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twisted-wonderland-but-gayer · 7 months

Note

May I request Great Seven Yuu with no filter? Maybe the other students are just TESTING THEM that day and with a little prodding from their darling parents, they just say what’s on their mind for the day

Yuu + The Great Seven

Note: This is different from my other great 7 fics as I don't focus on what the 7 say as much here, this also aint the canon unit yuu for this. Anyways enjoy

Cws: Gn!Yuu, Rook is clowned on cause he's French, implications of Crewel/Crowley but in a divorcee way, some cringe ig, minor changes to canon, first years are ur homies, sebek has moments where he yells in all caps cause he's cringe, Lilia knows Maleficent, Trey isn't slandered as much as he should be, Starts off Crack, turns to angst, then fluff. 6k Words

****

Since arriving at NRC, you have been playing your role well, excellent even. You played the role of a magicless, weak, and gullible prefect that knew nothing of the world you were in. The mirror said that you “had too many souls to judge” and that you had no magic, which was technically true as the magic you had was borrowed from the seven sealed within you.

It was going to be perfect. You can finally lay low and research this world to give your dear seven parents and their familiars bodies again, then make your place in this new world… or so you thought.

Right after the disaster that was the entrance ceremony, you ended up being roommates with the cat and crashed it. Fine, you could work with this. Then the very next day, the cat got into a fight with a pathetic bully which caused a statue to get burned, which then caused another person to get involved, which then caused a chandelier to break, and then you had to go off into a hidden mine to fight a monster late into the night, and you get the story.

It has been consistently difficult to pretend you had no magic, or to make the excuse that “someone else must have casted that spell”. When you eventually had to explain that you were a magician, there went the first half of your plan. Now Crowley and everyone seems to expect more from you, at least you were able to pretend it was weak, you guess. And as if it could get any worse, the seven seem to be encouraged to give these brats a taste of their own medicine and stop holding back. Oh how you would love to but putting up with everyone after, especially the number one pain in your ass, Ace, would be so fucking annoying.

The aforementioned pain in your ass poked you, interrupting the mental conversation you were having with the ensemble in your head, and you had to hold back the urge to use Hades’ flames to set him ablaze. You shut your eyes tightly and tense up before slowly turning to him. “What?” Your eyes narrow as Ace looks over at you with the most infuriating neutral expression that turns to a pout.

“Were you even listening to me?” “Look, it’s nothing personal, it’s just how I am.” Ace’s lips pursed as he raised a brow. “Really?” Deuce nudged Ace. “Hey, be nice, you know they don't mean to space off like that, it's their condition.” Deuce was truly a blessing. “Seems to me like Yuu is just a space case,” Grim snickered and Sebek nodded his head. “I completely agree with Grim! Honestly, how could you and Silver be so complacent? Do you lack discipline?”

You mentally groaned with the seven at Sebeks scolding. “They don’t lack discipline,” Jack interrupted, “Yuu says they have a condition that delays their thoughts, they need extra time to process what you said.” “Thank you, Jack.” You smile, and feel Ortho glide right next to you and look up at you. “Having a condition like that must be hard… I can't imagine my processor lagging…” Ortho trails off and frowns, “Oh but I’ll try my best to look for a fix for you!” The child beams. Epel looks over at you.

“That is one hell of an issue huh? Some days you're just as quick as anyone else but then sometimes you take forever, it's a fickle thing.” Epel hums and Ace rolls his eyes at everyone defending you. “Tch, yeah what's that about? Sometimes I even hear you talking to yourself, weirdo.” Ace playfully nudges you and you narrow your eyes at him.

Something within you snaps. Maybe it’s because of all the stress of hiding it. Maybe it's because you have to interact and pretend everything is fine to the students who have bullied, harassed, and tried to kill you resulting in god awful PTSD finally making you snap. Or maybe it's just because you want this damned asshole that has wormed his way into your heart to shut up.

“Because ‘thought processing disorder’ isn’t the best way to actually describe my condition, Ace, but it's sure as hell easier to explain than ‘I have several voices in my head judging me and telling me what to do all the time and no medication cannot stop it no matter what I do and all of your stupid comments and questions makes them erupt in a 10 minute yelling match making it impossible to hear my own thoughts!”

You sneer at them all as they look over with a mix of surprise and pity, Ortho looks like a kicked puppy. You sigh, “I’m sorry, I just…” “Nah that's nothing to apologize for…” Ace sighs, and you know he wants to apologize but pride won't allow him. “Y’know what if you just say what the voices want to say?” Deuce suddenly asks out of the blue.

“O-of course, I don't know what they say so maybe it's not a good idea but…” “Actually, it may give Ace some patience for once.” Jack gives a small smirk. “We all know he needs to learn to think before he speaks.” “Hey!” Ace huffs. “Fine then, bring it! I can take whatever you throw at me.” And the ginger smirks as if he didn't just say some famous last words.

“You're serious?” You blink. “Do you even think you could handle it?” Sebek scoffs, “I can take anything a measly human dishes out, it is nothing compared to fae!” Epel shuts his eyes in annoyance. “Oh you three don’t even know what you’re getting into, yet you’re already signing up for trouble.” Ortho beams. “Actually, this might help me collect some data to help you, Yuu!” “You four don’t even know what you're getting yourselves into…” Epel corrects himself.

“Okay okay.” You sigh. “Tomorrow, I will allow whatever they say, happen… to an extent at least…” You mutter, making Hades and the Queen of Hearts in your head boo you. Last thing you need is an Arson charge….

****

You laid down on your bed later that day as the sun began to set. “Okay guys… there are only a few ground rules. No murder, and no major property damage, small fires are okay, okay?” Before any of the seven and their familiars could respond or complain, you heard Grim.

“Who’re you talking to? Oh wait, you speaking to the guys in your head?” Grim asked, jumping on the bed and cuddling up to you. “First the mouse in the mirror and now you have some voices in your head, what other secrets are you keeping from me, hmm?” 'A lot actually', you think as you stroke Grim’s fluffy head. “You’ll see tomorrow.” You smile and your excitement made it difficult to sleep that night.

****

You got up, did your daily routine that Mama Grimhilde has laid out for you, before exiting the house with Grim in your arms for breakfast. Of course you haven’t forgotten the deal you made today at all. ‘Pssst, hey small sib~’ Flotsam chuckles darkly in your head, ‘Can I bite someone today?’ You chuckle, “Only if they deserve it.” Grim peeked up at you. “Oh yeah, you’re talking out loud today.” Grim smirks, “I wonder how Explodey-Head’s gonna react to that!”

Slinking into the cafeteria, you get into line per usual, getting a tray of whatever was free that you liked, you had to pinch your pennies this week. Sitting down, you notice that your usual squad was there, including Ace and Deuce, who usually took their time to arrive, and Ortho who usually had to deal with his brother. “Good morning.” You say settling down. “Morning, Yuu!” Ortho beams, “I got here early so I can start the data collection! I'll try to record as much as possible!”

‘Oh how precious.’ Ursula purrs in your head, and the seven’s consensus on Ortho, even if they didn’t appreciate anklebiters, is that he wasn’t half bad. “So, today you're going to embrace your issues, I SAY BRING IT ON!” Sebek yells, making everyone wince, and Epel shoots a tired glare. ‘Tell that boy to silence! I am trying to nap!’ Scar huffs.

You nervously sigh, “Well first off all, they said to shut up please, it's not even 7 in the morning.” Sebek looks offended for a moment, but a very familiar voice interrupts, sending shivers down your spine. “Oh Koebi-Chan~” A wry voice purrs, making Grim hop off of you to hide. Everyone in your head went ‘oh no this guy again.’

You honestly didn’t mind Floyd, hell, you dare to consider him a friend, but you really were not in the mood for his antics today. “Hey Floyd,” You sigh, “look dude, I’m not in the mood today, can you please leave me alone?” You ask, and your words just make Floyd beam. The seven seem annoyed, but then you feel their excitement; your first victim. 'Humiliate the boy…' Jafar whispers to you.

Floyd drapes himself over you as you eat, occasionally leaning over to try and steal a bite from whatever was on your fork. “Ehh? Little shrimpy’s feeling bold today!~ How fun! Whatcha gonna do about me?~” His arms wrap around you to squeeze around your rib cage, “Especially when I squeeze…”

“Dude, leave them alone.” Deuce says before freezing at the glare he was shot. "…Please?” He adds. “Look Floyd,” Jack sighs, “we’re trying to get Yuu some help today with an illness, Ortho is trying to get data on them, you aren’t helping.” Jack interrupts, trying to keep your condition vague for your privacy. Seems like Jack forgot that Floyd ignores reason when he finds it funny.

“Ooo~, is the little shrimpy sick?” Floyd says backing off of you slightly and poking you in the ribs. “You know Azul may have a remedy for it, you should come on down.~” “He does not, and for the final time there is nothing he can offer me that would make me want to make a deal with him. Please go away.” You warn one last time and Floyd leans in, pushing his luck in hopes to see you squirm. Ortho glares and prepares to get up and send him away but you hold out your hand to tell him to stop.

“Whatcha gonna do lil shrimpy?~” Floyd smirks. ‘Is it time?’ Hades asks, ‘Please tell me its time.’ You smile and mentally reply, ‘it’s time.’ You keep your calm smile as you look at Floyd. “Probably something my father taught me.” “And what's that?” Floyd says, grabbing the back of your neck.

“This.” Suddenly you erupted in the brightest blue flames the world has ever seen making half of the cafeteria turn to stare. Your friends at the table all jump back and Ortho flashes red as he scans you. As quickly as the flames came to be, they disappeared. Floyd pulled his hands away, waving it off to cool it down. He wasn’t burned, at least nothing major, but the sleeve of his uniform was singed and he stared at it in rapt fascination.

You expected him to get annoyed, or to maybe start a fight, or something, but Floyd was in a good mood, and he laughed. “I didn’t know little shrimpy could do that! I thought you could only summon an ember, eheheh!~ Seems little shrimpy has more secrets than we thoooought~” Floyd muses, and suddenly another familiar face comes in, one that looks exactly like Floyd.

“Floyd, I believe the prefect doesn’t want to play anymore. Come on now, we should go.” “Aww but I wanna keep playing!” “I know brother dearest, but it seems that the cruel and unwavering Prefect doesn't want to,” Jade faked a frown and sighed, “How awful, if only they could have an ounce of compassion for my poor, poor brother… However, ” Jade opened his eyes back up and smirked, staring directly at you with a twinkle in his eye. “I think it’s best to leave them alone for today, especially since whatever ailment they have seems to make them erupt in flames at any given moment…”

The eel’s voice drips with faux concern and Floyd snickers, Azul is gonna have some wonderful intel to ponder over later. You decide to say exactly what all of your fathers thinking. “Go eat shit and die for all I care.” And Jade’s eyes widen ever so slightly before the gleam with amusement, having never seen this side of you. “Of course prefect! If this ah… ailment continues to cause you trouble, please do let us know. We at Octavinelle love to help the poor and unfortunate.”

You watched the two slink off before turning back to your meal as all of your first year friends gawked at you. “What the hell was that! You never said you could do that!” Ace sputtered. “Yeah! You nearly cooked me!” Grim whines, making the audience in your head relish in their surprise. Ursula and The Queen of Hearts seem particularly amused.

“Magic like that requires a lot of skill.” Sebek ponders, “To cast a flame cloak and not burn yourself requires a lot of concentration, furthermore it requires a high amount of magic potential on par with fae. Didn’t you say you have none, Yuu? HAVE YOU BEEN LYING ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE? OR PERHAPS YOU WANTED TO HIDE IT TO SKIRT OUT ON EXAMS!” “Volume!” Deuce whines, and Grimhilde mentally thanks him.

“Oh… whoops…” “WHOOPS??” A few of the first years yell and Epel shoots you an ugly-baffled expression. “Whoops?? Whoops?? Is that all you have to say about that? You performed some of the most advanced defensive magic without a second thought and you just say whoops??” Epel’s accent threatens to slip out.

“Hey, Ortho, what's their magic reading, you look concerned.” Deuce asks as Ortho looks at the screens he’s projecting with a calculating expression. “I think there is an error in my system, I have scanned them 5 times and it says they have no traces of magic at all, but there is also no trace of any dampening magic used to hide or change that reading. Furthermore, the technique they used is no longer in use, records show it dates back more than the era of gods! That version of the spell they casted cannot be duplicated at all!” Ortho says in amazement before turning to you.

“Just… what are you?”

You blink as they all stare at you expectedly. “I'm a human.”

****

It was time for class, you said that you were gonna use the bathroom first, so the others should go without you for now, you’ll see them with Crewel. You didn’t think that anything eventful would come from it. You were wrong. This is NRC.

Coming out of the bathroom, a few Savanahclaw chuds cornered you. “Can I help you?” You asked exasperatedly to the NRC equivalents of Beavis and Butthead. “Tch, you know why we're here!” “…No, I don't.” You blink rubbing your eye, which just pissed off the duo even more.

“You made a fool out of our dorm during the spell drive competition!” “Oh god, is that what this about, dude that was nearly a year ago.” “Yeah and we came back to settle the score.” You just raised a brow and a small smile crept to your face.

‘Oh! Oh! Can I bite now? Please please please can I bite now! Come onnnn I’ve been such a good eel!’ Flotsam pleads and you hear the familiars speak. ‘Me want bite!!’ Ed whines. Raven caws, ‘Yeah me too!’ Iago agrees. ‘We wanna join too!’ The imps laugh. ‘I will… stay here…’ Diaval sighs.

You blink. “Sick em.” You say, making the two idiots make a face at you. Flotsam immediately lunges for the ass. “AIIIIEEE!” One yells and you hold back a snort as the others join, Iago and Raven both grabbing onto the members hair and pecking at them. Jetsam basically lassos around one, making him trip so the hyena trio can rough him up. The imps both transform into a blue and red cat respectively and continue to add to the looney tunes violence of it all.

The two run off and the familiars return to you, except for the eels that slither miserably in place on the smooth, frictionless floor. “Help us up.” Jetsam scoffs. “No I think I’ll stay like this a bit longer.” 'Angelfish…' Ursula warns. "... yes mom…"

…

On your way to class you run into Crowley who attempts to stop you and unload another issue for you to deal with. Instead you say what your familiars wanted to say. “You are gay.” You say, making the man just stare at you as you walk off. “And Crewel also has weirdly complicated feelings for you.”

“FEELINGS YOU SAY?? WHICH ONES?? WHICH SORT OF FEELINGS YUU?? YUU!!!” You speed walk off regretting that decision, but you admit it will be funny to see those two get divorced. Crewel deserves better.

****

Animal Linguistics was always a bit of an annoying class, and this time, Trein has invited a few of the more advanced students to the class to help you freshmen. Ace let out a deep sigh when he saw Ruggie, knowing this guy will only do the bare minimum for his grade and charge any lesson extra.

“So when the cat goes ‘mrrrp?’ You're good, usually you should try to respond with a ‘mah Ah’” Ruggie explains to your group. “Do we always have to talk to cats and mice? I feel like we should also practice some other creatures too…” You sigh.

Trein overhears you and responds. “Your birds don’t count, Yuu. They are able to speak.” You sigh. “Okay…” You sigh and Ruggie gives you that stupid shit-eating grin. “Aw, you not satisfied with my lesson?” “No.” You glare, which surprises Ruggie, unused to your assertiveness. “I can speak to animals already and I’ve been teaching these boneheads, we're fine here.”

“Yeah but you say things that don't make sense…” Grim complains. “It doesn’t make sense because you guys are not used to the accents animals have. You know what, hold on, I‘ll get some real good ones to practice on.” “Huh what are you—?” Ruggie gawks when he sees three whole hyenas appear out of nowhere along with two eels around your waist.

“They are not allowed to speak in their human voices. Knock 'em out, guys.” “Yuu! Where did you even…” Trein sighs. “Fine, fine, they can stay as long as they are well behaved…” The hyenas cackle and the eels snicker. Deuce nervously looks into the crossed eyes of Ed who winks in response.

Ace seals his lips to hold back a laugh until Banzai leans where he stares nervously. “Seduce me bro.” “AYO???”

****

Soon history class came, and once again a special guest was brought in, Lilia. The lesson went fine. Your sass wasn't needed. You kept quiet as you took a few notes here and there, and the end bell soon rang out. You stared at a particular note you took.

‘The Thorn Fairy’s wings were leathery and bat-like, much like a dragon.’

You looked down at the note, and Maleficent herself seems to hum. ‘Seems like he is still following orders years later.’ She says and doesn’t elaborate. As students begin to pack up and leave, you wave down Lilia, who puts a hand on his hip and waits for you.

“Oho? What is it, prefect?” Lilia beams as you look at the note you took in your open notebook. “I have a question about what you said about the Thorn Fairy.” Lilia nods, “Well yes, what is it? It always warms my heart to see youngsters value history.”

You look at the note again. “You said that her wings were leathery and bat-like.” Lilia nods his head. “But aren't they feathered?” Lilia’s smile drops. “In fact she lost her wings too but got them back at some point, right? Did they become leathery during those years they were gone? Is that what you mean?”

Lilia looks at you, a bit of shock in his eyes, before he quietly speaks to you. “How do you know that?” “Know what?” “The Thorn Fairy only disclosed that information to two people, her raven, Diaval, and me…” You freeze for a moment and then Diaval appears on your shoulder to caw at him.

Lilia stares at you, then at the raven, then back to you. “Diaval, is that you…? Why are you with… wait does that mean—" Lilia was cut off. “Yo, Yuu!” Deuce calls out from the doorway. “You coming?” You clear your throat and nod. “Yeah, I’m coming!” You look over at Lilia, “Thank you for your time.” He could only stare as you walked off and Diaval cawed an apology

***

Towards the end of the day, you and your first year friends were all going to hang out at Heartslabyul to study together, which you know was code for ‘get distracted halfway and hang out’. You walked down the main path to the mirror chamber when you felt a familiar presence nearby. You were being watched.

“Come out Rook, I know you're there.” You look over at one of the apple trees, and narrow your eyes when you see Rook pop out from behind it all theatric. “Très bien, Trickster! You found me, that is a feat not many can achieve!” The weirdo beams. You nodded. “Yeah, you don't need to stalk me by the way. I am happy to get to know you through talking…”

“Non non, Trickster, you say that however I believe you don’t truly speak your mind!” The French man smiles. “I notice that you are not true to yourself! Always holding back your strength and what you mean to say, when I caught wind you were going to be yourself for a day, I could not help but try to study you!” Okay wow, he has you read.

“You can learn so much more about a person through their actions, but alas, you are so good at concealing those too, mon dieu, you are quite the mystery that I hope to uncover, and the most challenging one to date!” Rook says in awe. “I enjoy a good hunt, and this one has been most enthralling!” “I’ve always been able to sense when you're there, its why I tend to slink off not long after.”

“Merde! Is that so?” Rook smirks, and you sweat, you fucked up. “Aha, I knew you knew of me! Oh how fun! I have never had such good prey before!” You narrow your eyes slightly as he continues. “Would you dare to tell me how you are able to detect me so easily? Ah– but of course, if you don't that makes things much more magnifique!”

“Um… I honestly actually don't know how I do, I just do?” Rook seems pleased, “How effortless! Tres bien! Beauté! I must hone my skills as a hunter more! Until next time, Yuu!” Rook begins to walk off before pausing and his smile drops for a moment.

“And even if it is not me, I do hope you can truly open up to somebody someday. Anyone would be lucky to have that level of trust with a Trickster such as yourself! Holding everything in does you no good! Au revior, little trickster, or perhaps I should call you le Chevalier Mystère?” Rook has that small sparkle in his eye.

“Switch it up now and then, keep it interesting.” You nod at Rook “À bientôt!” He says, and he seems to be muttering some weird French poem about strangers and beauty as you leave.

****

You were stopped yet again on your way to Heartslabyul as you passed the mystery shop. The door was open and you see Trey ponder how he’s going to carry the groceries he brought back to the dorm. “Hey Trey,” you walks in and wave, “you look conflicted, something up?”

“Ah prefect, I am actually,” Trey wears that smiley-wincing expression that Trey has when he’s in deep shit. “I'm sorry to bother you, but could you help me carry some of these bags back to my dorm? It may take a few trips but I promise a treat in return.” “You don’t need to Trey, I’ll help you even without one, you’ve been kind to me.”

Trey’s brows raise slightly and he adjusts his glasses, looking away awkwardly. “Ah, well, thank you, Prefect.” Trey rolls up his sleeves, revealing his forearms as he prepares to grab a bag. "Those bags of flour and sugar are quite heavy, so be careful— wuh?” Trey stared dumbstruck as you lifted 500 pounds worth of dry ingredient bags in one arm. “I- how are you— Is that not heavy?”

“It is, but I’m used to it.” “At least let me help—“ “No, no fine, lets go.” “O… kay…” Trey adjusts his glasses and you both walk off to Heartslabyul, making a lot of people turn their heads as you pass by.

Entering the dorm, you notice Deuce and Grim gawk at you. “Give me a minute, I’m helping Trey!” You shout as you walk everything to the kitchen and set it down on the counter. “There.” Trey stares at the pile you put down, mentally going through all the times before you acted so weak. “Ahem, thank you prefect, Ace told me you would be over in the rose garden to ‘study’ right?” “They never study.” Trey gives that 'Trey sad smile' from earlier. “You got that right.”

****

Exiting the kitchen, you look into one of the mirrors hanging on the walls of the dorm, adjusting your appearance when yet another annoying voice interrupts you. “O-M-G! It's Yuu-Chan!” Cater shouts with his typical manufactured smile. “Heyyyy!” He waves and you feel your brain melting in your skull. “Hey Cater, what's up?”

“I have a questionnn!~” He smiles, pulling up something on his phone. “Are these you?” You sweat and look over to the images he pulled up. There was one of you in flames in the cafeteria, and another of you in the hallway wheezing at the pack of familiars all jumping the two chuds. “Yeah… yeah you caught me…”

“They’re trending locally right now and you know I just have to get in on that! Mind if we take a pic?” “Go ahead.” You sigh and Cater immediately snaps a selfie of him and your exhausted self. “Me and the bestie! #NRCProblemChild #NRCConspiracy #IsekaiProtag #ExtraTerrestrialPrefectConspiracy! Aaannnd post! Thank you, Yuu-Chan, I’m curious though what was that about?”

“Those two assholes were trying to beat me up and don’t worry about the other one.” “Don't worry?” Cater scoffs as you adjust yourself in the mirror again. “Helllooo the magicless prefect, turned slightly magical, turned to god-like mage suddenly does that within a year! That's gotta be something!” Cater beams and then looks over at you and sweats.

You were glaring at him, but the mirror in front of you had several eyes also glaring at him. “… Who’s that?” “Who’s what?” “That!” Cater points to the mirror and when you turn to look it disappears. “That's me, Cater, I know I look a bit different since first arriving, but I don't think I look half bad.” You gave an insincere smile.

“My friends are waiting for me Cate, seeya..."

****

You left the hangout early, not liking all the questions probing into your mind or your past at all, in fact you left pretty upset with some insinuations and accusations of your insincerity. “Are we even friends, Yuu?” Deuce frowned. “Have you been lying to us?” Jack glares. You sigh, and walk randomly, no destination in mind.

“Why aren't you opening up to us?” Ace huffs. “I mean you trust us right?” Ace’s frown turned to offense when he saw you look away. “Dude come on! When have we given you a reason to not trust us?” You snap at him. “Our very first meeting was you insulting me and since then you have been roping me into trouble!”

Ace looked guilty there. “Yuu…” Epel frowned and Ortho shot a glare at Ace. “Human, Ace may have had a rough meeting but what about us?” “What about you? What about you?” You dragged your hands across your face.

“There's a lot about you guys actually! From Mr. Don’t-Be-Friendly-Cause-We’ll-Never-be-Friends over here to Mr.Internalized-Racism-Against-My-Kind here! And let’s not forget I-Cause-Half-Of-Your-Problems-And-Sometimes-Leave-You-WIthout-Food-For-A-Few-Days Grim! Yeah I have no clue! It's almost like I tried opening up to you all before but I was brushed off. It's almost like I have been telling you that I have been having these prophetic dreams since arriving and have been telling you about a man living in my mirror and calling out to me constantly! And everytime— every fucking time its nothing or no big deal!”

You wipe away tears. “I have been trying to talk, but nobody's listening. It’s like I’m made to understand and not be understood! I have been having to put everyone else before myself and solve everyone’s else’s problems without a thank you or someone to lean on since day one! I mean, all these blots have given me fucking scars. Physical fucking scars! All while I was being berated for being a weak little human too! And what? I still am expected to bend over backwards for the people that tried to kill me? Everything’s swept under the rug for everyone else but me, huh? No one ever checks on me, hell, I am not even acknowledged half the time when I’m in the same room as someone, so yeah I also wonder why I don't talk.”

You push yourself up and grab your things. “Wait!” “No, no! Leave me alone, for once will you leave me alone willingly!” “Yuu come on! We’ll listen.” You pause. “Yuu isn’t even my name.” You glare. “It isn't…?” Grim asks. “I have been called ‘You’ this entire time here because no one bothered asking my name and everyone assumed it was ‘Yuu’. I don't even get to introduce myself anyways when I do get asked. I am not my own person, and you never made me feel like my own person.”

You walked off. Looking back now you regret it. You’re embarrassed, you sounded so stupid. You wipe away a few tears and feel a presence appear, Cerberus. The three heads nudge and cuddle you as you sob and you can feel the sevens hands all trying to soothe you. ‘There, there’ one says. Let it out.’ Another responds. ‘Poor thing.’

“Come on, boy, it's been a while since you’ve been on a walk…” You mutter, and think back to what Rook said to you earlier. Opening up to someone was a Herculean task on its own, but someone understanding you was impossible. Even telling people the truth can get you or them in trouble…

You lead the way down to the Ignihyde dorm. No one in that dorm leaves their room anyways, it's safe for your good boy to walk around there.

***

There was in fact a certain dorm leader there, who was just as shocked to see you and a giant dog. Idia punched in the number to a snack at the vending machine, turned around and gawked at the giant dog behind him. He then looked over at you.

“Yuu? Is that-? I mean is he—? Ortho said you—… Is that the real…?” Idia sputtered, not sure what to ask first. “Shut it weeb, no ones gonna believe you.” Idia gawked even more. Since when were you so sassy? No seriously, you were also so overly kind to everyone it unsettled him.

“…Sorry…” you mumble. “You can pet him… he’s… soft…” Idia blinks and offers out a hand. One of the heads sniffs it before nuzzling into him. “Holy shit…” Idia whispers as he immediately starts fawning over the dog.

“Who’s some good boys, who’s some boys? Oh that's a great pupper! Oh yes you all are!” It’s strange to see Idia all smiley to himself, but it’s pleasant. “How did you—“ “I can't answer that.” You respond. “So dont ask…”

Idia goes quiet leaning back from the heads that licked him, his flaming locks dancing behind him. “Ortho said you haven’t been feeling well…” “I haven’t been, not for a while, I guess it finally all came out to the point where it’s noticeable…” “Ah, I feel that…” Idia trails off awkwardly.

“I know we're not friends, but I appreciate you.” Idia mumbles. “You make Ortho very happy, and I love seeing my little brother happy… He says you're like another sibling and insists we would get along. He really wants me to get to know you… and uh.. We don't have to, but… yeah… Thank you, I guess…’ Idia looks like he’s about to die, but he speaks again.

“Ortho says you make him feel human, and that you’ve been helping him learn more about how to find out who he is more than anyone else, more than me, even, probably cause you got out more… He told me you were upset, and he’s worried about you. So uh… please reach out to him?”

“Thank you, Idia…” You sigh. “Yeah I will, I will reach out to him, its not his fault, I just… I just need time to think… I don't even know who I am, or what comforts me…” “Um, I don't know what you like… but uh… actually, give me your number. I know a pretty cool site with a lot of free shows, I think there’s a few you’ll like.” He offers an attempt at a smile. “And also maybe you try a few video games? If you haven’t tried them already… who knows maybe we can play together…” You smile and open up your contacts. “Yeah, I would like that actually…”

A new contact was added: ‘Gremlin.’

****

Walking off to your dorm, you dare not go in. You don't know if your friends are all waiting for you inside, or if Grims there. You sorta don't want to deal with that right now still. The corners of your eyes catch a familiar sight. Fireflies dance through the night, coming out of the grass and surrounding you.

“Hey, Tsunotaro… Heh, maybe I ought to call you ‘Firefly’ or king of the fireflies, maybe.” You wipe your eyes as you turn around and there he is, your Tsunotaro. You both don't know each other's names, but you don't need to. Tsunotaro and Child of Man work just fine.

“Greetings, Child of Man, it’s always good to see you but…” The fae frowns, “are you alright, Child of Man? You seem troubled…” “I… Yeah I am… I just… don’t know what to do…”

Your friend carefully reaches out to you before retracting his hand. “Do you want to talk about it?” “I think I need a distraction…” “I can do that,” Tsunotaro offers his hand. “Come with me.

You have never seen so many pretty colors before as Malleus casts a few spells, making the forest into the most beautiful light show you’ve ever seen. Mushrooms glow from where they sprout, leaves swirl with beautiful patterns, and the fireflies dance through the sky against the stars. You swear you can hear music from them.

“This is… This is beautiful…” “I am glad you enjoy it,” Malleus watches as you watch each step you take, the leaves below you glowing with each step. “Are you feeling better now?” “Yeah, I am… You know…” you pause nervously.

“Yes? What is it?” “It feels like… you're my only true friend…” The lightshow around you flickers for a moment. “Is that so…” Malleus stares wide eyed. “Yeah… Just… I can be kind to everyone… but I can't be friends with anyone. They all don't really get to know the real me, you know?” Malleus stares off.

“I do know that feeling well… You are my only friend…” You pause and look at him. The lights behind you turn to a more pinkish hue. “That's hard to believe, you are a wonderful person.” “Likewise, Child of Man. I would think someone as kind as you would have much more.”

You sniff, “I’ve been helping so many people, but it feels like…” You sigh. “I have seen the hard work you have put into everything. Not a lot of people can say they have gone through what you have gone through and won. You are much stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

Malleus takes your hand. “I am sorry that others do not acknowledge that. I hope those around you soon start to realize what a blessing you are.” You squeeze his hand. “Come on, why don’t we both enjoy this light show?”

…

At the very last waltz, your legs feel like jelly, and you cannot tell if it's because of how happy you are or because you've been standing too long. You pull away gently. “Thank you Tsunotaro, for everything.” Malleus nods. “It was nothing. Thank you for being my friend.” He stares off to the sky for a moment. “Farewell, Child of Man, may the night be full of promise for you.”

The fae starts to fade away and you reach out, using a spell of your own. “Wait…” You hold onto Malleus’ arm making him appear again. The fae looks at you with shock. “You overrode my magic…” Malleus whispers, and his shocked face turns to one of awe and his eyes hint towards excitement. “No one has ever been able to do that… Just what else are you hiding, Child of Man?”

“I want to give you my name.” “Your name?” Malleus looks shocked once again. “My real name.” “Don't you know of the stories about giving your name to Fae?” “I know them, but I trust you. I know you would never hurt me.” Your expression and voice is so sure it nearly overwhelms the fae.

“You trust me that much? I could smite you with lightning in an instant.” “Then smite me.” Malleus paused and nothing happened. “See? I know you wouldn’t hurt me. You’ve had opportunities this entire time and you haven’t.” “You really want to tell me Child of Man? When I have not even given you my name?” Malleus' voice nearly shakes.

“You don't need to. But if you do, no matter what name comes out, I won't be afraid.” You take his hand, and for the first time since arriving, you introduce yourself, and you tell him your name, your real name.

“I see, what a wonderful name… I supposed I shall finally tell you mine as well.” The fae smiles, “Draconia. Malleus Draconia…” “Malleus? That's not too bad for yourself…” Malleus lets out a laugh at that. “I suppose not.” He smiles then looks off again. “Well then, friend… Thank you for everything tonight. I have not been this happy in a long time…”

“Good night, Malleus. I hope to see you again soon.”

“Good night, Child of Man…”

He fades out and you hear Maleficent speak to you. ‘He likes you.’ She says, and you hear a few voices teasing you. You chuckle and find the strength in you to go back into your dorm and confront tomorrow. Rook’s words from earlier echoes through your mind. You have found people you can truly open up to.

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livinahey · 6 months

Text

Random astro obs bcs y not

Warning ⚠️ mentions of abuse and trauma

scorpio luminaries & luminaries aspect to pluto (especially harsh aspect) almost be always know when something/someone is gonna do no good to you. If they warn you ab something then just follow them. Bcs what they say is scarily often end up being true

Also, if from the first meet these natives STRONGLY dislike you even though you didnt do anything then yeah.... Youre the problem lol. No matter if youre everyone crush, everyone sweetheart, or whatever is that. Again, like I said before, they seems to always know when something/someone is not good

These natives can also scared of themselves bcs of this

I think we admire ppl who have our mars sign as their sun sign

Sag sun with water moon women makes the loyal partner 🥺🤧 be it business partner, in friendship, or as a lover. Don't leave them.

When you see mars square pluto native gets bad mood or even angry.... RUN

Bcs they can be so violent at that time and you dont want to see that

Same goes to cap moon 💀

Women with moon square bml (black moon lilith) always have the best glow ups ✨✨🤧 im so proud (and bit jealous lol) of you dear

Mercury in leo degrees (5, 17, 29) being sooooo charming. They be say "hi" only and you already weak(???) lol

Leo venus 🤝 cant go a day without boasting what they love, be it their hobbies, their job, their loved ones, their pet, or even the place where they live lol. So passionate

I'm not surprised if theyre the one that have many posts on their social media account

Ppl with big 6 at 6 degrees (virgo degree) can be seen as villain

Moon conjunct jupiter synastry: when the moon person getting humiliated/disrespect, the jupiter person be defending the moon person. Also, the moon person can have soft spot for the jupiter person

Natal aspects to sun i like are sun conjunct mars and sun-pluto any major aspects. The word "sexy" is literally made for them lol.

TW ABUSE

women with cap or cancer mars plsssss check again the man you choose to date or even marry. Bcs i often see these women end up experience being abused severely by their man in their relationship. Men often being intimidated by these women yet still wanna date them. These women do dating man that seems cool and amazing or even adorable person outside BUT UNFORTUNATELY it turns out that the man are the worst person ever. At worst case, the man's family dislike these women due to jealousy towards them. No matter how bad these women get treated by the man, the man's family will still defend the man and treated these women as if theyre the problem 💔

Also, these women can dealing with fucking crazy men that cannot accept being rejected by them atleast once in their life. Scary af

Gemini moon/mars are naturally funny without even trying ✋😭

Sag/pisces rising 🤝 always have ppl crushing over them and even become worshipping them

Libra rising are so beautiful and it seems unbelievable

Cancer rising and their terrible mood swing 🤕 yet still look like the most calm and unbothered person ever

Mercury-bml aspects culture is having what they say being questioned. And if they have sun-uranus aspects too then.... Good luck trying to understand them 🥴

Mercury-bml aspects is underrated funny placements imo. They be say questionable thing but idk i find it funny tho 😩

Scorpio rising and having traumatic experience/memories when they young that seems keep haunting them even until they become old :(

Also they often get disappointed by their family :( they can give all their family members a mountain of gold, being so kind to them to the point they forgetting their own needs and this scorpio rising still getting unappreciated & bad treatment. PLS APPRECIATE SCORPIO RISING IN UR LIFE !!❤‍🩹🫂 they are one of sincere people that often attracts evil eye that doesnt wanna see them being success

Whats with earth rising and having this disgusted/judging look 🥲

They can look at you normally and you will feel that theyre judging you even if they arent

Sag rising and leo rising 🤝 having beef with eachother

Same goes to taurus sun x gemini sun

Cap sun x virgo sun friendship be the weird yet funny pair

Every leo placement always have virgo placement in their life

They can have love-hate relationship with eachother tho lol.

And the same goes to every cap placement that always have aries placement in their life

You either love the opposite sex that has the same mars sign as you OR going "mehh" of them

Earth rising 🤝 secured financially. Maybe you never catched them worry ab not having money to save their life

Hey thank you for reading this so far!! I do these obs not bcs I wanna gain followers or what but bcs I found these things give me joy hehe ✌🏻 english isnt my first language so apologize for any grammar mistakes. be safe out there!! 🫂✨

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sweatervest-obsessed · 2 months

Text

Discretions and Devotions

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

WC: 1.2k

A/N: Decided to make this a mini series, in terms that the chapters will be short, but still entertaining since the idea of this makes me giggle. (Gender Neutral Reader btw)

Part 1: Hangovers and Hickies

Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan was on the case.

Obviously, something was going on between you and Spencer. That much he could deduce. But to what extent? For how long?

Since he needed these questions answered, he would require backup from his favorite girl.

“Enter and be known.” Rang out from behind the door when Derek knocked on it. He swung the door open and closed it behind him.

“Babygirl. Put your detective cap on.”

Garcia swiveled around in her chair and raised an eyebrow.

“I think Y/n and Reid are sleeping together.”

Garcia’s eyes lit up. “What’s your proof.”

“Well, Y/n came in today with a hickey and was completely hungover. Then Spencer brought in McDonald’s and Dunkin as a hangover cure—“

“They could’ve just texted one another Derek, you know that he’s completely smitten and would’ve just taken it upon himself to cure their hangover…”

He shook his head. “Let me finish. Then Y/n said that it was Reid’s fault that they ‘were like this’. Plus, both of them are wearing scarves or sweaters with neck coverage…”

Garcia's mouth dropped open. “No…”

Derek nodded and crossed his arms. “And Reid started blushing because of whatever Y/n said, but then ran away before I could ask him any questions.”

“Oh, so they’re sleeping together.” Garcia nodded along with Derek.

“Exactly, but they won’t say anything about it.”

“I love you, but no. If this was the first time, why would they want to talk about it at all, but….If this has been happening for a while then it’s a secret. And I always uncover secrets” Penelope stood up, and all but stomped out of her bat cave and down to the bullpen, where you were feeling much better, having eaten some greasy foods to combat the headache.

“Where’s the fire?” You looked up as you saw Garcia headed over to you.

“Are you sleeping with Reid?”

“Woah. First off. Don’t go screaming that question in the middle of the bullpen.” You crossed your arms. “Second, who said I was?”

“You’re deflecting. So it’s true?”

You rolled your eyes. “Pen. I said that it was Reid’s fault I was drunk last night. But that’s where that ends. One of his papers just got nominated for some award and we went out to a bar to celebrate. I’m a good friend. And then, somehow, I had a bunch to drink, which caused me to flirt with some guy, and then take him home and uh….he went a little crazy with the whole hickey thing so…” You raised your eyebrows. “Can I give you any more information to give to Derek or is that enough.”

“Hm.” Garcia's lips twisted slightly as she looked you up and down, trying to decide if you were telling the truth.

“Garcia I love you but can you profile me at a different time, I have a consultant call in five.”

She sighed but nodded. “This isn’t over.”

“I didn’t think it would be.” You grumbled and turned back around to your computer.

————————————————————————

You were able to avoid conversations with Garcia and Morgan for the rest of the day, which was nice considering you didn’t really want to talk about your sex life in the bullpen for anyone to hear.

Especially since the opposite party would be within earshot.

But that didn’t stop Garcia and Morgan from trying their damndest to get you or Reid to talk. At some point during the day, you were sure you saw Derek corner Spencer into a closet, which ended poorly since clearly he was not given the answers he wanted when you saw Spencer walk by earlier with a smug look on his face.

You decided to leave about half an hour earlier since you came in early. It worked out nicely and you were able to enjoy the walk to the subway by yourself, listening to your music and enjoying the fresh winter air.

The peace was interrupted when someone sat directly next to you causing you to look up with a pissed-off look on your face, that quickly melted into something a lot happier.

“Hey, you. I thought you were going to stay late today.” You smiled up at him and kissed his cheek. He shook his head and took your hand in his.

“I was but then getting chased around by SSA Tweedle Dee and Technical Analyst Tweedle Dum made me want to leave as soon as I could. Then I decided on it when Derek cornered me in the bathroom. Plus you left early and I’d rather spend time with you.”

Your eyes widened. “The bathroom?”

Spencer nodded and rolled his eyes.

“They’re persistent, that’s for sure.” You grumbled.

“Well, considering how long it took them to figure out that the possibility of us being together was real, I think we’ll be okay.” He murmured, kissing your hand.

“Those two could leave no rock unturned and still find nothing but sand.” You snorted.

Spencer laughed and squeezed your hand.

“I mean.” You sighed. “Today was a close call. Not that hiding is a bad thing or anything, like I know we’ve talked about it a lot, but still sometimes I get worried about if we’re ven doing the right thing or—“

“You’re starting to sound like me.” Spencer laughed softly, cutting you off. “But I get it. We slipped up.”

“We?!?! Excuse you. I think you mean you slipped up. You went a little crazy on the neck there Spencer.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I could slap that stupid grin off of your face Doctor Reid.”

The two of you looked like two good friends, maybe something more if an eagle-eyed observer was searching for it, but nothing more. It was a science the two of you had perfected in case you were spotted together by someone from the team, or really anyone that was willing to snitch to them.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to cover for much longer though. If Derek suddenly remembers how good he is at his job then we’re fucked.”

“Royally.” You agreed and rested your head on his shoulder.

The two of you sat like that for the rest of the ride, only moving to get off at your station.

You and Spencer took your time walking home, even though it was cold out. The sun was shining, which was rare enough as it was, which made you feel a bit better. Eventually, you made it back to your shared apartment where Spencer put in the code to get you both into the building.

You and Spencer were a minimal PDA couple, not because your relationship wasn’t very well known, but because neither of you felt the need to be overtly touchy with one another.

But today, with the sun, and the enjoyment of the fact that Spencer was home earlier than promised got to you. And before you entered, you kissed him softly on the lips, enjoying the feeling.

This was your fatal mistake since at that exact moment, one Emily Prentiss drove by and saw the whole thing.

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daisynik7 · 7 months

Note

Omg Nikki!!! Congrats on the milestone!!!! 🥂 May I submit a request for this fun event? Me & U, Cassie for Gojo Satoru? -Smut if you don't mind ? 🥺

Me & U

It's me and you, I've been waiting, think I wanna make that move now

Pairing: frat boy!Gojo x sorority girl!reader

Rating: Explicit - MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

Word Count: ~2.2k

cw: college au, drinking, explicit language, smut – PIV sex (cowgirl), cunnilingus, fingering, sex without a condom, creampie, pet names (sweetheart, baby)

Summary: You’re hosting a party tonight to celebrate Shoko’s acceptance into medical school. She invites a few of her friends, including resident frat star Satoru Gojo, who you historically don’t get along with. That changes when you find out his true feelings for you.

Author’s Notes: Thanks for requesting this @mochimooon! This is a classic y2k hit for the karaoke party! I haven’t written much for Gojo, I find him so intimidating for some reason! But I had fun writing this. I hope you like it!

Shoko kneels on one knee, expertly double fisting Smirnoff Ices as you and your sisters chant your favorite drinking song. “Here’s to sister Shoko, sister Shoko, sister Shoko! Here’s to sister Shoko who’s with us tonight.”

“She’s slutty! She’s sleazy! She’s so fucking easy! Here’s to sister Shoko who’s with us tonight!”

“Now drink motherfucker, drink motherfucker, drink motherfucker. Drink!”

“NOW DRINK MOTHERFUCKER, DRINK MOTHERFUCKER, DRINK MOTHERFUCKER. DRINK!” This last line is the loudest, resulting in an uproar of cheers and laughter as she waves the two empty bottles, showing off her drinking prowess.

She recently got into her dream medical school and you’re hosting this party to celebrate, one last bang before she’s sent off in the fall. It’s only the seniors gathered tonight, all of you squeezing into your teensy off-campus, one-bedroom apartment. The celebrant wraps her arm around your shoulder, kissing you on the cheek. “Thank you for this. Might be the last time I’ll be able to for a while.”

You smile, hugging her back. “Then you better keep drinking while you still have the chance.”

She grabs the handle of vodka on the counter, twisting off the cap to take a swig. “You don’t have to tell me twice."

Since it’s an unofficial gathering of more than three sisters involving alcohol, you decide to do the responsible thing and volunteer to be sober monitor, just in case all hell breaks loose. You nurse a sparkling water, watching with amusement as your sorority sisters gradually get more and more intoxicated, especially Shoko, who’s got a happy buzz going.

There’s loud banging on the door, causing a few of the girls to shriek. You answer it only to be met by blinding white hair, piercing blue eyes, and that all-too-familiar smirk. “Hey there, sweetheart.”

Satoru Gojo. Self-proclaimed frat star. Notorious playboy. Overall nuisance. And, unfortunately, Shoko’s good friend, which is why he’s here.

You resist the urge to roll your eyes at him, swinging the door open to let him in. His fraternity brother, Geto, greets you politely with an embrace. You’re fond of him, having spent time with him over this past year after being voted sweetheart of their fraternity. In fact, you’re quite fond of all of the brothers, except for one.

You’re not quite sure why you and Gojo don’t get along. Maybe it’s because of his arrogant attitude, or his inability to be serious when you need him to be. You’ve had to work alongside him on several occasions, each one resulting in disagreements or petty arguments. Like oil and water, the two of you don’t mix, simple as that. But, for Shoko’s sake, you tolerate him, enough to remain cordial, for the most part.

“Shoko!” he greets, hugging her tightly. “Happy birthday!”

You notice the other sisters watching them, whispering to each other with giddy smiles on their faces. Of course they’re happy to see him. After all, even you can’t deny his striking good looks and charisma. While the two of them catch up, you stand by Geto, who’s searching the fridge for a beer. “How’s it going?”

He cracks open the can, taking a sip before answering. “Alright. We missed you at last week’s party. Everything okay?”

You smile at him, appreciating his concern. “Yeah, I just had to finish some projects.”

He leans against the counter, gazing at you with a smirk. “You know, Satoru was really excited for tonight.”

“Yeah? To celebrate Shoko?”

“That, and to see you.”

You raise a brow at him. “Me? Why me?”

He laughs softy. “Do you really not know?”

“Know what?”

He hums, finishing his beer. “Maybe I should just let you figure it out for yourself.”

“Geto!” you whine, clinging to his arm. “Just tell me!”

He taps his finger to his lips, winking at you, not saying another word. When he continues to remain silent even after pestering him to elaborate, you leave him, trying to distract yourself by chatting with your sisters. No matter what you do though, your mind always goes back to Satoru Gojo. Why would he be excited to see youof all people? You sneak glances at him as he maneuvers through the party, his impressive stature and magnetic personality taking up most of the space in your small apartment. At least, that’s what it seems like. All your friends fawn over him, eyes sparkling with admiration and lust. All of them except for Shoko, who’s so used to him by now that she’s unfazed.

You find your way back to her, cradling the half-empty vodka bottle in her hands. “Did Gojo help you with that?”

She shakes her head. “Nope. This was all me. Besides, Gojo doesn’t drink.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Can you imagine all of that with all of this?” She waves the bottle in her hand. “Pretty sure he would explode.”

You chuckle, observing him further as he performs a party trick involving a blindfold and the beer pong table, successfully making each shot without being able to see. Pretty impressive.

The night continues. Eventually, most of the liquor stocked in your fridge and cabinets is consumed. All your sisters are drunk, including Shoko, though she manages to maintain her composure well enough to stay up on her feet. Your place is a mess now, cups and cans littered on the floor, trash thrown everywhere except the actual bin, random articles of clothing draped over the couch and TV. It’s the stereotypical image of a successful rager, and unfortunately, it’s your mess to clean up. You don’t mind it too much, especially when Shoko gives you a big smooch on the forehead, thanking you again for hosting. She’s being held between Geto and one of your other sisters, who carry her out the door towards the sorority house where she lives. One by one, each sister thanks you with a loving embrace, all smelling sickly sweet from the liquor.

Just when you think everyone has left, you’re surprised to see Gojo drag your garbage bin from the kitchen into the living room, bending down to pick up trash.

“You really don’t have to do that,” you tell him, rushing to his side.

“And leave you to deal with this on your own? Come on, I really don’t mind.”

You mutter a quiet, “Thanks,” surprised by his kind gesture. It almost makes you forget about your history together, until he teases, “I take cash or check for my services, by the way.”

Normally, you’d roll your eyes at him, but this time, you laugh, tossing a few cups into the bin, playing along. “How much do I owe you?”

“Hm…I think I’ll let it slide just this once.” He looks up, grinning at you. There’s a spark for the quickest moment as you hold his gaze.

Thanks to his help, you manage to get the apartment tidied within minutes. The two of you remain silent for the most part, music still playing in the background on your speaker. He hums along to the tunes he recognizes, picking up the last bits of junk from the floor while you wipe down your sticky kitchen counter. The both of you wash your hands thoroughly, satisfied with your work.

As he dries his hands, you remember what Geto mentioned earlier. Deciding to be bold, you ask, “I heard you were excited to see me tonight. Is that true?”

A small smirk forms on his lips as he nods. “That is true, yes.”

“Why?”

He shrugs, leaning against the counter. “I just thought it’d be nice to see you. You are our sweetheart, after all.”

There he goes again, being so unserious. You cross your arms over your chest, glaring at him. “Don’t bullshit with me, Gojo. I thought you hated me.”

“When did I ever say that?!”

“You didn’t have to! We’re always bickering over the simplest things. Like right now.”

“And who’s fault is that? You always get annoyed for no reason.”

“Oh, I have plenty of reasons to be annoyed by you,” you scoff, shaking your head at him. Of course your conversation would turn into another argument.

He scratches the back of his neck, sighing. “I don’t want it to be like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Me and you. Always at each other’s throats. You hating me.”

You stare down at your feet, heat rushing into your cheeks. “I don’t hate you.”

He steps closer, towering over you. “But you don’t like me.”

You peer up at him, defensive. “Well, do you like me?”

He smirks, eyes softening as he stares down at you. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

Ready to kick him out, you groan. “Ugh, there you go again, being such a fucking nuisance – ”

Before you can turn your back to him, he grips your wrist, pulling you in for you a kiss. His lips surround yours, warm and delicate against your mouth. “Is this a good enough answer for you?”

You don’t respond with words, but with another kiss instead, wrapping your arms around him to deepen it, tongues swirling around each other’s, desperate and needy. His hands are on your waist, thumbs brushing the plush skin of your belly. You moan into his mouth, gasping for breath. “Gojo.”

“I’ve been waiting for this,” he whispers, lifting you easily, sitting you up on the counter. He slips his fingers beneath the waistband of your pants.

“Waiting for what?” you ask, spreading yourself for him, already anticipating his answer.

He bites his lip, slowly sliding the fabric down your legs, revealing your pretty panties. “To be alone with you.” He spreads gentle kisses on the inside of your thighs. “To have my way with you.” He nuzzles his nose to your clothed pussy, stimulating your clit.

“And who says I’ll let you?” you huff, pretending to be defiant. You’re already wet, arousal seeping from your slit, pussy aching for him.

He chuckles, hooking his finger around your underwear, exposing your sopping cunt. “Just look at you, sweetheart. Already so fucking juicy for me.” He puckers his lips around your clit, sliding his middle finger inside you, curving at the tip to reach your G-spot.

You buck your hips, core tight with pleasure, eager for more. “Fuck!”

Spreading his tongue wider, he smears his saliva over your swelling bud. “You love this, don’t you?”

Bunching his hair in your fist, you shove him deeper into your cunt, rocking yourself on his face.

“Fuck yeah,” he muffles, eating you out sloppily. “Ride my face. Come for me.”

He sucks on your clit, finger pumping in and out of you relentlessly until you orgasm, thighs squeezed around his cheeks as you ride it out. When you’re done, he licks you clean, collecting all of your cum on his tongue to drink it up. When he surfaces, a cocky grin spread on his face, he runs his thumb along his nose and chin, getting every last drop.

Your pants are still pooled around your ankles, so you kick them off, leaving you completely naked from the waist down. “Fuck me,” you say, rubbing your swollen clit.

“Yeah? That wasn’t enough for you?” he teases, stripping out of his bottoms, stroking his stiff cock in his fist. “You need to be filled up, huh?”

All you can do is nod as he picks you up, wrapping your legs around his waist, carrying you into your bedroom. He kisses you, sucking on your bottom lip, kicking open the door, tossing you onto the mattress. “How do you want it? Tell me.” His cock is hard in his hand, tip glistening with precum.

“I want to ride you,” you say, hoisting your top off, quickly unhooking your bra.

His smile widens, crawling up the bed to position himself against the headboard. “That’s exactly what I want too.”

You straddle his lap, rubbing your pussy along his shaft. He taps the tip against your clit, the lewd wet smacks driving you crazy. You guide him inside you until he bottoms out, nestling your ass comfortable onto his lap.

“Fuck,” he moans, flicking his tongue on your nipple. “Give it to me, sweetheart. Make me come.”

You fuck him slowly at first, relishing the way his big cock fills you up. He sucks on your tits while you ride him, nipples perky between his lips. Soon, you’re fucking him faster, desperate to unravel him the way he did you.

“Fuck, baby. Do it just like that. Don’t stop,” he whimpers, thrusting his hips in tandem with you. “Gonna make me nut so fucking hard.”

“Come for me, Gojo,” you breathe out, close to your second orgasm.

“You too,” he says, his thumb pressed to your clit. “Come with me, baby. Please.”

Pleasure ripples through your body, pussy tightening around him. He curses, shooting his load inside you, stuffing you full of his seed. He twitches beneath you, cock spurting every last pulse until he’s drained of energy and cum. You collapse on top of him, resting your face on his chest, catching your breath.

After a brief moment of silence, the two of you listening to your own steadying heartbeats, he speaks. “Wow.”

You giggle, looking up at him. “Why didn’t we do this sooner?”

“Because it’s the first time we’ve ever been alone. Not with my brothers, not with your sisters. Just me and you. I’ve been waiting to make my move this whole time.” He smiles at you, pinching your nose playfully.

“Well, you waited too long,” you say, cuddling him.

“Better late than never, right?” He cradles you in his arms, snuggling you sweetly.

#gojo smut #gojo satoru #Satoru gojo #Gojo Satoru smut #Satoru gojo smut #gojo x reader #gojo x you #gojo x y/n #gojo saturo x reader #satoru gojo x reader #jjk smut #jujutsu kaisen smut #y2k karaoke party #milestone event

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artbyblastweave · 2 months

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It's so funny how Cap just COINCIDENTALLY seems to be physically unable to go through a SINGLE Republican presidency without having a crisis of faith that causes him to not be Cap anymore. Nomad with Nixon. USAgent with Reagan. Death and Buckycap with Bush, then HydraCap with Trump. I like to think him dying was the universe's way of identifying "...well he doesn't seem to be changing yet. Better balance this out real quick"

This is true, and moreover this ask dovetails nicely with another Cappost I've been thinking about making. Given the sliding timeline, who should we assume was in charge of the Secret Empire?

Loose, possibly at-least-partially misremembered background for those who weren't aware of this batshit plot point- In the early seventies, concurrent with Watergate, Captain America shut down a scheme by a neofascist group called the Secret Empire to, I dunno, hold the country hostage with a mutant-powered nuke or something, the specifics aren't important, what's important is that Cap cornered the leader of the group in the Oval Office, where he killed himself to avoid capture, and you never get to see the guy's face but it was all but directly stated that the Leader was Richard Nixon attempting a Coup D'état (possibly to get out of being prosecuted for Watergate?). This shakes Cap up pretty badly and he temporarily retired the Cap identity in order to operate as Nomad, The Man Without A Country, it was a whole crisis of conscience situation. Anyway, the whole situation is still vaguely implicitly canon, they refer to the Secret Empire, and there have been successor heroes who've taken up the Nomad identity after Cap got out of the funk. But It also can't have been Nixon who killed himself in front of Cap due to the sliding time scale- the rule of thumb for Marvel is that it's generally only been about 15-20 years at most since the Fantastic Four did their thing, which does hilarious things to the worldbuilding. My understanding is that you're supposed to assume that if the president is depicted in a marvel story you need to just mentally "swap in whoever would have been president 10-15 years before the present day, but given the specificity of this situation that quickly gets insane. Did Bush kill himself in front of Captain America to escape the consequences of the 2008 recession? Did Obama?! Was it just not a president at all at this point- in which case, why did Cap react badly enough to quit and become Nomad? And so on, and so forth. They basically gotta memory hole it, but I will not let them forget! Cap saw a U.S. President off themselves! But to tie this back to Civilwarposting- what I think about a lot is that from a worldbuilding perspective the actual political moment that generated Civil War is perpetually in flux. This is true of every Marvel comic but it's especially notable here because of the extent to which the comic itself is emphasizing the political moment and what created it. It's a Bush-era comic, a reaction to the politics and the rhetoric of the War on Terror and the post-9/11 years, Bush actually personally appears in it. But if it hasn't already, eventually it's going to have implicitly been pushed through Congress during the Obama Administration, and then during the Trump Admin, and then during the Biden Admin, and so on and so forth, and like. setting aside that there's already an entire swath of the marvel timeline that's very blatantly trump-admin-coded, produced in reaction to that atmosphere, The situations and arguments and rhetoric and battle lines that would have gotten that bill through each of those admins looks very different each time! And I'm not gonna say it's interesting to see how they'll resolve this, because they won't resolve it, they don't need to, they're politely asking everyone to let this one go and that's not the biggest ask these comics make of me, so fine. Whatever. But it's very very funny

#thoughts #meta #marvel comics #ask #asks

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murdockparker · 11 months

Text

Foolish Endeavor - Part 7

Benedict Bridgerton x Reader

Summary: Anthony confronts Reader and Benedict in his study. Benedict has a proposal for his beloved.

Word Count: 7.1k

Rating: 18+ MINORS DNI (I will haunt you)

Warnings: SMUT, mentions of pregnancy, soft tooth-rotting fluff per usual

A/N: I’m back with an update!! The smut is... well it is what it is. It’s what I was so caught up on this chapter and gave me the worst writers block. Anyway, enjoy the long(ish) chapter!

first part - previous part - next part

“Well?”

It was the first time Anthony had spoken in the twenty minutes they had spent in his study, his arms crossed and body leaned up against his desk. After a seemingly uneventful dinner—to the rest of the group, anyway—Anthony called upon Benedict and (Y/N) to meet with him privately to discuss certain… revelations he had made that evening. The nerves wracked her to her core, trying to convince herself that there was little to no way that Anthony Bridgerton could have put all of the pieces together—she was courting an artist, after all, it was only natural that paint would adorn her clothing too, no?

“Brother, I thought we were to have a night cap, yet you pull Lady (Y/N) into this—”

“Oh, trust that I will be drinking, Benedict,” Anthony said quickly, turning to his glass decanter and pouring a rather healthy glass. “I would offer you a glass, but I have the strongest feeling I’ll be needing most of this.”

“Well, now you’re just being dramatic,” Benedict scoffed as he grabbed a spare glass, holding it out for Anthony to fill. His brother only glanced at the empty crystal cup before setting the decanter back down onto his desk.

“If you were planning to have a chat, I can retire for the evening,” she offered quietly. Both Bridgerton brothers turned their attention onto the girl, each staring at her with a different velocity; Anthony in a way that said ‘no chance in hell you’re getting out of this’, Benedict’s gaze more telling of ‘don’t you leave me here alone with him’. So, she stayed, her toes digging into the ornate carpet.

“I must say Lady (Y/N),” Anthony swirled his glass, “you’re hardly the messy type.”

“I’ve been known to be clumsy from time to time,” she countered, “mess usually accompanies such a thing.”

“This is true,” Anthony nodded, “why, for instance, Benedict was rather clumsy today. Spilled paint all over himself and had to take a rather long bath to get the mess off, did you not, Benedict?”

Benedict moved his head a fraction of an inch, a hardly noticeable nod to his brother’s question. He knew exactly where this conversation was headed.

“Oh? Is that so?” She tried to play dumb, hoping that it would stick. “Is that why you weren’t there to greet me when I arrived today?”

Again, Benedict nodded mutely, taking a small sip of the whiskey he had poured for himself—no thanks to Anthony.

“You two should never apply yourselves to the theatre,” Anthony groaned, downing his glass in one go, “both terrible actors, the lot of you.”

“I… I don’t think I understand what you’re implying Anthony?”

“You’re a bright lady,” he mused, setting the now empty glass onto his desk, “you surely cannot be that thick, to not know what I’m alluding to, no?”

“No,” (Y/N) crossed her arms, “I want you to say it.”

“I—what?”

“Say it,” she repeated, “surely if you’re going to accuse Benedict and I of anything improper you have the courage to admit it yourself instead of hoping one of us will loosen our lips and spill something you dread to hear—if that is to be the case, of course.”

“Fine,” Anthony huffed. His posture stiffened, nearly growing an inch from his straight back—he needed to look intimidating and imposing. “You have paint on your dress—a new one apparently, the countess admitted—seemingly the same paint as our lovely Benedict was dressed in earlier this afternoon.”

“I’ve been known to wear paint from time to time, especially since Benedict and I have begun our courtship—”

“Which would normally be the case,” Anthony rose his free hand, silencing the girl in lilac, “but I must say, Benedict, when we had our chat earlier, I had noticed something… odd.”

“Odd? Other than the fact you decided to have the chat whilst I was in the tub?” He crossed his arms decidedly, trying to have a leg up in the conversation. By the look of Anthony’s steely demeanor, it wasn’t working.

“Now, I have no proof of such an accusation,” Anthony began, softening the blow of sorts, “but I could have sworn I heard something else—someone else—in the washroom with us. A breath, perhaps, behind the door. Not to mention a peculiar water trail leading to the very spot.”

“The estate is old, brother,” Benedict sighed, “the house settles, floorboards creak, honestly it’s a wonder that you even came to such a conclusion—”

“Whatever the case might have been,” Anthony held his hand up, “I know the two of you were alone in some capacity today, washroom or not, the two of you are courting now. I know that the both of you are wise enough to know that being without a chaperone is highly improper and if you were alone in the washroom—”

“Anthony, you must take a breath, you look akin to a tomato,” she gently suggested. He listened, gently following her words. “Now, as you said, you have no proof of such an accusation?”

Anthony nodded hesitantly, his nostrils flaring. He obviously had no intention of admitting such a thing, but the liquor clouded his judgment.

“So there is no ground to accuse Benedict or I on such a matter,” she said simply. “Even if we were together alone, it couldn’t be the most improper thing to come of this family, would it?”

The viscount opened his mouth quickly, hoping to get a word in before Benedict cut him off. “She makes an excellent point, brother,” he hummed, “why must you meddle in our courtship? Don’t you have the Sharmas to woo this week?”

“My plans for this week are none of your concern, brother.”

“I would highly disagree, considering the lovely Miss Edwina is rightly whom you plan to make the next viscountess, leading her to be the next woman of the house, is that not right?”

“I feel now as if I am intruding on a conversation that does not warrant my involvement—”

“A disagreement to that too,” Benedict nodded at the woman beside him. “Considering you are very well likely to be a part of this family someday.”

She could feel the heat creep up her neck, the color evidently rising to the tips of her ears, too. “O-oh, well,” she mumbled, clearly taken aback, “I don’t think that—even if that were the case to be made—Benedict—”

“Christ, Benedict, you’ve nearly melted the poor girl’s brain—being so brazen about your intentions,” Anthony rolled his eyes. “Do you have no shame?”

“At least I am fixed on my feelings for Lady (Y/N),” Benedict said, his demeanor still and unwavering. He looked akin to a painting in this manner, in this lighting, only the few candles that lit up the rather spacious study illuminated his features. If she had any artistic bone in her body, she’d try her hand at sketching the sight—to document this moment into something greater than a memory. “She is very well aware of my intent to marry her, if she wasn’t…I suppose she is now.”

“Are you saying I do not feel such an inkling for Miss Sharma?”

“Take it for what it is, brother,” Benedict said solemnly, “the truth.”

“But,” (Y/N) nearly squeaked, gathering the attention of both Bridgertons, “that is not to say that you cannot garner that sort of affection for her in the upcoming week, or even lifetime, is that not true?”

“There is no need for me to gather any feelings or fool myself into loving Miss Sharma,” Anthony said simply, “love is not a requirement in my marriage—in fact, I would greatly prefer it to be without.”

“That’s…” she was at a loss for words. Lady (Y/N) knew of the viscount’s barbaric view on marriage—on not needing a love match to find a bride—but to hear it herself? To really chew on his words? “Anthony.”

“Well,” Anthony stood from his desk, his hands shuffling a stack of papers to the side, “I feel as if we’ve talked about as much as I’d wish to this evening—as unhelpful or untruthful as some of it may have been.”

“Oh, come now, Anthony,” Benedict scoffed, “you can’t be getting offended of the truth—”

“There is no offense,” he assured soundly. “The spirits have simply done what they needed to and I find myself in desperate need of sleep.” With a quick tug of his coat sleeves, readjusting their length, he turned to the lady in lilac. “In the sake of what the truth may be or might have been this afternoon, do use your best judgment going forward—I do not wish to know of any scandal between the two of you, Daphne’s season was quite enough.”

“Of course, Lord Bridgerton,” she curtsied, tipping her head down, “I wouldn’t wish soiling your great family name, nor my own.” Benedict bit back a grin, his laughter kept neatly at bay—Anthony seemingly too tired to gather her rather obvious sarcasm.

“And Benedict,” he turned to his younger brother, “If you are so keen on a proposal to Lady (Y/N), I suggest making that formality sooner than later, lest any word gets out before such a matter can occur.”

“Of course.”

“Now, I suggest we all retire for the evening,” Anthony nearly yawned, “Lady (Y/N), I’d be pleased to have our staff escort you to your room.”

“Oh, I know my way to the guest chambers, there’s no need—”

“I insist,” he nearly seethed.

“Well,” she turned to Benedict slowly, “I bid you a goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” he nodded, glancing back to his brother, “I think I’ll enjoy another drink before retiring for the eve—should you let me, of course.”

“Yes, very well, I’ll insure it is replaced it in the morning.” Both Anthony and (Y/N) left the study, turning separate ways down the hall, leaving Benedict to contemplate silently in the oak room, nearly mulling over the options set before him.

—

“Lady (Y/N), you look rather exhausted,” Agnes, her lady’s maid noted quietly as she undid the loops of the lilac fabric. “Should I run you a bath?”

“No, Agnes, I don’t think that’s necessary,” she hummed as she watched the gown drop to the floor. “I think I am just in need of a good sleep, the traveling really drained me.”

“Did your afternoon nap not suffice your exhaustion, my lady?”

(Y/N)’s lips pulled into a tight line. “No, I’m afraid not.” Pin by pin, Agnes pulled her hair down from its skilled design, put in by the very same woman earlier that day before the travel out to the country. The maid simply kept her mouth shut and on the fact her hair seemed untouched by sleep, nearly still perfect from the morn. “I find that naps really don’t serve me well as of late, it seems.”

“Perhaps some tea will help?” Agnes offered, placing the pins in a bowl beside her. “I can go fetch a pot if it will suit your needs.”

“No,” (Y/N) yawned, “that is quite alright.” Her lady’s maid placed a simple nightgown on the chair next to the vanity, one of many that had been packed for the trip to Aubrey Hall. “I can dress myself for bed at this time, thank you Agnes.”

Agnes nodded, bowing lightly. “Of course, my lady. Have a restful sleep, I’ll awake you in the morning.”

Not even a moment after her lady’s maid exited her chambers, (Y/N) pulled on the night frock haphazardly—she was never skilled at finding the arm holes in such a manner—and practically ran over to the candle on the vanity. It was a rather impractical shape, she couldn’t walk through the dark halls of Aubrey Hall with this particular candle, she’d have to find a different candlestick. Beside her bed, she could’ve recalled, was a rather ornate brass holder—with a convenient loop for her walking needs.

“I could probably forego a candle,” she muttered quietly. “Make my way back without…”

Her eyes met her own in the mirror on the vanity—she did look exhausted, dark and purpling circles making their presence faintly aware under her eyes. Was she mad in trying to find Benedict again? With how she abruptly left the study—with how he decided to stay behind—he was expecting her to come back, right? She could always feign innocence if she were caught by the staff, claim she needed a midnight snack or something of the sort.

Lady (Y/N) thought it best to leave the candle after all, the halls couldn’t have been darker than the ones at their Tonbridge estate—hardly any windows lined the walls. She would be fine and make do, allowing and trusting her eyes to adjust properly. With a nervous rake of her hand through her hair, she allowed herself to take a deep breath before pushing open the ornate door to the hall.

An immediate right, a left at the vase with painted roses, three doors down to the stairs, a right and another left.

She quietly repeated the pattern as she went—afraid she’d miss the vase or possibly take a wrong turn. But, the insistence paid off, she made it to the viscount’s study—candle light still visible from under the door. A soft knock was all it took for Benedict to answer, his posture softening at the sight of the lady in the hall.

“I knew you’d make your way back,” he murmured, ushering her into the study.

“And leave you to drink on your own?” (Y/N) smiled, walking over to the desk and eyeing the decanter. “May I?”

“By all means,” he nearly laughed, pointing to the empty glass. “Though, I do wish you’re here for more than just a free drink.”

“Well,” she filled her glass hesitantly, “your brother does have a fantastic taste in his liquor. But, you’d be right. I thought it would be best if we were to chat about… well, everything?”

“Everything?”

“Everything.”

“I do not think we have enough hours in a day to discuss everything,” Benedict smirked. “But, if you wish to discuss the events of this afternoon—”

“This afternoon, yes,” she nodded quickly. “That would be a good place to start. Are you sure Anthony has gone to bed?”

“We shouldn’t have anyone bothering us,” Benedict assured her. “But, just for good measure…”

He locked the door—the only way into the study.

“It would be a shame if he were to intrude yet again,” she hummed in thought, enjoying yet another sip of the brown drink in her hand. “The viscount is awfully good at that, so it seems.”

“Always has been,” Benedict nodded, “even in our youth.”

“I can imagine…” she trailed off, her attention focused solely on the bookshelves that lined the walls behind him. Ledgers and texts on the estate, mostly. “Did you mean it?”

“Did I mean—”

“What you said to Anthony,” she clarified, coughing lightly. “Earlier… in here.”

“About...?” he inhaled sharply, nostrils flaring ever so slightly. “Oh. Of course you’d want clarification—”

“No clarification,” she held up her hand, “you were clearer than crystal with your words. I just wish to know if you meant them—if you were honest and truthful to your brother about your intentions with me. Us.”

“Am I usually taken as a man who is untruthful?” Benedict mused, finally finishing his drink. He chose not to pour another. “I would’ve preferred to have had a conversation with you privately on the matter—I was planning to do such on a promenade tomorrow—but Anthony forced my hand. I hope it wasn’t an unwelcome thought.”

“Benedict,” she nearly melted with her words, “we are courting—the intent usually is to wed—I wouldn’t expect you to think anything less of our courtship.”

“So it is suffice to say you feel the same?”

She took another swig of the liquor in her glass—it was likely whiskey, she only guessed, having little expertise in different liquor types. “I never wished to be married,” she said honestly, “but as an only child—only daughter—it’s my duty to do such a thing.”

“So you would only marry out of duty?” Benedict nearly felt his heart shatter. “For no other reason at all?”

“You’ve known me for a long time, Benedict,” she sighed, “we’ve frequently discussed my distaste for marriage, touching on your similar feelings on the matter.”

“Feelings change,” he said bluntly.

“They do,” she agreed, finishing her glass. “However, I don’t believe you allowed me to finish my thought—”

“Do you not wish to be wed?” Benedict stood up from the desk, tall and proud. “From my understanding of this conversation, it’s clear to me that you don’t foresee a marriage between us—not one deriving from anything but a duty you have to your family, is that not correct?”

“Christ, Benedict,” (Y/N) laughed humorlessly, “how much have you had to drink before I arrived?”

They both looked at the decanter—it had been suspiciously more drained than she expected it to be.

“I’m not a drunkard,” he pointed. “I simply enjoyed a few drinks on my brother’s behalf—”

“Did I call you a drunkard?”

“You implied.”

“No,” she spat, “I was merely trying to find a reason to why you’ve been rudely cutting me off. You’ve been jumping to wild conclusions without even allowing me the decency to explain myself. I care little about your drinking habits.”

“Oh,” he slumped, “I didn’t realize—”

“Now,” she took a step closer to him, “if you wouldn’t mind.” She waited a moment, allowing the silence to fill the room entirely before continuing her thought.

“You have to understand that I have gone practically my entire life wishing to live a life of solitude, not to have a husband to own my every waking moment the rest of my days,” she paused, looking down at her nightgown. The disappointment was practically radiating from him across the small space—it was almost drowning. “But, you also have to understand that I have been the happiest I have ever been since our courtship begun, Benedict. While I’m still hesitant on the idea of marriage, if we were to wed, it would not be a marriage of duty.”

She took a deep breath.

“It would be one of love,” she nearly stood beneath him, staring at him intensely. The three damning words were hanging on the tip of her tongue—daring to spill, but never escaping.

“You… love me.”

“I do,” she nodded, “I think I always have, really—loved you, I mean.”

The grand clock in the study ticked away.

“I-I don’t know what to say—”

“One usually says it back, should it be reciprocated, of course,” she teased, her voice shaking ever so slightly. He couldn’t have noticed, not even if he tried.

“Darling,” he grabbed her hands, “I don’t believe there are even words in the English language that exist to express just how deeply I feel for you. If I were a poet, I wouldn’t be able to scribe a sonnet nor haiku, if I were a musician, I couldn’t bring myself to string any symphony to even remotely compare to just how much I love you.”

He nearly believed she didn’t hear him with how still she stood. “I love you,” he repeated, hoping it to stick.

She blinked back tears. “I-I heard you,” she sniffled, “you say all of that as if you are no poet.”

“Well, it certainly was no sonnet,” a wet chuckle escaped his lips—when had he teared up?

“Better than Byron, then.”

“You wound me, my love,” he scoffed, “my bum can make better poetry than Byron.”

“Benedict?”

“Yes?”

“Kiss me.”

He hadn’t the need to be asked twice.

Benedict reached down to grab her face, gently, oh-so-gently bringing his lips to hers. She tasted of the same whiskey he had been remedying for the better part of the evening, the sour twinge of alcohol only adding to his passion. (Y/N) had moved her hands to his chest, gripping his shirt with everything she had—he was everything she had—afraid to even part for a fraction of a second.

“God, I love you,” he mumbled into the kiss, pulling his arms around her tightly. She gasped at his grip around her waist, the breath nearly escaping her lungs—their lips never fully parting from one another. “I love this dress.”

“It is nothing extraordinary,” she nearly groaned, reluctant to pull away from him, “a rather simple nightgown.”

“Oh but this is far from simple,” he mused, peppering kisses on her face—down to her neck. “Why,” another kiss, “I rather love this neckline.”

“It’s a bit risqué, is it not?” She moved her head to the side, allowing Benedict better access to the skin that resided there. “Mother always said it was a bit much.”

“No,” he determined, paying close attention to her exposed collarbone, “it is quite enough for my needs.”

“Is it?”

“Now that you mention it,” Benedict stopped his ministrations on her neck, looking deeply into her eyes—his own blown out with lust, “it might be too much.”

“T-too much?”

“Too much,” he agreed, fingers dancing up her back, “fabric.”

Her breath hitched.

“I love you, (Y/N),” he said seriously, “and I would never want to do anything to you without your explicit consent—but you’ve made it terribly difficult to keep my wits about me.”

“If,” she swallowed hesitantly, “you believe it is too much fabric… perhaps you are correct.”

“(Y/N)—”

“I want this, Benedict,” she placed a hand on his chest—right above his heart, “I want you, Benedict.”

“You have had me, my love,” he smiled brightly, placing a kiss to the corner of her mouth, “you have had me for as long as you’ve known me—I’m yours.”

“Please, Benedict,” she mewled.

A low chuckle emanated from his chest, eyes checking the door once more, to insure it was locked. “You do understand what you are asking of me—if anyone were to find out—”

“I don’t care,” she pulled him in and closed the gap once more, hungrily clashing her lips against his own. With a quick spin Benedict had her pinned to the edge of the oak desk, a hand on her waist and another on her jaw—kissing her as if his life depended on it. In a way, it did. Her hands made quick work of his shirt, undoing the few ties it had. Her fingers were quickly met with a dusting of dark hair—she couldn’t decide if it was merely the low lighting or a trick of her eyes, but the hair on his chest seemed darker than the hair on his head.

“I suppose,” he popped, licking her bottom lip, “you did not get a chance to see my chest in earnest earlier today?”

(Y/N) shook her head.

“Well,” Benedict shrugged his shirt off, “take all the time you need, my love.”

“That,” she pressed another kiss to his jaw, “won’t be necessary. I was merely admiring you for the moment.”

“Is that right?”

She hummed in response, her lips not leaving his skin—not if she could help it. Her own shoulders rolled hesitantly, almost afraid to ask for what she truly wanted. Benedict, being ever observant, gently tugged the ribbon on the front of her frock, loosening the fabric from her skin. Not entirely, but just enough to keep her satiated.

“Do you not wish to admire me more?”

(Y/N) looked up at him through her lashes. “I wish to do all that and more, Benedict Bridgerton. I plan to admire you for as long as you’d allow.”

“Funny,” a low chuckle escaped him, “I was about to say the same thing.”

With a wordless nod, Benedict slowly pushed the nightgown off of her shoulder, allowing the creme fabric hang from her form—the top of her breast peeking out of the opening. Her skin looked softer than the finest of silks, it looked practically kissable.

“What’re you—oh!”

He really didn’t plan on startling her in such a way, but he had admitted that his wits were going to be hard to keep about himself this evening. Suckling on the newly exposed skin on her chest wasn’t what he exactly imagined the night would turn to, but with the way she moaned—Christ how she moaned—it was seemingly just as pleasurable to her as it was to him, so it wasn’t a terrible turn of events.

“That feels…” her hand wriggled itself into his hair, feeling his lips capture more of her skin on her breast—he was sucking lightly, enough to where it didn’t feel painful, but the sensation alone lit a fire in her body.

“If you think,” Benedict looked up at her through the curls that fell in his face, “that feels good, just you wait, my love.”

He palmed her breast through her dress—as thin as the material was, he knew it would be even better if he were able to just… rip it off. But, he was still a gentleman, so he had to hold himself to a better standard—that, and the thought of her trying to explain to her lady’s maid how exactly her nightgown came to such a state was just too horrifying. So, he had to settle for the ribbon on the front to loosen the fabric. Like a waterfall, the dress accumulated onto the ornate rug beneath them, pooling at her feet. What once felt like a burning heat, the air of the room suddenly chilled her to the bone—her state of undress becoming more apparent.

“You are…” He managed to pull himself away, just for the moment, to fully drink her form in. “Simply exquisite.”

If her body hadn’t been on fire before, the simple act of his hands on her lit a flame inside, one only his touch could extinguish. She nearly expected to feel bashful for him to see her this way, her entire top exposed for the world to see—exposed for her world to see, anyway.

“I’m no more exquisite than the models at the academy,” she said breathlessly.

“You’re right,” Benedict hummed, pressing kisses from her jaw to her collarbone, “you’re unequivocally more so.”

She gasped at his lips on her breast, finally reaching the destination he had in mind. It was a strange feeling, the suckling on her hardened nipple, but the warmth that bubbled from the source to her core was intoxicating. “I didn’t…” Another gasp. “I didn’t realize one could—besides nursing babes, that is…”

Benedict released the skin from his lips, grinning like a cat upwards at his lover. “I think you’ll find nearly everything this evening to be just as surprising, my dear.”

And his words rang true. With a fell swoop, he hoisted her up onto his brother’s desk, her behind was like coals against ice on the countertop. It was a feat, to try and not make a mess of Anthony’s things, but in the end, the couple simply couldn’t have given it a second thought, especially when Benedict’s mouth was at her core. A forbidden kiss, he had mumbled.

“Oh Benedict,” she moaned quietly, suddenly remembering where they were at. The kitten licks against her dripping wet cunt was nearly too much to bear.

Benedict slurped up her wetness, licking his glistening lips before responding. “No need to be quiet, my dear. If my family hears us, it is all the more reason for us to be wed.” The idea alone nearly sent her over the edge. It seemed that this evening was a true awakening of quite a few things for the earl’s daughter.

“There has to be more than this,” (Y/N) said, pulling her love upwards from her legs, stealing a searing kiss from his lips. “I know there’s to be more than this.”

He laughed lightly, pressing another kiss against her hot mouth. “In my many nights dreaming of this moment, I don’t think the thought of taking you for the first time on my brother’s desk was one of the fantasies.”

“You’ve thought of this?”

“Of course,” he purred, pressing his forehead against her own. “They normally happened in my studio, during a portrait session. I dreamed of the day you’d commission one from me and, well…” His face grew red at the memory, many a night had he spent himself into his hand at the idea of having her—taking her for the first time. “I’m afraid if I think too terribly much of it again I may not last very long.”

“Last?” Her brow quirked up in confusion. “Can you not continue to go as long as you’d like?”

Benedict barked out a laugh before realizing she was dead serious. He had to remember that she was new to all of this, a virgin to such an act. “Trust that you will be satisfied, my love, but no, most men cannot last as long as they’d like to, especially in the presence of the most alluring of women.”

“And the women? Do they last as long as they’d like?”

He huffed, trying to find the words to describe exactly what the experience was like. “My love, rest assured that you’ll last as long—if not longer—than you’d like while I’m with you. I will continue to please you until I take my last breath.”

“How chivalrous,” she teased, feeling his hand snake back down to her dripping cunt. His fingers danced across her entrance, feather-light touches tickling the center. “You don’t think that they’ll…?”

“Fit?” Benedict snickered lovingly, gently pressing a digit into her core. The tightness nearly sent him over the edge—the idea of her warmth wrapped around him like this was nearly too much. “I think you’ll adjust fine, my love. Though, it may be a bit painful the first time.”

She gasped for air, feeling him wriggle his finger in a hooking motion, touching a spot she hardly knew existed. “Painful? I can’t imagine anything like this to be—”

It was in that moment that Benedict Bridgerton snuck a second finger inside of her, working them both up to a leisurely and pleasurable pace. He didn’t want to overwhelm her, nor jump into the main event without thoroughly working her up to it—it was simply a barbaric thing to even think about. He knew that if he were to sheath himself inside of her in this moment, she’d be ready, but something inside of him was nagging him to finish her off before he did such a thing. “My love, would you like my mouth on you again?”

Her eyes shot open—when did she shut them? “And stop what you’re doing?”

He kissed her gently, smirking at her genuine response. “I never said that, my dear.”

Benedict sunk back down to her core, only removing his fingers for a moment to readjust himself. He licked his lips hungrily before diving back into the wetness, slurping up any dripping he could find. Idly, he wondered if any of his brother’s paperwork would need to be burned, having his love make a mess over most of his counter. “You taste so sweet, my sun.”

She bit back a scream when his fingers re-entered her at a frivolous pace. He was working towards something, and she knew it, with the unrelenting movements he was making? The suckling and little swipes on her clit? He was merely a carpenter, building and building to completion. The joined sensations of his fingers hooking inside of her, reaching that spongey spot and his tongue against her hardened nub was nearly too much. A blinding hot feeling grew exponentially in her core, threatening to spill out. “Benedict, you must stop, I feel—”

He didn’t stop, not with the way her words were cut off with a delicious moan. “You’re nearly there, my love. Cum for me, let yourself go.”

The blinding heat turned to white, her vision growing bleary with pleasure. She felt it, the snapping of a band, the release he was begging for, it felt like the practical energy from her body was being drawn out in a single moment. Coming down from her high, she felt like she had been running for hours, her heart nearly pounding out of her chest. “That… what was that?”

“Something you’ll get to know very well with me, my sun,” Benedict smirked, rising up to kiss her sweetly. He thought she’d be revolted by her own slick against his lips, most women he had the pleasure of being with were, but she fervently kissed him back. “What do you say we work together for another one?”

“Another… you can do that again?”

“And again,” Benedict kissed her lips. “And again.”

“Do you ever get to feel that? That release?”

He only nodded, knowing how serious of a question it was. “I do. I’d like to feel that with you, if you’d let me.”

“Please,” she smiled softly. “Show me.” His hands snaked to his trousers, pulling the fabric down enough for his hard cock to spring forward. It was daunting, to see such a thing for the first time. Of course, she had seen at least the idea of what it would look like in oil paintings and sculptures by the greats—nothing quite similar in size or shape, however. “Oh… wow.”

Benedict tried to not let her comment go right to his head, but he knew the effect his cock had on women—usually stunned speechless—so this was hardly any different. No, it was different. This was the woman of his affections, the woman who he will have the pleasure of bedding for the rest of his days, should she agree to it. “Don’t worry about it, my love,” Benedict said, nearly reading her mind. “As I said before it may hurt for only a moment or two, but you’ll certainly be begging for more.”

“A bit full of yourself, are we?” (Y/N) teased, trying to feel more grounded.

Benedict chuckled. “Usually am, my dearest.” He moved between her legs, feeling them open voluntarily against him. He wanted to make this perfect for her, to insure she’d have a pleasant experience to look forward to the next time they join together. Tentatively, he stroked his cock against her slick folds, feeling the way she shuddered against him.

“Oh!” (Y/N) yelped, feeling him enter her slowly. The sensation wasn’t as unpleasant as Benedict made it out to be, but when he pushed only a fraction deeper, she felt the sting. True to his word, it only lasted for a moment.

“I know we have,” Benedict groaned, feeling her tight around him. “Joked, in the past about me ruining you. But I’m afraid for it now to be true.”

“I was always yours to ruin, Benedict.”

He couldn’t help himself from moving, not after her declaration. She yelped again, feeling the pain melt and shape itself into the pleasure she had been yearning for. Benedicts movements were slow to start, he was nearly beside himself at the restraint he had in the moment, to not completely overwhelm her right away. Within an instant, her arms wrapped around his neck, allowing her to hold herself up closer to him. She could practically feel his shallow breaths against her skin, he was having a hard time keeping his wits about him.

“You feel,” Benedict breathed deeply, “enchanting, my sun.”

“And you feel—” she groaned, the pain only now subsiding.

Benedict shushed her with a kiss, passionately meeting in the middle of his paced thrusts. He kept a steady tempo, waning and waxing with the small movements from his beloved, urging him to continue on—for as long as he could anyway. “My love, I’m afraid you make me feel like a green sixteen, I don’t know how much longer I can last.”

“I make you feel that way?”

“I’m afraid so,” Benedict laughed. “Christ, you’re so tight.”

A part of her should be flattered, she assumed, by Benedict’s comment. Another part of her felt nearly disappointed that this tryst would be over before either of them would like. It was only then Benedict pressed his fingers carefully against her still-sensitive clit, gently massaging it into precious circles. Her vision went hazy, her legs nearly becoming marmalade.

“If I am to finish, I promised I’d take you with me,” he huffed, rutting into her harder. “And I never go back on a promise.”

She nodded in agreement, mind lost to the pleasure of it all. Idly, (Y/N) wondered why she had heard whispers from wives and her maids on how uncomfortable the marital act was, seeing as it was nearly not even close to the sort. Not in her experience anyway. Perhaps it was dependent on the person? The passion between the couple? She knew in her heart of hearts that Benedict and her shared a deep understanding, trust and love. Perhaps that is what truly mattered after all.

“Benedict, if you keep doing that—oh!”

“Yes my love, get closer for me, I’m nearly there,” he grunted, angling his hips up just a fraction more—his beloved moaned at the new contact. Her legs instinctually wrapped around his waist, caging him in and keeping him close. Whatever was to happen next, she wanted him as close to her as possible, to share their combined release together. “I think, Christ, I’m going to cum, my sun.”

“C-cum for me,” (Y/N) cried, feeling that same white pleasure take over her body, the source coming right from her core. He hadn’t the need to be asked twice, Benedict began to cum directly inside of her—something he hadn’t had the plan on doing, but it thrilled him all the same. Had he thought about it too long, he may just rise to the occasion and be ready to go yet again.

“I—my love, I am sorry,” Benedict began, finally cooling down from his high. “I didn’t mean to… inside.”

(Y/N) blinked up at him, trying to fight the daze she was currently in. “Are you not supposed to? It felt good enough.”

Benedict reluctantly pulled out of her, pressing a kiss to her temple. “It’s not that I am not supposed to, quite frankly that is the whole point of this, but I’m afraid it is something I was trying to avoid.”

“How do you mean?”

“Do you know how a woman becomes with child, (Y/N)?”

“Of course,” she laughed nervously. “I’m not as green as you—oh. So, if you didn’t cum inside of me…?”

“Because I did I fear you have the chance of becoming pregnant, yes,” Benedict sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It is not… the most unsavory thought.”

“No,” she hummed in agreement. “I suppose it’s not. Though I’m sure if I were to be with child, it would be best if we were wed, a plan I’m sure you already have in place, no?”

Benedict chuckled at her honesty. “Of course I do. I would not have taken you on my brother’s desk had I no plan for such matters. In the end, I reckon it doesn’t matter, permitting your agreement to the engagement.”

She sighed happily, still coming down from her post-sex high. “Of course I agree, you simply need to ask properly.”

“I will get right on that,” Benedict smiled.

“Your brother’s desk…” (Y/N) pointed, pulling her discarded dress back onto her shoulders. She looked and felt disheveled, something she had a feeling she’d get used to, having a life with Benedict Bridgerton.

“We can burn whatever we may have… soiled,” Benedict snickered, pulling his own clothes back on and in a mostly proper manner. “I’m sure he did not leave anything of great importance just out and about.”

(Y/N) nodded, trying to read the dirtied papers she had sat on—most of the sheets were old ledgers or testing blots from Anthony’s quill. She made quick movement to throw them into the dwindling fire across the room. It was nearly just to the coals, not having been stoked in quite some time, but the papers caught the heat quickly and disappeared into the cinders. “Benedict?”

“I’m sure they weren’t important,” he waved, trying to pull his trousers back up. “Anthony won’t miss them.”

“No, it’s not that,” (Y/N) shook her head, something clearly on her mind. “Earlier, when you… well, when we were together, you called me your sun.”

Benedict paused, turning to look at his beloved, a halo of warmth radiated from the dying fire behind her. She looked ethereal. “Yes,” he said simply. “You are, in the simplest of ideas, the very center of my world, the thing I cannot fathom to function without. In a way, I have always rotated around you, my love, around your life to be near you and with you. For you are my sun,” he grabbed her hands lightly, “the light and love of my life.”

Tears dotted her eyes. “I should’ve known you’d say something beautiful,” she sniffled. “Now I seem a fool for not having a term of endearment as lovely for you.”

“‘Love’ works just for me,” he chuckled.

She thought for a moment, feeling his hand smoothing her hair against her head lovingly. “Well, if I am to be your sun, you must be my moon.”

“Your moon,” he repeated.

“Lighting the way in the darkest of hours, gentle, constant,” she said thoughtfully. “A-and because I think it’s rather endearing to have matching… endearments.”

His face practically glowed with joy, a smile rivaling the very moonlight she had mentioned grew across his lips. “You, Lady (Y/N) are my sun and I am your moon. I simply cannot think of anything more perfect.”

“Neither can I,” she smiled, leaning into his touch. He took the opportunity to guide her lips to his own in a featherlight kiss, an ending note to leave the night on. “I should sneak back to my quarters before anyone notices, I suppose.”

Benedict groaned softly. “I suppose you must.”

“Do not fret, my moon,” she said, the term flowing easily from her tongue, “we have tomorrow and a world of tomorrows awaiting us.”

“A world of tomorrows… yes, I think you’re quite right.”

She smiled sweetly. “Should I be expecting your company tomorrow?” Benedict nodded once, his grin not wavering from his face. “Goodnight,” she said quietly, curtsying teasingly before opening the door. Benedict quickly made is way behind her, his breath hot against her ear.

“Do wear your best dress, my love, I suspect tomorrow’s events will call for only the finest.”

She nearly ran up the stairs to wish for sleep to come over her—bringing tomorrow faster to today.

TAGLIST

@nikkisilassheep, @cavghtbythewind, @chaotic-onigiri, @440mxs-wife , @mymyma , @perdynerd , @wotcherboo , @iwantmyredvelvetcupcake , @babyhoneystvles , @korol-lantsov , @riddlerloveb0t

#benedict bridgerton #benedict bridgerton x reader #bridgerton x reader #bridgerton #bridgerton smut #reader insert #children DNI i will haunt you #thanks for the patience i know it's been a while folks #i hope to finish this story sooner than later!

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eclipseaotters · 9 months

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The funny thing about Jungkook’s live and all the other lives he’s had recently is that—

It’s all so Seven MV-coded 😂

Listen, I’m not here to assume that the Seven MV took some inspiration from Jikook’s relationship, especially for one, Jungkook didn’t even write the song. For sure, he’s had more input in the MV making but I still don’t want to liken it to Jikook in any way because Seven Jungkook is just one big simp and Seven Sohee is very stubborn and dismissive right until the last bit.

It’s comical and funny if we don’t deep it! But I don’t want to feed into the toxic Jungkook simp agenda that runs around shipping circles. It just sucks that he’s always the ultimate simp, regardless of who he’s shipped with, and the simping is often imbalanced.

Now that that’s out of the way, I really just wanna let out a laugh at how Jungkook’s live birthed a new genre of Jikook tweets in relation to this.

We know what this is reminiscent of (cue in: Weight of the world on your shoulders—), but I can’t even perceive these takes negatively because these are actually based on True Events SO maaaaybe we can limit the Jungkook simp culture to…getting Jimin to do a live? 😭

Okay, great!

Now, Jimin isn’t exactly Seven Sohee. He’s just…a different kind of evil. Libra evil? Because why the heck would you respond to your little bro (asking fans if they can handle him coming out from under the blanket) by commenting, “In my case, I can handle it.”????

It doesn’t help at all that Jungkook visibly melts and downright agrees.

What the heck.

And then, like clockwork, Jungkook starts convincing Jimin to come and do a live. And the King of Babygirlism has the audacity to respond with “Seems like you’re gonna hit me!” How in the world am I to read that it a non-flirty tone?

Jungkook’s convincing persists and it’s not a one time thing. When translations were coming in, I really thought he only says it once, but no. He repeats it multiple times throughout the entire live. Seven MV levels of persistence.

[Trans by: verritaee on Twitter]

Somewhere along the way, Jungkook even leverages on ARMYs, which is really smart and sneaky. Use ARMYs as bait to lure the ARMY-pleaser. You know how public proposals bring about this social pressure to say yes to the proposer? Yeah, Jungkook’s the only public proposer I’d forgive, probably.

Can you imagine him doing this to his other hyungs? I truly can’t, not in a million years.

And then, amidst the giggly persuading, Jimin in Seven Sohee-coded fashion says, “I’m not that easy.” which, of COURSE, gets deleted by God (because we’ll never truly know who deleted it, right?)

How am I supposed to take this, really?

Somewhere along the way, there’s also a mention of a picture being sent. And honestly, it’s not the selca sending that gets to me—I already think that they’re a couple so naturally, for me, they’d have hundreds of bed selcas of each other. It’s the fact that Jimin commented it on a live. That, and the 2 o’clock thing, which has multiple translations but implies something fruity either way.

And it’s all capped off with Jungkook ~coincidentally~ flexing his arm right after he says goodbye to Jimin. I genuinely found it so endearingly funny because it was just sooo random. What are you doing, you little peacock? 😭

And while that might be enough to convince Jimin to come, it’s definitely not enough for a live. That one’s gonna take a lot more prodding.

Because we know Jimin’s the kind to want to feel in control of the situation, especially in a live, real-time setup. Going live at Hybe instead of at home, doing scheduled lives instead of spontaneous. A new live with Jungkook—after having THAT jikook birthday live, that vminhopekook live in October and the recent idgaf lives that Jungkook has done—is not the kind that Jimin can control and he knows that.

So Jungkook might just have to do something more elaborate than a fake funeral to get Jimin to say yes, because Jimin is not that easy!

#jikook #jimin can handle it apparently #i hope jungkook can handle it too

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astrow1zar6 · 3 months

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Astro observations of people who had to grow up too soon- 24

Scorpio moons: they usually come from a very intense household and tend to have a very intense relationship with the mother. I’ve seen in a lot of cases Scorpio moon mothers really end up betraying their trust in one way or another which can be the start of their trust issues. Everyone I met with this placement was exposed to a lot of crazy shit early that forced them to grow up earlier then they’d like. The mother is usually very manipulative and smothering. Which is a big reason why they become so secretive. I’ve also seen a lot were shamed for their sensitive natures from a very young age which caused them to have such a nonchalant emotionless exterior.

Cap moons and rising: oh boy, these people are the ones who definitely raised themselves. Could’ve even help raise their own parents as well.. I notice cap moons and risings are always put with extremely immature irresponsible parents (especially the mother) most people with these placements are the eldest child and had to look over their siblings. And if they aren’t the eldest they probably still had to take on the role and responsibilities of the oldest child. I’ve also noticed that their dads tend to be assent from their lives for a period of time. Whether they want to or not they are always put in the position of the provider and breadwinner for their families. This exposure caused them to be wise beyond their years. They also usually grow up in poverty or in very poor conditions.

Saturn in 4th house: my heart goes out to these folks. Your household was probably very cold and unloving. Especially on your mothers side. Usually the mothers go thru a lot of mental stuff while raising them that causes them to be very un nurturing and cold towards the child. These people normally grow up believing that they are hard to love because of this☹️ family could be very avoidant of emotions causing the native to become very avoidant in their future relationships. As cold and sad as their home life normally is it’s usually difficult for these people to escape their homes.. they almost feel like they have this huge weight to keep their families afloat which can cause a lot of distress. Their childhoods felt more like being in a prison.

12th house placements/stellium: these people are usually rejected from their social circles early on in life. These are usually the kids that are picked last for activities in school or that kid everyone talks over when they have something important to say (ESPECIALLY mercury in 12th house) these people were treated as wallflowers a lot by their peers and families. This isolation caused extreme loneliness from a very young age. People are always making assumptions about them that are so far from the truth, this can cause them to feel like no one will be able to understand them. The rejection they suffered early caused them to become so empathetic towards others it’s amazing how emotionally intelligent these people can be.

Pisces mars: these people I notice can be big victims of bullying.These people have trouble asserting themselves normally (unless you have a lot of fire in your chart) which can cause them to attract bullies. Their sensitive nature is usually seen as weakness to more stronger types so they usually become a big target to many. People just really enjoy letting their anger out on them because they believe they won’t do anything & sometimes it’s true.. y’all need to learn how to stand up for yourselves!! Being passive will not make it go away!

Scorpio suns: I notice most Scorpio suns end up being the black sheep of their families. Usually their born with a completely different personality from the rest of the family or completely different morals. Whatever it may be they usually have something very different about them that causes a division between them and their families. Scorpios are usually that cousin that shows up to social events once in a blue moon that no one really knows anything about or what’s going on in their life. Even in other social situations they can be seen as the black sheep, always saying really out of pocket taboo stuff that makes people distance themselves. They are very authentic people and I believe people get rubbed the wrong way by that. That they can’t tame these people.

Lilith conjunct the asc: speaking of people that other feel need to be tamed here comes the queen of outcasts. I’ve only met women with this placement so I’ll speak on the women I’ve known. They are usually people that grow up with less shame than most, they grow up so naturally authentic it scares people. It is very hard to shame these people which is why I believe so many people try to shame them. They have such a powerful aura that it can be a big threat to people. So it usually results in people (mostly women or feminine energies) outcasting them from social situations or trying to make them feel insecure or acting out of jealousy. They attract soooo much jealousy it’s insane. These people whoever can attract the opposite sex like a moth to a flame which is why I believe many women get so mad.. like how can she attract so many people being so wild??? their raw energy is their superpower. However although they attract the opposite sex with no effort their dating life is anything but easy. I notice they are usually always in third party situations or the men they date never really want to commit to them:( this causes them to be independent very early because they believe they can’t trust others or people just want them for their intent.

I apologize for my late posts depression has been kicking my but lately but planning to get back to my daily posts per usual 🥰

#astro observations #astrologist #astrology #astro community #astro notes #astroblr

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ladyloveandjustice · 1 year

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I just watched Pop Culture Detectives critique as superheroes as reactionary and defending the status quo and villains as disruptors (even when their goals are wrong and authoritarian), and I think it did a fine job summing up the MCU, but I think it would lose something when if you’re doing a conversation outside that specific focus if you don’t acknowledge that there’s very significant times that WASN’T the case in early superhero comics.

For example, several early Superman comics have him actively disrupting society. He wasn’t a friend of the law early on. He destroys an entire “slum” and forces the government to rebuild better housing, and the police come after him for this.

He infiltrates a prison to expose its systemic abuse of prisoners.

He forces war profiteers to experience the terror of war firsthand until they stop.

But as the tweet thread I linked notes, this stops. Modern Superman often states he can’t interfere in wars because humanity has to sort out their own conflicts, that he can’t use his power against systemic issues because what if he becomes the power hungry god imposing his will on humanity? It’s interesting some comics posit that if Superman was more active about social change, he’s become the ‘invader’ Lex Luthor says he is. Especially if you consider Superman’s roots as an immigrant allegory, which makes it come off like he has to avoid being too disruptive or he’ll be labeled a ‘bad immigrant’.

There’s sometimes callbacks to the roots of Superman still, like the issue where he fights that cop probably (I was out of comics by the time that happened) but of course it’s pretty absent from the movies.

It’s also worth noting that Clark Kent is an investigative reporter (often exposing the crimes of billionaire CEO) which is an inherently disruptive job. PCD mentions that heroes do tend to be creative in their civilian identities but says it doesn’t seem to connect much to their superhero selves, but I don’t think you can separate Clark Kent the reporter from his superhero activity, because they’re often closely tied together, I mean he literally took the job so he could get leads as Superman.

Then there’s Wonder Woman, who was definitely a disruptor in her early incarnation. She was absolute here to spread Marston’s idea of feminism and have others follow her. She wanted to make more Amazons. She wanted a society where women had power. She would literally take her female villains and introduce them to the pleasures of femdom and BDSM reform them, convert them to her ideology, get them to join her ranks. The comic was CERTAINLY reactionary in other ways, and Marston’s feminism was flawed, but he wrote the comic explicitly because he was hoping for social disruption, that Wonder Woman would be the building block in the utopia he envisioned.

And there was some of that in SOME modern WW comics when I was into them- I was drawn to Greg Rucka’s Wonder Woman because there was a huge emphasis on the fact she’s an ambassador for her culture, and diplomat actively working to change the world, someone who’s seeking social reform and has an ideology. However, it is true that even those comics were mostly about her reacting to threats in her superhero life. (And then in the movie’s that’s entirely absent- feminism isn’t bought up, she goes into hiding rather than mounting a social justice campaign.)

And then on the Marvel side of things. Cap fighting Hitler actually didn’t reflect the status quo of America when it came out. In-universe it did to a degree, because America had entered the war in the universe of the comic, therefore Cap was doing patriotism, but out of universe America HADN’T entered the war yet and it was controversial to take the stance we were definitely going to and sauy Hitler was bad. We all know the story of nazi-sympathizers coming to harass the creators and Jack Kirby declaring he would fight them. So there’s a very interesting dichotomy there!

Anyway, it’s interesting to see this discussion because it’s definitely a very minor theme in my own book about a girl who becomes a supervillain. Look forward to that, I guess!

#superheroes #dc comics #marvel comics #superman #clark kent #wonder woman #diana of themyscira

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gncrevan · 2 years

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i find it so fucking fascinating (read: horrifying) how the heard/depp case is being spun into the exact same "the wokelib mainstream media is lying to you" rhetoric that the alt-right uses, that QAnon uses, and somehow this newest group falling for it doesn't see the warning signs. obviously there are plenty people amongst the deppfenders who were already on the conspiracy right, but this whole ordeal seems to have turned into a big fat recruitment tool. if the only news outlets you "can trust" are fox and the daily wire, well that's a problem isn't it?

media criticism is good and necessary especially in the united states, but just separating it into "outlets who agree with me" and "outlets who don't" is myopic and proves bad analysis. yes, the media lies and distorts and covers up, quite frequently in fact, but there are clear trends you can observe (such as more reactionary, conservative or status quo ideas being pushed), and when outlets who have been especially guilty of proven distortion and outright lies (like fox) are being presented to you as "the good ones", that should give you pause. like, a lot of pause.

what we desperately need is better media literacy, the ability to critically evaluate information and intent, the ability to distinguish good from bad science, know when a source isn't reliable, the ability to research and, barring that, the ability to identify the journalists and outlets who do good research. what we got, unfortunately, is the idea that if your in-group believes something, that thing must be true.

and i'm pointing the finger at all of you here too because you constantly fall for that shit and while it's usually about comparably harmless things, it has lead to harassment campaigns in the past. you need to learn how to read sources and do research, or you need to stop sharing hearsay as facts. this is exactly the kind of disinformation culture that has been fostered on tiktok to radicalized teens into mass supporting an abuser and mocking his victim. what is the next step in the funnel towards conspiratorial belief and reactionary talking points?

"oh but people of all walks of life believe this, not just right-wing weirdos" yeah, well, the wellness and new age movements were overwhelmingly not full of right-wingers and now look how many have become QAnon.

[ID: the head of Garfield the cartoon cat on a blue background with the words "You Are Not Immune To Propaganda" in all caps. end ID]

#depp heard trial #alt right pipeline #misinformation #media literacy #conspiracy theories #opinion piece

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x-bluefire-heart-x · 8 months

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Shit, Dealt With

Okay, So I am back with the next chapter of Grumpy ADA and the Detective. It took a while but I did it.

Warnings: mentions of sexual assault, an anxiety attack, death, violence, drugging, kidnapping, swearing, leering creepy suspect. It isn’t explicit but is discussed more than it was in the previous chapters. I'd say it was universe typical.

Master list

Prompt List

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Six

Tag List: @profoundtyrantharmony @wanniiieeee @zizzlekwum

Two weeks, that was how long this case had been going on. Two more bodies had turned up, all similar in age and body type. And all with the same type of injuries, the unsub was smart, there was no way to identify the bodies except hoping that their DNA or fingerprints were in the system or someone had reported them as missing and as they were all disposed of in bodies of water any traces of DNA were either washed away or so corrupted there was no chance of getting a match. You had managed to get a working profile of the Unsub but without any information on the three victims the profile wasn’t fully complete.

“Male, late 30s to early 40s, gay or at least bi,” you muttered staring at the crime scene images. “Probably attractive and charming enough to lure these men to them, with the specific location of the attacks there is a massive chance of internalised homophobia, but that could be on the victims side just as much as the Unsubs side. Definitely a sadist.”

“Is it a terrible thing that I am hoping for another body?” Amanda asked coming up beside you.

“I’m hoping for the same thing,” you answered turning to look at her. “But as of now, we have nothing to go on. Surely someone has missed our victims, there is no sign of them having been homeless. Their teeth were all in good condition, hair was looked after and treated, their bodies showed clear signs of steady meals and exercise.”

“Maybe they were all loners, who didn’t connect with many people?” she suggested. “Especially, if they didn’t always like who they were.”

“True, which is going to make this even harder,” you signed slumping in your chair. The only good thing to come from this case being difficult was you had no need to go the ADA for anything or for him to come here. At most the two of you shared strained polite smiles and boy did the room fill with tension.

Amanda nudged you when she noticed Rafael walking into the squad room making his way to Cragen’s office. Finn and Olivia were both off on lunch leaving you, Nick and Amanda as the only other detectives in the office. You subtly tracked him as he entered the Captains office and closed the door. Your chest squeezed at the sight of him, but it didn’t feel anything like what happened two weeks ago, it was a very different feeling.

“You okay?” Amanda asked stepping into your line of sight.

“Yeah, I will be,” you answered. “Um, would you tell the Cap-”

“Viper, could I see you for a moment?” Cragen interrupted you, motioning you to enter this office. You froze, body going a little cold, sending a wide eyed look to Amanda.

“You’ll be fine, just leave if you need to,” Amanda squeezed your arms, getting you moving. You nodded taking a deep breath and counting to ten before entering Cragen’s office.

Rafael was standing to the side near the observation window into the interview room, his shoulders were tense but that was before you had even entered so you figured it wasn’t necessarily because of your presence. You focused solely on Cragen who had a folder in his hand.

“You needed me?” you asked.

“Yes, it’s well, it involves a case that you worked on before you went undercover,” Cragen started. “Actually, it’s the case that caused you to need to go undercover.”

“Oh?” you felt your breathe freeze in your lungs, you crossed your arms and shifted from foot to foot unable to stay still as an anxious energy filled you. “What-what about it?” You could feel Rafael’s eyes on you, you didn’t even want to know what the look on his face was, you refused to look at him.

“Zac Cooper is demanding he speaks to an ADA about a deal to change his sentence,” Rafael answered for Cragen, bringing your attention to him.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” anger filled you as you turned to Rafael, disbelief clear as day on your face. “That son of a bitch hurt so many women, what could he possibly have to offer that would even make us consider lessening his sentence or anything else.” Rafael was not surprised by your reaction, he had read over the case notes and when he got to your reports and your testimony from the trial he was suddenly hit with guilt for how he responded to your apology and how he hadn’t made any effort to close the distance that was between the two of you.

“That’s why I wanted to talk to you,” Cragen brought your attention back to him, holding a hand up stalling Rafael from answering you. “I wanted you to go with Barba and speak with him.” The anger that was billowing inside, slowly simmered back down at the thought of being in the same room as that man. You breathed deeply looking at Cragen.

“Me?”

“I know that this case was difficult for you but you know it best, you’ll have a better idea of the relevance of the information he has,” Cragen answered. “If he knows-”

“I get it,” you interrupted. “I’ll do it. Counsellor, when would you like to leave?”

“Now if possible,” Barba answered.

“I’ll grab my things, I’ll drive,” you looked back at Cragen, getting the nod to leave.

“A word Counsellor,” Cragen stopped Rafael from leaving. “This will be difficult for them. I ask that you keep an eye on them and if Viper looks like it is getting to much for them please remove them from the situation.”

“I’ve read the police reports and their testimony,” Rafael admitted. “I will keep my eye on them, but I doubt they will listen if I try to make them leave.”

“You’d be surprised,” Cragen smiled. “Viper isn’t necessarily scared of Zac Cooper but it is the closest I have seen. Perhaps, you could use the drive to put this tension in the past, and get to know them. I would rather like to no longer have to deal with the two of you. As would Olivia.”

“Noted,” Rafael nodded. He left the office noting that you were talking to Nick whose face was pinched and angry. He looked over your shoulder and glared at Rafael. “Detective, I shall wait at the elevator for you.”

“You shouldn’t have to do this,” he overheard Nick imploring you. “Especially with him.”

Rafael shook his head once he was out of sight, he had noticed that Nick had been hovering around you anytime he had been at the station in the past two weeks. Even with as little interaction that the two of you had, he knew that you wouldn’t appreciate the hovering, you seemed like the type of person who appreciated people showing that they cared and were concerned but not overdoing it. Rafael leant against the wall, scrolling through his phone in an attempt to get the image of you from Cragen’s office out of his head. He had never seen you like that, it looked like you had frozen at the mention of Coopers name and the thought of having to see and speak with him. But when you had heard that he wanted a deal that fire was back, your face was so expressive that Rafael could see the rage but also the trepidation that you were feeling. He had to admire your dedication to the job that you were willing to accompany him to speak with Cooper, even though what Cragen said was correct, you had the best chance at knowing if Cooper was bullshitting.

“I’ll be fine Nick,” you said, a hard edge to your voice from his comments before Rafael had walked past. Implying that you needed someone else to be with you to handle Cooper. “I know what I am doing and I don’t appreciate you acting like I’m so fragile.”

Nick raised his hands, face open and pleading but you wanted nothing to do with him at the moment. You were getting a little tired of Nick coddling you, he didn’t do it all the time but when he did it was almost too much. You knew you had kinda lost it in-front of him but if he truly wanted to help you he’d ask you how, not assume you needed your hand held or to be protected. You walked away, knowing you needed to be calm for the trip to were Zac Cooper was being held, and for your interaction with him. But most importantly you didn’t want to make the situation between you and Barba worse. You walked around the corner to see Rafael leaning against the wall next to the elevators, one hand in his pants pocket and the other tapping away at his phone. You faltered in your next step at the sight before shaking your head lightly and continuing towards him. He looked up hearing your footsteps, putting away his phone as he faced the elevator and hit the button.

“It’s a bit of a drive, have you had lunch yet?” you asked, voice a bit tense. Rafael glanced at you from the corner of his eye, noting the tension in your shoulders and your hands periodically clenching, fingers rubbing against your palm. He had noticed a similar motion just before you had testified on the stand during the O’Neil case, he found his eyes trailing back up your arm, scanning your neck noticing a small freckle just under your jaw. “Counsellor?”

“Not yet,” he quickly answered focusing away from you, ignoring the feeing in his chest. “Maybe we could get some quick take away and eat in the car?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Sandwiches? There’s a good place just down the road?” you both stepped into the elevator having to crowd a little close due to there being a few people in there already.

“Sandwiches are good,” Rafael felt extremely awkward being pressed so close to you. He wanted to try and talk about the tension but figured it might be better to do that in the car rather than a crowded elevator or perhaps it would be better to not do it at all. “I’ll buy.” You turned your head to look at him over your shoulder, not realising how close the two of you were, the action bringing your cheek rather close to his lips.

“You don’t have to do that,” you whispered, a little red darkening your cheeks. You couldn’t turn your head back, eyes stuck on his, your gaze flickered down and noticed that his cheeks were tinged with red. His chin also showing signs of stubble, making you wonder if he hadn’t had time to shave that morning. A small part of your brain thinking about the way it would feel and you cut that train of thought right off.

“I know,” Rafael nodded. “But you’re driving.” Good, a distraction.

“And that equals to you buying lunch?” you raised an eyebrow a teasing lilt to your voice that Rafael had only heard when you talk to the others. It had never been directed at him before and frankly he didn’t quite know how to respond to it. You grinned when he didn’t answer before the doors opened. “Come on Counsellor, cars this way.” You walked towards your car, not looking back to see if he was following.

Rafael felt a smile slowly pull at his lips, he had noticed Viper’s cheeks had turned redder before they turned away. Maybe it wouldn’t be as difficult to work past the last few weeks of tensions and misunderstandings. Even if they could only become civil with no tension suffocating any room the two of them were in, would be progress. He continued to ignore the pleasant warmth that started in his stomach when they had been pressed close together, just as he had ignored every other odd feeling after seeing the detective and the splash of disappointment when they ignored him or left the building entirely when he had gone down to the station.

Rafael did end up paying for lunch refusing to take any cash from you or take your card, he chuckled when he got back in the car and you were pouting as you drove away.

“Do you want yours now?” he asked holding your sandwich in his hand.

“Ah, maybe wait till I’m out of the city, less likely to need both my hands on short notice,” you responded sending him a tight lip smile.

“Smart, wouldn’t want to crash,” he nodded. “Do you mind if I start?”

“Course not, go nuts,” you smiled voice lined with amusement. “Would you mind opening my drink though? Little thirsty.”

Rafael nodded twisting the lid of your lemonade off and handing it to you, replacing the lid after you handed it back. Rafael started eating, and he knew that he would have to go to that little deli more often, this sandwich was one of the best he had had in a while. He watched the traffic as you expertly got them out of the city and onto the road to the prison, your fingers tapping the steering wheel intermittently. He reached down into the bag pulling your sandwich out and undid the wrapper enough for you to be able to eat it without too much difficulty.

“Here, should be okay for you to eat now,” he suggested holding it out. “And you should eat something.” You looked over at him briefly, noticing a different look in his eyes from the other few times you had seen him. You sighed but nodded and took the sandwich.

“I’m guessing Cap and the case files gave you a little understanding of how much I do not want to be in the same room with Cooper,” you muttered taking a bite of food, hand on the wheel tightening its grip causing your knuckles to go white.

“A little, he did tell me to keep an eye on you and remove you from the room if it looks like it’s too much,” Rafael answered, deciding honesty was the way forward between the two of you.

“Hmm, that sounds like Cragen,” you nodded. “Though…rather honest of you to tell me that.

“Figured you would have some idea that Cragen told me to if I needed to remove you,” he shrugged. “So, why bother keeping quiet about it, makes no sense.”

“Fair enough,” you snorted taking another bite of your sandwich. You felt your stomach rebel against the food that was in your stomach and started trying to wrap it back up before two hands took it out of yours and wrapped it back up. “Thanks.”

You weren’t entirely sure what to make of this Rafael, the one that was nice, you figured this side of him was what Olivia mostly saw but you weren’t entirely sure why now of all times he decided to show you that side, unless it did make perfect sense cause he read the case files. You hoped that he wasn’t being nice to you just because of what he read, you didn’t think that was the kind of person he was but you weren’t sure. At least maybe this could be how the two of you become civil at least, you just weren’t sure how to respond to his kindness. Your skin tingled a little from where his fingers had brushed yours when he took your sandwich, and the close proximity in the car wasn’t helping whatever happened in the elevator to disappear. You had determinedly ignored how you reacted to his presence since the night you got drunk, you also refused to acknowledge whatever happened between you and Nick. Which definitely wasn’t helping with the whole Nick situation and his hovering either. You were never any good at that kind of thing and you hoped it would just pass and frizzle out.

“You ate more then I thought you would,” Rafael smiled handing your drink over to you without having to be asked. “Drink a little more might help.”

“Thanks,” you stook took small sips before handing it back. “Look…the thing with Cooper isn’t just because of what is in the case files but also what happened as a result of that case. That year undercover was…difficult and I’m worried that I will fall back on some habits I created during that time.”

Rafael blinked, a little surprised that you were being open about the issue, especially since it regarded the undercover job that everyone else had said you rarely talk about. But he remined himself that in your first meeting you had fallen back on one of those habits and he wondered if you wanted him to know a little bit more about that. Rafael bit his tongue holding back the snarky response he so desperately wanted to say but a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Olivia told him to hold it that progress was being made and until that progress had been finalised perhaps being snarky wasn’t the best idea.

“Olivia said you rarely talk about that time,” Rafael said instead. “I can’t even begin to imagine what that must have been like. What kind of habits?”

“Really, really bad ones,” you took a deep breath. “I was…an enforcer for a lack of better word. Meant to keep the women…girls in line and eventually some of the other enforcers as well. To get to that position took time and I had to show the boss that I was tough enough to handle men as well as the women, I couldn’t show that what was happening, what I was allowing to happen got to me. I had to become a cold hard bitch, who could intimidate anyone and who wasn’t afraid to dole out punishment. The FBI was aware of the lengths I would have to go and ensured me that I was covered. They were looking to take down a massive operation that was starting to look at going international big time, instead of just taking girls from other countries they were looking at having rings in other countries and taking girls from the US to those countries.”

Rafael was not expecting you to be that open with him, to hear your voice go dead as you talked about your role and why you had to create these bad habits you keep talking about. He felt dread swell in his stomach as you changed and he wondered if this was a glimpse of the person you had to become.

“Viper, you don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to,” Rafael’s voice had turned incedingly soft. You hadn’t ever heard him refer to you as Viper before and that jolt managed to bring you back.

“It’s fine, my psych said it would be good to allude to some of things I had to do to others, the only people outside of the team of FBI agents that knows anything about it is my psych and Olivia,” you told him risking a quick glance at him. “Not even Cragen, sure they can all at least guess but I have never point blank told them.”

“Why me?”

“Honestly? Probably because you don’t know me, and you didn’t know me before so you are the least likely to look at me differently and even if you did…it wouldn’t hurt as much as the others,” you explained. “Finn and Nick have done undercover work but…I don’t think….honestly Cassidy would probably understand better than them but I don’t really get along with him and he doesn’t like to talk about it either. Olivia doesn’t look at me differently, but honestly I think Liv is, well, she’s…”

“Liv,” Rafael offered.

“Yeah,” you nodded.

“I think I get it, well, mostly,” Rafael turned to look at you fully. “Can I ask how the case with Cooper led to your undercover job?”

“Cooper was a supplier to these guys,” you explained. “The FBI had been watching him but it dropped off after a while as they considered other suppliers to be more….important in taking down the operation. We had no idea about any of that, we had a girl brought in by an off duty nurse she had signs of serve abuse and markings on her wrists that indicated she had been chained. We got her to talk and she eventually gave us Coopers name and the name of the woman who was to take her to the boss.

‘We got the both of them and apparently she was going to be a new enforcer and no-one from the group had met her before. Apparently the enforcer was meant to bring a number of new girls with her and it was going to be a test to see how well the girls behaved when they were brought in. The enforcer was killed in the take down and the FBI came storming in and demanded to know what we thought we were doing, because of course they did. When we worked out that none of the girls had seen the enforcer the FBI decided it was an opportunity and I volunteered to do it.”

“So, Cooper might have more information on the group?” Rafael asked.

“Maybe but he was significantly low down on the totem pole, he was the one they went do for girls when they were desperate,” you explained fingers tapping faster against the steering wheel. “The only reason I can see him wanting to tell us something he held back before is because he heard about the take down and is worried that if any of them ended up in the same prison as him they’ll retaliate. Since technically he is the one who sent me there.”

You could feel your chest starting to tighten as you struggled to breath, your vision started to narrow down and you knew immediately it was another panic attack. You swiftly pulled off the road and killed the engine, your hands clenching the steering wheel so tightly that your knuckles turned white.

“Viper?” Rafael’s voice was confused from the sudden action, he turned towards you, hands poised in the air, unsure if he was allowed to touch you, he recognised the signs of a panic attack, having aided Olivia through some before but he didn’t know if you would welcome his help all things considered.

“So-sorry,” you gasped out eyes tight as tears started to fall down your cheeks. “Give-give me a mo-moment.”

“It’s okay, take your time,” Rafael’s voice still had the same soft cadence that it had during your previous conversation. Seeing that you were still struggling to control your breathing he decided to through caution to the wind. You could yell at him later, which would be a significant improvement from this. He reached out slowly, his long fingers gently wrapping around your wrist closest to him, his other hand gently covering yours over the wheel. He eased your grip off and brought your hand towards himself, eyes never leaving your face.

When Rafael first touched you, you thought he would tap out a rhythm like Liv had done to help you focus on something else, and to try and match your breathing to. But that wasn’t what he did. You felt your breathe stutter even more in your chest when he placed your hand over his chest, right above where his heart was beating. Covering your fingers with one of his hands, his other placed itself over the back of your hand and finally tapped his fingers in time with his heart beating under your hands. You slowly turned your head towards him, shocked by the softness of his eyes as they searched your face looking for signs of something.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Steady strong presses of his fingers forced your attention to his hands. Your eyes slowly moved away from his and focused where you could feel a steady beat. Rafael closely controlled his breathing, exaggerating as he pulled air into his lungs and held it for five seconds before releasing it. With your hand on his chest you could feel the raise and fall as he breathed, that combined with the tapping and the sound of Rafael’s breathing allowed your focus to zero in on him. And as your breathe slowly started to match his, as your vision slowly come back in focus and you felt the constriction on your lungs release you noticed a few other things. His scent, you had never been close enough to notice it before but the cologne he wore filled your nose as you breathed. It was a little bit spicy and under the cologne there was something distinctly him. All Rafael. And you couldn’t help but think how nice it was. How almost warm and welcoming the scent was as you came back. Your cheeks heated up even more, as your eyes lifted away from your hand and back up to his soft warm eyes, that were watching you in concern.

“Hey, there you are,” his voice soothed you. “How are you?”

“Better,” you nodded. “Um…thanks.” You tugged a little on the hand he still held oh so gently against his chest. He seemed to startle a little, his cheeks tinging pink a little as he let go. You except him to release your hand as if he had been burnt but instead he let it go and placed it back in your lap for you.

“Of course,” he smiled.

“I…I don’t normally, I mean,” you groaned rubbing your face to remove the left over tears. “I have only had on other attack like that and Liv helped me through it. She said I should keep an eye out for things that are similar when I have them.”

“If it would help, maybe we could discuss it,” Rafael suggested. “Try and see if anything was similar this time. What was happening when you had your first one?”

You opened your mouth before remembering exactly what had been happening when you had your first attack a few weeks ago. You bit your lip, looking over at him, and his earnest eyes. You felt like telling him could cause whatever had been happening on this drive to go backwards.

“Um, well, it was when I was at the squad room with the others, just before we got a call for the first victim of our current case,” you started fingers twisting around themselves. Rafael nodded about to say something before he stopped, thinking back to that day and realising that that was when Liv had come to him and talk about how he had reacted to your apology.

“Had Liv just told you about her conversation with me earlier that day?” he asked, gut clenching at the thought that he had caused you to have an attack. You couldn’t answer that, at least not with words, so you just nodded. “I’m sorry-”

“Don’t, you don’t have to apologise,” you interrupted. “Don’t think it was just that.”

“Oh?” Rafael didn’t know what else to say, his eyes searched your face the look in them caused you to look away quickly. Your hands scrubbed your face hard taking in a deep breathe. “Does it have something to do with Amaro?”

“What?!” your voice was a little shrill causing Rafael to snort before quickly covering it with a cough. “No, I, why would you? No!”

“Alright, alright,” Rafael laughed. “I just thought, he had been around you a lot in the last few weeks.”

“Hmm,” you couldn’t answer more than that, not wanting to think on it. You leaned back against the head rest closing your eyes and taking a deep breathe. “We should continue on.”

---

You handed over your gun, hands trembling a little. Rafael, stood behind you watching you carefully, as you were both lead to the interview room. Rafael watched in fascination as you closed your eyes, taking long deep breathes, your fingers tapped against your thigh in what he thought was a random pattern. Taking one last breath you squared your shoulders, just as the guards led Cooper into the room.

“Well, well, Detective, you look good,” Cooper grinned looking you up and down which caused your stomach to squirm. Rafael felt his anger flare a little at the predatory look on Coopers face as he leered at you. He opened his mouth to get his attention away from you and to try and get this over with as quickly as possible.

“What’s this so called important information you have?” Rafael’s eyes shot back to you at the tone of your voice. Your face was blank, eyes cold with a simmering of anger in them.

“I want a deal,” Cooper demanded.

“That will depend on what you have to tell us and if it is useful,” Rafael stated, causing Cooper to focus on him. His eyes looked him up and down taking in the three piece suit, before they dragged away again dismissing him quickly, a cruel twist of his lips told Rafael exactly what this sick man thought of him. Cooper turned his back on them both walking around the table to the side facing the wall.

“Aw, you must be the lawyer,” Cooper grinned taking a seat at the table, Rafael frowned. This man seemed to believe this to be a joke. “Well, before that. I want a transfer to a low security prison with protective detail.”

“You’re a violent sex trafficker low security is not going to happen,” Rafael scoffed, taking a seat opposite Cooper. “Protective detail can be arranged and we can consider a transfer to a different prison but it will not be low security.”

You had stayed standing but had moved closer to the table standing next to Rafael eyes zeroed in on Cooper watching his every move, muscles coiled and waiting in case he makes a wrong move. Rafael glanced up at you before focusing back on Cooper, he took out a writing pad and a pen.

“Come on lovely, you know I am not that violent,” Cooper cooed leaning forward on the table towards you.

“You cracked open a sixteen year old girls skull,” Viper stated. “I’d say that’s violent. And you’re stalling. I doubt you have anything of value to tell us.”

“I have information about the people in charge,” he pouted. “And you don’t think that’s value. Detective, shame on you.”

“Oh really?” you asked raising an eyebrow. “You were a trafficker that the ring went to when they were desperate. You were so low on the totem pole that the FBI deemed you unimportant.”

“Well, if you believe that that means the plan worked,” Cooper smirked leaning back in his chair, folding his arms.

“Plan?” Rafael asked, sharing a glance with you.

“Yeah, they knew the FBI were on to them and they wanted to make them believe I wasn’t important-”

“Bullshit,” you interrupted with a snort. “I was with that group for a year and all they did was insult and demean your name. You were a laughing stock.”

Cooper’s smirk fell and his eyes narrowed as he lent forward again staring you down. Rafael felt a tension in the air, he glanced behind him checking to ensure that there was still a guard somewhere close by.

“So you have nothing,” you snarled. “You are just a coward. Counsellor this was a waste of our time.”

Rafael stood up collecting his things as you moved around to his side stepping slightly in-front of him as he started to walk towards the cell door. He glanced back to see that you were walking backwards, keeping Cooper in your eyesight the entire time, as he had stood up from the table and had edged around the corner. Rafael motioned for the guard to open the door.

“We’re done,” he said.

“No we are not!” Cooper snarled taking a few steps forward. The guards quickly entered holding Cooper back and cuffing him again. “Listen you fuckers we are not done here! You will pay for this detective!”

“Not before you,” you smirked before walking away with Rafael. The shouted insults from Cooper grew quiet the further you got.

“Well, that was…” Rafael trailed off.

“Yep, sorry you had to make a wasted trip,” you muttered as you collected your gun.

“It happens,” Rafael shrugged, the two of you making your out of the prison to where the car was parked. “Do you think he really believed he had something?”

“I think he was hoping he could trick us into thinking it. He had no idea just how deep I gotten into that ring,” you sighed rubbing the back of your neck. “Part of me wishes he did have something but another part of me is glad he didn’t. That same part wishes that one of the members will be put in this prison with him. So he can feel even the smallest bit of fear. Fuck, I hate that I feel like that.” You leant against the side of the car, hands rubbing your face before running through your hair and pulling it lightly.

“You shouldn’t, he’s a horrible person but it shows the kind of person you are that you feel that way,” Rafael reached a hand out, hesitating only slightly before placing it on your arm and giving it a light squeeze. He felt the muscle under his hand and couldn’t help squeezing again without realising it. You lowered your hands, looking briefly at the hand that was still on your arm before following to the owner who was once again staring at you with those soft green eyes. The way he was looking at you made you feel warm, safe and…cared for.

“Thanks,” you smiled, cheeks once again heating. You were starting to get a little tired of that occurring around this man. Rafael smiled softly, squeezing your arm one last time before letting go, already you missed the warmth and the feel. You coughed a little pushing away from the car and standing up straight. “We should probably start heading back, let the Captain know there was nothing of value.”

Rafael nodded walking around the car, his hand that had been touching your arm flexed he could swear he felt a little tingle but shrugged it off. The smile was still on his face, although the reason for the trip up here was a waste of time he didn’t think the trip itself was a waste of time and he knew that Cragen would also see it that way. The tension between you two appeared to be gone and he just hoped it would stay that way.

“Well, maybe it wasn’t an entire waste of time,” he shrugged wanting to test the waters, and also to see if he could get that teasing lilt back.

“Hm, no I suppose not,” you agreed, a small cheeky grin on your face. “We didn’t kill each other on this trip, so the others will be disappointed. Except for maybe Liv, she definitely bet on us dealing with our shit.”

“Oh, she definitely did,” Rafael laughed. “Part of me wants to mess with them a little but I believe Liv may actually kill me if we did that.” You shot him a look as you pulled out onto the road, seeing the mischievous glint in his eye. You snorted, rolling your eyes and focusing back on the road as the traffic was a little busier than normal.

“I reckon we could take her,” you added after a few minutes of silence.

“We?” Rafael asked, eyes still watching your face, revelling in the banter. He was excited, banter was something he adored, a way in which he communicated often, and being able to do that with you after the weeks of issues the two of you had had him almost bouncing for joy. It was a similar feeling he got when the other detectives joined in on his banter but there was something else, something he couldn’t put his finger on when you turned to look at him, the cheeky grin now a smile. He felt his heart almost stop when you winked at him before looking away.

“Duh Barba,” you snarked. “Of course, you would be sacrificed for my survival but it would be a team effort.”

“Sacrificed?” Rafael barked.

“Hmm, I would proclaim my innocence. ‘No Liv, I had no idea he was going to pretend we still wanted to kill each other, I swear,’” your voice went up a notch.

“Very convincing,” Rafael drawled. “Liv wouldn’t buy it.”

“Yeah she would. Liv adores me and I am the picture of innocence,” you protested.

“Right, the picture of innocence who looks like they could kill someone with their finger,” Rafael teased.

“…Well, I never,” you pouted as a giggle bubbled in your chest.

“Amaro would probably save you anyway,” Rafael spoke without thinking. He bit his tongue hoping he hadn’t just pushed to far, he just remembered the way you reacted the last time Amaro was mentioned.

“Don’t need him saving me,” you scoffed, the teasing tone sounding more forced now.

“Can’t imagine you would,” Rafael agreed trying to salvage the moment. “You could run rings around him with your eyes closed.”

You didn’t respond to that but your smile was a little less forced then it was before and Rafael counted that as a win. He let the conversation drop, not one to force a topic to continue once it had reached it’s natural conclusion. The smirk on his face didn’t fall as the silence filled the car, it wasn’t awkward, wasn’t necessarily the type of comfortable he has with Liv but it was nice. It was a start.

#law and order svu imagines #Law and Order SVU #rafael barba #gender neutral reader #imagine #writing #gender neutral y/n #banter #rafael barba x reader #Captain Cragen #Soft Rafael Barba

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nesisamess · 7 months

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my first impressions of the characters from the twitter post thing that DRDTDev made about the other killing game. First off: I love all of them, and half the cast gives me gender envy. I am continually impressed at DRDTDev’s character designing ability, especially in making them interesting, non-boring designs that still communicate their personality and aren’t too complex or over designed. ugh. love them for it (/platonically and/or parasocially)

Also, this post will be kinda assuming you’ve already read the very little info we have about them. If you haven’t, go here: https://href.li/?https://t.co/muTM8j8MPH

ANYWAYS

First off, here’s an image of the characters!!

Beautiful, right?

…

Just take a few seconds to admire them.

Ok! I’ll be going over some theories that relate to all of the characters, and then character by character, and then at the end a little general reflection.

So, one of the main theories that have been posed is that this killing game takes place before the events of DRDT, which I am like 87% sure of (up 7% from my last post, woo). It makes sense, especially in the context of the other theories regarding the characters. As well as this, it just makes sense timeline-wise.

There is also a theory that every character is somehow connected to someone in the current killing game, which I am still a little unsure of. I can definitely see it for some characters, but we know so little about each of them that it’s really hard to say whether or not that’s true. I will be going over who I think could be connected to who, just in case it does end up being true. However, I think a more likely theory is that a couple of the people involved in this killing game (likely the survivors) are connected to the current one, and exactly how much is up for us to discover.

Ok, on to the characters!

First off!

(I don’t know why, but she’s the only one who’s photo is cropped. oh well)

Pretty!! For the sake of this post, I’ll be calling her Spiral (I will be using the names that @xmicrophonyx came up with!).

My first thought when I saw her (besides the obligatory screeching) was that she gave me teacher vibes? That might be since I already had the context of this story being “about a person who wants to become the perfect teacher”. But outside of that, she definitely looks shy, with her hunched over posture and expression. I do adore her color palette, and the pops of teal add a lot.

In terms of a possible talent/role, I still think she gives teacher-y vibes, whatever that means, although outside of that I would think her talent is something a little more professional, considering her attire being formal (the coat, top, and scarf most of all). So other possibilities could be a secretary, librarian, buisness woman, etc.

Spiral could also be some kind of fancy art critic, or someone who works with the Spurling Foundation, if we need to connect her to the current killing game somehow.

—

Next up!

The boy!!!!

I’m going to be honest with you. I think he’s my favorite. His demeanor, the neon green jacket, the fingerless gloves, the cap, the khaki capri pants, the aura of a 14 year old shoujo protagonist—he is the moment. The fan name for him is Soundwave.

I think he likely deals with music, since the pattern on his shirt reminds me of sound recordings. Specifically, he probably is into the more technical side of music, such as EDM or techno or something like that (I know pretty much nothing about music, so take my word with a grain of salt).

Because of this, I think Soundwave would be connected to J. J also is in a similar sort of technical profession, so I think that maybe he could be someone who ends up working with J in the future/has worked with J or something like that.

There’s one thing with Soundwave that also is present in 2 of the other characters—he looks quite a bit younger than most of the cast. He’s shorter, yes, but his proportions also make him seem younger. However, the DRDTDev specifies that all of the characters present are 18 or above, so it likely doesn’t mean anything. People can just look young, after all.

I think that’s all, but I’m really excited to learn more about this character because he just seems so fun :)

—

Oh boy, let’s talk about them…

Hello there, XF. I will also be trying my best to use all of his pronouns! (Those being he/she/they). I am so happy to have yet another gender-non-conforming character in the general DRDT universe, and it is amazing to see such a wide array of diversity and representation in this cast, as well as the cast of the current killing game. Genuinely, I am just… blown away.

She is also the character which we have the strongest connection to the current killing game/a character from the current killing game, that being Min. Min mentions in her bonus episode that an organization called XF-Ture Tech were the ones to sponsor her for the test to become the Ultimate Student. On XF’s coat is an XF-Ture Logo. As well as this, they have the exact same tie clip that Min has.

PLUS, on top of this, he has the same purple/pink eyes that Min has. That last detail almost made me think they were related, but I don’t necessarily believe so. I mean, they might be, but I’m more inclined to believe that XF is just affiliated with/the leader of XF-Ture. There are A LOT of theories for her (along with a lot of simping ahem), but I won’t be mentioning all of them.

If they are the founder of XF-Ture Tech, I imagine their talent would be something like Ultimate Founder, Ultimate Inventor, Ultimate CEO, or something in that vein. He may not be the founder, however, and instead may just work for XF-Ture Tech. I’m not entirely sure, but I am inclined to believe that she is the founder because of the pink eyes. I have a theory that Min actually wears contacts, and that’s why her eyes look the same as XF’s. I may be totally wrong about this, and I thought that DRDTDev already said they weren’t, but I looked through the QnAs and I couldn’t find anything saying that. Unless it is confirmed somewhere, or it gets confirmed, that’s my theory for now!

As well as this, in the chapter 2 part 1 QnA, DRDTDev mentions that Min’s least favorite color(s) are pink and white together, because it’s “annoying”. Since that is a part of XF’s color palette, that draws an obvious connection between the two of them. If Min has had a lot of interaction with XF, and perceives them as annoying, this could be the reason for that connection. It definitely furthers the theory that Min and XF are connected. I’m pretty sure I barely scratched the surface in terms of what has been theorized about them, so I recommend you check out @accirax @googledetective and the posts they made, as well as any of the posts that are bound to be made by the rest of the DRDT theorists.

—

Him!!!!!!!

For all of you who don’t know, this character uses he/him pronouns and I absolutely love him for that :,) I am truly just… flabbergasted at how amazing DRDTDev continues to be in adding representation to their stories, and not only that, but doing such a good job of it.

Anyways! I will be calling him Dandelion after the dandelion in his hair.

As far as what we can deduce based on his outfit and demeanor: obviously this is a character who messes around with gender presentation (we stan) and doesn’t fall into the rigid categories that many cultures try to enforce. He also looks somewhat naive, and young (though all of these characters are ~18, of course). I also definitely don’t think his talent is something physically demanding, since he seems pretty skinny, and his clothes don’t look like they would be good for running around in.

However, this character has a few things that might key us in to what his talent might be. The first of which is his clothing, since my first thought on seeing it was that it looked trendy, or like something an influencer would wear. In a way that kind of juxtaposes their outfit, however, he has a dandelion in his hair, through the band keeping it up. It is very different from the rest of his color palette, and dandelions are usually considered ‘weeds’, which makes me think that Dandelion’s talent is instead something plant-based.

Since that dandelion is just so different from the rest of his outfit, I believe the latter is true, and that his talent is something like the Ultimate Botanist.

In terms of characters he might be connected to, my first thought was Levi. They both are fashionable, and if my previous thought of Bunny being an influencer or something of the like, it makes sense for Levi to know them somehow. Still, it’s a shaky theory.

—

I love asymmetrical designs, and the green/blue hair strand balances out his hair really well. I do also really like the strap on his leg, it gives him a slightly edgier look. I will be calling him “Scale” for convenience (I had names for each of these characters before someone came up with better ones, but @pastelclownkitty and I actually had the same idea for this guy!).

So, firsts things first: I do not think he is Elliot Cuevas. I saw this theory, considered it, and have come to the conclusion it doesn’t make sense (at least to me. if this is one of your theories that’s totally fine!). Elliot is described, by DRDTDev in the chapter 2 part 1 QnA, as having looked “shockingly similar” to how Charles looks now. I think the comparison is vague at best, not shocking. They do both have purple hair and dark skin, but both shades of those things are darker for Scale.

In terms of talent, the pattern of his shirt has been pointed out, and I agree that it probably relates to his talent. In fact, Scale somewhat reminds me of an anglerfish, with that bright green in his eyes and that strand of hair. I don’t know, I think I’m just saying things at this point.

Due to the mentioned factors above, I believe his talent is related to fishing or swimming, something like the Ultimate Angler. I can’t discern his build from under his clothing, but he looks a little skinny to be the Ultimate Swimming Pro or anything like that.

Ok. I’m sorry, but he looks a little… Fishy (don’t mind the pun). Maybe it’s how calm he is, or his mouth, but he reminds me of Rantaro somewhat. I love his design, though, and I think his color palette is supremely cool. I also like how his hair highlight is very faintly rainbow. It reminds me of how when you look at water a certain way, it shows a rainbow.

—

Our protag!! Or, well, Teacher.

Now, I’m pretty sure almost everyone agrees that this character is the Ultimate Teacher, or something of the like. He also has an ID card which says:

This ID card is the property of Hope’s Peak Academy. Use of this ID card by any person other than the rightful holder is prohibited. Report lost or stolen ID cards by contacted 555-483-7367.

(Thank you to @weightedblankettt for the blurry text translation!)

Now, numbers starting with 555 are used for fictional phone numbers, specifically in North America, which is how we’re able to tell that this killing game’s participants probably come from the same Hope’s Peak that the participants of the current killing game are from. Other than that, it doesn’t really tell us much, other than our Protag has an ID card for Hope’s Peak. This leads us to believe that he may be staff, however DRDTDev confirms that these are 11 students.

One thing, though, that I think may be something…

What if Teacher is, instead of just a student, a student teacher? Basically, what if he is someone who comes in to help the actual teachers with the class load and such, but isn’t a classmate of the rest of the Ultimates. Either that, or he’s just a student who carries around his ID card from a lanyard. Like a weirdo (/j).

Now: The Mai thing. Many people think that Teacher may be a relative of Mai, or connected to her in some way, due to the red in his hair, on his shoes, and on the inside of his coat. However, the red used with his colors is very different from Mai’s red. Another theory to why he might be related to Mai is because his eyes are always closed in all the art we’ve seen of him, so maybe he’s related to one of the cast and DRDTDev is keeping his eyes closed to not spoil who. I do believe this part, just not with Mai.

Okay well, here my theory goes:

Teacher is the older brother of Teruko. Teruko mentions in chapter 1 episode 4 that she has an older brother, but they were separated when she was 5. She likely doesn’t remember much about him at all (and I suspect that he was the one who Teruko says she “couldn’t remember the face” of as well). Although they don’t have the same hair color, they do have a very similar skin color, and the closed-eye thing could be just as true with Teruko as with Mai. As well as this, most characters in all of DRDT have a gradient on their eyelashes. 3 characters who don’t? Mai, Teruko, and now Teacher.

Imma be honest, it’s a bit of a crack theory, but I kinda like it, and think it’s interesting. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be the only one to believe this haha

Oh wait! I almost forgot! The whole thing on him being the “Teacher” referenced in secret text. I don’t have much to say on that except that yeah, that’s probably true. Maybe. Who knows.

—

Sigh, I love men.

I’ll be calling this dude Mint, which I know is separate from the names that @xmicrophonyx came up with, but… I think it’s cute, so. First off, his design is great, yada yada, and I love his little cropped jacket. Very cute.

I definitely think his design is pretty sporty, especially with the layers of the undershirt, over shirt, and jacket, along with the coat around his waist. My first thought for him is that he does some kind of racing, either with cars or motorcycles, because that’s what his jacket reminds me of. Race car drivers do wear gloves, so this would make sense for that. I imagine this isn’t his actual racing clothes, instead just casual clothes, but there are still elements of his racing clothes in there. Along with this, it makes sense that he’d have his hair tied back so then he could fit it under his helmet and it wouldn’t get in his face too much (although I suspect his ponytail is too high to fit under a helmet. Oh well, he might wear it lower on race days).

His personality seems like it would fit that sort of thing as well, since he looks serious and somewhat aggressive. He also has those little marks under his eyes. I’m not entirely sure what they’re for, but I’m sure I could connect it back somehow if I wasn’t working on this post for like 3 hours and had any energy whatsoever to do research into it (I just got home from a very long car ride, so keep in mind I am still somewhat delirious). Idk. Maybe he just wanted to look pretty/intimidating/whatever so he put markings under his eyes.

—

A Child?!? Well, no, probably not, but she does look very, very young. Perhaps it’s the fact she’s right next to Teacher, who I’m pretty sure is the tallest out of the cast? Maybe it’s also the fact that the color that dominates her design is pink, and her complimentary color is baby blue.

So, her design is pretty clearly inspired by sheep/rams, since her pupil is the same shape as them, her braids are coiled up similarly to ram horns, and the bottom of her coat/dress looks like sheep wool. The bell on her bow also looks like the pupil of a sheep, too. I actually had a phase of drawing people with that type of pupil, too, because I thought it looked so interesting and unique. I still think characters with those kind of eyes are pretty cool.

Since her design looks so much like a sheep/ram, you would think that was involved in her talent, however in her eye you can see a little needle. That makes me think she’s a tailor or seamstress or something like that. Perhaps, since wool is a big material used for fabric, she cares for sheep and then makes fabric out of their wool, or something in that vein.

She seems pretty peppy and happy, so I assume she would take on an Eden-esque role in this killing game (Though, I assume, she is actually far different, and likely more naive than Eden is).

—

Our girl Fire! She is hot, amiright? (Cue the applause). I don’t know what came over me, with that pun. Maybe the spirit of Whit or something.

But no, seriously, she is certainly a… very attractive woman. The snakebite piercings, eyebrow piercings, nose piercings, and bellybutton piercing? Oh my. A win for the girlkissers. A win indeed.

She certainly gives aggressive energy, like she would fight you (and win, obviously. It wouldn’t even be a competition). She looks like she could take Xander. Also!! I really like her teeth, because one of my teeth stick out like that too. I’m pretty sure it’s the one in the exact same spot as her, just mirrored. I’ve always kind of liked it.

Now, her outfit is definitely very sporty, though I’m unsure of which sport exactly. Her abs and chunky gloves give the vibe of something like a boxer or weightlifter, but she also has chaps on. I’m truly unsure if the chaps are just decorative or if she actually does ride horses (I want to say they’re just decorative because white chaps? Not a good idea. No white clothes are really a good idea when you ride horses a lot. Especially if the horses are unruly lol). Plus, she has a lot of skin exposed, and I can say from experience that flies and bugs are a bitch, and there are a lot when horses are involved.

I also just wanted to point out that Fire and Ice (her brother, who I’ll be talking about next) have eyes that are half brown and half grey, and they each have a color palette of either brown or grey and another color (the extra colors are also complimentary). I personally believe this is because the siblings/twins are very different, and likely don’t get along too well, but that’s just a theory. A DRDT theory. I’m mentally unwell, I think.

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mariacallous · 17 days

Text

SONNEBERG, GERMANY—First, in true German fashion, the rules were outlined: no alcohol on site, flagpoles capped at three meters, no protesting past 8 p.m. The demonstration followed, with hundreds congregated in the town square shouting insults at the incumbent government; cracking jokes at the expense of refugees, the LGBTQ+ community, and the media; and waving a sea of German flags, with a few Russian ones dotted among them.

“Anyone who dares call us Nazis will be reported to the police,” one of the protesters shouted from a makeshift stage propped up outside Sonneberg’s City Hall, a white mansion built between the world wars. “Germany first,” the protester continued, beckoning the crowds to join in singing the national anthem under a rainy, dark sky.

At 8 p.m. sharp, the crowd quickly dispersed—but they’ll be back next Monday, as they are every week. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they rallied against lockdowns. Now, they call for the overthrow of the current government coalition, and in recent months, the numbers of agitators have started to swell. Many are affiliated with the right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD), and although members say they strongly reject what Nazi Germany stood for, a regional chair of the party, Björn Höcke, is on trial for concluding a 2021 speech with the phrase “Everything for Germany”—a slogan widely used by the Nazis. (Under German law, the use of speech, propaganda, and symbolism associated with the Nazi Party and other terrorist groups is prohibited.)

Sonneberg district, home to 56,000 people, is where AfD has celebrated its biggest success to date: Last year, Robert Sesselmann, 51, was elected as the district administrator in a runoff with 52.8 percent of the vote, making Sonneberg the first county in Germany to elect a far-right candidate since the Nazi era. But Thuringia’s AfD branch—where Sonneberg is located—has already been questioning the legitimacy of state institutions and asserted that the Federal Republic of Germany is not a sovereign state, but rather controlled by external powers.

The Thuringia branch of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has legally classified the AfD’s Thuringia branch as “right-wing extremist,” and the federal office is now deciding whether the party may be classified as a suspected case of right-wing extremism on the national level.

The question is pertinent, since the AfD is gaining in popularity not just in Thuringia, but nationwide. This trend picked up around the time of Germany’s last federal elections in 2021. Nationally, the AfD’s support base has grown to 22 percent, compared to 10.4 percent in 2021. Three states in the east—Thuringia, as well as Brandenburg and Saxony—head to the polls this fall, and a win for the AfD looks likely, as it’s polling around 30 percent in all three states.

“This is a stress test for Germany, and 2024 is a defining year,” said Olaf Sundermeyer, an editor at the Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcast (RBB) and longtime expert on right-wing extremism in Germany. Sundermeyer said that since the AfD was founded in 2013, “the party has continuously radicalized.”

Initially starting out as a euroskeptic party that primarily criticized the European Union’s handling of the eurozone crisis, the party—and its leadership—have continuously shifted toward more nationalist and populist positions, especially since 2015, when former Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed around 1 million refugees into the country.

The legacy and shame of Nazi Germany continue to influence the nation’s politics, and until the AfD’s rise, German society strongly rejected far-right ideologies. But the economic impact of both the 2008 financial crisis and the 2015 refugee crisis have—at least partially—resulted in shifting public perceptions.

“The AfD has successfully managed to alter people’s perception of right-wing extremism, moving it away from its historically charged stigma of Nazism and thus effectively rendering it socially acceptable,” Sundermeyer told Foreign Policy. This, he said, is exactly what has happened in Sonneberg.

The AfD’s new heartland, a remote part of the countryside, was part of the communist German Democratic Republic until reunification in 1990. Surrounded by hills in the Thuringian Forest, Sonneberg’s cobblestone main street and stately houses date back to the Wilhelminian era before the First World War. The nearest major highway is about a half-hour’s drive.

Since reunification, scores of people have migrated westward, leaving many homes empty. Residents say that young people here struggle with drug abuse; that there are few places for them to hang out; and that public transport isn’t adequately connecting the district’s farther, remote villages, making it more difficult to access educational and job opportunities. Since reunification, the country’s east has been catching up to the former West Germany in terms of economic opportunities, but in Sonneberg—and throughout former East Germany—many people continue to feel acutely disadvantaged.

A group of young men lingering after the demonstration echoed these complaints as they chain-smoked Marlboros and packed up whistles and flags. They had opted to move into practical professions—such as construction work, plumbing, and roofing—one explained, to help “build Sonneberg, and Germany overall.”

Attending the demonstration wearing their company uniforms—grey overalls and work pants—the men were initially hesitant to speak to the Lügenpresse, or “lying, mainstream press,” as they described it. “No names please,” they asked politely after agreeing to talk. (“Lügenpresse,” a term used by the Nazis, has resurfaced in Germany’s right-wing circles, as well as among allies of former U.S. President Donald Trump.)

“People call us ‘rats,’ just because we support the AfD,” one of the men said. “There’s no freedom of speech here, no freedom of thoughts. Our country gets involved in wars we don’t want to be part of. The government manipulates the press, our German culture, and our traditions are vanishing due to mass immigration—food and energy prices have skyrocketed. It’s worse than during the German Democratic Republic, and we desperately need change—we need an alternative.” He paused to take a long drag on his cigarette, then added: “Germany is for Germans first—we can’t help others if we’re not helping ourselves.”

“It’s a possibility that the party drifts too far to the right,” he said, “and that’s certainly not what we want. We don’t want a return of Nazi times, but we need change.”

The party’s policy platform is unabashedly far right. For instance, AfD’s stance on immigration is that “the ideology of multiculturalism is a serious threat to peace and to the continued existence of the nation as a cultural unit.” The party advocates for a “German dominant culture” based on the values of Christianity instead of multiculturalism. Africa, the party’s website states, is a “house of poverty,” arguing that migration from the continent needs to be capped.

During a covert meeting last November, uncovered by independent German investigative outlet Correctiv, AfD politicians, together with neo-Nazis and several wealthy business owners, discussed the “remigration” of millions of people—including German citizen—on the basis of racial and religious criteria.

The group of young men in Sonneberg who spoke with Foreign Policy talked about the need for the “remigration” of immigrants, too, and some even had written it on signs. After the rally, though, they headed to dinner at the only restaurant still open: a kebab house owned by an Iraqi Kurd. Their waiter was a Syrian man who arrived in Germany three years ago.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, at least 28.7 percent of Germany’s population—more than 1 in 4 people—have a migration background, meaning that they immigrated to Germany themselves or were born into families with a history of migration. Migration is on the up, with 2.1 million people arriving in Germany in 2015, and 2.6 million in 2022. Germany’s coalition government has said it aims to attract 400,000 qualified workers from abroad annually to tackle labor shortages and demographic imbalances.

The desire for strong leadership is also on the rise in Germany as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues. Several of the AfD’s members have called for a separation from NATO and even the EU; many have turned to Russia, at least rhetorically, arguing that Germany needs to work with its neighbors. Sundermeyer told Foreign Policy that “the AfD is deeply anti-American but pro- Russian; anti-NATO and -EU, but in favor of turning toward alternative government structures such as authoritarianism.”

Meanwhile, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser continuously calls right-wing extremism the “greatest extremist threat to Germany’s democracy.”

Still, for all the Sonneberg residents who voted for the AfD’s candidate, Sesselmann—who did not respond to interview requests by Foreign Policy—there are almost as many people who did not. And unless it’s during the weekly Monday demonstrations, people don’t usually flaunt their political opinions. The day after the weekly protest, at a food stall selling bratwursts during the lunch hour, conversations revolved around work, the weather, increased food and energy prices, and even Germany’s reunification—“before it, everything was better,” several people agreed.

“In Sonneberg, many voted AfD out of spite, while others don’t take an interest in politics but cast their votes for the AfD regardless,” said Regina Müller, a 61-year-old Green Party voter who owns an organic store decorated with anti-war slogans.

But, she added, “what many here don’t see is that [the AfD] are wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

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