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morvantmortuary · 1 year

Note

No pressure to answer this ask, but—if you didn't know—I got the news today that I have some precancerous skin cells that need to be evicted/excised in about a week. I'm fine, but I'm a little overwhelmed? Processing? Disassociating? I would love some Morvant comfort, if you don't mind. Maybe, how they would react and/or help if their S/O got a similar diagnosis? (Also, I hope you're having a great day <3)

I'm sorry this has taken me so long, bud, but I've been thinking about it since you sent it in!! I had somehow missed that post, and I'm sorry it's something you have to deal with right now. I'm sure it'll all go super smoothly, and then it'll be something you don't have to worry about any more, okay? 🖤 I'm flattered you thought of the Morvants to help you feel more at ease, babe :) They all have their ways, as you'll see under the cut!

Maxi would be doing his best not to hover, ngl. The day you found out, he would have insisted on going with you to the appointment, if you were comfortable with that. If you didn't want him to go in with you, he'd be content to hang in the waiting room (making cheerful conversation with whoever was there, despite the fact that whoever was on the other end of that would have the faintest feeling of something being... off. it's all the Death!). Or if you wanted him to go in with you, he'd be happy to make small talk with your doctor, anatomy guy to anatomy person, as he does, until you got the news.

Once you'd heard you needed the procedure, he'd be sitting on his hands not to ask a million questions, so as not to overwhelm you. He'd drive you to wherever you wanted to go after: your place, the House, somewhere to grab a bite, a park to just sit and get some air for a bit. He'd maybe tilt his hand a little bit by sitting closer to you than usual, be a bit more reluctant to let go of your hand, but he'd be his usual chipper self nonetheless. He'd only reluctantly go handle clients, living or deceased, as needed, but he'd insist he'd have his phone on him the whole time if you needed him to come back. (And he'd jump whenever he thought he heard it make a noise, too - imagine him sitting with a grieving couple burying someone's mom, and then from his pocket comes a loud chorus of the little laser noises baby alligators make. Very confusing for all involved.)

The minute you were busy - playing a game, watching a show, having a nap - he'd be googling the procedure and everything that goes into aftercare, researching statistics, all the stuff a worrywart would do. Partially so he can get himself to calm down and stop mentally catastrophizing, as he also does, but mostly so he can find some way to be reassuring if you wanted to talk about it. When you brought it up, he'd be all smiles. "It's super common, darlin'," he'd soothe, acting like he definitely knew that the whole time and hadn't been up reading everything he could find online at three am. "Bodies just do that, sometimes, it's like they trip over their own mechanisms and glitch. Livin' things have a habit of gettin' confused. But it'll be fine, you'll see - they'll take care of it, and it'll just be a one-and-done kinda deal." He'd promise this with a kiss to your forehead. "And you won't have to lift a finger after the fact, I'll be your butler as long as you need," he'd joke.

He’d only be a little nervous in the sense that he wasn’t sure if his usual death jokes would be fine, or be somewhat upsetting. Not that this was even going to be a possibility, of course - he just knows health scares can make people sensitive. He’d hesitate a little bit if when he asked if you wanted to go sit at your usual spot in the cemetery, or would maybe be a little more inclined to borrow the mustang from Hex instead of taking the hearse. You might catch him once or twice cutting himself off after what sounds like a set-up for one of his grim puns, suddenly trailing off before following it with a shy smile and a “Sorry, lost my train of thought.” He’d even be cautious about what horror movies or spooky web videos the pair of you watched, if you even felt like watching them at all; he’d make a point to carefully steer clear of anything to do with hospital horror or medicine, instead opting for creature features or ghosts - something with a definite third party threat.

The day of, he wouldn't even consider not going with you. He'd be there the whole time (even in the room, depending on the treatment), happily telling you every weird fact he knew about skin to try and keep you distracted during the process. afterward he'd be dedicated to catering to you as much as possible, keeping you comfortable (at your place or the House as you preferred) and playing up the whole butler thing whenever you need something with an awful British accent and a bit of a RiffRaff bent back, just to make you laugh. You could definitely expect some of his cookies he makes for clients, and some fresh-squeezed lemonade to go with them, but whatever you wanted, honestly, he'd be happy to make for you or go get. The rest of the time, he'd be wrapped around you like a sloth on your couch in an old t-shirt and sweats, only letting go whenever you needed to free yourself for some reason. He's a hugger - it's just as much for him as it is for you.

He'd insist on being there too when you went for your follow-up, but everything turns out fine, so he'd just think of the whole ordeal as one of those one-off kind of scary things that happens when you love someone in a mortal body. (Although if there was the possibility, he'd ask if there were any tissue samples for you to keep if you wanted them, just because he thought they might be a neat souvenir. :'D)

Hex is a little less white-knuckled about the whole thing, as always. He'd be concerned, for sure: as someone who deals mostly with the spectral part of things, bodies occasionally make him nervous with just how they can go rogue. But he'd be more of the approach that until something happened, there was nothing to worry about. "It'll be fine, querida," he'd say that afternoon, after finding out you needed the procedure. (He would've gone with you to the appointment if you asked him to, but he figures you'll let him know when you need some moral support, so he's a bit more relaxed about things.) "They caught it, we'll go hand over some of your skin, it'll all be no big deal." He'd kiss the back of your hand, giving you his best 'do I look worried?' smile.

He pointedly does not google things, because the more he knows, the more his brain spins it around like shoes in a dryer. But you'd probably notice that between now and the day you'd go in to get it done, he'd be baking more than usual: bread, cookies, concha, even something fried like beignets, any recipe he had knocking around in his skull that he knew worked with your dietary needs. (Just not pie, his pies are cursed.) You'd be working on your draft in another room, or streaming a game, and he'd wander in with something that smelled heavenly on a plate. "Here, baby, you gotta eat some of this this, I got bored and made too much," he'd say, setting it down in front of you while still in a flour-covered apron. He'd stand there absently wiping his hands on it, watching whatever you were doing idly. "What do you think you want for dinner, anyway? I was thinking chilaquiles, but like, if you were feeling something else, I can do that. I can even try something new, if you want, I've been needing something to dick around with," he'd say, shrugging like this was all totally normal. But secretly, he'd be keeping himself busy in the kitchen because it took up more of his brain than his photography. When it's just him and his camera, he has too much time between framing and shooting to let his mind wander to places he didn't want it to. Cooking (especially baking) requires focus, and more involved use of his hands. If he kept busy, he couldn't find time to think about it, and if he couldn't think about it, he couldn't worry. You'd eat even better than usual between your appointment and the procedure, which is wild, because he feeds you pretty well to begin with. On the day of, there'd be a chance he'd show up to your procedure with brownies for the clinic staff, just because he'd filled the whole kitchen by that point.

When he wasn't in the kitchen, Hex would be a bit like a prickly seedpod from outside - one part of him would seemingly be stuck to you at all times when it was just the two of you hanging out. That could be his chin resting on your shoulder out of nowhere, or his shoulder bumping yours when you were washing dishes, even sleeping with his foot against one of your calves when he was rolling around like a rotisserie chicken as always.

The day of, he'd go with you, seemingly cool as a cucumber. He'd crack jokes the whole time, but for someone who normally gives you space when it comes to your appointments for your privacy's sake, he'd be notably determined not to leave your side. He'd stick to you like glue everywhere he was allowed to go, and afterward, he'd drive home in the mustang with one hand on your knee (being surprisingly good at driving one-handed!). He'd make an exaggerated deal of how brave you were when you got home, peppering your face with playful "mwah" kisses, but there'd be just a little relief to it.

When you inevitably got the all-clear, he'd visibly relax as soon as he found out. "I knew it was gonna be fine," he'd say immediately, holding up a hand. "It was always gonna be fine. I just like having the official 'okay you're good,' y'know? Like... you know what I mean," he'd say, rolling his eyes at himself. But he would insist on the two of you dancing that night to celebrate if you felt up to it, either going out or just in the kitchen with his speakers.

Rora wouldn't be unconcerned, but she'd definitely be a bit less rattled than the boys. "Skin is such a fickle organ," she'd say, almost sounding irritated on your behalf. "I swear, it's the only one that needs this much manual intervention not to be a pain in the neck. You don't see your lungs needin' moisturizer, or your heart needin' retinol," she'd add, looking back down at whatever she was working on to keep her hands busy - repotting a plant, altering the hem of one of her dresses, or placing the eyes in a stuffed possum. "...Granted," she'd add after a moment. "I suppose that's because they're technically already moist. What I'm gettin' at is," she'd say, looking back up. "You don't have to worry about it, sweet pea. It's just one of those things."

But the minute you showed any sort of concern, she'd drop what she was doing, coming over to you to gently cup your face like you were made of something fragile. "Daffodil," she'd say, making a point to meet your eyes. "Nothin' bad is gonna happen. This is just an inconvenience - one more thing you have to do, like you don't have enough on your plate as is." She'd kiss the end of your nose. "The doctors will do their jobs right if they wanna keep their hands attached to their bodies, and this'll just be somethin' you need the day off for. That's all." She'd run her hand over your hair, taking you in. "I'm not gonna let anything hurt my petal, I swear.” (How she intended to fight errant skin cells was a mystery, but something in her voice made you think she might indeed have her ways.)

In the meantime, she would almost seem doggedly determined to keep the pair of you busy. Whenever you weren’t at work or occupied with one of your own projects, she would seemingly find all sorts of things for the pair of you to do: she’d surprise you with couple’s massage appointments if she thought it would be something you’d like, she’d take you to get your nails done (manicure, pedicure, or both, whatever you were most comfortable with sensory-wise), she’d abruptly decide that the pair of you definitely needed to have a picnic in the back garden, and then ask if you’d help her plant some new rose bushes. Just when you thought you’d get a moment to just sit and stew for a bit, she’d sneak up behind you and ask if your show her how a smartphone works again (despite you being pretty sure she already knew), or if you wouldn’t mind helping her take her latest taxidermies to the little market stall where she sells them. She’d not only seem to be dying to pamper you, she’d also seemingly suddenly be unable to complete any of her to-do list without you being in the near vicinity. She wouldn’t do it to the point of exhausting you, of course - she’d make sure the two of you had plenty of downtime when it was needed. But if anything, it would seem like her approach was to make sure neither of you had time to think about it, even if that did mean you were suddenly involved in your own private taxidermy masterclass one evening.

If you did voice your anxieties, Rora would make a point to freeze her hands in place with whatever she was doing and listen. That doesn’t always mean she would be staring at you — if anything, you knew that sometimes Ror was listening all the more deeply when her eyes were fixed on something else. But when you’d gotten it off your chest, she would look up at you again, her eyes oddly calm. “I don��t blame you one bit for bein’ nervous, little bee,” she’d say quietly. “But you don’t need to be, because nothin’ is gonna happen. I told you, and I intend to keep my word. So you just leave that part to me, okay?” And she’d smile that small, quiet smile that, while it was reassuring, also made you feel a little bit like she had something up her sleeve. (Which is odd in its own way, because she normally hates wearing sleeves.) But she’d be especially affectionate in the days between your diagnosis and the procedure, often hugging you soundlessly from behind, or sneaking a kiss on your cheek whenever you least expected it. When the pair of you slept, she’d fiddle with the ends of your hair until she dozed off, her other arm snugly over your waist.

Rora hates doctors for lots of reasons - partially because she saw her grandfather, her father, and now her brother deal with what she viewed as their failures, and partially because of her own experiences as a young girl with mental illness in the South when she was alive. That wouldn’t keep her from coming with you to your appointment, though, even if she had to wear a high-necked dress and a scarf over her hair in the Louisiana heat to hide her more interesting scars. No one would question the mysterious woman who followed you to the exam room, or the fact that she sat just in the corner of your eye the entire time. When the procedure was over with, she’d hold your hand the entire way out, and then immediately demand whichever of the boys she made drive you both there (probably Hector, but both if Maxi could make it) to take all of you to whatever junk food/dessert place was calling your name.

When you got the inevitable all-clear, she would beam, her smile sublime. “I told you it would all work out, petal,” she’d coo, planting lipstick kisses all over your face. Until she’d pause, leaning back. “Saves me from havin’ to harvest some doctors’ fingers, too. Thank god.” When you asked her what, exactly, she would’ve needed those for, she’d just shrug coyly with a smirk to mask. “That’s not a spell we need to cast right now, honey. Don’t you worry your pretty head about it.” Then the two of you would spend the entire evening doing absolutely nothing (until you took an interest in each other, that is.)

I hope this helps at all, babe. 🖤 If we can do anything for you, don’t hesitate to let us know! Love you lots!! 🥰 Everything is gonna be fine, you’ll see!

Rora deeply dislikes doctors for all sorts of reasons -- a bit because her grandfather, her father, and now her brother frequently dealt/deal with what she perceives as their failures, a bit because of her own experiences with them when she was alive. But she’d be determined to go to your procedure, even if she had to wear a high neck and a scarf around her hair in the heat to cover up her more unusual scars. She wouldn’t be able to drive you, but she’d get one of the guys to do it if need be, and keep her hand on your thigh the entire ride over. Oddly, the doctors wouldn’t question the mysterious woman who followed you into the exam room from the waiting room - and she’d be quietly off to the side the entire time, just out of the corner of your eye. The minute you left, she’d be holding your hand all the way to the car, and immediately demand whichever of the guys she roped into driving (likely Hector, although both would come if they could) to stop by whatever fast food/dessert place was most speaking to you at the moment. You’d spend the rest of the night doing nothing at all (until you took an interest in each other, that is).

When you got the all-clear, she would just beam. “Good. I knew that. See? You’re gonna be fine, petal.” She’d enthusiastically pepper your face with lipstick kisses, until she’d pause at one point. “Saves me from havin’ to steal a bunch of doctors’ fingers, too. Thank god, that would’ve been such a pain.” When you asked her, perhaps somewhat hesitantly, what she wanted with those, she’d just shrug. “Never you mind, my rose. We won’t be needin’ that spell after all,” she’d say, her smile positively sublime.

#maxi vibes #hector vibes #rora vibes #nice people #linds!! 🖤💛#the morvants and their readers #morvant comfort list #reader with medical issues #reader with medical anxiety #genderqueer reader #non binary reader #morvant mortuary

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oops-aquarius · 3 years

Text

tainted kisses

summary: steve needs some relaxation, which you provide to him

warnings: smut (!!!!), praise kink, slight degradation kink, a little bit of angst cuz a hoe is sad, oral fixation (duh), slight dom/sub dynamics (?), mentions of sadness/depression, tiny mommy kink (like barely there)

pairing: steve rogers x reader

word count: 2.2k

note(s): not edited well at all, also i used a prompt generator to get the promt i used (which is below !!)

prompt: “baths or water (tubs or jacuzzis; hot springs; water houses or steam rooms; the ocean; swimming pools.”

kink: “Oral fixation or fetishization (lips, tongue, or whole mouth; french-kissing; licking; oral displays using food or beer bottles; smoking cigarettes, cigars, or pipes; biting or chewing one's lip(s))”

***this is post-endgame except nobody died, cause im a hoe for all of the avengers***

Steve never realized how much he liked things in his mouth. Not always in a sexual way, at least not until after fighting Thanos.

After fighting for so long, bottling up his emotions was not at all how Steve needed to cope. He tried the yoga and meditation route Wanda had so kindly suggested. Yeah, after one session of hot yoga, Steve decided that it wasn't going to happen. Tony, obviously, suggested sex. Said something about it being a “healing experience for the soul”. That’s bullshit were Steve’s first thoughts when that came out of his mouth. Bucky told him to get some goats and raved about how therapeutic it was to raise them. But Steve could barely take care of himself, how would he even take care of a goat? Steve felt a hot sense of hopelessness burn against the back of his eyes as he sat on the floor of his bedroom, back pressed against the adjoined bathroom door.

“Steve?” A soft knock came from the front door. He took his thumb away from his mouth, he had resorted to subconsciously nibbling on the tip of it. Pulling himself off the door and towards the voice, he rubbed his tear-stricken cheeks in attempts to clean himself up a bit before seeing you.

“One sec, Y/N/N.”

When he opened the door, your face softened a bit before the smile that Steve, secretly, loved so much dropped off your face completely. “Stevie, what happened?”

Stevie, a nickname he hated for his entire life. A name that reminded him of the days before the super solider serum where he was a little guy getting beaten up on the streets of Brooklyn. Stevie, a nickname he loved hearing from your caring voice. Nobody else’s.

“Just tired, Y/N” he sighed, “so,so tired.”

“Stevie,” your voice caught at the back of your throat. Seeing him in so much pain made your life turn upside down. He doesn't deserve to be in pain. “ S’there anything I can do to make you feel better?”

“Just stay with me? Please?”

You took him back into his bed and sat with him, just talking about life until his breathing turned back to normal and he seemed partially-okay.

“Do you want to take a bath?” you asked, still stroking the blonde strands of his hair.

“Are you saying I smell?” He took his face out of the crook of your shoulder, feigning a look of hurt.

“No, punk, I meant to relax. You seemed pretty shaken up and I just wanted to help. I mean, that’s what I do when I feel down, relax in a bat-”

He cuts you off, “I appreciate it. Really, Y/N, I don’t know many people that are as loving and caring as you, sweetheart.” The nickname made a pang in your heart. You had like the super solider since you had met him, but never felt like he reciprocated the feelings. Even though you both cuddled often, and had movie nights, and he always let you beat him while sparring, and that one time you came down with a stomach bug and he fed you soup and-holy shit. Did Steve like you? “Sweetheart?”

“Huh?”

“I said, ‘A bath does sound nice’. What’s got you so suddenly zoned out?” He says, donning a smirk.

“It’s nothing. Let’s get you into that bath, mister,” you had a faux grumpy look on your face as you got up and walked to the bathroom, starting to fill the white, ceramic bathtub with warm water. “Okay, big boy. You need help getting up or are you okay?”

Rolling his eyes at your inauthentic tone, Steve pushes his tensed frame off the body and managed to stumble into the bathroom, while you following him closely to make sure he doesn't fall over from exhaustion.

“I get it, I’m old, but damn Y/N. I can walk perfectly fine,” He chuckles as he pushes himself up to sit on the counter top.

You start to fill up the bathtub with warm water, adding bubbles and lighting a few scented candles. He looked so pretty, hair sticking out in every direction, lips pink and puffy from biting them, his ocean blue eyes still misty as he looks down at his cuticles, picking them slightly.

“Okay, I’m gonna leave so you can take this bath,” you say, shutting off the faucet, “Got it?”

“Y/N?”

“Yes, Stevie.”

“Stay, please.” His eyes were watering more than earlier. He had those puppy dog eyes, lip quivering as his voice cracked and wavered even with just a few words. He looked so vulnerable, how could you say no to him?

“Of course, Steve. I mean, the bubbles with kind of cover everything. I’ll just sit next to the tub with you, alright?” You awkwardly giggled and scratched the back of your neck. He nodded, hopping off of the counter and starting to undress himself with a wobble. “Stevie, you’re shaking like a leaf, let me help you.”

His eyes never met yours as you helped him pull his t-shirt over his head and looped your delicate fingers through the waistband of his sweatpants, dragging them down his muscular thighs. “You’re not gonna finish your job, doll?”

His boxers. The only clothes he had left on were his grey boxers. You wanted to give him privacy and not look, especially in such a broken and vulnerable state. But god, you could see the outline of his partially-hard cock through the soft cotton. You thought about what it would be like to have your mouth around his hard length, chocking on it as he rammed himself into the back of your throat.

“Ummm, I just--I thought--I mean I can---Only if you want--” The dirty thoughts clouded your brain. It made speaking a speaking a sentence almost impossible as your mouth watered just thinking about his cock.

“It was a joke, sweetheart,” he laughed heartily, “You’re too adorable.”

Pulling his boxers down his legs, he waddled tiredly over to the tub before stepping in. He groaned in pleasure at the feeling of the warm water encapsulating his exhausted body. You imagined that’s how he’d groan if you sucked his cock so hard he was seeing stars.

You were still facing the door, like you were as Steve got completely undressed. You knew if you turned around and look at him, naked and at ease, you’d jump his bones in a heartbeat. “Come sit with me, Y/N”

And you did. You turned around cautiously, like you expected, the bubbles covered his body enough for you to be able to handle yourself as you sat down next to the tub. You grabbed his hand away from his lips, running your soft fingers over his rough calloused ones. “I always see you biting your nails or cuticle or lips or your pens. Why?”

He sighed, “I’m not sure, I guess it just distracts me?” He said it more like it was a question rather than a statement. “I guess I don’t truly know why I do it, I guess I just enjoy having things in my mouth.”

You could read Steve like a book, his pupils blown with lust, his lip stuck between his teeth, a blush heating up his cheeks. You took a leap of faith.

“Yeah, like what?”

“You.”

His lips were on yours in a flurry, it took a second for you to react, but as soon as you did it felt amazing. Neither of you seemed to care about the water splashing over you as his hands trailed up your body, tugging at the hem of your shirt.

He pulls away panting, “F-Fuck, Y/N, I need you. Please. Oh my god I need you so bad,” His eyes looked as if they were welling up with tears and he looked so pretty still in the relaxing bubble bath, whimpering and whining for you.

“God, I need you too, baby,” you stop to look in his eyes sincerely, “Are you sure you want this? I don’t want to do anything that you don’t want to do or that you will regret.” Your hand caresses his cheek.

“Just get in here with me and I’ll show you how much I want you,” he whispered, “Need you, really.”

You sighed before your hands moved shakily to take off your t shirt. As much as you wanted this, you were still scared of how the ripped super solider would feel about you and your body, As soon as your shirt was off, Steve was whimpering, dipping his hand into the soapy water to massage his aching cock. This only spurred you to take off your clothes and join him faster.

“Did I say you could touch yourself, puppy?” Your stern voice caught him off-guard, making him pause his actions with a look of fear on his face. You step into the bathtub, straddling him. Your nails raked up his milky white thighs, trailing up his body admiring the beauty of it. “Y’Know I was planning on being nice to you because you’ve been so good to me, but you might need to be punished, baby? Do you need to punshied like a brat?”

He mewled, bowing his head in shame. You could feel him growing harder and harder by the second and you were starting to go crazy with the empty feeling inside of you that on he could fill. “No, ma’am. I’ll be good, I swear!”

“Mmmm, that’s my good boy.” Your hands slid up his chest and rested on his cheeks, hearing him preen at your praise, as you repositioned yourself over his cock. “Are you sure you want this?”

“If you dont ride me into next week right fucking now I’m going to scream, Y/N,” He breathed out with a chuckle, Grabbing your thighs, he helps you sink down on his cock. Both of you were moaning and whimpering messes by the time you were sitting at this base of him, trying to get adjusted to his large size.

Hot tears burned at the back of his eyes as soon as you lifted yourself up off of him, only leaving the tip of him inside of you, and slamming back down on his dick.

“Baby-please,” he whimpered, “n-need, shit, need your fingers, bad.”

You were confused, slowing down a bit to make sure he was okay. But his puppy dog eyes showed that he was okay. Slowly taking your wrist from his cheek, he puts your fingers in his warm mouth. Moaning around them and swirling his tongue around them. He did it the same way you always dreamed about sucking his dick, chocking and gagging on his length.

“Yeah, you’re such a needy little slut for me, for this pussy. Look at you, so ruined and fucked out just because I’m fucking you.” He moaned sensually at your words making your core tighten impossibly.

You had gotten a good idea as you were riding him. Slowly, you start to thrust your hand in and out of his mouth, watching the saliva dribble out of the corners of his mouth as he choked on you. The band in your tummy starts tightening as you feel yourself getting close.

“Shit, fuck, baby, I’m gonna come. Oh my god, you’re make me come with your beautiful cock, puppy. So good for me, aren’t you?” Your free hand dips into the water, cupping his balls and rolling them around your soft palm.

He nods, choking on your nimble finger yet again his you massage his sensitive balls. “Gonna come,” he slurred and spit around you.\, “almost there.”

“I didn’t” you moaned as you feel his balls tighten, fall back down on his cock at a faster pace, “give you permission to do that. I thought you were going to be good for me?”

“I am” he spluttered loudly, “i am good, I swear. Just please let me come. I need it, oh shit, mommy.”

The name went straight to your core, making you grow weak as you feebly give him permission to come as you come undone with one more bounce on his large member. His hands come up to grope your breasts as he come with hot spurts inside of your tight cunt.

“Oh my god,” you stifle a giggle as you stand up on shaky legs. You wordlessly helped him out of the tub and wrapped him in a white towel, walking him to bed while you dried yourself off. Collapsing on the bed with a grunt, the solider hollds out his hand to you, signalling you to lay down with him. You could easily tell he was still coming down from his sex high, starting to regain his self back.

“I dont know what possessed me to,” he pauses, trying to figure out a way to word the rest of his sentence, “to suck, I guess, on your hand. I’m sorry, Y/N, that was really weird of me.”

“What do’ya mean, baby? Having an oral fixation isn’t something to be ashamed of.” The words make him smile with droopy eyes, tucking his head into your neck and starting to fall asleep, happy and comfortable, cuddling you.

“And to be honest, puppy. I think it’s really hot.”

#steve rogers #steve rogers smut #mcu #avengers smut #steve x reader #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers angst #steve rogers x oc #steve rogers fic #steve rogers drabble #steve rogers headcannon #smut #angst #fluff #the falcon and the winter solider spoilers #wtf even is this crackfic #i hate it but oh well

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toh-tagteam-au · 3 years

Note

*inhales bc your AU is everything I didn't know I needed and more*

OKAY BUT, couple of questions and thoughts there:

Do Luz and Hunter have teasy nicknames for each other? (maybe something like "Luzer" and "Hunty Duncey"?)

Is Amity able to bond with Luz more easily here? From your Insta, seems Luz's in a love triangle with her maskless self and her masked persona with Amity. And at least, Luz could certainly relate to having annoying older siblings?

I just pictured the scene of Hunter pulling the curtain on King in "Separate Tides" and just imagined if Luz was with him with her mask on, asking if they can't keep the little guy around instead of throwing him into the boiling waters

How is Lilith dealing with not one but TWO protégés of the Emperor?

Is Luz still into Azura stuff? Is Hunter into it as well? Does Luz have a theory board in her room she invites henchmen in to share headcanons and make fandom material when Hunter doesn't want to?

You think Luz ever feels insecure about being the only member of her "family" with round ears?

oh my gosh that’s a lot of questions im so honored!!! I’m glad you like my stuff! I’ll try to answer all of these as best as I can.

1) They don’t use teasing nicknames super often – Their sibling banter is more bickering/targeted insults than nicknames. However, they avoid saying their real names around anyone other than Belos and MAYBE Kikimora to keep up the mystery around their positions. They use titles like “Partner” or “Sister/Brother”. Otherwise, they stick with their usual names (in private), although if Luz wants something from Hunter she’ll get creative, like in canon when she asked Gus for his library card in Looking Glass Ruins.

Also “Hunty Duncey” one shot me the second I read it. She WOULD call him that. It’s probably an inside joke.

2) Luz and Amity’s relationship is a more “casual flirting in a professional setting” situation, and both of them have fun with it bc there’s no strings attached to the interactions (Luz wants to be friends with the talented pretty girl, Amity is flustered bc Luz doesn’t interact with a lot of people her age and has no ruling for how many compliments are too much). A friend of mine and I actually talked about how Amity’s parents would react to the “beneficial pairing” of setting up their kid with the Emperor’s Personal Guard, so that has an affect on how they interact later on.

For the record though: some of the stuff on my instagram so far save for the actual comic posts is,,, VERY early development and subject to change (as I’m finding out as I script farther and farther). So idk how Lumity will evolve as I write, or if the identity love triangle will even be a thing (as much as I want it to). Disclaimer!

3) Oh there’s a scene coming up with Luz and King in the same room and I GUARANTEE you that Luz is struggling to withhold her cooing the WHOLE time. Luz’s love for King encompasses all universes.

4) Lilith is definitely not having a great time lol. Especially since Luz makes Hunter a bit more laid back (re: chaotic) and independent than in canon. She is in hell.

5) Only Luz is into Azura stuff! It’s one of the things she bonds with Amity over at first. It’s important to note that her creation of fandom material is heavily restricted and limited (there have been... incidents). Hunter lets her infodump to him partially to get her creative energy out/reduce the chances of more incidents happening. Otherwise he hasn’t read any of them.

6) YES she is ABSOLUTELY insecure about being human. There’s a WHOLE theme with Belos and how he is “proud” that she steps away from her human upbringing to become stronger (ie: a witch). And she knows everyone in the coven would look down on her if her ears were ever revealed to anyone who didn’t know. Growing up in a place where Human/unable to do magic = Weak doesn’t do great things for self esteem.

#not comic #ask

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awesamhimbo-abandoned · 3 years

Text

Okay um... I want to actually make a PROPER post about the "c!tommy apologists have the worst takes" thing that I was ranting about earlier.

Once again I'm going to but a few disclaimers because this might end up being a very, very triggering topic for some and I understand that!

First off: This post goes into trauma both of myself and the character along with a few of the common symptoms.

Second off: I am not fully excusing all of c!Tommy's actions, I simply want to explain why he did it and why it triggers me personally.

Lastly: You are allowed to dislike or even hate the character for whatever reason you do. Like above, I only wish to explain why some sentiments about the character are triggering for me personally.

I want to start this off by saying that the entirety of the mcyt has a problem and even sometimes bordering on weird obsession with trauma, mental illness/disability, child soldiers, war, ect ect. It is honestly a very, very long list that I do not have the time to go into right now, but those are just some to name a few. I have seen them on both side of fetishization to bastardization and both very much trigger me because it both makes me feel like something to look at along with making me want to hide who I truly am.

For the past several years I have been hiding from myself, hiding from my trauma, ignoring the fact I was abused, so on so forth. This was all down to how society saw me, but it was also because I was raised to believe these things that were a part of me were not there because they looked like someone else.

Rounding back to the proper topic, or at least trying my best to. c!Tommy, along with many other characters on DSMP, show their trauma and PTSD through anger and rage. These things, the way they show them, make me feel valid for how I feel and react to things. They don't make me feel happy, but they make me feel like it's at least partially okay and even normal to be mad at the world.

What the fandom wants from these characters, them to sit and cry dramatically into the wind while a best friend or lover wipes away their tears, is what SOCIETY and the whole world wants from people like me. They want us to sit still an exist as a prop, and if we even look like we're going act another way? They'll abandon and hate us at the drop of a fucking hat.

The second c!Tommy and c!Tubbo started to act on their trauma, the second they got mad and yell and fought and did something instead of nothing, the fandom made them both out to be villains. After that? You had Villaininnit as a popular theory/headcanon/au for a decent amount of time and c!Tubbo somehow being treated both as a hero and a villain at the same time.

Go further into the future? c!Tommy is back to dramatically crying in the wind. c!Tubbo is just treated as some quirky dumbass with nukes, his trauma only occasionally being brought and it's almost exclusively to compare him to c!Wilbur or c!Techno. c!Ranboo is seen as a soft boy, the relatable one of the group who has severe memory issues that are joked about, and for some fucking reason him attacking and killing his own goddamn child is a fucking trope used solely for drama and nothing else.

These are the only characters, oh boy they are NOT the only characters who are treated like this. I know that, but it hurts more for people to be yelling at fictional kids rather than adults.

On the child soldier thing, it is also heavily romanticized for similar reasons to the trauma stuff, though here it's more focused on naive kids then anything else. I personally have no strict feelings towards it, mostly because I see their canon ages as being close to their irl ages. This all being said, aging the characters up in your mind and getting mad when they don't "act their age" is fucking triggering and awful. As a fucking ten year old I was always told that I needed to "act my age" and sit still or something, I was even slapped and spanked for not following the rules which caused to get trauma. Because of this trauma, I flinch everytime someone raises their hand or their voice. I know that this sounds very off topic and a "me problem", but I feel like it's important to explain why this phrase is horrible and should never fucking be used.

Sorry for the trauma dump their.

Last thing I want to do is round back towards the anger mention and once again explain a story of my own. Once, back when I had a therapist and was just realizing I had trauma from abuse, just told me with the straightest face possible "anger and hatred are bad for you. You should move on from him" as if the boy who abused me didn't intend to break me. Forgiving abusers is okay if you are the abused. Being mad at the abuser is okay if you are the abused. These are two lessons I have learned since then and are now things I project onto OCs and comfort characters because they make my anger feel valid. I know this emotion is bad for me, but I have moved on from what happened and still feel anger and hatred and hurt for what had happened to me.

I'm sorry I posted about this twice. I'm sorry if my point didn't get across. I'm sorry if this counts as cross posting. This fucking fandom just needs to hear words from the mouth of someone who knows how c!Tommy feels and I hope to god you all fix your bullshit.

Goodbye.

#dream smp #mcyt #tommyinnit #tw abuse mention #tw trauma mention #no i am not taghing the other thing because i fucking want as many people as possible to see this because it is important to me

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perfeggso · 3 years

Text

Noir (yutae)

Week IV pt. 1

Tokyo – fall of 1983: Nakamoto Yuta is quickly rising in the ranks of one of Japan’s most notorious yakuza families, and he’s poised to climb even further if he can stop himself from being ruined by the pretty Korean boy who’s shown up out of nowhere.

Glossary of Japanese words

Characters: Yuta x Taeyong + NCT ensemble, Twice J-line (for funsies)

Genres: Gang!AU, angst, smut, fluff, 1980s!AU

Warnings: graphic violence, swearing, minor character death, alcohol use, mentions of drugs, period-typical homophobia, xenophobia, BDSM

Rating: 18+

Length: 7k

“Okay,” said Yuta, “this is the last time I’ll ask – I promise. You’re sure I didn’t scare you last night?”

Taeyong sat in the passenger side of Yuta’s car, waiting in the pick-up area at Narita International Airport the morning after their first night together, listening to "4:00AM" by Taeko Onuki. He rolled his eyes.

“Yuta,” he began, “if I was going to be scared of you – which I am not, by the way – it wouldn’t be because you startled me when you yelled in the middle of the night, I can tell you that much.”

The night before, Taeyong had fallen asleep in Yuta’s arms; tired, sated, and oh so happy. His little bundle of positivity only unwound when he was shaken rudely awake in the early hours of the morning by Yuta screaming. It didn’t last for long, partially because Taeyong had used all the wits he could gather to coo over Yuta, calming him down and easing his tension, but it had been disturbing, nonetheless. When Taeyong felt like he’d waited a sufficiently long time for Yuta to regain his bearings, he’d ventured to ask what was the matter. All Yuta could put into words was that he’d had a bad dream, and that for as long as he could remember, his bad dreams could sometimes get horrifying or tangible enough to make him react quite violently in the real world, and he was sorry. Taeyong didn’t press him on what that particular dream was about, but it must have been quite upsetting. Who knew what kinds of things Yuta had seen in his life for his unconscious brain to draw upon? Anyway, the next morning Yuta couldn’t stop the incident from preoccupying him, apparently very worried that it would somehow make him less desirable or something. Taeyong was having none of it.

Yuta sighed as he sank farther into the driver’s seat, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. Taeyong felt a little pang of guilt that he might have insinuated that maybe he should fear Yuta for other, non-nightmare-related reasons. But like he said, he didn’t. He didn’t fear Yuta even though he’d watched him kill another man with his own eyes. Yuta was too sweet and odd, too predictably human, and made him feel too good to scare him.

“Okay, good. It just happens sometimes. Haven’t figured out how to control it yet,” Yuta said. He switched the topic. “How’s your ass, by the way?” Taeyong smiled to himself.

“It’s fine, but you did bruise me a tiny bit.”

Now it was Yuta smiling. “Sorry.” He didn’t seem very sorry, though. “Don’t Change” by INXS started to play over the radio.

“I don’t care,” Taeyong admitted. “I like a little reminder of who made me feel like this.”

“Good,” said Yuta. “Next time I’ll mark you up deliberately.”

Taeyong’s breath caught in his throat. Should they even be talking about this on the job? Wasn’t Yuta worried about being distracted? Still, he filed Yuta’s promise away in his mind so he could hold him to his word.

“You wanted tattoos, anyway,” Yuta teased. “I can give you the low commitment version.”

“You’re kinda corny sometimes, you know?” Taeyong said, causing Yuta to splutter laughter.

“Yeah,” he confessed, “I know.” He turned to regard Taeyong with a smile.

Taeyong hadn’t brought anything with him last night to change into for the next day, so (with permission!) he’d raided Yuta’s closet. Taeyong wouldn’t have minded wearing his clothes from the night before – they weren’t particularly slutty and no one he’d be seeing today had seen him in them the previous night – but they still smelled pretty bad from all the sweat and spilled alcohol lodged in their threads. Instead, Taeyong got to smell like Yuta.

He wore a Bauhaus t-shirt, black jeans, and a gray blazer with a little gold pin with the Inagawa-kai logo on it attached to the lapel. Yuta wore the same one on his black, patent-leather peacoat. He had paired that with black aviator sunglasses for a truly eye-catching combination. Taeyong thought it was funny that Yuta seemed incapable of not dressing like a mobster.

Before Yuta could say whatever he was about to, a blue BMW pulled up right next to them and rolled down the window, revealing Taeil in the driver’s seat and Mark by his side. Taeil was yelling something Taeyong couldn’t hear over the sound of departing airplanes, and apparently Yuta couldn’t understand it either because he yelled back for Taeil to repeat himself.

“What?” Taeil asked instead.

“He’s wondering if you’ve gotten any updates!” Mark repeated.

“No!” Yuta responded. “And why are you double-parking me? Just pull up a little!”

Taeil obliged and parked in front of Yuta and Taeyong, getting out once he’d cut the engine and walking to Yuta’s window. Yuta turned off the radio.

“Why do you need an update?” he asked.

Taeil rested his hands on the car door. “Because,” he explained, “Mark was hanging around headquarters and really wanted to come even though I kept telling him that if they brought more than one extra person with them I would not hesitate to leave him at the airport.”

“Why didn’t you just say no?” Yuta inquired.

“Because I thought he’d tell you I said no and then you’d be annoyed.”

Taeyong sat there as this whole interaction played out, watching Mark watch them from Taeil’s car. It seemed like Mark got a lot of preferential treatment. Not that Taeyong could talk.

“Alright,” said Yuta. “It’s not a problem. I don’t have any reason to believe there will be more people with Kun than he said.”

Taeil clapped his hands over the car door a couple of times. “Okay, just checking. Shategashira ?”

“Yeah?”

“ Would you have been annoyed with me?”

Yuta pondered the question for a minute, eyes dancing around the cabin of his car. “Probably,” he eventually admitted, smiling and looking at Taeil out of the corner of his eye.

“Knew it!”

Part of Taeyong wanted to know what Yuta’s deal was with Mark, scared the curiosity might be coming from a place of burgeoning jealousy. Taeyong was over the moon about his relationship with Yuta, but sometimes he cursed his own decision making. His infatuations always stressed him out terribly, and his situation was already stressful enough.

He watched as a group of well-dressed men exited the door Kun and his people were supposed to be emerging from. Yuta and Taeil were still talking – something to do with their meeting preparations, no doubt – and hadn’t seemed to notice the new arrivals in the pickup area.

“Is that them?” Taeyong asked.

Yuta and Taeil both snapped their heads in the direction Taeyong was pointing. Yuta blinked.

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “It is.”

“How many were there supposed to be?” Taeyong asked as a follow-up.

“Seven,” Taeil answered this time. “They brought two extras with them. Fuck.”

“Looks like someone’s going in the trunk,” Yuta joked.

Taeyong and Yuta got out of the car, walking over to the Triads with Taeil and Mark, who’d finally stepped out onto the curb. Taeyong thought he caught Mark giving him a once-over, perhaps registering the presence of Yuta’s clothing on his body.

“I thought I told you to stay at your post,” Yuta scolded.

Mark shrugged. “I thought this was a special occasion.”

The Triads were more inconspicuous than the Inagawa-kai usually were, their tall builds and dark clothing lending them all an appearance more akin to a celebrity and his bodyguards (although who the celebrity was could be up to interpretation) than to a group of criminals.

Kun, or at least the man Taeyong assumed was Kun, stood at the front of a near perfect triangle of his men, a relaxed confidence defining his features.

Kun and Yuta acknowledged each other with a bow.

“ Shategashira , good to see you,” Kun greeted.

“ Fu Shan Chu , the honor’s all mine.”

Taeyong didn’t know what Kun’s title meant, but he had a feeling Yuta wasn’t pronouncing it very well. Not that he could have done any better. As Taeil and Mark quickly extended their own greetings, Taeyong prayed a silent ‘thank you’ that the Triads all spoke Japanese; he didn’t need to be any more confused than he already was basically nonstop. Although after a moment of thought, he realized this made perfect sense considering these men had been hand-picked to attend an important business meeting (if you could call it a “business meeting”) in Japan.

“Taeyong,” Yuta began, the indulgent tone Taeyong had grown more and more used to him using when they were together overtaking his voice, “I want you to meet some dear friends.”

Kun introduced himself first as a Deputy, second in command of his syndicate and in charge of international business; then came Sicheng, a skilled tracker and fighter despite his lithe build; followed by Ten, the Hong Kong liaison for the group’s Thai offshoot who explained by way of introduction that, since no one could ever pronounce his real name, he went by ‘Ten’ for the number of people he’d personally “interrogated” by the time he decided he needed a nickname (“but now I’ve lost count”). The three of them were followed by Yukhei, a tall Hong Kong native and self-described yes-man for Ten; Dejun, who kept his introduction succinct but fixed an almost manic positive energy on Taeyong the whole time he spoke; Kunhang, the “Macanese Snoop,” whatever that meant; and Yangyang who once worked for the Taiwanese Triads and was in charge of smuggling since he used to do it between West and East Germany for some reason Taeyong didn’t quite catch. The seven men were able to pack so much information into their introductions because they kept jumping in on each other’s sentences, adding information they deemed pertinent about their friends seemingly as a way of hyping one another up.

Once the seven men in front finished, Yuta peaked exaggeratedly to the back of the group to address the stragglers.

“And you two, it seems to me, are none other than Zhong Chenle and Huang Renjun, all grown up now, hm?” The pair smiled mischievously at each other. They wore almost schoolboy-like suits that looked a little too expensive to be trusted in the hands of a late teen or early twenty-something, as they appeared to be.

“Hello Yuta-san,” they each chimed, a bit out of synch.

“I can tell that you’ve aged too, Shategashira,” quipped the shorter of the two. The taller joined in.

“Yeah, please make sure you’re getting enough sleep, sir.” Chenle and Renjun tittered as the Triads rolled their eyes and Kun shot them an absolutely lethal glare.

“I’d be careful if I were you,” Mark jested from over Taeyong’s left shoulder. “You’re on Yuta’s turf now and I can promise from experience you don’t want to see him pissed. Can’t run to your daddies here.”

Now it was Chenle rolling his eyes. “Shut the fuck up, Mark,” he said, and Mark cackled in amusement.

“Thank you, Mark,” Taeil interjected, a cautious impatience practically dripping from his voice. “I think our Shategashira can defend himself.”

“Great!” said Yuta, trying to regain control of the interaction. Taeyong was starting to get nervous because they were all still standing out in the open outside one of Narita’s many exits, and it wouldn’t have taken that much imagination on the part of an onlooker to identify them as a group of gangsters. Yuta didn’t seem nervous though, so Taeyong pushed his anxiety as far down as he could until it was nearly imperceptible. Yuta leaned closer to him a bit as he aimed to guide Taeyong through their ongoing introductions.

“Those two meiwaku are the sons of Triad commanders. They’re completely spoiled, as you can see.” Taeyong almost giggled, amused by the amount of time Yuta seemed to spend getting bullied by people who were barely out of high school. Yuta continued. “So that’s everyone,” he concluded, pulling away from Taeyong.

“I’m humbled to meet you all,” Taeyong said, brain overloaded for the hundredth time in a month by all the new faces and by Yuta’s proximity.

Yuta brushed his finger over Taeyong’s sleeve. It was a small movement and he doubted anyone else saw, but Taeyong had to suppress the heat threatening to overtake his face. Yuta never got into the personal space of his subordinates while conducting business, but then again, Taeyong was an exception in more ways than one. He couldn’t decide if he was more irritated by Yuta messing with him or by his own oversensitivity.

“You don’t have to use kenjougo with them,” Yuta joked. “Polite language will do. They’re all younger than you, anyway.”

Taeyong balked. He knew that Chenle and Renjun were young, but his tone hadn’t been meant for them. And he thought Yuta was a prodigy...

“You want to introduce yourself, Taeyong?” Yuta suggested.

“Oh, right! Hello, my name is Lee Taeyong and I’m sort of a member-in-training, I suppose. I’m helping Yuta prepare for your upcoming meeting.” Taeyong bowed, having rushed through his introduction, and he was glad no one could see his downcast eyes go wide when he felt Yuta’s palm just above the small of his back, guiding him upright. Could he not?

“Taeyong’s been a great asset to us lately,” said Yuta, and Taeyong thought he detected the tiniest hint of teasing in his words. “I trust you’ll all come to appreciate him as we have.”

Taeyong heard Taeil sigh from behind him. “We should be going,” he stated, “but I regret to inform you that one of the pipsqueaks is going to need to improvise in terms of seating on the way into the city. We were expecting fewer people.”

Kun smiled wryly. “Maybe I should have hired a professional driver,” he joked and Taeil stiffened in irritation. “But no,” he continued, “I understand. These two insisted last minute on a vacation to Tokyo and their fathers didn’t listen to my concerns about bringing them, so here we are. We’ll figure it out.”

“Shall we?” asked Yuta, turning on his heel towards the parked cars, and Kun made a hand motion that signaled for all the Triads to follow.

“You know,” said Taeil, as he watched Mark drop back in formation to share more personal greetings with some of his Triad buddies, “we could just put Mark in the trunk, and this wouldn’t be an issue. He did insist on joining after all.”

Mark turned his attention from Yukhei to Taeil and scowled. “If you do that, I’ll yell so loud you get pulled over and then I’ll say I’m being kidnapped by the yakuza,” he warned.

Ten sidled up to Mark and regarded him casually, a smirk forming on his face. “Uh-huh,” he said, “and what do you think the cops will make of that Irezumi on your wrist?”

“Shut up,” said Mark, seeming to resign himself to an uncomfortable ride back.

Taeyong and Yuta returned to their car, trailed by Ten, Kun, and a skittish Renjun who held a finger to his lips as he slipped into the middle seat in back. Taeyong paused in front of the vehicle for a moment, next to the passenger side door. He was fairly certain he wasn’t supposed to sit shotgun, considering he had the lowest rank of the five of them save Renjun. He looked at Yuta questioningly, expecting a word or gesture directing him to the back seats. Instead, Yuta nodded for Taeyong to enter where he was, so Taeyong opened the door and sat in front, trying to be small and invisible by moving as little as possible. Kun and Ten didn’t seem to question it.

“Thank you for choosing Inagawa chauffeur service,” Yuta said jokingly once everyone was inside. It took a moment to get going because Mark was trying to force Chenle into the trunk of Taeil’s car and Chenle responded by flailing and emitting a screech so high in pitch that Taeyong worried it might shatter all the windows of both cars.

“You’re a smart boy, Renjun,” Kun stated, “choosing to come in this car.”

“Yeah,” Ten chimed, “what would you have done if we tried to force you into the trunk?”

Renjun smirked. “I have a pocket knife on me and I’m not afraid to use it…” he explained in response, making everyone laugh. In front of them, Mark pouted as the trunk door finally closed over him. Taeyong caught a smile on Yuta’s face out of his peripheral vision as both car engines started.

***

Taeyong had only been to the “training room” at headquarters a couple of times before. The first time had been when Doyoung decided to nab him and teach him knife throwing, and the second was when Jaehyun asked him to hold arm pads for him to punch. The space was painted yellow from floor to ceiling and had harsh lighting and mold growing like shadows in the corners. One section had weights, mats, and boxing equipment set up next to a mirror; one, some knives and targets; and one, a table and small sitting area.

The Triads had only been in town a few hours and already, they seemed to be getting quite comfortable. When Taeyong had a moment of free time, Ten and a few others grabbed him without explanation and dragged him off to go “have some fun and get to know each other.” Apparently, that meant subjecting him to public mortification.

Sicheng had his arms wrapped around Taeyong’s midsection, bending him over and essentially demobilizing him. Taeyong breathed heavily, unable to do anything but struggle and watch the speckled floor under him shift along with his jerky movements.

“Sicheng, maybe go easy on him?” he heard Kunhang suggest from the table area, where some of the Triads were sat watching.

“I thought Inagawa was tougher than this,” Yangyang heckled, and Taeyong felt hot shame pile on top of his bodily discomfort.

Dejun piped up next. “He’s new, Yangyang, give him a break.”

Taeyong wanted to respond, but he was too busy trying to defend himself physically to do it verbally. Sicheng brought his knee up into Taeyong’s stomach, just hard enough to startle him without hurting him too badly. He used Taeyong’s disorientation to trip him, and next thing he knew, Taeyong was sore and heaving with his ass on the padded floor.

“Or don’t go easy on him,” Kunhang remarked. “Either way.”

Taeyong looked to his audience. Dejun, Kunhang, and Yangyang were all sitting around the table in the corner, a neglected game of poker which had started as a way of blowing off some competitive steam after “training” laid out between them. Ten stood a bit off to the side, arms crossed and gaze sharp with scrutiny. He took a couple of strides towards Taeyong and Sicheng, a smirk overtaking his mouth as he looked down at Taeyong like he was prey. Taeyong had met plenty of scary people in his life, and the frequency of such encounters had only increased since he started hanging around the yakuza, but Ten, with his wicked expressiveness and black leather suit in this moment gave Taeyong a chill of pure terror.

He noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to see it was Sicheng reaching his hand out to help Taeyong up. He smiled, face inviting and a welcome contrast to Ten’s entire aura. Taeyong took his hand and let Sicheng pull him to his feet.

“I thought you were supposed to be Yuta’s bodyguard,” Ten said plainly.

“Well, not exactly,” Taeyong tried to explain. “I just follow him around and keep a lookout for trouble; anything suspicious.”

Ten narrowed his eyes in a way Taeyong felt had to be partly for show. “That’s all, huh? Doesn’t sound like much.” Ten looked Taeyong head to toe and hummed thoughtfully. “Could there be another reason Yuta keeps you around?”

Jesus Christ, did everyone know? The room felt suddenly cold as Taeyong’s body came down from his previous exertion. He tried to suppress a shiver as his brain rushed to come up with a response. Thankfully, Sicheng stepped in.

“He knows how to fight, Ten, he’s just used to fighting brainless brutes.”

Taeyong nodded, hurrying to redeem himself. “Sicheng’s right,” he confirmed. “M’sorry.”

Ten let out a laugh through his nose. “No need to grovel,” he said, smile growing slightly less intimidating. He pushed a finger playfully into Taeyong’s shoulder, sending Taeyong’s mind reeling. “Anyway, I heard you saved Yuta from an assassin, so I’m in your corner. I’m just taking it upon myself to help you improve and make yourself even more useful.”

Taeyong laughed in confusion, spitting out a sarcastic, “gee, thanks.”

Dejun expelled a sound of wounded disappointment from behind Ten, certainly brought about by the poker game. Kunhang and Yangyang snickered. Ten ignored them all, keeping his attention trained on Taeyong. He raised an eyebrow and smiled, catlike.

“Wanna see something cool?”

“Sure?” Taeyong ventured, not sure if this was another way of saying “let’s have some fun and get to know each other.” He steadied his core in case Ten decided to tackle him or something.

Instead, Ten opened his leather jacket, giving his torso the effect of having bat wings. Taeyong was surprised, but not as surprised as he would have been a month ago, to see the glint of what had to be at least two dozen small metal weapons emanating from the lining.

“Shit…”

“Nice, huh?” Ten prompted, and Taeyong felt compelled to nod in agreement. Ten used his head to indicate the right side of his jacket, where he had stored a slew of small knives, brass knuckles, and throwing stars, among other things Taeyong didn’t recognize.

“This side is for hand to hand combat,” he explained, smiling like a snake about to bite. He indicated to his left next, where he had some longer and thicker knives, plyers, metal clamps, and a bouquet of slim needles, each about nine inches in length. “And this side is for extracting information.” Ten seemed to register Taeyong’s cautious surprise. “I only show you this so you know what you’re up against,” he cooed.

“Al-alright,” Taeyong almost swallowed his words. “I appreciate it.”

Before Ten could terrorize him any further, the door swung open and everyone was looking to see who had arrived. It was Yukhei, trailed by Yuta.

“Yup, they’re in here,” Yukhei was saying, holding the door open for Yuta to enter.

Yuta stalked towards Taeyong, Ten, and Sicheng and the boys at the corner table all stood in greeting.

“Ten,” Yuta said in mock disapproval, “are you traumatizing my poor partner?”

“I’d call it ‘educating,’” Ten responded. “If he gets traumatized that’s simply a byproduct of necessary learning.”

“Okay, Ten, just don’t scare him off,” Yuta replied.

“It’s not like I could leave if I wanted to,” Taeyong grumbled, and Yuta shot him a cutting look, but it softened quickly into an expression of vague sadness.

“Taeyong, you’re wanted in room 2A.”

Taeyong schooled his face. “Right away, Shategashira .”

Yuta turned on his heel and exited the room. Yukhei stayed by the door, Taeyong figured, because Ten needed him. Taeyong followed hesitantly after, but Yukhei stopped him on the way out, looming over him but smiling so genuinely that Taeyong felt more comforted than scared.

“If it’s any consolation,” Yukhei began, a thick accent coating his deep voice, “Sicheng kicks my ass all the time too.”

Taeyong had a hard time believing that considering Yukhei, though he was roughly the same height as Sicheng, was noticeably larger in every other way. He was probably either too nice or too reliant on blunt force. Taeyong let out a breathy laugh.

“Thanks. That does make me feel a bit better.”

“No problem.”

Taeyong left, hearing Ten’s call of “bye-bye, Taeyong! I’ll see you again soon!” echo down the hall after him. His stomach sank when he thought of the coldness he’d accidentally caused in Yuta, but the other man was nowhere to be found so he figured he’d just report where he was needed and find Yuta later.

Room 2A was one floor down. Taeyong tried to open it himself but it was locked, so he opted to bang on the metal to announce his presence. It opened, a grinning pair of faces belonging to Johnny and Mina greeting him on the other side.

“Yonggie!” Mina exclaimed, moving herself away from the entrance so Taeyong could pass her, which he did. “Welcome!”

The room was little more than a cinder block box with a metal chair in the center. If Taeyong didn’t trust Mina and Johnny at this point, he would be expecting something horrible to occur in such a room.

“What’s going on, you guys?” Taeyong asked.

Johnny closed the door and came to lean on the wall across from Taeyong.

“Why don’t you take a seat,” he suggested, and Taeyong did. “We’re here to impart on you some very valuable lessons.”

Taeyong grimaced. He was exhausted from what Sicheng had put him through and just wanted to find Yuta. He’d had enough “education” and “lessons” for one day. Nevertheless, he figured he had no choice but to indulge his captors.

“What lessons are those?” Taeyong asked, rocking himself slightly against his chair. Mina joined Johnny on the wall.

She answered, “Tactics for resisting interrogation.”

Taeyong started. “Whoa. Okay…”

“I know it sounds bad,” said Johnny, “but it’s really important for you to know. Yuta asked us to do this.”

Taeyong felt his skin prickling as he grew more nervous. Why didn’t Yuta just teach him himself, then? he wondered, posing the question out loud.

Johnny smirked. “Because, he has important shit to get done. He can’t tend to his Yonggie constantly. He has to delegate some of that.”

Taeyong gritted his teeth. “Alright, alright. But why do I need to know this? I’m practically useless so why would anyone bother kidnapping me?”

Johnny slid down the wall until he was crouching against it, his face softening in mild concern.

“First of all,” he said, “you should know you’re not useless, Taeyong.”

“Yeah!” Mina added. “He might give you a hard time, but Johnny keeps telling me how much he likes having you around.” Johnny smiled at this.

“You hang around with a Lieutenant all day!” he said, and Mina finished his sentiment with, “you are TOTALLY kidnappable, Taeyong!”

Taeyong laughed at the preposterousness of this compliment. “Thanks, guys. I’m sorry, I’m just in a bit of a mood today,” he explained. “And I guess you’re right.”

“Of course we are,” Johnny said, pushing back off the wall to standing. “Anyway, now that we’re all on the same page, this is where things might get a bit unpleasant again. We give this training to every member of the syndicate and all of our serious romantic partners, so contrary to your instincts, you are doubly in need of this.”

Taeyong squirmed, uncomfortable in a bad way over the fact that he wasn’t technically a syndicate member yet and uncomfortable in a good way at the knowledge that Yuta considered him serious .

Mina smiled. “Don’t worry, this has come in handy for me, for sure.”

“That just makes me worry more, you realize?” Taeyong replied with a grimace.

“Okay, fair enough. Sorry. But it’s better you know than end up dead or betraying your friends and boyfriend!”

“Taeyong,” Johnny began. “Let’s start with what you know. When you picture a yakuza kidnapping, what’s happening?”

Taeyong’s mind flew to the image of Ten’s sparkling and deadly bat wings. “I try not to picture that, but I saw what Ten carries around with him, so I think I have an idea.”

Johnny laughed hollowly as Mina watched him. “Yeah, Ten’s a special guy. I think he’s the only person I’ve met who genuinely enjoys that part of the job. Anyway, so you know it could get bad.”

Johnny lifted his shirt to reveal his lower abdomen. There was a long, thin scar across his obliques, slicing an inked koi fish in half.

“Knives are common,” he explained vaguely. “I got this one from a Sumiyoshi thug nicknamed ‘The Butcher.’ But we’ll get to that later.”

Taeyong swallowed thickly as he tried to steady his buzzing eyes. Johnny continued.

“Obviously, you know that we expect you not to divulge any sensitive information. There are three things you are allowed to confirm for your captors though, just to get them thinking you won’t be a complete pain in their asses. Those three things are name, rank, and clan. Got it?”

Taeyong remembered how Yuta had lost patience quickly with the Yamaguchi assassin who refused to give any personal details. He didn’t want to end up like that guy. He nodded.

“Lee Taeyong, Kumi-in, Inagawa-kai,” he recited, as if anyone in the room didn’t already know.

“But no more than that,” Johnny confirmed.

“Another important thing to keep in mind,” Mina continued, “is that there are ways to avoid the worst tactics. If they’ve gone to the trouble of capturing you, that’s because they think you have crucial information that they need. It’s in their interest to keep you alive.”

Taeyong nodded along, determined to be a good student as he realized more and more clearly the very real possibility he might need to use some of what he was learning.

“Although it can be tempting to act defiant as if you’re not bothered by the pain, and many experienced gangsters will do this to avoid hurting their fragile little egos,” Mina looked pointedly at Johnny, who just shrugged, guilty, “it can do you some good to play to the opposite. You should exaggerate your injuries and pain. Even if they try to use that against you and humiliate you, ultimately if they think you’re closer to death than you are they’ll let up much faster. Make sense?”

Taeyong nodded quickly. Exaggerated pain, he could do that. “Makes sense,” he confirmed.

“Okay,” Johnny went on, “another thing. Obviously if you ever did get kidnapped, we’d send some people out to find you, and hopefully they’d be successful.”

Taeyong shifted in his seat, watching Johnny start to pace. Hopefully .

“When you do get rescued, for that to end well you need to stay calm and not try to join in the fight. If they see you moving around a lot or if you look like you’re about to break out of whatever restraints they have you in and fight back, then they’re way more likely to treat you like an enemy combatant and not like a prisoner. You could get killed. It’s kind of counterintuitive, but it’s important.”

Taeyong rolled his ankles, gaining some comfort out of the way the stretch and crack of the movement soothed his muscles. He took a deep breath.

“Hey guys, why are we doing this right now? Am I in danger?”

Mina and Johnny exchanged a glance, sending Taeyong’s heart racing even faster than it already was as he tried to decipher their silent communication. Mina spoke first.

“Not necessarily,” she said.

“We just want to prepare you,” Johnny added. “Well, Yuta wanted us to prepare you because he’s been really worried since that assassin came after you two. We can’t be sure that anything too serious will go down but if, say, a gang war does start over this Mitsubishi thing, we want you to be prepared. Got it?”

“Oh…yeah, got it.” Taeyong sighed. “I supposed it’s too late to just…let me go, huh?”

Johnny’s face screwed up and Mina’s twitched. Taeyong thought of their conversation at Johnny’s pachinko bar, assuming she too was pouring over the memory of her own warnings.

“I – look,” Johnny began, and Taeyong already knew the answer he was about to receive. “It’s been discussed, and the higher ups are adamant; you’ll be given the choice as soon as the Mitsubishi deal is secured, but no earlier. They felt they needed to bring you on in the beginning, and I’m in no position to question if that was overkill, but at this point you’re certainly stuck, considering all the information you have.” Taeyong nodded, eyes fluttering to the floor as Johnny leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. He huffed a breath. “Do you – do you want to leave, Taeyong?”

Taeyong blinked. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even know what leaving would mean or where he could ever go. His new life was exciting in a way he’d always dreamed about and he liked the people around him more than he’d liked anyone in a long time; Johnny and Mina going out of their way to help him stay safe, the other Tora regiment members all welcoming him so easily, and Yuta…god, Yuta… At the same time though, Taeyong’s new life hadn’t managed to shake the feeling he so often had that he was floating through existence, incapable of being grounded even by the most intense experiences. He wasn’t used to things working out for him. Besides, the last time he made a major decision for himself, he’d been called xenophobic names and battered within an inch of his life.

“I…don’t know,” he admitted. “I don’t think so, anyway, but I don’t want to be a liability.”

Johnny smiled slightly. “That’s not worth worrying about because you aren’t.”

Taeyong wasn’t convinced, but he nodded anyway. “Alright,” he said. “What else have you got to teach me?”

Johnny and Mina let him go after another half hour or so of discussion, teaching him how to school his demeanor to fit somewhere between deference and defiance, how to relax himself in a way that would prevent excessive bleeding and make blows easier to endure, and how to give answers that kept the line of questioning going but revealed nothing to the interrogators. By the time he left room 2A, Taeyong was wondering if he should feel empowered or petrified, his mind careening from one emotion to the other with every new thought. Once he was done processing, he decided to find Yuta.

He’d barely had the chance to talk to him all day and it was weird for him. The night before had been ridiculously intimate, Yuta fucking him so well, opening up to him about his past, and holding him as they fell asleep; so the weird shifts Taeyong had observed all day in Yuta between teasing and aloof were giving him whiplash since he couldn’t ask what was causing them. He hoped Yuta wasn’t busy.

“ Douzo .”

Taeyong’s heart sank when he opened Yuta’s office door and saw Kun there, though he tried not to show it.

“Taeyong, what is it?” Yuta asked, an air of impatience radiating from him and from Kun as he turned around to see who was there.

“ Shategashira ,” Taeyong saluted. He felt like it was his first day all over again. “Sorry to interrupt. I was just hoping to speak with you whenever you’re free.”

Yuta’s expression softened. “Of course. Why don’t you sit by the window while we finish up?”

“Thank you,” Taeyong said, bowing sheepishly and settling into one of the indicated chairs. “Excuse me.”

Kun looked sideways at Taeyong, silent.

“You can speak freely in front of him,” assured Yuta. Kun nodded and pulled his attention back to the matter at hand.

“I just don’t understand how they would have gotten ahold of that information. Could it have been through Donghyuck’s crew?” By “they” Taeyong assumed Kun meant the Yamaguchi-gumi.

Yuta shook his head, placing his fingers in a check mark shape at his chin. “I doubt it. Donghyuck is extremely careful.”

Kun was growing exasperated. Taeyong felt like maybe this was an interaction he shouldn’t be witnessing. He didn’t quite know why he felt that way, though.

“Well, Yuta, there has to be a weak link somewhere, and I trust that you’ll eliminate it. We’re already in a less stable position than I was expecting upon arrival.”

Yuta smiled accommodatingly. “Thank you for your confidence. The leak could have also come from a different regiment, but I’m doing all I can to weed out whoever is responsible.”

“Good,” said Kun. “Our success and our partnership could depend on this.”

“I understand.”

Right then, Chenle and Renjun showed up at the door, having finished a shopping trip down the street, to tell Kun that Ten was looking for him. Taeyong thought he saw Kun direct a sliver of a smile his way as he left.

Yuta sat up and joined Taeyong by the window in the chair to his left. He sat and sighed, a big, open smile overtaking his face. There was the whiplash again.

“Hi baby,” he said.

“Hi.”

“Did Johnny and Mina give you the talk?”

Taeyong snorted a laugh, looking at Yuta from under his fringy bangs. “Yeah, they did.”

“You okay?” Yuta asked. Taeyong shrugged.

“Could’ve been worse,” he guessed. “Good stuff to know.”

Yuta leaned in. “Is that what you wanted to talk about?”

“I guess a little. But there was other stuff too.”

Taeyong looked around Yuta’s office. He’d been stuck almost all day in rooms with concrete walls and fluorescent lighting, and it was making him want to jump out of his skin. He told Yuta to wait a moment for him to get up and turn off the lights. On second thought, while he was up and about, he opened the window to flush the room of the stench of stale cigarette smoke. Yuta watched him with caution as he underwent his little chores. Taeyong turned from the window and made his way back to his chair, eyes finally able to relax in the dimness.

“Johnny and Mina said you’re worried I might be in danger.”

Yuta sighed again. “I don’t necessarily think you’re in imminent danger, but I want to be safe. It’s always a possibility. Sorry if I scared you.”

“Like I told you this morning,” Taeyong repeated. “You don’t scare me. I just want you to be up front with me.”

“Up front, huh?” Yuta paused, his eyes flitting over the floor in thought. “Truth is I’ve been worried about you since the Yamaguchi assassin. It’s always risky to take on a new recruit, or a lover for that matter,” Taeyong blushed at the word, “but up until that point I don’t think the danger felt as real. I would never forgive myself if I let something bad happen to you, Taeyong.”

One of the things Taeyong had been wondering about clicked into place for him. “Your dream last night…is that what – ”

“Yes. That’s part of why I was worried about frightening you. Thought I might have said something while unconscious about you, I don’t know, getting abducted or something.”

“You didn’t,” said Taeyong, breathing a laugh.

“Good.” Yuta smiled, gaze trained at the open window and fingers fiddling with the bottom of his blazer. Taeyong wondered if he was nervous to make eye contact. “And then later when you mentioned how you’re basically stuck with me, then I felt like shit all over again because it’s true: you’re essentially my hostage.” With that, Yuta finally looked Taeyong in the face. “I just don’t know what to do when you say things like that. I know this seems silly, I mean I’ve never shied away from doing arguably unethical things before, but I couldn’t help but ask myself if you even like me -- ”

The pressure that had been threatening to send Taeyong shooting out of his own body finally became too much, and in lieu of doing the impossible, he found himself damming up Yuta’s stream of consciousness with a kiss.

“There we go,” he teased, pulling away and reveling in the awestruck look on Yuta’s face. “I had to shut you up somehow.”

Yuta’s face hadn’t moved since the kiss ended and a smile was spreading over it like melting butter. “That’s no way to speak to your commander,” he teased back, sounding a little drunk on relief. Taeyong spoke.

“ Shategashira , I hope you can forgive me. But you are being ridiculous. I like you, okay? And it’s not because I’m scared or brainwashed. I like you because I like you . I like the way you make me feel. I’m sorry for making you think I wanted to leave.”

Yuta took Taeyong’s hand and kissed it. “ I’m sorry for being such a basket case. Aish, it’s embarrassing, huh?”

Taeyong snorted. “Oh please. If you weren’t insecure sometimes, I might actually be afraid of you.”

He smiled to himself, wondering for a moment if maybe he needed to stop thinking so much and just bask in the strange twist of fate that had brought him and Yuta together. They were still getting to know each other, but Taeyong had never been with someone so charismatic yet so open. If he was going to risk being kidnapped and tortured it might just end up being worth it. Taeyong allowed himself to be lost enough in thought that a few seconds felt like minutes and he barely heard it when the door flung open without warning. Yuta heard it though, wrenching his fingers from where they were laced between Taeyong’s.

“Yuta-san!” said Renjun as he entered the room trailed by Chenle. “What’s going on in here?”

Yuta glared. “Didn’t anyone teach you to knock? That’s very disrespectful.”

“Sorry, didn’t know you had anything to hide,” Chenle quipped. “Anyway, Kun is looking for you again.”

Yuta stood, reluctantly it seemed to Taeyong. “Why couldn’t he send someone else to fetch me?”

Chenle rolled his eyes as they left the room and on the way out Taeyong heard Renjun explain, “because, he told us if all we were gonna do was loiter he might as well put us to use.”

Taeyong giggled, catching himself when Yuta peered back through the door. “Hey, you can go home. Or stick around and make some friends, yeah?”

Taeyong nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed, and Yuta rapped his knuckles against the door with a grin before he was gone. Taeyong stood, determined to have some Triad friends by the end of the day.

#my fanfic #my work #nct #nct 127 #yuta #nct fanfic #nakamoto yuta #taeyong #yutae #nct dream #noir #1980s! au #neothestars #yakuza #gang!au #nct 2020 #nctnetwrite #nct lee taeyong #nct nakamoto yuta

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puking-dreams · 4 years

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW TAG!

Pen name: Whiskey Neat

Pronouns: she/her

How long have you been involved in the RPDR fandom?: since season 6

And what got you started?: I watched drag race and ended up falling in love with Adore, saw how cute her and Bianca were, and that lead to me looking for fic and inspiring me to write my own

Favorite queens and/or ships to write: I’ve only ever written Biadore and a few random fics centered around Adore because I feel like they’re the only ones I can portray at least a little bit accurately

Favorite genres to to write: I’m a whore for some good angst but it always has to have a happy ending. Fluff is great too. I mix those two genres together in basically every fic I write

Where you post: @artificialqueens

Most popular fic: I believe it’s Everyone Loves Adore Except Adore (I apologize if these don’t link properly...I’ve never done this before)

Favorite story you’ve written so far: Cool Blue! I’m quite proud of the way this one came together

Longest fic you’ve written (and word count if you want): I’m not sure tbh

Fic you were nervous to post: Finish The Joke (part 2) simply because it involves very dark topics and I was afraid of how people would react. It’s been a year since that one was posted and I still have not checked to see if anyone left comments because I’m nervous

Favorite comment you’ve ever gotten on your fic: Somebody said they cried reading one of my fics once so that was pretty cool 😂 In all honesty though, I do tend to avoid checking for comments most of the time because it makes me anxious

Do you accept prompts?: Not unless I specifically ask for them

How you choose your titles: I pull them out of my ass usually. I’ll write the whole fic, get ready to submit it, and then realize I don’t have a title. So then I just make something up on the spot and hope it sounds okay. It’s a very rare occasion that I have a title before I finish writing

Do you outline?: Nope I just wing it lmao

Number of completed fics: 25 maybe?

Number of fics in progress: There’s 2 that are almost completely done (but I currently have no motivation to actually finish them) and then there’s another partially written one. I also have a whole list of ideas for new fics but once again, I have no motivation to actually write them :(

Number of fics coming soon/not yet started: the two almost finished ones (mentioned above) will hopefully be coming soon. But I’m like Adore when I say “soon”. Soon = I have no fucking clue when that time will be

Upcoming work that you’re most excited about: Probably a story that doesn’t exist yet

Anything else you want readers to know!!: I’d just like to formally apologize for being so shit at posting recently. Like I’ve said 800 times already, I’ve just really been lacking motivation lately and it suckssss. But with that being said, I appreciate everyone who has ever taken the time to read my fics and has enjoyed them. It means more to me than you know! I’m very grateful to AQ for giving us writers a place to submit our work and as readers as well, it’s super nice to have a place where we can find just what we’re looking for. If you’ve made it this far in this post, thank you. I’m sending positive vibes and love to you all and I’ll always be around if you need me ❤️

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writersrealmbts · 5 years

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Beary Scary

Description: Hybrid!Namjoon x reader: Namjoon is out party hopping for halloween with his friends when he meets his mate, and she’s dressed like his hybrid species.

Angst/Fluff

Posted: 10/28/2019

Tags: Hybrid au, Hybrid Namjoon,

Wordcount: 4,105

A/N: So, I did something a little different with this one, but I really hope you like it!

Namjoon laughed as he followed his friends into the next party, wondering how they somehow knew everyone around here. They were dressed as zombies because it was "easiest" and because Taehyung had wanted to practice the stage makeup he'd been learning. He didn't even mind his friends pointing out that he was a zombie-bear. He was a hybrid, the bad jokes were normal, especially among his friends.

The exceptions to their group of zombies were Yoongi and Seokjin. Yoongi was a ghoul, his pale complexion usefully emphasizing the darker areas of his face. And Jin was a werewolf, which wasn't actually that far off since he was a wolf-hybrid.

This new party was a little more mellow and jolly than the last one, less grinding and more goofy antics. There was one couple, dressed in forties attire, swing dancing to Monster Mash and immediately capturing the interest of the drunk dancers in Namjoon’s friend group.

He went to the snack table, grabbing a couple "caterpillars" and popping one in his mouth. This place was one of Jin's friends, and the one Jin had been most excited about. In the next room, Halloween themed Disney cartoons were playing, and others were playing some homemade Halloween game and seeming to have fun.

He laughed to himself as someone dressed in a cute bear costume came backing out of the cartoon room, tripping slightly but laughing.

Then he smelled her.

He swallowed hard, his feet taking him to her side before he could really think it through.

She shrieked a bit when she finally noticed him, then was crouched on the floor with a hand over her heart. “Dear God, sorry, shit. You scared me.”

“S-sorry, um, sorry,” He offered her his hand.

She took it, and he felt his whole body tingling at her touch. She looked his costume over with a smile. “Cute! A zombie bear!”

He was pretty sure Tae would die if he heard his work called cute, but he smiled a little. “I, uh, I really like your costume.”

She glanced down at it, as if unsure of what she was wearing, then looked up with wide eyes. “This isn’t offensive, is it?!”

He laughed a little. “No, it’s cute! Really, really cute.” He looked at his feet shyly.

She giggled a little, and he thought he might die. Did she really just get cuter? “You’re Jin’s friend, right?”

“Oh, yeah, you know hyung?” He was a little surprised. He’d thought he’d met almost all of Jin’s limited friend circle. Usually strangers were Tae’s, Jimin’s, or Hoseok’s friends.

“Uh, yeah, this is my place. We’re both in the play that’s coming up,” She explained, smiling the whole time.

“Y/n!” Jin came over, throwing an arm around her shoulders, obviously a little past tipsy. “That punch is a work of art.”

“Thanks, you made it,” She said grinning.

“I did?” He looked truly surprised. “When?”

“Earlier today, you came over, mixed all of the liquids and told me what to add and when. I only deviated once from your very detailed instructions.”

“Oh yeah,” He breathed, then noticed Namjoon. “Namjoonie! You’ve met Y/n! She’s the romantic lead in the play I’m starring in!”

“I’m preparing to be the most hated girl on campus,” She laughed out, shoving Jin off. “He’s already got a huge fanclub and guys are never as fanatical about theater as girls are.”

“Doesn’t Namjoon’s makeup look good? Taehyung did all of us! Isn’t he scary?!”

She rolled her eyes, meeting Namjoon’s afterward with a smirk. “Yes, Jin-oppa, beary scary.”

Namjoon choked on his cup of punch.

Jin cracked up. “That was a beary good pun!”

“Thank you beary much,” She replied without missing a beat. Definitely sober.

“You’re beary welcome,” He giggled out, petting her head. “Cute.”

Namjoon really hoped his hyung would pass out or leave or something before he had to threaten murder for all the bear puns.

Thankfully, Jimin came to drag him off because of something or other that Jin needed to see or experience or something.

She was shaking her head, meeting Namjoon’s gaze again. “Sorry, I just had to see how punny he gets when he’s drunk.”

“It’s okay,” He said, finding that he was grinning still. “Um, so…uh….”

“You’re majoring in music production and philosophy, right?” She asked, smoothing over his stutters like they never happened.

He needed a stronger drink if he was going to continue looking at how cute she was. She was a bear, for pete’s sake. A cute bear, with cute ears, and a cute tail, and her makeup was just so…cute! “Yeah, yes, yes.”

She nodded slowly, seeming a little more amused. “So, do you not talk to women often?”

“I do, really, um,” He cleared his throat and glanced around, “It’s just….”

“Just?” She prompted, cutely confused.

God, he needed a different descriptor. But his mind seemed stuck on how adorable she was. Oh.

“Just…that…um…do you…know anything about…hybrid’s mates?” He finally ventured to ask, nervous about how she would react.

She looked thoughtful. “Yeah, they can tell by scent alone most of the time. Jin talks about it. Why? Is yours here?!” She looked excited for him.

He found himself nodding, despite knowing that he actually needed to verbalize his answer and tell her it was her.

“That’s awesome! Who?!” She was grinning, hands tucked into the adorable bear paws at the ends of her sleeves. Her eyes sparkled in the lights all around the party. Her eyeliner was different on each eye, just slightly, but still different.

Namjoon swallowed hard, looking over the face of his…maybe-mate. “Um…well…it’s kind of….”

Her smile faded with concern, head tilting adorably. “Namjoon-ssi? What’s wrong?”

He looked away, toward his friends, who were drunkenly dancing with each other, then back to her.

She looked worried about him. “Do you need some water? I’ll go get you some water.” She hurried toward the kitchen and he didn’t have it in him to object.

He groaned softly to himself, a little growl to the groan as well. He turned and waved down Seokjin, who hurried over looking worried.

“What’s wrong?” Jin asked, looking more sober now.

“Hyung, I can’t tell her! We need to leave!”

“Whoa, tell who what? Y/n?”

“Yes, y/n,” Namjoon replied partially, dropping his head to the elder’s shoulder. “She’s my mate, hyung. I knew it the moment I smelled her, but it isn’t the same for humans. And she’s so damn adorable that I can’t even get a complete sentence out! Please can we leave?”

The wolf-hybrid sighed, carefully petting Namjoon’s head. “If that’s what you really want,” He finally replied quietly.

“Hey, here’s that water,” Y/n said as she came back with a cup of water.

Namjoon forced a smile, taking it and sipping. “Uh, we’re gonna go. I’m…I’m not feeling too well.”

“Oh, okay. Feel better,” She said, her gaze drifting to the food table in worry. “Oh god, I hope it wasn’t the food.”

“No! It wasn’t your food, at least,” Namjoon quickly said, unable to handle seeing her somewhat distressed.

She seemed somewhat relieved. “Alright, well, I hope you feel better, Namjoon-ssi. Seokjin-oppa, do you want me to round up your friends?”

Jin nodded. “I’m going to take Joonie outside.”

She nodded again, waving to Namjoon before heading toward the dance floor and pulling aside Taehyung.

Namjoon couldn’t tear his gaze away until she was out of sight and he was outside, gulping in the crisp night air.

Jin was stroking his hair comfortingly. “It’s okay, Joon-ah. At least now that you know, you can slowly introduce yourself into her life. It’ll be okay.”

Namjoon just let out a distressed sound, letting the older wrap him in a hug.

Yoongi was the first to come out. “What happened? That was the least stressful party yet?” He muttered, obviously drunk.

“Namjoon isn’t feeling well. Where are the others?”

“They’re coming. Jungkook was trying to get someone’s number. Why didn’t you tell us that your friend was so cute, hyung? And how come we haven’t met her before today?” Hoseok asked, grinning as he leaned on Yoongi.

Namjoon heard his teeth clacking before he could register that he was going to do it, and intermittently letting out low moans of distress.

Seokjin quickly pulled Namjoon back to him, rubbing his head. “Shush, Hope-ah. Namjoon’s not well.”

“Sorry, hyung, we tried to rush Jungkook, but you know how he is,” Taehyung chirped as he skipped out.

Jimin was behind Jungkook, making sure the youngest didn’t turn back.

Namjoon squeezed his eyes shut.

“Fine. Let’s get Joon back to the house before he has a meltdown,” Jin said, looking to Yoongi for support.

Yoongi nodded. “Come on, brats. All or none, right? You can watch a movie and stuff yourselves on the Halloween candy I got.”

“Yay!” Taehyung cheered, hopping and then skipping along.

Namjoon felt worse. Making his friends leave the party just because he was a coward.

Jin didn’t leave his side for long. It was sort of a pact they’d made since they were the only hybrids in their group. They stuck with each other. Normally, it was Namjoon helping the elder since Jin was more emotional and tended to get himself hurt more. Overworked himself.

The others helped too, but having another hybrid help when distressed was definitely more comforting. They knew the ticks and tricks to help the other through whatever issue was there.

Which was how Namjoon ended up spending the night beside Jin, getting pets and comfort until he fell asleep.

The next day was actually Halloween.

“Man, am I feeling last night,” Yoongi grumbled, mostly to himself at the dining-table as Namjoon sat down.

“Hyung, how are you so chipper?” Taehyung asked, watching Jin make an omelet while humming.

“I’m a responsible drinker,” Jin replied cheerily.

“Feeling better, Namjoon-hyung?” Jimin asked, smiling at him tiredly.

“Yeah, how are you?” Hoseok asked, finally looking awake after half-an-hour of sitting at the table.

Namjoon let his gaze drop to the table. “Oh. I’m…much better.”

It was quiet following his answer.

“Just tell them, Namjoon-ah. I’ll make sure they don’t tease you, or push you, or anything else,” The wolf-hybrid said, a slight threatening growl as he obviously addressed each of those things to the others at the table. He put the rolled omelet on the table, making sure Namjoon got part of it before it was scarfed down by the ravenous boys.

Namjoon took a couple bites, trying to gather his scattered thoughts, and courage. “Um…I found my mate last night.”

Everything went still again, some stopped chewing, chopsticks froze in midair, he wasn’t even sure they were breathing.

“That’s…a good thing…right?” Jungkook asked, sounding uncertain.

Namjoon slowly nodded.

“Then…what happened? Is she dating someone else?” Yoongi asked, sounding confused.

“Who?” Hoseok asked, sounding cheerful and happy.

“Y/n,” Namjoon murmured, setting his chopsticks aside, not looking at the others.

It was quiet again, but not as quiet as before.

“She seemed really nice?” Taehyung sounded bewildered.

“And she’s hot,” Jimin added, helpfully.

Namjoon just nodded. “She’s adorable.”

He could feel their confusion in the air.

“Finding your mate is a big thing,” Jin finally broke the silence. “But it’s a very hybrid thing. Knowing our mate by smell alone is something that can be hard for humans to understand and can lead to rejection, which is even harder for us.”

They were still quiet, which was unnerving.

“I’m a coward, okay?” Namjoon snapped, standing up. “I couldn’t tell her. I chickened out and I begged for us to leave while she went to get me water because she thought I wasn’t feeling well.”

“Hyung, it’s okay to be scared,” Jimin said softly.

Namjoon just clacked his teeth and quickly left, feeling like he was losing control again.

Jin followed. “Hey, it’s okay.”

Namjoon just moaned in distress again, pacing a little before letting the other hug him again, scenting him a little.

“It’ll be okay. They get it, Namjoon. Really, they do. I promise,” The older whispered into his ear.

Another set of arms wrapped around Namjoon, and he could smell Jimin already.

Tae was nearby, probably about to—

And there was a third set of arms around him.

Hoseok quickly joined, pulling Yoongi and Jungkook in as well.

Then the doorbell rang.

He peeked out as Jungkook went to peek out the window.

“Uh, it’s y/n,” He called back.

Namjoon groaned, burying his face in Jin’s shoulder. “I don’t exist. Kill me now.”

“As warm as bear fur is, you don’t even have enough to make a decent hat. Let her in, Jungkookie.” Hoseok disbanded the hug easily, pulling Namjoon away from Jin and quickly flattening the crazy bed-head.

“Morning, sorry to drop by so early, but I wanted to get the lights back to you,” Y/n said, addressing the last part to Jin as she let Jungkook take the box she had with her. “I also brought that taco-dip I owed you. Freshly made, don’t worry.”

Jin grinned. “You’re the best. Did you get everything cleaned up?”

“Better than most of the other houses did, apparently. I actually got to go to bed with a clean house. Namjoon-ssi, are you feeling better?” She asked.

Namjoon swallowed hard, hoping she hadn’t noticed him staring. Even out of costume and with barely any makeup she was adorable. Breathtaking. She was wearing an oversized sweater, jeans, and converse highs. Her hair was a little messy, maybe windswept.

Yoongi jabbed him in the back.

“Uh, yeah, a little.”

She didn’t quite look like she believed him. “Okay, good.” She glanced away from him, and then looked to Jin. “I’ll get out of your hair then.”

“Wait! Uh, we’re doing a scary movie marathon tonight if you want to come,” Hoseok quickly said, grinning at her. “Just bring a dish to share.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude—”

“No way, you’re more than welcome!” Tae followed up cheerfully. “We’re having korean barbecue!”

She hesitated. “Well….”

“Please? You hosted us, it’s only fair that we return the favor,” Jimin pleaded softly, voice saccharine and face angelic.

Namjoon could kill them all.

“Um, okay, if you insist,” She replied, seeming a little reluctant still.

“We do,” Jungkook delivered the last blow with a grin that Namjoon couldn’t wait to wipe off his face.

She nodded. “Okay, I’ll try to bring something yummy. Just, nothing too scary?”

“With Hobi-hyung in the house? I wish,” Taehyung folded his arms.

Hoseok gave her a sheepish smile. “I can’t do too-scary movies. They’re mostly Halloween-themed movies.”

She looked relieved, and Namjoon wished he’d been the one to put that expression on her face. “Oh, good. I was afraid I’d be hiding behind a pillow the whole time.”

“Nope! You’re in good company here! And don’t worry about a costume, either. We’re going super cas, and some of us will probably be in pajamas.” Jin finally added himself to the conversation with an apologetic look in Namjoon’s direction.

She nodded, gaze flicking to Namjoon for the briefest of seconds. “Okay. I’ll see you all tonight, then.”

“Yup, see you,” Jin said as he saw her out.

Namjoon glared at Hoseok. “What was that?”

“It’s called getting you more time with her,” Hoseok answered calmly. “You want her to be okay when you tell her, maybe getting to know her and spending time with her is the—I don’t know—logical first step?”

“Don’t antagonize him, hyung,” Jimin said softly. “It’s okay to be scared, but you’re sending her the wrong messages right now. You’re making her think you don’t like her at all. That’s why she wanted to refuse. You’re lucky we’re persistent and you’re totally sitting next to her tonight.”

Namjoon’s eyes widened. “Wait, what? She thought I didn’t like her?”

“Well, you’re not the best liar in the world,” Jin said weakly. “And I do recall us making some…pretty bad bear-related puns last night. She probably thinks she offended you somehow.”

Namjoon groaned and flopped onto the couch. “Did you see how gorgeous and adorable she was? I was staring and I thought she caught me, I panicked!”

“Hyung, I think you’re making this harder than it has to be,” Taehyung said. “I think Y/n would understand.”

“Guess we’ll find out, depending on how tonight goes,” Yoongi said dryly. “We better clean the house. Especially the bathrooms. I heard girls are fussy about bathrooms.”

“With our movie lineup, it’ll be pretty late, one of us will have to either walk her home and let her stay in one of our rooms so she’s not walking home at such a late hour,” Hoseok said thoughtfully.

“I’ll make sure my room is clean, just in case she stays that late,” Jin replied softly. “I know her best, so if she stays, then she’ll be the most comfortable with taking my room and my room has a lock on the door.”

The others were staring at him suddenly.

He coughed awkwardly to get rid of the growl. “Sorry.”

Jin just looked amused. “The point being that she can make sure no one touches her. Even if she finds out about you being her mate tonight, she’s not likely to sleep with you. Even in a platonic way. I know she’d feel safer having a door that locks between her and others. Alright, Yoongi, off to the store with Jungkookie. Taehyung-ah, go study for your test on monday.”

“Aw, hyung,” His face screwed up as he complained.

“I’ll help you, Taehyung-ah,” Namjoon said quietly, tugging on Seokjin’s sweatshirt in aggravation.

Jin rolled his eyes, taking it off and putting it over Namjoon’s head. “I’ve got to get cleaning. Hobi?”

“I’ll start on the bathrooms, hyung,” The other said cheerfully.

Namjoon shoved his arms through the sleeves, keeping the hood up so that the smell was close. He normally wouldn’t be so insistent about scents. He really needed to get over this.

By the time the evening rolled around, Namjoon was jumpier than the bunny hybrid in his math class when hopped up on enough caffiene for three people.

Jin snarled at him after he dropped a dish, the glass shattering all over the floor.

Jimin managed to hop up on the counters and slide away from the mess, but Jin was trapped.

Yoongi gave Taehyung a broom and started vacuuming under the cupboards after tossing a small dustpan and broom to Jin.

Hoseok pulled Namjoon away from the kitchen by the hood of the Jin’s sweatshirt. “Best stay out of the way, Namjoon-ah.”

Namjoon groaned. “I didn’t mean to break it.”

“It’s okay. He didn’t mean to snarl at you. It just surprised him, and some of the glass might have hurt him.”

“I’m pathetic,” Namjoon protested.

“You’re not pathetic, hyung,” Jimin said, wrapping around Namjoon. “You’re just out of your element.”

“And shy,” Hoseok added, eyebrow arching with a smile. “It’s okay, Namjoon. But maybe don’t wear Jin’s sweatshirt while Y/n is over. She might think that Jin is your mate and you freaked because of that.”

Namjoon groaned, but was hesitant to pull the sweatshirt off. “But…it’s….”

“Mine, now give it,” Jin ordered, limping over to them. “It doesn’t even smell like me anymore, I bet.”

“It does,” Namjoon pouted a little, not wanting to give up the security sweatshirt.

Jin forcefully pulled it off, then froze, listening. “She’s here. Go change into your blue shirt, Namjoon. The loose one. Jimin, get the door.”

Namjoon was frozen, but Hoseok quickly pushed him along to his bedroom, pulling the shirt Jin had said to wear.

“Come on. It’s okay. We’re just watching movies and eating food. No big deal.”

“She’s my mate,” Namjoon whispered. “My beautiful, adorable mate, that I can’t make conversation with. And don’t think I’ve forgotton your tone last night when you were talking about her.”

Hoseok smirked. “And if I flirt with her, what are you going to do? Growl at us?”

Namjoon looked away. “Don’t be a jerk.”

“Then talk to her or I will. Or worse.”

“Worse?”

“Worse, Taehyung will. He was talking about how hot she was last night, you know.” Hoseok leaned against the door. “Jin will make sure you’re sitting next to her, but you’ll have to make sure you keep that seat.”

Namjoon growled a little playfully, finally able to discern the teasing in his friend’s voice. “Come on. Just, try to help me relax?”

Hoseok nodded, throwing an arm around his shoulders. “You got it.”

Y/n looked adorably comfortable, curled up in the corner of the couch and laughing at the conversation between Jimin and Taehyung—the latter of which apparently committed some sort of treason against his best-friend.

Jungkook plopped next to her. “So, are you dating?”

“Which answer will get you to give me some space?” She asked back, good natured in tone, and smiling, but eying the lack of space between them.

Jin was laughing at Jungkook’s stunned expression. “Find somewhere else to sit, Jungkookie. You know Namjoonie is sitting in the middle.”

“Oh, should I move?” Y/n asked, suddenly looking uncertain.

“No, just Jungkook,” Hoseok answered, patting her head.

She looked unsettled by that gesture, but soon shook it off and waved at Namjoon with a small smile.

He managed to smile back. “Hey. How was your day?”

“Good, really good. Yours?”

“Yeah, good,” He answered, but winced afterwords. It sounded as awkward as he felt. “I was helping Taehyung study for his test and was a major klutz, but good.”

“Yeah, the dish, Jin told me about that. It happens.” She shrugged, looking a little more comfortable. “I already told him not to worry about it, too.”

“Wait…what?” He looked between the two, noting the slew of bandaids on Jin’s propped up foot, and feeling bad.

“It was one of my dishes. We exchange food once or twice a week, so we usually end up with each other’s dishes. We usually just give them back with food in them instead of making a special trip. But like I told Jin, it was two dollars at the resale shop. I’m just glad no one was hurt—well, not badly anyway.” She shrugged.

Namjoon eyed the headband she was wearing that had bear ears. “Um…nice headband.”

She looked confused while the other boys snickered, her hand reaching up and feeling along the headband till she reached the first ear.

Her eyes widened. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry! I forgot my roommate put that on my head.”

“No! It’s cute! Really, I don’t mind!” Namjoon quickly said, holding his hands out, wanting to stop her from taking it off but not daring to touch her.

Her gaze darted between him and the others, uncertainty completely plain on her face.

He let his gaze and hands drop. “It’s really, fucking adorable.”

When he got the courage to glance at her face again, she was staring at him with wide eyes.

“Oh,” She breathed out. “Oh! I’m…because you…me….”

“And you call yourself an actress,” Jin muttered, obviously joking.

She chucked a pillow at him without looking, gaze still fixed on Namjoon—who didn’t dare look away. “I’m your…mate….”

He nodded slowly, clenching his jaw so that his teeth wouldn’t clack.

“But then, why did you hide it? Did I do something wrong?”

He shook his head, still struggling with words.

“Did you think I would reject you?” She asked gently. “I know there are a lot of people who aren’t open-minded about that.”

He hesitated, then nodded once.

“Well, I wouldn’t have. I’m not. I understand how hard rejection can be.”

“It’s scary,” Namjoon whispered, studying her face. She was wearing a little more makeup than she had been when she was there earlier in the day, but less than last night.

She giggled. “Beary scary.”

He choked on a laugh. “Okay, but there’s a limit to the puns.”

“Sorry, last one.”

He looked at her curiously.

She shifted so she was sitting on her feet and facing him on the couch. Her smile was gorgeous, and the way she was looking at him happily was seriously breathtaking. “I would beary much like to get to know you, at least.”

He felt himself grin. “I’d like that too.”

Masterlist

#halloween story madness #halloween story #hybrid!au #hybrid!namjoon #kim namjoon #kim seokjin #hybrid!seokjin #min yoongi #park jimin #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook #Jung HoSeok #namjoon x reader

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unproduciblesmackdown · 4 years

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ok-yikes replied to your post: diefordarkseid replied to your post: ...

ok but like thank u sm for the link i’ve been vaguely following your winston/billions content and ive been trying to find the context without having to watch the whole thing lmao so now i can fully understand ur analysis and art that i already enjoy!!

oh first of aw!!!! that’s such a compliment lol ty and yes s/o to @winstonthequant for posting that compilation for 5.5k+ people to partake in, it’s super useful

yeah we Jest that all anyone needs to know to understand the Spirit Of Wynnstanning is to have seen those scenes with winston and taylor from kompenso, ep 3x11 lol.....i mean it’s partially a joke but it’s also partially true, that’s pretty much the Cause of the group of us going “oh my god” and becoming Invested in all of this. winnie n tay baby.......their Dynamique...they are way too good Ugh

and yeah the Broadest Of Strokes of this series overall is that the Central Theme is "insufferable bastard hedge fund ceo damian lewis [aka axe] man Versus insufferable bastard attorney general paul giamatti man [aka chuck],” just these corrupt assholes having a back and forth slapfight power struggle every season. nobody cares what happens in season 1 but taylor is introduced at the start of season 2 as a just-out-of-undergrad intern at axe’s hedge fund. turns out they’re amazing at hedge funding (they have some goddamn sense and strategy and awareness, whereas axe is 100% beholden to the whims of his own Delicate Temper and Ego and is a continually self-sabotaging idiot, nbd) and by season 3, while axe is doing a bit of jail time over insider trading (see: previous parenthetical) taylor is left effectively in charge of axe’s hedge fund, which btw is called axe capital

Our Beloved Quant Winston enters the picture 3 eps into this situation, where taylor is attempting to start a quant team at axe cap, hence interviewing him, then only known as “quant kid 2″ in the credits. [not-that-informed explanation of What Is A Quant: where the Traditional Financial Analysts in a hedge fund try to make profitable stonk trades just via like, reacting to The News and other publically available info / whipping up Strategies / intuiting shit and making judgment calls or whatever the hell they do, a Quantitative Analyst (a more recent development in the high finance world) is taking a more mathematical approach to the whole legal gambling operation which is The Stock Market and might, as winston does, use An Algorithm to analyze finance info and make trades in response. is the vague idea here] Quant Kid 2 was not Originally meant to ever reappear, hence him just messing up the interview and getting sent off after like 30 seconds, but they wrote him in further when William Roland showed up and actually filmed the scene.

when “i’m a shitty bastard driven by my shitty ego and will self-sabotage if my Pride asks for it on a whim” axe shows back up, tl;dr, he spends the rest of s3 being terrible and unappreciative to taylor, who you might imagine is Threatening That Delicate Ego of his by capably taking care of his hedge fund while he was indisposed. for example, he needlessly wrecks taylor’s relationship with a guy they were having a nice time dating (and will, we’re pretty sure, talk to again in s5ep2!! hoorayy) and does basically the opposite of apologizing, sweeps taylor’s Quant Project into the trash, gets mad at them for failing to land a certain investor which he said they did on purpose which idk they May Have lol i think this was later in the season, and won’t give them the raise they want, and that’s just A Few of the bullet points in this topic. but oops, turns out that taylor has been secretly taking steps to put together their own entirely separate hedge fund! which is where winston comes back in, aka their meeting him in that empty classroom only to summon him to a random basement. that algorithm he ends up creating for them (which he’d Assumed was for axe cap purposes) was used by taylor to entice a Big Investor at axe cap to invest in their own hedge fund, taylor mason capital, which exists by the end of season 3, which obviously axe is not happy about and of course it’s a whole ~betrayal~ even though he did it to himself but no, he decides taylor is his Nemesis, b/c in so many ways he is a dumbass. god

season 4 has winston as taylor’s Main Quant (the one time we hear his name spoken aloud is taylor saying “winston and the quant team). taylor spends the season dealing with all the problems of having a Brand New Hedge Fund and having a Well Established Hedge Fund With An Asshole At The Helm constantly trying to sabotage their fund, which we also call tmc / mase cap for short, just for reference lmao, the latter being how they shorten it in the show’s actual dialogue. the Front Running mentioned in that one clip was an instance of such sabotage. and by the time winston shows up 5 eps later, that Fracking Subplot (lmao...this fucking show) was about taylor being reeeeal sick of axe cap’s sabotage b/c they kinda made it personal, and thus spending the whole episode Completely playing axe for a fool, which was kinda fun, b/c it’s not that hard and he has it coming. it gets a little involved with what’s going on in ep 4x11 with the bonuses lmfao but it's nbd, just know that winston was right, we went frantic about him being Bullied and are still indignant about it, and taylor talking to Everyone in that 4x12 clip does seem to address what winston had said, compare and contrast 4 yourselves, even if this apparently went totally over the heads of any Regular Billions Viewers lmao. and then in 4x12 A Lot Happens b/c it’s the finale but axe manages to self-sabotage himself in a way that does a lot of damage for mase cap though, and axe thinks that he’s successfully blackmailed taylor into returning to axe cap with mase cap as a Supposedly Temporary subsidiary of axe cap, which sucks, but taylor is not as blackmailed as he thinks, which is a secret, Drama and Twists and Shifting / Dubious Loyalties and Stonks are just constant themes here and who cares. we are here for the quant, who is there with taylor

We Have Many Ideas / wise concepts and headcanons, seeing as canon is a nightmare and there’s not That much material re: winston and precious few details about him / he spends sooo much time offscreen and unmentioned and it leaves us plenty of blanks to fill in. for example, maybe u noticed we think he should kiss taylor and also get railed by them, there are extensive ideas about that relationship wherein we happily ignore Finance. also, there is an unusually kind and reasonable analyst over at axe cap named ben kim who we also think should kiss winston, so yeah That idea is sure around as well lol, they have enough Parallels and complementary Similarities and Contrasts and also just like, a normal nice person is a rarity on this show, so ben does Not have a world of competition in our [list of people who’d be Okay to kiss winston, b/c someone should, b/c he deserves that cuz we love him]

yeah that’s my Quick Basic Context summary lmao we hate it here but also we have fun, and really at any time (extending this to anyone lol) feel free to Send An Ask about anything at all b/c i am Not annoyed by random / unprompted asks from anybody, i love interaction! who knows if i’ll answer promptly (for example: sorry @ the person who’s asked for deh/bmc hcs who i havent answered yet lol) but yeah. it’s totally nice that you were already interested even without any Context lmao like. i mean yeah basically the joke still stands that the only context u truly need is that one scene from Kompenso but. yeah #Stonks

#ok-yikes #i've 100% been appreciating all ur Likes btw ty ty #winston billions

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psyga315 · 4 years

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"What if Volume 7 was about Post-9/11?”

This is another V7 rewrite of mine, but rather than just tweak scenes, these are gonna be full on alterations, with the overall aim being to make it more clear cut at Ironwood’s dictatorship, but also showing a half-full view of his actions.

See, until we get a commentary on what the intent was for Ironwood, we’re of two camps: One, RT always intended Ironwood to be a dictator who lost his grasp on reality or two, they meant for it to be one of those “you guess who’s in the right” but people instead memed the “RWBY’S ALWAYS RIGHT/WRONG” angle too much.

However, a Twitter post by Ruby Rose talking about how people despised RWBY for being too political has got me thinking: “The problem isn’t that RWBY is too political… The problem is that RWBY isn’t political enough”.

Okay, let’s take a look at this: Ironwood has a whole 1984 angle going with TV Screens showing his face everywhere, androids recording people, and the ability to declare martial law when he feels like it. The problem is that we don’t really get to see enough of that angle. It’s a set piece to show how bad Mantle is and nothing more.

While that would have been okay back in the day to convey how dystopian and how much a dictatorship is for Atlas, the problem is that with the ease of access to information, we actually see just how much more they could have went. Even rumors how bad certain dictatorships are manage to be much more threatening than “cameras, cameras everywhere”.

And this is supposed to be the reason why Ironwood isn’t to be trusted with Salem’s immortality truth bomb. At first glance, I see where people are coming from, but looking closer, it just feels wonky. “You want to keep an eye on people in case things go horribly wrong and want to unite the world against Salem? Too bad, you’re not getting any info outta me” and it makes Ruby come off as an entitled brat than a paragon.

And so, I propose this solution:

What if Ironwood wasn’t aiming to unite the world against Salem? What if he really was freaking paranoid at the sky falling? What if, instead of re-enacting 2016 like some people have joked, we dial the clock back fifteen years and instead re-enact 2001. Some of you may see where I’m going with this, but for those who don’t, I feel like these two words will manage to convey the intent I have for Ironwood’s character:

Patriot Act.

For those who don’t know or need a refresher, back in 2001, there was a terrorist attack involving the destruction of the Twin Towers that killed almost three thousand people which placed the USA in an ongoing state of national emergency that still goes on to this day. Sound familiar?

The Fall of Beacon has a few comparisons to 9/11, namely how it was charged by terrorists of, at the time, undeterminable origins (which translates to RWBY as multiple fronts attacking Beacon at once), was responsible for a lot of deaths and destruction of at least one tower, and punted the world (namely the heavily militaristic one) in a state of panic. You could even interpret the Atlasian Soldiers being hacked as a nod to the accusations that the USA planned 9/11, but that’s a bit of a stretch.

During the fallout, the USA, in response to this and an ongoing anthrax attack at the time, decided to, almost as quickly as 9/11 happened with a month and some change in between dates, passed a very lengthy Patriot Act, which, to put it to the simplest of terms, allowed the government to have due process in searching through people’s information with the intent to put a stop to terror attacks before they even begin. However, this is how it’s used in practice. In execution, its uncertain wording and possible violation of the base Amendments caused the bill to garner skepticism or outright criticism.

And what do we see in Volume 7? Ironwood quickly passes a system that enables him to keep a closer eye on the people of Mantle and tighten imports and exports, as well as people going in and out of Atlas, not unlike how the Patriot Act was potentially harsher towards immigrants. So, we have this source of information to draw from now, make parallels and basically show this controversial subject through the lens of your Saturday morning cartoon that put on the big boy pants a couple of years ago.

So, with that in mind, let’s go back to Volume 7, Episode 1, and change up what exactly we see that would make RWBY and co go “this is horrible!”

By the point where RWBY and co get to Atlas, the border patrol shouldn’t be the first sign of danger. Weiss was there when she overheard Ironwood’s plans for increased security and they had to steal an aircraft because of said tight security. Nor would they react to Ironwood’s “Go Home. Stay Home.” speech.

What they would react to are the Paladins forcing people back to their homes, with one threatening to open fire when one of them tries to resist. Cries of “this isn’t right” are uttered when they see a human instantly attack a Faunus right after they see them and accusing them of being part of the White Fang. The moment a cop gets involved in abusing the Faunus, that’s when Blake blurts out that the city is awful, much to Nora’s chagrin.

Weiss throws the cop into the trash bin as we hear a sickening crunch (as he has no aura) as Weiss just looks in remorse. Already we get a good idea that this place is pretty fucked up without looking at a screen of someone saying “we are here for your safety” and going “this is awful!” and it evokes feelings of the racially-charged attacks that followed 9/11.

The rest of the show follows like normal, but the moment everything changes is Episode 2 when Ironwood tells them all why he’s called everyone back. It’s clear that the video has Ironwood at his strongest. As his beard is patchy and his hair greasy now comes the “you look tired” comments. Ironwood has no plans to stop Salem. The reason for his embargo and calling back his troops is to stockpile Dust and men and prepare for the inevitable war, not knowing that Vale and Mistral are hardly equipped to take on Atlas and Vacuo is… Vacuo.

He’s also paranoid that Salem will strike next. Without any reports from the other Kingdoms, he’s effectively put his head in the sand. He’s not even thinking of counterattacking, just staying and believing the best offense is a good defense… Or so RWBY assumes… Ironwood reveals soon that, as he dwelled upon the failings of Beacon, he came to the conclusion that Salem couldn’t be beaten. The most that Ozpin did was put her at a stalemate and even then, all it took is one bad night to change the tide. He is scared.

He finds a small semblance of hope in seeing Oscar and the Lamp, but he assumes that the questions are used up or if there were, the team used it to ask if Salem could be beaten. Ruby neither confirms nor denies it. With his mind clearly submitted to despair, he tells RWBY that the Winter Maiden is spending her twilight years in isolation to protect her from the villains after what happened to Amber. Weiss asks if this is a little much, only for Ironwood to snap and remind her how Cinder was able to destroy Beacon and kill Pyrrha thanks to Ozpin’s poor handling of Amber. The comment stings Jaune, since he partially blames himself for what happened. He then asks RWBY to wait until the Winter Maiden passes on so that the fresher Maiden can handle the Vault and chuck the Lamp in.

That’s when Ruby brings up the Relic’s Grimm-attracting properties. The sooner it’s in a Vault, the better. This does not bode well for Ironwood and he tries his best to compose himself with this bombshell, then permits Ruby and the others to keep the lamp, as they’ve managed to handle it on their own. RWBY then come across the Ace-Ops, who apologize for their antagonism. Weiss raises an eyebrow as she has never heard of the Ace Operatives before and Marrow jabs on about how they’re a secret police force before Harriet shuts him up with an elbow to the rib. Note that he doesn’t call themselves “the best of the best”. If anything, the name is to harbour goodwill, since anything alluding to a shadow police would just send fear and panic.

Of course, the implications of there being an Atlasian secret police flies over Ruby’s optimistic head, but the others start to feel a little suspicious with them. Clover, realizing this, tries to ease tensions by offering the rest of his team to train RWBY and JNPR. Instantly, Ruby accepts, seeing as they scraped by their victories by the skin of their teeth, glancing over to Yang’s broken arm. Clover takes note and says he’ll commission Pietro to construct upgrades for their equipment.

Episode 3 is a simple, light-hearted episode that lets us breathe from all the crazy stuff that went on. It’s also a bit more serious, though, as the gang confront Ruby on omitting the information they learned to Ironwood. Unlike my previous tweaking of Volume 7, this time everyone, Ruby included, feel like they should at least tell Ironwood something, especially after Weiss compares his attitude to when they were affected by the Apathy.

However, they have no good news to share. Even the news of having the Relic of Knowledge comes with the weight of having to tell him how they got the Relic, with Yang feeling just as guilty for omitting Raven’s Spring Maiden powers. Seeing something is off, Clover decides to have the team test their mettle against the Ace-Ops in good fun. When asking if he’s to join in, Clover decides to stay by the sidelines. JNR choose to stay out too. Qrow asks Clover, if he’s the Ace-Ops leader, why doesn’t he join and that’s where we have him casually reveal his Semblance, which causes Qrow to admit that he has the opposite kind of Semblance. Clover chuckles and ponders if being next to each other would cancel the Semblances out.

To make a long story short, the Ace-Ops defeat RWBY, even with their upgraded weapons, but it’s clear they only did it through brute strength and not through teamwork. Regardless, Ironwood is brought out of his shell and sees the battle unfold. He has the common decency to tell RWBY that they shouldn’t spend what may be months cooped up in a house (both a jab at V5 and a poorly timed joke for 2020), he graduates them on the spot so that they can do missions. Ruby takes this time to tell Ironwood that they can beat Salem, though doesn’t she clarify if this was something she learned from the Relic. It leads to Ironwood assuming that she had and is elated. The episode ends with Robyn and her Happy Huntresses having saved a Faunus from getting lynched before they notice Ironwood making an announcement, his beard and hair now trimmed and combed.

Episode 4 begins with Ironwood telling Mantle (and Atlas) about Beacon being attacked by a faceless coward and declares that Remnant will be defended. He doesn’t announce any plans, but the first thing he immediately does is lower the amount of guards in Mantle, something that gives them room to breathe. The episode introduces us to Robyn’s team and gives them some sort of depth in contrast to “is just a background character who sometimes will have a tweet telling us info like J.K. Rowling doing a Harry Potter info dump”.

Only one of them gets flashback, though. Fiona sees some kids being escorted by Jaune Arc and remembers back when she was a teacher, reading a book to the kids before they were told of the Battle of Beacon and its subsequent fall, sending the kids into fear and panic and summoning the Grimm. We don’t see the end result, but Fiona’s thousand-yard stare and hyperventilating are a clear indicator that it did not end well.

May comes across Henry, who was taking advantage of Mantle’s lower economy to buy groceries on the cheap, and we get confirmation that not only are they cousins but that May had a transition as Henry fails to recognize her. True to form, as soon as he finds out, he has a bit of a freak out before he’s decked by May.

Joanna is the first to encounter Ruby and Weiss, who are out on a routine mission to help stabilize the barrier with earth Dust (remember that’s a thing?), though questions Weiss’s presence. It’s here we get some infodump on what Jacques was up to during her escape. Willow had leaked a recorded video of Jacques hitting Weiss, which earned him some much needed bad press and sinking the SDC stock down to where other Dust Companies are vying to buy it out. It sets up a small character arc for Weiss that’s hopefully more fleshed out than V7’s: should she rescue her father and save the SDC or leave it to crumble and forge her own name? Eventually, she’ll decide on a middle path, preserving the SDC with the help of Ironwood, but making Whitley the one who takes it over, realizing that she can’t worry about the SDC when the world’s at stake.

But more on that later. As for Joanna herself, she speaks with an odd whistle lisp and a smile reveals that her two front teeth had been broken. When Ruby asked what happened to her, she shrugs and says that “I got a dose of reality from a former friend.”. A later scene of her helping out the Faunus gives a bit of an implication that she was one of the kids that Ilia was friends with, namely the one who got the broken teeth.

The biggest character depth moment comes when Robyn sets up a rally, only for hecklers to come and joke at her insistence for Mantle to be its own Kingdom without Atlas watching over them, having had enough with Atlas’s jackboot. One of the hecklers gives a reason that shows a darker side to Atlas: When Mantle lost the war, a chunk of the continent decided to levitate itself away to disassociate with the nation and that chunk became Atlas. It became unanimous that Atlas would rule over Mantle as punishment for causing the war.

Robyn’s desires to make Mantle its own nation once more invites a lot of skepticism and accusations that she’s a Neo-Mantlean, wanting to take away all forms of expression and burn art. Robyn wants none of it and asks Joanna to boot the heckler out, which only solidified his views. Nora sticks around to listen to more, as does Forrest. A small scene also happens where Clover and Qrow experiment with their Semblances before Clover realizes Qrow can’t control his. He then tries to work with Qrow and train him to be able to control it, something that isn’t going to be fully realized until the endgame. We then end the episode on Forrest being killed in the dead of the night, but we don’t see who kills him, just a hint that it may be Tyrian.

Episode 5 is a Weiss-heavy episode. After training with the Ace-Ops, Weiss is called by Winter for a special one-on-one. In reality, she wanted to tell Weiss that Jacques has fallen ill since she left and Willow has had one too many blackouts from her drinking. The Schnee family is falling apart and she gives her the ultimatum of either staying in Atlas to properly take over the SDC, bringing up that she and Ironwood can prove Weiss is sane enough to keep her title of heiress, or stay with RWBY and let the SDC be taken over by a third party that will ultimately be revealed to be Robyn and her Happy Huntresses (i.e. stealing from the rich to give to the poor).

Weiss asks why she doesn’t take it over, to which she reveals that she’ll be the Winter Maiden. Weiss is a little uneasy, remembering what Jaune had told her about Pyrrha (he’d probably either tell her off screen like everything else or bring it up when arguing with Ironwood about keeping the Maiden under lock and key) and asks if she’s okay with it. Winter give her a deadpan look and tells her “if I wasn’t, my name wouldn’t be Winter, now would it?” revealing that this was a name she picked herself and one that had been used for so long, that Weiss has no memory of what Winter’s real first name really was…

But I’m just gonna roll out the charming plot twist and say it’s Whitney. She joined Ironwood before Willow gave birth to Whitley and so he got her name, albeit masculinized.

We cut to Jaune and his team as they go on a mission to help the Ace-Ops clear out a cave. Blake and Yang join too, if only to showcase their new weapons in more detail, with Blake’s weapon upgrade actually having something to benefit it beyond just gorilla glue. Namely, the golden strip is actually a dust crystal and can be used for electrical attacks as a tribute to Ilia. We could even have a small flashback that has Blake specifically request this. It’s kinda ironic, as they’re in the mines where Ilia’s parents died in.

This is the third episode of RWBY basically, though it ends with two scenes. Qrow and Clover talk about the recent killing of Forrest and how Qrow brings up that this was the third person who spoke against Ironwood that had died in a row, having done research on the news when he arrived. They both believe that someone is setting Ironwood up, but Qrow mentions that what’s unnerving him more is his removal of troops. The last time something like this happened, he moved them all to Vale and caused fear for people. Clover says nothing, but reassures Qrow that Ironwood is making a big play.

We end the episode on the air patrol, now with notably fewer ships. One flies towards them. We see people at air control seeing a blip on their radar and just as they’re about to call it out, it disappears. They pass it off as a glitch as we cut to the plane in question…

It’s Watts and Tyrian, the former of which chuckles and notes that, while Ironwood has made an effort to change the code, it just took a bit more brute force on his part to crack and that, with a few more crackings of the code, it’d be easy for him to hack back in. They then notice a second plane flying in. It doesn’t take long for Tyrian to notice that the plane feels “off”, as though this plane isn’t “normal”. Watts just shrugs and hacks the system to let the plane in. As the second plane flies in, we get a zoom in through the windshield and see Neo and Cinder, smug as hell in thinking their disguise was foolproof.

Episode 6 focuses on Ruby and Penny. I’m not going to go into too much detail, but it’s basically the much neglected “hey, Penny, you died. I cried. I missed you.” Bit. Ironwood has recovered much better and he’s looking like he did on the videos now. He even gives the crew a night off, to which Yang and Blake get an invite from FNKI.

Things start to take a turn for the worst when Ren, of all people, asks Ruby how they’re going to beat Salem. Ruby confesses to Ren that she just told Ironwood that to give him some hope. Ren just gives Ruby a cold warning that the man had lost everything, even the will to keep fighting. Giving him hope, only to take it away would only destroy him. Nora can’t help but agree, comparing his situation to how they were given hope of beating Salem only to be told that she’s immortal.

RNR are enroute to a rally: the anniversary of the Fall of Beacon, just to fuck with the fans keeping timelines. I’d play it safe though and say it’s a two-year anniversary. It doesn’t matter, it’s basically to commemorate the fall of Beacon and honor those who have fallen. However, the rally is run by Robyn of all people and Robyn has quite a few things to say about Atlas’s handling of the situation, things that the public would rather not want to hear. Things like how they plotted to attack Beacon once Penny won the tournament but had to accelerate their plans once Pyrrha killed Penny, or how they created the White Fang for the explicit purpose of having a scapegoat.

Obviously, all of these are pure bullshit to which Ruby calls out. The one thing she can confirm is true is the hacking of the robots. While the crowd cheered at Ruby calling Robyn out, they go quiet when she talks about the robots. She makes it clear that it was a third-party that hacked the robots, but it didn’t stop the crowd from trying to get her off the stage. Robyn takes her to the backstage and asks her to shake her hand and tell her exactly what happened at Beacon. Ruby painfully recalls the Fall before shedding tears, though her words ring true for Robyn’s Semblance, prompting to ask about whether Atlas planned on attacking Beacon and being truthfully told no. Robyn has a moment of clarity, but that is halted by screams from the rally.

Meanwhile, Ren and Nora bicker about what to do regarding Ironwood. Nora wants nothing to do with him while Ren just wants to help him the best they can. This eventually goes into the conclusion that Ren has been emotionally distancing himself since they found out about Salem’s immortality and Nora tries to kiss him, only for the lights to go out and the massacre to begin. People try to take out their phones but are quickly taken down. Penny rushes in to try and fight, but she gets out maneuvered, and Marrow also tries, but the assailant purposefully avoids him. By the time Robyn and Ruby get involved, the massacre is over and the lights turn back on as its revealed to be Tyrian, claiming the responsibility for the killings under the White Fang’s name. Before Robyn can attack, Tyrian scurries away and announces to the surviving public that war is coming. Panic maximum is hit as Grimm attack.

Episode 7 is kinda like the Episode 7 of my other rewrite, Grimm attack interrupts FNKI and there’s a large angry mob, but this time, it’s more akin to pandemonium. Not only does the Huntsmen have to fight the onslaught of Grimm, but stop the crazed civilians from lynching the first Faunus they see: Blake and Neon. This leads to a bit where one of them tries to brand Blake with an SDC branding stick and Yang snaps, kicking his ass and, thanks to his lack of aura, crippling or outright killing him. People suddenly remember who Yang is (remember, the whole world saw her injure Mercury) and so they team up on her, beating her up and stealing her metallic arm.

Similar outbursts happen with the other Huntsmen, showing them the worst of humanity encapsulated in a single night and reacting negatively to it. The only person who is above it all is Weiss, who learned her lesson after she snapped at that Trophy Wife, and, as a nod to that, she summons a Boarbatusk when she sees someone making off with Yang’s arm and has the Boarbatusk not gore the person, but take the arm from them and bring it back to Weiss.

I don’t want to make it as dark as the other rewrite’s V7E7 where Penny gets torn apart limb from limb, but I do want to at the very least show just how desperate humanity is when the chips are down, so perhaps crippling Neon with a gunshot to the leg. Just as things are about to get worse, Ironwood personally intervenes with his army of robots as he quickly handles the situation by having those robots subdue the rioters. At first, it seems like he’s being the reasonable authority figure that we all know and love… Then he looks to one of the rioters, the drunk man that Weiss would have tossed into the bin, and tells him “With all the negativity you’re showering onto others, the Grimm are only interested in you right now.” Then, as coldly as the robot he commands, says “Cast these rabble out to the cold.” They comply, much to Ruby’s dismay, as some of the robots throw about a dozen people out of the wall and lock them out. They beg to be let in as we end the episode with a person looking in horror as he sees a Manticore swoop in and we get one of those shots where the monster eats the camera.

Episode 8 begins with a long, silent moment with all the members of RWBY, JNPR, the Ace-Ops, and Qrow in Ironwood’s office. It’s obvious what has to be said, and Nora is the one to say it.

“You sent them out there to die.” She grumbles.

“The longer they remained in Mantle, the longer they caused trouble.” He replies.

“That doesn’t mean you should have killed them!” Nora shouts.

“Would you rather I had my robots shoot them right there? In front of everyone? I’m a general, not a dictator.” James said.

“Well, you certainly acted like one back there.” Nora retorted. We see Clover is a little unnerved with Nora’s replies.

“One of my highest-preforming Huntresses is unable to walk without mechanical equipment because of them and if I had let them stay any longer, I feared that I wouldn’t be able to save her or anyone for that matter. I shouldn’t have gone lenient. Because of that, we now have one of Salem’s minions hiding out in Mantle, ready to strike again and make everything worse.” Ironwood says.

To make a long conversation short, he orders the Ace-Ops track down Tyrian and execute him on sight, along with any other suspected members of Salem, as that’s what they do. Meanwhile he confesses that he hasn’t been truthful to them about something out of fear that the plan would be leaked. He plans to have a satellite built on Amity Arena and hoist it up, using it to reactivate the CCT. There, he will tell the world what Ozpin neglected to tell them: the real cause of the Fall of Beacon is Salem and they must unite to kill her. He labels it as Operation Unifying Freedom. The crowd goes pretty silent as Weiss asks if this would even work, as people may believe it to be a lie. That’s when Ruby gets the idea to bring Robyn into the picture, as she realizes what her Semblance can do.

Ironwood explains that Robyn refuses to work with Atlas and he fears that her stance against Atlas would only make things worse. While he has a point at first, he then continues to spout off how Robyn can’t be trusted in a manner that screams paranoia, thinking that she too could be a spy for Salem without realizing that she has nothing to gain from rallying the citizens of Mantle with conspiracy theories they don’t believe. Oscar calms him down and asks him about Atlas’s Relic, since he wonders how it can be involved in OUF. Ironwood complies and we’ll get a later scene.

From here, we have people assessing the newly found situation. Ruby and Jaune talk about whether she should tell Ironwood about Salem not being able to die. Jaune is pretty insistent that they do before Ironwood steps into matters he has no idea about, reminding her that Pyrrha never found out about Salem when she died.

Ren and Nora confront each other about Ironwood, to which Ren explicitly spells out that they’re doing jack and shit while Ironwood is trying his hardest to help. Nora brings up her “you’re not the one struggling” speech, but with a heavier coding that implies she knows more about Mantle than Ren realizes. Ren ends the conversation by guilt-tripping Nora. “The sooner we beat Salem and place her back in the sludge from which she came, the sooner we could prevent another Kuroyuri from happening.”

Blake visits Neon in a hospital bed, who is bummed out at being told she’ll never walk again with her injury. They have a touching heart to heart where Blake tries to take the blame for the bad things that happened to her, saying that she should have helped improve relations everywhere, only for Neon to tell her that she’s done enough. While at first, it comes off as rude, Neon explains that Blake can’t just change the world on her own, especially with something as deep-rooted as racism. The most she can do is make a change in her area. Neon cites herself as an example. Before, no Faunus were allowed at Atlas or if they did, they have to hide their traits. Neon gave them the middle finger and wore what she wanted, though this earned Ironwood’s respect enough to use his two seats and allow more Faunus in. Marrow comes in as well and we have what we’re going to get in V8, now without the awkward “but they’re enemies now” moment.

Weiss talks to Yang about her family and asks her what to do about it, as she knows too much about abandonment issues from both parents. Yang sits Weiss down and tells her that even though Taiyang didn’t raise her and Ruby for most of their lives and Raven was too busy murdering innocent people to care, they’re still her family. She’s this close to revealing that Raven is the Spring Maiden, but stops herself short. Unfortunately, Weiss hears enough to draw her conclusion later on.

Ironwood and Oscar talk about the Vault and its Relic of Creation.

“So… What? Can it create stuff?” Oscar asks.

“Ozpin knows more about the relic than I do. The most I know is that we can’t use it.” Ironwood said.

“How so?” Oscar asks.

“Because the person that came before Ozpin used the Relic to hoist a chunk of Solitas in the air. He says it’s to be a beacon of hope…” Ironwood then takes a moment to remorsefully look down at the floor. “If only that were true.”

Oscar asks what he means and as we see Weiss go to her father’s house, Ironwood goes into more details about what happened. After the Great War, the people deciding on the Vytal treaty wanted to blame Mantle for kick-starting the war and as such, charged them with repaying for the ten years of damages and severely cripple their military to prevent another war from happening. It was unanimous, but before the charges could apply, the King struck a deal with the nobility of Mantle that, provided they share their newfound technological knowledge with the rest of the world, he would create a loophole by making the Kingdom of Atlas and prevent them from getting caught in the inevitable punishment of Mantle.

Oscar’s clearly distraught that Ozpin would do something like that, since this meant that the real people who were responsible for the war got away and let innocents take the fall. Ironwood, however, sees it as a chance for Mantle to start anew. “Besides, I can’t do anything about it now… If I were to remove the Staff, then this entire place comes crashing down…” We end with Weiss entering the house as Ironwood reveals that one of the nobles who fled punishment were Gele and Schnee, Jacques and Willow’s ancestors respectively. We see that Weiss isn’t alone, as she had brought RBY with her.

Episode 9 is another Weiss-centric episode, as she is brought up to speed as to what happened. Klein got fired and replaced with Faunus servants (if you want to go the extra mile, all of them are rabbit Faunus). Weiss is found by Willow and they have a small chat about the situation at hand. Willow has sobered quite enough, but the damage to her liver is done and she doesn’t expect to live long. Jacques had it worse though. The bad press and subsequent embargo have stressed Jacques out so much that he’s shortened his life expectancy to about a few months, now on his death bed.

Fiona is there too, having an arm in a sling after surviving a lynching from a mob. When asked what she’s doing here, she explains that she’s to oversee the transaction and ensure Robyn has full ownership of the SDC. This puts the cast at an uncertainty because, while they might fully trust Robyn, it’s clear that the supply of Dust that the SDC can provide would bolster the project by tenfold. Penny is also there, since Winter has been her partner since she was rebuilt and thus, is welcomed into the family.

Knowing that she can take over the SDC, Weiss goes in to confront her father. It’s clear that he’s seen better days. His body is bony, his hair is now a full-on toupee, and he’s coughing irregularly as a monitor beeps, acting as a timer for his remaining life. Jacques sees Weiss and glares at her at first, then melts into a serene glance. Weiss doesn’t buy it, but they have a pretty deep conversation about what happened since Weiss ran away, paired with a piano medley of all of Weiss’s theme songs, starting with “The Path to Isolation”, then both parts to “Mirror Mirror”, followed by “It’s My Turn” However, there’s no “This Life Is Mine” anywhere during the chat…

Jacques reveals that business has plummeted since the embargo, though leaving out that smaller tier dust companies that he hasn’t bought out managed to flourish and keep the minimalist economy of Mantle afloat. He talks of all the people he ruined with his practices, starting from recent cases where he reduced people’s wages to the point where they’re working with less than minimum wage, but then dialing back to before the events, where he talks about the unfortunate explosion that claimed Ilia’s parents as well as “a rowdy Faunus I personally had to deal with… I had a hot branding iron, Weiss, normally to brand my property… And…” Blake instantly knows what he’s talking about and runs off. It’s clear that Jacques is having death bed confessions and while Weiss is ready to tear them down, she can’t. She realizes what Yang meant when she said that they’re still family.

However, Jacques then goes back to his old self and calls Weiss out for being the reason his company went under, practically going all “why did you make me hit you” and the harassment causes Weiss to yell at Jacques, telling him that he is everything that’s wrong with the SDC and that the world would be better off without him. She then runs off and Yang tells Ruby they should go, but Ruby insists on staying with a cold expression that scares Yang. She leaves as Ruby just gives him the business.

“You struck my partner… You turned someone into a monster that maimed my sister and haunted her partner… You’re responsible for these radical attacks from Faunus… And yet you never once thought that it’s people like you that are to blame for the problems of the world? Another Great War could happen very soon and you care more about your bottom dollar than the well-being of others… And yet, I’d rather you live, to see us turn the world you and everyone else have corrupted into a better place than what anyone had thought of 80 years ago. I want you to live and see your daughter take your company and use it in ways you can never imagine…”

“… Well, I hate to disappoint you then…” He coughs and flops onto his bed, having gasped his last, the long beep confirming his death. Ruby is shocked as Weiss comes in and sees this. This is where a somber piano rendition of “This Life is Mine” plays, as Weiss breaks down into tears. She wanted this to happen for so long, to take over the SDC from her father, and yet, this wasn’t what she had in mind. Ruby comforts her, but then says this:

“He told me what he could never muster the strength to tell you… He loved you, truly, but he had a funny way of showing it and he apologized for all the pain and torture he inflicted onto others…” She says it in a way that convinces Weiss, but Yang leaves the room, being very shocked with the fact that Ruby straight up lied. Before, telling Ironwood that he could beat Salem and not telling him about the immortality was acceptable since she never once said he could kill Salem and they all understand that delaying her plans counts as “beating”. Now? She pretty much lied to Weiss’s face about what her father said and the worst part is, she can’t properly call her out on it.

Blake and Yang then have a chat about whether this was for the best as the piano song shifts to “Nevermore”, with Yang breaking down and telling Blake: “I lied too! I lied about the Spring Maiden!” However, Blake doesn’t get upset with this, namely because she has no idea what the Spring Maiden fiasco was all about. She notes that they have changed since the Fall of Beacon and this is where Penny comes in, escorting Winter so as to help comfort her when she inevitably sees her father’s cadaver. However, Winter insists she’ll be fine and goes ahead as Penny joins in on the conversation, only to be told by Yang that, no. It will not be like Beacon again. It will never be like Beacon again. They’ve changed so much from the past few months/year that they are barely the same person. Blake even confesses to having taken a life. Penny begins to cry, yet she doesn’t understand why yet, though it’s implied that she is the only one of the characters that hasn’t “grown up” due to her situation.

The piano medley returns to “This Life Is Mine” as Weiss and Winter, taking time to set up an interview, attempt to announce that Weiss is to inherit the title… Only for Weiss to refuse. She makes a speech on how she needs to improve the world and that she will do it more as a Huntress than she would as the owner and so respects her father’s wishes for Whitley to take over the SDC and having Ironwood financially back the company in trade for helping them with a project to reboot the CCT. Ironwood sees this and has a freak-out when she reveals the plans for the CCT, telling Clover that she’s leaking plans.

We see people react to the news unfolding as the song becomes much more sinister and twisted. Cinder and Neo don’t give two shits, but Cinder decides to figure out a means to take this to her advantage. Watts just smirks and mutters that there’s no use as he cracks the code to Mantle’s heating grid and shuts it off. People then begin to freak out as Robyn sees the notification that the SDC will not be bought out by the Happy Huntresses. As May asks Robyn if that’s a problem, she sees people go into a riot before she smirks. “No, no I don’t think it will.” As she says that, the piano makes a full transition to “When It Falls” as we see people raid shops, throw trashcans at TVs, set up huge fires, and toss the robots into the fire, all while Grimm begin to raid Mantle.

Episode 10 kicks off with a large raid alarm as RWBY, JNPR, and even the Ace-Ops and Happy Huntresses try to stave off the raid. This is where things mostly stay the same with the exception of no Ironwood telling everyone his plans. However, Ironwood does take his weapons and goes to the Amity Arena, knowing that at least someone would interfere in his plans. He expresses a bit of shock that it’s Watts who is there, but he doesn’t mind it one bit.

“Thought you died.”

“I did.” He gives a smirk and doesn’t give much detail until…

Episode 11, where a battle causes Watts to get injured and reveals that he’s a robot with his aura implanted into it. “I finally saw what the fat bastard was talking about when he talked of preserving life.” The fights remain the same, but the change begins when Watts has the last laugh, taunting him that his attempts to stop Salem will be fruitless and that he finds using the CCT to rally the world together will only end in pain. Ironwood, determined to stop Salem, drops Watts into the pit of lava, though not before Watts deactivates his robot body and turns it into a conduit to hack into Amity Arena and thus hijack the CCT built inside.

Tyrian is soon beaten and it’s discussed what they should do with him. Robyn wants him to stand trial while Clover wants to execute him. Robyn protests, calling Clover a bootlicker for doing what Ironwood has told him to, but Qrow shuts her up and tells her that Tyrian is a dangerous fucking serial killer that has done far more harm than good. Robyn scoffs, then leaves as Clover prepares to execute Tyrian with his fishing pole (the first time he actually reveals his weapon) and as we see the bob and hook, people might be able to connect the dots…

However, before then, RWBY, having evacuated the people of Mantle (save for the few stubborn ones that they can’t do anything about) and Weiss seeing a homeless Klein and almost sacrificing herself to save and evacuate. Robyn sneaks aboard while RWBY and the Ace-Ops report back to Ironwood over the chess piece he found. Unlike in the original, he is a lot more stable with how he handles it, telling RWBY to go track down Cinder while he prepares the transfer to Winter. This makes Weiss upset though, since this means killing Fria. Ironwood tells them they have no other choice in the matter, since they can’t risk Cinder taking another Maiden power. Ruby manages to convince Ironwood that, they wouldn’t need to do the transfer if they find Cinder first and take her down. He gives them that benefit of the doubt at least.

Meanwhile, inside the craft, Robyn tells the people that this is exactly what Ironwood wants, to corral Mantle and make them dance under his strings until they do what he wants. This actually gets through to the people who are finally fed up with Atlas stomping on them and Robyn enacts a full-blown revolt. Making matters worse is that Salem uses the hacked CCT (in which the virus is basically a digitized Seer) to broadcast herself onto Atlas and Mantle. This is where the scene where Salem appears comes in, but recontextualized because here, she’s talking to everyone, not just Ironwood and RWBY.

She shows just how real she is by commanding some of the Grimm to stop attacking Mantle and return to the tundra, saying how she’ll make the Grimm never bother Mantle again provided they give the Lamp and the Staff to her. Ruby interrupts using her phone and tells her that they’ll beat her, with Ironwood adding that they will destroy her. Salem just laughs, knowing that Ruby has slipped that she knows about Salem. Gives her the famous “your mother” quote, but with the added quote of “None can really kill me… Isn’t that what found out from dear old Ozpin?”

“What is she talking about?” Ironwood asks Ruby, she stammers.

“I… I mean what I said. We can beat Salem-” Then Yang interrupts her.

“But we can’t kill her. We don’t know the full extent but… Ozpin in a past life asked if there was a way to destroy her and he was told that he can’t. So…” Yang looks to Ruby with a disappointed look in her eyes.

Ironwood slumps into his chair as Salem broadcasts her intent to invade Atlas to grab the Relics and that they’d make things much more pleasant for themselves if they handed them over. She gives one last parting remark before she logs out. Now, we can have Ironwood react one of two ways, which would impact the rest of the story.

Either he nuts up and decides to go nuclear on Salem’s ass, stubbornly believing that there has to be a way to destroy Salem and goes all in on having Winter become the Maiden so they can have Atlas go down rather than up. With people comparing this scene to Sokovia, might as well just go all in with the plot, right? Ruby and the others protest that this would end the world with the force Atlas would have, Ironwood goes “with us or against us”, Ruby makes an announcement and calls him a bitch ass motherfucker, and we get the same conclusion as before where the Ace Ops turn on RWBY.

He sits calmly. Ruby can see the lights in his eyes fade as the Ace-Ops panic. Even Weiss and Blake are afraid. Ruby then tells Ironwood that they have to do something, only for Ironwood to smile and say “Ruby… There’s a solution here you’re not seeing…” Before he pulls out his white gun and puts it at his head, ending the episode with a literal bang.

Either way, the Ace-Ops turn on RWBY, either by following orders or because they blame Ruby for filling Ironwood with false hope, with Harriet calling it a disease and that Ruby spreads it around like a plague.

If we don’t end the episode with Ironwood’s suicide, then we end with Tyrian musing and commenting on how Ironwood has picked a new attack dog. Qrow is confused at this before he remembers all the murders that were caused. At first, he suspected it to be Tyrian, but as Clover looks on, he puts two and two together and asks:

“… No… You didn’t…”

“Sometimes, you have to pull a few bad weeds to keep your clover patch alive…” He coldly says.

Episode 12 picks up right where the last episode would leave off, with Clover and Qrow having a stand off, with Clover explaining that the Ace-Ops aren’t called that because they’re the best, far from it, but because they’re willing to do the things no normal person would do, and that includes killing certain people to keep the system alive. Qrow tries his hardest not to fight Clover, but unfortunately for him, Clover concludes that he is to die alongside Tyrian, who has healed. Like in the previous fixing Volume 7 thing I did, the fight becomes more of a proper melee a trois where Clover, Tyrian, and Qrow battle each other equally.

Tyrian, in the middle of this, says how he used to be Ironwood’s attack dog before his destructive nature caused Ironwood to fire and arrest him before said behaviour stings his metaphorical froggy ass (remember that old fable he’s based off?) and notes how Clover takes after him with how the bob and hook look eerily like a scorpion stinger, hence how he put two and two together. The fight gets pretty brutal before Qrow ends up finally managing to control his Semblance by figuring out where to target. He ends up targeting Clover and cancels out the good luck he has, putting him on an even level, then slipping the bad luck over to Tyrian to trip the both of them up. It ends the same, with Qrow punching Clover’s aura. Clover tells Qrow that he’s willing to die for his Kingdom and asks if that’s something Qrow would do. Tyrian stabs Clover, leaves as he hears the cops come, and Clover, in his last words, just tells Qrow “you and your entire team… you killed us all!” Qrow then closes his eyes and cries, saying “Yeah, I know…”

Like in the previous rewrite, we have Neo take the relic from Oscar, but she’s stopped by a mob of people that are raiding the base. JNR find Neo and Oscar decks her in the face, but it’s clear they’re outnumbered… Only for the mob to remember the four and help them, one of them telling Neo that if they mess with one with them, she messes with all of them.

RWBY vs the Ace-Ops… goes the same. But now we don’t have the “they’re the best of the best but then they trained RWBY” BS.

Episode 13 has the crowd mess with Neo, but even so, she outmaneuvers them and kills a few of them. In the chaos, she takes the Relic of Knowledge as guards come in and gun down the crowd. Jaune runs, only before seeing one of the kids getting shot as well. Jaune just freaks out, then rushes in and kills one of the guards. A robot catches footage of this and he’s suddenly on the wanted list. He tells Ren and Nora to run with Oscar as he holds off the guards. Robyn helps Jaune out in taking out the guards last minute.

Everything with Penny, Winter, Fria, and Cinder are the same. The ending, however, depends on what happened to Ironwood.

Ironwood Lives Ending: He orders every intruder to be killed on sight, prompting RWBY, Nora and Ren to flee to Mantle. Oscar stays behind and talks to Ironwood before he gets shot and Ozpin comes back. This is the most in line to V7’s ending.

Ironwood Dies Ending: The crowd easily overpower the military and take over, but now have crippled themselves as Salem’s forces arrive. Robyn does not care though, as she tosses Ironwood’s corpse out the window and towards the icy depths below before taking over his position. “Headmaster Hill… Has a nice ring to it…” RWBY and JNPR reconvene as they bare witness to Salem’s forces arriving. Blake asks Ruby:

“What do we do now?”

To which Ruby replies:

“Now? Now we save the world.” Before we end with her cocking her rifle.

The Stinger would be Ozpin coming back to Oscar and telling him that the fate of Remnant is not for him and his faction to decide on anymore. That it now rests in the new generation. He passes on and it’s Oscar who becomes the dominant as all the memories of Ozma’s lives come back. Oscar is now filled with determination.

And with that, that’s how I’d do Volume 7 if the Mantle subplot was more akin to the post 9/11 environment than it is 2016 Elections, with bits of modern-day politics and even a bit of Stalinism involved. The Penny Subplot can either be in this Volume unaltered or to be decided upon next Volume.

#RWDE #Rewrite #RWBY Rewrite #RWBY

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cottontail20 · 5 years

Text

Children Of Iron, Chapter 6: Wild Card

Summary:Wanda and Vision are not sure what kind of reception to expect from Nick Fury

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20323687/chapters/49807538

"Should we borrow a boat to follow them?" Harley whispered, returning the Iron Legion droid to it's case.

"No.. they'll spot us too easily that way" said Vision.

"Right" Wanda agreed. "We'll follow from the sky."

"Does it really matter if they spot us?" Harley questioned. "I mean.. Nick Fury's like top of the pile when it comes to the good guys."

Wanda and Vision shared an uncertain look. While what Harley said was true, that Fury was basically everybody's boss since he had created the Avengers.. For various complicated reasons, neither Vision nor Wanda had ever met him. At least not properly. Vision had a vague recollection of being introduced to him in the post-Sokovia chaos. Wanda may have too, although she was too grief-stricken over Pietro to remember much else from that time.

They both knew that you didn't usually get to meet Nick Fury unless he wanted you to meet him, especially after his faked death, and they weren't entirely sure how he would react to their showing up unexpectedly in the middle of one of his operations.

"I still think it best that we fly for now.." Vision finally replied, and Wanda nodded in agreement.

"You're the boss" Harley shrugged. --

So, they hovered what they thought was a safe distance from the boat as they followed, with Vision holding onto Wanda and Harley, phasing them all to limit their chances of being seen. They watched as Fury handed Peter a gift from Tony.

"Do you think Tony left anything for me?" Harley whispered hopefully.

"I'm not sure.. Probably" Vision replied. "We're still finding things he had tucked away.."

"Like this.." Wanda replied quietly, smiling as she wiggled her ring finger.

Vision smiled back at her.

They continued to follow the boat until it reached the mouth of a tunnel. Then, Nick Fury turned, looking straight up at them, aimed a rifle, and fired. Peter, at the realization they were being followed, but not knowing by who, hurriedly pulled on his mask in the brief chaos that followed.

"Ah!"Harley yelped, almost dropping the Iron Legion case.

Though the shot would have passed harmlessly through them in their phased state, Vision twisted in the air to dodge it. Wanda raised a hand to halt the bullet, quickly realizing that it was not a bullet at all.

"Vizh, it's just a tranquilizer.."

"You're damn lucky it's just a tranquilizer!" Fury yelled up to them. "Let this be a lesson, no-one follows Nicholas J. Fury without him knowing about it! Now all of you idiots get in the damn boat before you set off the rest of our security."

Wanda and Vision shared a slightly sheepish look, then headed down to land in the boat. Harley, now clinging to Vision's back like a monkey, quickly got down, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. This was not how he'd wanted to meet more of his heroes.

"Well.. Hello" Vision managed a smile.

"Uh.. Hi, Vision.." Even beneath his mask, Peter's confusion was clear.

"I suppose we have some explaining to do.." Wanda chuckled nervously.

"You bet you do, Maximoff.." Fury's eye flickered to Harley. "Who's the kid?"

"Oh, I'm Harley, Harley Keener.." Harley thrust out a hand, which Peter took. "I'm, uh.. the new Stark Industries intern.."

"New Intern?" The eyes of the Spider-Man mask narrowed.

Vision grew nervous as he watched them, detecting a hint of jealousy in Peter's voice.

"Yeah" Harley continued excitedly, oblivious to the slight change in the other boy's demeanor. "Tony talked with me about it before the blip. Never got a chance to follow through, but now Vision's hired me.. It's nice to meet you, Spider-Man, I'm a really big fan.."

"Nice to meet you too, I guess.."

"Stark and kids.." Fury shook his head as he started up the boat once more, "Who would have thought?"

"Harley has a lot of very useful tiny robots" said Vision.

"...Good to know." --

"You really thought I wouldn't notice you?" Fury continued to scold Wanda and Vision as the boat moved down the tunnel. "I've been keeping my eye on you for a while, Maximoff, and Vision, well.. Let's just say that I keep better tabs on Stark's super-bots than he ever did..Congrats on the engagement, by the way.."

"Thank you, Sir" Vision blushed. "We really are sorry for any trouble we might have caused."

"We just saw the news, and we were concerned about.." Wanda began.

"Your concern is noted, and appreciated" Fury cut her off. "But next time, let someone know so we can claim your little mission as legit, okay? None of the remaining Avengers can go running around half-cocked, a repeat of the Sokovia Accords is the last thing we need right now.."

Wanda's cheeks reddened at the mention of the accords, but Vision nodded.

"Understood, sir.."

"Good.." As Fury stopped the boat, and everyone piled out for it to head for what they assumed was a temporary Mission Control Center, he turned his attention back to Peter. "You can lose the mask, everyone here's seen you without it.."

"He hasn't.." Peter pointed to Harley.

"Yeah, but I know you're Peter Parker though" Harley shrugged.

Peter removed his mask, looking a little annoyed.

Vision grew nervous.. his brotherly bonding expedition seemed to have taken an awkward turn.

"That's better.." Fury continued. "You don't need to be feigning anonymity and breathing through spandex for no good reason.." --

As they headed into the control center, they were introduced to a rather imposing agent named Dimitri whom didn't react when Harley smiled at him.

Maria Hill, whose gaze Wanda avoided.. She had at one time, spoken as a joke, heard Hill's abridged assessment of her and her twin (He's fast. She's weird.), and the words had upset her more than she wanted to admit.

And finally, the armored 'hero' from the news who had sparked Vision and Wanda's whole trip.

".. This is Mr. Beck..

"You're the guy from the news!" Harley cried.

"Mysterio.." Peter gasped.

"What?" The man looked confused.

"Oh, it's just what my friends were.." As Peter stumbled his way through an explanation, Beck shook Harley's hand, Vision's, and Wanda's, but then zeroed back in on Peter just a little too fast for Wanda's liking.

"I saw what you did with the tower. We could have used someone like you on my world."

"Your world?" Peter was confused.

"What do you mean 'Your' world?" Wanda frowned.

"Well.." --

Of all the things Vision had expected to uncover when they set out on this trip, the existence of multiple Universes, and a series of attacks on the Earth from Elemental Monsters was not high on the list.

The news that the last and most dangerous of these monsters, the Fire Elemental, was set to attack Prague in two days, and that Fury planned to take Peter along to help defeat it was an extra level of shock. Vision was about to object to his brother's participation, but Peter was providing a rather good argument himself for why he couldn't go to Prague. That Aunt May would be worried, the danger of his classmates discovering his identity..

"...Then the whole world will work out who I am, and then I'm done."

"He's got a point, you know" Harley cut in. "If my Mom knew what this Internship really involved.. well, she'd be pissed, even if she did know about my Iron Legion."

Peter gave Harley a thankful look, but still seemed somewhat unsettled by the other boy's presence.

"Alright" Fury surprisingly replied. "I understand.."

To Peter's great surprise and relief, Fury instructed Dimitri to return Peter to his Hotel. Vision smiled at Wanda, pleased with the new development. It seemed they had succeeded in keeping Peter safe. Wanda smiled back at him, but was slightly distracted. She had been subtly keeping one eye on Beck as everything unfolded. Something about the man just didn't feel right.

After Peter was safely out of earshot, however, everything changed.

"Hill" Fury instructed, "Have Parker's school trip redirected to Prague."

"Yes, Sir" Hill nodded.

"What?" Vision frowned.

"He's an Avenger now. He can't shirk his responsibilities."

"He doesn't" Vision argued. "He does so much for his neighborhood, foiling crimes. This trip is his first break, and he needs it. He's still just a boy."

"Besides, you have Vision and I now" said Wanda.

"And me" Harley cut in.

"Exactly" Wanda continued. "Harley's Iron Legion can fight from a distance. There's no reason for us to put children in danger."

"No offense" Beck interrupted, "I'm sure you guys are great, but we made our plan with Parker in mind.."

"I don't believe anyone asked you, Mr. Beck" Wanda snapped. "And any plan that requires a child to be successful seems like a pretty de pularie plan to me!"

"Peter Parker stopped being a child the second he put on that suit Stark made him" Fury cut in. "He's doing this job whether he likes it or not."

"But.."

"Don't take this the wrong way" Fury turned to Wanda, ignoring her interruption. "I'm glad you and Vision and little Iron Lad are here. We need all the help we can get.. But you're a wild card, Maximoff, Vision's been out of action, and Keener's untested."

"No I'm not!" Harley argued. "My Iron Legion.."

"Quiet, kid.. Parker has real field experience, you don't. Parker has a mostly clean on the field record.." Fury turned back to Wanda. "You definitely don't. I'll be damned if I'm going to leave the fate of the world up to a wild card, a partially broken android and Tony Stark's plan B!"

Wanda's eyes flashed scarlet. She wasn't sure what she felt more, hurt, or angry. She turned and stormed out of the control room. A deflated Harley followed not too far behind her.

Vision felt something flare in his synthetic gut. For the first time since his resurrection, maybe the first time in his whole life, he was angry.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Sir.." He glared at Fury, "I respect you.. but I do not think I like you very much."

With that, he followed his fiance' and his brother back outside.

Watching the scene unfold, Quentin Beck smirked.

Notes:

Translation:

de pularie: shitty

#scarlet vision #ScarletVision #Scarlet Witch #wanda maximoff #The Vision #peter parker #harley keener #wanda x vision #vision x wanda #Nick Fury #spider man #spider man far from home #Avengers #MCU #far from home fix it

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mlmdarkfiction · 5 years

Note

[ points gun ] all of the horror asks

*insert joke abt the Gun Kink anon here*

Slasher Film: What are some of your favorite scary movies? I fucking love the Chucky movies. Which is ironic because as a kid was terrified of them (although I think that’s more due to my father tormenting me with Chucky and I was around maybe 3 or 4 so), I mentioned before I really liked Oculus even though it’s not a “slasher film” it is a scary movie so? And obviously I fucking love the Evil Dead movies.

Jump Scare: What is a fear that you have? A fear that I have hm. It’s hard because the older I get the less I’m afraid of impractical things. Empty bathrooms is one that gets me, and I know for a fact that fear comes from my father making me watch IT as a child because of the bathroom scene, and aside from that I think I’ve mentioned I still get uncomfortable hanging my legs off the edge of a bed because something can grab my feets (Thankfully I sleep currently on quite literally a mattress on the floor so that’s not a fear I’m confronted with often)

Haunted House: How much would it cost to get you to stay in a haunted house? So I not only believe in ghosts, but believe I’ve had experiences with them. That being said, ya boi broke as fuck and has been homeless. I know the worth of a dollar. 5$ bucks a night and I’ll stay anywhere, haunted or no.

666: Do you have a lucky number? Not really? Although when it comes to having to pick I’m partial to evens.

Bloodbath: Baths or showers? Both have their downfalls. Uhhh I’m gunna go with bath, even though I don’t enjoy baths, just because were my legs are fucked up and I can’t stand up very long on my own without my leg braces there’s less chance of me hurting myself if I take a bath lmao.

Found Footage: Have you ever posted a video on YouTube? God this is embarrassing as fuck but in elementary school I made Sonic AMV’s that were INSANELY popular.

Scream Queen: Are you dressing up for Halloween this year? Probably not. The people I used to celebrate Halloween with (working on a haunted trail, going to their halloween anniversary party, ect) are no longer in my life as my brother broke up with one of them so :/ Last year I worked on their trail though with a weird Amanda/Leather face type character I came up with. And then for the actual Halloween Party I went as Taako from the DND podcast The Adventure Zone.

Here’s my butcher costume from the trail though. I should really make an oc based around this. A DUDE TOLD ME I MADE HIS DAUGHTER PEE HERSELF on his second round through the trail and I thought he was gunna kick my ass but he seemed thrilled.

Pumpkin Guts: Do you like pumpkin spice lattes? Pumpkin spice is okay. After a while it makes me sick though. One of my alters a couple years ago ate a whole pumpkin spice roll in one sitting and I was just “Why...why are you like this”

Grave Robber: Have you ever tried to talk to a ghost? Like I said! I believe in Ghosts and believe I’ve lived somewhere haunted. That being said, we used to have a touch lamp, and I would ask it questions. The way the lamp would work is one touch is on, another touch brighter, a third touch off. So I’d use that as a scale to talk to the spirit. I don’t remember if it was two for no or one for yes or vice versa, but I’d ask yes or no questions and the lamp would react.

Claw Marks: If you could own an exotic pet, what would you choose to have? Ahhhh I dunno. I had pet rats for a while there and they’re very good boys. I don’t think I’m a big pet person on my own maybe.

Cryptid Sighting: What cryptid fascinates you the most? I answered this one already!

Cult Gathering: Are you a part of any organizations? Nope! I am a very boring individual.

Friday the 13th: Do you like to go out or stay in on Friday nights? Uhh I feel like I’d probably enjoy going out on Fridays if I had anything to do or money or friends but I’m an under 21 year old broke college boy with no irl friends so usually I stay in and just stream movies with friends?

Devil Horns: Are you an angel or a devil? Well if my forced extremely religious upbringing has taught me anything it’s that I’m the devil!

Bloody Mary: Do you have any urban legends specific to where you’re from? Aside from Moth Man originating here I don’t really know? I used to live near this weird part in the woods called Devils Chair that was supposed to be for summoning demons or some shit but was really just a makeout spot for teens. I’d pass it everyday when I walked home from work. I think I took nudes there once lmao.

But nah I think WV is one of those places where everyones too worried about their methed up cousin murdering them in their sleep to worry about urban legends.

Spooky Scary Skeletons: What’s your favorite dance craze? I don’t..have one? is that a thing people are supposed to have?

Vampire Bite: Have you ever had braces? AAA leg braces?? lmao. but no not like teeth braces. I was supposed to I think as I have like...a HUGE gap between my front teeth but ??

because we all know I’m bad at medical care I don’t think I saw a dentist as a child, and the last time I saw one was three years ago when the pain from my wisdom teeth was so bad i caved and had to get them taken out.

Butcher Knife: Can you cook? Somewhat ? I mean I can. I’m not totally confident, but I can like cook enough to survive ya know?

Possessed Doll: Are dolls creepy or cute? It honestly depends. SOME DOLLS JUST GIVE OFF BIG HAUNTED DOLL ENERGY other dolls are bapy must protect. It just depends on the doll.

Witches’ Brew: What would be put into a potion to summon you? why would anyone want to summon me oaidknsa

chunks of obnoxiously covered lipstick moss a fabric swatch of a hawaiin shirt And a koolaid jammers

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medusasresfriadas · 6 years

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6, 13, 17, 36, 42, 50!! (Excuse the long list :P)

6: Which book was the last one you really, really loved?

i think it was the gentleman’s guide to vice and virtue? honestly i forget the books i’ve read and when ive read them really easily.

if we’re getting picky and only counting the sort of books than you wouldn’t mind reading instead of being alive (not in a suicidal idealization kind of way. just being so absorbed in a story that it might as well swallow you whole. the kind of book that, if you read it, you spend most of the day almost in a haze, going through the motions with your thoughts about the book as constant background noise you slip into when you can

so. that doesn’t sound entirely healthy. i promise i didn’t mean to make it sound like that), probably all for the game? i think it was after those that i started pretty mediocre books and just didn’t read for a while, but again,time… is hard

13: Name a book with a really bad movie/tv adaption

naming another one, just because i can! and because i’m still pissed at the precy jackson adaptation, so yeah. the lightning thief, don’t think i have to explain this one

17: If you owned a bookshop what would you call it?

i don’t even know. i do know that it would be an either terrible or surprisingly clever pun that @aoi-herondale came up with and had me at least three minutes laughing. we’ve joked about a library before and we agree that it would have a cafe/some sor tof cofee shop area or whatever the word is (no, im not copying your answer) so, some sor of cofee/hot chocolate pun i imagine.

sorry this one’s not really an answer

36: Name a book you consider to be terribly overrated

i already answered this one, but i just remembered la celestina is considered a spanish classic. so fuck la celestina and fuck every character in that book, except melibea probably, because she was under a spell or some shit.

(i know i feel very strongly about old books no one cares about anymore, but thats life)

42: Which was the best book you had to read in school?

the first i can think of is En el Corazón del Bosque, one of those books with activities that you had to read en cuartoi de primaria o por ahi, which is the first instance of a school book being genuinely good. some actual bests are The Picture of Dorian Gray and La Vida es Sueño (look, more old books instead of sticking to my century), both of which i technically chose to read, and i’d read both before i had to for school, but they still count

50: Why do you love to read?

i’m sorry, this one’s definetly getting a long answer and the post is alreaady long enough as is

okay, so. when asked out of the blue why i read, my instinctive answer is because i love stories. and i do, i love stories, and i love the characters that inhabit them and care about them dearly. but there’s always something else in that question isn’t there. always an implied instead. why do you read so much, istead of watching a movie, or tv. why do you spend your free time consuming a medium that is at least partially responsible for ruining your eyesight instead of going out and playing football when you get home - why did you ruin your eyes reading under the covers instead of going to sleep - why are you making an effort - it’s an effort, for many people - instead of doing things i enjoy more.

and i don’t mean to dismiss the importance of sports, or how fun they can be. and i hate to see audiovisual media put down to praise the wonders of reading. i have watched movies that feel like the’re going to change your life, movies that take your breath away with their cinematography, or with soundtracks so iconic they keep being referenced and played in arrangements years and years after, or soundtracks that simply have really good music. i have watched shows that made me care about the characters more thamn most book protagonists i can name, more than some of my extended family.

this was just a very roundabout way of saying, because it’s important to me that it is understood, that there’s nothing inherently supperior or holier in books. and yet. and yet i consider them one of the key factors of my life, of shaping me as a person.

part of it is, obviously and giving due credit to my mother, that i’ve been listening to stories for longer than my memory stretches, and that my memory does stretch to stories i heard before i could talk with more than one consonant in a way it doesn’t for most things.

part of it is that a book can be carried around everywhere, while a movie can only be downloaded - since pretty recently - and you can’t really start watching rear window in the middle of class. for a person who both doesn’t like and doesn’t know how to properly socialize, you can understand the benefit

the last reason, the one i’ve been building up to, and a consequence of the other two is that… i’m just shaped for them, if that makes sense. movies, shows, podcasts, comics, whatever, do make me feel really strongly, but afterwards it’s just… over. maybe i’m still scared, because i get scared easily, but none of those have made me cry endless minutes after i finish them, or grin stupidly in the middle of class because i remembered a line i particularly liked. i mentioned aftg earlier. well there’s something incredibly fucked up that happens in the second book, if i remember correctly. this event is - thankfully - never described in excruciating detail, and it would’ve been a thousand times more shocking if it were a movie. but, the book centers on the person that went through that, and the reaction of the protagonist, the emotions he feels, and how other people react to feeling similarly. i’m not exagerating when i say i was so horrified after reading it that i didn’t feel capable of talking - not even to someone, just the thought of making sounds was too much - for hours, and i didn’t feel okay until after more than a day.

maybe i’m just very empathetic, but that’s it. the action is important but what i truly seek out is the description of emotion, be it a straightforward description of anger or devotion full of imagery and metaphors.

i read because i’m greedy and want the character’s feelings in addition to my own

#black-tea-blue-pens #'excuse the long list' you should be apologizing to yourself #look what a mess you've gotten into #ask #at

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svtskneecaps · 6 years

Text

Blink and You’ll Miss It - Part 10

Summary: Sanha’s been a curious shit her whole life. Jackson’s always told her she’s going to get herself killed at some point. She thought that was a bunch of bull, but he might’ve actually been right. She might be in way over her head on this one.

Featuring: A bunch of bull, a lot of cursing, merciless butchering of honorifics, and other things. Essentially, it’s a Comedy of Errors: Story Version.

Warnings: Cursing. Lots and lots of it.

First ~~~ Previous ~~~ Next

Masterlist

“And I thought one of you was annoying!” Sanha huffed as she kicked a Jackson away from her.

“Think it’s glamour?” Jinyoung had somehow ended up next to her in the chaos.

“No way!” Jaebum’s voice echoed from somewhere nearby. Seconds later he appeared, his ring glowing as he socked a clone in the jaw. “They’re too physical. Besides, we’ve got protection.”

A clone jumped on his back and dragged him away. Jinyoung immediately sprang to protect him and both of them vanished into the fray.

“At least we can hurt them.” Youngjae appeared from the ocean, slamming his elbow into a soft area with a grunt.

“Must be the spreading of the body.” Mark somehow threw a clone across the are and knocked away one who was diving at Yugyeom. “The spirit isn’t solely in one body so it’s partially not controlled by him?”

“Good theory,” the Jacksons chorused, sending shivers up Sanha’s spine. A Jackson slammed into Mark and knocked him to the floor, pulling him out of sight. “Too bad you were wrong.”

“That sounds fake, but okay,” BamBam quipped, using a phrase Sanha herself had used way too many times before. He picked up on that stuff fast, apparently.

“I never thought,” Sanha grunted as she twisted her opal ring to cut a Jackson’s jaw with the gemstone, “the you would be such a fan of cellular meiosis.”

“Funny how that works,” the clone in front of her said blankly before disappearing into dust. Another one copied itself next to her, and she quickly turned her attention away. No time to celebrate her victory.

“You don’t make a lot of sense.” She ducked beneath a cluster and slapped the lavender sprigs she carried onto the floor, creating a force which threw the clones back a couple yards. A few even dissipated upon impact. More took their place, but that couldn’t be helped.

“Why do you say that?” The Jacksons trailed her as she ran to get out of the mob.

“You say no holds barred,” she panted knocking a Jackson in the face with a brick and throwing it to the ground, gasping out a word in Latin which turned it into a barrier to those with mal intent, a small domestic trick she’d done many times before.

“No holds barred,” she continued, catching her breath as the Jacksons pounded on the barrier, watching it as cracks formed, oddly calm. “And yet, somehow you haven’t won yet. I’ve seen your power.”

He knocked the barrier down, and the wall neighboring it. A Jackson had her by the neck before she had time to react, dragging her over to a hole in the floor where she could see the chaos in the lobby below. “Does this look like losing?” he hissed into her ear.

It definitely didn’t look like winning, but she didn’t remark on it. Jaebum stood over a fallen Jinyoung, taking jabs at the Jacksons around him on occasion. He seemed to have also made a barrier around him, like she had, but the Jacksons hadn’t broken it yet. Jinyoung still fought, from the floor. Yugyeom and BamBam stood back to back, barely holding their own against the mob, and yet somehow they still were. She couldn’t see Mark, and was afraid of what that might mean, but Youngjae was still going strong, holding his own against the horde by standing on the receptionists desk and knocking them all down as though it was a game of King of the Rock.

“You’re holding back,” she spat, staring at the mess below. He increased the pressure on her throat, and she pulled at his arm with her fingers as her airway closed.

“I promise you I’m not,” he hissed into her ear. She went dead weight and slammed into the floor, her elbow landing in the clone’s gut and rendering him breathless.

“You’re holding back!” she shouted the words at him as she sprang to her feet. “You broke my barrier in ten seconds, but his is holding strong. You say your control is as strong as ever, so why haven’t you won?”

He glared at her and didn’t speak as he got back to his feet. The ruckus from below seemed far away, and her ears rang with alarm bells. “Would you prefer that I win?” he shouted. “That I crush you and take what was min?”

“I make it my business to know other people’s,” she said. “And that includes you. I want to know it all. I want to know what makes people wake up in the morning and why they do what they do.” He glared at her, scowling darker and darker as she continued with her hopeless questions, fully aware that she might just be dead now. “What’s your deal, man? Why can’t you just let go?”

“She was my daughter!”

Everything stopped.

“She was my daughter,” the spirit repeated in a broken voice, and as though his knees gave out he dropped to the floor. Time slowed to a thick syrupy crawl, and Jackson’s body slowed to a halt before it had even hit the floor. In its place was a young man, twenty something. Stout figure, dark hair, blue eyes. Completely broken.

“I was going to be there through everything.” He didn’t look away from her. “I felt my wife’s tummy and I told my little girl I would always help her, that I’d always protect her from everything.” He laughed wryly. “Who was I kidding? I couldn’t even make it to the hospital. One minute I’m on my way to see my baby girl, and the next I don’t have a body. I barely have a name.

“This boy, Jinyoung- he was her first real love. He broke my baby’s heart. I wasn’t about to stand for that; I made her a promise. She wanted revenge, and I was going to get it for her.”

“And instead you missed fifty years of her life?” Sanha asked softly.

“Spirits exist outside of time, if their body isn’t something they can return to. I’ve always known I could go back to her.”

“But now, you realize you’ve stolen fifty years from these kids too?” Sanha motioned towards the hole in the floor. “Their families think they’re dead. How devastating must that be, for their parents?”

Now he looked away. “It doesn’t excuse it; I know it doesn’t. I just- I made a promise. I got too into it and I ruined their lives.”

“You did take it a little too far,” she admitted. “next time a guy breaks your daughter’s heart, just do as she asks, okay? No need to go above and beyond; she’ll understand.”

“Your friend should be fine.” The spirit motioned towards Jackson, still frozen in midair. “As should the ones downstairs. I’m sorry for all of the trouble.”

“Hey, I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”

“I’ll post a formal letter.” He sounded dead serious, but a little flicker gave away the joke. “And do a little to help them get resettled. It’s. . . the least I can do.”

“Good that. And hey, good on you for accepting that you did wrong and taking steps to fix it.” She smiled.

“Thank you, for listening. And for being so kind. Although,” he added, “your friend is completely right, that’s probably going to get you killed someday. If you were my daughter, I wouldn’t want you taking those sorts of risks for anybody, whether they turned out nice or not.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

He snorted. “I’m sure you will.”

“Is this goodbye, then?”

“God, I certainly hope so.”

Time sped back up so abruptly she wasn’t prepared. Jackson slammed into the floor and almost crashed right through it. It was instinct and pure luck that kept him on that floor. He sprang up, looking around wildly. “Spirit- where’d he-” He didn’t finish either thought, pouncing on Sanha. “Your eyes aren’t blue, he’s not in you?”

“If he was do you think you’d know? Are you expecting him to tell you?” she teased.

“You’re completely right, possibly possessed Sanha. Prove to me you’re not the other guy!”

She drew herself up with a haughty expression. “Oui, c’est moi, le spirit dickbag. Comment est-ce que tu sais?” (Yes, it’s me, the spirit dickbag. How did you know?)

He didn’t bother with a vocal response, immediately pulling her into the fiercest hug he’d ever given her. “Although I’m vous, not tu. I’m still older.

“That’s not how France works.” She buried her face in his shoulder. “God, I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too.”

**All that’s left is an epilogue! See you there~

#got7 #got7 au #jackson wang #mark tuan #park jinyoung #choi youngjae #kim yugyeom #im jaebum #bambam #bambam bhuwakul

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hailqiqi · 7 years

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1, 5, 13, 22, 28 I can send them five times so you do each one, but I fear you might hate me for this, so I give you a Chichester ("I give you a choice" but my phone has decided I need to give you some British town, and I'd give you that too! It has a nice gallery, I've been there once)

1 - ‘We’re not just friends, and you fucking know it’Posted to AO3 here.

Who said Prompts have to be answered Promptly?

The market wasbeside one of the most spectacular ice rinks Lance had ever seen.

The ice was ashimmering, silvery white - something about metals in the water making it moresilver than the ice back at Earth - and the rink was surrounded by trees withpale green trunks and baby blue leaves. Lanterns strung between them twinkledlike stars in the night, and what looked like fairies glowed amongst the leavesand zoomed across the rink itself, leaving coloured trails behind them as theyweaved between the skaters (he’d been told they were a type of firefly, butthey looked like fairies so Lance was going to call them fairies and just bedone with it).

Topping it alloff - literally - were the wispy pink clouds that drifted lazily in the nightsky above it, only partially obscuring the view of the magnificent swirlinggalaxy that was host to the Ulippa system.

It was themost breathtakingly romantic sight Lance had ever seen. The rest of theteam had gasped in awe as well, and Pidge had honest-to-goodness squealedwhen she saw it. Lance hadn’t even known she was capable of it.

Tysa, theirguide, smiled gently at them. “I see you like the gliding ring, Paladins.Unfortunately it is only for those who know the fine music of pairdom.”

Aaaaand thereit was. Lance had always hated being single on Valentine’s Day, but that was nothingcompared to how much he was coming to hate being single on Ayurla.

Romantic lovewas celebrated on Ayurla. It was a goal, something that everybody must try andattain, and in order to encourage that it felt like just about every coolactivity on the planet was reserved for couples. Love was the foremost thoughton everybody’s mind and being in love seemed to be the be-all and end-all toeverything. It was like Valentine’s Day 24/7.

Lance couldunderstand it if Ayurlans had soulmates or something, but Tysa had said thatmost Ayurlans had many partners over their lifetimes - and multiple partners atonce wasn’t uncommon, either. He’d also been confused when Hunk had asked aboutmarriage or life-long commitments, seeming surprised that humans were prone to tiethemselves to one person for the rest of their lives.

Lance didn’tget it. What was the point of being in love if it wasn’t going to be forever?

Hunk nudgedhim with his elbow, breaking him out of his reverie. “Maybe we should justcheck out the market, then?”

“Eh, I guess,”Lance replied, stretching his arms over his head. “I’m kinda disappointedthough. I’ve never been ice skating.”

“Well, itdoesn’t look like that’s going to be possible, so we may as well make the bestof it and explore the market.” Typical Shiro, always encouraging them to makethe best out of a bad situation.

Not that itwas a terrible situation. The market really did look cool: there were foodstands selling everything from frozen candies to steaming tie-dyed soups thathad set Hunk bouncing up and down with excitement; Lance had seen glimpses ofjewellery that looked like it was set with starlight and fabrics thatglittered; other stands had been overladen with displays of every kind of techgadget you could imagine (and then some).

Lance reallydid want to check it out, he’d just rather go ice-skating first.

“If you reallywanna go ice-skating, why not just ask Pidge to go with you?” Lance whippedaround to see Matt grinning at him mischievously, but before he could react theolder man doubled over in pain as Pidge’s fist connected with his gut.

“I told youalready, we’re. Just. Friends!” She ground out, emphasising the last twowords with smaller hits. Her cheeks were red, but it could’ve just been thecold - their paladin armour was temperature-controlled but only covered up tothe neck, and nobody had bothered to bring their helmets despite the fallingsnowflakes.

“If you decideto change that, you’d be welcome on the ice,” Tysa chipped in serenely.

Lance felt hisown cheeks heat up in response (to the cold, obviously). “Uh, thanks. We’llkeep that in mind.”

“Sure wewill,” Pidge added, crossing her arms as she looked away from the group. “So,Tysa, can we go explore the market? There were a few stalls that Matt and Iwanted to check out.”

Her cheekswere a deep red now.

Could he stillblame that on the cold?

“Certainly,”the guide answered. “I will be waiting here in case you need any assistance.”

—

Lance ended upwandering the market with Hunk and Allura. The market was as fascinating as ithad looked and his companions kept alternately shoving interesting foods andshiny trinkets in his face, but Lance found himself too distracted to take itin properly.

Pidge had beenblushing around him a lot lately.

She always hadthough, hadn’t she? The light dusting of pink that often coloured her cheekshad been a familiar sight to Lance for as long as he’d known her, even backwhen he’d thought she was a him. She was probably only blushing more oftenlately because her stupid brother had a habit of opening his big mouth andsaying things like he had earlier.

Lance foughtback a wave of irritation at the thought. Stupid Matt and his stupidsuggestions. Pidge and him had a good thing going - they played games in hisroom together, watched movies together, sometimes sat up in the observationdeck together when they couldn’t sleep. He’d help her find bugs in her code andshe’d help him with his hand-to-hand. They had an easy rapport - they spentmost of their time together joking and laughing, and they were comfortableenough with each other that casual hugs and touches and leaning on each otherwere all just part of hanging out.

But then Mattwould make some stupid comment and suddenly they’d be five feet apart, cheeksburning and unable to look at each other. It made conversation stilted andawkward and Lance hated it.

“Look, Hunk,it’s a divining ball! I used to have one of these!” Allura grabbed somethingthat looked like a Magic 8 Ball and held it to her chest, closing her eyes.Hunk said something in reply but Lance tuned it out, running his fingers oversome of the shimmery red love-heart cushions instead.

What made itworse was that he couldn’t figure out why Matt’s comments affected himthe way they did. Him and Pidge were friends, just friends. Sure, she waspretty in her nerdy way (more like beautiful), and he felt like he was just ina constant state of being impressed when he was around her, and then he foundit hard to do anything but smile when he was around her, but that didn’t mean…

Wait.

Lance’s eyeswidened and his fingers stilled as the pieces slot into place.

Oh.

He lookedaround wildly, gaze finally settling on a painting of a pair of Ayurlan loversin a park as he tried to reign his thoughts in.

This wasn’thow it was supposed to happen! When Lance fell in love it there was meant to befireworks and a choir of angels, the whole shebang. He was meant to seerainbows and roses and just know that she was The One the moment he sawher (or at least the moment he realised).

Yet here hewas, very clearly feeling something for Pidge and yet there hadn’t been anyfanfare. He couldn’t even figure out when things had changed, couldn’t pinpointthe moment he fell for her. At some point it had just become as natural asbreathing.

But falling inlove wasn’t supposed to be quiet, was it? It was meant to be somethingthat consumed your whole being, filled you with burning, fiery passion,stopping you from thinking about anything else. At least that’s what all thesongs said.

So did he loveher?

“Hey, Lance! Buddy, are you okay?” Hunk’sconcerned face was suddenly filling his vision, and Lance leaned back to getsome space. “You look out of it.”

Lance blinked,shaking himself out of his stupor before replying. “Uh, yeah, sorry man. Just…”Just what, exactly? Just realised I might be in love with our other bestfriend? “Just got a lot on my mind.”

“Oh, youshould try this then!” Allura smiled enthusiastically as she pushed the silverball at him. “It’s a divining ball!”

“A diviningball?”

“Yes! I usedto have one as a girl. You hold it to your chest and ask for help, and it tellsyou what you most need to hear.”

Lance raisedone eyebrow. “Sounds more like a motivational ball.”

“That’s what Isaid!” Hunk chimed in. “It really works though. It told me I need to stopthinking about things that probably won’t happen, and I have to admit it’s gota point.”

Lance shotthem both a disbelieving look before taking the ball from Allura and holding itin front of his chest. “Like this, then?”

“Yes, justlike that,” Allura confirmed. “Then you close your eyes and ask it inside yourmind for help.”

He closed hiseyes.

I think I’m inlove with someone but I don’t think that’s how love works.

The ball inhis hands grew warm.

“Love exists,whether it is acknowledged or not.”

Lance openedhis eyes. Huh.

That madesense.

“Uh, buddy?What did you ask it?” Hunk and Allura were looking at him, confused expressionson both of their faces.

Lanceshrugged, his cheeks flushing, “Just…things.”

He looked downat the ball again, then held it up to his chest and closed his eyes.

Okay, so if Ilove her, what do I do about it?

He felt warmthspring to life under his palms again, and opened his eyes expectantly.

“Love makessilence golden, but silence can never make love bloom.”

Well. Okaythen.

Confidencebloomed in his chest, and he grinned. This was gonna be great.

“Here Allura,I gotta go,” Lance said, pushing the divining ball back towards Allura. “Thanksfor this!”

“Where are yougoing?” She called after him, confused, but Lance ignored her as he pushed hisway through the crowds.

He just had tolook for a big blue and orange guy with a gap in the crowd next to him. Sheshouldn’t be too hard to find.

—

“Pidge!”

Pidge whirledaround as he made his way towards her, breathless from pushing his way throughthe crowds. He’d had to go all the way to the other side of the rink, but he’dfinally found them.

She frowned athim. “Hey, Lance, what’re you-“

“Do you wannago ice skating with me?”

“What?”Pidge’s eyes blew wide, and that light pink Lance had come to love coloured hercheeks. “Lance, we can’t. Tysa said, remember? It’s not for friends.”

Lance snortedand looked her in the eye. “We’re not just friends, and you fucking know it.”

Pidge’s mouthdropped open.

Lance suddenlyfelt the rush of confidence deflate and took a step back, bringing a hand up tohis neck and looking away nervously. “Uh, that is, if you wanna be. Uh, go.Ice-skating.”

Screwing uphis courage, he looked at her again and held out his hand, patently ignoringMatt cracking up a few steps away.

A warm smile slowly bloomed across Pidge’s face, making her eyes shineand her cheeks flush as she reached out and placed her hand in his. “Okay.”

--> Continued Here

#plance #lidge #pidgance #flirtyrobot #my writing #prompts

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sns-tropes · 7 years

Text

fic: my heart held in your hands - chapter 7

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6

summary: The war is over and Sasuke finally comes home. But Konoha wont let a missing-nin back into their midst without leashing him first. Naruto sticks by his side the whole time.

pairing: sasuke/naruto (ninja!verse) post-698

rating: Mature

word count: 2,174

warnings: angst, hurt/comfort, panic attacks This chapter contains sasuke smoking cigarettes, which i honestly don’t believe would be out of character for him to do so.

A/N: this is a direct continuation of previous chapter. basically post-sex teenage shenanigans because they should be allowed to be kids for once. for fucks sake lmao

There's something about needing a shower that can't wait. And they can't wait. They try to fall asleep but Sasuke can't seem to do it. Because he's… well… a mess. Naruto is no better.

Naruto pulls him into the bathroom and turns on the hot spray of the shower. Sasuke is sleepy through the feeling of the warm water when he finally goes underneath.

Naruto takes the cloth that sits draped over the faucet and tries to lather it with a bar of soap. They laugh a bit when Naruto drops the soup for the second time. Sasuke doesn't protest as Naruto runs the soapy cloth down and over his pale skin. He's soft with it in his grasp. His touches are feather light as he slowly works the cloth across Sasuke overworked body. Sasuke lets Naruto take care of him. It's hard to stay still for a moment because he's getting that lump in his throat again.

Naruto just cares so much.

It's over before he knows it and when Naruto goes to wash himself Sasuke stops him.

He takes the cloth from Naruto's hand. “Let me.” He says.

Naruto gives a small smile. “Okay.”

He lets him.

Naruto has a certain glow to him. He dries his hair with a towel while they sit on the properly disheveled mattress, sheets tucked down at the foot of the bed.

The bedside lamp is on. The room is dim with orange light and Sasuke can't stop looking at him. Things seem… different. He finishes toweling off his hair and he looks at Sasuke with a worry defining his gaze. He looks down for a Moment, then back up, expression questioning. He scoots closer so their knees are touching.

“Are you alright?”

Sasuke is the most alright he's ever been in his life.

“Yeah.” He smirks softly. Sasuke's figured there would be some sort of post-sex ‘where do we stand’ conversation. But they don't need that. Naruto looks relieved.

The room feels a little cramped. He feels like the space is too small for all of the things he's feeling. Like the room can't contain him.

“Let’s go outside. For a walk.” Sasuke suggests.

Naruto blinks. It looks like he's going to say no but then he has that look he gets when an idea filters into his head.

He says he knows a spot. They dress quietly. Naruto throws a sweater over his head and swings around the empty sleeve for a second. Sasuke laughs softly as he pulls on a shirt. He doesn't own anything warm. Naruto strides over to the closet and pulls out another sweater for him. He wordlessly offers it over. And when Sasuke nods they pull it over his head together. It smells distinctly like Naruto. And damn it Sasuke could swear it almost made him blush. Which is ridiculous, considering what they were doing moments ago.

Speaking of, he feels a little worn out still. Better after the shower, but still a little wobbly.

Naruto comes forward and wraps his hand around his back. Sasuke rests his chin on Naruto's shoulder and breathes out, returning the embrace.

Naruto’s hand creeps down and slowly runs over the span of his ass. Sasuke was going to flinch away from the touch but he doesn't for some reason. He cups it gently and lands a soft kiss to Sasuke's shoulder.

“I didn't hurt you, right?”

Sasuke laughs because he can't help it. It's such a ridiculous question. Naruto loves the sound but he also wants an answer.

“All those years of trying to kill each other.” He starts in. “And now you're worried about my ass.”

It is a little funny he supposes. Maybe. He draws back, biting his lip. He still looks unsure. Sasuke can't have him look like that. He kisses him on the mouth firmly and Naruto hums into it like he was waiting for it.

“I'm fine, moron.” Sasuke says after pulling away. “I liked it. Might even do it with you again if you're lucky.”

He's just teasing. But Naruto can't help but smile when he says things like that. When he jokes. When he smiles.

They're not sure what time it is but they go out the front door without closing the light or locking the apartment.

The streets are barely lit. It must be past midnight. In this district there’s a certain hour where everyone is most definitely asleep. The walk down the stone paved roads of the village. Sasuke is partially letting him lead since Naruto apparently has a specific spot in mind.

It’s a little cold. Too cold for the crickets to come out and sing. They pass the south complexes and Sasuke smells the unforgiving scent of tobacco. They feel inclined to stop.

There past a cloud of smoke is Shikamaru, occupying a table near the front garden. He stares at them. He takes a drag and the smoke leaves his lungs evenly in the cold night air.

“What the hell are you two doing up?” He asks casually.

“What are you doing up?” Naruto retorts back.

Sasuke would rather not engage.

“I’m having a drink.” He gestures to the bottle of Sake on the grated metal table. Naruto thinks Shikamaru acts way to adult for his own good. Sasuke thinks nothing at all. “Care to join?”

Naruto and Sasuke look at each other. Naruto shrugs at him and takes a seat. Sasuke doesn’t see the point in standing there awkwardly so he rolls his eyes at sits at the table close to Naruto.

Shikamaru scoots the bottle over to Naruto with a smirk. Naruto accepts it and takes a short swig.

“What are you two doing anyway? Up to no good?” He asks nonchalantly as Naruto passes the bottle to Sasuke. He stares at it for almost thirty seconds before taking a sip.

“We’re just taking a walk.” Naruto says carefully. He doesn’t want to upset Sasuke by giving too much information.

“You guys look unusually relaxed.” Shikamaru says. And for a moment the air seems to turn tense.

Sasuke places the bottle down; making sure it makes a sound when he does so.

His bangs fall over his eyes and he huffs a breath to blow them off to the side. “Why shouldn’t we be?” He says.

Shikamaru looks back and forth between them while he takes another drag before snubbing it out on the tray. He lets out a low laugh. It could be taken as endearing, which is how Naruto takes it. It can also be taken as condescending, which is how Sasuke takes it.

He sets it straight for them.

“I’m glad you two have found a common ground.” He says evenly as he pulls another cigarette from the carton. He tilts the box towards them.

Naruto shakes his head. He eyes Sasuke questioningly, still holding the box out. He knows they don’t smoke. The offer is for Sasuke. It’s a peace treaty of sorts. It’s an ‘I’m on your side’ gesture. It’s saying more than the offer would usually mean.

It’s enough. Against his better judgment, Sasuke takes one.

Naruto watches, shell-shocked. “You smoke?”

Shikamaru holds out a light to the end of the cigarette hanging from Sasuke’s lips.

“Just tonight.” He mumbles past it. It earns a soft smirk from Shikamaru.

They smoke in silence. Naruto thinks he gets it. Sort of. He watches as Sasuke smokes the cigarette without coughing. Like he’s done it a hundred times. Then he remembered those fire-breathing jutsus were probably a lot harsher than smoking.

“Well, I guess I shouldn’t interrupt your date any longer.” Shikamaru says.

“Date?” They both ask incredulously.

Shikamaru laughs heartily. “I’m joking, you nerds.” He stands up and doesn’t take the bottle with him. It’s nearly empty now. He stretches and groans, probably heading to bed. “’Night. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Naruto knows that’s not a whole lot of things on that list.

It's quiet for a moment and Sasuke is still smoking. Naruto watches too closely.

“What?” Sasuke asks. “Not going to kiss me anymore?” He says lightly as he waves the cigarette around for a moment.

Naruto laughs softly. “No. I like doing that.”

Sasuke fights the urge to smile. He puts it out and they get up and start to walk again.

Naruto is wondering what some of that was about. It seemed a little strange. Shikamaru has been nothing but his honest self since forever. Sasuke is a quite good at figuring people out from the get-go and not reacting to them at all. But Shikamaru seemed to get a reaction out of him.

“Hey…” Naruto starts. “Do you not like Shikamaru?”

Sasuke’s brows knit together in the dark. “It’s not that.” He admits.

“Then what is it?” Naruto presses further.

Sasuke looks like he’s trying to piece together his answer. Maybe he’s not so sure of it. He makes a humming sound. “I think… It really bothers me when people can see right through me.”

“You’re dumb.” Naruto says flatly. “That should be a reason to like him.”

Sasuke disagrees but says nothing. He’s still getting used to friends. He needs more time still.

“Does that mean you don’t like me either?” Naruto questions jokingly.

“That’s different, you moron.” He says immediately.

“Not really. Shikamaru is actually very similar to you. The only difference is he has way less ambition. And he’s more-” Naruto stops himself.

Sasuke looks his way sharply. “More what?”

“Heh…Uh… nice?”

Sasuke hums. He supposes that’s an accurate statement. He can’t lie to himself. He knows he’s not exactly a nice person with a warm personality.

“Not that I blame you for being a dick sometimes. But I think he wants to be your friend. You should be friends. You know with your shortage of them and all.”

“I think we’re friends already.” Sasuke says, sounding oddly pleased. “Maybe.”

Naruto smiles to himself. He smiles for every time Sasuke comes back into himself. This is the Sasuke he remembers.

They’re almost where they need to be. Sasuke notices that they’re nearing the front village gates. He feels a little proud that Naruto would be so rebellious. Sasuke isn’t supposed to leave the village for a few more weeks. Not until his assessment. But they’re breaking the rules tonight.

They clear the gates and the night is quiet enough to hear the leaves fall. The cherry blossoms are starting to show their color this time of year. It looks too peaceful, Sasuke almost feels like he doesn’t deserve to look at it.

Naruto starts walking faster and he leads him to a stream. It’s bright there. The moon reflects off of the water perfectly and the pink and white flowers seem to have a blue glow to them. It reminds them of Sakura.

Naruto plops down near the stream in the cold grass and lays back. Sasuke joins him after a moment’s time. They lay like that, side by side, under the moon. The sky is littered with stars. More than Sasuke ever remembers seeing when he looked up at the sky.

“I wanted you to see how many stars are out.” Naruto says. Sasuke hums in response.

“I know you never cared much for scenery but… I just thought you might this time.”

“I do.” Sasuke says decidedly. Naruto makes a questioning sound, urging Sasuke to continue.

“I do appreciate scenery.”

Naruto smiles. He wishes he could hold Sasuke’s hand. But of course… they went and ruined that for themselves.

“Hey Sasuke if we still had our hands would you let me hold your hand right now?” He blurts out, feeling childish.

“No.” Sasuke deadpans.

“What?! Why not?”

“Lame.”

“Is not!”

“Is.”

Naruto grumbles something back that isn’t exactly words. He’s letting Sasuke push his buttons. He could just push his buttons right back if he really wanted to.

“So I can kiss you, and you’ll let me put my dick in your ass but I can’t hold your hand.” He says bluntly. It sounds way more vulgar coming out of his mouth than he anticipated.

“Can you shut the fuck up?!” Sasuke sits up and reprimands him with fiery eyes.

Naruto sits up too. “Can you make me?”

And then the argument somehow snaps in half and there nothing left to say. Sasuke raised a hand to hit him and Naruto catches his wrist.

“I’ll still kick your ass.” Sasuke retorts.

Naruto smirks, challenging him. “I’d like to see you try.”

Sasuke is going to pounce and tackle him into the dirt. He’s going to hit him in the face and call him a jerk. He’s going to keep throwing punches for as long as Naruto decides to throw punches.

That’s what he’s going to do. It’s what they’re best at.

They stare at each other, Naruto’s calloused grip still around his wrist.

Sasuke lowers his hand and Naruto goes with it. And then he does tackle him into the ground.

But it’s only to kiss the breath out of him.

#sasunaru #narusasu #sasuke #naruto #fanfiction #fic #fanfic #sns #yhhimh #ch7 #jeni

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