#and then chill chill chill tech talk big words BOOM

[denimbex1986]

'Forty years on from the year in which it is set, and released on the date of Winston Smith’s first diary entry, George Orwell’s seminal dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (not 1984, despite how this most recent retelling has chosen to style the title) has received perhaps its highest-profile adaptation since Michael Radford’s film. Andrew Garfield plays the reluctantly rebellious Winston, and man-of-the-moment Andrew Scott is a smoothly vicious O’Brien. Cynthia Erivo makes for a suitably feisty Julia, and Tom Hardy reprises his Bane boom as Big Brother, although his contributions are wisely kept to a minimum. The talented supporting cast includes What We Do In The Shadows’s Natasia Demetriou and Black Mirror’s Alex Lawther, and the score is co-composed by Muse’s Matt Bellamy. Lavish cinema and television ads have brought the show to worldwide attention, and yet it’s likely to receive a fraction of the interest that, say, Ripley will obtain. Why? Because it’s an audio drama.

Granted, Audible’s new production of Nineteen Eighty-Four, which is billed as a disturbing, adult-focused and immersive experience, is a million miles away from a distinguished actor reading an audiobook version of Orwell’s novel. At times, it goes further than you might expect in terms of the sex and violence quotient; there is a love scene between Garfield and Erivo that, somehow, manages to be wildly explicit without showing anything visual (one can only imagine what it was like for the actors to record that particular scene), and there are nasty scenes of torture and violence that are none less chilling for being conveyed through a mixture of dialogue and sound effects. (Yes, Room 101 gets its full measure.) Muse fans, meanwhile, will be thrilled by Bellamy’s score, co-composed by Ilan Eshkeri and performed by a sixty-piece orchestra, that blends somber strings and piano with percussive electronic beats.

Director Destiny Ekaragha and screenwriter Joe White should be commended for a faithful and smoothly gripping adaptation that adds in a few successful set-pieces, such as Winston having an attack of paranoia on the train that his minor acts of rebellion are about to result in his immediate arrest. If it’s listened to on headphones in a public place, as it no doubt is supposed to be, Nineteen Eighty-Four becomes a deliciously chilling immersion in literary paranoia; you’re standing around your fellow citizens wondering which of them you’re going to fall in love with, which of them will betray you — and whether that will be the same person.

Clearly, Audible intends this to be a marker in a series of blockbuster literary adaptations that will change the face (or, rather, ear) of the genre. There was a Sam Mendes-overseen David Copperfield last year, with Helena Bonham Carter as Betsey Trotwood and Doctor Who’s Ncuti Gatwa as Copperfield, but it barely shifted the dial in terms of audience awareness. Ninety Eighty-Four feels different, and not just because of its A-list participants, rock star composer and dread-laden subject matter.

In a year where the word “Orwellian” is likely to be used more than usual in the course of the British and American elections alike, and where any tech blogger will write lazy articles talking about the way in which Big Brother, Newspeak and the rest have become part of our daily social media culture, it’s good to be reminded of the power of the original, translated into this new form.

Yet I remain unconvinced that this will be the crossover blockbuster success that Audible so clearly believe it will. Enjoy it for what it is — a few hours of sumptuously conceived and acted Orwelliana — and let’s leave the question of whether this will eventually come to replace visual entertainment out of the equation. Until, that is, Christopher Nolan is recruited to write and direct an immersive audio adaptation. Then we’re talking.'

[heymacy]

🗞

[hyrule-kingdom-updates]

Ok but I have been thinking about this “Astor takes Zelda when she’s young” AU all night like:

So Zelda’s mom dies and Astor gets his astrolabe from Asivus after he fucks with the guardians and [REDACTED] and Astor has his little Calamity agenda all within a shorter amount of time than the span of time in HKU. This is so that Zelda doesn’t have too much knowledge about her role as Hylia’s vessel yet so that when Astor takes her she’s like “dope” and doesn’t really know exactly how important she is. I mean as soon as your mom dies and your dad turns into a dick, the first magic dadstor to come into your radius going like “let’s go vibe somewhere else” I think anyone would accept that.

So the princess is whisked away and the kingdom goes into pure shit and chaos, and Rhoam is left no choice as to basic double, no, triple down on Sheikah tech and the divine beasts, all while sending out searches for the princess—which never come into fruition.

Meanwhile, Zelda grows up with the Yiga Clan as an assassin shes got a sickle and short hair because yeah!! Zavis is still a spy but instead of joining the Yiga Clan to be more useful to Zelda, he joined the Yiga Clan to find her and when he did, since his dad and Zelda are all basically on the same side he doesn’t have really any loyalty to the crown anymore

Now just in case, Astor pretty much lies to Zelda about her past as she grew up, just so that there isn’t a chance she gets dragged back into castle life or anything. “Oh yeah, you were just some little noble girl who’s dad was a dick, and I was friends with your mom before she died so I decided to take you in” and it lines you just enough with what few memories Zelda has of her childhood that she believes it. And ironically, with her loyalty to Astor and the Yiga Clan, she grows to despise royals and laughs at the stories of the missing princess like “ha, what a nerd. Hyrule really is doomed since she dipped from her destiny, what a loser.”

Does Siv team up with Astor earlier since he doesn’t have Zelda to give him hope that he can overcome the Calamity? Maybe. Idk.

So anyways, Zeldas going out doing Yiga things and she meets a knight with a pretty cool looking sword, and she’s like “Oooo imma steal that” and then she tries but she failed because this kid is REALLY skilled. He beats her, but doesn’t kill her when he realizes “You’re just a kid?” Then, they hear someone coming, like a captain or something, and he tosses her a few rupees like “get out of here and go home, the others won’t hesitate to kill a Yiga like you—girl or not”

Now Zelda goes home but she’s PISSED. Not only did she get her ass beat despite being the most badass Yiga she knows, the kid has the audacity to toss her RUPEES as if she was just some common poor thief. What an asshole! But also, she’s super ingrained by him because pretty much her whole life she’s believed the knights and those with the royals are a bunch of ruthless assholes who do nothing but blindly adhere to their commands and rules. So the fuck is with this kid??

She doesn’t tell anyone about this encounter (mostly because she doesn’t want to be yelled at, nor admitting the embarrassing detail of being beaten) but she does tell Zavis about it. And he’s like “pfft. He’s just a kid, btt it give him a few years and he’ll grow up like everyone other asshole out there, trust me”

Then later on, Zelda sneaks out looking for this kid again. And she does, and they kinda cross blades, but mostly she just complains to him about how annoying he is, and she tosses the rupees he gave him back like “I don’t need your pity money!” And they banter for a bit more and eventually she’s like “what’s your name, huh?” And the knight is like “....you don’t know who I am?”

“Oh let me guess, you’re one of the hundreds of people named Link, is that it?”

“Something like that.”

“Well Link, I’m Mallory, and I’m going to kill you now!”

Suddenly Link’s stomach grumbles and he sheathes his sword “Dinner break!”

“WHA—?? Keep fighting me you idiot!”

“Nah...I’m super hungry.”

“What?!?! What’s wrong with you??? I’ll kill you!”

“No you won’t.”

“I will!”

“You’re already breaking a sweat and I’ve been holding back this whole time. Plus, if you wanted to kill me why did you just give me back my rupees when I had my back turned instead of stabbing me? Either you like talking to me, or you suck at your job. Anyways, cucco nugget?”

So they’re kinda friends now.

So time passes and they’re still secret friends, and they like being friends because they “keep it real” as the kids say. Link never admits to her that he’s the hero, but vents about his knight life and his dad who never seems to be happy for him despite his accomplishments. And Zelda vents about her life in the Yiga Clan, and despite being the best, Astor never seems to want her involved in the more important missions and never tells her jackshit”

“Well I guess that’s good for me. Would hate to have the Yiga’s best asset being used.”

“Hey this is serious!! I need to help in the destruction of the royal family with the Calamity!”

“Do you really believe that? That we’re all already doomed?”

“Well yeah. I mean, even if the hero’s around, the princess is dead, so you all don’t stand a chance. But don’t worry, when the Calamity comes I’ll give you a heads up and you can go chill in Faron or something”

Then, things be picking up with Astor and the gang, and he’s finally found an opportunity to kill the hero. And Zelda remembers hearing from Link that he sometimes hangs out with the Champions and the hero for protection, and she’s like, “can I come?” because she wants to be useful, but also to make sure Link doesn’t die or anything. Yet per usual, Astor’s like “No. Just stay here.”

Now Zelda gets super pissed and him and they have a fight, mostly circulating around the fact that Zelda’s been nothing but loyal to the Yiga Clan and yet she nevers gets to actually feel useful and it also put on the sidelines whenever anything actually impactful happens. “Hell, even ZAVIS does more than I do! What’s your problem?! Can’t you have confidence in my for once??”

And Astor in Astor fashion ends the argument super harshly like, “You won’t be ready for anything, ever. You’re still incredibly naive and foolish, so if you want to help, then you can help everyone by staying here, and safe, and away from everyone. THAT is the only thing of use you can do, so do it.” And then they go off to kill the hero and Zelda runs off to her room al frusterated and shit. 

But you know, you often meet your destiny on the road you take to avoid it. And this Astor’s little plan to keep Zelda away from Calamity related business so that she can never discover her powers or who she is...is gonna backfire, splendidly.

So Zelda sneaks out anyway, with the idea in her head that if she kills the hero before Astor even gets there he’ll have no CHOICE but to recognize how competent and useful she is and he’ll eat his words!

But then she gets there, and she sees the Champions, and Link, and she goes to confront Link with sickle in hand like, “I don’t need you! Just tell me where the hero is, and I’ll spare the rest of you!” And the Champions are like “wtf” and Link is like, “Just leave. You don’t know what you’re doing.” 

“I know exactly what I’m doing! Just tell me where the hero is and no one else has to get hurt.”

And Daruk’s like. “Uhh...but he is the hero?” And everyone glares at Daruk, and Zelda goes into shock, like w h a t. Aw shit..so that fancy sword was the master sword...and he’s so good at fighting because he’s the bloody hERO FUCK, IT’S SO OBVIOUS NOW FUCK.

And I feel like as Zelda is contemplating her life choices in the moment. Revali would attack first because he’s like that. So he shoots her in the shoulder, or something, and she releases Link, and then something something her mask falls of and Urbosa recognizes her because of course she does. And Urbosa’s like “Zelda?!??!?” And Zelda’s like, “Who the fuck are you? Who’s Zelda? I’m Mallory.” 

And by that point, Astor is there and he’s like “wtf is going on here.” And he sees Zelda, and he’s like “Mallory get over here right now.” And she hesitates for a moment because she’s right between him and Link.

“Move aside, now. Quickly. We’ll discuss your insolence when we get back home.”

And she’s like “...No.”

“Excuse me?”

“T-There’s no need for this. The princess is dead, right? S-So what’s even the point?”

“We have to ensure victory for Lord Ganon. We’re just making sure there’s no chance of anything happening. There’s no need to defend them, they’re all doomed, they’re all the same. If the hero doesn’t die by my hand, he’ll die by the Calamity’s. So move.”

“You don’t know that!”

And Astor raises and eyebrow because this is basically the first time Zelda has questioned this, ever. “What did you say?”

“I...I said you don’t know everything! You could be wrong!”

And he gives a sad smile and shakes his head. “I know more than you know.”

“I’ll tell you when we’re done here, promise.” And then he does his little malice teleport thing and he’s about to kill Link with a big ol’ malice attack, and Zelda does that reaching out thing like “No!” 

And the BOOM. Her powers awaken, and EVERYONES like “oh shIT.” And Link’s the first one to be like, “You’re the princess???” And Astor’s like “hmmmmmmmm....fuck.” And Urbosa’s like, “Ok, I’m gonna stab Astor now.” and then she does! good for her. 

And then Zelda is freaking out like what the fuck just happened who huh where what huh and then theres conflict because she doesn’t want Link to die but also his team just sorta stabbed her father figure and then its chaos or something and uhhhhhhhhh yeah that’s all I got I have no idea how this would end. 

I feel Zelda wouldn’t go back to the Yiga Hideout after that, in fact I think she might run off with Siv because he’s like “hey, hey, hey. maybe gimme some of that light juice and get the calamity out of my head?” And of course Zavis would go whereever Zelda went (maybe?) She definitly wouldn’t go with the Champions yet, but they’re out looking for her. And also Astor would be looking for her with the Yiga Clan but mostly he’s like “fuck my life.” because literally everything he had been working towards and planning for over a decade has been ruined in like, an hour.

[gma-crafts]

The Purrposal

The biggest thanks to @iloveyou-3000 for beta-reading faster than I could say Boom! You’ve been such a big help! A big smooch to @robertdowneyjjr for being such a sweet co-parent to the feline trio - check out her fics about the catdad!ironhusbands linked below!

Word Count: 3,286 Warnings: just loads of fluff, “very soft and gay” - test readers Characters: James Rhodes, Tony Stark, and their cats Mochi, Susu and Jonathan Summary: Tony lost something. Rhodey offers his help. But sometimes you only know what you’ve been looking for when you find it.

*

“Honeeey?” “What?”  “Where’s my super suit?” “Whaaat??” 

“Where the hell did she go?” 

Rhodey drew his attention away from the movie he was watching. It’s not like he was able to actually concentrate on it anyway, ever since Tony slid into the room wearing his fuzzy socks  ten minutes ago, and started opening  drawers and doors, growing more and more frantic each time. Mochi, who had been sleeping on Rhodey’s lap, posing as a fluffy white bun, woke up from the ruckus and hopped off the couch to find a less noisy spot somewhere else in the house; and, honestly, Rhodey couldn’t blame her. 

“You good there, Tones?” He asked over his shoulder, though he doubted he’d get a proper answer. Ever since he and his boyfriend moved in together two years ago, those hectic outbursts with Tony forgetting about everything and everyone within a two-mile radius became one of the less pleasant parts of their everyday life. 

Don’t get him wrong, Rhodey loved waking up next to this beautiful disaster of a man, brushing back the mess of curls and watch those Bambi eyes flutter open. His military operations had him exposed to raw, untouched wilderness all over the planet, from desert sunrise to dusk setting over a snow-covered tundra. None of those ever had him stop and stare as when Tony’s soft, chocolatey gaze fell on him, spreading a warmth he almost felt physically. 

But while Rhodey was a romantic at heart, as well as hopelessly in love with his oldest friend, he also was a calm and rational man - you’d never see him run around like a headless chicken in search for anything. Whenever something would be misplaced (and Rhodey liked to make clear that he was in no way affiliated with losing it in the first place), he would track it down systematically. 

Tony, however, was different. He could hyper-fixate on a scientific concept for weeks, only to then revolutionize it in his basement workshop on a Friday afternoon. He kept track of  a multitude of important things with an ease Rhodey only could envy. But if Tony discovered his favourite hoodie, the Stark Tech drafts Pepper had been expecting for weeks or Jonathan’s catnip toy weren’t where he assumed they’d be, the genius was gone in no time. You could set a countdown from ninety seconds down and watch him turn from chill to hysteric once it hit zero. 

The time must’ve been up way before Tony dashed into their living room. Rhodey’s question went unheard and the bang of the highboard’s bottom drawer sounded particularly final. Rhodey hopped over the backrest with a small sigh - this goddamn hectic! - and squatted down next to one of the world’s richest people squirming on the ground, face pressed into the small gap between the expensive leather couch and the Italian oak floorboards , cooing and frolicking with a tremor in his voice that replaced Rhodey’s bewilderment with worry. 

“Care to tell me what you’re looking for?” 

“-t now, she’s gotta be here somewhere, f'god’s sake..”, came the muffled response. Rhodey gave his nose a small rub with his knuckle, more to gather himself than  to cure an itch; he then hooked his fingers in the belt loops of Tony’s cargo pants and tugged him closer, ignoring the small yelp of protest, and cupped his boyfriend’s face firmly. Rhodey would tear up over the pout Tony sported later, he had to remain serious now. 

“Babe. We talked about this. Stop making yourself all panicky and tell me what’s up.” Rhodey emphasized every sentence with planting a kiss on the absolute mess of curls, and with each, Tony’s grip on his wrists loosened a little. Finally he let some of his tension slip and leaned into Rhodey’s touch, still a bit out of breath from crawling all over the floor. His eyes were suspiciously bright when he finally answered.

“It’s Susu. I can’t find her! I looked for her all day, went through every room twice, I checked the laundry, all the drawers, I shook the treat box til I spilt half of them on the stairs, JARVIS went through the tapes for the last 48 hours, I checked all the beds and scratch trees. She. Is. Gone.” He huffed and slumped down against Rhodey’s chest, who immediately wound him into a hug. 

“I lost my baby, Platypus. Probably locked her out days ago without even noticing and now she got run over by a car or froze to death or the Chitauri abducted her to-” 

“Tony”, he cut off his boyfriend’s ramblings “First of all, nobody freezes to death in Malibu, especially not in June. Second of all, if she really had gotten lost outside, JARVIS wouldn’t have tracked her chip to still be inside this house. That was the very first thing you told him to do, remember?” 

Tony nodded, his hair tickling Rhodey’s cheek. “Remind me to enhance the accuracy down to the very inch she’s standing on”, he mumbled against his boyfriend’s shoulder, hands gripping tighter on the fabric of Rhodey’s henley, his cheek vibrating from the chuckle the taller man let out. 

“Anything, babe . But first let’s get you a snack and some water. Something’s telling me you haven’t eaten all day. And then we’ll find Susu together.” 

Tony frowned at that suggestion, and Rhodey would’ve laughed out loud ‘cause it made him look so much like that genius, stubborn teenage boy that burst into his dorm room years ago, throwing his world upside down. Instead, he just smiled into Tony’s disastrous bedhead one last time before urging him towards the pantry. 

Five minutes later, a granola-munching Tony followed Rhodey around as they searched for the smallest member of their feline bunch. It’s been almost a year since the two of them had adopted the pitch-black ball of fluff along with their oldest cat, Jonathan. Officially, they were brought into their little family to keep their first furbaby, Mochi, company; in reality, Rhodey had suggested taking in another cat after Mochi declared him his favourite person, and after Tony became less and less efficient in hiding that he was genuinely hurt by this decision. 

While Jonathan never missed the opportunity to strut all over Tony’s face with a satisfied purr every morning, Susu and him grew especially close. Of course, Tony turned down any attempt of Rhodey’s to point out how much alike they were - tiny, soft, energetic bundles of joy, always on the jump to their next adventure, experiencing the world around them with a mind so sharp and a curiosity so insatiable Rhodey gave up on trying to understand them long ago. And every time  he thought he finally had it sorted out, discovered the pattern, they’d turn around and surprise him with an entire new facette. But yeah, he was totally making all of that up. 

They decided to start with their bedroom, since this was where Susu was most likely to be found - if she wasn’t napping in one of the twelve cat beds scattered in Tony’s workshop. While both Jonathan and Mochi mastered the art of coincidentally wanting to take a nap in the room you were already in, Susu never made her affection for Tony a secret. Rhodey often caught her checking in on Tony between naps with her high-pitched meows, her soft purrs, sometimes shamelessly bumping her head into his arm until he caved in and gave her some much-needed  belly rubs. Those two chaotic goblins clinging to each other like conjoined twins made it even more suspicious that Susu hadn’t been seen for some hours now. 

Rhodey tried his best to hide that he began to worry about the kitten’s sudden disappearance. With Tony still padding along behind him, he entered the bedroom and decided to start his search counterclockwise. Rhodey made sure to include Tony as best as he could, make him feel useful and not spiral further down; he asked him to hold up the sheets while he tried to squeeze under the bed with soft coos, or made Tony get the treats while he went through the first third of their wardrobe. Tony did as he was told, way calmer now as if Rhodey’s presence alone helped him to not lose his marbles. 

He was in the middle of searching the top of their wardrobe as well as the upper compartments, when Rhodey heard a soft “Oh!” from across the room, where their dresser stood. He half jumped, half tumbled down the chair he was standing on and hurried over to where Tony hunched over the second to bottom drawer - the one with the old shirts Tony wore in his workshop. Rhodey sat down next to him, hand reaching to pull his boyfriend into a comforting hug, when he caught a glimpse of why Tony was on the verge of crying. 

Two very yellow, very sleepy-looking spots were blinking up to him from between two stacks of black shirts. He now realized that Tony wasn’t sobbing, but non-stop mumbling to the little black cat squeezed into the already crammed drawer; a wild mix of profanities and affectionate murmurs. Rhodey let out a sigh of relief and reached over Tony’s shoulder to scratch Susu’s ear, much to her delight. 

“-was so worried you stupid tiny fur noodle… checked this drawer like three times and you didn’t even wake up”, his boyfriend croaked and quickly wiped his face with his sleeve, before bending down and planting a big smooch on the kitten’s head. Susu responded with a friendly mewl and nuzzled her face against Tony’s cheek as if she hadn’t been M.I.A. for the past few hours, as if she was just checking in on him as usual, and yeah, now Tony cried. 

Carefully he wiggled his hands around Susu’s tummy, lifting her a bit before placing one hand underneath her hind legs for support. But Susu, who had been fast asleep not even two minutes ago, wasn’t so eager to leave her hideout yet, and when Tony pulled her closer to his chest, two of the shirts came along with the cat, attached to her claws only by a couple of threads. And with the shirts and a small thud, something else fell to the floor, and Rhodey’s heart jumped to his throat. 

“What’s that? You’ve been hoarding treasures in there, you stinky gremlin?”, Tony cooed, Susu pressed against him with one hand as he leaned down. Rhodey suppressed a small yelp; he had forgotten what he had put in that drawer until now. He tried to snatch it before Tony could see what it was, but both his hands had been too busy with running his boyfriend’s back up and down in soothing circles. A slim, calloused hand closed around the fine leather, and the soft words muttered into the kitten’s fur faded into silence. 

Rhodey waited for a reaction, any reaction, but Tony just sort of froze, staring at the box he held, dumbstruck. He had no doubt Tony recognized the logo embossed into the lid immediately, connected the dots, and the longer the only audible sound was Susu purring like a fuzzy Bentley, the more anxious he became.  

“Rhodey, is this what I think it is?” He didn’t look at the taller man, just slowly turned the box over and over in his hand, brows furrowed. Well, that wasn’t exactly a No, right? With gentle fingers Rhodey took the box from Tony’s grasp and flipped the lid open with his thumb, his eyes not leaving Tony’s face. 

The frown slipped off his boyfriend’s features like a heap of snow from a rooftop, his eyes glistening with emotion and a sob tugging on the corner of his mouth. Tony lifted Susu a bit higher, buried his face in her fur for a second before he gently sat her down on the dresser, and reached to touch the slim metal band sitting in a bed of dark velvet. 

“It’s made from our suits’ old chest plates. Y’know, that ‘piece of my heart’ thing. It’s sappy I know, but I liked it better than some fancy white gold or platinum,” Rhodey explained, more to calm his nerves than to actually share the info. Tony remained quiet, his thumb brushing over the anthracite metal, separated by a thin line of hot rod red and the tiny aquamarine sitting on top of it. Was that a smile? Yeah, but a sad one. Rhodey waited in anticipation for Tony to say something. 

“I, um… I guess you want to keep that now.” Rhodey’s heart death-dropped from his throat to the soles of his feet. What? 

“Tones, what are you talking about?” While he spoke, he set down the ring box on top of the dresser, where Susu gave it a curious sniff. 

“I spent way more time on coming up with the perfect moment to give it to you than I’m willing to admit. The only reason I haven’t asked to put it on your finger yet is ‘cause I’m having the hardest time finding words for just how much I love you, and how happy it’d make me to be at your side, as your husband.“ 

Tony still didn’t look at him, arms wrapped around himself tightly and, oh no, Rhodey knew what that meant. They were back to spiraling, but the different kind. Quickly he closed the gap between them, his hands squeezing into the space between Tony’s biceps and ribs, gently forcing his crossed arms apart. The smaller man giggled involuntarily, and shied away from getting wound into yet another hug, but Rhodey wasn’t having any of it; his hands remaining on Tony’s waist, he pushed slowly, but firmly, until his boyfriend had to give in to the pressure. 

Stumbling backwards until he hit the bed, Tony found himself harboured in by Rhodey’s arms on either side of his face, anchored down by the taller man hovering over him, so close he could feel Rhodey’s warm breath on his neck. It was hard letting your insecurities take the best of you, when the man you loved smiled down at you warm and tender like that. 

Tony had a history with pushing through hard times alone, no one there to offer him comfort, even if he had been able to ask for it. Rhodey knew that isolating himself became one of Tony’s default responses to emotional stress, and he tried his best to let him know, at least physically, that he didn’t need to endure everything alone. Little did he know that for Tony, every kiss and every hug felt like a heating pad on an aching muscle. 

"Tony. You’re the most brilliant yet most dense man I’ve ever met. Honestly, who looks at an engagement ring and goes ‘Oh, whoops! Must’ve been a mistake, that can’t possibly be for me’? I’ve spent years trying to figure out how that beautiful mind of yours works, and all it got me was a thinning hairline. So, Tones. Babe. Tell me what on earth makes you think I wouldn’t wanna marry you right here, right now?" 

Tony squirmed around beneath him, his eyes glistening again; Rhodey didn’t move an inch. They’d talk this out, and they’d do it now, before Tony fled into his workshop and had JARVIS lock him out for three days straight. 

"I- it’s just…”, Tony started, rather at a loss of words than reluctant to open up to his boyfriend; but eventually, the dam broke. 

“I don’t see how you could possibly wanna marry me after I spent all day going bonkers over a cat, after I roamed the entire house twice, like an idiot, cried about seven times and didn’t even think of asking you for help 'til you physically dragged me away from crawling underneath the couch and- and”, he caught a quick breath, before continuing twice as fast “And I’m clearly not fit to be a good and supportive husband to you when I can’t even keep my shit together over a trifle like this, and just bottle up instead of asking for help, when I disappointed you and Susu with acting like an actual five-year-old and I don’t even know wh-" 

The rest of the sentence was muffled by Rhodey’s lips on his, taking the breath for further rambling straight out of his lungs. The first sobs escaped Tony, and Rhodey switched to covering his face with pecks, kissing away the tear on his temple, brushing a thumb over the corner of his mouth until it lifted up into a tiny smile. Underneath him, Tony’s body was pliant now, and he just let Rhodey shield him from the world. 

“Sweetheart. Dearest idiot mechanic. You may have synthesized a new element, but being brilliant apparently made you forget that you threw no less than seven birthday parties for your bots. And that I attended all of them. Going feral over a missing cat is not what makes me love you less, it’s what made me fall for you in the first place. You care about things most people wouldn’t even notice. The only idiot here? Clearly me for waiting so long with proposing and finally make you mine, with all your quirks. If you want, that is,” he added quickly. 

And now Tony beamed, and he sobbed, and he hiccuped all at once, and goodness gracious how did he manage to look so disastrous yet so beautiful, Rhodey would never get used to this. Slender fingers tugged on his neck, pulling him into another kiss. 

“Of course I wanna marry my Platypus. ‘course I wanna be yours”, Tony muttered against his lips, the tears rolling down his face not only his now. Rhodey smiled into the kiss, hands finding their way into Tony’s hair, lips trailing down the arch of Tony’s neck like they did countless times before. And when he got a soft, delicate moan as an answer it really couldn’t get any better- Only that it could. 

“Hang in there for a sec”, Rhodey muttered and got up, scurrying over to where he left the ring on the dresser, with Susu guarding it like a fluffy loaf of bread. He reached for the box when a streak of muffled cusses erupted behind him. 

“G’dammit Jonathan! Off my face you fuzzy bastard I’m. Not. Catnip!” 

Rhodey turned around just in time to see the big grey tabby stretching out contentedly all over Tony’s head, as if he were his favourite toy. Tony’s efforts to get Jonathan off of him were sabotaged by Mochi, who had entered the room along with the older cat, and now took a seat on Tonys arm, making it useless in the man’s attempt to not suffocate. Rhodey grabbed both Susu and the box and hurried over to save his boyfriend - no! - his fiance. 

“Didn’t strike you as the one to wear fur, Tones”, he quipped as he lifted the tabby off of Tony. Jonathan shot him a disgraceful look, before he scattered off to see if he could find some more of the treats Tony spilt earlier; Mochi and Susu followed heel. While Tony sat up and wiped the cat hair off his face with his shirt, Rhodey smiled down on him, opening the box once more to finally place the ring where it belonged. The small ‘click’ made Tony look up; and when Rhodey reached for his hand, and the cool metal settled against his flesh, his smile didn’t falter for a second. 

“So, Babe,” Rhodey spoke after a minute of silence. He leaned forward until their lips met, softly pushing further, and Tony let himself sink back all too willingly. “Wanna pick up where we left off?”

[jawnjendes]

no medicine is strong enough | shawn mendes

university au, shawn x goth gf

AN: a continuation of it came back for more. a bit angsty. a bit real for me. enjoy.

masterlist | series playlist

“I told you not to go to class!” Stella snapped at me.

I had only taken one step inside my dorm, and I was composing myself. The pain in my abdomen hadn’t subsided in the last few days, even with the help of antibiotics. I had been hoping to keep this little health issue from Stella until finals were over, but Shawn took the liberty of texting her what had happened last weekend after the movie. That prompted Stella to put me on strict bedrest, but I didn’t listen. There were other things to worry about, like my job that was ending soon and, as I said before, finals.

“It’s exam season, dude,” I justified, slowly settling myself on the couch. I was winded after walking across campus, struggling to catch my breath. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t lean against the wall in the hallway on the way here.

“You can make up for those!” she told me as she reached over to feel my forehead. “You’re really warm! You have a fever! Again!”

So it wasn’t just pain. It was fatigue I had never felt before, a fever every so often, and a severe lack of appetite. On the TMI side, it was vomiting (though there was hardly anything in my stomach) and odd bowel movements. Oh, and I got chills from the walk back from my stats final.

Stella grabbed me a blanket and made me some chamomile tea. I couldn’t hold it down.

Don’t get me wrong, when this started happening, I went to the doctor. But I only went because when I met Shawn’s mother, Karen, she insisted and all but threatened to drag me out the door by my ankles. Anyway, I had a case of diverticulitis, an infection in my large intestine. The doctor prescribed some antibiotics to kill the infection and sent me home. Simple as that.

Let me just say, those antibiotics did fuck all. It was a miracle I was able to function, although yesterday Stacy sent me home about thirty minutes into my shift. I also missed the classes leading up to finals, and I almost opted out of taking my finals altogether. To say I wasn’t worried would be a lie.

I stayed in the bathroom for the remainder of the day. I was on the floor in front of the toilet, wrapped up in a fluffy grey blanket, shivering so much my jaw was chattering. My phone had been going off since I got home, and I could only assume it was Shawn. Stella probably told him I went to class and now he was lecturing me over text. I felt too tired to grab the stupid device and read tiny words on the stupid screen.

Out in the living room, Stella was on the phone. She was speaking clearly, but I couldn’t process any of her words. This stuff wasn’t new for me, apart from some of the symptoms, there wasn’t need for panic. I could sleep on the floor again, it’s fine…

“She’s literally sleeping in the bathroom!” Stella’s frantic voice said. “She still has a fever and she can’t hold down liquids! I don’t know what to do anymore!”

I tried to stand so I could reassure her that it was just another bad flare up, but the sharp pain in my stomach caused me to hunch over and cry out. “Ow! Fuck!”

Stella was at the doorway in a flash, phone still pressed to her ear. “What is it? What hurts?”

My arm went across my middle, and I focused on the pain. It was the left side of my abdomen, that’s where the doctor said this kind of pain occurs. I tried shifting my position, just as a last minute attempt to see if it was a nasty cramp. The pain remained constant, and it was really starting to annoy me. I wanted to puke and shit myself all over again.

The only noises I could hear were my own agonizing groans and Stella babbling on the phone. She was still at the doorway, watching me lean over the toilet. Finally, she hung up and went to my side.

“Shawn is coming over,” she said, “he’s gonna take you to the hospital.”

~

I’ve gone to the doctor way too many times for someone my age. I’ve sat in LabCorp waiting rooms at the asscrack of dawn to get my blood drawn at least five times in a month. I knew the paperwork that was required for a CT scan or MRI like the back of my hand; The receptionist at the imaging place back home in California knew me by name. I have never been admitted to the hospital, ever. I was never so sick that it required a visit to the emergency room, where Shawn had driven me today.

He had to carry me into the ER. It’s not that I couldn’t walk, he just didn’t want me to. I didn’t argue, I felt weak enough as it is.

A nurse approached us while I was still in his arms, but I couldn’t make out any words being said. The pain wasn’t a sound, but it was all I could focus on, I just wanted to be free of it already.

Shawn was instructed to place me on a gurney that came out of nowhere, and then I was surrounded by two nurses in green scrubs and a doctor in red. My eyes searched around for my boyfriend, who seemed to disappear as soon as I was let go. The medics were talking to one another, shooting hospital lingo I couldn’t understand even though I watched way too much Grey’s Anatomy.

The doctor in red touched my stomach with firm fingers, and it made me cry out and sob.

“I’m sorry dear, I know it hurts,” he said. He was an older man. I tried to connect him to one of the doctors on Grey’s for my own sanity. My mind was blank. “We’re going to help you, alright?”

“You!” one of the nurses, a tall blonde lady, pointed to Shawn, who had backed up against the wall. “What other symptoms has she had?”

I turned my head to properly look at him; He looked just as scared, but he spoke to the nurse. I decided to close my eyes and not let anyone else see my fear. I listened to the footsteps surrounding me, but it only made my heart pound and more tears pricked the corners of my eyes. I tried whispering my calming mantras but instead, some stupid song lyrics came out of my mouth.

“When everything you know has come and gone… you’re at your lowest, I am rising higher…”

My hand balled into a fist as a needle was inserted into my arm. An IV, probably. I could barely hear Shawn’s voice over the commotion in the ER. Must have been a busy day.

“Only scars remain of who I was… what I find in the ashes, you lose in the fire…” I whispered, my voice shaking.

The gurney moved in a certain direction, hitting a bump on the floor, and I cried out again. The nurses profusely apologized and then informed me that I was going to get a CT scan. But first, morphine.

By the time I was lying outside the giant scanning machine, my dark clothes swapped for a grey hospital gown, my veins were filled with the happy shit. The pain was gone, and I was feeling too good. I never had a scan like this. Usually, I was told to drink some gross contrast and then they would inject me with more of it. I always had an anxiety attack in the middle of CT scans, but this one was different.

“I know how this works, Susan,” I said to the technician, who was changing the IV bag I was hooked up to. “Arms up, pics without contrast, and pics after you hook me up with contrast. Then I go radioactive for like ten seconds and I feel like I’ve wet myself. Am I right, Susan?”

“This isn’t your first rodeo, I take it,” the tech replied. “And my name is Chad.”

After the scan, I was sent to a bed in the emergency room. The same tall, blonde nurse brought Shawn back to me and informed us both that my scan results would be back within the hour. Then she closed the curtain around the bed to give us privacy.

Shawn had a clipboard in his hand, which I figured was for me. However, he just stood at the foot of my bed and stared at me. I usually would internally cringe at his gaze, but instead I smiled and waved.

He returned the smile weakly and went to the chair next to me. Then he handed me the clipboard. “I tried to fill out what I could, but… I realized I don’t even know your birthday, much less your medical history. Here.”

“Thank you, my angel,” I told him.

“They gave you something for the pain, eh?” he guessed.

I scribbled on the board, answering all the questions and putting down my information. I wasn’t completely out of it, I was just talking more than necessary. More than I normally would.

“Oh, I’m feeling good,” I said. “Nothing hurts, and that took away my fear. I was afraid I was gonna die. Like, I’m really afraid of dying.” I chuckled.

Shawn didn’t have anything to say to that. He had his eyebrows raised in shock, but he stayed quiet.

“Just don’t tell anyone,” I warned, signing my name on the forms with a loud scribble, “I have a reputation to keep up.”

I put the clipboard aside and looked at my boyfriend. Worry lines were on his forehead, and I just wanted to kiss them away.

“You’re so pretty it’s unreal,” I said in a dreamy tone.

“Aw, thank you honey.�� He smiled, but there was still concern in his eyes. “You’re pretty too.”

“I know, thank you. Can you hand me my wallet, sweet boy?”

“Keep giving me cute nicknames and I’ll do whatever you want.”

My unusual affection seemed to cheer him up. Over the next hour, I gave Shawn just about every cheesy pet name in the book. Baby boy, my love, my dear, darling, sweetheart. He savoured every moment of my drugged up ass.

“Let me hold you bubby!” I whined. “Lay on top of me!”

“I can’t do that, baby,” he told me. “Just tell me how much you love me instead.”

I clumsily patted his big tattooed hand. “I can’t do that. The universe will hear about my happiness and take it away from me.”

“The universe will never know,” he reassured, taking my hand in both of his.

“It already does. When we wrote the prettiest song in the world, I let myself be happy. Now, I’m in the ER with some real gnarly abdominal pain.”

Shawn had a thoughtful look on his face. I noticed his eyes fall a little, like he was sad. “Those two things are unrelated, baby.”

“Mm, but the timing was suspeeshy. I overcome my craziness, and I let someone love me, and boom. We’re in a large room full of the sick and injured.”

“Hey, you just have some tummy pain. They’re probably gonna give you more antibiotics and we’ll be on our way.”

I quickly shushed him. “The universe will hear you!”

And it did. The man doctor in red scrubs opened my curtain a few minutes later.

“Hi, Dr. Susan!” I greeted.

“It’s Dr. Buchanan,” he corrected with a smile. He quickly turned serious. “So, your case of diverticulitis has worsened compared to your last scan. We have to go in and remove the infected portion of your bowel.”

“Fun!” I sarcastically replied.

Shawn squeezed my hand so tightly that I gave him a look. He was staring at Dr. Susan, wide eyed. He was never this quiet.

“It’ll be a minimally invasive surgery,” the doctor continued. “It’s only a small part of your large intestine that has to be taken out. You’ll be in and out of the OR between one and four hours. But you will be admitted for at least a week. We are going to move you to a room, so I would suggest calling whoever else you need to call. Work, I’m assuming?”

“Just be real with me, Doctor Susan,” I said, leaning forward, “because I’m scared, and my sexy ass boyfriend is too. Am I gonna mcfreakin die?”

He chuckled. “You will not mcfreakin die. You’re in good hands here.”

I nodded and did the surfer dude sign with my free hand. “Awesome.” Then I looked at my eerily silent but gorgeous mans. “Babey, I need you to call Stella for me. I want my Switch.”

Shawn blinked a few times, and then he kissed my hand. “Okay, honey.”

~

After referring to every nurse as “Susan,” singing Evanescence in the elevator, and yelling “Whee!” as I was pushed to my room, I was finally processing the gravity of the situation. My bowel hates me so much that some of it needs to be removed. I was going to be in the hospital for a week, and I was going to recover for at least four more. I couldn’t eat for the next twenty four hours. I was going to be on a liquid diet. I was going to be open on a table.

Not to mention, Stella was practically in hysterics by the time she got to the hospital. She packed a bag of my bathroom necessities, my medications, my laptop, and my Switch. She also reminded me that we had to be moved out of our dorm by the end of next week. The semester was rapidly drawing to a close, and I was looking at homelessness.

“That’s not true,” Shawn told me before I could panic. “You’re staying at my place. We’ll move all your stuff there.”

I couldn’t argue because I had no other option.

Anyway, I had to email two of my professors and ask to take my finals on a different day. “Dear Professor, please change my final day because I’m having a bowel resection at the ripe age of 21.” Okay, I didn’t type it like that, but I wanted to.

After that, I had to call Stacy and let her know I would not be going into work today, although it was well over an hour after my shift would have started. I explained the situation to her and told her I would be out for at least two weeks. Then she reminded me that my contract with the dealership was almost up… because I was supposed to be going home to California very soon. I had to beg her to keep me hired. Why? Insurance. I hate being an adult.

Shawn eventually stepped out of the room to call his work, and then his parents. I hadn’t met his father or sister, but now I probably had to in this condition. Everything felt really, really messed up.

“What about your parents?” Stella asked me. “Have you called them?”

“I will,” I replied, scrolling through my contacts on my phone. “After I’m discharged.”

Stella placed her tiny hand on my arm, making me look at her. “Look, I don’t know what kinda beef you got going on with your folks, but they have to know about this.”

“They will know about this.”

“I mean right now. You should call them.”

I sighed. “I hear you. I know it’s important. But I met Shawn’s mother while I was recovering from a sick day. Instead of getting to know her and trying to make a good impression, she was taking my temperature and making me go to the doctor. And now I’m gonna meet the rest of his family while I’m high on morphine. I can’t control that because it’s his family, but I can control when he meets mine. And it’s not gonna be like this.”

Stella nodded as she listened. Then, she snapped, “Call your fucking parents.”

“I’m going to!” I shot back. “At a later time!”

We would have argued more, but Shawn entered the room. He didn’t say anything at first, which was odd. He sat at the foot of my bed, flipping his phone over in his hands.

“My mom is on her way,” he said at last.

“Cool,” I replied, keeping the reluctance out of my voice. Then I grabbed my Switch from the side table and occupied myself with Tetris 99.

“Your girlfriend is refusing to call her parents,” Stella told him. “Don’t you think they should know about this?”

I rolled my eyes, but I stayed quiet.

“Uh, yeah,” Shawn agreed. “Babe, why won’t you call them?”

“I’ll do it after I’m discharged,” I said, getting even more annoyed. “They’re my parents, I decide when to tell them.”

Stella scoffed and got up from her chair. She was very personally offended about what I do with my family, and I wasn’t sure why. Maybe she has parents who don’t question everything she does, so it was easy to talk about things. Must be nice.

“Y’know,” Shawn said after a while, “if this was happening to me, I would want both my parents here with me.”

He wasn’t wrong. It’s not that I wasn’t scared. He already knew I was scared.

“Look, I know it’s bad, but at least I’m here,” I told him, keeping my eyes on the game I was playing. “I’m getting treated, and I’m getting surgery. I made an adult decision-”

“I did. I’m the one who brought you here. Two hours ago, you said you were afraid of dying. I’m here for you through all of this, but you need your parents here.”

Morphine clearly wasn’t my friend anymore. It was that fake friend you thought you could open up to, but they just betray you and expose all your secrets. I wanted to take back everything I said in the middle of my high. Every secret, every term of endearment. He knew too much.

Finally, I put down my Switch and picked up my phone. I dialed my father’s cell, my heart pounding and my throat burning. None of this was supposed to happen this way.

Voicemail.

“Hi, leave me a message, I’ll call you back… in two weeks, because my wife and I are currently cruising the Caribbean! Bye!”

I scoffed. “Of course. They don’t have their phones on them.”

“Good excuse for now,” Stella said with a snark in her tone.

For once, I didn’t feel like talking back. I stared at the beige blanket covering my lap. I looked at the paper bracelets around my wrist and the IV stuck in my arm. Why did this happen to me?

Stella was so fed up she actually left. She grabbed her purse and left, but not before saying she would be back tomorrow for my surgery. That left me, Shawn, and the mess of emotions I was struggling to keep in.

“Hey,” Shawn said gently, scooting closer to me. “What is it?”

Tears were building up inside of me. The morphine was threatening to expose even more things I didn’t want to say out loud.

I cleared my throat. “Nothing. Things could be worse, right?”

“That doesn’t change what’s happening to you. Whatever you’re feeling, it’s okay. Here, scoot over.”

I moved to the side so Shawn could sit next to me. He put his arm around me and pulled me into his side. Part of me wanted to push him away, because I was very close to letting myself wallow, and affection would only make it worse. But also… I wanted someone to hold me and tell me everything was going to be okay. That was all I wanted every time I spent the night alone in the bathroom. I pushed everyone away because I didn’t want anyone to see me like that. But Shawn remained persistent. He let me stay with him when all this started, and he was willing to let me stay with him when I recover.

“When I get sick,” I told him, my voice soft and shaky, “I get a lot of anxiety. I wonder what I ate, what I didn’t eat, what I should have ate…” I paused, attempting to hold it together.

Shawn squeezed my shoulders. “I got you, it’s okay.”

My voice started to break. “I changed… I changed so much of my life so it worked around this sickness. I changed my diet, I didn’t go to college right away, I stayed home because I didn’t want to be sick anywhere else. I was so afraid of eating the wrong thing that just eating gave me anxiety. My mind and my body became my worst enemy.” Heavy tears spilled out of my eyes and I suppressed a sob.

He rubbed my back and stayed quiet. I couldn’t look at him.

“I’ve taken every tea, every vitamin, every medicine. Nothing is strong enough. I do everything I can to stay healthy and… here I a-a-am…” I hunched over and lost control of my sobbing. My mind was spiraling quickly, but I couldn’t form another coherent sentence if I tried. I just wanted to jump out of my skin, I just wanted this to be over. I wanted to be okay again.

“I know, I know it’s hard,” Shawn soothed, scooping me into his arms. His head lied on mine, and he rubbed my back, slowly rocking me from side to side. “It’s okay, honey. You’ll be okay.”

“I’m too young to be like this,” I whispered through my ugly cries. “I-I-I keep thinking I’ll die in my sleep.”

“Hey, no. You’re not dying. But you’re right, you’re so young, and it’s not fair that this is happening. But you’ll be okay. You’ll survive this. You’re a strong lady, remember?”

My chest ached. I never thought Shawn heard my calming mantras. I sniffed and wiped my nose with the back of my hand. “I-I’m a strong lady…”

I’m a strong lady.

[skylanders-after-the-end]

Monster

It was a cloudy day in Skylands, almost stormy. There were barely any airships in the sky, but there was a one, travelling through the middle of nowhere. With the Magic symbol on its sails, those knowledgeable in the history of the Skylands would recognize that it was the ship of the travelling sorcerers. They were believed to be long gone, but the trio has been travelling and protecting fellow magicians for centuries now. Ace, Zion and Raven were their names, yet not many knew that. Even the Skylanders weren’t aware of them, even though they were the very same people who rejected their former member Hex all those years ago.

“And you’re sure?” Zion was steering the airship and worrying while doing so as usual. “I mean if it’s true then-”

“He’s back alright.” Raven rolled her eyes whilst igniting and extinguishing a flame in her hand repeatedly. “He attacked the Skylanders before disappearing in the underworld, so that’s where we’ll find him.”

Ace was standing at the edge of the ship and did his usual thoughtful stare into the distance. “I’m not surprised.” He held his staff, which has turned dark and started to rot over the years, and thought of his countless conspiracies. “She never got the job done.”

His companions looked at him and immediately knew what he was talking about. “What if she’s with him?” Zion sounded concerned as he thought of the possibility of meeting their two enemies at the same place.

“She’s a Skylander now, remember?” Raven sighed and wanted to forget about their long-lost friend. “I’m sure she’s having a great time demonstrating her amazing powers at any chance she gets, that’s what she’s always done.” There was so much spite and rage in the sorceress’ words, that her eyes glowed in a fiery red light from the magic that she’s been practicing her entire life.

“Or she’s with Malefor right now.” Ace wondered what the witch has been up to, since they didn’t know what exactly happened with Malefor on that day. “They could be plotting a plan as we speak!”

“Enough of this Ace!” Raven had to listen to her leader’s assumptions for centuries and she’s grown sick of it. “It’s always about Hex! She’s a Skylander, she doesn’t have any reason to worry about Malefor! And if she’s done anything remotely evil, we would’ve heard about it by now. You need to get over it!”

“You saw what she did and yet you still don’t believe me?” Ace turned his head around to face his ally with an equally angry look. “She was killing our village! If we hadn’t banished her, we would have all been dead!” He took a step towards the sorceress whilst Zion observed the fight from a distance. “Not to mention that everyone who saw her since that day has been afraid to death of her. Even if she pretends to be a Skylander, everyone knows that there’s something sinister about her.”

Raven sighed and made a book appear in her hand. She wasn’t interested in continuing the conversation and instead read the pages she already knew by heart.

“Just you wait. When we finally cross paths again, I will be the hero to defeat the witch!” Ace was eager and sure of himself, and he wouldn’t let anyone, or anything stop him from achieving his goal.

“There it is.” Zion pointed to a large cave entrance in front of them.

It was the biggest known entrance that lead to the underworld. Big enough for ships to pass. The group readied themselves before the spellpunk speeded right towards the fog inside the dark cave.

Far away from the mission of the sorcerers, Spyro called a meeting to discuss further plans and their search for the Golden Queen in full transparency.

“We have been hunting the Golden Queen for months now, and there’s still no sign of her!” Spyro sounded frustrated, almost mad as he looked across the table with Skylanders sitting around it. “Stealth Elf, High Volt, you have encountered two elves that claimed to have seen her. What did you find out?”

“I didn’t find out anything.” High Volt crossed his arms and became annoyed at the thought of the elves refusing to share any information. “I called Stealth Elf hoping they’d talk to someone of their kind.”

“They didn’t tell me much either. They quickly realized I was a Skylander and… left.” She didn’t tell anyone, even Spyro, that those two elves were actually her parents and that she completely forgot to ask them about the queen after the emotional reunion and hurtful parting. She wanted to forget about them and continue her life as it is.

“Boom Bloom, what about you?” Spyro looked over to the Life Sensei who gave him a blank expression. “Was Krankcase of any help?”

“He was actually.” Boom Bloom remembered how he disregarded his own pain in order to save her from the destroyed factory, but of course that’s not what she was going to say. “But the tracking device wasn’t there. He must have lost it.”

Spyro sighed. He proceeded to look over to Roller Brawl and Chill, who was finally wearing her regular armor again. “You went to the Leviathan Lagoon. I’ve heard of a dead leviathan there, was that the queen’s doing?”

“Um…” Roller Brawl nervously glanced over to Chill, since it was actually her who impaled the creature during their mission. “We don’t know what happened, and everyone we asked said she wasn’t there.”

“Hmm…” Spyro finally looked over to Smolderdash, who was as nervous as ever. She was the only one who knew of Sprocket and her tracking device, but she promised her not to tell anyone about it. “Sprocket has been missing for a while now. Last time you were the first to notice Smolderdash, do you know anything now?”

The Fire Skylander hesitated to answer and stared at the anticipating faces next to her with distress. She gulped as a drop of burning lava ran down the side of her head. “No, she doesn’t have a tracking device that she’s been working on for months and used Golden Queen’s jewel that she lost during their last battle to track her down.”

The entire round was silently staring at the Skylander, who just realized what she said. “She did what!?” Spyro was furious. They were hopelessly looking for the villainess while the engineer has already tracked her down. “Why didn’t she tell us that?”

“I asked her that too, but she said she wanted to confront her on her own to find out why she couldn’t turn her into a golden statue.” Smolderdash slapped her hand over her mouth and would have preferred for the ground to open up and swallow her than to be sitting with the others right now.

“Oh Ancients.” Spyro pressed his fingers against his forehead and tried to sort everything out. “Did she tell you where she went?”

Smolderdash slowly removed her hand from her face. Even though she didn’t want to say another word, she couldn’t ignore her leader. “She didn’t know the location herself. She took the device and followed the signal.”

“Then we have to find Sprocket and join her.” Spyro, irritated by his teammate’s behavior, got out of his chair and rose up. “Everyone, there’s a new mission-”

“Wait!” Smolderdash interrupted the dragon and immediately regretted it. But since she already stood up and caught everyone’s attention, she had no choice but to continue. “Maybe we should let Sprocket just find her on her own?”

“Are you insane?” Spyro gave Smolderdash a confused look and wondered what was going through her head. “We’re not letting her face one of the most dangerous villains on her own! Especially when we don’t even know where Golden Queen is! She’s your friend Smolder, aren’t you worried?”

“Of course I am.” The fire being turned completely serious, despite that she could tell how important this was for the Tech Skylander. “But the queen’s powers don’t work on her, that already gives her a huge advantage!”

“When did Golden Queen defeat us with just her powers?” Spyro made a valid point. The wicked goldling always had backup and another trick up her sleeve. “There is no discussion. We have to find Sprocket before she reaches the Golden Queen and defeat her together.”

Smolderdash realized that there was nothing she could say to change the Skylander’s mind, and she probably shouldn’t. She also found Sprocket’s idea quite risky and didn’t fully agree either.

Spyro looked at the group in front of him and thought about their next steps. “Knight Light, Enigma. You two look for the most recent departures of airships.”

“It’s actually been a few days.” Smolderdash informed Spyro, who could only roll his eyes once more.

“Departures of the last week. If a ship hasn’t returned, Sprocket must have taken it.” The leader was heated up and as determined as ever about the missions.

The addressed Trap Masters were baffled. It seemed as if they couldn’t get rid of each other. “Don’t worry Spyro, we’ll take care of it!” Knight Light smiled and looked over to Enigma who simply turned his head to the side.

Spyro glanced over to the row of Senseis next. “Boom Bloom, Tidepool, you can go to Sprocket’s home town. It’s a long journey and she might have stopped there.” The Senseis nodded as Spyro continued to look for other suitable warriors. “Buckshot and Wild Storm can accompany you. There’s many enemies lingering around the island so you’ll need backup.”

Another unfortunate pick from the leader. Tidepool and Wild Storm gave each other a hasty look before turning away again. They still didn’t get to talk since their decision to put their relationship on ice, which made the team up the more awkward. At least they also had their new friends by their side.

“Spyro, may I suggest something?” Déjà Vu stood up from her chair and looked at the leader who held in to hear the suggestion. “Why don’t we use my time powers to go back when Sprocket left and just stop her?” The time lord presented her mystical hourglass while talking which glowed in a blue light and surged with energy.

“No offense Déjà Vu, but the last time you tried something like that we got stuck in a time paradox and nearly tore apart reality trying to get back.” Spyro reminded the Magic Skylander of the catastrophic effects time travel brings.

Déjà Vu responded to that with an easy shrug. “It was worth a try.”

Spyro directed his sight back to the group in front of him and couldn’t come up with anymore missions on the spot. “Everyone else, spread out and share the news! I’ll assign everyone to missions as soon as we’re all on the same page.”

The Skylanders agreed and headed out of the assembly room. Stealth Elf and Cynder stayed behind to accompany Spyro who still had to process the information.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t approach this differently?” Stealth Elf asked her friend. “Last time we looked for the Doom Raiders and Sprocket was the one to lead us to them. Now we’re supposed to look for her?”

“What else should we do?” Spyro didn’t want to admit it, but he was running out of ideas as well. “We can’t contact her, and we have no clue where she went. This is our best shot.”

Stealth Elf put her hand on Spyro’s shoulder to calm him down from the stressful situation. Cynder on the other hand had something she urgently wanted to say, even though it might have not been the best moment. “I know this may not be the best time, but I wanted to ask about Malefor.”

The elf and the dragon were baffled. Malefor was the last name they expected to hear today. “What about him?” Spyro was perplexed.

“He’s still out there!” Cynder tried not to lose her cool, but it was hard considering the dragon who has been grooming her to become a harbinger of death has returned. “I think that he’s a far greater threat than Golden Queen. Not to mention that Hex has been with him this whole time.”

“Exactly!” Cynder wanted to use that as a reason to find the dragon and help their ally, but Stealth Elf misunderstood her statement. “You know Hex, she can take care of him. She’s defeated him before, so keeping him at bay shouldn’t be a challenge.”

“I’m sorry, but Elf’s right.” Spyro looked at Cynder who was quite shocked to hear him agree. “Sprocket is in serious danger, and Golden Queen could have already sent an entire army to destroy us. Hex is with Malefor, there’s nothing he can do.”

The dragon and his elven friend turned around and left the room. Cynder stayed and couldn’t believe her companions. Sprocket was in danger, but so was Hex. She knows best what it’s like to be bound to the undead dragon, and she wouldn’t want anyone else to go through that.

While all the Skylanders were being informed about Sprocket, Smolderdash retreated to the small room in the Academy which the engineer used while working on her newest invention. She held one of the pairs of communication devices she found before Sprocket left and gave her one as well. The Fire Skylander told her to call her as soon as she needs help, but it seemed like Smolderdash would have to be the one to use it first instead.

It didn’t feel right. Letting one of her closest friends face one of the most dangerous villains on her own. But she knew how much Sprocket loved to solve things and that once she’s put something in her head, it’s impossible to stop her. If the Skylanders do find her and defeat the Golden Queen together, they would catch and lock her up right away, not giving Sprocket an opportunity to find out why she was immune to her powers. Even though she was scared, Smolderdash didn’t want to take that from her. She placed her finger on the button positioned on the side of the small box-shaped device and moved it closer to her mouth. “Sprocket listen to me! The others know about your plan. They are going to look for you and try to defeat the Golden Queen before you can find out the truth. You need to hurry! And please… be careful.”

While some Skylanders have already begun to set out on their new missions, Cynder glided across the Academy looking for someone. With her precise vision, it didn’t take her long to spot the person and dive down before landing in front of him.

“Enigma!” Knight Light, who was walking next to the sorcerer, jumped up in surprise when the dragon fell out of the sky while Enigma simply stopped and looked at the Undead Skylander.

“What is it Cynder?” Enigma turned his head to Knight Light who was doing his best to play his scare off.

“Yeah, what is it Cynder?” With the most heroic voice and a puffed up chest, Knight Light offered his help to the dragoness as well, which made Enigma roll his eyes under his hood.

“I know things are pretty complicated with Sprocket and the Golden Queen, but I’ve been thinking a lot about Malefor lately.” The Skylander only looked at Enigma, even though Knight Light carefully listened as well.

“Malefor? Ha!” The angel proudly summoned his traptanium scythe with a blinding light in his hand and shifted into a battle stance. “That withered old dragon won’t stand a chance if he dares facing us!”

“Knight, why are you acting like this?” Enigma has known the Light Skylander for a while now and even though he did consider him slightly obnoxious before, this behavior was simply annoying.

“Did you forget? I have to make a good impression for my former superiors.” Knight Light reminded his ally of the constant pressure he was under, with the Guardians always keeping an eye on him and his performance. “If I don’t show them that I’m a worthy Skylander, these won’t carry me through the skies much longer.” He flapped his shimmering wings to clarify his worries.

Cynder, utterly confused by the situation, used the moment of silence to explain herself. “Everyone is worried about the Golden Queen, but we all know what Malefor is capable of.” Cynder wasn’t there when he ambushed the Academy, but she has spent more than enough time with him to know exactly what she was talking about. “I wanted to ask you if you could help me find some way to get rid of that revival spell he has on himself and find him in the underworld. We-”

“Cynder, I know you’re worried.” Enigma had to interrupt the dragon before she could go on. “But I’m already on a mission regarding Sprocket. And even if I could help you, I fear that Malefor is out of my league when it comes to magic.” Enigma was one of the most skilled magicians among the Skylanders, but the only one who could ever stand up to the dragon king was Hex.

“I understand. Thank you anyway.” Cynder didn’t bother the Trap Masters any longer and walked away.

The dragoness didn’t know what to do anymore. Spyro didn’t consider Malefor a threat, and everyone else was too busy with finding Golden Queen and Sprocket to help her. She knew that Hex was with him, but that didn’t make things any better. Cynder thought that the days where she would have to worry about Malefor were over, but she felt more worried than ever before. She felt that something bad was going to happen.

The travelling sorcerers have been traversing through the underworld for hours. They felt the cold air of undead energy which was present throughout the entire realm engulfing them. As unsettling and terrifying as it was, they had a mission, and they wouldn’t back down until they’ve fulfilled it.

“What if Malefor left? I mean why should he stay… here?” Zion’s shaky voice and heavy gulp emphasized the undeniable fear the spellpunk felt as he tried not to close his eyes while steering the ship.

“He is the king of the underworld. If there’s any place where he’s most comfortable, it’s here.” Ace was certain that they would find their enemy there, even though he did feel a sense of unease as well.

“Why exactly do we want to fight him here again?” Raven was confused after hearing the facts. It seemed unwise to battle Malefor in his own element.

“Hex claimed to have defeated him by herself down here, so it shouldn’t be a problem for the three of us.” Ace didn’t lose hope and tried motivating his allies as much as possible so they wouldn’t decide to back off in the last second. “Besides, we have learned some new tricks since then.”

Raven smiled proudly as she created a magical orb in her hand and sent it flying upwards just for it to explode in a radiant light that scorched everything it touched. “We will show that king what real magic looks like!”

Not too far away, still bound to the Creepy Citadel by Hex’ superior powers, Malefor noticed the bursts of magic igniting the dark caves of the underworld. The dragon lifted his heavy body up from the floating island and investigated the direction the lights were coming from until he saw the ship approach. He would have recognized the symbol on the sails anywhere. Malefor smiled before flying away to hide from the sorcerers.

The trio soon arrived at the haunting citadel and landed their ship at the beginning of the long stone bridge above the foggy depths of the land of the dead. They got off their aircraft and cautiously observed the area, always holding their weapons and magic ready. The atmosphere was unsettling, chills ran down every magician’s spine. The fact that there was no one nearby should have made them feel safer, but instead it just scared them further. They’ve reached the half point of the bridge when suddenly they noticed a large figure dashing by, creating a strong gust of wind that hit them.

“What was that?” Zion was already shaking on their way across the bridge, but now the spellpunk instinctively summoned an orb in his hand, which was just as shaky as himself.

“I don’t know.” Raven wasn’t as terrified as her ally, but nevertheless prepared her book and flipped to the page with the most powerful spells she could perform.

Ace looked to his left as he sensed the large figure slowly creeping by the group, hiding in the shadows. “Guys.” The leader was mortified while watching the ragged figure rise up into the air and land in front of them with a loud thump.

It was none other than Malefor. The malicious dragon grinned as the small magicians in front of him trembled and moved backwards while looking up to him. “So we meet again.” The dragon didn’t waste a second and opened his jagged jaw to shoot a spectral flame at his enemies.

Before it hit them, Ace was able to create a barrier around the trio with his staff, which he had to lower as soon as the attack was finished since it costs him a lot of energy to block such a powerful blow. Raven took advantage of Malefor’s short pause to use her own magic and aim for the dragon’s face. He groaned as he had to take two powerful orbs and clenched his teeth before shooting a trail of flames at the sorceress. Raven was able to dash away from it with one of her spells and appear behind the dragon where she delivered some more blows to his back and wings. Malefor roared in anger and turned around, continuing trying to hit the light-footed woman.

While Raven was busy distracting Malefor, Zion helped Ace to get back up after the draining protection spell. The spellpunk gathered all his courage and took a deep breath before joining his friend and firing at the dragon. The undead king had to deal with two of the sorcerers now, both of which he was unable to hit himself due to their quick movement. It didn’t take long until Malefor was fed up and decided to use his armored tail. In a moment of surprise after seeing the limb dissect itself into several parts held together by a chain, Raven was struck by it and sent flying against the low wall of the bridge, breaking her glasses in the process. Shortly after, Malefor turned around to hit Zion as well, catapulting him towards their ship where his fall was caught by the sail which was torn down with him.

While the two sorcerers tried to come to their senses and storm back into battle, Ace gained his full energy back and stepped up to the dragon. Malefor could only smirk at the sight of the puny elf. “What are you going to do with your stick? Pick my teeth?”

While Malefor was laughing, Ace grabbed his staff with both hands and focused. Raven and Zion were behind him, watching in awe as the sorcerer recited an ancient spell and his staff began to glow in a radiant blue light. Malefor stopped to cackle and stared at the spellcaster unimpressed. After listening to a few more of his gibberish words, the dragon charged another powerful blast in his mouth and unleashed it. To his surprise, Ace used his staff to create a laser that hit the fire breath, and the two got into an intense battle of forces. It was a constant shift of dominance over the colliding blasts, which Raven and Zion observed eagerly. The showdown was interrupted by another projectile hitting the collision point of the blasts from above and creating an explosion, which sent Ace flying backwards and landing right in front of his friends. Malefor shook his head after being hit as well and looked around to see where that projectile was coming from. After looking behind himself, the dragon sharpened his eyes and stared at a certain point angrily.

Malefor looked back at the devastated sorcerers who were confused as to what was going on. After an irritated groan, the dragon moved aside and left the bridge to fly to a nearby islands, observing the following scene from a safe distance. The sorcerers stayed in place and saw another, much smaller figure approach them. The low lighting and fog made it hard to recognize who it was, but after Ace took a very close look, he opened his eyes wide and was shocked. “It’s… you.”

After the other two sorcerers recognized the figure as well and were left speechless, Hex was finally close enough to look her former allies into their eyes. The magicians and their former member stared at each other blankly, not saying a word. Hex kept her distance, small enough to see and hear them clearly.

“Hex?” Zion got up from the ground and floated in front of his allies. “It’s really you.”

Raven experienced an overwhelming rage that she hasn’t felt in a very long time. She pushed herself up with her bloody hands and set her glasses straight before standing next to Zion. “I was hoping we would never see you again.”

“That hope is mutual.” Hex responded coldly, not showing any emotions.

“Well, well, she got bold since our last encounter.” Raven hissed the words while keeping her angry eyes on Hex, with her book tightly in her hand.

“What are you doing here?” Zion asked in a less angry, but more curious tone.

“I could ask you the same question.” Hex looked over to the self-taught pilot she once valued. “And why you are foolish enough to challenge Malefor.”

“Look who’s talking.” Raven countered and glanced over to the mentioned dragon, who observed the reunion with delight. “Why are you here with him? Are you finally plotting your plan to enslave the world with your powers?”

“If that was the case you wouldn’t find us here.” Malefor answered in Hex’ place, making it sound like the assumption was right which didn’t make Hex too happy.

Finally, Ace got up from his hard fall and stood in between his friends. He looked up and gave Hex a lasting look, longing for the truth. “You finally left the Skylanders to follow your true destiny.”

“I did not leave them.” Hex denied all the lies that were all too familiar to her. “I am keeping Malefor down here to prevent him from wreaking havoc across Skylands.”

“You cannot lie to us!” Ace raised his voice and took a step forward while leaning onto his staff. “We know exactly why you’re down here, we’ve known it ever since you crawled out of this pit!”

Hex was unfazed by the spiteful comments and realized something else. They all looked exactly the same as they did when she last saw them. “How are all of you still alive? It’s been hundreds of years.”

The sorcerers were silenced and didn’t want to respond to the witch’s question, but there was no need for them to say anything since she remembered the answer herself. “You used my spells, didn’t you?” Her former friends remained quiet, which might have also been due to some shame. “We agreed that spells that undo injuries and freeze the body are only to be used in emergencies!”

“We?” Ace didn’t care much about the rules Hex has set up in the past, the sorcerers did whatever they wanted since she left. “There is no “we” Hex. There is only us and you!” The group moved closer together while throwing Hex dirty looks. “We kept ourselves alive because the Skylanders, which include you, remained to be ignorant!”

“They don’t care about sorcerers like us!” Zion added to the argument. “They think we don’t need their help even though we’re being targeted more than anyone else!”

“Not everyone has your kind of powers to defend themselves.” Raven glared at Hex with even more hatred than before.

“We used your spells to keep us alive, but you made a deal with the devil!” Ace looked over to Malefor who continued to keep himself out of the conversation. “This is what you wanted from the start! Unlimited power, so you can do whatever you like!”

“What did I ever do to you!?” Hex finally broke her stale attitude and spoke up. “I protected you from Malefor, I risked my life for you, and you claim that I’m the villain! I never did anything bad!”

“What about the dying crops and the sick people then?” Zion reminded her of the unfortunate time when the town was at the verge of extinction due to deadly circumstances.

“That wasn’t my doing! It was a regular plague that spread across the Skylands, it just happened to appear after I transformed.” Hex did believe that it was her fault at first as well, but she did her research and found out that it wasn’t connected to her in any way.

“Why are you still here then? Shouldn’t your friends have come for you if what you’re saying is true?” Raven always kept her book in front of her in a defensive manner, as if she expected Hex to strike her any moment.

The witch did wonder about that too. She expected them to help her by now, but there was no sign of the Skylanders. “They have other things to do, I told them I’d take care of Malefor.”

“Face it Hex, they’re not coming back for you.” Everyone directed their sight to Malefor who suddenly decided to join in on the argument. “Just like your old friends they realized how dangerous you are and that it’s best to keep you down here.”

Hex gave him a cold glare before looking back to the magicians as Ace nodded in agreement. That nod and the rightful look in the elf’s eyes is what truly angered the Skylander. She wasn’t easy to provoke, but if there’s one thing she couldn’t stand it was unjustified assumptions. “I don’t understand.” She lowered her voice to a point where it almost sounded hopeless, sad even. “We used to be so close, yet you threw our friendship away like it meant nothing, just because I’ve changed. Instead of trying to help me or listen to me you isolated me and tried to burn me alive!”

“Do you want to know why Hex?” While the other two had no reason for their behavior other than their personal problems, Ace had a bigger picture in mind.

“I would love to.” With a dark tone she looked at him to finally hear an explanation.

“We once went on a mission. The one where we discovered the portal that could lead us to different realms.” A distant memory that all of the members could remember, even Hex. “We didn’t investigate it in fear we could get lost, but while you were about to set off, I entered it!”

Zion looked at his leader baffled. “You never told us that!”

“Because I couldn’t risk anyone hearing about the portal, we were being watched all the time!” Ace silenced the spellpunk with a quick look and continued. “Inside the place that I entered, I found a book. A book unlike any I’ve seen before. Naturally I wanted to see what was inside, but when I opened it, I was overwhelmed.” Ace still remembers all the pictures and sentences that flashed before him. Things that he knew from historical books, it was like taking a trip through the past. “Nevertheless, I tried to read further, so I flipped the pages and the pictures became familiar. I even saw us!”

“How is that possible?” As much of a bookworm she was, Raven had never heard of the strange book Ace was talking about.

“I don’t know, but it must have been an all-knowing book.” Ace wasn’t aware that the Skylanders have recently found out about that book and were already looking for it as well. “It showed me the past, the present and… the future.” That’s when the elf looked back at Hex with a suspicious look. “I flipped forward, and it showed me so many different outcomes, so many different possibilities, I couldn’t make sense of any of them.” Ace’s psyche was severely damaged that day, but there was one picture that was burned into his mind permanently. “But then I saw it, the one picture. The one picture I never forgot.” He eagerly took a step forward while keeping his eyes on Hex, almost obsessively. “It was you. You were in it Hex. And you were standing on a pile of bones, surrounded by flames. You have killed everyone, the Skylands were a wasteland. And that’s when I knew that you were the true villain. I know the truth!”

Hex couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was that book real? Was it an illusion? Is what Ace saw really the truth? “It can’t be.”

“It can!” Ace gripped his staff tighter and started to approach Hex. “Malefor might have been the one to attack us and try to rule the Skylands, but he was nothing compared to you.”

Even the dragon was listening and thought about what the elf was saying. It rubbed him the wrong way that he sounded like a pathetic pawn in comparison to Hex.

“You were always the true evil, even if you didn’t know it yet.” Ace’s staff began to glow as the crazed sorcerer got closer and closer to the witch, who only gave him an angry stare without moving from the spot. “And once you would follow your true path and reveal who you really are, I would be there to stop you!”

Hex clenched her fists which were engulfed by her undead magic as the elven sorcerer got dangerously close to her.

Ace grabbed his staff with both hands and was ready to strike. “And now I can finally finish what I’ve started! I will destroy you, monster!”

The elf threw himself up into the air and was about to strike Hex down with his charged-up staff. Before he could do that however, Hex raised her hand and shot a phantom orb right at his chest, sending him back and throwing him to the ground. The effects of her undead powers were spreading across the elf’s body. His veins turned dark and his skin became paler with each passing moment. He gasped for air and scratched the floor underneath him as he flinched in pain and his body withered away. When the dark magic has finally covered his entire body, he rolled his eyes back into his head until only the white of his pupils was visible, and then he stopped breathing. He was dead.

Zion and Raven rushed to their deceased leader. “Ace? Ace!?” The spellpunk called out in agony while watching the withered corpse with horror. “Please wake up!”

Raven was quickly skimming through her book looking for a spell. When she finally found one, she concentrated and used it on the elf, but without success. They tried a few more, but none of them could bring him back to life. “What have you done!?” Tears formed in Raven’s eyes as she yelled at Hex, who emotionlessly observed the tragedy.

After not receiving an answer, the sorceress charged up a fireball in her hand and shot it towards Hex. The witch easily dodged it and created two orbs in her hands. Hex closed her eyes shortly and when she opened them up again, they were pitch black. The remaining magicians looked at the witch terrified as she let the magic in her hands flow towards them like snakes slithering through the air. Through their mouths, the sorcerers inhaled the dark magic and it choked them like Ace, but not for long. They suddenly both turned silent and closed their eyes. Upon opening them, they were black as well. They stared into the dark nothing with no expression or hint of anger or sadness and stood before Hex, whose eyes have turned back to their regular white glow.

Malefor, quite pleased by the scenery, got back onto the bridge and stood behind Hex. “Good job-”

Before he spoke another word, Hex twirled around and used her magic to slam the dragon’s head down onto the bridge and look him into the eyes. “You are now under my command, do you understand?”

Malefor didn’t say anything and instead tried to break free from the witch’s grasp, who clenched her fist and pushed him even further down.

“Do you understand?” Hex raised her voice and looked at Malefor with the most furious look she has ever given the dragon.

“Y- yes.” Malefor struggled to get the word out of his mouth since it was being pressed against the bridge, but after he finally said it, he was released. The king positioned himself up again. “What do you plan to do now?”

Hex took a moment to think about that. She looked at the people she once considered her family. Their leader was dead, and the other ones were mindless slaves that would follow her every word. She didn’t believe that the book showed Ace the truth, but she did believe that it was time for her to finally seek revenge on all those that have wronged her. “No mortal creature wants me up there. They either fear or hate me, no matter what I do. Even the Skylanders don’t truly trust me.” Hex had her fists clenched once again and they emitted an even darker undead energy, flickering like flames through the thick fog surrounding her. “If they want a monster, I’ll give them a monster.”

[spectralmagpie]

Beat the Heat

Sooooooooooo here’s my Troy Calypso/OFC smut trash. not tagging n to the s to the f to the w because Tumblr has been hiding that material but it’s that. So here it is nearly 4k of Calypso goodness.  

She had hoped the blistering heat and the drenching humidity of the cursed weather would give way to cool evening air as the desert-like climate was sometime know to do. However the hellscape had decided to move from blistering to stifling instead; and the rising moon on the edge of the darkening sky brought little solace that the rest of the night would be bearable by any means.

She had meant to leave the Zealots (she doubted they would take kindly to her labeling) and their worshipers earlier in the day, but her runner had overheated two days before and she doubted, despite repairs that the scraped together albeit peppy mess would take kindly to the weather. She wasn’t keen on breaking down in the middle of the desert, so she lingered about, twiddling her thumbs and hoping that none of the rabble would touch her recently acquired Eridium and mods.

The twins had been kind enough to allow her a blessed shower under the chilling water of the in ground piping the cobbled together...fortress? Stronghold? shanty town? She wasn’t even sure what to call the place they had built up from the dusty dry earth of the wasteland. Either was she didn’t have to worry about finding some mucked up, tepid puddle in the desert to wash off in while she was here. Her mouth nearly watered at the memory of the cold water against her warm tawny skin, now that had been a gift from the Gods. The relief had been short lived however, it only took a matter of minutes for the coolness to evaporate from her skin and by the time she had put her clothes back on sweat had already started to clingy and prick at her.

Grumbling she wipes her brow against her forearm and shifted slightly from her sprawled out position on the metal balcony. She winces as she moves, the skin on her stomach velcroing to the metal beneath her with sweat; her discomfort and frustration mounting. She slugs closer to the edge of her vantage point, getting a better look at the grounds below.

A few followers mosey about, why they dared to in the heat she doesn’t know, but then again they were in a cult so they probably weren’t quite right to begin with. She wonders if she had a slingshot if she could pelt them with pebbles with them being none the wiser; ah her youth was calling.

Sighing she dips her arms through the bars of her lofty perch and swung them, the sweat cooling on her heated skin, the air weaving through her fingertips a nice sensation, and for the first time today she feels her weather induced agitation dwindle.

They really had built something quite fantastical, the twins she couldn’t deny that. She couldn’t remember if she had ever told them or not, though she’s fairly certain Troy would have brought it up on the regular if she had. They built this up out of the sand the dirt, a walled testament to their strength and fortitude.

She’d been lucky they had trusted her enough to finally let her come and go as she pleased; though that had taken months...on top of the months it had taken for her to convince them to let her in at all. Having Hyperion stamped on the hull of your transport wasn’t exactly something that screamed trustworthy, she really need to get that thing painted.

She tracks a follower with her fingers, a mock gun with her index and thumb, making a cocking sounds and then a ‘ka-coom’. The man waddles into one of the building none the wiser of her folderol.

“Boom headshot.” she blew the imaginary smoke from her finger.

They had a good thing going, a well oiled machine, and that was rare to come by out here. They gave he access to their neat weapons tech and if she was lucky, Eridium (that took a lot of convincing that she wasn’t a vault hunter) and she brought them in supplies that they wouldn’t be able to get otherwise. The last haul had been some sweet ATLAS tech that she had managed to get her hands on through some of her backdoor dealings; that had scored her some nice Eridium bars and mods as payment.

Honestly being a transporter wasn’t that bad, aside from the occasional run in with bounty hunters and the like, though compared to other outlaws and vault hunters she was a small fish. Still that didn’t stop her from tacking up her first wanted poster over the dashboard of her runner when she saw it posted at some backwater station. Troy had laughed at that, mostly because her bounty was only a few thousand over 10k credits. Still the thrill that ran through her when she saw it the first time.

“Should I get like a spatula or something?”

She turns to look over her shoulder to see Tyreen staring back in her looking rather amused. The Calypso Siren had forgone a good deal of her usual layering, a combination of the heat and a lazy summer night in.

“You might, I feel like a fucking egg.” she whines, propping her chin up in her hand. “Why did you guys insist on building in this place, uugghhh.”

“You seem to spend an awful lot of time here for all the complaining that you do.” Tyreen laughs, placing a hand on her hip and cocking her brow.

She rolls over, propping herself up on her elbows and crinkles her nose at the other woman.

“You guys have some good stuff.”

“I’m sure that’s the only reason.” Tyreen’s eyes are sharp, daring, but mirth lay dancing in the corner of her gaze.

“Ugggghhhh.” She collapses on her back, kicking out her feet, the metal of her heels making an awful grating sound against the metal below her as she squirms.

“Ah yes, I see you are very adult.” the Siren mocks.

She reaches for her goggles that had slipped from her forehead to her neck and pulls them taut, stretching the elastic as she arches her back and continues her mock tantrum.

“I have a Master’s degreeeeeeeeee.” she whines. Tyreen guffaws.

“I can totally tell.”

She continues her little pout and writhe mostly for show and earns a ‘tsk.’

“Don’t roll off the edge Master’s degree.”

She can hear the retreating footsteps of the other woman’s heels and she slowly lays still on the balcony, realizing that her childish display only made her more sweaty and uncomfortable from the exertion.

“Fuck this.” she grits heaving herself up into a sitting position and wildly began ripping at her clothing. The buttons on her vest slipping against her clammy fingers; when that was off, her shirt manages to get caught on her chin and goggles, pulling her hair and not in a good way. She knew her frustration was only making her job more difficult but as each article refused to come off willingly she just fought against it more.

Finally just down to her undergarments she paused briefly, weighing the situation. Honestly, at this point in her life she didn’t care who saw her bare ass and it wasn’t like the followers were allowed in this area of the sanctum. Off came her discolored bra, only she removed it with such zeal it slung-shot from her hands and over the railing. She paused...well someone below will have a nice souvenir.

Finally she pulls down her panties (ugh she hated that word) only to have the band get stuck in the tight metal just below the couplings of her her metal legs...not the first time this had happened, but one would think you would learn after so many years of having prosthetic limbs below the knee. After a moment of fiddling she flusters and tugs, ripping them completely and tossing the ruined material aside.

Great now she had no underwear.

The thought didn’t plague her for long as she almost aggressively rolled over, sprawling along the balcony. A shaky, satisfied groan escaped her lips as the cold metal kissed her bare skin. This was the most comfortable she had felt all day...well aside from the shower.

Sighing she folded her arms and rests her head against them, allowing herself to enjoy the feeling of freedom and heat relief. Every so often she’d shift, only slightly, like she did when she was a child on hot night, searching out cool untouched sheets as she lay in bed.

The night was surprisingly still here, despite the number of residences and wildlife outside the walls, and she lay content, enjoying it all. So content that she hadn’t heard the heavy footsteps approaching.

There was a sudden weight on the back of her thighs and then narrow, clothed hips against her ass, she could feel his belt buckle digging into the meat of one of her cheeks. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw the massive metal hand brace itself beside her and she could feel his heat radiating off him...she groaned, she had just escaped some of the stifling temperature and here he was with his big stupid body crowding her in.

His hair tickles her spine before she felt the tip of his nose brushes between her shoulder blades, slowly moving upwards, she could feel the ghost of his lips against her neck; he hums lowly.

She can smell him; dust; like electronics after heavy us; salt and machine oil; she had to admit, at least to her it was a heady smell, and she can’t help but talk a deep breath through her nose.

“Troy.” she turns her head, resting her cheek against her folded arms but doesn’t bother to glance at him.

“Mena.” there a smile in his voice and it’s smug. He leans close nipping at her ear.

Normally she would very much welcome his close proximity, but he was already generating so much heat. At least from what she could tell in her current position he was wearing his usual jacket but still.

“Ugh too hot.” she grunts at him.

“Mmmmm being a flatterer? Why thank you.” he coos in her ear.

“Oh my goooooood.” she can feel her eyes wanting to roll.

“And the compliments keep coming.” he is so smug.

At this her eyes open and she hoists herself up onto her elbows, he gives her some breathing room but not much.

“I’m going to wring that long handsome neck of yours.” she bites back.

“Oooo didn’t know it was that kind of night.” she feels him playfully cant his hips against her backside.

“Has anyone ever told you, you’re a smug ass?” she ask looking over her shoulder at him.

“Mmmmm most don’t get the chance, aside from Tyreen.” she can feel his flesh and blood hand smooth up the her side; calloused fingertips coming to press against her ribs.“I can leave you to your weird rolling about under the moonlight if you like.”

She grumbles at his teasing but presses her ass back against his pelvis; she could already feel the outline of him through the worn material.

“I could continue my roll around...with company.” she feels him twitch and harden further; with all his bravado, he certainly riled up easily.

The chuckle he makes comes out as more of a breathy sound and he leans in again, nuzzling into the crook of her neck, nose against her skin as he take a deep inhale.

“I can’t smell very good.” she says but tilts her head to the side for him nonetheless.

He growls in the back of his throat and laves a long wet line across her skin; his hand slipping from her ribs to her hip.

She wonders if this position might be a bit difficult for him, he’s all encompassing, all lean, hard lines and ridiculously tall...and she...she’s compact...probably no taller than his sibling maybe even slightly shorter. If someone was to walk passed she doubted they would even notice she was underneath him.

She snorts at the idea of someone thinking that Tory would just be writhing on the ground for no reason other than just to writhe.

The sound obviously caught his attention because, his hand was suddenly pressing against her throat and his lips at her ear.

“Something distracting you?” his voice is low and she has to stop herself from swooning.

“Mmmm just thinking of something funny.” it sounds bratty and she knows it.

His fingers twitch against her throat and a breathy hiccup escapes from her; can’t play coy forever, especially not with him.

“Let’s get your mind off that, and on to something else.” His hips grind down against her ass and her mouth practically waters at the feeling of him; she doesn’t know how he still has his pants on.

She turns her head slightly to nip at his jaw.

“And by on something else you mean your dick.” she enunciates the ‘k’ with a harsh bite against his heated skin.

“So goddamn crass!” he scolds, though out of the corner of her eye she can the amused, feral slant tugging at his lips.

“What can I say, I call it like I see it.” She arches back against him and he curls into her.

Her ears pick up the sound of his metal arm, scraping against the ground beside her and then he growls.

“Enough talk.” She knows he’s in command and she lets the shiver of anticipation run the length of her body, head to...well if one was counting only the fleshy bits, head to knees. But hell he even made her prosthetics feel like they were shivering.

His flesh and blood hand moves from her neck, fingers brush against her flank before she hears him start to fumble with his belt buckle. She can feel it then, cold and unyielding; his metal arm coming in closer and caging her in. Leaning further against the mechanical construct he takes the hint; multi tasking as he brings the overly large fingertips to her lips.

She never hid how much she liked his prosthetics; with prosthetics of her own and a previous, illustrious ...but brief career with Hyperion working with robotics and weaponry it was hard not to like it. Or at the very least admire.

Cool metal pressed against her lips and slowly she pulls one of the long digits into her mouth sighing around it as her tongue presses into it. Troy let out an animalistic snarl; he doesn’t have sensation in the appendage but she knows how much he relishes the sight of her enjoying him.

When she feels him tug his pants down and press himself full against her she moan and bites at the metal in her mouth. His hot puffs of breath fan against the side of her face and neck as he begins to lazily roll his hips against her; she presses back eagerly unashamed of her desire for him.

She told him every so often; not enough to over inflate his ego further than it already was; he was handsome, devilishly so...how ironic he was was being worshiped like a God.

The scrap of his teeth along her jaw, drags her somewhat out of her haze and then his fingers are moving from her mouth until they are flexing around her neck. The hand and attached digits are so large they won’t fit comfortably around her throat, so he holds her in place with his index, middle and thumb.

“I thought I was going to wring your neck.” she breathes out, the metal hold tightens against her skin and she mewls, her ass pressing against his straining length.

“I wonder how much you would let me do with this…” he coos lowly, flexing the fingers again.

“I’m adventurous, I’ll try anything once.” she manages to reply, though her voice is shaky and needy. Oh she definitely would try anything with him once.

He chuckles, ducking his head resting his forehead against her shoulder as he ruts against her.

“Next time pet.” he rumbles, giving her flesh a sound bite before rising up slightly; his metal hand leaves her neck and she goes to protest; he quickly shushes her.

He begins to pull her hips up and she moves to get on her hands and knees but his hand comes to press between her shoulder blades forcing her chest back against the floor. His metal hand, a firm steadying presence on her raised hips.

His hand lingers for a moment, hips slowly moving against her as he slides his length against the cleft of her ass. She moans and pouts; already dripping, she doesn’t need anymore of his teasing, but that’s never stopped him in the past.

“Look at you.” he purrs his hand smoothing up her spin, calluses catching on her skin. “Mmmmm like you’re worshiping at an alter.”

She wanted to say something, something bratty or smart, but he had her head spinning; so instead she whines and tries again, pressing her ass back against him.

“Yes…” he murmurs and she feels him lining himself and she nearly praises whatever God might exist when his tip catches against her. “So fucking…” and he slides himself in to the hilt. “Perfect” his voice dissolves into a chuckling groan.

Her mouth hangs open but no sound comes out, she’s so full, never quiet entire sure how he fits each time they do this; Troy Calypso is anything but average. He presses himself further almost painfully so, his hip bones digging into her cheeks.

“Quiet for once?” He says his own voice is gravelly and hushed.

She weakly glares at him, craning her neck just slightly to get a look at his smug face. “Can’t have that now.” with that he begins a languid pace, one that has her squirming on his cock.

Every part of her feels alive, her nerves are dancing, the feeling of metal fingers pressing into the meat of her thigh, so tight she’s sure he’ll leave bruises. The feeling of his nails scraping along her spine; the jut of his hips when he comes to press into her fully. Even the feeling of his pants scratching against the back of her thighs, slung just low enough that he could free himself. It’s all so incredibly decadent and she wants more, more of him and and everything he’s willing to offer.

She starts to moan in earnest now, not caring to keep up their little back and forth, it’s too much effort and he’s giving her so much.

It’s amazing how fast he has her teetering on the edge, it’s not fair; it should be criminal. She needs just a bit more, the fire growing in her belly, the spring coiling tighter and tighter, just a bit more.

“Troy…” his name slips past her lips in a prayer.

“Ahhhhh there it is.” his voice is a low rumble in his chest; then his calloused fingers are pressing against the bundle of nerves above her aching core. “You just had to ask.”

She keens the pressure and measured petting overwhelming; she comes, whispering and cursing his name over and over until her body begins to sag and his ministrations become too overstimulating.

Above her Troy sighs, basking in the feeling of the aftermath of her orgasm, her muscles twitching around him as he continues his brutal pace. As she slumps further against the cool metal of the balcony he leans in, his body blanketing hers.

“I think you have one more in you.” he husks in her ear before licking the sweat from her jaw.

“Troooyyyy…” she whines; but god if her body doesn’t shiver at his words.

“You are so good.” he grunts and slams into her harder than before.

His pace ramps up and she finds herself getting pushed further and further against the floor until her hips are barely above the cool kiss of the metal. Her nerves are singing again and she’s moaning and whining unabashedly at him again.

“So. Fucking. Good.” he hisses through gritted teeth, his pace beginning to falter.

She’s surprised that she’s racing towards the peak again so soon after cumming; and he hasn’t even touched her.

“Come on…” he husks. “One. More.”

That’s all it takes, his command and she’s silently crying out as pleasure crashes over her again.

In her haze she can feel him falter and then he pulls out. She feels the hot splash of him against her back and ass and hears his rumbling, satisfied groan.

For awhile they lay in the afterglow, heavy breathing filling the silence. Then his flesh and blood fingers are at her spine, dragging through the mess he made before bringing it to her lips.

“Oh so I get to clean up the mess you made?” she huffs, but it’s all for show as she takes the offering into her mouth.

“I’m surprised you complain so much for something you very much seem to enjoy.” his voice is raw, sated.

She hums around his fingers and nips him one last time for good measure when he goes to move.

Slowly she settles, her body heavy and pleased as the sweat cools on her skin; behind her she can hear Troy moving about and then it’s quiet. After awhile she wonders if he wandered off, a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am; and she hates that the idea of that hurt.

Something slams into the back of her head; she whips around as it falls to her side...a pillow and a rag?

“Nice reflexes.” Troy’s walking back out onto the balcony, pillow under his arm and a worn sheet in his grasp, he must have removed his pants fully as well because he’s on full display.

“Walking around in the full nude now? Is this going to be a new requirement for joining the fold? Oooo gonna broadcast it?” she taunts using the rag he had tossed a her to clean the rest of his drying cum from her back.

He chuckles as he comes to lay down beside her, throwing the sheet lazily over the lower half of their bodies.

“I think that’s reserved for a special few.” he’s smug, the grin pulling at his lips sharp.

“Ooo what an honor then.” she replies, pulling the pillow under her chin and folding her arms beneath it.

“It’s true, you get to witness a rare honor, a blessing really.” she groans and rolls her eyes.

“Alright there big guy.” he laughs and lazily slings his arm over her back as he settles down.

A quite settles between them, the sounds of the desert filling the silence.

“Were you serious about next time with the arm?” she asks

The sound he makes is somewhere between a growl and a chuckle and he leans over to nip at her shoulder.

[averagemarvelbitch]

The Billionaire and The Mechanic / STONY

Summary: Steve is a billionaire who worked hard to get where he is. He meets Tony, the mechanic, and falls in love faster than he ever thought possible. But Tony has some issues to work through, and some secrets he’s clearly not ready to share, and Steve’s friends, ever so overprotective, are not really trusting of this strange mechanic who seems to have the billionaire wrapped around his little finger.

They soon find out that loving someone isn’t always easy, but it might be worth it in the end.

Chapters: 6/?

Tagging: @huntersociopathavenger @inmyownweirdworld

Read it on AO3

---

They were about to celebrate their one month anniversary and Steve could not be happier. After that particular night in his apartment, where they spent the night together in each other’s arms and Steve had woken up to a very eager Tony kissing his way down his body, they’d had a very frank talk over breakfast. Steve had opened his heart to the mechanic without fear or hesitation. Tony, on his part, had listened intently with a smile on his face and, when the blond was finally finished with his speech, had simply replied with a very emotional I love you too. Needless to say, neither of them made it to work that day.

As the weeks passed, they grew even closer and, slowly, Tony started to share more and more of his previous life with his boyfriend. My father was not a very nice person, he’d said one day while they made dinner, he beat me and always made me feel like I was a failure. Steve had listened, nodding when necessary, and when Tony was done, he’d merely hugged him tight, kissing his hair. We had a butler and he was the one who raised me, he told Steve another time, when they were watching a movie, I considered him my father and he considered me a son. He died of a heart attack while I was at MIT and my parents didn’t even have the decency to call me and tell me. I didn’t go to his funeral, he said sniffling, with tears in his eyes, while Steve pulled him closer, touching his forehead with his lips and murmuring words of comfort.

Tony also got closer to Steve’s friends. He had insisted they invite the others over for dinner and refused to take no for an answer. Defeated, Steve had agreed with him in the end and invited the gang over, but not before having a very long conversation with them about respect and boundaries. They all came over on a Friday night. They ordered some pizzas and played board games. At first, they were all very nervous and stiff, and made very little eye contact with Tony. By the end of the night, Bucky was standing on the table, pointing his finger at Tony and screaming that he was a freaking thief while the others laughed and told him he was a sore loser. After that, they decided it would be better to stop playing Monopoly.

Overall, Steve could not be happier. Everything was working perfectly in his life. His boyfriend, who he loved very much and who loved him in return, was starting to trust him enough to share more and more about his previous life. His friends not only accepted his boyfriend, but also welcomed him to the group with arms wide open, treating him like he was one of them. And, of course, the cherry on top: Steve and Tony had confessed their deep feelings for each other and were now officially a couple. Life could not be more perfect, which was probably why destiny decided to throw some rain on their parade.

It was a Thursday when things started to get complicated. Tony had slept over at Steve’s the previous night and left the next morning, after some shower sex and a very nice breakfast. Steve had insisted on giving him a ride, but the mechanic had adamantly refused, assuring the blond that he was more than capable of taking a cab. They parted ways with a kiss and a promise to see each other later that night. Steve watched the cab go with a longing smile on his face and, when it turned the corner and disappeared from view, he finally checked his phone.

>>Stane called. He’s insisting you meet him at his new tower. – M.

Steve frowned, typing a reply.

<<Did you tell him I don’t usually make house calls?

He got in the car, eyes still on his phone as Happy closed the door.

>>Yes, I did. That’s why I said he was insisting. He says he’s very busy today and that he’s sure you’d make an exception for him because you two are, and I quote, “more than just business partners”. – M.

Steve rolled his eyes. They were definitely not more than just business partners. In fact, they were barely that, especially now that Stane had been selling them old tech and trying to pass it as new. Still, the blond sighed and replied.

<<Yeah, tell him I’ll meet him there. Might as well, since we’re probably gonna drop him when the contract’s over.

>>Sending the address to Happy’s GPS right now. – M.

It didn’t take long for them to arrive at the big, ugly tower with a huge Stark Industries written on the top. He exited the car, buttoning his suit and walked inside the building. A red headed woman in a suit quickly came to greet him.

“Hello, Captain Rogers. I’m Virginia Potts, Mr. Stane’s personal assistant. Please follow me, he’s in the workshop waiting for you”.

“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Potts”, Steve nodded and followed her to the private elevator. They rode it in complete silence. When the doors opened minutes later, Steve couldn’t help but look around with wide eyes.

The workshop, as Miss Potts had called it, was like something out of a sci-fi movie. Steve couldn’t name half the things in there.

“Ah, Captain! I’m so glad you could come”, Stane exclaimed in a welcoming tone. Steve knew he was being polite, but, for some reason, every time that man opened his mouth the blond would get chills, and not the good kind.

“Mr. Stane. I don’t usually make house calls, but I was nearby so it was no trouble”, he said, shaking the man’s hand, “I would like to know why exactly I’m here, though”.

“Yes, yes. Virginia? Please, bring us some scotch”.

“Water for me, please, Miss Potts”, Steve intervened.

“No drinks before lunch, Captain? What, the missus will be mad or something?”

“Just not much for drinking in general, Mr. Stane”, he replied, trying very hard to sound polite, “Now, the purpose of this meeting?”

“Yes, yes, of course. Have you seen our newest weapon? I call it the Jericho. It should be operational within a few weeks”, Stane said, gesturing to what seemed to be a simple missile.

Steve got a bit closer and looked at it, frowning. “A missile? Mr. Stane, I don’t see how my company would need missiles. We’re not going to war with anyone”.

“Oh, no. I didn’t bring you here for the Jericho, Captain, but for a… let’s say business proposition. Just hear me out. SHIELD trains the best people. And I happen to know a few people in very high positions in our government who would be very interested in a… let’s say… merger”, he started, gesturing to the chair nearby. Steve sat down, still looking very suspicious. “We both know how the world works. Civilians think it’s all black and white, good and bad, but we know better. There is a lot of grey out there. And sometimes there are missions, things that must be done, that the public would never understand. So they have entire teams for it, teams that remain in secret and do their jobs in secret”.

“Are you suggesting SHIELD should become some sort of shady organization?”

“All I’m saying is that SHIELD trains the best people, Captain. You’re not just training security agents, you’re training spies”, Stane said in a soft tone, “Yes, I know about your friend, Miss Romanov, is it? She was KGB, was she not? And now she trains your people”.

“I’m starting to sense a little threat in your words, Stane, and I gotta tell you, I don’t do well with threats. So you should measure your next words very carefully”, Steve replied in a warning tone.

“No threat here, my boy!”, he said with a booming laugh, “No threat, just a business opportunity. Think about it… SHIELD could be the next CIA”.

“We are not interest in that. We do security, that’s it. And if that’s all you called me here for…”

“Calm down, my boy, it was just an idea. I have some new tech I need to show you”, he said, typing something on his phone, “The engineers should be here in a minute”.

“I’m not interested in any new tech…”, Steve started to said, but was interrupted by something grabbing and pulling him by the shirt. He turned around and found himself face to face with what appeared to be a very big robot.

The robot in question let his shirt go and raised its claw ― or was it its head? Maybe it was both ―, opening and closing it as if he was blinking at Steve.

“What…?”

“That’s DUM-E”, Miss Potts answered, having suddenly appeared with a tray. She gave Stane the glass of scotch and offered Steve the bottle of water, which he politely accepted. And then suddenly, it hit him.

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

“That’s DUM-E”, the red head repeated with a small smile.

In a blink, a memory from a few weeks ago suddenly appeared on his head. I had a robot, I built him myself from scratch, he saw Tony say with sad eyes inside his own mind, His name was DUM-E. He’s probably been destroyed now or sold for parts.

“His name is DUM-E?”, Steve asked, softly petting the claw, who chirped as if it were happy.

“Yes. It’s just a dumb robot. We’ve tried shutting it down or dismantling it for parts, but it gets aggressive every time someone gets close”, Stane explained, taking a sip from his glass, “I’m actually surprised he’s letting you touch him”.

Suddenly, everything made sense. He eyed the missile, the Jericho, on the table and clenched his jaw.

“How much for him?”

“I’m sorry?”, Stane asked, feigning surprise.

“How much for the robot?”

“You want to buy the robot”.

“Yes. Was the question not clear?”

Miss Potts was staring at them, apprehensive.

“This is a special robot…”, Stane started, but was interrupted by the other.

“How much?”, Steve repeated.

Stane smiled as if Christmas had come earlier this year.

---

Tony exited the car, looking around with a suspicious look. He hadn’t told Steve, hadn’t wanted to bother or worry him, but for some time now he’d had the feeling he was being watched. Whether it was at the car shop, at his apartment or when he was arriving at Steve’s building, it was look he could feel someone’s eyes trained on him. It was disconcerting to say the least, but every time he looked around and searched for the source he found no one. By now, Tony was convinced his mind was playing tricks on him. So, once again, he shook his head, trying to get his paranoia out of his mind, and walked inside the building.

He took the elevator to Steve’s apartment and opened the door with a smile on his face. He couldn’t wait to see Steve and hug him and kiss him. Tony had had boyfriends before, but none of them had been even remotely like Steve. He was sweet, kind, understanding. Sometimes, Tony just had to look at him and his heart would fill with so much love and happiness he actually felt like he might explode. And being able to see him, everyday, to sleep and wake up in his arms, it was just the best feeling in the world. He was amazing. And he’s mine, he thought to himself, locking the door behind him and taking his coat off as he walked towards the living room.

“Honey, I’m home”, he called out in a playful tone.

He heard a loud crashing sound, as if someone had just dropped something very happy, and then suddenly… Was that… beeping? Tony turned around, confused, and saw it. Looking at him like a child who has finally found his long lost father, was none other than DUM-E.

“DUM-E?”, he asked in a whisper.

DUM-E beeped loudly and happily, running over to Tony while its claw head like a kid. He stopped right in front of the mechanic, beeping away as if he was trying to talk. Tony touched him softly, making the machine beep even more, and then hugged him awkwardly. The mechanic had tears in his eyes. He looked up to see Steve on the door to their bedroom, a small smile on his face.

“How did you find him?” Tony asked, letting go of the robot. DUM-E, who was apparently already over the whole reunion thing and very curious about his new home, rolled away to the lamp nearby and started pressing the button, turning it on and off and on and off again nonstop, beeping excitedly.

“About that…”, Steve said, walking closer to Tony and taking his hands, kissing one softly, “I think I know who you are, Tony. And, if you let me, I think I can help you”.

Tony sniffed, glancing at DUM-E, all happy and clueless. “How did you find him?”, he repeated the question, looking at Steve once more.

“I bought him from Stane. And I don’t think it was just a coincidence. I think he called me to his new tower today for this exact purpose. I think he knows where you are and what you are to me, Tony”.

The mechanic whined as if in pain, hugging himself with both arms, stepping away from Steve.

“I need… I need to run. I need to go, I need…”

“Tony”, Steve said firmly, holding the smaller man by the shoulders, “If you want to run, I won’t stop you. We’ll run together. We’ll go to London, Paris, even freaking Siberia if that’s what it takes. But I need you to listen to me… You don’t have to run anymore, Tony, because I’ll protect you. I’ll fight whoever I need to, I promise you, and I’ll rip them apart if I have to. I will never let him hurt you again, Tony. I promise you”.

Tony was looking down. He took a deep breath and nodded, looking up to meet Steve’s eyes. “I trust you”, he whispered.

“Do you want to run? Or do you want to stay and fight them? It’s your choice, love”, Steve asked softly, cleaning away a tear with his thumb.

Tony took yet another breath and closed his eyes hard, before opening them with a determined look. “I want to stay and fight”.

Steve smiled. “First thing we’re going to do… We’re going to hire the best damn lawyer in this country and we’re going to take a look at your father’s will. Because I know your father was an asshole, Tony, but from what you’ve told me, and what I’ve heard from him, he was all about legacy and names. And I seriously doubt he’d leave everything to someone other than his son”.

“Rhodey said the same thing”, Tony replied, nodding, “But Stane has a legion of lawyers. It’s hard to go against rich people. Trust me, I know”.

“He’s not the only rich people around”, Steve joked, kissing his boyfriend’s forehead and pulling him to his chest, “You don’t have to be afraid anymore, Tony. You have an army now. We’re going to get you justice. We’re going to avenge you”.

Sir? Sir, are you there?

Tony opened his eyes and untangled himself from Steve. Both turned their eyes to DUM-E, who seemed confused.

Sir? Is that you? I recognize your voice pattern. Please, respond.

DUM-E started to turn around on himself, searching for the source of the voice, unaware that the voice was coming from his own sound box.

“Is DUM-E talking?” Steve asked, confused, but Tony was too stunned to pay any attention to him.

“JARVIS?” He asked carefully, taking a step closer to DUM-E.

Yes, sir. I must say, it is a pleasure to talk to you again ― DUM-E, for heaven’s sake, stop moving, I have told you a million times, it’s ME.

DUM-E stopped moving, but turned his claw, still confused.

“Jarvis? Who’s Jarvis?”

Tony turned back to Steve. “Remember the something I created, the thing my guardian… Obadiah wanted… It’s a missile”.

“The Jericho”, Steve supplied, and then explained upon seeing the perplexed look on Tony’s face, “He showed it to me, said it would be operational in a few weeks”.

That is a lie, sir. Mr. Stane has brought many capable men and women to try and get rid of me, but I assure you all of them were unsuccessful.

“Wait. Is JARVIS…”

“JARVIS is the one thing keeping Stane from accessing the Jericho. I’m the only person that can activate it, get it to work”, Tony confirmed, “and when all of that happened, I created JARVIS to protect it from him. The reason no one can crack the code is because he’s an AI. He is always rewriting himself”.

Indeed I am, sir.

“JARVIS, how did you do this? How can you be inside DUM-E’s program?”, Tony asked, curious and astonished with his creation.

I simply hacked him, as the young ones would say. Not only DUM-E, however. Sir, I control the tower. The elevators, the computers, every electronic inside. I have infiltrated their system and they are unaware of it.

Tony’s mouth fell open. “You’re in the tower? How the hell did you manage to do that? The Jericho wasn’t connected to any networks, that’s not possible”.

I had help, sir. And she recorded a message for you as well. A moment, if you please.

There was a minute of silence before a very familiar voice filled the room.

Tony? Is this… Do I just talk? DUM-E’s sound boxes were not exactly the best, so the voice sounded a bit off, but it was still unmistakable. Tony, it’s Pepper. I just helped your… AI… thingy get out. If you’re listening to this, than call me, you absolute prick! I miss you and I’m worried about you! Rhodey won’t tell me where you are, says he promised, that traitor! Please, just call me, alright? I’m his assistant now, I’m on the inside. I can help bring him down, Tony! Just, please, let me know you’re alright, ok?

“Oh my God. That’s Pepper!”

“Pepper?” Steve asked.

You know her as Miss Potts, Captain. Sir, I must tell you… Miss Potts and I have uncovered some very interesting documents on Mr. Stane’s computer.

“What kind of documents?” Steve inquired, stepping closer to Tony, who had just sat down on the couch, looking absolutely overwhelmed.

Documents that could prove Mr. Stane has been double dealing for years now. I cannot take the information from his computer, however. Said information must be manually transferred to a secure hard drive.

“Tony… Tony, I know a lot just happened all of a sudden”, Steve said, kneeling down in front of his boyfriend, “But this is good. Tony, we can fight him. We can get you your life back. What do you say, love?”

Tony stared at his hands for a long moment, looking deep in thought. Then, he raised his head, looking into Steve’s eyes before smiling, determined, a fire burning in his brown eyes.

“I say let’s get the son of a bitch”.

---

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[phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess]

why doesn’t the current employment system work?

easy, it’s a half-assed one-solution-fits-all approach made by rich people who have NEVER used the employment search system.

-

How does it work?

You want centrelink? You get assigned a job-search centre, there’s always 4-5 in even small towns now. It’s a lucrative business.

You’re told ‘search for 20-40 jobs per month’ based on your area. They have to be jobs you could reasonably do (one or two assholes made sure the whole system was tightened bc they’d apply for things they had no qualifications for). 

These are entered online, on a special governmental site. Failure to locate the right amount gets you a strike, or more than one.

Which is hard because there are only so many jobs in smaller towns, right?

So let’s say you have no luck, you hand in the 20 for that fortnight, and ‘report’ online to centrelink that you are following the rules.

They also make you do mandatory courses such as the 2-day ‘Resume Writing Course’ that you can do up to twice in 6 months. It’s as stupid as it sounds, and you learn nothing but that you hate the place.

Also, 3-day mandatory ‘Communication with People’. How to talk to people. Literally. 3 days of your life gone. Gee, wish I’d done some sort of degree around literally talking to people and using analysis... hmmm... 

They do not Recognise Prior Learning, at all. Because each person they make attend gets them more and more money.

-

New rules allow for them to identify a job you HAVE to apply for -even if you must write a new resume and cover letter. Which, in some cases, is a little fair.  Maybe you’re using one from years ago.

New rules can make them demand you call the HR of a certain place in front of them, to prove your resume went in, and to ask about the position. Of course, this will slap you on the Hell No list, but at least they’re satisfied.

New rules allow them to make you change your existing resume -e.g. they can demand you remove your degree/qualifications to make you more attractive to retail employers (always wary of taking on someone who might move on quickly).

That only works for 6 months these days.

- - - 

After 6 months, they send you on a Work-for-the-Dole assignment to a local charity.

They’re supposed to do risk assessments, and follow up on allegations of groping weirdoes and pedophilia (looking at you, Salvation Army*). But they don’t. [ *that person who did it was literally the Community Member of the Year until the truth of what the local SA was covering up came to light. Fucking creep of a man, so many flags that Jesus absolved him of.]

That nonsense injured two members of my family directly, as well as others; at the same place, at different times, and both were deemed ‘our fault’. Despite that the first incident involved an unqualified asshole making a teenage boy hold a fridge, then deliberately dropping the truck tray fast so it yanked the ligaments in the kid’s shoulder so badly it took 6-12 months to heal with physiotherapy.

And the second time, a bookshelf held up with STICKY-tape was broken by a customer, and fell off slamming into my knees and feet, causing untold agony... resulting in a fractured patella in one knee and severe bruising/clicking/weird shit that persists even a year and a half later... but that was my fault.

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

In short, each person is assigned up to 55 hours per fortnight that they have to undertake with a charity of some formation. OR ROADWORK - they can also make you do roadwork. Like they tried to do to the just-healed teenage boy the minute his medical exemption period was up, even though he couldn’t raise his arm all the way yet. It’s Making Money, not Helping People Find Jobs.

They also made an app, that the person attending MUST download (even if you have to delete just about every single other thing on the cheap phone to make room for it).

It’s called Jobapp or some shit. Basically, when you get there the manager or head volunteer (often tech illiterate) HAS to print a QR code for you, and only you.

You sign into the app, this takes a while bc it’s not well designed and cuts out often. Finally, you find the hard-to-locate-and-ambiguously-named part where you can ‘sign in’ as being at your ‘activity’.

If you’re there all day, and you will be, there are Two Codes.

You scan them to separate locations in the app. And boom, you’re registered as there. It only takes one missed QR code or app failure to land you in shit, though.

And then you spend all day cleaning, on the till, arguing with people over op shop items bc they feel certain prices are too high even if it’s less than a third the real price. And you’re not allowed to sit or chill or anything... unless you’re a volunteer. They can get away with murder.

So that goes on for six months, slowly draining the will to live from your bones.

All the while, you still have to do the 20-40 jobs things and find time for their Training Modules that you already did but hey, you’re a moneymaker. Sometimes they will NOT count the training days towards your Total 55hours per fortnight, so you lose the one free day a week you had...

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

It sucks... but I think the other thing we should mention is that this doesn’t really exclude any jobseekers.

Disabled? Elderly? Medical Issues? Can’t speak english very well? Other issue?

Get in there. We get paid to supervise your activity!

Like, there are a lot of people doing job seeking activities who are unfit for the position they are forced into. For many reasons.

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

The thing I found laughable was that they could apply for you, without your knowledge, and if that resulted in an interview you HAD to go. If they feel you tanked the interview, they can penalise you...

There are ways to tank an interview, though. Trust me.  Especially for telemarketer interviews, just have an awkward phone manner, like you’re trying but it’s Weird. And boom, no. [Not that there’s anything wrong with that job, but they signed me up for it without my permission and some dangerous clients worked there, I would not have been safe, they didn’t care tho].

Also, you can’t apply for certain positions for someone with a degree. Our ability is measured in the way we respond to the questions and assessment requests... you can force us to apply to them, but trying to write in for us is just ridiculous. 

They might also call and call and call anyone on your applied-for list that they directed you to apply for... which of course, can tank your chances. Very annoying.

And if you get a job, on your own merit, they take credit for it immediately. I assume there’s a bonus or something.

- - - - - 

The agency I was sent to, MaxEmployment, was actually THROWN OUT OF ANOTHER STATE FOR COMMITTING FRAUD AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.

So naturally, QLD said ‘yeah, let’s have that one’.

M.E. allegedly used to claim they had held mass training events with 80+ people every few weeks, doing those awful little courses listed above.  Except, on inspection by confused governmental officials..,. they discovered the room would barely hold 5-6 people including a trainer. Therefore, fraud.

Also, M.E. has failed to catch fake-ads (resulting in free 2-hour work ‘trials’ for a certain cafe that went over a year, fraud) and even sent an unaccompanied 15 year old girl to a fucking BROTHEL after identifying a clearly-not-for-an-admin ad for ‘an admin’ at that location.

IT’s always MONEY.

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

If you are in charge of the poor, the ill, the desperate... then it should not be for money incentives. You should get a flat wage and that’s it.

Why? Because then people who are actually able to do the job, and willing to help people, will do it. Not just people who see dollar signs when they look at the tired, the unemployed and the ill.

And they need to actually fire bad people.

Let me tell you about this woman I had to deal with in a 6 month break from my fucking uni degree due to illness. Automatically, they threw me into job seeking.  I didn’t have a voice for like 2 months, but that didn’t matter.

This huge, hulking, rotund potato of a woman, balding ranga and a face as mean as a bulldog’s arsehole... was my caseworker person. She was a nightmare.

I would find 20 jobs, and hand in the sheet, she would yell at me, that I was being smart and she wouldn’t accept that. I once applied for nearly 65 jobs in one fortnight out of desperation, because she kept having my centrelink cut off without warning if I refused to complete another sheet.

The other caseworkers never stopped her. The manager would not hear my complaints or concerns. She could do what she wanted.

And she knew I could not stop her. The one thing about the situation that kept me apart form others there was that, if I absolutely couldn’t take it, my parental unit said we would ‘manage’ until I went back to uni the next year. Others were unable to do that, and so, this absolute cunt of a woman... held sway.

She had no class, no charm and no people skills. She screamed at the top of her lungs at a tiny asian lady who a) didn’t have a great grasp on english at the time, and b) did not understand all the big words this self-important ranga was using just to sound intelligent.

Apparently the solution to ‘I do not understand’ is raise your voice, to screaming, and get angry. NONE of her colleagues even looked up at her.  Jesus, if one of my colleagues was yelling like that I’d have dragged them out of the room by their fucking hair, like what the HELL was that about.

Was she stopped or fired? No. Was she transferred to some unsuspecting town? Yeah.

I don’t trust organisations who will not admit they hired the wrong person, and fire them. It means they’re hiding shit.

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

TL;DR - The whole system is a disaster.

They claim more people are employed, but they also count people on those mandatory work-for-the-dole things, which skews the unemployment number to less than it is.

It is exhausting to deal with and its no wonder so many fucking people are so depressed death seems like the only solution.

And it was all thanks to a handful of people rorting the system; the idiots up top went into red-alert levels of panic and upended the system to punish people.

AND THAT’S NOT EVEN FUCKING TALKING ABOUT THE NEW BASICS CARD SYSTEM

which is nonsense

sure, limit what people can get to groceries and certain stores, including op shops or whatevs. can’t get smokes or alcohol on the cards...

have to have ID for the cards...

but like, you think people won’t find ways to get the smokes, drugs and alcohol they want? you’ve just ensured that they either pawn their things, or do degrading acts to get those things...

so give yourselves a moralistic high-five, people who decided this system was a great idea (primarily bc they and their family/social circle will never need to use it), because you’ve cause d so many more problems than you solved...

[bluebuzzmusic]

Your EDM Interview: Galantis Talk New Direction and Creativity in Their Music

It’s easy to say that one of electronic dance music’s most recognized duos across the board is Galantis. From their prominent rise thanks to songs like “Peanut Butter Jelly” and “Runaway (U&I),” to their latest singles such as “Spaceship” featuring Uffie and “Emoji,” the duo continues to dominate with their music festival and tour performances while charting highly with their records.

Recently, I was able to discuss Galantis’s latest productions and creative collaborations with members Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw.

With such a stellar discography including a handful of successful hits, what is or are the biggest challenges with making new music?

Eklöw: “Our biggest challenge is and forever will be being able to evolve as artists but still stay true to what Galantis was on day one.  With every new single, we always read comments saying this isn’t like “X” track, but there is no possible way it could be. Every new experience affects our creative output. The music landscape is always evolving and we are as well.”

What would you say are the biggest changes or adjustments in your songwriting process since you guys began working together?

Karlsson: “Writing while being mobile. It’s so rare these days that we actually get to sit in a studio.”

Your latest singles “Satisfied/Mama Look at Me Now” and “Spaceship” have featured newer artwork that have updated the Seafox. Who is the artist(s) behind them and what’s the inspiration behind the change?

Eklöw: “We’re still working with Mat Maitland and his team at Big Active. The Seafox has found some new friends along the way, but she’ll never go away.”

You guys have released a new single called “Emoji”. Describe the process behind the making of the song.

Karlsson: “Emojis are the new language of this decade. Sometimes they are more eloquent and expressive than words.”  

Who is the vocalist on “Emoji” and how would you guys describe it?

Karlsson: “Cathy [Dennis]’s voice could also be the voice of an operating system like Siri or any other sexy robot. [laughs] We felt that since emojis came about in the tech boom, her chilling O.S. voice was the perfect way to represent the lyrics and the meaning behind the song.”

The accompanying music video released with “Emoji” is super cute and involves a heart-shaped character. Who came up with the character and what is it in relation to the heartbroken protagonist of the video?

Eklöw: “‘Emoji’ was our 8th music video with Dano Cerny. The creativity behind our music videos are always a partnership with him. The emoji heart could mean different things to different people but in the most basic sense, whatever it was helped him cope with his heavy heart.”

With your debut record Pharmacy released in 2015 and The Aviary out in 2017, does this mean Galantis is gearing up for an album in 2019?

Eklöw: “We’re always up to somethin’. Lots more music coming.”

What is the biggest focus that as Galantis you guys are gearing for with 2019 almost here?

Karlsson: “This summer was insane. We feel like we circled the globe a million times over. We have a few special headline shows coming up before the end of the year! We just played the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco and will be doing a double header at Aragon in Chicago for New Years Eve on December 30 and 31.”

Check out their latest single “Emoji” and its new music video below.

  Photo via Rukes.com

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Your EDM Interview: Galantis Talk New Direction and Creativity in Their Music

source https://www.youredm.com/2018/12/04/your-edm-interview-galantis-talk-new-direction-and-creativity-in-their-music/

[charlesjening]

Attn Miserable Cube-Dwellers: Check Out This Job Posting

So before we get into this job posting, we’re obligated probably by law and definitely by our dubious moral code to inform you that this is a sponsored post. Sponsored in that money was exchanged to make sure we got this job listing in front of y’all, but it has been written by yours truly and I promise not to pack it with made-up anecdotes about work-life balance just because they’re paying us to do it. We partnered with Stack Overflow to list this job because they are looking for someone just like you to fill this position, and we want to do our best to show you guys cool job opportunities when they cross our virtual desk.

With all that out of the way, Stack Overflow is on the hunt for a senior revenue accountant. I’m sure a lot of you are asking “well, who the hell are they?” Glad you asked! You may have caught our Day in the Life feature with Stack Overflow Accounting Manager Katrina Law, in which we learned more about the company and some of the perks that go along with working for them. But just in case you missed it, here’s a brief refresher straight from them:

Stack Overflow is the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. More than 50 million professional and aspiring programmers visit Stack Overflow each month to help solve coding problems, develop new skills, and find job opportunities. We partner with businesses to help them understand, hire, engage, and enable the world’s developers. Our products and services are focused on developer marketing, technical recruiting, and enterprise knowledge sharing.

As promised in my intro, I’m not going to lie and tell you working at Stack Overflow will guarantee you an endless supply of money and unicorns in exchange for a minimal amount of work—it’s still work after all. But you’ll get your foot in the door in the competitive tech startup space, which we can definitely guarantee is more exciting than withering away in your manager’s shadow in public accounting indefinitely. You’ll work in a tight team of smart folks who ain’t got time for dat. (Are we still using that meme? Please tell me we are).

Alright, so now that you have an idea of who they are, it’s time to talk about who their ideal candidate for this senior revenue accountant position might be.

First, technical requirements:

You are a CPA with public accounting experience. Boom, that’s like 94% of you.

You are a CPA with public accounting experience who has left public accounting and has private industry experience. Sorry, that just disqualified a bunch of y’all.

You are a CPA with public accounting experience who has left public accounting and has private industry experience in technology and/or internet service companies’ revenue. Alright, the candidate pool is pretty small now, but I know for a fact there are at least a few out there.

You are a CPA with public accounting experience who has left public accounting and has private industry experience in technology and/or internet service companies’ revenue AND have experience in the SaaS and ad tech model space. Is this you? Well congratulations, you got this in the bag my friend.

We want to be clear here that candidates with a good public/private mix are encouraged to apply; lacking experience in the tech space won’t disqualify you. Neither will totally lacking private experience, so those of you with a wandering eye at Big 4 are still welcome to apply if you also fit the following criteria:

1. You live and breathe Excel. I realize this will describe a large chunk of you. Stack Overflow’s ideal candidate doesn’t want to live in a world without VLOOKUP, or as they say it, “intermediate to advanced Excel skills.” Don’t bother applying if you aren’t a black belt in Excel.

2. Communication skills, you need them. Their team is small and there’s no time for screwing around trying to teach a grown adult how to use their big kid words. So on top of being an Excel ninja and accounting genius, you need to bring your A-game when it comes to communication. B- will just not do.

3. Time management and project management skills are a must. If you’re the type who needs your higher-ups to micromanage your every waking moment, this gig isn’t for you. But if you’re the type to deploy an Excel spreadsheet to manage your four kids’ extracurriculars, along with every meeting you have for the next two months, they probs want to talk to you.

At this point, you’re probably asking what’s in it for you. You should know above all else that it’s rare to work through lunch; you actually get to chill and enjoy a meal at noon sharp prepared by their THREE on-site chefs. That’s enough to convince my chubby butt, but I know the big question y’all always have about jobs (spoiler: it involves salary and benefits), so here’s the other good stuff:

Competitive base salary

20 days paid vacation

Flexible hours

Stock options

Completely free health insurance (no copay, no premiums)

Great office, with espresso bar, games, and free daily lunches

Gym membership reimbursement

Transportation reimbursement

Employees will never be poked with a sharp stick

I mean, that stick thing sounds pretty good. If you agree and think you have what it takes to be Stack Overflow’s next senior revenue accountant, go ahead and apply. Be sure to tell them Adrienne at Going Concern sent you, and save me a fancy latte next time I’m in NYC.

The post Attn Miserable Cube-Dwellers: Check Out This Job Posting appeared first on Going Concern.

republished from Going Concern

[bluebuzzmusic]

Your EDM Interview: Galantis Talk New Direction and Creativity in Their Music

It’s easy to say that one of electronic dance music’s most recognized duos across the board is Galantis. From their prominent rise thanks to songs like “Peanut Butter Jelly” and “Runaway (U&I),” to their latest singles such as “Spaceship” featuring Uffie and “Emoji,” the duo continues to dominate with their music festival and tour performances while charting highly with their records.

Recently, I was able to discuss Galantis’s latest productions and creative collaborations with members Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw.

With such a stellar discography including a handful of successful hits, what is or are the biggest challenges with making new music?

Eklöw: “Our biggest challenge is and forever will be being able to evolve as artists but still stay true to what Galantis was on day one.  With every new single, we always read comments saying this isn’t like “X” track, but there is no possible way it could be. Every new experience affects our creative output. The music landscape is always evolving and we are as well.”

What would you say are the biggest changes or adjustments in your songwriting process since you guys began working together?

Karlsson: “Writing while being mobile. It’s so rare these days that we actually get to sit in a studio.”

Your latest singles “Satisfied/Mama Look at Me Now” and “Spaceship” have featured newer artwork that have updated the Seafox. Who is the artist(s) behind them and what’s the inspiration behind the change?

Eklöw: “We’re still working with Mat Maitland and his team at Big Active. The Seafox has found some new friends along the way, but she’ll never go away.”

You guys have released a new single called “Emoji”. Describe the process behind the making of the song.

Karlsson: “Emojis are the new language of this decade. Sometimes they are more eloquent and expressive than words.”  

Who is the vocalist on “Emoji” and how would you guys describe it?

Karlsson: “Cathy [Dennis]’s voice could also be the voice of an operating system like Siri or any other sexy robot. [laughs] We felt that since emojis came about in the tech boom, her chilling O.S. voice was the perfect way to represent the lyrics and the meaning behind the song.”

The accompanying music video released with “Emoji” is super cute and involves a heart-shaped character. Who came up with the character and what is it in relation to the heartbroken protagonist of the video?

Eklöw: “‘Emoji’ was our 8th music video with Dano Cerny. The creativity behind our music videos are always a partnership with him. The emoji heart could mean different things to different people but in the most basic sense, whatever it was helped him cope with his heavy heart.”

With your debut record Pharmacy released in 2015 and The Aviary out in 2017, does this mean Galantis is gearing up for an album in 2019?

Eklöw: “We’re always up to somethin’. Lots more music coming.”

What is the biggest focus that as Galantis you guys are gearing for with 2019 almost here?

Karlsson: “This summer was insane. We feel like we circled the globe a million times over. We have a few special headline shows coming up before the end of the year! We just played the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco and will be doing a double header at Aragon in Chicago for New Years Eve on December 30 and 31.”

Check out their latest single “Emoji” and its new music video below.

  Photo via Rukes.com

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Your EDM Interview: Galantis Talk New Direction and Creativity in Their Music

source https://www.youredm.com/2018/12/04/your-edm-interview-galantis-talk-new-direction-and-creativity-in-their-music/