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#(who only endangers them more by being around them)
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Vulnerability- Aventurine x male!Reader
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Recovery date: April 29th, 2024
Description: Hello sorry if this is a bad time, but I was wondering if you could make a story where the reader is male and comes from an extremely endangered species that is capable of having a child with a partner of the same gender, and he's kind of like Black Swan's apprentice, and went to Penacony with her but he ends up bumping into his ex Aventurine, the reader left him because he had a couple mental issues he needed to work out but he still cares about Aventurine and just doesn't know what to say to him.
Notes: This work was recovered in conjunction with an anonymous researcher, we thank them for their contributions. I couldn't really work in the "being able to have a child with someone of the same gender" but otherwise I think this came out really well.
Word count: 1 031
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Black Swan is a bitch.
That’s Y/n’s opinion as he catches a glimpse of soft golden hair and a gaudy green suit across the bar. The memokeeper had sent her darling apprentice to get them some drinks. She could feign ignorance, but Y/n watched her look over at the bar before sending him. He knows this was intentional, but he won’t let her lead him like she leads everyone else.
Seriously, he’d been under the impression that memokeepers were simply supposed to observe, why was she so intent on meddling with his life?
“One sweetened mood and one prolonged sunrise, from the man in the green suit,” the bartender nodded over her shoulder before he could ask about the second drink.
Y/n bit their tongue and tried to hold back a scowl.
“Thank you.”
He picked up the sweetened mood and brought it back to Black Swan.
“You forgot your drink,” Black Swan hummed, taking her drink from Y/n.
“I didn’t get one.”
“But he bought you one,” she grinned, taking a sip.
“And if I took it I’d be opening myself up to talk to him, and I have nothing to say to him.”
They both looked over to the bar, finding the man in question talking with a man with purple hair who looked less than thrilled to be there. When Y/n turned back around, Black Swan was watching her drink swirl together– the layers becoming muddled and the vibrant colors becoming one dull shade. He could sense a coming lecture and sighed.
“You want to be a memokeeper to preserve your kind, to leave a record in the wake of your destruction so that maybe someday– if the universe comes to an end– you can be born again.”
“If you’re about to suggest repopulating my kind I’m going to leave.”
Black Swan laughed.
“No, no, that’s a decision only you can make. I’m just saying that you’ve found your purpose now, maybe it’s time to give relationships another chance.”
Y/n frowned.
Black Swan wasn’t wrong. The only reason Y/n had broken up with Aventurine was because he’d felt too dependent on the IPC agent. Aventurine had tried to comfort him by insisting he could depend on him, but that had only made things worse. Neither of them wanted to be taken care of and while Aventurine was in a position where he could take care of Y/n, even if it was only superficially, Y/n was out matched. So he’d left.
Now he just wasn’t sure what to say.
He’d been unsure of what to say for years. He’d had the same conversation with himself every night as he lay in bed, trying to find the words that explained why he left. Trying to explain what exactly ‘you’re too coddling’ actually meant beyond never letting him pay.
---
Y/n felt shifting below him, nudging him awake. He buried himself into his pillow a little more, frowning at how hard it was, before prying his eyes open.
“It’s been awhile,” a groggy voice spoke from above him. 
The apprentice memokeeper sat up, groaning in pain as his back stretched out from the uncomfortably bent position he’d been in. Aventurine laughed, squeezing his hand. Y/n hadn’t even noticed that he was holding it, but he quickly pulled it back and settled his hands in his lap.
“Sorry, must’ve been really tired,” Y/n mumbled, yawning as he pressed himself back into his chair. “I’ll go get a doctor.”
Aventurine grabbed his wrist as he tried to leave.
“Can we talk?”
“You should get checked out, you’ve been out for a while.”
“It’s not like I’m hurt.”
“No,” Y/n sighed, “you were comatose. I’m getting you a doctor, then we can talk.”
He kept his word.
A few minutes after the doctor left the room, Y/n re-entered with a tray of food. He sat back in his seat and set the tray on the bed table before pulling it up to Aventurine.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Y/n said.
Aventurine nodded, staring at the food in front of him as they fell silent.
The small room was filled with the ticking of the clock on the wall and the faint sounds of footsteps outside. They were in the medical area on Penacony; Robin and Sunday were being treated in their rooms but Aventurine was stuck here.
Y/n found himself staring at the food on Aventurine’s tray as well.
“I’m sorry,” they both said. “Why are you-” they continued, stopping when they both turned to look at each other at the same time.
Y/n looked tired, and Aventurine looked a little sickly. It was almost funny that they were looking at each other in such vulnerable states. Maybe if they’d been able to see each other like this before, they wouldn’t have broken up. If they’d been able to understand that being able to protect one another was the only way they felt strong.
“I get it,” Aventurine said. “I always understood it… because I felt the same way,” his voice dropped to a whisper as he looked down to his hands in his lap.
“It was just… so hard to feel like I couldn’t do anything for you, like I was useless and maybe if we weren’t us we could have worked through it together but everything you tried to do to make things better made me feel worse.”
They fell silent again, collecting their thoughts and picking their next words.
This was the most open they’d ever been with each other.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Aventurine asked suddenly.
“I did. I’ve been trying to think of how to tell you but it felt weird.”
“Why?” Y/n looked up at him. “Did you want to tell me, I mean.”
“Because I miss you.”
Aventurine nodded, then reached for their hand. He intertwined their fingers.
“Kakavasha. That’s my name.”
A small smile tugged at Y/n’s lips.
“Kakavasha,” he brought the back of the man’s hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss against the worn skin, “I think it’s a beautiful name.”
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and i draw parallels solely on the cinematographic basis of “when my man is no more than a millimeter away from perturbation at all times but you give the Whole Right Half Of The Screen 3/4 Closeup of Harrowing Recontextualizations” like that’s right. we’re living it up
#i mean i guess it counts lol. said generally similar cinematographic approachs for said very generally similar scenarios#(a) when a guy shows his hand (shit) & the Team Experience is in shambles & you're two sec away from shooting him for real....#nemik not even being around for said ''oh so this guy is like that then apparently'' but Insisting on giving cassian his manifesto when we#all knew like oh f you're gonna get it lol. unsurprised but not unmoved that nemik's manifesto is the source of that Quoteth....#paraphrasing closely from memory the frontier of the rebellion is everywhere even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward#the imperial need for control is so desperate b/c it is so unnatural tyranny requires constant effort it breaks it leaks....#(b) when against all odds you busted out of island forever factory labor electric containment torture execution jail and made it to a phone#make a risky call home to relay to your mom that you're alive and all only to be informed that she is not#and both still like serving as [major turning points] naturally. end of ep six; end of ep eleven of twelve....#love some drama. even on top of ''oh we knew you'd die but now we know you're dying'' and then like escalation on escalation like umm what's#our bestie here talking about. oh i see. oh he's getting quickdraw blown away right on really at this point; makes sense in this position;#still what a surprise lol truly....that we Aren't surprised maarva dies not only b/c it's heavily cued but also We find out at the ep start#like the one guy dying in prison while we Know that's coming but heaping drama on drama as the doctor tells them what happened on floor two#and we get yet more Acting Wins as andy serkis (lino?)#(nah looked it up & i spoonerized that lol. kino loy. i Only Just Now have one name per each of that heist team down i think lol) so anyways#andy kino loy serkis is getting to be the king of Harrowing Recontextualizations in that moment. ugh just great shit going on throughout#there was a Lot of great [i'm perturbed to harrowed] acting all across the board. its being by and large a cast of characters who are all#like wary and continually endangered with varying degrees of urgency. like the rec abt this series as [tfw depiction of police state life]#star wars ///#andor#truly cassian my [he has the face of a friend] cassian#he really does have this key energy of like your insta new best friend and comrade....nemik's delivery w/''i wrote abt you last night.'' Fun#again like also unsurprising he'd already land on cassian out here like ofc i'll give my crucial legacy work to that guy who just showed up.#and And I Insistingly....and he's right
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micamicster · 1 year
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I just am obsessed with any story that’s about people who love each other but cannot do justice to that love because they have a duty to something else first. That there is something else fundamental and demanding that they must choose over love every time. To be forced to choose one irreplaceable thing over another etc etc
#For Jiang Cheng that’s his responsibility to his sect and to their people#and the burnt and fragile remains of their home#who are all counting on him—an orphaned teenager—to protect and lead them#And as much as he might want to throw that all away to be by his brother’s side#or as much as he might want to help wen qing and wen ning#they can never come first. because first he has to keep his people safe. he can’t put them at risk#no matter how much he loves his brother#he’s not powerful enough yet for taking a stand to do anything other than get his sect burned to the ground a second time#and that turns into him standing in the burial mounds near tears as he tells his brother ‘I can’t protect you anymore’#Which is its own bitter irony because you know wwx is thinking that it’s not his little brother’s job to protect him)#(with no idea how much he already has)#meanwhile for wei wuxian his primary duty is to help the wens#because he protected his brother at an unspeakable cost and his brother protected the sect and they’re going to be fine without him#(who only endangers them more by being around them)#which means now Wei Wuxian’s first and most important duty#is to protect this group of people who have absolutely no one else in the world who will stand with them#So even though it breaks his heart to leave his home and family he has to do what is right#It’s why I liked wen qing so much too. she and jiang cheng understood this about each other#while i don’t think jiang cheng and wei wuxian understand this about each other at all#because jc is standing there like when did i and my sister and our clan stop being your most important#and wwx is like I have already given everything I can give to you and I can only make things worse for you. but these people?I can help them#so i have to help them#as you guys can see. im not doing well#anyway watch black sails#the untamed
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fangswbenefits · 10 months
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Family
𓂅 𓄹 Summary: Miguel is a natural when it comes to being a father.
𓂅 𓄹 Pairing: Miguel O’Hara x spider-woman!reader
No warnings! Pure fluff! Dad Miguel.
A flock of birds took flight from a nearby tree and the ruffling of the leaves was a clear indication that there was an intruder nearby.
Your moment of peace and quiet was short-lived, but you remained still, folding under your head as both you an Miguel soaked up the Summer sun.
"Pa~pá!" sang a small voice from inside the canopy.
"Ye~ah?" Miguel said, focused on his dimensional travel watch.
"Look at me~e!"
"I'm looking."
"You're not looking!"
You wrinkled your nose at him behind a faint smile, “Miguel O’Hara, I will smash that watch into a million pieces if you don’t focus on your daughter.”
He glanced up at you. “The multiverse—”
“—can wait,” you reassured him, nudging his arm with an elbow. “Jessica is more than capable of taking over for a couple of days.”
He nodded, but only half convinced, which was good enough, considering this was the first time Miguel was taking a few days off from the never-ending stressful work of keeping the canon intact.
It was pleasant enough to be able to go to earth-616B on a little family trip and enjoy the countryside with the guidance of Peter, MJ and little Mayday.
But Miguel was… well, Miguel. A natural worrier who disliked handing over his responsibilities to others.
“Hey, you have something on your face,” he suddenly said in a low voice.
“What is it?” you immediately brought both hands to tap along your skin, searching for anything unusual.
He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on your cheek, which sent your heart into overdrive.
“Nice one, O’Hara…”
He replied with a teasing smile that you were so used to loving.
“EEEEW!” your daughter’s voice tore through the empty field, effectively distressing the surrounding fauna.
You watched as Miguel turned off the bleeping device on his wrist and rose from the meadow to his full height, headed toward the tree.
“Alright, little spider, come down.”
You spotted child of five descending upside down from a branch by her web, two front teeth missing, face covered in smudges of dirt, but beaming brightly at the signt of her dad.
“Papá!”
He helped her reach the ground safely and ruffled her unruly hair. “You need to be careful.”
Even from a distance, your heightened senses allowed you to feel the adoration in his voice.
The girl was wiggling now with barely suppressed excitement. "Hey, papá?"
Well, if that wasn't the most mischievous tone of voice you’d ever heard. "Hmm?”
"Do that thing."
"What thing?"
"The thing!"
"What thing?" he asked again, feigning confusion.
"THAT thing!" she cheered. "Where you go bzzzz and vssssssh and then BAM!”
"Oh," said Miguel. “That thing."
"Yep!”
"Maybe not," he sighed, but when her uplifted face began to wobble, you knew he had little choice. "Well, don’t tell mommy.”
"Yeeeaah!"
He brought a finger to his lips that she promptly mimicked. “Shhhhhh,” she then giggled.
“I can hear you!” you shouted, sitting on the grass to offer your seal of approval that came in the form of a wide smile.
You trusted her with Miguel, because Miguel trusted her with no one else but you. He would never consciously endanger his child, so you grew to accept that some of their playtime might involve something a bit riskier — as long as no loss of limbs was on the table.
She looked so tiny next to his impressive height, but was definitely a miniature copy of her father.
“We carry them inside us for months only for them to come out looking exactly like their father,” Jessica had once said and you wholeheartedly agreed.
He was wearing casuals, but his suit quickly began to engulf his entire body, leaving him only unmasked. Your daughter was bobbing happily along beside him.
"Stay back," he warned her lightly before sendind two laser-like red strings to coil around a thick branch, and effortlessly bending it into an arch until the tip hit the ground.
"Yey!" she yelped in excitement, toddling off toward the branch.
"Alright. Now, be careful.”
She met this warning with as much enthusiasm as she had for being offered an unlimited supply of candy of her choice. It didn't take much to excite her and you couldn't help but smile and follow as she began climbing up the branch with steady steps.
As she reached the middle, her knees bent as a way to maintain balance. “Do it, do iiiit!”
Miguel chuckled and the twin strings loosened ever so slightly in order to have it wobble up and down, sending the young child into a spiral of pure bliss.
“Faster! Faster!”
“Steady yourself,” he advised instead and she did as she was told, lowering herself and extending both arms as if riding a wave.
To a young spider, this was the closest thing they could get to a bouncing castle, so you didn’t mind this at all.
And neither did Miguel, because he instructed for her to climb onto his shoulders and offered the sweetest and most genuine smile ever.
He let go of the tree branch slowly, and his suit retracted at once, the little girl sliding both arms down his face for support and planting a kiss on top of his head.
“Did you have fun?”
"Yes!" she immediately said with a screech.
"And you’re strong and brave?”
"Yes!"
"And you know I love you, don't you?” he said as he paced toward you with her bouncing on his shoulders. “And mamá too, right? We'll always love you."
She was, delightfully, still very much of fan of such cheesy displays of affection. "Yes," she chirped happily.
You rose to your feet, feeling warmth spread throughout your body at the wonderful sight in front of you.
Miguel, for all his stubbornness and grumpiness, was a marvelous father. It was second nature to him.
"Another kiss?”
She leaned over and planted a noisy kiss on Miguel’s temple and giggled when he did his best to wipe it off with the back of his hand.
You welcomed them with a tight embrace and the feeling of a soft caress along your face as your daughter gave you a toothless smile.
"Let’s head out to uncle Peter’s house for a bath,” you said, pecking the palm of her hand.
“Don’t need one!”
Miguel squeezed her tiny calfs lightly. “Young lady, you do as your mother says.”
“But—”
Another squeeze and she bared her teeth, two tiny fangs emerging.
“Miguel, she’s showing off her fangs,” you said, feigning terror.
“Fangs away!” he said with a smile, bouncing her up and down his shoulders, which had her explode into a laughter.
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cashmoneyyysstuff · 2 months
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yall..im workin hard on the last part of fbrc rn....BUUUUUTTT--
i thought of childhood friend (im sorry i cant help it) bodyguard katsuki being hopelessly devoted to big boss' daughter reader.
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let's say the environment he grew up in wasn't good at all. he lived in a horrible neighborhood that had a survival of the fittest mentality. he had to rob n steal and fight to survive. and them maybe he got recruited by some crime syndicate who saw his potential from a young age.
he feels indebted to them cus they got him out the streets, so he decides to devote his entire life to this syndicate and his boss, who just so happens to have a child : you.
you're the same age as him, maybe a year younger. his first thought is that you're a pushover. you hide behind your father the whole time he's introducing you to him and you barely even look at him, but he's been told he has a bit of a stink eye because he's just sorta used to glaring at people.
as your father keeps introducing you both your eyes widen at him saying katsuki will become your new best friend. yours out of joy cus you've always been sheltered and you've never really had friends your age before, and katsuki's out of shock. he thought he was here to kick people's asses, not babysit some random girl !
when your father pulls katsuki aside later that day he explains that since he's a very dangerous man other dangerous people will try to endanger not only him but his family and since he's strong he'd like him to watch over you. katsuki doesn't like it, but your dad did save him from his life on the street, so he can play nice for now.
he's never had friends either, so he doesn't know how to play like other kids do, and definetly not like you do.
you have him follow you around calling him your knight, you stick stupid clips in his hair and get all pouty when he won't let you put that pastey makeup shit on his face. you have him kiss your ouchies away when you trip over your own shadow and you whine and whine until he let's you jump on his back to give you a piggy back ride.
though, the more he spends time with you, the more there are fun moments. he hates to admit it but it's fun to be a kid with you. you play games that he likes to play and you share your cookies with him and he carries you around and plays dolls with you in exchange. he kisses your ouchies away and you put a cool bandage over his cheek when he's done training for the day and press a big get better kiss on it. you tell him it's to energize him and he huffs and puffs about it but he always looks forward to his kiss after training.
you've complained to him about how you can't spend much time with your dad since he's always out working, you don't have friends because everyone is a threat and you're always being surveyed and watched from a distance and you cry and say you hate it. you tell him that he's your fifth body guard and that he's your favorite one by far. you smile at him and the apples of his cheeks burn, he tries but can't supress the proud smile that grows on his face "of course i am, i'm the best !"
he's been your favorite and last body guard since that day because katsuki has made it his life's mission to devote himself to his clan, his boss and most of all, you.
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paintingwhiteceilings · 3 months
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❃ Seventeen and Playfully Flirting with Them ❃
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A/N: So sorry this took me so embarrassingly long!! I have been so incredibly busy with uni that there was little time to write anything, but essays. Hopefully, I will have a bit more time on my hands to occasionally post a reaction now and then. Thank you for your patience, hopefully, the wait was still worth it :')
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Scoups/Seunghceol
❀ The members had dared you to act flirty with him during their dance practice, and who are you to deny a bored Jeonghan and Joshua the fun of a struggling to keep composed Coups? He is trying his hardest to remain serious, attempting to scold some of the members who have started to goof off during their tiny break but is having a rather difficult time doing so as you push his hair back, whispering that he had looked so incredibly handsome during his part.
❀ Honestly, his mind kind of blanks, and he is all soft and puddy in your hands. Wait, what was he doing? He gets so incredibly shy as you keep doting on him, complimenting his dancing skills whilst playing with his hair. He gets ever shyer when he remembers that the members are watching you two. He will be all like, “Noooo, stopppp”, but he is lowkey loving it.
❀ The moment he realises you are being flirty solely because the members dared you to, he will get so incredibly pouty. How dare you use his love for your compliments against him? How is he to ever trust your compliments again? He demands a lot of cuddles and even more compliments in return.
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Jeonghan
❀ I can see him as someone who is rarely phased by playful teasing and instead really enjoys it, treating it almost like a game. He takes it as a challenge, trying to one-up every flirt you throw his way. Oh, you told him his eyes are beautiful? Well, guess what? Your eyes reflect all the stars in the universe. If you lightly touch his arm, his fingers will start to linger around your waist.
❀ Mind you, that is only when this man is flirting innocently. Most of the time, his flirting is on a whole different level and slightly inappropriate. Honestly, he has you flustered within seconds because his compliments are so out of pocket you feel like you need a dose of holy water to cleanse yourself from it. He has no shame either; he will do it in front of other people without blushing.
❀ At some point, he starts initiating it on his own. You will be talking to some of the other members when he enters the conversation, with his compliment being so cheeky it has you hitting his chest in embarrassment. Needless to say, afterwards, some of the members feel like they need therapy.
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Joshua
❀ This man is a king of accidentally flirty gestures to everyone he encounters. You have had enough; you feel like you should charge him for endangering your health by making your heart skip so many beats. Most of the time, he is fully unaware that he has done something romantic. After seeing your tomato-red face, he slowly comes to the realisation that his actions made your heart soar.
❀ Thus, you have decided to flirt back. Full-force. No mercy. You lay it on so incredibly thick that a part of your brain is constantly cringing. You beat him to opening the door for you, rushing forward to open it for him instead. Not a moment passes where you are not gushing over his handsome looks. Heck, you even got him flowers.
❀ He is all smiley during your love attack, loving every single minute of it. He thinks you are slightly ridiculous, albeit incredibly adorable. The reason he is flustered isn’t even the gestures; it is your determination to continuously sweep him off his feet that has him blushing. He finds it hilarious when he accidentally does something romantic before you can, and you get frustrated with yourself for not beating him to it.
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Jun
❀ Jun.exe has stopped working. Try rebooting him. If altF4 does not work, return to the manufacturer. He is not used to you being flirty and touching him more than usual. It isn’t that he minds it, but Jun doesn’t know what to do and instead freezes in place, staring at you in shock. Did you just really pinch his cheeks, calling him adorable? Jun feels like he is experiencing some type of fever dream. Upon you throwing your head back at the worst joke he has ever made, he gets seriously worried about your sanity.
❀ He is so incredibly close to getting you admitted to a hospital; he is convinced you might have hit your head too harshly when he wasn’t looking. When you assure him that you did not, in fact, hit your head, he whips his head around, trying to find the hidden camera that surely is the reason behind your weird behaviour.
❀ It takes some convincing that you are just being playfully flirty and that there is no prank being played on him. Once assured, he will let it happen, albeit shyly. Man’s still confused and can’t help but continuously blush, but who is he to spoil your fun?
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Hoshi/Soonyoung
❀ It can go two ways with him. Hoshi will either get incredibly soft and shy or take it as a challenge. The moment you get his attention by poking his cheek and telling him he is adorable, he will scrunch up his lil face in the brightest shyest smile ever, blushing like a madman. He will try to throw himself at the nearest object or person, hiding his face away from you.
❀ However, if he is comfortable with your flirting, it is honestly over for everyone around you two. It doesn’t matter whether it is a public space or whether you are in the middle of a serious conversation. Hoshi is always ready to grab your cheeks, turning your playful flirting into a disgusting “no, you are cute” battle.
❀ Everyone around the two of you wants to clean their eyes out with bleach because once you two get started, there is no ending to it. You two can go on for hours, telling the other why exactly you find them so amazing. Nobody will be left by the time you’re done hyping each other up and professing your undying love for one another. They have all fled. 
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Wonwoo
❀ Wonwoo is all smiles and blushing. Nothing more, nothing less. You had discovered his adorable way of reacting to your playful flirting after you two had gone to karaoke, and you had continued to sincerely compliment his singing, calling his voice the hottest thing to have ever existed. He suddenly got very aware of his body in space and froze in place before giving you the tiniest, shyest smile ever, his face slightly red.
❀ He loves it when you take his face in your palms, gushing over how his glasses frame his face so well. However, he doesn’t quite know what to do with it, freezing up at all the attention and love he is receiving. Out of all the members, he gets the shyest about it, muttering a small “you too” whenever you throw a flirty compliment his way.
❀ He will 10000% accidentally drop whatever he is holding the moment the compliment reaches his ears or when you happen to kiss his cheek. His face is red, and he can’t seem to stop smiling to himself for the rest of the day. He is incredibly torn between feeling embarrassed and wanting to hear you say it again.
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Woozi/Jihoon
❀ He immediately knows that you are trying to tease him, and he is having absolutely none of it. In your defence, your boyfriend had insisted on finishing up a song before getting dinner with you and had been at it for the past thirty minutes. Thus, you decided to turn your boredom into frustrating your boyfriend by plopping down in his lap, flirtingly complimenting every change he made to the song. Damn, the way he played that chord? So sexy.
❀ The only indication that he is affected by it is the increasingly reddening of his face and the occasionally wrong-pressed button. He tries to crank up the volume of his speakers the longer you go on, but it is no use. You simply lean in, getting closer to his ear.
❀ He will either give up and leave with a heavy sigh because he can’t concentrate anymore, or he will ‘accidentally’ lock you in the recording room and ‘forget’ about it, opening it when he finally finishes the song. He doesn't even apologize for it; you called it on yourself. You are lucky that you inspire most of his songs, as he otherwise would save himself future trouble and ban you from the studio.
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DK/Seokmin
❀ Initially, he thinks you are joking and will joke with you, pretending that he, too, thinks he is the most handsome person on the planet. However, the moment he realizes that you are serious about finding him show-stopping handsome, he starts to malfunction. DK is not quiet often, but your compliments never fail to make him tongue-tied.
❀ Thus, as some of the members are over at your place and DK is his usual loud self, you decide to set up a small competition about who can make him shut up the fastest. Naturally, they fail miserably and expect you to do the same. Whatever the members had been expecting you to do, kissing him on the cheek and telling him that he is the best thing to ever happen to you, was not it. Still, it works like a charm; DK’s eyes widen as he touches the spot where you kissed him in wonder, completely awe-struck by your laugh at his adorable reaction.
❀ After discovering it was a competition, he will pull on your sleeve to quietly ask whether you had meant what you said. When you tell him yes, congrats, you have successfully put him on cloud nine. It kind of backfires on you all, though. DK is so incredibly happy that he gets twice as loud.
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Mingyu
❀ Where DK gets quieter upon hearing a compliment, this man gets progressively louder. He is whining and squealing at your flirtatiousness. His body spasms and knocks something (or someone) over. His legs give out, making him fall to the ground as he is clutching his racing heart. He gets so giggly about it, too, asking you to tell him he is handsome again and again. The way he reacts has you momentarily wonder whether he has never heard a single compliment in his life; when you compliment the way his shirt shows off his chest, he gets all bashful, covering up his chest with his arms.
❀ He lives for this and keeps asking you to compliment him more and more. It makes you slightly shy as he is hanging off every word that leaves your lips, zeroing all his attention in on you. The moment you do as much as slightly graze his arm, he scoops you up in his, wrapping his arms around your waist. The world could be ending around him, and it wouldn’t matter as Mingyu feels like he has already gone to heaven hearing you tell him that he is your entire universe.
❀ He would shamelessly try to get you to flirt with him and compliment him more, wearing his tightest shirt and casually stretching in front of you. The moment you hold any jar that needs opening, he appears right next to you, flexing his arms unnecessarily as he dramatically opens it. He doesn’t even care that the members tease him to no end about it, as one compliment and touch from you is worth ten years of endless teasing.
❀ Let’s just say it never ends innocently, either.
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The8/Minghao
❀ He gets so soft when you run your fingers through his newly cut hair, telling him that you didn’t think he could become even more handsome, yet here you are. All he can get out is a “thank you” gazing at you like you hung the moon. He basks in the feeling of you playing with his hair, his smile only growing broader as you continue to compliment him. Minghao knows that he is fashionable, but nothing beats you telling him, whether playfully or seriously.
❀ When you get very playful with it, kissing every inch of his face whilst calling him the prettiest piece of art, he will get so red, giggling as he tries to get you to stop. In the end, he will hug you close, hiding his face in the crook of your neck. Not only will it prevent you from kissing his face continuously, but it will also refrain you from seeing how much he is blushing and adoring your actions. 
❀ Once he feels like he has received enough compliments, he will turn the tables. He will softly tug you by the hand, getting you to sit across from him on the couch. Taking your face in his hands, he will return your compliments in full force. Minghao will be so sincere about it, too, regardless of whether you had only been playfully teasing him, poetically describing how you make his life more complete. He will take his time, savouring the way you blush at each word that leaves his lips.
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Seungkwan
❀ Listen up, BOO SEUNGKWAN DESERVES MORE COMPLIMENTS. We should give him more compliments as he deserves ALL the compliments because he is THE Boo Seungkwan. After hearing him complain once more that he needs to go on a diet in order to, in his opinion, look his best in the music video, you decide to wage war on his critical inner voice. So often, you have heard Seungkwan bring his own looks down, and you finally decide to do something about it.
❀ When you first barge into your shared living room, your expression full of determination, he initially thinks you are about to scold him. When, instead, you start to relentlessly flirt with him, calling him handsome and reminding him of all his best qualities, you catch him completely off guard. It takes a while for your compliments to reach him, after which he gets so painfully shy that he physically tries to leave your presence, running away to whatever corner of the room you are not in. One compliment would have already been enough to make Seungkwan bashful. But upon hearing the tenth compliment leave your mouth, he wishes to turn permanently invisible.
❀ He ends up locking himself in the bathroom, screaming at you to stop flirting with him as he can’t take it anymore. He is one of those people who would rather have someone lovingly call them stupid than receive a genuine, heartfelt compliment. He only chooses to leave the bathroom after you promise to stop, not daring to meet your eyes, fearing it might trigger another wave of compliments.
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Vernon
❀ Out of all the members, he is the most unphased and unimpressed by normal, playful flirting. Listen, this dude hears at least seven times a day that he has godly looks and resembles a young, handsome Leonardo di Caprio. Touching him, at most, will get you a questioning glance from him. Similarly to Jun, he would be concerned about your well-being, asking you whether everything is okay and if you need to talk about it.
❀ However, what he would love is stupid flirting. Let me explain what I, a fellow stupid flirter, mean. You would point at a fridge and tell him he is just as cool or compliment his ears for being perfectly round. Cue his wonderful chair-squeaking-over-floor laugh. The two of you live for coming up with the weirdest ways to flirt/compliment one another. To anyone else, some of your so-called flirtatious remarks come off more as insults than compliments. Who in their right mind would feel moved by being told that if they were a trashcan, you would only use them for paper?
❀ All in all, playful flirting with Vernon is equivalent to speaking his alien meme language. It is all about having fun for him, making the person he adores laugh and laughing at whatever they tell him in return. Vernon knows he is hot; instead he wants to know whether he is hotter than that beautifully shaped rock you found the other day.
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Dino/Chan
❀ He. Is. So. Shy. It gets worse if his members are around. You adore it when he gets bashful when you kiss him, smiling at you all dreamily before dropping his eyes, too embarrassed to meet yours. Usually, he recovers after a few minutes, whining that you gave him a heart attack and should make up for it by kissing him again, to which you all too happily oblige. Dino still freezes when he feels your fingers intertwine with his or go through his hair, afraid that a single movement might scare you off.
❀ Sometimes, he seems to slowly get used to it. On one occasion, he had returned so incredibly late from his dance practice that you decided to make up for lost time, latching yourself onto your sweaty boyfriend. To try and convince him to let you keep hugging him, you kept kissing him, telling him how much you had missed him. He mirthfully laughed at your adorable behaviour, kissing the top of your head, promising not to let go.
❀ Yet, today, you think you have officially broken your boyfriend. All you had done was take his face in your hands out of the blue, kissing him deeply before telling him in full detail how beautiful he is to you and how much you adore him. It, however, is enough for his brain to shortcut. All he gets out is a stupid “Thanks, you too.”
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Masterlist
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prickly-paprikash · 4 months
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So there's a theory circulating around that Mizu's parentage is the opposite of what we've come to assume, which I'm sure many have already heard about.
When it was revealed that the "mother" who cares for Mizu was not her biological mother, but a maid who was paid off to hide Mizu away from those who'd kill her. So her mother might still be out there, somewhere. But what if her European heritage was maternal? That instead of being ashamed of having fathered a mixed bastard, one of the white men's wives/lovers decided to have an affair with a man in Japan, resulting in Mizu's birth and the threats to her life.
This could add so much more drama into the mix.
Because then the possibility is that both her parents might still be alive. Her mother returned to Europe, leaving behind money to Mizu's caretaker to ensure her safety. Her father might be in hiding, trying to distance himself away from Mizu and the White Men as to not endanger them all. He might even be plotting his own brand of vengeance.
Some have proposed that Mizu is the daughter of the late Shogun, who died in the flames. That he hid Mizu away due to the shame of his own hypocrisy; the law that bans Europeans from your shores would easily be undermined due to dealing with them in business, as well as having an affair with one of the men's own lovers. I'm a little shaky on this, but it'd be another neat way to complete the tritagonist status of Mizu, Akemi and Taigen.
Akemi is born privileged and now must climb up the hierarchy of the shogunate. Hers is a story of power, politicking, and the poison of court.
Taigen is born from nothing but rises high above his station, only to lose it all and try again. A tale of honor and self-actualisation.
And Mizu is a child born with immense wealth, but cast aside due to her heritage and appearance. Stripped of everything, now she only seeks satisfaction.
A simple, bloody road to vengeance.
Her father could just be a Ronin. A samurai in court. A farmer. Etc.
Whatever the case, it'd be a really sick twist if done correctly. That in the end, the vengeance she believes she's been chasing all this time has been all for nothing. Like painting but with missing colors, preventing her from fully grasping the true artistry of her goal.
Or this could just be a crackpot theory. Idk.
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shallyouobeyme · 7 months
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Fortune
Platonic Yander Malfoy!Family x Dragon!reader (GN)
Summary: A long time ago there lived a species of dragon-hybrids with magical gifts. You - one of these hybrids - had the gift of bringing good fortune to whoever was close to you, but as you'd soon learn, using your gift to help others would only endanger you...
! Minors do not interact !
TW: Not Canon Complainant about the Malfoy's backstory, imprisonment, manipulation, kidnapping, infantilisation (kinda), I do not condone this - this is all fiction
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One or two Centuries ago, when muggles still believed in magic and fantastical creatures roamed the earth almost freely, many more kinds of species lived in nature. Some of them were closely related to creatures still on this planet in the present. One example of such a case was a kind of dragon that had long since left the face of the earth, one that shared many similarities with the humans around it. In fact, these dragons had the ability to shift from their full dragon form to that of a bipedal, humanoid dragon-person hybrid. Further than their ability to shift though was their ability to innately use magic.
Now, their abilities were not like the abilities of wizards and witches who could put their magic into words and gestures, using their magic as a medium to achieve many different goals. Instead, they tended to be born with a specific magical talent that differed from case to case - some could control different elements (since these dragons did not naturally have the ability to breathe fire or water), some could communicate with nature, some changed the weather, and others could use their scales to make themselves invisible to any living and dead being.
One of these dragons, still a young fetchling when this story began had a rare and sought-after ability - the ability to attract fortune. Something every dragon with a knack for hoarding (so almost all) would kill for, which was why the little dragon-hybrid was told from a very young age to keep hidden from creatures that would use them and their powers for their own gain. This young dragon was you - and often, when you now fell asleep, you still dreamt of the night that would turn out to be the one to doom your entire life.
You had barely just started to fly without your parent's supervision and after being kept at home for your entire (short) life in hopes that no one would try to use you, your curiosity for real life and everything beyond the mountain you called home grew restless. So you did what any curious child with the ability to fly would do and you took off to where you knew the nearest village to be. You landed a few miles away from it, well aware that your parents would be furious beyond belief if you went into town and let your existence be known to humans. After all, your parents always did make a point of mentioning just how greedy and selfish humans tended to be.
You were a fool to not believe them. You were in your humanoid form - comparable with a human child of about eight or nine years - as you stepped into a clearing. The sound of sobbing echoed through the trees around you and your eyes fell onto a form hunched onto the floor in sobs. They looked similar to you, but a lot smoother, and without any horns or wings protruding out of their back. Honestly, they looked really strange, but your parents had described something similar to what you were seeing and they had said that these smooth wingless things were humans. Obviously, you were intrigued.
"Why are you crying?" you asked in your young, squeaky voice and the human jumped up, turning to look at you in shock. Their eyes widened even further at your appearance, but they seemed too shaken to properly realize what was going on.
"You-You're a - You're a dragon?" they finally stuttered out, their tears long forgotten. You couldn't help but giggle, of course, you were a dragon, what else were you supposed to be?
"Yes I am, and you're a human, right?" you asked and they only responded by nodding, "then why were you crying, human?"
"I-" They seemed to question their reality for a second, probably wondering if they should tell a random little dragon-hybrid their sorrows, but they responded nonetheless, "My mother... She's very ill and I don't have the money to buy the medicine she needs, I fear that she'll pass away soon and then I will be all alone in the world."
As their tears build up again, you feel yourself sympathize with the human. Sure, you had your parents, but they were travelling all of the time, leaving you to your own devices and even your siblings had been allowed to leave the nest and make a way of their own, it was just you who was kept alone in the cave under the pretence of protection. So you very well knew how it felt to be alone, to be lonely. And so you knew that if you could do something against someone else feeling like that, then you would.
"I can help you!" you exclaimed excitedly at the thought of doing something good.
"What? How?" the human - you decided that if humans were at all similar to your own kin then they must have been a man - asked, completely perplexed as you walked towards him, stopping just a step away.
"It's my gift, I can bring fortune to people, I can help you make the money you need for the medicine," you were smiling brightly now, but the human still seemed confused. 'How,' he just asked and you told him to kneel down. Usually, your presence alone was enough to attract riches and riches beyond most people's dreams, but you knew that if you wanted to help someone attract fortune without being near them, you had to use a different tactic. And so, once the man had knelt down, you pressed a kiss to his forehead and a shimmer of silver light sparkled over his face - the same silver of your scales.
After that you left for home, but before you could take off the human called out to you: "What's your name? Will I see you again?"
"I'm Y/N - and I don't know, I hope so," you responded as you took flight and the last thing they shouted to you before the distance was too large to hear them was that their name was Layton Malfoy.
After that, you used every chance you had to fly to that clearing where Layton was usually already waiting for you - he'd tell you all these amazing stories of his life and he'd entertain you, trying to be your best friend. At least you thought that was all he wanted. What you didn't realize was that slowly but surely he was trying to keep you by his side longer and longer, always finding another reason as to why you should stay, telling you how your parents were using you, about how they weren't these amazing dragons that you thought them to be. And maybe because you were just a lonely child who was just desperate for the attention or maybe because Layton was your first friend and you didn't believe friends would lie to each other, you believed him. And so after he kept telling you all these things about how he was the one who would actually protect you, about how he'd finally let you live a normal life, you left the clearing with him towards his home town - thinking about how you'd return home one day and tell your parents about how wrong they were about humans and about all the great things you lived through.
You never returned home though, in fact, you never saw your parents again. Decades later - you were now comparable to a human teenager - Layton's grandchildren had told you that the dragon-hybrids had been declared extinct after they had been hunted for their powers and their horns. The Malfoy heir told you that he was so happy that his grandfather had 'taken you in' and how the entire family just felt thankful that you hadn't been hunted as well. He elected to ignore the fact that you were shackled to a wall in a secret Cellar below their large estate - possible only because they had you locked away to attract them money,.
After finding out about the cruel fate of your kin, you shifted into your dragon form attempting to not give the Malfoy any sense of result by responding to them or even just paying attention to them. You rolled into yourself, closed your eyes and stopped things but eat, drink and sleep. No matter how often the ever-evolving generations of Malfoys tried to get you to interact with them, you just stayed silent. Honestly, you were surprised that after decades of silence, they still tried to talk to you - wasn't your presence in their cellar enough? You were still attracting fortune for them, what more did they want? Over the years they tried to get you out of your shell by decorating your cellar with numerous pillows and blankets and things that dragons loved in their hord. Your Chamber probably had more money, jewels and riches in it than their bank account. And yet, as much as you secretly appreciated your new horde, you stayed silent.
At least until a new Malfoy was born and old enough to come down to you on his own. Lucius was just a child when he saw you for the first time lying curled into yourself in your pile of riches and pillows and blankets, but even he could see the sadness in your form. And so he tried to talk to you, but like his parents and grandparents had told him, the dragon in their cellar did not talk. But he didn't stop, he told you about how he thought the family had enough money already, about how he thought they should let you free and how you'd be able to breathe fresh air again once he became the patriarch of the family. Maybe it was the earnestness in his voice or the fact that he reminded you of yourself when you were a hatchling, still trusting in the world around you, but you caved and you shifted for the first time in what must have been over 100 years.
It was safe to say Lucius was ecstatic and the two of you soon became close. You talked to him and him only, and he enjoyed it immensely. He tried to spend as much time as possible down with you and was so close to you that you actually let him nap with you in your horde (he always got to lie on the parts with lots of pillows and blankets, because you knew humans were a lot more sensitive than you). And as he grew older you tried to remind him of his promise and at first he agreed, but the older he grew the more unsure he seemed. Still, he agreed - probably knowing that you'd stop your friendship with him once you realized that he didn't intend to keep his promise anymore.
It was only once he came down, dressed all in black, now an adult with his own child, telling you that his father Abraxas had passed because of a case of Dragon Pox - a cruel wink of fate as you couldn't help but think - that you excitedly ran towards the bars of your cage, believing that you'd finally be let out of this horrible prison. Only that Lucius didn't open the door. 'Why?' you asked him, silver streaks of tears streaming down your cheeks, 'Don't you have enough Fortune? Is the money really worth it?'.
"It was never about the money, at least not for me if it was just that I would let you go in a heartbeat, but I know that the second I let you out you'll be gone. You'll leave me behind, here without you, and I don't think I can do that Y/N. I need to know that you're here, safe, where I always know you're well cared for. I hope one day you'll be able to forgive me - even if I'm not there to experience it."
That was the day you realized that Lucius and Narcissa - and after his son Draco as well - would never let you go. They did try to make your living 'situation' more comfortable, changing out the bars to your cave with an actual door after putting enough spells on you to keep you from ever leaving the premises of their mansion, keeping you from kind of violence against them and keeping alerting them should you ever be in any kind of distress or danger. Soon they had integrated you into their everyday life, treating you like a child to be protected and not like you've had lived longer than they could ever imagine. Even Draco - who grew up with you as a constant in his life - developed the same sense of protectiveness that his parents had, as if he wasn't a literal child, and when it was time for him to leave for Hogwarts he insisted you writing him at least once a week, because otherwise he was sure he'd go insane with worry (at least that was what he said).
And so, while for a few decades, you had actually thought freedom was close, you soon realized that you had just switched one prison against a slightly more glamorous one - and it seemed that as long as there were Malfoys, you'd never be able to escape it.
A/N: This is based on another great idea by @sol565 so I wanna give them a big thanks and a big shoutout ❤️❤️❤️
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ynbabe · 5 months
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Fake texts au- pt.8 bffs with the rookies+ The Hangover
Lando being Lando with .jpg and Max and Charles are now involuntary babysitters
| Masterlist |
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lando.jpg
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liked by 321,023 users
Tagged: @/alex_albon @/arthur_leclerc @/logansargeant @/oscarpiastri @/its_y/n_love
lando.jpg "we will never drink again" just look at em lie
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landonorris i dont even know how y/n is alive rn
logansargeant fr I don't even remember getting back to the horel its_y/n_love I DRAK TEQUILA FOR YOUR UNGRAEEFUL ASS SMH arthur_leclerc WHY AM I IN A SHOPING CAT??? oscarpiastri why are we sleeping on the road?
its_y/n_love damn slide 5 logsn stole my bikch 😥
oscarpiastri more importantly why am i little spoon? hello? logansargeant cause I'm built diffrnt 😤
maxverstappen Never get them near alcohol. ever again.
charlesleclerc atleast you didn't have to CLIMB UP A BUILDING TO GET ARTHUR AND LOGAN OKAY maxverstappen THATS BECAUSE Y/N AND OSCAR KEPT RUNNING ONTO THE ROAD!!
alex_albon ... why am i crying im slide 4
oscarpiastri cause you weer flirting witn lily and she told you shee had a bf alex_albon understandable
username omg not them drunk answering in the comments 😭
username ong what did they drink ?!?!?1 username tequila apparently username girl ain't no tequila doin all that
username WE FINALLY FOUND HER GUYS
username lando.jpg coming in clutch 💪 username not her endangering the driver's life by sleeping on the road and pushing arthur in a shopping cart 🙄 username fr like this isn't funny they should stop being friends with her look what Max and Charles said username can yall leave the poor girl alone! they're all adults it was their friends first point ofc they're gonna party ion see yall saying shit abt max and his redbull parties 🤨
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After your wild night, it was Oscar who came through first, groaning at the awkward position he was sleeping in, his neck sore with a horribly tough and warm pillow under it. He tried shoving it off but was only met with soft groans and a 'fucking stop', well that was enough to wake up the Aussie.
He turned around to be face-to-face with his childhood best friend, he let out a small yelp and pushed himself off the small sofa they were sharing, waking up the others.
"Oh my god, please shut up," came the hoarse voice of his friend Y/n, from the other side of the bed, on which Alex was the only one sleeping, his phone still on Facetime with his girlfriend, Lily.
As Y/n began pulling herself up, a deep Monganesque voice protested, "Y/n, stop moving," making the young woman's eyes widen as she pulled her hand away from the shirtless f2 driver's chest.
"Why aren't you wearing your shirt?" She asked looking at the boy still lying down on the floor, head clutched in his hands, "actually, Albon, why don't you have your shirt either?" she asked pulling herself up and lending her hand to the struggling boy next to her.
"I can answer that," came a woman's garbled voice through Alex's phone making him jump up to grab it, "Arthur fell off the bed onto you and when you pushed him off he used his shirt as a pillow," 'oh, that's why my ribs hurt' the younger woman thought, throwing a look at her friend, "and Alex was 'literally on fire and going to kill whoever messed with the AC'" she said with air quotes, making her boyfriend turn red.
"Thanks, Lily, I'll call you later, love you." he spoke and cut the call, "Remind me to never ever drink with the four of you again."
"Oscar, you kick in your sleep," Logan complained as he sat up, exploring all the black and blue bruises on his body, "why do we look like we were in a fight club?" he asked out loud making the others look at themselves.
Oscar had a few scratches on his knees and arms, Arthur had bruises and scratches littered all across his palms and hands and a nasty hand-sized bruise on his back, Y/n had a swollen nose, with a deep-ish cut along her eyebrow, the only unscathed on was Alex.
They all got dressed not bothering to change, knowing whose room they were in and walked to the private buffet that had been set up for the driver staying in the hotel, courtesy of Paris Hilton's soft spot for Lando.
As soon as they walked in, they were greeted by Lando, smiling and laughing as he recorded with his phone.
"Merde, I'm going to die, shut the lights," the youngest Leclerc said as he threw himself on the chair, closest to him, letting his head fall back. Y/n was next to accept the defeat of being conscious, sitting and immediately letting herself slump over her head smacking the wooden table with a loud thud, the woman would have been hurt if Logan hadn't moved his hand under her face, letting it bear the brunt of the impact. The blonde wasn't in any better shape, throwing one of the table napkins on his face to block out all light and noise. Oscar was the last to sit, simply clutching his head in his hands, almost pulling out his hair, at the massive headache he had.
Soon after, the unwilling babysitters followed, scowling at the sight of the supposed adults who were in no condition to be awake.
"All four of you, delete my number from your phone," the Dutchman spoke as he sat down next to his British friend, "eighty-two calls of all of you singing Barbie girl at 2 IN THE MORNING," he yelled slightly making the four whine.
"Please for the love of god shut up," the Aussie spoke up surprising the three sober men.
"Arthur mate, what did you all drink?" his brother asked laughing.
"Last I remember were the shots," he answered in broken French and English.
"So you don't remember when you all ran out of the club and went to Costco?" Lando spoke with a smirk, "And Y/n pushed Arthur around in the parking lot in the shopping carts,"
"What?" the pair asked, the girl sitting up, letting the blonde take back his hand.
"Oh, that is not even the worst part," Charles continued, "You and Oscar stole traffic cones, put them over your head and began tackling each other, and slept on the road," he chuckled making the duo look at each other with wide eyes.
"Oh and let's not forget when Logan and Arthur climbed up a building," he said knudging the brunette next to him. The two in question looked sheepishly at the older men and back onto the table.
"I am never going to drink, ever again," Y/n groaned as she tried to keep her eyes open.
"Yeah right, let's see you in Vegas," The youngest Leclerc sniped, making the girl throw the napkin of Logan's face on Arthur.
"Hey, guys," Lando called out bringing everyone's attention to him, the six waited as Lando's eyes widened and widened, "WHY IS THERE A TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLAR CHARGE ON OSCAR'S COMPANY CARD?!"
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oof this one was long af 😭 but I hope yall like how chaotic the boys get when they're with Y/n, cause we menaces frfr.
Taglist: @dark-night-sky-99 @cashtons-wife @i-wish-this-was-me @thehufflepuffavenger1
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strazki · 17 days
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I always see things on here about Ben's muteness and how it's gonna bite him in the ass one day, like if he ever is in danger and isn't able to scream or ask anyone for help. But, I raise you all an even sadder scenario.
Imagine Ben being the only one to notice a potential threat endangering someone in the group, particularly someone like Aiden or Taylor who Ben cares a LOT for. Imagine he is maybe somewhere behind the group and has a better view, or maybe he's just the first one to notice, but either way, someone he cares about is moments away from getting jumped by a phantom and getting seriously injured or even dying, and one of three things could happen:
Due to his muteness, he doesn't say a word. He tries to get their attention by making a bunch of noise or waving his arms around, but they just don't notice him, and he watches as one of the people closest to his heart is ripped apart while he could do nothing to warn them.
He decides that, if there is ever a time to forgo his muteness for the good of his friends, now is that time. He warns them, and they end up okay, but the whole group is a little put off by the sound of Ben's damaged, gravelly voice. Meanwhile, Ben is in pieces, haunted by how disgusting and horrifying his voice sounds, so much so that he can't hardly look any of his friends in the eyes for the rest of the day. It fills him with rage and shame that he can't just have a normal voice like everyone around him. Why did he have to be different?
And lastly, my personal favorite, and by far the angstiest, is that Ben decides to use his voice to warn his friends, but after so many years of not using it, no sound comes out. He was relying on them being able to hear him, but no matter how hard he tries, he can't get out a sound above a whisper. He's doing everything possible in his power; screaming, crying, begging, but nothing gets through. His screams are silent as he watches someone he cares for more than anyone in this world get torn apart because he was too angry and depressed to speak for so many years after he got attacked. If he had just gotten over it, got back into talking, and made the recovery everyone wanted him to have, his friend would still be standing there. But they aren't, because Ben failed to protect them.
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enavstars · 7 months
Text
Cyberpunk au
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RGB designs for a new au
Important things:
The inspiration for this was the game Stray (that I finally played).
This is a hyperfixation that I don't know when it's going to end. I'll probably draw things from it as much as my motivation lets me but don't expect it to be a constant thing like Eclipse or On the road.
I love worldbuilding so there is a lot of details of this au already, feel free to ask questions.
The world is dark and very corrupted but the tone of the au is chill because the sibs dgaf about the world.
Worldbuilding details (my friend wrote this because this is complicated and I suck at writing) [very long text under the cut]:
The key element of this AU’s worldbuilding is a new biohazardous artificial plant which was originally genetically engineered by the scientist of the RGB’s city-state to fight the air pollution that plagued the region by attempting to reduce the amount of CO2 from the atmosphere (yes this is a biopunk universe :)). However, because they are an ugly reddish colour, have a bitter taste and are extremely nutrient-deficient and unhealthy, they have no natural predators and can spread like wildfire across both fertile plots and forests like weeds. On top of that, due to that nutrient deficiency, which stems from the slow absorption ability of their roots (not nearly enough to keep the heavy rate of photosynthesis), they evolved on their own to attach themselves to other living beings as parasites and basically invaded the entire area around the metropolis. With them being potentially lethal, this caused a massive problem that made the city panic; although they have plenty of weak points (like fire and a vulnerable immune system) and it takes them very long to get their roots to the rest of the body, their grip is so deep and strong that the only option is to remove the infected body part. So their special ability became a critical issue when the plants unexpectedly ended up liking animals better, and with them humans themselves, because they could carry them to other places and infest those too while still sucking the life out of them until they die (oopsie). Ultimately, with the lack of proper information on the parasites, and because the situation was handled very poorly overall, they ended up taking many people’s lives and made the most vulnerable species of the area (like cattle) go endangered or extinct, which in turn altered the balance of the ecosystem and the working class’ means of living :).
Sorry this chunk was so technical, we (@kaigoesbrr and I) are biology nerds, but basically the plants were so good at making more oxygen and so ass at getting what they needed to do so that they became parasites, and now they get what they need from plants and animals (and they like animals better, like humans, because they have more stuff and help them spread further). Then society collapsed :).
All of this caused a deep economic crisis that brought about high rates of poverty, and with it, a deep fear of the infested world outside the city walls. So this whole conundrum led to the city closing off to the lands around it, implementing absurd levels of security like a tight border control and a slower, more strict business traffic, and making a huge dark translucent dome that encapsulates the whole city to keep any potential smuggled plants from ever growing by blocking the natural sunlight. They even made a ditch around their walls (kind of like a moat) and burnt and bombed the fields and suburbs around them to make them extremely infertile. So yeah, this city-state is a terrible place to live, a gloomy prison where not even the sun and stars can be seen, but most the inhabitants never leave out of that paranoid terror and the heavy bureaucracy needed to just go outside and touch grass.
(haha with poor funding corrupt scientists who didn’t know what they were doing made a mess, shocker how that would backfire horribly).
However, the outside isn’t as bad as they make it out to be. In the end, the plants did clean the air as they were supposed to, and, as nature does, it did somewhat recover from the disaster to where human life is now sustainable again.
Taking advantage of their thick crust, trees were the least affected by the plague, and the other plants in the forest developed new natural defences against the parasites, which was yet another reason why they in turn became best at infecting animals. And many of the fungi, abundant in the now more humid forest (haha cooler air equals more rain), took advantage of their weak immune system (due to their fucking incompetent creators making a mess of the original plant’s DNA) and infected them (haha scammer get scammed). So basically, the fields and farmlands were lost to the people, but the forests are still intact. Also, even though one of the rivers around the city, the one which makes its ways under it and is therefore connected to the water supply and sewer systems, is trashed, the other, which is further away, is now perfectly healthy due to the city closing off and therefore leaving it alone for enough time. The real issue here lies within the actual government, which obviously does not want to expose how corrupt and lazy they are when dealing with problems and so they keep fueling the paranoia of their most vulnerable citizens since they are kids :). One way they do so is by manipulating the information their people get, claiming bullshit like “the current ecosystem is wild and polluted, it cannot offer our economy anything anymore!” and “the plants are dangerous and will kill you if you ever come into contact with them, and they have infected virtually every living thing around!”. Another is by not educating their population about “the Outside”, treating it like a sort of taboo. Therefore, they refuse to explain, or hush those who try to, the actual danger of the plants and how to deal with them (they do have many weaknesses, after all).
But the people in this world have yet another nasty problem. In this AU there are beings believed to be anthropomorphic demons due to their pointy ears, fangs, and sometimes strange behaviour. But in fact, these people are descendants of the dragons that once lived in these nations, but their origins were forgotten as the world gradually lost touch with its spirituality and ancestry, and now those who were once revered for their “godlike attributes” (yes, they kinda worshipped dragons, I mean, who wouldn’t) are today facing discrimination. However, even though they aren’t considered exactly “people”, the pure humans are still kind of afraid of them, so they usually choose the subtler kind of racism. In most governments, “Demons” get less job opportunities and are denied high positions, can be freely banned from any establishment, and face unmatched prejudice just for existing, especially those with a stronger blood relation with their ancestry. In the city, they are treated as less than even the robots (nindroids of all kinds), who are treated like any other respected social group by now because they have grown so advanced that most of them are just like humans in metal armour. In fact, many of them are mechanics, who are held in high esteem for making the many bionic implants for the humans.
And all of that combined made the RGB siblings (who are obviously demons, especially Lloyd), decide never to leave the Outside, where they grew up, to go live in the city.
When they were younger, Kai and Nya adopted Lloyd when they found him asleep in a box in the middle of nowhere, after having been abandoned themselves a few years earlier. This time, though, their dynamic in this AU is more of a team than Kai being a mom to them both like he always is, so even if Kai feels the most responsible for being the eldest sibling, they rely on each other almost equally. They fend off the plants that threaten them with fire (no they do not have powers, but Kai uses a fucking flamethrower because it’s Kai), and usually live on whatever they can find in the wild: mostly by making traps for game, fishing in the cleaner river and occasionally foraging edible plats (that’s more risky and they are more carnivorous anyway). Also, Nya routinely strolls through the ruins of the suburbs to collect scrap junk to turn as much of it as she can into useful trinkets, the rest of which she sells to Ed and Edna’s junkyard and their son, who is an amateur mechanic (wink wink but no shipping actually). Apart from that though, they usually sneak into the metropolis to cause a bit of mayhem here and there, which over time and on top of the fear over their species has earned them a reputation of People You Don't Wanna Mess With (or "Demons", more like). More than once they’ve even messed with a few of the gangs around town, which started sprouting up after the disaster, so overall their presence in the city is tolerated, but frowned upon. They manage to bypass the annoying border control thanks to the faulty assistant robot who raised them, named Echo (wink wink), who cannot perform any other social job (what he was made for) than to be the ferryman for those few people who decide to cross the wide moat and venture out into the Outside. They usually take a secret tunnel that a few smugglers managed to make, and the Guard do nothing because they do not give a fuck about demons anyway (in fact, only a few people know that their actual names aren’t Red, Blue and Green because nobody gives a fuck indeed). They do actually know a few people there, some of whom are also demons (like Mistake and Ronin), but especially as kids (which is when the story starts) they spend most of their time in the wild chilling and going on adventures :³.
(no the city and the plants are not named, we’re lazy :))
Anyway this is what I'll say for now. There's a lot more info, and hopefully drawings, coming. Hope you like this au because I love it for now ^^
(Btw let me know if you want me to make a post/reblog explaining the designs for the Rgb siblings and some info behind them)
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headspace-hotel · 1 year
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Proposed logging project in the Daniel Boone National Forest (South-Central Kentucky, USA)
I found out about this recently and Ive seen barely any discussion or attention about it in real life or on the internet, so hopefully I can attract more attention
The USA Forest Service is planning to log 10,000 acres of the Daniel Boone National Forest near Jellico Mountain, near the Kentucky-Tennessee border. The plan includes around 1,000 acres of clear cutting.
We need mature forests to remove and store carbon from the atmosphere. This is disastrous from a climate change perspective.
The excuse being given (apart from the obvious economic incentive of logging) is that the tract is mostly "mature forest" and that the forest needs to have a "diversity of age classes" for wildlife. This is total bullshit, since less than 1% of old growth forest in the Eastern USA remains, and an 80-year-old forest is still incredibly young. This type of reasoning is greenwashing.
To make matters worse, the planned logging is on mountain tops, which will cause huge amounts of erosion and possible floods and landslides that endanger the people who live in the valleys below.
Kentucky experienced a deadly flash flood in the eastern mountains that killed 40 people last year. Forests help stop flash flooding by absorbing rainfall in a dense layer of roots and soil, draining it slowly into waterways; without them, mud and rainwater goes rushing straight into narrow mountain gullies rapidly, causing dangerous floods.
Mud and sediment rushing into streams also kills fish and aquatic life that need clear, clean stream water.
Kentucky has one of the most biodiverse freshwater ecosystems in the entire world, with only a couple states next to it having more freshwater species. Kentucky's forest streams have fresh water fish, crustaceans and other species found nowhere else on Earth.
The Southeastern USA has the most diverse freshwater life of any place on Earth, the most salamander diversity of any place on Earth, and the Appalachian Mountains are a global hotspot of biodiversity, considered one of the world's most biodiverse temperate deciduous forest habitats.
It is crucial that we begin building the old-growth forests of the future NOW!
Logging these forest tracts will facilitate invasive species to take over. Mature forests form buffer zones against invasive species. The forest will never grow back the way it was; it will be infected with Kudzu, Autumn Olive, Honeysuckle and other invasives that take advantage of the destruction and prevent the normal process of forest succession from happening as it should.
If you live anywhere near this area, talk to everyone around you about this, send them the links above and encourage them to do the same themselves.
Talk to your friends, your neighbors, people at your church, everyone you are in contact with or speak to in your day to day life. Tell them about the risks of flash flooding and landslides and the importance of preserving mature forest land. Any environmental clubs and organizations you know of, tell them as well.
Most people haven't even heard this is happening, and that's how they get away with it.
Public outrage protects priceless habitats all the time, so TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW. Tell people you don't know, even. Call and email organizations and people that might be interested, until you run into someone who has an idea of what to do. That's how change happens!
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comradekatara · 2 months
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notes on “the runaway”
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the more i see people discuss how strangely sokka’s character is portrayed in “the runaway” the more i cannot help but feel that all my ad hoc rationalizations and justifications as to why he would contradict himself so greatly might actually be meaningless. why would he allow the gaang to endanger themselves for foolish reasons when he is the overly paranoid voice of caution in literally every other episode? why would he be so easily swayed by toph’s manipulative promise of buying him a fancy atlas when he’s literally holding her wanted poster? and most crucially, why would he say that he sees katara as his mother when no other episode in the show indicates that this is remotely the case?
this episode is great for katara and toph, whose hangups are compellingly explored here. i won’t get into the common misconceptions about katara being “motherly” or why they’re even at loggerheads to begin with, as i’ve discussed this at length in the past, but it’s actually undeniable that the assumption that katara is the de facto “mom friend” stems primarily from this episode, where toph all but outright accuses her of fancying herself their collective mother. however, katara becoming “the mother” of the group is very much a post-toph shift in her character, and you see her femininity being accentuated in contrast with toph’s deliberate lack of femininity also being linked to this sort of maternal role that she occasionally adopts, especially around toph. but i don’t actually think the issue is one of katara being a smothering, maternal figure towards toph, but rather a miscommunication regarding power, gender, class, and community vs independence. when katara and toph fight, it is for far more complex and nuanced reasons than the notion that katara is simply too overbearing. if anything, it’s the way in which she is overbearing that irks toph, just as toph’s rudeness is not the central issue, but rather that toph’s values (those of total independence and freedom) are misinterpreted as malice by katara (who values community and collaboration), and vice versa.
something very crucial to understand about this episode is that katara is not actually mad that toph endangered their group by pulling fun scams. katara has endangered their group countless times in the past to satisfy her own impulsive desires (and yes, she wants justice, but toph similarly rationalizes her scams through the lens of achieving moral vindication). katara would be all over toph’s scammery, would come up with scams of her own, would be having more fun than anyone—had she been included from the start. which is exactly the point. it is her exclusion that foments her critique, not the subject of their act itself (and the reason that you could not replace katara with sokka in this scenario is simply because toph would never exclude sokka in the first place). but katara would never admit that she is hurt by toph’s exclusion aloud, because katara is an extremely proud person. and a prideful, wounded fourteen year old is not going to thoughtfully use “i statements” as if in a group therapy session with the equally prideful twelve year old who deliberately excluded her; no, she is going to lash out. (lest we forget that in their first real episode establishing their group dynamic, katara literally mocks toph’s blindness. hardly an okay thing to do, in my opinion!) their conflict stems from their differences, but also from their similarities. they are both proud, angry, powerful, stubborn, and must assert their dominance at all times. it’s clear they both want to be friends with each other, and at times they are, but it is really only in this episode where they are able to cross a threshold that allows them to be truly honest about more meaningful insecurities than simply their looks (although i do of course find their exchange in “tales” beautiful as well). and you know who is instrumental (albeit reluctant to interfere) in facilitating that growth? sokka.
i’ve gone more in depth in the past analyzing why sokka’s speech in this episode regarding his mother and katara isn’t exactly as it sounds. i personally interpret his admission, that katara has always been there for him and that her face is all he sees when he tries to picture his mother, as an illustration of his codependent attachment to her, as she is the very locus of his identity. this interpretation is compounded by the fact that when kya’s face is finally revealed later in the season, she does bear an uncanny resemblance to sokka, which to me signifies the way in which sokka sublimates his own face for katara’s—which is also deeply unhealthy, but in a different way than an older brother parentifying his younger sister would be.
the fact is that there is simply no indication throughout the entire show (including this episode) that sokka views or treats katara as a parent. there are of course moments wherein she supports him emotionally or materially, but most of the time she is in fact teasing, tormenting, undermining, yelling at, or otherwise making life harder for him, at which point he is far more likely to act as her guardian figure and admonish her while simultaneously helping her get out of whatever mess she’s caused. and considering that sokka’s defining moment is when hakoda stakes his identity to protecting his (ontologically special) sister (which, as we know, as the bearer of kya’s face, in fact means dying for her), this dynamic makes far more sense than the other way around. i know that people commonly portray katara as the voice of reason who cleans up sokka’s messes, but besides a couple examples, it’s consistently the other way around. yes, it’s very easy to assume that sokka’s speech indicates that he sees katara as his replacement mother, but we cannot take this speech at face value if we are also to take the rest of the text into account, which we must.
but then there’s also the other glaring question that must be taken into account: why would sokka even allow all this? considering the first thing toph bartered was the sword he has painstakingly crafted just an episode prior, why didn’t sokka just pull the plug then and there? it really doesn’t make sense that sokka wouldn’t take katara’s side just for practical, logistical reasons. even if she doesn’t really care about the own point she’s making (as demonstrated by the fact that the scam she devises literally lands her in jail), sokka would see the logic in it. but... he does. he is the one to first discover the wanted poster, and he immediately points out to toph that their scams are drawing undue attention to her, and that they should put an end to it now that's it's putting them at risk. and yet, toph successfully bribes him, and so he continues to participate. why? what about the prospect of having money is so appealing to sokka that he’s willing to risk his precious rationality and caution for the potential of acquiring more of it? well, it’s actually quite simple.
toph is scamming for the thrill of the game. she loves proving the kind of men who undermined and demeaned her all her life wrong. she loves humiliating the people of the world who had once humiliated her. she’s not someone who values earthly possessions or really even understands that money is a finite resource. to her, these scams are a matter of ego. aang is also scamming for the thrill of the game. he loves a prank, a bit of mischief, getting into some tomfoolery. he loves spending time pulling hijinks with his friends. it’s funny, it’s fun, and it’s lucrative on top of that. but it’s clear that he views it as a game. now, sokka similarly enjoys pulling these scams. he adores toph and clearly finds it nearly as satisfying as she does to watch her destroy the egos of men thrice her size. but even more potent than his adoration for toph, is his appreciation for money.
when katara put them all in danger countless times in the past, it may have been to enact righteous justice, but it was never materially beneficial to sokka. sokka is a very practical person, and growing up in a state of colonial abjection taking on the role of provider for a couple dozen people mostly comprised of elderly women and small children makes you appreciate the value of goods and resources in a way that an aristocrat and a monk do not. you may be asking, "are you really arguing that sokka would undermine his own values and endanger himself and his friends so readily for the prospect of financial security?" to which i would argue that you underestimate how truly cynical sokka is. of course he loves money and food he doesn’t have to catch or forage – see: his appreciation for the immediate luxury of ba sing se that everyone else finds so stifling. he is not spiritual; he is attached to earthly possessions and the immediate physical needs of those around him. so of course he loves a material object. in his own words: “i do believe in the power of stuff.” because even when sokka is supposedly being uncharacteristically foolish or naive, he is in fact nonetheless promoting the cynic’s agenda every step of the way.
“the runaway” is a good episode, perhaps even a great one. however, it has also lent to some of the fundamental misinterpretations i see of katara, sokka, and toph that are constantly thrown around (including the occasional citing of this episode to justify that aang apparently “sees katara as his mother”). so in some ways, i do resent this episode for begetting those strange and incorrect takes, even if i think that in a vacuum, it is well-executed. it is an episode that complicates our characters, adds nuances and shades of grey to their pre-established characterizations, but does not actually rewrite them. sure, if this was the only episode of the show i had ever seen, i too might assume that katara was the maternal and responsible figure of the group, toph was a careless and rude little bitch, and aang and sokka were idiots who relied solely on katara’s infinite well of long-suffering guidance. but even within this episode, that is clearly not established to be the case, and if that notion is not sufficiently undermined by the episode’s conclusion, it is quite clearly by the episodes bracketing it, which provide crucial context through which to inform our understandings of the choices made in this episode, and why they are indeed interesting, but nonetheless do not reflect the characterizations established in the series as a whole.
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accio-victuuri · 14 days
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i was supposedly gonna address this by end of month and with my april candy round up but i think might as well do it now. only because it is being shared primarily on international platforms and i feel the need to put out this reminder. i wouldn’t even dream about controlling how one chooses to participate in this fandom but sometimes people need a wake up call.
so, there has been a video going around of GG filming Legend of Zanghai and there is a staff there that people are saying is WYB. it showed this person talking to GG while he is on standby and shooting etc. first of all, these two are notoriously good at hiding and being professional in their workplace. especially now. i doubt they will flaunt each other on set with one acting like a PA for the other. not only that, they both hate to cause any disturbance on set or have unnecessary eyes on them — much worse, gossip, so this is a no.
and in the very low chance that it is WYB or that whatever rumor we have of XX visiting XXX on set is true, the last person who should be outing their secret meetings shouldn’t be turtles. if there is one thing i really miss from the beginnings of this fandom is how much people protected them. even if at times we became obnoxious, you know that the reason is because we wanted to keep them safe. nowadays, i feel like more turtles don’t even care at all. they will show off anything to prove a point. but at what cost? seriously, how far would you go? how much disregard for their rights as human beings will you allow?
which leads me to the main problem here: sharing leaks. i personally sometimes can’t avoid it, especially on weibo cause it depends on who you follow, it will come up. or worse, the leaked videos/photos goes on hot search. xz has been very vocal against proxy shooting for this project so idk why some turtles continue to disrespect his wishes. it’s one thing to see it accidentally, but for international fans to share it and then make it out to be this “scandalous” video proof is so questionable. what makes them different from professional weibo paparazzis who out celebrity couples? who follow them in their homes and even their parents? how are they different from ss who put trackers on their cars and obsess over their personal itinerary? it’s so sus to call yourself a fan who care about them but applaud this kind of behavior. these kind of fans honestly don’t see xz and wyb as people. leave them the fuck alone. i don’t think i can stress that enough. let’s speculate all we want from the materials they willingly give us and try not to make it harder for them to live their personal lives.
i understand how material like that can make someone happy and affirmed but think about them first.
and if you are someone who needs solid video proof to support the boys and be on the bjyxszd train, then please leave this fandom now. i can tolerate alot of behaviors but never ones that endanger them like this. this need for constant validation is dangerous. it’s their relationship, not ours. they are real people and not fictional characters.
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The Captain - Simon Riley x Sniper!Reader, Wife!Reader
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Knackered & Insatiable
summary: Ghost’s sniper wife (reader) joins Task Force 141 on an op, against his wishes warning: MDNI, mentions of violence and death (ofc), blood, SMUT Note: I cannot believe how much you guys LOVED Part 1!!! I've written three pieces in my life (check out my Ao3 for my other works lol) and none of them have ever gotten this much of a response. Thank you so much for your praise and overwhelming support, it really means a lot to me as a first-time writer :) Enjoy and blessed be! << Previous | Next >>
Ghost swirled the drink in his glass before lifting his mask up just enough to sip his whiskey. The team had insisted on getting to know his wife before they returned to England and Ghost “stole her away forever”, as they’d put it. He knew damn well, now that she’d met everyone, there wasn’t a chance in Hell she would let that happen. And while he may put on a good show of being a grump about it, secretly, he was glad. It was almost nice to see her mingling with his frie–team over a few drinks (hers being a bottle of water) and a football (she would call it a “soccer ball”, but he digressed). 
He watched Soap, Gaz, and Freyja bobbing around the open space, kicking the ball back and forth, occasionally playing keep away. Gaz slid at her in an attempt to knock the ball loose from her control, which she swiftly countered and danced around him, laughing maniacally as the man shouted at her in protest. His lips tugged at the corner in a grin, shaking his head lightly at her antics.
She’d dressed down into her standard t-shirt but kept her boots and uniform pants on, her hair tied back out of her face. Without her gear or outerwear, even her oversized shirt, her bump protruded slightly where the shirt tucked into her belt. He’d been told that every person carried differently; her bump was small, due in part to her exercise regimen. God, he’d missed her.
He’d even been gracious enough to allow her time to gossip with his teammates, spilling (some) details about their relationship. How they met (work), who made the first move (classified), how Simon proposed (he didn’t); so gracious that he let a few embarrassing remarks slip past his radar.
Just a few.
“Did you know he has stretch marks–”
He whistled through his teeth. “Oi, watch it,” he warned, jerking his hand in front of his neck as to say ‘cut it’.
“But the stretch marks, Si!”
Ghost’s eyes traced her movements, wild hands pointing at her thighs, hips, underarms, and knees. He chastised her with a warning sound, and the three huddled together in whispers, no doubt continuing to quietly discuss topics they shouldn’t. He had a feeling he would be seeing a lot more of his fellow soldiers outside of the base. They eventually continued their game again.
Price took a seat next to him on the bench. Ghost said nothing. “How far along are you now?”
He took a deep breath, calming himself. Bold of Price to ask about the child he willingly endangered. “Fourteen weeks.”
John’s head bobbed, and he leaned back against the building behind them with his arms crossed. “Still struggling with the morning sickness, I see?”
That much was obvious. “The doctor said it should clear up soon. Usually only lasts ‘til ‘bout now,” he explained, still not meeting his eyes, choosing to follow his wife.
Silence passed between the two, the chirps of native bugs and shenanigans from the team filling the air.
The weight of his upper body on his forearms became uncomfortable, and Ghost sat back too. He sighed through his nose, keeping his sight forward. “I didn’t ask you not to call her for this job as your Lieutenant. I asked as your friend.”
John hesitated, mulling over the fact as he carefully chose his next words. He didn’t come up with much. “I know. I’m sorry.” What else was there to say?
Nothing.
Ghost nodded once, satisfied, and threw back the remains of his drink. The most important thing was that she was okay now. He knew the Captain was desperate for another player on that mission, and he was confident Price wouldn’t do it again.
Price seemed to understand that he had been forgiven. “Want another?”
“Negative, sir. She’ll lose steam in a minute.”
Sure enough, as predicted, she gave up her game and relented the ball to Kyle. Soap cheered with his arms in the air, sloshing his beer a bit with the motion. Freyja looked over her shoulder at him and raised a brow, eyes shifting toward their building. He acknowledged her request as she wished the others a good night's rest, rising to follow her to bed. Ghost fell into step a few paces behind her when a sharp whistle caught his ear. He turned his shoulder to look, and saw Soap with his hand out, gripping an imaginary leash with his tongue out as Gaz walked ahead of him like a dog.
He flipped them off and continued behind her.
~*~
The minute they returned to his quarters, Freyja had thrown herself down onto the bed like a sack of potatoes, not even bothering to strip out of her uniform. Ghost took her idea and, in his uniform, carefully straddled her waist. He offered her each of his hands, and she immediately went to work removing his gloves, smiling warmly at him. She gingerly traced the outline of his lips through his mask, a questioning look in her eyes. He accepted and tilted his chin up, allowing her to slip under the edge of the mask, drawing it up and off his head, leaving him with just the black paint on his face. Freyja plopped it on the headboard above them with his gloves.
“There he is.” Her cheeks were warm and rosy from the dry heat of the area, and all of the jogging she did outside.
“Hi, sweethear’.”
She tugged him down by his blonde locks at the nape of his neck, capturing his lips in hers. He dropped his weight onto his forearms, keeping away from her belly while his lips moved slowly against hers. A month had passed since he saw her, let alone touched her. However, when she nipped fiercely at his bottom lip, pulling a soft moan from Simon–
“Love,” he groaned, forcing himself to break away, as much as it pained him. “I don’t have it in me right now. I’m absolutely knackered.”
Freyja turned up a brow at him. “Wow. I’ve never heard that one before. Are you okay?” she asked, rubbing her thumbs against his cheekbones.
His head leaned into her touch, melting in the palms of her hands. The effect she had on him was something he’d never experienced before and was what drew him to the soldier. Quick and cunning, skilled and strong, but also impossibly loving and soft and gentle. Nobody had ever shown him the kind of attention she did, and he found himself craving it when they would inevitably separate for deployment. 
He didn’t want to argue with his wife again after not seeing each other for so long, but the pit in Simon’s chest wasn’t budging either. Simon sighed and turned his head, pressing a kiss to her fingers. “I was serious when I said I’m pissed.”
“Simon, I know I shouldn’t have–”
“No, just– let me talk.” He brushed a loose hair from her forehead. “I…I don’t ask much of you. I asked – no, told you to do one thing. To stay home and protect our baby.”
Her brows pinched together, maintaining eye contact with him. “Simon, I can take care of myself,” she whispered, a bit confused.
“I know you can. I’ve seen you in the field, seen what you can do. You’re capable of slaughtering dozens of men at a time without breaking a sweat.” Simon rolled his shoulders to move off of her, laying on his back to stare at the ceiling. He rarely got so upset with her, if ever. Even rarer that he became a stuttering mess that couldn’t string a sentence together properly. He hated the feeling. “Why did you do tha’? What if you’d gotten hurt? What if someone comes after you when I’m not around? Wh–”
“Stop. You’re spiraling again.” Freyja turned onto her side, worried eyes studying his features. He’d picked up the habit since the pregnancy tests (seven of them to be exact) turned positive. “I–I know I messed up. I’m so, so sorry, Si. I didn’t…didn’t want to hurt you. I promise I won’t go out again. I just–” Her eyes watered, and she dragged the heel of her palm against the dampness on her cheek. “I’m h-having such a hard time. I love this baby, but I feel so–so useless just sitting at home.”
Oh, sweetheart… “Budge up,” Simon muttered, his voice gravelly as he tapped her thigh and scooched down a bit himself. His right arm slipped under her hip while the other tugged her shirt up to reveal their growing baby. Simon smiled softly at the sight and peppered kisses all over her bump. He eventually nuzzled into her chest and draped her leg over his hip before wrapping that arm around her waist. “I’m sorry I ‘aven’t been round. I know how much you miss work. But just look at this precious thing you’re making, Frey; you’re creating a whole person in there. My strong, drop-dead gorgeous wife and beautiful son–”
“Or daughter.”
Simon’s deep chuckle vibrated against her chest and belly, warmth blooming there. “Right. Or daughter,” he pressed another kiss to her chest. “You’re the strongest person I know. Just you watch. I’ll be home for a good long while now; we can work something out with Price, and get you some desk duty so you’re not sat at home twiddlin’ your thumbs all day. Keep you busy, yeah?”
Freyja nodded in agreement, smiling down at her husband. “Okay,” she croaked, sniffling a bit.
“Good. Now go to sleep, love. I really am knackered.”
“I love you, Simon.”
“I love you too, Frey.”
~*~
Soap rapped his knuckles against the door for his Lieutenant’s quarters after (again) failing to locate Captain Riley in hers. He waited for a breath and was about to knock again when he heard an affirming grunt from the other side of the door.
“Aye, if I see any naked bodies–” He poked his head into the room, finding the two tangled up in each other. Fully clothed, thankfully. He barely caught the bare strip of Simon’s cheek from his angle. He immediately piped down when he realized she was still sleeping. “Lieutenant?”
“Wot?” he grumbled, not moving from his comfortable position. Soft and warm.
John remained silent, eyes shifting between Simon and the sleeping body next to him.
“What do you need, Sergeant.”
“I don’t want to wake ‘er, sir,” he whispered in a hushed voice. He truly didn’t want to face the consequences of waking a pregnant Riley. He was, however, less worried about the wrath of his Lieutenant and more about his other half.
Simon turned his chin up slightly, focusing on her steady, soft breaths and even heartbeat. In the first weeks of her pregnancy, before leaving for deployment, she had taken to sleeping like a rock. Obviously, that fact was still true. He settled back into her t-shirt.
“She’s fine. Speak.”
Soap hesitated but took his word for it. “Ah, Captain said we’re good to go. Wheels up in thirty.”
He grunted again, still unmoving. ”Alright. We’ll be ready.”
He could sense the Scot still stuck in his doorway, continuing to disturb his peace, and his irritation grew. “Quit hoverin’, Johnny. I said we’ll be ready. Get out,” he all but growled.
“Sorry, sir.” Soap turned to leave but stopped himself. “Almost fo’got, wanted to give ya’s a warnin’, it’s pishin’ it doon out there.”
His patience had grown thin and irritability impossibly higher. “Speak. English.”
Soap’s mouth opened with a turned lip, just about to quip a snarky retort–
“It’s raining fuckin’ hard.”
His eyes blew wide, jaw dangled loosely, staring at the previously silent form the soft, sleepy voice came.
“Thank you, love.”
“I—How— Beg your pardon?” John stuttered, pointing between Freyja and Ghost in utter shock.
Her grip on her husband tightened with a groan, eyes fluttering as she tried to adjust to the morning light. “What? What did I do?” she mumbled, curving her back inward to stretch, her neck popping.
“But–I don’t– You know Scots?”
“Oh. I suppose. Cannae ge’ the accent righ’, though,” she said, exhibiting what was indeed her very poor attempt at a Scottish accent.
Still, he gawked at them, unmoving. He eventually snapped out of his reverie, a wicked smile creeping onto his face. “Jesus, I’m sorry Lt. but I think I’m gettin’ hard,” he teased, the tip of his tongue sticking out between his teeth.
Simon blindly reached for the mask above his head, scooting up a bit for a quick kiss before slipping it on. The black war paint around his eyes remained, but more worn and smudged with sleep. The Sergeant Oooh’d in the background. “Johnny, what did I tell you ‘bout flirting wit’ my wife?” He swung his legs over the side of the bed in a sitting position.
Freyja followed him, sitting up and pressing her chest against Simon’s back. She wrapped her arms around him, rubbing her palms across his sternum and abdomen, fingers dipping into the ridges of his muscles. “Simon, you really shouldn’t make threats you don’t intend to keep,” she pressed her lips against the warm skin at the back of his neck. He hummed softly, leaning back into her.
“Who said I won’t?”
“Alright, alright, I’m not tryna cock-block,” Soap threw his hands up in defense, backing out of the doorway. “I’m goin’. Tarmac in thirty.”
The door clicked shut behind him, leaving the couple alone again. Simon moved to stand but was immediately restricted by her arms and legs as she whined. “Can I help you?” he asked, settling back down and glancing at her over his shoulder.
Freyja rose to her knees and tugged at his shirt, untucking it from his waistband. “Maybe,” she said against the side of his throat. “Depends.”
“On?”
“Are you Simon,” her fingers pressed into his waist. She licked a stripe on his thrumming pulse before closing her mouth over the spot, sucking generously. Simon hissed through his teeth and dropped his head against her shoulder. “Or Ghost?”
“God, you are insatiable.”
“Only when you don’t give me what I want.”
“And wha’s that?”
“Been a while since you fucked me stupid, yeah?”
A deep growl tore from him, and he whipped around, pouncing on her. The balaclava and skull plate flew across the room. His lips crushed hers, teeth and tongues smashing together. Rough fingers wrapped around her throat, holding her down to the mattress as he leaned over her. “Your British is fuckin’ shit.”
“Mmm, what’re you gonna do about it?” she challenged, smirking against his mouth. She loved instigating him, even more so now that her hormones were through the roof. The last week at home had been almost unbearable. 
Freyja’s eyelids flickered at the sudden pressure, not enough to cut off oxygen but enough to effectively shut her up. She felt her walls flutter at the sensation, a puddle forming in her underwear.
“Good girl,” Simon practically purred, dragging his lips down to the underside of her chin, nipping at the skin, followed by a soothing lick at the affected spot. His free hand crawled down her body, rising and falling over the various curves before stopping at her pants. “Is this what you want?”
She nodded vigorously, so he swiftly unfastened the fatigues and dove his hand in. “Mmm, so needy for me. I’ve barely even started, sweetheart,” he slipped two fingers through her soaked lips, sucking a bruise at her throat. He ground his aching bulge against the edge of the bed, searching for some relief. Simon swirled tight but lazy circles around her clit with her collected juices, getting a muffled moan. “Like that?”
“Mhm…”
“Use your words, Frey.”
“F-Fuck– Need you, Si, n-now.”
He cocked his head to the side, releasing her throat to unbutton and unzip his pants. “Already? I’m feelin’ a bit, peckish love. Not gonna let me have a taste?” He slid down to his knees, nibbling down over her t-shirt and pulling the zipper of her pants.
“NO!” She shouted, and his eyes shot up to hers with a brow quirked. “N-No, I need you to fuck me. Please, Simon,” she begged, her voice desperate.
“Fast and hard, eh? A’right.” Simon stood, then hooked his hands behind her knees, yanked her to the edge of the bed, and flipped her over, her feet firmly planted on the floor. “Careful,” he pressed softly against her bump, keeping her stomach off the bed.
The sniper growled at him, starting to get frustrated. “Simon, I swear to fucking God– Ah!” she squeaked when a much firmer hand shoved her face into the mattress.
“Naughty girl… I’m getting there. Be patient,” he ordered. He waited until she showed her understanding with another sharp nod. Simon finally pulled her pants and panties down to her knees. “Fuckin’ Hell,” he moaned, admiring the view as he dropped his pants enough to pull himself out, giving himself a few strokes. “Who’s this cunt belong to?” he asked, dragging the tip through her folds.
“You, it's all yours!”
Eager to please, Simon rested one palm on the small of her back as the other slowly eased himself into her. His head dropped back, unable to help the soft moans and whimpers at her walls around him. “F-fuck, never get sick of this sweet cunt,” he stilled himself in her when he bottomed out. “Not even in you for a second ‘n I already wanna cum.”
She pulled her hips forward, desperate for him to move and, as promised, fuck her senseless. Bruising fingers gripped the extra flesh at her hip with a groan. “Naughty,” he repeated, drawing out of her to the tip before diving back in just as slowly. “Maybe if ya beg some more, I’ll give it to ya.”
Freyja whined as his cock dragged painstakingly slowly along her insides. “P-please, please fuck me, Simon. I need your cock so bad. I’m desperate,” she begged, her hands shaking as she gripped the scratchy blanket under her with white knuckles. “Been w-waiting so long for you to come home, please!”
Simon twitched inside her, his wife’s begging scratching just the right spot in his brain. “Ngh, fuck Frey.” He slammed into her, his eyes rolling into the back of his head while he started a steady pace.
“God, Simon, ‘s so good–”
“Look at me,” he said, turning her chin with his thumb and forefinger. “Say it again…My name.”
Her smirk almost immediately wiped off her face when he brushed her clit again, eliciting another breathy, gasped moan. “Simon!”
“Mmm, again.”
“S-Simon…fuck!”
“Cum for me, love, cum on my cock. Wanna feel you–”
She stared into his eyes, the sounds of his hips slapping her hips, the wet sounds of her sex thrumming between them, and her heavy pants thrumming between them until she finally pulsed around him, her pitch kicking up an octave. “Ah, Simon, I-I’m cumming, fuck!”
“Jesus fuck–! Y/N, Y/N,” he whined, choking on her name as the tight coil inside him snapped and spilled into her, his hips stuttering. Simon’s chest rested against her back when he dropped his hand next to her for support. He stilled, echoing her name over and over while he pumped her full of his cum. She was grinning back at him over her shoulder and dragging her nails up and down his forearm, humming at the warm pool inside her.
Simon slid his free hand under the back of her shirt, stroking between her shoulder blades. They stood unmoving, panting, staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity. His spend was starting to creep out around him, turning into milky drops threatening to break free and fall to the floor. He could stay like that forever, her gaze holding his as he warmed his cock in her–
“Hey Ghost–”
THUNK
The tip of a black combat knife sank into the soft wood of the door frame, a breath away from his nose. Kyle stopped short of passing through the threshold, the door only open a crack. “Bad time, got it,” he said, his voice cracking a bit before the door clicked shut again. “Sorry!” his voice muffled by the door between them before his footsteps scurried away.
Freyja giggled and pressed her face into the mattress, attempting to stifle her laughter.
“Not funny.”
“Really? I thought it was a little bit funny, Lieutenant,” she said, wiggling her hips against his. Simon’s breath hitched, and both hands shot back to stop the movement.
“Ey, none’a that. Be a good girl or you won’t be getting a thing out of me later,” he threatened, raising a blonde brow in challenge. She pouted up at him in return but nodded with a disgruntled Fine, slowly leaning forward until he popped out of her with a groan. The woman eased herself up until she stood fully and turned to face him, standing on her tiptoes to reward him with a sweet, lazy kiss. When Simon was least expecting, she swiped a finger along his dick, causing him to jerk at his sensitivity, collecting their mixed fluids before popping the digit into her mouth. “You’re a minx, y’know that?”
“Mhm.”
“Hn.” He pulled her panties and underwear back up for her, fingers lovingly caressing their growing baby when he went to button them again. He wasn’t proud to admit that he hadn’t reacted well to the initial news of his wife’s pregnancy. Simon had never wanted children or a family before her, given his experiences with his own as a child. The last thing he wanted was to turn out like his father, an abusive, mean drunk with a violent streak and an inclination for scaring the pants off little Simon. 
That all changed at their first ultrasound. The soft thrum of the baby’s heartbeat echoed off the walls of the small room and burned into his mind on a constant playback. His baby. Their baby.
Mine. 
He supposed the second-trimester hormones were a nice touch, too.
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ANOTHER human au art compilation! Here’s the first! More info about the AU and their cultures under cut ~
Groundwork:
-Abilities which stem from things inherent to dragon biology (fire, venom, frostbreath, gills, etc.) aren’t present. More traditionally supernatural gifts (mindreading, oracle, animus magic, etc.) are still present. In retrospect this makes the Nightwings completely op but shhh
-Each tribe is inspired off a mishmash frankenstein of different real-world cultures
-Dragons are an endangered species, just a hum in the background and nearly hunted to extinction. They’re hardly considered a threat, especially when most humans haven’t even seen one in their lives. Once the centre of each people’s culture and civilisation, they’re now nothing more than Bigfoot sightings or exotic pets.
Culture:
-Sandwings are the least homogeneous tribe and take inspiration from various cultures in the Indian subcontinent and Arab nations (most largely India and Palestine). Many subcultures exist within the larger Sandwing kingdom. Common identifies (not present in them all, but there will usually be at least one) include gold accented accessories, darker skin, and clothing with light, desaturated, yellow/orange tones. They’re renowned for their abundance of poison, excellent street food, musical talent, and stereotypically maliciously intelligent. Regardless of class there’s a nation wide pattern (you can find the reference for it by Qibli’s headscarf) symbolising trade routes, oasis waters and dunes. It’s a symbol of national pride (included on thorn’s dress, and ostrich’s headband/headscarf).
-Nightwings are, on the contrary, the most homogeneous tribe due to their small population. They’re based on Japan (spanning multiple eras). I like to think the Nightwings lost a lot of their culture after migrating to the volcano, for they were once the most religious tribe, worshiping the moon alongside the Icewings, which I’ll get to later on their cultural similarities. I promise it’ll make sense. By now, all their deeply religious traditions have been relegated to superstitions. It was said they were blessed by the moons, but the connection has been largely severed. Only old dresses follow the tradition of embroidering in the moons they were born under. Moonwatcher’s dress is something akin to a hand-me-down, as are her silver earrings, it’s by coincidence it lined up with her actual birthday. Moon’s family was an exception because she came from a long line of seers (or alleged seers) who have done their best to preserve a crumbling culture. Common identifiers include near pitch black clothing and skin as pale as the moon. 
-Icewings have some of the largest populations, however, are surprisingly homogenous. Most sub-cultural differences are as a result of class. They’re based on Mongolia and Manchuria. Like Nightwings they are also deeply religious, maintaining their beliefs through rigorous scholarship. Hair has intrinsic religious value as a gift from your family- therefore it cannot be cut. The same goes for ear piercings and any other physical alterations to your body. IceWing jewellery as a result is very distinct because of its lack of need for an ear piercing, hooking around the back of the ear instead. Common identifies include long/braided hair, and light, cool-colored clothing suited for the cold.
-Skywings are loosely Scottish inspired, and I do not have a lot to say about the rest of the tribes. Most of their clothing have feathered accents. The peregrine is a sign of luck and wealth, with their feathers being adorned on the upper classes. Geese and chickens, being common farm animals, are found adorned on working classes. The second richest tribe, employing silver, gold, lazuli, and about any gem they can find in their clothing. Common identifies include curly orange/red hair, taller statures, feathered accents, a tartan like pattern, and clothing ranging from yellow to magenta.
-Seawings are loosely based on various Polynesian cultures, most prominently that of the Māori. The sea has an intrinsic religious value to them, with all children learning to swim, sail, and/or fish. They live off the sea’s resources, rarely consulting the surrounding land for supplies. On rare occasions albatross birds and seagulls are plucked for headdresses. These are reserved for high ranked royalty. Their clothing is loose and well adapted for the warm beach setting. Common identifiers of Seawings include ta moko like tattoos, olive skin, and clothing ranging from lime to purple.
-Rainwings are loosely based on Thai, Indonesian, and Cambodian cultures. They’re colourful and have the second largest poison reserves (bested by sandwings). Having once been a trade centred tribe, now they’re isolationist, albeit not intentionally. They have many history records, almost as detailed as that of Icewings, but the art has been lost to a changing cultural atmosphere. Once too religious, now their intrinsically religious practices are more cultural. Their clothing is similar to sandwings in the fact they cover as much of the body as convenient but remain loose and breezy. Common identifiers include bronze tan skin, vibrant pigmented clothing, and flower motifs. Nightwing villages don’t follow that guideline, they build on the ground as a tribe with a focus on hunting. I’m assuming everything in this universe is made proportional to dragons, hence why the trees are so large. This assumption is based off that specific panel of Bandit in the book six graphic novel eating a blueberry as big as his head. 
-Mudwings are sooo underdeveloped in my au (following in the steps of Tui herself) but they’re based on southern Chinese and Vietnamese cultures! They live in cities akin to Chinese floating villages, Vietnamese floating markets, and Tulou (architectural style of the Chinese Hakka) made of mud bricks. They're a very agricultural based people. Many of their villages are isolated communities- their emphasis on family extending to their towns. Common identifiers include umber skin, straw conical hats, and practical clothing in shades of brown.
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