the picture prompt

[aanonburr]

the picture prompt meme

I — Comment with your character.
II — Others will leave a picture (or two, or three...)
III — Reply to them with a setting based on the picture.

IV — Link to any pictures that are NSFW, please.
V — Be aware that this meme will likely be image-heavy. That's kind of the point.

Link to an image: <a href=IMAGEURL>TEXT</a>

Embed an image in your reply: <img src=IMAGEURL>

You can control width and height of your pictures: <img src=IMAGEURL width=500> OR <img src=IMAGEURL height=INSERT>

Comments

scott lang ( mcu ) ota | voice-testing!

[tictacs]

[ cross-canon/media works if ever + established cr would be great ]

hey hey hey :D

[punybanner]

1 2 3

bruce being comfortable with scott kills me... they've both been away from society so long

[tictacs]

Oranges for breakfast?

( scott's not one to judge people's tastes because a) his aren't any better (probably) and b) he's had worse for breakfast, but this isn't what he expects to see when he drops by bruce's place unannounced. or, well, sort of announced, because bruce is a pretty private guy (he learned that the hard way) and scott likes to think he's capable of basic respect. )

Don't you have any eggs here? ( he sniffs the air. ) ... and is that coffee?

RIGHT? poor little bebs

[punybanner]

It's important to get enough vitamin C. Keeps your immune system strong, makes your heart stronger, helps you recover after your weird bug suit makes you a thousand times taller...

( Scott's semi-regular 'unexpected drop-ins' were an annoyance at first, but they somehow became reassuring, and by this point Bruce is finding himself almost looking forward to seeing him. He was a nice change from guys with egos that matched their powers - just a regular person who happened to be in a strange life situation. )

There are eggs in the fridge, but you'll have to make them. The coffee'll just take a minute.

[tictacs]

Should've known I wouldn't get the classic stuff out of you. ( and by 'classic stuff' scott really just means bacon and eggs and the like. the truth is that it doesn't really matter--he goes to rummage through bruce's fridge anyway and finds the eggs like he promised. ) Or that I'd have to be the one cooking again--

( scott pulls out two eggs, but doesn't step away yet. how could bruce have oranges in here, too? how much oranges does he eat to begin with?

he sets his mental dilemma aside. ) You want me to make some for you too, Orangey?

[punybanner]

Well, I am the one known for his tea-drinking and yoga habits. It's not as though you weren't aware of that.

( For all of Scott's complaining, Bruce knows he doesn't really mean any of it. He's a little like Tony in that regard - he likes to talk, and Bruce finds it nice to listen to him. )

No, I'm a vegetarian. Thanks though. ( He doesn't mention that he keeps the eggs mostly for when Scott visits. He fusses with the coffee for a moment before carrying over a mug of it along with some sugar and cream, then picks up his own cup of tea and sips at it. )

[tictacs]

Oh--oh man, why do I always forget that? ( the fridge door closes and scott sets about getting the pan, the cooking oil, the salt to taste and so on. making eggs is easy as pie. ) The vegetarian thing. I should get you some of that veggie bacon they sell at health stores for your birthday or something.

But you know, you can always eat oranges in better style. ( scott knows nothing about style, for the record. ) Like in... smoothie form. That's pretty cool, right?

( the eggs sizzle in the pan. scott graciously takes the offered mug of coffee, holds it up with a grin, and then gulps some down. black first, just to wake up. )

Hey, would you teach me yoga?

[punybanner]

( he laughs softly, but not in a cruel manner. ) Don't worry about it. Though I won't say no to veggie bacon. Or tofurkey.

( the mention of smoothies raises one of Bruce's eyebrows, a half-curious, half-mischievous look coming over his face. ) You know, that's not a bad idea. Seems like a lot of work compared to just eating them, though.

( it's not lost on him, how nice all of this is. The sound of the eggs, the sight of Scott, seemingly content with nothing more than a nice breakfast and Bruce's company. he could get used to this. )

Really? ( he's genuinely surprised this time; both eyebrows go up over the top rim of his glasses. ) You want to learn?

[disperse]

[tictacs]

( scott's an idiot to some degree, but not a big enough idiot to notice that one of the few people he's allowed to be with (thanks, criminal status!) doesn't sleep at night.

it's the little things at first--scott going out to pee at three in the morning and seeing wanda in the corner of his eye, scott having breakfast with her every once in a while and seeing the circles under her eyes, scott talking to her in general and being unable to ignore how tired she sounds--but little things can form one big thing, and the one big thing that scott gets is that she isn't okay.

and, all right, it's none of his business. they're not really friends, not as much as steve is friends with her definitely, but the thing about being an idiot with a daughter sort of makes scott sensitive to these things to begin with.

he ends up knocking on wanda's door one evening in sweatpants and a loose shirt. )

Hey! ( a pause, and he lifts his hand to rub the back of his neck. ) You awake in there?

I can see the light under your door.

[disperse]

( it's been ten years, give or take, since wanda has gotten a full night of sleep. when she was young (10, 11, 12) she would wake screaming from her nightmares; from images of her parents disappearing into the gaping hole in the floor stark's missile had opened up beneath them. visions of black, groping hands searching the shadows underneath the bed for the two that darkness hadn't yet claimed. stark scrawled on it's arm in glowing yellow before viselike fingers circled her wrist. hauling her from the relative safety she and pietro had found. down, down into the darkness with her parents.

as she grew older, the nightmares began to dissipate. little by little growing more manageable.

and then there was sokovia. a nightmarish hellscape that existed outside of her own pain fueled memories. the darkness coming to finish what it hadn't when she and pietro were children.

despite wanda's abilities, her mind is an emptier place without him and, while she's slowly adjusted to the relative quiet, sleep has become a precious commoditiy once more. she functions well, all things considered, but there are unmistakable signs for those paying the slightest bit of attention.

scott is more perceptive than the others give him credit for.

she is, of course, awake when he knocks on the door. plucking idly at the strings of a guitar she's still learning to play. freezing up at the sound of his voice, she briefly considers ignoring the sound, simply waiting for him to go away.

but scott is nothing if not persistent.

a casual flick of her fingers is enough to unlock the door, and she lays the guitar flat in her lap, tugging once, self-consciously, on the old worn t-shirt she's wearing to bed. rhodey's maybe. or cap's. a whole new wardrobe paid for entirely by tony stark, and she still someone ends up largely in hand me downs. )

What are you doing up so late?

( clearly she's one to talk. )

[tictacs]

( the door unlocks and scott waits a total of three seconds (an allowance for wanda to lock it again, in case she changes her mind) before opening it. he knows that people need space in general, knows that by doing this he's invading wanda's space without much of a care. he doesn't mean to be rude, but scott has been and will always be worried about something deep down. the only things he has to keep that worry from taking over are his poor humour and some shot of stupid bravery.

regardless, he shuts the door, leans his back against it, and then slowly sinks so he can sit on the floor with his knees to his chest. somehow the idea of wanda playing the guitar makes him smile. )

I couldn't sleep. ( it's a half-truth; scott could sleep if he wanted to, but his mind chose to think about wanda's well-being instead. he could charge headfirst and ask right off the bat if she dreams about sokovia or lagos, but he decides simplicity is the best way to go. )

When I was a kid and I couldn't sleep, I'd go to my mother to be with her a while. Being alone late at night staring at nothing was scary for me, you know? ( a sigh. ) Sometimes it still kind of is.

So I hope you don't mind me staying here. I won't even say a word--I think it's really neat you're giving the guitar a shot 'cause the only thing I can play is the kazoo.

[disperse]

( it seems odd that two people could spend as much time together as they have in the past few months, and still know so little about each other. scott lang, otherwise known as antman. she knows he has an ex-wife and a child that he barely sees (a girl, she thinks, thought that might be wrong), and that's it. the full extent of her knowledge of him.

there had been plenty of time to talk on the raft. countless hours left abandoned in their cramped cells. but she hadn't had the inclination --to say anything, really-- and he seemed more prone to random outbursts, bits of songs, and turning every flat surface into a drum when it suited. )

What you can't see is always far scarier than what's right in front of you. ( gaze cast low, her fingers pluck idly at one string. a discordant note sounding. ) When I was young, and I had a nightmare, my brother would sit up all night. ( it's the most she's revealed to anyone in quite some time. pietro usually an off-limits topic. ) He always said that he'd protect me from any monsters lurking in the dark.

( they didn't yet know how easily monsters could disguise themselves.

it's why she follows his change of topic so easily. )

The kazoo is vastly underrated. Maybe you can play it for me sometime.

[tictacs]

Oh, I'll definitely play it for you. I never could say no to a pretty girl. ( scott's smiling as he says it, but that's only because the words she'd given him--wanda had a brother, and the past tense of that gives him a sick feeling in his stomach--are things he's not yet sure how to process. he does file the knowledge away, though, and the name: pietro.

pietro and wanda maximoff. wanda and pietro maximoff. here scott thought wanda'd never quite had a family, hence her involvement with the avengers at such a young age, but this puts maybe one or two things into new perspective. maybe he's part of the reason she's here in the first place. )

But you'll have to play guitar for me for sure. ( scott grins up at her, arms still lazily folded over his knees as he looks at the instrument on wanda's lap and then back up at her face. ) Have you ever tried playing before? You know you hold 'em against your chest, right?

I know a couple of chords if you want to learn one of the easiest songs in the world. I'm no good at guitar generally, though.

[disperse]

( it's such a simple, offhand thing, the compliment. said more as a statement of fact than anything else. she's not one to get shy over something so unimportant. no blushes or giggles here. she knows that she's pretty, if only because of the way men look at her sometimes when they think that she can't see. but something about the way he says it makes her feel, if only for a second, almost normal.

a girl instead of a weapon of mass destruction. )

I was just taking a break. ( she admits, plucking idly one a string, then the one next to it. ) I haven't played very much, but I think I'm improving. Thought I wouldn't say no to a lesson.

( it's not as if she'll be sleeping anytime soon anyway. most nights she's lucky to get two hours in before the nightmares take hold and she wakes up in a cold sweat. ) What's the song?

[shriver]

i interpreted this as them going out for a calming breather type of thing

[tictacs]

You're taking me out?

( not that scott's surprised--no, okay, he's a lot surprised, because a) he isn't any Big Shot; b) he's sure natasha means business, as she always does; and c) this is starting to look a lot like a movie and scott's no chiselled protagonist.

or maybe she doesn't mean business. there's something different in the way she looks at him--minuscule and microscopic and hiding just beneath the surface--but to be fair, there's something different in the way anyone looks at anyone these days.

good thing scott specialises in the tiny things. )

Do I have to bring my wallet?

into it (ง •̀_•́)ง

[shriver]

[ always the tone of surprise, it seems, with her fellow heroes. she wonders if that means she's good at her job or mediocre at being a person. or perhaps natasha romanoff (the person, not the agent, avenger, etc.) is simply surprising, especially for the uninitiated. leaning back in her car seat, she lets his questions hang in the air.

finally, with an arch of her brows, not necessarily mocking, just amused: ]

Not out-out. [ which is either a joke about dating or murder. or both. ] I have cash — [ a shrug. ] — for emergencies and, y'know, vending machines.

[tictacs]

Oh, are you getting me canned coffee and good conversation? ( scott's smiling at that. ) I could do with canned coffee and good conversation. I'd say I owe you one, but I'm probably way more broke than you are. Do you accept payment in crappy jokes?

( he does get in the car--not like he has any other choice, but it's more than obligation at this point--and belts himself in. maybe one day it'll kill him, this easy trust in the avengers, but so far they haven't given him much reason to hate them.

natasha's car smells nicer than the van scott's so used to riding. )

You strike me as a fast-driving kinda gal. Yes or no?

[spideyguy]

[tictacs]

I wanna say it's 'cause you don't cover your tracks well, but it's more like once you let Tony Stark know who you are, it went pretty downhill from there. We costumed compadres gotta stick together, you know.

( maybe peter's aunt may is used to strange adults coming to talk to her nephew at this point; scott doesn't really know. all he knows is that peter is upset and scott gets it--or sort of gets it, he doesn't want to assume anything wrong. it's a little bit how he doesn't want to assume peter's comfortable enough with him to let him sit on his bed, so here he is standing by the wall instead with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

he offers the kid a crooked smile. )

That, and I didn't really want to leave you alone after hearing... what happened here.

( a pause, and then he adds, ) Have you talked to anyone else?

[spideyguy]

I didn't let him know anything. [It's a half-grumbled complaint, and Peter slides his glasses up to the top of his head, one hand rubbing over his face. These days it just seemed like everything got more complicated by the second.] You sound like Deadpool, FYI. He's not going to show up on my doorstep too, is he?

[Worse, she's downright excited about it. Thinks it has something to do with a science grant, that he might have a job lined up out of college. He'd hate to disappoint her, and then there's the whole 'we could tell her about your nighttime activities at any time' vibe, so.]

No. [He nudges the button on his desk, letting the lock motorize into place. He nods, offering Scott a seat. He might not like it, but Aunt May didn't raise a rude kid. Besides, he's less guns blazing than Stark, which Peter can appreciate.] Until Tony came around nobody knew. [Nobody still alive, anyway, and he's not counting those in Ravencroft.]

[tictacs]

( "until tony came around nobody knew" sounds about right. scott's a good guy, but he doesn't really keep up with heroes everywhere; all he knows about peter is that he's spiderman and that he's been through enough here, but that most of all he's a kid.

that he talk to someone about the things that've happened to him since he took up the title isn't necessary, of course. scott's not really here to beat a story out of him.

but it can be a comfort not having to keep things secret all the time. )

Well, I know I look mostly like an unwelcome Santa right about now, but d'you wanna go out? ( hands touching, his fingers lock together as he lightly nudges peter's leg with his own. ) Never been to Queens before now! It'd be cool to see it in the eyes of a resident.

And it sounds a lot less stuffy than a bedroom--no offence, of course.

[spideyguy]

[Spiderman tends to slip by, for the most part, unnoticed. He's harmless, in the grand scheme of things; he sticks to his beat, takes down muggers and purse snatchers and drug rings. He fights for the everyman, making the streets a little bit safer. Sometimes something bigger falls in his lap but - well, Stark had dragged him into a whole other world.

Peter eyes Scott somewhat suspiciously at the suggestion; the only reason he doesn't dismiss it completely is the honesty he can see in his expression. Out of everyone, perhaps, Peter though Scott might get it. How completely insane the world had become. He's not some larger than life billionaire, or some super assassin.]

...we do have the best key lime pie in the city.

[tictacs]

Would you believe me if I said I've never tried key lime pie? 'cause I haven't.

( scott grins. he'd been perfectly fine with any rejection; it would've only been right, he thinks, given the whole stranger status and the fact that the last time they'd seen each other had been on the battlefield. doesn't make him any less glad peter decided to go along with it. people like him might be rare--few and far between these days--but he really is too nice for his own good. he doesn't expect more than pie and night air and good conversation.

peter parker is spiderman, but peter parker was peter parker first. scott's lucky he has friends who know his secret to remind him of life outside the costume; he's just sort of hoping peter'll feel better after normalcy with someone he doesn't have to lie to. )

Do I, uh, have to ask your aunt for permission? ( he stands now, rubbing at his jaw. ) Give her my contact number?