the picture prompt meme

[socketeer]

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

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter doesn’t pretend to know how difficult this is for Charlie. He provides support when he can, lends a shoulder to lean on when he can’t, and in general, he treats this as any other job, biting back his instinct to dither and hesitate and constantly ask, "But are you sure about this?" One of them needs to stay on target, and since Peter has more distance on the whole mess, it makes him the better candidate.

So he pulls up blue prints available in public record, worms his way into blue prints available in not so public record, and gets himself familiar with the estate; Charlie’s input is invaluable in that regard, explaining how he and his old boyfriend would slip away together.

(Despite himself, Peter occasionally feels a quiet pang of jealousy at whatever it was that Charlie and Robert had together; other times, he finds himself wondering what might have happened, if the two of them managed to keep up their tryst.

Maybe they would’ve ran away together, hidden away on the island Charlie had secretly bought for himself all those years ago and lived a quiet life. Instead, he’s here with Peter, dodging attempts on his life; coaching Peter through nightmares and panic attacks; hanging on desperately to the shitty sort of life he’d carved out for himself, despite life trying to tear it away from him.

He would’ve been happier with Robert. It’s an easy conclusion to draw, and that pang of jealousy is followed soon after by that sinking sensation of guilt.)

Tracking the McLaughlin’s movements is harder to do, but not impossible; hacking his way into security feeds certainly helps to give him an idea, but it’s no substitute for shadowing them in person – which he can’t do until they have their feet on the ground. Autopilot makes the trip relatively painless, allows Peter time to check in with Charlie and keep him focused.

He climbs down from the cockpit to find Charlie sitting in front of the screen, slowing the last few steps when he recognizes the McLaughlin estate. Hesitating, Peter clears his throat. ]

We’re landing tomorrow. [ Neutral. It’s as much to deliver the information as it is to announce his presence. Hesitating again, he cautiously takes a seat beside Charlie, nodding to the image. ] Anything new?

[animated]

[ He glances up, and even does a decent job at tamping down the anxiousness that worms its way into his chest at Peter's announcement. ]

Not really. Just wondering what became of Robert's wing after he disappeared.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He hums a response, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. He’s quiet for a second before he nods to the image on the screen. ]

Which part was his?

[animated]

This one.

[ He motions to the eastern wing of the manor. ] Parents lived on the west side.

[nostalgiabomb]

Guessing it'd be wishful thinking to assume they've left it alone all this time, huh?

[animated]

Probably. [ He shrugs ] It was just idle curiosity, anyway. It's not really any of my business what they do with their house.

[nostalgiabomb]

Yeah, but it might be an easy way in. I'll try keep an eye on it when I take a look tomorrow.

[animated]

Probably a good bet. It'll be tough, though.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ A pause as he watches Charlie. Then, ]

You okay?

[animated]

Not really. [ He leans back in his chair, massaging at his temples. ] Sometimes things happen, and I can just… shove everything aside. I shut it all off and don’t feel a thing.

I can’t seem to do that with this.

[nostalgiabomb]

Is that really a surprise? Considering this is, you know. [ he gestures vaguely. ] Pretty personal.

[animated]

I suppose it isn’t, but that just makes me wish I could disconnect even more.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He’s quiet for a long moment. ]

If you… if you need, I can take care of this. You don’t have to involve yourself any more than you want to.

[animated]

I’m involved whether I want to be or not. [ He glances over at Peter, smiling slightly. ] But I do know I couldn’t do this without you.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ His gaze flits down to the floor, and he lifts a shoulder, shrugging. ]

Yeah, well-- [ A touch roughly. ] --helping each other out against seriously fucked odds is kinda what we do.

[animated]

Did you notice we’ve sort of actually gotten good at it?

Not sure what that says, really.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He huffs out a mirthless little laugh. ]

That the universe has made it a hobby to screw us over?

[animated]

That, and we work well together.

[nostalgiabomb]

Sure, if you wanna be optimistic about it.

[animated]

Is it optimism if it's true?

[nostalgiabomb]

If it's all the same, I would prefer to find that fact out literally any other way.

[animated]

Fair enough. We kind of had a pretty good groove going there for a while before things went to hell again. I'd like to go back to that.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ another huffed out laugh. ]

Sure. The universe just has to stop throwing us curveballs for a while.

[animated]

I keep thinking I should just confront my parents, too. But not all at once like this. There's only so much I can handle.

[nostalgiabomb]

Yeah, I'd put my foot down on that one. Just 'cause we're in the neighborhood doesn't mean we should all get these errands done at once.