#and nobody trusts very easily. you have to earn it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

killshotbabe · 1 year

Text

Title | Acquainted

Pairing | billionaire!Jaehyun x bodyguard!reader ft. NCT

Warnings | minors dni! slightly rude!Jaehyun, Jaehyun and reader “don’t get along”, use of swear words, brief mention of a bad injury (not to main pairing) sexual tension, solo masturbation, voyeur tendencies, fingering, face riding, choking, smut, slightly rough, unprotected sex (please wear protection!) creampie, slight breeding kink?

Word count | 4k (Got carried away oops!)

Song(s) | My All - Larissa Lambert (cover), Hopeless - Always Never

A.N | This was so goddamn long than originally planned but enjoy!

“Maybe you should leave.”

He suggested, cutting you off mid-sentence as you were explaining why it would better for him to take another route you’ve spent some time going over with the private personnel.

It had gone through the approval of your chief in charge as well having to have earned his full trust in the past but what you didn’t expect was for Jaehyun, your current boss in flesh, to reject your entrance and exit plans for the upcoming 50th charity ball he’s going to be attending in a few in two weeks.

The charity ball that was supposed to be tended by his father but after suffering what happens to be his third stroke, he made an ultimate decision to pass his head of position down to his only son, Jaehyun, who’s going to eventually earn it anyway by the time his father succumbs into old age and eventually die and be buried six feet under but due to his worsening health, Jaehyun officially took over.

Not one blinked an eye after such huge announcement has been made.

Some would say it’s a bit “pre-mature” you think, but it was the only right thing to do.

After all, no one wanted the Jung Empire to crumble into its last feet and from what you heard, Jaehyun is quite popular despite being the youngest from the line-up of old, obnoxious balding men.

It wasn’t like as if he preferred to live a different life — he had the option to do so, but he’s always wanted to follow his father’s footsteps since the very young age. He went from eavesdropping to his father’s meetings behind the door, and sometimes he would bring his toy cars into his father’s study and sit on the plush carpet as his father spoke to the phone, ball point always on-hand, glass of wine to the side. Jaehyun did this for as long as he can remember until they began to fit him into custom tailored suits to wear when he goes to his father’s meetings with him or without him which he had been tending to for the past few months, so this was not something new to him.

The new thing, though, was you being appointed his new private bodyguard due to the increasing tension coming from the outsiders who are threatened by Jaehyun’s sudden take-over. From what you do know, they have been keeping an eye on his father since the news of his illness (which the private sector has tried to keep in the shadows) leaked to the press, spiking gossips and rumours from nobodies. This also caused a major rift, threatening the future of the company Mr. Jung has been taking a great care of for decades, and even if he may be the nicest person in the world of business — he’s more prone to having enemies waiting for him to fall apart and now that Jaehyun has begun his long journey as the new head of The Jung enterprise, a new target has now been placed on the back of his head.

All was left is for him to try and dodge the bullet with your help, of course.

But that wasn’t going to happen easily — not when he’s not been a good sport to you.

At first, you thought he was just getting used to being the new chairman so you decided to back off and let him take a breather, but soon you find out he does have a rather mean streak and preferred to be alone and do everything alone. He doesn’t really speak to anyone at home too. You would see him chat with the head maid from time to time and maybe greet the security and other staff guarding his home but that was about it, he had no close relationship with them even if they worked with him and Mr. Jung for a while, which you find quite sad, but it was still none of your business.

You’ve only been here for around two weeks and you do reside in his home as well, but it did feel like you lived else where.

His luxurious house — composed of a total of four levels, shiny marbled floors and expensive hand-picked art adoring the wide plains of the black tourmaline walls felt rather strange to you. It was often quiet whenever you walked into the hallway at the dead of the night with the occasional swoosh from the french windows gracing your sharp hearing. You’ve only spent an ample of time doing security checks around his home but you haven’t been to any specific rooms even if you do memorize the entire floor plan and know which room is which, including the hidden underground bunker built into the house which you hope you wouldn’t end up using at all if shit does hit the fan.

Other than yourself, the security and the rest of the morning staff do not reside in his home but in a separate complex nearby so technically, it was just you and Jaehyun confined in such a huge space.

Mr. Jung lived somewhere else which you have been once or twice but compared to your first impression to both, you’d rather stay at Mr. Jung’s just because it felt like someone was actually living there and you don’t really mind the smell of tobacco. Here, at Jaehyun’s however, didn’t feel like that at all. You wouldn’t even know if he’s at home if the cctv didn’t notify you of his arrival (and your phone too because you can actually track his whereabouts) or until you see a faint light from his study or anywhere else really.

Jaehyun didn’t like keeping bright lights on so his house appeared to be more eerie and colder when the sun is no longer in the horizon. You got used to it rather quickly though. It was peaceful, maybe too peaceful for your taste but it’s better than sleeping at your old apartment where the next door neighbours would often fight, their harsh words penetrating your thin walls, and plus, the head chef and maid cooks great food. You couldn’t complain about that when you have been given the chance to not worry about any groceries anymore to keep you alive and kicking.

You like to think you’ve hit a jackpot since accepting this newly-appointed job: to be Jaehyun’s second eyes and iron shield and you thought it was simple but things were never simple.

Life didn’t work like that but at the very least, you’re alive and breathing.

At least I’m alive and breathing.

You chanted like a mantra as you forced a lump in your throat, still holding your ground in front of Jaehyun who made no effort to even took at you in the eye.

“Jaehyun.”

You try again, stressing that he needs to approve your plan before you can fuck off the premises which you’ve been wanting do the moment you stepped a heeled foot into his spacious study. If it wasn’t for the low murmur of jazz playing softly from the turntable close to his mahogany desk, you would’ve yelled at him by now but you chose not to.

You pride yourself as his main bodyguard and you didn’t want him to treat you like some doormat.

“Didn’t you hear what I said?” He flipped through a couple of pages from a stack of papers he’s been reviewing for God knows how long and there was more, but he kept it tidy and very organized, and yet you can’t help but feel his mind may not be the same right at this moment. “I said no.”

“You could end up in a bad situation. Had you not realize your enemies are trying to threaten you lately?” You say, tone coming off stern than how you’d like it to be. “Have you not been noticing the extra security we’ve been adding for you this past week?”

He paused, sighing and you think you may have won a little but if anything, you just pissed him off even more.

“Just do whatever the fuck you want, alright? Your job is to protect me so take it upon yourself and move. No need to run it by me.”

You fought not to grit your teeth, composure still straight. “Well, you could’ve just said yes to begin with. Easy as that and I would be out the door.”

“Your plan has too many unnecessary changes.” He began to type on the keyboard, still not sparing you a glance. “I don’t like it but whatever makes you sleep at night.”

“I’m doing this for you.” You reminded, ready to turn your back to him and out. “A simple “yes” would’ve been easy and I follow a protocol which involves me to ask you for an approval first. Like it or not, this is in my contract and you, out of everyone else here, should know. Have good evening, Sir.”

You found yourself out of his study just like that and made your way to your room wanting to take a cold shower after your useless exchange with Jaehyun.

When you were gone, all he did was lean his head over his leather seat, eyes fluttering close with an exasperated sigh leaving his lips.

For the next week ahead of the charity ball event he’s sponsoring as one of the main ambassadors, you stuck by him always walking three steps ahead to clear the area before it’s deemed safe for him to move. You and your team stayed alert and hot on heels, especially when there have been a surge of crowds garnering for him and it did nothing but bring stress to you and your team. Not only had the threats against him and his family empire had gone worse, but his own “fangirls” as well.

You thought it was over once you and Jaehyun make it back home until you found two young girls that couldn’t be younger than eighteen taking pictures of the car he has used on the way back from a meeting.

The meeting was short and it was his only schedule this afternoon so you didn’t tag along but still dispatched two personnel from your team to be with him so you can finish your annual report your chief wants you to complete before the end of this week. It was by chance actually — you typing away with the security panel on your other screen when a lone taxi drove by the gates two times. Anything more than that was deemed suspicious you had to watch carefully and soon enough, you found yourself outside with girls’ camera on your hand which you had confiscated.

You recognized one of them as one of the socialite’s daughter which you do consider as a major threat — The Chois were just as powerful but they haven’t been on their A-game lately especially when they’re competing with Jaehyun.

You drummed your hand on top of the taxi’s roof, peering closer to the girls who are now blinking owlishly at you. One of them looking like they’re about to pee their pants after seeing your gun holstered to your belt loop.

“Are you girls here to see Jaehyun? He doesn’t give autographs.” You joked, other hand sifting through the gallery of their DSLR. “Do you guys work for some damn magazine I don’t know about?”

“No—um we,” The bleached blonde one stuttered as you deleted all of the shots they got of Jaehyun’s. “We’re fans of his…”

“Well, what do you know about him?” You raised a brow, satisfied with your neat work but refused to give it back to them yet. “Last time I checked he’s just some really powerful billionaire dude… Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”

The brunette smacked the blonde’s one knee, attempting to stop her from responding to you and further reveal why they’re here to begin with. She did know who you are and you being a total cutthroat by your poise and how you held yourself whenever you’re with Jaehyun and she was scared of you, truly.

“We… won’t be back here anymore. I’m sorry.” She begged, round eyes trying to make you feel pity even if you already know the way she behaved whenever she’s there on sight when she’s not supposed to. “Please give the camera back to us…”

But you didn’t make it easy. If it’s not for their family then it’s possible that they’re working with whatever media outlet is after Jaehyun too.

Nonetheless, you decide to give the camera back considering it wasn’t chipped or anything which you checked before you cleared all of Jaehyun’s pictures.

“If I see you two out here again, you better stop what you’re doing and if you’re working for someone, put an end to it.” You tossed them the camera with a glare. “I’ll let you go this time but I won’t next time, then you’ll wish you never met me at all.”

The girls nodded quickly, blood draining off their faces as they begged for the taxi driver to floor it. You wait until they’re out of sight before heading back, meeting Jungwoo, one of the security personnel, on your way in to the foyer.

“Just some girls.” You shrug. You do make a note to do some more research about them later though. “Is he upstairs?”

“Yeah. He said he was going to sleep so I’m leaving now and rot out there. Don’t tell him I stole an orange from the kitchen.”

He grinned, showing you the round fruit in his palm.

Jungwoo was a new addition too, but you do think he built a better relationship with Jaehyun considering the fact that you caught them joking around at one point and you think that wasn’t fair.

You couldn’t blame Jungwoo though. He’s super chill and smiled a lot unlike you with your permanent scowl embedded in your face. It did bother you from time to time, but your relationship with Jaehyun has gone to shit since the beginning (for a reason you don’t know) and you think it’s because he just doesn’t like having a tail following him around even if the nature of his work required one.

To this day, you have already accepted your fate when it came to him. You were here not become his friend after all, and you can tell he sure he feels the same way.

Work was work and you had a contract to fulfil until then. You weren’t here for the sake of having your feelings involved.

“Bold of you to assume he’d notice.” You smiled, sending him away. “Just help yourself whenever!”

“K! Have a good rest of the afternoon! Mark also says he’ll be late for security check!”

“Got it!”

Once you heard the front doors shut, you climb back upstairs and back to you room to resume where you left off. By 7:30 pm, you find yourself waking up from an accidental nap you took in the middle of conducting your report. You cursed and planned to do your finishing touches but not without a cup of newly-brewed coffee on your side so you find yourself in the main kitchen, helping yourself up when the head maid padded down the hall, calling your name upon seeing you.

“Have you eaten yet?” She halted just beside you as you stirred a spoon into your coffee. “You can’t be drinking that without eating anything? I made mushroom soup for dinner. Made steak too with potatoes.”

“Maybe later I will, thanks.” You smiled sheepishly as you take a sip from your mug. “I just had a snack so…”

“You could’ve just joined Jaehyun earlier.” She whispered, teasing you with a pinch on your elbow which caused you break into a sudden yelp. “He looked really tense…Almost felt bad for the steak.”

You shook your head, placing your cup on the counter, folding your arms to mimic the head maid.

“Isn’t he always?”

“True, but he just looks lonely being alone there I keep wondering why you two won’t just eat together.”

You could only shrug, the visual of him sitting alone eating dinner in a huge table wracking your brain.

“We don’t get along.”

“Oh c’mon…” The older lady rolled her eyes at your predicament. “I’m getting real sick of watching the two of you avoiding each other like the black plague unless you’re out to chaperone him. We thought you’d would work especially when you’re around his age, and I know he can be a pain in the ass but why not try with him? This house is too damn big already.”

“You know I’m just here for work…” You murmur, letting her words affect you a little anyway because she was the only one who could sense how you really felt no matter how many times you voluntarily plunged yourself in denial.

You remember the first time they introduced you to him just a couple of weeks go.

It was on sunny day and the start of fall. You always liked fall because there’s always a positive shift in the air even if it slowly got colder. You like to think of it as letting go of the dead things you can no longer care, or hold closely to your heart that you’ve wanted to get rid of as your life went by.

From your old position to becoming Jaehyun’s bodyguard did raise a lot of new opportunities and new surroundings as it required you to move to his place. You were giddy and quite excited, wanting to leave you former apartment situated in busy area from not-so-good side of the city. The raise was also splendid— you think if you keep this position for one year you’d be able to buy a better apartment elsewhere and have a whole space for yourself and you know you will eventually get there.

But what you didn’t really expect was how rude Jaehyun had treated you since the beginning.

When you were introduced to him by your chief, all he did was nod and went on his day with you tailing after him as you shadowed his old bodyguard days before they were to be dispatched overseas permanently. It was nice when the bodyguard was there until you woke up in his shoes, now calling all shots and leading the whole team which had been exhilarating at first, but you knew your capabilities and thought highly of yourself, even if Jaehyun doesn’t really acknowledge or has ever initiated a conversation when you’re alone in a room with him.

You can’t really pinpoint what his deal was — you thought he might be misogynistic but that wasn’t the case. There were women in your team and he treated any woman no different like how he treated the rest, at least from what you noticed. You didn’t want to confront him about it as well seeing that it might just sound dumb and too far-fetched but your gut have been telling you there’s more to it. You just didn’t know how to approach him about it, not when he’s too busy and has other priorities to tend to than listen to what you have to say concerning your feelings.

He doesn’t even like the plans and changes you make for him regarding his entire safety, what more about how you really feel?

But you were still a human being and you know you will be treated as such so eventually, you’ll bring it up but not today, not anytime soon at least.

“And work it is…But try to get along, okay? I may not be here all the time but I can sense the sour atmosphere whenever I clean up.”

You chuckled, leering close to her. “Maybe it’s just the dead souls buried under the house trying to get your attention…”

“Hey, don’t say stuff like young lady! You know how superstitious I can get.” She backs off you, not liking the fact that you just brought up “ghosts”. “…Maybe I’ll sage the entire house the next time you guys are away again! Don’t want Jaehyun to smell it and complain.”

“I don’t think he’ll care. He hasn’t been to anywhere else but his floor lately.” You laugh, placing your hand on the shorter woman’s shoulder. “So do it anytime. I like the smell of it.”

“Fine, I will. Just because I like you like that.” She pats your hand, thanking you for your little massage before sending you off with your coffee. “And don’t ditch dinner!”

You make sure to eat around midnight, completely lost in you report.

You ate more than you could possibly take in one sitting but didn’t care if it was going to give you a stomach ache which you had attempted to sleep off, but around 3 am, you find yourself unable to go back to bed so naturally, you sat upright and leaned against your headboard, laptop on-hand and see if you maybe watch one of those scary indie games on youtube.

You found them weirdly comforting and often watched them but before you could put one on and have it lull you back to bed, the live footage of Jaehyun’s dim-lit room suddenly flashed into your screen in full-size.

You can’t help but panic a little since you were not supposed to watch him at such ungodly hour. You were given this specific access from hours 6-9 pm. That was the arrangement, but it didn’t mean your master access would disable the live feed during after hours. You have full control of it so it was all up to you, and it’s not like someone is actually keeping track of how many times you’d watch him, not when his room is only for your eyes and nobody else’s.

You were just about to hover your mouse to the top right corner of your screen and exit out of the window when he stirred in his sleep, calling your attention. Not even a couple of seconds later he, too, sat up and leaned against the headboard, mimicking your current position.

You raised a brow, feeling a little intimate with the current situation — he’s literally sitting there with his eyes closed and he had no shirt on, showing you what was hiding beneath his usual suit jacket.

You blinked, rubbing the sleep from your eyes before you found yourself peering closer, unable to take your eyes off him and his bare skin riddled with great abs. You knew he did work-out but still…

“What the fuck am I doing…” You shook your head in utter disbelief, feeling like a total creep now. “I should probably go to sleep.”

You smack yourself on the cheek and tried to exit out of the window when your peripheral vision caught him slide his hand under his blanket, palming himself with closed eyes, a serene look on his face.

You suddenly forgot how to breathe.

Your pupils practically quivered when he parted his pretty lips just slightly so he could spit on his hand before rubbing his bare cock with it again and again for you to see, instantly making you snap your thighs together as you became more hyperaware of what he was doing in front of you. You tried so hard to look away from the screen, shut your laptop close and forget this ever happened but you simply couldn’t look away — not when he just pulled the comforter down to his knees, revealing his hard cock — standing upright, hypnotizing you to come closer and see which you did, jaw going slack upon realizing he was, in fact, big too.

You watched him give himself a few generous pumps before he laid back down, a half-grin on his face as he continued to fuck himself in his fist. You like to think he’d made a sound from what you’re seeing and it only did nothing but make you wet, your arousal already soiling your underwear as you forced yourself not to do anything about it at all. You think you should feel any ounce of guilt right now, having to watch a very private moment, but your head had gone to mush and you just couldn’t bring your hand to exit out of the feed.

He was too beautiful, fucking himself into his fist like that with a lazy smile gracing his face — the type of smile you’ve never seen him do in person.

Oh, you wished you’d be the one making him feel good like that..

As he rutted himself into his fist, on the way to reach his peak, you found yourself snaking your hand between your legs now spreading it wide in front of the feed. You swore at how incredibly sensitive and soaked you’ve become as you moved your thong to the side, biting your lip when you smeared your wetness all over your aching pussy before eventually sliding two fingers in, your eyes blown with nothing but pure desire as you watched Jaehyun attentively, slowly pumping your fingers inside you in the same rhythm he was going.

When he eventually did come, rewarding you with spurts of his cum landing on his toned abs, you did too, with your hand clamping around your mouth to prevent yourself from moaning too loud.

He went back to bed like that, his expression so peaceful as you tried to catch your breath, your own wetness slipping out of your cunt and on to your bedsheet between your trembling legs.

You didn’t sleep that night.

The morning hours before the commencement of the charity ball, you begrudgingly delivered Jaehyun’s three piece navy suit to his study thinking he wasn’t inside but at the rooftop pool.

Much to your horror, however, he was in fact inside his study and he was shirtless with just some grey sweats hanging low to his hips, jet black hair combed backwards and still damp from the shower he just took. You almost dropped the neatly-wrapped black box onto the floor when he advanced to your side to retrieve his phone from his desk. You cleared your throat, backing off. “It’s from Prada.”

“Yeah, and you were supposed to pick them up, right?”

You stopped on your heel, halfway his wing already. You didn’t think he’d catch on to be honest. You knew you were supposed to pick it up for him but because you didn’t get any sleep, you ended up sleeping in for a couple more hours until Mark, one of the night personnel, knocked on your door to pass you his daily report after he couldn’t find you somewhere in the ground floor.

“I’m sorry. I just missed my alarm.”

You lied, hoping he would just let it go. You didn’t even think he’d care about it at all. It’s not like you overslept the entire day and completely forgot about your tasks today.

You thought about him last night again, a flush of warmth creeping on your cheeks but you fought to push those sinful thoughts away.

“Well, don’t be late next time then?” He turned his back to you so he can open the box and examine what’s inside.

You scoffed, trying to look away from his nicely-sculpted back muscles and proceeded to be on your way out when he suddenly called your name for the first time since the first day you’ve been appointed to be his bodyguard.

It caught you off-guard for a second there but you refused to provide him with any type of reaction when you spun around and met his eyes.

He has an unreadable expression on his face — something you couldn’t quite read but it did nothing but make your heartbeats pump faster than normal.

He leaned his hips to his desk, lean and muscular arms perched behind him to the flat surface.

“You have a good eye, do you?”

You raised a brow, trying so hard not to cast your gaze from his neck and down south, his grey sweats mocking you. It was the same one he wore last night.

“… Maybe?” You trailed off, not that confident like he presumed you to be with your chin high, eyes almost as dark as the evening sky and your signature red lipstick painted perfectly on your lips.

You somehow didn’t have that on today like the usual and your long black hair, always pinned and tied, just flowing smoothly on your back.

He sensed there was something off, but he liked the look you sported today. It made you look younger and innocent-looking.

He wasn’t going to lie, it did tickle his fancy.

“Then come by later and help me choose what looks good.”

You feel his wondering eyes scrutinize you for the first time, and you couldn’t help but stay still, not breathing at all until he turned around and disappeared into a corner of his study, leaving you stranded in the middle of it all.

For how many times you wished he’d learn to acknowledge you, you now sincerely hoped he never did because with the way he was looking at you just now, you couldn’t help but feel there is something else in those dark brown eyes.

Whatever it was, you think you wouldn’t be ready for it.

“We’re taking my route.”

You announce as you got on the passenger side with Jungwoo behind the wheel.

You’re on your way to the charity ball right now with Jaehyun on his phone, conversation seemingly boring but you still listened, taking notes.

He’s put on a patterned suit jacket instead of the navy one Prada brought for him and he looked too gorgeous in it like he always did but today, you think this might be your favourite look of his so far — jet black hair pushed back with a strand falling on his forehead, his neck adorned with a dainty silver necklace accentuating his regality… You were quite bummed you didn’t end up choosing anything for him due to an emergency meeting he had to be a part of when he was getting ready too so you chose to take your time getting ready instead, picking a total of three outfits you’ve laid to your bed before eventually gunning for the satin number in ivory.

You like to think you didn’t do so bad yourself too. If not, this has been the most dressed you’ve been for this type of occasion. You think you could get used to this at some point but it was still a little overwhelming for you.

You didn’t like being a part crowds reeking of nothing but money and gin, and chatting with any socialites at all even if you had to just because you’re Jaehyun’s bodyguard. You wished you had Jungwoo’s or Johnny’s post, only situated up the corridors hiding from plain sight to watch for any suspicious and unusual activity. You had to be more alert for it, but at least they stayed in the shadows unlike what you’re going to be doing once you and Jaehyun arrive to the ball.

“Don’t keep a long distance but stray closer to him, alright?” Your chief instructed at least two days before the event. “Just received a note from the sector and said someone from there might try to harm him, so be on the look out. I’m sending more back up in case.”

Saying you’re not that nervous might be an understatement.

You practically shivered on your way out of the car, cursing at the lack of clothing you wore for the event. You did have an option to wear slacks, but you wanted to wear a dress this time around since slacks was your regular uniform, and you wanted to look like you’d blend into this type of crowd as well, not wanting to stand out like a sore thumb (which you already do) but least you could do is pretend.

Pretend that you’re a socialite for once and what chief said, “Act like his equally rich girlfriend.”

“I’m off. Rendezvous in…three hours?” Jungwoo hummed as Jaehyun took off, leaving you with Jungwoo by the staircase. You scoffed. “And…he’s off. Ugh, tell him not stay here for more than three or i’ll eat my fucking fist.”

“Make it two and a half. I hate shit like this.” You sighed, waving him off. “See ya. Don’t fall asleep.”

“Ay-ay Captain!”

Midway into the charity event, you started to yawn as you watched Jaehyun having a pleasant conversation with a group of older men, some of them without an arm candy or if they did have one, they were from the overseas — all tanned and blonde with a variety of luxurious brands all over their outfit.

You thought they were rather tacky so you looked away, reaching for another flute of champagne to get rid of the nasty taste of some fancy snack you tried earlier. Something about an “escargot,” which caused Jungwoo to cackle devilishly from your earbud before translating what you just ate.

You felt like gagging, hating the thought of snails being digested in you right now but since you couldn’t leave Jaehyun alone as he continued his rounds to mingle with every damn guest in the room, you had no choice but to suck it up and hope the champagne can help get rid of the taste.

You could only stand there, watching everyone like a hawk before your gaze eventually fell on Jaehyun who was casually smiling to a girl dressed in dainty blue chiffon, accentuating her slim build.

She was cute, couldn’t be younger than him and she’s patting him on the chest now, getting a little brave with her manicured hands.

“Butter knife just arrived.”

You cupped the earbud plugged in your ear, still keeping an eye on Jaehyun.

“He’s here? Jungwoo, is he alone?”

“No… wait— Johnny says there’s one more coming from south. White van — fuck, it’s Sanchez!” There was a harsh whisper on the other side. “You have to get Jaehyun out of there.”

“He’s fucking surrounded with girls, I just— continue reporting to me I’m getting him out now.”

You suppress the panic surging through your veins as you slowly approach Jaehyun now being flocked around by female socialites right in the middle of the ballroom.

“I don’t think anyone is suspicious in the ball right now — Yuta said but just, yeah get him out. Chief found Sanchez being a part of the Amos cartel. He’s a fucking traitor.”

“Yeah, I know. They’ve been on the radar for days. They’re invited aren’t they?”

You stop by your tracks before you proceed, finding a small gap between several bodies you can snake through and hopefully get Jaehyun out of there soon.

“Yeah. They’re under that old bastard, Brekker, so leave. Jaehyun did his talk part anyway.” Jungwoo snapped. “Mark is waiting right in front of your exit, right behind Centennial. Go.”

And so you did, now latching a hand around Jaehyun’s wrist, pulling him out of the growing crowd and into you.

“Sorry, ladies. Judgment calls!”

He waved, a little tipsy as you dragged him towards your left exit and into the hall, not letting him walk on his own without you tugging his hand.

You whipped your head around, noticing Jeno one of the back-up posted up far away from your left. You share a brief nod before you proceed to one of the shortcuts which led to a narrow dim-lit hall, dragging Jaehyun behind you, his hand now clasped around your wrist.

“Wait, wait— slow down!” He half-yelled, unable to catch on.

“No, we keep going and I’ll tell you after. Just let me do this, okay?” He was about to say something else when you called Jungwoo, using your free hand to tell him to shut it. “Jeno’s on watch. Is Chenle okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about that kid. Are you almost out? Should take you no more than two minutes.”

“Yeah,” You walked hastily as Jaehyun jogged beside you. “I got Jaehyun with me. Will be out soon.”

“Okay, okay great you’re almost there and — what? Who?” There was a murmur and a static noise interrupting you conversation which caused your brows to furrow but you kept going, the sight of one of the unused doors just a couple of steps ahead of you.

“Shit! Hey, you guys keep going. I’ll call you later.”

You blinked rapidly, free hand fixed to your earphone. “What? No — what the hell?” You grumbled but let it go as you made it out of the building with Jaehyun who’s now looking at you, noticing your worry but decided to leave it be until you found yourselves on the backseat of Mark’s car.

“Jungwoo just ditched me and I don’t know what the hell is happening inside.” You pushed Jaehyun to the side, your arm fixed to his lap as you spoke to Mark, now exiting the back alleyway and into a different route avoiding the main street. “You got any updates?”

“They’re saying one of Amos’ people got into the corridor.” Mark said, eyes focused of the road. “Chenle found him but he wasn’t alone. He should be fine though, I trust him.”

“But who’s on that floor? We made a last minute change just earlier.”

“Renjun — hey, strap yourself up though I’m about to speed so we can get off the intersection. Don’t worry about the guys.” He said rather sternly to try and get your mind off the gutter but something felt wrong and you can feel it in your gut — and you were always right.

“You have to tell me when Jungwoo’s on.”

You sigh in defeat, still quite tense when you felt Jaehyun tug your seatbelt for you, coaxing you to slide it without saying anything on which you eventually did. You were so glad he didn’t even bother interjecting but kept quiet, letting you and Mark talk and fill in the creeping silence.

You muttered a “thanks” to Jaehyun but made sure to stay alert until Mark gets any updates or maybe yourself, but for some reason you had a feeling it wasn’t going to come to you.

“There has been a break-in the corridor. Surveillance team are okay, and Chenle’s in the ER. Cops are on site. Had to get everyone out of there but no one sustained any bad injuries. Chief’s on duty and says you did a good job. They will control the press when this gets out.”

Mark closed the door behind him, eyes on his phone. You swore under your breath and started to pace around of the hotel room you had booked in advanced when something like this takes place.

You thought of Chenle and clenched your jaw, glaring at Mark.

“It’s not your fault. He just miscalculated. Assailant went for his leg.”

“With a knife?” You exhaled and sat back down, Jaehyun just on the other bed, gaze falling on you and a slightly nervous Mark who couldn’t help but loosen his tie. “Please tell me it was a damn knife and it wasn’t deep.”

“Yeah, a little deep but he’ll live. Hey.” Mark squatted now as he levelled with your gaze with his. “I promise I’ll update you but I’ve gotta meet up with Jungwoo and Johnny and check surveillance around the compound, alright?”

“Yeah… Go, I’m sorry but please, please update me about Chenle, okay?”

“Will do. I know he’s your fave just because he’s the youngest. He’ll be okay. Yeah? Mark smiled, tapping your knee attempting to sooth you. “If he finds out you were so worried about him it might get to his head so simmer it down and try to get rest.”

“Okay…”

You watched Mark leave into the hallway as the door automatically closed, trapping you and Jaehyun in a hushed silence.

It didn’t fully sink in that you were alone with him in one room until he voluntarily broke the silence, tiredness in his deep voice so evident.

“Who was it this time?”

You slowly twisted your torso to face him.

“Brekker.”

“I trust that he’ll soon find himself behind the bars by you, right?”

His eyes remained closed as you slowly found yourself tracing the outline of his black slacks and all the way to his patterned suit jacket, and finally, his peaceful riddled face — the exact one you saw through the live feed last night as he gave you a slice of heaven.

A scarlet hue spread on your cheeks. He looked like he just jumped out of photoshoot whilst you sat there, looking a little out of it, dress semi-wrinkled and with your lipstick drying out into the cracks, eventually making it ooze out some blood. You rubbed a finger across it, flinching from the sting.

“We’re working on it and trying our best.”

You say a little quietly as your ear perked up to his relaxed “hmm”.

You attempted to distract yourself from the sheer worry coursing through you, so you decide to get up and head to the en suite bathroom to wash the minimal make up from your face and only slipped out after a quick bath, wearing a spare night wear as you darted back into the now dim-lit room, seeing Jaehyun had already fallen asleep in the same clothes.

You could only exhale, feeling like you’ve been holding your breath for so long.

You gave him a slow glance as you occupied the other bed adjacent to his, sliding yourself further to the other side of your bed before you switched your phone on to read two new messages from Mark. Chenle was still okay, but he will have to be confined in the hospital for a few days due to a nasty blow he endured by the ribs requiring immediate treatment.

You sighed, texting him back and Jungwoo before you placed your phone back on the bedside table, leaving the yellow glow from the lamp next to you, gradually lulling you to sleep.

You woke up at 3 am, all parched so you went for a drink then back to bed. You couldn’t go back to sleep, however, which resulted in a series of rolls and turns trying to find a position you’d be comfortable sleeping at.

“Can’t sleep?”

You gasped, back fully turned from a sleepy Jaehyun lying somewhere in the darkness.

Was he awake this whole time watching and hearing you struggle?

“I think.”

You pulled your comforter over your shoulder, now awake, glazed eyes staring up the ceiling. You traced the victorian details on the ceiling above you as you hear Jaehyun move.

From your peripheral vision, you can see the outline of his arm, his long sleeve now rolled up to his forearm, making you clench your jaw.

“You’re still thinking about Chenle?”

There was a genuine concern on his tone, which surprised you, but after what happened today, you knew he couldn’t afford to make you feel like you want to shoot yourself in the head, and if he hadn’t, you’re not sure if you’d even let him sleep. You could fight him if he did try to frustrate you more but this wasn’t bad — the calm was good. It soothed you even if you felt like you were about to cry earlier because of what happened to Chenle, though you did keep in mind that this was your first.

Just as long as they’re safe…

“A bit.” You chewed on your bottom lip. “He’s the youngest… I think I’d go crazy if something happened to him.”

“But he’s okay. And that’s all that matters, right?”

“Yeah.” You swallowed a lump in your throat, your back still facing him.

You could feel him stare at you now and it did nothing but send goosebumps all over your skin.

There was a suffocating silence that seemed to last for eternity and you thought you’d be able to just force yourself back to sleep somehow until you hear Jaehyun talk again.

“You did a good job today.”

His words alone made you blink owlishly.

You thought you were going to melt right there and then and you, so badly, want to hear him say that again than deal with his usual condescending tone but you couldn’t be greedy.

“Do you hate me?”

You asked out of blue, seeing as this might be the only right time you could have a heart-to-heart with him. The both of you are stuck in one small space after all.

You didn’t need to find him and vice versa, so you went for it after a sudden bravery shot up into the surface.

But he didn’t answer.

You were about to repeat yourself again when he cut you off.

“Maybe.”

“Really?” You scoffed, tongue poking to the side of your mouth. “You never really acknowledge me, you know?”

He was quiet as you tensed up, continuing on with your little rant anyway now that you had suddenly developed the nerve to try to find out what his deal was and why he seemed to not be fond of you at all.

“Since the day we met… We don’t eat together…We live in one house and yet—“

“I don’t think you want to know.”

Upon hearing him say that, you pulled yourself up from your bed, fists falling to your side as you stared at him in the dark. You could make out his face and everything else. It didn’t even seem like he moved any muscle at all, so you allow him to bask in his short-lived peace before you stood by the foot of his bed, fury embedded in your eyes.

“Don’t you have some basic human decency?” You try not to lose it. “You treat every body else nice but when it comes to me…”

“Don’t start.” He warned, still laying down but he’s now staring back at you, his dark eyes penetrating yours in an endless battle you drew upon yourselves.

“I want to know why and you will tell me.” You declared, not taking what he said as a warning. “Right. Now. Jaehyun.”

“You really want to have this conversation right now?” He was back on his feet now, towering over you as he inched closer to you, a bite of sheer frustration and anger in his next words. “You just piss me off. I didn’t want you.”

“Did I even do anything to you for you to hate me?” You barked back, chin up high as you attempt to stand your ground but you soon found yourself backing away as he continued to advance, threatening to trap you. “I don’t get you at all! I’m the best from the recruits and I don’t care if you have little faith on me—“

“I don’t care if you’re the best.” He jammed a hand just above your head, caging you against the cold wall. “But your chief shouldn’t have given you to me.”

“Why not? God, just stop being fucking cryptic and tell me!’ You yelled, one hand pushing him off by his chest only for him to grab your hand and spin you around, your cheek meeting the wall with a small gasp knocked out from your chest as he locked your arm behind you.

“You’re a lot. Fiery and always held your chin high no matter what. Makes me want to mess you up a little.” He rested his chin on your tensed shoulder, his next words in a light whisper, and yet it had venom, poisoning your bloodstream. “Calling all the shots, bossing me around, trying to fight me while you look like this?”

You let out a wanton gasp when you feel his callused hand run up and down your inner thigh, his intoxicating, manly warm scent invading your senses.

You think you might have blacked out for a moment when his warm hand made its way to the curve of your waist, the soft material of your camisole being lifted by his fingers as he rubbed your bare skin, his darkened gaze attentive to the pleased expression you made for him.

“Jaehyun—“

“Do you understand now?” You feel his plush lips brush your nape, his hand snaking all the way up your skin. “I thought I could get rid of you without having to do anything, thinking one day you’ll just walk out and leave but you stayed. Then I catch you touching yourself in your room a couple of times because you couldn’t be bothered to shut the fucking door close. You know I’m home.”

You feel your pussy throb as he proceeded to grope your bare breasts, fingers playing with your hardened nipples. “You keep doing it so many times I was starting to think you’re fucking crazy.”

You genuinely thought he wouldn’t be able to find out knowing he doesn’t lurk in your floor — but now you know he does and maybe, there was always this sick fantasy you kept to yourself, thinking that one day he’d catch on and have it all figured out. It was only a matter of time until he can pin you to the wall like now, and have him ruin you when he hates you so much, might as well use that to intensify the obvious sexual tension between the two of you with no romantic feelings involved.

Or…was there?

“I think you want to pursue this for me to fuck you like I hate you, yeah?” He chided, a low chuckle gracing your ear. “Answer.”

“I—“

“What happened to being confident?” You let out a small whine as he palmed your clothed cunt. “If I find you wet, you lose sweetheart.”

He didn’t even let you speak as he slipped his fingers into your underwear, rubbing your clit in circles. You can feel the sudden rush of wetness ooze out of your pussy, soaking the fabric and you couldn’t help but groan, your face heating up.

“Jaehyun… Please…”

You moaned, struggling with the way he has pushed you further down, back arched for him as he continued to play with your pussy, the hard ridge of his cock in his slacks grinding on your ass.

“You want me to fuck you?”

“Yes…” You huffed, any ounce of anger being replaced by pure arousal surging through every part of your body. You don’t even think you could say anything as you attempt to tighten your legs around his hand, not wanting to come right there and then when he hasn’t even plunged a finger or two but he didn’t waste time, cutting you off as he eventually pumped a finger into your pulsating cunt, earning a matching groan of relief from the both of you.

“You’re so fucking wet.” He grinned deviously as you cried onto your arm, muffling the loud moans trying to escape from your throat. “Bet you can come without me fucking my cock into you.”

“F-fuck!” You screamed, eyes clamped shut when he rammed his fingers into you faster, building a steady rhythm until your legs started to shake under your weight, already about to reach your peak when he noticed, cursing at the way you would repeatedly squeeze your walls around his fingers.

“Do you wanna do me a favour?”

He kissed the side of your jaw as you shuddered beneath him, mouth hanging open but no sound threatening to spill out. You thought he has successfully rendered you speechless as your gaze started to blur, teardrops sliding down your rosy cheeks from how good he was giving it to you.

“Sit on my face.”

You almost came on his fingers after he said that if it wasn’t for how fast he slid his fingers out of you to drag you to his bed.

You literally collapsed on his chest as you weakly spread your thighs a part, his strong arms helping you out as he urged you to hover on top of him before he slipped your clothes and underwear off, letting it fall on the carpet.

Once you braced your hands on the headboard, a pinch of hesitation wracking your nerves, you feel him raise his head willingly and push your bare pussy into his waiting mouth, sucking and licking your surging wetness from your pussy, feeling like you’re about to explode.

“Jaehyun— f-fuck, right there…”

You hissed, knuckles turning white on the headboard as he slipped his tongue inside your hole, fucking you with his jaw flexing, hands tight around your waist you were so sure he was going to leave a mark. You fucked his face ruthlessly, him being the most eager one who kept pushing you down and down until he his tongue jutted in and out, licking your slick walls before he lapped onto your clit, ultimately bringing you to the brink of an intense orgasm about to knock you down.

You came in his face in no time, a loud cry leaving your lips as you shuddered violently, wanting to get off his face due to over-sensitivity but he forced you to sit still, his plush mouth tasting the mess you’ve made for him, his free hand cupping his hard cock in his slacks.

You clutched your chest, unable to contain how fast your heartbeats were as you tried to calm down, sliding off him. He unbuttoned his dress shirt, eyes on you, his now moist mouth where your pussy has been, spreading into a contented smile which you lazily returned. You sat there, mouth agape as you watch him unzip his pants, palming his cock right in front of you.

“Come here.”

You crawled to him, his hand reaching out to trace your jaw, thinking he wants you to taste him but he shook his head, his dark brown eyes blown with nothing but carnal desire. He was going to give you the chance to suck him off, but he just couldn’t wait to fuck you, so he urged you to sit, hand positioning the pink head of his cock for you to sink into as you begin to tremble, getting more soaked at the sight of his cock being offered for you to use.

“I want to feel you,” He groaned into your ear as you lifted your ass and brushed your pussy on the head of his cock, letting it rub some off dripping wetness all over your pussy before you carefully sank in, whimpering just halfway in. “Good girl… You can take it.”

Once he was fully in, Jaehyun sunk lower to his pillow, bringing you with him so he could fuck you relentlessly in this position, disabling you from doing anything else but rest on his toned chest and have him fuck you hard as he pleased. You arched your back, one hand fixed to the headboard as Jaehyun thrusted into you, causing you bounce up and down of his cock, his sweet mouth latched on one of your breasts, sucking and biting your nipple ever so lightly.

“H-harder… Fuck, Jaehyun-n!”

You drove your fists to his pillow as you and him shared an intense gaze after he sucked onto your breast and let go. He bit his lip, in complete awestruck with the way you were losing it for him like a good girl. You almost cried yet again from how fierce he was looking into your eyes when he reached out to grab the base of your throat, lightly pressing to the side and choking you as he drove his cock harder and faster, simultaneously hitting your g-spot too to bring you into another mind-blowing orgasm.

“Fucking cum.” He said between gritted teeth as you tilted your head backwards, tears sliding down your face, his cock disappearing in and out of your cunt, the muffled loud noise of lewd squelching between your bodies bouncing off the walls, disrupting the quiet at such ungodly hour. “C’mon pretty girl…Fuck yourself on my cock just like that, yeah? Good, good— fuck you’re so good to me…”

You rode Jaehyun harder, panting as you met his own thrusts, nearing to the edge until you felt something snap in you.

You screamed into your open palm, free hand locked around his wrist choking you when you came for the second time, trembling around his cock, squeezing him until he pulled out, about to ask you where you’d like it when hastily slipped his cock back into your pussy once again, leaving him no choice but force him to spill inside you.

“On pill.”

You chuckled breathlessly, feeling his cum slide out of you and into the base of his cock.

You watch him arch his back with a deep groan, his hands flexing on your waist as you slowly lifted yourself off him only to leave a trail of open-mouthed kiss down his toned abs until you’re just inches away from his cock. You didn’t even let him stop you when you licked the leftover cum from the base of his cock, not wasting any drop which caused him to grab you back up, his thumb wiping some off your lips and slipping it into you mouth for you to swallow.

“You’re fucking nasty. I guess I do like you.”

“Makes the both of us, don’t you think?”

You feel him circle a hand around your waist as you laid there with him, naked, eventually joining him under the covers.

“I agree. What do you think the head maid would say if she knew?”

“That her manifestation worked…? Jaehyun you should know this things. She’s into crystals, for God’s sake.”

“So far, it’s all clear. We’ve enhanced the security everywhere so I think it’s okay. It’s up to Jaehyun though if he’s good with staying at one of the rotational houses within the perimeter. Of course, you’d have to move with him too but you can take one of the personnel with you. We’re gonna have to suspend his public schedules for now until they finish the investigation. “

“Great.” You sighed as you padded down the white-washed hall with Mark, getting sick and tired of the strong antiseptic scent of the hospital. “Watch out for Chenle, too. He looked like he wanted to pluck his IV drip away and fuck out of here.”

“He did want to try it many times, but will do, and hey?”

You spun around as Mark gave you a brown envelope. You tucked it into your purse as he scratched the back of his neck, lips all pursed.

“What.”

“Make sure you don’t have the earbud activated when you’re alone with uh…Jaehyun.”

You blinked, a little confused until you felt your face go in flames, swearing at Mark and then playfully whacking him on the shoulder.

“Whatever!” You rolled your eyes, starting to bolt into a different direction to catch the elevator as Mark broke into a high-pitched laughter, giddily waving you off.

“I won’t tell chief! But I think you gotta buy Jungwoo some condolence wreath!”

#jaehyun smut #jaehyun x you #jaehyun x reader #jung jaehyun smut #nct smut #nct 127 smut #billionaire!jaehyunforever #kpop smut #killshotbabe #one shot smut #imsorryjungwoo

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wyvernquill · 2 months

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I'm rewatching Anastasia and this convo would really fit in your AU

Hob: look, Murphy, I'm just trying to help Murphy: do you really think I'm an Endless, Hob?

Hob: you know I do.

Murphy: then stop bossing me around

I'm sorry, this ask is already over a year old, but I finally got around to writing a scene based on it! (Plus some Murphy&Gil bits I wanted to put in somewhere, anyway.) Hope you enjoy!

[Mild warning for contemplation of one's potential death, and having once lost the will to life - I wouldn't call it suicidal ideation, it doesn't quite go there, but I figured I'd better be safe than sorry.]

Link to Anastasia AU Masterpost!

(Tag list, let me know if you want to be added or taken off: @10moonymhrivertam @martybaker @globglobglobglobob @anonymoustitans @sunshines-fabulous-legs @dreamsofapiratelife @malice-royaume @kcsandmanfan @acedragontype @okilokiwithpurpose @tharkuun @silver-dream89 @i-write-stories-not-sins-bitch)

“Hob.” Murphy interrupts, eyes flashing with frustration.

(Today’s how-to-be-a-Dream-Lord lessons are not going well - not that any of them have, but this one is a particular catastrophe. Gil has already given up on their contrary charge for the evening, and with the way Murphy’s shoulders are up and tension bristles between them, Hob is unlikely to make much more headway tonight.)

“Tell me. Do you truly believe I am him? The Prince of Stories? The Dream King?”

“Yes,” Hob lies, easily, unflinchingly, and with a smile on his face. A good lie has to be treated like the truth, and maybe, one day, it’ll actually turn into one. They’ve been trying so very hard to teach Murphy this, he should know it by now. “Of course.”

“Then, perhaps,” Murphy spits, and despite his feral arrogance, despite the way he holds his head high and squares his slender shoulders, it’s not the regal indignation of a King, but the helpless tantrum of an angry child who’s failing in class. “You ought to finally treat me with the fucking deference an Endless is owed, Hob Gadling!”

(There are tears in his pale-blueish eyes, Hob can see them, can hear the crack in Murphy’s hoarse voice.

Nobody has treated this man with respect in all the years he remembers, that much is obvious. Nobody but his birds. And he knows, they all know, that he’s no prince, that his blood runs red, not blue - runs at all, come to think of it. Endless don’t bleed.

But he wants to be. He wishes he was. Murphy is not Dream of the Endless, but he is ravenous for the spoils of such a role. Desperate to be respected, to be worshipped and revered, desperate to be owed the sort of treatment he has never received.

Hob ought to be ashamed of himself for taking advantage of that helpless hunger for kindness and decency… and he will be. For the rest of his immortal life, he’ll live with the shame of what he did to cheat Death, and still not regret it.)

Hob plasters a smile over his impatience and opens his mouth, gentle, calming words already on the tip of his tongue. Murphy is lonely and frightened and frustrated, that much is obvious. Fine. Hob knew it wouldn’t be easy, to teach their false Dream all he needs to know, and this is not an insurmountable roadblock. If Hob can only reassure him, earn his trust, be his friend, even, it will make everything much easier. Poor thing, lashing out like an injured animal. But Hob can surely coax him into-

Murphy recoils. Flinches back from the admittedly-half-faked warmth, his face, his entire bearing collapsing into itself like a heavy portcullis rattling shut.

“Don’t you dare,” he growls, pointing one of his stick-thin fingers at Hob’s face, “don’t you DARE! I have no need for your false pity, and I want no part of it! I want-” the white of his eyes is bloodshot, and in his terror, in his fury, in his desperation, awash in unshed tears “-I want out. This deal is off. Find some other poor sucker to teach how to play Endless, I won’t do it! I’ve had enough!”

And before Hob can say as much as a single word, Murphy has snatched up his coat and slipped out onto the rainy street, Matthew following - but not after awarding Hob with a colder glare than he would’ve thought a mere raven capable of.

Murphy does not manage to flee very far.

He is in an unfamiliar town, with no money, no valuables besides the clothes on his back that are now slightly finer than he used to be; and the winter is cold and deep and stifling. He gets no further than a handful of streets until he slows halfway across a bridge, shaking with cold more than anger, snowflakes dancing around him. It is a quiet, windless night - and it has always calmed him, to stand underneath the dark sky at night, and know that most of the city lies asleep around him.

Matthew settles on the bridge’s parapet, caws. Hops closer, cocks his head to one side. There is a clear question in his bearing, a what now? glinting in his eyes. Birds are open and honest - unlike humans. Liars and hypocrites all.

“...I do not know, Matthew.” Murphy admits quietly. He has taken the coat, but forgotten the scarf in his haste, so he tugs at his collar, to keep the cold air from trickling down his spine. “I truly don’t.”

He does not have the means to return to London on his own - and at the same time, does not have much desire to do so. He had nothing and no-one there, but for the birds. Pockets can be picked anywhere - he could make a new start in this nameless town.

…if only it weren’t winter.

Murphy shivers, feeling his bones rattle with it. The night is calm, but bitterly cold, and it will not end well for him, sitting in the snow until morning. In the dark of winter, he cannot afford a night without shelter, a day without a sure way to come by some food to keep his strengths up. In London, he would have known where to go. Here, he is helpless.

Damn Hob Gadling, and may Destruction take him! Murphy will have no other choice but to crawl back to him, and hope he’ll be kept on as Endless-impersonator. Hope, because Murphy’s made a right pig’s ear of it so far, slow and clumsy to learn, and outright refusing to play at nobility. He will always be a gutter rat, Murphy knows it. They can’t fashion him into a Dream King, and perhaps this flare of temper will prove to Hob once and for all that there is no point in trying.

There is no point in trying.

Murphy gives up on his collar, and rests his hands on the parapet. Matthew caws, and presses his head against his arm, a far better reassurance than Hob’s false smiles. It comforts Murphy, at least a little. He’s not alone, never alone - no matter how lonely he might feel.

Underneath them, a foreign river flows just fast enough to avoid the freeze. The water does not reflect any stars, but the snow dancing over the surface makes it almost look as if. His own reflection wavers and breaks across the waves.

(Some nights, he dreams of a darkened shore and a sea stretching far past the horizon, black waters that fold up into the night sky, indistinguishable from each other. Of a wooden pier, and galaxies swirling underneath.

Whenever he leans out too far, the reflected eyes he meets are not his own, and he wakes with a scream lodged in his throat.)

Murphy shivers again, and savours the last remnants of his pride, before it, too, will have to be cast into the dirt and abandoned.

“I believe you forgot this, young friend.”

Murphy’s head snaps up.

Dreams and nightmares approach without a whisper, perfectly silent at night if they choose to be. Gilbert is no exception; and if Murphy were to pay attention to anything but his heart racing like a startled hare, he would perhaps be a little distressed by the fact that there are no fresh footprints in the snow beside his own.

But it’s only Gilbert, kind-eyed and not-human, holding out Murphy’s scarf like a peace offering.

Murphy does not take it.

“Did Gadling send you?” he asks, wary.

“Robert informed me what had transpired between you two.” Gilbert admits. “But rest assured, I am here on nobody’s behalf but my own - and, well, yours. Frightfully nippy tonight, wouldn’t you say?”

Murphy does not say. He trusts Gil as little as Hob, perhaps even less. A dream attempting to betray the memory of his master seems hardly like a paragon of virtue, and is perhaps even more suspicious than a deceitful human.

(He does, however, take the scarf now. It’s too cold to be stubborn, and when he winds it around his neck, it smells of sunshine on a summer meadow, warm and comforting.)

“And if you truly wish to leave… dear boy, I won’t stop you.” Murphy does not like the way Gilbert looks at him, as if trying to see someone else beneath his skin. He does not meet Murphy’s eyes, if he can help it. “In fact I would send you off with well-earned compensation for your time, and travel fare. Unless…”

Gil steps up to the parapet beside him.

“...unless I can convince you to stay…?”

“Why would you?” Murphy mutters, instead of why would I, if you’re offering to pay me off? “It should be perfectly obvious that I’ll never pass muster.”

“Ironically,” Gilbert smiles, but only at the man he pretends to see whenever he looks at Murphy, “it is well known among the former denizens of the Dreaming that His Lordship was often prone to very similar bouts of pessimism. I have faith in you, Murphy - and so does Robert Gadling. Please, do not leave. I rather doubt we will succeed without you.”

"You…" Murphy struggles with the words, the sentiment behind them lodging uncomfortably in his throat. "You have great respect, even love, for Dream of the Endless' memory. So why do you pretend? Why try to fool his siblings that I am him?"

For a moment, Gilbert seems ready to insist, as always, that Murphy is, or at least might be - but, to his credit, he does not play Murphy for a fool, in the end. Not this time. Not like Hob always, always does.

"You are quite correct. I loved His Lordship deeply, in a way that could never be understood by anyone but a dream and their creator." Gilbert sighs, his soft meadow-green eyes gazing far into the distance of better days, lined by old grief. "He made me to be the Heart of the Dreaming, and he was the Dreaming, so I knew his heart and self better than any other. The loss, when he… you cannot imagine it, young friend. I thought I would wither away and die. I thought that would be a mercy. To live as a dream in a universe that does not contain Dream of the Endless seemed entirely unthinkable, and to be quite frank, I did not think I would survive longer than a year at most in the Waking."

"I understand," says Murphy, quietly, and he does. He is no stranger to the feeling of being so untethered, only floating along with the end looming over him, death - not Death, no longer, the Endless have been cast from their domains - only biding its time.

(In the first year he can remember, Murphy did not think he would see another, either.)

"And yet, the year passed. And I lived." Gilbert smiles, faintly, taking off his glasses to polish them. "I suspect it was humanity which saved me, for all that they robbed me of my home and Lord, as well. I found… such joy, in this world. In my human form, wandering among them. Calling a few select individuals friends, even. Young Robert's companionship was a particular blessing, and I owe him more than he can ever know."

He sets the glasses back on his nose.

"Lord Morpheus is dead." Says Gilbert. Says it like fact, like something too absolute for the sort of dream-creature born of hypotheticals he is, like an unshakeable truth he has resigned himself to. His voice only barely breaks over the words. "And I shall grieve him for all the rest of my days… but I must live to mourn him. Life goes on, young friend, and we must all move along with it. And, well. I cannot speak for Robert's motivations, but the true reason why I have agreed to this mad scheme…"

Gilbert takes Murphy's freezing hands in his own. His fingertips are not lined quite right, they would not leave prints that look even remotely like those of a human - but aside from that, his grip is warm, avuncular, firm, reassuring.

"I fear that his siblings will not be able to live on without him." Gilbert confesses, quietly. "They are not made to accept change and move on from a loss as monumental as what humanity has wrought upon them. To have you… not him, not entirely, but perhaps enough… it is my most solemn hope that it might give them some form of closure at long last."

"So that's what it is?" Murphy laughs, bitterly. "Charitable concern for the well-being of personifications of abstract concepts!?"

"No." Gilbert corrects mildly. "Love. For my creator's family."

Murphy scoffs. His chest aches with it.

"What you, hmm. What you must understand, about Lord Morpheus…" Gilbert seems to be choosing his words very carefully. "...is that, for all that he was often harsh and commanding, he was so very loving, always. My Lord loved with all his self, even if he would attempt to turn a cold shoulder to the world - and I think you are much like him in temperament, young Murphy.”

Murphy does not acknowledge that. He doesn't think he can.

“He loved his family, and he loved the Dreaming, and all the beings in it. I was his heart, or near as, you must recall, I knew the truth at the core of him.

Memories or not, love as he did, and you will be a credit to his name, and a comfort to all who knew him."

(Murphy does not have it in himself to love like Dream of the Endless did. He already struggles to love at all.

But perhaps, for the sake of the entity whose memory he will dishonour, he can try.)

“So. Will you come back and resume your lessons?” Gil asks, very gently. “You may leave, now or any other time, of course you may. But it would be to your benefit, as well as to that of many others, if you did not.”

“I’ll stay,” Murphy forces out. He could blame the way his hands shake on the cold. “For now.”

“Thank you, dear child. Thank you.” This time, when Gilbert smiles, it very nearly feels like it is directed at him, after all. “Now, let’s get you out of this cold, hm? And Matthew as well.”

Murphy lets Gilbert herd him back to their inn, sits through Hob Gadling’s apology and wonders if it was sincere - he can never tell, with this infuriating man - and continues to learn as much as possible about the life of Dream of the Endless.

But he’s slowly realising, if anything will convince the Endless siblings, then it certainly won’t be the trivia. He’ll have to learn to love like the Lord of Stories, for their deception to have a snowflake’s chance in hell.

(Oh, wonderful. As if this wasn’t difficult enough already…)

#WyWrites #dreamling #the sandman #anastasia dreamling au #thank you for the ask and sorry it took so long!#maybe at some point i'll go back and also write hob successfully recruiting murphy #but i was a little stuck on that so i skipped the recruitment and wrote this instead #fiddler's green's role in this au is just very interesting to dig into #deception and manipulation is not in his nature and the closest he gets to selfishness is just wanting to live a human life #so why would he agree to help hob with this scheme?#i'm quite pleased with the way i spun it - he really does it out of love and thinks it's ultimately for a good cause #and subconsciously the assurance that gil is doing it out of loyalty rather than as betrayal is very (suspiciously) important to murphy #also very light 1889 meeting parallels with hob and murphy's fight at the start!

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agent-cupcake · 6 months

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Diplomacy

Here is another for my pitiful Kinktober! I meant to put this out faster, whoops. The next one is Zenos+cockwarming. I'll try to get the others out too but who is to say.

Pairing: Solus zos Galvus/Emet-Selch x f!princess Reader Kink: Vibrators/Overstimulation Tags: Explicit, dub/non con, bondage, Word Count: 2.6k

A while back I mentioned Emperor Solus taking advantage of a poor foreign princess for strictly diplomatic purposes.

Gifts, he told you, were an important part of diplomacy. He said things like that a lot. Lessons. His Radiance Solus zos Galvus, the Emperor of Garlemald, taught you a lot of lessons. The most important had been that a princess shouldn’t ever trust the charm of a foreign ruler, and even the most innocent of feelings could easily be twisted and used, and that inequality would never result in cooperation, and that you were a fool for believing a single word out of his mouth. There were others though, so many things of which you were ignorant. Late at night, when he appeared in your private chambers like an evil spirit, when he took advantage of impulses you didn’t know how to control, when he abused the dominion he’d so easily claimed over your ruined body, he taught you many things.

“This color suits you far better than the drab dresses you have been favoring as of late,” Solus mused, tugging the neckline of your silky candy-colored nightgown down a little further. Just enough to expose your nipples, to further prod at your indecency. You squirmed, but with your hands bound, there wasn’t anything you could do. “Mayhap you believe darker hues will assert your maturity. I assure you, my dear, nobody will take you seriously either way.”

“Don’t,” you said, looking away in embarrassment. It didn’t matter if you hid your face, your body was on full display, bound flat on the bed without any underwear, your nightgown hiked up around your waist. Solus wasn’t undressed, another assertion of his control.

“It was a compliment. If you were smarter, you would realize how to use that perception to your advantage.”

“I don’t… I don’t need your advice.”

“You ought to be grateful that I’m wasting so much time on such a silly little creature like you. Time, energy, and resources.” He sighed. “Never mind about that. I brought you a gift.” He held up the strange device. Your present. Its design was unfamiliar, although it looked to be fueled by magitek, the handle glowing with bluish energy. “This clever little tool was originally of Allagan design. To relax overworked muscles. Of course, it wasn’t long before perverted minds found other applications for it. A fitting gift for the virgin princess, I think. Especially when you have been such a dear friend of Garlemald.”

“What does it do?” you asked, ignoring his barbed remarks to focus on the device. It didn’t look like much, a handle with a bulbous head a little smaller than your fist. The magitek part was what worried you. Garlean weapons didn’t always look like much, it was the Ceruleum that made them dangerous. Solus didn’t often hurt you, but he could. He had. All you had to do to remind yourself of that was look down at the pale, raised imprint of Garlean chains branded on the flesh above your womb.

“Are you afraid, princess?” Solus asked. “Why might that be? You know very well I would only hurt you if you were deserving.” His hand dropped, one long finger tracing the chain link. It was the permanent reminder of your attempt at defiance. Back before you realized that Garlemald didn’t have allies, they had acquired territory. “Have you done aught to earn my ire?”

“No,” you said quickly, loudly, shaking your head. “I haven’t—I wouldn’t.”

Solus smiled. “Then you needn’t be afraid.” He pressed a button on the handle, and the device’s bulbous head began to vibrate with enough intensity that it seemed to blur, filling the room with a low hum. He pressed it against his hand. Gods above, it sounded aggressive, not unlike the engines on their infernal vehicles.

Without any sort of warning, Solus pressed the large, vibrating head right between your legs. A fraction of a second passed before the sensation registered, it was just that foreign to your nervous system. And then it hit, and the feeling was that of hot, horrible fire. Every single nerve ending blazing with the agonizing heat of very abrupt and very mean overstimulation.

“No-ooh—no! Stop-stop it!” you squealed, your hips twisting in all directions to get away. Your violent reaction caused the ropes binding you to the four corners of the bed to snap taut, the sheets dragging off of the mattress to form a wrinkled pile beneath you, and the wooden bed posts to loudly protest.

Despite that, Solus added more pressure, pushing it past your labia and to the far more sensitive flesh beneath. You screamed. You couldn’t help it, you screamed like an animal would, in a way that would make your throat hurt later. He leaned forward to clap his hand over your open mouth, stifling your wailing. Holding you down.

“Hush now, my dear. They might begin to suspect that you’re not as pure as they believe you to be,” he said, his voice low and intimately close to your ear. Now that he was so close, he was all you could smell. Leather and cold air and a sharp woody scent. You didn’t care that someone could hear, if anything that just made you scream louder. You needed it to stop, you couldn’t handle even a second more of this torment. He huffed, rolling his eyes impatiently. “Do you think I might begin to pity you? Now? Well, rest assured that I won’t. I’ve given you a unique gift. Be grateful.”

He paused, waiting for the response you couldn’t give, not budging even as you bucked up against him. That was involuntary, you were physically unable to keep your body from convulsing. But you did stop screaming, hoping that it would make Solus relent. His expression softened.

“There, that’s not so bad, is it?” Solus cooed, saccharinely sweet. “Now do the only thing you’ve shown even the slightest hint of aptitude for and come for me.”

With that command ringing in your ears, he sat up to watch, his hand still firmly clasped over your mouth and the toy painfully pressed against your vulva.

The order terrified you. That was impossible, you absolutely couldn’t. You pulled at your bound arms and legs with all your might, desperate to get away, but the ropes had no give, you were more likely to hurt yourself than you were to escape. And the harder you struggled, the more you ground against the thing. All you could do was wail into his hand, tears squeezing out of the corners of your closed eyes, your body impossibly taut, drawn in an arc between the ropes and his hand.

“I’ll wait. I do so enjoy watching you like this, writhing and struggling against the inevitability of my will. Take as long as you need, my dear.”

You couldn’t. If you came, it would hurt. Then again, if you didn’t, it would hurt more. He couldn’t hear your pleas, so you tried to beg with your teary eyes. You couldn’t do as he asked. It hurt and you couldn’t, he had to realize that, he had to understand, he had to. It hurt, and even if there was a stirring sort of pleasure within the bombardment of sharp, agonizing heat, you couldn’t do anything with it.

Solus met your pleading gaze. He didn’t care. Amusement shone bright in those pale eyes, twisting his lips up into a familiar smile. It wasn’t like what you imagined with other men. Pity or sympathy was useless against most of them, but Solus couldn’t be manipulated through his desire either. Self control—or maybe it was more accurate to call it sadism—kept him from ever wavering no matter how long it took to force your compliance. You would obey, or you would suffer. He would wait. There wasn’t actually a decision for you to make, just the painful fulfillment of Solus’ merciless order. Obey now, or obey later.

As soon as you gave in, closing your eyes to try and cling to the pleasure within the overwhelming heat, he moved the vibrating head just a little bit to the side, your swollen clit rolling with it, providing a new point of stimulation. It hurt just like everything else, an endless fury of too much, of hellfire. Gods, you nearly blacked out at the excruciating intensity of it. But it worked. You didn’t even have the time to brace yourself before you were coming. It was, like everything else, a painful, sticky, hot, wretched orgasm. Your body locked up like you were having a fit and you twitched and trembled and drooled and cried your way through it, unsure if the cresting pleasure was even good or if you were just twisted enough to interpret pain in the same way as long as it targeted the same parts, as long as it was at Solus zos Galvus’ command.

When you were done, returning to the weeping, whining excess of torturous overstimulation, Solus removed the thing from between your legs and his hand from your mouth. He finally turned it off and, in the absence of the hornet’s nest buzz, your ears rang. You barely reacted when he wiped off his hand, slick with your saliva, on the bunched up material of your nightgown.

“You will forgive me,” Solus said. He didn’t bother to hide his amusement as he dragged two fingers between your labia. The overstimulation was too much, you almost saw white, crying and shaking. But then he sunk two fingers into your pussy, and you were beyond wet enough to make it smooth, and all you could do was choke back a confused moan. It hadn’t felt good, but you had come, and one was never enough. Was that something he had taught you, or were you predisposed to being so depraved? “You will, won’t you? As long as I let you come again, you’ll forgive anything.”

“No,” you moaned hoarsely, trying to squirm away. For all the good that did. He curled his fingers as they dragged out and your mouth fell open wordlessly, any further rejections poofing away like smoke.

“No? It is a wonder that word remains in your vocabulary, considering how worthless it has become.”

You sniffed, knowing better than to rise to his petty bait. “Are you done? With that… that thing.”

“Are you so eager for more?”

“No! No, I can’t, no, I-” You didn’t finish your babbling denial, his fingers driving deep into your pussy with a harsher thrust. “Please. Not again, it… it hurts.”

“Begging is unbecoming of a princess,” Solus chided you. “If you truly want me to stop, you do not beg. You offer something of equal value in return.”

“What?” you asked, more than a little distracted by the fingers that hadn’t stopped pumping in and out of you with terribly slick sounds, moving too slowly to provide any substantial friction yet just fast enough to keep you on edge. You were still jerking in random bursts from the aftershock pain of overstimulation.

“Have you learned nothing about the art of negotiation?” Solus asked, his fingers snapping forward in a way that made your entire body jolt, made you whimper. “Mayhap I wasted my time trying to educate you.”

“I… I do, I know,” you exhaled shakingly, trying to ignore his fingers. “I don’t want that… again… and… And you want… Something. Please, I’ll do anything you ask—whatever you want.”

“I want to watch you come over and over. Until you’re reduced to nothing more than a dripping, trembling mess,” Solus said, emphasizing his words with sharp thrusts, his fingers curling in a way that had you keening. “So you see the problem with your pleas, pathetic and heartfelt as they are. Our wants are not compatible.” He hesitated, considering that. “If you had been smarter in the first place, we might have reached this point of disagreement on equal footing and found a middle ground that would suit us both. Unfortunately, you’ve put yourself in a terribly disadvantageous position. You’ve no power to stop me, and nothing to barter with.”

“It’s-ss not my fault,” you told him, too wrung out and frightened to argue with his cruel interpretation. “You’re the one who-”

“Me?” he demanded incredulously, raising an eyebrow. “You think this is my fault?”

It was. Everything was his fault, the results of his meticulous manipulations. But you didn’t dare say that, not when his eyes were narrowed so dangerously.

“I thought so. Your decisions are what put you in this position,” Solus told you. “You’ve nobody but yourself to blame.” With that, he pulled his fingers out of you entirely, picking up the toy from where he’d left it on the sheets. “We’ll try a lower setting to start with, hm?”

“Nn-no, Your Radiance, please,” you begged, pulling at your legs. You’d have bruises where the rope was cutting into them. He turned the thing on, filling the room with its loud, low hum. “Please, you don’t understand, I can’t… Please, it hurts, please don’t-” When he pressed it directly against your vulva, the vibrations didn’t hurt and burn like before, but it still made your body jerk against the ropes. The bedframe creaked unhappily, matching your own broken cry.

Already you were trembling, the vibrator made it worse. And still, now that it was lower, now that you could differentiate the sensations, now that it wasn’t as furious and intense, you could feel the stirrings of genuine pleasure, hot and twisted in your gut. The low buzzing hum was more insistent than simple friction. There wasn’t any place from which you could draw to know if it was good or bad, not after earlier, but you moaned. And then whined. It was impossible to help. Without his fingers you felt empty, and the excessive stimulation only exacerbated that hollow, anxious sensation.

“That’s much better, isn’t it?” Solus asked, smiling as he looked down at you.

All you could give as an answer was a panicked sort of whine because it was better. A lot, lot better. Good enough to have saliva pooling on your tongue, and your muscles all pulling tense despite your best attempts to relax them. Good enough to make it hard to breathe, especially because he was watching, entertained by the pitiful show. You wondered, even with your head full of lustful fog you wondered, how you had missed the cruelty in his delight for so long, back when you believed him to be a good and noble man. The darkness in his eyes as they watched you squirm and whine, helpless to the pleasurable vibrating, seemed so obvious now. It was his fault, you knew that. But it was also your fault, your mistake, the lesson you couldn’t seem to learn. It didn’t matter that you knew he was cruel, or that he had and would hurt you, or that he was using you. You were going to come anyway, your body was already tightening up, your brain on fire from the unfamiliar stimulation, unable to focus on anything else.

Solus rubbed your thigh, his large hand gentle and strong and warm, almost soothing. You whimpered, that small act of affection feeding the ravenous need in your core. “Solus…” His name wasn’t what you meant to say, to moan. You meant to tell him no, or stop, or don’t, or I can’t, but it was all, just like he said, worthless. Empty words to try and hide the fact that you were moaning, shaking, coming, giving him exactly what he wanted. Just like always.

“Insatiable as you are,” he said as you tried to collect yourself—an impossibility when you were given no reprieve from the relentless vibrations. “I suspect the first dozen will feel quite good. After that, however…” Solus sucked in a breath through his teeth, shrugging theatrically. “I doubt it will be so enjoyable. For you, at least.”

#solus zos galvus #emet-selch #solus zos galvus x reader #emet-selch x reader #ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #my writing #not sfw #tw.noncon

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drizztdohurtin · 1 month

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Okay I have 3 hc questions but they are small…

1. Do you think Zevlor and Rolan ever rekindled their friendship? I don’t think they where ever close but I think there is something that needs to happen there like a talk or a thank you because after Zevlor got encumbered Rolan was the one to step up and be the new leader to get everyone to last light (an nobody talks about it!)

2. Does Rolan like scratch? Or any animals for that matter?

3. What companies do you think Rolan gets along best with and why.

You can make these super short if you want! Thank you!

OKOKOK

I have a lot of thoughts <3 Nothing with me is ever short at this point KSDFHAH

I'm answering these with the idea in mind that Tav and Rolan end up in a relationship - mainly because I think Tav would have a bit of an influence on him. But if this isn't what you intended, I'd be more than happy to make a separate post detailing Rolan's thoughts alone, without the mention of Tav!

I fucking love questions like this, they're so creative and I love them - keep sending them my way!!

1k words later:

(1) I personally am under the impression (not remembering some details of the game very well) that Zevlor was called to by The Absolute that day in the shadow-cursed lands when the cultists attacked the refugees. This "call" to Zevlor wasn't enthrallment, his mind wasn't taken over by the Absolute - the Absolute was merely speaking to him. It told him that it would redeem him as a Paladin if he surrendered. Anyone, please correct me if I'm wrong!!

The fact that Zevlor took its offer is really fucked up, and makes you wonder WHY would he do that when he had always been so adamant on protecting his people? How is it that at the simplest offer, which very well could have been a lie for all they knew, he'd surrender his people - it's worrying. This is how Rolan would feel, but he'd be pissed.

If Tav felt a particular way about Zevlor and really wanted Rolan to forgive him, it would take a while. Rolan, to me, is someone whom once you've earned his trust, you have it for life. But once you break it, there's no chance you'll be able to get it back. So the type of relationship Rolan has with Tav would be very important in determining how likely (and quickly) he is to forgive Zevlor, and if he'll ever trust him again.

There's an added layer to it, though, because like you mentioned: Rolan had to step up and do everything he could to save the refugees. Rolan stepping up to save the kids and call out commands to the other tieflings removed his ability to protect his siblings, and subsequently, prevent them from being taken by the cultists - and Zevlor is the one that put him in that position to begin with. If it wasn't for Tav, he could've lost everything. A simple apology wouldn't do.

Zevlor would be able to apologize to Rolan easily because he'd truly mean it. But he'd also have to sincerely acknowledge Rolan's efforts and what happened to the most important people in his life. He'd have to take the harsh words Rolan spat back at him - he'd have to tell Rolan he was right. He'd have to give the same apology to Cal and Lia - and he'd have to apologize to Tav for putting them in a position where they had to save him. Rolan wouldn't go easy on him, and he'd be pissed when Zevlor comes to apologize - 'how dare he think he's even welcome in my home after everything he's put my family through!'

Would he forgive him? Eventually. If Tav wasn't the driving force behind it, then time would be. I don't think Rolan would ever trust Zevlor again, though.

(2) I feel like Rolan's overarching thoughts on animals, including Scratch, is that he doesn't mind them as long as they're not pests. He wouldn't choose to get a pet on his own, but he's not a hater! If he had to choose, though, he'd choose a cat!

If Tav wanted to keep Scratch, he wouldn't be very keen on the idea for a couple of reasons:

the tower was no place for a dog

he already had so much on his plate, he didn't want to add the care of an animal onto it

Also, the city is no place for a dog, in his eyes. He'd insist that Scratch would be better off going with Halsin, and he did truly believe that. He'd tell Tav that with Halsin, Scratch would have a job, he'd have infinitely more area to run around in, he'd be able to hunt, he'd have so many people to give him love - he'd literally have everything he needed and more.

If Tav insisted on keeping Scratch, he wouldn't be thrilled but he loves Tav so much that he'd give in. He would be like the typical dad whose spouse or kids got a pet - he'd be kind of petty about it but one day someone would walk in on him petting Scratch idly as he read some letters. Eventually, he'd be offering to take Scratch with him on errands (saying only because it was "good exercise") or allowing him to sit on the chaise in his office.

He'd never really be a fan of the slobber, though, especially when Scratch would find things and bring them to him - the item covered in dog spit.

(3) I'm assuming you meant which companions Rolan would get along with best <3

I think that Rolan and Gale would get along quite well, Rolan would just have to get over his initial kerfumpits with Gale. At first, Rolan was maybe be a little jealous of Gale and that's what caused the sour attitude towards him. Once he becomes the master of the tower and realizes his true potential, however, he becomes much more secure and drops this attitude towards him. Rolan would realize the value of having Gale as a friend.

Once Gale returns to Waterdeep and becomes a teacher, I can 1000% see them being pen-pals!! Gale might even invite Rolan to Waterdeep as a special surprise for his students - wow, look everyone! it's the Master of Ramazith's Tower!!

I saw a headcanon from someone where Gale and Rolan end up having a book club and they meet once a month to discuss their books over tea (if anyone has the link to this post, send it my way and I'll add it here). Cal and Lia make fun of him and always ask when his next "tea party" with Gale was. (begging someone to draw Gale and Rolan having a tea party with little princess tiaras on)

Other than that, Rolan would likely get along with whomever Tav is closest with. I have a headcanon for my Rolan-romancing Tav (in-brain, not in-game) that she is close with Shadowheart - and SH ends up staying in the city after the events of the game. Because of this, Rolan would end up seeing her with Tav and hearing about her from Tav a lot, so by default, he would get along with her.

For a more general answer, I could see him being able to connect easily with Gale, Karlach, Shadowheart, and Wyll - all for different reasons, too. He'd find it harder to connect with Astarion, Halsin, and Lae'zel - but he'd hold no ill feelings towards them.

#i heard someone ordered a deluxe yappuccino!#I am here to provide #reverieblondie #serena the yap-atron 3000 #ask #my hcs #my writing #baby boy #rolan #gale dekarios #headcanons #x tav #bg3 #hcs #x reader #baldurs gate 3 #rolan posting

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stardustprompts · 1 year

Text

the empire of gold ( the daevabad trilogy book 3 ) part 2 - s. a. chakraborty change tenses/pronouns as needed !! some lines have been edited for clarity / length / ease of roleplaying / part one found here. tw ; death , war , violence

‘you are an exceedingly frustrating person to talk to.’

‘she scared me, and I am not a woman who frightens easily.’

‘it’s supposed to be the mark of a wise leader, right? the willingness to make sacrifices for a greater good? but nobody ever asks those ‘sacrifices’ if they’re willing— they get no say in whether or not their kids die for some supposed greater good.’

‘we die, and we bleed, and it’s a debt that the powerful never repay. I don’t want to be part of that.’

‘I have made my loyalty clear.’

‘I find I can get a more accurate measure of a man when he’s not aware he’s being appraised.’

‘you have a very long way to go to earn my trust.’

‘i’m not tossing away (name’s) legacy. i’m completing it.’

‘it feels like you’re keeping all these secrets, like you still don’t trust me.’

‘oh, (name). what have you done?’

‘you court death with far too much persistence.’

‘I do not wish to leave. I am very content here with you.’

‘I want you dead and I want your city destroyed.’

‘the ___ do not deserve your loyalty. no one in the world does.’

‘they are poisoned. they are infected. and you are the disease.’

‘I need to go. there is no other way.’

‘I won’t lose you. not again.’

‘you and I are not the worst of our ancestors. they don’t own us. they don’t own our heritage.’

‘it’s a shame you hate politics. you’d be a very good queen.’

‘do you want me to stop?’

‘it’s like you’re in a competition with yourself over picking the worst time to say something.’

‘look me in the eye and tell me the truth. you promised no more lies.’

‘if saving ___ had meant likely killing me, would you have done it?’

‘so you plan to mock me as I bleed to death? that sounds like terrible bedside manner.’

‘don’t be stupid or reckless or proud. give her what she wants and come back to me.’

‘promise me. promise me you’ll come back.’

‘i’m not here to stop you. everything in my blood screams at me to, but I know I can’t.’

‘there is nothing I wouldn’t give for you.’

‘I am so sorry for the words I spoke before, but I won’t burden you with my regrets or my grief.’

‘I was starting to believe in you, in all these things you’ve been saying about a new ___ and equality for my people.’

‘you made me think it might be possible. that if I ever went home, it’d be as some kind of hero, and maybe all the other things I’ve done wouldn’t matter.’

‘i’m helping you. the right fucking thing to do and all that.’

‘there’s no helping me. i’m not getting out of this. all you’ll do is get yourself killed.’

‘I didn’t ask your permission. and I’m not doing this for you.’

‘(name) said you were coming in peace. the face you are making does not indicate peace.’

‘do you not understand? you have lost. save yourself and what is left of your people before their blood is on your hands.’

‘you’ve gone too far, and I’m trying to bring you back!’

‘you keep doing that. making that face like I’m an enemy you have to guard yourself against. i’m not.’

‘you’re not the only one whose had to pretend to be different. whose had to smile politely when people with power insult the parts of you that you never get to wear openly.’

‘I wish you had trusted me. but more than that, I wish I had behaved in a way that would have encouraged you to trust me.’

‘do you have to do that? sound all reasonable and kind?’

‘I have a lot of experience in loving frustrating people.’

‘if you make me cry, I’m going to stab you.’

‘we need to be able to trust each other if we’re going to fight back.’

‘it was the worst thing I’ve ever done in my life, and I didn’t blink an eye.’

‘I know how hard it is to think clearly when someone you love is in danger.’

‘I feared even thinking about the things that would make me happy would destroy them. and it does.’

‘we do not interfere. we seek to avert the greatest harm, to listen to the warnings of the heavens when it’s laws are about to be broken.’

‘you said your people had a proposal for me. so why don’t you state it? clearly, if that’s even possible for you.’

‘let’s not pretend you care about justice when it comes to the internecine squabbles of my people.’

‘please understand. i’ve lost everyone I’ve dared to love. I can’t lose you. not you.’

‘you’re not alone anymore. you don’t have to do this all by yourself!’

‘we can do this together. I don’t need you to save me!’

‘I am not a good man. I am a weapon.’

‘was any of it ever real between us?’

‘I hate you. I hate that I ever had feelings for you.’

‘I offered you mercy once, and you threw it in my face. don’t make that mistake again.’

‘i’m not looking for your mercy. i’m here to save our people.’

‘do you hear yourself? do you have any idea how naïve you sound?’

‘you think I had a choice? I had no one and nothing!’

‘I did not want this violence. it will haunt me to the end of my days, but I will be damned if it was for nothing.’

‘surrender. you cannot defeat her. it will be easier.’

‘oh, (name). you always did underestimate me.’

‘i’m sorry you and I didn’t grow up in a time of peace, where we could have lived happily together.’

‘I mourn, truly, the kind of relationship we could have had.’

(name) didn’t break me. you won’t either.’

(name) didn’t break me. you won’t either. I will never surrender to you.’

‘you have your mother’s/father’s spirit. it got her/him killed too.’

‘i’m not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you.’

‘you have hurt me. you left me.’

‘my entire life is a lie.’

‘you were all I wanted. I dreamed of seeing you again every night.’

‘I do not believe you. because I know you. and you are a liar. a thief.’

‘talk to me. tell me how to fix you.’

‘if you are looking for absolution, you won’t find it from me.’

‘I genuinely believe she wanted better for her people and her city. she just got very, very lost.’

‘I wish I had more time with her. I had so much I wanted to say.’

‘you may have to battle with words and with your very beliefs. but it it worth it. your life is worth it.’

‘your life is worth it. don’t let it be made into fodder for those who will never be in the trenches.’

‘you rip me apart. I was ready to kill you. and then you had to go and do the right thing.’

‘if I could go back … it breaks my heart to think of the different path we might have taken.’

‘you have earned your happy ending. let me do the same.’

‘you don’t get to make me laugh while you’re breaking my heart.’

‘find your happiness. steal it and do not ever let it go.’

‘I am sorry to be such a disappointment.’

‘you say you trust me. so trust me.’

#rp memes #rp prompts #rp sentence starters #literature prompts #literature sentence starters #the daevabad trilogy prompts #the daevabad trilogy sentence starters #the empire of gold sentence starters #the empire of gold prompts #fantasy prompts #fantasy sentence starters

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faustinio27 · 1 year

Text

FAUSTINE DAEMON – Character profile (HL MC)

(Spoiler for Hogwarts Legacy game)

GENERAL

Age : 15 (5th year)

Gender : Female

House : Ravenclaw

MBTI : INFJ

Blood status : Unknow

Social status : Orphan so working class ?

Wand : Pear wood with a phoenix core, 12 ½’’ and slightly springy flexibility

Patronus : Stag

Boggart : Her loved ones turned into Inferni, accusing her of not saving them

Amortentia : Lavander, hot chocolate, old book

Favorite class : Dark arts defense, Beast, Charms

Favorite spells : Diffinfo, Incendio, Wingardium Leviosa, Ancient magic

Favorite teacher: Professor Fig, Professor Hecat

Least favourite teacher: Professor Binns

APPAREANCE

« Looks likes a cinnamon roll but could kill you » energy

Hair colour : Blond

Eye colour : Blue

Skin tone : Beige/rose-coloured

Height: 1m67 (5’6)

Distinguishing features : Scar on her face. Her eyes glow an intense blue when she accumulates enough ancient magic.

Clothing style : Always clean and well dressed, she wears school uniform most of the time, and alternates between skirt and pants. She can have a feminine as well as masculine style. She never takes off her black gloves. She likes to have moon and stars pattern/accessories when she chooses other ouftits.

She doesn’t have a lot of clothes because she is not rich enough to buy them.

(In game : traditional school robe with tattersall vest school uniform OR velvet school robe with elegant vest uniform)

Additional info : She never or rarely wears makeup. Her cheeks are very squishable. She wears Fig’s scarf after his death.

PERSONALITY

At first glance, Faustine is seen as distant, mysterious, even unapproachable. Many students talk behind her back to describe her this way. In reality, she is easy to approach and become friends with. She is happy to help others, although her kindness is not to be abused: if you ask her to risk her life for trivialities, she will refuse outright, or not hesitate to ask for something in return. But if you tell her about secret passages and other hidden treasures, she will accept to embark on any adventure, driven by her curiosity. This curiosity often leads her to get involved in things that are none of her business.

She has grown up in an environment that has consistently seen her as a nobody, which causes her to suffer from the savior complex. She constantly fears being seen as useless and not up to par, and feels compelled to prove to others her true worth. She is then easily stressed or burned out. If she manages to remain one of the top students in her class while hunting dark wizards and poachers, her friends must be careful that she doesn't overdo it. She despises laziness and hate when people attribute her success to luck, rather than hard work. She is afraid that lack of knowledge will prevent her from getting ahead in life. Being locked up in a Muggle orphanage for 15 years has also given her an extreme need for freedom. Introverted and solitary, she takes refuge in her imagination or flies on the back of a hypogriff on a whim when she needs to be alone.

Although calm and serious, once she feels comfortable with someone, she is much more relaxed, sarcastic and cynical. She likes to tease her friends, and can become really silly. Empathetic and always with good advice, she is the person you go to when you need to confide. She cherishes her best friends as family (Sebastian, Ominis, Poppy, Natsai and Amit). Once her trust is earned, her loyalty is unwavering. She will do anything for her closest friends, and will protect them at any cost. The only way to make her lose her temper is to take it out on them.

She then wants to learn the most dangerous and forbidden spells such as dark magic. If she knows that this type of magic is illegal, no matter what it is called, it can be useful if it allows her to save people. She believes that any type of magic can be used according to its purpose, but it only concerns her (she doesn't trust others who might misuse it…). Nevertheless, she tries not abuse these spells and prefers to use ancient magic, which is also effective and not illegal.

She can easily roasts you in a verbal argument. She prefers to use words to fight, but will not hesitate to use her wand or her fists when things go too far (even if she isn’t very good in close combat). When her friends are personally attacked, she can become very violent and ruthless. Better to have her as an ally than as an enemy. She is not very forgiving and believes that revenge justifies the means. She fights for her own conception of justice.

Traits : sarcastic, dreamy, hard-worker, loyal, curious, introvert, idealist, solitary

Likes : books, milk chocolate, nightsky, animals, art, discover hidden places, pretty things in general, money

Dislikes : dumb people, bullies, children, spiders, candies, loud noise, Gobstones, failing

Good at : winning a debat, literature, listening

Bad at : maths, having a good night schedule, avoiding stress, Quidditch

Hobbies : reading, taking care of her animals, exploring, flying with her hyppogriff, coffee date with friends

Fears : Not being up to the task, being a failure, losing her found family

RELATIONSHIP

Best friend :

Sebastian Sallow. He and Faustine have a real sibling relationship. They tease and make fun of each other, bicker, and make up. Faustine is the most cynical and sarcastic when she’s with him. She doesn't hesitate to tell him about her adventures outside Hogwarts and about ancient magic. She appreciates his optimism, his humor and his outspokenness, and quickly became attached to him at the beginning of the year, when he took her under his wing. They have a mutual trust, where both of them have each other's backs. If Faustine remains the more reasonable of the two, she is easily drawn into his adventures by curiosity and friendship. Knowing that he is stubborn in his decisions, when he wants to go on dangerous expeditions, she prefers to accompany and help him, to make sure nothing happens to him. Faustine is sympathetic in his quest to help his sister despite the dangers, because she knows she would do the same for him (even if Sebastian doesn't always realize it). Nevertheless, since Sebastian is stubborn and Faustine's patience has its limits, when their disagreements go too far, she doesn't hesitate to tell him what she thinks about his attitude then leave, expecting a sincere apology. Which he always ends up doing, and she always ends up accepting it. She knows he is flawed, but so is she; and while she doesn't know why or how she became so attached to this student, she's still willing to do anything for him.

Friends :

Ominis Gaunt : Ominis didn't like Faustine much at the beginning of the year, seeing her as a threat who might get Sebastian into trouble, and being afraid that she would replace him in their friendship. But he quickly realized that Sebastian didn't need her to get himself into bad situations, and that Faustine was there to get him out. Faustine, despite their rather cold start, immediately wanted to be his friend. Because if she’s friend with Sebastian, and he is too, why can’t them be friends too ? She quickly gained his trust by defending him on several occasions when he was arguing with Sebastian. Faustine appreciates Ominis' calm, sarcasm, sensitivity and intelligence, which balances Sebastian's personality. They are partners in some classes and enjoy spending time together.

Poppy Sweeting : Sometimes you don't need a lot of reasons to get along with someone. With Poppy, Faustine simply has a good connection. She likes her for her kindness and dedication to helping magical creatures. Faustine feels this need to help her and protect her from harm, especially when she finds herself in situations where she doesn't seem to realize the dangers that face her. Poppy's enthusiasm is contagious, and her presence always cheers Faustine up when she feels stressed.

Natsai Onai : If there is anyone Faustine trusts the most, it is her. Faustine knows her loyalty and courage are unwavering. Natty’s quest to destroy the dark wizards to protect her new home resonates strongly with Faustine, who desires the same thing. She appreciates Natty's trust in her, confiding in her about her feelings and her father's death. Even though Natty complains about her mother being overprotecting, Faustine can't help but be jealous that she has a mother who loves and cares about her.

Amit Thakkar : Amit is a fellow Ravenclaw whom she got to know better during astronomy classes. She appreciates his kindness and his passion for the stars, and willingly listens to him talk about them, even if she doesn't necessarily understand everything. They share a passion for reading adventure novels, and can discuss about it for hours without interruption. He frequently lends her books, and they look like two passionate nerds when they are in their common room. She sympathizes with his desire for adventure that she felt in the Muggle world, and doesn't mind his fearful temperament. Even though he is always worried when she takes him on more or less dangerous adventures, he is still loyal to her and wants to help her (which is good for Faustine, because she often finds herself in the opposite situation where she has to help people). As with Poppy, Faustine also feels a strong sense of protection towards him.

Caligo : Faustine rescued the black hypogriff from poachers. Much like Poppy with Highwing, Faustine and Caligo became really close, and they love to fly together under the starry sky. He is a proud hypogriff who won't let anyone but Faustine (and eventually Poppy) get near to him. He will stay with her even after Hogwarts.

Mentor :

Professor Fig : Professor Fig is the first to have a fatherly attitude towards her. He took her under his wing, educating her about this new world she knew nothing about, while teaching her magic with patience and kindness. They are both stubborn and misunderstood by their peers, and they both despise idiots. If Fig appreciated Faustine long before her discovery of ancient magic, their secret has bound them together. He may not admit it, but Faustine is his favorite student, and he does favors for her that he wouldn't do with other students. They are on the same wavelength, so much so that we could really think they are part of the same family.

She never forgives herself for his death.

Other :

She doesn’t like Garreth Weasley and Leander Prewett. She also didn’t likes Imelda Reyes at first, but at the end of the year, they both gained mutual respect for each other. Samantha Dale is one of her roommate, with whom she gets along well.

BACKSTORY

(Fic of her backstory)

Faustine has always lived in a muggle orphanage. She was found as a baby outside the doors of the orphanage and has no clue as to the identity of her biological parents. She grew up hoping to find a family, but after a certain age, she accepted the idea that she would never be adopted. The director and the other children kept telling her that no one would ever want her. Knowing that she was doomed to be homeless as soon as she came of age, Faustine decided to study. She hoped to find a job that would allow her to avoid poverty. She learned to be independent and to rely only on herself.

Reading brought her comfort in her gloomy life. All the fantasy stories took her on a journey, allowing her to escape her fate. She was often criticized for not living enough in the real world, but it was the only way she could make life bearable. At 14, Faustine was one of the eldest children in the orphanage. The director took advantage of this to give her thankless tasks, justifying that she was preparing her for real life.

One day, while Faustine was out shopping for the orphanage, she overheard two men talking about magic. Curious, she decided to follow them discreetly into the bad streets. While spying on them, she realized that they were wizards. Unfortunately, they were dark wizards who were smuggling illegal goods into the muggle world. Faustine was discovered, and the two men went after her to kill her. After attacking her with various offensive spells, Faustine was caught in a dead end. One of the wizards cast the death spell on her. At the same time, the ancient magic within her awoke. A magical blue bubble formed around her and blocked the spell. And in a fraction of a second, this magic retaliated by reducing the two wizards to dust. Faustine, unconscious, will only have a scar on her face as a souvenir of this confrontation. When she woke up at the hospital, she didn't remember what had happened. During her recovery, Faustine witnessed strange events. Objects began to move and levitate around her. The next day, an owl flew in through her window and handed her a strange letter. It said that she was admitted to Hogwarts, the school for apprentice wizards. Faustine didn't know how to react. She wanted to believe it. All her life she had dreamed of an escape. She felt like she was living in one of those fantasy books she loved so much. Her blackout, the levitating objects, the letter... The magic seemed real. But she kept it a secret until she had more information. She was afraid she would be given false hope.

Until Professor Fig arrived. He told her about the letter, and confirmed that she was a witch. Her powers seemed to have awakened only a few days ago, justifying the fact that she had not been located by the school before. He offered to mentor her, explaining that he had arranged with the director of the orphanage to keep it a secret. Faustine was overjoyed. She asked the professor to bring her as many books about the wizarding world as possible. She wanted to learn as much as she could about it. She felt - she knew - that she belonged there, and that a new and better life awaited her. And why not a family?

FUTURE

After Hogwarts, Faustine studied to become an Auror. Thanks to her seriousness, her experience with dark wizards, and her ever-growing ancient magic, she quickly became one of the best. She is known in the domain for being pitiless. But after a few years of service, she realized that she didn't want to give up her passion -books-, and that she wanted to make people dream with them, just like her. She then owned a magical library, which she maintained with former house elf Penny. She remained a part-time Auror, accepting only the most important and dangerous assignments from the Ministry. Over the years, she studied literature, philosophy and sociology. She took part in many political debates in the wizarding world, notably to defend equality between wizards and Goblins. And just like when she’s Auror, she’s just as ruthless to defend justice. She became an important and influential figure in the wizarding world. Her professions allowed her to live a comfortable life. If she didn't have time to build a family life, it doesn't bother her at all. Faustine is seen as the rich and eccentric single aunt in her found family, and continues to help them whenever they need it. As people said, "she is married to freedom".

AUTHOR NOTE

Faustine Daemon is based on my experience and decisions in the game. She is a mix between the general personality given to the MC, and a self insert. But working on her backstory and pushing her personality makes her a sort of OC I guess. I tried to make her backstory and personality justified and consistent with what the game tell us about (so not so much).

Don't hesitate to ask me questions about her, or to suggest interactions with your MCs, I'd love to read them! (and why not draw them?)

Sorry for the mistakes, English is not my native language.

(Thank you for reading this far, have a cookie)

#faustine daemon #hogwarts legacy mc #hogwarts legacy #sebastian sallow #natsai onai #amit thakkar #poppy sweeting #ominis gaunt #hphl oc #hphl mc #hogwarts legacy oc

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emeritus-fuckers · 6 months

Note

First ask on your page !! Do you possibly have any fluffy headcanons of any of the Repugnant band members teaching their significant other how to play an instrument?

- Curious Anon

Repugnant members teaching their s/o how to play their instruments

Mary Goore

If you ask them to teach you, they might jokingly ask if you wanna learn how to growl, too.

They let you mess around with their guitar and show you a few riffs, but there's no actual teaching involved since they don't even know how to teach.

Mary's self-taught in the "let's mess around until it makes sense" kinda way.

They can't read notes. They just memorize how to move their fingers. This is also why they have to play their songs from the beginning every time.

And they figure out that's the best way for you to learn as well.

They're a terrible teacher, they give you no tips and just watch you get frustrated.

You have to beg them to show you how to do it again.

You don't learn much from them, honestly.

DD Sars (not s/o, but very close fwb)

Rolls his eyes at you at first, but agrees if you insist.

He's gonna be all grumpy about it, but that's just his personality, he's not actually upset. He's the kind of person that will act like he's granting you this huge favor when agreeing to something.

Steals Mary's guitar next time he gets the chance.

He likes you, but you're not touching his instrument. Nobody touches his guitar.

Shows you a few basic things and a few riffs, but after that he just kinda... lies down and lets you do your thing.

Insults you when you do something wrong. Probably calls you a stupid fag.

Despite growing frustrated with you when you mess up, he does not move to help you.

The only way you know you've got something right is when he grumbles out a "finally, for fuck's sake..." or makes a comment that he was starting to lose hope.

You don't learn much from him, either.

G. Grotesque

Yes. Absolutely. He'll be delighted to.

Sits you down on the edge of the bed, gets his bass and sits down behind you, letting you get to know the instrument first.

Shows you the basics before letting you try.

Lets you experiment a little so you get a better feel of his guitar.

He just sorta watches you very proudly, his chin on your shoulder and his arms around your waist.

The only one with a guitar to provide actual fucking tips on how to play.

Offers to teach you (he actually had lessons, paid for them with his own earned money when he was in high school).

Overtime, you actually become pretty decent with his help.

Getting kisses as rewards also helps.

Ends up joking that you might replace him in the band one day.

Best teacher out of them all.

E. Forcas

He's a bit hesitant.

Not because he doesn't trust you with his drumset, he just doesn't think he'd make a good teacher since for him it's just... kinda automatic at this point.

Whenever he plays his drums, he kinda switches from the awkward but sweet guy to a death metal band's wild, furious drummer.

His arms are pretty muscular and it's all because of how intense he's playing his beloved drums.

But he's also weak for you, so he agrees to let you mess with his drums before showing you how to play a few songs.

Of course, with how easily he does it, you don't learn much from just watching.

And he's not gonna put you on his lap and guide you, since he doubts that'd be effective with drums.

He might actually offer to just let you watch a YouTube tutorial and use his drums to practice. Offers to get you actual lessons, too.

He has good intentions, he just doesn't really know how to teach you well.

He might give some tips and show you how to do some things better, but he's just... not the best teacher.

He tries, though, and when you're E. Forcas, you don't even have to do that to make me swoon.

Written by Jez.

Taglist: @charlie-is-a-menace @copias-fluffy-asscheeks @lunarsromantichomicide @randodummy @tuttifuckinfruttifriday @calliedion-dungeon @randominstake @nuntia @thermodynamic-comedian @vampyrolesbos

#ask #anon #repugnant #repugnant band #repugnant x reader #repugnant band x reader #mary goore #mary goore x reader #dd sars #dd sars x reader #g grotesque #g grotesque x reader #e forcas #e forcas x reader

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misrepresentedmorallygrey · 7 months

Text

And Round 1 is Done!

PROPAGANDA

"Picture this: the love of your life betrays you and causes your death, then you're brought back to life later against your will and your lover is with your reincarnation. Anyone would feel bitter! She tries her best to keep living her half life and helping people. She's hated just because she's not the main character and gets in the way of the show's OTP."

"Kikyo was such an interesting character. She was murdered by the villain, who tricked both her and her love interest into thinking the other had betrayed them, brought back to life against her will only to find that fifty years had passed, the world had moved on without her, her baby sister was now an old woman, and she'd been condemned to an awful half-life in an unfeeling clay body where she was stuck in her worst moments and basically a vengeful spirit, but she eventually managed to move past it, gave up her one chance at getting revenge on her murderer to save the life of a child, and achieved some measure of inner peace before she died for good. But, she also has the misfortune of being the first love of the male lead, so of course the only thing anyone seems to care about is how she supposedly did him dirty and wasn't good enough for him. The whole fandom is chock full of meta posts about how she didn't trust Inuyasha enough and should have known he'd NEVER betray her like that. Meanwhile, Inuyasha fell for it just as easily when the villain framed HER for attacking HIM, but nobody ever tries to claim that HE didn't trust HER enough. (For further context, when she thought he'd betrayed her, she retaliated by pinning him to a tree and putting him in an enchanted sleep. He retaliated by destroying her village.) In at least 90% of the fanfics that she appears in at all, she's either the Bad Girlfriend or the Evil Ex, who either previously or is currently abusing the hero, or cheating on him, or trying to coerce him into turning human, or dating him for years only to break up with him by telling him he disgusts her because of his demon blood (huh???), none of which she did in the actual canon, solely so the preferred love interest can swoop in and kiss it all better. People will claim they're just making valid criticisms of her actions (which, to be fair, aren't always great), or saying she didn't properly earn her redemption (which is actually pretty standard for a shounen series) because she didn't apologize enough, but them multiple male characters who did far worse than she did somehow miraculously managed to escape the constant criticisms that she's subjected to, this despite having a so-called redemption that's literally just "He stopped eating people because he wanted to get into the heroine's pants", and remain very popular characters both in their own right and as alternate ships for the female lead. The double standards are so glaringly obvious, yet people will bend over backwards and jump through mental hoops that would give a gold-medal Olympics gymnast pause to insist that they're being completely objective and fair and that this isn't just about trying to score points in a ship war or holding female characters to completely different standards from male characters."

Kairi Propaganda

"The Kingdom Hearts game series is about Mickey Mouse battling the forces of Darkness with an alliance of fashionable anime boys. Kairi is a major character, and one of the few female characters. She is part of a trio of childhood best friends, with the protagonist Sora and their other friend Riku (who had a villain arc and then a redemption arc). Though Kairi is constantly and clumsily sidelined by the canon narrative, she arguably has more backstory going on than any other major characters. She is a refugee from another planet. She implicitly lost her beloved grandma at five years old in the traumatic destruction of their hometown. She was kidnapped and experimented on by an evil wizard-scientist—she escaped thanks to having a magic charm that basically teleported her to her soulmate(s). Then she had to adjust to living on a new planet and being adopted by a new family. In the very first game, when she's 14, she turns out her pure heart is one of 7 in the entire universe to be free of Darkness—she shows a full emotional spectrum of fear, sadness, frustration, defeat, but she isn't vulnerable to corruption. In KH2, she becomes one of the Chosen Ones who wield a magical weapon called a Keyblade. She loves her friends very much, and she has the unique talent to instantly recognize them even when they've been transformed into monsters. She has saved them several times with nothing but the Power Of Love in her heart randomly manifesting in, like, telepathy and teleportation and resurrection—she doesn't even consciously know that she has powers, her love is just so great that it's accepted as a tangible force of nature. She is frustrated and ashamed by her role as a damsel in distress, and she wishes to be stronger and combat-capable so that she join her male friends on their adventures instead of waiting around where it's safe. Also she was kidnapped by an evil assassin clown who's ten years older than her, and then they became friends. NOT ONLY does the fandom plug its ears and claim there is nothing interesting about this character and no potential in her story—Kairi has been demonized by the fandom for about 20 years. Somehow Kairi is useless and boring while also being a Mary Sue at the same time. She was called a bitch and a slut and a whore. She was hated for wearing too much pink and wielding a girly weapon with a floral design. She was criticized as a slut for wearing a short skirt, and for THE PLAYER being able to manipulate the camera into a contrived angle to look up her skirt to see her panties in the first edition of KH2. You can find nearly 20-year-old fanfiction and fanart of her being twisted into an evil schemer driving her friends apart, and of her being gleefully brutalized and insulted. Haters STILL comb for every crumb to make elaborate anti-canon theories about why she's an agent of evil, even though canon has FIRMLY ESTABLISHED for TWENTY YEARS since the very beginning that she's THE ONE CHARACTER incapable of growing Darkness in her heart. The theory is that she exists only as a puppet sent by the main villain to sabotage her friends (the plot for two out of the four main female characters) for all ten years of their friendship. The theory is that she's been using her powers to force her friends to love her—and their Power Of Friendship that is the EMOTIONAL BACKBONE OF THE STORY, and THE MAJOR FORCE OF GOOD IN THEIR UNIVERSE, and THE MOST CONSISTENT MOTIVATION FOR THE HEROES is all Just Misdirection LOL building up to a shitty Plot Twist. The theory is that she's secretly a custom-manufactured Chirithy (a cute talking animal companion that serves and guides humans)—and not a human girl with her own natural feelings and aspirations. AND THEN after stripping her of every important trait and role, these fans claim they're making Kairi more important and interesting than she is in canon. I don't know what causes the fandom to so desperately hate a sweet 14-year-old girl who literally canonically never did anything wrong."

#round 1 #round 1B #females fucked over tournament #inuyasha #kingdom hearts #kikyo #kh kairi #fun fact: Kairi was the last character to be submitted

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quotergirl19 · 1 year

Text

The long awaited confrontation between Colin & Eloise Bridgerton over Penelope is here…

Eloise is so sure that Penelope tricked Colin into their betrothal that she becomes determined to get between them (because she’s Eloise & being self righteous and difficult is her thing). She’s harsh without remorse because she’s convinced Colin would never wed Penelope unless he was forced to and she says as much right to Pen’s face, accusing Penelope of blackmailing her brother into marriage.

Penelope is deeply hurt and she starts questioning whether she & Colin should go through with the marriage when his sister is so clearly against their union but Colin insists that he wants Penelope to be his wife and says he will handle Eloise.

Then Colin sets off to have a serious conversation with his sister.

Colin: How dare you speak to my fiancé the way you did earlier? Penelope is beside herself. You’ve wounded her deeply and should be ashamed of yourself Eloise!

Eloise : You clearly do not know her as well as you think brother, I am doing you a favor and looking out for you!

Colin: You should grow up and understand that you do not know everything and sometimes your impulse to outwit and dress down can be harmful. Why would you not simply speak to your oldest friend to understand why she acted in secret and try to empathize with her. Your circumstances are very different from Penelope’s, and you know this! She has no one to help or guide her or make her feel cared for, or appreciated. She has had struggles which you, Eloise Bridgerton have not ever had to face. And all she has had for years was your friendship and our family. The things you said to her were so cruel I am ashamed to call you my blood. She thinks you hate her, have you stopped to think about that? She is not close to her own sisters, you are the sister of her heart and you know how she loves you and now she honestly believes you hate her. Penelope’s actions may have angered you El, but her intentions were good.

Eloise: Her intentions were to sell papers at the expense of our family and her own. She could have ruined me and your beloved Marina. How can you forget that so easily. She has acted selfishly for the sake of making money. She would sell out her own blood for coin. You deserve to know that that is the woman who has fooled you into a betrothal.

Colin: You insufferable know-it-all. Did you ever stop to think why your best friend would risk so much for the money you clearly begrudge her for earning? I’m certain you have not bothered to consider that her father was murdered over his gambling debts. Did it not occur to you that Pen was desperate to earn that money in order to support her family? Did you ever think why such an intelligent young lady would do something so dangerous as sneak around to print shops alone in secret? How easily she might have been attacked or harmed and nobody would have ever known what happened to her. And she hates herself for outing Marina. She never would have done it had I only listened when she warned me that Marina was in love with another man. Or if Marina herself hadn’t ignored Penelope’s constant pleading with her not to trap me.

Eloise: She should have told me! She should have trusted me!

Colin: The Queen herself was hunting for Whistledown with your help. Can you honestly blame her for keeping her secret?

Eloise: She should have had more faith in me and our friendship than that!

Colin: Says the friend who abandoned her the moment she found out. Pen was terrified of losing you, how can you not see that!? Damn it Eloise! And she was right to be afraid because you turned your back on her and never even thought to ask why she did it. I am warning you sister, you have two options here: make things right with Penelope or bite your tongue forever. Because you may be willing to lose her but I am not and if you continue to bully my fiancé or your cruelty leads her to call off our engagement, you shall lose more than your most devoted friend because of your childish cruelty. You will lose a brother as well, because I will never forgive you.

Eloise: Well, if those are my options, I believe that I finally have my answer now as to why you chose Penelope. Rest assured, I will set things right with her.

Colin: And what assumption have you made now El? What do you believe is my reason for marrying Penelope?

Eloise : The only reason I could ever accept brother, because you are in love with her.

#nobody puts Penelope in a corner #mic drop Colin #bridgerton #polin #quotergirl mini fic #Penelope Featherington #penelope x colin #Colin Bridgerton #colin x penelope #Eloise Bridgerton #peneloise #bridgerton season 3 expectations

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mswritingthings · 1 year

Text

Dialogue Prompt Superlist 1

"I think you need new suits boys. Most FBI agents don't run around with vamp blood on their suits."

"We have all tried saving everyone, and it doesn't work. At some point, we all have to accept that."

"Hunters, always thinking with their blades."

"So, you ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?" "You're not the devil."

"Take this, it'll protect you when I can't."

"Cute car." "Excuse you, but she is more than just cute."

"If I wanted to spend my life hunched over books and research, I would have gone to college."

"You're reckless." "Aren't we all?"

"Don't let the black eyes fool you, I'm very gentle."

"There are always issues in covens. That's why I practice on my own."

"I feel like a doomsday prepper down here." "It's the only place you're safe right now, so stop complaining."

"I'll kick your ass you tall son of a bitch."

"Just because I'm not a Winchester doesn't mean I'm clueless jackass."

"Maybe if you guys weren't so selfless, all your solutions wouldn't be to sacrifice yourselves for the good of mankind."

"If you think that I'm giving up Hell that easily, you are stupider than everyone says you are."

"This isn't fair, you know I can't say no to you."

"I know it's late, but do you think you can come over?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't think you were hot."

"It's not like we're exclusive."

"They say they're just friends." "We are!"

"Friends don't look at each other like that."

"For this bit of time, you are allowed to be obsessed with me, I won't blame you."

"There are easier places to sneak off to than this."

"It's not fair, you call my name and I Can't help but run off to you."

"Let's face it, we stopped being just friends the night we slept together."

"Careful, that one's a tease."

"I don't want us to be anything more than what we already are."

"It's casual sex. That's all, I swear."

"Your date is an idiot, but I'll have to thank them."

"IT's not a date, but I do have a bottle of wine and some lingerie that I'd hate to let go to waste."

"When it comes down to the wire, they'll have my back."

"I trust you." "Thank you."

"It's not a good plan, but it's a plan."

"I let you down once before, I won't do it again."

"If we're gonna win, we need to work together."

"I thought you hated each other." "Things change."

"That is it: the big one."

"I'm gonna fight until I can't fight anymore."

"People like us, they go down swinging."

"Drop your weapons... All of them."

"Nobody comes into my home and threatens me."

"I'm not doing this out of revenge, I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do."

"That was one hell of a fight." "Yeah, I've got the scars to prove it."

"I know that look in your eye because I've felt that pain too."

"We didn't lose, we just have to try again."

"We take care of each other, that's how it's always been."

"Somewhere along the line, I fell in love with you."

"It's not an ideal situation, but we can make it work."

"I'm here if you need to talk to someone."

"That wasn't your fault, not really."

"It's okay, let it out."

"If I ever let anything happen to you, I'd never forgive myself."

"All I wanted was to hear you say that you were sorry."

"You can't ask me to do that. You know I won't."

"Leave, just get out of here."

"Someone around here has got to keep you safe."

"I thought you hated me." "No, never."

"Tell me it's going to be okay, even if it isn't." "It's okay."

"Stuff like this, it takes time to get better."

"I meant it when I said I was going to do everything I can to earn your trust back."

"Shh, relax and close your eyes, just let yourself feel it."

"It feels good baby, doesn't it?"

"That's it, open your legs for me like a good girl."

"Use your words. Tell me what you want."

"Don't cum yet, wait and it'll feel so much better."

"I think you can push yourself a little harder. Come on, try for me."

"You are such a pretty little thing on your knees for me. I'm so proud of you."

"All of those noises you make when I'm in between your legs, it drives me crazy just thinking about them."

"Come here, it's okay. Let me hold you."

"I suppose you've been behaving yourself long enough to deserve a reward."

"Calm down, I would really hate to punish you."

"Do you want more?" "Please."

"You've taken good care of me, now let me take care of you."

"You like being pampered like this, don't you?"

"Please don't turn away from me, I want to see you."

"Shh, it's okay. I've got you."

"Breathe with me. Come on, in... and out, that's it."

"You don't have to hide your tears from me."

"Everybody needs a break sometimes, I get it."

"Crying doesn't make you weak."

"Please be careful, I don't want to see you hurt yourself."

"I shouldn't feel ashamed about needing help sometimes."

"I can't be everything to everyone."

"This isn't my safe space, you are."

"You really scared me back there." "I'm sorry."

"Can you just hold me for a couple minutes?"

"There's a lot to live for when you let yourself enjoy life."

"You don't have to be strong all the time, not with me."

"I don't know what I'd do without you." "You won't have to."

"I feel like I've worked so hard for so long and have nothing to show for it."

"I'm not saying this is illegal, but how okay are you with having a misdemeanor?"

"You are so lucky that you're cute."

"Come on, it's not even that big of an ask."

"There are certain things you only do for someone you've known for a long time."

"I never said I liked you." "But you didn't say you don't."

"Careful! You're gonna get us killed driving like that."

"You're being dramatic."

"Okay, you pump the gas and I'll get the snacks."

"No wonder you never made the team, what kind of throw was that?"

"What the hell is this?" "So nice of you to join us, take your seat."

"You look like you came from a boy band audition."

"I think I'm funny." "Of course you do."

"Look, this might not even be that big of a mess to clean up."

"If I die doing this, I am so haunting your ass."

"What was that?" "My cue to never let you watch Paranormal Activity again."

#dialogue prompts #prompt list #mine #superlist #smut #angst #hurt/comfort #fluff

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smurphyse · 2 years

Text

Mr. and Mrs. Teddy Martinez | S.R.

Chapter 8 of Operation: Sand Leopard

Warnings: canon typical stories, child brides, mentions of child abuse, death

Summary: Spencer finally meets his CHUmate. You give something personal to him.

Spencer rolled his neck, hoping beyond hope it would release some of the tension in his shoulders. It didn't, not that he really expected it to, which was probably why it didn't work.

Alijah's frustration with him yesterday made him nervous. The fact that she felt like she'd been lied to meant it would be that much harder to earn her trust, even if her previous case agent hadn't meant to.

You were so damned closed off you wouldn't even tell him the original agent's name. He'd learned that not even the unit had seen Alijah in the flesh, that they didn't even know who they were trying to protect, just who they were trying to catch.

What about this case made you so paranoid? Was it the fact that there was a child involved, or was there something you were keeping from the entire unit?

He just didn't know, and you likely wouldn't tell him.

Sighing, Spencer knocked on Alijah's cell door. He heard nothing on the other side, probably because nobody had ever knocked before, so he opened it slowly and stepped inside.

Alijah sat against the concrete wall with her knees held tightly to her chest, but when she saw him she relaxed.

"You came back," she said in relief, flashing him a small smile.

"Of course I did," Spencer replied as he made his way to his spot, sliding down to the floor. "I wanted to see you."

Alijah’s chin wobbled, and she adjusted on the little cot. Her eyes were wide and full of hesitance as she quietly said, “I’m very sorry I was angry. I miss Teddy, but he won’t come back.”

Spencer frowned, but before he could say anything she asked, “Do you know where he is?”

He shook his head, “I don’t know, but I can find out.”

Alijah smiled wide, and she brushed away some of the tears in her eyes. “I would really like that.”

“Can you tell me more about him?”

She relaxed into the wall and pulled a book out from under the blankets. It was the second book in the Redwall series; he recognized the name from the inside cover of the old copy you’d given him.

“He taught me to read English, I learned how to speak some of it as well, but I forgot,” she said quietly, holding the book and watching it with a small smile. Her thumbs brushed against the frayed pages, and something settled heavily in his chest. “When he left, they sent me back to Sayeed.”

“When was that?” Spencer asked, cocking his head at her.

“Two and a half years ago. I was eleven when I met Teddy. He took me from the house I lived in with my husband.”

Spencer tried not to groan at her casual use of that word, husband. He didn’t know enough Kurdish and it wasn’t really his place to tell her that her so called spouse was a sex offender where he came from and a murderer.

If she’d only been here two months this time, how long had she been here the last? Where did Teddy keep her that made you want to hide her away in a dark room so nobody could lay eyes on this child?

“Did you like being with Teddy?”

She nodded emphatically, “He wanted to take me to America, to his wife.”

Spencer blinked in surprise. “He wanted to… adopt you?”

“Yes. He said he and his wife wanted a baby, but they couldn’t have one. He said she would like me very much and was excited to meet me.”

Spencer sighed, and he moved closer until he could lean his elbow on the cot and look up at her. She handed him the book, and he took it easily. Opening the front cover of Mossflower, Spencer flipped to the front page and read the first words.

“Late autumn winds sighed fitfully around the open gatehouse door, rustling brown gold leaves in the fading afternoon.”

“It’s his wife’s favorite book series,” Alijah whispered, full of excitement and faded hope. She waved at a stack of books in the corner of her tiny room. “She sent them so I could read them.”

Spencer swallowed thickly as the realization hit him. Redwall was your favorite book series, as far as he could tell. You refused to tell him the name of the original case agent, Teddy, so private and closed in on yourself… and he wouldn’t expect you to.

How had you known Teddy? Had you served with him, and he rubbed off on you the way the unit had? Were you a friend of his wife? Either way, Teddy wasn’t here anymore to take Alijah home, and after the effort he seemed to go through, there was one real conclusion to come to.

Teddy was dead, and you were right. He lied, but he didn’t mean to.

“Would you like me to teach you English?” he asked quietly, deciding he should put off talking more about Teddy until he got some information from you.

Alijah perked up, and for the first time she reached out and touched him, clasping her hands over his. “Yes, please! Please teach me!”

“Okay,” Spencer chuckled softly, “Where do you want to start?”

She pointed excitedly to the first lines of the book, and Spencer nodded as he read it aloud in English, “Late autumn winds sighed fitfully around the open gatehouse door, rustling brown gold leaves in the fading afternoon.”

----------------------------

Spencer stopped by his CHU before going to speak with you. He was exhausted, wanting a nap since he knew he probably wouldn't sleep that night.

As he stepped into the hallway, the door to the latrine opened, and on instinct Spencer’s hand went to the gun on his hip.

A short middle aged man with thick dark hair stopped as he spotted Spencer in the hall, blinking in confusion. He had deep tanned skin and dark eyes, and he broke out in an awkward smile.

"Doctor Reid, I presume," he said, sticking out his hand. "I'm Agent Garber, Homeland Security."

Spencer relaxed with a sigh, chuckling softly as he took the man's hand and shook it. "Sorry, nobody ever seems to be here but me. You startled me."

Garber nodded as he let go, "I work nights mostly in the tech tent. I hear you getting up as I'm going to bed."

"Oh, I… I hope I'm not too loud," Spencer stammered apologetically, but the man just held his palms up and shook his head.

"I had another roomie a few years ago, this Army grunt. He stomped through this place like it was on fire and he was determined to snuff it out." The man shrugged and set his hands on his hips, "You're quiet as a mouse comparatively."

They looked at one another awkwardly before Garber decided he'd had enough and pointed at his door, "I'll…leave you to it. Just needed to use the bathroom. Getting old sucks, can't sleep without peeing fifteen times a night."

Spencer didn't know what to say to that, so he just nodded uncomfortably. Garber opened his door and stepped inside, leaving Spencer to go over the encounter in his mind.

He couldn't have been much older than Spencer, and for some reason the thought that he might be nearing the age of prostate problems irritated him greatly. And…made him need to pee.

After doing his business, Spencer laid slowly on the cot, covering up with the quilt you'd given him and closed his eyes. His shoulders ached with the tension he was carrying, making him only feel older and angrier at the thought.

Wanting to think about anything else, he thought about Teddy and Alijah. She missed him, wanted him to come back, if he was dead like Spencer feared… How was he going to tell her that?

The man had taught her to read English from books his wife had sent them so they could bond even across an ocean. What an act of love… to trust your partner enough that without meeting a child you know she's yours?

It made the first lines of the Redwall book that much more powerful to him.

Who says that I am dead

Knows nought at all.

The part of him that still grieved all he'd lost, the possibility of a future with Maeve, found comfort in that. He hoped Teddy's wife was still going to adopt Alijah after all this, and wondered if she'd asked you to come here to bring the girl home.

The one thing that made all the trauma and pain of working with the BAU better was reuniting victims with their families again. It gave hope and an excitement for the future to him and the team each time they got to bring a child home to their parents.

Spencer knew he was going to do everything he could so Alijah had that same chance. He was going to bring her home.

---------------------------

You licked the inside of your lip, pushing it out as your exhausted eyes struggled to read the FRAGO in your hand. Your sleeping habits were only getting worse, unable to close your eyes in the darkness.

Knowing Spencer would surely be outside most nights didn't help. You looked forward to those private moments with him too much. With his stupid puppy dog eyes and the way he always seemed to be a babe lost in the woods… oh, it infuriated you how much you liked the look of him.

You wondered idly if he'd masturbated after talking with you, then quickly shook away the thought and the image that crossed your mind after. You found yourself licking your lips as the image popped up again, then let out a frustrated noise and rubbed your face to scrub it away.

This place was changing him, the way it changed you and every other miserable bastard here. He was growing more confident, getting used to the harsh realities of base life, getting more comfortable with being uncomfortable. You just hoped he didn't lose that softness that radiated from deep behind those steel backed hazels.

A knock on the door made you look up, and in the doorway stood the man himself, flashing you one of his awkward waves and sheepish smiles.

"What's up?" You asked sternly. No need to let him know you were thinking about him or the way his eyes crinkled at the edges when he smiled like that.

"I uh, well," he stammered. Spencer pulled his hand up to rub the back of his neck like he did when he was uncomfortable, his cheeks going a bit pink, and it just pissed you off how much you liked it.

"Spit it out, Doc," you snapped, and his eyes went wide.

Spencer pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and sat in the chair in front of your desk. He set his elbows on his knees and wrung his hands together.

"Who's Teddy?"

Your heart stopped beating in your chest, your jaw tightening automatically at the sound of your husband's name falling from his lips. Spencer just watched as sweat pooled under your arms, and you clicked your teeth and shrugged.

You closed the file on the FRAGO and set it aside, clasping your hands together protectively on top of it. Taking a deep breath, you shrugged again.

"The original case agent for the Sayeed case."

"Where is he?" Spencer asked immediately. He had a look in his eye, one you didn't like. You realized it was his interrogation face, focused and intent, and it set your teeth on edge.

"Captain Theodore Alejandro Martinez died in a plane explosion two and a half years ago."

Spencer grunted and swiped a hand down his face, "Fuck. I didn't want to be right."

You said nothing, simply watched him as you silently coaxed your heart to resume its steady thumping. The lump in your throat was thick and heady, and you prayed tears weren't rimming your eyes as he thought.

"Alijah wants to know what happened to him," he said, and you nodded.

"I didn't tell her for a reason. She was very attached to him."

Spencer cocked his head at you and frowned, "You'd rather her think she was abandoned?"

Your face fell, and you leaned forward, your voice hardly above a whisper, "Is that what she thinks happened?"

Spencer leaned forward too, setting his arms on the desk and watching you intently, "She said he was going to adopt her, and one day he just stopped coming to see her."

"He didn't mean to die, Spencer," you said quietly, almost as if you were saying it to yourself. You'd told yourself that over and over again… he didn't mean to leave you, you couldn't be angry at the man for dying, but you were.

Teddy's death left you reeling, broken and alone when you thought you'd finally gotten the family you wanted. You had so many plans… for him and Alijah and that house in Maryland that now sat empty and covered in dust. He left you alone without a daughter and that too big farmhouse in the country that loomed ominously in the night.

"I don't think you've ever said my name before," Spencer marveled softly.

Your gaze snapped to his, defensive and guilty as anything for having a crush on this agent you hardly knew. You were married… married to a dead man you couldn't let go, and that meant there was no way you could let Spencer in. You weren't sure you even wanted to.

You found yourself pulling your keys from your belt and opening a drawer in the desk. With shaky hands you reached inside and grabbed a few traveler's journal inserts from it. You slid them across the desk and quickly pulled your hands back to cross protectively over your chest.

"These were his. Luke says you're good with ciphers."

Spencer eyed the journals cautiously, slowly saying, "I am."

"Good," you grunted, "Teddy wrote everything in a code. He used to send these home to his wife when he finished them."

Spencer's brows furrowed, "She doesn't have the code?"

"Just… do what you can with them, Doc." You rubbed your face and sniffled hard, "If he wrote anything of significance down, it's in there. He told Angel everything."

Spencer took one and opened it, and it took everything you had not to dive over the desk and snatch it back. But… you trusted him, and a deep part of you knew Teddy probably would have too. With Spencer's mind and Teddy's experience, maybe you could finally get something out of Alijah worth knowing.

"It's a symbol cipher, probably one he made up on his own," he mused aloud, flipping through the pages. "He writes with confidence, so he's been using it for a long time. I see some repeat patterns…"

He glanced up at you, "I can't write this down, can I?"

You shook your head, "Nope."

Spencer blew a raspberry with his lips and nodded, "I can figure this out. I'll let you know what I come up with."

"Thanks, Doc."

Spencer stood and gathered the notebooks in his arms. When he walked out the door with them, it felt like he took the last piece of Teddy with him, and suddenly you were the size of a leaf in a forest too big to call you anything but prey.

He closed the door behind him, and as soon as he was gone you burst into tears.

Notes: Please let me know what you think! Feedback and comments are what fuel the fire for this story! <3

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tickletricky · 2 years

Text

Mishap with the Accident Prevention Measures!

A/N; I accidentally forgot to post this because i posted the version that I HADN’”T SPELLCHECKED YET and got so embarrassed i temporarily perished. so in return i used my best “novel” style for the fic. help it literally took days to edit.

Summary: @tsuruyasonozaki said the remote idea was too short to make a fic out of. I took that as a challenge.

Content: lee!Moon, ler!Sun, Sun and Moon are brothers but like not from a technological standpoint, more like a found family standpoint? Minor angst, the Vanny incident happened but nobody ever got killed.

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Just when Sun’s shift was almost over, there was a precious half-hour between the time that his shift was ending and Moon’s began.

The incident with the bunny-clothed terrorist seemingly changed the very air of the ‘Plex. The Glamrocks never quite felt right with their rehearsals, often feeling bummed-out (as Chica might call it) and opting to wing it when the shows would come. Sun and Moon’s dynamic remained damaged, the two feeling a certain type of fear towards one another. Like a hare on the run from a coyote, like walking the thin line of perfection for those who don’t accept mistakes.

Moon had been located, repaired, and stopped before what was identified as a strange sort of virus or glitch could have caused him to truly harm anyone, but despite having been ‘cured,’ he still felt as though something was wrong.

Even so, as the click and whooshing of the hydraulics in Moon’s charging pad opening echoed out in the hollow staircase that dared to give it a stinging drone, Sun could not help his own excitement — not only to see his brother, but to see another person after closing hours. Such joy manifested itself in a brief, but tight, hug for what he saw as none other than his brother — they were not technologically capable of being related, but Sun could not help himself.

A creaking, fond chuckle purred out of Moon’s voicebox, wrapping an arm around his would-be younger brother.

The brighter attendant pulled away, suddenly trying to make himself very serious even if he could not be taken in such a way. “You overslept, mister.”

A prod at Moon’s chest earned a ‘ficial huff from the darker counterpart. With a weary smile, he spoke a ‘sorry’ just above mumbling volume, just now beginning to feel sober from the leftover drowsiness plaguing his systems. As such, his processors began to piece together bits of things that he considered off; puzzle pieces of Sun’s anxious behaviors. The way he had seemed apprehensive of releasing Moon from the hug, how he wrinkled the silky fabric of his striped skirt between his fingers even now as Moon looked him briefly in the eyes; no, this was not something he had done.

“Rough day?” Carefully speaking, a sort of rarely-seen gentleness hidden in the staticky undertones set in his voice, easily missed.

“Yeah, you could say that. I… I need to talk to you about something.” Sun admitted, his sun rays giving in under the pressure; withdrawing for fear alone.

“Ohh, boy,” Moon sighed dejectedly, physically drawling as he took a couple of steps back to sit against a beanbag, practically collapsing into it without much care.

As much as he would’ve liked to try to sleep through Sun’s following ramble, he knew by his behavior that it was more than some minor glitch or error, or a misbehaving child. The tense silence that gripped the air shanked his core with a sort of terror that only someone with a strict parent or boss would be able to understand.

Was it a relapse he hadn’t remembered, perhaps? Something he said?

He felt as though no matter how many times the Parts and Services’ programming crew told him, he would never believe that his code was completely clean.

The same peace and contentment from before the incident never came quite so easily any more, especially not with others, when he didn’t trust himself not to snap even though an outsider could tell he was acting more polite and obedient than ever before.

Call of the void, the humans had named it. The fear of stepping off the edge on purpose, the fear that you’ll use the easy opportunity to do something absolutely horrible.

“... it is about you.” Sun monitored his tone as he spoke this a bit slowly, eying his brother’s expression like a fawn to a hunting-gun.

“I figured,” Moon’s voice was greatly lethargic; rivaling a feline’s afternoon nap but threatening to succumb to his own creeping anxiety. “What is it this time?”

“It is… a remote.” “What for?” Moon raised a nonexistent brow towards the thought. Regret slowly creeped up on his systems for letting Parts and Services install that last update. Leaning forward in a slump and entwining the fingers of his hands together lazily, the darker robot let off a huff.

“In case you start… ‘acting problematically’... Th-their words! Not mine!”

Sun quickly found himself scrambling purposelessly, raising his hands in perhaps not-so-mock surrender. “I believe you,” Moon assured, maintaining much the same tone. “Oh- that… is a relief. That’s good, because, well… to be honest with you, I don’t like this at all.” His tone whined towards the end, a grimace showing up on his expression before he could force it away. “Hey, hey. Hey. it’s not your fault they felt like you needed it. Right? I’m not mad, Sunny.” He watched as Sun’s expression remained just the same no matter how he tried to comfort him. “If I’m being honest, too, I’m just… scared about what it’s supposed to do.”

“Oh.” Sun sighed. “I don’t know what it does. They didn’t tell me. Just…” He fiddled with it in his hands, his fingers gripping it as far away from any of the strange buttons embedded into it as possible, toying with the joking thought of it being an evil-looking television remote in his head. “Just to use it if you start getting violent, or something.”

“I’m not going to.” He responded just a bit too quickly, not being able to decide whether he was telling that to himself or Sun, who smiled ever so faintly. “Um… we should get to cleaning,” he suggested, forcing his own smile upon his expression. “I cleaned most of it up myself already, so it shouldn’t take too long… the- the kids were very well-behaved today,” Sun remissed briefly, sounding quite more comfortable.

Moon’s hydraulics groaned as he stood up from where he was sitting. “I’m glad. They used to be like little gremlins,” he chuckled softly, to Sun’s lighthearted chagrin.

And yet they still found their sync; a lilo of celestial twins. Sun would vehemently deny if asked, but his thoughts were not focused on anything he was doing while he was working. Moreso on the remote in his pocket, the sort of thoughts that made him pluck it out himself and contemplate locking it away somewhere. Sure. He was scared. But the chance of hurting someone else, his own brother, was much more terrifying.

“Sunny.” His brother prodded him suddenly. “Eep! Oh, Moon, you gave me a scare- Moon?” Examining him more closely with fear, he noticed he seemed to be artificially choking. His body lightly thrashed around and he looked as though he might be malfunctioning, and yet he was still attached to the acrobat wire he used.

“Moony! Oh god, oh no, oh god-” Sun dropped the remote in an instant, fingers scrambling and shaking as they tried to find some way to detach the hook, helping Moon down to the play mat below.

His thoughts were running in every single different direction right now. Contemplating taking him to Parts and Services to tell them to shut the damn thing off, or picking the remote up back again and trying to turn it off, or-

“mmMM… mhmhm! EhehEE!!”

Did Moon just…? Sun’s systems nearly tripped over themselves in a mixture of shock, relief, and confusion. “You’re… laughing?” Sun looked back towards Moon to see him gripping his own arms, a wide smile on his face and strained giggles tumbling out every so often. And then it dawned on him.

“It’s- it’s tickling you!” Sun himself began to laugh, again, from relief, but this time mixed with a mischievous amusement. “Oh- that’s- that’s too good! And, and, and! After last week’s incident, too? Me, oh, my, this is such a perfect opportunity…”

A devious smile made its way to Sun’s expression, kneeling down beside Moon. “No no! No no nohoho!” Moon squirmed about, kicking his legs lightly and hiccuping, a noise that made his circuits heat up with embarrassment. “Yes yes! What a cute sound that was! Make it again!”

As if this wasn’t already bad enough, Sun began lightly spidering around the seam between Moon’s neck and the back of his collarbone. “YEEHEHEHAHA! N-nohohoho!” Moon let off a snort, and decided he ‘hated’ this already. “Not the sound I was looking for, but, I think that’s just as good, don’t you?”

“Suhuhuhun! Turn- <hic> the damned thihihing ohohohoff!” “I actually don’t know how,” chirped Sun with an innocent tone. “They never told me how to turn it off.”

The thought of being tickled until they had to take him to Parts and Services to force-stop the program embarrassed him to no end, making his laughter pitch an octave higher for a few seconds. “Don’t worry! I won’t let it tickle you FOREVER, silly! We can figure out how to switch it off later. But for now, I’m getting revenge for last week.” Sun stated matter-of-factly, making his way towards Moon’s feet and settling down to remove his slippers. “Nnn- no! Don’t you dahahare!” “Don’t I dare? Moony, Moony, Moony! You’ve had this coming! Now, where should I start first…?” He wondered aloud, grabbing Moon’s ankle so he couldn’t escape. “N-Nowhehehere! Get off!” “Sorry! Not taking suggestions!” Sun smiled. “How about… here?” He poked a finger square to the center of Moon’s sole, then began to glide his finger up and down the middle. “AAAH- HAHAHAHA! SUUUHUHUHUHUN! CUT IT OUHUHUT!” His other foot kicked in protest.

“Nah, I don’t think so! Ooh, maybe I should go get the brushes and feathers from arts ‘n crafts like YOU did!” Sun crooned demeaningly, continuing his endeavor and reaching his arm around to hold back Moon’s toes to run his fingers underneath them; that was when Moon squealed out for the first time that evening. “EEEHEEK! GOD- FUCKING DAMMIHIHIHIT! YOU JERK!” “Oh my. Cursing in the daycare? This JUST isn’t like you. I think I’ll have to use that remote,” Sun made a mock-lecture, leaning to grab the remote and Moon began to try and push Sun off, hoping to perhaps kick the remote out of his hands. “Jeez, you really ARE being violent! I’ll just-” “EEEEHEHEHEEK! C-CUT IT OUHUHUHUT, TUHUHUHURN IT OHOHOHOOOOFFF!” Moon was going crazy with laughter, and Sun wasn’t even touching him any more! All because he’d started toying with the controls. He couldn’t help the miniature power rush he was experiencing, tracing circles on Moon’s sole. “I think you need the smiles anyway, mister. You’ve been very grouchy and tired lately!”

One thing Moon noticed, much to his annoyance, was that the controls that Sun toyed with not only sent ticklish shocks through his body, but it also made him feel more ticklish, somehow. He didn’t even know that was a setting they had, and he internally cursed it through the thoughts that hadn’t been eaten up by his loud laughter.

“Ooh, hold on a second! I’m gonna go get a surprise!” With his brother still cackling hysterically on the floor, Sun got up and hummed a little tune, heading off to the arts and crafts corner of the daycare and searching through the supplies, stuffing a couple things in his pockets that Moon was too busy laughing to see — although, what he could see very plainly was the brightly-dyed feather he’d retrieved, and he sat down at Moon’s feet. “WAIT! WAIHIHIHIHIT I NEVER- EEEEHEEEHEEEEK!” Moon squealed again with ticklish distress. “Oh, this is perfect!”

The feather was soft enough to slip through and between Moon’s toes no matter how much he tried to curl them to block out the feelings, and it tickled horribly so. If that wasn’t already enough to make Moon break down with laughter, the feather also happened to be long enough to make every single stroke ticklish agony. “EEEEHEHEHEK! EEHEEHEHEE- EEEEEK! YOU’RE GONNA- KIHIHILL MEHEHEHEEE! STA-HAAHAHAHAHAP!” Moon’s laughter was frequently interrupted by squeaks, and he helplessly hit his fist against the floor of the daycare while Sun held back his toes to thread underneath them. “Oh, silly! You can’t die from laughter! Besides, I’m not finished yet!” Moon’s head swirled with fresh, warm dizziness as Sun figured out how to work the remote in some vague way, giving him a bit of mercy from the full-body tickling that the program had been subjecting him to. “Plehehehease… oohohoh god,” Moon whined, shifting about. “Please what? Stop?” Sun acted as though he were wildly bewildered by the idea that Moon would say that. “I could. But gosh, you’ve been so stressed lately. And frowny. And grouchy.” Sun continued on for a moment. “I want to make sure that smile won’t leave for a VEERRRYYY long time. Okay?”

Sun sat down next to Moon’s torso, smiling innocently and tracing silly, swirly imaginary shapes into his tummy with his fingers. “Keehehehehe! Y… you… naahahaha!” Moon’s laughter picked up for just a half-second as Sun ghosted over the dent in his belly. Oh, Sun was playing a dirty game.

The darker counterpart could never admit that he particularly enjoyed the feeling of light, loving tickling, and it caused his fans to kick up even though he was no longer laughing so much. Sun simply cooed at him. “Aww, Moony~ You’re blushing!” “NNn… nahah! Don’t tease…” He pulled his nightcap over his face slightly and continued to twitch and squirm, occasionally halfheartedly telling him to stop out of sheer embarrassment that he found the sensation pleasant. But right when Moon let his guard down was when Sun took full advantage of his relaxed state, appearing to give him a break when he suddenly bent down and blew a raspberry. “AAAHAHAHAHA! N-nO SUhuhuhHUNNYY!” Sunny giggled mischievously in turn, only blowing another one to watch Moon squirm and cackle and kick his legs viciously. “Kitchy kitchy koo! Aww, listen to those giggles! You needed this, huh?” Sun smiled, letting Moon giggle away for a bit as he lightly tickled a little spot in the side of his neck, a tiny crook that made his darker brother hiccup and squeak.

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop being mean. Come on, let’s get you to Parts and Services.” Sun offered a smile, his expression warm as he gave effort to help his brother stand, continuing to let him lean on him as he walked on shaky legs, down to Parts and Services while Sun offered little reassurances to him. “That’s it, we’re almost there, Moon.” He helped him sit down on a nearby bench while he ran inside, insisting for a worker. That was all Moon remembered before he woke up in the protective chamber of Parts and Services. Fear ran its course through its circuits again before he was able to process his situation — no more tickly feelings, a warmly smiling Sun and the customer-service smile of a Parts and Services worker who was doing their best to offer such a welcoming smile in front of his crimson eyes. “Oh…” “So? How is it? Is the feeling gone?” Moon nodded, feeling a speck of guilt as he watched the worker tense up at a movement to stand on the floor of the maintenance room seemed just a bit too quick for their liking — he watched their heart rate shoot up, all just for a few seconds.

“Yeah. It’s gone. Uh- thanks,” he smiled, trying to ease their anxiety but only ended with feeling awkward as he scratched at his own arms and avoided eye-contact. “No problem. You guys do have another update soon, though.” Sun and Moon shared a glance, before snickering between themselves at the screw-up of the employees. “What do you think, Moony? Maybe they’ll accidentally switch us around next time!”

#lee!moon #lee!moondrop #ler!sun #ler!sunny #ler!sundrop #tickling #sfw tickling community #fnaf tickles #tickle fic #tickle fluff

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sebastianshaw · 11 months

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Hi, for once you’re getting a rant about retcons that AREN’T the usual ones. In Gillen’s “Immortal X-Men” spotlight on Shaw, he depicts Shaw’s father, Jacob, as emotionally abusive towards Shaw, and as berating him as unworthy for Jacob to talk to until he has money of his own. Jacob is also depicted wearing Hellfire Club livery (frilly cuffs, etc) and they are living in a house with a chandelier and a very nice writing desk. While Jacob speaks of trying to recover the family fortune, they’re clearly not all that bad off either, at least not enough so that they’ve had to sell these things. This is a retcon that contradicts previous flashbacks and other indications that Shaw (1) had a good relationship with Jacob and (2) grew up EXTREMELY poor. Both of which are important to his character, and I much prefer for him, both because they came first and have been an established part of his history for DECADES, and because they just work BETTER than Gillen’s retcon. Unlike Duggan and many other writers for the last dozen years, Gillen does seem to “get” Shaw very well in the present, I like how he writes Shaw in general and I largely enjoy that issue, but he grievously misunderstands how his past influences who he is, and made his own version of a new past instead—one that, sadly, I find inferior to the original. Now I’ll talk about why.

The first time we learn anything about Jacob Shaw or his relationship with Sebastian is in the “X-men: Hellfire Club” four-issue miniseries written in 2000 by Ben Raab. Jacob Shaw was born in England, the son of Cornelius Shaw and younger brother of Esau Shaw. The Shaws seem wealthy, and Cornelius was a member of the London Hellfire Club. After Cornelius’s death, another member, Waltham Pierce (presumably an ancestor of Donald Pierce) approached Esau about recruiting him into the Hellfire Club to take his father’s place (Esau refused) but not Jacob. The madly jealous Jacob is approached by none other than Mr. Sinister, who grants Jacob shapeshifting abilities via a syringe. Jacob used these abilities to kill his brother Esau (while disguised as Waltham) and attempted to kill Waltham (disguised as a woman he bedded) however, the latter attempt was interrupted by Union Jack, and Jacob was forced to flee in his true form. Presumably, he ran to the US, perhaps illegally, and likely without much money, as the next time we see him, he is a wizened man dying in hospital of a mysterious blood disease (possibly a consequence of Sinister’s alteration to him) Though there is no mother in sight, he has a young adult son, Sebastian, who works in a steel mill while struggling to earn a scholarship, as they have no money for him to get out of this life any other way. The very day Shaw gets his letter informing him he’s earned a full scholarship and runs to tell his father, he arrives to find his father has died or is dying. Holding Jacob’s hand, Sebastian speaks to him with tears in his eyes, promising him how he will “make him proud” and is going to be an engineer “just like we always wanted” It’s a sad, touching scene, and does not suggest any ill feelings between the two, quite the reverse.

The next time the subject of Shaw’s father comes up, it’s in the previously mentioned story with Mr. Sinister and the Cronus machine. This story features one panel in particular that sticks out to me:

Sunspot: Your father was a nobody, you said.

Shaw: I did not say that.

Shaw is *protective* of his father here, defending him posthumously from insult. He also trusted his father enough to keep the anti-Cronus device with him his entire life on his father’s word despite having no idea what it did.

Now, could these things be true if his father actually was abusive and Shaw resented him his whole life for it, as in Gillen’s depiction? Well, yes. As with the fact that the sweet, romantic moments between Sebastian and Lourdes depicted in this miniseries could very easily coexist with the “Shaw was abusive to her” retcon that Duggan would pull 20+ years later, Shaw could easily have trusted his father and wanted to make him proud and held his hand on his deathbed and all of that while ALSO having been emotionally abused by Jacob and resenting him as Gillen depicted in his 20+ later version. Abuse dynamics are very, very complicated in real life, and it’s very rare that any abusive relationship is “all bad” all the time, in fact. That’s one of the most pervasive and frustrating myths to me about abuse and abusers, actually, so normally I *want* fiction to depict that kind of realistic nuance. But that’s not what’s going on here. What’s going on here is that Raab told one story, and then Gillen and Duggan told two completely different ones. It’s just normal comics contradiction. Like, yes, these versions COULD co-exist, but that was obviously never the intent. Raab may have only been able to show a few pages of Shaw’s relationship with Lourdes and with Jacob, and he chose to make those pages ones that indicated love. When you’re doing a comic book character’s backstory, and you only have a limited number of pages and panels to cram it all into, you’re going to pick stuff that essentially provides a “snapshot” to sum it up. So yes, if Shaw was a real person, then he could absolutely have abused Lourdes like Duggan while also having the tender moments Raab showed, and been abused by Jacob the way Gillen showed while also having the relationship aspects that Raab and the other writer (name escapes me) showed and suggested. But he’s not a real person, he’s a character in a story, and when you understand how stories work, how comics work especially, it’s pretty obvious that none of these later retcons/additions were ever intended to be the case in the original content, and in fact are intended to be the OPPOSITE of the case, given what we saw. It’s not just that Gillen and Duggan added things, they added things completely CONTRADICTORY to what the original works “snapshots” indicated about these relationships. And while I could just buckle and incorporate them into my understanding…no, I don’t think I shall. For a few reasons: - I’ve been studying Shaw since 2014, writing him since 2016. These retcons were made in the 2020s. They completely change the previous dynamics with Jacob and Lourdes that I originally understood, and accordingly change Shaw’s character. Comics change, contradictions happen, I get it, I accept it (albeit kicking and screaming) but that doesn’t mean I have to use it in my own writing. I pride myself on being MORE canon than canon because I stick with canon as it originally happened, not just what the latest writer did. - Just as I think Shaw actually being a good lover makes him a more interesting character than if he was a shitty abusive one, so too do I think a good relationship with his father adds more interest and nuance to him. The idea that Shaw has the capacity to love and to have good relationships but has destroyed that by becoming so repellant to others, as well as so paranoid due to the shitty experiences with shitty people he goes through by CHOOSING to be a member of the Hellfire Club and be a shitty person himself, is a really interesting setup. And this capacity is shown by his early relationships in life–Jacob and Lourdes—being good ones. There’s also the fact that mean parents, especially mean fathers, are just SUCH a goddamn cliche at this point. Shaw not only NOT having abusive parents, but in fact downright averting that with a GOOD relationship with his father, was different. It also added extra motive for him to want to achieve his dreams—making his dad proud by doing what they had planned together–not to mention there’s the fact that, if he loved his dad and his dad died of an illness, then it follows that if Shaw had had more money at the time, maybe he could have gotten him better medical care and Jacob might have lived. Probably not, of course, given his blood disease was likely Sinister’s work, but not knowing that, I’m sure the thought occurred to Shaw. That’s that much more motivation for his hard work and greed, the feeling of security that money brings. Gillen swaps out “wanting to make his dad proud because he loved him” for “wanting to succeed to rub it in his dead father’s face” and like…that works well, but again, why bother if the first story worked fine to begin with? Plus, it honestly just feels like a repeat of Emma’s dynamic with her own father. Maybe the idea was to draw parallels between them, but if you want to do that, you can already do it with Shaw’s original backstory—- he had a small poor family and a good relationship with his dad, she had a large rich family with a bad relationship with her dad. Despite their opposite circumstances, both were driven to succeed by their relationship with their fathers. There ya go, that’s your parallel. (See also: How Shaw and Emma respond to grief in opposite ways. Shaw committed to a worse path after Lourdes’ death, while Emma changed to a better path because of the Hellions death. Seriously you could do a lot with these two as mirrors if writers would just consider that instead of the nonsensical abuse retcons) - As I’ve mentioned before, I dislike that Shaw’s father abusing him gives an “easy” answer to why he abused Shinobi. As I also said before, what I really like about Shaw being an abusive father despite having a good dad is that it AVOIDED this trope and the easy answer. I really LIKED that Shaw doesn’t have the “well he was abused by his own father” trope going on. I like that it made me think about “well why DID he abuse Shinobi then?” and made me come up with answers that I think make a lot of sense for who he is and how he operates, and why it makes sense to me that he abuses his son but NOT his lovers, etc., - While emotional abuse can give a good characterization reason for why Shaw is awful, it fails on a thematic level. Shaw’s theme from the beginning has been corruption. When Claremont first writes the backstory of his takeover of the HFC in 1985, Shaw originally espouses a Magneto-like speech about using the Inner Circle to make mutants the victors in the world rather than the victims. But by the time he has his first conflict with the X-Men in the Dark Phoenix Saga, he’s gone right back to the original plots he had with the mutant-hating Ned Buckman to simply use the mutants as guinea pigs for profit, and spends the rest of the 80s happily peddling Sentinels to Senator Kelly. He only cares about money, this is made ABUNDANTLY clear, but he’s shown by the same writer as having started OUT as caring about more when he first became Black King. And when Claremont expands on his backstory in an early 2000s story, he has Sage recount that Shaw was actually a noble man when she first met him, a man who would have “spit on Hellfire” and that she would have served him faithfully forever if he hadn’t changed. It’s also implied via art he may have been on a humanitarian mission in Afghanistan when they met. And in Raab’s story, Lourdes cautions Shaw about the Hellfire Club, telling him that it changes people, corrupts them. She even tries to block his name for nomination (and oh look, he DOESN’T hit her for that, he isn’t even angry, DUGGAN) because she doesn’t want that to happen to HIM. And in Steve Lyon’s Legacy Quest Trilogy novels (which I cannot rec enough as a Shaw character source for me) it gets deeper detailed how the longer Shaw spends in the cloak and dagger world of the Hellfire Club, the longer he’s backstabbed by others and does backstabbing himself, the more closed-off and cruel he becomes, the more he only focuses on his wealth and power and disdains personal connections. In other words, the way Shaw is comes DIRECTLY from his own choice to engage in the Hellfire Club and to continue to do so every day he wakes up. It’s a PROGRESSION and it’s his own FAULT, his own CHOICE. He becomes like this through his own corruption and he actively makes that decision. Turning it into emotional abuse from his father firstly takes the progression/corruption aspect away, and it secondly takes Shaw’s own choice and agency out of it. Again, this could be a “well both things could be true” thing, that’s workable, but THEMATICS wise it does not. Again, these are not real people, these are characters in a story with THEMES they are meant to convey. Shaw’s theme of being corrupted by wealth, power, and the company he keeps in pursuit of that, is served much better by his original depiction. - I just don’t like it. At the end of the day, that’s really what it comes down to. Comics often gives multiple choice options for a character’s personality and past, and I’ve chosen mine. And while it’s not the one I chose, I actually think Gillen’s version isn’t bad. It’s a perfectly serviceable backstory for Shaw to explain why he is how he is. It’s just, a different perfectly good one already existed, and I like that one better. Now, on to my other problem with Gillen’s depiction of Shaw’s childhood: Gillen does not show the Shaws poor. He depicts young Sebastian as coming into Jacob’s office to excitedly tell him about something and being cruelly dismissed because he doesn’t even have a million dollars to his name to be worth Jacob talking to. Yes really. Jacob is dressed in Hellfire Club livery (which…is odd, Jacob was never an HFC member, that was his whole motive for murder) and is depicted working behind a large desk in a large room with a chandelier. This is not the home of a poor family. Jacob says he’s working to restore the family fortune, suggesting they used to be wealthier than they are now, but they clearly still have money, they haven’t been driven to selling furniture, property, etc. This is a far cry from the “poor steel mill worker” past we originally saw for Shaw, and provides a very different motive for his drive to become wealthy. In his original past, his motive was pretty cut and dry: He escaped poverty, but then became consumed by greed and ambition to rise ever higher, make more money than he could ever justifiably need, etc. And I think it’s a good motive. It’s never explored deeply, or at all really, but I think the psychological trauma of poverty is what caused this pathological greed; and it is pathological, I don’t know what else you’d call the amount of risk he takes to get more more MORE that he doesn’t need at all. It reminds me of the “food insecurity” you see in people who didn’t have enough to eat growing up, just with money instead. It also makes his decadent lifestyle make a lot of sense, he grew up with nothing so now he wants everything. In Gillen’s retcon, this is replaced by daddy issues. When Shaw makes a million bucks, he comes and dumps it on his father’s grave and burns it. Which…dude, I don’t care how many daddy issues you give him, Shaw’s not going to burn good money. But basically, pursuing money is representative to Shaw of pursuing the love of a father that he never got, and because he never got it, he can never stop. Which….I’m not going to say that it doesn’t make sense, but, as with the “Jacob was emotionally abusive” retcon, it’s just not necessary. Shaw had a good solid motive already. And I prefer that original motive for a lot of reasons. Firstly, it’s unique. Daddy issues are a dime a dozen in comics, so much so that bad dads now make me GROAN in new characters. What’s more, Shaw’s specific dynamic with his dad is pretty much exactly like what Emma and Shinobi already had—”I hate you, rich dad I’m never good enough for, but I’m gonna prove myself to you by becoming successful by your standards!” And maybe that’s intentional, to make him more of a “dark mirror” to Emma and/or indicate a cycle with Shinobi, but it comes off as lazy and uncreative, which is even worse when you consider they were replacing something that WASN’T lazy and uncreative. Secondly, it takes away the fact Shaw is a self made man. Yes, this still depicts him making his own money, but he’s clearly got a good head start, in contrast to Shaw’s classical depiction of the last 42 YEARS of being born dirt poor and becoming a multibillionaire purely through his own effort. Yes, I grant that’s about as unrealistic as getting powers from radioactive spider bites, but thematically it is ESSENTIAL to this character, what he’s about, how he sees the world. The entire THEME of Shaw is that he literally is the embodiment of the American dream—that someone with nothing can achieve everything if they work hard—but then a deconstruction thereof because it also shows how corrupt he became along the way and sacrificed his decency and relationships with others for it. This isn’t just my reading, this is literally TEXTUAL in Raab’s work, he is literally referred to as the American dream by the narrative boxes, that is the POINT. Maybe Gillen was trying to make a statement on the impossibility of this, by saying “no ACTUALLY this “self-made” billionaire was born on third base or at least second” and I get that, but Shaw’s the wrong character for it both because it goes against what’s previously established and because it messes up so much of his theme and his resultant psychology. It also takes away many of Shaw’s admirable traits. As with the Emma and Lourdes retcons, this strips things away from Shaw that were likeable, humanizing, nuanced, etc. He goes from a man that, as awful as he was, did genuinely earn his fortune through hard work and has a right to be proud of it, and can be admired for it even if he’s rightfully hated for his mentality and actions. Now? Poor little rich boy with daddy issues. It’s just…it’s so reductive, it’s so much less interesting, it’s so unnecessary, and it takes AWAY from the complexity of the character, not adds to it. And that’s the reverse of what a retcon or expansion on a character’s history should do. I don’t hate retcons for being retcons. I think some are great in terms of fixing things, adding to a character, etc. Just, every retcon around THIS character have been bad for him, also take away from other characters too imo, and don’t work as well for story, thematics, etc as the originals already did.

#meta #father #out of shirt #I can't seem to set this as non rebloggable but as always please don't

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