be there."

“Thank you, Tony. It means the world to me. I’ve gotta run, but I’ll send you some more details soon. Love you man."

“Love you too Happy. I’ll talk to you soon."

As Tony hung up the phone, he took in his surroundings. His floor of Stark Tower loomed higher than several of the buildings in the vicinity. He could see for miles from this vantage point. This right here was everything he’d ever dreamed of - This city, this job, this company. He rarely thought about who he was prior to all of this, but Happy’s wedding was changing that.

More than 20 years ago, Tony left his hometown in the dust as he sped off to MIT at the young age of 16. He’d never been particularly close with anyone back home, except for Happy, so it was easy to leave and never look back. Upon arrival at MIT, he worked harder than anyone around him, determined to prove everyone from his small town wrong, especially his parents. People in Springdale didn’t believe in leaving for something better. Everyone graduated from high school and went to the local university, only to stay trapped with the same 10,000 people for the rest of their lives.

That was the opposite of what Tony wanted. From a young age, Tony knew he was different. He couldn’t get enough of the meager machine shop his school district had and was quickly building engines far beyond the scope of his instructors. After the engines, he got his hands on some of his own tools and resources and began building computers and robots in his garage. He never bothered with making friends, much preferring to spend time building and tinkering at home.

All of these experiences helped him to get through high school faster than his classmates, and before he knew it, he was accepting a scholarship to MIT. His parents didn’t understand, but with the value of his scholarship, their opinions were irrelevant. The summer of his 16th birthday he packed up his most important possessions and moved to Cambridge without thinking twice. MIT was nothing like his small hometown and Tony thrived surrounded by like-minded students and faculty. He practically drooled over the technology and resources he had at his fingertips.

As soon as he could, Tony started doing research in one of his professor’s labs. There were very few research positions for undergraduate students, but Tony was nothing if not persistent and he worked hard to earn one of the coveted positions. A few years, countless sleepless nights, and several technological advances later, Tony was finishing his degree with plans to continue at MIT to pursue his Master’s. While completing his Bachelor’s degree at MIT, Tony’s trips home were few and far between. He went back for the occasional major holiday or birthday, but, for the most part, he stayed in Cambridge.

The second year of his Master’s program, everything changed. He’ll never forget the call from the local police station alerting him of an accident involving his parents. He may not have been particularly close with them, but they were his only family. Through his haze, he managed to get himself home the next day. That entire trip home was one he would gladly forget. The news of his parents passing away and the loneliness he felt was something he would never truly shake. He didn’t surround himself with many people, but the loss of his parents created a hollowness that he couldn’t have expected.

That trip back to Springdale was the last time he’d been home in the past 25 years. His friends from MIT and Stark Industries didn’t even know where he grew up. After MIT, Tony had pieced his own version of family together - he had everything he needed in those few close friends.

The transition from MIT to New York was a quick one; Tony landed a prestigious internship with Oscorp and quickly worked his way up from there. Over the course of a few years, Tony had enough of his own ideas and resources to venture out on his own and start up a small tech company. A few of his closest friends and best colleagues from Oscorp joined him and slowly built Stark Industries into the powerhouse it was today.

“Nat!” Tony called from his office, the door always slightly ajar.

“What is it Tony?”

“I need a flight home."

Several weeks later, Peter found himself pulling into May’s driveway, kicking up plenty of gravel and dirt in his rental car. Before he could bring the car to a full stop, May was bursting through the front door, eagerly approaching Peter. He pulled himself from the driver’s seat, taking a brief moment to stretch after the long drive from the airport. Seconds later he was engulfed by one of May’s all-encompassing hugs, somehow wrapping him up entirely despite the fact that he was at least a full head taller than her.

“You’re taller."

“Missed you too, May."

“Maybe you wouldn’t be so tall or miss me so much if you came home once in a lifetime. FaceTime isn’t the same, Pete."

Peter grimaced at that. He knew she was right - he didn’t come home enough despite how much he loved her. Being home was a strange mix of emotions. It was familiar and unsettling at the same time and Peter didn’t quite fit here anymore.

“I know May, I’m sorry. Work is just so busy and you know it’s hard for me to be here. I’ll try to-”

“Uh uh,” May interrupted. “No excuses. I know how hard you’ve worked for what you have out there. Just don’t forget about little old me." May cracked a grin and elbowed Peter in the ribs, just hard enough for him to know she really meant it.

“Love you, May,” Peter grinned.

They each grabbed a bag from the car and made their way up the front steps of May’s house. As soon as they entered the hallway, Peter couldn’t help the feeling of home that washed over him. This town may not feel like home anymore, but the smell of pine and just slightly burnt bread would always send him back to his childhood.

“Shower up, Pete. You stink and we have a dinner to get to,” May called from where she was already bringing Peter’s bags to his room.

“What dinner, May? I thought things weren’t happening until this weekend?”

“Tonight is just family, and us obviously. Pepper insisted on us being there! I know you want to see Ned and MJ, but they’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

Peter trudged up the stairs to his room, finding May already hanging up the formal items he brought for the various events attached to the wedding. He didn’t quite understand why someone needed to rehearse a wedding, but, whatever.

“I can finish this up,” Peter insisted, taking the hangers from May. “When do we need to leave?”

“In about an hour. Do you need anything?” May asked as she headed for the door.

“I’m good, May, thanks,” Peter grinned at her. “Can you get the door?”

With that, the door closed with a thud and Peter let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. Hanging up the rest of his clothes, he realized the room was exactly as he’d left it when he sped off to NYU. He picked up his phone and snapped a picture of his surroundings, quickly sending it to Ned and MJ before getting himself ready for dinner.

An hour later, Peter was feeling much more human thanks to a hot shower and some fresh clothes. As he and May pulled up to Recipe, one of the few nicer restaurants in town, a swanky black Tesla caught Peter’s eye. In this town, the nicest car you usually saw was whatever new pickup truck could haul the heaviest trailer - or whatever. Peter didn’t care to know.

“May, who the hell is at this dinner?” Peter gestured out the window toward the car that clearly didn’t fit in along their historic downtown street.

“Oh, just family and maybe a couple close friends like us. That must belong to one of Happy’s friends.”

As they rounded the corner, they could hear laughter from the large patio behind the main house that was the restaurant. The patio was surrounded by large trees with strings of lights woven throughout the low-hanging branches. Peter was happy to see that this place was still here after all these years.

“May! Peter! You made it!”

Pepper, May’s lifelong best friend, called out to them, beckoning them closer. Peter recognized nearly everyone around the large table - one of the things that comes along with a small town. The circular table was situated at the center of the patio, and he spotted the back of a man’s head that looked familiar, yet out of place here. He couldn’t quite figure it out, seemingly due to the sheer amount of time that had passed since he’d seen this particular group of people.

Peter ducked under a couple branches and approached the table, quickly giving Pepper a hug and kiss on the cheek before finding the empty seat on the other side of May. He rounded the table and slid into his seat, interrupted by the waitress before he could even say hello to everyone else. As he turned back to the rest of the guests, he expected to be faced with Happy, Pepper’s fiance.

What he didn’t expect was to be faced with Tony Stark - founder and CEO of Stark Industries, his very own employer. What the hell is Tony Stark doing at this table? In Springdale? For May’s best friend’s wedding?

As conversation swirled around them, Peter forgot how to speak momentarily, staring dumbly at the man across from him. Tony smirked back at him and threw him a wink while extending his hand across the table.

“You must be Peter. It’s so hard for me to believe that you’re someone’s nephew.”

Peter stared at Tony’s hand, fighting an internal battle to remember what he was supposed to do. Eventually, he reached across the table, nearly knocking over an entire glass bottle of water, and grasped Tony’s hand. He couldn’t help but appreciate the way Tony’s hand gripped his. The handshake was firm, his skin slightly calloused but soft, and Peter held on for an unacceptable length of time.

The waitress approached with his old fashioned, causing him to yank his hand back, as if he’d been shocked. He looked up to find Tony quickly averting his eyes back to the menu and Peter wished the ground would open up underneath him and swallow him whole to avoid the embarrassment that he knew was about to ensue.

The rest of dinner continued mostly uneventfully; however, Peter continued to make a fool out of himself any time Tony so much as glanced in his direction. Anytime Peter looked up, he was met with Tony’s intense gaze, but the man seemed to take pity on Peter and avoided any further embarrassment. Instead, Peter chatted with May about the city, but tried to avoid work; no one seemed to be acknowledging the elephant in the room, and Peter didn’t want to rock the boat.

Tony Stark was not your average wedding guest, and everyone at the table seemed intent on ignoring his status. Peter knew he was missing something, but now wasn’t the time to ask why the CEO of New York’s largest tech firm and self-proclaimed “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” was in their presence.

Peter was certain that Tony had no idea who he was. Sure, Peter had been working at Stark Industries for a while now, but he’d only met the company’s founder once and it was by complete accident. When Peter interviewed for his first entry-level position, Mr. Stark himself just happened to be on the HR floor for another matter entirely. Peter had nearly collided with him as he exited the elevator and frantically looked around for the office number he’d been given. He could have never expected Tony Stark to point him in the right direction before heading down the hall in the opposite direction. Peter had stared at the back of Tony’s head for a moment too long that day, but headed off toward his interview before he could see Tony throw a glance back in Peter’s direction.

Now, back in Springdale, Peter was baffled at Tony’s appearance in the small town.

Dinner came to a close and Peter nearly leapt away from the table to escape back to the safety of May’s home. Before he could make a move, Pepper grabbed him and May by the elbows.

“You two better be coming with us for drinks!”

Peter hesitated, exhausted after a day of traveling, but May was beaming.

“Of course, Pepper. We wouldn’t miss it,” Peter agreed with a soft smile.

Out of the corner of his eye, Peter could see Tony leaving in the direction of his out-of-place sports car. Peter felt relief wash over him, realizing he'd get a break from embarrassing himself for the rest of the evening.

Pepper and Happy decided that they wanted to go to Barley & Vine, the only good place for drinks in their small town. It was just a couple blocks away so the four of them decided to make the short walk together. Peter and May walked together, a few paces behind Pepper and Happy, wanting to give them a bit of space. Thinking back on dinner, Peter couldn’t help but laugh at himself. May didn’t miss it and threw a sneaky glance at Peter.

“What, May? You’re not subtle, so just spit it out."

“So that’s the hot CEO you never shut up about, isn’t it?”

“May! What is he doing here? You do realize that’s Tony Stark right? Like, the Tony Stark! And he’s here?”

“That must be the Tony that Happy mentioned to me,” May shrugged. “I didn’t know he meant Tony Stark. I guess everyone in this town forgot that he grew up here, not in some lab in New York.”

“Tony Stark is from Springdale,” Peter deadpanned. “You have got to be joking. How is that even possible?”

“You’re the one that works for the man, ask him yourself! The brainiac had already left town by the time I got to high school so I never knew him. How could I have known that he and Happy grew up together?”

Peter just shook his head as they approached the small bar. After tonight, he’d spend the rest of the trip with MJ and Ned and hopefully avoid any further embarrassment in front of Tony. He knew they would give him a hard time for the whole thing, so he could only hope they didn’t find out about his antics at dinner that night.

Barley & Vine was one of the only places Peter enjoyed visiting when he was home. The cozy interior was inviting and the eclectic furniture set the place apart from the other dives in town. Pepper, May and Peter settled into some plush chairs and couches tucked into a corner near the back of the bar as Happy grabbed them a round of drinks. Peter was grateful for the quieter atmosphere after the long and unexpected day he’d had. When Happy returned, May and Pepper were already wrapped up in a conversation that seemed to be about the seating arrangements and predicting who from high school would hook up with an old flame.

Happy extended a beer to Peter, which he took with a grateful smile. Peter had only met Happy once before this weekend, but he seemed nice enough.

“So,” Happy started. “It seems like you and Tony had the same idea about getting out of this town."

“I guess so. Although, I had no idea he was from here. Everyone back in New York just knows he went to MIT when he was 16 - no one talks about what came before that. Seems pretty unreal that you guys grew up together." Peter eyed Happy nervously, unsure if this was a topic he’d be comfortable talking about.

“Yeah, Tony’s a pretty private guy and when he left Springdale he never really looked back. There’s too much here that he doesn’t like to revisit. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it when he agreed to come out for the wedding."

Peter nodded in understanding. “I can understand that. I pretty much did the same thing when I left for NYU. I don’t get home enough, that’s for sure." Peter smiled in May’s direction knowing she missed him more than she ever let on.

At that, Peter and Happy fell into comfortable conversation about Peter’s experiences at NYU and now at Stark Industries. Happy had visited Tony in the city a few times, and they swapped stories about their favorite places, discovering that Tony had taken Happy to Peter’s favorite greasy burger joint.

Before long, all four of them were chatting excitedly about the coming weekend and Pepper and Happy’s honeymoon plans. Before Pepper could continue her ramblings about some private beach they were going to, the group was interrupted by Tony’s arrival. Peter was on his second beer of the night, giving him just enough of a buzz to be less chaotic than he was at dinner.

That was before Peter realized the only empty seat was on the couch next to him.

“Sorry I’m late guys. I had to run to the house for a minute and I forgot how slow the speed limits in this town are.” Tony already had a drink in hand as he settled into the spot next to Peter, leaving a comfortable distance between the two of them.

Peter snorted into his beer. “As if you follow speed limits."

The comment seemed to catch Tony off guard and he let out an unexpected laugh. Peter told himself that the blush he could feel on his cheeks was from the slight buzz, not from making Tony laugh. Before Peter had a chance to embarrass himself any further, Happy interrupted.

“May, did you ever meet Tony before he left us for MIT’s fancy labs?”

“Ha ha, very funny Hap,” Tony said with a genuine smile. They’d been friends long enough and been through so much that Happy could give Tony a hard time for just about anything. “Anyway,” he turned to May, “no, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m sure I would remember meeting you,” Tony said with a wink.

Peter rolled his eyes. He knew the reputation that Tony Stark carried in New York, hell the reputation he carried around the world. But he also knew May and that she wouldn’t be amused by Tony’s flirting.

“Well, you sure don’t seem to remember everyone you’ve met." May narrowed her eyes at Tony. “Have you met my nephew Peter yet Mr. Stark?” May asked with a playful glint in her eye.

Peter glared at May, willing her to shut up before she said anything else.

Tony moved back in his seat next to Peter to get a better look at him. “As a matter of fact, we have met. Peter, you’re on the implementation team, yes?”

Peter’s jaw dropped in disbelief. At a company the size of Stark Industries, there was no way Tony knew who Peter was. Peter barely came into contact with any of the executive team and had never worked directly with Tony himself.

“I may be the CEO of the company, but I keep close tabs on who we hire. Chalk it up to my perfectionism,” Tony finished with a sheepish grin.

“I, uh, yeah. Implementation team, that’s me,” Peter stammered. He took a big gulp of beer and stared at his feet, hoping the attention would turn away from him if he just pretended he wasn’t there.

The other four seemed to take the hint and started reminiscing about growing up in Springdale along with the trouble they all got in during school. Tony chatted with them for a while, surprisingly enjoying the conversation about a town he hadn’t considered home for decades.

“Oh my god,” Pepper laughed, “was it junior prom that you spiked the punch, Hap? I’ll never forget the lecture you got from Mr. Houser that week!”

“Hey now, it’s not my fault that I lost my touch for sneaking around after Tony left town. He was always the brains behind the operation."

Noticing that the conversation was taking a turn toward a time after he’d left, Tony retreated to the bar for another drink. When he returned to the couch, he handed Peter another beer.

“I saw you were getting low. Figured you could use another."

“Thanks, Mr. Stark."

“God kid, please call me Tony."

Peter felt the dip in the couch as Tony sat back down, sitting slightly closer to him this time. May, Pepper, and Happy were wrapped up in a dynamic conversation about some town-wide scandal from a couple years prior. Neither Tony nor Peter knew what was going on.

“So, you’re from Springdale?” Tony asked.

“Uh, yeah. But wait, you’re from Springdale?” Peter asked incredulously.

Tony let out an uncomfortable laugh and took a long sip from his glass. “Against all odds, yeah kid, I am. I left when I was 16 and hardly ever came back - haven’t been back since my folks died."

“I get that. My parents died when I was young; that’s why I lived with Aunt May until I left for school. It’s tough coming back here when there isn’t much left here for me."

Neither man really knew what to say after that; they were both surprised by their similar history with the small town.

“So,” Peter started with a grin. “Did you really build DUM-E in your parents’ garage in high school?”

For the first time that evening, Peter saw Tony’s face stretch into a wide smile, his eyes even crinkling a bit.

“How the hell would you know that?”

“The R&D team at Stark Industries tells a lot of stories about your robots. Rumor has it that you built it before you were at MIT, so, now, I figure that means you had to have built it here."

Tony only smiled bigger and shook his head before launching into the story of how DUM-E came to be. Peter listened intently, amazed at the brilliance of the man in front of him. Of course he knew that Tony was a genius, you don’t build a company like Stark Industries without being the smartest person in every room, but it was different to witness it up close. It also seemed like Tony’s hard exterior had softened enough to let his guard down just a bit. Peter was enjoying seeing a more human side to the enigma that was Tony Stark.

“There was this one time in college when I was working on new technology for engine propulsion and I had DUM-E on fire safety and the stupid thing would douse me with the fire extinguisher every single time I ran a test. He wore the dunce cap for a while after he cleaned up the mess he made."

Peter leaned forward out of his seat to take a drink from his beer sitting on the table in front of him. When he leaned back, Tony had moved closer to the middle of the cushion and casually thrown his arm along the back of the couch. At this point, Peter was fully tipsy, and didn’t think twice about setting back in, feeling the warmth from Tony’s body where they were nearly pressed against each other. Peter and Tony were so close together that Peter could barely turn his head to make eye contact with the man next to him. He didn’t let himself think about what would happen if they both turned toward each other.

Peter sat quietly for a moment, gathering the courage to ask Tony the question that he hadn’t been able to shake since he arrived at the bar. The consistent buzz and warmth just under the surface of his skin helped push him to get the words out of his mouth.

“So, how did you know who I was when May asked?”

Tony looked away from Peter, seeing that Pepper, Happy, and May were all still engrossed in their own conversation.

“You’ve been at the company for what, five years now Pete?”

“Six years in the spring, yeah."

“Sounds about right. Just over five years ago I seem to remember going down to the HR floor to sign some paperwork. Natasha was out of the office, so they hadn’t gotten delivered to my office, but the head of the department needed them by the end of the day. So, I popped downstairs for a minute to get those done. On my way back to the elevators, I was nearly the victim of a head on collision, thanks to a very stressed kid. He was lanky and had the softest looking curls and these bright red cheeks." Tony smiled to himself, and if it was brighter in their corner, Peter would have sworn he saw Tony blushing.

“Anyway, I pointed him toward the entrance to the main HR suite, assuming that he was there for an interview based on the stress rolling off of him in waves. He practically sprinted away from me, and by the time I looked back, he had already rounded the corner. A couple weeks later, I saw those same curls rising a full head above all the other new employees passing by my lab on the tour included during the onboarding process. Bummer for me, I didn’t know his name and we never seemed to cross paths again."

Peter sat quietly, slowly processing the words that had come out of Tony’s mouth. The alcohol rushing through his veins seemed to slow his thought process drastically, leaving Tony sitting in awkward silence. After a moment, Peter turned to look at Tony with a cautious smile - he was surprised to see Tony already watching him intently.

“You remember me. From my interview. When we didn’t even meet."

“Yeah, kid, I remembered you,” Tony said carefully, unsure of what was running through Peter’s mind.

Throwing caution to the wind, Peter scooted even closer to Tony; any space that remained between them was now gone. Tony’s arm that had been resting along the back of the couch came down around Peter’s shoulder, settling the younger man into his side. Their legs were pressed firmly together and Peter attempted to make himself smaller, wanting to rest his head on Tony’s shoulder. From that position, Peter turned his head just slightly, his nose now resting in the crook of Tony’s neck. The grip around his shoulder tightened, and Tony turned his face into the curls on top of Peter’s head.

Tony glanced up, seeing his friends and Peter’s aunt eying them curiously. May locked eyes with Tony, her gaze piercing for a moment. Tony held strong, so as to not alert Peter to the silent conversation they were having. Just as Tony thought was going to be forced to peel Peter off of his side, May’s eyes softened and she just shook her head with a fond smile. Tony let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding as May, Pepper, and Happy let him and Peter remain in their little bubble.

“Peter, whatcha doing down there?” Tony asked, his voice smooth and low. Peter could feel the words vibrating in his ear from where he was pressed against Tony.

Peter thought for a moment. What was he doing? His entire body stiffened as he realized the way he’d tucked himself into Tony’s side. Before he could pull away, Tony’s hand settled on his shoulder, halting the mindless wandering it had been doing along Peter’s arm. Tony squeezed his shoulder tightly and kept him in place. Tony leaned down even further, his lips brushing the shell of Peter’s ear. Peter could feel Tony’s warm breath on his ear, causing him to shiver despite the warmth of the man next to him.

“Nuh uh, I’m not complaining. I’d like to keep you right here, actually.”

Peter could feel butterflies erupting in his stomach, and the beginning tingle of arousal just at Tony’s words and the way he whispered in Peter’s ear. As much as he wanted to just curl into Tony even more or simply climb into his lap, Peter knew that if this was going to go any further, it couldn’t happen here. Peter pulled back from Tony’s neck and took in his surroundings. Tony’s arm returned to the couch’s backrest, but his intense gaze never wavered from Peter’s face. Peter could feel the blush rising in his cheeks, burning its way down past the collar of his shirt.

“It’s late, you’ve had a long day of traveling. How about you let me take you home. Those three are bound for a late night." Tony nodded toward the other three, and Peter wondered how long he’d been tucked into Tony’s side based on the quantity of empty pints and shot glasses in front of them.

“Yeah, okay. Let me just give May a heads up."

“Sounds good. I’ll say goodnight to Happy and meet you up front."

Peter nodded and pushed himself out of his seat, finding his legs far less stable than he expected. After a moment of catching his balance he caught May’s attention and nodded toward the door. He wove his way among the various groups in the bar, smiling at a couple familiar faces that he couldn’t quite match with a name. He reached the entrance and leaned against the wall, feeling exhaustion settle deep within his bones.

May approached a moment later with a massive shit-eating grin on her face.

“What in the hell was happening on that couch, Peter?”

Peter scrubbed his face with his hand letting out a long breath. “Fuck, I have no idea May. I’ve never said a word to the man before today. I have no idea what’s going on."

May reached up and ruffled his curls like she had done when he was growing up. He couldn’t help but lean into the familiar touch, comforted by her presence.

“Well whatever it was, you two aren’t subtle."

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, Tony’s going to give me a ride home. I’m exhausted and I know you’re having a good time with Pepper and Happy."

May only smirked at that. “Yeah, sure, he’s just giving you a ride home."

“Oh my god, May, not happening. Call me if you need anything, yeah?”

“Same to you mister. Have fun."

Leaning up on her toes, May pressed a kiss to Peter’s cheek before heading back to Pepper and Happy. Tony was already heading toward the entrance and May quickly grabbed his elbow as their paths crossed.

“Be nice to him." Before Tony could open his mouth to reply, May had already moved past him, rejoining Pepper and Happy.

Tony found Peter leaning against the wall at the entrance to the bar, eyes practically closed and looking like he was about to melt into a puddle on the floor. Tony cleared his throat softly, hoping to get the boy’s attention without scaring him too much.

“You ready to get out of here, kid?”

“I’m not a kid,” Peter pouted as he headed out the front door and looked down the street for Tony’s car.

Tony just laughed, not bothering to argue with Peter. Tony placed a gentle hand on the small of Peter’s back, guiding him toward his car around the corner. Peter leaned into the touch, reveling in the warmth radiating from Tony’s hand. The two of them walked in comfortable silence, taking in the familiar sight of their hometown. When they approached Tony’s car, Peter paused and tilted his head back to take in the night sky.

“I forgot how bright the stars are here,” he said with wonder.

Tony looked up too. It had been so many years since he was anywhere besides big cities with all their bright lights and never ending noise. Tony closed his eyes, taking in the silence around them.

“It sure is different from the city."

When Tony opened his eyes, Peter had moved closer than he had been before. His eyes were wide, flickering between Tony’s eyes and his lips. Without realizing it, Tony’s tongue darted out, wetting his lips and he swore he saw Peter go cross-eyed following the movement.

“Pete,” Tony whispered. “You gotta tell me what you’re thinking."

Instead of answering, Peter invaded Tony’s space entirely, fisting his hands in the fabric of Tony’s all too expensive dress shirt. He tilted his head until his nose bumped against Tony’s and he could feel the other man’s breath on his lips. Tony groaned at the feeling and wrapped his arms around Peter’s narrow waist, pulling him into his chest. Their lips were so close to touching that Tony swore he could feel them brush against his. Peter let out a shaky breath and smiled softly at Tony, nodding his head just slightly.

He couldn’t tell which of them moved first, but before he knew it Peter’s soft lips were pressed against his own. Tony swallowed Peter’s soft moan and allowed his tongue to explore the seam of Peter’s lips. One of Peter’s hands let go of its tight grip on Tony’s shirt and traveled up his chest, over his shoulder, and settled on the back of his neck, just able to wind his fingers through the strands of hair there. The move made Tony let out a loud moan as he pulled back from Peter, nipping his full bottom lip as we went.

They pressed their foreheads together, panting against each other's lips, not loosening their grip one bit. Tony could feel Peter’s face stretch into a grin and he pulled back just far enough to catch a glimpse. Tony leaned back in to press another kiss against Peter’s soft lips before taking a step back, allowing his hand to find Peter’s.

“God, you’re gorgeous. I should get you home before we horrify this entire town,” he said breathlessly.

“Yeah, you’re probably right."

Tony quickly opened the passenger door and allowed Peter to slip inside before closing the door. As he rounded the front of the car to the driver’s side, he swore he could feel Peter’s eyes following his every move.

“You’re staying with May, right?” Tony asked as he got settled into his seat.

Peter nodded. “Yeah, the house is just off the highway by the Dairy Queen."

Tony hummed in recognition and started the car. Peter, being about as subtle as a trainwreck, couldn't take his eyes off of Tony the duration of the short ride to May’s house. Watching Tony’s hands grip the wheel and grasp the gear shift should not have affected Peter the way they did, but he simply couldn't help it. After a few minutes, Tony glanced over and caught Peter staring at his right hand on the gear shift. Peter turned bright red, realizing he’d been caught, but Tony simply slid his hand over the center console and settled his palm on Peter’s thigh.

“You’re pretty cute when you get flustered, Pete." Tony squeezed Peter’s thigh and just laughed at Peter’s garbled reply.

Deciding it was safer not to speak, Peter stayed quiet until they neared May’s house. Even then, he only said enough to direct Tony down a couple quiet streets until the house came into view. Tony’s hand remained firmly on Peter’s thigh the entire time, squeezing in acknowledgment as Peter directed him. When Tony came to a stop in May’s driveway, both men hesitantly turned toward each other.

Tony lifted his hand from Peter’s thigh to cup his face, running a thumb along Peter’s cheek. Peter’s hand reached out to wind his fingers in Tony’s hair, pulling the man closer as he did so.

“I would invite you in, but I think I might fall asleep walking to the front door,” Peter said, disappointment evident in his voice.

“Well then I better make sure you get to the door in one piece."

They reluctantly dropped their hands and stepped out of the car. Tony came around to Peter’s side and wrapped an arm low around Peter’s hips. Peter couldn’t help but lean into the warmth and firmness of Tony’s side as they made their way to the front door.

Tony used his grip on Peter’s waist to turn the boy to face him.

“Get some rest, kid."

Peter nodded in agreement, already slumped against Tony’s chest.

Tony chuckled and took a small step back, making sure Peter remained upright. Tony leaned in cautiously, but Peter answered the question before Tony could even ask it by pressing his lips firmly against Tony’s. They got lost in each other for a few moments, before Peter pulled back with a yawn.

“I’ll see you soon, Tony."

“Absolutely, Peter." Tony squeezed Peter’s hip before heading back to his car.

Peter unlocked the front door and stepped inside the familiar threshold. Before closing the door, he called out to Tony. “If you thought I looked good in a suit all those years ago, just wait until you see me at the wedding." Before Tony could say anything, Peter closed the door.

Tony stood frozen in the driveway where he’d already opened the door to his car. He just shook his head and laughed, knowing he was in trouble with this kid.

#starker #starker fanfic #tony stark x peter parker #starker au #mine

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fantasy2739 · 4 years

Note

Maybe you could do a one shot with Douxie and the Arcadia gang spending time with each other and having fun (whatever activity you choose)? after Wizards. Slight canon deviation with Douxie staying a few days before departing with Nari. It’s be fun for them all to the unwind after all the events they’ve been through

Ahhh a little fluff good Anon? A little happy for these children? But of course!

I hope you enjoy!!

“Staying a couple of nights won’t kill you.” Claire had said. Which was how Douxie had ended up in the cul-de-sac that housed the Lake’s and Domzalski’s. He could rough it, or have gone home. Except his home had been blown to bits. Douxie shook the depressing thoughts from his head. No point in dwelling on the past.

“I’m bored.” Toby said as they sat in the Lake living room.

“Bored? We were nearly killed by a flying castle.” Jim pointed out.

“Yeah but that was like yesterday.” Toby said, flicking through his phone. “Nothings’s happened today.”

“Maybe we should enjoy the peace and quiet.” Claire said, leaning against Jim.

“We could play a game.” Krel suggested. “That’s peaceful.”

“Video game?” Steve asked curiously. “I would pound all of you.”

“GoGo Sushi?” Aaarrrgh put forward hopefully.

“To many people.” Jim said with a shake of his head. “Board game?”

“Cluedo?” Claire suggested. Then she frowned before counting the people in the room. “Damn, too many people.”

“We could team up.” Douxie said, stretching out on the floor. His limbs still felt stiff.

“Team up, nah not for cluedo.” Toby said. Then he got an evil grin on his face. “We could play Monopoly.” There were several protests. A chorus of no’s.

“What is this Monopoly?” Nari asked curiously as Krel shot them a questioning look.

“Yes, I am rather curious myself.” Blinky put in. The teens groaned.

“You go around a board earning money and trying to bankrupt everyone else.” Jim explained.

“Except no one can agree on the rules.” Douxie added.

“And it always becomes an argument.” Claire added.

“Usually with at least one person quitting.” Toby finished. Blinky frowned and pondered.

“I think we should play.” He said eventually. Jim went to find their board. He came back with a look of doom.

“Anyone want to pair up?” He asked, setting it down.

“Wingman?” Aaarrrgh asked. Toby smiled.

“Sure thing big guy.” He said, patting the ground. Jim unfolded the board. He shot Claire a hopeful look. She smiled.

“You’re going down Lake.” She said sweetly.

“Nari you want to play?” Douxie asked kindly. Nari looked nervous but nodded. “Alone or with a team?”

“I will try alone.” She said softly.

“Well I intend to take you for all you have.” Archie said with a sly grin at Douxie. Douxie rolled his eyes.

“Everyone keep an eye so that Archie doesn’t walk on the board.” He said. He rubbed the familiar. “He cheats.”

“I don’t cheat.” Archie protested. “I play creatively.”

“Leaping on the board because you owe rent is cheating.” Douxie said. Claire snickered.

“Sorry Archie, but Douxie’s right.” She said. “Do it and we’ll double the rent.” Archie looked properly chastised but still like he might try.

“Fine, but no enchanting the dice.” He said primly. Douxie nearly slapped his forehead.

“It was one time.” He grumbled.

“Okay, so no magic, no jumping on the board.” Jim said. “And Lake house rules are in effect. If you don’t call for rent you don’t get it.”

“What? So I have to focus on you buttsnacks too?” Steve complained.

“I’m guessing no Akiridian tech either.” Krel interjected.

“No Akiridian tech.” Jim agreed. “We need to pick out character pieces. Pe- Uh those that haven’t played before can pick first.”

“Well Miss Nari, if you’d like to go first.” Blinky offered graciously. Nari eyed the little metal pieces.

“I will be this little dog.” She said, picking it up happily. Blinky picked the Top Hat, Krel took the cannon.

“Does it blast people?” He asked.

“What no.” Jim said. “They’re just pieces. They don’t have powers.” Krel looked disappointed. Steve grabbed the battleship with a smirk. Archie chose the Thimble and Douxie picked the Horse and Rider. Toby took the race car before Jim or Claire had a chance. Claire sighed and took the wheelbarrow while Jim took the boot with a wry look. Clearly he was used to Toby grabbing the car first.

“I’ll just run through the rules quickly.” Jim said with a sigh.

“Roll the dice Jimbo!” Toby yelled.

“Huh? Wait you owe me rent Dumbzalski.” Steve snapped.

“Jim rolled!”

“No he didn’t.”

“I’m calling rule break.”

“That was not a rule break.”

“You rolled three doubles!”

“I’m not going to jail after just getting out!”

“Suck it up and go!” Douxie snickered at the arguments that broke out between everyone. It reminded him of many game nights with Archie. He sat back and let the atmosphere wash over him. It felt so relaxing.

“Douxie are you going to roll?” Claire asked. Douxie blinked at her. She gave him a concerned look but he smiled at her. He rolled and landed on Mayfair.

“I’m going to buy it.” He said. “And since I have Park Lane too, I’m going to put a house in both.” Everyone’s eyes went down to the board.

“Oh no.” Toby mumbled. “We’re all doomed. He’s got them both. Why didn’t anyone stop him?”

“I didn’t have enough money to buy it.” Krel said. “Kleb. If you hadn’t called rent on Fleet Street.” Blinky gasped in shock.

“But then I couldn’t stop Master Jim from buying Bond Street.” He said.

“It’s only two properties.” Douxie said.

“The most expensive ones.” Jim grumbled.

“Right near Go.” Claire added. “And you got the train stations.”

“Only because Archie ruined my utilities plan.” Douxie argued.

“The end of the board is a death trap.” Steve said. “We’re doomed.” Nari had curled up against Douxie after being bankrupted three rounds in.

“Is this not the point of the game?” She asked tiredly. “To crush your opponents wealth until they are helpless.”

“Nari remember what we talked about.” Archie said. “It’s not just crushing wealth. It’s crushing their dreams too.” That brought a round of laughter.

“There’s still a chance someone else could win.” Jim said. “If we all target Douxie.”

“Ooo an alliance. How devious.” Toby said while rubbing his hands together. “I’m in.”

“Fine but just remember, Claire’s got all the pink places.” Douxie said with a smirk. “And if you aren’t careful she’ll buy up all the orange too.” Looks of distrust circled the board.

The game took four hours. Four unholy hours of backstabbing, yelling, attempts at cheating and Archie nearly setting the board on fire. Douxie won, naturally.

“Don’t feel too bad.” He said. “I’ve been playing since it came out.”

“I feel a little less bad.” Claire sighed. “Still you are brutal.”

“You should have seen when played with Jeff.” Archie said. “That was a night.”

“Jeff?” Krel asked. “Who’s Jeff?”

“Goldblum.” Archie said, licking his paws. The stares made both Archie and Douxie uncomfortable.

“It was before the Jurassic Park thing.” He said sheepishly.

“Have you met other famous people?” Toby pounced. Douxie flushed.

“I mean a few yes.” He mumbled. “It’s been a long life.” An awkward silence fell. Douxie waved his hands a little. “But still as monopoly victor.”

“Brutal victor.” Blinky said, snapping his fingers.

“Uh yeah brutal victor. I don’t have to tidy up.” Douxie declared. There were a couple of snorts.

“No fair is fair.” Blinky said.

“You should rest anyway.” Claire said. “And then tomorrow we’re going to kick your butt with a different game.” Douxie raised an eyebrow at the challenge.

“Looking forward to it.”

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lighdramons · 3 years

Text

Hi I'm back. I promised awhile ago I’d tell the story of the fucked up digi.mon cult, so I figured that’s a great start for getting back onto this hellsite.

If the read more works, everything will be below the cut and it is a mess. Just a few things before the cut though:

General TW as I will be bringing up some of the bad experiences I had as well as talking about mental illness.

I will not be using names of sites, usernames, etc. I will not answer on specific users either. I’m sure these sites are still operating somewhere privately and back in the day, some of these people were big in the Digi.mon community outside of the sites as well.

If any of the people involved see this, no ill wishes towards you guys, just my take on things.

I quit these sites back in early 2015. I do not know what happened after I quit. I am only still in contact with a few individuals who either quit around the same time as me or long before.

As a general courtesy, some of these sites still exist. Please do not go harass them. A lot of the public sites are just teens trying to figure out themselves.

If you have questions or comments after reading this whole thing, I’m happy to answer any either publicly or privately. And yes, you can reblog this post.

We need to jump back to 2007 to begin with. I was a middle schooler getting back into Digi.mon because I walked into Gamestop and Digi.mon was sitting in the new releases. And I had access to the internet. I did binge S1-5 with subs and watching reruns of the dub on Toon Disney. I spent some time on the big fansite. Great site, just bad experience at the time because I was a teen and probably lied about my age. I didn’t feel like that was the community for me. I do check it every day now for news, just never made a new account cause I don’t even remember what I used back in the day.

By end of 2008/beginning of 2009 I began looking for other sites, stumbled across the digiclipse stuff on the bad encyclopedia site, looked into it, thought it was neat, moved on. Stuck with the big site for now because the only other sites I found were RP sites and not my thing at the time. Got hit hard with depression at the start of 10th grade (late 2010) and found my way back onto the digiclipse stuff. Didn’t really believe most of it, but thought the idea of creating AI Digi.mon was neat. Joined the smaller of the two sites because it felt friendlier and most users seemed my age.

For people who do not know, digiclipse is the act of going outside and holding the toys up hoping to get teleported. Most people by the time I joined thought the people who did this were crazy. Some people liked to do it for the lolz though.

Anyways, most of what happened on the sites was just talking and hanging out in chat rooms about life and other things. It was pretty chill. I can’t speak for everyone on the sites, but for me it was an escapism kind of thing. I was depressed and hated life so pretending that a magical adventure was a possibility gave me some hope. But honestly, got a group of people who were cool to talk with for the most part. There was one older female in her mid 20s that would come in the chat drunk and sexually harass the other female users and tell all the male they should die and are worthless. Nothing was ever done about her. And honestly it was weird having her there when most of the other people on the site were under 18. That was initially my only bad experience on the sites.

At some point during 2011, there were three individuals who claimed to see and speak with their digi.mon partners. And that they could read your aura and tell you exactly your digi.mon partner. And everyone believed this shit, mostly because two of them were prominent members and how could they lie. The process was simple, you would DM them either a creative piece you’ve done (art, writing, etc) or send a photo of yourself and they’d come back in a few days and tell you who your partner was. There was only ever one individual this method of tracking did not work on and that is yours truly. Oh and at the time it hit hard because I had started falling down the rabbit hole. This is the beginning of the cult-ish stuff.

Then the Ouija board happened. I have no issues with what happened during the fucking around with said Ouija board, I have issues with everything that spiraled out of control after. They fucked around with it confirming people’s partners that the others had “found”. And eventually they asked about mine. And then it was basically said, “oh we can’t tell you the results”. I was eventually added to this secret site of “The Chosen”. And basically told, “oh your partner is the offspring/creation of THE BIG BAD” and there were all sorts of debates on what to do about it. I literally thought I was getting punked at first and these people are clearly taking this whole thing too far. No, these people all believed this. Oh and the best part, most of the people involved in this “chosen” group were in their mid 20s. Me being a depressed as fuck 16yo that just wanted something exciting in life ended up eating all this up. I felt special and chosen. I look back on it now and I’m like what a fucking idiot.

We were all taught from the three who could do the stuff I explained earlier how we can also learn to bond and communicate and see our partner. I had absolutely no progress. Eventually this stuff led to everyone in this “chosen” group getting a “special guardian spirit”. Again, I made no progress on this. And to the point where they made me feel special again, I was the only person who had the wrong “guardian spirit” and they eventually found my “real one”, more on this later.

These discussions moved from a forum site to a private skype chat room, and then further smaller private chat rooms. The movement to skype is where I started having some bad experiences. I gave a few of my “close” friends on the site my phone number, soon everyone had my number. And this happened to multiple people over the years. My own stupidity at the time.

This stuff continued as I finished high school. At the time, I still managed to maintain my social life with school friends, keep up my grades, etc. Got into college with a good scholarship in my dream field. And then I started to go downhill once I got to school. The longer this stuff went on, the more you were expected to be involved. Including being on skype calls all night. It slowly began consuming my life. I ended up not only with depression, but ending up with an ED that was tied to anxiety so I’d go days without eating. I was seeing things and hearing voices, which was highly encouraged because it meant things were working. I literally could not tell the difference of when I was asleep or awake. I honestly do not remember the majority of my freshman year of college. I had no real friends and was just barely scraping by grade-wise. And well, the academic year almost ended with me hanging from a pipe in my dorm.

I ended up running the site I started on as an admin after the original admin team left. And it was expected you do not mention any of the “secret” stuff on the main site. Over the years I know it became clear to the users not included that there were secrets in the background. And those who knew stuff would actively fuck with these users. And if I haven’t made it clear yet, there was a hierarchy to this whole secret group. And it was the original three who were mentioned at the beginning that were on top. And what they said was gospel. Whatever they claimed is what happened and whatever rules they had were the rules. But of course certain people could break the rules and get away with it.

This next part happened at some point during my freshman year and will be relevant again later on. This is the biggest TW section so skip if you have to. I had a user dox me. He had my home address and threatened to post it. He had sent it privately to a few other users as well that alerted me of this. His reasoning? I would not date him or say I loved him. He told me that he would come to my house, murder me, r*pe my dead body, because he is the only one who gets to have me. Another user got involved and called the cops. I do not know if anything ever came of this because I never spoke to anyone about it. I at the time had admin privileges on one of the sites so I banned him and blocked his IP and I blocked him on anything I could. And I continued doing this over the years. I was told I was a bad person for doing this because I did not understand him. This lead to a lot of the things in the above paragraph getting worse.

As this all continued, there were battles and casualties and everyone ended up with like 20 partners. And if you haven’t noticed I’ve stopped using the term digi.mon entirely in the past few paragraphs. That’s because oh they weren’t digi.mon. They were spirits/dimensional beings that took on a form we were comfortable with and we formed a bond with. And I kept going along with all of this because I was in too deep at this point. And obviously yes, this all made sense. So at some point during this time, my “spirit” went to sleep and a new one “awakened”. And I of course still went along with all this. The BIG BAD kept mutating into stronger forms and blah blah blah.

During my fall semester sophomore year, I joined theatre at my college and did tech. Honestly, one of the reasons I was able to begin breaking away from this. I started to get an actual friend group and have less time for these sites. But there was always a pull of “you have to be here”. You were expected to be on skype calls and/or active in chat.

Well, that all changed at the start of 2015. They wanted a deletion of all the other sites and they would have one site united under one belief system. I was not a huge fan of this and made this known, but also offered to help in the coding as that was a skill I had that no one else really had. It got out around that I was a cunt and a power hungry bitch and blah blah blah. If it was just that, I would probably not have left. No no no, I was accused of lying about the shit that that user said and did to me. Because he is such a nice guy that could never do that type of stuff. And unless I provided the receipts I was clearly an attention seeking liar that wanted to ruin his life. That was the straw. I fucking blacked out in a rage and attempted to delete some of the different websites, I blasted some of these people on their real facebooks, and then I deleted all of my accounts and blocked everyone and blocked their numbers.

After that, I started talking with other people that quit. I started enjoying my college life. And I tried to act like none of that stuff had happened. I distanced myself from those individuals that were active in the Digi.mon community. I stopped hearing the voices and seeing things. I started going to therapy. My road hasn’t been perfect, but I’ve come a long way since I got out of this stuff. Honestly going to meet up with one old member after covid is all clear cause we’ve known each other for over a decade now and its about time we finally meet in person.

So yeah, that’s my story. I know I jumped around a bit and thoughts might not be too clear, but I wanted to share the fucked up things that happen in the background of the digi.mon community. Did I have good times? Hell yeah. The Olive Garden incident still to this day is iconic. We played d&d oneshots sometimes. We had memes. We all watched xros and hunters together live. And I still have some good friends out of this. The most fascinating thing out of all of this is everyone from the community that I still am either in contact with or see them via social media had admitted over the years to suffer from some kind of mental illness and has come out as part of the LGBTQA+ community. My own conclusion is a lot of us got sucked in due to depression/escapism and just a feeling of not belonging. And being around people of similar age with similar interests just made things more bearable at times. It also made a lot of us very vulnerable to the manipulation that took place, whether it was intentional or just one big group delusion created by multiple mentally ill people. I call it a cult, but I'm sure people will disagree with me. Whatever you want to call it, it wasn't good for my mental health in the long run.

If this shit is still going on, I hope people aren’t letting it consume their lives. And I just wish the best for everyone even if some of the shit hurt me.

As I said up top, if you want me to elaborate on anything or have questions, I’m good with talking about stuff. If you know me IRL and are reading this and are like "RACHEL WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK" I owe you a drink and explanation. And of course it Is okay to reblog. This is one hell of a comeback post on this site, am I right?

#ray's rants #im back on this hellsite and im here to share bullshit

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volperion-moved · 4 years

Text

okay i had a nap heeeere's what i didn't like about the NY special, some of it is stuff covered by other people but whatevs ykno

so like I said before, I feel like the ways marinette and adrien were interacting physically, mostly at the start of the special, were weirdly sexual, not appropriate for their ages. if they're supposed to be a little older here, it doesn't look like it from their character models. watching them fall into each other in different ways would be fine in a romcom with adult actors but these guys are still young teenagers so I just found it really uncomfortable.

I actually really hated alya in this special. i hate that she wasn't given a subplot of her own, neither was nino, she just obsessed over adrien and marinette the whole time. she brings the teen ny heroes into it, because why should and nonwhite characters get to stand on their own instead of being obsessed with these two?

the villain, and the entire plot around them, I barely even remember it because the show introduced this guy in the laziest way - literally having alya say "hey, look, it's ny's tech-themed villain!' - and his character and story gets drowned out by the lovesquare drama.

basically, this special has a ton of stuff happen that I can't even keep up with because it isn't given room to breathe or be explored properly, because the lovesquare drama takes up the majority of the show. it's a little frustrating in the normal episodes, BUT I have had a bit of understanding since it is the main plot, even though I find most of the side plots a lot more interesting. here this special takes that idea and cranks it up to the max, it's like all of the main series comes with a bit of frustration while this special takes all three seasons of frustration and injects it directly into you, kicks you in the face and gives you lesbians at the very end so you should be grateful, dammit. I'm not done yet but yeah that's what's really annoying about the whole thing

chloe gets a kind of subplot where she doesn't want to go to new york, she's forced to go anyway, and she's just upset the whole time with no resolution? that's really annoying lol?? sabrina at one point ditches her to hang out with the others at a party, blushing at this random guy who shows up to take her to it, and it's like? good for her but this is out of character, there wasn't any buildup for her undying loyalty to chloe to be undone like this?? what was the point of bringing chloe to new york? if they wanted to have sabrina get development like this, it would have made a lot more sense if she was the one forced to go and was obsessively checking her phone to help chloe, and then this guy helps her set it aside so she can have fun at the party idk.

kagami and adrien kiss on the lips at the start of the episode, like that's just a thing they're doing now, which makes all of this lovesquare stuff cheating, doesn't it?? that leaves a bad taste in my mouth

new york has a "superhero for everything" which is a really interesting concept that they really don't use. the idea that this is a city overpopulated by heroes could have been really cool if they actually involved the fact that marinette is the guardian of the miraculous now and needs to decide who to make into superheroes, she could be looking at all these heroes and consider why they're fit for the job etc.? she could get bummed out over how she needs to retire a bunch of the heroes because their identities got revealed to hawkmoth in the finale?? but no it's just this weird thing that new york has been like sky high this entire time. i HATE that the fact that these heroes don't even need secret identities is just casually stated as well, because it invalidates all of the annoying drama we've had to sit through about how chloe is terrible and irresponsible for not having a secret identity as queen bee, and how adrien and marinette can't know each others secret identities.

chat noir literally kills someone and the narrative focuses on his man pain and has ladybug have to be the one to apologise to him. people have covered this in other posts but yeah, it fucking sucks

there's so much new lore thrown at this special that i dont even remember all of it and some of it contradicts prev. canon but yknow. it's not the priority lol it's marinette and adrien's romance!! i thought teen titans trouble in tokyo was bad for having it's romance overshadow things but at least the other characters had their own subplots and it didn't try to introduce a billion new lore elements to the story

and finallyy, at the end of the episode we get a superhero team with two moms. that's really nice and all, but i can't help feeling like it's a slap in the face. these characters dont properly get their stories explored, it's all so hamfisted. personally i really hate this kind of representation where it feels like it's just thrown in at the last second and it's really ambiguous. all the power to you if you feel empowered by it but i just feel like ive been thrown table scraps and told it's a meal considering how heteronormative this show is.

also-- the lovesquare stuff, that took up so much of the episode, barely even feels resolved by the end of it?? i dont know if i was so confused by this point i missed it but they're just back to where they started i think..?????

it genuinely exceeded by expectations on how bad it was going to be and i already knew i was in for adrien man pain and some racism because i read other posts about it. it was the most frustrating experience, i didnt know i could get this mad over a cartoon i already KNEW was going to be bad vkehvkbekcuejbckhem

#miraculous new york spoilers #ml salt #long post #its like astruc read my blog and was like 'oh you dont like chat blanc? thats cute.'

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keysszz · 4 years

Text

Different

A Rottmnt Fanfic

He didn't get it.

This was the third time this week that he was being patched up, and he just didn't understand.

He was smart for a six year old, and he could have told anyone that from the start. He could do things that his brothers couldn't, including making various creations and inventions.

But even for the brains of the family, he still had questions.

He just wanted to play like his brothers did. They wrestled each other like nothing, and they seemed to have a great time doing it, they were having fun.

Yet, whenever Donnie tried to join them, he'd get hurt.

He couldn't play like them. His father told him that multiple times before, but the softshell just didn't understand. It took him many accidents and many painful falls for the message to get across, leaving Donnie to just go into his own world. Distancing himself from his brothers, he began to focus more on his tech and inventions.

He still had a feeling inside of him though. He just wanted to be like them; he wanted to run and jump and hang and just be a normal kid.

He just wanted to have fun.

...Maybe he just couldn't understand everything.

~~~~~

After looking at his shell for what seemed like the twentieth time that day, Donnie sighed.

It had been weeks since he had injured himself, but the pain was still unbearable. The scratches on his back were barely visible anymore, and he was greatly for that. But what the teen couldn't understand was why it had happened.

He had his battle shell on at the time, so why did he get these marks in the first place? Let alone why did it hurt so much?

He thought he was getting better at this...

Sure, he knew he wasn't unharmable, but the battle shell helped to protect him from most pains.

Unfortunately, it didn't protect him from all of them.

As he checked his shell in the mirror again, a frown slowly appeared on his face.

Was he weak for this?

It wasn't his fault that he was a softshell, he knew that. But it didn't help that he had to be treated with extra care.

He knew his brothers meant well, but it was starting to get annoying. Whenever Donnie would wince or yell in pain because of his shell, they'd rush to his side and try to aid him.

Most of the time he appreciated it. But now he was starting to hate it.

Sometimes he wouldn't even be in that much pain. A light ow would still send his brothers rushing over. They'd check him and look him over to make sure that he was ok.

Despite the softshell's tries to make them stop because it was annoying him, they would still check and ask him questions and stare, and oh my god I'm fine, leave me alone!

He loved his brothers, but they just couldn't take a hint.

He decided to stop torturing himself and go to get a drink of coffee. He would soon forget about this later when he would go to the lab and begun working, and he'd do anything to make himself stop thinking about his shell.

He threw on his signature purple jacket and walked into the kitchen, smiling softly as the coffee maker whirled on. He could hear Leo and Mikey skateboarding in the distance, and the TV was set on low as Splinter snored in his chair.

He looked around to see if he could spot Raph, but the snapping turtle was no where to be seen.

He figured he was probably in his room, so Donnie took his mug and went into the lab to begin working.

Only four minutes had passed, and Donnie's shell had begun to ache again.

He hadn't even really done anything to it. He groaned as he rubbed his shell, trying to stop the pain, but the gesture had only made it worse.

"You ok, Don?" He heard his Raph say.

Donnie groaned again as he turned around in his chair to look at his brother.

"Yes Raph, I'm fine," he muttered. "Do you need something?"

"I just came in here to check on you," Raph said as he frowned. He began to walk towards the genius as Donnie sighed.

"Is your shell ok?"

"I told you, I'm fine," Donnie answered. "Now if you excuse me, I have to start working."

Raph stared at Donnie for a little longer before glancing at his shell.

"Where's your battle shell?" He asked the softshell.

What's with all the questions?! Donnie thought with a huff.

"I decided to wear my jacket," Donnie replied. "Why? Is it a problem when I don't wear my battle shell?"

"No, it's just that you don't normally walk around without it," Raph answered. "Did you do something to your shell?"

"For the last time, I'm fine!" Donnie groaned. "Can you lay off me for five seconds?!"

Raph glanced back from Donnie's shell of his face, all while his frown deepened.

"Ok, but if you wanna talk," Raph told him. "You know we're here for you."

"I don't need to talk," Donnie grumbled. "What I need for you is to get out so that I can work."

"Alright, I'll leave you alone," Raph said as he turned around to exit the lab. He glanced at Donnie once more before leaving as the softshell sighed.

Donnie rubbed his shell once more before beginning to start on his work.

The pain was getting worse, but he could manage...

~~~~~

His brothers had started to catch on.

Mainly because they were just nosy, but it also didn't help that Donnie would wince every five minutes.

The pain had begun to get worse. He'd check his shell in private to see if they scratches had somehow gotten worse; if they had somehow gotten bigger, but they looked the same as they always did.

So why in the world did it hurt so much?!

It might have been the fact that he hadn't treated them right. Or maybe it was because he kept messing with them every five minutes.

But whatever the reason, he knew he had to do something about it.

As he sighed, he stood up and headed to his twin's room.

Mikey would have been the first person he would go to, but he just felt like Leo would understand him more (that, and because of the whole "we're twins" thing).

Once he got to his blue brother's room, he spotted the slider on the bed, scrolling through his phone. Leo looked up at Donnie and sat his phone down beside him, a confused expression coming into his face.

"Hey Don," he said with a stare. "You need anything?"

"I need to talk," Donnie said as he walked over to his twin.

Huh, that's weird... Leo thought to himself. Donnie usually never wanted to talk, the others usually had to pry out whatever he was feeling from him.

"Ok, what is it?" Leo asked as Donnie sat beside him on the bed.

"It's about my shell," Donnie started.

"Did something happen to it?" Leo asked in concern. He then looked at Donnie's back and frowned, he didn't realized the genius wasn't wearing his battle shell until now.

"I mean, it happened a couple of weeks ago," Donnie answered. "It's not even that bad really, it's just a couple of scratches."

"Can I see?" Leo asked, waiting for his brother to respond. He smiled softly as Donnie took off his jacket, but his frown came back as he examined the scratches.

Like Donnie said, they weren't that bad. But from the looks of it, they seemed to be pretty bad before. But they were healing now, so the slider was a little greatful.

"Why didn't you tell us you hurt yourself?" Leo questioned.

"Because you guys get so overprotective," Donnie groaned. "I can take care of myself, I don't need you guys on my shell every five minutes."

Leo looked at Donnie's shell again before sighing.

"Ok, yeah I get that," he responded. "But something else is bothering you."

Donnie looked at his twin and turned the other way. Leo was always so quick to figure out if Donnie was hiding something, and that was another reason why he wished he went to Mikey. But if this was the only way he could let his feelings out, then so be it.

"I just hate being different from you guys," Donnie sighed. "I can't do most of the things you all can, do you know how frustrating that is?!"

Leo listened as his brother ranted, his frown deepening as Donnie talked. He knew that Donnie hated that he had imperfections, but Leo didn't know that he felt like this.

"The scratches aren't even that bad, but the pain that comes from them is insane," Donnie continued. "Sometimes I wonder how it would be to have a normal shell..."

"Donnie, you know we love you, right?" Leo asked suddenly. "We wouldn't want you any other way."

"I know, but I can't help but think sometimes..." Donnie replied.

"Nothing is gonna happen to you," Leo said as he rested his hand on Donnie's shoulder. When he didn't flinch, he continued.

"You have your battle shell and us. Nothing is gonna hurt you. We won't let that happen."

Silence fell over the room as Leo looked at his twin, searching for any signs of discomfort. He smiled a little as he saw Donnie glance at him.

"Yeah," Donnie replied. "And yes, you can hug me now."

Leo grinned as he embraced the genius, and his smile got bigger as Donnie leaned into the hug. At the first impact, Donnie winced a bit since his shell started to ache. Leo made sure to not hug him too tight and to take his shell into consideration.

The hug lasted for a few minutes, and though Leo had wanted it to be a little longer, he let Donnie go.

"You all better now?" Leo asked.

"Yeah," Donnie replied. He then looked at Leo with a scowl. "If you tell the others about this you're dead."

"I won't," Leo said with a chuckle. "My lips are sealed.

Feelings were a hard thing for Donnie to talk about, but it was getting easier for him to tell the others how he felt. Hopefully the pain in his shell would go away soon, and then things would go back to normal.

Or rather, as normal as being a mutant turtle can get.

#rottmnt #rottmnt fanfic #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt leo #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #angst with a happy ending #angst

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living-dead-parker · 5 years

Text

New Girl

Summary: Request - Can you do an imagine where your Tony’s daughter and there’s this new girl intern whose trying to outdo you so u feel like the avengers don’t really need you because you think she’s smarter and prettier than you .. thanks :)

What? I actually wrote something??

Warnings: cussing probably, slight angst, real ooc shit but idc man

Word Count: 4.5k ooh she long

You're not a jealous person. Really, you'd always felt jealousy was an ugly color. Unfortunately for you, everybody would describe you as such at the moment. Though in your defense, it's not jealousy. It's a case of fraud!

"Good job, Ally," your dad congratulates the intern. she'd originally been a temp. A seasonal temp for the Spring. Well, spring was over three months ago. In fact, Fall is approaching and it seems like she'll still be here for at least another three months. You scowl inwardly, tired of hearing her name. " We're all meeting in20 to discuss the Halloween charity event," Tony says and your eyes widen. She was definitely not invited to that meeting! "Meet us in conference room B, please?"

It's not that you don't like temps or interns. In fact, you've become great friends with a lot of them over the years. It's just something about Ally. She's a total suck up and she's totally stealing your place. Before she came along, the team would come to you for suit and tech upgrades. They'd go to you for advice on combat in regards to their suits or tech. But ever since Ally came around, she's taken over that. The team goes to her now and they seem to like her better for it as the last person to have stepped into your lab was your dad, three days ago to ask you if you could consult with Ally. Before that was Peter about a month and a half before that to hang out. It's been a while. Then you'd been placed to work on some SI renewable energy source project but then that responsibility went to Ally as well. Ultimately, you didn't have much to do, so you started, unknown to anybody but yourself, dabbling in the fashion industry and took up witchcraft because you have the time.

Before you even hear her response, you turn around and head out towards the elevators. Along the way, you find yourself bumping into Peter. He's quick to apologize despite the fact that you were the one not watching where you were going.

" Peter?" you call out confused. Why he's even on that floor, to begin with taking you by surprise. He has his own lab on the same floor you, your father, and Bruce do. Nowhere near this floor. "What are you doing here?"

" Uh," he pauses, nervously scratching his neck. "I was gonna meet with Ally. Gonna ask her if she can help me repair my web shooters, hang out a bit too."

You almost visibly deflate at that. Great, even your crush would rather go to Ally for something than you. You've helped Peter with his web shooters before, and he'd usually always hang out with you. What the hell? " Oh," you finally respond. "I can help you! After the meeting, I mean."

" It's fine, Y/N," Peter responds. "Don't wanna put a lot on your plate. Go work on your pitch."

Before you can say anything, Ally is walking out with your dad. The two are laughing like they've known each other for years. She calls out to Peter and he tells you he'll see you in a few. You watch him walk up to Ally and you pick up on how she bites her lip, tucking a strand of her long, black, straight hair behind her ear. Her green eyes stare into Peter's and you suddenly feel self-conscious as Peter stares at her.

"Hey Y/N," your dad calls out, walking next to you. "Why are you down here?" He presses a button and the elevator opens, allowing both of you to step in.

"Oh, you know," you start, waving him off. " Just practicing for the meeting. you know how I am."

Tony nods as the elevator goes up two floors to the conference floor. Upon arrival, your phone dings, showing an email notification. You open it and see it's from someone named Alex Gianni. A fashion designer on the come up. Not too unknown as his clothing is all the rage with teens and internet influencers. However, the biggest thing about him is that his father, Arlo Gianni, is one of your father's biggest critics. The two have a mutual dislike for each other and it's kind of hilarious. Nonetheless, you're acquaintances with Alex.

' Y/N Stark, It's in my interest to ask you if you're available to direct my winter line's fashion show. I'm well aware of your eye for design and fashion as well as the mixture of applied sciences into your practices. In short, I grant you creative freedom over the show, based on the looks should you decide to accept this offer.'

Initially, you didn't think much of the email and decided to ignore it for the time being. You'd decline his offer later, for the sake of your dear old dad. However, the offer is very tempting. You've been wanting to do a show before, but you never really got the chance. Nonetheless, you push the thought behind and decide to focus on the subject matter of the meeting.

"Where's Parker?" you find yourself asking, seconds before the meeting is set to start. Everyone shrugs but Tony says to just start without him, that he'll fill him in on the information. So you commence the meeting. Most of your bit is the introductory stuff. Pepper would begin discussing the meat of it all. Halfway through your speech, Peter and Ally walk in, laughing obnoxiously loud. Their eyes widen when they see you and your upset face. Being the professional you are, you continue like that never happened. However, as you continue, you notice the unprofessionalism of the others in the room. They all managed to start some kind of conversation with Ally and even Pepper and your father managed to ignore you and to join in. Peter couldn't seem to keep his voice down and that was the final straw. "And I have a big announcement to make!"

The loudness of your voice gained all thin attention. With a smile used to hide the anger and the heartbreak, you speak up. "I've decided to drop out of the charity event organizer committee. Pepper will be fine on her own, I know she will be."

With that, you head out the conference room and into the elevator. Once the doors shut, you let the tears fall. The anger and the sadness of having everybody forget about you and Choose the seemingly smarter and prettier girl finally coming out. Through teary eyes, you unlock your phone and decide to email Alex back.

' Hey Alex, I would be honored to direct your show! I'm so glad you chose me, please let me know when you'd like to meet to discuss plans.'

Two days passed before you got a sudden response. You'd spent those two days in bed crying and listening to a lot of Fleetwood Mac. No one even tried looking for you or talking to you for those two days given that you haven't gotten a single knock on your door, nor a text or call, not even a message from FRIDAY. When you opened the response, you saw that it was a text from Alex asking if you could meet in two hours. You were quick to respond, jumping up to get ready. For the first time in 48 hours, you were up and smiling.

You were quick to throw on some jeans, a top, and a coat over that. You asked FRIDAY to do a scan where everybody was so that you could avoid them all for now. Deep down, you feel like you're exaggerating, but at the same time, you know you're not. Everyone has been forgetting about you, often ignoring you for Ally for the past six months. Some you've gone that amount of time not seeing. It's depressing. Their unprofessionalism was just the thing that made you break. So, FRIDAY gives you the best route to take so you don't have to see any of them and you take it. You're in a car withing ten minutes and you're driving off toward's Alex's house to meet up.

That's how the next couple of weeks went, without anyone noticing. You'd wake up at 9 AM, get ready for your day and head out as soon as you were ready. You'd go to the nearest cafe, get some breakfast, and eat. Then, you'd get to Alex's house by 10:30. Then, you'd both convene for a while, bouncing ideas off each other, and get to drawing or writing plans. You'd try on the clothes, feel it, look at it. He'd take you to the stores, spend some time with the die-hard fans of his and his brand. You truly delved into the world of the clothes. By the time you were done, it'd be dinner time. You'd have dinner with Alex's family, and it was those moments that you got the familial attention you'd been craving for some time now. Sure, Arlo made comments about your dad, and usually, you'd refute them, but not this time around. Instead, you ignored them and just pretended they were never said. It felt wrong but it felt nice to have someone actually ask you how your day was despite spending the day around you. On days where you weren't over at Alex's house, you'd spend some time watching videos or pictures from influencers who wore his stuff. You'd be in your own rabbit hole for hours on end, listening to music that could serve as a possible soundtrack. You'd even go into your lab and find ways to improve on the show through engineering and science.

Then it all came crashing, in a sense, one day. There were about three weeks until showtime, and you were at home in your lab. You'd gotten the notification. You were expecting the news to come out, it had to at some point before the show. However, you weren't really expecting the backlash from those around you. It started with Alex's brand posting the picture on the brand's account. It was a black and white picture of you, Arlo, and Alex standing in Alex's office. You're all looking at a rack of the new clothes and you're all smiling and laughing. A candid picture. Around it had the words 'Lexicon Couture x Y/N Stark Fall and Winter 19.' It had the date of the show and the time it would happen. The caption read, 'Something big is coming. #LexiconxStark #GiannixStark'

Everyone was freaking out in the comments, the post becoming one of the brand's most liked. Next, came Alex's post. It was the same thing, except he tagged you in the post and he even added a red heart emoji. A most exclusive emoji. Then finally came Arlo's post. It was a repost of Alex's and he added something along the lines of 'my basically new daughter has teamed up with my son for his line.'

Not too long after the posts went viral, you got the email from the company to repost the pictures to gain even more viewership, so you did, leaving the caption as simple yet ominous as the brand's caption. Not too long after you posted it was there a knock on your door. You were too busy adding some finishing touches to the design to care that it could be something not good, so without hesitation, you tell the person to come in.

"You're working with Arlo Gianni?" your dad asks, bursting through the door. You look up from your tablet, seeing Tony's totally devastated look. Without thinking about it, you nod, looking back down at the sketches on your tablet. "The Arlo Gianni? The one who's one of my many enemies? Y/N, how could you do this to me?"

"It's not that serious-"

"Not that serious? He called you his daughter, in his post, Y/N. I take offense to that."

"Look, I didn't take offense to you calling Ally 'like a daughter' okay? Plus, he's not that bad once you get to know him. I was only working with Alex at the beginning but much like all his other kid's ventures, his dad got involved because he cares. Plus Arlo feeds me and asks me how my day has been. I'm just finally trying to set foot into the fashion world like I have been for the past couple of years and my good friend Alex is offering me an outlet to do just that by allowing me full artistic and directorial creativity over his line's show."

Tony stays quiet, noticing how you don't look up at him. "Well, Peter seems devastated that you're so close to Alex. He ranted to Ally the other day that the girl he likes, you know you, has disappeared for days and suddenly she's shown hanging out with Alex Gianni. So...."

"I don't know what you want me to say, dad," you respond, hoping he gets the hint that you're upset now. Hoping he'll react in one of two ways; leave you alone, or apologize for being a dick. "I'm just chasing my dreams here since I have nothing to do here. So, if you're gonna keep chastising me, please go away."

Without another word, he exits your room. When the door shuts, you ask FRIDAY to lock it, feeling the tears come out. Suddenly, you're friends with the enemy and that's when Peter and Tony decide to come around to realizing that they want you? That's when they decide to come around? All for the wrong reasons too? Well, now you plan on rubbing it in that you don't really need them. Yeah, sure it's mostly spite speaking, but deep down you're pissed. How dare they think that they can cast you out and then get mad when you find something of your own to do?

So the next day when Alex asks you if you want to go on his family's vacation for the week, you're quick to respond yes. They'd claimed it would be a celebratory trip to Italy for finishing the show ahead of time. You'd spent the next week teasing your father, the Avengers, and Peter by making them jealous. A post about how Alex is your most handsome best friend at the moment for Peter to see, an Instagram post with Alex's whole family, calling them the best and most supportive team on earth aimed at all the Avengers, and a Snapchat post with Arlo pouring you a glass of champagne to stab your own father in the chest the way he did to you. It was petty, it was ridiculous, and it was everything you felt like doing at the moment. Then at some point in the week, your intentions became sort of clear to Alex, who found it rather amusing. He admitted that he wasn't attracted to you in that way because he's gay, but he'd help you in the part of making Peter jealous by posing with you in various promising poses.

The week was over and you were back home. Now there were only two weeks until showtime and it was time to do some press. Alex had been in interviews all day and you were meant to be working on a guest list for the show, and you weren't so sure if you wanted to invite your dad or the Avengers. On one hand, you've worked on this on your own. This was your thing and you wanted to enjoy it as such. However, you do want them there, even if you currently are upset with every one of them. Plus, it could be a good way to rub it in their faces.

So with that, you add them all to the list. You go on about your business for the next couple of hours, until you see that Alex has sent you a link to a video of one of the interviews he did. In the interview, he reveals that he wanted you to do the show because you inspired the line. He'd based most of the line on your style but gave it a more urban and even modern spin for the youth to wear, as he claimed. Essentially, you were his muse. It all kind of made sense why it all came easy to you. It was based on you. You found it flattering and that made your heart skip a beat, joy filling every fiber of your being. Someone did notice you when everybody else did not.

So, you did some press and eventually, the show came around. You'd been at the venue all day, helping prepare and get everything accounted for. You were running this thing and it was a tight ship, so nothing could go wrong. Everyone got there in time, everything got put together in time, and by the time it was an hour until showtime, you were beyond tired. You had a total of thirty models, a great variation of everything and you felt proud. You cooled down before the show, deciding to get yourself sort of ready for post-show pictures and interviews. When the show started, the sound of Rico Nasty's Roof began to play and the crowd began to cheer. Then the first model walked out; donning a pair of acid-washed distressed jeans with a cropped multi-color jacket, a white Lexicon tee, and some platforms. Her hair was in messy space buns and she wore some neon-pink sunglasses to match the jacket. Right as she reached the end of the runway, another model came out, wearing more from the fall line. You watched from behind the walls of the facade to see the Avengers, your dad, Pepper, and Peter all sitting front and center. Nowhere in sight was Ally. Good.

People seemed to enjoy the fall portion of the show, and it was probably the most fun part to direct. The fall line was more of a modern urban thing, something the cool kids are wearing today and it's very in your face. It's very 'break shit and rage' as you've explained before and you've always had a knack for alternative dress styled. It was punk meets hood and you've always thought that was a cool style. Eventually, after a good twenty minutes, that portion of the show was over. Alex came out and announced a short five-minute intermission, wanting to prepare and transition into the second portion smoothly. In that time, you ran around making sure everyone was good to go. Once the five minutes were over, the sound of Fleetwood Mac's The Chain begins to play. This was the fall portion, which to you was a more formal style. It was warmer in tone and in use, and it was more sophisticated. It still had a youthful feel, but it was more formal than the other stuff. Nonetheless, everyone at the show seemed to dig it. By the time the show was over, everyone was giving the models a standing ovation. At the end of it, you and Alex came out, earning the loudest cheers of all.

At that moment, you felt the rush you'd been searching for. You found your calling and it was everything you expected it to be and more. Once the crowd silenced, Alex wrapped an arm around your shoulder and hugged you close as he took the mic and took the time to address the audience. You watched him proudly as he spoke, one of the biggest smiles on your faces.

"I especially want to thank my best friend, my partner, my muse, Y/N Stark," he speaks, looking back at you as the crowd cheers. "For taking up the job as director of the show. She did an amazing job with everything and through this process, we became closer. She's so creative and I'm glad she agreed to this. My show wouldn't have been the same, and it probably would have failed if it was anybody else."

He hands you the mic and you take it, watching as everyone silences down. You begin your speech, just saying thank you to everyone and it makes you feel emotional deep inside. "I also want to thank the Gianni's for taking me in during this process, making me feel like family and taking care of me during all the long nights and early mornings," you say, taking your father by surprise. "I also want to thank my father Tony Stark and the Avengers for unknowingly fueling my necessity for this show, otherwise, I don't know if I would have done it," you continue. "Most of all, I wanna thank Alex," you pause and notice the way Peter looks jealous as you turn to Alex. "For putting me on this project, for trusting me to do this, and for being the best friend a girl could ask for. For encouraging me to do my own thing after this and for helping me realize some things. Anyways, thank you all so much!"

By the time everyone is off stage, all sorts of people are coming up to you and to Alex, asking you all sorts of questions. All you want to do at this time is get to the afterparty and get a drink or something. Maybe get a burger or some tacos on the way, but you just want a meal and a drink. So, you get through it all as quick as possible and by the time you're done, the only people left are your dad and the Avengers. They're all standing together, some of them holding flowers, others holding cards. You chuckle, feeling a little nervous to approach them. However, you do it anyway, because you can only ignore them for so long. Apparently that limit was about two months. So with that, you walk up to them, a small smile on your lips.

"I have a feeling we're all in for a lecture," Tony speaks up, handing you some flowers. Your nod, eyes wide and words ready to go.

"Yeah, thank you, you whole bunch of actual assholes," you say, making them all go wide-eyed and gasp at your bluntness. "For ignoring me for nearly eight whole months over some intern who was just supposed to be a temp. I don't know if any of you notice, but Ally? I hate that bitch! And I rarely hate anybody! So, the fact that you all ignored me for her at some point in time? That's kind of annoying."

"We didn't ignore you for her-" Steve begins.

"Yeah, we didn't mean to, at least." Natasha comments.

"Hm, let me think," you say, letting it all out now. "Natasha the last time we talked was literally four months ago. Steve, you haven't talked to me in six. Peter, you've ditched me for Ally, which was kind of heartbreaking because I liked you and I kind of thought you liked me back, but ya know, and she's so much prettier than me, so that doesn't help either," you ramble. "Pepper, you basically wanted me off that project and then you got Ally's help, so that was fun. Bruce, Thor, Sam, Bucky, and Wanda, all of you immediately ditched me for Ally, so that kind of sucked. And most of all, my dead old dad. That little argument with you kind of hurt because you were so betrayed that I was working with Arlo Gianni, but behind closed doors, he'd been taking care of me better than you had for the past couple of months since Ally came around. Plus, you only ever talked to me to tell me that Ally would be taking over one of my projects or that I'd have to cover for you in a meeting."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Tony asks, mirroring everyone's guilty frown.

"I wanted you guys to realize you were shutting me out," you say, the tears you'd been holding in for the better part of eight months now finally coming out. "I was always initiating interactions with you because no one paid me the time of day. But then I finally decided to stop, see if it made an impact, and apparently, it did not, because no one sought me out for so long. But that day of the Halloween Charity meeting, Alex emailed me right before it, asking me to direct this for him. I was initially going to decline, but once the meeting was in full swing and then Peter was walking in laughing with Ally, and then everyone began to tune me out to start talking with her, that was what caused me to snap. You all shut me out, so I took the hint and fucked off. I accepted Alex's offer and for the first time in months, I'd felt happy. I felt happy, I felt needed, I wasn't alone, I wasn't someone's second or last choice. And it felt good."

"Y/N," Tony whispers, stepping closer. "We're so sorry, sweetie," he says sincerely, pulling you into his arms. Everyone begins piling around, hugging you as well. "I'm sorry we didn't realize that earlier. I didn't know we made you feel that way, it wasn't anyone's intention to make you feel worthless or anything. I just told everyone to back off a bit because I didn't want you thinking that SI or Avengers stuff was all you had to do all the time."

"But did I ever complain?" you ask, and everyone goes silent. "I didn't mind helping with that. I loved doing all that work because it meant that I was always hanging out with one of you guys. So you can only imagine how shitty I felt when suddenly, no one was talking to me. Trading me in for Ally."

They all stay silent for a few seconds. Then the wave of apologies came around and you find yourself laughing.

"Look, it's fine. I'm over it now, my grudge has gone away because I found my calling, I found my thing and I'm happier now. I found my best friend in this world, and I found my group of people away from my initial group of people and I'm just over it. But please from now on, no ignoring me? Or else I'll pick up a new passion out of spite."

Everyone is quick to agree, hounding you in another giant group hug, assuring you that they all still cared. After that day, Ally didn't become much of a problem. She still worked at SI, still in her current position, but you managed to stay away from her. Everyone would talk to you like normal and Peter went back to hanging out with you again, making sure to always comment on how he likes you and not Ally. You'd hold it over him for some time, opting to torture him with his crush just a bit longer, just because you're a sadistic spiteful person. In the end, it all worked out as you began to take the fashion world by storm.

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