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#I honestly don’t know that much about secret wars
fionapplespiano · 4 months
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Manifesting that with Secret Wars being a soft reboot of the MCU, that there’ll be an opportunity for Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver to be recasted with actors who are actually Romani and that they’ll be Magneto’s mutant children
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loveinhawkins · 9 months
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Steve thinks he’s doing a good job at hiding it, but then Eddie catches his eye right as he’s limping out of the RV and… huh, maybe not.
Eddie, with panicked urgency—which, in Steve’s opinion, is admittedly sweet but unnecessary—asks if the bites are bothering him again.
“No, dude, it’s nothing,” Steve says. “It’s literally nothing.”
Eddie doesn’t look at all reassured.
Goddamn it, Steve thinks. Better rip off the band aid and hope it’s not too mortifying.
“It’s not the bites. It’s… um. My feet.”
Eddie glances down but there’s nothing to see; as soon he’d entered The War Zone, Steve had crammed his feet into the first pair of combat boots he could find.
“Oh,” Eddie says, the penny dropping. “Oh, shit. Yeah, hang on, just…”
He looks around, humming in thought, then grabs a bottle of water with decisiveness, and yeah, Steve thinks, this is gonna be incredibly mortifying.
But he can’t find a way to wriggle out of it without making the whole thing a way bigger deal than it needs to be—so he ends up sat in the grass, wincing as he pries off his boots.
It is, in a word, gross.
“Don’t know why they’re bugging me so damn much,” Steve says just to fill the silence. He huffs self-effacingly, goes to wiggle his toes before deciding ow, better not and ew, better not. “It’s, like, hardly anything compared to…”
He gestures to the bandage wrapped around him.
“Well, you weren’t walking on your stomach,” Eddie points out.
He pours out water onto some tissues he’s rustled up and gets to work.
Steve keeps waiting for the embarrassment to well and truly set in.
But… it doesn’t.
Eddie doesn’t once make a crack about how awful his feet look.
Instead he launches into a story of how, against his uncle’s sage advice, he’d gone to school in a new pair of boots (his birthday present) without breaking them in first.
It was freshman year, so Eddie’s whole look hadn’t been solidified yet. But he was determined to make it work—stomping around the school (“Were any lunch tables harmed?” Steve asks, and Eddie warmly tells him to shut up), steadfastly ignoring the growing discomfort.
At the end of the day, he’d taken his boots off and surveyed the damage with a melodramatic cry; “Kid, I really don’t know what to tell ya,” Wayne had huffed.
Eddie hams up his whiny, teenaged disgust so that he becomes the butt of the joke, and Steve suddenly feels like he’s watching a magician onstage—except he knows where to look, isn’t fooled by the sleight of hand: Eddie’s dramatics all serve as a distraction from the caked on dirt and blood he steadily cleans off Steve’s skin.
It’s quiet, unassuming. A hidden kindness.
Eddie doesn’t need to be doing this; Steve could quite easily take the bottled water and do it all himself—would probably get it over and done with in a matter of minutes, concealed around the other side of the RV, quick and perfunctory.
But you’re letting him, Steve thinks. Why are you letting him?
Eddie’s hands are cold, a pleasant contrast to the burning sensation all across his feet—honestly, he’d been hoping that so long as he just kept walking, he’d gradually become numb to it.
There’s a loud rip of plastic as a pack of baby wipes are opened. Eddie’s touch is light which soothes some of the sting, at least; he trails off into silence as he works, hissing sympathetically at whatever’s revealed.
“You’ve got a couple cracks,” he says, eyebrows drawn.
Steve gives an over exaggerated sigh. “Give it to me straight, doc. Am I gonna have to chop ‘em off?”
Eddie chuckles, but his concern doesn’t fade away.
“Just here,” he says, pointing, and the tip of his finger brushes against Steve’s heel—Steve tries not to, but he twitches reflexively, and Eddie flashes him an impish grin. “Ticklish?”
“Fuck off,” Steve says, smiling.
He kicks out, stops just short of actually hitting Eddie in the face.
“Your secret’s safe with me, Harrington,” Eddie says through laughter, pushing Steve’s foot away—gently. “I’ll take it to the grave.”
It’s a joke; Steve knows it’s a joke. But—
“You don’t need to do that, man. Robin already knows.”
Eddie stands up and stretches, gives Steve’s ankle a little pat.
“Think you’re all set—woah, wait,” he says as Steve reaches for the combat boots, “what the hell are you doing?”
“Uh, what’s it look like?”
“Harrington. You cannot put those on without socks again, you’re gonna summon my uncle; he’s got, like, a sixth sense about that kinda stuff.”
Eddie’s smile drops a little at that, a flash of melancholy breaking through.
God, you must really miss him, Steve thinks.
“I’m just making do. I don’t have any socks.”
“Yeah, you do.” Eddie’s smile returns in full force—puzzled, perhaps just a little fond. “You got me some, remember?”
Eddie retrieves a pair from the RV and, that’s right, Steve had forgotten: he’d bought a whole pack during their first grocery trip, after Eddie had made an offhand comment about feeling cold in the boathouse.
Poor guy, Steve had thought as they walked through The Upside Down. This is cold on a whole new level.
The socks are thick and warm. Steve pulls on the boots, relishing the fact that his toes no longer scream in protest as he does so.
He tightens the laces; Eddie’s sat down opposite him again.
“There. Ready for battle,” Steve says.
Eddie’s eyes flicker over the combat boots, then Steve’s whole get-up—and there’s nothing teasing in his gaze now, as if he’s seeing everything in another light. Like the gravity of it all has just hit him.
“Yeah,” he says quietly. “Battle.”
“Hey, Eddie. Don’t worry.”
Eddie huffs with a wan smile. “Wow. And just like that, I won’t.”
Steve nudges him with his foot. Gentle. “M’not gonna ruin your handiwork.”
Eddie doesn’t reply.
Steve stands, tries a short walk in place. It’ll work. It has to.
“I’d just do it again,” Eddie says suddenly. “If… I—I wouldn’t mind.”
Steve pauses. Offers Eddie a hand and pulls him up.
“I wouldn’t mind either,” Steve says softly.
And then he lets go of Eddie’s hand.
Standing tall, he starts to round everyone up for the drive back—and wishes them all a future of simple fixes: of superficial cracks, easy to patch up.
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lacollectionneuse1967 · 4 months
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remembering you - part 2
Theseus Scamander x Reader
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summary: the truth of your and theseus's shared past comes to light at a very public venue.
fem!reader. theseus scamander x reader.
category: romance.
warnings: brief but GRAPHIC descriptions of gore (war flashback).
part one / part two
“I don’t think I’ve ever done anything that wasn’t expected of me.” The curse of the good son. The thought comes to Theseus unbidden. 
Even joining the magical resistance at the beginning of the war felt like some preordained line of reasoning that he only had to follow.
He’d vowed to his parents that he’d always do what’s right for his community. He’d been asked to help, so he did. In all realms of life, he tried to be helpful and do what was asked of him.
He didn’t have to think about it. 
But then: You.
Y/N swept into his life and spun his head around, turned his whole belief system upside down. He can only think of one other girl who struck him so profoundly, reached inside his chest and tugged him back into his body and the present moment, but that was years ago, and their encounter had been so brief… 
The principles by which Theseus lived his life were simple ones.
Restraint. Generosity. Order.
All dashed to pieces with the touch of your lips. When you'd asked him to kiss you his only thought had been "Mercy." He’d started undressing you by instinct. He’d taken you on his desk, it seems more like an unwieldy fantasy than a memory. 
He’s at home now. Dumbstruck at his kitchen table, glass of whiskey untouched.
He has the strangest desire to call his brother.
Newt, of all people! But he was probably galavanting around the world looking for Wrackspurts or trying to teach a Doxy to play fetch. They hadn’t spoken in so long, and Theseus had been negligent when it came to showing interest in his brother’s work besides that. He couldn't call on him now.
Theseus just needs someone to tell him what to do. 
He doesn’t know what happened in his office. He just wanted to put his hands on you and then, once he did, he started burning up inside and couldn’t stop. 
Y/N, Y/N, Y/N….
Your name was like a drumbeat driving him to insanity. A trance-inducing chant. 
“What’s become of me?” he thinks, helplessly, head in his hands. “I’ve gone mad.” 
He was supposed to marry well, unfussily and unremarkably. Find a respectable woman from a good wizarding family after building up his reputation as an Auror. He’d never touched a woman the way he'd touched you, so brazenly, so honestly, so entirely overcome with desire.
He’d never thought much of love. 
Even before today, he’d been distracted at work. Powerless, really. Writing to you occupied his every thought. Even when you took a little longer to respond, what he felt wasn’t impatience but agony. He hung onto your every word. His default daydream had become storming down to the Department of Magical Games and Sports and standing before you, making you see him, he loved you and he wanted you to deal with it too.
“Tomorrow,” he thinks and it eases some of the tension. He blows out the candle floating above his kitchen table and gives up on the whiskey, snatching the glass and pouring it down the drain.
Tomorrow he’s decided to tell you that he needs you, that he loves you, although he’s not sure what it means yet. Maybe that will help him clear his head, silence that roaring need. Confessing to you will be like letting blood. 
Yesterday your beauty had taken him by surprise, discomposed him, yes. But he reminds himself that he knows you. From your letters. 
He loved you then too.
And, aside from his feelings, he doubts there are any real secrets now between you.
-----------------
You want to ask Theseus if he dreams about the war too.
You wonder how many people in Britain return there, to that same reeking, muddied place lit-up with gunfire, in their dreams every night. You wonder if you could meet him there.
But no, Theseus wasn't in the trenches. He wouldn't know about how the mud is different there. Evil. Cursed. You'd long given up on trying to describe it to your sister, make her understand.
No wizards, not even those a part of the underground resistance, were in the trenches.
Your powers were wasted down there, how silly and indulgent magic seemed with people dying everywhere, dying badly, with less dignity and honor than stray dogs.
You remember trying to use magic wherever you could anyways. You remember your hands and your medical knowledge being, shockingly, more useful. When a man's limbs are shattered in opposite directions, when a man's face has been shot off, when a man is bleeding out, when a man....
You remember that first night, after Theseus and your family had left you, the numb-shock of seeing a man's brains for the first time. The sensation that came over you was less startling and more like paralysis or ice water. They were grey and had splattered onto your face and the ground before you. The men shoved his body over the top of the trench, throwing him at you to save him, not realizing he had a hole in his head. You stared at the soft, grey chunks on the floor and your mind unfeelingly conjured up images from the kitchen: chicken hearts, boiled ground meats, uncooked egg whites. It was so random you'd almost laughed.
War made the grotesque banal.
And all for what? That pointless tract of wasteland. Bodies at various states of decay, laid out like a rotting carpet.
You wonder what Theseus did to get called a war hero, you didn't think there were any heroes in the Great War. To you it was a tragedy of gross political malpractice.
They made a grave of your home in France. You couldn't have returned there, not ever.
You only ever went back there in dreams, where you couldn't seem to remember that the war was over.
It made you feel guilty in a distant, half-realized way, how you never wanted to talk about it or think about it in your waking life. When your siblings wrote down your name in a tribute to the combat nurses at last year's Armistice Day, you'd been blind with rage. Inconsolable with a nameless, blooming betrayal. "Nameless" because you couldn't say what they had betrayed.
Which is why this year's Armistice Day, today, you'd resolved to avoid all grief celebrations and talk of glory and war and to think only of the future. Of happy things. Of Theseus.
Theseus.
Yesterday you'd slept with him.
You'd actually taken him into your arms and body and then just let him take and take and take. You'd only asked for a kiss, but you'd found yourself unable to say anything but yes and please to him.
This fact made you blush the whole way home. Made you unfold his "goodnight" message from days before and read it again and again just to see the ink of his writing on paper, just to prove that what existed between the two of you was real.
At work yesterday he'd kept writing to you, just like he promised. Afterward, at the end of the day, he came to your desk and walked you to the Atrium, kept his hands in his pockets and looked at you fondly when you spoke, with an attention like sweetness. He was a gentleman--what happened in his office aside--indisputably so. You'd felt good and safe by his side. Like you belonged there.
Until you got home.
It was your mistake to open up to your sister. It didn't help that she kept saying that she couldn't believe you, that she'd kill him, that "it's all so unromantic."
You spared her the details, but you wanted to just blurt out and admit that it was the both of you begging for the other at intervals.
He'd gotten down on his knees, for crying out loud! He didn't coerce you into anything. All he coerced were inappropriate noises from your mouth, but, no, you couldn't tell your sister that...
Your argument continues in the morning, picks up where it left off right after breakfast.
"I just feel like you gave up more than you bargained for, Y/N. Because you like him so much you're more at risk of-"
"I didn't 'give up' anything! God, I can't believe you."
"I didn't mean it like that."
"No, it's fine, really!" You're grabbing your keys and shoving them into your purse with force, pointedly not fine. "For the record, he was the one who said he liked me. And I was the one who asked him to kiss me, again! I'm not a child. The only thing I'm at risk of is finally getting what I want."
Your sister cries easily, famously. You can see it mounting now in the tremble of her lip. It almost topples over into a sob when she whines, "I love you Y/N! I don't want you to get hurt."
"He likes me! He's my friend. We've been talking for weeks."
"What if he..." your sister hesitates and for some reason it humiliates you, her censoring herself for the sake of your feelings.
Your shoulders go rigid.
"What?" you snap. "What if he what?"
She shakes her head but when you don't relent she speaks grudgingly.
"What if he does this a lot? Casual sex. Spontaneously sleeping with women. Maybe even coworkers. I just want to be sure you're on the same page, Y/N. He means so much to you, I know that, and he always has. But he doesn't even remember you...."
Sick. You feel a swaying illness in your chest and gut. For a moment you taste bile.
Her words hurt so bad that you don't even feel pain, the fight in you just dies instantaneously.
He doesn't even remember you...
"Okay," you say, staring blankly at her. "Okay..."
"Y/N-" your sister stands from her chair suddenly, but you jerk away from her.
"It's fine. Theseus can do what he pleases. Thank you for your concern, but I don't want to talk about it anymore."
You leave for work.
------
The chaos at the Ministry mirrors the chaos in your head, which isn't any real consolation.
Whizzing baubles and streaming banners are still being put up in the Atrium, the center of which lies a hulking, rectangular platform, scattered hauntingly with red poppies. It sort of reminds you of gallows, though you doubt anyone else would appreciate the humor in your observation.
The Ministry always did some sort of luncheon or memorial for Armistice Day.
Speeches, honors, sometimes a little parade, sometimes, conversely, observing four minutes of silence. The thought of being asked to go on stage horrified you more than the Western Front had.
As you walk to your desk, you think about Theseus again. You think about the war. Both inevitable, given the circumstances.
You think about the service he rendered your father and your siblings that night. You think about the chivalry he demonstrated in letting you hold onto your girlhood for a bit longer, his hand framing your face as he left it untouched and denied you a kiss.
You think about him letting you stay for the Battle of Verdun, and how it never made sense to you and it still doesn't now...
You have to know.
"I'll tell him," you think. "I'll tell him today."
------
There's a memo waiting for you at your desk. It makes your heart patter in gross relief.
"He likes me. He likes me," you remind yourself.
Your sister's words this morning must've really gotten to you.
"Urgent matter for the Interdepartmental Liaison of the Department of Mysteries!!!"
You roll your eyes. You're smiling stupidly at the paper as you write your response.
"Theseus, you can't keep writing 'URGENT' at the beginning of all of your memos. It's cryptic and dishonest and it loses its intended effect."
"Okay, fine. I was just going to ask if it would be terribly uncouth if I asked you to meet me in my office before the memorial so I could kiss you a bit?"
The thought of him putting his hands on you affects you more than you'd ever admit. You look around the office, blushing, as if anyone could read the paper from so far away. This man was driving you insane.
"Well, that's one way to honor the troops. You are a veteran so I suppose there's no turning you down."
You want to see him, you do. But you have a mission today from your Department. It couldn't wait and he couldn't know.
You're hoping to use the Armistice Day events to talk to Mr. Bragg, the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, or maybe sneak into his office. Too much time has elapsed already, you need to find out whether or not he is really betraying the Ministry for Grindelwald.
Theseus's reply is surprisingly earnest.
"Huh, I always thought today was more about honoring the fallen than honoring the veterans."
"True. Maybe no kissing until it's over?"
"Deal. I'll see if I can write you into my schedule."
"Not funny."
"If you want to see me so bad you could always commit a crime and I'll come arrest you?"
"Hey, you're the one who asked to see me!! And threatening me with a good time is beneath you."
You see a lone blot of ink fade-in from where his quill is pressed down onto the paper on his end. He's trying to decide what to write.
When the words come at last they are so simple and candid and enticing. Theseus has never been afraid of honesty or affection.
"I like you so much."
You laugh aloud. If he was here you'd kiss him breathless.
"Yes, you said that already."
"Forget the kiss, I'd kill even to hear your laugh in person. To see your face."
"I like you so much too."
-----
You're the last person from your level to make your way down to the Atrium for the Armistice ceremony. The noise from below sounds more like a motorcade than a memorial. Honking trumpets, trilling drumroll, applause. Funnily enough, you think your coworker Ana is the one speaking now, snatched the microphone from the Minister of Magic himself.
In fact, by the looks of it, you might've missed some of the ceremony already.
The Atrium is packed with people. Ministry workers brought their spouses, some their entire families. Well-dressed witches and wizards not affiliated with the Ministry have also come in droves.
You scoot along the edge of the room, moving sideways towards the stage, craning your neck to find Mr. Bragg.
The periodic sound of applause crashes down like heavy rainfall, the way it drowns everything out. It's a bit stuffy from all the body heat, and your clothes cling to your body uncomfortably.
As you approach the stage, you stop pushing forward and look up in shock to see Theseus's face. He doesn't see you, and you're glad for the chance to just look at him outright. God knows you could look at him forever.
He's waltzing down the steps of the platform smiling broadly. His gait is relaxed, he's comfortable in his skin despite the attention of being on stage, which is something you envy. There's a ribbon on his lapel and a red flower stuck in his suit pocket, a few men and women are trailing behind him.
They must have just honored the wizards who fought.
Next would presumably be some ceremony for the Ministry workers to honor their dead. Last year they'd done a magical memorial with floating lanterns. This year you'd been told it would involve stones, or maybe it was flowers? You didn't want to stick around.
It was painful enough carrying your losses inside of you, seeing loss and grief paraded and exploded all around you didn't feel therapeutic or healing for you the way it seemed to feel for the rest of the nation.
"Y/N!"
You turn without grace, neck jerking painfully. The sight of Mr. Bragg's face startles you, makes you feel found out. It's difficult for you to rein in your surprise. You have to shout over the sound of Ana talking onstage.
"M-Mr. Bragg!"
The older man smiles. He's with his department friends and his cheeks are rosy. Drunk, maybe. They're holding the flask between them like schoolboys, drawing more attention to it really.
It seems disrespectful to you. Most Ministry workers waited until after the memorial ceremony to start celebrating the end of the war and drinking to "peace."
But Mr. Bragg and his colleagues look positively jubilant.
"My girl! I was just telling these gentlemen how we have a real Unspeakable in our midsts now! Tell them how good the Department of Magical Games and Sports has been treating you, why don't you? Better than the Department of Mysteries, eh?"
The men he's with laugh and jostle him, they're about to turn back to the stage.
You're still reeling, sputtering from surprise, but you have to spit it out now, take your chance.
"Mr. Bragg! Wait!"
His colleagues' eyes go wide in delight, one of them looks as if he's about to bark an inappropriate comment. Mr. Bragg looks taken aback at your newfound attention.
It was nearly 1930 and some of the men in the Ministry still had such backward ideas about women, even coworkers, it took everything in you not to roll your eyes.
"Yes, darling?" Mr. Bragg's answering smile is eager and smug. Self-satisfied.
Gag.
"Um, I was hoping to talk to you in your office after the ceremony? About my position as liaison." He looks suddenly bored, turned off, so you give him your most flattering smile and add, coyly, "Alone. If you're not too busy, that is?"
That seems to gratify him. He adjusts his jacket impressively in front of his colleagues. One of them wriggles his brow indiscreetly and nudges him.
"Of course, Miss Y/L/N! It's about time you and I had a good talk, one on one."
Again, gag.
You smile, and it's a strain to, before bowing your head in thanks and moving on.
Well, at least that was settled. You could drill him with questions after the ceremony and, during the ceremony, you could poke around in his office for evidence of betrayal. It was perfect.
Too perfect.
It was your mistake for lingering near the stage. For coming at all, really.
It sends a jolt of liquid panic down your spine when you hear your name, magically amplified for the whole crowd to hear. It booms throughout the entire Atrium. It's bizarre to the point of feeling dreamlike.
"Oh, and is that Y/N? Miss Y/L/N! Please join us on stage! Everyone, how can we forget to honor our wartime nurses?"
This isn't real. If the crowd hadn't parted to stare at you after all of Ana's pointing, you would've continued walking away.
A man jumps off-stage to escort you to the staircase.
You're past the point of being able to speak or object.
Once onstage you stare out at the crowd unseeingly. The tops of so many heads. You'd rather be at the summit of some great height, looking out at some cloudscape. Your fear of heights seemed healthy, whereas your stage fright was a simultaneously useless and formidable thing.
You regret befriending Ana. You regret telling her about the war, telling her anything about yourself at all.
You are sweating.
And, impossibly, Ana is still talking.
"-and at only sixteen years old! As a volunteer wartime nurse, Y/N Y/L/N stayed for the entire ten months of brutal fighting at the Battle of Verdun in Northern France. 300,000 dead and 400,000 wounded. She saved countless lives, muggle and wizardkind alike, indiscriminately. These combat nurses were the foundation of-"
Her last commendation draws some uncomfortable shifting and impressed gasps from the crowd. It's a mixed reaction, as views of blood purity were equally mixed.
Ana, in an asinine but expected turn of events, is still talking.
But you're no longer listening. You can't.
There are so many people in the crowd, but your gaze locks on Theseus almost immediately. You see his expression change in realization, his eyes widen and his jaw flexes, almost undetectably.
When he tears his gaze from Ana to you, you turn away.
He knows. Even if he doesn't remember, he knows.
You only know Ana's finished talking because of the crashing noise of applause, like the shore breaking on a cliffside. Your ears burn. You keep your head low as you exit the stage.
This isn't how you wanted it to happen.
You're torn between wanting to explain yourself and wanting to escape. Heart hammering, cutting through the crowd, you choose the latter.
You make for a secluded alcove of the Atrium, far from the crowd at its center, and sit on a marble bench.
You never lied to Theseus. If anything he was the one who lied. He said he'd remember you. He'd promised.
"It's okay," you repeatedly run your hands over the material of your skirt, over your thighs. It's meant to be reassuring, grounding. You don't feel like it's working. "It's okay, Y/N."
You'd like to say it was the stage fright at work, but no. It was the way he looked at you that was so upsetting. He looked at you like the earth was shattering.
"Y/N!"
Your head lurches upwards from where it's bent over.
It's shocking to you, the sight of him. As shocking as it was to see him in his soldier's uniform, standing in your doorframe on that night all those years ago.
"Y/N," Theseus walks over with heavy footsteps. He looks winded and undone, like he'd run to find you. His voice is weak. "It's.... How can it be you?"
There's a desolate longing to your returning stare. Your chest hurts. You're shaking your head, trying to dispel some of that tightness in your heart.
"You said you didn't need a name to remember me...."
"Did you remember me?"
"Of course," you're speaking so fiercely, he doesn't deserve it but you can't help it. "Right away."
Why is it more embarrassing to be the one who remembers? It's even more embarrassing than being forgotten.
"That's why I stopped writing to you that day," you add pathetically. "After I saw your face at the Ministry, I'd put the pieces together. All it took was once glance."
Theseus sits down beside you on the bench, still looking adrift. At a loss of what to do with this information.
"You must be disappointed," he says at last. "And you must think me a fool."
"Well... I don't think you're a fool," you hope that doesn't reveal your disappointment, but his pained wince suggests the opposite.
"I should have known," he says with newfound vigor. "You really haven't changed, have you? Even after your coming-of-age, you're still as stubborn as ever."
That makes you laugh, dreary as the sound is.
"I didn't come of age I just sort of... came through."
He laughs at that. "You know, I've seen far more of your siblings."
"Really?"
"They didn't tell you?"
"No, not really..." None of you liked to talk about your father's death or the period surrounding it. Too painful.
"Well, I spent a good week with them. With your father too, obviously. I had to make sure he was receiving proper care."
"Did you speak to them?"
"Your sister didn't understand much of what I was saying, the same for your father. But I spoke with your brother often, his English wasn't half bad."
You groan. "What did you talk about?"
Theseus seems pleased. Eager to demonstrate to you how much he remembers.
"Of course I asked him if you really were a combat nurse, had to make sure I didn't just send a teenager to her death," Theseus explains. "So he told me about the first time you came to help out in the trenches. Some story about the men catcalling you, telling you ways to make yourself prettier, and you shouting 'It's not my job to be beautiful!' at them and tightening the tourniquet of the man you were working on. Your brother told me he yelped so loud that none of the other men dared to bother you again."
You laugh breathlessly. It's so strange to hear the memory come out of Theseus's mouth. Everything about this feels impossible. Ridiculous.
"Did my brother share any other anecdotes about me?" You turn to Theseus with a wry look on your face.
This is oddly pleasant. Doesn't feel so awful anymore, unearthing the past together.
"I wish," Theseus's smile is toothy and endearing. Sly look in his eyes. "Naturally I asked almost exclusively about you. When he talked about you he called you by some pet name? I tried to use it to find you after the war before I realized it was only a nickname."
That makes your heart stir.
It was stupid. Impossible.
An unhappy coincidence. Those were all that seemed to keep you apart.
Theseus had tried to find you.
But [your brother's name] was so young at the time, he'd only ever thought of you as [your nickname] and never "Y/N." It wasn't his fault.
"I was so curious about you," Theseus continues. "Although I was proud of myself for not kissing you... You were too young. And I was relieved it was me who left last and not one of the other poor sods who came along, who knows what they would've done if a girl like you asked for a kiss."
"I wouldn't have asked them!" you protest, and his smile as he shirks off your playful hit splits your heart, you love him so.
Theseus raises an eyebrow, still smiling. "No? I thought you just wanted your first kiss before the battle. Didn't matter from who."
You shake your head.
"No.... I didn't even think to want to be kissed until I saw you. And until I realized my life was going to change forever. I'm an opportunist, I guess..."
The last part is meant to be a joke but he's not reacting accordingly anymore, he's hanging onto your every word.
And he's definitely looking at you too seriously for you to admit that you found him severely attractive. And kind. Observant and receptive, like he saw through you. Mostly handsome.
"I just," you cringe at yourself. Cower away from his searching eye-contact.
"What?" he prods. His smile is teasing this time, like he's hoping to charm the truth out of you.
"I just wish..." you wince at the words as you say them. "That you would've remembered me. It sounds silly, but I used to think about that night a lot as a girl. I handed over my siblings and my father to you, and I would've given you my first kiss, and more than that maybe... I still don't understand why you let me stay and fight in Verdun. I suppose it makes me feel even more silly, knowing it didn't mean as much to you."
The more you speak the more you watch his expression dampen. Theseus purses his lips unhappily.
"I'm new at this, Y/N."
"New at what?" You don't know what he means.
"And I'm already messing it up, aren't I?"
"Theseus," you say. "I haven't any idea what you're talking about."
"I just," he dips his head back in frustration. "I have thought of you and that night, often. I just never imagined you as a grown woman, Y/N. During the war, you'd become something like a guardian angel in my mind. Forever sixteen. But when I met you two days ago, I knew..."
It's so difficult for him to find the words it seems. He keeps grimacing and shaking his head to himself.
"I knew when my body reacted that way to seeing you. Every part of me rejoiced when I saw you sitting at your desk. It wasn't like meeting you for the first time, it was uncanny. Like... immediate recognition. It felt like I was remembering you, Y/N."
You place a hand over his sympathetically. It's warm under yours. It still makes your head spin, touching him at all.
"You made such an impression on me, Y/N," he reassures.
"I was just a girl," you say, dismissively. "I was naive."
"You were courageous, more than me or any of my men. Braver than all the British Ministry. It shook me, meeting you. Reminded me why I decided to fight, I'd become so jaded."
You have nothing to say to that. He fills in the silence.
"So you didn't want to become a nurse after all then? After the war, I mean."
"I never wanted to be a nurse, I just..." Death all around you. You just wanted to stop feeling helpless. "I wanted to help."
"I never wanted to be a soldier," Theseus offers congenially. "I just wanted to do what's right. That night you reminded me why I was there in the first place. You reminded me to be brave. I was ashamed of how little I thought of the muggles. And there you were, going off on your own, risking your life for them. Before you, I just wanted to minimize losses. But you made me want to save people."
Your lip wavers. You're staring into his eyes, into that pure blue, that dark sea. It's entirely inappropriate, but you'd like very much to kiss him now. You won't ask this time. You'd like to press yourself against his suit, no words can articulate what you feel for him, but maybe you could show him.
But then he speaks again.
"Y/N," there's a guarded, defensive edge to his tone that makes you hesitant. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer this at all, but I have to ask. Was that your first kiss yesterday? In my office."
You can't help but bristle. You're embarrassed. The look on your face reveals everything, so there's no use in hiding it. Damn him.
"Yes," you admit, hotly. "Was it obvious or something?!"
He groans, looks pale. His reaction horrifies you further.
"I shouldn't have done that," he's saying, he looks like he's going to be sick. "Falling all over you like a dog---I should've made it gentle. Sweet. Demonstrated an iota of self-control-"
"It's fine," you raise a hand, made shy by his self-deprecation. "We didn't do anything wrong."
That does give him pause. Theseus stops mid-sentence, mouth hanging open. He has to recompose himself.
"You're right," he relents with a gentle shake of his head. "We didn't. I just mean... I would've made it good for you, Y/N."
"It was good," you insist. You're not sure if he's talking about kissing anymore.
"Let me try again, I'll get it right this time."
Your heart races.
You wonder when you'll get used to this, the knowledge that he wants to touch you, that he's going to give you what you want. Wonder when your body will stop reacting like a prey animal's every time you're near him, so strong is his effect on you. You want to run. No, you want to bare your neck, submit. Let love kill you.
Your sister's words from this morning are the only thing stopping you.
You have to close your eyelids before speaking.
"Theseus, do you...."
"Yes?" his smile is almost too dazzling for you to formulate a response.
"With other women... Do you do that sort of thing often? Not that it matters..."
For a stunned moment he doesn't react.
Then he is laughing at you. It startles you and hurts your feelings.
"Y/N, I don't--Oh, Y/N!" He hurriedly moves to reassure you when he notices the look on your face, reaching out and grabbing your arm. "Oh, no! I wasn't laughing at you, I swear."
"Theseus," you groan, hiding your face, humiliated.
"No, no," he says again, trying to gently pull your hands away so he can look you in the eyes. His hands are firm and persistent. He's still half-laughing as he speaks. "It's just that I've never done something like that before. Y/N, I don't know how to say it better, but I am dreadfully in love with you."
You look up sharply, instantaneously, to read his expression. It is serene and sincere.
No sign of a prank, no sign of a psychotic break.
Oh god. Your stomach plummets. He loves you.
He loves you.
"Theseus, I-"
"Y/N!"
Once again, Mr. Bragg has taken it upon himself to surprise you. You jerk away from Theseus on the bench.
Theseus closes his eyes and doesn't turn to greet him, his wrath is only barely veiled.
"Mr. Bragg!" You stand abruptly. "What-What are you..."
"The ceremony is over!" He seems annoyed that you don't remember, his pride bruised. "If I'm not mistaken you and I have a date in my office?"
Theseus makes a comically disgusted face, looking between you and Mr. Bragg in rude astonishment. If you weren't afraid of offending you might've been amused.
"He means an appointment, Theseus," you hiss in clarification. That seems to sedate Theseus if only slightly.
"And yes of course," you say to Mr. Bragg with a placating smile. "I'm all yours."
---
next part here
-----
author's note: part 3 (LAST PART) incoming! i had to break this part into two because it was getting too long :(
hope you enjoyed! more drama and smut in part 3
(spoiler: mr. bragg sucks + drunk!Reader and caring!Theseus)
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shanastoryteller · 4 months
Note
Happy Holidays! ❄️❄️ more from What They Expect please! I love that AU!
continuation of 1 2 3
It’s been well over a year since she’s seen Mustang. Al’s all aflutter about it, and how puberty has her looking like something other than a twelve year old boy, but she’s really not worried. Mustang is so involved with his own shit that he doesn’t have the time to care about hers. It would be a damning quality if it wasn’t exactly what she needed from him.
She is, sort of, a little bit worried about Riza. Not worried as in she actually thinks something is going to happen, but just that if anyone out of Mustang’s little idiot brigade would figure her out, it would be her.
Maes is a distinct possibility, but also not really. The thing that saves her, always, is that no one’s really looking. She’s loud and flashy and angry and no one thinks she’s too short to be a guy because of how sensitive she is about it and no one notices she’s pretty because they’re too busy dealing with her being mad and scowling and, with these guys, she’s got an extra ace up her sleeve.
They think they already know all her secrets.
They know about human transmutation and binding her brother’s soul to a suit of armor and every questionable and terrible thing she’s done since in her pursuit to fix it.
Why the hell would she be lying about her gender? It’s not even a thought in their heads, and if it ever becomes one, they’ll dismiss it before he even has a chance to.
Eden binds her chest tight extra tight, so her chest is nearly flat, and puts on her baggy tank top and giant red coat that hides the way her hips curve and the giant stompy boots that she really does love, sets her face in a familiar scowl, and goes off to war.
If war was child’s play, that is.
“Where have you been?” Mustang demands, towering over her and nostrils flaring.
Well. Sort of towering over her. She must have had a growth spurt, because he’s really only got a couple inches on her, which is sort of hilarious. She hadn’t noticed that he was short before. “Uh, lots of places. Haven’t you been reading my reports?”
She does not laugh in his face at the way his eyebrow ticks. She spends so much time meticulously writing everything down in dedicated code in her travelogues, she really doesn’t have the energy to spare when she gets to her reports for Mustang. Besides, he doesn’t really care what she’s doing, only that it’s big and flashy enough to distract from whatever he’s doing.
Is she supposed to know that? She can’t remember. But it’s so obvious that it doesn’t feel like something that can be a secret.
Then again, the rest of the brass haven’t caught on, so.
“What were you thinking in Liore?” he snaps.
Eden blinks. “Liore? That was forever ago. Did something happen? Rose didn’t mention anything in her last letter.”
“Yes, Edward, it was forever ago, but since you declined to answer my summons to come here and explain yourself, we’re discussing it now,” he says.
God, she’d forgotten how bitchy he gets. “Okay, well that priest guy was pretty strange-“
“I don’t care about the priest!”
She stares. She had to kill the guy twice and he doesn’t care? Honestly, she thinks it’s sort of memorable.
“What were you thinking messing with that river?”
Ed tilts her head to the side. “You’re upset about the river?”
He glares. “Of course I’m upset about the river!”
She bites the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Al’s really worried over nothing.
Mustang is never paying attention to the right things.
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messydiabolical · 8 months
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i’d once read a Mass Effect take that has been stewing in my melon ever since, about Wrex and him demanding a cure for the genophage during the war in 3. (I think it was on twitter but I can’t remember for sure. Just the idea of it stuck with me.) The general sentiment was that this was a dick move on his part, that there were “bigger problems” and this wasn’t the time and it was cruel and manipulative of him to put Shepard in that position. He should have helped out first and Shepard would have helped him back once the war was over. A lot of people chimed in agreeing, saying how they stopped liking Wrex after that. It bothered me for a bunch of reasons I didn’t feel I could adequately articulate, but i’m gonna try now. Prepare for my meandering thought style! The governing bodies of the Mass Effect Galaxy have repeatedly proven that they believe themselves superior to other species and know what’s best for everyone. They don’t let all species have a say in the council, always look out for their own species’ interests in so much as it pertains to keeping things as they are, and will happily go along with literal genocide to aid this. They approve of secret police and biological warfare espionage tactics. They weaponise bureaucracy to hide their cruelty behind ‘oh red tape has us bound, sorry uwu’.   I’m going to try to remain pertinent to the Wrex subject but as one great example of these governing bodies ways of dealing with percieved outsiders: The first contact war is a great example of how ludicrous and fascist things are.. ‘It’s ilegal to use this thing so we’re going to kill you for it’ without so much as a heads up. How were humans supposed to know that, exactly? The governing bodies of this place do not care about anyone outside their own self interests. Fall out of line and they will work to end you. Until you prove you might be useful or of interest to them in some way (or a threat). And then of course we later learn the asari were breaking these laws themselves, hoarding this tech to stay superior. Classic. Anyway, back to Wrex. Wrex knows this. Wrex has seen how the krogan are regarded and treated, the dangerous monolith species, outsiders who can never be let in, never forgiven, never given a chance to grow or change. For a long arse time. “But the krogan were getting out of control and also committing genocide, the genophage was a last ditch resort to stop a galactic war” … And it’s been hundreds of years since then. That 'last ditch resort' wasn’t used as a stop gap, a reset to even out the playing field so that new negotiations and relations could be developed. It was used to end the krogan, and has been actively maintained to continue that, ever since. Do you really, truly believe that if Wrex petitioned the council/ world leaders to negotiate reversing the genophage, they’d even let him have an audience with them? And if they did, do you really think these people, with their history and all the shit they pull, would listen and be reasonable? I can already hear the responses, that weaponised bureaucracy (“you raise an interesting point Mr Wrex but unfortunately we are recovering from a war don’t you know, please come back in 300 years for review, we are very interested in discussing this further then!”) Wrex is old, wise and knows exactly what is up. The only way the governing bodies of power were ever going to have a listen, was if he had something they needed. The war with the reapers provided that. And even then, he knew that they wouldn’t listen outright; having Shepard’s voice was a way to get the foot in the door. It makes my heart hurt to think about that honestly; how dehumanising (dekroganising?) it must feel to be the ruler of your people and know that you have to rely on your alien friend to even get someone to listen to you, when what you want to say is an extremely reasonable “hey committing genoicde against my people sucks, stop that now”. Anyway, Wrex was right, this was his one chance to save his people and he took it. Good for him.
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deakyjoe · 1 year
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Somebody’s Watching Me Part 2
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Pairing: Simon “Ghost” Riley x Reader (she/her pronouns used, reader is implied British and given backstory)
Category: I still don’t know but it’s coming together
Summary: On a night out with your friends, you’re pleasantly surprised to run into your secret observer.
Warnings: flirting (Ghost and reader getting some action, they deserve it), mentions of war/death, talks of scars, alcohol consumption, Ghost being normal AND weird, the mask is off again, Ghost doing domestic things almost (socialisation in a pub), sexual references, family issues, reader’s friends are intense, British terminology/slang, swearing/cursing, dialogue heavy, minute Soap slander (I love him but couldn’t resist)
Word Count: 5.5k (longer than part 1)
A/N: After the love I got for part 1, I decided to continue so Simon is still my babygirl. Please remember that if Simon feels out of character, that’s the point of this story. It’s him when he’s not being Ghost but being forced to mix aspects of his life at home and his life at work - the work aspects being reader. Also he’s going out of his comfort zone to please the sergeant (you) because he likes you but just hasn’t really realised it yet. Not entirely sure I’m as pleased with this part as I was with the first but we’re posting anyway!
Part 1 available here.
Part 3 available here.
It took weeks before your friends finally managed to convince you to join them on a night out. You'd been putting it off for a number of reasons. One being that the thought of socialising in a crowded environment had you wanting to gouge your eyes out as you'd grown used to little to no company. Another being that you genuinely thought it'd be overwhelming and you might have a panic attack.
But after they'd assured you that they'd look after you and you could all leave if it got to be too much, you relented and organised a time and place with them. Just your local pub on a Wednesday night. You'd decided on a Wednesday as you hoped it wouldn't be too crowded and that your friends might need a pick-me-up in the middle of their work weeks. They agreed quickly with the idea.
And honestly it'd been nice for the most part. You'd arrived early, you swear active duty had made you so time efficient that you spent almost no time at all getting ready, and sat down at a table in the corner, out of sights of the most of the rest of the pub. The only thing in direct eye line was the bar itself which would come in handy when you needed to go up and order drinks.
Your friends all slowly arrived, none of them being too late, and gave you big greetings as they hadn't seen you in "forever" they claimed. You returned hugs and kisses and prepared yourself for a night of bombarding questions and retelling of war stories.
A couple of your girlfriends were bought drinks by guys at the bar and you watched on in amusement as they giggled about it together. They assured you that someone would probably buy you a drink if you asked but you waved them off saying you didn't care, which you didn't.
You listened intently as they all told you what was happening with their lives - work, significant others, kids, families, pets, parties, weddings, funerals, birthdays, anything and everything you could possibly imagine. A note of envy settled in your stomach at one point but it went away quickly when you told yourself you were being silly.
Telling them about your life was slightly more complicated. You had to skirt around some of the details of your job as it was classified and would probably horrify them if they knew what you truly did. You gushed about some of the amazing people you'd met and mentioned casually that you'd actually bumped into your lieutenant in the supermarket. They all absorbed it with wide eyes of wonder and amazement, each of them having at least one question to ask.
"So, wait, you can actually shoot a gun?"
"Does it bother you having to bunk with a bunch of blokes?"
“What’s said country like?”
"Are any of them fit?"
"Isn't it tiring?"
"How long until you go back?"
"Met anyone you fancy?"
"Hang on, you have to share a communal bathroom?"
Yes, it's alright, not really, they're okay, very, not sure, oh my god, yeah.
They never really seemed satisfied with your answers and always wanted you to elaborate. Which you did if possible.
Overall, it was nice. There was no sense of impending doom or a weird feeling in your stomach about the whole thing. You let your guard down just enough for once to attempt to have a good time. Which you did. You laughed, you chatted, you drank, it was good.
Until the bar tender came over with a drink that looked exactly like what you usually ordered.
And when he placed it in front of you, you wanted to throw up.
"Fella at the bar bought this for you."
This was it. The moment in the night that you looked forward to the least and the moment your friends had been encouraging the most. They insisted that you needed to "put yourself out there more" and “try to get laid at some point”. You were "too uptight" as they put it. Little did they know that you weren't really interested in a quick shag or even a relationship with anyone at the moment. And rejecting someone was always awful. Every time they asked why and having to explain that your job made romantic entanglements extremely hard made things awkward.
"Ooh, this is so exciting!" One of your friends squealed beside you, frantically searching the bar for the culprit. "Which one?"
“Blond one.”
Oh.
"Tall."
My.
"Scars on his face."
God.
Your eyes shot towards the bar and immediately landed on him. Of course he was already looking your way with his drink raised to you.
"Shit." You cursed, silently letting out a sigh of relief that it wasn't someone you'd have to reject but all the more anxious because it was him. A part of you was very excited to see him though.
"What is it? Do you know him?" Another friend asked you.
"He's my lieutenant. Fuck." You stood from your seat, grabbing the drink.
"The one from the shops?"
"Yeah. I'll be back in a minute, guys. I'm just gonna go say hi." You explained, slowly making your way towards Ghost.
"Take your time!"
You hadn't seen your lieutenant since he'd gone over to your place for tea. It was a weird experience. Weirder than the shops. You'd had a couple cups of tea each, shared his packet of chocolate digestive biscuits, which he'd kindly offered to you, chatted a little more and then he'd left. You didn't exchange phone numbers or even offer to see each other again. He didn't because he probably didn't want to and you didn't because you thought he probably wouldn't want to. So you'd gone your separate ways and that was that.
As you got closer to him, you wished you hadn't had so much to drink. You weren't drunk but you weren’t sober either. Kind of just bordering the edges between being buzzed and tipsy.
"Simon."
He turned so his body was facing yours, his large frame consumed the stool he was sitting on. Intimidating and alluring all at once. "Sergeant."
"You really should start calling me by my name." You sighed, stopping to stand in front of him.
"I like calling you sergeant."
"And I liked calling you lieutenant." You shot back, taking a sip of your drink despite your head screaming at you not to.
"Bet you like calling me Simon more."
Your eyes widened at his statement. He wasn't wrong but you wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that. "Thanks for the drink, by the way."
"It's no problem. Thought I owed you for the bourbon."
You hummed in agreement but said nothing.
"Friends of yours?" He nodded towards your table where all of them were watching the two of you interact intently.
"Uh, yeah. First night out since being home so..." You shrugged.
"Having fun?"
"I was." You regretted your words immediately, knowing that you’d been insensitive.
"Ruined it, did I?" He asked but it wasn't malicious.
"No. Just... unexpected."
He nodded. "So, which one's your boyfriend?"
You were surprised at the question. Last time he'd enquired about your personal life it hadn't gone so well.
"You live alone?"
"Yeah. Used to have a hamster but he died a few months back."
He blinked at you and said nothing so you rushed off to make tea, desperately trying to come up with a new topic to talk about when you got back to him.
"That's presumptuous of you, lieutenant."
"Just making conversation with you, sergeant." The return of dropping rank had you tingling inside. Might have just been the alcohol though.
You huffed. "None of them."
"Girlfriend then?"
You shook your head. "Nope."
"Sorry soul you're torturing with your affection couldn't make it then? What a shame." His eyes narrowed, you presumed he was joking.
"I'll ignore that insult. I'm single." Setting your drink on the surface of the bar, you leant your hip against the side but not before taking a step closer to him.
"Lucky for the world then that you're not burdening anyone with yourself."
"Jesus, Simon." You laughed out of shock, struck with his bluntness.
"Had to be said."
"Huh, you really are a charmer." You flashed him a glimpse of your teeth in a small smile, brows raising on the last word of your sentence.
"I try my best.” Pause. “Why are you single?"
"Because my affection is a burden apparently." Repeating his own words back to him seemed better than explaining your depressing void of no romance in your life because of your job. But maybe he’d understand.
"I'm serious."
"Why do you care?"
Simon didn’t strike you as the kind of person who gave a shit about the love lives of people he worked with. So why did he seem so interested in yours?
He didn't answer straight away and when he did, it seemed rehearsed. "You're my sergeant, part of my team. It's my role to care."
"To make sure I stay alive. Not to inquire about my love life." You were properly frowning at him now.
Ghost raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry I asked."
With a sigh, you relented. "The job."
"Go on…"
"Makes it difficult. The job makes it difficult to date. Especially civilians." You added the last bit on with clenched teeth. It didn’t really matter. Civilians were not on your romantic radar.
"Would you want to date a civilian?"
He saw straight through you.
"No, not really."
"Hmm."
You wanted to avoid discussing the topic any further so asked a question to change the subject. "What're you drinking?"
"Scotch that Soap recommended."
"And?"
He swished the glass around, the ice clinking against the side. "Utter shite."
"Figures." You took a long look at his drink. “You drink it on the rocks.”
“Tastes better cold. Less shit.”
“That your second glass?”
"Monitoring my alcohol intake, sergeant?” He asked and you shook your head as he looked you up and down. “You gonna take a seat or just stand there all day?"
"I'm supposed to be going back to my friends." You gestured weakly over your shoulder with your thumb, kind of forgetting they’d still been there until that moment.
His eyes flickered between the table and you. "Think we both know that isn't happening any time soon."
You hated how he saw straight through you. "Do we?"
"We do. Take a seat, sergeant." He nodded towards the stool next to him.
You stood up straighter, making a point to look directly into his eyes. "I like being eye level with you."
His foot hooked around the back of your legs and tugged you closer to him. "Think you'll find that I've still got a couple inches on you."
Your skin flushed hot, he was so close to you. You reached out and tapped his chest a couple times before realising what you were doing and removed your hand. "Think you'll find that you've had a bit too much to drink, sir."
"Simon. Thought we'd established that you can call me Simon." He leant back a little bit, relaxing in his seat. “And thought we agreed that you weren’t monitoring my alcohol intake.”
"Sorry." You squeaked.
"Sorry who?"
With a smile, you looked up at him through your lashes. You already knew what you were going to say. "Sorry... Lieutenant Riley."
He smiled. Actually smiled. It was small but it was unmistakable. "Brat."
He was beautiful when he smiled. He was always beautiful but when Simon Riley smiled… he was radiant.
You lit up at the smile but glowered at the insult. "Simon!"
"It's true." He shrugged, taking another mouthful of his drink and wincing at the taste.
"I'm stubborn. Not a brat."
"Believe me, I know you're stubborn. You've almost died like twelve times because you're stubborn. Had to save you every time." He shook his head as if it were a grievance to him.
"Could've left me behind."
"Couldn't do that. I'm your lieutenant, remember? My role is to keep you alive."
"I'm sure Price would let it slide if you had good enough reason." You thought about your Captain and wondered if he'd let you die for a good enough cause. Probably. But you held no resentment towards that fact.
Simon's head tilted to the side as he watched you think. "Don't think he'd accept brat as a reason, hm?"
You raised a finger to correct him. "Stubborn. Not a brat."
"Definitely a brat."
"Stop calling me that." You whined.
"That was the brattiest thing you've ever said. In the brattiest voice." He glared down at you. "You whined."
"You're such a dickhead, Simon." You scoffed but it was clear you were holding back a smile.
"And you're a brat. Guess we're even."
"Okay, I'm going back to my friends. To get away from this targeted attack." You paused. "Unless you want to join."
"I'll pass."
"I guessed. Do you have any friends? Maybe you could use the socialisation." You offered, wondering whether the man ever spoke to anyone when he was home or if he completely isolated himself from the rest of the world.
"Don't have friends for a reason."
That answered that for you.
"And what's that?"
"Ask too many personal questions."
He had a valid point. People did ask too many personal questions and you could understand why someone like Simon wouldn't like that.
"They wouldn't. My friends. They know we tend to be... private."
"You're a sergeant and I'm a lieutenant. Neither of us are privates." He paused to let the joke settle in. "A little army humour."
"I got it. That was good." You beamed at him, eyes crinkling in the corners at his quip.
"How much do they know of what we do?" He nodded in the direction of your friends.
You thought it over for a moment. "Very little. They know more about my teammates than anything else. Even that is limited."
He stiffened at that. "What do they know of me?"
"My quiet lieutenant with no face. Until recently." You let your eyes roam his features, taking all of him in. He was remarkable to look at really. But you'd never voice that to him.
"Hmm."
"There's more but I won't divulge with you." It was a partial joke to mess with him a little. There was some truth behind it however. You may or may not have gushed about your lieutenant to your friends. But that was nothing really. Just friendly appreciation for the man who outranked you.
"That makes me nervous."
Playing with him was too easy and too fun. "You should be."
"I'm reconsidering sitting with you and your friends now." He frowned but wasn't completely serious.
That surprised you. "You were going to?"
"Maybe." He drank more of the Scotch and trembled. "Christ, this stuff is fucking disgusting."
"Order a bourbon, something you know you actually like." You sighed. "Please do. If they're too much we can leave."
"We?" He was always questioning we.
You rolled your eyes at him. "It's always we. Teammates, y'know?"
A level of unsureness settled over his face. "I know."
"Get used to a lot of we then."
"Don't plan on seeing you again after this." The admittance stung but you weren't going to let that stop you.
"I'm sure you thought that last time as well. But here we are. Are you stalking me?" There was a hint of genuineness in the question. There was no way this second chance encounter was pure coincidence.
He shook his head, waving the bar tender over and ordering a bourbon like you'd suggested. "You're too boring for that."
"You have such a way with words. Really know how to make a lady feel special." You said dryly.
"It's a gift." He scratched at the side of his nose, absentmindedly trailing a finger over one of his scars in the process.
"They wouldn't say anything, y'know? Or stare. If you're worried about that. I've come home with my fair share of scars over the years. They understand." You pulled the neckline of your shirt to the side to show off an old bullet wound that had scarred over on your collar bone.
Simon's eyes lingered on the mark on your skin but you couldn't quite read his expression. "People always stare."
"I don't."
"No, you don't." He hesitated. "Okay then."
"Wait, really?" You perked up.
"Yes, really. Quickly. Before I change my mind, sergeant." He rose from his seat, grabbing his drink and gesturing for you to go first.
You gazed up at him. It really was easy to forget just how big he was. "Quick question first?"
He didn't seem keen. "Go ahead."
"How long were you here watching me before you sent the drink over?" You really needed to know, to see how out of it you were.
"Not long." Lie.
Your brow furrowed. "How long, Simon?"
"About forty minutes."
Your eyes widened. You didn't expect it to have been that long. "Fort- Jesus. And I didn't notice you?"
He brushed you off with a small shrug. "You were having fun. Guard was down."
"Still."
"Don't dwell on it. I was just going to leave and not let you know I was here." His eyes moved away from you, the opposite side of his eye contact problem showing.
You ducked to the side to meet his gaze again. "Why didn't you?"
He shrugged again.
You offered him a small slip of affection, just the tiniest thing. "I'm glad you didn't."
He grunted in reply, which was more than you were expecting. So, you just gestured for him to follow you towards the table of your friends where you stopped short a couple feet away. You sent a quick glance over your shoulder to make sure that Simon was still, in fact, there and hadn't pulled a Ghost and disappeared. But he was still standing there watching you when you checked. Which meant it was time for introductions... which you sucked at.
"Everybody, this is Simon. My lieutenant. Simon this is... everybody." You frowned at the crowded table in front of you. "You'll pick up names. It's alright that he joins us, yeah?"
“Of course.”
"Yeah."
"Oh, my god, yes."
"Take a seat, mate."
"Where you from, Simon?"
"Manchester."
"Ugh, he's a Manc! Moving on!"
You laughed as you squeezed into the booth with Simon next to you, trying not to touch him too much. "What did I miss? What are we talking about?"
"My husband is cheating on me." One of your friends announced dramatically.
Your eyes widened at the confession. "What? Really?"
"I suspect he is." She pouted, slumping forward onto the table.
"As if. He worships the ground you walk on. As he should. What makes you think he's cheating?" You debated whether this was a good topic to be talking about with your lieutenant sat right there. But then you figured that Simon needed some friends. And what was a better way to make friends than through some old-fashioned gossip?
"Late nights as work. Going to the gym a lot. He's not getting any fitter either."
You winced. "Ah, well that is quite damning."
"Yeah. I'm trying to build up the courage to just ask him about it."
"Yeah, confront him. If he's cheating then come to me. I know how to use a gun and hide a body." You winked at her.
"Sergeant." Simon's warning tone came from beside you.
"I'm kidding, lieutenant." You looked to your friend again and mouthed. "I'm not."
Another one of your friends spoke up, leaning on the table on his elbows. "God, you guys are so formal. Even during leave."
"We don't have to be. He refuses to call me anything other than sergeant. I think it's because he secretly doesn't know my name." You nudged Simon with your elbow and then, realising what you'd done, pulled back quickly. Maybe taking a break from the drink would be a good idea for a while.
"Not true." Ghost shook his head slowly.
"So you claim. Yet you've yet to refer to me as anything other than sergeant."
"It's fun watching you squirm thinking you have to be on your best behaviour all the time." He sent you a sly smirk, his eyes squinting just the tiniest bit.
Your jaw dropped. "I'm asking Price to reassign me. This is bullying."
"Wouldn't let Price do it." He countered, leaning in dangerously close.
"Who's Price?"
The both of you pulled back at the question and answered simultaneously. "Captain."
"Ah, okay. The one with the mutton chops, right?" One friend offered.
You nodded. "Right."
Simon huffed. "That's what you told them about Price?"
"It's his best feature."
"Christ, woman." He groaned, rubbing a hand across his face.
"Ooh, woman's a new one."
A friend volunteered in your defence. "To be fair, she's not allowed to tell us much. She usually gives us one identifying feature of every person she tells us about. So we can keep up."
"I'm assuming Soap is the fact that he's Scottish."
"Scottish with Mohawk. He gets two."
"What's Gaz?"
"Baby of the team."
"Fitting. Me?"
You stayed silent.
"What is it?"
You shook your head. "Can't say. Classified."
"Sergeant." His voice was harsh, demanding.
But you weren’t going to give in. "Lieutenant."
"I won't be insulted." His voice dropped to its familiar bored tone, as if trying to force the idea that it wouldn’t bother him.
That’s not what concerned you however. "Don't think you would be."
"Then why can't you tell me?”
"Just can't." Stellar reasoning, well done.
"I could ask them." He tilted his head in the direction of your friends, who were all watching you completely enraptured.
You didn’t back down, stare hardening at him. "Go ahead."
"Fine." He turned to the table. "What's my identifying feature?"
There was a moment of silence before someone gave in and admitted it. Traitors. "You don't have one."
There was a split second of delay before he replied. "She doesn't talk about me then?"
"Quite the opposite actually." One of your friends giggled.
Another stepped in. "Talks about you sooo much that you don't need an identifying feature. Just know who her lieutenant is."
"Besides, apparently you usually wear a mask. You have no features."
A raised finger of a counterpoint. "Arguably, the mask is the feature."
Ghost turned to you, almost smug. "You talk about me, sergeant?"
"Don't flatter yourself, Simon. You're good at what you do. I can appreciate that." You sniffed, rolling your shoulders back to force yourself to relax.
"Out loud? With your friends?"
You shot him an irritated look. "Get over yourself."
"Didn't say anything."
You clicked your tongue against the roof of your mouth. "I know what you're thinking."
"I'm sure you do." He exhaled deeply, glancing away from you towards his drink.
Your own gaze moved back towards everyone else around the table. "Moving on! What else is happening with you guys?"
"Saw your parents a couple days ago. They said they didn't know you were home."
Well, that wasn’t the jollier topic you hoped to move on to.
A fake smile automatically set itself on your face at the mention of your family. "Fuck. What did you say?"
"Lied for you and said you only just got back. Might want to call them."
"I will do that. At some point.” Lie, lie, lie.
"Mhm, your sister had another baby as well. That's what? The fourth niece or nephew you haven't met?" There was a note of condescension in your friend’s voice.
You shrugged, knowing you had a decent enough reason. If your job counted as decent. "I've been busy. And it's only the second."
"We're not judging. Your parents might be though."
"Well, that's lovely to know." You slouched down in your seat. The relationship with your parents was… touchy, to say the least. Desperately seeking their approval for years had left the bond with them strained. And you being away from home so often definitely hadn’t helped the rockiness of it all.
"Also they seem convinced that you've met a military man and are going to come home engaged or married..."
Your face scrunched in disgust. "Oh, ew. What the fuck?"
Simon elbowed you harshly in the ribs. "We're not that bad."
"Share a bunk with Soap and come back to me on that." You snapped back. Your fellow sergeant was a snorer who regularly farted in his sleep. He was like your brother but man did you hate having to sleep in close proximity to him.
"Fair point.” He grumbled back to you. “But why are they under that impression?"
"They know I don't date civilians."
"Or anyone." One of your friends mumbled in her drink.
"Thank you.” You sent her a sarcastic smile. “So they think I'm after a man in uniform."
"Aren't you?" The same friend asked.
You closed your eyes and clenched your jaw. "In... theory."
"Not in practice though." She carried on, loving the way you were squirming.
"We know not in practice, okay? Doesn't need to be said aloud.” You spared a glance at the man beside you before adding a harsh whisper. “Especially in front of my lieutenant."
"I'm sure Simon is loving this."
"It comes with the job. Family troubles and no love life." He offered some of your words back to you from earlier, shrugging. You were glad of the support from him, even if it was only your own thoughts.
"You got any friends for her Simon? Anyone on the team you think she'd be good with?"
He shook his head. "Nah, not good enough for her."
Wait, what? Not good enough? For you? Since when did he have such a high opinion of you?
A friend of yours cooed. "That's sweet. If it helps, she's great in the sack."
You choked on the mouthful of drink you were taking, slamming your glass back down. "And how exactly would you know that?!"
"I shared a house with you in uni, babes. I remember all those guys coming out of your room with dazed smiles looking as if they'd just had the time of their life." She grinned at you slyly.
Eyes wide. Jaw dropped. Heart racing. "Oh, my god. Please shut up."
"You asked."
"I didn't need such a detailed answer!” You were ignored.
"Although you may be quite rusty at the moment. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
You covered your face with your hands. "For the love of everything that is good in this world, please be quiet."
"I'm just saying. We're all friends here, aren't we?" She laughed, mainly gesturing towards your higher up.
"He's my lieutenant!"
"Wait, Simon, are you single?"
You cut in before it could go any further. "Nope! Okay! So... sister? Baby. Parents? Delusional. What else?"
Everyone around the table chuckled at your reaction but moved on anyway, much to your relief.
"They're hoping you’re home for Christmas this year."
Your hand tightened around your drink. "I hope I'm not."
"Thought you'd say that."
Paying little attention to what your friend actually said, you mumbled to yourself. "That's fucking ridiculous of them. What the actual fuck?"
"We said the same." Mumbled loud enough for them to overhear apparently.
Simon looked confused. "What's the issue there?"
You failed to answer so someone else did for you. "They uninvited her to Christmas three years ago. Hasn't been back since."
"Why would they do that?"
"Didn't approve of her lifestyle."
He turned to you. "Your... lifestyle?"
"Murderer daughter." You bit back, bitterly.
His body tightened with tension. "You're not a murderer."
"Tell them that." You snorted. "Why do they want me home now?"
"Beats us.” Your friends said in weird unison.
"Wish they'd make their mind up over whether they want to disown me or not. It's exhausting trying to keep up."
The table laughed at that. Simon did not. But did he laugh at anything?
“I’m gonna get another drink. Want one?” He looked down at you, pointing vaguely at your almost empty glass.
“Uhh… sure. Thanks.” You smiled at him, which he obviously didn’t return. After briefly asking everyone else if they wanted anything, which they declined, he stalked off in the direction of the bar.
Once he was a few paces away, one of your friends practically launched herself halfway across the table and lowered her voice to a hushed whisper. "He's gorgeous, babes."
You decided to play coy. "You think?"
"You don't?" Her brow was raised in disbelieving accusation.
The coy act was dropped pretty quickly. "Oh, I know he is. Just didn't think you would."
"Well, I do. And he’s definitely your type, absolutely perfect for you. Plus he so likes you."
You scoffed. "No, he doesn't."
"He fancies the pants off of you!" She insisted.
You didn’t buy it. "I can guarantee that he does not."
"He can't take his eyes off you!"
"He has a staring problem." You shrugged, it was true.
"Yeah, the problem is that he can't stop staring at you."
You thought about it. Yeah, he stared at you a lot. But he stared at everything. Didn't mean he stared at you with... feelings or whatever your friends were implying. Just that he had a staring problem.
"Lieutenant Simon Riley does not like me." It was a finalised statement, one that you believed wholeheartedly.
"Open your eyes, babes. He likes you."
"Do you like him?"
Avoid answering. "Not allowed to like him. He's my lieutenant."
"That doesn't answer our question."
Shit.
"Maybe a little." You pinched your fingers together, there was no point lying to them, and shook your head. "Doesn't matter anyway."
"Why?"
"Because, say he did like me, he'd never admit it. And I'm not going to push him into anything. I'm just glad he's talking to me and accepting my attempt at us being friends." That was true. You were loving how he wasn’t completely rejecting your friendship. He maybe wasn’t embracing it but he wasn’t pushing you away either.
"That's so sad, babes."
"Cheers.” You deadpanned. “It can't happen anyway."
"Why not?"
"Relationships aren't allowed. Makes us a liability. My captain would reassign one of us as soon as he caught wind of it. And it would be me." The thought of Price reassigning you was horrid. You loved your team more than anything.
"Simon said he wouldn't let your captain reassign you."
That was true, he did. "He was joking... I think."
"I don't think he was. That man stares at you like he's ready to eat you. It's like listening to Hungry Eyes by Eric Carmen in real life!"
Groan. "You watched Dirty Dancing again, didn't you?"
"Yes, but that's not the point. The point is that Simon looks at you with hungry eyes. And don't judge my love for Dirty Dancing." Two of your friends nodded in agreement with her.
"I'm not. I'm judging your favourite song choice when Love Is Strange by Mickey and Sylvia is clearly the superior song on the soundtrack." You said as you downed the last bit of your drink, thankful Simon was bringing you another one. Your mouth was dry and the initial buzz was wearing off. You’d need more alcohol if this interrogation was going to continue despite it probably not being the best idea.
"Blasphemy!” She declared before quietening herself. “Oop, we gotta be quiet now because he's coming back over. Simon!"
He froze in his tracks, a glass clasped in each large hand. "Yes?"
"Can you settle a debate for us?"
You froze too, wide-eyed. They weren't going to ask about him staring at you, were they?
"Sure...?"
You smiled at his unsure tone. Big, scary man who got shot at for a living was terrified of answering a little question.
"You've seen Dirty Dancing, yeah?"
You relaxed.
"I have."
Surprising.
"Which is a better song? Hungry Eyes or Love Is Strange?"
"Oh, I... uh-"
"Leave the poor man alone." You laughed despite being a little curious about his music taste.
"I always liked She's Like the Wind."
That shocked you to your core. "Patrick Swayze fan?"
"Used to have a mullet just like his." He placed your drink in front of you. "Here you go. You look surprised."
"I always am when you don't disappear. And when you admit to being a Patrick Swayze fan." You snorted, taking the drink from him.
"Learn to have a little faith, Sarge." He sighed as he sat down next to you again, an inch closer than before you were sure.
A burning feeling settled in your chest at the nickname. Sure, it was only a shortened version of your rank, and a common one at that, but it was something. Not sergeant. Not woman. Sarge. You decided to let it slide to see if he’d ever do it again of his own accord.
"Your name's Ghost for a reason." You sing-songed, the image of his mask flashing through your mind.
"I'll give you that. But remember, Simon here."
"Still weird."
"Still Simon."
You chewed the inside of your bottom lip before asking your next question. "Patrick Swayze?"
"He was blond."
"Like you, you mean?"
Hesitation. "Yeah."
You hummed and thought about him with a mullet. What an odd thing to admit to you. But you’d never complain. If Simon was willing to offer you little tidbits of silly information about himself, then you were going to absorb every single one and treasure them forever.
A/N: Simon with a mullet as a teen because he wanted to be Patrick Swayze when he grew up is canon to me now.
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Sorry for breaking your window to get in here but since where already on the topic of B & E what about Clarisse x Daughter of Hermes where the Hermes Cabin and the boys from the Ares cabin started a prank war with each other and Clarisse is PISSED because she gets getting caught in the crossfire and when reader breaks into the Ares cabin to set up a prank but she accidentally wakes up Clarisse.
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- it’s all fun and games -
Pairings - Clarisse La Rue x Fem! Hermes! Reader
An - i feel like I don’t use AN’s properly but who cares also my ao3 series is almost finished also I cuss way to fucking much I mean damn 😭😭 irl I say fuck every 3 words dude I have a problem
An Pt 2 - I Hope thus is good I’m going through a rough writers block rn
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For the entire summer. The entire fucking summer clarisse has been dealing with everyone’s bullshit.
Her brothers had for some reason started a season long war with the Hermes cabin. Probably because over some girl which she honestly found pathetic, even though deep down she would do worse if someone tried shit with you.
So here, clarisse currently found herself looking in shock with her cabin floor covered in Greek fire ash marks. Annoyed she mentally came up with a punishment for later. Deep in thought she hadn’t realized you were behind her for cabin check up.
You let out a soft breath before gently hitting the open door. Clarisse turned around, her face going from anger to flustered.
“Hey” she stumbled slightly on her words.
You shyly waved. “Cabin check?” There was a moment of silence, just enough for you to notice the mess behind her. “I can always lie— I know how my brothers get” you tried to offer a better solution than failing the check.
Acting like she was Un-phased she shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, it’s not your fault. Shouldn’t have to cover for them ”
“Well I’m just trying to help” You chuckled, the gap between you closing quickly.
As much as clasisse complained about the summer there was still one good part, you. Flirting at every bonfire turned into spending free time together which eventually lead to you both kissing at the end of last night. “I guess I’ll see you tonight then?”
“Yeah” she shrugged. It was cute how she tried to play off her embarrassment. Reaching out you fixed clarisses necklace, Making it symmetrical on her body. With a sarcastic sigh you looked back at the Greek fire stains before looking back up at her. “I’ll come back in an hour that work for you?”
“Yeah id really appreciate it” she smiled softly.
You wished you were an Aphrodite girl, able to leave a room with beauty and want. Instead you left almost to quickly, embarrassment fueling your steps. By the time you reached the last step your face felt hot, and your body felt fuzzy. She was going to be the death of you.
———
“I’m not doing that” you cocked an eyebrow up as your brothers proposed another prank.
“Just this once” Connor practically begged. Walking past Chris smacked him upside his head, the prank they were trying to get you to do? Sneak into the ares cabin and cover it in silly string. Their reasoning for having you do it was because clarisse wouldn’t kill you.
“If she doesn’t want to do it she doesn’t have to” Chris sighed, taking a seat on his bunk.
Your brothers however couldn’t handle that as an appropriate response. Whispering to each other you saw their faces turn into a devilish grin. “Fine” they started off with false security “You don’t have to do it, but we can always tell Chiron about the secret green plant business you help the Dionysius and Demeter cabin run”
Giving them an agitated look you stood up and snatched the silly string out of their hand. “Fuck you” they always found a reason to black mail you. The trick was starting to get old.
It wasn’t until 12am that you snuck into the ares cabin. Coming in through the window you were a little worried about what a cabin full of war kids would do if someone came in. Looking back one more time to see your brothers giving you a thumbs up from afar.
Calming your nerves you took the first step inside. Silently spraying the string the stale chemical smell hit you like a truck. A few kids tossed and turned, the fear of waking one up made you work faster.
Shoving another empty can into your bag you pulled out the last one. The only section left was clarisses. The section you had been dreading of doing. Silently walking over you caught a glimpse of her drooling in her sleep. You wished your had a camera to capture the rare moment. She was beautiful, even in her most vulnerable state. Snapping out of your thoughts you remembered you had a job to do.
Stepping back with a heavy heart your foot sunk into a loose board, a loud creaking sound filling the room. It was less than a second before you felt a harsh hit to your face and your body on the floor.
Not really paying attention to your surroundings with ringing in your ears. The lights came on and a pair of strong hands grabbed the side of your arms. A few kids were shouting and in the background you could almost make out the front door opening.
Coming back you felt blood trail down your face from your nose and clarisse looking guilty at you. Her hands squeezing your arms as she couldn’t say anything. You groaned and held your head back exhausted.
Being moved to a bed you were barley able to understand what was happening in-front of you. In the background both cabins were yelling at one another, it felt like a fight might break out. Clarisse was crouched infront of you trying to asses your now broken nose. You could tell she was starting to loose her patience.
At first you didn’t hear anything. The ringing went away however when clarisse slammed her spear on the ground commanding the attention to her.
“ENOUGH! Everybody who is not my sibling get out now! And to everyone else I want a first aid kit some ice, nectar, ambrosia, and i want this cabin cleaned now!” A strong silence filled the room before the ares kids got to work. If looks could kill the Hermes cabin would had dropped dead. “Whatever you all have going on ends now understand! Im sick and tired of dealing with all of your bullshit and Luke you need to get a better control over your siblings!”
They nodded. Not even Luke wanted to speak, he just whistled his sibling’s out. In less than five minutes you watched as the cabin almost cleaned itself. In less than five minutes clarisse had began gently trying to bandage the broken bone, trying to take some pain away.
Helping feed a bite of ambrosia you felt your nose begin to mend on its own. Though it would still need a week to heal. Letting out a sigh of relief you finally looked up at her, up at Clarisse who was acting like a coward.
“It’s not your fault” you tried.
“I broke your nose, seems like my fault”
“And you thought I was an intruder it’s not the end of the world” you sighed grabbing her hand. It didn’t matter who was at fault it just came down to how it was handled.
She looked like she wanted to speak but she just couldn’t make the words. “If you really want to make it up to me you can always ask me out on a date” Looking up through your lashes you swore you saw her cheeks turn red.
“Y-yeah I can do that” trying to play it off but it was too late. You giggled slightly, leaning forward to close the gap and softly kiss her. Feel her rough lips against yours.
Her hands found home on your torso, traveling up and down while pulling you closer in an attempt to deepen it. Breaking away only for a moment clarisse looked over at her siblings who some stopped cleaning.
Barking orders at them to continue she looked back with a sarcastic expression making you laugh.
Laying down beside her on the small bed you looked deep into her eyes, not wanting to say a word. It felt like every emotion you two had felt for one another was known.
Giving her another soft kiss you tucked your head away into her neck. It didn’t take long to fall asleep and shockingly for the ares cabin, when the lights were out and everyone was asleep there was a peaceful quiet. One that comforted and lulled a person into a deep sleep.
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a safe house
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(Price/Reader) SFW - But MDNI on my blog please!
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“Ghost! How copy? Riley, come in!” Price shouted into his headset. 
You were sending cover fire over the fallen tree that you and your captain were hiding behind. Unfortunately, you’d been separated from the rest of your team. Soap, Ghost, and Gaz were on the other side of the large, icy ravine, and they had done a good job drawing the enemy away from the target zone. Price kept trying to connect, but there was too much snow cover. A nasty blizzard was rolling in, and you needed to find better shelter, quickly. 
“Captain! Enemy has been eliminated. We need to find shelter,” you tried to pull him up off of the ground. 
He looked up at you, frustrated,
“Aye, Corporal, but they’ll be back. We need to find a way to warn the boys.” 
“Look,” you showed him the map on your datapad, “Laswell said there’s an old town…I think she called it Khabnoye? It’s been abandoned for years, about two klicks away. There might be some old technology, radios, whatever. We can reach them on some long-range.”
“Alright, let’s move.”
It was a short distance, but the terrain was brutal due to the snow. You made it there by nightfall, and carefully approached the outskirts of the town, following Price’s lead to scope out possible enemy combatants. There was no one in sight. It truly was a ghost town, and you were justifiably creeped the hell out. 
A small house was mostly intact near the very edge of the town, plenty of empty space around its edges, and only one broken window. You began to sweep the rooms, of which there were only three, noting that its prior occupants had left in quite a hurry sometime in the late 80s. You were fighting a nameless, secret war inside of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, so most of the towns you came across were similarly abandoned. 
You stood in the kitchen with Price, catching your breath and unpacking your bag. He was starting up the small, convective space heater checking for high levels of radiation in the room, making sure it was sustainable for the night. 
“Alright, let’s go dark. No lights, no comms until we get a better idea about what happened,” he said in a low voice. 
“Yes, sir. I did get a notification from Soap, but the message is unreadable,” you showed him the datapad before you powered it down. 
He sighed,
“At least we know he’s alive and stable enough to send comms. We’ll work on connecting when this storm blows through.”
“Yes, sir.” 
“Drop the formality, Sparrow. Not spending the whole night listening to your sirs.”
He was upset. The operation was ruined, and he had no idea where his team was or if they were even alive anymore. You said nothing, letting him unpack two MREs and prep the bags for you. You checked the other rooms. There was a tiny, filthy bathroom without running water, and a bedroom with a dingy full mattress without sheets. You set to work arming the windows with night vision motion cameras - much good may it do you with all this snow - and rigged the front door. 
“No use,” Price muttered, digging into his chili and beans MRE, starving.
“Why? You think we’re safe here?”
“No tracks in or out. No trash younger than me, and no pings for ten miles,” he showed you his passive EMP monitor, “Our tracks are covered by now with the storm. They’ll assume we rendezvoused back at the base. It was closer and easier to access.”
“Closer? Why’d you come here then?”
“Base might be compromised,” he shrugged, “Couldn’t reach McTavish, so we can’t assume anything at this point. Might as well get comfortable and wait til morning. This’ll clear once the sun comes out, and we’ll send an AM ping.”
You sighed a breath of pure relief, 
“I know I’ve only been with you guys for a few months, but honestly, I don’t know what’s more impressive, your technology or your level-headedness under insane fire. Feeling very much like the amateur I am, Captain.”
“You handled yourself well out there, little bird. I’m impressed,” his praise rushed through you like adrenaline, and you basked in it. 
“Thanks, Cap,” you smiled, drinking the broth of your soup and packing up your MRE trash into its bag. 
“You smoke cigars, love?”
It was midnight before you even considered going to bed. You and Price had stayed up in the kitchen, smoking and chatting in the dark, only illuminated by the glow of your ashes. The snow fluttered down outside, layering itself on the ground like a pile of white sheets. There’d be at least two feet of it at the door tomorrow morning. 
“...and I got this one in Amsterdam, chasing some smugglers out of the wharf. Motherfucker stabbed me right through the arm. Missed the bones, thank Christ. But, that’s not the bad one.”
You were telling each other stories about your scars, and you were in all states of dress. It was warm with the space heater, and you were comfortable around each other. Aside from admiring the mountainous swell of his shoulders and chest, you tried not to think much of it. He was hot, but he wasn’t interested. You just had a small crush. It would pass. 
Okay, maybe a big crush. But, you had some self-control. 
Some. 
“Oh,” he leaned across the table to get closer and look at your arm, “What was the bad one?”
You blushed, not that he could see it, 
“It’s in a certain spot. Not sure you want to - ”
“Don’t make me beg, little bird,” he smirked, rolling his eyes at your modesty. 
He was right, of course. You weren’t sure why you were shy. 
Liar. You were shy because you had an enormous, filthy crush on your commanding officer. 
You tucked your elbow beneath your shirt and pulled it up over your chest, showing him your sternum,
“This one. It’s a - ”
“Flare burn,” he whispered, his demeanor changing from jovial to serious very quickly. 
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
He was silent for a long time. You watched as Price too a big mouthful of cigar smoke before letting it billow around him, looking like a big, brooding dragon in the quiet room. 
“How’d you get it?” He asked, avoiding your question. 
“Enemy trap. They rigged the door to blow a flare. My vest, all my plate, none of it mattered. The flare burned so hot that it cut right through the gear like butter. If it wasn’t for our medic knowing that he needed to knock it out, I would’ve died. Three weeks in the med bay. It was bad.”
Price reached out slowly, almost as if not to scare you, and touched the circular wound. It wasn’t sexual, but that didn’t stop you from immediately feeling aroused by having his hands on you. You shuddered involuntarily, and he jerked his hand back. The silence in the room was suffocating.
“Sorry, little bird,” he whispered his apology, “Did I hurt you?”
“No,” you chuckled, taking a drag of his cigar for yourself, trying to calm down, “Uh, no.”
“What?” He prodded, not realizing what truth he was asking you for.
“It’s nothing, sir,” you stood up from the table, trying to escape, and forgetting you were in a 200 square foot house. 
He stood with you, reaching out to touch your shoulder. You sighed into his contact against your will, feeling the stress of the day melt away as he did. 
“It just…” You tried to throw him a hint, “Feels good, you know. To be touched. Been a long time… sorry, sir.” 
“Told you to swallow those sirs, little bird,” he whispered in a low rumble, putting his other hand on your other shoulder, grabbing you gently. 
There was very little space between your bodies now that you were away from the table, standing in the no-man’s-land between the bed and the kitchenette. It smelled like sweat and tobacco and 1987 in there, and you were breathing hard, nervous and desperate for him to do something to you that he couldn’t take back. 
“Sorry,” you said under your breath, not knowing what else to tell him.
Price lifted your chin up to meet his eyes, grabbing your jaw firmly, but gently. In the blackness of the night, the moon reflected only a little of his icy blue eyes, and the glow from his cigar made his face appear sharp and saurian. You didn’t expect for his touch to be so light. Just hours ago, he’d snapped a man’s neck with these same hands, and now he was passing the pad of his thumb over your bottom lip like you were the petal of an orchid, careful not to bruise you. 
“I’m trying,” his breath was ragged as he confessed, “I promise, I’m trying to let it go, little bird.”
“Let what go?” You put your hands on his hips, trying to steady yourself, feeling dizzy with lust and fear. 
“My desire,” he put his forehead against yours, closing his eyes, struggling, “Turn me away. Please, little bird. End my fucking torment. I’ll never mention it again. I swear it.”
You kissed him, pressing your lips into his chastely but firmly, enjoying the heat and the smoothness of his skin, the smell and the feel of his beard, coated in tobacco smoke and his own sweat. The comforting spice of the chili lingering on his mouth. He breathed in like you’d pressed a hot iron brand into him, blissful pain radiating through his body, pulling you in close to his chest. He deepened the kiss, slanting his mouth against yours, moving your skull with his powerful jaws, leading you, commanding and strong in his desire. 
“Love, don’t… don’t do this. Not unless you mean it. I’m bloody beggin’ you.”
You smiled, resting your nose alongside his, kissing him again slowly and carefully before answering him, 
“I mean it, John. I mean it.”
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Reblogs and comments deeply appreciated! <3 <3
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kinzis-writing · 4 months
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Better than Revenge | M.R [5]
With the upcoming holidays, Y/N feels the pressure as she constantly gets letters from her parents and finds it hard to escape the burden of the job the death eaters have given her. It's safe to say, hiding may be her best bet, unless she can distract herself.. just for the holidays though, right?
Pairing(s): Mattheo Riddle x Y/N Nettleby
Warning(s):
v. "i, i loved you in secret."
Chapter Five
I apologize because this chapter is sucky, I had it ready to publish days ago and when I came back to tag everyone half of it was gone so i had to rewrite it and I had no clue where it left off so I just re-wrote it and I honestly hate it, but...
Note: While I will be referencing the movies, it is not going to exactly the same. There is going to be very mild similarities between the them. Umbridge probably won't happen in my little mini series, I probably will not go into detail about the wizard war, and a lot of stuff that probably would not happen will happen.
Word Count: 2.28k
*Not proofread or edited*
*Gif not mine*
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“Are you positive you don’t want to come to the burrow with us?” Hermione asked as she packed her last item in the duffle bag. Hogwarts was officially on Winter break and most everyone would be heading home to spend the holidays with their family. Hermione and Harry were going to be spending the holidays with the Weasley’s and even though Y/N had been invited she had been trying to distance herself from her friends.
Y/N shook her head, “Pansy and I planned to stay here.” She lied. She hadn’t talked to Harry or the Weasley’s much since the death eaters meeting. This led Harry to know that something had happened that she did not want to talk about it, so none of them pushed her, knowing she’ll talk when she gets ready.
The Granger girl gave her friend a sad smile, “Mrs. Weasley has a place for you if you change your mind.” She assured, earning a nod from the Nettleby girl. “I know you don’t want to talk about what happened. But, if you need anyone to talk too, We’re here for you.” She added picking up her bag and leaving with her last comment.
After she was sure that the carriages had left Hogwarts, Y/N gathered her things and set off to find Dumbledore. She knew that he would more than likely be in his office, waiting for someone to come and bother him. Maybe even taking care of the whole situation that her family had going on. That still did not stop her from being nervous when she knocked on the door and walked into his office.
“Miss Nettleby, I didn’t expect you to be stopping by.” Albus spoke in his calm and content voice as the girl stepped further into his office with the door closing behind her.
“I have a couple requests, but they may seem odd.” Y/n spoke honestly as she slipped her bag off her shoulder and held it in her grip.
Albus shook his head, the look in his eyes never leaving. “When you get to be my age nothing is odd.”
Y/N carefully laid her bag on the ground before pulling out three stacks of letters, ones that were meant for her eyes only. “I have heard about there being an extra dorm, one that no one wants to use… and I was thinking maybe I can move into it?” Dumbledore gave the girl a slightly surprised look before grabbing the letters that she was handing him. “It’s my understanding that not many people know about it because it’s charmed, and I feel as though it may be a way for me to hide.” She concluded.
Dumbledore moved his gaze down to the letters stacked in front of him, and carefully started opening each one. He had read every letter that had been sent to the girl since returning to Hogwarts after that dreaded weekend. “I see.” He spoke as he noticed the girl taking the letters back and placing them in her bag. If her parents ever found out that she confided in Dumbledore, then it would be over for you. “May I ask why they expect this out of you, but your brother has yet to have an assignment.”
“Well, you see professor, they consider me a disappointment because I was sorted into Gryffindor, and they overheard Sean and I talking about not wanting to become a follower of you know who.” Y/N explained. “I think they have had this planned since they found out about my house and that Harry was here.”
Albus nodded, understanding the girl’s predicament. “I will allow you to use the charmed dormitory, remember that Tom Riddle did not know about the existence of this when he was here. Be sure that those you let in are the ones that you can trust.” He reminded. Knowing that Snape had reported many things to him, including what the girl had wanted to talk about and how a certain Riddle boy had been trying to figure out the plans to help her as well.
“Of course.” Y/N nodded before thanking him and leaving his office to head back towards her now-former dorm.
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Y/N sat on the bed in the boy’s dormitory in the Slytherin house. Sean had decided to go to his girlfriend’s family for Christmas, Draco was going home for the holidays because his family always threw a Christmas Party, Enzo had gone home, and Theo was either at home or with his girlfriend.
“What makes you stay at Hogwarts anyway?” Y/N asked as she swung her legs up on the bed and scooted back against the headboard of the Riddle boy’s bed. “You don’t want the inside scoop about what they’re planning.”
Mattheo shook his head, finishing up what he was doing. “I try to stay away as long as I can, but I know the life that I am destined to live.” He shrugged acting as if he didn’t care, but Y/n knew that he cared more than anything.
“You don’t have to pretend with me, Teo.” Y/N promised softly. “We were friends for two years before the whole thing went down.” She added and watched him carefully as he sat down on the edge of his bed.
The boy thought for a moment, how did they end up in this situation? It was easy, he thought she deserved better, and she ended up with Theo before he talked himself into telling her how he felt. “I don’t want to be like my father” He finally spoke up. It was the only way that he could express his worry without physically admitting that he was scared.  
Y/N sat up further and scooted herself closer to him, “Why would you be your father? You’re far from it.” she asked, her hand resting on his back as she scooted herself up to be more even with him.
Mattheo shrugged, “My father expects me to be, and my mother will carry out anything that my father says.” He muttered knowing exactly how his family works, within the next year he would be walking around with the dark mark and there was nothing he could do about it.
Y/N thought for a moment. Everyone knew that his father was the way he was because of love potions. Anyone conceived during a love potion was unable to love, one of the bad side-effects of using a love potion on anyone. “You are far from your father.” Y/N started hoping to get his spirits up. “Your father is unable to love and care about people, and I know deep down, whether you show it or not, that you care about people.”
“I care about you.” He muttered as he carefully met Y/N’s gaze.
‘Well,” Y/n started completely startled by his open statement. “I am a person, and I care about you too, Teo.”
Mattheo’s lips quirked upward for a split second before leaning forward a bit. “Why did you go out with Theo?” he asked quietly, not breaking the tension between them.
Y/N’s eyebrows furrowed, confusion about why it mattered. “I don’t see why that matters.” She replied not sure what Mattheo was wanting to hear from her. She had originally dated Theo to forget about Mattheo and to get her parents off her back. That didn’t make it hurt any less when he cheated on her, because at the time she would have told you that she loved him, now she realizes that it wasn’t love. It was far from love.
“Why do you have to make this harder than it has to be.” Mattheo mumbled before leaning in and pressing his lips to hers. Their bodies turned to face each other as he deepened the kiss and Y/N’s hand moved to the back of his neck, her hand in his hair. They kissed until they had to break apart for air. “I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment you walked into the great hall with him.” He whispered carefully, bringing his hand up to her face so she wouldn’t pull away.
Instead of replying, Y/N just molded their lips back together, because if the truth was known, she had been craving Mattheo’s affection for two years.
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Waking up on Christmas morning was different than any other holiday morning. Mainly because the snow would line the ground and the pretty decorations would be hung up. This year was different, because Y/N had woken up in Mattheo’s bed. Nothing sexual had happened between them recently, but it was safe to say that the “fake dating” was becoming more real with each day.
“Merry Christmas, love.” Mattheo’s raspy morning voice spoke as he nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck to get her to wake up.
Y/N woke up with a bright smile, the warmth of the boy next to her surrounding her. “Merry Christmas.” She replied, turning over to face Mattheo. Both of their hair was messed up, due to sleep and they had probably slept through breakfast since they had both felt well rested, but neither of them cared.
“You want breakfast?” he asked softly as he pushed some of her hair out of her face. He was shocked at how easy it was to be himself around her. It was something that he had never expected or experienced. True, they were close previously, but he never let himself show much emotion. “I may be able to get a snack until lunch.”
Y/N shrugged, “s’up to you.” She mumbled, closing her eyes again for a split second. Mattheo took that as his chance to casual steal a kiss. It was short and sweet and nothing drastic. Y/N peeled her eyes back open a smile on her face, “You’re getting comfortable kissing me, teo.” She teased, placing her hand on his cheek.
A cheeky grin graced Mattheos, usually emotionless, face. “You’re finally letting me.”
She shook her head at his statement, “I told you when we started this that you could do anything you wanted.” She recalled noticing his eyes narrow at the mention of the plan that started this.
“I wanted it to be real, I’ve always wanted it to be real.” He quietly admitted, feeling shy for even telling the truth about it. It showed how he was scared to tell you how he felt, especially with you having dated his best friend.
“You,” Y/N started as she leaned up a bit to meet his gaze face-to-face. “Are turning into a sap.” She teased and let out a laugh when she noticed Mattheo’s cheeks turn dark pink. “Lucky for you, I love those types.” She finished crashing her lips to his and feeling the similar rush that she had two years ago.
The make-out session had gone on for a bit, until they were interrupted by Mattheo’s stomach. With that the two officially parted and agreed to meet back in Y/N’s new dorm after they had gotten ready, and he had gone to get food since they had missed the first meal of the day. Lunch would be rolling around soon, so their hunger was not a huge issue now. Mattheo had returned to Y/n’s new dorm with her favorite snack and the two had just spent Christmas in the presence of each other.
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The winter break had flown by for the duo and soon it was New year’s, and the train and carriages would be returning to Hogwarts the next day. Somewhere between the jokes, conversations, and bookathons, Mattheo had asked Y/N to officially be his girlfriend and not just around his friends. Given, anyone who was left at Hogwarts could tell that something had shifted between them. What little group of students were left often had their eyes focused on the two worse than they usually did. Maybe it was because they were showing more pda, or maybe their relationship looked more real after they had a full two, almost three weeks to bond.
“Why did this break go so fast?” Y/N complained as her head rested on Mattheo’s lap. The couple sat in the Slytherin common room, on the couch that their friend group always occupied. The green hues showing as the flame moved was interesting to Y/N, especially because it was starting to become her favorite color. “I enjoyed the break from Veronica trying to ruin my life.” She muttered, her boyfriend playing with her hair making her more relaxed.
“She can’t ruin your life even if she tried.” Mattheo remarked back as he sat the book in his hands down. “You coming with me out to the lawn?”
Y/N shook her head, knowing that mattheo had hardly smoked since the break. Maybe it was a habit that affected him worse when he was worried or stressed or maybe it had been what she had said during their game of truth or dare. Whatever the reason, she had noticed how Mattheo relaxed more easily when it was just the two of them. It didn’t matter what they did because he was laid back and never seemed like he worried about anything. Sometimes, Y/N wondered if he could feel the dread or the bad vibes like she did. She knew she was feeling them due to what was about to happen, but she didn’t know if it was the letters from her parents or what was brewing and fixing to start. Either way she knew that it was going to be bad.
One thing she knew for sure was that she would protect her friends and everyone she loved at all costs. Regardless of what would happen to her and not caring about what her family will do.
again, I apologize because I hate how this chapter ended and how it went. I promise to try my hardest to make the last few chapters better. With that being said, i will now be saying my drafts on word, even after writing them here to prevent further deleting any part of the story!
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odinsblog · 2 years
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Lmao. Twitter user georgina4781 is like, “I hope future generations judge you by the same social standards” — aka: being against white supremacy, Apartheid & imperialism that destroyed the lives of literally MILLIONS of Black and indigenous peoples. And they said that shit with their whole entire chest out! You and your pesky “modern standards” of …. *checks notes* …. not enslaving entire countries and depleting said countries of valuable material resources.
Look, Imma let everyone in on a little secret here: throwing down the, “BUT THEY DIDN’T KNOW ANY BETTER BACK THEN” excuse is 💯bullshit. But white people can be counted on to stay eating it up. Because that false framing serves a purpose.
Are we really and truly expected to believe that absolutely noooobody back then had any inkling that things like slavery, colonialism and Apartheid were evil? Nobody at all back then knew it? C’mon now. See? More “white innocence” bullshit. You think Jeff Bezos doesn’t know that people dying in Amazon warehouses is easily preventable and him not taking precautions to avoid more deaths is “bad”? People know wrong now, and they knew it back then. Still not sold? Okay, how about this: if nothing else, the Black and indigenous people being colonized knew it and expressed their views, but colonizers intentionally ignored them and did not listen to them. And I’m pretty sure we won’t need to search very hard through history books to find white people who knew it was wrong too. Just because their voices did not prevail doesn’t mean that “everyone back then” somehow did not know better. Many knew better and simply did. not. care. Kinda like Jeff Bezos right now.
When we accept the false premise that “they just didn’t know any better back then,” we are allowing a form of whitewashing history to happen — we are allowing today’s racism deniers to deftly delete the agency of colonizers, and replace their cruelty and greed, with innocence. And POOF! Just like that, the myth of white innocence is maintained, and the cruelty and greed behind all imperialism is parsed, equivocated and whitewashed away into something less heinous and more palatable.
And the thing white people seem to call “bringing up the shitty parts of history” is literally what everyone else, under ordinary circumstances, refers to as the truth, but apparently everyone is supposed to stay quiet so that colonizers and their beneficiaries can continue whitewashing history and continue pretending that it wasn’t really that bad, or advise everyone to just “get over it” because was “a long time ago,” or eventually argue that it never happened at all.
I’ll let you in on another secret: white people who want to downplay & deny racism love to throw racism into this far away safe space called, “the past”. I’m reminded of an old saying that goes something like, “your grandfather may have chopped down the tree, but we are still suffering from no shade today because of his actions.” An incredibly bad paraphrase on my part, but the point is, Uju Anya is a survivor of war and genocide caused by recent colonialism, and the person who was instrumental in that - in chopping down the proverbial shadetree - just died. Uju Anya is still experiencing the loss of diaspora caused by Queen Elizabeth’s kingdom, and telling her how to process her very real and very current grief is so presumptuous that I would need to live a million years as a white person to even begin to comprehend how presumptuous that is.
White fragility is a hell of a thing. But demanding that the still-living and still-impacted descendants of imperialism just shut up so that European whites don’t have to be reminded of their queen’s active role in colonialism … that’s strait up bullshit.
Apparently American conservatives aren’t the only ones upset with honestly talking about theories critical of racist systems.
Sending out much love to Uju Anya, who is now having Jeff fucking Bezos, one of the richest white men in history, and others harass her and lecture her about “kindness” and “respectability politics”.
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sophswritingthings · 5 months
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Uhm I don’t know if this is good but I was thinking for part eight of the apothecary reader series and maybe apothecary reader and Mizu when they met Taigen and they like discover what Taigen used to say to Mizu and they just glare sharply at Taigen whenever he speaks or just exist in the same room as Mizu and and her eyes are just darker with thoughts of violence and stabby (basically the reader being as civil as can be meanwhile there is an aggressive war of how to kill him and if they should do it) and Taigen just being like- “Please control your wife😰” and Mizu’s just drinking(or eating) something the reader made for them and she’s just like “hmm no, I don’t feel like it” but in reality Mizu is as terrified(and very much attracted) of the new face of the reader they are seeing
I don’t know I made it up on the spot 😅
pairing: mizu x fem!apothecary!reader
warning(s): swearing, mentions of violence 
a/n: even though we already have pt 8, I’m still gonna write this for you cuz I liked the idea!!
summary: mizu and her wife meet taigen; and you learn of what he did to her as a small kid. you're pissed; obviously, that was your wife he was talking about. you wanted to kill him for the things he said; but you knew maybe that wasn’t the… best idea.
word count: 550 words / 3,012 characters 
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settled down the wood cabin, you watched over your wife as she slept. she was still injured, after the fight, and you wanted to make sure nobody disturbed her.
you were glancing at taigen every so often. you knew that mizu knew him from her childhood; but you honestly wanted to know more.
especially because he kept talking about some… death duel, with mizu. and that made your blood boil.
you heard a groan to your left, your head whipping around to look at your wife.
“careful! careful,” you said in a hushed voice, helping her slowly sit up. “you're hurt, love, you need to be careful with yourself.”
“I’m fine,” she murmurs, glancing at taigen. she groaned, narrowing her eyes. “what is he doing here?”
your wife’s obvious disdain for taigen was something you wanted to know more about.
“um, he helped us get here,” you whisper back. “is there a reason you have such a problem with him? he seems… okay.”
“he tried to kill me as a child,” she spat the last word. “is that not reason enough?”
“.. excuse me?” you narrow your eyes, sending a glare the man’s way. “you fucking—jesus, you tried to kill him as a child?”
“he is an onryō,” taigen adverted his gaze. “there was a prize attached to his killing; and the village kids would always dare each other to do it.”
“even as a child?” you cock your head, your gaze never leaving taigen's eyes.
all the ways you thought of taking down this horrible man were now flooding through your head.
poison? the least messy.
ambush? secret, not easy to find out, but… messy.
you're gaze locked onto his as you thought up each and every idea.
“control your wife,” taigen hissed, his eyes narrowed at mizu across the room. “she’s scaring me.”
mizu chuckles in between sips of her tea, “is the big bad samurai scared of a little someone?”
“get her,” taigen points straight at you.
you giggle, placing a hand over your mouth as you do so.
“hmm—I’m not sure I want to,” mizu smirks a little, going back to drinking her tea.
you never let your gaze leave taigen, hoping to scare him out of the room—to be left alone with your wife.
“why do you keep staring at me, anyway?”
“thinkin’ of all the ways your life could end in mere seconds,” you giggle again. the giggle is very deceptive of your real thoughts.
taigen looked terrified.
you glance over at mizu, who is watching you with plenty of interest—a little bit of a blush on her face.
your words eventually drive taigen to leave; slamming the door shut behind him.
you lean your head on mizu's shoulder, smiling softly as you snuggled up to your wife. she brushed a hand through your hair.
“I love when you get like that, you know,” she whispers into your ear, placing a soft kiss behind your earlobe. “it is.. a little worrying though.”
“worrying?” you lean into her kissed, feeling them start to travel up and down your neck. “I'd never hurt you… or ringo, for that matter.. assholes like that, though,” you grumble, adverting your eyes. “deserve it.”
her hands climb onto your waist, gently straddling it between her fingers.
“I suppose you're right…”
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Kaleidoscope
I finally got Four's spotlight fic done. To be honest, he's one of the harder characters for me to write given that I just don't know much about him (game wise) and that handling the Colors can sometimes be rather complex. Still, I did my best to portray our favorite littlest man of the Chain. I hope you all enjoy!
TW: Yandere themes, Neglect, Mental Breakdown (Four), Talk of/ descriptions of blood and gore, Use of brightly colored text, All is Not Okay in Fourville
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It was secret to none that Four was picky and rather strict when it came to handling weapons and armor. While the usual victim of his scolding was Wild and his reckless use of his equipment, he wasn’t afraid to chew out anyone else. Plus, he wanted to make sure for himself that the tools and weapons at the group’s disposal were in tip-top shape. Besides, daily maintenance was something he could do blindfolded.
So, when Time came over to poke around at what he had in his bags, Four was instinctually on edge. He knew well that Time wouldn’t abuse the weapons he had stored away, but he knew the purpose for his perusal.
“Do you have anything blunt? Like a mace or hammer? Warhammer, even? Anything that’s a spare will do, honestly…” Time finally questions as he looks the little smithy in the eye. Four lifts the sword he had been sharpening off of the grindstone before him and puts it to the side to show Time that he’s listening and thinking. After tapping on his chin for a bit, Four slowly nods.
“I have a mace and a warhammer. Both need some fixing up, though. So our… newest arrival will have to wait a few days before they can be armed,” Four answers. His eyes flicker over to the other side of the camp where you, along with a few others, were “training”. Wars and Sky were trying to take it more seriously; one was beside you to help adjust your… everything, really, and the other was your sparring partner. The rest that were huddled around were smiling and laughing at just how clunky you were with a sword in hand. It seemed like you were out to prove that people could have two left hands rather than feet.
“Whatever you can get will work. They may not have finesse, but they do have an arm. I suppose they’ll just have to loot weapons from monsters for the moment. Or see if they can get Wild to fess up any bokoblin clubs,” Time tutted while also watching the scene. Four nodded and hummed in agreement before swifty going back to what he had been doing. Time left to go supervise the rest to make sure no one was getting too rowdy and Four was now left by himself. Well, selves.
“I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them! And with how big they are, I couldn’t do it far!”
“I can’t really tell what to make of them. Everything they’ve told us about who and what they are seems genuine…”
“Let’s not put much faith in them at the moment. They’re no Hero of Courage, they barely know how to protect themselves, and their whole presence here is accidental. They’ll undoubtedly either split from the group, find their own way back home, or die.”
“Do we have to be so harsh on them? Even in the face of our judgements, they’ve still been kind and understanding!”
Safe to say that Four was, and would easily remain, uncertain of your presence. Experience told him that the nicest faces and friendliest smiles could still put a knife in your back. A part of him- a very small part, he had to emphasize, wanted to believe that you were truly genuine. Whether or not you were or were just putting on a convincing act, Four was ready to respond how he deemed just.
“Hey! Uh, Four, right? Time said that you may have some weapons for me to use?” You spoke up as you approached the little smithy. He was perplexed as to why Time had sent you over when Four had just told him the weapons wouldn’t be ready at the moment. Given how the oldest member was currently talking with the rest of the group about something he couldn’t make out, Four surmised that it was his turn to watch you.
“Give me a moment to get them. They aren’t in the best shape right now, but you can at least give them a few test swings,” Four finally responded. He got up to go dig through his supply of spare weapons to find the aforementioned mace and warhammer. They weren’t hard to find as their state was an absolute eye sore. The metal heads of the weapons were rusted over and the leather strapping on the mace’s handle was coming undone. There were some noticeable splinters along the wooden body of the warhammer- to the point he may have to ask Sky in helping him create a new one. Their sorry states were enough to embarrass Four. Spare weapons or not, this was unacceptable!
“Oh, uhm… I can come back for them later. I don’t want to break them,” You mutter and give Four a sheepish smile. It only makes the deepening blush of embarrassment on his face worse.
“You can give them a few swings, at least,” Four allows although he knows well it’s not a good idea. It’s clear that you know it too due to your hesitance, but you don’t let it stop you from picking up the warhammer first. Due to its splintering body, its impossible to wield it properly without gloves to protect your hands. As such, you only get a few swings out of it before it slips from your grip and lands on the ground with a thud.
“Okay, uhm… sorry…” You mumble before picking up the mace to try instead. Whereas it may have been a sizeable mace in the hands of a Hylian, it seemed far more normal sized in your hands. Based on your nearly white knuckles as you gripped the mace, you didn’t plan on letting it slip from your grip this time. Four still made sure to give you your room.
As you swung around the mace, it was clear to Four that Time hadn’t lied about your arm. Even if you said you had lived a rather quiet and mundane life beforehand, it was obvious your human genetics were on your side. With enough training, Four could see you trading blows between a Gerudo or a Goron.
With a cry, pop, and then another thunk, the head of the mace was on the ground. The spiked ball of metal had luckily landed far from anything delicate. Before Four could say or do anything, you nearly thrusted the mace’s handle into his hands before taking off. In your eyes, you had just broken two weapons in the span of a minute and most likely thought that Four was angry with you- livid, even. Four was upset, yes, but far more at himself for his neglect than anything else.
Thus, Four began to get both weapons back into tip-top shape over the course of the next few days. Despite their sorry state, it wasn’t like he was having to forge a new weapon. The metal just needed some polish and refining, the wooden rods of the body needed to either be resanded or replaced, and the leather wrapping of the handles needed to be redone. With skilled hands, and some help, the mace and warhammer were nearly as good as new before the week was over with.
When you had been given the weapons, you didn’t act how Four expected you to. Typically, when someone was given a new weapon, it had about the same effect as getting a new tool. That’s really what weapons were- tools.
But you acted like a child finally getting the toy they’ve been wanting for ages. You smiled and laughed as you swung around the fresh steel like it weighed nothing. Your joy was infectious as a few others helped set up makeshift targets for you to smash or even tried their hand at sparring with you now armed with a weapon you could handle. It was a refreshing sight to see- to know he had made someone so happy.
It was that night, Four believed, that everything changed for him.
He didn’t notice it at first. He had begun to have your two weapons fixed up first before anything else. He had excused it as being efficient as you had nothing else in your arsenal besides the two weapons. Plus, they regularly received a heavy beating and Four needed to make sure that they weren’t about to break in the middle of battle.
As you began to handle battle and training better and better, Four began to think more and more about getting you a better mace. It was your preferred choice of weapon as having a free hand in battle was useful. Rather than a replacement, maybe he could get you a different style of mace instead? Maybe see how you’d handle a ball and chain?
It was when Four got a good look at your hands one night did his plans change.
You sought him out to pick up your weapons and then be on your way. Illuminated by candlelight did Four see how quickly your skin had calloused and scarred. They were the hands of a fighter, sure, but they’d quickly grow pained and stiff if they weren’t taken care of. Something Warriors and Hyrule were likely already chiding you for, but Four knew of something that could help out. Something that only he could provide as far as he was concerned. Not like he’d let you be serviced by any other blacksmith or get near that sleazy merchant friend of Legend for equipment.
Thus, Four began to work on a fresh set of armor. It had originally started out as nothing more than brainstorming up a pair of gauntlets, but it’d be wrong not to have the whole set.
While most of the boys preferred leather armor with a layer of chainmail beneath it, Four felt like something more robust was in order. You were big and strong without a doubt, yes. While you easily outclassed any typical Hylian in that regard, you weren’t as nimble on your feet as it took time for you to accelerate into a full sprint or scale a ledge. Leather or chainmail didn’t fit you in the eyes of Four’s mind, but full plate certainly did. Why worry about having to dodge if the enemy couldn’t even get past your armor, after all.
He knew it would be a momentous task to fulfill given that he didn’t have access to a ready forge every day. Still, Four was determined. “If there’s a will, there’s a way” the saying goes. And oh does Four find himself willing when it comes to you.
His hands wouldn’t stop shaking when it was finally time to start the measurements. For days and nights on end did he brainstorm your armor. From its design to how it’d be forged, it all had to be perfect. He was too young and too early on in his craft to already be creating a magnum opus but dammit he would just for you only ever for you.
Measuring the dimensions of your hands was the only easy part of this for Four. Even though hands were a complex shape to work with, that wasn’t exactly the part that had Four jittery. No, Four had to brace himself for touching you anywhere else. The arms were fine as well and the shoulders… sort of were. But… then he got to your neck and he really tried not to stare at the way your throat bobbed up and down as you swallowed or how his eyes followed the tiniest drop of sweat as it ran down your skin and along the line of your collar bone. The skin was mostly untouched and unblemished so what would it look like if it was littered with kisses and love bites and licks and-
Four shakes his head and you give him a raised brow but say nothing. He moves past your neck and his hands are quick as lighting to get your chest done and over with. Then it was time to deal with your abdomen and he couldn’t help but let his hands linger there for a bit. It’d be a crime not to, really- you’ve done well to hone in your build and the effort shows. The lines of the abs are gentle and subtle thanks to the soft plush of fat Wild is keen on you keeping. Four can recall many nights where he used the expanse of your midsection as a pillow. When you were dead asleep and he couldn’t get a wink, kneading the flesh beneath his hands was a welcome sleep aid. There were also night when he wondered how the flesh would twitch as hands ran down them or even jiggle like it did in his fantasies where he-
Four nearly has to slap a hand across his face to shut Vio up. He plays it off the best he can by carding a hand through his hair. He hunches over a little bit to get a better angle of your lower body since you were kind enough to sit down for him. He got the measuring tape ready and began to take in the size of you thighs and he really, really had to not focus on the fact that his hands were all over your thighs. He can’t blame anyone but himself for this torture as he told you he needed you to strip to your undergarments to get an accurate measurement. He’s just doing his job, nothing more! A-And if he happens to squeeze your thigh here and there its not like he means to! And he really, really has to not think about what the sheer strength they contained would do to, say, a hydromelon or a pumpkin or maybe… someone’s head. Or… or how they would clamp down on his head like a vice if he were to-
“Uh, Four? You okay bud?” You call out. Four startles and looks up at you with wide eyes. Your expression has gone from perplexed to concerned and you were even reaching your hand out to the little man to ground him. Four gulps and winces at how dry his throat was but he didn’t feel like going off to get a drink of water not like he needed to when one was right in front of him.
“F-Fine. I’m… I’m fine,” Four lies through his teeth. It was the most obvious lie he feels like he’s ever told, but you don’t press him on it. You let him continue on and he is fine. He’s fine finishing up the measurements on your thighs and he’s fine with finishing up your calves. And he is fine when he get to your feet. He is perfectly fine- the epitome of fine-ness. So what if your feet are too? It’s not like he’s some weirdo, you just have nice feet! But not like that, you- you crazy! They’re strong and have carried you well in life! Did he mention that they’re strong- like, really strong? Strong enough that he’s watched them, even clad in nothing more than leather boots, stomp in the head of a bokoblin. O-Or that one time that you managed to subdue a group of bandits with a few of his sword brothers and forced their leader to kneel by planting the heel of your foot between their shoulders. Goddesses, he has to admit that that was one of the hottest things he’s ever witness- especially with how you berated the pigs like dirt beneath your boot, which they were. He can’t recall a time in his life where he’s been so simultaneously surprised, spooked, and horn-
“And done! Y-You’re free to go and get dressed and I’ll go do what I need to do!” Four announced as he stood straight up like an arrow. The action startles you and raises your brows to your hairline, but Four is gone and out of sight before you can even open your mouth. Rather than thinking about the smith’s strange actions, it’d be easier on the mind to just go about your business as planned.
The days pass by but with a distinct lack of Four. Not that he was missing from the group, but it was clear he had chose to distance himself. It was worrisome at first but when he threatened to cave in Wild’s skull should he try to tear him away from his work again, it was decided that he sooner needed his space more than anything.
Crafting your armor was something that quickly consumed Four’s mind. He had to get it done as soon as possible but he couldn’t let it be a botch job. If it was a botch job, you wouldn’t like it. If it was a botch job, it could sooner harm you more than help. If it was a botch job, then Four might as well be handing the others a golden opportunity to woo you.
Yet his absence also meant that they had more time with you than he did. It ate him up inside to see others always next to you or doing something he could easily do for you. Were it not for Vio and Green’s combined patience, then he’s sure he would have gone ballistic by day three.
Slow and steady wins the race. When the armor would finally be finished, he’d be there for every buckle you fastened and every strap you adjusted. He’d be there for the first steps you took while covered in steel and for every battle from then forward. No matter how many scratches or dings the armor may get in it, it’d be top priority above anything else to get it fixed back up.
His brothers could tire themselves out and make his life a lot easier when it was time for him to shine. He would sit by and let the lot of them buzz around you like fruit flies to honey. If he presented himself as lesser competition, then they’d sooner focus on one-upping each other even more. He could observe their tactics and strategies at a distance while he kept his cards to himself. And when it would be time for him to strike, he’d tear through the competition like it was nothing.
He didn’t mind, let alone care, about how he had to get resources. If he had to buy his metals from merchants and haggle about the price for an hour, so be it. If he had to venture out into the wilderness to source his own ore or hide, he’d do it. Even if he had to steal or pull what he needed from the bodies of his slain enemies, he didn’t care. If it all resulted in him getting your armor finished and receiving your love and praise sooner, he’d do it all.
Despite now constantly working himself to the bone, he still needed breaks- and to treat himself whenever he made good progress for the day. Nowadays, you were rarely allowed to do night shifts in guarding the camp. Four would watch you like a hawk as you slowly sunk deeper and deeper into sleep. When he was sure you were fast asleep and whoever was on shift wasn’t looking, he’d shrink himself down, down, down until he was the same size of a Minish. He’d scurry over to you and carefully scale your sleeping body until he was sat on your chest. He’d put his ear to your sternum and listen to the steady and solid beat of your heart. And, if he was feeling a bit cheeky or had to hide or maybe just cold, he didn’t mind crawling beneath your shirt for the night.
The days led to weeks and then the weeks to nearly two months. Two months, Four had toiled away on this armor as if his life depended on it. It may not have, but his future and happily ever after did. Were it not for the endeavors of you and his brothers, he’d have worked himself to the pits of neglect and more. Still, it wasn’t a far off statement to say that he’d seen better days.
But that didn’t matter right now! Finally, finally, his work was finished. Every buckle and strap of the armor was secure and every plate was as polished as a mirror. It was practical and protective but it didn’t lack in any ornate fashion either. Truthfully, the set sooner looked like it had been forged by a royal blacksmith. Now, he just had to present it to you!
“Hmm? Ah, Four! There… you are? Four, bud, what’s in your hands- are you okay?” You questioned as the smithy stumbled walked over. His usually straight golden bob of hair was messy and tangled with soot. His face bore a shaky and unsteady smile like he was ready to either crash right then and there which he was or go mental that too. Your obvious concern over him was something Four may have relished earlier, but it wasn’t important in light of his accomplishment.
“Look! I… I got yyyyyyyyooooourrr armor finishhhed,” Four slurred. His tongue felt like cotton in his mouth and his arms were as steady as gelatin as he presented you the cuirass of your armor. You snatch the armor away from him and Four’s elation only lasts a moment when he sees just how upset you were. You… you didn’t like it?
“Four, buddy, look at you! By the goddesses- I knew you were overexerting yourself for the past few days but I didn’t think it was like this! Y-You’re filthy! Gods, when was the last time you ate something more than fruit or nuts?!” You fretted as you began to check over Four. Your worries were but static in his ears as Four focused on the now discarded cuirass. It laid on the ground like trash. Was that what you thought of his work? Trash? Was that what you thought of him?
“You… don’t… like… it?” Four whispers out as his eyes remain laser focused on the armor piece. The ever twisting and bright colors of his eyes were dull and stagnant. You groan- growl, even- and pinch the bridge of your nose.
“The armor is cool and all Four, but I could care less about it right now. Look at you- look at the state you’re in! I need to get you to help fast,” You whine. Your tone was dismissive and your words were so choppy when referring to the armor. Golden Three, you… you really didn’t like the armor. You must hate it! You must hate him!
“Why… what… am I doing wrong?” Four sobs out as he falls to his knees. He crumbles like a wet paper towel and is little more than a sobbing, snotty mess on the ground in seconds. “What am I doing wrong?!”
“Whoa-kay there, Four. L-Let’s calm down, okay? You’re not feeling well right now and it’s making you feel sick and bad about yourself,” You hush and reach out to soothe him. He grabs your hands with a bone-crushing grip you think not even Twilight was capable of as Four looked up at you. It was a look you’ve never seen before- and a look you’d never want to see again. It was pained, crazed, violent, and insane. His eyes threatened to bulge from his head as his lips formed a dangerous smile- like a snarling animal.
“Tell me- TELL ME! WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?!” Four demands. It’s scary to see him so out of control. You expected to see his eyes alight with blue but every color in them was perfectly proportioned. This cry for an answer was from all of him.
“Four, that’s enough! You’re starting to scare me,” You admit as you try to break free from him without hurting him.
“Scared? You, scared? You’re not the one scared, I am! I put blood, sweat, and tears into your armor and you throw it to the ground! Two months of painstaking work- work that bled into every ounce of my time is just… chucked aside!” Four yells and doesn’t let up.
“Four, please-”
“Is it not the style you wanted? Did you want it embellished with gold? Embedded with jewels?! Tell me, dammit, tell me!”
“Will you shut up about the armor?!” You finally scream back. Being gentle wasn’t working, so the only choice in the panic of the moment was to yell right back at him. “It’s not the armor I’m angry about, Four. It’s you.”
“Me…? I’m… I’m the problem?” Four mutters out as he seems to loose all the color in his skin. You grimace and realize the very poor choice of words that had just left your mouth.”
“Shit- Four, I don’t mean it like that. I’m angry with you, yes, but it’s not about you! It’s about your actions and-”
“I’m… the problem. I’m the problem. You hate… me. You hate me. You hate me!”
“No, Four, I don’t-”
“What do I need to change?!” Four howls as he throws himself at you. He latches on like some sort of stubborn parasite. He’s practically yelling in your ear as he hounds you for answers. “Well?! TELL ME! Do you not want to be seen with a blacksmith?! I-I can change careers! It’s not too late to learn something like carpentry or-or tailoring. Hell, I can learn those skills from Sky and Legend! Please, tell me what you want me to be! I’ll do it- I’ll do it all! I can prove that I’m better! I am better! Whatever it takes for you to love me and be with me, I will do it!”
“Four, are you even listening to yourself?!”
“I hear myself loud and clear, (Name)! Loud and clear! Maybe it’s all this time we’ve spent apart- yes, that’s it! I’ve barely been around you for two months while my brothers practically did everything they could to be by your side! You haven’t had time to know me, but I can fix that! I can make up for all of that lost time in so many ways! I can take you to where I grew up, I can take you to meet my grandfather- I can even have you properly meet the Minish! That sounds like a good first date, right?!”
“Fucking hell, what the fuck? I can’t do this-”
“Not into classical romance? That’s fine- perfectly okay, in fact! I’m nothing but charged nerves right now, so why don’t we go off and just kill some things?! Monsters or bandits, it doesn’t matter! Watching them fall to our blades, cowering at the sight of our blood soaked figures- it’ll be great! Plus you look absolutely amazing when you’re caving someone’s skull in, have I ever told you that? Your focus, your intensity, and your strength? Goddesses, even I can’t help but wonder what it’d be like to be turned into muck and mush by you!”
“TIME! TWILIGHT! WARS! FUCKING ANYBODY!-”
“NO! NO! You DO NOT call out to them! You just need me- you’ll only ever need me! I can do so many things that they can’t- I’ll prove it! I’ll spend every waking moment of the rest of my life to prove it, (Name)! I cannot be without you and I’ll prove that you cannot be without me! I love you, (Name). Heart, body, and soul- I love you. Just say it back, (Name). Say that you love me- say it! Tell me that you cannot live without me! Show to me that under all of your walls and layers that you are just as depraved as me and everyone else! Say it! SAY IT!”
THUNK!
Four’s body sags down before flopping over onto his side. In his fleeting vision, he can see your eyes ablaze with nothing short of raw terror. Tears he hadn’t noticed before streamed down your cheeks as your body shook like a leaf in the wind. Four barely caught the sight of large arms reaching for you before he finally blacked out.
~~~
When Four came to, he half expected to either be a specter floating above his corpse or waking up in his bed to find that everything had just been a dream. What he didn’t expect, though, was to find himself being slowly cascaded in water. In fact, most of his body was submerged in bubbly water that was pleasantly warm. Fatigue still hung heavy in Four’s bones and the relaxing water to the pleasant smell of sage and lavender in the air made it tempting to fall back asleep.
“Don’t you even think about falling asleep on me, mister. Not after what you did,” a voice croaks out from beside him. It takes Four a moment to register that it’s you and gosh do you look like you’ve been through Hell. No offense, but it was one of the worser states the young man had seen you in.
Four’s head aches and throbs as the mother of all headaches grapples him. He whines- it’s all he feels he has the strength to do. You don’t bother to massage his temples as you’re still busy washing his body. He’d derive pleasure from the action were it not for the terrible headache and the looming sense of unease in the room.
It was clear to Four that he had done something. He vaguely remembered confronting you about… something. The most vivid part of the memory was the agony and fear etched into your face before the blurry memory ended. Regardless of what happened, he knew he was going to get chewed a new one by every one of his brothers when they got the chance.
“I’m.. not mad about the armor. It’s a beautiful set, really,” you mutter and Four’s gaze flickers over to you in surprise. The armor? What about the armor? Oh, that’s right! He finished it! He must have given it to you then but it sounds like something went wrong.
“Then… what are… you mad at?” Four whispered out. Gods, his throat hurt like hell too! Did you and him get into some sort of argument? Maybe? He couldn’t recall but it felt more complex than that. Anger wasn’t the only emotion that seemed to be brewing within you. Disappointment? Concern, as well? Maybe even sadness?
“I’m mad at how you’ve been treating yourself, Link. You had basically become slave to your craft while you forged that armor! It was scary, Link- really scary. I’ve… I’ver never seen you go ballistic like that- I didn’t know you were even capable of it! Once I know you’re cleaned up and rested up, I’m having Hyrule and Wars check you out. And don’t think I’m gonna let you be unsupervised any time soon! Even if I have to be the one with you 24/7, I’ll do it!” You hiss. Your eyes light up with more than just anger or disappointment- dedication and a sense of duty are evident within you. It’s a beautiful look, if Four could be so bold. Not only that, but you’re referring to him by name! Progress!
“Oh… okay. I’m… sorry… for what I… did…” Four apologizes.
“No, it’s… don’t worry about it, okay? Your lack of sleep and food had clearly pushed you off the deep end. You just ended up snapping and I know that the neglect you’ve been through just made it worse. Not to mention what it must have been like with the addition of the Colors,” You sigh. Despite your dismissal, things were not okay. Four had said and done things that had upset you and certainly hurt you in come capacity. He wanted to apologize again but you had dropped the topic and clearly wished to no longer discuss it.
The bath continued on in silence as Four soaked in the moment. Even with the pain and exhaustion hounding his body from overworking himself, it felt worth it in the moment. You were so attentive and tender as you helped him. Even after he was out of the tub, you assisted in drying him off and basically swaddling him like a babe in towels. You even pulled out fancy creams or pastes Four hadn’t seen before. Beauty products, he had to guess, that were most likely given to you by Wars. Four let himself be pampered as its what he deserved. This moment, along with likely future pampering, was his reward for what he went through. Although he wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Four was curious as to how far he could stretch this pampering and affection. Hyrule and Wars would undoubtedly tell him to rest for some time which could then easily be turned into time with you.
“Hmm… (Name)?” Four piped up as you searched through Four’s belongings to find him any clean clothes to wear.
“Yeah?” You respond and look up at the man. No matter how quietly he said anything or did anything, you’d perk up at full attention towards him. It made him feel special- to so easily have your attention.
“Can… I sleep with you for awhile? Until I’m better?” Four asks as he tries to make his tone as innocent as possible. Excitement was gnawing at his bones and trying to push through his exhaustion. He couldn’t let it show- not yet. He’s finally secured his way into your arms and he can’t blow it.
“Uhm… sure, I don’t see why not. If it’ll help you sleep easier,” You agree and Four is only a little miffed by the statement. It sooner sounds like you’re fulfilling his request just to make him feel better- not to spend more time with him. Oh well- at the very least, it’s a starting point. All relationships start somewhere, right? Even if there was a… bump in the road earlier (of which he still finds himself still incapable of fully remembering- Twilight had to have hit him hard).
He’s finally- finally by your side.
He’ll do every task you give him to a T- you deserve nothing less.
He’ll rip out the hearts of your enemies and put them on a silver platter for you.
He’ll show you what it means to be loved by him- every inch of his being, physical or intangible, belongs to you.
He’ll do anything it takes to be by your side for the rest of his life and after. Even if it’s something as simple as putting a ring on your finger or finding out if it’s possible to go from being Four to Five. Don’t think he’s above anything anymore. Everything he does now, big or small, is going to be for you.
And the only thing he’ll never do, no matter how kindly you ask or how desperately plead, is leave.
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YANDERE REGRESSOR: INTRODUCTION
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× cw: yandere stuff; gaslighting; manipulation; stalking; threatening; assault; pretty tame actually
× note: this is like luca from change the genre but older and probably worse 👌
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⌗ Your very best friend since childhood! He’s a noble of a high class family full of legendary knights and warriors.
⌗ Honestly, he used to be such a sweet, polite child who worked hard and did no wrong to any person or beast…. but that all changed when he turned 16. At first you and everyone else brushed it off as adolescence and teenage rebellion, as all boys go through. It was subtle, but you’ve been with him all your life, so of course you’d notice the little differences. 
⌗ Like how he seems more subdued (and even… depressed when he thinks you’re not looking), and he only smiles out of courtesy (in front of the adults). He just seems so much older than he is, as if he’s shouldering the burden of the world on his shoulders - lifting up the weight of the sky all by himself.
⌗ There’s also unexplainable things about him. Like how his swordsmanship techniques and skills improve by leaps and bounds in what seems like overnight. Instead of watching a prodigy train, it’s more like watching an experienced soldier who has seen the gore and horrors of war as he sharpens his blade, prepared to fight for his life once more. Like how he knows five languages even though you’ve never seen him study them (and you’re by his side almost all the time, because your families have close friends. Companions, even). Like how he knows more about your trade of magic and sorcery then even you know, a sorceress-in-training. What gives???
⌗ He’s also… way more overprotective and, dare you say, possessive. Yeah, he’s always been the one to protect you from insignificant bullies who are jealous of your position and prestige, and the one who shields you from scalding insults (baseless, he calls them all. They don’t know anything!) and defends you when jealous fools question the work you poured blood, sweat and tears into.
⌗ You don’t mind it, really. You can understand why he acts like you’re his one and only companion - because you are. You may have a million acquaintances, a thousand friends, a loving family. But only one companion: him. You’re a little selfish, because you’re scared that he’ll leave you for someone else, someone more skilled, someone better looking, someone who is in perfect synergy with him.
⌗ He’s your favourite boy, the guy you’ll depend on to comfort you when you’re down. The person you trust with all your deepest, darkest secrets. The companion who will stick by your side through thick and thin, who will help you bury a corpse, who will lie to any and everyone if you just ask him to. He who puts you before all else. 
⌗ So why do you feel like something’s off when he swears he isn’t hiding anything from you? When he just shrugs off your uneasiness (because you always feel eyes lingering on you when you’re not with him) as paranoia, because you’re in the city! Of course someone will look at you. It’s just a passing glance, anyway.
“Let’s go to the bookstore! There’s a newly released book I want to buy.” You link your arm around his, grinning excitedly. 
“You wanted to buy the newly released book of your favorite author, right? Isn’t the author something like Lemonela?” he responds, treasuring the close proximity with you. 
Your blood runs cold. “But I just discovered her this morning. I haven’t told anyone about it yet. How did you know?”
⌗ Uh oh. How is he going to explain that he’s traveled back in time?
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odditycircus-2002 · 4 months
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Mortal Kombat 1 Intros Part III
THE VOTES HAVE SPOKEN! I hope y’all enjoy this, and don’t forget to like, reblog, and or comment! I do love hearing y’all’s thoughts and suggestions! 😁😁😁Featuring Medusa!Reader. If you want to see the others, click one of these
Batch1
Batch2
Quan-Chi
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Quan-chi patronizing: It must enrage you that you couldn't have finished me.
Y/N hissing: If it weren't for Li Mei's jussstice, I would've had your ssspine by now!
/
Quan-chi disgusted: Why do you pine for a diseased cretin over Shang Tsung?
Y/N: Because that sssnake is below my standards, now.
/
Quan-Chi: You were Shang Tsung's wife, yet Lui Kang has gifted you a better life than either Shang and I!
Y/N: Everything I have earned in life, I have earned by my handssss and my hands alone.
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Y/N coyly: I have to thank you for adding some spice to my meal.
Quan-Chi taken aback: That poison I slipped into your stew was enough to kill a full-grown taigore!
/
Y/N: Tch, what's good is relying heavily on your magic if a single gaze is enough to stop you in place?
Quan-chi smirks: It's fortunate then that I know how to avoid your gaze then.
/
Y/N narrows her eyes: It's bad enough that Shang Tsung knows its secrets!
Quan-Chi: Whether or not you do so willingly, I will learn witch.
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Quan-chi: I hope your infatuation with Y/N won't put a wench in our partnership
Shang Tsung chuckles: Are we feeling a touch envious, Quan-chi?
Reiko
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Y/N: I remember bandaging the bloodied boy Shao took into camp.
Reiko: I am not that boy no longer, Healer! /
Y/N: You're fortunate it was Li Mei who apprehended you, otherwise there'd be nothing to throw in Lei Chin.
Reiko: *Barks out a laugh* HA! I just need to blind you to beat you!
/
Y/N: You are no warrior but a mindlesssss blood-hungry brute, I would know.
Reiko scoffs: As if a Healer would know anything about what a true warrior is.
/
Y/N smirking: It's a shame that I couldn't have kept you in the Hanging Gardens.
Reiko growling: Care to try so again, witch?!
/
Reiko: You have forgotten your oath to Outworld!
Y/N: How is not wanting to see the Empire fall to the disease that is war, breaking my Healer's oath?
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Reiko: The lieutenants' illness... *growls* Have you no honor?!
Y/N darkly: Not towards traitorsss of the throne.
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Reiko: It's a shame that we could not have recruited you to the cause.
Y/N with her snakes writhing in anger: *Hisses* As if I would align myself with the brutes that would encourage Sssshang Tsung's depravity!
Tanya
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Tanya: You have truly chosen better than that traitorous Sorcerer.
Y/N sighs in exasperation: I'll have to talk with Mileena about spreading rumors about my love life.
/
Tanya: You have a sister among the Umgadi?
Y/N rolls her eyes: I only know this since my mother would never ssshut up about it.
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Tanya astonished: Shang Tsung did what to you?!
Y/N hisses at the memory: It's because I got too close to learning of hisss real laboratory.
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Y/N: I hope you aren't the reason why Mileena missed her mandatory meditative practices today.
Tanya: I was told by her that you canceled them for the day!
/
Y/N: It is difficult, to love someone afflicted with Tarkat and watch them suffer.
Tanya: If Mileena and I can overcome these obstacles despite the risks, so can you and Baraka.
/
Y/N: I am happy to report that most of your Umgadi sisters will make a full recovery.
Tanya: It's still regrettable to lose any of my sisters, but I am happy to hear that.
/
Y/N: Did you really think I would betray the Throne?
Tanya: Honestly, there was so much deceit and conspiracies going around, I wasn't sure.
Ermac
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Ermac: Neither Jerrod nor Sindel hold you at fault for their deaths.
Y/N in surprise: I- Uh um... Thank you, Ermac.
/
Ermac: Can you aid us?
Y/N: I haven't learned the same magic as Quan-chi, but I has picked up a spell or two on Shang Tsung's island.
/
Ermac: We apologize, but the answer is still no.
Y/N angrily: You're the one who freed Quan-chi in the firssst place! The least you can do is return to the palace!
/
Y/N: Why not inform Mileena instead of freeing Quan-chi?!
Ermac: We were not sure she could have ensured our continued existence
/
Y/N: If you wish to reside in the Colony, then I'll need some assurance that you won't kill my patients.
Ermac: We understand, but you just have to trust our word.
/
Y/N narrowed her eyes in suspicion: I was told by Ashrah, you nearly killed Baraka and Syzoth.
Ermac: That is not Us anymore, Y/N.
/
Y/N: How is the Collection today, Ermac?
Ermac: Thanks to your remedies, We feel more... stable.
Nitara
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Nitara mockingly: Having seen your Titan self, I wonder what it says about you?
Y/N hisses: I am nothing like her!
/
Nitara: Your blood tastes like a Vaeterunian's!
Y/N angrily: Of course, Shang Tsung would think to make me monstrousss just to ssspite me!
/
Nitara: My blood magic is superior to your water magic.
Y/N: It'll do you no good once I have you choking on your own blood.
/
Y/N: Care for another demonstration on whose bite is deadlier?
Nitara: You have to actually catch me to bite me.
/
Y/N: Not till death will I ever stop fighting for my home!
Nitara: Why do you think I fight for Vaeterunus?!
/
Y/N: Even just hearing your voice sends disgussst down my spine
Nitara: The disgust is mutual even with your mask on.
/
Y/N snakes out and ready to bite: The fact that you aided that sssnake!
Nitara: A mistake and waste of time, I'll admit.
Peacemaker
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Peacemaker: So how do you and that Baraka guy bump uglies? Considering how you're both-
Y/N vexated and flustered: That is NONE of your concern!
/
Peacemaker: The bleeding is mostly internal which is where most of the blood is supposed to be anyway, right?
Y/N internally screaming: That is NOT at all how it worksss!!!
/
Peacemaker: What the FUCK happened to your face?!
Y/N: A sssnake named, Shang Tsung. That's what.
/
Y/N: While I might not always agree with her, I trust Li Mei's judgment.
Peacemaker: Yet, it would've been easier if she just killed those wizard fucks!
/
Y/N: Those herbs you gave me are pretty weak.
Peacemaker: How? I gave ya the best kush I got!
/
Y/N: I can heal much of the body, but an addled mind isn't one of them
Peacemaker: If you think I'M insane, you should see the crazies in Arkham!
/
Y/N: How in the 10 hells are you still breathing?!?
Peacemaker: I honestly have no fucking clue.
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vodika-vibes · 2 months
Note
I seriously love your work and I’m so glad I caught your follower celebration in time!! May I please have jonquil and coriander with Captain Rex and F!Reader? Reader is a mechanic for the 501st? And Rex secretly loves her and carries her back to her quarters when she dozes off at her workstation in the hangar after long nights post-campaigns when she’s exhausted and is insanely curious about her tattoos that peek out from under her coveralls?
It's A Secret
Summary: You want Rex. Rex wants you. It takes a long night and a short conversation to make either of you do anything about it.
Pairing: Captain Rex x F!Reader
Word Count: 1619
Warnings: Smutty, though there's no actual detail
Prompts: Jonquil - you occupy my thoughts, Coriander - lust
Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni
A/N: I hope this is okay! The actual smut didn't feel right for some reason, so I ended up deleting it. Sorry. 😔
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You release an exhausted noise as you finish the last of the items on your list. As much as you enjoy your job, and as much as you appreciate the fact that you’re useful to the war effort, it’s still exhausting.
You end each day with aching muscles and an exhausted brain. 
And while you’re glad for it, it makes it easy to sleep, you’re more than ready for the war to be over. Partly because you haven’t had a proper spa day in what feels like forever, but mostly because you’re worried for the boys you serve with, and you want them to take a break.
They deserve a break.
You stretch your arms over your head with a groan. All you have to do is clean up your mess and then you’re free for the night. Free to shower and crash.
Ugh, imagine having time for fun.
“Still hard at work, I see.” 
You turn on your stool and beam at the man standing only a little bit away from you, “Captain! Welcome back.”
“Thanks,” Rex absently rolls his shoulder as he walks over to you, and you can’t help but marvel at how handsome he is. Sure, he looks like all of his brothers, but there’s something…regal about him.
It’s insanely attractive.
“Any word from up high on how much longer we’re going to be here?” You ask as you hop from your stool and start cleaning up, “I’m not sure how much longer the equipment is going to tolerate the muck.” You say with a scrunch of your nose.
Rex laughs quietly as he claims your abandoned stool, “The equipment or you, mesh’la?”
“Both!” You spin and point at him with a wrench, “The equipment is absorbing my bad vibes. I’m so tired of the muck!”
Rex laughs a little louder, “Sadly, we’re going to be here for a couple months more.”
“I deserve hazard pay.” You announce as you turn and throw your wrench into its place, and then walk back to your bench and organize some things that stay on your table. 
“Mm, sure you do.” 
You turn away from him and sigh at the mess that is the shelving. You really don’t have time to deal with this during the day, but it needs to be done. So you take a steadying breath, and pull your hair up off your neck into a knot, and you start to work.
Though, you pause when you hear Rex make a strangled noise.
“Something wrong?”
“Is that a tattoo on your neck?” Rex asks, his voice sounding odd.
“Hm? Oh, yeah. I have a bunch of them. Just, they’re normally hidden under my jumpsuit.” You flash a small grin at him, and then turn your back towards him.
“Huh. I didn’t know you had any.” Rex admits, and you turn back to look at him when you hear him get to his feet, “I should go make sure that Fives isn’t harassing Jesse too much. Don’t work too hard, Mesh’la.”
“Sure, sure.” You wave him off,  “I have to finish this, though. So I’ll be here for a while.”
And then he’s gone, and you’re able to focus.
Honestly, you’d think that the other mechanics would know how to clean up after themselves.
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It’s late. Late enough that even he should be asleep, but Rex is filled with a nervous energy that he can’t seem to shake. 
Well. Not nervous. Not really.
His mind is locked on the flash of blue he caught a glimpse of on his mesh’la’s neck. He is insanely curious about what tattoos she has, and, honestly, the fact that she has tattoos at all only increases his attraction to her. 
And he already fists his cock to the thought of her lips wrapped around him on a nightly basis.
Well.
Not just her lips. 
In any event, he’s wound too tightly to actually get any sleep.
So here he is, wandering the ship, trying to get his mind off his mesh’la and her tattoos, and failing. 
His feet bring him to the hanger, and then to the corner of the hanger where the maintenance team works. Sure, she won’t still be there, but being in her space might help him clear his mind.
Rex stops when he sees his mesh’la dozing at her workbench. 
He should leave. He shouldn’t bother her. She works so hard-
He steps closer to her and brushes some loose hair off of her face. She shouldn’t be sleeping here, it’s not good for her back. He moves his hand to her shoulder, to shake her awake, when she mumbles something in her sleep and buries herself in her arms.
And Rex realizes that he can’t wake her up. 
He knows where her room is, he could carry her to her room, but he doesn’t know the door code. He has no reason to know the door code. The medbay is an option, there are plenty of beds…but Kix’s head will explode if he brings someone there because he doesn’t want to wake her up.
The only other option is his bed.
He stamps down on the images flashing through his mind without really giving them a second thought. She’s tired, overworked, and needs someplace to sleep. He can sleep on the floor or at his desk or something. 
Carefully he lifts her into his arms, and she whines before she rolls towards the warmth of his body.
Well…at least it’s late enough that no one is going to give him a hard time about this. Or her, for that matter.
Rex makes it back to his room in record time, and makes sure that the door is locked behind him, before he carefully settles his mesh’la on his bed. He removes her boots, and sets them next to the bed, and then he covers her with the blanket, and he steps away to sit at his desk.
He powers on his datapad and starts reading through some reports. It’s too bad that she never bothered to change out of her jumpsuit. He really is curious about her tattoos.
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You stir when something wakes you up. 
You’re curled around a pillow, though it’s not your pillow. It doesn’t smell like your shampoo, and you slowly realize that you’re not in your room. You blink at the bare wall in utter bafflement, and then you sit up.
“...Rex?”
He looks up from his datapad, and a small smile crosses his face, “Sorry, did I wake you?”
“...why am I in your room?” You ask, more confused than upset.
“You fell asleep at your workstation, and I didn’t want to leave you there. And it felt wrong waking you up.” Rex explains.
You glance at your chrono, 2 am “...have you been awake this whole time?”
“...I couldn’t sleep, so-”
You scramble out of the bed, “Rex! You need your sleep!”
“I wasn’t about to sleep in the same bed as you, mesh’la.” Rex points out.
“That’s very sweet, and very respectful, but Rex, I wouldn’t have cared.” You say as you walk over to him and pull him out of his chair, “You’re you.”
“...thank you?”
“I just meant. I trust you. I feel safe with you. I know you would never do anything.” You clarify. 
“Ah.” Rex pauses, “That makes sense.” He lightly pulls his arm out of your hands, and sets his hand on your shoulder, “I would have to lay pretty close to you for us both to fit, mesh’la, practically on top of you.”
You release a frustrated noise, and stand on your toes to kiss the corner of his lips.
He blinks at you, surprised, and then something almost predatory slides through his gaze, “Mesh’la, I want to see your tattoos.” His hand slides to the zipper high at your neck, “Can I see them?”
You frown at him, you just kissed him and he wants to see your tattoos? That’s not at all how you wanted him to react. “Yeah, if you like.”
He eases the zipper all the way down, and then he pushes the rough material off your shoulders. You move to catch the top of your jumpsuit before it falls too far, but Rex is faster than you.
He catches your wrists and allows the material to fall around your feet. Rex brings your hands to his lips and he presses feather light kisses against the pads of your fingers, and you stare at him in awe.
“Rex-”
“Do you have any idea how much I want you?” Rex asks, his voice low and rough.
“...tell me.” You whisper up to him. 
Rex’s hands slide up your arms, and then down your slides to lightly grip your hips. “Mm, I fist my cock to you every night.” He breathes out, his grip tight around your hips, “You’re always the first thing I think of when I wake up. I have dreams about burying my cock into you and fucking you into my bed until I’m the only thing on your brain.”
You slide your hands up his chest and then wrap your arms around his neck, “What else?”
He chuckles and he moves his lips to your neck, “Love the idea of marking you up. Making sure everyone knows that you’re spoken for.”
You release a breathless laugh, “Possessive.” 
“Mm, maybe.” He nips at your neck, “I want you in my bed, pretty girl. Naked and wet and needy-” He trails off, dragging his lips from your neck to your ear, “What do you think?”
“Please.” You whisper up to him.
In the end, Rex wasn’t able to see your tattoos until morning as he was a little…distracted.
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copaganda-clobberfest · 8 months
Text
WELCOME
TO THE FIRST ROUND OF THE COPAGANDA CLOBBERFEST!
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“You know that trope? That one trope *Everyone* hates? The trope in which a well meaning antagonist to our heroes, one looking out for the good of a certain community, suddenly does something horrible and drastic to make not only them, but the ideology they stand for the most villainous of all?”
NOW IS THE TIME TO BATTLE THEM OUT! Like Ken dolls, fighting for survival! Like your Polly pockets discarded in the closet, we’ll see which of these bitches jumped that slippery slope harder! Whose character did numbers on y’all, and blew up a bunch of grandmas and babies and hospitals with it!
ROUND ONE
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HAMA from AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER vs AMON from THE LEGEND OF KORRA
Hama propaganda:
“A waterbender from the southern water tribe who was captured by the fire nation when they invaded her home. After being put through inhuman conditions to prevent her from waterbending, she learned to bend her captors’ blood instead to escape. She then lived undercover in the fire nation, for decades, before meeting the gaang. Then out of nowhere it’s revealed she’s behind the disappearance of a bunch of fire nation villagers and she tries to forcibly teach katara bloodbending so she can carry on her actions. And for what?? That doesn’t even make any sense!! She could’ve been at least targeting soldiers or officials but nope all of a sudden she’s actually the villain torturing innocents because she can and i guess that’s what happens after she goes through all that ???? ??”
“if iroh can get let off the hook for being a former fascist war criminal, hama can get off the hook for imprisoning people. hama was taken from her homeland, interned, and forced to watch all of her fellow waterbenders die in prison. the gaang's solution to her doing the same thing to members of the nation that wiped her people out? RE-INTERN THIS TRAUMATIZED ELDERLY SURVIVOR SO SHE'LL DIE IN PRISON LIKE THE REST OF HER PEOPLE. hama should be allowed to go home and see her few surviving friends and family again.
bloodbending wasn't just a cool evil new ability, it was a metaphor for generational trauma. that's why hama was so insistent that katara learn it: it was the final legacy of all those people who the fire nation purposefully exterminated, because it was the only thing that saved hama from that same fate. it was the only form of southern bending katara could inherit, because it was all that was left of them.”
Amon propaganda:
“his whole thing was that nonbenders are discriminated against in the avatar-verse, which isn’t all that wrong. except instead of fighting for something like more nonbender representation in government or, y’know, a n y t h i n g reasonable, he decides the way to solve this is clearly to take away people’s bending until… what?
honestly, I never was clear on if he had an actual plan
take away the bending of everyone in republic city? the world? stop at korra? who knows!
anyways. he decides it makes pErFeCt SeNsE that to solve the problem of nonbending discrimination (I honestly don’t think it was as oppressive as he claimed) by taking away peoples bending ability
which is akin to someone stealing your entire identity and for many, livelihood
but the real kicker is
the way he does it
IS BY BENDING
AND NOT EVEN REGULAR BENDING BUT A SUPER SECRET RESTRICTED ILLEGAL FORM OF BENDING
which is EXACTLY the kind of thing he fearmongers about when he says venders have too much power
so his whole platform of “I am one of you (nonbenders), chosen by the spirits to correct this inequality” is complete and utter baloney”
Always feel free to rb with more propaganda :)
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