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#I keep it mostly vague tho
stardustdiiving · 6 months
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The way some people talk about “misogynistic writing” with the female genshin archons—specifically Nahida & Furina— kills me a bit, because while i do feel there’s valid criticisms of genshin’s writing to be made (especially regarding Ei, who I do feel was done a massive disservice writing wise), often I see people seem to come from a place of not understanding the writing/characters well, and/or leaning into like…very reductive ideas of what makes a female character “good” that honestly says more about their biases than Genshin’s
For example, a common complaint I see against Nahida & Furina is about them being made to be “weak/unserious” and how this is bad writing because genshin is unwilling to take their characters seriously—but the way this is argued seems to suggest Furina & Nahida would be better characters if they were more physically powerful, mature, or “cooler” in some way. But I really dislike the notion of girlbossification being seen as the one standard of good writing for women. A girl being strong and independent and able to punch things really hard isn’t a marker of inherent good writing
Nahida and Furina not being physically powerful or completely sure of themselves is the point. Their lack of life-experience-based maturity and overpowering physical strength are intentional and points of strength for their character writing, not flaws or weaknesses:
Nahida is the God of Wisdom—her primary source of strength is her intelligence, which comes from her curiosity about the world that is intrinsically linked to her being very caring by nature. The reason Nahida is at a disadvantage in physical strength with the antagonists—Scaramouche and Dottore—and doesn’t have an epic moment where she brute force overpowers them, isn’t because Genshin is treating Nahida like an incompetent joke, it’s because her character highlights the overall theme in Sumeru’s AQ that power isn’t everything and strength/wisdom comes from many places.
She outsmarts both Scaramouche and Dottore through her ability to strategize—if you’re trying to sell Nahida as a character who embodies wisdom, it’s far stronger writing wise to have her use her wisdom and mind to overcome narrative conflict than have her be all powerful. If you don’t think Nahida revealing she’s trapped Scaramouche in a dream loop after he tries to rip her gnosis from her, or her standing her ground against Dottore and forcing him to bargain with her when he attempts to intimidate her into giving him what he wants doesn’t make her “cool” or interesting….idk ! Maybe it’s not the writing and just your personal preference for character appeal
Furina —without getting too deep into 4.2 spoilers—has an arc revolving around the loneliness & conflict of needing to mold yourself into a performance for a greater purpose, and grappling with personal identity and autonomy in the aftermath of performance and repression shaping your life. I really don’t understand how people watch how she’s handled and come away with the conclusion her character gets bent around Nuevillette’s man pain/the fact he’s just so ~much more competent than her unless you’re just really not interested in trying to engage Furina’s writing or taking it in confusingly bad faith
Her struggling with lacking the physical power/competence a god “should” have is, again, the point of her character and they are very clear where that lack of ability comes from within the writing. Her narrative actions follow an arc that revolves around this internal conflict she has—she feels very established to be her own person and they certainty don’t shy away from expanding on Furina’s emotions without it only being done as footing for other (male) characters
I think Nahida & Furina were just not what people were expecting the Dendro & Hydro Archon to be like, I also see a lot of complaints that neither of them “act like gods” or “seem very godlike” but see, in my opinion, one of the central themes to genshin overall is to examine the relationship between humanity and the divine. Part of this also includes calling into question what a god should be, especially in relation to humans/having a sense of humanity
The center conflict within Nahida & Furina’s characters is that their sense of humanity is at odds with being held to what being a god “should” be. Nahida is imprisoned by the Sages who treat her with disdain for being a child and not being inhumanly perfect enough to be useful to them as a deity. We see Furina try to engage with her people earnestly in a more human way before realizing she needs to put up the performance that proceeds to shape her life & state of deep loneliness for the next 500 years to be taken seriously and fulfill her duties. You aren’t supposed to look at Nahida or Furina and think they’re all powerful otherworldly divine beings. You’re supposed to view the, as people—people who are young and inexperienced regarding their position in life. Venti and Zhongli act like people in the same way—the only difference is they have more experience and have had the time to accomplish more feats as original members as the Seven
Again, it’s not that I don’t think there’s criticisms to be made. Genshin to me sets up Ei to be a character who requires a lot of self reflection/growth and thought with handling her moral dubiousness, and then out of desperately worrying she won’t be likable enough, seems to bend over with trying to insist on Ei being palpably appealing while not following through on a lot of what her character really needs to feel well handled. (I feel they barely even address Ei needing to rebuild trust with her people and it’s only more clear when you now see Furina spend a lot of time handling something similar despite doing less um, government oppression thsn Ei did for instance HDJNDJDJ. But I guess me pinning where my personal dissatisfaction with her writing comes from is another post in of its own and more based in general issues with Inazuma vs viewing it as misogynistic writing alone) The trend of not letting a female character grapple with her morality and try to push her being livable at the expense of addressing her complexity does honestly feel it falls into a misogynistic writing trends. I am really bummed out with Ei’s execution when genshin has proven through other characters along with Nahida and Furina they are capable of handling a character like her writing wise imo
But I really think, again, if someone thinks none of genshin’s women are engaging or interesting, or that Nahida and Furina aren’t taken seriously enough narratively while seeming to not really understand the intent of the characters’ writing, or want to take them seriously unless they’re cool/girlboss-y enough, I feel it may say more about their ideas of handling women in fiction than it does about genshin. I get personal preferences and not being really into a character, but people so frequently frame it as a possibly misogyny pattern with how genshin writes the female archons and I can’t help but disagree. I think sometimes people don’t consider what the story is trying to say with the characters vs what they think is cool or want (and of course what we all think is cool or may want/expect narratively is always informed by our own biases). There’s a level of subjectivity in how you can interpret writing and narratives of course but they’re just not interpretations I feel fit into what’s presented in the text !
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maskyartist · 10 months
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add this to the list of goofy ass personal aus for me and me alone
au where everythings the same but Ozpin's blind thats all
#masky says#again its called SELF indulgence for a reason#im simple i like blind characters who use their blindness to their advantage#ozpin wouldnt be able to rely on ozymandias or any other past lives for sight since they'd need to use HIS body's senses to detect anything#no one can see. its a new experience for almost ever life i'd imagine#but ozpin's grown up without his sight so he knows how to navigate the scary world#hes not totally blind. he can see...vague shapes. very vague.#but thats it.#long memory works as a normal cane and ur usual blind cane#hes memorized beacon's halls along with the usual rush of students and which way they'd come and go to classes so he doesnt get lost in the#-rush if hes ever goin from one place to another alone#glynda usually sticks by his side to act as his guide if hes goin somewhere super crowded#tho i mostly like it cause the vibe of ozpin bein one of those characters who keeps their eyes closed all the time is a VIBE#hes still a top huntsman. hes still the headmaster. hes still one of ozma's many lives#but hes blind. thats all that changes and it changes nothing and also everything#qrow acting as a seeing eye bird when ozpin asks for his help#sitting on his shoulder and cawing if oz nearly bumps into a wall or someone#i know its not real evidence but i do like ozpin memorizing the feel of qrow's facial features#the scruff of his beard the way his skin dips in places where scars linger#he likes touching people hes very touchy. its the best way he knows to see in his own personal way#he wouldnt notice ruby's silver eyes. he'd need to be told later. glynda probably mentions it making ozpin interested even further in her-#-progress and acceptance into his academy
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trainingdummyrabbit · 6 months
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Strange and possibly stupid question but where do your little forum signature visual novel sprite things come from? They look kinda like Lobcorp's style but I don't recognize them if it's a Sephirot. Also looks kinda like your art style? But no clue who the character is if it is your art style.
oh!! its actually a little bit of both, technically. it's edits of a character sprite from ruina! the carm. she only had one basic expression, but i gave her a bunch more for funsies.
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id recommend it tbh! very fun t give sprites extra expressions! get silly w it! whimsy or whatever!
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ofieugogyshz · 1 year
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me @ myself: you don't have to recycle your old oc if you don't wanna
me (cont): you can just make a new insert
me (cont): and you can just borrow your family f/os from other series
me: :0 i could be honey and mustard's kid for realsies...........
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sunnydice · 9 months
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man.
#i had this whole post ive been trying to formulate for so so long. abt my issues w ceewilbur and ccwilburisms and#to clarify i do like cwilb he is one of my faves. ik it may seem i wanna bite his arm off smtimes and i Do but#its mostly bitterness directed to the stuff Around him if that makes sense. yk the response to lots abt him#the way the overcompensation abt how he can be villanized swinging into a state where he Cant and never Did and wrong and if you critique#or acknowledge it you get snipped at and demeaned and treated like its a targeted hit on the mentally ill when its like#a mild disagreement with one of the most popular characters in the fanbase Easily#and w cc wil i do think he is just sm guy. im sure he's a nice dude idrc abt the ccs usually but he seems alright enough even tho he has v#goofy ahh takes and opinions but that doesnt make you Evil#but when i dive into what really has made me feel so alienated and snippy its. llmao its the racism yeah lol its super very much the racism#its very very prevelent and very common and very unchallenged. and it like. upsets me so bad its why i keep bailing on making my actual#full detailed post abt it. cuz everytime i try to formulate my thoughts i just get upset and frustrated i wanna rip my hair out#its hard not to feel like im talking to a wall when its so common and unchecked and. ive seen rightful critiques of these spaces and how#ppl interact with them Openly Mocked and brushed aside and treated like 'petty sensative internet drama' that ppl need to 'just get over'#sorry man im a fucking 🇲🇽 i cant exactly log off and Stop Experiencing Racism. and sorry that me feeling alienated and tired and sad abt#it is an inconvenience for you llol#and like idk. im not upset w anyone in particular this isnt a call out post or vague who give a shit and.#eh maybe im stupid but i really really believe a lot of ppl arent doing it on purpose#its just bein parroted ik i get it but#am i rlly not allowed to be tired? why should it feel like my responsibility to hold ppls hand and go hey mb treat poc and darker skinned#ppl like ppl. maybe you should examine why you need so many things made palatable to you through conventionally attractive whiteness first#idk. idk!!! am i crazy who fucking knows#but it has been weighing on me stupid style so bad#the shrinking fanbase and primarily yk common stragglers has just. rlly felt like a magnifying glass to my already existing issues abt it#idk man. idk im tired and im at work its 100°+ and my head hurts so this is all yr getting. lea me alone#and again this isnt a vague who Cares. just wanted to get it off my chest finally#huri.txt#discourse#<- ig
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nerdyenby · 1 year
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The inherent tragedy of multi-season minecraft smps, no, listen to me:
Because no matter how much love and effort and time and care and blood and sweat and tears are put into building up a world — a home — it will never last. It will never be enough. No matter how many good memories, there comes a time it must end. The world is infinite, and yet it’s still not enough. When it’s all said and done, the only thing left to do is start over.
With a clean slate, you explore and reconnect and make new connections and create anew. The past still hold a dead place in your heart, but once it’s gone it’s gone. There’s no returning to a world you abandoned, you just keep going, only able to focus on the now. The past is gone, the future is uncertain, all we have is a tentative and hopeful and mournful now.
The world ended. Whether people gradually blinked out of existence around you, whether reshaping the world to your whim left it unable to sustain itself, whether time whittled away until no one was left standing, whether the moon fell from the sky destroying the world in a blaze of glory. There’s either nothing left standing or no one left to see it. The planet never recovered so you found a new one, built it up and made it your own, knowing it was destined to happen again.
The world ended, yet here we are. There are more worlds, after all, but that doesn’t mean that loss goes unnoticed — that that grief goes unfelt. We’ve all felt the weight of a world we no longer live in, we carry it’s legacy inside us. Most don’t dare speak of it, the toll that weighs on our shoulders to make it worth it, the unspoken burden to do it better this time, to make this new world last longer. To make it stronger and more beautiful. To let the silence of the worlds that used to be echo in this soil and in these walls. The love and the loss and the ache for the past is tangible as we move forward. You have lost so much, seen so much destruction, and yet you build. In spite of everything, you continue to create. Death is inevitable, but as is life. You can’t destroy what has not been. Apocalypse is no punishment, merely a consequence of existence. Destruction is merely a reminder to cherish what you do have. It presses on our souls, pushing us to make something worth missing and to love it even, as you leave it behind.
Inspired by this post by @12u3ie
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troutbug · 2 years
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Having a positive environment that accepts you is such a life changer, really. I've learned so much about myself recently, it's very good.
Life ain't too bad sometimes
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orcelito · 2 years
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Tfw i avoided dealing with applicants for like 2 weeks so I had to play catch up today. Stayed like 2 hours late reviewing all 20 ish applications we got in this time, contacted 12, and I have a confirmed 4 interviews for this week with a prospective 2 more
Look at me being all manager-y lmao
#speculation nation#most of them r on tuesday bc thats my set long manager shift n lmao#confirmed 1:30. 3. and 4 on that day. prospective 2 and 2:30 (waiting to hear confirmation)#with One on wednesday! bc the person isnt available until then#lmfao i really am playing catch up big time but THAT is okay. We Good#god tho i really understand that one class that addressed resumes now. how they were like Keep It Short#bc recruiters dont have time to read big massive resumes lmao. & god thats so real#zipped down to education to know what i was dealing with. Then looked at prior work experience. Then availability.#education relevant Primarily so i can know when/if theyve graduated high school#bc not graduating isnt an automatic deletion. but it's good to know Especially for if someone's a minor or not#we already have a lot of high schoolers rn lol so im kinda leaning more towards Not in high school for this stuff#aside from that it's mostly assessing capability based on what little evidence there is. + how long they would be likely to stay#there really is so much going into reviewing all this lmao. & oh god i really am the obnoxious kind of employer kind of#like not Really. im giving everyone a chance should they fit within the criteria we require for hiring.#but a few ppl messaged us asking up on their applications n those ppl get mental points in their favor for caring about our position#caring enough to ask after it at least lol#ultimately im reserving judgement for interviews. but tbh theres a few ppl im on the fence about contacting#that r in the vague status of 'will pursue if they contact us first'. which is SO obnoxious of me actually but like#there r way too many ppl i have to consider for this. if im not sure how well a person will fit here then them putting that extra effort#is a great way of convincing me that theyre worth my time#that kind of thing of like. if They show they care then i'll end up caring more too#theres actually a high schooler i Probably wouldnt have considered but bc she messaged very actively im interviewing her too#reserving judgement. still have my doubts. but bc she put in that effort im gonna give her a chance.#ah. thus is the life of a fucking recruiter i guess lmao. god i hate it
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trollbreak · 2 years
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Y’all talking about famous ancestors and my most famous guy is either the dude who’s a dad to a bunch of space pirates or the dead mushroom troll that thinks they’re guided by the will of the universe.
Or the plushy seller on Etsy who probably isn’t too big bc he makes everything by hand
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arolesbianism · 1 month
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Picks up Joshua. What do you know boy. What knowledge of the fucked up oni lore do you or do you not possess boy. Does your bestie know. Why must you only ever be present in extremely casual interactions boy.
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soyoursoulisgreen · 6 months
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3, 4, 19, 20!
3. What ideas come from when you were little
I have two OCs that have really stood the test of time: Akane and Kin - though their names have changed over time haha ♪ They were the first ever queer couple I made, long long loooong before I was out even to myself and shock among shocks, they're angels lol ♥ I remember I even wrote a short story about them from like - middle school probably?? as part of an assignment haha. They've been with me for a loooong time, and I'm still very fond of them 💕
4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw
GLaDOS is so beautiful and I am so bad at drawing machine parts jfdklsasdf. I'm determined to draw her from both games now tho! Her design in Portal 1 is so weird!! <3
19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.)
Plushies, no contest. Drawings the seams and darts and stitches and wear and fluff and fabric vs. fur I just ugh it's all so satisfying! The way the cloth folds over itself or stands firm on its own over well-stuffed filling! I love plushies!! Funny enough, I rarely use them as props tho haha - that's usually things like books, cups, pencils, etc.
20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy
I haven't heard the complaint in earnest in a while, just in a jokey fashion, but I really really enjoy drawing hands :) Hand expressions are so fun to me! They're just as expressive as faces - especially masked characters haha - and they're so versatile! Come in so many shapes, some hard, some rubberhose wiggly, some sharp and Shaped, but they still all emote similarly. Even just slight position changing can change the temperature of how it reads! It's a challenge for sure but it's just so satisfying >:3c
#Woah an original post#Ask#Ask me#Thank you! :D Fun fun!!#I always love talking about my own lads hehe <3 <3#If I had to guess a year to put to Akane and Kin oh gosh hmm...#Somewhere around 2008/9 if I had to guess?? It's hard to keep track from before I was online haha and I joined kind of late#I've had them for a heck-while! I love them ♥ It's not shown in their tag I linked but I also made some Aarakocran versions of them haha#I still have a lot of the journals and stuff from when I was a kid but none of them have been as long-lasting#I think it's probably because I was very ''inspired'' by what I was reading at that time - which was mostly high school romance lol#Aya and Haruka are almost more like self-parody of that haha - not many characters survived from that time#But Akane and Kin were always in that vague sort of adults sort of teens haze that lets them convert over easily#Their problems weren't related to school or anything so it makes them more versatile :)#I wonder if I still have their short stories anywhere - I also cried while writing one of them lol I've always been the sensitive type haha#Sorry if GLaDOS is the obvious answer lol but it's true! I'm slowly improving but she really is difficult to pin down#Any kind of machinery my brain just blanks out lol. ''It is shaped'' ''How?'' ''Yes'' Pfft#Also rude to imply nature is inanimate! I almost mistakenly said tree but they are animate! They're very alive!#But that's alright - I like drawing trees but I don't very often haha#I really do love drawing plushies tho I lose my mind about them they're so cute <3 Send me pictures of your plushies I will love them /gen#And for hands I mean - I've been enjoying drawing them for so long that it almost feels like the Curse of Knowledge lol#Do people genuinely struggle with hands?? I mean I still do at times - especially closed fists or certain angles#But in general? When they're just hanging out and being silly fruity little appendages?#Or with ASL or the like ♥ They're so fun! My latests have been working with more knuckles than usual haha it feels weird#I never have to worry about same face syndrome with hands! They really feel so intuitively individual haha
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semiotomatics · 6 months
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for real tho, the thing that i feel like ppl arent realizing/talking abt, at least the thing for me, is that it was never about the website. like, do i like tumblr? sure, it mostly does what i want in a familiar, vaguely-easy-to-use way. but thats only bc ive been here 13 years and have the internet version of toxoplasmosis keeping me docile and trusting of capitalist corporations. tumblr could Site Of Theseus itself into a completely different beast and id still be coming back day after day.
its not the site that keeps me coming back, its the people. and i dont just mean my friends, or my Beloved Mutuals™, or my favourite blogs i follow. i mean the whole community. every person who posts in a tag i follow, or makes a poll i vote in, or shares their beautiful artwork. every random user who makes a post that ends up going viral. everyone who makes and reblogs Destiel News Alerts. everyone who logs on and agrees to Commit To The Bit until the bitter end. thats why i love this hellsite so much.
thats also why, when ppl ask "where are you going next?", i really dont have an answer for them. i want to say "wherever my friends go", but theres no telling where thatll be. i might be able to find some, or most of, or maybe even all of my mutuals/friends on some other site, but theres no guarantee that im going to find this community. that's what im going to miss when this site dies. not the UI, or the branding, or the crabs. not tumblr.com. im going to miss us.
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runningfrom2am · 7 months
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could we get a blurb where rafe saves reader at a party?
it's gets a little handsy for her with some of his friends and one of them tries to go too far and rafe saves her?
thank you for this request omg!! i hope it lives up to your expectations (even tho its a little long to be a blurb oops-) and i'm sorry this took me so long!
get the fuck off her - r.c.
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pairing: rafe x fem!kook!reader
wc: 2.4k
tags/warnings: angst, comfort, implications of attempted sa, intentional use of lowercase, violence (kinda), some generally triggering stuff so please if any of this is upsetting for you please go read something else!
requests (currently closed- feel free to send whatever but it will be a while before I get to them!)
nav/masterlists
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"you're not funny kelce, has anyone ever told you that before?" you raise an eyebrow at your friend, talking loudly over the blaring music as you cross your arms over your chest.
"actually no, that's a first." kelce replies snarkily, mocking your posture. "you're lying though, babe- i know you think i'm hilarious."
you roll your eyes, a smile still present on your face. your pupils are blown, lids drooping slightly as you immediately forget the interaction and sway with the music.
"c'mon, you know you love me." kelce chuckles, stepping closer and placing his hands on your waist. you laugh, brushing his hands off smoothly.
rafe is biting into the rim of his plastic cup as he watches, previously enjoying a sip of whatever jungle juice someone had left on the counter. he's watching closely, and though you laughed it off, he knew you well- and he knew you weren't a big fan of being touched. kelce should know better too.
it's only a matter of minutes before it happens again, topper approaching the group and slinging his arm over your shoulder which you don't even process with the concoction of substances mixing in your bloodstream.
"rafe, man, your sister's a bitch, bro." topper whines, leaning into you further.
"that so?" rafe chuckles, watching topper's arm slide down to your back.
"yeah, she's leading me on, then fucking off and leaving me high and dry." he explains vaguely. "i bet you wouldn't do that to me, would you, sweetheart?" he says to you, hand sliding lower, lower, until his fingers reach the bottom of your shirt and the skin of your back.
"i don't think it's personal, top. have you tried talking to her about it?" you suggest, wrapping your arms around yourself, subtly holding the hem of your shirt down.
topper rolls his eyes, leaning closer to make sure you hear him as you lend him your ear. "i just hate talking though... don't you?" he says, lips brushing over the skin of your neck.
"you're drunk, top..." you laugh nervously, very briefly making eye contact with rafe standing across from you in the small circle you've created.
"hey, what'd he say?" rafe asks over the music, brow furrowed with the instant rush of sobriety.
you smile nervously at him. "nothing... he's just being weird." you chuckle, shaking your head and trying to move away. "i'm gonna go get another drink. i'll be back." you squeeze out of toppers grip and walk off through the crowd towards the corner where you hid your cooler.
you bop your head along to the mac miller song that started on your way over, humming along to the tune and laughing a little at other people chanting along to the lyrics. you quickly grab another drink out of the cooler before shoving it back in the mostly empty cupboard and closing it again.
"she's not gonna fuck you, bro. i'll tell you that right now." rafe shakes his head at his friend, taking another sip of the overly sweet drink.
"have you seen her? it's well worth the shot if the worst she can say is no." topper laughs, and rafe clenches his jaw, looking again over the crowd to try and keep an eye on you. "the best she can say is absolutely, and she's into me, i can tell."
"oh, can you now?" rafe mumbles, eyes landing on you at last as you close the cupboard and crack open your can. if you had any feelings for any of the boys you regularly hung out with, it was a secret to him. you were a puzzle to him, despite your friendly and sometimes flirty personality.
"yeah, but she's not gonna let me hit with you clowns around. i'll be back, or not." topper laughs, pushing back through the crowd in the direction of you.
rafe decides to let him go. you could make your own decisions, and clearly, you were going to say no, and topper would come sulking back in a few minutes after striking out. he watched as topper made it up to you, starting a conversation. you were laughing, and he figured that was a good time to let you handle yourself.
except for a few moments later, when he looked up from his conversation with kelce and another girl that appeared by his side, to see you with your back to the wall in a corner, topper standing over you.
"hey, i think we should get back to the guys..." you chuckle nervously, taking a step back and hitting the wall.
"why? i told them we'd be a while." topper smirks, hands once again finding your waist and sliding under the hem of your shirt.
"well i didn't, i said i'd be back and-"
"get that stick out of your ass, won't you? we're having fun." he insists, leaning down over you and brushing his lips over your jaw.
you bite your lip nervously, scanning the room to see if there's anyone near enough to talk to to pull yourself out of this situation. "top, please, i don't want to do this can we just head back?"
"i know you want to give me a shot, you won't regret it..." he mumbled against your skin, hands sliding up farther under your shirt as the sound of your heartbeat echoed over the music in your ears.
you panic, trying weakly to just push him off at this point and create any kind of distance between the two of you as his hands press into your skin. "please don't topper, you're drunk..." you say, but it comes out whinier than you intended. the disconnect between your mind and your body is showing, and you can see that as you're fumbling to get your hands to reach his shoulders just enough to get him to back off. you didn't need to, when a moment later he was pulled back with a force unforeseen by either of you.
"get the fuck off her, man."
it's rafe, and he's angry. you've seen him like this before, sure, but the look behind his eyes is new as he shoved topper away, dropping the grip he held on the back of his shirt. "rafe, c'mon." topper chuckles, adjusting his shirt and rubbing the front of his neck where the fabric had dug into his skin.
just as quickly, rafe's fist was gripping the front of his shirt again, getting face to face with him. "no, she was literally pushing you off and you didn't take that as a no?" rafe's forehead is almost pressed to toppers as he backs him into the kitchen island.
"rafe!" you shout, voice shaky as you try to get his attention. "let him go, it's fine."
rafe looks back over his shoulder at you, standing with your arms crossed tightly over your stomach. he sighs, dropping the fabric before turning to you. "you okay, y/n/n?" he asks, shaking out his fist.
you nod shakily, pulling your shirt back down from where it had ridden up with the disturbance.
"you sure?" he asks again, looking you up and down with concern drawn between his brows.
you continue to nod, looking around now for where topper had put down your drink when he took it out of your hand to back you into the wall. "i'm fine... just, yeah. it's fine." you chuckle awkwardly.
"no, it's not. come on. i'll walk you home, yeah?"
"rafe, c'mon, she said it's fine. she can stay longer." kelce interjects, having followed him over.
rafe throws his hands up in frustration as he turns to his friends. "shut the fuck up, kelce! i'll beat the shit out of both of you. seriously, i don't give a shit." he turns back to you. "c'mon, i'll grab your bag. lets get you out of here."
as rafe leads you away, you avoid eye contact with his friends, arms still crossed to quell your shakiness. rafe pulls your cooler bag back out of the cupboard and throws it over his shoulder before guiding you to the door. you're relieved to feel the cool sea breeze hit your skin, you didn't even realize how stuffy it was and how claustrophobic you felt until you got outside and you could finally breathe again.
"seriously, are you okay?" rafe asks again, feeling nervous that you only said it was fine before because there were so many people around. he's still tense, angry, but he's making an effort to seem calm since now he's alone with you.
"yeah, uh, yeah. fine." you nod softly, staring down at your feet as you make your way to the sidewalk. "just... a little shaken up, i guess."
rafe adjusts your bag over his shoulder, then proceeds to rub his hand over his forehead. "i'm sorry, that was shitty."
"it happens, unfortunately..." you laugh awkwardly, trying to shrug it off.
rafe looks down at you as you walk, still avoiding eye contact with him. "has top done that before? i'll go back and-"
"no! no, he's never done that before." you assure him. "i don't know, like, going to a party around a bunch of people you kind of know and kind of don't know is never... comfortable. it's hard to get comfortable and then when you do something like that happens and-" you laugh to yourself. "sorry, i shouldn't rant to you about this."
"no, by all means." rafe replies, urging you on. "you can tell me anything."
"thanks, but i think i'm done." you grin, arms wrapped tightly around yourself as you walk.
"does that actually happen to you like... often?" he asks after a few moments of silence.
"not often, and its never been that scary- i guess?" you explain. "just sometimes, some guy will touch me or say something and i just get this feeling in the pit of my stomach that something is wrong and it's hard to shake. it sticks with you. more often than not if you say no they'll retaliate, either get mad or spread lies about you or whatever. so i just kind of.. freeze. when you don't know what to do, sometimes you don't do anything and you just have to laugh it off. it is what it is, i guess."
"right." rafe nods, deep in thought over what you had said. "so what i'm hearing, is that you never actually slept with devin?"
you laugh at this, tone still slightly wobbly. "i told you i didn't, remember?"
"ah, yes. you did tell me that." rafe remembers how sitting at the country club bar together just weeks prior he had asked you about this rumour and you denied it, shaking your head as you sipped on a virgin daiquiri. "i didn't really believe it anyways. devin's a prick." 
"he really is." you agree, looking up now at the sky. "thank you, by the way," you add, looking over at your friend now for the first time since you left. you're met with confusion in his eyes as he returns your gaze. "for, like, rescuing me."
"i shouldn't have had to. that was fucked." rafe shakes his head. "don't thank me, that's so... twisted. if topper could have gotten through his thick skull that maybe you're not into him-"
"he thinks i'm into him?" you laugh, eyes wide now.
"well, hopefully not anymore." rafe chuckles. "but knowing him, he still probably doesn't get it. i'll talk some sense into him."
"please do." you sigh. "he won't believe it from me, apparently."
"honestly, i don't think i can look at him for the next week." rafe admits.
"tell me about it."
another few moments of silence follow. "you know, you don't have to hangout with us. if we make you uncomfortable we can keep our distance."
"you're the only one who never has." you smile at him. "surprisingly." you add teasingly, bumping your shoulder against his arm.
"what's that supposed to mean?" rafe chuckles, already knowing it was a joke.
you just shrug in response. "you know, you're whole 'bad boy' rep you've got going on."
"i can still be cool and like... not make girls uncomfortable. that's actually kind of the point."
"that's a good point." you agree. "the girls do flock to you."
rafe rolls his eyes at this, smiling as he shakes his head. "not that... that's what i want. it just kind of happens."
"so you get it?" you giggle, feeling the shakiness you previously had finally slightly subsiding.
"well, no. when i tell them to fuck off they... you know, fuck off." he laughs.
"ah- what a pleasure that must be." you joke, stopping as you're now standing in front of your driveway. "thanks for walking me home. it was hard to breathe in there."
rafe stops too, looking down the long driveway to your house. "of course, anytime." he nods, looking at you for a moment before he realizes you're waiting for your bag. "shit, sorry..." he laughs, dropping it from his shoulder and handing it back to you.
"all good." you grin, taking it and putting it on.
"well, I've got to get going. i have a guy to beat up, so..."
as he turns away, you speak to him again. "rafe, don't." your voice is quieter now, and as he looks back at you he sees the tears welling up in your eyes. "please." you add, so softly he's sure if he didn't see your lips moving he wouldn't have heard it. "it'll just make it worse... i just want to forget about it."
"okay, hey, hey- i was kidding. i won't touch him." rafe is quick to backtrack, holding a hand out to grab your shoulder but he hesitates, dropping it again. "are you sure you're okay?"
that's when the floodgates open, and your hands are flying up to your face to cover it as you start to sob. the shock had worn off by now, and the reality of what could have happened was setting in. rafe didn't know what to do, looking around to make sure no one could see. "y/n... what can i do?" he asks, and all he wants to do is pull you into his arms and tell you how safe you are, that everything is okay, but he knows touching you probably wouldn't be wise.
you can't answer. you can hardly breathe as you feel your chest tightening. you try and laugh, wiping your eyes and looking up at him. you wish he wasn't seeing this. you shake your head, deciding to just sit down on the grass.
rafe sits next to you, tucking his knees up to his chest like you had, crossing his arms over top. "you're safe, y/n/n." he tells you, leaning his head on his forearms and watching you. "can i stay with you?"
at this you just move a little closer, leaning your forehead onto his shoulder instead. he freezes up, just for a second, before moving so he can brace his hand on the ground behind you. "I've got you. i'm not going anywhere..."
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Note
THE AARON WARNER X READER FIC OMLLLLLLLL I NEED PT. 2 PLEASEEE
aaron warner x ferrars!reader pt. 2
aaron warner continues to make way into your life, and it's only a matter of time before you grow fond of him too.
(taken place during unravel me)
continuation of the hcs from this piece!
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a/n: hey y'all.... the long awaited pt 2 is finally here. so sorry for the wait, but i had some major writer's block with this at first, and tbh life has been a lil hectic rn with classes n stuff, so thank you for all the love and support on the first headcannons, and thank you for being patient with me! i truly cant express enough how happy i get when you guys compliment my work <3 as usual, hayden is my personal fc, imagine who you like !
side note: i know reader might seem kind of useless at times even tho she has powers, but it's because she doesn't have a full control of her ability yet, still learning how far it goes, and she doesn't have much practice on defensive uses of it, since a lot of her training is about learning about her powers. hope that makes sense LOL. some big events are going to be briefed over bc i didnt wanna bore y’all with stuff you alr read in the book and wanna focus on warner & reader interactions👍
word count: 8.2k
warnings: some plot changes, vague taylor swift reference, mentions of injuries and blood, some violence
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after receiving the note, you immediately crumped it and stuffed it into a random drawer with your clothing. you hadn't told a soul about the message, you feared it would only make the implication of meeting warner again true.
thinking about the note was a pipeline to thinking about aaron warner. thinking about him meant flashing back to the last moment the two of you shared.
his lips on yours, his confessions of his infatuation, and of course, the way your shot him in the chest. you hated how the memory was brung a warm and unfamiliar feeling in your chest, especially thinking back to the kiss.
you told yourself it wasn't a big deal. maybe another member at the base decided to play a prank on you, or perhaps it was just an empty threat. there was no way warner knew your location, so there's no need to tell anyone about the silly note.
but to be extra cautious, you laid off going on missions to the outside for a little bit. plus, it forced juliette to interact with people that weren't you on missions when you weren't there.
you went along with your routine as usual, training with castle and kenji, and hanging out with juliette and adam.
you didn't hate castle by any means, but you find his underlying scrutinization of both you and your sister at times to be bothersome. his constant pushy treatment to juliette never sat right with you either, but since he was the leader of omega point - you knew you had to still show respect for him.
although, you started to notice a strain between the couple recently, mostly from adam's side. there was obviously something he was keeping from juliette.
you comforted your sister to the best of your ability, but you knew not knowing was starting to affect her. kenji also seemed to know whatever this secret was, but was adamant on keeping his lips shut.
however, once castle took adam away in the middle of you guys eating lunch, juliette demanded answers since it was obvious adam himself was struggling to reveal it himself.
this time kenji was helpful and guided you and juliette to the research labs. there you both saw castle engaging adam in some sort of tests, and it sent your sister into a fit of rage, mainly aimed at castle. which then resulted in her angrily punch the ground, causing for a large earthquake that shook the entire establishment.
juliette was passed out for three days before waking up. you worried for her endlessly during those days, it was the one of the only times you intentionally listened for her thoughts, to ensure she was alright, but it was scarily silent. you knew adam also was quite worried for juliette, but castle made sure he kept his distance.
after that, her and adam were on some sort of unofficial break up, and you knew better than to get involved. juliette was also now required to join you and kenji in training, which made for a chaotic, but fun trio.
your powers were getting easier to control, you were working on levitating heavier objects every time. you've practiced mental manipulation on insects and small animals, so you had a gist of to what extent you could control a mind. the most you've done so far was send simple commands like jump, sit, move, etc. kenji always offered to be a test subject for this, but you always declined, not liking the thought of possibly controlling the mind of your friend.
now that you could control when to apprehend thoughts, it made it much easier to make friends without disrespecting people's privacy. while sara and sonya were always kind to you, others had made it sort of clear they wanted to keep their distance to prevent their mind from being read by you. being able to now reassure others that their thoughts weren't being heard made it easier for people to approach you.
much like juliette you found new friends in brendan, with an electric ability, and winston, who had a stretchy ability and also designed the suits for both ferrars.
days at omega point were serene for a bit, everyone following routine and members continuing to patrol areas for any threats of the reestablishment. but it was surely disrupted with the arrival of threatening news.
it was in the middle of the night when you were dragged away from your bed by kenji to castle's office; juliette and adam following suite. he claimed it was an urgent matter that required the presence of the four of you.
there, castle revealed the return of the supreme commander, also known as warner's father - that was big news to you and juliette. it explains how warner was able to be out with his men in the sector so often.
however, news worsened when you found out brendan and winston along with emory and ian were taken by the reestablishment during their patrol. at their missing location was left a note, with specific instructions on how to proceed.
you were shaken by this discovery, it had been only less than 24 hours since you had last spoken with either of them, both you and juliette had had breakfast with brendan and winston.
that wasn't even the end of if, castle instructed that all four of you were to go to this meeting destination.
all of you were taken aback by this, you had initially assumed castle would be the one to see the supreme, since has is the leader and all.
adam and kenji were at the head of the protest against this plan, not wanting to easily comply . both you and juliette remained silent, still taking in all the information given.
you without a doubt were ready to head in for the safety of your friends, but you also didn't like the unpredictability of the situation you all could possibly wander into with the commander.
"the two of you may opt out as you like, but i am requesting the aid of both ferrars, seeing as they are the ones very explicitly instructed to see the supreme - a sort of exchange, them for the hostages. "
again, everyone in the room was stunned with confusion. all having the same question, why would he need both sisters there?
you didn't know the room could've possibly erupted into more chaos than right now. adam was now furious, kenji not too far behind with questions of his own.
you couldn't help but think back to the note you found in your pocket, "see you soon." is this what he had meant? had he known this would occur that long ago?
again, you shook the thought from your mind. aaron warner wasn't the one who sent the order, it was the supreme, so it's possible warner will not even be at the location the four of you are suppose to go to.
no need to think about warner, you told yourself. no need to remember how he kissed you with ferocious passionate intent.
with this newfound knowledge, you knew you couldn't back away from this, not when there were lives at stake, and you didn't have to be familiar with the supreme to know he would not hesitate to take the lives of omega point members.
you looked toward juliette to inquire her thoughts about the situation. you understood from the look on her face that she had a similar plan of action to you. a telepathic (without actually reading her mind this time) message was communicated between both of you, making a mutual agreement.
"we'll do it." you announced over the arguing.
castle was pleased with this decision, but immediately adam objected, and even kenji was hesitant for you both to go through with the plan. however, stubborn as ever, both of you committed to your decision.
preparing for the meeting with warner's father was nerve-racking, worried for the safety of your team, and also the hostages. you and everyone knew this had to be some sort of trap set up by the commander, but there wasn't much you could do besides arm yourself and comply.
the four of you were gathered in castle's office. castle made sure all four of you were equipped with necessary gear for the mission, including having weapons with you.
you attire was the same as usual, a red leather corset-styled top, a matching leather coat-like jacket, black pants in a stretchy material, accompanied with black fingerless gloves and black knee-high boots - except now you had the addition of a harness and holsters up your leg to hold any firearms given to you. the coat did well in concealing a lot of the guns.
luckily, you had a good amount of practice with a gun since the warner incident. you were no james bond, as a man kenji liked to reference, but you had enough skill to defend yourself and others in the face of danger.
"why does warner's father need both sisters?" kenji humorously asked castle, "can't we at least keep one of them, one for the reestablishment and one for omega point."
you scoffed with a grin, entertaining the joke. "i'm sorry, who exactly are you willing to sacrifice to the reestablishment kenji?"
"well, with that attitude i'm starting to lean towards you."
castle goes through the plan once more before having to leave with the rest of omega point. they had to be stationed around building near the meeting point before the four of you arrived.
the time finally arrived for all of you to begin the journey to meeting the commander. since you all were traveling on foot, adam and kenji leading the way, you needed to leave at least an hour before the designated time.
adam was able to successfully turn off his protective shield for kenji to make all of you invisible. it made the journey easier; being able to wander through the land unseen.
after kenji misguided you to the wrong house, you all rushed to get to the correct address, 1542 sycamore. with 50 seconds of time, you all arrived.
juliette made the quick decision to tell kenji and adam to stay hidden, that it was better if warner's dad thought we were alone. in the case of an emergency, they could jump in.
kenji and adam gave a few last words of reassurance, before turning back invisible. then, you and juliette stood in front of the door of meeting house, holding hands before entering the house.
warner's dad did the job of opening the door for you both, inviting you inside even though it was more a of demand, and commenting on your impeccable timing.
once inside, you got a good look at the man. you shouldn't be shocked he was also quite handsome since he is warner's father, but you were still thrown back by his unexpected attractiveness.
unfortunately, you didn't take him his appearance for long before he abruptly & forcefully pushed juliette head against the wall behind her, momentarily knocking her out.
you didn't even get to process the action before you were pushed roughly against the wall, the commanders right forearm holding you down by the throat, while his left hand was disarming you.
almost as if acted on instinct, you pushed him back with a scarlet force, sending him back first onto a nearby table.
you took a second to get react, unsure of what happened, before rushing over to your sister. juliette didn't seem to be bleeding, luckily, but you figured she might have a concussion. much to your surprise, she sat up straighter attempting to act unfazed.
you were roughly yanked away by your wrist and away from juliette. you attempted a second self-defense act, but the commander was first and pulled out his gun, pointing it to your sister.
"try anything else, and i'll shoot her before you could blink."
your silence was a sign of defeat. you stood still as he unarmed you, even taking off your coat for good measure.
he released you finally then went on to do the same to juliette, who was still recovering from the slight blackout she faced from the collision with the wall - he repeated the threat to her, gun pointing in your direction this time.
you swore if you made it out of here alive you were going to learn more defensive uses of your powers to never be in a position like this again.
juliette must've been refocused on the task at hand because she starting asking the commander for the location of the hostages.
you stomach dropped when he disclosed his army is equipped and ready to take down any omega point members who are lingering by.
he went on to elaborate his plan to eliminate the "freaks" that made up the rebellion. but what got your heart beating faster was the mention of warner.
he directs his talk to you, "i admit, your sister, juliette, had piqued my interest quite a bit with her ability and history, i'd never paid much more than a glance in your direction. but what really astounded me, was when my son begged me to spare your life." he smiles, in a terrifying manor, "i just had to meet this girl whose bewitched him and spelled him into such a lovesick fool."
you felt physically stuck to your place as you listened. you didn't have to look at juliette to know she was also frozen.
'did aaron really do that?'
he turns in your direction, "i have every intention to use you to teach my son a lesson, and that will just have to include your death much to your misfortune. i really do hate to waste a pretty face." you face pales at the mention of your death.
then he faces your sister, who had taken a sudden step in front of you, "but that doesn't mean the older ferrars has to suffer the same fate and couldn't prove to be useful to join me in the capitol."
"i'd rather jump off a very steep cliff, thanks."
you wanted to laugh at your sister's retort, but you couldn't help but worry that he'd kill her for her denial. you'd rather be the sole target of his persecution than drag your sister down into it as well.
you reminded yourself adam and kenji were still around, they would surely arrive in time before either of you could be dead. you hoped.
the commander, however, does laugh at your sister's rejection, "a stubborn one you are."
"son, would you come in here, please?"
your eyes widen, warner was here this whole time.
you and juliette glanced at the same time, both being shocked at his presence.
when he appears in the doorway, all the memories of the event in his room come back to haunt you.
his face was void of any emotion, but his stare directed intensely toward you.
there was no time for small talk, because warner's father handed him a gun, meant to kill you. he places it in aaron's hand and aiming it to your head, dishing out the command to 'clean up his mess.'
you wouldn't be surprised if he had intentions to shoot you, you quite literally had shot him the last time you'd seen each other.
juliette let out yells of protests, telling warner to put the gun down.
you were preparing ways to defend yourself, mainly involving levitating an object and throwing it at either person with murderous intent toward you. but you weren't sure how you could hide the movement of your hand, and red glow of your eyes, when the attention was all on you.
but you couldn't help solely stare back into aaron's emerald green eyes. you wondered if this would be your last sight before death.
no, you refused to succumb to death like this, you wouldn't give anderson the pleasure.
you stared back into the green eyes, daring him to take a shot. this could be really courageous or terribly stupid.
then in the next instant, the gun had a new target, his father.
his father didn't look too fazed, confident that his son wouldn't shoot him, even patronizing him for it.
you didn't wait to find out if he would go through with it because now that the attention shifted, you could execute your plan of action.
the supreme and warner were both knocked down by the large heavy table being thrown at them. granted, aaron wasn't your target, but it didn't hurt to knock him down in case he intended to shoot you.
juliette took the opportunity to get the firearms the commander has taken at the beginning, and use the gun to shoot him in the leg. both legs. multiple times.
you were about to reel her back, when kenji appeared out of thin air, literally, and held juliette back from further injuring anderson.
suddenly, you remembered warner was still in the room. you looked around to find him passed out on the ground, a syringe, you guessed kenji used, next to him.
kenji tossed you as roped and told you to bound his arms, so, you knelt down on the floor next to him, carefully shifting him to place the rope.
as you did this, you noticed his features closely, how different he seemed unconscious, at peace. it kind of made him more beautiful.
out of your better judgement, you reached out slowly to touch a lock of his blonde hair, soft.
you immediately pulled your hand away when you thought you felt a stir, but you looked back to his face and he was still unconscious.
maybe, if you had looked a little closer you'd notice the ghost of a small smirk on his lips.
"we're going to take this kid hostage."
you were brought to your current situation with that statement.
"wait, what!" kidnapping wasn't on your to-do list for the day.
however, the most shocking news to be said in this room, was when adam dropped the bomb that the supreme command, warner's father, was his dad - making warner his half brother.
in the midst of all this chaos, omega point had already set off the call to attack, and now were battling against the reestablishment.
there was no time to think about events because kenji was rushing everyone out the door to get back to the safe haven.
the four of you needed to a large distraction so castle could draw back before major disaster since anderson was down and you now had taken warner. juliette promptly stepped up with an idea and create a part two of her earth-shattering ability. - which it turned out working really well because you all were able to make contact with castle.
adam and kenji did the heavy lifting of carrying aaron's heavy body while you and juliette had the task of finding a tank for the four of you to head to omega point in.
once that was settled all of you clambered into the tank, kenji taking the wheel and adam acting as second in command - that left you and juliette in the back with warner.
who was currently to the left of you, slumped against the window side of his seat, and juliette being on your right.
you weren't thrilled to have him smushed next to you. not when you were close enough to smell his cologne and feel the outline of his muscles through his jacket.
a part of you thought he would maybe wake up somewhere during the ride, but his eyes remained close. you know because you were staring at him more than you'd like to admit.
you reminded yourself what he had put you and juliette through, the asylum, the imprisonment, and the tests. it was enough to reel you back in and continue your dislike for warner.
although he was asleep, the bumps on the travel to the underground base made for a lot of jolts of movement and in turn caused warner's body to tumble onto you.
his body was heavy, but somehow it was heavier whenever you had to push him back to his side. it was like a force was trying to keep him on there.
his head somehow always slumped into the hair on the crook of your neck, and at some point, you could've sworn you felt him breathe in through his nose, like a sniff. but you wrote it off as the movement of the vehicle.
you must've passed out at a point because when you opened your eyes, you were lying against warner's shoulder.
your face was a flush of scarlet when you realized your position, but luckily juliette was fast asleep, and the two men were occupied in the front, likely going over today's events. thank god.
not long after, you all arrived at the destination and made it out of the tank.
kenji helped pull you out of the tank, not before leaving a teasing comment.
“have a nice nap, did you?”
you ignored him, but your face went red in embarrassment. he would never let you live this down.
you took a rest for a whole day before interacting with anyone. you weren't sure if you could handle any other sudden revelation without rest, especially if it involved warner.
castle came to you and juliette to discuss further the plan with warner and such. and you were reminded of the fact adam and him were technically brothers, which was kept a secret between all four of you still.
then castle gave you both the most ridiculous task; to be in charge of the questioning and occasionally visiting the prisoner. his reasoning being you both were the most acquainted with warner, and he'd be more willing to comply with at least one of you.
you wanted to decline; you didn't understand why castle always sent everyone else to do work for him - but you knew your sister was happy to finally have a real assignment for omega point; she wanted to be useful.
so the following day, you began your "mission." you sisters went to where they were holding warner, a room much like where you and juliette slept, but the difference was it closely guarded, not letting the person inside leave.
you greeted the guards, and they had looked very relieved to see you there. apparently, warner has been less than pleasant as an inmate - throwing things and demanding to speak with you, and they informed him the two of you would be arriving to calm him down.
you stepped into the room and noticed the lack of furniture, probably because he was throwing, then you saw warner sitting on a mattress on the floor, indulging himself in some sort of journal that you didn't get to get a look at before he put it away.
he looks up at your arrival with a grin, "hello amor, a pleasure to see you again at last." he scanned your attire, "i have to say, this new look on you has you looking rather ravishing."
you rolled your eyes, fighting the butterflies because of his comment. "how you manage to be a prisoner and still keep that stupid charm goes beyond me."
"i did say i'd see you soon didn't i?"
juliette gave you a confused glance, you hadn't told her about the note, nor the kiss.
you ignored what he said, trying redirect the conversation. you glanced down at his chest, "nice to see you've healed from the shot, for a moment, i thought i'd killed you."
"takes a lot more to kill me i'm afraid, however, if it's by your hand i'm more than willing to greet death like an old friend."
before you could bite back, juliette interrupted your banter with a cough, meant to serve a reminder to you to stay on task.
"right, forgot you were here juliette, perhaps you'd like to step out so your sister and could properly reunite."
god, you hated his suaveness. you hated it even more when it worked in making your heartbeat pick up.
juliette took charge of the conversation and started asking questions relevant to the establishment, but warner would either change the subject or give vague answers.
you both decided to leave after growing tired of the lack of information. you ignored warner's pleas for the company and walked out.
the next day you both tried again, meeting in from of his room. juliette, however had decided a change of tactics.
"i think you should go in without me."
you turned to her confused. she explained he would likely be more cooperative with your presence alone, his actions from yesterday proving to be in support of that.
you denied it, even if part of you believed it. you weren't sure you were ready to be in a room alone with aaron.
nonetheless, juliette left you to your own devices and rushed off, probably to find adam or kenji, before you could protest further.
you cursed her, but prepared to enter the room in front of you.
aaron was lying down, resting an arm behind his head and using the other to throw and object up and down. once he noticed you he sat up in your direction.
he noticed the lack of presence of juliette, and you could tell he was more than pleased.
"finally, i was starting to think your sister would chaperone us forever."
"don't be so eager to be alone, i could shoot you again."
"and i'd willingly take another bullet if it meant another kiss."
you couldn't help the annoying pink tint on your face that came up with the mention of the kiss.
you changed topic, "how were you able to send me that note?"
he smirked, "well for one, i noticed you after our eyes met briefly during your first time outside in the sector. after that, it was blatantly obvious who you were; that disguise did nothing to hide your gorgeous face, unfortunately for you. and then it wasn't hard to order a civilian to drop the note in your pocket while you were distracted."
you were stunned; you really hadn't thought to think he recognized you. you thought you blended in pretty well on those missions.
"okay, stop distracting me, what are your father's plans."
"hmm, maybe if you ask nicely and give me a kiss - i'd be more willing to comply."
you left shortly after that, knowing you weren't going to get much out from him.
it continued like that for a few days; you'd walk in, try to get information, but then he'd turn it back into a way to flirt with you or bring up the kiss.
this time when you walked in, you saw him reading the journal from the first day, and you were able get a better look at it. it was yours.
"hey, what are you doing with my-"
"dear diary, today i checked out a book from the library, there was a rather intimate scene between the main charact-"
you immediately recognized the writing as your own and strided across the room to aaron to snatch your journal back.
warner was quicker, standing up in a snap, keeping a distance from you as read aloud more pages.
you yelled at him to stop, catching up to him, but now he held the book to the ceiling, making it harder for you to reach because of his tall body.
you, much to your embarrassment, jumped up and down to reach the journal, wanting this humiliation to end.
"aaron, just give it back!"
all of a sudden, aaron stopped his teasing and looked down to you, a lopsided smile on his face.
"you called me aaron."
you eyes opened in horror, you just called him aaron, not warner. and he heard it.
"no. no. i said warner, you misheard." it was a terrible attempt at lying.
he smiles even wider, his dimples prominent. he reaches a free hands to lift your chin.
"please, keep saying my name, i do love how it sounds coming from you."
you felt you were gonna explode from all the emotions you were feeling, the room was getting hotter, and your heart was pounding in your ears.
you couldn't get a solid sentence our without babbling in embarrassment. so you took the coward's way - bolting out the room, abandoning the mission to retrieve your journal.
you avoided visits a few times after that incident, you were still cringing at the flashbacks, it worsened when you also remembered he had the contents of your journal and all the embarrassing things and darkest secrets you'd written inside.
unfortunately, that didn't stop you from running into warner.
you were eating lunch with kenji, he was currently explaining some princess film you'd never seen.
"wait, so how did this girl even find out when her birthday was?"
"well, obviously, mother gothel told her."
"why didn't she just lie about her birthday, or not even tell her what a birthday is?"
"i don't know, i didn't make the script."
"also does the ending mean she has power still, or was it the last of her ma-"
"oh my god, can you shut up and just appreciate the greatness that is tangled!"
"hey! you're the on-"
"well, isn't this a surprise."
you turned to the new voice that entered the conversation. aaron warner stood in front of your table, hands behind his back, and castle behind him, likely guiding him somewhere.
then you remembered your last conversation with the leader and came to the conclusion aaron was on his way to be tested, probably like adam had.
castle remained unaware of the blood shared between the two, but you did let it slip you were unable to read your mind, and he was able to make skin contact with your sister.
"well if it isn't my favorite ex-boss." kenji spoke with a mouthful of food.
aaron ignored kenji, much to kenji's offense. "amor, here have you been these days, you left quite flushed after our intimate moment in my cell."
kenji spat out his food at that last bit.
you body was filled to the brim with utter embarrassment and hate toward the way he phrased his wording to make it seem what it wasn't.
you turned to kenji who was coughing continuously, "nothing even happened!" you gave warner a glare, "stop making it seem so.. so-"
"so what, amor? i'd love to know what you think i meant by intimate."
"you are so insufferable."
castle then dragged warner along to the testing area. you couldn't deny you weren't curious to find out if he shared a gift similar to adam.
you were planning to engage with warner the next day, but his guards had come up to you during your training session demanding your presence because apparently warner was in a fit of rage.
worried, you rushed over. entering the room, warner was sitting against the wall, face in his hands. the room was in disarray, broken items of what was already so little, scattered all over the room. even his floor mattress had been tossed.
he barely acknowledged you, so you took it upon yourself to kneel down in from of him, silently asking what happened.
"castle..he told me it's possible i have an... ability. he told me i could change," he laughs humorlessly, "that there was potential for me to be.. different... possibly better."
you stayed silent, unsure of how to respond, as he bitterly ranted about his talk with castle.
"what do you think?”
“what?”
“do you believe i can change? i’d love to know what your opinion is on this, amor.”
you weren’t sure how to respond. “i believe… everyone can choose what they want to be. it’s up to them to decide, even if everyone tell tried to tell you who you are.”
this time, he was the one silent, looking down at his lap, likely in thought.
you took the chance to take in his attire; some black sweatpants, grey socks, and no shirt.
you probably would’ve been flustered to see him shirtless if you didn’t notice some peculiar marks peaking from his shoulder.
silently, you slowly crept to the side of aaron, still distracted. you slide far enough to get a good few of his back.
you internally gasped. his back was littered with lines of scarring - likely whipped. your stomach churned at the thought.
you also notice a big tattoo in the upper middle of his back, in all caps ‘IGNITE’.
you must’ve said it out loud because aaron’s head whipped in your direction. he turned his back away from you once he noticed where your stare was directed.
“no need to say anything, i already know how hideous it looks.”
unsure how to respond, you blurt the first thing out of your head - “i think they look cool. kind of like an abstract piece of art.”
yeah, comforting people wasn’t your forte.
luckily, aaron seemed intrigued by your statement. so you took the chance to request something further.
“can i touch your, erm, back?”
aaron was hesitant for a few moments, but then sighed and turns his back toward you.
you delicately pressed your fingers along the canvas of his back. you could feel every ridge and texture of each scar as your fingers glided over.
aaron flinched at first content, then progressively & visibly melted into your touch.
“why ‘ignite’?”
“why not?” you really hated his vagueness.
an idea popped into your head. you pulled a pen out of your jacket pocket, testing it on your own skin a few times before you started drawing lines on aaron’s skin.
“amor, what are you doing?”
“hang on.” he could feel the ink of the pen etched on his back.
“you know, my original plan was to seduce you with my perfect abs, but i guess luring you with my scars works as well.”
“shut up.” but you were smiling while saying it.
you finished connecting a few lines, “there, perfect.”
"i think you've forgotten i dont have the neck of a giraffe to twist around."
"oh, my bad." you said sheepishly. "do you have a mirror?"
"i did, then i broke it. pieces should be in a corner somewhere."
you mentally scolded his carelessness.
you managed to find a piece big enough for him to see your creation upon his skin.
"i drew a star." you wanted to facepalm at how silly it sounded.
star was a bit of a stretch, you connected lines scarred on his bank to form a lopsided and wonky-shaped star.
he just stared at it, not uttering a word. you moved to try to wipe off the mark, but he grabbed your wrist before you could.
"no," he grins, "i adore it. do more of them."
you did. it was a whole galaxy of stars embedded on him.
he stayed mute as he watched you through the shard of mirror while you doodled, but suddenly he spoke and gave you details as to what his knew of his father's plans and the location of brendon & winston.
"why are you suddenly telling me this, why now?"
"it's what your here for, isn't it."
you rushed over to castle immediately and repeated everything aaron told you. he thanked you for the information before he called in others to draw up a plot of attack. you all were to leave immediately the next day.
castle called a meeting in the lunch hall a few hours later; everyone at omega point was gathered there.
he briefed them on the commander's plans or what the plan was supposed to be so far. of course, people were suspicious of this information coming from warner, not trusting him at all; not that you could blame them.
"he's immune to both of the ferrars abilities, he can touch juliette with no issue and y/n can't get into his head. after this reveal, we did some test, and we've come to find out he's gifted like the rest of us."
the room exploded in chaos, gasps, yells, and protests coming from all different directions. a lot of ongoing looks toward your table. castle raised his voice to calm everyone down.
you and juliette didn't stick around long after, for one you already knew the information being given , and two, the stares and questions were getting annoying and uncomfortable.
however, adam shortly followed the two of you out, desperate to speak to juliette, and you knew why - warner being able to touch her.
they began talking intensely as if you weren't there. you watched from the sidelines as juliette explained her side and adam getting more frustrated.
you butted in at a point, you felt bad for the guy, but your sister came first. “adam, maybe it's best you leave to cool down.”
but your voice of reason only irritated him. “how about you stop inserting yourself into your sister’s affairs and let her speak for herself.”
"what is your issue?"
"this is between juliette and i; she doesn't need you speaking for her."
"you hypocrite, that's what you're doing right now!"
"why don't you go fraternize with warner, that's all you seem to be doing these days." adam venomously spat at you.
as if the mention of his name made him appear, warner's presence made it known. he stepped in front of you, dividing you and adam who got closer as the argument headed.
"kent, you've really got an attribute for being infuriating and vexing."
that set off the fire for an intense standoff between the two. adam, already mad at aaron, started the verbal feud.
it got so heated, kenji inserted himself between the two - trying to stop the commotion. you even grabbed aaron's arm to pull him away.
it was all happening so quick; one moment, they were shooting insults back and forth, the next instant kenji was dropping to the floor clutching his head in pain.
juliette immediately called out for help, finding castle, who brought in sonya and sara to take kenji to the medic.
adam and juliette went trailing after them, but you stayed there stunned. what did you do?
you had a flashback to the experiment - kenji reacting, in the same manner, those soldiers had after you freaked out.
you felt extremely horrible for kenji and you prayed he would be alright.
but you hadn't intended to hurt kenji nor did you exert any force in using your powers. you had better practice with your energy, so it didn't make sense.
aaron, still beside you, reached out to you - but you instinctively took a step back. you weren't sure what was happening to you, and the last thing you wanted was to hurt someone else accidentally.
"probably better you stay back," you looked down at your hands in fright, "i don't have control right now, i'm don't even understand how i did that to kenji."
"because amor, you didn't injure him. i did."
your confusion only deepened with that. then he brought back the mention of his gift, and you put the puzzle pieces together as he spoke.
"so you can basically can absorb someone else's power and use it?"
"a little more complicated than that. i can sense people's energy, like right now i know you're confused and worried for your friend, but also scared of yourself for what you did, or thought you did."
he elaborated, saying he unintentionally manifested your energy when you touched him. when kenji grabbed his arm, in an attempt to pull him away, that was when he projected the energy on him and hurting him in the process.
"wait, so does that mean you have my ability to read minds too?"
"hmm, i haven't given it a chance," he smirks at you "would you like to be my test subject?"
"absolutely not."
later that night, you check with sara and sonya on kenji's condition. they informed you that he was alright, but just needed some rest. after, you met up with castle in his office, finalizing plans for the morning - the beginning of the battle.
before you said goodbye, you had a question that had been crossing your mind.
"why do you trust ar-, er, warner, what's to say he won't turn his back."
"well, i guess i can't say for sure that he won't. i just have to have faith in mr. warner that he will make the right decision for himself. and with your added presence, i'm sure he's more open to that than ever."
"what do you mean?"
"surely you realize he's in love with you. he's even told me himself."
"he..he told you he was in love with me?"
"yes, just after i was discussing his gift with him." he said it like it was the most casual thing.
you stayed to chat briefly after. you directly headed to aaron's room, no longer littered with guards since he was considered a "member." you were able to walk in with no issue.
aaron hadn't been asleep yet when you got there, he was sitting up on his bed, which had a frame now, reading a book.
you didn't give him a chance to react to your sudden intrusion before you started speaking.
"why would you tell castle you're in love with me"
he furrowed his brows, but you kept going - you were set on getting answers.
"how could you just.. say something like that, what is your motive? are you trying to get to me?"
"amor, calm down. i have no motive." he said, standing up and walking toward you.
"then why would you even say that."
"isn't it clear?" he gets nears, a hand going to cradle the underside of your face, "i meant what i said."
"you can't love someone you barely know."
"but that's just it. i do know you. i've read your mind on paper, and experienced you for myself the moment i met you. i know that you hate to be wrong, you want to clench your first when you lie, although juliette is older by a bit - you feel the need to protect her, you're afraid of the dark, but never admit it, you hate yourself for loving your powers, and you want so badly to be accepted here because of your lonely childhood. shall i go on?"
you were flabbergasted by his word, and you couldn't even deny that they weren't true.
"how do you know this?"
"because, as my dear father put it, it seem you've bewitched me, my mind, and my body."
then he kissed you. and you let him.
and you very much liked it.
it was a longing, messy, kiss - he had you against the wall, lifted by your hips to his height. you wrapped your arms around his neck kissing him deeper, not letting any thoughts or worries flow from you for the moment.
the doors opened. "y/n? are you her-" then a gasp.
you recognized the voice - juliette.
you immediately panicked and pushed aaron away, attempting an explanation yo your sister, but she was already turning her feet and running away.
you gave warner a glance before you ran off in her direction.
you caught up to her, "juliette, please, wait!"
she abruptly stopped her feet and turned to you, "what are you doing y/n? kissing warner, are everything he's done!"
"it's just... i didn't... it's not like-" you struggled to put it into words.
"so what, you- you like the guy who kidnapped us? the one who shot a guy in front of us. experimented - borderline tortured us? he made me hurt a child, y/n. a child! and now you're making out with him."
you were at a loss for words, tears starting to build up at her harsh words.
"you're an idiot if you think you could love him, and even stupider to think a cold heartless person like him could love you. and i won't have anything to do with you if you keep him in your life." and with that she waked off, leaving you in the hall.
you didn't go back to warner after your fight, nor did you go back to your room immediately. you shamefully found an empty closet to cry into for a while. once you were able to breathe normally, you went back to the shared room - luckily everyone was fast asleep.
by morning, everyone was preparing for the rescue of brendan and winston. you and juliette exchanged no words; you attempted - but was shut down every time. she had never been this mad at you. so you just suited up and went to find kenji. kenji sensed the tension between you sisters, but didn't push for information.
you came to found out from castle, aaron warner was gone - he escaped omega point. likely on his way to the reestablishment.
you didn't want to focus on why a part of you was hurt when you heard that.
the battle was not a scene for the light-hearted - anderson's men had already begun gathering civilians and spewing blood. if you didn't have a strong stomach, you'd already be spilling your guts.
midway through dodging bullets and soldiers, you felt a shift in the already dire environment. there was something wrong, and you sensed it.
you urged kenji you felt the need to return to omega point - there was something wrong. he wasn't too convinced by your vague intuition, so you sought off on your own, doing your best to avoid the battlefield.
you ran into juliette at some point, not caring for your argument at the moment, and told her your inkling. she also brushed you off, telling it wasn't a time for your dramatics.
even with no support, you went back - you couldn't ignore this feeling.
you were maybe 200 ft away from omega point when it happened. bombs were dropped on the territory - causing the destruction of the building and any remaining members who stayed behind.
the explosion was powerful - even from where you were standing, it sent you both painfully flying back. you blacked out before you could react to the tragic ending of omega point.
you regained consciousness after consecutive kicks to your ribs and a voice telling you to wake up.
in front of you stood a crippled anderson, standing with he support of a cain. his composure was calm, but you could see the hatred behind his eyes.
you painfully stood up, surveying the area. you were in a house - similar to the one from last time.
you felt weak, dizzy, and the world was a bit blurry. you were leaning on a mantle to support your standing.
"ah, the fatigue your feeling would be my own fault. had those lovely sisters inject you with something. it will incapacitate you enough that you won't be a threat. can't have you flipping tables again."
you were barely registering his words, but when he mentioned sisters it gave you a bit of a jump start. he had sara and sonya.
your words felt faint, but you demanded to know where they were. he assured you they were unharmed, but it did nothing to ease you.
midway your conversation, warner enters the room - shocked to see you there. you probably would've reacted if you weren't so dosed on drugs.
"now that we have this reunion out the way, i'm going to be generous, something you ought to appreciate. you can tell me where your sister is and where the rest of your band of freaks are. you can aid me in destroying them and only after will i grant you the mercy of joining the reestablishment."
"what do you want with juliette?"
"she did this to me," he gestured to his legs, "and now i want my compensation."
no matter the situation with your sister, you'd never give her up.
"go to hell."
he sighs, "a disappointment once again, miss ferrars." he turns to his son, "this is why it's important i teach you this very valuable lesson son."
warner goes rigid, "what do you mean?"
warner pull out his shotgun, "justice, should always be served - even if it has to be by your own means."
then you were shot right in the chest.
you blacked out, then started slipping in and out of consciousness. all you remember is blood spilling from you at a rapid pace, and aaron crouched in front of you.
you remember voices - aarons, sara, and sonya's talking in rushed voices - then it was only aaron.
"hey cmon, amor, stay with me."
"wow... getting in the chest really sucks. i feel really bad about shooting you now." you spoke deliriously.
"it's alright, i just need you to hold on a little longer." his voice strained, holding back anguish. 
but you didn't; you passed out, your last thoughts hoping juliette would throw you a nice funeral, enough though she was upset at you. 
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to-thelakes · 20 days
Text
banged up (3)
pairing; frank castle x fem!reader
summary; frank unexpectedly meets your roommate willow and you begin to realise your feelings for frank.
warnings; fluff, hurt/comfort, soft frank, awkward frank, descriptions of injuries and memories of torture (not too explicit/graphic tho), suggestive themes, realisation of feelings
notes; part 3 is here my lovelies! we've got more soft frank, an introduction to willow (who uses she/they pronouns) and some realisation of feelings. this chapter is such super sweet and i am getting carried away with this fic. i love these two together so much and i just want them to kiss and get married and have babies. that's all.
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part one part two
When you heard your roommate - Willow - come back at 9am, you didn’t get out of bed. You hadn’t had a chance to look at yourself in the mirror and you really didn’t need her worrying anymore than necessary. So you let Frank deal with it. But you could still hear their conversation through the slightly ajar bedroom door and it made you smile (which made your face hurt even more than it already did).
“Hi,” Willow sounded unsure as she closed the front door and discarded her shoes onto the shoe rack.
“Mornin’.” Frank was cooking breakfast and you could sense the hesitance in his tone - trying to work out whether Willow was a threat. But he knew you had a roommate and considering they’d come in with a key, he didn’t immediately go on the offense.
“So you a friend of my roommate’s or…?” Willow asked. You tried not to chuckle, knowing it would hurt, as you listened to Frank’s boots shift on the floor. He was uncomfortable, you just knew it. He had never been over at your place when Willow had come back off the night shift. There was one close call a few weeks back but you had mostly kept those two parts of your life separate.
“Yeah, stayed over last night,” He responded. Willow let out a soft ‘uh-huh’ before she ran her hands over her face. They were exhausted.
“She in her room?” Willow asked. Frank was caught off-guard by the question and he quickly realized that he didn’t know if she knew about the company you kept during the nights. How would they react to seeing you bloody and bruised? Frank was surprised that your roommate hadn’t said anything about him considering his face had been plastered on the news more than once over the past few years. But they hadn’t shown any indication that they knew who he was.
“Mhm, gettin’ her beauty sleep,” He responded, gesturing vaguely towards the room. Willow nodded and ran her hands through their hair before letting out a soft huff.
“Cool, okay. Well, I’m gonna go to sleep. Would you two make sure to keep the noise down? It’s been a uh- long night,” Willow finally said. She sounded exasperated and you couldn’t blame her. You bit your lip, feeling a little guilty for not saying anything to them beforehand but you didn’t exactly expect this to happen.
 Plus, you had spent most of last night in so much pain that you could barely think straight let alone have the foresight to message her about Frank being in your apartment, “You the guy she went on a date with?” Willow asked after a beat of awkward silence between the two. She was halfway to her bedroom door when she turned to look back.
“Nah, just a friend,” Frank dismissed. Willow nodded and then disappeared into her bedroom while Frank continued to cook. As you lay curled up on the bed, your phone dinged and you grabbed it to catch a glimpse of the screen; it was a text from Willow.
‘What the fuck is The Punisher doing in our kitchen?’ There was a brief moment before another text dinged through, ‘Are you fucking Frank Castle? I swear to everything that is holy…’ A giggle bubbled from your lips despite yourself and pain shot through your body in an instant. The brief moment of joy was replaced with burning pain as you twisted your face into the pillow, crying out. 
Tears pricked at your eyes and you gripped your pillow underneath your hands. It made it worse but also gave your mind something to focus on. The ache in your fingers was much less painful than your stomach.
Another message dinged through and you tentatively reached a hand out to glance over it. ‘Good on you for getting that vigilante dick, better tell me about it later’ ‘Hook me up with Jessica Jones? Lord knows I need that woman to rail me’. You couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of your chest but your laughs were interspersed with cries of pain and coughing that only seemed to make every part of your body feel worse.
‘Must have been a good night… heading to sleep now, talk to me later xx’ The last message dinged through and you whimpered softly as you curled back up on the bed. Frank appeared a moment later with painkillers and a plate of food. His eyebrows furrowed.
“Somethin’ happen?” He asked. You shook your head and slowly pushed yourself to rest back against the headboard, “You need some painkillers?” You nodded. You had probably had the last lot around 3 hours ago when you had woken up to find Matt in the apartment so you were more than happy to take more. You needed it.
“You know how to get in contact with Jessica Jones?” You asked as your head fell back against the headboard. You adjusted your legs a little before taking the plate of food from Frank. His head tilted slightly, a questioning look on his face.
“Wanting to add her to your roster of vigilantes to take care of?” He asked. You shook your head and stabbed your fork into a piece of bacon.
“Nah, Willow needs a good railing. Thought you might have contacts,” You shrugged, a wry smile spreading across your face. Frank stared at you for a moment, painkiller bottle cap off and in his other hand. His face made you chuckle but that just made your stomach hurt and so you quickly wrapped your arm around it, squeezing your eyes shut as your fork clattered to the plate.
“You’re real funny, sweetheart,” Frank muttered. You nodded your head, completely serious as you forced yourself to recover from the pain.
“I’m hilarious. God knew I would be too powerful if I became a comedian so he gave me no social skills and vigilantes for friends,” You responded, the corners of your lips turning up into a smile. Frank shook his head in disbelief as you let your stomach go, the pain subsiding a little.
“Whatever you say,” He then poured some painkillers onto a spoon before he gestured for you to open your mouth. You took the spoon into your mouth and swallowed it down.
“Y’know if Willow needs a railing, I think I need to be in an orgy or something. Nobody’s given me an orgasm in fucking years,” You grumbled. Frank didn’t know what to say as he poured another spoon of painkillers, “I just want God to give me a man that won’t cum in two seconds flat and leave me high and dry.” You were just bitching at this point but after your failed date and your torture, you were really beginning to wonder what the fuck you had done to get God - or whatever being was out there - to hate you so much, A soft sigh escaped your lips.
“This really bothers you, huh?” Frank asked after a moment of silence. You huffed out (though that made your chest hurt) and shrugged.
“I just got tortured and they got every fluid out of me except one. I’m not saying I wanted one of them to fuck me but the least I could have gotten was fucked in that fancy fucking restauraunt bathroom before I got kidnapped. Y’know,” You explained. You were half-joking but also, not joking in the slightest. He tilted his head as he looked at you and you reached out for his wrist, guiding the spoon of painkillers into your mouth since he seemed to have forgotten what he was doing. 
You swallowed the painkillers down before Frank pulled the spoon away and put it and the bottle down on the side.
His jaw clenched in thought as he tried to decide what to say. You could tell his head was spinning and it made your stomach turn (in a good way). Maybe it was because Frank had been taking care of you all night and he had been more attentive than any boyfriend you had ever had but you were sure that he would take of you if he fucked you. You found yourself almost wanting it.
“I need to piss,” You stated after a moment, distracting yourself from your unsavory swirling thoughts and giving the speechless Frank a reprieve. You had been fighting off going to the toilet for an hour or so, not wanting to face the thought of walking again. How you had walked last night was beyond you but you were desperate for the toilet so pain be damned, you needed to go.
“Come on,” He urged as he put the plate of breakfast to one side and got up from the bed. You shuffled around and wrapped your arm around his shoulder. He hauled you to your feet and with his help, you hobbled to the bathroom. You caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror as Frank guided you closer to the toilet and you looked atrocious.
You were pretty sure you would have looked worse last night since you’d got the swelling to come down since but you still looked awful. Your face was covered in bruises, they were in various stages of healing but there wasn’t much of your skin that wasn’t discolored. Your left eye was bloodshot and there was a slash across your left eyebrow which made the skin swell. You definitely were going to have a black-eye when the swelling went down.
Thankfully, you didn’t see how damaged the rest of your body was but you knew that it wasn’t pretty. You could feel the sutures that kept your skin together on your arms. Without them, you would have bled out.
“Need me to stay?” Frank asked as he moved one of your hands to rest against the sink. You shook your head and he let your other hand move from around his neck. He stepped back, “Keep the door unlocked, yeah?” You nodded and he then disappeared out of the bathroom. A long breath escaped your lips, trying to work up the courage to step over to the toilet. 
Despite the ice pack and the rest, your ankle still felt awful. You didn’t think it was broken but it was definitely sprained. You could vaguely recall a boot being stamped over it and you rolled it in your heels before you had been kidnapped. It was painful and putting even a little bit of pressure made you want to cry.
But you had to do it so you did. You limped to the toilet and pulled your underwear and pants down before you sat down. Your arms hurt and as you peed, you looked over them, taking in every suture and stitched up cut. You could remember how it felt when they sliced you the first time. After that, it became just a blur of pain.
Your wrists also looked awful. At first, they hadn’t bothered to tie you up. Instead, they put you in a dark room with lights that flashed intermittently to disorient you. Then, someone appeared, sliced your skin open wherever they could and disappeared. You hadn’t been able to fight back even if you wanted to. It all became far too much, far too quickly and when you had eventually collapsed, they tied you up.
Your wrists were still red raw, layers of skin stripped away. The rope had been the only thing keeping you upright for most of the time, you could still remember the burn in your calves. You sighed, pressing your hands over your face. It took everything in you not to start crying. You sucked in deep breaths, stabilizing your breathing before you wiped and clambered off the toilet. You dropped the seat, flushing and then going to wash your hands.
But the soap against your cuts made you whimper and hiss in pain, tears pricking your eyes. When you were done, you just rested your hands against the edge of the sink. The thought of moving made you want to cry and you were staring back at yourself in the mirror. Your eye really needed an ice pack.
There was a knock at the bathroom door and you said that Frank could come in. He nudged the door open as he looked at you. The tears were threatening to spill down your face at any moment and he frowned, stepping towards you.
“Hey, hey,” He murmured softly as he gently pulled you into a hug. His arms were tight enough to know you were safe without being so tight that it hurt your already battered and bruised body, “You’re safe now, you got that? Nobody’s gonna touch you.” You sniffled against his chest, tentatively moving your arms to wrap around him. You were trying so hard to be careful of the stitches, not wanting another one to pop.
“Don’t know how I didn’t tell them,” You admitted softly, “It hurts so much.” He nodded and pressed a kiss to your forehead, “Don’t understand how you can do this,” You added after a beat. Frank ran his hands down your hair.
“I know, sweetheart.” He murmured. You sighed, your bottom lip quivering as you held Frank a little tighter, “Need to eat some breakfast, come on,” He said after a moment, supporting half your body weight to head back to your room where your breakfast plate was. 
Once you were back on the bed, Frank adjusted the pillows so you could sit up comfortably. Then he grabbed the other plate of breakfast food and the two of you sat together, eating in silence.
Frank’s presence was enough to make you feel safe and you didn’t want him to leave.
-
Despite your complaints, Frank left the house at around 6pm to get some takeout for the both of you. He had been with you all day, talking to you, lying down with you, feeding you painkillers and snacks and getting anything that you needed. You appreciated it immensely but the thought of him leaving the house sent your anxiety off the charts.
But he promised that he would be back soon and that he was a call away if you needed anything. So, you reluctantly let him leave with that in mind. But of course, the second that Frank leaves the house, Willow made her appearance. You were curled up in bed when there was a knock at the bedroom door.
Every single possible scenario ran through your head before Willow called your name, “I know you’re not asleep and Frank’s gone.” You sighed and told them that she could come in. Willow pushed the door open and for a moment, she was smirking. That was until she saw you and her entire teasing, smug demeanor dropped.
“What the fuck?” It was an involuntary response and you sent her your best attempt at a smile, “Was this him?” She snapped. You scoffed and that made your chest hurt.
“No,” You stated bluntly. Willow’s eyebrows furrowed, not believing you for a goddamn second. You probably wouldn’t have believed you either, “He’s the one that saved me. Got grabbed during my date,” You explained. Willow didn’t know what to say and so she simply pushed your bedroom door to and moved to sit by your side. 
“What did they want?” She asked softly. You shrugged and they scoffed. You let your eyes fall closed, you were exhausted. It had been an incredibly long day.
“Just know that Frank found me, got me the fuck out,” You murmured. Suddenly everything made a lot more sense to Willow and they let out a sigh, pushing her braids behind her ear.
“Is that why he didn’t want me to see you even though I knew you were awake?” Willow asked. You nodded which made you wince, “Jesus, girl. Was it him that stitched you up?”
“Yeah, used most of the kit, sorry,” You murmured. Willow scoffed.
“It kept you alive, I don’t give a fuck,” Willow responded. You gave her a grateful smile before your head fell back down against the pillows. Just keeping your head up made you exhausted and you let your eyes close, “I’ve still got some of my prescription painkillers from my shoulder injury. You want them?” You bit your lip, debating whether that was a good idea, “I wouldn’t offer them to you if they would make it worse.” 
“You’re not a Nurse,” You murmured. Willow chuckled and nodded their head, “But please,” You added after a moment. You were so grateful for even the chance at stronger painkillers, it hopefully would make it easier to function. Willow surveyed you battered and bruised form for a moment before she stood up.
“And I’m gonna wrap your ankle, it looks awful,” Willow stated. You let out a grumble of acceptance before letting your eyes fall closed. You just wanted to relax but you also felt so bad. Willow had enough on her plate without worrying about you. You knew that she had plenty of her own issues to deal with between family, friends, her ex. Her roommate being tortured really wasn’t something you wanted to put on them.
It was a few moments before Willow returned and she had a fresh glass of water in their hand. They placed it down on the side before perching on the edge of the bed.
“Before you bitch, I know you hate pills but you either take it like a big girl or be in pain,” Willow stated. There was no arguing with that tone and you groaned softly in annoyance before slowly pushing yourself up to rest against the headboard. Willow then placed the pill in your hand before you grabbed the glass of water. You put it on your tongue and instantly chugged the water.
The pill washed away with the tsunami water and it was gone. Willow smiled before she shuffled down to bed, “Gimme a pillow,” She ordered. You grumbled in annoyance before grabbing one from beside you and throwing it their way. She grabbed it, put it under your ankle and then began to wrap your ankle, “I have a question,” Willow said after a beat. You groaned, tilting your head back. Willow asking questions never meant anything good, they were a menace at their worst and nosy at their best. You grunted in annoyance.
“What?”
“The Punisher wouldn’t just stay around anyone’s house all day and night. I mean, he should have taken you to the hospital but he didn’t. Gonna explain why?” Willow asked as she continued to wrap your ankle.
“It’s complicated.” It was literally the only way to explain. You and Frank had always been complicated. You knew Frank because of Karen. She had asked for help with something Frank needed probably a year or two ago. Karen had been madly in love with Frank then. You had a feeling she still was but she wasn’t as obvious with it anymore.
But when Frank had found out you had helped (and knew he was alive), he freaked. You couldn’t blame him but he had found you and threatened you. It made you terrified to even go near him and when it was released to the news that he was alive, that terror turned to worry. Even if Frank was terrifying and vengeful, you knew he had a code. He hadn’t hurt you despite the fact that he had no reason to trust you wouldn’t tell people he was alive.
Karen had been worried about him too and she had somehow managed to rope you into a scheme to make sure he was okay when he had gone to the hospital. That then led to you helping break him out of the hospital with Dinah Madani, a literal Homeland Agent. It had been a weird time in your life but somehow Frank saw you as someone to trust.
So, one night, he found his way to your apartment as he bled out and you saved his life. Ever since then, he checked in on you every week and often came to you to get patched up - as did Matt. You didn’t exactly have any medical training but you had a steady hand and the best leftovers to feed the injured so they had both found you to be someone to trust.
It boggled your mind that you had grown a friendship with Frank especially after your rocky start but it felt good to have someone who you knew protected you. You also had called him more than once while completely trashed and he always came to pick you up and take you home like the gentleman he was.
But it was complicated. That was the only way you’d ever be able to explain your friendship with Frank because you didn’t think he would ever actually let you in and trust you. It didn’t really bother you but you sometimes just wanted to be there for him like he was for you.
“You want to fuck him, don’t you?” Willow asked bluntly. Your eyes widened and you used your good foot to kick her in the side.
“I want anyone to fuck me at this rate, as long as they do it right,” You snapped. Willow chuckled at your comment, shaking her head as they continued to wrap your ankle.
“I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to fuck him. He’s the only man who's ever taken care of you while you’ve been sick,” She pointed out. You scoffed, opening your mouth to rebuke that claim. The past few boyfriends you had hadn’t been all that bad but then you remembered every time you had been sick, none of them had come over. You groaned.
“Jesus Christ,” You mumbled. Willow nodded, glancing over at your down-trodden expression. It all seemed to make so much more sense now, “That’s probably why I wanna fuck him so bad, he actually pays attention to me.” There was a pause before you added, “Not gonna happen though.” Willow cocked an eyebrow before they returned back to your ankle, doing one more pass of wrap before she was done, “Willow, he lost his wife. Don’t think fucking anyone is his priority anymore.” Willow hummed in agreement before she pulled away from your ankle. It was wrapped up nice and tight but not so tight it’d block your circulation. It would just hopefully keep the swelling down for the next few days.
“He’s missing out,” Willow stated as you began to shuffle to lie back down. They moved the pillow with your ankle, keeping it elevated, “I’ve heard you give head, pretty sure those men go to a different universe.” Your eyes widened and you kicked Willow with your good foot.
“You perv!” You accused, pouting at her. Willow chuckled.
“Don’t suck your boyfriends off in the bathroom then I won’t hear it,” Willow shrugged nonchalantly. 
You pouted, sinking into the bed, “Noted. I’ll keep giving head strictly to the bedroom.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Willow mumbled. You rolled your eyes and moved your arms to rest over your face. You were so tired but the prescription painkillers were at least helping. The numbing pain had been replaced with relief that was also making you drowsy as hell.
“I’m gonna go get ready for work. Will you be alright?” Willow asked. You nodded.
“Yeah, Frank’s gonna be back soon. I’ll be fine,” You dismissed. Willow nodded, pressing a kiss to your forehead just as the apartment door closed which meant that Frank was back. You eyed her for a moment before she smiled and disappeared. Her and Frank shared a curt conversation before she headed into the bathroom.
You stayed where you were, eyes closed. Your stomach was turning in anxiety after that conversation. You did like Frank and it was ridiculous and terrifying and suddenly it felt like you didn’t know how to act around him.
“You and Willow close?” Frank’s voice startled you and you opened your eyes. He still had his coat on, wrapped snugly around his torso. A takeaway bag was in his left hand and there was a smile on his face.
“Yeah, they’re a fuckin’ menace though,” You muttered before slowly pushing yourself to sit up. Frank went to come over and help but when he realized you weren’t grunting or hissing in pain, his eyebrows furrowed, “She gave me some painkillers, strong ones,” You answered the question before he even asked it. Frank nodded and he placed the bag on the bed. He then unzipped his coat and pulled the beanie off.
You opened the bag and it was from your favorite Italian takeout. The familiar smell hit your nostrils and you groaned in excitement before unloading the bag onto the bed. Your muscles still ached and there was an acute sense of pain but the painkillers that Willow had given you were making it so much easier to ignore. You felt almost normal.
“Careful, sweetheart. You still got stitches,” Frank reminded you as he placed his beanie and coat on your dresser. He then came over to the bed and sat down across from you. He had ordered you pizzas from the Italian place down the street and you could have kissed him. You would have kissed him if you had the courage. 
“Shouldn’t have got me my favorite then,” You responded, a wry smile on your lips. You flicked the box open and of course it was your exact pizza order. The grin spread wider and it hurt your bruised cheeks but you didn’t care. You grabbed the pizza slice and shoved it into your mouth, taking a bite. You let out a groan of appreciation, “Fuck, forgot how good this was,” You muttered, mouth full of pizza.
“Feelin’ better?” He asked. You nodded your head, a smile spreading across your face.
“Are you going out tonight? With Matt?” You asked curiously. Recently, the two men (despite their differences) patrolled together and then if they got injured, invaded your apartment for the night. That hadn’t been the case last night since from what you could remember, it was early when Frank had saved your ass.
“Nah, stayin’ here to make sure your sorry ass doesn’t get grabbed again,” Frank responded. A smile began to spread across your face despite yourself and you quickly shoveled pizza in your mouth to ignore the bubbling feeling of happiness, “That gonna be a problem?” He asked, noting how you seemed to have tensed up.
“No, no, I don’t mind. It’ll make me feel safer. I’m glad,” You rambled, “The painkillers are making me drowsy so… probably need the protection.” You added. Frank nodded and he continued to eat his own slice of pizza. The two of you fell into comfortable silence and for the first time since you had woken up to Frank taking care of you, you didn’t feel any pain. It was a mercy.
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rasby · 7 months
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How the M6 laugh
This one has the most "x reader" vibe to it. I tried to keep it vague before but idk this feels a lot better in my opinion (will probably still keep it vauge in the future tho :))
Asra
• A lot of wheezing
• A lot of that silent laugh with flappy hands
• When he says he's "rolling", he means it
• Very often starts to cry as well
• If he makes noise it's a mix of "Hehe"s, "Hihi"s and "Hoho"s
Nadia
• Mostly chuckles
• If it's really funny she'll let out a "Haha" but never goes over the top
• Also does the occasional "Ohoho" when you two are alone
• You've seen her laugh so hard she snorted only once, but she was drunk and definitely does not remember that happening
Julian
• Chokes every time he laughs
• Snorts very often
• Hasn't yet cried of laughter, unless you count tickle torture
• Has that kind of...almost evil laugh vibe sometimes
• Cannot keep quiet, he may be an actor but if it's funny, it's funny! He has to let it out!
Portia
• Laughs often
• Everything can be funny
• Snorts a lot aswell, which then turns into even more snorting and laughing
• Also subjected to crying of laughter
• Likes to kick her feet when she laughs or giggles
• Has a VERY infectious laugh. If she's laughing, everyone is laughing!
Muriel
• He doesn't laugh, what do you mean
• He never laughed in his life
• Is what he would say
• But you make it your mission to try making him laugh as often as possible
• You mostly get a smile and maybe and exhale of air through his nose or a quiet "heh"
• Tickling doesn't work either, he's a stone
• Once, ONCE you've seen him laugh really hard
• It sounded more like a croak honestly and he kept hiding his face
• But it was all you ever wanted <3
Lucio
• He likes to laugh
• He doesn't do it too much because he's scared of the wrinkles he'll get
• But around you, sometimes he can't help it
• And damn it, it feels good!
• Has a bad habit of hitting things (and people) when he laughs
• He likes to scream instead of laughing like a normal person
• It doesn't sound evil...more maniacal
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