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daydreamsandafternoonteafics · 2 months ago

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Let's Pretend It's Love- Chapter 12

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The next two weeks seemed to be a blur of work, paper cuts from mailing out wedding invitations and hearing Penny and Mum gab on and on about wedding plans.

It all seemed to be punishment for missing out on a week’s worth of contact. Penny insisted that she needed my help to sort things out although I thought that was more of Charlotte’s job being that she’s the MOH and all. But I didn’t protest and chose to take Penny’s dependency as a compliment. As much as she annoyed me I felt it was my duty as her sister to help and busying myself with wedding plans was a good way to distract myself from He who shall not be named.

“Are we still on for dinner with the Paynes Friday?” Penny asked whilst forking a tomato cherry around on her plate. I swear, all she ever eats these days is salad

. I stared outside the cafe window, nibbling on my pasty and bored as usual with the conversation. Mum always seemed to drag us into her monthly lunches and the conversations never failed to end up being all about Penny.

“Karen called yesterday to confirm, so yes.” Mum replied whipping the corner of her mouth with a napkin.

“I was secretly hoping they’d cancel. ” Penny sighed. This was unusual of Penny to lack enthusiasm for anything that had to do with Liam.

“Why do you say that?” Mum asked stirring her soup.

Penny sighed.

“Liam and I haven’t exactly told them we’re engaged. We just told em we wanted the families to get together.”

My attention was instantly drawn back to the conversation. Looks like Penny’s gotten herself into a proper mess. For once it’s her and not me and I think I’m enjoying it.

Penny sighed and tossed the lettuce on her plate before turning to me. “Presley, I need you there for moral support. Liam already invited Harry so you’d be more comfortable in case things got awkward."

Just the mention of his name made my stomach churn. And not in the I like you so much the mention of your name gives me butterflies type of way.

More of the "Not you again.” I’m dreading seeing your face kind of way.

What is it with Penny and Liam inviting Harry to every event without telling me before hand? He’s supposed to be my boyfriend after all. Shouldn’t I invite him to these things?

“Well, he has yet to tell me but I suppose he was going to. And sure, I’ll be there.” I reluctantly replied like the good bridesmaid I was learning to become. I couldn’t find it in me to be furious with Penny. I should just except the fact that she and Liam are always going to invite Harry to things without my consent.

Mum pursed her lips into a tight lipped smile. “Might as well invite the whole family, yeah?” She replied her tone sharper than I reckon she meant for it to be.

Ever since I brought Harry to dinner the first time she’s been so cold every time someone brings him up. I don’t know why she dislikes him so much. He’s not all bad. Proper annoying, yes, but nevertheless not all bad.

“You honestly deserve a nobel prize or something Presley!” Penny exclaimed in excitement.

“Honestly, it’s no problem.”

It’s scary to think how much of a master liar I’ve become in the past few months. It just started with one little lie that turned into a thousand more. I just keep digging my grave deeper and deeper. *****

If Penny thought she was the only one dreading dinner with the Paynes, she couldn’t be more wrong. I knew for sure I was being dragged into something that would most likely end in disaster. As evil as it sounded I was praying that something, anything might happen that would stop Karen and Geoff from coming. A natural disaster, food poisoning just anything to get myself out of this situation. Unfortunately, Friday finally rolled around and I found myself in a cab heading toward Mum and Dad’s favorite restaurant. I assume Mum made dinner reservations there just to keep Karen and Geoff out of her home.It was much like her.

I hadn’t heard anything from Harry regarding dinner all week so I happily assumed that he’d changed his mind or maybe even forgot about it. I didn’t need him there to make me feel more comfortable. With or without him I knew for sure I wouldn’t be having a good time.

Just as I expected I was late for the 6:30 dinner I didn’t care an ounce. I casually searched around the restaurant, hoping to see a familiar face.

Thankfully I was able to quickly spot Penny and Liam who were sat at an oblong table and dressed to the hilt.A woman who I assumed was Karen sat next to Liam while a man who I assumed was Geoff sat next to her at one of the head chairs. Mum and Dad were sat in the same fashion at the other end of the table.

A head of familiar unruly curls sat next to dad with a vacant chair at their side which I assumed was left for me.

I tried not to panic as I approached the table, silently praying that maybe Liam had a brother or something that he’d invited to have dinner with us that just so happened to have the same hair as Harry. Maybe, just maybe the odds would be in my favor tonight.

“Ducky! You made it!” Dad greets upon my arrival.

As if on cue everyone’s head seemed to sweep in my direction and I locked eyes with a familiar set of mischievous green ones. Well, there goes my night. The universe wins once again.

I forced a smile trying to avoid everyone’s gaze.

“Hello everyone."

Dad smiled.

"Beautiful, innit she? That’s my other baby girl, Presley.” He announced to the other end of the table.

Harry grinned standing up from his seat.

“I’d sure say so. Hi, love. Saved you a seat."

He took hold of my hand pulling me close to him before pressing a quick kiss to my mouth, a bit of stubble that I didn’t even know existed on his chin tickling my face.

I didn’t really know how to feel about our public displays of affection. Harry and I had never really discussed what we’d do in front of others so I was certain I’d be in for a surprise every time. He then proceeded to pull back my chair and I quickly mumbled a thanks before taking a seat.

Everyone’s eyes still seemed to linger on me, especially Mum who appeared to be shooting daggers in Harry’s direction.

"What a lovely family you have, Emily.” Karen exclaimed to Mum.

“Thank you. So has everyone decided what they’re having?"

Harry shot me a small smile while gently sliding a menu in my direction. I didn’t bother to look at it, already certain of what I wanted so I took a moment or two to study Harry instead. He’d ditched his usual floral print for a white pin stripped button up that was paired with a suit jacket. He looked so casual but oddly classy.

"I want steak. And potatoes” I announced whilst adjusting my silverware. Penny who had yet to say anything tonight popped her head up from looking at her menu.

“T-that sounds really good, Pres. I think I’ll have the same thing.” She replied nervously.

Dad cleared his throat and looked between the two of us as if we’d suddenly grown two heads.

“ Presley Anne and Penny Lane! It’s Friday!” He exclaimed incredulously “So?” I challenged.

I glanced over at Harry who’s face held an amused expression. He just loves seeing me tortured, I reckon.

“What would your Uncle Paul say?” Dad asked. I groaned and Penny looked absolutely terrified. Liam’s face held a blank expression since I’d arrived and I was worried that he’d stopped breathing. Harry only grinned wider, his dimples denting his cheeks.

“Daddy! You’re embarrassing us all!” I exclaimed.

“Geoff, leave the girls alone, they’re grown women. They’re allowed to eat what they want.” Mum insisted. For the first time in awhile I actually liked her.

“Actually, I think that’s a good idea, not eating meat on Fridays. We should both try a vegetarian entree. It’s healthier, cupcake.” Harry spoke placing his hand on top of mine.

I nearly gaged. I thought we agreed that cupcake was not a pet name he could use.

“I want steak, Harry. ” I retorted glaring at him from the corner of my eye and spreading my napkin over my lap.

“Suit yourself but your Dad and Sir Paul are right. Cutting meat out of your diet one day out of the week won’t kill you, babe. I want to live as long as possible, don’t know about you."

His life won’t be much longer if I have anything to do with it.

"See, this is why I like him, Ducky.” Dad insisted.

I simply rolled my eyes.

“Do we want a wine for the table?” Karen suggested.

“Wine. Good idea, love.” Geoff agreed.

Something tells me we’re all going to need our own personal bottle of wine before the night is over.

Dinner seemed to move so slowly, mostly consisting of Mum and Dad making awkward small talk with Karen and Geoff and Penny and Liam only speaking when spoken to. Harry joined in every once and a while when asked a question. I tried my hardest to stay out of the conversation making sure to stuff my mouth with as much steak as possible.

“Liam, you’re so quiet tonight.” Geoff announced whilst forking the stray noodles that were on his plate.

“Yeah, there must be something you wanted to tell us, making us come all this way here, yeah?” Karen insisted.

I looked over at Penny and Liam who both looked as if they’d just seen ghost. I almost felt sorry for them. Almost. But this was golden, once in a lifetime entertainment that I wasn’t going to miss out on. The tension in the room was as thick as a blanket. Maybe Karen and Geoff couldn’t feel it but Mum, Dad and I all could.

“Umm. Yeah. We do actually.” Penny choked.

I caught a glimpse of Harry from the corner of my eye who’s eyebrow seemed to be permanently raised. I assume Liam didn’t give him any warning when he invited him to dinner. I’m not surprised, really. I reach over and grabbed his hand somehow hoping to keep his mouth shut. The six of us stared in silence watching as Penny and Liam struggled to form their words. I swear, If they don’t say anything we’ll be here all night.

“Penny and I are engaged.” Liam blurted.

My eyes quickly swept in Karen and Geoff’s direction for a reaction.

After what felt like forever, a smile settled on Geoff’s face.

“Proper! Congratulations, son. How long has it been?”

Liam sighed a sigh of relief before aimlessly moving his fork about his plate. "Bout a month or two.“

Karen was simply quiet and I assumed she agreed with her husband. That is until she burst into tears.

"My little boy got engaged and no one told me??” She sobbed.

I took a deep breath. Just when I thought things might actually turn out okay.

“You knew all this time and you didn’t even think to tell me?” She pointed her fork at Mum accusingly.

Mum sighed. “Now Karen, I thought it might be appropriate for the kids to let you know. It’s their wedding after all.”

My mother’s reasoning was in vain and Karen simply turned to Penny to unleash her feelings.

“And you!! You’re taking my boy away from me and you never once let me know! How rude of you!!"

By now I was sure everyone at the table was on high alert. The other families and couples that were dinning in the restaurant were beginning to stare. Karen was making a massive scene. Harry’s grip on my hand tightened and for some odd reason I really didn’t want to let go.

"Karen! Karen, control yourself!” Geoff pleaded.

Karen abruptly stood up from the table, violently snatching her napkin off her lap and storming out of the restaurant leaving the echoes of her sobs behind her. Geoff politely excused himself to go after his wife.

I sighed. It’s moments like this when I really appreciate being single.

The remaining six of us all exchanged glances. Liam’s face was a shade of red I’m sure didn’t even have a name yet and Penny’s doe brown eyes had gathered moisture. If this is what she’ll have to deal with for the rest of her life I really do feel sorry for her.

Harry straightened his posture and cleared his throat.

“So, anybody know any good jokes? I’ve got some good ones.”

Jokes? He can’t be serious.

“Harry!” I scolded

“What? I’m trying to break the tension here. S'all.”

I could nearly feel the daggers that Mum was sending our way.

“She hates me!” Penny wailed, finally breaking down.

Liam shook his head vigorously.

“No. No. Don’t think that, Pen. Please don’t.”

Penny’s only response was to mimmic Karen’s behavior as she stormed out of the restaurant, Liam frantically following close behind. I wasted no time reaching for the half full glass of wine in front of me and guzzling down a good amount. I don’t know about Harry but this is my cue to leave.

“Umm. Harry and I have to get going. This was.. nice.” I announced dryly whilst standing up from my chair and straightening my dress before tossing a few notes on the table.

“We don’t have to rush off, love” Harry smiled.

I felt a wave of annoyance bubbling in my chest. It’s almost as if he’s learned exactly what makes me tic.

“We both have work in the morning, cupcake. Let’s go.” I lied through clenched teeth.

He slowly stood up from his chair, reaching for my hand. "Nice you see you all again. Thanks for the invite.“

I didn’t even give my parents enough time to respond before pulling Harry out the restaurant’s doors and onto the busy city sidewalks. I groaned snatching my hand away from his.

"That was absolutely terrible!” I exclaimed to no one in particular.

“It wouldn’t have been so bad if you’d let me tell my jokes.” His deep, slow voice filled my ears and I felt him fall into step next to me.

I intentionally planned on catching a cab but at the last minuet I’d changed my mind and decided to take a walk home. Maybe it would clear my head and calm my nerves. The sun was beginning to set and the temperature had plummeted. I wrapped my arms around my body for some warmth.

I scoffed.

“It wasn’t appropriate for the moment, Harry. Plus I bet your jokes suck."

Harry scoffed matching my previous one. "I’ll have you know that I am quite the comedian. Just ask my mum.” A smile grew across my face for the first time that night.

“She only told you that to spare your poor, fragile feelings.” I retorted. He chuckled.

“You just don’t know real comedy.”

There was silence between us for a while the only sounds audible were the bustle of traffic and Harry’s worn boots hitting the pavement. I’d expected him to be gone by now and it felt strange having him follow me.

“I’ve missed you.” He blurted breaking the silence. The eventful dinner wasn’t nearly as shocking as the statement that hung in the air.

“You what?"

"I’ve missed you.” He repeated, this time slower.

I tugged at the corner of my lip with my teeth. “Who are you and what have you done with the Harry Styles I know?"

I paused taking a moment to look at him. His eyebrows furrowed deeply as he ran a hand through his wild hair.

"Isn’t it human to miss people you haven’t seen or heard from in awhile?” He asked.

I smiled.

“Two weeks is not that long and I’m not sure if you really miss me or not. I just think you miss annoying me."

I was confused as to where all this was coming from. His behavior was strange. Harry spoke as if we were the best of friends that always hung out together. I mean sure I invited him over to my flat to have ice cream and watch movies and yeah we’ve sporadically gotten together to have coffee or a few pints but nothing more. That didn’t exactly make us friends.

A slow grin settled on his face causing his dimples to dent his cheeks. "Yeah, maybe I do but you can be fun to hang around.”

“We’re not exactly friends, ya know.” I blurted

I hoped my tone didn’t sound too harsh but it was only honest. The dynamics of our relationship was really up in the air.

Harry’s smile grew strangely wide. “I know. But we could be.”

I paused walking and turned to face him. This was hella weird. I wonder if it’s too late to run.

“You think so?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Why not? When we’re not busy playing girlfriend and boyfriend we could simply just be friends.”

I trapped my bottom lip between my teeth in thought. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad idea.

“You know what, Styles. I think I might actually take you up on that offer."

I turned my back, resuming the seemingly never ending walk to my flat. After sometime I spun around feeling a heavy hand on my shoulder.

"We should get together. As in do something. Together. ” Harry announced locking eyes with mine.

“Like hang out in a totally platonic way?” I asked.

He grinned. “Yeah. My place this time.”

I nodded.

“Fine by me. Look, don’t know about you but I’m pretty knackered after that dinner. I just really want to get home. I reckon I’ll be seeing you.” A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

Harry stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets.

“Yeah. You don’t want me to finish walking you home?"

"I’m a tough girl. I can handle it. Thanks for coming tonight.” I turned on my heel again.

“Presley, wait!” With an exasperated sigh I spun around once more.

“What, Harry?” I asked annoyed.

“You forgot to give me a hug.” Harry pouted stretching out his arms to me.

I rolled my eyes. I didn’t even know we were on hugging terms now.

“Don’t be needy.”

Hesitantly I wrapped my arms around him, taking in his cologne. He pressed me tight against him, smushing my face against his chest. He gave tight hugs. The kind that left you tingly afterwards.

I pulled away.

“Much better now.” Harry announced.

I couldn’t help but crack a smile. “This is the final goodbye, Styles. I’m exhausted.”

“Get some sleep, love. I’ll text you or something later."

I gave a final nod finally able to walk away. I didn’t know what to think of my newfound friendship with Harry. Maybe it would turn out to be good for the both of us or maybe it would end in a massive disaster.

#1d fanfiction #1d #harry styles #harry styles oneshot #harry styles one shot #harry styles fan fic #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles writing #one direction #harry styles fluff #harry styles au #one direction fanfiction

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monaisme · 5 months ago

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Sicktember #23

#23- Under a Spell

Peter wasn’t going to complain. Nope. He was going to be the bigger person and accept the fact that he was technically a “Junior Avenger,” and that IF he was even going to be called out for a mission, nine and a half times out of ten, he was going to be tasked with civilian evacuation and securing the perimeter.

It was all good.

Yup.

No complaints here.

At all.

Peter sat on the edge of the now empty office building, feet swinging in boredom as he watched the battle between yet another wizard from some other dimension in the multiverse, Doctor Strange, and the rest of the team going on a dozen blocks away.

“Hey, Karen,” Peter figured it was time to check in again. “Any movement on the perimeter? No crazy reporters trying to sneak in for a photo op, or dogs getting away from their owner or anything like that?”

“Nothing is showing on any of the CCTV footage, Peter, though I’m not entirely sure that Mr. Stark intended for you to be using me to hack into the city security feeds like this.” Karen replied.

“Relax, Karen. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mr. Stark does the same thing, and if nothing else, Mr. Stark will appreciate my working smarter... not harder, right? Besides,” Peter’s spider senses flared, but he knew it needed to play it cool. “This way, I’m freed up if something else pops up that requires an extra set of hands!”

Peter jumped off the roof edge and away from the mystery threat just before a purple beam blasted away the brick he’d been sitting on barely a moment before. “Uh, Mister—shoot! I mean, Iron Man!” Peter called out as he swung out of the way of each subsequent blast, “I thought you guys said there was only one wizard?!”

“Yeah! Because there was only one!?” Iron Man replied even as Peter could hear his repulsor beams firing off in the background. “Are you telling me there’s another one of these guys?”

Peter zigged down an alleyway, then zagged back around the building, hoping the tighter corners would slow up whoever was behind him and switch up their positions. “Yup! And he’s pissed! I’m just trying to—” Peter swung around the third corner and caught a glimpse of purple cape fluttering as it entered the alley. The plan had worked! “Gotcha!”

“Gotcha!? Spider-Man! Do not engage with this guy! We don’t know who he is! I’m sending—” Iron Man paused, then, “Falcon and Widow are en route, kid! For the love of all—”

Whatever else Tony was going to say, it was lost in a haze of determination. Peter had committed to the plan. He was gonna catch this mystery player and finally show the rest of the Avengers that he could do the big things. He was ready. There was no way it could go wrong, right?

Peter practically careened around the corner, expecting to see the back of whoever this person was, but—

Peter stopped short, entirely against his will, suspended in the air and frozen still.

“Finally,” Peter’s eyes widened, as he glanced around trying to see who was speaking, yet unable to turn his head. He heard footsteps beneath him as his attacker stepped into his limited view. The wand caught Peter’s attention before noting the dour looking young man wielding it. He was dressed as stereotypically as one could be for a formal, wizard-like type; robes, cape, funny hat and all. “You’re here.”

Peter’s brow furrowed. He tried, but couldn’t move any of his larger muscle groups, so at least he could talk—though the intermittent crackling of his comm in his ear told him let him know that no one could hear him. He was on his own. It was time to hope... and stall. “Of course I’m here.” Peter replied, indignant. “You tried to blast me from behind! Do you think I’m just gonna walk it off? What the heck, dude? So not cool!” Peter struggled against his invisible restraints.

Peter’s captor snarled, “There’s no point in fighting the bindings. They will only release you at my bidding—or my death. You see, my master has taught me well, and I will finally prove that to him by bring him a...trophy, if you will.” The disgust on his face as he spit out his words only angered Peter more, knowing that he couldn’t act on it.

So de-escalation it was, “Buddy, look. If you’re trying to impress your boss, I get it. AND I’ve got a million different ways to do that that don’t include poor sportsmanship and invisible rope. C’mon, man!” Peter huffed. “I know a great coffee shop around the corner! Seriously, bring him a great macchiato and show up five minutes early, and you’re in!”

The man was not amused, “You mock my intent?!” The wand sparked and the wizard opened his mouth to speak.

“No!” Peter cried out, continuing to strain against the bindings, just in case he was wrong. “I get it! Trust me on that! Why do you think I’m here!?” Peter was getting worked up, so he took a couple of deep breaths before he continued, “My boss doesn’t think I can do anything either. Seriously. I’m fairly certain that I’m a full on embarrassment to him, but honestly, you just keep working hard, you know? He’ll see you eventually. It doesn’t mean you have to resort to something this.”

“I thought you were acting as a sentinel?” The young man, probably not much older than Peter, now that he could get a better look at him, seemed confused.

Well, if that hadn’t made the job Peter hated most sound so much cooler than Peter had originally considered it. Peter sighed. “I’m pretty sure I was just put there to not cause trouble and stay out of the way—and still, you managed to sneak up on me.”

The wizard immediately took offense at Peter’s interpretation of events, “There was no sneaking! I’ve worked quite hard to perfect transporting via time ripple. You, sir,” again, another look of absolute disdain, “should not have had any warning at all! How did you manage to escape my spell?”

“That was an actual spell?!” Peter gaped. While he had assumed, to receive actual confirmation was pretty astounding. The sound of Falcon’s wings came from the distance. It was time to keep him distracted. “Holy crap!” Peter started laying it on thick, “So you really are, like, a sorcerer’s apprentice!?”

The young man scoffed, “Apprentice!? You insult me. I am meant to be so much more than an apprentice. My master simply has yet to see my potential.”

“You’re preachin’ to the choir there, my friend,” Peter sympathized, trying to keep the guy’s attention away from Sam now that he’d come fully into view, “and speaking of friends...”

Redwing had set off from his base on Falcon’s chest plate silently and hovered behind the wizard as Falcon aimed both his gauntlets at him and called out, “Lower your weapon, Gandalf, and no one gets hurt.”

The wizard froze, then smiled slow... and devious. “Clever work, sentinel. Providing distraction while you wait for aid. I am impressed. Too bad it will do you no good.”

In a flash, Peter was released from his invisible prison and dropping gracelessly to the ground as the wizard’s focus turned to Falcon. His wand sparked purple and Peter knew that whatever was going to come out of that wand was something Sam could not handle.

“TAM GALAGHOSHAM KURUT!” The incantation left his mouth as he pointed his wand and tried to dodge the other superhero’s anticipated fire—

And with no thought, Spider-Man was back in play. With a thwip of his webshooters, the man’s wand was re-directed and casting wide.

Falcon acted immediately, firing both gauntlets and taking the wizard down. Red Wing had released a net of filament upon the prone boy, then circled above, now prepared to provide more lethal aid, if required.

And Peter assessed the scene while Sam nudged the wizard with his boot.

“Is he dead?” Peter had to ask. After all, he’d said...

“Nah, just stunned. I’m guessing this guy’s a newbie compared to the other one, ‘cause that sure as hell wouldn’t have worked on him.”

Peter felt restless.

Something was still wrong.

A small gasp came from somewhere above, not that Same could have heard it. Peter paled as he realized, “Shit.”

“Spider-Man?” Falcon questioned, “Is everything—”

“Get medical to the roof!” Peter called out as he shot a web and pulled himself up to the roof of the building they’d been set beside. “Nat needs help!”

Peter couldn’t hear if Sam had responded and honestly didn’t care, as long as he was doing it. He only knew that he needed to get to Nat... and fast. He’d messed up. It was his fault that she’d gotten hit—his stupid plan, and if anything happened to her, Peter would never- ever forgive himself.

He found her within seconds, kneeling on the ground with her hands scratching at her throat as she tried and failed to breathe.

“NAT!” Peter called out to her, pulling his mask off as he ran to her. “What’s wrong?! Are you choking? It looks like you’re choking!”

Nat’s eyes widened with fear as she nodded a frantic ‘yes.’

“Okay!” Peter was trying desperately to not freak out. “I can deal with choking,” he said more to himself than Nat. “I’ve got this.” Never had Peter been more grateful for Sam and his insistence that they all take a truncated field medic course. He moved into position behind her. “I’ve got you, Nat. You’re going to be okay.” Why was he sounding so winded? It didn’t matter. “Okay, quick thrusts,” he whispered, not that it mattered. Nat was starting to flag. “One.” Nothing happened. “Okay, two...” Peter paused to swallow back the nausea, knowing he’d hesitated as he felt Nat’s ribs crack beneath his fists. “Sorry! Sorry! We’ve got this, Nat, promise—three!”

Peter could feel the air moving out of Nat’s lungs as he watched a glowing purple sphere eject itself from Nat’s body and hover in front of them, almost like it was making a decision. Peter eyed it warily.

This was not good.

Before Peter could decide what to do next, one of Doctor Strange’s sling ring portals flared open and he and Iron Man stepped out. “STAY BACK!” Doctor Strange ordered them all and, with a grace the dick of a Harry Potter knock-off down on the street could only wish to reproduce, conjured up his mystical mandalas, then bolts flew from his hands, and the purple sphere was gone.

“Peter!” The Iron Man mask flipped up and Mr. Stark’s worried face appeared before him. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Peter pushed him away. “No, it’s Nat! I—she’s—” Peter didn’t know how to explain. “Just take care of her! I’m fine!” He needed to pull it together. “She was choking on the ball and I—” He wanted to say that he’d broken her ribs and that it was his fault that she’d been choking in the first place but all he could get out was, “Heimlich.”

Doctor Strange was already with Nat, now lying in a sort of modified recovery position while he examined her. He had to know what Peter had done to her.

Her breathing sounded so bad.

“I’m going to transport her to your med bay, Tony, then I’ll pop back to deal with this other one. Alright?”

Mr. Stark nodded in agreement. “Sounds like a plan,” then put a comforting arm around Peter. “I’ll get things ready for you here.”

In a flash, the two had disappeared from the rooftop and Peter was left alone with his mentor, and his colossal mess. He’d let someone get the jump on him, he’d gotten captured, and then when he’d finally gotten free because of one actual Avenger, he’d manage to get another Avenger blasted with a spell and she almost died.

Maybe the wizard guy knew a trick to make him disappear...

How was this his life?

/-/-/

It was hours later and they had yet to call Peter in to debrief.

Maybe they were plotting how to fire him?

To be fair, Peter had holed himself up in a recliner in the corner of Nat’s room in the med bay—but only after checking to make sure Nat would be okay with it. No one would expect her to feel a hundred percent safe with him around. After all, he had broken two of her ribs and cracked two others for good measure, not that she blamed him... or so she said.

“I can hear you being stupid from all the way over here,” she croaked out.

Oh, yeah. How had he forgotten about the damage to her throat from the ball?

“I’m not being stupid.” Peter pouted.

“Yes, you are, and if you think I’m blaming you for the actions of an obviously disturbed young man, then you are mistaken. So stop being an idiot.”

“But you’re hurt!”

“I’m on the good drugs, Peter.”

“They made you throw up!”

“Those obviously weren’t the good drugs. Relax.” Her head lolled to face him. “I’m fine now.”

“But I broke your ribs...”

“And if you hadn’t, I’d be dead.” Nat looked him dead in the eyes and asked him, “Would you rather I was dead? Because those were the only options you had available to you, Spider baby.”

Peter harrumphed, his cheeks pinking in embarrassment. “Of course not. Now who’s being stupid?”

Nat smiled softly at the boy, then turned toward the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway. Even on the good drugs she was incredibly perceptive. “Someone’s here.”

“Knock knock,” Mr. Stark rapped against the door frame before entering her room. “Hey, Nat, I thought I’d stop by to check in to see how you’re doing and to ask if you’d seen Pete, but I can see that he’s here and if you’re making him blush like that, you’re apparently fine and I’ve managed to find his newest hiding spot! So two birds, one stone—yay!”

Peter tried to shrink further back into the corner.

Mr. Stark couldn’t hide his concern at Peter’s reaction. “Pete?” He stepped closer to the kid. “What’s going on? Are you okay? I’ve been looking for you all afternoon.” He kept a little distance, for Peter’s sake, “I wanted to, uh, talk to you about this afternoon... and that Oscar guy.”

Peter couldn’t help but ask, “Who’s Oscar?”

“You know... your wizard? Oscar.”

Peter couldn’t help but crook a half smile. “Oh, um, okay. He didn’t exactly introduce himself so...”

“Well,” Mr. Stark waved his response away, “it doesn’t matter anyhow. Strange is taking care of him and his boss right now, so once they have their little chat with all the other wizardy bigwigs, we won’t need to worry about them anymore.”

Peter looked guiltily over to Nat in her bed, “Oh, good. I’m glad...”

Now, Tony Stark was not known for his emotional intelligence on the best of days, but he was trying. And while he could accept that Pete was bummed about Nat being hurt, guilt was a completely unacceptable response after all he’d done today. “Hang on. Kid.” He pointed an accusing finger at Peter, “Are you seriously blaming yourself for what happened?”

The floor was suddenly the most interesting thing in the room for Peter.

Mr. Stark was not having it. “Whoa back there. First off, you were doing exactly what you were supposed to be doing and managed to detect him and report back to us before he could cause who knows what kind of mayhem. We’d have dealt with his boss, sent him back and called it done before even knowing he was here—not that he was even supposed to be here anyways!”

“We know that.” Peter replied, confused at the odd wording.

“No, he really wasn’t supposed to be here,” Tony laughed. “Apparently Oscar has some issues with authority in a big way, and had been relegated to rat spleen duty, or whatever it is they do as punishment back in his home universe. He decided to go against his psycho boss’s wishes and snuck through the portal without getting caught by anybody—until you.

“What?!”

“Oh, yeah.” Tony continued the story. “And I guess Oscar sneaking through a portal with him is a huge deal—all sorts of rules and regulations around portal travel, it would seem. And, boy-oh-boy, Evil Boss Man was NOT happy when he and Oscar were reunited before transport.”

Peter shrugged, recalling Oscar’s words as he’d stalled. “Yeah. That jives with things.”

“Right?” Mr. Stark got quiet for a few seconds and then, “But—I mean, if you really think about it though, it maybe his boss just wanted him to be safe while he was out doing his evil world domination thing?—Like he wanted Oscar to maybe have some more experience under his belt before jumping into the deep end of the pool?”

Peter shrugged again and thought for a moment. “Maybe? I don’t know—wouldn’t Oscar have already had to prove himself to be there in the first place?”

“Maybe Oscar’s boss cared and wanted to keep him safe?”

Peter gasped as his heart dropped. Had Mr. Stark—? But the comm was— “Oh, no.”

“Peter?”

“Please, Mr. Stark. Tell me you didn’t hear what we were talking about?”

Tony squirmed at Peter’s discomfort. “I could... but I’d be lying.”

“Oh, no.”

“So did I, if that makes you feel any better,” Nat piped in from her bed.

Peter closed his eyes and banged his head against the wall.

“I wouldn’t advise doing that, Mr. Parker.” Doctor Strange entered the room. “A self-inflicted concussion would hamper your appreciation of the fact that you are the hero of the hour.”

Peter stopped immediately and his eyes popped opened, “What?” Peter asked in confusion. “I don’t understand?”

But Mr. Stark jumped in. “Forget about the ‘what’ for a minute! You literally just left! How can you be back already?”

Doctor Strange simply smirked, “Master of the Mystic Arts and Keeper of the Eye of Aggamoto, Tony. Keep up.”

Mr. Stark glared. “Fine, be that way. Now, what are you talking about? We already know that Peter saved Nat.” He gestured toward the assassin on the bed. “Duh.”

Doctor Strange shook his head and turned his attention to Peter. “I am talking about the fact that you, Spider-Man-slash-Peter Parker, just unintentionally saved half of the planet, and I personally thank you.”

Peter looked between Doctor Strange and Mr. Stark. “Huh?”

“Well, Peter,” Doctor Strange explained, “It would seem that the spell Oscar had intended to cast on Sam was one he’d only found a few days ago, in a book full of the darkest of magyks—and one that his master had thought was hidden well enough to keep out of the hands of over eager apprentices. The spell itself had originally been created as a spell of war, made to wipe out an opposing village’s warriors, but its maker had realized it was too powerful to control and had hidden it away. Oscar was at the beginning of his studies, and had chosen to bypass some of the ‘less exciting’ aspects of his craft.”

Tony picked up what Dr. Strange had said, “’Was?’ Am I correct in assuming he’s no longer an apprentice?”

Doctor Strange nodded. “Even megalomaniacs intent on world domination need a population to crush. Oscar would have left him with something infinitely less enticing. I’m not sure that Oscar is even breathing.”

“But he just wanted his boss to notice him!” Peter blurted out. His mind raced. Did he have another death on his hands? His breathing sped up.

“Peter, listen to me.” Doctor Strange moved to stand directly in front of the boy, hoping to cut off what looked like the start of a panic attack. “If that spell had been allowed to hit Sam, that sphere would have choked the life out of him, left his body, and continued on hunting down man after man, killing them all until there was literally none alive.”

“But—”

“But” Doctor Strange continued, “because our dear Widow here is NOT a man, the spell was confused and couldn’t complete its purpose until—”

Peter flashed back to that moment with the sphere as it seemed to be waiting... figuring something out. Not that it mattered, “It still would have killed her, I know it!”

Doctor Strange stepped closer to Peter, his tone softening. “It would have, but with no male anchor after that first death, it would have died with her. It hitting her at least gave you chance to save her... and me a chance to get there and deal with the sphere.”

Peter blanched and looked over to Nat, alive and breathing in the med bay bed. “I’d have done the Heimlich for Sam, though. I could have—”

“No, Peter. If it had caught hold in Sam, it would have physically anchored itself. There’d have been nothing you could have done for him... or any of us.”

Peter was glad he was sitting. “Oh.”

Doctor Strange put a comforting hand on the shaken boy’s shoulder, “Yeah. Oh.”

Peter sat with that for a moment, thankful that none of the others felt the need to say anything.

Soon enough, Doctor Strange excused himself to oversee the destruction of what was an impressive yet fully evil-imbued archive, leaving Peter alone with Nat and Mr. Stark.

“Well, it would seem that all of this was worth it in the end after all, wasn’t it, Peter?” Nat offered.

Peter thought on that for a minute. “I don’t even know what to say?” Peter looked lost.

“Maybe don’t say anything? It’s okay if you have to take the time to process the bigger stuff.” Mr. Stark offered. “I know the rest of us do from time to time.”

“I’m just...” Peter’s words trailed off into nothing.

“In awe of how amazing you are? Shocked that Strange can be an actual human being? Ready for a nap?”

Peter thought seriously about those options. “No?”

“How’s about being ready to hear an apology from your boss for not taking your strengths into account when we plan our missions?”

Peter stared up at Mr. Stark and blinked.

“But sometimes, we really will need you to do civilian evac and securing the perimeter!” Mr. Stark added hastily. “That really is a thing we do.”

Peter smiled a shaky smile, twisting his hands together nervously. “I know that, and that’ll still be cool... but...”

Mr. Stark put his own supporting hand on Peter’s shoulder, “But what?”

Peter looked over a Nat, then back at Mr. Stark before mustering up the nerve—

“What would you say if we called it being a Sentinel?”

#Sicktember 2024 #Day Twenty-three: Under a Spell #Day 23 #MCU #Whump #Hurt/Comfort #Wizards #Peter Parker needs a hug #Protective Tony Stark #Peter feels unappreciated #Irondad & Spiderson

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luchicm04 · 11 months ago

Text

lost in the forest - part 20

Masterlist

Summary: Our favorite OC is firm in defending one of her few but best friends, although not all news are that bad.

Pairing: Senju Tobirama/Original Female Character

Tag: #lost in the forest fic

posted on ao3

Word Count: 2.9k

Overall warnings: canon-typical violence, adult content, time skips, angst, kidnapping, implied rape

She can’t help but feel bad when this is ridiculous, so she crosses her arms upset on behalf of her friend when she knows this has gotten over her and she can’t do anything about it because she is a foreigner, civilian and doesn’t know the rules they have within this family.

The clan is important... a bond that must be protected.

Tobirama told her so and Karen may think bitterly that he can put their rules wherever they fit. She growls looking at the huge patio with the anger of the previous discussion being so recent... after seeing Mikami pregnant and under the oppression of her rapist’s family.

She couldn’t help but complain to the leaders when her mental state stabilized.

“Karen-san,” Kaori sighs sadly at her point. The old woman still looks touched... but resigned to the whole issue.

“I know... I know that they’re your customs and it is the honor and life of a future member of the clan,” she repeats bitterly with a hard gesture. She leans on the ground, looking at the sky calmly. This world is unfair, and it makes a knot almost making the bile come out again. “Why hadn’t they told me?” It’s stupid to ask when she knows the answer.

“It is difficult... I know it is not the same for a civilian,” the old woman kindly sighs standing next to her, looking at her from the top of her position with a sad shadow.

“I don’t think it is as easy,” she states embittered, because she is oblivious to the type of injustices outisde this place. She experienced one that she’s sure many girls experience today... She sighs tiredly as she sits down and leans on her knees, not at all elegant despite having the yukata on. “Us civilians also have our problems... like these.”

“Really?”

“Yeah... there is also a lot to do on that side.”

“I see.”

“But now... I just wanted to help, but I don’t know if I made Mikami’s situation worse with my big mouth.”

“I do not think that is the case... Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sama are very aware of the situation.”

“Really?” She sounds incredulous at such a comment.

“This hadn’t happened in a long time,” Kaori assures softly. “But ever since the young master rose to the position of leader, it has changed. The former leader, Butsuma-sama, would have had Mikami marry... that man,” she hesitates but reports casually.

Karen frowns. She supposes it’s one of those things that is known... an open secret that she has no desire to face. “I see.” is the only thing she says without feeling exactly good.

“I know it is difficult to accept for a young noble like you, but we are kunoichi. Bringing children to the clan is a fundamental part of our goal, apart from serving our duty as shinobi,” the old woman says with a tone of wisdom. “Changes are difficult,” she assures after a while.

For being someone old... she sees hope in so little, which makes her feel bad when in her world this would be different. Of course, there is still injustice and many women, children and men disappear for many reasons, but to experience it in person without being a third party...

It’s difficult... besides, Mikami is her friend.

“I’m sorry for being like this,” the civilian sighs tiredly, looking at the old woman. “I’ll still be there for Mikami. If that woman lets her visit me, of course.”

“Do not worry... I will take care of it,” the old woman laughs to look further and give a formal greeting. “Tobirama-sama,” she greets the person who appears after a long time on those grounds, which makes her snort, tired of dealing with the guy when she was sure he wanted to knock her out before.

Her jaw cracks a little more. It is a symbol that she has spoken a lot even now... she needs to rest.

“What do you want?” She asks in English, knowing that this guy is serious and sullen, surely coming to complain about the matter that she discussed almost even with the council itself.

“You are annoying.”

“It’s my gift,” she bites bitterly. “Tell me... does Mikami really have to be there?” She does not avoid asking when she is sure he would leave the point after listening to part of her conversation with the old woman.

“Mmm...”

“It’s complicated... a difficult topic, even in my world.”

“Really?” Even standing next to her like a gargoyle, the man sounds honestly curious, but Karen is sufficiently depressed by this complication that she still looks ahead.

“Yeah...” She sighs, lying carelessly on the grass. The fresh smell is natural, almost returning to the winter that tires her. She doesn’t like the cold here.

“And that did not stop you from being less irritating.”

“No... I was angry... it’s unfair.”

“Mmm... it is a child of the clan.”

“I know it is, but the decision was...” She doesn’t say anything, biting her tongue. “I don’t know... there must have been another solution than forcing her to be with that man’s family. I’ve seen how they treat her... they see her as something that only carries the grandson of their bastard son.”

“The woman lost her son.”

“A bastard,” she growls grudgingly. “The point here is that... couldn’t there have been another solution?”

“The man was executed, and the family will take care of both until they die,” the man points out as if this were enough.

She doesn’t feel better. “I see.”

Tobirama looks at her for a long time. “At least, he was punished.” He doesn’t know why he said that when he closes his eyes without wanting to continue the topic. The two are silent... like oil and water, she feels their relationship will never improve, but she stays there. She feels his eyes on her but doesn’t pay attention when she falls asleep in that space.

Karen doesn’t want to think about all the what ifs... that are now worthless.

But she doesn’t avoid feeling that guilt... when she could have done so much if she were something else...

This is the human nature at the end of the day... a clumsy mania of a vicious circle of a complicated life...

──

She has had a nightmare, which makes her look around cautiously... she can’t help but snort, tired of this topic when exactly today she celebrates another year in this place. So many things have happened... She begins to recover her previous form although she knows nothing will be the same.

Karen calmly continues to look at herself in that small mirror that has been a gift from the Uzumaki clan, a detail that just arrived the day before from the prince of that clan. At least, she hopes that they have not realized what happened back then.

She can’t help but be surprised to see her image... she noticed it before but now she clearly sees how she has changed in two years.

She turns around. Having left behind the carb-based and gym-based job that she worked on so hard before falling into this place, she now has a thin, delicate appearance and the tan has completely disappeared, along with noticeably longer, brittle hair.

Which makes her sigh audibly... she always wanted to lose weight, but not this way.

“Karen-san?”

“Uh... coming,” she declares to go out at the call of an enthusiastic young man. Today is an important event for her friend, since as part of the care and in the absence of this little one’s father, she has taken the lead of much of the work on her own initiative.

To prove that what happened with Mikami is not shameful... her friend did nothing wrong!

“Oka-san told me that when my brother... she was very afraid,” she sighs, remembering those yesterdays. Masarato is a somewhat talkative but kind boy in his own way, who has chosen to come either on errands or on his own volition to this place.

Although many of his routines, as always, are foreign to the civilian, who laughs at this.

“Of course, each pregnancy is different,” she points out subtly. “Although I don’t expect you to have this kind of things.”

“Oka-san said it was to see when it would be good to alleviate... Mikami-san has a few days, and her stomach is already very big.”

“I know... that’s why we are going to see her, right?”

“Hashirama-sama will assist her...” He seems enthusiastic about seeing his hero up close.

“Wow, you look excited.”

“Today I will ask him to be his disciple.”

“Oh, really?” She blinks this is important. He is now old enough to be able to have a different approach to his usual training, and she has also heard the skirmishes of the war have been distancing so much... although she does not understand why.

“Yes. I will be a good healer and I will help you,” he says firmly, looking at her with bright eyes. She doesn’t want to tell him that since she does not have a chakra system, that is not possible, but she remains silent, letting him babble about his plans that are far from reality.

It’s something that she doesn’t want to explain or clarify.

“Good morning,” someone greets at her side. Kaori laughs amused. “Will you be going?”

“Yes, today Mikami has a check-up,” the civilian assures. “So, I apologize for missing breakfast.”

“Not at all, Hashirama-sama told me yesterday.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. Go on and say hello to Mikami-san.”

“Of course.” Said woman smiles continuing her way, accompanied by the little shinobi. The cobblestone streets and the humble houses are a common sight when she has become accustomed to living this way, where technology is so far away, along with the comforts that it brings. She reaches a point where she ignores many of the looks, which are diminishing.

The house is almost at the back. Many people look at them with contempt as always. They still don’t get over the fact that she is a friend of the woman who is guilty in their relative being executed. She doesn’t know what is going through their minds but she keeps walking, ignoring them.

At least, hostilities die when the leader arrives.

One who sees this peculiar situation in person. Mikami is in bed due to her delicate condition... it was calm for a moment... but for the next, she is immediately taken out due to some complications.

The little child was coming.

The baby has come early...

──

She has a baby in her arms. Now watching said infant stir with a tired mother is noticeable... which makes her think that this was too fast. “He’s cute,” she can’t help but say because she always thought that having one is complicated... but now seeing him, that maternal instinct that she didn’t know she had resurfaces when she feels the little warmth.

Karen feels a strange emotion springing up like a straw... one that she thought she had lost so long ago.

Mikami laughs. “He is,” she says without rejecting him, a surprising thing but not impossible when seeing her maternal towards the creature that is still moving on her arms. Karen stands up slightly, moving gently in a memory of old teachings.

“Sh... sh,” she gently rocks slightly, calming the newborn. She’s sure that it is not for food because Mikami gave it to him a while ago, just on his anniversary in this place... where he was born. “By the way... what will be his name?”

“Tsuna wants him to be called like her sister,” she growls reluctantly. “But I would like one name from my family... maybe Hikaru or Matsuo,” she responds, remembering someone from her past. “What do you think?”

“I think they both are very cute... he has the face of Matsuo or Hikaru,” she laughs when she sees the little reddish face of this little one again. Karen smiles with amusement, patting his chin a little.

The atmosphere is more relaxed than before.

“Hashirama-sama?” Mikami calls when she notices the man standing right at the door of the humble bedroom. The man, despite being the leader, has gone through a lot of trouble and she is glad that he has been in charge of relieving her friend.

If not... it would be a different story.

“Is there something wrong?” Karen questions, noticing his gaze fixed on her direction, which makes her raise her eyebrow.

“No-nothing.” He looks embarrassed but takes a step forward. “The treatments are normal. I notified Tsuna-san.”

“I see,” Mikami says with a hidden laugh. “Karen-san looks good as a mother, does she not?” She says without malice towards the man who blushes slightly.

“I don’t have the makings of a mother,” the civilian complains without paying attention to the man’s reaction. “Besides, a baby is a responsibility that I left behind so long ago,” she sighs because at her age, it’s easy to start searching. It’s not impossible... she knows.

But so far from home... she doesn’t know what to think.

Even so, she has resigned herself to living in this place.

“You look good,” Hashirama says seriously. “You would be a good mother.”

“Oh... thank you?” The civilian laughs amused with a long sigh. The boy stirs a little more. “I think he went to the bathroom.”

Tsuna enters like the owner of the place, taking the infant from her hands with slight warnings in her direction. “I will change him.”

“Change him here, Tsuna-san. I must learn how to do it when Matsuo and I move to my house,” the kunoichi assures firmly with a decision that she made just at the moment when she noticed there was no longer any rejection at the product of rape.

Perhaps it is because of the loneliness of not having anyone that Mikami has jumped into the only bond that, although forced and with a bad taste in her mouth along with traumas, is hers completely... HER son... HER family.

Karen smiles. The old woman huffs something but does not say anything else under the careful gaze of a Hashirama firm in his position. She sees that this will be favorable with her friend and although she was angry at the type of solution, seeing the support of the leader of the clan, she feels a little lighter.

This looks better than at the beginning.

──

She has a strange scroll on the bed with a bag that she doesn’t know what it is. Arriving and finding this is disconcerting, so she doesn’t avoid sighing after such a tiring day of socializing. Hashirama, at least, was there most of the time, making the atmosphere of the place where Mikami stayed less sullen.

Although the birth of the baby has come as a balm to the pain of many of those present.

Not avoiding the gossip... but that can be worked on with more time.

“What’s that?” She asks the old lady, who laughs.

“Oh, well it was brought,” she says mysteriously with a strange gesture in her direction. “Just before you arrived.”

“I see,” she frowns with a light sigh.

“I will prepare your bath, so you can sleep,” the old woman assures after talking about the sudden birth of Mikami’s son. She purses her lips and remains awkward at that point because she is not sure how to interpret this... it is not a gift, she knows it’s not... but what does it mean?

She unwraps the scroll and laughs, amused at being a letter from Aoki.

“Seriously, that man doesn’t get a ‘no’ easily.” She feels less sullen than before but leaves it aside because in the entire letter, he doesn’t mention what he sent. That happened with the mirror that Kaori helped her unwrap from the storage parchment, that she easily explained and scared her.

She sighs embarrassed by that slip. Nevertheless, she sits on the bed and sees that it has no scribbles other than a simple ribbon, so it is clearly not from the Uzumaki clan. It opens with a sound that she did not think she would hear in this place... one that she didn’t think she would see so she can’t help but get excited and open it.

She smiles. She doesn’t avoid doing so when she notices her cell phone, although battered... along with more things that she thought she would have back or see again. “Oh,” she frowns when she takes her phone, which falls apart just as it leaves the bag... The glass is intact, but the entire case is destroyed.

She laughs at the irony of hoping that they would be okay. She looks at the camera with sadness when she takes it out, expecting the same fate. Though it doesn’t fall apart with her touch... on the contrary, it looked better treated, although it had some scratches that surely weren’t there.

She touches the power button. The screen shines with the battery that she remembers it had, which makes her surprised because it has been two years since she charged it. Why does it still have energy? However, any thought of suspicion dies the moment she comes across an image she didn’t remember.

An event where she went and used this camera.

Her family smiled happily... unintentionally uncovering the dormant emotion after so long... she misses them so much.

Wanting to be with them a little longer... Karen cries in solitude, forgetting the bath. She sleeps perched with the camera between her fingers, hoping that it won’t disappear when she wakes up.

She hopes not.

A/N: A short delibery to say present!!

Thank you for your comments... and the story one was a bit clumsy at this point, but despite everything, something positive came out... one more anniversary of our poor OC far from home.

Author-chan out!

#lost in the forest fic #warring states period #angst #senju tobirama #tobirama x reader #tobirama x oc #ocs #hashirama senju #naruto #naruto shippuden #naruto fanfiction #luchipuchi's writing

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fific7 · 4 years ago

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Dangerous and Divine - Part 13

Billy Russo x Reader

Summary: Billy Russo is an itch you don’t want to scratch. But he’s all over you like a rash.

A/N: This does not follow canon, it’s mainly fluff & lemon zest 🍋 The GIF is from Exposed, unreleased pilot show in case you’re wondering 😌... Billy vibes.

Warnings: 18+ NSFW due to sexual content including oral and unprotected* sex between consenting adults. Some drinking & swearing.

*Irl, please don’t go wild in the country without protection.

(My GIF)

His dark chocolate eyes appeared above yours, a soft look in them. He kissed you long and slow, and then you heard him whisper, “But she’ll never catch me, sweetheart. You already got me.”

You gave a low laugh, “You are such a big sap, Russo!”

He laughed back, eyes crinkling up at the corners, “Ssssh! Don’t keep sayin’ that, angel! You’re ruinin’ my rep,” before kissing you again.

He pulled back, eyes gazing into yours, “Wanna pick up where we left off? Before we got rudely interrupted?” You smiled, “Might do.” He unwrapped his towel with a flourish and threw it onto the floor. Your eyes slowly roamed over his masterpiece of a body, and excitement sparked in your veins.

“Don’t mind when you look,” smirked Billy, but then an angry scowl flitted across his face. He looked away from you, “You know when she was stood in front of me?” he looked back as you nodded, “She was looking at me like I was a prime fillet. Covered my equipment cos she was starin’ right at it.”

He leant back as you sat up, saying angrily, “Yeah, I saw you! - that was why?!!! I thought you were reverting to ‘Marine’. Or something.” You huffed out a big breath, “That!... that....!” you were momentarily lost for words. Billy smiled at you, and laid his hand on your cheek, “Yeah, that was why. Look, forget I mentioned it, I just got pissed off again and shouldn’t’ve said anythin’. C’mon, angel - c’mere.”

You let yourself get folded into Billy’s arms, and settled yourself back down on the pillows. Feeling his lips on your neck, you put your head back slightly to give him better access. Those sensuous lips travelled down onto your collarbone, and your eyes closed in pleasure as he nipped at your skin before licking it slowly. His mouth made its way slowly but surely to your breasts, paying close attention to your nipples as it went, circling them with that tongue of his and then sucking until you gasped out little breaths in quick succession.

You were already as wet as the ocean and he’d hardly touched you. Long fingers trailed over your pussy before two pushed inside you, and a very long moan escaped your lips. Billy’s mouth was at your ear, whispering, “D’you like that, angel? How about this?” A third finger joined the other two and you felt the stretch immediately, giving a little squeal, then his thumb was rubbing your clit so firmly you just couldn’t be quiet.... at all.

Then Billy was slinking his way down your body, tongue trailing over you, the feeling of his scratchy beard against your inner thighs announcing the arrival of his head between your legs. Oh my, your brain screeched, this is gonna be very... ! His tongue joined in with all the other action below decks, and your brain fizzled up like a sparkler somebody’d just lit before it could finish the thought.

You grabbed two large handfuls of Billy’s hair and pulled on it for all you were worth, hearing a muffled chuckle from below. “Angel,” you heard next, his voice husky and breathless, “....watch the hair, huh?!” But needless to say, you ignored him. His tongue returned to the fray, and before you could even tug on his hair again your orgasm hit. You felt like you were about to pass out, seeing stars, then could hear a voice chanting his name over and over like a mantra. Oh okay, that was you. You tried to shut your mouth up but it just kept going.

Finally, your head sank right back into the pillows and a long, slow exhalation of breath left your lungs. Billy sat up after flicking his tongue over your pussy and thighs, carefully gathering up all of your juices before smirking at you as you stared back at him, still dazed. He was just getting his breath back, “Did your boyfriend eat you out till you were breathless, sweetheart? Hmmm? Is he a good boyfriend?” You nodded, still not really able to collate your thoughts into words. “Can’t speak, huh? I think your boyfriend needs a really big reward for that. But first he’s gonna give you somethin’ else to think ‘bout.”

His hard length was between your thighs in a heartbeat and he’d assertively guided himself inside you before you could take another breath. Your feet drew up until they were flat on the bed, knees raising themselves of their own accord. The intense feelings of pleasure rolled over you like breakers on the beach. Billy took hold of your ankles, balancing them on his shoulders with his hands going to your hips, pulling you even closer to him, kissing you passionately. One hand came up and laid itself on your cheek, his thumb stroking your skin. Your mouths parted and his forehead gently touched yours, then he began moving on you, setting a furious pace with his thrusting.

You gripped his biceps to start with, before heading back to your favourite place - his hair. Running your fingers through it, that made you happy for a little while until you grabbed some with each hand. Over the sighs and moans both of you were making, you heard a low laugh from Billy, “Gettin’ ready to pull my hair, angel?” You gasped as he thrust deeply while he spoke, then ground out “Yeah I am and you can just shut up, Russo,” between your teeth. “Don’t...” he said, breaking off to softly grunt as he thrust at the same time, “...leave me with bald patches, goddess,” he finished.

Which was just as well, because you thought he’d been about to tell you not to pull his hair! That would’ve been a very dangerous thing for Billy to do, ex-Marine or not. So you immediately began to tug on said hair, which brought great contentment to your soul, and you heard Billy’s soft laugh as you did so.

“M’gonna...come, angel,” you heard next, wrapped up in a breathy moan. His hand went to your clit, all the while hitting your sweet spot with each stroke. You could feel your climax building and building, and gave his hair one last loving pull as the orgasm slammed you. Billy fastened his teeth onto your neck where it met your shoulder and bit down, not too hard but still enough to make you yelp, and you felt him tense against you as he came. He collapsed onto you, huffing as he caught his breath before lowering your trembling legs to the bed. He rested his forehead on yours, kissing your nose.

“Holy hell,” he whispered, “that was mind-blowin’, angel.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

The two of you slept a little late the next morning, having a leisurely shower together before ordering a big breakfast to the room, your appetites being very healthy indeed after your exercise regime the previous night. The plates and coffee cups were soon clean as whistles.

You were lying on the bed, busy having a giggling fit as Billy peered into the big mirror while angling his head and parting his hair this way and that.

“I swear, angel, if I find even the tiniest bald patch....” but his eyes, meeting yours in the mirror, were twinkling with suppressed laughter. “Oh, Russo...” you gasped, breathless from laughing, “...you really are a big dork!” “Hey... this head of hair’s my crownin’ glory! If any’s missin’, I’ll need to get weaves! An’ you can pay for them!”

You had just launched into more giggles, when there was a loud knock at the door, followed by a gruff “S’Frank, open up Bill.” Scrambling to get into your hotel robe - which you’d earlier dropped on the floor so that Billy could smooth the hotel’s complimentary high-end body lotion over every inch of you - he started heading for the door but was looking over at you with a raised eyebrow. You hastily tied the belt round your waist and nodded at him. Luckily Billy had already been in his robe.

“Bill!” came Frank’s voice again, “...get your lazy ass out of bed and open the door!” “Yeah, yeah, Frankie,” Billy yelled back as he reached the door.

But then you noticed that Billy was holding a big black gun behind his back. Oh. Right. The seriousness of the situation last night came back to you, and a little splice of fear ran through you. But soon a big bear of a man was striding into the room, and him and Billy were exchanging manly shoulder grips. Yeah, you would guess they wouldn’t exactly be ‘huggy’ types. Then you saw Karen following in his wake with a big smile on her face, and you jumped up and rushed over to hug her.

Billy introduced you to Frank, and you returned the favour for him and Karen. More coffees were ordered, along with some toast (you were still peckish, okay?) and you all lounged around and chatted while you waited. The guys still couldn’t tell you two very much about the ‘op’, and Karen soon decided to start in on Billy.

“So, Billy,” she began, and he politely turned his head towards her, “....everything still fully intact downstairs?” nodding towards his crotch. Frank snorted, while Billy’s mouth opened and closed, then he looked beseechingly over at you, eyes wide, while you tried not to burst out laughing. Billy had actually gone quite pink, and you found this hilarious. Karen was a past master at this of course, ace reporter that she was. And you hadn’t seen or updated her since the Lunch Incident, so you relented and replied, “Yes, he still has all his equipment, Karen. Luckily for him, Billy was able to explain the situation to my satisfaction, otherwise he might’ve indeed been missing a couple of appendages at this moment.”

Frank snorted again, and Billy shot him an annoyed look before saying, “It was a misunderstandin’, Karen, an’ I fully explained it all.” You added, “He’d been stringing her along so these two were kept in the loop about the case. But then she came to the Chelsea café twice the next day, the second time to interrogate me about me and Billy’s relationship...” Frank butted in, smirking, “Never thought I’d hear the words ‘Billy’ and ‘relationship’ in the same sentence, lemme tell ya!” “Frankie!” yelled Billy, “look, will you all just stop givin’ me a hard time here!”

You and Karen grinned at each other, before you carried on, “So... during this little chat she was having with me, she told me her and Billy were dating.” Karen said, “No way!” “Yeah, she did. Obviously she was there just to find out what was going on between me and Billy! I went home afterwards, and Billy was still at his office. She headed straight over there and basically jumped him! He shoved her away and she fell over on her butt.” You all shared a grin at that. “Billy came over to mine and told me all about it.”

“Yeah,” put in Billy, “and then we both came over here the day of the op, and uhh... we were a little busy... I’m sure you know what I mean, when she came bustin’ in on us using a master key, then just stood watchin’ us for fuck knows how long. So I yelled at her to fuck off and she went.” His face was pink-tinged again, and he continued, “Then she turned up again last night, but knocked this time which was somethin’ I s’pose. Looked me over like a piece of meat cos I just had a towel wrapped round me.” He shook his head, “She’s unreal. Got a few screws loose,” twirling a finger next to his temple.

Karen smiled at him, “Nah, Billy - not crazy as such, but a woman scorned, y’know? Just think about it for a second. You must’ve really got her all stirred up, and then BAM!”, she yelled, and Billy jumped a little, “...you shut her down so fast her head must’ve been spinning.” He looked suitably chastised, and glanced guiltily over at you. “Now my girl here,” she carried on, pointing at you, “...when she saw you in that restaurant with another woman, she was gonna shut you down faster’n a jet engine on landing. Totally different approach with her. No stalking, no contact, no jumping you, she would’ve just cut your balls off and walked away.”

Billy squirmed in his armchair, looking wide-eyed at you. Even Frank looked slightly uncomfortable. “You know, you’re really lucky she gave you a second chance, Billy.” He gulped a little, “I know... I do know that, Karen. I was so dumb to string Madani along like that, but she made it obvious she was interested, so y’know, I...” he spread out his arms, “...thought I’d use it to my advantage and make sure we were kept in the loop.” He again looked over at you, regretfully, “Yeah, not my finest hour.”

But Karen still wasn’t finished, you could tell by the look on her face - “Relentless Terrier with Bone.”

“Would you have gone so far as to sleep with her?” she shot at him. Billy slouched back in his seat and looked down at his fingers, which were fidgeting in his lap. You knew that Karen was just trying to - she thought - get you some honest answers, but you decided it was time to bale him out. Billy looked like he was under attack from all angles, he wasn’t used to her interrogatory style. If it had been back in his Marine days, about a mission or troop movements or suchlike, it would’ve been a cakewalk for him, no doubt. But this was about relationships and feelings - not familiar territory for Billy in the slightest.

“We discussed that, K,” you replied to her, “..and yeah, he would have. For sure.”

“Before I met her,” Billy quickly added with an apologetic smile at you, before saying, “And before I met her, yeah - I’ll admit I would’ve sat back and let her jump my bones when she came visitin’ me at Anvil.”

You caught sight of Frank’s amazed face. He was looking at Billy as if he’d just fallen clear out of the sky into that armchair. His eyes suddenly met yours and you grinned at him, and he shook his head, laughing over at you, “Wow. Russo’s whipped!” “Shut it, Frankie,” grumbled Billy, but he had a small shit-eating grin on his face.

There was a knock at the door as the coffee and toast arrived, and Billy leapt up to answer it, looking relieved to be off the ‘witness stand.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

A couple of hours later, checkout completed, the four of you split up to head off in your various different directions.

You to Chelsea, Karen to a meeting uptown with a ‘source’ as she termed it, and the two guys to Homeland’s HQ for their final meeting with The Scorned Woman - as she would now forever be known to you and Karen - and which they couldn’t wait to get over and done with.

Billy - very aware of Frank and Karen watching as well as smirking close by - almost shyly pulled you to him and kissed you softly. However he couldn’t help himself and fairly soon his kiss became much more heated, one big hand snaking round the back of your neck as he nuzzled his face closer to yours. The two of you pulled apart eventually to a round of wolf whistles and catcalls from your so-called ‘friends’.

Billy was chuckling and running a hand distractedly through his hair as he let go of you. You flipped the two of them an affectionate finger along with a smile just as you spotted your Uber drawing to a halt outside the hotel entrance, and made a hasty exit into it, stage left.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Madani looked across her desk, firstly at Castle, then after a moment let her gaze slide over to Russo, lingering on him. He looks just divine today, she thought. She took in his shiny immaculate hair, sullen face, dark seductive eyes, sensual mouth and angular jaw covered with his trademark light beard. It looked to her like he’d shaved it down just a little bit - not that it had ever been thick - but she could definitely see more of his jawline. She watched as his long fingers slotted and unslotted themselves, his hands resting on the desktop. She then observed that he was dressed in a leather jacket, grey t-shirt, pair of black jeans and combat boots. Everything about the tall marine just screamed ‘sex’, she mused.

A tiny shiver went through her as she imagined those fingers running over her body, and despite the case being more or less closed, she knew she wouldn’t be giving up on this apparently lost cause anytime soon. She’d find some excuse about missing evidence or statements to call him back in, or something along those lines. He was too good a catch to let him escape, and she wasn’t prepared to allow that to happen. And Dinah Madani, as anyone who knew or worked with her soon found out, was one very determined lady.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

@blackbirddaredevil23 @galaxyjane @omgrachwrites @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead

#ben barnes #billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo fanfiction #billy russo imagine

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padawanlost · 4 years ago

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What's Anakin's relationship with Bail?

There was no ‘relationship’. They knew each other, they worked together a couple of times but that was it. They got along well the handful of times they worked together but Bail was closer to Padmé and Obi-wan, not Anakin. And even with Padmé and Obi-wan, he wasn’t super close, sharing all the secrets type of friend.

“Are you telling me you’re being watched?” said Obi-Wan, incredulous. “Bail—” “I know,” he said. “I’m sounding paranoid. But I’m not. I promise. So you need to keep this Lanteeb thing quiet.” “Of course,” said Obi-Wan, nodding. “Although—I’d like to bring Anakin to our dinner meeting. He has excellent instincts and a unique perspective.” Anakin, the wonder boy. I wouldn’t mind a closer look at this paragon. “Sure. But don’t tell anyone else. Not yet. Not even Master Yoda. All right?”[Karen Miller. Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]

Grinning, Bail took down another wineglass from the wall-mounted rack beside the small window above the sink. He half filled it with some of the finest vintage his family’s vineyards had ever produced then handed it to Anakin. “To your excellent health,” he said, lifting his own glass in salute. Anakin returned the gesture. “And yours, Senator.” “Why don’t you make that Bail? This is my home, after all, not the Senate.” [Karen Miller. Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]

Bail passed around the fragrantly steaming plates, poured the wine and juice, then took his own seat. He raised his glass, his eyes warm with affection. “To friends,” he said quietly. “And an end to this blasted war.” “Friends,” she and the Jedi echoed, and drank. After that, while they ate, Bail regaled them with the latest gossip from the Senate. They laughed, they poked fun, they dredged up tales long-buried and worth retelling and for a couple of rare, precious hours the war receded. They were just four friends enjoying fine food and fine company … and pain was a dim memory from a long time ago. [Karen Miller. Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]

Really it was too early to see Padmé, but she’d never forgive him for holding back his news of Obi-Wan and Anakin. Well—of Anakin in particular. He was almost convinced now that if her interest lay anywhere, it was with the younger man. And if that doesn’t stir up a nest of gundarks, I don’t know what will. Oh, Padmé. [Karen Miller’s Clone Wars Gambit: Siege]

“Of course not,” [Padmé] snapped. “What I want is them home again, on Coruscant, safe and sound. What I want is—” She turned her back to him, her shoulders shaking, as though she were weeping, or trying very hard not to. Stang. “Padmé,” he said carefully. “Talk to me. Whatever’s wrong, if it’s a secret it’ll stay that way. Please. Let me help.”He didn’t dare say anything more. The truth had to come from her. No matter what he suspected, she had to be the one to cross that line. For the longest time she didn’t speak. Then, at last, she turned. Her eyes were dry, her face composed and self-contained. She wasn’t smiling, but there was a warmth in the steady look she gave him. “You are so sweet to care, Bail. Thank you,” she said, her voice low and steady. […] In other words, Bail, mind your own business. [Karen Miller’s Clone Wars Gambit: Siege]

But as he navigated the traffic streams to his own apartment, only vaguely aware of yet another glorious Coruscant sunrise, he found himself praying hard it was a yes—and praying even harder that somehow the two impossible friends he and Padmé had in common would manage to find a way out of their latest predicament. Because he did not want to think about having to give her bad news. Oh, Padmé. Dear Padmé. It’s such a big galaxy. Was there nobody else you could fall in love with? [Karen Miller’s Clone Wars Gambit: Siege]

Could Vader actually be Anakin Skywalker? the two men wondered. Based on Obi-Wan’s account of what had occurred on Mustafar, Anakin’s survival didn’t seem possible. But perhaps Obi-Wan had underestimated Anakin. Perhaps Anakin’s peerless strength in the Force had allowed him to survive. Was Bail, then, raising the child of a man who was still alive? What alternative was there? That Palpatine—that Sidious—had dubbed some other apprentice Darth Vader? That the black monstrosity Bail had seen on the landing platform was merely a droid version of Anakin, as General Grievous had been a cyborg version of his former self? If that was true, would stormtroopers like Appo allow themselves to be commanded by a such a being, even if ordered to by Sidious? The questions had gnawed at Bail without answer, and events such as the refugee march only served to place him at greater risk on Coruscant and heighten his concerns for Leia. James Luceno’s Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader

Aristocratic Organa was Anakin’s height, dark-haired and handsome, and always meticulously dressed in the style of the Republic’s Classic era, like the Naboo, rather than in the ostentatious fashion of Coruscant. But where Padmé had earned her status by being elected Queen, Organa had been born into wealth and privilege, on picture-perfect Alderaan. Mercy missions or no, Vader wondered whether Organa had any real sense of what it meant to live in the outlying systems, on worlds like sand-swept Tatooine, plagued by Tusken Raiders and lorded over by Hutts. He felt a sudden urge to put Organa in his place. Pinch off his breath with a narrowing of his thumb and forefinger; crush him in his fist … But the situation didn’t call for that—yet. Besides, Vader could see in Organa’s nervous gestures that he understood who was in charge. Power. He had power over Organa, and over all like him. And it was Skywalker, not Vader, who had lived on Tatooine. Vader’s life was just beginning.JAMES LUCENO’S DARK LORD: THE RISE OF DARTH VADER.]

#ask #anakin03986 #anakin skywalker #bail organa #sw meta #meta: anakin #meta: bail #txt

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leefi · 4 years ago

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Starira MBTI IV - Rinmeikan

Seisho

Siegfeld

Frontier

Tamao Tomoe: ISFJ

Bitches be like "can't help being an Si Dom!" *Fixates on a past inferiority complex and lets it define her worth until inferior Ne finally snaps and goes full rambo*

I’d put Tamao up there with Akira in terms of characters who have grown the most throughout the game’s arc (+ Maya if we’re including the anime). And you don’t really need me to tell you why. I find her so so relatable because she’s evolved from being a passive observer who feels as if she has no power or agency in her own life to flipping in the COMPLETE opposite direction and, well...going full rambo. She's shot way too far in the other direction, though, and risks burning up upon re-entry if she isn't careful.

Above all the edgelord, though, we know that she's a dork with a big heart who adores her school and friends. That commitment to preserving the past and those who came before her is such a gratuitously Si-dom thing, and we're all rooting for her because we can see how hard it is to go against her sweeter nature and take Kaoruko head-on. But that aux Fe and inferior Ne give her no breathing room to figure out what she's going to be doing after all of this - she's so focused on her mission and what she must achieve, and that single-mindedness slingshotting out of prior passivity is...so scary to see. It reminds me a bit of her extroverted xSFJ sister's arc in the anime - Nana.

Fumi Yumeoji: ISTJ

Now that I’ve thought about it more, her type is pretty clear. Some commenters on her PDB page made REALLY strong arguments for Fumi being an ISFP in a Te grip (Te, extroverted thinking, is ISFP’s weakest function - when they’re caught in its grip, they become overly critical of the world around them and turn into control freaks). But I feel like her Te is just too strong, even if she’s in a grip, for it to be her inferior. And, more importantly, I see zero Se in her. There’s no way it could be her auxiliary function. But I get why people think ISFP! She definitely has a ton of Fi - she left her bright future behind at Siegfeld because of it. She’d compromised a value extremely dear to her (her love for her sister!) in her stress, and that sin was so unforgivable to her that she abandoned Siegfeld completely. That screams Fi. But seeing how the other ISTJ in Revue Starlight (Junna!) uses her Fi, arguments for Fumi being one as well get stronger and stronger.

ISTJs have Fi as their tertiary function. And tertiary functions can be super strong, especially if she was caught in a Si-Fi loop! Here’s what an Si-Fi loop looks like:

“The ISTJ in this loop becomes hyper critical of past events and can see all of the negative things which have occurred and are likely to occur again. Seeing these negative patterns and past events becomes tied to the ISTJs emotions, which makes them fixate on these things and the fears they have of what might happen in the future. Normally logic would present itself for the ISTJ and cause them to reevaluate, but during their loop this becomes impossible...The ISTJ in this loop becomes hyper critical of past events and can see all of the negative things which have occurred and are likely to occur again. Seeing these negative patterns and past events becomes tied to the ISTJs emotions, which makes them fixate on these things and the fears they have of what might happen in the future.”.

Overall, Fumi is strict, incredibly hard on herself, and in a very stressful position for an ISTJ to be - but she also has some of the strongest values and inner sense of integrity in the series, and that can’t go understated.

Ichie Otonashi: ESFP

“Tamao...TAMAO…”

“What is it?”

“Doesn't it seem like Kiryuin-sensei is glaring at me?”

“She’s just looking at us.”

“YOU’RE LYING SHE’S DEFINITELY GLARING AT ME”

The “stereotypical partner” for ISFJs and ISTJs! While I wasn’t thinking about MBTI at the time, this was what I was referring to when I said that Ichie brings the light to Tamao and Fumi’s more serious personalities - they’re very lucky to have her around. Se-dominance shows up less in a jock-way like it does for the other Se-strong girls and more in Ichie’s lackadaisical and fun-loving attitude. She’s like a little puppy, excitable and eager to experience all that life has to offer her. Se-Fi means that she’s quick to get back up on her feet when things go wrong (just like her ExFP cousins Karen, Aruru and Lalafin), but don’t let her easy going personality fool you - she has a strong sense of values that she holds very dearly to her heart (auxiliary introverted Feeling), and we see that lash out when she’s the first to get truly, visibly angry and driven (loud Se dominance supporting passionate Fi aux with tertiary Te leading the charge) over the loss of the department (compare to Tamao’s quieter Si dominance supporting socially-conscious Fe aux with tertiary Ti withdrawing and mulling things over for itself before acting). There is sooo much to Ichie that I love that I’ve already talked about twice and feel like I’m being redundant at this point, haha. But she has such an inner fire to match that outer love and passion, it’s incredible to see. She really is like the sun.

Also - please see this tweet about Rinmeiki and the Rinmeikan seniors. It's such a succinct way of summarizing their worldviews.

Rui Akikaze: ISFP

We really see a more innocent side to Fi dominance with Rui - see how she doesn’t immediately pick up on the cold atmosphere at Rinmeikan during the early AA story because she’s just so excited about the Performance Festival (until Fe-user Yuyuko comes in and gives her a rude awakening). She’s really similar to her IxFP sibling Mahiru! It’s that shared unhealthy Fi not having confidence in her own capabilities that makes her project onto the girl she has a crush on (and not saying her crush is bad or not valid, just as there’s nothing wrong with Mahiru’s for Karen either - it’s just that she has a tendency to chase Tamao as this ideal because she hasn’t embraced herself yet when she really is a phenomenal person in her own right!). But it’s also that dominant Fi that fuels her passion towards catching up to - and keeping up with - (and eventually surpassing, but don’t tell her that) her senpai! It’s so, so strong! IxFPs are their passions! I see stronger evidence for Se over Ne aux, which is why I typed her as ISFP. When you compare her to her extroverted sister Ichie, you actually find quite a few similarities between the two! Rui’s passion and excitability shows up in albeit more awkward ways due to her introversion, but she’s just as powerful beneath the surface! There is so much light and fire there that I think even her senpais fail to pick up on - truly only Yukko so far has seen the full breadth of her potential (that’s the power of lesbianism). Like other Fi doms can tend towards being, Rui sometimes has an issue of getting stuck in her own head and being her own worst enemy (this is typically more common with INFPs, who are “dreamier” than their ISFP siblings, but it isn’t impossible for an ISFP to be feeling the same things). But like Mahiru and Kaoruko, there’s so much untapped potential that she’ll gain access to with time and support!

Yuyuko Tanaka: INTP

“If only I had the Magician’s knowledge...then it’d be so easy.”

Her inferior extroverted Feeling showing up when she and Rui talk in Arcana Arcadia is SO SO PREVALENT - Ne and Fe pick up on the actual dynamics of the situation much faster than Fi-dominant Rui, but that inferior Fe also struggles to communicate that change in a diplomatic way, and she ends up really scaring/basically bullying Rui. We also see it in her ardent refusal to be a burden and immediate initiative to put herself to work, in such a similar way to what I pointed out with INTP sibling LGY in my ORV post:

Yuyuko: We have to be the ones to shoulder it - Tamao-senpai, Fumi-senpai, and Ichie-senpai’s wish.

Rui: …!

Yuyuko: Our seniors have already been shouldering this dream. That’s why they can’t afford to carry you too!!

All of this is INTP inferior Fe. It's also why it was such a surprise to a lot of us when Yukko admitted she had feelings for her because, as I mentioned with Misora, IxTPs have a really, really hard time communicating what they’re actually feeling, even if they have developed Fe!

Yukko really is a hidden genius - she has such a talent for scriptwriting which was kind of easy to miss before AA because INTPs are the champions of being the literal best at a thing...then not advocating for themselves at all (I have to harass my INTP friend into letting me advocate for him all the time because THEY WOULD LITERALLY RATHER DIE THAN ASK FOR HELP). They aren’t really focused on prestige or gaining power like their INTJ cousins might be - what lights their fire is diving fully and wholeheartedly into their passions (like Rakugo), and everything else comes second. Stop distracting them with other things -- who cares if they haven’t eaten in eight hours. They want to keep focusing on their work! But if you catch them in their passions - or working towards anything they’re extremely invested in (like she is with making Rui the lead) - they are unparalleled strategists and geniuses. They throw themselves FULLY into the things they care about and easily become masters in their craft. INTPs are the classic example of asking a stoic person about their special interest and immediately seeing their faces light up (buckle in, too, because they’re about to launch into a two-hour lecture about it).

I’m not familiar with Rakugo so there isn’t much I can say with it, but dominant Ti-auxiliary Ne-tertiary Si is such a wonderful set of functions to have for scriptwriting or visualizing a story, so it’s no wonder that on top of her many talents, she’s already working with her seniors.

I also really love that she’s buds with Nana - they’re polar opposites, too (ESFJ/INTP), and having Fe-dominant Nana to advocate for her talents and genius is really going to help her shine in the future! If they teamed up with Michiru and Misora I think the four of them would be able to take over the world in about twenty minutes.

#starira #revue starlight #rinmeikan #will link later this is scheduled etc etc #tomoe tamao #yumeoji fumi #akikaze rui #otonashi ichie #tanaka yuyuko #not super happy with tamao's (wanted to write more) but got tired of writing hahahaha #WAIIIIIT I HAD EXPLANATION FOR NO SE IN FUMI AND IT GOT DELETED???? AYAAAAAHHHHHHHH WHAT DID U DOOOOOOOO

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witchvspatriarchy · 5 years ago

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Feminism vs Female Empowerment vs Feminist Exemplification

In the past years this thread of labeling anything that’s female positive as feminist has really skyrocketed and it bothers me greatly. Great female representation and female empowerment does not make a thing feminist. Something that illustrates, explains or describes a feminist value or point of view does not make that thing feminist.

What defines something as sexist or empowering or feminist is the context and the message or objective that it wants to convey.

There are men in the industry who are progressive and works towards equality by hiring more women, and actively trying to give us better female representation. There are women who direct women in films about women and who try to maintain a crew or team of mostly women. In both cases, none of this makes their project or them feminists.

The majority of the entertainment industry responds and caters to The Male Gaze – it does so even if there are no men operatively involved in the project, because 99.9% of people in the industry do not make art, they are here to make money.

And although it is based on what we commonly call artistic careers, that does not mean that there is a really artistic background or objective in the things being made – it’s purely commercial in a vast majority. The ultimate goal of the entertainment industry is to sell. Therefore, much of this "art" is not progressive, thought-provoking or subversive in any way, specially if the person in charge believes that this could cost them money. The main objective is to market to the consumers and they do so at the expense of everything - this includes quality, values, points of view, consciousness and self-awareness. And this is when two very interesting things happen: Faux Feminism & Female Exploitation.

Female Exploitation is when the person in charge believes that what sells is quiet, beautiful and sensual women – this is the main thing, and the character's story is secondary (so much that most end up being just eye candy or as a manic pixie dream girl). In this case they think of subversive and thought-provoking as something that can harm their income. So the actresses talent and creativity doesn’t really matter, as long as they’re pretty and sell.

Faux Feminism is when the person in charge believes that the money is in the feminist pov and they make films that could pass as feminist and with strong female characters that follow closely and/or represent the political climate and feminist discourse of today – but that does not make the product feminist, mainly because in most cases they do this in the most superficial way for a monetary gain. Keep in mind, in this cases they don’t explicitally use the word feminism in attachment to whatever their selling, but it’s very obvious.

And sometimes is neither of these, but instead Casual Feminism - when something could represent, stand for feminism but that wasn’t the intention at all. Feminists saw it and were like HECK YEAH.

Is feminist a project in which mostly or only women participate? Is feminist a project where the main roles are 99% female? Is feminist a project that addresses sexism? Is feminist a project that’s inclusive? Is feminist a project with independent and empowered women? Is feminist a project that criticizes the way in which society treats women? The answer to all this is NO.

What defines whether something is feminist or not, is first and foremost if whether its exhibitors/creators are feminists or if it was written to represent/stand for feminism explicitly and consciously. If I wear a shirt that says I am feminist, that does not make me feminist. Being a fan of Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Emma Watson or any other feminist does not make me a feminist. Reading one feminist book does not make me feminist (it’s the start, if so I decide). I'm just wearing something, following a person, consuming a product. And many artistic products are attributed the term feminist when they are not in the slightest. If you assume that it is feminist because it exemplifies feminism or is potentially empowering for women, that does not make it feminist. Talking about self-love, girl power, sorority and sexism does not make you a feminist - it makes you self-aware of your rights, strengths and weaknesses and that is excellent and encouraged, but it does not make you feminist.

Why? Because Feminism is a philosophical, social, political, economic and artistic current. What makes a feminist person a feminist, above all, is that they identify themselves as such, with all the awareness of what feminism is because they have studied it or are constantly studying it or have the intention of studying it.

We can long and dream for a feminist awakening in the entertainment industry, but precisely because of that we should not label just anything as sfeminist, because labeling something or someone as feminist when it is not is a disrespect to the person or product and misleading; and it is harmful to the people and products that are feminist and that are mostly ignored, criticized, received in a negative way and usually overshadowed by pseudo-feminist products with better marketing, plus it only helps to preserve the misinformation and misunderstanding of what feminism is and superficializes it. Not to mention it can perpetuate some misconceptions.

Something or someone not being feminist does not mean it is sexist and there IS feminism in the entertainment industry, but very little and it usually suffers from detractors from the industry itself; so what we find mostly is female empowerment, in an initial and often diluted facet.

So no, we can't call it feminist but we can call it empowering since many women feel that spark of strength, they feel identified and reflected accurately, maybe they even feel understood - and that is something very valuable. We can also use them as an exemplification of feminism, there are many artistic projects that are not feminist but serve to explain, illustrate or describe a feminist point of view because they showed it excellently.

Let’s see some examples of what I’m talking about:

Mean Girls is a great example of a feminist movie. It represents and portrays feminist points of view and feminist values consciously and with the intention and awareness of doing it directly from a feminist stand. It has the feminist label very big and very visibly. It was written by a feminist (Tina Fey), inspired on the novel of another feminist (Rosalind Wiseman). The director is not a feminist, as far as we know, but that doesn’t take away from its value as a feminist piece of work in any manner.

Legally Blonde is another great example of a feminist film. The writers, Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith are both feminists, Kirsten notably being a Riot Grrrl. It is based on a novel written by a feminist (Amanda Brown). And just as Mean Girls, it represents and portrays feminist points of view and feminist values consciously and with the intention and awareness of doing it directly from a feminist stand. It has the feminist label very big and very visibly. Also, it is very female empowering.

Now let’s talk Harley Quinn, because is a very interesting one.

First, let’s talk about her in the comics. She wasn’t created by feminists. She isn’t coded as feminist. She is not written as a feminist character. She is not female empowering for most of her story. Nor she or her story are an exemplification of feminism. The character is not meant to represent or embody feminism in any way. So is she a feminist character? No.

Now, in the movie Birds of Prey. Again, she wasn’t created by feminists. Was the script written by a woman? Yes, but not a feminist woman. Is the movie directed by a woman? Yes, but again, not a feminist woman – the director even said in an interview that she didn’t want to “sound too much like a diehard bra-burning feminist”. The film had an all women crew. Again, Harley isn’t coded as feminist - she is not written as a feminist. The character is not meant to represent or embody feminism in any way. BUT is it female empowering? HELL YES. And the movie as a whole is a great exemplification of feminism, this is another quote from the director: “a harlequin’s role is to serve, they’re nothing without a master and so the movie is about Harley Quinn becoming her own master. And not just Harley, but the Birds of Prey as well. All these women go through something and they’re all trying to break free from their own chains”. So is the movie feminist? No, and so are not it’s characters. But we can and should embrace and celebrate Harley Quinn from a feminist point of view.

Is Hermione Granger a feminist character? No. But she is female empowering and an exemplification of feminism. The actress who plays her, Emma Watson, is a feminist but that doesn’t magically makes all the characters she portrays feminists or well written female characters.

On the other hand, Lisa Simpson IS a feminist. Is the voice-actress a feminist? I don’t know. Are the creators feminists? I dont know either - but it doesn’t matter because Lisa is a feminist and she is explicitly portrayed and written as such, she voices feminism and is meant to embody and represent a feminist (even if it’s an 8 year old one) – and she does so very well if I might add.

So stop calling everything “feminist” and stop telling people that if they believe in equality they are inherently feminists even if they dont want to use that label themselves, stop this specially towards people (I’ve seen this in comment sectons). In my experience, there are three types of women who refuse the feminist label:

1) The Closeted Feminist: a woman that’s not afraid to speak up about their opinions but doesn’t describe themselves or their povs with the word feminism even though their arguments and discourse has a feminist stand that is based on feminist theory to the point where it’s obvious this person has immersed themselves in feminist books, podcasts, films, documentaries, etc – this could be because labeling oneself as a feminist is dangerous. Either in their house, or in the society they’re a part of – and with this I mean that it could actually lead to abuse or active persecution. Not everyone has the same freedom, background and opportunity you do.

2) The Double Agent: they say they don’t need feminism and they don’t believe in it but they still stand for equality and justice. Usually this person doesn’t really understand what feminism is because they have never cared to learn about it and yet they go round commenting on feminist blogs about “how feminists are wrong” – this person believes the patriarchy’s version of what feminism is. This person is aware of the injustice and inbalance but thinks feminism is sexism towards men, hatred of men and that is used for women as a women-victimizing campaign to get pity points and advantages. This are the people that said Taylor Swift played the victim for 13 years.

3) The Free Woman: she doesn’t believe in feminism, she probably voices hate towards feminism and feminists and thinks very low of them because “she doesn’t need feminism” because she loves the men in her life and has “never suffered sexism” first hand so it doesn’t exist. The Free Woman and the Patriarchal Feminist have in common that they feel feminism victimizes women and is sexism towards men. The difference is one thinks inequality is a myth and the other one knows it’s still a thing.

If ya’ll read all of this KUDOS TO YOU and THANK YOU. I’ve been thinking about this for almost a year and it took me a long time and effort to write this and put my thoughts into words cause I’m really bad at expressing myself and lack communication skills. I’d like to write too about the difference between Feminist Icon – Feminist Woman – Iconic Women, just because I’m tired of that mess too.

#feminist #feminism #faux feminism #female empowerment #female representation #long post #very loooooong post #legally blonde #mean girls #harley quinn #birds of prey #hermione granger #harry potter #lisa simpson #the simpsons

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the-record · 4 years ago

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Love at First Sight

Hey! This is my first fic so please don't come at me for the absolutely horribleness of it bc I suck at writing. (Also if you notice mistaken in the beginning its bc I’m writing on my phone bc I’m to lazy to get my laptop)

Category: FLUFF ABSOLUTE FLUFF

Warnings: None (In this part.)

Spencer Reid x Fem! reader

A/N: Hey! This is a totally fluff slow burn. There will be multiple parts bc I suck that way. Enjoy!

Part 2

You stop right outside the doors, an old gym bag and a cardboard box in hand. You were totally qualified for this job, a masters in criminal psychology and a PhD in forensic science. Not to mention your IQ of 185 and photographic, more properly eidetic, memory. Yet as you stood outside the glass doors of the bullpen, your heart was racing and you felt like you were going to pass out. As you were about to open the doors you hear a voice and a hand grabs it for you.

"Hey, careful there, might drop you stuff." You look up to see a tall, dark, muscular man staring down at you. You smile at him and nod.

"Thanks." He nods as you walk through the doors. "Hey, do you know where Agent Hotchners office is?" You turn around to face him as you ask your question.

"You must be Emily's replacement. Just up the stairs, his door is open. Good luck." As you flash your smile as a thank you, he turns away to his desk and you walk up the stairs, knocking at the door in front of you.

"Come in." As he looks up at you, he shows a slight smile but not much. "Ah, SSA Y/L/N. Please sit down, you can put your stuff on the floor next to you." You set the box and bag inches away from the chair that you sit in. "Now, normally I would brief you on the job, but as you worked in the New York office before and we have a case, that will have to be put on hold. Welcome to the team, you will fit in nicely." You smile at him as he stands up to lead you to where they would brief the case.

You have finally started to calm down, but as you walk through the whole team stares at you, apart from a man sitting reading a book.

"Good morning, sorry for the early start. This is SSA Y/N Y/L/N. She will be starting today." As you bite on you cheek a kind voice speaks up.

"Hi, I'm Jennifer but you can call we JJ. Welcome to the team." She gives you a warm welcoming smile and you return with yours.

"Derek Morgan." It's the man who opened the door for me just minutes ago. "Good to put a name to a face." Your smile doesn't fade, you feel welcomed for once, and thankfully it's not a boys club.

"David Rossi." You look up excited at the man introducing himself.

"Wait, really? I have read your books, you are a great writer." He chuckles as you look at him, remembering the lines from his book.

Before he can say anything else a peppy, bright colored women steps in. "Well hello! You must be Y/N. Good to meet you! I'm Penelope Garcia but you can really call me whatever. I think you will make wonder boy over there have a run for his money." You look at her confused. "Sorry dear, I may have read up on you, I do it for every new addition to our team. You laugh a little as she says this.

"Baby girl, what do you mean by Reid is gonna have a run for is money?" She looks at him.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you guys. Y/N over here is incredibly smart. What an IQ of 185 and eidetic memory? And I think it said you can read 16,000 words per minute, right?" You smile and nod. You have always been very proud of your gifts but never boasted about them, that's unkind.

"Well well well pretty boy," The man reading the book finally looks up as Derek ruffles his hair. "Looks like you might need to move aside as resident genius. Go ahead, tell the girl about yourself." He looks up at you. You try not to blush as he looks at you, the most handsome man you have ever seen.

"Uh hi. I'm Dr. Reid. Spencer. I have an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory, and can read 20,000 words per minute." You two are so alike but so different. Your talents are similar but your personalities are definitely different. He barely looks up from his book and speaks softly, while you look people in the eyes when talking and are a loud talker, something you need to work on.

"Well, I guess you guys are right. Watch out Dr. Reid, I might just steal the spotlight." In his eyes you did that the moment you walked in. He had looked up for a moment but got shy when he saw you. And when he heard how Penelope had spoke of you, he could barely contain a smile.

"Ok, Garcia go ahead." You sit down next to JJ as she points to the empty seat next to her.

"Portland Oregon. A dj name Jay Johnson was on his way home after leaving the club. He was cutting through an alley when bludgeoned by a club. He was stabbed 31 times and his watch, cell, and computer were stolen. That was 2 days ago." As she continues you read the case file in front of you, quickly getting in all the details.

"Early this morning a Karen Heywood a 30 year old nurse, she died during a home invasion being stabbed 40 times after being bludgeoned by weapons of opportunity." You look at her.

"The file says that there were 8 weapons."

"So we are looking for a group?" Rossi speaks up.

"Most likely, we only have 9 hours until night fall. We can discuss more on the jet. Wheels up in 10." You stand up as Hotch finishes talking. JJ grabs your arm.

"Hey, slow down. Sit." You look at her confused and slowly sit down. "I saw you blushing at Reid." Your jaw drops as she says this.

"I was not!" She looks at you brows raised and smiling.

"Don't even deny it. I saw it with my own eyes, but be warned, Derek and Garcia will make fun of you if you don't stop being so obvious about it." I smile and walk away to go get my stuff only to see Derek carrying it to a desk.

"Oh. Thanks." He smiles at you.

"No problem kid." You grab your bag and head to the jet following the rest.

***

After Hotch finishes and we are all left to do what we want I go to sit by Spencer noticing the book he is reading. "Do you like Arthur Conan Doyle?" He is reading 'The Narrative of John Smith' a classic.

"Hm? Oh, uh yeah. You know his books?" You smile and nod.

"I love them. My favorite writings of his are the Sherlock Holmes ones, I'm a kid at heart, what can I say." He laughs a little closing his book. "Oh I didn't mean to interrupt you. You can keep reading. I was actually going to come over and read too I just-" He stops you talking.

"No, no you're fine. I was just finishing it anyways." You smile at him, your face starting to burn. "I was going to get some coffee, do you want anything?" You nod.

"A green tea would be nice."

"You know green tea is really beneficial. It helps improve brain function, helps prevent cancers and type 2 diabetes, can help with weight loss, sorry. I tend to ramble." You smile at him.

"No, don't worry. I do the same. Continue. Please." He smiles and continues but you don't listen. You're to busy looking at his features. Beautiful honey gold eyes that could put you in a trance. His hair was wavy but well kept. His cheek bones and jaw were strong. All you could think about was him.

"Y/N?" Oh shit, you had been practically ignoring him. "Are you ok?" You nod.

"Yeah sorry, just spaced off." He lost his smile. "Oh, Spen- Dr. Reid, it's not you. I just tend to space off a lot, ask any of my friends and family." His smile came back to his face. It's your favorite thing about him.

"I will got get you that tea. Honey?" You nod.

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid #spencer reid fluff #criminal minds #spencer reid fanfiction #criminal minds fanfiction #mgg

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faustonastring · 5 years ago

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Hello! May i request headcanons for main 6 taking bath with mc?

Hi thanks for requesting! I’m not good at writing šøft stuff but I hope you like it regardless!

Main six taking a bath with MC

Asra

Very romantic. Very sensual. Very nice. If taking baths is like a normal thing th two of you do, he picks up diffrent soaps and salts from his travels, some of them give the both of you rashes, but hey! It’s the thought that counts.

It’s full of gentle feel ups and massages, it’s almost impossible to get him to stop touching you so you can wash him. And when it is you’re turn to wash him, his hands are running up and down your sides and he has that look in his eyes

Baths don’t always lead to sex, espically if it’s something the two of you do often, but I would be lying if I said they didn’t put him in a mood. It all really depends on you, and if you’re not into that particular day he doesn’t mind. Bath with asra are either super sexy and sensual, or nice and soft. There is no in between.

Nadia

Taking a bath with her is like the only alone time the two of you get when’s she’s particularly busy. Please let her vent too you while you wash her hair and back, and let her take her anger out on you by teasing you and pampering you.

She has the most expensive soaps, salts, bathbombs, etc. you make it, she has the luxurious version of it. And if you don’t know what something is or how something works, she’ll gladly show you how, In the sexiest way possible.

Baths with her are mostly full of teasing, and no matter how far you think you got she’s going to make you wait till later to get what you really want. It could honestly be days depending on how much work she has to do. Don’t blame her, blame the bath. The chemicals must have messed with her head-how could she resist you for so long?

Julian

Bath time is equivalent or equal to story time. It all depends on the mood. The setting. The time. And the conversation. Like you could be trying to have bath sex with him, and then some how get a three hour story out of him instead, and when you two are drying up, he still isn’t done-

He likes to relax in the bath with you after a stressful day. Like Nadia, let him rant too you. He doesn’t like talking bad about people but on days when the vesuvian equivalent to Karen comes in for a check up, he kinda needs too.

Also massages are a must. His shoulders get all knotty from being hunched over his desk asks day. Plus he likes the way you give massages. Would also return the favor in any way shape or form you want it. You just gotta say the magic word~

Portia

She can finally relax. Thank god. Baby girl was gonna over work herself again if it wasn’t for you pulling her into that bath to wind her down. You’re a life saver. Now please sit back and relax, it would be her pleasure to return the favor. She insist! (It must run in the family huh-)

She is the type to poor all the bath bombs she has lying around the house into the bath to see what happens. Yes it overflows with thin seconds. No she doesn’t regret. (Asra is the type too but this ain’t about him) And yes. It does take the two of you over an hour to mop it all up

Other than that baths with her are always very playful and flirty. Playful water splashes, putting clumps of bubbles on each others heads like hats, gossiping, eating chocolates together while gossiping. Making out. Her trying to go down on you underwater. Ya know, cute playful couples things.

Muriel

This man loves bath time. Whenever you say your going to take a bath, he just follows you to the bathroom like a lost puppy, and if you give him a look, he stutters and tries to explain or ask if he could take a bath with you. Your obligated to say yes sorry I don’t make the rules around here.

Massage him during bath time. Well massage him in general. But bath time makes him feel very vulnerable and turned on and a nice massage puts the cherry on the cake. No scratch that. Washing his hair and particularly massaging his scalp on top of a regular massage makes him loose it then and there.

Baths are a very nice after sex ritual. He’ll carry you there don’t worry, and he’ll pamper you with the little energy he has left, until the two of you pass out in the tub, only to wake up when the waters cold. He also likes to hold you in his lap during those times. No matter how big you are.

Lucio

Ahhhhaha. You’re gonna wanna be careful with this one. He’s the type to innocently ask you for a bath and then when you get too the bathroom it’s some weird fancy bath you’ve never heard of before. Honorable mentions are: caviar bath, goat milk bath, wine bath, and pomegranate bath. (If you’re afab, you’re more or likely going to get some type of UTI, so on behalf of lucio I’m sorry)

Bath time = sexy time. Not necessarily sex time, he respects you and you’re boundaries he would never want to force him self Ontop of you. So that means it’s sexy times instead. It’s like the pg13 equivalent of sex time. And if you’re into it, then it’s sex time (that’s what he refers to it as. Mans got a time for everything istg)

If he’s having a bad day though, he likes it when you let his hair while the both of you eat expensive chocolates and drink wine, while you cuddle together in the bath. With his dogs. He thought they were lonely okay-

Thanks for reading! If you liked what you read and want to read more of my trash you can find my master list here! (I’m updating her soon be paitent)

Next headcanon: main six playing animal crossing

Request are open!

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ninja-muse · 4 years ago

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Hey, so I came across your review of ‘because internet’, and I know it’s a p old post by now but I saw the lil “doing linguistics research and stumped for ideas?Hmu”-comment and well I recently received a v unexpected email about having to have an idea for my master’s figured out by mid-November so to say the least I am beyond stressed and looking for inspiration all over,, ,,,I’m desperate so if the offer is still up, pls do hit me w some of your thoughts 😭 this is v unconventional ikno🙇‍♀️

The offer is definitely still up! (And wow, that is absolutely not a lot of unexpected pressure on you or anything.) Here are a few of my thoughts, from back then and since then. I don’t think any of them were covered in Because Internet, but if they have, that’s because like you said, it’s been a while since I read the book….

diminutives like smol and snek and pupper - What are the phonological and/or morphological and/or orthographic rules? Is there agreement as to pronunciation? (E.g., does smol have the same vowel as small? Does snek actually take less time to say, like it feels like to me, or is that just because it has a short vowel?)

A recent caption I saw on a video of a puppy: "He come”. I’m also fairly sure I’ve seen “she trying” and “it him” in a similar context. What exactly is English doing there and why?

internet acronyms irl - I’ve heard people use lol and wtf and maybe imo. I have not heard people use brb or hmu or iirc. Which acronyms make the crossover? Has the prevalence of phrases like “be right back” or “I know, right?” gone up, down, or stayed the same? Is it a generational thing?

when features of internet English cross into spoken/written English, how often are they used ironically? Unconsciously? Consciously but sincerely?

Related: how many people use phrases like “hashtag-blessed” or “at me“ when speaking? Is that different online (Facetime, Zoom, Youtube) and offline?

when people speak internet English (out loud), are there distinctive features? Is there an internet phonology or prosody that crosses over? Is there a difference if it’s someone reading a Tumblr post out loud vs. someone using Internet linguistic features natively?

how do people pronounce lolcat or dogge or lik the bred? Is there consensus? Are there tonal, prosodic, or phonetic differences to regular spoken English? to other spoken Internet English? to the diminutives I mentioned above?

when novelists write internet language, what do they get wrong and why? are these the same mistakes news pundits and other detractors of the dialect make?

has the rise of memes and/or Twitter-length posting limits and/or texting and/or internet language in general facilitated a shift towards English becoming a pro-drop language? I’ve noticed I’ve started using fewer pronouns, for myself and others, and am curious if that’s a wider thing, or even an internet thing at all. (i.e., “Cold day. Want blanket and cocoa.” and “Customer says we lost order. Was actually chill. Not a Karen.”)

are there any features of pre-internet fandom English that influenced or became internet English? How much has internet English influenced spoken fandom English?

how long do people pause or enunciate for Emphatic Capitals? How long can a string of those get naturally? Does where they get placed tell us anything about syntactic structure or conversational salience? Like, how often do we see “The Important Thing” vs. “the Important Thing” vs. “the Important thing” (vs. “the important thing”)?

you know those “text posts over screencaps” posts? Are there certain types of text posts/drunk tweets/Onion headlines that get used more than others?

what are the salient features and uses of internet German? Japanese? Russian? Arabic? Etc. How much are they their own dialects, and how much have they borrowed off English?

youtube! What are the features, if any, of vlog English? Is there a different syntax? Pronunciation changes? Are people speaking slower, faster, the same? Does anything distinguish vlog English from informative Youtube English (think CrashCourse, It’s Okay to Be Smart, VSauce) from, like, school presentation English? Does informative Youtube English differ from newscasts or documentaries?

fanfiction! Yes, I know it’s not exclusively an online thing but also it sort of is. Are there linguistic features of fanfiction, period? What are they? Why are they? Are we seeing much crossover to a) online “original” fiction b) printed novels and short stories? How can people tell when something used to be a fanfic and then had the characters changed? (After, Fifty Shades of Grey, etc.)

As you can maybe tell, I’m both a massive nerd who spends far too much time online and a morpho-phonologist in an alternate universe. Stress patterns are fascinating. :) I hope these inspire you and I’d love to hear whatever you learn!

#finally someone asked!#thank you!#language #linguistics #academia #studyblr #I'm a nerd #help a person out #answered asks #because internet #gretchen mcculloch #language is awesome #language is weird

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lady-divine-writes · 4 years ago

Text

Klaine Advent Drabble 2020 - “Up in the Air” (Rated PG13)

Summary: Kurt is heartbroken after his plans for a romantic Christmas with Blaine are demolished when he gets locked into a flight he'd been trying to switch. Blaine reassures him that it will be okay, that they'll have their romantic celebration when Kurt's feet are back on the ground. But is Blaine possibly hiding a secret that just might sweep Kurt off his feet? (1638 words)

Notes: Written for the @klaineadvent Drabble Challenge 2020 prompt 'join'.

Read on AO3.

“Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” Kurt grumbles, rushing down the corridor that leads to his gate with his carry-on in tow and his heart pounding, trying to give off the impression that he’s not rushing.

Appearance is everything in the flight attendant game.

He was supposed to get an hour sit before this flight, but the one he was on was late by close to forty-five minutes! He has roughly a minute-and-a-half to reach his destination, covering the distance of two football fields, and that’s not the crappiest part of his day.

“Pick up pick up pick up pick up! Blaine! Ugh!”

This is the fifth time he’s tried to get a hold of his boyfriend to tell him the bad news. Try his hardest, he couldn’t trade this flight out for one that leaves after the holiday.

His plans to join Blaine for a romantic Christmas have officially been canceled.

“Pick up pick up pick up pick up,” he chants as he checks in with security and heads for the boarding area.

“You’re late,” his friend Monica teases.

“I had three seconds to make it here from the complete other side of the airport,” he replies with a forced smile for the waiting passengers. The flight attendants can get away with making snide remarks as long as they keep a smile on their faces.

“At least you did it in flats!"

"Wah wah wah," Kurt teases back, giving Blaine’s number one last try before he'll need to turn off his phone and stow it away for the duration.

He's in for a long night - a soul-crushing series of flights, each one taking him farther and farther away from the man he loves.

Finally, Blaine picks up.

“Hey! Kurt! I was hoping you’d call!”

He sounds eager, Kurt thinks. Shit! “Hey.”

“Are you okay? It sounds like you've been running.”

“I have.” Kurt stops in the crook of the tunnel, out of sight from both doorways, to catch his breath. He has one precious minute before he has to perform his pre-flight checks with the crew. And here he is, spending it breaking a wonderful man’s heart. “Look …” He squeezes his eyelids tight, on the verge of frustrated tears “… I’m sorry, Blaine. It’s not going to happen.”

A moment of confused silence. Then realization. “Oh, no! Shoot!”

“I warned you there was a four percent chance it actually would. It’s impossible to make plans over the holidays. It would have taken a miracle.”

“Yes, but, Christmas is the time for miracles.”

“I know, I know,” Kurt says in a shaky voice. “Don’t make me feel worse than I already do.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Blaine says in a soothing voice. “I understand.”

“I know you do.” Kurt sniffles, pulling a handkerchief from his inside jacket pocket and dabbing under his eyes before they can get puffy. “It’s just … I know how I am. I’m the clingy, jealous type. I want to see you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I don’t want you to resent my work. Or me.”

“Kurt, I could never resent you! I knew what I was getting into. This is one trip you couldn’t switch, and I understand why. This is just a hiccup. That’s all.”

“A hiccup on one of the most important holidays of the year.”

“There will be plenty of time after the holiday rush for us to spend together. I’ll see you soon. We’ll lie in bed together, hold each other in our arms, and it will be better again. You’ll see.”

Kurt nods in response even though Blaine can’t see. “I’m trusting you.”

“I appreciate that.”

Kurt hears footsteps hurry down the ramp, Monica whispering, “Hurry up, Kurt! We have to go!” as she passes. He watches her disappear around the corner and onto the plane. He sighs. “I love you, Blaine.”

“I love you, too. Have a good flight.”

“I will,” Kurt chokes out, blowing a kiss into the phone. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

Kurt hangs up and shoves the phone into his pocket. He grabs the handle of his carry-on and continues on his way. Halfway down the ramp, his phone buzzes in his pocket. Before he even takes it out to check it, he knows it’s a message from Blaine.

He should have waited until he got on the plane where there’s a bathroom to duck into because it unravels him more than he is.

I love you, Kurt. And I’m pretty sure I always will.

***

Kurt doesn’t want to be here.

He doesn’t want to be flying over Miami on Christmas Eve.

Not when he has a sexy man at home waiting to see him again.

Kurt loves his job. He really does.

He stumbled into it unexpectedly. It was supposed to be a stop-gap while he worked his way to Broadway - something to pad his bank account, keep food in his belly, and a roof over his head while he got to experience life, hone his craft. And even though he's held on to his dreams of Broadway fame, this job stuck. He has never regretted a single flight in his entire career …

… until this one.

God, what he wouldn’t give to be at home right now, watching cheesy movies on Lifetime, snuggled in Blaine’s arms!

Kurt doesn’t pay much attention to the passengers as he maneuvers the beverage service down the aisle, dishing out Diet Cokes and mini bottles of vodka and Crown Royal. He makes eye contact, nods and smiles, but that's it. He can perform this part of his job on autopilot, has perfected the art of appearing engaged while, in his mind, he goes over notes for an audition or takes a stab at writing his memoirs.

He knows the bare minimum about the passengers on this side of the plane from the things they let slip out of excitement or need - an older lady flying to see her daughter for the first time in ten years, an unaccompanied minor, a row of sorority sisters on a holiday excursion. Everyone is mellow, polite when he stops to ask them what they want from the cart. But there’s always one clown in the bunch.

And Kurt finds his sitting in Row 27, Seat E.

“Soda?” Kurt asks. “Coffee? Tea?”

“A medium drip, please? Or maybe a flat white?”

“A-ha. That's one coffee black for you,” Kurt says, his tone chipper, but sharp around the edges, barely glancing at the man as he hands over his drink.

"Perfect. Thank you, Kurt."

"You're very welcome." Kurt internally groans when the man uses his name. The airline requires all customer-facing employees to wear a name tag for passenger comfort "in a time of need" (or so says the employee literature). In this age of social media, it's used more by the Karens of the world to flame what they consider 'inappropriate conduct' without impunity. All claims are thoroughly investigated, and require passenger and employee corroboration before disciplinary action is taken. But it's gotten to the point that he doesn't Google his name and the name of his airline in the same sentence anymore.

It keeps him sane.

Kurt doesn't mind passengers knowing his name.

Just so long as they never use it.

But this man said Kurt's name like he owns it, and that Kurt doesn't appreciate. Not from strangers.

Kurt's eyes flicker up once it hits him.

He knows that voice.

But how in the hell can it be here?

'I'm projecting,' he thinks. 'I miss my boyfriend, I wish that he was here, but he's not here. No. I'm not going to look at the occupant of this seat and see ...'

“Blaine?” Kurt stares at 27E perplexed. It is him! Unless there's been a gas leak the pilot hasn't told them about yet, Blaine is sitting right there, looking as adorable as ever! Maybe more so, his smile bright and goofy with his master plan revealed. “Blaine!”

“Well, well, well ...” Blaine turns in his seat, attempting a casual recline against the rigid armrest, masking the pain on his face when its sharp edge digs into his back. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“I didn’t know you’d be …! Wha---when did you even get a ticket?”

“A few days ago. Your friend Monica helped me with the details. I had to grease a lot of wheels, seeing as most holiday flights were already packed, but I’m on every one of your connections. I figured we can spend your layover together.”

“And what if I had managed to get the time off?”

“I would probably be out close to a few thousand bucks, but it was a chance I was willing to take.” Blaine tilts his head down so he can look coyly up at Kurt through long, thick lashes. “Are you surprised?”

“Yes! I … I don’t know what to say!”

“Say that you love me," Blaine says sincerely. "Say that you’ll have a little more faith in me.”

“I do have faith in you. It’s just sometimes … I don’t have all that much faith in myself. In my overall appeal.”

“Well, your overall appeal is so strong, I spent a small fortune to take this journey with you.” Blaine chuckles when he notices they’ve garnered attention from other passengers, wondering what happened to the drink cart but watching quietly to see the drama unfold. “So why don’t we enjoy the journey? See where it takes us?”

Kurt grins, his cheeks burning when the sorority sisters occupying the seats behind Blaine awww, and the older woman claps.

Kurt rolls his eyes when other passengers join in.

Only at Christmas, he thinks.

Then again, isn't this what he wanted?

His cheesy Lifetime movie?

His improbable Christmas miracle?

Kurt smiles. “That sounds like a plan.”

#klaine advent 2020 #klaine advent: join #klaine fanfiction #klaine fic #klaine

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thephantomofthe-internet · 6 years ago

Text

Afternoons at the Hawkins Community Pool

Billy Hargrove x Reader

Word Count: 5,056

Warnings: Drowning, blood, hints at abuse, drug use, swearing

Author’s Note: GUESS WHO’S BACK, BACK AGAIN? MADDIE’S BACK, TELL A FRIEND! First fic finished in literal months hello yes I still write! I’m not washed up! Is this any good? I don’t know. Is this even a romance? No clue. Will anyone read it? PLEASE DO LMAO

Tags: This is my old list, if you want to be added or removed, shoot me an ask! @hotstuffhargrove @casaharrington @thechickvic @alex--awesome--22 @lilmissperfectlyimperfect @so-not-hotmess @hipsmcgee @carolimedanvers

“It’s show time, ladies.”

Judging by the switch in the squad of middle aged women who made the west deck their pride rock, Billy Hargrove’s shift had begun.

You only had two hours left of your shift now. Once Billy got on deck, you could finally take a break. Fucking Heather always took an hour instead of the allotted thirty minute break, claiming to be easily susceptible to heat stroke.

As if you weren’t.

Still, now that her shift was over, everything would calm down.

Most people were either enraptured or absolutely terrified by Billy. He was…difficult to deal with.

Sure, he was sweet to the adults of the pool; the people who didn’t get in the way were always a favourite of the staffers, but to the kids? He was a menace. You didn’t understand why he’d take a job where he’d have to prioritize the safety of children.

As if on cue, Billy began his stupid strut to the south chair. You always took the north side, where the sun didn’t hit so hard. This gave Billy ample opportunity to strut around the deck like a peacock, smirking at the moms in heat, drooling over him.

“Afternoon ladies,” he crooned as he passed and you swore that at least three of them passed out from the sheer excitement of it all. He nodded to Mrs. Wheeler. Here came the cincher, the line that would make the group’s dreams come true and fuel their fantasies for weeks.

“Dig the new suit, Mrs. Wheeler.” He gave her a nod, chewing on something. If you had to guess, it was probably cinnamon gum. His breath always stunk of the stuff after shifts.

You averted your gaze after that; you knew exactly what would happen next. Billy would climb up onto his post and the ladies would check out his ass, giggling to themselves and high fiving Mrs. Wheeler for earning his attention for the day.

The image of Mrs. Wheeler’s sharply manicured hand gripping the top of her deckchair, mouth half open in utter lust, red lipstick smeared over the lines of her lips and eyes half closed as she stared at him climbing into the chair was something that would stick in your mind for the rest of the shift.

And then there was you on the other end of the pool, watching them like a creep.

Maybe you were the problem.

You had taken the job at the Hawkins Community Pool purely because it was tradition. You took the job every year, strapping into the bright red one piece with your hair pulled tight into a ponytail at the top of your head. You liked the job: the smell of chlorine and the sounds of happy kids splashing in the cold water. It was a relaxing job-most days nothing bad happened. The kids in town all took swim lessons in the winters one town over. Carmel had a heated indoor pool and a great deal on group swim lessons on weekends. You hadn’t seen a kid have a problem in the pool in three summers.

Today, someone had a problem.

You had just climbed out of your chair to head for your break. You were more than ready to step into the lush air conditioning of the office. Your back had only been turned for a second, Billy was supposed to be watching the pool anyway. But when you turned back you heard a scream.

Some weird kid had fallen into the deep end without a lifejacket. He couldn’t have been older than five. You quickly looked up to Billy.

That little fucking bitch.

He was flirting with Mrs. Wheeler.

You blew hard into your whistle, letting out a loud blast before taking off in a full sprint towards the deep end. You dove quickly into the pool and swam up to the kid before grabbing him under the armpits and swimming him into the shallow end, lifting him onto the deck and letting him cough and sputter.

“Do you need assistance? Can you breathe?” you asked quickly, catching your own breath. You had to ensure the victim was actually in need of medical assistance before you performed any life saving manoeuvres on them. The kid nodded quickly as an older man rushed up, bending down to rub his back. The kid immediately broke into tears, gripping tightly onto the man’s legs.

“Thank you.” The man said quickly, picking up the boy, who hugged him like his life depended on it. You assumed he was the parent and didn’t ask any more questions. Usually, you lay in with questions, but the kid couldn’t be more shook up. You watched to see where they’d go, letting out a relieved sigh when the group returned to the Wilson family, all examining the boy. He must be a cousin of theirs, in town for the weekend or something. You could go on your break with the knowledge that you hadn’t let a strange kid go off with an even stranger man who he didn’t know.

You blew your whistle again and pool activities resumed, although more cautiously. Now, you could start your break. But first, a quick pit stop.

You marched your way over to Billy and Mrs. Wheeler. It was as though they lived in their own bubble that sound couldn’t penetrate. Neither of them seemed to notice the commotion or hear the whistle blow. Mrs. Wheeler just kept laughing at whatever Billy was saying. She reached out to bat his arm and her fingers grazed there just a bit too longer, although neither of them noticed.

It was utterly disgusting.

You tapped Billy hard on his shoulder. He didn’t turn around. You tried again. Same response. You let out a loud, annoyed cough. Mrs. Wheeler didn’t even bat an eye at you and she could see you just over his shoulder. You finally blew a hard, short tweet into the whistle, effectively taking out Billy’s eardrum.

He turned fast, his face pulled into a sneer that you could only smile at. “What?” he snapped bitterly, fists clenched at his sides.

“Just wanted to make sure you could still hear. Since you missed the two other times I blew my whistle.” You replied, your fake smile turning sarcastic as you held his gaze.

“Sorry, I must have been distracting him, I’m sure he heard.” Mrs. Wheeler cut in, placing a manicured hand on his shoulder. She looked too proud of that fact, her lustful gaze unhealthy looking.

“That’s alright Mrs. Wheeler.” You looked over her shoulders briefly, catching sight of her group packing up to leave. Your smile turned to a malicious smirk “Oh, your friends seem to be leaving. If you don’t have your locker key, you should go grab it before they leave, don’t want to have your purse get stuck again.”

The last three times she’d come to the pool, she’d given her key to Mrs. Carol Simpson, whose son Billy had threatened to ban upon entering the deck. Mrs. Wheeler ended up stranded without her key, her bag locked in the locked with no way of getting it out. She had to have the janitor of the pool open her locker with the master key and then, to make matters worse, she had to prove that the stuff was hers. All of her things were dumped on the deck as she tried to prove that her granny panties and tampons were hers based on the shrill cries that there was a Minnie Mouse keychain on her purse. She got her stuff back, at the expense of her humility.

“I gave my key to the front desk, won’t lose it again.” Mrs. Wheeler chuckled proudly, an embarrassed flush creeping up her neck and ears.

“Oh, then you should ensure that they still have it. Mara is not the brightest bulb in the bunch, she’d lose her head if it wasn’t screwed on.” You replied, matching her laugh. Mrs. Wheeler’s smile dropped and she rushed off without another word.

You turned your attention back to Billy, your smile dropping away. “I’m going on my break, can you actually do your job while I’m gone.” You snapped bitterly.

“I was. Customer satisfaction is a key part of our job.” He made a big deal out leering at Mrs. Wheeler’s ass as she bent over to grab her things off the chair.

You scoffed “Watch the fucking pool, Hargrove, Mrs. Wheeler and her saggy ass will be back tomorrow.” You turned dramatically on your heel and stomped off.

You could scream. That boy was so…so…fucking frustrating! He was a nuisance and a pervert and a showboater and god, just a pig! All year he’d done nothing but screw anything in a skirt, just whoring around all year and making a mockery of some very nice girls. And now, now he decides to be a one woman man. And the woman is a married mother of three. What the fucking fuck??? How nasty! And she was into it? God who knew Karen Wheeler was a creep? Lock up your sons, mothers of Hawkins, Mrs. Wheeler is on the prowl for jailbait! It made you sick just thinking about it.

Even stepping into the cool office didn’t alleviate the feeling of heat stroke on your skin. You decided that you’d take a cold shower before eating. You couldn’t eat much, you had to go back out to the pool and potentially swim after eating. Usually, you’d take forty-five minutes instead of thirty since nobody was watching anyway, but Billy was distracted today and you didn’t want to risk him fucking up because you were being selfish with your break.

You plopped into the wheeling desk chair, sprawling your limbs and taking in the cold air blasting in the room. You let out a satisfied sigh, letting your head fall back and your eyes flutter shut. You could die happy in the air conditioning.

Billy Hargrove was such an ass. You’d never allow yourself to sleep with him. Not that he’d ever want to, you weren’t exactly his type. You were his lab partner that year and you had heard him on more than one occasion telling Tommy about how ‘shrill’ and ‘annoying’ you were. It wasn’t your fault that you weren’t going to sit around and do all the work for the both of you. And it benefited him! His highest grade that year was in fucking science! He thanked you at the end of the semester! Sure, it was a forced and uncomfortable thank you, and you didn’t need to know that it was his highest grade that year, but still! You two should be good! You should be fine! But instead, you were the shrill bitch who tells him what to do at work. God, you didn’t want to be the awful co-worker, the ‘shrill bitch’ that everyone gossiped about and made fun of, but somebody had to take the job seriously! And not seriously like Billy did, who got out his aggression by yelling at kids and threatening to ban them for the most minor infractions, even though the pool didn’t have a banning system period. No, you had to be the boring, mean one who saved lives and got shit done.

Everybody else got to have fun, you just had to work.

You let your head lull towards the window, peaking out at the pool from the half closed blinds. There was a pack of girls around your age surrounding the lifeguard chair, trying to engage Billy in conversation. God, that’s such a safety hazard, how the hell was he supposed to get down quickly in the event of an emergency? He should tell them to move back away from the ladder. Not that he was even paying attention to them; his eyes were on the pool, watching someone swim across the pool with a half smile. He was ignoring the girls, which was expected, but you were glad to see that…wait.

That’s Mrs. Wheeler.

Jesus Christ this guy!

You groaned, pushing yourself up off the chair and heading into the locker rooms, turning on a shower and blasting cold water over yourself. The initial shiver and burn of the freezing water faded fast and soon Billy Hargrove and his stupid thing face were far from your mind. Every one of your senses was heightened by the icy water that was soaking into your skin. You felt utterly refreshed and calm again. He was far from your mind and so was work in general. As your muscles began to slowly unfurl and release tension, your mind led you to the wonderfully comfortable world of the novel you’d left behind.

You were Anne Shirley on that bridge, waiting glumly for her Gilbert to arrive. And there he was-in his silly bloomers and flat cap, white shirt half buttoned and that smarmy look and that stupid mullet and-fuck. Your eyes shot open. God you couldn’t escape him! Billy fucking Hargrove was intruding on your comfortable dreams in rural 1910s Canada. God, it was weird enough that you were fantasizing about rural 1910s Canada, you didn’t dumbass Billy with his ugly ass tattoo creeping in to make it worse.

You turned off the water, checking the numberless clock over the doors leading out into the pool. Your break was just about over anyway. With a heavy sigh, you headed back out into the blinding sun, tightening your ponytail and climbing back into your chair.

You heard a loud blast from the whistle across the pool. “Hey! No running!” Billy barked from across the pool. Most of the people at the pool turned to look at him, except the pudgy kid who’d started running again. The kid didn’t stop this time, his mother gone now, and he barrelled over a little girl. She went down hard. You grabbed the first aid kit off the back of your chair, walking calmly over to the little girl.

“Hi there, are you alright?” you asked, kneeling down next to her. There was blood running down her tiny leg and cheek, two large scraps from the rough deck that made her skin ragged.

The little girl shook her head, sniffling loudly. She was holding back her tears, trying to be brave. It was very cute. “Can I help you?” you asked, offering her a small smile.

“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers…” the little girl muttered, shaking her head with a quivering lip.

“Well, I’m Y/N, I’m a lifeguard here. What’s your name?”

“Sylvia…” she muttered again, wiping her eyes hard with the back of her tiny hand.

“It’s nice to meet you Sylvia. Can I take a look at those cuts?” you asked. The little girl nodded and you opened the kit. You hadn’t noticed that Billy was looming over you, casting a shadow over you.

“You…okay here?” he asked awkwardly, earning your attention briefly.

“Yeah, we’re okay. You wanna go handle that kid? Ban him or something?” you replied, turning your gaze back to the alcohol swab in hand. “Now, this is gonna sting a little, okay? If it hurts too much you can squeeze my hand.” You offered her your spare hand as you wiped the wound gently.

Billy stood there longer than he should have. He knew he looked weird. He knew he should be tearing that fucking kid a new one. But there you were, smiling at some snot nosed kid, letting her squeeze your hand with her grubby little fingers, putting Barbie Band-Aids on her cuts and checking her head for bumps. You looked so…pretty. You had this look on your face; he’d seen it before when you were reading in class, the world tuned out except for the words on the page. Your eyes crinkled in the corners and lit up bright, your lips curled into a smile that creased your cheeks and scrunched your nose. You pulled a lollipop from the kit, and he knew that you had added those yourself, his didn’t have those. You sent the kid on her way, standing up again and brushing the gravel off your knees.

“You get that kid?” you asked, clicking the kit closed.

Billy swallowed “Nah, he wasn’t worth it.” he said smoothly, trying not to cringe. Since when does he give mercy to kids?

You rolled your eyes “The one time I want you to raise hell, you let a kid slide? You’re losing your touch, Hargrove…” you smirked, walking back to your chair. No faster than you turned away, Billy rushed off to kick that kid’s ass.

He never did what anyone told him. He didn’t know why this time it mattered.

The last hour and a half of your shift surprisingly flew by. And when it was time for Billy’s break, you didn’t even mind staying behind to watch the pool. You pulled the lines across the pool by yourself, preparing for the switch to the adult swim. Mike Wheeler and his grubby friends burst in while you were working.

“The pool area is closed right now. Please wait in the change rooms.” You said, not bothering to look over at the group.

“Is my mom still here?” Mike asked with an annoyed sigh.

“She left about an hour ago.” You replied.

“She said she was gonna drive us home!”

“Is Billy here?” a redheaded girl stepped directly into your view. You recognized her vaguely as Billy’s stepsister, you thought her name was Max but you weren’t sure.

“Yeah, he’s still on the clock for another two hours.”

“Fine, we’ll wait.” She snapped.

You finally looked up at the group, all milling around in their street clothes. You sighed “Okay, you can’t be on the deck in your street shoes. And you can’t be here during adult swim. You’re not adults.” You explained boredly. You turned back towards the office, catching sight of Billy spinning around in the desk chair, banging his head to whatever he was playing through his headphones.

“Follow me.” You said, heading towards the office. You didn’t bother to knock on the door, throwing it open without caution or fear. Not that Billy noticed, he was flailing along to what sounded like, through the muffled sound of his headphones, We Are Not Alone from the Breakfast Club movie. It certainly wasn’t the heavy metal that he associated himself with.

“Hargrove.” You got no response; he did another spin and a dramatic kick. You held back a laugh. He looked so silly. Dare you say…cute? That was something you didn’t think you’d ever say.

“Hargrove!” you cried. He pulled off his headphones quickly, practically jumping out of the chair. You swore there was a light blush on his face, although he could plausibly say it was a sunburn.

“What?!?” He snapped.

“You’re um…you’re stepsister is here…she’s looking for a ride home. What do you want me to tell her?” you asked awkwardly, your hand subconsciously coming to your left arm, rubbing your upper arm awkwardly.

Billy’s scowl dropped away, his face draining of colour “Oh shit um…shit it’s like seven, right?” you nodded awkwardly “Fuck…I gotta get her home…shit. Um, I might be late coming back can you just watch for like ten minutes, I’ll be back I just I gotta-”

You cut him off “I can handle the close for tonight, if you wanna just stay there.” You offered against your better judgement. Usually, you’d never offer to take a close. Closing a pool sucks ass. But…he just looked so utterly freaked out. He looked scared.

“You sure? I can come back, gimme like twenty minutes I can-”

“Nah, I can do two more hours. It’s adult swim, nothing happens anyway.” You replied with a shrug. Billy nodded, rushing out of the room and grabbing the nosy redhead, pushing her out.

He didn’t even say thank you.

Fucking dick.

You rolled your eyes. It wouldn’t be that bad. You finished putting out the lines and took your seat at the furthest end of the pool. As always, the usual old people came in and did their laps. The two hours went by incredibly slow and you wished you’d just offered to drive the brats home. But the hours were great and, luckily, the crowd finished their swim thirty minutes before the pool closed and nobody else came in. You closed off the pool and locked the gates, taking your sweet time to milk the extra minutes out of your shift. You left the pool with damp, clean hair and dried out skin.

You came home to an empty house, your mother promising to be home by ten. There were leftovers in the fridge. You were ready to settle in to a night at home. You slicked your skin in lotion and changed into dry, warm clothes. You piled up your dirty clothes and started a load of swimsuits. You wanted to watch a movie, but you hadn’t gone to the video store before work so all you had were your parent’s crappy recordings of movies from their era, which you had no interest in.

You had an empty house and nothing to do. Then it hit you.

You had a joint in your vent. You cousin Casey finally came in clutch. But you couldn’t smoke it in the house. The smell lingered too long, you’d get caught. You grabbed your keys, your purse, and the joint, scribbling at the bottom of your mother’s note that you’d be back by curfew.

You could hide out anywhere. You always chose the same spot though, out by the quarry where death haunted the weak of heart. The rumour was that the dead body found out there two years prior was actually Will Byers and he’d been replaced by a doppelganger. Either way, the area is supposed to be haunted by the dead little boy found there. You weren’t scared of ghosts which meant that you were always the only person out there. It became your little spot.

The drive there was short and sweet, you’d barely made it through the first song on your driving playlist. You parked close to the water’s edge, turning up your stereo and taking a seat on the hood of your car. You always chose the furthest edge of the quarry, where no one would bother you.

A car pulled up too close to you. You could’ve screamed.

And then you recognized the driver.

“Kill me now…”

Billy stumbled out of the car. His knuckles were bleeding. He had a cut under his eye. He looked…fucking pissed.

“Am-scra, freak.” He snapped, not looking over to see who actually was there.

“You scram, asshole, I was here first.” You snapped back, digging through your purse for a lighter, joint held firmly between your teeth.

Billy didn’t move. He took his seat on the hood of his own car, wrapping gauze tightly around his knuckles, knotting it roughly behind his fingers.

You sighed. You didn’t have a lighter. Hargrove did. You scowled turning to him as he struggled with the wrapping around a Band-Aid, losing it into the quarry.

You pulled one from your bag, holding it out to him “I’ll trade you for a light.” He turned to you with a scowl, looking over the scene. He nodded gruffly, pulling his steel lighter from his back pocket and flicking it open. You leaned over, letting the flame burn the end and start off the joint. You passed him the Band-Aid, which he immediately lost into the dirt.

You pulled another from your bag, letting out a puff from the joint before reaching into your bag. You pulled out your last Band-Aid, jumping off the hood.

“This is my last one. Let me do it.” you replied, pulling open the paper and stepping closer. Billy leaned away defiantly. You sighed, pulling the joint from your lips. “Relax, smoke this, I’m not gonna frisk you or anything.” You said, handing him the joint. He took it without another word, not complaining about free drugs.

You carefully pealed back the Band-Aid, sticking it to the delicate skin of his under eye, covering the cut. You smiled at your work, pulling your hands away from his face quickly. You took the joint back, returning to your seat.

Billy stared at you for a beat too long and you noticed. You caught his eye, raising an eyebrow at him. “What’s your problem?” you asked.

“None of your damn business.” He snapped back angrily, defensively.

You scoffed, rolling your eyes “Geez, chill out man. You were the one staring at me…”

Billy turned away dramatically, crossing his arms over his chest. You noticed for the first time that evening that he was still in his work clothes. You averted your gaze quickly, not wanting to get caught.

Billy spoke first. He didn’t have to, but he did. “Why are you so fucking nice to everyone?” he asked, almost whispering.

“What’d you mean?” you asked, keeping your eyes trained on the smooth, still water pooled just a foot from your feet.

“You helped some kid with a scraped knee, you saved the dumb kid who fell in, you helped me twice, you helped Karen Wheeler-” he listed off bitterly.

“Okay, one: helping those kids is literally our job. And helping you…well, you needed the help and watching you try to open a Band-Aid with your messed up hand was kind of pathetic.” You replied with a laugh. Billy rolled his eyes, turning away from you slightly.

“And…I didn’t exactly help Mrs. Wheeler. I needed her to go away so I could yell at you. She could report me and get me fired if she saw me being pissy with her favourite lifeguard.” You added, looking away.

“Karen wouldn’t do that.” He replied, looking over to you again “You gonna bogart that?” he asked, reaching out for the joint.

“Didn’t think I was sharing.” You passed it to him nonetheless.

“You can’t finish it on your own. I’m helping you.” He took a long drag, coughing on the end as the smoke filled his lungs. “This is shit.”

“It’s better than what Tommy buys.” You replied with a shrug.

“Tommy has shit taste.” He passed it back to you.

You took a long drag, finding courage in the cloudy feeling in your brain to ask a question burning in the back of your mind.

“So what the fuck is up with you and Mrs. Wheeler? Are you actually screwing her or is she just making a scene everyday for no reason?”

Billy chuckled “I’m not telling you.”

You made a face “That’s so fucking gross…she’s your stepsister’s friend’s mom, man. She’s got like three kids.”

Billy’s cocky look slipped away “I know, Y/N.”

“And you still want to screw her? Dude, that’s nasty.”

“I never said I wanted to screw her.”

You gasped loudly “Billy, do I need to call the cops?”

“No! Jesus, Y/N…” he groaned, slapping the hood of his car with a frustrated look “Look, I’m not fucking screwing her.”

“Ohhhh….”

“You tell anyone that and I’ll fucking kill you.” He warned, leaning over to get in your face. You hadn’t realized how close you two were until that moment. You’d both subconsciously moved as close as you could to one another, each of your spare legs hanging off the side, close enough to kick each other but far enough to not have to awkwardly touch.

“Got it, dude. Not like anyone would believe me. You’ve proved yourself to be believed on that front.” You muttered, silently puffing away.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked. He sounded sadder than you expected him to ever sound.

“I mean…everyone in school knows that you’re this…this macho man, de-virginator or some shit,” Billy burst out laughing and you blushed crimson, turning away. “I’m serious! Everyone knows that you get whoever you want.”

“I’ve never gotten you.” He said with a shrug.

“Yeah well I’m a ‘shrill bitch’, remember? Not exactly worth much bragging rights wise.” You countered. Billy didn’t reply, he looked out at the quarry silently.

“Nobody said that.”

“Nobody had to, Hargrove, I hear what you and your friends say. You don’t have to pretend that I’m some prize.”

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

“I’ve literally heard you and Tommy laugh about annoying I am, how I’m shrill and shit. Don’t play stupid.”

Billy didn’t reply immediately, pulling his knees up to his chest.

“I don’t think you’re shrill. You’re a bitch sometimes, but you’re not shrill.” He said quietly.

“Thanks?”

“I mean…you’re cool. You’re good at your job and you’re nice to everyone and you’re hot and you’re smart and shit. You’re chill. Fuck Heather and her friends if they say shit.” He said to the quarry instead of you.

You smiled softly “Thanks, Hargrove…you’re not too terrible either.”

Billy chuckled “Thanks…”

You were both silent for a moment, staring out at the lake. Billy spoke first. “If I don’t tell anyone about it, can I kiss you?”

You furrowed your brow “Why would you want to?” you asked incredulously.

“Why wouldn’t I?” he shot back. You didn’t have an answer to that question. You dropped off the hood of your car, walking up in between his knees, wrapping your hands around his neck.

“You tell anyone about this and I’ll tell everyone about you and Wheeler.” You said, unable to hide the little twinge of nerves in your voice.

He smiled cockily “Deal.” He pulled you down to him by your neck, pressing his mouth to your demandingly, pressing himself up against you and wrapping a free hand around your lower back, fingertips inching towards your ass. Every inch of him was made of fire and it was catching every one of your nerves, igniting them. Your fingers dug into his curls and your nails scraped his scalp. You let out a whimper as his teeth dug into your lower lip and you tugged on his curls.

You broke the kiss first, pressing your palms into his chest and taking a deep, slow breath. He smirked up at you and you found yourself smiling back.

“Friends?” he asked cockily, pressing the joint into your half open mouth.

“Sure…” you breathed out, taking a long drag off the joint.

5K notes · View notes

allronix · 4 years ago

Text

Trying to untangle Jedi meta/myths

@apathetic-altruistic - This one is mostly spun off your “Jedi as empaths” post.

First of all, thank you. KOTOR, Karen Traviss, and David Brin (Star Wars on Trial - FABULOUS meta compellation!) are the unholy trinity as far as laying out the “Jedi are awful” case. Don’t know if you’ve read their stuff or played KOTOR. Totally recommend it, even if it’s got a not very flattering depiction of Jedi. Vrook, in particular, is pretty much a walking demonstration of all the tropes that a Jedi critical writer would use, voiced by Ed Asner for extra salt. But Jedi positive types would probably really enjoy Juhani, as she struggles to live the Code and does better with it than she thinks.

The meta and research I absorbed did not add up to any GOOD answers. If anything, it led to a sarlaac pit of sheer depression, and this...probably wasn’t the intention. The other issues seem to rise from the gap between what the Jedi say they do and what we actually see them do.

Cut for length

The narrative SAYS “peacekeepers, healers, diplomats, caregivers.” The on panel action shows even the lightest of light side Jedi with body counts that would make serial killers envious. These are empaths, and their role is to be killers. Those cute little children are training to carry deadly weapons. Teenage Padawans (and younger apprentices, if you go with some Legends material) are thrown into the mud, blood, bodily waste, and horrors of trench warfare. They can feel all that pain and death, but cannot have the comfort of a family, of friendships, of a life other than their duty to wage war, no feelings for others other than a vague, hazy, duty-oriented “compassion.” Being put on a pedestal and worshiped as some living deity, but not able to come off the pedestal to touch those you serve. Able to save a dozen people or send them to die for some “greater good” with the same dispassion. Able to have meaningless, physical release sex, but forbidden from actually caring for the person in the bed with them. This sounds like HELL. I don’t know whether to cry for them or curse their leadership for perpetuating it.

Now, the Jedi positive folks argue that this isn’t the case, that being a Jedi is not a curse that warps you into a walking weapon who can have all the pain but none of the joy, who deals out death but cannot nurture life. What it seems to come down to is that there’s a disagreement over what “attachment” means. Because most people in the West who use that term mean it in a healthy sense; connection to one’s peers, family, community. Love and support are crucial for mental health (see attachment theory) and depriving people of those connections IS outright cruel and creates mentally disturbed people. Lucas seems to be using the same word but a different idea, talking in terms of possession and greed, but he also shows little of what an actual healthy connection is, at least in the filmed prequel material.

I’m picturing a young Jedi coming out of a horrible warzone and asking “Masters, I hurt. I need help. I keep seeing the dead and feeling it all over again when I close my eyes. I can’t meditate, much less sleep. My connection to the Force feels like a curse. Am I a healer and protector or a weapon to be pointed at the enemy?” And I’d hope her Masters would have a better answer than calling her weak or accusing her of falling to the Dark Side, at least for the sake of reminding myself who the “good guys” are.

#star wars #Jedi #fandom meta

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fangirl-1523 · 5 years ago

Text

Cherry Bomb: Chap. 1

For clarification, Milven is purely platonic and events from Stranger Things 3 did not happen, such as Jim Hopper's death and the Byers and Eleven moving away.

June 14, 1985

"Roth... Roth...." the voice of Mike Wheeler said coming from the comm.

[Y/N] groaned and picked it up. "What you want, Blackbird?"

"You want to come over and play some D & D? With the rest of the party? Over." He asked.

[Y/N] [L/N] had lived next to the Wheeler family since she was five. Her family had moved there for a change of pace as it was a small town and very different from Indianapolis. She and Mike had grown up as window neighbors.

"But my elvan archer will die! It's happened every time. So much for me trying to be a female Legolas. Over."

"Then, bring your other characters. I know you created like twenty, so you can continue on playing with us for ten hours. Over." He told her.

[Y/N] could faintly hear the sound of snickers and giggles from the other end followed by the normal "Shut up!" from Mike. She sighed to herself.

"What will I be getting out of this again? Over."

"Time with the greatest people you have ever known? Over." Mike paused before adding. "We have food. Blackbird out."

"I'll be there in a minute. Roth out." [Y/N] put the comm down and left the room.

She didn't hear the endless teasing from Eleven, Max, Lucas, and Dustin. Or any of what Mike said in retaliation of their teasing and mochery. Instead, while that was going on, she hopped down the stairs to her mom. At the moment, it was just [Y/N], her mom, and her cat at the house (her parents were seperated, but they both liked the small town life of Hawkins, Indiana).

"Hey, momma, can I go over to the Wheeler's right now? Mike invited me over to play Dungeons & Dragons with the party." She asked finding her mom in the kitchen baking some deserts.

"Sure, sweetie. Just be back by six. You're father will be over here to pick you up for the weekend." Her mother, [Mother Name], replied.

It was the Friday after school let out for the summer and the first thing the party wanted to do was play Dungeons & Dragons. Of course some people (Max Mayfield) resented that notion seeing as it was summer which meant no more school and some more beach.

"Okay. Love you! Bye!" [Y/N] kissed her mom's cheek and zoomed out the door to her neighbors house.

She knocked on the door and Nancy opened the door for her. The upcoming senior at Hawkins High sighed before allowing the young girl that hadn't been involved with anything weird yet into their house. One thing the party, Jim Hopper, Joyce Byers, Nancy Wheeler, Jonathon Byers, and the Scoup Troop all agreed on was to leave the girl out of it. Out of all of it. [Y/N] went down towards Mike's basement where she found the boys setting up the pieces at the table and the girls were setting up snacks such as chips, some bite sized deserts, and soda.

"Hi, [Y/N]." Eleven said.

"Hi, El." [Y/N] said coming over to the two girls.

"[Y/N], which character are you playing?" Mike said looking through the folder labeled [Y/N]'s characters.

"Uh... actually... I wanted to try to be... a... uh..." then the girl mumbled what she wanted to do.

Max Mayfield and Eleven smirked (as they had heard what she said). Dustin Henderson asked for her to speak up, so they could hear her. All they got out of her was a smear of red across her face. Now that the boys were staring at her and her two only female friends were smirking, she instantly regretted every decision she had ever made.

"You know what? Just forget it. I'll use my elva-."

"She wants a chance as Dungeon Master, but she is too nervous to say anything to you four." Max said cutting her friend off.

[Y/N] tried to cover her face with her hands as she waited for the laughter to come right afterwards. It was a stupid idea. A stupid, silly thing to suggest she do. Way to make a fool out of you, [Y/N]. the [H/C] haired girl thought to herself before shying away from her friends.

"Since when do you know how to be Dungeon Master?" Dustin asked as he and Lucas sneakily (not that sly though) glanced over at Mike.

"It can't be that much difficult than putting on shows with action figures and dolls while my little cousins intervene about what the different characters could do." And Mike taught me.

"I say we give her a shot. I'm tired of doing the same thing ever single time." Max said.

"We don't do the same thing every time!" Lucas retorted back at his girlfriend.

"It's the same thing, but different outcomes based on the die roll." Eleven agreed.

"Just let her be dungeon master, guys. For one day. I actually want to see where she'll go with it. I'll just be a Gnome Thief." Mike told them.

"I don't have a problem with that." Will Byers added making his first statement in the conversation.

"Go on, [Y/N]." Dustin said glancing at the seat next to Mike. "You can sit there."

[Y/N] didn't see the glare Mike sent Dustin as she sat down in the seat. Eleven and Max got some food before sitting down.

"So, are we ready?" she asked them.

"Yeah. Let's see what you got." Lucas told her.

"To be clear, this is going to be totally -."

"Just start already, [Y/N]." Mike interrupted her. "Yes, we're well aware this is 'Geek Improv'."

Eleven looked from Mike to [Y/N]. As soon as she started to go to school with the party, she met [Y/N] almost as soon as she stepped into the door. And instantly, she understood why Mike hadn't been able to return her feeling. And now, watching the two of them, it reminded Eleven of why that was. Time passed and they all realized how much more involved she was with the details than Mike was and they all knew the adventure they were on was all sprouted from her mouth like bullshit. Because it was. She was making it up as she went along.

"You have reached the end of your quest. But your quest is not over. Instead, one of your party members carries a dark secret. One of them is actually the Great Darkness that vows to shrall the land in eternal night. You hear the cackle of what sounds like the Wicked Witch of the West Hehehe! As the sound bounces off the walls of the cave, you wonder where and who the sound is coming from. But it's too late. Your hear it say 'It's too late for you. Hehehehe!' And the voice is coming from-."

"[Y/N]," Karen Wheeler, Mike's and Nancy's mom, said walking down into the basement, "your mom says your dad is waiting for you. Time to go."

Karen Wheeler went back upstairs and Dustin leaned over to Mike, "Since when does your mom come down here?"

Mike simply shrugged. "Can we finish this really quickly?"

[Y/N] shook her head getting up from her seat. "Sorry. Dad's impatient as it is, and we're supposed to go to Chicago for the weekend. I'll be back Wednesday though. We can finish it then. Have a good weekend, Blackbird. Fellow geeks." She saluted them.

"Bye, Roth. Have fun with your dad." Mike said as she went back up the stairs.

"Dude!" Max exclaimed once she was out of earshot.

"What?!" Mike fired back.

"Do you two really have to act like that?" Max asked him.

"Like what?" he asked her.

"Like that! Two love sick idiots. Why don't you just ask her out?" asked Max.

"He can't."

"He's tried."

"Countless times."

"Failed countless times."

"Stuck in the friend zone, is he." Dustin said in the voice of Yoda.

"He's not that stuck. She likes him back. Right, El?" Max asked looking at her female friend for assistance.

"She does." Eleven nodded her head in agreement. "Just ask her out."

"Do it. When she comes back." Max told him.

"Jeez, okay, I will." Mike told him.

Wednesday came, and he commed [Y/N]'s radio. "Roth... Roth... Roth...."

No answer. Usually she would pick up after the second or third Rorh, but silence filled the radio. He tried again thinking her mom may have cleaned up her room while she was away (it has happened before). Silence.

"[Y/N], you there? Blackbird here ... trying to talk to you. Over." Silence.

This was weird. It was strange. Even when she was angry with him, she never metaphorically left him on read. She would radio in that she was angry and didn't want to talk and there would be a "I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU! I HATE YOU!" followed afterward that she didn't really mean. And that's when he heard shouting, yelling, and screaming from next door. It sounded like her parents.

Mike got out of his basement and along with his family and the rest of the street watched the scene play out between [Mother] and [Father] who hadn't spoken or saw one another in months.

"What do you mean you lost her? She was here yesterday! She called telling me she was back in Hawkins!" [Mother] yelled.

"I went to get food, and then she's gone! I checked everywhere for her! She's not here! And I'm pretty sure she didn't go back to Chicago! So, yeah I lost her! But I didn't lose her OKAY? She's missing! Gone! And it's not my fault! Dear god, why would you think it was my fault?" [Father] yelled back.

"It wouldn't be the first time you thought that." [Mother] mumbled before shouting, "If you didn't lose her, then help me find her! Help me find my daughter! Before something awful happens to her!"

[Y/N] was missing? Mike looked over at Nancy who was looking at him back. They both knew that the Upside Down had a part to play in the disappearance of [Y/N] [L/N].

What Netflix Original would the characters of Stranger Things watch the most often?

Eleven - Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Eleven would compare the events of her life to Sabrina's events in her life when they are sorta similar)

Mike - Orange is the New Black (gives me Mike vibes)

Max - Sex Education (gives me Max Mayfield vibes)

Will - A Series of Unfortunate Events (i feel like he would have read the books in elementary school, so he felt obligated to watch the show)

Lucas - Lost in Space (i didn't know what to pick for Lucas, so I just picked something random)

Dustin - Voltron Legendary Defender (Dustin has always given me vibes that he's a cartoon watcher type of TV person)

Steve - Daybreak (gives me Steve vibes)

Nancy - The Worst Witch (this was an accident. Nancy didn't want to watch it, but saw the trailer, thought it was interesting, and watches it afterwards).

Robin - Disenchantment (doesn't it just scream Robin at you?)

Jonathon - You (he would have heard about it from Nancy who wanted to watch it and he got hooked)

Joyce - Santa Clarita Diet (funny zombie humor)

Hopper - The Crown (this would have started off as something that both Hopper and Eleven watched together as a sort of father-daughter show or whatever, but he got hooked really, really fast)

#stranger things #stranger things x reader #mike wheeler #mike wheeler x reader #dustin henderson #eleven #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #will byers #steve harrington #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #jim hopper #joyce byers #jonathon byers

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