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#which again. everyone can notice. but it also is a skill for sure built up over time.
thedevotionaltour · 2 months
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guy who has been getting really into character acting and focusing on it in their comic work: really appreciate the character acting in here. loving expressions. enjoying the poses.
#it feels silly to say HOWEVER i've seen a few ppl discuss how it seems there's been a somewhat noticeable loss#of highly considered character acting in some more recent comics. this isnt to say this is a current time exclusive issue of course#many many many comics through every single era of existence have had extremely unconsidered character acting#where expressions and body language are simply not considered. it is in fact very much a skill to do good character acting#like it's easy to do in a very basic sense everyone can. but to do it particularly well is on the same level of making it feel#like characters are TRULY interacting and touching on a page physically. which like seems easy. seems like everyone drawing can do it.#but once you see it REALLY pulled off especially well your standards get raised. and you notice little things like that a lot more.#what feels truly interactive vs what looks interactive vs what feels like placing stickers on top of each other.#which again. everyone can notice. but it also is a skill for sure built up over time.#but anyways. it's on that level where you start to notice what feels like just a throwaway pose bc someone needs a character standing#vs that character really would have their hands on their hips or arms crossed bc it fits who they are. silly as it sounds#it's like posture. not every character is the type to idly arm cross or hip hold the way others will stand up straight while others slouch#choosing if a character leans forward with their chest vs with their hips. do they typically keep themselves open? closed off? etc#it sounds silly to take so seriously. but like. it is a skill. it really is.#it is one that can take a character from just someone you have a sense of thru the text and can see them on a page#to feeling like you know them bc you see their mannerisms in tandem with their personality all in what the text is telling you.#so having the skill to nicely handle both subtle and exaggerated expressions and posing really does make a difference!!!#it really elevates it.#sorry to be so silly about all this i know it isnt that serious but i dont know. i like expression my admiration of it.#every artist can do character acting. but it is still in fact a skill to handle it really well bc not everyone does#i think my good hater example is like. why i have some bleh feelings towards certain popular pump it out fast webtoon styles.#bc it's so pump it out quick (which is another issue entirely) it loses a lot of stuff like this. characters are slapped onto a page#with slapped on expressions. and it feels like character acting isn't super considered. like theyre drawn fine and stuff.#but it doesnt always feel fit to the character or the situation etc etc from stuff i've seen.#like would a character express and stand like that? or is that just ur default go to bc it's a very easy way to show that.#silly nitpick but it's a real one i think that is valid to consider#and disclaimer no not all of them are like that clearly. but i dont think it's a close to zero number either. from my observations.
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xiiaomii · 2 months
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BEN Drowned
Headcanons !!
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Disclaimer before someone comes for me.. this is all my au!!! No, I am not using ‘my au’ as an excuse to be weird btw !! Majority of this won’t be canon in any sense and most of my account is nothing like the canon character.. so please don’t use my blog as a way to get canon information!! Just thought I’d put it out there before someone shits on my posts because it’s bound to happen soon 😞
Ben is the biggest blue razz flavour lover, aside from Laughing Jack, anything in that flavour he will absolutely devour it. (Totally canon, I’m Ben’s left big toe)
He will sometimes forget to eat, drink, change clothes and shower to play video games because of how infatuated he is with the game he is playing.
Flirts with all his friends in a joking way, everyone is his ‘pookie’ or something along the lines of that. Until he actually develops a crush on a specific person then he forgets his ‘flirting skills’ (that were never really skills, he just took some cringe pet names he overheard and started calling his friends them ironically).
Jokes about his trauma, you will rarely catch that mf talking about his past experiences in a serious, non-joking way. Doesn’t matter how bad his PTSD could be, he will never get caught being serious. (Probably a massive cry for help, just doesn’t know how to ask for it.)
Probably started vaping thinking it would make people in school like him, which it didn’t, then ended up doing weed to feel ‘happy’ with how everything was.
Sally is his little sister. Not biologically, he just kind of claimed her as a sister and she agreed since Ben is the only male in the house she can trust (since they’re similar in age range, Sally being 12 and Ben being 14 in my au).
RAGING aquaphobia, panic attacks and all sorts being near a certain amount of water he could be drowned in, not that anyone would do that to him again. Ben and Jeff was hanging out in the forest together once and Ben accidentally fell into a lake and started fully sobbing, first time he was caught crying by another creepypasta.
He was definitely one of them people with braces since the age of like 12 for having fucked up teeth, absolutely hating them and getting called train tracks at school atleast once a day.
Because he prefers to have longer hair, he probably forgot to cut his hair loads of times until he started to notice it turning into a bob hairstyle and cut it.
Grunge style, definitely called emo shit ton of times when he was alive and in school.
Somehow always smells of Lynx Africa.. (that one deodorant literally EVERY mf teenage boy has.)
Thanks for reading!! I really enjoy making head canons for creepypastas and seeing people genuinely enjoy my posts makes me so happy omg 😭🫶!! <3 Honestly, I’m 99% sure most of this fandom is built off headcanons anyways BUT I’m so glad I’m not getting shitted on for having some interests 🫶🫶. Saying that, I know not much of this is canon in the slightest but I’m planning on writing a story for my AU where it’ll make more sense soon!! <3 Also, might make a pt.2 for my Sally Williams head canons!!!!!!!!!
<33333
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samptlay · 1 month
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Could We Be High School Sweethearts? - Out on the Field
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A/N: shh... wdym it's almost been three weeks???
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How in the world can anyone work out in this weather? Maybe you should have been smarter when signing up for Athletics at a place where it’s always cold, there would never be a reason to stay inside. Even with your three workout jackets on, the cold seeps through them and you’re shivering.
The weather in Snezhnaya isn’t something you could easily get accustomed to. Of course, it’s only the normal human natural response when put into a new environment. But of course, he would want to add to your suffering rather than sparring it. 
As your class headed outside the track, Ajax somehow slipped behind you, silently watching how your body turned pale. He can’t help but tease you for it.
“Aw, can’t handle the cold? Believe it or not, today’s one of our warmer days. I’m scared to see how you’d do when winter actually hits.” So this was barely scratching the surface. That’s just amazing, isn’t it? Is it too late to fly back to Liyue? You’ve already seen three different individuals grab icicles from who knows where before starting to munch on them, with no one else batting an eye.
Yeah, maybe homeschooling isn’t as bad as you thought.
With a groan, you turn around and face the redhead and Ajax could tell you weren’t particularly happy with his comment. You could see the smirk on his face grow ever so slightly at the sight of your reaction and it only ticked you off further. 
“I- I don’t understand the people who can swim in this weather.  Also, no normal human should be able to survive in this climate.” You stutter out, and surely the whole world could hear the clattering of your teeth. Your body was not built for this.
“You’ll get used to it. But if it makes you feel better, I’m sure it’ll take me a while to adapt to Liyue once I go there… eventually.” That was some new information to your ears. Well to be honest you didn’t know much about this guy in the first place, so while everyone was lining up on the track, you got behind him and started your interrogation.
“Why would you ever go to Liyue?” The question wasn’t meant to sound harsh, it was formed by your genuine curiosity. You could see something change in his eyes, and it’s only then that you realize that he has no spark inside them.
Maybe you’ll ask about that later if they ever get closer.
“I’m going to be a Fatui Harbinger. I’m going to travel across Teyvat and see every nation, eat all their food, and bring back souvenirs for my siblings. So a little bit after I graduate, I'll be out of here and across the world. There’s more, but you need to learn that information.”
The line moves up when the coach calls out for the next row to go and Childe looks down at you to gauge your reaction to which you look back up at him blankly, the only sign that you heard him is your singular eyebrow raised.
“That’s- a nice dream to have. But… You realize that you’d have to be crazy strong and master so many skills to be able to merely get recognized by the Tsurista?” Now it's Childe’s turn to look confused. His eyebrows furrow, and he shapes his mouth in a way that looks like he just tasted something bad before his face suddenly goes blank again, with a slow smirk forming on his lips.
Right. Everyone on campus is aware of his skill, all except you. Well obviously you’re new so it’s only natural, but that doesn’t mean he’ll fight like he always does at the next monthly Sparring Competition, no he’d do the best he can. Ajax’s sure to knock all the wind out of your lungs the moment you see him against his opponent. But for now, he’ll just let you believe he’s an obnoxious rich kid who doesn’t know what he’s doing.
“Oh come on! Don’t go ahead and crush all my dreams like that with a reality check.” He winces, clutching his stomach as if he’s been hurt, but you both notice he’s next in line to run and he gets in his stance. You roll your eyes and watch as all the other kids follow his motions. “Aww, was that too harsh? Don’t worry, I’m sure you could be a Harbinger’s assistant if anythi-”
As soon as the couch blows the whistle, he leaves everyone behind in the dust. Well, snow in this case, even if there wasn’t lots of it on the athletics field. He was fast and flexible, you had to admit. Sprinting down the track with everyone cheering and clapping, girls practically squealing and you swore you saw him win at one. The wind blew through the strands of his messy hair perfectly and he had finished running the whole thing in under a minute.
In the cold. Shit, he’s good.
You hadn’t realized your jaw was dropped until he stopped running right in front of you, raised his hand to your face, and pushed your chin upwards, causing your cheeks to flush a bit. “Impressed, girly?” Childe suspected you as the Tsundere type, so he was taken off guard when a slight smile came onto your lips.
“I really have to say, I underestimated you. Good job, Ajax.” Huh. He didn’t expect to be getting praised if anything. He thought you would roll your eyes and sarcastically clap for him, not this. Childe still had his finger on your chin, and it's then that he actually took the time to look at you. You were… pretty. And your eyes stood out in the winter compared to all the white around, unlike his dull, soul-threatening ones. Then yours blink. Repeatedly. It’s only then he realizes that he’s so close to you, holding up your chin, and around a crowd. Childe quickly steps back and clears his throat.
“S-Sorry I was just-” “Newby you’re up!” The coach calls, and you quickly turn around, thankful for an excuse to get away. Getting away is something you want more than anything right now since no one had ever expressed interest like he did just now. So while everyone else in your row was getting into their position, you were only thinking of being done, finished and back inside a warm, toasty classroom.
Childe guesses that’s exactly what you were thinking because you were gone in a flash., leaving everyone bewildered.
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A Friendly Smile From the Past - 3
A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has been loving this story! It really means a lot to me! I am so sorry about the late update! I have been busy getting used to being back at university and I wasn't sure if I was happy with this chapter. Please let me know what you think!
Series Masterlist || Main Masterlist
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After a while of silence, Thor’s voice fills the space “We didn’t mean to leave you both fully out… it’s just… well Nat you decided to stay back here and we thought Y/N was in New York until Bucky told us you weren’t… we just decided you both wouldn’t want to see meetups that you wouldn’t be able to come”. He sighs softly his eyebrows scrunching hoping he had worded that properly.
Nat and I just remained silent taking in this information. The bell rings again and my eyes fall upon Bucky who walks in, his hands shoved in his pockets taking his place beside Steve. I’ve always noticed that when he isn’t feeling confident or is feeling nervous he inches closer to Steve. He’s done it ever since we were little. 
“We should be able to move past this right? We were friends and still are friends - time doesn’t change that fact” Wanda says a determined look in her eye. She always had a stubborn side and would always win a lot of the arguments that occurred. 
“ Uh okay…” falls out of my mouth, quickly glancing at Nat who nods stiffly. The first step is to talk things through to fix the distance we all seem to feel. That will seem to come through explanation. “Why don’t we all catch up?” she says softly while ushering everyone towards the biggest booth in the back of the bar that would fit us all. I look towards Clint for help getting alcohol because boy oh boy will we need it. 
As we head over with glasses, bottles of alcohol and mixers, after placing them on the table I look around and notice I’ll need to bring over a stool to fit in the space. However, before I could move Clint pulls me into his lap and a little squeal escapes my lips in shock at the action. “You comfy?” He asks and I nod my head blushing not catching the fact that Bucky’s jaw clenches and his hands tighten on the table in front of him making him look uncomfortable. I lean back and tilt my head up so my mouth is on his ear “ You sure you’re fine with me sitting on you?” I whisper into his ear. He chuckles from my breath tickling his ear “ Yes sugar, I’m getting great pleasure from this” , he whispers back glancing in Bucky’s direction with a slight smirk gracing his face. 
Everyone slowly begins to talk about everything that has happened in their lives since we left college. I listen intensely wanting to capture every word falling out of their mouths. Thor worked his way up in a construction company, Bruce is a head surgeon at a top hospital, Sharon was currently working for a mayor, Tony and Pepper had gotten married and had built a tech empire that has spread across the globe. Wanda and Vis are engaged. Wanda teaches in a high school while Vis works an office job for Tony. Sam owns and runs his own restaurant in NYC which has become very popular. Steve is still playing football as a professional. 
While Steve is talking about playing football and his life I observe Nat and how she clings to every word spoken. The emotion in her eyes makes my heart ache, I even see a glimpse of hope when Steve mentions that he is still single. His eyes shift towards Nat as he says this and I know deep down that he wants her back. I feel Clint squeeze my hip knowing he saw what I had. After Steve finishes he nods towards Nat who mentions that she’s been living here and working as my personal assistant while also picking up a few skills in the legal world along the way. She then looks between Bucky and me to see who is going to go next. 
I open my mouth to speak but Bucky beats me to it. “I don’t understand why I have to explain what has happened in my life to people who didn’t want to stick around to be in it,” he says, his voice harsh, I can feel the cold sneaking into my heart, each word a jab. I watch Clint roll his eyes “Oh please, get off your high horse. Like you don’t know Nat and Y/N’s personalities and there must have been a good reason or they believed they had a good reason as to why they decided to do what they did” . 
Bucky scoffs his lips pouting slightly, a tell that he isn’t actually angry he’s disappointed, but you have to look closely to tell. He’s disappointed that I didn’t tell him what was happening. I look at the table when I feel his stare on me. I don’t want him to know that I can still read him even after all this time apart. “Fine. I worked my way up the ladder in my father’s NYC company site and took over as CEO”. My eyes flicker up in surprise meeting his knowing that he never wanted to be a CEO. I purse my lips ready to ask why he took over but he starts talking about how he helped invest in Sam’s restaurant as a side business. After he finishes speaking about what he’s been up to, he turns slightly to face me “Your turn, why didn’t you come to NYC?” He spits out but as I meet those beautiful blues I can see the truth swimming behind them ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ . 
I sigh softly as I know this is what everyone is most looking forward to. I take a deep breath in and let it out slowly as I begin. 
“Okay, bear with me while I explain this,” I say my voice wobbly as I feel everyone’s gaze on me. “When we were in university, I told everyone that I had taken up tutoring some law papers. I had tutored, but some of the tutoring sessions were actually helping take dad to the hospital for his appointments. In our final year, Dad found out he had terminal cancer, with his separation from mum I was the only one he could really rely on. So, even though our relationship was rocky I stuck by his side. He didn’t want anyone to know, he made me swear by it. I helped him through his treatments and when university was about to end, his health took a turn for the worst. I declined my job offer in NYC, and I got someone to take over my lease. Nat actually found me sneaking out one night and followed me back to Dad’s place as he was having trouble taking his medicine. He thought I had ratted to Nat - it was not a good night. I took a position close to home so that I could be there for Dad and Mum. I know I didn’t tell you guys and maybe I should have but I didn’t want to have to burden you all with this.” I sigh softly before looking at Steve “I’m incredibly sorry that because of my familial problems, Nat decided to stay here with me instead of moving with you”.
Steve looks upset but shakes his head. “Don’t be ridiculous, if she didn’t stay then she wouldn’t be Nat. That’s who she is, growing up she always chose you over everyone and you would do the same. Sure it would have been nice to be included in the big picture as to what was happening but I understand why you chose not to tell us.” The soft smile on his face eases my nerves. 
Bucky’s hand slams against the table and the sound echoes a bit, glasses shake a little “But why couldn’t you tell us, why couldn’t you tell me? I thought we were best friends?” “Buck, I-” “It’s James to you” I jerk back taken in surprise and I feel tears begin to form in my eyes. I nod my head slowly coming to terms with him wanting me to call him James. A name he reserves for those he does not feel comfortable with, for those he is acquaintances with, and for those he is not close with. I bite my lip to keep myself from crying, I can feel Clint rubbing my back in comfort, his other hand clenched in a fist. 
As I begin to speak again the bell on the front door rings. Everyone’s heads turn to see who it is. I squint my eyes in confusion as to why my intern Peter is at the door with his girlfriend holding a yellow envelope. “Uh sorry to interrupt” he speaks. 
“What do you want Parker? I’m on bereavement leave, anything work-related stays away from me” I spit out annoyed. 
“Miss Y/N, this is urgent. It arrived two hours ago, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you since then. I know it’s not ideal but I had to give you a warning.” My face scrunches up in annoyance as I stand up and as I see the envelope I take a step back and hold my hand out in front of me to stop him from coming closer. 
“Parker, if that is what I think it is, keep it away from me.” I gulp slowly fear beginning to creep in. I glance at Nat her eyes widened as she stands up, holding onto my arm as she takes in the envelope. A soft “No” falls from her lips.
“It is. He’s out on bail.”
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sixcostumerefs · 1 year
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Could you explain why NCL has started hiring three rehearsal swings instead of two? And why they're opting to stick with the three-cover system rather than the two-cover one?
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@fandomfan246 I drafted like 90% of this a few months ago so some of it (particularly bringing back several rehearsal alts as principals) is much more obvious now, just a heads up. We've also seen Jaelle LaGuerre with now only one rehearsal cover. --------------
All of the NCL contracts would have had to be renegotiated when coming back from Covid closures, and some would have been again since (Six seems to have for one). I would guess that during that Six renegotiated their contract with NCL to increase the number of rehearsal alts that they want to have for any given NCL cast (as in Bliss 4.0, Bliss 5.0, etc). I'd guess that that's why we've seen that increase from a "who decided that" standpoint. As for why... - There's the basic job description of needing actors who already know the show and can go onboard if any onboard actors are unable to continue with the show. However, it's built into their contracts that they're allowed to go on to pursue other shows instead, so not every rehearsal alt will be available at every point during their productions' run. The more rehearsal alts you have, the higher the likelihood that you'll have someone available if needed. - Rehearsal swing contracts get used as a launchpad for an actor to get another onboard contract with Six on NCL. Several Broadway shows (Aladdin, Hamilton, Moulin Rouge, among others) have a portion of the try-out process called workshops/intensives: they cast an ensemble cast from auditions to take part in a week-ish long intensive where they learn some of the major numbers in the show. It's no guarantee of being hired by the show, but actors who take part often are. It gives the creative team a chance to see performers in action in a more show-like environment than auditions, see who might work best in which track, who might work well as a swing, etc, and have actors available who have learned enough of a show that they can join a production at a moment's notice if a position opens up. Six NCL rehearsal alts seem to have a similar function or benefit: it gives the actor an additional contract to learn the full shows' material and the ins and outs of the show, which is especially valuable in terms of assigning future swings/dance captains/show captains (Amy Bridges and Sarah McFarlane became show captain, Princess Victome returned as an alt). It gives Six (and the actor!) a chance to see how the actor works in the production, if they might be a better fit as a principal or if they have a skill set that's great for being a swing (or dance/show captain), and which principal roles an actor might be the best fit for. - But that's yet another barrier to rehearsal alt availability. Like if there's only two rehearsal alts, an A/C/P and a B/S/H, and the A/C/P gets asked to join a different ship/contract as principal Aragon, but a few weeks later the Aragon or Cleves or Parr on their initial rehearsal alt contract has to drop out....they now don't have that initial rehearsal alt available. So having several rehearsal alts gives them more room to move everyone around AND still have coverage as needed. - I'll also note that they've been really focusing in recent months on each rehearsal alt having one or two priority covers (which it seems like are essentially a try out for them to get a principal contract in). While they're meant to learn all their tracks on their own at least, those are the ones they focus on in rehearsal and are able to actually do cover runs for. If you have an A/C/P whose priority covers are A and C but you need a P to jump on ship at the last second, of course I'm sure they could do it but it could make things easier if there's already someone who was priority P and has already done cover runs as such.
and for 3 vs 2 vs 1 covers: - Rehearsal alts getting promos with a future contract are usually joining those as a principal. (Like I said above, many of the rehearsal alt contracts seem to be essentially a tryout where most then get a principal offer rather than swing) - And if a rehearsal swing jumps on a ship at the last second, it's almost always going to be as a principal. It's just so much easier logistically. If they do a situation like they did with Bryony, where they promote the onboard alt and bring in a new alt, they have to find a rehearsal alt who has the same cover combo as that initial onboard alt, do all the cover runs and brush up ASAP to make sure that new alt is ready, and rush to either make three new costumes or find three old ones that fit well enough that they can be repurposed for that new alt, especially now that they don't use alt costumes. They got lucky that Lori fit Bryony's costume, but her covers didn't match up so they got a weird situation with Bryony as principal AND cover and Lori just as understudy H. All around it is MUCH easier to just promote a rehearsal alt straight to principal: then they just have to make or repurpose one costume rather than three, and only have to do put in runs for them in one role. (We saw that with Bliss 4.0) - So...rehearsal alts don't need three covers; they just need to be in for whatever covers NCL might be seriously considering giving them an onboard contract as. For some of them it might be that they're in consideration as an alt with three covers, but for others it might be that they're just considering one or two principal roles and there's not really a need for a third.
And re: "they've only ever needed to send one rehearsal swing onboard." You're right that they've only needed to send one onboard after the show started! But they've needed to send actors who were initially rehearsal swings onboard quite a bit more than that. There have been several times where a rehearsal swing replaced the originally cast principal a few days into rehearsals or in the few days/week or two immediately before. NCL casts in particular tend to have a lot of movement (not just for Six but in general) so having more rehearsal alts contracted from the start also helps fill in any openings that might arise before they even get to the ship.
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12pt-times-new-roman · 9 months
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"Sleight burst in time" excuse me?? what does that MEAN, matthew?? (I'm sure it's just hand-waving the time disparity, which is totally fine, but I wouldn't be surprised if this actually meant something)
"You're abstaining from being undecided?" "Yeah!" Never change, Ashton.
That's the thing, though. FCG is the only one who's staunchly pro-gods, yes, but everyone else is undecided -- they don't have the information they need. Chetney is right, history is written by the winners and the gods have almost always won, they don't know the other side of the story; but when the other side of the story is something that the Ruby Vanguard wants, you'd think that would be a moon-sized red flag. The issue is that the Bells Hells are not grasping or being reminded that the Vanguard is the fucking problem.
They need information they don't have, and now that they're in a place as ancient as Zephrah, they might finally be able to find it. Questioning Predathos' badness is, well, questionable, but not unreasonable; when the Ruby Vanguard wants it, it's probably bad. But questioning whether Ludinus is evil or not, like Laudna just did? Nah. That's not a fucking question, it's not a gray area. And I also just noticed that no one has mentioned Otohan during these arguments in at least a dozen episodes, which is.... concerning.
They continue to head farther into the Gray Valley. They pass by a massive patch of desecrated ground where the ghosts of soldiers still drift, like in the Barbed Fields. "A part of history forced to relive itself over and over again." Beyond that, a hill with a massive cleft down the middle with a structure that's emanating a smell of burning meat.
is.... is that the worst group stealth check they've ever had? 7 fails against 4 successes?
Time for combat! 2 vrocks descend on them.
It's definitely interesting that Matt isn't putting them in initiative order. This is a pretty easy encounter for their level, and maybe it's because of that or because it was a failed stealth check (hence why he doesn't have a map ready), but iirc last time they tried to do combat without initiative order it did not go well, so this not being an absolute clusterfuck is a testament to their skill tbh
They continue to approach the hill. They see a stone fort, very well-built but heavily damaged, at the base of the cleft. There are a few small plumes of smoke rising from it.
Orym recognizes this as the Erudin Bastion, an extension of a temple to Bahamut built in the center of the Gray Valley to keep watch on the demonic activities here. It acted as an early warning system for abyssal incursions from the area. But Chetney, using grim psychometry has a vision, red, like he's looking through a stained glass window. Not long ago, this structure was active, people walked it; then, shouts, flames, dark energy. One by one, the screams are snuffed. Not more than a few days ago.
Well, I don't think Matt could make this any more clear to them.
The team splits up. Half of them climb up the hill with the intent to feather fall down, while the other sneaks up on the ground.
From above, they see the remnants of a terrible battle, bodies and limbs put up on pikes as decoration. Little impish demons fly throughout. A few larger figures walk about this demonic "encampment," warriors with massive swords and wings, keeping watch and looking around. They also make out three iron cages that hold humanoid captives. Lastly, on a stage-like platform, some imps are drawing multiple large ritual circles -- they're building something, preparing something.
Hey, remember last time we saw this happening? Remember how those demons were making ritual circles intended to bring more demons through? Remember how they were working for Tharizdun?
oh so that's why this episode is 5 hours long. that's big map
And, just to top it all off, a massive demon with fur and little wings lands from above.
FCG casts tongues so they can understand them. The larger demon speaks: "hurry, I must feast soon. Prepare, then celebrate."
From an alcove, something grabs one of the sentries, there's a burst of flame, and the sentry doesn't come back out. A figure emerges -- a humanoid, deep red skin, a mane of grayish hair and a beard, handlebar horns, and leathery wings. It seems like this is a fiend (possibly a devil of some kind, based on the red skin) who's taking out these demons. (the way I thought this was Ryn at first--)
Ashton putting the immovable rod in the hammer is so fucking cool!!! That's so sick. Tal really channeled Percy with that one.
Matt is good at miming??? (Also, who gave Sam access to verbs?)
Now we roll initiative. I get the feeling that this combat will take up the majority of the rest of the episode.
In one of the cages, Orym sees two figures: a female soldier with a broken arm, and a small gnomish figure with tattered Tempest Blade armor.
Fearne makes it to the seemingly-friendly fiendish creature. "Who are you?" "A friend." They, with a 30 persuasion check from Fearne, steps into the light. "I have no friends. But for now, we are not enemies." They step past Fearne and raise their sword.
Matt's using the Obann mini, so I'm assuming this guy is some kind of devil. Which has some fucking wild implications regarding the Betrayer Gods right now, if devils are actively fighting against abyssal holds on Exandria.
FCG gets stress points from using bonded blessing?
Imogen casts minute meteors! (I've always pronounced it minUTE, not MINute, but whatever.) this is one of my all-time favorite spells, and I think it's what widogast's web of fire was based on.
Their devil non-enemy flies over to one of the demons, and their sword does radiant damage! They deal a shit ton of damage (84!), and they're a fucking paladin multiclass who can cast 7th level spells.
Laudna using form of dread, unlocking the cage, shouting "you're free!", then immediately climbing into the cage herself is peak comedy.
Oh hey! Ashley remembered enhanced bond!
The devil takes more strikes against the demons. They get a flanking bonus with Chetney, so they are -- at leash mechanically -- considered an "ally." They deal 56 damage with 2 attacks, and Chetney flirts with them.
Chetney gets a kill with bloated agony! To the devil, "now, the big one." "Do not give me orders."
After three disarming strikes, Orym finally disarms the largest demon, and sends its sword spiraling to the ground.
Some vrocks come flying in, piling on. At this point, it's pretty clear that Matt intends for them to release the people in these cages so they can help, because this encounter is far more than the Bells Hells can handle alone.
FCG's spell save is 15?? That's so fucking low, what the hell? At level 10, their save should be at least 17.
Ohhhh, that's also an interesting rules interaction! Because Ashton's subclass is custom, I can't comment on it as extensively, but. One of Ashton's abilities pushes the creature they hit 5 feet away, breaking the grapple the creature had on them.
Imogen goes down, and Laudna challenges the demon that did it. "Let's go, bitch."
Orym makes a devastating blow against the main demon creature in protection of Laudna and Imogen and everyone in the cages.
Gods, Laudna just throwing everything into this one turn after the demon knocks Imogen unconscious, unloading all her spells trying to get away and deal damage........ cinematic glory. AND THEN Marisha using a nat1 to reinforce their love, to just simply stand between Imogen and the demon in her form of dread? peak pining lesbian romance. peak "oh god I'm in love with my best friend and I can't let the rest of the friend group know" energy. FCG gets Imogen up with a healing word, she prevents it from taking reactions, and she quickens invisibility on both her and Laudna. what a fucking turn, Laura Bailey--
"In her head, she hears, 'run away.'" "I say back, 'you do the same.'" And Imogen, because the demon can't take an attack of opportunity, just fucking bolts away.
The devil paladin takes their turn again, pumping a divine smite into their attack. They kill one demon with 77 points of damage, then darts to another one.
A voice enters Chetney's mind. "Take what you have taken. Together, we will do great things." Achievement unlocked: Travis gets a sentient sword
and the main demon teleports away. Orym, holding on to it, falls to the ground. It attempts to make an escape (♫ make an escape ♫). However, the people within the cages begin to make their way out.
As combat winds down, Fearne gets the HDYWTDT on the primary demon leader. Her spell glitters over them, causing lots of pain while looking like an absolutely beautiful display of vines and glitter.
The threat, in the moment, is quelled. Ashton checks, and the power being directed to the ritual circles is interrupted, and they are broken. The Bells Hells breaks open the rest of the cages -- in them, there are two members of the Tempest Blades (Jennis and Errana) and Bearnie, Orym's sister, tending to a dislocated shoulder. Orym bolts into a run toward Bearnie, who runs and gives him a hug. "Take it slow, take it slow." There's a heaping sob before she pulls away from Orym. "I knew they'd come for us, but I didn't think it'd be you." "It's just chance... the Tempest sent us out, just in time, it looks like." "I think so."
The devil lands nearby and approaches. "I am Tevon Klaust... I am one of the many champions of Asmodeus; some watch his domain, and others, like me, act in many realms. To some, I am known as the retribution of the Hells -- an infiltrator, assassin, and scout. To me? I do what is necessary. To whom do you owe fealty?" "Myself." "You... you are outside the knotted weave. While I know not the details, something brews in Exandria that has left my lord shaken, and me with the unique orders to, unless aggression comes to me, work with those who work under the Prime Deities or outside of them. You are lucky today that we meet on common ground; the future does not hold so much grace." "So you're working to help the gods?" "I'm working to help my god. And in some ways, all of the gods, in this moment. Remember they are brethren... this armistice has historical precedent, so do not feel nervous. Enjoy it while it lasts -- lest you seek new interests in your future? There are many gifts that are granted on certain paths."
Fearne holds his attention. "What does that entail, if I were to follow Asmodeus?" "An eternity of purpose, strength, and pleasures for those who fall under his shadow. You walk in the mud of the lowly demon princes. They are outside the divine order and likely stir in the wake of these times; pay them no mind. They are chaos without meaning." He takes Fearne's hand and kisses it. Her hand burns -- but burning doesn't frighten her. On her center knuckle, there's almost a tattoo of a black horned crown (the holy symbol of Asmodeus). "We are allies today. Perhaps, in the future, we will be allies again. The path is open; all you need to do is ask for his aid. Do you accept these terms?" "Let's do it, I'm in." "The pact is sealed... we will meet again." "Promise?" "Unbindingly."
I'm--
Oh no.
He flies up and speaks down to them. "The sky goes red to the south. I think our destinies are entwined." He teleports away.
This just made it so fucking clear that the Bells Hells know criminally little about the pantheon for people acting like they have any kind of authority to decide whether they live or die.
Bearnie led the expedition and expected to use the Bastion as a place of safety, unaware that it had fallen. The survivors were kept for a celebratory feast, for when they brought through the rest of their group. The main demon called itself Extevass the Gluttonous, a servant of Vrudaulin, a demon prince.
They scavenge for materials and head out into the Gray Valley. Bearnie leads them to a hillside, where she magically carves a cavern and closes it behind them for an enclosed campsite.
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aubigney · 1 year
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an anecdote.
i have this one student (i'll call him jeff) who, at first, i thought was going to be a bit of a problem for me. i thought jeff was going to be belligerent and willingly obtuse, and honestly that's my horrible problem, and it's something i'm really ashamed of. but as we've had about 4 or 5 lessons now, i've come to get to know him better and i've noticed some things. first, even though he is falling behind in english, he is incredibly bright. we have some of the best chats i've had with students -- the last lesson we had, we ended up talking about ecofascism, which led to fascism, which led to terfs (trans exterminatory radical fascists as i like to call them). second, he is incredibly curious about the world. i always encourage my students to google/search online for things that they're not sure of, and he does it! he asked me the question of why students still study shakespeare when it's so inaccessible, and i went on this whole thing about how that at the centre of every literary text is a universal truth that transcends space, time and culture. i also introduced jeff to beowulf and the works of sappho, and he was like, why aren't we learning about these writers??? the best answer i could come up with is because a) the school system is based on standardised testing and if everyone is graded on the same scale the government can see how each school compares and allocates money accordingly (wrongly) and b) teachers get into teaching with very lofty ideas about changing lives and helping students reach their potential but in actual fact they are given very little control over what they teach and how they can actually help students because, again, school is built on standardised testing and rote learning. and now my lessons with jeff have become some of my favourite because he is so curious and interested in literature. it's so obvious to me now that he's so much smarter than the shit he's forced to go through at school, and honestly? most of my students are. all of my students have the same problem: in a system based on standardised testing and rote learning, people who can't keep up or can't slow down fall through the cracks. all of my students are incredibly bright and lovely kids and it's an absolute shame that the system inflicted on them makes them think they're too stupid to pass classes that don't matter and reduces them to a statistic. this might be talking myself up a little but the lessons i've had with my students have helped them so much more than any class they've had with 30 other kids who don't get the attention they all deserve. these one-on-one sessions have allowed me to see the future and who's going to be leading it, and it's these kids who have been told again and again they're too stupid to matter. it's so important to me to make sure my students know they matter and that school is just one part of their life, not the be all and end all of it. days like these i'm so glad i'm a tutor and not a teacher because i can do so much more good with my 30 or so students than i could as an authority figure in front of 30 students every period five periods a day five days a week. the advice i would give to anyone seeking to be a teacher, if you have these lofty ideas of changing minds and hearts, which you should if you want to be a teacher: be a tutor first. understand students one on one before you tackle them 30 on one. the school system will change, and if you want to be a part of overhauling it then it starts from the ground up. learn how to help individuals before you can help groups. i unfortunately don't have the contacts, reputation or skills to overhaul a system i'm on the periphery of, but teachers do. teachers have the chance to make school better for every student they teach. and they have the opportunity to meet some really cool kids in the process.
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eternalstrigoii · 1 year
Text
Fifteen for Fifteen Meme Tagged by @raointean
1. Are you named after anyone?
I don’t think so? I think my mom just liked my name....which is funny because I don’t go by it anymore.
2. When was the last time you cried?
Haven’t the slightest, tbh. Wanted to cry, today. Actually cried? Not entirely sure. It might’ve been the day I found out my neighbor passed only a week after being diagnosed with metastatic cancer.
3. Do you have kids?
I have pets and that’s slightly less expensive but more rewarding. Fight me on it.
4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Not as much as I used to. I’m more of a deadpan snarker like a proper Addams.
5. What's the first thing you notice about people?
>shrugs< I’m more of a once-over type. Your vibes do the distinguishing.
6. What's your eye color?
Hazel
7. Scary movies or happy ending?
A well-written movie has both.
8. Any special talents?
I am a goddamned freak of nature. Animals love me, plants thrive for me, and most things I can pick up on relatively quickly and with photographic memory-like accuracy. Until it comes to sports and/or math.
9. Where were you born?
In a building.
10. What are your hobbies?
I haven’t had proper hobbies in a hot minute. I’m going to get more serious about gardening (again) this year, and I don’t count care tasks as a hobby. I’ve gotten fond of interior decorating, the more macabre the better (fuck you, white people who can only design in farmhouse-minimalist-modernism with emphasis on pale neutrals). I sew, but that’s more of a practical skill than a hobby, though I’d like to take up cross-stitch and crochet. Maybe knitting. (You know, more practical skills.) That’s the same way I feel about cooking even though I do enjoy it. I’m learning how to roller skate instead of just roller blade. Learning how to take apart my bike and put it back together so I can do my own repairs (but I don’t know if I can count that as a hobby vs a practical skill, either.) I read. I have a formal degree in writing, though I’m SUPPOSED to do it for pleasure, too. I enjoy the outdoors and am (forcing) myself to spend more time birdwatching this year. ....I have a duolingo. (I think I might actually have hobbies even if I have to force myself to engage with them sometimes)
11. Have you any pets?
That implies they aren’t my kids. I have kitties, pups, fish, and -- soon! -- a tarantula. I had a tarantula. He passed about a year ago. I want another, I just had to work up to emotionally being ready again. My love for lil creatures is limitless. People, not so much.
12. What sports do you play/have you played?
This is gonna be the most “yeah, you’re Goth For A Reason” answer you’re ever gonna hear, but: I was a child ballerina. I did cheer. I also did tap. I also did martial arts for several years. Horseback riding. Now I’m into roller skating and cycling, though the latter is more of a transit + aesthetic thing than competitive. I do also enjoy swimming, hiking, climbing, and being able to out-lift most guys. I also would’ve done kickboxing but the panini hit, and I wanted to attend the Sword Gym in the city, but Expensive.
13. How tall are you
5′6′’. It works out now that I’m built like a werewolf.
14. Favorite subject in school?
English/”Language Arts” for early schooling and Horror Writing in college....for obvious reasons ;)
15. Dream job?
I want to hit the NYT bestseller list so I can make everyone subject to my bullshit on a regular basis. Succeed at everything and retain a captive audience afterward? 20/10, seems like a great idea. (It would be nice to Day Job back with animals, but only part time, and at a living wage.)
Tagging: tbd lemme see which of my mutuals I haven’t targeted lately >)
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guessimate · 1 year
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I hope everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving had a good time and you got some good Black Friday deals.
~*~
I rolled #55 Swimming in dough for the Imago-Jenkins household, and then I rolled that Sibyl won a swimming race and got 600$ for it. I didn’t give them the money till the end of the round to make the calculations easier for myself. Additionally, Sibyl discovered that she Loves to Swim. It makes sense she would win a competition like this, as her Body skill is almost maxed out. Sibyl aged up in the green [almost gold] but she didn’t manage to fulfill her want of maxing out Fitness enthusiasm, so she probably doesn’t have much time left in her elderly years.
However, there wasn’t any place where my sims could swim – I didn’t have a swimmable pond or anything. So, I built a bathhouse/beach community lot. It’s really cheap in comparison to my Ancient Roman bathhouse – it has a really small swimming pool, a sauna, a hot tub, a community shower and a regular bathtub. There isn’t any building on this lot, besides the sauna room, as I couldn’t afford it. With the beach lot in town poor townsfolk can now work on their creativity, by building castles here (at least when it’s not snowing)!
The whole lot cost ~16.000, but that was caused mostly by the fact that even the smallest beach lot is very expensive. There was ~14.550$ in the treasury at the time of building the lot, and I think even the tax from this round should all go towards the building of this establishment (so the treasury is empty again). The Church had some money left in the bank, but I don’t think they would help fund a lot like this.
This was a last-minute occasion to add a lot like this to the town, as winter is coming. The lot is the very first lot that has access to the beach [besides the castle] and it is on the edge of the town, close to the Gardiners’ house, in the “exiled” place, as Church was not very fond of these establishments, as far as I know.
Unfortunately, I seem to have some bug with community lots, and almost no-one ever comes to them. I’m going to pretend that’s because the beach lot is frowned upon by the Church, for now. It might be because this lot is so far away from the main area of town. It’s the most secluded community lot, so I’m sure some Romance sims will appreciate it as a place for their affairs.
~*~
Thankfully the ROS in this family didn’t kill anyone, as the household has been through enough tragedies already. Digory Imago passed away during the war and his remains were returned to Drifa, who is officially an orphan now. For some reason I got a notification about Drifa earning bad reputation, possibly because of the drama I noticed on community lots, while she was interacting with some other teen girls... or maybe she earned it just because she’s an orphan, who knows.
On Sunday she invited Bay on a date to go steady with him. He brought her a stereo, which I’m obviously not going to use, but perhaps I can pretend that they will get some other object that works like a stereo for their wedding day.
Newly aged-up Grace Jenkins is also quite sad that her almost-stepfather died [he taught her toddler skills]. Grace got her last trait when she aged up into a Pleasure-seeking teen, and she has a Green Thumb now. She keeps wanting to influence someone to garden. I guess she’ll be happy to overtake the old house of the Imagos and do foraging.
~*~
They started with 1575$ in the bank, but they really started with 750$ and had to pay taxes on anything above that [of that amount 385$ was inherited by Drifa from a deceased friend and 440$ was earned by her at the Church at the very end of the previous round]. Drifa also earned 50$ as a midwife, but I kept it in her wallet. It’s fine in my view, I already made her pay for the inheritance.
They sold 60 different plants for 1717$ total. They ended up with 3292$, so they earned 2542$.
500$ – rent.
~1000$ – tax.
~200$ – treasure tax (they dug up some sculpture worth 280$).
= 1700$ to the treasury (total money earned by the crown = 120,200$).
~250$ – tithe.
100$ – burial fee.
= 350$ to the Church (total Church earnings = 19,950$).
After paying off the taxes they were left with 1242$. I will add the reward of 600$ to their funds. This reward alone could actually pay for both girls’ dowries, but Drifa already earned hers, on her own.
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natewriteslol · 3 years
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May I request a reaction(?)/headcanon?
(twst boiz }:‑))
Rook, Sebek, Idia, Jack and Azul reacting to a secretly ripped reader.
Explanation!: Reader wears a lot if oversized stuff, lazy af, tends to skip PE classes and etc. You know acting like they're weak and stuff while in reality they're just lazy. For some reason Vargas saw the potential and the true power in reader, so he decided to add them to the team of [insert a really brutal sport or smt]. Everyone r like: "Y?? They weak!" When it's Readers time to enter the game, they take their hoodie off and omG those muscles. I swear someone fainted right on spot. And someone went 🧎🤰 After Absolutely destroying opponents team, they're just like "ok, I did the thing! Now I want my super duper rare chips".
A/N: This is such a creative premise, thank you for sending it!!
MC goes by they/them pronouns :)
Warnings: none except that MC takes off their shirt
Honestly Y/N was known to be one of the most laziest people on campus, so lazy that it even rivaled Leona! Which there has to be some form of intervention for them because it’s just getting out of hand. And while it benefitted in certain situations, such as annoying Grim to actually start moving his lazy ass around the house, or bullies leaving them alone since Y/N couldn’t bother to muster a reaction.
However they continued to skip P.E classes, and just all around not doing anything. So it came to a surprise that when they were called to Vargas’ office.
“Wait. Y/N where are you going?” Ace questioned, as their friend went with their backpack toward the door.
“I got an interview with Vargas for something. Watch Grim for me please, later” they replied relaxed. And while both Deuce and Ace questioned what their friend was going to be interviewed for, the pair just looked at each other, shrugged and went back to their schoolwork.
Once Y/N got to Vargas’ office, they sat on the chair on the other side of his desk. The student gazed at the sports paraphernalia on the walls, before Vargas started talking.
“Well Y/N, I bet you’re wondering why I called to talk to you?” He asked.
“Yup” the student said, keeping their answers short and concise.
“You tend to skip my classes a great amount, and while both you and Grim are enrolled as one student your lack of participation is dropping your grade,” Vargas said while standing up.
Y/N started to feel bad, sure they didn’t really care to participate but they didn’t want to inconvenience Grim.
“But, I will promise you one thing, I can feel the potential in you Y/N!” the man said excitedly, slightly spooking you. “As a man who is incredible person overflowing with talent,” Vargas started,
‘Wowee, pretty narcissistic’ you thought, but then you started to pay attention again.
“I can see greatness within others, it’s almost like my 6th sense. And I can feel it within you. Now all I ask of you Y/N, is that you participate in the Great Dodging Tournament try outs. And I will raise your grade” The older man offered, Vargas really believed in you.
And that really put a smile on your face, “You know what, I’ll do it.”
“Thanks kiddo!” the man boomed with a great smile on his face while ruffling your head.
I mean, if he’s this excited you can try for him.
~
It was tryouts, Deuce and Ace were a little apprehensive for Y/N to be participating. I mean the Great Dodging Tournament involves one person dodging great magical attacks from the opposite team, in order to get at least one of the balls from the other team. And while you didn’t technically need magical powers to compete, it certainly did help.
“Y/N L/N, you’re up!” It was their turn. Whispers broke out, everyone didn’t understand why they were even allowed to participate.
“Have you even seen them run?” Someone whispered.
The heat was rising despite it being the afternoon, “Damn, I’m getting hot” Y/N says and they start to strip, taking off their oversized shirt.
What came to a great surprise was their physique, incredibly ripped abs. Strong shoulders, back and arms now exposed to everyone.
They did absolutely fantastic for their tryouts, moving across the field with great speed, dodging every single attack and they were able to take 2 out of the 7 balls from the other team. Y/N was excellent, and absolute essential to the Great Dodging Tournament team. Every person was in great shock, they didn’t even break a sweat.
“Alrightie! Now where’s my snacks?” They said, sitting down on the bench.
Rook:
-Oh mon cherie, what have you been hiding from him? ~
-Rook had alot of information on almost everyone at the school, so this definitely came to a shock to him
-A strong advocate for keeping them shirtless all the time
-I mean Y/N lays around all the time, they might as well look good while doing it
-It's just him and Sebek arguing (well it's Sebek who is actually arguing) about what Y/N should do once they come back: Shirt or no shirt?
-He’s very impressed with their strengt and willpower to get that physique
-Very mischievously looks down at Y/N while they complete their audition
-Rook I love you but what are you planning-
Sebek:
-He goes bright red, and starts yelling at Y/N to put a shirt on
-”I-it’s inappropriate for you to be walking around like this! Do you humans not have any shame?!”
-”D-don’t come closer! I don’t want a hug from you!”
-W-what? How could he miss that this mere human held this much power?
-He was incredibly observant (or so he claimed)
-Sebek didn’t know weak, puny humans could possess that type of strength
-If Y/N as a non-magic user were able to obtain this level of power, you were a threat
-Definitely not intimidated by them (he lowkey is intimidated by them)
-While he’s still incredibly opposed to Y/N’s lazy behaviors, he has a newfound respect for them
-Later on he thinks about it more and is marching to their dorm inorder to force them into doing more powerful stuff
-”YOU COULD HAVE GREAT LEVELS OF POWER, JUST WORK YOU LAZY HUMAN!”
-” Naw man, but since you’re up can you get the tv remote? It’s pretty far.”
Idia:
-Of course this happens the one time he goes outside in person!
-Erupts into flames and has a bright ass blush
-Has Ortho calm down his flames with his built in fans
-Idia literally hides inside his hoodie so that no one could notice him
-But I mean it’s kinda hard since at this point he’s looks like a campfire but go off-
-He literally can’t look Y/N in the eyes omg
-Idia tries to talk to them but he just ends up spluttering
-He thought that Y/N had put their shirt back on so he takes his head out of his hoodie and NOPE they still have it off and the cycle of embarrassment repeats
-Idia manages to compliment Y/N, comparing them to a powerful anime character from a show he watched
-The man cannot look at Y/N the same anymore now that he knows what’s under all that baggy clothing
Jack:
-Jack definitely did not see this coming
-Can admit that he is a little flustered (Alot of people teased him since his tail started to wag at the sight of Y/N’s body
-He couldn’t imagine the Y/N he knows doing all of this activity, let alone dodging such powerful magic attacks with this much skill
-They’re a perfect candidate for the team and Jack grows really passionate about you wanting to pursue sports
-Has alot more respect for you
-He will drag Y/N to do a bunch of brutally, active shit with him since the whole “I’m too weak” jig is up
-”Jack pls no”
-”But when you were soaring through the air during Dodging tryouts I heard no complaints. Get your ass up, Y/N”
-While their P.E grade is saved, at what cost?
Azul:
-Azul thought that it was going to be a fun little attempt on Y/N’s part
-Were they joking? I mean he’s never seen them move a muscle for extracurricular activities like sports. Honestly-
-And oh dear oh it’s them shirtless
-Azul is so caught off guard
-He turns away so that Floyd and Jade don’t see his face, but those sneak boys know what’s going on
-”Boss you’re so red!”
-”Ooooh, are you flustered by shrimpy taking off their shirt~”!
-So that’s what you’ve been hiding under your clothing!
-He’s very impressed by your strength, Azul is wondering why you decided to hide it?
-Are you involved in shady business too? Hence why you’re laying low? (Sounds like projection but okay Azul-)
-He’s also thinking about getting you to sign some form of deal so that they can take advantage of your strength (Sorry Y/N)
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five-rivers · 3 years
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@lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks came up with this op!Danny/Marvel AU!
BTW I need help naming this newest proof that I can't keep anything to a short little one-shot.
.
Loki was not, and never had been, a good man. For that matter, whether or not he’d ever been a good boy was debatable. His mother would argue that he had, but she would very likely be the only one. Well, except for Thor, perhaps, but that was because he was an idiot who could drown in three inches of nostalgia. Like he didn’t remember every time Loki had humiliated him. Maybe he didn’t, for all that he kept falling for the same trick over and over again.
It made Loki’s late nights studying the arts of illusion, misdirection, and lying seem redundant. Almost. Not everyone was as dense as his big brother.
No. Loki had never been a good man. He had, however, been a free man.
Free to run or hide. Free to explore the nooks and crannies of Asgard, to uncover her secrets in ways few cared to do. Free to walk hidden paths between the Nine Realms and even farther flung territories, where his people did not and had never ruled, to play games, make deals, have adventures, take risks. To be. To exist as his own creature.
He had been free. He had.
But on one of those little secret excursions, he had discovered something that had made even his flippant, slippery heart clench with fear. A ravening plague, spreading across the stars. The death of half of everything on the horizon.
Loki was not a good man. What cause did he have to care for all the sundry others in the universe? There were too many. It was too much to ask.
But Asgard—His home, even though the had long ago realized the blood in his veins originated on very different soil. That was different.
Asgard, he could help. Asgard could survive.
But it had to be strong. It had to have strong allies. None of this barely-held peace, this enemy eternally at their gates. It needed strong leadership. Not his brother’s simplistic view and longing for the glory of war.
Loki was not a good man. But he was one who could get things done.
Before he knew it, he had burned all his bridges behind him. In one case, a literal bridge that was literally broken.
And he fell.
And he fell.
And he fell right into the hands of the one he had feared enough to do this. Broken enough for poison to drip into the cracks. No one knew where he was, no one could know where he was, except, perhaps, Heimdal, and Loki sincerely doubted Heimdal cared. No one was coming for him. No one was looking for him. No rescue was forthcoming.
He was alone.
Asgardians were considered gods for a reason. Their bodies and minds were much more resilient than the average mortal’s. But Thanos’s people had been titans, and there was a reason for that, too.
Thanos enjoyed breaking him.
And Loki turned his lies on himself. A skilled master of games always had one gifted opponent, even alone. Hadn’t he wanted to rule? To command? To see a world, any world, prostrate at his feet? To be given the recognition and praise of which he was so worth?
To pull something, anything, out of the fire?
(If he had spent less time learning how to spin lies and more on how to see the truth, he might not have believed it. A better, wiser, man would have. But Loki was not a good man. And he was very skilled in his craft.)
So, his new master put a weapon in his hands, and he went off to conquer a world.
.
Danny was used to rude awakenings. He was used to those rude awakenings being full body chills and ghosts, not someone knocking on his door.
Blearily, he pulled himself out from under the blankets. Quasi-military government facility or not, the beds were comfortable. Maybe Mom or Dad had gotten themselves locked out of their room? Or Jazz—No, not Jazz, she hadn’t come with them. She was at college, not being flown places by Mom and Dad’s suspiciously generous new consulting job.
At least it wasn’t the GIW.
He stood on tiptoe (curse his perpetually short body) to peer out the peephole. His parents’ buff, one-eyed, and incredibly imposing new boss stood in front of the door, hands on his hips, slightly sweeping back his long dark coat. If Danny listened carefully, he could hear two other people near the door, and… was that an alarm? Yes. Faint, but present, was a warning klaxon.
Okay. Danny would bet his right arm that something had gone horribly wrong with whatever his parents were consulting on. Didn’t explain why the boss was in front of his door.
Unless they’d gotten the rooms mixed up, somehow?
Ugh. Danny wasn’t paid enough to deal with this.
He opened the door. “What-?”
“Phantom,” intoned eyepatch guy with great solemnity.
Danny immediately tried to close the door. The guy stuck his foot in the jamb, and, sure, Danny could have crushed it, but that would be a jerk move. He didn’t think this guy was going for a pirate look, after all.
“We need your help.”
.
“I’m not sure what you think I can help you with,” yelled Danny over the beating of the helicopter blades. He’d remained stubbornly in human form. “My parents are the scientists. This sounds like a science thing. Not a punching-people thing.”
“We spoke to them earlier,” said Fury, “and we have plenty of scientists working on the theories they brought up. You’re the one with practical experience.”
“Practical experience in what?”
“Interdimensional portals,” said the woman, who had yet to introduce herself.
As if this whole thing wasn’t already giving him a bad feeling. “My parents built an interdimensional portal. Again, you should be talking to them. They’re the ones you’re paying.”
“We could pay you, too,” said Fury, “but we assumed you would want to avoid letting your parents know about this, as you’re still a minor and they have control of your bank accounts.”
Danny stared flatly. “This is blackmail.”
“We aren’t threatening you,” pointed out the woman.
“Emotional blackmail,” said Danny, glaring, daring her to challenge him on whether or not he actually knew what blackmail was.
In the meantime, the helicopter landed. Danny unbuckled and hopped out, trailing slightly awkwardly behind Fury and the woman. He didn’t want to stand out, but he suspected that, being the only kid here and being in the general vicinity of Fury, who radiated authority, that was a lost cause.
“This is Agent Coulson. Coulson, this is Phantom.”
Danny’s mouth went dry(er) at how casual the introduction was. His eyes went nervously to all the other people running around the field. With all the noise, it was unlikely anyone had heard, but still…
“Can you not? Secret identity and all? Unless you’ve told everyone herealready, which, rude.”
Fury sighed. “How bad is it?” he asked Coulson.
“We’re not sure,” said Coulson. “That’s the problem. Big fan of your work, by the way,” he added as an aside to Danny. He glanced at the woman. “Agent Hill.”
“Background?” asked Fury as he led the way into the building.
“The first energy surge was four hours ago. Dr. Selvig’s equipment picked it up – He’s the head scientist on this project.”
“Dr. Selvig isn’t authorized to test,” said Fury. “We wanted to run his plans by the Fentons.”
“He wasn’t testing. He wasn’t even in the room. He called it ‘spontaneous advancement.’”
“It turned itself on?”
“What are the energy levels?” asked Fury before Hill’s question could be answered.
“Climbing,” said Coulson.
“Mr. Fenton,” said Fury, “any comments?”
“Look, I don’t even know what this thing that you built looks like or what it’s a door to.” Danny frowned as a thought occurred to him. “You’re not expecting me to fight whatever comes out of it, are you? Because, unless you’ve got a ghost portal down there, I can’t make guarantees.”
“It’s called the Tesseract,” said Coulson. “It’s supposed to be a connection to the other side of space. A source of unlimited energy. At least,” there was a note of humor in his voice despite the evacuation taking place around them, “that’s what the scientists say.”
“A door to space?” asked Danny, firmly shoving down his excitement at the prospect. “Like, a Stargate?” It was no good, he could practically feel himself sparkling. He took a firm grip of his core and reminded himself he might need to fight before the end of the day.
“Well, no,” said Coulson. “It’s this little… cube… thing.” He made a shape with his hands.
“Oh,” said Danny, mind still whirring. “You know, if it’s really a tesseract, it isn’t a cube in just three dimensions, so bigger things could come out of it than you’d think.” He’d seen some weird portals in the Ghost Zone.
“Well, right now, we’re just getting energy.” They entered a large room with an extremely sci-fi setup. It looked like they were planning to shoot some kind of laser across the room onto a platform surrounded by strange-looking panels. There were men with guns scattered around in what was probably a well thought out formation Danny couldn’t see. There was also a dude with a bow sitting up in the rafters. He frowned down at Danny as he noticed Danny noticing him.
“Dr. Selvig!”
“Director!”
“What do we know?”
Danny allowed himself to be distracted by the centerpiece of the room, a piece of machinery built around what was indeed a little cube thing. He tilted his head and approached, trying to get a better view of it around the people in lab coats and protective gear currently swarming it. He caught mention of radiation a grimaced.
It was unlikely to kill him, but, really, everyone here should probably be wearing more PPE. You never knew what was going to come out of an interdimensional portal, after all. Except trouble. Trouble was a pretty safe bet.
It was pretty. Blue. Reminded him a little of a blue raspberry ice pop. Part of him wanted to lick it. Which was stupid. He didn’t want to wind up half what-ever-lived-on-the-other-side on top of his regular ghost nonsense.
“Mr. Fenton?”
Danny jumped and turned, refocusing on the adults, who had multiplied while he’d been daydreaming. The guy with the bow had joined them.
“Mr. Fenton? Like the Doctors Fenton I spoke to earlier?” asked Selvig.
“Yeah, it’s—”
This, of course, was when everything decided to explode. Sort of.
The blue cube shot out a beam of energy that had more than a little in common with the Fenton Bazooka’s portal setting. The beam terminated on the platform, a portal rapidly forming.
Danny slid into a fighting stance, and barely even noticed as blue energy washed over the room, throwing many less-prepared people back.
Something shaped like a man stepped through the portal.
Danny did not break his stance. Still. “An alien,” he whispered, eyes wide. If they were friendly, maybe they’d answer his questions about space. If they weren’t friendly, maybe they’d answer his questions about space after Danny beat them up.
(Danny did not go ghost. Did not even think about going ghost. There were too many people here, and the space was too open.)
Fury attempted to negotiate. Danny approved. Not everything that came through an interdimensional portal was necessarily evil.
Except this guy apparently was. Go figure. He could also deflect bullets and was very good with throwing knives, which led to Danny having to pull several of the gun guys out of their own line of fire as well as the alien’s line of knife. Who would have thought an alien’s weapon of choice would be throwing knives? The energy-blasting spear was much more in line with his expectations.
The bow guy proved to be more competent than the gun guys. This didn’t really surprise Danny. Bow guy sort of had to be competent. Otherwise, no way would they let him go around with a bow. Like, seriously. A bow.
Even so, bow guy was fighting an alien and—
“You have heart,” said the alien, raising the spear.
Danny pushed bow guy out of the way, and his mind fuzzed out.
(The human part of it, anyway.)
.
Loki didn’t know what a child was doing here, and he didn’t particularly care. The boy would do for a hostage, at least. He had a mission he had to fulfil, or else…
Or else.
“Please don’t,” he said turning with a shadow of his usual lazy affect, vaguely insulted that the human thought he could be sneaker that him, “I still need that.”
The human went on and on, apparently burdened with the delusion that he was on the same level as Loki.
Loki was burdened with other things. A glorious purpose. Glad tidings. Freedom. What could be better than freedom?
“A world free from what?” asked the human.
“From freedom,” said Loki, and wasn’t that what he believed, now? Wasn’t that what he’d been shown? “Freedom is life’s great lie.” He would know. He was an excellent liar. “Once you accept that, in your heart—” He batted away an arrow and tsked. “Shield me, boy,” he demanded. Had Thanos misrepresented the scepter’s powers? Or was the boy merely—
A dome of green surrounded him and the boy, thrumming with magic the likes of which he had only seen once, in a tome thrice forbidden.
“Oh,” said Loki, almost purring. “You are interesting. What are you?”
“Half human, half ghost,” replied the boy, tersely.
Loki had never heard of such a creature. No matter. He’d be sure to make good use of him.
“Grab the scientist,” he said, nodding at the balding man who had been with his brother when he’d fought the Destroyer in the desert.
Loki wanted the archer. He seemed interesting. Useful.
.
Fenton was under thrall. Phantom knew what that felt like. A hundred feet under red water, trying not to drown, whispers everywhere. Pulling. Pushing. Prodding.
This was different, but the principle was the same.
Neither half of him could truly ‘fight’ the other. Fenton and Phantom were a single entity. Not two in lockstep. Even so.
Fenton grabbed onto Dr. Selvig, as ordered. Phantom made sure that was all they did.
“What are you doing, boy?” snapped Loki. “Follow me! Bring the scientist.”
And so, they followed.
.
Loki breathed. Acquiring Barton had been the right choice. The boy was powerful, but, perhaps because of his unique biology, did not have Barton’s presence of mind, and couldn’t have led him to such wonderful allies.
Allies.
These weren’t truly his allies. Nor were they subjects. They were…
Loki forced himself to breathe. He just had to follow the mission. Follow the mission, let Thanos’s army through. He’d been promised this world. He would have this world.
And then he could be… His mind stuttered over the next word, and he shook his head, trying to drive out the painful buzz of Thanos’s herald and mouthpiece trying to contact him.
He looked up at the drones bustling around, all according to his will. Except the boy, who stared at him, somehow managing to be both utterly blank and challenging at the same time.
He was alone, here.
He was alone.
But what did it matter? Bad men always wound up alone, and Loki… Loki could never be a good man.
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spideyspeaches · 3 years
Text
Roller-coaster ↬ p.p
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gif’s not mine
A/N: My take on What if Peter was in Wandavision? But with a twist ;) Beta read by my wifey @stars-aligning​ 🥰🥰
Warnings: canon typical voilence? mentions of death. Also the timeline doesn’t really make sense, just pretend everyone is of the same age. OH and Wandavision spoilers :)
WC: 9k (longest one shot I’ve ever written 😭)
Pairing: Peter Parker x ex!Reader 
Masterlist || Taglist
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"Ben? What's wrong? Why are you looking at her like that?" 
"I- I don't. I don't know. She seems familiar." 
"Familiar? Familiar how?" 
"Like her and I don't belong here. Like we're from another world." 
Working with Tony Stark as his intern, then head of the R&D and now working in the labs as the head of the department felt surreal, a fresh breath of air every time he looked at his desk, with his name written on it. It had been Peter’s dream to meet Tony Stark, maybe work with him too.
And then he got bit by a radioactive spider, giving him super strength, super eyesight and apparently super luck too, because though he liked to think that he was working in SI due to his intelligence, the spider bite did play a role in becoming his mentor’s favourite intern, without which he might have not had a chance to meet him hands on.  
Tony kept reminding him that even if Peter had not been bit by the spider, he would have still secured a high position in Stark Industries, with his disarming intelligence that rivaled Tony’s own and charmingly trippy personality. 
Peter begged to differ. But then again, he wasn’t one to look a gift horse in it’s mouth. Ever since he was a bushy haired, rosy cheeked jittery teenager, he had always worshiped the ground Tony walked on. 
Peter remembers the day he got an anonymous letter, which turned out to be SHIELD's handiwork, asking him to join them in their base in New York, even if he insisted that he wasn't interested in being a superspy wannabe. He was skeptical at first, why would the most paranoid of paranoid agents send him a letter in mail? Him, twenty three years old Peter Parker, who lives in a shitty one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn with termite issues and smokes weed like the government is going to ban tobacco and is barely able to take care of himself with the overload of work. 
Maybe it was just his Parker luck, or the fact that he was a freelance vigilante who looked after New York in a skintight spandex suit, because the safety of the people was apparently second in priority to the government. They'd rather have people die than have an illegal protector. 
Yeah so Peter was salty, and what about It?
Slinging his satchel higher, he saw the sleek black car in confusion, trying to get a look at the number plate before the lift binged on arrival, walking into the open door. He swore he was either hallucinating or in midst of an intense flashback of the events that lead to what people dubbed as the 'Civil War', back to when he had been shaken out of his mind watching Tony Stark eat his aunt’s homemade walnut date loaf that had more salt than sugar.
His thoughts were put to a halt when he entered his and his aunt's old apartment in Queen’s after a long week of Spidey on mission and nearly getting (illegally) fired, footsteps coming to a pit stop. It's not like it's everyday you come face to face with Agent Coulson, Nick Fury and your ex not- really- girlfriend, somehow all in one day all together. 
"So… um. What are you- What are you guys doing here again?" he asked, folding his hands on his chest defensively, leaning into his aunt's side as he whispered, "how long have they been sitting here?" from the corner of his mouth.
Fury raised a non-existent eyebrow, looking at him with a dagger for eye, making Peter shift nervously. Agent Coulson looked uncomfortable and You, You looked strangely in your element, sitting on the couch with one leg over the other, a neutral expression on your face. 
Back when he was still in high school, when he'd first met you, he used to be in awe of how outgoing you were, seemingly adjusting in whichever situation you were thrown in. You had always accommodated to your surroundings, but with a start he realised that he had never seen you so… You in a while. 
Not during your visit to the Avengers tower, not during the first time you came into his bedroom, all alone. Not when he had seen you take down a mugger on your way home from your first date without even as much as batting an eye.
"They were here ten minutes or so before you came home. It's creepy, as if they knew you were visiting," May answered with a whisper, wearily eyeballing them before moving towards the kitchen, leaving Peter unattended to Your and Fury's piercing gazes. 
"I'm sure they know my monthly schedule before I do," Peter said, turning to look at the aforementioned agents. "So... you like, work for SHIELD, too?" He asked, wringing his hands to abate the tension in them. 
"Yes, she does, but that's not what we're here for, Mister Parker," Fury said in his gruff voice, sitting back with a sauve expression. Peter gulped as Agent Coulson looked him in the eye, finally noticing the thin file he held in his hands. 
"Well what are you here for?" Peter asked, mustering up some confidence as he tried not to look at You or the eye that Fury had that wasn’t covered by the patch.
"We need you to come to Westview, New Jersey with us," You said, a final no nonsense undertone in your voice. He shuddered when he heard you, remembering how soft and sweet you used to be. But that was before you disappeared out of nowhere, and apparently that nowhere was with SHIELD. 
"Me as in Peter Parker or Spider-Man?" he asked, looking behind his shoulder to make sure May wasn't listening. It's not like she didn't know about his… nightly whereabouts, he just wasn't comfortable with making her worry. She already had too much to deal with, with the nephew by day and vigilante by night thing he had going on.
It was also a little concerning that the three in front of him knew that he was visiting her today. He wondered if his apartment was bugged (well, more than the daily roaches and ants) or if SHIELD had been keeping an eye on him after he had denied their offer, instead opting to stay in SI.
It was probably the second one, although the first one was entirely a possibility. He was going to need to talk with Mister Stark about debugging his shitty one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. 
"We need Peter Parker and his tech skills for this one," Fury said, before shoving the file in Peter's hands and crossing his own, “and my offer still stands.”
"For the last time, I'm not joining your little murderous boy band," Peter grumbled, scrunching his eyebrows as he looked at your twitching lips, as if holding in laughter. "I'm perfectly content with working with Dr. Connors in his little laboratory in SI." 
Fury didn’t look convinced and opened his mouth to probably threaten Peter, when Aunt May came in with a tray of cookies. They smelled amazing, too good to be made by her, she probably brought them from Delmer’s.
“Oh- Were you…? I just thought you guys might want to eat something,” She said awkwardly, looking at Peter with pleading eyes.
“That’s very thoughtful of you, May! I would love to eat some of those, I’m famished,” You butt in, taking the tray from her with a smile.
“Um, May, you can um- you know?” Peter gestured, shifting on his legs, hoping that May would get the message before she stood for a minute too long. He didn’t like the way Nick Fury’s eye was looking at him, his tranquilizer gun suddenly visible from his leather jacket.
“Don’t be rude Pete, here May, I’ll help you get that.” You smiled, winking at him and dragging May by her arm, who was mouthing “she’s such a sweetheart” behind her shoulders. 
"What if I told you that his man accidently got evicted due to some legal issues? And that now you're legally unemployed with severe financial issues that need to be looked after because the government suspects something illegal brewing?" Fury continued, looking him dead in the eye.
"Are you seriously blackmailing me? Threatening to unemploy me after all that shit you put me through with Mysterio?" Peter defended, raising a disbelieving eyebrow, watching you strutt back into the room, distracted by the sway of your hips in your mom jeans. He tried to shake the image, rolling his head to crack some tension that had built at the base of his skull.
"Mysterio was a mistake, Parker. This one is not; and we really need you for this one. Besides, remember that you're still a vigilante that hasn't signed the Accords of Sokovia." 
Peter stiffened that the mention of the Accords. He thought the government was over it after the second amendment after the arrest of Thaddeus Ross, but apparently not.
"You said that last time and I almost died! My ex-girlfriend almost died, my best friend nearly died, heck half of Europe almost died because you Director Fury, apparently trust some superhero wannabe in a green and purple costume and overlook facts that could potentially harm someone. So the answer is clearly no!" he retorted, flopping the file on the table as he resisted the urge to sit on the floor flat on his back. 
The three agents were looking at him with an unreadable expression, making him uncomfortable in his skin. 
"Well, it's all up to you then." His voice had a finality to it, one that irked him to no end.
"Do I have a choice?" He sighed after a beat, looking at the three of you with a forlorn expression. 
"Get your equipment ready, Mr. Parker. We'll be leaving for the camp tonight. You can read the details in this file." He heard Agent Coulson say (he was pretty sure his name was Phil), trying to make sense of how fast everything was going past the chronic tinnitus in his ears.
"It's Dr. Peter Parker," he muttered fruitlessly, blushing under your raised eyebrow. 
***
"So, I didn't know you got a PhD. I knew you were smart, still are, considering that you're a PhD at twenty two," You said, sipping on your virgin mojito, and placing the mug in front of you. 
Peter had taken you to a cafe after the confrontation, wanting to know more about your whereabouts and how he had not noticed that you were a superspy all of his high school years. You had retorted with a simple "I'm a spy, that's why,” which he found pretty badass.
"Well, yeah, I did my undergraduate and PhD together." He shrugged casually, looking out of the window to avoid looking at you. 
You had always been beautiful, but somehow, you had become even more beautiful than the last time Peter saw you. 
"That sounds brutal. Only you can manage that," You joked. You weren't going to admit it, but you had missed being with Peter, joking with him and watching his beautiful side profile as he blushed under your scrutinizing gaze.
"So, um. This thing, what is it about?" Peter asked, snapping you out of your daze. 
"Huh? Oh it's a long story. Like really long, if this was a TV show it would take five episodes for me to explain." You gestured, dismissing his scowl. "Okay, so you remember that time when that super high security facility was broken in back in december 2019?" 
"Which super high facility? There are a lot of break ins happening in high security facilities in America, and it's more than concerning, considering they're supposed to be super high security." He said, fiddling with his own drink. 
"Okay, Yeah that's true. It was a S.W.O.R.D facility, and long story short, Wanda Maximoff kidnapped her corpse husband to reenact the dad-knows-best suburban lifestyle with an entire town held as her hostage." You said, looking over your shoulders to make sure no one was listening. 
"Wanda stole Vision's corpse? Wait, is this about Westview? 'The Town that ceased to exist'? Is that what happened? Is this some sort of mind control thing? Cause I know she can make people believe what she wants them to..." Peter whispered, leaning in to show that he was interested. You took a moment to admire his front profile, his broken nose and dimpled chin, rosy lips and sharp cheekbones, accidently zoning out on his theories.
Leaning forward, you brought a hand up his face, pushing a stray curl behind his ears, cutting him short of his rambling. 
"W-what?" He stuttered, his breath hitching, making the table shake with a wince. 
"You have nice hair." You commented with a smirk, caressing his hair one more time. 
"You said that in the senior's party too, and well, there's no sex happening anytime soon." He said, rolling his eyes, sitting back in his hair with his hands folded on his chest.
"I like being optimistic." You rolled your own eyes, heart beating a mile a minute at the reminder of your relationship- ex relationship with Peter, "so what were you saying about Westview? I kind of zoned out." 
You watched him roll his eyes again, trying not to let your eyes wander around his biceps and the little bit of his collarbones peeking from his shirt, unbuttoned from the top, also exposing the thin chain that he always seems to be wearing. With a start you realised that it was the one you had gifted him on his eighteenth birthday.
"So this town, Westview, it just disappeared right? Behind a barrier of sorts? Is it like, coming from an energy source? Was it created by Wanda?  " he asked, ever his inquisitive self.
"Yeah, apparently she's created an alternate reality, sitcom style, with the people of Westview trapped in it." 
"So she's basically starring in a fanfiction alternate reality of sorts but a sitcom format? Wouldn't blame her, poor woman's been through a lot." He nodded, shifting in his seat. He could feel your eyes burning a hole in his skull, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "Are you staying in a hotel? Or a shield facility?" 
"Nope," You answered, leaning back on your chair. "Am I still allowed to stay in your room? With the doors open?"
He watched you with narrowed eyes, tilting his head with a smirk, replying to you with a nod, "alright." 
*** 
"Did you pack your mittens? The extra warm ones with a built in heater? You know you're susceptible to frost bites-" 
"May! I packed my mittens." Peter murmured, ducking his head in embarrassment as he raised an eyebrow at your amused smile. 
"Okay, okay, that's great. Socks? Painkillers? Extra pair of glasses?" she asked, fumbling around the room like she did whenever he went on field trips. 
"Yes, May!" 
"Great. Stay safe, okay?" Her eyes softened, holding his cheeks in his hand like he was a seven year old, living with them with a knowledge of death no seven year old should have. Sighing, he leant into her palm, holding his own hand encompassing her small one. Giving her a smile, he kissed her cheek. “Ti amo, May. I’ll call you once I get there, okay?” 
She nodded, pulling him into her embrace, though she knew full well that he’s going to forget to call her, too excited to be in the vicinity of multiple certified geniuses and other figures of authority. 
***
"Is there anything I should know about? Like anything unexpected?" Peter asked, looking at the camp in awe as the jeep pulled over makeshift gates, a bunch of soldiers surrounding them. 
Peter was used to seeing the hustle and bustle of camps, considering all the missions he had gone through with the Avengers, back when Steve wasn’t retired and the newer generation of avengers hadn’t entered. 
“Your blood’s radioactive, right?” You asked, turning to face him with a smile. 
“Yeah. Why? Is that relevant?” he replied, raising an eyebrow as he saw someone carrying his bags before he could protest. 
“Well, Dr. Lewis found out about this hexagonal anomaly, no one really knows what it is, but the source seems to be emitting huge amounts of radiations,” You said, getting off the jeep, pulling Peter out with you. Walking towards the crowded camp, you came face to face with the tent where everything was set up.
“Doctor Darcy Lewis?” Peter said, looking at the place in awe. It wasn’t extravagant, but the technology surrounding the tent, the vans and what seemed to be a broadcasting antenna were all way beyond the regular one used in tech companies, which is funny, considering he’s been working with Mr. Stark his whole teenage life. 
“Yup, that’s her, nerd.”
“So, what exactly is this Hexagon? Is it, like, a barrier of sorts? Can everyone go in?” He asked, looking around with glinting eyes, lips twitching in a smirk as he saw the barrier in question. His super hearing caught the static sound it emitted, wincing at the sharp noises. His boots crunched under the snow as he felt the thing pull him towards it, your voice muffled by the noises of the hex. 
It was something he had never seen before, like the static of a TV with a lost signal, glowing red in places as if reaching out to him. His senses seemed dull, the world greying around the way it had before he was bit by the radioactive spider. The spider bite had enhanced his vision in a way that he saw colours not visible to the human eye, a technicolour wonder that even Bruce couldn’t solve. 
He felt a tug, looking down at his shoes, wondering if he had just imagined it. 
“Mom and dad have been, not fighting, just like different.”
He swore he felt a white light flash in front of him, his spidey sense buzzing at the base of his skull, tingling all the way to his spine as he straightened up to dissipate the feeling, shifting awkwardly.
“Only Captain Rambeau has gone in and come back intact so far. It’s emitting a colossal amount of cosmic microwave background radiation, also known as CMBR, and once you get into it, your mind doesn’t really stay your own, so no one has volunteered other than her. Everyone knows the risk,” You said, startling him, a sharp contrast to the voices that seemed to have suddenly accumulated in his brain. 
“If you’re going to break the sound barrier, please just take your brother with you!”  
‘Sound barrier?’ he thought, looking back at the hex as it flashed red, the tug strong enough to make him stumble in his place. You looked at him weirdly, asking if he was okay, but he wasn’t listening, turning to ask you what the red flash meant, distortion evident in the barrier.
“Captain Rambeau? The daughter of the director of SWORD?” he asked instead. 
“Yeah, that’s her.”
“Damn.” He sighed, running a gloved hand through his hair, and dragging it down his face. 
Walking inside the tent, Peter was hit with a face full of cold air, and the hundreds of monitors nearly gave him a sensory overload. The people running around didn’t help, either. “Where do I keep this?” He asked, pointing to his bag full of equipment that Fury had asked for. 
“You can set up over here, newbie,” A new voice said chirpily. Turning around, he came face to face with the Darcy Lewis, eyes widening as he took in her smiley presence, another human who he didn't recognise standing behind her. “Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself! I’m Doctor D-”
“Darcy Lewis, I know- I’m a fan!” 
“Aw look at you, you have a fanboy at your hand,” Captain Monica Rambeau said, strutting in and keeping a hand on her shoulder, confidence radiating off of her every pore. 
"And… You are?" he asked awkwardly, looking pointedly at the FBI agent. He saw Darcy hide a snicker behind her hand, patting his shoulder and shoving him forward. 
The man fell forward, steadying himself on the table before he flicked a card seemingly out of nowhere. "Agent Jimmy Woo, FBI,” he said proudly, a smile on his cute little baby face. Peter was left staring in awe, wondering how he had done that.
"Wait, can you do that again? How did you do that?!" 
"It's cool, isn't it? I could teach you if you want." 
"Yes, of course, but how did you do it? It appeared out of nowhere and if you take in consideration the law of conservation of mass, it can neither be created nor be destroyed and it just seemed to have accumulated-" 
"It's a trick of illusion. You see, when I opened my palms, I-" 
"Peter, let's set things up shall we?" You interrupted their session, a smirk on yours and the other women's faces, shaking your head.
Ditching the bag on the counter, he nodded, willing his heart to stop beating out of his chest. This was the coolest thing that had ever happened to him next to Tony Stark sitting on his aunt’s old futon. And the magic trick.
“This is the coolest day of my life,” he whispered, shrugging when you chuckled at his excitement. “Ned’s going to freak out.” 
“Wait until you see the schematics and control panels.” You smirked, making him raise an eyebrow as he blushed, the flush apparent from his neck to his ear. The others scattered just as he finished setting his station up, fidgeting with the radio, when the voice of Hayward boomed across the cubicle. 
“Ah, Mister Parker!” he says, a faux smile on his face as he looks at the station, making Peter shift uncomfortably. The weird tingling of his spidey-sense came up again, his hand automatically reaching there to scratch at the itch.
“Here we go again,” Darcy muttered, patting Peter’s back, her eye roll loud enough for him to glance at her. 
“It- It’s doctor,” he muttered, hearing a “he gets me” from Darcy.
“Very well, Doctor Parker it is, then. I’m Hayward, welcome to SWORD.”
“SWORD? I thought this was a SHIELD thing?” 
“...Fury didn’t brief you?”
“He did! He was just very vague, hence why I’m asking. What exactly have I been called here for?”
The silence that took over was palpable, with you shifting awkwardly as Hayward eyeballed them all, looking at the five of them morosely before saying, “Brief him Monica,” and leaving.
“God, is every higher official such a dick here?” Peter grumbled, watching him retreat, shaking his head as he threw the ball of paper he hadn’t noticed he had been fidgeting with.
“See? He agrees, I like him.” Darcy nodded, pulling him with her towards the briefing table. 
“This all started when the town of Westview disappeared after the second blip,” Monica said, pulling up holographs that showed the image of people reappearing from the snap, his breathing increasing in pace as he remembered vaguely of his own reappearance. 
The whole situation was fucked up. After stealing Vision’s corpse, Wanda had basically resurrected him, holding and controlling thousands of people, an entire fucking town. Looking at the list of all the missing people, his eyes zeroed on to one particular face. He racked his memory to remember who exactly it was, mouth hanging open when he realised who exactly she was.
“Is that… is that Agatha Harkness?” Peter said, pointing at the woman who had no name written under her photograph.
“You know her real name?” Darcy asked, looking at him with raised eyebrows as he nodded, wringing his hands around.
“Yeah, Wanda told me about her, she’s the witch from the Salem trials!”
“How is she significant to the plot, though?”
“She... she mentored Wanda, before she went to the dark side." 
In the time he knew Wanda, she had been the sweetest person ever. She was like an older sister he didn’t know he needed, empathising with him on a cosmic level. They had come close before the events of Thanos happened. She was his person, and they shared a lot of secrets, this one being one of them.
“That’s one connection to her. What about the others? She keeps telling Vision that she doesn’t know what’s happening, but when the drone strike happened, she looked straight at the camera, like she knew,” Monica intervened.
“He tried to deploy a drone strike? In front of her children, after knowing very well that she saw her parents die in the Sokovian attack when she was ten? Is he fucking insane?!” Peter seethed, nearly crashing his fist on the table hard enough for cracks to appear on it. 
“Peter, hey, calm down! You breaking things is not going to make the situation any better, okay? He already tried to chuck us out of this, you don’t go around breaking things now!” You said, holding him still as his body shook. You had never seen him this angry, and frankly, you would never want to see it again. 
Peter was a sweet person, respecting people’s boundaries and always so understanding. He was the embodiment of good, even after living a fucked up life, he never projected his trauma on the other. He wore his emotions on his sleeves, and your heart clenched every single time, seeing him in pain. 
"Listen, that's my sister in there, and she has no idea what she's doing. She needs our help and I'll do anything to help that woman and if you guys even think of hurting her I will make sure each of you regret it," Peter hissed, staring daggers at the silent team members of the room. 
“Is there any way to reach there?” he asked, more softly than before. Darcy exchanged a look with Agent Woo and Monica, opening her mouth before knowing better and shutting it. “What?! Is there a way to communicate with her?”
“Follow us,” the brown woman said, breathing deeply as she looked at the other two silently. 
"Where are we going?" Peter asked, fidgeting with your fingers. He hadn't noticed himself holding your hands, your lips twitching when you realised he had done that unconsciously.
“Trust me, I don’t know half the things these ladies do,” Woo whispered, and Peter nodded along seriously. 
“Whoa, I feel like there’s a secret underground base here! Is there a secret underground base?” 
“Well, it’s not underground, and not really a secret anymore,” Captain Rambeau said, unravelling a curtain, revealing a small space with a million monitors and a wooden desk littered with laptops and too many empty coffee cups. 
“This is so cool,” You whispered, watching in awe as Dracy lit up the screens, revealing various codes and stuff you didn’t really understand. Peter was already invested, babbling about codes and addresses and hidden files within hidden files, things that flew over your head at the speed of Darcy’s fingers on the keypad.
Leaning on the table with one hand, Your eye caught a flat round metal looking thing on the ground, picking it up and tracing it with your fingers. “Is this… a bullet?!” 
“Yeah, it was hit on that suit, which turns out to be 87% kevlar. That happened when Captain shot at it,” Jimmy answered, giving you a smile as you dropped your jaw. 
“She went in wearing a bulletproof vest right? Wanda just… manifested a dress made of kevlar?” You wondered, your words interrupted by Peter’s yelp.
“So, remember how Director Douchebag ordered a drone strike on Wanda?” she said, contemplating her words next as everyone turned towards her. “Turns out he’s been planning something else.” 
“What’s that?” Jimmy asked, pointing at the screen, which displayed two boxes full of what seemed like cells.
“That’s Monica’s blood work, he’s been tracking it the whole time. The first time you travelled to the hex? It changed your cellular structure on a molecular level, twice.” She said. 
A sombre expression took over the older woman’s face, pursing her lips. “He thinks I’m gaining powers.” Monica nodded.
“I may not be a genetic engineer, but from what I’m seeing here, he’s most likely right,” Peter interrupted, a silence taking over everyone. “He’s keeping track of the enhanced, if I’m not wrong.” 
Shaking his head, he clenched his eyes when he heard another voice. You watched him weirdly, reaching to ask him if he was okay, before retracting your hand.
“Chill out sis, it’s not like you can kill your dead husband twice.” 
“You’re right. He’s been tracking everyone who’s enhanced, including Vision.” Dracy said, typing something on the screen to show you the map of Westview, pulsing red and blue dots appearing in your sight.
“Do you know what his endgame is?”
“Yeah. Rebooting Vision.” 
Peter inhaled sharply, trying not to let his face show the anger inside him as he looked at Monica with wide eyes, both of them looking at each other dangerously, both of them realising same thing.
“Then, I’m going in. Someone needs to tell her,” he said, looking at the others for affirmation.
You took a step back, gulping in anticipation of his words. Reaching out with a hand, you stared at him, hoping he wouldn't lash out. "Peter, you have to know, the hex is a dangerous place. You won't even remember who you are so there’s no point in you going in. You won’t be able to convince her to magically leave her hostages, she’ll just see you as an outsider and throw you out-" 
"Captain Rambeau went in and she was able to get out!" he argued.
"Peter, I was tossed out because she saw me as a threat. She might not do that to you but going in that thing is dangerous, especially with your mutations-" 
"I don't give a fuck about my mutation! You of all people should know how it feels like to lose family, Monica," Peter said, looking at her. The fire in his eyes spoke volumes. No one dared to intervene. 
"Peter, your mutation could potentially kill you. You know the risks of going past the barrier due to your enhancements. The radiations are altering DNA to a molecular level, your cells-”
"-are already metastasizing! My spider DNA is going to get me killed some day because my body won’t be able to handle it anymore, so I don't care, I'm going and that's final." He nodded, puffing his chest to show that he wasn't going to step down. 
"Fine, I'll come with you then," You said, looking at him as you said that. A lump formed in your throat as you realised that he was so willing to sacrifice himself, and blood pumped in your veins as determination set in along with a rush of adrenaline. 
"Do as you please." He shrugged, pursing his lips, but his eyes were a different story. You felt sick, insides tearing themselves up as you took a good look at him and his pallor, the artificial lights illuminating the scar tissues on his face. Ones that you knew were inflicted by his years of being the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. 
***
“Maximoff is never gonna negotiate with us,” Hayward said, circling the table as Monica looked at him with disbelief in her expression. “We’ll need all the guns we have here to stop her.”
“We can’t outgun her, but what we can do is try and talk her out of this. Antagonising her is only making things worse. If Wanda is the problem, she has to be our solution!” Monica argued, looking forward.  
“She’s already killed thousands during the Sokovian attack. How do you guarantee that she won’t kill another person she finds threatening?!”
“She was guilty about it. It wasn’t her fault, do not bring that into this.” 
“Yeah? Well, the guilt isn’t going to bring back the dead children is it?” 
"The dead children aren't coming back, but those people trapped in Westview? They can, if you fucking let us!" 
"Fine. But someone will be monitoring you."
Negotiations with your boss and commanding team of SWORD concerning the ship was a tough feat. you had finally convinced them to let you and Peter go across the border, but Darcy and Monica were to be on the radio in case everything went amiss.
Sitting in the (illegally acquired) van, you watched Jimmy, who was trying to teach Peter the card trick, invested in the trick yourself. Leaning forward to get a better view, you tried not to let the rush of blood in your cheeks get to you at the close proximity with Peter, heart pounding with every step you took closer to the hex. 
“I did it! I finally did it, Y/N, look!” Peter said, showing you the trick, smiling at his childlike enthusiasm. 
“That’s great! You should show it to Morgan, she’ll like it.” 
“How do you know about Morgan?”
“I know everything.”
You may have been bluffing, but he seemed to have caught on your cue, the awkward tension reappearing as he shifted in his seat, twisting and turning and going back to the magic trick. You tried not to smile, but your mouth never did coordinate with your brain. 
“We’re here,” the driver said, parking the van. 
“Okay let’s go through this again: Captain Rambeau and Dr. Lewis will be on the radio while you try and get in, stay near a radio as much as you can so we can try and communicate, and do not try to meddle with Wanda,” Jimmy said, going over your checklist. 
You were skeptical of the plan, thinking about how successful your mission was going to be, considering how powerful she had become in her own little sitcom. You had heard of her expanding the borders just after you had started driving near it. 
“You ready?” Peter asked, taking your hand as you nodded, and wrapped your fingers around his knuckles, before taking a deep breath.
“I’m ready.” You nodded, looking over your shoulders to see the FBI agent giving you a thumbs up, muttering something into the comms. Looking back at Peter, you felt dizzy with the buzzing anxiety, the pull of the barrier strong. 
Stepping close to it, you felt electricity buzz in your veins, shuddering at the chilling sensation and sudden exposure to stimuli, your gut twisting the more your hand went in the hexagonal anomaly. You swore you felt your physical being tear apart, your life flashing in front of you in a white hot light, your brain was practically mush with how much force you needed just to get in. 
"I thought we would be able to get in easily!" Peter shouts, his screams echoing in your eardrums, mixed with your own screams. 
"She's becoming more powerful the longer she stays inside, and so is the hex," You replied, gasping for a breath as you tried to move forward.
With a final scream, you closed your eyes at the static sound bombarded your ears, you couldn't fathom how loud it must be for Peter, sending a look towards him. His eyes were scrunched, hands curled around his head and ears to stop the sound. Before you could comment on his state, your own vision doubled, bright green and magenta lights appearing out of nowhere, the coiling of your gut intensifying, and before you knew it, the strong force pulled you inside, throwing you off on the hard concrete of the road, and everything went dark.
***
“I’m okay. I’m okay. Everything is alright,”  Wanda said, repeating the phrase like a mantra as she sat on the couch. 
She repeated the phrase like clockwork, just like being a mom to two half synthezoid pre-teens and the gatekeeper of Westview. Snapping out of her daze, she felt something in her brain stir, realising with a start that something had been messing with the barrier-- or, rather, someone.
Closing her eyes, she willed her powers, similar to the ones Tommy had, to look past the barrier, opening her eyes with a flash when she saw a familiar face.
“Peter,” she muttered, the brown eyed boy who she had come to think of as a brother materialising in front of her, dropping on the carpet with a thud as his unconscious form fell on top of Yours. Wanda remembered you from all the stories Peter had told her about. 
Crouching down, she reached out to touch you both. Her eyes glowing red as she held a finger to your and his forehead, scrunching her eyelids as she navigated both of your heads.
A lonely young girl was seen sitting on a rock, the wind blowing wisps of her dark hair along with her dress. Suddenly, the noise of clucking of horseshoes could be heard, a woman coming into view as she got off her horse. 
“Feeling lonely and afraid at the middle of the night when you’re a young and beautiful teenage girl?” the woman in the cowgirl shoes said, holding her hip as the girl nodded. “Well, don’t worry, every young girl must have a sword at her disposal!” 
“A sword?” the young girl asked, tilting her head as she took the object in her hand.
“Yes, a s.w.o.r.d, my dear. Fear not, for the sword will protect you from all the hexes around you.”
The girl smiled, looking at the camera with the cowgirl’s hands on her shoulder. “A sword to protect the young!” 
Buy now at your nearest convenience store, terms and conditions apply.
“What are you two doing here and not at school?” Wanda chortled, startling the two who were now very much conscious. The boy moved, fisting his eyes, and he curled his hands to stretch the kinks that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, the varsity jacket scrunching underneath his fists. 
“Babe?” the boy groaned, messing up his hair, looking at the general direction of the girl. 
Putting on a smile, Wanda folded her arms, biting her lips at how adorable the two of you were.
“Ben? Is that you?” the girl asked, looking at her disheveled frock with a confused expression, finally noticed the woman standing in front of her. “Oh my god, babe, I swear we were at the bleachers not long ago. Did you manifest teleportation powers now?” 
“Miss Maximoff! You’re Billy and Tommy’s mom! Babe, we’re in Billy and Tommy’s house!” The guy, Ben said, his voice rising up an octave as he looked at his surroundings. 
He couldn't remember much about the Maximoffs, except that his neighbours talk about the weird mom and dad almost everyday in the gossip sessions. Whatever, he wasn't interested in them.
"She turned them into teenagers." 
"Well there goes our plan. Do we still have back up ready?" 
“That’s right, kids. Now, what were you two naughty children doing out of school?” Wanda asked, helping the two kids get up as the boy blushed, stuttering an apology.
“We- we weren’t ditching, I swear, Miss Maximoff! We were just-”
"-Doing homework! Because… because Ben's a nerd and he doesn't like that he gets behind because of the baseball team!" the girl said, stuttering as Ben nodded along with her.
“Yeah! We weren't making out or anything! Even if we're totally dating." 
Their relationship wasn't exactly your normal relationship. It was more of a… mutually beneficial relationship. 
Well, so far they had the entire town fooled, having them all think that a guy such as Benjamin Fitzpatrick would ever date a girl like her, who liked her books more than her siblings. 
"Hmm, well, thankfully, I'm a cool mom and I will not tell your parents about this… thing. Whatever it was. Anyone want cheesecake?" Wanda smiled, clapping her hands once as she looked at the two teenagers. 
Ben's stomach growled at the thought of food. "You don't have to do it, Miss Maximoff, but I would love some," he said, sheepishly looking at the ground, and wincing at another growl. 
Wanda chuckled, patting the boys back kindly. "Oh honey, it's alright. Come on, don't be shy, the both of you!" she said, looking over her shoulder and saying, "and it's just Wanda! Miss Maximoff makes me feel old, you know." 
They followed her to the kitchen, taking in the interior of the house. Ben's eyes caught something from the corner, it was almost as if it was… flickering? Shaking his head, he dug his fingers in his eyes, wondering if he was still feeling the effects of the time he had hit his head during the baseball practice. 
"You okay?" the girl asked, keeping a hand on his shoulder to steady him. 
"Yeah, probably the aftereffects of a concussion." He nodded, burrowing his brows in confusion. 
"Hmm, should probably get that thick little noggin of yours checked by the nurse." She snickered, hitting his shoulders playfully. Her heart was beating fast, he noted, wondering how he could hear it so clearly. The thought that he would have to leave her after she gets a date for prom made him sad. 
They may be faking their relationship, but he had caught on very fast and realised that he wanted it to be real. As real as the town of Westview.
Wait, what?
"You know we don't have to pretend anymore, right?" Ben said, looking at the girl as she came to a halt. Miss Maximoff was nowhere in sight, the house eerily silent with her heartbeat echoing in his ears. 
"This is the best ship SWORD could ever make." 
The awkward silence was interrupted by the opening of the front door, a loud jingle as Agnes came strutting in, a big smile on her face. It made Ben's neck sting weirdly, slapping his hand at the base to nullify the feeling. 
"Hello, children! What are you doing, skipping school like the little troublemakers you are?" She grinned, pinching each of their cheeks as her voice took a baby-like tone to it. Ben took a step back, grimacing as she continued pinching his cheeks. 
"Um, we weren't- we have no idea actually-" 
"Agnes! Oh, what great timing! Were you here for Billy and Tommy?" Wanda came in, a plate full of cheesecake and crackers in her hand. 
"Oh, Wanda, Wanda, Wanda! Your little troublemakers are already in my house, or did you forget?" She chuckled, the sound of her laughter taking a higher pitch. 
Wanda furrowed her brows, opening her mouth to say something, before closing it, a grin taking over. "Right. Yeah, of course! They really love it there with you, huh?" 
"That's right, everybody loves Auntie Agnes!" 
Ben looked at his girlfriend again, feeling strangely out of place between the two women. 
"Um, Miss Ma- Wanda? C-Can we go now? I feel like-" 
"Oh, Ben, don't be ridiculous! Why don't you sit down and take a breather? You look pale, hon." Wanda smiled, setting down the plate and ushering the two kids on the table, both of whom looked at the table with hunger in their eyes. Well, it had been long since lunch break. 
"Thank you for the cheesecake Mi- uh, Wanda, we appreciate it," the girl said, promptly digging in after the affirmation. 
***
Vision knew something was wrong the moment Agnes showed signs of knowing what was going on. The first time it happened, he was sure his paranoid wife would do something, but she had continued to act as if nothing was wrong with Agnes' behaviour. 
Walking down the road in his ridiculous costume, he nearly sighed in resignation, before he realised that he wasn't capable of such human actions. 
One more thing that perplexed him to no end was his strangely human behaviour. It was as if someone was forcing him to act more human, some weird force that was so unlike Wanda's warm presence, something more foreign and way out of his realm (like the gum incident. He sure did remember Wanda chastising him for doing this atrocity, surely she couldn't have been the one controlling him? Right?).
His mechanical heart ached for his wife. She had gone through a lot, from what he had read from her thoughts; losing a brother (twice, if the absence of Pietro was anything but a confirmation), and then him (it didn't bother him much. He was a synthezoid, there was entirely a possibility that he could be revived). 
He just really missed her, he realised. Their relationship had been strained ever since the boys were born. He didn't blame the drift on his boys, of course. He loved them to no end, would sacrifice himself for them, but he couldn't help but notice the change it brought in Wanda. 
The arrival of Pietro 2.0 didn't help either. 
His thoughts were interrupted as his feet halted their movements, and with a snap he realised that he had somehow made it to Ellis avenue, the border's static buzzing through his entire being. 
"You look lost, buddy," a strange man said. 
Looking at the man, Vision tilted his head, looking through the database of Westview to see that the man seemed to be nowhere in the records. How had he made it here? 
"I- I'm sorry, who are you?" He asked, leaning against the car door to peer inside, the man sitting rigid. It was only then did he realise that the man's eyes seemed… glazed, almost like he wasn't aware. Looking back at the barrier, Vision gaped at the view in front of him. 
The man's car was half inside and half outside the barrier, the slow moving particles seemed to be disintegrating the vehicle, watching in awe as sparks flew the closer the barrier came to the man. 
"Listen, you have to get out of here before that thing destroys you." Vision tried shaking the man, but to no avail. His attempts were in vain as the man simply grunted. "Listen! Can you hear me? What's happening? Why is the barrier moving?" 
He tried opening the door, but it was shut firmly. Groaning, he punched the door, nearly falling to catch the falling man, who was mumbling some incoherent mumbo jumbo. 
"Wanda, what are you up to...?" Vision muttered to himself, realising with a start that the barrier was expanding and the man had come from outside the barrier. 
Looking at the muttering man, he quickly moved them both away from the barrier, propping him up against the grass.
"I'm sorry," Vision said, his hands gliding yellow as he touched the man's forehead, his own circuits being bombarded with incoherent noises. 
"Oh god! I'm sorry, please save me! Please, this hurts, this- you- you're the Vision!" the man screamed. 
"Yes, I'm the Vision! Now, can you stay still? I'm trying to help you!" 
"-Please! She's in my head!" 
His hands lit up again, the yellow light smothering the man's forehead as he went still again, as Vision retracted his hands regretfully. Opting to leave the man there, he stood up again, startling once again that day when he heard a shrill cry, the body of… Geraldine? Appearing out of the barrier. Shaking his head, he was convinced that he was hallucinating, if that was even possible for a droid, and turned around to walk back home. 
(Agatha gave a satisfied chuckle, purple sparks erupting from her fingers as she turned back to Wanda, pretending that that didn't just happen.) 
***
"Do you think our school is a little… solitary?" Ben asked, inhaling a puff of smoke from the blunt in his hands. His girlfriend and him were sitting on the rooftop of Westview high, their feet swinging against the edge as she clutched at Pe- Ben for dear life. 
Peter? Who was that?
"Did you see that?? Peter was right, that was Agatha Harkness and she's been the one manipulating the people, it never was Wanda! It was meant to be a plot twist, but I totally predicted it."
"Um…"
"What? I'm invested." 
Peter? 
Y/n? Can you hear me? Please say yes if you can hear me.
She noticed the static sound of the radio speaking to someone. The static noise increased, and Ben didn't seem to have noticed the small portable radio malfunctioning. Shrugging it off, she went back to passing the blunt from her boyfriend. 
Boyfriend. The word ignited a flame in her chest. Ben, who she faked her dates with once upon a time, now was her actual, real boyfriend, who she was ditching homework to smoke a blunt with, uncaring of her nearing curfew. Her parents would have her head if she found out.
"Do you hear that?" She asked, exhaling the stale air from her lungs. She knew it was more of the deep breathing than the weed, but it made her feel serene. 
"I've been hearing a lot of things lately." He croaked, clearing his throat, sniffing the air as he leaned back, his Adam's apple bobbing with every gulp. His glasses were sliding off his face. She reached to push them back up, smiling at the flush of his face.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked, slipping her fingers through his, rubbing a hand on his back. His life had been difficult, she knew about him being an orphan, but she didn't know he was having a hard time with life at the very moment, her heart aching for the poor boy.
"I don't know, I keep hearing these voices in my head. Children screaming, people crying, and this… this buzz at my neck, I can't ignore it anymore! I feel like I'm going insane and I can't keep them quiet! I've tried, but it's like they're trying to communicate with me." 
Her eyes softened, hands running through his thick, straight hair as he leaned his head on her shoulder. Suddenly, the height at which they were sitting on didn't matter, she had him in her arms. 
"He broke the fourth wall. He's been hearing things, just like Billy." 
Wiping away his tears, she kissed his forehead, rubbing her hands gently on his back. 
"It's gonna be okay. You're okay, they'll go away soon." She reassured, folding her legs to get up, and pulling him up with her. "It's getting late, and mom will have my head if I'm later than curfew." 
"You've broken curfew before." He chuckled, stepping closer to Her, his hands on her hips.
Moving forward, she enclosed her hands around his shoulders, intertwining her fingers at the nape of his neck. Standing on her highest tip toes, she crashed her lips into his, their bodies swaying with the cold wind. 
"Awww, they're so cute! Exes to lovers, I like it."
"I agree. Didn't see the fake dating coming though." 
"Right?! Wanda should start a production company." 
"If Agnes lets these people go." 
***
Meanwhile, Monica had managed to find an abandoned shack in the backyard of Wanda's neighbour's house, her body buzzing with a familiar tension. 
Opening the shack, she saw the trails of purple, vein like thing running their tracks until they reached somewhere she couldn't see. She didn't notice another person creeping up on her, too busy looking at the trails. 
"Snoopers gonna snoop," the voice said, making her jump out of her skin, and keeping a hand on her heaving chest to stop her from hyperventilating. 
"Pietro?!" She startled, looking around to see if anyone had heard her. The neighbourhood was eerily silent, leaning against the wall, before deciding against it and squared her shoulders, looking at the man in front of her. 
"Yeah, that's me. But who are you? And what are you doing in Margie's backyard?" he asked defensively. She would have found the expression comical if it wasn't for her racing heart and adrenaline filled brain. 
"I could ask you the same thing," she said, folding her arms to show a defensive stance. 
"I'm here because… I live here?" he muttered, borrowing his brows as his eyes glazed over again, "Yeah, wait, no... I live with my sister! Who lives two houses from here! What am I doing here?"
"I don't know, you tell me." 
"God, this is so weird. First Wanda was being weird, now I am." 
"What do you mean?" 
"Nothing." 
***
Billy was afraid. He knew that he should be stronger and braver, if not for himself, then for Tommy. His momma always told him that the only thing to fear was fear itself, and he didn't know what that meant, but he knew that he had to be braver to get back to his mom and dad. 
"Billy, I'm scared," Tommy whimpered. "I'm hearing voices again." 
"It's gonna be okay, Mom and Dad will be here soon," he reassured, just as scared as his brother. They were only twelve minutes apart, but he still felt a responsibility for him.
Mom said that they both reminded of her own brother- Uncle Pietro. 
Hearing the door open, he felt a chill crawl up his spine. 
"She's here! Billy, she's here!" 
"I know! I know! Shh!" 
Her footsteps came closer, the cackling of her laughter making his heart pound. His brother buried himself in his shoulders, both of them huddled next to each other, as if the inevitable could be avoided. 
"How are my best boys doing?" Agnes' shrill voice rang, making Billy breathe faster.
"We want Mommy," Tommy whimpered, sounding as small as Billy felt. 
"Oh, I'm sorry honey, that's not happening anytime soon." She tsked, sounding as apologetic as the villains in the action movies his mom forbade him from watching.
"Why's that?" Billy asked, squaring his shoulders as much as he could. 
"You didn't hear? Mommy's dead." 
And his world crashed, his brain crowding with darkness.
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A/N: Lemme know what you think! 😁😁
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kpopxx · 3 years
Text
Spy Games [Chapter 1] : More Than It Seems
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Characters: Twice Momo, Male Reader
4579 words
Authors Note: This is literally the first fiction writing I have done since I was a little kid writing stories about a town full of hamburgers. I was inspired to try my hand at writing by the plethora of amazing kpop smut writers out there right now, but by @lockefanfic​, @nsfwtwicecatcher​, @nsfwflint​, and @ggidolsmuts​ in particular. If there are any similarities between my writing and theirs, please forgive me as I’ve spent more hours than I’d care to admit “researching” their work. 
One thing that amazes me is how the hell everyone cranks out thousands of words with such frequency, as this post isn’t even 5k and it took forever to write. I can’t begin to explain how much respect I have for all the authors out there who can write so much and maintain such high levels of quality.
As a new writer, I welcome any and all feedback! Feel free to drop me a line if you have any critiques, or if you just want to chat!
***
“Coming up on the target now.” 
“Roger that, remember the office is on the top floor. Let us know when you’re inside. And remember, no elevators...” teases your handler, Choa.
“Thanks for the reminder,” you reply sarcastically.
You survey the skyscraper against the night sky--it would be impressive if it weren’t one of a hundred just like it downtown Seoul--and wonder what you had done to deserve getting the short end of the stick. Of course, you knew there was a reason to avoid the elevators: they sat directly in front of the building’s concierge and the cameras in the lobby, while the stairwell lay in a remote part of the first floor. The logic behind your impending hike didn’t make the reality any less abhorrent.
“Meanwhile, Seolhyun gets to infiltrate an organization in the Caymans. Just my fucking luck.” you grumble to yourself.
“Oh, stop whining, you big baby,” says Choa, reminding you to keep your thoughts to yourself.
You sneak past the lobby and towards the back of the floor you find the entrance to the stairwell in a poorly lit area.
“Beginning my climb.” you report, shaking out your legs as you prepare to go up.
“Sir, I-I’m getting some interference over comms,” chimes in the timid voice of the girl you knew to be your newest team member, Yoo Jeongyeon. “It could just be local chatter, but I want to make sure it’s not someone trying to listen in.”
“Probably nothing to worry about, but we’ll let you know if there’s anything you need to worry about.” Choa assures you. 
As you climb up the stairs, you wonder why anyone would want to listen in on this particular mission. This was a run-of-the-mill operation to investigate money laundering at an accounting firm. You’d infiltrated foreign governments, broken into and bugged the offices of billionaire CEOs, and tailed enemy agents. You could understand people wanting to hear those comms, but this? Either someone wanted something to listen to as a sleep aid, or this mission was more interesting than it looked.
A tip had come in through one of the new girls at the Intel Desk reporting that there was some fishy activity related to organized crime going on at the accounting firm. This was routine and you’d gone on dozens of similar recon missions before: break in, find suspicious intel, get out. But if someone wanted so badly to hear what was going on, the new girl may have stumbled onto something worthy of a promotion. Hayoung, you think her name was. Her chestnut, shoulder-length hair along with her well-endowed physique reminded you of a young mother, but her mature beauty belied her young age. You had caught yourself more than a few times fantasizing about her in your off hours…
You stop mid-way in the stairwell, scolding yourself for losing focus. Too often over the course of the last year you found yourself fantasizing about the women in your life. Sure, before the incident with Eunha you had sexual thoughts about your coworkers--you were surrounded by beautiful women, after all. But recently you noticed that your life was increasingly preoccupied with sex: both in your thoughts and the real-life exploits you carried out. 
Much longer than a few minutes later, you reach the 63rd floor out of breath and sweating, wishing more than ever that it was you and not Seolhyun lounging on the beach. You take a moment to compose yourself before peeking out into the office floor to see if the coast is clear.
“We may have a problem, boss. Jeongyeon looked into the comms disturbance and someone much more sophisticated than the average joe is definitely trying to tap in,” Choa says. “Jeongyeon’s kicking their ass right now blocking their access, but there’s only so much she can do alone. Eventually we’re going to lose control of this channel.”
“Dammit. I knew something was off with this op,” you grumble. “If they want to listen in to whatever I find, it must be important. We’ll go dark. Recon says this should be a quick in and out anyways. I’ll tag you once I’m out.”
“Be careful. Signal us if anything goes wrong. Just don’t do anything stupid.” replies Choa. 
“What do you think they pay me all this money for?” you tease, wanting to put her nerves at ease. “See you on the other side. Over and out.”
You could hear the concern in her voice. Even though keeping you safe was part of her job, you knew she cared about you. You also knew as well as she did that anything could go wrong even in the five minutes it would take you to break in, especially when it appeared that someone knew exactly what you were doing.
You switch off your comms link and head out the door and into the office.
It looked exactly as you expected--rows and rows of non-descript cubicles, with a princely office lined with glass walls occupying the far corner. Jeongyeon had retrieved the floor plan by hacking into the building’s security database earlier in the week, and you knew after her effort tonight in detecting and fending off the comms interference that Choa would want you to acknowledge the work the new girl had been putting in. She certainly was more skilled than the five previous team members you’d fired after Eunha, but you found it difficult to bring yourself to praise her. The Ops Officer position she occupied was a sore point for you, after all.
You deftly pick the lock on the corner office door and immediately sit down in front of the terminal on the desk, logging in with the security bypass Jeongyeon drew up. 
Again your thoughts drift to Eunha. Eunha was your longtime Ops Officer--highly skilled, you trusted her more than anyone. It also helped that she was your fiance. It made you sad to think about her; about what could have been, what should have been. Over the past year, you were constantly reminded of her absence by the utter incompetence of her replacements. You suppose it was nice that at the very least, Jeongyeon didn’t give you many opportunities to bemoan her performance in the same way--to remind you of Eunha.
You shake your head, compelling yourself to rise out of your funk and get on with the mission.
As you scroll through files, you stop on one with a familiar signature. Reading its contents, your eyes open wider--suddenly you understand why someone would be interested to listen in to your communications. You quickly save the file to your flash drive and stand up to leave, only to be startled by a figure in the doorway.
“Care to tell me what’s on that?” comes a familiar voice from the darkness that you knew to be Hirai Momo’s. Momo was an agent for a foreign espionage agency--you had as friendly a rivalry as you could have when working for different governments. 
“What was the point of trying to hack our comms if you were just going to show up and ask me that?”
“I had no intention of coming until you decided to ghost your girlfriends,” teases Momo. “Besides, I like showing you how much better I am at sneaking around.”
Momo flicks on the light and she comes into focus. The Japanese government made a good decision when they hired her, you think. She was built for the job of a seductive spy. Her perfectly toned legs had a lovely sheen all the way up to her short skirt, while her cleavage suggested that her tits were ready to burst out of her tight, patterned blouse. Where most of your attention was drawn, however, was her lustrous blue hair, which fell to her shoulders.
“I may actually need your help with this, once you see what’s on it,” you say, nodding your head at the flash drive.
“Oh, so you’re willing to give it to me? I thought I was going to have to fuck you for it,” she says sarcastically. You knew behind the humor was more than a nugget of truth, though. Sex had been the primary vehicle for information trading with Momo over the years. You decide to test your reading of the situation.
“Just because I need your help doesn’t mean I’m giving it for free…”
Momo brings her thumb to her mouth and bites gently as she ponders your not-so-subtle proposition. She takes her turn to look you up and down, making you feel more than a little self conscious in her gaze of judgment. After so many years in the dangerous world of espionage, there were only a handful women who could make you feel so small. Then again, Momo was no regular girl. 
Once she’s satisfied she has properly appraised your worth, Momo lets go of her thumb and straightens her blouse.
“Fine,” she says matter-of-factly, “let’s get to it,” unbuttoning her blouse as she walks towards you.
You are surprised by the lack of fight she put up, but you thought it best to keep that to yourself. Her tone reminds you of a business meeting--that is, if you hadn’t seen her pull her top off as she approached you. She sits in your lap on the chair, wrapping her arms around your neck as you meet her lips for a kiss. Momo’s mouth was familiar to you, introduced to you many times throughout your career. It seemed like every time you ran across her you had sex. One thing you adored about your relationship with her was that it was absolutely without strings attached. You fucked for work, but just because it was part of the job didn’t mean you both didn’t enjoy it. 
Momo, however, was loath to admit the pleasure she got out of her liaisons with you. Call it pride, call it being professional, whatever--Momo refused to act like sex with you was anything other than work, no different than working in a spreadsheet.
You feel her reach down to your pants, quickly unbuttoning them as she sinks to her knees in front of you. You smirk--her eagerness to please you betrayed her air of ambivalence.
Momo wastes no time getting down to business. You are certain the Japanese trained her very well in tender foreplay, but it seems she doesn’t care much for subtlety at the moment. Instead, she utilizes a more direct method to extract your pleasure--one that must have required its own fair share of training--as she spits on your cock before immediately forcing it as deeply in her mouth as she can take it. One, two, three bobs is all it takes for her to reach the base of your cock, her nose buried in your pelvis.
“Fuuuck me, that’s good,” you groan as you hold her head in place for several seconds, and Momo replies in turn with a cough that spits a healthy serving of saliva on to your cock. You release your grip on the back of her head to give her a chance to breathe, but she surprises you when she simply continues to work her mouth on your increasingly saliva-drenched cock, swirling her tongue around your base. Most of the other women you had slept with in recent months would be gasping for air by now, but Momo’s demeanor was cool, calm, and collected. Almost as if she was reading your mind, Momo paused her slurping and pulled her mouth off your shaft--but not forgetting to continue stroking it with achingly deft corkscrew motions.
“What’s the matter? Girls in your department not able to take care of your cock like a real woman?” Momo clicks her tongue and grins. “I’ve told you for years, you’d never be treated so poorly if you came to work for a professional outfit like ours.”
“Shut up and suck my cock.”
Momo shrugs, and gets back to the task at hand. Slobbering even more as she takes you into your mouth again, you pause to thank your lucky stars that you had a job that paid you in part to fuck women like Momo. You gaze upon her face, which has become just as messy as your cock. Momo’s sloppy blowjob has not only left liberal amounts of spit on your cock, but on her face as well--with strands of her blue hair plastered to her cheeks. Even though you thought it impossible, you feel your cock get harder at the sight of Momo’s messy face.
For several minutes, Momo continues inhaling your cock as you find yourself nearing the point of no return, you yank Momo’s head off your throbbing cock in order to prolong your session. A bit too forcefully, it seems, as Momo falls over onto her side.
“What the fuck!” yelps Momo as she picks herself back up, glaring at you. “I suck your cock and you thank me by throwing me on the ground?
“I didn’t mean to, I’m just not ready to cum yet. We both know you would’ve ignored me if I had asked you to stop.”
“I guess you’re right about that,” Momo replies sheepishly. You knew from previous run-ins with her that she loved nothing more than swallowing cum. Even though you had just denied her that favor, you were already thinking about how to make it up to her in a few minutes.
“How about I repay your kindness? Get up on the table and let me eat you.”
“Let’s skip the pleasantries. I’ll get up on the table, but you’re going to fuck me.”
“Someone’s eager to see what’s in this thumb drive,” you tease, inadvertently reminding yourself that this was a transactional liaison. You suspected that Momo’s interest in you extended beyond her desire for the information at hand, and part of you yearned to take her outside of the confines of work. You’re skeptical such a day would ever come, however, given how ambitious Momo was. 
You knew her story--she applied for a job in the Japanese spy agency several years ago, making it all the way through the process before being cut at the very end. She ended up receiving an offer shortly after one of the other finalists died in a ‘training accident’, but Momo lived with a chip on her shoulder ever since. She lived and worked with a pathological drive to prove the agency wrong in their original decision to cut her. Already the youngest lead operative in her country’s history, she had an eye on the directorship and seemed destined for it. So, you supposed, it was nice to be able to fuck her before she became famous.
Momo hops on up on the desk, hiking up her skirt to reveal a delicious-looking blue thong that matches her hair. She looks behind towards you with lust heavy in her eyes as she pulls her thong to the side, revealing her glistening pussy--already dripping, you noted.
“I don’t have all night.”
More than happy to oblige, you line your painfully throbbing cock up with her pussy and you can feel the warmth radiating from it. You take a second to appreciate Momo’s incredible physique as your hands graze downward from her upper back, to her hips, and finally to her ass. As you rub it, you cannot help but appreciate how sublimely taut it is. 
“Jeeze, you act like this is the first time you’ve seen a woman naked,” Momo jabs, interrupting your reverie.
You are starting to get annoyed with Momo’s demeanor. It was nothing new, really--she always carried an air of superiority--but it nonetheless grates on your nerves to see her be so dismissive. You are mature enough to understand that at least a part of this aggravation had to do with the fact that you knew Momo slept with plenty of men for work. Not so mature, however, to be able to stifle the primal urge deep inside of you that wanted Momo to see you as the best of all her lovers. More than ever, it seemed that sexual vanity mattered a great deal to your self-confidence.
With a renewed sense of purpose and your cock in hand, you enter Momo slowly with a long stroke until you fill her to the hilt. In unison with your initial insertion, Momo lets out a whine that crescendos as you bottom out.
As you begin to thrust in and out Momo settles in and widens her stance ever so little, which has the added benefit of allowing you to go even deeper into her warm, wet pussy. Momo was not a girl of surprises. Her face was gorgeous, capable of angelic beauty and fiery lust. Her body reflected the many hours she spent in the gym with ample breasts, insanely tight abs, and a toned ass to match. Her pussy feels exactly as sublime as her beautiful face and incredible body suggested. The perfect combination for a woman who used her body to seduce and take advantage of brainless men. You decide to push out your mind the realization that at this very moment, you are in fact one of those men.
You wanted to make sure Momo felt each and every drive into her hot flesh. Momo continued to moan quietly, each breath punctuated with a new thrust and the sound of your skin meeting hers.
“Looks like someone’s gotten real quiet all of a sudden,” you say, noticing her haughty attitude had subsided as pleasure took you both over.
“Oh, get over yourself,” Momo says, looking back at you with rekindled determination in her eyes, “you’re no better than half the guys I’ve been with. I’m here for the file, not for whatever you call this.” She cooly turns her head to face front again, leaving you seething.
Your twinge of annoyance was now a bubbling boil.
You slow down before withdrawing your cock from her warmth--Momo lets out the faintest whine of disappointment, betraying her dissatisfied front.
Just as Momo turns her head again to complain, you quickly slam your cock deep inside her. Momo yelps, and you notice her eyes bulge as you move your hips in a circular motion with your cock filled to the hilt, scraping deep inside her pussy. After several seconds of this you grab a makeshift ponytail out of her hair and yank backwards, causing her to gasp and arch her back instinctively. As much as she bothered you with her air of indifference, you had to admit that the image in front of you was the stuff of dreams.
Taking advantage of the highly erotic sight before you and the increased leverage offered by your grasp of her hair, you began to truly fuck her with quick and powerful strokes.
“Take it, Momo,” you grunted, beads of sweat beginning to form on your forehead.
Momo said nothing, emitting only breathless gasps from her open mouth. You noticed that their intensity was gradually increasing, so you increased the speed of your shaft penetrating her young, sinful body. You knew she was enjoying this, but you wouldn’t be satisfied until you broke her facade. You wanted her to lose herself to you.
You speed up even more, and the volume of your skin slapping together increases as her pussy drips wetter and wetter, mixing with your leaking precum. You are slamming your cock into her now, and Momo has to grab on to the table to steady herself. Slowly but surely her pretense was crumbling.
“You want it, don’t you Momo? You want more?”
“Fuck yeah,” Momo gasps hoarsely, struggling to speak with her hair being pulled, “Give it to me...o-oh...fuck, give it to me!”
Satisfied that she had succumbed to her pleasure, you relax your grip on her hair slightly and lean over to growl in her ear.
“I’ll give it to you. I’m gonna make sure you remember this, make sure every time you’re with another man you wish it was me.”
Momo acknowledges your promise with a deep groan, giving you great pleasure as you resumed fucking her gorgeous body.
Your eyes drift downward to her glorious ass, now shining with sweat and jiggling violently with each crash of your cock inside her. Inspired by the sight, you release her hair and put one hand on her hip and begin striking her ass with your other. Momo shrieks in surprise, but quickly looks back at you with lidded eyes while biting her lip to tell you she wanted more.
Again you oblige, and it was quickly becoming clear that lust and pleasure were staging a coup of Momo’s senses. She’s making lots of noise, but nothing intelligible. Nothing but guttural moans interspersed with high-pitched squeals. You continue spanking her ass, alternating cheeks--noticing a deep pink beginning to form on both. She’d most likely be dealing with soreness for several days after this, you think.
“You wanna cum, Momo? Cum for me, I know you want to.”
“Mmmmm...Ah, ah, AH! Unggghh,” comes Momo’s response.
“Come on Momo, fucking cum baby...cum all over this cock,” you shout, sincerely hoping there was no one working in an adjacent floor to hear.
“FUUUUCK!” Momo screams eloquently, suddenly dropping her head as her body begins convulsing. You knew what to expect having slept with her before, but you are nonetheless surprised to see how completely overtaken her body was by pleasure. Her upper body jerks spastically as her legs tremble with your cock plunged deep inside her pussy, all the while letting out a high-pitched whine that turns into a soft whimper. Just a few minutes before she was defiant and happy to throw insults at you...now she was a mewling, writhing mess incapable of speaking. The dark, primal part of you is satisfied by her tacit recognition of your talent.
After a short while, Momo begins to compose herself and lifts her upper body from the table. You take it as a sign to slowly resume taking your cock in and out of her. You decide to give her now glowing pink ass a rest and caress her back, tracing long lines with your nails.
“Mmmmm, that feels good,” Momo says, her eyes still closed, “you fuck me so good.”
You slowly begin ramping up the pace, rolling your hips with each stroke. You want to make sure your cock pleases every inch of Momo’s pussy, and make sure it craves you when she’s alone at night. 
After several minutes of this tender, softer version of lovemaking, Momo comes back to her senses. She arches her back again and turns her head to gaze in your eyes as you continue to take her. She begins to move her ass back and forth on your cock in unison with your own strokes.
“Oh my god, you feel so good in my fucking pussy! Every...fucking...stroke!” Momo gasps, the final words punctuated by the force of her majestic ass crashing against your cock.
“You’re a bad girl, Momo,” you tease, “you like being taken and shown who’s boss, don’t you? You like me grabbing your hair and slapping your ass?”
“Yes!” she gasps, “Yes I love it! Mmmmm...I want you to fuck me until you cum. Fuck me until you cum!”
There was no command in the world easier to follow.
Satisfied that you had fulfilled your vain, immature desire to see her acknowledge your skill as a lover, you now focus yourself on extracting pleasure from the young woman beneath you. You settle into a pace with rough strokes, fiercely pounding her over and over. Your pleasure rises with each thrust, aided not only by the mindblowing caress of her pussy, but by the incredible sight of Momo on all fours before you moaning with each strike of your cock inside her.
“Fuck Momo...I don’t think I have much longer, I’m gonna fucking cum so hard!”
“Yes,” comes the response from Momo, “Yes, yes! Fucking cum baby, I want your cum so bad!”
A few more thrusts and you can feel the point of no return coming. For a brief moment you contemplate cumming inside Momo, to truly claim her. You quickly reconsider, wanting to give her what she truly wanted--to swallow your load.
And so, you quickly withdraw your cock from Momo’s now sopping wet pussy and she instinctively turns around and drops to her knees on the floor. Stroking your cock with great fervor, her mouth wide open begging for what was to come.
“Please give me your cum, please, please! I want it...I need it! Cum for me!”
Your head tilts backward as a long groan escapes your lips. Your cum explodes from your shaft, shooting long, thick ropes of semen into her mouth and onto her cheeks and nose. Over and over, your cum splashes on her beautiful face until you finally reach the end of your orgasm, panting and exhausted. Momo’s face is a pornographic picture of lust, her eyes rolled back in pleasure as she swallows the mass of cum you deposited in her mouth.
“I fucking love your cum,” Momo says as she wipes the remaining cum off her face with her finger and promptly brings it to her tongue before swallowing it down as well.
“I’m glad we were both able to get what we wanted,” you say, struggling to catch your breath.
“Speaking of getting what I wanted…” Momo says, nodding her head to the part of the floor where the USB drive now sits, evidently thrown from the table during the session that had just taken place.
“Right,” you say, suddenly remembering you’re here for work, “make a copy and let’s get out of here.”
“Great,” says Momo, still on the floor with a satisfied smile of content on her face, “Hey, I meant what I said about having you join our team. As much shit as I give you, we could really use someone with your talent.”
“Thanks, but I think I’m better off staying put. Don’t think the Korean government would let me live if I tried defecting.”
“Probably true,” says Momo as she begins picking up her clothes, “Never hurts to ask, though.”
***
A few minutes later, you and Momo had both gotten dressed and copied the file onto a drive for her. Momo disappeared into an adjoining hallway and you set off to traverse the stairwell again. As you prepare yourself for the descent, you also steel yourself for the repercussions of giving the intel to a foreign spy agency. With the information you saw in the file, you knew the Japanese would have to be looped in sooner or later. If it was going to happen eventually, you thought it made the most sense to entrust that intel to the agent on the other side you knew would make sure things got done correctly. As logical as it seemed to you, however, you knew it wouldn’t be taken well back at the office.
You click on your comms link, now knowing there’s nothing to fear. 
“Hey Choa, I’m on my way back to the rendezvous.”
“Oh thank god! That took forever, I was about to call for a tac team!” Choa sighs with audible relief, “I take it you got everything you needed?”
“Got more than I needed, actually,” you say, nervous about Choa’s reaction to what you say next, “Listen, there’s one small thing you should know...”
“You did WHAT?!”
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pairing: zen'in maki x gn reader
req: no | wc: 1.01k
a/n: i love her, might be ooc
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There was always something about Maki that attracted you to her.
Not attracted in the way one would be to an idol, nor in the way one would with someone who shared their interests. You didn't want to become her friend –well, you did, but you also wanted something beyond that.
Perhaps this feeling she caused in you, one that had only ever sparked around her, was a crush.
You liked her, you really did, though this void in your knowledge needed to be patched. You wanted to know what it was that attracted you to her.
It was not her beauty, that's for sure. While Maki was beautiful in her own ways, the average man would not exactly call her attractive. It was not to say that she was unattractive, but she wasn't one to spark an interest in a stranger specifically because of her looks. And while she did interest you at first sight, it was not her looks that did.
Although eventually, it was the cause of your sweaty palms. The moments you glanced her way were spent admiring her, the subtlety of her smile, the way she tucked a hair behind her ear to keep away from her vision as she read, and the soft furrowing of her eyebrow as she deciphered Inumake's words.
It wasn't her expertise, either. She may be skilled and she may deserve a position higher than that of a 4th grade sorcerer, except you were sure that wasn't what made you feel butterflies. This attraction had spiked before you had gotten to know her expertise.
Except, eventually, it was the cause of your warm cheeks. You admired her smirk she held when she knew this battle was already won, the smile when she found a challenging opponent, and the way she twirled her weapon as she held her head high over a defeated enemy.
It wasn't her attitude. It wasn't the way she treated her friends, underclassmen, or upperclassmen. After all, she treated you just the same as anybody else. Maki didn't have biases, she didn't treat anybody differently. She was blunt and tough on everyone, and some may find it undesirable, but it did not change the way you saw her.
Though, eventually, her attitude softened around you. She did not regard you with the same hard looks she did anybody else. When her gaze fell upon you, she smiled gently. She let herself loose around you, often talking about her favorite subjects and her wondrous interests with an excitement incomparable to any you've seen.
And maybe it was her personality. She lived and trained to spite her family. She was determined through and through to be a good sorcerer, the title of 4th grade did not deject her at all. She knew how to act under pressure, and no matter the trouble, she persisted. She was headstrong, knowing her right from wrong.
Eventually, she was someone you looked forward to being around with. The longer you got to know her, the more you knew of her. She had built high walls, and she let you break them down. Maki was tough, but with you, she allowed herself to show her emotions.
There were many things to like about her. All that you'd noticed and all that you analyzed seemed plausible and implausible at the same time. You searched and searched, only to find nothing.
So when she invites you to a picnic under the newly blossomed sakura trees, you have to accept. At first you thought she would have invited the other second years, but upon arrival, you found her alone.
In all the time you knew her, you’d never exactly been alone with her. There’s always been a classmate around the corner, or a person in the background. To be completely alone with her… it was exciting yet scary.
Yet you couldn’t find yourself talking.
“It’s beautiful.” Maki remarks. Of course, she doesn’t seem as nervous as you.
“Yeah.” You agree in a tone barely audible. Why were you scared anyway? It wasn’t like you would blurt out your feelings for her or-
“Are you going to confess to me yet?”
You spit out your drink, thankfully off to the side, and -unfortunately- snap your eyes over to meet hers. “PFFF- I, uh-!”
She doubles over laughing, punching at the ground. It brings an awful burn to your cheeks, one that lasts for as long as she keeps laughing, which is a damn long time.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” She wipes the tears from the corners of her eyes and clears her throat, finally looking back at you with a sudden seriousness. Still, you can see the joy in her uplifted lips and eyes. “Don’t worry, I like you too.”
She grabs your hand then almost drops it immediately, “I’m sorry, can I hold your hand?”
“You sort of are… already.”
“Right,” She laughs nervously, a word you’d never thought would describe her. It dawns on you that she probably doesn’t know much about love either. She clears her throat once again, “It’s just you’re really cute, and I often catch you staring at me, and I’ve always wanted to tell you, but I’ve never had the guts. I love that you can put up with my ranting, and my tough attitude, and unlike everybody else, you never make me angry-”
“Stop…” You were convinced that the burning of your cheeks would never stop if she kept going.
“Huh? What is it?”
“You’re… embarrassing me.” She laughs again, though much shorter yet still lively.
"Sorry." This time, when she ceases, her eyes brush over your features.
At some point, they look down, down at your lips. Tenderly, she cups your cheek with one hand, the other still holding on to your hand tightly. Slowly, she leans forward for a kiss. As the sparks tingle on your lips, you find a replacement for the answer you've been looking for.
Maybe you didn't need to know. Besides, in your journey to find out, you'd fallen in love with her entirety.
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Laurel Wreaths & Animal Teeth (2)
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(c!Technoblade x fem!Reader)
(a/n: a handful of people seemed to like this story so here’s part two! same as with the first chapter, if this one gets some interest then i’ll do part 3.)
~~~~~~~~~
Like every night of sleep here you woke up after what felt like no time at all. But at least you felt rested instead of tired still. Either way, it was time to get up and have some food before fixing up this village. Which was in dire need of it from what you saw the day before.
After eating some bread you got to work scoping out the village, jotting down in a book (with a damn QUILL) what problems needed to be fixed first and which could come later. Once that was done you started evening out the land so it wasn’t one hill after another with a ton of dark spots. 
Figuring out how to just make blocks and items disappear was weird. And seeing it happen in real life time was even weirder. You just put your hand on a block or anything not alive and with a twitch of your fingers the item just… ceased to be. All you got was a quick breaking sound followed by a particle effect that lasted a half a second, then nothing. 
You got used to it. You’d have to, that’s just what humans do. Adapt.
“Hmm.”
You’d been so focused on terraforming that you’d gotten a little spooked when you suddenly heard a voice behind you. After turning around you saw some villagers watching you. You blinked and after a couple seconds of silence you said,
“Hello.”
They just watched you and gave murmurs that didn’t sound like anything negative, and you didn’t wanna make things awkward so you just went back to doing what you were before. You chalked it up to them being curious about the new person in their village changing stuff. So you gave them a smile before getting back to work. 
They stayed and watched you for a bit longer before one by one leaving to do whatever it was they’d been doing before coming to scope out what you were up to.  You figured they were just checking to see if you were dangerous or not. Which was understandable so you paid them little mind.
You got lost in the zone after that, just working diligently to smooth out the land and fill in parts of the river so it wasn’t bisecting the village and making it hard to get from one side to the other. Hours passed without you realizing, you didn’t have a hunger bar so no growling stomach to snap you back into focus either.
In the back of your mind you noticed the sun had set because you had to pull out some torches to make seeing easier. But aside from that you were oblivious to the world around you. At least you had been until the sound of pained grunts made you look up from what you were doing for the first time in nearly 10 solid hours.
Your eyes widened when you saw a villager cornered between some hay bales and the side of a house, getting attacked by a zombie. Like in the game his whole body sorta flashed a red tint to show he was taking damage. You didn’t even really think before you reacted, you just saw someone getting hurt so you yelled loudly,
“HEY!”
To your surprise the zombie halted and turned to look at you. But then seemed to disregard you and started to turn back to its violent task, intent to ignore your call and you felt just enough outrage to start rushing over, yelling at the undead as you did. This caught both zombie and villager’s attention. 
The villager edged back as you came over and started smacking the zombie back, making him grunt and stumble slowly backwards. After you dealt him a couple hearts damage he turned and shuffled away from you both. With you hurling colorful commentary at him as he slowly feld. Once he was gone you turned to the blinking villager and put your hands on your hips and scolded him,
“What are you doing?? It’s night time! Get inside and go to bed!”
The villager looked alarmed as he rushed to hop up the short steps to the house he’d previously been wedged against, hurrying inside and slamming the door closed behind him. You sighed, a little annoyed with how hard your heart was beating from the adrenaline of having to essentially break up an attack. 
With one last huff you turned and headed back to your previous task. But half way there you stopped and glanced around the village before sighing again and deciding it wouldn’t hurt to check to make sure all the other villagers were safe inside right now. 
This would become a routine for you, making sure the villagers were safe indoors after sunset.
-0-
Days turned into weeks and before you knew it you’d terraformed the land the village was on into a much more manageable and easy to navigate space. You’d even started upgrading the villager’s houses and stuff. You did this mostly because all their houses were like 3x3 inside and looked beyond cramped. 
Also you disliked cobblestone when used in the construction of Minecraft houses. It just looked ugly in your opinion and stone looks way better. So you used that and different colored terracotta and pretty lamps instead of plain torches in some spots. It all gave the village a more cozy vibe you think. But either way your construction drew the villagers’ attention once more.
The villager whose house you started with hadn’t sounded happy when you built up and began to break the roof. He’d grunted and walked around watching you but stepped back when you called down and told him you were fixing the house and making it stronger and bigger for him. He hadn’t seemed fully convinced but he didn’t sound as upset so you continued.
It was when you were putting on the roof that you discovered that you didn’t take fall damage…
You’d stepped back to put the top point of the roof in place and miscalculated how much roof was left to stand on behind you and ended up slipping off. You barely had time to register what was happening, much less scream, before you were just… standing on the ground. You looked up and saw the unfinished underside of the roof’s edge…. a good 15 feet up in the air above you…
You looked down and mentally checked yourself over and you were fine? Not a scratch or ache anywhere in your legs. Which should be the bare minimum someone should have after falling off of a nearly 2 story roof. But you were perfectly okay, and honestly… sorta curious. And at this point you were more curious than cautious so you actually went back to the edge of the roof and just.. jumped off. You were incredibly lucky the first safe fall hadn’t been a fluke..
You landed nice and soft again this time. Only now you were able to watch what happened as you fell since you were looking down and not up (or having your brain lag in fear). You fell normally at first but once you got about 3 feet from the ground you slowed before landing about as hard as if you’d taken one step downward. The wind rushed past you and fluttered your clothes but aside from that you were unaffected by the high fall.
“Well…. I suppose that’s one less thing to worry about?” you sort of stated with a questioning tone because honestly you’re just trying to roll with the punches at this point.
-0-
You noticed there were only TWO profession blocks in the whole village, a farmer compositor and the weaponsmith’s grindstone. Which wasn’t great village wise you were sure. So you started to just… add professions to pre-existing houses. Like one house you converted into a two story with a balcony and added a library and lectern to it before bringing a villager over and showing them. 
Honestly you weren’t totally sure they would be interested but to your delight their clothes changed after they were surrounded by some green sparkles, signaling they’d taken up the role of ‘Librarian’! You clapped happily and said this was great, to which the villager responded with a happy sound. You left them to their studies and went to add more job site blocks!
-0-
You’re not sure how much time passed since you’d found this village. But you can say it definitely looked different these days, in a good way. You’d renovated (or outright remodeled) all the homes and now each villager had a job. Well, except for one who, for whatever reason, didn’t want any of the jobs. You’d tried showing him each option and he just gave unhappy grunts for each one. 
Finally you’d asked if he wanted a job and he gave a negative ‘hrm’. So you’d figured it was his choice at the end of the day so you shrugged and got rid of the career blocks and told him that was okay. You told him his job could be to Not have a job! And he seemed perfectly content with that so you just left his home a regular one and went about your day. So really, a happy ending for everyone.
And once the village was all set looking nice and prosperous you finally stopped and realized… you’d never made yourself a house? Though to be fair you’d sort of hyper focused on building up the village and all the villager’s professional skills so you’d not had much time to think about yourself. And now that you think about it.. you’re not sure when the last time you ate or slept was.. Like, at all! Which would be concerning if you were starving or about to pass out but you mostly felt normal? You could eat or go for a nap but you could also just.. not? And you’d be okay you think.
“This is all super weird.. I need to go to sleep I think…” you sort of mumbled to yourself.
You looked around and noted the time of day, which meant no sleep yet. Then you surveyed the large village and noticed a nice hill one of the four main crossroad paths in the village was leading towards. It was too far away for any more villager houses so you’d left it alone in your building spree. But now that you were walking around it you saw it would be a great spot for a place of your own! All you had to do was remove a couple trees, widen the top layer of dirt and move the path a little to the left and you’d be golden.
But you were pretty much sick of looking at oak logs, grey stone bricks, and terracotta so you decided to forgo using them in whatever design you settled on for your house. Instead you open your ‘expanded’ inventory of all the building blocks and began looking through them idly, searching for something nice looking that wasn’t too bland or contrary too flashy. Like sure a diamond block house SOUNDS cool and also very pretty but actually making a house out of diamond blocks seems like it’s just asking for trouble.
You couldn’t help the chuckle you let out at the thought of someone actually building a house of diamond then going mining or whatever and coming back to their whole house being gone save for their bed. But you pushed those silly thoughts away and finally ended up choosing some quartz stone for now. It was a good looking stone, nice and smooth. As you looked through the other blocks you thought about what your house should look like. You didn’t want to build any more of the standard villager houses at this point, you were sorta burnt out on that. 
Vaguely you recalled a handful of house and building tutorials you’d watched on youtube. But honestly it's been such a long time since you watched them that you really only remembered the final products. Although you reason that that shouldn’t stop you from trying anyways! Because what’s the worst that will happen? It’ll look ugly? Then you can just take it down and try try again! You’d start building slow and see what you liked and what looked cool. 
So with that decided you grabbed one of the quartz blocks and some stairs to match then got to work on your new house.
@salinesoot​ @lady-bee-fechin​ @kacchasu​ @putridjoy​ @lunawritesstories​ @galaxypankitty3030​ @paradigmax​ @zachariethememerie​ @killmewithafanfic​
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thefanficmonster · 3 years
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I may or may not have just sent the 3 word challenge in my real account instead of anon... I'm sorry. Please don't answer there. :)
When you post, post answering here please.
Again, much love,
📚🌻
Don't worry dear! Your identity shall remain a secret 🥰 Here's yet another fic with my Resident Evil OC: Gwen Winters (she’s an adult guys, don’t worry. However this is still an Older Man/Younger Woman relationship)
The words dear  📚🌻 Anon gave me in their previous ask were: Unruly, endurable and system. Please enjoy!
What happens in the gym....
Pairing: Chris Redfield x Female OC
Warnings: Swearing, Spoiler Free 😊
Genre: Angsty Romance
“Sure, throw me in the fire like you always do, Leon!“ Chris snaps, clenching his fists tightly as he glares at his best friend while the two stand in the dimly lit gym.
“Chris, you’re a BSAA captain, for the love of God! You should know better than to complain about something as little as this!“ Leon, while significantly calmer tone and demeanor-wise, is glaring daggers of his own.
“Why me, damn it?! And why her?!“ Chris is not done with his attempts to get out of the situation Leon’s trying to land him in and his partner’s honestly done with it.
“And why not?! You see the same potential I see, why would it be so hard to train her? She’s a quick learner, she’s disciplined when she wants to be and she’s already skilled to a certain degree. You’ve made soldiers out of total wimps before, why is she such a hassle to you?!“
“Because she’s disciplined when she wants to be and I guarantee she won’t want to when she’s around me. She’s unruly, selfish, arrogant and a Chris-phobe. I’m telling you, she hates me!“
It’s about time Leon’s had enough of this conversation. To be honest, he was done with it as soon as it started but he stayed, thinking he’d be able to change Chris’ mind but seeing as how this is a hopeless case, he’s just been wasting his time. “Does she? Or are you projecting your hate for her onto her?” Slinging his duffel bag containing his training gear over his shoulder, Leon finally makes that realization that these are ten minutes of his life he’ll never get back and storms out of the gym without another word.
Chris doesn’t attempt to stop him, in fact, he’s relieved he left. He sighs, silently hating himself for all the shit he said and how he meant none of it. It was all hard bullshit and he doesn’t know whether to be thankful or disappointed that Leon didn’t realize. Either way, he’s been cleared of possible suspicion, even if training the newest BSAA rookie still remains as his task.
Gwen Winters, she’s such a fucking handful. One cannot tell if it’s because she’s angry with the world, angry with herself or just straight up picked up on the habits of the family that took her in when she was rescued from Raccoon City where she was held as an experiment hamster. A chemistry project basically. Ethan and Mia were recovering from the events back in Louisiana at the time, still probably are, that is not some shit you get over, so they thought having another person in the house would help them. And help Gwen did. See, Gwen isn’t a handful with everyone. In fact, she’s a real sweetheart and Chris knows it too, despite his bogus claims. He knows she’s got a heart and soul of gold and is built with the will of a BSAA soldier already. All she needs is a bit better fighting skills and she’s good to go. 
He sees how she acts with everyone around him. She’s been quick to make friends with Jill and his sister Claire and she’s even got Leon’s liking and trust which is hella hard to get, especially after all the shit with Ada. She’s overall a super sweet and lovely girl, even with him from time to time. He’s seen her welcoming, friendly smiles whenever he stops by the Winters’ home. He’s heard her laugh at the jokes he rarely cracks.
Then why does she act like she hates him so often? And why does he claim he hates her?
Chris is snapped back to reality by the sound of rough impact. It’s a very distinct noise, one he places immediately: the sound of fists hitting a punching bag. It’s the middle of the night, almost midnight actually, and knowing how lazy the soldiers on his team are, he can only assume it’s either his sister or Jill, given that Leon just left. However, they’ve had people sneak in to train for free before, so it’d be for the best if he went to check who was releasing some pent up energy on the poor punching bag. Judging by the intensity of the punches being thrown, sounds like the person might be angry as well.
And they have every right to be. Because they are Gwen.
Chris’ face goes a bit red at the sight of the infuriated rookie giving the punching bag her all, punishing it the way she’d want to do to her superior she just heard call her all the names she hates being referred by.
“Winters I-“
“Unruly?“ Punch “Selfish?” Punch “Arrogant?” Punch
She stills herself, sighing and wiping the droplets of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, “You say all that and expect me not to be a Chris-phobe?” She lets out a bitter laugh, rolling her shoulders before continuing her wrath over the piece of equipment she’s threatening to destroy. She hasn’t spared him a single look yet, something he’s rather grateful for because the last thing he wants to see is whatever her gaze is hiding right now. “I’ll talk to Leon.” She says, her voice leveled and breathy, far from the pissed off tone she was just using. This calmness is a lot scarier though. “I’ll tell him I don’t want you to be my trainer. To be perfectly clear, I never wanted you to train me in the first place. I’m just not the type to complain, you know. I’m not picky. Beggers can’t be choosers. I take what I can get. And you were all I was offered, but...” she trails off, delivering a particularly hard punch, “It’s not gonna work. I may not be picky, but I know when to draw the line. I know when I deserve better.”
“Kid, you really have no idea what the case really is here.“ He attempts desperately, taunted by the thought of acting on his instincts and approaching her even if that means being the recipient of one of those hard punches.
“You know, I’m strong. I’m skilled. I can hold my own in a fight quite nicely. I’m endurable. I’m not afraid to work my ass off and sweat and pant like a dog after workouts. There’s not a line I wouldn’t cross, but you still choose to make me feel lesser than any soldier you’ve ever come across, that’s really lovely of you, Captain Redfield.“
“Winters, please...“
“It’s ok, I won’t tell Ethan and Mia. I’m sure they’ll send you to hell over it. I’m not petty like that.“
He’s had enough. He’s had enough of hearing that hurt tone in her voice. He’s done hearing these words she’s so certain are true but aren’t. He’s done lying to her and to himself. Before he can even think twice about it, he grabs her by the arms gently but firmly, turning her to face him despite her hostile attempts to free herself from his hold like a wild animal caught in a trap. He’s surprised when she relaxes, probably seeing that as a quicker way out of the situation rather than struggling though if she tried to free herself any longer he would’ve probably let her go.
“Fucking hell, Gwen, listen to me.“ He looks her dead in the eyes, catching onto the spark of shock created by his use of her first name. But he also sees something else, something that looks dangerously a lot like tears. He knows she won’t cry, especially not in front of him, but knowing that he’s the cause behind the welling of those crystal droplets in her always shiny, always smiling eyes breaks him. When she doesn’t look away nor protest, he continues, “I can’t be your captain. I can’t be your trainer. I can’t be any of that. I’m a strictly professional man, and it’d be highly unprofessional of me to take you in as my soldier.”
“But why?“ She’s fully aware she sounds like a whiny kid - exactly how she thinks he envisions her sometimes - but she couldn’t care less. She wants and needs answers. She knows she won’t be able to fall asleep or keep coming back to the training center if she doesn’t get them.
It’s blatantly clear this is far from easy for Chris. His first instinct is to look away, let go of her, run away like he always does - not that she’d let him do such a thing but still. He’s finds the words impossible to spit out yet he oh so desperately feels the need to get them out of his system. And so, he gathers all the strength within him and finally forces himself to say it.
“Because a captain isn’t supposed to look at a soldier the way I look at you.“
Sure, it sounds cryptic as heck but he has no doubt she’ll catch on. Gwen is a smart and sharp girl, among many other things. She confirms this when barely three seconds after he’s said it, he notices her eyes widening
“Sir, I-“
“Don’t.“ He says simply, a small, regretful smile playing across his lips as his hand slides down her arm to take hold of hers, “I just admitted my dirtiest secret to you and you are still gonna remind me how unprofessional I am by using my title, Kid?“
She purses her lips, the shock momentarily replaced by her signature mild glare, “Well, you just admitted your biggest secret to me and yet you still choose to call me ‘Kid’, huh?”
He chuckles, letting his other hand repeat the movements of the first, “Sorry, force of habit.” His thumbs brush against her knuckles briefly as his head falls, his gaze fixating on where their bodies are connected, “You know, I didn’t tell you this to get myself any pity or anything. I just wanted you to understand and....wanted to get it off my chest. Ethan will kill me if he finds out, won’t he?” He suddenly asks, regaining the courage to look up at her once again.
She giggles, “Who says he’s gonna find out?”
Chris bites the inside of his cheek, shaking his head, “You’re right, there’s nothing really to find out abo-”
Gwen has never been a chatter nor can she tolerate when people beat around the bush so she’s quick to cut them off sometimes, no matter how rude that may seem or sound. However, just to clarify, her chosen method of cutting a person off isn’t always kissing them. Just saying - this is a special situation requiring special methods.
Taken aback by the sudden feeling of her lips on his, Chris’ eyes close automatically but not even a second later he responds to the kiss properly: wrapping his arms around Gwen’s waist as her hands travel up to cup his face. The kiss is short - too short if either of them is to be asked - but it’s worth all the words they didn’t say despite wanting to.
When they pull away, Gwen gives him a mischievous smile, “Now he could find out about that and then shit would go south. That’d suck, wouldn’t it Chris?“
He’s only ever heard her say his name twice, once in passing conversation with Claire and once earlier when she paraphrased his term ‘Chris-phobe’, both time spoken with some dose of dislike he now realizes was a cover-up all along. Turns out the two are a lot more alike than they initially thought. Regardless, hearing her say his name with fondness instead of bitterness makes his heart flutter, his body yearn to have her closer, his lips wanting to be in contact with hers again. But he’s a patient and self-controlled man, he’s nothing if not willpower sculpted in a human body, so he keeps his distance, waiting for her to pick the moves, waiting for her to make the decisions just like she’s his captain.
“Big time.“ He manages to say, voice coarse all of a sudden, barely able to leave his throat. “So it stays here, right?”
She giggles again, bringing her lips within an inch or two away from his, taunting him, threatening to break his self-control, “What happens in the gym stays in the gym, Redfield.”
Golden rules of discretion, ones he mustn’t break ever. Especially not when his captain - Captain Gwen Winters - holds so much power over him.
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