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just-another-blog-of-fluff · 2 years

Text

Swing

Word count: 10,600

Pairing: Loki x female reader (pre-dating romantic)

Warnings/Disclaimer: I have no formal dance training, so please accept my hodge-podge of knowledge from youtube and from my high school swing team days 😂 Also, do NOT try aerials at home, kids - take it from someone with experience, you need spotters and a soft place to land 😅

Here it is - the swing dance competition Prompt by 🩰 anon! I’ll admit, it was difficult to write out some of the swing dance aerials in words, so bear with me (and YouTube it if you want a visual 😉)

"Oof. I don't understand how anyone manages to wear these godforsaken torture devices."

You collapsed into your seat the moment you boarded the quinjet, practically ripping the stiletto high heels you'd been wearing off your aching feet. Nat sat down across from you, her eyes twinkling with amusement at your heaving sigh of relief as you finally planted your feet flat on the floor for the first time in three hours.

"You just haven't built up a tolerance yet," she quipped, crossing her legs daintily with her own heels still secured to her feet. "Maybe you should add that to your training regimen."

"Absolutely not," you groaned, letting your head fall back against the headrest behind you.

"Or - here's a thought - you could wear flat shoes," Clint countered teasingly, dropping into the seat beside Nat as Steve headed to the pilot's seat.

"No, that'd be a dead giveaway," Nat argued.

"Yeah, any villain would be able to tell I'm an undercover spy from a mile away."

"Are you sure villains are that up to date on their fashion?" Steve called back, firing up the engine for takeoff.

"I'm not taking my chances." You pulled your phone out of your purse and began to peruse through your email, reviewing the messages you'd missed while the four of you were gone. "Damn, we missed cupcakes for Bruce's lab intern's birthday today."

"Aww, what the hell," Clint whined. "All the good stuff happens while I'm out."

"Anything else that I should actually care about reading?" Nat asked sarcastically. You scrolled through a few junk mail messages, landing on one from Tony. Attached to the email was a flyer for the fundraiser he'd been trying to help Pepper plan for weeks.

"Looks like Stark finally picked a theme for the charity event," you announced, reading through the document. "It's going to be a dance."

"Like... prom sort of thing?" Clint asked quizzically.

"No... oh, interesting. They decided to hold a swing dance competition."

"Wait, really?" Nat pulled out her own phone, scrolling through the message herself. "Did you read the actual email? He wants us to sign up."

"I have some dance experience, actually," you noted. "Might be kind of fun."

"I call dibs on Mr. Roaring '20s over there," Nat declared, nodding her head toward Steve.

"Damn. Wait, I'll ask Bucky then." You began typing up a text to send to the metal-armed soldier:

Hey. Wanna be my dance partner? 😁

"I just know Laura is gonna make me do it," Clint grumbled as you typed.

"Not if you don't tell her about it," Nat suggested. He sighed, grinning defeatedly.

"She asked Tony to be added to his email list months ago. Said I was 'boring' and never told her about any of the fun stuff he planned."

Your phone buzzed, a text message response from Bucky flashing on the screen:

Sorry, Wanda beat you to it. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Scowling, you immediately began typing a message back:

What?? 😠 Why doesn't she dance with Vision??

"Ugh, Wanda already snagged the other swing era expert," you muttered sullenly. "Now who am I gonna ask?"

"There's plenty of other guys in the tower - just ask one of them," Clint suggested. You scoffed, lifting your phone to glance at the response from Bucky:

She says he's too robotic

You let out a huff of breath through your nose in annoyance as you responded back:

So she steals one of the only two people who actually swing danced back in the day?? 😒

"I can't just ask anyone," you responded to Clint's suggestion, rolling your eyes. "Not everyone will be able to learn how to dance."

"You should ask Bruce," Nat interjected.

"Why? Can he dance?"

"Not sure. But it'd be damn funny to see his reaction."

Your phone buzzed again - another message from Bucky:

Are you calling me old?? 😠 Now I'm glad I'm dancing with Wanda. 😝

Grunting, you tossed your phone onto the seat cushion beside you. Bucky wasn't getting any more responses from you now.

Through the remainder of the ride back, you ran through your options in your head. A few text messages later and you were still coming up short. Thor had asked Jane. Bruce said 'absolutely not' (which made Nat chuckle at least). Stephen had 'better things to do than participate in Stark's nonsense.' You were fast running out of options.

There was only one other person you could think of to ask. And you knew he wasn't going to be easy to convince.

You had to do this strategically. Loki was quite vocal about his distaste for the less elegant Midgardian dance formats. As a royal Prince of Asgard, he was well trained in the art of dance, but his style was very balletic and graceful. His movements were broad, polished, theatrical in nature. A flowing waltz might get him up on the dance floor, but it was doubtful that you'd ever find him willingly participating in a jaunty jive or a choppy cha-cha.

Fortunately, you had experience in such matters of persuasion. The key to convincing someone to do something you knew they wouldn't want to do was to elucidate their intrinsic motivation and exploit it to your advantage.

For example - with Tony, a surefire way to get him to do something was to stroke his ego. Flattery would get you anywhere with the overcaffeinated billionaire. Peter typically needed a bribe of some sort. Thor was satisfied by the simple notion that he was making someone happy by doing whatever it was you were requesting.

Loki was more of a challenge to sway. He saw right through adulation, the price of bribery was always far too high to pay, and he could care less about altruism. With Loki, you had to outwit him. Make him think it was his idea. Flaunt the potential benefits of the request without blatantly suggesting them out loud.

You had one shot at it. Better make it count.

Some time after arriving back at the tower, you stretched out on the sofa in the common room with your laptop perched atop your legs, setting the scene for Loki to stumble upon when he inevitably wandered in with a book that afternoon. Making no effort to hide the screen from prying eyes, you popped your headphones into your ears and began sifting through videos of swing dance routines on the internet. Loki was particularly nosy, and you knew you wouldn't need to say a word to bring up the subject with him - his own curiosity would land him right inside your trap.

A few others team members shuffled in and out of the common room while you waited for the trickster's appearance. One or two of them asked what you were up to, but most simply minded their own business when they saw the headphones, clearly recognizing you were engrossed in something. Growing tired of waiting, you began to actually pay attention to the videos, bobbing your head subconsciously to the music as you watched a lindy hop routine on the screen.

Then suddenly, someone tugged one of your earbuds out of your ear. With a startled yelp, you tilted your head back to look up at your antagonizer. The God of Mischief stood gazing down at you with a self-assured smirk on his face and a spark of curiosity in his eyes.

"You know, Loki - most people just tap someone on the shoulder or wave in front of their face or something when they need to get their attention while they're clearly listening to music," you chastised. He blatantly ignored your griping, gesturing toward your computer screen.

"What are you doing?"

Perfect. He took the bait.

"I'm looking at swing routines," you responded simply, returning your attention to the screen with an air of nonchalance.

"Why?"

Feigning exasperation, you paused the current video and removed your other earbud, shifting to sit up on the sofa so you could hold this conversation without craning your neck. "Stark's fundraiser."

Loki shot you a look of confusion, tilting his head. You let out a single breath of a laugh at his reaction.

"Do you ever read your email?"

"What for? It's mostly Stark rambling on about nonsense - parties, galas, fundraisers..." Loki rolled his eyes, seemingly unamused.

"Well, you can't pretend like nobody tells you anything if you won't read your email." He scowled at you. "Anyway... he's holding a swing dance competition as a fundraiser. Ever since we watched that movie the other day, he's been fixated on 'capturing the feel of a 1920s speakeasy' in one of his events. Really, I think he just wants to see Pepper wear a flapper dress."

"And you intend to participate?" He stepped past you to take a seat on the newly opened sofa cushion by your side, setting his book unopened on his lap and twisting to face you.

"Why not?" You shrugged, glancing at him through the corner of your eye. "I took dance lessons for years. I think I've got a pretty good shot at it. I just need to find a partner."

"Have you not asked Barnes and Rogers? They certainly must have first-hand experience with this sort of thing."

"Yeah, but they have partners already. Steve's taking Nat, and Wanda beat me to Bucky before I could ask him."

"And the others?"

"Tony obviously has a partner already, Bruce won't tell anyone if he can dance because he's already refused to join, and while I appreciate Peter's enthusiasm, he's too young to participate." You sighed, preparing to drop the bomb. "I'd have asked you, but I'm really hoping for a win, and I know you don't know how to dance anything but a waltz here on Midgard."

"Now hang on a moment."

Hook, line, and sinker.

"What made you discount my dancing abilities so quickly? I am a wealth of knowledge of various styles of dance. Far more than you could possibly have learned in your short lifetime."

"Do you know how to salsa?" you asked.

"Well, I-"

"Samba? Rumba? Tango-"

"Ah-ha!" He snapped his fingers, pointing. "I know that one!"

"Have you ever swing danced before?" you continued, ignoring his outburst. He folded his arms haughtily across his chest.

"I'm certain I'd be more than capable of learning any Midgardian dance style should the need arise."

"I don't know... there's a lot of tricky footwork. It's nothing like a waltz - you have to be three steps ahead to keep track of what you're doing."

Loki scoffed. "Darling, I am always three steps ahead. I would master any 'tricky footwork' in a heartbeat."

The irony in his statement was not lost on you.

You turned to face him more fully, shooting him an expectant look. "So you're saying you want to be my partner?"

He was silent for a moment. You watched the phases of realization play out on his face. Surprise, confusion, deep thought... finally ending in a narrow-eyed glare. He knew you had him backed into a corner of his own making. Say no, and risk being teased for being unwilling to put his money where his mouth was. Say yes, and he would be willingly offering to participate in an activity he had very little desire to do.

"You sly little fox," he growled, the corners of his mouth curling up into a grin. "I suppose I'm rather impressed that you managed to swindle me."

"Oh, I learned from the best," you hummed, flashing him a mischievous smirk. "So? What do you say?"

Loki let his head drop in defeat, chuckling self-depreciatingly. Then, he looked back up at you with a renewed intensity in his gaze.

"I certainly hope you are as excellent a dancer as you purport yourself to be. I expect nothing less than exceptional if we are to win this competition."

A giddy grin spread across your face. "Oh, don't worry. You won't be disappointed."

* * *

Not one to waste time, you scheduled Loki's first lesson for the following evening. Tony set up a sign-up schedule to use the training room in two-hour blocks. Not that it was his idea - it was Pepper who had the foresight to prevent the inevitable brawls that would occur with so many enhanced beings fighting for time in the only wide-open space in the tower. As the last pair to sign up, you were left with the latest time block. No matter - Loki preferred the later hours of the evening anyway.

Loki entered the training room behind you for your allotted time block and let the door close, causing a silence to fall over the normally bustling room, interrupted only by the nearly inaudible echoey hum of the fluorescent lights overhead. It occurred to you, then, that you'd never actually spent any time alone with the God of Mischief prior to this arrangement. Sure, you worked together frequently, and you often found yourself in one-on-one conversations with him in the back of the room during team gatherings, but there was always someone else around during those times.

You made your way toward the center of the room, stopping there and turning around to face the sullen and unamused-appearing god. He gazed at you with an expectant look on his face, wordlessly awaiting instructions. Clapping your hands together, you decided to fight his bored façade with your own enthusiasm and jumped right into the lesson.

"Ok, so - the first thing you need to learn is the basic footwork pattern." You pointed down at your feet to direct his attention to your movements. "Before moving anywhere, let's just go over the step. I assume you want to be the follower, yes?"

Loki shot you an indignant look. "I think not."

"Kidding! I was kidding!" you assured with a laugh. Under your breath but loudly enough for him to hear, you added, "Your ego is too big to be the follower anyway." Before he could open his mouth to retort, you plowed on. "SO - for leaders, you'll start with your left foot. It'll look like this."

You demonstrated the one-two-triple step count in place, glancing up from your own feet to get a read on Loki's expression. He was watching you with one eyebrow raised, his mouth drawn into a flat line. Pausing your demonstration, you motioned toward him.

"Now you try."

The god sighed with a roll of his eyes, repeating the step you'd shown him without looking down. "Ta-da."

"Great. Could use a bit more bounce."

"A god doesn't bounce."

"Well, this god is gonna have to if he wants to have a shot at winning this competition." You folded your arms sternly, nodding your head down toward his feet. "Again. With bounce."

Seemingly startled that you had the courage (or the audacity) to order him around, he nevertheless obliged, repeating the step and adding the jaunty bounce you were demanding of him. Nodding approvingly, you held up a hand to stop him.

"Now - same thing, except now with some forward and back movement." You demonstrated the change in step, and he followed without questioning, mimicking your movement. "Excellent."

"You say that as though you expected any less of me," he boasted.

"Still needs more bounce," you countered with a grin. "You know, you're gonna make yourself dizzy rolling your eyes like that."

"Let's move on, shall we?"

"Ohh, alright. We'll work on the bounce later." Ignoring his murmurings at your persistence, you continued on to demonstrate more of the basic steps he'd need to know.

Admittedly, he wasn't lying about being a fast learner. You barely had to demonstrate a full eight count before he'd picked up on each step, performing them in exact sync with your movements. It was the energy you'd need to work on. He was dreadfully regal and proper in his movements. For a waltz, his style fit perfectly. But for a lively lindy hop, it was really putting a damper on the overall spirit of the dance.

"Ok, Mr. Dancing Expert - let's see how you do with music," you declared, scrolling through your phone to find a good beginner's swing song. Pressing play, you set it down on the floor in the corner of the room and returned to join Loki. Swallowing the awkward anxious butterflies that bubbled up in your stomach, you boldly reached for his hand and pulled him into a closed partner hold. His brows leapt up his forehead, but he didn't say a word as he placed his free hand on your back. "Alright... one-two-three-"

"I beg your pardon - but am I leading or are you?"

Scoffing, you shook your head in defeat. "Go on, then. Lead away."

With a satisfied huff, he took over the count, pulling you into the basic step and rhythm you'd taught him. While the step was technically correct, the mismatch between your pep and his smooth elegance was painfully obvious now that you were dancing together. You found yourself tripping over his feet on occasion where he didn't lift enough or hop back out of the way of your intended path.

"Loki." You stopped and grasped his arms above the elbows after the fifth time you stepped on his toes, staring him straight in the eye. "You have to work with me here. This isn't a waltz. I need you to-"

"Don't tell me to 'bounce.'"

"I know, I know. Just... a little peppy energy might be nice?" He scowled. "Feel the music. No one cares about your regal posture - they want to see liveliness and vigor."

"Yes, yes, alright."

You glanced down at your watch. "We have enough time for one more run through tonight. Let's go through all the basic steps once more to the music."

You swore he was dragging his feet on purpose. Clearly this was punishment for tricking him into this.

"Alright... let's call it a night." Pinching the bridge of your nose in frustration, you turned the music off on your phone. "I'm assigning you homework tonight."

"Homework?"

"Yes. Go on the internet and look at videos of lindy hop dance. You're getting the footwork, but the technique is lacking." Loki scowled at you, eliciting an exasperated sigh. "Don't you want to win? You must want to beat Thor at the very least."

"Thor is participating?"

Why hadn't you thought of this before? If there was one surefire way to motivate Loki to do something, it was to make certain it was at the expense of his older brother.

"Yes. Thor and Jane signed up. Didn't he tell you?"

"He may have mentioned it during his ramblings over breakfast this morning. Honestly, I wasn't listening to a word."

"Nice." It was your turn to roll your eyes. "Well, now you know. Maybe that will motivate you to bounce a bit more, hmm? Thor certainly has that part down."

"Fine. I'll complete my assigned homework before our lesson tomorrow," he drawled.

"Thank you." You motioned for him to head toward the door ahead of you, following him out. "Same time tomorrow, then?"

"Looking forward to it," he responded, voice drenched in sarcasm.

"And here I was thinking you enjoyed hanging out with me," you teased, nudging him with your elbow. He let out a puff of air through his nose, but you were pleased to see his mouth twitch upwards into the beginnings of a grin.

* * *

The following evening, you arrived to find Loki standing outside of the training room ten minutes prior to your two-hour time block. He was gazing at something on his phone screen in his hand, seemingly so invested that he didn't notice you approaching.

"Bucky and Wanda still in there?" you asked, nodding at him in greeting when he glanced up. "Wait - are you doing your homework now?"

Loki gestured broadly around himself. "I do reside here. Is it not still 'homework' now?"

You rolled your eyes, shaking your head and trying to suppress a grin. "You know, when I was in school, if the teacher caught me doing my homework in the beginning of class, I got in trouble for it."

Chuckling deep in his throat, he took a few steps closer to you and brought himself to his full height in an intimidation gesture. "Are you suggesting that I am in trouble with my teacher?"

You tried to suppress a blush at the involuntary thoughts that ran through your mind at his phrasing - thoughts he surely hadn't intended to invoke. Rather than shrinking away, you stood up straighter and squared your shoulders, holding his gaze firmly.

"Are you suggesting you're not afraid of me?"

Loki began to genuinely laugh at that, though he clearly tried to recollect himself and regain his serious and intimidating façade. "Tell me - what exactly is the consequence for not completing my 'homework' on time?"

"I could make you run laps."

"Make me?"

You shrugged. "I found a way to make you join this competition with me, didn't I?"

He leaned closer to shorten the distance between your faces, narrowing his eyes. As he opened his mouth to speak, the door to the training room swung open, drawing both your attention and Loki's toward the open doorway. Bucky and Wanda emerged from inside the training room, appearing winded.

"All yours," Bucky offered, motioning to the now empty room. "Break a leg!"

"I hope you mean that figuratively," you jested, taking a casual step backward to put a respectable amount of distance between yourself and your dance partner.

"Oh, I wouldn't count on that," Wanda interjected with a teasing edge to her tone. "He nearly broke my leg trying to teach me how to do a backflip."

Bucky clicked his tongue at Wanda, shaking his head in disagreement. "Excuse me - I had control over your fall the entire time."

"Yeah, and that's why I twisted my ankle on the landing," she retorted sarcastically, shoving his shoulder playfully. He threw his head back in exasperation.

"Alright, we'll work on it on the sparring mats next time."

"Why in the name of Odin are you doing backflips during a ballroom dance?" Loki asked, clearly both confused and curious.

"It's one of the aerial moves we're doing in our routine," Wanda explained. "Here - Bucky, let's show them."

"I thought you said I was going to break your leg."

"Yeah, well I'll take my chances."

She snatched his hand up in hers, standing with their arms stretched straight between them before spinning inward. Bucky fell straight into step, pulling her into his side and shifting his arm to her waist before using his free arm to scoop up her legs and flip her backward, his outstretched arm at her waist serving as the fulcrum for her to pivot in a full backflip before landing gracefully on the floor.

You winced as you saw a spark of interest and amusement flash in Loki's eyes. You'd been hoping to avoid this aspect of the dance for many reasons - the primary being that you were dancing with a literal god who could likely throw you clear across the room if he used his full strength. Especially considering that god was the God of Mischief.

"That was much better," Wanda praised Bucky with a smile. Turning to you and Loki, she waved in parting. "Have fun you two!"

"And don't actually break a leg!" Bucky added as the two of them stepped past you and headed down the hallway and out of sight.

Bracing yourself, you turned to look at your partner, who suddenly appeared much more earnest to head into the training room and get started. You followed hot on his heels, shaking your head with an incredulous laugh before he could say a word.

"Oh-ho no, I know what you're thinking."

"Why have you not informed me of this aspect of swing dancing?" he demanded, spinning around to face you with a smirk playing on his lips as he continued to walk backward. "It would seem there are far more interesting moves to this style of ballroom dance than these choppy basic steps you've been teaching me."

"Why - because you'd get to throw me around?"

"What's not to enjoy about that?"

"First of all - the fact that you find that enjoyable makes me concerned for my own wellbeing." Loki shrugged, his smirk only growing wider. "Second of all - you can't do an entire routine of just aerials. You do need to know the basics. And third - I never learned how to do them myself."

"Perhaps you should be doing homework as well, then."

"Perhaps if you had done your homework on time, you'd have learned about aerials before Bucky and Wanda went and put crazy ideas in your head."

"If we are to win this competition as you suggested, should you not be thorough in your training?" he countered.

"'Thorough' as in... teach you how to swing me around and risk injury?" you laughed.

"Pfft. Please. I would never drop you."

"How do you know that?"

Loki held a hand to his chest over his heart, mocking offense. "Darling - do you not trust me as your dance partner?"

"As my dance partner? Maybe. As the God of Mischief? Absolutely not." You busied yourself getting the music set up on your phone as Loki sucked the back of his teeth in annoyance.

"Ooh, you're no fun," he griped. You glanced up from your phone and sighed defeatedly.

"Alright, here's the deal. You prove to me you're invested in this - learn the steps AND the technique - and then I'll consider learning a few aerial moves to appease your curiosity."

"I beg your pardon? You are interested in winning this competition, are you not? There's no reward without risk, darling."

"Oh-ho, we're using proverbs now? How about - 'you have to learn to walk before you can run?'" you retorted, setting your phone down on the floor as the music began to play so you could rejoin your partner. "Do we have a deal?"

Loki stared long and hard at you before extending his hand, offering it to you to shake on your bargain. "Deal."

"Wonderful. Maybe now you'll add a little bounce in your step, hmm?" You flashed him a sly smirk, to which he responded with his characteristic eye roll before taking your hand and pulling you into a closed partner hold.

Suddenly, Loki was a much more enthusiastic dance partner than he had been the evening prior. Not only did he repeat the basic steps, but his technique was damn near flawless. You were able to move on quickly to some intermediate steps - turns and kicks like the tandem Charleston.

You'd finally found a way to motivate the sullen god. But of course it would be at your own expense.

By the end of your two hour rehearsal, you were breathless and Loki was smug as ever. He'd left you no room to complain about his degree of effort this time. And while you weren't exactly excited about it, you weren't someone who went back on their word.

"Well then, teacher? Have I proven myself invested enough?" he gloated, smirking as you glowered at his suddenly upbeat demeanor.

"You were... passable, yes."

Loki folded his arms haughtily, undeterred by your indifference. "Then we'll be learning aerials tomorrow, yes?"

You groaned, massaging your temples with your fingers. "Yes, alright. But I reserve the right to veto any that I don't like."

"After we've at least attempted them once," he bartered. You glared at him through narrowed eyes, although you were beginning to find it difficult to maintain your irritated front with the spark of giddy excitement in his eyes.

"Fine. But if I get injured, I'm telling Tony he can sub you in on any missions I would have had to go on." You wandered over to collect your phone and turn off the music.

"I assure you, you'll remain completely unscathed."

"For your sake, I hope so." Phone in hand, you motioned for Loki to follow you out. "I do a lot of undercover missions, and I'm not sure you'd look quite as good as I do in a dress."

"Oh no?" With a shimmering green flash of light, you were suddenly walking beside an exact mirror image of yourself, wearing the little black dress you'd donned on your most recent assignment together. While you were naturally startled seeing your own clone smirking back at you, something about it made you blush furiously.

Perhaps it was the fact that he'd recalled every detail on that damned dress.

"Cut that out," you muttered, shoving his (your?) arm playfully. Snickering, Loki dropped the illusion, looking pleased with himself at your reaction.

As you parted ways, you promised you'd 'do your homework' and research some aerial swing dance moves for the following evening's lesson. Your muscles ached as you rinsed off under the steaming hot water in your shower, only marginally improved by the time you slid under the covers of your bed.

While lying there scrolling through videos on your phone, you were both surprised and a bit unnerved to find there was a lingering buzz of excitement in your chest at the thought of your next lesson. And you could say with certainty that it wasn't the prospect of learning the aerial stunts. You had a nagging feeling it was more about your student than the lesson itself.

* * *

"Alright - we're going to start with some easier ones first before moving on to anything crazy," you insisted sternly at the start of rehearsal the next evening.

"Makes no difference to me," Loki concurred, "I will have no difficulty lifting your mortal self off the ground."

"I'm... not sure if I should take that as a complement or an insult." You pulled up one of the videos you'd saved on your phone the night before. "Ok - this one was the easiest one I found. It's called a 'frog jump.'"

Loki's eyebrows bumped upward skeptically as he leaned over your shoulder to watch the video. "Why would you mortals name a dance move after an amphibian?"

You gestured to the screen as the follower jumped up with a boost from her partner. "Does that not look like a frog jumping to you?" He shrugged. "Alright, not important. Should we try this?"

"Seems rather simple."

"Exactly the point." You grabbed Loki's hand, pulling him into closed partner hold to prepare to try the move. As simple as this aerial was, you already felt butterflies in your stomach at the thought of executing it. "Ok - now... don't launch me to the ceiling, alright?"

"Nervous, agent?" he drawled with a smirk.

"Very. Now focus - I'll count us off."

With a four-count lead, you stepped back into the rock step shown in the video, then planted your feet and sprang upwards in a hop. Loki boosted your momentum, pushing upwards against your hand held in his. You let out an embarrassingly high-pitched squeak as your jump peaked at Loki's shoulder height, stomach somersaulting as you dropped back down and landed on your feet. True to his word, Loki stabilized you with his hand at your back, preventing you from falling over on landing.

"Whahat was that noise?!" he asked teasingly with a laugh. You scowled, releasing his hand and running your fingers through your hair to self-soothe.

"Don't laugh!”

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of heights.”

“No! Just… well, only when I don’t have control over how high up I am.”

Loki placed both his hands on your shoulders, ducking to capture your gaze. He was still grinning, but he had a serious look in his eyes. “I swear to you, I won’t allow any harm to come to you.”

You gave him a hard look. “… promise?”

“I promise.”

“Ohh… alright, let’s try again.” You stepped back from Loki, pacing around a moment and shaking out the nervous tremors in your hands as you let out a heavy breath. Then, returning to your place in front of your partner, you nodded to confirm you were prepared. “Ready. Ok.”

“Ok.” His blue-green irises shimmered with amusement, earning him a scorning look.

You allowed him to count off this time, executing the lift once again, sans squeaking. You were pleased with yourself on that, although the same embarrassing sound had nearly burst out of your throat once again as your momentum peaked at the top of the jump and gravity took hold. Once again, you landed safely with Loki’s hand on your back to steady you.

“That went quite well, I’d say,” he praised with a grin, his eyes still dancing with the unspoken teases he surely was suppressing. “Shall we try another?”

“Ugh, alright.” You searched your video files to find another seemingly simple lift. None of them seemed nearly as easy as the one you’d just learned, and even that was a struggle. After grappling with yourself internally for a few moments, you showed Loki another lift you were willing to try. “This one is called an A-frame jump. It sets the framework for additional, more complex lifts later on.”

“Alright then. Let’s give it a try.”

You turned your back to your partner, heartbeat ticking up in anticipation of the lift. As demonstrated in the video, Loki placed his hands firmly on either side of your waist, and you clasped your own hands around his wrists. You allowed him to count off once again, preparing to spring straight upwards so Loki could boost your jump height by lifting you at the waist.

At the end of the count off, you bent your knees to jump as Loki’s fingers dug into your sides to get a firmer grip. The suddenness of it made you splutter and laugh and fold in on yourself at the ticklish touch, all efforts to jump into the lift forgotten. You knew before he’d even said anything that there was no way to spin a lie around what just happened.

"Oh dear. A bit ticklish, are we?"

"N-no... Lo-KI!" You squeaked as his fingertips contracted into your sides just once. Squeezing his wrists in protest, you twisted to free your waist of his hands, but he held fast. "Nohoho! Thi-HIS" - another jab at your sides - "Loki this isn't h-HA-helping!"

"On the contrary - you appear much less tense," he argued teasingly, shifting his hands forward a bit and scratching gently at the sides of your belly where his fingertips rested.

"Ohokay I'm relAHAXED damnit!" you squealed, knees buckling a bit underneath you. "LOKI! We hahave to practice!"

"Ohh alright." He relented, allowing his hands to rest more firmly on your sides while you recollected yourself and straightened your posture. "Shall I count off again, then?"

"Yes, go on."

"Are you going to burst into giggles this time?" You whined, throwing your hands over your burning cheeks. A rumble of a laugh escaped your dance partner. "I've never seen you this flustered, agent. I'm learning such interesting facts about you this evening."

"Sh-AHAH-shut up!" you growled, jolting as he threw in one last squeeze for emphasis. "Now count off before I change my mind."

He obliged finally, careful this time not to dig his fingertips into your waist so much as he hoisted you up in tandem with your jump. But the God of Mischief couldn't simply let this slide. At the peak of the lift, he began tickling your sides once again, causing you to jerk and involuntarily slam your heel into his stomach. With a grunt of pain, he lowered you back down to the ground, still careful to place you steady on your feet before doubling over with his arms wrapped around his abdomen.

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" you gasped, throwing your hand over your mouth as you turned to face him. You did feel badly, of course, but you mostly wanted to hide the self-righteous smirk that spread across your face. "Are you ok?"

"Mmhmm." His voice was a bit strained. "Darling, I'm a god, you can't possibly injure me that badly."

"Well you sure sound like it hurts." Folding your arms across your chest, you gave him a chastising look. "Maybe that will teach you not to tickle me, hmm?" He didn't respond as he recovered from the sting of the blow, slowly lowering his arms from around his torso as the pain ebbed away. "Can we try the lift for real this time?"

He conceded, setting himself up behind you to attempt the aerial once more. This time around, you successfully executed the move, testing it out once more after that for good measure. You were beginning to feel more at ease. Loki's hands were steady, his arms strong. Safe, even. Familiar.

When did that happen?

"A-alright, let's try another one," you suggested, fumbling to hide the feeling of the sudden burst of butterflies in your stomach. You selected a more complicated lift this time, now that you were feeling more comfortable with the notion that he, indeed, wasn't going to launch you across the room with his godly strength. Avoiding his gaze, you passed your phone to him to view the video instruction for the move.

"Are you certain you're ready for this one?" he asked, an air of surprise in his tone.

"Yup. I'm just gonna rip the band-aid off and give it a shot."

"You know..." The wary edge to his voice drew your gaze up to meet his. "... you have to trust me completely if we are to do a lift this complicated."

"I know. I... I trust you."

"Are you certain?" he pressured. You nodded, taking your phone back to place it off to the side in a safe corner. "Alright, then. On your count."

You stepped out beside Loki with your hand held in his, arms outstretched between the pair of you. The lift required you to leap into his arms, where he would catch you in a cradle hold position. Following this, he would have to swing your legs around and catch them behind himself across the back of your knees. The final, most challenging piece was when he'd need to maintain his hold at your legs and swing your upper body back around to catch you in a cradle hold once again. The move was aptly titled 'around the world.'

After counting off, you turned and kicked your legs up so Loki could catch you in his arms. You wrapped your own arms around his neck and braced your core muscles for the next part, but he simply held you there a moment.

"You know... you really shouldn't put such trust in the God of Mischief," he hummed, a smirk breaking out across his face. As you opened your mouth to ask what he was playing at, you felt his fingers scratching at your uppermost ribs under your arm where his hand rested. You screeched, kicking frantically as you were consumed by ticklish laughter.

"LOHOKI!! YOU JEHEHERK!!" you cried, bringing your arm down from around his neck to block your side with your bicep. Undeterred, he continued wriggling his fingers rapidly in the shrinking space between your arm and your ribs, adding a gentle scribbling of his fingers on his other hand where they rested against the side of your leg. "PUHUT ME DOHOWN!"

"Mm, no, I think not. We haven't yet addressed the fact that you kicked me."

"Ihit wahas YOHOUR FAULT!" You were squirming harder now, twisting in your best attempt to get him to let your legs drop to the ground. He paused to toss you up a bit and adjust his grip, then re-initiated his efforts, digging his thumbs each into the back of your thigh and the back of your ribs.

"Care to say that again?" Your thrashing was clearly beginning to make him nervous about dropping you, so he slowly lowered you down to lay on the floor where he could safely continue his ticklish assault, latching both hands onto your lower ribs.

"I-hi... LOHOKI! IHI APOHOLOGIZED!!"

"Yes, but your heart wasn't in it, I think." His deft fingers kneaded and pinched their way up your ribcage. "Especially considering you are still blaming me for the incident."

"I STAHAND BY IHIT!"

Loki cocked his head to the side with a pitying click of his tongue. "You're just begging for me to tickle you senseless."

Heat rushed to your cheeks at his teasing remark, eyes widening as his tickling fingers shifted to a particularly sensitive spot on your belly just below your ribcage. "No-no-nohoho - OHOKAY I'M SOHORRY!!" You hooked your fingers underneath his in a desperate effort to block his access to this newfound spot, only serving to make him increase his efforts, scribbling rapidly with all ten fingers against the fabric overlaying the soft skin. Giving up, you threw your head back and beat your heels against the floor in desperation. And at last, he ceased his attack, grinning impishly down at your disheveled state.

"Perhaps now you'll find the aerials less stressful?" he suggested tauntingly, offering you a hand to sit up as the residual giggles escaped your lips. "Now that I've discovered a foolproof method to make you laugh."

"Yohou are the wohorst," you grumbled, hardly sounding annoyed with that silly grin still plastered to your face. "Can we please rehearse now? You've wasted like ten minutes of our rehearsal block."

He feigned offense at your statement. "I believe you know as well as I that we are far beyond where you anticipated we would be in terms of learning the steps. As I understand it, we still have a week remaining before the competition, is that right?"

"Well... technically, I suppose..."

"Then you've got nothing to worry about," he assured.

"Yes, but we still have to finish learning these aerials, and then I need to choreograph a routine, and we'll need time to practice it-"

"Darling, if you don't relax, I'll be forced to make you."

Heat prickled in your cheeks at the implication. "Ok, ok. I'm fine. I'm relaxed. Let's try it again, but for real this time."

You refused to admit to him that you were more relaxed after he'd tormented you into a fit of giggles. It took a couple of attempts to get the lift completely right, but you succeeded eventually. With each new move you attempted, you felt less and less nervous. Loki - a powerful, sometimes vengeful being - was so uncharacteristically careful and delicate in the way he swept you up in his arms or lifted you up off the ground. And while he was persistent in his teasing, he always kept things light-hearted - never causing you to feel inadequate, even when you accidentally elbowed him in the face or stepped on his foot.

"I think next rehearsal we're ready to start building a routine!" you declared enthusiastically as your two hour time block came to a close. "We really could have a shot at winning this."

"Did you ever have any doubts?" Loki asked haughtily.

"Well..."

He raised his eyebrows, tilting his chin down to gaze at you warningly. "Consider your answer carefully."

"Nope! No doubts," you spat quickly, eyeing his hands at his sides warily. A teasing smirk spread across his face. "Same time tomorrow then?"

"Looking forward to it."

That night, you found your mind drifting blissfully to the feeling of being cradled in Loki's arms.

* * *

As the days passed and time drew closer and closer to the night of the competition, your thoughts strayed to your dance partner more and more often between rehearsals. Now that Loki had stopped being so sullen and cranky about having to participate, your practice time was productive and, dare you say, enjoyable. You'd always been personable with Loki, but outside of any group gatherings or team missions, he didn't otherwise occupy much space in your brain. But now, having grown accustomed to the teasing and playful banter between the pair of you each evening throughout your rehearsals, you found your heart aching at the notion that this was all going to end in just a few days.

You couldn't help but wonder if he'd miss your rehearsals as well. Not that you'd ever ask.

The evening of the competition arrived far too soon for your liking. The anxious, excited energy was palpable in the tower throughout the entirety of the morning. With the training room off limits, couples were finding anywhere they could to practice - the hallways, the kitchen, the common room... Tony even dragged Pepper outside to practice on the sidewalk in front of the tower at one point. Fortunately for her, the city of New York already knew of Tony Stark's eclectic tendencies.

Gradually, the participants began to disappear into their rooms to get dressed and ready for the event. Tony had hired a limousine to transport the attendees to the venue from the tower, and so you had a deadline to meet to catch your ride. You pulled out the vintage-styled dress you'd chosen for the occasion and slipped it on, smoothing out the wide-flared skirt against your legs as you gazed at your reflection in the mirror. With your hair and makeup done up to fit the theme, you looked like you were straight out of the 1950s.

A quiet knocking at your door pulled your attention from the mirror.

"Door's open," you called, turning around. The door opened to reveal your Asgardian dance partner for the evening, already donning his own swing dance outfit.

Maybe it was the dress shirt, vest, and tie combination. Or, perhaps it was the black fedora he had settled upon his dark locks with the brim tilted slightly downward in the front. Either way - damn he made retro look good.

With a debonair grin, Loki crossed the room to close the distance between the pair of you, scooping up your hand and lifting it over your head to twirl you around. The skirt of your dress flared around you, settling back against your legs as he caught you in his arms and dipped you backwards. A giggly squeak of surprise burst from your throat.

"Loki! You're supposed to warn me when you're going to dip me," you scolded half-heartedly, trying to give him a hard look but failing miserably at hiding your grin.

"Ah, yes, you mentioned that. But where would the fun in that be?" He pulled you to stand upright once again just as you were beginning to lose control of the blush forming in your cheeks. "Are you ready to depart?"

"Lead the way."

He offered you his arm, and you slipped your hand around the crook of his elbow. Together, you headed down to the lobby of the tower where the limousine would be waiting outside to pick up the group.

Seeing everyone in their swing attire really began to set the scene for the evening's soiree. The guys were all dressed in various degrees of formality, ranging from a simple dress shirt, suspenders, and tie that Clint sported all the way to a full fledged zoot suit worn by none other than Tony Stark himself. For the ladies, various flouncy dresses and shirt-skirt combinations, all with brightly-colored fabrics and bold patterns.

The venue itself, though, was what really tied everything together.

Tony had rented out a dinner theater hall, complete with a broad platform stage and show lighting. The room was brightly lit for the wait staff to begin serving the donors and ticket holders as people gradually filtered in and found their tables. Outfits ranged across decades, including attire as early as the flapper dresses from the 1920s to the wide-skirted shirt dresses and poodle skirts of the 1950s. The décor was reminiscent mainly of the 20s era, with glittering golds, blacks, and whites throughout the tables and the walls.

Tables had been reserved for the dancers toward the front by the edge of the stage to allow couples to watch one another's performances (and, also, eat their own dinner of course). Tony directed your group toward the corner table, where twelve chairs had been set around a circular table set with black and white place cards and a feathery centerpiece in a vase. As you took your seats, a waiter stopped by to hand out champagne flutes filled with sparkling wine.

"Shall we toast to a fun and friendly competition, then?" Thor declared, holding up his glass.

"Friendly? Who said anything about friendly?" Tony jested. Pepper nudged him hard in the ribs with her elbow. "Ouch, alright I'm kidding!"

"Cheers to our fine-looking band of misfits," Bucky toasted, tapping his glass against Wanda's before turning to meet Steve's glass next. You laughed, joining in the clinking of glasses before taking a long sip of the bubbling liquid.

As the salad course began to come out, Tony took the stage to provide his characteristic grand welcome speech and to thank all the generous donors for providing to the charity fund. He then turned the evening over to Happy, the emcee for the evening, and ducked backstage to prepare for his and Pepper's dance.

The nerves began to set in as the lights dimmed overhead and the stage lights brightened, spotlighting Pepper and Tony on the stage. You barely ate a bite of your salad, pushing a tomato around your plate with your fork as you watched their near flawless dance routine. Who knew Tony could actually dance?

A hand suddenly rested atop your knee beneath the table, startling you. Whipping your head around, you shot Loki an annoyed look.

"Nervous?" he asked over the round of applause erupting throughout the room.

"N-no, of course not. What made you think that?"

"Your knee has been bouncing for the last ten minutes."

It was only then that you noticed you'd been anxiously bouncing your leg under the table, even despite Loki's hand pressing down against your knee in efforts to make it stop. Now that you were conscious of it, you allowed yourself to relax and try to sit still.

"I'm fine. Not nervous at all."

"Good, because we're up next."

"What??" You nearly leapt out of your seat, much to Loki's amusement. He laughed, shaking his head teasingly.

"It was a joke. But I'd say that proves my point."

"I'm not nervous."

"Darling, you can't lie to me," he whispered, pinching the muscle above your knee ticklishly to emphasize the word. With a squeak, your hand shot out involuntarily to grab his wrist under the table as you shot daggers at him with your eyes.

"Don't you dare."

"Don't I dare... what? Do this?" He squeezed your knee rapidly a few times, making you giggle and squirm to escape his touch.

"Yes. That- Lohoki!" You shrieked as he released your leg to slide his hand around to the underside of your knee, scratching gently at the bare skin just below where the hem of your skirt rested. A playful swat to his arm made him stop and retract his hand, smirking as he gazed at you out of the corner of his eye. "You're flustering me right before we're supposed to dance."

"Perhaps I enjoy flustering you, agent." His hand latched onto your side and pinched swiftly, just enough to make you double over sideways to arch away from his touch.

"Not before we dance."

"After, then? Is that explicit permission?"

"... No." Your face was white hot. Luckily he couldn't see you well in the dim overhead lighting. Glancing up to find anywhere else to divert your attention to while Clint and Laura got set up on stage to dance, your eyes met Natasha's across the table. Her eyebrows bumped upward as her eyes flitted down to the table where clearly she'd elucidated something was going on underneath. You shook your head wildly when you realized what she must be thinking, covering your face in your hands much to her amusement.

One by one, each couple was called up to dance, each outdoing the previous couple before them with their skill and artistry. There were a few other couples from outside of the Avengers who'd signed up to compete, but none could hold a candle to Bucky and Wanda's amazing and technically challenging routine.

And then, Happy was calling you and Loki to the stage.

You couldn't recall the last time you'd felt this nervous about something. All the dangerous and terrifying stunts you'd had to pull on missions, and yet this was what did you in. Although, in all fairness, there weren't hundreds of people watching when you performed your crazy moves on missions.

The white stage lights were blinding when you reached the center of the stage and gazed out into the crowd. At least you couldn't really see the sea of faces with such bright bulbs shining down in your eyes. You turned toward Loki to prepare to start the dance, and he took your hand in his and gave it a squeeze.

"You'll be wonderful," he whispered honestly, no hint of a smirk on his face for once.

"Thanks," you breathed in response. You took your starting position then, waiting patiently for the music to start.

And then, you began to dance.

The rhythm of the song was infectious, with a bold brassy melody and a syncopated drumbeat driving the percussion section. Loki had complete control as he led you twirling across the dance floor, executing every step in perfect synchronization with yours. All the nagging about adding 'bounce' to his step had really paid off - his technique was near flawless. The nervous butterflies in your stomach slowly ebbed away as you lost yourself in the dance. The buzz of the crowd swelled with each lift you performed, but you barely paid any mind - you were too focused on the strong, safe, confident grip of your partner as he effortlessly swept you up in his arms.

As the song came to an end, Loki tugged to spin you inward toward himself and whisked you into a dip, one arm securely wrapped around your waist. The radiant applause filled your ears as you smiled giddily up at him, breathless from the energy of the dance.

"You were amazing!" you praised, throwing your arms around Loki the moment he'd stood you upright without giving it much thought. Hesitating only a moment, he returned your embrace, squeezing you tight. You took your bows before stepping off stage to head back to your table.

"Did you expect any less of me?" Loki asked teasingly. "Though, I suppose I must admit, your lessons helped some."

"Oh, did they? Just 'some' you say?"

"Yes, I already possessed the natural prowess for the art of dance, even before your lessons."

You snorted. "Without my help, you'd have been as robotic as Vision."

"Brother!" Thor's booming voice captured your attention as you reached your table in front of the stage. "I'd no idea you had it in you!"

"Oh, believe me, it took quite a bit of practice," you muttered, earning a pinch to the side from your partner.

"Ah, yes - you should win an award of your own for putting up with Loki's mischief for so long, agent," Thor bellowed, patting you on the shoulder heavily as you took your seat between the brothers.

"Heh. Yeah," you concurred with a half-hearted chuckle. In the back of your mind, you wondered if it was really all that tedious. The reminder that you would no longer have these evening dance rehearsals together made your heart sink.

With the dancing part of the evening over, you were much more relaxed as you chatted and ate dinner with your fellow teammates. You were acutely aware of the fact that Loki had reached over and draped his arm across the back of your chair casually as he engaged in conversation. Secretly, you wished he'd have just wrapped it around your shoulders to pull you closer.

"Alright everyone - the results of your votes are in!" Happy declared as the wait staff cleared dinner plates from the tables. "I'd like to call our lovely couples to the stage for one last round of applause."

The room erupted with cheers as you stood with the other dancers of the evening. Loki took your hand in his without a word, lifting it to usher you up the stairs to the stage as he trailed behind. Happy was making some dig at Tony's suit as you and Loki took your place between Thor and Jane and Steve and Nat. Loki released your hand in favor of sliding his arm around your waist, resting his hand at your hip.

"Our third place couple this evening is..." Happy glanced down at the paper in his hands, chuckling. "Obviously Pepper did the heavy lifting here - Tony and Pepper!"

"You're just jealous you don't have moves like I do," Tony retorted, nudging Happy with his elbow as he and Pepper stepped forward to claim their title.

"Oh I don't have moves like you do, but jealous might not be the right word for it," Happy countered with a grin. "Anyway - our second place couple is... Wanda and Barnes!"

"Wow. I'm surprised they didn't win it after executing that crazy aerial," you mumbled, applauding with the others as Bucky and Wanda took their bows.

"And now... our first place winners of the competition this evening..."

Loki's grip on your waist tightened, tugging you closer to his side in anticipation. You'd resolved yourself to the fact that you hadn't placed this evening. Steve and Nat had a flawless routine, and Thor and Jane were bubbly and bouncy enough to draw raging applause from the crowd. One of them had clearly won the competition.

When Happy announced the winner, your ears were ringing too loudly to catch the names. It was only when Loki suddenly turned toward you with the most excited expression you'd ever seen grace his features that you realized it was your own name Happy had announced.

"We won?" you asked, wide-eyed. Loki laughed at your dumbfounded expression, grasping your waist with both hands.

"Yes, darling - we won!"

An excited shriek burst from your throat at his confirmation, and you threw your arms around his neck. Loki used your momentum to wrap his arms around your waist and lift you off the floor, twirling you around once in his hold. The pair of you stepped forth to take a bow, overwhelmed by the loud applause of the crowd - the loudest coming from your teammates behind you.

The remainder of the evening was a whirlwind of congratulatory wishes from your friends and colleagues as the fundraiser wrapped up. Tony closed by announcing he'd be matching the total amount donated for the evening before submitting the funds to charity, earning himself a roaring round of applause. By the time you'd all climbed in the limo to head home, the exhaustion was evident on every one of your teammate's faces. The steady rumbling of the tires rolling down the road and the scrolling of the streetlights shining through the window lulled you to sleep, awaking to find you'd slumped over onto Loki's shoulder once you'd arrived home. You muttered sleep-rasped apologies as you sat up and exited the limo to head inside, to which Loki insisted you needn't worry about it.

Collectively, everyone opted to retire to bed for the evening. Loki continued to be the gentleman he'd been all night, walking you to your room. For someone who had taken so much pleasure in pushing your buttons, he'd been behaving quite out of character for most of the evening. You certainly weren't complaining.

As you approached your bedroom door, the reality of this being the end of your one-on-one time together weighed on your heart. Of course you'd see him around the tower as you always did, but it just didn't feel like enough.

"So... was it really all that terrible doing this competition?" you asked teasingly as you paused in front of your door.

"While I'm still a bit resentful that you found a way to trick me, I'll admit... it was... enjoyable."

"Well, thanks for earning me a win."

"The credit goes to you, darling."

You were silent a moment, trying to decide what to say. Resting your hand on your doorknob, you smiled weakly up at Loki. "Well... I'll see you around?"

"Yes, I suppose you will." His expression was blank, unreadable. With a nod, he turned and began to head down the hallway to retire to his own room. Your heart was pounding in your chest as you watched him recede, battling internally between the desire to call out to him and the innate instinct to hide your feelings. The end result was somewhere in between.

"Loki!"

He turned at the sound of his name, those fiercely blue-green eyes of his capturing yours and trapping the words in your throat. His head tilted slightly, urging you to continue.

"I... uh..."

"Yes, agent?" he asked, the corners of his mouth curling up into a devilish grin as he realized you were stammering.

"I just thought maybe... er..." You choked on your words as he took a few steps towards you.

"You seem rather flustered again, darling. What is it you're trying to tell me?"

"Oh, shut it, you."

"That's rather rude of you. I am merely trying to be polite and listen to whatever it is you have to say." His grin broadened as your eyes narrowed and your cheeks began to burn. "Go on, then."

"You know what? Never mind," you stated with a huff, folding your arms across your chest.

"But now you have me curious, agent. Tell me what it was."

"Nope. You're out of luck - no-no, don't you dahare Loki!" You shrank backwards as he reached out suddenly and grabbed your waist, gently kneading his fingers into your sides. "Nohoho! Noho, that's nohot fair!"

"Then spit it out, darling." His fingers darted up your ribs and you grasped his wrists, giggling helplessly and squirming away from his ticklish touch.

"I-hi... Lohoki! I juhust... HEHEY!" You squeaked as he slotted his fingers up under your arms, doubling over and squeezing his forearms in protest. "I JUHUST WANTED TOHO... LOHOKI I CAHAN'T!"

He tickled his way bad down to your sides to allow you the wherewithal to speak. "Well?"

"I-hi wanted toho ask if you w-aha-wanted to doho something tomorrow."

Loki's fingers stilled at your sides, hands resting firmly against your waist. "Do something?"

"Y-yeah, like... I don't know... hang out?"

A fond grin broke out on his face. "Agent - have you taken a liking to me?"

"Pshh... I-I just figured that you'd miss me now that you're done with my lessons."

"Oh-ho, did you?" He gently pushed against your waist and you stepped backward, your back hitting the wall behind you. You held Loki's gaze, noting how his expression softened.

"Well... wouldn't you?"

He chuckled deep in his throat. "Yes, darling. I would."

With that, he ducked down and captured your lips with his. You melted into his kiss, wrapping your arms around his neck as his slid around your waist.

As it turned out - you hadn't tricked Loki into doing anything. If you'd simply asked him to dance in the competition with you, he'd have said yes in a heartbeat. Because, when it came to finding Loki's intrinsic motivation, there was one surefire thing that could get him to do most anything:

You.

#loki fluff #loki x female reader #loki x reader #ticklish!reader #tickle fluff #loki tickle #tickle fic #marvel tickle #dancing with Loki #swing dance with Loki #loki x you #marvel fluff

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boldlyvoid · 3 years

Text

Million Dollar Man | chapter two

18+

summary: Spencer's therapist recommended he branch out and meet new people who don't want to talk about his work... she didn't expect him to sign up for a Sugar Daddy website.

Content warnings: sugar daddy!spencer, age gaps (14 years), daddy kink, blow jobs, kissing, drinking mention, lowkey perv!Spencer, cum play, praise, oral (female receiving), grinding, love confessions, arrangements, Spencers anxiety, (more to add)

word count: 3.4K

a/n: updates on Wednesdays and saturdays at 2 pm est

Chapter Two | Masterlist

She sat on the subway with an anxious pit in her stomach and her purse held close to her chest. Her laptop in her bag, she didn’t want to lose it on her way to the most important meeting of her whole life.

Her story was becoming a book, she was almost done the final draft, they were making touch-ups to the cover and picking the type of paper today.

Her dreams were coming true within the next month, soon she’d have a physical copy of her book, her pre-sales were showing that she’d be on the bestseller list, and her name was finally going to be on the cover of this one.

She sighed and reached for her necklace, holding it between her fingers as she took a few deep breaths. She was doing so much better today than she was last year and it was all because of Spencer, he was the best thing to happen to her. To think she complimented his sweater vest and now he’s the only person in her life she can count on.

All she can think about is him for the rest of her journey, through 4 more stops she keeps her eyes closed as she thinks of all his little facts and his cute laugh. She smiles to herself and the anxiety slips away, she loves him and she knows that for sure, but she just doesn’t know how she loves him.

She’s never had a sibling, her best friends are all women, her previous boyfriends were all shit and her other sugar daddies were never this wonderful, and her parents are lesbians… she doesn’t know what her feelings really are for Spencer, mainly because she’s never known any other men to compare him to.

But she does know the exact moment she realized she fell for him.

He booked a hotel room in DC after a local case, asking her to meet him in there at 10 pm. She was waiting in the bathtub when he arrived, bubbles galore, her hair up and arms open, “welcome home, honey.”

He laughs, “you want me to get in there with you?”

She just nods, “let me take care of you, daddy?”

He takes off his blazer, pulls his tie off and starts to unbutton his shirt. She watches patiently as he gets undressed, and it’s not sexual to her. He’s her person, her best friend, the only human being she would ever share a moment like this with and that’s when it hits her.

She doesn’t accept it just yet.

It’s not until he’s lying on her chest, between her legs, cheek resting on her boobs as she runs a sponge over his back while he gives her a little run down on his terrible week. His co-worker almost died, his mom is stressing him out, the only good thing he has left is her and she knows that.

“And then I get to my moms facility and she’s had a really good day, she knows me and she knows all of my childhood again and she’s all right there in front of me and yet she’s so far away. I’m never going to get all the time I want with her and it’s really hard to accept.”

He shares things with her that he doesn’t even tell his therapist. Because his therapist doesn’t hold him like a child against her chest and tell him he’s okay when he get’s upset.

Y/N loves him, so she kisses his forehead, “I’m so sorry, I have 2 moms if you’d like to have one?”

“It’s okay, I would love to meet them sometime though,” he wraps his arms around her waist a little tighter under the water. “Thank you for tonight.”

“Did I mention my leg is 44 inches from hip to toe?” She asks in the middle of the silence, quoting pretty woman, knowing he hasn’t seen that far into the movie yet. “So basically we’re talking about 88 inches of therapy for the bargain price of $800 dollars a week.”

Her legs wrap around him and their naked bodies are closer than they’ve ever been and yet it’s completely platonic, “I’d spend a million dollars on you if it always meant feeling this good after.”

She runs her cheek along his wet hair as he snuggles into her neck, “mmm, I like the sound of that,” she teased. “My million dollar man.”

Her stop rolls around and she pulls herself out of her day dreams to get off the train and head to her meeting. She smiles as she walks through the station, up the stairs and onto the busy downtown streets when she gets a text with Spencers special chime. She opens it when she gets to where she’s going, safely inside and in the waiting room.

It makes her laugh in the waiting room. People look at her but she doesn’t care, he’s so special to her she feels butterflies in her stomach even when he’s not around.

“Y/N!” She hears her name being called by her editor, he’s over ecstatic as he comes running out to get her. “Come, come we have so many choices to make!” He jumps up and down as he holds her arm, like a child in a candy store.

“Andy, chill man,” she laughs at him and plays it cool, “It’s just the cover being finalized.”

“It’s our baby!” He teases back, pushing his glasses up and tugging her behind the glass doors of the office.

She’s surrounded by people and paper and huge versions of her book cover. She has a sharpie as she fixed mistakes and jots down final ideas. “And I wan’t Phil to look more human and less like data from Star Trek?”

“But Dorothy looks okay?” The artist asks, nervously and Y/N can tell.

“She looks beautiful! You really brought her justice,” she smiles, “really she looks the same in my head! It’s just Phil and I’m sure it’s tough getting a drawing to look like a robotic human, let alone human.”

“I have some ideas?” She opens up more, taking her iPad out and sliding it across the table, “I wanted to give him more of a Sophia feel? His face is silicone but his joints and everything are more like an Elon Musk crash dummy.”

“That’s perfect!” She’s shocked, “why didn’t that go in the first draft?”

“I was worried it was too much,” she’s a little older than Y/N, and yet her anxiety is that of a teenage girl. “I’m going to get working on the final, do you want some emailed versions tonight?”

“Yes please,” she smiles.

“So we’re done?” Andy asks, “we’ve made all our final calls?”

“I believe we have,” Y/N closes her laptop and takes her phone out, taking a photo of the final rough sketch of her book cover on the table to send to Spencer before he comes to pick her up. She can’t wait to see him now.

—

They’re sitting side by side in matching spa robes, he’s getting a pedicure while she gets her nails done. Leaning back in her chair with a face mask and cucumbers on her eyes, she’s never felt more relaxed in her life. And just in time too, her back was killing her from writing, her knuckles hurt and she just needed a break.

Spencer did too, he was genuinely not having a good time at work anymore, every case made him spiral and he always looked to Y/N on days like that. They met more than once a week now, she got $800 every Friday and she didn’t even really need it anymore. He was coving for so much of her bills and lively hood that her savings account was growing and growing because of him.

For the first time in her life she thought she would be okay if a man left her. As terrible as it was, as much as her moms tried to raise her differently, she fell down the daddy issues rabbit hole and she’s never going to find her way out— however, luckily for her, Spencer is down here too, and he brought a flashlight.

He understands her, more than anyone else on earth. He knows all her secrets, every crush and bad grade and snide remark she’s ever kept to herself. He didn’t judge her, he could actually listen to her issues and tell her why she had them. He gave better advice than a therapist and he was able to get information for her if he didn’t know the answer to what she was going through.

He’s absolutely everything to her and yet he’s 14 years older than her, he’s still traumatized beyond belief, he’s sad and ashamed and recovering… but he’s the best man in the whole world and she wishes he could see that. If he just looked at himself from her eyes, if he felt how she did in her soul when they were together, he’d love himself.

They’re too relaxed to drive home, and Spencer knew that would happen beforehand, bringing her a change of clothes (lingerie) and that robe me mentioned. He books a hotel above the spa and takes her to it. Arms linked as they enter the suite, she’s amazed to find more than one gift bag on the bed.

“How many gifts is this now?”

“We’re at 5 out of 24.”

She laughs as she wraps her arms around him in a thank you hug, “this is what you consider 4 gifts? Spencer there are like 8 things on the bed, let alone the massage and manicure?”

“If you think this is too much I guess you’re going to get really mad next week,” he teases as she looks up at him with a surprised look on her face.

“Spencer, I am so busy next week, I cannot be galavanting around with my sugar daddy,” she tries to act like she doesn’t want to go on an adventure with him again.

The last trip they took was the best week of her life. They went to all the historical sites in the UK that she and Spencer had talked about. Mainly old churches and castles, strange poets graves, random art and most importantly; stone henge. It was a trip of a lifetime and he took it with her.

“I watched the rest of Pretty Woman the other day,” he smiles, “and I thought I’d pull an Edward Lewis and really surprise you because you deserve it.”

“You know how the movie ends, right?” Her heart beats really fast in her chest and she wants him to love her so bad but it’s also terrifying now that she’s this close.

“He lets her choose,” he whispers.

“He rescues her,” she corrects him.

“And she rescues him right back,” he really did watch the end of the movie.

It makes her heart skip a beat as she swallows sharply, “what does this mean for us?”

“I have a whole plan, a whole sequence of events I want to stick to. I wanted to make you fall in love with me this week and ask you on your birthday, can we still do that?” He pleads with her, he’s so serious. He’s clearly put a lot of effort into this.

“Absolutely,” she smiles, “but if you’re going to make me wait that long for you to ask, you still can’t kiss me till then. No matter how much I already love you.”

“Really?” He’s so soft with her, she knows he’s not reacting to the teasing. He’s never had someone tell him they love him and then stay after.

“I would never lie to you about that, spence. I know what love means to you, I know how scared you are and I’m scared too. But I know there is no one else in the whole world I’d rather be scared with than you,” she holds him tighter and rubs her nose against his, “so what’s in the bags, daddy? Finish your surprise.”

She plays along perfectly, stepping back and hauling him towards the bed. “I got you some outfits and things for the next 2 weeks, we have a few things planned. We’re going on a flight soon, I have new luggage being delivered to your apartment this week and we’re going to see your moms for 3 days.”

“No,” she shakes her head, “there’s no way, Spencer, I haven’t seen them in 5 years, I’m going to cry.”

“I know,” he cups her jaw with his hand. “They’re really excited to see you.”

She hugs him tight, kissing his neck as she holds him. “Thank you, daddy, do you want me to put something on for you now?”

“I’m just going to take it off you, plus, what your wearing is sexy enough, he whispers back. “You’re always so beautiful, baby.”

“I thought you were saving the best for last?” She asks as she pulls back, overly eager and he can tell.

“I want to repay the favour from the other night.”

She doesn’t mean to gasp and yet she does, “please?”

He pulls on the tie of her robe, opening it enough to snake a hand behind her back and draw her in with a hand on her bare back. “Please what?”

“Please, daddy?” She looks up with her best begging eyes, perfect pout and all. “I want you to touch me, I promise I’ll be a good girl.”

He steps away from her to swipe all the bags off the bed before picking her up and laying her back against the pillows. He kisses down her body, hand on her lover back as she arches, he drags his bottom lip from her belly button to her cleavage. Nipping and sucking at the exposed skin on her chest, pulling her breasts out of the bra to suck on her nipples, she moans and it’s louder than she expected.

As she plays with his hair, he marks her, bruising small little love bites all the way down as he makes his way between her legs, “take me, please?”

He’s been dreaming of this for so long, he can’t even give you an accurate number of times his mind has drifted to the thought of how wonderful she would taste, how beautiful she’d sound…

“Tell me how badly you want me?” He asks as he spreads her legs and kisses her left thigh.

“I haven’t had sex in 10 months while waiting for you. Daddy, please you’ve owned me for so long, just take what’s yours already for gods sa- OH!”

With a broad lick, his tongue flattens against her core and it shuts her up. She gets what she wants, holding into his hair as she tosses her head back, taking it all in and enjoying it. He’s been on her mind for months, every time her vibrator was where he is now, she thought of him. he’s been the man of her dreams longer than she’s known him, and he was proving it.

“Right there, daddy,” she speaks through shallow breaths, “do you know how much I’ve thought of this?”

“You know I don’t,” the vibrations of his voice against her skin are glorious, he looks up at her through his lashes as his tongue flicks over her clit and she shakes a bit.

“Fuck,” she gasps, gripping his hair tighter, “better than I thought you’d be, fuck, too bad you— Jesus, don’t have the stash anymore…”

He stops and looks up at her, the smirk on his face glistening with her juices, “the stash?”

She nods, “I’ve thought about calling it the pussy tickler,” she teases, running her hand down his cheek and swiping her thumb across his bottom lip before bringing it up to her mouth to taste, “I want more of you.”

He kisses back up her body and she reaches for his robe the second he’s close enough. “Just grind against me? I know you’re waiting but we can still feel good together?”

He kisses the side of her mouth and she takes that as a yes, wrapping her legs around him so his hard cock is pressed right against her core as they move their hips in synchronicity with each other. His breathing is heavy as he kisses her cheek and jaw, her nails scratch down his back, he feels absolutely amazing against her.

She feels so empty, she wants him so bad she’s clenching around nothing as she squirms against his cock and wishes she was full.

“I wish I could move time,” she whispers. “Fuck, why can’t it be my birthday?”

He laughs against her, grazing his teeth over her neck and drawing another moan from her but then he stops moving his hips, “why are you so impatient?”

“Remember I said I stopped enjoying everything? Well, taking a 10 month break from sex and thinking about you every time I got off has made me desperate,” her hand cups his cheek, “I’d wait forever for you, but a girl needs to be fucked hard every once in a while.”

Only she could find a way to make something both profoundly beautiful and whorish at the same time, he loved her for it and she knew that now. He smiles and leaned in to rub his nose against hers and it takes everything in her not to kiss him. The same way it was taking everything in him not to slip into her as he began to grind against her once more.

She’s so close, the accidental edging has added a whole new level of desperation she’s never felt before. She wants to cum for him so bad, but more importantly she wants him to cum for her.

“Take my bra off,” she whispers, Spencer’s hands travel behind her back to unclasp it and he helps her out of it before tossing it to the floor.

“Cum for me daddy,” she whispers in his head with a hand in his hair, gripping him tightly as he bites at her neck, “cover me with your cum like you’re marking your territory.”

“Shit,” his hips sputter against hers.

“Say it, I know you want to,” she teases, so close to the edge but it’s too good of an opportunity. She loves seeing him fall apart like this and she can’t wait to see it again. “Who’s am I?”

“Daddy’s girl.”

He grinds down on her harder and faster and she’s so close, the bubble in her gut is reaching a fever pitch and with a gasp, she’s cumming and then she feels it. His load covers her stomach as he pants against her neck and grips her hips tighter as he comes down.

She wraps her arms around him and holds him as close as humanly possible, her breathing still heavy as he rises and falls on her chest. He’s heavy but she doesn’t care, she just kisses the top of his head and thanks him.

He brushes his nose against her neck, nuzzling her like a cat, “do you really mean it?”

“What, honey?” He remembers so much, this could be a question about something she said 2 months or 2 minutes ago and she has no clue.

“You’re not just playing along with my kinks right, you genuinely want to be mine?”

For being her million dollar man, his heart sure was broke. This is why he wasn’t ready, he still didn’t understand why she would want to stay without anything in return, he’s gotten so used to paying her for her time now that his anxiety has managed to convince him that she’ll leave when he stops being worth it to her.

“What does my necklace say?” She asks, knowing how close he was to it. “Read it to me, I forget.”

“Daddy’s girl,” he smiles again.

She soothes her hands over his back, “I would do anything with you because I love and trust you, but also because everything you do is sexy… you could read me the dictionary and I’d still want you to pump me full of cum after.”

“It sounds so crude after,” he laughs, “speaking of, we really need to have a shower.”

“I’ll wash your back if you wash mine?” She teases as he gets up.

“Only if you let me wash the front too?”

She smacks his bare ass and races him into the bathroom, turning on the water and getting in with him while still laughing and carrying on. He’s her best friend in the whole world, there’s no one else she would rather do this with… there was no one she has done this with. No one has made her feel this good, before during and after sex.

Spencer Reid was an anomaly, but he was hers.

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non-stop-imagines · 4 years

Text

Baby Daddy Stark (Part 6)

Here's Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Pairing: Tony Stark x Black!Reader

Word Count: 4.2k

A/N: As you guys can see, I'm on a bit of a writing rampage. After writing that Bucky piece last night it felt right to go and update one of my series. It feels good writing again especially after the weird depression moment I had when it was official that all of my classes for the rest of the semester were gonna be online. I would also like to just thank everyone that have been so supportive as I begin to write again and even through my hiatus and hopefully I can get much more writing done. But any way, here's part 6! Hope you all like it! Love you all!!!💛💖💛💖💛💖

Warnings: Some mention of throwing up, Some curse words, Reader being mama bear, Tony on the come up as a dad, Travis develops a little crush, I'm telling y'all right now this is 99.9% fluff

UNIVERSAL TAGS LIST: @beautifulwisdom2001 @iamzion-therealhabesha @thottio @jetaimeamore @shakzer00 @mixedfandxms @here-for-your-bullshit

Baby Daddy Stark Tags List: @blackreaders-assemble @blueoz @mixedfandxms @walawalaboom

Masterlist

_____

It's been about 2 weeks since Travis' tournament and since then the calls from Tony have become more frequent and lengthy. He would call every other day at around 7 at night because he knew you got home at about 6:30 every day and liked that half an hour to come down from whatever mood that work had you in but it's not too late so he has more than enough time to sit and talk with Travis until his bedtime. Even though you didn’t want to admit it, Tony was really making an effort to be more present, and it confused you. Why would a man in his prime put so much effort into being in the life of a son he just found out he had? Your thoughts were broken when the timely sound of your ringtone came through.

“IS THAT TONY?!” You hear Travis yell from his room. A large smile grew on your face once you heard his excitement.

“Yes, but you can’t talk to him until your done with homework!” You yell back from the kitchen, then answer the phone. “Hey Tony. How was your day?” You put the phone on speaker and place it on the counter so you can wash your hands to start dinner.

“Fine, I’m actually getting ready to come upstate tomorrow. How was your day?” Your smile dims to something like a dreamy grin, more than likely matching the smile on his face at the moment.

“Great, I have a presentation for a new surgical robot that I’ve been working on for years. Since Travis was, wow, seven?” You grab the package of defrosted chicken that sat on the counter, grinning at the satisfaction of being able to tell your child to put the chicken in the sink to defrost it before you got home, something you don't think you’ll ever get tired of.

“What is this innovation that I’m going to be seeing in hospitals worldwide someday?” His smile travels through the phone, causing you to have to fight an even larger smile from your face as you finish cleaning the chicken, preparing to season it.

“Well…” You continue on into a long explanation about your innovation that makes brain surgery 15% safer which, in the world of neurology, is an immense difference. Once you got to the point where you were basically giving the exact presentation you were going to give the next day, Travis came into the kitchen looking slightly exhausted.

“Homework done, I am ready to talk to Tony.” His words came out as a sigh, eyes hooded with a hoodie on in the 78 degrees house.

“Okay.” You turn to the phone. “Hey, Tony, here’s Travis.” You go to hand him the phone but stop mid-transfer. “Baby, you look sick. And you feel warm.” You retract your hand from Travis’s forehead and hand him your phone.

“Eh, I’ll be fine. I have a test tomorrow, so I can’t stay home but-” His words come out as a groan before your attempted to say something he is obviously used to. “I know, I know. I’ll go to the nurse if I’m not feeling good.” A sad and somewhat pain smile flashes across his face before you fluffed his hair and sent him off. “Dinner will be ready in a bit. You’re going to eat, take some medicine and go to bed, okay?”

“Yes ma’am.” He smiles back at you from the couch then goes to talk to Tony. You smile when you hear a faint ”Hey, kiddo!” then turn back to the stove to finish cooking.

_____

“Y/N, you ready for today? I know how hard you’ve been working on it.” Your coworker, Kate, pops her head into your office then steps in. Her smile has always been calming for you from your first day there. Her heels click across the floor as she makes her way to the seat in front of your desk. “So, how do you feel?”

“Ahhh, excited. Nervous as hell. And it doesn’t help that I’m just waiting to get a call from the nurse at Travis’s school which would only further postpone the presentation and would do just short of killing me.” You twist a coil of your low pulled back hair around your finger.

“And the, uh, Tony Stark thing?” She leans close and whispers to you, allowing some light brown hair that didn't make it into her bun fall in front of her glasses. Other than Naomi, Kate is the only other person who knows about Tony.

“It's going surprisingly well.” You lean in toward your computer monitor, looking closely at an email before quickly answering it. “He calls… gosh, everyday at a perfect time. Talks to me and Travis-" You stop midway through your gushing, realizing the feeling you get when you even just think about Tony. You love feeling so happy, comfortable and open with another person but it's not just you in this new relationship. Your son is there too, probably just as enamored by the feeling of having his father, having THE Tony Stark as his father. Whenever these thoughts flood through your mind you can't help but think about the hurt that could happen if something-

"Uh, Y/N… your cell." You break from your slowly darkening thoughts and look at your phone. Seeing the somewhat familiar number of Travis's school. You quickly answer it, apologizing to Kate for answering the phone during your conversation to which she hastily dismisses it with a smile, leaving you alone in your office.

"Hello, Ms. Y/L/N? This is Mrs. Johnson, the nurse at North Albany Middle School." Your heart drops. You knew you shouldn't have let him go to school.

"Hello, how are you doing today?" You try hard to continue the conversation as normal as possible.

"I'm doing fine, thank you. I'm calling because I have Travis in here with a fever and just a couple of minutes ago he threw up. I believe it would be the best to have you or an emergency contact come pick him up and take him home." As you were about to answer, you receive a text from Tony.

Tony:

Hey, just wanted to let you know that I just got to the Upstate Compound. Hoping to see you and Trav tonight 😊

"Umm, hold on one secondd… I just have to send this text real quick." You quickly type out a text to Tony.

About how far away from North Albany mid school?? Travis isn't feeling well and I want him to get somewhere and rest as soon as possible and I'm an hour and a half away, not including any possible traffic. Could you pick him up?

Barely ten seconds later you receive a response and sight in relief.

Tony:

Only 25 min. Of course I'll pick him up.

"Hi, I'm so sorry I left you waiting. I'm actually quite far from the school but his uh… dad is just under a half an hour away so he'll come and pick up Travis. I'll give you his contact information so you can get in touch with him. His name is Tony… uh just Tony." You look at the clock on your desktop. Five minutes until your presentation. If you're late, you're late and they're just gonna have to wait.

"Uh, Ms. Y/L/N, I'm gonna need a last name." The nurse giggles her response, slightly confused. You sigh and whisper into the phone.

"Tony Stark. Please keep this private. And his phone number is…" Once you give the phone number you thank her for calling. Then hang up. You quickly gather your things needed for your presentation and head out your office quickly going to and tapping on Travis's contact in your phone. One ring. Two rings.

"Hi, mama." He groans into his phone.

"Hey, baby boy. How are you doing?" You continuously press on the elevator button, quickly hopping in when the doors open and then swiftly removing your heels.

"My stomach feels a bit better but my head and throat are killing me. Mrs. Johnson gave me some apple juice and saltines to eat while I wait for you to pick me up." The elevator dings on the floor you need and you high tail it out of the elevator.

"Actually, Tony is already upstate and much closer than I am, so he's gonna pick you up. He'll be there in about 20 minutes and then once I'm done I'm gonna come up the Compound to pick you up and take you home, okay?" After a couple of minutes of walking down a long straight hallway, you get to the meeting room, smiling at Kate, who was doing an amazing job at stalling for you, through the large glass wall.

"Oh, okay." You can hear the small smile grow on his face. "Also, I lasted through my test in math. I think I did alright, considering that right after I turned in my test I ran to the bathroom to throw up." He chuckles then groans at what you assume to be irritation of his throat and pain in his head.

"Alright baby, I'm gonna go into my meeting now. Try and take a nap while you wait, and call me or text me if you need anything. Okay? Love you." You finish pulling on your heels and smooth out your skirt in the reflection produced by the dark windows of the empty meeting room next door.

"Okay, love you too." You give him a kiss through the phone and after receiving one from him, you two share one last goodbye and you wait for him to hang up before heading into the meeting room to give the best presentation of your life.

_____

"North Albany, North Albany…" Tony recites to himself as he drives his large SUV down the street the school is presumably on, when out of nowhere he hears the voice of what sounds like a GPS come from the very back row telling him in 1000ft his destination is in the right, almost giving him a heart attack.

"Crap, crap, crap!" He hears an all too familiar voice in a frantic panic as tussling and tapping on a phone screen comes from the back.

"Pete, what the actual fuck are you doing in the back of my car? Aren't you supposed to be in school or something?" Tony takes peeks into his rear view mirror watching as Peter slowly sits up from his previously laying position.

"We had early release today and I told Aunt May that you were heading upstate and may have made it sound like you invited me so I jumped into your car as quick as possible." By the time Peter was done rambling, Tony was already parked in a visitors parking space, look at Peter over his dark sunglasses.

"Get in the passenger seat, Parker. I'll be right back." He sighs, then gets out the SUV, leaving the keys in the transmission. "Make sure you lock the door." He reminds Peter before making his way to the front office. He walks in and up to the the front desk labeled "Pick Up/Drop Off", patiently waiting for the receptionist to speak to him.

"Hello. Picking up or dropping something off?" She asks as she finishes typing something.

"Uh, I'm here to pick up my son from the nurse's office." He hesitantly removes his sunglasses and taps them in his hand, hoping it would make him seem less suspicious.

"Okay, first and last name and date of birth?" She looks up at him, a hint of shock passing through her expression before going back to her job.

"Uh, Travis Y/L/N. And date of birth is..uh… oh. Date of birth 2-18-2009." He smiled at his ability to remember fairly new information.

"Okay, and your name and phone number sir?" She smiles at her need to ask this question, knowing fully well who was standing in front of her.

"Tony Stark. And my phone number is…" After giving his number she politely thanks his cooperation and gives him directions back to the nurse's office. He take a deep breath before knocking on the office door before opening it. "Hi, I'm Tony, Travis's dad, and I'm here to pick him up." The nurse, who was and old black lady, looking to be close to her mid 60's, looks up from what she was writing, surprised to actually see Tony Stark standing in front of her, nervous as hell.

"Oh, Mr. Stark. I-uh- nice to meet you. Travis is just laying in bed 3 but first I'm just gonna need you to sign him out. Just put his name here, your name here, your phone number here, your wi- his mom- Ms. uh-Y/L/N's number here and the date here, please." Tony does as told then makes his way over to his son's bed, giving him a gentle shake to wake him up.

"Hey, kiddo. Ready to go?" He pushed some rouge curls that fell from his pulled back hair while he was sleeping. He touched his head with the back of his hand, feeling the overwhelming warmth radiate. He earns an affirmative groan from his awakening son which prompts his to stand from his kneeling position, picking up his surprisingly heavy backpack in the process. He slings the backpack onto his right shoulder then helps his still partially asleep son from the bed and to the door. "Thank you so much, uh-"

"Mrs. Johnson." The old lady smiles at him. "Please pass onto your wife to make sure to contact the school if Travis is still too sick to come to school Monday. It was very nice to meet you." She smiles politely at Tony then shifts her attention to Travis. "Hope you start feeling better soon, Travis." Travis quietly thanks her then the two leave the nurse's office and out the front office door, but not before thanking the receptionist.

"Alright, you get in the backseat here since Peter decided to tag along. Make sure to buckle up and once you do you can lay down." He helps Travis into the backseat and then gets into the driver's seat, handing Peter Travis's backpack. "We're gonna head over to the compound and you're gonna wait there for your mom, okay" Travis grunts and okay and greets Peter before quickly falling back asleep.

"Dang, what does he have in here? Cinder blocks?" Peter places the backpack in front of him then looks at the sleeping ten year old in the back seat as Tony pulls out of the parking lot.

_____

It's been about half an hour since Tony got Travis and Peter to the Compound and around 15 minutes since you texted Tony and Travis that you were coming to pick Trav up. Travis just woke up from his nap, fully for the first time since Tony picked him up from school, this not including the two times he woke up for no more than a minute to throw up. He sits up on the couch he was sleeping on, taking a moment to let the thumping pain in his head subside, before standing up and beginning to roam around the compound, immediately heading for an elevator not far from where he sat. He pressed the only button present outside of the elevator which pointed down and entered once it opened. He looks at the destinations that labeled each button and decided to go down to the floor labeled "Kiddy Lab", then pulled out his phone to see your text.

Mama (ICE) 🐻:

I'm on my way to the compound, should be there by 330 or 400. Text me when you wake up. 😘

He quickly texts back when he finishes reading.

Just woke up a couple of minutes ago. Head still hurts and so does my throat but my stomach feels a lot better.

He pressed send right as he reached the destined floor, slightly surprised to hear Kendrick Lamar blast through the speakers in the ceiling of the shockingly large and well equipped lab. He walks further in, tightening the blanket around his shoulders, and turns a corner to see Peter at a workbench, seeming to be doing homework and ever so slightly moving to the music.

"Hey, Peter." Travis musters his first full sentence that he's said within the last 45 minutes.

"Oh, hey Trav! How are you feeling?" He places down his pencil and turns around on the lab stool to look at him. His eyes scan down his lanky body, slightly jealous of his height at such a young age, but the overwhelming feeling of practically being a big brother overshadowing everything else.

"Better. Throat and head still hurt…" he looks around the bright lab, somewhat confused about why the lab has what seems to be very advanced technology. "Is this all your's. Like, did… did Tony make this for you?"

"Oh, ha, not exactly. I share this lab with Shuri, who is somewhere around here. Most of this stuff was transported from her lab in Wakanda." Peter calls out for Shuri a few times, knowing of her incoming presence when he hears the volume of the music decrease. From around a large machine comes a dark skinned, tall, thin girl, hair in a ponytail of long braids, streaks of blue flowing through them. She had on black skinny jeans, a large light blue t-shirt with "The Birds Work for the Bourgeoisie." written across the chest in simple black letters and baby blue Air Max's.

"What's up, Spider Boy?" Her thick accent was like heaven to Travis's ears as he took in Shuri's presence.

"Shuri, this is Travis, Tony's son. Travis, the is Princess Shuri of Wakanda and arguably the smartest person in the world." He whispers that last part but still earns a smack from Shuri.

"He just doesn't want to admit that I'm smarter than his beloved Mr. Stark." She turns back to Travis with her hand out and a bright beautiful smile on her face. "Nice to meet you Travis."

"N-n-nice to-uh- meet you too, your majesty." Travis does an awkward hybrid hand shake bow, unsure what to do and too nervous to even look into her eyes.

"Please, just call me Shuri. So, Trav, how old are you?" She begins to walk back around the large machine in the middle of the lab, to which Travis swiftly follows suit.

"I'm, uh, t-ten. Eleven in February." He shivers from the cold air in the lab and wraps his blanket tighter around him.

"That's cool. So, being Tony's son, you must be into something science related, right?" She goes over to a large holographic computer-type set up and types something on the keyboard embedded in the table.

"I like robotics, but it's mainly because my mom is a biomedical engineer and mainly works with robotics. B-but I have always felt some connection to Tony Stark, though." He tries to puff his chest out at his more fanboy-like intuition but has to move quickly to cover his mouth with the crook of his elbow when he feels a cough coming on.

"That's cool. So, you've got smarts on both sides. Do you do anything else? Sports or something?" She manipulates something in the hologram and then continues to type.

"I'm in my schools robotics club, we actually got 4th place at our most recent competition. I'm also on a club baseball team because my mom used to play softball and I liked the stories she used to tell me about her playing and though it sounded cool." At the moment his rambling siezed, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, promoting him to take it out, knowing it's a text from you.

Mama (ICE) 🐻:

I'm here. Be ready to go in 5. I just need to talk to Tony real quick.

Travis groans at the text, coughing at the irritation he imposed on his throat. "My mom is here. I have to get going." He says loud enough for Shuri and Peter to hear.

"Hey, Shuri, we should go up with him. You have to meet his mom. She's super nice." Peter gets up from his stool and makes his way over to the two.

"Alright. I just need to finish one last thing and we'll head up." She looks back at Travis, lowering her gaze ever so slightly when she realizes that Travis just so happened to be slightly shorter than her.

____

Hey, I'm in the compound where are you?

You press send on the text to Tony then head to the elevator, picking up Travis's backpack as you pass it. You press the button and wait for the doors to open, and once they do you enter and press the button labeled "Lab". A minute later you arrived at the end of a short hallway, one side with concrete walls and the other side with tall glass windows allowing all visibility into the lab. As you walk to the end of the hallway where the door was you look in and wave at Tony, adjusting Travis's backpack on your shoulder along with your purse.

"Welcome, Ms. Y/L/N." You hear a female A.I. voice greet you as you open the door into the lab, light rock music playing in the background.

"Hey, Y/N. Uh-how was your presentation?" Tony meets you halfway, which just so happened to be next to a workbench that he decides to lean against.

"I think it went well. The reason I'm coming so late is because they had me take them to the hospital where the robot is being held to show them how it's used. They seemed quite pleased." A quiet fell over the two of you which gave you a second to look around his lab as he watched you admirably. "Oh, uh, thank you so much for picking up Travis and taking care of him for me. It really helped take a load off of my day." You grin at Tony, the natural sparkle in your eye making him melt.

"It was no problem at all. And if you ever need me to do anything at all just text, call, email, face time…" You two giggle at the last suggestion and sit in now more comfortable silence.

"Well, I guess we better get back up to the, uh, main room." You turn to the door that exits back out to the short hallway but stop when you hear Tony call your name.

"Are you free, say, next Friday? I passed a restaurant, uh, Italiano Roma. It seemed right up your alley and I mean we have to celebrate your great presentation. I heard it's pretty new…" He does an open arm gesture and raises his eyebrows, waiting for your answer.

"Yeah, new and expensive." You laugh and begin to walk to the door again.

"Come on. It's all on me." Tony rushes from behind you to open the door. You sigh and turn to look at him holding open the door.

"Fine, next Friday. " You smile and continue out the door and down the hallway.

_____

You and Tony finally make it to the main room, and your heart swells when you see Travis pulling on his shoes, wrapped in a blanket and laughing with Peter and another teenager, a very pretty dark skin girl.

"Mama!" Travis calls over to you then coughs after the sudden throat irritation.

"Hey baby. You ready to go home?" You remove the blanket from his shoulders and help him pull his jacket on.

"Yeah. But before we go, I wanted you to meet Shuri. She's from Wakanda, practically a genius, and only 16." You look at the dreamy look in your son's eyes then at Shuri who already had her hand out.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Y/L/N. Your son is a delightful and very bright boy." She smiles a bright smile and gives you a slight bow.

"It's a pleasure meeting you too. I'm glad that Travis has been exposed to such bright talented young adults like you and Peter. Actually…" You briefly at Tony, then back at the teens. "Would you two mind watching Travis next Friday? I made plans with someone and I feel like you two would be the best people to watch him and make sure everything runs smoothly. I'll pay you both, say, $10 and hour?"

"We would love to, Ms. Y/L/N, right Shuri?" Peter walks by Shuri and nudges her.

"Oh, yes. Of course, it would be no problem at all." She smiles.

"Oh, thank you both so much." You look over at where Travis was previously sat only to find that he moved. You turn around to see him talking to Tony. "Trav, time to go." You give him a sorry smile which he nods to, then proceeds to hug Tony and bid everyone in the room goodbye. "Tony, I'll text you when we get home, okay?"

"Okay." He gives you a bright smile and watches as you walk Travis out, feeling his forehead with the back of your hand then rubbing back his rouge curls.

#tony stark x black reader #tony stark imagine #tony stark x reader #tony stark #iron man imagine #iron man x reader #iron man #robert downey jr #marvel #marvel imagine

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jpat82 · 5 years

Text

Letters To You

Bucky x Reader

Dearest Grandma,

I hope this card finds its way to you, I'm sorry I won't be able to come home this holiday, work has been keeping me busy. I did take the time to buy a tree like you insisted upon, even though I'll barely be home to see it. The city looks amazing, it's all decorated, I know you would love it.

This year is going to be the hardest I know, I miss you like crazy. Maybe that's why I keep myself busy so I can forget. I promise this spring I'll come out and see you, I love you and I always will.

Your little bird.

It was Dec 1st and the the third card Bucky had received and it was the first one he had opened. The address was his and he had moved in just shy of two months ago. He wasn't sure what had possessed him to open the red envelope this time. He usually sent them back with return to sender scrawled across the top but the woman sent them still to his address.

With heavy sigh he sat down at his desk and grabbed a blank sheet of paper.

Dear... to whom it may...

I just wanted to let you know that the person you keep mailing letters to no longer lives at this address. I've sent the others back and maybe they haven't reached you, maybe they got lost on their way. I wish you well.

James.

He sealed the letter in the envelope and sent it off in the mail and thought nothing of it. He went about his day, Steve had been trying to get him out and enjoy the winter season.

He couldn't, the cold brought back memories of Siberia and everything that went with it. The holidays reminded him that his family wasn't alive in this era, and even though he had friends he couldn't just shake his past like Steve could. Sam has attempted to reach out to him, trying to get him to join the va group but he didn't. He couldn't bring himself to go. Days went by and as they did his mood continued to become dampened, he started to spend more time inside. He kept himself busy, cleaning weapons or working out, reading history books, anything to keep his mind busy.

That was till two days later he got an envelope that was baby blue in color. This time his name written with his address and from the same address as the red envelope. He tossed it to the side and went about the rest of the day, it wasn't till late that night as he was laying on the couch did he remember the letter.

Dear James,

I'm sorry to have bothered you, no I never got the returned letters. To be honest I was wondering when they would start to return. The house you are living was occupied by my grandmother, she passed this fall and I didn't know what else to do to keep her alive with me. So I continued to write with intent on stopping when with letters came back, then I would know that the house had been sold.

This is the first year of me being by myself, and a part of me hoped that the house wouldn't sell till after the holidays so I could at least pretend that she was still here with me. I don't know why I'm dumping all of this on you, and I'm sorry for that. I wish you a good holiday and a bright new year, I wish you enough.

Y/n

Bucky reread the letter three times, his heart breaking for the stranger who took the time to write it. He reached over and grabbed the notebook he had kept for years, ripping a blank page from it before grabbing a pen from the coffee table. He paused for a moment, debating on whether he should respond or not. He took a deep breath and sat up a bit.

Y/n,

I'm sorry to hear of your grandmas passing, it's hard to loose family and the holiday time is the hardest... I know, I'm right there with you. Wish I could say it gets easier but you'll miss them every time. If you wish to continue to write to her through the season go ahead, I promise not to pry.

I hope you find peace, and have a good holiday season as well.

James

The next morning he sent the letter off and went for a run with Sam, who had been bugging him for the last couple of days. He knew he couldn't keep avoiding people, even if it was only for a couple a weeks.

And just like the last one it took only two days for her to respond. This time a green card came in addressed to the former occupant and a silver one addressed to him. Bucky found a small smile spreading across his face as he walked over and sat down on the couch, tossing the green one on the coffee table before opening the silver envelope.

James,

Thank you! You have no idea how much it means it me. I know that next year I will miss her just as much but this year is particularly hard. My grandma was everything to me, she was my mom, my best friend, someone I could always count on. She came down ill shortly after I moved, and then work started to load down on me and I kept putting off to go see her.

I wasn't there when she passed, nor was I there for her burial. A stranger went through her house and arranged the estate sale and the sale of my childhood home. I wish I could take it all back, even if for only a day. I hope that she doesn't hate me, I didn't want to put my job before her, but... it doesn't matter. I can't believe I'm writing all of this to you, a perfect stranger. Again I'm sorry for unloading on you.

Y/n

Bucky sighed heavily, seems she was just as lost and alone as he was. A stranger who just desperately needed someone there that she would continue to write her dead grandmother just to pretend to have someone. The guilt in the way she wrote, he could see that she had been crying when she wrote it, some of the letters smudged as the tears collided with the wet ink.

He grabbed his note book and ripped out another page.

Y/n,

Don't feel guilty, I'm sure she was proud of you. In fact I know she was, you are out there living your life. You are making it on your own and if there is something I know about parents is that is all they want.

Never feel bad for unloading me, I know what it feels like not to have someone that you are comfortable enough with to open up to. And you aren't the only one struggling this year. My family passed away along time ago and this time of year is always the hardest. It's been decades since I have seen them and it still hurts. What I would to just see my sister or hear my ma sing carols, if only for an hour. I was held captive, a POW, and I never got to be there for their lives or their passing.

To be honest, so far this holiday hasn't been easy for me either. I've all but holed myself up in this house since before thanksgiving. Sam keeps trying to get me to join the va group but.. I just can't. I don't think even they would understand.

Hope to hear from you soon.

James

He rushed to get it out the next morning, Bucky wasn't even sure why he felt the need to mail her again but he did. He went about the next two days, checking the mail with a little more enthusiasm then he did before. He knew it was foolish but still he hoped she would mail him again.

On the third day he received two envelopes one gold and one green. One addressed to her grandma and the other to him.

Bucky,

I don't know what it must of been like for you, and I'm not even going to pretend to. And even if they (the va group) don't understand what you went through, it might help to just get it off your chest. Just my opinion and I won't press you on it.

As for me, my company is having a "holiday" party and I'm trying to find excuses not to go. They all know I live alone and that I don't have have any friends out here so I can't use any of the usual excuses. Something about being a round a bunch of people that I really don't want to spend more time then I have to, in a setting filled with drinks and fake holiday decor just puts me ill at ease.

Anyway, my grandma wasn't hip with the times, and I'm hoping you are. (Your email address).

Y/n

Bucky jumped from his spot and rushed over to the computer Tony had given him and fired it up. Excitement coursed through him as he logged onto the email address that Peter had helped him make.

He typed in her email address.

From oldmanbarnes:

Hey-

Y/n,

I may not be hip but I do know how to use a computer.

James

He hit send and then panicked, he forgot that Sam had a hand in the email address. And before he had a chance to respond to it his computer dinged with a reply.

From you:

Re:Hey

Old man Barnes?? Lol! Love the email address. This is kinda cool, hope your having a good day, I'm trying to figure out what I'm wearing to this holiday party.

From oldmanbarnes:

Re:re: hey

Haha yeah, a friend of mine picked it out, he thinks he's funny. And if you don't want to go don't. You could always stay home and a watch a movie, this may sound awkward but we could watch the same movie and then you can tell them you are seeing a movie with a friend.

From you:

Re:re:re: hey

Sounds like a date! Can I wear my pjs? And we have to make hot cocoa!

Permanent tag-

@kitkatkl @octobermermaid @ajosieface @instantnoodlese @crystlblu @coffeebooksandfandom @the-wayward-robot @lokilvrr @shynara51 @fourtyninekirbygamzeegirl @loislp @ifyousayyouloveme @savedbyimagination @bubblycypres87

@devilbat

Bucky Tag-

@ria132love @silverhart93 3 @yknott81

#bucky barnes #bucky #bucky x reader #bucky barnes one shot #bucky x you #bucky one shot #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x reader #holiday

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inmadnessborn · 2 years

Text

First.

Still not a robot.

The still regard of silent things.

Fischerspooner.

not quite an associate freewrite. Closer to peotry. Or at least a certain assonance. The frission of the blank page. Quiet, stillness, staring until something comes. And the something, the silence, the thing you hear when you really listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzeBHIto4Ps

You can see the Diablo 2 in the iconogrpahy. ANd if that is not a osr of imppartiality <csitch> imoortiality, I don't know aht what is.

The rambles of some drunk fool who can't talk. Type. Always the penury pleasure peril of it, that. A certain anxiety, of offending the muse ofr having looked at her. I can see why poets were destroyed. And we think them emo--thou wert not emo when thou sought to charm and attract her? (And if thou did not so attempt,, let us not speak of you).

I tried a blog. But no write. A matter of format, of a long email, a missive sent to those who migth read and understand and care. I think a partial pariital essence was that. Was that was that. Always the retrying to recapture as if a melody half foroggten of youth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okthJIVbi6g

Honestly can't tell if it's hideously misogynistic or not.

Half japanese girls (I dated one). Because of the song. Because of availability. Still. Lyrics a missive from a time. A message from a friend who hasn't changed, and it leaves you shaking your head a bit, but not very much because you know how they are is as you used to be.

Read your diary. Fear sometimes I return to old lyrics as a dog returns to it's vomit. But is it like montaigne? Quotes, bits of glorious rhythm, half poetry.

ONe of the quirks of my present existance is having read a fair bit of the bible and realizing how much of it is poetry. Of someone doing their very best to translate. But how little we realize how much of it is poetry (Poetry being what is lsot intranslation), and hence that each translation of the bible is in fact a new creation, a major creation, a new genesis (sic) of what was done before.

And we ignore that, forget it, speak of the Word, as if words were not a human invention. (A richness there, a memory of the struggle). How little we speak to ourselves now. So many voices of other.

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callistochan87 · 3 years

Text

In June, I "attended" a local writers' festival (through Zoom). The only panel I managed to attend, because I totally didn't forget about the other panel I'd signed up for on the Saturday, was a writers' workshop with Richard Van Camp. I'd just come off a week of the online Association of Canadian Archivists conference, which was of the "sit back and watch" model, so when he went around asking everyone to talk about their projects and why we were here it was very much, oh, I have to talk. i did not expect that.

Richard Van Camp seems to have boundless energy and enthusiasm, for everything. In hindsight, it was very refreshing, but at the time, oh shit,. People are talking about things That Matter to them and here I am.

I don't remember the specifics of what I said. I don't even remember if I actually gave a plot summary, unlike literally everyone else. I don't even know if I can adequately summarize it any more. But the gist of it was that I was hashing out and re-hashing the same ideas, and finding it difficult to reign in my words, leading to bloated wordy chapters that were a chore to write and forced me to bloat subsequent chapters to get in all the necessary info--in short, I was spinning my wheels and not going anywhere, and frustrated.

He immediately suggested a graphic novel format. In a subsequent email, he said that GNs pare things down to core scenes, so it makes sense in that regard--if I'm having trouble writing concisely, adopting a format that forces me to do so would be a solution. He suggested I print out my current manuscript and basically pick out the core scenes. I did not tell him my current manuscript was unfinished, and that I'd been dabbling in tweaking the base idea even more than what I'd already written (of which I've already decided to do now, but at the time I was still on the fence.)

Other things he suggested:

- Renegade Arts Entertainment, a publisher he apparently has a working relationship with, might be interested

- Read Brian K. Vaughan's Saga as it is sci-fi

- Email him the script when I was done and it was the best I could make it (he said this same advice to everyone)

I read Saga, and generally enjoyed it (still salty about the "year-long" hiatus that ended on a FUCKING CLIFFHANGER). Not sure I'd want to make CS like that but it did tell me I didn't have to be so obsessed with making things accurate. Saga has robots that look like humans with television heads, the ghosts of killed children, a wide variety of talking animals or insects that are aliens, a wide variety of different types of humans with one unusual element (horns or wings or amphibious) that are also aliens, a rocket ship that's literally a giant tree, and landscapes that effectively look like, you know, a big city.

Not the aesthetic I want for CS specifically, but it did show me I can do whatever I want and it's fine. I want some hippie futuristic aesthetic, I can fucking go for it. I want bright eye-searing colours, fuck yeah.

As for the art, when I said I could draw, and had drawn these characters before, Richard informed me that I'd basically done half the work that a hired artist would do. I could just write the script and hire an artist, But looking at Renegade Arts' submission guidelines, I could also...just...do it myself? (I don't know if my work fits their submission guidelines. They look to mostly publish horror or Canadiana-themed works, and CS really isn't either one of those.)

Despite me bingeing on webcomics, despite me looking up ways on How To Comic, I don't know if I'd be able to go ahead and do it. Not so much the artistic ability (although yes, that plays a role--dynamism is not my forte) but mostly the time to do it. I suppose I wouldn't know until I try.

BUT really, the art is the second half of the issue. I still need to write the damn thing first, and That is Goal Number One now. Just write the damn script. See if a pro author thinks it's decent. Get that done, then worry about whether or not to draw or hire or anything like that.

(I have not done that yet, obviously. I don't want to wait until November to do it, but I have yet to finish writing up the plot outline and breaking it down into scenes like I said I would. It's the middle, man. The middle drags.)

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

That being said, I still wanted to see what it might look like if I tried. I have Clip Studio Paint Pro, and it's apparently designed for comics/manga creators. There are some useful tools I never bothered to explore, like how it automatically makes panels and speech balloons for you, blocks out individual panels, etc.

I don't like Clip Studio's inking tools as much as Affinity Designer or Procreate, mostly because my usual pen stabilizing tool does NOT work with Clip's mechanics, and my hands shake too much. I'm sure this is inexperience. but inking this was a trial. I'm glad I worked at 600 dpi like I saw someone suggest. Once you shrink down the errors are less noticeable.

Other nice features:

- You can set your inks as a reference layer, open a new layer, and if you use the right settings in the Magic Wand tool, it will select areas based on the inks, even if you'r enot on the inks layer

- Has a TOOOOOOOOON of free 3D models, which I blatantly used for poses

- Also has 3D backgrounds you can use for reference

- Some of the actual brushes are nice if you like the traditional media look

I saw this tutorial and got GUNG HO about generating a good background--the 3D model takes care of the perspective and everything, and there's nothing saying I can't cheat for sped when I'm making comics-type stuff. But oh. Wait. That feature is only in the high-end Clip Studio Paint EX version. But don't worry! Because I have Pro, I can upgrade to EX for a discounted price...of 160 USD.

Basically they took the price of EX and subtracted the price of Pro, which is considerably cheaper. $160 USD comes out to something like $215 CAD, and I...I just really don't know if I can justify that right now. Or for a while.

So I just traced it like an idiot. This is not nearly as complex as the original 3D model would've been, but it gets the gist of it.

Long story short, I'm balking at paying over $200 CAD when I eventually had to wind up converting it to PSD and finalizing the colours/shading in Photoshop anyway. Not that the shading is great--I went for speed more the time, compared to this image (the last time I did cell shading). But if I'm using JUST this to generate linework for backgrounds, is it really worth it? I could just trace. It'd be a real PITA, but I did it here. If I ever figure out how to use SketchUp, I could just use that too (I do not know how to use SketchUp).

I don't know. But I did try to do as much of this in Clip Studio as I could. The cell shading doesn't look as horrible with it shrunk down like this, but it's still not...great. I struggled to figure out a good 'style' to draw this in, and settled for...I don't know if it's just Chris who turned out weird due to the perspective or what.

Although Caelis' perspective was fun. Thank goodness for those 3D models; they're a bitch to pose with a mouse, but once they're in place they're so useful. You can even specify the height and body type and it adjusts the model accordingly, so Caelis got to be a skinny beanpole as intended.

I also like the weird AI-generated colour fill. It gives you some weird, weird settings, as AI does, but when I played around with the layer settings, it highlights Chris' face with an eerie green glow, and gave Caelis some weird highlights omn his hair that rather made his hair look like it could glow in the dark. So I kept it at a very weak opacity and Soft Light solely for ~aesthetic~ Not perfect by any means, but it has that mood lighting and stark contrast, I like it XD

----

That second sheet is actually the first sheet, drawn like the weekend after the workshop, where I was...I was overthinking, as I usually do, and trying to get ideas down for a new (tweaked) plot in a coherent way when I started doodling. Experimenting. Nothing major, just to see if I could draw expressions. Some turned out great, others not so much (both from idea and execution POV), but they don't have to be good.

I wouldn't have considered this worthy to upload this on its own, but since I'd already done a cell shading comic practice piece (which is all it was - if I draw this as a comic, I would probably redraw this scene), I might as well. Playing with some stuff. Konnie's hair shift was basically:

- she would look good with short hair

- she'd probably WANT short hair anyway

- if I have to draw something over and over, it'd damn well better be simple and easy to draw, and Konnie's braid can get finicky

also I am not opposed to Eric with glasses AT ALL. i feel like this means I should take Shelby's away to compensate, but I also like the idea of twins who are not identical, but have identical crap-quality vision

but yes, while I'm still undecided, graphic novel might fit the bill. I've always drawn these characters, which doesn't make sense for a published book with words, but would make sense for an illustrated format. If nothing else, I'm willing to give it a shot and see what happens.

#celestial souls #my art #my stories #my characters #doodles #wip

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mldrgrl · 7 years

Note

"How many different lives would we be leading if we made different choices" Fox Mulder. A wonderful prompt for a wonderful fic, don't you think? Please? Please? (Yes, I watched All things again today and that's why I'm bothering you and all the others amazing fic writers on this site: you are too good to be left unbothered).

Okay, Anon, I’ll play.

Some Other Meby: mldrgrlRated: PG

There’s a Fox Mulder whose sister wasn’t taken from him by aliens. Instead, she died in a drowning accident at their summer home when she was four. His parents separated by the time he was in sixth grade and he lived with his father outside of DC because his mother was too full of grief to care for her remaining child.

Fox didn’t know very much about his father’s job when he was younger, just that his old man worked for the government, but there came a time, just after high school, that his father brought him to a gathering of men who asked him if he’d like to join their cause for the greater good. He worked with the syndicate for twelve years, growing more and more disillusioned with their intent, but feeling helpless to extract himself.

This Fox Mulder met Dana Scully inside the FBI office of Section Chief Blevins when she was being debriefed on an assignment that took her to the woods of Bellefleur, Oregon. His job was to take the little metal implant she’d collected as evidence and make it disappear. He could tell by the way she delivered her report that she had integrity, but he knew that before he even met her. His other assignment was surveilling her, and he’d spent over a month watching her at work, watching her at home, watching her at brunch with her mother, watching her type her reports and emails and reading them later.

Dana Scully seemed like someone who could help. He wrote her an anonymous letter in the dim blue light of his fishtank, his heart beating quickly the whole time. He told her he had information regarding a shadow government and a conspiracy to conceal the existence of extraterrestrials and an imminent invasion. He signed it Deep Throat and slipped it into her morning newspaper delivery. He instructed her to tape a letter X in her window if she wanted more information. That night, she did.

He had to work stealthily, knowing that if the syndicate were to discover the leak, he’d be executed before they even asked questions, but so would she, for the information he gave her. He tried to keep his distance, but someone found out. He didn’t know that Scully’s partner, Alex Krycek, was a double agent.

Fox Mulder’s body was found in an alley not far from his apartment, the supposed victim of a mugging gone bad. The only clue was a half-smoked Morley cigarette in the pool of blood beside his head. No fingerprints or DNA could be lifted.

Two days later, Special Agent Dana Scully went missing. She was last seen at Skyland Mountain.

*****

There’s a Fox Mulder whose sister has been a constant pain in the ass to him since she was born. She’s always pestered him, followed him night and day, stuck her nose in his business, got him into trouble, and yet, he couldn’t imagine life without her. Especially since their parents had been killed by a drunk driver when he was only ten and she was only six. All they had was each other.

Fox and Sam were sent to live with their grandparents in Virginia. A guidance counselor at Fox’s junior high school made a big impression on him when he helped him through the grief of losing his parents. From that time on, he decided he wanted to be a psychologist, and that he wanted to work with kids.

He meets Dana Scully at Sam’s wedding. The petite redhead is a friend from Berkeley studying medicine. Actually, she’s no longer at Berkeley, she’s working on her transfer to Georgetown for the Spring semester, where he’s just graduated. His sister drags her over to where Fox is taking advantage of the open bar. She demands he tell Dana Scully everything there is to know about her new school and even exchanges phone numbers for them.

Sam leaves Fox with her friend and turns to wink at her brother behind Dana’s back. They are both cognizant of the fact that they’ve just been set up and the initial moments are a little awkward. By the time Dana finishes explaining the plan for her senior thesis to Fox, something she’s tentatively calling Einstein’s Twin Paradox: A New Interpretation, he thinks he might be in love.

He waits until she finishes med school and he has a thriving practice to ask her to marry him. Sam takes credit for it for the rest of their lives, sure to tell their children and their grandchildren, that if it weren’t for her, they wouldn’t be here.

*****

There’s a Fox Mulder whose sister was taken from him when she was eight and he was twelve. He can remember being questioned a lot about her kidnapping. He can remember policemen showing his mother little plastic bags with fabric hearts pinned to little tags inside and asking if the fabrics looked familiar. And then one day Samantha is found, but she never speaks again and no one knows what happened to her.

He can remember feeling quite helpless and frustrated trying to get Samantha to talk to him. He tried a lot, offering to play her favorite games with her if she would tell him where she’d been, but there was something weird about Samantha now. She seemed to lack emotion. Sometimes Fox looked at her and thought she might be a robot.

His parents grow weary of the responsibility of a mute, unaffected daughter, and Samantha is institutionalized by the time she’s fourteen. Fox has just started college abroad, having won a scholarship to study at Oxford. His first year there, he dates a soulless girl named Phoebe Green, very quickly determining she must be a sociopath. He changes his major from Psychology to English Lit just to get away from her.

One of his required courses is a Myths, Legends, and Folktales class. It’s his favorite class. He changes his major again to Cultural Studies, fascinated by how many cultures have myths for the same phenomena and he grew determined to find a link between them. He writes his first book, Around the World with Bigfoot, when he’s still in graduate school.

He returns to Massachusetts to settle in Boston and research and write. When his father dies, he realizes it’s been at least twelve years since he’s seen his sister. His mom is too emotionally fragile to deal with Samantha, so Fox goes to the hospital where she lives to give her the news in person.

Samantha’s doctor is young, too young to be a doctor, Fox thinks. She looks even younger than Samantha. Despite her youthful appearance and small stature, Dana Waterston proves to be a wonderful doctor. He’s grateful for her presence as he awkwardly tries to navigate a one-sided conversation with his stoic sister. There’s just something about her. He starts visiting his sister frequently, and regularly after that.

He isn’t aware that Dr. Waterston is married until she turns him down for coffee one day. She doesn’t wear a wedding ring, so it wasn’t obvious to him. He still comes to see his sister though, because he can’t fight the urge just to stop cold turkey. A few weeks later, Dr. Waterston surprises him by asking him out for coffee.

She tells him her husband is cheating on her and he’s astounded that anyone would even dream of being unfaithful to her. She also admits that he’d left his wife for her when she’d been his med student, and that he can believe. He doesn’t know the first Mrs. Waterston, but he can’t imagine anyone more perfect than Dr. Dana….call her Scully now, as she’ll be returning to her maiden name when her divorce is final.

A few weeks later, Dr. Scully confesses to him that she read his book - the one about the Loch Ness Monster and other sea creatures. Does he really believe in those things? Her father is a retired sea captain and no, he’s never seen a mermaid or a selkie. That she knows of, he tells her. I believe in science, she says. Facts. The answers are there, you just need to know where to look.

He likes to argue with her about science and myth, getting her to raise that skeptical brow of hers the more incredulous the tales he spun. Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials? What do you know about The Philadelphia Experiment? Don’t you know the difference between a wendigo and a werewolf? It’s classic vampirism, Dr. Scully.

Soon, Dr. Scully’s residency in Boston ends and she is transferred to a hospital in San Jose. Fox Mulder follows her. He can write anywhere and he’s been thinking about writing a book about the chupacabra anyway. He heard through one of his newsgroups there’d been a sighting in Fresno and it’s not that far.

He follows her to Atlanta, where he researches a few haunted bridges. He follows her to Phoenix, where he befriends a fascinating Native American man named Albert Hosteen and learns about Navajo codetalkers. And he follows her to Tallahassee where he falls down a hole chasing what he insists are relatives of the Mothmen of West Virginia. Dana has to stitch his head and set his shoulder after that little trip to the forest.

After Florida, she tells him that he doesn’t need to follow her anymore. Just come with her.

*****

There’s a Fox Mulder who lived a normal, boring childhood in Chilmark with nothing very interesting to tell. His family spent summers on Martha’s Vineyard where he was a lifeguard during high school. He had a girlfriend named Amy who everyone thought he would marry, even he thought he would marry her, but it turns out, Amy was the only one that didn’t think they were perfect for each other. She ended their relationship the first year Fox went away for school.

His girlfriend dumping him was just about the worst thing that had ever happened to Fox. He decided to take a few years off to find himself. That’s what he told his parents and they thought he was wasting his potential. His mother told him that there were other fish in the sea. His father even offered to set him up with a prostitute, an offer he found both amazing, coming from his stuffy father, and disturbing.

He doesn’t really know what led him towards the path of law enforcement, but he found himself drawn to the idea of being an FBI agent. He only needed a high school education to apply, and high school had been a breeze for him. He passed all the entrance exams, psychological, and physical tests with flying colors. All those years running on the beach helped him get in shape, though it wasn’t obvious to look at him.

He met Dana Scully in the academy and he was nervous to talk to her. She looked like she might be harboring a crush on one of their instructors, Jack Willis, the way she hung on every word he said. The guy didn’t seem that impressive, so he wasn’t sure what she saw in him.

She beats the pants off of everyone at the shooting range and when he later asks her how she got to be such a great shot, she shrugs and tells him she has two brothers. It takes him awhile to ask her out, and she flat out turns him down. She calls him Mulder, as the instructors tend to do, so he calls her Scully.

He doesn’t really make any friends at the academy and spends a lot of time alone, running. He runs laps on a track at a local high school outside Quantico and he’s surprised one day when she joins him. She doesn’t say anything at first, and neither does he. He can tell she struggles to keep pace with him, but he doesn’t slow down because he’s pretty sure she’d be insulted.

Gradually, he learns a little more about her. She has a sister, as well as the two brothers. Her father was Navy. Her older brother is Navy. She was in med school until she was recruited, and she’s not sure if her parents have forgiven her yet. They so wanted her to be a doctor, but she felt like she could make a difference at the FBI.

As they near the end of their training, he wonders if he’ll ever see her again. His focus was on behavioral studies and hers was on forensics. He was headed to an office in the main branch in DC and she was headed to the labs at Quantico. At graduation, she introduced him to her sister, Melissa, the only member of her family to show up for the event. Melissa stared at him as though she could see right through him and it made him uncomfortable. He told her he’d keep in touch and he meant it. He was determined to find any excuse to see her again.

He only had to make excuses a handful of times before she told him she had decided to take him up on his offer for dinner from nearly six months ago. They moved in together after only a few short months of dating, but never married. Scully became the head of forensics at Quantico by the age of thirty-five. The youngest department head they’d ever had, and the first female. Mulder rose to Assistant Director heading the Violent Crimes Unit, but didn’t really like telling people what to do. He stayed in the position for a few years before taking a teaching position at Quantico. He likes it much better there and it’s so much easier to sneak in some time with Scully while they’re in the same building.

*****

There’s a Fox Mulder who was taken from his living room when he was twelve years old as his sister stood helpless and in shock. She ran next door to where her parents were having dinner and screamed that a white light made her brother disappear. He was never heard from again and his disappearance was classified as unsolved.

*****

There’s a Fox Mulder who spent a good portion of his teen years and early 20’s believing that his sister had vanished one night from home while his parents were out and he was asleep. Only after experiencing disturbing nightmares and a few sessions of regression hypnosis did he come to understand the truth of what had happened: his sister had been abducted by aliens.

Of course, his friends and colleagues thought he was crazy. His fiancee, Diana, left him. His superiors, once quick to refer to him as the golden boy of the FBI, seemed determined to make his life hell after he began requesting access to unsolved cases commonly referred to as X-Files.

Dana Scully is assigned to him on March 6, 1992. They begin with a handshake. Eight years later, Mulder lays in bed, with Scully’s naked body next to his, her head on his chest, and wonders if she’s right about all the paths that led them to this moment. If there is such a thing as fate or if he could be leading a different life right now. All things considered, he’s pretty happy with the one he has right now.

The End

#i wrote this #Anonymous #xf fanfic #some sadness #some happiness #other lives

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techjpr · 5 years

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TechJPR November Newsletter

Ahoy TJPRs. I hope you're well. In this month’s newsletter (sorry it's late, the dog ate my homework and we had some technical issues with Mailchimp), there's another winner in the most excellent TechJPR October Fantasy Football, some gorgeous job opportunities on both sides of the PR/journo divide plus details of industry gigs on the horizon. Let's get this party started...

TechJPR social stuff

⚽ If you don't want to know the score look away now. TechJPR's October Fantasy Football Winner is Alvin Teeluck, who scored an impressive 185 points, 4 points ahead of Phil Szomszor and 10 clear of Alex Brooks. Alvin wins a £40 Amazon gift voucher courtesy of ResponseSource.

If you'd like to dust off your virtual boots and join the fun, head over to the Fantasy Premier League website and add the TechJPR private league with the code dptvw7 - there's a £40 monthly voucher and £200 for the overall winner. Good luck everyone 👍 ☎ Phone pitching to journalists; the ins and outs and the dos and don'ts according to members of our illustrious group. Read them here - thanks you lovely lot.

😊 More heartwarming anecdotes from TechJPR members about the benefits of building mutually-beneficial relationships between journalists and PRs. Precis: playing nicely really does pay off. Also advice on what should you do if someone's being less than professional. 🔥 OK, so it may be on the periphery of group topics but a warm PR/journo is a happy PR/Journo so head to this thread for members' advice on smart thermostat systems. For real-world experience from top tech types, you're in the right place.

Jobs/things to do PR-land

🖋️ Cloud business software provider Xero is on the lookout for a UK social media manager - contract and permanent roles available. Details here but DM Clementine Stoppard if you'd like to find out more. 🖋️ The Hoffman Agency wants to hire a new Senior Account Executive to join its London team. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to be involved across media relations, SEO, content marketing, analytics, and events. Email Roberta for deets. Journo-side 💻 Dennis Publishing is in recruitment mode for for a staff writer across its UK B2B portfolio comprising IT Pro, Cloud Pro and Channel Pro. Your mission, should you choose to accept it; to create varied content, from news and long-form articles to tutorials, reviews, explainers, and SEO-focused hubs. Details here. 💻 The Dennis B2B portfolio is also launching in North America and looking for an experienced managing editor for its IT-Pro enterprise technology brand on the other side of the pond. Find out more here. 💻 Content agency ThoughtLDR is on the lookout for brilliant freelancing journalists to write for their list of tech, brand and business clients. Email [email protected] if you're interested in finding out more.

If your publication, media outlet or PR agency has a job to post, send details to [email protected] and we'll do our best to include it in the next bulletin. No recruitment agency ads please.

Events to attend -- or not

🎟️ What: Cyber Risk Summit 🏢 Where: Leonardo Royal Hotel, Tower Bridge, London 📅 When: 2-3 December 2020 💡 Why: Aimed at insurance professionals and breach response service providers with unique content for the London cyber insurance market, the conference features panel discussions and interactive sessions with industry experts 🎟️ What: FinTech Connect 🏢 Where: ExCel, London 📅 When: 3-4 December 2019 💡 Why: Digital transformation, payments, financial security, regtech, blockchain and more. 6,000+ attendees, 200 exhibitors & 50+ demos covering fintech solutions & innovation. 🎟️ What: CES 2020 🏢 Where: Las Vegas, NV 📅 When: 7-10 January 2020 💡 Why: Event organisers describe it as “the proving ground” for transformative tech such as 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, smart cities, sports, robotics and more. 🎟️ What: International Conference on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence 🏢 Where: Paris 📅 When: 17-18 February 2020 💡 Why: The conference will be organised around the theme "Probing Innovations-Opportunities in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence" bringing together academics, researchers, students and delegates to exchange new ideas.

News in brief

📰 Brits are more concerned than their European neighbours about “fake news”, but are the least likely to pay for verified journalism, according to a Yougov poll. Just 15% of Brits said they would be prepared to pay for content that had been fact checked by the publisher, and 22% said they thought there was no way of knowing if a story should be trusted. 📰 Brands must adopt a higher level of consciousness about how they operate in the world, demonstrating authenticity, and connecting with their customers in meaningful, respectful ways, finds the Brands in Motion 2019 study from WE Communications. Eighty three per cent of respondents say they believe brands could play an even greater role in providing stability, and 74% say they expect brands to take a stand on important issues.

And finally...

👀 Thanks to group member Josie Herbert for flagging up that the comedy classic of journalist Guy Kewney's BBC slot being inadvertently filled by taxi driver Guy Goma has now found its way onto the Companies House blog. See the original TV footage here.

Until next time... Get in touch @TechJPR, [email protected]. And don’t forget our Facebook group. Remember to play nicely! RW

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webart-studio · 5 years

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21 Inventive Electronic mail Concepts for Individuals Who Don't Prefer to Write – Electronic mail Advertising and marketing Ideas

You don’t want to write down a 1,000-word weblog submit to have content material to your subsequent electronic mail publication or automated electronic mail collection. In reality, you don’t want to write down something in any respect.

You’ll be able to overlook about author’s block and check out one among these 21 inventive concepts as a substitute. They’re easy, simple, and confirmed to work — the professionals use them on a regular basis!

1. Movies

Including video to your emails can improve click on charges by 300%, in keeping with one research from MarTech Advisor. To place that in perspective, for those who common 1,000 clicks every electronic mail, including a video would improve to that 4,000.

If you happen to create movies often, promote them in your emails. Health Knowledgeable Betty Rocker shares her new and in style exercise movies with electronic mail advertising and marketing.

Associated: Your Information to Brainstorming Inventive Video Concepts

2. Podcast episodes

Have a podcast? Add it to your subsequent electronic mail publication to extend downloads. Discover how Productiveness Knowledgeable Michael Hyatt makes use of a fascinating story to introduce his newest podcast episode within the electronic mail under.

Do you know that subscribers can truly play and take heed to your podcast episode straight from an electronic mail? With AWeber’s Curate app, you’ll be able to merely add your new episode to a publication, and the app will robotically generate the code for you.

You’ll be able to see this characteristic in motion under with the Would You Quite E-newsletter, a weekly message that presents “Would you moderately… ?” situations.

Associated: Four Simple Methods Podcasters Can Use Electronic mail to Develop Their Audiences

3. Quotes

Individuals love inspiring or motivating quotes. We all know, as a result of we embody a quote in lots of our FWD: Pondering newsletters, and our readers find it irresistible. And lots of the most profitable newsletters combine quotes into their content material as nicely, like monetary publication Finimize with this quote from Pearl S. Buck.

Want quote inspiration? Try BrainyQuote. It’s like an encyclopedia of quotes.

4. Webinars, tutorials, and workshops

What’s the #1 solution to get folks to register to your webinars? For us, it’s electronic mail. A single electronic mail can contribute a whole bunch, even 1000’s, of registrants.

Electronic mail is what different specialists depend on too. Beneath, Joanna Wiebe, Founding father of Copy Hackers, promotes her workshop with an electronic mail that explains the important thing takeaways subscribers will get.

Associated: The Not-So-Secret Tactic to Rising Your Electronic mail Viewers Actually Rapidly

5. Trade information or updates

You’re an skilled in your trade, whether or not that’s health, writing, diet, journey, or enterprise. Subscribers be a part of your record to study vital details about your trade, like the most recent information and updates.

For instance, for those who’re a health skilled, this may be a brand-new meta-analysis or analysis research that additional proves the science behind excessive depth interval coaching.

Morning Brew, a publication that relays the most recent information from Wall St. to Silicon Valley, provides inventory market updates to the highest of their emails to maintain subscribers up-to-date available on the market.

6. Instagram posts

Your Instagram posts don’t want to remain on Instagram. Repurpose them in your subsequent electronic mail publication. Your submit will get extra publicity, and also you gained’t must hope and pray that Instagram’s algorithm will show it in your followers’ feeds.

Check out how Advertising and marketing Knowledgeable Gary Vaynerchuk hyperlinks off to one among his in style Instagram posts within the electronic mail under.

Professional tip: You need to use AWeber’s Curate app to pull Instagram posts (or any content material!) into your subsequent publication in seconds.

7. Fb reside movies

If you happen to create Fb reside movies, promote them in your electronic mail newsletters.

Extra folks will watch the video. (Fb loves that.) And it can save you time by reusing your social content material to your electronic mail publication. (You like that.)

Health and productiveness skilled Chalene Johnson will get 1000’s of individuals to look at her Fb reside movies. Her secret? She promotes her movies on social and in her electronic mail newsletters.

8. Tweets

The lifespan of a Tweet is 18 minutes. Which implies your carefully-crafted Tweets collect cobwebs after solely 18 quick minutes. What are the possibilities your followers will truly be on Twitter throughout that temporary interval? I wouldn’t guess your enterprise on it.

Enhance the lifespan of your nice Twitter content material by speaking about it in your subsequent electronic mail publication.

You’ll be able to even embody Tweets from different profitable firms, like Brass Ring Every day — a publication for profession, productiveness, and writing recommendation — does under.

Associated: 9 Methods to Develop Your Electronic mail Listing with Twitter

9. Social campaigns

Sharing social content material isn’t the one manner to make use of electronic mail to get extra social engagement. You can even encourage your subscribers to submit about your model on social. Ask them to share a testimonial on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Fb. Or, get them to submit with a hashtag on a social platform, like journey firm Topdeck does on this electronic mail.

10. Subscriber data

Individuals like to see their identify in lights. Point out subscribers in your publication if it’s their birthday or after they take a sure motion.

The every day publication theSkimm has thousands and thousands of subscribers. But, in each publication, they nonetheless name out their subscribers’ birthdays and spotlight people who find themselves doing nice issues.

11. Footage

Have stunning or humorous photographs and an viewers who would like to see them? Put them in your subsequent publication.

Buzzfeed has a weekly publication about cats (Sorry, canine folks. There’s not a canine publication . . . but.). Readers ship Buzzfeed photos of their cats, and Buzzfeed provides them to the publication with a quick description.

Associated: How one can Create Wonderful Pictures for Your Emails on Zero Finances

12. E book suggestions

If you happen to wish to learn, this tip is for you! Advocate the great books you’re studying to your subscribers. If the books are related to them, they’ll admire it. Plus, it’s a simple publication content material thought for you.

The Mind Meals Weekly Digest is a publication devoted to serving to you turn into a greater model of your self by sharing academic content material. Shane Parrish, the creator of the publication, typically shares what he’s at the moment studying.

13. Questions and solutions

Do your subscribers ask you sure questions repeatedly? Reply a kind of widespread questions in your subsequent publication. This may improve engagement by making your publication interactive.

See how monetary publication Finimize provides a query and reply to their electronic mail under.

14. Particular provides or offers

When you’ve got a limited-time or can’t-miss deal, add it your publication so subscribers don’t miss out.

Liberty Journey all the time contains trip offers of their in style electronic mail publication.

15. Occasions

Occasions, whether or not they’re digital or at a bodily location, take a whole lot of preparation and energy. Benefit from all that work and fill extra seats by selling your subsequent occasion in an electronic mail publication.

Nomadic Matt, a profitable journey blogger, promotes all of his Journey Meet-ups with electronic mail.

16. Tales

Calling all authors! This concept is for you. Your subscribers like to learn. Share quick tales, poems, or chapters out of your guide in your electronic mail publication. It’s the proper content material to your bookworm viewers, and may also help improve your guide gross sales or downloads.

Writer Penguin Random Home sends a publication with one part from a brief story inside. You must learn the subsequent electronic mail to proceed the story, which retains subscribers coming again for extra.

17. Instruments

Nice newsletters resolve their viewers’s issues and reply their questions. That’s why subscribers proceed to open and skim them.

Whereas academic content material is a superb solution to educate your viewers, it doesn’t assist them truly do the work to resolve their issues. Instruments, however, make it simpler for them to perform duties.

For instance, we created a instrument referred to as Electronic mail Libs to assist our viewers write their electronic mail content material in a couple of minutes. They simply reply a number of easy questions on their enterprise, and the instrument generates electronic mail content material.

If of a instrument that might save your subscribers’ time, whether or not you created it or another person did, hyperlink off to it in your publication.

In a latest TotalAnnarchy publication, MarketingProf’s Chief Content material Officer Ann Handley dedicates a whole part to helpful instruments she used that week.

Associated: 12 Free Instruments to Create Jaw-Dropping Electronic mail Photographs

18. Plans or steps

In case your subscribers wish to accomplish one thing and so they’re undecided how you can do it, add a plan or detailed steps to your publication to indicate them how.

Each week, Meals blogger and founding father of Skinnytaste Gina Homolka sends her subscribers a meal plan crammed with wholesome recipes. It makes her subscribers’ lives simpler. As an alternative of spending hours planning their weekly meals, they’ll use Gina’s easy plan.

19. Trivia questions or riddles

Asking questions in your publication is a good way to extend engagement. As an alternative of merely studying your publication, your subscribers will work together with it.

Morning Brew typically features a trivia query of their newsletters. They provide the reply on the backside of the e-mail so subscribers must hold studying to see it.

20. Programs

The worldwide marketplace for on-line training reached $255 billion in 2017, and it’s not slowing down (in keeping with World Financial Discussion board). Hundreds of thousands of individuals purchase on-line programs with a purpose to improve their data and abilities.

Dreaming of making your personal free course for electronic mail subscribers? You don’t want a course platform to do it. Simply use electronic mail.

Construct an automatic electronic mail collection with 1 or 2 days between emails. Then, every electronic mail in your collection could be 1 lesson of your course. Your complete lesson might be throughout the electronic mail or you can hyperlink off to a video or touchdown web page that hosts the lesson.

Talia Wolf, conversion skilled and Founding father of GetUplift, promotes her electronic mail course as a lead magnet (a.ok.a freebie) on her electronic mail join type. As soon as folks join, she delivers the course classes by a every day message.

Associated: How one can Create Your First Electronic mail Course or Electronic mail Problem

21. Weblog posts or articles

“Wait a minute … At first, you stated I didn’t want to write down a weblog submit!”

You don’t. Embody nice weblog posts and articles created by different firms in your subsequent publication. That is referred to as curation, and it saves folks time as a result of they don’t want to look the web to seek out the content material. It’s delivered proper to their inbox.

Dave Pell writes NextDraft, a profitable publication with 1000’s of subscribers. He fills every electronic mail with academic weblog posts and articles.

The shocking half? The vast majority of the articles aren’t written by Pell. They’re written by different folks. However they’re nonetheless helpful to his subscribers, which is why they hold studying.

Associated: Four Electronic mail E-newsletter Concepts for Bloggers

Put these concepts to the check.

These 21 concepts show you could add any form of content material to your subsequent publication, so long as it’s helpful to your subscribers.

Now that your inventive juices are flowing, it’s time to attempt these concepts out! Create a free AWeber account right this moment and get began.

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#start up #entrepreneurs #new business #online marketing #wordpress websites #productivity #sm

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