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#yes I made human versions of them I got bored ok
its-not-a-pen · 4 months
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—Terracotta—
Ok so I visited xi'an during my trip back to china (3 months ago?), and this idea popped into my head during the 9h train ride back to shangdong. I am of course 100% projecting my own love of the terracotta army onto Qin Shi Huang, in reality he did not care for this pit of mud statues depicting lowly commoners. In fact, no one ever bothered to write about it and they were lost to history until 1974 when some farmers digging a well stumbled upon them. But it's exactly the reason I'm so fascinated by them. QSH's tomb has not been excavated, and although I have a running joke about cracking it open--mercury vapors be damned--none of the riches inside will ever enchant me as much as the chance to see the face of a person who lived during this time.
Notes under the cut:
#1
the title Qin Shi Huangdi means "First Emperor of Qin" and was given to QSH by later historians. He actually called himself the Shi Huangdi, "First Emperor", and that is the title I've gone with here.
in English the other kingdoms are translated as "states" (i guess to avoid confusion?) but in chinese they are very much kingdoms.
The terracotta warriors used thousands of craftsmen, many of whom were slaves from conquered kingdoms. From a storytelling perspective I thought it would be more streamlined if there were two main artisans who reported directly to QSH.
QSH's clothes are based on the overly complicated courtly regalia. which has 12 symbols that only the emperor is allowed to wear
Notice how this hat is ROUND at the front??? Well I CERTAINLY DIDN'T. HAD TO REDRAW IT!!!!!
the stripped shirt is based on this Chu woman figurine. Clothes were fairly unisex during this time and I thought it was a nice fit.
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#2
Paperwork: writing was done on books made of bamboo slips. Anecdotally, QSH had an impressive work ethic and would read 100 bills every night.
Bronze Goose lamp: ok this is actually a Han dynasty lamp pls forgive me. I saw this bad boy at the xi'an history museum and it's bewitched me body and soul. The goose neck is hollow and connects to a reservoir of water in the belly, which minimizes smoke and cools the lamp.
QSH is remembered as a brutal tyrant and brilliant statesman, but I wanted to present a more human version of him here. Bored, tired and drowning in work he refuses to delegate. His new empire is balanced as precariously as everything else on his desk.
#3
The attendants standing behind him are holding little wood tablets called hu for taking notes. Their brushes are tucked into their hats/hair, inspired by Han dynasty custom. (You'll see me using Han stuff a lot. Their cultures were very similar to Qin, since it was only a few hundred years apart).
So I had a slight breakdown trying to find the correct hats for the eunuchs, and ended up redrawing everything the night I was due to publish. Closest thing I could come up with was a reference to a round-style Han Dynasty hat which evolved into this square Jin hat. Yes, this is a cry for help .
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#4
the wheeled platform is 100% made up, I tried to come up with a plausible way of getting a bunch of figurines into the palace.
#5 & #6
Painted terracotta soldier
How were the terracotta warriors made
The General: Fun fact, I got to see this guy in person!
#7
The Epic Wide Shot was inspired by some Tang Dynasty terracotta figures I saw at the xi'an museum!
#8
THIS KNEELING ARCHER. ARGGGGG. He use to be my favourite guy. I even went into the pit and drew him IN PERSON. the archers inexplicably have their hair buns on the OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE HEAD. So because of him, I DREW ALL THE HAIR BUNS WRONG!!!! REDRAW!!!! PAIN AND SUFFERING!!!!
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#10
Qin was famous for it's very long, thin swords. They were more useful as status symbols than actual weapons, as QSH knows from personal experience…
#11
QSH'S Tomb hasn't been excavated yet, but high levels of mercury have been detected in the soil, making the historical accounts of quite plausible.
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carlyraejepsans · 1 year
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you just mentioned in the tags ''toriel stopping sans from [cutting the humans' journey short] by killing them'' ive always wondered, do you think sans would actually have killed the human if he hadnt made the promise to toriel? i think you mentioned once that the ''youd be dead where you stand'' moment is another one of sans fumbling attempts to seem threatening but despite that, do you think he wouldve actually done it ? if hed seen them kill monsters or during a pacifist run? or do you think it wouldve played out similarly to canon in the genocide route or that he wouldve been just less involved with the human during their journey in a pacifist run?
(ok i found this in my drafts and I don't remember where i was going with this, but i kinda went off so have this as it is lol)
i keep 5 versions of sans that are Ever So Slightly Different According to How I Interpret Different Details simultaneously rotating in my brain at all times. so uhhhhh yes and no.
jokes aside, I'm starting to gravitate more towards the interpretation that like... the threat he made at the restaurant? full on jackassery. shithead extraordinaire. he WAS messing with us.
but would he have tried to kill a human if toriel hadn't made him promise otherwise?
...yeah i think so. let me elaborate
here's the thing though: i think people put way too much weight on that! i mean it's a fighting RPG, every single other character—bar toriel—fights you to either capture and have you sent to the capital or to kill you themselves. either way they want your SOUL. papyrus... is his own neutral case here with his refusal to kill you.
my point being: every monster you meet wants to fight you. it's through that fight (or what happens afterwards) that you actively challenge their point of view and befriend them.
you don't go through this with sans. he never fights you, so you never need to change his mind because that belief was challenged before we even got to the underground, through toriel's words alone. that's... kind of admirable?
but it does frame his actions in a very creepy way from our point of view in-game. not to forget his dumbass scary pranks. because we go from someone a bit mysterious though ultimately friendly and goofy whom we thought we could trust, to someone who openly tells us he could've been a threat for us... and then never delivers. at least, not in any playthrough where we hear that line of dialogue.
so much of sans' character and appearance stems from tonal dissonance. he's shamelessly comfortable in the game's tone and vibes, but still stands out as an outsider. he plainly doesn't play by the same rules as everyone else, so we don't judge him by the same standards, either.
even more, if he actually kept his promise the way toriel meant it, that would've meant playing the entire game like a tutorial. sure, you can enjoy the story, but did you enjoy playing the section in the RUINs when she's with us? it's basically handholding the entire time. it's BORING for us, and ultimately, Undertale is a game! so it should be enjoyable to its player. which brings me to our next point:
ultimately... yeah maybe he would've tried to kill us. and yes it is kinda shitty that he only kept his promise by not doing that. in a sans characteristic troll way, i mean. but acting like the "sans was happy to watch a baby get beat up and killed" jokes are, well, anything other than jokes is just a plain bad reading. forget about post pacifist. during a gameplay, frisk IS the Human IS us IS the PLAYER. which means capable of RESET and SAVE. which means essentially immortal, at the end of the day. it's the "special power" sans tells us about in his judgement. you can't treat us with the same moral lenses as an NPC. the power we hold over their world in the game is lovecraftian. we can literally destroy it entirely, an outcome that was scientifically predicted by some characters in the game...
...sans being one of them. every interaction with you, every joke and every hand extended in friendship and eye closed to your shenanigans. all of it, the good and the not-so-good. it's all colored with the knowledge that the "human" in front of him could end the world. whether you actually do that or not.
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this is one of my favorite moments in the canon. one time. one second where the mask slips and we see through the cracks in the façade of laid back confidence. and what we see is a mirror, held up to our face.
and it's fucking terrifying.
"waaaa sans is bad because he lets us die" boo-FUCKING-hoo brother! cry me a river then throw ice cubes in it. mans goes through all of this on the daily and still gives us a chance, you should be thanking him.
i have a few other opinions on this topic that i feel are relevant, but I don't feel like putting them into a coherent argument so I'll just list them instead:
there are some collateral factors that i think would've prevented him from killing us outside of toriel's promise. mainly the fact that papyrus was feeling down and meeting a real human would've cheered him up. then he would've befriended us because of course he would, and of course sans wasn't going to kill his brother's new bestie.
so would he have fought us in a pacifist or papyrus-friendly netral run? maybe not! but he WOULD'VE whooped ass sooner if things got out of hand.
it's kind of a given that sans figures out you can manipulate time very early into the game. he works for/with asgore, who knows from first-hand child-murder experiences that it's an ability humans have, he's a scientist who studied the space-time continuum of their world and he's a friend of alphys', the royal scientist who studied human souls and determination (and let's not even get into his connections to gaster). he's a bright lad. he put two and two together.
while he COULD have seen taking a humans' soul as a necessary evil for monsterkind's freedom (promise to toriel aside) he openly sympathized with the anomaly. he's not there to be a time cop. he just wants to avoid the literal annihilation of the universe.
[...? yeah i never continued this. still stands tho.]
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thepaintedlady00 · 1 year
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Ok cool! In that case can you write a Morpheus x reader where the reader hears about Morpheus other lovers and she feels unworthy and her mood plummets.Morpheus of course notices immediately and asks her what’s wrong and after a bit of coaxing she tells him everything that’s been on her mind and that even if she will be just one of the string of lovers he will have in the future she’s glad she got a chance to love him.Morpheus is understandably horrified that she would think that and in order to convince her otherwise they have a very intimate ✨moment✨😏 Where Morpheus tells her how much he loves her and states that she may not be his first lover but she will be his last and he proposes and offers to make her his queen and an endless of equal standing beside him (obviously she says yes)
One tender smut piece coming right up my friend! 🥰
You'd known there were others before you. You weren't naive. But knowing was one thing and seeing was another. As you stared in awe at the Muse Calliope you could feel a wave of dread and doubt settle in your stomach, twisting everything inside you into tight knots. She was far more beautiful than you, an immortal being of pure inspiration was going to be, but on top of that beauty she was so kind and so... Perfect.
Dream had made it clear that the two of them weren't meant to be, especially after the death of their son. He'd said some words, some things just could never be forgotten between them. Looking at the pair of them now though, it didn't feel like they'd lost an ounce of whatever spark of passion that had brought them together. It was painful for you, even though you'd trusted him and loved him and was happy that he'd agreed to open his realm to her.
You'd say none of this to him, of course, he wouldn't understand. It wasn't like you had any lovers that could even compare to the beautiful, powerful Dream of the Endless. But late that night long after Calliope had gone the weight hadn't followed her. You found yourself laying in your shared bed, thinking of how many lovers he'd had before you... Of how each of them were probably more beautiful and stronger and better than you could ever hope to be.
These thoughts would transfer to your dreams when you finally managed to sleep. And in your dreams these thoughts were ones that your lover could hear.
Dream was finishing his work when the sound of taunting voices began. They were dark and hushed, but they sounded like you. He followed them all the way into your dream, or rather your nightmare. It was hardly the worst he'd seen, but the fact that it was you made his heart clench. You sat in front of a mirror, images of lovers from his past hovering over your reflection, over accentuating your flaws. Behind you a shadowed version of yourself stood, claws digging deep into your shoulders as it whispered vile things in your ears.
"You will never be as beautiful as them."
"You will never be a goddess or muse. You will only ever be human. Dull. Weak. Boring."
"He loved them more."
"You're holding him back."
"You will never be them."
Dreams hands clenched into fists. "Enough, nightmare. Leave us."
The nightmare that had been perched on your shoulder turned and shifted back to its natural form, bowing to Dream and slithering away to whatever victim awaited it. You remained frozen in front of the mirror, tears staining your cheeks as he came to stand behind you.
He kissed the angry marks on your shoulders, cold hands smoothing up and down your back as he wound his arms around you. "It is over, my love. The nightmare has passed."
You shook your head. "It won't pass. It can't because it's true."
His brows furrowed as he looked at you in the mirror. "Why would you think such things?"
"I'm not..." You sighed. "I'm never going to be like them."
"I do not want you to be like them," he whispered. "You are perfect just as you are."
"Morpheus I'm-"
He turned your head and pressed his lips to yours, swallowing the words and lapping up the sour feeling they left on your tongue until all that remained was him. You were breathless when he pulled back and stroked your wet cheeks. "I'll hear no more of this."
Breathing in the intoxicating smell on his coat you sighed. "It's not that simple."
"Perhaps not," he agreed, turning you to face him. "Perhaps a demonstration is long overdue."
Your brows furrowed as you looked up at him. "Demonstration?"
Dream merely smiled. "Of course, I can think of no better way to show you exactly how perfect you are."
The dream faded, gliding across your mind like strands of silk until at last you woke up. Your lover stood at the foot of the bed, neatly folding his coat over the edge of it before turning to you with a tender gaze. Your heart beat wildly in your chest as he moved toward you, carefully kneeling beside you to take your hand in both of his and press a soft kiss to it. He moved up your arm slowly, purposefully kissing every inch of your skin before he finally reached your shoulder.
"Morpheus," you breathed out.
He smiled, as he often did when you said his name like that. "Yes my love?"
"What are you doing?"
"I am worshipping you." With one thought from him your clothes vanished leaving you trapped between the silk sheets and the silk of Dreams wandering hands.
Oh, this is what he meant. "Morpheus, you don't have to-"
"I am Dream of the Endless," he breathed against your skin. "The King of dreams and the ruler of the nightmare realms. Do you think I would do something I did not wish to?"
You shook your head, biting your lower lip to try and mask the way his voice alone sent shivers of heat and want through you. "No. But, I still wanted you to know this isn't necessary."
He chuckled at that. "On the contrary, worship is essential when hoping to please a goddess."
Those lips of his moved up your neck. "I'm not a goddess."
"You are to me," he whispered in your ear. "Now, no more words my dreamer. Just give me those sweet moans."
Your lips crashed together in a dance of opposites. The warmth of your skin practically hissed beneath your lovers icy touch as his hands explored the plains of your back. You pushed, desperate to meet his enthusiasm with that of your own, and he pulled willing to take everything you offered to him. Being touched, loved, by the Dream Lord was consuming in the best possible way.
Dream finally pulled back, cradling your head in his hands as he moved his lips down your throat, tongue darting out to taste your skin, as he made his way down your body. His chilled breath fanned across your nipple, bringing it swiftly to a peak as he wrapped his mouth around the hardened bud. It should've been considered a sin, the things he could do with his mouth alone that made you moan and writhe beneath him.
Your breaths were heavy as he moved his attention to the other breast, nipping at your skin lightly before giving it the same attention he'd given the other. "Morpheus," you whined as the sensation grew near unbearable.
He chuckled, running his palms down your sides to grip your hips tightly. "Worship cannot be rushed, my love."
"Could you just fuck me then?" you asked, the teasing in your tone almost vanished as he kissed down your stomach.
"I could," he admitted.
"But you won't?"
His hands slid beneath your thighs, easing them apart as his glowing eyes met yours. "Patience, my dear."
Your back arched off the bed when his tongue licked a long, languid strip up your core, brushing against your clit in a deliciously slow display. Dream smirked, pressing a kiss to your inner thigh before returning his mouth to where you wanted him most. Once again he brought you far too much pleasure with his tongue alone, spending hours between your thighs basking in the way your thighs trembled around his head and how you cried out his name and pulled his hair. He groaned as one of his fingers penetrated your hot, pulsing core, moving slowly and gently to help work yet another orgasm from your sweet lips.
Devotion was something Dream of the Endless knew well, he had yours and you had his, getting this chance to show you such was a blessing far beyond what he deserved. "Morpheus," you begged between heaving breaths.
"Is your head finally free of those horrid thoughts, my love?"
You nodded quickly. "Yes."
"Tell me, what thoughts have replaced them?"
"You," was your only answer, one that made pride flare within his chest.
His lips moved back up your body, kissing every tender piece of flesh that he knew drove you wild. "Good, let's keep it that way for a moment longer."
Magic rid him of his clothes with ease, leaving nothing between him and your soft heated skin. Dream kissed you, swallowing the sharp wanton moan that you let loose as he wasted no time splitting you open with his cock. Your body trembled beneath him, the waves of your previous pleasure beginning to stir once again. "Morpheus."
Burying his face into the crook of your neck he pulled his hips back slowly, drawing out another long moan from your lips as he too felt shivers of delight run down his spine. You were heavenly, mind body, and soul. These intimate moments with you made it difficult for him to keep his composure. "You are divine," he told you. "The way you sing beneath me could rival that of the most inspired composers."
Your hands latched onto him, finding purchase in his hair and clawing at his back. "Please."
He smiled down at you, caging your head between his arms. "Command me, my love. Tell me what you want and it shall be yours."
"Fuck me," you answered instantly. Your eyes, darkened with pleasure, met his as you pulled at him more desperately. "Please Morpheus."
Fuck you he would. The sound of his skin slapping against yours echoed in his room as The Dreaming seemed to swallow the sounds just as greedily as he did. Your orgasm came swiftly as did the one that followed as he continued to fuck you through it. You had no concept of time when all you could feel was him and every thought that occupied your mind was little more than prayers whispered in his name.
When his hips finally began to falter, his hands fisting into the sheets beside your head, you looked up into his eyes and arched your back. Your lips traced down his throat as he threw his head back, finally losing his iron-clad grip on that famous kingly composure and fucking you in earnest. You adored these brief moments where his power rolled off your skin like satin lightning and whispers of shadow. You adored the way his touch burned and bruised as he lost himself in the pleasure.
After you'd caught your breath and your body finally ceased shivering he stroked your skin, still wet with a sheen of sweat and gently asked the question that had troubled him so, "Why did you not tell me Calliope's presence made you feel such things?"
"Morpheus," you moaned against his throat. A shuddering breath left him as he moved his hips harder and faster into you. "Please."
It was amazing how one word whispered so reverently from your lips could make him come undone. Amazing how his body memorized the way it felt as you came with him. Amazing how such a primal thing as sex felt sacred now that he had you. He gently rolled off you, keeping you tightly tucked into his chest as the two of you silently recovered in the softness of his bed and each other's arms.
With a sigh you lifted your head to look deep into his star filled eyes and with a smile. "Because it isn't her fault, and it's not yours either. Calliope is someone you love, not in the way you did, but she's still important to you. Her visit was important for both of you and I would never even think of robbing you of that just because I was feeling insecure."
"Your feelings are just as important as mine," he insisted. "What can I do if these thoughts return?"
With a smile you shimmied even closer to him. "I think your demonstration was quite helpful."
Dream brushed his nose against yours. "Then, next time you feel this way come to me. Tell me that my perfect dreamer is in need of worship and I shall see to it."
"I love you."
"As I love you, dreamer."
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covecornerarchive · 1 year
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Candle Cove Pride Headcannons!
Heyo, just realized pride month is ending soon and I've already posted shit for it so here's a bunch of head cannons!:
Jojo and Banana King? Those two are pirate married, all the way. Funky gay pirate grandpas! Jojo being the only actual chill one on board and BK being the most batshit obnoxious old dude? They were made for each other. Husbands if I've ever seen 'em (also I want less "these two boring skinny twinks have homoerotic tension," and more "these two unconventional and weird old men are an old married couple who are so in love it hurts."
*holding Poppy* BISEXUAL DAD! BISEXUAL DAD! BISEXUAL DAD! BISEXUAL DA-
Me @ Percy, Calvary, Thade, Heartfelt, Susan, and Janice: I'm bestowing upon you the greatest honor I can give. Being asexual (aro/ace in Heartfelt's case).
Lillian is trans, and Dr. Mort (who in my version is absolutely nothing like the one on the wiki because I hate wiki Mort with a passion) helped with her transition. She and Thade are a t4t couple.
I have absolutely no clue what's going on between Horace and Skin-taker but it is the fruitiest thing and for all intents and purposes I've decided to refer to them as "the terrible husbands."
Credit to @thedivisionbell1994 for this idea from a while back but Janice being trans? Janice coming to Candle Cove and since it's a world based on her inner self and imagination everyone just immediately used she/her and Janice to refer to her without her having said anything, and even when she didn't entirely know what being trans meant she thought "hey yeah that feels right!" and that was that? *Chefs kiss* baby girl!
Percy, Thade, and Lillian were in the most chaotic QPR polycule. They all got married one day cuz they were bored and for pirate tax benefits. Triple threat the lot of them.
Dr. Mort (who again is VERY different in my version) and Boar were also two gay pirate grandpas who were very married and very deeply in love. Mort would climb Boar like a cat. Dog and Cat couple if you will.
*points to the Rubber Fishes crew* FRUIT SALAD!!!!!!!!
Both Sunny and Bloody Kimothy use he/she pronouns.
I think this could be considered canon since on their wiki they're referred to with they/them and their gender is never confirmed, but Nicola is 100% a nonbinary icon and they and Henric are married for pirate tax benefits as well.
*points to Milo and Henric* FUCKING DIVORCED THE BOTH OF YOU!
Skin-taker and Sariah are undead wlw mlm solidarity. No I won't explain myself.
Milo isn't homophobic but he is obnoxious. He'll find a way to both make fun of you and support you at the same time, and his sexuality is whatever would be funny in the moment.
Sunny, Sariah, and Susan are in love and very happy. Scary pirate lady, pretty but bad ass princess, and siren capable of unspeakable crimes lesbian polycule I don't take criticism.
Janice came to Percy one day and went, "Hey Percy I don't think I like guys is that ok," and Percy went, "Yeah of course! I mean everyone on this ship is already queer so-"
Abyssians don't really think about gender the same way humans do so when Thade came to Candle Cove and learned what pronouns were he wanted all of them. Collects them like pokemon cards the lad.
Don't get me wrong, I'm 100% on the ftm Percy boat, but hear me out: genderfluid Percy.
Milo: Are ye wearing a dress??? Percy: Aye. Why? Jealous ye don't get one? Milo, 100% jealous: ....no-
Janice: Are you gay? The Earl: I'm homophobic! Poppy: He's avoiding the question.
(June 29, 2022)
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Ok so guys I watched ride the cyclone and I had the idea of "what if Johnny made a movie adaptation of ride the cyclone" with keeping all of the original lines and songs and just casting first benrey Peter and Michael then asking Michael for more people to cast cause he couldn't think of anyone else from their friends and here it is:
Cast:
Johnny : Ricky
Peter : Karnack
Michael : Noel (only one willing to wear the Monique outfit)
Benrey : Jane doe/virgil (he's Jane cause he is great at being unsettling)
Vanessa : Constance
Jack : Mischa (mainly so the kiss scene wasn't so awkward)
Elizabeth : ocean
Ok so the first interaction with all of them Michael immediately said "damn a crossover episode am I right" due to the fact that his main two friend groups are sorta meeting. Vanessa is the only one that has musical theatre under their belt so she ended up helping everyone learn how to actually make it seem like a musical even though Michael and jack have the singing aspect down they struggled with the acting part (Michael struggled less). During filming while benrey had a lot of makeup on (to hide certain parts of his face) he kept scaring Michael because he wasn't used to benrey looking like that and entirely forgot it was even benrey under the makeup. Peter was picked to be Karnack because he could sound serious if he wanted to but also so that no one got too crazy on set (he's literally a father figure to Johnny benrey and Michael) Elizabeth accepted to do this because she was bored and had nothing else to do but ended up really enjoying the process. Johnny kept taking behind the scenes videos and a lot of the time either in the background or in front there would be a glimpse of Michael giving jack little kisses before going off to do something else. Gordon kenshi and MJ sometimes would visit the set to see their partners and half of the time jack, Vanessa, Elizabeth, and Michael would have to do a double take on kenshi because they work with a separate timeline version of him and forgot he existed in johnnys universe too.
Off camera Dialogue and bloopers that would happen:
Michael: not in my Bible baby bonsoir! *trips and falls*.......guys I swear I can walk in heels
Vanessa: you only wear heels
Peter: ok I'm going to make a rule for you guys real quick stop attempting to kiss your partners while filming when it's not the kiss scene
Michael: so that was clearly directed at me and I would just like to say that was-
Elizabeth: Michael do you want me to get mom and dad here
Michael: *sigh* no =[
Johnny: guys we need to quit laughing or we'll never get this movie done
Vanessa: I'm sorry that a lot of Noel's lines are the funniest things I've heard Michael say since I've worked with him
Michael: hey!
Vanessa: *during one scene* jack put your tits away!
Jack: girl my tits are supposed to be out rn
Benrey: oh miiicccchhhhhhaaaaaaeeeeeelllll!!!
Michael: AGH- FUCK YOU!
Johnny: you forgot it was benrey again didn't you
Michael: .... Yes
Benrey: hehe
Vanessa: wherever I go I'm the only normal human in the group so sad
Benrey: I used to be human!
Vanessa: jesus- where did you come from?????
Benrey: dunno
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nb-n0v4 · 3 years
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Wip of human versions of some boys uwu also I said what I said /lh
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folklorelise · 3 years
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Squad Leader Mom is pregnant!
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MASTERLIST
Since all the baby incidents that had happened with you, Levi or the cadets, Levi and you had been thinking about having one of your own, but you never actually talked about it. Then one night, as you were reading before going to bed, Levi sat next to you on the couch ready to have that talk with you.
“Y/N.” Levi called your name seeing that you were not paying any attention to him.
“Hm?”
“I want to have–.” Levi started but then stopped.
“What’s wrong?” you asked worried, putting down your book.
“Remember when the kids were turned into children? We said that we would talk about having a kid. I want to talk about it now.” he told you staring at you. “If you want.” Levi quickly added.
“Oh right.” you said mumbled.
To be honest, since you joined the survey corps – having a baby never was an option for you. For Levi, having a child at all was never an option, but since he met you, he felt like anything could be possible.
“If you don’t want to, it’s fine too.” Levi said.
“I don’t know.” you admitted. “I loved having the cadets around. It was a lot of fun and I loved them as kids. But a new-born is different.” you paused. “I remember my neighbour; they had one and it was constantly crying and screaming. It looked exhausting. Also, what about my job here? I cannot– I… I can’t go on expeditions knowing that our child could become an orphan.”
“I would never let that happen.” Levi assured you, taking your hands. “I know our situation is not ideal, but can you imagine how great it would be to have a tiny version of us running around. I like that thought. That maybe one day, we could finally retire with our own little family.”
“It does sound nice.” you smiled fondly at Levi. “If that makes you happy, then ok.”
“Really? Because I don’t want to pressure you.”
“I’m sure. We’ll figure it out.”
The more you thought about it, the more you were sure about your decision. You had the possibility to give Levi another chance at having his own family and that was what made you certain of your choice. The next few months were spent in bed with Levi. It was intense – Levi was intense which resulted in making the both of you exhausted for trainings and expeditions.
Eight months into trying to get pregnant, yet there was still no baby in sight. Your doctor reassured you and said that getting pregnant is not an easy task.
You get easily sick during winter, so when a week before the expedition you started to feel nauseous, you just shrug it off. Which you instantly regretted the second you felt like passing out in front of a titan outside.
Eren from far away saw you falling from the sky and did not hesitate a second before transforming and running toward you. He caught you in time from hitting the ground and Mikasa from behind killed the titan that was ready to eat you.
“Mom?” Eren tried to wake you up once Mikasa got him out. “Mom, wake up please.” Eren cried.
Every squad were running toward where Eren transformed, not knowing why he did it. Levi and his squad were the first one who arrived.
“Eren!” Levi yelled at the boy but stopped when he saw you in his arms. A million questions were running through Levi’s mind. He could not move – he wanted to see if you were fine, yet his feet would not move toward you. What if he saw a wound, what if you were already dead?
“Captain,” Eren cried, “I– I saw her falling and I came. She’s not waking up!”
“What’s happening here?” Erwin finally arrived. “Levi wha–.” he asked the captain but stopped when he saw you. “Is she d–?”
“NO!” Eren yelled. “She can’t be, I– I caught her.”
“What happened then?” Erwin asked a member of you squad.
“We don’t know. We spotted a few titans, and we were all going to take care of them. Then – squad leader Y/N was just behind us!”
“She is still breathing.” Erwin checked your pulse. “Levi’s going to take her back, and the rest of us will continue the expedition. You can go too.” Erwin told the cadets.
Every other squads were leaving the scene. Erwin slowly approached Levi.
“She’s ok, you can go and take her back.”
“Ok.” Levi breathed.
Levi slowly approached where the cadets where and took you in his arms. Once you were back, Levi rushed you to the infirmary. The cadets were all patiently waiting outside the room. Every one of them was worried, but Eren was even more.
“What if it’s my fault?” Eren said.
“You saved her!” Mikasa protested.
“When I caught her, maybe I squeezed her without noticing?”
“She is fine.” Jean shouted.
Levi was sitting with them, silently. After just a few minutes of waiting, a doctor came out of the room. Everyone stood up hoping for good news.
“Y/N is doing great. She just needs to rest now.”
“Thank you!” Sasha shouted hugging the doctor.
“Is she waking up soon?” Jean asked.
“She should be up in a few hours top. But from now on she should stay here as the pregnancy is already three months in or something.” the doctor said before leaving for his office.
“The pregnancy?” Levi repeated confused.
“Mom’s pregnant?” Jean asked Levi.
“Mom’s pregnant!” they all shouted excited.
“We’re going to have a little brother or sister!” Connie burst excited.
While the cadets were shouting, Levi was still trying to process the news.
“D– Captain!” Jean quickly corrected himself. “Can we go in and see her?”
“She’s still sleeping, I’ll go and find you once she woke up.” Levi said entering the room alone.
Levi was sitting next to you, waiting patiently for you to wake up. An hour or two later, the cadets could not wait any longer and came into your room.
“Please, can we stay?” Sasha begged the captain.
“Fine, but shup your months.”
A few minutes after the kids came in, you finally woke up. Levi was the first to notice it. He quickly stood up and came near you.
“Y/N, are you feeling ok?” Levi asked.
“Water.” you grunted.
“I’ll get you a glass of water!” Armin volunteered.
After drinking the whole glass, you instantly felt better. You asked Levi what happened and when he explained to you that you fainted due to the pregnancy, you started to cry.
“Don’t cry. It is good right? We’re happy about this.” Levi asked.
“It’s happy tears.” You confirmed laughing slightly.
Levi then left to bring some food. The second Levi left, Eren came and hugged you. Then very quickly everyone else joined the hug.
“You scared us to death earlier.” Eren told you.
“I’m sorry I made you worried.”
When Erwin came back, Levi and you were waiting for him in his office.
“Y/N’s pregnant.” Levi announced it to the commander. “Obviously, she won’t be going to the next expeditions, right?”
“What? Congratulation!” Erwin shouted happily. “That’s really great news.”
“Erwin – the expeditions.”
“Right, of course. Y/N, you have to rest from now on.”
“But I can’t do nothing.” you protested. “I’ll get bored.”
“You’re pregnant.” Levi argued. “You just have to take care of you by staying here. Erwin agrees with me.”
“I–. Y/N if you want to go home and rest, you can.” Erwin agreed.
“I don’t. I’ll stay here and work with you on paperwork, I’ll do everything as usual except going on expedition.” you stated firmly.
Levi knew how stubborn you were, so he did not continue to argue. What mattered to him was that you were not going on expedition. After announcing the news to Erwin, Levi and you went to see Hange to tell them the news. The scream Hange uttered was so loud that Moblit came in running.
“What happened?” Moblit asked worried.
“Y/N is pregnant!” Hange shouted.
“Oh! Congratulation!” Moblit hugged you.
The next person to know about it was Mike, then soon enough the entire survey corps knew about it. After a few days, you decided it was time to go and tell your family about it. You proposed to Levi to come with you since he never met them.
“I’m busy.” Levi told you.
“It’ll just be a day.”
Your parents used to live inside of wall rose, but as your father’s business became more and more successful, they moved inside of wall Sina. You had a brother in the military too. You joined at the same time – he was a year older than you – he ended up being first and chose the military police brigade.
The next morning, you and Levi took a carriage to your home. Your parents made you and your brother promise to visit at least once a month, and you both decided to visit the first Sunday of every month – which was today. You knocked on the door and it was your mother who opened the door.
“It has been so long. Ah, and you must be Levi, right?” your mother welcomed you in.
“Yes.” Levi answered.
“Come in.”
“Your brother is not there yet.” your mom told you. “Do you want to drink something?”
“Tea please, black tea. For the both of us.” you told her.
“I feel uncomfortable here.” Levi whispered once your mother was gone.
“Let’s just tell them the news and then we can go.” you reassured him.
Your mother brought back the tea and she sat on the couch in front of where you were. Your father was nowhere to be seen – he was buying groceries at the market – and your brother was probably still sleeping.
“I heard a lot about you Levi.” you mother finally said.
“Levi’s very popular.” you answered seeing that Levi did not know what to say. “He is humanity’s strongest after all.”
“Good, then I know my daughter is safe beside you.”
“Y/N is strong, and she doesn’t need me to protect her.” Levi insisted, “But that does not mean I won’t do anything in my power to protect her of course.”
“That’s good to hear.” your mother smiled gently.
Just when you wanted to continue to talk, the front door opened, and your brother and father came in. You brother hugged you, then went to hug your mother.
“Captain Levi!” your brother burst out. “You have been going out with captain Levi this whole time?” he asked you.
“Yeah, don’t be jealous.”
“It’s an honour to meet you.” (Y/B/N) told the captain, ignoring you.
Levi quickly started to relax around your family, and you were all chatting together, talking about the military and what your day looked like. After a few hours of discussion, you still did not find the right moment to tell them about your pregnancy.
“When are you going to tell them?” Levi whispered to you.
“I don’t know how to, it feels weird.”
“Do you want me to tell them?”
“No, I’ll do it. I can do this.” you cleared your throat loudly to bring their attention to you and stood up. “I came with Levi today because we had something to tell you.”
“Yes?” your mother smiled.
“I am pregnant.” you announced with a big smile.
“Oh, my dear, that is wonderful!” your mother cried happily.
Your family congratulated the two of you and asked a ton of questions about when it happened, and what you planned to do once the baby arrived. After telling them that you were planning on staying at the survey corps after the baby came. You would probably be less involved, but you could not leave your second family. At night, after taking the extra food your mother had prepared, you left.
“Why aren’t you guys sleeping?” you said seeing the cadets at the entrance.
“We were waiting for you.” Armin said.
“Is that food for us?” Sasha asked excited.
“No.” Levi answered. “Y/N is tired, so leave.”
“I’m fine, I’ll take the food to the kitchen and we can eat this together tomorrow.” you told them. “You didn’t have to wait for me, you won’t be able to wake up tomorrow.” you warned them leaving with Levi.
—————
The first few weeks of the pregnancy were going well – you worked in the office with Levi mostly, but you would also help Hange with their paperwork. Being pregnant as a survey corps soldier meant being able to have extra food during meals, being able to skip cleaning duties. You could sleep in late in the morning and no one would say anything to you.
When your baby bump started to show and you could not fit into your pants anywhere, you would go around in either dresses or in Erwin’s pants that you cut so it would not be too long.
When you were seven months pregnant, Levi started to become more and more protective of you. He would not let you carry anything, not even your food tray. He forbad the cadets to come even near you knowing how reckless they were. Only Mikasa and Armin were allowed to come and help you. Which obviously upset the other cadets.
“But dad that’s so unfair! I want to help mom too!” Jean pleaded.
“Fine, Jean you can help.” Levi finally accepted only because Jean called him dad which was one of Levi’s weak spot.
“Me too then!” the others shouted which only made Levi walk away.
When you heard about it, you reassured them that it was ok for them to stay around you. Around that time, you also stopped wearing your shoes since you could not put them on, on your own. You walked around in your slippers all the time.  
Nine months into the pregnancy and Levi never let you out of his sight. He would rest in bed with you the whole time.
“What do you want to name our baby?” you asked him one night.
“I don’t know. I didn’t think about it much.”
“I was thinking about naming her after your mother if it was a girl.”
“What?” Levi asked.
“If you don’t want to it’s fine too!” you quickly shrug it off. “It’s just–.”
“I’d like that. It’s a great idea.” Levi cut you, “I just thought… I didn’t think you would like that name.”
“Of course, I do! What if it’s a boy?”
You both brainstormed all the ideas you had before falling asleep.
You were outside with Levi during his training sessions with the cadets with a book. They were all taking a break, so you decided to join them, but when you stood up you felt something weird between your legs.
“Captain! Mom just peed herself!” Eren yelled panicking.
“Her water broke you idiot!” Sasha yelled at Eren.
Levi was definitely panicking like Eren, but he would not show it. You took a carriage with Levi direction your doctor’s house. After a few hours of labour, the baby was still inside of you.
“I can’t do that anymore.” you breathed heavily. “Just take it out!” you yelled, taking Levi hand in yours.
“It’s here, just push one last time.”
You let out a last scream and pushed as hard as you could before you heard cries.
The doctor cleaned then wrapped the baby in a blanket before giving it to Levi.
“Hello.” Levi whispered to his child.
“Is it a girl?” you asked weakly.
“It is.” Levi said looking into your eyes lovingly.
“That’s good.” you smiled when you heard a knock on the door.
“Hello.” Erwin came in with Hange and the cadets behind him. “They insisted on coming with us.”
“We bought you some flowers.” Connie handed you the bouquet.
“My favourite, thank you so much.” you teared up.
“You idiot you made her cry.” Sasha hit Connie behind the head.
“Mikasa’s the one you picked the flowers.” Connie defended himself.
“I love the flowers you guys. I’m just very tired and extra emotional.”
“Do we have a baby brother or sister?” Armin asked.
“You have a sister now.” Levi answered. “This is Kuchel.”
“Can I hold her?” Erwin asked.
“Well,” you started, “you are the godfather, of course you can.”
“Me too.” Hange exclaimed.
“You, maybe later.” Levi stated. “In a year or two, so when you drop her, she would be fine.”
“It happened once when you taught us how to hold babies.” Hange mumbled.
They were all around the new-born while Levi was laying down next to you, your head resting on his shoulder.
“You have the best mother in the world Kuchel, you’re so lucky.” Armin whispered to the baby.
—————
One night, at the boys’ dorm, a few months after Kuchel was born–
“Do you think it’s weird for us to call squad leader Y/N ‘mom’?” Eren asked. “Now that she has her own, real kid, what does that make us?” Eren continued. “We’re just a bunch of cadets again to her.”
“Why are you always thinking so negatively?” Jean sighed.
“They’re not our parents.” Eren stated sadly.
“Can you stop being so pessimistic for a minute?” Armin shouted. “She is the closest mother figure I had since I was a child, so stop this. Plus, it’s not like ever corrects us when we do. So just stop, please.”
  You obviously noticed Eren’s attitude changing towards you – you tried to talk to him, but he kept avoiding you. You asked Armin and Mikasa about it and Armin just told you not to worry about it which was not possible.
One night, as Eren was taking a walk on the training grounds, you approached him silently.
“Are you ready to talk now?” you asked him. “And don’t even think about leaving before telling me.”
“I’m fine.” Eren said avoiding your gaze.
“Eren.”
“Squad leader Y/N.”
“Since when do you call me that?” you retorted.
“It is your name.”
“If there is something wrong, you can tell me. I’m always here if you want to talk.”
“You have a kid now; you can’t worry about me– about us.”
“What?” you asked confused. “Why not?”
“Because!” Eren yelled.
“Because what?” you kept your voice calm and low.
“Because you’re not my mother! And I’m not your kid. We’re just a bunch of soldiers.” Eren cried out. “You have a real kid now, there’s no need to play family anymore.”
“Is that what you think? Is that what you all think?” you asked but Eren did not answer, “Eren… I may not be your birth mother and I would never dare to replace yours, but you are family to me. You all are. Seeing you all calling me ‘mom’ is fine, if you see me as a mother figure – it’s fine. Because I see you all as my grown-up children.” you teared up. “And that’s not going to change with Kuchel around.”
“You haven’t been spending as much time with us as you used too.” Eren guessed hesitating.
“I haven’t been sleeping much to be honest. Kuchel is crying a lot at night. That does not mean I forgot about you. Or you guys.” you turned around finding the rest of the cadets hiding behind the pillars.
“We weren’t spying!” Jean said. “We just… happen to be there.”
“I’m sorry.” Eren apologise. “I’m a terr–.”
“You’re not. You’re amazing Eren.” you hugged him which resulted in all the other boys joining the hug.
From the window of Levi office, he could see you guys hugging.
“See Kuchel,” Levi pointed at you while holding his daughter, “They are weirdos.” he sighed. “Your mother loves them though. I find them tolerable. I guess you can see them as your older brothers and sisters. You’ll grow up with a big family which is great. I’m sure you’ll love them as much as your mother do.”
—————
RANDOM FACTS ABOUT YOUR PREGNANCY
Levi would talk to your baby bump when you were asleep.
You would be often seen with vegetables in your hand – always eating them as snacks.
You would cry for absolutely no reason too. The first time it happened, Levi was worried sick. You had dropped your apple on the ground and started to cry. From then on, Levi would just hold you tightly until you stopped crying.
The first time it happened in from of Erwin was when he offered you a new baby blanket. He thought you did not like it, but Levi quickly reassured him that it was fine. “I– I– I looove it!” you sobbed.
The first time it happened in front of the trio – Armin, Eren and Mikasa – it was because Armin kept talking about what he read about baby stuff.
“I will be the best brother ever!” Armin promised with a big smile. “No, why are you crying?”
“This is too much for my heart!” you sobbed. “You are too sweet Armin!” you hugged him.
“I’ll be a good big brother too!” Eren said hugging you.
Mikasa from behind pushed Eren and Armin aside before taking you in her arms.
“You both made her cry, I did not. Obviously, I’m the better sibling here.”
When it happened with Connie, Sasha, and Jean –
Sasha and Connie were walking in front of you and Jean.
“This Sunday is a day off; I’ll probably go and buy something at the market with Connie and Sasha.” Jean told you, “Do you need anything?”
You tried not to let tears fall but it was too adorable for you.
“Mom! Why are you crying? I’m sorry!” Jean panicked.
“What did you do you idiot!” Connie slapped Jean on his shoulder.
“Mom don’t cry, please. Dad’s going to kill me when he’s going to find out.” Jean realised.
At the same time, Levi walked in.
“What’s going on?” Levi asked.
“Nothing!” Jean said hiding your face on his chest.
“Y/N?” Levi said. “Are you ok?” to which you only responded with a thumb up. “Are you crying again?”
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Jean hesitated, “I’m sorry…”
“It’s fine.” Levi said, “she’s been crying a lot these days due to the pregnancy.”
—————
RANDOM FACTS ABOUT KUCHEL
Kuchel first word is ‘clean’ – Levi is always talking about it when he is around her.
Kuchel favourite cadet would be Sasha. Sasha is only sharing her food with Kuchel and she loves food too.
Kuchel loves playing ‘to fly’ with uncle Erwin and uncle Mike – the giants of the survey corps.
You bought matching outfits for Levi, Kuchel and you which Levi secretly found adorable.
————— ————— 
————— ————— 
Squad Leader Mom gets badly injured
3K notes · View notes
amitlee · 3 years
Text
Not a softie (2)
Summary- ohh wow a part 2!
Part 1 —
Switch!Techno Switch!Phil
Warnings: This is a tickle fic! The tickles in this are more intense than the ones last time but there is still fluff <3
Please don’t tag as a ship post!
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—“Come to my room?” Phil softly asked Techno, who nodded and sleepily walked after Phil.
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“Soooo” Technoblade said awkwardly, he hadn’t been alone with Philza like this in a while and it certainly hadn’t been under these circumstances. His social awkwardness had started to kick in.
“Soooo what?” Phil replied with a mocking edge. “Ya know, I’ve been thinking in the time we walked together, and I realized that you seem very tense. I don’t know what kind of friend I would be to keep one of my dearest pals in such an uncomfortable state. Please, take a seat.” He patted the spot nearest to him on the bed and glanced over to Technoblade.
Phil had planned to take it easy, start slow end slow, you know? But there was a problem. The man was known for his infamous ler moods, in fact, he could be seen as one of the token lers of their large friend group. Said ler moods came in many forms, the most common being quick and ruthless, and if you were to ask Phil how he was feeling, he’d say common.
“Alright mate. I want to just get into it, so what are you feeling? Do you want me to be gentle or can I go all out? Restraints or no restraints?” Despite feeling ‘quick and ruthless’, the comfort and happiness of his friends was always the number 1 priority.
He watched as Techno stuttered, looking into his eyes once before he had completely turned his head to hide his flushed face. Techno spoke, “Y-Yeah. You can do what you want but I don’t really want restraints, pinning is fine though.”
That was all Philza needed to hear, he sprung into action with a smile on his face. He ended up on top of Techno and holding one hand in his own, leaving the other to be free for the time being. He made a show of looking for a place to start by moving his free hand to different spots, sometimes pausing and acting like he was going to start. Eventually, he settled to rest the tips of his fingers all on a different rib, some in between the spaces. He hesitated, “You remember the safe word, right?”
Techno knew Phil wouldn’t take it too far, but they both liked having a safe word just incase. “Yep. Amber, right?” Sure it was unoriginal, but it was easy to remember and used across many people.
Phil gave a gentle smile, his facade wavering a bit before he remembered what he was doing. “Mhm. Just making sure. Now if you’ll excuse me...” He vibrated his fingers where they were on the exposed ribs and was pleased to hear a gasp before Techno had gentle laughs pouring out of him.
“Oh, breaking so soon~” The eldest teased, he was hoping that Techno wouldn’t hold back, and after the gentleness in the living room, it seems he didn’t have the will to. He looked down at the man below him and took in his cheeks that were lightly dusted with a pink blush.
“Ohohoh, we bohohoth know ihihi’m far frohohom brokehen.” The younger man shot back without much thought, Philza lifted an eyebrow.
“You trying to test me?” Phil teased and moved to the upper ribs. “You? Trynna? Test? Me?” He repeated, poking at random places in between each word.
“Tehest? N-NohOHOHO-“
He dug his fingers into the man’s armpit, effectively cutting him off mid-sentence. “What? Sorry couldn’t quite hear you.”
Techno was caught off guard at his underarms being so sensitive, he genuinely didn’t remember them being very ticklish. Phil wasn’t disappointed in the reaction in the slightest and kept up the firm touches.
When he got bored of that spot, he moved to one that he know was just slightly more ticklish, his hips. Now, with Techno’s hips, there is a very specific way you have to tickle them in order to get any kind of reaction. First, get your balance and make sure nothing is in danger of being hit or knocked over, because this spot always makes Techno kick and wiggle. Next you place your hand so your thumb is settled in the dip of the bone. You must act fast once you have your hand in position because he doesn’t wait until you start tickling to start writhing around like a mad man. Firmly rub in circular motions or drill into the cluster of nerves in this spot and there you have it, a hysterical warrior.
“PHIHIL- PLEHEHEASE FUHUHUCK ITS SOHOHO BAHAHAHAD!” Techno let his mirth take control, dissolving into laughter and losing some of his coherence.
Phil followed the process perfectly, as always, since he was the one who made it up. He was jolted around as he continued to tickle his friend silly, listening to the melodious laughter falling out of Technoblade’s mouth without restraint.
A few moments later he moved his hand to trace around his friend’s ears.
His reward was the rare giggles that only came out in that particular spot. He’d found it rather early on and to this day, was the only person able to get away with abusing this information. His ears were essentially the only ticklish melt spot Techno had, it was perfect for gentle tickling and relaxing him.
Once Phil believed he was sufficiently relaxed and too sleepy to fight back, he released the hand that he had been holding hostage since the beginning and lay down beside his tired friend. They were cuddled up together as Techno regained his breath and Phil asked, “Feeling better?”
Techno pulled Phil closer until he was basically on holding him on his chest, both of them still laying down. “I felt fine before, but yes.”
Phil didn’t abject to being pulled closer but he was suspicious as to why he was being cuddled to Techno’s chest.
Techno didn’t give him time to question his position. “You on the other hand, how are you? You seem just so unfathomably upset.” You can’t expect to mess with Technoblade and get off Scott free, though he admired Phil for trying.
Oh, so that’s what he was doing. Phil had the realization. “I’m very much content thahank you.” He felt Techno slip his hand under his shirt and scratch his blunt nails on his lower back at an excruciatingly slow and steady pace. He arched his back and pressed his head into Techno’s shoulder in attempt to hide the squeaks he produced while holding back giggles.
“Aww, breaking so soon?” Techno mocked the earlier version of Phil.
“Noho! I’m still holding on unlike someone, chuckles.” Phil couldn’t help but continue to tease, he didn’t expect to be on the receiving end so soon.
After hearing the comment, Techno immediately started squeezing Philza’s sides. He knew it wasn’t a bad spot but would definitely get him squirming.
And squirm he did. Phil broke out into chuckles at the unexpected touch. “OHOhohok! Ok! Point tahahaken!” He sighed when the hands returned to skittering around his back, this time not holding back any reactions. He soon tensed as he realized that Techno was moving further and further up. He had always considered his upper back as one of his worst spots, which was especially unconventional since he couldn’t even protect it.
He felt Techno lean his head down to be able to whisper into his ear and scrunched up his shoulders before he could even get close, causing Techno to chuckle.
“Oh, stubborn aren’t we?” He paused “Or should I say, aren’t lee~” With that, Techno dug his fingers around the upper parts of Phil’s back, being sure not to cause pain. He occasionally fluttered his hands up to the man’s neck, making him further scrunch his shoulders every time.
Phil felt everything. The way Techno would dig into the backs of his ribs, massaging them with ticklish precision. The way he would randomly launch attacks of swift pokes to the same area for a few seconds to get him to squirm away only to be met by the other hand. How Techno would brush his nails over his shoulder blades and make him squeal. When he would travel up to his neck and collarbones like a true monster. He felt it all, and he loved every bit of it.
Despite his enjoyment, Phil was still a human and had to breathe at some point. “TEHEHECH, IHI’M OHOHOLD! MY LUHUHUNGS COULD COLLAHAPSE ANY SEHEHECOND!” He preferred to keep the mood light, not wanting Techno to think he’d been overwhelmed. Phil hadn’t quite reached his limit yet, but was satisfied with the wrecking bestowed upon him.
He felt Techno slow his fingers until he was simply dragging his nails in patterns. This kept Phil in light giggles and produced yelps when he found a particularly good spot. Techno had never been the type to stop tickling someone all at once, unless a safe word was called, he liked to fluster his lees a little more before truly letting them off the hook.
“Fehehe- Feeling behetter?” Phil asked again.
Techno smiled down at him, he would never admit it, but moments like these were very important to him. He adored the closeness and light hearted atmosphere, it also allowed for him to happily let off steam and build strong bonds. “Well, I can’t say I’m feeling bad. So yes, I feel better. Thank you, Phil.” Techno switched from the light tickles to now rubbing the breathless man’s back with his palm to help him calm down some more.
Phil felt his heart swell from the words and attention he was getting, his face heated back up and he buried it into the younger’s shoulder again. “Good.” He decided not to leave Techno talking into silence. “Me too.”
After a moment of sitting in the comfortable silence, Phil realized he was cold. He rolled out of the prolonged hug to grab a blanket. He got the blanket and wrapped it around himself, getting as comfortable as he could. He soon turned around to face Technoblade, putting on a fake pout. “C’mere” He whined at him.
His obviously fake pout turned back into a smile when he was joined by his friend at his side. He lifted the blanket up so the other could slide under it and also be warm.
“Did I ever tell you about the time I build a secret treehouse when I was 7?” Techno asked, planning to tell his friend stories until they both fell asleep.
Phil looked at him with a surprised look, he’d never even heard about this story before. “No, I haven’t. Tell me about it?” He requested.
Techno went on to tell him the story and more for the next 45 minutes before Phil fell into a light sleep.
They both woke up hours later, refreshed and ready to go about their day before looking out and noticing the absence of the sun.
“Sleepover!” Phil playfully cheered. They got changed into their pajamas and turned on Lilo and Stich before, once again, falling asleep.
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Yup, only about, mmmm let’s see, a month late...oops.
But I had the idea to put this as my, drumroll please, 100 FOLLOWER CELEBRATIONNNN!!!🎉🎉 HOLY SHIIITTT
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That is huge for me and I really appreciate the way you guys let me grow and give so much support. Thank you so so much💕
As always, have a great night and I love y’all💞💞
156 notes · View notes
magicforjournals · 3 years
Text
The Green Dress (A Story About Loki)
Chapter 5 - Gravity
This is long overdue and I apologize! I hope you like it !! Taglist is still open :)
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Warning : Explicit (18+)
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You’re sitting on the couch, giggling, as you’re watching Loki fumble through your cabinets and drawers in the kitchen, looking for a bottle opener for the wine. He had insisted on ordering pizza for you, since the dinner you had prepared for the two of you was no longer edible, and you had agreed it was a great idea.
“Got it!” he says, waving the bottle opener proudly. A wave of desire washes over you again as you watch him walk over to you, his pants falling loosely on his hips, shirt unbuttoned, his perfect body just taunting you.
He plops down on the couch next to you, smiling tenderly, as you brush his hair out of his eyes, no longer combed back. You can’t help but smile, feeling complete with Loki by your side. The pure happiness you felt in his presence was so overwhelming to you, you’d never felt like this before. Without even knowing him that well, you feel like you belonged together, it was almost magnetic, two pieces of a puzzle fitting perfectly together. And as much as you loved this pull between you, it scared you. Terrified you to your very core. And for so many reasons. Loki was… well Loki. He had, in the past, caused so much pain and destruction, to your world, even to you. Granted, you were one of the lucky ones that had not lost family members or friends in the attacks, but you had lost the first home you ever bought. Even though you were never overly materialistic, that loss still stung. But Natasha was right, everyone needed a chance at redemption, and you were not against it. On the contrary, you were a teacher, it was deeply ingrained in you to bring people to see the best in them, to work hard to become a better version of themselves. But, you didn’t want to become a lifeline for him. You didn’t want anyone to depend on you that way. It was different with your students, but Loki was a grown man. In fact, he was a god, from an entirely different world and, you, you were just a simple mortal. How could you make a relationship work? How could you ever measure up to his existence? You just had so many questions, so much was just standing in the balance, too many uncertainties.
“Are you ok?” Loki asks, gently stroking your face and bringing you back to reality.
“Yes,” you smile back at him, pressing your head softly against his touch.
“Would you like some wine?” He offers, handing you a glass.
“Thank you very much.”Nodding slowly.
“Anything for you.” He adds with a wink, making you blush.
“I realize there’s not much we know about each other,” you start, grabbing a slice of pizza, bringing your bare legs under you. After you had finally decided to get out of bed, solely because of your rumbling stomach, you had thrown on the same oversized t-shirt from before and slid on a pair of lace panties.
“Not much indeed, what would you like to know?” Loki answered, his gaze locked on your thick thighs he desperately wanted around his face again.
“I.. uhm… everything?” You chance.
He laughs, your heart swelling at the sound. “We’ll be here for days, my darling,” he replies, stroking your cheek once more, igniting another fire through your stomach.
“I want to get to know you,” you whisper.
Grabbing his own glass of wine, he snuggles in next to you, adjusting his position to face you and resting a gentle hand against your arm. “Well I was raised on Asgard, as you know.” He pauses, hesitates before continuing in a soft voice. “But I was born on Jotunheim, home of the Frost Giants.”
“Oh,” is all you can manage, shocked by the revelation. You had heard of the Frost Giants from Thor’s stories, but you never knew that Loki was one of them. If Thor had ever mentioned it, it certainly wasn’t when you were around. “What happened to your biological parents?” you ask, your voice barely audible.
“I know nothing of my birth mother, but my father is Laufey, King of the Frost Giants.” That made sense now that you thought about his last name; Laufeyson. The connection had never occurred to you before. Loki takes a deep breath, “Odin found me when he came to Jotunheim, waging war against the Frost Giants. I had been abandoned in a temple by Laufey, he had deemed me too small and weak to be a Frost Giant and had left me there to die. Odin brought me home and Frigga, my mother, raised me as her own, making sure my Frost Giant appearance remained hidden to others. She did it to ensure my safety. I was a child, and I didn’t understand why she would keep me away from a lot of people, or made sure I didn’t get in trouble, but also treated Thor differently. It was all to keep me safe... I miss her.” He whispers. You knew about the horrible fate Frigga had succumbed to. It had taken quite the toll on Thor, and you couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been for Loki to lose his mother. He looks up at you, his beautiful green eyes filled with tears, pain and grief apparent in them. As a single tear falls down his cheek, you realize that this seemingly confident, strong man standing in front of you is still profoundly grieving the only being he truly loved and who truly loved him.
Putting your glass down, you reach over to grab his and set it on the coffee table. Slowly, you climb into his lap, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him into a deep embrace. His strong arms wrap around your waist as he pulls you even tighter to his chest, hiding his face in the crook of your neck as he sighs softly, whispering a low “thank you” against your skin. Pulling away, Loki cradles your face and gazes into your eyes before kissing you ever so softly. You whimper quietly in his mouth, drawing him closer and tightening your thighs around him. The kiss turns into one steamy and full of passion, every kiss he gives you surpasses the previous ones in intensity. It sends shivers down your spine as he runs his hands up your back and into your hair. You could stay here and kiss him forever. With a sigh, he pulls back gently, a quiet protest escaping your lips as he chuckles at your reaction. Blushing violently, you hide your face in his neck, muttering a sad “sorry”, which only makes him giggle harder.
“It’s okay darling, don’t apologize,” Loki whispers in your hair. “I just have to restrain myself, I could spend hours just tasting you.”
The sound of his deep voice as he whispers those words so close to your ear transforms you into a puddle in his lap and you hope he won’t be saying things like that again, or you’ll soak his pants.
“Why don’t you tell me about yourself?” He asks, running his hand up and down your spine. “All I know is that you’re a teacher and you are friends with the Avengers. I want to know more about you.” He adds, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear as you turn your head up to meet his eyes.
“My life is pretty boring,” you chuckle. “Is there anything you want to know?”
Loki smiles at you and cradles your face. “I want to know everything.” You laugh before he adds, “why don’t we just start with your favorite food?”
“Uhmmm tough one…” you answer. “I really love sushi, it became my favorite when I moved to the city. But, my mother’s lasagna will probably always be my favorite.”
“You’ll have to make it for me then!” He says, all smiles.
“I would mess it up ! No, no way!”
“Well then, we’ll have to practice to make the perfect lasagna won’t we?” He says, playing with your hair. There’s that we again, you think.
“It’ll take years.” You chance, waiting to see what his answer will be.
“That’s okay.”
“What’s your favorite food?” You ask. “Is it some dish from Asgard?”
“No actually. It might shock you, but I love human food a lot more than Asgardian food.”
“There’s no way Loki!” You laugh. “How can our food be better than Asgardian food?”
“I don’t know,” he replies softly. “It just is. I absolutely love your food! And I do have a preference for pizza, if you couldn’t tell.” He adds, pointing to the box on the coffee table.
Laughter fills the room as you both sit up to grab a slice of pizza. You eat in silence for a little while, just basking in each other’s presence. Once you finish your slices, you lean back down against his chest, cuddling up in his lap.
“Can I ask you another question?” Loki whispers in your ear.
“Mmmhmm,” you nod softly.
“How old are you?”
“I’m 26,” you answer simply, shrugging your shoulders. “How old are you? I mean, do gods even age?”
“Yes”, Loki chuckles. “I do age, just extremely slower than humans... “ Pause. Hesitation? “I was born in 965 A.D.”
“WHAT?!” You shoot up in his lap as if someone had shocked you. “You were born in 965 A.D.?! But that would make you…” Your nose scrunches up as you’re trying to figure out how old Loki really was.
“1054 is the number you’re looking for,” he answers you. 1054 years old… that is… too many lifetimes.
“How… How does that translate in human years?” You whisper, still profoundly confused.
Loki sets you down gently on the couch next to him, and covers you up in the blanket you had discarded while climbing into his lap. “Well, it’s hard to really know how old I am in human years. Asgardians live for approximately 5000 years.” An audible wheeze escapes your lips as you take that in. Loki would outlive you. He would also forget you. “However,” he adds, wrapping his arms around you. “I’m not Asgardians, and I’m unsure on how fast the Frost Giants age. If I were to take a guess, based on my knowledge and research about my origins, I would say that I should be around 28 years old. But it’s really hard to tell, after all I’m younger than Thor by almost 500 years, and he would only be 25 years old.” You shake your head, trying to make sense of all the information that was just thrown at you. Thor was older, but acted - and was - only 25. Did that mean that technically, Loki was even more immature than his brother sometimes? He said he should be around 28, but was he really? Age was never really a big concern of yours. Obviously too young or too old wasn’t ok, but Loki was ancient.
“Does my age bother you?” Loki asks, and his worried tone snaps you back to reality.
“Oh!” you gasp yet again. “No… Not really. At least I don’t think so.” You answer honestly. “I thought you were older, but 1054 just took me by surprise... God, you’re really old Loki!” You say, laughing loudly.
“Yeah I know, my back’s been killing me lately too!” Loki says, following you in your laughter.
You keep laughing as you rest your head on his shoulder. What were you expecting? That he was the same age as you while he comes from a different planet and is a literal deity?
“If there is anything that bothers you about my origins, you would tell me, right darling?” Loki asks after your laughing spurt.
“Yes, of course.” You reply. There was so much you wanted to ask him about where he thought this - you two - was going, how he felt about you, but it was too early for that. You’d only kissed him a handful of times and had slept with him on an impulse. Not that you regretted it, no, never, but it was too early to think of you two as anything else than what you were in the present moment.
You shuffle around on the couch as Loki bends over to grab a slice of pizza and your wine glass, which he hands you. “Could I ask you a couple more questions about your life?” He asks politely.
You giggle as you nod your head.
“Tell me about your family,” he says.
You cuddle up next to him as you tell him about your younger sister and brother, how your parents are still as much in love as the day they met, how your entire family; aunts, uncles and grandparents, are all tightly knit. You tell him how your family is one of the most important parts of your life, how they have always supported you in any decisions you made. You start giggling as you tell him that your parents had even supported your decision of nursing a baby bird, that had fallen out of its nest, back to health when you were about 9 years old. Your mother had no idea how to properly feed a bird that young, or even what to feed it, but it didn’t stop her from doing research and helping you get that little baby back to its parents.
“You are so loving and compassionate,” Loki says, in a soft voice while staring at you with loving eyes. “I’m certain that you are an amazing teacher.”
“I truly hope so. I only want what’s best for my students.”
“I am positive that you are the best teacher out there. I’m curious, what made you decide to become a teacher?” He asks.
“I-I’m not sure... “ you answer. “I always knew that I wanted to help people. I could have become a nurse or a firefighter… but for some reason, teaching was always my calling. I used to help my siblings and the kids in the neighbourhood with their homework every week when I was younger. I guess I just always thought of myself as a teacher.” You add, shrugging.
Loki puts a gentle hand on your cheek, turning your face towards his and giving the softest and most passionate kiss yet. “You are truly amazing,” he whispers against your lips. A goofy smile spreads across your face as he praises you.
“What about you, always wanted to be a trickster,” you ask, winking at him.
“Oh, you think you’re funny! I should change you into a frog.”
“Oh my God no, please have mercy Loki, please!” You plead, moving away from him as quickly as you can.
“Too late!” He grabs you by the ankles and pulls you back towards him, trapping you in his arms. “Now you’re my prisoner, however, maybe I should keep you like this, I like you better as a human.” “What a compliment, O mighty Loki.” You tease him.
He starts laughing, as he pulls you in closer.
“You know, in the past, I would’ve given anything to hear people call me that... Not anymore.” He says, stroking your cheek. “You know... I regret my actions. I’ve come to the realization, in the last couple of years, that power was my way to feel retaliate. I thought that if I had power, I could be important, people would notice me like they noticed my brother. I was really angry with everyone, with the world, for what had happened to me as a child. I didn’t realize that my mother had tried to protect me, a baby that was brought to her quite unexpectedly. I was angry with Odin for treating me differently. I was angry with Laufey for abandoning me. I was angry with Thor for always seeming so perfect…” Loki pauses, taking a deep breath. “It wasn’t until after my mother’s death and I took my father’s throne,” he offers you a crooked, apologetic smile, “that I truly realized that power wasn’t what I thought it was, it wasn’t happiness. I had lost my mother, and I could never tell her how truly grateful I was that she had taken me in, loved me and raised me as her own. I have made my peace with my father and my brother, and I have been working relentlessly to make up for my past actions… But I know that trust, once broken, isn’t easily fixed.”
“You know,” you say, taking his face between your hands, forcing him to look into your eyes. “Everyone is deserving of a second chance.”
“But what happens if they mess up their second chance?” He whispers between your hands.
“Third time’s a charm,” you shrug. “I used to be angry at you Loki... for attacking the city, destroying homes… my home. B-”
“I destroyed your home?!” he interrupts you, sitting up quickly, pushing you to the edge of his lap. “How.. When.. I-I’m so sorry.” He adds, tears slowly filling up his eyes.
“It’s ok. I mean, I’m over it now… I think at the time it was harder because it was the first home I had ever purchased. But I had just moved in, barely any of my things were there. So I didn’t lose everything.” Loki looks at you in horror, you can see the pain in his eyes as you tell him how his attacks on the city affected you.
“I should leave,” he says, trying to lift you off of him, as you repeat over and over again that it’s ok. “You should not be here with me, I’ve hurt you. You should be angry with me. Why are you not angry with me?!”
“Loki,” you say, your tone firm, grabbing his face between your hands again. “It’s in the past. The house, it was just wood, something that can be rebuilt. I’m ok, my belongings are ok, I didn’t lose anything that was extremely important to me. A house is just a house.”
“No, it was your home.” He whispers, avoiding your eyes.
“You’re wrong,” you tell him softly, his eyes darting back up to meet yours. “My home is wherever and with whoever I choose it to be.”
“I’m sorry,” Loki says quickly before bringing your face to his and kissing you passionately. He keeps kissing you with more and more passion, whispering soft “sorrys” as his hands make his way up to your hair, fingers getting lost.
You moan softly as you bring yourself closer to him, slowly grinding your hips along his lap. He wraps one arm around your waist and pulls you in tight, deepening your kiss. You can feel him getting harder under you, pushing gently against you and making you so wet. In one quick movement, you’re on your back on the couch, Loki towering above you.
“I’m so sorry for the pain I’ve caused you,” he says softly. “I know I can’t make it up to you, but I need you to know that I will try. I will beg for your forgiveness if that’s what it takes. You are important to me. I don’t know why, but I can’t stay away from you, I can’t stop thinking about you. I need to be close to you.” He adds before kissing you again, almost desperately this time, making you moan. You want him, you want all of him. You were mad, you were upset, but what’s past is past. And Loki seems genuinely sorry about his past, and you believe in second, even third chances. And right now, you just want his lips, his hands on you.
You wrap your arms around his neck as he kisses you, pulling him closer, needing his body against yours. Loki moves his lips to your neck, sliding his hands down the length of your body, grabbing your thigh tightly, a moan escaping your lips. You grind your hips up to meet him, rubbing against his erection. You want him inside of you, you want to feel him pulsing and throbbing as he makes love to you. Slowly, his hand that was groping your thigh moves to the inside of it, making its way to your panties. You feel him run a painfully slow finger along the lace of it, right over your needy clit and you gasp, begging him to just touch you. Pushing the fabric to the side, Loki starts drawing little circles around your clit as you pump your hips up, trying to get the friction you desperately need. He chuckles as he starts rubbing faster, and then he slides a long finger inside of your soaking folds, replacing his finger on your clit with his thumb. Catching your lips again, trapping your moans in your throat, he starts pumping his finger, getting faster and faster before he adds a second finger, driving you closer and closer to the edge.
“Fuck Loki, I’m gonna cum,” you moan out.
“Cum for me darling, cum around my fingers.” He groans at you.
His words alone push you over the edge and you whimper loudly as you cum all over his fingers, walls clenching down around him, your body shaking from your orgasm.
“Such a good girl,” Loki says, bringing his fingers to his mouth, tasting you.
With shaky legs, you stand up, stripping out of your shirt and soaked underwear. He looks at you with hungry eyes, devouring every inch of your body. He watches you as you kneel down between his legs, undoing his pants and sliding them off. His dick is bulging under his boxers and your mouth waters at the sight of it. Slowly, you reach for it, rubbing your hand along the length of it, Loki’s moan escaping his lips. He lifts his butt up for you to slide off his boxers, releasing his throbbing cock. Grabbing it in your hand, you stroke him slowly, licking the tiny bead of precum pearling at the tip, before licking the length of him, making him groan under your touch. Standing up, you straddle him on the couch, lining him up with your soaking cunt. Gripping your hips, Loki gently pulls you down on him, his thick cock filling you beautifully. You stay there for a second, savoring the feeling of each other, before you start to ride him slowly. Leaning his head back on the back of the couch, he moans as he grips your hips tighter, letting you ride him at your own pace. Leaning down to kiss his neck, you grind your hips on him, making him growl under you. You begin to ride him faster, harder, bouncing on his lap as his dick hits that spot inside of you that you didn’t know existed until tonight and you feel yourself getting closer as you ride him.
“F-Fuck, you’re so big Loki.” You moan, grinding your hips, looking for some kind of friction on your clit to get you off.
“Don’t talk like that, I- I won’t last.” He replies, his hand dipping in between the two of you, thumb starting to rub tight circles around your clit as if he understood your grinding.
“Oh fuck Loki!” You scream as his digit meets your tiny ball of nerves.
“I-I’m so close, don’t stop.”
Gripping your hips tighter with one hand and rubbing faster with the other, Loki brings you to your fourth orgasm of the night. You let out a choked out scream as you cum all over his dick, walls again clamping around him, and milking him as he cums with you. Slowly, you ride out your orgasms, holding each other close. Loki cups your face as your body starts shaking, and kisses you gently.
“You are amazing,” he whispers against your lips.
“I could say the same about you,” you whisper back. “However, I now need a shower.” You add giggling.
“I will take my leave then, give you some privacy.”
You flutter around him before any words leave your lips and he smiles at you, feeling you clench. “I don’t want you to leave.” You say.
“Alright darling, I won’t leave until you ask me to.” He answers, stroking your cheek and tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.
Getting off of him and walking to your bathroom, you can’t help the smile that spreads across your face. Loki follows close behind and wraps his bare arms around your waist as you turn the shower on. Showering together, you keep teasing one another, lathering soap up excruciatingly slow, lingering touches, soft kisses. There’s a moment where he freaks out, turning almost hysteric, as he rubs soap between your legs, realizing that he came inside of you twice tonight. With a laugh, you reassure him that you’re on birth control and there’s very little possibility you’ll get pregnant. He let out the biggest sigh ever, telling you he should’ve been more careful regardless because he didn’t want to upset your life.
When you step out of the shower, you notice the clock for the first time that night and gasp at how late it is. Following your gaze, Loki apologizes for taking up so much of your time.
“Don’t you dare apologize, tonight was amazing.” You say, getting up on the tip of your toes to kiss him.
Wrapping his arms around you again, Loki kisses you back before whispering how the thought of leaving you tonight pains him.
“Stay,” you whisper back.
“Are you sure?” He asks.
“Yes.”
As you lay in your bed, Loki’s arms wrapped around you, you can’t help but feel at peace. You’ve never felt this happy before, never felt like you truly belonged somewhere. But in Loki’s arms, you feel complete and slowly, you drift off to sleep.
———
The sun coming through your window and warming up your face is what wakes you up the following morning. Loki’s arms are still around you and you can’t help but stare at his angelic face. His black hair all in disarray from sleeping with wet hair, his face relaxed with sleep, you could look at him forever. Glancing over his shoulder, you see that your alarm clock is showing 7:45am. You overslept! Classes start in an hour, and you need to be at school before 8:30.
“Loki,” you say, gently shaking him awake. “Loki, we need to get up. We overslept, I’m gonna be late for work.”
“Mmmm…?” He groans at first. “Oh! I’m so sorry!”
“Stop apologizing,” you laugh. “Just get your butt out of my bed.”
“Yes ma’am!” He says, shooting up and running to the living room to put his clothes on.
Rushing to your closet, you throw on your favorite dress with a pair of nylons and knee high boots before putting your hair in a bun and wiping the mascara from under your eyes. Thankfully, your makeup from the night prior wasn’t really smudged and was therefore acceptable for you to wear at work. Grabbing your glasses, you walk out to your living room to see Loki by the front door, with your bags in hand and a banana plucked from your kitchen counter along with your to-go coffee mug. You see the coffee machine is shutting off after use.
“Breakfast,” he says, waving the banana at you. “I’m driving you to school, so you can drink your coffee and eat.”
“Loki, you don’t have to.”
“I insist, you’re late because of me.” He argues. “Let’s go now!”
You giggle as you grab your coat and keys, locking your door and making your way to his car. The ride to school isn’t a long one and you chomp down your banana while he sings along to the music on the radio, making you smile.
As he pulls up in the parking lot, he tugs on your shirt, pulling you in for a soft kiss. Sighing against his lips, you wish you could stay with him all day. Loki gets out of the car and walks around to the passenger side to open your door.
Extending his hand to you, he helps you out of the car, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you into his chest. “Can I see you again tonight?” He asks, flashing you that smile that makes your inside twist.
“Not tired of me yet?” You giggle in his arms. “I would love to see you again tonight, but it’s test day today, which means I’ll have about 60 copies to grade tonight. My coffee machine will be working all night.” You add.
“How about I come to cook you an amazing dinner, which I promise won’t burn this time,” he winks at you. “I just want to make sure you eat a proper meal. I’ll leave afterwards if you don’t want me to stay, I promise.” He proposes.
“Uhmmmm….” You reply. “That does sound tempting. Pick me up at 4 then?”
“It’s a date darling.” Loki says, leaning forward to kiss your lips softly.
He grabs your bags out of the back seat and kisses you once more before letting you go. As you walk away, you feel an emptiness settle in the pit of your stomach. You can’t help but turn around to see Loki standing, driver side door open, watching you walk away from him. The way he’s looking at you, adoration in his eyes, makes you want to run back to him. This feeling between you, this attraction, this need to be with the other, it’s as if gravity itself was pulling you towards each other. Unexplainably, you knew, at that moment, that he was your world now, and you were his.
@kingtwhiddleston
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aerois · 3 years
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Remarried Empress: Sovieshu Contextualized and Navier the Unreliable Narrator (SPOILERS!)
So recently I started reading Remarried Empress on WEBTOON. Honestly the whole premise wasn’t my cup of tea and I was solely reading it because it was part of an event where I could get free coins (lol). But then... I got hooked. I got invested. Started drinking in chapters whenever and wherever I could, and even now I still crave more. I wanted Navier to have some semblance of a happy ending (and, let’s be honest, I wanted to drag that precious little bitch Trashta by her fucking hair across the yard). At first it was mostly that. Raging at Trashta and her Simperor, pondering at Heinley’s true intentions, drooling over Kaufman. 
And then, I noticed something odd. I noticed-- the strangest thing-- Sovieshu seemed to be... not as enamored with his mistress as meets the eye. And there was even some hinting that his feelings for Navier weren’t what we assumed.
I have to preface this: I don’t condone Sovieshu’s crappy actions. He’s an idiot, and acts very poorly as a husband. And there’s no excuse for cheating. Absolutely not! So I don’t want this post to come across like In Defense of Sovieshu, because it’s not. But I do think that our view, the reader’s view, of Sovieshu, is warped. And this is mainly because we see the story through Navier’s eyes of course, but we forget that every individual person is fallible. Every person, at some point, harbors false assumptions that color their concepts of truth and reality. Put shortly, Navier is human, and therefore is not a reliable narrator at some points. Especially concerning her husband. We see Sovieshu entirely through the eyes of his wronged wife in the webcomic. Pin that: in the webcomic. Did you know the webcomic is actually based on a mobile game? Yes, it is! And I downloaded it! And I’m playing it! And... I’m actually... hating Sovieshu less?????????? 
Ok, ok, put the pitchforks down! Hear me out! I’m not saying any of the stuff he did was okay! But Navier’s narration of the story paints him as this cold, detached man who grew to hate his wife so much that he flew into the arms of some hussy for warmth and then just cast his wife aside and deliberately acted like a jerk just because he wanted her to suffer.  And there’s a grain of truth to that. There are points where Sovieshu feels bitter and does or says something waspish. But it’s not as black and white as you might assume. I played the mobile game, and decided to take Sovieshu’s route out of spite. I opened this app, saw it was an otome with this garbage-fire, cheating sack of shit for a romance option and thought “Hah! The nerve. Probably some semi-abusive dirtbag route aimed to appeal to girls who like men who treat them badly. You know, that mutually abusive relationship appeal that some girls like because drama.” And I needed to rack up in-game currency anyway (it’s like usual mobile games, where when you wanna make cool choices you gotta cough up cash unless you “diamond-mine” on crappy stories to save up the meager bits of free currency the app gives you for playing) so I figured I’d blast through the Sovieshu route and skip onto my darling Kaufman in playthrough 2.
And then the smoke genuinely compelling character development got me. So I could run y’all through Navier’s version of the events, but you already know that. For Sovieshu though? Here’s the kicker: this idiot has had a raging passion for his wife slowly building up for years throughout their entire lives, and only realizes it about halfway through the events of the story. This idiot, this buffon, this absolute brain-dead dolt... didn’t even realize he was pining over his own wife until he was about to explode from the desperation from it all. God, I wish I was joking. Lemme break it down for you:
Sovieshu’s POV: He and Navier are introduced as kids and are told they’ll be married someday. Life partners. They are raised in tandem to respect and care for one another. Kinda smacks of grooming (go mom and dad!) but whatever, that’s the background. These kids are mentally regarding each other as spouses their entire conscious lives. And Sovieshu, as he grows, quickly comes to realize his intended is a selfless girl who holds everything inside. The first spark of his affection for her is wrapped in this: that Sovieshu longs for Navier to take off her “perfect princess” mask and let herself be vulnerable with him. He admires her intellingence, her grace, and her devotion to her country. He looks at her and sees someone that inspires him. He craves the opportunity to comfort and protect her. He waits, and these opportunities come in small instances. But they get older, their burdens get heavier, and like most young women, Navier gets better at pretending nothing is wrong with her and putting everyone else first. Sovieshu feels more distant from her. But that desire to break through her wall still stands.
They marry, but Navier, in her infinite wisdom, makes the assumption that this marriage is entirely political (despite...the fact... that they were raised together??? they were literally best friends their entire lives??? are y’all seeing how this could be confusing for him???) and that there are absolutely no feelings involved on Sovieshu’s side. Expect there’s that little problem. That little problem. Of Navier’s absolute inability to be vulnerable. And so she starts this marriage all Elsa-Conceal-Don’t-Feel convinced that her husband (whom she is secretly in love with, shocker) holds no warmth for her because she’s never received any from him. 
Now I’ll acknowledge that this is a two way street, where Sovieshu fails as well. Should Navier have made a mature decision and asked for love and support when she needed it? Yes. Should Sovieshu have offered anyway, despite not knowing that she wanted it at all? Yes. They’re both in the wrong here. They’re both too passive, too afraid.
So the first few years of their marriage pass by like this. And Navier kinda melts into more of a depressed state over it, while Sovieshu becomes frustrated. But he doesn’t know why. He hasn’t quite put his finger on the fact that HE’S IN LOVE WITH HIS WIFE, GEE WHAT A SURPRISE BUDDY. And then... the little ingenue comes in. Trashta, with her crocodile tears, oversharing of emotions, co-dependent as all get-out. You see where I’m headed, right? It’s not just that she’s the opposite of Navier that gets Sovieshu hooked. It’s that she gives him that opportunity to unburden all this pent up romantic frustration. He can comfort, and protect, and wipe away the tears of a woman who loves him... And for a while, it’s intoxicating. That itch is finally being scratched.
Or so it seems. Because sooner or later, Sovieshu realizes that this woman is not his wife. And she’s a bit clingy, and clueless, and she’s... well, she’s not his wife. She’s not his wife. 
“Oh, dear God...” the idiot finally realizes. “I don’t want this hussy. I want my wife!” 
Ding ding ding! You did it! And it only took you--what? 20 years? After all this time, Sovieshu (and the audience playing his route) realizes. He’s not cheating because he’s bored, or because he hates his wife, or because he’s Inherently An Asshole And That’s What Assholes Do. He’s cheating because he’s using this woman as a stand-in for his wife. He’s been looking straight through this woman and seeking his wife the entire time. He’s cheating because he’s stupid and repressed and misguided and human. And again, that doesn’t excuse it. He still cheated, and that’s something he needs to spend a life-time making up for. It’s a mistake, and a big one. But it’s not fueled by a malicious hatred or a desire to hurt her. It’s fueled by confusion and fear. And, strangely enough, a desire to perform love for his wife.
So anyway, this stupid dweeb finally wakes up and realizes that no matter how much he plays around with the Town Skank, it doesn’t slate that thirst for the woman he’s spent his life growing to love. And that he actually, truly loves her to begin with. Now at this point, Navier was away travelling, doing queenly stuff. And he gets a message from a servant-- his wife is home. This boy books it. This man throws down what he’s doing, sprints across the imperial palace, to stumble at the feet of his wife; red-faced and breathless, absolutely undone. This man is screaming for his wife on the inside and now nothing he can do will quiet it. And his wife, ever the perfect pinnacle of a monarch, just raises a perfectly manicured eyebrow at him and wonders what’s got him in such a tizzy.
This is where the difference between the narratives hits especially hard. Navier has absolutely no clue that her husband is a hair-thin thread of self-control away from all of this just completely spilling out of him. She looks at him and sees a tormentor; someone who’s treating her like a used doll. And he sees this Goddess that’s been hiding in plain sigh the whole time. He sees his sins and repents before this, his wife, his almighty Goddess. But he doesn’t know what to do. She’s still been hurt by him, Trashta is still in their lives, and damn it all, he’s still frustrated. He still feels bitter and abandoned because even after everything, even after the years of marriage, his wife just seems so unaffected by him. This is where Navier’s “perfect queen” image that she tries so hard to curate really bites her in the ass.
These two dumbasses are hopelessly in love with each other but they’re deadlocked in an endless cycle of letting their prides get in the way. Navier doesn’t want to be vulnerable. Sovieshu doesn’t want to compromise, doesn’t know how to not lash out in anger when he’s really feeling sad. Unlike Navier, he can express emotions-- but not in a heathy way. So he says something mean, does something kinda shitty. And Navier thinks it’s because he delights in her suffering. So Sovieshu’s over here in his head like a cranky little child that’s mad at mommy because she’s on the phone, and Navier is over there in her head wondering why on earth her husband can’t notice a love that she’s never actually expressed to him. And it’s just terrible. But kind of hilarious. Mostly sad and terrible. But defintely hilarious.
To further illustrate this: even a lot of Sovieshu’s actions, for that matter, get warped by Navier’s unreliable narration. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE! In the chapter where Trashta is stabbed, Sovieshu immediately screams for guards to surround Navier. So I’ll sum up their thought processes here.
Navier: Oh my God, I can’t believe this asshole. Calling the guards? He really fuckin thinks I did this?! Jerk! Asshole! He really thinks I’d arrange for a pregnant woman to be stabbed!! He’s probably deliberately framing me too, so he can get me out of the way and live happily ever after with her!
Sovieshu: OH MY GOD, MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE COULD GET STABBED NEXT SOMEONE HELP well actually maybe she had something to do with it? nah. prolly not. but even if she did idgaf I LOVE MY WIFE, I’LL COVER FOR YOU BABY I’LL FORGIVE WHATEVER. GUARDS, FIND WHO DID THE STABBING SO THEY DON’T STAB MY PERFECT WIFE NEXT
Like I wish I was joking, but that’s how it read. Anyway, I’m not done with the comic or the game yet. But Sovieshu’s motivations aren’t all as they seem. And while he’s not a perfect husband, he has the capacity to mature, let down his pride, and make steps toward atoning to his wife. I honestly and genuinely believe this marriage could be salvageable if they could come clean with each other. A lot of people want to root for Kaufman or Heinley, and I get it. Those two would probably treat her well. But the fact stands that these two are married, and surprisingly, they both actually still hold a spark of love for one another. If Sovieshu could genuinely repent, and demonstrate this to Navier, they would attain the happy marriage with each other that they both strive for. Anyway, I find myself surprisingly hooked on the story now that I see Sovieshu’s POV. He’s not a hero in this story by any means, but I’m somehow, against my better judgement, rooting for him. I’m rooting for him to make the right choices and repair his marriage. 
It’s a bold strategy, folks. Let’s see how it pays off.
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dangermousie · 3 years
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2020 End of Year Post - kdrama edition
You can find my 2020 cdrama post here: dangermousie.tumblr.com/post/638449659546845184/2020-end-of-year-post-cdrama-edition
This is only going to cover kdramas that aired in 2020; if it originally aired another year, it’s not on this list.
It’s been a pretty lackluster kdrama year. There are probably only 5 kdramas I truly loved and only three of them I was really obsessed over. Better luck in 2021!
DRAMAS WATCHED
(In order of liking from least to most as opposed to pure quality; I am including if I’ve seen enough to make up my mind; yes I realize that’s inaccurate, but that’s my list)
42 Born Again - so bad, so incoherent, so insane, I have no idea why the leads signed up for it (and unlike some of the other watchers, I think it was awful from the very start.) There is literally nothing about this drama that makes sense.
41 Love with Flaws - a bunch of people who should be tried under the Geneva Convention.
40 Sweet Munchies - Jung Il Woo proves his inability to pick a functional script.
39 Meow the Secret Boy - if you ever wanted to bang a cat, this drama is for you. Not being a furry, however...
38 Do Do Sol Sol La Sol - I lost braincells just typing out this title.
37 When I Was the Most Beautiful - the only way it’s not the dumbest, most pointless melo of 2020 is because Born Again considerately came out the same year.
36 Woman of 9.9 Billion - if you want to watch an artsy French movie about miserable people, but only badly made, boy do I have a drama for you.
35 Lies after Lies - screams after screams.
34 Backstreet Rookie - people were up in arms about various problematic plots. I am a survivor of many plots much more problematic but even I couldn’t survive how utterly boring and annoying this drama was and how utterly irritating the leads were. This has taken Ji Chang Wook off my top favorites into “should I even check his latest Lovestruck in the City? Probably not” territory almost single-handedly (Melt Me helped, to be fair.)
33 Men Are Men - boring is boring.
32 Dinner Mate - two beautiful boring people eat out a lot.
31 Was It Love - no it wasn’t.
30 Alice - Joo Won in the shower can make up for a multitude of sins but not plot nonsense of such magnitude. When you find yourself thinking it would be better if he hooked up with the alternate universe version of his mother because at least then something entertaining would happen, you know it’s bad.
29 More than Friends - started out OK, then made me hate basically everyone and kept going.
28 Start-Up - honestly, it’s probably more decent than its place here, but the toxic and batshit fandom for it (the worst this year) made me feel like breaking out in hives any time it’s even mentioned.
27 The Spies who Loved Me - how to take a good cast and waste it.
26 Private Lives - it was good but it never took off with its concept and spent more time on the incoherent plot than the OTP which was its one strength. It’s a decent drama but coming after Heartless City and My Beautiful Bride from the same writer, it’s a disappointment.
25 Record of Youth - as high as it is due to Park Bo Gum hard carrying this entire awful drama on his shoulders and doing it so well I finished it. Alas, while he is in one drama (and that drama is great), the rest of the characters and the entirety of the script are a pointless useless mess.
24 Do You Like Brahms - excellent first third, mediocre middle, and terrible last third. I don’t know what musical term applies to this? Diminuendo, I think.
23 I’ll Go to You When the Weather is Nice - nice and mellow but nothing much happens.
22 Forest - mainly for Park Hae Jin’s excellent and frequently naked bod.
21 The Ballot - I didn’t love it as much as everyone did but it was well-made.
20 Hyena - more romance and less weird law stuff would make it better.
19 365 Repeat the Year - surprisingly solid.
18 The Game Towards Zero - see 365.
17 When My Love Blooms - very old fashioned, very lovely.
16 Chocolate - also very old fashioned and very lovely but also with Yoon Kye Sang performing medical procedures bleeding and shirtless. MMM.
15 (tie) Secret Royal Inspector - a fun if run of the mill sageuk.
15 Find Me In Your Memory - best melo this year.
14 Mystic Pop Up Bar - surprisingly good even though I wasn’t planning to check it out.
13 Where Your Eyes Linger - came out of nowhere but was tender and hopeful and lovely.
12 Itaewon Class - Park Seo Joon hard carries a drama that is already excellent. Love it.
11 Psychopath Diary - Yoon Shi Yoon is such a treat in a hilarious, cynical, dark comedy.
10 Kairos - more like ouroboros.
9 Queen Love and War - in a year where sageuks are very rare, this was solid and surprisingly moving and shippy.
8 The King Eternal Monarch - people didn’t like it but I did. It’s no masterpiece and both the leads and the writers have better dramas, but it was a lovely romantic fairy tale for me.
7 Mr. Queen - sharp, hilarious, and some of my favorite actors.
6 Psycho But It’s OK - healing, sharp cinematography and even sharper chemistry.
5 Crash Landing on You - the last ep pissed me off so much this drama is dead to me but I loved it so much until then I can’t place it lower in good conscience.
4 Train - who knew I would go this hard for an OCN drama or that OCN would do romance so well? But this time-travel mystery romance is just incredible and I shipped the OTP and rooted for the characters and loved every last bit of it.
3 Run On - this is the drama Record of Youth wanted to be but failed. Smart and lived in, you feel like you are peeking at real people, but also even four episodes in, I am so invested in the main characters separately and together, and care for them so much, it’s a little frightening.
1 (tie) Tale of the Nine Tailed - my perfect fantasy romance. I liked it better than Goblin, yeah I said it.
1 Flower of Evil - all the tropes I love in one incredible package. I would rewatch episodes waiting for new ones trying to puzzle the story and to stay withdrawal but it works just as well on rewatch. Lee Jun Ki brings his trademark tortured intensity and for once, both his leading lady and his script back him up and are worthy of that. It’s perfect.
FAVORITE DRAMA
It’s a tie between Tale of the Nine Tailed and Flower of Evil but if I had to pick just one, FoE, because it had me seriously obsessed and guessing about the protagonist and gave me the narrative tropes I love so much and an OTP that statisfied all my hurt/comfort kinks and then some.
WORST DRAMA
Born Again - honestly, this is so bonkers it almost becomes good but alas...
FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER
Do Hyun Soo/Baek Hee Sung, Flower of Evil - he is so messed up, so on edge, so traumatized. Yet capable of so much warmth and caring even as he himself doesn’t realize his humanity. FoE is basically a story of a man pushed and punished by the world for his entire life who, because of one woman, finds a safe place and peace and slowly comes to life without realizing it, and watching his desperation to keep this small bit of normalcy is so heartbreaking and exciting all at once. Plus, you start the drama thinking he’s a psychopathic serial killer and end it (if you are me) thinking he must be protected at all costs and if anyone even looks at him wrong they must suffer, and that’s quite a change!
FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER
Nam Ji Ah, Tale of the Nine Tailed - she is so funny and tough and smart and loving and amazing that I will totally buy that a literal demi-god will do anything and everything for her and love her for literal eternity.
NEEDS TO BE MURDERED
Dad in Record of Youth - yes in a year with serial killers and supernatural demons, I picked a normal character from a mediocre drama. It’s his everyday awfulness to his family that hits so hard and I am sad he never got his comeuppance.
FAVORITE SHIP
Ji Ah x Yeon - a fearless reporter and an immortal demi-god who’s been hoping for his human beloved to reincarnate. A really rare set-up where the OTP is equally ride or die, so compatible and completely BAMF. I got why he waited for her for that long and then fell in love with her all over again. Perfection.
Runner up: Flower of Evil - he is so messed up he literally does not believe he is capable of love or empathy, but he falls in love with her anyway and so utterly she permeates his entire life. She is tough as nails and only believes what she sees and is the sole person who believes in him against the world. She loves him but he needs her. She needs him but he loves her. They are amazing.
FAVORITE SECONDARY OTP
Seo Dan x Gu Seung Jun, Crash Landing on You, North Korean x Conman were so good I shipped them harder than the main OTP and the end of that storyline pissed me off so much I dumped the drama and didn’t finish it for months (and it’s still dead to me.)
NOTP
Record of Youth - it started out and they didn’t have much chemistry but the dialogues were interesting and I thought the chemistry would grow. It didn’t and deteriorated, their dialogues became boring and relationship had zero development (about as much as the supposed female lead.) I think we were supposed to feel bad they broke up and they were going for a bittersweet open ending, instead I found myself happy about the break up of two incompatible, chemistry-less people and hoping for the love of God they never get back together.
FAVORITE SCENE
Yeon and the bridge of knives, Tale of the Nine Tailed - Yeon choosing to undergo the creeptastic bridge of knives for a chance to save Ji Ah, who at that point he is not aware is the reincarnation of his Joseon love because, as he says, he doesn’t care if she is or isn’t, it just would be more horrible to have her die than to undergo the horrific torture he is undergoing, and then the sequence with his catching her, her weeping over him and the fact that she is the original Joseon girl revealed and all the bandaging and his watching her sleep and all that loveliness, is everything for yours truly.
Runner up: Hyun Soo having that break-down at the cliff at the end of ep 15 of Flower of Evil as Ji Won desperately tries to convince him she is alive and he finally stumbles to her.
Runner runner up (it’s my list, I will do what I want): Do Won preparing to blow his brains out to give a chance to Seo Kyung to live in Train.
BIGGEST CRUSH
Seon-Gyeom, Run On. Yeah, I know. Im Siwan is tiny, delicate featured and has a runner’s build, none of which are things that normally appeal to me. But his character is so odd, so honest, so unflinching in pursuing what he thinks is right, so incapable of self-pity despite plenty of reasons for it, and so ridiculously attractive when he smiles, I don’t even care.
BEST SCENE STEALER CHARACTER
Kim Bum, TotNT - I started out being annoyed by him and ended up looking forward to his scenes and being distraught by his ending.
NEEDS A SEQUEL
Honestly, none. I was fine with all the endings. I wouldn’t mind seeing post-end life of Tale of the Nine Tailed characters or the OTP settling into their literal new world in Train, but I am good.
TROPE THAT NEEDS TO DIE
Time jump that solves all the problems off screen or alternatively years pass and everyone is frozen - something that kdramas need to learn and need to learn badly. See Record of Youth, Brahms and Start Up.
FAVORITE TROPE WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF
Men who are ride or die for their OTP - this was a great year for this - the male leads of four of my five dramas were beyond anything on that scale (only exception is Run On because it’s still too early to tell there.) Yes PLEASE.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
This was a banner year for that what with Start Up, Do You Like Brahms, Record of Youth, and Private Lives all starting out well and nosediving off the cliff but winner is Crash Landing on You. I loved it so much for bulk of its run but the last episode pissed me off so much I deleted all my files and called it a day.
BIGGEST GOOD SURPRISE
Flower of Evil - I had no expectations of this drama and wasn’t even planning on watching it despite liking both the lead actors because yet another “look at evil serial killer be evil” drama with no romance was not my thing. Luckily someone convinced me there might be some romance and I peeked curiously. Honestly, their promo campaign was the most misleading and dumbest thing ever.
Runner up Psycho but it’s OK - I have never liked Kim Soo Hyun in anything before and the drama premise seemed WTF but it was shockingly good and KSH totally blew me away.
Hardest Working Lead
Yoon Shi Yoon - he starred in two (!!!) dramas in 2020 playing three characters and not only were both these dramas awesome in a lackluster year, but if it wasn’t for the fact that I knew it was the same actor and the fact that the characters shared a face, I would have never believed that they were played by the same actor. So good!
2020 DRAMAS I HAVEN’T SEEN THAT I MOST WANT TO WATCH
None. Covid Year gave me PLENTY of time
BEST NON-2020 DRAMA I’VE WATCHED IN 2020
My Beautiful Bride and Deserving of the Name - I was obsessed with both of them and honestly, they were much better than the bulk of 2020 kdramas I watched.
MOST ANTICIPATED IN 2021
The Moon That Rises in the Day, Hong Chun Gi, Joseon Exorcist, Island,  Frightening Cohabitation, Snowdrop.
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karimac · 3 years
Text
…in the details, Part 3
A/N: Warning for this series: 18+ audience (minors DNI), some cinematic level violence, some fluff and angst. Doubt that smut will be involved, but it may be implied. I’ll make sure that is noted clearly if it pops up.
All relationships, at this point anyway, are platonic.
Please do not repost or translate my work. Likes, comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated.
A bit about the OC Kari
Part 1
Part 2
All mistakes are my own.
Word count: 3,556
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Well, that was not exactly the best idea, was it?
Dr. Darcy Lewis, unlike her colleague, Dr. Erik Selvig, was not a big fan nor an authority on any form of mythology. And the Irish history ask was a longshot at best.
So, here you were, in the coffee shop smack dab in the middle of Westview, talking to Dr. Lewis and getting nowhere fast.
“And, that’s not happening,” the astrophysicist grumbled as she set down her phone and took another sip of her beverage. It was some weirdly sweet concoction that looked like what humans thought rainbow-colored unicorn poop looked like. This world was not ready for what real magical beasts looked like. Most authors had not gotten all of that right in their books. No surprise there. No human really needed to see such things on a daily basis, and whoever had been the muses for those authors had covered up a lot.
“I take it Dr. Selvig has no clue on the Celtic Pantheon?” you asked as you sipped your very boring, light, non-sweet hot coffee. The barista probably wanted to laugh when you ordered it, but he did his best to stifle his snicker. “It was a very long reach on my part, Dr. Lewis. I’m sorry I roped you into this.”
“You can call me Darcy because you actually acknowledge my academic status,” the brunette said as she flipped her phone over again. “So, Thor is off in space. You don’t want me calling Falcon or his pal with the metal arm. Captain Marvel isn’t on your contact list. Ant Man and The Wasp? They can be sort of science geeks, right? Wait. Banner? Is he OK to call?”
Before you could open your mouth, Darcy was texting Banner off her own phone. “You know Bruce?”
“I met him at some meet and greet at MIT before the world went poof,” Darcy replied as she set her phone back down and seemed to be praying Banner would actually return her text. “Stark was there, too, but Banner was the one I got coffee with. Sweet guy, you know, even if he gets all green sometimes.”
As you sipped your coffee, you noticed a few people giving you odd looks. It made you very nervous. “Maybe we should finish up and get back on the road?” you asked Darcy as you quietly motioned toward the other patrons getting their daily fix of caffeine.
“Yeah, bubbe isn’t answering me anyway,” Darcy said as she picked up her phone and got up from her chair. By now there were several residents blocking the exit. “What is your problem? We paid. We’re busing our table. Then we’re leaving.”
“Are The Avengers going to hunt her down?” one woman in the back of the group asked as Darcy looked back toward you and mouthed the word “Help” before turning back to the crowd. The questioner was loud, but you couldn’t see her because of the big delivery man standing in front of her with a huge pile of Amazon packages. “Why did you come back?”
It was time to vamp. With an apparently faulty memory, this was going to be interesting.
“Before you all ask about what is going to happen regarding Wanda Maximoff, I want you all to know I have no authority to speak for The Avengers. I have never been a true member of the team. I helped them at a time when things were beyond bleak for this world. It was an honor and a privilege. But I am not a spokesperson. I am not a team leader.”
“Then why did you come here?” a man with glasses, holding a briefcase, asked from the line where he was waiting for his order. “Then and now?”
“I came the first time because I was looking for my friend. I was pulled into that nightmare just like you were. I wish I had been able to help her before any of this happened.”
“But you have powers, right? Couldn’t you have shut her down, hot stuff?” the first woman added as she moved to the front. Then you recognized her. Agatha Harkness. If Wanda kept her alive, there was a reason for it, and all the pain you had rising in your core had to be tamped down fast. Harkness had hurt Wanda, and that would have to be addressed one day. You were good at playing the long game.
“Taking her out in any sort of power stunt could have jeopardized your lives. I was not sure what she did to make it all happen, and I was not going to risk your lives. I’m sorry it wasn’t put to an end sooner. Now, if you will excuse us, we need to get to a meeting regarding the incident here,” you said as you and Darcy pushed through the crowd and back out to the street.
“OK, what was all that? Spin? Or are you remembering something?” Darcy asked as you got back into her car. You had left your rental on the outskirts of town. Better to travel as a unit until your business here was concluded.
“I remember a couple of things from that mess,” you said as you tried to keep your hands from shaking. “I remember Wanda and Vision’s sons. Billy and Tommy. I remember the house where I lived. Can we drive out to where Wanda had her house? Maybe that will help?”
Darcy pulled out of the parking space and made the lefts and rights to the lot where Wanda’s house had been. The one you were living in was in a lot right next to it. It was empty now, too, but you got out of the car anyway and stood in the center of the patch of dirt. You closed your eyes and held your breath as you tried to piece together what had happened. And then you started to cry as you fell to your knees.
“Whoa, slow down,” Darcy said as she ran and knelt beside you. “What did you see?”
“It’s weird. Wanda came over one day and more or less apologized to me because she couldn’t give me my real happy ending. I can show you, if you’ll let me…”
“Go into my mind?” Darcy protested before you could wave her off the idea. “No Vulcan mind melds for me today, thanks.”
“No, I carry this mirror, and you can see memories in it. Trust me, I do not use telepathy as a first line of anything. I tried it once, to help a friend, but it just caused more problems,” you groaned as you pulled the mirror out of your backpack. You waved your hand over it, and Darcy could now see what had happened with Wanda.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t find them and bring them here,” the Sokovian said quietly as she walked around the 1980s version of what was your living room. It was way too pastel for your liking, but the hints of fuchsia, orchid and teal in the overall cream and light gray design weren’t so bad. You had a couple of cats there with you. One was an orange tabby with a penchant for eating tuna at any given moment. He was warm and affectionate and just a ray of sunshine dressed in fur. The other was as white as the driven snow, but his own cuddly disposition came through. He was the one who would leave you weird gifts every morning. Rocks, feathers, and yes, the occasional dead mouse would be at the foot of your bed each sunrise. You’d find out at the end of that nightmare that the cats were only constructs of Wanda’s chaos magic.
“I know you miss the three of them,” she continued as she pointed to a framed picture of Steve, Bucky and Sam, all decked out in appropriate 1980s clothes that made them look like they ran away from some cop drama. “It’s probably better that there aren’t too many Avengers here anyway. Vis is getting concerned. And this way, well, no one needs to know which one you would have chosen. I know. You know. So you can always talk to me. Like we did before. But I gave you the wedding ring to make sure no one came on to you. Just in case I can get him here soon.”
As you showed Darcy the memory, a tiny part of you was screaming that this whole scenario seemed wrong. You watched Wanda’s crimson glow float around you as she spoke. You vaguely remembered The Morrigan trying to kick some sense back into your addled brain, but Wanda’s world was much too enticing to let your other self come to the fore. You wanted the damned happily ever after with the husband and the house and everything that meant in the modern American ethos. You had rationalized things for years in such a way that you’d never let yourself get it. That was why no one was here to hug you at night like Wanda had Vision. Maybe that fact alone was enough to crack Wanda’s hold on you a bit more than she realized?
But you also had to admit that you wanted to be there for Wanda in case things went south. That much was clear from the moment you showed up in Westview the first time.
“How come you didn’t just zap her? Fight back?” Darcy asked as you fully shifted to the present day and paused the memory.
“Because she wasn’t wrong. I did miss Bucky, Steve and Sam. I missed Banner, too, because they were, in the end, the ones still here that cared if I lived or died. And Spider-Man. Which is random and weird, but he did. And frankly, what I said in the coffee shop was true. I had no idea what my powers would do to her spell. I could have leveled the town. That was not an option.”
“So, that Agatha woman…” Darcy started to say and then stopped. “Wait. That was her? In the coffee shop? That was why you were acting so weird?”
“Yeah. Wanda could have killed her or taken Agatha away with her to imprison her. She didn’t. After what Agatha tried to do to Wanda, to try and take her powers, Wanda had every right to finish her off. But Wanda doesn’t likely know all that yet. There are rules set up from ages ago. Things witches can and can’t do to each other under specific circumstances. So Wanda left her trapped here—for now anyway. But, whatever happened with them, it affected me, too. I got hit with stray magic blasts. I’m betting it messed up my powers in ways I didn’t realize. And maybe my memories as well.”
As Darcy knelt there, her phone finally chimed. It was some weird little R2-D2 chirpy beep, and she looked elated as she showed you the message. “Seems Bruce still cares if you are OK or not. I don’t think bringing him here is such a great idea…”
“Did anyone send him data about what happened here?” you asked as you got to your feet, pocketing some of the dirt from the lot before you stood up. “Air and soil samples? Readings from the residents?”
“I can get them for him. Trust me, Jimmy Woo and Monica Rambeau would be more than happy to help. I’m glad that loon Hayward seems to have gone into hiding or was hauled away to The Raft,” Darcy noted as she checked her phone again. “Seems the doc is working out of a Stark lab here in Jersey. Road trip?”
You really didn’t want to go see Bruce. You had no idea how you’d explain any of what you did to him.
++++++++++
You rehearsed what you planned to tell Bruce a million times in your mind as Darcy drove along the Garden State Parkway to a place called Woodcliff Lake. Stark Industries did indeed have a lab there, and it made you want to scream as you walked into the facility. You did not need yet another reminder that you could not save Tony Stark’s life at the end of that final battle with Thanos. That was part of why you were in this mess in the first place. It was also why you had a screaming fight with Stephen Strange, but no one else knew about that yet.
“Dr. Banner? We’re here!” Darcy yelled as you walked toward what had to be the research wing. The lack of security in the place was a bit disturbing, but then again, there were probably booby traps built into every square inch of the place. You could just hear Tony now as you got closer to the lab area. It would likely have been close to the speech you got the first time he talked to you at the compound.
“Hey! Lucky Charms! Don’t touch any of the expensive stuff. I guess that means don’t touch anything. I still have no idea why you are hanging around the team except that Steve wants you here for some reason. Maybe you’re tied to…his friend…and I just don’t want to face that? Still have issues with all of that, even if the man is dead. Pepper and Morgan said I should be nice to you, but I’m not quite there yet after what happened in Berlin. They are better people than I’ll ever be.”
“Earth to Kari?” you finally heard Bruce say as he waved his massive green hand in front of your face. Then he realized why you were likely spacing out. "Dr. Lewis, can we have a minute?”
“You can call me Darcy, if I can call you Bruce?” Lewis said as Banner nodded to her. “Cool. I’ll go find the little scientist’s room and be right back,” she added as she left the lab.
“So,” Bruce started as he pointed you toward a set of chairs at one side of the lab, “Darcy filled me in via text. I have no idea what happened with Wanda, and I know none of us know where she is. I did call a friend who wants to help,” he noted as a swirling circle of yellow light formed near the window that looked out over the parking lot. “I figured you’d listen to him, and he knows more about this stuff than I do.”
“What did you do?” Wong shouted as he exited the portal. “You usually listen to reason. Why did you go after Wanda all alone?”
“I went to help Wanda. She was hurting. She watched Vision die twice. She lost Pietro. I can relate to all that very, very well. My twin Branan died in front of my eyes, too, and I’ve buried two husbands. Both died in battle. I just wanted her to know she wasn’t alone. But she…she hit all my vulnerable points. And she was under attack at the same time. From a woman named Agatha Harkness and from the director of SWORD. Some martinet named Hayward. He built another Vision. I think Hayward was using Wanda’s powers to bring him to life. Darcy is going to check in with some of the people who worked with her to get you more intel, Bruce.”
“Another version of Vision? Great,” Bruce muttered as he looked over at Wong. “As for this Harkness person…”
“The name rings very small bells, so I’ll need to do some research,” Wong noted as you bumped your left fist against your forehead. “What?”
“Harkness is a succubus. And she is old. Not as old as I am, but she is still a good 400 years old, give or take a day. She apparently survived the Salem Witch Trials. Wanda spelled her and left her in Westview. I think she is, at least in small ways, aware that her world is all wrong. I didn’t want to press it when I saw her in that coffee shop. We do not need an angry succubus flying around. Wong, they got into an aerial battle, and Wanda was using sigils, runes, whatever you want to call them, to focus her power. I think she picked that up from good old Aggie. I never showed her anything like that on purpose. I always suspected she had magic in her bones, but it wasn’t my place to start that fire. The bigger issue is that Wanda conjured up two children while she was there. She created cats for me, so anything is possible. I got knocked out by the end of the fight, so I have no idea what exactly happened in the end other than Wanda running off and Agatha being left behind for some reason.”
“And?” Wong asked as he started to look you up and down. “You did a spell? And it went bad? Your aura is all messed up.”
“I…I tried to do a spell so The Avengers would think of me less and less, and then eventually I’d just be a fleeting memory. I felt walking away in the dead of night, the thing I usually do when I am leaving town, would not be good enough. The spell got botched, and now I’m connected in some fashion to Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. Looking back at it, I spent more time with them in the days leading up to my departure. Steve and Bruce were there the day I left, and so were Sam and Bucky. And…I’m carrying a lot of guilt about Bucky after his accident in 1943.”
“All this on top of the magical circus Wanda made? Are you insane?” Wong yelled as he started to pace.
“And the fight I had with Stephen on the day of the battle. Yeah, I guess I am insane,” you replied as Wong threw up his hands. Bruce had gotten extremely quiet, and that was not a good thing.
“Before we get to dissecting your spell, Kari, was this because of what Tony said? About you not being an Avenger because you were…?”
“Unstable? Yes. And the fact I could not bring anyone back from the grave, especially during that last battle. And the fact about who killed his parents. Buck did while under Hydra control. Steve found out and never told Tony. I ran into The Winter Soldier a few times over the decades, so there was the chance I could have prevented their deaths, too. Tony really had no reason to ask me to join the band.”
“Once we get your spell problem sorted, then we will address this, too,” Bruce said as he looked toward Wong and shook his head. “I loved Tony like a brother, but he was wrong…”
You winced a few times as you tried to listen to Bruce and Wong, now joined once again by Darcy, as they tried to figure out how to fix or reverse that spell, and they hashed out what might have happened to you during that first trip to Westview. You were really trying to focus on their questions, but you felt a tug that no one else could ever have possibly felt.
“Baltimore,” you mumbled as you pulled out your cellphone and debated texting the person you felt tugging at that damned invisible string. No. That would have ended badly, especially since your original spell had gone haywire.
“Bucky Barnes was arrested?” Darcy asked as she showed you her phone alert. “I bet he punched that new fake Cap in the nose. Sorry, but that guy looks like he has no clue. I saw him on Good Morning America. Total cheese fest.”
“Wait. What?” you asked as you took her phone. “Sam didn’t keep the shield? I just hope Bucky didn’t punch Sam and wind up in jail for that!” You gave Darcy back her phone and looked at yours again. It was buzzing. “Anyone here know who the hell is Christina Raynor?” you asked the trio in front of you. No one had any clue about that. You hit the speaker button as you answered the call.
“Hello? Ms. MacOrish. I’m James Barnes’ therapist, Christina Raynor. Sam Wilson said I should give you a call and ask you to join us in Baltimore. As quickly as possible, if you can. I don’t think Mr. Barnes wants to spend the night in a holding cell.”
“Oh no, you are not going to Baltimore,” Wong said as he crossed his arms and got a stern look on his face. “Not while your head is all over the place. You could portal to Baltimore in the 1800s for all you know. You could end up eating lunch with Lord Baltimore in the 1700s. You really shouldn’t do this.”
“Wong, what better place for me to go than to see a therapist?” you said with a smirk as you opened your own portal, this one a lovely shade of emerald green, that went to where Raynor was waiting for you—outside an interrogation room at the city jail.
“Mr. Wilson said you’d be fast. He did not tell me you were one of the powered class,” Raynor said as you went through the portal, looking back to wave briefly as you heard Darcy’s last comment.
“What about your rental car?”
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aka-indulgence · 4 years
Text
So I wanna get back to writing but I’m not yet ready to tackle the big stuff or asks just yet and i was recommended to write a oneshot/short thing so.... yet again, conversations with @llamagoddessofficial​ brought an idea to life and I’ve been kinda obsessed with it <u<
----
Space.
Vast, hauntingly beautiful...
lonely.
Even though you’re far from alone on this station- there was a huge crew of humans aboard with you- being on a station always left you with this feeling of... isolation.
You were on lone station, far from the planet whence it was launched, circling the star from a distance. There was no obvious motivation for why you were in one right now- living in space has become commodity, just another way of living. But to say you and the crew were living in space “just because” wasn’t quite the correct answer either... a lot of the people onboard were researches, and you were simply a mechanic on the ship.
You’re distracted a little from looking out the window, at the stars, when you hear a little clank from the outside.
You can’t quite see what’s directly out the station from where you are, so you took a few steps further from the edges of the window and lean a bit into it. You can see a metallic leg, blue sparks from a torch... S4-N5 was out there, his eight legs firmly gripping onto the outside of the station while he was making some kind of superficial repair. As he did, he seemed to notice you, as his “skull” turned to the side, his artificial eyes with “lights” as pupils fixating on you. There was a glare so you couldn’t see him completely... he must’ve caught you in his sensors. You give him a little smile and a wave before he turned away from you to focus on the station.
Yes, humans weren’t the only crew members... there were also robots on this ship. They assisted in managing most of the ship to make sure nothing was falling apart, in order, and generally making the humans; lives much more comfortable, doing things that were deemed too risky for humans to do. They were categorized by intelligence, conveniently titled in three levels, at least on this ship. There were the I-1s, which... to be honest doesn’t seem to be “real” intelligence. They just remember what kind of coffee you like, for example, catering to your tastes, delivering things to your room, the roombas and toasters, those guys. I-2s has a more managing role, controlling the locks, the doors, gases, air, and all the calculating needed to keep the station stable. They have an AI, but they were mostly fixed to their programming.
Then there were the I-3s.... like S4-N5.
Much more intelligent than the other two, they’re mostly mobile, can react to things they didn’t originally have in their programming, do tasks, solves puzzles and problems... advanced learning AIs. Affectionately called “big three” by most people since they’ve become... slightly more common than before, they’re one of the most intelligent AIs created. S4-N5 (who you called “Sans” for short that everyone else picked up- “Es Four En Five” was quite a mouthful to say) was a mobile, mechanic robot. He was made to fix the major fixes in or out the ship, with eight legs to provide grip while he was outside to stop him from floating away, and two arms for all the fixing. He had tools stored in pretty much every part of him, including his legs- another reason why he had so many, er... limbs.
He had a head and upper body that looked strikingly similar to a human’s skeleton- despite having thick “bones” and a very rounded skull. Black “sockets” with lights serving as eyes... and a permanent, wide grin on his face. You’re not even sure why it’s there- but then again why did his upper body part have to look like a skeleton? Maybe it was just a design choice to make him less spider-y but... yeah he still looks like a robotic, spider skeleton.
What did S4-N5 stand for again? “Station something something”-?
“Hey how’s it hanging? you’ve been staring out for a while there. What, trying to tan your face?”
Your lips drop into a lopsided grin at the voice, feeling annoyed before you even see his face.
“Hi... Robert...” you turn around, straining your smile, “Yeah, I was just, thinking...”
“Oh yeah? What about?” You took a few steps back when Robert stepped uncomfortably close to you, leaning back on the window. You know the glass is made to endure but you start to play with your fingers looking at him.
“Oh just... hey, do you remember what ‘S4-N5′ stands for?”
“Ugh... the robot bug thing?” Robert’s “charming” smile turned into a frown at the mention, “Why do you wanna know?”
“I was just wondering because I saw him, I- nevermind...” guy probably has no idea...
“Those things don’t matter anyways, they’re probably just a bunch of numbers and codes to track which model and version of the robot is..” Robert made a pout with his mouth, looking like he wanted nothing more than to steer the conversation away from Sans.
“Hey do you wanna know what me and the boys did earlier?”
... Riiight back to him.
But that’s hardly just a Robert thing... everyone on the ship doesn’t really like talking about Sans. They seem to barely want to do ANYTHING with Sans. He has a reputation for being the creepiest robot on the ship, almost entirely silent, walking around with his eight legs like a giant spider, with that upper “skeletal” body with the grin that now that you’re thinking about it again may be so he’d look friendlier... instead doing the opposite.
You tune out of him for a while as he regales you with something stupid he did on the ship that has you wondering how he even got assigned to this station when you perk your head at the sound of the air-lock door hissing open, the sounds of metal clinking against metal.
“-and ah fuck, speak of the devil. You talk about him and there he is.”
You turn around and see Sans as the doors close behind him in all his glory. Standing almost at twice your height, a shiny, metallic spider. His legs resembled knives, sharp with pointed joints, dividing a leg into three parts. His plated “abdomen”, equipped with machinery, energy storage, and a compartment for supplies suspended above the legs, holding up his torso.
You knew those legs are for mobility, grip, and tools, while the abdomen served to keep all of his body parts in check... but even you had to admit his likeness to spiders could be a bit unnerving.
“Ugh, look at that thing...” Robert whispered to you, as if Sans would take offense to whatever he was about to say, “he’s so fucking creepy, c’mon, why don’t we go somewhere else?”
He looked like he was about to take you by the arm before you jerked away from him.
“Why? He’s just doing his thing, he’s not made to hurt us, just relax!” you hiss at him. You knew Sans could be pretty creepy to some people, but he’s just being childish right now.
“Are we looking at the same thing? I- look, now it’s staring at us,”
You took a glance behind and sure enough, Sans was facing you, with only his head turned to you. You saw how his “pupils” focused, fixating on the nearby humans.
Is it just you or did his eyes look.. more intense than usual..?
“Do you see that? It looks like it’d fucking kill you in your sleep, don’t go out the ship with it (Y/n), it’d probably snip your tether, sadistic fuck.”
“What is wrong with you? He’s just doing his job can you just leave him alone?” You knew Sans was an AI but... it just felt wrong to be talking about him that way in front of him.
“What, because he’ll listen to me?” Robert scoffed, before his definite scowl turned into something less confident. “... actually yeah I don’t like that, so come on let’s go get some food or something.”
“You can go ahead and do that, I...” think of something think of something, “... need to go to the supply room for a moment. I think I’ve got something to fix and I’d rather finish it now rather than later.”
You walk on ahead without letting Robert reply, hearing his slightly distressed sounds of frustration.
“I- ok fine, I’ll be in the cafeteria.”
You hold your sigh until you get into the supply room, for once wishing you had a task to do as you look at your E-Pad.
One lose pipe at Section 8... least priority... what’s is it I need...
You don’t really have to do it, it’s hardly a human-specific maintenance job, but you didn’t want to just be hanging around outside while you wait for Robert to clear out of the cafeteria, because you’re starting to feel peckish.
Your mind goes a bit blank, staring at some spare pipes in front of you. You pick them up with no real intention in your mind, your mind just throwing around the word ‘pipe’ in your head and your hand just grabbed the nearest thing related. It was mostly quiet in the room, aside from the sound of air flowing out of the ventilation system and providing white noise in the background. You completely lose track of what you’re doing, just killing time in the most useless ways possible when...
Clink. Clink.
You hear... Sans’ legs clanking around outside. Something about the sound makes you go still, gripping tighter onto a pipe that just so happened to be in your hand. It was slow, deliberate movements... your heart rate quickened. Something about that quiet noise, sounding so loud when the room was so quiet felt you with this primal dread. You could hear your heart beating in your ears.
He was approaching the door...
Why were those legs so chillingly horrifying to you sometimes?
... No no, it’s ok he’s just... walking by...
The clanging stopped right outside the door while you bore holes into the pipe with your stare. keenly aware of Sans’ movements.
...
The hissing of the sealed doors opening almost makes you jump out of your skin, goosebumps suddenly breaking everywhere all over your skin as you make the mental note that: Sans opened the door.
As he steps inside, those quiet, tapping noises... you shake off your discomfort, ignoring the uncomfortable chill climbing up your spine the closer he sounds.
You said it yourself earlier. He’s harmless, he’s just doing his job... probably needs to take something. You’re in the supply room, remember? He may be a robot but treating him like he’s a monster just didn’t sit right with you when his sole purpose is to keep the ship intact.
You mess around with the pipes some more, trying to make it look like you’re busy gathering supplies, or something. He’s probably come to get supplies himself, he always resupplies the spares in his abdomen for future fixes before going to neutral mode.
You hear his movement doesn’t stop, every step he makes sounds like a whole second, and he keeps coming closer and closer and closer... until he’s directly behind you.
You sweat a little, the proximity making you a bit nervous, feeling like you’re being scrutinized.
He’s completely silent, and the silence stretches on longer than you’d think... what’s he doing? His shadow fell over you, unmoving, stationary. After a while you couldn’t stand it and turned around to see what he was doing-
Squeaking a little when you saw he had bent down so he was at your eye level, finding yourself face to face with him.
“O-oh hey Sans!” You greeted him cheerfully, though your heart threatened to leap out of your chest just a second earlier.
“Hello, Crew-Member 55.” He tilted his head to the side a bit, like he was confused by your reaction.
“I’m... sorry, you surprised me, I didn’t think you’d be that close. Did you... need anything?”
You’re so close to him that you could hear his eyes as his pupils widened and narrowed, focusing on you, see all his individual “teeth” of his, looking like a big, wide cheshire grin.
“... tool set complete.” He says, one of his automated responses. “It seems that you need something, 55. Do you require assistance?”
You looked at the pipe still clutched into your hand and drop it back into the latch. “I... yeah, actually. There’s a... a loose pipe in section 8, can you help me get the tools I need?”
“...” Sans tilted his body back, and you could hear again the whirring in his eyes as he focuses.
“... no tools required.” he finally says, surprising you a bit. “I can manage it for you, 55. You do not need to fix it.”
“Huh?” You checked your E-pad, and sure enough, the task was labelled as “taken by S4-N5”.
“Oh.. thanks Sans, you didn’t have to do that.” you smile at him, and... was it just you or did his grin widen a bit?
“I’ll uh... leave you to that then...” you slip out from the end of the room he had you cornered in- not going to lie, being trapped by a giant metallic spider didn’t seem very comfortable to you. His head faced you the entire time, his head turning 180 degrees. You almost rushed outside a bit to escape his gaze, but then you stop right at the door.
“Oh Sans, can I ask you a question?”
He’s silent. You take it as a ‘yes’.
“I... haha, sorry I forgot... what does S4-N5 stand for?”
“Station 4, Neurocognitive 5.” He responds as soon as you’re done speaking. “Station 4 refers to the station I am assigned: a star revolving station. Neurocognitive refers to my AI: Cognitive. I don’t have real neurons, however I am named so because I simulate one. Was that clear and concise, 55?”
You stagger a bit, for some reason you had.. human expectations for him? You didn’t think he’d reply you with such a detailed explanation of his name.
... you smile at him.
“Yes it was. Thanks, Sans, I appreciate it.”
“A pleasure, 55. Have a pleasant day.”
Of course, his response was robotic but... he is a robot. And... maybe you’re anthropomorphizing him a little but it sounds like he had emotion saying it.
You come out with a little spring in your step. Guess you’ll just check the cafeteria... if Robert’s there you can just go to your crew room and wait him out there. At least you didn’t have anything to do today.
You hear the sound of Sans shuffling around the supply room, probably getting what he needed to make the maintenance before he shuts the door. You hear him stepping away from you to Section 8. You hear another door open, his metallic legs coming to a halt.
“Oh hey whoah- hey!” You hear Robert’s voice, startled, staggering back to the door. You hear Sans skitter back as well, much faster than you heard him walking earlier.
“Please step away.” His voice, suddenly much colder and robotic sounded. “Please step away.”
You turn around and see Robert grasping the toilet door (guess he hadn’t immediately went to get food), trying to make as much space as he can from Sans, while Sans was pressing himself to the other side of the corridor, his eyes... much sharper than you saw them before. They looked almost.. hostile(?).
“Man I’m trying- move!”
“Please be at least 1.5 meters, or 4 feet away. Please be at least 1.5 meters, or 4 feet away.”
Everything becomes static again as you focus on what Sans is saying.
Please be at least 1.5 meters, or 4 feet away.
"This is a safety precaution. Please step away.”
...
You were much, much closer to Sans when he had you trapped in the supply room.
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unknown-lifeform · 2 years
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1, 4, 9, 24, for ff7?
Thank you for the ask! I do love to rant about things lmao. I'm putting everything under a read more because I'm opinionated and I'll let people skip the post if they don't want to see salt
1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?*
Mm. I would say for the majority of popular ships I can get where people come from. Which doesn't mean I share the ship, there's definitely ships I don't like, but I also see which interactions made the ship popular.
I think the only ones I don't get are the popular Vincent ones. Vincent had interactions with Yuffie in DoC, sure, but I just can't read them as romantic. And... big controversial here, I don't get Valenwind. Which I'm sorry about, because I have friends who are very big into it, but I just don't understand how it became so popular. It's ok in fics, I've read some fics that had it and were good, just... how did so many people pick it?
4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?*
Cloti and Clerith Cloti and Clerith oh my god I can't stand either one of them anymore. And I get why people ship them! I do! But the shippers are so toxic I can't look at these things anymore.
Like yes I guess they have some chemistry but also it's extremely lukewarm for both ships. It's like this by design. You have the option of going on a date with either Aerith or Tifa (or Yuffie or Barret, if you manage to get the secret combination of dialogues right), the game does give you hints of possible romance between Cloud and either of them to get you invested. But it's ambiguous hints, because the game lets you choose, and so they can't make either pairing too canon. And like at first I was neutral on both these ships, I wasn't into them but I could see the appeal.
But no, people have been arguing about which one is the One True Canon Ship of ff7 for 25 fucking years now, bringing "proof" that one ship is more canon than the other, they've carried on this ship war longer than I've been fucking alive, and when they get bored of bullying each other they go bitch at people who ship Cloud with other characters. And tbh neither side even cares about Tifa or Aerith as a character - it's all arguing about which one is the better prop for Cloud and shitting on the other, but then they go and make the girls the blandest versions of themselves imaginable.
I'm so sorry for the Cloti and Clerith shippers who aren't like that, it must suck finding good people to follow, but also seeing either ship makes me want to start biting.
9. Most disliked character(s)? Why?
I would say the Shinra Board - President Shinra, Hojo, Heidegger, those people. But also 90% of the fandom hates them because they are horrible people so it's not really controversial.
The saltier take I have is that Lucretia was a horrible person too. And half the fandom agrees with me, while the other half is up in harms about how she was a victim. Like, sure, at the end she was. But also this is a woman who willingly got into unethical human experimentation, fell in love with Hojo of all people because she admired his scientific dedication (to put alien DNA in babies), and let Hojo put alien DNA in her unborn fetus to see what happened. And then Hojo took the baby away from her and she was surprised by this! Like girl I'm sorry about the alien powered mental illness but you only have yourself to blame here. And DoC had the gall to try to convince us that she and Vincent had some tragic story going on when she what? Lied to him for months and then put a demon inside of him? God, how romantic.
24. Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not?
Yeah, I'd totally recommend FF7 to people. The lore is very extensive, the plot may not necessarily be the most original by today's standards but it still holds up damn well, the music is to die for, and there's also open criticizing of capitalism, military propaganda, and unethical scientific approaches. Personally I also love the various sequels and prequels that make up the Compilation (although DoC is on thin fucking ice), but if one is only interested in the original game that's also a fully completed story. Which is more than I can say about a whole lot of games that ask you to have played other 364 things to understand them.
Gameplay wise, I've only played the OG so... if you like old jrpg with infinite grinding, you'll love that one. The graphics haven't aged well, although the polygon people are charming in their own way. Unfortunately idk how CC, DoC, or the Remake are when it comes to the gameplay (cries in not having any hardware that can run Remake).
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willowistic22 · 3 years
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ok im gonna say it, what taylor swift song is romeo besides love story
Haha was waiting for this one actually. Can’t believe I can’t use love story grr. but yeah i get it. though plsss gimmie the chance to add a little bit of love story? I just love that song yknow. And jfc when I say ‘love’ it doesn’t always mean the romantic kind, aight? N e wayyys lesgo !
Love story. Pretty self explanatory actually. ‘We were both young when I first saw you’ I feel that him being a hopeless romantic started pretty young. He was young dumb but in love and that’s basically how he is when he’s in love. He loves the feeling when he first falls in love, when a love is still young. You don’t really know what you’re doing but you still act like you are because you can’t help it. Romeo mostly embrace the the whole being young and in love just because he loves the feeling and believes that PDA isn’t as bad as ppl might think. Well, not entirely but just enough yknow.
Invisible String. The song is basically the soulmate trope in a song form. And he does believes in soulmates. Let me crack into the... angsty stuff heheh >:). He has a long history of loving himself and sometimes doubt that there are ppl out there that would actually like him yknow. So he pretends there’s like this invisible string that connects him to others. Like destined to meet these few certain ppl. That’s what has kept him afloat all this time. Not many ppl would know it but it’s the truth.
Wonderland. ‘Didn't they tell us don't rush into things?’ and also ‘We found Wonderland, you and I got lost in it’ Now this one is more towards his mentality in stuff. Sometimes when he’s clouded with love (romance or otherwise, take your pick) he gets too easily excited like ‘woah!!! someone likes me!!!’ and goes a bit too quickly. Many ppl were scared off by how clingy this kid can get. Romeo has learned to calm himself yknow, but sometimes he gets too lost and forgets all about it. The second one is mostly because, in plain simple words, he thinks the world is full of shit. His mental health has been hit hard and some days just seem so plain and boring and he’s tired and he didn’t even know why he got up that morning. Sometimes he closes his eyes to pretend he’s somewhere he wants to be. Where he’s wanted and it’s acceptable to cling on ppl. Where he’s not tired and the world around him is in fact wonderful to be in.
Blank Space. Some ppl will describe him of having an endless list of ppl he was once associated with. Call it lovers, friends, whatever. Mostly they get scared bcs the more time they spent with Romeo, more of his true colors are being shown. Some impressions Romeo left them was ‘annoying’ ‘clingy’ and ‘too serious in stuff’. It’s only because Romeo just wants to find a connection. He likes stuff with meaning behind it. Not those meaningless relationships or small talk. He wants to find someone to give his all. Obv these ppl has shown him that when Romeo is proper and polite, just like the way he usually presents himself towards strangers, they like him but not when he’s being his passionate self and so they don’t deserve his heart. ‘Got a long list of ex-lovers, they'll tell you I'm insane’ Lots of ppl misunderstands his passionate self as ‘crazy’. But that’s just how he feels his feelings. Whether he’s sad, happy, or angry. It’s all because he has all this passionate energy to use up. Now here’s the kicker: he doesn’t give up to find that connection. He knows he’ll most likely get his heart broken again but he’s resilient. 
Lover. Yes, yes, we’ve made it perfectly clear that he’s a hopeless romantic. But this song specifically resonates with him. ‘Have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years?’ Romeo never half asses anything when it comes to getting to know others. He will go out of his way to listen to your laughter and sorrows because he loves the human personality. He thinks it’s so complex and amazing. Sometimes in one conversation he can really get a lot of information from someone. ‘With every guitar string scar on my hand, I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover’ After all that disappointment he is still determined to love. Like I said before he’s resilient when it comes to these things. ‘Can I go where you go? Can we always be this close forever and ever?’ Once you got his love he will stick with you forever. This might be in a way calling him clingy and maybe he is. But that’s just how he shows his loyalty towards someone. And the rest of the song is basically what it’s like for Romeo to be in love and to be loved by Romeo. Beautiful and at peace, like you’re floating on clouds and everything in the world doesn’t matter anymore.
...Ready For It. Haha yes this sounds like a stretch but bare with me. ‘But if he’s a ghost, then I can be a phantom. Holding him for ransom, some’ I feel that despite the ‘bad impression’ he’s given ppl that left him, he did left some form a good mark on them too. Some have tried to insert themselves back in his life, realizing that maybe Romeo isn’t as bad as they thought he was. Of course, there are others that don't, which is always fine for Romeo’s end because he does understand that he’s ‘not for everyone’. ‘In the middle of the night, in my dreams. You should see the things we do, baby’ Despite his openness to love anyone, he does have his own standards. A vivid version of the kind of ppl he would like to share his heart with but he doesn’t over stretch himself to get them to like him other than maybe the usual meeting a person for the first time.
Don’t Blame Me. ‘Don't blame me, love made me crazy. If it doesn't, you ain't doin' it right’ Let me tell you that when it comes to forming a connection/relationship, it really brings out Romeo’s true colors. And I’ve said before that that’s when ppl start leaving him bcs he doesn’t like his passion being executed in a lot of aspects of his other personality. He’s considered ‘crazy’ for that. ‘Lord, save me, my drug is my baby, I'd be using for the rest of my life’ But when it comes to connecting to the right ppl, he will shine and thrive. Maybe he’ll use this opportunity to finally be himself without fearing that these ppl will leave his as well. ‘For you, I would cross the line’ and then there’s the priceless loyalty towards those ppl that I've mentioned. Yeah, Romeo will do anything for the ppl he loves.
This Is Me Trying. It’s how I think Romeo in his low would look. I’ve mentioned before that his mental health sometimes hits very low that he can barely do anything. It looks more like everything that he does is so tiring and all he can do is just stay in bed. He wants someone to know that he’s trying his best to get up just to brush his teeth or get some food. He wants someone to know that he’s trying his best. As much as he wants to, he can’t get through a day like that all alone. He needs someone else to be the one telling him to do things because days like these are usually when Romeo can’t bare to listen to himself. A simple ‘I’m proud of you’ from someone else can be enough to get him to other things that seems difficult. But hey, he’s trying.
To quickly sum it up: Love story is how he views love to be (young, beautiful, yet stupid in the same way) and he proudly embraces it. Invisible String is how he believes in soulmates to cope with the disappointment he faces from ppl that don’t like his true colors. Wonderland is how he tends to get over excited when it comes to ppl that show any form of attention towards him that can be viewed as affection plus how he likes to pretend to be in a world where it’s okay for him to be clingy. Blank Space is how his passionate soul somehow turns him into a crazy person that can’t make a connection with others last. Lover is for how he feels/looks when Romeo does love. ...Ready For It is for how he leaves different kinds of marks on the people he had once connected in the past. Don’t Blame Me is for how the people he wants to connect to brings out his true colors and how he will thrive when the person he connects with is the right one. This Is Me Trying is how Romeo looks like when he’s in his lowest moment and needs someone to support him.
If this doesn’t make any sense then I’m sorry just ignore this pls:)
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mammonruinedmylife · 4 years
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FINALLY a fellow moronsexual :') I see the askbox is open so if it's ok can I request a mammon fluff? Maybe the reader being so affectionate with him and heart eyes everywhere and praises 24/7 and he's just mammon.exe stopped working bc no one's ever done that?? Kudos if there's hurt/comfort lol gn!reader please and thank you! Hope u have a nice day!
I’m really sorry for taking so long! It’s finally here!
I developed ped more the idea of hurt/comfort than the affection one :x I hope this is going to be okay. Tell me what you think about it! It was really nice to write and to imagine, I was smiling the whole time cause that’s really something Mammon needs!!
Moronsexual united in loving the shit out of Mammon
I hope the grammar is okay
***
Mammon had enough.
One more time, his brothers have been treating him like garbage, their words harsh, rushing to him like a flow of sharp knives - hurting him deep inside. If usually he did not say a word and just remained silent, taking each words, each insult silently to himself, this time it was too much.
All of his brothers somehow ended up in a bad mood and were all lashing on him - as if he was the punching bag of the family despite the fact that (this time) he had done absolutely nothing wrong. Sure, he wouldn’t really be able to deny that sometimes he steals (or at least tries to…), lies or even scam a demon or two… However, today he just went with a regular and plain day, going to RAD, partially listening to the lectures, coming back home to make himself a cup of his favourite instant noodles and that was it. And yet, they all went berserk on him, even though he absolutely didn’t understand why.
Sometimes, Mammon would really prefer to be tortured all day by Lucifer rather than listening to their rambling about him for hours, internalizing each of their words as a sad and hurtful truth. Words were his weakness. If he could easily dodge a plate thrown by Levi or a vase by Satan, the only way to dodge insults was to run away from home - which he usually did.
This time, however, he did not know why, but when the final insult hit him - broke him for real, he ran away to MC without even thinking.
A sudden burst startled MC while they were playing that famous Otome game everybody was talking about. Mammon quickly came in and closed the door as fast as he entered, standing there panting as his back rested on the wooden material that separated him from his hell and his paradise.
MC knew him very well now, perhaps a bit too much. They could discern his footsteps from each of his siblings’, could tell whenever he got home by the way he slammed the door closed and of course, tell by his face whenever he was in big trouble or not. This time, it seems, something really bad happened.
“Hey Mammon, what’s wrong?”
The voice alone of MC filled him with relief and made him melt on the spot. Their concerned gaze stuck on him, the thought that someone could genuinely care about the scumbag he is, was giving butterflies in his belly - he did not know why but these feelings were as pleasant as troublesome, which is why he directly put on his Tsundere mask: to prevent him from looking vulnerable in front of them.
“Nothin’! Ya think think The great Mammon could be bothered by something? Well, ya’re wrong!”
Even if Mammon was usually good at lying to scam people, when it came to his feelings, he absolutely did not know how to hide them - especially to MC.
They did not say a word for a few seconds, observing him from head to toe. Something was off, and they could feel it.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah I’m sure of it, now play with me. I’m bored!” With nothing else, he grabbed the small bicolored console and sat next to MC who went along with his act. If he didn’t want to talk about it after all, perhaps this would make him feel better.
After a few minutes of playing, laughing and competing together, their good time was interrupted by MC’s DDD message sound.
As MC paused the game, they grabbed the phone, seeing directly Leviathan’s name displayed on the screen.
[Leviathan: ‘Have you seen Mammon?’]
It started to make sense now, Mammon had been once again in trouble with his brothers, and he came to take refuge in their room.
“Mammon, why is Levi asking me if I’ve seen you?”
They could clearly see him tensing up as they mentioned his brother, stuttering as his eyes looked everywhere but into theirs.
“I’ll answer that you’re not here only if you tell me what happened.”
He was a real stuttering mess as this point. If there was something he definitely didn’t want to do, it was talking about how his brothers treated him. Putting words on that would do nothing but make it real and even more painful. Though, the idea of seeing a angry Leviathan bursting in and ruining this quality time with MC didn’t appeal him either…
“Fine, but instead tell him I left home.”
Mammon directly resumed the game, trying to avoid as much as he could the subject - but failed miserably as he felt MC’s gaze pressuring him as they fully turned towards him to face the demon.
“Alright! Alright! I’ll tell ya.” Putting the device next to him, he didn’t move a bit as he knew he wouldn't be able to look at them straight in the eyes.
“I don’t understand what I did wrong, I was only mindin’ my own business when they all started to mess with me and callin’ me names. I was only in my room but they all came after one another to mess around.” Maybe, just maybe he would like to say this is unfair. But like his brothers always say, he is nothing but a scumbag - so why would that not be fair?
“What exactly did they say?”
“I can’t even remember everything!” He started, passing a hand through his white hair. Instinctively, he cowered and he kept talking. “Belphie said I’m a waste of space… and Asmo that I couldn’t possibly be his brother”
Heavy silent took place in room. Mammon felt his eyes tearing up the more he thought about it, and felt even more ashamed to look so weak in front of his human.
“Do you think I’m a scumbag, too?” He asked, fidgeting with his DDD.
“I mean…” His heart sank hearing the beginning of their sentence. Of course they would think that too, he is nothing but Mammon the scumbag, the clumsy one who does nothing but stealing, a waste of space and air. “You’re not a saint, but you’re not that bad either.”
“Ah?” Totally dumbfounded, Mammon was now looking at MC.
“You’re a demon, Mammon. Not an angel, at least not anymore… But that’s not the point. What I mean is, your brothers are the ones to talk, they are in no way better than you.”
Taking a deep breath, they stopped themselves for a couple of seconds, carefully thinking about their words.
“But you know, I don’t think you’re a waste of space. I mean, you’re staying in my room most of the time. Do you really think I’d let you do that if I considered you were? Come on, I enjoy your company!”
MC quickly got closer to Mammon, ruffling his hair as an angelic smile was plastered on their face.
“Don’t you dare believe their words cause they’re all pure bullshit! Sure, you’re not perfect, but you have tons of qualities too!”
He couldn’t even keep up with his tsundere act anymore, he was just standing there, mouth agape, eyes wide open. He was the living version of a computer’s blue screen.
“Listen to me” they started, poking his chest. “You are amazing and very sensitive, that’s very cute! You’re also very quick to learn when something interests you. Also, you’re caring too, even if you’re looking for money… Remember that one time you helped Belphie opening that jar? Or when you bought Levi something because he was sad? See, that proves you’re not as bad as they say. Besides, you’re funny and kind with me too - so don’t think so low of yourself cause you’re The great Mammon after all!”
Now, the final move that would end Mammon - he felt himself engulfed by MC’s scent, feeling their skin on his, their warmth surrounding him. Was that.. a hug? Yes it was, and Mammon cheeks were painted a bright red while so many feelings were killing him inside.
None of his siblings has ever been so kind to him, yet alone shown so much affection. He couldn’t bring himself to speak even if he deeply wanted to, but eventually he got used to the sensation and let himself sink in MC’s touch. Was that how it feels to be loved and cared? If that was the case, Mammon never wanted to let MC go, and to tell the truth, after this day, Mammon would be even more clingy than usual. No matter what his brothers told him, no matter the names they called him - everytime he saw MC’s face, his mood would lighten up.
“I am The great Mammon!” he’d say.
“And I am The great MC!” They’d add cheerfully.
“Ya got it, human!”
If he was their first demon, it appears that MC was his first love, and he was going to keep them in his heart forever.
***
Hehe the end is kinda cheesy
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