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thetaekookcloset · 2 years

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This could be one of the instances where I say not everything they say is true. My take on the situation? I don't remember Jin taking any grapes back, please correct me if I am wrong. This simply makes me think he left both the bags with Jungkook so the other could be passed onto Taehyung. It is not a wild thought, if earlier he had a mind to give Taehyung when Jungkook was not available, with one of the assumption they'll share/pass on to each other, so him doing it now makes sense and natural.

Why I think they lying?

Before a day of this live Taehyung knew Jin gave him grapes coz he tagged Jin in his grape story. If the company had sent him those grapes, they definitely would have mentioned Jin's name hence the tagging. Then the whole conversation becomes moot because Taehyung is aware of this knowledge but Jin should also since he would have specifically asked them to pass the grapes to Tae .

It's a little tricky why he got surprised when he got to know about grapes. If Jin wanted to give grapes to company to pass on to absent members he could have also done in Jungkook's case (when he didn't have his no.) and would have remembered it and not said "I thought I didn't give you".

So that means either the company gave Taehyung those grapes and said Jin sent him this. Maybe company (one of the person as company is not a person) gave Tae their own share as Jin definitely didn't ask them to. The company is definitely sincere to pass the grapes to one of the members when they thought Tae didn't get his share, especially something which a member got from his private scene and is not an obligatory thing for company to pass on to every member. Makes me wonder how many Jin got those and who was kind enough to give Tae his share without taking credit.

Was it you Manager-nim? Oh but weren't you also with Tae? NVM.

Or Since fans definitely would have wondered how Tae got the grapes if Jin gave them to Jungkook linking the connection they met as more of a convincing proof, they still might do but can easily be shut down by pointing company's involvement as a grape passer. You might ask why need to hide. Well supposedly they are hiding many things now. I still don't believe they didn't meet on Jk's birthday. It's simple, if you in a relationship and you can't meet your partner who lives 5 mins drive apart, all because of stupid jet lag. Even if he would have been tired and slept the day off, still could spent together particularly when JK didn't have any plans to go out. So it's not like any tampering with plans. This is all on an assumption they are together of course.

I just think sometimes Taekookers also doesn't see the big picture. It feels to me Taekook are being themselves but don't want to link with each other behind the scenes what with coming Busan Expo and military enlistment. They insuniated Jk was with other 97 liners after Tae left for NY which is untrue simply because of the itenary of people involved in the dinner. It would been a month earlier. I'll send you the link in next ask. This whole stupid Taennie scandal which everyone is quiet about. So yes I believe they have been spending time together but have been told to be tight lipped about this. A lot of things are at stake, what with company not affording to lose sponsors for expo if Taekook closeness is perceived as typically gay in SK. I will not elaborate on this now but a person with enough business acumen will understand this.

To conclude I still think Jungkook gave Tae the leftover bag. It could be true or not. At the end it doesn't diminish the bond they two have and also the primed way members think about them.

Before I get into this, I just want to say sorry lol, I totally didn’t realize that link was meant to go with this ask. They got separated in my inbox, so I responded to that as its own post and it should be up already.

The long and short of it is that I personally figure the 97 liners’ signatures from that restaurant visit were shared when they were less to conceal the timeline than simply because the restaurant didn’t want to post it right away and they got to it when they got to it. Could it be more complex than that? Sure, it could, but since I don’t see any other evidence to suggest otherwise, at least for now I feel like that’s the most likely case.

Similarly, I’m not sure how likely I find it that the grape situation was this complicated. Though I suppose really, the gist of your theory is that Jin simply left the second bag of grapes with Jungkook for Tae, and the confusion later came from everyone not being on the same page about the story of where the grapes came from? I’m sorry if I’m misrepresenting your argument here.

Despite not being sure I think that’s necessarily the more likely scenario, I do agree that if Jungkook and Taehyung are in a relationship, they would need to obscure that fact, and trying to refrain from giving the impression that they spend a lot of time in the same space might very well be one way they could choose to do that, or be one way they’re expected to do that.

Ultimately, like you alluded to, this is a tiny detail in the big picture of a relationship that’s lasted, in one form or another, eleven years, so yeah -- I don’t think their whole bond is going to be made or broken over some grapes lol.

#ask

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explode-this · 6 months

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Questions I have developed after not really watching GMM for a couple of years:

How can you be friends for decades and not accept that sometimes, yes, another person will use the word “afraid” to describe how they feel about the unpredictability of the texture of eggs? I get a little light ribbing, I get calling someone a picky eater, but going Full Neurotypical Boomer Dad on your peer for having a texture issue makes me think that compassion and empathy are in fairly short supply.

How many times can you change a thumbnail in a day to draw in additional viewers? And does it really matter when you have a three-tier fuck-you-pay-us platform to which most of the thoughtful “content” is being funneled, anyway?

What the fuck happened to the Hey Hey show? I loved those girls. Given time I think they’d have been great, but if you’re trying to photocopy your own existing show (but with girls! Who say “fart” sometimes!), then there’s probably not much room for organic growth there. Anyway, all trace of the show has been scrubbed from YouTube and its channel emptied, renamed, and filled back up with pointless shorts, so it’s a moot question, but I ask into the void regardless.

I do tune in every once in a while—international food taste tests are generally a delight, and I like the shuffleboard game—and I know it’s free and I’m not complaining like, “why doesn’t this show cater to meeeeeee?” Having questions like this and making uncomfortable observations (like when I realized how gross I felt every time I saw Link infantilized or made to look stupid for what now seems to me is neurospicy behavior) is more a process of learning when to stop consuming/doing things that keep tripping the annoyance alarm. Anger—as the overall umbrella over spiky red feelings that include annoyance—isn’t a bad thing that should be buried or tucked away. It’s not inherently toxic. It’s the response to things that wave big scarlet flags for you, matters of fairness, justice, and personal values, so that you’ll do something about it. Of course, you won’t really be able to do much about what people do of their own free will. It’s their show, so if Link doesn’t mind constantly being questioned or made fun of b/c at the end of the day he’s his own boss and he’s getting paid, then that truly isn’t any business of mine. In this case the “do something about it” means “understanding that if something I watch/listen to/read is annoying me more than it’s amusing me, it’s on me to stop watching/listening/reading or I’m just aggravating myself.” Feeling the annoyance/anger/whathaveyou isn’t meant to be a permanent state of being. It’s the call from the home security alarm folks asking if someone broke in or if you just forgot your code. If the alarm is going off 24/7 then you need a specialist for that—snipping the wires so you don’t even acknowledge the anger isn’t a solution.

TL;DR: a bunch of observations in a state of philosophical grief about letting go of things I used to like quite a lot with a stream-of-consciousness essay about staying in touch with your anger instead of eliminating it or feeling it all the time. Does Livejournal still exist? Maybe I should go there.

#blah blah blah #i just have a lot of feelings ok

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psychewritesbs · 6 months

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What are your thoughts on Gojo's dynamic with Nanami and Utahime?

It seems that Gege listed some hints that Gojo may like them romantically but alas this was according to shippers themselves and it's unclear whether the official material was meant to interpreted that way or if it was just a funny thing thrown around. Regardless i just wanna add my cents here, the show really keeps denying that Gojo will ever be romantically interested in any of these characters asides from possibly Geto but at the same time it acknowledges that fans like various relationships so it feeds them these irrelevant crumbs. That's why i ask for your opinion on their dynamic, if you're comfortable answering this ofc!

HOLA ANON!

Listen... not only is my blog psychology-focused, there's a reason I have not really made any shippy posts about jjk. I've gone to town gushing about seisub, soma, kurofai and asucaga before. But those ships exist in old fandoms where there is a prevalent agreement and support about and for the ship.

jjk tho... the topic of shipping in jjk is a dangerous landmine regardless of who you ship for many different reasons.

That said, apologies if this wasn't your intention, but the way you worded your ask made it smell like bait from about three miles away, and I have been debating about what I want to say to you ever since I received it. Moots told me to just drop it but I found that I didn't want to drop it precisely because it feels like bait.

So basically, because 3 our of 4 moots I have shown your ask to agree that this is bait, I am going to respond in kind and will give you the least satisfying answer ever under the cut.

You have been warned...

jk anon, sorry for the click bait...

It's not that I'm going to give you a dissatisfying answer, it's that I don't want to participate in shipping wars 🤷‍♀️ and I feel like I am being dragged into one with this ask.

The truth is, I'm too old for shipping wars and avoid them like the plague to the best of my ability and for my own mental sanity... And one of the things that really gets under my skin is gatekeeping in shipping, which admittedly means I am probably being a hypocrite about it. Gotta work on that.

At this stage in my life tho, I am more interested in being able to both celebrate what I love instead of focusing on what I don't like, or on holding two contradictory truths at once rather than to take sides and claim one side is right and the other side is wrong.

To that point, lately I've heard a lot of people say it's not ok to be neutral. To that I say that polarized thinking is a sign of lack of experience and an unwillingness to be open to another point of view. I say this from experience, not because I'm judging anyone.

Been there, done that.

Like I was an idiot back in the day for thinking I couldn't like both Maya Sakamoto and Utada Hikaru. Like... what a clown 🤡 to think I HAD TO PICK ONE and could only like one of them lmao.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming you love stsg because of the way you frame the ask around how Geto seems to be the one person whom Gege hints at being the most likely that Gojo would be "romantically interested in".

On the other hand, you also tell me that shipping Gojo with other characters is based on what looks to you like irrelevant breadcrumbs.

Now, before I keep going, what follows is my personal opinion, and I do not claim to own the objective truth about this topic.

In fact, I am very aware that there is no right answer to your ask, and that whatever I answer can stir unnecessary shit up because, not only is this topic sensitive because that's the state of shipping in jjk fandom, but the ask itself feels like its baiting me to give an answer someone knows they aren't going to like.

Very machiuvelical of you anon 😏 I see you!

So either I'm paranoid af, or you're not very good at pretending you are genuinely confused because "it's unclear whether the official material was meant to be interpreted that way or if it was just a funny thing thrown around".

Come the fuck on... 😂

First, you sent an ask to someone who understands mind games; and second, it's perfectly ok to say you don't like the other two ships.

But again, I have also said things in a way that was misinterpreted by others, so... benefit of the doubt here.

Thing is, if you love stsg, no one can take that away from you. Trust me, no one needs anyone's opinion to love ANY ship.

So, let's start with the hard stuff up front.

I ship stsg

I don't care if they are or aren't canon.

If others want to have this conversation and pull panels to back up why they think they are canon etc etc, good. This is not a conversation I care to have any longer because I realized I don't need Gege, or anyone for that matter, to tell me it's ok to ship a pairing--more on this later.

If you do, then, yeah, that's relatable and very understandable.

I also don't care if the jjk powerscaling bros can't accept that Gege has baked ambiguity into the dynamic, and that the cursed cat has recommended bl manga TWICE--thus hinting at the idea that Gege enjoys reading bl.

AND I also respect that there are those who truly see them only as friends. That's their business, you know? Why does their opinion matter if I ship them?

But, when I put on the rose-colored fujo glasses, I see it.

It's undeniable.

stsg is the jjk version of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle's kurofai.

But to be frank... I disagree with the idea that any evidence pointing at gjhm are "irrelevant breadcrumbs" that "shippers are throwing around".

Are they breadcrumbs? Yes. There isn't a whole lot of canonical evidence. But I also don't often hear gjhm shippers say things like "they're so canon" although I could be wrong.

So, are people throwing breadcrumbs around to be funny? This frankly makes it sound like you think very lowly of how some people choose to interpret certain panels.

Even if I give you the benefit of the doubt, this kinda sounds like you see yourself as better than... ?? because to you, its "unclear" how people can interpret the text as there being any ambiguity about the dynamic.

No it isn't 😂. It's clear as day. Come ooooooon.

Its ok to not like that Gege hinted at it AND it also doesn't make stsg any less important.

So are the breadcrumbs truly irrelevant? Only if you have an agenda.

Again, I am sorry if this isn't your intention, but calling them "irrelevant breadcrumbs" makes it sounds like there's an agenda geared at denying something you don't agree with. Which is SUPER relatable.

What I'll say is that, from the "breadcrumbs" Gege gave us about gjhm, I got the sense that, if there was some sort of romantic involvement between Gojo and Utahime that Gege is hinting at in the subtext, it was very bittersweet.

I'm totally not feeling like going and doing any research about this because there are plenty of gjhm shippers who have stated why the "breadcrumbs" make sense to them. AND I also think it's undeniable that there was something between them given the whole song lyrics related to her ct blablabla.

Denying this makes it sound like you're cherry picking what you think is and isn't subtext in the official work based on your shipping preferences.

Also, I don't personally ship gjhm but I have moots who do. As I said, I ship stsg AND I can also respect that others ship gjhm because two opposing ideas can coexist.

Anyways, with ch 236 in mind, in retrospect, what made gjhm undeniably bittersweet, was that Gojo was emotionally stunted in his teen years. This makes Gojo emotionally unavailable to ANYONE because he was stuck longing to be understood the way Geto once understood him, while simultaneously making himself hard to understand.

I think that if Gojo and Utahime were involved behind the scenes, this doesn't mean he didn't miss Geto or stopped loving him. The way I see it, he could very well have loved both. But again, that's my interpretation. It sounds like yours is different.

To me, Utahime isn't some sort of impediment for Gojo to love Geto and viceversa. This isn't a love triangle--Geto isn't even in the picture in their adult years.

That, and, the idea that we can only ever love one person is an unrealistic byproduct of the psychology of romantic love. And yet I can also understand why Gojo felt understood by Geto the most. I mean... Geto is the first person he sees when he dies.

This is so... beautiful.

So if you take the song lyrics hinted at in Uta's ct and put yourself in Utahime's shoes from the perspective of a gjhm shipper, you have a woman who is in a relational dynamic with someone who can't be present for her because he isn't present for himself to begin with.

I know you unironically think it's "a funny irrelevant thing being thrown around", but from how I'm interpreting this, that's not irrelevant or funny to me.

It's human tragedy, and it's sad af for all parties involved. And if you don't agree, you don't agree and that's ok. We can both agree to disagree.

Now, this is how I interpret gjhm based on that ONE specific breadcrumb. Which again, is anything but irrelevant unless your goal is to minimize someone else's perspective. For all I know, a gjhm fan reads this and doesn't agree with me.

For the record, I'm not saying you should change your mind about gjhm if you don't like the ship because you think Utahime truly hates Gojo's guts or that it's misogynistic to pair her with a man but perfectly ok to ship her with Shoko because somehow that makes it ok for her to be in a romantic relationship with someone else, or whatever reasons you might have.

I'm saying that you can love stsg AND simultaneously understand and respect that someone else would have a different opinion, even if you don't personally agree with it.

As for Nanami and Gojo... I mean... 🤷‍♀️

I guess if I put the fujo glasses on I can sort of see it. But again, why should anyone care about whether I agree with them or not? Like... when did I become the authority on shipping? 🤷‍♀️

I don't want that responsibility.

But, the most important thing I want to get across here, is that shipping is highly personal because there is a certain degree of self-insertion happening when we "ship".

So if you, or anyone for that matter, loves stsg, it's because you can see something about the dynamic reflected back at you that rings true to you.

You might say, "it's not that deep, I just see the official text and like what I saw." Which is also fair. But if it wasn't that deep, this ask wouldn't be something I was answering right now.

So, that's why to me, for MY answer to YOUR ask with the way it feels like bait, it's irrelevant whether the ships are canon or not. All that matters is that you, as a participant in this piece of media, can relate to the dynamic. And this is not to minimize whether "the official material is meant to be interpreted one way or another".

But again, cherry picking what we want to be subtext based on an agenda is a biased take.

All I am saying is that shipping is highly personal.

Again, if you don't like the "boy picks on girl" dynamic that gjhm has, it's because it's not for you. I have read what others have to say about not liking it and, honestly, good on y'all. Makes sense.

And if someone explains to me why gjhm makes sense to them, I am no one to tell them they are wrong to self-insert into this dynamic and explore what its potential means to them.

So, anon, I would much rather hear about why you love stsg.

If you want to talk to people who want to focus on hating gjhm or gojonana, or discussing why it's "funny irrelevant breadcrumbs thrown around", for whatever reasons you might have, I simply am not the right person.

All of this said, any further comments seeking to minimize any ship shall be ignored because I am not interested in contributing to shipping wars.

Enjoy stsg. It's a beautiful ship!

Thanks for stopping by, and sharing that bit of stsg love you did share with me. Again, sorry if I misinterpreted your intention, and if I didn't... idk.

All the love.

#que dios me bendiga 😂

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forsakenmis · 3 years

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Calming her down

Title: Calming her down Pairing: top!Wanda Maximoff x female!reader Rating: 18+ Incredibly NSFW Warnings: Dark Wanda, kind of non-con, strap on, fingering, mummy kink, post-WV finale so spoilers if you haven’t seen it. also i haven’t editted it so beware grammar and spelling mistakes. Word count: 4215 words

It had taken far too long to track her down. Why they asked you to do it, you weren’t really sure. It’s not as if you and Wanda ever really talked, or even made eye contact, during the years as an avenger. Yet you were given the task of pulling her back onto the rails, rails she’s apparently veered pretty badly. You really think Doctor Strange, the Gandalf of wizards, would be a lot better at handling her than you would be. Or even Clint, the guy who was her mentor. But no-no one wanted to reach out to her, even though they spent years arguing that she needed to be supervised. You could go on for days how you being the person being sent is the most ridiculous idea they could have had.

You weren’t even a super, or an avenger, you started off as a shield agent who was then thrown into Stark Industries as Tony’s intern. Fury wanted an in and you were that in. Then everything went bottoms up and you became a slightly more valuable member of the group. Support, really.

After the snap, you just wanted a stable life. A normal life. By the time they contacted you to do this, you’d applied to a college. No, a university. In Australia, which was far, far away from New York. The briefing was simple. Wanda, left to her own devices in her time of need, went to try to handle her own grief after stealing Vision’s body from S.W.O.R.D. You were being asked to go try to talk some sense into her. Then, within the week of you repeatedly saying no, it turned out the head of S.W.O.R.D. was a bastard which you could have seen coming from a mile away, and Wanda was god knows where.

They promised you they’d leave you alone after this.

So you said yes.

What could go wrong?

You were still asking herself that three weeks later when you were sitting there still trying to find out where exactly she went. Wanda wasn’t going to be easy to find, especially considering she didn’t want to be found but you did it. It was four in the morning when you finally narrowed down a list of ten possible locations that she could be in. You were too tired to even crack a smile, you fell back onto your bed to sleep.

Your celebration was sleep for by the next morning, you were trekking across the world and came to the outskirts of a property with the view of the mountains. Pretty, sure, but you didn’t think Wanda was here for the view.

It was eerily quiet when you walked up to the door. That type of quiet they put into horror movies before they pulled out a jump scare. You didn’t trust it. Then again-not that there was anything around to make noise. Wanda could be asleep, as maybe all this isolation has meant she’s forsaken a body clock.

Still-you trusted it as much as you could lift Mjollnir and you couldn’t even make it shift.

The curtains were closed, you couldn’t see anything as you walked up the two steps and you had to stop your hand from hovering over your handgun. It would have been more of a self assurance. You couldn’t dream of winning against Wanda in a fight, both of you would be aware of that, but you couldn’t exactly imagine she’d be that trusting of you if you walked in holding a gun. So you fiddled with the watch around your wrist, it was a gift from Tony years ago.

You could have brought reinforcement, sure, but that seemed like a moot point considering you were trying to gain her trust, somewhat. The reinforcement would have been S.W.O-oh whatever, sword, you don’t have the time for formality. And sword made such a huge mess of it the first time round so you didn’t think they were going to help this time round. You tried calling Clint, but he was busy, apparently. Too busy to pick up your calls.

This was definitely a suicide mission.

You knocked three times with the back of your knuckles and listened, trying to hear any hint of movement.

Nothing.

You knocked again. Knock. Knock. Knock. Not even a creak.

Maybe she was asleep or maybe, dare you say it, had gotten it wrong. God, you’d hate for some old man to swing the door open.

Your hand dropped to the handle, going to test the lock, but then it swung open and if it wasn’t for your own instincts, you would have stumbled forward.

Wanda.

Your eyes slammed onto her face and, for the first time in years, you fumbled. She looked different, way too different for your liking, she looked older since Tony’s funeral. Mature. More confident in herself. You could think of a different million ways to describe her in that split second.

She’d always been pretty before but this Wanda was…gorgeous. This Wanda could also read minds.

You cut your thoughts short and took in a slight breath. Wanda wasn’t saying anything and her only acknowledgement was the slight hook of her brow.

“Wanda,” you began before forcing a smile onto yourself, “long time no see.”

“So they sent you, of all people,” Wanda remarked and you made a face. Sure-she was right but that was, quite frankly, rude.

“They suggested I come and I wanted to come,” you lied, “to see how you were doing...okay, look, I know we never talked. Or interacted. I know that. I was probably not the most open to you as I could have been.” Wanda was continuing to stare at you. She was dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt. A shirt that arguably was one size too small for her. You weren’t really sure what to say, if you were honest, you’d spent so much time trying to find her, tracking her down like a puzzle, that you forgot to plan for this interaction.

“But I like to think we were on good terms,” you continued. Worst thing she could do was close the door in your face and you were more than happy to camp outside. “Enough that you’ll hear me out. I heard about your book, the darkhold–” That’s when you got a reaction out of her. Her eyes narrowed, growing even colder, and you could see her grip tightening on the door. “–we need to talk. Please-just let me in. I’m not going to fight you. We both know I can’t do that.”

You were keeping your thoughts clear. You didn’t want her reading you.

After a second, Wanda swung the door open wider and let you in.

Your eyes scanned the room the moment you entered the threshold, looking for all the exits, before you turned back to Wanda. Wanda, who had closed the door, and had started walking towards you, close enough that you took a step back but found yourself hitting the back of a table.

Now that she was right up in your personal space, close enough that you could smell the soap she was using. Your heart was beating now.

“So you came for the book?” She asked, staring down at you. She was only a couple of inches taller than you but it may as well have been more.

“No, I came here to help you. And I know that book isn’t helping you, no matter how much you think it is. Wanda, that book is dangerous,” you said, gaining enough courage that you pushed yourself off the table to step forward, getting into Wanda’s space just as she was in yours.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Wanda remarked but she didn’t move. “You’re as bullheaded as you used to be, never knowing when a fight was too big for you. I remember all those times Nat and Steve had to throw themselves on the line because you’d done something reckless.” “That’s rich coming from you.” “I could protect myself,” Wanda snapped back. “So where are they? The rest of them. The people that said they were my family. Were you all that they had?”

You clenched your teeth. Don’t say the truth. “They wanted a woman’s touch with it,” you lied. “There isn’t that many of us who were close to you back then anymore.”

It was really only Nat and maybe Pepper who were close to Wanda. Both were a little preoccupied as of right now (for different reasons) to come knocking on Wanda’s door.

“A woman’s touch?” Wanda echoed, saying it in a way that made you clench your teeth. It was a raspy whisper. “And what, may I ask, would that entail?”

With the way she said it, you were pretty sure that Wanda wasn’t meaning it in the same way you were. Albeit, your meaning was rather off as well. In that you had no idea what that would entail either.

Wanda must have realised this and took a step back. “I suggest you leave,” she said and you hesitated before shaking your head.

“I won’t do that,” you said and she frowned. “They asked me to calm you down–”

“Calm me down?” She repeated, pronouncing each syllable, and it was as if the temperature dropped ten degrees. “Calm me down.” Then she smirked and it made you roll back on your heels.

“As long as you have that book, yes,” you said, “how about this–I take the book and then I go. You’ll think more rational without it, Maximoff, you know that. Deep down. You’re smart, Wanda, smarter than anyone ever gave you credit for. Besides Vision–”

“Don’t say his name,” Wanda snarled and suddenly she was in front of you again, hand around your throat, “do you understand me? He doesn’t exist here, not with you around.”

You didn’t really know what she meant but you ran with it and nodded. Her hand was tight and your airway was becoming a little too blocked for your liking.

She stared down at you, her eyes hard and cold, but then they softened and her grip loosened but they still didn’t leave your skin.

“You know, I might have pursued you back then, if it wasn’t for him,” Wanda began and you blinked. What? “You were everything I liked in a girl. Besides your recklessness….and stubbornness...but I think I can deal with that pretty easily.”

“Wanda, I’m flattered, really, but how about we focus,” you said, carefully, deciding to take that with a grain of salt and then over analyse it at three in the morning. Like how could you be cock blocked by a bloody robot? “Just give me the book and I’ll leave you in peace. I’ll make sure no one comes looking for you–” “You can’t promise me that,” Wanda remarked before she dropped her hand to take a step back. Then she looked you up and down. “You said they wanted you to calm me down, right? How about I keep both you and the book.”

You would like to say you were able to fight back. Prevent Wanda from knocking you out. But you were gone by the time she finished her sentence.

----

When light streamed into your eyes, the first thing you registered was the soft pillow underneath your head. Then you felt the rest of the bed and your eyes sprung open.

Your legs were bent up and out, Wanda’s red mist wrapped around your ankles and knees to keep them up. Meanwhile, your wrists were stuck to the headboard. Then your eyes rested on….Wanda?

Transparent Wanda reading that bloody book. You swear to god-you’ll burn that book the moment you get your hands–

“You’ll do no such thing,” Wanda’s voice cut through your apparently rather loud thoughts. You turned your head, trying to find her, and there she was in the doorway, sipping a cup of tea, watching you. Then she kicked off it and moved into the room and slid the mug onto a table before coming to the bed. “Maybe I’ll let you hold it one day as I read it.”

“I don’t...I don’t understand, Wanda, let me go,” you whispered as you began to struggle, pulling on the restraints again and again, but they weren’t budging. Neither was Wanda.

“I don’t think I want to,” Wanda hummed as she pushed herself onto the bed, “you see, I lost everything. My brother, Vision, Nat, Steve, my two boys, then Vision again. I lose every single family I ever have. Maybe this time I’ll succeed. I’m trying to find them, you see, with the book. Find them and pull them out. We can live here, happy, away from everyone.”

“We’ve done this story before Wanda, it didn’t–” “This time will be different, I’ll be more powerful, I won’t mess up this time,” Wanda pressed as her hands went to your inner thighs, moving them up and down your clothed skin. “And, when it comes to you, what they don’t know won’t hurt them. I don’t think I’ll let them see you. No, you can be my little secret. I stared at you for too many years, let you whore yourself out to other people. Not anymore.”

You drew your brows together. This couldn’t be happening.

“As you said, you’re meant to calm me down, right? Meant to pull me off some edge because everyone else was just too busy,” Wanda said as she positioned herself between your legs, bending down to kiss your jawline. You throbbed and pulled on the red strands wrapped around your wrist, but to no avail. “But I can think of another edge you can get close to,” she whispered as she pulled away again.

“Wanda, what are you–”

Her fingers slid in between your thighs, pressing into your heat, and a sharp gasp left your mouth. She began to rub through your jeans, cupping your heat, and you tugged again. This time, the red scratched the watch around your wrist and suddenly your clothes had snapped into the red armour Tony had built you years ago. Protective armour that replaced whatever you were wearing in a nick of time.

Useful.

The shift was enough to push Wanda off you and she stared down at the red and black armour with a slight tilt of her head.

“Well, that won’t do, will it?” She asked as her hands trailed down the cool metal. “Neat trick. Tony’s design, right?”

“Of course,” you responded after a moment, your chest rising up and down. There was no point in denying it-it was obviously Tony’s. Right down to the colours.

Wanda’s eyes turned red as the red mist circled around her hand as she lowered it back down. You flinched when you felt it slink in between the small crevices. The suit was meant to be protected against outside substances, able to go into water, but you supposed Tony didn’t exactly build it against Wanda.

“Wanda, you don’t–” “If you don’t be quiet, I’ll make you, do you understand me?” She hissed as she bucked her hand backwards and the suit around your hips ripped off you and tossed across the room. You whined as the cold air hit your bare skin, contrasting the building heat in between your legs.

You were left with nothing but the top half and the pants that wrapped around your thigh. “Much better.”

With that, she went back to what she was doing before but this time there was nothing to prevent her from slipping her fingers through your slick folds, the tips of her nails teasing your entrance.

“Look at you, already so wet,” she cooed and you gritted your teeth. This really couldn’t be happening. This was a dream. She could control reality, this was just a dream. “This isn’t me in your head, sweetheart, trust me–I would have cut the foreplay if I was creating this.”

She continued to massage your heat and it took you everything you had not to moan.

“Why are you…” you tried saying but you were cut short, once again, when her fingers found your hooded clit, using the tips of her nails to start playing with it. You bucked your hips instinctively and she chuckled.

“You said you wanted to help me, right?” Wanda asked and the building heat was beginning to become a little too much. “So how about this, sweetheart, you help mummy out by becoming mummy’s little stress reliever.”

Two fingers suddenly plunged into your entrance and your back arched. At least your clit got a little bit of a break but it wasn’t long until her palm began to grind against it as she thrusted the fingers into your tight entrance. Each thrust expanded your walls, letting her in even deeper, your own arousal making her movements slick and quick.

“Wand-” you began to moan but it morphed into a sharp yelp when she pulled her fingers out to slap your cunt.

“You’re a smart girl, sweetheart, it’s how you got around Tony for so long. I think you know exactly what you want to be calling me,” she said and suddenly she was back down so that her face was only inches away from yours and her fingers slid back inside of you.

Unlike last time, though, it wasn’t rough and sharp. Her fingers were slow as they moved inside of you, curling at the tips, scratching your walls. Exploring. She was exploring you and you could do nothing but whimper and moan.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? I know you would. Look at you, already so wet and submissive for me,” she whispered, scattering kisses down your jawline as she reached your ear to nibble on your earlobe. “I’ll keep you in here for as long as I need you. Ride your pretty little mouth as I read that book, fill you up again and again until you’re passing out. All you have to do is be a good little girl.”

Heat was curling through your body, that buzzing sort of heat, that made your vision blur. Your teeth were clamped together. You wanted to moan, they were in your throat, but even when you opened your mouth, no sound came out. Just silent moans. The fingers moving inside of you had grabbed all your attention.

Then she scratched that little sweet spot and it was that that pushed out a moan that bounced around the room. Wanda laughed, hitting it again and again.

“Let your mummy hear your moans, sweetheart,” she said before she pulled back to kiss you on the mouth, biting hard on your lip so you wouldn’t even try to close your mouth and stop the tongue that slid into your mouth.

Your stomach was twisting into knots at this point and seemed like every other muscle seemed to be cramping. You were close to climax. Your walls clenched around Wanda’s fingers. Just a little bit–

You groaned when she peeled herself off you. You blinked up at her, looking through what seemed like tears, as you were denied that relief. Relief from the throbbing coming from your cunt.

“You want to cum, baby?” Wanda asked as she pulled off her shirt. Underneath was a simple black bra that was quickly disposed of. Your eyes, naturally, landed on her chest. A chest that, even under the circumstances, made you drool. Wanda’s clicking your fingers drew your eyes back up. “Eyes on mummy, sweetheart. God, you really are a little whore, aren’t you? Tell me-do you want to cum?” You pulled on your restraints just once more but all it seemed to do was to make it even tighter.

You nodded, jerkily.

“Use your words, sweetheart, I very clearly established you’re not mute,” Wanda remarked as her fingers went down to her jeans, fiddling with her button.

“Yes. Please, I want to,” you mumbled, knowing you won’t be coming back from this point. Then again-if she could make you feel like that again...maybe that wasn’t so bad.

Wanda tilted her head as she hummed, not having to move much to slap your sore cunt again and you jerked. “Say it politely and maybe I’ll consider it.” You scrunch your eyes shut and mewled when she began to knead your pulsating clit again. “M-mummy, please,” you whispered and her hands left your cunt. Before you could even open your eyes, you felt her lips on yours. Soft, gentle...loving.

“Good girl...that wasn’t so hard, was it?” She asked and you could hear the ruffling of her pants as she kicked them off. “Now...mummy’s going into your head, okay? I promise it won’t be long.” You began to struggle again but the warmth of her powers quickly washed over you. Your memories began playing the past three months. You tracking her down. Refusing back up.

Then she was out again.

“You really told no one where you were going? Almost as if you wanted this to happen,” She said as she shifted on top of you. Shifted that you felt something rub up against your entrance and you flinched. She...she was packing. “Of course I am, sweetheart, do you really think I wasn’t prepared for you? I knew you were coming from a mile away, honey.”

And with that, she pushed the strap inside of you, not bothering to wait for you to adjust until she was completely inside of you. You arched your back again, pressing into Wanda’s naked body, as the pain of being ripped open rushed through your body. You moaned and grunted as you grew adjusted to the width and length of Wanda.

“Come on, baby, you can do it,” Wanda murmured into your lips and suddenly your wrists were freed. But then her own hands came up to wrap around them to press them against the pillows herself. “I know you’ve taken bigger. Do you think we didn’t know? Didn’t know you and Nat were fucking every other night?” The comment drew you out, just for a moment, and you shook your head but all she did was pull back slightly to slam inside of you again.

“Don’t lie to me,” Wanda snarled, “tell me, tell me the truth. Use your words.”

It took only a few more thrusts of her strap filling you up again and again that the words began to spill out of your lips. “S-she found out. About my status as a shield status. Fuck,” you hissed out, barely able to hear your own words over the lude noises of Wanda beginning to pound into you. This wasn’t fair-you couldn’t dream of talking when she was fucking you like this.

“So you whored yourself out to her to make sure she kept her mouth shut,” Wanda said, finishing the sentence and you nodded jerkily. “You little slut. I bet you liked it too, just like how you like me pounding into you. But you’re mine now. Not hers. Not Tony’s. Mine. My little whore.”

She shifted upwards so that her chest was dangling above your face. “Suck your mommy's tit, baby, I saw you admire them before.”

It was a welcome change, you had to admit, to trying to formulate sentences and words around the moans and screams spilling out of your mouth. Your head leaned forward, closing the distance, so your mouth could wrap around her erect nipple and your walls clenched around her strap as you heard her moan.

Her hand moved to the top of your head, her nails scraping against your scalp as she interwove her fingers through your messy hair. Your tongue lapped at the small bud between your teeth and she began to move her hips in time with your tongue.

Your now free hand wrapped around her body so your nails were digging into her shoulder, drawing Wanda down even closer so you could take more of her tit into her mouth.

The same heat that had built before was coming back, and you weren’t sure how long you could hold on at this point.

“You can cum whenever you want, baby, just this once,” Wanda purred, hearing your thoughts, and it was all you needed, that confirmation, to come undone. Your walls clenched around the strap and you could feel Wanda slowing down as thrusting became just a tad more difficult and you screamed into her tits, careful not to clamp your jaw shut, as the orgasm rushed through you.

Even through it, she continued moving inside of you, and you almost felt like you could pass out.

“Good girl,” Wanda whispered. “Oh, I could get used to this. I’m going to keep you in here, do you hear me? Make you a good little whore for me to come home to.” They did say your mission was to help Wanda calm down.

#wanda x reader #smut #wanda maximoff smut #dark!wanda maximoff #top!wanda #dark wanda maximoff x reader #misfitwrites #wanda maximoff x you

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kpoptrashlord-007 · 3 years

Text

Lessons;; NYT

Word Count;; .9k

Genre;; Suggestive

Pairing;; Yuta x Fem!Reader

Summary;;

It is your own hubris that has led you here. The tables are quick to turn and you soon find yourself not in the role of mentor but student as you lose control over your impromptu 'kissing' lesson.

Warnings;;

Heavy Makeout, Grinding

Notes;;

Written for one of my lovely Tumblr moots, @drunk-on-yuta ♡ Based off the prompt generator tag game.

My Networks;; @superm-net

Main Masterlist || NCT Masterlist

There’s something hidden in his gaze, something dark. It makes you second-guess whether or not you should go through with this. A voice in the back of your head is telling you that he isn’t being one hundred percent honest with you but a much more primal, carnal voice is telling you to do it anyway, to have fun. You know things don’t quite add up but at the same time, you’ve had a crush on him since the day you first met.

“Just follow my lead, okay?” you say, rolling your shoulders and stretching your neck, the bed creaking despite the small movement.

Yuta doesn’t respond. Instead he quirks his brow in acknowledgement. When you take a deep breath, so does he. Mimicking your movements, he is like your shadow. Diligent, unwavering, observant. Leaning forward, he meets you in the middle, his lips brushing against yours. Electricity sparks between you both and you wonder if he felt it too or if perhaps you’re making a big deal out of nothing. You are, after all, just here to instruct him. It’s not a kiss shared between lovers but friends. It isn’t meant to mean anything.

“Like this?” he asks, tilting his head, securing the perfect angle to capture your awaiting lips. You jerk your head in agreement. There’s a ghost of a smirk sprawling across his sharp features but you don’t have time to think about it for long. Holding the nape of your neck, his breath mixes with yours as you breathe him in. He tastes like mint mojito and strawberries. When his plush lips press against yours, you sigh, deflating under his inquisitive touch. As his free hand squeezes your waist, he breaks the kiss just long enough to continue his line of questioning. “Am I doing well?”

“Yes,” you murmur, pulling away from his intoxicating aura. “You’re good at this.”

“Really?”

The hum thrumming in your throat turns into a delicate moan when he recaptures your lips. This time his tongue tickles your lips, begging for entrance that you’re quick to grant. Dropping his hands to your thighs, he yanks you into his lap. Holding you close until there’s no space left between you, his presence overwhelms the remainder of your rational mind.

What was once the softness of the bed beneath you has been replaced with the firmness of his thighs. They tense under you. It’s a tease. His grip on you is too tight to allow you room to ride one of them, to make a solid connection. The best you can manage is dipping down against his crotch and so you do, willing the tables to turn. Your original objective is all but forgotten, lost to you as you chase his hips, chase any form of contact.

In retrospect, you knew it was silly - a man like Yuta didn’t need to learn a thing when it came to the art of lovemaking. Taking your critique in stride, however, he had humoured you, going so far as to request a demonstration on how to ‘kiss properly’. For some, it’s a natural talent. You always thought you were one of those people, but as you lose yourself within the ecstasy of his touch, you realise it had just been your pride talking.

Yuta on the other hand… you doubt he has ever struggled to pleasure another, to elicit the darkest desires in those he seduces. Not when his hands are so skilled and his tongue so entrancing. He leaves you yearning for more. Each indentation his fingers press deep upon your skin is a new level of gratification, derived from pain but with the promise of even greater bliss should you let go, let him take the reins.

Running your fingers through his silky hair, you tug on a fistful. It’s not much, not in the grand scheme of it all, but it gives you a false sense of control. Pulling his head back so you can get a clear view of his angular face and those cold, enticing eyes you’ve come to adore, you know you’ve lost. That devilish smirk, the one that is both triumphant and tempting, is back in full effect. All you can do is delay, to pretend for just a while longer that you hold the power.

Entrapping him on the bed, your knees sink into the memory foam cushioning on either side of his hips. He allows you to guide him, his body falling back onto the mattress under the nonexistent force of your hovering palm. When you don’t follow, his body juts up to meet yours. Testing the water, he rises toward your outstretched hand until mere inches separate you. It’s a game to him and you’re unwilling to make it easy, refusing him the contact he craves with a stern tut and the wiggle of your index finger. It’s a challenge just to calm your excited nerves. On the inside you’re just as eager as he is, but you’re also not letting his little fib from earlier go unchecked either.

With a hint of sass underlying the playfulness in your voice, you taunt him, poking a beast you know is too wild to tame. “Looks like you don’t need my help after all.”

“No”—his eyes dart to where your body meets his, his hips thrusting against your core in a slow grind—“but I certainly would like it.”

– ♡ – If you enjoyed this, please consider liking, commenting, reblogging, and/or following! Thank you!

#yuta x reader #nct x reader #nct smut #yuta smut #kpop x reader #kpop smut #nakamoto yuta #nct #kpop #nct yuta #supermnet #yuta #nct fanfic #yuta fanfic #nct hard hours #kpoptrashlord-007 #nct oneshot

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jiangwanyinscatmom · 3 years

Note

This is a bit of a long rambly mess, but I just to vent somewhere! When I was at first getting annoyed at JC’s depictions, I thought fanon JC was painted as similar Mu Qing, right down to JC being given MQ’s secret care for children. But I then realized that even that comparison was inaccurate.

Even MQ apologizes (more than once across the story!), says that XL was right, and says he wants to be his friend. And if JC did that in most fics, that would at least be fine. But fans don’t even do the courtesy of giving JC that arc! Instead, it’s always JC being right -- whether about the GC transfer, or he’s suddenly become a person who’s willing to help the Wens and WWX is just a stupid idiot for doing it on his own -- and WWX has to admit that JC was right.

And where MQ becomes more comfortable with the fact that he used to be a servant, accepting and overcoming the insecurities, JC’s arc in fic could be learning to overcome his insecurities that WWX is better than him at many things even despite their class differences. But no, fanon JC has to be AMAZING at something, or even SEVERAL things, SO much BETTER at them than poor stupid WWX. That’s the BEST solution for Yunmeng bros reconciliation, obviously.

At this point, I honestly wish JC was actually given MQ’s character arc in more fics, because at least he could be said to have one, and not just have always been a perfect person, best brother, best jiujiu, bestest sect leader. Ugh.

It kind of feels like another side of purity culture from the people who should be against it. If JC and WWX reconcile,if JC loves WWX, then JC can’t have ever been a bad brother. Instead, it’s Wei Wuxian who has been the bad brother (the character who’s more easy to change since he a) has already gone through this characterization in all versions of the canon, so his development can be reversed for the fic and brought back up to speed by the end, and b) has actually had character growth, unlike JC, so it’s easier to write that growth). It’s Wei Wuxian who needs to change to match where JC is at. It’s fine if the “bad brother” is the character who tried to do good, but fucked it up because he “doesn’t know how to ask for help!” or “is too stupid to know other people care!” or whatever other excuse. That’s easy to fix! But it’s not fine when it’s the character who never really cared about people outside of his sect and is terribly low on empathy/mercy/compassion/caring. JC has to have been secretly good all along! He loves his brother, so obviously he never did anything terrible to him! Or to other people in the name of hating him! Love cannot be unhealthy or messy or crystalized over by and wrapped up in hate!

(I mean, if we’re comparing characters to JC, Severus Snape also has an unpleasant personality yet was actually revealed to not have been evil all along, and the discourse around him is more interesting than the stuff surrounding JC. It’s still often stupid discourse, but at least it’s based on evidence from the text and not a made up secret narrative where JC hasn’t been a bad person this whole time so fans can just make up whatever characterization they want.)

Instead of dealing with JC’s and WWX’s canon relationship and trying to find a way forward from where they left off in Guanyin Temple (if they’re ignoring the extras in MDZS, or going off CQL), fanon JC is just retroactively made into having always been a good person to justify the ease of their reconciliation.

And as someone who loves delving into fictional complex, complicated, messy, ugly relationships, I find it so...bland, boring, childish, and exhausting.

"As someone who loves delving into fictional complex, complicated, messy, ugly relationships, I find it so...bland, boring, childish, and exhausting."

Hello there anon, the above as well as what you said about reversing Wei Wuxian's character to be on par with how awful Jiang Cheng was to him is especially resonating. As a person Jiang Cheng himself for all intents was considered at least above average from the normal cultivators.

Yet his downfall always relied on his hate of Wei Wuxian (as a person, in talent, socially) it is a core part of his character that is woven into the work itself and the catalyst for Wei Wuxian's death itself. Jiang Cheng if anything, is coldly upfront on just why he refuses to help Wei Wuxian out of his predicament as well as framing Wei Wuxian. The text itself says he puts little fight in pretending to even speak for Wei Wuxian's behalf when Jin Guangshan begins to sully him and conspire about him wanting to be a sect leader. He is meant to be the complete contrast in Lan Wangji and Mianmian trying to speak for his good-will, in fact he contradicts this by saying that Wei Wuxian has always been tiresomely reckless and uncontrollable, something that holds little truth as Wei Wuxian worked in trust for Yunmeng Jiang's benefit for years. Their actions simply are not of comparable fault and the end of the work (in the least the novel) makes this message clear. Jiang Cheng, as a character, like MXTX said is a product of following what his environment made him as well as him putting no fight on his end to amend that to be better and learn. Love is very complicatedly explored in this work in all it's ways and that's what is very beautiful about it. It does not shy away from the forms it manifests in. Including Jiang Cheng's who at the base of it, the rivalry there was as much one-sided as Shu She's for Lan Wangji, the layers of irony are the best part of the novel for each of it's characters.

As for fandom. I do think a lot of it is petty stupid discourse (oh and I have never said I am particularly immune to it, I am far too sarcastic for my own good and have a bit of a loud mouth when I see something particularly ridiculous for this fandom and I do not know when to shut up my filter). But, so much of it is coated within personal resonance towards certain characters which leads to feeling personally hurt, especially when the block features exist on this site. Multiple tags have been implemented to block for this exact purpose, yet their comes the takes that you can not use these sarcastic tags that are blockable because "it's not the right ones". Fandom is ever shifting and as such it is curated as much as you want it to be. Being ordered to not use these tags or to avoid posting all together is a moot point as well as demanding others to read how you want them to, even when the work textually supports or does not certain interpretations. As lovely as the thought is that "all interpretations are valid", logically it does not work quite so well when you attempt to push that on so many others with little helpful evidence other than flimsy fanon popularity (Ron the Death Eater And Draco in Leather pants are infamous fandom tropes that are despised for reasons). JC is not a case of questionable good for selfish reasons as in the comparison to Snape, he is simply a show of selfishness who has an ambiguous opening to do better, in terms of those in the future. Too much clout though is put on that idea when the work itself is not shy to say real good, kind, supportive people are hard to come by.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #canon jiang cheng #jiang cheng #I love him but he is very much a trash racoon king #fandom also needs to chill with is elitisism and faux intellectualism

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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

Text

Spilled Pearls

- Chapter 20 - ao3 -

“Your brother has been acting strange,” Lan Yueheng said, his voice drifting in through the open door.

He was crouched down in the dirt, happily gathering a small harvest from the plants he’d grown outside Lan Qiren’s window. Most of the materials he used for his alchemy experiments he obtained from the specialized fields in the Cloud Recesses, but there were some variants that the sect members in charge of those fields disfavored on account of certain pharmacological side effects associated with them. Lan Yueheng had prevailed on his friendship with Lan Qiren to beg, at some considerable length, that he be allowed to grow those variants in the area near Lan Qiren’s rooms – he’d argued that no one would ever think to check there on account of Lan Qiren’s rule-abiding reputation.

Lan Qiren had pointed out that there were no actual rules against growing those plants - they were only disfavored, not disallowed - thereby rendering the entire issue with people checking for it moot, but Lan Yueheng had insisted and eventually he’d yielded.

Let Lan Yueheng grow his nightmare plants wherever he liked. What did he care? He wasn’t using that patch of land for anything in particular, and it was nice to have a reason to see Lan Yueheng on a regular basis.

“Strange how?” Lan Qiren asked, finishing off the final stroke of a painting. He didn’t like it, but then again, he never liked any of the paintings he did for himself – they were too stiff and unfeeling, in his view, lacking spirit and movement no matter what he tried. His favorite painting was still the antique Wen Ruohan had left on his wall all that time ago, a lively little landscape with burnt edges suggesting that it had been hastily recovered from a fire at some point; he’d never replaced any of the things his sworn brother had gotten for him.

“I’m not sure how to describe it. Just strange,” Lan Yueheng said. “I don’t know how many people have noticed yet, him being pretty standoffish and above-it-all at the best of times, but it’s not the usual sort of thing for him.”

Lan Yueheng was like Lan Qiren; they were good at noticing patterns, however bad they were at figuring out the meanings behind it. If Lan Yueheng said it wasn’t normal, it probably wasn’t.

Lan Qiren rubbed at his forehead, suppressing the desire to go figure out the problem right away. “I don’t think I can help,” he said instead. “He doesn’t like to see me, remember?”

“He’s important to the sect,” Lan Yueheng said peaceably, and Lan Qiren loved him all over again for not saying he’s still your brother. “You might not like him, but you like the sect. So you have to help figure it out.”

Lan Qiren did not like it when Lan Yueheng was right about things. It gave him a strange itchy feeling of dissatisfaction.

“Someone else could figure it out,” he argued. “He’s sect leader now, remember? His well-being is everyone’s responsibility.”

“But you’re the one who’s good at figuring out weird stuff.”

“Do not tell lies,” Lan Qiren grumbled, but he still put away his things and went to see his brother – who wasn’t where he was supposed to be. Any of the places he was supposed to be.

That was strange.

Lan Qiren’s brother was talented and powerful, skilled and meticulous; he was too proud of his status and accomplishments to shirk work. Whatever had drawn him away must have been very compelling indeed – or so Lan Qiren thought.

He wasn’t expecting, when he finally tracked down his brother through a tracker spell utilized on an old comb, to find him walking through the forest alongside a young woman, sword at his side as if he were night-hunting.

“I am night-hunting,” he said when Lan Qiren asked him. “I’m escorting Mistress He.”

Lan Qiren turned to look at the girl.

She smiled at him in a perfunctory sort of fashion. She was beautiful in a way that reminded Lan Qiren a little of Cangse Sanren, though her looks were very different – more refined and elegant, more delicate and less down-to-earth, thoroughly lacking the vaguely unsettling undertones so characteristic of Baoshan Sanren’s disciple, but no less lovely in her own way.

“Qingheng-jun was just showing me the lay of the land,” she said coolly. “If you need him to return, of course, I won’t keep him.”

“There’s nothing else I need to do,” he said at once, which was such a blatant lie that Lan Qiren’s jaw dropped.

The girl glanced over at him and looked amused, saluting briefly: “He Kexin, a rogue cultivator,” she introduced herself. She shouldn’t have needed to; per etiquette, Lan Qiren’s brother should have introduced them, but he was clearly too far into his own world to care for such niceties. “And you are…?”

“Gusu Lan sect’s Lan Qiren,” Lan Qiren said on automatic, returning the salute. “I’m – his brother.”

“Oh?” she said. “In that case, you must have plenty to talk about. Anyway, there doesn’t seem to be much night-hunting here, so I’ll be leaving.”

Lan Qiren’s brother saluted deeply. “I hope to see you again soon, Mistress He.” His voice was gentler than Lan Qiren had ever heard it.

She waved a careless hand in half-hearted agreement as she went, but Lan Qiren’s brother stared after her departing figure until she was out of sight. Only when she was fully gone did he turn away, and when he did, he turned only in order to glare at Lan Qiren.

“Why did you interrupt us?” he asked, and his voice had gone back to its usual cold remove. “We were finally spending some time together alone, without those friends of hers crowding in and bothering us.”

Lan Qiren glanced in the direction that He Kexin had gone. “I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference,” he said hesitantly. “If you’re alone or with her friends, I mean. I don’t think – I don’t think that she likes you all that much.”

Lan Qiren had no natural social skills, not like his brother, who was charming enough to draw most people in despite or perhaps because of his cool and distant demeanor, but in sheer self-defense he had worked very hard to categorize and identify a variety of unspoken signals utilized by people in order to try to figure out logically what he couldn’t do intuitively. While he was still terrible at identifying indications of positive interest of any sort, as Cangse Sanren was always teasing him, he had gotten much better at detecting negative signs that indicated disinterest, indifference, or boredom.

“She likes me well enough,” his brother said, his tone oddly defensive. “She’s reserved, that’s all – you really can’t tell who she secretly likes or doesn’t. She’s a brilliant cultivator, sharp as a blade and clever as anything; it’s no wonder that she’s kind to others in equal measure as well…”

“But -”

“She makes me feel free,” his brother said, cutting him off. “She’s just - she’s smart and she’s talented and she’s fearless, unrestrained and untamed. There’s nothing weighing her down or holding her back. She bears no expectations and no pressure, and nothing has ever forced her, molded her development in this way or that; she lives her life just drifting on the breeze, complete untethered, and when I’m with her I feel the same, and I’ve never felt that way…”

He trailed off, eyes oddly dreamy, and then suddenly he seemed to come back to himself and remember to whom he was speaking. “Anyway, what do you know about women, Qiren? You’re as frigid as an icicle hanging in the window or a mountain lake in midwinter.”

Lan Qiren acknowledged the point, but he didn’t see its relevance. “If she doesn’t like you, she doesn’t like you,” he pointed out. “There’s nothing you can do about it –”

“Are you saying there’s nothing you actually wanted from me?” his brother interrupted, voice sharp now, almost angry. “Your presence is neither wanted nor needed here. Leave at once.”

“No, it’s just – you weren’t at the hanshi, and there’s work to be done.”

“So what? I’ll do it later.”

“You’re sect leader now. You have duties,” Lan Qiren said. “You can’t just go out night-hunting whenever you wish –”

“You said it yourself, I’m sect leader - me, and me alone!” his brother snapped. “From what I recall, that makes me the one who gives the orders, not you. Now get lost!”

Lan Qiren blinked, shocked at the fierceness of the rebuke, and watched as his brother strode away – in the direction He Kexin had gone, rather than back towards the Cloud Recesses.

This, he thought to himself, is a problem.

It was, too. His brother abandoned his duties more and more often, avid in his pursuit of He Kexin, who he had invited to stay for a while at the Cloud Recesses with the friends she was travelling with. She did, as he’d said, seem to like him well enough, but it seemed clear that her regard was far more cursory than his own - and not just to Lan Qiren, either.

Lan Qiren was roped in by the elders to help do some of the work his brother was neglecting, at first a little and then more. It got in the way of his own preparations, and started getting on his nerves, too.

“You don’t understand,” one of his teachers told him when he tried to resist the notion of spending a large chunk of his time on sect paperwork instead of practicing music. “Love, for our sect, is a powerful thing. When it comes unexpectedly, it is wild and irresistible, like a river bursting through a dam and overflowing its banks. It’s no surprise that your brother is so focused on winning his bride – and all for the best, too. He has to have heirs to inherit one day.”

Lan Qiren didn’t disagree with that, naturally. He certainly didn’t want to be stuck being his brother’s heir any longer than he had to. It was only…

“Just because he’s in love with her doesn’t mean she’s going to be his bride,” he said, and wondered a little spitefully why it was just assumed that he didn’t understand what it meant to love someone. Just because he didn’t feel it the same way as they did didn’t make his heart any less a Lan. “I don’t know why you’re all being so stubborn about this. A woman knows her own mind - just because he offers himself doesn’t mean she has to accept.”

“Stop saying such inauspicious things,” his teacher scolded. “You should be wishing your brother luck, instead.”

“He doesn’t need luck,” another teacher, the one for swordsmanship, put in. “He needs more of a backbone. Doesn’t she have a father he can talk to?”

That started up another debate on the relevance of the opinion of the young in setting their own marriages, an old classic, and Lan Qiren sighed and took his leave. He winced when he realized that his brother was not far away, standing with He Kexin in one of the nearby gardens – at his brother’s cultivation level, there was little chance he hadn’t heard the subject of their conversation, and indeed his glare indicated that he had. He Kexin wasn’t looking his way, but Lan Qiren suspected she might’ve heard some as well.

His suspicions were borne out the next day, much to his misfortune.

“Mistress He!” he exclaimed, groping around wildly for his clothing. He’d been humming his way through a new stanza while taking a bath, having taken a day off to wash his hair, only to turn around and see her standing there in the middle of his quarters. “What are you – I’m not dressed – these are my rooms!”

“I know,” she said, not moving.

Lan Qiren decided his dignity was more important than his health and reached out to yank his clothing into the bath with him, ignoring how they got heavy and soaked with water; he pulled on his inner robes and, once attired, he clambered out, rather annoyed. Just because He Kexin was a rogue cultivator didn’t excuse her from knowing manners, and just because she was his brother’s favorite, granted the freedom to wander wherever she would within the Cloud Recesses, didn’t give her the right to violate his privacy. “Mistress He –”

“You’re cute,” she said, and he stared at her, aghast. “Not quite as handsome as your brother, nowhere near as charming, and the way you drone on is rather annoying, but at least you have some respect for a woman’s wishes, and that face of yours isn’t bad. You’re not courting anyone at present, is that right?”

“I’m not,” he said, taken aback. “But what –”

“Good,” she said, and the next thing he knew she was in his arms, trying to kiss him. It was only through his quick reaction that he was able to turn his face away and avoid it.

“Mistress – Mistress He!”

“Keep your voice down,” she said, sounding amused even as she groped him in an intimate place. “It’s part of the plan, eventually, but it’d still be a pity for us to get caught before we get to the fun part.”

“I don’t – I’m not – I don’t want – let go of me!”

“Are you a virgin?” she laughed. “For shame, a man of your age. Just relax, you’ll like it soon enough –”

Lan Qiren’s brother had described He Kexin as a brilliant cultivator, and he’d been right; for all that she was a rogue cultivator, lacking the resources of a Great Sect, she was talented and promising, a powerful sword cultivator in her own right, and her grip on Lan Qiren’s body was relentless.

Lan Qiren tried first to get away from her without harming her, but she wouldn’t let go of him, pulling open his robes and even burying her teeth into his throat – that was the straw too far for him; he whistled a series of notes, short and sharp, the burst of qi shocking her grip loose, and then he threw her as far away from him as he could, knocking her into the opposite wall.

“Kexin!”

Lan Qiren turned: it was his brother rushing in through his door, falling down to his knees in front of her to examine her to make sure she wasn’t injured, and then turning to look at Lan Qiren, his eyes aflame with rage.

Lan Qiren glanced down at himself: robes askew and sopping wet, scratches on his chest and a bite on his neck.

“No,” he said, abruptly realizing how he must look, how they must look. Part of the plan, He Kexin had said; she must have known that her brother wouldn’t leave her alone for very long, and she’d clearly intended on using Lan Qiren as a means to get his brother to give up on his pursuit. Very few men would continue to chase a woman that spurned them for their own younger brother, especially one they didn’t much like. “It’s not – I didn’t –” Denial wasn’t going to help. “Do not succumb to rage!”

“Do not engage in debauchery,” his brother snapped back, rising to his feet. “Do not break faith!”

Lan Qiren took a step back, and then another. “Do not make assumptions about others.”

His brother wasn’t listening, though, and Lan Qiren found himself slammed against his own wall, held up and strangled by his own collar, his favorite painting falling to the ground from the force of it.

“How dare you,” his brother hissed, his eyes red. “How dare you touch her –”

“I didn’t! She was the one who –”

The next slam of Lan Qiren’s body against the wall jarred his teeth so hard that he bit his tongue to bleeding, and knocked his brain all around his skull. His brother was still talking, he thought, but he couldn’t hear him over the ringing in his ears. It belatedly occurred to him that using the same excuse as every rapist in history – she was asking for it, she was the one who initiated, it was all her – was probably not a good idea, even if in his case it was actually true.

He opened his mouth to try to defend himself, but his brother’s fist hit his stomach before he could speak, all the air knocking out of him.

“And then you – you hurt her –”

“Qingheng-jun, leave him be! It wasn’t him at all, you’re misunderstanding. I only wanted – ”

His brother threw him away, all his attention drawn away by his love, and Lan Qiren stumbled inelegantly on his way down, his feet slipping on the wet floor and tripping him up, and his head slammed hard against the corner of his bathtub as he fell down. As he sank to the floor, his vision going black, he thought blearily that the concussion he was undoubtedly going to have might even be worth it if only it meant that his brother would finally give up on his mad and hopeless pursuit of He Kexin already.

He did not.

#mdzs #lan qiren #qingheng-jun #he kexin #my fic #my fics #spilled pearls #mind the ao3 tags

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therealvinelle · 3 years

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In your meta on Why the Volturi are Necessary, you hypothesize that Aro is lying about humans being a threat to vampires. But how does that square with Maggie being present? She detects lies and compulsively calls them out. It’s a big reason her human family left her behind. (And I think the guide might mention another vampire present with a similar ability.)

So doesn’t that mean that likely either Aro was telling the truth (meaning vampires are more vulnerable than previously thought), or Maggie went against her nature and didn’t call him out (implying Edward also knew and also chose not to call him out)

(Anon is referring to this post.)

My theory on why the Volturi are necessary is based on what vampires are in the Twiverse, how the Volturi function, and the worldbuilding we see.

For me to be wrong, for humans to pose a threat the way Aro wants his audience to believe in Breaking Dawn, vampires have to be significantly weaker and easier to kill than what has been consistently shown throughout the books, or Twilight takes place in a parallel universe where human military technology is vastly more deadly and advanced than it is in ours. We'd be in AU territory.

As it is, Aro's speech getting past Maggie and Edward has an explanation that makes sufficient sense to me.

Edward was never going to be a problem. Anyone can block him, they just need to know how his gift works (sometimes not even that, as there are people who don't even know he has a gift who end up accidentally blocking him). Aro touched Edward earlier that year and knows Edward's gift better than anyone, and he came to that clearing mentally prepared. Aro is visualizing an exponentionally increasing amount of sheep in an ever-expanding field for this trial.

Even if something caught Aro off guard during that trial and a thought he didn't want made itself known, the missile speech was planned. His mind was prepared for that.

Sorry, but Edward's getting blocked.

Maggie is more interesting, but I think this one explains itself as well.

Because what is truth?

Aro says human technology could kill them all. And that's the truth. We have the means to destroy a city, a country, the world at large could become a nuclear wasteland overnight. The threat is real, and should knowledge of vampires get out an interspecies war, or a panic, might erupt, and things could get extremely destructive. Even if some vampires can survive the apocalypse itself, humans won't, and then the surviving vampires starve to death.

Is that the only truth, as in, is it the Volturi raison d'être, no. Aro wouldn't have created the law a thousand years ago if humans with their nukes was truly the reason.

However, it is a factor, and that makes his words the truth.

For that matter, it could very well be Maggie sensed a general dishonesty coming off of him for that speech, but she would expect this. If she doesn't know what Aro is being dishonest about, though, the point is moot.

As it is, Maggie's power appears to be rather black-and-white.

I'll use an example from Breaking Dawn.

(For context, Renesmée just did her show-her-lifestory thing, and "Please?" is her asking him not to murder her entire family.

Aro, on his end, can't guarantee that. He has never encountered a hybrid before, and can't know that Renesmée won't become a problem in the future. But, he is consistently a very polite character, so he's still going to be nice to her. Especially since she is, you know, a child.)

Renesmee relaxed back into my arms, her little face very serious.

“Please?” she asked him.

His smile turned gentle. “Of course I have no desire to harm your loved ones, precious Renesmee.”

Aro’s voice was so comforting and affectionate, it took me in for a second. And then I heard Edward’s teeth grind together and, far behind us, Maggie’s outraged hiss at the lie. (Breaking Dawn, page 442)

Yes, he tells a lie, but Renesmée is also a three month old five-year-old-looking child who's scared for her family. There's this thing called white lies, we tell them to children sometimes to reassure them. And, based on word choice and body language, that's what Aro was trying to do.

It seems to me he couldn't win here. He could of course say "oh I see, this never before seen species that drinks blood can't possibly grow up to be a problem for anybody. I'm not going to investigate this further at all. Toodledoo, fellas" and be celebrated for it, but I for one would not consider him fit to rule. Someone has to make tough choices sometimes and Aro has appointed himself to be that person. If he doesn't want to follow through, he can step down.

Back to what he said to Renesmée, the guy's options here were a) ominous silence, b) brutal honesty, c) ambiguous "I hope I won't have to harm your loved ones" type phrasing, or d) white lie. I repeat that he couldn't win here, because he went with the best option of the four and tried to reassure her, and people started hissing at him. That villain, he was nice to a toddler!

So, yes, Maggie does catch straight lies. Aro knew he was lying, and that meant she did too. Edward knew by extension, for that matter, good for him.

However, Maggie's gift is an ambiguous one, because truth by its very nature is ambiguous. Everything is a lie if you look hard enough into it or get very philosophical about it, and vice versa. The lived human experience is subjective, and that means we can't objectively experience reality. Maggie's gift is a denial of all that, it's an attempt to force the world into boxes of "truth" and "untruth", and that is going to give her a handicap similar to Alice or Edward's, as her gift affects the way she interacts with the world around her to the point where she can't do so normally.

Point being, yes I think Maggie can be lied to.

#maggie #twilight #twilight gifts #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #aro #breaking dawn debacle #edward cullen

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