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rrazor · 4 years ago

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what is your skincare routine 🥺 plus imagine doing face masks with ur hq boy 😩😩 pleeaaaaaaseeee manifest

my routine is just a bunch of serums + moisturizer topped off with an obsession with cosrx :^)

here’s some of my personal h/c’s about their routine and how u fit in 💖

kuroo overexfoliated when he was 16 and that’s when he decided to get into skincare 🤡 but you’re really the one who ties it all together and finishes it 😤 has a bunch of blackheads and is hesitant about using acids but trusts you when you rec a bha (salicylic) and to his surprise it works!! you teach other about ingredients and formulations (more teaching on your end since he’s such an overachiever and is in a million different things) but his skin really goes 🌺🌺 when he’s got a routine down.

another amazing boyfriend to do self-care days with because he needs them so much 😭💞 spends the whole day by your side at home doing whatever whenever and holding your hand the whole way through 💖 does the spoon in the fridge technique to depuff his eyes after a late night and always sends u morning selfies with them on his face all “Good morning my Fated One 🥄👄🥄” 💀💀💀

bokuto already has a skincare routine kudos of his sisters when you start dating and only gets back into doing it regularly when he learns you like doing it too 💕 he wants to spend more time with you as if he isn’t already glued to your hip 😭🤚💗💗

but he slaps his face really hard like really hard 😵 you have to teach him to gently dab and work the product into the skin but he sits like a good boy on the edge of the tub and closes his eyes for you 💛💛 keeps his hands on your hips too ☺️ gets acne here and there and sticks on the pimple patches you give him while telling you “y'know, babe, since you gave these to me, it’s like ur kissing me all night long!!! 🥺🥰😚💕” kiss him now pls

akaashi looks like he has his life together but his skincare routine is 😬 uses bar soap and the same anti-aging face lotion as his mom but his skin is 🌹🌸🌺✨he’s skeptical when he tries out new products but he comes around pretty quickly when he notices how less fatigued he looks 💀

he loves doing masks with you and likes to do one in the morning and one at night because you’ve got him hooked now 😤 he’s so dewy oh my god man is literally gleaming like a diamond 💎✨what have u done….. i bet he has a gua sha and rolls your face for you too 🥺 he’s so gentle omg stop…. looks at u with the softest look in his eyes when you giggle at how funny the sheet masks make the two of you look 💞❤️💕💓💝

oikawa while it’s universally thought in fanon that oikawa is a skincare junkie, i’d say that he’s more so really picky and meticulous. he has specific steps he follows to the t and knows how and when to bring in a new product for any seasonal weather and other changes in his skin. he’s not necessarily going to try your products unless he’s convinced they’ll work for him (everyone’s different after all), but he’s definitely open to you trying his and sharing what you both know 😤💗💗

easily one of the best boyfriends to have self care days with: nails, hair, face, online shopping, you name it, he’ll do it with you 🥰💄💅 i think he hates hyaluronic acid and avoids it like the plague lmfao one of his favourite ways to pass the evenings is the two of you together gossiping with your masks on and eating snacks 🌹🥰🥰🌹

iwaizumi lmfao this mf’er is sooo handsome 🥵 so i say oily skin that’s prone to breakouts 😇 yeah i think iwa struggles with acne and his scars, but he gets lucky that he grows out it by third/fourth year university 😘 uses a basic cleanser marketed towards acne 🤢🤢 and some moisturizer🧴he doesn’t trust oikawa with skincare recommendations because one of the product he gave him had glycolic acid in it and iwa’s skin said 👹

he’s reluctant but lets you help him with his skin and it makes a notable improvement throughout your relationship 👍✨gets heart palpitations when you grab his face and kiss him all over 💘💘 and genuinely thinks you’re one of the best thing to have happened to him when you coo “so handsome hajime 💕” yeah i just think he’s a sucker for you saying his first name lmao

matsukawa he has pretty decent skin, maybe a bit oily and will get spots here and there but overall puberty said nah this one’s cool 😎👍 so he comes in with very basic knowledge about skincare. though bless his heart, he tries out a bunch of stuff with you and is always open to doing masks and trying out new products with you 🥺💖

his skin is pretty resilient so watch him go 😨🤭 when you breakout and he doesn’t jgjebnfkwzl he kisses ur acne scars and spots tho so dw he madly in love ok? 😘🥰❤️ once he starts seeing the changes, he keeps up with the routine you made together for him but he likes to beg for you to do it for him “aw, c’mon babe don’t u want your hands all over this? 😩🤚💕💓💦” i hate him

hanamaki he has a mini routine and knows the general steps from his older sister and because i firmly believe he has dry, sensitive skin. he avoids fragrances, alcohols and all the sulphates and parabens but weirdly his skin is okay with silicones. anyways, he’s the one that introduces you to these amazing korean face masks and now you’re both hooked, spending weekends and days off at his house walking around with ur masks on all 💓👽👽💓

a little bit harder to work with in terms of exploration with your products but he finds his cheeks pinking 💖 and heart beating a little harder 🥰 when you go out of your way to find products that fit his criteria and gets rlly sappy when you start using them too 😭💓💕 he buys the bigger bottles for himself and small bottles for u because he’s whipped (and funny) that way 😐💖

kita looks like he and his grandma would some diy face masks together 🥰❤️ he’s got a basic cleanser and moisturizer but doesn’t do much else. spends a lot of time learning about the products and right steps so he can be a useful partner when you go shopping together 🥺💘💞

he comes to love oils, especially squalane and rosehip seed oil. also becomes a vitamin c junkie 😤 he’s a stickler for patch-testing and comes to really enjoy the whole skincare process in the morning and evenings as his own me time. really appreciates and thanks you for sharing this part of your daily life with him 🥺💘💞💞💖 invites you over to do masks with his grandma 😘

atsumu yeah he gets his beautiful skin from his mom and literally everything else because his mom is 🌸✨in both personality and looks. exfoliates three to four times a week and still looks amazing so you really have to wonder what his skin is doing and what yours isn’t 😔

when he finds the products that work™️ for him (kudos to you), he genuinely cannot stop admiring the shine of his skin after someone points it out he’s all 👁👃👁✨ and calls you up “babe ‘m beautiful did’ja know look at me look” 😐 likes to do skincare routines together but rushes through his so that he can do other stuff with you 😭💗💖💕 hates it when you push him away and don’t let him kiss you while your products are settling 🥺☹️💔

osamu my guy here is also blessed with naturally occurring bacteria that gives him beautiful skin like life rlly isn’t fair 😟😟 he doesn’t know much but lets you do whatever and loves loves loves it when you put all the products on him 🥺❤️ sits down between your legs all 💗🐶💗 prefers mud masks over sheet ones and likes to smear yours on for u 🥰

he comes to love skincare, not as much as you but enjoys how his face feels after he’s all moisturized and such. though he never remembers sunscreen so please carry some with you 😭 he buys you snacks and sneaks kisses while u wait for your products to settle on ur face 💖💖 uses a jade roller in the mornings as he checks his phone because it feels nice 👍✨✨

suna sensitive skin but relatively normal in terms of oiliness. ik he steals his younger sister’s products if they’re close in age 💀 he has very little idea how to get started so when he jumps in and tries one of yours he breaks out really bad and curses you lmfaoooo 👿👿👹🤡

ok but once he gets a decent routine in, he does his best to keep up with it and it helps!! his skin feels less tight and more supple so he might love you a little more for that 🙄🤚💖 he prefers sheet masks and lets you clip his curtain bangs to the side✨ also looks like the kinda guy who likes to sit on the balcony/patio with his mask on and soak up the sun in the mornings after you both have your sunscreen on 🌼🌼

ushijima his skin is dehydrated but he doesn’t know it, has accepted the oiliness of his skin as a symptom of his athletics 😔 he’s got a bunch of expensive luxury products given to him by his mom and she’s told him to use them but he doesn’t know what the right order is so he puts on an occlusive first before anything else 😭😭😭

genuinely appreciates you so much when you take the time to teach him about everything and even asks if you could give him some notes so that he can refer to them when you’re not by his side 🥺💗💕💖 joins you in your product endeavours and gives you succinct but helpful feedback on what he likes and doesn’t like 😤 likes to hold you while u do masks together 🌼 and rests his head on urs 😭🌸💕

tendou uses whatever he’s got at home and what his mom gets him 🤷‍♀️ spots here and there but otherwise pretty clear skin. he’s open to trying anything and everything with you because he’s just really happy to spend time with you 🥰💞💞

sits really close to you and let’s you have free reign of his face when you sleep over at his place!! he giggles a lot because it tickles but never asks you to stop 🥺💜 thanks you for helping him and making him look so pretty 🌷✨looks like he’d be allergic to propolis/honey-based ingredients...

semi handsome man…. another one that looks dehydrated to me but he’s trying just please help him 😭🤚 he’s too nervous to go skincare shopping on his own because of the sheer amount of selection available 😢 tags along with you like a little puppy when you go with him 🐶💘

i feel like he has closed comedones 🤔 he tries out your retinol and keeps up with it when you told him some people got rid of theirs using it and…… it worked 😳🌟✨ thinks you’re a skincare goddess now lmfao 😤👊 when girls in university ask him about his skin, he just calls you and puts you on speaker because “my baby worked rlly hard so she should get all the credit” 😭💖💖

sakusa i think rosacea but also wealthy parents who had access to numerous dermatologists who nipped it in the bud as soon as they saw it 🤑 anyways he’s got near perfect skin lol goes through periods of dryness and keeps a strict regimen of products 👌🌟 swears by aloe vera and keeps some with him at all times 💗

though i do think you gently push him to introduce serums and essences into his routine (which is basic, but covers all his bases). you let him experiment and he finds one from cosrx that he considers a holy grail 😳 he likes doing ur skincare routine for you and you sit on the toilet seat and grin up at him 🥰 he blushes but doesn’t look away and might or might not admit he loves to be in such close contact with you 💘💘

hoshiumi kinda brutal with the way he goes about it; it looks like he’s beating the product in 💀👊👊 uses bar soap on both his face and body and wonders why his skin is dry and tight after showers “what? doesn’t that mean you didn’t clean all the gross oil off?” 😶😐😑 u gotta start from scratch with this guy 🤐

he pays attention to you but also doesn’t and finds it a bit of a hassle to go through five different products so he settles for a really basic routine 🥱 has one really fancy bottle of serum he takes with him to games and such and goes “my girlfriend gave it to me what don’t you have something like this 🤔” before putting it on if anyone asks 💀🤚💗 a full on chad 💪

hirugami he definitely has a skincare routine…. handsome 🤤 though i think he dislikes the feeling of sheet masks on his face; they feel too goopy and he doesn’t like how slimey they are. he prefers just using a short list of serums to keep his skin healthy and plump 💖✨likes hypoallergenic and fragrance-free products 👌

had acne back in middle school and a bit in first year. feel like he goes through a flare up in third year 😇🙃 anyways he likes standing next to u in the washroom doing ur routines side by side 🥰 wears those fluffy animal ear headbands with you and puts on your lip balm for you 💓💓 his dog came up and licked u across the face one time 😭 he almost choked with how hard he was laughing at u 😔 but he helped u redo it 😭💝

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danses-with-dogmeat · 3 years ago

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What Instruments would the Companions play?

Fallout 4 --

Cait: Uilleann Pipes (or Elbow Bagpipes)

- Okay, it's not just because it’s an Irish instrument (I mean, I'd be lying if I said that wasn't part of it), but also it's the way the unique pipes are played. The player is seated with the instrument strapped to their waist and dominant hand, using their opposite elbow to control the flow of air in the bag (rather than blowing into it like with normal bagpipes). It's a complicated instrument that requires an immense amount of physical control and discipline to play, which meshes well with Cait's physicality and athleticism. She's had the instrument as long as she can remember, finding it lying around in her childhood home. She managed to grab it before her parents sold her, and though it does sometimes remind her of them, all of the hours she spent learning to play it practically forces her to hold onto the instrument. She is wildly adept at playing it, and will sometimes do so in front of Sole, as long as they keep quiet about this ability of hers.

Curie: Violin

- A delicate instrument that requires dexterity and control, Curie would love the challenges that playing the violin would present. She found the string instrument in the depths of the vault before she became a synth, but held onto it thinking one day she would find someone who could make it sound beautiful. When she made the change to her synth body, she was incredibly excited to finally be able to play it, and though it took a while, she managed to become quite skilled. As a medical professional, she already has incredible coordination, so not only does the violin provide a creative outlet for Curie, but also it allows her to practice her control, since she still is getting used to just having the two hands, and all of her fingers. Once well-practiced, she loves to play softly to recovering patients in her ward.

Danse: Baritone

- When he first found the large horn, he didn’t really know what to think of it, he certainly didn’t consider playing it. However, once Sole explained it to him and told him how the instrument is played, he decided to pick it up one day when he was alone. He might have a hard time at first, since learning to play a new instrument can be especially frustrating for someone as hard on themselves as Danse is, but once he gets the hang of it, he's a big fan of the rich, loud sound it creates. He still rarely plays in front of anyone else (Sole and Haylen being the only exceptions), but he likes to practice in the little amount of downtime that he does have. Plus he enjoys caring for it by constantly cleaning and polishing the different pieces of the larger brass instrument.

Deacon: Kazoo

- It started out as a joke, he found a little metal kazoo, discovered the manner in which to play it, and decided to have a field day with Carrington back at HQ. Later though, after practicing a number of the most obnoxious songs he could find, he found he was quite good at it and quickly he grew fond of the plucky little instrument. Now he carries it around with him almost everywhere, telling everyone that he plays it ironically, but deep down he knows that he truly enjoys it.

Hancock: Saxophone

- Hancock has quite the reputation of being good with his lips and hands, and his adept ability to play the saxophone would only support this. He's had a lot of time to perfect his playing and will sometimes go up on stage with Magnolia to the delight of nearly everyone in Goodneighbor. He loves the instrument's smooth, jazzy sound and always revels in showing off his skills with a good solo.

MacCready: Harmonica

- An easy instrument to carry with you on the road, MacCready picked it up in his travels and messed with it whenever he knew the sound wouldn't endanger him. After a couple years, he became quite skilled with the wind instrument and would play it both for Lucy and Duncan as often as he could. He always keeps it with him, almost as a crutch at this point, even if he can't find the right place to play it, just having it with him reminds him of his travels with his son and his late wife.

Nick: Piano

- Always the classic gentleman type, it's no surprise that the old detective knows how to manipulate piano keys in such a way that he seems to transport you back in time to a dark and hazy pre-war bar. The old Nick is where the original skill came from, but the synth's fingers are much more nimble than the human Nick's were. He enjoys playing whenever he can find a piano; however, be warned, if it isn't tuned, you can bet your ass he'll do his best to rectify that, which could take a couple hours at best, and a few days at worst.

Piper: Tambourine

- The percussion instrument was a gift from her father, so she's held onto it since she was young and always takes extra care in looking after her tambourine (she considers it the most important item she owns, after her printing press of course.) Besides the fact it was a gift from a loved one, she likes the instrument because of its simplicity and the way she can easily come up with and control her own rhythm. She fondly remembers many an evening prattling away at the tambourine while her and Nat danced the night away in a rare moment of true childish fun. Sometimes Nat will pick up the instrument while Piper is busy at the typewriter and try to create a beat to her sister's typing.

Preston: Banjo

- Does this one need an explanation? Preston just gives me mad banjo vibes. Imagine the joy he feels sitting around a campfire, striking up a tune that everyone knows, encouraging all the people around him to join in on the song. He tells himself that he does it for the benefit of those around him, to distract them from their troubles and the cruelty of the wasteland, but the truth is, he does it just as much to distract himself. It makes him happy to see others happy around him, and if the banjo provides a way to do that, then Preston will do his best to stay practiced in as many feel-good songs as he can.

X6-88: Upright/Double Bass

- This instrument is an absolute beast, coming in at about 6 feet tall and weighing about 45 lbs, but X6 would welcome the challenge of playing such an instrument; his own height and the large size of his hands providing a distinct advantage in learning how to play the bass properly. Not being of the faint of heart, X6 practices until his playing ability is nearly flawless, reveling in the deep, rich sound that emanates from his intimidating instrument. He prefers to read music and follow chord structure rather than improvise when he is playing, and he works to try and perfect every technique that he can, ranging from using a bow (arco), to striking with his fingers (pizzicato), to slapping the strings against the fingerboard.

Fallout 3 --

Butch: Clarinet

- The poor 14 year-old was horrified when he was handed the old reed instrument when inducted into the vault 101 school band. But as Butch grew older, and his playing abilities increased, he realized he could make some pretty cool sounds with this thing. Jazz was always one of his favourite genres of music, and the clarinet allowed him to play along to many of his favourite songs. He doesn't bring the instrument with him while traveling, but he will play it when at home and sometimes will be bold enough to play for audiences at bars.

Charon: Bass Guitar

- He had never touched a bass before coming across one while traveling with Lone, but as soon as he picked it up, he found he had an affinity for it. Charon was patient with himself as he learned how to play, his scarred fingers both a blessing and a curse. Though it was sometimes difficult to get the chords right, he didn't have to worry about bloody fingers from long hours practicing plucking the rough strings. He comes up with a few bass lines on his own, then tries replicating songs that he hears. Charon actually really enjoys the creative outlet, and it's the perfect activity to focus on when Lone is gone.

Clover: Flute

- Clover treasures her flute, as the instrument was a gift from Eulogy that only reinforces the idea that she's his favourite. After all, he never gave Crimson a flute, or any other instrument for that matter. She finds it difficult at first, as she works to master her finger position and airflow, and occasionally she gets frustrated to the point of being completely unable to play; but once she gets the basics down, Clover uses the little woodwind instrument as a way to distract herself from her jealousy and tends to play it as aggressively as one can play a flute when Eulogy insists on spending time alone with Crimson. Otherwise, she will sometimes play it with Eulogy as her only audience member, but her favourite is when she can sit on her own and play the flute for herself, it makes her happy and it let's her see how far she's come since she was first gifted the instrument. When she begins traveling with Lone, she holds onto the flute and continues to play it for her own benefit, and of course, she wouldn’t be opposed to playing for Lone, if they were to ask...

Cross: Trumpet

- She discovered the small brass instrument in her travels to pre-war military locations, and was interested in the history of the horn in regards to the old U.S. military. When she first picked it up, she wasn't a huge fan of the brash noise that comes from it, but as she grew more adept at playing it, she found she liked the sound. Cross takes inspiration from the bugle music that was played before the war, and replicates it for the members of the brotherhood of steel.

Fawkes: Bongos

- He's been a fan of percussion ever since he was locked in isolation in the vault. Throughout his time there, he would often find different surfaces to drum his hands on to pass the time. Lone began noticing this little habit of his, and when they surprised him with a pair of bongo drums, Fawkes was elated. He plays them as often as he can, but usually waits until they are at home, after all, he couldn't risk losing or damaging them out in the wastes. But it's his favorite way to relax and unwind after Lone and him return from the hostile wasteland to the security of their home. He did once bring them to Underworld to play for the residents there, but he was anxious about harming the instrument the whole way there and the whole way home.

Jericho: Maracas

- Jericho wouldn't have the patience to sit down and learn a complex musical instrument, so maracas are a good fit for him. He found a single one when he and Lone were traveling and didn't think much of it, but thought it was interesting enough to hold onto. Once Lone explained what they believed it was, Jericho began to experiment with the instrument when he was alone (he couldn't risk Lone seeing him acting like such an idiot, with this glorified baby rattle.) But once he discovered another one, he decided he liked the sound of them together. Even though the maracas are all mismatched, he keeps any that he can find and tries them all paired with one another. He still tries to keep it on the down low, but every once in a while he'll know that Lone is listening in, he'll utter some rude comment, but continue playing as though Lone weren't there.

Fallout New Vegas --

Arcade: Ukulele

- Arcade doesn't know how it happened, how he found the little guitar-like instrument, honestly, it was left in his tent at the fort, and he doesn't know where it came from. For the longest time, he just left it where it sat near his bed, unsure what to do with it, but after a couple weeks passed, he felt like he had to do something with it. So he started to pluck at the nylon strings, and he couldn't keep from uttering a small yelp of surprise at the sweet sound of the instrument. He doesn't play often, and he still needs to practice, but when he's alone, Arcade loves to strum the strings and come up with little tunes that end up getting way too stuck in his head.

Boone: Cajón

- The little, wooden, box-shaped drum is a practical instrument that isn't complicated to play and is easy to transport, making it a nice fit for the 1st recon sniper. Boone has had restless hands for as long as he can remember, and the problem has only gotten worse since the incident at bitter springs, so originally, when he found the cajón and brought it back to his room at the NCR barracks, he would tap at the different sides just as a little habit. However, when he discovered the way each side differed in pitch, he found he could manipulate the tapping of his hands in such a way to create some interesting beats. He brought it with him when he left the NCR and keeps it at his place in Novac to play with whenever he's there. Now it's not only an entertaining pastime, but it's ended up being very therapeutic for him.

Cass: Acoustic Guitar

- As a caravaner, you tend to pick up some of the habits of other caravan members that you meet in your travels. Originally, Cass found the guitar and made the decision to sell it, but that was before the guard of another caravan sat himself down by the fire one night, grabbing the instrument from beside Cass's pack, and began to play. When he first picked up the guitar, Cass was ready to deck him for touching one of her wares, but after hearing him play it, she couldn't help but ask him to teach her. She tends to bring the instrument with her when she can, but usually she'll keep it in a safe place so she can practice in her down time.

Raul: Flamenco/Spanish Guitar

- Raul's nimble fingers are good for more than just making repairs, despite their ghoulified appearance, they still possess the muscle memory of when he learned to play the Flamenco guitar before the bombs fell. His family down in Mexico really appreciated the importance of music, and Raul still believes that it helped him get through some of the toughest times after the bombs fell. He makes it a priority to find guitar strings for when his end up breaking, and he tries to keep his original guitar in pristine condition. He doesn't play too often, but when he does, Six can hardly believe the skill in which he plucks the strings of the pre-war instrument.

Veronica: Drums

- Every time Veronica was sent out on recon, she would keep her eyes peeled for another drum or symbol to add to the developing set she had hidden away at Helios One. It started with a simple snare, then a symbol she had found, and when she discovered a bass drum, she hid it outside the building before she was assigned guard duty, and she snuck the large drum down to her set. She loves the outlet that playing the drums provides, and though she sometimes worries someone will hear her, the risk is worth the thrill of going all out when she takes a seat in front of her drum set. After the events at Helios One that eventually led to her leaving the brotherhood facility, she makes plans to one day return to retrieve the instrument she left hidden away.

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pandoraimperatrix · 4 years ago

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On the Sea

BatCat | Smut | 2,8k words | Read on AO3

Summary: Bruce takes Selina to sail in his private island where no one can se them get busy on the deck. This piece belong to my Four Names ‘verse, but can be read independently, but if would be cool of you to check out the main story.

Selina knew she was being watched, and he knew she knew. It was all part of their game. Her legs swinging up and down blocking sometimes the view of the droplet of sweat that he was so attentively following. It slid from the nape of her head, between her shoulder’s blades and was now making its way all the way through her tanned skin to the small of her back; uninterrupted by the laces of her bikini because she had untied it ages ago when she laid to sunbath on the deck complaining she was bored. Bruce had not commented on her place of choice, that coincided to be right at his display, and continued to sail the boat, pretending to have all attention to the ocean and not to his tantalizing wife. That too, was part of their game.

She wanted him to be the first to break, and maybe he would, but it was too early to give up, and he had Selina’s natural impatience at his side.

“Hey, Cat” he called, and it took her a deliberately long moment to turn her face to him, lowering her cat eye framed shades to look at him with half-opened eyes “champagne?” he raised the bottle, before taking a sip without using a cup. He hid a satisfied smile when she swallowed dry.

Selina turned to her side, one hand supporting her head by the edge of her jaw, the other resting on the curve of her thigh. Breasts completely bare and adorned only by a silver medal hanging from her neck and twinkling in the sun. Bruce had to school himself to not choke, and he was pretty sure by the dirty smile on her face that she noticed him twitching.

He had married a witch.

“Should you be drinking and driving, I mean, sailing?”

Composed enough to be able to drink without embarrassing himself, Bruce took another sip.

“This bay is private, no other boats sail here, we’re fine.”

“No one?” she raised an eyebrow took off her shades, biting one temple tip. “Really? Interesting.”

And he knew for certain that she was not thinking about his reckless drinking. Damn, she was good, he could lose that one.

“So… Do you want?”

“Yeah, bring me a flute.”

She sat up, crossing her legs, the salty wind blew hair at her face, and she gathered her soft locks in a pile, using a strand of her on hair to tie it up, missing a few pieces that few around her face and neck. The sun reflected the golden tones of her curls giving her the illusion of an aura. When Bruce joined her sitting by her side with a flute and the bucket filled with ice and the bottle of champagne; he wished he had brought too paint and paper, but he knew that as much as he mastered the techniques, only a true artist could capture the vision Selina was presenting that day.

He rejoiced at the unadulterated pleasure that spread on her face when she took the first sip. Selina sighed, turning her face up to the sun, her leg touching his when her body moved, led by the swing of the boat. When she was actively trying to seduce him she could get everything from him. Made of him whatever she liked. But when she was like that, just her, just Selina, her smile earnest, just pleased by his company, in those moments, without even trying, that’s when he knew that, whatever seduction game they played, it was rigged against him, he’d lost from the start.

“What?” she asked with an amused expression.

Bruce leaned in, looking into her deep green pools, and slowly, erased the distance, capturing her lips. He barely registered the click of the glass hitting the wooden deck when she put her flute down to insert her fingers in his moist hair, while her other hand slid upwards his arm, kneading his shoulder before settling for his neck, rubbing his Adam’s apple up and down with her thumb. He dragged his tongue through the roof of her mouth until the fruity taste of the champagne faded and all that remained was pure Selina. She pulled away, breathing in and languidly offering her neck for meal, which he accepted, starving.

He kissed each of her beauty marks, there was so many of them, and maybe the sun had made new ones. Then, he tried to connect them with the tip of his tongue, pulling her close by the waist, her arms fell from his neck, and she relaxed. Lying down, Selina’s eyes locked in his, so lost in each other that neither of them noticed that her elbow tipped the glass flute down until they felt the cold bubbly liquid touching their fevered skin.

“Oops!” she said laughing and gently pushing him off her to look for the fallen object.

“Let it,” he groaned, trying to pull her back by the hips.

“Easy, big guy,” she said still amused, and standing up to put away the breakable items safely. “What if it breaks? I’m not risking a trip to the ER.”

Bruce sighed sadly watching her go, he lied on the deck, one arm under his head, waiting, when she came back Selina had a plastic bottle in her hand. He eyed it curiously.

“You are starting to look like a beet, and Alfred will have my ass if I don’t take good care of you.”

He made a disgusted face.

“Please never talk about Alfred having your ass ever again.”

Selina threw her head back in loud laughter.

“Dunno, B. Maybe I’m into silver foxes now,” she winked cheekily, kneeing down beside him and then throwing one knee across his hip and settling strategically on his bulging erection. Bruce licked his lips trying hard to not thrust.

“Haha, so funny.”

She just smiled at that, and opened the sunscreen cap, squeezing product on her palms before starting to apply to his naked chest. And she took her sweet, sweet time with the task. She began with his solar plexus, spreading the white lotion upwards, feeling the roughness of the growing hairs, no reason to shave on vacation.

She kissed the scars she made on his left pectoral, and arched her body forwards to reach his collarbones, and neck, getting her face impossibly close to his and pulling away when he tried to kiss her. Ignoring his annoyed mutter, Selina, pulled his right arm up, carefully applying product from his shoulder to the tip of his fingers, then she did the same to his left arm. By then, he knew there was no way she wasn’t aware of how hard he was. She squeezed more product to her palm, and with the tip of her finger started to spread dollops to his face. He probably was looking funny, because he knew very well the twitching on her lips as she rubbed the bridge of his nose. Annoyed, he tried to steal a kiss.

“Bruce!” she chastised, trying to pull away in such way that instead of her lips, all Bruce could reach was her chin which he bit, eliciting a soft moan that made him realise that whole torture session wasn’t just wearing him down. Ignoring her protests, he propped himself up using his forearms and kissing her chin again, sliding his tongue down, following the paths of the droplets of salty sweat down the curve of her throat, biting her shoulder until he caught her nipple with his teeth. Selina gasped and pulled his head back roughly by the roots of his hair, forcing him to stare at her eyes. She was panting, and teasing to kiss him again, their lips inches apart.

“Let me finish,” she demanded.

“Eventually,” he retorted.

She let out a throaty laugh and pushed him back to the deck.

“Don’t make me tie you up,” she threatened.

Bruce shut his eyes, trying to control his own breath, Selina was still sitting on his erection, and in that moment he’d give her anything she wanted for a bit of friction, so, when he felt her weight shifting he almost cried in frustration.

“What are you- oh…”

He looked down and she was sitting on his thighs now, squeezing sunscreen directly on his abs, she spread the product meticulously with her hands while Bruce watched, he had never thought that such mundane action could be so sensual. Her brow furrowed as she worked, a droplet of her own sweat fell making a small pool in his product covered skin, and she dutifully wiped it again. Then, she reversed her position, giving him premium view of her ass while she worked on his thighs, legs and feet.

“Finished?” he asked, going mad.

She picked the cloth that he had used to protect the deck from the watermarks of the melting ice of the bucket he had brought the champagne in to relief her own heated skin, patting herself on her face and neck.

“I still have to get you back, don’t wanna lose you for something stupid like skin cancer.”

“Yeah?” he said sitting up and picking one of the remaining ice rocks and inserting in his mouth. “What about you?”

She smiled.

“Already applied before we came out.”

“Aw,” he pouted.

Selina reached backwards to his face, thumb rubbing his jaw.

“Don’t be sad, baby, there’s always after sun moisturizing.”

He took her hand and kissed it, trying to lead his kisses through her wrist, but she pulled it back and got off him.

“Belly down, pretty boy.”

“Come on, Selina, one kiss,” he whined.

“No, turn over.”

Sighing, he obeyed. Bruce felt her approaching, he thought her breath on his neck was just his wife being especially mean, but she sucked his earlobe making him yelp. She giggled.

“God, I hate you,” he groaned.

She clicked her tongue.

“Your nose will grow, Pinocchio.”

He chuckled charmed against his annoyance.

“Are you done?”

“Geez, I didn’t even start. And I told you to lie down, why are you sitting?”

“Kinda hard to lie on my belly now, Selina,” he deadpanned.

He heard her have a fit of giggles and rest her forehead on his shoulder to gather her bearings.

“Sorry,” she finally managed, applying product on his shoulders first.

“Are you though?”

“Nah,” she said shamelessly, as her hands slid through his back, paying attention to each corner.

“Just as I thought,” he muttered, sighing.

“Now, I’m done.”

“Hallelujah.”

“You are such a cry baby, Bruce, lie down.”

“Selina…”

“I told you to lie down. Belly up.”

He sighed an did as he was told, trying to imagine what she would invent to torture him now, but was caught completely under guard when in a quick motion, Selina inserted her hand inside his trunks and pulled his cock out, sucking the tip.

“Holy-!”

He shut his eyes, seeing stars, his ears ringing. When he opened his eyes again, he found he gaze on him, and Bruce needed all his hard training to not embarrass himself. Selina’s kisses went down his shaft, to it’s base and spreading kisses around the area, to his navel while her hand pumped. She liked upwards again, twirling her tongue around the head and kissing it lovingly without breaking eye contact with him. One of Bruce’s hands entered her hair, undoing the makeshift ponytail she had made before, scratching her scalp as she hollowed her cheeks, blowing him skilfully.

“Love,” he called weakly. “It’s enough, please.”

She gave him a last lick before letting go, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Selina walked in her knees positioning herself in his lap, Bruce sat up and his time she didn’t reject his lips, holding his face with both hands while his explored her body, lovingly caressing the curve of her waist, kneading her rear, and pulling her closer by the curve of her knee. He bit her cheek weekly, and sucked the pulse on her neck, his hand grabbing one of her breast and guiding it to his mouth making her moan and thrust against him.

Sighing, Selina pulled his head up again, guiding him back to her lips, her chest only separated from him by the layer of perspiration. She kissed him for what felt like forever and never, never long enough. Pulling his bottom lip until it felt numb, and stopping just to look deep into his eyes every time they stopped to catch a breath.

“What are we going to do about your bottoms?” he asked before sucking her earlobe.

“What about them?” she answered, her voice barely audible.

“I could rip them off,” his hand already pulling the elastic.

She slapped his hand.

“Don’t you dare! I love this bikini, just work around it.”

“You could take them off…”

“Then I’d have to get up.”

He seemed to consider.

“Yeah. You are right.”

“As always.”

He snorted, and kissed her again, his hand changing directions to her centre, pulling the fabric to the side and sliding a finger up and down her vulva. Selina shut her eyes, her mouth falling in pleasure.

“Cat you are so, so wet.”

“Yeah?” she breathed.

“Yes. Is it all for me?”

She let out a suffering chuckle.

“Might be.”

“Oh,” he made when she thrusted against his hand, “does it feel good?”

“Can be better.”

“How so?”

Selina made an impatient sound.

“Just fuck me already, Bruce.”

“When you ask so nicely…”

She lifted her hips, hoisting herself through his neck, and, Bruce, pushed her bikini bottom’s all the way to the side with one hand and aligned himself to her pussy with the other, and Selina fell, joining the two of them together, finally. He groaned against her ear, hands dragging upwards to her waist and holding her hard in place.

“You are so impossibly tight.”

“If you are managing such big words yet, I can get tighter,” saying that she squeezed him, and Bruce cursed loudly, Selina chucked and started riding him. “Look at me, Bruce” she ordered, “look at me or I’ll stop.”

He did, and she smiled sweetly contrasting with how relentlessly she was fucking him, holding his face to look at her. Selina’s eyes shut, she arched her back. Her chin following her movements as she let out a loud moan dragging from the depths of her throat. Bruce held her strongly as she trashed, her thrusts getting erratic and without rhythm, slowing down, until they became just languidly undulations.

Soothing her with kisses, Bruce rose her limp body from his lap, and lied her down on the deck. She oversaw his ministrations with half-lidded eyes, relinquishing control for the time being. Bruce pulled down her bottoms, finally, throwing it at the cockpit’s direction. He dove, kissing her belly, grabbed her right thigh and sucked the soft skin of the inner part, kissing and licking his way to her knee and shin, biting the heel of her foot and eliciting a giggle from Selina.

Smiling fondly at her, Bruce, rested her leg on his shoulder, and then picked her left leg, giving it the same treatment. Then, he grabbed her by the waist, adjusting her body one last time before entering her again with a groan. Selina rose her hands to his face again, tracing his bottom lip with her thumb as he thrusted against her slowly.

“I fucking love you,” she whispered losing herself in the sensation, Bruce started picking up rhythm and talking faded. Coherence completely left when he started rubbing her clit without stopping his thrusts, trying to get her to come again before his own release became too hard to stop. He leaned more into her direction, seeking for more contact, and one of her legs slid down to hook around his thigh, the other one remained on his shoulder, providing an angle of penetration that only someone flexible like Selina could provide.

He kissed her to insanity, moaning inside her mouth, and when it became too hard to concentrating on kissing, he let out her bottom lip with a pop. Bruce, let go of her clit to support his weight against the deck giving him leverage and Selina substituted it with her own. He reached for the leg that slid down, pulling it up again and folding it to let him go deeper, the slight change of angle did if for Selina and she fell apart again, calling desperately for his name. Bruce didn’t stop, seeking his own release relentlessly until he too reached climax.

When his soul returned to his body, he opened his eyes to find her looking at him with besotted eyes, her hands roaming through his back slowly, giving him goosebumps. Bruce let go of her legs, letting her body relax, and he fell beside her, panting.

Selina turned to her side, propping her head on her hand and sliding her foot up his inner leg languidly.

“My knees are completely ruined,” she complained gleefully.

He chuckled.

“We’ll get you a pillow next time.”

She snorted.

“You are such a dork.”

--------------------------------------------------

Guys, it's so hot, SO HOT, I can’t remember how rain felt like. So have some hot smut for all your BatCat needs. XOXO

#batcat #brulina #baby batcat #gotham #selina kyle #bruce wayne #catwoman #batman #my fic #Three Names for Life #Four Names 'verse #smut

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cyhyr · 3 years ago

Text

Whumpmas In July: "Stop"

Fandom: Naruto

Rating: E

Pairing: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka

WC: ~6200

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Rape/Non-Con

Notes: Miscommunication, Dissociation, Relationship Problems, Captivity, Kidnapping, Hand Feeding, Master/Pet, Canon-Typical Violence, Hair-Pulling, Defiance, Begging, Asphyxiation, Oral Sex, Rope Bondage, Crying, Scars, Anal Fingering, Non-Consensual Spanking, Anal Sex, Gaslighting, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Hospital Stay

A/N: I think I got everything in the tags. If ANYONE sees anything that I missed that I should add a tag for, PLEASE let me know so I can add it on.

Read After "Warmth"

For @whumpmasinjuly prompt list

Read on The Archive

Iruka mops the floors of his apartment, looking desperately for the calm that cleaning usually gives him. He’s already washed all of the windows and reorganized the pantry. If mopping doesn’t work, he’ll have to try deep-cleaning the bathroom again, which he knows won’t work, actually, because he did that last night.

Last night was nice. Last night, he and Kakashi made out for well over an hour in training ground twenty-three, and he even had his back against a tree for much of it. And then…

And then Iruka went and ruined it by asking Kakashi to stop.

It worked! Kakashi is always so careful and perfect, and so stopped exactly when the word slipped out of Iruka’s mouth. But he hadn’t… he hadn’t been happy about it. Especially because Iruka couldn’t tell him what was wrong.

Because nothing’s wrong.

That’s why—

“Hello, Love.” The front door opens and closes, the crinkle of paper bags shifting alerting Iruka to fresh groceries and a potential truce meal. Iruka, in the hallway with the mop still in hand, feels queasy. He’s not ready for this conversation.

He might not ever be.

“I was thinking—oh, Love,” Kakashi cuts himself off, startled. “The apartment is… very clean. Is everything—?”

“I’m going to discuss it with Rikona-sensei in our next session,” Iruka says, finishing the mopping and dropping the dirty mop and bucket just inside the bathroom to take care of later. He comes back out and crosses the living room to Kakashi, still hovering just inside the genkan. “I want to get her opinion first, and then I’ll discuss it with you.”

“Nothing bad, I hope?”

Iruka shrugs. He changes the subject, “What’s for dinner?”

Afterwards, they lay side-by-side on the kotatsu and touch and make out like teenagers. Iruka’s enjoying it, he really is. He loves kissing Kakashi, loves touching him, and loves feeling him get worked up. He loves how Kakashi gets chattier the more turned on he gets.

He appreciates how Kakashi asks for every touch, every time he wants to get closer. He keeps their hips apart until Iruka’s ready for it, and is careful and gentle when he does eventually press a thigh between Iruka’s legs. And it’s wonderful feeling the bare skin of Kakashi’s chest against his own, the thrill of being turned on for the first time in so long.

But.

“S-st—oh, Kakashi—I. Oh, please, please. St-stop, stop, stop—”

Kakashi pulls away quickly and sits back. Iruka lays still, chest heaving, staring at the ceiling. He takes a moment, and then closes his eyes in relief.

He did—

“Am I doing something wrong?”

Iruka’s eyes snap back open and he looks up at Kakashi. He’s kneeling back, still between Iruka’s legs but not touching him anymore. His hands are clenched in tight fists on his thighs, and his mouth is a hard line. There’s a love bite on his collarbone, the skin red and irritated—Iruka put that there, just a little while ago.

“What—no, I—”

“Then why do you keep telling me to stop?” Kakashi holds up a hand to keep him from answering.

Oh, he knew this was going to bite him.

“Kakashi, please,” he tries anyway.

Kakashi is already standing up and looking for his clothes. “I don’t like being tugged around. If you don’t want this, just tell me, don’t—fuck, I told you I can’t hurt you like this, but apparently I’ve been getting close every time we’ve been making out for the last week!”

“It’s not like that,” Iruka says, reaching for his own shirt.

“Then what is it?” Kakashi pauses in the middle of pulling up his trousers. He’s clearly trying so hard not to glare, not to growl.

It doesn’t change the frustration in his tone. It doesn’t change that Iruka’s still too fucked up to tell the difference between frustration and anger. He’s too at risk for an episode.

He’s—

“When you get your shit together,” Kakashi, once he’s finished dressing, pulls on his mask. It feels strangely final. He moves to the genkan and slips into his sandals. “Come find me, and we’ll talk.”

Then he leaves.

Iruka lays back on the couch and presses his heels into his eyes. He tries to keep his breathing even, and fails. He tries to calm his pulse—and fails that, too.

The timbre of Kakashi’s frustration/anger/sex voice echoes in his head. Iruka loses feeling in his fingers, first, then his feet and legs; and then the ache settles in his chest and he knows for sure that he lost.

Nononono—

He slips.

Iruka tries to find Kakashi the next day, but he’s already gone on a mission. It’s telling enough that he left without saying goodbye to Iruka; that had been a recurring thing between them since before they started dating. Iruka holds himself together until the end of the school day, and then walks to his shift at the Mission Desk.

There’s a C-rank scroll delivery on the books waiting for either a genin team or a solo chūnin to sign for it. The clocking is estimated at a day and a half.

Iruka likely has the weekend to himself. He shrugs, signs for the mission, and tucks the details into his vest to peruse later. Sitting down at the Desk, he starts his shift, calling the next shinobi forward.

Some time away may do him good.

Iruka wakes up groggy and limp, and struggles to remember what happened. He attempts to activate his chakra-location technique, but nothing happens. Then, as he tries to lift his head, he feels the paper tag pressed against his neck. He stops moving immediately, not sure if it’s a paper bomb or something else without looking at it.

“You’re awake,” someone says. “That’s good. I was hoping I didn’t hit you too hard.”

Iruka clenches and unclenches his hands. They’re tied up above his head to the pole against his back. He almost lost feeling in them. How long has he been out?

Footsteps—leather on stone—echo around him. Iruka blinks, his eyelids heavy. “I may have to get rid of some identifying marks if I end up keeping you,” the other person, a man, says. A hand grabs his chin and lifts his head for him (very likely not a paper bomb; he’s not being careful enough) and turns him left and right. “Though, I must say, your scar is particularly fetching. It’s what caught my eye in the first place, see.” He drops Iruka’s chin. He doesn’t have enough strength back yet to keep his neck upright. The man fingers his scar from cheek to cheek. “Beautiful.”

“I…” Iruka gasps, swallows hard. “I won’t talk.”

“Oh, that’s alright,” the man chuckles. “I know you’re shinobi, but I’m not here for secrets. I know that’s futile.”

“Then… what do you… why am I—?”

“You’re here because I need a new companion,” the man says. “My last one, hmm, expired, see. And I saw you walking into town just yesterday evening and, well. I had to have you.”

He places a hand on Iruka’s cheek and lifts his face again.

“Oh, you are even more beautiful when you’ve got terror in your eyes,” he grins. “That’s good.”

Iruka growls, shakes his head away, “Stop touching me.”

“You’ll be hungry in a little while,” the man says with a chuckle. “Don’t worry, pretty one, I don’t let my pets starve; unless they’re bad, of course.”

Kakashi flickers across the rooftops of Konoha, much more relaxed now that he’s had a few days to cool off. He’s glad he left when he did; he didn’t want to be angry around Iruka, but the pent-up frustration had been getting to him. He still needs to apologize for snapping, and he hopes that Iruka’s ready to talk about whatever’s been bothering him the last week or so.

He stops outside the apartment door and knocks. Iruka had keyed him into the wards last week, but after their fight—he’s hesitant to call it such, but, it really was, wasn’t it?—he wants to give Iruka the chance to open the door and let him in. Or they can go to Ichiraku’s; neutral ground. Or to Kakashi’s place.

He’s not picky. He just needs to…

To…

Hmm.

He knocks again. Waits.

It’s Sunday evening. There are no classes at the Academy, and the Mission Desk is closed by now for mission assignments, too. Iruka should be home.

He flashes around the side of the building, to the kitchen window. There’s no sound, no movement. The next window is the bathroom window, and he glances in—empty. The bedroom window is around another corner, and he checks in there, too. The bed is made and the room is spotless. More importantly, Iruka-less.

Kakashi flickers back to the Tower and lands outside of the Hokage’s open window.

“Iruka’s missing,” he says without preamble.

Tsunade pauses and turns in her chair, narrows her eyes. “Umino’s on a mission,” she says.

“A mission?”

“But,” she holds up a finger, and looks to Shizune, standing beside her, “I do believe the time estimate on that mission stated that he should have returned today.”

“I’ll retrieve his mission details, Tsunade-sama.” Shizune hurries out of the room.

“Come in and wait, brat.”

“I’ll stay here. The breeze is nice”

“He may just have been delayed.”

“But why did he leave anyway?” Kakashi hums, shifts to a more comfortable crouch. “Did you need him for seal-work?”

“No,” Tsunade says. She stops pretending like she’s going to try and get back to work. “I actually sent for him yesterday before realizing that he was out of the village. I had a few scrolls brought up from the archives that need unsealing, and I honestly don’t trust anyone else with them besides Umino or Jiraiya.”

“High praise,” Kakashi smiles behind his mask. Iruka deserves it.

“Kid should be tokujō, but wants to stay at the Academy,” Tsunade sighs.

Shizune comes back, scroll in hand and a thoughtful frown in her brow. “The mission parameters, Tsunade-sama,” she says, handing the scroll to the Hokage. “He should have returned early this afternoon. That it’s past sundown and he’s still not back is… concerning.”

“Umino is a capable shinobi,” Tsunade says. “Standard procedure is three days late before a scouting party is arranged to find out what happened.” She turns to Kakashi, “Can you wait until Wednesday before you lose all sanity?”

“Haven’t got much left to lose, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi says. “I’ll wait, but I demand to be in the scouting party.”

Iruka chews the rice the man feeds him. He won’t untie him, and so instead he brings small bites of food to Iruka’s lips every so often. Iruka takes the food and tries to think of how he’s going to get out of here, but with his chakra repressed somehow—Iruka suspects the tag—and his wrists tied as they are, it’s difficult to come up with a way to pull away from the pole at his back.

“What, um,” Iruka clears his throat between bites, “what can I call you?”

The man smiles; it sends a shiver down his spine and makes his throat close up because he knows that smile. Mizuki used to give him that same smile. Before.

“‘Master’ works,” he says. He offers a canteen of water. Iruka drinks slowly, but some liquid still slips out of the side of his mouth.

Iruka swallows; frowns. “I’m. I’m not calling you that.”

“We’ll see, pet.” He packs up the rest of the food and leaves the canteen on the ground, half a meter from Iruka’s knees. “If you’re good tonight, tomorrow I’ll move you to the futon. The canteen stays upright all night. You’ll get to drink more in the morning.”

“You—what?”

“If you’re going to keep talking,” he sighs, “I’ll have to gag you. And I really don’t want to have to gag you, pretty one. I don’t like gagging my pets, see. But I’m going to bed, and so I need you to be silent.”

Iruka ducks his head, snarling, but holding back heated words. He can’t be gagged. He can’t show this man the weakness he has, or he at least needs to hold out as long as possible.

Iruka wakes up to his stomach grumbling. The rice and water hadn’t been enough, but he’s been hungry before and he can take the discomfort. The man is already puttering around by a small fire, cooking his own breakfast it seems, and gives Iruka that same slimy smile when he notices that he’s awake.

“You left the canteen alone,” he says. “That’s very good. I had a feeling a pet shinobi would be able to follow instructions well.”

“I’m nobody’s pet,” Iruka seethes without thinking.

The man’s eyes darken. “Well, now that just won’t do,” he says. He stands up and takes the pan off the fire, douses it, and stalks over to Iruka. “See, boy, you are my pet. And every good pet’s gotta learn some manners, I suppose. So here’s your first lesson, see: I’m your Master, and you will address me as such.”

Iruka spits at the man. He gets him on his trouser leg.

“Alright, pretty one, but you asked for this.”

He reaches out and takes a handful of Iruka’s hair, holding the back of his head flush to the pole. The pain in his scalp drags him down, down, oh gods no, please not now stopstopstop!! Then the man’s boot connects with his stomach and the breath is literally kicked out of him.

Again.

And again.

Iruka holds back tears and grapples with his own mind to stay present because he doesn’t want to hurt anymore but he also doesn’t want to slip, please, he doesn’t want to go right now—

“Please,” he gasps.

“You can be good, pretty one,” the man coos. “You know how to make this stop, don’t you now?”

He pulls harder on Iruka’s hair and kicks him again.

The ache in his chest is settling. He can’t—He can’t.

Iruka sobs. “Please, please stop.”

“I don’t hear the magic word,” he sings, and pulls back for another kick.

Iruka cries, “Please, Master, I-I’ll be good!” Tears slip down his face and his stomach throbs—but the ache flutters away and he’s able to breathe.

The man releases his hair, and then cups his cheek.

“There, see. That wasn’t so bad.”

The man eventually moves him away from the pole—he’s not sure yet if this is a good thing, because while, yes, he can now at least feel his hands, tied now behind his back, he’s also closer to the futon. And the implications of that…

He was due back in Konoha yesterday—and that’s assuming he was unconscious for less than a day. They won’t send a search party for another two days. He needs to stay strong.

Gods, he hopes Kakashi’s mission is going well. He didn’t even check the rank before he left! What kind of partner is he…

“Pet?”

Iruka looks up begrudgingly.

“Oh, don’t give me that look. How’s your belly?”

“Fine,” he says.

“Fine…?”

“Fine, Master,” Iruka grits.

“Good. I think I’ll feed you again tonight.”

Iruka says nothing.

“Or, you can starve.”

“I prefer to feed myself,” Iruka says cooly.

The man’s eyes narrow dangerously. “I do so enjoy feeding my pets,” he says. “You eat by my hand, or you don’t eat at all.”

Iruka nods. “I understand.”

His lip curls. He crouches down and puts his hand around Iruka’s neck, crinkling the paper seal and squeezing just enough to threaten. “Listen here, pet—”

“You don’t scare me,” Iruka snaps. “I’m a Konoha shinobi. Your torture methods won’t break m—nng—”

“I’m not trying to torture you, pretty one,” the man says, tightening his grip around Iruka’s neck so he chokes. “I simply want the respect I’m owed. Give that to me and I won’t have to hurt you.”

“Fuck… you…”

The man purses his lips and mutters, “Now there’s an idea,” and then lets Iruka go.

He coughs, sputters, heaves deep gulps of air. He barely hears the clink of the man undoing his buckle, or the unmistakable sound of a zipper, but he gasps when his hair is pulled again and—

No, gods please

“Will you be good and keep your teeth to yourself?”

“Please, please, st-stop no I don’t—”

“Oh, you’ve had this done before?” He clicks his tongue and leaves his dick alone to stroke Iruka’s face. “My sweet, pretty pet. No one else is ever going to touch you like this again, see? Now. Open up for me.”

Iruka shakes his head. “I don’t. No. Stop.”

“You said it yourself. You don’t have to be scared of me, pet.” He presses his thumb into Iruka’s mouth and pulls down on his jaw, and then runs the pad along his molars. “Stay,” he says, and then puts his hand hack on his dick.

Iruka whimpers, but leaves his mouth open. He doesn’t want to think of what could happen if he closes his mouth now. His breath comes in stutters, through his nose.

This man smells nothing like Kakashi, thank the gods.

He jerks himself off quickly and efficiently, and is soon ejaculating across Iruka’s face and into the back of his mouth. It’s sour and thin and Iruka coughs—the man immediately grabs his mouth and pinches his nose closed. Iruka flails to the side, but the man grapples with him and gets behind him, keeping a hold on his nose and mouth.

“Swallow, pet.”

Iruka would rather pass out. He thrashes in the man’s grapple.

“Swallow, or you’ll run out of air.”

That’s the plan.

“Pet!”

Iruka slumps in the man’s arms.

Wednesday morning arrives and Kakashi is—twitchy. He’s already at the Hokage Tower, sitting outside the window to Tsunade’s office, when she arrives at seven o’clock.

“Kakashi, have you slept at all since Sunday?”

“I dozed here and there,” he shrugs

“The scouting party won’t be put together until after lunch,” she says. “Go get some more sleep until then.”

He turns to go back to the roof—he’ll doze for a bit up there waiting for Tsunade—but then a pigeon flies by his ear into the Hokage’s office and lands on her desk. No one uses pigeons anymore for carrying messages, do they?

Shizune picks the little bird up and says, “It has a message, Tsunade-sama.” She picks the message off of the bird’s leg and hands it to the Hokage, who unrolls it and reads silently.

“Brat.”

“Hokage-sama?”

She turns to him, eyes burning and mouth hard. “We’re going to release this pigeon, and you’ll follow it. The scouting party will be along as soon as I can get it together.”

Kakashi nods. Hesitantly, he asks, “Iruka?”

“Follow. The pigeon. If it doesn’t lead you to him, any means necessary. Bring him home, Kakashi.”

“What condition can I expect him in?”

“I’m sending you ahead, alone, because I believe you’ll be the only one he’ll trust to take him out of the situation he’s in,” she hands Kakashi the letter, rolled back up. Then, she nods to Shizune. “Go.”

The pigeon flies away. Kakashi follows.

“Quit struggling; you’re going to hurt yourself.”

Iruka flails and bucks against the ropes tightening around his wrists and neck. He’s naked, light-headed and dizzy but gods he can’t stop fighting.

“Pet, do I need to take your mouth again?”

“You do whatever makes you feel better,” Iruka growls.

“I’ve never had a pet who responded to pleasure as though it were pain,” the man muses behind him. “Though, it does make you that much more fascinating.”

The rope around his neck tightens as he’s lifted by the strand connecting his neck to his wrists along his spine. His back is brought to rest against the man’s chest, and he starts touching Iruka, all over his chest and bruised belly. He winces as the man pinches his nipple and sniffs his hair.

“Stop,” he mutters weakly.

“Hmm. You know how to ask properly, pretty one.”

He bites back a cry as the man pulls and pinches at his chest. Iruka starts losing feeling in his limbs and his breath stutters. It’s. It’s too much like Mizuki. He has to. Gods he has to stop it. He can’t—he must remain present. Even if it means kowtowing to this…

His breath hitches. He forces out, “Please, Master, stop,” and then hiccups on a loose sob.

“Oh, that’s pretty, see,” the man says. He stops pinching and starts caressing and fuck, that’s not what Iruka meant.

“No, no plea—ohh.”

He pulls Iruka’s hair and Iruka falls back on instinct. Mizuki used to like to pull, and he wanted Iruka to like it.

“Yes, that’s it, pet,” the man croons. “Now, bend forward—that’s it, very good. Oh, look at you. Look at this,” he places his palm over the fūma shuriken scar on Iruka’s back.

Iruka breathes heavily. His bare knees are cushioned by the futon mattress and his temple is against the pillow. It’s… it’s more than Mizuki ever gave him, when he tied him up like this. He closes his eyes against the tears.

Gods, he wants Kakashi.

“Your scars are beautiful, pet.” The sound of a jar lid being turned, metal on glass, is loud in the cavern. “Once you're trained, I’ll be the envy of all who see you. Perhaps I’ll lend you out to those I trust.”

Iruka chokes on another cry. Mizuki used to threaten him like this—

“Oh, pet, that’s sweet. You’d rather stay mine and mine alone, wouldn’t you?”

Iruka flinches at the first touch of a cold, slick finger to his hole.

Kakashi hasn’t yet—they haven’t—gods—

“Stay still, pretty one, or this could hurt.”

He loses the battle against his will of holding in his tears. The man’s finger breaches him. Iruka holds himself perfectly still.

“I don’t want this, I don’t want this, I don’t—stop, stop, please, I don’t want it…”

“Shh, pet. It’ll feel good soon.”

I know. That’s what I’m scared of.

Kakashi summons the pack three hours out of Konoha. The pigeon had clearly been a summon as well, because once it had gotten a fair distance from civilization it poofed away in a puff of smoke. Frustrated, Kakashi has the pack fan out to search for Iruka’s scent.

Just as he’s been keyed into Iruka’s impenetrable wards, Iruka’s scent has been memorized by every member of the pack. Kakashi imagines civilians would think those actions wouldn’t have much meaning, but to each other it meant everything.

Fuck he was such an idiot. How could he have left for a mission without saying goodbye? He was upset, and frustrated, but he wasn’t… shit, he needs to get his act together.

A howl comes from the north. Akino. He flickers from tree to tree, making the distance in ten minutes.

Akino frowns at him when he settles beside him. “That was stupid quick, Boss,” he says accusingly.

Kakashi ignores the comment. “You have Iruka’s scent?”

Akino nods and points with his nose. “He’d come from that way, a few days ago. There was a struggle. And then he and this other scent—male, middle-age, water chakra-nature—go off east.”

Kakashi nods. “I’m going to release the rest of the pack, for now. Keep on his trail.”

“You got it.”

Iruka comes back to himself with an indicative pain in his ass and a headache pounding behind his eyes. He hadn’t even felt himself start to slip; he’d just gone. Not good.

His clothes haven’t been returned to him. That’s… understandable. Easier access.

The man is asleep next to him. His snores are ugly and loud, it’s a wonder Iruka stayed under for as long as he did.

His stomach growls. It’s been days since the last time—first time—only time—the man fed him. He twists his wrists in the ropes and shifts his hips a little. A thin dribble of come slips out and drips down his thigh.

“Are you with me again, pet?”

Iruka gulps and sniffles. “I’m—”

“I don’t appreciate my pets zoning out during our couplings.” The man drapes a hand on Iruka’s ass and then spanks him hard, the slap pushing Iruka forward into the pillow a few inches.

“I didn’t—”

“I really don’t appreciate my pets lying to me,” the man growls, leaning up on his elbow. He spanks Iruka again, this time drawing a hiss of pain. “I know what I saw, and I know what happened.”

His fingers dance around Iruka’s rim, still stretched and slick from before. Iruka shuts his eyes tight and grits his teeth against the cry in his throat.

“Now. I’m going to have you again. And you’re going to enjoy it.”

“Stop touching me,” Iruka sobs through clenched teeth.

“No, I don’t think I will. Although,” he slides two fingers inside and hooks them, pulls so Iruka has to lift his hips more, spread his knees more, “you know how to properly ask for what you want, see.”

He moves to kneel behind Iruka and pulls his fingers out, and then wipes them off on his back. The man presses his dick inside and Iruka—

Iruka whimpers.

“That’s it, oh, very good, pet. So pretty, taking my cock.”

He’s not going to make it out of this without a new trigger word. Pet. Pretty. Hell, this fucker’s reinforcing his old trigger for Good, and he and Kakashi only just got to the point where they can say it under the right circumstances.

“Such pretty hair,” the man takes a handful and pulls, only barely lifting Iruka’s face off of the pillow. “When I found you, you had it tied up. What a crime. You’ll wear your hair down from now on, pretty one, so I can see it.”

He brushes Iruka’s prostate. He groans, bites his lip. No more. No. He can’t. Stop. Stop.

“Please stop,” he murmurs.

The man sighs and thrusts faster, harder.

Kakashi

“K-shi.”

“What’s that, pet?”

Iruka snaps his eyes open. Fuck.

“Nothing,” he says quickly.

“What is ‘k-shi’?” he asks, stilling his hips.

“No one.”

Fuck.

“Is that so?” He slowly starts thrusting again, picking up the pace bit by bit until his hips are slapping unrelentingly against Iruka’s ass. With one hand he holds onto the rope, taut from Iruka’s neck to his wrists at the small of his back, and with the other he presses his fingers into the flesh of his waist and pulls Iruka back onto his dick with each thrust.

“Who—is—k-shi?” he growls.

Iruka cries, “Stop, stop, please!”

The man spits. It lands on the back of his neck. Iruka shivers.

“Whoever it is, you’ll never see them again.” He stills, reaches around and fondles Iruka, and the grin is audible in his voice as he continues, “You’re mine, pretty one. No one’s coming. No one else cares.”

Iruka can’t pull back from the hand on his cock, it only shoves the man’s dick further inside. He can’t push forward, that would only make him think he’s enjoying the touch. His chest aches. His breath comes in fits and starts.

Kakashi… he’ll come… right?

If he can’t get himself out of here, Tsunade-sama will send a scouting party. Kakashi will volunteer to be on that mission, won’t he?

“You have only me, pet. I’m your Master, and I’ll take care of you, see. You just have to let me.”

He jerks Iruka off in the same rhythm as he thrusts into his ass. He braces himself on Iruka’s shoulder, pressing him into the futon. It hurts. It.

Oh he’s gonna—

“STOP, please!” he sobs one more time.

“No. Come for me, pretty one.”

He does. He sobs and comes and it hurts and it’s like the man’s kicked him again. Iruka hardly registers the flood of come in his ass as the man orgasms, too.

The man pulls out and walks away.

To the feeling of more come dribbling out of his hole, Iruka mutters into the pillow, “I’m sorry, love. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Kakashi, I’m so sorry…”

Iruka loses count of how many times the man comes inside him. It’s enough that after a while he stops fingering him first, then later stops bothering with oil. Eventually he’s led to the fireside, and then made to kneel again beside a large stone. The man sits upon the stone, above him, and feeds him bites of rice and small morsels of rabbit.

He keeps his head down between bites. Sometimes the man will leave his fingers on Iruka’s lips after he’s placed food on his tongue, and so after he’s finished chewing and swallowing, he lets the man explore his mouth with his fingertips. “Very good, pet,” he praises. Then he’ll give Iruka a sip of water.

It’s been days, hasn’t it? Even the worst trackers Konoha has would have found him by now—and Kakashi is by no means the worst. The pack knows him. If Kakashi was looking…

But he’s not. He’s not, is he?

He’s led back to the futon, laid out on his back, and then his neck is tied up to a stake the man’s placed near the pillows. His wrists, too, are taken and tied up above his head to the same rope, to the same stake.

“I think you’ll be ready to bring home in a few more days, pet,” he says. “You’re almost done.”

Almost broken, you mean

The man lifts Iruka’s legs over his shoulders and thumbs at his hole. “So pretty. I like this much better than taking you from behind. I get to see that beautiful scar, the play of your face. You can’t imagine how beautiful your eyes are, full of fear. But you don’t have to be afraid right now, pet. Your eyes are just as beautiful in the throes of ecstasy.”

At the sound of chirping electricity screeching in the cavern, Iruka snaps his eyes open—he didn’t realize they were closed—and feels his heart begin to race. The man is suddenly gone from his looming position over Iruka; he lowers his legs back down, bending his knees. The grunt and gurgle of death is sweet to his ears, but he holds back his tears for when he is sure this isn’t a hallucination.

Unruly silver hair comes into view first, and then the careful fingertips dipping to pick at the paper tag stuck to his neck. The mask, Konoha hitai-ate, the exposed sharingan and gentle gray eye beside it; Iruka hiccups a sob.

“You came,” he whispers.

Kakashi pulls the chakra repression seal off Iruka’s neck and tosses it away.

Iruka whispers something, he doesn’t catch it, but he nods anyway. “Let’s get you home, dear,” he says, and cuts the ropes keeping Iruka’s neck and wrists bound to the stake in the ground.

He looks around the cave, but Iruka’s clothes and gear are missing. Kakashi pops a scroll from his own vest and unseals a spare set of his own clothes; they’ll be a little tight, and a little long, but he can’t—can’t let anyone else…

Gods. Fuck.

What good is he, if he can’t even keep one person safe?!

He helps Iruka into his clothes. His heart warms to see Iruka lift the collar of the shirt and pull it up to his nose and take a deep breath, scenting it. “Can you walk?” he asks once Iruka’s clothed.

Iruka shudders. “Probably not,” he says. His voice is small, like it is when he comes out of a dissociation episode. Shit, how many did he have? “I can try, though,” he continues, and then he stupidly pushes himself up to standing and immediately sways to the side.

Kakashi jumps up to catch him, cradling his partner—will he still trust him after all this, shit, he fucked up so badly they might not make it through this without breaking up, no—and slipping his arms around Iruka’s knees and back. “Please don’t strain yourself, dear,” he grits. “Let me help.”

Iruka nods and wraps his arms around his neck. Kakashi begins flickering out of the cave. He has the rapist’s body in a scroll in his vest, so someone can autopsy it when they get home. Everything else he left. He can’t—

He can’t be in that cave another second.

Iruka burrows into the collar of his flak vest and is muttering again. This time, Kakashi focusses and listens; he wishes he hadn’t.

“You came. You came. You came.”

His heart breaks. Had their fight really unsettled Iruka enough that he thought…

He chokes, presses a kiss to Iruka’s hair and mutters back, “Always, love. Always.”

Kakashi doesn’t leave Iruka’s side throughout his admission into the hospital, various check-ups, blood tests, rape-trauma treatments, oral report; he has to leave the room for the standard psych evaluation, and then again when Rikona-sensei arrives for their own session. But he stands sentinel just outside and waits until he’s let back in, and the second he’s allowed he’s asking for Iruka’s hands and pressing kisses to rope-burned wrists.

He finds out that the pigeon had delivered a letter from one Sato Touma, declaring that the shinobi Umino Iruka, registration number 011850, had completed his latest mission, and to not come searching for him as he was now a pet of the Sato family, barring a training and testing period. Tsunade made the right call in sending her strongest shinobi after Touma—if she’d let it go, the Sato family could have assumed that any Konoha shinobi were free for the taking. Sending Kakashi was a show of force.

The Sato family won’t touch Konoha again. Not with Touma dead in their morgue.

This… doesn’t put Kakashi at ease. He can’t sleep. Can’t eat. Iruka’s supposed to be released from the hospital tomorrow. He’ll feel better once they’re behind Iruka’s wards. No one gets past those wards without Iruka’s permission.

“Kakashi?”

He realizes he’s been pacing, and collapses onto the chair beside Iruka. “What do you need?” he asks.

Iruka is… strangely calm. Actually, that’s not so strange if he thinks about it—and Kakashi really doesn’t want to think about why Iruka’s calm about having been brutally raped. Because if he thinks about it, he’ll remember Sato, and Mizuki, and then the Hate will start to fester again and this is not the time nor the place—

“I told him to stop,” he whispers. Louder, he continues, “I-I fought as hard as I could.”

Kakashi takes his hands and holds them between both of his own. “Iruka, dear, I’m sorry. I should have been faster. I—”

“Don’t you get it? I told him to stop. I fought him. Me. I fought him,” there’s a slight hint of hysteria in his voice, but Iruka’s smiling through the tears collecting at the corner of his eyes. “Maybe I wasn’t… I wasn’t strong enough to save myself. But I can do it now, Kakashi.” He sniffs, hiccups, and says, “I can—I can tell someone to stop.”

And suddenly, Kakashi understands. “You. Oh, love,” and Iruka pulls Kakashi into the embrace as Kakashi falls into it. He chuckles, his own brand of hysteria bubbling up out of his chest. “You were never—you—Gods all that before, it was never about me, was it?”

“I needed to know I could do it,” Iruka mutters. “If I’d told you what I was doing, the reaction wouldn’t have been real. I needed. I needed to be able to ask even though I knew it was going to disappoint you. To anger you.”

“I was never angry,” Kakashi assures him quickly. “Frustrated, annoyed; yes. Never angry. Fuck, I thought I’d lost your trust somewhere, somehow.”

“I could never have done it with anyone else,” Iruka nuzzles his hair. “I never doubted your ability to stop. It was never about that.”

“I’m. Still really frustrated about it all.” Iruka nods above him. Kakashi continues, “But I’m so happy for you, love, that you’ve found that strength.”

“I’ve found that strength thanks to you,” Iruka says, carding his fingers through Kakashi’s hair. “If this had happened two years ago, or more, I… I wouldn’t have. Shit, I would have been worse than a doll for him. And, yeah, I had a few dissociation episodes; but I resisted them. Before, I would have just gone down and-and never come back.”

Kakashi picks his head back up and drags his mask down with a finger. “Can I kiss you?”

Iruka’s smile brightens like the dawn. “Yes. Please.”

They keep it chaste—they’re still in the hospital, and Iruka could have new triggers neither of them know about yet. But the simple press of lips on lips is enough to make Kakashi’s chest pound and his fingertips tingle. Gods he almost lost this.

“He had me believing you wouldn’t come,” Iruka reveals into their kiss.

“My love,” Kakashi murmurs back, lips to lips, “I will always come for you.”

#whumpmasinjuly #stop #umino iruka #hatake kakashi #kakairu #my writing

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megibluedragon · 5 years ago

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Gen - The most superficial man is dead

There, there, easy. I don’t mean literally. What I mean is that Gen’s superficial side is officially dead. We all cry about Gen’s petrification crack. Really me too but on second thought I think Inagaki and Boichi are also sending here really beautiful message.

We all remember Gen’s introduction. He seemed shady since very beggining and his petrification crack which looks like creepy smile with sharp teeth was like cheery on top screaming ,,Yeah, he is evil”. Manga readers, anime watchers don’t even lie that you knew he is a good boy after introduction. Or first thought was at least ,,villain or antagonist” not ,,new buddy”. Petrification crack really tried to highlight Gen being sketchy character.

Gen even introduced himself as ,,The most superficial man on Earth” which points at him being selfish person which will trample others to chase after benefit and be the last one standing. He even talked about shallow things like chilling all days with bunch of girls.

Interesting fact: After choosing Senku’s side Gen never brought back idea of getting harem and he don’t even flirt with girls.

Like really all Gen do since then is hang around Senku as close as he can if he doesn’t have job to do in different place. When Gen is in ,,chilling out mode” which he talked about doing with girls he is doing with Senku.

Let me bring up technique Gen is using to manipulate people. It says about being next to person you want to win over but Gen explain it more as moment of negotiation which is one time situation if you want something from other person.

Going back to Gen’s ,,special behavior” towards Senku. Gen is using same technique but this time for winning person over for personal reasons. Gen choose person he really wants to gain trust from on longer terms and not in one time negotiation. Gen isn’t stalking Senku or anything like that but omg Gen wants to share personal space with Senku in all parts of daily routine:

1. Eat next to Senku

2. Stand next to Senku

3. Walk next to Senku

4. Work next to Senku

5. Sit/rest next to Senku

6. Sleep next to Senku

That’s everyday parts of human life and Gen is doing everything to do those things with Senku around. That’s almost like living together. Gen at this point seek for every occasion to approach Senku. Let me show you how he is doing this:

Let’s take cotton candy moment as an example. Gen is standing few feet away from Senku. He just spotted him standing alone and free after giving cotton candy to everyone and what Gen is doing next?

Few seconds later Gen is already at Senku’s side chilling with cotton candy. They are pretty much touching with elbows. That’s start of entering personal space and it looks like Senku doesn’t mind that at all. Gen is usually approching Senku THAT close when he is alone and not in big group. Gen then just waits for Senku to be in more open area again.

Maybe Gen really was superficial man in the past but Senku really picked his interest. Maybe whole harem talk was a lie since beggining or Gen warned Senku that was his already exerienced past to perform magic shows, write books, chill and hang out with girls so he wanted to check if Senku is worth of changing his old ways. In the end Gen pretty much confessed to Senku that he liked him longer than he thought.

Gen even said being around Senku makes him feel safe. That could be another reason why he stand next to Senku almost all the time because he feels comfortable and not only for times when his Science is needed. Senku in terms of body is the weakest person around so saying his side is the safest place sound weird. That just shows that Senku also keeps Gen’s sanity in good mood and Gen believes Senku has solution for every situation.

Kohaku are you secret Sengen shipper? She always saw through Gen’s lies. She pretty much called out Gen wanting to stay with Senku for personal reasons and not for strategic reasons. Senku is also in the corner smirking probably being flattered by Gen being soft towards him and only act tough.

And this is just prove of Gen really feeling safe only around Senku. Gen wasn’t that scared since being around Tsukasa and Hyoga. Just let Gen be around Senku because separation gives him almost heart attack XD

Now let’s go back to Gen’s petrification crack and hidden beautiful message from Inagaki and Boichi about Gen. Just look at him here while being all soft around Senku and now look at his petrification crack. Now let’s be honest. Does it still suits him alfter all Gen went through? Shady mark on face of someone who is opening up to people and only mess with them with no bad intentions. Yeah this petrification crack looks cool but doesn’t it also show broken and bad version of Gen? And this is where all this character development went:

Gen let himself turn into stone FOR Senku. That was the most selfless act he ever did. This pretty much threw out the window all his ,,superficial man” trash. Superficial man would take a run for it, join Mozu or Ibara or something like that. Gen choosed to sacrifice himself to protect Senku. To protect not himself but another person not knowing if he will ever get out of stone again. He took that with smile on his face with full trust in Senku. Boichi even focused on Gen’s cheek in stone form now without petrification crack.

Gen by loosing his petrification crack is saying farewell to his superficial side. He is fully team player and doesn’t want to be last man standing anymore if he knows someone like Senku could do bigger things to benefit not him but many more people and is more worth saving. Gen turned from superficial man to selfless man and now scar won’t be reminding him every morning how badly he treated people in the past. Gen will get back his pretty face and losing scar might lift some burden from his shoulders or he will make fun of it and start doing make up looking like his petrification crack to remind himself how much he changed.

#Dr Stone #dr. stone #drst #asagiri gen #gen #ishigami senku #senku #Senkuu #sengen #petrification crack #Gen is a good boy now #anime #manga #character development #superficial man is no more #spoilers

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nebula-starlight · 4 years ago

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Sepsis (Pt. 15: Their Weapon)

He was weary and seeing the stormy gray clouds overhead as he flew only confirmed the melancholy nestled in him. How long had he been out on his mission now? It had been months since he last saw Versila, always kept busy with being the Shield he was desired of by Magnus. To be without an active task made him feel sluggish and worn down but while on the hunt his mind and senses were razor sharp. They had to be in his line of work now. Hunting down those Corrupt that plagued their beautiful lands and ending them before they could spread their vile disease to innocent others.

But even now, with only the cool damp breeze and the sounds of his own wingbeats to keep him company, he had little else to do other than reflect. Reflect on how his life had spiraled into the position he now was in. Far more than ever before he wished to have Igna in his life again. He had tried to find the tunnels he had fled from that fateful night, tried to find her broken body so he could at least give her a proper burial, but it had all been for naught. Searching the thickly overgrown woods had only left him with disappointment and a seething inner loathing that he couldn’t give the only friendly spirit he’d known for moons one simple act of kindness in return. She was like a mother to him deep in his soul. A comfort to him in the darkest nights when the dreams and past terrors threatened to consume him with their long claws of fear.

There was no doubt he was happier now than he had been in his youth. He had Versila, had a job, and even held some measure of respect amongst the citizens of the Capital to his utter surprise. The repeated meetings with Magnus in private only served to further the feeling that he was on the right path for his life. Sure he seldom saw his beloved mate much between the lengthy searching for those Corrupt but she seemed to support his decision. After all, she had cried on the night he first told her of the position Magnus had offered to him. He’d thought at the time it was tears of happiness and delight but now… He scowled, gliding to another wind current that would hopefully lift him higher.

Versila… Had he caught her sneaking medication when he wasn’t looking? It had just been a brief glimpse when he saw the bottle she hastily shoved deep into a drawer before kissing him as she left to go to her job. Why would she not bring up that she was ill to him? Did she not trust him? Surely whatever it was they could face it together as they always had since becoming joined in union. Perhaps if time allowed he would ask her about such things when he arrived home. He doubted Magnus would send him out again without a day or two of rest.

Overall it was the end of a long task he was looking forward to as he finally caught sight over the vast rolling plains of their gleaming, towering Capital. He was so close to being back home he could almost taste it and the sight seemed to breathe fresh strength into his weary wings. Soon he would see her again and put to ease the doubts that had begin to nag at the back of his mind.

Glancing at the few brave soldiers under his command who had survived and were accompanying him back, he gave his instructions with a silent nod. They had their lives to return to and, if needed, he would call for them each separately to provide details for the statement that was to be delivered to The Council. They flew in close formation, each a varying shade of gray or black depending on their level of exposure to Corruption save for him who had been made to be a weapon against the dark. Taking the lead, Nethreis guided them over the Capital, calling out with a bellow to those who guarded the outer walls of the high city.

“The Shadowcrest return! No shoot!”

Once he was assured they would not be attacked by those who did not recognize the armor or what it stood for, he circled around the grand city with his following troops before taking to the well cared grounds in front of The Council’s observatory skyrise. Nethreis landed first, wincing as he folded his weary wings against his side and turned to thank each member who had returned with him. There would be time to mourn those lost once the fight was well and truly won and he knew those under his command knew it likewise.

“Each go and rest. I see to statement personally.”

The older of his soldiers nodded in relief and took flight with warm wishes that it would be quick and uneventful while some of the newer, younger troops seemed unsure. His eyes scanned over theirs, seeing a mix of eager anticipation of rest and apprehension that he would still be in need of their services.

“Be with yours. This is mine task.” He kept his voice gentle, trying to persuade them to trust his words and see to their own restful recovery following the long journey that had taken them months to complete.

Even after the last of those under his command left he still stayed, watching long into the distance at the dim auburn hue of the sun’s fading light upon the thick clouds along the horizon. Perhaps his report could wait until morning to deliver? They had made excellent time in returning and his last correspondence with Magnus had ensured the Councilmember that they would be “arriving within a fortnight should Soleil bless them with strong winds.” That deadline was in fact in the morning and he was, quite frankly, exhausted from the return flight. Besides, Versila had to be missing him terribly and he longed for her so much…

Making up his mind, he turned and started down the worn cobblestone towards the housing district of the city. A goodnight’s rest was very much owed him and he would gladly take it before relaying the news of their vast quest over the wild lands beyond the Capital. With any luck he’d surprise Versila as well and she would be overjoyed to welcome him safely home.

—————

He looked around the messy interior of the house he had bought for them with the money he received from his promotion to being the leader of the Shadowcrest at Magnus’s proposal. She had never been one to let things go into such disarray before and it frightened him deep inside to think for just a moment that perhaps the home had been ransacked by street scum looking to make easy money. Growling, he shook his head, reminding himself that at one point his Versila was among those who roamed the Capital streets begging for food or shelter from the cold.

Glancing again at the broken mirror overhead of the empty, burnt out fireplace, he twitched at the creak of wood from behind him. Turning, his eyes glowed as fire rose in his throat and the instinct of being ambushed by those tainted nearly overtook him before the source of the noise spoke up softly.

“Oh, you came home. She’s not here. Hasn’t been for days now. But- But nothing is stolen or missing, Monsieur Shield.” Their neighbor, an elderly air spirit, stuttered from the open doorway into the house.

Nethreis forced himself to relax, fire cooling even as his shoulders stiffened in alarm. Where was his beloved? Why would she just up and leave without telling anyone? Had she even told anyone? His crimson eyes blinked as he tried to reign his swirling thoughts in so he could hear if the old spirit chose to say more. When several minutes passed in awkward silence he realized that he was the one who needed to respond.

“Thank… Does anyone know where went?”

“No sir. Charlia even went to check with the Healers but she never reported to work either. I’m just lucky my wife happened to see you walking home.”

So Versila hadn’t gone to work then… Work was her source of peace, he supposed. She’d said once that her working there was a way for her to atone for her sins but at the time he hadn’t understood what she meant. Even now he was uncertain but he quickly decided it might be wise if he went to the Healers personally to inquire. As much as he trusted Charlia and Atros, they were still common members of spirit society.

“Appreciate tell.” He nodded, shifting uneasily as a plan started to form in his head of how best to go about getting information. Rest would have to wait for now until he knew more.

“Don’t stress over it. If you want you can sleep at our place for the night. No offense but you look about ready to drop where you stand.”

Nethreis ignored the remark, eyes flickering back to the shattered mirror again. Why break a mirror? Was there something in her reflection that Versila didn’t wish to see? She had never expressed a reservation about the mirror before that he could recall. Yet for some reason he kept glancing at the broken shards as though they held an important piece of the puzzle.

“Monsieur Shield…?”

Cold crimson eyes darted back to the old spirit with bitter disdain as for but a second the illusions faltered to show the orange scars along Nethreis’s dark scales. “Leave.”

He didn’t bother to see if Atros obeyed the request or not, putting a forepaw to his chest in a moment of silent self reflection. If he could just find her or find where she might have gone… Maybe his distance had left her feeling hurt or abandoned? Naturally he never wanted her to feel that way but he had to follow the orders of The Council and Magnus. It was just like when he was out hunting down the Corrupt. He just had to find a strand to be able to track them down. Now he had to use that same technique to find his beloved and get answers.

Sleep was no longer an option to him for the foreseeable future it seemed. He had far more pressing matters than allowing himself to relax now. And he wouldn’t stop until he knew the truth.

—————

Going to see the Healers had not given him what he had expected to find. While it was true Versila had not checked in to work in several days, one younger member of the group had seen her the day before she stopped coming in and she had “seemed off.” He tried to ask for more clarification but was shooed away and told trying to question her would only complicate the current murder investigation underway. That was troubling news as killings simply were never openly talked about within cities. They still happened of course but almost immediately got swept under the rug by whoever the spirit ruling over that particular area was.

But Nethreis was determined to know and so he decided to find out by questionable means. By which he took a seat outside and seemed to sink into the evening shadows, becoming as invisible as the approaching night so he could listen in without being in danger of being discovered. Truthfully it was a power he seldom used because extended, prolonged duration tired him out but with how dire things were he figured the risk of pushing himself further into exhaustion was well worth it.

Luckily it didn’t take long for him to discover why it was so secretive. It wasn’t every day one of the Lead Healers went ballistic and murdered another in the same practice. He knew the levels of panic that would instill in the common citizens and quickly retreated from his shadowy hole that he’d been listening in. When he resurfaced it took him a moment to steady his breathing, the last bit of news he’d heard as he left hitting him in the chest just as sharp as a whip. His beloved was last seen fleeing in the night out of the city and out towards the mountains that rose to the north.

He blinked, feeling hot, inky tears roll down his cheeks. It… It had to be wrong. Versila wasn’t like that. Surely something had to have happened for it to be… for her to… to… She wasn’t a killer! But what if it wasn’t her anymore? What if somehow she’d become infected? They’d said her color was starting to gray in spots and ke knew that as a sign of one exposed to Corruption. Finding her, even in the dead of night, had to be his single focus now. No matter how much his wings ached as he flared them and rose to his feet. She was a part of him and there was no mistaking the hollowness that felt like a weight tugging at his soul. Wherever she was, she needed him.

Glowing irises surveyed the skies for a moment before he threw himself upwards into the air and immediately all thoughts ceased in his head. All except the realization it was a hunt and he very much enjoyed indulging in those with anewed sharpened senses. Magnus would be pleased if he got rid of another poisoned by the vile darkness. Relation didn’t matter in a hunt. It just got in the way of enjoying the satisfaction of killing. At least maybe this time he could bring back a trophy to remember later.

As far as Nethreis Ignis comprehended things, he had his next task all without even having to be issued one by those greater in position than he. Surely Magnus would be delighted that he went to confront and subdue another potentially Corrupt entirely on his own. He had the Councilmember’s favor after all and that was vital to his reputation within the Capital. For now his flight would take him to the Northern Mountains no doubt where snow fell year round upon the lofty jagged peaks. Should her coloration still be mostly pristine ivory, tracking her would be somewhat challenging in the arctic terrain. A hunter never turned away from a hunt they believed themselves capable of winning.

He forced his wings down, catching an uprising draft and began to ascend, screeching a challenge as far as his voice would carry. Their home would be free from the vileness of Corruption and he would make it so as his most sacred vow. None tainted should have a home within the gilded gates and now, with his hunt newly begun, he bellowed again a warning into the biting winds. If by chance she sought to return, whether innocent or not, she would need to pass by him first. The Capital’s Shield was his title and he wore it with the utmost pride a spirit of his caliber could. Relaxing his still weary muscles, he set his crimson sights on the white blanketed cliffs towering in the distance and flew onward in complete silence.

#sepsis #part 1 of the finale #nether #versi

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tsukihimeyfan · 4 years ago

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Sozin’s Comet’s Deus Ex Machina (and ways to fix them)

I’m sure that most of us AtLA fans can agree that the four part Finale was one of the best moments in animation history, with astoundingly well choreographed fight scenes, fantastic emotional beats, gorgeous animation, and frankly breath-taking music. However, I’m also sure I’m not the only one who was frustrated by one aspect of it in particular, the one blot on an otherwise perfect finale: what I like to call the “lion-turtle and pointy rock” ex machina.

The saddest part is that there was very little they had to change to get to a satisfactory, ties-everything-together ending. For example, take Energy-bending and the Lion-turtle. I saw a post a while ago where they suggested that energybending could’ve been related to what Aang learned from the swamp and the Guru, and it just makes SO much sense (Note: I saw the post months ago and I can’t find it anymore, so if anyone knows who first posted that theory please let me know so that I can give credit where credit’s due). After all, Aang seemed to use the energy of the swamp to sense where Appa and Momo were, and later, during Appa’s Lost Days, Guru Pathik says this:

Meaning he, a non-bender, is capable of reading the energy of others, and of locating people bonded to them from miles away. Let’s not forget that he had also previously sensed everything Appa had gone through with the same ability. Sounds like a really useful skill, wouldn’t you say?

Also, looking at both “sensing” occurrences, they look remarkably similar, so we can be reasonably sure that they’re both employing the same method.

It would’ve been so easy to have Aang take a moment to ask how Guru Pathik met Appa. After all, as far as the Gaang knew, Appa was taken by merchants to be sold in Ba Sing Se, so he shouldn’t have had a chance to meet anyone at the Eastern Air Temple. Did the merchants pass through the temple on the way to Ba Sing Se? Did the Guru try to set Appa free? Pathik would then have to explain how Appa had already escaped on his own, and he helped him find Aang by reading his energy. Aang could then ask the Guru to teach him this ability so that if they ever get separated again he’d be able to find and help Appa easily. Boom - energybending basics acquired.

A highly spiritual person like Aang would no doubt have little problems mastering the sensing ability, especially since he’s used a limited version of it before at the Swamp. Also, if we think about how much the spiritual mentors in the show have tried to drill it into Aang that all things are connected,

we can assume that after mastering everything Guru Pathik could do he would eventually be able to sense even people vaguely connected to him from far away. Being the Avatar, the bridge between the spiritual and physical worlds, would almost certainly also help him master energysensing abilities no other had before.

Maybe they could’ve added a few 30 second scenes here and there of Aang meditating to hone his energysensing skills. Also, during the whole Boiling Rock debacle, imagine how great it would’ve been if Sokka had asked Aang about his dad and, after pressing his hand to Sokka’s forehead and following his bond to his father, Aang was able to tell him that his dad was alive and well, and that he was somewhere in the direction they’d come from, though at that point he wouldn’t be able to pinpoint his exact location.

“I’m sorry Sokka... I can’t tell exactly where he is yet... I know that’s not really helpful...”

“No, knowing he’s alright is plenty. Thanks, buddy”

After Sokka and Zuko rescue Hakoda, I could picture Aang practicing harder than ever until he could use Hakoda’s bond to Bato and the others to locate them in a prison in Caldera City (which would’ve made rescue before ending the war difficult to say the least, and would explain how they were all there for Zuko’s coronation so fast)

Later, during Aang’s trip to the mysterious island, it would’ve been so cool if, instead of handing him the ability, the lion-turtle just told him this:

... and maybe showed him visions of his energysensing training when he did the forehead-touch thing. Then, during the battle with Ozai, maybe after redirecting the lightning away from Ozai Aang could think to himself “I can’t... he may be a monster, but he’s still my friend’s father!”. Then, he suddenly realizes that just like with his friends and family, Aang has a connection with Ozai too, and that if sensing someone’s energy happens by putting a bit of his energy into them, maybe he can use the same route to take some of Ozai’s energy away from him.

Imagine how amazing it would’ve been if they’d added those little snippets of Aang’s energybending training all throughout book 3, without giving it that name, and then Aang used what he’d learned from Guru Pathik and Huu and what he’d taught himself to rediscover a technique that hadn’t been used in millenia all by himself! (well, with a little “nudge in the right direction” from lionturtle-sensei) We were SO close, all the building blocks were there but... *sigh* we ended up still so far.

Continued with solving “pointy-rock-ex-machina” under the cut

In Book 2, we’re told that to master the Avatar State Aang has to “let go of his attachments”, but that plot point is dropped completely and all he has to do is get hit in his lightning scar and BAM! Avatar State unlocked, no letting go required! 😒

He was still just as attached to Katara as he was during Book 2, if not more so. So, in the interest of trying to figure out how to tie up as many loose ends as possible, we could try to hit two birds with one stone by fixing another thing at the same time that wasn’t addressed either.

We could start with a conversation between Aang and Katara where he apologizes for kissing her when she clearly didn’t want him to at some point during Sozin’s Comet Part 1 - The Phoenix King.

“I accept your apology Aang” Katara’d say, “but from now on make sure to respect people’s boundaries, Ok? Especially girls’ boundaries :) We can talk about this more after everything’s over”

At this point, maybe Aang could be left to think and reflect on his relationship with Katara, on his attachment to her, and on how he’d started thinking about her as “his” almost without any input from her.

Maybe Aang could begin to really understand what Guru Pathik was trying to teach him when he said “you must let go”, and the difference between love and unhealthy attachment to people.

He’d therefore be going into the fight with Ozai with that fresh on his mind.

Then, as the battle raged and he grew increasingly desperate, maybe he’d try a few times to force himself into the Avatar State only to fail miserably.

At this moment

when he’s been overpowered and cornered (and also has a little bit of “downtime” to think), he could start desperately trying to figure out a way to enter the Avatar State, and wondering why he can’t do it. Katara’s been healing him every day! The scar doesn’t even hurt anymore! Why doesn’t it work???

Then, he'd realize that it doesn’t really make sense for a lightning strike to lock his 7th Chakra, since according to what Guru Pathik taught him chakras are locked or unlocked through changes in emotional and spiritual state, not physical.

(Note: this is also backed up by what little I know of irl chakras and activating Kundalini in the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy. If anyone knows more about it please feel free to add to this or correct me. I’d love to learn how the concept of chakras in Avatar contrasts with its real life counterpart 😊)

Also, if the lightning had messed with the Avatar State some other way, like by blocking his chi for example, he shouldn’t be able to bend properly either.

So what could’ve caused his problem with the Avatar State?

Of course! After Katara saved him, Aang became even more focused on gaining her love, and grew even more attached to her than he’d been before! Of course he can’t enter the Avatar State!

Now, I’m a Zutara shipper all the way, and this would work much better if that had been canon, but this could work even with a Kataang endgame since, as I said before, Aang kind of become obsessed with the idea of making Katara “his” no matter what, a clear earthly attachment, instead of loving her unselfishly and letting her love him in her way:

Notice that he said “we kissed” even though he kissed her, and then “I thought we were gonna be together”, an assumption he made without asking her anything once. Same as in this scene:

Mastering the Avatar State doesn’t mean not loving anyone romantically, as we can clearly see through Avatar Roku’s example (also the “if you want power abandon your loved ones” message is stupid and I don’t like it at all. This would be better imo)

Even during the process for unlocking the chakras, the Fourth Chakra tells us that finding love isn’t contrary to spirituality, and can even be a source of spiritual strength. However, I’ve always thought it was a bit strange that the “new love” Aang found to fill the hole left by the deaths of his people was.... just Katara

Because what Aang lost was essentially all of his family and friends right? So wouldn’t it have made more sense for Aang to envision Sokka, Toph, Appa and Momo as well? You know, his old family vs. his new family?

I didn’t fully understand what exactly was wrong with it until I read some of tumblr user marsreds’ metas on the matter, and I have to agree with them that it seems Aang was sort of focusing on his love for Katara so much partially as a way to cope with the loss of his people. To keep it out of mind. That’s not how you build a wholesome romantic relationship, and it doesn’t seem like the best way to deal with grief either. No wonder his Seventh Chakra was blocked.

I would’ve loved to see Aang realize at the moment of truth that in order to access the Avatar State he simply had to let Katara go enough so that he could love her selflessly, so that her wants and needs, and the needs of the world, could come first. He needed to become able to accept her answer, whatever it was, when she gave it. He needed to come to understand that his happiness wasn’t completely (or even mostly) dependent on getting into a relationship with Katara. He had a family he’d found all on his own, made up of friends who adored him and who would’ve given their lives for him if necessary. He was not alone in the world any more. Even if she told him no, he would in all likelihood find new love and be happy.

(in fact we have proof and there’s a perfect candidate right there in the Fire Nation but I digress)

The rest of the finale could’ve played out exactly the same as canon, and in the end Aang would’ve had a better understanding of himself and some inner peace. They could’ve also given us an inkling that Aang would later get to mourn over the deaths of his people properly, surrounded by his loved ones (maybe, ideally, in a hypothetical Book 4-AIR?. God, I wish)

I’ve seen some posts about Aang letting go of his attachment to the Air Nomad’s teachings instead (with maybe that very decision to put the needs of the world above his own being what unlocks his Seventh Chakra), and those are magnificent ideas as well, but I myself would’ve preferred if it went this way because I think there’s something beautifully poetic and satisfying about Aang staying true to himself, finding an alternate solution to violence that would still protect the world, and using the wisdom of His People to put an end to the very war that caused their destruction, while simultaneously giving the worst possible punishment to a man as power-hungry as Ozai

...and leaving him the same way he’s left many of the Fire Nation’s victims in the past: trapped, powerless and forgotten.

I also feel like this ties up all the loose ends better, since it was his attachment to Katara specifically which stopped him from mastering the Avatar State in the first place. And, Kataang endgame or not, it would’ve sent a wonderful message about building and maintaining healthy relationships, perfect for the show’s target audience of preteen and teenage kids.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

#atla #sozin's comet #Avatar The Last Airbender #thyf rambles #atla meta #aang #katara #meta #my drabbles #kinda

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sapphirewolf1122 · 5 years ago

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Daydreams

Summary: Deku starts lusting after you and he doesn’t know how to deal with it.

Word Count: 2,519

Izuku has had a huge crush on you.

At first, you were just a coworker. The two of you had started together at Nighteye’s agency after graduating high school; though it had been taken over by Centipeder after Nighteye passed, it was hard for Deku to think of it as anybody else’s.

While Deku had started off as a sidekick, you were an intern combat trainer; you were a master martial artist and wanted to learn to help train heroes.

Though Izuku hadn’t had much interaction with you at first, soon you both bonded over the difficulty of meeting the demands of a new job. He soon found out that you had ulterior motives for being here. You wanted to move your way up in the agency and eventually try to get a hero's permit.

Your quirk was Daydreams; you had the ability to catch glimpses of another person’s desires.

It worked best if you were touching them or if they were daydreaming at the moment but otherwise, you could still get enough information to use it against them through illusions. You could cause the daydreamer to see what they desire right in front of them, distracting them.

But your parents hadn’t believed that it was something that would be any good for hero work and therefore hadn’t let you apply to a hero course. Still, you kept at it, figuring out how to best utilize your quirk in a fight while also exploring multiple fighting styles.

You actually reminded Izuku a lot of Shinsou, perhaps with a more upbeat personality. But the fact that you’d had to persevere with less of a flashy quirk was something that Deku found really admirable. And he found talking to you strangely easy, something he’d never experienced when speaking to a girl. Perhaps hanging out with the girls from his class had really helped him!

He didn’t even really know he liked you until one day, he was talking to you and he started wondering what it would be like to kiss you. He had a very vivid image of just leaning in and doing so right then and there. Maybe he would start off slow, and then build it up as he—

Izuku shook his head vehemently as he tried to shake the image. You looked at him with confusion.

“Are you okay, Deku?” you asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Y-yeah, of course! Why wouldn’t I be okay? Totally fine!” he tried to laugh it off but stopped when he saw that you didn’t seem convinced. “Uuuh...are you okay?”

That caused you to laugh, making him sigh in relief. “I’m fine, Broccoli Head. Let’s go, you have to get ready for that mission and I have some training to do.”

You got up and started walking towards the locker rooms. Izuku trailed behind you, watching as you walked. His eyes traveled up your legs, landing on your butt. It was rather nice to watch you walk, to observe how your butt moved, how the curve of your cheek....what the hell was wrong with him?

He should consider himself lucky that you didn’t make a habit of using your quirk needlessly, otherwise you would surely never let him hear the end of. It could even mean the end of your friendship!

~~~~

You were sparring with one of the pros at the agency, working mainly on hand-to-hand combat. With how dedicated you’d been to your martial arts studies, even some of the long-time pros had some difficulty keeping up with you.

Right now, you had the upper hand. Your opponent was a large man who focused too much on brute strength than actual technique. You decided to practice using your quirk while fighting and mentally reached out to your opponent. However, you couldn’t get much off of him; he was too focused on the fight. In order to get a proper reading, you’ll need to make contact for a few moments.

However, before you could move in to do so, you were caught off guard by a sudden image flashing in your mind. This caused you to hesitate and you just barely managed to dodge out of the way of a wide blow by your opponent.

What was that?

It reminded you of when you were still getting the hang of your quirk. You’d tended to get random flashes from the people around you, especially during class when daydreaming was usually at its peak. But nowadays, it normally caused a very vivid daydream for it to just pop into your head like that; yes, you’d activated your quirk but you’d had a specific focus.

Before you could shake it off, however, the image flashed again. This time, you caught sight of a set of hands holding onto a waist, seemingly lifting the person up.

This time, you had to perform a roll in order to get out of the way and called a time out. Your opponent asked if you were okay, clearly having noticed that you’d been distracted.

You nodded, saying that you just needed a break.

Going to grab your water bottle, you looked around the workout room. There were several people, so the vision could’ve come from anybody. As you scanned the room, you caught sight of Deku at the entrance, still in his hero costume. Did he come straight here from a mission? Did the man never rest?

You noticed that his face was slightly flushed, likey from the mission. Smiling at him, you waved; you looked forward to talking to him about the mission. You’d enjoyed getting to know him over the last few months. He was kind of awkward but in a cute, sweet way. He sheepishly waved back and something about his scarred hand made you hesitate before moving on. But you just shook it off and took a swig of your water.

You didn’t notice as Izuku turned from you in shame, his already flushed face becoming even redder until he resembled a strawberry. He really needed to do something about those daydreams.

~~~~

“Hey, Deku! There you are!”

At the sound of his name, Izuku turned to see you running towards him. It took all the willpower he possessed not to let his jaw drop. You were only wearing a sports bra and shorts, clearly fresh from a workout.

He could see as drops of sweat slid down several parts of your very toned body. All he wanted to do was wrap his hands around your waist and pull you close. Maybe even push you up against the wall as he kissed you up your whole body, licking the sweat as he did—

“Uuuh… Deku?”

He jumped as you said his hero name again. “Aaaah, s-sorry, guess I just kind of spaced out for a bit! I have a big mission coming up and you know how I can get, haha…”

You blinked at him. “Yeeaah...anyway, it feels like I haven’t seen you in forever, not even in the workout room. You doing okay?”

“Oh, y-yeah. You know how it gets; I haven’t really had a lot of free time.”

You nodded at that, knowing that this was common among all heroes, especially sidekicks. “Well, do you have any free time now? I’d love to talk about what you’ve been up to! Plus, I got to tell you this thought I had for my quirk!”

Izuku backed away slightly. “Ah, not really. Like I said, big mission and I have to study up on some files…”

“Oh, okay. Of course, sorry.” He noted the slightly dejected look on your face, even a flash of hurt. Oh no, had he done that? He couldn’t bear the thought that he could have hurt your feelings.

“But I’d love it if you came with me on Saturday!” he found himself saying. You perked up at that.

“What’s on Saturday?”

“I’m meeting up with some of my classmates from UA. I don’t know if you’d be interested in going to a gathering with a bunch of strangers—”

You leaned in, grabbing his hands. “Are you kidding? I’d love to meet some of your classmates! I bet you all have so many cool stories!”

Izuku stared down at your joined hands, his face once again resembling a strawberry. “R-right. Well anyway, I should get going.” He quickly pulled his hands from yours. “I’ll see you soon.” And with that, Deku practically sprinted away.

You watched him go and then looked down at your hand. You’d caught another flash when you’d grabbed hold of him. Since your quirk was more sensitive to touch, strong daydreams could make their way in even if you weren’t actively using your quirk.

Looking back up at Deku, your eyes narrowed in his direction, not really believing it. Did Deku…? But he was Deku, he didn’t think like that. Did he?

~~~~

Izuku was lying in his bed, staring up at his ceiling. As he did, he imagined what it would be like to have you there with him. How he would hug you close and then begin to kiss you. He could imagine the arch of your body, the feel of your skin as he made his way down your legs, gently coaxing the hem of your pants down…

With a slight sense of shame, he grabbed at the lotion next to his bed, his mind continuing to wonder at all the ways he could show you how much he wanted you.

Of all the ways he would try to please you.

His fingers intertwined with yours, holding onto to you tightly and never letting you go.

~~~~

You were at the bar with Deku, laughing with his friends as they told you stories of all the trouble he’d gotten into over the years.

“How often did he fight with Bakugo?” you exclaimed.

Iida sighed in exasperation as Ururaka giggled. “At one point, it seemed at least once a week. It became more intense after Midoryia actually beat him for the first time.”

“Tsk. I didn’t fucking let him get away with it either! I made sure to beat him next time!” yelled Bakugo.

“Didn’t he beat you last time the two of you sparred, kero,” interjected Tsu, who you found to be absolutely adorable.

Bakugo slammed his hand down on the table, causing a few small explosions to go off. “I’ll fucking go right now!”

“Not here, Kacchan. This is no place to be sparring,” said Deku quietly. You glanced over at the green-haired man; he’d been pretty quiet the whole time. His face was flushed from alcohol.

You could feel yourself getting pretty tipsy as well. You could especially tell because images were starting to filter into your mind as your control of your quirk slipped. Maybe you should drink a few glasses of water...ooh, perhaps something greasy to eat as well!

Standing up to look for the bartender, you lost your balance slightly and reached out to steady yourself. At the same time, Deku reached out to you, grabbing your hand. At that moment, several images flew through your mind.

You saw Deku. He was holding someone, in what looked like the exact bar that you were in now, except it was empty. As you watched, he hoisted the person up, kissing them as he laid them down on the table. Once he had them down, he started trailing his lips down the length of their body until he was at the hem of their pants.

“Deku, what are you doing?” you heard the person ask. The voice sounded familiar.

“I’m showing you how much I want you.” The young hero’s voice was huskier than normal.

Was...was that you? And him? What were you doing?

Suddenly, the scene changed so that you were now watching them in bed.

Deku was kissing your body again, caressing your breasts as he buried his face in your neck, biting it softly. Yet again bringing himself down, he slipped off your underwear and started kissing your inner thighs. He grazed his teeth lightly as he got closer to you.

Finally, he went down on you. Kissing your folds gently, he used his fingers first before using his tongue to—whooooaaa!

You snatched your hand away, your alcohol-infused mind trying to process what you’d just seen. So your suspicion had been right...Deku liked you! A lot apparently…

“Are you okay, ___?” You turned to the hero, blinking at him slightly. Deku liked you...and thought of you in a very different type of way that you hadn’t been expecting. How long? How often?

It took you a moment before you realized that you really didn’t mind. You liked that he thought of you like that. Hm...you wondered if you could use this to your advantage....you smiled evilly.

“I’m perfectly fine, Deku,” you said, leaning into him, your hand on his arm. “I’m going to get something to eat, you want anything?” You met his eyes.

He looked down at your hand. “Uh...n-no, I’m good.”

“Okay,” you replied sweetly, trailing your finger up his arm as you walked to the bar.

The rest of the night, you did everything you could think of to mess with the bumbling hero. You’d lean on him, flirt with him, trail your fingers along his hands, tracing the scars….you found you rather liked being close to him like this. You were actually starting to get annoyed that he wasn’t picking up what you were putting down.

Later that night, he was walking you home. You were walking pretty close to him, your arm brushing against his. You were considering grabbing onto his hand when the two of you reached your apartment.

After a few moments of silence, he awkwardly waved at you. “Well...good night.”

Ugh, you couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed at his hand, stopping him from walking away. “Seriously, that’s all you’re gonna say to me?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been flirting with you all night. Just kiss me already, I know you want to!”

“Whaaaat? When did I—”

You rolled your eyes. “I saw it.”

Deku blinked at you for several moments before he finally seemed to get it and he immediately started panicking, bowing to you fiercely. “I’m so sorry, I know I shouldn’t be having those thoughts, I’ve tried to stop them, I swear, I would never do anything like that, I pro—”

You suddenly pushed him against the wall, effectively shutting him up as you got in very close. “You better not finish that sentence. I wouldn’t want you to become somebody who has to break his word.”

Before Deku could ask what you meant, you kissed him, deeply. Though he was clearly shocked, he hesitated for only a moment before kissing you back. Backing away for a moment, you whispered breathlessly, “Now how about you show me what you’ve been wanting to do to me.”

His green eyes widened and then became set with a fierce determination. You squealed as he hoisted you up and spun so that it was your back against the wall.

“Finally.”

#midoryia izuku #izuku mydoria #izuku midoria x reader #bnha izuku #deku midoryia #boku no hero academia #bnha #bnha deku #bnha fanfiction #reader #reader has a quirk #midoryia smut #mha #my hero academia #deku x reader

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medicifm · 4 years ago

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* not me actually writing an intro the night before like i always mean to 😳 hennyway hey biddies , i'm chloe , im in the snowy part of pst , & i use she / her pns . i’ve been . . . . . . . scouring the tags for an rp like this so im so excited to bring this newish muse of mine here ! im here to do the honours of introducing my himbo - on - the outside , manipulative - shit - on - the - inside . . . oscar 🤡

( twenty three , cis man , he / him ) ✉ ― hey babes , have you met OSCAR MEDICI ? they’re working here as THE HEAD CHEF AT LORENZO’S , a few villas down from where you’re staying . you might hear them singing ALRIGHTY APHRODITE BY PEACH PIT playing from their villa , it’s their favourite song . yes , they hear that they look like JACK GILINSKY a lot , actually - it’s really uncanny . their friends back home in SYDNEY , AUSTRALIA say that if they were on a tv show , their trope would be THE WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING , how funny is that ? ✎ chloe , 22 , she/her , pst

𝐢 .

pinterest | wanted plots |

𝐢𝐢 .

name : oscar gabriel medici

age : twenty three

dob / sign : december 4th , 1997 / sagittarius sun , leo moon , libra rising

pob : sydney , australia

gender / pronouns : cis man & he / him / his

career : head chef at lorenzo’s , full - time heathen , professional disappointment for mothers everywhere .

drinking / drugs / smoking : yes / more often than he’d admit / never .

religion : jewish background , currently non - practicing .

physical : jack gilinsky fc , dark brown / black longish curls ( reference ) , dark brown eyes , canon jack g’s tattoos , no piercings , 6′2″ , 175 lbs , lean but strong . tattoos a la canon!jack , pearly white smile that he may . . . or may not . . . use crest 3D white strips weekly to maintain . lots of burns & scars from kitchen mishaps on his hands & arms .

traits : hard - working , flighty , intelligent , hedonistic , charismatic , intense , volatile ,

other : speaks weird french ( aussie accent tings ) , tans easily but wears sunscreen nonetheless , works hard parties harder , can’t read a lick of french but spends a lot of his free time with a coffee & a new paperback , has a bit of an internal vendetta against rich people ( for no real reason , he just doesn’t like most of them ) , has ins with a bunch the local farmers & visits them weekly , pretends he isn’t lowkey addicted to nicotine administered via a puff bar , liquor of preference is tequila or red wine , drives a lil vespa around town for the gag of it ( loves seeing it haphazardly parked amongst a bunch of luxury cars ) ,

character inspo : jess mariano ( gilmore girls ) , gordon ramsey 🤡 , patrick verona ( 10 things i hate about you ) , ferris bueller ( ferris bueller’s day off ) , han solo ( star wars ) .

𝐢𝐢𝐢 .

oscar’s arrival was as unwanted to his parents as could be : a father whose tendencies leaned towards alcoholism & abusing whoever was in arms reach , a mother whose life was more or less spent at the nursing home she worked as a nurse at , evading home . he became a self - inflicted loner , preferring to do literally the exact opposite of what was expected or wanted from him . he had a few friends he ran with , but watching them all go off & study or prepare for university solidified in oscar’s mind that the non - traditional route was for him . growing up by the water , oscar always felt more drawn to skip school & head to the beach than he did obeying his parents wishes .

one of his solaces was his grandfather , gabriel , who owned an italian restaurant in a beach town north of sydney . whenever the weather was bad & oscar felt like ditching class , he’d head over to his nono’s restaurant where his ass would be put to work as soon as he set eyes on the restaurant . it was tough work , but challenging in a way that fanned the flames in oscar’s heart , rather than dimming them . by the time he was a teenager he was working in the restaurant everyday after school , an agreement between him & his grandfather framed on the back wall that stated that as long as oscar kept from flunking out , he was allowed to spend as little or as much time in the kitchen as he pleased .

his absolute defiance of anything traditional & following the rules made him unpopular with adults , but lowkey cool with the girls . by the time he was sixteen , he was losing his focus on the restaurant & his grades & spending more & more time chasing after girls . his nono tried to get oscar to come back & focus , but as always , anything he’s asked to do quickly becomes the thing he’s running from the most .

tw : death , cancer . around his eighteenth birthday , his grandfather suddenly fell ill with a rare form of cancer that took his life six weeks after diagnosis , which rocked oscar’s world . he felt overwhelming guilt that he hadn’t spent more time with his grandfather , which manifested itself as oscar dropping out of school a year shy of graduation to commit himself fully to perfecting his grandfather’s techniques , learning all of his recipes ( read : pouring over dozens of handwritten cookbooks ) in some failed attempt to get back some time with him . oscar hadn’t been close with his parents in years , more or less seeing them as wardens of a prison he wanted nothing to do with . his grandfather’s will left him the deed to the restaurant , with an ask that oscar would promise to act on whatever he felt called towards , rather than doing what others expected of him . to be candid , this whole situation crushed him .

eventually , he decided he’d had enough of the stifling community he’d grown up in . he sold the restaurant to one of the regulars , a wealthy man who he’d come to acknowledge as somewhat of an uncle ; a safe pair of hands who would treat his grandfather’s legacy with as much passion & respect as oscar himself would . so he packed a bag , texted his mom that he was going traveling , & got on a flight that evening . he traveled all around - first through central america , then through europe , throughout asia & africa , & spent a few months driving a van across the continental united states & canada for fun .

eventually , he started getting low - ish on money , & decided to settle in one of his favourite places he’d visited : southern france . he arrived in early 2018 , taking on whatever menial tasks he could while learning french until he got a position as a line cook in an italian restaurant . a few years later , he’s made his way up to filling the head chef position , an honour he takes with pride . he’s implemented many of his own recipes while using flavours he’s learned from his travels , with ingredients straight from local farmers . he’s earned the restaurant a two michelin star rating , & is constantly striving for more to get that last star ( both for his own ego as well as a secret debt to his grandfather ) .

𝐢𝐯 .

ok but that vid where gordon puts two pieces of bread on someone’s head & calls them an idiot sandwich ? that’s oscar . intense as fuck in the kitchen , & best nobody catch an attitude about it bc he will not hesitate to hand them their ass on a silver platter .

another gordon reference : you know how he’s the spawn of satan with adults , but the sweetest , most helpul guy with children ? that’s oscar with his staff vs people he wants something from . whether its to sleep with them ( usually his first instinct to be fair ) , their money or clout , or to get into some wild adventure some random resort staff wouldn’t dream of getting into , he can turn on the charm whenever needed .

can go from absolutely demoralizing someone in the kitchen to stepping out into the lounge to schmooze with his friends or cougars who leave phat tips in 0.2 seconds . the speed at which his mood can completely 180 is one of the seven world wonders ( last i checked ) .

his love language is absolutely acts of service . catch him actually falling in love once in a blue moon & making it his mission to cook her extravagant meals everyday .

the wolf in sheep’s clothing label epitomizes his nice , helpful , charismatic exterior , while ulterior motives & disdain for those who grew up with more money than he did lurk beneath the surface .

he can be MEAN when someone fucks him over or pushes him farther than he wants - isn’t afraid to go for the low blows or send someone home with an identity crisis if it protects himself .

lowkey alcoholic but he’s not ready for that conversation yet . he sees it more as perks of the location & atmosphere he’s found himself in .

also lowkey falls in love HARD , like this man is a closeted romantic but self - sabotages all potential relationships before they can get to that point out of fear he’ll be unable to live life of his own volition ( takes a flaky philophobic sagittarius to know a flaky philophobic sagittarius 🤡 ) . has probably only had a few real relationships besides flings bc he’s afraid .

𝐯 .

check out my wanted plots tag listed here , as well as my pinterest wanted plots board here . here are some other suggestions hehe :

best friend / ride or die : someone who knows about his past , keeps him grounded when he’s lk spiraling & wants to drop everything & flee to some far flung corner of the earth .

actual relationship : it was fast - burn with deep feelings ( not them thinking they’re soulmates after dating for a month . . . pete & ariana type beat ) but completely unrealistic . they have their own life , he’s pretty much tied to the restaurant , not to mention his lack of sharing anything about his childhood / life back home . they loved & cared for each other , but crashed & burned fairly quickly because of how idealistic it was . they can either be on bad or good terms now .

hateship with sexual tension 😈

summer flings !!

fake boyfriend : he shows up on her arm to her family’s events where she’s expected to have a partner . it’s not a real relationship , but her parents don’t need to know that . he plays the part & satisfies her parents beyond the bare minimum , & in return she invites him to parties , takes him out on her family’s yacht , etc etc . we luv some symbiosis

i can always use more fwbs hehehe

squad : a group of people who do everything together , have a chaotic group chat , have nicknames for one another , are utd on each other’s sex lives , party all night then show up to brunch hungover together .

cat & mouse : someone he’s pursuing who isn’t quite giving in , & vice versa . maybe it’s been going on a few years , everytime they’re in st tropez they have this weird lil flirtationship thing goin on until she leaves , they forget about one another , then pick it right back up when she returns .

confidant : preferably someone from a working class background who understands his plight of being a worker amongst people who expect to be waited on .

enemies : they don’t like his attitude , & he doesn’t like them in return . lots of eye rolls , shit talking , & tension between their mutual friends .

we’re sleeping together but we shouldn’t be but that’s half the fun : for whatever reason they became friends , starting hooking up despite it not being a good idea ( read : he’s exes with one of her friends , her parents want her focused on career , they’re part of the same friend group , etc ) . . . but now they can’t stop . lots of stolen glances across rooms , squeezing past one another in a crowded club just close enough for a quick touch to the back , quietly leaving one another’s places the morning after & playing dumb to anyone who asks .

#villasintro #eeeek im hyped !!

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bigasswritingmagnet · 4 years ago

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When History Comes Calling ch 2/14

Fandom: Mass Effect Rating: Teen Pairing: none, some background Fshep/Garrus

Summary: In 2170, Mindoir was attacked by slavers. Hundreds were taken captive, hundreds more were slaughtered. Kiryn was the only Shepard to make it out alive. For years, he buried his grief, kept his head high, and did whatever he needed to survive.He survived Mindoir and the batarians and when the Reapers came he survived them too.

But when the war ends and he escapes his batarian masters to the Citadel, the discovery that his twin sister is alive and well might just be the thing that breaks him. The Hegemony's greatest assassin will remember what it means to have something to lose.

AO3 link in notes!

belated and special thanks to @reblob-blob for beta-ing, and @snuffes @thehumantrampoline for their assistance <3

---

His plan had been sound - find the largest assortment of refugees in the safest location. Keep a low profile. Get the lay of the land in the world outside batarian space. He remembered the Citadel being touted as a beacon of safety and civil obedience, but after 15 years in his… particular profession, Vondur had learned that there was always a seedy underbelly. Sure, he was going to have to start from scratch, but with his skills it wouldn’t take long to rebuild his reputation.

In practice, though.

In practice, it was hundreds of shipping crates stacked on top of each other, the smell of unwashed bodies and dirty laundry, a constant jumble of voices crying and shouting and arguing, bright lights glaring down like spotlights. Guards at the exits, eyes suspicious and watchful; dull-eyed bureaucrats processing the new comers without sympathy or interest.

It felt like the slave pens.

He found a dark corner out of sight of the main crush of people. It looked out over one of the Citdael’s arms, the orange city glow dotted with spots of black where the power was lost or the buildings crushed to rubble -- the night sky turned inside out. He wrapped his hands around the railing and tried to find the moment.

It was a technique his very first instructor had taught him, and one that he had come to rely on heavily. Ignore the past, ignore the future, ignore even the present. By the time you acknowledge the present it is already the past. Find the moment you are in. The breath in your lungs, the beating of your heart. The feeling of cold metal warming against his palms, the light reflecting off passing ships lighting up the insides of his eyelids...

The feelings that the present was stirring up - old fear, nausea, memories of being helpless and alone -- all faded, leaving him clear headed and calm once more.

When Vondur opened his eyes, the world had righted itself. He was still here, but now he could think. And he could notice, consciously, the person coming up behind him. He’d been aware of their presence, but only by instinct. Now he could analyze the clues he’d picked up -- perfume, the rustle of clothing, the weight of the tread -- and know not to attack the civilian human female coming up behind him.

“Excuse me?”

He pretended to be surprised when he turned. The human gave him a shy smile. She was small, about five foot even, with her blonde hair pulled up into a high ponytail. Younger than he’d been expecting - maybe 16 at the most. Either fashion hadn’t changed in the last 15 years, or the colonies were more fashion forward than he remembered them being, because her clothes would have been considered retro when he was her age.

Most interesting, however, was the lanyard around her neck. From here he could see the word ‘volunteer’ in big orange letters on the ID card that hung from it.

“Hi there! My name is Sarah. I’m a volunteer for the Citadel Refugee Project. I help new arrivals get settled in after they’re processed.”

Her words had the patter of a memorized script, but suddenly she hesitated.

“So, um, I’m not sure if anyone told you-- and I’m sorry if I’m wrong, but I’ve been seeing a lot of them and-- I thought, if it was me I’d want someone to make sure I knew-- I just-- it’s just that I--”

“It’s okay,” he said, giving her a casual, nonthreatening tilt of the head.

She straightened up and cleared her throat, and didn’t quite meet his eyes when she said “administration can get you in touch with a doctor who can deactivate and remove batarian control devices.”

Vondur, having only just righted himself,was once more knocked off course into a whirl of unpleasant memories.

Like all slaves, Vondur had received the implant when he was first captured. At first, he had been constantly aware of it, perpetually afraid that any bump or electric shock would set it off. As the years passed it had become normal, a part of him the same way his biotic implant was. Filomet never had cause to threaten him with it, let alone put it to use. Most of the time, Vondur didn’t think of it at all.

Vondur reached up a hand and touched the back of his head. In the soft place at the base of his skull was his implant. Just above it, a thick ridge of scar tissue that did not completely hide the small, hard lump of the device.

Remove it?

Why shouldn’t he? He was a free man, now. Able to choose his own path. He would never need to answer to anyone else ever again. Yes, he’d planned to keep up his… profession, but now they would be his jobs, his choices. The payment would be entirely his, not whatever sliver of a percentage Filomet felt generous - or frightened - enough to pass his way.

He could choose who he would kill.

Sarah was looking up at him nervously. He did a mental check of his expression - impassive, neutral, displaying no trace of the shock she’d given him. Good.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice as level as ever. “I would like to see the doctor.”

Sarah said she would walk him to the office -- a handful of desks -- located in one of the courtyards -- the squares of space the shipping containers opened into. It was staffed by actual employees of the CRP. They managed identification paperwork, locating families, finding temporary housing, medical support, ensured steady supply delivery, and in general jumped the bureaucratic hoops Citadel administration demanded be jumped. These were the souls who actually solved the problems, Sarah said.

“The Citadel set up the camps and they send food down but they don’t really care. They spend more time making sure nobody gets into the rest of the station than they do helping people.” Her voice held a heavy bitterness that surprised him; the kind that came from experience.

“You’re a refugee,” he said, and she gave him an awkward half smile and a one-shoulder shrug.

“Yeah. I mean, I was. I guess I’m technically a citizen of the Citadel now. But I came in on one of the shuttles. I made a lot of friends down here, and I knew what it was like. It didn’t feel right to just… leave and never come back”

“Understandable,” said Vondur, who didn’t understand at all. He had made friends - or at least bonded - with some of the other slaves in the pens. When Filomet had taken him away, Vondur had not looked back. He wanted to get as far away from that part of his life as possible.

I did help them, he thought, irrationally defensive, I saved them in the arena. I stopped Filomet from using bait slaves. There was nothing else I could have done. It’s not like slaves can buy slaves, or free them. I needed to focus on survival. There's nothing wrong with that.

Sarah was still talking. She was, it seemed, quite the chatterbox. And very… peppy.

“It’s not so bad down here. Especially now the war is over. The Reapers were kind of a major bummer, y’know?” She flashed him a grin.

‘Major bummer’. Billions dead, worlds destroyed, your understanding of galactic history and your place in it completely upended…

“Mmhmm,” he said.

“They do holiday celebrations, and you can go to virtual classes- oh, and we have vid nights now. You should definitely submit a suggestion, because they’ve played Fleet and Flotilla like a billion times. What kind of vids do you like?”

Vondur floundered for an answer. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d watched an actual film. It would have been on Mindoir, but he couldn’t think of a single title, couldn’t even remember what kinds of vids he used to watch.

“I don’t watch a lot of vids,” he said. That was a legitimate response, right? Plenty of people out there didn't watch vids.

“Oh. Well what do you like to do?”

This one was even worse, because Vondur did have answers, and not a single one of them was something he could say to this girl. He liked working on upgrades for his sniper rifle. He liked to spar and train to improve his skills in killing people. He liked to practice shooting.

He liked to work. Not to kill. But everything up to that point, the challenge of it, the rush of adrenaline. There was, in his heart, a grim satisfaction in a difficult task completed.

“I like to read,” he said, lamely. Desperate to change the direction of the conversation, he said "And you?"

“I love vids. I want to make my own when I’m older. I especially like the classic stuff. Did you know the Blasto vids are based on a human series from the 1970s? It’s called Dirty Harry; you should check it out. Blasto wishes he could be that cool.”

“Definitely,” he said, wondering what the hell a Blasto was. An argument broke out ahead of them, catching Vondur’s attention. And oh, by the glorious Pillars of Strength, there was a familiar face in the crowd.

Vondur stopped suddenly.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “but I think I see someone I know.”

Sarah beamed up at him.

“Of course! I’m so glad for you! I’ll see you around-- wait! I forgot to ask you your name!”

“Thomas,” Vondur said. He'd chosen the name as one that was average and inconspicuous, but not too average or inconspicuous. Then, because it was a thing he remembered people said, added “Call me Tom.”

“It was nice to meet you, Tom,” she said, and stuck out her hand. It took him a moment to realize what she was doing, but just a moment. He shook it, and gave her what he hoped was a friendly smile. It wasn’t a very big one.

“Same to you.”

He waited until he was sure she wasn’t going to stick around to watch, and headed for the group of arguing batarians. They’d lowered their voices, but their body language told him they were barely holding on to their tempers. They were too busy to notice his approach, and Vondur liked that just fine.

It was so much more fun this way.

“Hello Ukarem,” he said, and watched the batarian go rigid. Very, very slowly the batarian turned and looked up at him. Vondur felt no small satisfaction seeing all four eyes go wide with stark terror.

“Vondur,” he rasped.

“Isn’t this a funny coincidence. Glad to see you made it to safety.”

The batarian opened his mouth, but all that came out was a strangled groan. Vondur glanced at the other batarians. He didn’t know them, but from the looks on their faces, they knew him.

He put a hand on Ukarem’s shoulder, dug his fingers in. He could feel the batarian trembling.

“Let’s take a walk. I’d love to hear all about it.”

“But…” one of the other batarians tried, braver than the rest. Vondur looked at him, focusing his entire attention on the lone soul who dared. Holding eye contact, Vondur tilted his head back ever so slightly. You are so beneath me, so little a threat, the movement said, that I do not need all four eyes to watch you.

It didn’t matter that Vondur didn’t have another pair; body language was body language, and Vondur knew how to send a message.

The batarians edged backwards, and Vondur steered Ukarem away.

They walked in silence for a minute or so, as Vondur led them to a less crowded area.

“I have money,” Ukarem said.

“That’s good,” Vondur said, mildly. “Financial stability is very important.”

“If this is about that job on Camala--”

Ukarem had provided wildly inefficient intel on the state of the target’s security. Vondur had been shot several times, and very nearly died. His target had managed to escape; one of Vondur’s few failures. Because the target was human, rumors started that Vondur had botched the job on purpose out of species sympathy. He’d had to kill several humans in very nasty ways to repair the damage to his reputation.

“Clouds long cleared,” Vondur said, in that same mild tone. “How long have you been on the Citadel, Ukarem?”

“I was in the Terminus system on business,” he mumbled. “Came here as soon as I heard they were taking people in.”

“Really? Why not Omega?”

“Seemed safer. The reports that were coming through…”

Vondur walked him over to the railing where they could watch the ships go by, hidden behind several large potted plants. Ukarem tried to dig his heels in, babbling nervously.

“Look, Vondur, you don’t have to do this, I can make it worth your while, whatever it is--”

“I need a favor, Ukarem.”

The batarian froze, then relaxed, relief pouring off of him in waves.

“Oh! Oh, yeah, sure, sure. Name it.”

Vondur leaned casually against the railing, looking out at the ships rather than at Ukarem.

“I think my least favorite thing about the Citadel is how suspicious they are. You can’t just walk in and out. You need paperwork. An ID card, birth certificate, background checks, proof of citizenship…” He looked over at the batarian. “You know what I mean. You have to be in the system if you want to get anywhere out here.”

“Yeah” he said, but his expression was puzzled. “But… you were born out here. Couldn’t you just…?”

“I wouldn’t want to raise a fuss,” Vondur said. “A lost child, presumed dead, escaping his dreadful masters and regaining his freedom, rising from the ashes of destruction to take back his old life? That would attract a lot of attention. The kind of attention that could be very… disadvantageous for someone in my field of business. But most importantly, Ukarem, I don’t want to.” The last was said in a voice hard and cold and full of dark promises.

“Right, right, sure, of course.” Ukarem was nodding very hard.

“Besides, if I went the legal route, well, I wouldn’t need your help. You’d become rather useless to me. And you like to be useful, right Ukarem?”

More nodding, Ukarem having apparently lost the ability to speak.

“You have friends on the Citadel, right? Friends who can get me what I need?”

The nodding continued.

“You should let them know I’m willing to pay a little more for express delivery. I’m in a bit of a rush.”

Nod nod nod. Vondur worried Ukarem’s head would go flying off.

“Oh, and before I forget… I’m still getting settled in, but once I am, you can let your friends know that my services are available. On a case by case basis, of course.”

Ukarem froze mid-nod, his eyes very wide.

“Really?” he blurted out. “But-- but you’re not-- you’re--”

Vondur patted him on the shoulder and turned to leave.

“If your friends could get back to me in the next two days, I’d really appreciate it.”

As he mixed in with the other refugees, following the herd towards the daily food distribution, Vondur wondered why he didn’t feel as light as he’d been expecting. He’d just solved several major problems in one go. Now he had the right connections, he was going to get the documents he needed, he’d be able to find some work…

So why was there some deep, biting dissatisfaction in his mind?

It was Ukarem’s surprise that he was looking for work. The sentence he hadn’t dared to finish. ‘But you’re not a slave anymore.’ Idiot. This was his trade, his craft. Throw away fifteen years of work honing and perfecting his skills just because he didn’t have to? What else was he supposed to do? He didn’t know how to do anything else. He didn’t need to know. And this life had been his choice. Filomet had stood in his cell and given him options, and Vondur had chosen. A short, brutal life in the mines, or the best weapons and training Filomet’s money could buy.

It had been an easy choice, and it had been his.

It had.

#mass effect #femshep #mshep #twin au #alternate universe fic #commander shepard

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beecherdrysdale · 4 years ago

Note

Hiii ok pt4 of Greece and yesss to everything you wrote.

Replying to brigids thoughts real quick

-firstly we are in MYKONOS!! It’s vv beautiful.

-so Jamie apparently only likes to sleep on Brigid and we are here for it!. Like security line, the chairs at the gate, on the plane. Ryan getting lost at the airport is soo funny I can even see myself laughing at him. But anyways we both get beeped and patted down as usual and we chirp each other like crazy while everyone’s just trying to get through security in peace.

- Jamie is the ultimate bf for Brigid. And Dylan’s your guy best friend just like Ryan and Braden ? Are to me :) question : what does it mean Lexi is busy with Quinner? Hehe. Anyways we are all rocking these sweatshirts that the boys gave us.

-omg I just find this interaction between cozzy and Jamie so funny. Like cozzy comfy but is slightly terrified and also sees this as a money making technique sooo he gained $50. Ok these rows are fun. Lol Kesh and Kirby just sitting away from us.

Brigid+Jamie + dyl: aw yes brigid is being a good besty to dyl. No sore neck for you dyl. Ughhh I can’t with this cuteness. Jamie cuddling you and you playing with his hair and tracing his freckles. Also slight makeout sesh between Jamie and Brigid. Hehe yes jamie was able to finally braid your hair correctly while you’re playing poker w dyl.

Kesh +Kirby: hehe yes they pretend to not know us on the plane and are just being adorable on the plane. Like they get along so well.

Lexi+quinner (+Ryan): I am astonished by Quinners ability not to stay awake from drinking that much coffee but I’m not complaining cuz I get to play with his amazing hair. Hehe you telling us ‘guys stfu Jamie and the others are sleeping’ and we say ‘so what?’ we decided to be considerate and not wake up everyone. Oo yes to the freckle kissing lol I need some moments.

- yes to the food. Aww Jamie pointing stuff out to you and both of you just smiling at each other. Ya we ain’t waiting, we get up real fast. I’d probably slap Ryan awake hehe. Nah everyone’s to cool to clap when the plane lands. I agree it pisses me off as well. Look at us getting curly/wavy hair. Jamie would be admiring your hair:)) I love that feeling.

- everyone’s in a great mood. The hotel is superb. Okk yes to sharing the rooms with our bbs. I better not be hearing anything through the wall Brigid 😏. Yess to us looking hot in our suits and Jamie getting jealous and mad that somebody catcalled Brigid. Side note: I would probably buy new swimsuits for this trip +cover ups. Jamie loves to carry you so you’re just enjoying him carrying you into the water. Kesh and kirbs are just being the most amazing couple ever. It’s just so balanced. Hehe me and Quinner are vv chaotic and are tackle each other in. If it’s a competition between the four of us. Yes to the moments in the water. Like holding onto their necks and just moving along with the waves and the hair slicked back and the suns reflection. Ooo I wanna join volleyball too but Ryan would probably hit me in the face. I get ready pretty fast as well so twinsies. Yes to us looking real good in our outfits and then having more moments on the beach( making out or just being romantic and walking along the shore.)

Okkkkk next

Morning after everybody just decided to sleep in cuz we are on vacation!!. Anyways breakfast. I heard that in Greece it’s common to rent out Vespas and just ride along the path and you can go cliff diving. And just explore the scenery cuz the Mykonos have a lot of beaches etc.

So we all get ready to head cliff diving and then to a new beach later. Ok so Brigid is w Jamie, I’m with Quinner, and kirbs is w kesh. The rest of the boys are sharing together as well. Hehe it’s so pretty and we are just holding onto our boys or maybe it’s the other way around. And it’s just so beautiful but really hot so everybody is ready to cool off. We get to the cliff and the water is sooo blue 😍. Hehe we all strip from our clothes and into are suits and the boys are looking hot. Anyways, since brigid is the daredevil of the group she wants to go first and then dyl steps up as well but Jamie’s semi terrified but wants to jump as well. So he says fuck it and jumps! I’d probably jump after with Quinner and Ryan and then the rest of the team. We all just have a bunch of fun and then we gotta figure out how to get out of the water lol.

Okkk i was also thinking about snorkelling/scuba diving.

Let’s say next day, we decide to rent out a boat and go snorkelling/scuba diving. Everybody’s really stoked because it’s really beautiful. I’m more of a snorkelling type of gal.

Side note: I went snorkelling in Mexico once and while snorkelling I see two barracuda sharks staring at me so ofc I got scarred and swam away so quickly lol. My best friend was just laughing at me.

Anyways some decide to go scuba diving and are in their suits hehe. What would you do brigid. Actually if I think about it more I might try scuba . Like imagine going w Jamie and Quinner and just swimming and holding each others hands.

It was vv fun to be on the yacht and just chilling . Dylan brings his guitar and just plays us some music. I also turn on some mamma Mia hits because I’m feeling it hehe. Kesh and Kirby are just cuddled up at the front of the boat and you and Jamie are just soaking up the sun. Same w me and Quinner. Gotta make sure they are wearing sunscreen.

Okkk after snorkelling/scuba diving. We all get dressed in cute summer outfits and go to dinner but then we all decide to go explore a bit of the Mykonos night life so we are just laughing and waking around Mykonos. We take some real cute photos and the boys just hold our hands etc. Some cute under the moon light kisses. Ughh to cuteeeeeeee. And then we return to the hotel room 😏😏

Okkk hope you enjoy pt5 will be us exploring the city!

hehe ok i love all of this, but it’s longgggggggggg

ok yes mykonos is gorgeous, if anyone doesn’t know what it looks like i highly suggest you go look it up

hehe yes i love my bb jamie sleeping on me. he can do it whenever he wants idc bc i loveeeee him. also bc he looks adorable when he’s sleeping and i can trace his freckles so there’s that. i just feel like we would be elite sleeping buddies, like i usually don’t sleep that much but i would if i could cuddle with jamie

lmao ryan getting lost in the airport is so funny to me, like we would all be chirping him tbh, bc we’ve been walking for like maybe 2 min, how did he get lost already? but eventually he finds us, and ofc both he and lexi get beeped and are chirping each other all the way through security lmao

omg yesssss i love jamie, literally the perfect bf 🥰 and then dyl and i are just chaotic best friends like lexi with ryan and braden

ummmmmm ok so when i said lexi is busy with quinner i just meant like going to get coffee and stuff, idk what you were thinking. we are in a public place so it can’t be getting too spicy lmaooo

yesss we are rocking the boys’ hoodies. they look better on us then them lol

lmao yesss cozzy being slightly terrified of jamie bc even tho jamie is the softest boi ever he can still be scary when he gets mad lol. also he wants the $50. and then kesh and kirby want nothing to do with us bc it’s too early in the morning lmao

me+jamie+dyl - hehe yes got to make sure my bestie dyl doesn’t get a sore neck so we can be in peak competitive performance later lol. but then also me and jamie being soft 🥺 playing with each other’s hair and chasing his freckles, i love that. also obvi it would somehow end up with the two of us making out a little bit lol

kesh+kirby - hehe yep just the two of them being adorable and pretending not to know us, love that

lexi+quinner(+ryan) - hehe yes i think we’re all amazed by quinner still falling asleep after drinking sm coffee tbh. but it’s ok bc then you get to play with his hair and just be cute 🥺 and freckle kissing!! but then also you and ryan being loud but finally shutting up once i yell at you lmao

omg yesss, jamie just pointing stuff out to me out the window while we’re landing, i love that. and then we get up reallll quick and grab our stuff and get off right away. lmaoooo you just slap ryan to wake him up. then our hair is getting all nice from the climate and our boys are admiring it :)

hehe yes we have a really nice hotel, and we’re all sharing rooms with our bbs. wow ok lexi, dirty-minded much? jk, jamie and i’ll try to be quiet at night lmaoooooo

hehe ofc we all look hot in our swimsuits, and jamie just goes off when someone tries to catcall me. ooooh we could all go shopping together to get new suits for the trip, that would be so fun!!

anwaysss then jamie carries me to the water even tho i’m like i can walk lol, he just wants to carry me so i’m not complaining. and then kesh and kirby just being a cute unchaotic couple bc someone has to be the parents of the friend group lmao. hehe then quinner and lexi being chaotic as usual and tackling each other in, and then me and jamie join lmao

oooooh yes the moments in the water are 🥵 like everyone looks hotter in the water with their hair slicked back and stuff sooo. and just wrapping your legs around their waist and holding onto the back of their necks....

haha yes i want to join volleyball too, i used to play so i can destroy lol. haha i can def see ryan accidentally hitting you in the face, but it’s ok bc we win bc we’re on the same time and we’re like the dynamic duo

hehe yes twinsies getting ready fast! omg yessss we’d look so cute in our outfits and we could just do a cute walk on the beach during sunset, but then also have more moments ofc

okkkk next part

hehe yes we all sleep in the morning bc jet lag and also idk, maybe some of us had eventful nights😏. but then we all get breakfast together. side note: i loveeee hotel breakfast bc we only eat healthy food at home and i can eat whatever tf i want at hotels lol. oooh yes then after breakfast we can rent out vespas and just go exploring and then we could go explore the beaches

oooh yes ok now it’s time to go cliff diving, and the water is sooooo blue. so then we all get ready and we strip down to our suits, and then i’m like sprinting to the edge to jump and dyl is right behind me bc we’re the daredevils of the group obvi. but then i see jamie coming and i can tell that he’s semi-terrified so i grab his hand and pull him in with me. and then you and ryan are behind us and you get quinner to come with you guys too and then everyone else follows behind. and then we’re just chilling down in the water and having fun. oooh we could play marco polo, i fucking love that game bc i can dominate lmao. anyways eventually we wanna get out and we’re like shit how do we get out bc we don’t see a way back up. and then we’re blaming kirby and kesh bc they’re supposed to be the responsible ones lmao. so then eventually dyl and i have to rock climb back up and grab all the stuff and carry it around to a part where we find a beach and meet you guys there lol

ooooh yes i love snorkeling!! i’ve never been scuba diving but i wanna try. so anywayssss the next day we rent out a boat to go snorkeling and scubaing and everyone’s super excited obviously. i would honestly want to do both, so i would do like half and half. and for both of them i can swim with jamie and hold his hand🥺 i’d probably be pulling him along a bit lol. and then quinner and lexi and kesh and kirby holding hands too🥺 haha also i love your snorkeling story that’s so funny lmaooo. the one time i went snorkeling in hawaii i was swimming literally right next to dolphins and sea turtles and it was so cool, but i was struggling a bit with the snorkel bc i was only like 8 and didn’t know how to use it lol. but i’ve used them at swim camp since then and i can actually use them now so that’s good

hehe yeah so then also just being on the yacht is fun when we’re not in the water. ooooh or we could get a catamaran those are really fun too! and then dyl can play us music on his guitar bc apparently he’s good at that too, like is there nothing this boy is bad at? anywayssss yes you can also play mama mia, i love that soundtrack it’s amazing. and then we’re all just chilling with our boys and trying to soak up the sun without getting burnt lol. and we try to get them to wear sunscreen but they still don’t want to even after what happened last time, so aloe vera it is😏

so then in the evening we’re off the yacht and we get dressed up cute again so we can go to dinner. and we can find a cute local restaurant to go to and then after we just go and explore mykonos. ooooh and we can see the nightlife and according to my friend its really easy to get drinks there so that’s fun lol. but we could also take superrrrr cute pics and stuff around mykonos to spice up our instas. awwwww and hand holding and kisses under the moon🥺 and then it’s back to the hotel for the night😏😏 jamie and i will try not to be too loud lol

ok overall i love all of this, and i’m superrrr excited for the next part!!

#ask answered #anon answered #skating anon

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minmotl · 4 years ago

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Chapter 29: Sui Zhou Offers Tang Fan His Wallet; Brings Him Home to Meet his Grandma

Context: Follows directly after Chapter 28. They’ve just closed the Li family case (Li Man and his mistress) without a proper resolution, Tang Fan climbs a tree and gets hurt, Sui Zhou honestly gives Tang Fan his salary and then brings him home to meet his grandmother, the only person whose approval means anything to Sui Zhou.

Introduction Post | Masterpost

–

Highlights under the cut

Ah Dong is also the kind of person to crave for any food that she sees, just like Tang Fan. When she was still with the Li family, she frequently went to the cook to steal food and the cook often made pastries for the young master and Lady Zhang, so after filling up a plate there was still an excess of one or two pieces. Thus, Ah Dong often enjoyed this little benefit, and now she’s already eight years old, but the curves that any young lady should have is still absent from her body. Instead, there are signs of her growing in the round, curvy direction.

However, the times she spent in the kitchen then was not for naught. At least from the Li family’s cook, she managed to steal some skills and techniques from watching, enough to satisfy the glutton with many requests in her own family. Just like this Huai Ye Tao, she began craving for this a little after Tang Fan’s description, and between the siblings, one of them climbed the tree, and the other made the gravy and noodles, and in the end they actually managed to produce it.

Thin and narrow Huai Ye gravy noodles sit in bowls that are as white as white jade, then drizzled with garlic, sesame oil and vinegar. The aroma wafts through the air. Tang Fan and Ah Dong close their eyes at the same time, drunk on the aroma, and if they told others they were just recently made siblings, no one would believe them.

“Come here, hurry and try it!” Tang Fan scoops out a bowl for Sui Zhou personally, and with a grin pushes the bowl, a spoon and some condiments towards the man.

Sui Zhou is speechless, lowering his head to taste it. It is actually pretty tasty. The freshly picked locust tree leaves have a woody, fresh scent and then made into gravy and mixed into the noodles, even the noodles have a sort of locust tree scent. It is fresh and delicious, most suitable for the summer, no wonder Tang Fan is obsessed with the dish.

Seeing Sui Zhou’s nod, Tang Fan’s eyes brighten, “Then let’s try the Golden Fried Chicken next time!”

Before Sui Zhou gets a chance to speak, Ah Dong says, “Da-ge, don’t forget that you cut your hand when you were climbing the tree, and you want to go and catch a chicken next time? Won’t you get bitten by the chicken instead?”

Tang Fan glares at her, “I’ve not climbed trees in a while, I’m a little rusty is all, a few more times and I’ll be familiar with it again.”

Ah Dong laments, “You’re going to try again? This morning I was looking out for you at the bottom of the tree and I was already anxious, so afraid that you would drop down. In the end you really did fall, please don’t tell me there’ll be a second time, I’m afraid I’ll be frightened to death!”

“It’s good enough that you have some to eat, but you’re still nagging every single day, be careful that you wont’t be able to get married in the future!” Tang Fan reaches out to pinch at her ear.

Don’t simply look at how round Ah Dong is, for her movements are still pretty agile. With a jump, she hides behind Sui Zhou in a flash and sticks her tongue out at Tang Fan as she laughs.

Sui Zhou asks, “You’re hurt?”

Tang Fan shakes his head, “Don’t listen to Ah Dong’s nonsense. It’s just a small cut from where I scratched myself on the branch.”

Sui Zhou nods and doesn’t say anything more.

Huai Ye Tao, cucumber salad, beef with gravy — one meat dish and another vegetarian one, both are fresh, easily digestible and appetising dishes. After finishing their meal, their heated bodies are relieved and cooled.

Sui Zhou used to live alone and even though he knew how to cook, because of how busy he was, most of the time he ended up settling for the easiest option. He ate at the court, eating while looking through records without tasting the food he was eating and it was rare that he could eat as he does now, the three of them gathered together, chatting as they eat and tasting the detailed preparation that went into these dishes.

In the beginning, he felt that there was no need to come back and have dinner if he was planning to work late, but at Tang Fan’s insistence, he complied. Now that he’s gotten used to it, no matter how late it gets, he always rushes back home. These changes happened to him unconsciously.

After they are done with the meal, Ah Dong begins to keep the bowls and chopsticks and Sui Zhou says to Tang Fan, “Come with me.”

He brings Tang Fan to his study.

“Your sleeves,” he says.

He has always spoken precisely and simply, and if he is able to not speak, Sui Zhou will not speak. When he is forced to say something, he is as precise as possible.

Tang-daren thinks, it’s good that he is so smart, otherwise it would be impossible to understand what Sui Zhou means from this utterance alone.

When he rolls up his sleeves, they can see the long cut on the outside of his right arm. While the cut is not deep, it’s likely that it bled quite a bit. Now that the bleeding has stopped, revealing a long scar caked with blood, the sight is a little alarming.

Sui Zhou glances at it once, before picking a cream out of the many bottles and jars on the table. Using his finger, he dabs at the cream lightly, before spreading it on Tang Fan’s wound. The wound stings and hurts, but he is still able to tolerate it. Tang-daren does not grimace or grit his teeth, but after the cream is spread evenly on his wound, he can feel a comfortable, cooling sensation and even the pain eases a little.

“This is a really effective ointment, I won’t have to worry when I end up falling again,” Tang Fan jokes, but it’s met with Sui Zhou’s cold glare, and so he shuts up.

“You’re still thinking about a next time?”

“…”

Tang Fan tries to resist, but fails, “The Huai Ye Tao was really delicious, don’t you think?”

He says it in a whining tone, as if he’s been wronged and is suffering. Sui Zhou’s lips cannot help but curve upwards, but fortunately, he manages to turn away and Tang-daren does not see it.

“If you want to have it in the future, tell me,” Tang Fan hears Sui Zhou say after a moment.

Tang Fan beams, “You’re truly a good xiong-di!”

Hearing that he’s a good xiong-di to Tang Fan all because he’s willing to climb a tree and pick leaves has Sui-baihu feeling a little helpless, “Didn’t you want to talk about the Li family?”

Tang-daren goes ‘oh’ twice, remembering the matter at hand and shifting from his gluttonous mode into a serious and proper state.

He goes through his hypothesis from start to end and at the end, says, “Lao Li once told me, he said that Li Man gave up on the Imperial Examination that year and when he first switched to commerce, he suffered a lot because he was inexperienced. He lost all his capital and the Li family was left with a lot of debt. At the brink of despair, they switched to some other business after and the Li family turned their situation around overnight. Lao Li is only a steward and he knew very little, but now that I think about it, perhaps the reason why Li Man could recover is because he obtained assistance from the White Lotus Sect. Both parties began colluding with each other early on, otherwise Li Man had a virtuous wife, a filial son and great wealth, how could he have been tempted to murder his wife and kill his son?”

Sui Zhou nods, “I will report on this matter and continue to chase after the whereabouts of Li Man and Lady Chen. The White Lotus Sect has been getting increasingly bolder with every passing year. The battle at Tu Mu Fortress more than a decade ago revealed the White Lotus Sect’s collusion with the Oirats.”

At the mention of that battle, Tang Fan sighs.

The world shook with the huge event that happened that year and at that time, Tang Fan was not yet born but this did not hinder him from understanding fully what happened. It’s not just him — if the whole world knew about this event, they would sigh just like Tang Fan too.

Because the Emperor did as he pleased and was unknowledgeable, it led to the event that caused more than 10,000 deaths, including talented officials and subjects who were celebrated for their achievements and accolades, and even the Ming dynasty’s three main battalions and their strategists were almost entirely decimated. After that, people would bring up Emperor Ying Zong’s political history repeatedly without mentioning his name directly.

However, Tang Fan thinks that it is too tragic to exchange so many deaths for the growth of a single person. What is done has already been done and no matter how much embellishment and euphemism used, the mistakes he made cannot be covered up. The Emperor was deceived and became the shame of the country. At that time, the Oirats invaded aggressively and the city was left defenceless. If it wasn’t for Yu Qian who stepped forward, rejected all dissenting voices, insisted on not abandoning the capital for another city, and even announced a new Emperor, leading the army to defend the city in a battle, it’s very difficult to say what Jing city and the Ming dynasty would have become.

Tang Fan reminds him, “From the incident at the fortress, we can see how large a scale the White Lotus Sect’s plans are. I’m afraid the issue with Li Man is only the tip of the iceberg.”

The moment the White Lotus Sect is involved, it is no longer something that Tang Fan himself can solve. The Northern Administrative Court has greater experience, and leaving them to investigate is clearly more suitable.

Sui Zhou nods in agreement, then says coldly, “Judging from Li Man’s personality, even without Lady Chen and the sect’s manipulation and temptation, it’s likely he would have still done what he did.”

Clearly, Sui Zhou does not think highly of this man, who dared to kill his wife and destroy his son like that.

“There are no lack of people like Li Man in the world, but because of the White Lotus Sect, they’re given opportunities,” Tang Fan says.

Looking at Sui Zhou’s weary face, he asks again, “Did you come across something complicated again?”

Sui Zhou shakes his head, “It’s just as I told you previously. The disciples of the White Lotus Sect made use of the fictional books to spread rumours and confuse the public, we’re only checking through the books thoroughly and banning the necessary ones from the market in recent days.”

Tang-daren goes ‘ah’ and then smiles eagerly as if trying to get on Sui Zhou’s good side, “Guang Chuan ah, can we discuss, if you see that book titled “The Memoir of the Pear Blossoms”, if there’s no problem after you’ve read it, can you not seize it There’s another one called “The Flying Sword:…”

His volume decreases with every word at the other’s expressionless gaze, and reveals a sheepish, guilty look at the end.

Sui Zhou says, “There are orders from above, as long as it’s fiction, we will seize it all equally. The people who are investigating the books are reading the books briefly and it’s very difficult to see which books exactly are problematic, so they would rather eliminate all the books together than let one escape.”

“Besides,” he pauses and looks at Tang Fan, his cold and stoic demeanour finally morphing into a bit of exasperation, “You’re an official of the court and still you went to write these books under a pseudonym. If you’re found out, your reputation will be ruined.”

Tang Fan chuckles, “How bad can that be? It’s not just me, but there are a lot of people in court who do this. We’re all using our pen names anyway, no one can identify us. Otherwise how is our salary able to support our families? If we don’t want to become corrupt, this is the only other alternative we have. I don’t mind telling you either, that Deputy Minister He from the Department of Justice? That “Sound of the Tides Under the Moon” was written by him, and also someone from my batch who was a literary assistant in Han Lin but has now moved on from there, he too wrote one or two novels for some quick cash. As his style of writing is more open than mine, his content is more vibrant and dynamic and is immensely popular with book publishers. His royalties are even more than mine, and also some people in the Ministry of Rites, after the exams, they will sell the answer scripts from the exams’ highest scoring candidates to the bookstores and earn money from there. There are plenty of scholars who buy those guides for reference and consideration, and those sell much better than novels!”

Sui Zhou listens to the man list out his examples as if he is counting the treasures in his own home, and his expression remains rigid.

He naturally remembers the Deputy Minister that Tang Fan mentioned, and that old man’s reputation for being righteous and stern precedes him, so Sui Zhou finds it very difficult to imagine that Old Man He will write these kinds of fiction in secret. And with the interrogation skills that the Embroidered Uniform Guards employ, they had no idea that this was happening. It looks like they will have to reflect on themselves as well.

He hears Tang Fan sigh again, trying to sound pitiful, “So, you have to look at us civil officials, we look as if we have a lot of power and status on the surface, but in reality, after studying so hard for more than a decade, once you become an official you have to receive and give gifts as well, so it is very difficult for us to proceed without money. Higher ranking officials host banquets, if you don’t turn up with a gift you will have offended the host, and it’ll be difficult for you to live in the future. If you want to give a gift but don’t have the money, one will end up stealing from the citizens, resulting in their suffering, but we can’t blame them entirely. I’m not speaking up for them, I’m just saying that there aren’t that many who are as intelligent and smart as I am, able to write novels and be paid royalties…”

“I have a salary,” Sui Zhou says.

Tang Fan continues, “Don’t you think, Guang Chuan…. huh? What did you just say?”

“I have a salary, so you don’t have to worry.”

Embroidered Uniform Guards are different from civil officials, their salaries comprise the monthly base salary and also allowances.

Their monthly salary is the same as officials, but the added allowances are to compensate them for out-of-city obligations or tasks. Those from the Northern Administrative Court often need to head out for investigations, and not only do they get abundant travel fees, when they get to their destination, they will receive plenty of courtesy gifts and some ‘gray’ earnings. Moreover, the Embroidered Uniform Guards’ original duty was to escort the Emperor when he travelled, which means they have to look fresh and respectable. The guards are also a bunch of fierce-looking, harbingers of calamity, so anyone who sees them are afraid. This is the reason why even when the courts have to tighten their spending, even when the Ministry of Revenue is temporarily unable to mete out money and provisions, they would never dare to decrease the guards’ salaries and food.

Everyone knows that it is better to pick a soft persimmon to pinch at, after all.

Tang Fan stays alone and it’s not as if they are responsible for the livelihoods of a whole household. Even with an added Ah Dong, the expenditure will not increase by much, but Tang Fan is a glutton for delicious food, so he runs outside often and ends up with little savings at the end.

On the other hand, Sui Zhou is the epitome of a person who lives simply and is thrifty. He lives alone but doesn’t indulge in any vices, and doesn’t have an extraordinary passion for good food. Everyday, aside from being at court, he is at home. His life is so simple that it’s comparable to that of a practicing monk’s. After the necessary gifts are given to his family and higher-ranking officials during the New Year as is expected of him, there is still plenty of excess after the year. Tang-daren pales in comparison.

Upon his words, Tang Fan is stunned for a moment before he begins to laugh manically. He ends up having to support himself with a hand on Sui Zhou’s shoulder, and simultaneously rubbing at his stomach, “Aiyo, hey, then we siblings will have to depend on Sui-baihu in the future. When I truly finish spending my salary, you must supplement me with more!”

“Hnn,” Sui Zhou agrees.

Tang Fan still cannot help but want to laugh, and yet he is also a little moved. He knows that not just anyone will be able to make Sui Zhou say what he just said.

“Guang Chuan, to be honest, I didn’t have much of an impression about the Embroidered Uniform Guards, but after I knew you better, that’s when I knew that among the guards, I would have a friend like you, a real good man who’s just like my soulmate!”

A bit of warmth surfaces in Sui Zhou’s cold, even eyes, even though he still simply hums in response as he typically does.

“In a couple of days, it’s my grandmother’s birthday, are you willing to go with me?” he asks.

Zhou is his grandmother’s surname, and her identity is unusual. She is the present Empress Dowager Zhou’s older sister.

Lady Zhou came from a common background and the Ming dynasty has rules for women in the harem to be chosen from the public’s good families and not from high-ranking officials. This is to prevent the harem from colluding with their relatives to intervene in politics. Lady Zhou was just like many other women in the harem but ended up with the title of Royal Consort before finally becoming the Empress Dowager as the Emperor’s mother. The Zhou family naturally rose with her growth, prospering. Aside from Empress Dowager Zhou’s father receiving a title, her siblings also received titles. Due to Lady Zhou, Sui Zhou’s grandfather was also given the title of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Commander is the Embroidered Uniform Guards’ highest title, but it is not just one person who holds the Commander title. For example, Royal Consort Wan’s younger brother Wan Tong is also Commander as well, but he holds real power and authority in this case. There is another Commander called Yuan Bin, who once saved the late Emperor’s life and so has a lot of influence within the Embroidered Uniform Guards. Similarly, he holds power and authority as well.

Aside from these two people, there are plenty of Commanders in the guards, but most of them were given the title in name only by the Emperor. With just the name, these individuals take the money without lifting a finger, and naturally do not have any real power.

These external relatives given titles are part of the nouveau rich and cannot be compared to people like Marquis Wu An Hou who was given his title after having earned it in battle. It’s a nice thing to hear, but they don’t actually have any power. All they do is collect money and provisions each year.

Thanks to Empress Dowager Zhou, within the Sui family, Sui Zhou’s father and brother were also given roles in the Embroidered Uniform Guards, the kind of roles where they only need to collect money without having to work. This caught a lot of attention from others because they aren’t even Empress Dowager Zhou’s direct relatives and are not from the Zhou family, which means there’s an additional layer between her and the Sui family. After Sui Zhou entered the guards, he could only start as a xiaoqi and get slowly promoted from there.

Since they do not have any authority and the family is considered an external relative, most civil officials are unwilling to interact with the Sui family. This is firstly to avoid wagging tongues and secondly, no official is willing to lower their status like that.

After Tang Fan hears him say that, without even thinking about it, he says, “Since we’re brothers, your grandmother is naturally my grandmother. In two days just remind me, we will go together.”

Sui Zhou’s heart warms, and he hums in assent.

***

Two days later, on Madam Zhou’s birthday, Tang Fan brings along Ah Dong and follows Sui Zhou back to the Sui house to celebrate his grandmother’s birthday. Madam Zhou only has one son and daughter, and her daughter is Sui Zhou’s mother.

After Madam Sui married Sui Zhou’s father, they had three children with Sui Zhou in the middle. Above him there is his older brother Sui An and the youngest is Sui Bi.

Despite being Empress Dowager Zhou’s relatives, the Sui family is a common, normal family, and unlike the Wu An Hou manor and the Li family, they do not have the practice of having three wives and four concubines. Sui Zhou’s father only has one wife, Sui Zhou’s mother, and Sui Zhou’s paternal grandparents are no longer in this world.

Madam Zhou’s son is a small official out of the city and only her daughter remains in Jing city. The siblings planned and in order not to let their mother go through the exhausting journey by carriage out of the city to enjoy the last of her years, they decided to leave Madam Zhou in the city. The Sui family then bought the house next to the old lady’s and moved over to become her neighbours. In this case, they would be able to take care of her but prevent others from gossiping about them.

After listening to the explanation of the Sui family tree, Tang Fan finds it a little strange, “If that’s the case, it seems that your numbers are simple, so why did you move out on your own?”

Sui Zhou says idly, “My brother was given the title of baihu, but it is merely an empty title. He couldn’t get used to the duties in the Embroidered Uniform Guards and wanted to excel by studying, but until now he has not managed to pass the qualifying exams. While I began in a position lower than his, today I can be considered as an official as well. My sister-in-law doesn’t like me and rather than having to deal with endless arguments at home, I might as well move out for some peace and quiet.”

Tang Fan understands immediately. Every family has its own troubles.

Sui An is the eldest and is expected to take over the family in the future, so his parents definitely are more biased towards him and have higher expectations of him. Judging from Sui Zhou’s character, he definitely couldn’t be bothered with these matters at home and so decided simply to move out to avoid conflict, lest the brothers fight.

Madam Zhou’s son and his family is unable to return from outside the city to celebrate her birthday, so the event is naturally organized by her daughter instead. Considering Madam Zhou and Empress Dowager Zhou’s relationship, the Sui family would not dare to celebrate her birthday simply, but Madam Zhou did not wish to host a grand celebration. She said that she was born into a simple, common family and can enjoy riches today only because of the Empress Dowager. Thus, she should cherish the fortune she has. Instead of hosting a party and making a fuss, wasting money and inviting a bunch of people she doesn’t know to celebrate with her, she would rather gather all her grandchildren and have a good meal together.

The birthday celebration is being held in the Zhou family house. Sui Zhou and his family on need to move next door to celebrate for Madam Zhou, which is convenient.

When Tang Fan arrives at the Zhou house, that’s when he realizes that other than he and Ah Dong, everyone else is from the Sui family.

Madam Zhou has passed sixty, has a full head of white hair and looks both kind and warm. The moment she sees Sui Zhou, her eyes fold into happy lines as she smiles and she reaches out for him, pulling him over, “My good grandson is here to see me, hurry, come here, come here!”

Even if Sui Zhou’s face is habitually stoic, the moment he sees Madam Zhou, his expression softens. He greets Madam Zhou and wishes her a happy birthday before giving her his present.

With respect, he calls, “Grandmother.”

“Good, good, good!” Madam Zhou says ‘good’ three times consecutively, and then seeing Tang Fan and Ah Dong standing next to Sui Zhou, she smiles, “Ah Zhou, are these your friends?”

Before Sui Zhou can answer, someone on the side comments, “Er-di, it’s a family banquet today. Madam said not to bring outsiders, so why did you still bring strangers here? There are female members of the family here today and it’s not as if they are close to our family, this was too inconsiderate of you!”

The person who spoke is Sui Zhou’s sister-in-law, his brother’s wife, Lady Jiao.

Sui Zhou and his married older brother cannot see eye to eye and their relationship can be attributed to the disagreement Sui Zhou has with his sister-in-law. Sui Zhou is still single, but Lady Jiao doesn’t like him and keeps driving a wedge between Sui Zhou and Sui An. After a while, the brothers’ relationship would be affected as well.

Moreover, Sui Zhou grew up under the care of Madam Zhou as his parents doted on their eldest son, but Madam Zhou doted instead on Sui Zhou. The Embroidered Uniform Guards is a popular place to work at. Sui Zhou is the second son and doesn’t have the surname Zhou, so originally he had no chance of obtaining any titles, but Madam Zhou spoke up for him before Empress Dowager Zhou and Sui Zhou shifted from having only an empty title to an actual post. It’s no wonder that Lady Jiao is green with envy at the differential treatment.

However, she forgot that Sui Zhou is not a person to be easily bullied.

The moment she finishes speaking, Sui Zhou responds, “From today onwards, they’re close friends of the family then.”

===

Notes:

*馋货 chan huo

A glutton who is craving for something specific to eat.

*柿子要捡软的捏 shi zi yao jian ruan de nie

Soft persimmons are sweet and delicious, this is a metaphor for how people are likely to succeed with bullying the weak (soft persimmon) and are scared of rock-hard persimmons. In this case, this metaphor is used to show that people are scared of the Embroidered Uniform Guards when they’re fierce, but being nice to them and turning them into soft-er persimmons will make things easier for people.

*灰色收入 hui se shou ru

Literally translated as gray earnings i.e. money someone makes from moonlighting.

*通家之好 tong jia zhi hao

To show that two families have a good and meaningful relationship between them, as if they were from one big family. Being a 通家 (tong jia) I think is like an official, big thing? Not something to be taken lightly, so when Sui Zhou declares Tang Fan and Ah Dong to be a 通家 (tong jia), he confers some sort of status on them.

*兄弟 xiong di

Meaning brother. This can be meant for like bros - brothers or actual biological brothers. You can also use both characters separately, with xiong used for a male your age or older, and di for someone younger. Tang Fan calls Sui Zhou Guang Chuan-xiong quite frequently.

*百户 bai hu

There are four ranks within the Embroidered Uniform Guards - 千户 (qian hu)、百户 (bai hu)、总旗 (zong qi)、小旗 (xiao qi) arranged highest to smallest rank, aside from the Commander 统领官 (zong ling guan).

#tsomd #the sleuth of ming dynasty #tsomd novel #成化十四年 #fanzhou #tang fan #sui zhou #I LOVED THIS CHAPTER!!!#sui zhou so gently treating his wound for him #offering him all his money

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robin-the-enby · 5 years ago

Text

Treasure of all war boys p.2

Pairing: Nux x oc

Summary: A girl is allowed to join the war boys after catching Immortan Joe's attention. After taking the time to get to know who they really are, she makes it her goal to make their lives at least a bit better.

Warnings: suggestive talk, gore (there's a dead body), depressive thoughts (just a tiny bit), argument

A/N: I don't know if anything I wrote about is cannon, I just wrote it how I interpreted it. With the help of the game and my favourite fanfic ^^. If I didn't separate this, it would be too long I think. So here's part 2!

Gifs found on Google

* * * * *

Weasel stuck by Nux after that night. Partly because she felt like she owed him for saving her life and partly because he was like an endless well full of information.

She realized that all this time she was so occupied with her thoughts, that she couldn't see, truly see, those around her. Luckily for her, Nux was very sociable and knew a lot about the war boy hierarchy.

She traded affection for information without him ever realizing and before they knew it, a beautiful friendship bloomed between them.

They were there for each other at all times. He held her close and whispered encouragements in her ear. She was there for him when he discovered his tumors, which he named Larry and Barry. Many nights she spent the whole night wiping sweat from his face when night fevers hit him. On those nights, she let him play with her hands and examine her scars, just to distract him from the pain he was in. He comforted her when others made fun of her third eye, reassured her that it doesn't make her any less fierce or intimidating. "If anything," he said "it makes you even more chrome."

When she felt ready and educated enough, she put her plan to action.

She started off easy, with the youngest pups. Some of them were barely three years old, scared and unknowing, just like she once was. She made sure to be kind to them, play with them, give them affection and sometimes sneak some leftover food for them. Soon, she had her own little army of little pups following her every step, learning everything from her.

This, in the end, helped everyone in the hierarchy. With the youngest cared for, the older, more important war boys, had one worry less.

She also made sure to spar with her peers, learn their names and exchange tips and advice on eachother's techniques, while the youngest observed from the sidelines.

At that point, the war boys acknowledged her existence and didn't put so much work on her, seeing as she became the selftitled mother hen.

But in the end, she always came back to Nux. During the day, when she'd focus on her goal, he spent his time with blackfingers, learning about cars and other machines.

And at night, they would hold eachother close and confess their dreams as well as their fears. They were so proud of one another and they often made it known.

And so they grew. Both of them became war boys and got their markings. Nux had markings on his lips, vertical lines that made him look more like a skeleton, to appear more intimidating and a whole V8 engine on his chest, to show his devotion to cars, machines and drivers, who he had become.

Weasel's markings were simpler. Two canines on her lower lip to represent her name and some details around her third eye, a fake eyebrow and some details on the eyelids, because everybody saw her as the one who watches over all, like a mother and like a friend.

That night, Weasel and Nux laid facing eachother, caressing their new marks with ghostly touches. It was at that moment something in their gazes changed, and even though they felt it, they didn't think much of it.

Now that Weasel was a war boy, she needed to up her game a bit. She still took care of the pups, but mainly teaching the older ones how to take care of the youngest, sometimes training with them in her spare time.

When she wasn't raiding, she challenged other war boys to friendly fights, befriending them in the process. She knew pretty much everyone and soon became a very strong and skilled fighter, often using her quick wit as an advantage and gained respect among young and old alike.

However, she often visited her friends in the Organic mechanic's shop and helped them from boredom or with their treatment.

All of this took a lot of her energy, but even so she still listened to Nux rambling about his day every night, lulled to sleep by his voice.

He didn't mind it at all. She told him what she was trying to do and when he thought about it, she was the only one to treat them like actual living beings. Not even they treated eachother like that. And maybe that's why everyone liked her so much.

Despite her daily activities, Weasel's official position in the army, the war boy hierarchy, was a lancer.

When on a raid, she stood on her perch behind the seats and did things the driver didn't have the time for, like looking out for enemies or protecting the car and the driver in it.

Although she and Nux were in the same pack, she wasn't his lancer. Nux found another friend, a war boy, strong and ambitious, it was no wonder Nux was drawn to him. His name was Slit.

Slit was Nux's lancer. However, unlike other drivers and lancers, these two almost always kept eachother company outside of raids. Some would say they could even be called friends. But Weasel had a knack that Slit would immediately disagree with that statement.

He was an interesting character to her and she liked observing the strange relationship Slit and her dear Nux had together. Slit wanted to be noticed by the Immortan himself, much like every other war boy, but Slit's desire rooted deeper than the rest's. And Nux admired that.

Something inside their souls linked them, creating a strong bond and even after all the years spent as their friend, Weasel found herself completely clueless as to where their bond originated, at times creating a massive tension between the two males.

Perhaps it was the thrill of challenging one another, because both of them were so unpredictable, searching in the other's eyes for their next move.

At the end of the day however, no matter how many times Slit said friendship was for weaklings, he didn't have anyone, and so they welcomed him every night onto their cuddle pile, with Nux holding Weasel and Slit laying haphazardly over them, war pups serving as a good blanket.

The silence in the desert, that used to be an ocean, was interrupted by the majestic roar of V8 engines, red dust thrown into every direction by spiked wheels.

Excited cheers of young war boys filled with bloodlust were just a tad quieter than the singing of their war vehicles. Their pack had been assigned this part of the Great white to be scavenged for parts and other useful items and they took their orders seriously. Well, as seriously as a bunch of young adults can.

So far, it was pretty mediocre. The pack haven't encountered any enemies, but no treasures were found either. For now, they just playfully raced eachother, trying to be faster than everyone else, to be the leader.

Their game was interrupted by the victorious yelling of a lancer on the currently leading car, announcing smoke on the horizon. And there it was, black like the night, signaling a possible car wreck. The drivers willed their machines to go faster and cheers errupted once again as they took off, speeding to their destination.

It seemed that no one got to the wreckage, because it didn't look taken apart. It couldn't have happened too long ago, the two cars that must've collided were emitting black smoke, one of the cars was even aflame.

The war boys knew they had to act quickly, a treasure such as this was bound to attract attention and so they got to work. Most of the pack started throwing sand at the burning car, while others, including Nux, Weasel and Slit, went to search through the other car. Slit went to see the engine, Nux climbed under the car and Weasel pulled open the damaged door to search the inside.

There weren't many useful things inside, a canister of guzzoline and last few drops of water in a flask, which she hid in her pants' pocket to share with her friends back at the Citadel, and a body of a dead man. With nothing better to do, she pulled him out of the wreck and looked him over.

He didn't have any ammo or weapons on him, but he sure as hell had nice clothes. A cool leather jacket, but Weasel didn't want it, it was too hot for that, she wasn't in need of new pants either...

Her eyes fell on the man's firm, brown boots. Weasel smirked to herself, she was going to look so chrome in those. Before she could even reach for the man's legs, a voice suddenly spoke over her shoulder "What'chu got there?" Nux asked, looking at the corpse with interest. "Nothing. 'S just a corpse." Weasel shrugged "But it has a cool jacket, if you want it."

But Nux's attention was on the same boots Weasel wanted, his thoughts not at all different from hers. He crouched down next to the deceased man's legs and undid the laces, before Weasel slapped his hands off, roughly pulling the boots off and cradling them to her chest "Hey, I saw them first! They're mine!" she barked out.

Nux only smirked to himself. Of course she'd want the boots too, they were very chrome after all and he didn't mind fighting a bit for them. "Oh really?" he cocked his head to the side, the smirk still present "Well, I'm a driver, so I deserve them more." and he reached towards her chest.

"And what would you need them for? Pushing pedals? Please, without lancers, you drivers would be dead! I at least need good boots to hold my ground!" Weasel retorted, jumping away from his prying hands.

At that point, everyone turned from whatever they were doing to watch the fight unfold.

Every time Nux tried to grab the boots, Weasel managed to jump away, which left him to chase her around the wrecks to everyone's amusement.

After a few attempts he finally managed to trip her. After she fell onto her stomach, boots still cradled to her chest and the wind knocked out of her lungs, he straddled her lower back, like all those years ago. Then he flipped her onto her back and slid lower so that he was straddling her hips.

Weasel knew that she was practically screwed and if she wanted to keep the boots, she had to stop Nux wrestling them out of her grasp. Her eyes locked to his own, which were set on the boots, sparkling with determination. His eyes were the prettiest blue she's ever seen, playful and deep down even kind. He was grinning at her from above and she found herself drawn to it, to his face, to him.

As if on instinct, her body sprung upwards, stopping centimeters away from his face. Nux felt it more than saw it, the wet sensation that made the time slow as she licked his cheek. Startled, he immediately jumped away from her, one hand placed over his cheek.

Weasel, too, stood up, looking at her friend worriedly. It seemed like she broke him and for a moment she wondered if she went too far. She internally shook her head. No, she just did what she had to, Nux would understand.

With one last and sort of apologetic look towards her confused friend, Weasel took off to her perch to hide.

After a moment of silence, chuckles sounded throughout the pack, increasing in volume, until every last war boy was laughing. Nux felt his cheeks redden and couldn't do anything but stand there like a rock. A heavy pat fell on his shoulder "Careful, before you get a stiffy." Slit smirked at him and slowly, still chuckling, everyone made their way to their vehicles.

Nux didn't join his pack in victorious cheers on the way back to the Citadel, instead he frowned the whole time.

On one hand, he was angry at Weasel. He thought they were just playing around with those boots, she didn't have to embarass him in front of the whole pack. That was not chrome at all.

But on the other hand, when he thought about the feeling that bloomed inside of him when she licked his cheek, he shuddered. But not with disgust, no, more with...longing. He didn't understand it, she made him look weak, why did he want it to happen again??

Weasel felt immense guilt swirl in her gut when they came back and Nux didn't even look at her, instead passing her like she wasn't there, with a frown on his face. Perhaps she did take it too far.

Her feelings even doubled after finding out that the boots were too big for her feet. From that moment she tried to search for him, to apologise, to make up, anything, because frankly, she missed him.

From that raid she rarely ever saw him anymore. During the day he was in the blackfinger's cave, but whenever she went there to visit him, it was as if he was never there.

He even stopped coming to the cuddle pile, spending his nights elsewhere. It worried Weasel. The thought of him suffering through the night fevers alone or worse, with someone else, scared her.

Of course, she couldn't just stop doing her job, so she went through her days, but with a heavy heart and dark thoughts of failure clouding her mind.

It seemed like this fight between the two affected the whole hierarchy. The mood in the caves wasn't busy and cheery like always, instead everyone felt gloomy and under the weather.

After maybe a week, everyone was so fed up, their only wish was for Nux and Weasel to just talk, or fight, it out, for they couldn't stand the tension in the air for a second longer. And so the older war boys made a plan.

Two of them went into Organic mechanic's shop, where Weasel was currently helping tend to wounded and grabbed her by the armpits, while two others did the same to Nux. Nobody interfered, on the contrary, an internal finally crossed everyone's tired minds.

The two of them were thrown into an empty garage, emptied specifically for this mission. Once they were both in the same place, the older war boys left with an accomplised feeling.

The two stared at eachother for a moment, before Nux got up and went for the exit, but Weasel grabbed his wrist. He whirled around, fury and frustration in his movements.

However, he immediately stilled and his eyes went wide when he saw the expression on his dear Weasel's face.

Her eyes held deep guilt, sorrow and desperation, lined with little drops of tears. The way she clung to him, as if she'd lose him if she'd let go, made him week at the knees and he cursed her for it.

But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to be really angry with her. It was just something about seeing her face again that put him at ease, despite what he believed he should be feeling.

"Please don't go." she whispered, afraid of angering him even further. But Nux's anger was long gone now. "Don't cry." he tried to gently wipe the tears away, but all this was so new for them both, he didn't really know how to be gentle. But as his palm smeared the liquid around her eyes, more than dried them, little giggles escaped her mouth and he knew he did it right.

"I'm sorry." Weasel looked down after smiling at him, her apology raw and sincere. "You should be sorry. That was so mediocre of you." Nux frowned, but only jokingly. She nodded her head and whispered 'I know' in a barely there voice.

Seeing that she was still feeling down, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed her flush against him.

They both froze, not only because they haven't held eachother for so long, but because of the new feeling it awoke in them.

There wasn't just the warmth, physical and emotional, they were used to, but a strange desire as well. As if something inside of them wanted to be closer together, closer than ever before, closer than what was even possible.

If Nux had to be honest, it was the same feeling he felt when she licked his cheek. He thought that maybe by distancing himself he'll get rid of those debilitating feelings, but no. The exact opposite happened, they grew and grew, but now they felt like they were multiplied and Nux just couldn't hold himself back anymore.

Pushing Weasel to the stone ground, he pressed his body on top of hers, legs tangled, hips pressed tightly against hers, pinning her into place, his hands grabbed her wrists and wouldn't let go. Not that she wanted him to.

None of them knew what they were doing, but they both wanted it more than anything in their whole half lives.

He pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes on her lips, parted, and he could hear her shallow breaths through them."You're gonna pay." he whispered and their lips collided in a hungry kiss.

Maybe they would've understood better if only someone would told them about love.

#Mad Max #Mad Max 2015 #Nux #Nux x reader #Nux x oc #war boys #the Citadel #apocalypse #argument #fluff #angst #happy ending #I basically spoiled the whole thing for you

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