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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 3 years

Text

hi yes im still alive

DON’T MIND ME, I’M JUST--

HAVING A MOMENT TO PROCESS ALL THE LORE AND STORY CHAPTER 6 JUST DROPPED ON US, I CAN BARELY WRITE

AHHHHHHH, I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS 😭 kjdbbaufbiafafvoaybo LEMME PUT ON MY THINKING CAP AND THROW SOME STUFF OUT ASDYUBUASDLI;AGVUOQIB;VI You’ll understand why I used Leona’s face here even though it’s Idia and Ortho’s chapter after you read my thoughts--

***Chapter 6 (and other main story) spoilers below the cut!***

Okay, just to keep it simple, I’ll try to keep things in chronological order!

First is a bullet point list of my thoughts on chapter 6 so far, then all my questions and theories (mostly a biggish theory on Ace) are at the end of the post.

Expectation: Idia cowering in his room, Vil and Rook busting down his door using Epel as a battering ram, dead Ortho theory confirmed

Reality: SWAT TEAM RAID ON NRC, DORM LEADERS (sans Kalim) AND JAMIL GET KIDNAPPED

Admittedly, I’m disappointed to see that the injury Grim inflicted to MC was basically just a cat scratch and nothing more. I thought it would be a lot more impactful if MC had to deal with juggling the realization that Grim has betrayed their friendship and trust while also on the verge of death (or at least while being severely injured)... And given how MC reacted to the attack at the end of chapter 5, I would think whatever struck them was much more substantial than just a cat scratch. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say either the script got scrubbed by Disney, or the intent was that MC was still woozy from VDC / OB Vil, MC felt so betrayed that it shook them emotionally, or that MC was just that weak by default that they can’t defend themselves against cat claws.

Hey, Ramshackle’s finally getting renovated! Proceeds to immediately get destroyed again--

I feel like????????? They tried to retroactively explain why Neige won to try and mitigate the uproar over how VDC ended. There’s some dialogue between the VDC group about how they didn’t perform at their peak because of having just walked out of dealing with OB Vil, and how Neige’s fans were going to vote for him anyway because they resonated with his background. Honestly, I think they should have moved on from that sore spot instead of bringing it up again, even if how chapter 5 ended didn’t personally bother me.

BOOM, HERE COME THE TWST TERMINATORS--

NOT GONNA LIE, THOSE STYX GUYS LOOK HOT SO COOL

AAAAAAND IT’S KIDNAPPING MONTAGE TIME, KIDS

JOABSFHUPAUABDBADB CALM DOWN, RIDDLE??????? YOU’RE GOING TO COMMIT ARSON IN BROAD DAYLIGHT--

Okay, I know this chapter’s focused on Ignihyde and Grim, but the standout part to me (so far) has been the scene where Leona’s being kidnapped. Historically, Leona has not been a character that I like (excluding that one time I had to pretend to like him for a game). I feel like he’s one massive missed opportunity (he didn’t show up much in chapter 2, he’s pretty similar backstory-wise to his Disney counterpart compared to the other Dorm Leaders, he didn’t seem to learn anything or become a better person even a LITTLE after chapter 2, etc.). I’m not a fan of his lazy and arrogant attitude either (even if it is justified by his backstory). But here? THIS IS THE LEONA I ACTUALLY LIKE AND WANT TO SEE MORE OF.

LIKE????? I CAN’T DESCRIBE TO YOU HOW MUCH I LIKE THIS SCENE???? Yeah, we have Leona fighting STYX at first, but as soon as he realizes who they are, he wises up and surrenders because he knows better than to resist arrest. AND NOT ONLY THAT, but he uses King’s Roar in a smart way--to turn the falling greenhouse glass panes into sand so they don’t hurt anyone nearby (namely him and Ruggie).

And after he turns himself in????? LEONA TELLS RUGGIE TO TAKE CARE OF SAVANACLAW FOR HIM!!! THIS is what a real leader would do. He looks after himself and his people, but he knows when to surrender, AND he leaves his “kingdom” (the dorm) in good hands while he’s away. THIS is the Leona I want to see.

AJBDUASHPFBUABFIABIYFBIPFAAFIAF I ALSO REALLY LIKE HIS SASS WHEN HE JUST THROWS HIS HANDS UP AND ASDBIASBIABAIODDAYOFAIPPADAIDB SAYS “I’ll go with you, but be careful while escorting me, okay? Despite my looks, I'm a precious prince. I’ll get sick/dizzy if you drive recklessly.” SARCASTIC SASSY SMARTASS??????? IF YOU HAD MORE LINES LIKE THIS, I’D LIKE YOU MORE

I love how Azul’s still talking about capitalism/how he can profit from Idia (apparently the Shrouds are like the TWST equivalent of Google??????) as he’s being escorted away by the agents?????? IF I WERE HIM, I’D BE PISSED OFF THAT THEY INTERRUPTED MY BOARD GAME????? At least let the man finish first--

Damn, everyone’s being tasered???????? And apparently all the STYX agents are equipped with anti-magic plates? I guess Bind the Heart can just eat shit then--

Lilia’s ringtone is cute, period.

CROWLEY CALLED STYX TO CAPTURE GRIM???? GRIM IS OFFICIALLY A SCP THAT NEEDS TO BE CONTAINED????

WAIT WHAT CROWLEY’S BEING KIDNAPPED TOO??????? Oh well, the school is probably safer in Trein’s hands anyway--

askhlbfbilhidbabbidasb RIDDLE WAKES UP POST KIDNAPPING AND HE’S USING LEONA AS A LAP PILLOW?????!

How does it feel to be held in a room against your will, Jamil? Yeah, don’t like a taste of your own medicine, do you?

OH HI IDIA, NICE YZMA MAD SCIENTIST GETUP YOU GOT THERE

Wait, what????? THAT’S IT?????? SERIOUSLY???????

MAN.

I have so many questions??????? Specifically about STYX and what they do, and how the Shrouds are tied into all of it.

So they say STYX is a specialized unit called in to quell serious Overblot cases. And if Crowley called them to deal with Grim... well, bad times ahead for Grim. STYX has also been studying Overblot for a long time, which is why (I think?) they captured Riddle, Leona, Azul, Jamil, and Vil.

There’s been some allusions made between Grim and Stitch in a lot of fan art and fan theories I’ve seen, since their struggles have some parallels: that being them struggling to decide if they are “good” or “bad”. I don’t know if this was intentional on the part of the TWST writing team, but regardless, it’s a really good concept that plays into the themes of TWST itself. There’s no good, there’s no evil, no black and white--most of the characters we see may be BASED on villains, but that doesn’t MAKE them villains. They are good, and bad, in their own ways--and now Grim is dealing with that crisis as he fights to keep his sanity and avoid completely succumbing to Overblot.

Though Idia seems to be involved with STYX’s research, it doesn’t sound like he personally gave the order to retrieve those test subjects (or at the very least, he’s not happy about roughing up the test subjects), it sounds like the orders came from other people in the organization. His parents, perhaps?

They mention briefly that Idia’s parents are asking him to “come home”, so it must be for something urgent. Are they worried about his safety? But Idia’s lines at the end of chapter 5 lead me to think he is estranged from his family, since he straight up rejected a job offer linked to them (Olympus Corp is owned by the Jupiter family, and the Shrouds are a branch family of Jupier), and says something like “I’m not welcome anywhere”. Has Idia done something to disgrace him from the rest of the family? Or is it more of a self imposed/self inflicted statement, given that he always says he’s “cursed” and acts like he’s guilty of something that deserves scorn?

Why is Idia participating in STYX research, even if it means experimenting on his fellow students (and fellow board game enthusiast Azul)? People are speculating that he wants to use blots to fully revive Ortho (if dead Ortho theory is true), or that Idia actually has heroic intentions (he wants to know more about blots to prevent OBing from happening?), but at this point??? Literally anything could happen?!

In future parts, I’m guessing Pomefiore, MC, and Adeuce will team up to break Jamil and the Dorm Leaders (except Malleus, Malleus got left out again www) out? And HOPEFULLY we get to see Rook’s Unique Magic or at least more screen time, since I feel like he got so little in chapter 5... Another thing I’d like to see is Ace and/or Epel getting their Unique Magic, or at least starting to develop it. It’s really mostly Ace I want more details for.

A theory I’ve been holding onto for a long time is that Deuce getting his UM will spur Ace on to become jealous (since he has always seen Deuce as an idiot/”lesser” than him), and that will cause a rift in the friendship, or for Ace to throw himself into a dangerous situation to prove himself (he has done it before with Riddle)... and has his ass rescued again. This would make Ace even angrier, since he feels like everyone is treating him like a little kid or rubbing it in that he isn’t “as good” as they are. I don’t know where it would go from there (I’m sure TWST would get creative), but ultimately it would culminate in Ace making amends with everyone and rushing in to save them from either Grim or Idia OB.

I don’t think Ace would discover his UM in a similar manner as Deuce (Deuce had to embrace his own stubbornness and straightforwardness, but as the term “Unique” Magic implies, the way a magic develops and manifests is “unique” to the user). While Deuce has to learn to accept his own way of thinking, I believe Ace is already sure of his own way of thinking and has totally accepted it. I think what Ace has to deal with instead is coming to terms with his fickleness. We’ve seen him time and time again treating his loved ones kind of callously, from constantly bullying MC, Grim, and Deuce to ghosting his own girlfriend and flaking on people when they are counting on him to do a task.

The issue with Ace isn’t that he isn’t aware, it’s that he is aware and he seems to think this behavior is totally okay. He demonstrates little to no remorse in what he does and says, and he doesn’t seem to care about the consequences either (how many times does he get punished by Riddle, yet he keeps doing the same dumb things over and over?). Ace appears to operate under the mindset of always being in the right, or (if he’s in the wrong), he won’t really acknowledge it, or he will wave it off as “no big deal”--and I think that’s his greatest weakness.

In the scenario I described earlier, I mentioned that Ace’s jealousy will cause a wedge between him and his friends, and I think this will play into him realizing the error of his ways. When he has finally driven away all of the people that supported him, what will he have left? Nothing. Then maybe Ace suddenly finds himself relating to Idia, or to Grim, who have Overblotted and are in a similar emotional state as he is. Confused and lonely... and that energizes him to pitch in again, even if all he has is wind magic up his sleeve. Everyone could be shocked that Ace has returned, and in that moment, he could finally realize his true potential and unlock his Unique Magic!

(Maybe that’s too specific, but that’s a scenario that I’ve had playing in my head for a long time!)

... Buuuuut given that Ace has gotten little to no spotlight so far in chapter 6, I’m not sure if they’ll lean into him developing his UM yet (unless they pull a chapter 5 and really start addressing Ace in the latter half of the chapter like they did with Deuce). Seeing as chapter 6 is dealing with a lot of heavy topics (death, Grim lore, Overblot lore), I’m thinking maybe the TWST team will push off Ace’s UM development to chapter 7???? The only way I can see it happening in chapter 6 is if the chapter is SUPER long, or if the writing is REALLY good or really bad.

Anyway, I’m keeping my fingers crossed!!! I’m so excited for the rest of chapter 6... I hope that we don’t have to wait too long for it!

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mlmvoreconfessionals · 3 years

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Since your Danganronpa post was so good, I was wondering if you have anything involving Nekomaru Nidai? Especially with him eating prey with his pecs, pits or through absorption.

Oh hell yeah, he's easily one of my fave D.R boys of all time, so I'd be more than happy to write some stuff for him!

N.ekomaru always wanted to make sure that the people he was trying were going to be exactly as strong as they need to be. That’s why, after a certain amount of time, he always gave them all an ultimate test. If they had been doing everything exactly as they should be, then they should have no problem being able to escape from his body! Oh course, he knows it’s unfair to expect people to actually get out of his body once he’s consumed them, so he always went easy! If they could cause him any discomfort or get any part of their body back outside, he’d let them out again and congratulate them for their hard work. Today though, it seems like he wouldn’t be doing that. He was relaxing in the gym, hands behind his head and his shirt nearby so that his torso was on full display. His chest had been bouncing around like crazy for the past forty minutes as the football player he’d shoved in there tried his best to get out. N.ekomaru had been hopeful about this and encouraging, even offering advice to the wiggling meal. But it seems like it wasn’t enough. The movement was slowing down more and more as his student started giving in. N.ekomaru had been slowly flexing his chest the entire time, letting it work slowly on breaking down the athlete within, making sure that nothing permanent happened should he get out. When he finally felt the man go still inside, N.ekomaru let out a huff through his nose and grinned wide. “Well, you did as well as you could, and I’m impressed you held out for so long!” he says, his booming voice likely even louder for the guy deep in his chest. “So just for that, I’ll make sure you get your chance to rest.” All it took was one powerful flex of his chest and the coach felt the brawny guy inside break apart in an instant. He lets out a deep sigh and closes his eyes, relaxing in the sensation of that broken down human being put to use on making him bigger and stronger. That’s just what happened to those that couldn’t get out of him in time--if they weren’t putting their bodies to use, then he would, and every body had use as protein.

While he was usually a very kind and understanding guy, N.ekomaru can get very serious and strict at times, especially when he’s trying to coach teams without synergy. Usually he can get things shaped up in just a couple of weeks and get everyone ready for their next game, but it wasn’t always that easy. There would be times where one or two players simply didn’t seem to want to get along and contribute for whatever reasons they might have. N.ekomaru always did his best to give that person a chance, even having one-on-one sessions with them to figure things out. But some nuts refused to be cracked, and N.ekomaru would have to make some hard decisions. Today, he was dealing with a baseball team that he’d gotten turned around rather easily, but a couple of the players seemed adamant to simply not try at all. So, after a day of practice, N.ekomaru did what he always did when people refused to play right. He put them to use. He’d call both players up, his jacket and shirt discarded. When they approached, one looking bored and the other looking angry, he put them to use. Grabbing both by the neck, they find themselves shoved nose deep into musky, blue armpit hair. The rest of the team watched in silence as the two players started sinking in, their entire heads disappearing under the coach’s arm fur. It didn’t take him long at all to get both of them entirely slurped in, his muscular arms bulging a bit as they compacted the two players nicely. He made a bit of a speech to the rest of the team about teamwork and effort, but they were all focused on his massive arms as they flexed and squeezed tightly over and over again, breaking down both of the men inside until there didn’t seem to be anything left but a few extra inches of pure muscle all around. The coach let out a soft grunt and scratched under one of his arms. He pulled away a musky baseball cap, which he carelessly tossed into the trash can before dismissing the rest of the team. He was sure they’d be giving it their all for the rest of the season now, and the two problem players would be right there, too, fueling their coach the whole time.

Sometimes when N.ekomaru gets hired to help coach a failing team, he finds that there aren’t any problems with the athletes involved. Sometimes, the problem is the coach themselves, and to make sure he was doing everything he could to get the team working at top shape, he had to get rid of the problem. Tonight, he was walking into the office off the hockey coach that had been failing his team. He wasn’t dressed in anything, his clothes currently folded up in a locker outside while the team practiced on their own. The coach, of course, was very surprised to see the naked, muscular man approaching him with an intensity like no other. he was hoisted right out of his seat, strong arms wrapping around him as N.ekomaru pulled him into a sudden kiss. There was confusion, but the coach very quickly leaned into it, not realizing that he had already made a fatal mistake. He put his hands to N.ekomaru’s toned chest and they very quickly sunk under the surface, as if the man’s sculpted muscles were made of sand. N.ekomaru’s grip on him tightened, and his waist sunk into the predator’s. The coach opened his eyes when he couldn’t pull back to breath, only to realize that his lips and nose were fused to N.ekomaru’s face. He let out a muffled cry as the man put a hand on the back of his head and pushed, and then there was darkness. For N.ekomaru, he was feeling the shock of energy and mass adding to his own, which made him let out a low groan. Elbows sank into his chest and a pair of twitching feet melded into his shins and the coach was no more. There was just N.ekomaru, standing a few inches taller, a bit wider, and some extra hair dusting his body. With that problem out of the way, he’d be making a lot more progress with the team.

#v.ore #male vore #mlm vore #m/m vore #gay vore #vore prompts #male vore prompts #pec vo #pit vore #absorption #digestion #fatal vore #muscle gain #danganronpavore #nekomarunidaivore #ask

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moonlit-imagines · 4 years

Text

Headcanons for being Tony Stark’s Daughter (The Aftermath)

Tony Stark x daughter!reader

warnings:

a/n: y/n is about 17 or 18; i cried while writing this. sorry this is really long!!! pls forgive me 🥺

prompt: takes place from a3 to smffh

The Early Years (1) The Teenage Years (2) The Intense Years (3) Continued (5)

let’s start on a happy note! ahahah

so for a while, earth was calm

you, pepper, and tony got to be a family for a while

wedding planning!

of course you got to try the ben&jerry’s ice cream named after your dad: Stark Raving Hazelnuts

“it’s not fair that you got ice cream named after you and i didn’t”

“well, when you grow up to be as awesome as me, maybe you’ll get your own ice cream flavor”

developing nanotech suits together for a Bonding Experience(tm)

speechless after the first test

“dad, this is...”

“the coolest thing to ever exist?”

“yes!!”

yall ready for some shit?

the day that ebony maw invaded was pretty—what’s the word? interesting? no. well, yes, but...HORRIBLE.

it all started when you got the call from your dad

“y/n, incoming call from ‘big fat meanie’”

“god, i really have to change that. okay, JOSHIE, answer it. hey, dad? what’s up?”

“hey, kid! you know that weird ass building on bleecker street? how fast can you get here?”

“JOSH can you track FRIDAY really quick? lets see how far dad is...uh, okay, be there in five, see ya”

taking your suit for a spin and realizing how GREAT it was to be able to basically fold up your suit and put it in your back pocket

knocking on the door and it opened on its own, it was kinda cool

“is this a museum? cool.”

bruce turning around to see you after about three years and giving you an awkward smile and a wave while you stood frozen around the wizard-guys

“y/n, god, you’ve grown up!”

charging into him for a long overdue hug

“you don’t know how much i missed you. it’s been chaotic without you”

“i can...i can only imagine”

a debriefing on the situation you were about to face, and bonus! having to play the catch-up game with bruce

“just call him, dad. we need as much help as we can. steve will understand”

rushing outside to face off with some ugly-ass aliens

“oh nooo, it’s roger smith from american dad”

bruce: 👀, stephen: 👀, wong: 👀, tony: 👏👏🥰 that’s my girl

simultaneous nanosuit unveiling

“you ready for this one, pops?”

“of course! ive waited years to kick some more alien ass”

montage of you and tony getting your asses beat together (as a family <3)

peter showing up

“give me one good reason why i shouldn’t send you back to that school bus”

“because i’m good company?”

“whatever, just listen to whatever dad has to say, i forfeit my responsibilities over you”

pew pew, repulsors, pew, tiny rockets! fun! action! destroying new york again and again. good times...

until JOSHUA gave you notice that your dad was flying high

“call him. now.”

“hey! how’s it going down there?”

“dad, you know how i feel about you and space”

“i know, i know. i just...i gotta take care of this. keep pepper safe for your old man, okay?”

“i lo—l—ve y—”

“y/n? y/n?! i love you! shit!”

“we lost connection with her, sir”

trying to call peter

“call failed, y/n. should i try again?”

“i’m gonna kill them...”

walking through the rubble to find bruce, the only sensible man you know

taking him to the avengers compound asap to get to rhodey and figure out what comes next

meanwhile, tony was dealing with space and another teenager

and worrying a lot about leaving you on earth

“i mean, mr. stark, y/n’s one of the most capable people i know. she’s probably trying to fix this whole mess as we speak”

“i didn’t get to tell her i love her”

“oh...”

having a lovely meeting with thaddeus ross with rhodey, having a lovely time watching them passive-aggresively argue until your former teammates arrived

having to patiently (and professionally) wait for ross to hang up before running into them for a hug

“holy shit, you guys have no idea how bad i’ve wanted to see you. it sucks not being all together anymore”

“i know, y/n. we’ve all missed you.” -cap

“a lot” -nat added

bruce’s little entrance that was sure to bring some awkwardness

you, secretly freaking out about your dad

sam was the one that found you crying after you “stepped out” for a few minutes too long

“oh, y/n,” he was contemplating grabbing someone else to step in, but decided to sit next to you in the hallway, “i’m sorry, kiddo. i can’t promise you anything, but your dad is a fighter. a big pain in the ass. i think your odds are good”

laughing through your tears

“yeah, you’re right. thanks, sammy”

he gave you a little hug while you calmed down

getting to business, the ass-kicking kind

as the wise natasha romanoff once said to your father, you were being “uncharacteristically non-hyper verbal”

your mind did this funny thing...wandered into places it really should not go

the talk about sacrificing vision led to wakanda, where you had a swell time patrolling

“guys! we’ve got incoming. a lot of incoming”

well-deserved uncle/niece team up. who wouldve thought?

you would have nightmares about these aliens for years to come

“you get to die, and you get to die! everybody gets to die!”

“y/n, what did we talk about?” -rhodey

“using humor as a defense mechanism makes the team uncomfortable...”

covering the girls 😌 because we gotta have those all-girl teamups, uh-huh?

some more blasting

thor made his comeback and you just could not miss it

“hi, thor!”

you landed next to him and your helmet receded

“well, hello, miss y/n! good to see you again! my, you got taller...oh! meet my friends: rabbit and tree”

having a “what the actual fuck” moment upon seeing thanos for the first time

and flying at him from behind with a massive nanotech blade ready to kill this purple bastard

but he grabbed your arm and flung you into the dirt, that was gonna leave a mark

“i just had to make a suit when i was ten...no one stopped me, huh? i couldn’t be elon’s kid, he was a nice guy”

watching thanos snap his fingers and looking around to see dust floating through the air and thanos retreat

“rhodey? uncle rhodey?!”

“i’m right here, kid, don’t worry”

he grabbed your hand while you were dusting

“tell my dad i love him, promise?”

fading away and leaving rhodey with your last words

he was mad before anything else

all he could think about was a promise your dad made him take years back

“rhodey, you keep my daughter safe no matter what, promise?”

the avengers recooperating at the compound, waiting to figure out whether any of the space-crew survived

they had to let pepper know that you didn’t make it, she was a mess upon hearing that news

tony finally making his way back to earth

and stumbling out of that ship

“where’s y/n? where is she?!”

“tony, tony, calm down”

“dont tell me to calm down! where is my daughter?!”

“she made me promise to tell you thay she loves you”

tony knew the answer by now, he lost his mind over your death

it didn’t feel right not having you by his side, for the past 18 years you’ve been with him

after a long period of recovery, tony and pepper moved on, got married, built a home, had a new daughter...

tony made sure there was a spare room for you

he put all the things you left behind in it

there were so many photos of you in the house

and he’d show your sister, morgan, all of them. he wanted morgan to know her sister

“that’s y/n when she built her first robot. it snuck up on me a few times. it went ‘boo!’”

morgan loved the stories about you, but she didn’t understand why she couldn’t see you

“when do i get to meet her?”

“uh...maybe someday, sweetie”

after being unbothered for almost 5 years, the remaining avengers came back with a plan that was so tempting, he just wanted his little girl back

cracking under pressure and telling pepper that he couldn’t ignore this mission because it was his chance to get you back

“get her back, tony”

“you think so?”

“i miss her, too.”

and so it began, he made it his mission to get you back

peeking at the wallet picture of you on his shoulders when you were so little

tony travelling to 2012; loki’s invasion

and there you were, the sassy genius 12 year old that he missed so much

“we’ve got this, tony, we’ll bring her home” -scott

and then things went badly and also 2012 tony went into cardiac arrest and 2012 y/n dove onto the floor to tend to him

“dad? give us some room, would you?!”

2023 tony smiling at how much he missed you worrying about him and how reckless he was

but also...the mission kinda went bad so that sucked

push it a bit farther back and now tony was with grandpa stark! asking how to be a dad and all that!

he could barely stand still waiting for you to come back to him, god he missed you more than he thought

and after a bit of hard work, it was time to snap

just like that, you were back in wakanda, puzzled by the gap in time before one of dr. strange’s portals opened in front of you

and then you were in the ruins of the avengers compound

“JOSHUA, can you locate my dad?”

“i think you’ll be able to see him”

“wow, i cant believe i programmed your cocky artificial ass”

“i think you can”

seeing your dad flying high and patching into the comms

“miss me, old man?”

and then he hit the gas to get to you and when this man hugged you, you almost couldn’t let go

“i’m so sorry, y/n. god, i’m sorry. these last five years...i was so lost without you”

“it’s okay, dad, i’m here now”

getting shot at during your reunion

“son of a bitch...we’re having a family moment here, asshole!”

yes, im gonna say it again. of course i am! and.........father/daugher team-up

the last one

“peter, is that you? you asshole! i cant believe you went to space without me!”

“missed you too!”

rhodey!! cant forget about uncle rhodey!!

“you gave my dad the message, right?”

“it was your dying wish, of course i did!”

“great. don’t forget i love you, too, rhodey!”

“couldn’t let me forget it”

lest we forget that pepper joined the fight?

plot twist: (step)mother/daughter team-up

mother/father/daugher team up!!!! ultimate stark machine!!!!!!!

and then you left him alone for 5 minutes and he’s got the infinity stones and you know it’s the last time you’re going to see him and you cant decide what your next move is and you’re just frozen and you cant catch your breath and he snaps and your heart plummets

you have to rush to his side, the last time you can sit beside his tired body and let him know that its going to be okay

“hey dad, it’s okay, we’re gonna be fine. thank you for everything”

peter grabbing your hand as you both sobbed next to your dad, feeling robbed of your time with him

pepper brought you home where she told you all about the five years you missed

both of you just cried harder than you’ve ever cried before

“so i have a sister?”

morgan was so happy to meet you, she couldn’t contain herself, practically latched onto you

and she didn’t fully understand what happened to tony

you saw your new room for the first time and didn’t leave it for a while, occasionally pepper or morgan would pop in

morgan actually crawled into bed with you a few times

the funeral was one of the worst days of your life

the remnants of your young life pulled back together for one day

then you hid back in your room before you heard a knock

“who is it?”

“it’s happy”

“come in”

“hey, kiddo. me and morgan are gonna get some cheeseburgers, you wanna come?”

she really was a stark

after a long hibernation, you started to get back into the groove of your old life

but the press was brutal and harsh, you were bombarded with questions regarding your dad

it took everything not to explode on camera

you stayed in contact with the rest of the avengers, mourning your dead, keeping the support system, staying a family

it was all you could get...for now

#tony stark x daughter!reader #tony stark imagine #tony stark x reader #tony stark #iron man x daughter!reader #iron man imagine #iron man x reader #iron man #marvel x reader #marvel imagine #marvel #avengers x reader #avengers imagine #avengers

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redbirdbella · 3 years

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@clintasha-week advent calendar day 25 - holidays

No hate against quiet celebrations of christmas i just really want to write a found family fic. My last advent calendar day!!!

The Invitation arrives mid-November.

You are cordially invited to Morgan Starks first Christmas. The 23rd to the 27th of December.

Great. Just great. It's a little too early for Christmas but either Peppers excellent organisational skills or Tony's excitement had got the better of one of them. She should reply, she really should, she loves her little goddaughter. But Christmas has always been a quiet affair, a lazy day between her and Clint. One where she didn't have to walk around with her guards up, ready for anything. She pins the invitation to her notice board and mentally makes a note to reply, once she's made a decision.

Then HYDRA rears their ugly head and Christmas becomes more of an afterthought. Its Clint who gives her the nudge she needs.

"So what's the plan for Christmas?"

Natasha shrugs "It's Morgan's first Christmas"

"Yeah, I know. That normally happens once someone's had a baby"

"I'd like to be there"

"Yeah?" Clint asks smile rising to his cheeks, "Pepper says it's just going to be low key. Just the Avengers, Bucky, Rhodey, Happy and Peter and his Aunt. We can bring Lucky. Leave early if it gets too much"

Natasha nods. That sounded - tolerable. "At least I won't have to cook"

It sounded simple. Just RSVP but nothing could ever be simple for Tony. There's even a freaking timetable for her to agree too.

They should arrive anytime on the 23rd but preferably in time for the adults-only party in the evening. The words PETER CAN ATTEND BUT WILL NOT BE SERVED ALCOHOL have been written in pen underneath. The 24th involves baking and board games and carol singing and a visit from Santa followed by a child-friendly fancy dress party in the evening. The 25th is Christmas. Presents encouraged, Pyjamas only. The 26th is an open house with exclusive invitations to those Tony deems worthy of paying homage to his baby daughter. She knows that Hills been invited so that'll be - nice.

They receive time off from SHIELD starting the 16th so there's a rush to get presents (I mean what do you get a billionaire and an 8-month-old?!) acceptable pyjamas and a fancy dress costume. Clint decides they should be pirates so he can master the eye patch ready to take over from Fury. Natasha leaves that to Clint using the time to buy her archer a few presents. A new lead for Lucky and a Tourist's guide to Budapest amongst other things. She spoils Morgan into a state of rotten worse than the back of Clint's fridge but it's worth it or it will be.

It's already by the 23rd. Just. She'd be lying if she wasn't still wrapping presents under Lucky's supervision in the back of the quin jet on the way over to Tony's Minnesota mansion. The sun is dipping as they arrive exchanging hugs and a quick squeeze with Morgan before she needs to go to bed. She's surprised to find she doesn't hate it. They give them space to settle into their rooms. Separate accommodation had been provided, but one instantly becomes a luggage storage facility. No one comments. It's nice even when Jarvis directs them down to the Outside barn for the party. It's smart casual, laid back and lit up with fairy lights and a moderate Tree in pride of place. Like someone had put real thought and care into who and what they were doing. Theirs an ice sculpture that's giving out some sort of non-alcoholic punch. A pool table, air hockey table and various amusements but it's the target practice area built into the corner with various weapons from axes to darts that they make a beeline too. Clint quickly claiming the bow. It's a nice icebreaker. Bucky and Clint hit it off occupying two of the lanes showing off to no one but each other, leaving Natasha and Steve to talk.

"Your Clint is good isn't he- there's not much between them. Your Clint. My Bucky" he's had a little to drink but Natasha doesn't care. They've earn't this.

"He's not my boyfriend"

"I know. You're just sweet on him and he's sweet on you. It's nice to see you both happy" Steve says knowingly.

That just about sums it up. She's sweet on him -for him. Just about him.

"Yeah, I'm just sweet on him" she nods.

"Good. Think he's got a fan" he says tipping his bottle towards the young Spiderman who Clint greets warmly.

Natasha smiles downing the rest of her drink in one "Ever thrown an axe before Cap?"

Slowly the numbers in the building rise until everyone's arrived and it's - nice. Really nice. Just a relaxed evening with people she considers friends. She doesn't think once about home or switch to the 5D chess or Machiavellian mind games. They all call it a night at 2 am for fear of waking Morgan but Tony assures them the Barn will be open to use thorough out the stay. Perfect.

Lucky wakes them early the next morning. Too early. but he still manages to drag them on a walk exploring the gardens of the house. It's beautiful even as the snow starts to fall driving Lucky crazy. Clint holds her hand once the mansions out if view. "Need to keep them warm or Morgan will scream the place down when hold her"

They walk until the winter sun rises enough to melt the snow clouds and return to the house Jarvis greeting them upon arrival. Apparently most of the house were in the kitchen baking- or at least attempting to. Only Rhodey seemed to be busy with a few saucepans. The pantry is well stocked though and Steves happy enough to try his hand at gingerbread to escape Bucky and Sam's endless bickering. Natashas just happy to hold the sleeping Morgan, Lucky laying on her lap as Pepper gives Clint the pantry tour. She can't escape the nagging worry that she's not worrying enough until Morgan wakes and stares longingly at the next Christmas tree of the Starks small forest. She gives her a tour and gets roped into help Clint with cookies when Morgan gets hungry and Clint forgets the correct conversion rate between metric and imperial. They're good though melting into her mouth as Clint offers her out a bite. She can feel eyes on them but she doesn't care. They don't care, she reasons or they'd have commented when they'd disappeared into the same bedroom the night before. The afternoon starts as planned with boardgames but quickly dissolves into chaos once it becomes clear that playing trivial pursuit with 3 geniuses, two people with somewhat blank memories of the past 60 years and a Norse god will simply end in tears. It moves to charades which Clint cheats at using ASL to end his torturous turns as soon as possible. Peter soon figures that out causing them to move swiftly onto Jenga the ultimate superhero lever. The games are long drawn out competitive things. It's taken more seriously than most of their missions Natasha notes with a grin. She melts into Steve's arms letting her whisper trash talk into her ear, maybe he's more fun than he first appears. It lasts until Morgan decides it shouldn't screeching and whimpering and demanding a nap. Ruining the quiet calm required for competitive Jenga. Slowly the party breaks away, Tony reminding them of the carols and Santa's visit promised later. Natasha promises to come only to see Morgan's reaction Clint had a $50 bet she'd cry at the sight of the new Intruder, presents be dammed. He's unfortunately right and it takes her through half of the carols (and some of those own songs that mention too much war to be specifically Yuletide) to settle into Pepper's arms before doing the tour of all her Uncles and Aunty's. She coos at Natasha obviously complaints about the new red intruder, but one tickle under her chin and she bursts into giggles.

"Your a natural" Pepper says with a smile, "Obviously her favourite"

Natasha savours the cuddles for a little longer before handing her back carefully removing her little hands from her curls.

"Thank you, Natalie, we are going to have a little nap ahead of the party tonight. Starts at seven. Back here, it's too cold for this little one in the barn. She'll want to see all the costumes hopefully you'll be much happier when it's all your friends dressed up, huh, baby" Pepper coos.

She whisks the little one away before the tears can flow once again leaving Natasha to care for her own needy creature who is just desperate for a walk.

Clint has laid out their costumes on the bed. The costumes are beautiful, Clints has a definite focus on his arms sleeved cut enough to draw attention to each muscle. The swords are surprisingly substantial.

"Mine from the circus"

"A pirate in the circus?!"

"A swordsman in a circus?"

He grins "exactly would you like to learn?"

She smiles picking one up and testing its weight. "I think I can figure it out. Most weapons are fairly intuitive"

"Ready then? Let's see if you can figure it out"

He meets her sword swinging it gently into hers. She grins and meets it using the motion to try and push him off balance. It's ineffective so he capitalises using the swing in her weight to knock her backwards on to the bed but he's too confident in knocking her down leaning too far forward that it would be rude not to bring him down with her.

"Hey" he grins, not exactly disappointed by his new position.

"Hi" She whispers standing up before the blush can rise to her cheeks "You'll have to bring these to SHIELD one day. Give me a proper lesson."

Clint agrees completing a quick change into his pirate costume. Natasha isn't one for fantasy but she can make one exception letting her mind wander.

"Your turn?" He says before putting on his boots.

She doesn't even need to question the sizing if anyone's Natashas body it's him. She changes quickly staring at her self in the mirror. What would madam say at this act of childishness dressing up for a child barely able to comprehend their presence let alone who they are dressing up as. Whatever she would say it doesn't matter Clint wraps his arms around her waist.

"This has been surprisingly Ok. Christmas with the family"

Natasha leans back into his arms "It's complicated, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else"

"Welcome to Christmas" he laughs, "now I just need to get the mutt ready, You wanna be a pirate bud?"

Lucky complains about the pirate flag neckerchief until the fuss arrives at the party. Steve and Bucky and Sam have dressed in 1940s attire. Bruce in his lab coat and goggles. Thor surprisingly as a firefighter though Natasha isn't sure how he learnt about them but she's sure it's a long story. Rhodey as a member of top gun. Peter is some sort of star wars character Clint recognises on sight though the teenager seems more distracted by his Aunt and Happys couples costume. Tony and Pepper are attendees of Jurassic park the two scientists that become a couple if Natasha remembers the films. Morgan dressed in a dinosaur all in one.

"Oh, you are terrifying" Natasha coos offering her arms out for the little girl. She chirps and delightedly reaching for her hat.

Pepper hands her across returning to grown-up conversation with May and Happy.

Natasha let's her hold the hat bringing her to the sofa and to Lucky's waiting nose.

"Does she smell like dinosaur" Natasha coos letting Morgan pat at Lucky's ears. She manages to keep a hold of her goddaughter for most of the night but she has a curiosity for hats swapping quickly to gain a small collection. She falls asleep playing with Clint's buttons and that draws to a sudden close. Tony smiles that new smile he's developed just for his daughter and takes her into his arms.

"Jarvis will drop off breakfast in bed tomorrow if required. Presents opening at 10.30"

The rest of the evening is a timeless blur of a short walk for Lucky, Warm showers and bed before waking up in Clint's arms as Lucky nudges her arms. Apparently jet lag is harder to adapt to when you're a Canine.

"Merry Christmas Lucks" She whispers brushing her fingers through his hair. They're walking fifteen minutes later holding hands today simply out of habit. They discuss gifts and tell stories until they can no longer feel their fingers when they get back no matter how hard Clint holds her. The ice melts away as they eat breakfast, warm Pastries on a platter left by Jarvis dressed in her new pyjamas. It's a new sort of intimacy. Childlike and raw but it's not awkward. Not like she fears.

They give presents amongst friends when 10.30 rolls around. It's tolerable everyone opening presents at once no one needing to explain or pretend. She needs to work on her pretending, she decides as she opens present after present and finds herself liking most of the presents. It's easy to slip under the radar and just enjoy opening presents or watching others open they're own. Well, that is until Clint opens his tourist guide to Budapest his pointed look puncturing the mood until everyone's quiet.

"I know you've been meaning to visit," Natasha says with a grin.

"Yes, I've been told Budapest is very beautiful at Christmas time" Clint returns flicking through the book.

"Well?" Sam asks "is that it?"

"Thank you Natasha," Clint says with a nod when he reaches the back page.

"Fine keep your secrets" Sam mutter's returning to his own pile.

They settle in for Lunch and then nap in front of the fireplace after the queen's speech. Tony had indicated a childhood tradition enforced by his butler. She holds Morgan as they doze pulling the little one in close.

"So this is Christmas huh?"

#clintasha #clintasha advent 2020

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marvel-lucy · 4 years

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The Ultimate Weapon, chapter 6

Bucky <3. My boy.

Once we’d got into the elevator, Tony turned to me and asked where I wanted to go. I found the idea of choice complicated, but I remembered that Bruce had wanted to evaluate me, and that felt close to a command – someone else’s wish, not mine. “I have to go to Bruce’s lab. He wants to test me.” I could see Steve frowning at that; I wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t like the idea of testing me, or didn’t like that I was doing what someone else wanted but he kept silent.

“You heard the Moley, Jarvis – to the lab!”. The elevator moved so smoothly I was barely aware we’d changed floors until the doors opened and we stepped into a vast lab. The windows darkened as I stepped in, causing Bruce to look up and say ‘Hey, Jarvis, what are you…’ then stop when he saw us. Tony quickly spoke, “long story, explain later, I’ve brought you a treat, ta da!” and he gestured at me dramatically. I rolled my eyes, something I’d never have dared a few weeks ago, but somehow Tony seemed to bring it out in anyone who was around him long enough.

Bruce jumped out of his seat, nearly spilling his coffee in his excitement. He stumbled over his words, “hey, ok, so are you here, so, I mean, can I evaluate, I guess, if you are OK with that, I mean…”. He trailed off, embarrassed and quickly took off his glasses and started polishing them on his shirt. Tony and Steve both looked at me, waiting for a response.

“You said I had to be evaluated, so I am here for that” I said, and watched Bruce’s face light up. He grinned at Tony, who grinned back, and they started talking over each other and at each other, about tests and measures and all sorts, completely ignoring me in their excitement. Steve smiled and said “we may as well sit down, they’ll be conspiring for a while before they remember to actually do anything”.

I sat down on a nearby chair and took the opportunity to examine the lab. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. A huge space, full of computers, equipment and goodness-only-knows what, the space had vast windows (now blacked out) and behind a glass screen, what looked like a training room. Much of the equipment looked almost like instruments of torture and yet I didn’t get the tense feeling in my chest here that I’d used to have at Hydra’s base. I was starting to believe that nobody here wanted to hurt me. I couldn’t decide how I felt about that yet.

Tony and Bruce came bustling back over, talking a mile a minute, until eventually Steve held up a hand and laughed “one at a time gents?!”. Tony and Bruce looked at each other, then Tony turned to me. “OK, we know you’ve been serum-enhanced. Do you know anything about what abilities have been enhanced? We know you’re fast, and you heal fast, and you’re strong, and you have mind powers… ok so we know basically you’re unstoppable, Moley. Anything else we should know about?”

I shrugged. “I was made to be the ultimate weapon. I’m fast, strong, agile. I fight, I run, I kill. I have enhanced mind powers and brain functions. There’s nothing I can’t do. I’m a weapon”. Saying it out loud hurt. I could feel their fear, feel them looking at me differently. Maybe they didn’t even believe me, but once they’d evaluated me they’d see that I was a threat. An inhuman danger. Then maybe they would want to hurt me after all.

Steve put his hand on my shoulder, and I tried (unsuccessfully) not to flinch. “I understand. It’s hard to be different, right? You, me, and Bucky, we’re all enhanced. You and Bucky have a lot in common, you know; how you were made, how you were treated. I hope you can find some comfort in knowing you’re not alone”. Internally, I tried to imagine ‘Bucky’ and ‘comfort’ in the same sentence and failed. Bucky might have a lot in common with me, but that just made him distrust me more.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, then Bruce coughed, obviously desperate to get on, and said “so, let’s get some baseline measures, OK? See what you can do?” I nodded, and within seconds he was wiring me up – heart monitors, oxygen monitors, muscle measures, goodness only knows what else – and trying to politely urge me towards the screened off gym area. Walking through the glass doors, Bruce led me to a treadmill, and said “we’ll start easy, see how far and how fast you can run”. Behind me I heard Tony say “Jarvis, you’re recording right? And can you tell the team they might want to watch this?”, and I started to run.

And I ran. And ran. And ran some more. I’d have been bored except I was so used to following orders that I just zoned out and did what I was told. I was vaguely aware of other people coming into the room behind me but I didn’t turn to see. I’d been told to run so I did. What I didn’t realise was that I was sprinting, and had been for 40 minutes, flat out, before Bruce said ‘OK, so I guess we know you can run then…’ and slowed down the treadmill. I stepped off, my breathing only slightly heavier than normal, and turned to see the whole team watching. They’d pulled some exercise mats down and were lying on them, leaning up against each other and against the walls. There were two new members I’d only met once before – Wanda and Sam – Nat, Steve, Pepper, and even Bucky was watching me.

“Heart rate only elevated by 3% Tony. You owe me $10” Bruce said, much to Tony’s disgust. “You’ve cost me, Moley. Next time I’m betting on you, not against you”, he said with a smile.

I stood and waited for my next order. “Ok…” I could see Bruce pondering “OK, you say you’re strong? Let’s go with weights”. Tony crowed with glee, “oh I know how to make this more fun! Cap, you ready to be tested? You two compete! Oh I genuinely don’t know who to cheer for – Jarvis, do we have any pompoms?”

Steve looked awkward, as awkward as I felt. “Hey, this isn’t a competition Tony, c’mon…” but the team started egging him on with taunts of “you scared Cap?” and “he’s feeling his age” until, red-faced, he gave me a half-smile and stepped forward to the weights.

Within twenty minutes the half-smile had gone, replaced with a look of determination. We took it in turns to lift heavier and heavier weights. He was strong. Very strong, serum-enhanced strong. I knew (I’d been reading up on the internet) that he’d been injected and then exposed to Vita-Rays. At the time, that was the best option for activating the serum. In the years since, Hydra had perfected a new technique. The serum was created to make a super-soldier, a weapon. And weapons needed to be forged, not bathed in sunshine. Experimenting on a number of different people over the years, including Bucky it seemed, gradually Hydra had worked out the winning combination. Repeated doses of serum, coupled with severe pain, was the way to create an unstoppable force. Mental and physical pain released adrenaline, stress hormones; fear wiped memories; broke will; and coupled with the serum, was the most effective way to create the most effective soldier. Me. Most of their test subjects hadn’t survived but for reasons I didn’t yet understand, I did. I wasn’t sure if that made me really lucky, or really unlucky.

I didn’t think I’d beat him, I knew I was at the top of my game for a lot of things, but I was still smaller than Steve. Eventually, we both quit, breathing heavily. I knew he could have gone on to lift more, but at 900lbs, I’d had enough. My power didn’t just lie in strength or speed, but in everything, combined. I had fighting ability, telekinetic powers, agility, speed, strength. I looked over at the team, who’d stopped cheering and giggling a while back and started taking this seriously. At that point, I wished I didn’t have any of these abilities. I didn’t like being different.

The atmosphere in the lab had changed over the last test, and now people wanted to see what I could do. Bruce and Tony were talking quietly in a corner, pouring over a computer screen as they analysed results. Steve patted me on the back and went to get some water. I simply stood. I didn’t belong and the more tests they did, the more they’d see that and regret inviting me in. But since I couldn’t leave the Tower, and I found it impossible to resist commands, I still just stood there.

“You OK for another test?” Bruce asked and I nodded. At that point, Nat stood up. “Agility and fighting? Well that’d be me then” she smiled. I could feel the tension rise. Up until now, I’d been merely testing myself against equipment. Nobody trusted me enough to let me test myself against one of the team. But Natasha was, well, Natasha, and she made her own rules.

Steve passed me a bottle of water and I took a gulp as Bruce removed all the monitoring wires from me, and the team moved back around the walls, leaving a padded space in the centre of the room. I set down my bottle, and walked into the middle of the mat, watching Nat carefully. From what I’d read, she was one of the best – no, THE best. An assassin, a gymnast, enhanced with a Russian serum, martial artist. She’d had a hell of a lot more years training than me too. I wasn’t worried. I knew I could hold my own, even if I couldn’t win. I could destroy anyone ‘normal’ but the Avengers were anything but.

Nat attacked quickly, no pacing around here, and we fought, long and hard. We were both gymnastic, able to flip and roll and kick. Neither of us pulled our punches and we both dodged as often as we got hit. We were pretty evenly matched although I suspected if we carried on, she’d win eventually. I had the feeling she knew that too, but I’m not sure if it was obvious to everyone else. Suddenly, I was aware of movement behind me. A voice – Bucky’s voice – said “well let’s make this interesting then” and I sensed him about to attack. I could hear the rest of the team shouting at him that this wasn’t fair and to stop, but I could sense his animosity, his distrust of me, and also an interest to see how far I could be pushed.

I couldn’t consciously read minds, but I could pick up on emotions and sensations, which gave me the warning that he was about to attack. As I felt him behind me, I flipped over backwards, landing on his shoulders, then continuing over, pulling him down as I went. He fought back, and Nat stepped back, relinquishing the floor. I could feel the adrenaline rush through my muscles and hooked my foot behind her knee, pulling her back in and ducking so that Bucky lunged over my head. “Both of you” I grinned.

We fought like that for another ten minutes, me against the two of them. In some ways it was easier for me, I didn’t have to watch out to make sure I didn’t hit the wrong person, but they had obviously trained together for some time, and worked in synchrony to pen me in and attack. My blood was rushing and my training had taken over, I was finding it harder to think of them as ‘Nat and Bucky’ and was seeing them as ‘missions’. We were evenly matched, but after a few more minutes, Nat managed to twist me over as Bucky hit me from the side and I fell, with both of them crashing on top of me and pinning me down. I could still feel my heart racing with some kind of blood lust and knew I couldn’t let them win. Although I knew this was training, my Hydra training had been brutal and bloody and to the death, and I was finding it hard to override my instincts to win at any cost. Both giving in to, and fighting my instincts, I used my mind powers to lift them both off me, fling them at the wall, and pin them there, as I stood up. My training was saying ‘finish them’ while I fought it off with the part of me saying ‘friends’, a word I’d need to consider.

I stood on the mat, muscles throbbing, and stared at the two of them struggling ineffectually on the wall, when suddenly my concentration was disturbed by the sound of clapping. “Oh bravo Moley!” Tony said, and the irritation of the name along with the sound of his voice fought through the instincts and brought me back to reality. I let Nat and Bucky slide to the floor where they sat, both out of breath and glaring at me.

“So I think we can assume that you’re fast, strong and a damn good fighter then Little Mole. Maybe not as strong as Cap or as deadly as Nat but in combination, adding in those mind tricks of yours, and you’re going to be pretty near unstoppable then!” Tony seemed to see this as exciting, but to me it was just a confirmation of my difference. I’d forgotten though, that everyone here was different, and while I stood and let Bruce draw some blood from my arm, and have me breathe into tubes and monitor me again, I was surprised by Bucky approaching me. We’d barely spoken since I arrived and I knew he didn’t trust me, but he quietly spoke. “You’re good. I know what you’ve endured to get that good. I can see it in your eyes. I thought you were going to kill us – you could have done – but you held it back. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you before. These are my friends, and I’ve had to fight hard to be able to say that.” He paused, then spoke again. “If you need to talk, about Hydra, or… anything, I’ll listen”

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possiblyimbiassed · 4 years

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What happened to Sherlock? Part VIII - The Sign of the Hetero Norm (1)

Why does Mary Morstan play such a prominent role in BBC Sherlock?

I’m surely not the only one asking myself this; while she’s barely mentioned in canon after marrying Watson, she’s all over the place from TEH and onwards in Mofftiss’ adaptation. And when I recently read this excellent fic by @discordantwords, a couple of things dawned on me, that I think have been brewing in my mind for quite some time. Which brings me to the long promised continuation of my marathon meta series about what I think we’re actually seeing in this show. Because the entire point of Mary Morstan seems to be to prevent Sherlock and John from getting together in a romantic relationship - a story of hetero norm. This eighth installment will explore the ‘case’ of little Rosie, and the role she and her mother plays in this show.

This far I’ve published an intro and seven installments, each with corresponding attempts to test my hypotheses:

Introduction - The game is on (explains the method of analysis) Part I - Blog vs TV-show Part II - Re-living memories Part III - Drugs and weirdness Part IV – Heartbreak and coma (1) Part IV – Heartbreak and coma (2) Part V – Bizarre scenarios Part VI - Live and let die (1) Part VI - Live and let die (2)

Part VII - The Importance of Being Earnest (1)

Part VII - The Importance of Being Earnest (2)

This installment will also be parted in two, and the second half can be found here (X). Many of the screen caps from BBC Sherlock in this meta are from Kissthemgoodbye.net - thanks! And thanks also to Ariane DeVere for the incredibly useful transcripts!

My next hypotheses is, in and off itself, a clear and straightforward prediction that can be explicitly verified or falsified once we finally get to S5, so it will be extra fun to see what happens with it in future:

Hypothesis #8: John is not the father of Mary’s baby

(Disclaimer: My suspicion here only concerns John’s biological offspring. It would still be possible that John, and perhaps also Sherlock, might father the child - if it exists - by adoption. It does not exclude a metaphorical reading where the baby represents, for example, Sherlock’s and John’s relationship. I also want to stress that this hypothesis is an attempt at logical reasoning based on observations in the show and in ACD canon; it’s not meant to be ‘gossipy’ and has nothing to do with whether I would actually like to see this happen or not - that’s a whole other story. ;) )

This hypothesis has been brewing in my mind for quite some time now, but I don’t think it’s just a hunch; there are actually a series of reasons that have made me come to this conclusion.

(Continued under the cut)

But first of all: can we debunk my hypothesis at this stage in the story, by testing it ‘scientifically’? Well, not really, since the show doesn’t provide any reliable evidence that confirms John as Rosie’s biological father. Not even IRL would this have been possible without a DNA-test (or without physical circumstances that would have made any other option impossible). And the only thing that the show tells us about human DNA-tests is that not even this procedure is 100% reliable, as shown in ASIB:

JOHN: You were dead on a slab. It was definitely you. IRENE: DNA-tests are only as good as the records you keep. JOHN: And I bet you know the record-keeper. IRENE: I know what he likes, and I needed to disappear.

DNA is brought up in TGG (Ian Monkford’s blood) and again in TST (the identification of Charlie Wellsborough’s body), but since John’s fatherhood is never questioned in the show, little Rosie is never tested, as far as we know. The remaining evidence that speaks for John being the father is circumstantial: that John and Mary obviously must have been living together at the approximate time of conception. And that they both act as if they’re both Rosie’s parents.

So I guess that in order to get any further with this, I’ll have to start at the other end, analysing the characters and see if I can find evidence that support my hypothesis - on a textual level as well as metaphorically and on the meta level.

Mary’s function in the story

I think we can safely say that Mary is the most controversial character of BBC Sherlock. Some viewers love her, others hate her, but I can’t recall anyone claiming to feel indifferent towards her. Mofftiss have indeed managed to push forward a character who is hardly even visible in canon, once she’s married to Watson. In BBC Sherlock, however, Mary totally dominates the show from HLV and onwards. Her appearances may have been increasing in numbers and length already from her introduction in TEH. But from the point where John wakes up in HLV, there isn’t a single case where she’s not somehow involved. Up until TFP, everything is about ’Mary’. And even then, once we might have believed we’d got rid of the ghost of this hijacking protagonist, she comes back, only to once again take over the narrative with a weird and basically inexplicable voiceover. She seems like some kind of obsession; a brain ghost stuck on someone’s mind.

This is rather different from ACD canon, where Mary Morstan has extremely few lines as soon as she’s no longer a client, but Watson’s wife. Personally I find it hard to see the lovable aspect of this character in BBC Sherlock, since she constantly shifts appearance, behaviour and motivation; it’s almost impossible to pin down who she actually is. Which makes me convinced that Mary is not meant to be a real, believable character that we can relate to as such - at least not all the time. And maybe that goes for canon as well.

But what then is the purpose of her, what’s Mary’s actual function in the narrative, looking at the subtext? I think there’s basically three of them, and by no means mutually exclusive:

1. Mary is a metaphor for heteronormativity and its power over people when they internalise it

2. Mary is a façade or ‘beard’, where a straight marriage is established to cover up a story of a gay relationship

3. Mary is a mirror for Sherlock; by substituting himself with a female spouse for John, Sherlock can be with John ‘by proxy’, trying to figure out John without having to face his own real problem: reveal his emotions and risk failure.

As soon as Mary firmly puts her foot in the show, it all becomes a spectacle, a demonstration of how to keep up a straight facade at any cost. After TSoT, no-one ever assumes John and Sherlock are a romantic couple; Mary is the ultimate ’proof’ that John is indeed straight. Which is of course illogical, because why would a bi person stop being it because they married someone, no matter of which sex? Mary admits it herself by telling Sherlock that ”neither of us was the first, you know”. And Sherlock complains that John is dancing around Sholto ”like a puppet” even after the wedding ceremony. But in all the episodes after TSoT, John is happily freed from people’s assumptions regarding his sexual orientation. Gone are all the gay jokes, and John Watson is miraculously ‘cured’.

I think this is perfectly illustrated in the fic by @discordantwords that I mentioned above. The plot follows logically on TFP, as things would be if everything we’ve seen from HLV and onwards is actually meant to be ‘true’. Mary is now dead and John lives alone with little Rosie. For a case, in order to get close to the suspects, Sherlock is planning to fake his own wedding with Janine Hawkins, and John is feeling jealous and excluded – especially when he finds out that one of the murders that Sherlock is investigating had involved a wedding of a gay couple:

"Why all of this, then?" he asked. He tipped his head towards the kitchen, where Janine was fiddling with the kettle. "I could have just—wouldn't it have been easier for us to just—?"

"You're not gay," Sherlock said.

"Well," John paused. "No." He cleared his throat, looked back at the wall. "But everyone already thinks we're a couple. Wouldn't be that much of a stretch, really. For a case."

"No one has thought that for quite some time."

This fanfic rings perfectly true to me, considering S4 on the surface level; John and Sherlock appearing as a couple wouldn’t work after John’s own wedding in TSoT. Because gone is now every allusion to John being anything else than straight. Gone is also John’s admiration for Sherlock; from HLV and on, he hardly ever even speaks about Sherlock in a positive way. (Which also makes me wonder: was ‘The Fall’ also about Sherlock feeling he had fallen from John’s pedestal of admiration?). For the rest of the show, it’s only Sherlock whom we see suffering from (presumably) gay pining. It’s only in Sherlock’s Victorian imagination that Moriarty tells them to ’elope’ together, while John in TLD is shown to be exclusively fixed on his dead wife.

On the surface, Sherlock seems to support John’s relationship with Mary, while I’m sure he is actually suffering deeply. But I think, metaphorically, that Sherlock is acting like some kind of self-sacrificing Christ figure. (Don’t forget Irene’s words from ASiB: “I think you’re damaged, delusional and believe in a higher power. In your case, it’s yourself”). He bears the ‘cross’ of torture by seeing John with someone else, until he can’t stand it any more and trashes himself on drugs. This is what we see at the beginning of TEH, John holding hands with a woman in front of Sherlock’s grave:

Why can’t we see Mary’s face already here? I think it’s because this is from Sherlock’s POV; he’s either seeing or imagining them from behind. She might have a hidden face but a familiar shape because by the time Sherlock is recalling this, he already knows what Mary looks like. But at this point in time, maybe he didn’t? In any case, it must be devastating for Sherlock to see or imagine John with someone else, when he should be there to mourn him, Sherlock.

Thinking about John with Mary, Sherlock can’t even sleep. He is tortured on a cross and dies for all our ’sins’, doesn’t he? On the meta level Sherlock Holmes sacrifices his life, he extinguishes his true self, in the name of heteronormativity. So that John can have his straight marriage, even if it’s dysfunctional. But our worst ’sin’ as an audience, I believe - our ultimate mistake - is to buy into this narrative without questioning it. That’s literally letting the hetero norm rule.

King David the Adulterer

Mary’s ex-boyfriend David is introduced in TSoT, but after this episode he never shows up again. But this seems very random to me; why is David even there, and why is he depicted as some kind of rival to John? What is his narrative purpose? David is often blurred out in the scenes, but he is definitely present during the whole wedding reception, where his role is to be an usher (showing people their places/seats). David gives the impression to be single, since he attends Mary’s wedding without any partner as company.

Sherlock, who meets David alone at 221B during the wedding planning, deduces that he still seems to have an intimate relationship with Mary. Only recently I discovered this meta from 2014 called The Baby Problem by @abitnotgood, which brings up pretty much exactly the same suspicions I have had for quite some time now. The main points are the following:

Mary was dating David for 2 of the totally 5 years she had been undercover with the false name Mary.

They’re still close enough friends for David to attend the wedding, which might indicate their breakup was unwanted from one or both parts.

Mary’s reactions during the wedding reception indicates that she still cares for David.

Sherlock finds out that David has “offered to be her shoulder to cry on no less than three occasions.”

David sits at the same table as most other major characters, which indicates that he’s important.

David doesn’t look particularly happy while toasting for the bride and groom.

To these I could also add that Sherlock gets so suspicious about David that he threatens him with keeping a close eye on his whereabouts with Mary. From a story telling POV, when a character is suspected by the main character who is a genius detective, there should actually be some reason for this - shouldn’t it?

So who is David? Does he appear anywhere in canon? I actually think he does. In ACD’s short story The Crooked Man (CROO), the name David plays a symbolical role. The story is about a (supposed) murder of a middle-aged military officer, colonel James Barclay. It’s a classical Sherlock Holmes mystery with a door locked from the inside and the key missing. The death seems to originate from a domestic quarrel between the colonel and his wife. (Which is particularly interesting considering the Watsons’ ‘domestic’ in HLV).

Turns out the colonel died of fright when he saw his old rival Henry Wood, whom he had betrayed in the war and deliberately left to be captured by the enemy. Henry was repeatedly tortured and crippled and held prisoner for many years, until he could escape back to London and a coincidence brought his old love interest in his way, who was now married to the colonel. (Hmm... tortured by the enemy. Been away. Love interest married. Does this seem like anyone we know? ;) ). Henry was “the crooked man” of the story, who was bereft of his loved one because of James.

But the name David was mystically uttered by Colonel Barclay’s wife while quarreling with her husband - why? Holmes claimed it was a biblical reference to the drama of king David, Batsheba and Uriah. King David committed adultery with the beautiful Bathsheba, who was married to his soldier Uriah. Bathsheba got pregnant after sleeping with David, while Uriah was out fighting a war. David tried to cover up that fact by sending Uriah home, but Uriah refused to leave his comrades. Then David betrayed his rival Uriah the same way James betrayed Henry: by deliberately leaving him exposed to the enemy. The only difference was that Uriah died on the battlefield, while Henry was caught and crippled. Which leads us almost inevitably to Captain John Watson - he is a soldier who was crippled by the enemy too, wasn’t he? ;)

What about Rosie?

Although Mary is dominating the show from TEH and forwards, John’s and Mary’s daughter - little Rosie - is subjected to the opposite treatment; she has very little screen time, and we never learn about a single character trait of hers. In ACD canon the Watsons never had a child, as far as I know. And – even in Victorian times – I believe it would have seemed strange with the Doctor spending so much of his free time (besides work) together with Holmes, obviously neglecting his family duties. So since Mofftiss have introduced a totally new ingredient to their adaptation - a time-consuming baby - one would think this has to have a clear purpose, right? I would have expected Rosie to play a part of her own, someone the audience could relate to just like the other characters, if only still a baby.

But instead, Rosie is seen most of all as an obstacle. Mary is balancing her while discussing a case with Sherlock. Rosie is handed over to John like a sack of potatoes when the family goes on to solve a case with Sherlock; she doesn’t make a sound and we don’t even see her little face. We see John change Rosie’s diaper once (basically to show that he has a toy daisy behind his ear, which is apparently a good flirting device), and then we see Sherlock trying to babysit her at 221B, getting hit in the eye by her toy. We also hear her cry in the background once, and see Molly hold her once. And that’s about it.

When Sherlock texts them from the London Aquarium at the end of TST, Mary and John debate which of them is going to have to stay with the baby, but finally both of them show up at the Aquarium – without Rosie. And this happens not long after Mary has taken a ‘little trip’ around Eurasia ending up in Morocco and John and Sherlock going after her – little Rosie staying at home. Which means weeks without any of her parents. If S4 were real, I’d feel truly sorry for little Rosie.

In TLD, Rosie is more absent than her dead mother! While Mary haunts the episode, all we hear about the baby is John’s tremendous guilt for neglecting and abandoning her (which he manages to do completely). John does seem to have enough spare time and energy to go on another case with Sherlock, though, in the middle of his therapy session. At the end of TLD, all is supposedly fine again with Rosie (until John gets shot with a tranquiliser), but we never get to see it. But then in TFP John goes on a long journey with Sherlock to a far away island, and not a word about Rosie. She’s not even present when John receives Mary’s DVD at home. At the end she’s suddenly there again, though, without any comment.

Based on this, it doesn’t seem farfetched to ask if this little character is even supposed to be real. There’s a subtle hint in TLD which could point in this skeptic direction:

Sherlock: “And, of course, I hadn’t really anticipated that I’d hallucinated meeting his daughter.” “Still a bit troubled by the daughter. Did seem very real, and she gave me information I couldn’t have acquired elsewhere.”

John: “But she wasn’t ever here?”

An earlier quote from TGG could also question John’s fatherhood: ”Of course he’s not the boy’s father - look at the turnups on his jeans!” (Sherlock while watching telly with John in TGG, right after the fourth ‘pip’).

And - of course - if S4 is all imaginary, only happening in Sherlock’s head, Rosie would probably not even have been born yet.

There are also some more subtle hints about Rosie’s narrative function: John’s guilt about cheating on Mary in TLD is connected to the baby. John specifically mentions that he was “cheating” on Mary while she was taking care of Rosie: JOHN (to Ghost!Mary): “We texted constantly. You wanna know when? Every time you left the room, that’s when. When you were feeding our daughter; when you were stopping her from crying – that’s when.” This does make the (otherwise rather exaggerated) texting affair sound a bit more damning for John, doesn’t it? ;) If this is all taking place inside Sherlock’s head, it might rather reflect one of Sherlock’s (possibly) major excuses to himself for not confessing his true feelings to John; it might (once the baby is born) disrupt a whole family and affect an innocent little child.

John and Mary’s relationship

The other day I took to re-watch this little piece of extra material from S4: statements by Martin Freeman and Amanda Abbington about John’s and Mary’s relationship (X). Every time I see this video I’m just laughing so hard. Please don’t miss how Martin is struggling to keep a straight face without smiling, after claiming “they’ve been through stuff already in S3 that would test any couple.” (Yep. Like the discovery that Mary is actually a contract killer who shot his best friend and hasn’t even revealed her real name to John). Or how Amanda avoids looking at the camera when she’s lying talking about Mary’s feelings towards John, closing her eyes and shaking her head. Great acting! :)

I mean, this cannot even be intended to fool anyone; I think this is meant to signal to the audience that the marriage we’re seeing is a dishonest, superficial construction made up of empty words. It’s very similar to the scene in HLV where Sherlock tells John about his ‘relationship’ with Janine. Platitudes like “we’re in a good place” are not only included, but also called out in the very same dialogue. John: “You got that from a book!” Sherlock: “Everyone got that from a book!”. In the video clip, overly sweet violin music is playing when Martin and Amanda talk about their characters’ supposed deep love for each other, but this is mixed up with sitcom-like scenes where this love is made very hard to believe in, like Mary about to give birth in the car and roaring to her husband to pull over, or John telling Mary that he simply intends to forget about a recent past where she very nearly murdered his best friend.

John’s marriage actually seems terrible from start; he can’t even keep himself off Sherlock’s blog comments during his own honeymoon. Which I believe is canon consistent; in ACD’s stories Mary Morstan even encourages Watson to never leave Holmes’ side. And the bad marriage is also confirmed in HLV by Wiggins’ and Sherlock’s deductions about John’s cycling to work and keeping his shirts ‘folded and ready to leave’ at any moment.

But what’s Mary’s position in this? Let’s say, as a mental experiment, that she knows from start about John’s feelings for Sherlock. Why would she want to be together with, and even go on to marry, a man who is obviously in love with someone else? Well, while I don’t buy the facade-climbing Ninja!Mary who tries to kill Sherlock in HLV, she could still be dishonest in her approach to John. She could still be on some sort of mission related to Sherlock, where her role simply is to get in between John and Sherlock, while she actually is together with someone else (and even carrying that someone’s child). Her aim could be to hurt Sherlock as much as possible, for a specific reason.

As far as I see in TEH, Mary seems suspiciously eager to befriend Sherlock. Instead of behaving like one would expect from someone in love who just got their special moment ruined by a rival; with anger or at least annoyance, and of course supporting the beloved - Mary immediately sides with Sherlock.

And she seems to side with him most of all on an intellectual level, taking part in his explanations of how he managed to fake his death.

“Oh, he would have needed a confidant...”

So - what can we deduce about Mary?

If everything we see in the show after TSoT only has happened inside Sherlock’s head (as I’ve tried to make a case for in this meta series), from this follows logically that in Sherlock’s ‘reality’, there is no Assasin!Mary, no SecretAgent!Mary, no Martyr!Mary and - of course - no Ghost!Mary. Because up until the wedding, Mary seemed to be just an ordinary woman. The character’s appearance from HLV and onwards would all be fabrications of Sherlock’s drug-influenced mind, albeit loaded with a lot of metaphorical meaning from his subconscious.

But Mary still seems to exist on some level, doesn’t she? She is referred to by John on his blog, talked about by other people on the blog (including Sherlock), and she even makes comments on it on no less than ten occasions. On the blog, John is clear about getting married to Mary. And after Sherlock’s final blog post ‘The Sign of Three’, it also gets obvious that Mary is now pregnant.

And – most importantly – if S4 is all-fake, this also means that in Sherlock’s ‘reality’, Mary’s drama-loaded death in TST never happened. Mary is still alive! So if Mary is a ‘façade’, a ‘beard’ and/or a mirror for Sherlock on a meta- and sub-textual level, who is she on the textual level? Well, I think there are some clues in the show, and also a lot of subtext material in ACD canon to draw from, which might have been developed into actual story line in the show.

And this will bring us to the second half of this meta, which you can find here (X).

Tagging some people who might be interested: @raggedyblue @ebaeschnbliah @sarahthecoat @gosherlocked @loveismyrevolution @sagestreet @tjlcisthenewsexy @elldotsee @88thparallel @devoursjohnlock @sherlock-overflow-error @yeah-oh-shit

#who is mary?

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captainmeowvelwrites · 4 years

Text

You Times Two (Ch.9)

Pairing: Marinette/Ladybug | Adrien/Chat Noir Words: 4345 Summary: Ladybug knew this was necessary. She was the Guardian. He had the Cat Miraculous. But when his suit evaporated in a glow of pale green, she sure hadn’t expected him to have something far more precious: her heart. Cross-posted: AO3 and FFN

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ...

Recap: Previously, on You Times Two… Maribug was a bit of a depresso espresso, what with the impending Adrigami date and fifth wheeling her friends. That is, until our favourite dude cheered her up with pizza, turtle talk and some good ol’ Mario Kart. Of course, her kitty-cat’s banana puns might’ve helped a smidge. But will dustings of Adrigami continue to throw her off? And when Chilluka rocks up, will Jealadrien be far behind?

---

Chapter Nine

An hour after Adrien's slippery ascent to victory, they turned to Ultimate Mecha Strike III for some more hearty butt-whooping.

With one final zap of an energy beam, the words "KAGAMI WINS" flashed across the screen, and her crimson mecha-tank launched a clawed fist in the air.

"Aw maaan!" Nino dumped his controller on the coffee table. "How could I lose to a total noob?" He froze. "Uh – No offence! You did good, dudette – I mean Kagami!"

Alya clutched her stomach, her cheeks red from laughing. "Nice one, Kagami! You – You really got him good with that – ah – that triple kick hyperstorm combo!"

"Yeah, Kagami!" Adrien nudged her shoulder with his own. "Only your third game and already you're winning!"

Marinette gave a thumbs up. "You're a natural."

Kagami threaded a strand of hair behind her ear, the slightest of blushes grazing her cheeks. "Thank you, everyone. I couldn't have won without Marinette's expert teaching." She bowed her head, her mouth curving into a smile that simply looked like it belonged there.

That small fact made Marinette's own smile double in size.

"But, dudes, I'm sick of UMS."

Alya tapped down the brim of Nino's precious cap. "You're just sick of losing, babe."

Pouting, he straightened his hat. "That's not the point, Al." He bounced to his feet, eyes on Adrien. "Why don't we fire up Just Dance instead? Let's show 'em our swagger!"

Adrien's face practically glowed as he leapt from the sofa, Kagami's hands falling from his arm to her lap. "You're on, Nino!"

"Ha!" Nino flashed his signature finger guns. "On like Donkey Kong!"

With an overly dramatic scoff, Adrien placed a hand to his chest in a decidedly Chat Noir fashion. "Excuse me? Only I have the rights to that line… especially after my ape overthrew our princess." He sent Marinette an over the shoulder wink and naturally, a flush flamed across her face.

While Nino set up Just Dance, Adrien shrugged out of his blazer in one fluid movement and flicked it over the sofa with a ridiculous amount of flair. He rolled his neck, laced his fingers and stretched his arms out before him. Pair that with the fact his polished shoes, snug jeans, and long-sleeved dress shirt were all black and wow, he was but a tail away from his alter ego. The only thing missing was a poorly timed pun. The flush across her face deepened.

Adrien strutted up to the TV. Umber drapes framed the wide balcony doors to his left, swaying with the wind that weaved through the living room to fan his golden hair. With his eyes on the screen, he raised a thoughtful hand to his chin. His fingers were soaked in sunlight, its rays catching his ring at just the right angle to inspire a shine of silver. Buzzfeed had once dubbed this particular pose The Pondering Prince. It was easy to see why on a rainy day. And even easier when sunbeams spilled across his hair like a literal crown of sunshine.

Marinette wasn't staring.

Nope, not at all.

The choruses of classic pop songs cut through the air as Nino cycled through choreographies. She knew the moment a song stood out to Adrien, by the way The Pondering Prince transformed into The Keen Cutie.

An annoyingly catchy melody sprung through the speakers:

'Take me by the tongue and I'll know you. Uh! Kiss me 'til you're drunk and I'll show you—'

The boys exchanged an eager high five, while Marinette bit back a snort. Chat Noir choosing Moves Like Jagger?

"Only you would, Adrien. Silly ca—" Her mouth snapped shut, but his merry eyes were already on her. She went ramrod straight in her seat. "Ca – Can't be used to describe you row—I mean now – no, right now." She shook her head madly. "Or – uh – any time, really. Because you're so great. At moving. With your feet!"

Adrien stared at her. She could almost see the cogwheels turning in his eyes. Hopefully those cogwheels had nothing to do with her slip up and everything to do with interpreting her word vomit. Finally, he graced her with one of his classic, heart-warming smiles. "Thank you, Marinette!"

She threw two thumbs up. "Well done! I mean, welcome!"

To her right, she could just feel concerned eyes on her.

And to her left, Alya facepalmed.

Adrien's soft smile lingered on Marinette for a moment longer, before a "Ready, bro?" brought his attention back to the TV. She sucked in a breath.

That smile. That classic Adrien smile. It was a gentle, shy sort of smile. One that made you feel special. Chat Noir's smile, on the other hand, was silly, cheeky, at times flirty—and had prompted her to groan on several occasions. Totally different, right?

But they were the same person! As classmates, she could probably count the amount of coherent conversations she'd had with him on her hands. But as partners, they were closer than ever. She'd thought of him as one of her dearest friends long before learning his civilian identity. Now, an unpleasant question reared its awful head. Were his smiles wildly different? Or just her reactions to them?

Alya's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Daaang!" she called, flaunting a smirk. "You boys are pulling out all the stops today. Where've you been hiding those dance moves, Adrien?"

Marinette looked up at the boy in question and saw her friend, Adrien, dancing with the unbridled joy of her partner, Chat Noir.

And Alya's words must've emboldened him, for he broke away from the choreography with a suave spin on the spot. "Come on, Al. You don't actually think I spent home-school doing schoolwork, do you?" As Maroon 5 whistled on, he executed each move with a flawless flourish. To think, this was the same guy who high-fived street signs with his face.

Alya snickered. "Not bad, Blondie. Not bad at all!"

With an achingly familiar bow, he enacted the tipping of a fake top hat. A silent thank you. One with the pizzazz befitting of her partner.

His theatrics brought out a giggle. She'd seen her silly kitty cut a rug, as he liked to call it, more times than she cared to count. On quiet patrols. In the heat of battle. A few months ago, an amateur video of his dancing had even trended online (he'd reminded her for over a week). His timing was never impeccable, but as they'd grown closer, stifling a smile at his zest for interpretive movement had become increasingly tricky.

"Yes!" Nino wheezed, flinging his arm in time with the dancing avatar on the screen. "I'm catching up!" He was so out of breath. "Keep distracting him!"

"Oh Adrien," her bestie proclaimed, as he moonwalked like a professional zombie from Thriller. "Our dazzling King of Swag!" He held a hand to his ear, spurring her on. "Your flow knows no bounds. I must bow before such unrivalled finesse." True to her word, she bowed in her seat.

And boy, did he lap up the praise! He performed a ridiculously smooth body roll, and concluded it with a click of his fingers. His smile was nearly blinding.

That was all the motivation Marinette needed to pop in her own compliment. "In the not so distant future, bards shall sing of our swagtabulous leader's epic freestyling, and their song shall aptly be named Moves Like Swagdrien!"

Just when she'd thought he couldn't shine any brighter, a laugh burst from his lips. It was one she seldom heard without his mask and the fact she'd brought it out only swelled her sprinting heartbeat.

His next move involved a little hip swaying and a lot of arm swinging. Marinette had only played Fortnite a handful of times, but she had a sneaking suspicion she'd once witnessed it there.

"Keep going, ladies!" Nino implored. "I'm finally winning!"

"Yaaas!" Alya called. "Swagdrien The Suave!"

"Woo!" Marinette launched her fists in the air. "Swagdrien The Debonair!"

"Adrien," Kagami cut in, her puzzled tone stark against the laughter of her friends. "You aren't following the choreography?"

"Rules," he panted, "are made to be broken." As if to emphasise his point, he pulled a double arm wave.

Her brows scrunched. "But you're losing?"

Adrien, now mid-robot, incorporated a shrug into his dance. "This way's more fun"—he threw her a smile—"don't you think?"

His dancing didn't die down in the slightest, nor did the laughter that ensued in its wake.

---

Marinette, like most people, enjoyed bobbing along to Despacito at the best of times.

But this wasn't the best of times.

No, it was the worst. The absolute worst.

More good-natured trash-talking had led to Nino challenging Adrien to a dance-off. But not just any dance-off. No, a double couple dance off (read: everyone but her).

Furthermore, the universe was really testing her limits today—because Despacito's choreography was jam-packed with touching between partners. Sure, Kagami was rather stiff. She'd never played Just Dance before, but Adrien's skills more than made up for that. His hands nestled on her hips, their smiles broad and their bodies close as they moved to the beat.

She tried to smile. She tried to be happy for them. This was what they both wanted. Inserting herself between them – like matter between two magnets – would only be selfish. Even so, she couldn't deny the way her gut writhed at the sight of the happy almost-couple. And she couldn't help but notice Kagami's growing blush.

A distraction.

She needed a distraction.

As if some higher being had honed in on her thoughts, three knocks echoed throughout the apartment. Knuckles on wood had never sounded so wonderful!

Marinette jumped from the sofa. "I'll get it!"

Finally, she'd no longer be the fifth wheel to a quad bike. No, with Luka here, she'd instead be a part of some strange, six-wheeled hybrid. Much more appealing. She raced to the front door and swung it open.

Teal eyes smiled down at her, and their owner gave a little wave, black nail polish shining in the light of the stairwell.

"Luka!" She sprung a hug upon him and without hesitation, he returned it. The exchange only lasted two seconds – three tops – but by gosh, the rich scent of sandalwood delighted her senses long after. "So, how was your shift?"

"Oh, it couldn't end fast enough."

Truer words had never been spoken.

Marinette took his free hand in hers and guided him to the living room. The two couples were still dancing up a storm, guitar chords and Spanish lyrics echoing through the room. "Hey, I see you brought your guitar." She beamed up at him. "You'll have to play us something later. I'd really love to hear my song again!"

From the corner of her eye, Adrien stumbled mid-step.

"I saw that, Blondie!" cackled Alya, her hand in Nino's as they grooved from side to side. "You burning out?"

"Never!" He broke away from the choreography and Kagami quirked a brow as he puffed his chest out into a body roll, even more fluid than his first.

Luka slipped a guitar case off of his shoulders and against the sofa. "Hey, everyone!" He was answered by an array of breathless greetings. "Oh, right." He chuckled. "They're just dancing."

Marinetted laughed—

Until she realised the wordplay wasn't intentional.

"Wow!" Luka chimed, settling on the sofa. "Nice moves, Adrien."

Green eyes remained on the screen. "Thanks."

Marinette swiped the pizza box from the table, four pieces saved within it. "As promised, Luka!" Handing over the box, she sat beside him. "If you're not a cold pizza kinda guy, I can always heat it up for you?"

With a slice of pizza in hand, his free arm reached behind her, resting across the back of the sofa. "It's okay, Marinette. I'm perfectly fine with cold pizza." His eyes were as gentle as his smile. "The thought's appreciated though. Thank you."

A flush crept up her face as he looked at her, but she didn't mind. Not at all.

---

'We are one tonight, and we're breathing in the same air—'

With an easy smile, Marinette tapped her toes in time to the lively tempo of Turn Up The Love. To no one's surprise, Alya and Nino were nailing every move thrown their way—and fast approaching new high scores.

"Wow," Luka spoke up beside her, and her eyes flitted toward him. "They're so in tune, don't you think?"

Marinette gave a merry nod, recalling a time she'd said similar words to a certain blond.

She leant against the coffee table, smiling at the sight of her dancing friends. "They're so in sync with each other."

"You're right," Adrien said, from the other end of a FaceTime call. "Someday I hope I'll find someone I can share everything with… like they do."

In the present, she pursed her lips. Had Adrien been thinking of Ladybug then? Her eyes drifted toward the boy in question, only to catch his eyes zipping away that very second.

"Too right, Luka!" Adrien leaped into their conversation—and winced when his voice shot up an octave. Clearing his throat, he directed a smile at the dancing duo. "When's the wedding, guys?"

Alya skipped around Nino, her arms swinging to the beat. "We don't know the date just yet."

"But don't worry," Nino puffed. "You'll definitely be my best dude!"

"They're only fourteen, Adrien." Kagami tilted her head, her dark hair shifting. "How young do you plan to get married?"

Beside her, Marinette felt him tense. "Oh – I – Ye-ah." His voice cracked. "Fourteen's way too young! The legal age is – uh – eighteen, right?"

"You plan to be married at eighteen?"

"Err – Well, I don't – I don't know?" He squeezed out a laugh. "I mean, maybe. For the right girl?"

"Does that mean you'd marry the wrong girl if you were older?"

"No, I just—"

"Your indecision is troubling, Adrien."

Those words seemed to resonate with him. He shrunk into the sofa like a silent apology.

Marinette's nails dug dents into her palms—but Kagami didn't deserve her ire. She wasn't exactly well-acquainted with social cues. Heck, she probably didn't even realise what she was doing.

Flexing her paling fingers, Marinette turned to Luka, a wordless plea to fix this. She didn't trust herself to.

And he didn't disappoint.

"Hey, Marinette?" Both fencers looked his way. "Has anyone else tried your macarons yet?"

Adrien clung to those words. "I saw the carton on the bench, but I didn't want to be the first one to crack into them!" With a sheepish chuckle, he dipped a hand behind his neck. "I figured we were saving them for later in the day?"

If he didn't get his passionfruit macaron today, Marinette would scream to high heaven. "No no, Adrien!" She waved her hands for emphasis. "Feel free to help yourself. No, actually—"

She launched to her feet.

He did the same.

"—I'll bring them over," they said in unison. Blinking at each other, they laughed at once. "Sorry," they said. "I – Uh. You go first! No, you—"

Marinette held up a hand. "I'll bring the napkins. You bring the macarons. Deal?"

"Deal!"

---

A minute later, Alya and Nino collapsed onto the sofa, their chests heaving after their dance. To his delight, Nino had come out on top, destroying his former high score along with Alya's. (Not at all suspiciously, Alya had matched him point-for-point until the last thirty seconds, when her dancing had deteriorated just enough to let him win.)

A cardboard carton, with a golden emblem adorning its lid, rattled in Marinette's palms. While Adrien shared napkins around, she plonked down beside Luka. "I hope all this dancing's worked up everyone's appetite!"

Alya accepted a napkin. "By the grin on Adrien's face, I'd say his answer is a resounding yes."

"Can't blame him, babe. Those moves were unreal."

"It must be the fencing."

"From what I saw, he was a one-man sonata."

"Or a unicorn."

"Girl, did you just call Adrien a unicorn?"

Marinette nodded, unabashed. She was trying to get over him, yes. That didn't mean he wasn't still one of a kind.

With all leftover napkins now on the coffee table, Adrien resumed his seat between Marinette and Kagami. "Full disclosure: I'd make a magnificent unicorn."

Laughter erupted.

And only as it died down did Marinette speak again. "In that case, I sure hope unicorns like macarons!" She flipped back the carton in her lap, revealing an assortment of brown and yellow treats. "We've got two flavours: Belgian chocolate and passionfruit. I would've made more, but I was a little short on time."

"I'll believe it," Alya teased.

She stuck out her tongue. "Just a heads up, everyone—"

From the corner of her eye, Kagami reached for Adrien's hand and threaded it with her own. His smile wavered. He went to pull back, but Kagami tightened her grip—without realising? Adrien's struggling stopped.

"Yike—"

Marinette glimpsed a stern look from Alya.

"I mean LIKE! Yeah. I was, like, extra clumsy this morning and – err – dropped the macarons on this side." She jabbed a finger toward the left of the carton. "So – Um. Sorry about that."

Hands reached from all sides, lightening the carton in her hands, and delighted hums soon floated through the living room.

"Girl, you've really outdone yourself this time!"

"Ditto, babe!"

"I agree." Kagami admired the yellow, half-eaten macaron between her fingers. Her other hand still gripped Adrien's. "This is really delicious."

Adrien's face inched near as he marvelled at the macarons. "You made these, Marinette?" She thought she felt herself nod. "They look delicious!" He took one from the tainted side. Passionfruit, of course. His first bite— "Wow." He gazed at the treat like it was the answer to world peace. "Marinette, this macaron. It's… It's perfect!"

She felt herself beam as he savoured a second bite. This beautiful moment was most definitely worth the many Sundays she'd spent baking a single macaron.

In or out of the suit. Chat Noir or Adrien. He was her friend. Maybe she'd never see those three kids or that hamster. Maybe she'd never have that dog or that beautiful house. At least, not with Adrien.

Because they were superheroes.

Because of apocalyptic cataclysms.

Because he said he loved Ladybug, but in the end, he chose Kagami.

But she could still make him happy.

Luka reached for a treat last. His side pressed into hers as he leaned closer and picked a chocolate macaron. Like this morning, he went for the street-sullied side. With his free arm splayed behind her, he settled back into the couch cushions and savoured the snack with his eyes shut. "This flavour's even better! You're so extraordinary, Marinette."

Cheeks aflame, Marinette brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Extraordinary.

Luka said she was extraordinary.

And it wasn't the first time. No, the first time he'd been under Hawk Moth's cruel influence. And she tried not to take a supervillain's words to heart.

But then he'd said it again, his hand warm on her arm and his eyes warmer still.

"You're the most extraordinary girl, Marinette. As clear as a musical note and as sincere as a melody. You're the music that's been playing inside my head since the first day we met."

Was it time to tune along to his song?

Marinette swallowed, searching for a reply to the wonderful words of her friends. Instead, she caught the green gaze of another boy watching her fondly.

A lump lodged in her throat.

From the day she'd met him, her heart had been his.

But he didn't want his classmate.

From the day she'd met Luka, she'd been the song inside his head.

He made sure she knew where they stood.

He supported her every decision.

He made things simple.

The logical choice was clear.

Yet her heart throbbed at the thought.

No matter what, someone was bound to get hurt. Her friend. Her partner. Herself.

For over a year, she'd saved Paris with quick-thinking and convoluted strategies. She was the girl with a plan, the one people came to when times were tough. Yet here she was, unable to think up a single way to save her and her loved ones from heartbreak.

Why was she so useless?

Why couldn't she just keep everyone happy?

How could she possibly choose between them?

"Earth to Marinette?" Alya interrupted her thoughts. "Guys! I think we broke her with compliments!"

"No! Sorry, I just—" Marinette placed a hand to her chest and drew in a breath. "Thank you, everyone." She meant that wholeheartedly, and turned to Alya with a smile. "Wanna get back to dancing?"

"You know it!"

---

'Starships were meant to fly! Hands up and touch the sky!'

Of course, Alya had picked an old favourite of theirs: Starships by Nicki Minaj. A bop that never failed to bump up her mood. She knew the choreography well, but was still surprised by her soaring score. Her every move displayed a grace she'd never thought possible without a little latex magic, and over and over, the word "PERFECT" flashed gold on the screen. It was like the game was a one-word dictionary, but she sure wasn't complaining.

"Oh my gosh, M!" Alya puffed. "You are killing it!"

"Call me Swagrinette!"

Adrien laughed from his place on the sofa. "I don't think Swagrinette has quite the same ring to it." She threw a smile over her shoulder—just as Kagami eased her head onto his.

Marinette misstepped, but caught herself before the floor could. "Oops!" She wheezed out a laugh. "Spoke too soon, Al." Her arms circled through the air in sync with the dancing avatar.

Alya snorted. "You're still owning it!"

"She's right," Kagami added. "Your dancing's impressive, Marinette."

She glanced back at Kagami, another smile at the ready. It died on her lips at the sight she beheld. Adrien's eyes were on his hand, laced with Kagami's, and the look he wore was a resigned one. Knitted brows. A slight weight to his lips. He was unhappy—

Pain sliced through her ankle.

In a tangle of limbs, she tumbled to the floor.

Voices cried out her name.

Steps pounded.

She didn't know when, but her hand had clung to her ankle, and her face twisted as it throbbed beneath her fingertips.

"Are you okay?!"

Her eyes flew up—and what they beheld was excruciatingly familiar.

Two hands were extended before her: black nail polish painted the one on her right and an unmistakable ring adorned the one on her left. Her right hand remained around her ankle. Her other lifted off the floor. It drifted left, right, then paused dead centre.

With a composing breath, Marinette chose neither. Instead, she reached for a nearby ottoman, small and round and pastel pink, and chose to help herself off the floor. "I'm fine, guys," she said, reaching her feet.

Everyone stared, eyes rife with worry, while Starships thumped on in the background. Such upbeat music now seemed woefully out of place.

Alya propped a hand on her hip. "You sure, Marinette?"

Nino stepped to Adrien's side. "Yeah, that was one heck of a fall."

"I agree." Kagami's eyes were on Marinette's ankle. "It looked pretty serious."

Marinette fixed up a smile. "Really, I'm A-OK. See?" She shifted her weight to her right—

Another zap of pain.

Two sets of hands sprang to her shoulders, steadying her.

Marinette waved both boys away. "No no. I've got this." She hobbled over to the sofa, stifling a wince, while steps tapped behind her. "It's not as bad as it looks"—she wasn't sure if that was a lie—"but just in case, I think I'd better be a spectator for the rest of the day."

Luka seated himself to her immediate right. "First, we should really take care of your ankle." He looked to a concerned Alya, who'd seated herself on the arm of the sofa. "Do you have any ice packs?"

Adrien claimed the free spot to Marinette's left. "Plus something to act as a barrier between the ice pack and her skin." An instruction, not a suggestion. "Painkillers too. And some anti-inflammatory cream."

"On it!" Nino rushed to the freezer.

"We gotcha!" Alya's red hair whipped behind her as she dashed to the bathroom.

Marinette clung to the cushion beneath her. This was a disaster. A complete and utter disaster. But she could at least avoid dragging her friends down with her. "No need to fuss, guys." She kept her tone light. "It's really not that bad. And I don't wanna ruin the afternoon by—"

A comforting weight on her hand gave her pause. "Never." Adrien's eyes creased as he smiled, giving her hand a light squeeze. "We're just looking out for you. You'd do the same for any of us."

Luka's hand found her shoulder. "You can tell us if you're not okay, Marinette."

"Yeah, I can call you a doctor," Adrien chipped in. "Or get my driver to take you. Just say the word, Marinette."

Kagami knelt on the floor ahead of her, a cushion in hand. "I believe elevating the injury above the heart reduces swelling. Here." She placed the cushion on the coffee table and with a substantial amount of care, eased Marinette's foot upon it.

A smile flooded her face. Her friends were truly the best.

---

With a metallic whir, daylight broke upon the silhouette of a lean man, and flocks of butterflies stirred, their pale wings catching the sun.

"Ahh… An aspiring artist with a penchant for Picasso. One whose dreams have been crushed by a hard-hearted critic." Each word floated from his tongue with a delighted lilt. "What perfect prey for my akuma."

He beckoned a nearby butterfly to his awaiting palm, carefully caging it between two gloved hands. Darkness materialized, clinging to the insect and soiling its snowy wings.

"Fly away, my pretty akuma, and evilize this wounded soul!"

#ml fic #miraculous ladybug #you times two #adrinette #marichat #ladynoir #ladrien

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angelsunflowers-fanfics · 4 years

Text

Richard Simmons x Blue!Female!reader (High school au)

FANDOM: Red vs Blue

REQUEST: My dialogue is number 6. It is a Simmons x Artistic! Blue Army! Kind! Dirty-mouthed! Reader. This is my idea for a city AU for red vs blue, and Simmons is a white boi with maroon everything (Glasses, hoodie, and converse) and he also wear his hair in a short pony-tail. He also wears a maroon baseball cap and carries a maroon phone. He was in love with (Y/N) since High School, and he doesn't really know about her artistic side. Please find the time for this. I have a crush on the maroon soldier.

“We’re sitting in a good court and I can see you staring at me so what’s your fucking deal--wait are you drawing me?”

Linktree

~~~~~

The mall was lit up with dim lights as the afternoon slowly drifted into the evening, many people were still lounging around the shops and food court, taking advantage of the long hours. Richard Simmons and Dexter Grif, a couple of the reds, were talking in the food court. Well, it was more of Simmons talking and Grif eating and listening.

Simmons thought about that Blue all too often, The blues and the reds were rival schools. Grif didn’t see why he had such a fascination with someone that he was only gotten to actually see a few times. Simmons didn’t care much about the rivalry between the schools, he actually liked it. That way he could see (y/n) more often, but now he was out of high school.

“--I just wish I could find a way to talk to her again, It’s been so long. Do you think she would even remember me?” Simmons asked.

Grif rolled his eyes, not knowing why he was here and not literally anywhere else.

“Maybe, you two were both major nerds so It’s a possibility. Well, you still are. I still can’t believe that you never got over your mondo crush on her by now, dude. Her being a blue and all, there were plenty of girls that asked you out, why didn’t you ever say yes?” Grif asked.

Simmons sat back in his seat lightly, taking off his Maroon colored glasses to clean the lenses before he spoke, “(y/n)’s different, she’s not like those girls in school. They just wanted to plagiarize my work or use me to get their significant other jealous. (y/n) talked to me first, I still got really nervous around her, but… She actually enjoyed talking to me.”

Grif shrugged his shoulders lightly before closing his notebook full of extensive notes, he didn’t need Simmons to know how smart he could actually be just yet.

“Alright, you know what Sarge would say,” Grif said.

Sarge was the red team’s coach, he was close to the former team. Simmons scoffed at Grif’s mention of Sarge, whom would desperately discourage him from having a huge crush on a ‘dirty Blue’, His words, most definitely not Simmons.

“I don’t care what he’ll say. I didn’t get to see her much though. I almost thought that she would transfer, that would’ve been nice,” Simmons said, reminecing.

Grif narrowed his eyes lightly, he never saw Simmons talking with (y/n). Not once in all of the 4 years in highschool. Where on Earth did he find the time for that?

“When did you even talk to her? You never had the time to hang out with me, but you supposedly hung out with a Blue?”

Simmons rolled his eyes, picking up his phone to pretend that he was scrolling through his social media.

“You know, the football games. You and Donut would play, I watched. But one day, I got really bored and just started to wander around and I eventually bumped into (y/n). She asked me for the time and we just started talking,” Simmons answered.

Grif sat back lightly, that did make sense. High school Simmons and Simmons in the present both got very flustered around girls, especially those he actually liked. Grif had hung around the nerd since the beginning, he could see that plain as day.

[FLASHBACK]

“Hey! Pretty-nerd in Maroon!”

Simmons glanced around in a fluster, he was definitely not used to receiving any compliments of any variety. He quickly turned around to face a pretty girl in a blue letterman jacket. He already felt his heart beating rapidly from the mere sight of a pretty girl talking to him out of interest.

“U-um, yes?” Simmons nervously answered.

(y/n), the blue, slowly approached Simmons to hear him better and for him to hear her better.

“Sorry to bother you, but do you have the time?” She asked.

With shaky hands, Simmons dug a hand into the pocket of his Maroon jacket to grab his phone to check the time; 8:02 PM. before neatly placing his phone back where it was.

“I-it’s 8.”

(y/n) gave Simmons a sweet smile before explaining her actions.

“Thanks, sorry I don��t usually call out guys like that but… You seem different. What are you doing at a football game? You don’t seem like the type,” (y/n) explained her outburst.

Simmons glances over (y/n)’s head for a moment to catch a glimpse of Grif on the field, he didn’t look like he was enjoying the game before catching her eyes again.

“I’m (y/n), by the way,” She introduced herself.

Simmons smiled lightly and almost wanted to press a hand against his heart from how hard it was rapidly beating against his chest.

“I-i’m Simmons, but you can call me Richard. I come in to watch my friend, Grif, and Donut,” He said.

(y/n) cocked her head to the side for a moment.

“Donut?”

Simmons smiled brighter and lightly led (y/n) to the edge of the bleachers to overlook the game.

“Yeah, you see that guy in the pink?” (y/n) laughed lightly and gave a small nod of her head. “That’s him, he calls it lightish-red.”

“Oh my, Fuck. That’s amazing,” (y/n) giggled.

Simmons surveyed the blue team, wondering if there was someone that (y/n) was here for.

“What about you? Are you here for your boyfriend or…?” The pleading in Simmons' voice was evident, but over the loud sounds of cheering from the crowd, it wasn’t noticed by (y/n).

“No boyfriend. Um, I’m here for Michael Caboose; that guy charging at everyone head first,” (y/n) gestured to the football field. Simmons glanced to the field again to instantly spot Caboose diving headfirst for the football, it would be hard to miss someone like that. “And Lavernius Tucker, he’s--”

Simmons couldn’t help himself as he blurted out his immediate thoughts toward that certain blue, “Wait, Tucker? You hang around him? Every time I see him, he’s always flirting with fucking someone or you… Sorry, I just--”

(y/n) waved her hands in front of her to stop Simmons rambling, the sweet smile still plastered onto her face.

“No, I get it. He has that kind of impression on people. But he can actually be really sweet and a great person once you get past that outer shell… And for the flirting… I don’t know why he does that… But he’s Tucker.”

Simmons’ eyes trailed back down to the jacket that (y/n) was wearing. He was talking to a Blue. A blue! His friends were going to give him so much shit for this, but… somehow he didn’t care. The jacket hanging loosely from her shoulders didn’t look like hers, he couldn’t help but imagine what she would look like in his jacket--

“So, Richard… you’re pretty and definitely different from the blue guys… Would you mind if I gave you my number?” (y/n) asked.

Simmons’ eyes widened before trying to dig through his pockets to grab his phone but ultimately became a fumbling mess.

“Y-yeah, I don’t m-mind.”

(y/n) bit on her bottom lip to stifle a laugh before lightly grabbing his arm and a pen from her bag.

“Just hold still for a moment.” (y/n) carefully scribbled her phone number under her name on his inner wrist before hesitantly letting go of his arm, letting it hang loosely by his side. “I better go find my way down to the field, the game’s over. I’ll see you later, Richard.”

[FLASHBACK OVER]

“Okay, I believe you. There’s no way you would have been able to talk to her first, you’d get flustered and start stuttering,” Grif said.

Simmons’ face flared up in embarrassment and only slight annoyance.

“I would not!” His voice cracked slightly.

He didn’t really yell because of that fact, his voice always reverted back to his pubescent days when he got flustered-angry. Grif stifled his laugh behind his hands, Simmons already proved his point.

“Your voice just cracked. Man, I barely have to try and I’m right.”

While Simmons tried to calm down his breathing and control the color in his face, Grif looked off to the side as the sound of a pencil furiously rushing across paper gets his attention. Someone was turned toward Simmons, their head tucked behind a sketchbook. Someone was drawing Simmons.

“Huh, someone is drawing you, Dude.”

Simmons rolled his eyes but didn’t move a muscle.

“Whatever, this is another stupid test of your right? I’m gonna turn around and then you’re gonna laugh at me, no way,” Simmons said, stubborn as ever.

Grif glanced at the artist sketching on her paper for a moment before Grif grabbed one of Simmons' notebooks and threw it near the artist’s table.

“Grif! What the hell?” Simmons yelled.

Grif only shrugged his shoulders lightly, watching in amusement as Simmons slowly stood up to retrieve his journal from the floor. Simmons’ eyes locked onto those of the person drawing him, Grif was right. He shot up to his full size and marched toward the unnamed person.

“Okay, you’re staring at me, what the fuck’s your prob--wait… are you drawing me?” The artist finally glanced up from their sketchbook to reveal that it was (y/n). “I-I…” The blue only smiled at Simmons.

“Hi, Richy.”

Grif laughed to himself before grabbing his bag and standing from the table, he could tell that Simmons would want to talk to her alone.

“Nice, I’m gonna head back to the apartment. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Simmons watched Grif leave the mall before turning back to (y/n), ready to question her, “I… I didn’t know you could draw.”

(y/n) sat up straighter and layed the large sketchbook on the table, revealing that she was drawing him. Simmons slowly sat in the seat across from her, his mind scrambling for a coherent question to ask.

“I’ve been trying to find you for a while, you kind of disappeared after high school,” Simmons mentioned.

(y/n) slowly shrugged her shoulders, picking up the sketchbook to finish the drawing.

“Yeah, There were some family emergencies and then my mother wanted me to go into the air force… I’m sorry. I know you came here a lot when we were teenagers so I thought… Maybe you would be here and you are,” (y/n) explained.

Simmons sat back to look at how grown-up (y/n) looked. He needed to keep the conversation going, he wanted to talk to her until dawn just like all those years ago. It had been so long, what if she was different? Or dating someone? Or married?

“Why did you draw me? Out of everything that’s inspiring, you drew me…”

(y/n) gestured toward his outfit and items that were laid on the floor near the table next to them.

“You are very color-coordinated, and you’re pretty… and I like you. I’m a bit rusty on sketching, but I wanted to get back into it and I thought you would be the perfect model,” She explained.

Simmons wrung his hands together in front of him nervously, she said that she liked him. He should say something back, right? Say that he had felt the same since he first met her.

“I, um… I like you too. Since we met sophomore year at that football game. I never knew how to tell you. (y/n), do you… Wanna--”

(y/n) quickly cut him off by leaning over the table to press a chaste kiss to his forehead.

“Yes.”

Simmons stare at (y/n) wide-eyed, not expecting her to act on such a bold move.

“You didn’t even hear what I was going to say yet.”

(y/n) smiled brightly, grabbing one of Simmons' hands and slowly packing up her things in a light blue bag, before standing up, bringing Simmons with her.

“If I’m with you, then I’m positive I’ll enjoy whatever you have planned. Come on, we have a lot to catch up on.”

#Richard Simmons #Dick Simmons #Red vs Blue #RVB #Richard Simmons x reader #Dick Simmons x reader #Red vs Blue x reader #rvb x reader

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sordm5 · 4 years

Photo

F:NV OC as a companion

General

Name: Mason Shepherd McCoy (in-game, appears as:) Mase

Location: Grub n’ Gulp rest stop

How to obtain: Pass either a Guns check of 70, Confirmed Bachelor, or pay 200 caps to hire him. Will not follow if idolized by NCR or Caesar’s Legion.

Companion Wheel

I think we should travel together: “We make a pretty good team, huh? Sounds good.” / (With ED-E) “Sure- uh… what’s with the floating… metal… orb? Actually, it looks kinda cool.” / (With Rex) “Travel together? Yes. And I’m not just saying yes because I want to pet the dog.” / (With companion) “Are you starting up a caravan or something? Looks like you’ve got enough company for now.”

Use Melee: “That’s not… {sighing, grumbling} Fine.”

Use Ranged: “Exactly what I was thinking.”

Open Inventory: “Ya know, my bag’s already kinda full. But go ahead.”

Stay Close: “I’ve got your six… uh, Six.”

Keep Distance: “Sure. Doesn’t matter to me.”

Stealth: “Let’s get the advantage while we’re unseen.” / “They won’t see it coming.”

Back Up: “Right. Sorry.”

Be Passive: “Good call. We should scout our enemies before engaging.”

Be Aggressive: “Shoot first, strategize later? Not my style, but all right.”

Use Stimpak: “Ahh… I can feel my hands again.” > “{relieved} Thanks. I owe you one.”

Wait Here: “Fine by me. I’ll just… be checking over my rifle while you’re gone.” / “Don’t get into too much trouble.”

Follow Me: “O Captain, my Captain.”

Send to the Lucky 38: “Isn’t it a little stifling in there? {sigh} All right, but I’ll be waiting for you.”

Send Home: “I see. No worries. I’ll be at the Grub n’ Gulp, let me know if you change your mind.”

Injured: (HealthHalf) “{pained} Getting pretty rough here.” / “{out of breath} Could use… a stimpak? Maybe?” (HealthQuarter) “{dying} Didn’t… picture it like this.” / “{dying} Can’t- can’t see.”

Death: {Death Noise 2}

Aggression: Aggressive

Confidence: Brave

Assistance: Helps nobody

Karma: Neutral

Perks

Scout’s Honor: All lever-action and bolt-action rifles do an additional 15% damage (stacks with other applicable perks)

Inventory

(Unavailable via trade) Mason’s outfit, Mason’s bag, Ranger brown hat / Mason’s rifle / (Available via trade) Whiskey x 3, Stimpak x 2

Quests and Recruitment

General information:

Mason can be found at the Grub n’ Gulp Rest Stop. During the day, he will be found wandering around the premises, at night he will be sitting by one of the fires. While sitting, his unique rifle will be unequipped and laying beside him. It’s marked as an owned item, but it can be stolen. If you steal his rifle while detected, Mason will become hostile. If you steal the rifle undetected, it will change Mason’s dialogue. Both outcomes lock you out of recruiting him.

Completing any quest that isn’t affiliated with a faction while Mason is in your party will acquire +1 ‘like’ point. At 3 points, dialogue about Mason’s past will become available to the player. At 5, dialogue that triggers Mason’s companion quest will become available.

Mason will leave if 3 Caesar’s Legion quests are completed while he is in your party. A dialogue will be initiated after 1 quest, warning of his dislike for your actions. You can convince him to stick around, or decide to part ways if you profess your allegiance to the Legion. After the third quest completed, Mason will initiate dialogue and tell you of his disgust at your deceit of convincing him to stay. He will leave the party and no longer be able to be recruited by the player.

Alternatively, NCR and other faction quests can be completed without accumulating any dislike points. However, if you reach ‘idolized’ with the NCR, Mason will initiate dialogue saying he’s uncomfortable getting involved with politics. He will leave the party and only be able to be recruited again if the player’s NCR reputation goes down. (Anything below ‘idolized’ will allow him to be recruited again, this includes mixed reputation like Good-Natured Rascal, or Smiling Troublemaker, etc.)

If the player has completed Mason’s companion quest, he will continue to follow the player into the Independent Vegas/Yes-Man questline. If the companion quest is not completed, Mason will leave the party leading up to any Second Battle for Hoover Dam questlines, regardless of faction.

Recruiting:

Mason is a busybody that feels a sense of duty towards accomplishing jobs he’s commissioned for. For this reason, he finds the Grub n’ Gulp a convenient location – lots of travelers and caravans, often times needing an extra pair of hands, rolling in and out of Vegas. If the player has 30 completed quests, proving themselves of a similar mind to running jobs, the dialogue to recruit Mason will be available, no other requirements necessary.

If the player has less than 30 quests completed, you can convince him to travel by either a Guns check, a Confirmed Bachelor check, or by hiring him as a guard (200 caps, one-time payment).

Mason has a proclivity for rifles and other ballistic weaponry, and if you can impress him enough with your knowledge of firearms, he will take to you and agree to tag along on your journey. Similarly, one can pass a Confirmed Bachelor dialogue and try to appeal to Mason by offering him company. In Mason’s introduction dialogue, he makes it apparent that he isn’t one for making friends, and a male player character can test this knowledge with Confirmed Bachelor, asking him if he’s really happy being so lonely.

If all else fails, you can pay 200 caps, promise him a share in all loot, and hire him. All methods result in the same outcome of recruitment.

Companion quest: “Funny How Time Slips Away”

After meeting the requirements, Mason will have segmented dialogue about his history. He will tell the player of how he left home as a boy, and made his way in the world by starting work early on in life. He never intended for his leave to be permanent, but the longer he was gone, the more he felt returning was an impossibility.

Mason never had any blood relatives, but there was a group of people that made a community out of their shared loss, and built themselves up as a makeshift family, and began to thrive as a salvage scrapping and farming village. He left them behind, reluctant to let anyone get too close to him, and still feels regret over this decision. But either his pride, or his shame, has prevented him from returning.

The player will get the quest “Funny How Time Slips Away”, and can then agree to take Mason back to key places that he first visited after leaving his former home. (The Mojave Outpost, the playground near the drive-in theater outside of Primm, Goodsprings.) Mason will initiate dialogue after each visit, and speak about his memories for each location.

Once all locations have been visited, and all dialogue exhausted, Mason will initiate another dialogue, and speak about his urge to return back to the village. He will warn the player that his absence might take awhile, and that the village is on the eastern fringes of California – a few days walk out. The player will have the option to either encourage or discourage him to return.

If encouraged, Mason will leave the player, and be gone for 5 in-game days. When he returns, he will send a message to the player via courier, saying that he’s waiting in the Goodsprings saloon, and to come see him soon. (This is delivered in a similar fashion to “ED-E My Love”.) Upon meeting, Mason will thank the player for encouraging his trip, and say he thinks he made peace with both his former home, and his decision to leave.

As reward for quest completed, Mason will divulge that the scrappers of his village gave him some schematics for his rifle. He will then give his rifle to the player as a show of thanks, and tell the player not to worry about his combat prowess, as he can now make another rifle.

With the upgrade, Mason’s Rifle fires an extra projectile that consumes no ammunition, and has a base damage of 72, with a DPS of 93.6, making it the highest damage and DPS unique Hunting Rifle in the game. It has a built-in 3.5x scope, similar to its cousin, the Paciencia. Unfortunately, it cannot use Hunting Rifle modifications.

If discouraged, Mason will still give the player his unique rifle, thanking the player for their input, but it will not be equipped with upgrades. Its base damage is 52, with a DPS of 72.8, making it the same damage as a standard Hunting Rifle, but higher DPS than the Paciencia. The rifle, in this state, is the same one you can steal before ever recruiting Mason.

After this, Mason will use a normal hunting rifle, or whatever weapon the player equips him with, and will be unable to craft another unique rifle, making him less powerful than the alternative outcome.

Ending Slides

If their personal quest is never completed…

Whatever Mason was trying to run from by keeping himself busy, it caught up to him in the end. Work could no longer silence his inner turmoil, and so he wandered into uncharted territories. He was never heard from again.

If the Courier sides with Legion…

(Completed “Funny How Time Slips Away” and convinced Mason to stay) Mason saw the signs of the rise of Caesar’s Legion, and quietly took his leave of the Mojave. He wandered out north, into untamed lands, looking for respite, but ultimately learned to live each day on constant guard. Thoughts of the Courier filled him only with regret…

(Completed “Funny How Time Slips Away” and convinced Mason to return home) Though the Courier helped Mason find home, in the end, Mason only felt the sting of betrayal. He returned to his home village in California while there was still time, and warned his family of the Legion victory. With great sadness, they packed up their belongings, leaving behind many things they could not carry, and fled north, in search of new lands to settle.

If the Courier sides with NCR…

(Completed “Funny How Time Slips Away” and convinced Mason to stay) At first, the rise of the NCR gave way to many job opportunities. Mason returned to the Grub n’ Gulp, keen on taking up new offers for work. But as the NCR settled more into the Mojave, the work grew scarce; NCR gave more power to larger companies like the Crimson Caravan, requiring work contracts and full-time employment. Eventually, this new trade system pushed Mason out of the Mojave, in search of freer opportunities.

(Completed “Funny How Time Slips Away” and convinced Mason to return home) As the NCR settled into the Mojave, work around Vegas began to dry up, and the Crimson Caravan absorbed most smaller, independent companies. Without a task to set his mind to, Mason decided to return to California – to his home. At the village, Mason took up full-time weapon repair, a welcome addition to the farming and salvaging, and grew to be at peace with the NCR rule.

If the Courier sides with House…

(Completed “Funny How Time Slips Away” and convinced Mason to stay) With the rise of Mr. House through his securitrons, business and travel around the Vegas area grew to newer heights, and Mason found himself preoccupied with many different opportunities.

(Completed “Funny How Time Slips Away” and convinced Mason to return home) Mason returned to his former haunt at the Grub n’ Gulp, and took job offers as they came through. Business slowly increased as the NCR withdrew from the Vegas area; Mr. House’s rise to power making Vegas a veritable boomtown. He often found time to make his way back home to California, and share new repair and salvage techniques that he picked up from his different employers.

If the Courier makes New Vegas independent…

(Completed “Funny How Time Slips Away” and convinced Mason to stay) The chaos that ensued in the larger Vegas area shortly after its declared independence, drove away all semblance of organized trade. Riots became the new norm, and Mason soon found himself being called upon for different assistance. Medicine delivery, and treatment of the injured skyrocketed, and Mase was not of the proper mindset, nor skill-set, to help with the turmoil. In the end, he found it best to leave the Mojave behind.

(Completed “Funny How Time Slips Away” and convinced Mason to return home) The chaos that ensued in the larger Vegas area shortly after its declared independence, drove away all semblance of organized trade. Riots became the new norm, and Mason soon found himself being called upon for different assistance. Because the Courier had helped in his time of need, Mason persevered and applied all knowledge that he could to help Vegas re-establish calm and civility. After order was restored, business and trade were slowly re-introduced. Mason found himself at home in this new independent Vegas, but, even so, he made it a point to occasionally visit his family in California.

(I know there are different variables for each ending, like upgrading the securitron army, etc. But this was already getting so long, I just left it at the choices in Mason’s questline.)

#fallout #fallout new vegas #fnv #oc shepherd #this is definitely an au version of mase's character #i can't picture him having home or a family in his canon form #that type of stuff scares him too much

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shrunkendalmatian · 5 years

Text

Chapter 2 - An unexpected Test

Dylan and Dawkins work on an alternative solution for Dylan’s condition.. during testing things don’t really go as planned.

“Are you really sure about this Dawkins?" Dylan asked while sitting close to Dawkins' tablet where he examined extensive chemical notations of a strange and complex formula.

"Sure? Well, i'm not, but for what it's worth until I can get new components for the Size Ray i might as well try another approach to solve your situation." he answered while adding two drops of a chemical inside a vial with a viscous substance, the mixture reacted and slowly changed colors until it got a vibrant yellow glow.

Dylan winced while shielding his eyes with a paw, in his diminute stature the glowing bottle looked like a small sun, even Dawkins squinted his eyes a little bit. Upon closing the cap of the bottle the glow would quickly fade away as it couldn't react without oxygen. "What now?"

"What now?"

"Now we need to test it on a living organism, watch closely, take measures and make tests to determine if it'll work."

"I'm skeptical about it working..."

"And why is that Dylan?"

"Do you really expect me to believe in a growth potion made with shampoo for Dog's sake!?"

"It's not any shampoo, it's a expensive brand, scientifically tested and destined to increase the growth of fur. In essence I used the same chemical bases with complex organics elements associated with DNA sequences related with growth!"

"The more you talk about it the more stupid it sounds..."

"I don't expect small minds to understand the brilliance of my works."

"Ouch... Small jokes, really!?"

"Sorry brother..." Dawkins replies with a sigh while extending his paw to Dylan.

"No... I'm sorry too, you are doing your best here and i keep complaining. It's just..." Dylan approaches and climbs on Dawkins's paw.

"I know, it's dificult, we are both shaken by what happened. But I promise you, I'll fix this!" Dawkins says with a lot of determination in his tone while putting Dylan on top of his head.

"Thanks Dawkins, you are the best." Dylan replies by hugging Dawkins' ear.

"Haha, that tickles... I appreciate and reciprocate the sentiment Dylan. Let's go outside to test this." The young genius carries the closed canister in his mouth while heading towards the front door of their house, with Dylan resting on his head.

Eventually the two canines would arrive at the park. Dylan had been using his younger brother's ear as cover for most of the way in order to avoid curious looks from both Animals and humans. This included the stampede of puppies that ran past them, clearly indicating that someone had dared to use the work "Park" around the house too loudly.

Fortunately for Dylan, he managed to make out Dolly in the sea of spots, meaning the pups would be under some sort of supervision. However, this also meant that this could be his ultimate reveal regarding his new height. He had been able to stay concealed from the others while Dawkins had been working on this formula, playing sick and having the younger pup keep others out as well as possible while doing so. With a bit of luck, he might not have to reveal it after all if this worked.

As the two gazed around the park, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Dolly was hanging out with Roxy and Snowball, who was being constantly dragged away by the leash connectign her to her human. A hole in the ground spewing out dirt was telling that Diesel had given himself to his passion once again, Da Vinci was heading towards the bridge with a spraycan, ready to create more of her art at one of the few walls in the park.

"Alright, Dylan.. Rememeber: we first have to test the formula on a fitting biological organism... I'm certain you wouldn't want another first-paw approach, would you?"

"Absolutely not!" Dylan waved his open paw in front of him, signaling a stop. "I had enough first-paw approaches for quite a bit". How about a plant? Maybe a flower?

"Flowers are not exactly the best choice for a test subject, but it should work.. or at least point towards the desired effect." Dawkins was unsure, of course he hadn't been hoping to have a full scale test on another animal, maybe he hoped perhaps that Dylan would actually offer himself as a subject, but testing it on local flora should help as well.

"And no one is gonna be in trouble if the test doesn't work out the way it should, right? Come on! Let's find one!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Meow-wow-wow-wow-wow!" The meditative mantra could be heard as Deepak was sitting with the cat, Constantin. Even with the chaotic way other animals were playing around the part, the two of them seemed undisturbed. As the chant eventually faded, the young pup opened his eyes and looked at the feline.

"Isn't it a wonderful day?"

"As guru Meow once said, 'Internal harmony prevails over the external chaos.' so as long as we are harmonized with our inner cat, the outside world have little interference on ourselves." Constantin smiled to the young puppy and closed his eyes to start his mantra again, but the universe apparently had other plans for the duo... " Meow-wow-wow-wow-OUCH!" With no warning or whatsoever a frisbee came flying and hit the feline straight up on his nose.

"Constantin are you ok?" Deepak fussed about his friend, who was now laying on the grass from the impact, while two big bulldogs approached them, clearly looking for something.

"What sort of dimwitted fool would careless toss around such stupid objects?" Furious, the cat looked at the dogs in front of him, but ignoring their menacing size he continued: "Can't you mutts play your childish chasing games somewhere else?" He tosses the frisbee towards one of the bulldogs, but he catches it with his mouth, and with his powerfull jaws, breaks it in half.

"Brutus, i think we can start another chasing game to distract us..." The first bulldog begins.

"You are right Braxus. And we will give you a head start, of three seconds, to make things interesting cat!" The other continued after spiting the broken frisbee on the ground.

Constantin's ears bended towards his back as he realizes what they meant, he starts to run while Deepak finally understands the situation...

The small puppy was once again stressed out as he ran trying to get his fellow dogs to stop chasing his friend. "Please, can't we leave this barbaric bahaviour behind us?" He pleaded as the chase continued.

In the meantime Dylan and Dawkins had found a fitting test subject in the shape of a lonely dandelion. Dylan was still on his younger brother's head, peaking over his forehead as Dawkins opened the bottle. "I really hope this works.."

"It should.." Dawkins said half heartedly, both because he didn't want to point out the difference in physique between a dandelion flower and a dalmatian and how the results of one can't be 100% transferred to the other. And because he had to be very careful in administering the formula, trying to only use single drops to preserve it for more test subjects.

Unfortunately, as he was focused on that, Dawkins couldn't take notice of his surroundings. Even Dylan was only made aware of something wrong once he felt his nose closing up. As he looked around for the cause he saw that Constantin, being chased, and running towards the two. "Watch out!"

Dawkins was startled, and just moments later the feline jumped right over his head with an accompaning sneeze from his shrunken brother. Fortunately, Constantine managed to jump over the little dog effortlessly and despite the shock, Dawkins managed to not spill any of the serum.

However, where the cat succeeded, his pursuers had no success, and the two dogs knocked over the two dalmatians, just as their shock was settling again. Dawkins was knocked onto the ground, followed by a little thud as Dylan landed next to him. But where was the bottle?

The two frantically looked around to find it and time seemed to be slowed down as Dylan pointed upwards. "There!"

Dawkins followed his brother's paw and saw the bottle flying through the air, the lid barely closed. Realizing that Dylan wasn't gonna be able to try and catch it he quickly got on his paws and ran to catch it before it could hit the ground. As he ran he tried calculating the trajectory of it's arc in order to figure out where it would come down.

His gaze still focused on the formula, his calculations suggested that the point of impact was gonna be out of reach and as he looked towards where it would land, hoping it would land safely at least, he spotted...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Calm down, Deepak. Breathe!" The zen pup had returned to his meditative stance while still watching Constantin being chased and trying to prevent himself from freaking out about it. He was already stressed towards a tipping point.. which was easily reached when he felt a thud from something fairly solid hitting him on the top of his head, followed by a feeling of a thick liquid covering his body very soon afterwards.

It was a feeling he remembered.. during the horrible day of snowfall, not long ago, when his parents and his oldest siblings decided to have a competetion.. His eyes flung open and he looked around, his view confirming the feeling. He was covered in what looked like a yellow shampoo. He was quickly looking as if he was close to a complete freakout, he wanted to scream but the liquid did something strange. It started to glow.

Dawkins had stopped as he saw the bottle land on his brother, the lid knocked open and it's contents all over the Yin-Yang-puppy. "Uh oh.." he gulped as he saw the formula glowing.. a sign that the effect was imminent.

Deepak at this point had stopped his panic as the feeling of the serum perplexed him, the spreading warmth of the energy of the reaction. The liquid being absorbed into his skin and a different feeling he never felt before. A strange stretching feeling all over his body, accompanied by his view rising higher. Soon he would see his Brother who had stopped before him.. now he could look down at the other.. and most other dogs and things around the park.

As the realization of what was happening to him struck him, he did his best to remain calm. Which was very difficult given the situation. Dawkins looked up at his growing brother and slowly, but surely, walked backwards.. step by step.. he couldn't be sure how potent the serum was and how much he would grow, so being at a good distance away from Deepak felt like a good idea.

"W-what is happening?" Deepak asked as he grew even larger. His gaze once again fell on Dawkins.. "Brother, is this one of your inventions?"

"Well.. it's a long story" Dawkins' ears dropped as the now huge pup talked to him.. Deepak wasn't one to get angry about it... at least not physically but it was still better to keep him calm. "But... one could say so, yes"

"How long will this continue?" Deepak ased as his head pushed through the canopy of a nearby tree and eventually stopped when he was about as tall as it. "Oh, thank heavens it stopped! Please tell me you can turn me back!"

Before Dawkins could reply, Constantine zipped past him once again. The chase was still going on and from what it looked like both parties were so occupied with it that neither of them noticed the big change of scenery that had occured.

Deepak's worry about his friend returned and had turned into frustration. However.. where he didn't see any way to help the feline before, now there was a possibility. The new perspective given by his new size had a temptation to it.. where he had to endure being trampled.. or run over... hit with a shot of shampoo to fly across the house.. Well, let’s say: ‘Good luck try putting him into a spot like this now!’ He was able to be on the giving end for once!

No, this was not the way.. he wasn't like that! Even in a situation like this, he was not to let his anger get the best of him. He took a deep, calming breath and looked back down at the still going chase. Perhaps there was a way he could use the unfortunate scenario to help. With a move of his leg, he put his paw down right behind the cat, causing the 2 pursuing dogs to run into it, stopping them in their tracks, and the hunt, then and there.

"My apologies, but this is not how animals should treat each other" he spoke, relatively calm for his standards, giving the two canines a slight gentle smile.

However, as they realized what they just had bumped into, they looked up with a terrified expression and quickly ran away. Deepak's ears dropped low, as he saw the two dogs run.

Seeing the distress in his brother, Dawkins stepped closer again "It seems you have.. unfortunately become the test subject for my experiemtal growth formula." he put one paw at the enlarged pup's one. "However, you don't have to worry about staying like this.. the formula is designed to be temporary.. Given the way it was used and the time it takes for it's components to degrade.. it might take an hour or two to fully lose it's effect." He gave Deepak a nervous smile.. he wasn't sure how comforting it was to hear that there was no immediate fix.

"One or two hours?" Deepak asked. "What am I supposed to do for this long?" While the knowledge of the temporarity of the effects carried a bit of comfort with it, the given time would still mean that he'd have to spend almost the entire afternoon like this.

"Well.. given the fact that the formula worked on you, you could help me collect the data! Measuring how much it affected your body.. how long it lasts precisely.. if it carries any side effects.." Dawkins counted up the things he could figure out..

"And what do I have to do for this, brother?" Deepak asked. The incident didn't seem to have caused a panic.. yet. He couldn't help himself but imagine to what could happen if he was seen like that.. but what Dawkins said didn't sound to attention grabbing.. untill... "S-Side effects?"

"Uhm, yes.. the solution has not been tested yet.. at all. It might carry some unforseen side effects with it when interacting with an organism. But the chances for that should be fairly low!" Dawkins tried to sound as reassuring as possible.. even if the chance of side effects were low, there was still the possibility of something occuring. "Aside from your new height.. do you feel any different?"

For a moment Deepak considered.. should he tell his now little brother about the temptation he felt before halting the two other canines? No... he decided to not act out on it and other than that.. there was no pain or anything within him, outside from the different point of view. "I suppose not"

"Alright.. your growth has stopped about 1 minute and 37 seconds ago" The engineer pup pulled out a stopwatch and pressing it to run. "Yes, I've been counting.. we can't risk any data to be lost." He put the watch onto the ground as it kept on ticking. "Let's see... Height! We need to figure out how much you actually grew.. doing it the old fashioned way might be difficult due to the.. scale of things." Dawkins stopped with a gasp.. Dylan! He lost track of his tiny brother when the other two knocked them over.

"While I'll try to figure something out.. would you excuse me for a moment? Just.. try to stay calm!" Dawkins called up as he quickly turned around, seaching the grass for his meadow for his brother. "Dylan!" he periodcally called out softly, hoping it would reach his older brother but no one else.

Dylan had been knocked into a bush and just recently managed to find his way out as he heard his name being called by the familiar voice. His head poked out of the bush and he looked around "Daw-k-k-kins?" he started stuttering as he noticed Deepak sitting next to a tree.. it wouldn't be a big shock if he wasn't about as tall as the plant. "Wha-ha-hat happened?"

"Dylan!" Dawkins had noticed the tiny head of his brother appear out of the bush. "I'm glad I found you! I.. Well.. I have good and bad news... The good news is that the potion works in increasing size.. the bad news.. well.." He nodded over to Deepak, who was still clearly visible.. now some of the other pups had noticed him and started gathering around the giant who was starting to look distressed due to the attention.

But Deepak wasn't the only one who was worried by the attention. "Dawkins, please tell me you know how to turn him back!" Dylan said.. he being tiny could be handled.. but a pup being this big.. he would never fit into the house.. possibly not even in the garden!

"Yes, the formula's effects should only last temporarly as the additional components to the shampoo react and desintegrate over time, his body should be back to normal soon.

"Wait.. if it was temporary.. how was it going to help me get back to normal?!" Dylan asked, confused as well as angered.. why did Dawkins waste time on something that wouldn't actually fix his issue instead of just getting the Recombuvilator back running.

"It would have taken longer to first get the components stable to work indefinitely.. and would you have prefered to have two situations on paw rather than one in case the test went.. well.." Dawkins just nodded back into the direction of their enlarged brother. He'd thought Dylan would appreaciate some safety measures.

Dylan sighed.. "Alright.. you're right, Dawkins.. How long is this going to last?" They certainly wouldn't be able to hide Deepak from Mom and Dad like that.. let alone fit him into the house.

"The components should desintegrate enough to lose effects within an hour or two of exposure to air. In the meantime I'm planing to collect the test data. Maybe it's worth trying to make the formula last."

"Alright.. but I'll wait here.. Look! The pups have noticed him.. and I don't really want to be around the center of attentions you know?" Dylan said, his ears flopping down and he retreated a bit into the bush. "Just... just get me when you're done." Dawkins waited a moment after his brother's head disappeared in the green.. Given the fact that Dylan often showed a lot of ego.. this was quite the shocking situation.. being tiny must have been quite the horrifying experience for him..

The young pup just nodded and turned around, ready to finish the test by gathering the data. As Dawkins approached Deepak again he met Dolly’s alarmed eyes as she walked hurriedly towards him. “Why would you do that to Deepak Dawkins?!”

“Ah, w-well it was an accident Dolly, but don’t worry, it’s temporary.”

“Oh thank Dog…” She sighs in relief turning her attention to Deepak again.

Meanwhile Dawkins ponders a little about the best method to collect data in the current situation. There is an issue with all the pups around, who are all curious about their giant brother, and for a moment Dawkins gulps while talking to himself in a whisper: “What would Dylan do?”

Suddenly he realizes something, it feels like a heavy burden is put on his shoulders while a decision and an idea takes form inside of his head. Turning his attention to Dolly and mustering some determination he says: “Dolly, in Dylan’s absence we must manage this situation as Top Dogs. I need your help for that.”

“Huh?! Ok, but what are we going to do?”

“It’s quite simple in fact...” Dawkins then proceeds to explain his plan to her and after Dolly’s agreement they begin their work. Dawkins and Dolly call out the pups and organize them in a line, they explain what the young siblings need to do. The small pups are to be used as a reference for measurements of Deepak’s current state.

They climb over Deepak’s limbs and body to form “puppy-chains” while Dawkins takes notes using them as numbers to register the grownth rate of Deepak’s body. At first Deepak was really nervous and distressed, but Dawkins and Dolly did their best to reassure and keep him calm.

Ultimately Dawkins would finish collecting the data he required .. except for the precise time the effects would last. Deepak had actually managed to remain fairly calm and the other pups were really playful towards him, not scared at all of their giant brother, and actually wanting a ride on his head to have the view over London. Of course both Dizzy and Dee Dee were some of the most active and playfull pups in this situation.

Dawkins was busy working out the data, figuring out if he could perfect the formula. It could maybe be another alternative for Dylan to turn back to normal, in case the size ray wasn't gonna be fixed easily. As he finished it up he saw Dolly approaching him.

"So.. you still haven't told me.. Why did you even work on something that can make stuff ginormous? Dolly asked with a comparatively serious look on her face.

"Well.. you know as it is.. inspiration struck and I just wanted to see if I could do it!" Dawkins replied with a clearly lying grin.. the only time he managed to pull of a really convincing lie was when she had been helping to guide through the prank they had played on Dylan a while ago.

"Dawkins.." Dolly started, but then was interrupted by a loud shriek from behind her.. given the volume it must have been Deepak.. Both dogs faced their attention to the giant and noticed that he was starting to shrink.

While Dolly was still watching, Dawkins felt a few tiny pebbles hitting his head from the side. He turned to the source, and as it turned out, Dylan carefully made his way closer to his brother while the attention was focused on Deepak.. he still hid behind flowers, rocks and anything else that could cover him.

He knew his brother would crack under pressure, so he needed him to not say why he needed a growth formula in the first place! Especially around Dolly. She would never let Dylan hear the end of it if she knew. When Dawkins made eye contact, his tiny brother gesticulated to keep his muzzle shut. However, Dylan quickly hopped back behind cover when he saw Dolly's head turning back.

"Well... that was..." Dawkins looked back at his sister, but picked up the stopwatch "1 hour 35 minutes and 12 seconds! And it doesn't seem to carry along any side effe..." The pup stopped when he looked back at his shrinking brother. Deepak was indeed returning to his normal size, however, the hair growth shampoo he used as the basis didn't seem to desintegrate. While the puppy shrank, his fur seemed to remain just as long, even though it lost its girth on each hair.

Both Dolly and Dawkins just watched their brother turn into a gigantic fur-ball. Just his head peaked out, as the pup seemed to be stuck in a ball of his own fur, easiely still larger than a human. As the change concluded Constantin walked up to the now once again little pup in the yin-yang textured ball of black and white fur.

"I always believed it was a mere legend.. stories tell of a giant hairball! Youngling.. the stories might have told.. of you. You might be the giant hairball!"

The feline would soon regret exclaiming the last part, as single voices would pop around them, growing into a chorus of the word "Ball". Within mere moments both were washed away in a sea of spots, knocking around Deepak like a playball.. Fortunately for him, his fur was protected him from any harm.

"Hehe.. I think he's gonna be alright.." Dolly said.. the image of Deepak not stuck inside a giant ball but being a giant ball seemed to be entertaining. She would have been worried, but he wasn't even screaming. It almost seemed like he was enjoying himself. "Aaanyway... Why don't you tell me what you needed that growth shampoo stuff for?"

Dawkins pondered, he knew Dylan was still watching, but he had to take charge already and for the good of every-pup involved he had to make a decision.. "Alright.. I will tell you.. just.. Just come into my workshop with me when we get home."

"Alright.. Altough I think it's getting time anyway.. " Dolly turned around to the others stil playing with their brother.. "I think it's time for DINNER!"

As expected, the trigger word did it's job and soon the wave of spots turned and was rushing towards the park exit. Dolly hopped onto her skateboard and raced off in order to keep up with them, knowing that Dawkins was fully capable of picking up his stuff and following as well.

Dylan had come out of hiding when she left. "Dawkins! What are you thinking?! You can't tell Dolly what's going on!"

"I'm sorry, Dylan.. but it's gonna be for the best." Dawkins said as he picked up his notes before grabbing his brother carefully and placing him on his head.. "Besides.. it's now too late to change it anyway, is it?" He said with a confident smirk.

He had made his decission, and he was gonna hold on to it. After all, what was Dylan gonna do about it? And perhaps, since the others were so accepting about Deepak, maybe it would go just as smooth for Dylan.

Dylan sighed as he was placed on Dawkins' head and they made their way home. "I guess it is..." he just said while imagining all the humiliation he would have to endure at home once Dolly knew. But there was nothing he could do about it anymore, as his big little brother carried him off.

#101 Dalmatian street #dylan dalmatian #Dawkins Dalmatian #deepak dalmatian #dolly dalmatian

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chicagocryptid · 5 years

Note

Hm... Im gonna go with 23 cuz I think I already know what pairing you're gonna go with and i'd love to see how you do it

(I actually couldn’t decide what pairing I wanted to do but I decided on this one so I hope you guessed right!)

Bad Blood//Larry x Ash (WC:2,170)

Warnings:Language, Mentions of underage drinking, Alcohol Use

"Ash!”

Sal’s voice was distinct, low and gravelly, cutting across her backyard. Even over the din of the party raging inside, it was unmistakably him, calling her name from the back door and interrupting the conversation she was having with Maple on the garden wall. Maple waved her away with a tilt of her solo cup, and Ash slid off the stone and crossed the yard, a little bounce in her step.

They embraced, and she gave him an approving once over. He’d been nervous about the party, he’d told her. He didn’t really drink, crowds weren’t his thing, but she’d begged him to come. Eventually, he’d agreed, on the condition that he could bring a friend. She assumed that was who had dressed him for the evening, because he was looking a little edgier and... Laid back than normal. Even his hair hair was braided in a way that looked as though he’d slept in it. It suited him.

She offered him a drink from the patio table, near where Todd and a few other kids had set up a ping pong table, including one older boy who Todd kept touching on the arm. Sal refused, politely. Sal did everything politely.

“Nah, I’m good. Larry’s grabbing me a beer from the kitchen.” Maybe it was the alcohol in her own system that caused the delay, but she raised an eyebrow at him over the edge of her own cup.

“Who?”

“Oh, Larry Johnson. That’s the guy I’ve been telling you about.” Ash felt her heart tighten. That didn’t make sense... For months, Sal had been talking about his downstairs neighbor who was so amazing - Who stayed up late playing video games when Sal couldn’t sleep, who helped Sal with his PTSD flashbacks with bad movies and cups of cocoa, who slept over almost every night so when Sal woke up screaming, he wasn’t alone. That didn’t seem on par with the Larry Johnson she knew. Rather, the one she had known. She hoped there were two in Nockfell and she had just never realized.

The backdoor slid open again, almost on cue, and Ash’s heart squeezed even tighter. No, it was the same Larry Johnson stepping onto the back patio with the necks of two beers between his fingers. He was tanner than she remembered, taller, more toned. His hair was pulled up into a low bun to keep it off his neck, but she could tell he still hadn’t cut it. Their eyes met, and she had to work to hold her gaze with his - Hard and steady. It was obvious he hadn’t forgotten, but neither had she.

It had been the summer before seventh grade. Like every summer before it, Larry and Ash had spent every day together. They split their time evenly between Ash’s pool and Larry’s tree house, and they had no secrets from each other. Ultimately, that had been their downfall. At the beginning of that summer, they’d carved their initials into the floor of the tree-house, pricked their fingers and pressed them together to seal a blood oath. By the end of it, Ash had screamed that she’d never wanted to see him again. And until now, she’d made good on that promise.

Sal, oblivious to the tension between them, took the extra beer from Larry and gave him a playful punch on the arm.

“I was just talking about you, man. Ash, this is Larry. Larry, Ash.”

Larry started to say “Nice to meet you,” just as Ash started to say “We’ve met.” Sal looked between them, confused.

“You guys know each other?” Again, they both opened their mouths to speak at the same time. Ash frowned and took a long pull on her drink, draining it. Larry busied himself by opening his beer with his car key. They were quiet for a moment before Sal, clearly irritated, stamped his foot on the concrete. “What the fuck is going on?”

Ash looked at Larry accusingly, but his eyes were on his bottle cap, which he was weaving between his fingers. They were longer than she remembered; slender and bony. She could see a callous on on his index from paint brushes, and a place between his index and middle that had started to discolor from cigarettes. She cleared her throat, and he looked at her without meeting her eye.

“Do you want to tell the story or should I?”

Larry rolled his eyes and the corner of his mouth twitched, the way it always did when he was losing his patience. “I don’t think we need to talk about it right now.” His voice was low, irritable. Ash huffed.

“Someone better.” Sal said, cold.

“We used to be really good friends,” Larry started, looking at a crack in the concrete.

“Best friends,” she corrected.

“Do you wanna tell it?” He snapped, and she folded her arms over her chest, but said nothing.

“We were best friends, six years ago, and now we aren’t. That’s it.” Larry put the bottle to his lips, obviously done talking, and Ash pulled at a thread in her sweater to keep from reliving the nightmare all over again. Todd’s voice cut through the air from behind them, and she wondered if he’d been waiting for a lull in the conversation, or if he just had impeccably good timing.

“Ash! Come on, some of us want to play seven minutes in heaven but the some of the guys will only play if you do.” Ash looked hesitant, but Todd nodded towards the boy he’d been fawning over earlier and pleaded with his eyes. Sal, frustrated and annoyed, jumped on the excuse for a change of subject before she could answer.

“We’ll all play,” he said, grabbing Larry by the elbow and giving Ash a stern look over his shoulder while he steered the former inside. She followed, exchanging her empty cup for a full one, which was empty again when they reached the circle that had formed in the living room.

Maple was already there, Chug next to her, and Todd and the other boy, who someone had called Neil, were settling into their spots. Sal and Larry took a seat too, and Ash sat on the opposite side, as far away from them as she could get. Maple set an empty tequila bottle on its side in the middle of the circle and gave it a test spin. Her cheeks were flushed and she was laughing at something Chug had said. At least she was having a good time.

A few more people joined at the edges of the circle, hanging on furniture and sitting on the coffee table that had been pushed out of the way. When it seemed like everyone had settled down, someone spoke up.

“Who spins first?”

“Well, it’s Ash’s party.” Came Maple’s voice. “She should go.” Ash blanched, and put her hand up in protest.

“No, no. It’s your birthday party Maple, you should go.”

“Please,” Maple laughed. “Half the people here don’t even know me. Just spin to see who you’re going in the closet with.” Ash chewed her lower lip, but leaned forward and spun the bottle. Anyone but Larry, she prayed. Anyone but Larry. The bottle stopped between Larry and Sal. If he hadn’t had his legs crossed, Ash would have gladly been enjoying seven minutes telling bad jokes in the dark with her best friend. But as it were...

Maple, who hadn’t been paying much attention to the spin, noticed the look at Ash’s face and reddened when she saw who the bottleneck had landed on. She seemed to want to say something, her face empathetic, but Larry had already stood, and Todd had pulled up a timer on his phone. Embarrassed and angry, Ash followed Larry’s suit and they stood awkwardly outside the entry closet, shuffling their feet.

“Okay! I’ll start the timer as soon as the door closes!” Todd, who had somehow ended up in Neil’s lap, shouted from his spot on the floor. Larry opened the door and made a gesture with his hand for her to lead the way, so she did, and then the two of them were engulfed in the darkness, surrounded by coats.

She thought two full minutes had gone by before he spoke.

“Should I turn the light on?”

“Why would I want to look at you?” Oddly enough, she did want to look at him, which only made her angrier. She could barely see the outline of his shoulders move up and down in a shrug.

“Can I smoke in here?”

“No.”

“You didn’t have to come in here with me, you know,” he said, softer. She stuck a finger in her mouth and bit the nail. She didn’t answer.

Another minute, maybe two, and then, “Do you remember the winter break we ignored the signs and went skating on Lake Wendigo?” She made a small affirming sound. “You begged your dad to buy you skates so we could go, and then the ice broke and we fell in. You were tall enough to stand up, but you freaked yourself out so bad I had to pull you out.”

In spite of herself, Ash laughed, though she cut it short. “I never went ice skating again. I think those skates are still in this closet actually.” Larry shifted across from her.

“You looked so small, you know. After I got you out of the water. We didn’t want our parents to know we’d broken the rules so we went back to the tree-house and wrapped you up in the sleeping bag. You were shivering and your hair was stuck to your face.” His voice sounded far away now, like he was back in the tree-house himself, watching. She rubbed her arms, remembering the chill. “Up until then, I never thought of you as a girl, you know? You were just Ash. But in that moment, you became someone I felt like I had to protect.”

“Hey,” the flame in her voice was reignited. “I never asked you...”

“Would you shut up and let me talk?” She scoffed and leaned back against the wall. “I’m trying to tell you something.”

“Fine.”

“I felt like I had to protect you because I never wanted to lose you. Even though there was no way you could have drowned that day, it still felt like you could have. And I couldn’t handle that... So the next summer... When you kissed me...” Ash was holding her breath, though she hadn’t realized it. “That was all I could think about. Was that I would lose you, and you would stop being my friend. So I started that fight with you before we went back to school because I didn’t know how to deal with how I was feeling.”

“Ben was really sick and you said you hoped he’d die.” The words were sour and slimy in her mouth.

“And you said I was the reason my dad left.” She hadn’t felt good about those words either. She could remember them tasting the same way. “I should have told you sooner what was going on. It wasn’t that I didn’t want you... I guess I just... If we were going to have a falling out, I wanted it to be on my own terms. Instead of just waiting for you to disappear.”

The closet felt even smaller somehow, stuffy suddenly.

“I’m sorry, Ashley. I loved Ben, you know that. And you. You were my favorite person in the world.”

“Do you really do all that stuff Sal says?”

“I... Didn’t realize we were bringing Sal into this but... What does he say?”

A knock on the door made them both jump. Maple’s voice.

“One minute warning!”

“He says you help him a lot. You stay up with him. Comfort him.” She could hear the embarrassment in his voice when he answered.

“Yeah, I guess I do. He’s a good friend too though. And he’s been through so much shit I kind of feel like it’s the least-”

Ash leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, cutting him off. He tasted like beer and cigarettes. For a moment, she felt like she was back in time, when she had kissed him before, and he had pushed her away, laughing. But then he kissed her back, softly at first, and then hard, his arms snaking around her waist.

And then her back was against the wall, the two of them shrouded in coats, the hook of an umbrella digging into her thigh. But she could barely register it over the feeling of his hands, now in her hair, and the warmth of his body against hers. He pulled back, to plant a line of kisses along her jaw, and she steadied herself with her hands on his shoulders.

Almost laughing, breathless, she said, “I still hate you.”

He kissed her on the mouth again, and she could feel the smile on his lips against hers when he spoke. “Yeah?” Another kiss, rougher, needier. “Good.”

#larry x ash #ashley campbell #larry johnson #sally face #sally face fanfic #ash sally face #larry sally face #Anonymous #answered

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