#harleys good at math. he just hates it so much

[antariies]

hc that chrono wells are normally just lame pink circles on the ground and any extra ornamentation has to be personally designed by the mesmer themselves. anyway unrelated did u know how much math it takes to make one of these stupid things

this is the graph of all that bullshit up there btw

[madmaxified]

dc super hero girls ( 2019 ) swap au because I have no self control. it’s essentially just a role swap of the villain group and the hero’s ( and batman with the joker, mostly for narrative )

the hero ( formerly villain ) group themselves are INCREDIBLY unorthodox, mostly because none of them other than harleen and selina ever wanted to do something for other people before, they were mostly using their powers for selfish reasons ( not evil ones, just for personal gain ) so even though they’re all learning to be better people they’re not super well liked by the general public because of their destructive and frankly dangerous methods ( mostly adults hate them, other teenagers think they’re the coolest ) they’re referred to as vigilantes more rather than actual heroes

harleen swaps with babs, she still retains her canon personality she’s less apathetic, and genuinely cares deeply for a lot of her friends. she still loves playing pranks and practical jokes, but she’s less rowdy and rambunctious in the beginning, especially when she meets new people, mostly because she’s now really worried about making a good impression and not getting into too much trouble. rather than her dad taking a new job in metropolis, harleen got expelled from gotham high for playing a big prank ( it’s a running gag that no one but babs knows what it was ) and her dad was so pissed that she got kicked out of the only high school in gotham that he kicked her out. she lied about her address to her address to get into metropolis high, and she’s really trying her best to do well in school, and like diana was in canon, she was kinda just homeless for a bit. since the joker is a superhero in this universe, harley quinn ( a superhero name the others poke fun at sometimes because of how obvious it is ) is a crime fighting vigilante

selina swaps with diana, she isn’t an amazonian or anything ( that’s still diana ) but instead she’s more of a robin hood type character pre canon. she’d steal from banks or take valuables and sell them on the black market and give the money to people and families who need it, which isn’t an amazing tactic, but her intentions were good. she didn’t have any real interest or intention in starting a superhero group or actually fighting any crime before harleen brings up the idea, but she has been keeping a close eye on a couple girls ( pam, leslie, doris, carol ) at school that she thinks might have superpowers. once the group is formed she is the leader, mostly because she has the most battle iq / experience. like diana, she is the one leading the main training in the beginning, and though she’s the elected ‘leader’ she’s not really the mom of the group. she does care deeply about her team though, and she does try her best to keep them safe. she’s the least destructive member of the team because of how practiced she is at sneaking in and out of places without getting caught but she’s one of the most disliked because of catwoman’s already existing presence pre show, her intentions were good, but robbing banks is bad

the rest of the girls are less obvious swaps, it’s mostly just the villains are now heroes and the heroes are now villains

leslie is the more tech savvy one ( like karen ) she’s actually super smart which comes as shock to people based on her punk looks ( she hates when people say she doesn’t look like she’d enjoy math or science ) she’s not a bully anymore, instead, like kara she’s more sarcastic and just pokes fun at people, though it she takes it too far with people she cares about she’s very quick to apologize. she’s the one who is put under ra’s’ spell ( she’s still super punk guys OF COURSE she loved the league of shadows ) and her lighting gets all red and stuff and she looks super cool. she’s actually part of school newspaper, since she’s nicer, she doesn’t run a gossip column ( though she’s constantly BEGGING lois to let her start one ) she’s instead a field reporter, who always manages her to somehow get the inside scoop and really good pictures ( she’s hiding out the in tech guys ) also her and doris are one hundred percent going out

doris is more the mom of the group, she’s no longer a bully and instead uses her strength to defend people she cares about / beat the shit out of people she doesn’t like, she gets in trouble a lot because she’s constantly beating up kids at school who make fun of pam. her and pam are really close because their parents are both scientists and they grew up hanging out at labs together. both of them were experimented on by their parents, and have been aware of eachothers powers for a while. she’s super over protective of the others in the group, mostly pam ( because they’re basically sisters ) leslie ( cause they’re going out ) and harleen ( because harleen’s always putting herself into harms way ) she’s quite literally the type to just grab her friends and walk away with them tucked under her arms if she feels that something isn’t safe, despite their protesting. she’s the world’s biggest man hater ever, she gets pissed off so much if a guy says something misogynistic to her or her friends, her powers act ho so much it’s not even funny

carol is still the overemotional one of the group, though it’s mostly because her ring is more connected to strong emotions rather than love, but because she still not super sure how to control her ring yet ( none of the others really know what to do either so they’re all just trying their best ) so whenever her friends, or anyone else around her frankly, are feeling something really strong it effects her pretty deeply. she’s not obsessed with hal, though they are still exes, but him being a shitty boyfriend is one of the reasons she became so intune with her ring in the first place. she’s like the opposite of a therapist friend, in the sense of she’s a friend constantly trying to give therapy but also needs it more than anything. her and thaal are the definition of ‘twink and in denial lesbian’ friendship ( and she totally doesn’t dump to him about how hot she thinks lois lane is, even if she is trying to uncover the identities, they’re essentially this aus barry and babs ) she’s still a hopeless romantic, and is constantly gushing to the others about her ‘dream’ guy ( and theyr all like ‘carol you dumb lesbian my god!’ )

pam is basically the same, other than the fact that she’s less inclined to use her powers, mostly because she’s scared to. she really only goes into poison ivy form when she desperately needs to photosynthesize and when she’s either completely alone or with doris. her parents exterminated on her when she was little, and because of that fact that they literally turned her into a walking plant she’s completely incapable of eating plants ( people just think she has a weird medical condition ) though she’s still anti social, she does quite enjoy the company of a select few people. when she does finally agree to join the others in becoming a super hero, she really only does it / participates in certain crimes to try and help the environment. it isn’t until she and harley come face to face with batgirl that she finally starts using her powers to actually fight. she’s also less anti social, she still doesn’t have many friends, but it’s mostly because she’s shy and not because she doesn’t want them ( her and karen have basically swapped personalities ) she’s very much the sweetest member of the group ( leslie, doris and her are literally simon, alvin and theodore )

diana is a lot more like her aunt antiope, she spent a lot more time with her as a child and so she’s a lot more reckless and carefree. she doesn’t really care that much about her teammates, and to her they’re really just pawns she uses to achieve her goals and help her have a good time. she’s still new to metropolis, having just arrived at the time of the first episode, but rather than wanting to protect the world of man, she instead just wants to cause problems, have fun and possibly grow rich. antiope sent her the the human world willingly, because in this universe she’s the older sister and is the queen of the amazonians, rather than diana’s mom. she’s less academic and way more sporty, a trait she’s picked up from her aunt since she never really had to study when she was younger. diana is incredibly manipulative in this au, almost every member of her group was manipulated into joining by her, and it continues as long as they remain part of the group

( bonus : the episode #thewarriorandthejester plays out basically the same, including diana figuring out harleen is harley quinn. during nightmare in gotham diana is present, and when harley’s tied up on the roof she reveals to babs that harleen is harley )

babs’ dad is still commissioner gordon, but she instead idolizes batman, and since batman’s a bad guy in this universe, so is babs ( she’s just extra careful about keeping her identity a secret ) like in canon, babs is extremely hyperactive, but in this universe it’s a lot more unchecked. since harleen forced herself to learn how to tone down and not always draw attention to herself in fear of getting kicked out again, her babs’ energy doesn’t match eachother’s as well as it used to. babs lacks a filter, so she’ll often just say what she doesn’t like about someone to their face, which is one of the reasons harleen’s new friends don’t like her as much. batgirl is a lot meaner in this universe, she’s rude, and blatantly makes fun of people, particularly harley ( cough … the reason pam gets so worked up and uses her powers in a fighting sense … cough ) while out of the costume harleen still is the more overprotective one ( she still would willingly kill for babs ) babs is the one who often goes to extreme measures to make sure the other is happy 

zee is somewhat of an accidental villain, she used dark magic one time on accident ( she caused the gremlins to spew out of ace of spades a lot earlier on ) and diana, who witnessed this, pressured her into jointing her villain group, claiming it would help her ‘learn to control her dark magic better’ ( spoiler alert, it doesn’t ) while zee enjoys the freedom and publicity being a villain brings her, she really doesn’t enjoy using her dark magic, because she has no idea how to control it, she avoids using it most of time, because when she does use it, things get chaotic and very out of hand. she’s still the most popular girl in school out of costume, but she’s a lot less nice ( she’s stereotypical mean girl core and I’m sorry ) she’s a lot less open and kind as she is in canon, even to her friends, she’s a total asshole to everyone but especially to her friends 

karen is a little wet rat in this universe, she was tired of being called small and weak and being picked on, so she built the bumblebee suit with the intention of getting revenge, but even with the broken growth tech diana still recruited her to her team, karen being the only one she didn’t have to manipulate in some way. she used to be incredibly shy, and while she’s still anti social ( her and pam have kind of swapped personalities ) she’s just rude now, and thats why she doesn’t have many friends. she’s a little wet rat and will a hundred percent bite you. she’s still constantly fix her growth tech, but she also refuses to let any of her team mates help her. basically all of them besides diana and maybe jessica like hate her because she’s so rude to them all of time and never follows any of their plans and just does her own thing half the time, but diana won’t listen to them when the tell her to kick karen off the team

jessica doesn’t want to be a villain, she definitely doesn’t enjoy it, like zee and literally every but karen, she was manipulated by diana to joining the team. like pam in canon, most of her motives for doing literally anything villain related is when she sees or hears about social injustices that she wants to fix. she does believe in fighting in this universe, she doesn’t love it, but she thinks that the only way to deal with social injustices is to use violence to punish people. in this universe, her fears of not being good enough for the green lantern core got the best of her and she ran off, quitting and instead taking up a yellow ring ( thaal still has his green ring in this au ) she’s a lot less of a social butterfly, she still uses school as a place to voice abut problems around metropolis, but because she’s a lot more self conscious the negative response get to her a lot more. she’s no longer like “I don’t know the meaning of the words leave it alone” and more just “oh … okay I’ll stop 😞” she’s still one who tries befriend pam, and they’re still adorable and probably dating. she also needs a hug asap

kara became a villain because she was really jealous of super man ( he’s still a hero in this universe ) and diana used that against her. she started out trying to be a hero but literally no one cared and they all called her destructive so diana was like “become a villain and then you can beat up your cousin mwa ha ha” and she was like “that sounds dope I’m in” when zod shows up, she still helps defeat him, because she still wants to be a hero deep down, she wants to help people, but diana won’t let any of them leave her villain group. she does try to help people whenever she thinks diana isn’t looking, and she always tries desperately not to hurt people when they’re pulling off heights or schemes. she’s still destructive and thinks punching things is a solution to everything mostly because diana tells her that it’s a great idea to do that, and so she’s never really learned any other way to deal with problems

lena and lex swap, so he’s the little rat child and she’s the super genius billionaire asshole. people don’t love lena as much as they do lex in canon mostly because she’s still a bit of a brat. she’s still beloved and held to a super high regard but people are also like “she’s also super fucking weird and is like a rat” she also has a keytar because fuck it ricky owens reference. so when she’s fighting with the girls instead of some weird dance she’s like putting on a little concert for them. most of her robots that need to be manually controlled have a piano as the control piano, so when lex is fighting the girls in the beginning he’s just slamming his hands on random keys and hoping it works 

barbi still starts out a villain, she’s jealous that harleen became captain of the gymnastics team and was like “magic is the only solution fuck it” her and selina are exes but it’s so obvious they have not gotten over eachother at all ( “why’d she break up with you selina?” “it was over something stupid - I stole from her” “that’s a really good reason to dump you” ) cheetah is still a villain until around after the girls fight when lena because she was captured and then like immediately let her out and selina like was begging her to be a good guy with them, she late becomes an honorary member of the team. while she was captured she was in the tube next to selina and the whole time selina was like “barbi I’m sorry please take me back 😭”

the joker and batman swap so babs is the one who idolizes a villain and harleen idolizes a hero. the hive five also swap with the teen titans

dexter is literally the same except selina is the one who works at the animal shelter and is the one who adopts him

[octuscle]

Branko

Sebastian was angry. Actually, at himself, of course. He hadn't bothered to find an internship and now had to take the place assigned to him by the school at the local Harley Davidson dealership for the next two weeks. But on the outside, he was angry at his parents. After all, it was their job to care. For the 16 years of his life, he didn't have to worry about anything. His father was a successful lawyer in Zurich, and his mother had brought so much money into the marriage from his grandfather's inheritance that even though she had finished medical school, she really only spent her time shopping. And with taking care of him, the only son. Why hadn't the two of them organized an internship somewhere where he could have had two relaxing weeks and maintained his Instagram account.

His mother stopped the impressive Bentley Bentayga and Sebastian got out of the car without a word of goodbye with a grumpy face. A couple of motorcycle repair shop employees standing smoking in the parking lot nodded at him with respect for the car; he ignored it and went straight into the building, hoping to get through the day with as few social contacts as possible. The general manager welcomed him personally (presumably because his father was a good customer), gave him a little tour of the offices, the showrooms, and then into the garage, where Sebastian was introduced to the shop foreman. The garage was the first stop during the internship. And he wondered for the thousandth time why he was here. In life, he would not ride a motorcycle. And in life, he wouldn't get his fingers dirty on a motorcycle. After all, the coffee he was offered wasn't bad. Really good, to be honest. And in fact, after the second coffee, somehow everything was different. The motorcycles were fascinating. And Sebastian began to soak up all the information. And with every coffee that the workshop master handed him with a grin, his interest grew. Time flew by, Sebastian struck up a conversation with the other colleagues and gratefully accepted one of the journeymen's offer to take him home. With his oil-smeared clothes, which were not really suitable for work in the garage, he would not have wanted to get into the Bentley.

The next morning, the alarm clock rang at 05:00. Sebastian was used to that. Since he had started his apprenticeship a year ago, he had become an early riser. He pulled a reasonably clean shirt and his shorts from the pile of dirty laundry, put on his running shoes, and made his rounds at dawn. After an hour, he threw his sweaty clothes in the corner, just kept the jockstrap and socks on, and without wasting time showering, put on his overalls and work shoes and quietly left the house. His effeminate parents, of course, were still sound asleep. At the bus stop, he smoked his first cigarette of the day. He wasn't allowed to smoke at home. He couldn't wait until he had his own apartment. And his driver's license. He liked his life, but being dependent on the bus and having to obey his parents was really exhausting. He was all the happier when he arrived at work. He loved listening to the engines of the heavy machines and, according to his foreman, had a talent for teasing the last out of the engines. His dream was to start in the tuning business after completing his apprenticeship.

Wednesdays were vocational school days. He hated school. Everything to do with math was okay, he could use that to tinker with the engines. But he had a hard time with languages. His mother was half Bosnian, so he had picked up a few words of Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian, but English wasn't his... Because he wasn't going to the garage today, Sebastian took a quick shower after his run. While drying off in front of the mirror, he proudly remarked that he had inherited not only the language from his grandfather, but also good genes. Unlike his effeminate father, he had a rather strong beard growth and more and more black hair grew between his abdominal muscles. When he showered with the other trainees after the gym or when they went to the outdoor pool after work in the summer, you could see that he was already further along in his development than the others at the age of 18. Probably because of this, the others made fun of calling him by his middle name, Branko. At first he had hated the master for betraying his Bosnian roots, but today he was rather proud of it. Sebastian shaved his skull as he did every other day or so, put on a jogging suit and, before leaving the house, smoked a first hand-rolled cigarette with his mocha. Since he was allowed to live in the old gardener's apartment above the garage, the smoking ban was finally history. He threw on his alpha jacket, took his helmet and sat on his BMW. Of course he was ashamed in front of his older colleagues because of the pathetic 35 kw, but in two years he would finally be allowed to ride a real heavy Harley.

Thank God it was already Thursday. During the week, the gym always came up a little short, but on the weekend Branko would again pump to exhaustion. Since he lived in his own apartment near the garage, he had a weight bench, but working out in an atmosphere drenched in sweat and testosterone was just something else. For the past three years, he had been going to the gym regularly with his buddies from the garage, and he was very pleased with the results. Whenever possible, he worked out in just his undershirt. Working bare-chested had been tried, but had only resulted in the foreman calling him into the office. Behind lowered blinds Branko had then had to blow his boss. Since then, it happened every now and then. At first, Branko had thought he was the only gay in the company, but on second thought, it was obvious that leather, motors and muscles also attracted fags. And he considered himself good proof that gasoline in the blood and pleasure in engines went well with fun sucking cocks.

Since he had finished his apprenticeship at the top of his class, Branko really enjoyed not having to sweep out the garage on Fridays. It was 3:00 p.m., and he was sitting in the yard with the other fellows, drinking an after-work beer and taking a drag on his cigarette butt. This weekend he didn't have to work in sales on Saturday, which he quite enjoyed doing occasionally, this weekend belonged to the Gym and the boys. Let's see if the weather also allowed a ride on the bike. But for now, he had to make his way to his mother's store. Every Friday afternoon he had one of her girls polish up his body for the weekend. He might look macho, but for him that included manicured fingers, a carefully trimmed beard, and a freshly waxed back. Like his Bosnian uncles, Branko had had strong body hair from an early age. He loved the developing fur on his chest. But hair had no place on his shoulders or back. His mother once again greeted him somewhat effusively when he entered her salon. Branko was always a little embarrassed. Especially since people who didn't know him and his mother might mistake him for her lover. At 34, his mother, who had already come to Switzerland pregnant from Banja Luka, was just 14 years older than him. And his father's money had not only been seed money for a successful cosmetics empire, it had also ensured that his mother was the epitome of a MILF. Lots of exercise and plenty of visits to talented plastic surgeons had ensured a flawless body.

On Saturday, too, the alarm clock went off at 05:00. Without discipline, the muscles did not grow. And before the gym opened at 07:00, Branko put great emphasis on the previous running training and, of course, on plenty of protein for breakfast. Besides, he was not a night person even on weekends. He had been smoking a shisha with the guys yesterday, had fucked the horny Serbian waiter in the toilet and had been in bed at 22:00. And he was sure that there was plenty to fuck in the gym afterwards. When the beads of sweat glistened in his chest hair, he was simply irresistible. It had been a warm night. So Branko ran the twelve-kilometer morning lap bare-chested. And afterwards, unshowered, got right into the Dainese motorcycle suit. He loved the smell of sweat, cum and leather that hit him. When the engine of his brand new Ducati howled up, he got a boner right away. At 21 years old, he was a jerk-off template made flesh. And he knew it.

Before the Sunday visit to his parents, a shower was on the agenda. His parents already found it borderline when he came to brunch with his Harley. Otherwise, he could at least be well-groomed. Punctually at 11:00 am his Harley rolled over the gravel in the driveway. Even though he was now one of the big boys, he was a bit excited. But fortunately, neither his mother nor his father made any comment about the new tattoos that adorned his right forearm. Well, he had been less concerned with his father, after all, whose powerful torso was decorated with abundant signs of Albanian and Swiss national pride. And more importantly, his mother's ratty youngest brother showed great interest in the tattoos. After dinner, Branko showed Dragan the rest of the new tattoos and his new PA upstairs in the old gardener's apartment.

Monday morning Branko was already at the gym at 05:30. The cardio training Dragan and he had more than ample yesterday, but the muscles desperately needed to be pumped up again before work. Thank God the Serbian muscle hunk had an early shift today. At least he could talk to him. The blond Swiss, who usually worked at this time, probably despised him for his broken German. And Branko despised the Swiss because, as a crossfitter, he didn't lift iron. In the garage, the week started at 08:00 with the meeting of the foremen and the department heads. One of the few moments during the week when Branko had his upper arms covered at work. Whereby his supervisor had also rolled up his T-shirt sleeves quite unabashedly. Really massive arms, Branko thought....

Sunrise was early on this Tuesday in June. But since Branko ran the Harley-Davidson branch in Tirana, it was important to him to answer the call to prayer at least three times a day. Many of his employees and also his customers were much more devout than he was. He had to adapt to this if he wanted to survive in this market. And when his father had sent him from Switzerland to the country of his fathers to build up the business there, Branko had resolved to make his parents proud. That's why he now went by his middle name, Granit, in public. It suited him much better, he thought with a grin. After praying, Branko once again examined the magnificent piece of machinery that was to be handed over to a customer this morning. If it wasn't so hot, Branko would have thrown on leather pants and jacket himself. But in hot temperatures, a tank top and combat pants had to suffice for a credible appearance. And he hoped that it would be hot again today.

[umbran6]

Leo Should've Hated Hephaestus 

AN: Yes, I'm back from the grave of being buried by work and uni and the entire mess that is my life. And I thought I might do what I do best: think of what could've been or what should've been.

The one thing that irks me more than anything is that Leo had more than every right to hate Hephaestus. Almost to Luke levels of hate towards Hermes, and arguably beyond that. Yes, Leo had more right to hate Hephaestus than Luke, who wanted to tear Olympus apart because of his own daddy issues and made a deal with Kronos to get such power.

One of the key things that we kind of tend to forget during the only time Leo and Hephaestus interact is that the god shows he watched Leo throughout his entire life - and he just watched. He didn't lift a finger when Leo's mother was struggling to make ends meet. He didn't lift a finger when Leo was living in the streets. And he certainly didn't lift a finger when Leo was confronted by Gaea when he was eight years old and killed his mother by accident.

And that last one is the one that really makes me want to strangle Hephaestus with my bare hands. Leo's mother died in a fire, in her workshop. By all rights, that was Hephaestus' domain. Sure, there is the whole thing about gods not being able to actively intervene in the lives of mortals aside from banging them, but this event was where Hephaestus could do everything in his power to intervene. He could've had the flames spare Leo's mom, used his divine authority to stop the flames from spreading and destroying the entire warehouse. Shown up and got Gaea to back off. But he did nothing.

One other thing, that we seem to ignore is that it is quite clear that Hephaestus clearly favored his other children a lot more in comparison to Leo. First thing that we see in Cabin Nine's actual introduction was that... there are a lot of them - some older, and some younger than Leo. But what stands out most of all is that Harley, an eight year old, had already been claimed when Leo was sixteen when he first arrived. It doesn't exactly take a genius to do the math and find out that Harley must've roughly been born around the time Gaea visited Leo. Yet Harley is the one claimed and brought to Camp earlier in comparison to Leo, even earlier than the standard that Percy made the gods promise in The Last Olympian. Harley is eight years old, when demigod powers aren't even showing up, yet he is the one whisked off by a satyr to Camp Half-Blood. Leo, in the meantime, knows his powers, was emotionally traumatized and broken by them, yet it takes eight years for a satyr to actually notice him despite Leo having powers that haven't been seen for several hundred years.

And then ooh boy, we get to the actual meeting. Hephaestus hardly apologizes for not helping Leo in any single way, only reminiscing that he misses Leo's mother for a few seconds only for Leo to call him out for not even being there. As for his lack of action, Hephaestus sweeps it down the rug claiming that he couldn't intervene, or claim Leo when he was younger. As for interacting with Leo, Hephaestus said that 'he wasn't good with organic life forms.'

And to that, I call bullshit. Social awkwardness can only be an excuse so far, and Hephaestus basically used it to not interact with Leo for eight years. Hera, the freaking goddess who taught Leo how to use knives, who hates demigods with a burning passion, had more positive interaction with Leo.

And all of the other gods when it came to their children had somewhat reasonable excuses. Hermes, who we all knew tried as much as he could and still screwed the pooched with Luke, still did his best to help his son. Poseidon couldn't even intervene because we all know it would've painted a big bull's eye on Percy's back. Mars didn't stop Frank's mom from dying in combat because she actively knew the consequences of doing so. Pluto tried to convince Hazel's mom to not go to Alaska and resurrect Alcyoenus. Hephaestus may have expressed an 'interest' in talking with Leo, but didn't do so until Leo was in the middle of a quest, and it wasn't even to apologize. It was to info dump about the Giants. The only thing that could even be comparable to worse levels is Zeus, and that's because the king of the gods stuck his dick into

So yes, Leo has every right to hate Hephaestus. He should've hated Hephaestus. Hell, he wanted to chew out Hephaestus for leaving him alone for eight years, yet it was just swept aside. Even his siblings, because its clear that Hephaestus was playing favorites. It should've been more incorporated in his character arc because in comparison to nearly every freaking demigod we know of, Leo was the one that suffered more directly from Hephaestus' inaction.

[ewzzy]

I haven't made a real list, but since I spend all my time reading comics here's a top ten for 2022. (no particular order) First up is Kyle Starks' I Hate This Place. Kyle is always the best and a couple inheriting a farm only to find out it's haunted by ghosts/aliens/demons/cyptids/everything is a great hook.

Next up is the new Amazing Spider-Man series that brings back writer Zeb Wells and artist John Romita Jr. They're two of the best to ever do Spider-Man and as they tend to do they drag him through the mud along the way.

Adjacent to Spider-Man is Jed Mackay doing more Black Cat stories. He's writing the Moon Knight, Black Cat, and Dr Strange series and has proven to be one of the best and most prolific writers in the Marvel bullpen. Here's a bit from Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond.

Too bad for Jed but this was the year Chip Zdarsky hit homer after home with so many great series. Daredevil, Stillwater, Public Domain, and two Batman series that are all comic of the year level. It's been crazy watching the comedy guy known for Sex Criminals become the most prized writer at the big two. Nobody but Chip gets to write Batman and work for Marvel at the same time.

I've been going on and on about writers but the recent Poison Ivy series is all about artist Marcio Takara. I normally wouldn't give a series like this a chance but it's a beautiful horror comic where a lot of folks get torn apart by fungal spores.

I also wouldn't have touched a Harley Quinn series but Riley Rossmo's art will get me to read anything. He just started a new Robin series where Tim Drake is living in a boat house and working as a private eye. So far so good!

I don't care about the Eternals or Avengers and keeping up with the X-Men is exhausting but the A.X.E. Judgement Day event was great. Basically the superheroes create a new god and it decides to judge everyone on earth individually. If it does the math and we're mostly bad the earth goes bye bye. Captain America is the first to get a thumbs down and everyone collectively goes "oh so we're fucked right?" Then when the Eternals wake up some old war machines one reads the whole internet and becomes the secret admirer of a single human writer.

As I said X-Men is exhausting, but it was worth it to get all the jokes in X-Men '92 House of XCII which retells the last few years of X-Men comics as if they were adapted to the 90s cartoon.

A much clearer X-Men comic was Giant-Size X-Men: Thunderbird. He was the first X-Man to die for the cause and now that mutants can be resurrected he's back and not sure he wants to be a part of it anymore. It's co-written by trans native-american pro wrestler Nyla Rose and I was expecting very little but it's great.

Guess this is my last one. I have been shocked by how good the Punisher: King of Killers series is. Writer Jason Aaron and artists Jeus Saiz & Paul Azaceta bounce between two art styles & times. The present where Frank Castle is worshipped as history's greatest killer by ninja assassin cult, The Hand, and the past where we discover he first killed at age 10 and how his family dying was never what made him the Punisher. It's also an allegory about how The Punisher isn't cool and you shouldn't like him and anyone who would use his skull logo unironically is dumb.

Sorry TMNT Armageddon Game, One-Star Squadron, Superman The Warworld Saga, X-Terminators, My Bad, Billionaire Island: Cult of Dogs, World's Finest, and everyone else from this year but I've run out of time and space. Look forward to Spider-Man/X-Men Dark Web on next year's list alongside both of Ryan North's new comics Secret Invasion and Fantastic Four.

[just-an-enby-lemon]

Answering @pharoahkittylover promptz for the characther thingie.

1. Riddler

Favorite Thing About Him?

That's is hard. I like everything about him. But I think is how he isn't afraid to be himself even when it's ridiculous.

Least Favorite Thing About Him?

When writers make him edgy.

Favorite Line?

Ahoy hoy.

In a more serius note rn would likely be:

"Riddles aren't just math problems, they are art"

That being said he had a lot of lines so it changes.

brOTP

The Riddle Team (Riddler, Query and Echo)

Riddler and Harley

Riddler and Miss Tuesday (specifically BTAA)

Riddler and Barbara Gordon (specifically Unburied)

Riddler and Catwokan

OTP

That's soo hard. My Riddler ships depend of the context and the version. So I have a lot of OTPs and none at all.

nOTP

RiddleBabs. I hate this ship sooo much.

Random Headcannon

Okay. A Riddler headcannon I never mentioned here... He loves to sing and it's rsther good at it but is a bit embarassed to do so in front of other people specially other rogues.

Unpopular Opinion

My opinion on Forever Riddler already counts.

Song I associate With Them

I have a whole ass playlist

[the-firebird69]

We had one ready for cherry cheese one nothing special it's just the same as the other ones and just one. You thought it was on usually there's a group of them and he had only one person no but he has to have people nowadays he has this why is there only one and it means more because we give one gift and you check it out and you get it for your people if you approve it and so he drove around and he said it's good for us and he ordered a ton of them and then they started to do what he wanted. These bikes are selling like no tomorrow okay and they seen the rear device and we make it out of higher strength steel then we usually would it's much stronger because of what it does and adjust the height of the shock as you go along and we made it so you can move it while you're underway and Tommy f was impressed and he can't figure out how now I can go to 20 with no vibration at the highest setting it can go about 300 when you said it all the way down if you don't fly off the road most go 280 with it on the second setting on the first setting that is which is one up from the bottom and it is a miracle bike because it's selling so much and the motor is kick ass it's Harley Davidson it's not modified at all and it is Chrome like most of them are it's a beautiful looking motor and it has style nothing is styling okay and it has Grace and it is intense looking and it's a style that our sun rides and I ride. There are several things different about it and nothing really that bad the seat is a little awkward and almost smacks your nuts if you're not careful we have to ride upright to keep it from doing that which actually helps your posture and helps you stay fit and when it's the shock is up here fine and when you go down on it you can move around the seat so you don't get hurt it's kind of an illusion but boy does it look painful the car is a little bit of work and most people modify the seat right away and there's nothing wrong with that but that's the way it comes exactly how he designed it and our son says the bike should not be made to force you into a certain position it should be made to allow you into the most proficient position and upright it's not the best position for that bike and I hunched over a little is and you're kind of resting and your spine is not getting jammed so he's kind of a weird person all right and he's used to sing the song I'm all the way up because they put the shocks all the way up because they're standing upright that's what it's for so they kind of getting the hang of this this is the guy with all these stupid ships and other s***. Cherry cheeseman is going to have to carry on if you can't. Are you pissed off with other people... So they having fun being pissed off at Tommy f and having other people nearby and being pissed off at him but really the bike keeps in mind and if the own ones it makes it better and things are going well but we sold about 600 million in the area no these guys are buying them in the cities and ship all of them to the cities and grab all of the loose mini choppers of John Cena and bring them to the cities Minnesota get why and it's going on now each and every city is getting them and the Western hemisphere and the Eastern hemisphere there empty from these people and the max are grabbing them in the east tons of them I mean we've built probably 500,000 octillion that's a huge number that's a giant number of these bikes I mean it's enough for almost everyone top side to have one no it's not for one area all the adult men to have one and they're grabbing them all and they're getting the message

We're helping people out with the math that the adjustment system has a spring on it and it's pretty sturdy and it won't come out even if you bounce it as hard as you can and it's approved by the DOT is it older device and it makes the bike seem like it's an older bike and it's really cool people like it and they hate the seat and the guys an a****** about it there's a freaking jerk but he tells people what it is he's an a****** about the seat and everything else and they're trying to take them back and they're getting caught and it is higher up so try to take them actually try to take them not back but they're getting theirs taken that's what's going on too plenty of it especially in the series where they were and it's causing them to come out the foreigners are going to the cities finally

Thor Freya

We're getting involved no need to forces well we're getting for us and we're grabbing these bikes and I noticed the reaction is instant and we need the Intel so we're going after them hard and we're fighting other foreigners they don't do very well

Wie Chan lin

You have a lot of people buying these bikes I mean a lot that sounds are through the roof of this particular Bank we can't keep up with it that's what we have to tell you so he took all the Harley-Davidson factories and we're having to make it we called them up and about half said no and the other half said yes so he wondered why and we investigated and the house that said no are the clones the max are now going to take it over. They're doing that. We're making as many as we can and we don't have any facilities to spare. And he says we need to open a mega factory because this is a savior bike and it's doing the job and overseas we have a whole bunch of actors that can use especially in China they're going to go ahead and do that right now too and they're really really big each one of them is like a trillion square foot and it's like 10 of them in each area and that will make up for it and partially when as our son says you're not really big compared to the ones that we can open and we're wondering how many we should make and we see that we made a ton here and it really has hardly nicked the market which is true it's going to open a mega factory in America 100 m

Thor Freya

We'll see what it is and see how many we sell we can convert it to anything else if we need to and yeah we took a ton of the equipment that they were making robots with and we're going to use it on these bikes I'm going to do it right now

Apollo and Goddess Wife

David giant number of bikes that we made and I already sold and was shipping them and go all over the place and we're going to have to make tons more and the Powabolic curve is now showing that we need to make tons more and we won't have it. We grabbed a ton of equipment okay it's like 5 billion square feet of robot making stuff no it's a lot more than that it's worth a hundred trillion square feet and we're getting more I mean there's a ton of it it's like non-stop now and for many places and we're going to use it and we're going to use all of it but right now we're going to grab it all and we're going to use a lot of it in the robot facility I'm going to go with the fastest production possible in the chopper facility and it's our son's design and it's mine and it's Apollo and goddess wife and Hera and Freya and a whole bunch of us input a ton of ideas but his idea was to load from the top and damn that's fast there's nothing that's faster and these guys are doing it but not the way he said it's like a conveyor belt and it just dumps into a bin it's very fast it's very accurate and it does it without damaging parts and machines assemble the bike and he also had this frame thing where it sets in the frame on a conveyor belt and you can move it on the conveyor belt if you have to it's really really fast I mean it's so damn fast you would not believe it they're like hundreds of lines maybe a thousand lines all the same time and they make these bikes and they go together so fast it's unbelievable and our son and daughter say I want from those lines because they're helping and we have people there too A lot of people and they say we gladly get you one we just need your address lol well you can't have it sorta know where he is, he wants to get past demand so I'm going to make three of those cuz we need to set them up anyways and when we're done they'll be set up for what we're going to use minor changes I'm going to do it now and I recommend to others do it I'm going to sit down and say that you're required to have these and we're moving on it now

Thor Freya

We're hoping the equipment is in crap too

Arrianna Nuada

We checked it out and they stole the equipment from other people so it's fine

Olympus

[lyssismagical]

you were never mine

I’m a bad student somebody stop me

AKA I wrote this on my phone during a zoom call for class, so it’s not the best and it’s kinda messy but here we are anyway

TW: abusive parent, violence, blood

another piece of a shameless au i’ll write one day

There’s an ear-splitting noise that sounds a lot like glass shattering, and Abbie flinches, tucking herself closer against the wall, one arm wrapped around a sibling, more by her feet. 

Their mom showing up, out of the blue, was protocol for what started out as a decent weekend. Harley ushered them all off, passing Bentley off to Abbie, as soon as he’d smelled the alcohol and weed on her. 

From Harley’s bedroom, they could hear everything that was happening downstairs, words mostly muffled but emotions just as clear as day. 

Bentley’s on her lap, Jonah and Dayton on either side of her, Aspen sitting on the other end of the bed, and Sebastian is on Aspen’s other side. 

Harley’s room smells like him. Like gunpowder, leather, cheap soap, and strawberry milkshakes from the diner. It makes them all feel safe, knowing Harley’s out there protecting them, keeping them safe, always. 

Downstairs, muffled and distant, Harley’s shouting, “They’re not your kids, Macy. They were never your kids!”

And Macy sounds like she’s crying, and Abbie can picture exactly what she looks like in that moment. Desperate and scared and angry, hair wild and eyes tired, reaching out to try to comfort Harley like he was ever her son. 

She’s always been pretty, in that hardened Tennessee way. Auburn hair, long but always tied back, skin clear and tan, eyes a dark honey-brown, hands calloused and angles sharp. 

Most of the Keeners have a lot of those same features. Especially the oldest, the ones that were Dad’s and Mom’s, not just one or the other. The younger they get, the farther apart they look. 

Bentley, the youngest, is Dad’s, not Mom’s, and she barely looks like family. She’s lighter and softer than any of the other Keeners, blue-eyed and a blonde tuft of hair, porcelain skin with softer edges. 

“Why is he yelling at her?” Dayton asks. He’s so young, only eight-years-old and he’s facing all this pain and suffering at the hands of the people who were meant to love him unconditionally. He barely knows Mom, doesn’t know who his dad is. He doesn’t understand why things happened the way they did, doesn’t get why Harley’s so pissed at Mom, doesn’t understand why he can’t have clothes that aren’t hand-me-downs. 

And Abbie just shushes him because she can’t begin to explain why. 

“They’re my babies! You can’t keep them from me! I’m their mom!” Macy’s shouting downstairs. There’s more glass shattering and Abbie pulls Bentley closer when she hears the telltale sound of skin on skin. 

“What if I did let you see them?” Harley demands, voice trembling and an octave higher. “Would you hit Aspen too? Would you attack Dayton? Would you scream at Abbie? Would you make their lives hell?” 

She can’t make out what Macy says in response to that, but she can guess it’s nothing but lies and grasping for pity. 

“I wanna see her,” Jonah says, blinking up at Abbie. “Why can’t I see her?” 

“Macy isn’t a good person.” She’s pissed, shaking with the fiery anger that’s flooding through her, and she hates that this it what she’s forced to do. Hates that Harley has to take the brunt of everything. 

There’s a future for them, she thinks, as she looks around at her siblings. There’s a future there. 

Harley’s set it all up for them, made sure they’ll be ready to get out of Rose Hill one day. He’s going to get them all through school, going to send them off to live their lives, far and wide, doing anything they wish to do. 

Abbie’s going to go to New York. She’s going to get a full ride to Harvard, she’s going to be lawyer, she’s going to be successful and live on the coast. She’s going to be the first Keener to graduate high school, the first to go to college, the first to have a real job, the first to make it out of Rose Hill with a future, the first to be be above the poverty line, the first to make it to nineteen without an unplanned pregnancy. 

And the rest of them will follow. Aspen, Sebastian, Dayton, Jonah, Bentley, and whichever children will be dumped on them from Mom or Dad or a stranger claiming to have Dad’s child. 

All of them but Harley. 

Harley will be tied to them until the day the youngest Keener gets out of Rose Hill. Even if they’re lucky enough to be done with Bentley, Harley will be stuck here until he’s thirty-five, never have graduated high school. 

“I’ve given up everything for them!” Harley cries, loud enough for them to hear, clear and heartbreaking all the same. “You’ve done nothing but take and take and take, and I’ve had to fill in every gap. I’ve been their mom, their dad, their brother, their sole caretaker, their breadwinner, their chaperone, their everything. And you’ve been nothing. You’ve done nothing for them. The best thing you ever did to those kids was leave them.” 

And it hurts like Abbie’s been shot, clinging to her brothers, bleeding out on Harley’s bedspread, dying unable to make a sound. 

“I want a second chance. Just let me have the littlest one, Bentley, let me take her and have a second chance at being a mother!” 

“You can’t just show up and take your fucking pick!” Harley shouts, a sob caught in his throat. “You weren’t here, Macy! You weren’t here to change their diapers or help with math homework or go to their sports games. I was here! This is about what I did!” 

Macy goes to say something, but it goes unheard under Harley’s tearfully loud voice. 

“I was here! I was always here when you weren’t! And you know what? I did a fucking good job,” Harley says, shouting and crying and desperate. “Abbie’s captain of the volleyball team and junior class president! Aspen’s got a perfect GPA! Sebastian’s captain of the debate team, he volunteers at the animal shelter on the weekends! Dayton made a solar system for science and got an A plus! Jonah’s running now, he’s talking in full sentences, he’s fully potty trained, and he’s starting kindergarten next fall. Bentley, she’s an angel. Her first word was Harley. I was here! Where the fuck were you?” 

“I’m here now, Harley,” Macy says, almost too quiet for the kids to hear upstairs. “I deserve to see my children.” 

“They don’t even know who you are!” Harley shouts and there’s more glass breaking. 

Macy’s voice drops lower. “I’m their mother.” 

“You were my mother too!” 

“Please, Harley,” Macy begs. “I just want to see my children.” 

But Harley’s never given up that easily, he’s never let anything come between him and his family. “No. Just get out. I’m not letting you see them. I’m not going to let you brainwash them” 

It goes quiet after that, save for a few muffled noises every now and again. 

“Is he okay? Do you think she- Do you think she killed him?” 

Abbie hits Sebastian on the arm. “Don’t say something like that, you’ll scare the little ones.”

“I’m serious. Are you sure he’s going to be okay?” 

“When has Harley not been okay, Bas?” 

It’s not the truth, Harley’s been far from okay for a very long time. And normally, encounters with Macy ends pretty badly for him. 

But there’s nothing they can do. Harley’s strictest rule is that when he tells them to hide, they can’t come out until Harley comes to get them. If Abbie leaves, that leaves Aspen, fourteen years old, to protect them. 

Abbie’s job is to stay here, protect the littlest one if, for some reason, Macy comes after them. 

It only takes about an hour for Harley to get up to them, shouldering the door open. 

He’s bruised and bloody and limping, but he’s somehow got a wide smile on his face. “Macy has officially left the building.” 

“What the fuck did she do to you?” 

Abbie’s up and over in a second, passing Bentley off to Bas, and grabbing his chin to get a better look at him. It looks like he broke his nose, blood smeared on his upper lip, right eye swollen nearly shut, one arm cradled against his ribs, fingers splayed on his chest. His lip is split open, jaw bruised, glass still clinging to his shirt. 

“It’s fine. She’s gone, she’s not coming back for a while. We’re safe and sound. How do we feel about mac and cheese for dinner?” 

There’s not much they can say otherwise, watching Harley grin, teeth stained with blood, and nodding to the door. 

It’s not like Harley would listen to any of them anyway. He loves them too much to let them talk him out of keeping them safe. 

Taglist:  @littlemissagrafina  @fancyxparker  @romeoandjulietyouwish @c-artara @shadedrose01 @likeaphoenix13 @misskirkstark @you-get-killed-walk-it-off @kitkatwinchester  @emo-girl10  @hold-our-destiny @imalivebecauseirondad @spiderman-peterman @dykeragee @maryserrao @heeeyitskay @parknerandirondad @lilacsandlilies4 @loveliestdisappointment @joyful-soul-collector @genderfluid-and-confuzled @fallenstar07 @gyurolls @sdottkrames {Lemme know if you wanna be added or removed}

buy me a coffee 

[octalove]

V: Letting Lie

(Batgirl/Red Hood)

Description: There’s a breakthrough in the case, and Reader takes things into her own hands. Part one, two, three, and four.

The hospital was white. All white. Like a dream. White walls, white floors, white curtains, white stretchers, white papers fluttering around on clipboards, doctors in white coats. Mr. Wayne’s suit was black, so I focused on him. Black suit, blue tie. Black hair, blue eyes. He was filling out whatever paper the nurse had given him. Something about seeing it all play out, despite the face he had put on for me, made my eyes well up with tears. He was afraid, so I was afraid.

“Mr. Wayne?” His eyes shot up as he looked desperately at the nurse. He was so helplessly at the mercy of whatever news they brought us. We both were. “Will you come with us? We’ll have a nurse stay with the girl.” The nurse looked down at me with a warm smile. White teeth.

“We need to borrow Mr. Wayne for just a second. That okay, baby?” I just nodded, not really considering it something I could say no to. No, please, I want him to stay. I’m scared and I want him to stay. A male nurse came and sat by me. He talked to me about school, my favorite subjects- science, math. He asked me what I wanted to be, and I shrugged.

“People who like science and math make good doctors.” He said. I shrugged again, but then considered it more.

“Is it hard?” I asked.

“It’s very hard. Not a lot of people can do it.”

“…”

“But it’s worth it. You help people, you know?”

Mr. Wayne appeared from around the corridor. The look on his face made all the papers stop fluttering. Made all the doctors stop rushing. Made the world stop where it was. Somewhere, maybe, in retrospect, I knew before he said it. I kept my eyes trained on his face, even though I wanted to look away.

“Y/N…” He said, taking a seat beside me. “Listen to me, sweetpea. Your parents-” His voice was cautious, considerate as he tried again. “Your moms got hurt really badly tonight… They- they’re both…“ A tear landed on my hand as the memory grew into a reality, which was bigger than I was. White sheets, red blood. He took my hand, and wiped it away.

“They’re gone now.”

*

They didn’t talk about Jason Todd.

And since they were the only people in his life at the time he died, nobody talked about Jason Todd. We met a couple of times, before Bruce took me in. I hated my expensive gowns, and he hated his expensive obligations, and we hid together at parties, all the while Dick insisted we’d get married. He lived, albeit briefly, as a smart, capable boy, and died as a smart, capable Robin. I had trouble looking at his face- pictures and old year books. When I did, I was looking into the face of a boy who died an untimely, tragic death. That was it. That was his story. Jason Todd died alone, afraid, and probably in a lot of pain. I went to his funeral.

If at all he came up (I could only think of one or two occasions), Bruce would tense, his eyes falling away, and Alfred’s gaze would cloud with memory. Dick, at least, could share a story or two, coveting the fondness and pride he had for his brother without dismissing the whole subject. Tim and Damian didn’t ask. They just tried not to die with the uniform on.

So walking into the cave and seeing Jason Todd’s face plastered on the central monitor seemed like the single most unlikely thing to occur in the Wayne household. I would’ve placed Bruce adopting another child before digging up and displaying dead ones.

Tim, Dick, and Babs were huddled close, faces wound and tight, while Bruce looked distracted, fascinated with his W.E. ballpoint pen. I dragged my feet a little to alert them all of my entry, but only Babs looked up.

“Y/N.” She said.

“Hey. What’s going on?”

Everyone just sort of concluded that someone else would explain, or take the lead, but no one made any attempt to do so. Finally, Bruce sighed.

“Come here. Sit down.” Okay. If there was anything in the world that could make your intestines feel like they were getting turned to ramen noodles by a paper shredder, it was Bruce Wayne telling you to come here, sit down. I searched the others’ faces as I did so.

“What happened?” I asked quietly, trying to fill the chasmic silence.

“I’m going to go over everything. Do you remember…” He trailed off- just for a second. It wasn’t often I saw him battle with something like that. His face was tired, and his eyes revealed a struggle as he fought whatever emotion he was grappling with. “Do you remember Jason?”

I nodded. “Sort of.” An echoing memory passed. Lacy table cloth curtains and chocolate covered strawberries as we camped under gala snack tables, whispering and laughing. Bruce watching me when my parents went out of town, and Jason giving me a tour of the library. The red roses on his burial. Sure, sort of. His blurry picture was on the monitor, anyway.

“Okay. Very good.” Bruce began again, perhaps relieved he would have to go into detail to refresh my memory.

“We’ve been putting a lot of information together regarding the Red Hood. We’ve been able to deduce his origins were The Viper House, but before that, Arkham. He began working out of the Asylum, and contacts there had a lot of information about him.”

That, I didn’t know. I supposed I wasn’t the only one slinking around in shadows. He was addressing everyone now, going through visuals on the monitor.

“He began to placate what was left of Joker’s operations in Coventry before he started on general crime. Oracle was even able to get some information from Harley Quinn.” I looked at Babs with some surprise, and she just nodded along.

“The very first sighting of him- in Coventry- was April 27th, seven months ago. The fifth anniversary of…”

I nodded. I knew what April 27th was. A vapid, despairing day in the manor that Bruce spent in his office and Dick didn’t call. I didn’t follow, but if Bruce had linked Jason’s death to Red Hood, I knew he must have something big.

“All of the information we gathered, on top of his intimate knowledge of us, vigilante or otherwise, has lead us to a clear conclusion. The encounter in Crime Alley on the 21st was just another confirmation.”

I almost flinched as my eyes flew to Tim, but no one seemed particularly interested in me. I texted him quickly, careful to avoid Bruce’s eye.

You told him?

- I told him I was the one who saw it. It was important information.

Shit, Tim. Was he mad?

He didn’t answer, looking back up to the briefing. I slid my phone into my pocket, guilt weighing in my chest alongside the other myriad of emotions building.

“He’s been around longer than seven months. Much longer. And it began with Jason’s death.”

I furrowed my brow, putting together a puzzle with with bent, broken edges, like trying to fit a triangle into a square-shaped hole- just one angle missing.

“Are you saying… Joker didn’t kill Jason? That this guy did?” My body felt cold.

Bruce looked at Dick, who didn’t return his gaze. Then, he turned back to me.

“I’m saying... that Jason is Red Hood.”

I let confusion twist on my face. “What? How? That’s not possible. You think he lived? We- I mean, we had a funeral.”

Dick shook his head, answering on Bruce’s behalf. “He did die, but… are you familiar with the Lazarus Pit?”

I went over my tangling thoughts. The crime scenes. The anger. The vigilante justice packaged in a case of blood and bullets, shipped right to Gotham’s largest looming criminals. The warehouse, the alley. The button. The leather on his gloves as he ran his fingers along my face and pressed it, leaving me all alone.

Tell Batman,

It was all falling in line; bubbling up and searing together like hot, melding flesh pulled together in the burning waters of the Lazarus.

I’m getting impatient.

“So… what are you going to do?” I asked.

Dick’s face was pained. Solemn. “I… we want to try to talk to him. There’s a reason he’s doing all this, and there’s a reason he chose now. If we want to figure it out, we have to find him.”

I swallowed. “I can help.”

“No.” Bruce declared swiftly. “Absolutely not. The only thing we know about him is that he’s dangerous. Red Hood may have Jason’s DNA, but we need to work under the assumption that he isn’t the same person.”

I could answer that. He wasn’t.

“Do not look for him. Do not engage him. Is that clear?” He was talking to me, Tim, and Damian. We all nodded.

“Any unapproved interaction could jeopardize the case, and give him more insight into our movements. We want to try and remain one step ahead. That is all.” The explanation was for Damian, who operated on bargains, not orders. Again, we all nodded. After a moment, I sighed.

“Well… I have school in the morning. Will you tell me if you learn anything else?” I asked. The three of them nodded, and Dick muttered a ‘goodnight’. I turned, mind working against the grain of what I should do and what I wanted to do.

Just go to bed, I willed myself.

Just go.

*

Night fell, black and smoggy. The sea was hissing and writhing, unsettled with the gale of a promised storm. I wasn’t entirely certain what would catch Red Hood’s attention. It seemed that our history comprised of him finding us, and not the other way around. Gotham Docks seemed like a good place to start. Ever since Kuznetsov was found in his watery grave, his men belonged to Hood. They moved drug imports that came to Port Adams- actual drugs- pharmaceuticals, over-the-counters, hydrocodone, acetaminophen; all legal things. But Gotham City taxed the living hell out of medicine imports, so people like Kuznetsov (may he rest in peace) smuggled them in fishing vessels for cheap, and got them into the hands of big pharma and medicare companies for a lot of money.

I’d picked a cozy spot on the roof of a bait shop that made me feel safely invisible as my eyes swept over the docks. Batman didn’t typically prioritize crime of this caliber; over the counter meds weren’t going to blow anyone’s heads off the way crazy clowns and mafia bosses were. It made the busy henchmen on the boardwalks nice and blatant. It wasn’t hard to find tonight’s operation.

I needed to make a scene. Make some noise, throw out some names- one name in particular. Wherever he was, I hoped it’d be enough to make it worth dropping in. I was used to making quick, efficient work of criminals, not stalling. Making a scene meant no disappearing in shadows, or quieting the sound of my breath.

There were a couple of men dollying crates in and out of a packaging plant. Disguised as fishermen, naturally. As they approached the building, several feet from the propped-open door, I dropped. Embracing the momentum, my weight striking the old wood made a salient sound, and sent the startled men gasping and staggering backward.

“Holy shit!”

“B-Batma-

“B-B-Batgirl?” I clipped. “Were you gonna say Batgirl?” It didn’t really matter which bat they thought it was. The fear all worked to the necessary effect.

“Jesus, Joseph, and Mary,” The man muttered, scooting backward along the wood as I let my step fall heavy against it.

“Where is he?” I asked, drumming up my vicious, raspy voice, like smoke on the sea.

“Where-where’s who?” He stuttered. The other man was taking advantage of my focus and scrambling to his feet. Any second, he would bolt into the building. Perfect.

“Red. Hood.” I said, loud enough that the fleeing man would hear.

“I don’t know! Hand to god, I don’t know!” The man on the ground pleaded. I looked down at him, letting the fear and shadow distort my face.

“I don’t believe you.” I kicked him in the chest, sufficiently knocking the wind out of him, but left him there, turning my attention to the packaging plant.

Adrenaline was in my limbs, pushing and pulling with the running blood under my skin. When was the last time I had a good fight? Carjackings and bank robberies felt so small, and predictable. Everything was always stable. Batman always had it under control, watching dutifully from rooftops, appearing in split second if I needed help.

Tonight, Batman wasn’t here. I felt no eyes on my back, no voices in my ear. It was under control, but it was my control.

The men inside had already sufficiently scattered. I didn’t bother to hush my footsteps as I entered. The icy breeze from the open door made my cape flutter, despite its weight- and that was the only sound.

Suddenly, boots on concrete, and a man let out a defiant cry as he shot toward me, with a rusted tire iron raised above his head. I moved on practiced instinct, side stepping and leaving him stumbling, before delivering a hard, well-aimed kick that he wasn’t getting up from. Two other men concluded (incorrectly) if they went together, they could take me.

It was a blur of fists and make-shift weapons comprised of packaging tools, but they were easy to parry and subdue. I kicked the second one back with enough force to send him through a thin wooden partition, which cracked and splintered under his weight. I swung my eyes around the scene.

“Anyone else?” I knew they were there. Tucked behind conveyor belts and crouched low, using fish barrels for cover. No one answered the call of duty.

“I’ll ask again,” I called. “Where. Is. Red. Hood?”

Suddenly, a flash of color, and I went backward and downward, catching myself enough that my arm slid across the concrete instead of my face. I let out a sharp breath just in time to dodge another blow.

“All this,” The computerized tilt of his voice couldn’t smother the anger in it. “For little old me?”

I kept my eyes trained on his hands, because I could entertain close combat, but knew I’d need to bolt if he drew his guns. That didn’t appear to be his intention. I dipped away from one of his swings, but he swiped at the fabric of my cape, grip closing, and used it to heave me into a barrel. I gasped at the force of it as I reckoned with shattered wood. Barely recovering, I rolled out of the way as he swung low. I went for the door, figuring I could use a little more space, since he had a hundred pounds and a few feet on me.

Outside, a frigid wind was cascading across the docks, biting my skin and casting droplets of salt water all around. Red Hood moved imposingly slow-paced, attending the cuff of his jacket sleeve, while I put a hand on the railing and tried to find my footing again.

“There are easier ways to get my attention, sweet thing.” Drawing to a halt, he didn’t look like he was going to attack me again, so I wiped the blood from my lip and straightened.

“Sorry. You forgot..” I was still breathing heavily. “To give me.. your number… last time.”

He laughed; a terrible, beautiful thing. “I guess I did, didn’t I?”

I fought to remember why I was here, and consequently, tried to pull together Jason Todd with the faceless man before me. They seemed to foil one another- a triangle through a square-shaped hole.

“So what do you want?” He asked, more serious this time. Though a reasonable question, it almost sounded rhetorical for the sheer lack of curiosity in it. I swallowed.

“Show me your face.” I said. It was so quiet, so hushed by the jeering sea that I was surprised when he tilted his head in response.

“Liked our little game that much? Had to crack a few skulls just to play it again?” I was frustrated, wishing he would come close, like he had in the alley, and let me touch him. Let me push away the helmet and know.

I tried to convey my seriousness with a look, but he just rolled his shoulders.

“Is that all, little bird?” He seemed annoyed; like I’d dragged him here only to concern myself with the small matter of his secret identity. The secret identity of Gotham’s most prolific crimelord. I wanted to make him understand, but I didn’t know what to say. He didn’t say anything else, either. He didn’t say “no” or “whatever” or “goodbye”. He just started walking away.

Jason.

Suddenly, I stopped myself. What if he wasn’t? What if Bruce was wrong? I’d throw out a name- an accusation- at a monstrous stranger who had no connection to me or my family. He’d laugh his terrible laugh and know that the world’s greatest detectives weren’t so great after all. Nervousness consumed me, tightening around my throat, placating me while I watched his form get smaller as he walked away, the darkness threatening to swallow him up.

“Jason!”

He stopped. His boots dragged to a jarring halt on the wood. Slowly, then, he turned around. The shadows were long and cast over him, turning his helm the color of old blood.

“Come back.” I said. “Please.”

His body language was unreadable, a mix between relaxed and hesitant that left him standing there, looming, and left me unsure as to whether he was going to leave, or pull a glock on me. Then, he lifted his hands. His thumbs dragged beneath his jaw methodically, until there came a hiss from his helmet, and he pulled it off.

“Jason.” I repeated. My voice was tight. It shook. His gaze followed me in the dark before he approached, gate slow and heavy, and sat down on a fishing crate.

“What? Do I look different? Put on a little weight?” Maybe he was joking- I couldn’t tell. The soft rasping of his voice startlingly contrasted the voice scrambler, and blended with the bubbling waters below our feet. But something eerie laced it. It was still foreign to me. “It’s okay. You can tell me.”

I had previously thought I might be able to do this; face him. After all- I should be happy to see him again, alive after five years of Bruce’s grief and wretched hollowness. Years of operating in the long, dark shadow cast by his headstone. But somehow, the man before me was instead a confirmation. A walking death certificate. Jason Todd- the other Jason Todd- was still gone. Bronze skin, of which small, light colored scars adorned. Midnight hair mussed from his helmet, leaving a couple strands to fall over his dark eyes; eyes that used to hold warmth, and now held a malefic coldness. When I drank in the features of his face, I found my chalice empty. He didn’t approach me this time- didn’t draw near enough to feel his heat. Just sat there, elbows resting on his thighs, leaning forward and looking at me. I had trouble holding his gaze, but I did. Then, he gave me a chilling grin.

“Did you miss me?”

His voice knocked something loose, as my mind placed him as a memory. Someone I’d actually known. I had a million burning questions. “How? What happened?”

He pulled out a cigarette, shrugging. “I’ve been busy. Dying’s a lotta work.”

“Why- why are doing this?” This being spending seven months as the most prolific crimelord in Gotham. There was a spark of his lighter. Using his hand to shield the flame from the winds and misting water, it nurtured an orange glow on his face, bathing his skin in auburn light for just a moment. I blinked, and it was extinguished, replaced, again, by the blue darkness. He took a deep drag.

“Know how I died, dollface?” He asked. I did, so I nodded.

“Remember what happened to the bastard who killed me? After.” I studied him, still reeling a bit from accepting the man before me as the boy he’d been. I remembered there was another attack after Jason’s death. Joker took forty pounds of C4 to a shopping center in Fashion district at the beginning of May. Amidst the rubble were Robin: Missing posters. Bruce didn’t make them. Joker kept up his streak thereafter. He didn’t stop until his death, last year.

“Nothin’.” Jason supplied the answer. A hard, bitter, sorrowful nothing. It burned cold, like an inverse flame.

“Batman doesn’t kill. He doesn’t kill, and killers do. So they walk, and keep killing, and he calls it justice.”

I let it all sink in. Batman was the only thing standing between Gotham and complete corruption. I saw, in my memory, all the people I’d helped. All the victims who’d ever clung to me or thanked me through tears. All the pride I’d ever felt carrying the mantle. Batman didn’t kill because you can’t go back from killing. If he did, it wouldn’t be vigilantes against criminals- it’d be dogs eating dogs. Domestic war. Jason had been Robin. Surely he understood the philosophy of it?

But, then, what did it get him? He took those philosophies to the grave. When he finally crawled back out, he did what anyone with a vendetta might do. He overcorrected.

“Tell me somethin’, little bird.” His eyes leveled steadily on mine as I looked back up. “You call that justice?” I swayed under the intensity of it. I was afraid to disagree with him, but I didn’t even know if I wanted to. There were a lot of times I watched Joker slip through Batman’s hands, free to blow up another shopping center, when he could’ve stopped him if he just-

“I don’t… I don’t know.”

He got up, cigarette hanging from his lips, gaunt eyes burning through the blue dark.

“I think you do.”

The sea hissed, and the wind writhed, and I watched as the night swallowed him up.

[ad1thi]

@starklysteve me?? spamming you w recs because i love talking about my ships?? more likely than you think :)) (here’s some rhodeytony to get you started on what is objectively the best tony ship)

i place your hands around my neck:  @fanfictiongreenirises

"Rhodey could practically feel his lungs getting heavier again, weighed down by roots of plants that he’d thought would never take hold in him again."

Or: the one where Rhodey's been pining over Tony for much longer than either of them realised and develops the Hanahaki disease

Pretend We’re In Love (The Heartache Still Hurts): @marvelingjules

Rhodey's dad is dying, and what he's always wanted is for Rhodey to be happily married. Tony and Rhodey were best friends, and haven't spoken in years. But after a chance meeting at the airport, and a desperate, insane idea on Rhodey's part, they end up pretending to be engaged.

But how much of it is really pretend?

i can’t seem to get a grip, no matter how i live with it:  @psikeval

Tony knows he's got no business being a father.

A Million Shades of Blue: @notfknapplicable

“I just know that if I could get to wherever he is, I could find him. Dead or alive, I'd bring him back to us.”

James Rhodes will never stop searching for Tony Stark.

Twenty Five Years: @notfknapplicable (part of a series)

Nobody knows how long this has actually been going on. (Tony Stark has pretty much been in a monogamous relationship since he was 18 years old.)

Leave The Light On: @notfknapplicable (part of a series)

He was never doing this for fun. He'd just wanted to stay awake. And whatever you do, please don't tell that guy he's been fucking. He kinda likes him.

coloured in sun: @heleus

The one in which Anthony Edward Stark, having just reached the warm age of seventeen, realizes that he's in love with his best friend.

(The idea is terrifying.)

the planets that bend us: @deathsweetqueen

When Antonia Margaret Stark wakes up on her sixth birthday, it’s to the words: I didn’t get any sleep last night after that fucking lawn mower decided that 7 in the morning would be a perfect time for him to start his day, right outside my room.

She runs a thumb over the long string of words, wrapping around her wrist like a thick leather band.

She smiles.

She’s fourteen when she meets James Rupert Rhodes for the first time.

Written for the "more than a partner" square (S3) for the Tony Stark Bingo 2019 and the "soulmate" square for the Iron Husbands Bingo 2019

we rattle together in a bed of honey: @deathsweetqueen

Toni first met James Rhodes in Cellular Neurophysiology and Computing, when she was fourteen and trying very hard to stay in the shadows. She stumbles into the classroom, clutching her books and binders and pencil case close to her chest, as she stares at everything, wide-eyed and hungry and terrified. She seizes on the contempt, the confusion, the incredulity of the other freshman who look at her like she’s an incongruity – she’s used to that look, all that hate and derision.

She eats it up like chocolate cake.

Much to her luck, all the seats are filled, all except for one towards the middle of the row, a table shared only by a tall, handsome black boy, sleeping on top of the counter.

a winding road that stretches to the truth: @/coulddaughter (this author ostensibly has a tumblr but im unable to locate it -- so if anyone knows what their tumblr is please let me know so i can tag them!)

“Why do you need a date? Also, no offence, but why did you come to me? I stole, like, four of your girlfriends and at least two boyfriends, remember.”

“I do remember that, Tony,” said Jim, pinching the bridge of his nose. “No, I need you to come on a date with me.”

Love in the Eyes:  @child-of-sunshine

The moment each of the Avengers realized Tony and Rhodey were in love.

The Curious Case Of The Discarded Condom:  @/AssvengersArsemble

Natasha, Clint and Steve get just a little nosy about Tony's love life. Tony finds it extremely amusing they can't see what's right under their noses.

takes a lot of love and compliance: @gyzym

She's born breech, feet kicking out before the rest of her screams free; she's born breech, and never stops running. (Rule 63!Tony)

Targeted Persuasion: @galwednesday

Jim opened Tony's most formal closet and started pulling out tuxedos. "Put one of these on.”

"Why?"

"We're getting married."

Tony froze. "No, we're not."

"Oh yes we are." Jim tossed three tuxedos onto the bed. Three was a good number of options, enough for Tony to make a choice, but not so many that he'd get lost analyzing the ramifications of navy pinstripes vs. charcoal paisley. Tony did best with clear, specific expectations rather than an unlimited universe of possibilities that he would inevitably filter through his neuroses and obsess over, and Jim was really kicking himself for not considering that, oh, ten years ago when they’d first started this, but there was no point in beating himself up about it now when he could put that energy towards solving the problem instead. "You brought this on yourself, Tones. Pick a damn tux."

Five thousand roses: @/forestgreen

She is broken and all the more dangerous for it. The world should tread carefully around the shards of her former self lest they cut themselves on Antonia Stark's sharp edges.

A Guide to Handling the Unhandleable Tony Stark:  @/nightrider101 (this is ab a/b/o verse)

Written for the following prompt on the Avengers Kink meme: The rest of the Avengers assume Tony is an unbound Omega by the way he acts. He's reckless and carefree and does what he wants. Imagine their surprise when they find out that Rhodey is Tony's Alpha. They're all confused at the way Rhodey lets Tony act and how they can be away from each other for long periods of time and Rhodey's just like 'He didn't want to give up his career and I didn't want to give up mine. And I gave up trying to tell Tony what to do years ago.'

It’s Not Bacon Until It Ceases To Be Bacon: @sobebold

Tony has lived with his best friend Rhodey for fifteen years, and everything is perfect.

Until Rhodey finally gets a boyfriend, and Tony's world gets turned upside down.

by any name: @machi-kun

Tony calls him ‘mine’, sometimes.

And he also calls him platypus, honeybear, sugarplum, all those stupid nicknames; but James’ favorite will always be ‘mine’.

Tutor Me: @wisiaden

Tony really wants James Rhodes to be his math tutor. The guy was hot, and if he had to play dumb, well, he can say he hates math.

run and hide: @/starksrhodey

Tony may or may not have a crush on football captain James Rhodes.

Or, Tony is extremely insecure, Pepper knows best, Steve likes to bake, Bucky loves red heads, and Rhodey keeps trying to talk to Tony.

This Is The Real Life: @blancheludis

It takes doing the laundry for Tony to realize he is completely, irrevocably in love with Rhodey. Who knew that the way to Tony Stark's heart is to teach him how to wash his clothes.

Anything For You Darling: @areiton

Tony is sitting on the balcony of his palace in Malibu, and Rhodey hates it, more than he's ever hated anything, watching his best friend stare at the water, limmed by the sun and utterly alone.

"She's dead," Tony says, before Rhodey can ask and he feels his breath catch, his heart stumble.

There's--

Grief. For pretty, troubled Maya with her big eyes.

Heartbreak. For a sweet infant who will never know the mother who gave him up, whose life will never be exposed, now.

Relief. Because Harley is safe. Safe. Gods, he's safe.

or

Rhodey helps Tony raise his son.

it goes like this (just like heroin): @quandongcrumble

He’s twenty-six and you’re twenty-eight and you get a midnight phone call from Obadiah and between the two of you, you manage to beg and bully until you can fly back to the States and sit beside the white hospital bed while they say words like heroin and accidental overdose and that Tony should pull through but Tiberius might not wake up.

It goes like this—for almost sixteen years Tony’s addiction problems are a blight on Rhodey’s relationship with him. Friendships crack and trust is shattered, over and over again.

motor oil and coconut oil: @/halfasgoodasanything

James loves his best friend. He's entirely supportive of his friendship and his almost relationship with Steve Rogers. He is! He is. Carol and Pepper seem to think otherwise, but he's cool. Loving Tony doesn't mean no one else can. Even if he wanted to.

lost and found: @starkslovemail 

“Are you lost?”

Tony jumped at the voice cutting into his thoughts. Turning around, he saw another teen, maybe a year or two older than him, decked out in Team USA gear. He shook his head, flashing what he hoped was a disarming smile, “Nope.”

“Are you sure about that?” The athlete raised a disbelieving brow as he stared down at Tony. “You’ve been walking up and down this hallway for the past ten minutes, and the least embarrassing reason why is being lost.”

The blunt honesty startled a laugh out of Tony. He grinned cheekily, rocking back on his heels, “Guess I’m lost then.”

--

Written for the RhodeyTony Mini-Bang! Art can be seen on twitter here!

two boy geniuses walk into one frat house: @starkslovemail (part of a series)

There were too many white people at this damn party.

The Other 'Mr Stark': Iron Man’s Mysterious Paramour:  @presidentrhodes 

Clint leans over to Tony and whispers. “For the record, I know you’re lying. You’re describing the perfect man and he doesn’t exist. You might as well say you’re dating Superman because at least Christopher Reeve was a looker.“(Based on this prompt: Tony keeps telling the avengers how awesome his husband is but they don't believe he exists because it has been months and they still haven't met him yet and then finally, Rhodey comes home.)

[bunkernine]

Honestly, this whole discourse about Annabeth or Leo being smarter is a stupid fandom thing. Not once they had this fight in canon. Annabeth respected Leo and vice versa, they worked together on the ship. Y'all need to stop making a character seem good by dragging the other

Btw the last ask wasnt an attack to you. Just ranting about the fandom, sorry if came out harsh (2/2)

none of that matters, harley is clearly smarter than either of them because he was the only one to figure out how to contact leo when leo could barely do it, and he had a much better grasp on the labyrinth then annabeth ever did. so that’s that on that, they got beat by a 7 year old 

(a direct response to the annabethvsleo issue under the cut)

1, You’re fine with the harshness, I didn’t really take it as an attack (though in the event that it was an attack, lmao) 

Alright. So to clarify before I start this, I do not hate Annabeth. I make a lot of jokes about her (she’s totally a Republican though), and it’s very fun poking at her and her stans. She’s a fictional character lmao, it’s not that deep. Annabeth stans act like it is that deep- it’s not.

Anyway, as for Annabeth and Leo, yeah, they’ve never had this fight because it’s dumb. They treated each other like co-workers, as they weren’t really friends but they worked together. Most relationships in the seven were like that. Hm. I feel like you’re skipping over the fact that Annabeth was annoyed with Leo most of the time (as most of the seven was annoyed at him). However, she is quick to understand him (there’s a scene where she explains to Frank that Leo hides behind jokes or something in MoA), and she seems like someone who respects other smart people. 

The problem with the debate was that it wasn’t fair to either of the two. A lot of pro-Annabeth was “duh, she’s the daughter of Athena” while a lot of the anti-Leo was “Leo was annoying and he didn’t know when to stop so obvs he’s dumb”. There is a distinction, despite them both supporting Annabeth. Leo’s side does something similar but if I type it I’ll forget what I’m talking about because it’s hilarious. None of that back and forth was actual proof, but only annoyed the fans on the other side. 

... Okay, so like, I’m a Leo dork but I know I can’t really defend some of his actions. Like I said, it’s really not that serious- they’re fictional. I know when he’s being problematic, and I’m not going to ignore that.... mmm the problem with the debate is that it really just began to feel like stans wanted their fav white girl to be the best. The evidence was trivial or irrelevant. Fandom, PJO included, has a disgusting habit of dragging down poc, and this was an extension of it. There’s a problem with dumbing down and ignoring brown characters- and this isn’t entirely on the fandom’s side because Rick does it as well. That shit is extremely harmful- so it’s not a surprise that Leo-supporters would fight back. 

Yes, I definitely agree with not dragging down a character to make another look good. That should be a no-brainer but it’s not. Except the debate was like, way more than that in how it treated White Girl Favorite Annabeth and Brown Dude Leo. No white girl was getting hurt, but this was bringing down lots of brown fans. The “neutral” argument that Leo is smarter, but Annabeth is wiser was just disgusting because it takes away from the fact that Leo is smarter to give unnecessary props to Annabeth. Some people can not handle the idea of a moc being smarter than a white girl and it showed during that debate.

Anyway... the reason why I believe Leo is smarter is because he’s able to think a lot faster on the fly, is way more street-smart, very adaptable, and is canonically known for doing college math as a child. Sure, he and Annabeth worked on the ship, but Leo designed it entirely on his own, and made it extremely adaptable to the whims of the seven. The work they did on the Argo was definitely not the same, so I’m not sure why you even brought it up. You don’t need brains to work a hammer. Leo was also able to create a complex and working system that Annabeth barely understood. He was also able to figure out the Archimedes sphere multiple times to use to his advantage in short time squeezes, despite it being extremely difficult to understand. 

Leo is incredibly intuitive but this is ignored because “he was annoying”. 

[shadedrose01]

Maybe There's a Reason (To Believe You'll Be Okay)

Relationships: Harley Keener & Tony Stark (platonic), Harley Keener/Peter Parker (at the end)

Summary: Harley has a crisis, and Tony helps him through it (with a hint of parkner at the end).

Tags: Remix, Parkner Remix Event, Even though its barely parkner whoops, Emails, Letters, Phone Calls & Telephones, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Sexual Identity, Identity Issues, Coming Out, Kinda?, Sexuality, Gay Harley Keener, Crushes, Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Acceptance, Self-Acceptance, Love, Parental Love, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, tony stark is a dad, why is that not a tag, Parkner is only at the end, for like a paragraph, Just so yall know :)

For the Parkner Discord Remix Event!!

A remix of @official-impravidus ' fic "Sincerely, Me" (which you can read here!)

This is longer, so ao3 link is here!

Hope you all enjoy! Love you lexie!!

--

Wednesday, May 8, 2013, 1:24PM 

From: countryroadstakemehometotennessee@gmail.com

To: tes@starkindustries.com

Subject: Relationships and Mark V

I don't understand dating. Like, my friend Bryan started dating Rachel today, and that's fine, whatever, but I just don't get it. All they did was hold hands and kiss each other all day. Is that all a relationship is? What even is the point of it? I mean, I know humans are animals and our instincts give us our need to reproduce so we need to find a viable mate and all that stuff, but why do you need to always be together, and hold hands, and do all of that gross stuff too?

Either way, I finally got around to building a mark V for my potato gun! It's just a few upgrades up from the mark IV, for faster shots and farther range, but I think it'll be cool once it's done. 

I hope your day is going okay.

-Harley

 

~~~

 

Wednesday, May 8, 2013, 10:43PM 

From: tes@starkindustries.com

To: countryroadstakemehometotennessee@gmail.com

Subject: Re: Relationships and Mark V

Relationships are complex, and complicated. Humans are born to reproduce, yes, but dating, and finding a partner is more than that. It's finding someone you're compatible with, who can be there at your best and at your worst, and a bunch of other deep seeded emotions that are hard to explain.

You don't need to worry about that now, though. You'll understand more when you're older, anyways, so I wouldn't worry about it.

My day has been good. More of a lazy day today, Pepper and I ordered some take out and watched movies in our pjs. I didn't have my phone on me per Peppers request, or I would have answered sooner.

As for the Mark V, the updates sound good. Keep me posted, kid.

  -The Mechanic

 

~~~

 

Monday, September 8, 2014, 4:57PM 

From: countryroadstakemehometotennessee@gmail.com

To: tes@starkindustries.com

Subject: Middle School!!

I started middle school today!! And honestly? It wasn't as exciting as I thought it was gonna be. I knew that movies and tv shows oversell the wow factor of middle school and high school but I didn't think it'd be this dull. I'm still in the same class, with all the same classmates, and my classes are still crazy easy. I had hoped that the increase in grade would make it even a little bit harder, but I knew everything on the outline they gave out before the teachers even started teaching!! It's bonkers!

Apparently this middle school also has a STEM, or "gifted" kid program for kids like me though, so hopefully that'll be harder. I'm still gonna be so bored in my normal classes though. Ugh.

I have the STEM classes tomorrow, so I'll tell you how it goes. I know you've been stuck in those awful meetings lately, but I hope your day is going better than mine.

  -Harley

 

~~~

 

Tuesday, September 9, 2014, 5:04PM

From: countryroadstakemehometotennessee@gmail.com

To: tes@starkindustries.com

Subject: STEM Program

I had my STEM class day today, and it went a lot better than yesterday did! My teachers are all super nice, especially my math teacher, Mr. Trevor. He immediately starting teaching today, which was awesome, because all of my other normal teachers had a Ice Breaker class first (which I hate, we all already know each other, why do we have to say our names and something about ourselves??), but he just went right into it, and started teaching us trigonometry. I haven't learned any of it before, and I'm super excited to dig into it and find out how it works. It's seeming pretty simple so far, just formulas and using calculators right.

The only bummer is the class I got put with. They all seemed to click and get along well together, but none of them really talked to me much. I don't mind though. I'm more focused on my education anyways.

Also! I saw that Captain America and Black Widow took down SHIELD's headquarters on the news. What was that about? Do you know?? Apparently they leaked files too or something???

I hope everything is okay.

  -Harley

 

~~~

 

Friday, September 12, 2014, 10:27AM 

From: tes@starkindustries.com

To: countryroadstakemehometotennessee@gmail.com

Subject: Re: STEM Program

Hey kid. Sorry for the late response, things have been hectic here, as you probably know. It's been a PR nightmare, with the whole "Cap took SHIELD down" fiasco. I can't say more than that though. Legal things, NDAs, you know how it is.

I'm glad the STEM classes are testing your abilities more. I know the regular classes can be boring for someone of your intellect, but try to enjoy them while they last, okay? Soon you'll be an adult, and doing adult things, and trust me, it isn't as fun as they make it out to be in the movies either.

Don't worry about those kids too. Give it time, they'll come around.

  -The Mechanic

 

~~~

 

Friday, September 26, 2014, 9:02PM

From: countryroadstakemehometotennessee@gmail.com

To: tes@starkindustries.com

Subject: Update?

Hi. Just emailed to give an update on me. Everything's been pretty normal, I guess. Abbie's loving elementary school, her teacher, Mrs. Millar, is really nice. I did my trig test today, and I think I did well. Mama's working late again tonight, but that's just normal at this point too.

Have you ever, I dunno. Felt like you were weird? Or strange, or broken? Like, all of your friends are one way, and doing some things, but you aren't, and everyone looks at you weird, and treats you differently?

I don't know. I don't know where I'm going with this. I just feel off tonight. Think I'm going to go to bed early.

I'm sorry.

  -Harley

 

~~~

 

Friday, September 26, 2014, 9:48PM 

From: tes@starkindustries.com

To: countryroadstakemehometotennessee@gmail.com

Subject: Re: Update?

 

You don't need to apologize, kid. You did nothing wrong.

I used to feel like that, quite frequently if I'm being honest. When I first went to MIT, I felt weird. I stuck out like a sore thumb, and had people talk about me behind my back because of how young I was. But then I met Rhodey, and things got better.

And then Afghanistan happened. And the invasion. Let me tell you kid, I've never felt more broken and alone after that. I had panic attacks, as you know, but I also struggled with a lot of paranoia. Lack of sleeping or eating properly, mixed with trauma does that to you. I was a wreck, and I was so certain I couldn't be fixed. That I'd be like that forever.

And to an extent, I will be. I'll always struggle with it, but it's much, much better now than it used to be. I went to therapy, talking about my feelings, which sucked ass (don't tell your mom I said that), and learned mechanisms to help myself. Learned breathing techniques, practiced meditation, focused more on self care, and now I'm doing so much better.

So, moral of this long, way too personal story. You aren't broken, kid. Whatever is going on, whether it's similar to me or not (I hope not), it'll be okay. You will be okay. Things will work out. And don't worry about what other people think. Focus on yourself, and do what makes you happy, no matter what.

I'm always here if you need to talk, Harley. I might not be much help, or be very good at this whole hormonal preteen emotions thing yet, but I can try.

I'm glad things are going okay outside of that though. I'm glad your sister's settling in well, and I'm sure you aced your test. You're a smart kid.

Goodnight.

  -Tony

 

~~~

 

Tuesday, October 7th, 2014, 3:38PM

From: countryroadstakemehometotennessee@gmail.com

To: tes@starkindustries.com

Subject: Call

Hey, can we call? I know you're probably busy, and we don't normally do that but I'm kinda freaking out about something and I don't know who else to talk to. My number is (___)  ___-____

  -Harley

 

~~

 

Tuesday, October 7th, 2014, 3:41PM

From: countryroadstakemehometotennessee@gmail.com

To: tes@starkindustries.com

Subject: Re: Call

Nevermind, ignore that last email. I was being overdramatic, and stupid. I'm fine, everything is okay.

Sorry for bothering you.

  -Harley

 

---

 

He didn't expect anything from the emails. He assumed the older man would've read his last email, and shrugged it off, pretending the previous didn't exist like Harley longed for him too. As he said, he was being dumb. It didn't matter that his heart was pounding, that his brain was screaming at him that he was a freak, and dirty, and so so so wrong , that he was shaking like a leaf and on the verge of tears. It didn't matter. It was stupid. It didn't matter.

He didn't expect that Tony would actually still call him.

He stares at his vibrating cell phone through teary eyes, blurry vision, the number unknown but he knows who it is, knows it because nobody else calls, because when his friends call, they call the home phone, not his phone, so who else could it be?

He blinks the tears out of his eyes, rubbing them away quickly when a few escape, swallowing down his fear and panic and self hatred as he scrambles to pick it up before the call ends (he doesn't think Tony would appreciate it very much if he let it ring to voicemail), stuttering out a shaky, higher pitched "H-Hello?"

"Hey, kid." Tony's voice, much lower and rougher than his, rings through the phone, and Harley braces for the questions, the interrogation he knows is coming, knows Tony's gonna ask him about it, about what's bothering him. Why, why did he email him? Now he's gonna have to tell him what's wrong, now he's gonna have to admit it, admit how wrong and messed up and broken he is- "How was your day?"

Harley jerks back slightly, mouth gaping and eyes wide, caught off guard by the unexpected tame question. "Huh?"

"How was your day?" The man repeats calmly, tone smooth, even, relaxed, like it's a normal conversation on a normal, boring day. Nothing like how Harley is feeling, nothing like the swarming thoughts in his mind, like the flood of emotions in his chest, like the churning in his stomach, the burning ache in his lungs. 

"U-uhm," Damn his stutter, he had grown out of it years ago, why was it suddenly coming back now? "I-it was good." He lies, trying to keep his voice from wavering, trying to keep it steady, trying to stay composed as the tsunami of emotions tries to pull him under. "Yeah."

"Yeah?" Tony prods lightly, voice softening slightly, and Harley shakes his head in a nod, firm, even though Tony can't see it, even as tears start to burn at his eyes again, even his chest winds tighter and tighter and tighter .

"Mhm." He forces out, not trusting himself to speak anymore, his throat closing as his feelings start rising up his esophagus, a sob clawing its way up his throat, trying to escape.

There's a pause, then, a moment when everything freezes. A moment right before the iceberg tips, right before everything crashing and burning down around him, right before the beginning of the end. And then, time starts again, as the mechanic asks, quiet, hushed "What's going on, Harley?"

And Harley crumbles .

The sob rips from his throat, echoing loudly in the large emptiness of his garage, a trembling hand covering his mouth as soon as he does. But the floodgates have already opened, tears are streaming full force down his face, his body shuttering through shaky gasps and shattered sobs. "I-I-Im sorry ," He chokes out as he sits down heavily in his old, pachy wheely chair, curling into himself as his body shutters again. He rubs his eye with the hand on his face, sniffling and coughing through a whimpered, "I-I know you're- you're probably b-busy, you- you don't h-have to-"

"I have nowhere else to be." Tony murmurs simply, cutting off Harley's poor attempt at waving him off, at delaying the inevitable for any longer. Harley lets out a small whine as the older man speaks up again, soft, soothing, repeating gently, "What's going on, kid?"

"I-I dont-" He hiccups, running a hand through his shaggy, too long blond curls, tugging slightly as his knee bounces rapidly. "M-My friends, or my classmates, they- lately, they've been, I don't know, they've been talking- talking more about crushes and girls and stuff." Harley sniffles, tugging his hair harder as his vision starts to blur again, the words tumbling out of his mouth now. "And- and I never really c-cared about it, you know? I never really- really unders-stood it, didn't see the appeal, s-so I didnt m-mind it. But they- they just keep talking about it, and getting g-girlfriends, and-and talking about their bodies and I didnt get the- the i-interest, so I thought maybe something was wrong with me-"

"There isn't." Tony chips in, but Harley just runs right over him, keeps blabbering. He knows it's rude, knows his mama taught him better, but he can't seem to stop talking now that he started, his words getting more and more wobbly, panicked the longer he goes.

"But there is , there is something wrong with me, I- I know there is now, be-because when I-I went to school today, the- the past few days really, I started- started noticing that I started f-feeling weird, and- and it sounds- sounds similar to how the- the others say they feel, but it doesn't make sense , it can't be that, I dont- I cant-" Harley's breath catches, and he grinds his teeth together, refuses to speak another word, refuses to accept it, refuses to admit the god awful truth, refuses to utter the words. Because it can't be right, it can't be true, it can't be-

They sit in silence for a few moments, when he assumes Tony thought he would continue speaking but he wont, he refuses , until the softer, calmer voice returns, slightly staticky through the speaker, but barely more than a whisper, as if he spoke any louder, Harley would shatter. He probably would. "So, if I'm understanding correctly, you think you have a crush, and you're... scared?"

He doesn't sound patronizing, just honest, if a bit curious, but it doesn't help calm Harley any, a higher pitched, frustrated noise escaping the back of his throat, his free hand going out of his hair going back to rubbing at his face, rubbing off the tracks of tears, trying to rub away any sign of upset, until his skin is red and raw. "No, I-I mean, kinda- its not- I can't- god , this is so stupid."

"Its not stupid. I get it." The man responds, and Harley wants to laugh, feels the bitter feeling bubbling in his chest, because does he? How can he get this? Harley doesn't even get this, it doesn't- he shouldn't- "What's her name?"

The sound erupts out of him at that, but instead of laughter like he thought it would be, it's just another pitiful whine, another loud, agonizing sob. Because that's the thing, the thing that's been haunting him ever since he figured it out earlier that day, the issue that's been plaguing his mind and freaking him out, winding him up more and more and more as the day went on until he got home and sent those messages. 

Because- because when he thinks back to earlier that day, he thinks of lunchtime, of sitting at his lunch table with his "friends", of them talking and laughing, of Harley feeling those weird feelings again, especially when he looked across from him, and saw big, forest green eyes, saw a big, toothy grin, saw two small dimples and scattered freckles, saw short, short black hair, saw a sharper, thinner jaw, saw male male male, felt butterflies flutter, and realized he was wrong, wrong, wrong .

Because- "It's not a girl." His voice is small, defeated, barely a whisper, his whole body tensed up in fear, waiting, waiting for his reaction.

There's a pause, before a faint, quiet, sympathetic, "Oh, kid." That Harley immediately the wrong way, because he hates him, oh god he hates him-

"I'm sorry!" He gasps, jerking upright, sitting ramrod straight and the apologies spilling from his mouth. "I'm so sorry, I didnt- I dont mean to, and I-I know its wrong, and I shouldn't, and I-I know I'm weird and- and a freak , and-"

"Hey, hey, woah!" Tony's voice is louder now, stronger, and Harley hushes up immediately, his mouth slamming shut, even as his body trembles with a silent sob. "It's okay, kid. You aren't any of that."

"But- but I am!" Harley whimpers. "I'm w-weird, and everyone else isn't like this , and-"

"Am I a freak?" Again, the random question sends Harley for a loop, trying to grasp onto any of his quickly scattering thoughts.

"W-what?"

He can hear a faint smile, faint amusement in Tony's tone as he asks again, still so so calm, so reassured, "Am I a freak?"

Harley narrows his shining eyes, still full of tears, staring down at the wooden table in front of him, at the chips and nicks covering the side of it, wondering if this is a trick question. "N-No? Of- of course not, you're Iron Man."

He can hear some noise in the background of the call now, squeaking as if someone's leaning back in a chair, before Tony speaks up again, voice full of warm amusement now. "Well, Iron Man has had a few rendezvous with men in the past, and still likes them to this day. Does that make him, and therefore, me, a freak?" When Harley doesn't answer, mostly out of pure shock than anything else, Tony keeps going, tone going serious again. "Kid, I'm gonna get this out there right away. There is nothing wrong with you for liking boys, you hear me?"

He swallows, and wants to agree, longs to agree, but- "But- but my friends, they all like- like girls , and mama, she- she said that traditional marriage was what God wanted and-"

Harley cuts himself off this time, and Tony only waits a few beats before murmuring softly, "Is that what you think?"

He just shrugs, picking at the table, sniffling, whispering quietly, "I don't know what to think anymore."

There's a soft hum and another pause. "You're different, Harley. I'm not going to beat around the bush, you are different." Harley stomach drops. "But," Tony continues, "Kid, you've always been different. You're so smart, way too smart for your own good, if I'm being honest. And there's nothing wrong with that. People may try to bring you down, or kick you while you are down, but you've gotta remember that, okay? There is nothing wrong with you."

Harley waits a few moments, let's the words wash over him and wrap him in a blanket of warmth, of security and comfort, but there's still one little thing that keeps rearing its ugly head, that's still making him antsy. "But, what if I'm just- overreacting? And I don't actually... y-you know." He finishes lamely, still not ready to completely admit to everything yet.

Tony doesn't seem to mind. "Then that's okay too." He says simply, a bit of shuffling coming through the line. "Kid, how old are you again, like twelve?"

He can hear the teasing in his tone, and rolls his eyes as he huffs out, "Thirteen." 

The older man chuckles for a second, before his voice goes back to calm, quiet. "Seriously though, you're thirteen , Kid. You don't need to have everything figured out right away." He snorts, then. "I sure didn't. I think I was a mess at your age, wasn't even thinking about relationships. At least, not long term." There's a pause. "Point is, you don't need to know right now. This might be a fluke, and you might end up liking only girls from here on out. You might end up just liking boys, liking both, or neither, who knows? But you've got time, kid, and that's the key. Give it time . And whatever it ends up being, whatever ends up happening..." His voice softens at the end, a smile prominent in his tone. "It'll be okay. You will be okay." 

For the first time all day, Harley finally takes a deep breath. His shoulders finally relax, his body practically melting back into his chair, and a smile grows on his face, warmth blooming in his chest. "...thanks, Tony." He whispers, hoping that the amount of pure, unfiltered gratitude he's feeling can be heard in his tone.

He thinks it can, as there's a hint of embarrassment and awkwardness in Tony's voice as he responds with a simple, "Don't mention it, squirt." 

Harley just chuckles at the sudden discomfort of the older man, before his eyes widen. "Oh! While you're here, did I tell you I passed my trig test?"

"Hey! I knew you would, kid, I had no doubt." Harley's grin widens, before he throws himself into another story, feeling warmer, safer, and happier than he has in a while.

A few years later, Tony was getting off of the elevator to his penthouse with a huff, having just gotten back from a rough meeting, when he freezes. His heart warma and a smile grows on his face when he notices Harley, now 17 years old (almost an adult, god he was so old ), curled up into Peter's chest, his face pushed into his neck, seemingly fast asleep. Peter's head rests on top of Harley's, eyes open but hooded, as if keeping them open was getting difficult. They glance over to Tony immediately, though (damn his spider sense and increased hearing), and a faint blush forms on his cheeks even as he smiles lightly, his eyes softening as he glances back down at his boyfriend and presses a firm kiss onto his head. Tony watches the interaction with a soft grin, before quietly stepping away, his chest full of mostly warm, sappy feelings, but also full of pride and joy, knowing his pseudo son is accepted, happy and loved.

[optimiist]

𝚒’𝚍  𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙  𝚊𝚗  𝚎𝚢𝚎  𝚘𝚗  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖  ;   that  there  is  APRIL  RIGGS  ,  notorious  for  being  (  deceitful  )  and  (  superficial  )  ,  but  there  are  times  when  she  can  be  (  charismatic  )  and  (  strategic  )  .   i've  heard  that  she  could  pass  as  a  MEGAN FOX  doppelganger  ,  but  i  don't  see  it  .   the  (  thirty-five  )  year - old  cis woman has  been  in  town  for  (  two weeks / majority of her life  )  and  they  are  a  (  socialite  )  by  day  and  murder  suspect  by  night  .   they  tend  to  spark  images  of  swarovski crystal champagne flutes raised in the air , a 14 carat diamond ring left on the bedside table , a singed undergrad diploma , a stranger in the mirror , a stadium full of empty applause , the lethal combination of a stepford wife and stifler’s mom  .   you’ll  know  when  they  walk  by  because  they  always  seem  to  be  blasting  feeling good  by  NINA SIMONE  .   it  truly  explains  why  they're  known  as  THE  TROPHY  .

to know:

UPDATE: her full bio is here. gives more important insight into the relationship she has/had with her mother.

triggers: neglect, brief mention of statutory rape

i got very ‘poetic’ in the ‘a little further’ portion of the app and described her as a trophy in my first bullet point… so there you have it! you see, no matter what she did, she was always only praised for her appearance. just a trophy!!

she was born (in taunwick) to a very successful politician and her trophy husband. therefore, she spent much of her time alone as her mother was busy campaigning or throwing galas while her father, her mother’s trophy husband, went along for the ride. 

there were very few times they spent any ‘quality time’ together – picture what i think was the first scene (one of!) in mommie dearest where joan crawford is turning her daughter’s birthday into a photo op. that was pretty much their definition of quality family time. it could be successfully argued that april’s mother figures all came in the form of nannies.

it could also be successfully argued that, unlike lionel, april is part of the daddy issues™ club. as will be very evident afhdliuwdsjn

probably also part of the mommy issues™ club aflhskd

mother riggs probs would go off about wire hangers but... u kno... not to the mommie dearest point...

what should be taken away rn is that she was literally raised to be shallow fhlakjds

she began an entitlement act rather young - there were only two people who saw through it, one of which will be sent in as a wc and the other… being harley!! bc gotta get april connected to the murders somehow!! gotta give her a reason to stay in taunwick too but!! that’s a problem for a future bullet.

there are those annoying kids who refuse to share their toys and all. and they usually grow out of it. but april… did not. elementary? demon child. junior high? demon preteen. high-school? demon teenager.

now!! on the topic of high-school!! if her age is any indication, she is not part of the class of 2000 - if i have my math right (possibly don’t, i once legit studied for a math exam and wound up still only getting a 34), she was part of the class of 2003. that being said, one year of hers did overlap with everyone else’s - she knew chastity as an acquaintance at best, although she still recognized harley as a friend!! good for her!!

that being said, chastity’s murder….. didn’t have much of an effect on her…. ya it’s v tragic….. but it’s been a week guys :\ 

her alibi: she was in the woods with someone…….. when pressured to say with who bc animals and trees can’t confirm that…… she was ashamed to say it was someone on the lacrosse team. she usually aimed higher :\

anyway, they all graduated and it was HER TIME TO SHINE!! it was HER TIME to USURP THE THRONE and become THAT BITCH of the school!! probably had .3 real friends, what with the exception of the one wc i plan to send in!! that... was inspired by “jenny” by studio killers… we can’t wait to send it. 

did everything she perceived as the it girl stuff, what from joining those cool teams to being crowned her own prom queen to……………. sleeping with teachers. 1) alexa play “daddy issues” by the neighbourhood, 2) fire them.

fun fact tho!! she got into a hella good school. as in the ivy that is columbia. by what was….. partially her own merit…… partially her mother giving a very generous donation. have to make the family look PERFECT!!

she received an art history degree on what was….. partially her own merit…… partially sleeping with professors (see two bullets above.)but... graduation came… and what do you do with an art history degree from an ivy… 

you marry rich!!!!!!!

in the perfect parallel that she did not even recognize as a parallel because she’s big dumb, she found a marginally older politician (....it’s gonna be a wc so it’s gonna depend on the player but it’s gonna be 50+ hfdlsjak wld make it older but there j aren’t enough resources!!) and was like *martha (...virginia woolf?) vc* “yes, yes. [he] will do.” *end vc*

in spite of having become marginally more introspective than she was in high-school… she still doesn’t recognize her daddy issues :\

they got married. in spite of it being beautiful and expensive and gaudy, she really didn’t feel anything?? was lowkey GLAD her parents weren’t there (and not in the angsty ‘they never show up to anything anyway :\’ way, in the ‘this is literally wasting everyone’s time’ way). their marriage started and continued as a very unfulfilling one. he, in perfect politician style, began having affairs exactly as she, in perfect april style, began having affairs. while they never directly spoke of them, they knew the other was involved with other people.

why april didn’t divorce him is an excellent question. is it out of a certain selflessness, not wanting to do any damage to his career?? is it out of selfishness, not wanting to lose that sugar daddy?? a little bit of both. probably more the latter tho!!

anyway!! her father finally divorced her mother and she was like “i’m…. gonna say i’m gonna go be a good daughter…. go comfort my mother in this trying time….. but jk i j wanna get away from my husband lmao”

again, barely knows her mother. learned various different languages so she could have fair conversations with the foreign nannies.

but….. he has a reputation to keep up!! and his wife straight-up disappearing and leaving him would be 100x worse than a divorce…. so here he comes!! to save the day!! and his reputation!!

as you can imagine, between her husband figuring out her real motive + her…. barely liking her mother, she would be inclined to return to nyc… but that’s where harley’s murder will come in!! the perfect crime!! literally!!

TL;DR:

a former It Girl™ with daddy issues, mommy issues, and a fear of commitment.

CONNECTION IDEAS:

**open to any gender unless otherwise specified

her husband (m): WILL BE BEING SENT INTO THE MAIN.

that connection based off of “jenny” (f/nb): WILL BE BEING SENT INTO THE MAIN.

various affairs: gotta have those if she’s resigned to a new life… still with her husband :\

‘friends’ from the class of 2002-2005: i think that’s the right range for when she would’ve been THAT BITCH in the high-school?? but ya!! ppl chillin w her for the clout and she was like “this is validating”

enemies from the class of 2002-2005: again, i THINK that’s the right range?? but wow. ppl she didn’t even TRY to be nice to. or ppl who j straight-up hated her. there were plenty of reasons!!

hookups / ‘dates’ from the class of 2002-2005: again with the math?? But ya!! more inclined to ‘date’ those cool folks, but apparently didn’t discriminate with her hookups if her alibi is any clue.

neighbors: up in the hills chillin right next to a very watered down political joan crawford, her trophy husband who yeet’d out of existence, and eventually her very shallow daughter and said shallow daughter’s husband who’s probs closer in age to said very watered down political joan crawford. what could go wrong!!

acquaintances of any sort from the class of 2000: gotta get them skels!!

more to come!!

FURTHER:

for a bit of a better idea:

pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/idkimnewwastaken/april/

playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1416e2ijuY3viSnzi6HjPz?si=sQmXEc5DQlSKbT2t7XZYeQ 

musing tag: https://optimiist.tumblr.com/tagged/april-%7C-musings.

mini stats (to be later extended): optimiist.tumblr.com/as (also again with the font) (and notice the irony i have in my url when combining april and lionel!!)

[official-impravidus]

New student! Harley who is too afraid to ask peter out because there's a scary girl who will death glare anyone who comes near him. ( featuring a overprotective best friend MJ)

a -i thought this could be the perfect opportunity to sneak in a “greek tragedy” songfic inspiration.-

Harley admired Peter from afar. It was the only way he could admire him. With his crippling fear of rejection that was only amplified when he was faced with stone cold stare of Michelle Jones whenever he tried to approach the curly haired boy.

He tried. He really did. But it was hard. 

But today, he was gonna do it. He was going to talk to Peter.

“Okay, so you’re actually gonna talk to him today?” Betty asked.

“Yeah!” Harley replied.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yeah, of course, yeah,” he responded, slightly less confident as they approached the brown haired teen.

“Really, Harls?” 

“Mhm,” he said, in a high pitched uncertainty.

“Well, there’s no time like the present. You should just go,” Betty said, knowing that Harley would say...

“Yeah!” As he finally passed Peter, MJ giving him a raised eyebrow and deadly stare, he turned and speedwalked past. “No.” He groaned. “Why is this happening? I thought I was over this but I can’t feel my toes. And he’ll never know, “cause I can’t speak wondering when this all will go away and...”

Peter approached the two. “Hey guys.”

Oh my God, he’s really close to me. His vision blurry and dizzy, he smiled. I think I’m falling. “Hey, Peter.”

“Did you guys take that ridiculous reading analysis on 1984 in AP Lit yet?” Peter asked.

“I have that next block,” Harley replied.

“Oh, good luck. It’s pretty in depth analysis. I annotated the whole thing and I still was lost on some of her questions. But Belmier is pretty ridiculous with her grading, so who knows how I’ll do.”

“I’m sure you did great,” Harley said.

“Ha, thanks.” He checked his watch. “Oh great. My next class is downstairs. I’d better head down.” He smiled softly. “See ya!”

“Man, that was...” Betty started.

Harley covered his face with his hands. “I know.”

“Take it easy. No point going crazy,” she said with a pat to the back.

“He never really sees me but it’s always been that way, and he’ll never change, and I can’t help wondering if he’ll ever notice me. Sweep me off my feet just like Hercules.” He shook his head. “But he won’t catch me. I can’t let myself romanticize, but I see stars in his eyes. I know I shouldn’t but I can’t break free.” His words started to quicken. “Now everything’s a mess, I guess I’ll never get my Hercules, I’m off the rails, a nervous wreck, ugh, get it together Harley. He’s just a boy, a stupid boy, he isn’t worth the energy.” He stopped. “I can’t believe after such a little time he still means this much to me.”

“It’s because you like him,” Betty said softly.

“I know,” he said with a heavy sigh. “But how do I even get close to him when he’s got his bodyguard with him at all time?”

“What do you mean?” Betty asked, confused.

“Michelle! She absolutely hates my guts and won’t let me get anywhere near Peter,” Harley said exasperatedly.

“I’m sure that’s not true.”

“It is! Have you seen the way she glares at me? It’s like lasers. Straight into my soul.”

Betty laughed. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m being completely serious! I’m worried she’ll use her intense intimidation powers and make me just piss myself in fear the next time I try to talk to him.”

“You’ll do that on your own,” Betty stated.

“Thanks. That helps so much.”

“I’ll take care of Michelle, okay? And then you’ll get your moment alone with Peter.”

Apparently, that moment was sooner than later, because that day, at lunch, Betty exclaimed at the lunch table, “Oh God! My ring! I lost my ring!”

Every one looked up. “Where could it be?”

“I know I had it in Math, but I don’t know where it could be now.” She turned to MJ. “Michelle, can you come with me to the girl’s bathroom to look for it?” She turned to Ned. “Would you mind looking around the lunch table?” And then to Peter and Harley. “And could you guys check Mr. Ottoman’s room? You guys have that class with me, so you know where I sit.”

“Of course we can,” Peter said.

MJ glared at Harley, making him gulp nervously. 

“Let’s go,” Peter said.

As they walked to the 1200s hall, Harley asked awkwardly, “So uh, are you and Michelle together?”

Peter scrunched his face. “Oh, no. Totally not. She’s a great friend, but we’d never,” he cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Plus, she’s got a girlfriend. She doesn’t live around here, though.”

“Oh. I just, you guys spend a lot of time together, so I...”

“She’s really protective. I used to be a bit of a doormat before her, so she thinks she has to stand up for me.” He gave a sort of pout. “But I can protect myself.”

“I’m sure you can.” Upon entering the classroom, Harley immediately spotted the ring under Betty’s chair. “Found it!”

“Well, that was quick,” Peter said with a chuckle. “Guess we should head back.”

“Actually,” Harley said, mustering up as much courage as he could. “Since I have you here, I was just wondering if uh, would you like to go out sometime? Catch a movie and grab a bite?”

Peter froze. “You want to go out with me?”

Harley rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s fine if you don’t want to. We can just forget I ever said anything and go back to how things were befo...”

“Yes,” Peter interrupted. “I would love to.”

Harley smiled. “How’s Friday sound?”

“Friday sounds awesome.”

“Uh, cool!”

Peter nodded with a big goofy grin. “Cool.”

Harley used to admire Peter from afar, but when as they sat in that dark movie theater, the light of the big screen illuminated his skin, and his head tossed back in laughter, he saw more than he could before.

[punkpal]

Thanks for a tag :)) @x-give-em-hell-kid-x

name: Brianna

gender: Female

star sign: Cancer

height: Not even 5 foot :((

age: 22

phone background: A picture of my little bro and my dog/best friend Barney (r.i.p baby)

hogwarts house: Slytherin/Hufflepuff (i know those two houses seem like opposites/clash but personality wise for me its like 50/50)

crush on a teacher: I once had a fill in teacher who looked identical to a young Orlando Bloom (think like pirates of the caribbean era Orlando) and like yumm yes please. He was clearly tired as fuck of everyone comparing him though because the first thing he said when entering our classroom was that he’d give a detention to the next person that mentioned he looked like Orlando Bloom, lol. Also yes i am much more of a Keira Knightley in pirates of the caribbean fan because she is wife material but hey if i can’t get a Keira Knightley lookalike teacher then a mid 2000s Orlando Bloom doppelganger teacher is good enough for me and was the most i have enjoyed a maths class in my life.

coolest halloween costume: In Australia we don’t celebrate halloween so idk

favourite 90s tv show: Friends, Arthur, Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys

last kiss: My cat

ever been stood up: No because i don’t put myself in any situation where that would happen because i know it would if i was to make a move...

favourite shoes: All i ever wear are one of my 12 pairs of converses so i guess i’d just say all stars...

ever been to vegas: Nope

favourite fruit: Cantaloupe, Mango, Passionfruit, Strawberries and Watermelon

favourite book: I really enjoyed and recommend both of Jaycee Lee Dugards biographies (she is a really inspirational women who survived 18 years of being kidnapped and yet is nothing but positive and huge advocate for violence and crime victims and there recovery and especially works on trying to destigmatize and abolish the term Stockholm syndrome due to its harmful and incorrect misconceptions.) As well as any and all books by James Patterson (fictional crime author) and ‘You're Making Me Hate You: A Cantankerous Look at the Common Misconception That Humans Have Any Common Sense Left’ and ‘Seven Deadly Sins: Settling the Argument Between Born Bad and Damaged Good’ both hilarious but thought provoking books by Corey Taylor (better known for being the vocalist of slipknot & stone sour)

stupidest thing ever done: Intentionally put a staple through my thumb just because i wanted to know if it was possible/what it felt like. Spoiler alert it is possible and it feels horrible. Also broke my finger trying to flirt with someone once... 

all time favourite shows: Criminal Minds and the Vampire Diaries/The Originals

last movie at the cinema: Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

tags: @pvnkloser @prettyyy-boyyy @missingsatellite @tidal-wav3s @gaskarth-omg @hvllowghouls @dramaticallydepressed @angryqueercrypted @fortyhead @surreall-yy @sunshiinemum @tragiciann @odetoslept & @soundsystemz

[spideyspence]

all i do is sit and think about you ; peter parker

Stark!Reader x platonic!Peter Parker

Warnings: drug abuse, death, using drugs to cope with someone’s death, god this is sad I’m sorry

this takes place after endgame

A/N: Peter and the reader are both 18 for plot purposes and I didn’t want to write about an underaged kid using drugs. Also, I have no experience with drug abuse, and I do not know of anyone (close to me who I have talked to) who has dealt with drug abuse so I’m sorry if this isn’t the best depiction of drug abuse. My only knowledge is from books, tv shows and movies. i also did not go into the recovery part of this because of my lack of knowledge about drug abuse.

I also took a different approach with this prompt because the music video along with the song is about drug use and matty healy’s recovery with it and so I decided to use that angle of this prompt while adding a little heartbreak of course.

this was for @hollandroos & @neptuneparker’s ‘whatever it takes’ writing challenge

my masterlist

the wc masterlist

-

Watching someone fall down in front of you is tough. Not as in tripping over their two feet, but when their mental health starts to fall from their previous state of happiness only to then see their physical health start to deteriorate.

Peter Parker was your best friend. You met in elementary school when you were both eight years old and you became friends instantly. Building Lego together after school, watching cartoons together and with Peter helping you with your maths homework and you helping him during English class, everyone knew you two were inseparable.

Peter was always a bubbly kid. Full of energy and always participating in class. He wasn’t a popular kid, but he got along with the teachers well and some of the students.

In high school, it was you, Ned and Peter all joined at the hips. The three of you were still building Lego together and putting all your spare change together to buy new sets.

When Peter was bitten by the spider, he hadn’t said a word to you, but you knew that something was different. He was acting differently, would cringe at loud noises and when something was thrown in his way (usually by Flash), he’d be able to dodge it without even turning his head. He was never the most athletic kid but then out of nowhere, he was acing gym class and would do so many sit-ups without needing to take a break. The amount of food he ate was also quite different. Peter had always had a big stomach (with evidence of the pizza eating competition you had when you were twelve) but your best friend had started eating a lot more you found. Not to forget that all of a sudden, he was a lot busier and was declining hanging out after school a lot more. He was finishing his homework right before class and at times he was falling asleep when he sat at the back of the classroom.

When you had asked Peter what was going on, he told you what had happened. Never did eight-year-old you think that your best friend would have been like the animated characters on the TV but, it was so cool to you.

You took it upon yourself to look after Peter when it came to him being Spider-Man. You made sure he was eating enough, you’d remind him of the chemistry homework that was due the next day, you’d photocopy the notes from the first 30 minutes he missed due to his nap. You didn’t want your best friend to fall apart and prioritise saving New York over his own health.

Peter was also there for you when your mum had told you when you were 15, who your dad was. You were reluctant to tell Peter at first, for he had idolised Tony since he had made the change to Stark Industries to stop selling and manufacturing weapons in the way they were previously doing. It was also weird because technically Peter was Tony’s employee, so you didn’t know how Peter was going to take the news.

When you met Tony for the first time, you were nervous. He was your father and you had only seen him on TV and the couple of times you had watched him fly around New York in his suit, mesmerised by the thought and building process of the suit.

Tony had explained to you that he didn’t want you out of his life as you had originally thought. Your mother wasn’t comfortable with being in front of flashing cameras all the time and Tony didn’t feel comfortable with the same situation. So, your mum took you in, and Tony and your mum had decided that it was for the best that you lived away from Tony’s life.

You got along well. You helped out your Dad in his lab and the two of you sent Happy insane. You loved cooking with Pepper and you always sided with her because you knew that she was always right, and you had to side with her sometimes.

When you told Peter about Tony, he took it with excitement, but he knew that you didn’t want this information to go out to the public because you didn’t know how your peers at school would react.

The three of you would work together, you had a spare suit just in case you needed to help out at all but Tony had kept you quiet from the rest of the Avengers, because he looked to Peter as a son, and he hated how much danger he was in and he didn’t want that to happen to another person that was family to him.

-

You and Peter had died in the snap.

You were in class when you saw your teacher turn to dust along with your classmates.

When you came back, you were ready to fight.

You knew that your father was hurting over yours and Peter’s death, and you didn’t care what your father said, you were fighting with him now.

You helped Peter out with getting the gauntlet past Thanos’ army and you fist-bumped each other when you took down one of the weird creatures.

Fighting with everyone came naturally to you and you felt comfortable.

Then you saw that everyone around you, they were tired, and many had fallen. You saw the blonde lady with the cool glowing hands trying to take down Thanos, but then she was flung right past you. You had seen this burst of colourful light which meant that Thanos had used an infinity stone to take her on. You were going to run after her and check if she was okay but then you saw your father.

You had a small reunion with him, you chatted quickly with him through the suits and worked with each other through the fights. You hugged each other but it’s pretty hard to hug with the suits on. You had said to Tony that after this battle, you were going to give him a hug without the suits on and he smiled, saying that he would shout you a burger after all this.

You couldn’t move as your father threw himself at the gauntlet, but when Thanos pushed him aside, you gasped. You ran towards Thanos as he lifted his arm to snap his fingers, but you weren’t fast enough.

You heard this clang, coming from Thanos, more specifically from the gauntlet.

Nothing felt different.

You looked over to see your Dad’s hand glowing with all six infinity stones arranging themselves and you could see the energy flowing through his suit.

Of course, you were proud of your Dad, he was the Tony Stark, but you were beaming because your Dad fucking did it.

You heard your Dad say, ‘I am Iron Man’ and you just about flipped it. You were ready to talk to Peter about how awesome Tony was for the next few months, and every time that your Dad walked in, you two were going to go silent.

Then you heard that snap.

Thanos’ army started to turn to dust and it was a relief.

It was finally over.

Then you looked over to where your Dad was, and you raced over.

You fell to your knees, as Peter was there, crying with you.

He was Tony fucking Stark, he couldn’t die.

You leant against your father hugged him, but he spent his final moments with Pepper, which is what he would have wanted. Seeing Pepper staying strong, it made you want to cry even more.

You fell into Peter’s arms as you sobbed, and you felt your best friend’s hands rub your back in comfort.

Seeing Tony die took a massive toll on you, but you were never the only one affected.

-

At the funeral, you hugged Pepper as the wreath floated through along the lake.

You and Peter both found out that Tony had a daughter and met Morgan. The same cheekiness as her father and you instantly cared for Morgan.

You sat with Morgan for a bit as you both talked about Tony and you asked Morgan about some of her hobbies.

You also met Harley, a kid who had helped your father during the whole drama with the CEO of Advanced Idea Mechanics. Peter, Harley and you all got along well pretty fast. Harley had told you how Tony had kept in touch all these years.

You joined Happy and Morgan for burgers, and in the back of your mind, you still kept your Dad’s promise. This was the burger he would have shouted for you.

Before the three of you left the burger joint, you returned back and bought a cheeseburger, in memory of your father.

-

He didn’t sleep.

He completed his homework, but it was never good.

He was barely passing his classes and May was okay with it for the first couple of months, but now it’s been six months since Tony’s death and Aunt May is sick of it.

You stayed by Peter. You both needed to support one another in mourning.

Spending a lot of time looking after Morgan, focusing hard on your homework and putting all your energy into your school work was a distraction from Tony’s death. You needed to distract yourself so you wouldn’t fall into the pit and never come out because you knew your father, and he would never forgive yourself if the people he loved didn’t push through and live their best lives.

You helped Peter out with his homework, and you reminded him to eat, even though Spider-Man hadn’t been seen in months.

You could see that Peter was slowly deteriorating. He left class often and returned five minutes later but you never found out why. His leg bounced often but you always dismissed it as an itch to go back to fighting crime, but he wasn’t mentally prepared, and you knew that.

Since Tony’s death, it was like Peter had put a wall up. You understood that, but at a time like this, everyone needed everyone else’s help.

-

You and Peter had decided to catch up after school to study for the chemistry test the next day, but you had left your textbook and notebook at your place, so you were going to meet Peter at his.

You walked home to your mum’s but today wasn’t a good day for you.

It was six months after Tony’s death. Six months since you had last seen your Dad’s smile in person.

He had created two AI’s, one for you and one for Morgan in your suits. On the hard days, at home, you would sit with the AI on as you did your homework. Your dad would help out with your physics homework when you didn’t understand it and sometimes it was easier to hear your Dad’s laugh again.

You didn’t do it too often though, only on the really bad days. You knew that if you did it too much, then it would become obsessive and it wouldn’t be good for your mental health.

When you got home, you could feel the frown on your face but when you saw your mum in the kitchen, you gave her a soft smile.

Your mum always knew when it wasn’t a good day, and she gave the best hugs when it came to comfort.

‘Do you want me to make you a cup of tea or anything?’ Your mum asked you softly.

You softly declined and told her about how you had just come home to pick up your chemistry textbook and then head back over to Peter’s to study.

She nodded and when you were about to leave with your textbook in your arms, she kissed you on your head and rubbed your shoulder as you left.

-

You arrived at Peter’s and with a knock on the door, Peter had opened and gave you a smile.

His pupils were dilated but you could still see that he was tired, and he was wearing his midtown tech sweatshirt from today.

You both sat down at the small table in the apartment to start studying. Making your way through the equations, balancing and continually checking the period table you both had sitting in front of you.

There was a bowl of chips that had hardly been touched. You had taken a couple, but Peter hadn’t. You had tried to ignore it, but Peter’s leg was bouncing under the table and his hand was shaking. His eyes were darting around the room as you were doing your homework.

When you had stood up to get a glass of water, you noticed that there was a pain in your stomach, and with the realisation that it was your period cramps, you told Peter that you were going to go into his room to grab the painkillers.

‘No, I’ll grab them for you.’ Peter said as he quickly started to follow you in the direction of his bedroom.

‘I’ve been over to yours so many times and I’ve looked after you so many times, I know where they are. They’re in your top bedside table draw.’

‘Yeah, but-’ Peter stuttered.

You laughed as you entered his room and turned to the draw. Peter was frozen in the doorway as you opened the draw.

You noticed that there were a few empty packets of pain killers and a few empty sandwich bags, but you didn’t think much of it.

You found the ibuprofen and as you were about to close the drawer, you noticed a sandwich bag that wasn’t empty. It had little tablets, none the exact same colour. You also saw at the back of the drawer, a small bag with a few used needles.

‘Peter?’ Your voice shook. You didn’t want it to be what it obviously was because Peter was always the strong one. Always.

He stood there in silence, staring at his feet. He didn’t want to be the one that had to admit that he wasn’t coping.

He felt stupid. Tony Stark was a guy that gave him the suit. He helped him out a bit, maybe a lot. Peter knew that he had done so much for him, but he just felt horrible that he was the one that couldn’t get over Tony’s death while you were being stronger. Your Dad had died while he was the one that couldn’t cope.

‘Pete, it’s alright. Okay, well, it isn’t alright, but I understand. It can get tough, but we need to talk about this.’

Peter sat down on his bed and as soon as you put your arms around him, he broke.

It was months’ worth of tears that fell from his eyes. Pained sobs that he had internalised and nested in his chest.

He was feeling the pain he had kept to himself for six months. The pain he had put aside and refused to feel.

‘I’m tired, and it hurts so much. I feel horrible, you lost your Dad but I’m the one that can’t cope.’

You told him about the AI that you turned on during your hard days and you explained to him that he was allowed to feel this pain.

‘Peter, you’ve lost your Dad, Uncle Ben and now you’ve lost another person that was filling that father figure role. You’re allowed to hurt.’ You said and you felt the tears coming down your cheeks.

‘It just hurts so bad because I’ll sit there, about to do physics homework and all I can do is sit and think about him. The things he did for me, and how he helped me in being a better superhero and now he’s gone and… I feel like I never said a proper goodbye nor thanked him properly.’ Peter cried.

‘Peter, stop. Don’t spiral okay, it isn’t good.’ You said as you put your arms around him for a hug. Peter let his head fall onto your chest as tears continued to fall down his face.

-

May was working that night and you had both done a few hours of studying so you returned to the table and closed both of your textbooks. You put yours in your backpack and texted your mum to let you know that you were staying at Peter’s for the night. You also texted May. Let her know that Peter wasn’t feeling too well and that you were going to stay over. May asked if she needed to come home to look after him but you reassured her that it was okay right now.

You called the local pizza place and ordered two pizzas, as Peter was sitting on the couch wiping his tears as quietly as he could.

Two of the blankets in the cupboard you had taken and put on the couch and softly asked Peter if he could set them up as you set up the coffee table for dinner.

Peter chose the movie for that night as he looked through the numerous movies littered around the room. He settled on a favourite, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

You felt bad as you snuck into his room and removed the drugs from his drawer, but you just didn’t want him to touch them anymore. You had put your school books back in the bag you had taken as a cover up for placing the drugs in there. You would get Happy to meet you at school so you would be able to dispose of them properly.

You got the two of you drinks as you then settled on the couch. Peter was getting comfortable as you sat there, waiting for the pizza to arrive.

Soon enough, the bell rang, and you gave the delivery guy the money and tip as you smiled and then closed the door.

Both of you sat down on the couch and you both ate the pizza.

-

Peter had only had a couple of slices, compared to his usual whole pizza due to the work of being a super-hero. You understood that, when things got tough, your appetite wasn’t as strong either.

Your best friend had his head resting on your shoulder as you both watched the movie. You had your arm wrapped around his shoulder as the parade scene was playing on the screen. You felt Peter’s chest rise as he chuckled at one of Ferris’ lines, but his head never moved.

-

By the end credits, Peter’s eyes were closed as he was asleep on your shoulder. You softly nudged him awake because as much as you cared for him, your shoulder was hurting, and you weren’t going to be able to fall asleep like that.

Peter opened his eyes and came to his senses. He slowly got up from the couch, thanked you for looking after him and he then said goodnight.

You had stayed over at Peter and May’s enough for you to know how to set yourself up. You always slept on the couch while Peter slept in his room. There was no way the two of you were going to be able to fit in his single bed.

You grabbed a pillow from the same cupboard as before and you then rearranged the blankets. You took the dishes over to the bench, put the left-over pizza in the fridge and threw any rubbish in the bin. You also sent May a quick text letting her know that Peter might be feeling a bit better, but he just needed a good hug from May when she got home from her night shift.

You then sent Pete a quick text, ‘goodnight’ as you turned off your phone and curled up on the couch.

You were going to talk to May the next morning before school, about Peter’s struggles and how he was ‘coping’. You knew May, she would be panicked at first, but you would make sure that she took the panic out on you because you knew that if Peter had to deal with it, it would break him again. Tomorrow was Friday, so you’d tell May in the morning, but you would get her to ask Peter about when he got home from school.

Peter would probably see a therapist, but you wanted to make sure that you both talked about it. When your father died, you thought that both of you would sit on the rooftop of a building, looking at the New York skyline.

You never ended up talking about it, that’s probably why Peter fell down the rabbit hole. But you needed to continue reminding yourself that it wasn’t your fault because you believed for the longest time that your father’s death was your fault.

You knew that Peter needed you now, for a shoulder to lean on during recovery and during his withdrawals and the times it was going to hurt so bad, and the drugs were no longer going to help him.

So, you were going to be there for him instead.