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yukipri · 3 years

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Marco’s Bauble Part 7 - a One Piece Mermaid AU Text Story

I ended up spending most of this past weekend setting up the Mermaid AU on AO3, so I do hope y’all will check it out over there!

Please note that on AO3, this Marco’s Bauble story is going under the title On the Courtship of Monkey D. Luffy. I didn’t really know where this series was going when I began writing it, and “Marco’s Bauble” was most definitely a starting point, but it’s expanded well beyond that now, as you’ll probably see in this update ^ ^; I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll rename all the parts on Tumblr or not.

BUT in the meantime, I’ll continue posting updates in advance here on Tumblr (and on Patreon even further in advance ;D), so here’s an update for this week!

In which Sabo confronts Koala.

Continues off of, and should be read after:

👒🐟Marco’s Bauble Part 1

👒🐟Marco’s Bauble Part 2

👒🐟Marco’s Bauble Part 3

👒🐟Marco’s Bauble, Part 4

👒🐟Marco’s Bauble, Part 5

👒🐟Marco’s Bauble, Part 6

Hmm, Koala thinks. So this probably counts as a "kabedon."

A kabedon, according to the young new recruits who'd explained it to her, is a situation in which one person, ideally tall and attractive, leans over a second, ideally smaller person, boxing them against a wall with their arms, essentially pinning them in place. Koala thinks it sounds like menacing posturing, but the recruits insisted that if done by the right person, it's a terribly titillating scenario, the kind you'd find in romance stories.

It happens to be the situation that Koala finds herself in now, with her back against the side of Merry's cabin as Sabo looms over her, effectively blocking all exits with his arms braced against the wall on either side of her.

Sabo, Koala grudgingly thinks, probably not only qualifies, but is likely the recruits' very definition of tall and attractive.

Right now, he's doing that thing where his eyes are half-mast, dark and unreadable as they peer down at Koala through the curtain of blond locks that have fallen across his face. It's a look that Koala knows has half of Baltigo swooning, and she's heard people call it Chief's Sexy Look.

Koala feels very strongly that those are a poor choice of words, because from personal experience, she knows it's a look that's usually followed immediate, brutal interrogation that often ends in screams and excessive bloodshed.

"Koala," he breathes, in that voice that has stolen the hearts of half the Revolutionary Army, and has convinced more than one unfortunate soul that perhaps, they might survive this encounter after all.

But Koala knows better.

Because his next words are, surprise surprise, "What are you hiding from me about my Luffy?"

He smiles then, and it looks misleadingly gentle, and Koala can see why strangers may mistake him for a benevolent princely gentleman.

But Koala knows Sabo. And all she sees is the manic sadism behind the oh so very fake expression.

She cringes, because no, there is absolutely nothing romantic or exciting about this situation at all. All she feels is Doom.

"Hmm?" she says, keeping her hands behind her back so he can't see them twist. In these situations, Koala's more than well aware that the more she talks, the more she incriminates herself.

Many who observe their partnership are under the impression that Sabo's just the overpowered guy who beats people up and destroys shit, while Koala provides intel. And while it's true that Koala has intel, Sabo's the one who often personally extracts it from their most stubborn sources.

In other words, what Sabo wants, he usually gets. It's usually a comforting thought, but not today.

"Hmm?" Sabo parrots back, eyes lazily tracing over her face, and Koala frantically tries to keep her expression neutral as he searches for an opening.

It's like when they were children, Koala thinks, when they played interrogation games with each other as assignments for Inazuma's class. Except this time, it's not Koala's grade on the line. And while Koala knows that her partner would never actually hurt her, he's also very capable of making life pretty miserable for her if she doesn't spill.

And right now, she has a secret she'd really, really like to keep away from Sabo.

The secret being, y'know, the fact that someone proposed to his dearest baby brother.

And even though it's extremely unlikely that Luffy understands the significance behind the gesture, she considers the gift hers, which, for all points and purposes...means she accepted.

Koala does not want Sabo to find out about this, from her, at least right now, before she has more information.

But, Koala glumly remembers, she's never actually managed to win any interrogation games against him.

"You know," he says, voice deceptively light, and Koala wants to groan because here we go. "Luffy and Ace mean the world to me. They're not just my past, they make me who I am. Even when I didn't remember, they were with me, and I was with them. They're everything to me."

Koala won't break. She tries to look for an opening without shifting her eyes, but Sabo's not an amateur and there are no escape routes.

"It would truly be terrible, if something happened to one of them, something that should be stopped, that I could have prevented if only I had known."

He's poking her defenses. He wants her to say, you're blowing this out of proportion, it's not that big a deal, or maybe you're overthinking this. Possibly even lie, I'm not hiding anything, or even counter, what makes you think I'm hiding something?

Koala knows better. Those are all traps, all openings that he'd pounce on, and she's seen him rip people apart for falling for them. Koala won't give him the chance.

He leans in close, and whispers in her ear, voice low and dark in a way that would make his fans cry, and his enemies cry too but for an entirely different reason. "You wouldn't know something that'd prevent me from fulfilling my duties as Luffy's older brother, now would you, Koala?"

Well, Koala thinks snidely, depends on what you consider your brotherly duties, and whether they include homicide and starting a war with an Emperor.

She says, "Mmm."

Sabo, or rather his mouth, smiles. His eyes are a void. Koala's not used to be on the receiving end of this particular stare, and she isn't enjoying a moment of it.

"Alright. If that's how you want to be. Let's figure this out together, now shall we?"

Sabo's voice is calm, exaggeratedly patient, like a therapist. He never talks to Koala like this, but Koala still recognizes this particular tone, and cringes as she realizes which interrogation pattern he's chosen. It's one she's ill equipped to counter at the moment, and he no doubt knows it.

Koala braces herself. Blank face, she tells herself, even breathing. He's using his stupid over-powered Observation Haki to keep track of your pulse.

"Well," he begins, "I know it's already about Luffy, because you're more nervous about me talking about her than Ace." It's stated as fact, and Koala blinks rapidly to moisten her eyes because she knows the real deal's starting now, and she'll have to avoid blinking when it might give her away.

"And it must be something you found out during your Fishman Karate sessions, because you don't have any other time together, at least when I'm not watching."

Koala isn't remotely surprised that he's monitoring everyone; after all, she's been doing the same. She wants to sigh but keeps it in.

"It's probably something physical, because Lu can't keep secrets if she thinks of them as secrets, so it might have been something you saw...a scar, or a mark on her body? No? Then an object she has on her...Ah, there we go."

Fuck you, I didn't give you any tells, Koala thinks indignantly, but she knows that expressing any annoyance will only confirm his guesses, and continues to refuse to speak.

"You've been going to the kitchen more often than usual, but not during meal times, or even prep times, but rather lulls...times that you have no business in the kitchen, and times where only cooks are present, cleaning up or otherwise doing tasks that don't require their full attention...the perfect time to chat."

Maybe I wanted a snack, Koala thinks, but keeps her mouth shut, because Sabo already knows when and how she snacks. This interrogation really isn't fair.

"And as for the cooks in question...well, if it were Sanji, I'd just ask him myself, but you knew I wouldn't do that, right, Koala? You know I could get it out of him, so if it was him, he wouldn't know anything of value. But I don't think he's involved at all."

Sabo looks at Koala expectantly. Koala stares right back at him, though her eyes feel very, very dry.

"So the question now is, why would my dearest partner want to protect Thatch, Fourth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and temporary first cook of the ASL Pirates?" Sabo talks as though he's asking himself, but he isn't, and Koala's not fooled. She keeps her face blank. "I doubt it's a personal thing, after all, his intentions towards Luffy couldn't be more obvious, he announces it at least once a day. And given my partner's obvious little lesbian crush, it doesn't seem in her best interests to help him, no?"

This does get a reaction from Koala, and her breath leaves her in a whoosh. Fine, make it personal. If he's figured out this much, it's only a few more steps till the answer, and at this point what does it matter. Koala glares, relishing freeing her face from its mask, and for a moment Sabo's back to his usual self, giving her a cheeky wink as though to say told you so. But then Interrogator!Sabo is back, because he's not quite done yet.

Whatever. She tried, alright. It's not like she owes the Phoenix anything. She leans back against the wall, bringing her arms in front of her chest, and scowls, hoping her expression projects exactly what she thinks of Interrogator!Sabo at the moment. Sabo likewise drops his arms, because he knows she's no longer going to escape.

"You're not protecting Thatch himself, because if you were we could solve it here, and it never needs to get out of hand. So you're protecting someone connected to him. The fact that you're being so stubborn, tells me that it's not just a personal thing, but something that could cause an incident, that would likely affect the Army. Which means, obviously, a Whitebeard pirate.

"But I don't think it's just any Whitebeard pirate. They're someone high profile enough that it would be a big deal if I were to confront them, possibly jeopardizing any potential future alliances the Army forms with them, or drawing the eyes of the World Government. Which, they're already watching us, which makes me think it's gotta be someone even bigger than Thatch..."

Which, of course doesn't leave much.

"It could very well be old man Whitebeard himself," Sabo says, but he's shaking his head. "But something tells me it's not. And I know that some very interesting little blue birds have been stopping by the Merry, likely with letters for Thatch, but possibly also with unsolicited deliveries for my baby brother..."

Your baby brother, chill with your possessiveness, does rubbing it in feel that good? Koala sniffs.

"And as for why it's a big deal...you wouldn't be so secretive over a crush. Everyone on the crew has a crush. That can be dealt with. This is a few steps beyond, something you think would make me mad, right, Koala?”

Sabo pauses a moment, but it's for dramatic effect, because Sabo knows that Koala knows that he already has an answer.

"So tell me, Koala. What did Marco the Phoenix give Luffy to try to claim her as his bride?"

And well, there you have it.

"Bravo," Koala says dryly. "I see you're qualified for your position, Chief. I'll be sure to inform the Boss."

Sabo tips his hat, and even though she allows herself to relax, Koala keeps her eyes trained on her partner.

He's taking this calmer than she expected, to be honest. Interrogator!Sabo still hasn't fully faded from his face, but he's no longer giving off sadistic vibes, and has that little frown that tells Koala he's still sorting through his thoughts. His ability to remain composed is likely affected by the fact that they're still in Paradise, and the Whitebeard Pirates and the New World are still quite a ways away.

Which is good, because it means Sabo can't just impulsively cause a massive incident on the spot. But it's also bad, because it means he's got more time to plot, and Sabo can come up with some pretty devastating things if given the opportunity.

"Sabo, I barely know anything myself, and neither does Thatch," Koala says, finally willing to speak. "I'm working on getting more information. Don't plan anything rash yet. It could all be a misunderstanding."

Sabo slowly nods, still quiet. Koala sighs.

This might be a good time to bring up a certain topic, she realizes. She'd been thinking about it for a while now, but had wanted to give him more time.

She first thought about it when the night after he regained his memories, she sees Sabo slip away from the Merry to pursue the ship that's transporting the slavers who tried to sell Luffy at the auction house. The slavers have already been passed in the hands of Army agents, all of the enslaved have been freed and are on their way to safety, and Luffy's back with her crew. Their job should have been over.

Sabo comes back before dawn, accompanied by Ace who had likely transported him with Striker. He seems calmer than the night before, but Koala doesn't miss that his gloves are still damp from recently being washed.

There've been other incidents too, in the short period they've traveled together. Koala's seen Sabo dangerously close to snapping (and actually snapping) more during the past few weeks than their entire decade together. And on one hand, it's understandable, but on the other...

"You know," Koala begins, as gently as possible. "she's no longer the child you left behind. She's an adult. Even if this ends up being nothing, she may still find someone, one day. What are you going to do then?"

If Luffy's in physical danger, protecting her is one thing. But what if it's something that she chooses?

The change is subtle, but Koala notices when the last of the Chief of Staff fades from Sabo, as his head tilts downward ever so slightly. And all of a sudden he reminds Koala all too much of the tiny, battered child who stared at himself in the mirror when he thought everyone was asleep, touching his scars and asking, Who are you?

"I can't lose her, I can't lose either of them," Sabo says quietly, and he overlaps completely with the lost child, and ah, Koala thinks, because she gets it.

That child, that self who was missing for so long, is back now, inside Sabo where he always belonged, where he always existed but couldn't be recognized. That child now takes up so much space, too much space, and still hasn't been fully reconciled with the adult that Sabo's grown up to be. Simpler, childish emotions and desires that feel too vibrant and raw, clashing with the adult's more weathered world view, aggravated further by all the darkness that Sabo's seen in their line of work.

Sabo's less concerned about Ace, Koala knows, because even though Sabo loves both his brothers, Ace is like his other half. They don't protect each other, but function seamlessly as a single unit, a unit with one priority that stands above all else.

Luffy.

Luffy, who as a child, Sabo was able to protect from anything and everything in their isolated microcosm. Luffy, who as an adult, Sabo knows all too well is more vulnerable than ever, as proven by the very situation in which they reunited.

A gilded glass tank, hidden away behind dusty curtains, with a dark, motionless shape crumpled at the bottom. Chains, chains, and chains upon bruised skin, and bubbles rising from parted lips, getting smaller and smaller as she slowly fades...

That was bad enough, but Koala doubts Ace or any of the others know exactly what the fate of a captured mermaid is, at least in the way that Koala and Sabo do.

Koala understands, she really does.

But she also knows the importance of freedom, not just to Sabo, but likely to Luffy and Ace as well.

"Would it be losing her?" she asks, and child!Sabo flinches.

"We vowed to be free," Sabo says, and he still sounds lost, like he doesn't know what the word means anymore. "And we will be." His hat shadows his eyes, and Koala can't imagine how they look at that moment. "But I don't want her to go where I can't follow."

"Then follow," Koala says, because what else is there to say? "Follow, if that's your freedom. But you can't stop hers."

"I know."

She couldn't have known how Sabo would take her words.

Part 8, we see more of Thatch.

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

As always, any comments are immensely appreciated and help motivate me to create more for this AU! ;A;

❀ ❀ Send YukiPri an Ask! ❀ ❀

~This ask has been added to the Mermaid AU Text Headcanons Compilation post~

#OnePieceMermaidAU #One Piece Mermaid AU #fic #text headcanons #Sabo #Koala #genderbend #longpost #long post #pre-SaboLu #should I still even post fics on tumblr or is that a waste of my time? ^ ^;;;

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engie-ivy · 4 years

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Since I loved writing the first one, I wrote another fic for @swottypotter Wolfstar Comfort Mini-Fest. I really wanted to write a birthday-themed fic for 23/09, as today is my birthday🎉 So this is my birthday treat to you😅

It became way longer than I intended, so my (theme-related) apologies.

23/09: an apology

Summary:

Keeping your relationship healthy can be a challenge. In the middle of a war, dealing with secrets, false accusations and unjust suspicions, it’s even more of a challenge. But a fight can lead to an apology, an apology can lead to forgiveness, and forgiveness just might lead to happiness. And as it turns out, not all secrets are bad.

If tomorrow the world crumbles

Sirius is freaking out. Outwardly, nothing seems amiss. He’s sitting at the kitchen table in the flat he shares with Remus, reading the Daily Prophet. Inwardly, however, he’s on the verge of panic. He has been on edge all morning, his hands are fidgeting, and he has been staring at the same sentence for the last hour.

You see, Sirius doesn’t know where Remus is. Normally this wouldn’t be such a problem. They’re not attached at the hip. They’re in a healthy relationship and respect each other’s independence. But Remus is acting secretive, which still wouldn’t have been such a problem, if they didn’t have loaded conversation about that very thing just a few weeks ago. The war had been taking its toll on them and miscommunication, false accusations and unjust suspicions were threatening to break their relationship.

It started when James asked Sirius to come over for a meeting with him, Lily and Dumbledore. The threat to Lily and James was getting more serious and they needed to talk about an option that involved Sirius’s help. James asked Sirius not to tell anyone. Sirius didn’t even consider this to include Remus, and he thinks James didn’t either. What Sirius knows, Remus knows, that’s just how it is. The only reason Sirius didn’t tell Remus right away, was because Remus just happened to not be home at the time.

During the meeting, Dumbledore informed them about something called the Fidelius charm, and how it was James and Lily’s best chance of survival if the situation were to get worse. They talked about the technicalities of the charm, the best practice of how to implement it, and the possibility of Sirius being the Secret Keeper. By the end of that first meeting, it was Dumbledore who asked Sirius not to tell anyone. Once again, Sirius had agreed, without considering it to include Remus as well, but unlike James had done, Dumbledore pressed the issue further. There was a traitor amongst the members of the Order of the Phoenix, and they were completely in the dark about who it could be, so the general rule had to be to not tell anyone, no exceptions. Dumbledore assured Sirius this did not mean they thought Remus was the traitor, it simply meant they didn’t have concrete proof that he wasn’t the traitor. None of them could imagine Remus ever betraying them, but then again, that could be said for all their friends, and one of them was undeniably betraying them, so that line of reasoning simply couldn’t be applied anymore.

So Sirius had to go behind Remus’s back. Sirius went to meetings with Dumbledore, James and Lily without informing Remus. They discussed the information Dumbledore was getting from his non-disclosed spies, and tried to monitor how urgent the threat against James and Lily was, and they discussed the risks that being the Secret Keeper would involve for Sirius (“Are you sure you want to do this, Pads?” “Yes, Prongs, I’m sure.” “Don’t you need more time to decide if you want to put your life at risk just to help me?” “Prongs, I’ve known I’d give my life to protect you since I was twelve. I’ve had plenty of time.”). Every time Sirius got back, he ignored Remus’s questions. He could barely look Remus in the eye, because every time he did, he could see the hurt and confusion. His solution was to avoid Remus as much as he could after these meetings.

If things weren’t already strained, they got really bad when Remus started acting strange. He was going on Order missions much more often. Normally, Sirius knew exactly what type of mission Remus was on. Having someone to talk about it helped them stay sane, and sharing information and gaining more knowledge on the enemy could be beneficial. Now Remus suddenly had all these Order missions Sirius didn’t know anything about, and Remus wouldn’t tell him anything about. It was unsettling. Remus never flat out refused to answer his questions, which Sirius would’ve preferred, as then they could’ve had an apparently much-needed argument, but Remus gave these infuriating meaningless answers. “It went as you would expect.” “You know how these things go.” “It’s no use dwelling on it.” “We did what we had to do.” Remus started to stay away for longer periods of time, and the longer he stayed away, the snippier Sirius got with him. They couldn’t talk about the war or the Order anymore without one of them storming off, but the war consumed every aspect of their lives, so eventually they didn’t seem to be able to talk about anything anymore.

Things went from really bad to even worse when suspicion started creeping in. Sirius tried to think rational, to not let himself be blinded by his feelings for Remus, which were, despite everything, still so strong, but to look at the facts. There was a traitor in their midst and Remus was evidently keeping things from him. Remus caught him looking through some of his papers one night (some cut-out articles on Lycanthropy, some maps of England and Scotland, a letter from his dad; nothing incriminating). Sirius had expected Remus to snap, like he was constantly snapping at Remus these days, but Remus had just stood there and looked at him with so much hurt in his eyes that it made Sirius want to disappear.

The following morning, Remus was gone. Sirius found a note with just four words scribbled on it:

On an Order mission

Remus stayed away for two weeks. All that time, Sirius didn’t hear from him, not a single word, not any sign of life. Every time the thought crossed Sirius’s mind that he didn’t even know if Remus was still alive, it was immediately followed by the thought he didn’t even say goodbye.

Then, after two weeks, Remus came home. It really was as simple as that: opening the door and walking into the kitchen. He looked terrible. Pale, tired, thin, cuts on his hands and face. Sirius had been sitting on the couch and he watched Remus come in, feeling a whole range of emotions coursing through his body. He focussed on the anger and clung to it like a lifeline, as that was the emotion he knew, the emotion he grew up with, the emotion he knew how to express. The other emotions were too unfamiliar, too scary, too revealing.

“Where were you?” Sirius got up from the couch and stood behind Remus, who was standing at the kitchen counter stirring a Strenthening Potion, back turned to Sirius.

“Order mission,” Remus replied, without turning around to face Sirius. “Left a note.”

Sirius folded his arms over his chest. “Is that all you’re going to say?”

“No,” Remus replied in a flat tone. “I’m also going to say that I'm tired and I’m going to bed.”

“Fuck you, Remus,” Sirius hissed. “You think a four-word note justifies two weeks of absence?”

Remus finally turned around and glared at Sirius. “I don’t have to justify anything to you.”

“So you can just do whatever the fuck you like then?” Sirius asked. “Disappearing whenever to wherever doing whatever, and leaving me without even an inkling of when you’ll be back?”

“Don’t you dare, Sirius!” Remus shouted, pointing the spoon he was holding at Sirius’s chest, sending a few droplets flying. “Don’t you fucking dare. Don’t put this all on me when you’re the one who bloody started it. Leaving to secret meetings, not telling me what for or why I wasn’t allowed to join, acting distant and evasive. And I’m supposed to sit you down with a cup of tea and trust you with every detail of my missions when I get back?”

Sirius narrowed his eyes. “So that’s what this is about then? You don’t trust me. Do you think I’m the traitor, Remus?”

“No, you stupid idiot!” Remus smashed his cup down in the sink. “I don’t think you’re the traitor, I think that you think I’m the traitor, and that’s even fucking worse!”

“Well, what am I supposed to bloody think, then?” Sirius shouted back. “You’re obviously keeping things from me! How is this sketchy behaviour going to make anything better? Why couldn’t you just come talk to me, so you could have proven that you’re not-”

“Because I shouldn’t have to proof anything to you!” A hint of pain was seeping through in Remus’s frustration. “All my life I’ve had to proof myself to everyone, and all my life I’ll have to continue proving myself, simply because of what I am, but not to you. Never to you. You’re supposed to believe in me! You’re the one person who’s supposed to be on my side.”

“And I was,” Sirius said, trying to make Remus understand. “But you know how I am, how I overthink, how I get in my head. And then you leave me alone with my own thoughts without so much as a word?”

“You were already shutting me out,” Remus replied. “Leaving me alone with my anxieties and insecurities.”

“I was gone for a couple of hours, at most,” Sirius defended himself. “You were gone for two weeks, two weeks of me having no idea where you were. Two weeks, Remus! How could you even think that was okay? How could you do that to me? I thought something had happened to you! I thought I was never going to see you again. I thought...”

It was quite a remarkable thing. Sirius looked in Remus’s eyes and suddenly, in a single moment, all his anger seemed to dissipate. Because that was just the thing now, wasn’t it? He thought he was never going to look in those eyes again. He hadn’t been angry, mistrusting or betrayed, he had just been fucking scared. Scared that he was ruining the best thing in his life and didn’t know how to stop it, scared that something had happened to Remus, scared that he had lost him.

All the emotions that used to be hidden underneath thick layers of anger, were suddenly washing over him. Threatening to overwhelm him. Fear, sadness, hurt, guilt... It was too much all at once. Sirius’s legs gave out from under him and he crumbled to the floor. He was crying. For the first time in weeks, he was crying, and now there was no stopping it.

“I thought you weren’t coming back, Moony! And you didn’t even gave me a chance to say goodbye. I thought I would never get to tell you that I love anymore. I was so scared, Moony, I was so scared...”

Sirius felt two arms wrap around him from behind and he was pulled backwards against Remus’s chest. He heard Remus softly talking to him. “I came back, I’m here, I got you, I’m here, I’m not leaving...”

They stayed like that for a while. Remus sitting on his knees, his arms wrapped around Sirius, and Sirius clinging to him. Sirius used the steady rhythm of Remus’s breathing to ground himself. He spoke again when he regained some of his composure.

“I am on your side, you know.”

He felt Remus’s arms tighten around him.

“I never thought you were the traitor,” Sirius continued, and the moment he said it he knew it was true. He had tried to shut off his emotions and only use rational thinking. He had told himself that he couldn’t know for sure Remus was truly loyal to them, and that Remus’s behaviour was suspicious. But no matter how much he had tried to use only logical reasoning, deep in his heart he never truly believed Remus would ever betray them.

“Dumbledore and I were meeting with Prongs and Lils. They want to use the Fidelius charm to go into hiding, and we were discussing me being their Secret Keeper,” Sirius said, because he was just sick of it. Sick of pretence, sick of secrets, sick of feeling like half of him was missing.

“Dumbledore asked us not to tell anyone, no exceptions. Maybe I’m blinded by love and this will be my downfall, but Merlin, I’d rather face my downfall with you by my side than get through this war alone.”

“Moody wants a spy within Greyback’s werewolf community,” Remus replied. “We were trying to make connections, and infiltrate. Moody also told me to not tell anybody. Normally I wouldn’t even consider that to include you, but you were shutting me out. I guess I wanted to... get back at you? I was being petty and vindictive.”

“You were right to be.”

Sirius felt Remus shake his head.

“No. I should never have left without a word. It was cruel and selfish and I regretted it the moment I did it. Please know that I thought of you every day. Please know that I... Merlin, I’m sorry, Padfoot! I’m just so sorry. What I’ve put you through... I’m sorry.”

“No, Moony, it was my own stupidity,” Sirius replied. “Thinking I could just start keeping secrets from you and everything would be fine... I’m an idiot. I didn’t even try to talk to you, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry for creating this mess. I’m sorry for ruining everything we built together.”

“Don’t say that.” Remus’s voice suddenly sounded firm. “I’m here, aren’t I? And we’re talking.”

Sirius felt a glimmer of hope that they were actually working towards something good here, that this could be a new beginning instead of an inevitable end, that this fight was long-overdue, but maybe not too late.

After a silence, Remus whispered against his hair. “You’re going to be in a lot of danger.”

Sirius squeezed Remus’s hand. “So are you.”

“Fucking war,” Remus mumbled.

Sirius pushed himself up and turned to face Remus. They were now both sitting on their knees on the kitchen floor, looking at each other, their hands clasped together between them.

“This war is going to take so much from us,” Sirius said. “I don’t want it to take this as well, to take what we have.”

“Me neither,” Remus said. “But we’re still here, we’re still together, still fighting for us. And I’m not going to give up that fight.”

Sirius looked at Remus with a resolute expression on his face. “If we want to give us a fighting chance, we need to be honest with each other, believe each other, and trust each other.”

Remus looked back at him with the same kind of intent. “I promise I will. No matter what.”

Sirius held Remus’s hand a little tighter. “No matter what.”

From that moment on, it seemed like they managed to restore their relationship. They could rely on each other again for support and advice. Remus could vent to Sirius about the anger, frustration and powerlessness he had felt when seeing Greyback again. Sirius could check with Remus some of the plans he and James came up with regarding the going into hiding, such as the idea that has been playing in his head of making Peter the Secret Keeper in an unpredictable move, while he himself will serve as a distraction. He was slightly taken aback when Remus pressed him not to, but as Remus explained, he understood his reasoning. Remus had been worried about Peter lately. Peter seemed to have lost all hope that they could win this war, and he was terrified of what the opposing forces might do to them once they’d fall into their hands. Remus thought his fear might make Peter an easy target for You Know Who and his Death Eaters, and you never know what kind of bad decisions a desperate person can make. Sirius listened to Remus and decided to put that idea out of his head. He felt bad he hadn’t noticed Peter was in such a bad state, and this was just one of many reasons why he needed Remus in his life.

But it wasn’t just talking about plans and tactics. There were also moments of intimacy, calmness, happiness. Mornings of being tangled up in each other and not leaving the bed, afternoons of Sirius lying with his head on Remus’s lap while Remus reads to him, evenings of sitting on the carpet and eating greasy take-out, nights of dancing in the living room. Moments on which they could pretend there was no war.

But back to Sirius freaking out. You see, Remus is doing it again. He’s going to places and Sirius doesn’t know where, he’s talking to people and Sirius doesn’t know who. Once again, there’s something he’s keeping from Sirius. Sirius hasn’t confronted Remus, as he had promised to trust him. But had Remus not promised to be honest with him? Well, he’s obviously not. Sirius tries to not overthink it. Remus probably has a good reason, and he just has to wait until Remus is ready to tell him. He does trust Remus, he really does, but what if Remus doesn’t trust him anymore? Or what if he has tried, but just can’t forgive Sirius for his stupidity after all, and now he’s pulling away?

This morning, when Sirius woke up, Remus was gone. He hadn’t told Sirius where he was going, or even that he was going somewhere. The only thing there was, was another one of those damned notes, only three words this time:

Running some errands

Sirius tries to put his mind to rest as he apparates in Godric’s Hollow and makes his way over to James and Lily’s. James has asked him to come by to help him go over some documents the Order confiscated. Sirius told Remus about this, but he wonders if his boyfriend even remembers. Maybe the task can be a good distraction, but Sirius highly doubts he’ll be able to focus on any documentation right now.

He’s recognized by the protective spells surrounding the house, speaks the required passwords and steps into the hall. Unsuspecting, he walks into the living room.

“Surprise!”

The outcry is followed by a huge cloud of confetti flying in Sirius’s face. Startled, Sirius jumps backwards, and, once the cloud has subsided, looks around the room in shock. The room is excessively decorated with a large variety of garlands and balloons. In front of him are the grinning faces of his fellow Order members and friends Dorcas Meadowes, Marlene McKinnon, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, Peter, James and Lily, and, of bloody course, Remus.

Sirius blinks. “What... What is this?”

“Oh, Merlin.” James steps forward and wraps him into a hug. “Moony wasn’t exaggerating when he said you had completely forgotten about your birthday.”

“My birthday?” Sirius asks dumbfounded. Is it November already? Yes, come to think of it, it is.

“And not just any birthday!” Lily exclaims. “Your twenty-first birthday! Who knows, maybe someday you’ll become an actual adult after all.”

“Let's not hope too hard, Lily,” Marlene grins.

Sirius looks around the circle of friends, still feeling rather overwhelmed. “Can I maybe talk to Moony for a second?”

“I’m sorry,” Remus says, as soon as their other friends are in the kitchen. “This was a bad idea, wasn’t it? I’m sorry, Padfoot, I just wanted to do something nice for your birthday and you always love parties so much... I could tell you noticed something was up and I could tell you were freaking out. I really am very sorry, I should’ve-”

Sirius wraps his arms tightly around Remus. “You wonderful, kind, amazing man. I love you so much, but don’t ever do that to me again!”

Remus hugs him back. “But you do like it?”

Sirius pulls back just enough so he can look at him. “I do, but please, no more secrets. And we need to work on your note-writing skills. Really, Moons, first a four-word note and now a three-word one?”

The evening really couldn’t be better. James and Lily have prepared an elaborate dinnerl and they sit around the kitchen table, just eating, drinking, talking and laughing. By the end, they serve a large, home-made cake, complete with candles. Sirius has to make a wish while blowing out the candles, because apparently there’s no age-limit to that tradition. Sirius looks around the table, to Marlene, who’s leaning with her head on Dorcas’s shoulder, contently sipping her Butterbeer, to Fabian and Gideon, who are sporting identical goofy grins, to Peter, who’s bouncing in his chair from excitement (and a few sips of brandy too much), to James, who’s looking back at him with such incredible fondness, while his arms are wrapped around Lily’s waist, and to Remus, who’s sitting next to him, holding his hand underneath the table and leaning his head on his other hand, tilted towards him with his lips curled into a soft smile. Sirius blows out the candles.

Please, please let us make it through this.

“You really put way too much effort into this,” Sirius says, as Lily is dividing the cake.

“Well,” Lily replies. “You can make us all coffee then.”

It’s a well-established fact in their friend group that Sirius makes the best coffee, and therefore it’s usually his task, birthday or not.

Sirius grins. “Normally I shouldn’t be put to work on my birthday,” he says, while getting up from his chair. “But the idea of having to drink coffee made by any of you...”

Lily jokingly rolls her eyes at him. Sirius walks towards the kitchen counter, grabbing the container in which James and Lily keep their coffee. He opens it, and it’s like his heart stops and the whole world fades away for a moment. There’s no coffee in the container. Which is not the reason for his reaction. Sure, he likes coffee, but really not so much to have an almost-heart attack at the sight of a coffee container containing no coffee. No, in the container sits a small, black box.

Sirius picks it up and turns around. His friends have huddled behind the kitchen table, staring at him with huge, hopeful smiles, and James suddenly holding a bottle of champagne, but Sirius hardly registers any of that. The only thing he focusses on is Remus, sitting on one knee right in front of him. Sirius is crying before he has even processed what’s about to happen.

“I know you didn’t want any more secrets, but I promise you, this is the last one.” There’s a tremor in Remus’s voice, probably from keeping his emotions under control. “I don’t even know how to put in words what you mean to me. With you... I don’t just want to be a better person, I’ve actually become a better person. I wouldn’t be who I am today if I hadn’t had you. I am braver, because I can be scared around you, I am more confident, because I can be insecure around you, I am happier, because I can be sad around you. You embrace every part of me and make me feel like I’m enough. You’re it for me, Sirius. I know you aren’t thrilled about my note-writing skills, from a four-word note to a three-word note, but I’m afraid there’s one more. Open it.”

With shaking hands, Sirius opens the black box. Inside, he sees a beautiful, elegant silver ring, and a small piece of parchment tucked in the lid. Sirius takes it out and unfolds it, seeing it is, indeed, a two-word note:

Marry me?

“Yes,” Sirius manages to say through his tears. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.” He flings himself forward to tackle Remus to the ground in a hug. He vaguely registers the sound of cheers and a champagne bottle popping open. He stares at Remus. “I’m yours, Remus Lupin,” he whispers, before kissing him.

Later that night, when they’re home and in bed, Sirius lying on his back with Remus nestled against him, head resting on his chest, Sirius has his hand stretched out in front of him, and both of them are staring at the ring around his finger, gleaming in the dim moonlight.

“When Prongs and I were discussing the idea of me proposing,” Remus says. “I said that a war was no time to be thinking about a wedding. Prongs replied that a war was no time to wait with the things you truly want, as tomorrow the whole world may crumble.”

“If tomorrow the world crumbles,” Sirius replies. “Having this, this evening, this moment, just this, makes it all worth it.”

#10daysofhealing #wolfstarcomfortminifest #wolfstar #wolfstar fanfiction #wolfstar fic #marauders #marauders fanfiction #marauders fic #sirius black #remus lupin #remus x sirius

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arrow-guy · 3 years

Text

Broken Flock (11/??)

Summary: It’s been two years since you uprooted your life and left to figure out who you really are, leaving behind Bucky and Clint with little more than a note as a warning. Now, New York is calling your name and it’s time to go home. How will Clint and Bucky react to your return, and how will the time have affected your relationship?

A/N: Okay I’m actually kind of really excited about this chapter. I feel like it got away from me a little bit for a sec there in the first half. That being said, I really love the end of this chapter, and I hope you guys will as well. Please enjoy!

Page dividers by @carryonmyswansong

Pairing: WinterhawkxReader

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: Discussion of human experimentation (not in depth), Discussion of politics (the Accords)

Part 10

“I didn’t expect to be stuck in a conference room for this.”

“Trust me,” Steve says. “I didn’t think it’d come to this either, but-”

The door bursts open and everyone turns to look. General Ross stands in the doorway, hands behind his back. He looks too smug for my liking. If I weren’t so sore, and if I knew I wouldn’t get in trouble, I’d wipe that look right off his face.

Steve groans. “We had a change of plans.”

“Ah, so good of you to join us, Ms. (Y/L/N),” he says. He strides through the room to stand at the head of the table and address us. “I was beginning to wonder where you’d gone.”

“Last I checked, I don’t answer to you,” I snap. “None of us do.”

“You dropped off the map for a good two weeks.”

“I was kidnapped.”

“Even so-”

“What the hell is this about?” I cut in. “Because I was under the impression that this meeting concerned myself and the Avengers alone. Not you and your little government issued lackeys.”

“You’re awful hostile for someone speaking to her superior,” he ground out.

“Who, me?” I glance around at everyone in the room. “I’m a civilian and the Avengers are a private organization. I don’t work for you, Ross. None of us do.”

“You will,” he says. “When the Accords are put into governmental procedure.”

“See, I don’t know if you’re ever going to make headway with that little project of yours.” I shuffled around in my seat before leaning on the table. “Considering the fact that you refuse to work with one of the biggest players in this, who knows how many signatures you’ll get.”

“To what do we owe the displeasure, Thaddeus?” Tony asks.

Ross’ eye twitches. “You missed your deadline.”

“We were a little preoccupied in finding (Y/N),” Steve says. “As she said, she was kidnapped. You would know this if you’d read any of the correspondence we sent you concerning this.”

“And we wouldn’t be in this position if you’d quit running in circles and rejecting any kind of amendments we suggest,” Bucky adds. “We’ve been trying to work with you on this for months, yet you never seem to be able to make up your mind on what you want from us.”

“He wants complete and total control over the Avengers,” I say.

“Excuse me?” Ross grinds out.

“I said, you want to control the Avengers,” I repeat. I look to Natasha. “Did I stutter? I don’t think I stuttered.”

“Not that I heard,” she says.

I look Ross dead in the eye. “Do you need me to speak up? Or would it be helpful if I just signed instead?”

“(Y/N),” Steve warns.

I glare at Ross, but sit back in my chair. “Sorry.”

“You’re not in trouble,” Steve says. “But I don’t want you to say anything incriminating.”

I simply nod and keep quiet. Steve gestures to Tony, who stands to face General Ross.

“We weren’t planning on announcing this today, but we’ve given your proposal some serious thought, and we’ve decided to turn you down,” Tony says.

“You’re what?!” Ross hisses. “You can’t do that!”

“Can’t we? Because we’ve been operating independently for the past two years, and things seem to be going just fine. The only major incident we’ve dealt with since Sokovia-”

Ross interjects, “Which was your fault, if I’m remembering correctly.”

“Shut the fuck up, Thaddeus,” I snap. “You don’t get to interrupt people just because you’re a General.”

Clint snorts and I squeeze his knee in a silent plea for him to be quiet.

Tony clears his throat. “As I was saying, the only incident we’ve dealt with since Sokiva has been (Y/N)’s kidnapping. And we managed to find her just fine, no thanks to you.”

“And,” Natasha says. “If I’m remembering correctly, we’ve been fully functional since S.H.I.E.L.D. went under, even without asking for any assistance from the likes of you.” She tilts her head to the side and folds her arms. “And yet you expect us to just hand ourselves over to you.”

“You just don’t get it, do you?”

“No,” I say. “I think we understand perfectly. You think that the Avengers have too much power. The only way that you can see to ensure no one gets hurt is to put a leash on them. And I can see where you’re coming from, and your care for the public, if you can even call it that, is commendable. But this ass backwards, roundabout route you’re taking is absolutely fucking absurd.”

“You said you’re not part of this team!”

“I did, but I never said I didn’t have any kind of stake in whether or not the Accords are approved. I have powers, remember? I’m directly affected by whatever kind of legislation is put in place because of those Accords. But you could never understand that, because you’ve only ever seen people like us as power hungry egomaniacs. But look around.” I gesture to the room. “No one here asked for what we got. Bruce and I were accidents, Steve was a scientific crapshoot, regardless of how successful, Bucky was kidnapped and brainwashed and experimented on without his consent, Natasha and Clint’s backgrounds are questionable at best, and Tony was blown up by his own bomb. His first suit was built out of necessity, not curiosity or the need to seize power.”

“(Y/N)...” Bucky murmurs. He takes my hand and squeezes it gently.

“By all means, work with the Avengers. But quit acting like you’ve got the moral high ground, because all you've done is set up roadblocks and refuse to compromise in any capacity."

Ross looks down his nose at me. "You've got a lot of opinions for someone so vehemently against being part of their team."

"Well, you’re ready to imprison any single powered person who doesn’t sign, simply because you deem us to be threats.” I narrow my eyes. "But last I checked, you can't arrest someone for having opinions."

"Maybe not, but you certainly seem to know more about the Accords than what's been made available to the public-"

"We've kept her up to date with the proceedings," Steve says. "She has every right to know about something that would change the way she lives her life."

"That's not a decision for you to make."

Steve simply shrugs. "You never said anything about our discussions being confidential."

“Why you-”

“You do see the position you’ve put us in, right?” Steve presses. “We’re trying to work out ways to protect our loved ones, powers or no, and still do our jobs, but you keep blocking every single suggestion we make. You want us to cooperate, but you make it impossible.”

“You say that as if you’re not trying to bend the Accords to work for you.”

“No,” Tony says. “That’s what you’re doing. Your unwillingness to collaborate with just proves (Y/N) right. You don’t want to work with us. You want to control us. Because we’re not predictable, and that scares you and your little government buddies.”

Steve rises from his seat and stares Ross down. “See, we’d be happy to work with you. But that means working with us.”

Ross tries to protest, but shuts his mouth when Bucky stands abruptly. Bucky’s glare can only be described as glacial. No one says a word.

Ross shifts closer to Steve and Natasha shoots up from her chair. Clint, Tony, and I follow suit. I shake out my wings to make myself look bigger than I am and squint at General Ross. He’s startled to find all of us resisting him and turns back to Steve, only to find him with a similarly cold expression and his arms folded across his chest.

“If you’re not going to work with us,” Steve says. “I suggest you leave.”

“Fine.” He looks around the room at each of us. “But I will be back.”

“Until you’re ready to compromise, you’re not welcome,” Tony quips. “But we’ll gladly escort you out.”

Ross seems to know he’s been beat and makes a hasty retreat. His lackeys follow him from the conference room and down the hallway, back to whatever they arrived in. When I’m sure they’re gone, I sink back into my seat and cover my face with my hands. My heart is beating out of my chest and every ache from two days earlier is back with a vengeance.

“Are you okay?” Clint asks, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.

I nod and turn to press my face to his shoulder. “Too much excitement for one day, that’s all.”

Clint hums in agreement. “I don’t think he’ll be back for a while.”

I laugh. “Of course he won’t, he got stared down by a room full of Avengers. He probably shat himself as soon as Nat stood up.”

“Of course he did,” Clint grins at Natasha. “She’s terrifying.”

Natasha snorts and Clint tries to make another joke to actually make her laugh. Steve watches them and I wait till I can catch his eye to say something.

“Is it safe to assume that wasn’t part of the plan today?” I ask.

Steve sighs. “No, it wasn’t.” He glares at the door. “General Ross seems to have a bad habit of showing up when he’s least wanted.”

“And ignoring anything he doesn’t want to hear,” Tony adds. “I swear, we sent him at least three notices about the delay, and he just ignored every single one of them.”

“You seriously put off negotiations to find me?”

“Of course we did, (Y/N),” Tony says. “You’re family. You know what we do for family.”

I frown. “Drop everything.”

“Exactly.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yeah, sweetheart, we did.” Bucky takes my hand. “We weren’t going to leave you behind after everything we did to find you last time.”

Tears prick at the corners of my eyes. I blink them away and whisper, “Thank you. All of you. Really.”

“There’s nothing to thank us for,” Natasha says. “Don’t argue with me about this.”

I laugh, but sniffle a moment later. “Okay, I won’t.”

“You wanna tell us why you actually wanted to meet?” Clint asks.

“Right,” Steve shifts in his seat. “We believe that we’ve apprehended everyone involved with your kidnapping, (Y/N). They’ll be tried and probably sentenced before the end of the month.”

“Oh, wow.” Surprised, I look between Steve and Tony. “I forgot how quickly you work.”

“We put in a rush order for our favorite Sesame Street character,” Tony says.

I laugh. “So I’m Big Bird now?”

“Well, you’re smart, you care about your friends and family, and you’re nice. Well…” He gestures vaguely. “Most of the time.”

“I’ll take it.”

Tony hums. “I started looking into Hoffman’s research, and it’s pretty grim stuff.”

“Oh?”

“A lot about genetic mutation and splicing animal DNA with human. From what Banner and I have found, she’d been doing this for a long time, and getting away with it, too. Based on her notes from the last five years, you’re her most successful experiment, and she didn’t even know you existed until six months ago.” He sighs. “I won’t go into too much detail, but the plans she had… she’s bad news in every sense of the phrase.”

“I got lucky, then.”

“I didn’t want to say that, but yeah. You did.”

“I see.”

“I’m sorry, (Y/N). You shouldn’t’ve been mixed up in any of this in the first place.”

“It’s not your fault. She would’ve caught up to me eventually. It’s not like ten foot wings are easy to hide.”

“All of that aside,” Steve says. “They’ll be going away for a long time. The rest of their lives, if we can manage it. They won’t be able to get to you ever again.”

I nod. “What’ll you do about Ross?”

“If we can manage it, we’ll keep pushing for reformed Accords. None of us want to be limited in what we can do, but it was easier to operate when we had the power of a government agency or two to back us up.” Steve shrugs. “If he can’t agree to that, we won’t be signing.”

“And you’re all cool with that?”

Tony nods. “We’ve argued over this for months, and getting your insight as someone on the outside helped as well. We’re not backing down from this.”

“Good. There’s no reason to roll over just because some dickhead bully demands it. He needs your support on this. He’s blind if he can’t see that.”

“Our thoughts exactly,” Steve says.

“Has she been cleared to go home yet, though?” Clint asks.

Steve nods. “She’s good to go as early as tomorrow morning.”

“Great,” Clint says, his relief obvious in his voice. “Simone has to go out of town on Saturday and without her, there’s no one left to dog-sit.”

Natasha rolls her eyes and Tony makes makes a joke about Clint’s loyalties lying elsewhere. I can’t pay attention to any of it, though. My thoughts keep straying back to what it’ll be like to be back in my apartment and away from the rest of the team. I can’t help thinking that it’ll be a little more peaceful, especially with the constant sounds of the settling apartment building around me.

Bucky squeezes my hand and I shake the fog from my head. “Hm?”

“You okay?”

I try to reassure him with a smile. “I’m fine. Just trying to plan what we need to do to get ready to go tomorrow.”

“We’ll head out bright ‘n early tomorrow. Okay?” I nod and he kisses my forehead.

“You’re sitting in the back, Clint.”

“What? You know I get carsick.”

“You don’t get carsick, you just don’t like the legroom in the back.”

“Can’t help that, Bucky, I’m a tall guy!”

Bucky rolls his eyes. “You know (Y/N) needs the front seat. She can’t sit normally because of her wings.”

Clint scowls. “Then let me drive.”

“Hell no, you’re a nightmare behind the wheel.”

“You’re no fun!” I clear my throat and both men look to me and smile. “Hey! You’re finally up.”

I shake my head. “I was up an hour ago, I just wanted to make sure I had everything.”

“Oh, right.” Clint strides across the driveway and takes my bag from me. “We were just-”

“Squabbling,” I laugh. “I know. It’s what you two do best sometimes.”

“We can do other things too,” he mumbles.

Bucky shakes his head and joins Clint and I. “Ignore him. He’s just grumpy because someone called about a burst pipe in the basement.”

“Oh shit.” Clint scratches the back of his neck and I place my hand on his arm. “Have you called someone yet?”

“Yeah, they already showed up, but it won’t be a cheap fix.”

“It’ll be fine, I’m sure. We can get it sorted out when we get back, right?” He nods and wanders off to pack up the car.

Bucky hooks his arm around my waist and I tilt my head up to kiss his cheek. “You’re looking better this morning,” he says.

“I slept really well last night. Probably has something to do with you two.”

“You give us too much credit, (Y/N).”

“I don’t think you give yourselves enough.”

He smiles and shakes his head. “I’ll go get the car set up.”

“Okay. I’ll be over in a minute.”

I stand back and watch them move around the car. Clint scoops up two more duffel bags, I assume they’re his and Bucky’s, from beside the car and places them in the trunk. Bucky puts the passenger seat down and I can see him roll his eyes when Clint sidles up beside him and says something close to his ear. Clint laughs when Bucky pinches his side and I can’t help smiling.

It suddenly hits me how thankful I am that I have both of them. I don’t know what I would do without them, or even where I’d be right now if they weren’t in my life.

My smile slowly slips away as I realize that I love them. Different from when we first met and more than I did when I left.

My heart flutters and I press my fingers to my lips, just letting the realization wash over me. I’m not scared. Just peaceful. This feels right.

“You okay, (Y/N)?”

I refocus and meet Clint’s eyes. “Hm?”

“You were zoning out,” he says. “Are you feeling alright?”

I smile. “I’m good. Nothing to worry about.”

“You sure?”

I nod and approach the car. “Mhm.”

He wraps his arm around my shoulders and kisses the top of my head. “Okay, good.”

“Help me into the car?”

“Of course.” He grins and gestures to the open passenger door. “Your chariot awaits.”

----------

Part 12

How’s that for an ending? I’m pretty fond of it, personally. I promise this isn’t the grand ending, but we’re getting close, I think. But for now, we know that the reader loves her boys, and that’s what really matters.

I’d love to know how you reacted! I always love knowing what you guys think, so please comment, reblog, like, and/or shoot me an ask!

If you’d like to be tagged in future chapters, please let me know!

Tag list:

@ghostlyhamlet, @claws-of-vibranium, @creaturefeatures101, @buckysendoftheline, @imagine-assembling-the-avengers, @ptprocrastination, @1950schick, @amayasymone23, @arfrona-and-marvel, @ek823, @fanaticfangirl001, @furrywerewolfcollector, @kissofvenom922, @dawn-phantomhive, @fangirlwithasweettooth, @mairhof1, @starryeyesbadguys, @trap-house-homiecide, @buckywhitewolfbarnes, @kaepm981, @howdoesoneadult, @pcdmesamidala, @thefandomplace, @sian22redux, @skeletoresinthebasement, @lady-thor-foster, @jazzcutie, @gaytonystark, @geeksareunique, @nyxveracity, @breezy1415, @darling-loki, @lemonadeorange73, @tofeartheunknown, @queenoftheunderdark

This fic:

@avengerscompound, @nerdy-bookworm-1998, @shirukitsune, @keenmarvellover, @katebarton15, @feelmyroarrrr

#winterhawkxreader #readerxwinterhawk #winterhawk x reader #reader x winterhawk #bucky barnesxreader #readerxbucky barnes #clint bartonxreader #readerxclint barton #winterhawk #bucky barnes #clint barton #reader insert marvel fic

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therainbowwillow · 3 years

Text

https://therainbowwillow.tumblr.com/post/641225373410000896/therainbowwillow

Part 16! Well, this fic is getting so damn long! I have another (dare I say more important) project I’m *supposed* to be writing. This fic was meant to be a warm-up... anyway. Here is part 16!

Premise/last time: With their trial fast approaching, everyone arrives at the gates of Olympus. Hermes again receives the same foreboding prophecy, but they’ve come too far to turn back now.

The golden gates of Olympus span before them, in beautiful contrast to the city’s mostly marble architecture. Athena opens the doors, standing guard as they enter. “Welcome home,” she greets the returning Olympians.

“Are we safe?” Hermes questions her.

“You’re safer than you could be,” she says. “Hades insisted upon immediately locking you up, but we negotiated against chains. I am supposed to disarm you, however.”

“We only have Hades’s knife, as far as I know,” Hermes explains.

“I’ll take it.” He hands the knife to her. It’s stained with blood, unwashed since... Hermes doesn’t want to think about it. “Smart, preserving the evidence,” she tells him, turning it over in her hands. He accepts the compliment, although his intention hadn’t been to incriminate Hades.

“Apollo!”

He looks up as Artemis flies down the path and leaps into his arms. “Artemis! Ouch, wait. I took an arrow to the ankle, remember.”

“Sorry!” She holds him up for support. Hyacinthus takes his other side. “It’s been a while, Apollo.”

He chuckles. “And whose fault is that?”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry! I know I should’ve been there for you. It wasn’t you I was trying to avoid. Still, I should’ve said something.”

He tilts his head. “Who then?”

“Take a guess. Zeus and Hades blamed me for the Asclepius situation, because it was my hunter he resurrected. Our relatives are easier to avoid than to confront, so I ran. I see your lover didn’t stay down too long,” she remarks.

“I don’t know. I’d call seventeen- no, eighteen- years a long time,” Hyacinthus says.

She shrugs. “Shorter than most people stay dead for. Anyway, our prospects look fine. Zeus and Hades remain their ever-stubborn selves. Still, the whole world heard that song. Callisto and I were as far from the railroad as one could get and we heard it. That son of yours, he has the whole planet on his side.”

“You’re still with Callisto?” Apollo says with a smirk.

Her cheeks flush. “I suppose. She’s a wonderful hunting partner.”

“You don’t need the ‘hunting’ bit of that sentence.”

“And you wonder why I never visit,” she mutters.

“Aw, come on, Art. I’m only teasing. Please do come by more often.”

“I come by plenty when you aren’t moping and our father isn’t attempting to bring his wrath upon me. Shouldn’t we be discussing the trial?”

“Right.”

“I’ve been keeping my eye on Zeus,” she says, as they walk through the gates. “I posed a case for Hyacinthus, too. Our father seemed open to the idea of letting him live if it means you’ll get back to your duties.”

Apollo grins. “Still, it’ll take some argument,” Artemis continues. “I overheard that Hermes will be the target of the trial, not Orpheus. I didn’t catch why they changed their plans, but I thought I’d warn you. Ares, Zeus, and Poseidon took Hades’s side. The rest of Olympus is loyal to Orpheus, to varying degrees, and for different reasons. Regardless, it’s support!”

“A little good news for once,” Hermes remarks.

“Yes. I’m sorry about your circumstances, though.”

“Better me than Orpheus. When does the trial start?” He asks.

“Soon,” Athena answers. “Let’s arrive before our opposition.” She guides them down the street, ethereal and white as the rest of the city.

Orpheus notices the flowers, gardens pressed against every house and street corner, all in full bloom. It seems even Olympus feels his springtime. He absentmindedly plucks out a few notes on his lyre. The flower heads turn to face him.

Eventually, they reach the center of the city. A marble building rises higher than the rest. Its domed roof has blue accents. The entrance is lined with sets of ornate pillars.

“Here we are,” Athena says, “Get comfortable. Confidence will be an asset to our case.”

Hestia welcomes them inside. “You must be Orpheus! The poet I’ve heard so much about.” Her smile is genuine and it lights up the entire room as Eurydice wheels him inside.

“I am!” Orpheus says. “The gods know me!” He whispers to Eurydice.

“I am sorry for the circumstances of our meeting, Orpheus. My name is Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home. Are you comfortable as you are or would you like a chair?”

“This is fine! Thank you.”

“Of course! You will all be provided food and drink throughout the trial,” she tells them. “And Hermes, Hades has express interest in shackling you to your chair. I am not sure what he expects you to do, but I wanted to warn you regardless.”

Hermes nods, soundlessly.

Eurydice sits beside Orpheus. “You okay?” she asks, gently.

“Yes. I’m just... preparing myself to see Hades.” He lowers his voice. “It’s Hermes I’m really worried about. I’ve never seen him like this.”

“He’ll be alright,” she assures him, uneasily.

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

Hermes sits on the far edge of the semicircle of seats, keeping Orpheus in his line of sight. He’d picked out Hades’s chair, draped with a new grey coat and placed himself directly across from it. He’d keep a close eye on the king of the dead, he’d decided, for Orpheus’s sake.

He sits in silence, separated from the rest of his side of the case. Three figures enter the room. The two men closely resemble each other. Thanatos and Hypnos, he realizes, with surprise. Orpheus looks at the ground, afraid to meet the god of death’s eyes.

“We are allies,” Thanatos announces, “To Orpheus.” The god takes a seat beside Hestia, adjacent to the rest of the room. Orpheus beams in disbelief.

Other deities trickle into the courtroom. Ares takes the first seat on the other side of the room. Aphrodite and her son, Eros, take Orpheus’s side. Demeter pulls Persephone into her arms in a long hug and takes a seat beside her daughter. The air seems to warm at their touch. The Anemoi, the four winds, side with Hades, probably due to Hyacinthus’s presence, Hermes notes. Poseidon and Zeus arrive together, taking their seats beside Ares.

Hades is last to arrive. The air prickles in his presence. Persephone turns up her lip. Orpheus squeezes Eurydice’s hand. Hermes forces himself to keep his gaze fixed on Hades as he strides to his seat. He scans his ex-employer for weapons, anything he could use against Orpheus. He finds nothing and his head aches too badly to keep searching. Hades sits and glares, his eyes trained upon Hermes. He moves his head slightly. Hermes’s vision fades to black.

He sees nothing, only hears the notes flooding over him and he feels the chains, boring into his wrists. Orpheus’s voice, so clear and effortless. He stops singing. A chair creaks. “No! No!” Orpheus screams. Blood. A stronger scent than ever before. Eurydice gasps. His vision returns. Drops of golden ichor bead on the marble floor beneath his feet.

Hestia sits at his side. “Hermes?” She hands him a handkerchief. “Your nose is bleeding. Pinch, lean back a little. Are you alright?” He nods. “Would you like something to drink? You passed out.” He shakes his head. His eyelids feel heavy. “Okay, I want you to drink something anyway.”

She hands him a glass of nectar and he takes a sip. “Would you like to lie down for a moment?”

He hears heavy footsteps approaching. Hades. “I told you, chain him up,” he growls.

“Hades, he’s clearly quite ill.” She places a hand against his forehead. “He’s running a fever. Perhaps we should delay-”

“No,” Hermes mutters. “I’m alright.”

Hades presses shackles around his wrists. He can’t find the strength to fight back. “The trial proceeds.” Hades returns to his seat.

Athena rises. “We proceed, then,” she says, uneasily. “The prosecution may give its opening statements.”

Hades dips his head. “We open, Olympus, to traitors, with more support than those who abide by the law. To the lesser crimes of the foolish Orpheus, willing to unwind the binds of death for his selfish desire for the girl he forgot.” Hermes sees Orpheus draw in a small breath. Eurydice whispers something to him.

“And the true cause for our gathering,” Hades continues, “Hermes. Impressive, I must admit, just how much of his contract he managed to break. Willing to betray his own family for the good of a mortal boy and his worthless lover.” Eurydice’s expression hardens, burning with anger. She sips from the glass beside her, hiding her fury. “Pathetic and foolish is his love of mortals. Even now, he betrays us, refusing to provide evidence before the court, simply because it incriminates a red-blooded boy. He hides from us the contract of Eurydice, a shade of Hadestown, returned to life by his maddened endeavors.”

“How, Olympus, do you side with these cowards? Do the laws of our land mean nothing to you? Your very sustenance relies on the preservation of death. Without it, your precious world would be overrun by long-dead shades, many of them criminals. Murderers, thieves, vain enough to proclaim themselves above you. Today, let us prevent the fall of your civilized world. Let us uphold the borders that protect us and punish those who dare to tear them down.” He lowers himself methodically back into his seat.

Athena stands once more. “And the defense’s response. Lord Hades, the reason for Orpheus’s support is this: Olympus does not find your actions redeemable. This mortal boy walked into your realm on his own two legs. He sang a song, so beautiful, the world wept for his love. He reminded you, he reminded all of us what it means to lead. That strength is not found in cruelty and fear, but in love and respect. He stood before the King of the Dead and he sang. If that is cowardice, there is no bravery.”

Orpheus smiles. She continues, “You allowed him safe passage home, so long as he did not break your terms. He was not to sing until he reached the surface. Although his memory faded with the fog of the River Lethe, he did not break his contract. Still, you sent shades to hunt him down and blackmailed Thanatos into bringing you his soul. You tortured Orpheus, deprived an already injured and starved young man of food and drink and forced him to sing at your will until he could not force out another note. Once you discovered he was no longer of use, you stuck a knife through his stomach and left him to die, alone in the dark.” Hermes notices Orpheus’s misery at remembering his days in Hades’s prison. Orpheus sips his drink to distract himself.

“We are inclined to side with the truth and that Orpheus is a traitor is a lie. Broken contracts hold nothing to the crimes of Hades. The law exists to govern our morality. When the law is wrong, it is our job to uphold justice. Not in the name of the papers we signed, but in the name of what is just. Let us do today what is just: acquit the defendants and honor them for their gifts of springtime. Now, albeit unconventionally, I ask for a song.”

Orpheus strums his lyre and sings his first notes. His song washes the room with an incredible warmth. A murmur goes about the crowd as flowers begin to bloom in the vast hall, wrapping chair legs in vines, springing from the ground. His shoulders drop, his fear fades as he sings. His song recites love. Not just his own. Not only Hades’s.

Apollo is struck all over again by the first time he’d seen Hyacinthus, his beautiful Spartan prince, outlined against the sunrise. Achilles remembers Patroclus, racing him through Peleus’s halls. Artemis sees Callisto, her eyes glinting in the moonlight as they hunt, side by side. Even Hera feels the old flutter in her chest, some tiny spark of love for her husband, love she’d long since extinguished. Persephone feels the change of her husband’s heart. How he sees her, how he knows what must be done.

Not a single note is out of place, not a single line is forgotten. Orpheus’s song is a song of love and warmth. A song of hope for what might be. What is now, so long as he keeps singing. And this time, his voice doesn’t fail him. He does not falter. He only sings and sings, until every flower on Olympus and on the ground faces him. Until his voice reaches Hadestown and echoes off the distant walls and the workers join the chorus, singing with a new vigor. His springtime is not the springtime of legends. It is more. It is hope for a new world, freedom from the past. And he keeps singing.

#hadestown au #hadestown fanfic #hadestown #orphydice #therainbowwrites

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lailannajacobs · 4 years

Text

Empire of Angels | Part Three

pairing: bucky x ofc!Amelie Novak

Summary: Amelie Novak moved from New York to Boston to escape a shitty ex and to get a killer story. She just didn’t realize she’d meant that literally.

Warnings: none!

Word Count: 4.5k

A/N: A bit of a long one this time, you hope enjoy regardless! <3

Empire of Angels | Part Three

Amelie sat in front of her laptop in her office cubical the next morning, trying to unearth as much information as humanly possible about Barnes before his reputation as a near perfect hitman had made him better known as the Winter Soldier. Her pile of information hadn’t amassed to much. Yet, despite her infuriating lack of useful information, a small smile spread across her lips. Amelie had managed to be the journalist to have gotten the closest to him.

After Barnes had left her apartment, she’d spend the rest of the evening and well into the night researching Brad Goulson: The Winter Soldier’s last target. She knew there might not be much of a link between the two, but it was somewhere to start, and a place to start wasn’t something she had a lot of where Barnes was concerned. Other than the white-collar crimes of Goulson’s she’d exposed the week before, Amelie hadn’t been able to find any other incriminating details on him. There had to be a connection between him and Barnes, she just hadn’t found it yet. But she wasn’t about to back down.

Amelie hadn’t mentioned any of this to her boss, Cary, opting instead to find something concrete and viable beforehand. Without it, there was no way he’d let her pursue it, giving it to some ‘more qualified man’ instead. The big problem was that there wasn’t much on Barnes, even before he’d become an infamous hitman. Apparently, he’d been a standup guy without any priors - or if he did have any, he was damned good at covering his tracks.

“Amelie, what are you doing still looking into that guy?”

She spun around in her chair, forcing a smile at the sight of her nosy cubical neighbour, Arnold. Being a gossip paid off in her industry and unfortunately for her, Arnold was one of the best.

“I’m just making sure that I didn’t miss anything the first time around,” She half lied, “I have a feeling I’m missing something, and I don’t want some other paper making us look like idiots because I forget something.”

He brushed the mess of dark curls from his eyes and peered even closer at the military ID of Barnes on her laptop, “Do you have any evidence or just this feeling of yours.”

“Nothing,” She refused to tell him about Barnes’ little visit the night before. She trusted Arnold about as far as she could throw his ex-linebacker body, “But that’s the reason I’m looking. Something bigger is at play here and I just have to figure out what it is.”

He pursed his lips that condescending way of his that she still hadn’t gotten used to receiving, despite seeing it at least once a day. Amelie didn’t regret moving from New York to Boston, but it didn’t change the fact that the move meant starting at the bottom of the ladder again. Apparently, a stellar resume didn’t mean being taken seriously for a woman.

“Are you…Never mind.”

“What Arnold?” She chirped, easily keeping the growl out of her voice, “I’m sure whatever you have to say will be super helpful!”

“Never mind,” He waved her away, practically prancing over to his cubical.

“Please,” She whined, batting her lashes even though she knew Arnold didn’t care for that sort of thing.

He sighed and peeked over the separating wall, unable to help himself, “Are you sure you’re not letting this story go because your article put you on the map and you’re afraid of being forgotten?”

“I worked for the New York Times, Arnold, I think I’ve had a spot on the map for a while now,” She pointed out, her voice dripping with sweetness. Amelie didn’t mention that judging by the constant donuts he brought into the office he was more likely talking about himself and continued with a smile, “I listen to my gut because it pays off, especially when there are so many unanswered questions.”

Arnold stared at her with pity in his eyes as if she’d just told him that she’d fallen for a telemarketing scam, “Listen sweetie, I’m sure you’re asking fine questions, but other, better journalists have been doing the same for years now. Just because you got close to him once, doesn’t mean you’ll ever get close to him again. You crossing paths with him had more to do with luck and you’re going to have to accept that and move on.”

There wasn’t much more she could say to that. Not when Amelie didn’t want to share any of her real thoughts with him, and he only wanted to appear interested in what she was doing to make himself look better. Like everyone else, he believed she’d made it this far off of looks and daddy’s money alone. Just once she wanted someone to see past the façade. Her mind immediately drifted off to Barnes who, despite initially being fooled, had figured her out pretty quickly. Although she was pretty sure that if she played her cards right, she could make sure he underestimated her, which was exactly what she needed. But she also needed another pair of eyes. It was a pain in her ass that she didn’t have anyone else to share this with.

“You know what,” She forced out a resigned sigh, closing the webpage on her browser, “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I am in a little over my head.”

“Good, I was beginning to worry you were getting too caught up in this,” He shot her a toothy grin, “I have an article about fashion week that I think you should cover instead. You lived in New York, so it’ll be the perfect opportunity to relax and take it easy. It’ll take your mind off of this crazy idea about taking on a story that’s way to big for you.”

“That’s such a good idea, thanks Arnie!” Amelie gushed, swearing in her mind, “I’m so glad you’re my work neighbour.”

He stood, his chair rolling away, “I’ll get us coffee.”

“Perfect!” She exclaimed, watching him go, only muttering ‘asshat’ when he was out of earshot.

“That’s creepy, you know that?” A silky, female voice interrupted.

Amelie stood up, surprised, “Excuse me?”

The woman at the cubicle in front of her lifted her head and stared at her, an untamed afro falling into dark brown eyes, “It’s creepy that you go from being princess-goody-two-shoes to a decent, kind of badass, human being like that.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Amelie answered sweetly.

“Sure you don’t,” She chuckled, “I actually read your article, you know that? It’s hard to believe the act when you read the kind of things you write.”

Amelie smiled and shrugged, choosing not to say anything although she was very much impressed. There weren’t many people who called her out like that. An idea began to take shape. Leaning back in her chair, Amelie glanced over into the kitchen to see Arnold busy chatting up the newest assistant. She felt bad for the assistant but thankful for the fact that he was distracted.

Rolling back, she peered back over the cubicle wall, “You’re Karla, right?”

A fake grin spread across her lips in what Amelie hoped was supposed to be a poor imitation of the one Amelie used on everyone else.

“The one and only.”

“How long have you been working here?” She asked, not bothering with pleasantries.

Karla narrowed her eyes, “Three years as a journalist, five as an assistant before that.”

The bare desk, void of any personal items gave Amelie the impression that she wasn’t someone who particularly liked her job, which, if she was right, would work in her favour.

“And what’s been your most interesting story here, so far?”

“Why do you care? And what is this? An interview,” Karla retorted, glaring at Amelie as if she could get her to back down with that deadly look alone.

Amelie shrugged, even thought that was exactly what this was, “Humour me.”

She took a moment to think about it, eyes gazing up to the ceiling while she sifted through three years’ worth of memories. Amelie knew from experience that if the memory was any good, it wouldn’t have taken this long to find it.

Finally, Karla sighed and lifted her hand up in defeat, “I don’t know. A coverage of St. Anthony’s parade last August? I got to eat a ton of cannolis.”

“And that was your most interesting story because you genuinely found that interesting or…” Amelie didn’t want to say the words. She needed Karla to say them; to acknowledge how unfulfilling her journalistic career would be if she continued to be sidelined by arrogant men.

“Of course not,” Karla snapped, “You know just as well as I do that we get assigned all the fluff pieces. Real, hard-hitting journalists are men, remember?”

“I know,” Amelie grinned, “I was just reminding you. It’s good to be reminded every once in a while.”

Karla crossed her arms over the Tardis on her tee, “To what end?”

“Help me,” Amelie didn’t phrase it as a question.

She’d need help to get her hitman, and she wasn’t getting far without a second set of eyes on the story. Her gut told her that the woman sitting in front of her was exactly the person she needed for the job.

“No,” Karla shook her head and continued to a few too many times.

Amelie almost smiled, knowing she wouldn’t need much convincing, “Why not?”

“Because you’re not supposed to be covering that story and if I help, I’ll get myself fired,” With that, she put her head down and began furiously typing on her laptop.

Amelie glanced back at Arnold, noting that the intern was slowly trying to inch away. If that intern got free, she’d only have about another minute. If she couldn’t do it now, she’d never be able to Karla to work with her.

“How long does it take you to write a fluff piece, Karla? Honestly?”

“An hour,” She answered begrudgingly.

“Right,” It took Amelie about the same and she figured they had to have the same workload, “So you’re telling me, that in your 9-5 job, researching and then writing four articles a week means that you don’t have time for anything else?” Amelie raised a brow.

Karla grit her teeth and Amelie knew she had her, “I don’t want to get fired, Novak.”

“You won’t,” She affirmed, far more confidently than she probably should have, “Whatever happens, I’ll take full responsibility. Trust me.”

“Trust you?” She scoffed, shaking her head, “Why do you want me for anyways?”

Amelie shrugged and told her the truth, “You’re far more observant than most of the people here and I need a second pair of eyes.”

Karla looked around as if there was someone in the vicinity who’d tell her she was making a terrible mistake, but no one paid attention to the two of them. No one ever did.

“Fine,” She grumbled.

“Great,” Amelie scribbled her address on a flower shaped post-it note, “My place, tonight at seven.”

“Fine.”

Amelie smiled, but didn’t say anything noticing Arnold’s approach and the coffees in his hands, “Oh great! Thanks, Arnie, you’re the best!”

Karla rolled her eyes before getting back to work. Amelie ignored her. She’d gotten what she wanted. So what if Karla thought her methods were a bit creepy.

“Listen to this. There are over fifteen murders attributed to the Winter soldier in the five years since he defected,” Amelie waited for Karla’s nod to continue, “Two years ago is the start of a pattern in the victims. All scumbags, everything from white collar criminals, abusers to actual killers. Some real vigilante stuff, right? But what about the crimes before? Some dirtbags, sure, but some good people as well. What’s the pattern? What happened two years ago? And why didn’t he kill Brad Goulson last week when he had the chance?”

Karla stared at her from her position across the sofa, blinking as she took in all the of the spitfire information Amelie shot at her.

“And here’s another thing,” Amelie continued, “Why defect in the first place? He was the perfect soldier with no records of violent behaviour, abuse, or even criminal tendencies, so why, all of a sudden, switch from perfect solider to the FBI’s most wanted?”

Amelie tucked her feet in underneath her and leaned back on the couch, trying not to seem so eager. Karla sifted through the evidence Amelie had compiled on her laptop, not saying a word. The silence only made Amelie want to fill it with useless babble, but she let Karla read on, knowing there was no way she’d get any useful information from her if she kept interrupting her.

What seemed like a lifetime later, Karla looked up, “How sure are you that he defected?”

“Only partly,” Amelie grabbed her laptop back, and pulled up a couple old articles from other sources over the years, “According to these journalists - and there’s no discrepancy between them - he defected. But I haven’t seen the actual file that classifies his termination with the military, that information is sealed by the government. So, unless I can actually get the real file, we’re going off of assumptions here.”

“Okay,” Karla nodded thoughtfully, “I agree with you that something feels off about the whole thing, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

Amelie flopped back on the couch and groaned, “Me either. What else to you think? Give me all your thoughts, no matter how small.”

“Well, I think we need to look into Goulson. I think if you want to find your Winter Soldier again, he’s the best place to start,” Karla said, grabbing her own laptop.

Amelie didn’t mention that she had a good feeling that if she dug deep enough, Barnes would find her. His warning the other night had been crystal clear - not that she planned on heading it - and he would find her when she kept pushing.

But Karla was right. Something was weird about the Brad Goulson case, and it was definitely linked to the Winter Soldier. If she was being honest, everything about this story was weird.

Karla looked up from her laptop, “What was Goulson being convicted of again?”

“Taking bribes from the Irish Mob, embezzling,” Amelie shrugged, “A few other things. The usual white-collar crimes. Nothing fancy.”

“What if Goulson wasn’t actually the target?” Karla nodded, and idea beginning to brew.

Amelie kept quiet, knowing the question wasn’t meant to be answered. She’d seen that look in the eyes of many good journalists and detectives before, and if she wanted to get something good out of it ,she needed to stay quiet and let Karla think.

“What if he was tailing Goulson, not because he was the target, but because Goulson would lead him to a bigger fish. You said it yourself that Barnes has been targeting scum over the past two years, but what if he’s targeting someone - or something - bigger than just your average scumbag. What if all the people he’s targeted and killed have something in common that has nothing to do with them being an asshole? What if, Goulson being the sole survivor, has nothing to do with your article and more to do with the fact that he doesn’t fit the profile.”

Amelie stopped short, “You’re looking at Barnes like a serial killer…and if we profile him like one instead of a hired hitman then maybe we can we can figure out what his goal is.”

“Exactly!” Karla jumped up a little in excitement, “Something changed two and a half year ago. Maybe we have to change our way of looking at him.”

Weirdly enough, Amelie felt a little uneasy thinking of Sergeant Barnes as a serial killer as opposed to a contracted killer, but she had to admit that Karla was onto something. Even though she’d looked into Barnes’ eyes and hadn’t seen anything remotely emotionless or terrifying, maybe that was what made him such a good killer. Amelie sighed, for once trying to ignore her gut feeling. Evidence mattered more at the moment.

“Amelie?” Karla asked when she’d been silent for too long.

She nodded and motioned for her to go on.

“What do we do now?”

Amelie leaned back on the couch and shut her computer, “Why are you asking me? You’re the one who came up with this theory.”

“But you brought me in,” Karla countered, “You’re in charge.”

She grinned, “Want a piece of advice? Ask for forgiveness, not permission, especially when you’re likely to be denied permission because of who you are. So Karla, tell me, what do we do now?”

Karla took in a deep breath, looked down at her lap then back up at Amelie, “Figure out what else the other victims have in common. Then we figure out who Goulson knows that fits that profile; narrow down another possible target of the Winter Solider’s.”

“Sounds good to me,” Amelie stood and stretched, “You do that. Go home, get a good night’s sleep, figure out what you can and come back to me tomorrow with whatever you’ve got.”

“What are you going to do?” She asked.

“What I should have done a while ago.”

The bar was almost as crowded as it had been on game night, and Amelie was thankful for the anonymity. Not only would she be harder to spot but she wasn’t sure she wanted to be in a Mob bar when it was practically empty.

Any sane person would have told her that tracking down the Winter Soldier again was the most stupid thing she’d ever done, but Amelie knew she wasn’t stupid. Cary had sent her after this story for a reason, whether he knew it or not, and she was going to get it.

Unfortunately, this bar was her only lead, and it wasn’t even a good one. The odds of her running into Barnes here were slim to none, but she thought she’d give it a shot. The bar, although not owned by the Irish Mob, was rumoured to be one of their most frequented because the owner owed them a favour. According to Detective Wilson, this favour meant that whatever went down in the bar never attracted the cops no matter how hard Sam and his partners had tried to get the owner to roll on the members.

Amelie didn’t have a gut feeling about Barnes being here, but it was the only thing she could think of doing. She’d sit here until closing time, trying to glean as much information from all the drunk sources around her, even if she knew most of them wouldn’t know anything. It would probably mean coming into work the next day bleary eyed without anything useful to go on, but at least she’d know for sure.

By one o’clock, Amelie still hadn’t learned a damned thing. She’d had to shove off a few drunken idiots and had spent far more on drinks than she’d wanted to. The bartender placed a glass of what appeared to be whisky in front of her.

“Which idiot ordered this?” She asked, annoyed, but never one to turn down a free drink.

The bartender tilted his head to the side and she followed his nod to the other end of the bear. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of those piercing blue eyes. How had she missed him? He raised a brow; a silent challenge she knew she had no choice but to accept. Amelie knew she had to walk over there because she hadn’t gotten this far to chicken out now. And also because he was calling her out so publicly and she wasn’t one to back down from a fight.

She slid off the seat, drink in hand and wove her way through the crowd. His eyes never left hers as she leaned against the bar beside him, taking in the layered clothes, loose jeans and an interesting bulge in the right pocket. Even in clothes that were meant to hide him, Amelie hated to admit that he was a handsome man. She supposed she should thank him for talking to her, but she wasn’t about to count her chickens before they were hatched.

But she could thank him for something else, “Thanks for the drink, Sergeant. It wouldn’t happened to be poisoned, would it?”

He let out a sharp breath, “You could take a sip and find out. See if I’ve ruined a perfectly good glass of whisky.”

“I think I will,” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, “I don’t think poison is your thing, or ruining perfectly good alcohol for that matter.”

His head tilted slightly, “And what do you think is my kind of thing, Novak?”

“I’m not sure yet,” She took a long, slow sip, “I’m still figuring it out.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” He said slowly, letting the words sink in.

She turned her gaze away, scanning the bottles behind the bar, “I know, I’ve heard your warning.”

“Have you?” He practically growled, “Because you being here would suggest otherwise.”

“Not hearing and choosing to ignore are two completely different things,” She pointed out, feeling his gaze burning her skin.

“My bad for thinking you were smarter than this,” He whispered, suddenly so close, he was all she was aware of.

She turned and almost bumped heads with him, anger flaring. He didn’t know her. None of the assholes who’d said the exact same things to her in their condescending tones had. He had no idea what she was capable of and she was damned sure going to prove him wrong. She was just about to do that but caught herself at the last second, remembering that she needed to have him underestimate her and not the other way around. Amelie couldn’t lose a grip on her act now, not when it was this important.

She smiled brightly, “It’s not my fault you mistook luck for talent. I’m not some incredible journalist that planned and plotted so I could get the story of the year. I got lucky, Sergeant. Maybe they’ll actually move me to the fashion column now.”

“It’s good, Novak, really,” His lips pulled into a feral grin, “The act is almost believable. But-”

“But,” She interrupted, turning so that she could lean her elbows back against the bar, trying her best at a flirty stance, “You’re far too talented to believe that someone could find you and your target by luck alone. Right?”

A small breath escaped his lips, the grin dropping into something a little more genuine, “Interesting change in tactic, but I’m not fooled. How about I talk to the real Novak? I need her to hear this.”

“I am the real Amelie,” She lied, batting her lashes.

He shook his head and took a step back, “I think I should be offended.”

“Now why’s that?” She pouted.

“Because you think, like everyone else, I’m gullible enough to believe that little act you put on,” His hands dropped to the bar on either side of her, caging her in. He leaned in close and whispered, “But believe me, Novak, I’m not like any of the other men you’ve ever met.”

She shivered but refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had any sort of effect on her. There was a reason she’d come here tonight, and she wasn’t about to forget it.

When he leaned back with an infuriating smirk on his lips, she brought a hand up to cup his face, the stubbled jaw scratchy beneath her palm, “Unlike any man…so that must mean you understand women almost better than they understand themselves, right?”

“I wasn’t talking about that,” He inched closer, “But if that’s what you got from it then who am I to call you a liar?”

“What I got from it,” She paused, her hand sneaking around to the nap of his neck, fingers raking though his long hair. Flirting with death was a lot more agreeable than she would have thought, “Is that you’re the man who has the power to prove me right.”

His expression went cold, “Why are you here, Novak?”

“Who says I’m here for anything other than a drink?” She asked, pressing a little closer.

“I do,” He narrowed those blue eyes, “It’s no coincidence we’ve run into each other three - no, four - times in the past couple days.”

She slid her hand down to his hard chest, tracing small circles with her finger, “In my defence, you broke into my apartment one of those times. All you had to do was ask, you know, I would have let you in.”

“I know you would have,” He grabbed her hand to stop the movement, “All you want with me is to bombard me with questions I’m never going to give answers to.”

She let out a huff, “That’s a shame, though there are other things I could want with you.”

“No, it’s not. Stay out of this before you get hurt,” He ordered.

She shoved him back and scoffed, “Because I’m an innocent little girl? I thought you said that was all an act?”

He shook his head, an expression she couldn’t read on his face, “It is, but it doesn’t change the fact that if you keep looking into this that you’re going to get hurt.”

“Sounds like another threat,” She snapped, crossing her arms, feeling for the side pocket of her jacket.

He took a step back, stone cold, “Obviously it has to be. The warning didn’t do the trick last time.”

“Fine, Sergeant,” She raised her hands in the air in exasperation, “You want me to drop it? I’ll drop it.”

His gaze raked over her from top to bottom in suspicion, “Somehow I don’t believe you.”

“It’s the truth. I value my life more than a mediocre story that no one really cares about anyways,” She lied, holding eye contact hoping to be as convincing as possible.

He laughed, the sound cold and humourless, “Nice try, but you can’t goad me, remember?”

“Trust me, I remember,” She said, unimpressed, “I’m just letting you know you’re not that special, Barnes.”

He blinked slowly, eyes bright with amusement when they met hers again, “Have a good night, Novak.”

She nodded, “Goodnight Sergeant. Don’t go around killing anyone.”

He didn’t turn back, but Amelie had a feeling he was smiling. Or at least she hoped he was. Because if he was in a good mood, he’d be less like to realize she’d just lifted his hotel key out of his pants pocket.

#bucky #Bucky Barnes #james buchanan barnes #bucky fanfic #bucky x ofc #marvel fanfiction #fan fiction #fanfic #winter solider fanfiction

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whatdoyouexpectthistime · 4 years

Text

MJS Aftermath - SIX FEET The Final Part

It was in silence Miho drove through dim backstreets two nights later, though Kurosawa prattled unnecessary reassurances in her ears through her tiny earbud radio.

“I’m fine, Toru,” she muttered for the seventh time. “It’s like the Chief said - the mole won’t hurt me until he or she is sure the information that might incriminate them cannot fall into the hands of any authority.”

“Still,” he grumbled, in his place of hiding near Miho’s destination. “I feel ill thinking you may be at the mercy of this unscrupulous creature.”

“Shut up, Kurosawa,” Kaga snapped. “Keep comms clear.”

And for once, Miho was glad to hear the acid of Kaga’s voice.

“Don’t worry your heads about this,” Miho told them. “This idiot won’t know what hit ‘em.”

She was early, as was part of the plan, and so was Namba, who she was there to meet and pass on the package she had only just received - presumably sent on the day of Goto’s death.

It had to be somewhere quiet, somewhere other people would not get involved should violence break out, and despite her bravado, Miho actually shuddered a little at the gloom of the dockside warehouse. No one in sight, no one to catch stray bullets, except for the small group of instructors Namba had enlisted for the operation.

Her steps sounded loudly against the moist asphalt, bouncing off concrete walls and worn, metal shipping containers. Slowly, she made her way around the building toward a single door, trepidation growing, twisting knots in her stomach she obstinately refused to show in her expression.

“That’s quite far enough,” a raspy, gravelly voice asserted, and Miho flinched then froze.

The kind of voice that did far too much yelling.

“Chief?” she queried, though she knew it wasn’t him.

“We have contact,” Namba’s voice hissed in Miho’s ear.

“I should be,” the man’s voice came again, oblivious to the voices in Miho’s head.

Slowly, she hazarded to turn her head.

The outline was average except perhaps for the hair, messy waves of ink from crown to shoulders in a decidedly unkempt manner.

“Instructor Nagita?” Miho blinked, mostly for the benefit of the others in case they did not have a clear enough line of sight. “I am supposed to be meeting Chief Namba here. Is everything okay? Did something happen?”

Playing dumb was not Miho’s strong suit, but she tried just the same.

It was then he pulled out a gun - not how Miho would have played it given she’d just given him the opportunity to play along, but anyone who picked a fight with Goto and his people couldn’t really be considered smart.

“Don’t play ignorant with me! Give me the contents of the package Goto sent you,” he demanded roughly, inching a little closer to her, and Miho shuffled back a little, away from the warehouse wall.

“I will shoot you,” he insisted, waving the firearm a little erratically, before a gunshot rang out.

Miho’s breath stalled, her chest clenched and her gaze fixed on the slumping figure of Nagita, who a few seconds later was face down. Trembling, Miho touched her hand to her cheek - wet, warm, fresh blood transferred to her fingers.

“What…?” she stammered out, as a new form stepped from the shadows and claimed responsibility for Nagita’s murder.

“Is that… Chiba?” Soma said through comms.

“The student?” Subaru sought in clarification. “We should move now!”

“Hold,” Namba instructed. “If there are even students involved in this, we don’t know who else may be involved.”

“That student just killed an instructor,” Subaru pointed out. “You think he’s going to hesitate to kill Miho?”

“It’s fine, okay?” Miho breathed, holding both her hands up in front of her. “Just… relax.”

“Kurai knew Nagita didn’t have the guts to follow through,” Chiba announced, his voice contrastingly soft and boyish considering the situation. “But this is my way out of mediocrity, out of obscurity. No one will ever overlook me again.”

“Keep him talking, Mrs. Goto,” Ishigami encouraged. “We’re converging on your position.”

“Well, I think I can say,” Miho began carefully. “If I had met you, before now, I would not have overlooked you… and if I knew your name…?”

“Chiba Daisuke,” he announced proudly - obviously not a seasoned criminal even with fresh blood on his hands.

“And, Mr. Chiba, you ah… you’re working for Kurai then? An enforcer by the looks of it - it looks good on you.”

“Not for, with,” he corrected.

“Oh, obviously,” Miho rushed. “Man of your bearing, I suppose, takes orders from no one… right?”

“Including you, Mrs. Goto,” he smiled, so innocently it seemed so ridiculous he held her at gun-point. “It’s a shame, because I actually liked Instructor Goto…”

“He’s gearing up to kill her too, I’m moving in!” Subaru barked.

“... but,” Chiba continued. “I can’t allow you to blow my cover, so I’m going to have to…”

“FREEZE!” Ishigami shouted, appearing dramatically, and simultaneously Miho let out a squeak as Subaru snatched her around the waist and put himself between her and Chiba.

“Don’t move!” Kaga added, emerging with Soma, their own guns drawn.

“Reach for the sky, scumbag!” Kurosawa exclaimed, and no doubt they all would have facepalmed were the circumstances not so serious.

“It’s over, Chiba,” Namba told him, and indeed, Chiba was now surrounded. “Put down the gun so no one else gets hurt.”

“Get her out of here,” Ishigami commanded of Subaru, and he did not have to be asked twice.

“Hold it!” Chiba barked, uncharacteristically sharp. “Move and I’ll shoot!”

“And in which universe do you think you’ll walk away from this if you do?” Kaga scoffed. “You fire, we fire, and you’re dead.”

“I… I’ll still take one of you with me,” Chiba declared, no longer sounding so confident, his gun hand wavering a little.

In a dramatic crash that blocked Miho and Subaru from Chiba’s line of sight, the door Miho had earlier been heading for opened, and a body tackled the murderous student.

The gun skidded across the ground and was quickly scooped up by Soma, while the others jumped in to restrain the young man.

“Come on,” Subaru urged, but Miho would not be moved, transfixed on the fray of arms and legs.

And she gasped when Chiba was dragged to his feet and cuffed, because with order restored, Miho could see who it was that had intervened.

“The hell are you going here?” Subaru growled, glaring at the man.

“Did you really think I was going to allow you to put my wife in such danger and not oversee her safety myself?” Goto huffed, straightening his clothes.

But his eyes looked beyond his friend to Miho’s blood speckled face, her tear-brimming, lip-quivering expression that broke his heart all over again.

“Get going, dead-man,” Kaga snorted curtly. “You can’t be here.”

“Seiji,” Miho whispered thickly, fighting Subaru’s grip on her unsuccessfully.

“Go!” Subaru growled, grappling Miho as she struggled. “I’ll take care of her.”

“I’ll take care of you if you don’t let me GO!” Miho shrieked, a wildcat now, flailing.

With a broken look, Goto began to back away, mouthing one word before he turned and ran.

“Soon.”

The aftermath dragged on well through the night and into the morning, and at nine Miho was sitting on the couch in Ishigami’s office - still pouting.

“Looks like you could use this,” Kaga declared, dropping a steaming mug of coffee into Miho’s line of sight.

Her eyes rolled up to look at him skeptically.

“If Ishigami sees you in here, you’re toast,” she declared, reaching for the mug… which he then moved out of her reach. “Do that again and you won’t need to worry about him.”

“Oh yeah?” Kaga smirked, holding his ground. “Right now, I could take you with just my little finger.”

“I suggest you keep you little finger, and all other appendages, away from Mrs. Goto,” Ishigami said coldly from the doorway, and Miho used the opportunity to relieve Kaga of the mug. “And remove yourself from my office.”

“So you can move in on her instead? You’ve got no chance, four-eyes,” Kaga dropped, shoving past him on the way out.

Silence settled in the wake of his exit, until Miho sat back down.

“How are you holding up?” Ishigami asked carefully.

“Still mad,” she replied waspishly. “You could have given me a minute with him.”

“As I said before, every moment he breaks cover is a chance for Kurai to discover his deception,” he pointed out, and not for the first time.

Noisily, Miho slurped her coffee.

“A counsellor from the Department will be in contact in the next few days.”

“I don’t need counselling, Ishigami,” Miho grumped. “I need my hus…”

“... husband back, yes I understand,” he filled in, nodding. “And I am sure he feels as anxious for this operation to be as over as you.”

To this, Miho grunted, sculled the rest of the coffee - ignoring the burn - and rolled her neck.

“I’m going home,” she announced.

“Ichiyanagi will drive you,” he informed her. “Chief Namba and I agree you should have protection until such time as the Kurai are neutralised, just in case they…”

“No,” she disagreed.

“I’m actually not giving you a choice,” Ishigami retorted, finally putting his foot down. “You insisted on involving yourself, and now you will put up with the consequences.”

Her jaw worked, but she wasn’t so unreasonable that she wouldn’t accept responsibility for her own actions.

“Fine, I’m leaving now,” she grumped, grabbed her bag, and stalked out.

“So, you’re not going to talk to me forever now?” Subaru sniffed, following Miho up the path to her front door.

Of course - to prove the point - Miho did not respond.

As she slipped the key into the lock, barking greeted her, and she had to grit her teeth not to allow exhausted tears to spill. Ishigami and Kaga bounced up against her the moment she cleared the door, and she gladly sat on the floor to let the greyhound wiggling soothe her weary heart.

“I’ll put the kettle on,” Subaru said, walking past the tangle unscathed while Miho snuggled her face against soft, sleek doggy heads.

“Daddy will be home soon,” she whispered to her ‘kids’, before struggling back up.

She needed sleep.

A week ticked by.

Then another.

And while the longing to see Goto never waned, Miho had rather gotten used to having a house-maid-chauffeur-butler-heavy-lifter-emergency-tampon-buying dog-walker. Still, she craved a little alone time, and hatched a plan to give Subaru the slip.

Ishigami and Kaga, complicit in her crime, ran happily beside her as she snuck out through her back yard’s fence. When she had taken enough twists and turns to ensure even a seasoned tracker would have trouble picking up her trail, she headed for somewhere her poochies could play and she could relax.

Even though the weather was cooling, Miho was determined to sit on a very significant patch of grass in the park where it all started. The greyhounds ran laps around her as she ruminated. She pictured the picnic rug upon which they had laid that first ‘test drive’, smiled as she remembered how uptight he’d been in the beginning, how awkward - then grinned when she recalled how he’d surprised her in the bushes.

Heavily, she dragged herself up and headed toward the toilet block, just as she had that day; but she was disappointed when there was no Goto to drag her out of sight and defile her in the best possible way.

“Fuck,” she growled, her mood darkening.

“I’d better do something about this frustration of yours,” a familiar voice said at her back, causing Miho to freeze. “Or you might fall into the arms of that apron wearing hooligan.”

Miho trapped the air in her lungs, afraid that if she drew breath he would disappear; but at the same time, she had to know.

“You’re not going to run away again, are you?” she gasped out, and though she longed to throw herself at him, her body was paralysed.

“I”m sorry I had to do that, Miho,” he apologised, face patterned with profound contrition. “But I’m here now, because I couldn’t stand it anymore. Even if the Kurai kill me tomorrow, it’ll have been worth it.”

In the background, Ishigami and Kaga bounded around the park, amusing themselves, but everything that wasn’t Goto faded from Miho’s world. When his arms closed around her, she drew in a deep breath, filling her senses with the scent of him. Every fibre of her being sang out in joy and relief, and her muscles turned mush.

“If they hurt you,” she whimpered against his neck, finally locking him in her own embrace, “I will burn Tokyo to the ground until every last one of them is destroyed.”

“I believe it,” he laughed, tightening his grip.

Nothing felt as good to him, as having her heart beating against his chest.

“Come on,” he urged, pulling away far enough to walk without stumbling, tugging her toward the bushes.

“Uhh, Ishigami and Kaga will wonder where I am,” she exhaled, but in all honesty it was amazing she could form coherent thoughts, let alone sentences.

“I should never have let you name them that,” Goto hissed, pressing her back against a familiar tree trunk and slithering his fingers beneath her jacket.

“It was… Kurosawa,” Miho protested weakly, coiling her arms around his neck and dragging her fingernails through his hair.

“Stop saying other men’s names,” he growled against her throat, nipping it enough to cause Miho to squirm, sharp little stings giving way to tingling warmth and pleasure. “I have missed the taste of you.”

“I’ve missed being tasted,” she sighed, directing his face back to hers. “I’ve missed you.”

“And I you,” he smiled, straightening her dishevelled jacket and taking her face either side. “Nothing is so precious to me.”

A little confused they were both still fully dressed, Miho frowned, despite his declaration.

“But you’re not done yet, are you?” she forced out, the quietest of squeaks.

“I’m sorry,” he said again, resting his forehead against hers, brushing her moist cheeks with his thumbs. “If I don’t finish this, many people will be in danger, including you - so I have to see this out.”

She knew he wouldn’t abandon his job, his responsibility to the people he vowed to protect, the law he vowed to uphold - that was the man she loved and married.

“But,” he continued, even as Miho wept, “when it’s over, I’m going to request full time assignment at the academy, no more undercover.”

“Ohh,” she exhaled, lightly nuzzling her nose against his. “But you would miss it, Lieutenant Goto, it’s as much a part of you as I am… just… promise…”

“Anything,” he pledged. “Absolutely anything.”

“Never die again,” she pouted, pecking his lips with desperate, quick kisses.

“Miho…”

“You said anything!” she pointed out smugly, rubbing herself against him, trying to make it as difficult for him to leave her as possible.

“Mmm,” he groaned. “Then I suppose I’ll have to live forever. But for now, I have to go.”

When he kissed her now, it was a kiss designed to convince her, once and for all, if any doubt lingered, that he was alive and hers. He would return to her safely, and they would be happy.

The joyful, hysterical bark-whining of Ishigami and Kaga, slammed into the moment, as surely as the dog slammed into the back of Goto’s legs. They proceeded to bounce energetically until he crouched, and then they clambered up his body, over his shoulders, his back, his chest, licking all the while.

“Come on kids,” Miho sniffled, untucking their leashes from her belt-loop and clicked each to their collars. “Let Daddy get back to work so he can come home to us.”

It took some serious strength to drag the dogs away from Goto, and it was with reluctance that he stepped back.

“And I will come home to you: soon.” The end... for now.

#voltage otome #voltage fanfiction #hlitf #hlitf danfiction #hlitf angst #hlitf romance #seiji goto #miho fujiwara #kurosawa #ishigami #jin namba #kaga #soma #shinonome #action

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chuffyfan87 · 4 years

Text

An Offer I Can't Refuse. Part 7a

Cowritten with @fairheads.

-x-

Charlie woke the next morning in a lot of pain, he was now awake from his sedation and the reality of what had happened was sinking in. He wondered if he had dreamt the visit from Duffy and Megan, he felt very alone.

Duffy had intended to be back to see him first thing but her mum had chosen that day to be awkward so she'd been left trying to find someone to watch Peter. She'd finally resorted to leaving him in the department with Megan. Not the ideal solution but it was the only option.

Charlie had been resigned himself to the fact that no one would be visiting.

Peter seemed to know that his mum was struggling so was especially clingy. She finally managed to settle him to sleep in his buggy in the office so she could head upstairs.

Arriving in Charlie's room she was surprised to see him propped up slightly, though he appeared to be asleep.

Charlie sensed someone come into the room but assumed it was a nurse checking his obs so didn't bother to open his eyes, simply going back to sleep instead.

Not wanting to disturb him she quietly moved over to the chair beside the bed and sat down. She ran her hand through her hair, it had already been quite a day and it was only 11.45am!

When Charlie came to, Duffy was resting her head on his bed. He moved his fingers through her red hair.

Duffy jumped at the contact. She hadn't meant to fall asleep!

“Didn’t mean to scare you,” Charlie whispered, his voice sore from being tubed.

"You're awake?" She gasped.

“Hi,” He whispered, trying to reach for her, but grimacing in pain and twisting the wire of his cannula.

"Hey, take it steady! You had major surgery yesterday!" She scolded him gently.

“Hold my hand,” He said weakly.

She took hold of his hand and gave it a slight squeeze. "Do you remember what happened?"

“I was trying to help Megan, I didn’t mean for this, I’m sorry.”

"Even you can't outrun a speeding bullet Charlie."

Charlie looked down, feeling a little embarrassed. He’d only been trying to help his friend but he knew it must have frightened her.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stay with you last night."

“Peter?” He guessed.

Duffy nodded. "He's downstairs. Mum's in a mood with me again. Told me that I've made my bed so I can damn well lie in it now." She sighed.

“You okay?” He rubbed his thumb over her hand.

"I'm fine. I don't really have the choice to be anything else."

“Hey, Duffy...” He could tell she was putting a front on.

"I'll cope. I'll have to." She shrugged.

“I’m here for you,” He whispered.

"You need to look after yourself first."

“Let me look after you too, please.”

"I'm not the one who's just been shot..."

“You know what I thought just after it happened?”

"Boy aren't I stupid for getting shot?" She smirked darkly.

Charlie frowned at her. “No, I thought of you and our baby... And I thought that maybe I wouldn’t get to see either of you again. It frightened me.”

"You frightened me too." She admitted.

“Because Duffy, life without you in it, would be no life at all.” He whispered and tried again to reach over to her.

She moved slightly closer. "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that!"

“I just want to be close to you. When are you going to let me in Duf? I’m trying my best here!”

"So am I!" Duffy huffed.

Charlie sat in silence, watching her intently.

"Do you realise how unnerving it is when you stare like that?" She asked softly.

“Sorry” Charlie closed his eyes, exhaling softly. He was too tired for this.

Duffy sighed. This wasn't how she'd intended for this visit to go.

“You should go, be with Peter.”

"You're throwing me out?"

“Never Duffy, but I don’t think you want to be here at the moment.”

"Mind reader now are you?" She sulked.

“What’s up?” He asked kindly, changing tacts.

"I came here today to apologise but you are just infuriating." She grumbled, folding her arms across the top of her bump.

“Must be the drugs,” He joked, trying to lighten the mood. “What were you going to say before I was infuriating?”

"You've always been infuriating!" She teased.

“I have?” He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes!" She giggled.

“You could say I drive you wild!” He winked.

"Keep telling yourself that..!"

“I will,” He grinned. “What were you going to apologise for anyway?”

"Trust you not to miss that bit..!"

“Duffy...”

"Fine!" She rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry that I've been so difficult recently."

“Difficult?”

"Pushing you away, not letting you help."

“Come here you...”

She shuffled as close as she could but the railing of his bed and her swollen belly made things a bit tricky.

“Argh this damn rail...” He tried to shuffle closer but grimaced.

"Its so you don't fall off..." Duffy pushed herself up to standing.

“At least if I fall out then I can reach you... You know you can push me away Duffy and shut me out as much as you like, but I’m not going anywhere. Even when I’m stuck in this bloody bed.”

"I'm not picking you up off the floor again." She shot back, not realising that she'd incriminated herself.

“You picked me up??” Hoping he’d heard her wrong.

"Not by myself..!" She stammered.

“You shouldn’t be lifting... And certainly not such a heavy lump as me!”

"Its ok, I was lifting your head." She smirked.

Charlie frowned at her.

Duffy sighed fidgeting slightly.

“Talk to me,” He placed his hand on hers.

"What do you want from me? From us?"

Charlie blew out a breath. “I think you know Duffy... I want to be with you, I want to support you, care for you, Peter and bump, I want you to trust me, I want to make you happy...” His voice trailed off.

She looked down at their hands. "I swore to myself that I wouldn't let myself fall in love again..." She whispered.

“Do you feel it though? Do you feel what I feel?”

"I don't want to get hurt again." Her eyes filled with tears.

“I know, I know it’s scary, but I’m not the same as the others, this doesn’t feel the same, it’s different, it’s special. I promise I won’t hurt you. Do you believe me?” He just about managed to reach her hip.

"I want to..."

“What’s stopping you?”

"Fear." She sighed.

“Don’t be scared, it’s me. Why don’t we take things slow?”

"Take things slow?" She echoed, her eyebrow raised as she rubbed her bump.

“Try to make a go of this properly, at your pace?” He moved his hand to her bump.

She chuckled as he was immediately rewarded by a kick.

“What do you say kid?” He looked up at Duffy.

"Which of us are you talking to?"

“Both of you, but mainly you...”

"When I told you about the sweepstake yesterday I didn't tell you the whole story..."

“Oh yeah...?”

"They're all trying to work out who the father of my baby is. You'll be pleased to know that you're ranking pretty high..."

Charlie grinned, “Good to hear it! I haven’t slept with anyone else in time we’ve been...” His voice tailed off.

She nodded. "Megan told me."

“I only want you Duffy. I’ll do anything to prove it to you...”

"Was this always your plan?"

“What? Getting shot? No, I don’t think I’d have chosen that!” He laughed.

"No." She rolled her eyes. "I meant was it always your plan to try and convince me to be your girlfriend?"

“It just happened, these feelings, I wouldn’t manipulate you...”

She smiled softly as she moved her hand to cover his.

“Think we can give it a go?”

"I can try..."

“That’s all I’m asking... Duffy? Give us a kiss?” He winked.

"You are incorrigible Charlie Fairhead!" She giggled.

“It’s only because I can’t move right now and I want to be close to you...” And he really meant it. She leant down and he kissed her tenderly, conveying everything he felt.

The romance of the moment was shattered by the sound of familar cries echoing down the corridor. A young nurse appeared at the door. "Nurse Roach is here with your baby. He's, um, very unsettled."

"I'm sorry..." Duffy told Charlie.

“It’s okay,” He smiled reassuringly.

When Duffy returned to the room several minutes later Peter was in her arms, his head laid on her shoulder and his thumb in his mouth. "He's not supposed to be in here but I pulled in a couple of favours." She smiled softly.

“It's good to see him! Hey little man, were you being noisy?”

Peter lifted his head slightly to look at Charlie before snuggling closer into Duffy. "Mama!" He asserted.

Charlie grinned, he loved seeing Duffy with Peter, she was a great mum.

"He's going through a bit of a possessive phase, I think he's realising things are going to change soon."

“He’s still going to be a very important little boy!”

"I'm not sure he'd completely sold on the idea of being a big brother." She chuckled.

Charlie laughed, “He’ll get used to it, he’ll make an excellent big brother.”

"I'm hoping that he'll quickly not be able to recall a time when it was just him."

“You will, won’t you clever boy?” Charlie smiled at the tot.

Duffy moved to try and sit down, Peter was now a year old and getting heavy to hold for long periods of time, especially when coupled with her advancing pregnancy. He quickly started to complain again at the awkward position his mother had to hold him in.

“Argh I wish I could take him for you, when can I get out of here?”

"It'll be a while yet." Duffy replied, attempting to move Peter to the other side. "Its not nice to kick Peter!" She gasped, rubbing her stomach.

Charlie looked concerned, “Are you okay? Do you want to put him on the bed with me?”

"I'm fine. No, he moves too quickly, we'd risk him toppling off the bed."

“I understand if you need to go, he probably needs to let off some steam and you, you probably need a rest, thanks to me...”

"He'll hopefully settle down in a few minutes. He gets into these moods and then he and the baby just kick the crap out of each other."

#chuffy #charlie and duffy #charlie fairhead #lisa duffin

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egdocument · 5 years

Text

About the EvaGeeks wiki and why you shouldn't trust it, concerning mainly one user.

On the subject of EvaGeeks: Let’s talk about the manipulation of information on the wiki, and perpetuated “nastiness” on the forums that has persisted for several years now. THIS IS A MIRROR OF THIS GOOGLE DOCS FILE. (My twitter post.) You can share this post or the original document freely, use parts of it, etc. I want this document to simply serve as a warning to new Eva fans and those less familiar with EvaGeeks and their history - as well as an update for people who haven’t seen the current state of it.

NOTE: If you can’t read any of these images, these are Imgur albums containing all of the notable ones: https://imgur.com/a/z2mGvvX https://imgur.com/a/oAgufc3

The intent of this document is not to “take down” the wiki or forum, obviously. The intent is simply to inform people of the dangers of trusting this site with their Eva info. It might be the best we have but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve it. I would actually love to see a more community cultivated version of the site with less biased information, but I fear that will never happen. The anxieties of any one (or many) individual(s), which have prevented consistent change until now are well justified, and it is not within reason to blame the outsiders for never bothering to correct the myriad of issues with the wiki. Please extend kindness to other Eva fans and approach sites like EvaGeeks with the appropriate scrutiny, if you aren’t already. We’re divided enough as it is.

Before I begin, I must state: All of the information presented is publicly available, either through main pages, chat logs or history. And yes, the link to join the Discord server and verify the information given in this is publicly available too. I will not link it myself, as I want to avoid any possible harassment of the users I speak about here. Harassment is NEVER the answer in any kind of conflict. This behaviour I don’t believe can go unchecked, but that doesn’t mean the consequences of it should be any kind of conflict towards any user. I will be naming them here so you are aware, but I really do have to advise you, as a reminder, DO NOT HARASS OR ENGAGE WITH THEM. The rule of thumb is that these issues are more systematic than you might think, and blaming or taking it out on a singular person or even a whole group is never justified. Targeted harassment, even with reason, especially never helps to remedy an issue, because it forces the person to double down on their behaviour and beliefs. Causing unnecessary pain to a person is never okay, and the ‘offences’ committed here aren’t deserving of it in the first place. Please also consider the feelings of the people who use the server and EvaGeeks site; not everyone is your "enemy" or your "target" (and frankly, no-one should be) and despite the feelings echoed in this document, EG is not a monolith of a singular opinion or belief.

The purpose of this document is to inform people of the ways EvaGeeks fails objectivity and has existed to push narratives and exclude outsiders for far too long. With new people coming into the Eva fandom (and there of course being others who have been around for quite a while but just aren't aware) I feel like now is the best time I could write this.

As for what prompted this, an anonymous member of the Discord server contacted me regarding the behaviour of one particular user they were concerned about. Said user had expressed considerable bias in the past and was admitting to making large edits to pages on the wiki very recently, and the person who contacted me felt unequipped to bring the issue to light themselves.

A decent amount of this document will be dedicated to presenting said user's contributions - while I feel someone always had to address the EvaGeeks Problem at large, it doesn't help that this user has essentially incriminated himself here to expose the problem in its entirety.

There is quite a bit of pretense I must discuss before I get into the subject of the wiki pages themselves. I suggest you read all of it; the start of the wiki section will be in heading text if you’d like to skip to it. I’m sure information on the biased editing of wiki pages is privy to anyone who has used the server or the site itself, but at the server’s current status of 60 entire members, I know not everyone has, or is aware of what the problem actually is. Please note that the person who contacted me has requested anonymity and I will be complying. I will not include screenshots of their conversation with me, and anything I quote from them will be paraphrased so nobody can go full Sherlock and analyse their typing patterns. It sounds silly and it’s probably just paranoia, but they shared my concern here. Any conflict we can prevent is for the best. EvaGeeks, of course, has a culture very much promoting the idea that it’s the “number 1 source for all things Eva”, and for English speaking fans it definitely is - you’d be surprised the amount of people who still, after all these years, think this site is consistently reputable. For the sake of context, I’m going to assume that you are not all that familiar with the site’s history or nature, so I’m going to provide a little bit of information about it for those without any first-hand experience. The forums in particular cultivate a very join-us-or-get-out type community, where those who dare to go against the grain get incentivised to leave the site; they’ll claim this isn’t the case if asked and obviously the site is NOT a hivemind but that doesn’t mean it’s not insular. I can vouch for myself and many others who refuse to go in more than a few threads for fear of discussion turning particularly nasty. Even the server member who came to me about this has stated they feel it “might not be a hivemind but it sure feels that way.” Silencing dissent, even when officially-backed, is part of their culture. You don’t have to personally harass everyone who has an opposing thought to you for it to not feel acceptable, you just need to have a history of mocking those who do. If you want some previous, notable cases of “discussion turning nasty”, here’s some off the top of my head: 1. The AWL Incident - In which ADV VA of Rei and director of EoE dub, Amanda Winn-Lee, joined the forums for discussion and was promptly harassed by a user. Most of these messages have been deleted but you can view what remains of her post history here. 2. Recently brought to my attention: upon beginning translation of the Episode 24 drafts, EG forum user LiLi was subjected to incentive to leave, mostly in the form of homophobic disgust in replies to her thread or others they were mentioned in. Any information that goes against the cultivated narrative, even when it is literally officially licensed content, is only ever considered with a degree of reluctance. The fact these drafts co-exist with other pages concerned with this episode is almost a miracle. You can find plenty of repeat instances of the above if you want to (more to do with homophobia and misogyny than outward hostility, but honestly it’s the same thing.) A look at basically any EvaGeeks thread concerning pairings or the female characters will unearth a variety of awful comments from many other users, not that that would be surprising to anyone who has spent more than two minutes in the fandom. Now, of course, that’s very relevant to the topic at hand even if it doesn’t seem to be. The EG wiki and forum have quite a bit of overlap and circular influence on each other as you’ll see later if you aren’t already aware of it. For a short summary before we jump into things and analyse our subject of the day, this essentially means that anyone with an opinion or information the majority doesn’t like will never get in a position good enough to edit the wiki and keep the edits there. This has resulted in many articles filled with conjecture and fan speculation that serve to shut down other viewpoints, whether it’s intentional or not.

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ON THE TOPIC OF THE EVAGEEKS WIKI

The issue surrounding homophobia and downplaying of references to LGB content in Eva, through proxy of fan-dictated content control and translation is not a new one by any stretch of the imagination. I'm sure you're all very well aware. It’s far from the only issue present in the fandom but it will be our subject of conversation today. Any ‘one instance’ of this persistent behaviour from Eva fans is never going to be enough to summarise how insurmountable it really is, though, so today I instead draw your attention to one user of the wiki who goes by the name of FelipeFritschF and his recent, frequent updates to pages concerning Nagisa Kaworu.

[TOPIC: FELIPEFRITSCHF]

I must reiterate here: although this document is mostly concerned with this user and will contain a number of receipts from various places, it is NOT supposed to function as a hit piece or inspire any kind of mob. Leave this guy the hell alone, just be aware that he’s the one making most of these changes and isn’t a particularly impartial party, to put things lightly.

Now, before we really get into things, it should be stated that the EvaGeeks wiki requires approval to get your edits there, as stated at the bottom of the homepage, here:

This means that anyone making consistent edits to the wiki has in fact been approved, and this isn’t the result of lack of maintenance.

What you’ll find is that it is consistently Felipe making edits to the pages in question. Kaworu’s bio page, for example, is almost entirely edited by Felipe, which we can see from the “History” tab of the article.

This is barely half of his edits made in the last few days. Take a scroll through it yourself if you’re so inclined. This hilarious bit of waffle was added by Felipe a few days ago and since revised since by him, as shown here.

(As an added bit of comedy, the man who decided to add in the Japanese in the first place apparently didn’t know the difference between 好意 (kindness, what Kaworu actually says) and 行為 (action). It’s been fixed since but I still think it’s quite funny.) Now, as anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of Japanese knows, 好き is not actually a very ambiguous word at all. I think it goes without saying, though, and I’m not here to have an argument about translations with you all (for the record, Kanemitsu’s now scarily infamous translation of this scene is perfectly fine with me in a vacuum, it’s just literally everything else surrounding it that’s the problem. Also, regretfully, I will have to speak about this nonsense later when it becomes relevant.) I’m using this as an example instead, to show how utterly ridiculous this guy’s additions to these pages are. He’s not even making a point here. It keeps going past this excerpt, and I suggest you read the whole thing (Kaworu’s page is linked above.) The point of bringing this up - and when I eventually discuss the Netflix translation when it’s necessary - is not to complain about semantics, although I’d argue that’s what’s happening in these articles, honestly. It’s just helpful when proving the actual point of the editor being incredibly unreliable and biased in how he phrases and omits things.

On the page dedicated solely to Shinji and Kaworu’s relationship (which is basically identical to their section on Kaworu’s page as far as I can tell), we can see that Felipe has also edited this several times, and even credits himself with expanding the version on the Evangelion Fandom Wiki now copy and pasted back to EvaGeeks.

The kind of “discussion” (very much not discussion when added to a wiki page supposedly presented as factual information, is it, frankly?) would be fine if it was happening in the EvaGeeks forum itself (and happen does it ever, but that doesn’t change the inappropriateness of this particular behaviour.) What I find disturbing is that in the past few days, this user has gone out of his way to make some already worrying articles even worse, presumably in an attempt to silence discourse, or add more fuel to the flames, surrounding the new Netflix translation. He has a whole page on that one, too, one which is very up-to-date in some regards and not at all in others, despite only being added a few days before me compiling this information. Frankly, going through this whole page on its own is a huge waste of my time considering how BLATANT it is in its biases, but I’ll do it anyway. It IS only a Theory and Analysis page (which is essentially an EvaGeeks free-for-all), but I think it’s quite bothering that the site even allows Theory and Analysis pages that consider only one viewpoint and are written by one person. The forum, presumably, is connected to the site for a reason.

I’m just going to link it here, for the sake of brevity. https://wiki.evageeks.org/Theory_and_Analysis:Kaworu%27s_lines_in_Episode_24 I suggest you read this before continuing. For a slight departure, the original theatrical Funimation dub of 3.0 is partially available for viewing online, although the audio is in cam quality so you may want headphones if you have plans to watch what’s there. The home media dub’s major changes are to issues with lore and localisation of jargon. While not directly mentioned in this article, it is implied from the subject that this is what it’s about; it’s been speculated that the very literal translation of Episode 24 in particular has come about due to Khara’s embarrassment with how Funimation’s theatrical dub of 3.0 handled Kaworu and Shinji’s relationship rather loosely. Despite these claims, every instance of the two sharing (honestly pretty awkward and unnecessary) flirtatious back-and-forths are still present in the home media version, barring an instance in the stargazing scene where Kaworu’s dialogue was translated even worse than it is in the final dub. If you don’t believe me, do the comparisons yourself. It may not be conclusive, but I think it puts mostly to death the rumour that “a Khara employee was there and saw how people laughed at the Kaworu and Shinji scenes and demanded it needed to be changed for the final release and now that’s being reflected on the new translation”, which is what it tends to boil down to.

It also goes without saying that NO ONE PERSON is “the most qualified” (holy shit, is this entry not even bothering to hide how biased it is) to translate an entire TV show, let alone something like Evangelion. Let us not forget that Kanemitsu’s claims that he respects “ambiguity” are not even true to begin with. EvaGeeks itself is a shining example of Eva fans, of which Kanemitsu is one and this is even discussed in the article, not being impartial enough to be tasked with discussing Evangelion! (There is obviously issue with citing the ADV translation as a source of all truth; if you read further into the thread on my tweet [the kitchen scene in EoE], I provide extra context for those interested, which I am aware has been spread around Discord and other places without that context included. Of course, I’m not an unbiased source either as you can probably tell from my tweets nor am I claiming to be, so please feel free to discuss these things in other places if you want. I’ve just got the tweets I have on hand here. Sorry about that.) Next, the repeat claim that this is “Khara’s licensed translation and thus the most accurate version” is pretty obviously nonsense; I’m sure I don’t need to point out to the audience that Japanese companies meddling in localisation has ended poorly in the past, or that Khara uses questionable translations from the dubs of the Rebuild films on licensed merch from time-to-time, or that the translation was fairly obviously not overseen or even QA’d by anyone following Kanemitsu’s translation work judging from the myriad of grammatical errors, missing subtitles and overly literal, poor sounding phrasing present in the final work. (Do I need to source this? Just watch the damn thing.) It’s not even like the ways it was translated have been consistent through different versions on Netflix; some were translated from Kanemitsu’s English to other languages judging from the obvious mistakes being present in multiple tracks, and some were barely even translated at all - the Italian version, the dub of which is mysteriously now missing, was so bad people were commenting that it sounded like Shakespeare or that it was translated word for word from Japanese. I dunno about you, the reader, but something about “Khara only bothered to check very rigorously the English version for their specific requests with the translation” doesn’t sound like what really happened to me. It’s more like they’ve just sent a translator they have worked with before to work on a project of theirs. Apologies for engaging in speculation, but that’s all this whole article is anyway. It’s just something I noticed from skimming through the page, but I find it quite interesting that Felipe makes a blanket statement about the excerpts from Schizo and Prano “being wrongly attributed to Anno” and then the source he provides for that is just someone on the EvaGeeks forums saying the same thing with little proper sourcing, when that was never really the intent of their post anyway. An interview summary exists where Anno has stated he wrote both books himself, and if you haven’t seen it, here it is. It’s obviously flimsy at best, but Tokyo Otaku Mode is an officially licensed Evangelion distributor. If Felipe is going to parade around his love for the Very Official Khara Subtitles Of NGE he can at least extend the same gratitude to other forms of official information; I mean, frankly, this article is about as reputable as anything in the Netflix subtitles are. Lastly, another thing I found quite interesting is his strange love for the ADV VHS subtitles. I really, really think this is obvious, but subtitles changed in later versions of the ADV release were changed because they were deemed incorrect. I don’t have sources for this so take it with an absolute grain of salt but I believe there’s even a commentary track on the Platinum release where the translator talks in depth about why she translated episode 24 as she did. It’s not exactly a better word than Kanemitsu’s, but if we’re considering translator’s word as law for whatever reason like Felipe is here, we might as well consider hers, too, right? Oh, and actually, have a look at the sources used on that article. Most of the sweeping statements he makes have absolutely no backing beyond what he’s piecing together from old and irrelevant interviews (when discussing the Netflix translation) as well as...linking Kanemitsu’s job history...I mean, sure, the guy is qualified, but do I really need to go over this again?

INTERMISSION: Speaking of sources, you might have noticed from perusing these articles yourself that EvaGeeks has a very low standard for sourcing to begin with, which is likely partially to blame for how things like these articles can even exist in their current forms in the first place. A site that doesn’t have such a lenient policy on sourcing, though, is Wikipedia. Felipe, of course, cannot stay within the confines of the fandom and has decided to have a go at providing some information to Kaworu’s actual Wikipedia page as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kaworu_Nagisa&action=history Felipe is far less to blame for the state of Kaworu’s Wikipedia article, which is honestly pretty bad to begin with. There have been plenty of other people editing this one and the rather homophobic “Relationship with Shinji” part of the article has been present for a while before he started editing it. (The fact this article literally uses someone being explicitly homophobic as a source is not surprising for Eva fandom, but holy shit, am I disgusted every time I reopen this page. I'm not even going to bother figuring out who added that one.) I do wonder if his reasons for not desecrating this page the same way he has on EvaGeeks is because he knows it wouldn’t stay up for particularly long. Reminder that he is also the main editor of the same pages on the Evangelion Fandom Wiki, which is essentially a copy and paste of EvaGeeks. Of note is this little tidbit I found:

This is what Felipe then deleted, as this is apparently not relevant, despite literally being about Kaworu’s relationship with Shinji. I mean, I’m sure this could have been put in somewhere else and perhaps phrased a bit better, but why the hell would you outright delete that kind of information? It’s supposed to be a wiki, not your own personal opinion chamber. BTW, this is the thread post he links as a rebuttal to that person adding it, and it’s probably for the best it’s presented here with context: https://forum.evageeks.org/post/886380/NGE-Ep24-Script-First-and-Second-Drafts/#886380

He clearly thinks he has a point here, but I’m not sure what exactly he’s going for. Basically everything he’s saying is conjecture, and while I can kinda see where he’s coming from it sure does completely fail to address the intent as explained in this interview. “Read the whole interview” is very dismissive, especially when the interview in full doesn’t exactly contradict the initial point. It does say quite a bit, how he will disregard official information when his wiki articles themselves are full of nothing but rambling.

Here’s another relevant and quite funny Discord screenshot:

Felipe is making a pretty hypocritical statement here. I’m sure he does have a point - there’s probably been quite a bit of vandalism happening to these pages which isn’t exactly surprising (again, Eva fans are not often rational people, please be honest with ourselves). That being said, I think there’s a particular irony to the man who has written many very, very long paragraphs on the wiki pages he has control over trying to stop people from thinking there might be anything but “ambiguity” between a pair he doesn’t like.

In the case anyone reading has forgotten: the purpose of a wiki should be to provide unbiased information on the material it discusses. Obviously the repeating of “innocuous” statements about how “ambiguous” it all is, in the vain of EG’s now made fun of ‘we don’t know what he really meant by that’ and ‘why Kaworu is so intent for Shinji alone to have happiness remains a mystery’ are pretty obviously intended to downplay the very, very obvious “subtext” and leagues of official information provided.

It kinda goes without saying that WE CAN INFER THESE THINGS FROM THE ACTUAL INFORMATION ON THE WIKI, you don’t need to add a disclaimer to everything going “well we just don’t know what it means!” (even in instances when we do know what it means, but that’s almost besides the point). You don’t need to add in these statements, unless you’re trying to sway people into ignoring what's presented by the show. If you want people to draw their own conclusions, you are in fact capable of presenting information without commentary - in fact, that's kind of the whole point of a wiki. Yes, Eva is ambiguous at times, but talking down to people like they need this reminded to them constantly is an absolute waste of time and energy. It’s almost as if the editor has been trying to cultivate a narrative and has been getting away with it because you can’t really prove these statements are biased unless you do the research. (I mean, you can from context, but it certainly hasn’t done much to get them removed, has it?)

You can view the editing history of any given EvaGeeks article on their own pages if you want to see just how many times these things have been added in by Felipe. And obviously, no, it isn’t just his fault - there are other users, several, in fact, credited with the editing of these pages, many of the edits serving the same point as Felipe’s paragraphs on “ambiguity”. He’s just the most concrete example of a biased editor. Also, yes, I do recognise this has all happened within the few days post the release of Eva on Netflix and that it was likely prompted by that. But we know at least one of the mods is aware of it given how Felipe talks about it in the EvaGeeks Discord server. It’s also quite funny I’ve seen people linking these pages like they're some kind of "gotcha" in response to tweets discussing the new translation, as if they haven’t been invented out of thin air in the past few days.

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Now, frankly I’m sick of staring at EvaGeeks, and if you want any more information on these articles and others with instances of the same thing happening, you can have a look at it yourself.

Originally, this document contained far more screenshots from Felipe. My desire for this to not turn into a hit piece has lead me to remove a great deal of these messages. I do suggest, if you want to, you join the server and make your own conclusions. Even beyond what the member told me about I found myself agreeing with him fairly frequently when he was being reasonable - this doesn't change my concerns regarding the presentation of information on the wiki, though. The anonymous member was mostly concerned about this user having basically all the control over Kaworu's wiki articles, seeing as he has far too high of a stake in everything. Not all of these messages are inflammatory or even necessarily bad or wrong, but I find that to anyone privy to the “revelations” about the EvaGeeks Wiki here, they paint an interesting story, to say the least.

It’s starting to sound like he perhaps has just had some bad experiences. The following few messages are part of the same conversation.

I find it interesting how he flipflops from not understanding anything about the whole Eva Parallelism Theory Thing to suddenly being all for it when it concerns things not about the gay stuff.

Comments on how ‘manipulative’ Kaworu is

Because Kaworu is very pro instrumentality, and this definitely isn’t just a theory, I mean, it’s even talked about on the wiki, guys! (And I’m not even touching on the yes-men in this server.) Oh.

Oh no.

For the record, this page is clearly still under construction, and to point out any one thing about how bad it is would be essentially just poking a stick at a beehive. At least this one is so absolutely poorly phrased it’s doubtful anyone could mistake it for any kind of proper information. I also find it incredibly funny whenever pages on the wiki use the forum as a source. Relevant: Qmisato’s post on his defending of Shinji sexually assaulting Asuka: https://qmisato.tumblr.com/post/183082754484/yesterday-i-was-invited-to-evageeks-official

In response much later. I really can’t see it as being framed as “fun teenage romance”, also why is the word romance suddenly being used to talk about Asuka and Shinji after the whole debacle with Kaworu? He’s said before he doesn’t see Asuka and Shinji’s relationship as romantic, either (and GOOD! It’s not!)

(Also - it’s not sexual assault when Shinji tries to kiss Asuka in her sleep, but it IS when Kaworu does the exact same thing to Shinji? Make up your mind, dude.) Turning this sort of thing into Shipping Discourse is frankly not the right way to go about it, but it is perhaps notable that despite what Felipe says, he is in fact an Asushin shipper. (I don’t feel the need to post all these images in the document as its cluttered enough as it is.) At this point it’s rather adhom and I feel irrelevant but I do think it’s relevant that through all of Eva fandom, those who have the most issue “understanding” (more like accepting, I suppose) LGB subtext, are those who also are really attached to a fairly morally grey het pairing themselves. Again, seriously, there’s nothing inherently wrong with any of this and assuming the worst of someone because of the pairings they like isn’t my intent here, it’s more that I find this pattern has always been prevalent and it’s bothering me I’m seeing it STILL in 2019. ESPECIALLY from a wiki editor who inserts so much of that into his work on the site.

You’re probably sick of reading all of this (and I’m getting sick of writing it), so I’ll wrap up the part on Felipe quickly: Yes, I just dedicated several pages to screenshots of mostly innocuous (when considered out of context) stuff one guy had to say. I feel more obsessive than I’d like to admit, and frankly I have no business with this person. We’ve spoken twice on EvaGeeks threads if you can even call it speaking. This task was given to me by a member of the community who was concerned about his behaviour but didn’t want to publicise it themself and I feel a little out of my depth here. I at least hope we can come to the conclusion I wanted to here, that I fear may have been lost in this whole great mess of language - no one person should have THIS much sway over the state of a wiki that’s supposed to be impartial, especially when they have not been quiet with their biases in the first place, and it is the failure of everyone involved in the maintaining of the wiki itself that this sort of behaviour has been allowed in the first place.

The guy can have whatever opinions and theories he wants, obviously. I don't give a shit; he's not even that bad compared to the grand majority of Eva fans to begin with. Don't think this document exists to "cancel" him or thoughtpolice, I truly, genuinely, do not care what is said inside this server anymore. It doesn't concern me. I mean, it's a fucking cartoon, for god's sake. This only becomes an issue when opinions are expressed on a wiki, for reasons I have reiterated many times now. EvaGeeks lacks the objectivity required to function as a wiki and I'm trying to make that clear.

[ON THE TOPIC OF THE EVAGEEKS WIKI AND COMMUNITY IN GENERAL] As for who can edit the wiki and what they’re allowed to say: As you can see from the nature of people’s posts in this thread, you’re given access to do very specific things, and although I haven’t bothered going through the process myself (as I find it would be quite redundant, trying to fix such an inherently broken system), I’m guessing it’s very easy to get your edits reversed if you post anything they don’t like. Take that as conjecture of my own.

I have it in decent faith that the approval process involves whoever of the mod team is there at the time coming to an agreement based on people’s applications. Obviously this is a decent idea for a system, and I’m sure there are legitimate reasons as to why EG has to be locked down as much as it is; judging from the state of other fanon wikis I’ve seen there’s likely to be a decent amount of vandalism, especially in a fandom as passionate as Eva’s is. However, I think it’s fair to say that the complete restriction of updating these pages to those approved by a mod team who, while I’m sure are very reasonable people overall, certain individuals of which have displayed concerning behaviour and biases of their own in the server during my brief look around. I won’t be naming anyone in particular from the mod team as I don’t feel like I need to add any more targets of shame to this already horrifically negative document, but I have gotten the general impression (in case it needed confirmation, following the remaining of these specific changes on the wiki) that some mods, not all, aren’t the most nonpartisan individuals themselves. I do happen to be decent acquaintances with at least one of them so, again, please don’t consider this a personal attack.

My concern here plainly is that I don’t think a group of mods who have routinely failed to prevent events like the ones mentioned earlier, nor seem to have much of an issue with the myriad of examples of people being openly homophobic and misogynistic on their own forum are really in the position to be choosing who of the Privelleged Few get to control the Eva meta-narrative here. As I was writing this, I was alerted to the state of the primary Japanese Evangelion wiki as a source of cross referencing for what these things can look like if done right. If you take a moment to browse it, even if you don’t speak any Japanese and have to use an automatic translator it should be very obvious how something like this differs greatly from EvaGeeks. Kaworu’s page, for a relevant example, doesn’t have present any of the nonsense statements about ambiguity or overwritten descriptions of everything. The wiki respects the reader’s intelligence enough to know that it is, in fact, a wiki, and thus tries its best to be factual. His page is fairly decent in size and states things we know are fact rather than theory. There’s no attempt made to influence or confuse.

Oh, and just in case you think the mods aren’t actually active or present enough to know what Felipe is doing, his particularly awful page on Kaworu in episode 24 got a shoutout from the official Twitter account two days ago.

If you are going to join the Discord server to verify things yourself* or do further digging, again, please be cautious of other users inside and do your best not to start anything. I am an occasional contributor to the forums and I’d prefer not to get my account flagged or to experience harassment myself, if any EvaGeeks members are still reading this document and disagree with my conclusions. I may not have posted much since I joined earlier this year, but despite everything I find the forums to be valuable for connecting with other fans and have enjoyed the positive feedback to my SIRP translation! Those who have spoken to me there have been very kind (including Felipe himself), and I must reiterate that this is not targeted at the whole site, or even at just Felipe. I simply believe there is more than enough evidence to suggest there have been consistent, systematic failures to recognise and correct the utter lack of objectivity present. I seriously don’t have any personal issues or beef with this guy, either. I wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t someone else who came to me about it.

*It should be noted that the person who spoke to me has pointed out certain members have been concerned about outsiders joining and screenshotting the chat. They may remove the public link to join if this document were to cause a huge issue. I will leave the server following the publication of this document and I have no plans to join again. I can’t speak for those who may join of their own accord but I do hope people have heeded the disclaimer I made initially.

Thankyou to all the people who have extended their own kindness and support during the creation of this document, to the anonymous person who tipped me off and the lovely Eva analysts I know for offering their own experiences with EvaGeeks and further supplementary information. If this whole document reads like the product of a bad mental health day, I guess it is. Also yes I know how hilarious it is that I’ve spent all this time creating what essentially amounts to an EVAGEEKS CALLOUT POST but I mean. Someone had to say it. Why not make an utter buffoon of myself in the process?

#Mirroring this for the sake of people concerned with their privacy when accessing google docs #reading this back theres a lot of bad wording but whatever. itll do

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staliasjeronica · 5 years

Text

Unspoken Truths - Jeronica AU Chapter Twenty

Title: Unspoken Truths

Ship: Jeronica

Warnings: Gun violence, almost-shooting, Hiram Lodge related

Chapter Twenty

The girls were anxious-although they had sent the files to Cheryl, and they had a flash drive full of incriminating files, their sneaky descent back to the ground floor, and out of the building had been smooth. Too smooth.

The truck was still there, thankfully, but it wasn't running. Toni grabbed a hold of Veronica's arm, taking a step back. "Where are the boys?"

Veronica's heart thumped loudly, so loud she took the fearful look Toni gave her as her hearing her heartbeat. "If my father hurts them, I-"

"Don't worry, mija," Hiram Lodge stepped out from the shadows the trees provided, holding both Sweet Pea and Fangs by the backs of their jackets. Their mouths were taped shut, and their ankles and wrists were bound with rope. "these lowlives are okay... for now. I can have the cops called onto them for trespassing, and that'll be the last you hear from them."

Veronica placed herself between Toni and her father, partly as a way to show her father she wasn't backing down, and partly because she could secretly pass the flash drive to Toni. "Really? Well, sure, you could do that, but I don't think the police would find it normal for them to be bound and gagged, don't you? Let them go, daddy, this is between us."

"Give me the flash drive, Veronica," Hiram demanded, holding his arm out. She crossed her arms pointedly, and he knew he was going to have to push her to her limit-way past it, actually, as he retracted his hand and pulled out a gun, then placed it to Fangs' head. "I'm sure the kid who survived a gunshot won't survive this one."

Fangs' eyes widened as they filled with frightful tears. "Veronica, don't. My life for the Serpents."

"Shut up," Hiram snarled, pushing the end of the gun into Fangs' head. "Ronnie, don't listen to him. Give me the flash drive, and your little boyfriends won't end up with bullets in their heads."

Veronica gulped down the bile that rose in her throat. She snarled, "you're a monster, daddy. You need to be stopped... but not at the lives of a sweet boy who doesn't deserve the shit he has to go through." She dropped to her knees, almost as if it were a way to show her father that she was giving in to him. "Toni, give me the flash drive."

"He's going to shoot him anyways," Toni defiantly took a step back, almost as if she were daring Veronica's father to pull the trigger-but she would never wish that upon Fangs. "All we are to him are poor South Side teenagers. One less on the streets wouldn't matter to your father. Once we hand him the flash drive, he's going to kill them, anyways."

"But we don't know that for sure-"

"Don't give him the flash drive, it's all we have to take him down," Fangs cried, clearly bluffing, although Veronica applauded him for doing so when his life was quite literally hanging on the pull of a finger.

"Just give me the damn drive, Veronica!" Hiram snarled. "Do it now, or I will blow his brains out."

Veronica sniffled, turning around to Toni. "If you care for Fangs, you'll give me the flash drive right now."

Toni looked away, tears cascading down her cheeks. "We're so close to being free, Veronica. We'll never get another chance like this..."

"And Fangs survived being framed for Midge's murder, a gunshot to the stomach, and the shitty lifestyle of the South Side, and he's going to go out because of my dastardly father?" Veronica whispered, shaking her head in refusal. "No. I won't let that happen. I won't let him take away somebody else's life."

Toni let in a shaky breath and handed Veronica the flash drive. She shakily took it, and faced her father with a locked jaw. "I hate you."

Hiram smiled in victory, then sighed as he laughed lightly. "Pinkie's right. Why would I let these teenagers go back to living like little rats?" The cock of the gun brought out a fearful gasp from Toni and Veronica's lips, and hearing the gunshot go off earned a sob from them as well. However, instead of a body falling to the floor, it was the clattering fo a gun.

The girls turned around and found Hermione with a gun pointed towards her husband, a scowl on her features. She had shot him in the leg, which he clutched painfully. He quickly grabbed a hold of the grip, but Jughead walked into the scene with a small laugh, crushing his fingers under his boots. "Must suck to be betrayed by your own family. Us Jones', the Serpents... we would never."

"Well, clearly Toni would, but that's not my business, is it?" Betty humphed, crossing her arms as the small group eyed Toni.

"He wouldn't shoot Fangs until he got the flash drive. If we made him believe this was truly all we had, keeping Fangs alive is all that would get him what he wanted," Toni rolled her eyes at them all, "I love Fangs, why would I want him dead over a flash drive that has the same files as what Cheryl has?"

"Your rule is over, Hiram," Hermione bent down with a sinister smirk playing on her lips. She grabbed a fist full of his hair and made him look at her, "you'll rot in jail, I'll make sure of it. And you're never going to touch Veronica and I, or any of the Serpents, ever again." Throwing his head back down, she stood back up. "I called the police after I helped Betty and Jughead go, so they should be here in a minute."

Veronica mimicked her mother and bent down to face her father. He looked up, his face paling as the pain overtook his senses. "The Lodge name will no longer be associated with your criminal activities. Mom and I are going to move on, and fix the mold you created in Riverdale. Oh, and a compensation to Fangs' family is going to be paid for the traumatic shit you put him through."

The police sirens in the distance slowly grew louder as they echoed around the town.

Jughead wrapped his arms around Veronica's waist with a cocky smile, grinning wildly at her. "And now we can finally go back to our lives. We can figure out what we're going to be, we can rebuild the Serpents into what they should be with Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs... and we can just be teenagers."

Veronica placed a tiny kiss on his lips. "I can't wait to get my life back on track... but maybe first we should, you know, help Fangs and Sweet Pea out of the tape."

"Shit, right," Jughead sucked in his lips as he whipped out his pocket knife and ignored their playful glares as he cut them out of the tape that bound them. "Sorry, guys."

"You're lucky that we're just happy to be alive," Fangs murmured while him and Sweet Pea embraced, and he dug his head into his chest. "I love you, Pea."

"I love you, too, Fogarty. Try not to die, okay?" Sweet Pea chuckled lightly, "if somebody pulls a gun on you again, I'm going to do something you'll hate."

"Well, it's not my fault people hate me enough to pull guns on me," Fangs huffed. "But please don't get your stupid ass arrested, okay? Veronica would kill me."

Veronica took a couple of steps forward to ruffle their hair with a light smile, "oh, shut up, boys... I'm glad you're okay."

"You too," Sweet Pea nodded, then he wiggled his eyebrows towards Jughead. "Now go figure out your relationship with Jughead."

"Speaking of, Betty!" Veronica turned so quickly, the blonde jumped in fright. "I wanted to thank you for creating a distraction. If you hadn't had stepped in at that moment, we would have been caught."

Betty bit down on her bottom lip and glanced down at the floor, "well, you said I needed to find a way to insert myself into the plan like I always do. Why not be reckless with Jughead one last time before I take a breath and ask my mom to place me in therapy?"

"Oh, my God, really?" Veronica cooed, "that's so great, Betty! I'm glad you're finally taking steps to get better."

And, surprisingly, Veronica wrapped her arms around Betty's waist, "whoa, you're hugging me. This sure brings me back to when you first came to Riverdale and we were best friends. I... miss that."

Veronica laughed lightly, "yeah, me too. I hate constantly fighting you... so what do you say we go out for something to eat later and catch up a bit?"

"I thought we were going to-"

"Jughead, that can wait until tomorrow," Veronica interrupted with a stern look as she stepped away from her hug with Betty. "But, Jughead, I'm done pretending I don't have feelings for you, okay? I want to try us. But I also want to make sure I'm not going to be poisoned or something."

Betty scoffed, "as if I'd poison you over Jughead."

Veronica eyed the cops as they pulled into the parking lot, then she glanced at Betty with a gentle smile. "Good, because chicks before dicks."

"Hey, I'm not a dick!"

"Shh, the cops are here. Time for the final end of the plan," Veronica snickered as Jughead gaped at her in the corner of her eye. "To watch my father go to jail, for good, and I can relax for what might be the first time in my life.”

And that is the end of Unspoken Truths! I know it ended horribly, but I might add on another little chapter of something cute for later in life, or something. I don't know, but I kind of wanted to leave it up for interpretation for you. Thank you so much for reading this, and here's to our hope that Jeronica will become canon!

#Riverdale #Unspoken Truths #Jughead Jones #Veronica Lodge #Jeronica #Vughead #Jeronica Fic #Vughead Fic

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pcyheartgirlx · 6 years

Text

In The Bleak Midwinter [CH15]

Genre ;; Angst/Smut/Fluff/Romance

Pairing ;; Chanyeol x Reader x Seokjin

Word Count ;; 10k

Summary ;; “We’re all whores, we just sell different parts of ourselves.”

You own a multi-billion dollar company, servicing the biggest names in kpop, in more ways than one. Under the name “Starlight Catering”, you, your best friends, Damon and Maya, and your hundreds of workers provide stress relief for idols.

You have partially retired, not because you didn’t want to, but because Chanyeol was your muse. He was all that you had time for and all you needed. Until Jin came along.

So what happens when you mix fire and ice?

You get smoke and all the lines are blurred.

A/N ;; As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much as I enjoyed making it. I’m not going to lie, this chapter made me emotional af because 230 Fifth is an actual place in the city that I’ve been DYING to go to. I went once and it was amazing so if you ever are in the city during the winter, definitely check it out. Anyway lol happy readinggg<3

[PLAYLIST] [BACKSTORY] [PROLOGUE] [CH1] [CH2] [CH3] [CH4] [CH5] [CH6] [CH7] [CH8] [CH9] [CH10] [CH11] [CH12] [CH13] [CH14] [CH15] [CH16]

Your hands flattened your dress as you looked in the mirror, examining your outfit. You had a grey turtleneck sleeveless dress on, a white blazer with white velvet knee high boots with a gold 6 inch heel. A lot of thought went into your outfit tonight, not that other nights it didnt. But you wanted to look a little more business professional. It was a silly, you thought. You weren’t actually being used as a legit business advisor but it felt nice to make money doing something normal. Something legal. Taking a deep breath in, you grabbed your clutch and made your way out the bedroom door.

“Well, what do you think?” you asked Chanyeol as he sat on your couch, watching videos on his phone. When he heard your voice, he turned his head back to face you. Chanyeol’s jaw dropped and his eyes widened slightly. He shot up from his seat almost dropping his phone in the process. “Is it bad? It’s the boots isn’t it? Is my dress too tight?” You started to tug at your dress and scan your body frantically, the silence was giving you anxiety.

“No...it’s...you’re...so fine,” he exhaled, shaking his head while he took a step toward you. It was a great reaction but not one you were looking for.

“It’s too sexy. I’m going to go change!” You started scurrying back to your room but you heard Chanyeol’s footsteps behind you.

“Woah woah woah! What’s wrong with that?” he questioned frantically as he squeezed himself between you and the door frame of your room, outstretching his arms so you couldn’t get through.

“What kind of business advisor wears this? And you’re wearing such an elegant suit,” you doted, trying to find a a way past him. “I don’t want to look like a slut.”

“No baby you don’t look like that. You look like a professional that has a good sense of style.”

“I should go with pants or cute slacks or something,” You were starting to get creative and tried squeezing yourself in between the spaces that separated Chanyeol from the door but he would always stop you.

“Aniyooooo,” he whined in a low voice. You could’t help but laugh lightly, bringing your hands up to your mouth as you took a step back.

“Why not? I still have sometime!” He leaned against the door frame and put his arm out just incase you tried to walk over him.

“If you go back into your room to change, you’ll get naked. I’ll know you’re naked. And baby the way you look right now, if you’re going to get naked I need to be there….just...just...don’t get naked please. Your makeup is so pretty, I don’t want to mess it up. And your hair…” Chanyeol’s voice was pleading and as he said this he started adjusting himself in between his legs. “You see? You see what you started?”

“Alright I get the point. I mean we could do it before we go,” you started to walk toward him slowly, biting your lip as you ran a hand down his chest. You’ve been wanting to do him from the moment you saw him in the suit.

“Ah…” he shook his hand and started adjusting himself again. “Hmmm...no, sweetheart. I don’t think I’d let you get out of bed if we started.” He placed his hands at your waist and guided you toward him until your hips touched.

“Aw, you’re no fun,” you pouted, pressing your chest up against his, never breaking your gaze. You brought your lips up to his jawline and peppered light kisses against him. His hands traveled from your waist to your biceps.

“Hmm, I’m no fun?” he grunted quietly. Suddenly, you felt him spin you around. Chanyeol came up behind you with intensity, pressing himself against your behind as his hands ran up and down the front of your body. “Do you really mean that, (Y/N)?” he husked into your ear as he grabbed your breast causing you to drop your head back into him.

“Chanyeol stoooop,” you whined playfully, ghosting your hand over his as he moved his hand along your chest. You felt him kiss lightly at your neck, vibrating against your skin as he chuckled to your response.

“I’m just trying to be fun,” he chuckled, taking his time coasting down between your legs. You felt him pull your dress up to your waist so he could run his hand lightly up your inner thigh. He stopped at your essence, rubbing against you through the fabric of your panties.

“You’re so fucked up,” you shuddered as he touched you, creating a strong throbbing feeling against his hands.

“This isn’t fun?” he asked innocently into your ear even though you could see right through his little charade. “Maybe this would be more fun for you.” Without giving you time to think, he removed his hand from your heat and placed it on your back, bending you over while he grabbed your waist. A small yelp escaped your lips as he pulled your hips into him. Your bottom crashing against his pelvis. “I can do this with you for hours if you let me.” This was your limit. You tored yourself away from him and turned around. You couldn’t help but giggle nervously. He was being such a tease and you loved when he took control like that.

“You’re an animal!” you squealed playfully as you lightly smacked his arm. He laughed heartily as he grabbed your waist again, except this time when he brought you to him, he wrapped his arms around you. Chanyeol dove into your neck, biting your skin lighting and gnawing at it while growling.

“I’m not an animal, I’m a beast!” he exclaimed as he pulled away from you. Cocking your head to the side, your pursed your lips and shook your head.

“No, you’re way too cute to be a beast. Maybe a chihuahua?” you perked. His jaw dropped as if he was offended, immediately diving back into your neck. This time instead of kissing you, he blew raspberries against you. An uncontrollable fit of laughter began to spill from your lips, stomping your feet up and down.

“It..hahha...stop! Ahhahahhaha...it tickles! It tickles! It tickles! Stop! Hahahaha,” you managed to say breathlessly in between bouts of laughter. He pulled away for a second.

“Take it back!”

“No!”

“Fine,” he said simply before he dove back in and continued to tickle you.

“Okay okay okay!” you giggled as he slowly stopped blowing air against your neck. “ You’re a beast,” you said admitting defeat. Except he didn’t pull away. His lips lingered on your skin for a while before he started to moved against you. Chanyeol sucked at your neck lightly, moaning into you so he could feel you shiver at the sound.

“Relax, Mr. Beast,” you cooed at him causing him to stop and pull away. It pained you a bit to not feel his lips working at you anymore but it only lasted a second. The way he eyed you up and down before he spoke drove you wild.

“Since when does the Beauty call the shots?” he said with cocky connotation. Chanyeol wrapped his arms around your waist again but what you weren’t expecting was for him to hold you tightly against him, lifting you off your feet. “I’m the beast! This is my castle! RAAWWWRR!” he bellowed as he spun you around. When he put you down, you stumbled on your feet. His face dropped slightly as he held you up by your arms. “Oh no baby, I’m sorry are you okay?” You laughed at his concern, nodding as you grabbed his arm.

“Didn’t you see the movie? Eventually Belle started calling the shots,” you defended, straightening yourself up as Chanyeol shook his head.

“Yea it’s called being whipped,” he laughed as he put his arm around you, picking your purse up from the floor and handing it to you. You thanked him as you slung it over your shoulder.

“Do you think you’re whipped?” you asked as you poked his side. Chanyeol raised an eyebrow at your question and frowned.

“I refuse to answer that question,” he removed his arm from around you as he reached for the doorknob.

“Why not?!”

“Because I will not incriminate myself,” he admitted, bringing a finger up to poke your nose cutely. Before he opened the door, he brought his hand behind you and smacked your behind playfully. “Let’s get out of here, beauty.” You rolled your eyes and smiled as the both of you walked out of your apartment.

The two of you made your way out to your parking garage and to his car. You were about to pull the passenger side door open, but Chanyeol stopped you as he opened it for you. A small grin appeared on your face when you thanked him. It was cute how he ran behind the car all the way to the other side to let himself in. It had been a while since you had seen him behind the wheel. As horrible at it may have sounded, you missed the days he wasn’t so globally known. It was so much easier back then to spend time together. Granted it was never in public for long but he would always drive you places just to spend more time with you. When he first bought the apartment for you and Damon, he would spend the night with you, bring you take out and he was actually the one who introduced your to Coco, your nail lady. He’d answer emails and rub your back while you got your nails done. At one point, it was like you two were an actual couple. You were almost convinced that he was going to be the one. The man you got to finally spend your life.

But then EXO started blowing up internationally. And it was harder for you to spend time together. The distance you guys spent apart made his jealous more apparent. Not that he wasn’t jealous before because he was, eyeing every man up and down that looked at you. But something changed when he was around you less. He would call you in the middle of the night to see if you were sleeping. Drop in unannounced to see if you were where you said you were. Until the paparazzi started following them. Slowly, he would start showing up less, but calling more. You argued often and cried yourself to sleep. But the passion between you two increased. Everytime you would see each other it was like the first time. Even if you argued, it would end in firy sex, ending in laying in each other’s arms, sweeping all your problems under the rug.

You looked at him as he drove and smiled, admiring every part of him. It brought you a sense of security knowing that there wasn’t a part of him that you hadn’t touch, hadn’t kissed. Chanyeol was your muse. He’s all you ever needed. Noticing your gaze, he glanced at you too and returned the smile. You bit your lip as you looked down.

“Are you sure everything is going to be okay? You know...with us going out in public…” you asked sheepishly. It was already too late since you guys were already outside on the road. But he nodded and looked foward as the light turned green.

“It’s fine. Trust me. Which reminds me!” he dug into pocket and took his phone out, maneuvering the car with one hand as he began to unlock his phone.

“Can you not do that?” you snapped at him, worried that he wasn’t paying attention to the busy road infront of him

“Do what?” he asked simply, shifting his gaze between his phone and the road as he furrowed his eyebrows.

“Text and drive.”

“Almost done….” he assured, tapping at the screen one final time before stuffing his phone back in his pocket. “Alright now we’re safe.”

“You know you could have killed me so I hope that was important!” you joked as you playfully shoved him.

“I was covering our asses, drama queen,” he chuckled as he put an arm defensively.

“How?”

“By posting a fairly recent of picture of me and my friends at a restaurant across town,” he said confidently.

“Oh yea. Social media sounds way more important that road safety,” you scoffed at him, causing him to role his eyes at you.

“It is and let me tell you why,” he brought a finger up for emphasis before he brought it back to the wheel. “If I post that I’m at this restaurant, people will go look for me there. You know what that means?”

“It means you’re smarter than you look,” you said in amazement, finally understanding what he was trying to get at.

“Exactly,” he agreed before shaking his head and realizing the jab you took at him. “Wait what?” The look of insult plastered on his face made you laugh at his expense. Quickly that look faded at the sound of your laughter and he put a hand on your thigh, squeezing it lightly.

“You’re something else, (Y/N),” he sighed with soft grin on his face. You placed your hand over his and mirrored the same grin, looking out the window as you two continued to drive.

X-x-x

“(Y/N), everything is fine don’t worry,” Chanyeol assured you after he gave his keys to the valet. You looked around frantically, trying to see if you could spot any reporters.

“I’m just making sure!” you defended as you two started to walk into the resturant, placing his hand on the small of your back as he opened the door for you. The two of you walked in side by side as you approached the hostess who greeted you warmly.

“Yes, reservation for two under Park Chanyeol,” Chanyeol said confidently as he adjusted the strap of his laptop bag that hung across his chest. The hostess nodded, motioning for an usher to escort you to your table.

“Right this way, sir, madam,” the usher said as he lead the way. Chanyeol smiled at you as he began to walk, you trailing behind him. Your heart was at your throat. This was one of the moments you were afraid of. Walking through the resturant, anxiety overtaking you as you studied the many business people that littered the area. To your surprise, not one of them raised their head at you two. Not even a second glance. A bit of relief washed over you realizing this. Slowly, you started to stop doubting Chanyeol. Maybe he did know what he was doing.

“I hope the view is okay,” the usher pleaded as you reached your table that was by the scenic window. Chanyeol looked over to you but you didn’t even glance at him as your eyes glazed over at the scene in amazement.

“This is perfect, thank you,” he chuckled as he walked to your side of the table and pulled your chair out. Snapping your gaze away from the city, you sat down smiling to yourself as Chanyeol pushed your seat in.

“May I start you off with anything to drink?” the usher asked as he placed a menu in front of you.

“Wine would be nice,” you nodded at him.

“Whiskey on the rocks for me, thank you.” Look at him getting a whiskey. Classy as fuck, you thought. The usher nodded and walked away. Chanyeol took his laptop bag of him and placed it on the side. “Before I get comfortable and start getting lost in your beauty,” he said shyly as leaned back and crossed his arms. “Let’s talk business.” You did the opposite. Leaning foward and interlacing your fingers, you eyed him curiously.

“What do you have up your sleeve, Park Chanyeol?” He cocked his eyebrow at your question but started to lean in as well, leaning his elbows against the table.

“There’s a company I am interested in buying--”

“Stop right there,” you interrupted as you put your hand up. He furrowed his eyebrows at you and frowned. “You want to buy a company?”

“I did say that,” Chanyeol nodded.

“How will you be able to keep up with it knowing your schedule?” you cocked your head to the side and he shook his head, bringing his hand up and shaking it as well.

“That’s beside the point.”

“It’s absolutely the point,” you said astonished at the fact that he brushed that off.

“I’ve got it figured it out, Don’t worry.”

“I mean…” you sighed and shrugged. “Alright go on.”

“As I was saying,” he eyed you with a hint of sass before he continued. “I want to buy this company. It’s fairly huge right now but I know they are expandable. I want to make them global.” The excitement started to slightly creep up his tone. You nodded and smiled.

“Sound great. What company is it?”

“Can’t tell you.”

“Alright…” you said incredulity. “What do they sell?”

“Let’s say they sell...pastries.”

“Pastries?”

“Yes,” he nodded and grinned at your confusion. Reaching for his bag, he started to try to convince you. “I have the numbers here if you want to take a look. You’ll see how well they do,” you nodded and patted the table, indicating to him you were willing to look it over. “I ran the numbers with a friend that is studying for his Master’s. He says he sees my vision but there’s something holding them back,” his face lit up as the light from the laptop turned on. He bit his lip as he started clicking and typing away, making a face of accomplishment as he find the file. “Here,” he placed the spreadsheet infront of you. “There’s just something not adding up.” You scrolled through the file and pulled your phone out, opening the calculator as you studied the numbers.

“This might take a little bit. I like to triple check my numbers,” you warned him as you started pulling out a pen from your purse. His eyes lit up and he grabbed a notepad from his bag and handed it to you.

“That’s fine. Take as long as you need.”

Everything in the spread sheet was in code. There were no company names or even an inciling that could help you find out what company this was. For a second you thought it was Starlight because something about this reminded you of it, but the numbers were different so you crossed that thought out of your head. Still, there was something familiar about these numbers. You tried not to think about it too much as you started adding numbers together and implementing it into your own formula you had for fiscal success. While you worked, Chanyeol would ask a few questions about your progress. You assured him that everything was looking good so far each time. The only other time you stopped was to order dinner and another glass of wine. On the third check, you finally figured it out. As you swallowed your chicken, you looked up at Chanyeol and smiled. He parted his lips, eager to know what you had found.

“Okay so!” you turned the laptop so that you could both see it. He leaned in and watched you intently. “Before I begin, why didn’t you seek help from an actual business advisor?”

“I did,” he beamed. “She’s the owner of a multi billion dollar catering company.” You smiled and shook your head. Continuing to explain your discovery.

“You see this company right here? Company G?” you said circling the sheet row. Chanyeol nodded.

“Yea, they are a big client of theirs,” Chanyeol confirmed.

“Right well,” you adjusted yourself in your seat before speaking. “Company G is keeping this Company immobile. If you look at Company C,” you scrolled up and pointed at their sheet row as well. “Company C has the consistancy of being an out of country client I assume,” Chanyeol nodded at you. “Well, on just one delivery, they made about ⅔ more than what they made with Company G in one month.”

“Seriously?”

“Yea. So if you can convince Company C to become loyal to your pastries and convince other companies like Company C, you would be fine dropping Company G. Now, I know it’s scary to think about dropping your biggest client but you have to make some risks and gamble with your luck a little bit,” Chanyeol stayed quiet as he looked at you in awe.

“How did you come up with this so fast? It took him days and we both looked over this spreadsheet for hours,” he said as he brought the computer to him, scrolling through it frantically as if he would find the same answer you found. You shook your head and laughed.

“Because the answer isn’t in the spreadsheet,” you brought a finger up to your temple and tapped it. “It’s in here. Your friend can crunch numbers. But he has to know how to tackle decisions like this one.”

“So what you’re saying is cutting ties with Company G wouldn’t cause the downfall of this company?” he asked happily. You shook your head as you took a sip of your wine.

“That’s not what I’m saying. The business could tank if you don’t keep up with finding new clients. And you need to have one of the most talented marketing and sales team on board,” You looked down before meeting his gaze. “How much are you paying for this company?” you asked him timidly.

“Irrelevant question,” he shut you down as he looked through the spreadsheet again.

“Um, no. It’s not. I have to know that to see the precise figure of your revenue,” you snapped. He narrowed his eyes at you and sighed. Taking the notebook and pen from in front of you and in his hand. He wrote a number down and folded the paper over it, passing it back to you. You pulled the paper back, revealing the large amount of money he was about to drop on this company. “Shit, Chanyeol. That’s a lot of zeros…”

“I told you not to ask, didn’t I?” he scolded. You put your hands up defensively as he sighed. “I just want to know, is buying this company a good idea or not?”

“Personally or Professionally?”

“Both.”

“Well, personally,” you started as you bit your lip.”I don’t think it’s a good idea. Only because of who you are and your schedule. I mean if this was me and I didn’t have Starlight Catering, this is a walk in the park. Risky but not impossible--”

“What about professionally?” he asked cutting you off. You were worried before about telling him this but he seemed completely unphased by your opinion.

“Well professionally...hold on,” you started to punch a bunch of numbers into the laptop, using a mental formula that was fool proof. “So if you find minimum 5 business that are similar to Company C and stay consistent with them, you could triple if not quadruple your investment.” his eyes widened and he curled his lip.

“What?”

“Yea. But that’s assuming you know what you’re doing. But Chanyeol--”

“That’s all I needed to know,” he said leaning back with a smile on his face. You couldn’t believe how nonchalant he was being.

“Okay but you need to understand that this isn’t a car or a rolex,” your voice was stern hoping that it would get through to him “This is a living and force powered business. If you buy this company, you literally have to breath and bleed this company to get to that point.”

“Baby, I told you. I have that under control. You don’t have to be so worried. I just needed you to tell me that this business is promising,” he still wasn’t getting it. You shook your head and shrugged.

“It has a lot of potential for international success according to numbers. But if you don’t utilize that, you will go broke. Flat broke,” this might have been the only way to get your point across to him but it failed. He just smiled and placed his hand near yours on the table, letting his pointer lightly brush up against your fingers.

“Will you still love me if I was broke?” he whispered this to you as he licked his lips. This is a stupid question, you thought to yourself as you reflected on the times you had with him.

“Of course, Chanyeol.”

“Then, I’ll be okay,” Chanyeol grinned sweetly at you, causing you to melt in your seat. You could see how passionate he was about this idea. And maybe he’ll actually pull it off. You just didn’t want to see him fail. You would do anything in your power to keep that from happening, even if you had to step in and take charge.

“Well, you know my standpoint on this then,” you sighed and returned his sweet grin with on of your own. “I’ll support any decision you make because I love you and I want you to be happy.” He beamed at your statement, knowing it was taking everything in him not to just hold your hand and kiss it. Demonstrating self control, he chuckled and sat up straight, fixing his blazer as he watched you adoringly.

“I love you too,” he whispered. Suddenly, he started looking around as if he was trying to spot someone. Chanyeol’s face brighten when he saw the person he was looking for, he called them over then looked at you. “Now let’s get to the real part of our date.”

“Okay,” you grinned. “But maybe we should keep this on the table so it doesn’t look like--”

“Oh, we aren’t staying at this table. We’re going upstairs”

“Upstairs?”

“I think we’re ready for dessert now, sir. If you could just escort us to our next table?” Chanyeol asked the waiter politely. The waiter smiled and motioned for the both of you to follow him.

“Yes of course, right this way.” The both of you stood up and followed the man, confusion plaguing at you.

“Where are we going?” you whispered behind him.

“230 Fifth.”

“Haha very funny,” you said sarcastically, still impressed that he remembered the name of your favorite bar lounge. “I’m serious though!” As you made your way with the waiter to the elevator, he looked at you as you three waited for the cart. Chanyeol looked over at you and smiled.

“So am I.”

Accepting that he wasn’t going to tell you where you two were going, you decided to just follow him and the usher into the elevator. As the three of you waited, Chanyeol shot you an attentive glance and started unbuttoning his jacket.

“You should probably take your coat off as well,” he informed as he slipped off his jacket.

“Why?” He just smiled and shrugged, getting behind you as he helped you take your white blazer off. The elevator dinged and a rush of cold air hit you all at once. You looked around and realized you had arrived on the roof. “Chanyeol it’s cold!” you whined. He simply ignored you as you walked foward into the winter air leaving the waiter who was assiting you behind. To your right was an usher dressed rather casually. Nothing like the tailored ushers, waiters and waitresses downstairs. He looks like a bouncer, you laughed to yourself as you noticed his stocky posture. As the Both of you walked toward him, he stopped Chanyeol by putting his hand out and eyed us both.

“You are forgetting something,” the bouncer said lowly. Chanyeol nodded and put his arm out, as if he was expecting something. The bouncer turned to the waitress who was waiting behind him, took something from her hand and gave one to both of you.

“Robes?” you asked curiously as you put it on. Something about this seemingly familiar. “What’s going on, Chanyeol?”

“Follow me to your table,” the waitress said pleasently. The both of you nodded and began walking forward. As you turned the corner of where the elevator was, a look of shock and happiness over took you.

“I told you I was talking you to 230 Fifth,” he whispered into your ear as Chanyeol came up behind you. In front of you, was a plastic igloo. Inside the igloo, was two loveseats that sat next to either side of a rectangular table. A small chandelier hung from the top of the igloo and there were flowers all around the outside. Anyone else would be amazed and in awe but you were ecstatic. Gripping on to his arm as you started to jump up and down in joy. He did his best to replicate one of the tables in your favorite bar lounge. You brought a hand up to your mouth and squeeled. Chanyeol just laughed and hugged you from behind. “Come on let’s go inside. It’s heated too. Just like the ones--”

“At home…” you turned to him, trying not to let tears rip from your eyes. “This is so...You remembered and….How?” Chanyeol just smirked and took your hand into his.

“Don’t worry about the how,” he whispered, guiding you toward the entrance of the igloo. “Just focus on now. Now you’re here with me and we can make memories together.” he sat down on one of the couches and you sat on the one that was on the other side directly across from him. “I hope this is a good second date,” he said eagerly as he watched you get comfortable. Before you could answer, the waitress walked into the igloo with two drinks in her hand.

“Spiked warmed apple cider?” she asked you politely. You just let your mouth hang open and nodded, still in shock that he remembered every detail about what you told him down to the cider. As the waitress put the drinks down, she began to take your dessert order. Chanyeol ordered the both of you an ice cream sundae to enjoy together. It wasn’t long after that before the waitress brought you both a large bowl for you to share. You both almost didn’t notice, because you spent the majority of the time laughing and talking about what anyone would think is nonsense. But you and chanyeol were so immersed with each other, so taken a back by the scenery of the city around you.

“I can’t imagine how pretty the one in NYC is,” he said as he stuck a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth.

“It’s gorgeous, Yoellie. Me and Damon would go there almost every weekend,” you reminised, sighing at the memory.

“You and Damon probably got into a lot of trouble back in the day,” Chanyeol laughed as you gave him a look of surprise.

“Not at all!” you said defensively, knowing it was a lie. “Okay maybe sometimes but we always managed to get ourselves out of it. Anyway, I seem to recall a certain someone telling me how many times his mom scolded him for being troublesome.” He laughed and nodded.

“Unlike you though, I was never able to get myself out of it,” he admitted, making you smile as he brought a spoonful of ice cream to your mouth. “I remember one time, this was during my predebut years. Me and Sehun were trying to find a store that would sell us cigarettes becaue back then Sehun smoked,” your eyes widened at his statement. He just smiled and put his hands up. “I know! It was terrible. But we were walking into every convienence store, trying to find someone who would sell to an underaged pair of kids.”

“You guys were a mess,” you interrupted. He just agreed and laughed even more, squinting his nose cutely as he continued.

“Wait there’s more! We didn’t know tha Tao smoked so when we got back to the dorm, Tao overheard us talking and told us to follow him outside. So we did and the both of them smoked a cigarette.”

“Oh such bad kids,” you teased. He just threw a pillow from one of the couches at you playfully.

“Yea well, they offered me one. At first I said no but Sehun asked me so cutely. So I tried it...then Junmyeon caught me and ONLY me.”

“Oh my god.”

“Yea! I was the one that got in trouble and accused of being a bad influence to my dongsaengs,” he huffed as he took a sip of his cider.

“Yup, sounds like a Sehun thing to do. I don’t know Tao too much but definitely a Sehun move,” you noted as you took another bite of ice cream.

“I’m just happy they didn’t tell my mother. Or else I would have gotten a real punishment...not that one of Junmyeon’s lectures isn’t punishment enough because it is! It’s just not...physical,” Chanyeol stuck his spoon into the ice cream, noticing it was the last scoop he offered it to you but you just shook your head and motioned for him to have it. The way his eyes lit up brought you some warmth. Still, the last thing he said lingered on your mind. Physical punishment.

“Maybe you should get some kind of physical punishment,” you said slyly as you ran your hand up your thigh, lifting your dress up a bit and revealing a little bit of your thigh to him. Chanyeol’s eye focused on your hands, his nostrils flaring as he watched you push your dress back a little bit.

“You think so?” he managed to croak out, clearing his throat as you crossed your legs allowing him a view of base of your bottom.

“Can I get you two anything else?” the waitress said as he approached you two. Chanyeol never took his eyes off of you as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a few won bills, handing it to her.

“Privacy, give us some privacy,” he said cooly. She looked down at the money wide eyed and nodded before scurrying off, dragging the bouncer by the door with her. As soon as the two resturant staff members were out of sight, Chanyeol narrowed his eyes at you and started patting on his lap as if he was assigning you to your new seat. You smiled and started walking toward him, reclaiming your new seat on his lap. He put his arm around your waist as you put your arm around his shoulders.

“How’s our second date going?” he whispered as he kissed your cheek. You placed a hand on his chest as you giggled.

“I think it’s going pretty well.”

“So there’s hope for a third?” he asked, taking his hand and placing it on your knee. Slowly, his hand started to ascend upwards to your thigh, stopped when he reached the hem on of your dress.

“Depends,” you purred as you started to trail kissed from his cheek all the way down to his neck. He let out a loud moan, gripping your thigh as you reached the crook of his neck.

“Depends on what?” he exhaled shakily, letting out another moan as you let your tongue glide against his skin.

“Depends on how well you fuck me,” your words drove him over the edge. He pushed your dress all the way up and cupped at your womanhood, rubbing it slowly through the fabric of your panties.

“Fucking on the second date? You’re a bad girl,” he groaned as you bit your lip at him, seperating your legs a little bit more for him. You brought yourself to his ear again, feeling him shudder underneath you as your breath tickled at him lightly.

“Tell me what you do to bad girls.”

“I won’t tell you,” Chanyeol husked and you felt him push your panties to the side, running his thick fingers against your entrance. “I’ll show you, princess.” That was his warning but you still whined in pleasure as he stuck two fingers inside you, twisting and curling them until he found what he was looking for. Running his thumb over your clit, he wiggled his fingers inside you grazing against your spot teasingly.

You leaned your head against his shoulder as his touch made you weak. Chanyeol noticed your unraveling before him so he picked up a pace, fingering you slowly at first so he could hear your desperate moans and groans. Your free hand started to coast down his torso, stopping as you reached his belt. Although the way he was working inside you almost kept you frozen, you were determined to give him the same pleasure he was giving you. Undoing his belt and pants, you snaked your hand into his boxer briefs, grabbing at his already hardened member. He bit his lip and moaned as you thumbed over his head, glazing his precum along his skin.

Chanyeol’s pace increased which was fuel for you to start pumping his cock, in sync with his rhythm. You started to shift in his lap as you felt your climax approaching causing his organ to pulsate in your palm. Suddenly, he pulled away from your tightening walls and brought his hand to yours that was on his cock, pulling you away from him.

“Not yet,” he growled, you started to push his robe off his shoulders while he did the same to you. Chanyeol picked you up from your buttom lightly, motioning for you to stand. As you did, you stood infront of him, letting the robe fall to the floor. He sat there admiring you, letting an arm rest on the top of the couch, while taking his cock in his hand pumping himself as he watched you pull your dress over your head.

“Mmmm, (Y/N),” he moaned as he continued to stare at the strip show you were giving him. You couldn’t help but slowly push down your panties. His eyes traveled all the way down to the floor as you used the heels on your boots to kick them to the side. When you brought you hands behind you to undo your bra, he brought a free hand to your waist, running his fingers over your skin while he continued to pleasure himself. The minute your bra came off and landed on the floor, he pushed his pants down to his knees and pulled you toward him. Finally, he took his hand off his memeber and guided you ontop of him as you straddle him. Before you could even adjust yourself, Chanyeol took your mouth into his, kissing you with feverish hunger. The passion spilled into your mouth as his tongue pushed passed your lips, lapping against you in desperation. He had on hand on your back and the other one you felt inbetween you.

He’s still touching himself while I’m sitting on him completely naked? You thought to yourself. But the thought was gone in an instant as you felt the tip of his cock brush against your entrance. You moaned into his mouth as he slipped the tip in, removing his hand and placing his behind your head. Without any more instruction, you let yourself sink down into him, taking his whole length inside you. The sudden invasion made you want to roll your head back but the moment you tried to pull away from his lips, his hand pushed you back, not letting your break free. He whined at your action, taking the hand on your back and placing it on your thigh. You didn’t move for a second it was almost like you couldn’t. You just wanted to feel him inside you, feel him devour you. But he wasn’t having it. You felt him smack your bottom lightly, gripping on your now reddened cheek. His hands started to move you, forcing you to grind against him. Never breaking the kiss, you started to roll your hips into him.

The both of you were panting in between kisses, your hips started to jerk more frantically as he tightened the grip on the back of your neck. Even when you were in the position for control, Chanyeol still carried all of it. He wouldn’t let you break from his lips, moaning and groaning every time your walls tightened around him. For a second, he pulled you away and brought your forehead down to his so that they touched.

“You know you are the sexiest woman I have ever met,” he moaned taking the hand behind your neck down to your waist. You just bit your lip and contiued to ride him.

“No, I didn’t know,” you managed to say breathlessly. “But did you know you are the sexiest man I have ever met?” Instead of grinding him, you started to bounce on him, knowing that this drove him crazy. He let out a loud moan as he gripped at your waist tighter.

“We both know that’s not true,” he snarled as he started to guided your body up his down his length. His face contorted as his dick started to throb inside you.

“Chanyeol,” you muttered as you felt his organ repeatedly collide with your spot. He looked into your eyes, his eye lids lowered in bliss as you continued to bounce on him.

“Say my name again,” he licked his lips before he dove in and kissed your chest.

“Mmm...Chanyeol.” Suddenly, you weren’t bouncing anymore. Instead, Chanyeol was moving your body for you, pushing you up and down him rapidly.

“Again,” he growled, loving the way your muscles constricted around him inside you.

“Ah...Chanyeol...you’re going to make me cum,” you pleaded as you moved unwillingly faster along his length. He threw his head back and groaned loudly, letting his climax take over him. You beat him to it though. The fire in your abdomen took over you as you started to drip cum down his cock and onto his thighs.

“That’s it baby. Mmmm just like that,” he shuddered as he started to twitch violently inside you. Instead of orgasming though, he stopped. But you had no time to register why because he shot up from his seat, pushing you down to the couch that was underneath him on your back. You laid there in shock and watched him face you, sliding in between your legs. He was able to only get one knee on the couch but it didn’t stop him, he grabbed you by your legs and threw them over his shoulders. Chanyeol leaned into you, pushing your knees down to your chest as he positioned himself at your entrance.

When he entered you, his face contorted again, his head dropping as a groan escaped your lips. Your arms shot up to his biceps that were on either side of your face. You thought his arms were shaking because he was using them to support himself up but when you felt the same shiver on the back of your knees that were hooked on his shoulder. It was you. You made him shiver. You made this grown man shudder. He couldn’t even thrust, just as you were frozen against him earlier. But it only lasted a second. He was close to coming, so his thrusts weren’t ones that could ease you into this new angle.

“FUCK!” you screamed as he pounded into you. He met your gaze as he continued to thrust violently.

“That’s not my name,” he grunted, as his paced quickened again thrashing into your spot once again. “What’s my name, princess?” He brought his lips down to your forehead as he watched your writhe underneath him. You looked up to him, exuding lust in your glace.

“Ch-Chanyeol,” you stuttered, feeling your walls tighten around him again unwillingly.

“What’s your soulmate’s name?” he husked, making sure every one of his thrusts pushed against your spot. You couldn’t hold back anymore and you knew he couldn’t either. You saw how his bottom lip quivered and how his pace became messy and frantic. Letting your orgasm take you over, you used the last bit of energy to call out his name again.

“Chanyeol!” The cum started to gush out of you with much more force than before. The rush is what ended chanyeol. He started to slow his pace as his body trembled against you.

“Fuck, (Y/N),” he panted as you felt his load shoot inside you. “(Y/N)...I...I love you so much. Ahhhh.” Chanyeol trembled violently as he pumped the last of his orgasm into you, plopping himself on the couch between your legs when he pulled out. You laid there spent, your legs still hung over his shoulder. Even though you two were both weak and trembling, Chanyeol managed to find some energy to lift his hand and smack the side of your bum.

“Hey,” he barked. “I said I love you…” You swung your legs off him, grabbing the robe he took off you and slipping it on. “(Y/N)!” He barked again. You slipped the robe on and immediately dove into him, kissing his cheeks repeatedly.

“I...Love...You…” you cooed in between kisses. He held you tightly as you assaulted him with affection. Giggling every so often when you made your way down to his jawline.

“One more time,” he whispered as you pulled away, sitting indian style in front of him.

“I love you,” you echoed. He just smiled and picked his pants up from the floor. As he started to get dressed, you watched him intently noting the smirk he carried on his face. “You’re all smiles, Yeollie. Did I do that?” you giggled as well, picking up your bra as you tried clasping it. He ran up behind you though, clasping it on for you so you wouldn’t struggle.

“You always do that. I’ll never stop smiling as long as you’re with me,” As Chanyeol said this, he peppered a couple of small kisses on your shoulder. When he pulled away, a chill ran up your spine causing you to shiver. “Here,” Chanyeol handed you your panties and dress. “I know it’s heated in here but it’s still kind of cold. I don’t want you to get sick.”

“I don’t want you to get sick either,” you pouted at him, taking your clothes in your hand as you approached him and started buttoning his shirt back on.

“Why are you so perfect?” he gushed at you as you finished the last button. Taking a step back, you pulled the dress over you, tugging on the hem to make sure it was at a perfect fit.

“Because,” you picked up your blazer and started to put it on, tugging at collar for the same reason you tugged at your dress. “You make me a better person.”

“Oh, I doubt that,” Chanyeol guffawed he eyed you up and down and bit his lip. “Hey, let’s sit down for a little bit longer.” He sat down on the couch you were sitting on before and patted on the seat next to him.

“Um...sure,” you uttered with a toothy smile, taking up the vacant space next to him. He turned to you as you sat, motioning for you to do the same. When you were facing each other, he took your hand into his and leaned his head against the couch.

“Do you really love me, honestly and truly?” Chanyeol’s voice was mellow, his eyes flickered with hesitation as he asked. It was a random question. One he hadn’t asked in a while. Still, you though to entertain his question, knowing damn well it was always going to be the same answer.

“With all my heart,” you took his hand into both of yours, running your fingers on the back of his hand. His face stayed solemn, lowering his gaze as his mouth became slanted.

“Just making sure,” his expression changed slightly as he became mesmerized in your eyes. The rest of the next hour the two of you sat there talking about his schedule for the next month and what you both were doing for the holidays. He sighed as he told you he had to perform on Christmas. Part of him was happy he was going to be with EXO-Ls but the other half wanted to be with his family. When he shifted to conversation to you, you shrugged it off and didn’t really make Christmas a big deal. His eyes widened at your statement, straightening his posture as if he was in shock. You just laughed it off. Changing the subject to his latest musical project.

After your lively conversation, Chanyeol and you took the elevator downstairs back to the restaurant. You ran off into the bathroom as he paid for the bill. When you two met up again, you waited in the lobby of the resturant as the valet came to the front with Chanyeol’s car. You thought it was cute how Chanyeol shooed the valet away from the passanger seat because he wanted to open the door for you himself. As you stepped in his car, you watched him run to the front like he did back at your place, giggling at his expense.

“Alright,” he sighed as he put his seat belt on. “Let’s get you home, babygirl.” You looked at him and smiled widely, admiring how he looked in the driver’s seat. For some reason, you saw a light flash in your face that blinded you for a second. Fuck. You looked around frantically, trying to spot the person, the camera, the fuckin source of it. “Baby are you okay?” he chuckled watching you spin your head around.

“Did you see that?” you asked suspiciously.

“See what?”

“The flash.”

“Like the superhero?”

“No, Chanyeol!” you hit his arm that was extended behind you as he reversed the car.

“Ow! What flash then?”

“It was like...from a camera.” Chanyeol tisked at you as he started to drive off.

“I think Ronnie is rubbing off on you. Paranoia is contagious you know?” You hit him again and he whinced at your assault. “Aigoooo. Don’t hit me!”

“I’m serious! I saw a flash back there. It could have been a reporter,” you were looking at him with worry glossed in your eyes. He just shrugged and smiled.

“I’ll make a statement,” he brought a hand up to his mouth as if he was holding a microphone. “The woman seen with me was the love of my life. The woman of my dreams. The whole world--”

“I’m about to hit you again.”

“You know,” he pointed at you and raised his eyebrows. “This is domestic violence. I can have you locked up for that.” You slumped back in your seat crossing your arms.

“I don’t know how I put up with you,” you shook your head and sighed at him while he cackled.

The rest of the car ride was just Chanyeol singing loudly to music, occasionally tickling you to see you smile. But you were still pondering over that flash. Was there a reporter there you couldn’t see? Was Chanyeol right? Maybe you are getting paranoid. That’s just great. Another problem to add to the list. Not being able to focus, you started recording Chanyeol secretly as he sang in English, trying to imitate The Weeknd’s voice in Die For You. He noticed you recording and started serenading to you, extending his arm out and taking your hand in his, pulling it close to him and pretending it was a microphone. He was such a big goof and it was something you needed in your life. You needed to laugh more, and Chanyeol always seemed to do that for you.

As the song ended, Chanyeol had already pulled up to you floor in the parking garage. He put his hands up, signaling for you to wait as he jumped out of the car. After he did his cute little run around, he opened the door and extended his hand out for you to assist you as you got out. You thanked him and commented on what a gentleman he was.

“Now let me walk you to you door.”

“Oh no, Chanyeol. You don’t have to do that,” you said nervously. He just put his arm around you and pulled you closer to him.

“Yes I do,” he scoffed. “What kind of guy doesn’t walk his date to the door?”

“The kind of guy that has places to be,” you leaned your head against him as he pushed the door into your hallway open.

“I rather be here with you than anywhere else to be honest,” he admitted as he kissed the top of your head. You smiled and looked up at him.

“You know what’s funny? I feel the same way about where I am right now,” you said breathlessly as the both of you stopped in front of your door. As you faced him, he smiled and ran the back of his hand on your cheek.

“Did you have a good time?” he asked sweetly. You nodded, that smile never fading. “Good baby. I’m glad.”

“Call me tomorrow?” You said hopefully as you put a hand on his chest.

“Only if you’ll kiss me.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” you purred as he closed the space between you. Chanyeol gave you a long lingering kiss. It was soft and sweet, almost resonating a form of innocence. It was something you weren’t used to recieving from him and it made your stomach bubble in joy.

“I love you,” he breathed into you as he pulled away. You wrapped your arms around him and took him into a quick embrace.

“I love you too. Talk to you soon,” you said as you started to open your door.

“Bye Beauty,” was the last thing he said as he turned around and walked away as you disappeared behind your door.

A dreamy sigh escaped your lips as you leaned on the door behind you. You sank down to the ground kicking your feet and squeeling in delight. You didn’t know why you were so happy but you just were. It was a real date. A real fucking date. Dinner and everything at a real restaruant. It was magical. Amazing. You had to tell someone. As you scrambled to your feet, you ran into Damon’s room and noticed it was empty. Then Maya’s….with the same outcome. Let me call them.

The phone rang a few times but then went to voicemail. You called again and still nothing. Where could they be? Then it dawned on you.

FUCK.

You felt a pain in your chest that radiated to your body. You just ditched your friends. I’m a fucking jerk. What were you going to say to them? Tears started to well up in your eyes. You didn’t know why you were so upset but maybe it had something to do with the fact that you hadn’t really spent time with them lately. Your vision blurred, you pressed on the screen again bringing the phone up to your ear. Please, Maya pick up pick up. Nothing.

The only option you had was to hope and pray they would forgive you the next morning. But lately you hadn’t been around and you knew deep down that they were slightly bothered by it. Maybe we can talk about it tomorrow. That seemed reasonable. You made your way into your room and sat on your bed, peeling your boots off. As you threw your boots across the room sloppily, you noticed your dress from this morning laying on the floor. A sigh. escaped your lips as you stared at it. It was like you were cursed. Because the imagine of Jin sleeping soundly that morning in the cabin played in your mind. I should call him...or maybe not. Even though you had a magical night with Chanyeol, you somehow seemed to fuck everything up for yourself by thinking about Jin. It was pathetic really. How much you cared for both of them. You took your phone out again, bringing it up to your ear as it rang momentarily.

“Hey jagi,” Jin yawned into your ear followed by a long groan as if he was stretching.

“Oh no, tesoro. Were you about to go to sleep?”

“Yea but we can talk for a bit,” you heard him shift under the covers through the other side of the phone. “How was your day?”

Amazing. Perfect. Then fucking miserable. As always.

“Oh it was fine. Took a few of my retired workers out to dinner and we just talked,” you lied, an unsettling feeling churned in your stomach. You hated lying to Jin. It made you sick.

“You still keep in touch with your retired workers?” he asked astonishly.

“Of course. I have to make sure they’re doing okay. It’s hard coming out of the lives they lived,” This part wasn’t a lie. You laid back in your bed as you listened to him respond.

“You know I always thought you were humble, because of the way you live. Yes, you live extravagantly but your company is worth billions! You could be in a mansion or on a yatch.” His statement made you smile a bit, knowing that what he was saying was very much true.

“Can I tell you a little secret?” you said lowly into the phone.

“Of course, jagiya. Anything.”

“My company may be worth billions but,” you bit your lip nervously, not being able to understand why you were confessing this to him. “Most of my money goes to my workers. Past, Present and Future.”

“What?” he asked unbelievably.

“Yea,” you confessed. “I know what you’re going to say. I’m crazy for spending billions of dollars on rehabilitating hookers that no one is ever going to look for...but I prayed so long for a new life. I want to give it to those who need it. There’s still so many girls and guys out there, getting sold for a few dollars so they can become slaves...I can’t live with myself knowing that I can do something about it but won’t…”

“(Y/N)...”

“Yea?”

“The world needs more people like you.”

You wanted to bust out cackling at his statement. More people like you? Hookers with billions of dollars. That doesn’t seem like a reasonable society to you.

“That’s the last thing this world needs,” you scoffed.

“No, jagi. I’m serious. You are such a blessing. I’m so lucky to know you. I had no idea you did all of that,” his tone was soft and endearing. You weren’t sure if it was because he was tired or because he actually felt touched by what you told him. It was probably a mixture of both.

“Thank you, Jin,” you said with gratitude, twirling your hair as you spoke. “You know I feel the same way about you.”

“Me?” He said taken aback. “I’m just a singer though. You’re out here actually saving lives.”

“Yes but so are you!” you started to kick your foot against the bed, getting comfortable at the sound of Jin’s voice. “Through your music. Your love for Army. For your country. For human life. You’re changing the world.”

“The world?” he said dotingly. He cleared his throat and changed the tone of his voice to a more serious one. “I mean, you know...I am wor--”

“Worldwide Handsome, yes baby I know.”

“I’m sorry but who was speaking, (Y/N)?” he asked into the phone quickly. You smiled at his snarky remark that was about to come up.

“You were,” you said giggling as you humored him.

“Okay I’m glad you know. Don’t interrupt me while I speak.”

“Oh meow. I like them feisty, Seokjinnie,” you teased at him, knowing he was being a sarcastic little asshole.

“I’m sorry jagi. I’m just cranky because I’m tired,” he said apologetically. That’s how you really knew he was exhausted. Jin never apologized for his dry humor.

“Aw well okay,” you said with defeat. “Get some rest then, babe.”

“It was nice talking to you tonight, (Y/N). Please call me more often like this,” you let out a nice of approval as you heard him chuckle into the reciever of his cell. “Goodnight jagi. I love you.”

“Goodnight, my prince. May you sleep with the angels,” you replied dramatically, hoping he would laugh. Instead his response shocked you.

“Ah, see unfortunately I can’t do that tonight.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re not sleeping next to me,” you melted into your mattress at his words. He really always knew what the right thing to say was. You bit your lip and kept twirling your hair.

“Talk to you soon, baby.”

“Goodnight, jagiya.”

A/N ;; Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts and I have a secrettttt! AND ITS HUGE. But I think I’ll tell you next chapter. ;)

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dfroza · 3 years

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grace doesn’t give us what we deserve.

grace is the purest gift from our Creator that offers His Life and eternal Breath when we “believe…” in the heart in the True illumination of the Son and speak it from a body of earth. for just as God created the universe by speaking living words, we hold the power of rebirth of the heart (by the Spirit) in our words of faith spoken through grace. and this is our eternal hope of seeing all things reborn at some point.

Paul illuminates this in his writing with Today’s reading of the Scriptures of the New Testament Letter of Romans in the way those who share God’s message become His living “Voice” on earth:

My beloved brothers and sisters, the passionate desire of my heart and constant prayer to God is for my fellow Israelites to experience salvation. For I know that although they are deeply devoted to God, they are unenlightened. And since they’ve ignored the righteousness God gives, wanting instead to be acceptable to God because of their own works, they’ve refused to submit to God’s faith-righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law. And because of him, God has transferred his perfect righteousness to all who believe.

Moses wrote long ago about the need to obey every part of the law in order to be declared right with God:

“The one who obeys these things must always live by them.”

But we receive the faith-righteousness that speaks an entirely different message:

“Don’t for a moment think you need to climb into the heavens to find the Messiah and bring him down, or to descend into the underworld to bring him up from the dead.”

But the faith-righteousness we receive speaks to us in these words of Moses:

“God’s living message is very close to you, as close as your own heart beating in your chest and as near as the tongue in your mouth.”

And what is God’s “living message”? It is the revelation of faith for salvation, which is the message that we preach. For if you publicly declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will experience salvation. The heart that believes in him receives the gift of the righteousness of God—and then the mouth confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scriptures encourage us with these words:

“Everyone who believes in him will never be disappointed.”

So then faith eliminates the distinction between Jew and non-Jew, for he is the same Lord for all people. And he has enough treasures to lavish generously upon all who call on him. And it’s true:

“Everyone who calls on the Lord’s name

will experience new life.”

But how can people call on him for help if they’ve not yet believed? And how can they believe in one they’ve not yet heard of? And how can they hear the message of life if there is no one there to proclaim it? And how can the message be proclaimed if messengers have yet to be sent? That’s why the Scriptures say:

How welcome is the arrival

of those proclaiming the joyful news of peace

and of good things to come!

But not everyone welcomes the good news, as Isaiah said:

Lord, is there anyone who hears

and believes our message?

Faith, then, is birthed in a heart that responds to God’s anointed utterance of the Anointed One.

Can it be that Israel hasn’t heard the message? No, they have heard it, for:

The voice has been heard throughout the world,

and its message has gone to the ends of the earth!

So again I ask, didn’t Israel already understand that God’s message was for others as well as for themselves? Yes, they certainly did understand, for Moses was the first to state it:

“I will make you jealous of a people who are ‘nobodies.’

And I will use people with no understanding

to provoke you to anger.”

And Isaiah the fearless prophet dared to declare:

“Those who found me weren’t even seeking me.

I manifested myself before those

who weren’t even asking to know me!”

Yet regarding Israel Isaiah says:

“With love I have held out my hands day after day,

offering myself to this unbelieving

and stubborn people!”

The Letter of Romans, Chapter 10 (The Passion Translation)

and the closing line of chapter 10 in The Message:

Day after day after day,

I beckoned Israel with open arms,

And got nothing for my trouble

but cold shoulders and icy stares.

(verse 21)

to be reiterated by these lines of great significance from The Voice:

“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the good news we have been called to preach to you). So if you believe deep in your heart that God raised Jesus from the pit of death and if you voice your allegiance by confessing the truth that “Jesus is Lord,” then you will be saved! Belief begins in the heart and leads to a life that’s right with God; confession departs from our lips and brings eternal salvation.

The Letter of Romans, Chapter 10:8-10 (The Voice)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 29th chapter of the book (scroll) of Isaiah that looks at humbling pride and a restoration that occurs as well through this to establish Justice:

O Ariel, woe to you Ariel, our Jerusalem,

where David set up his camp to stay.

Go ahead, go on with your fruitless festivals,

your calendar of events, year in and year out.

In the meantime, I will trouble Ariel to the point of mourning and crying.

She will be for me a fiery hearth.

I will surround you, enclose you, cut you off.

I will isolate you from aid or reprieve;

I will attack the city walls with towers and siege works.

That will humble you so low, you’ll speak from the earth itself.

And when you do, your voice will issue from the very dust where you lie;

Your voice will rise from the ground like the voice of a ghost,

like a soft whisper from the earth.

But in an instant your ruthless enemies, who seem too many to count,

will become as fluttering dust, as wind-driven chaff.

They will be blown away in the snap of a finger.

For the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, will visit you

with thunder and earthquake and great noise,

With raging wind and tempest and consuming fire.

And all those armies intent on destroying Ariel,

that great international coalition of Jerusalem’s enemies

Battering against the city of God, will disappear.

They’ll evaporate like a night’s dream in the light of day.

As when a starving person dreams of eating at a banquet and wakes hungry,

or a thirsty person drinking his fill in sleepy night visions

Finds himself still parched when the morning comes,

that’s how it will be for the horde attacking Mount Zion, His chosen place.

But it will take some time. Wait and wonder.

In the meantime, make yourselves unable to see or understand.

Make yourselves drunk and unsteady,

but not from wine or liquor.

For the Eternal One has poured you a cup of sleep—

deep, heavy sleep.

O prophets and seers, He has closed your eyes and covered your heads.

Everything God is disclosing to you will be like the words recorded in a book that is sealed. When it is given to one who is literate, he can’t read it because it is sealed. When it is given to one who is illiterate, he can’t read it because he doesn’t know how.

Eternal One: These people think they can draw near to Me by saying the right things,

by honoring Me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from Me.

Their worship of Me consists of man-made traditions learned by rote;

it is a meaningless sham.

Therefore, I will do something extraordinary with this people.

I will add wonder to wonders—

Shut down the wisdom of their wise

and hide what the discerning have figured out.

Oh, it’ll be bad for those of you who conceal your thoughts from the Eternal,

who do your deeds in the dark and say:

“Who sees us? Who knows what we are doing?”

My goodness, how you’ve turned things around!

You seem to think that the potter is equal to the clay;

Should the pot say about the potter, “He didn’t make me”?

Or does the thing formed say about the one who formed it,

“He doesn’t understand anything”?

Surely you know that in just a little while

the forests that clothe Lebanon will become rich fields

And the fields will be considered as valuable as the forests.

Then the deaf will hear the words read from a book,

and darkness and gloom will fall from the eyes of the blind.

A renewed sense of joy will come over the humble, thanks to the Eternal;

and joyous celebrations will break out among the poor, because of the Holy One of Israel.

For cruelty and mean-spiritedness will come to an end,

and those who laugh dismissively will be silenced.

All those who are determined to do evil will be cut down.

Those who level a false charge against an innocent person,

who twist an honest testimony and tell lies

in order to incriminate the innocent, will be stopped.

So the Eternal One, who rescued Abraham, says concerning Jacob:

Eternal One: The people of Jacob’s line will no longer be ashamed,

nor will they grow pale with embarrassment.

For when they lay eyes on their children, the work of My hands,

they will protect My name and keep it holy.

They will recognize that I am sacred, the Holy One of Jacob,

and stand in awe of Me, the God of Israel.

Whoever thought otherwise and wandered off will know the truth,

and whoever said otherwise and voiced criticism will quietly learn.

The Book (Scroll) of Isaiah, Chapter 29 (The Voice)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for Wednesday, july 7 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons about “crossing over”:

Our father Abraham is called ha-ivri (הָעִבְרִי) - “the Hebrew,” a term that means “one who has crossed over” (עָבַר) from another place. Rashi identified this “other place” as Ur of the Chaldees (אוּר כַּשְׂדִים), located east of the Euphrates River, though the midrash (Genesis Rabbah) symbolically identifies it as the realm of idolatry: “The whole world stood on one side, but Abram crossed over to the other.” Abram separated himself from a world steeped in idolatry and polytheism by worshiping the One LORD God who is the sole Creator of all things.... Understood in this way, being “Hebrew” means being an “other,” a “stranger,” or an “outsider” to idolatrous and worldly culture. Therefore all those who "cross over" from the realm of death to life because of Yeshua are rightly called “Hebrews” (John 5:24).

The term "Jew," on the other hand, refers to one who praises the LORD (יְהוּדָה). The word (יְהוּדִי) comes from a root (יָדָה) which means to “confess” or to “praise” God (Gen. 29:35). The Apostle Paul alluded to this by saying that one whose heart has been circumcised by the Spirit is "one who is praised by God -- not by men" (Rom. 2:29). Being a Jew therefore means you are “chosen” to receive blessings and grace to live in holiness for the glory of God and for the healing of the world. The performance of various mitzvot are for the greater purpose of tikkun olam, the “repair of the world,” in order to reveal God’s goodness and love (Eph. 2:8-10). Doing so makes someone a Jew, since his praise comes not from man, but from the LORD. God is the source and the power of what makes a true tzaddik (righteous person). After all, Israel was meant to be a “light to the nations” (Isa. 42:6; 60:3), and God had always planned for all the families of the earth to come to know Him and give Him glory through his chosen servant Abraham (see Gen. 12:3; 22:18). “Jewishness” is therefore not an end in itself but rather a means to bring healing to the nations... Indeed, the entire redemptive story of the Scriptures centers on the cosmic conflict to deliver humanity from the “curse” by means of the "Seed of the woman" who would come. The gospel is Jewish because it concerns God’s great redemptive plan for the whole world (John 3:16; 4:22). [Hebrew for Christians]

7.6.21 • Facebook

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

July 7, 2021

The Eternal God

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” (Psalm 90:2)

This verse was written by Moses as the children of Israel prepared to enter the Promised Land. Perhaps the most basic of all the attributes of God is that He “inhabiteth eternity” (Isaiah 57:15). He is “from everlasting to everlasting,” the God who ever was and ever shall be.

Creatures of time cannot really comprehend the idea of past eternity. “But who made God?” children ask. “Nobody made God,” we answer. “He always was.” The alternative would be to believe in the eternity of “space” and “matter,” but these in themselves are utterly incapable of producing our complex universe. God, however, is an adequate First Cause to explain all the effects of our infinite, intricate cosmos.

There are many other Scriptures assuring us that God has always been. “Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting” (Psalm 93:2). He is “the everlasting God, the LORD” (Isaiah 40:28). And this truth applies to God the Son as well as to God the Father. The Lord Jesus could say, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Revelation 22:13).

We find it somewhat easier to contemplate the fact that God will live forever. Still, certain foolish men have imagined that God is dead, but “the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king” (Jeremiah 10:10).

The most glorious fact of all is that this living God did also become man, in the person of Christ Jesus, and He did die. But He soon defeated death and now can say, “I am alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:18). And now, since “we believe that Jesus died and rose again,...so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:14, 17). HMM

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jaemtens · 6 years

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Blackmail

stray kids | changlix | canon-compliant | 1.8k | ao3

“I can’t, Minho,” Felix complained, massaging his temples. Just imagining the consequences of doing what they were asking was too much – there was no way.

“Felix, a deal’s a deal,” Woojin interjected for Minho. Woojin was splayed out on his bed – completely and totally engrossed by his Nintendo DS, going through spats of complete calm before furiously smashing buttons on the device. The eldest’s bedhead was awful, hair splayed out all over the place because of his complete and utter refusal to be productive today.

“I really can’t,” Felix protested again. His eyes frantically darted between Minho and Woojin, searching for even any sign of weakness. “I can’t,” he repeated. His worried expression only intensified as Minho and Woojin remained unmoved. Minho pursed his lips while Woojin kept playing his DS.

This time Minho spoke up: “Look, you have two options here, Felix.” Minho uncrossed his legs, letting them drape off the end of his bed. Woojin seemed to pause his game, looking over at Minho to hear what was coming next. Felix could feel his heart skipping a beat – was he going to get an out here?

“You can either hold up your end of the bet,” Minho started, “Or we can post this video on YouTube for the entire world to see.”

Minho tapped a few buttons on his phone before flipping it around to show Felix and Woojin. As the muted video started to play, Felix instantly recognized it. Running a hand through his bleach-blonde hair, he started to run through the consequences of everyone in the world seeing this video. Felix’s worried feeling morphed into a deep, stomach-sinking feeling of complete horrification. “You wouldn’t,” he denied, his incredulous voice raising an octave.

Minho shook his head. “It’s your choice.”

“Look, Felix,” Woojin calmly added, gently tossing his DS aside, “you know that we can and will.”

Minho nodded. “You’ve gotta steal it by the end of the day or your tough-boy persona is over. The entire world will know your softie. So you've gotta steal it. Understood?”

“B-but—”

“—Understood?”

Felix looked down, the color flushing from his face. “Y-yeah,” he acquiesced.

Minho and Woojin smiled. “Good boy, you’ve got til midnight.”

“No freaking way, dude,” Seungmin waved off dismissively. “You’re on your own for your suicide mission.”

“Seungmin, please,” Felix pleaded in English. He collapsed on his own bed, grabbing the nearest plush to him and hugging it tightly across his chest. Seungmin was the only one he could trust to help him, and he absolutely needed Seungmin’s help – there was no way he could infiltrate Changbin and Chan’s room to steal what he needed to steal without a good distraction. Seungmin was the king of distractions and his roommate. He had no other options.

Felix watched as Seungmin sat up, crossed his legs and faced him head-on. “Look, Felix, I don’t know what you got yourself into here,” Seungmin started, his deadly serious voice highlighting the gravity of the problem. “But me? Helping you sneak into Chan’s room? Dude, after he’s done beating the crap outta you, he’s gonna beat the crap out of me.”

A short awkward silence played out between the two of them, Felix again looking for any sort of weakness in one of his bandmates. He found none.

“And my face is my main money-maker, Felix,” Seungmin added.

“I wouldn’t be asking you if I had any other options,” Felix mumbled before shoving his face into his plush. “WoojinandMinhohaveanincriminatingvideoofme.”

“What?”

He looked up at Seungmin: “Woojin and Minho have an incriminating video of me.”

The other boy laughed. “So they took a video of you doing literally anything?”

“This isn’t funny!” Felix whisper-shouted at his friend, who was just cracking up even more now at his own joke. Felix bit his lip, trying not to imagine the entire band taunting him about the video.

“No deal, dude, I wanna see this video myself.”

This was hopeless. Felix was really hoping he didn’t have to offer this. He knew he might have to, but he really didn’t want to. But, honestly? Anything was worth it to not have Minho and Woojin post that video.

“I’ll do your chore for one week,” Felix whispered.

Seungmin perked up. “Did I just hear you say one week?”

Felix nodded.

“You’ll get up early for one week to cook breakfast?”

“Yeah.”

“And I all I have to do is get Chan and Changbin out of their room?”

“For five minutes,” Felix added, adjusting a tuft of blonde hair that fell on his face.

“Deal.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I hate getting up early, dude,” Seungmin replied. “When do you want this to happen?”

“As—As soon as possible,” Felix stammered.

“Gotcha,” Seungmin affirmed. He stood up, and he started making his way toward the door. “CHAN, CHANGBIN, I NEED SOME HELP KICKING YOUR BUTTS AT CALL OF DUTY.”

Within seconds, Felix heard screeching from both Chan and Changbin about how they were going destroy Seungmin. His roommate looked back at him, winked, and mouthed Twenty minutes to him. Felix exhaled all the pent-up stress that he had accumulated in the past hour. He waited a few minutes until he heard Chan, Changbin, and Seungmin make their way to the front room. It was that easy? He should’ve offered two days.

Once he heard the echoes of Call of Duty blaring through the dorm, he got up and peeked down the hallway: no one in sight. He made his move, swiftly getting inside Chan and Changbin’s room. He looked around Changbin’s side of the room, finding Gyu – Changbin’s prized Munchlax plush – thrown aside on one corner of Changbin’s bed. Yes, Gyu was what he had to steal -- Changbin wouldn't sleep without Gyu. Gyu was his only plush, and his most important belonging. Felix still heard Call of Duty in the background, so he decided to make his move. He grabbed Gyu, sprinted back to his room, and nestled Gyu among his collection of plushies on his own bed.

Felix grabbed his phone from the charger and took a picture of Gyu hidden on his bed. He sent it to both Minho and Woojin: It’s done.

Minho replied a few seconds later: Gotta make it til midnight!

Felix stood there and thought for a moment.

I will, he typed back.

Felix checked his phone: 12:01am. He made it. A wave of relief flooded over him, slumping back onto the wall his bed was pushed against. Now he was just gonna have to plant Gyu somewhere else in the dorm soon. No one would ever know it was him.

“Felix!”

Oh god. Felix felt all of the hairs on his neck stand up – he could recognize Changbin’s voice anywhere. Especially in his current hyper-aware state of holding Changbin’s most prized possession. He had to think on his feet; he had to hide Gyu. Gyu was small, but not super small. He only had one thought: he had to sit on Gyu. Moving quickly, he shoved Gyu under his lap through the gap between his legs. Felix could feel the spring from Gyu’s fluff pushing his butt up a little. It was going to have to do.

“Felix, have you seen –”

“—One sec, Changbin!” he nervously shouted. He tried to shove Gyu’s body and ears under his butt, full panic setting in. He knew Changbin was just outside his room, and he just hoped to God he didn’t get caught.

“Felix, you really have to see this,” he repeated, barging into Felix’s room. Felix knew he looked uncomfortable, but Changbin was so engrossed with his phone that he thought he might have a chance. It was a bit of a relief. Changbin sat right next to him, holding his phone so that both of them could see it. Felix could see that it was a video, and Changbin pressed play. Just then, Felix felt his heart stop.

It was YouTube. It was their YouTube channel. And the video that was playing – it was the video that Minho and Woojin had agreed not to post. He recognized the voices: Minho and Woojin's voices were piping up, taunting Felix. They were taunting him about the two dozen plushies spread around his sleeping body and the two more that were wrapped in his arms. He saw himself wake up and try to sleepily swat the phone and the other members away. All the feeling rushed from his face as Changbin just let the video play until its end. The sound of the video started to get muffled as he just zoned out, his mind racing with all the embarrassment of this video getting posted.

The video abruptly ended, and Changbin started scrolling down to the comments section.

“’Felix is so cute, oh my god,’” Changbin parroted, trying to mimic one of their fans. “’He has more plushies than I do.’”

“Stop it!” Felix protested, trying to stop the torture. He shifted in his seat, feeling the fluff of Gyu move underneath him.

Changbin started looking around on Felix’s bed, looking for the plush that Felix had been holding in the video. He scooted closer to Felix, and Felix could feel his soul leave his body as Changbin came deadly close to where Gyu was hidden. He could sense the moment when Changbin realized something was below them; Changbin made a face, then looked down.

“What’s that, Felix?”

“N-nothing.”

Changbin scooted back and started pulling on the dark-colored plush. Felix tried to stop Changbin, but Gyu was pulled from right underneath him.

“You stole Gyu!” Changbin shouted. “And you sat on him!?”

Felix moved away from Changbin, fear starting to overwhelm him. “It’s—It’s not what it looks like—”

“You’re dead meat, Felix!”

Felix shot up, and ran for the door.

“Get back here, Felix!”

#stray kids #stray kids fic #changlix #felix #changbin #changlix fic #my writing

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justsomebucky · 7 years

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Cinderella (Part 1)

Summary: AU. After the tragic passing of reader’s father, reader is left with a cruel stepmother and two miserable step-sisters, who not only don’t care about her, but they use her for their own gain. Will a handsome stranger offer her the freedom she longs for?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x fem!reader

Word Count: 2,416

Warnings: mentions of death, angst, sadness, mentions of crime, mentions of murder

A/N: This is a RE-POST of my entry for the @stories-from-stark-tower ‘s AU movie challenge. It’s based off of the 2015 Disney adaptation of Cinderella, only with a bit of my own spin on it.

“Once upon a time, there was a girl called Y/N,” your mother began, her hands stroking your hair gently.

The two of you were sitting on a blanket in the meadow behind the house that your family had owned for generations.

“But that’s my name, Mommy!” You made a face at her. There was no way you and the little girl in the story had the same name.

“It’s her name, too, sweetness, I promise you. As I was saying…once upon a time, there was a girl called Y/N, and she saw the world not always as it was, but as perhaps it could be...with just a little bit of magic.”

“Magic isn’t real, Mommy.”

“It is too, silly girl,” she leaned over to nuzzle you, and you giggled. “You’ll see, Y/N. Someday you’ll need a bit of magic, and if you keep believing, it will be there for your taking!”

“It will?”

“Yes, love, as long as you remember one thing.”

“Remember what, Mommy?”

“You must always have courage and be kind. Can you remember that my darling?”

“Have courage, and be kind,” you repeated carefully.

“Yes, love, that’s it.” She gave you a nod.

“What happened next, in the story?” a familiar voice asked.

You both looked up as your father walked over. He sat down on the blanket beside you and pulled you into his lap, giving you a big hug. “I want to hear more about beautiful Princess Y/N.”

Your mother gave him a warm smile. “I suppose I should continue, shouldn’t I?”

“Yes!” you squealed happily, leaning back against your father as she resumed her story about the little girl who shared your name.

You awoke suddenly, sitting straight up with a gasp.

It had been so long since you’d dreamt of your mother and father.

Your hands brushed away the tears on your cheeks as you glanced at the clock on the nightstand beside you. It was three in the morning again. You had developed a habit of waking up before you were needed.

Might as well stay up, you thought to yourself. Your step-family would be ringing for you soon, anyways.

The very thought of them made you cringe.

You were only ten years old when your mother fell ill and passed away. You’d thought the pain would never end. The loss of a parent at a young age is not something you get over quickly.

Time passed, though, and pain turned to memory.

Your father had looked after you as best he could, but he’d been so lonely, and you were never one to deny him his happiness. He’d found another partner, someone to call his wife, someone to be your stepmother.

She was an angry, cold woman with two daughters of her own, Drisella and Anastasia. Your stepmother had apparently known grief herself; she’d told your father that her first husband, a successful businessman, had died of a heart attack.

It wasn’t until your own father had passed on that you learned the truth.

She’d killed him herself.

Stepmother had wanted to take over her husband’s business, which as it turns out, wasn’t a coffee business at all. He hadn’t been making trips overseas to sell Columbia’s finest; no, he’d been a professional thief.

He was often hired by very wealthy people to steal very specific items for their collections. Sometimes it was famous artwork, sometimes it was an antique or two, but most of the time, it was jewelry. Gold could be melted, gems could be refitted…yes, the black market for heirloom jewels was booming for him.

She told you all about it the day she threatened to kill you (if you didn’t do what she wanted).

Her method of choice had been poison. It was a refined woman’s weapon, she’d told you. One moment, her husband was alive and well, sitting down to dinner with his family. The next moment, he was choking on his food, turning all shades of blue and purple, until he was gone.

No one seemed to care. There was no investigation, no arrests made in the case.

The royal guards were thrilled when they heard he’d kicked the bucket. They’d been after him for years and years to no avail.

What they never anticipated, though, was his wife picking up where he left off.

Not that anyone suspected her. No, never her, with her fancy outfits and ladylike mannerisms. She would never be that way, they said. She was the real victim here, they said.

The moment she recounted her story to you, it struck you that she’d probably killed your father, too. He must have known too much, must have seen something incriminating.

She’d simply needed him for a new name and a cover story.

And now she needed you to clean up after her and her two daughters.

Every time they had a new job, they’d take up the entire dining room table. Blueprints of buildings and timelines and everything they needed, including weapons and tactical gear, were always laid out as they checked things off their lists.

It always started the same:

Know your mark.

Prepare a plan.

Execute the plan.

Clean up.

That last one was always your job. They’d even nicknamed you Cinderella just to piss you off, after you’d come back from a job covered in soot from a fireplace.

You had no experience with an actual heist, but you were skilled at removing any evidence. If you slipped up, one of them would kill you. If you refused to comply, you were dead.

There was no way out.

The one time you’d tried to run away, you’d tripped their security system (that they purposefully didn’t tell you about), and they’d dragged you back, locking you in the attic. That’s where you’d been living ever since, alone with your thoughts and misery.

You leaned back against the cold wall that served as the headboard to your bed, your breathing finally evening out.

Clean up…what a joke. Getting rid of fingerprints, evidence, sometimes even blood…you weren’t meant for this life. You longed for the days where magic was still in the air, and your parents were protecting you.

There was no magic in this world, not any longer. It was a bleak existence, indeed.

You heard your phone’s alarm go off at half past three.

“Time to start another day,” you muttered, slowly throwing off your threadbare covers and stretching your arms and legs. You grabbed your change of clothing and made your way to the guest bath downstairs.

“You’re late, Y/N,” your stepmother snapped. She was leaning over photographs that must have been from Drisella’s reconnaissance mission, tapping her finger urgently. “We have a new mark.”

“Useless Cinderella,” Anastasia added with an exaggerated eye roll. “You had better not slip up! We need this job.”

“I won’t,” you told her calmly. It was mornings like this that made you keep your mother’s words in your head; have courage and be kind. Even if they don’t deserve it in this case, you were still inclined to listen. “What’s the mark?”

“There’s a home not far from the hunting grounds, the one made of brick with the little blue shutters,” your stepmother began, shuffling some of the pictures around. “This one.”

You peered over, recognizing it immediately. “I’ve seen it before. What do they have?”

She looked up at you with her icy glare. “Our client is in desperate want of a very precious, very rare coin that the owner of this house keeps locked away.”

“Won’t that draw suspicion when the client takes it to the buyer?” you asked.

Didn’t people ever learn? You always get caught trying to resell the rare items.

Stepmother waved a hand at you. “That is none of our concern. We are simply going to retrieve and…reallocate the item.”

“Fine,” you said impatiently, biting your lip to stop from being snarky. Be kind, you reminded yourself. “Who is going in first?”

“Anastasia is. You will be her secondary.”

Your eyes widened. “I’ve never – I’m not ready for that. I just do cleanup!”

“You’re her secondary, Y/N. Do not make me repeat myself for a third time.”

You looked down at the pictures, your stomach churning. “Yes, Stepmother.”

“Good.” She righted herself and motioned for you to follow her. “Anastasia is waiting. The two of you will go on foot.”

“Won’t our tracks be fresh, then?”

“That’s your job to worry about, not mine.”

Your eyes met Anastasia’s as you walked into the foyer behind your stepmother.

“You ready, Cinderella?” she asked with an evil grin. “If you screw this up, Mother says I get to kill you myself.”

You ignored her and looked down at the gear you had to put on.

Your main pieces tonight were night vision glasses that were way too worn out for the sort of precision you needed, a harness with a grappling hook in case you needed to scale the side of the house for a quick exit, and of course, your earpiece for communication with your nutjob stepsister.

You snapped your gloves on and pulled your hat further down over your ears. With a nod, Anastasia pushed the front door open, and you followed close behind.

Have courage, you chanted in your head, over and over again. The kindness part wasn’t applicable this time, because it wasn’t kind to steal. It made you feel dirty and unkind...it made your heart ache.

So instead of focusing on that, you just kept up your mantra. Have courage…have courage…have courage…

“Y/N, you had better move a little faster,” Anastasia hissed.

She secured the coin from a downstairs den, where it had been nestled in a fire-proof safe. You replaced the real coin with a fake, and with your black light you retraced your footsteps, wiping the room for any prints or hair or anything that might give you up.

“Come on!”

You shoved the light into your pack and slid out the window, closing it behind you as quietly as possible. Since the house was only two stories, you were able to climb down a bit further before you could jump to the ground. You landed as nimbly as a cat, immediately bolting for the cover of the trees.

“Out of sight,” you whispered to Anastasia via your earpiece. That was the code phrase to let her know you were done.

“Out of mind,” she replied coolly. You knew she didn’t care if you made it back okay. She had the coin secured in her backpack. She was probably halfway home by now.

You knelt down near a large oak tree, shoving your earpiece and the rest of your gear into your bag. The hat and gloves followed, since it wasn’t a cold night by any means and you didn’t want to raise anymore suspicion than you already would if someone found you.

When you stood back up, you turned around to head back home, and nearly ran into someone.

Good timing, you thought to yourself, trying to hide your nervousness.

“Excuse me, Miss,” a deep voice apologized. You squinted and made out the figure of a man in front of you. “I’m sorry for frightening you. But I have to ask, what are you doing in the woods before dawn?”

You stared at him, heat rising in your cheeks. “I’m very sorry for nearly running into you, Sir. I’m out for a walk to clear my head. I’ve had a nightmare, and couldn’t fall back to sleep.”

His beautiful blue-grey eyes glinted with sympathy as he came a little closer, errant beams of moonlight shining on his features. “Ah, we’re out here for the same reasons then.” He motioned for you to walk, and quickly fell into step beside you. “What do they call you?”

“Never mind what they call me,” you replied softly, looking away from him. He was almost too beautiful to be real.

Each step you took was hesitant, because you knew you had to get back. You weren’t quite ready for farewell, though. There was something about him…

“You shouldn’t be this deep in the woods alone, especially at this late hour.”

“I’m not alone, I’m with you,Mister -?” You realized that you hadn’t caught his name, either. “What do they call you?”

The stranger chuckled. “You don’t know who I am? That is, they call me Bucky. Well, my father does, when he’s in a good mood.”

“And where do you live, Bucky?” You gave him a side-glance, knowing that if Anastasia saw you right now, she’d definitely squeal to her mother. You hoped she was home already.

“At the palace. I, um, I’m taking after my father, I guess you could say.”

Your eyes widened. “Oh, are you both in the King’s guard? That’s amazing.”

Bucky gave you a genuine smile. “Something like that.”

“Do they treat you well?” you asked, your voice uncertain. “That’s not why you have nightmares, right?”

“I’m treated well, better than I deserve, most likely. My nightmares are somewhat related, but not entirely.”

You knew he didn’t want to speak about them any longer, so you stopped your line of questioning.

“Are you treated well?” he asked gently.

You wanted to scoff, to tell him no, to beg him to bring his fellow guards and save you from your nightmares, but your mother’s mantra echoed in your head again. “They treat me as well as they’re able.”

“I’m sorry.” His brows furrowed in concern. “I highly doubt you deserve that.”

“I just try to have courage and be kind,” you told him, attempting to smile.

He was about to reply when a tall man dressed as a King’s guard stepped in front of you both.

“There you are, Pri-“

“Bucky!” he called out loudly. “Yes, here I am! Give me a minute, I’m right behind you.”

“Oh, no,” you said with a small smirk. “Looks like your fellow guard has discovered you at this early hour.”

He turned back to you with his own sheepish grin. “I’m afraid so.” Bucky took a step backwards, away from you. “I hope to see you again, Miss.”

“And I, you.” You gave him a nod and a wave, and then turned to walk the edge of the woods, back towards your home. You checked your watch, groaning to yourself when you realized how long you’d taken with Bucky.

If you weren’t home in five minutes or less, there would be hell to pay.

Part 2

no tags because it’s a re-post from December 5th, 2016. I am moving it from another blog. It was probably the second thing I ever wrote for this fandom so please forgive me in advance.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes drabble #bucky barnes cinderella au #jsd cinderella

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