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paterson-blue · 3 years

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Honey, You're Familiar (Like My Mirror Years Ago); Part 3

Part 3: The Date

Part 1 I Part 2 I Part 3 I Part 4 I Part 5

Summary: Things don't go exactly to plan. Clyde stresses.

Word Count: 4,010

Warnings: fluff, spice, grumpy Clyde Logan, pouty boy (but he's still in love), sentimentalism, sickly sweet pet names, smoochin', grindin', oral sex (male receiving), cum on body (not in!), original female character–let me know if I need to add anything else!

A/N: Thanks again to @paper-n-ashes for being my beta reader & quelling all my writing jitters. You're the absolute best!

Prefer AO3? I gotcha!

It’s a fuckin’ disaster.

Starts out nice. Juniper shows up on his doorstep wearin’ a slinky little black dress, one that shows off her curves and makes Clyde’s mouth go dry. She tells him he looks handsome and he feels giddy. He sweeps his newly styled hair out of his face, sayin’ she looks absolutely stunnin’. Juniper beams, grabs his hand, tells him they better get a move on ‘fore they’re late.

They’re late. They’re later than late.

They aren’ five minutes outta town when lightenin’ starts to streak across the sky. Clyde shifts uneasily, eyes cast upward towards the swirling heavens. It’s rainin’ cats and dogs in no time and Juniper has to slow to half the speed limit to drive safely. Clyde’s thoughts go to the river up ahead, the one the road crew was still tryna’ re-stabilize since the last storm flooded it.

Fifteen minutes from their destination and they have t’pull to a stop on the highway, suddenly blocked in a jam. Flashin’ red and blue lights indicate an accident up front, and while Clyde spares a thought to whoever was involved, he can’t help but check the time. They aren’ gonna make their reservation, he just knows it.

The car behind ‘em lays on its horn, the sound makin’ both Clyde & Juniper jump. The driver either doesn’ seem to understand the concept of bein’ stuck or plain just don’ care. Clyde clenches his jaw, glowerin’ into the rear view mirror—he can only see the driver’s silhouette behind the bright glow of the headlights. He’s keepin’ his cool until the driver reaches his arm out, in the pourin’ rain an’ all, just t’give Juniper the finger.

Clyde’s unbucklin’ his belt quick as can be, chest heavin’ as he reaches for the door handle. He’s ‘bout ready to stomp to the car and yank the man out.Teach ‘im a lesson on manners, teach ‘im t’treat a lady like—

“Clyde.” Juniper stops him in his tracks with just his name on her lips. He looks over at her from under his hair, expression tense. She reaches up to caress his cheek, holdin’ his face in her little palm so sweetly, thumb brushin’ over the sharp line of his jaw. “Leave him be. It’s not worth gettin’ into trouble.”

Clyde deflates, honey brown eyes downcast. He sounds miserable when he speaks. “… We’re gonna miss dinner.”

“I know, sugar. It’s okay.”

His heart flutters in his broad chest despite his distress. She’d called him ‘sugar.’ He likes that; wants to hear it again real soon.

By the time they get through all the traffic and make it to the restaurant, their reservation is indeed gone, table havin’ been given away. They stand together just outside the building, under the little awning in an attempt to stay out of the rain.

Clyde huffs, so morose that he’s unable to enjoy the way she was pressed up against his side. “M’sorry.”

Juniper frowns, reachin’ up to pat his stomach gently. “You stop that. You haven’t done anything to be sorry for.”

Clyde shakes his head sadly, heavin’ out a sigh. “It’s the Logan Family Curse.”

She looks up at him, brows arched, her hand still settled on his belly. “Oh is it now?”

He nods, brows pinched together. Juniper reaches for his hand, pulling it to her lips and pressin’ a kiss to his knuckles. “You aren’t cursed, Clyde Logan. And if you are, I’m perfectly happy to be cursed right along with you.”

Clyde doesn’ quite know how to respond to that, but luckily, he doesn’t have to right away. Juniper moves her lips to the pads of his large fingers, kissin’ ‘em gently before lettin’ him pull his hand away. Clyde cradles her pretty face in his palm, takin’ the time to admire her. Finally, he speaks. “Thank you, darlin’. That’s mighty nice of you t’say.”

Juniper nuzzles into his touch, sighin’ happily; it makes Clyde feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

“I’m only saying what’s true. Now c’mon. I know it’s a Friday night but there’s bound to be somewhere we can eat.”

They end up findin’ an old fashioned drive-in burger place, somewhere they can park and eat in the car out of the rain. It’s not where Clyde wants to take her; she deserves to be wined and dined all proper, not greasy burgers and milkshakes. But Juniper doesn’ seem to mind; as soon as they’re parked she’s squintin’ up at the menu, a big smile on her face.

“This all sounds so fucking good.” She giggles, lookin’ over at him. It makes the disappointment in Clyde’s chest fade away, and he leans over the center console to peer out the window to see what choices they were offered. It puts him in her space, and Juniper leans in to press a gentle kiss to his temple. He blushes, his cheeks only getttin’ hotter when she brushes some of his hair out of his face. He desperately wants to kiss her but he doesn’ know if it’s the right time.

He’s finally acceptin’ the night’s change of plans—finally acceptin’ that this might be good, burgers and fries while dressed up nice, watchin’ the rain pour from the safety of Juniper’s little Corolla—when the carhop comes out to tend to them. Clyde’s already diggin’ into his wallet as Juniper rattles off their order; he holds his debit card out, arm reachin’ over Juniper’s lap.

The carhop doesn’ move for the card. Instead, they say “Card machine’s down. Cash only.” in what Clyde thinks is possibly the most bored tone they could muster. He tries not to bristle as he fumbles with his wallet for a second time, patience already worn thin from the night’s events. He’s only got a fifty in his billfold. The fifty.

Their fifty.

He hesitates, even though he knows it’s irrational; Jimmy always did tell him he was too damn sentimental for his own good. Juniper must realize—she always does, Clyde never seems to have to explain himself to her—because she grabs her purse from the floorboard. Clyde stops her, shakin’ his head as he tugs the fifty dollar bill out. “S’alright, darlin’. Y’told me t’save it for a rainy day.”

Juniper’s face softens at his words, and Clyde hands the money over to the carhop, who looks like they want to be literally anywhere else. Soon Clyde’s been given his change, and he quickly puts it back up. As soon as he’s done Juniper’s reachin’ for him, pullin’ him in by his collar. Clyde goes willingly, twistin’ in his seat to move his prosthetic to the middle of her back, arm wrapped around her.

“I’ll give you another one.” She tells him firmly, and Clyde huffs out a laugh.

“Well that’d be awful silly of ya, Junebug. You’ll run outta money real quick if y’keep givin’ it all t’me.” He tries to soothe her with a joke, wantin’ to let her know that it was alright. Sure, it had been special to him—reminded him of their meetin’—but it was just a piece a’ paper. What was a piece a’ paper when he had the most important thing right here in front a’ him?

He wants to curl up further into her, but their positions don’t allow for it—the vehicle doesn’ exactly allow for him to move his long limbs much a’ anywhere. If this was as close as he could get, he was satisfied. Juniper shifts suddenly, eyes trained on him as she leans closer. They share a breath, then two, and then she’s pressin’ her mouth against his.

It’s nothin’ if not chaste. Clyde gets the feelin’ she doesn’ exactly want to neck in the front seat of her car like teenagers—at least not in plain view of the drive-in’s staff and other patrons. Just a gentle kiss, a little more than a peck; firm and lingerin’ just enough that he knows it happened. Juniper follows it up with another one at the corner of mouth, their noses pressin’ against one another’s cheeks.

It’s more than enough for Clyde; more than enough to get his pulse to sky rocket. He can’t remember the last time he’s been treated so gently, so much love in such a small movement. She gives him a smile when she pulls away, and they both sit back in their seats, starin’ all heart-eyed at one another. She takes the metal of his hand in hers, holdin’ it, and Clyde thinks maybe he should reconsider the whole curse thing.

They head back home after finishin’ their meal, the storm slowly peterin’ off as they get closer to Clyde’s trailer. Juniper walks him to his door, gigglin’ when she offers him her arm to escort him. He takes it, grinnin’ like a fool as they stomp up the front steps. They stand there under the yellow porch light, humid heat surroundin’ ‘em. Clyde usually hated the humidity, but not when it was like this, creatin’ such a hazy, intimate bubble around ‘em. Juniper drops her arm, but only to reach for Clyde’s flesh hand, holdin’ it in both of hers.

“I had a really nice time tonight, Clyde. Best date I’ve ever been on—and I mean that.”

Clyde can feel himself blushin’, a pleased smile turnin’ his lips up. “I had a good time, too. Wouldja—wouldja wanna do it again? Sometime soon?”

“Yes.” She answers almost before he can finish askin’, and they both laugh. There’s a beat, a pause, a breath, and then Juniper is leanin’ up the same moment Clyde’s leanin’ down. It’s a relief when their lips touch, like the first drink a’ water in the mornin’. Clyde thinks he’s been parched his whole life and never even knew it.

Juniper’s the one who deepens it, the one who drops his hand to lean into him, to thread her fingers through his thick hair, holdin’ him close. And fuck, Clyde isn’ gonna fight it. He wraps his arm around her, prosthetic against her back as his hand moves to hold her face. His palm envelops her cheek, thumb under her chin to keep her head lifted. They kiss and kiss, and when she makes a little whine in the back of her throat Clyde swears he’s floatin’.

When she pulls away to breathe he makes a sound of his own, a disappointed little groan that she huffs out a laugh at. He’d be embarrassed if she wasn’ nuzzlin’ her nose against his cheek like she can’t get enough.

“Those lips a’ yours aren’t fair.” She murmurs, and Clyde hums, strokin’ his thumb along her jawline. He doesn’ want this to end, he thinks for possibly the thousandth time that night. He doesn’ wanna let her get back in her car an’ drive across town, over the train tracks, past the antique shop, until she gets to the bed & breakfast.

He wants her right here, and he’s never been the one in this position, but he doesn’ hesitate when he asks her, “D’y’wanna come in?”

She nods, and it sets his chest aflame. They straighten up, untanglin’ themselves from one another even as she leans into his side, not wantin’ t’be too far. Clyde’s hands shake as he unlocks the front door but he doesn’ care if she sees. He wants her to see, wants her to know what she’s doin’ t’him. Maybe then...maybe she won’t leave.

Clyde flicks on the lights, closin’ the door behind both of ‘em. He watches as Juniper assesses his things: his clumsily cleaned living area, the small kitchenette that was (thankfully) decluttered. The hallway leads back to the bathroom, and then his bedroom, but Clyde doesn’ dare look towards it, much less lead her that way. Instead, he steps towards the fridge, hand reachin’ out to brush against the door.

“Want anythin’ t’drink?” He asks, voice quiet, as if nervous to disturb the silence. Juniper shoots him a smile, shakin’ her head as she perches on the couch.

“No, I’m okay, thank you.”

Clyde nods, lingerin’ there even though he doesn’ want a drink neither. Her eyes look him over, amusement showin’ in them.

“Why don’t you c’mere? If you want, of course.”

He wants. Oh, how he wants. So he goes, movin’ across the distance between them in three long strides until he can sit himself next to her. He’s stock straight, heart thrummin’ in his chest; his nice button-down feels all tight against his skin, too itchy. He thinks only her touch’ll soothe it, but doesn’ wanna ask her. Juniper, however, reads his mind; she always can. She smoothes a hand over his jean-clad thigh, leanin’ in ever so slowly, like she’s gonna startle him if she moves too fast. Clyde’s breath catches in his throat as she kisses him again, and it's heaven, it's heaven.

It’s different from in the car, from on the porch. This time there’s more purpose to it. Juniper’s kissin’ him—tastin’ him— like he belongs to her, and Clyde thinks maybe it's because she knows he does. He’s tryna’ angle his body just right, tryin’ t’lean down without puttin’ a crick in his neck. Not that he’d care much, if he did--a crick was worth this, worth the feelin’ of her tongue brushin’ against his bottom lip, against his teeth.

Juniper makes a frustrated little noise, pullin’ back, and Clyde’s brows furrow in confusion.

“Wha--Wha’s--?” He stammers out, flesh hand flexin’ on her waist, the silky fabric of her dress feelin’ so soft and cool against his skin. Juniper’s lips are plush and kiss bitten; Clyde tries to take a picture of ‘em in his memory, eyes trained on their pretty color. He almost misses her question. Scratch that, he does miss her question; has to very ineloquently say “huh?” to get her to repeat it. She ducks her head, voice shy.

“Can I, uh--get in your lap?”

Shit. Shit. Clyde nearly feels dizzy for all the blood rushin’ down south. It makes him a little self-conscious; she’s not gonna want t’sit on his lap and have his cock pressin’ into her all demandin’ like. But damn, his little Junebug looks so eager, her eyes darker than he’s ever seen ‘em, and like he’d said: he wants. So he just nods, barely breathin’.

Juniper shifts, pushin’ him into the back of the couch and he goes easily, willingly. She hikes her dress up her legs and Clyde gets a barely there peek of dark green lace before she’s straddlin’ his lap. He moans, can’t fuckin’ help it, and Juniper dives in to capture the sound with her mouth. Her hands are on his face, in his hair, fingers rubbin’ the shells of his ears—he’s surrounded, he’s drownin’, suffocatin’. He’s never felt so alive.

His own hands are placed chastely on either one of her hips, though he knows his flesh hand must be grippin’ her somethin’ fierce. The thought flashes in his mind, of him leavin’ little fingerprint shaped bruises on her skin for her to feel the next day. It makes him shiver underneath her.

Juniper takes and takes, and Clyde lets her. Clyde wants to be taken, in whatever way she’ll have him. Suddenly she’s pullin’ away just enough to suck in a little air, lips still brushin’ against his. He presses his long nose into the soft skin of her cheek, breath hot between them. When Juniper speaks, her voice is strained.

“Touch me, Clyde. Please.”

He doesn’ hesitate. His good hand moves from her hip to her ass, grabbin’, kneadin’ as he pulls her tighter against him. She lets out the prettiest noise Clyde thinks he’s ever heard, and his lips find her neck as his other arm comes around to hold her close. God, she tastes so good; her perfume fills his head until he feels dizzy with it.

She's pressed flush to him like this, grindin’ her hips against his. Clyde’s hard and leakin’ in his brand new jeans and the only thing he can think of is hearin’ her little noises again. Her hands are back in his hair, pullin’ at it, sweepin’ it away from his face so he doesn’ get tangled in it as his mouth makes a hot path down the neckline of her dress.

It feels so damn good that Clyde doesn’ realize she’s tryin’ to get his attention until she yanks on his tresses, his scalp burnin’ from it. Honestly he thinks he groans, rough and wild in his throat, the pain shootin’ straight to his cock. But it makes him look at her, and she holds him from divin’ back into her skin.

“Clyde I wanna—I wanna taste you. Is that okay? Can I?”

Lord Almighty above. That should be his line, it really should. But how can he argue with her? He’d give her anythin’ she wanted, anythin’. And she wanted—wanted to put her mouth on him. Clyde spares a thought for all the trimmed and proper men he’s seen in porn, how much nicer they looked, how Juniper deserved the best. West coast mean surely didn’ look the way he did. But then,“Yes,” he’s sayin’, voice ragged, “yes.”

And she’s slippin’ out of his lap onto the floor between his legs. Clyde’s heart pinches, and he leans forward to pick her right back up. To say “oh, darlin’, y’don’ need to be on the hard floor like that. Lemme stand an’ you c’n sit right back on these here pillows.” But before he can get his legs under him she's pressin’ her face between ‘em, nuzzlin’ into the scratchy fabric of his jeans, right up against his cock. Clyde’s brain short circuits.

“Been wantin’ this.” Juniper murmurs, small hands workin’ at his belt, and Clyde arches his hips up, tryin’ t’help her get his jeans off. He can’t believe this—can’t believe this is happenin’. She tugs his jeans and pants down his legs, just enough that his cock is revealed. Clyde clumsily unbuttons the first couple buttons at the bottom of his shirt, not wantin’ to get the new fabric messy. Juniper seems to like his idea; she sighs and leans forward to press her lips to the bare skin of his stomach.

“Sweetheart.” Clyde whispers, voice all trembly. He stretches out a little, givin’ her more access to his pale abdomen. Her lips are so soft against his skin, against the dark trail of hair leadin’ down, down, down. She follows it, nosin’ to the crook of his thigh, teeth scrapin’ deliciously ‘fore she turns her attention to his cock—already plump and stiff, and very interested in her ministrations. She wraps a hand around it and Clyde’s breath catches in his throat. She studies his cock, gives it a gentle stroke, thumb rubbin’ at the velvety head.

“You’re so big.” Her voice is quiet, but it startles Clyde all the same—he’s been transfixed by the vision in front of him.

“O-Oh, I-m, uh—“

He’s attemptin’ to apologize—his first instinct, really. But his brain isn’t really functionin’ all that well, and then she’s leanin’ in to lave her tongue over his slit. Clyde groans, a sound comin’ deep from his chest as he zeros in on the pretty pink of her soft, wet tongue. Juniper hums as if she’s pleased, a little smile on her face, and then she’s slippin’ her mouth over his cock in earnest.

Clyde’s head drops back against the couch pillow, lungs strugglin’ to suck in air. Oh fuck, oh fuck, fuck—it felt so good. She was gorgeous, she was perfect, she was a fucking angel doin’ this for him. She couldn’ take all of him into her mouth but goddamn she was tryin’. It didn’ matter—even if she wasn’ usin’ her hand to make up the difference, Clyde thinks he could cum just from seein’ her there between his legs, her silky soft lips on his skin.

He moves with her—not in a way where he’s pushin’ her or askin’ for more, but in a way where she’s pullin’ him; she’s the ebb and flow of the tide and he follows her willingly. His back arches, toes curlin’ up in his boots; his prosthetic settles on top of her free hand where it was grippin’ one of his large thighs. His other hand is too busy grippin’ the couch cushions to do much else. He’s lost to it—to her—an’ he doesn’ wanna be found.

It’s over far too quickly, embarrassingly so—it even surprises him. He’s ridin’ the high of his pleasure and his orgasm hits him so hard and fast that Clyde barely has any time t’warn her. All he can do is make a frantic noise, her name garbled in his throat as he quickly tries to push her off a’ him. But it’s too late—he’s cummin’ the same time that she’s pullin’ away, and Clyde can only watch in an odd mix of both arousal and horror as his cum paints her chin, neck, and cleavage.

Juniper’s mouth is held open in a surprised little ‘o’ shape, brows arched, and Clyde feels fuckin’ humiliated.

“J-Juniper, darlin’, m’so sorry, I—“ He scrabbles behind him for the throw blanket layin’ across the back of the couch, tuggin’ it into his lap so he can clean his mess off a’ her skin. He’s quick to tend to the spend on her cleavage first, hyperaware of how close it was to the fabric of her pretty black dress. “I’m sorry, I tried t’warn ya but it was too—“

“Clyde, it’s okay.” Her voice is all raspy and Clyde bites back a moan at the sound of it. She was so fuckin’ sexy, fuckin’ flawless. He’d cum all over her, messy and wild, and she was still lookin’ at him like he’d hung the damn moon. She pulls herself to standin’, and Clyde’s gaze dips down to where her knees were all red from kneelin’. Just another thing he didn’ know he found hot until now.

“But I guess it’s a little dangerous to keep this on, huh?”

His gaze snaps up to her face when she speaks, and she’s wearin’ a grin, eyes alight. Then she’s twistin’ her arms around, wrigglin’ out of that cute little dress until it graces the linoleum floor. She bends down to pick it up, drapin’ it carefully over one of the kitchen chairs. She moves like it’s nothin; like the sight of her in her heels and underwear ain’ makin’ his cock try to thicken up again.

“Yer so beautiful.” He tells her, gaze trained on her as she walks back over to him. Clyde feels so small with her standin’ in front of him; feels vulnerable even if he was still mostly dressed. Juniper steps out of her heels slowly, placin’ them to the side before leanin’ in, restin’ her hands on the back of the couch on either side of his head so she can kiss him.

Clyde runs his flesh hand over her bare waist, down the swell of her hip, toyin’ with the band of her underwear. He doesn’t push it down; he won’t without her permission. It’s enough to kiss her like this, soft and lazy, feelin’ her skin underneath his. He feels all gooey and happy from his orgasm, even if it had come sooner than he’d have liked.

He sighs into her mouth, content; chases her lips when she pulls away. Juniper starts to work on the buttons of his shirt, and he sits up to help her ease it off a’ his shoulders. She folds it neatly, settin’ it to the side; Clyde forces himself to speak, tryin’ to get his brain back in workin’ order. “D’y’wanna—wanna go back to the bedroom? You c’n lay down and I’ll—I’ll take care a’ ya.”

He thinks he sounds all awkward and silly, but Juniper gives him a warm smile, and his insecurities fade. She was always comfortin’ him, whether she knew it or not. She places one last lingerin’ kiss to his lips before noddin’ at him. “I’d like that.”

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taglist friends!

@paper-n-ashes @glassbxttless @mariesackler @leatherboundbirate @millenialcatlady @jynzandtonic @peachyproserpina

#clyde logan #clyde logan fic #clyde logan x ofc #logan lucky #clyde logan smut #clyde logan fluff #clyde logan x oc #adcu #feedback always welcome & appreciated!#clyde logan x original female character #tori writes

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angelisverba · 4 years

Text

let me hear you

in which y/n touched herself without mafialeader!harry’s permission, and he made a rule saying she’s not allowed to

word count: 5k

pairing: y/n and mafialeader!h

warnings: mentions of drugs, violence, and sexual activity. very heavy sexual activity. like, pure filth and more bro. daddy kink.

note: this has been on my mind…. for a while now….. yeah…. i needed to get it out before i started anything else.

lindsee= drowning in debt after this

It was hard.

Very hard.

She knew it was against his rules. Touching herself when he wasn’t present and without his permission.

This rule had been established when Harry came home after a long day of knocking teeth out and reviewing drug debts, to y/n mewling and bucking into her hand, sprawled out on their red satin sheets. She was so busy gripping the sheets and panting ‘daddy I’m almost there’ that she didn’t notice that her man was standing at the edge of their bed, one arm crossing his chest so he could rest his elbow on it, finger tapping rhythmically against his bottom lip as he watched with dark, hooded eyes, waiting for her to finish-- or acknowledge his presence, whichever came first.

A noticeable dent formed at the crotch of Harry’s pants, and he ached to reach out, grab her by the hips, and manhandle her. Tie her arms behind her back and fuck into her until she screamed for him to stop, all the while he growled into her ear ‘isn’t this what you wanted princess? ‘said daddy I’m almost there and now you don’t wanna take it?’ Loins aching for action, he refrained from doing what he wanted to do because he had a lesson to teach.

It seems he always did.

But holy shit was it worth it when she came, her back arching off the bed and her fingers stilling their movements on her clit (he was slighting disappointed in the fact that she hadn’t fingered herself). Y/n’s chest heaved wildly, the swell of her breasts glistening with perspiration, nipples pert with her arousal-- and she still hadn’t noticed him.

Harry had to make a deep, low humming noise from the depths of his throat to express his disappointment. This made y/n’s head spring up from it’s position on her pillows, with wide eyes and startles, parted lips.

“What was this-” he gestured with a finger at her naked body, a simple, intimidating gesture paired with a slight head tilt that let y/n know exactly where she stood. “All about, princess?”

“Daddy I-” she stopped herself, her word dying in her throat when she realized that the true reason could possibly get her into even more trouble.

She just couldn’t hold onto her inhibitions when he was around-- and also, when he wasn’t. The image of him getting dressed; buttoning his pants just above where his abdominal v-lines started, zipping up his pants, cuffing his shirt, and oh god when he buttoned up his shirt. She wasn’t sure why it turned her on so much, but it only riled her up further when he walked towards where she lay with the sheets up to her chest on the bed, and kissed the area just behind her ear, where he knew it sent shocks of heat to her center.

“Mhm, tell your daddy, why you were touching yourself and calling his name. C’mon, tell him.” Harry crawled onto the bed, positioning himself so he was right above her body, and trailed his fingers down her front and to her folds, plunging two fingers in with ease, given she was still wet from her orgasm.

A small gasp left her lips, and Harry worked her up to another orgasm.

And then another.

Then he paused, and spanked her.

And then fucked her.

He kept her going until she was crying from the pleasure. After all that, he yanked her by the chin to look into his eyes and said,

“You are not allowed to touch yourself if I’m not present, and especially if I don’t give you permission to, got that baby? It’s daddy’s job to make you cum until you’re shakin’ from my hands, mouth, fingers, and cock. Got it?”

Y/n whimpered a pathetic ‘yes daddy’ as a promise to quit her promiscuous antics.

A promise broken nearly three weeks after the first occurrence.

It was another Wednesday, the most stressful day of the week for the kingpin, and in efforts to start the day off on a pleasant note, he’d woken up his pretty girl by licking nose-deep into her cunt, his tongue flat against the mouth of her hole, the tip flicking in just slightly before starting it’s stripe all over again.

The girl, used to being woken up by having her pussy lapped at, opened her eyes to see that the red satin sheets were off of both her and Harry’s body, and Harry’s head was buried in between her thighs.

At her first moan, he glanced up with a lazy smile on his lips, murmuring in his raspy morning voice, “Good morning, darling.” He licks into her deeply, exaggerating the drag of his tongue to the tip lingered on her clit momentarily. “Love hearing your pretty moans first thing in the morning. Can you moan a little louder? For daddy, baby?”

Harry used his fore and middle finger to part her folds, his taffeta-pink lips forming a nice ‘o’ shape before releasing cool air on her swelling button, eliciting a whimper from y/n. Clearly, not high enough for his expectations.

“Louder, princess. C’mon, let me hear you.” He said, mouthing his words against her clit, every movement of his lips and vibration of his words sending her bucking up into Harry’s mouth. Releasing a strained moan, slightly louder than her previous noise, y/n reaches down to grasp at his hair, grabbing two fistfuls and using them as leverage to push her hips harder into his mouth, the bridge of his nose crinkling against her mound, and letting her jaw hang at the glorious sensation.

Feeling her nails scratch, trail, and clutch at his hair, Harry’s eyes roll back and he gives an instinctual rut into the silky sheets, a burn spreading through the underside of his cock from how hard he was. It was truly a delicacy, being able to lick at y/n’s warm folds whenever he wanted to, to feel her go wet on his tongue, the smell and taste of her arousal taking complete control over his senses. His ears roaring-- ringing-- with the sound of her desperate moans, the one’s she never ran out of. Pliant under his control, y/n wasn’t ashamed in letting herself go, and Harry was proud in the fact that she trusted him enough to do so-- cocky even, that he was the only one who made her feel that way (Harry was y/n’s first everything, but that was a whole other story).

The well-known tug of her near bursting arousal made itself ever-present when Harry’s second burner phone of the week began to vibrate on the nightstand, overlapping with the sound of her heavy breathing.

Harry lifted from her heat momentarily to say: “Answer the phone, my love. Tell them daddy’s busy.”

With her breath hitching in her throat , y/n removed one hand from his head, and reached over to grab the teetering phone, pressing the answer button and lifting it to her ear, biting down on her lip to keep from gasping into the receiver.

“Mr. Styles, there’s been a delay on the shipment coming in from Cuba, and-”

“Mr. Styles, ah-” Harry had delivered a hefty slap on top of her clit, the hit sending a spasm of pleasure up her spine and causing a breathless hitch in her sentence, clearly alluding to what was going on.

“Thas’ not my name to you, y/n.” He growled, sucking sharply on the place he’d just smacked.

“Sorry,” she squeaked, clearing her throat and not hesitating to continue, “daddy’s busy right now.”

“Good girl. Now, hang up.”

Y/n ended the call, the other man’s response dying in her ear as a deafening ring filled it instead-- a signal that her orgasm was right there.

“Daddy,” she released a jumbled noise of pleasure— a mix of a hiccup and a bleat— and used her hold on Harry’s locks to thrust her hips into his face; he took the offering with grace, widening his mouth so that the motions he inflicted became messier. Hungrier. “Please, I’m there. I’m there, I-”

“Come on, my love. Let daddy have it, I’ve got you.” Harry picked himself up from his position between her legs, his hand moving from flicking at her clit, to mimicking fucking motions with his fingers inside her slick walls as he crawled up her torso, his face hovering over hers.

Now that there was nothing suppressing him,

His cock curved up and left a sticky trail where it rubbed on his abdomen, precum from his arousal leaking all over the ruddy, mushroom head that strained upwards.

The sight brought tears of frustration to her eyes, her mind a boggled mess of want want want and yearning for Harry’s sprung member. She wanted Harry to fuck her. She wanted Harry to eat her. She wanted Harry to make. Her. Cum. She needed release, and just as she was about to, Harry removes his fingers from her hole, and the previous build-up starts to bubble down. The burning ache is still there, an underlying tone to her pleasure, but the burning intensity is gone.

Just as she is about to cry because he’s left her floating above the burning inferno of sexual impatience, Harry spreads her legs open with his knee, and thrusts into her, watching the way her pussy swallows his cock-head and the rest of him sinking after; consumed in her tight, slick, heat, he shudders himself to the hilt. The feeling of being so full, so stretched, painfully good to the max, throwing her finally over the edge.

Y/n squeezed impossibly tight on Harry, her eyes falling half shut with euphoria, glazing over in signal that half of her has been driven away with the overwhelming pleasure. He looks into her eyes just in time, catching the moment with a smug pride that he always managed to make her feel that way.

The helpless, vulnerable look on her face, swollen lips and teary eyes, prompts the tell-tale twitch on the underside of Harry’s dick, his hips jutting back to splurge his warm load onto her still clenched belly. His fist closed tight around himself, sliding at a rapid pace to finish himself off with a toe curling orgasm, y/n’s recuperating pants hot in his ears.

“Thank you, my love.” He pressed a spongy wet-kiss right underneath the lobe of her ear, the pressure on the sensitive skin inducing a dreamy sigh from her. “Did so good for me. Wish I could stay inside you all day, but unfortunately, I’ve gotta go. Have a feeling something went from with the shipment from Cuba.”

Y/n whined in response, her eyes lulling shut from the wave of heaviness that came after finding her release. “Don’t go, daddy. Please?”

Alarmed, Harry pulls out from the nook of her throat to look her straight in the eye. He wouldn’t leave her if she was still feeling small, not after what happened the last time.

“Y/n? You small, baby?” His eyebrows are furrowed, but the look on his face is soft for the girl underneath him. “We’ve been over this, darling. My area of business is no place for a pretty princess like you.”

He uses the back of her hand to caress her cheek, watching her intently as she blinks owlishly at him, her hand coming to wrap around his wrist. “But, I’ll miss you.”

Harry feels the strings of his heart pulling with affection for his girl, yearning to comfort her. “I’ll come back, y/n, you know this,” he cooed at her. “I’ll come back just like I need you to come back to me now.” He leans the small distance between them and presses a soft kiss on the tip of her nose.

Y/n does a sharp intake of breath, her eyes widening and focusing, emerging from their daze. She becomes hyper aware of all the places Harry’s touching her. His lips pecking at her face, his knees parallel to the soft inside skin of her thighs, the tip of his cock that lay on the plushy part of her groin, his chest rubbing against her erect nipples. He held himself above her, hands slightly above her head, but his face was dipped so he was closer to her.

“With me now, my love?” He smiled at her, tilting his head to the right so a curl dropped over his eye.

“Yes,” she breathed, reaching out to comb back the curl that was obscuring his view.

“Good. I’m gonna get ready now, and I don’t wanna hear anything about this ‘take me with you’ thing you tried to pull okay?” His grin dropped to a more serious demeanor. He was very serious, about keeping her safe; uninvolved with his work.

“Okay.”

“We’ll do whatever you’d like when I get back, alright?”

“Alright,” her voice was quiet, her body language shy.

Pressing one last kiss to her lips, Harry gets up and walks into his and y/n’s shared closet, leaving y/n on the bed by herself.The area where the tip of Harry’s dick touched the plush of her mound tingled, her hole fluttering and aching at the abrupt absence of what was previosly filling her to the brim.

She wanted to complain.

It was selfish of her to beg for more, even though she was still heavy with her past wave of ecstasy, her body wanted more more more of Harry.

But, it was a Wednesday, the busiest day of the week and Harry’s job wasn’t exactly one you could fuck around with. He was giving her so much by simply ignoring the call he’d received, and she would be so ungrateful if she didn’t accept what she’d been given.

Y/n watched Harry get ready, the man strutting out at the closet in an all-black ensemble; black slacks, clack longsleeve button-up, black heeled ankle boots. The color added a magnefying hue to his figure, elongating his leg and making his biceps look desirable underneath the cloth.

Through the open bathroom door, she can see him check his collar in the mirror. Pick up the bottle of cologne she’d given him this past Christmas and spray it on his wrists and on the base of her neck. Her eyes flitted to the curve of his butt, admiring how he managed to look amazing and delectable in everything he wore. Drifting her eyes over his figure lazily, enjoying him while she could hoping that maybe some of the ache would go away. She didn’t see the way he had caught her eyes in the mirror, and how his lipd quirked up humoursly.

“Do I look good, baby?” He asked intentionally, hoping to get a rise out of her. The low, senual drawl casued her eyes to widen, alarmed, and flicker up to connect with his. “Caught you lookin didn’t I?”

He holds her reddening gaze in the mirror for a moment before turning around and walking towards her. The heels of his boots click on the floor, getting louder the closer he got to her, and stopping when he gets to her position on the bed. He sits by her hips and places a hand on the curve of her thighs, sliding up her body in a gentle and non-sensual manner. A simple act of appriciation that excited y/n nonetheless, as his hands rubbed on the side of her bedoy, his fingers coming up to trace the swell of her breasts sweetly. He maintaine eye contact through this whole ordeal, and when his fingeres reached the place where her shoulder turns into neck, he bends down and kissed her on the lips.

“I love you,” He mumbled against her lips, parting her lips with his own and teasing her bottom one with his tongue lightly, not entering her mouth. Smearing his lips across her mouth, harry kissed a trail from the corner of his lips to her cheekbone. Stopping at her temple, he said, “Love you so much it hurts me.”

Y/n closed her eyes and hummed with every press of his mouth onto her skin.

“I love you, too, Harry.” She said with a smile.

Sitting up straight, Harry combed the few peices of hair littering her face behind her ear, grinning dreamily down at her. Y/n gazed at him lovingly, her own lips unable to stop from smiling and giggling at the intimacy in their looks, and the tickling feelings of fluttering butterfly wings in her ribcage.

“M’pretty girl. Gonna walk me down or are you gonna stay and sleep s’more? Know I woke you up didn’t I?” He said, rubbing his thumb in circled on her chin.

“Think I’ll stay here.” Part of her wanted to go down and kiss him goodbye, but that would only be torture.

Harry nodded and leaned down to kiss her once more, sighing into her mouth, “I’ll see you at 6:30, darling.”

In a short summary, y/n was unable to go back to sleep.

She tossed and turned in the satin sheets for an hour before she gave up trying to lull herself intp the unconscious state because the ache between her thighs was overwhelmingly strong.

So strong, it brought tears to her eyes because GOD she was burning with desire and she could do nothing to help herself in accordance with Harry’s newest rule.

And y/n really wanted to be good for her daddy. With her entire being she really did. Harry gave her everything, made her feel so special, loved her with all he had, and went the extra mile to make her feel so safe.

It would truly be unfair if she were to repay him in such a way. By disobeying him.

The moment that Harry removed himself from her heat, y/n was left instantly unsatisfied. She still fluttered around nnothing, feeling cold and empty without his cock to fill her up; stretching her painfully-- pleasurably-- open. There was nothing better that the way he pushed himself deep inside her, buried himself in her pussy and took over all her senses as that one sensation drove her mad.

In efforts to occupy her mind with thoughts that are not sexually inticing, y/n walked into the bathroom, and took a bath. The water bubbled with the scent of rose petals-- a glass bottle of fragranced bath bubbles Harry bought her in Paris resting on the edge of the tub.

There was comfort in the coolness of the water, soothing the heat inside her. She napped in it for a while, the smell of dainty rose petals drifiting her off into a light doozy.

But, it was over when her skin turned pruny and the water cold, her need returning as the water fell off her skin while she rised to exit. Her center becoming a dripping, sloppy mess with her exceeding horniness. Y/n tried to close her thighs, but her moisture only slipped out into the crevices of her crotch.

Wrapped in a towel and only a towel, she came back to her bed, flopped down on to it, her tummy coming into contact with the slippery sheets. She wasn’t sure how long she laid there, but the droplets on her calves and the nape of her neck dried off by the time she was writhing on the bed, impatient and fucking needy.

The towl still rested on her back, rucking up on her thighs with the swell of her bum peeking out. Her arms came to cross above her head so she could hide her face in them, and restrict their movement from any tempation she may have to touch herself. She wouldn’t touch herself.

It was hard.

Very hard.

Harry was coming back in from his day of assesing the delay of the Cuba shipment, meeting up with potential business partners, mingling and nursing a glass of whiskey or two. Being as the drug cartels are risky and unfaithful, he had to wear a gun holster at all times, secured tightly to his torso in order to disguise it’s prescence, and it had been digging into his ribs the entire day, causing an achy-ness to develop not just on his ribs, but his back as well. All the man wanted to do was unwin with the prescence of his lovely girl at his side. Clothed, naked, it didn’t matter to him.

One can onyl imagine his surprise when he arrived at the doors of his luxurious mansion of a home, to one of the security team members telling him that y/n hadn’t come out of the master bedroom all day. Was she alright? Was she safe? Was there something wrong with her? His mind ran crazy with possibilities, and he was slightly out of breath from taking the stairs two steps at a time with rapid speed. Pushing his curls back from his face, he knocked it with a bent finger on the door to their bedroom and opened it.

“Y/n?” He called out, his blazing emerald eyes scanning the room for his girl, and landing on her crumpled firgure in the middle of her bed. She was face down, face hid in her arms, and her foot rested on the top of her calve, slowly dragging down to her ankle. And… she was crying. Light sniffles filled the room, her shoulders shaking slightly in sync with every noise she made.

Harry strided over to her with long steps, walking around to the opposite side of the bed where her head lay. “Sweetheart, are you well? What’s the matter?”

He spoke softly, knowing that his girl was extra sensitive while she cried, and rubbed her shoulder in soft patterns to show his consolation, producing a calm collected act even though on the inside he was in absolute panic over the fact that y/n wasn’t well and he didn’t know why, which therefore meant he didn’t have the power to fix it… yet.

Y/n tilted her head to the side so her eyes and part of her nose peeked out for Harry to see. Her water-line was irritated, eyes bloodshot, and her face a splotchy color that let him know she’d been crying quite a while.

“Y/n, did someone hurt you? Please, tell me what’s made you so upset, baby.” His tone is pleading now, eyebrows slanted downwards in distress, facade slowly falling.

Then, she speaks.

“It hurts.” It comes out as a pathetic whimper, her words laced with the thick wtnedd of tears.

“What hurts, y/n? Where? Use your words, darling.” He takes the towel off her then, moving to sit next to her so he can examine her body on a closer leve, checking for injuries. “Do I need to go call the paramedics? Wanna go to the hospital, baby? I’ll get the car read-”

“Can I have-- givve me your hard, please?” She lifts herself up to her forarms, her breats exposed which under any other circumstances, would have caused Harry’s dick to pop a stiffy, but he was currently blinded with worry.

He placed his hand on her small palm with furrowed eyebrows, his head moving to catch her every move. He watched tentatively as she moved onto her back, her hand wrapping around his wrist and bringing it down to the space between her thighs, parting them open and Harry can see how much of a mess she’s made.

The soft skin on the inside of her legs is glistening, the area around her heat sopping wet.

“It hurts, and-- and you said I couldn’t touch myself without your permission, and I just feel so empy because you did-,” Y/n just about shreiked when Harry so much as dragged two fingers down her slit, a spidery web connecting the tips to her pussy when he removed them. His jaw dropped and his dickexperienced a sudden rush of adrenaline.

“Princess, what a mess you’ve made!” He gasped, his face contorted into an expression of pure surprise-- no malice or humor hidden. “I don’t understand, what happened darling? Did you miss me this much?”

She gasped wetly, her eyes scrunched shut and her hips thrusted in the air, following after Harry’s fingers. “Left this morning so-- so quick, and you left me so cold.”

He’s still confused, his head shaking incredulously. “Baby, you’ve got all these blankets to keep you warm.”

Y/n grunts when Harry stands to look at her fully and to takie off his suit jacket. The tears of impatience return, and she’s sobbing again. “Please, I just want your cock! Want it so bad, I need to feel full, please, please, pl-” Her back arches off the bec, fists gripping the sheets tightly. He undestands how deperate she is then because y/n is never this vulgar in bed, usually leaving Harry to take control and decide what to do.

“Okay, okay, my love it’s okay. I’ll give you what you want, stop crying, dovey.” He unloops the belt from his pants, the sound of the metal ends clinking against each other sending a throb to y/n’s clit, to which she responds by humping the air instinctively. Harry unziped his pants, and pushed them down only enough to take out his hardened cock. The straining flesh making y/n release a whine of impatience.

Y/n’s voice breaks, “No teasing, please no teasing, pl-”

“Sshh baby, I’ve got you now. Let daddy take care of it okay?” He wraps a hand around the base of his dick, and crawls up so his thighs are flush with the back of hers, which she’s exposed by listing her legs upfor Harry to grasp. There’s no need for spit or lubrication because she’s a pool of velvety wetness.

“Such a good girl, for daddy, baby. Waiting for him to come home and take care of you like this. What made you this wet, little girl?” He asked, grabbing hold of her ankles and thrustin forward so his balls rested on the curve of her ass. Y/n moans and halts her breathing before she responds, her eyes rolling into the back of her head from the fulfillment, the ache finally settling.

“This morning, you were only in me for so little time, daddy. Left me so cold when you left.” She panted, her hands coming to pull at the backs of her knees. “Been like this since you left, and you said I can’t touch myself so I waited-- harder, daddy. I need it harder.” Her eyes snap open and they connect with Harry’s blown pupils, his forehead lined with beads of sweat because he’s trying really hard not to cum before her, which seems nearly impossible because she’s so warm and so wet.

“S’that what this is all about? All wet for my cock? Look at you, my love all fucked out for me isn’t she?” He glances down to where they’re connecting, his pace still the same despite her command. “Your cunt’s this wet, and it’s…” He pulls his hips back, “for me,” and slams back into her with enough force to move her up the bed.

“Only for you, daddy.” She bleats, her voice high pitched and strained.

Harry picks up his pace, dropping one of her legs and grasping the other by the back of her thigh, pulling it up to his hips and using it as a hold to pound into her. Every thrust is met with a new sound from y/n, who’s eyes clenched and head was thrown back.

“I need more. Need it harder please.” She looks up at him with a quivering lip, her hands coming up to wrap around his shoulders. Harry leaned the small distance to kiss her, his teeth kicking against hers and pinching his lip with the primal agressiveness in their actions.

“Yeah, baby? I’ll give it to you harder then,” he growled against her skin, disconnecting from her mouth to bite into her neck, licking the underside of her jaw.

Harry pulls out from her abrubtly, leaning back on his knees to flip her over, pulling her to him so her thighs wrapped around his hips, sheathing his cock into her pussy with no preamble. He thrust into her that way, so hard there’s a sting everytime their skin connects. Hands taking hold on her waist, he continues with force and rapidness, causing y/n to melt so her ass stuck in the air and her cheek pressed against the sheets.

“S’this how my girl want it? She wants me to rough her up?” He said, slapping her ass and watching his handprint darken her skin. Y/n feels the familiar clenching of her abdomen, and Harry knows she’d there because her pussy goes tight around him, milking his dick.

“Yes, yes, yes, harder, daddy. Please don’t stop.” Y/n is a whimpering, babbling mess; her moans coming out in a high range of whimpers and squeals. She pushed back against Harry’s thrust, helping him hit the spot inside her that made her eys roll back into her head.

“Not gonna happen, princess. Give it to me. Let daddy have it.” Wrapping a hand on her hair, Harry pulls her up so his front is parallel to her back his hand coming around to wrap around her neck, thumb applying pressure to the soft skin.

That’s what does it for y/n. The strong display of male dominance that she so yearned for; Harry taking full control of her body and giving her what she needed. The knot breaks, and her nerve ending go haywire, buzzing into a frenzy that spreads throughtout her entire body, pleasure raking through her.

She’s clenching around him, begging for every drop; an impossible tight, warm, soft fist around his dick that pushed him to the edge. Knowing she was there, Harry allowed himself to spurt white ribbons into her, contributing to the wetness between her thighs with a strong thrust that knocks her completely flat, him following after her and landing on her back.

They’re panting, tired out but relieved from the tense day they both had. Harry goes to get off y/n, but she grabs his hand by her hip. “Stay in me, please? I need it.”

“Whatever you want, sweetheart.” He said, grabbing onto her hips and pulling them so they could lay on their sides and still remained connected. “S’that what you needed?”

“Yes, thank you.” She tried to turn to give him a kiss, but felt him start to shift inside her, and stilled instantly. Sensing what she needed, Harry pulled her closer and kissed her shoulder, letting her know he was there.

“You’re welcome, my love. We’re gonna have to discuss this ‘no touching’ rule, aren’t we?” He asked her, nosing the place under the lobe of her ear, the rush of his soft breath sending shivers down her spine and to her hole, causing an accidental clench on his dick. They both moan at the sensation.

“Please.”

“Whatever you want, baby.” He shuddered, feeling his prick harden inside her again. “Whatever you want.”

#harry edward styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles one shot #harry styles blurbs #harry styles fic #harry styles smut

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thesappiestnap · 3 years

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high techno!?? high cuddly techno hugs?? techno is a radiator ple ase philza has a Special garden in his basement

djdidkdjdidjdjdjnd ily "anon" so take my brain dump as a gift, like a slimey goop plopped directly into your hands <3

also i'm writing techno as a beefy human shifter cause 😎

---

techno didn't care much when phil started his "special" garden, he thought it was kinda funny, more than anything. plus, it was small, phil had told him it was more for the memories of his younger years, but suggested it for any pain he might have. and phil had stopped complaining about his achy shoulder since he started smoking the herbs. and, well, techno had been having the occasional migraine ever since that anvil got dropped on him, even if the totem had saved him.

so now techno was sitting on the floor of his house, staring at steve with a foggy mind. phil hadn't been joking when he said getting high was a new experience. where'd phil go? off flirting with death. no, really, he had wandered out for a little bit to go talk to his wife, although techno didn't quite understand what that meant still. that's fine though, steve was laying in front of him, and he was very soft and warm, so nothing else really mattered. and it was so quiet. the voices were quiet, only the occasional word or phrase slipping into his consciousness. it was nice.

meanwhile, you were out in the snow, freezing from the little flurry that was now sticking to your clothes. maybe you should've asked techno through the comms to do the trade closer to the warmer climate, since you didn't exactly have the clothes meant for this weather. but nooo, you didn't want to bother him to come all the way out. now you were paying for it, as your jacket did next to nothing against the cold breeze. for the love of dreamxd, you hoped techno would actually be willing to trade.

finally, you arrived to the cottage, gently knocking on the door with stiff knuckles. you heard the "HEH?" called out at the same moment you noticed a slight strange smell. you let him know that it's you, hearing no response. that seemed unusual. you call his name again, getting another "HEH?" in reply. you ask if you can come in and he just answers with an "i guess".

the room is still slightly smokey, and as you look at the pink-haired man half-draped over the polar bear, his eyes slightly reddened and unfocused as he looks at you, you understand.

"what're you doin' here?" he asks you, sitting up a little, his legs shifting from splayed out to crisscrossed.

"uh.... i wanted to do a trade, but i guess it's a, uh... bad time?"

"oh. yeah, phil gave me drugs, i blame him. kinda cool though, real quiet in the head," he asentuates his point with a tap on his temple.

"ah." well. this was a bit awkward now. but you also didn't want to trek all the way back out just yet. even thinking about it, you shivered, crossing your arms over your chest.

"you look like a chihuahua, shakin' there like that. close the door. you should've brought a better coat," he says, sighing as he gives up appearances in front of you and sinks backwards into steve's fur again, earning a soft grunt.

"didn't have one. not all of us live in the middle of snowy tundras, you know," you quipped back, making sure to sound grumpy even though you gratefully shut the door to block out the wind, coming further inside towards the fireplace.

"i suppose, but i'm the one with a polar bear, so i win," techno mumbled, sinking down a little, letting his legs untangle to steady himself in his position.

you hummed softly in agreement, standing closer to the fire, squatting down to hold your hands in front of it. there were some questions, but you decided they didn't need to be answered right now, especially since you techno may not give you a serious answer in the best of times.

glancing over at him, your eyes wandered over his tangled hair, loose for once from its braid and draping around his shoulders like a cape. his glasses were slightly skewed on his nose, his shirt slightly undone at the top. it was certainly a difference to the put together image he typically maintained. his eyes were closed, and he looked so peaceful, a little younger than the battleworn warrior he usually was. and he looked so warm. his thick torso and beefy arms, they looked like they could hug you so tight...

a little lost in your thoughts, you didnt realize for a moment that one of his eyes had opened, and he was now looking back at you questioningly.

"can i hug you?" blurted from your lips before you could stop them. your face heated up slightly as you stammered out, "you- you look warm and it was just really cold out there so it might help warm me up. sorry, that's weird, isn't it?"

techno stared at you, as if debating what to say, for a long moment before a slow, "suuurrreee...." finally came.

you scooted over beside him, hesitantly finding your arms around his torso while he held his arms up like he didn't know what to do with them. as you cuddled closer to him, he slowly and carefully put his arms down, awkwardly placing one against your back, the other going to sit in his lap until he realized how cold your skin really was, and then his hand was on your arm as he chastised you again about your ill preparation for the weather.

but you were just thinking about how right you were about his warmth, and how much better it was than you even thought. unconsciously, you were sinking further into his chest, reveling in how firm yet still soft he felt. and after a few minutes of the fire crackling and steve snoring softly, you could feel him relax slowly as well. you were certainly warming up faster, and your eyelids began to feel heavy....

when phil returned, he found you and techno both fast asleep on the floor, half-laying on steve, curled into each other in a happy little cuddle. he couldn't help but smile happily, and maybe he took a quick picture to show ranboo later before closing the door gently behind him. he could already tell his crowd were going to rat him out on the picture, but he didn't mind much, as he put a copy of it on his wall.

#technoblade imagine #murder pig tag

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praphit · 3 years

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Mortal Kombat: Earthrealm’s Crappiest Fighters

I think we can all agree that the old school Mortal Kombat theme song ("Techno Syndrome") is one of the best songs of all time. Well... by "best" I mean annoyingly spellbinding. It kinda gets in you; especially if you've been following Mortal Kombat from the beginning of their run since the early 90's. "Dun Dun Dun Dun - DUNDUN (gong)... FIGHT!"

Then, it be like "Kano" and you be dancing "Liu Kang" and you start shakin it. Then, it gets to "Sub Zero" and you're like "Ahhhh Shit! Here it comes!" And then "Sonya" And everybody and their mama shouts "MORTAL KOMBAT" I'm telling you, back in the day, every time that song played - here comes the dancing AND fighting. Then, the cops would show up wherever the song is being played, and they'd dance a bit too, before they started looking for black people to shoot - it was a great time had by all.

This song demanded a rebooted movie from the classic (that's right, I said CLASSIC) 1995 film.

In the first movie, it was Liu Kang and a bunch of losers. I'm mean, just look at them.

You don't fear anyone there except for Liu; not even white Raiden (at the top).

With this 2021 reboot, we've got the same ol tournament plot - something about a martial arts tourney to decide who rules all of the worlds.

There's something about the MK logo appearing on people; it could appear out of know where - on your arm, face, butt, who knows??

Of course the bad guys have been cheating, and once again the ones chosen to fight for earth are Liu Kang and a bunch of losers.

Look how badass he is - you think making fire come out your body is easy?! This Liu mutha *uckin KANG!

Granted, You've got Raiden

- with the correct race and ethnicity this time, but he's kinda slow. This whole movie, you'll have fight scenes, people are dying. The ones not dying are screaming for help, and Raiden never shows up until those people who were crying out are also dead.

You've got Kung Lao,

but he's kind of an asshole.

So, yeah, really just Liu again.

His team of losers:

Kano

- Imagine if fate chose Jeffrey Dahmer to defend earth. Yep, that's pretty much what we have here.

Jax

(on the left)

- some Arsenio Hall lookin guy who's about to have his arms destroyed (we learn this from the trailer) Yeah, so fate chose a guy with no arms to protect Earth! Well done.

Sonya

- while everyone else has powers of fire, ice, lightning, she's got pretty pink rings that shoot out of her hands.

That's her tough face. Like she's saying "Leggo my Eggo."

And Cole

- who specializes in getting his ass beat. Even his super power revolves around getting his ass beat.

Ladies and gentlemen, Earthrealm’s mightiest fighters! - here to save us!

There is plenty of action throughout this movie. I loved it!

Some of my favorite scenes:

Scorpion vs Sub Zero

From the very beginning, there's gore, blood, and guts! Sub has been after Scorpion, and in the process, comes after Scorp's family.

Can I just say that I've seen this whole enemy of your past comes after a reformed assassin before - the reformed badass assassin's family is always so meek. Life Tip, kids: If you're going to be a professional ass-kicker, then you need to be with a life partner who can defend themselves. I'm not saying they need to be a family of killers, but get them to take ONE Karate class, at least!

Goro is also very cool-looking (2021 version on the left)!

Way more menacing than the first time around (95 version on right) when he let some dude punch him in the balls to end the bout. I understand that it happens, but... you don't see Thanos or Darkseid getting punched in the man zone and looking all goofy afterwards.

The fight scenes involving Liu Kang and Kung Lao were awesome!

Sub Zero in general was the main menace. He is haunting.

The violence. The gore. The campy parts as well, made this movie very enjoyable.

However, the third act kinda slows down. At some point, Raiden realizes "Wait, our team is just Liu Kang and a bunch a losers." And he has everyone camp-out and reflect... and drink. This is when the movie loses steam for me.

It's as if the action, the already next to terrible, campy dialogue, and "plot" run out of gas.

I mean, you have the typical "Hey, guys, let's work together!" type of thing that happens:

Arsenio Hall grew arms, Sonya tries to convince us that her pink rings are cool, Cole... well, is still getting his ass beat. But, everything gets a lil lazy. The ending fights go by too quickly. And the very last scene feels like everyone is tired, and so they just wanna go home.

We all know that evil is not going to win here, but I feel like it could have had it not been so lazy. Shang Tsung (the main villain/ evil sorcerer), supposedly having all this power just rolls out. It's like he looked at his watch and was like "Well, it's been fun, but I gotta get back to the wife. Peace!"

Plus, it was supposed to be a tournament... there was no tournament in this film. In fact, you had characters kill people and shout out things like "fatality" and "flawless victory" themselves, which is kinda weird.

Other than this laziness, I loved it! The action and fan-service leading up to the lazy third is still entertaining enough to outshine any lack one may feel towards the end. Again, I really enjoyed it! - And if you're a die-hard MK fan, you will too! - it's really made for you.

Grade: generous, entertaining B

One thing about all of these characters that kinda bothered me was the fact that they're all so comfortable with killing.

There's a scene where someone gets chopped in half, blood splatters all over them, and they're just like "Meh, on to the next." It's a tournament full of psychopaths!

I wonder if when the sequel comes out (and there will be one) if they'll address a lil of this, shamefully pull back, and introduce some "Friendships"

#Mortal Kombat #john praphit #praphitproductions.com #fighting #violence #martial arts #Movie Reviews #praphit #action movies #liu kang #techno syndrome #scorpion #subzero

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sylvain-writes · 3 years

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Guarded Hearts and Safe Houses (Leonardo x Reader) Chapter 7/9

Rated: T

Gender Neutral Reader, canon typical violence/injury, light angst, strangers to lovers, supportive family.

for @melodiousmelodrama

The blood drains from your face. You feel light-headed and unsteady on your feet. “Are my… are my…”

Donnie’s eyes lock on yours. “Raph’s there with Mikey. Everyone’s OK,” he says, but it brings little relief. “Your parents were at a charity function for the hospital.”

“And Gram?” Your throat’s gone so dry, you can barely get the question out.

“At the neighbors’.”

A shaky breath passes through your lips as you wrap your arms around yourself.

Leo stalks the mat as he thinks aloud. “This was a targeted attack. Their numbers might not be what we projected. But they didn’t get what they came for - hostages or us. They’ll be back. We have to get the humans to a secure location.”

Your thoughts extend beyond the safety of your family. “You have to protect the apartment building.”

“Yes.” Leo gives a sharp nod. “We have to defend the city. They’ll strike the building again. We can set up a base of operations somewhere close. Keep a lookout.” He whips out his phone and calls his brothers. “Mikey, sweep the area for somewhere to set up a base. Prepare for another attack.”

Mikey’s voice carries over the speaker. “You got it, bro.”

“Donnie,” Leo commands, “get us ready to move out. Whatever we need. Devices to track their signature, that new bo you’ve been working on. Anything else you got that might help against these guys. We’ve never been up against something like this before. We’re gonna need every advantage we can get.”

“The new weapons? But I thought you said...” Donatello rises to his full height at his brother’s nod of approval. “Of course, Leo. It’d be my honor to supply the team with new hardware. To be used in tandem with our traditional weapons, of course.”

Leo urges him, “Go!” and Donnie heads out at a sprint.

When Leo turns to you, you’re having trouble catching your breath. Tears cloud your vision and the lump in your throat makes it hard to speak.

“This is my fault,” Leo says by way of apology. “I shouldn’t have let my feelings distract me. Your family should have never been in danger.”

You understand now. How being a distraction to him is dangerous. The world depends on him. Tending to you, indulging you, led to this.

You believed his fears and insecurity about being vulnerable, showing weakness, were baseless. But leaving the city open to attack, leaving your family at risk… it isn’t worth whatever feelings stir in your chest when you think of him.

You’d rather have him and everyone else safe, than to be selfish. This isn’t him choosing to ignore you, this is him choosing to save the world.

When you return to your family home, Leo kneels before your parents and Gram. “I have dishonored you, failed you. I know my words are not enough, but I hope you will allow me to defend you and your home. I will not fail you again. On my honor. On my life.”

Your father, filled with fear, sputters before leaving the room. You know him, he doesn’t put the blame on the turtles, not really. But he doesn’t have anywhere else to direct his feelings of anger, fear, and confusion. Not yet.

Leo appeals to the women as they remain. “I allowed my mind to be clouded by distraction. It will not happen again. I devote my life to ninja and to your protection.”

His apologies hurt more than you thought they would, know you’re the distraction of which he speaks. Though you came to that same conclusion less than an hour ago, hearing it from his lips ties your stomach in knots.

“It’s time for you to go,” you find yourself saying. “You being here puts a bigger target on us, doesn’t it?”

Leo nods and stands.

“Then, go save the city, Leo. We won’t stand in your way as distractions anymore.”

Leo’s face twists in pain before his emotions slip behind the wall he builds so well. He heads for the window and you close it behind him with more force than necessary.

Once he’s gone, you try not to think of him. Your family needs you. They’re shaken and confused. And you don’t have all of the answers, but you have faith in the brothers. You have to believe they can fight this threat to the city. You have to believe they can win.

The Krang don’t attack again that day. Or that week. And a lookout returns to the roof. But it’s Leo and you won’t go up there. You don’t want to talk to him and it’s clear he doesn’t want you around.

But being in the apartment, unable to spend time on your rooftop escape, is making you stir crazy. You do get little drop ins from the other guys, sometimes right before their patrol.

Raphael will stop in to see Gram, ask about a new stitch he’s working on for his latest yarn project - a blanket for Mikey. A birthday present the young turtle isn’t supposed to know about.

Donatello dropped in to give you a secure phone so you could contact them in case of an emergency. “Or, you know, if you ever just want to talk about life, the universe, and everything.”

Mikey leaves you horoscopes, but it’s bittersweet. He doesn’t stick around to explain what he thinks they mean.

You convince yourself you’ve gotten over Leo, that the reason you spend more time looking at his horoscope than the others is because he’s the one perched on your roof and if the horoscope is predicting bad news for him then that translates into bad news for you, for your family, for your building. And you need to be prepared. You are absolutely not looking for any clues in regard to his feelings for you, any clues as to when you can expect him to knock on the window and apologize for pushing you away. When you can expect him to announce he’s come up with a way for you to be a boon to their cause instead of the distraction he’s determined you to be.

When the Krang launches an attack on Times Square, it’s all over the news. People are frantic. The city is in chaos. And you don’t know what to do. There’s no way off the island - and though you’d like your family to get to New Jersey, to get somewhere safely out of the way, you don’t even think of leaving yourself.

You and Leo haven't spoken to each other in over a week and you have no idea how he’s been handling everything. The guys haven’t given many clues. Mikey’s horoscopes are too vague to understand without his interpretations.

You know Leo holds so much inside, not wanting to burden his brothers with more than what he thinks they can handle. Why doesn’t he realize that if he trusted other people to share the burden, it’d be easier for everyone to carry? His brothers wouldn’t be as worried about him and all four of them would be better prepared to handle whatever dangers are to come.

You kiss your parents and Gram goodbye and head south toward Times Square. They know where you’re going. They don’t try to stop you. Mother straps a pack full of medical supplies to your back and squishes your face before you go. “I would be right beside you,” she says, then casts a meaningful look at Gram and Father.

The city is madness. The streets, which you thought would be teeming with people running for cover, are empty. Everyone who could find shelter has found it. Those who couldn't, well, they don't need shelter anymore.

You charge through the streets on foot, sure the subways are out of order. There are no cabs to take you, no clear streets to drive through even if there was a vehicle to drive.

You duck behind an abandoned news stand as a disembodied brain alien floats past. You peek through the rows of magazines to see it's not the only one. There must be a dozen krang moving down the streets. They don't seem to be looking for anything, led by an unseen force.

You startle when you feel a large, cool hand close over your mouth and nose. "Don' scream, a’right?" You'd recognize Raph's voice anywhere.

The tension in your shoulders eases up, but only a little.

"Your supposed t’ be hitchin’ a ride with Don. Gettin' the hell outta here with Gram and ya parents."

You pry Raph's hand from your face and gasp for air. The dude really doesn't realize just how massive his hand is. "I'm not leaving. I can help."

You notice the gash on his arm, and without hesitation, you swing your backpack off of one shoulder and around to your chest. It takes only a few seconds for you to fish out antiseptic spray and a roll of gauze. You patch him up efficiently. And Rapahel grunts. It's about as much thanks as you could hope to get while he's focused on the fight.

"Told you. I can help. Get back out there. Is anyone else hurt?"

"Bout a few thousand New Yorkers." Raph’s brow furrows and his eyes look haunted. It only lasts a moment before he shakes his head and shifts his frown to a grimace. “These slimeballs fucked with the wrong city.”

You look around at the First Responders on the scene. "What about your brothers?"

"Why dontcha ask 'em yourself?" he asks as he scans the area for any sign of those things .

You grab the secure cell from your pocket and dial the open line to the turtles. "Mikey. You alright?"

"Hey! What's shakin'?" Mikey’s greeting is casual and bright, even amid bedlam.

"You sound winded."

"I'm kinda in the middle of something,” he explains, and you can hear the thuds and shuffling of a brawl. “Can I call you back? Later? Oof. A lot later? Yow! That's my good side, dude!"

In spite of everything, he manages to make you smile. "Where's Leo?"

A gruff voice joins the line. Deep and calm. “I’m right here.” Mikey’s channel cuts out and the background falls silent. Leo has found somewhere quiet to talk. "Where are you?"

Raph leans toward the phone to answer for you. "Wit me."

There’s shock in his voice, confusion and concern. "You're supposed to be with Donnie."

"Well, I'm-"

"Helpin', alright?” Raphael defends. “Got a little banged up over here. Glad I had someone on my side t' patch me up.”

You smile at him and he shoves your shoulder a bit before smiling back. And you were wrong, your first impression of him… that his snarl couldn't be improved by a smile, because when Raph smiles it really does light up his face. Softens his edges.

It's like the rare occasion when Mikey lets himself get lost monologuing about his interests - before he catches himself and hopes that you aren't upset by his enthusiasm.

You've only seen Donnie smile like that once. Carefree.

But you've never seen Leo wear a carefree smile. Not ever. Maybe something tight lipped. Or something fond. Sad. Leo’s smiles hold secrets and burdens. His shoulders hold responsibility. There isn't a carefree bone in his body. He holds the weight of the world on his shell. And try as he might to hide the toll it takes on him, his brothers can see he can’t do it alone.

"Fine,” Leo concedes. “Stay with Raph."

"We're comin' to you, brutha."

"Wait where you are- No!" There's a thud and a gasp and Leo gives a shout of pain before the line goes dead.

#tmnt x reader #leonardo x reader #leo x reader #gender neutral reader #tmnt leonardo x reader #my writing #guarded hearts and safe houses fic

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everlastingdreams · 4 years

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John Constantine x Reader : Heaven And Hell Chapter 4

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Summary: The reader has been travelling alone for a while now, running from her demons. When soon she finds herself dealing with real ones. At first she appears to be just a psychic, but as time passes John finds himself wondering if that is all she is. The rising darkness is coming closer everyday, what part does she come to play ?

Chapter summary: After returning from the dreamworld you are left with guilt and more questions then answers. John suspects the necklace you are wearing might have something to do with it. He takes you to see an old friend of his.

Notes: Hope you like the cameo in this one. Let me know what you think and feel free to reblog.

Chapter: 4/?

Word count: 3960 words

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You bolted up in the bed, both John and Chas were in the room with you. “Is this real ?” you asked Chas, still shakin. “Oh it's real alright.” he brushed the sweat off of his head. John was still sitting on the ground and it didn't look like he was back yet. You jumped out of bed and hurried to his side, you kneeled in front of him and shook him “John ! John ! Please wake up !” Chas looked worried until John's eyes shot open, and he gasped for air. Relief flooded over you and you threw your arms around him “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..” tears were starting to fall from your eyes and you held onto him as if he was your lifeline. It took him a second to regain his senses before he wrapped his arms around you as well and started to hush you. “It's alright, I got ya. We're safe now.” he rubbed your back as you sobbed. “He was right. Everywhere I go, death follows. I dragged you into that place.” you managed to get the words out in between sobs. John broke out of the hug and held onto your shoulders, scanning your face “What was that, luv ?” You shook your head, not daring to look at him “I saw something back there.. it looked human..” John remained silent, hoping you would tell him more “But it wasn't, was it ?” “No. I could sense it before it even spoke. It told me it was there to retrieve me.” you looked up at him and looked at Chas for a moment who was watching you both. “It said fire would rain upon the world, John..” you watched John's reaction, he didn't look suprised. “Not the first time I've heard that one, luv. Especially with the rising darkness it has been a popular thing.” he tried to lighten the mood. After taking a deep breath you spoke again “John... It's said I will be the one causing it.” John's reasurring smile fell as the words got through to him, he looked at Chas who looked shocked at the revelation. He was silent and you could tell he was trying to stay calm, to keep his cool, until he looked down and sighed deeply “Did it say anything else.” “Yes..it said 'we are legion'. Then I could hear them.. scratching the walls..following me.” you shivered when you recalled the moment it felt as if the creatures chased you . John swallowed hard hearing this “Demons lie, y/n. If they called themselves legion, it means it's a group of them.” You stood up abruptly “No.. he was telling the truth, I could feel it. Whatever's coming for me.. it's not going to stop.” You walked out of the room past Chas and when you pulled open the door you gasped when you saw the other side of the door. Deep scratches were visible in the wood, something had tried to get inside of the room. Chas cleared his throat awkwardly “Yeah, about that.. John..” John clearly didn't expect to see that either “y/n...” “You said nothing could get into this place...” you looked at him in shock. He stepped closer to you, choosing his words carefully “They didn't come through the Mill house...” It was enough information for you to understand what it meant “I caused this..?” One look at them was enough to confirm your belief. “I have to get away from here..” your voice broke and you quickly walked away from them. “Y/n ?!” John was quick on your heels “Wait, just-” You didn't stop and he took your arm to stop you in place, you pulled your arm from his grip “Let me go, John. I don't want your death on my conscience as well.” you almost shouted the words. He moved to stand in front of you when you tried to move past him. You took a step and he again blocked you, holding up his hands as if he was surrendering. “There's something you're not telling me isn't there ?” he had picked up on your choice of words. Tears started to fall down your cheeks again and you burried your face in your hands “They killed them.. those things.. those demons.. it killed them. I should have known.. I did this..” It was getting hard to breath between your sobs. John wanted to place a hand on your arm but you took a step away from him. “ My family.. I always knew it weren't just freak accidents.. I knew it wasn't really suicide..everytime my visions grew stronger, someone died..” you were shaking as you spoke “If those demons got here because of me..” “Stop !” John took one big step towards you and grabbed your shoulders forcing you to look at him. His voice was desperate, pleading “You didn't kill them ! Demons did !” You shook your head “Everyone I ever cared about has died ! I can't let them kill you too ! I can't take it anymore !�� your voice broke and you body started to shake harder. John cupped your face as he pleaded “Y/n. It wasn't your fault ! You didn't know, hell, even I don't know how it's even possible. But listen, I've literally been to hell and back, I have send hundreds of those bastards back down. If they come.” he pauzed for a beat “When they come, I'll kick em back where they belong. Whatever's coming for you, it aint getting past me.” He sounded so convincing, and for a moment you felt safe again “What if I really am the cause of the end of the world as we know it ?” “I relly on instinct, and mine is telling me that you're alright.” he winked and smiled at you softly “What does yours say about me ?” “It's tells me that's you're telling me the truth.” you smiled weakly “And that you might be getting a bit fond of me.” you quipped. His smile grew wider “Good.” He brushed the tears from your eyes with his thumbs before placing a soft kiss on your forehead. His hands landed on your neck softly as he put his forehead against yours “I'll keep ya safe. I swear it.” You nodded “I believe you.” Suddenly John yelped out in pain and pulled his hands away from you. "Ah bollocks!" He shook his hands and started to blow air on his fingers for a second before looking at you confused "Don't you feel it ?" "Feel what ? What's wrong ?" You took his hands in yours and saw the thin red burn line in them. "Y/n...your necklace, it's burning bloody hot." He scanned your face for any sign of discomfort. You went to touch your necklace, but all you felt was some warmth radiating from it. John watched as you touched it without a problem before using one of his knuckles to feel the temperature of the necklace again. "It burned me skin.." he blinked a couple of times "It's almost cold now. Like the first time you showed it to me." His expression changed, like something clicked inside his mind. He snapped his fingers once "I knew it reminded me of something.." John walked past you and grabbed his coat before handing you your own. "We're going out ?" You put on your jacket. He nodded and smirked secretively "We are." He was acting strange and you realised he must have remembered something or realised something important "Is this about my necklace or are we going to go and help someone ?" John chuckled "We're going to see an old friend of mine. See what he has to say about that pendant you're wearing. I've got a feeling he'll know what it's about." Chas walked up to you “So.. she's staying ?” John looked at your face for a second and you gave a nod “She's staying. But we're going out, gonna visit an old friend about that necklace of her.” he shared a meaningfull look with Chas. “Guess I'll see if I can fix that door in the meantime.” Chas caught your attention “Keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't get into trouble.” A chuckle escaped you “I'll make sure he behaves.” “Oi !” John interupted “I never get in trouble, trouble finds me.” “Piss poor excuse.” Chas replied to that. John rolled his eyes and nodded for you to follow him. “So, who is this old friend of yours ? Is he an exorcist as well ?” you asked him as you got in the car. He let out a laugh as if it was an inside joke “Nothing of the sorts.” You frowned at him “But you think he'll know more about my necklace ?” He gave a short nod as he kept his eyes on the road “That pendant on it.. it reminds me of something he's always busy with. The engraving is different but it looks like it's his area of interest.” John's voice became serious “When we arrive I want you to hang back for a bit, let me do the talking. I don't want to spend more time around him then necessary. Alright ?” “Okay..” you were starting to think that when John spoke about his old friend there was something bitter about it.

The drive was long and when he finally parked the car you were suprised to see that your destination was a nightclub. John must have seen the look on your face as he held back a laugh when he got out of the car. “Seriously ??” you got out of the car "We'll find answers here... in a nightclub ?" You looked at him questioningly. A chuckle escaped him "Have a little faith, luv. Besides, look at it from a positive point of view. If we don't get answers here we can still get a drink and be on our merry way again." “Hmm.” you watched him with narrow eyes as you followed him inside. People were dancing everywhere and you were suprised that it was actually a pretty classy place. You followed him down a set of stairs as he walked to the bar. The bartender spotted John instantly. “What do you want ?” she asked him coldly, looking anything but pleased. “Bloody hell, thought i'd get a warmer welcome after what I did for ya.” John was offended at the cold reception. “I'm not the one that owes you something. So, what do you want ?” she was getting impatient. Her eyes scanning you for a moment and your eyes widened when she actually winked at you as she eyed you up and down. John pulled her attention back to him “I'm here to see him.” She nodded to you “What about her ?” “She's with me.” John sounded a bit defensive. A smirk appeared on her face “He'll be happy to see at least one of you in that case.” she tilted her head “He's over there, at the table in the corner.” “Thanks.” John said before scanning the place. He walked for a bit before slowing down “Remember, let me do the talking.” “Got it.” you started to walk a bit behind him.

"Well, I am damned." A sauve voice said and your focus snapped to the person now sitting at a table in front of John "Johnny! It's been a while." The man spoke politely but you could hear by the tone of his voice that there was a sharp edge to the words. "Long time no see. Wish it could have stayed that way." John responded just as bitter to the man. "Feel free to leave then." The man quipped coldly. "I'll be damned." You stated loudly so the man would hear. The man seemed suprised and leaned a little to the side to look past John at you. It dawned on you that he probably didn't even realise that John didn't come here alone. He looked at you in slight suprise before he smiled brightly at you "Hello there !" His eyes now focused on you and he leaned forward and you noticed John sending the guy a glare "What was that ?" You crossed your arms "It's 'I'll be damned' not 'I am damned'. " John cleared his throat and you knew you had said something wrong "Not in his case, luv." What did that mean ? You didn't get a chance to ask before the man spoke. "I'm afraid so, darling." The man sighed but the smile on his face remained the same. He leaned over the table as he held out his hand to you, ignoring how John moved to block you from his view "Lucifer Morningstar, and with whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with ?"

You looked at the man, brows knitting together in confusion as you looked at John. Then you let out an awkward little laugh before seeing the serious look on John's face. Your eyes snapped back to the man at the table and his outstretched hand. You studied him for a second, hair black and styled perfectly, suit that looked like it was made for him and the smile...charming yet it hided something wicked. "Lucifer... like..." you stuttered the words. "The devil ? Beelzebub ? Satan ?" He seemed amused at your shock "Yes. The one and only." He motioned to himself before flashing another white toothed smile as if he was in a toothpaste commercial. John moved so Lucifer had to pull back his hand before pulling a chair back for himself and you. John plopped down on the chair right away as Lucifer leaned back in his, still watching you with interest. You hesitated. Were you really going to sit at a table with the devil himself ? "I don't bite, at least not hard. Please have a seat.” his voice was smooth like silk as he motioned to the chair John had placed for you. "It's alright, y/n." John reasurred you and you took the seat next to him. Lucifer was quick to pick up on your name "Beautiful name, how very fitting." He stated. "You're not what I thought you would be... or would look like." You admitted to him. "No horns or tail. I hope you're not too disappointed" Lucifer motioned to his head.

You found yourself smiling at how nonchalant he was "With all the stories and movies these days and how they depict you.." you were staring at him a bit now "I often forget that you were described as the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty." You recalled the words some people had used to describe the devil. Hearing this made him smile even brighter until John spoke up. "Like all the other angels." He said and cutted the conversation off. "Tell me, why are you here, Johnny boy ?" Lucifer was growing more annoyed at him and you figured there must have been some beef between them from the past. But then again, how well can an exorcist get along with the devil ? "Considering you're up here, I'm assuming you aren't too concerned about what's going on down below-" Lucifer's smile fell completely "Are you insinuating that I don't know how to do my job ?" he snapped at John. "We both know it's not the first time things have been able to slip past the gates of hell, and it sure as hell won't be the last time." John continued. You could hear the venom dripping in the words between them Lucifer focused on him now "Are you telling me something got out ?" John ignored the question and instead looked at you "Show him the necklace." "Mine ?" why was the necklace important enough that you had to show it to the freaking devil ?? John nodded in Lucifer's direction and you took off your necklace and put it on the table for Lucifer to see. You watched his reaction and tried to focus on John's as well to try and figure it out. Lucifer swallowed visibly, his eyes were glued on the necklace on the table. He reached his hand out to it and you noticed how he was carefull as to not touch the pendant on it. He dangled it in front of him "Where did you get this ?" He kept watching the pendant as he let it spin to view both sides, still not touching anything else but the chain. "It was given to me when I was a kid." you replied truthfully. "By whom if I may ask ?" his eyes now intense, locked on yours. John watched him like a hawk, also having noticed the change in tone. You looked at John before directing your attention back to Lucifer "Some guy gave it to me when I was a kid." "Care to elaborate a bit more on that ?" He seemed to tense up. John's eyes darted between you and him. "I.... it was just someone I met on the street once. I was walking home and he looked homeless so I gave him some money. He insisted that I accepted this pendant. I've kept it ever since." You explained. "Do you recognize it ? Or do you know what it means, what's it for ?" John asked impatient. Lucifer let out a nervous chuckle as he carefully lifted the necklace, his eyes scanning the engraved symbols "It's nothing harmfull, really. Just a pendant." He put it back on the table. John's eyes narrowed "Really now ? I'm supposed to believe that ?" He scoffed. You sat there in silence as you watched them interact. "If it helps, I can give you my word that this isn't something evil." Lucifer sounded offended but gave you another wide smile as he looked at you and spoke "My word is my bond." John scoffed again, looking anything but pleased. You thought for a moment as John spoke to Lucifer trying to pull out information regardless. "If it's not evil and just a pendant... then why does it react to me ?" You asked, breaking up their interaction. John looked at you and immediatly watched Lucifer's reaction. Lucifer's expression changed for only a second but you saw it. You raised a brow at him and tilted your head a little arrogantely. He let out a nervous chuckle "You're a sharp one." He took a sip from his glass. He was silent for a moment, as if debating on telling the truth. "It's only a pendant if you don't have it on you." He didn't look at you and spoke so quickly it was almost hard to understand. "What ?" You heard him but... what ? John mumbled and groaned something before pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "John ?" You now looked at him, he had to know something considering his reaction. "Dear old dad has a plan for you, darling. Don't put your faith in that pendant. It's not where it belongs.” Lucifer looked at you intensly before turning to John "It's not the necklace you should be worrying about, John." Lucifer's eyes landed on you "Worry about why they found it necessary for her to have it." “I've already figured that out.” John grimaced “Some of your pets are trying to get to her.” Lucifer's brows drew together and he must have noticed the fear in your eyes when he looked at you. He leaned towards you, grabbing your attention “As long as you have this little thing they can't really get to you. They can scare you, yes. But it is blocking them from getting what they want out of you. Consider it a small barier." You took the necklace and put it back on “But what exactly is it ? Is it cursed or something ?” “Quite the contrary actually. It is whatever you need it to be, it responds to you because you are it's owner.” he explained. “So it's safe ?” you looked down at the pendant. Lucifer gave a short nod and smiled “It's just that. A harmless pendant. Not a harbinger of evil or whatever it is that ol' Johnny here believes it to be.” “Then why the bloody hell did it burn me fingers when I touched it ?” John didn't sound like he believed him completely. “Did it harm her ?” he countered. John cleared his throat “No.” “Then it works perfectly fine.” Lucifer smiled at him smugly. “I think it is because I was upset, perhaps it reacted to that ?” you said to John who seemed to take that as the right answer. “See ? Relax, John. That tiny thing won't do her any harm.” the smugness was dripping off of his words before he turned to you, his voice turning into silk again “Don't be afraid, sweetheart. John often sees the worst in things-” “You would too if you would have to deal with the things I deal with daily. See what I saw.” John snapped at him. “As I was saying..” Lucifer rolled his eyes “Not everything is evil. Stick with Johnny he will teach you the ropes. And perhaps one day we shall meet again in better circumstances.” You nodded to him “Thank you for seeing us.” That brought a broad smile on his face “You're welcome ! I'll let Maze know that if you should return that drinks are on the house. “ “Maze ?” you furrowed your brows. “You just met her.” he tilted his head in the direction of the bar where the woman kept an eye on the table you were sitting at. “Oh ! Okay..uhm.. thank you.” you shot him a shy smile. John stood up and touched your arm to make you do the same "Eh look, thanks for the chat, mate. But we'd better be off. Got a lot of work these days." “Well then, then there's nothing left for me then to wish you good luck.” Lucifer stood as well and held out his hand again. John looked at him before shaking his head “With respect, it's never a good idea to touch evil. I tend to avoid it unless necessary.” Your mouth fell open a little at John's remark. You knew that he must have a reason but it was still pretty rude. You looked at him disapprovingly before moving quickly to shake Lucifer's hand. John moved as you expected him to do so but you were quicker. What suprised you the most is that you sensed no evil coming from Lucifer, no scary visions.. The only thing you felt was warmth. As if the sun was touching your skin on a beautiful day. It took you by suprise when Lucifer brought your knuckles to his lips and pressed a kiss on them. As strange as the situation was you still felt the heat rise to your cheeks. John clenched his jaw at the sight. It was obvious he didn't like it at all. Perhaps he had expected that you would get a horrifying vision as well. He let go of your hand “Braver then him already.” Lucifer remarked. “No. I learned it from him.” you corrected him and saw John smirk at your words. Lucifer's eyes darted between you and John before chuckling. “Y/n..” John nodded towards the exit. You went to follow him out. “John.” Lucifer called out to him and John turned to look at him over his shoulder “Look after her. She was given that pendant for a reason.” John noticed the warning in his words and he gave a nod before walking away with you.

Reply to the post if you want me to add you to the taglist for this series. And feel free to let me know if you want to be removed from my taglist as well offcourse.

Taglist:

@bisexual-space-slut @venusofthehardsells @ buckybarnesthedoritoslut @deansinkdbitch

#John Constantine #john constantine x reader #john constantine!reader #reader x john constantine #john constantine x you #constantine x you #legends of tomorrow #lot #you x john constantine #lucifer #Lucifer Morningstar

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lavendernhoney · 4 years

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Things from glee! that drives me nuts to this day:

Warbler Leadership:

Ok so season 2 we meet the Warblers. They are the only glee club we ever see that appears to have no adult supervision. Instead they are lead by a council which is cool, student leadership and all. Except the council is heavily swayed by a Sophmore who has probably only been in the club for a year or less just because he’s talented? Upperclassmen taking direction from any Sophmore is hilarious and unrealistic to me.

Season 3 they appparently disband the council and elect a captain who, again, has been around less than a year. They do a bunch of crazy shit but clearly regret it and learn some good lessons about not taking stuff to far ok.

Season 4 the warblers forget all of their development from season 3 and again, elect an absolute newb to be their captain. Under his direction they do kick ass and bully less than season 3 but they still try to win by cheating and take performance enhancing drugs.

Season 5 I’m pretty sure they’re barley in it? We see them during the Klaine proposal and it seems like maybe Sebastian is in charge again?

Anyway season 6 it must have been decided that after the drugs thing from season 4 that these teenagers needed an actual adult coach. So the council has been reinstated but they have a college dropout who is only 20 and was a part of the rival schools show choir longer than the warblers as a coach. Ok.

Adam Crawford Conpiracy

This is controversial lol but Adam had possibly the best character intro in season 4, a season with a lot of new characters.

The way he introduced himself to Kurt, who he was clearly crushing on, and then had his glee club sing him a slowed down version of Baby got Back?? That’s literally one of my favorite covers in all of glee its just so funny

Anyway right when it seems like him and Kurt could actually be something he just completly disappears from the show??? He was honestly really funny and pretty and I swear the reason he wasn’t in the rest of season 4 is because to many ppl would have jumped ship from Klaine if they actually saw Kurt with someone else.

Seriously go rewatch all of the scenes he’s in (it won’t take long unfortunately) he’s so sweet and hilarious. He says dumb dumb shit like “what’s shakin bacon?” But makes up for it by being very endearing

Demi Lavato Should’ve Gotten a Solo

I honestly really like Demi Lavato because I grew up on Disney when she was getting famous (Camp Rock, Sunny with a Chance, Princess Protection Program?? Awesome). So her being in Glee was so fun for me.

Her character was so fun! I love Dani! By like most of the really interesting characters they introduced late in the show she was severely under used. They got Demi Lavato and never gave her a solo. Wtf

NYADA could’ve been the most iconic part of the show post season 3

This might be controversial I’m honesty not sure but I really liked NYADA and I think it was under used too.

Like Glee was a show for theater kids and they had an excuse to actually finally pull of huge weird theater scenes and numbers and we really don’t get much of that.

Also we don’t get nearly enough NYADA culture but the little bit we do get is amazing. Midnight madness? Adams Apples? Weird theater kid film projects? Cassandra July in general (I know we got a good amount of her I just wanted more lol). Like this is a school full of extremely talented actors but they are also dumb college kids and I wanted way more of that.

Anyway this is dumb but I think about it a lot

#glee #warblers #demi lavato #dani #adam crawford #nyada #glee season 4 #i have a lot more tbh #maybe ill bother to type them out later #i have a lot of thoughts on sebastian smythe as a charcter #not even in a shipping way #in like a his charcter couldve been really intersteinf in contrast to others #my post

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junepop45 · 4 years

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Just the Two of Us

Summary: JD receives their first check and wants to go bowling with their other friends. Mia’s the only one who’s busy, so the two decide to go alone.

JD had been working for a while. Day in and day out, they bagged groceries and stacked soup cans to make ends meet. After two weeks of nonstop effort, they received their first paycheck of about $200. As they thought of how to spend the first of their earnings, they had an idea.

“Yo, Atlas, wanna go bowling with me and the gang?” JD asked excitedly. Atlas ruffled their hair before letting out a sigh.

“I’d love to tag along, Pup, but I’ve got my own plans tonight. Front-row seats to the Orion Nebula Cascade, only one night, you know how it is! Don’t worry,” he chuckled, “I’ll be sure to make it up to you!” JD pouted, but they understood. They decided to hit up the rest of the gang. All of them had plans like Atlas. River had a science project, GD had work, and Static wasn’t feeling sociable that night.

They were hesitant to even call Mia. If no one else would go, would she even be comfortable hanging out with them solo? The last time they did that, it was relatively brief.There was a difference between two sleep deprived teens waiting for her 10 hour flight and two fully conscious teens enjoying the beginning of the weekend. Deep in though, they felt a buzz in their pocket.

“Sup JD!”

Speak of the devil, they thought. “Hey Mia! What’s shakin bacon?” They asked, attempting to keep calm.

“Woooow. First ‘princessa de ananas’ now ‘what’s shakin bacon.’ Any more rhymes you got under your ripped sleeves?” she teased.

“Nope! I’ll let you know when I get some new material though.” She laughed at JD’s remark.

“You’re such a dork, lobo. Anyway, I was calling cause GD said you were thinking about bowling.”

“Yea! I was but everyone is busy tonight,” they said, a tad disappointed.

“I’m not.” JD’s ears perked up at such a short sentence.

“You.. You wouldn’t mind? Just the two of us?”

“Of course not, lobo. It’ll be fun”

“Oh-ok!” JD agreed excitedly. “Asistirámos a seis y media, princessa de ananas.”

“Sounds great. Nos vemos,” Mia promised

When JD hung up, their hair stood up on the back of their head. “Just the two of us,” they repeated to themselves. They rushed to the practice lounge and began getting ready. They hosed themself down outsideand washed their thick coarse hair. They put on their fancy black spiked collar, and a tuxedo T shirt they saved for special occasions. As they looked in the mirror they scowled at themself. Were they overthinking this? How would the night go anyway? They called Atlas, hoping that he wasn’t at the event yet. Fortunately for them, Atlas picked up.

“What can I do ya for, JD?” He asked nonchalantly with a ton of background noise. JD flinched, as it sounded like he was in the middle of an explosion, which was not pleasant to listen to.

“So, I am going out bowling. But only Mia’s going.”

“OOOOooooo! Sounds like a date” The half human flirted.

“It’s not!!!” JD said, flushed. “I just needed your opinion super quickly”

“I can do that!” he shouted as the noise got louder.

“DO YOU THINK WEARING MY SUIT T SHIRT IS TOO MUCH???” The wolf shouted.

“NOT AT ALL, IT LOOKS GREAT!”

“AIGHT COOL!” And with that JD hung up immediately. With a deep breath, they noticed it was six on the dot. Which gave them enough time to head to Mia’s.

Halfway there, they received a text from Atlas that said, “Make sure to impress her! Girls like a little competition ;).” JD racks their brain on how to impress Mia. Course they enjoyed hanging out together, but one on one time was rare. They decide to push out the doubt from their mind and continue heading to Mia and the Twin’s place.

They knocked on Mia’s door and her aunt appeared. “Buenas tardes, JD. Que tal?” She asked

“Yo estoy bien! Y usted?” “Bien tambien.” She gestured towards Mia’s room. “She’ll be ready in a sec. Girls am I right?” JD shrugged, giving Aunt Isabella a smile. After about five minutes of small talk, Mia finally stepped out, revealing that she was wearing a plain black shirt with a Medium length pink skirt. She kept on her iconic pineapple earrings along with the pineapple necklace JD got her their first christmas. They were a deer in headlights. Mia as well, but she could mask it better.

JD was extremely impressed. “Oh, um… wow! ¡Muy elegante!” They gave a nervous thumbs-up and smiled, trying (and failing) to not blush. They were so busy trying to keep their composure, that they didn't even notice how Mia was currently having the same issue. Aunt Isabella smiled sweetly, her heart warmed by the whole interaction.

Mia decided to step up and walk over to JD. “So… you ready, lobo?” “Oh, heck yeah!” JD didn’t know what to do with their hands, so they just decided to give Mia a thumbs-up. “Let’s roll!” The two friends high-fived each other, before strolling out the door, Isabella waving them goodbye. “Be safe out there, you two!” Mia rolled her eyes, still grinning. “We will, Tía Isabella!” Since two had to walk quite a bit to get to the bowling alley, what better to do than to fill the air with some chit-chat? No other reason, just to pass the time. Definitely no other reason. Definitely not to listen to the sound of each other’s voices. It was just to catch up.

“How’ve you been doing?” JD asked, feeling much more confident now. They always felt a bit more outgoing whenever they talked to Mia. A bit weird, but hey, they weren’t complaining. “I’ve been doing great! How about yourself?” “Couldn’t be better!” They probably could be better, but JD wasn’t lying. They were doing pretty well; even better now that they got to do what could be described as the laziest sport in America with a good friend. “Awesome! And what about Atlas? I know he would’ve looooooooved to be a third wheel here.” She somehow sounded earnest and sarcastic at the same time. One of her many real talents for sure. “Well… He’s… somewhere?” JD shrugged confusedly. Mia got flashbacks to the time that he left for a month and a half. “Oh no, did he go radio-silent again? Hell no, I’m about to knock some sense into that pequeño puto right now!” “Nonononono!” JD frantically put their hands out, trying to calm her down. “He’s at some sorta weird intergalactic event. He just called me like. It was super noisy.” They chuckled a bit, remembering how badly the phone ringed in their ear. “But he doesn’t need smacking,” JD takes a dramatic pause. “Just yet.” Mia huffed. “Good. But, what did you mean by ‘intergalactic event’? Is he okay? Do I even want to know what’s going on over there?” Her face scrunched up half concerned, but half intrigued. “Not sure, I think so, and probably not.” Both of them had a good laugh at that. After a bit more walking and talking, they finally arrived at the bowling alley. It didn’t look very flashy from the outside. Colorless walls, a plain, flat red roof, two doors on either side, and one road sign that said “Titans Recreation Center.” “Well, looks like he owns a bowling alley too!” JD chuckled at Mia’s joke, the whole band having made comments like that on Atlas’ name at least once. Suddenly, JD had an idea. “Hey, princessa de ananas.” “Yeah?” “Bet you I could get more strikes than you.” They stuck their tongue out defiantly. “Heh, in your dreams, lobo!” Mia smirked. “You’re not getting that before I do!” “Oh, it’s on!” They both sprinted towards the front door, eager to best the other. When they opened the door, it was a complete 180 from what the outside looked like. Neon wallpaper, banging glam rock music, arcade cabinets, junk food, and of course; the coveted bowling lanes, complete with gaudy 90’s CGI tv screens. In other words: Heaven in a building.

Mia’s jewelry flashed in the building. Her yellow and green hair glowed as her skin remained a tan color. She stared at the venue with a calm smile, taking in the scenery. As she scoped the place she noticed JD staring a bit too intently at her.

“I got something on my back, lobo?” Mia joked. JD tried to stammer out some words, but not much came out. She grabbed their arm and dragged them over to the shoe rental spot. “Are you trying to stall or something?”

JD’s cheeks began burning “Of course not! I don’t need to. I was just…-” they fidgeted with their hands, clacking their own fingers to each other. “I’m giving you time to adjust is all.” JD grabs an 18 pound ball, the heaviest one around. I don’t know about you, but I’m in my element.”

“Is that so?” Mia smirks while staring at them

“Definitely,” they grin back. “Watch and learn, princesa.” They carry the ball over to their lane. They went for the wind-up, rushed toward the pins, rolled the ball towards them, and slipped into the lane.

“Oh my God, JD!” Mia yelled as she rushed over to them.

“Did… Did I get a strike?” they asked in a hoarse voice.

Mia scratched the back of her neck, still holding on to her furry companion. “It’s a bit unorthodox, but it is technically a strike.”

“I told you I could get more strikes than you.”

Mia gave them a playful smirk. “Oh, lobo. The match has barely started.” She helped JD up and proceeded to get a ten pound pink ball.

“It matches your aesthetic!” they complimented.

“Thanks, but you might wanna worry ‘bout yourself, love.”

“Whaaaaa?” JD asked.

“Sorry, I meant lobo! You should worry about your shoes, lobo.” Mia shrugged a little. “Words; They kinda suck. What can I say?”

JD nodded in agreement, though their cheeks began to sting. They held onto Mia’s words a bit more than they should’ve.

With that behind them, Mia got ready to bowl. JD took small peeks at Mia as they put on their bowling shoes. As JD finished the last bunny loop on their right foot, they watched as her pink ball crashed into the first pin, creating a domino effect knocking down the rest.

“God, she’s good,” they muttered under their breath. JD’s second bowl wasn’t as lucky. They were able to knock down nine in total. Mia got them all down, but in two tries, making it a spare. After rounds of back and forths, they were once again tied up. Three strikes to three. Though Mia had a higher score cause she hit more pins. It was down to the final round.

“You ready to call me the best bowler in Garden Street?” JD taunted.

“Only in your dreams.”

“I’m gonna make you eat those words, princessa de ananas.”

JD prepared to pull the most pro gamer move of their life. They were gonna get three strikes in a row. The pins realigned themselves; JD realigned themself with the pins. They swung their bowling arm, getting a feel for the throw. Such concentration was rarely seen by them. Mia rolled her eyes at how goofy they were being, but they were serious. They were going to impress Mia so much she’d have to like them! One swift toss was all it needed, and the bowling ball came hurling through the pins. Some of them fly into the air, not reaching the ground for seconds. Mia’s jaw was agape at the sheer power they used. She knew they could lift her and Atlas at once but she never thought about how much that really was. JD turned around, giving Mia a little nod.

“There’s more where that came from, Torres.”

With their newly found confidence, the other two strikes were a breeze, one after the other. It was a shame they didn’t have any more rounds left.

“I believe that’s what we call in the business, a turkey!” they gloated. They walked over to where Mia was sitting and rested their arm on her shoulder. “Think you can beat that? Or are you too chicken to do so?”

Mia playfully brushed them off their shoulder. “I gotta admit, JD. That was pretty cool. I actually thought the pins were gonna break.” She grabbed her pink bowling ball, doing her best to stay focused. Her first throw was a clean strike. The second strike, a few pins spun in a way where it didn’t look like they’d fall. She was down to her last throw; she could tie everything up. Tonight was the first time in years that JD and Mia were outwardly competing with each other. JD was a bit nervous that Mia wouldn’t be impressed if the game tied, but they couldn’t bring themself to wish Mia to mess up. They cared about Mia and they were having a good time as is! JD felt that whatever happened, happened, and that even if Mia didn’t see them as anything other than friends, if this was friendship, JD didn’t mind this. For once, they were at peace about their feelings for her.

“SON OF A DICK FART!” Mia cried. JD looked up and saw one pin was still spinning. Its movements slowed and calmed down until it stopped. So close yet so far from a strike.

“Heck yea!!! I won! “JD triumphantly declared.

“Hold on, Pup,” Mia argued. “I still won by points.”

“Yea, but I bet I could make more strikes than you. Which I did.” They stuck out their hand. “You did a really good job, Princessa de Ananas. I have trouble picking up spares, but you’re a natural!”

Mia smirked. “Sometimes you can't brute force your way through things. Sometimes you gotta plan out where you wanna roll it. Trajectory and all that stuff.” She accepted JD’s handshake. “I still call bullshit on that last one though.”

“Oh definitely,” JD agreed. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in their head. “Best 2 out of 3?” they asked.

“How will I ever beat the best bowler in Garden Street?” Mia dramatically asked.

“Fear not, m’lady. For I shall teach you my strategies for getting the perfect strike.” JD bowed down, furthering the bit.

The rest of the night was quite eventful for the two latinos. The alley was full of yelling, banging tables, cheering, and other noises of the like. The two headed out around midnight. There wasn’t a clear winner, as they both gained a new level of appreciation for the other. JD was a bit sad the others missed out, but they liked only hanging out with Mia. It was something that the two needed to do for a long time.

“Hey, Mia.”

“Yea, JD?”

“We should go out more.”

It was Mia’s turn to blush heavily. JD took their words back, fearing that they misspoke.

“We don’t always have to go bowling! But tonight was super fun. Atlas and I hang out one on one alot but it’s… it’s different with you! So wadda ya say? Wanna plan to hang out Next Friday? This time you can pick!”

“I’ll have to double check my schedule… but, sure! I’ll let you know.” She took a moment to grasp her words. “And… I had fun, too. Gracias, JD-” she gave them a bear hug, something they easily reciprocated. While JD walked back to The Rose Thorn Lounge, Atlas called.

“Sup Pupperoni! How was your date~” He asked.

“It wasn’t a date! We’ve been over this, Atlas.” JD clarified.

“Ah, whatever. But how was it?”

JD unintentionally began smiling, conspiring about what happened earlier. “We had a good time. You should’ve seen her; it was like she was a natural. There isn’t anything Mia can’t do.”

“Except confess her feelings for you.” Atlas retorted.

“She would never.”

“Dude, take it from me; it’s gonna happen. So when are you gonna thank me?”

“Why would I thank you?”

“Why do you think everyone else said no?”

“Cause they were busy-” JD began putting the pieces together. “Why would you do that????” they asked, almost demanding an answer.

“Cause I’m the best wingman ever.” They could almost hear his smug little grin. “Now! The Supernova’s wrapping up, a new Solar System has been made, so I’ll be there in a sec. We can talk all about your little rendezvous when I get there.” And with the click of a button, JD was left to their own thoughts. Their flustered, embarrassing own thoughts.

Taglist: @aliensmoothie-gotta-blast @doodledream @irideseas @nerdqueenkat @no-need-to-apply @sunstar121 @pandapop2

#ert writes #Just the Two of Us #OCs #Atlas #JD #Mia

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tocastielandback · 4 years

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Slice of Life (Tim Gutterson x OC)

For @wordsfly-scriptamanent! I shall include other resident Tim lovers @whoabrekker and @kitkat-589 as well.

First time writing for Justified and it’s no surprise it sucks, but I hope you all enjoy anyway!

"Why don't we stop at The Slice of Life for some grub?" Tim suggested.

Raylan gave him a brief glance, eyebrow quirked. "'For some grub', huh?"

"Yeah," Tim kept his face unmoving, maintaining eye contact. "It's just about time for lunch, don'tcha think?"

"Oh no, it is," Raylan pursed his lips a bit and shrugged one shoulder, his hands on the steering wheel after starting the car. "It's the place that's got me thinkin'--”

"Thinkin' what?" Tim, now facing forward, jumped in. "We always eat there."

The local Italian eatery has become somewhat of a haunt for the Marshals since the restaurant was only about a block from the courthouse, so getting a pizza for the office wasn't uncommon.

It was one of those times when Tim got acquainted with one of the waitresses, Tara, that lead him to be the go-to person when it comes to placing and picking up the order, regardless of how busy he was at his desk.

Their conversation was mostly small talk, if you could call it that, since Tim spent the time waiting for the food in awkward silence. Not from her end, but rather his.

He could swear his cheeks were as red as maraschino cherries whenever she passed the bench where he sat, exchanging smiles when they looked at each other.

"I'm just sayin'," Raylan began. "Seems like you really like it there and it's not for the pizza."

"Shut up and drive," Tim grumbled.

Raylan had that smug grin on his face. The one Tim wanted to wipe off himself at times.

Usually, Tim was good at keeping his feelings underwraps. You had to when you've been through the things he had, both in Afghanistan and with the U.S. Marshals. Knowing this has been compromised made him unhappy to some extent, but he figured his best bet was to play it cool.

Upon entering the cozy little place, Tim searched for the dark auburn head moving around the tables.

There she was, checking on a family of five at a big table towards the back, near the checkout counter.

Other than that family, there were two men eating at a table to the left.

Tara approached Tim and Raylan.

"Afternoon, Deputies!" she greeted, her hazel eyes gleamed behind black, oblong frames. "Just you two today?"

"Yes, ma'am," Tim gave her the same smile on his face whenever he saw her.

"Is the window seat okay?" Tara put her hand out towards a table perpendicular to the other two men.

"Oh, it is just fine," Raylan smirked flirtatiously, earning an irked glance from Tim.

It was the reaction Raylan wanted, but Tim couldn't hold back from showing it.

They sat down, Tim closest to the door, and ordered their drinks. While they looked at the menu, Tim took note of the biggest man at the nearby table.

Dressed in a leather vest, t-shirt and dirt-stained jeans, the man eyed Tara going down the hall where the kitchen was, licking his lips.

Tim pushed it from his mind and settled on a slice of margherita pizza.

The waitress was on her way to their table, drinks in hand, when the vest man whistled at her.

"Hey, red, get me some pepper for this. Would ya?" he pointed at his pizza and winked at her.

Before she could respond, Tim leaned out to the side just enough to get a view of the guy. "Hey, asshole. She ain't a dog. How ‘bout you don't treat her like one?"

The vest man glared towards Tim. "Mind your business, bud!"

"Sir, I'll be right with you in just a moment," Tara said while setting down the drinks in front of the Marshals, wanting to diffuse the tension.

She slipped two straws from the pocket of her apron and set them on the table. "Do we need a few more minutes with the menu?"

"No, I'm good," Tim looked from her eyes to Raylan's.

"Just a slice of buffalo chicken for me," the latter told her.

Tara scribbled on her notepad, then turned her attention to Tim. "And for you?"

"Margherita, please," Tim replied.

She finished writing their orders down and mustered a small smile. "It'll be out in a couple minutes."

"Thank you," Tim said with his best comforting look.

Once she left, Raylan began going over the findings of their case.

"So Duffy's not saying anything about Quarles. Who else is he tied to who's gonna talk, do you think?"

"We could always..." Tim began, but stopped when he overheard the two friends at the other table.

"I don't mind a lil junk-in-the-trunk, if you know what I mean," the vest man said to the bald guy across from him, who snickered.

Tara returned with the buffalo chicken and margherita pizzas on two plates.

She served the slices to their respective diners and put her hands together. "Anything else I can get for you?"

Tim shook his head, answering for Raylan who was already taking a bite of his food. "Not right now. Thank you."

"Alright. Just holler if you do," she said and was on her way back to the kitchen.

She came back to the dining area with a gray bin, gathering the dishes left behind by the previous party at the long table.

When she bent over to pick up a napkin dropped on the floor, the obnoxious man said loudly, "This pepper shouldn't be the only thing shakin' here!"

"Hey! Knock it off or get the hell out!" one of the cooks yelled from behind the checkout counter.

"Ain't my fault y'all hired a hot thing like--" he started up again, but stopped when Tim cut in.

"Okay, I lost my appetite," he threw his pizza onto his plate and stood up, the legs of his chair squeaked across the floor. "Either you shut the fuck up or I'll throw you out of here myself."

The vest man also got on his feet, getting close to Tim. Thinking fast, Tim dodged a punch coming his way and threw his fist into the man's stomach.

Raylan took a sip of his drink, watching Tim lower himself over the guy.

"You know, I'd consider myself a regular and I better not catch you here again, disrespecting her"--his eyes darted to Tara, then back at him--"or anyone else here, cus it ain't gonna be pretty. Got that?"

The man only groaned in response, but the satisfaction was enough for Tim, who sat back in his chair and finished eating.

The Marshals paid their bill. Raylan tipped his hat at the cooks before turning on his heel and heading for the exit, but not before handing Tara a generous tip and friendly smile.

Tim followed, but handed her his card wrapped in some singles. "He gives you any more trouble, call me."

She went to speak, but couldn't, noticing the sincerity in his eyes, despite the rest of his face remaining stoic.

He didn't wait for a response, just gave her a slight nod and walked out the door.

While he wanted her to decide for herself, he couldn't help but hope that maybe someday, he could have another break from the office.

#Justified #Tim Gutterson #Jacob Pitts #I'm embarrassed #this is so bad #my fics #mine

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combuskenisawesome · 4 years

Text

Transcript for

https://youtu.be/XDCK2Ge4w9w

(there was no way i was going to be able to caption it like usual without entering some very bad pain)

Narrator: Long ag-[every instance of "OH"], when the pyramids were still young, the Egyptian Kings played a game of great and terrible power. But these Shad-[every instance of "OH"] Games erupted into a war that threatened to destroy the entire world. Until a brave and powerful phara-[every instance of "OH"] locked the magic away, imprisoning it within the mystical Millennium Items. Now, five thousand years later, a boy named [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"] unlocks the secret of the Millennium Puzzle. He is infused with ancient magical energies, for destiny has ch-[every instance of "OH"]-sen him to defend the world from the return of the Shad-[every instance of "OH"] Games, just as the brave Phara-[every instance of "OH"] did five thousand years ag-[every instance of "OH"].

---

♫ ("Yu-Gi-Oh! theme") ♫

Your move, your move, your move, your move, YOUR MOVE

( the beat kicks in )

[every instance of "YU"]-[every instance of "GI"]-[every instance of "OH"]!

♫

YOUR MOVE

♫

[every instance of "YU"]-[every instance of "GI"]-[every instance of "OH"]!

♫

Yami: IT'S TIME TO D-D-D-D-[every instance of "DU"]UEL!

♫

[every instance of "YU"]-[every instance of "GI"]-[every instance of "OH"]!

♫ ( theme ends ) ♫

---

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Hey J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey! Earth to J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey! Hey, are [every instance of "YU"] in there? It's your turn.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Ummm...

Tristan: [every instance of "OH"], isn't he cute when he's thinking?

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Hey Tristan, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"] here's teachin' me how to play Duel Monsters.

Tristan: Drooling monsters?

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Duel Monsters, [every instance of "YU"] nimrod.

Tristan: Sheesh.

Téa: They've been at it for hours. J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey's starting to get the hang of the game, but [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]'s like an expert.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: [every instance of "OH"]-kay [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]. It's time to duel.

Téa: See, each card has an attack number and a defense number. The first player to eliminate the other player's life points wins the duel.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Pretty good move, huh [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]?

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Yup! Pretty good move, but not good enough.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: What?! Thanks a lot. A card that powerful totally wipes me out.

Tristan: Whoa, [every instance of "YU"] stink at this game, J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey.

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: (laughs) [every instance of "YU"] did fine, J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey. I just have better cards. See, my Grandpa [every instance of "OH"]-wns a game shop and I get all my best cards from him.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Your own game shop. What're we waitin' for? Let's go!

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: [every instance of "OH"]-kay, maybe I could even get my Grandpa to show us this super rare card he's got.

Kaiba: Rare card? Could they have found the card that I've been searching for?

---

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Grandpa? I'm h-[every instance of "OH"]-me.

Grandpa: And I see [every instance of "YU"]'ve brought company.

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Gramps, could [every instance of "YU"] show my friends your awesome, super rare card?

Grandpa: Rare card? My special card? Hmmm...

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Please! Please!

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Pretty please?

Grandpa: Hmmm... Hah hah! How could I ref-[every instance of "YU"]-se? [every instance of "YU"] kids are in for a treat. I d-[every instance of "OH"]-n't take this card out too often. Ready? Here it is. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon, s-[every instance of "OH"] rare, s-[every instance of "OH"] powerful, I never let it leave my hands.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Awesome!

Tristan: It doesn't look all that special to me...

Grandpa: Ahh! This card is priceless. There are [every instance of "OH"]-nly four of them in all the world.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Speaking of priceless, I'm ready to trade!

Grandpa: Not for this card.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Huh? Nah, I didn't mean that card. I meant, sh-[every instance of "OH"] me some other cool cards to get me started.

(door open)

Grandpa: Hell-[every instance of "OH"], can I help [every instance of "YU"]?

Téa: Huh?

Kaiba: If [every instance of "YU"] can't, it certainly wouldn't surprise me.

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Set-[every instance of "OH"] Kaiba!

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Kaiba?!

Tristan: Doesn't he have a big fancy company to run? What's he doing down here?

Kaiba: Not that it's any of your business, but I came to see the card.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: [smiles and steps forward] Hey, are [every instance of "YU"] into Duel Monsters too? This is perfect. Maybe we could all duel together sometime.

Kaiba: Me? Duel [every instance of "YU"]? I'd have more of a challenge playing solitaire.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: What?

Kaiba: I am the number one ranked duelist in the country, and the favorite to win the Duel Monsters championship. Hah, [every instance of "YU"] wouldn't last two minutes in a duel against me.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Ooh, I'm shakin'. Maybe [every instance of "YU"]'d like to settle this with fists instead of cards.

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Wh-[every instance of "OH"]! Take it easy, J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: But [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"], Kaiba's asking for it.

Kaiba: Now does this shop have any worthwhile cards or not? (gasp) Can it be? The Blue-Eyes White Dragon in a dump like this? It is. The card I've been searching for.

Grandpa: Well, enough wind-[every instance of "OH"] shopping. Is there anything else I can help [every instance of "YU"] with?

Kaiba: (grumbles and exerts himself lifting his briefcase dramatically)

Grandpa: Huh? [every instance of "OH"]

Kaiba: Listen to me, [every instance of "OH"]-ld man. Gimme your Blue-Eyes White Dragon card and I'll trade [every instance of "YU"] all of these.

All: Whoa!

Grandpa: Ahh, nice. But n-[every instance of "OH"] thanks.

All: Huh?!

Kaiba: (grumble) Fine. If [every instance of "YU"] w-[every instance of "OH"]-n't trade, maybe [every instance of "YU"]'ll sell it. Name your price. I can pay anything [every instance of "YU"] ask.

Grandpa: I'm sure [every instance of "YU"] could. But this card is worth more than [every instance of "YU"] could ever offer. Not because of its power or because it's s-[every instance of "OH"] rare, but because of what it means to me. This card was given to me by a dear friend and s-[every instance of "OH"] I treasure this card as I do that friend. S-[every instance of "OH"] parting with it is completely out of the question.

Kaiba: N-[every instance of "OH"]!

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: [every instance of "YU"]'d feel the same even if it were a common card, right Grandpa?

Grandpa: Exactly. [every instance of "YU"] see, this precious card has bonded with my heart.

Kaiba: Fine! I've heard enough of your nonsense. Senile [every instance of "OH"]-ld fool.

---

Kaiba: (thinking) Heart of the cards. Ridic-[every instance of "YU"]-lous. Cards are all about power. And one way or another, his Blue-Eyes White Dragon card... will be mine.

---

Kaiba: Gentlemen, there's a little something I'd like [every instance of "YU"] to pick up for me at the Game Shop.

Hobson: Gladly, Master Kaiba.

---

Grandpa: Good morning. Hmm?

Hobson: My master, Set-[every instance of "OH"] Kaiba, challenges [every instance of "YU"] to a duel. [every instance of "YU"] may come with us now.

Grandpa: And if I were to decline?

Hobson: I'm afraid I must... insist.

Grandpa: Young Kaiba doesn't understand. But I'll teach him a lesson about the heart of the cards.

---

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Man, I h-[every instance of "OH"]-pe he has some cool cards today.

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Me too!

Téa: Yeah!

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: [every instance of "OH"]-kay Gramps, I'm back to get more cards. Hey, hey Gramps!

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Grandpa, I'm h-[every instance of "OH"]-me.

Téa: Maybe he... went out?

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Maybe. But why would he leave the door unlocked?

(phone)

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Hello. Game Shop.

Kaiba: Ahh, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]. Perfect.*

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Kaiba?!

Kaiba: Your grandfather's here visiting. But he's not feeling well. Why d-[every instance of "OH"]-n't [every instance of "YU"] come by my office and pick him up.

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Kaiba! What've [every instance of "YU"] done, Kaiba?!

---

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Grandpa! Grandpa. A-are [every instance of "YU"] [every instance of "OH"]-kay?

Grandpa: [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]. I failed. I wanted to teach that boy Kaiba a lesson about the heart of the cards, but I lost. (groans)

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Grandpa!

Kaiba: How's the [every instance of "OH"]-ld man feeling, hmmm?

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Kaiba, [every instance of "YU"] sleeze. What've [every instance of "YU"] done to him?

Kaiba: We had a duel, that's all. With each of us putting up our m-[every instance of "OH"]-st valuable card as the prize. But I guess playing against a champion like myself was just too much stim-[every instance of "YU"]-lation for the [every instance of "OH"]-ld fool.

Téa: Kaiba, [every instance of "YU"] should be ashamed of yourself.

Kaiba: It was fair. And look at the sweet prize I won. (tears card)

All: (gasp)

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Grandpa's m-[every instance of "OH"]-st treasured card!

Kaiba: Yes, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon is a rare and powerful card and this one will never be [every instance of "YU"]-sed against me.

Grandpa: Ahh, my Blue-Eyes White Dragon! My treasure...

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Grandpa! H-[every instance of "OH"]-ld on. How could [every instance of "YU"] do such a thing?

Grandpa: [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"], here. Take this.

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Huh? Grandpa.

Grandpa: I built this deck. I put my s-[every instance of "OH"]-ul in these cards. And I taught [every instance of "YU"] everything I kn-[every instance of "OH"], [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]. Take them. Take my cards and teach him respect. Teach Kaiba respect for the heart of the cards, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"].

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: But Grandpa, [every instance of "YU"] need help. I've got to get [every instance of "YU"] to a doctor.

Kaiba: That sounds like an exc-[every instance of "YU"]-se. Your friends can care for your grandfather while [every instance of "YU"] and I duel.... unless you're afraid?

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Take him [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]!

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: Huh?

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: We can take care of your grandpa while [every instance of "YU"] take care of creepy Kaiba. Teach that rich, spoiled brat what a real duel's all about.

Téa: For your grandpa, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"].

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: I d-[every instance of "OH"]-n't kn-[every instance of "OH"]...

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Trust me, you're like the best player I've ever seen, and [every instance of "YU"]'ve got the Millennium Puzzle. [every instance of "YU"] can do this [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]! I kn-[every instance of "OH"] [every instance of "YU"] can!

Téa: We all do.

[every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]: [every instance of "OH"]-kay, Grandpa. I'll do it.

Grandpa: I kn-[every instance of "OH"] [every instance of "YU"] will, my boy.

Téa: Everyone, put your hands together and I'll mark us with a special sign.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: What gives, Téa?

Téa: It's a symbol of our friendship s-[every instance of "OH"] when [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]'s dueling, n-[every instance of "OH"] matter how tough it gets, he'll kn-[every instance of "OH"] that he's not al-[every instance of "OH"]-ne, we're all right there with him.

(ambulance pulls up for Grandpa)

Téa: J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey, Tristan and I will take [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]'s grandpa to the hospital. Why d-[every instance of "OH"]-n't [every instance of "YU"] get back in there and cheer [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"] on?

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: [every instance of "OH"]-kay, take good care of him, Téa.

---

Kaiba: I designed this virtual stadium myself. Impressive, hmmm? I think [every instance of "YU"]'ll agree, it adds a bit more life to the game. We each begin with 2000 life points, the first player to hit zer-[every instance of "OH"] loses. Are [every instance of "YU"] ready to play, runt?

♪ (dramatic transformation music) ♪

[every instance of "YU"][every instance of "GI"], fading to Yami: [every instance of "YU"]-[every instance of "GI"]-[every instance of "OH"]!!!

Kaiba: Huh? What the-?

Yami: Now, Kaiba, prepare yourself, because it's time to duel.

Kaiba: Virtual systems ready. s-[every instance of "OH"] let's begin. I attack with the mighty Hitotsu Me Giant. Brace yourself, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]. [every instance of "YU"]'ve never dueled like this before.

Yami: He's brought the monster on the card to life.

Kaiba: It's my virtual sim-[every instance of "YU"]-lator. It creates life-like holograms of every Duel Monster.

Yami: S-[every instance of "OH"] this is how [every instance of "YU"] beat my grandfather. Well now it's my turn. I call on the winged dragon- Guardian of the F-[every instance of "OH"]-rtress.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Wh-[every instance of "OH"], monsters!? Real monsters!?

Yami: Fireball attack!

Mokuba: Big brother!

(life point meter sound)

Mokuba: Are [every instance of "YU"] alright?

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Alright! G-[every instance of "OH"] [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]!

Kaiba: Hah. Well played, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]... for a beginner. But how will [every instance of "YU"] deal with this?

Yami: Sag-[every instance of "GI"] the Dark Clown? But that card has hardly any attack strength.

Kaiba: True, your winged dragon's attack is 1400, while my dark clown's is [every instance of "OH"]-nly 600, but if I combine it with this card...

Yami: Ah, a magic card!

Kaiba: Exactly. The Negative Energy Generator. It multiplies my monster's attack by 3. Dark Clown, attack with Dark Light!

(life point meter sound)

Kaiba: As [every instance of "YU"] can see, combining cards can be very effective.

[every instance of "YU"][every instance of "GI"]: (thinking) He's good. He kn-[every instance of "OH"]-s every aspect of this game. But my grandpa put all of his gaming knowledge, his wh-[every instance of "OH"]-le heart, into assembling this deck. I have to believe that it h-[every instance of "OH"]-lds some secret strategy. ... Ah, this card is useless. I can't beat the Dark Clown with this. I'll have to [every instance of "YU"]-se a different monster in defense m-[every instance of "OH"]-de. The monster will be sacrificed, but my [every instance of "OH"]-verall life-points will be safe.

Kaiba: Dark Light Attack!

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Hang in there, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]!

Kaiba: [every instance of "YU"]'re not faring any better than the [every instance of "OH"]-ld man did, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]. Your deck is just as weak and feeble as your grandfather.

Yami: My grandpa is a great man, and a better duelist than [every instance of "YU"]'ll ever be. He entrusted me with his cards and I can feel his heart in this deck. I doubt [every instance of "YU"] have that kind of faith in your cards, Kaiba.

Kaiba: Wha-?

Yami: But I believe in my Grandpa's deck!

(a very weird sound effect for dramatic card draw)

Yami: And my faith rewards me with Gaia the Fierce Knight! With a destructive power of 2300!

Kaiba: (grunts)

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Way to go, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]!

Yami: Alright, Kaiba, your move.

Kaiba: Hah. This'll be [every instance of "OH"]-ver sooner than [every instance of "YU"] think. Hmm. I call on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Yami: N-[every instance of "OH"] way.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: Impossible! We all watched Kaiba tear that card in half.

Kaiba: Surprised? Did [every instance of "YU"] think your grandfather was the [every instance of "OH"]-nly one to possess a Blue-Eyes White Dragon?

Yami: Ugh!

(life point meter sound)

Kaiba: Your Fierce Knight is destroyed. Faith or n-[every instance of "OH"] faith, [every instance of "YU"] will fall before my superior monsters, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]. Power is what this game is all about, [every instance of "YU"] fool. Faith is for losers... like your pathetic grandfather. In your entire deck, there's not a single card that can stand up to a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. ... S-[every instance of "OH"] what h-[every instance of "OH"]-pe do [every instance of "YU"] have against two? ... Why d-[every instance of "OH"]-n't [every instance of "YU"] just admit defeat, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]?

Yami: (groans)

---

Grandpa: D-[every instance of "OH"]-n't give up... [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"].

---

Yami: I w-[every instance of "OH"]-n't give up. Grandpa's counting on me.

[every instance of "YU"][every instance of "GI"]: (thinking) Huh, a magic card.

Yami: Swords of Revealing Light! It stops all monsters on the field for three turns.

Kaiba: How desperate. What possible good will a three turn delay do [every instance of "YU"]?

[every instance of "YU"][every instance of "GI"]: (thinking) He's right. What do I do? I can't figure out what to do with these cards. They're just a bunch of... pieces. How can I [every instance of "YU"]-se them to battle an expert like Kaiba?

Grandpa's dismbodied voice: For someone claiming to have faith, [every instance of "YU"]'re giving up too easily, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"].

Grandpa: Listen, sometimes the cards are like a puzzle. [every instance of "YU"] have to put all the different pieces in their proper place.

[every instance of "YU"][every instance of "GI"]: Ahh, like the Millennium Puzzle?

Grandpa: Exactly. Each piece helps build a greater entity.

(Grandpa recedes into the void)

[every instance of "YU"][every instance of "GI"]: Grandpa!

Grandpa's disembodied voice: Like the pieces of a puzzle, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]. Remember...

[every instance of "YU"][every instance of "GI"]: (thinking) Puzzle? When are the cards like a puzzle? Wait! Grandpa once said...

Flashback-Grandpa: Duel monsters contains [every instance of "OH"]-nly one unstoppable monster- Ex-[every instance of "OH"]-dia. But he can [every instance of "OH"]-nly be summoned by drawing all five special cards. A feat that, to this very day, n-[every instance of "OH"] one has ever accomplished.

(flashback ends)

Kaiba: Quit your stalling, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]. Or [every instance of "YU"] will be forced to forfeit the match.

Yami: I never forfeit.

[every instance of "YU"][every instance of "GI"]: (thinking) Huh? Another piece of the puzzle.

Kaiba: Draw any card [every instance of "YU"] like, it w-[every instance of "OH"]-n't change a thing. My dragons may be fr-[every instance of "OH"]-zen for another two turns, but my new monster is under n-[every instance of "OH"] such spell. The Judge Man, with an attack power of 2200.

(Judge Man attacks the shit out of the defense mode monster Yami played)

[every instance of "YU"][every instance of "GI"]: I can attack with the Dark Magician. But he w-[every instance of "OH"]-n't stand a chance once Kaiba's dragons are free of my spell.

Yami: Dark Magician... attack!

(life point meter sound)

Yami: Your Judge Man falls!

Kaiba: Ahh, a sacrifice that doesn't even phase me. And though neither dragon can move for one more turn, my next card is... the third Blue-Eyes White Dragon!

Yami: (an 'are you fucking kidding me' grunt)

Kaiba: Now my dragon, attack!

(life point meter sound)

Kaiba: S-[every instance of "OH"] tell me, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"], how's your faith now? On my next turn, all three Blue-Eyes White Dragons are free to attack. This game's [every instance of "OH"]-ver n-[every instance of "OH"] matter what card [every instance of "YU"] draw. [every instance of "YU"] can't possibly stand against my three Blue-Eyes White Dragons. It's [every instance of "OH"]-ver, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]. [every instance of "YU"] were never a match for me.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: D-[every instance of "OH"]-n't listen, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]!

[every instance of "YU"][every instance of "GI"]: (thinking) Kaiba had three Blue-Eyes all along. He [every instance of "OH"]-nly wanted my grandpa's card s-[every instance of "OH"] it couldn't be used against him! My [every instance of "OH"]-nly chance now is to assemble all the pieces of Ex-[every instance of "OH"]-dia. But the odds are against me. I d-[every instance of "OH"]-n't think I can do this.

(the deck slides out of reach)

Yami: The deck! It senses my doubt!

[every instance of "YU"][every instance of "GI"]: Uwaaaa!

Yami: D-[every instance of "OH"]-n't lose focus, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"]. D-[every instance of "OH"]-n't lose faith. Concentrate!

[every instance of "YU"][every instance of "GI"] (thinking) Wha-? Our friendship symbol!

Téa: [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"], we're right here with [every instance of "YU"].

Tristan: [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"], [every instance of "YU"]'ve got to believe in yourself.

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: [every instance of "YU"] can do it. Just kick Kaiba's butt.

Yami: They're right. I've got to believe in the cards like my friends believe in me.

Kaiba: Draw your last pathetic card s-[every instance of "OH"] I can end this, [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"].

Yami: My grandpa's deck has n-[every instance of "OH"] pathetic cards, Kaiba! But it does contain... The unstoppable Ex-[every instance of "OH"]-dia!

Kaiba: (dread) Ahh! Impossible!

Yami: I've assembled all five special cards. All five pieces of the puzzle!

Kaiba: Ex-[every instance of "OH"]-dia! Ughh, it's not possible! N-[every instance of "OH"] one's ever been able to call him!

Yami: Ex-[every instance of "OH"]-dia... [every instance of "OH"]BLITERATE!!!

(Ex-[every instance of "OH"-dia does the thing)

Kaiba: UGHHHH!!! (echoey) AAAAAAHHHHHH!

(life points meter-hitting 0 sound)

J-[every instance of "OH"]-ey: [every instance of "YU"] did it! [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"], [every instance of "YU"] won!

Mokuba: This can't be! My brother never loses.

Yami: [every instance of "YU"] play [every instance of "OH"]-nly for power, Kaiba, and that is why [every instance of "YU"] lost. But if [every instance of "YU"] put your heart in the game, there is nothing [every instance of "YU"] can't do.

Kaiba: But... but how? How could I have lost to him?

Yami: Kaiba, if [every instance of "YU"] truly want to kn-[every instance of "OH"]... OPEN YOUR MIND!

(Mind Crushes)

(Kaiba's mind fucking shattering)

Kaiba: (grunts as he falls to his knees)

Yami: There Kaiba, maybe now [every instance of "YU"] will begin to see...

---

Grandpa: Huh?

Téa: Grandpa's awake!

Grandpa: [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"] won.

---

Croquet: Mr. Pegasus, sir. Set-[every instance of "OH"] Kaiba, our uncontested champion, he's been defeated in a duel, sir, by someone named [every instance of "YU" ][every instance of "GI"].

Pegasus: Hmmm...

(Millennium Eye flashes)

♫ ("Yu-Gi-Oh! credits theme, which is just the opening theme but shortened) ♫

YOUR MOVE

( the beat kicks in )

[every instance of "YU"]-[every instance of "GI"]-[every instance of "OH"]!

♫

[every instance of "YU"]-[every instance of "GI"]-[every instance of "OH"]!

♫ ( theme ends ) ♫

---

[every instance of "game"]

4 notes · View notes

chac-ozai · 5 years

Text

It’ll Be Okay (Dadsona/Robert Small) prompt fill

From a prompt generator: Robert holding (Dadsona’s) hands when they are shaking. Dadsona’s first name is still unknown.

It didn't take a genius to see that something was wrong with the phone call his best bud had just picked up. Hell, it didn't even take a sober person to see that, as Robert was currently peering through a haze of vague inebriety at his friend who bolted off the couch into his kitchen.

“Whoa, what's the rush?” Robert asked apparently to himself, scrambling for the remote to place their movie on pause-

“WHAT?! WHEN?!” He heard his friend shout from the other room, whoa, it was actually scary to hear how deep his voice could get-

“Holy SHIT!” His friend continued, and Robert could hear his voice trailing away as the man of the house bolted from the kitchen towards his bedroom, not even giving Robert a glance in his direction. Something wasn't cool with him, Rob had to find out. He placed his drink down on the table and followed the guy, seeing that he was hastily throwing together some clothing into a backpack in the dim of a single lamp light. The phone was still crammed between his ear and his shoulder as he frantically moved through his bedroom, Robert not able to pick apart the voice on the other end.

“What's going on?” Robert had to ask again, he was obviously ignored-

“I'm leaving now. Ok, thank you, thank you.” The phone just fell with a thunk onto the floor, Robert's best bud turning back and forth as if he was lost-

“Whoa, calm the fuck down! What's going on?!”

“Amanda crashed her car.” He spoke, his mouth bone dry. Robert's head whipped back briefly in shock, letting out a harsh exhale-

“Shit...Is she alright?” What the hell else was he gonna say?

“She's in the hospital. The whole front of her car's totaled.” Amanda's dad looked like he was losing it, he was just walking back and forth and achieving nothing.

“Fuck the car, what did they say about her? She broke anything? She's at least conscious?”

“I..I don't remember, holy shit Bobby, I am freaking out.”

“Yeah, I fuckin' see that! Calm down, buddy! Just tell me what they said, and we can go from there!” Robert reached out and his fingertips grazed his friend's shoulder, only to lose him as he raced into the bathroom.

“I'm gonna throw.” The dad blanched under pressure, and Robert picked up the phone that lay on the floor and, even through a buzzed haze, called the number back. Amanda's dad leaned over the sink in the distance while Robert spoke on the phone-

“She's alright? Yeah, I'm calling for her dad, he's panicking. He shouldn't panic? Hey, Buddy, you hear this?” Robert flipped on his cell phone's speaker and pointed it towards the bathroom-

“Say it again ma'am, please.” Robert stated-

“Amanda's stable, Mr. Salvador. Would you like to speak to her?”

His eyes lighted up, color rushed back into his face as he bumrushed Robert and took the phone to his ear, “Yes!- It took only a second to hear Amanda on the other end, her voice sounded tired, and it blared in her dad's ear for the few seconds that it took for him to figure out how to switch off the speakerphone.

Robert's tense shoulders relaxed and he smiled to the sight of his best friend's smile, how he threw his ass back on the messy bed and expressed his relief; Amanda was ok, banged up, but ok. Robert briefly remembered Val's first accident, how he was 2 states over and couldn't do shit for her. He could have... but he didn't.

The conversation ended and the phone ended up on the floor again.

“You doin' alright, buddy?” Robert approached him, ruffling his own hair in clear discomfort-

“Yeah..Yeah I'm okay now. Holy shit, I thought I was going to die just then.” His buddy raised his hands and he had what Robert could only describe as cannibal shakes. “Wow, how am I going to drive there like this?”

“Relax,” Robert closed the distance and grabbed his friend's hands, frigid and shaking down to the bone. “Amanda's fine. You don't have to leave right this second.” The older man took a seat next to the fretting father and rubbed his hands in his own. “We don't want another crash.”

“You're right... Man, I just do not know how to handle this kind of stress.”

“I get it. Your baby's in another state, it's her first accident. You aren't there to protect her, shit's scary.” Robert's been like this before, he could remember the care he took when he got cut on their second hangout. Despite the roughness of his hands he had the gentleness of a loving man in them, and it calmed his buddy down immediately.

“Let's take an hour to chill out, brew some coffee and head out. I'll drive.” Robert insisted, he'd be sober by then, and it's the least he could do..He doesn't know, he feels obligated to do it. It won't fix him staying drunk through Val's first crash, but it would be the right thing to do. “Every day, be a better person.” resounds in his head, in his buddy's voice.

The two of them make their way back to the kitchen and prepare for the 4 hour drive ahead in the dead of night. Robert briefly left to cross the street to his house, grab Betsy and a handful of things needed for the trip. He glanced up at the picture of Valerie looking dour, Robert's eyelid twitched as he pushed the thought away. Tomorrow morning he's going to give her a call.

When he returned to the Salvador residence, Robert sees that they've swapped positions, his friend had downed the watered-down Beam sitting in the forgotten glass, and Robert has taken up drinking his coffee. BAC's properly titrated, the two dads chose the less shitty of the vehicle options and began their trek.

“Here we come, Amanda.” Robert states, reaching across the distance and holding onto the trembling hand of her father- “Come on buddy, pick a CD and quit your shakin'.”

#Dream Daddy #fanfic #robert small #dadsona #prompt #writing prompt #Amanda #dream daddy robert

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aura-loveshine · 4 years

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Minnie Marks - Young Talented Australian Queer Musician

How can there be nothing about Minnie on tumblr until now!!!

Minnie Marks is a singer/songwriter/guitarist/multi instrumentalist, bringing out her first album when she was 16. She toured Australia with her parents until she moved to Germany at 17, playing in different cities for a few years. Her second album came out when she was 21. Minnie has been performing live solidly for 10 years at least, has played live hundreds of times, playing for small town fans all over Australia multiple times as well as at larger festivals like the Australian Blues Festival, Byron Bay Blues Festival and soon, the 2020 Brisbane Mojo Burning Festival.

She describes her music as dirty sweet rock & roll.

Her younger years inspired by the sounds of Sarah McLeod, Baby Animals, Muddy Waters, Ray Charles, BB King, Neil Young, Stevie Ray, Hendrix, Daddy Cool, Concrete Blonde and more.

“Her first performance was at the age of 10 at a local club jam session. Nervous, young Marks pushed through to discover performing was not only a hobby, but a life ambition. “I just wanted to try something new, at the time I did a few rounds in Australia and it was a lot of fun, but why not travel a couple of hundred kilometres and play in France or Switzerland. During my time there it worked really well and I was able to knuckle down,” she said” After 5 years, She was homesick for Australia's Blues and Rock community. Minnie brought out her 3rd album last year.

She toured recently with Hussy Hicks, playing at Mardi Gras 2019. She's played along side Luca Stricagnoli, Michael Fix and Matt Zarb amongst others. She has had an eclectic mix of musicians around her since she started gigging. Multiple Australian artists have praised her:

“Minnie Marks, she plays guitar like nothing I’ve ever seen before, she sings like Janis Joplin, she’s going to blow the world apart.” – Kim Churchill

"Damn, I don't think I've ever seen a female shred harder than you in the flesh" - Dallas Frasca

“You’re awesome, Let’s jam again soon” - Joe Robinson

“So I heard you’re better than my brother” - Phil Emmanuel

“You rock..man. It's not easy to fill that much space with only an acoustic, but you were killing it! I hope we get to jam in the future” - Tyler Bryant

“You rock baby, you’re killing it. The world is your oyster. If I were an army lieutenant with a shirt full of medals I would give you one. You’re my hero, I’m shakin’ in my boots. One word, PRODIGY!” - Sarah McLeod (ex Superjesus)

“One of the finest young guitar players in the country” - Julz Parker (Hussy Hicks)

“SHREDS!” – Mama Kin

“Minnie Marks is an extraordinary performer, I have never seen or heard anything quite like her, Minnie plays guitar, sings and stomps like her every breath depends upon it, her passion and wonderful sense of fun is refreshing.” – Michael Barker (John Butler’s ex drummer, touring drummer for the Split Enz)

“You have to come and see this girl, she makes every other musician look ordinary” –Gypsie Howls

“Lloyd Spiegel introduced Minnie as one of the best guitarists he's seen, full stop. High praise from a man whose flying fingers have people standing up shouting for more.”

Ive been loving this artist since 2012 at least, seeing her live a few times. After being introduced to her by a friend, I saw her live at the Byron Blues fest in 2012. I instantly had a musical crush, admiring her amazing skills, her raw and powerful voice, her down to earth presence and her overall beautiful and bewitching self. That year I was involved in a youth festival called ‘Vibadelix’. I pushed for Minnie to be included in the line up. She performed, at a lower fee than her usual, as it was a fundraiser and youth event. I celebrated as she publicly shared of her lovership with a woman, celebrating that she had finally found someone who genuinely loved and treated her well and that she had finally come out to the world as apart of LGBTIQ community.

Some of my fave songs are One in a Million, Voodoo and Honey, Jack in the Box and Lady Luck, but what I appreciate is that her songs in general are unique and relatable. I am loving seeing her journey and looking forward to hearing new songs as she passionately continues.

has anyone else on tumblr seen Minnie live already??

youtube

#lesbian #musician #love #rock #australia #Minnie marks #queer #gay #lgbtiq #lgbt #young #youth #support #artist #artists #music #luca stricagnoli #Michael Fix #hussy hicks #mardi gras

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carolynpetit · 5 years

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Reason to Play, a Journal--Entry One: Fortnite, MGSV, and Finding Ourselves in the Act of Play

Hi.

This is the first entry in what I hope will be an ongoing journal of play. I wanted to start by explaining my thinking behind this project.

Right now, I’m looking for a reason to play. I’m always wary of games that seem to offer nothing beyond a mildly pleasant occupation of my time, and right now, I find such games downright inadequate. Unworthy. These are horrifying times, and yet, like so many of us, I find myself exhausted by it all. Unable to maintain the levels of rage and resistance that the actions of the current administration demand. I see it all becoming normalized and I feel powerless to stop it. And as the days and weeks and months go by, I feel as if this numbness accrues. I become increasingly detached, not just from the horrors of the moment but from myself. I start to wonder where the person I believed myself to be has gone.

I believe that art is most vital in times like this. I love this quote from Kafka:

“I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we're reading doesn't wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for?...We need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. That is my belief.”

If a game isn’t going to be the axe for the frozen sea inside me, if it isn’t going to cut through the numbness, shake me up, break my heart, fuck me up, do something to rehumanize me, it is not worthy of this moment.

But I might find what I’m looking for anywhere. I’m not talking just about games that explicitly comment on fascism or racial injustice or economic inequality. Yes, I think it’s essential that we have art, including games, that confronts these things directly, but it’s also true that a game can have the noblest aims and leave me cold, while a throwaway moment in a big-budget mainstream game of the sort that certain gamers like to call “apolitical” can crack my heart wide open.

Like most of my writing about games, this journal will be a place where I fully embrace the subjectivity of my own experience with the games that I play.

Okay. Here we go.

Testin’ My Mind, Shakin’ My Body in Fortnite

Yeah, okay, Fortnite’s a Battle Royale. That’s just a fact. If you’re playing solo, which I almost always am--I’m uncomfortable teaming up with random players, though on occasion I’ll play duos with a friend, which makes for a completely different, really exciting dynamic--you drop onto the island with close to a hundred other players, and the way you win is by being the last player standing. Now, I encourage conversations about the violence inherent to the format, as well as about all the other aspects of Fortnite that people rightly raise concerns about--the way in which it’s monetized, Epic’s pattern of repeatedly profiting off of dances associated with artists and communities of color without compensating the artists or communities that created them. All of it. But if we’re gonna go to the mat with Fortnite on these aspects (and we should), let’s also at least have a full, multifaceted conversation about why we play Fortnite, how it feels, and the moments that can emerge from a fully invested experience of the game.

Did you know that earlier this year, a massive beast that had been frozen in ice under Polar Peak broke free, that huge footprints showed it had made its way to the sea, where it’s occasionally been spotted, roaming the waters around the island? Did you know that right now, a towering robot is being built in the remnants of the volcano? It seems inevitable that soon, a massive Pacific Rim-style fight between them will take place, almost certainly resulting in a new wave of major changes to the island. Indeed, the island is always a place in flux, changing in big and small ways. It’s alive in ways that I’ve always wanted my game worlds to be alive. Landing near Loot Lake a few weeks ago, I was excited to see that the massive power cable that runs through the area was shredded and sparking, as if perhaps the monster had taken a bite.

But the life of the environment wouldn’t mean much if it weren’t for my encounters with the lives of other players. The other day, I was trying to complete a challenge that required me to get a certain score on a balloon board at one of the numerous little beach party setups that currently dot the map. Jumping from the bus, I swooped down to a spot in the desert, opened a chest, grabbed the weapon, and made my way over to the nearby board. Another player got there just before me, and I stood still, hoping to indicate that I didn’t want to stop them from completing the challenge. They froze for a moment, but then proceeded, and when they hit the necessary score, a little celebratory explosion of confetti occurred, and I got credit for the challenge, too.

Basking in the glow of our shared little moment, I wanted to walk away then, wishing them nothing but the best in the match ahead. But then they took a shot at me. In that instant, a sinking feeling ran through my whole body, a physical expression of “Aw, why’d you have to go and do that?” and in an instant, I obliterated them. It wasn’t a victory. It was more like putting someone down. I didn’t feel good about it, but it sure was a real feeling. Something surprising and immediate that emerged from my encounter with another living person. And that’s what I’m here for.

Yes, Fortnite is a Battle Royale, but so much of the experience of Fortnite is about unexpected occurrences like this, and about the things we do in the stolen moments between the shootouts and build battles. The other day, I got so caught up in playing a silly memory game I stumbled upon that I wound up getting caught in the storm. Not long before that, I danced with John Wick to raise a disco ball in an abandoned lair so we could snag a fortbyte, one of this season’s collectibles. These are the things I really remember, not my win-loss ratio or all the times I’m eliminated by players much better than I am before I quickly hit play and hop on the battle bus all over again.

I’m eager to return to the island because the island itself feels vibrant and alive, emanating a kind of Spielbergian Americana and optimism, but also because of the vigorous bodies and exuberant identities I get to inhabit while I’m there. The mix-and-match nature of Fortnite’s customization means that one round I might be a sprightly female wizard with a sleek laptop on her back, and the next a nerdy, purple-haired gamer girl with a satchel full of potions and spellbooks. “Fun” may be overemphasized in some of our conversations around games, but it certainly has its place, and playing as these colorful characters, well, it’s just fun.

Every character in Fortnite plays exactly the same, but they don’t all feel the same to me. I just unlocked a black variant of the character Sentinel, a robot or power suit that looks like it might have appeared on Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, and I think it looks kinda cool, but I sure don’t want to be it. On the other hand, playing as Elmira (pictured above) feels good. And oh, do I love the way that some emotes make me feel. Tweeting recently about an emote called the Laid Back Shuffle, I wrote:

I’m almost always pretty uncomfortable in my body, for a number of reasons related to my appearance and my transness and things. The easygoing physical exuberance of this emote, the way that the avatar performing it, whatever avatar that might be at any given moment, appears to feel so loose and free in their own body, makes it really appealing to me, like a virtual experience/expression of a sensation that I’ve never known IRL. I think emotes have some kind of power beyond whatever power we often think of them having, perhaps particularly for those of us who never really feel comfortable in our own skin.

And all the kids playing Fortnite that we’re so worried about, let’s remember that their experience of this game isn’t as simple as just trying to slaughter everyone else on the island. Setting aside whatever value there may be in the particular type of complex thinking and skill-building that it requires to try to simultaneously outbuild and outgun your opponent, there’s also the fact that they, too, are experiencing the life of Fortnite’s island, having encounters with other players that play out in unexpected ways, and experimenting with self-expression. Yes, their opportunities for that exploration and expression are gated by money, and that’s a real issue, but that doesn’t change the fact that a young person finding that they feel particularly cool when playing as a woman in red with a bionic arm is valid, and maybe even valuable.

II. MGSV and What I Know Is True

I set The Phantom Pain aside for a few years after hitting a mission that I found maddeningly difficult, but something called me back to it. Now I’ve powered through the mission that gave me so much trouble, and I’m making progress again. I enjoy the geographical roughness of its environments, and the way you really have to deal with that roughness, often lying flat and crawling along the ground. The truth is that I spend far too much time alone in my apartment, and though it’s no substitute at all for the real, natural world, when I take my time being rooted in one spot to scout out locations and tag enemies before making any dangerous moves, I feel the shape of the space around me in a way that I rarely do in games.

The other day I fought a grueling boss battle and then, finally, when it was over, hopped onto the helicopter to return to base, exhausted by the ordeal. Just as we were about to lift off, Quiet hopped on, hanging off of the side of the chopper as the rotors above her head spun faster until we lurched up and away from the ground. She held my gaze the whole time. I think a lot of games look at the player too much. They want you to feel like the center of the universe, the only person who really matters. But that wasn’t the feeling I got from this moment. I’d just fought for my life, and the way she looked at me, without malice or sympathy for what I’d just been through or anything, made me feel like I was being sized up. Looked at in a real way. Seen.

Do you know that feeling--Does this happen to everyone or just me?--that feeling where, for a moment, your awareness kind of spreads beyond yourself and you’re suddenly very aware that what you’re experiencing is something real that is happening in physical, three-dimensional space at this exact moment in time? It’s a feeling I get sometimes when I’m in a moment that I wish I could make last, or that I really want to remember. Sharing a last drink with a friend before they move away, that sort of thing. This feeling of momentarily being very much rooted in myself but also outside of myself and acknowledging, This is real. This is something that happened. That moment where Quiet was looking at me in the wake of the momentous battle I’d just fought felt something like that.

It didn’t happen in real, physical space, but virtual space is a valid space, too, a space where real things happen. Sometimes when I’m playing Fortnite I’ll see the hillside where a friend and I once sped away from attackers on a Quadcrasher, bullets whizzing past our heads, and I’ll think, We were there. That happened. These moments become part of my relationship with the ever-changing island, just as my memories of San Francisco become part of my relationship with the city.

On another recent mission, I was sneaking my way through an enemy outpost when, from a nearby building, I heard the familiar sounds of Spandau Ballet’s “True.” To be honest, I never liked “True” much. The Phantom Pain takes place in 1984, and as a kid in the suburbs of Chicago in that year who sometimes saw the video on MTV, the song felt too airy and ethereal to move me. But recontextualized in The Phantom Pain, I heard it differently. That precise ethereal quality made it such an effective contrast to the grim military seriousness and the tactile terrain that my heart began to ache.

The presence of 80s pop songs in the isolated military outposts of the game is politically fascinating to me. It says something about how American and British cultural exports are absorbed by the entire world, but it’s largely a one-way street. A Pakistani friend of mine in high school had grown up with Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis, but I’d never heard Pakistani music in my life. I don’t understand why so many players are so intent on not considering all the political dimensions of a game like this. They only make the experience infinitely more fascinating, even if and when they reveal the game’s failures.

The songs also allow for the creation of some great moments. I snuck into the building where the song was playing just so I could snag the tape, and the next time I was in the helicopter, I played it, and as the opening notes of “True” played, I panned the camera slowly around Big Boss, creating a very short music video that I honestly found exciting.

I tweeted the clip, jokingly commenting that I’d “won Metal Gear Solid V by creating this beautiful moment,” but it had really felt this way to me. Creating this moment had been as fun and rewarding to me as anything else the game offered. Playing MGSV isn’t just sneaking and shooting, or at least for me it isn’t. This, too, is play. So obviously, I get frustrated with the “Git Gud” players, those who feel that games are at their best when they’re perfectly calibrated tests of raw skill, that the only thing that matters is having an awesome KDR, or earning the highest possible rating on missions, or whatever.

But the truth is that it’s not just hardcore gamers who set limits on our notions of play by talking about games like this. A lot of us do it, even a lot of us who consider ourselves emphatically opposed to the “Git Gud’ brigade. We do it when we look at a game like Fortnite and see it only as one simple thing, a struggle to be the last remaining survivor, without at least acknowledging all the other things a player might go to the game for. We do it when we deny the possibility for moments of strange beauty to emerge from even a grim, ugly, grossly misogynistic game like MGSV. We do it whenever we, ourselves, adopt a limited, conventional understanding of what it means to really play a game, rather than fully engaging with all the different ways that we can find ourselves and each other in the spaces that games create.

-----

I’m currently looking for work. If you enjoy my writing and are in a position to do so, please consider supporting me on ko-fi.

#MGSV #Fortnite #Reason to Play

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k2-b0 · 5 years

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"I like you."

Ouma's face burned as he held a heart stamped letter out to Saihara. His heart thumped wildly in his chest. What the hell was he even doing? Confessing his love behind the school building just like in one of those school life animes that Shirogane constantly cooed about?

God, he felt like an everyday schoolgirl. How embarrassing. He glanced up at the other boy from his bowing position, waiting anxiously for a response. Thank god patience is a virtue, because after an awkward pause Saihara slowly pulled the letter from his grasp and opened it, the tiny red sticker pulling away from the paper with a quiet ripping sound.

Ouma squeezed his eyes shut while his crush read the letter he'd written. It only existed because he was too scared to tell him through his spoken words. Typical of a coward like him. What was he even thinking? Saihara was way too cool and c-cute to actually like someone like him! Much less like-like!! Ahh, he sounded like Chabashira, going off like that! Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"Ouma-kun..."

Was it too late to take it back? Could he just rewind time? He'd totally compared the situation to an anime earlier, so why couldn't he just pull a trick from one of them and go back?! Fuck, fuck!

"Ouma-kun."

Was suicide an option? No, that would be way too sudden. And to do it in front of Saihara-kun? No way!! Maybe he could--

"Ouma-kun!!"

Ouma blinked as the usually reserved boy yelled at him. Had he done something wrong? Oh, yikes, maybe he was mumbling all of that out loud? Was Saihara going to beat the shit out of him and call him slurs?

"Ouma-kun," Saihara said again, drawing Ouma from his thoughts. "This letter... is this really how you feel?"

The shorter boy swallowed thickly. What a direct question... "Y-Yes," he mumbled, "I... really like Saihara-kun. I was too scared to tell him out loud so I wrote a letter... a-and--“

"So Ouma-kun thinks of me in that way?" Saihara cut in. Ouma froze. Was this where the ridicule came in? Where Momota and Harukawa would jump out and say 'surprise! Loser! You just got pranked!' Ahh. But what else did he expect. The purple haired boy straightened his back out from the bow to look at Saihara on even grounds. Whatever. If he was going to get ridiculed he'd take it with pride.

Saihara put a hand to his face and flushed bright red. What? "So..." he said, "Ouma-kun thinks of me the same way as I do him?"

What.

"I-I'm sorry?" Ouma stuttered. "What was that?" He'd had to of heard wrong. There was no way...

"I really like Ouma-kun too..." Saihara said, still blushing. "I've wanted to tell you for so long but I was afraid... afraid that you would reject me. I'm so glad you feel the same way... now I can do what I've wanted to do for so long..."

Do what? Was Ouma's first thought. His second thought was along the lines of oh, holy shit, what?! His face went bright red as Saihara kissed him. The dark haired boy cupped his neck as he did it, gently tilting his head back and nibbling at his lips. Ouma gripped onto the other's gakuran and closed his eyes, perfectly returning the passionate kiss.

Saihara pulled away first, licking his lips as he lovingly stared Ouma in the eyes. "O-Ouma-kun..." he whispered, "let's get married."

Sakura blossoms blew in the wind around them and the sun shone vibrantly through the clouds in an orange glow. "O-Of course, Saihara-kun," he replied, "lets move to Canada and get married! We can be in love! Forget high school, we can teach ourselves through the power of love!"

"I agree!" Saihara cried, "we can be happy together! I love you, Ouma-kun!"

Ouma buried his head in Saihara's chest. "I love you too, Saihara-kun! Let's be together forever!"

Suddenly a bright red car sped into view, kicking up dust and gleaming in the orange light. It slammed on the brakes in front of the two and the door swung open to reveal Amami wearing a pair of Gucci sunglasses. "Ouma-kun," he yelled happily, flipping his hair back dramatically, "I heard you were getting married so I bought you this Ferrari! Please don't ruin the seats!" He undid his seatbelt and jumped out. "Au revoir, best friend, and happy being married!"

"Thank you very much, Amami-kun," Saihara said with a smile. "We'll never forget you! We'll be sure to send letters from Canada!" He crawled into the driver's seat and turned the key. Ouma sat down in the passengers seat and turned to his fiancé in concern.

"Saihara-kun," he asked, "do you even know how to drive?"

"Of course not! Do I look eighteen to you?" He responded. "But still, I'm willing to break the law for you!"

Tears welled up in Ouma's eyes. "Thank you, Saihara-kun," he said, "I feel the same! Now let's go to Canada! We don't need a plane, let's let the power of love take us there!"

"Right!" Saihara cheered. "Let's!"

And so the two shut the car doors and drove to Canada to get married, fueled by their undying love for each other. They only needed each other to be happy, and happy they were. They sent Amami letters weekly and grew old together, running an orphanage until the day they died: in each other's arms during a house fire set by Harukawa.

Ouma opened his eyes and scanned the classroom, gaze scanning over the teacher and his classmates before falling on a note-taking Saihara's back.

" I love you, Ouma-kun! "

Ha. As if.

The second the bell rang the sound of chairs moving away from desks and fabric ruffling filled the classroom. Ouma stuffed his papers haphazardly into his bag before throwing it over the back of his chair and walking out of the room, ignoring the way the teacher protested.

He sighed in relief as soon as he was in the hallway. Being in the same class as Saihara was really... stressful, to say the least. Between dealing with stupid fantasies and stupid crushes, Ouma would rather staple his eyelids shut. Or die. Either option was better than trying to suffocate the butterflies in his stomach every time he saw the detective.

At least it was lunchtime. During lunchtime he could get away from his problems and make fun of Iruma. Not to mention he could steal scraps of food from his classmates, meaning he wouldn't have to waste money on buying lunch.

He swung open the doors to the back of the school and headed to his usual spot with Gokuhara, Iruma, Hoshi, and Shinguuji. Not that any of them were there yet.

Ah, whatever. They'd show up after placating the teacher on Gokuhara's part and yelling about going to take a break on Iruma's.

Ouma sat down next to the furnace and stretched his back. Pathetic, he thought. You can't even get Saihara-chan out of your head for a second.

The sound of footsteps came from around the corner and he moved to the side to see who it was. Hoshi gave him a wave as he walked into the small area that held the furnace.

"Oho, Hoshi-chan makes an entrance!" Ouma laughed, "but where are his groupies?"

The smaller boy sat down in his usual spot and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. "Gokuhara and Iruma are still freaking out in the classroom. Shinguuji's on his way." He pressed one of them to his lips and flicked his lighter. "You want one?"

Ouma scoffed. "Hoshi-chan thinks so lowly of me? I'd never do such a thing! Unlike you, I'm a good boy!"

"So you want a light," Hoshi said.

"Ah, yes please!"

Hoshi passed him the item and Ouma moved to take a long drag of it. He sighed out the smoke and watched it swirl up into the air.

Shinguuji appeared around the corner and made his way to the two, holding a bento box in his hands. "Good afternoon," he said, "I see that you two are keeping up your poor habits."

Ouma cheerfully flipped him off before moving from his spot to sit next to the taller boy. After Shinguuji opened his lunch he picked a bit of rice from it.

"What's up, sluts!" A voice yelled, and none of the boys reacted as Iruma threw herself around the bend, dragging Gokuhara along with her. "Did ya miss me? Teach was being a real prick today, y'know? I was about to- oh, shit, are those smokes?"

Gokuhara's face drained of color. "S-Smokes?! Ouma-kun and Hoshi-kun are smoking again?!"

Ouma tapped the cigarette on the side of the furnace and watched as the ashes fell down. "Hey to you too, Iruma-chan, Gonta-chan."

"Yeah, yeah," the blonde waved him off. "What the hell're you doing? You said you'd stop that shit."

"Oh, I lied."

Gokuhara's eyes welled up with tears. "H-Hoshi-kun promised Gonta he would stop though..." The gentle giant moved his arm to push up his glasses and wipe his tears, sniffling into his sleeve.

Hoshi let out a breath of air and slammed the cigarette into the wall, putting it out in a second. The four teens blinked. He opened the door to the furnace and tossed it in. "Okay," he said, "sorry, Gokuhara. Won't happen again. Ouma, take these."

Ouma wheezed and took the pack from his hands. Then he burst into laughter. "Oh my god!!" He screamed, "oh, my god! Imagine being so gay-- I'm losing it!" He broke into coughs. Shinguuji patted his back comfortingly.

A smile broke out on Gokuhara's face. "Gonta is very relieved," he sighed, "he heard that smoking is bad for your lungs! So he wants Hoshi-kun to stop. Ouma-kun too!"

To spite him, Ouma blew a long breath of smoke into the air. Iruma scoffed. "You know he ain't gonna stop," she said, "he's probably been doin' it since he was a fuckin' sperm cell."

"Sperm cells cannot smoke, Iruma-san," Shinguuji replied, thumbing through a book on ancient foods. He'd probably pulled it from his pocket or something while they were arguing. Ouma snuck some more rice from his bento and put out his cigarette butt while he looked through the book with him.

Iruma seemed like she was about to punch the gangly boy. She sat herself down on the ground instead. "Shut the fuck up," she spat eloquently, "you know what I mean." A ring on her finger glinted in the sunlight when she pointed at him.

And, ah, wait. A ring? Ouma swallowed a mouth full of food and pointed at her hand. "Hm? What's this~?" He jeered before crawling towards her, seizing her hand from the air. She squeaked when he did. "Oh my! Iruma-chan, what a cute ring! I wonder where you got it from...?"

Iruma yanked her hand away from him, flustered. "Sh-Shut up! This... This is--!" She gripped her wrist in her other hand tightly, almost like it would just fall off if she let go. The cute ring wasn't on her finger anymore, though. Her eyes went wide and she snapped her gaze towards the small boy in front of her.

Ouma sat on his haunches, holding the little piece of jewelry between his fingers. It was... really cute, actually. There were small flowers engraved in the side of it and a small pink gemstone was set in the middle. The ring was a crisp silver with "Miu" carved on the inside.

"Huh?" Ouma muttered, turning it in one hand and holding a wailing Iruma back with the other. "Huh, huh, huuuuuh? This is super cute Iruma-chaaaaan! Who got it for you?" He moved it to his lips to bite down on it.

"Fucker!" Iruma finally pushed his arm away and leapt towards him, snatching the ring from him before he could bite it. The gem glittered in the light as Iruma looked over it before putting it back onto her finger. She sent a nasty glare towards her friend. "Don't touch my shit, shota! Besides, you don't bite silver, you bite gold!"

"She's right," Hoshi unnecessarily chimed in. He paused for a second. "Actually, you can bite silver, but still."

Ouma let himself fall back onto his butt and laughed. "For real though," he said cheerfully, "who got you the ring?"

The blonde girl squirmed where she sat. A bird called from somewhere in the schoolyard, followed by the sound of teenagers laughing. Sunlight bounced off of the top of the old furnace. Iruma sniffed as a bead of sweat ran down her face.

The four boys there with her watched, curious. Shinguuji's book made a quiet sound when he turned a page. Iruma swallowed and fiddled with the ring again. "A... Akamatsu," she murmured, and red exploded across her face.

Ouma blinked. "Really? How boring. I thought you would say Kiiboy got it for you or something." He pouted. "I'm disappointed."

"Wh-What?!" She shrieked, "you were the one who asked!" Her eyebrows pinched up, an exasperated expression covering her face.

"I don't know what you expected," Shinguuji said, not looking up from his book, "he's proven to do this sort of thing every time."

Well, that was certainly true. Maybe he was starting to get more predictable? That wasn't good. Not good at all! Ouma laid a hand over his forehead and gasped. "My," he lamented, "Shinguuji-chan! What an insult! Are-Are you calling me predictable?" Tears welled up in his eyes and Gokuhara gasped. "You're so cruel! It hurts for you to say that to me!"

"Oh no," Gokuhara whispered, eyes welling up with tears of his own. "Shinguuji-kun! P-Please apologize to Ouma-kun! He's crying!"

Iruma grit her teeth and picked him up by the scarf. "Bitch, stop faking! I ain't fallin' for it, and neither are those two limp dicks! You're just embarrassing yourself, shithead!"

The short boy's face fell flat, tears drying up instantly. He sighed, still being held up by Iruma. His eyes darted to the side before pulling back up to her face. Well, time for his most devastating comeback! A grin crossed lips. "No," he said, curt, "you."

Iruma's jaw dropped. "Did you just 'no you' me?! I'm gonna fuckin'--!!" Just before the blonde could "fuckin'--" the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Ouma dropped back to the ground when he was suddenly let go of, and he gently straightened his scarf out.

Iruma frowned at him before standing up and dusting off her too-short skirt. She walked off briskly, muttering to herself. Gokuhara jumped up and reached for Ouma, extending a hand towards him. "Aw," the shorter cooed, pushing himself up and leaving his friend hanging, "thanks Gonta! You're so kind!"

"Right..." Gokuhara said, obviously uncomfortable. He pulled his arm back and fidget edited . "Did Ouma-kun need to be so mean to Iruma-san? She seemed upset..."

"It's better than calling her a slut or a whore," Hoshi replied, standing up. "You gonna keep those?" He pointed to the pack of cigarettes that had been left on the ground.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Ouma grabbed them and slid them into his scarf. A real disappearing act, huh? Yumeno would be jealous.

Shinguuji stood up, bookmarking and closing his book before picking up his empty bento box. He nodded to his friends before leaving the furnace area. Hoshi followed after a second later, Gokuhara on his heels, and Ouma was left alone.

He looked up, squinting at the sunlight. Alone, huh? True enough. He was too much of an asshole to consistently make people happy, so that sort of friendship was pretty much unobtainable. Much less a relationship.

Tears welled up in his eyes from staring up into the bright light.

A sigh pulled from his lips.

He wasn't in the mood to go back to class.

Ouma walked into the classroom the next morning and received a total of fifteen unhappy looks. When he threw himself down into his seat Amami turned around in his own chair and pushed him his belongings. The look in his best friend’s eyes told him that they'd be having a long conversation sooner rather than later. He rolled his eyes at the green-haired boy and started to dig into his bag.

At least, he tried to. A sharp jab into his shoulder blade pulled his attention instead. Ouma looked back up from his school bag only to see his deskmate's face. Oh, great. How wonderful.

"Momota-chan. It's good to see you!" Ouma grinned weakly, "well, that's actually a lie. It's always unpleasant to see you. Anyways, what is it that you need?"

His classmate scowled at him. Ah, if he kept that up his face would freeze that way. Momota crossed his arms. "Where'd you go yesterday?" He growled, "Amami and Iruma were pissed off for the rest of the day."

"Okay?" Ouma said, "why's that matter to me? Or... were you worried for me? How sweet of you, Momota-chan!"

"How the hell did you get that from 'Amami and Iruma were pissed'...?"

Ouma ignored him and pulled his textbook from his bag. "Helloooo?" Momota waved his hand in front of the shorter's face. "Ouma? You there?"

Ouma knocked his arm down, now very aware of Saihara's eyes on the two of them from his seat next to Amami. "Yeah, I'm here," he fumbled. "Could Momota-chan leave me alone now? His idiocy is giving me hives."

Momota sputtered. “Idiocy can't give someone hives! And, oi, are you calling me stupid?!” The wannabe astronaut’s face was flushed with anger, and his voice was starting to get louder and louder. If he didnt put a stop to their argument, Ouma would either end up with a black eye or a write-up. And he had work later, so there was no way in hell he'd let himself get detention now.

"Ehh... what're you going on about," he said, waving the taller off. “I wasn't even talking to you, moron. Just go back to drawing dicks, or spaceships or whatever those are.” He dug a chewed up pencil out of his bag and pinched at the led to check if it was broken. It wasn’t, so Ouma propped his head up on his elbow, looking away from Momota, who just clicked his tongue at him.

From the seat ahead, Saihara sighed in relief. Ouma let a smile creep onto his lips. Crisis averted, in more ways than one.

#ndrv3 #saiouma #hate to tag it but i gotta bc that’s the content #but AUGGHHH I WANNA FINISH IT SO BAD!!!!! ITS CALLED OUMA GAY IN THE DOC HOW COULD I JUST ABANDON IT!!!!!#the robot can write #robophobia.txt #if the formatting is messed up in gonna Yell

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bevioletskies · 6 years

Note

Here's a Starmora prompt for you to consider. An AU where Peter and Gamora are private investigations based on Knowhere like Sherlock and Watson and cross paths with the crime lord Thanos.

(sorry for the delay, anon! i had way too much fun with this prompt)warning for canon-typical violence and non-graphic mentions of blood and injuries.word count: 7.9k | ao3

Peter leaned back with a thoughtful hum, the well-worn chair creaking precariously beneath him in warning. His eyes were fixated on the old-fashioned corkboard before him as they so often were, attempting to make sense of anything he was seeing.

“If you get any closer, all you’re going to get is cross-eyed.”

He startled out of his own thoughts, turning in his chair to watch as Gamora stepped into the room with two coffee cups and a sly grin, passing one cup to him. He smiled gratefully before downing half of it in one generous gulp. “We gotta be missin’ something. Thanos had three separate factions, right? One led by two brothers, one led by a married couple, and one led by two sisters. All dealin’ in drugs, weapons, and murder.”

“Yes,” Gamora said evenly. She leaned against the desk, taking a neat sip of her own drink.

“We saw the brothers - Cull and Ebony - shakin’ down that Kree warlord, Ronan, on Hala, for information on the Kasius family.” Peter stabbed a pushpin through the photo he’d taken of them arriving at an abandoned loading dock. “The married couple, Corvus and Proxima, makin’ a deal with the Astrans so they’ll vote Qovas into the Confederacy in exchange for the mines on Easik.” Another pushpin, this time into old mugshots from the time they’d been caught with Chitauri weapons while passing through Sakaar.

“Your point, Quill?” Gamora sighed.

“The sisters!” Peter exclaimed. “I know you’re still kinda green to the whole P.I. business, but they haven’t been seen in over a year. No one knows their names, or why they worked for Thanos, or where they went, but they were known for bein’ the deadliest women in the galaxy, and suddenly poof - gone.”

Gamora swallowed. “Isn’t it obvious?” Peter looked at her curiously. “They’re probably dead. That lead is going nowhere, Quill. Focus on the ones we know about. We’ll get Thanos someday, but focusing on two women who are either rotting in a jail cell or six feet deep in the ground won’t bring us any closer to finding him.”

“But doesn’t it bother you?”

More than you know, Gamora thought privately. “Don’t dwell on it, okay? The Corps are counting on you, of all people, and we’ve got better things to be doing than chasing shadows. Rumor has it that the Grandmaster is paying a visit to his brother at the casino tonight, and he’s bringing the weapons that were confiscated from Corvus and Proxima in exchange for one of Tivan’s toys. Chances are, they’re coming here to Knowhere to get them back. We gather the rest of our investigation team, go undercover, and see if we can parse some more information about Thanos’s whereabouts.”

“We’re not gonna arrest them?” Peter protested disbelievingly as Gamora moved to sit at her desk, opposite his.

She merely smiled. “Patience, Peter Quill, is a virtue.”______

Peter, Gamora, and the rest of their team arrived at the casino hours later, appropriately dressed and for the most part, secretly thrilled. Their dingy little investigation office, started by Peter and Drax, had really grown over the past couple years, but right from the beginning, it had always been about taking down the Mad Titan’s crime empire. Their smaller jobs were, of course, interesting enough, but it was the ones that took them one step closer to Thanos that really got their adrenaline going.

Gamora glanced around the rented car at her companions, feeling uneasy. After hearing about their successes and surprisingly decent reputation almost a year ago, she was quick to travel to Knowhere and offer herself as another partner, fudging her credentials and references so they would take her seriously. They had immediately accepted her into their little clan, almost as if she’d been there from the beginning, and she had become irreversibly fond of them, Peter in particular. It was hard to look at him sometimes, though, when he got uncomfortably close to the truth, and this was one of those times.

“You look real pretty. Don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a dress before,” Peter said teasingly as he helped her out of the car.

“Don’t get used to it,” she replied dryly, pushing her hair out of her face. “Remember, Tivan doesn’t usually show up until the end of these parties, but there’s a good chance Corvus and Proxima will arrive beforehand, or possibly send scouts to ensure the legitimacy of the deal. Any suspicious behavior, and - ”

“And we report it to you. We got it, Gam.” Rocket scoffed. “You’d think we haven’t done this a million times before.”

“We haven’t,” Drax interjected unhelpfully. “This is perhaps only our third time infiltrating the Collector’s place of business - ”

“I was just exaggeratin’, you big lug.” Rocket elbowed Drax before he could continue on. “Me n’ Groot are gonna be at the tables. You got a problem with that?”

The two of them walked inside before anyone could object, though Peter called after them in vain. “Don’t spend all our money like last time! I still can’t show my face in the bar on 12th, no thanks to you.”

“Drax and I will go talk to bar patrons,” Mantis offered with a sunny smile. “I promise not to let Drax get too drunk.”

“What are you implying?” Drax protested, though Mantis dragged him away before he could defend himself. Peter glanced over at Gamora, who seemed unusually fidgety.

“Guess it’s down to you and me to hang out up high,” Peter said, nodding towards the balcony that overlooked the casino’s enormous entryway, where the rich and shameless were currently tossing their spaceship keys to the valets like they were worth nothing at all. “Ready, partner?”

“I suppose,” Gamora said reluctantly, allowing him to lead the way. Once they were upstairs, she could almost see that telltale glint of mischief in his eyes, something that told her he was thinking about it again. “Stop.”

“I didn’t - what?” Peter looked bewildered.

“You’re thinking about the sisters again, aren’t you?” she said accusingly. “You have too many tells, Quill. I’m not sure how you made it as P.I. in the first place.”

“Hurtful.” Peter clutched at his chest in mock offense. “But nah, I wasn’t. I…uh, I was actually thinkin’ about you.”

Now it was Gamora’s turn to look confused. “Me?”

He smiled almost shyly this time, lacking the usual smug, upturned corners of his mouth. No, this was something softer, sweeter. “Well, we’re comin’ up on one year of you being with us, and um, it’s been pretty awesome, don’t you think?”

“It’s had its moments,” Gamora said diplomatically, though she couldn’t help but smile, too. She stepped closer to the edge of the balcony, resting her hands on the railing as she stared out at the night sky. “I’ve enjoyed myself. Really, I have. Not just the work, but…the people.”

“Yeah? You got a favorite?”

Gamora laughed. “Are you actually asking me to compliment you? How the arrogant have fallen.”

“Can’t hurt to try, right?” he chuckled, taking a step closer. His hand settled on the railing by hers, their fingertips barely brushing. “I’m kidding…mostly. I just…I wanted to say that I’m really glad you’re here. Y’know, it kinda felt like the team was - we were doing great, but we were missing something, and when you showed up at our door…it all made sense again. And you’re not just our co-worker, Gamora, you’re our friend. I hope you know that.”

A lump formed in her throat, her fingers tensing around the cool metal. “You trying to soften me up for something, Quill?” she said hoarsely. “Vacation time, maybe?”

“No.” Peter laughed again, but this time, he sounded far more nervous. “I wanted to ask, if maybe, you’d, uh…be interested in - ”

“Sister.”

Gamora’s blood ran cold as she slowly, but reluctantly turned on her heel; that voice was unmistakable. “What are you doing here?” she said in a horrified near-whisper.

“Saving you, if you can believe it,” the other woman said snidely, snatching up Gamora’s wrist and yanking, hard. “Come on.”

“Hey, hey, hands off!” Peter tried to pry her fingers from Gamora’s arm, only to get backhanded across the face for his efforts. “ Ow - hey, you can’t just do that - ”

“Nebula!” Gamora scolded, wrestling out of her grip. “Quill, it’s okay. She’s my sister. Saving me from what, Nebula?”

Nebula scowled at them both. “Corvus and Proxima are coming here tonight.”

“I’m aware. Why else would I be here, of all places?” Gamora snorted.

“No, I mean they’re here for you,” Nebula snapped. “You think they give a damn about Chitauri weapons? They’re a unit a dozen on Sanctuary. They were always going to find you eventually, since you’re so insistent on trotting around with the rest of your team, solving mysteries and stopping crime like a good little detective - ”

“And they intend to kill me?” Gamora drew to her full height. “I’d like to see them try.”

“Wait, why’re they after you specifically? It’s my agency,” Peter interrupted, but both sisters ignored him in favor of narrowing their eyes at each other.

“They intend to bring you to him.”

Gamora finally fell silent, her heart drumming painfully fast in her chest as she tore her gaze away from her sister. She leaned against the railing once more, only this time, she wanted to vomit. Of course it was always going to come to this; how could she have been so naive? It was only a matter of time before her past caught up to her, before he caught up to her. “Then we have to go into hiding. Tell me you have a ship.”

“Registered, but untagged,” Nebula nodded. “Come with me, we’ll have wheels up in two minutes flat.”

“Seriously, can you guys tell me what the hell is going on? I can help, okay, I still got some pull over at the Nova Corps. We can do this together!” Peter squeezed Gamora’s shoulder. “C’mon, Gamora. Let me help.”

Gamora turned back around to face him, her eyes now filled with unshed tears. “Not tonight, Quill. You’ll have to finish this job without me.”

Peter stared at her, alarmed. He’d never seen her so shaken before. “Who is ‘him’, Gamora?” he asked softly. She merely shook her head and stepped out of Peter’s grasp, moving to stand beside Nebula. Still, his eyes followed her. “Is he…is it Thanos?” His gaze flickered between her and Nebula and suddenly, everything fell into place for him - or more accurately, came crashing down. “You…” he breathed. “It’s you. You’re the…the sisters.”

“Quill - ”

“You showed up on Knowhere two months after they went missing,” Peter whispered. “After you went missing. Said you had no family, but you had experience, and you knew we were workin’ hard on bringing Thanos down.”

“Please, Quill - ”

“Did you come here just to take us down? Dismantle our agency or, or…or kill us?”

Gamora bit her lip so hard she drew blood, hot tears spilling down her cheeks before she could stop herself. “I have to go,” she murmured shakily. “Please, just let me go. Tell the others…tell them I had a family emergency.”

His eyes darkened. “Oh, I’ll tell ‘em a lot more than that.”

Nebula didn’t give Gamora a chance to reply, digging her nails into Gamora’s arm and harshly pulling her away, knocking people over as they disappeared into the crowd. Peter was left staring at the spot Gamora once occupied, truly and utterly speechless.______

The rest of the night went by in a haze; Peter could barely concentrate on looking out for Corvus, Proxima, or any other suspicious behavior, only focusing on what seemed to be Gamora’s complete betrayal. He tried to give her the benefit of the doubt; from what he could tell, she was no longer on Thanos’s side, judging by her terrified reaction at the mere thought of him. Still, she had kept it hidden, played it off like it was nothing, stood by Peter’s side for almost a year and said nothing, did nothing. She probably had all the inside information he could ever want and more, and here he was, begging for scraps, desperate to catch a glimpse or a whisper of anything that would bring Thanos down, once and for all.

“Where is Gamora?” Drax asked when the team met up again at the end of the night.

“Left early. Family emergency,” Peter muttered, running his fingers through his hair.

Mantis frowned. “I thought she doesn’t have any family.”

“Then she lied, I guess,” Peter grumbled. Wouldn’t be the first time. “C’mon, let’s go home.”

He was silent the whole ride back, only perking up to absentmindedly say his goodbyes whenever someone exited the car. When it was down to just him and Mantis, who lived in the same building, she leaned in closer to look at him inquisitively. “It was not a family emergency, was it?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Peter said tersely, waving her off.

“I know you wanted to ask her out,” Mantis said sympathetically. “Oh, Peter, did she say no? Is that why she left?”

He scoffed. “I wish that was what happened. No, Mantis, just drop it, okay? I’ve got some stuff to figure out.”

Peter tossed and turned all night, at a loss for what to do. Objectively, he knew he couldn’t let his emotions dictate the rest of the case. He needed to report her to the Nova Corps; after all, they were the one who legitimized his operations in the first place. He had to tell them he’d found the two missing daughters of Thanos and that Gamora had been lying this whole time about her qualifications, her background, her everything.

However, he still couldn’t help but feel hurt, betrayed, and yet, still worried about her well-being. After all, Thanos was probably going to do unspeakable things to her and her sister if he ever found them - in the end, they would welcome death. Peter hesitated. Maybe it would be better for him to bring her in instead of call her out…only the Nova Corps would surely shut him down the second they found out he was protecting her, maybe throw them all in jail. Groaning, Peter face-planted into his pillow. He really needed to sleep.

Unsurprisingly, he woke earlier than usual, unable to get more than four hours of rest. He reluctantly pulled on his coat and dragged himself to the office, hoping Mantis couldn’t hear the squeak of his door hinges from her apartment across from his. He could barely keep his eyes open when he flipped the lights on, and it took him a second to even realize they were switched off immediately after. “What the hell…”

“Please. No one knows I’m here.” Gamora stepped out from behind him, holding her hands up in surrender. “Well, except for Nebula.”

“Gamora,” Peter breathed, almost dropping his bag in shock. “What - ”

“It didn’t feel right, not explaining myself. Besides, I figured you were either going to report me to the Nova Corps or hunt me down yourself.” She let out a dark laugh. “I wouldn’t blame you either way.”

“You said you needed to hide. I saw some of Thanos’s Outrider agents at the casino last night, probably lookin’ for you,” Peter said in disbelief. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“According to Nebula’s intel, the other Children of Thanos know about you, but not the others. I’ve been seen with you in public too many times.” Gamora sucked in a breath. “So…I need to protect you, too. You have to come with us, and I’m hoping you’ll come quietly. I can’t let you report me, and I definitely can’t let you kill me.”

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me,” Peter groaned, rubbing his hands over his forehead.

“I know the last thing you want to do is trust me. But my only option, for both my protection and yours, is to take you with us. We don’t have time to argue, okay? I saw the Outrider agents, too. They were outside the safehouse that Nebula and I were staying at, ready to tear the place apart.” Gamora held out a trembling hand. “Please, Quill. Don’t make me ask again.”

His heart felt like it was racing in his throat, his head spinning, though that might have been from exhaustion. Sighing, Peter hefted his bag over his shoulder. “Fine. But don’t think I don’t got questions for you. A lot of questions.”

Once they boarded the ship parked out back and Nebula got them in the air, Peter was feeling more and more uneasy. What was he doing, uprooting his life and going against protocol to let Gamora, a supposed former lieutenant of Thanos, drag him along with her? He needed to call the Nova Corps, or Mantis, or Drax, or hell, Yondu was probably skulking around a few planets over, just something -

“Give me your communicator.”

Sighing in defeat, he pressed the device into Gamora’s palm. “You’re really not helpin’ your case here.”

“You don’t have the authority to arrest me, only the ability to call it in. Excuse me for being cautious,” Gamora retorted, tucking it neatly into her belt. “We’re on the same side, Quill, I promise. I just…I needed a way into Thanos’s head that wasn’t my own. And legitimacy.”

“And yet you came to me and Drax, of all people. Why? Why didn’t you just go to the Nova Corps directly?” Peter shot back.

“Because the Nova Corps would either imprison me or kill me on the spot. Believe me, they won’t give me or Nebula the time of day. They’ve seen our faces before. You hadn’t.” Gamora sat on the bench opposite him, her shoulders slumping a little. She looked absolutely exhausted. “When I heard there was an investigation office working to take our father down…I had hope. I still do. But now, you know too much, and they know who you are, and…I just want to keep you safe, okay?”

Peter leaned closer, eyes narrowing. “No, you want to keep me quiet. That’s why I’m here. You spent years doing Thanos’s dirty work, why stop now?”

“Guilt, pain…though really, that’s an understatement.” Gamora shrugged sadly. “Nebula and I were tortured for years. Physically, mentally. Every morning, I woke up wishing that Thanos had just killed me alongside my family instead of taking me to be a part of his. Usually, we had to travel in groups, but this time, it was just us. He wanted us to retrieve an Infinity Stone from Morag. We fled to Knowhere instead. We already knew Tivan from a previous job, so we called him and he set us up in a safehouse, no questions asked. Told us where we could find you. The rest, you already know.”

“And why all the secrecy? A whole year, and you never once spoke up! All those times that I speculated about who the sisters were, where they went. I was practically begging for just a hint of information about Thanos’s whereabouts and his deals, and you just sat there and pretended.” Peter scoffed. “You’re damn right, I don’t trust you.”

“That’s fair.” Gamora smiled remorsefully. “I was going to tell you someday, but honestly, I didn’t know much more than what you had already uncovered. You’re clever, Quill. Resourceful, too. Really, the only things that I knew about that you didn’t already figure out were mostly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Little illegal dealings here and there, a few trafficking operations that were already dismantled by the appropriate authorities. But we are after the same endgame here - taking him down for good. And he’s not an easy target to find.”

Finally, it seemed like Peter had nothing left to say to her, his eyes glazing over a little as he stared out the window to the stars. He got to his feet. “I need a nap,” he muttered. “And possibly some booze, once we get…wherever it is we’re goin’.”______

Peter woke a couple hours later to bright sunlight streaming in through the tiny bunk window and the sounds of two hushed, but urgent voices by the door. “We can just leave him to rot here forever, sister, I don’t see the problem.”

“He’s…he’s important, okay? We spent so long trying to track Thanos’s progress together, abandoning him would do more harm than good.”

“You just said he knows no more than we do.”

“Just…trust me, Nebula. We have to keep him with us. Think of the consequences if we let him go. Not just for us, but for him, too.”

When he finally had enough, Peter emerged from the cabin, catching them both off-guard. “Where are we?”

Gamora smiled tightly. “Sakaar.”

“Oh, you gotta be - ”

“It’s the last place he’d expect,” Gamora interjected. “If you’re done questioning everything I’ve said, there’s work to be done. Let’s go.”

They trekked through the literal garbage dump that Nebula had landed them on, Peter pinching his nose in mild disgust the whole way. “Where are we even goin’?”

“Do you ever stop talking?” Nebula groaned.

“Hey, it’s part of being a P.I.,” Peter said defensively. “Seriously, Gamora, what’s the plan here?”

“I have a contact. One of the lieutenants of the Grandmaster,” Gamora replied, taking long, steady strides. “They’ll make a deal with him so we can hide on Sakaar without intervention, and send forces out for Corvus and Proxima. We can’t let them get me, or else Thanos will gain more power than you can ever imagine.”

“What’s that s’posed to mean?” Peter frowned. He could practically hear Nebula rolling her eyes in response.

Gamora paused. “I know the location of something precious to him. No one, absolutely no one, knows. We need as much distance between him and me as possible. Follow me, the back entrance is over here.”

They slipped in through the ‘back entrance’ - which was really the end of a garbage chute, much to Peter’s chagrin - before emerging in a boiler room. The three of them barely had time to wash up in a nearby supply closet and remove all the grime when the door slammed open and a figure strolled in. Peter let out a startled yelp, while Gamora and Nebula drew their weapons, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Relax, G, it’s me.” A woman stepped into the light with a sort of casual (or perhaps somewhat drunken) swagger. She wore dark armor, white facepaint, and a relaxed smirk. “Who’s this?”

“Quill runs the investigation office on Knowhere. I need him to be part of the deal, too. The Black Order know about him.” Despite herself, Gamora let out a sigh of relief, lowering her sword. “It’s good to see you, Valkyrie. It’s been too long since I last visited.”

“Yes, well, Sakaar isn’t exactly an ideal vacation spot.” Valkyrie dragged her finger through some of the mold accumulating on one of the boilers, wincing slightly as it crumbled to pieces. “The Grandmaster already approved my request for the empty apartment beside mine. It’s not much, but it should serve well as your - temporary - home. There are guards patrolling the halls at all times, not that it’ll do much if your siblings come knocking, but it’s better than nothing.” She gestured for them to follow her, and they began making their way through the maze of hallways in the Grandmaster’s Palace.

“Were you here when Corvus and Proxima tried to smuggle Chitauri weapons by the Sakaaran soldiers a few months ago? I know Thanos also had his eye on the Grandmaster’s champion, whoever it is,” Gamora added.

“The champion doesn’t need weapons, he is the weapon,” Valkyrie replied. “And yeah, I saw those smug bastards hanging around. The good thing is, the Grandmaster does talk to his brother, so he didn’t give up your whereabouts when they asked. But you know, for a P.I., you’re terrible at the ‘private’ end of the deal.”

“Private doesn’t mean anonymous,” Peter interrupted. “And those news articles were - ”

“Whatever,” Valkyrie sighed, waving him off. “There’s a Contest of Champions happening tonight, if you’re interested in chasing down any other leads. They’re a hotbed for illegal activity and just about the only time you’ll see some of the most influential - and immoral - people in the galaxy come out to play. Besides, I know you like a good fight, Gamora.”

“We need a low profile,” Gamora said apologetically. “And an army.”

“You don’t have an arrest warrant?” Valkyrie teased, finally bringing them to a stop in front of their door. “I can make some calls. But I’ll be at the Contest tonight, seeing how my champion is doing. Drop by if you want the information early. Otherwise, I can come by in the morning, provided I even have something.”

“Thank you, Valkyrie.” Gamora’s shoulders finally relaxed for the first time in hours. “If you ever need a favor - ”

“How about a drink?” Valkyrie smirked, yanking the door open. She cocked her chin. “Go on, get inside.”______

Peter, much to his dismay, spent the next few hours sitting on the couch and twiddling his thumbs impatiently, watching as Gamora and Nebula pored over the documents that he hadn’t even realized Gamora had taken - or more accurately, stolen - from his office. They were knelt at the coffee table opposite him, photos and articles spread out all over its surface, muttering to each other under their breaths like they didn’t want him to hear. “What was it like?”

Gamora looked up at him. “What?”

“Your life with Thanos. I guess I still don’t really know the whole story,” Peter shrugged.

Nebula shot Gamora a disbelieving look, but Gamora shook her head in return, moving to sit beside Peter instead. She twisted her hands in her lap, contemplating what she wanted to tell him. It alarmed her to think that she was just about ready to tell him everything. “Thanos started off as an influential member of Titan’s social circles, making his way up the ranks. He became more and more corrupt as time went on, as he began believing in things that no one should ever believe, fighting for causes that were misguided and harmful. He truly thought he knew what was best for the planet, and eventually, for the rest of the universe. He was frustrated by the lack of movement by the Titan government, and believed it simply came down to money.”

“So he started dealing in illegal trade; nothing too harmful, just goods that were banned for one reason or another. Then it became drugs. Then weapons. Then…people.” Gamora swallowed. “Both Nebula and I were taken from our parents as children, and intended to be sold for…other purposes. But for whatever reason, he decided to keep us instead. He raised us to be his protectors, and then his lieutenants. We were never left alone until a year ago, when he became too greedy, and sent out every last one of his Children to carry out jobs for him at the same time. That’s how we ended up being sent to Morag by ourselves.”

Peter nodded thoughtfully. “And he’s making a play on…what was it you said? The Infinity Stones?”

“Tivan is in possession of one. It’s why he helped Nebula and I find a place to stay, free of charge. In exchange, we protect his business and his life from our father, as shady as he may be,” Gamora replied. “And you? How did you come by Knowhere?”

“Finishing one last job.” At her confused expression, he patted the empty spot on the breast of his jacket, where the ghost of a cloth patch remained. “Ex-Ravager. But I wanted to get out of that life, do somethin’ honest. Cleaning up the streets of Knowhere seemed like a good start. Then I met Drax, and he told me all about what happened to his family and countless others…it just made sense.” He smiled apologetically. “I guess I’ve been keeping things from you, too.”

“That’s why the Nova Corps know you so well!” Gamora exclaimed. “You’ve done prison time.”

“More than I wanna think about,” Peter chuckled sheepishly. “Okay, so I was hard on you earlier. We both got pasts that we kept from each other ‘cos it was convenient, and I decided to be a hypocritical a-hole about it. I just…I thought I’d grown to trust and care about someone who wasn’t who I thought she was, at all.”

Gamora smiled gently, nudging his knee with hers. “I wasn’t pretending to be someone else. I promise, all I did was conceal my former affiliation with Thanos. Everything else is true. In fact, I’ve never felt more myself when I was with you and the others. I meant it when I said I was enjoying my time with the team. I never had any intention of harming you, ever. All I wanted was a legal way to take Thanos down, see if I could follow the law and stop him, instead of just killing him outright. When your agency’s name popped up, it just…it felt right.”

Before Peter could respond, Nebula let out a sudden snarl of distaste. They both looked up, only just realizing that she had crossed the room to stand guard by the window. “Chitauri,” she hissed.

“You see the weapons?” Gamora jogged over to join her, Peter following closely behind.

“No…Chitauri.” They both followed Nebula’s pointed finger, eyes widening in horror as at least thirty Chitauri soldiers marched their way through the startled Sakaaran crowd, knocking over every last passerby without so much a glance. They didn’t appear to have a commander with them, or a particular target, but their presence could only mean one thing.

“Thanos is here,” Gamora said in a near-whisper, stepping back from the window. “He might not know that we’re here, but he’s already come for the Grandmaster’s champion.”

Peter blinked. “So, uh, something tells me we should rethink skippin’ out on the Contest of Champions, after all.”______

Valkyrie, unsurprisingly, was delighted to hear they had changed their minds. She sent some clothes ahead for them in preparation, and invited them to sit with her in the Grandmaster’s private box (“I usually decline since some of his other favorites are creepy, but if you’re taking on the Mad Titan himself, you at least deserve a good view,” she had grinned salaciously). Peter, meanwhile, felt like he was experiencing deja vu from the previous night (had that really only been just yesterday?) with Gamora on his arm, only this time she was wearing ceremonial Sakaaran armor instead of an evening dress.

“Scrapper 142, how about that! You finally decided to join me, after all these years,” the Grandmaster beamed, squeezing Valkyrie’s hand with a vigorous shake. “You’re always hidin’ up in the nosebleed section on that rustbucket of yours, I was almost about to give up asking. But I’m sure glad I didn’t, hey?”

“I brought my guests with me. I thought they’d appreciate the view,” Valkyrie replied, gesturing behind her.

“Why, hello there. Aren’t you all somethin’ to look at?” The Grandmaster’s scrutinous gaze was intense enough, but the twitchy eyelash fluttering soon became too much for anyone’s comfort, and the three of them quickly settled into their seats on Valkyrie’s other side.

“You must have seen the Chitauri soldiers arriving earlier,” Gamora murmured to Valkyrie, who hummed in confirmation. “Any progress on finding combatants?”

“Let’s just say that you really owe me that drink,” Valkyrie said, grinning. “How does the full force of the Asgardian army sound?”

Peter leaned around Gamora. “How’d you pull that off?”

“It’s…a long story.” Valkyrie’s face fell a little, her mouth twisting unpleasantly. “Now hush, it’s starting.”

The next hour went by in a blur, starting with a couple warm-up fights that were only mildly interesting. They were far more invested in scanning the crowd for any signs of the Chitauri or worse, the Children, than to pay much attention to some lackluster combat. Gamora was steadily becoming more anxious as time went on, half-expecting Thanos to burst through the fighter’s gates at any moment and tear her apart. Then:

“Is that him?”

Gamora and Nebula went numb, cold sweat breaking out across their foreheads at the familiar baritone that rumbled not too far behind them. Oblivious to their predicament, the Grandmaster go to his feet, cheerful as ever as he greeted the newcomer. “No, no, not yet, much too soon. Trust me, you’ll know my beloved champion when you see him. Sit, sit. I’ll give you the rundown on what you’ve missed, huh?”

“Aw, crap,” Peter muttered under his breath. Through his peripheral vision, he watched as the Mad Titan himself settled into the chair on the Grandmaster’s opposite side, resting his elbow on his knee as he leaned forward, furrowing his brow, squinting intently into the stadium. He didn’t need to look behind him to know Gamora and Nebula were absolutely petrified. “Hey, uh, Valkyrie, can you do something?”

Valkyrie stood abruptly. “I’m taking my guests to the bar,” she announced loudly, quickly yanking Gamora and Nebula up by the wrists and practically shoving them out the door. Peter sprinted after them as they exited the Grandmaster’s private box, ducking into a side stairwell, away from the watchful eye of the Chitauri soldiers stationed at the doors.

“I wasn’t expecting him to be that close,” Gamora said breathlessly. She seemed seconds away from vomiting profusely. “We didn’t plan for this. We can’t take him on, not now, not without the full force of an army behind us.”

“So what, we run? He’s right there!” Peter exclaimed. “Let’s get the frickin’ guy and get this done.”

“You don’t know him like we do, Quill. He may look like nothing more than a brute, but he’s far too clever. He would have to be to get this far.” Gamora raked her fingers through her hair, pacing back and forth, her heels clattering against the metal grates below. “Our only option is if we can catch him by surprise. I might have an idea, but it means we have to go find his transport pod and wait for his return.”

“This better be a damn good idea, because I didn’t come here to die,” Nebula grumbled.

“It’s the best I’ve got,” Gamora shrugged with a wistful smile.

“I’ll go back to the box and keep an eye on him,” Valkyrie offered. “Besides, the Grandmaster’s champion is my friend. I need to make sure he doesn’t get traded off Sakaar, not before his other friends come to take him home.”

Peter looked puzzled. “Friends?”

“Another long story. Now go before the Grandmaster gets suspicious. It doesn’t usually take me this long to order drinks,” Valkyrie chuckled wryly.

The three of them moved to leave, keeping their eyes and ears open for Chitauri soldiers, though Gamora couldn’t help but call over her shoulder, “At this rate, I owe you the entire top shelf!” as she sprinted away.______

Thankfully, it wasn’t too difficult to find Thanos’s transport pod among the swarm of vehicles and spacecraft crowded in beneath the Grandmaster’s Palace, considering it was surrounded by Chitauri soldiers. They ducked behind a rundown M-ship, watching intently as the soldiers circled the pod in slow, menacing strides. “You’re lucky I remembered to take my blasters to the office,” Peter whispered, unearthing them from his bag. “And you guys got your - where the hell have you been keeping swords?” Nebula merely glared at him in lieu of a verbal response. “Alright, alright, sorry I asked.”

“Forget your guns, Quill,” Gamora murmured, gently pushing his hands down. “The Chitauri are tough; they require brutality, not bullets. Remember my instructions?”

“Get into the pod, send out a scrambled tracking signal. Once the pod docks with Sanctuary, we can track him wherever he goes,” Peter recited diligently. “I mean, not gonna lie, I’m kinda bummed out we’re not gonna take him down for good today.”

“It’ll be better in the long run,” Gamora smiled sadly. “Find the rest of his operations, all the little hiding spots that even we didn’t know about.”

“Yeah, makes sense,” Peter nodded. “We don’t exactly have the authority to kill or arrest him, either. Hell, he could probably kill me with a snap of his fingers.” The sisters both stared at him incredulously. “What?”

“Stay here and wait for our signal,” Gamora said firmly. “When you have a clear path, make it quick - get in, get it done, get out.”

“Yeah, I got it - oh.” Peter watched helplessly as Gamora and Nebula went barreling over the broken wing of the ship, charging into the crowd of Chitauri soldiers with a mighty cry. They barely had time to react before the sisters descended upon them, slashing their way through every single body like they were made of paper, the ground rumbling with the sheer weight of the army’s sudden collapse. “Okay, I’ll just be back here - ”

“Now, Peter!” Gamora hollered over the sounds of metal hitting flesh and the helpless screams of fallen soldiers, driving her sword straight through a Chitauri’s heart.

Peter nearly tripped over his own feet as he sprinted towards the pod, using his blaster to blow the door open - this was no time to hack the autolock. He collapsed into the pilot’s seat, and with trembling hands, yanked open one of the utility panels underneath the console and began digging around, holding a penlight between his teeth. “Focus, Peter,” he muttered to himself as his shaky fingers untangled the wires that connected the navigation system. The minutes felt like hours as he worked, sweat rolling down the back of his neck. He tried his best not to look out the window to keep an eye on the sisters as they fought a seemingly endless stream of Chitauri, though his heart beat painfully fast out of nervousness for both him and them.

Just as he was finishing up, an enormous thud erupted from somewhere above his head, almost like someone had jumped on top of the pod. Slowly, Peter peered out of the dashboard window, his blood running cold at the realization of who it was. He held his breath as he retreated into a shadowy corner of the already-miniscule pod, quietly closing the door behind him.

“Daughters.” His deep baritone rattled its way through everyone’s bones. “What a surprise.”

“Believe me, we aren’t excited to see you, either,” Nebula growled, brandishing her electrified blades.

“You’ve been doing this for too long, Father. All the pain you’ve caused people…the pain you made us complicit in…it needs to end.” Gamora drew her sword as well. “Either we take you in, or we take you out.”

“You think because you’ve chased a few leads, solved a couple crimes, called yourself a private investigator, you’ve absolved yourself.” Thanos let out an unsettlingly dark chuckle. “Oh, Gamora. Still unbearably naive, all these years later. Still believe that your purpose is to help others, when your purpose is to save them.”

“I will not help you find the Soul Stone. It will do you no good in your quest for ‘salvation’ or whatever it is you tell yourself to feel better about your irreversible sins,” Gamora snarled. “I want to wash my hands of your wretchedness and atone for my own. We can do this the easy way, Father. Let us take you to the Nova Corps. Confess to everything you’ve ever done - give them numbers, give them names. Live the rest of your days freed from your truths, or they will hunt you down for the rest of time.”

“And you think they’ll listen to me?” Thanos advanced, his strides long and thundering against the dense Sakaaran soil. “Or will they kill me where I stand? What do you know of freedom, Gamora? Or truth?” He leaned down, bringing himself eye-to-eye with his daughter. She held her breath for a moment, taunting him with her silence. Then he knocked her sword clean out of her hand and grabbed her by the wrist in one fell swoop, yanking her up into the air. Gamora shouted and spat in his face, struggling to free herself, but his strength far outmatched hers. Peter, still hidden in the pod, dug his fingernails into his palms in anger.

“You always told us we were terrible liars.” Nebula stood tall. “And our freedom began the day we left for Morag.”

With a roar that rivaled his, Nebula ran straight for him, propelling herself up and slashing across the tops of his shoulders with her blades. In his haste to retaliate, Thanos dropped Gamora, who snatched up her sword and went sprinting for the transport pod. Peter watched in confusion as she ducked out of his view, his heart speeding up even faster as Thanos and Nebula continued to spar. The sisters’ reputations, he found, were not for nothing - Nebula, despite her relative size to Thanos’s enormity, was doing her best to keep up, though she seemed to be directing him closer and closer to the pod, the expanse of Thanos’s back grazing the glass every few seconds as she pushed him back.

Finally, there was a pause, though if either of them were out of breath, they didn’t show it. “What do you really think you can accomplish here, Nebula?” Thanos sneered. “Your life was best lived under my guidance, and even then, you had half the strength of your brothers and sisters.”

“And you think you can rattle me, spit venom in my face and pour salt in my wounds. But your words do nothing but fuel my desire to kill you where you stand,” Nebula hissed, narrowing her eyes. “But today…and just today…we have something else in mind.”

Thanos barely had time to blink before Gamora leaped from the top of the transport pod, slicing her sword clean through the shoulder wound on his left, severing his arm completely from his body. He let out a bloodcurdling scream of anguish, collapsing to his knees with a dizzying thud, trying and failing to brace himself on his right hand as his nose hit the dirt.

Gamora landed neatly on her feet, pacing around to his front in a deliberate manner. She pressed the tip of her bloodied sword into the back of his neck, leaving the slightest, almost surgical incision at the top of his spine. “Consider that a warning, Father. You taunt us and doubt us like you weren’t the one who instilled our thirsts for violence and fear.” She glanced briefly at Nebula. “We’ll let you go. But only because you’re currently more useful alive than dead.” Gamora smirked. “Besides…I don’t have the authority to arrest you.” She tilted her chin in the direction of the transport pod. “Leave us. Now.”

Thanos only just managed to struggle to his feet when Peter came crashing through the door of the transport pod, donning a mask and additional gear that Gamora had never seen before. He somersaulted through the air, slapping a small device onto Thanos’s back before flipping right over his head, coming to a stop by Gamora’s side, hovering a few feet above the ground in his jet boots. “Catch you later!” Peter said cheerfully, pressing a button on a remote that also seemed to have come out of nowhere.

Gamora and Nebula watched incredulously as Thanos was suddenly yanked back into the pod with a mighty clang, the door slamming shut after him. Peter unearthed a tablet from his bag, and with a couple quick commands, the pod activated, its engine and systems humming for a brief moment before it shot straight up into space at an immeasurable speed. The three of them stared up at the night sky in dumbfounded awe, Thanos’s helpless thundering shouts fading into the distance.

“Peter…what the…” Gamora breathed, turning to look at him in half-pride, half-disbelief.

Peter merely shrugged. “What? I was in there for a long time. Figured I could put some of my other skills - and old Ravager tech - to good use.”

“Looks like my sister’s faith in you wasn’t as misguided as I thought.” Nebula patted Peter almost condescendingly on the shoulder before turning and walking back toward the Grandmaster’s Palace, stashing her blades back into her boots. “Well? Are we leaving this literal trash planet or not?”

Peter and Gamora looked at each other. “Don’t have to ask me twice,” Gamora remarked with a relieved smile.______

“Still doesn’t feel real.” The three of them had returned to Nebula’s stolen ship after saying brief goodbyes to Valkyrie (and, to their chagrin, the Grandmaster as well). Peter and Gamora were once again sat on the bench, though side by side this time. “I’ve been chasin’ that bastard for ages, and to be that close…to almost beat him…I know I should be more pissed about letting him go, but you made the right call. And the fact we survived at all is a major win.”

Gamora nodded in agreeance. “You know what? I feel the same way. I’ve spent so long running from him and chasing after him at the same time, and to get all the way here…looks like joining your office wasn’t such a bad idea after all.”

Peter grinned triumphantly. “So…what’re your plans now?”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m heading back to Knowhere so I can return to my life, the team. I bet Mantis freaked out the second she realized I was gone. Plus, you kinda took all of our stuff.” He gestured towards the stack of documents currently stashed in her bag. “Anyways, you and Nebula don’t have a place to stay anymore, and there’s no way the Black Order aren’t gonna come back. So where are you gonna go?”

“I…was thinking we would go to Knowhere with you.” Gamora chewed her lip. “After all, we managed to make it this far. Who says we can’t do it again? Actually take Thanos down for good?”

Peter smiled, something soft and sweet and a little mischievous, just like two nights ago on the casino balcony. “Sounds like a plan.”

She broke her gaze, the intensity of his eyes becoming far too overwhelming for her senses, opting to look out at the stars instead. “You had something you wanted to say to me, back at the casino. Something you wanted to ask.”

“Oh,” Peter chuckled awkwardly. “I, uh, don’t worry about it, really.”

“Try me,” Gamora said simply, glancing back at him.

“I was gonna…well, I was gonna ask if maybe, you’d be interested in going to dinner sometime. Just you and me. O - or, it doesn’t have to be dinner, we could go to - I mean, there’s nothing really to do on Knowhere that’s legal, exactly, but - ”

“Elsewhere, then,” she suggested, her smile growing. “We’re both seasoned travelers, after all.”

“Yeah?” The crease between Peter’s brow slowly relaxed, his smile widening in anticipation. “You want to?”

“Oh, why not? I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to ask, or if I should just do it instead.” Gamora reached over to squeeze his hand between both of hers. “So it’s a date…partner.”

#ask #Anonymous #starmora #starmora fic #myfic #marvel #ok so this isn't 100% true to prompt and is more my interpretation of it #but i hope you enjoy regardless!!

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