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aleatoryw · 4 days

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Kayfabe au?? 👀

*clears throat* At some point between the high republic era and the prequels era, the Jedi order realized they were flat broke. rent on coruscant had been steadily increasing as more and more galactic governmental organizations headquartered themselves there, and being an order of peacekeeping monks who spent their days mostly in quiet meditation didn't exactly bring in a ton of cash. so they decided to start holding their practice spars in a public amphitheater, and charging a few credits for admission. people outside of the order have long been fascinated by lightsabers and lightsaber fights, so what's the harm in showing off a bit? it's not like this will eventually lead to restructuring the entire order around flashy combat and stage personas and an organized fight schedule... right?

Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the best fighters in the entire galaxy. his events always draw huge crowds and surging ticket prices. his compelling plotline ("killed" the heel who took his master out of the ring) is part of it, his dramatic (sensationalized) forbidden romance with a mandalorian duchess is part of it, and his dashing good looks are a substantial part of it. but still, Kenobi isn't happy. the new president of the Saber Combat League is also a senator who seems all too content to use the League as a distraction from the outbreak of war across the galaxy. shouldn't the Jedi be involved in this? (they aren't. but shouldn't they be?)

said senator, Palpatine, is also pushing them to their limits. more fights, more dangerous stunts, more real injuries. the plotline is getting more and more convoluted as the fighters who bring in the most credits have to face each other over and over again, for increasingly ridiculous reasons. he thinks he has fought his own padawan, Anakin Skywalker, about a hundred times now. (Anakin is one of few people with more star power than him - a past as a champion podracer, a chosen one origin story, and an open secret marriage to a queen-turned-senator will do that.) Popular heels are brought back from "the dead" - including his least favorite, Maul.

in addition, while the league has long been welcoming of reoccurring villains from outside the Jedi order, some of the people who have been set up in fights recently seem... off. they couldn't possibly be... sith, could they? no one has seen a sith in centuries. surely Maul, the man who wounded Qui-Gon and ruined his career in the ring for life, was lying about being a sith? surely Dooku, a man who left the order to pursue politics, is lying about being a sith? it's just promotion, right? He's skeptical of Palpatine's leadership (and how much profit he's making off the Jedi), and he especially doesn't like his burgeoning friendship with Anakin.

now because i'm a ventrobi shipper, the inciting incident is Asajj first appearing in the ring as his newest enemy - a heel. she was recruited from the slave gladiator arenas of rattatak and is desperate to not. go. back. but he doesn't know that, because she doesn't say much in the locker room before the fight. he just knows she's intense and vicious and hot. and their fight chemistry is so good, they end up slated to fight each other again and again. Anakin is acting like he's not jealous (he is, mostly because he ends up fighting unknown nobodies and he craves a challenge); Satine is upset because there are now rumors of an affair in the tabloids (they haven't been a real couple in over a decade); and Qui-gon is wary about this new woman's connections to Dooku. but Obi-Wan can't stop himself from leaning into their flirtatious banter, and pressing for more information about her.

at some point, Palpatine decides that the script calls for Ventress to be written out of the plot. in a moment of vulnerability before the fight where this is meant to happen, she breaks down and tells him about what it will mean for her, and Obi-Wan realizes that to save her, he might have to go against Palpatine, and maybe break kayfabe in the process. they improvise, and in the big moment when he's supposed to realize she can't be saved and run her through, he instead says he's realized he's in love with her, and they share a big dramatic kiss. the crowd goes insane. Ventress goes from a decently popular fighter to the hottest ticket in town, even when she's fighting other people. anakin is furious, not only because palpatine is his new best friend, but also because no one upstages him like that. Qui-gon is... pleasantly confused, but proud - whatever happens from here, it's going to be messy, but if anyone can right this league, it's his stubborn former padawan.

the best part about this insane unhinged au is you can ship whatever you want in it. Cody is Obi-Wan's manager, Padme is a guest of honor at every fight, any Jedi or villain you like can be in the ring. it RULES and i have so much fun with it. it is not written anywhere (except here)

#star wars au #ventrobi #star wars #sw prequels #sorry this was so long! i just love my silly little wrestling but it's sabers and they all have to pretend to fight au #the origin of this is i called ventress 'such a good heel' and was like actually you know what? she is.

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randomimaginesforrandompeople · 3 years

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Little tease | Riven smut

Summary: You tease Riven during training, he shows you what happens to little teases.

A/N: I do not own the gif but I thought it would fit! This is just smut, but we need more Riven smut out there. It’s a little filthier than I have written so far so I hope it isn’t too bad.

WARNING: SMUT read at your own discretion, Daddy kink (because come on, Riven totally has one) teasing, dirty talk (a little degrading), little rough but nothing too crazy.

Taglist: @novawrts @americaswritings @voidmalfoy @reader101k @teaandcoke @glowingatdawn @fandomwalflower @blahhhhhhhaaa @artsyle @criesinlies @orphan-with-a-stutter

If you want to be added/removed from my taglist please let me know!

You had never had an attraction to someone like this, you couldn’t explain what it was. Riven just made you feel some type of way. He could give you one look and set your body on fire, it didn’t help that he was the worlds biggest flirt and liked to show off. Luckily for you, the feeling was mutual and Riven focused his attention on you.

Riven and you had been together for a while now, you knew all his quirks and habits, and you also knew what really got him going. You were in a mood, there was a training scheduled and you did not want to go. You wanted to spend your day in bed with Riven. So to say you were a little annoyed was an understatement. The only good thing about this training was that the second year specialists were assisting, so you did get to see your boyfriend, just not in the situation you had hoped for.

The training was in full swing and you were getting frustrated, sexually. Riven was looking way too hot for a normal training day. All sweaty, flexing his muscles and being in charge? Yeah that definitely got you going. You huffed in annoyance, you knew that training would at least be another hour.

Silva asked Riven to demonstrate a new move and asked for a volunteer, you had never been this eager to help out, you wanted to get pinned against the floor by Riven and you were getting more desperate with the minute. Luckily Silva chose you, Riven raised his eyebrow, you never volunteered to help demonstrate. You were one of the types that liked to learn quietly to themselves. You got in position and launched at Riven, he blocked your attack and pinned you to the floor in one swift move. Silva explained the mechanics of the move as Riven was still pinning you down, you decided to tease him a little and whispered ‘’Sorry babe, needed an excuse to be underneath you again’’ He gulped and you grinned, liking the effect you had on him. The two of you rose and you knew exactly how to make this training more fun.

It was your personal mission to get a rise out of Riven. You took every oppurtunity to practice with him. Pressing your body against him, whispering things to him whenever you had the chance and making other innuendos. You could see that it was getting to him, he got a little snappy towards the other first years and looked increasingly more frustrated.

Riven had no idea what had gotten into you, but it had him going crazy. The way you moved made it more difficult to focus, especially when you kept touching him and giving him sly looks. It was killing him, Silva had asked him to help because of his improvement and he didn’t want to mess up. But god did you make it hard, pun intended. You were drinking from your water bottle when Riven stalked over to you ‘’What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’’ he hissed at you. You smiled innocently ‘’I have no idea what you’re talking about’’ Riven looked at you, clearly irritated ‘’Knock. it. off’’ He walked away, huffing loudly. You had definitely gotten to him.

You were sparring with Dane when you called Riven over, you were going in for the final move. ‘’Riv, can I try this move on you? Dane was asking about it’’ You smiled sweetly, he already knew it was a trap but he couldn’t say no to you with all the others around you, so he nodded. He launched at you and this time you had him quickly to the ground. You were sitting on top of him and stretched out your whole body over his to ‘lock him down’ you leaned down and whispered innocently ‘’Am I doing it right daddy?’’ He could feel himself twitch in his pants, you had really done it now. You slowly got off of him, brushing past his growing problem. Riven was pissed to say the least, you were actually kind of nervous when you saw the bitter expression on his face. But training was finally over and before you could do anything, Riven had grabbed your arm and dragged you off of the training fields.

‘‘You fucking tease’‘ You were barely in his room when he had pinned you against the wall. ‘‘Trying to distract and tempt me the entire training session’‘ He smirked, his pupils full blown and dark ‘’Want me to show you what I do to a needy little tease?’’ He forced your legs open with his thigh and roughly pushed it against your heat. You let out a small noise at the contact, making him grin bigger. ‘’Not so bold now huh?’’ He pushed his thigh closer against you, making you moan. He chuckled ‘’You’re so fucking desperate’’ You tried to move against his thigh, needing any sort of friction but he held you still, breath ghosting over your neck but not doing anything. You let out a whine, you were indeed desperate and needed him to do anything ‘’Come on baby, use your words’’ You had difficulty making up a coherent sentence, especially when his lips started to lightly touch your neck before pulling away from you completely. The loss of contact made you whimper ‘’I-I need you to fucking touch me, please’’ Riven cupped your cheek ‘’Please what?’’ ‘’Please daddy’’

That was it, he was on you in a second. Attacking your mouth with his own. His hands were groping your ass, your legs around his waist and your hands in his hair as you moaned into the kiss. He carried you over to the bed and roughly dropped you. He wasted no time, taking of his shirt and your sports bra before getting on top of you again. Kissing you once again, shoving his tongue into your mouth. You could feel his growing errection being pushed into you, you were soaked at this point. He bit on your lip before assaulting your neck, he was marking you. Normally you’d mind because people were going to see but you were so lost in all of it that you didn’t care at that moment. Your hands were in his hair as you moaned, you wrapped your legs around him again to push him closer into you, earning a groan from him. You loved it when he made his little noises, and you’d do anything to hear them over and over.

He was leaving marks all over your body taking his sweet time, way too long in your opinion. You loved his mouth on you but you needed something else more. You started grinding against him making him chuckle ‘’God you really are desperate today huh?’’ He leaned in closer to you ‘’Does baby need to be filled?’’ You nodded. He grinned while he looked at you, you already fucked out and he had barely touched you. ‘’Do you deserve it?’’ Your eyes widened ‘’Cause only good girls get filled up’’ His thumb traced over your lip ‘’Please’’ you croaked ‘’I need you so bad’’ He pulled you into a surprisingly sweet kiss ‘’Alright baby, you get off this time, but don’t pull that stunt on me again’’ you nodded, you’d do anything at this point.

Suddenly he tore down your leggings. He whistled when he saw your panties, they were red and lacy just as he liked. ‘’You planned this all along huh? my naughty little girl’’ He nudged your legs open and touched you over your underwear, they were completely soaked and you knew it. The little friction was appreciated but it was not nearly enough ‘’Riven... please’’ He pressed a little harder ‘’Tell me what you want’’ He pushed your underwear to the side and raked his finger over your slit making you gasp ‘’I want you to fuck me daddy’’ He grinned ‘’Anything for you baby’’ He plunged two fingers into your heat and kept a rapid pace making you throw your head back and moan loudly. You didn’t even care who heard anymore. He pulled away from you after a few minutes and licked his fingers clean ‘’You taste so fucking good’’ You whined at the loss of contact but saw that he was removing his pants and boxers and licked your lips when you saw his already leaking dick. He pumped it a few times before getting back to you.

He pushed your legs apart even more and took your legs and rested them over his shoulders giving him an interesting angle. He pushed at you all at once drawing out a long moan from the both of you. He didn’t give you any time to adjust before slowly pulling out and pushing back in again. He groaned ‘’You’re so tight, I love being inside of you’’ his hips snapped deliciously into you and you let out a few breathy moans when he started picking up his pace. It didn’t take long before you felt the familiair coil burning inside your stomach. Riven noticed too ‘’Come for me babygirl’’ He thrusted a few more times and you came undone, seeing stars. Your orgasm washed over you and that was all it took for Riven to snap as well, coming inside of you.

The two of you were breathing heavily next to each other. ‘’That was mindblowing’’ you rested your head on his chest and he wrapped an arm around you, pulling you closer ‘’Damn right it was, but please don’t ever tease me again during training’’ you giggled ‘’Well I might have to if you fuck me this good afterwards’’ Riven laughed he pulled you in for a slow kiss making you melt ‘’I can fuck you good anytime babe’’

#riven x reader #riven smut #riven imagine #fate the winx saga riven #riven #fate the winx saga smut #fate the Winx saga imagines #fate the winx saga #fate the winx saga riven x reader #fate the winx saga riven imagine #riven imagines

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hageny · 3 years

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Succession Thoughts: Gerri x Roman

1. Like a normo.

While on the phone with Gerri in Safe Room, Roman tells her he’s going to stick it out in training and “...become a real boy...” and “...have phone sex with my girlfriend like a normo.”. This last bit is interesting because it is a foreshadowing of what happens later in the episode, where Roman calls Tabitha and attempts to talk dirty with her on the phone and ultimately realizes he is unable to connect with her sexually in anyway, which culminates in him simply hanging up on her and realizing the effort was futile. Immediately afterward, he calls Gerri and begins sparring with her and ultimately pleasures himself while she is on the phone with him. Did the earlier mention of “phone sex” only serve to hint at what was to come, or could this be taken apart as well? Firstly, one could consider that Roman mentions being capable of having phone sex with a girlfriend--which would tie into his enjoyment of “wrong” sex--and sees this as something pleasurable, to be enjoyed with the right woman. Tabitha obviously is not that woman, and as mentioned in my previous post, is seen by Roman as nothing more than an object, something he does not connect to. Secondly, one can deduce that Roman and Gerri are already slated to become lovers later in the series, and this season hints heavily at this happening. Roman mentions the ability to have phone sex with a girlfriend, and then does so with Gerri with ease while she happily engages him. As much as Gerri is molding Roman into the man she needs him to be so they can secure their positions at Waystar, Roman is also molding Gerri into the woman he desires. He pushes and prods her and takes her into darker, sexually charged territory to see if she can fulfill his needs. Is Gerri only going along with this to screw Roman later once she achieves her ends, or does she too desire him equally? I hope the latter is true.

2. True essences.

While at the retreat in Argestes, Roman visits Gerri’s room late at night and they discuss their union and how assisting each other will ultimately help them both obtain what they want. Roman refers to them as “Rockstar and Mole Woman”, then quickly dismisses this personification of themselves as being, “our public profiles, not our true essences”. This is interesting because it suggests that this idea of ‘public self and private self’ is part of the core of their relationship. Roman and Gerri both project a facade to those around them: Roman as the womanizing playboy uninterested in power, and Gerri as the indifferent lackey willing to go along with whatever transpires around her. Secretly, however, Roman becomes increasingly interested in obtaining power, and Gerri slowly reveals her discomfort with simply going along with Logan’s ideas. The ease with which Roman both constructs an identity for them and then tears it apart suggests that Roman knows full well that they are playing a game with those around them and that within their relationship there exists a truth of who they individually are that is not seen by others. As the ancient Japanese proverb says:

“The first face, you show to the world. The second face, you show to your close friends, and your family. The third face, you never show anyone.”

How honest will Gerri and Roman ultimately become with one another?

3. CEO & Chair.

Another point of interest is what Roman mentions to Gerri while discussing the idea of a takeover headed by the two of them. He mentions to her that she would be the executive chair and he the CEO, then quickly reverses the scenario placing her in the position of CEO and himself in the position of chair. This is interesting because of how easily Roman is willing to relinquish power to her and play with the idea of himself as CEO or chair and is seemingly fine with both. This serves to highlight that Roman’s need for Gerri on the surface is solely business related, but in reality his interest in her is deep enough that he is willing to accept whichever position she does not want because his ultimate desire is to keep her close to him. What Gerri thinks about all this is hard to say, but it is worth pointing out that she is the one who pushed him to go into management training, and last season went to him immediately after the disastrous shuttle launch, which she knew could potentially have gotten him into serious legal trouble. This is different from how she approaches Tom in Sad Sack Wasp Trap about the issue with the cruises when she realizes he wants to publicly own up to their deceptive practices. She relates the story of the Sin Cake Eater and essentially tells him to “eat the sins” of the corpse and be content with the riches that come along with sin. Later, she passes Greg and tells him “Good kid. Smart move. Keep talking.”, highlighting her ability to manipulate both of them into doing what she wants. This essentially highlights Gerri’s tenacity and willingness to discard those she views as disinteresting to her. It hints at a darker aspect to her character, which equals Roman’s feelings of disgust toward his own family. This loops back around to the CEO and chair mention because it serves to showcase that like those positions in a company, Roman and Gerri operate in tandem with one another and their need for one another is equal.

4. Cellphones at dinner.

I should preface this next analyses by saying that I could be wrong in what I’ve perceived but I’ll mention it anyway in the hopes of sparking some discussion in the comments.

During the dinner in Hunting, Logan demands that all the members of the dinner party place their cellphones on the table in hopes of sussing out who ruined his move to take over PGM. As they are placing their phones on the table, Gerri uncharacteristically challenges Logan, questioning whether such a demand is even legal and why it’s necessary. The fact that this angers her is interesting, because, as we see later on in the season, Gerri and Roman spend quite a bit of time on the phone together. Gerri has nothing else to hide, presumably, so can we deduce that her nervousness is related to her relationship with Roman? Were anyone to look at her phone, it may be difficult for her to explain the frequent contact with him while her contact with the other members of the Roy family is almost always in person in the office. While most of their talks are shown post-Hunting, this could indicate that what we see later on is simply a continuation of something that has been going on for longer than the audience is aware of. This could explain their intimate scene the next morning as she buttons his shirt, and could also relate to their working the proxy deal in Vaulter together. While the audience doesn’t see what all went on during that time, we can assume that their increasing intimacy in later episodes suggests that something inappropriate was happening already.

The screenshot above is crucial, because it contains a detail that I may have misinterpreted, but will touch on now. While the others relinquish their cellphones, we see Roman slide a cellphone off the table to his left and hide it in his lap while he hands over the one located in his back pocket. Logan insists on both company and personal phones, meaning all the characters have two. Roman’s of course is later taken from him by Kendall, and this is where it is revealed that Roman was talking to Naomi Pierce and unintentionally destroyed his father’s business deal. However, which phone did Kendall take from Roman? The one he is filming the boar on the floor game with is a silver phone, the one he is usually seen with in the show, most likely his company phone. Roman hides his (probable) personal phone. If wishing to keep it concealed, it would stand to reason that the phone he used to film the game--which Kendall ultimately snatched from him--is the one he placed on the table, which is where all the phones were left anyway. So is it possible that Roman was more willing to get in trouble for his dealings with Naomi Pierce than relinquish his personal cellphone, which could’ve contained damning evidence of his relationship with Gerri? It’s worth noting that of all the characters at the table, only the two of them protest handing over their phones. If the scene the next morning is any indicator, the intimacy between them was already growing to a point that would make it hard to explain to anyone around them. Gerri was also the only one to slip away from the breakfast room to check on Roman, who once again was forgotten by his family, his absence likely unnoticed by them in the first place. Being unnoticed by those around them is another point of similarity; both Roman and Gerri aren’t referred to or called on unless needed by the others to fulfill their subservient positions, then ultimately discarded until they are needed again. Both of them are underappreciated, underestimated, and presumably bitter. Is what we see all there is to their relationship, or is the truth in the details, hidden in the stitching of the clothing that is the show? As I stated earlier, I could always be wrong.

Thank you to all who have commented and engaged with my posts so far. I hope that I will have material enough to continue to do these, although presumably I’ll run out at some point. Regardless, it’s a pleasure so far.

#gerri/roman #gerri x roman #gerri kellman #roman roy #succession #succession hbo #hbo succession #succession thoughts

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phoenixyfriend · 3 years

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Madara and Obito... In SPACE

So the preface to this mess: I don’t know jackshit about Star Wars, so a lot of this went through friends who do know Star Wars (the primary of which does not have a tumblr).

(I have watched Episodes 7&8, and Rogue One. Of the first six movies, I remember watching maybe an hour total. I have not seen more than snatches of Clone Wars. Beyond that, nothing but fic.)

Anyway! Let’s go:

As y’all probably know by now, my favorite form of crossover is what I call “intrusive,” so... I'm enjoying the mental concept of "dump Madara on Coruscant and watch him go." (Prequels, probably.)

Does Madara know what's going on? No. Can he understand a word that's being said? No! Is he going to fight the first person to aim a weapon at him, and every person after that? Yes.

Is Madara fighting fit?

Nnnnnnnnnnnnnno, not really, he’s old as balls. This is "I was on cave life support but I'm getting back up to kick ass out of pure spite" Madara.

[Image description: A screenshot of a panel of the Naruto Manga. Uchiha Madara is old and visibly ‘decrepit,’ with spiky white hair and an amorphous black robe. He is sitting on a pale throne, and there is a scythe visible to the side. He has a speech bubble saying “I am... a ghost of the Uchiha.” End Description]

Two wrinkly old guys, staring each other down: There ain't enough room in this universe for the two of us. [Palpatine and Madara start fighting to the death]

Congrats, Palpatine! Your ass is getting kicked by a geriatric malcontent who doesn't speak any language you've ever heard or feel like literally anything in the Force. You may have Sith lightning, but do you have decades of frontline experiences and over half a century of cave-dwelling bitterness?

Both of them, simultaneously, in completely different languages: Get off my lawn, whipper-snapper.

Palpatine: Behold my mastery of the Dark Side, Foolish old man! Palpatine: [shoots lightning] Madara: Oh hey, you're like the seventeenth most dangerous person who can shoot lightning I've fought. Telekinesis? Fought that. Combat precognition? Fought that, have that, and let me tell you hwat, it doesn't help if you're opponent is just that much faster than you.

Now, I’ll take a step back and acknowledge that several people advised me that Palpatine would stand a chance against Madara, likely even win, if Madara just got hacked off of his life support and is down to one eye.

But. I want a shitpost, and also to clown on Palpatine, so Madara wins easily.

Madara also deserves to be clowned on, but the entire situation is clowning on him because he’s not in his cave anymore, and he really wants to go back to his Gedou Mazou statue.

Maybe Madara and Palpatine go Old Man Fight and then Obito just pulls a Ninja Move and kills Palpatine that way. Madara was ranting and Obito just. Ninjas behind Palpatine and slits his throat like “okay, you’re obviously evil so like... bye.”

(I just love causing "Wait what" reactions in characters that are used to having total control. Like. Have you read "Unexpected Guests"? The Bleach fic? Everything that happens in Hueco Mundo and after. That energy. I want that energy.)

Madara waves his scythe around like a cane. Obito just trails after like “Gramps, no” because it’s still pre-Sanbi, so he’s Mostly Innocent (you know, on the scale of how fucked up Obito is as a person), and just wants Madara to like. Stop.

Palpatine dies but nobody's sure what to charge Madara with since he did kind of expose a Sith? And Palpatine attacked first for [handwave] reasons?

Jedi: Well sir, in lieu of charging you with assassination of the emperor, we have decided to ask you politely to return to the elderly person's retirement home from whence you came. Please leave immediately. You are frightening the senate. Madara: [incomprehensible raving] Jedi: Yes yes, very interesting. Jedi, whispering: Does anyone know his caretaker???

Obito looks increasingly put-upon as events progress. You need Obito there to... well, not translate. Nobody can translate. But to at least poke Madara into being Slightly Less Homicidal.

Anakin seems sad about his friend dying and being evil so Obito challenges him to a spar. Madara and Obito get pulled into the Jedi Temple to help train Padawans? My first thought was "they wouldn't trust someone so obviously Weird, Crazy, and Incomprehensible around the younglings" and my second thought was "well they let Yoda do it and he's all those things so I mean? YEAH."

What if they put Madara in the bacta tank and he just freshened up like a daisy because of hand-wave Hashirama cell reasons (Blame Sir Tiddyface).

From “Decrepit and Reliant on Cave Tube Life Support” to “Will Call Down Meteors With Ease”

How many eyes does he have? Whatever’s funniest. Let’s say one Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and one Rinnegan, for maximum chaos.

Would "half my body is missing" Obito freak out if Bacta regrew his eye? Can bacta regrow something like that? When characters lose limbs they usually just get cybernetic replacements, but the person I spoke with said that apparently they saw somewhere that that kind of thing can grow back it just takes a really long time.

I want to imagine bacta would help Obito with the Zetsu integration.

Anyway! Yes. Have Madara help train people despite being... Madara about it. You know... kind of a dick.

(I’d put example gifs but I don’t feel up to it. Y’all know what Madara’s “weakness disgusts me” ass is like.)

Obito had to get his "these fools could never make me sweat" sass from somewhere, after all.

Do you think Obito could fight the baby Jedi that are around his age while recovering? I have no idea what their skill level is at fourteen, but I want to imagine Obito sparring the Padawans.

Obito + Zetsu + Bacta = he still needs physical therapy but he can spar again!

Madara is delighted to have a baby ninja to bully. He's too old to not bully baby ninjas, and Obito is the only baby ninja. TBH Madara just makes Obito his assistant teacher.

Obito: What are we even doing here and how do we get home? Madara: I'm still working on that. Obito: But I want to go home and see Rin and Kakashi! Madara, who was like two days away from triggering the Sanbi plan: I'm working on it.

Something sticking in my mind rn is Ahsoka&Obito, since Obito is still Baby.

I think Obito would be excited to have someone his age that thought he was Cool and Talented for being able to do Chakra Things instead of writing him off as "the dead-last." Like, Rin is friends with him, but she doesn't look up to him as someone more/differently talented. He'd be excited to get to be "The Mysterious Cool Big Bro" for once.

I feel I also just like the idea of Anakin not knowing what to do with someone Several Years Younger that is also. Ninja Skill.

Miscellaneous thoughts:

Madara is a grouchy old man even AFTER he gets effectively de-aged via bacta dunk, for the record. He's back in his prime and the Jedi have no idea how. They're all concerned about tiddyface*. (When are people not concerned about Sir Tiddyface, really.) The mokuton is a problem.

*Sir Tiddyface is that random Hashirama face that Madara had growing out of his pecs for like... convoluted bullshit reasons.

(Madara doesn't have mokuton, but he has enough Hashirama cells that it interacted very, VERY weirdly with the bacta.)

Obito spends the intervening weeks trying to learn the local language. He's very eager. Not particularly fast. Still doing it though!

I want Obito juggling kunai as physical therapy while he's waiting for Mads to get out of the bacta tank and just gains himself the adoration of a gaggle of small baby Jedi children.

Madara comes out of the bacta tank looking like he did in his prime (which I mentioned earlier but whatever), and it absolutely incites a yelling match of an argument that draws way too much attention.

Someone tries to teach Obito how to access the Force, just to see what happens. He almost turns into a statue because the philosophy behind Force meditation is only a few steps away from Sage Mode Meditation.

Anyway, Madara smacks him with a stick like Fukasaku to make sure Obito doesn't turn into stone.

Madara grumps about the lack of paper and brushes and ink. Bitches about it until someone hits up an antique store or something to get them for him. The day before he and Obito are dispatched on a mission with someone, probably Anakin for plot reasons, Madara very publicly seals things into a scroll and then tells them that no, they can't learn it, because the Force isn't chakra so fuuinjutsu won't work for them, so There.

Obito practices some Teen Rebellion (tm) and like, tries to teach the Padawan friends he's made how to do Chakra Things... but he's so bad at explaining things that nobody can get it to work even if it were possible.

In Obito's defense, language barriers. Not in Obito's defense, he's just really bad at words sometimes.

#Star Wars #Star Wars Prequels #Naruto #Uchiha Madara #Uchiha Obito #crossovers #Phoenix Posts #body horror mention

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tanoraqui · 3 years

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What Does Kill You Can Make You Stronger, Too

Chapter 29: Blasphemy

Blasphemy (n) 1a: the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God b: the act of claiming the attributes of a deity 2: irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable - Merriam Webster online

3: what people say when the voiceless speak - Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay

When Wen Ning was three years old and his sister was six, their father went south to help fight a plague. He returned as ashes, with a letter of utmost gratitude from the village with which he had stayed unto the end.

Shortly after his funeral, Mother went back to her family in the Nightless City. Their father had been the heir to the Dafan branch of the great Wen Clan of Qishan, a second cousin once removed of Sect Leader Wen Ruohan himself. But their mother was real QishanWen, a first cousin once removed (on the opposite side), and she preferred the glory of the Nightless City and the pure sword path to the Dafan Wens’ more peaceful, healing-focused cultivation.

Their upbringing was left to their uncle, who was now in charge of the clan until Wen Qing came of age, and to Granny. Granny was their grandmother, but she was also called “Granny” by absolutely everyone in the sect compound as well as in the nearby village. She had long-since retired from the business of managing their little sect in favor of managing their prodigious herb garden.

Second Uncle and Granny were both kind and caring, but they were also busy, as were the rest of the aunts and uncles. Aside from classes in medicine and cultivation and just enough swordcraft and the other great arts to get by, Wen Ning and Wen Qing were left mostly on their own. As were the rest of their cousins—but Wen Qing was too clever to fit in with most of them, and Wen Ning too quiet and stuttering, so it was usually just the two of them: Wen Qing with her latest medical manual, as she dug through the family library almost faster than their teachers could keep up; Wen Ning with an adventure novel or a new sword form to quietly practice, or the dreaded rhetoric homework. Elsewhere, the assorted DafanWen cousins played games together or hunted herbs for extra pocket money or did their own homework, chattering loudly.

With no particular hard feelings! Sometimes even children can fail to get along without resorting to cruelty about it. Dinner was eaten in an informal gaggle, always, various aunts and uncles coming and going as they managed their duties in the infirmary. Wen Ning had a good memory and a sharp eye; he was increasingly recruited to pocket money herb hunts. His regular sparring partner in class was Wen Long, he traded adventure novels with Xiao Lai, and when Wen Heng fell haplessly in love with a village girl whose appendix he’d helped remove, even Wen Qing joined in on the many schemes to set them up as romantically as possible. The fact that both Wen Heng and A-Shi were both eleven years old was widely ignored.

It paid off, too—seven years later, Wen Ning and Wen Qing both got permission to leave Yiling to attend their wedding. They could only stay for a day, but the wine flowed and the bride was beautiful and Granny insistently sent them both off with satchels stuffed full of leftover honey cakes.

Three days after that, Wen Chao led his forces on Lotus Pier.

[keep reading on AO3]

#mdzs #the untamed #wen ning #wen qing #jiang cheng #lan sizhui #wei wuxian #lan wangji #my fic #what does kill you

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dirtyrottenraskel · 3 years

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my take on yueki's personalities

yue

notes / personality

cocky (but also like understated confidence - r e g a l af)

kind of a nerd

maybe a little entitled, and a little bratty and suki loves to indulge her or to rile her up depending on her mood

books

seems soft but made of steel

strong sense of duty

socially intelligent - can be manipulative and suki (the dork) thinks it is so hot

aloof queen bee typa beat

supportive, both in ur day to day and in going after your big moral life goals

deep water - steady and powerful, often underestimated

untold depths, private yet surprisingly nurturing - master of deflecting away from herself

political nerd - well read, and when she has someone she trusts not to take advantage of her, she goes OFF

distrusting of most people, has been used and ignored and underestimated her whole life

patient - homegirl knows how to play the long game

excellent at pai sho / chess

she and suki have epic battles of wits - dif types of strategy but both are really into it and get a little too competitive (multiple board games have had to be replaced over the years)

loves travel bc wasn’t allowed to much, esp when she was sick

was super repressed growing up - never let her be herself or really have any sort of independence

used to sneak out and wander around in rebellion and casually sabotage plans and decisions she didn’t agree with

introverted, many opinions but keeps them to herself, discreet but well spoken

weaponizes secrets and information - doesn’t often use it but...she could

definitlyyyyy worries and overthinks and re-evaluates - worries ab social politics a lot

obsessive about picking things - wants it to be perfect

shes growing into her confidence as a leader

prefers quite intimate places

incredibly romantic

classic lit

planner for the future - visionary

kind / sweet / gentle - yes, but that’s also her “front” to a degree (seriously, i feel like she gets painted as so sweet and submissive and one dimensional by the fandom a lot of times and it freakin kills me)

INFJ-T (The Advocate) ((yes this is from 16p which i know is not super accurate but u can still catch her overall vibes from it ya know)

Creative/insightful/principled/compassionate/altruistic

sensitive/reluctant to open up/perfectionist/prone to burnout/not a fan of the ordinary

friendships / relationships

(<> indicates that they’re one of her best friends)

sokka - puppy love crushes, laugh ab it now, get into deep late night talks about responsibilities and leading, water tribe culture, prank wars (no one believes sokka when he says yue is a mean prank master (expect suki comes to see it in action lol))

katara - <> badass women friendship, totally would go to matches and protests together, tough girl shit, waterbending practice/duels - start of cautious, but then get rough in a good way bc they trust each other, they do water tribe food adventures together

toph - indulges her chaos, bonding over stupid royal upbringings, odd yet weirdly endearing pair

zuko - both sort of standoffish gay royals, but once they come to see that they are friends - take up similar spaces though, so only hang out in a group or rarely by themselves, they do hang out at like political parties and stuff when they get more comfortable together

aang - <> he has an impressive world view, yue is super studied and well read, so she and aang nerd out over past cultures together, and also their peace keeping nature, they have tea together often - usually after she and katara wipe the floor w/ each other

clothing / aesthetic:

blues and pale colors

classy and understated wealth

like those cute feminine button down shirts

dresses

like cold weather classy

complicated braids

sort of soft girl aesthetic?

pleated skirts !!!

i feel like she would wear ethically sourced fur (i don’t wear fur but idk how to get it in an ethical way - maybe it’s just fake??)

knit sweaters and skinny jeans and heeled ankle boots

light academia !!!

hella funky earrings - to mark her native pride and also cuz gay

from my readings, tattoos have a lot of cultural significance for Inuit women, and so i feel like yue would totally have some (when she comes of age ofc)

suki

notes / personality

extroverted

also very strategic

more spontaneous tho - will totally calculate the odds in a spilt second in her head and then just go for it

like still a careful planner, but willing to say fuck it, yolo if it seems right

reflects on her mistakes, but more in like a healthy way - unless it was a leadership mistake, then it eats her up inside - worries more ab keeping her girls safe and making the right call

likes lively places

total bashful romantic

manages the present and the short term - realist

loves to do lists

a little punch happy - loves to make violent threats, but also does it out of excitement and she’s just a really physical person tbh

steady, can come off as stubborn and abrasive but she really just wants what’s best for everyone she loves

harsh on herself and worries about her girls a lot

always ends up in the oddest situations

totally would kick someone’s ass for being racist/sexist/homophobic/etc

dedicated to her training and her regime

not a great cook, but she can manage

would drink monsters

has a weird relationship with femininity - took her awhile to reconcile strength and toughness and being assertive and aggressive with also wanting to feel pretty and feminine and embracing being a girl and how those things can coincide and amplify each other

abandonment issues - parents absent/dead

was imprisoned - obvi she had several almost successful escape attempts, but she got really close to breaking

was incredibly independent really early, grew up really fast and tries to make up for that now by sometimes being reckless

tough/assertive/woman of action

dry sense of humor/sarcastic - not good at nickname/pun humor tho

practical/dedicated/strong-willed/direct/honest/reliable/loyal/patient

stubborn/judgmental/difficult to relax/difficulty expressing emotions/too selfless

friendships / relationships

(<> indicates that they’re one of her best friends)

sokka - <> man they’re like platonic soulmates - she beat him up, and now they spar all the time, totally funny and crack jokes all the time, go skating together, they do shitty art together, and then show their lovers after zuko and yue come back from their high society mixers, broke her out of prison, m/f friendship !!!

katara - also sparring buddies (suki will throw down at any literally moment (and tbh so will katara)), not close but will hang in a group - go to each other for advice

toph - <> listen these two wreak havoc together, they help each other out a lot, i feel like they’re shopping buddies (similar enough style to frequent the same shops) toph knows suki won’t judge her for wanting to feel pretty and suki knows toph will be honest, they are both blunt sarcastic assholes and get along like a house on fire

zuko - <> shows zuko how to like,,,enjoy things (and how to let go of some of that pressure to be always right and the adult and in charge bc they were raised with so much responsibility on their shoulders even tho they were just kids)? she is also super protective of him (once she trusts him), one of the only ppl who can match suki fully in hand to hand combat, both do the Disappointed Parent Look when the group falls into chaos, but by themselves, the two of them end up in hijinks

aang- suki enjoys his optimism and they’re just chill bros, they love exploring abandoned placed together

clothing / aesthetic

sporty and skater mixed

ripped jeans, crewnecks, vans

green and yellow and dark red

gym clothes/athleisure - lifting style gym clothes - cut off t-shirts and bike shorts

skirts too, likes to play into femininity

she’s a gold jewelry kinda girl - but stuff that won’t hinder her movements

necklaces that end in the hollow of her throat & occasionally rings

definitely cuffs all of her jeans (it’s just bisexual culture ya know)

so many crop tops - some came like that, some were more of a diy project

yueki’s relationship!!!

nerd/jock solidarity

feel the burden of responsibility and the weight on their shoulders

they create a safe space between them, full of trust and warmth and vulnerability

yue will read suki sappy passages from poetry books while suki polishes her fans

they slow dance in the kitchen a lot

they get good at ordering takeout - and they have some weird decision making process that only they understand - bc neither of them are great cooks

yue would feel jealous of suki and sokka, if it weren’t for how stupid in love sokka was with zuko and yue can see that suki really only has eyes for her

yue is taller than suki and it amuses her to no end to pick suki up and carry her away from a fight (we all know suki could get away if she wanted to, but when ur hot tall sexy gf throws u over her shoulder,,,,,,u don’t complain)

joke they’ve adopted kataang and zukka, bc they’re all dummies, but in reality every last one of them is stupid LMAO

they love to do each other’s hair and it’s like super intimate and really cute

sometimes it’s these epic elaborate hairstyles and then at other times, they try to see how many ponytails they can fit on suki’s head and how many little braid yue can do

they travel EVERYWHERE

since yue is royalty and suki is her body guard,,,, well i mean, they totally have to see these kingdoms they are doing trade deals with in person

it helps that they're friends with a lot of them

they stay over in everything from camping so they can stargaze to ritzy hotels with hot tubs in the bathroom

yue gives suki rocks she finds on all their travels and suki lines them up on their mantle around the pictures of them in increasingly weird locations

suki loves guarding yue’s meetings bc she gets to watch her absolutely rip a new one into misogynistic old men and it never fails to bring her joy

While yue doesn’t love getting attacked, the ruthless efficiency suki defends her with is like,,,,,stupid attractive

#wow this got long #this is a mix of modern au and canon verse headcanons #but yeah #let these girls have more dimension than just soft uwu gfs #esp yue #yueki #headcanon #atla #yue #suki #yue x suki #wlw #zukka #kataang #sapphic

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shirorinyuaaru · 3 years

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A Soldier’s Countenance

Chapter 2 - Of Pride and Competition

The memory of last night lingering in each of you, Levi tries to handle your sudden sheepish disposition. Will things remain awkward, or will you be able to get past your emotionally-charged argument following the death of the original Special Ops Squad? What will happen to Levi's team when it is repopulated with members of the 104th Cadet Corps?

Are either of you ready for the uncertainty that follows?

Levi’s Office 0930 Hours

Silence was thick in the air as you went about scrubbing the floors of Captain Levi’s office. The tea you placed on his desk sat untouched and cold, and Levi would scarcely look at you. You had been at this for a half-hour already and your hands were raw. The strong scent of lemon was beginning to make you feel sick, but you ignored it in favor of completing your task faster.

It was easier to focus your attention on a dirty floor than the whirlwind of emotions in your chest anyway.

Levi tried desperately to ignore your presence in the room, internally cursing himself for the weakness he had shown the night before. It was not his intention to let your importance to him slip past his lips. Caring and compassion were weaknesses that had to be stomped out both in the Underground and in the Survey Corps.

Weaknesses get you killed.

Furthermore, your own confession weighed heavily on his mind. Damn you Erwin - this is a fucking pain in the ass , he thought, his grip tightening on the pen he was holding. His eyes were a dark grey, like the clouds of an oncoming storm. The nonverbal agreement between you both seemed to be that you wouldn’t talk about it. Levi liked it that way.

The raven-haired soldier briefly lifted his head from his work to see you on your hands and knees, working diligently on the floors. While he was more-than-satisfied with the work you were putting in, he was also keenly aware of the damage you were doing to your hands. If you scrubbed any harder, you threatened to make yourself bleed.

“Take a break, Brat.”

“I’m almost done, Captain. I’ll get out of your way soon.”

“Not the point. If you don’t take a fucking break you’re going to bleed everywhere and just make the floors filthy again. Get up, that’s an order.” Levi commanded, his tone leaving no room for argument.

With a small sigh, you stood, placing the scrub brush back in the bucket before moving them both to the corner of the room. The last thing you needed was for one of you to trip over the damn thing and ruin the work you had already put in. Without a task to focus on, you became increasingly aware of the sharp, throbbing pain in your hands.

The next thing you heard was Levi’s trademark “Tch,” followed by the sound of his chair scraping across the floor. His footsteps echoed in the otherwise quiet room as he made his way toward you. The next thing you were aware of was a firm, but gentle grip on your wrist.

“Come here,” Levi muttered, shielding his face as he led you through the office to his bedroom and into his private bathroom.

You stood there dubiously, unsure of what he expected of you.

“Well don’t just fucking stand there, Idiot. Sit on the edge of the tub.” He barked, slipping past you to get his first aid kit.

You complied, keeping your eyes locked on the floor while you waited for his return.

Levi decided he didn’t like your uncharacteristic silence; nor did he like the sheepish disposition he was met with since this morning. Regardless of what had transpired last night, he didn’t like things being so…so…

Awkward.

The silence, the way you looked at your shoes like a child being scolded, his inability to make his own mouth fucking move for anything other than commands - it all pissed him off. Levi grumbled to himself as he made his way back to the bathroom, kit in hand.

You were startled to see him squat in front of you, his eyes searching for yours.

“I’m going to wrap your hands. Just stay still.” He muttered, opening the kit and procuring some antiseptic, antibiotic cream, and wrapping.

“I can do it myself.” You replied, an eyebrow quirked.

“And make a mess of my bathroom? No fucking thank you.”

Much to Levi’s surprise, you actually snorted. “I’m pretty sure if I can keep your office clean, I can make sure not to fuck up your bathroom.”

“Yeah well, my faith in brats is pretty minimal.” He reminded, as if you could forget.

“Luckily the only brat here is you.”

Silence.

You were pretty sure you were about to get decked across the face for your comment and floundered for a proper apology. Hell, you weren’t even sure where you got the balls to let something like that slip past your lips.

“Captain, I - that was -”

What came next was almost more frightening than a fist: Laughter.

You sat in stunned silence, your eyes wide as you watched Captain Levi actually laugh . He was still squatting in front of you, but his eyes were shut and he had one hand on his forehead, a grin on his face.

“You’ve been quiet as a fucking mouse all day and this is the moment that your characteristic sass comes back? You’ve got to be shitting me.” He cackled, taking a deep breath to compose himself. “I’m pretty sure if you were anyone else I would have beat the shit out of you.”

“Honestly, that’s what I was expecting.” You conceded, still dumbfounded.

“You’re staring at me like you’ve seen a ghost, Cadet.”

“Can you blame me? You laughed.”

“Contrary to the rumors you Brats like to spread around, I’m not emotionless.”

“No, just almost emotionless.” You quipped, looking away from Levi. It was difficult to maintain your composure when he regarded you so sincerely.

Why do you have to be so alluring?

For the first time in a long time, Humanity’s Strongest Soldier found himself sincerely enjoying the company of someone else. It eased the sting of the losses he had experienced the following day, if only slightly. The revelation should concern him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, f/n. Now let me clean up your damn hands.”

—

Training Grounds, One Week Later

Levi’s new squad was a royal pain in his ass. They may be talented, but they were young, stupid, and really fucking annoying most of the time. Well, everyone but f/n, the captain mused, keeping his expression flat.

Eren was especially difficult for Levi to handle. His passion and dedication were admirable, sure, but he was too emotional and almost refused to fucking think .

Mikasa was in a league of her own, skilled in all aspects of being a soldier, but her loyalty was not with the Survey Corps. It was with Eren.

Connie was alright most of the time. The kid had better-than-average skills, and he was dedicated. However, the air in his head could fill a hot air balloon.

Jean irritated Levi; he was a skilled soldier, but also extremely fucking arrogant . Levi assured himself his distaste for Jean had nothing to do with his ceaseless attempts to get into your pants, or the fact that he was overly touchy with you whenever he got the chance. No, it was just his arrogance.

Sasha? Don’t get him started on Sasha. She was…something.

Prying Eren back from the hands of the Military Police had been a feat requiring unfathomable sacrifices of soldiers and innocent citizens alike. Managing to finally detain the Female Titan, Annie Leonhart, was a bitter victory for all of you. So many dead, so much destruction, all for a prisoner that couldn’t even be questioned. While Eren was safe for now, it was clear Levi and Erwin had their work cut out for them. For now, training served as a welcome distraction for everyone on the squad. Besides, he wanted his new members up to his standards within two months.

He had seen you train and had trained with you many times, even before the last expedition. Frankly, he made you train with him and his squad while Hange dug her greedy paws into Eren. While she experimented to her heart’s content (and to Eren’s increasing frustration), he wanted to get you close to the skill level of the Special Operations Squad. After all, you were his “personal assistant” - He wasn’t about to let you get your ass killed after one expedition.

Your extra training with Captain Levi made you useful when running drills and training scenarios. Levi found himself leaning on you when it came to explaining certain intricacies that came with his brand of training. He was a hardass - a very, very particular hardass. You were the only one who would be able to satisfy his requirements from the very beginning.

Well, you were the only one left. The thought left a bitter taste in Levi’s mouth, so he quickly turned his attention to the sparring pairs he had set for his squad members. Mikasa already had Sasha on her ass, Armin was desperately trying to hold his own against Connie, Jean and Eren were practically at each other's' throats in an attempt to be the one on top, and Krista had tapped out during your sparring match with her five minutes ago.

To Captain Levi, this meant you weren’t getting in enough training. “Oi, Cadet l/n. Take on Krista again.”

“With all due respect, Captain, I don’t think I should.”

“And why is that?”

“Well,” you winced, glancing at the injured cadet on the floor, “I was a bit too rough and damaged her shoulder.”

“Tch. Krista, what the hell were you doing? Was the fight really that one-sided?” Levi demanded, marching over to the pair.

“Well - I - Yes, actually it was.” She murmured, her eyes cast downward. “Since she started training with your squad originally, I can’t keep up just yet.”

Maybe it hadn’t been the best idea to pair you with one of your old comrades just yet.

“Go get patched up, Cadet. When you’re done, come back and give me thirty laps around the green. We’ll start with your stamina.” Came the Captain’s calculated response.

As Krista left to see her shoulder tended to, Levi’s piercing gaze focused on you instead. “It seems that you need a sparring partner at your level. If Mikasa wasn’t currently trying to wrangle Eren and Jean, I’d put you with her.”

“I have a better sparring partner in mind.” You smirked, feeling cocky after such a one-sided sparring match.

“Hoh? Who exactly did you have in mind?”

“I think it’s time the student showed up her teacher, Captain.”

A flash of amusement spread over Levi’s face, but he soon crossed his arms and pressed his lips into a firm line. “You really think you can take me on, huh?”

“Not only can I take you on, Captain.” You said, leaning closer to him so you could speak to him without the others hearing, “I’ll have you on your ass before you even know what hits you.”

Levi wasn’t sure whether to laugh at you outright for your overconfidence or punish you for it. He supposed he could give you the chance to face off against him and punish you after you lost miserably. Add salt to the wound to teach her a lesson, he thought.

“Alright, Cadet. Let’s see if you can survive even a minute sparring with me.”

The bond that you and Captain Levi had formed since you became his assistant had only grown. He thought of you as a friend, though he wouldn’t publicly admit it. Though, knowing you, he didn’t have to. In private, you were something of a reprieve from his daily stressors. You made sure his workspace was clean, provided a great fucking cup of tea, and made sure that his paperwork was done in a timely manner and that he actually slept . Levi decided this was the reason he was so soft on you at times, not immediately punishing you for sassing him. He found your snarky comments and sarcasm oddly soothing in his office and out. You saw Levi for Levi - He wasn’t just Humanity’s Strongest to you.

Maybe that’s why I’m so quick to give in to her ridiculous challenges.

A wide grin had spread across your face when you realized he agreed to spar with you. “Thank you, Captain! It’ll be fun to go against you!”

“Fun for me, sure. Especially once I get to wipe that cocky smirk off of your face.” Levi quipped, clapping his hands twice.

“Oi, Brats. Stop your sparring sessions for a minute and watch what happens when you try to challenge your Captain. Apparently Cadet l/n needs a lesson in how quickly overconfidence can fuck you over.”

The squad - his squad, he reminded himself - turned their attention to f/n in disbelief. Either you were extremely brave or extremely stupid.

Captain Levi knew you were both.

Wordlessly, you each assumed a fighting stance, carefully observing each other’s movements. The tension in the air was so thick that Eren was certain he could cut it with a knife. The only sound that could be heard was the rustling of leaves and the calm breathing of both Captain Levi and Cadet l/n.

Realizing you weren’t going to take the first move, Levi lunged forward before planting his left foot firmly on the ground and twisting himself into a roundhouse kick. You dodged his attack effortlessly, e/c eyes trained on his each and every movement.

Needless to say, he was impressed that you even managed to dodge, expecting you to block instead. However, he didn’t have time to entertain the hubris of one of his subordinates, so he continued his onslaught in rapid succession. Punch after punch was either smacked away or avoided effortlessly - as if you were dancing.

Frustration mounted in Captain Levi. For someone who was so keen on sparring with him, you hadn’t gone on the offensive once yet. If you expected to tire him out and then strike, they would be there all night.

I have to end this now, Levi thought as he searched for an opening. Then it dawned on him - you never let him see your back. Each dodge, each block that you put up kept him from getting to your back. That’s where I get her. She can’t defend herself from attacks that originate from behind her.

Using the inhuman speed Levi was known for, he shot past you and whirled around to lock you in a chokehold. What he didn’t see the moment he passed you was the smirk that plastered your face. He realized a moment too late that you had made no move to stop him from getting behind you.

With a mirthless chuckle, you grabbed the arm he had reached with and, using his momentum, flung him over you and onto the dirt with a loud thud. Taking advantage of the mere seconds Captain Levi would be dazed, you jumped on top of him, straddling his hips and pressing his legs down with yours. Your hands found his and you pinned them next to his head, panting heavily.

Levi gaped at you, his grey eyes finding yours. You had completely changed your fighting style to erase all of the patterns he had grown accustomed to when training you. He opened his mouth to speak, but found the words caught in his throat as he saw the animalistic look on your face. With every heaving breath you took, your body pressed against Levi’s.

“I win.” You murmured, leaning in to whisper in his ear. “What was that about teaching me a lesson, Captain?”

Your voice was a sultry purr in his ear and he could no longer ignore how tight his uniform suddenly felt. However, he would not let you have the win - even if he had to play dirty.

“I still plan to bend you over my desk to teach you that lesson.” He murmured in your ear, his hips shifting slightly under you.

You gasped and for a moment your grip on Levi lessened.

That was all he needed.

Before you could rectify your mistake, Levi had pushed you off of his torso and wrapped his legs around your hips, rolling you under him and pinning you. By now, he was panting too. His uniform was a mess, his hair disheveled, and his pupils blown. This time he would ensure you conceded, so he had pinned both of your arms with one of his and wrapped the other hand around your throat, squeezing firmly, but not enough to actually cut off your air supply.

“Do you yield, Cadet?” He growled, his voice rough with poorly-concealed desire.

“Yes I - I yield.” You whispered, absolutely breathless.

Ostensibly the two of you had taken a moment more than necessary to stare at each other in such a compromising position because Eren loudly cleared his throat.

Suppressing his desire to shoot a glare at Eren and give him a week of stable duty, Levi removed himself from you and stalked away. “You’re dismissed for the day. And Cadet l/n, I expect you in my office after dinner to start scrubbing my floors with a toothbrush.”

Panting, extremely aroused, and even more pissed off, you groaned. It was going to be a long night.

—

Dinner Hour

As the day left you, you found yourself becoming increasingly irritated with Levi. That should have been your win. It would have been your win if he hadn’t used such a dirty tactic.

A sore fucking loser, you cursed, ignoring the irony of your statement.

You were so annoyed, in fact, that you disregarded Levi for the rest of the day. You did not bring him tea, you did not organize his workspace, and you certainly didn’t provide him any relief from the workload weighing him down. When you sat with Eren and the other cadets at dinner, you could practically feel his glare burning a hole in your uniform.

Frankly, you didn’t fucking care. You’d be sure to give him a piece of your mind later.

Levi’s Office 1900 Hours

“What the hell was that, Levi?” You snarled, slamming the door to his office behind you.

“Which part? Me kicking your ass or me absolutely kicking your ass?” Came his monotone reply as he continued reading over a report from Hange.

“How about you playing dirty to secure your win? I had you . Are you that much of a sore loser?”

“I never tapped out. You wrongly assumed that the fight was over - your cockiness is what fucked you.” Levi couldn’t mask the amusement in his voice. Getting you riled up was fun once in a while, he decided. Furthermore, it was fitting revenge for ignoring him all day.

Your move, f/n.

He wouldn’t listen to your ranting about it? Fine. You’d make him listen. You stalked around the desk and whipped his chair around to face you, pinning him in place with your hands on each armrest and your knee between his legs. “So the comment about bending me over your desk to teach me a lesson wasn’t dirty?” You snapped, your eyes boring into his.

“It’s not my fault that you lowered your defenses because of something I said.”

“Something you knew would get a response out of me! You don’t just fuck with someone like that!”

Levi’s patience was thinning, his eyes darkening, “Do you really think an enemy is going to play nice when you’re out in the field, f/n? Do you really think they won’t use any perceived weakness against you?”

“You aren’t an enemy. It was a sparring match between a Squad Leader and a Cadet - between two friends.” You hissed, knuckles white on the armrests of Levi’s chair.

“Our perceived relationship is of no fucking consequence during sparring. You know that. Sparring is meant to hone your skills and keep you from getting your shitty ass killed when you get into a real fight.” He snarled, brow furrowing.

“So using my obvious attraction to you is fair game? We don’t address it. We don’t give it the fucking time of day, but suddenly it’s okay to use during sparring?”

A pregnant silence filled the room. One you were not keen on entertaining for long.

“What about you, then, Levi? What about your obvious issue during the fight that you had to dismiss the squad for? Is that something I should use against you the next time we go head to head?”

“F/n,” Levi started, his tone dangerous, “I suggest you shut your fucking mouth right now.”

“Why,” you mocked, “did I hit a nerve, Captain?”

“Because if you keep talking,” He began, leaning towards you threateningly, “I absolutely fucking will bend you over my desk to teach you a lesson.”

“Prove it.”

“Fine.”

Suddenly, as though pulled together by powerful magnets, your lips met in a fierce battle for control. Your fingers sought purchase in raven hair and you tugged it as the war of tongues, teeth, and lips raged on. You were vaguely aware of being lifted by your ass out of the chair and unceremoniously dumped on the desk. Papers were scattered everywhere as Levi cleared the area, taking his place between your legs.

He held your neck in a tight grip with one hand, his other roughly shoving into your pants to find your slit. “Do you understand what you do to me?” He growled, biting at your clavicle as you bucked your hips into his hand. “I want to devour you. I want to own you.”

The thin string keeping both of you at bay had snapped, leaving chaos in its wake. Any semblance of reason - of control - was lost in the fray.

“Levi I-” You began, your fingers digging into his hips as you pulled him closer. “I want you. I need you.” You breathed, your e/c eyes cloudy with desire.

I think I love you. A mutual thought that threatened to escape both of you.

“What have you done to me, F/n?” Levi choked out, burying his head in the crook of your neck and suckling on the sensitive skin.

Before you could go further, a sharp knock on the door got your attention. You both quickly pulled away, righting yourself before Levi spoke.

“Name and Business.”

“Oh come on, Shorty! It’s just me - I need to talk to you about our latest findings regarding Eren!” Came Hange’s cheerful voice.

“Tch. Shitty Glasses. Come in.” He groaned, glancing at you.

You were both aware of the line you had crossed, how you had both fucked up.

“Levi, I —”

“You’re dismissed, Cadet.”

#levi x reader #levixreader #shingeki no kyoujin #attack on titan #attack on titan imagines #levi ackerman #levi ackerman imagine

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sneezehq · 3 years

Text

Revenge is Too Sweet

Tyrian Callows still hasn't forgotten who was responsible for the loss of his tail.

And just because he's been ordered not to kill Ruby Rose doesn't mean that he can't make her suffer. And oh, he can make her suffer.

Standing behind the counter of a tiny coffee stand in an apron and serving up espressos, Tyrian smirks to himself. It’s almost too easy.

Tracking down which area of Mantle the little silver-eyed brat would be doing missions in was child’s play, given that they’d been monitoring her and her little friends’ movements since the moment they had arrived in Atlas. Taking the place of the hapless barista that usually worked here was laughably easy. Poor man had bled out quietly in a back alley from a slit throat. And tempting two young huntresses over for a hot drink on a chilly Mantle morning? Piece of cake.

They rattle off their drink orders with annoyingly bright smiles and gratingly cheerful voices, and Tyrian has to repress an eye roll at the vile concoction that the dark-haired menace prefers. Of course the little monster would enjoy such an abomination of cream and sugar disguised as coffee. But he dutifully shoves down his irritation and jots down their orders, assuring them that everything will be ready soon. Tyrian has had a lot of practice ignoring annoying little girls thanks to a certain fall maiden and her bratty follower.

The two brats chatter idly while he mixes their drinks, gossiping about training and friends and spending time with their sisters. It’s all useless drivel, of course, but he keeps one ear open in case they happen to mention something useful. Little red is clueless as always. He doubts that she’d recognize him even if she got a good look at his face. Fortunately, the bitter chill of morning gives him the perfect excuse for a disguise. With his hat pulled down low over his eyes and a scarf wrapped around his mouth, he doubts that the girls would remember him standing out among the citizens of Mantle.

Yes, Tyrian Callows was a very fortunate man, in so many ways. As he should be, as a loyal servant of their divine savior. And he was here to rectify one of the few misfortunes that had befallen him.

Well, partially at least. Unlike some of his less devoted colleagues, Tyrian would never dream of disobeying an order, even if it was one as nonsensical as taking Ruby Rose alive. But just because he’s not allowed to kill the little girl doesn’t mean that he can’t hurt her. And oh, can he hurt her.

Pouring the now-finished drinks into the paper to-go cups, Tyrian fishes a tiny vial of his “secret ingredient” and adds it to the cup with Ruby Rose written on the side. The blasphemous amounts of cream and sugar would easily hide the bitter taste. Tyrian considers himself to be a bit of an expert on poisons, practically a natural at the subject since birth, so it was easy to pick out a blend that would make her suffer greatly, but would not kill her. Probably. Poisons are a bit like people, unpredictable in the way they interact with others. It’s tempting to dump a larger amount in the second drink, but as tempting as killing the little Schnee brat sounds, it’s not worth the risk. Both girls getting sick would be far too suspicious.

“Here’s your coffees, girls!” he calls cheerfully, handing out the cups. “My apologies for the wait. I hope that you enjoy your drinks!”

They fall all over themselves to assure him that it’s no trouble, they weren’t waiting long, before eagerly taking sips of their drinks and assuring him that they’re delicious. He smirks to himself. Too easy.

Ruby Rose gives him a friendly wave and a smile. Horrible child. “I hope that you have a good day, sir! Take care!”

“And you as well, miss!” I hope you enjoy your coffee, bitch.

“I’m so glad we could do this today,” Weiss says with a smile.

“Me too! Nothing like a successful mission and some delicious coffee first thing in the morning.” Ruby slurps her drink, feeling strangely jittery. Oh well, it was probably the caffeine. She always felt a little weird when they forgot to give her decaf.

“If you can call helping street vendors set up their wares a proper mission,” Weiss replies.

“Whatever you say, Ice Queen.” Ruby teases her partner, before checking the time on her scroll. Her cheeky grin turns into a frown. “How is it already 11:30?”

“Oh, you should hurry back so you’re not late meeting up with your sister!” Weiss exclaims. “I can check in at the mission boards for both of us.”

“Great, thanks Weiss! For both the coffee and for this.” She gives her partner a quick hug, before dashing off in a cloud of rose petals. “Catch you later!”

“It was my treat!” Weiss calls after her, blushing a little at Ruby’s enthusiasm. “And you forgot your coffee, you dolt!”

Ruby skids to a halt in front of the entrance to the Atlas Academy training room right at 11:59, narrowly avoiding a collision with her sister.

Yang steadies her with an easy grin. “Right on time, sis.”

“I know, I know, it’s hilarious how my semblance is speed and yet I’m always running late.”

“Hey, you said it, not me,” Yang smacks her shoulder playfully. “You ready to get your butt kicked?”

“Bring it on!” Ruby shrieks playfully, ignoring the growing ache in her stomach. She’s probably just hungry. It is lunchtime. “I’m just surprised that you want to train when you’d usually be eating lunch.”

“Lunchtime is the best time to work out, little sis. The training rooms will be empty, and plus food tastes way better when you’re worked up a sweat first.” Yang strikes a dramatic pose.

Ruby pretends to stare at her in awe. “Ah yes, the famous Yang Xiao Long wisdom.”

“Remind me to beat up the person who taught you how to use sarcasm.”

“You want me to remind you to beat yourself up?”

“Anyway! Enough stalling.” Yang grabs Ruby in a headlock. “Time to show me what you got!”

There’s something wonderfully soothing about sparring with Yang. Like coming home after a long day and taking a hot bath, except with a lot more bruises. They’ve been each other’s sparring partners for as long as Ruby can remember. It’s hard to believe that they haven’t fought since before the battle at Haven.

“It’s been too long since we’ve done this,” Ruby says, panting and resisting the urge to just flop down in the middle of the training floor. Yang always knows how to push her to her limits, and she in turn hasn’t been holding back. She can’t remember the last time she used her semblance this much.

“Agreed.” Yang smiles back at her. She’s breathing hard as well, her blonde hair a tangled, sweaty mess. “One more round before we hit the showers?”

“Sure,” Ruby agrees, although her chest is starting to ache, and she can’t quite seem to catch her breath. She allows Yang to haul her to her feet with one hand. “But after this, I’m totally napping until dinner time.”

Straining to use her semblance to its full extent, Ruby has a massive speed advantage over Yang, and actually manages to land a couple of hits early in the fight. Unfortunately, her sister is all too familiar with this tactic and simply waits for Ruby to wear herself out a bit before landing a couple of hits with her charged-up semblance. She pins Ruby and counts to five before releasing her.

“Not bad, little sis,” Yang says, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “You’re still a bit predictable, but you definitely hit a lot harder!” She turns away to pull her shirt back on. “Did I ever tell how awesome you are for punching Mercury in the face? It was definitely one of my proudest big sister moments.”

“All in a day’s work,” Ruby says proudly. She stands up slowly, feeling the pull in every one of her aching muscles. “And he deserved it, after what he did to you.”

“That’s my little sis. Now come on, I hear the showers calling our names.”

“Hey, Ruby, you asleep in there or what?” Yang calls out, banging on the door to the shower stall. She’s already showered, dressed, and ready to devour some lunch. “There’s this place that Marrow told me about that’s got some dishes from Vacuo that I need to try. Ruby?” There’s the sound of the shower running, but no response from her little sister. A knot tightens in the pit of her stomach. “Okay, you’d better not be messing with me. I’m coming in.” She shoves the door open, surprised to find it unlocked. “Ruby?”

Whatever she was expecting to find, it certainly wasn’t her little sister, still fully clothed, collapsed on the floor with blood trickling from her mouth forming a dark puddle. “Oh my gosh, Ruby!”

One minute, Ruby is sore and tired and struggling to catch her breath, but otherwise okay—and the next she’s trying not to collapse in agony, coughing up blood and gasping for air. She loses track of time, sprawled on the floor and clutching at her chest. The metallic tang of blood in her mouth is nauseating.

The next thing she knows, Yang is tapping her face and calling her name in increasingly frantic tones. “Ruby, please wake up!” She blinks her eyes open and gazes blurrily up at her older sister. Yang is here. Everything is going to be okay.

“Ruby, what happened?” Ruby manages to twitch her shoulders towards her ears in a pathetic attempt at a shrug. “Okay, well, stay calm. I’m going to go run for help.”

Fear seizes her at the thought of being left alone like this, and she manages to feebly grab Yang by the wrist. “Don’ go,” she slurs out. Talking triggers another round of coughing, and her sister helps her sit up as she struggles to breathe. Blood trickles down her chin and onto Yang’s clean clothes, but her sister doesn’t seem to notice.

“Okay, not going anywhere,” she soothes, running a hand up and down Ruby’s back as the coughs subside. “I’ll call someone for help.” Ruby can barely hear her over the roaring in her ears, but the tone sounds reassuring.

Despite the steam in the air from the shower, the bathroom suddenly feels freezing. Ruby shivers violently, instinctively pressing closer to her sister. She seems to have finished her call, only glancing occasionally at her scroll and running her fingers through Ruby’s hair in a soothing gesture. “I called Ironwood, and he’s got a medical team on the way. You’re going to be okay.” She pulls Ruby closer when she notices her shivering. “Oh Ruby, you’re burning up.”

“’m cold,” she mumbles, closing her eyes. Yang pinches her cheek until she cracks them open again and glares feebly.

“I know you’re tired and feel like crap, but I need you to stay awake until the medics look you over. It’ll only be a few minutes.”

It feels like hours, but eventually the medical team is at the door. Ruby shuts her eyes as they poke and prod at her and spit rapid-fire questions at Yang.

Eventually all of the voices fade out and Ruby drifts off into warm darkness.

When she wakes up, Ruby finds herself in a hospital bed in what looks a private hospital wing. Sitting up, she feels the tug of an IV in her right wrist. Her body still aches all over, but the tightness in her chest is gone and she can breathe easily again.

Casting her gaze to the right, she spies her sister, Blake, and Weiss all slumped over in their respective uncomfortable looking waiting-room chairs. Blake’s head is resting on Weiss’ shoulder, Weiss’ head is resting on Yang’s lap, and Yang’s head is resting on the hospital bed next to her thigh, hands clenched in the blankets. Ruby smiles fondly at her team. She fumbles for her scroll, conveniently placed on the bedside table to her right. This is too sweet not to snap a picture of.

Before she can take a picture, though, her hand brushes against Yang’s, causing her sister to stir. Yang raises her head blearily, scrubbing at her eyes. “Ruby?” she asks softly, eyes wide.

“Aw, that was going to be such a cute picture,” Ruby complains.

“You scared me half to death!” Yang cries, lunging forwards and wrapping Ruby in a hug.

“Ow,” Ruby mutters. Blake perks her head up, cat ears swiveling in their direction. Next to her, Weiss snorts loudly before shaking herself awake. Their eyes go wide when they see that she’s awake.

“Hey guys,” Ruby says awkwardly, fighting the urge to giggle.

“Ruby!” Blake exclaims.

“We were so worried!” Weiss sniffles loudly.

“What happened?” Ruby asks.

The three girls look at each other for a long moment. “What do you remember?” Yang asks.

“Honestly, not much.” Ruby admits, staring down at her blanket-covered lap. “I remember sparring with Yang, and I remember trying to get ready to shower but then my chest started hurting really bad, and then it’s all pretty hazy.”

Blake, Weiss, and Yang look at each other again, which is really annoying, and as their leader Ruby would like them to stop doing that. Finally, Weiss speaks.

“Ruby, I’m not sure how to tell you this, but—” she trails off.

“You were poisoned.” Blake says bluntly. “They tested your coffee from this morning, and apparently found traces of a poison someone slipped in there.”

“Oh.” Ruby really doesn’t know what to say.

“Good thing I held onto your cup, huh?” Weiss jokes, but the levity falls flat.

In the awkward silence that follows, Blake decides to continue her explanation. “Since you didn’t drink all of the coffee, and they don’t think that there was a high enough dose in there the doctor is pretty sure that you would have been okay, but they’re glad that Yang called them so fast.”

Yang folds her arms across her chest. “And I still say that they’re full of crap. You guys didn’t see before her before they got there—” she trails off, swallowing hard.

Ruby pats her sister’s arm. “Well I’m feeling better now,” she reassures them. “Do they—” she clears her throat. “Do they know anything about who might have tried to poison me?”

“They found the guy who usually works that coffee stand you and Weiss went to,” Blake says hesitantly. “He was murdered. So I’m afraid that’s a dead end.”

“Oh,” Ruby says again, suddenly feeling very small and cold.

“Ironwood did recommend that we try to stick to only eating at trustworthy establishments, until they know more about what happened, if that helps any,” Blake says, rolling her eyes.

“Where are Jaune, Nora, Ren, and Oscar?” Ruby asks, desperate for a change of subject.

“Probably back in the dorms, waiting to hear about you,” Yang says, before wincing and picking up her scroll. “They’ve been texting us all afternoon asking for updates. They would’ve been waiting here too, but the nurse would only allow a few visitors at a time.”

“Afternoon?” Ruby asks. “What time is it now?”

“About 10:30.” Blake stretches her arms over her head.

Oh wow. That’s so much time lost. “It’s that late already? You guys should go back to the dorms, get some rest.”

Blake, Weiss, and Yang all look at her incredulously. “Yeah, no. We’re not leaving you here by yourself after what happened today.” Yang shakes her head.

“Ironwood also said that none of us should go anywhere alone,” Weiss adds.

“And in case you didn’t notice, we were just resting until a few minutes ago,” Blake points out.

“And someone has to keep an eye on you to make sure that you’re actually resting, little sis.”

Ruby bites her lip. She’s grateful to not be alone, but they shouldn’t have to be staying in uncomfortable chairs when they could be sleeping comfortably back at the dorms. “Don’t they have some extra beds or pillows somewhere for you guys?”

“I’ll go ask and see if they have any spare bedding for us,” Weiss says, heading towards the door.

“Good idea,” Yang says, slipping out of her chair. “Blake, go with her.”

As their partners slip out of the room, Yang clambers up on the bed next to Ruby. “Yang, I don’t think that you’re supposed to be up here.”

“Eh, there’s enough room for both of us, isn’t there?’ It takes some shuffling, and they have to be careful with Ruby’s IV, but eventually they settle in, Ruby tucked into Yang’s side.

“You should get some more sleep,” Yang says, brushing Ruby’s hair away from her forehead and humming softly under her breath.

“I’m really not that tired,” Ruby complains. She yawns immediately afterwards.

Yang laughs softly. “Sure, sis. C’mon, sleep, we’ll all be here when you wake up.” She’s just about to drift off when she hears her sister mutter something else.

“We will find the person who did this to you. And I’m going to make them pay.”

#rwby #ruby rose #yang xiao long #tyrian callows #weiss schnee #team rwby #blake belladonna #hospital cw #blood cw #poison cw #murder cw #my writing

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starlightsearches · 4 years

Text

Office Romance: Ch. 2 Seeing Red

General Hux and Kylo Ren have found themselves competing for the affection of a lieutenant aboard the Finalizer.

Masterlist

Series Warnings: Language, some violence, near-death experiences.

General Hux liked to believe that he was a reasonable man. He had worked tirelessly to gain the status he currently held, and he let nothing get in the way of his rise to the top. He saw greatness in himself, and felt that no one could take it away from him. Which is why it vexed him so that he would put all his tireless effort, his destiny even, at risk for a ridiculous, unrealistic, childish crush. And on a subordinate, no less.

He could not deny, though, that even as a subordinate, you were worthy of the admiration he felt for you. An incredibly vicious fighter, an intelligent and cunning strategist, and a loyal and competent soldier; all qualities that had been listed on your recommendation for your promotion by Captain Phasma. But if he was honest with himself, his admiration for you did not stem from the fact that you were an impressive soldier, although it was what first drew his attention. In fact, it is possible that he could have ignored your presence aboard the ship, even after your now-notorious brawl, if you hadn’t been so unfailingly kind to him, despite his less-than agreeable behavior. Bringing him coffee in the early mornings when you were stationed on the bridge, or meals to his office in the evenings when you hadn’t seen him in the mess hall, greeting him in the hallways, and putting in extra hours to help him complete all the inane tasks that came with being in charge. You were helpful, intelligent, funny, kind, brave and despite his accomplishments, he wasn’t sure if someone like you could ever want someone like him. He tried to get the ridiculous notion out of his head, tried to convince himself that he only admired your work ethic and that his ridiculous infatuation would fade in time. All the while wondering, in the dark, secret parts of his heart, if there wasn’t anything he could do that would grant him just a fractional amount of more time in your presence—a chance to prove himself worthy.

Lucky for him, Phasma had requested your promotion, which created a viable excuse for him to seek you out on so many occasions. Subtlety was a gift he had in spades, and it became increasingly easy for him to sneak bits of your time under the guise of professional business. It was not uncommon for you to find the general in your office, or near you on the bridge or the mess hall, asking you an important question about recruiting, or training protocols, or injury reports, and then ever so slightly shift the conversation towards the casual, the personal. Or on bad days, when he wasn’t feeling particularly subtle, he would rant about Kylo Ren, which at the very least if you didn’t find it interesting, you seemed to find amusing.

The only person who knew about his shameful little obsession was Captain Phasma. She had figured him out early on, and took an unseemly amount of relish in the fact that he was, by all accounts, smitten. And while it had been imperceptible to many others, including yourself, the captain found the changes that Hux underwent when in your presence fairly obvious and incredibly funny. He would wait around wherever you were, and then act so strange when you addressed him, standing so stiff and awkward that a swift kick would be all it took to put him on the floor. He was better now, Phasma conceded, almost acting like a human, but in terms of developing a close personal relationship . . . he had a long way to go.

And here Hux was again, in the captain’s office, lingering. “Isn’t the lieutenant supposed to in soon?” he asked, attempting an air of nonchalance. Phasma rolled her eyes; she was surprised he still chose to pretend when it was only her around, but refrained from teasing him.

“Not for a little while. She mentioned something about a training session yesterday.” The general didn’t respond to this verbally, he simply nodded, looking at the data pad in his hands as if he was reading something mildly interesting. Phasma rolled her eyes again, seeing that he wasn’t going to leave on his own. “Would you mind checking in the training room for her, and sending her here?” she asked, and watched as the corners of his mouth turned up into a stifled smile. “Of course,” he said, and then, catching himself, “since it’s on the way to the bridge.” Phasma snorted in response, but the general was already on the way out the door.

In the hallway, General Hux put on an air of confidence, but on the inside he could already feel the fluttering in his stomach. He tried to walk swiftly, but not too swiftly, towards the training room, thinking about what he might say to you.

“Excuse me, Lieutenant, I’m sorry to interrupt, but you’re needed in the captain’s office.”

. . . No, that sounds weak. What about “Lieutenant, you’re needed.” That could give me a chance to talk to her without others listening. And maybe I could even walk her down to the captain's office. But what if she needs to run back to her quarters first? She’d know I was going out of my way . . .

Hux’s train of thought was interrupted as he felt himself collide with someone, and the data pad in his hands slipped out of his grasp. “I’m so sorry, General!”

Ugh, Mitaka. Hux straightened himself to his full height, as the lieutenant grabbed both dropped data pads off the ground. “It’s alright, Lieutenant, excuse me,” he said, taking his data pad from Mitaka’s shaking hands, already moving again. But then Mitaka was following him, his quick footsteps echoing down the hallway. “I’m sorry sir, but while I have you here, it will only take a moment . . .” Hux stopped to listen, but he couldn’t focus on the inanities coming Mitaka’s mouth. He needed to go before you were out of the training room.

“That’s fine, Lieutenant,” Hux said, cutting Mitaka off, “we can discuss this more later, if you’ll excuse me.” The general continued on his way, not waiting for a response from Mitaka.

It was strange seeing him, now that Hux thought about it. He had assumed, initially, that Mitaka would be the one in the training room with you. The two of you were very close friends, which annoyed Hux to no end, and Mitaka’s hand-to-hand combat skills were miserable. Hux had spent more than a few mornings watching the two of you spar, trying with much difficulty to ignore the feelings of jealousy rising in him as you and Mitaka practiced various methods of blocking, feinting, and striking. Your hand on Mitaka’s bicep, gently guiding his arm into the correct position, the strong movement of your shoulder muscles as you demonstrated a new move, the sheen of sweat on your collarbone as you blocked Mitaka’s various punches . . .

If it wasn’t Mitaka sparring with you, then who? It could be a Storm Trooper in need of more training, but wouldn’t Phasma had mentioned that?

Hux was still puzzling over the question when he reached the training room doors. He walked up, waiting for the traditional swish of the door to open, but it didn’t come. Strange, he thought to himself as he punched in his access code on the panel next to the door. If the door didn’t open automatically, then the room must have been reserved for a private training session. As the general, Hux had an override code for any locked door on the ship, but that didn’t change the fact that most of the ships’ personnel had no reason to request a private training session with you.

Who in the stars could it be? the general asked himself, as a brief sliver of panic slipped up his spine. He didn’t need to wait any longer to find out though, as he pressed the last digit on the keypad and the doors slid open.

No. It was worse than he could have imagined. The sight of you in Ren’s arms, his hand at your waist, the look on your face as you stared into Ren’s eyes . . .

He couldn’t help it. He was seeing red.

At the sight of the general in the doorway, you jumped from Ren’s arms, a strange, guilty feeling settling in your stomach. Not the ideal situation to be caught in by your commanding officer, but you hadn’t been doing anything wrong, necessarily. The moment had been charged, for sure—charged with what, exactly, you didn’t know—but maybe the general hadn’t noticed. You straightened up, taking another step away from Ren, just to be safe. “Hello General, do you need something?” you asked, taking notice as Hux schooled his enraged expression into one of cool indifference. That's interesting, you thought to yourself. It was no secret to anyone aboard the the Finalizer that the two men hated each other, but it normally the general’s anger was caused by Ren’s reckless behavior. What could Ren have done this early in the morning to to cause Hux to feel such rage? And why would he bother to hide it now?

“Pardon the interruption, Lieutenant, but you’re needed.” Hux said, completely ignoring Ren’s presence. You ran to grab your things, scrambling to assemble your bag. As you headed to the door, though, you felt Ren’s hand grip your wrist. “Thank you for your assistance today, Lieutenant,” he said, his voice low and soft. He didn’t remove his hand from your wrist, and it was warm and slick with sweat. The personal contact was foreign to be sure, but not entirely unpleasant. “We’ll meet on a regular basis for future sparring sessions,” the demand was punctuated with a glance towards the general, who was still standing in the doorway—a quick glance, but not outside of your notice.

“Of course, Commander Ren. It would be an honor,” you responded. That Ren wanted to train with you regularly was a bit of a surprise, but you would have to process it later. General Hux was still waiting.

Outside of the training room, Hux was looking for an outlet for his anger. You walked out into the corridor, a flush still visible on your face from your recent workout. Or from something else, the thought cut into his mind cruelly, and Hux felt his jaw tense in frustration. “I’m really sorry about that,” you said, gesturing to the now-closed doors of the training room, “I didn’t realize how late it was. Was there something you needed?”

Hux could feel his anger diminishing as he looked into your eyes. There was an earnest quality in your gaze that he had always admired, and when you were looking at him, he felt like the most powerful, most important person in the galaxy. But Ren’s presence in the training room, and whatever it was he had walked in on, still vexed him. Maybe you looked at everyone like that.

“Phasma asked me to remind you of your meeting.”

“Of course, sir, I’ll head there immediately,” you responded, but you made no movement towards the captain’s office.

“Was there something you needed, Lieutenant?”

“No sir,” you responded, eyes wide, “I only wondered, well, are you alright? You seem . . . tense.” You glanced away on the last word, avoiding eye contact, and Hux melted. It was not everyday that one of his subordinates showed concern for his well-being, and your concern meant the most to him.

“I’m fine, Lieutenant, but thank you.” Hux responded, as a small bubble of elation moved through his chest, stamping out more of the anger on its way.

“Because if you need help with anything, I’m always glad to offer my assistance.”

“Really, Lieutenant, I’m alright.” Hux reached out to lay his hand on your shoulder, but then thought better of it, pulling his hand back awkwardly to his side, “You should go to your meeting; Captain Phasma will be wondering where you are.”

You nodded in response, and then began walking down the corridor towards Phasma’s office when a stroke of bravery hit the general.

“Wait, Lieutenant!” he called, walking to catch up with you. “ I actually could use your help. The expense reports for the cycle are due tonight at midnight, and I have to wait as long as possible before I approve and submit them so that they accurately reflect our spending. It takes me a few hours on my own, but maybe with your help . . .”

“Of course, General, I’d love to,” you responded, smiling. “Would you like to meet me in your office tonight or . . .“

“My quarters might be more comfortable,” Hux interrupted, before he could stop himself.

Idiot! Moron! You sound like a lowlife! he scolded internally. Now you’d think of him as some pervert trying to corner you in his damn quarters. Hux paused his mental self-flagellation in an attempt to salvage the conversation. “If that’s alright with you. Whatever you prefer.”

“Your quarters would be fine, sir,” you said, and Hux felt himself go weak at the knees with relief. “I’ll be there at 21 hundred hours?” The general could only nod, still recovering from his terrible embarrassment. You hurried off down the hallway, on your way to meet with Phasma, and Hux was already beginning to feel the nervous anticipation that always came when he thought about getting to see you again. He’d just have to make it through the next few hours.

There was no way he’d be getting any work done today.

#armitage hux x reader #kylo ren x reader #general hux x you #my writing #office romance #armitage hux x you #kylo ren x you

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mythologyfolklore · 3 years

Text

Athena wins a contest

(My take on how Athena became the patron goddess of Athens.)

“This new town shall be mine!”

“I don't think so! I would be a far better patron to this new city!”

“You shouldn't try to claim any city at all and leave that work to real men!”

“Hah! I'm more man than you will ever be!”

Athena and Poseidon were fighting over a newly founded city, that had captured the interest of both: it was already a centre of peace and culture and promised to become something great. Getting the city would also mean getting the land around it, Attica.

Athena was getting increasingly frustrated, that her uncle was so hell-bent on what was meant to be hers! She wanted this city and she would have it! She would be the patron goddess of this city, they would name it after her. People would worship her, she would teach them her ideas and crafts and protect them to the best of her possibilities! She deserved to be in charge of this land! The Moirai knew, she worked hard for the benefit of mankind and this gem of a place was meant to be hers! And that arsehole Poseidon, who didn't give a fuck about mortals and had had no qualms drowning almost the entirety of mankind aeons ago, wanted to take it away from her?! Pah!

“You're a crap protector!”, she reproached him. “The only times you ever fight is when someone is trying to overthrow the gods, but you never do it for humans! You have never genuinely cared about humanity in your entire life and suddenly you want to be the patron of a new city?!”

“That's coming from you? Please, you're just a virgin with a spear, who spends her days sparring with that dumbass Ares, doing pottery or weaving tapestries!”, Poseidon scoffed.

“And Zeus still likes me better!”, she taunted.

He snarled angrily and pulled out his trident. “Oh, that's it! I'm sick of this! Let's duke it out! Prepare to lose, bitch!”

Athena smirked: “Uncle, I could whoop your arse in single combat any day!”

And then they engaged in an epic death battle, until Zeus interfered from above and drew them apart with a thunderbolt.

“ENOUGH!!!”, the King of the Gods hollered, as he descended from the clouds. “I will not pick between my brother and my daughter! Iris, summon the other Olympians! Athena and Poseidon will each present a gift to the city and the divine council will decide which one is more useful. The one with the best gift will win and become the patron god of this new city.”

The two contestants glared at each other, but yielded to Zeus' decree and nodded in agreement.

An hour later, the rest of the Dodekatheoi had joined them and were sitting in anticipation of what Athena and Poseidon had to offer.

Only Ares was shifting in his place.

“This better be important!”, he snapped. “There is a kick-arse war going on in Thrace and I have to be there!”

Athena glared at him (this here was far more important than some skirmish going on in Thrace!) and he stuck his tongue at her – oh yeah, really mature.

She turned to her uncle: “You go first.”

“That's right!”, Poseidon nodded and turned to the other Olympians. “I am the Lord of the Sea. This land is rightfully mine. With me as their patron god, this city will gain untold wealth and power through sea trade. This salt well shall be symbolic of this promised wealth.”

With that he struck a rock with his trident and water began to spring from it.

The other gods applauded at this display, except for Athena.

“My turn”, she declared and stepped forward.

“Yes, niece! Go and see, if you can top this!”, Poseidon sneered.

Athena ignored it and addressed her fellow gods: “If anyone should be patron of this city, it's me. I have taught mankind many things to enrich their lives. I deserve to be the goddess of this city. I am strong and wise and this land is rightfully mine. And for the people of this city, I have a very special gift!”

She drove her spear into the ground. Slowly it transformed into something much bigger, until it had finally completely turned into a fully grown tree.

Poseidon shook with laughter: “That's it? That's your special gift? A tree? And an ugly one at that! And what's with those berries?”

Athena shook her head and smiled: “Those are not berries. They're olives. And this is an olive tree. And it's useful in many, many ways. Its wood can be used for all kinds of furniture and other things. The olives taste delicious to almost any Mediterranean dish. And they produce an oil, which can be used for cooking, baking, oil lamps, crafting and so many other things. If I become the patron goddess of this polis, agriculture will make it so prosperous that it will be spoken of many eras in the future. This olive tree shall be the symbol of the success I promised.”

She too received her due applause.

Then nine of the other ten gods (Zeus remained neutral, as usual) stuck their heads together and discussed, what Athena and Poseidon were offering.

Eventually they drew apart and Hera spoke for them: “In the name of everyone safe Aphrodite, who abstained from voting, I declare, that Athena's gift has been deemed more useful to the mortals of this area.”

“WHAAAAAT??? WHY???”

Ares spoke to Poseidon: “Sorry, uncle, but while your salt water well is pretty swell – whoo, I rhymed! – but when the city gets besieged it won't do 'em much good, ya know.”

“And outside of that, what good will a salt water well do, when the people need to grow food in their everyday lives?”, Demeter spoke. “What good is being a sea power, if you can't even grow grain in your native land? Attica is pretty arid as it is. Athena's olive tree is versatile, the roots go deep into the ground and it doesn't need that much water. Her gift is far more practical.”

Zeus nodded in acknowledgement.

“That settles it then”, he said. “Athena wins the contest and the patronage over this city.”

Athena smiled triumphantly. “Better luck next time, uncle!”, she told him. “Maybe try it with a fresh water well and then you'll stand a chance.”

“Shut up!”, Poseidon growled. “I will just set the entire landscape of Attica underwater, then you won't be so smug anym-”

“You won't do anything of that sort!”, Zeus cut him off sharply.

And such is the story of how Athena became the new patron goddess of the new city and had the mortals name it after herself: Athens.

#Greek Mythology #Pallas Athena #poseidon #zeus #The Olympians #the contest of athens

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jungle321jungle · 4 years

Text

Ten Of Swords- Level Three: The First Of Many

The world of Swords of Power and Conquest was one Virgil dove head first into, giving his soul and life to the game. He would play whenever he could, and had even decided he wanted to go into game design. At times he had even dreamt of how wonderful it would be to be inside that world for even a moment- until that world became his reality.

The familiar world he had come to love was now a foreign prison, one with no way out.

A Log Horizon AU. If you don’t know what that is, this is a Show Better Than SAO AU. If you still don’t know, the sides get trapped in a video game.

Taglist: @hells-missing-a-goat @angels-and-dreams @ollyollyoxinfree @gattonero17 @chumo-cookie @dreaming-always @anxiety-ismy-name @mrbubbajones @janustheliar

Ao3 - Masterlist

Warning: temporary character death

~~~~

Level Three: The First Of Many

Hylin’s River.

A river which stretches through western Lirya. It begins a few towns over from the Starting Village and goes continuing through increasingly more and more dangerous places with harder monsters as you go. It was the perfect place to try and beat as many monsters as possible, or alternatively it was a good place as any to relearn how to play the game. It made sense in many ways and Virgil could certainly understand how the group had come to the agreement to train going down the river, but he couldn’t stop himself from worrying. As if the idea of monsters actually succeeding in trying to kill him wasn’t enough, they didn’t seem to be the only ones who had the idea to come here. There weren’t a great many others, but it was more than the handful he had expected. And quite frankly as a group walking around with five legendary swords and zero clue how to play anymore, they seemed like targets. Not to mention how recognizable Remus and Roman’s characters were. Despite Virgil’s instance Roman had refused to deviate from his typical knight’s greaves, samurai chest armor, and bright red hair. It seemed to him it didn’t matter how much he stuck out despite being the biggest target among them.

Not only had TheSwordTwins put up a video discussing going against a sphinx, but Roman also had a reputation for being harsh to players who “played wrong” or those who called him a Guild Hopper, and he was also known to give negative reviews for other games he had tried. Roman was literally a living target and somehow Virgil didn’t think he would see it unless someone physically painted one on him.

Remus however was another story. For one he had agreed to change his clothes from his usual flashy green pirate dress to a more muted one but what really made him different was that on the brother’s channel he didn’t generally review anything. He would just go through Let’s Plays of him being a mercenary for hire and his character <3getting2Dsat1 decimating wherever she went- without using a legendary sword. So yes Remus drew attention, but judging from the comments Virgil used to scroll through, he didn’t seem to draw hate.

After him Logan was certainly the most well known of the party. Every high level player, and every guild member in the game had heard of the legendary Tactician, 56Logan_Teslacoil43. Guilds would fight over him to have his expertise in a war with another, but unlike Roman he wouldn’t join a single one. His services went to those with the deeper pockets. So he was well known, but at the same time no one would be stupid enough to try to attack him.

Then there was Dee. He was well known to those in the business of information. So the general public he was a nobody, but the people pulling the strings would know it would have to be something important to pull the lordofthelies from the shadows.

Lastly (other than himself) was kittycat=patt or Patton. Someone which Virgil knew virtually nothing about. From what Patton had said, she was a friend of Roman and Remus’ and had aided them in a few raids but with Patton’s level being 56- the lowest of the party- Virgil couldn’t help but have... apprehensions.

“You’re worrying too loudly, dear.”

Virgil didn’t reply as Dee put an arm around his shoulder and began walking him back toward the group. “We’re targets, Eric,” he said finally.

“I’m aware.”

Virgil stopped walking and looked up to his friend’s face with an eyebrow raised. “You’re aware? This is when you’re supposed to tell me I’m being stupid.”

“But you’re right. We’re targets. But the only way for us to fix that is to learn faster than our pursuers do.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“It wasn’t meant to. But at the same time... everyone likes being right, right?”

Virgil could only sigh in response.

~~~~

Virgil didn’t think he had ever been more frustrated in his life.

This game was something he was good at- something he was supposed to be good at. But now, after his fifth time face planting after failing to do a combination sprint? Now he wasn’t so sure anymore. He pulled himself up with a groan, glancing at his health as he did. The amount lost for the amount of effort he put in was almost unsatisfying. With the way his body was screaming in pain, he wished he had lost enough to warrant the use of a health potion.

“Someone needs to invent pain killers,” Virgil grumbled, wiping dirt from his face. But he doubted he had been heard. Everyone else was truly the saving grace of this situation, simply because they were doing just as badly.

Logan was in the woods, focusing on trying to link sword hits together to increase damage dealt, but he had only succeeded in killing low level monsters which wouldn’t even drop anything worth selling (and yet he still would come back and drop them all in front of where they had made camp angrily before walking off again). Also in the woods was Dee. Who had busied himself with attempting to using a combination concealment skill which theoretically would hide him in shadows to be undetected by monsters, but judging from the loud and distressed shouts and swearing Virgil could hear from his direction, Dee had only managed to call the monsters to him.

Quite frankly Virgil had zero clue how Roman and Remus were doing. The two were sparring closer to the camp in the clearing and while it was clear it was very clumsy fighting, Virgil couldn’t tell much else. But considering how often Patton was practicing her healing skills while the duo fought, he doubted they had improved much either.

Essentially they had gotten nowhere.

And as much as he hated it Virgil had an idea as to why.

“Tony?” Dee asked slowly, setting his gloved hands on Virgil’s shoulders. “Were you poisoned or something?”

Virgil rolled his eyes, “I’m not poisoned or crazy. I’m serious.”

“You’re stupid though,” Roman tossed in. “Intentionally going to get yourself killed?”

“I’m not trying to die. I’m trying to gain experience. If there's something I remember from back when I started playing this game, I had to throw myself into things that were difficult. So, despite how- stupid, crazy, and terrifying it sounds...”

“I believe Anthony has a point,” Logan said slowly. “We won’t know what true combat is in this version of the game until we try it.”

“I heard there’s a Yino up the river from some other guys,” Remus suggested. “We could work our way there? Sure it's a level 66 monster, but there’s six of us!”

Virgil watched as Roman opened his mouth to respond before his eyebrows knit together. “You just-”

“Then we should continue as we are, but now we have a destination in mind,” Logan concluded. “Now that that’s settled, shall we settle the manner of dinner? Patton I believe you said you would take the first turn. But we’ll need to decide how taking turns will work.”

“Anthony will be doing double for me since I can’t cook,” Dee put in.

Virgil shook his head, “I never agreed to that.”

“Do you really want to eat my cooking though?”

“Oh no, you knocked down my HP by 5% last week, but I don’t want to cook either.”

“There are still other housekeeping topics to discuss,” Logan interrupted. “There are other chores which must be done, and perhaps if you do not wish to cook Dee you take Anthony’s chore in something else?”

“We are camping,” Roman reminded them. “What more is there to do? We cook and we sleep.”

“Well we will still need someone to take watch at night,” Patton told him. “And there’s gathering firewood, and hunting. Someone will have to be in charge of maintaining the fire and finally boiling water since Logan pointed out that we don’t know if we can drink the river water.”

“I’ve been drinking it all day,” Remus said in confusion. “I’m fine.”

“It could have contaminants which make it unsafe, Remus,” Logan frowned. “This is no longer the game we know, after all. Virtual or not we could be affected by the landscape greatly. I do recall there are some wild grown foods are known to be poisonous in the game.”

“Don’t worry Specs, I’ve got super high luck and poison resistance. I can eat or drink whatever!”

“The rest of us should probably boil it though,” Patton told him. “The water in our inventory is gonna run out eventually. So we should stock up while we’re here at the river. We also don’t need to waste money on it this way.”

“Fine, what other chores do we need to do mom?”

“Leave her alone,” Dee yawned. “Let her cook.”

“He actually,” Patton corrected. “I picked to play as a female because the character designs were better overall. Lot more hairstyles and clothes, it’s kind of unfair. But anyway, we need to make something like... like a chore wheel!”

Virgil couldn’t help but grimace.

Roman seemed to share the sentiment, “Aren't we only going to be out here a few nights? We’re not putting down roots.”

“We have roots while we are here,” Patton replied simply. “So, does anyone want to volunteer to do anything or should I designate?”

Patton ended up designating, and Virgil found himself feeling like he was back to living at home under his mother’s strict rule. But unlike his mother, Patton made up for it with his cooking ability. Virgil had zero clue what Patton had done to make virtual food taste like heaven, but when he had finished he had promised Patton his first born in return for cooking as long as they were in the game (to which Patton had quickly told Virgil to keep any potential children, and instead agreed to teach Virgil to cook, and Virgil guessed that was fine too).

With dinner finished and everyone exhausted from a full day of failure they had agreed on a watch schedule and laid down to sleep. And quite frankly Virgil had expected to sleep the moment he had laid down, but he hadn’t been gifted the release of sleep, as instead he couldn’t help but think about the absurdity of it all. Camping with companions he barely knew in hopes they wouldn’t screw each other over. It was ridiculous, laying there. But it seemed there was nothing more than he could do but put faith in these people he didn’t know- hell as much as he felt he did, he barely knew Dee.

“If you’re not going to sleep Tony I see no point in staying up on watch.”

Virgil sighed and rolled over to face Dee who was sitting with his back against a tree. It was strange seeing him this way. Virgil had seen this character so many times over the years, and yet seeing it for real in person was something he couldn’t entirely comprehend. There was something different about this Dee, something different about his attitude and how he spoke. While Virgil wasn’t sure what it was that seemed so strange, but he had the sneaking it wasn’t simply due to the change in perspective. Perspective hadn’t changed the physical. It hadn’t changed Dee’s affinity for heterochromatic eyes or gloves, nor had it changed his desire to wear suits and capes with high armor stats instead of actual armor. It was Dee himself who had changed.

“Am I the way you imagined?” Virgil asked finally.

“Well I certainly didn’t think you’d look like your character no,” Dee replied. But when Virgil gave silence as a response he continued after a sigh. “You’re less confident than I thought. What about me?”

“I... I don’t know. And that’s what’s bothering me.”

Dee gave a shrug and looked up into the tree canopy staring at something Virgil couldn’t tell, “I act differently online. I act cocky, and like I’m always the smartest in the room. I use and manipulate other people- that’s how I got this sword in the first place... but that’s not who I am, Tony. I’m just here and scared just like everyone else. But- but I won’t let them know that.”

“You let me.”

Dee’s eyes locked with Virgil’s for a moment before Dee blinked and his eyes went past Virgil to fire with emotions Virgil couldn’t distinguish. “Even I make mistakes...”

Virgil wanted to talk further. To ask what he had truly meant, but fatigue lulled him to sleep before the question could form on his tongue.

~~~~

Day two of training was unfortunately mimicking the first. But one thing different Virgil supposed was he was learning more about the others fighting styles. He had had slight knowledge of Roman and Remus’ from watching their videos, but it was different watching them in front of him. For example, rather than focusing on the set moves keyboards allowed, Roman seemed to be quite experimental and able to change what he was trying to do quickly, and it was actually quite impressive to watch him switch the way he holds his katana. He could switch between two hands, right hand, to left in an instant- it was like his fighting ability was innate. Remus was also experimental, but judging from the way he literally threw himself into a cave of low level monsters shouting “cannonball!”, his being experimental was more of him testing his limits and surviving off of his high luck stat. Logan meanwhile seemed to be Remus’ complete opposite and was extremely cautious in his fighting.

He had walked up to the pig like monster and circled it dodging calmly and easily like some sort of dance which was kind of mesmerizing to watch (and Virgil quickly realized he wasn’t the only one staring). And then when Logan was fully confident in his abilities he’d unsheath his saber, strike, and resheath it so quickly it was hard to see. But most interesting to Virgil personally was Patton.

Patton was fierce in his own way. One moment Patton would be cooing over how cute a monster was, and then once the monster would lunge at him Patton’s short sword was in his hand and he was attacking. It was like a switch would flip in him, and Virgil needed to know how to avoid it before Patton tried to kill him in his sleep.

“Tony!”

If later asked, Virgil would deny jumping at the sound of Patton’s voice.

“Oh, sorry! didn’t mean to scare you kiddo!” Patton apologized coming up beside him.

“You- you didn't scare me,” Virgil said quickly. “What’s up?”

“Oh I just couldn’t help but notice the hole in your sword, is there a reason?”

Virgil blinked as he hefted his sword up to show the hole in the top of his dadao. “Um, I’m not entirely sure. I googled it once, I think it’s a center of gravity thing because it’s heavy? Logan knows random things, he might know.”

“Is it that heavy?” Patton asked, seemingly interested.

“Yeah um, I’d let you feel it if like... it wouldn’t revert to your sword style once you touched it.”

“I’ve always wanted to change my sword style. Shortswords are cool and all, but I always thought it would be cool to have something else. Something with more distance? I don’t like having to get so close. It’s scary.”

Virgil couldn’t exactly disagree. Part of him wanted to sprint away at the sight of a monster no matter the level, but another part of him felt a thrill at the prospect of fighting back.

“I usually did support with my bow even when this was a normal game,” Patton continued. “And the Sword of Ice and Water can also be used at a distance.”

“Well when we face bigger things I think you should stay in the back,” Virgil said slowly. “We all should protect you as the healer.”

“Oh no, I’ll take care of myself. I need to prove that I can work with all of you. I mean you’re level 74 Tony!”

Virgil stared into Patton’s determined blue eyes for a moment before he shook his head, “You joined the twins in raids and you have a legendary sword. That’s proof enough that you’re going to be a big help.” But as the words Virgil left his mouth he couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. He had judged Patton quickly because of his level too, hadn’t he? What right did he have to try and make Patton feel better?

“I’m still gonna go all out and try my best though,” Patton was saying. “So I can protect all of you.”

“Let’s all just agree to try our best to not need saving at all?”

Patton gave a slight laugh and Virgil couldn’t help but smile slightly in response.

~~~~

“This is a terrible idea.”

Roman raised an eyebrow, “This was your idea.”

Virgil gave a nod of acknowledgement, “Yes it was. And now I deeply regret it.”

“Too late,” Roman sang, swinging an arm over Virgil’s shoulder and pulling him closer to the cliff edge to look into the area through the trees. Or more accurately at the yino. A level 66 monster three times the height of Virgil and very wide with hands which could crush a minivan with little effort. When this was just a game it would have been easy to take down, a single player who was good enough at their speed and jumping could hit its weak spot on the side of its neck and take it down in a few good hits. But Virgil sincerely doubted that even the six of them with nothing more than basic runs and jumps could reach the spot needed.

“We could stack on top of each other,” Remus suggested. “Or Patton looks skinny, we could throw him.”

“Or we could go with our previously established plan,” Logan put in but at Remus’ blank look he pushed his glasses up (probably to hide an eyeroll). “Patton is focusing on healing, Janus will provide long range cover and hit the weak point if he has the shot, Roman and I will try to create opportunities for you and Virgil to attack. We can't reach the weak point, so we will need to deal damage until Janus can shoot. Understand?”

“Roger! So... are we gonna jump its bones or just stand here thinking about it?”

“We need to preserve our moment of surprise, not be reckless.”

“Reckless is his favorite word,” Roman frowned.

Virgil was still deeply regretting his decision in this the moment that Logan and Roman charged the beast. They thankfully approached unnoticed and managed to each get in strike on each leg- but when Virgil’s eyes flickered to the monster’s HP it seemed they hadn’t done anything besides anger it. The monster gave a swipe of its huge paw and the two jumped back- Logan managed to dodge- but Roman was sent flying across the field and out of sight. Virgil didn’t even have a moment to check on Roman’s HP as he began running in himself, but words did slip from his lips.

“This was really a mistake,”

“It’s gonna be fun Tony!” Remus cheered running past him.

“No it’s not.”

If Remus heard he didn’t reply and rather he ran closer to the two already engaged. Virgil watched as he jumped- probably attempting for a combination- and promptly crashed to the ground. Virgil ran past him, toward where Logan was fighting (and failing alone). He needed to get the yino’s attention of him and Logan so Dee could take the shot. That’s the only way this could possibly work. But without combinations Virgil would need to be creative.

When he got close enough the monster’s arm raised and swung down in a deadly arc towards him but rather than dodge out of the way Virgil forced his body to slide down underneath of it. On the other side he rolled up to his feet and gave it a slash from his dadao. He wanted to check to see the amount of damage he had done, but he couldn’t afford to let his attention waver. He slashed again and then dodged quickly as the monster turned- but it was then it gave a lurch forward and Virgil was able to see the arrow sticking from its neck. Dee had managed to hit his mark but the arrow hadn’t been deep enough. And now the yino knew where he was.

The monster gave a roar shaking Virgil’s very being and it turned in the direction the arrow had come, seemingly no longer concerned with Virgil or the others fighting. But somehow they needed to keep it there. Virgil fell back slightly taking in the scene as he watched Logan, Remus, and Roman fight. To catch the attention they’d need to get up higher. To do something other than slow down it’s legs...

“Roman!” Virgil shouted, running forward once more and slashing at the monster’s back.

“Kind of busy here!” Roman replied, rolling out of the way from the yino’s fist.

“I need you to give me a boost!” Virgil shouted back as he slashed

“What?”

“Your shield! I’m gonna jump, boost me.”

Roman’s eyes widened in understanding as he drew further back, “Remus! Take my spot with Logan!”

“I thought you’d never ask!” Remus replied coming closer to join Logan as the main tank.

They were set. Virgil took a deep breath, before he charged Roman. He focused on his speed, and on his jump. He could sprint. He could jump, but it would be the switch between the two that would be crucial. And he didn’t really have another shot at this. Not with Remus ignoring every order Logan barked at him. Not with the yino getting closer. Not with Dee’s second arrow only hitting the raised paw given the monster had moved. This needed to work.

Roman’s deer were planted and his shield raised so Virgil jumped toward him. And the moment his feet hit the shield- Roman was flinging him toward the yino. Virgil wanted to bask in the success of the moment- how it had actually gone right- that haphazard half concocted combination had gone right- but instead he readied his sword and aimed for the neck. He had a chance- he could do this.

Until he was swiped out of the sky.

Virgil barely had time to register the pain of his bones simultaneously being crushed as he suddenly sent flying backwards- and his body hit the cliff- and then the ground.

His body was screaming in pain- more than he had ever felt.

His vision flickering between darkness and the world around him, but even what he could see was blurry. The yino was still attacking, and judging from the blur of the color green Remus was holding it off. Someone was coming toward him a blur of yellow and- he just couldn’t breathe. He tried but just felt worse- felt a lack of air.

He was drowning on land.

A mix of feeling any and everything and absolutely nothing.

Virgil wished there was a word he could use to describe what the strange feeling was. Experiencing the landscape around him was more intense than his wildest dreams. In the past he had dreamed of days he could lie in Lirya’s grass and take in everything he could- but now that his dream had become a nightmare he couldn’t even bring himself to enjoy it. And yet at the same time the weight of the sword strapped against his back- or when it was transformed in his hand it just felt overwhelming right. When he would swing it it felt perfect like he had been born to do just that. But every time he felt momentarily happy in this world- he’d remember the truth. He was stuck here. His favorite dream intermingled with a nightmare, was there a word for that?

Probably not, but someone should make one. If they did Virgil would find it useful in the future, if someone ever asked him how dying felt.

~~~~

Level Two - Level Three - Level Four

#the first of many of virgil's deaths... cuz like... videogame... and its the chapter title and... i like to think im funny #the bois get swords i dont make the rules #anxceit #anxceit will come #so will logince and intrulogical #i still dunno how to tage htis #virgil sanders #janus sanders #intrulogical #roman sanders #remus sanders #dying #temporary character death #patton sanders #videogame au #logince

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cuorepietoso · 4 years

Text

-010. il nono

no trigger warnings.

Overview:

The 9º Reggimento d'Assalto Paracadutisti (9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment) Col Moschin is considered a Special Forces unit of the Italian Army due to the arduous training which members must undertake. The Col Moschin, also referred to as “il nono”, has been involved in numerous military and anti-terror operations all over the world, and is roughly comparable to the British SAS in size, operation, and quality. Approximately 300 members go through arduous, specialized training in mountainous, wooded, desert, and amphibious terrain for two or more years before their enrollment in the force. Il nono specializes in operating outside of military support and far from friendly lines, often conducting operations in guerilla warfare, counterterrorism, and VIP protection.

An il nono fireteam usually numbers about five to six soldiers, and contains an Incursor with a Combat Medic specialization, a Breacher (explosives handling), an EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) Specialist, an Intelligence Officer, and one to two Snipers.

Fireteam Dumbfuck:

Battista’s squad consisted of six people to his fireteam, their commanding officer being Colonel Maximo Bianchi, and their executive officer being Captain Flavio Lombardi. Those two rarely, if ever, went out on actual assignments with the core fireteam, because they were technically in charge of multiple fireteams at once and didn’t often partake in combat roles. The next highest rank belonged to Alessio Rossi, a Lieutenant, as he was the fireteam’s intelligence officer. Battista Tahan, Achille Mancini, and Mauro Moretti were considered NCOs, or noncommissioned officers, with Tahan and Mancini's rank of Ordinary Marshall coming slightly higher than Mancini’s rank of Sergeant. Savio Balotelli and Nico Marchesi are of the lowest rank, Corporal-Major, which is just considered to be Enlisted.

NCOs are enlisted soldiers with specific skills and duties such as training, recruiting, tech or military policing, and often supervise lower ranks to ensure assignments are done properly. Officers are essentially management-- they give NCOs and lower ranks their missions, their assignments and their orders. Cooperation between the two groups is important in planning and carrying out operations.

Though Rossi technically outranked him, because his role and training was mainly in intelligence gathering, Battista typically took command of the fireteam in the field because of his practical experience. They all took orders from Bianchi and Lomnardi.

Col Moschin 2 yr training: src.

3 weeks of intense physical and mental testing

5 months OBOS – Operatore Basico Operazioni Speciali

23 weeks - Special Forces Combat Course, two weeks of which is purely lecture and three weeks of which is considered “torture”, the rest of which is explosives and combat medicine training, etc.

5 weeks - Advanced Combat Course, which expands on concepts learned in the prior SFCC courses.

Year 2 - Acclimatization training: ski+mountaineering, high and low altitude parachuting, amphibian warfare and combat diving courses.

Close quarters combat training: IMA (italian martial arts), knives, unarmed

6-Man Cell:

Mammone (Momma’s Boy) AKA Maresciallo Ordinario Mancini, Achille Born 1984. Active Duty 2002 - Present

Battista and Achille went through training for the Col Moschin together, all two years. They were bunkmates, and assigned to the same squad upon graduation. Achille stands at an even six feet tall, rather bulky, dark haired with a deep tan and a heavy Neapolitan accent. He specialized in EOD, diffusing bombs and IEDs and safely disposing of them, and the pair of them often studied together and quizzed each other while they were learning for their respective fields. They were never particularly friendly, always just the slightest bit antagonistic toward one another-- clashing personalities, or perhaps they were just too competitive with each other. These things happen. But they functioned incredibly well as a team, characterized by a fierce protectiveness and loyalty, and their relationship could be considered brotherly.

Mannaggia (Damn!) AKA Tenente Rossi, Alessio Born 1988. Active Duty 2006 - KIA 2016

Alessio Rossi was assigned to the unit in 2010 when they were briefly stationed in Pfullendorf, Germany for further training. Relatively tanned and russet-haired, sharp features, lean muscled and 5’11”, he tended to excel more in mental pursuits than physical, in comparison to the average soldier on their squad (he was a good runner, though--fast. Probably from chasing all of his younger siblings around for eighteen years). Hailing from Taranto, a fishing town in the deep south of Italy, left him deeply Catholic and almost incomprehensible when speaking to non-native Italians-- luckily, he had a variety of other languages under his belt. He was a Human Intelligence Officer, which put him in charge of gathering intel, as well as handling informants and, occasionally, interrogations. Battista and Alessio swiftly grew nearly inseparable, well known in their unit for being completely in each other's pockets.

Rana (Frog) AKA Caporale Maggiore Capo Balotelli, Savio Born 1985. Active Duty 2003 - Present

Savio Balotelli joined the team in 2010, later in the year than Rossi. He’s approximately 5’8”, stocky, red haired and fair-skinned. He hails from Turin, in the Piedmont region, and has a deeply thoughtful, gentle air about him. Savio was one of the team’s two snipers, the younger of the pair, and well known for having eyes as sharp as a hawk, and little to no brain to mouth filter. Battista and he got along very well, often exchanging cigarettes, jokes, pranks, advice, and making up increasingly elaborate “secret” handshakes in an effort to irritate the rest of their teammates. Savio and Mauro were considered inseparable, and one of the greater sniper teams in the Col Moschin, where they often switched between shooter and spotter.

Brutto (Ugly) AKA Caporale Maggiore Marchesi, Nico Born 1980. Active Duty 1998 - Retired 2018

Nico Marchesi worked with Mauro Moretti for almost a decade before the rest of the dream team joined, and he specialized in Breaching: blowing up walls, doors, and windows, when one needs to get inside a building without any necessity for stealth. Nico is from Rome, standing at a little over six feet tall and broad-shouldered, with black hair and a rare smile. He was known for being rather taciturn and acting without thinking much about it, and was denied promotions because of both his lack of leadership skills and his bullheadedness- which suited him just fine. Nico and Battista often sparred with one another, because they were perhaps the two most competitive people on the squad.

Rospo (Toad) AKA Sergente Maggiore Capo Moretti, Mauro Born 1970. Active Duty 1980 - Retired 2016.

Mauro Moretti was the longest-standing member of the squad, directly involved with work for the Col Moschin for almost twenty five years by the time he retired. He was the team’s other sniper, a hard-mouthed career military man, quiet but always willing to lend a listening ear and some gruff advice. He’s nearly six and a half feet tall, dark skinned, dark haired, dark eyed, and in Battista’s memory of him he’s almost constantly smoking menthol cigarettes. He’d been born on a farm outside of Florence, had three daughters and a wife, and he retired there too, shortly after Battista’s medical discharge. Mauro looked out for everyone in the squad in his silent, fatherly way, and he and Battista often talked about art, and family.

Tombarolo (Graverobber) AKA Maresciallo Ordinario Tahan, Battista Born 1986. Active Duty 2004 - Medical Discharge 2016.

The motherfucker we all know and love. Battista was well known in the entirety of the Col Moschin for being a fair-minded, albeit demanding leader, as well as a talented combat medic with a penchant for mischief. Modern day combat medics function as regular infantry until there are casualties, and they rarely wear the red cross patches because it often makes them a target. When not in combat settings, they often assist Doctors in infirmary clinics, performing checkups and looking after the health of their comrades.

#/ / HEADCANON .#thank u to hayley for sending me the vid on IMA knife fighting it's really good #i tried to keep this short and like.... understandable to people that aren't familiar with military lingo but basically life just comes at u #anyway....... if u have questions abt this or military stuff in general im ur guy. i didn't want to write an essay so have this???

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seymour-butz-stuff · 4 years

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Barring Congress from enforcing its subpoenas in court could push lawmakers toward arresting senior Trump administration officials or pursuing even more extreme measures, several appeals court judges suggested Tuesday.

It was the second time in recent months that the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has openly mulled the bizarre and unnerving prospect of armed conflict between the House sergeant-at-arms and FBI agents if other, more peaceful options for the House to obtain information from the executive branch are closed off.

The discussion occurred as lawyers for the House and Justice Department sparred over efforts by Democrats to force former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify about his knowledge of alleged wrongdoing by President Donald Trump.

Most of the nine judges who joined in the rare en banc session Tuesday seemed receptive to the House’s concerns, with one judge musing the Trump administration was so intent on sidelining the courts that the public would be left only with "revolution" as an alternative.

A lawyer representing the Trump administration offered a sweeping argument that Congress has no authority to take legal action to enforce its subpoenas because that power lies solely with the president. Rather, lawmakers must rely on a set of political tools — from choking off funding to blocking presidential nominations to impeachment — to bend a stonewalling president to the Congressional will.

“Issuing subpoenas — that's a prerogative of Congress. Enforcing subpoenas and enforcing laws — that’s a prerogative of the president,” Justice Department attorney Hashim Mooppan said.

The House’s top lawyer, Doug Letter, said DOJ’s position would upend decades of practice in congressional investigations and effectively leave lawmakers powerless to stand up to an obstructive administration.

“If the court goes with the Justice Department arguments … congressional oversight as it has been known for this country for years is going to change and be very, very different,” Letter said.

House Democrats are hopeful for a victory from the full appeals court, which is heavy with appointees of President Barack Obama and generally seen as more favorable to the House’s arguments than the three-judge panel which ruled against them 2-1 in February.

Most of the judges taking part in Tuesday’s arguments signaled early and often that they viewed DOJ’s stance with skepticism, repeatedly referencing the extreme notion of the House having to resort to arresting McGahn to get its questions answered or even a judicial resolution of Trump’s claims of executive privilege.

Judge Nina Pillard, an Obama appointee, said DOJ’s stance would leave the House with little but “huge, blunt, disproportionate nuclear options” to try to procure information.

The high-stakes battle over the House’s demand for testimony from McGahn could decide one of the most urgent political issues of Trump’s presidency — whether the White House can block Congress from using the legal system to force crucial witnesses to testify about alleged obstruction of justice by the president himself.

But it also has the potential to reshape the relationship between presidents and Congress for generations to come.

A decision by the courts seems increasingly unlikely to come in any definitive way on a timeline that would produce testimony from McGahn or other witnesses in advance of the November presidential election.

That reality, as some congressional Democrats feared, represents a win for Trump, whom they accused of tying up their case in unending litigation to prevent McGahn from publicly testifying about presidential wrongdoing. McGahn was a central witness in the two-year investigation led by former special counsel Robert Mueller into the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russians in 2016. He ultimately provided damning evidence that Trump repeatedly sought to obstruct the probe, though he declined to recommend criminal charges, citing a Justice Department prohibition on moving against a sitting president.

But even if the D.C. Circuit ultimately orders McGahn to testify, Justice Department lawyers are expected to ask the Supreme Court to step in. The justices may well decide to freeze the status quo, putting potential high court arguments in the case off until the fall or winter and pushing off a final decision until well after Trump is sworn in for a second term as president or Joe Biden is sworn in for a first.

The appeals court heard the case Tuesday by teleconference due to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, it considered the McGahn dispute in tandem with another legal fight between the House and the Trump administration: a suit seeking to block officials from spending money on Trump’s border wall project.

Mooppan pleaded with the judges to steer clear of both fights. He accused the House of making a “radical break” with history by seeking to enmesh the judiciary in the interbranch battles.

“Disputes between the political branches about their institutional prerogatives have occurred since the founding, but lawsuits between them are a novel and unsanctioned tactic,” Mooppan said.

But Judge Merrick Garland said foreclosing all suits by Congress could allow a rogue president to spend wildly, like by paying for health insurance for every American even if Congress never authorized such a program.

“Does Congress have standing to challenge that?” asked Garland, an appointee of President Bill Clinton.

“No,” Mooppan replied.

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carterashofficial · 6 years

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defending each other to scathing tertiary or otherwise minor characters but ONLY WHEN THE OTHER ISN’T AROUND

i know exacty who I want to do this for but the problem is that it might be a slight spoiler for the KOTFE fic but oh well

It was weird seeing Indo Zal walking around the Alliance base.

Arcann wasn’t quite sure how he should approach him, if at all. The man had been in charge of the weekly galas, and now his planning skills were put to coordinating Alliance deliveries and storage organization.

For all that had happened, Indo Zal had an official rank and place in the Alliance.

Arcann... did not.

He was the ex-emperor, the villain-turned-ally; he was the man who was there what everyone hated but needed to get Vaylin off the Throne. Nearly everyone hated him, but no one dared confront him.

That was partially because he was, if not more, as powerful as Commander Pattik, and partially because Fiika had gone out of her way to be seen with him. Arcann had gotten the impression that everyone liked Fiika. When she wasn’t with him, she was constantly being talked to and the few children the Alliance had would always ask about Spook.

Fiika had respect from the outlanders.

Most Zakuulans, too. Indo had made sure that Fiika and Arcann, fighting side-by-side, was broadcasted to all of Zakuul.

That did not stop from Zakuulan socialites from forming their own opinion on Fiika. Specifically, the socialites that had been made slaves by Vaylin and had been rescued by the Alliance. Not all of the Zakuulans had been an average citizen.

There was a small cluster of Zakuulans who were socialites, and were generally avoided. Arcann especially avoided them.

One of them was Indo Zal’s younger sister. Eldine Zal.

And Eldine Zal was a pampered woman who was utterly besotted with herself and completely superficial. Vaylin had tried to set her up to be his consort, as a joke, and when Mother had rescued him, Eldine had been thrown into slavery and worked under Vaylin.

It was how Indo had come to ally with the Alliance.

Eldine hadn’t been humbled by her time as a servant. If anything, it was her excuse to not work every again. Instead she sat around with her little herd of rescued socialites and critiqued everyone and everything about the Alliance.

Arcann had been in the hangar first.

Admiral Aygo didn’t mind him watching the Navy practice their maneuvers, so long as the Navy couldn’t see him. The Admiral couldn’t promise that a starfighter wouldn’t ‘accidentally’ fire at him. The only thing Arcann had to do was point out improvements that could be made against the Fleet.

And so Arcann watched from the catwalks above.

He didn’t immediately realize that Eldine and the socialites were below him. If he had, perhaps he could have avoided the entire thing altogether, but that was certainly not how the scene played out.

While he waited for the Navy to begin, he idly eavesdropped. It wasn’t intentional. Arcann was not the sort to want to know everyone else’s business; it was just that Eldine’s voice carried.

And when he realized who they were criticizing, his blood turned to a boil.

He stormed down the stairs and headed towards the socialites.

Other Alliance members were already shooting them dark looks, but no one was confronting them to defend Fiika.

She has their respect but not their courage.

Eldine saw him and smiled. Her smile was that of an Iknayid watching its prey walking right into it’s nest. Whatever she was doing, it was to entrap him.

Such petty games had been below him as Emperor, and they still were.

“Emperor,” she purred. “Something you’d like to add? We’re talking about how that Fiika Allos must be a witch.”

Arcann’s heartbeat was in his ears, but he stayed still and silent.

Eldine eyed him lazily. “You’ve seen her scars. You would think she’d get them fixed. Without them, she might be considered attractive.” Her gaze was fixed on him. “For an outlander, that is.”

He forced himself to breathe and hold back the anger.

“What’s your opinion of her, Emperor?” The rest of the socialites were watching him. They didn’t know what game Eldine was playing. Arcann knew what she wanted; she wanted to be made his consort. And even though that was increasingly unlikely, she was still vying for it.

He didn’t want anyone as a consort, and he specifically didn’t want her anywhere near him.

“Emperor?”

The socialites were sensing that this wasn’t just a simply question. Those with common sense were backing away. Those that had been failed by evolution were leaning forward, curious.

“I am not your Emperor anymore.” Arcann kept his voice frigid.

“You’ll always be our Emperor.”

"Then allow me to order you to not degrade Fiika Allos as you have been doing. She is responsible for saving your life, and you ought to honor her, yet instead you are consumed with your petty attempts to impress me.” Arcann raised his chin and glared down at her. “The only impression you’ve left is that of an ungrateful and petulant, spoiled child.”

Eldine rose to her feet, standing her ground, eyes wicked. “You think very highly of an outlander, Emperor.”

“She deserves it. You don’t know her, so do not make judgments on her. Fiika Allos has stared down horrors you can’t imagine and yet she’s not broken. She’s strong and relentless in a fight, and how dare you be so superficial and jaded with her. She is everything this Alliance stands for, while you...” He shoved his fury away to unleash later during sparring practice. “You are nobody.”

The socialites all turned to look at her, awaiting her response.

Eldine open and shut her mouth before her simpering smile returned. “Then make me someone.”

“I would rather not.” Arcann turned to go before he said something he’d regret. He paused. “There are many things I regret doing as Emperor, things I did out of anger and fear.” He met her gaze. “I don’t regret never having a consort.”

She looked like she’d swallowed something vile.

Arcann left her there as he left the hangar. Some Alliance members were staring at him like he had sprouted a second head, others sizing him up. He shouldn’t have spoken so loud, he shouldn’t have gotten involved.

But he would not let such a vapid woman defame Fiika’s character.

Not when Fiika was one of the few who was... nice... to him. Not when she was the only one here who understood what Father was.

Esne’s eyes.

She could defend herself, and what were the words of a Zakuulan who was generally avoided by everyone decent? But he still felt compelled to defend her. Shield her. Protect her.

And he wouldn’t stop himself if he had to do it again.

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redriivers · 6 years

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what’s up demons it’s ya girl kit, back at it again with a second trash baby, new and worse than ever ! you’ll find some information about lysander under the cut ! um just as a fair warning this shit ended up getting a lot longer than i anticipated, pls forgive me and also hmu for a brief tl;dr if you’re not feeling like reading this monstrosity ..

*.:｡ ✧( jamie dornan , 33 , he / him ) a little bird told me that they have seen lysander rivers roaming the capital, the knight from harrenhal, and loyal to house blackwood. there have been whispers that they’re candid & disciplined. however, some would say that they’re resentful & duplicitous. may the old gods and the new gods be watching over them !

--- tw for ; murder, death, violence, all kinds of bad things .. sorry.

ok first off some history headcanons, because technically no one ( show- )canonically holds harrenhal: after the battle for the dawn and the big bad fighting that happens at the end of asoiaf, ser bronn of the blackwater survives and finally gets his damned castle and lordship, making him lord bronn blackwater of harrenhal, which is how ( after a few generations ) lysander ends up here

as you can probably tell by his name, lysander is a bastard from the riverlands, the natural son of lord tion blackwater, fathered on the wife of his kennelmaster, an honestly dimwitted young girl renowned more for her beauty than ... anything else

anyway when she found out she was pregnant she pretty much mcLost it and raised some hell because neither lord blackwater nor her husband were gonna want to be doing shit to make sure she and her baby were safe, so she basically tapped into westerosi call-out culture n guilt-tripped/aggressively pressured lord blackwater into ensuring lysander’s safety

of course she didn’t bargain for her own safety because like i said she ain’t that smart and pretty much figured tion would take care of her but ... once she gave birth to lysander she was ‘given back’ to her husband who, obviously enraged by her infidelity, beat her to an early grave

meanwhile lysander’s father was young, had recently come into his lordship, and was as of yet unmarried, so for a few of the early years he kinda played dad to lysander ? of course he wasn’t a great dude and mostly just had lysander taught to ride and read and fight and all that, things all young boys should know etc. but then he got married and started having real life legitimate children ?

well we all know how that goes --- this new wife was concerned lysander, as the eldest son ( although still a bastard ) might present a threat to the inheritance of her own, legitimate children and tried to talk her husband into ousting him. when that didn’t work ( listen, lysander’s a strapping young lad with an obvious talent for fighting and her own children are weak lil babies which one would you rather hang out with ) she even tried to have him killed

tbh that was fair, he was a lowkey murderous creep even as a child, but like .. he was still blossoming ok. but he definitely did kill a stableboy for taunting him and calling him a bastard, it was a pretty ... messy affair and all, and definitely didn’t help convince his father’s wife that he wasn’t gonna murder her children to claim their birthright

lmao bad shit happens at harrenhal don’t come for me ok

so after that, for everyone’s safety but also just for his own convenience, tion sends lysander off to be a squire in the service of lord blackwood

ok so this ! is where lysander turns from smol child to Evil Man .. tbh the older her gets, the more cognizant he becomes of how shitty his situation really is, and learning about all the laws of inheritance that preclude him from the lordship he believes should be his pisses him the fuck off

especially after being not so ceremoniously kicked out of his own home where he had pretty much free reign to a place where he was a squire and beholden to some other lord’s commands, he was Not Happy

but mostly he just put that anger into his training like my dude practically came out of the womb with a sword and is damned skilled with it, but also trained in most other common weapons found in the known world. that’s just what happens when you’re a lil dude with a lot of anger and some not so savory tendencies

honestly lives to fight. was knighted by brynjolf blackwood at age sixteen, one of the youngest in the realm at the time, and having grown rather close to lord blackwood’s daughter frida, became her unofficial guard / sworn sword. honestly they were pals ok he definitely felt some loyalty towards her and her father and longs to be accepted and just

doesn’t rly know how to go about that so instead of doing what a normal person does my boy just is a reckless endangerment to most of the surrounding area. he’s furious and resentful of his position and idk just there’s a lot of anger and sadness there but it aint healthy

so he runs off and picks fights, wants to always be the one leading the charge against outlaws or brigands. even then, he’s garnering a bloody reputation, earning him some unpleasant ( but lbr badass ) nicknames idk. some ppl call him lysander the red --- he doesn’t hate that tbh. loves the ghost of harrenhal makes him feel ~*~special~*~

other ppl call him the blackwater bastard. he’s less happy abt that.

definitely stabhappy. will fight a bitch.. this gets him into some trouble ok like for a while the blackwoods mind their own business and turn a blind eye to the increasingly shitty stuff he gets up to. really, they’re all too happy to have someone skilled doing the dirty work they’d rather not ( listn ok it’s good to have a mad dog on a leash ) but eventually when he seriously wounds a visiting lordling while sparring --- the wound festers, costs the young lord an arm, and rumors abound that lysander’s blade was poisoned --- there’s really no more excuses or second chances

despite an obvious bond with frida, brynjolf still sends lysander away after that ( bc he’s a lil shitstain tbh ) but what he doesn’t know is ... ooooooh it was rly frida who had him sent away, her dad just did the sending

i tbh still need to figure out exactly how old he was when this happened, but idk since then i imagine he’s mostly been making a fucking nuisance of himself in and around the seven kingdoms ? sleeping around, killing dudes, having fun. he’s a big fan of the killing dudes bit idk .. been creeping around the rainwood, the dornish marches, and more recently the kingswood. killin’ outlaws . “protecting people from outlaws” is a great way to cover up just havin fun fighting n stealing from ppl i guess. he makes a few ‘friends’ doing this too, a brotherhood of unsavory, selfish little fucks tbh but oh well, a friends’ a friend

since this everyone and half their damned household came to king’s landing, all the major roadways and passages to the capital have been teeming with outlaws and brigands hoping to steal from these lords and ladies, and right there behind them is lysander and his merry band of murderers ready to kill these thieves, then steal what they had stolen, and then lie through their damned teeth and pretend they never found shit

so yeah this whole big celebration thing is pretty lucrative for him idk he’s having fun, doing his thing, ready to either kill or die at any minute i Guess

anyway like his app says he’s loyal to house blackwood and altho he lowkey maybe still is in some ways, he’s mostly loyal to himself. he’s like a videogame character idk ready to do any kind of sidequest if u pay him enough, but he is Not a good person at all and loves him some torture tbh. can be charming when he wants to be, and goal-oriented and disciplined enough that he can easily come across as the good dutiful soldier but bish he ain’t

highkey wants harrenhal. that’s his #lifegoal but ofc that’s not super easy to achieve. pretty much impossible tbh but hey a boy can dream

so that’s lysander .. honestly if u made it to the end of this fucking thing i applaud u. what a monstrosity smh...

#7khq:intro #› › SOMEWHERE UNDER YOUR SKULL / insp .#this took HELLA LONG and it is HELLA LONG and just .. forgive me on all fronts

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